#the lightning in this scene is my mortal enemy

[pllcentral]

PRETTY LITTLE LIARS 1.09 | The Perfect Storm

[goatpaste]

Hai, mutuals have my actin up getting obsessive brain over Pillar Fam Au again and their all over my brain like ANTS

So I wanted to redo the art on the pillar fam playlist and doodle some stuff for my fav songs on the playlist

just thinking about them thinking about them thinking about them and running around and biting

every few weeks I just remember this AU is everything to me good lurd

[Commission Prices][Etsy][Buy me a Kofi]

also wanted to talk about some thoughts on the songs of the playlist just whatever, under the cut

Where Evil Grows by The Poppy Family: this one I drew for, but I heavily think of it over Joseph and Wamuu's first meeting where despite the rough first meeting, theres that spark of interest in on another. Despite unexplainable need to get close to one another, especially Joseph to Wham.

Blood in the Wine by AURORA: mostly a song I put on there for Wham, its a Wham heavy song and makes me think generally of pillar fam but also of Wham and his relationship to his pillar men family and kars. His Loyalty and devotion to the man who is his father, but ultimately having these different goals and feelings.

Electric Love by BORNS: Honestly mostly just a fun feel good song I felt had some good vibes to Pillar fam, love a good lightning motif for Joseph.

Kiss her you fool by Kids that Fly: First kiss scene, 1000% Joseph with a million thoughts about how he's trying to get out of dying, or even killing but also quickly realizing he might just be in love with this powerful warrior and that Wham just might like him back, and to make a leap of fate with a kiss.

Talk to Much COIN: Another song that fit the bill for Pillar Fam especially of a Joseph angle for suuuure

High on Humans by Oh Wonder: I think this is pretty straight forward for the wham angle of this relationship, especially when Suzi starts being in the mix and he's realizing he's soft for two humans who he should be seeing as a threat to Kar's mission. but instead his brain if fuzzy and soft around them

The Sex has Made me Stupid by Robots in Disguise: also pretty straight forward, they were going at it like rabbits because i take Wham for a guy who fucks his enemies as an equal partner for him, fighting it like gay sex to him but so is gay sex lol. Also this song is such so extremely british its just a bit of a too fitting not to include

Dirty imbecile by The Happy Fits: Kinda vauge take on Joseph, i get big joseph vibes in this song and fitting to my minds touchings of his character and relationship to family and lack there of

Step With me by MIKA: its the vibes, the specific lyrics just feel so right, the slow set by set calculations of getting close to someone like Wham in their specific situation. Both in trying to work every angle to get everyone out alive, but also dealing with big feelings for a big man who may kill him. One step at a time, just a few steps away from you. I especially take this song overlay to the idea of the height of Pillar Fam when the month is almost up and joseph's one like asking of truce between him and wham, but wham choosing to stay to his word and to kars and leaving Joseph, but stubborn Joseph not giving up quite yet.

Necessary Evil by Unknown Mortal Orchestra: i think this in a way feels a lot like similar lyrical vibes to Where Evil Grows. But bit on the horny side lol, two crazy kids defying the odds, dealing with how they feel, messy messy feelings while they nearly kill each other in a gladiatorial fight on chariots around a roaring fire.

I wont hurt you by the West Coast Pop Art Experience: THIS SONG OUHGH this is one of the big ones on the playlist to me, its soo ouch. Song that 100% in my head links to the end of the Chariot fight. Joseph and Wham have dealt out all their cards, every trick in the book to live or win. All but their final trump card, all or nothing, put it all on the line and die winning. Wham lost of sight, arms and burning a hole into his own chest. Joseph with caesars headband and the lighter fluid... But he can't do it. instead opting to drop his weapons and his guards, i wont hurt you, Yelled over the intense slicing winds as they grow nearer. Joseph's pleading one more time for Wham to stop to not kill Joseph, but more importantly, himself. That Kars wouldnt want this, Suzi wouldnt want this and Joseph wouldnt want this. He would rather lay down and accept defeat and death than be the one to remove Wham from the world. its then, Wham in his biggest moment of vulnerability stops, words reaching him. Falling to his knees and embracing Joseph in a messy bloody puddle in all the heavy silence under the blazing fire. I wont hurt you.

m'Lover by Kishi Bashi: themes of unlikely lovers? well dont mind if i do for my pillar fam playlist. Picking up right after the last one, things are finally looking right, defying the destiny that they were meant to hurt and kill each other in that pit that night instead promising themselves to each other. two loves in the night finding each other in the most unlikely way

Affection Taku Iwasaki: Its a jojo song, and it makes me sad weepy, its soft its perfect for this vibe.

Bizzare Love Triangle by New Order: I think mostly on here for the general title and 'love triangle' idea. Suzi and her two boys, their Bizzare Love Triangle

From Me, the Moon by Lav and Dark Moon by Bonnie Guitar: putting these together as their both meant to be for the same idea, Wham watching his human partners grow old. His family even with his pillar man genetics, growing older. The idea they will one day leave him behind. This reality will obviously never come as they world ends in p6. But its a lingering idea, a soft sad, but approachable topic to think about for Wham. Couldn't not include it in a playlist meant to encapsulate them and their life start to finish. Wham will be sad, but happily live out his humans long lives. As long as they'll have him.

Affection Taku Iwasaki: it was the final track of P2, just like Affection, sweet and good, how could i not make it the final track on this playlist.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

in honor of the catboy rollo plush thar I have no doubt you bought can we have some catboy rollo headcanons? like if he was a beastman or maybe an alchemy accident made him a catboy temporarily

GUILTY AS CHARGED 🐱 If you’re interested in getting your own catboy Rollo plush, check out the kickstarter!

I have a bunch of embarrassing cute outfits including a maid dress to stuff that catboy Rollo plush into as soon as it arrives in my clutches 😈

(By the way!! I highly recommend checking out this artist; I love their (actual) cat!Rollo artworks…)

Like Fire, Hellfire.

Rollo is the definition of a grumpy cat. Don't let his fluffy white ears and tail fool you, he can and will hiss at you if you get too close. It's even worse when Malleus is around; all of Rollo's fur stands on end and he looks like he's ready to pounce and claw at his mortal enemy's face.

His hat and clothing have special holes tailored in them to make way for his ears and tail to poke out. Rollo's very sensitive about any comments directed towards his animalistic traits (or, in Idia’s case, if you uwu talk to him)--and God help you if you’re brave enough to. Man's going to hold an intense grudge at any fool who dares.

He adds seafood to his diet, in part because he has a new cat-like affinity for fish (cue Azul with dollar signs in his eyes) and in part because too many grapes and/or too much coffee upsets his delicate stomach. (Cats don’t deal with those two foods too well.)

He looks after his fur to a ridiculous extent; every day, he meticulously scrubs it down and inspects it for any speckles of dirt or dust that could sully the pure white color. Rollo even carries around a cleaning kit in case his fur is tarnished when he's away from a bathroom.

… Rollo neurotically carries a lint brush around and cleans up any fur he sheds. (He goes through many, MANY lint brushes, especially when he’s stressed.)

His lightning fast cat-like reflexes will catch your wrist before you’re able to scratch his ears or tug on his tail. He’ll then proceed to chide you about obtaining consent before laying a finger on any animal you see casually wandering around.

It's usually so hard to tell what he's thinking or feeling, but looking at his ears and tail give you a better reference for what's going on in his head. As much as Rollo tries to keep himself in check, there are some things he can't repress 100% of the time, like how his ears twitch and stand at attention when something catches his interest.

His tail is even more expressive! It curls up when he's frustrated, stands straight up when he's pleased, and puffs up like a cloud when he's on edge, scared, or angry. (Rollo curses; why can't he just control himself?! He has to work twice as hard to consciously suppress his instincts.)

For someone dressed in an extravagant outfit, Rollo isn't as burdened by it as you would have expected. He still manages to retain all the grace and the speed of a cat in spite of all the fabric he could easily get caught up in. He makes great use of that speed to exit the scene whenever some foul mage he particularly detests makes an appearance.

If you thought Rollo was high-strung before, wait until you see Catboy!Rollo. Thanks to his beastman genes, all of his senses are heightened well beyond that of the average human. It makes him even more aware of his surroundings (and all of the problems he has with them) than ever. You’ll find him glaring at something well out of sight just because he overheard a mob student using God’s name in vain or something several hallways away 💀

The smell of flowers is now too overbearing for him, so he has to enjoy them from a distance. It’s one of the few times you can catch him smiling softly, just enjoying the flowers swaying in the breeze and the sun in his fur.

He has developed a morbid fascination with shiny objects, particularly his ring and any bells he spots. Something about the way they glisten in the light gives him hope and reignites his fire to pursue his own nefarious goals.

Catboy!Rollo has a habit of fiddling with nearby objects when he isn’t currently holding onto something. However, if he’s caught in a moment of concealed anger, you’ll find him snapping writing implements in half or clicking a pen on and off so hard that it shatters in his grasp.

When he tends to the Bell of Salvation or is out in the City of Flowers, the local birds are weirdly drawn to him. They roost in his hat (making a nest of it) and on his shoulders and arms. It annoys Rollo to no end (“Shouldn’t you infernal creatures fear felines?!”) but the birds just scatter, only to return moments later once he has cooled off a bit.

Because of sense of smell is so strong, he has to use his handkerchief more than usual to block out aromas he finds migraine-inducing. This gives others the impression that he's more displeased than he actually is, making them somewhat hesitant to approach him.

He does his very best to mask any purring as grumbling or just grunting. (He will reverently deny it if you ask him if he purred.)

Getting wet (from rain, from random splashes of water, etc.) ruins his entire day. Rollo staunchly refuses to use magic to dry himself off, so he's stuck using a towel (if it's within grasp) or air drying. This leaves him looking like a pathetically angry wet cat, fur all matted and mood sour as he profusely shivers.

Warm weather or conditions makes him super sleepy (much to Rollo’s chagrin). It’s a war between his iron will and his drowsiness…! (Ultimately, he ends up dozing off by the fireplace on late nights writing at his desk. Luckily for him, his aide and/or vice president will drape a jacket or a blanket over him to keep him comfortable. "Hehe... President Rollo's so cute.")

[babovens]

MP100 Theatre Kid AU

More theatre things because tech week starts today help. I’m living out my dreams of being a tech kid because they’re amazing and so so funny, but you’d never know because they’re always behind the scenes. (Also they’re the ones who hold the snack stash so go to them for the Cheetos kids).

Character sheets for Shigeo and Teru.

Shou Suzuki: Tech/Stage Management

Background:

Shou spent much of his early childhood going to his father’s show rehearsals. He went to so many that he quickly developed a musical talent that far surpassed his classmates.

Once Touichirou learned this, he immediately began teaching Shou how to sing.

He didn’t have lots of times to be a kid, his father whisking him away to rehearsals when his classmates were out having fun.

Even worse, his father was teaching him in a traditional, classical manner. Making him learn music standards he didn’t connect with.

He also never liked the actors he worked with, but he could never pinpoint why.

Even so, he never hated singing.

He knew his father did musical theatre shows because “they’re the quickest way to make the money I need for my own projects,” but he had never seen one until…

He snuck into watch one of his father’s musicals: Little Shop of Horrors.

It was so different from anything he had been learning before. It was brash, it was hilarious, it was loud, it was dark.

He was obsessed.

Not just with the music, but with the tech.

How did they match up the lightning and the thunder? How did the scenes change so fast from the dentist office to the flower shop? How on earth did they make that giant plant move?

He snuck backstage to see the mastermind behind all the special effects: Serizawa. After the show, Serizawa gave Shou a tour of the set, making his interest skyrocket.

Shou announced that night at dinner that he wanted to learn how to tech a show.

Touichirou made it clear he didn’t support this decision. Anyone can learn the skill to tech. Not everyone is born with musical talent like his, and it would be a waste if he was “only behind the scenes.”

It was then that Shou realized why he hated being in the shows his father directed.

It had nothing to do with the music and everything to do with the entitlement of the actors he worked with.

The way they all fought with each other, the way they blamed their own mistakes on other people, the way they dismissed the back stage crew as if they weren’t the reason they had mics and a set to perform on.

That was the final nail in the coffin, and he went to learn how to tech a show at Black Vinegar.

Where he met his mortal enemy: Teruki Hanazawa.

The kid his father replaced him with.

Basically if Teru was in Claw Theatre edition

Characteristics:

Tech Kid™

Jack of all trades (Costumes, lighting, sound, set, stage management).

Has a particular interest for pyrotechnics on stage

The type to sing horribly on purpose despite his talent (this drives Teru crazy).

Believes in the theatre ghost and fights with him at least once a week (Dimple).

Ultimate snack stash in the PAC despite the “no food or drink” sign. “Do as I say, not as I do.”

The telepathy club takes full advantage of his snacks (and it’s how he recruits them to be his tech crew).

Checks the stage lights every night before a show at Ritsu’s request. (Shou doesn’t mind one bit).

Has the funniest names for his lighting cues (throw back to Shrek the Musical where the cue name for the dragon eating Farquad was literally named “OOP he “faquin” dead” abdkfhslajs)

Not afraid to call out actors who gossip and put down others Teru

He means well, but this makes his confidence turn into arrogance. (“I’m the reason you even have a show.”)

A bit of a control freak.

Specialty: Punk/Rock/Mega-Musicals

[undertale-anomaly20]

Mortal Kombat 11 x reader: Chapter 11 Cutting the strings

Liu Kang runs to Raiden's side "Lord Raiden! We should listen. He may be telling the truth!" he implores. Raiden takes something from his belt. The camera pans to his

back, not showing what the object is.

"There is only one way to find out" A charging sound is heard, and Scorpion is blasted backwards by a bolt of energy. We now see that Raiden has used Shinnok's amulet. The ninja remains on the ground, writhing in agony "Now, Scorpion. The truth!" he demands. (Name)s head snaps up looking at what is happening.

Liu Kang, clearly disturbed at what he's just seen, steps in between Raiden and Scorpion "Raiden, stop this!" Liu Kang says but Raiden shoves him aside "Step aside, Liu Kang!" he orders "Put down the amulet! Its darkness is taking hold of you!" Liu Kang tries to reason with him. In response, Raiden blasts Liu Kang with a burst of energy, knocking him to the ground "Our time has run out. I do what I must to save Earthrealm"

As Liu Kang rises, Raiden charges up his hands with lightning

and strikes the ground near the Shaolin's feet "Stay down!" he yells "This is not the way. Scorpion is not the enemy this time" Liu Kang said "Liu Kang, do not interfere!"

They fight. Even though both of them are holding back, the battle is an even match, with Liu Kang's martial arts skill quite possibly surpassing even Raiden's. But the Thunder God's immortality means that he will always hold the advantage, and Raiden eventually manages to knock Liu Kang to the floor.

"Do not force my hand, Liu Kang. The realms hang in the balance! To defend them, I must command order!"

Liu Kang stands back to his feet, disbelief evident in his eyes. before anything could be said a force knocked Raiden back a few feet. once he regained his footing Raiden looked up to see what had hit him with such force. there stood (Name) her eyes cold yet burning with rage, her stance indicating that her kick was what forced him back, Her body straightened out and her head was held high. she stood side by side with Liu Kang "That...is enough" she said coldly surprising them "I've had more than enough of your nonsense to last me and anyone else a lifetime! Every time I listened to you something bad always happened! I lost Mileena, I lost my own life...I've lost Hanzo and you still believe that I am to be your obedient little soldier" she growls. Liu Kang looks at her and sees the pain behind her eyes then turns to Raiden "I thought it impossible, but the revenants were right" He says as he points a finger at Raiden "You cannot be trusted!"

"I do not need trust! I demand obedience!"

On the word "obedience", Raiden charges his hands with lightning. But this time the lightning flashes red, and his eyes also turn from blue to red.

(Name) and Liu Kang gets ready for a fight "Enough of your madness. If you must die... so be it" says Liu Kang

On hearing those words, Raiden steps backward, uncertainty gripping him. His eyes fade from red back to blue.

"This-- this has happened... before..." he says in shock

The scene cuts to an abandoned building in Earthrealm, with a green portal opened - previously seen in Mortal Kombat 9 (a timeline without (Name) in it so the timeline before hers) Shao Kahn walks through the portal, standing and taking in his surroundings. Across from him, Liu Kang clenches his fist and starts forward, but Raiden steps in his path.

"Liu Kang, do not interfere! You cannot fight Shao Kahn!" Raiden says. In response, Liu Kang charges his fist with his signature fire "Liu Kang, stop!" "Enough of your madness! If you must die, so be it!"

Liu Kang jumps in the air with the intent of running through Raiden with a flaming punch. In self-defense, Raiden catches his hand and channels lightning through it, electrocuting Liu Kang, who screams from the pain and is blasted backward...

...through a wall in the Dead Pool in Outworld.

He flips in the air and lands on his feet, sliding to a halt, his clothes have changed in the process, as he is now sporting a blue bandanna and matching attire. As he assumes a fighting stance, Raiden - now clothed in red attire - jumps into the fight

with a flying kick. Liu Kang catches the kick, twirls around, and throws Raiden back the way he came...

...and straight into another location, this time the broken randomness of Chaosrealm. A newly attired Raiden crashes into a broken pillar, and a tattooed Liu Kang with a black bandanna blasts him with a stream of fire. Raiden counters with a lightning

blast that sends Liu Kang falling backward. He whirls to his feet as Raiden charges in. Kang blocks the strikes that Raiden throws, but the Thunder God powers through his defenses and picks Liu Kang up, hoisting him over his head. He throws him...

...onto the surface of an underground subway in Earthrealm. Now wearing a yellow bandanna and matching clothing, Liu Kang rises to his feet to face a purple-attired Raiden, who jumps into the fight with a flying kick as a subway train thunders by. Liu Kang catches the kick, twirls around, and throws Raiden back the way he came...

...into a pillar in Shang Tsung's palace, with a soulnado raging behind both the revenant Raiden and Liu Kang...

...which immediately changes to the Battle of Armageddon - as seen in the original Mortal Kombat timeline. Dark Raiden crashes hard into a pillar supporting one of the torches of the pyramid. The zombie Liu Kang blasts him with a stream of fire. Raiden

counters with a lightning blast that sends Liu Kang falling backward. He whirls to his feet as Raiden charges in. Kang blocks the strikes that Raiden throws, but the Thunder God powers through his defenses and picks Liu Kang up, hoisting him over his head.

With the fire of Blaze roaring on the top level above them, Raiden throws him...

...into the Warrior's Shrine of Earthrealm...

...and into the subway once again. Liu Kang rises to his feet...

...in Chaosrealm, to face a dark blue-attired Raiden, who jumps

into the fight with a flying kick...

...in the Dead Pool. The revenant Liu Kang catches the kick...

...in the Battle of Armageddon, a fully human Liu Kang twirls around and throws Raiden back the way he came...

...again, and again, and again, the same motions occurring

in different locations, different timelines...

...until back in the current timeline, Raiden falls to his knees. The vision he has witnessed - from the perspective of the dozens of selves that came before him - has shocked him to his very core. Cassie Cage runs up to his side, as does Jacqui and Jax. Raiden holds Shinnok's amulet in the palm of his hand...

...and then decisively slams it into the ground. He looks up at

Liu Kang and (Name), regret clear in his expression, and slowly stands to his

feet.

"I have been a fool, Liu Kang. Kronika's puppet. We only battle because she wills it" he says then he looks over to Scorpion, still writhing in pain "I must help him"

He walks to Scorpion's side and channels his power through his palm. Unlike his normal lightning blasts, this is a blue pulsing light, and it heals Scorpion from the dark magic he is suffering from. He extends his hand, which is taken by Scorpion, and helps him to his feet.

"I was wrong to doubt you. I too have been a slave to anger" said Raiden "I do not understand, Lord Raiden. Your rage was caused by Kronika?" Liu Kang questioned while (Name) walked over to Scorpion.

"Yes. I succumbed to her influence. But then, our confrontation... it unlocked memories. Memories not only from this timeline, but from timelines that have come before" Raiden replied "Wait a sec. Timelines? Plural?" Cassie asked in shock

"Kronika has restarted time on countless previous occasions, using each timeline to learn and to perfect her plan. The details of each timeline are different. But in each one, events conspire to bring Liu Kang and I into conflict. In each one, he dies. Only Kronika has such power to control time and fate" Raiden said before looking on in thought

"There is however one constant in every timeline that separates this one from all"

Raiden says.

"Mama?"

(Name) snaps her head to the voice coming from the temple doors to see Calithea standing there "Calithea..." she whispers as Calithea runs to her and hugs her legs "Mama!" she says happily. (Name) smiles a little and scoops up Calithea pressing her forehead to Calitheas. Raiden looks at her "This is the only timeline where Lady (Name) exists" Everyone is stunned by his words...everyone except (Name) who is too focused on her daughter.

"mama? What's wrong?" Calithea asked wiping her mothers' tears away with her small hands. (Name) composed herself, no matter how much it hurt she didn't want her daughter to worry, and gave her a small smile "I'm alright, Cali, it's...been a bad day but don't worry... it's almost over" she said. Calithea looked up tilting her head before looking over her mothers' shoulder to see Scorpion. her smile widened "DADDY!" she giggled reaching for him. Scorpion was surprised and didn't know how to react "Daddy! I missed you! Did you stop the bad guys? Can we stay here now?" she asked still trying to reach for him, unknowingly breaking (Name)'s heart "Oh..honey...that's...that's not" (Name) tried to say but couldn't find the words as she teared up all over again. how was she supposed to tell her daughter of Hanzo's demise?

Her thoughts were interrupted when Calithea was lifted from (Name)'s arms. snaping her head to the side she sees Scorpion holding Calithea in his arms, against his hip, as she holds onto the front of his clothes. Scorpion looked at Calithea with awe and wonder. A familiar feeling washed over him, one of warmth and care, the same feeling he had when he held his son, but at the same time the pain of knowing he isn't the man she believes he is yet "Daddy, your eyes are all white! Are you ok?" Calithea asked looking worried up at him while Scorpion's white milky eyes softened at her innocence "I...am fine, Calithea, It's a long story but I promise I will explain everything once this is all over, alright?" he said stroking her hair. She smiled up at him and nodded "Daddy!" she giggled as she laid her head on his chest. (Name) walks closer to him "...thank you" she said softly looking him in the eyes as he gently passed Calithea to (Name) "This isn't the time to tell her of what happened...she is far too innocent for this" he said still looking at Calithea.

"I don't get it. Why do that? And why make this the only timeline where (Name) exists?" Cassie asked confused "I do not know. But be assured, Kronika will control us no longer" Raiden states.

As he finishes saying this, a sandstorm kicks into the area, gradually freezing everyone in the vicinity of it, except Raiden, who remains unaffected due to being a god and existing outside of time. As he looks around at time coming to a standstill, the tornado gathers in one location in the middle of the air... and forms into Kronika. He meets her indifferent gaze with anger.

"At long last, you see the pattern" Kronika stated condescendingly "The pattern, but not the purpose. Why set me against Liu Kang?" Raiden asked "Is it not obvious? Your combined power threatens my vision for the timeline. and with (Name) aiding you as well? She may have arrived unnoticed but she will not interfere with my plans" "Liu Kang and I will not be divided further by your machinations nor will (Name) stand by!"

Kronika chuckles at these words "Oh, Raiden. Do you think this is the first time you made that vow? We have repeated this exact conversation so often, in so many timelines, I have lost count" "This timeline will end differently" Raiden challenges

"We have played out all possible scenarios, Raiden. having a woman from another world will make no difference. You cannot win. You are welcome to try, of course... but without Liu Kang at your side nor (Name)" Kronika says as she motions with her hands, and the frozen Liu Kang, (Name), and Calithea begin to dissolve, with traces of sand marking their bodies. Kronika smiles serenely at Raiden's outrage.

"Enjoy these final hours, Raiden. They are all you have"

With another swirl of sand, she disappears as well, taking Liu

Kang, (Name), and Calithea with her in another time tornado. Raiden is left alone, contemplating everything that has taken place in front of him. A moment later, time is restored and everyone else comes out of the frozen state they were in. They look around in confusion.

"Liu Kang! Where is he?" Exclaimed Cassie "Lady (Name) and Calithea as well!" Scorpion said looking worried "Kronika has taken them to her Isle. We must leave immediately. To save the realms... we must save Liu Kang and (Name)" Raiden stated

The scene cuts to Kronika's Keep. Liu Kang is chained down in a

chair, facing Geras, who has upgraded his clothing to feature an

armored chest plate and helmet "A new look, just for me? You shouldn't have" Liu Kang said. Geras steps forward, but says nothing "What do you want from me?" Liu Kang asked "You will aid in my protection" Kronika replied

Liu Kang turns around to see Kronika, alongside his revenant self

and the revenants of Kung Lao, Kitana, and Jade "Not likely" Liu Kang said "I have mastered Shinnok's sorcery. I will add your soul's strength to mine, and finally avenge myself upon Raiden" said revenant Liu Kang "My friends, Raiden's armies are coming. They will fight us, and they will lose" Said Kronika

Liu Kang Looks beside him to see (Name), who has been chained to the floor with cuffs preventing her from using her fire, and Calithea as she sits in (Name)'s arms fast asleep. (Name) doesn't bother fighting back, she wouldn't dare risk her daughters' life when she's this powerless "(Name), have faith. our friends will rescue us" he said trying to make her smile when the revenant Liu Kang walked to her and kneels before her while the younger Liu Kang watches him carefully "all will be well, Lady (Name), you will be safe once all this is over" he said to her. she looked up at him with sad eyes, filled with pity.

"You don't know that. for all you know we'll have to deal with this all over again" she said softly so as to not wake Calithea "Kronia has promised to restart time to make it so you never needed to come to this world-" "so you would rather we hadn't met?" she says cutting off the revenant. the revenant Liu Kang is stunned for a few moments "I would rather you be safe. Even if it breaks my heart you deserve to live a better life" he said trying to ease her mind only for her to shake her head "I have friends who I've shared memories with that I know have my back in a fight, a daughter who I cherish more than my own life and the power to protect them all...I have the greatest life I could ask for Liu Kang..."

The scene cuts to the bow of a ship, sailing across a sea of blood. The ship is helmed by Kharon, and Raiden stands next to him. Behind Raiden stand Sub-Zero and Scorpion.

On another ship, Cassie stands alongside Jax and Jacqui, with what remains of the Special Forces behind them. Cassie looks toward the horizon, determination etched on her features. Jax checks over an assault rifle in his hands, and Jacqui hands him an extra clip of ammunition.

On a different ship, Kung Lao walks to the bow and looks to the horizon. Behind him are rows of Shaolin warriors, all seated and meditating in prayer.

Amidst one more ship is a loosely formed congregation of Outworld species - Osh-Tekk loyalists, Tarkatans, and Shokan. Kitana walks among them to the ship bow, receiving a passing nod from Baraka, a salute from Sheeva, and finally a warm smile from Jade. She too looks to the horizon before them.

Back on the first ship, Kharon addresses Raiden.

"Kronika's Isle lies beyond the fog," says Kharon

A foghorn is sounded, the echo felt by the inhabitants from all the ships. Cassie brings her binoculars to her eyes and looks through them. From her perspective, we see a large armored ship approaching through the fog, metallic in design. On the bow of that ship, Geras and the Cyber Lin Kuei behind him walk up to the ship's captain - Frost.

On Kharon's flagship, he watches with concern.

"Battleships," says Kharon. He turns to Raiden "My ferries cannot fight a war" "This fleet is under my protection" Raiden replies. Kharon nods in agreement as Raiden turns to address the others "If Kharon falls, our fleet cannot sail. Protect him at all costs" he states.

Back on the battleship, Frost looks to her army "Ramming speed!" She commands

The gigantic battleship begins to gain further momentum, now coming within sailing distance of Kharon's flagship. It veers toward the flagship's starboard, prompting Kharon to swing the boat's wheel hard to port. He does so just in time, as the battleship grinds against the starboard side of his boat but fails to shear it. The Special Forces' ship also grinds against the battleship on its port side, staggering everyone on board, but the boat remains intact.

Back on Kharon's ship, Raiden helps Sub-Zero up to his feet, but a loud sound from above catches their attention. Dozens of Cyber Lin Kuei leap from the battleship onto the boat, and the battle is immediately joined. Raiden blocks a flying kick from a cyborg

and parries the strike of another, disabling it with a lightning-enhanced kick. He strikes another and kicks it aside, before blocking a third cyborg's strike and disabling it with a flying knee.

Sub-Zero and Scorpion throw a pair of cyborgs to the floorboards and Sub-Zero kicks away another while fending off a third, also disabling it with a roundhouse kick. At the same time, Scorpion disables the cyborg he threw with a punch to the face

and catches the leg of another, disabling it by stabbing it with his kunai.

Sub-Zero blocks an attempted strike from another cyborg, dropping it with a disabling face punch. He turns to block a cyborg's punch, catching a second strike and taking it out of commission with a kick to the neck. He follows through with a forearm chop

to the same location for good measure. Yet another cyborg attempts to kick him, but Sub-Zero blocks the strike, parries two punches, and shoots an ice blast to the cyborg's thigh.

With the cyborg immobilized, Scorpion rushes it from behind and plunges his hand into its back, tearing out the cyborg's spine, along with the head for good measure. He uses the head-and-spine as a makeshift club, battering another three cyborgs across the

face with it.

Four more cyborgs approach Raiden, but he charges his hands and disables them all with a barrage of lightning. He then ducks, narrowly avoiding a fireball that explodes behind him. He faces down the one who threw it... the elder Jackson Briggs. As from

Before, Jax is torn up with sorrow, but that only drives him onward.

"I don't want to fight, but I've got to! For Jacqui's and (Name)'s sake as well as mine!" states Jax

They fight. Jax's upgrades prove to be a challenge for even the Thunder God - albeit because Raiden is holding back his true strength. As a result, the fight lasts longer than one might expect, but just like before, Jax's inner conflict means he cannot sustain his assault and soon Raiden manages to defeat him.

"Let me help you," Raiden says as he approaches Jax, who is on his knees.

"Kronika's promises to you are a cruel deception. She is the mother of Shinnok, the architect of your revenant enslavement" Raiden explains. This revelation catches Jax by surprise "But... no. She's Cetrion's mother" Jax says in disbelief "Cetrion is Shinnok's sister. In Kronika's New Era, Shinnok will be the darkness to balance Cetrion's light" Raiden replied "...Which'll only happen if the realms keep on fighting each other" Jax says understanding what's really going on.

Raiden offers his hand. Jax takes it and stands to his feet. He looks to Scorpion and Sub-Zero, still fighting off the Cyber Lin Kuei "What have I done? I'm a fool" Jax said disappointed in himself " It is not foolish to fight for your family's betterment" Raiden said to reassure Jax "I'm sorry, Raiden. I promise to make this right"

With that, he leaps up into the air, coming down fist-first onto a cyborg and knocking it for a loop with a ferocious clothesline. He then kicks another cyborg in the side, punches it in the stomach, and hits a forearm hammer to its back, knocking it down.

He stops another cyborg's punch and punches it in the sternum, before slamming it to the floor. He punches it in the face to make sure it's disabled, then walks over and backhands another cyborg out of his way.

While Jax rampages through the Cyber Lin Kuei, another figure leaps from the battleship to face down Raiden-Geras. The Thunder God immediately flies toward him with his Electric Fly attack, but Geras grabs him by the throat in mid-flight, punches him in the face, and throws him back the way he came, causing Raiden to smash hard into the ship mast. He regains his feet as Geras comes forward.

"I have died a thousand deaths to prepare for this battle. My defeat is impossible. Yours, inevitable" Geras states.

They fight. Try as he might, not even Raiden can stop Geras. Every time he is blasted or knocked down, the construct rises again. But in turn, Geras is unable to penetrate Raiden's defenses, and after a long battle, the Thunder God manages to floor Geras for a moment with a concentrated attack.

"I will suffer you no more"

As Geras rises again, Raiden aims a lighting bolt above Geras' head, striking a nearby link of chains. The chains come down directly on Geras, pinning and immobilizing him. Raiden then shoots a lightning bolt at the object the chains are connected to - the ship's anchor. It falls into the sea, the chains following rapidly after it. Unable to move, Geras realizes he too will be dragged down, but he remains defiant.

"Drowning cannot kill me, Raiden" he states confidently "That is unfortunate for you. The Sea of Blood is bottomless. You will fall forever" Raiden says.

Finally, the last of the chains fall from the side of the ship, dragging Geras with them. He only has time for one last shout of rage before he plunges into the depths of the sea. We see his face one more time as he falls into the blood-filled abyss...and the rage has turned into despair.

Raiden pauses with grim satisfaction for a moment, before a loud cry catches his attention. Frost jumps from the battleship and lands on the deck, facing him down.

"Now do I have your attention, Raiden? The warriors sinking your fleet are under my command" Frost gloats much to Raiden's annoyance "You have a devil's bargain with Kronika, Frost" Raiden replies

"You ignored me my entire life. Kronika saw my talent from the start" Frost growls

They fight. Even with her cybernetic upgrades giving her power to surpass her mentor Sub-Zero, Frost still remains no match for the God of Thunder. Her reckless assaults are turned aside by Raiden and countered effortlessly, and soon enough Frost is on the ground and unconscious at his hands.

"Envy and ambition consume you"

Sub-Zero approaches, looking upset at the sight of his wayward

Pupil "Such wasted potential," he says "The good she could have done, in command of these Cyber Lin Kuei" Raiden says surprising Sub-Zero "She commands them? Not Sektor? If so, she is linked to them. They follow her thoughts" At these words, Raiden walks over to her downed form "Then let them follow her to defeat" says Raiden

He charges up his hands, puts them against her head, and lets loose with a burst of electric current. The effects are not visible, but there is little doubt that the trauma is fatal. Across the ship, the elder Jax is now being restrained by three cyborgs, who all

immediately stop functioning and fall to the deck, as dead as their commander. Jax looks around him, taking in the sight of dozens of dead Cyber Lin Kuei strewn about all over the ship deck.

"Candy ass bitch" he says as he pumps and shakes his hands as if finishing a warm-up.

Back in Kronika's Keep, the younger Liu Kang reacts in pain and horror as his revenant counterpart wields the same soul-sucking magic that Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn, Quan Chi, and Shinnok are all known for, using it to drain his younger self. (Name) looks on in horror as she cannot do anything. The revenant finishes the spell, drawing the younger's soul directly into him, and laughing maniacally as he does so. The living Liu Kang puts his hands to his face, and screams in utter agony... and finally, his hands come down, revealing his face is chalk white and shriveled.

"NO!" (Name) cries out waking up her daughter with a shock. Calithea looks around to know why her mother is distressed when she sees the young Liu Kangs state. She looks at him in shell-shock horror.

The last vestiges of his soul leave his body, and the older Liu Kang lights his hand up with his signature fire, laughing in pure evil glee as his younger self falls still. With the spell finished, the other revenants approach him.

"Raiden's fleet nears our shores," says Kitana "The two of you will command the army defending the beachhead," the revenant Liu Kang says "Where will you be?" she asks

Liu Kang says nothing but only smiles wickedly. As Kitana and Kung Lao leave he turns to (Name) and Calithea. (Name) glares up at him and turns her body away from him, as much as she can chained, to cover Calithea, who was sobbing for the now still Liu Kang. his eyes soften "It..is for the best, Lady (Name)" he said taking a step towards her "GET AWAY!" she yells her voice breaking and causing him to stop "Haven't you done enough! Leave me alone!" his heart is hit with a wave of pain seeing the woman he still loves want nothing to do with him. he is silent for a few moments before heading towards the exit.

The scene cuts back to Kharon's flagship. The shipmaster looks out to the horizon and spots a rocky outcropping of land. On that land is a large, elegantly designed tower that twirls into the sky.

"LAND HO!" Kharon called out.

A foghorn sounds on his ship as Raiden walks up to the ship's bow. He looks out to the horizon and his eyes narrow in grim concern as he spots a single lifeboat making its way across the waves of the blood-filled sea, accelerated by the lone occupant of the boat blasting fire from his hands behind him. Within moments, the lifeboat reaches Kharon's ship and with a burst of flame, the revenant Liu Kang propels himself up into the air. He somersaults into the ship's sails, setting them on fire as he comes through them, and lands on the deck in a crouching stance.

He stands up fully and turns to face Raiden, who remains grimly composed but begins to crackle with electricity. He folds his arms, and leaps into the air, twirling around multiple times before landing on the deck, arms still folded. Scorpion, Sub-Zero and

Jax all enter the deck as well and Raiden faces down Liu Kang. They all start forward, but Raiden glances back at them for a moment and they instantly pause, realizing that Raiden intends to fight Liu Kang alone. Raiden turns back to Liu Kang.

"Time after time, Kronika's schemes have pitted us against each other. That cycle must end, Liu Kang" Raiden said. Liu Kang's eyes light up in flames, anger etched across his features.

"This time, it will!" Liu Kang growled

He launches forward with his Flying Kick, crossing the distance between them almost instantly, and blasts Raiden square in the chest. The force of the kick sends the Thunder God flying backward, but he grabs the decking and skids to a halt, sparking

with electricity "Your power! Is this Kronika's gift?" Raiden asked stunned "A gift to myself, you could say" Liu Kang smirked "...You stole your own soul! Perverted your own nature!"

"It's a lesson YOU taught me, Raiden! To fight my enemies by any means necessary!

They fight. The battle proves to be one of the toughest the Thunder God has ever endured. With Liu Kang's newfound power, Raiden struggles greatly against a man whose martial arts skill even surpasses his. But even though he is at a disadvantage,

Raiden fights intelligently, exploiting his foe's overconfidence and breaking through his defenses. Even so, it takes all of his strength to just barely defeat the revenant Liu Kang.

"I have conquered the darkness within me. You must do the same"

Liu Kang rises to his feet, exhausted but defiant "You... will have to kill me" he huffs out. Raiden walks toward him, arms outstretched and crackling with electricity "I would rather save you"

He blasts Liu Kang square in the chest with his electricity, but rather than forcing Liu Kang back, it roots him to the spot. Lightning strikes the deck around them as both Raiden and Liu Kang glow an electric blue, pulsing with energy. A bubble of electricity forms around them.

Back in Kronika's Keep, the younger Liu Kang lies limp in his chair, while in the background Kronika and Cetrion continue to work on the hourglass. Unbeknownst to them, Liu Kang suddenly sits up, his eyes sparking with electricity. He gasps as life flows back into his body. (Name) and Calithea watches him with wide eyes, Calithea smiles at him as (Name) lets out a sob of relief.

"Raiden..." Liu Kang said.

Electricity starts to crackle in his body, and lightning blasts down from above into his arms. Kronika spots the commotion and her eyes widen in surprise. The same bubble of energy seen earlier surrounds Liu Kang as more lightning courses through him and he teleports away, leaving only his restraints behind. Calithea looks up at Kronika and giggles "You're screwed" she says smiling

Back on Kharon's flagship, the energy bubble continues to suck in more power and electricity, before finally dispersing. But where there were once both Liu Kang and Raiden, only one person stands.

[cloudninetonine]

Courage and Wisdom angst! I like to be long-winded in my writing so I had to edit it down a lot, but it still ended up quite long and the scenes beforehand are very important to the scene - so apologies. Also can we all just agree that Courage's voice is just gorgeous, especially with his whole 'kiss me, princess' line? Or is that just me?

(Btw I hope you're doing okay!)

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

Another red plume rose from yet one more corpse of a cursed beast of evil. Wisdom could barely keep up. She had to resort to spare arrows Courage had to be reminded to bring with him in place of her now depleted magic ones. She didn't know where her Link was, but his grunts from not too far off signalled his mortality.

An arrow flew through the skull of another Gibdo, making the monster crumble to dust in its wrappings before it joined the smoky hues. The princess found it harder and harder to see with the crimson fog blocking her vision.

'Oh, if only Ganon didn't get his hands on that blasted Triforce again!' Wisdom internally screamed, 'Then Sprite wouldn't be teetering between unconsciousness and death, and Link and I wouldn't be stuck fighting hordes of monsters in the Underworld!'

Just that morning, Sprite had been tricked by a deceitful Gibdo disguising itself as another fairy. Through an almost comically laughable chain of events that seemed like a comedy act in hindsight, the Gibdo had managed to find the Triforce of Wisdom in Link's room, put a slumbering spell on Sprite, and make off with the relic. Courage had been so distraught believing his closest friend to be dead, he almost didn't retaliate at all, immediately starting to mourn. It was when Wisdom attempted to run off to give chase (and upon hearing Sprite ridiculously loud snores) that he finally snapped out of his daze and came along with her. It wasn't to say he wasn't still affected greatly by the incident - he was thoroughly shaken actually!

Their original plan was to ambush the Gibdo before it could retreat back to the Underworld, but the two were too late and had to resort to Plan B; stealth. Unfortunately, the hero and princess's banter was usually so loud, it always managed to garner someone's attention in the end.

A mighty crash was heard behind Wisdom, along with the familiar whimpers of her love interest. Momentarily distracted, she thrust the tip of her crossbow into the skull of the nearest enemy and made a mad dash for the noise - only to discover a certain pig-faced wizard picking up the boy from pillar debris and throwing Courage's limp body over his shoulder to trap in one of his dungeons.

Knowing better than to monologue, Wisdom hastily ran forward to pick up Courage's sword from the rubble. She attempted to thrust it into Ganon, though was almost immediately thrown away by a magical bolt of lightning. Her chest screamed in pain as she coughed up a lung, splayed across the charred stone wall behind her. A group of monsters began to surround her. With her acrobatic prowess, Wisdom leaped over the horde, though not without consequence.

She fell to the floor, messing up her landing. The pain in her ribs only got worse, tearing her muscles and organs apart with every shaking breath. The sword was still in her hands, but the horde quickly approached and Ganon only marched further away. She had to think fast or her foggy mind would be her downfall.

Wisdom observed her surroundings. The wall she hit was a large pillar in actuality that teetered mercilessly on its cracked base, ready to topple over with a single touch. And it just so happened that if it did fall, it would land directly in Ganon's direction.

The princess sprang up, newly acquired adrenaline pouring through her veins and making her forget her past pains. Holding the sword in both hands, she shot at Ganon's right arm, which held Courage captive in an almost leisurely grip. In a split second, she turned and shot a beam at the pillar behind her. The wizard cried out in pain, dropping the comparatively tiny boy in reaction. Wisdom bolted, scooping him up, before running to the right. Ganon barely had time to turn around before the pillar came crumbling down.

Wisdom shielded her damsel from the debris, causing her jacket and sleeves to tear and her toughened skin to break. She looked down at Courage. Despite how downwards his head was angled into her arms, she could still see his deep green eyes through his thick brunette fringe and eyelashes. He was semi-conscious and definitely needed to be looked over for broken bones and a concussion.

She smiled down at him, "Are you okay, Link?"

He nuzzled closer to her shoulder, "Looks like I saved you from Ganon again, Princess," he slurred, "C'mon, gimme a-"

"Link, you're bleeding from your head and half-delirious. If you think I'm kissing you, you've got another thing coming."

"Is that a no, then?"

Wisdom rolled her eyes, playing along with their usual charade. She looked back to Ganon, crushed under the weight of the pillar. It was large but Ganon was a magical being - so much stronger than any magician or wizard in Hyrule. It would only incapacitate him for so long. Besides, small bits of crumbling debris still fell from above. It wouldn't be long before Wisdom and Courage would gain more injuries.

Hoisting Courage up semi-bridal style, Wisdom limped her way over to the Jar of Evil, where the two triangular relics hovered tethered to their pillars beside it, darkened in the unnatural glow of torch light.

"Link, the two Triforce pieces! If we take both, we can finally stop Ganon for good! We have our chance!" Wisdom beamed, reaching out for the Triforce of her namesake with her free hand and wrapping the chain around her wrist. "Grab the Triforce of Power, okay?"

The boy went to reach for it, grabbing the iron chain meekly. Even just by touching the chain, a surge of energy washed over him. His consciousness returned almost brand-new. He felt powerful, ready to take on the world!

"I got this, Zelda," he affirmed as he stood a little more on his own. His cheeky grin seemed to illuminate the room. "Leave this to me-"

An earth-shattering rumble threw the dungeon into chaos. Courage and Wisdom fumbled to find their footing, monsters crumbled under the force of the earthquake. Ganon was still motionless under the pillar. The two almost thought he had caused this as revenge or he came back to his senses earlier than expected - but no, it was the entire structure of the room caving in from the lack of support!

A roaring whistle sounded above the young heroes' heads. A large stone slab, surely several metres wide and long, fell atop them.

"Zelda!"

And she was shoved to the floor. Wisdom braved herself for the impact, but the ground only shook beneath her. She could barely see under all of the dust and rubble, though a metallic glint caught her eye. Courage's shield! She hid under it, almost cowering, kicking herself for her cowardice and selfishness. But if she couldn't see, she couldn't run, and she didn't have the slightest clue were Courage was in this mess. She yelled for him through the shaking, but between her ringing ears and the monstrous roar the Underworld gave, she couldn't hear a single response - if there was any at all.

The dust eventually settled. Wisdom's back was bruised and ached from the impacts against the metal shield, but she knew that she wasn't majorly damaged thanks to it. She sat up, the falling debris coating her blonde hair an ashy grey. Wisdom had to rub her eyes from the muck that had built up.

"Link?" she called. "Link?!" she shouted a little louder upon a lack of response. Looking around through her blurry, watery vision, she could see no trace of the boy. But as the dust finally settled and she walked around a large piece of stone on a sprained ankle, she spotted something; a torn piece of green cloth hanging from a jagged piece of metal.

She gasped, calling for her hero once more. The cry resonated through the room, echoing off the cluttered interior. A barely audible whimper was heard a few metres away. Wisdom ran towards the pained noise.

The same stone ceiling, several metres wide and long, was decorated with a crimson mural. Several small chunks of pillar, metal, and glass had rested awkwardly on top of a barely moving mass, struggling, twitching, crying out in pain.

The heroine shoved the debris off of him, uncaring for how it cut into her flesh. Familiar soft brown hair seemed almost black in the dust and grime that settled in it. Through the ash-smeared stains, his skin was pale and bruised. His long, green hat was gone and the clothing on his lower half had considerably darkened from the pooling blood around his crushed legs.

Wisdom cried out in horror. With barely enough strength, she lifted the edge of the slab up just enough for Courage to thrust his injured legs out from under. Her fingers remained a glowing white for several seconds after. She couldn't waste any more time before another avalanche of stone would come falling, so she picked up the poor boy and bolted from the Underworld.

As the two emerged from the exit, Courage's broken legs bled heavily across the warm grass. The forest was welcoming and bright, and Hyrule seemed beautiful in the sunset. Why? Why would such a beautiful scene welcome such a tragedy?

Courage slipped in Wisdom's grip due to the blood staining almost the entirety of her upper body. She couldn't hold onto him any longer and placed him upon the soft ground.

"Link?" she shakily asked.

He coughed, blood running from the corner of his mouth. "Y-yeah?"

"You're okay. You're going to be okay." It seemed more like a reassurance for herself than him. She burst into tears, resting her forehead against his for comfort. Courage raised his least bloody hand and began to run it through Wisdom's thick blonde tresses.

"It's fine. 'S what I get for being an idiot..." His voice was weak and trembled. It was unnatural for it not to take on his usual peppy, comedic tone.

Her tremors began to match his, "Shut it!" she burst out. "Don't say things like that! This isn't how these stories are meant to go!" She whimpered, "It's not how it's meant to go..."

Courage could only muster the strength to shush her. He could barely keep his eyes open.

Wisdom raised her head from Courage's, wiping away tear tracks and snot with her sleeve. Truly unbecoming of a princess. She looked at him pitifully. "Link... I..." She was on the verge of sobbing, but prevented herself and pressed a gentle, chaste kiss to the boy's lips. "I'm so sorry..."

Courage's eyes seemed to sparkle. "Wow... Finally... Uninterrupted..."

"Don't joke around at a time like this!"

Courage moved his hand to rest on the girl's shoulder, his thumb caressing the crook of her neck. She melted into his touch. "Well excuse me, Princess," he whispered, lacking his usual exaggeration and tapering off into a loving voice, "Was hoping to stop you crying."

She sniffled, "I don't know whether to laugh or sob."

"Laughing would be preferable."

A quiet moment held in the air when Wisdom moved to rake her hands through Courage's fluffy fringe. He closed his eyes, though panic struck through Wisdom at a moment's notice.

"Link?!"

"No need t' yell..." he mumbled.

A frown struck her face, her lip quivering, "You're scaring me."

"Will another kiss make you fell better?" Courage chuckled. His breathing was beginning to slow, yet somehow hasten at the same time. A cold sweat took hold of Courage.

Wisdom could almost laugh at his idea of comedic timing if it weren't for his current state. Nonetheless, she smiled a wiped her eyes, "Yes... Yes, it would."

She wiped Courage's lips of red, laughing to herself as she noticed a small, hopeful grin rise to Courage's features. She pressed her lips against his, as tender and soft as humanly possible.

Courage's hand fell into the crook of Wisdom's arm, limp.

I know I asked for this but what the fuck, Russ.

JENXNWNSNS THAT SHIT HURTED BUT THIS IS ALSO AMAZING, MY POOR BABIES.

[psychterminal]

Marillion - Grendel. 1983. live

l y r i x :::

Midnight suns bid moors farewell, retreats from charging dusk Mountain echo, curfews bell, signal ending tasks They place their faith in oaken doors, cower in candlelight The panic seeps through bloodstained floors as Grendel stalks the night

Earth rim walker seeks his meals Prepare the funeral pyres The shaper's songs no longer heal the fear Within their eyes, their eyes

Wooden figures, pagan gods, stare blindly cross the sea Appeal for help from ocean fogs, for saviour born of dreams They know their lives are forfeit now, priestly head they bow in shame They cannot face the trembling crowd that flinch in Grendel's name

Earth rim walker seeks his meals Prepare the funeral pyres The shaper's songs no longer heal the fear Within their eyes, their eyes

As Grendel leaves his mossy home beneath the stagnant mere Along the forest path he roams to Hrothgar's hall so clear He knows that victory is secured, his charm will testify His claws will drip with mortal blood as moonbeams haunt the sky

Earth rim walker seeks his meals Prepare the funeral pyres The shaper's songs no longer heal the fear Within their eyes, their eyes

Silken membranes span his path, fingerprints in dew Denizens of twilight lands humbly beg him through Mother nature's bastard child shunned by leaf and stream An alien in an alien land seeks solace within dreams The shaper's lies his poisoned tongue malign with mocking harp Beguiling queen her innocence offends his icy heart

Hounds freeze in silence bewitched by the reptile spell Sulphurous essence pervades round the grassy dell Heorot awaits him like lamb to the butcher's knife Stellular heavens ignore even children's cries

Screams are his music, lightning his guide Raping the darkness, death by his side

Chants rise in terror, free round the oaken beams Flickering firelight portraying the grisly scene Warriors advance, prepare for the nightmare foe Futile their sacrifice as even their hearts must know

Heroes delusion, with feet in the grave Lurker at the threshold, he cares not for the brave, he cares not for the brave

So you thought that your bolts and your locks would keep me out You should have known better after all this time You're gonna pay in blood for all your vicious slander With your ugly pale skins and your putrid blue eyes Why should I feel pity when you kill your own and feel no shame God's on my side, sure as hell, I'm gonna take no blame I'm gonna take no blame, I'm gonna take no blame

So you say you believe in all of Mother Nature's laws You lust for gold with your sharpened knives Oh when your hoards are gathered and your enemies left to rot You pray with your bloodstained hands at the feet of your pagan gods

Then you try to place the killer's blade in my hand You call for justice and distort the truth Well I've had enough of all your pretty pretty speeches Receive your punishment, Expose your throats to my righteous claws And let the blood flow, and let the blood flow, flow, flow, flow.

[apocryphalshakespeare]

This is the performance script for The Apocryphal Shakespeare Company's presentation of Locrine. I found the meter and the rhetoric a lot of fun; but I was happy to hear from both actors and audience members that they enjoyed the action in the play -- especially in the IV and V acts. # Shakespeare # theater

THE

LAMENTABLE TRAGEDY OF LOCRINE

The eldest son

of King Brutus,

discoursing the wars of the Britains and Huns, with their discomfiture, the Britain's victory with their accidents, and the death of Albanact.

Play attributed in part to William Shakespeare.

2,028 lines X 3.5 seconds = 118.3 min. = 1 hour 58 min.

+ Four 5 min. intermissions

= 2 hour 18 min. Run Time.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE.

ATE, the Goddess of Revenge.                        101

BRUTUS, King of Britain.                                   142 LOCRINE, his son.                                              324 CAMBER, his son.                                                 31 ALBANACT, his son.                                           145 ASSARACHUS, brother to Brutus.                     38 CORINEIUS, brother to Brutus.                         166 THRASIMACHUS, son to Corineius.               137

GWENDOLINE, daughter to Corineius,           120

                                     married to Locrine.

MADAN, son of Gwendoline and Locrine.          4

DEBON, an old Officer.                                         18

HUMBER, King of the Scythians.                      272 ESTRILD, Humber's Wife.                            ��    103

HUBBA, their son.                                                 54

SABREN, daughter to Estrild and Locrine.       62

SEGAR, a Scythian Commander.                      14

STRUMBO, clown.                                              209 TROMPART, clown.                                             30 OLIVER, clown.                                                     10 WILLIAM, clown.                                                      3

DOROTHY, Strumbo’s first wife.                         20

MARGERY, Strumbo’s second wife.                    9

Narrator/ understudy, pageboy, soldiers, etc.

ACT I.        PROLOGUE.

Enter Ate with thunder and lightning all

in black, with a burning torch in one hand, and a bloody sword in the other hand. Presently enter a Lion running after a Bear, or any other beast; then enter an Archer who must kill the Lion in a dumb show.

Ate narrates the action.

ATE. In paenam sectatur et umbra.[1] A mighty lion, ruler of the woods, Of wondrous strength and great proportion, With hideous noise scaring the trembling trees, With yelling clamors shaking all the earth, Traversed the groves, and chased the wandering beasts. Long did he range amid the shady trees, And drave the silly beasts before his face, When suddenly from out a thorny bush, A dreadful archer with his bow ybent, Wounded the lion with a dismal shaft. So he him stroke that it drew forth the blood, And filled his furious heart with fretting ire; But all in vain he threatened teeth and paws, And sparkleth fire from forth his flaming eyes, For the sharp shaft gave him a mortal wound. So valiant Brute, the terror of the world, Whose only looks did scare his enemies, The Archer death brought to his latest end. Oh what may long abide above this ground, In state of bliss and healthful happiness.

[Exit.]

ACT I. SCENE I.

Enter Brutus carried in a chair,

Locrine, Camber, Albanact, Corineius, Gwendoline, Assarachus, Debon, Thrasimachus.

BRUTUS. Most loyal Lords and faithful followers, That have with me, unworthy General, Passed the greedy gulf of Ocean, Leaving the confines of fair Italy, Behold, your Brutus draweth nigh his end, And I must leave you, though against my will. My sinews shrunk, my numbed senses fail, A chilling cold possesseth all my bones; Black ugly death, with visage pale and wan, Presents himself before my dazzled eyes, And with his dart prepared is to strike. These arms my Lords, these never daunted arms, That oft have quelled the courage of my foes, And eke dismayed my neighbors’ arrogance, Now yield to death, o'erlaid with crooked age, Devoid of strength and of their proper force, E’en as the lusty cedar worn with years, That far abroad her dainty odor throws, ‘Mongst all the daughters of proud Lebanon. This heart, my Lords, this ne’er appalled heart, That was a terror to the bordering lands, A doleful scourge unto my neighbor Kings, Now by the weapons of impartial death, Is clove asunder and bereft of life, As when the sacred oak with thunderbolts, Sent from the fiery circuit of the heavens, Sliding along the air's celestial vaults, Is rent and cloven to the very roots. In vain, therefore, I strangle with this foe; Then welcome death, since God will have it so.

ASSARACHUS. Alas, my Lord, we sorrow at your case, And grieve to see your person vexed thus; But what so ere the fates determined have, It lieth not in us to disannul, And he that would annihilate his mind, Soaring with Icarus too near the sun, May catch a fall with young Bellerophon. For when the fatal sisters have decreed To separate us from this earthly mold, No mortal force can countermand their minds: Then, worthy Lord, since there's no way but one, Cease your laments, and leave your grievous moan.

CORINEIUS. Your highness knows how many victories, How many trophies I erected have Triumphantly in every place we came: The Grecian Monarch, warlike Pandrassus, And all the crew of the Molossians; Goffarius, the arm strong King of Gauls, And all the borders of great Aquitaine, Have felt the force of our victorious arms, And to their cost beheld our chivalry. Where’re Aurora, handmaid of the Sun, Where’re the Sun, bright guardant of the day, Where’re the joyful day with cheerful light, Where’re the light illuminates the world, The Trojan's glory flies with golden wings, Wings that do soar beyond fell ennui's flight. The fame of Brutus and his followers Pierceth the skies, and with the skies the throne Of mighty Jove, Commander of the world. Then worthy Brutus, leave these sad laments; Comfort yourself with this your great renown, And fear not death though he seem terrible.

BRUTUS. Nay, Corineius, you mistake my mind Construing wrong the cause of my complaints. I feared not to yield myself to death! God knows it was the least of all my thoughts; A greater care torments my very bones, And makes me tremble at the thought of it, And in you, Lordings, doth the substance lie.

THRASIMACHUS Most noble Lord, if ought your loyal peers Accomplish may, to ease your lingering grief, I, in the name of all, protest to you, That we will boldly enterprise the same, Were it to enter to black Tartarus, Where triple Cerberus with his venomous throat, Scarreth the ghosts with high resounding noise. We'll either rent the bowels of the earth, Searching the entrails of the brutish earth, Or, with his Ixion's over-daring son, Be bound in chains of ever-during steel.

BRUTUS. Then harken to your sovereign's latest words, In which I will unto you all unfold Our royal mind and resolute intent:— When golden Hebe, daughter to great Jove, Covered my manly cheeks with youthful down, Th' unhappy slaughter of my luckless sire, Drove me and old Assarachus, mine eame,[2] As exiles from the bounds of Italy: So that perforce we were constrained to fly To Graecia's Monarch noble Pandrassus. There I alone did undertake your cause, There I restored your antique liberty, Though Graecia frowned, and all Mollossia stormed, Though brave Antigonus, with martial band, In pitched field encountered me and mine, Though Pandrassus and his contributories, With all the route of their confederates, Sought to deface our glorious memory And wipe the name of Trojans from the earth, Him did I captivate with this mine arm, And by compulsion forced him to agree To certain articles we did there propound. From Graecia through the boisterous Hellespont, We came unto the fields of Lestrigon, Whereas our brother Corineius was, Since when we passed the Sicilian gulf, And so transfretting the Illyrian sea, Arrived on the coasts of Aquitaine, Where with an army of his barbarous Gauls Goffarius and his brother Gathelus Encountering with our host, sustained the foil. And for your sakes my Turnus there I lost, Turnus that slew six hundred men at arms All in an hour, with his sharp battle-axe. From thence upon the stronds of Albion To Corus haven happily we came, And quelled the giants, come of Albion's race, With Gogmagog son to Samotheus, The cursed Captain of that damned crew. And in that Isle at length I placed you. Now let me see if my laborious toils, If all my care, if all my grievous wounds, If all my diligence were well employed.

CORINEIUS. When first I followed thee & thine, brave king, I hazarded my life and dearest blood, To purchase favor at your princely hands, And for the same in dangerous attempts In sundry conflicts and in diverse broils, I showed the courage of my manly mind. For this I combated with Gathelus, The brother to Goffarius of Gaul; For this I fought with furious Gogmagog, A savage captain of a savage crew; And for these deeds brave Cornwall I received, A grateful gift given by a gracious King: And for this gift, this life and dearest blood, Will Corineius spend for Brute’s good.

DEBON. And what my friend, brave prince, hath vowed to you, The same will Debon do unto his end.

BRUTUS. Then, loyal peers, since you are all agreed, And resolute to follow Brute’s hosts, Favor my sons, favor these orphans, Lords, And shield them from the dangers of their foes. Locrine, the column of my family, And only pillar of my weakened age, Locrine, draw near, draw near unto thy sire, And take thy latest blessings at his hands: And for thou art the eldest of my sons, Be thou a captain to thy brethren, And imitate thy aged father's steps, Which will conduct thee to true honor's gate; For if thou follow sacred virtue's lore, Thou shalt be crowned with a laurel branch, And wear a wreath of sempiternal fame, Sorted amongst the glorious happy ones.

LOCRINE. If Locrine do not follow your advice, And bear himself in all things like a prince That seeks to amplify the great renown Left unto him for an inheritance By those that were his noble ancestors, Let me be flung into the ocean, And swallowed in the bowels of the earth, Or let the ruddy lightning of great Jove Descend upon this -- my devoted head.

BRUTUS.

[Taking Gwendoline by the hand.]

But for I see you all to be in doubt, Who shall be matched with our royal son, Locrine, receive this present at my hand, A gift more rich than are the wealthy mines Found in the bowels of America. Thou shalt be spoused to fair Gwendoline; Love her, and take her, for she is thine own, If so thy uncle and herself do please.

CORINEIUS. And herein how your highness honors me It cannot now be in my speech expressed; For careful parents glory not so much At their own honor and promotion, As for to see the issue of their blood Seated in honor and prosperity.

GWENDOLINE. And far be it from any maiden's thoughts To contradict her aged father's will. Therefore, since he to whom I must obey Hath given me now unto your royal self, I will not stand aloof from off the lure, Like crafty dames that most of all deny That which they most desire to possess.

BRUTUS.

[Turning to Locrine. Locrine kneeling.]

Then now, my son, thy part is on the stage, For thou must bear the person of a King.

[Puts the Crown on his head.]

Locrine, stand up, and wear the regal Crown, And think upon the state of Majesty, That thou with honor well mayest wear the crown. And if thou tendrest these my latest words, As thou requirest my soul to be at rest, As thou desirest thine own security, Cherish and love thy new betrothed wife.

LOCRINE. No longer let me well enjoy the crown, Than I do honor peerless Gwendoline.

BRUTUS. Camber.

CAMBER.                        My Lord.

BRUTUS.                                                 The glory of mine age, And darling of thy mother Imogen, Take thou the South for thy dominion. From thee there shall proceed a royal race, That shall maintain the honor of this land, And sway the regal scepter with their hands.

[Turning to Albanact.]

And Albanact, thy father's only joy, Youngest in years, but not youngest in mind, A perfect pattern of all chivalry, Take thou the North for thy dominion, A country full of hills and ragged rocks, Replenished with fierce untamed beasts, As correspondent to thy martial thoughts.

[To all three sons.]

Live long, my sons, with endless happiness,

And bear firm concordance amongst yourselves. Obey the counsels of these fathers grave, That you may better bear out violence. —

[He gasps.]

But suddenly, through weakness of my age, And the defect of youthful puissance, My malady increaseth more and more, And cruel death hasteneth his quickened pace, To dispossess me of my earthly shape. Mine eyes wax dim, o’ercast with clouds of age, The pangs of death compass my crazed bones; Thus to you all my blessings I bequeath, And with my blessings, this my fleeting soul My glass is run, and all my miseries Do end with life; death closeth up mine eyes, My soul in haste flies to the Elysian fields.

[He dieth.]

LOCRINE. Accursed stars, damned and accursed stars, To abbreviate my noble father's life! Hard-hearted gods, and too envious fates, Thus to cut off my father's fatal thread! Brutus, that was a glory to us all, Brutus, that was a terror to his foes, Alas, too soon, by Demagorgon's knife, The martial Brutus is bereft of life!

CORINEIUS. No sad complaints may move just Aeacus, No dreadful threats can fear judge Rhadamanth. Wert thou as strong as mighty Hercules, That tamed the huge monsters of the world, Playedst thou as sweet, on the sweet sounding lute, As did the spouse of fair Eurydice, That did enchant the waters with his noise, And made stones, birds, and beasts, to lead a dance, Constrained the hilly trees to follow him, Thou couldst not move the judge of Erebus, Nor move compassion in grim Pluto's heart; For fatal Mors expecteth all the world, And every man must tread the way of death. Brave Tantalus, the valiant Pelops' sire, Guest to the gods, suffered untimely death, And old Tithonus, husband to the morn, And eke grim Minos, whom just Jupiter Deigned to admit unto his sacrifice. The thundering trumpets of blood-thirsty Mars, The fearful rage of fell Tisiphone, The boisterous waves of humid Ocean, Are instruments and tools of dismal death. Then, novel cousin, cease to mourn his chance, Whose age & years were signs that he should die. It resteth now that we inter his bones, That was a terror to his enemies. Take up the course, and, princes, hold him dead, Who while he lived, upheld the Trojan state. Sound drums and trumpets; march to Troynovant, There to provide our chieftain's funeral.

[Exeunt.]

ACT 1. SCENE 2.

The house of Strumbo.

[Enter Strumbo above in a gown, with ink and paper in his hand, saying: —]

STRUMBO.

Either the four elements, the seven planets, and all the particular stars of the pole Antastick, are adversative against me, or else I was begotten and born in the wane of the Moon, when everything (as Lactantius in his fourth book of Consultations doth say) goeth assward.

[Pointing to individual audience members.]

Aye, masters, aye, you may laugh, but I must weep; you may joy, but I must sorrow; shedding salt tears from the watery fountains of my most dainty fair eyes, along my comely and smooth cheeks, in as great plenty as the water runneth from the bucking-tubs, or red wine out of the hogs heads: for trust me, gentlemen and my very good friends, and so forth, the little god, nay the desperate god Cuprit, with one of his vengible bird-bolts, hath shot me unto the heel: so not only, but also, oh fine phrase, I burn, I burn, and I burn-a, in love, in love, and in love-a. Ah, Strumbo, what hast thou seen? not Dina with the Ass Tom? Yea, with these eyes thou hast seen her, and therefore pull them out, for they will work thy bale. Ah, Strumbo, hast thou heard? not the voice of the Nightingale, but a voice sweeter than hers. Yea, with these ears hast thou heard it, and therefore cut them off, for they have caused thy sorrow. Nay, Strumbo, kill thyself, drown thyself, hang thyself, starve thyself.

Oh, but then I shall leave my sweet heart. Oh, my heart! Now, pate, for thy master! I will write an eloquent love-pistle to her, and then she hearing the grand verbosity of my scripture, will love me presently.

[He writes a little and then reads.]

My pen is naught; gentlemen, lend me a knife.

[He asks several audience members to borrow their knives.]

I think the more haste the worst speed.

[He writes again, and after reads.]

So it is, mistress Dorothy, and the sole essence of my soul, that the little sparkles of affection kindled in me towards your sweet self hath now increased to a great flame, and will -- ere it be long -- consume my poor heart, except you, with the pleasant water of your secret fountain, quench the furious heat of the same. Alas, I am a gentleman of good fame and name, majestical, in parrel comely, in gate portly. Let not therefore your gentle heart be so hard as to despise a proper tall, young man of a handsome life, and by despising him, not only, but also to kill him. Thus expecting time and tide, I bid you farewell. Your servant, Signior Strumbo.

Oh wit! Oh pate! O memory! O hand! O ink! O paper!

[He kisses the letter.]

Well, now I will send it away. Trompart, Trompart! what a villain is this? Why, sirrah, come when your master calls you. Trompart!

[Trompart, entering, saith:]

TROMPART. Anon, sir.

STRUMBO.

Thou knowest, my pretty boy, what a good master I have

been to thee ever since I took thee into my service.

TROMPART. Aye, sir.

STRUMBO.

And how I have cherished thee always, as if you had been the fruit of my loins, flesh of my flesh, and bone of my bone.

TROMPART. Aye, sir.

STRUMBO.

Then show thyself herein a trusty servant, and carry this letter to mistress Dorothy, and tell her—

[Speaking in his ear. Exit Trompart.]

Nay, masters, you shall see a marriage by and by. But here she comes. Now must I frame my amorous passions.

[Enter Dorothy and Trompart.]

DOROTHY.

Signior Strumbo, well met. I received your letters by your man here, who told me a pitiful story of your anguish, and so understanding your passions were so great, I came hither speedily.

[Strumbo motions for Trompart to depart.

He does so reluctantly.]

STRUMBO.

Oh my sweet and pigsney, the fecundity of my ingenie is not so great, that may declare unto you the sorrowful sobs and broken sleeps, that I suffered for your sake; and therefore I desire you to receive me into your familiarity.

     For your love doth lie,      As near and as nigh      Unto my heart within,      As mine eye to my nose,      My leg unto my hose,      And my flesh unto my skin.

DOROTHY.

Truly, Master Strumbo, you speak too learnedly for me to understand the drift of your mind, and therefore tell your tale in plain terms, and leave off your dark riddles.

STRUMBO.

Alas, mistress Dorothy, this is my luck, that when I most would, I cannot be understood; so that my great learning is an inconvenience unto me. But to speak in plain terms, I love you, mistress Dorothy, if you like to accept me into your familiarity.

DOROTHY. If this be all, I am content.

STRUMBO.

Sayest thou so, sweet wench; let me lick thy toes.

[He kisses her feet obstreperously.

Dorothy looks at the audience anxiously

and slowly disengages from Strumbo.

She then runs away.]

Farewell, mistress.

[Turning to the people.]

If any of you be in love, provide ye a capcase full of new coined words, and then shall you soon have the succado de labres, and something else.

[Exeunt.]

ACT I. SCENE 3. An apartment in the palace.

[Enter Locrine, Gwendoline, Camber, Albanact, Corineius, Assarachus, Debon, Thrasimachus.]

LOCRINE. Uncle, and princes of brave Britany, Since that our noble father is entombed, As best beseemed so brave a prince as he, If so you please, this day my love and I, Within the temple of Concordia, Will solemnize our royal marriage.

THRASIMACHUS. Right noble Lord, your subjects every one, Must needs obey your highness at command; Especially in such a cause as this, That much concerns your highness great content.

LOCRINE. Then frolic, lordings, to fair Concord's walls, Where we will pass the day in knightly sports, The night in dancing and in figured masks, And offer to God Risus all our sports

[Exeunt.]

1st Intermission.

ACT II. PROLOGUE.

[Enter Ate as before.

After a little lightning and thundering, let there come forth this show: —

Perseus and Andromeda, hand in hand, and Cepheus also, with swords and targets.

Then let there come out of another door, Phineus, all black in armor, with Aethiopians after him, driving in Perseus, and having taken away Andromeda, let them depart.   Ate, again, narrates the dumb show.]

ATE. Regit omnia numen.[3] When Perseus married fair Andromeda, The only daughter of king Cepheus, He thought he had established well his Crown, And that his kingdom should for aie[4] endure. But, lo, proud Phineus with a band of men, Contrived of sun-burnt Ethiopians, By force of arms the bride he took from him, And turned their joy into a flood of tears. So fares it with young Locrine and his love, He thinks this marriage tendeth to his weal; But this foul day, this foul accursed day, Is the beginning of his miseries. Behold where Humber and his Scythians Approacheth nigh with all his warlike train. I need not, I, the sequel shall declare, What tragic chances fall out in this war.

[Exeunt.]

ACT II. SCENE I. [A beach upon the Northernmost Scottish shore in Caithness.]

[Enter Humber, Hubba, Estrild, Segar,

and their soldiers.]

HUMBER. At length the snail doth climb the highest tops, Ascending up the stately castle walls; At length the water with continual drops, Doth penetrate the hardest marble stone; At length we are arrived in Albion. Nor could the barbarous Dacian sovereign, Nor yet the ruler of brave Belgia, Stay us from cutting over to this Isle, Whereas I hear a troop of Phrygians Under the conduct of Postumius' son, Have pitched up lordly pavilions, And hope to prosper in this lovely Isle. But I will frustrate all their foolish hope, And teach them that the Scythian Emperor Leads fortune tied in a chain of gold, Constraining her to yield unto his will, And grace him with their regal diadem, Which I will have mauger their treble hosts, And all the power their petty kings can make.

HUBBA. If she that rules fair Rhamnis' golden gate Grant us the honor of the victory, As hitherto she always favored us, Right noble father, we will rule the land, Enthronized in seats of Topaz stones, That Locrine and his brethren all may know, None must be king but Humber and his son.

HUMBER. Courage, my son, fortune shall favor us, And yield to us the coronet of bay, That decked none but noble conquerors. But what saith Estrild to these regions? How liketh she the temperature thereof? Are they not pleasant in her gracious eyes?

ESTRILD. The plains, my Lord, garnished with Flora's wealth, And overspread with party colored flowers, Do yield sweet contentation to my mind. The airy hills enclosed with shady groves, The groves replenished with sweet chirping birds, The birds resounding heavenly melody, Are equal to the groves of Thessaly, Where Phoebus with the learned Ladies nine, Delight themselves with music harmony, And from the moisture of the mountain tops, The silent springs dance down with murmuring streams, And water all the ground with crystal waves. The gentle blasts of Eurus, modest wind, Moving the pittering leaves of Silvan's woods, Do equal it with Tempe's[5] paradise; And thus consorted all to one effect, Do make me think these are the happy Isles, Most fortunate, if Humber may them win.

HUBBA. Madam, where resolution leads the way, And courage follows with emboldened pace, Fortune can never use her tyranny; For valiantness is like unto a rock That standeth in the waves of Ocean, Which though the billows beat on every side, And Boreas fell with his tempestuous storms Bloweth upon it with a hideous clamor, Yet it remaineth still unmovable.

HUMBER. Kingly resolved, thou glory of thy sire. But, worthy Segar, what uncouth novelties Bringst thou unto our royal majesty?

SEGAR. My Lord, the youngest of all Brutus' sons, Stout Albanact, with millions of men, Approacheth nigh, and meaneth, ere the morn, To try your force by dint of fatal sword.

HUMBER. Tut, let him come with millions of hosts; He shall find entertainment good enough. Yea, fit for those that are our enemies: For we'll receive them at the lance's points, And massacre their bodies with our blades: Yea, though they were in number infinite, More than the mighty Babylonian queen, Semiramis the ruler of the West, Brought gainst the Emperor of the Scythians; Yet would we not start back one foot from them: That they might know we are invincible.

HUBBA. Now, by great Jove, the supreme king of heaven, And the immortal gods that live therein, When as the morning shows his cheerful face, And Lucifer, mounted upon his steed, Brings in the chariot of the golden sun, I'll meet young Albanact in open field, And crack my lance upon his burgonet, To try the valor of his boyish strength. There will I show such ruthful spectacles And cause so great effusion of blood, That all his boys shall wonder at my strength: As when the warlike queen of Amazon, Penthisilea, armed with her lance, Girt with a corslet of bright shining steel, Couped up the faintheart Grecians in the camp.

HUMBER. Spoke like a warlike knight, my noble son; Nay, like a prince that seeks his father's joy. Therefore, tomorrow, ere fair Titan shine, And bashful Eos, messenger of light, Expels the liquid sleep from out men's eyes, Thou shalt conduct the right wing of the host; The left wing shall be under Segar's charge, The rearward shall be under me myself. And lovely Estrild, fair and gracious, If fortune favor me in mine attempts, Thou shalt be Queen of lovely Albion! Come, let us in and muster up our train, And furnish up our lusty soldiers, That they may be a bulwark to our state, And bring our wished joys to perfect end.

[Exeunt.]

ACT II. SCENE II.  Strumbo’s cobbler shop.

[Enter Strumbo, Dorothy, Trompart,

cobbling shoes and singing.]

TROMPART. We Cobblers lead a merry life:

ALL. Singing Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

STRUMBO. Void of all ennui and strife:

ALL. Singing Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

TROMPART.

Fair thee well:

OTHERS.

Fair thee well:

ALL.

Fair thee well, my fairy fay;

For I’m off to Leicestershire,

For to see my heart’s desire,

Singing, Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

DOROTHY. Our ease is great, our labor small:

ALL. Singing Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

STRUMBO. And yet our gains be much withall:

ALL. Singing Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

DOROTHY.

Fair thee well:

OTHERS.

Fair thee well:

ALL.

Fair thee well, my fairy fay;

For I’m off to Leicestershire,

For to see my heart’s desire,

Singing, Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

STRUMBO. With this art so fine and fair:

ALL. Singing Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

TROMPART. No occupation may compare:

ALL. Singing Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

STRUMBO.

Fair thee well:

OTHERS.

Fair thee well:

ALL.

Fair thee well, my fairy fay;

For I’m off to Leicestershire,

For to see my heart’s desire,

Singing, Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

DOROTHY. For merry pastime and joyful glee:

ALL. Singing Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

STRUMBO. Most happy men we Cobblers be:

ALL. Singing Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

TROMPART.

Fair thee well:

OTHERS.

Fair thee well:

ALL.

Fair thee well, my fairy fay;

For I’m off to Leicestershire,

For to see my heart’s desire,

Singing, Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

TROMPART. The can stands full of nappy ale:

ALL. Singing Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

STRUMBO. In our shop still withouten fail:

ALL. Singing Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

DOROTHY.

Fair thee well:

OTHERS.

Fair thee well:

ALL.

Fair thee well, my fairy fay;

For I’m off to Leicestershire,

For to see my heart’s desire,

Singing, Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

DOROTHY. This is our meat, this is our food:

ALL. Singing Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

TROMPART. This brings us to a merry mood:

ALL. Singing Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

STRUMBO.

Fair thee well:

OTHERS.

Fair thee well:

ALL.

Fair thee well, my fairy fay;

For I’m off to Leicestershire,

For to see my heart’s desire,

Singing, Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

STRUMBO. This makes us work for company:

ALL. Singing Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

DOROTHY. To pull the tankards cheerfully:

ALL. Singing Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

STRUMBO.

Fair thee well:

OTHERS.

Fair thee well:

ALL.

Fair thee well, my fairy fay;

For I’m off to Leicestershire,

For to see my heart’s desire,

Singing, Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

TROMPART. Drink to thy husband, Dorothy,

ALL. Singing Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

DOROTHY. Why, then, my Strumbo, there's to thee:

ALL. Singing Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

TROMPART.

Fair thee well:

OTHERS.

Fair thee well:

ALL.

Fair thee well, my fairy fay;

For I’m off to Leicestershire,

For to see my heart’s desire,

Singing, Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

STRUMBO. Drink thou the rest, Trompart, amain:

ALL. Singing Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

DOROTHY. When that is gone, we'll fill't again:

ALL. Singing Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

TROMPART.

Fair thee well:

OTHERS.

Fair thee well:

ALL.

Fair thee well, my fairy fay;

For I’m off to Leicestershire,

For to see my heart’s desire,

Singing, Polly-wolly-doodle all the day!

[Enter Captain Debon.]

DEBON.                                [Aside.] The poorest state is farthest from annoy. How merrily he sitteth on his stool! But when he sees that needs he must be pressed, He'll turn his note and sing another tune.

[To Strumbo.]

Ho, by your leave, master Cobbler.

STRUMBO.

You are welcome, gentleman. What will you? any old shoes or buskins? or will you have your shoes clouted? I will do them as well as any Cobbler in Caithness whatsoever.

DEBON.

[Showing him press money.]

O master Cobbler, you are far deceived in me, for do

you see this? I come not to buy any shoes, but to buy yourself; come, sir, you must be a soldier in the king's cause.

STRUMBO.

Why, but hear you, sir; has your king any commission to take any man against his will. I promise you, I can scant believe it; or did he give you commission?

DEBON. O sir, ye need not care for that; I need no commission. Hold, here: I command you, in the name of our king Albanact, to appear tomorrow in the town-house of Caithness.

STRUMBO.

King Nactaball! I cry God mercy! what have we to do with him, or he with us? But you, sir master capon-tail, draw your pasteboard, or else I promise you, I'll give you a canvasado with a bastinado over your shoulders, and teach you to come hither with your implements.

DEBON.

I pray thee, good fellow, be content; I do the king's command.

STRUMBO. Put me out of your book, then.

DEBON. I may not.

[Snatching up the staff.]

STRUMBO.

No! Well, come, sir, will your stomach serve you? by gog's blue hood and halidom, I will have a bout with you.

[They fight. Enter Thrasimachus.]

THRASIMACHUS. How now, what noise, what sudden clamor's this? How now, my captain and the cobbler so hard at it? Sirs, what is your quarrel?

DEBON. Nothing, sir, but that he will not take press money.

THRASIMACHUS. Here, good fellow; take it at my command, Unless you mean to be stretched.

STRUMBO.

Truly, master gentleman, I lack no money; if you please, I will resign it to one of these poor fellows.

[Pointing out members of the audience.]

THRASIMACHUS. No such matter, Look you be at the common house tomorrow.

[Exit Thrasimachus and Debon.]

STRUMBO.

O, wife, I have spun a fair thread! If I had been quiet, I had not been pressed, and therefore well may I lament. But come, sirrah, shut up, for we must to the wars.

[Exeunt.]

ACT II. SCENE III. The camp of Albanact.

[Enter Albanact, Debon, Thrasimachus,

and the Lords.]

ALBANACT. Brave cavalries, princes of Albany, Whose trenchant blades with our deceased sire, Passing the frontiers of brave Graecia, Were bathed in our enemies' lukewarm blood, Now is the time to manifest your wills, Your haughty minds and resolutions. Now opportunity is offered To try your courage and your earnest zeal, Which you always protest to Albanact; For at this time, yea, at this present time, Stout fugitives, come from the Scythians’' bounds, Have pestered every place with mutinies. But trust me, Lordings, I will never cease To persecute the rascal runagates, Till all the rivers, stained with their blood, Shall fully show their fatal overthrow.

DEBON. So shall your highness merit great renown, And imitate your aged father's steps.

ALBANACT. But tell me, cousin, camest thou through the plains? And sawest thou there the fain heart fugitives Mustering their weather-beaten soldiers? What order keep they in their marshalling?

THRASIMACHUS. After we passed the groves of Caledone, Where murmuring rivers slide with silent streams, We did behold the straggling Scythians’ camp, Replete with men, stored with munition; There might we see the valiant minded knights Fetching careers along the spacious plains. Humber and Hubba armed in azure blue, Mounted upon their coursers white as snow, Went to behold the pleasant flowering fields; Hector and Troilus, Priam’s lovely sons, Chasing the Grecians over Simois, Were not to be compared to these two knights.

ALBANACT. Well hast thou painted out in eloquence The portraiture of Humber and his son, As fortunate as was Policrates; Yet should they not escape our conquering swords, Or boast of ought but of our clemency.

[Enter Strumbo and Trompart, crying often; Wild fire and pitch, wild fire and pitch, &c.]

THRASIMACHUS. What, sirs! what mean you by these clamors made, These outcries raised in our stately court?

STRUMBO. Wild fire and pitch, wild fire and pitch.

THRASIMACHUS. Villains, I say, tell us the cause hereof?

TROMPART. Wild fire and pitch, Wild fire and pitch!

THRASIMACHUS. Tell me, you villains, why you make this noise, Or with my lance I will prick your bowels out.

ALBANACT. Where are your houses, where's your dwelling place?

STRUMBO.  

Place? Ha, ha, ha! laugh a month and a day at him. Place! I cry God mercy: why, do you think that such poor honest men as we be, hold our habitacles in kings' palaces? Ha, ha, ha! But because you seem to be an abominable chieftain, I will tell you our state.

     From the top to the toe,      From the head to the shoe;      From the beginning to the ending,      From the building to the burning.

This honest fellow and I had our mansion cottage in the suburbs of this city, hard by the temple of Mercury. And by the common soldiers of the Shitens, the Scythians— what do you call them? —with all the suburbs were burnt to the ground, and the ashes are left there, for the country wives to wash bucks withall.

     And that which grieves me most,           My loving wife,           (O cruel strife!)      The wicked flames did roast.      And therefore, captain crust,      We will continually cry,      Except you seek a remedy      Our houses to reedify      Which now are burnt to dust.

STRUMBO & TROMPART BOTH CRY. Wild fire and pitch, wild fire and pitch.

ALBANACT. Well, we must remedy these outrages, And throw revenge upon their hateful heads. And you, good fellows, for your houses burnt, We will remunerate you store of gold, And build your houses by our palace gate.

STRUMBO.

Gate! O petty treason to my person! nowhere else but by your backside? Gate! Oh how I am vexed in my collar! Gate! I cry God mercy! Do you hear, master king? If you mean to gratify such poor men as we be, you must build our houses by the Tavern.

ALBANACT. It shall be done, sir.

STRUMBO.

Near the Tavern, aye! by lady, sir, it was spoken like a good fellow. Do you hear, sir? when our house is builded, if you do chance to pass or repass that way, we will bestow a quart of the best wine upon you.

[Exit Strumbo and Trompart.]

ALBANACT. It grieves me, lordings, that my subjects' goods Should thus be spoiled by the Scythians, Who, as you see, with light-foot foragers Depopulate the places where they come. But cursed Humber thou shalt rue the day That ere thou camest unto Caithnesia.

[Exeunt.]

ACT II. SCENE IV. The camp of Humber.

[Enter Humber, Hubba, Segar,

and their soldiers.]

HUMBER. Hubba, go take a coronet of our horse, As many lancers, and light armed knights As may suffice for such an enterprise, And place them in the grove of Caledon. With these, when as the skirmish doth increase, Retire thou from the shelters of the wood, And set upon the weakened Troyans' backs, For policy joined with chivalry Can never be put back from victory.

[Exit Hubba.

Albanact enter with the clowns.]

ALBANACT. Thou base born Hun, how durst thou be so bold As once to menace warlike Albanact, The great commander of these regions? But thou shalt buy thy rashness with thy death, And rue too late thy over bold attempts; For with this sword, this instrument of death, That hath been drenched in my foe-men's blood, I'll separate thy body from thy head, And set that coward blood of thine abroach.

STRUMBO. Nay, with this staff, great Strumbo's instrument, I'll crack thy cockscomb, paltry Scythian.

HUMBER.             [To Albanact.] Nor wreak I of thy threat, thou princox boy,

[To Strumbo.]

Nor do I fear thy foolish insolence; And but thou better use thy bragging blade, Then thou doest rule thy overflowing tongue, Superbious Britain, thou shalt know too soon The force of Humber and his Scythians.

[Let them fight.

Humber and his soldiers run off.]

STRUMBO. O horrible, terrible.

[Exit.]

ACT II. SCENE V. Another part of the field of battle.

[Sound the alarm.

Enter Humber and his soldiers.]

HUMBER. How bravely this young Britain, Albanact, Darteth abroad the thunderbolts of war, Beating down millions with his furious mood, And in his glory triumphs over all, Moving the massy quadrants of the ground; Heaps hills on hills, to scale the starry sky, As when Briareus, armed with an hundred hands, Flung forth an hundred mountains at great Jove, And when the monstrous giant Monichus Hurled mount Olympus at great Mars his target, And shot huge cedars at Minerva's shield. How doth he overlook with haughty front My fleeting hosts, and lifts his lofty face Against us all that now do fear his force, Like as we see the wrathful sea from far, In a great mountain heaped, with hideous noise, With thousand billows beat against the ships, And toss them in the waves like tennis balls.

[Sound the alarm.]

Aye me, I fear my Hubba is surprised.

[Sound again. Enter Albanact.]

ALBANACT. Follow me, soldiers, follow Albanact; Pursue the Scythians flying through the field: Let none of them escape with victory; That they may know the Britains' force is more Than all the power of the trembling Huns.

THRASIMACHUS. Forward, brave soldiers, forward! keep the chase. He that takes captive Humber or his son Shall be rewarded with a crown of gold.

[Sound alarm, they fight.

Humber falls back.

Hubba sneaks up from behind

and kills Debon.

 Strumbo falls down and plays dead. Albanact runs offstage, and afterwards enters wounded.]

ALBANACT. Injurious fortune, hast thou crossed me thus? Thus, in the morning of my victories, Thus, in the prime of my felicity, To cut me off by such hard overthrow! Hadst thou no time thy rancor to declare, But in the spring of all my dignities? Hadst thou no place to spit thy venom out, But on the person of young Albanact? I, that erewhile did scare mine enemies, And drove them almost to a shameful flight, I, that erewhile full lion-like did fare Amongst the dangers of the thick thronged pikes, Must now depart most lamentably slain By Humber's treacheries and fortune's spites. Cursed be her charms, damned be her cursed charms That doth delude the wayward hearts of men, Of men that trust unto her fickle wheel, Which never leaveth turning upside down. O gods, O heavens, allot me but the place Where I may find her hateful mansion! I'll pass the Alps to watery Meroe, Where fiery Phoebus in his chariot, The wheels whereof are decked with Emeralds, Casts such a heat, yea such a scorching heat, And spoileth Flora of her checkered grass; I'll overrun the mountain Caucasus, Where fell Chimaera in her triple shape Rolleth hot flames from out her monstrous paunch, Searing the beasts with issue of her gorge; I'll pass the frozen Zone where icy flakes, Stopping the passage of the fleeting ships, Do lie like mountains in the congealed sea: Where if I find that hateful house of hers, I'll pull the fickle wheel from out her hands, And tie herself in everlasting bands. But all in vain I breath these threatenings; The day is lost, the Huns are conquerors, Debon is slain, my men are done to death, The currents swift swim violently with blood And last, O that this last night so long last, Myself with wounds past all recovery Must leave my crown for Humber to possess.

[Strumbo cautiously sits up.]

STRUMBO.

Lord have mercy upon us, masters, I think this is a holy

day; every man lies sleeping in the fields, but, God

knows, full sore against their wills.

[Enter Thrasimachus at a run.]

THRASIMACHUS. Fly, noble Albanact, and save thyself. The Scythians follow with great celerity, And there's no way but flight, or speedy death; Fly, noble Albanact, and save thyself.

[Exit Thrasimachus. Sound the alarm.]

ALBANACT. Nay, let them fly that fear to die the death, That tremble at the name of fatal Mors. Ne’er shall proud Humber boast or brag himself That he hath put young Albanact to flight; And least he should triumph at my decay, This sword shall reave his master of his life, That oft hath saved his master's doubtful life: But, oh, my brethren, if you care for me, Revenge my death upon his traitorous head.

     Et vos queis domus est nigrantis regia ditis,      Qui regitis rigido stigios moderamine lucos:      Nox coeci regina poli, furialis Erinnis,      Diique deaeque omnes, Albanum tollite regem,      Tollite flumineis undis rigidaque palude.      Nune me fata vocant, loc condam pectore ferrum.

[Thrusts himself through with his sword.

 Enter Trompart.  He sees Albanact dead.]

TROMPART. O, what hath he done? his nose bleeds.

[Trompart sees Strumbo

laying on the ground.]

But, oh, I smell a fox: Look where my master lies.

[Trompart runs to him distraught. He hugs him and fells him breathing.]

                                                                Master, master.

STRUMBO. Let me alone, I tell thee, for I am dead.

TROMPART. Yet one-word, good master.

STRUMBO. I will not speak, for I am dead, I tell thee.

TROMPART.        [Trompart laments.]

And is my master dead?

O sticks and stones, brickbats and bones,

And is my master dead?

By devils and gods and green pollywogs

O, is my master dead?

O you cockatrices and you bablatrices,

That in the woods here dwell:

You briers and brambles, you cook's shops and                                                                            shambles,

Come howl and yowl, and yell.

With howling & screeking, with wailing and weeping, Come you near to lament,

O Colliers of Croyden, and rustics of Royden,

And fishers out of Kent;

For Strumbo the cobbler, the fine merry cobbler

Of famous Caithness town:

At this same hour, at this very hour,

Lies dead upon the ground.

[Trompart jumps on Strumbo

and shakes him soundly.]

O master, thieves, thieves, thieves.

STRUMBO.

Where be they? cox me tunny, bobekin! let me be rising. Be gone; we shall be robbed by and by.

[Exeunt.]

ACT II. SCENE VI. The camp of the Huns.

[Enter Humber, Hubba, Segar, Estrild,

and their soldiers.]

HUMBER. Thus from the dreadful shocks of furious Mars, Thundering alarms, and Rhamnusias' drum, We are retired with joyful victory. The slaughtered Troyans, squeltring in their blood, Infect the air with their carcasses, And are a prey for every ravenous bird.

ESTRILD. So perish they that are our enemies! So perish they that love not Humber's weal, And mighty Jove, commander of the world, Protect my love from all false treacheries.

HUMBER. Thanks, lovely Estrild, solace to my soul. But, valiant Hubba, for thy chivalry, Declared against the men of Albany, Lo, here a flowering garland wreathed of bay, As a reward for thy forward mind.

[Set it on his head.]

HUBBA. This unexpected honor, noble sire, Will prick my courage unto braver deeds, And cause me to attempt such hard exploits, That all the world shall sound of Hubba's name.

HUMBER. And now, brave soldiers, for this good success, Carouse whole cups of Amazonian wine, Sweeter than nectar or Ambrosia, And cast away the clods of cursed care, With goblets crowned with Semeleius' gifts. Now let us march to Abis' silver streams, That clearly glide along the Champaign fields, And moist the grassy meads with humid drops. Sound drums & trumpets, sound up cheerfully, Sith we return with joy and victory.

[Exeunt.]

2nd Intermission.

ACT III. PROLOGUE.

[Enter Ate as before. The dumb show:

A Crocodile sitting on a riverbank, and a little Snake stinging it. Then let both of them fall into the water.]

ATE. Scelera in authorem cadunt.[6] High on a bank by Nilus' boistrous streams, Fearfully sat the Egyptian Crocodile, Dreadfully grinding in her sharp long teeth The broken bowels of a silly fish. His back was armed against the dint of spear, With shields of brass that shined like burnished gold; And as he stretched forth his cruel paws, A subtle Adder, creeping closely near, Thrusting his forked sting into his claws, Privily sped his poison through his bones; Which made him swell, that there his bowels burst, That did so much in his own greatness trust. So Humber, having conquered Albanact, Doth yield his glory unto Locrine's sword. Mark what ensues and you may easily see, That all our life is but a Tragedy.

[Exeunt.]

ACT III. SCENE I. Troynovant. An apartment in the Royal Palace.

[Enter Locrine, Gwendoline, Corineius, Assarachus, Thrasimachus, Camber.]

LOCRINE. And is this true? Is Albanactus slain? Hath cursed Humber, with his straggling host, With that his army made of mongrel curs, Brought our redoubted brother to his end? O that I had the Thracian Orpheus' harp, For to awake out of infernal shade Those ugly devils of black Erebus, That might torment the damned traitor's soul! O that I had Amphion's instrument, To quicken with his vital notes and tunes The flinty joints of every stony rock, By which the Scythians might be punished! For, by the lightening of almighty Jove, The Hun shall die, had he ten thousand lives: And would to God he had ten thousand lives, That I might with the arm-strong Hercules Crop off so vile an Hydra's hissing heads! But say me, cousin, for I long to hear, How Albanact came by untimely death.

THRASIMACHUS. After the traitorous host of Scythians Entered the field with martial equipage, Young Albanact, impatient of delay, Led forth his army ‘gainst the straggling mates, Whose multitude did daunt our soldiers' minds. Yet nothing could dismay the forward prince, But with a courage most heroical, Like to a lion ‘mongst a flock of lambs, Made havoc of the faintheart fugitives, Hewing a passage through them with his sword. Yea, we had almost given them the repulse, When suddenly, from out the silent wood, Hubba, with twenty thousand soldiers, Cowardly came upon our weakened backs, And murthered all with fatal massacre. Amongst the which old Debon, martial knight, With many wounds was brought unto the death, And Albanact, oppressed with multitude, Whilst valiantly he felled his enemies, Yielded his life and honor to the dust. He being dead, the soldiers fled amain, And I alone escaped them by flight, To bring you tidings of these accidents.

LOCRINE. Not aged Priam, King of stately Troy, Grand Emperor of barbarous Asia, When he beheld his noble-minded sons Slain traitorously by all the Myrmidons, Lamented more than I for Albanact.

GWENDOLINE. Not Hecuba, the queen of Ilium When she beheld the town of Pergamus, Her palace, burnt with all devouring flames, Her fifty sons and daughters fresh of hue Murthered by wicked Pyrrhus' bloody sword, Shed such sad tears as I for Albanact.

CAMBER. The grief of Niobe, fair Athens’ queen, For her seven sons, magnanimous in field, For her seven daughters, fairer than the fairest, Is not to be compared with my laments.

CORINEIUS. In vain you sorrow for the slaughtered prince, In vain you sorrow for his overthrow; He loves not most that doth lament the most, But he that seeks to ‘venge the injury. Think you to quell the enemy's warlike train

With childish sobs and womanish laments?

Unsheathe your swords, unsheathe your conquering                                                                                   swords, And seek revenge, the comfort for this sore.

In Cornwall, where I hold my regiment, E’en just ten thousand valiant men at arms Hath Corineius ready at command: All these and more, if need shall more require, Hath Corineius ready at command.

CAMBER. And in the fields of martial Cambria, Close by the boisterous Iscan's silver streams, Where light-foot fairies skip from bank to bank, Full twenty thousand brave courageous knights, Well exercised in feats of chivalry, In manly manner most invincible, Young Camber hath with gold and victual: All these and more, if need shall more require, I offer up to venge my brother's death.

LOCRINE. Thanks, loving uncle, and good brother, too; For this revenge, for this sweet word, revenge Must ease and cease my wrongful injuries. And by the sword of bloody Mars, I swear, Ne'er shall sweet quiet enter this my front, Till I be venged on his traitorous head That slew my noble brother Albanact. Sound drums and trumpets; muster up the camp. For we will straight march to Albania.[7]

[Exeunt.]

ACT III. SCENE II. The banks of the river, afterward the Humber.

[Enter Humber, Estrild, Hubba, 

and the soldiers.]

HUMBER. Thus are we come, victorious conquerors, Unto the flowing current's silver streams, Which, in memorial of our victory, Shall be agnominated by our name, And talked of by our posterity: For sure I hope before the golden sun Posteth his horses to fair Thetis' plains, To see the water turned into blood, And change his bluish hue to rueful red, By reason of the fatal massacre Which shall be made upon the virent plains.

[Enter the ghost of Albanact.]

ALBANACT’S GHOST. See how the traitor doth presage his harm, See how he glories at his own decay, See how he triumphs at his proper loss; O fortune wild, unstable, fickle, frail!

HUMBER. Me thinks I see both armies in the field: The broken lances climb the crystal skies; Some headless lie, some breathless on the ground, And every place is strewed with carcasses. Behold! the grass hath lost his pleasant green, The sweetest sight that ever might be seen.

ALBANACT’S GHOST. Aye, traitorous Humber, thou shalt find it so. Yea, to thy cost thou shalt the same behold, With anguish, sorrow, and with sad laments. The grassy plains, that now do please thine eyes, Shall ere the night be colored all with blood; The shady groves which now enclose thy camp And yield sweet savors to thy damned corps, Shall ere the night be figured all with blood: The profound stream, that passeth by thy tents, And with his moisture serveth all thy camp, Shall ere the night converted be to blood,— Yea, with the blood of those thy straggling boys; For now revenge shall ease my lingering grief, And now revenge shall glut my longing soul.

HUBBA. Let come what will, I mean to bear it out, And either live with glorious victory, Or die with fame renowned for chivalry. He is not worthy of the honeycomb, That shuns the hives because the bees have stings: That likes me best that is not got with ease, Which thousand dangers do accompany; For nothing can dismay our regal mind, Which aims at nothing but a golden crown, The only upshot of mine enterprises. Were they enchanted in grim Pluto's court, And kept for treasure ‘mongst his hellish crew, I’d either quell the triple Cerberus And all the army of his hateful hags, Or roll the stone with wretched Sisyphus.

HUMBER. Right martial be thy thoughts my noble son, And all thy words savor of chivalry. —

[Enter Segar.]

But warlike Segar, what strange accidents Makes you to leave the warding of the camp.

SEGAR. To arms, my Lord, to honorable arms! Take helm and targe in hand; the Britains come, With greater multitude than erst the Greeks Brought to the ports of Phrygian Tenedos.

HUMBER. But what saith Segar to these accidents? What counsel gives he in extremities?

SEGAR. Why this, my Lord, experience teacheth us: That resolution’s the sole help at need. And this, my Lord, our honor teacheth us: That we be bold in every enterprise. Then since there is no way but fight or die, Be resolute, my Lord, for victory.

HUMBER. And resolute, Segar, I mean to be. Perhaps some blissful star will favor us, And comfort bring to our perplexed state. Come, let us in and fortify our camp, So to withstand their strong invasion.

[Exeunt.]

ACT III. SCENE III. Before the hut of a peasant.

[Enter Strumbo, Trompart, Oliver,

and his son William following them.]

STRUMBO.

Nay, neighbor Oliver, if you be so hot, come prepare yourself. You shall find two as stout fellows of us, as any in all the North.

OLIVER.

No, by my worth, neighbor Strumbo. Ich zee dat you are a man of small zideration, dat will zeek to injure your old vriends, one of your vamiliar guests; and derefore, zeeing your pinion is to deal withouten reazon, ich and my zon William will take dat course, dat shall be fardest vrom reason. How zay you, will you have my daughter or no?

STRUMBO.

A very hard question, neighbor, but I will solve it as I may. What reason have you to demand it of me?

WILLIAM.

Marry, sir, what reason had you, when my sister was in

the barn, to tumble her upon the hay, and to fish her belly.

STRUMBO. Mass, thou sayest true. Well, but would you have me marry her therefore? No, I scorn her! and you! and you! Aye, I scorn you all!

OLIVER. You will not have her then?

STRUMBO. No, as I am a true gentleman.

WILLIAM. Then will we school you, ere you and we part hence.

[They fight.

Enter Margery who snatches the staff out of her brother's hand, as he is fighting.]

STRUMBO. Aye, you come in pudding time, or else I had dressed them.

MARGERY.

You, master saucebox, lobcock, cockscomb, you slopsauce, lickfingers, will you not hear?

STRUMBO. Who speak you to? me?

MARGERY.

Aye, sir, to you, John lackhonesty, little wit. Is it you that will have none of me?

STRUMBO.

No, by my troth, mistress nicebice. How fine you can nickname me. I think you were brought up in the university of Bridewell; you have your rhetoric so ready at your tongue's end, as if you were never well warned when you were young.

MARGERY.

Why then, goodman cods-head, if you will have none of me, farewell.

STRUMBO. If you be so plain, mistress drigle dragle, fare you well.

MARGERY.

Nay, master Strumbo, ere you go from hence, we must

have more words. You will have none of me?

[They both fight.]

STRUMBO. Oh my head, my head! leave, leave, leave! I will, I will, I will!

MARGERY. Upon that condition I let thee alone.

OLIVER.

How now, master Strumbo? hath my daughter taught you a new lesson?

STRUMBO.

Aye, but hear you, goodman Oliver; it will not be for my ease to have my head broken every day; therefore, remedy this and we shall agree.

OLIVER.

Well, zon, well—for you are my zon now—all shall be remedied. Daughter, be friends with him.

[Shake hands.

Exeunt Oliver, William, and Margery.]

STRUMBO.

You are a sweet nut! The devil crack you.

[To the audience.]

Masters, I think it be my luck; my first wife was a loving quiet wench, but this, I think, would weary the devil. I would she might be burnt as my other wife was. If not, I must run to the halter for help. O codpiece, thou hast done thy master! this it is to be meddling with warm plackets.

[Exeunt.]

ACT III. SCENE IV. The camp of Locrine.

[Enter Locrine, Camber, Corineius, Thrasimachus, Assarachus.]

LOCRINE. Now am I guarded with an host of men, Whose haughty courage is invincible: Now am I hemmed with troops of soldiers, Such as might force Bellona to retire, And make her tremble at their puissance: Now sit I like the mighty god of war, When, armed with his coat of adamant, Mounted his chariot drawn with mighty bulls, He drove the Argives over Xanthus' streams. Now, cursed Humber, doth thy end draw nigh, Down goes the glory of thy victories, And all thy fame, and all thy high renown Shall in a moment yield to Locrine's sword. Thy bragging banners crossed with argent streams, The ornaments of thy pavilions, Shall be capitulated with this hand, And thou thyself, at Albanactus' tomb, Shalt offered be in satisfaction Of all the wrongs thou didst him when he lived.— But canst thou tell me, brave Thrasimachus, How far we are distant from Humber's camp?

THRASIMACHUS. My Lord, within yon foul accursed grove, That bears the tokens of our overthrow, This Humber hath intrenched his damned camp. March on, my Lord, because I long to see The treacherous Scythians squeltring in their gore.

LOCRINE. Sweet Fortune, favor Locrine with a smile, That I may venge my noble brother's death; And in the midst of stately Troynovant, I'll build a temple to thy deity Of perfect marble and of jacinth stones, That it shall pass the highest Pyramids, Which with their tops surmount the firmament.

CAMBER. The arm-strong offspring of the doubled knight, Stout Hercules, Alcmena’s mighty son, That tamed the monsters of the threefold world, And rid the oppressed from the tyrant's yokes, Did never show such valiantness in fight, As I will now for noble Albanact.

CORINEIUS. Full fourscore years hath Corineius lived, Sometime in war, sometime in quiet peace, And yet I feel myself to be as strong As erst I was in summer of mine age, Able to toss this great unwieldy club Which hath been painted with my foemen's brains; And with this club I'll break the strong array Of Humber and his straggling soldiers, Or lose my life amongst the thickest press, And die with honor in my latest days. Yet ere I die they all shall understand What force lies in stout Corineius' hand.

THRASIMACHUS. And if Thrasimachus detract the fight, Either for weakness or for cowardice, Let him not boast that Brutus was his eame, Or that brave Corineius was his sire.

LOCRINE. Then courage, soldiers, first for your safety, Next for your peace, last for your victory.

[Exeunt.]

ACT III. SCENE V. The field of battle.

[Sound the alarm. Enter Hubba and Segar

at one door, and Corineius at the other.]

CORINEIUS. Art thou that Humber, prince of fugitives, That by thy treason slewst young Albanact?

HUBBA. I am his son that slew young Albanact, And if thou take not heed, proud Phrygian, I'll send thy soul unto the Stygian Lake, There to complain of Humber's injuries.

CORINEIUS. You triumph, sir, before the victory, For Corineius is not so soon slain. But, cursed Scythians, you shall rue the day That ere you came into Albania.

[They fight.

Corineius strikes them both down

with his club.]

So perish they that envy Britain’s wealth, So let them die with endless infamy; And he that seeks his sovereign's overthrow, Would this my club might aggravate his woe.

[Exeunt.]

ACT III. SCENE VI. Another part of the field.

[Enter Humber.]

HUMBER. Where may I find some desert wilderness, Where I may breathe out curses as I would, And scare the earth with my condemning voice; Where every echoes repercussion May help me to bewail mine overthrow, And aide me in my sorrowful laments? Where may I find some hollow uncouth rock, Where I may damn, condemn, and ban my fill The heavens, the hell, the earth, the air, the fire, And utter curses to the concave sky, Which may infect the airy regions, And light upon the Britain Locrine's head? You ugly sprites that in Cocytus mourn, And gnash your teeth with dolorous laments: You fearful dogs that in black Lethe howl, And scare the ghosts with your wide open throats: You ugly ghosts that, flying from these dogs, Do plunge yourselves in fiery Phlegethon: Come, all of you, and with your shrieking notes Accompany the Britains' conquering host. Come, fierce Erinyes, horrible with snakes; Come, ugly Furies, armed with your whips; You threefold judges of black Tartarus, And all the army of you hellish fiends, With new found torments rack proud Locrine's bones! O gods, and stars! damned be the gods & stars That did not drown me in fair Thetis' plains! Curst be the sea, that with outrageous waves, With surging billows did not rive my ships Against the rocks of high Ceraunia,[8] Or swallow me into her watery gulf! Would God we had arrived upon the shore Where Polyphemus and the Cyclops dwell, Or where the bloody Anthropophagie With greedy jaws devours the wandering wights!

[Enter the ghost of Albanact.]

But why comes Albanact's fell, bloody, ghost, To bring a corsive to our miseries? Is't not enough to suffer shameful flight, But we must be tormented now with ghosts, With apparitions fearful to behold?

ALBANACT’S GHOST. Revenge! revenge for blood!

HUMBER. So naught will satisfy your wandering ghost But dire revenge, nothing but Humber's fall, Because he conquered you in Albany. Now, by my soul, Humber would be condemned To Tantal's hunger or Ixion's wheel, Or to the vulture of Prometheus, Rather than that this murther were undone. When as I die I'll drag thy cursed ghost Through all the rivers of foul Erebus, Through burning sulphur of the Limbo-lake, To allay the burning fury of that heat That rageth in mine everlasting soul.

ALBANACT’S GHOST. Vindicta, vindicta.

[Exeunt.]

3rd Intermission.

ACT IV. PROLOGUE.

[Enter Ate, as before, to narrate

 the dumbshow.

Then let there follow Omphale,

daughter to the king of Lydia,

with a club in her hand, and a lion's skin on her back, Hercules following with a distaff. Then let Omphale turnabout, and taking off her slipper, strike Hercules on the head; then let them depart.]

Quem non Argolici mandota severa Tyranni, Non potuit Juno vincere, vicit amor.[9]

Stout Hercules, the mirror of the world, Son to Alcmena and great Jupiter, After so many conquests won in field, After so many monsters quelled by force, Yielded his valiant heart to Omphale, A fearful woman void of manly strength. She took the club, and wore the lion's skin; He took the wheel, and maidenly gan spin. So martial Locrine, cheered with victory, Falleth in love with Humber's concubine, And so forgetteth peerless Gwendoline. His uncle Corineius storms at this, And forceth Locrine for his grace to sue. Lo here the sum, the process doth ensue.

[Exit.]

ACT IV. SCENE I. The camp of Locrine.

[Enter Locrine, Camber, Corineius, Assarachus, Thrasimachus,

and the soldiers.]

LOCRINE. Thus from the fury of Bellona's broils, With sound of drum and trumpets' melody, The Britain king returns triumphantly. The Scythians slain with great occasion Do equalize the grass in multitude, And with their blood have stained the streaming brooks, Offering their bodies and their dearest blood As sacrifice to Albanactus' ghost. Now, cursed Humber, hast thou paid thy due, For thy deceits and crafty treacheries, For all thy guiles and damned stratagems, With loss of life, and ever-during shame. Where are thy horses trapped with burnished gold, Thy trampling coursers ruled with foaming bits? Where are thy soldiers, strong and numberless, Thy valiant captains and thy noble peers? E’en as the country clowns with sharpest scythes Do mow the withered grass from off the earth, Or as the ploughman with his piercing share Renteth the bowels of the fertile fields, And rippeth up the roots with razors keen: So Locrine with his mighty curtle-axe Hath cropped off the heads of all thy Huns; So Locrine's peers have daunted all thy peers, And drove thine host unto confusion, That thou mayest suffer penance for thy fault, And die for murdering valiant Albanact.

CORINEIUS. And thus, yea thus, shall all the rest be served That seek to enter Albion ‘gainst our wills. If the brave nation of the Troglodytes, If all the coal-black Ethiopians, If all the forces of the Amazons, If all the hosts of the Barbarian lands, Should dare to enter this our little world, Soon should they rue their overbold attempts, That after us our progeny may say, There lie the beasts that sought t’ usurp our land.

LOCRINE. Aye, they are beasts that seek t’ usurp our land, And like to brutish beasts they shall be served. For mighty Jove, the supreme king of heaven, That guides the concourse of the Meteors, And rules the motion of the azure sky, Fights always for the Britains' safety.—

[Estrild screams offstage.]

But stay! methinks I hear some shrieking noise, That draweth near to our pavilion.

[Enter two soldiers leading in Estrild.]

ESTRILD. What prince soe’re, adorned with golden crown, Doth sway the regal scepter in his hand, And thinks no chance can ever throw him down, Or that his state shall everlasting stand: Let him behold poor Estrild in this plight, The perfect platform of a troubled wight. Once was I guarded with manorial bands, Compassed with princes of the noble blood; Now am I fallen into my foemen's hands, And with my death must pacify their mood. O life, the harbor of calamities! O death, the haven of all miseries! I could compare my sorrows to thy woe, Thou wretched queen of wretched Pergamus, But that thou viewdst thy enemies' overthrow. Nigh to the rock of high Caphareus,[10] Thou sawest their death, and then departed thence; I must abide the victor's insolence. The gods that pitied thy continual grief Transformed thy corpse, and with thy corpse thy care; Poor Estrild lives despairing of relief, For friends in trouble are but few and rare. What, said I few? Aye! few or none at all, For cruel death made havoc of them all. Thrice happy they whose fortune was so good, To end their lives, and with their lives their woes! Thrice hapless I, whom fortune so withstood, That cruelly she gave me to my foes! Oh, soldiers, is there any misery, To be compared to fortune's treachery.

LOCRINE. Camber, this same should be the Scythian queen.

CAMBER. So may we judge by her lamenting words.

LOCRINE. So fair a dame mine eyes did never see; With floods of woe she seems overwhelmed to be.

CAMBER. O Locrine, hath she not cause to be sad?

LOCRINE.            [At one side of the stage.]

If she have cause to weep for Humber's death, And shed salt tears here for her overthrow, Locrine may well bewail his proper grief, Locrine may move his own peculiar woe. He, being conquered, died a speedy death, And felt not long his lamentable smart: I, being conqueror, live a lingering life, And feel the force of Cupid's sudden stroke. I gave him cause to die a speedy death, He left me cause to wish a speedy death. Oh that sweet face painted with nature's dye, Those rose-all cheeks mixed with a snowy white, That decent neck surpassing ivory, Those comely breasts which Venus well might spite, Are like to snares which wily fowlers wrought, Wherein my yielding heart is prisoner caught. The golden tresses of her dainty hair, Which shine like rubies glittering with the sun, Have so entrapped poor Locrine's lovesick heart, That from the same no way it can be won. How true is that which oft I heard declared, One dram of joy, must have a pound of care.

ESTRILD. Hard is their fall who, from a golden crown, Are cast into a sea of wretchedness.

LOCRINE. Hard is their thrall who by blind Cupid's frown Are wrapped in waves of endless carefulness.

ESTRILD. Oh kingdom, object to all miseries.

LOCRINE. Oh love, extremest of extremities.

[Locrine sits in his chair.]

FIRST SOLDIER. My lord, in ransacking the Scythian tents, I found this Lady, and to manifest That earnest zeal I bear unto your grace, I here present her to your majesty.

SECOND SOLDIER. He lies, my Lord; I found the Lady first, And here present her to your majesty.

FIRST SOLDIER. Presumptuous villain, wilt thou take my prize?

SECOND SOLDIER. Nay, rather thou deprivest me of my right.

FIRST SOLDIER. Resign thy title, caitiff, unto me, Or with my sword I'll pierce thy coward's loins.

SECOND SOLDIER. Soft words, good sir, tis not enough to speak; A barking dog doth seldom strangers bite.

LOCRINE. Unreverent villains, strive you in our sight? Take them hence, Jailor, to the dungeon; There let them lie and try their quarrel out.

[1st and 2nd Soldier exit guarded.]

But thou, fair princess, be no whit dismayed, But rather joy that Locrine favors thee.

ESTRILD. How can he favor me that slew my spouse?

LOCRINE. The chance of war, my love, took him from thee.

ESTRILD. But Locrine was the causer of his death.

LOCRINE. He was an enemy to Locrine's state, And slew my noble brother Albanact.

ESTRILD. But he was linked to me in marriage bond, And would you have me love his slaughterer?

LOCRINE. Better to love, than not to live at all.

ESTRILD. Better to die renowned for chastity, Than live with shame and endless infamy. What would the common sort report of me, If I forget my love, and cleave to thee?

LOCRINE. Kings need not fear the vulgars’ sentences.

ESTRILD. But Ladies must regard their honest name.

LOCRINE. Is it a shame to live in marriage bonds?

ESTRILD. No, but to be a strumpet to a king.

LOCRINE. If thou wilt yield to Locrine's burning love, Thou shalt be queen of fair Albania.

ESTRILD. But Gwendoline will undermine my state.

LOCRINE. Upon mine honor, thou shalt have no harm.

ESTRILD. Then lo, brave Locrine, Estrild yields to thee; And by the gods, whom thou doest invocate, By the dread ghost of thy deceased sire, By thy right hand and by thy burning love, Take pity on poor Estrild's wretched thrall.

CORINEIUS. Hath Locrine then forgot his Gwendoline, That thus he courts the Scythian’s paramour? What, are Brutus’ words so soon forgot? Are my deserts so quickly out of mind? Have I been faithful to thy sire now dead, Have I protected thee from Humber's hands, And doest thou ‘quite me with ungratitude? Is this the guerdon for my grievous wounds, Is this the honor for my labors past? Now, by my sword, Locrine, I swear to thee, This injury of thine shall be repaid.

LOCRINE. Uncle, scorn you your royal sovereign, As if we stood for ciphers in the court? Upbraid you me with those your benefits? Why, ‘twas a subject's duty so to do. What you have done for our deceased sire, We know, and all know you have your reward.

CORINEIUS. Avaunt, proud princox; bravest thou me withall? Assure thyself, though thou be Emperor, Thou ne'er shalt carry this unpunished.

CAMBER. Pardon my brother, noble Corineius;

Pardon this once and it shall be amended.

ASSARACHUS. Cousin, remember Brutus' latest words, How he desired you to cherish them; Let not this fault so much incense your mind, Which is not yet passed all remedy.

CORINEIUS. Then, Locrine, lo, I reconcile myself; But as thou lovest thy life, so love thy wife. But if thou violate those promises, Blood and revenge shall light upon thy head. Come, let us back to stately Troynovant, Where all these matters shall be settled.

[Exit Corineius and his followers.]

LOCRINE.            [To himself.]

Millions of devils wait upon thy soul! Legions of spirits vex thy impious ghost! Ten thousand torments rack thy cursed bones! Let everything that hath the use of breath Be instruments and workers of thy death!

[Exeunt.]

ACT IV. SCENE II. A forest.

[Enter Humber alone,

his hair hanging over his shoulders, his arms all bloody, and a dart in one hand.]

HUMBER. What basilisk was hatched in this place, Where everything consumed is to naught? What fearful Fury haunts these cursed groves, Where not a root is left for Humber's meat? Hath fell Alecto, with envenomed blasts, Breathed forth poison in these tender plains? Hath triple Cerberus, with contagious foam, Sowed aconitum ‘mongst these withered herbs? Hath dreadful Fames with her charming rods Brought barrenness on every fruitful tree? What, not a root, no fruit, no beast, no bird, To nourish Humber in this wilderness? What would you more, you fiends of Erebus? My very entrails burn for want of drink, My bowels cry, Humber, give us some meat. But wretched Humber can give you no meat; These foul accursed groves afford no meat, This fruitless soil, this ground, brings forth no meat. The gods, hard hearted gods, yield me no meat. Then how can Humber give you any meat?

[Humber collapses to the ground and

faints from hunger.]

[Enter Strumbo with a pitchfork, and a scotch-cap, conversing with the audience.]

STRUMBO.

How do you, masters, how do you? how have you scaped hanging this long time? Yfaith, I have scaped many a scouring this year; but I thank God I have past them all with a good couragio! Couragio, and my wife, and I, are in great love and charity now!  I thank my manhood and my strength. For I will tell you, masters: upon a certain day at night I came home, to say the very truth, with my stomach full of wine, and ran up into the chamber where my wife soberly sat rocking my little baby, leaning her back against the bed, singing lullaby. Now, when she saw me come with my nose foremost, thinking that I had been drunk, as I was indeed, she snatched up a faggot stick in her hand, and came furiously marching towards me with a big face, as though she would have beaten me at a bit; thundering out these words unto me: “Thou drunken knave, where hast thou been so long? I shall teach thee how to beknight me another time”; and so she began to play knaves' trumps. Now, although I trembled, fearing she would set her ten commandments in my face, I ran within her, and taking her lustily by the middle, I carried her valiantly to the bed, and flinging her upon it, flung myself upon her; and there I delighted her so with the sport I made, that ever after she would call me sweet husband, and so banished brawling forever. And to see the good will of the wench! she bought with her portion a yard of land, and by that I am now become one of the richest men in our parish. Well, masters, what's a clock? Is it now breakfast time? You shall see what meat I have here for my breakfast.

[Strumbo sits down and pulls out his vittles.]

[Humber slowly regains consciousness

and sits up.]

HUMBER. Was ever land so fruitless as this land? Was ever grove so graceless as this grove? Was ever soil so barren as this soil? Oh no: the land where hungry Fames dwelt May no wise equalize this cursed land; No, even the climate of the torrid zone Brings forth more fruit than this accursed grove. Ne'er came sweet Ceres, ne'er came Venus here; Triptolemus,[11] the god of husbandmen, Ne'er sowed his seed in this foul wilderness. The hunger-bitten dogs of Acheron, Chased from the banks of fiery Phlegethon, Have set their footsteps in this damned ground. The iron hearted Furies, armed with snakes, Scattered huge Hydras over all the plains, Which have consumed the grass, the herbs, the trees; Which have drunk up the flowing water springs.

[Strumbo, hearing Humber’s voice,

starts up, puts his food in his pocket,

and seeks to hide himself.]

Thou great commander of the stary sky, That guidest the life of every mortal wight, From the enclosures of the fleeting clouds Rain down some food, or else I faint and die: Pour down some drink, or else I faint and die.

[Humber sees Strumbo.]

O Jupiter, hast thou sent Mercury In clownish shape to minister some food? Some meat! some meat! some meat!

STRUMBO. O, alas, sir, ye are deceived. I am not Mercury; I am Strumbo.

HUMBER. Give me some meat, villain; give me some meat, Or ‘gainst this rock I'll dash thy cursed brains, And rent thy bowels with my bloody hands. Give me some meat, villain; give me some meat!

STRUMBO.

By the faith of my body, good fellow, I had rather give an whole ox than that thou shouldst serve me in that sort. Dash out my brains? O horrible! terrible! I think I have a quarry of stones in my pocket.

[As Strumbo puts out his hand with food, enter the ghost of Albanact, and strikes Humber on the hand: and so Strumbo runs out, Humber following him. Exit.]

ALBANACT'S GHOST. Lo, here the gift of fell ambition, Of usurpation and of treachery! Lo, here the harms that wait upon all those That do intrude themselves in others’ lands, Which are not under their dominion.

[Exit.]

ACT IV. SCENE III. A chamber in the Royal Palace.

[Enter Locrine alone.]

LOCRINE. Seven years hath aged Corineius lived, To Locrine's grief, and fair Estrilda's woe, And seven years more he hopeth yet to live. Oh supreme Jove, annihilate this thought! 

Should he enjoy the air's fruition?

Should he enjoy the benefit of life?

Should he contemplate the radiant sun, That makes my life equal to dreadful death? Venus, convey this monster from the earth, That disobeyeth thus thy sacred hests! Cupid, convey this monster to dark hell, That disannuls thy mother's sugared laws! Mars, with thy target all beset with flames, With murthering blade bereave him of his life, That hindreth Locrine in his sweetest joys! And yet, for all his diligent aspect, His wrathful eyes, piercing like Lynceus' eyes, Well have I overmatched his subtilty. Nigh Deurolitum,[12] by the pleasant Lee, Where brackish Thamis slides with silver streams, Making a breach into the grassy downs, A curious arch, of costly marble fraught, Hath Locrine framed underneath the ground; The walls whereof, garnished with diamonds, With ophirs, rubies, glistering emeralds, And interlaced with sun-bright carbuncles, Lighten the room with artificial day: And from the Lee with water-flowing pipes The moisture is derived into this arch, Where I have placed fair Estrild secretly. Thither eftsoons, accompanied with my page, I covertly visit my heart's desire, Without suspicion of the meanest eye; For love aboundeth still with policy: And thither still means Locrine to repair, Till Atropos cut off mine uncle's life.

[Exit.]

ACT IV. SCENE IV. The entrance of a cave, near which runs a river, afterward the Humber.]

[Enter Humber alone, saying:]

HUMBER. O vita misero longa, foelici brevis, Eheu! malorum fames extremum malum.[13]

Long have I lived in this desert cave, With eating haws and miserable roots, Devouring leaves and beastly excrements. Caves were my beds, and stones my pillows dear, Fear was my sleep, and horror was my dream, For still methought, at every boisterous blast, Now Locrine comes, now, Humber, thou must die: So that for fear and hunger, Humber's mind Can never rest, but always trembling stands,

O, what Danubius now may quench my thirst? What Euphrates, what light-foot Euripus,

May now allay the fury of that heat, Which, raging in my entrails, eats me up? You ghastly devils of the ninefold Styx, You damned ghosts of joyless Acheron, You mournful souls, vexed in Abyssus' vaults, You coal-black devils of Avernus' pond, Come with your fleshhooks, rend my famished arms, These arms that have sustained their master's life: Come with your razors, rip my bowels up, With your sharp fireforks crack my starved bones: Use me as you will, so Humber may not live. Accursed gods, that rule the starry poles, Accursed Jove, king of the cursed gods, Cast down your lightning on poor Humber's head, That I may leave this deathlike life of mine! What, hear you not? and shall not Humber die? Nay, I will die, though all the gods say nay! And, gentle Aby, take my troubled corpse, Take it and keep it from all mortal eyes, That none may say, when I have lost my breath, The very floods conspired gainst Humber's death.

[Humber flings himself into the river.]

[Enter the ghost of Albanact.]

ALBANACT'S GHOST. En caedem sequitur caedes, in caede quiesco.[14] Humber is dead! joy heavens! leap earth! dance trees! Now mayest thou reach thy apples, Tantalus, And with them feed thy hunger-bitten limbs! Now, Sisyphus, leave tumbling of thy rock, And rest thy restless bones upon the same! Unbind Ixion, cruel Rhadamanth, And lay proud Humber on the whirling wheel. Back will I post to hell mouth Taenarus,[15] And pass Cocytus, to the Elysian fields, And tell my father Brutus of these news.

[Exit.]

4th Intermission

ACT V. PROLOGUE.

[Enter Ate as before.

Jason, leading Creon's daughter.

Medea, following, with a garland in her hand, and putting it on Creon's daughter's head, sets it on fire.  She then, kills Jason and departs.]

ATE. Non tam Tinacriis exaestuat Aetna cavernis, Laesae furtivo quam cor mulieris amore.[16]

Medea, seeing Jason leave her love, And choose the daughter of the Theban king, Went to her devilish charms to work revenge; And raising up the triple Hecate, With all the rout of the condemned fiends, Framed a garland by her magic skill, With which she wrought Jason and Creon’s end. So Gwendoline, seeing herself misused, And Humber's paramour possess her place, Flies to the dukedom of Cornubia, And with her brother, stout Thrasimachus, Gathering a power of Cornish soldiers, Gives battle to her husband and his host, Nigh to the river of great Mercia. The chances of this dismal massacre That which ensueth shortly will unfold.

[Exit.]

ACT V. SCENE I. A chamber in the Royal Palace.

[Enter Locrine, Camber, Assarachus, Thrasimachus.]

ASSARACHUS. But tell me, cousin, died my brother so? Now who is left to helpless Albion? That as a pillar might uphold our state,

That might strike terror to our daring foes? Now who is left to hapless Brittany, That might defend her from the barbarous hands Of those that still desire her ruinous fall,

And seek to work her downfall and decay?

CAMBER. Aye, uncle, death ‘s our common enemy, And none but death can match our matchless power: Witness the fall of Albioneus' crew, Witness the fall of Humber and his Huns. And this foul death hath now increased our woe, By taking Corineius from this life, And in his room leaving us worlds of care.

THRASIMACHUS. But none may more bewail his mournful hearse, Than I that am the issue of his loins. Now foul befall that cursed Humber's throat, That was the causer of his lingering wound.

LOCRINE. Tears cannot raise him from the dead again. But where's my Lady, mistress Gwendoline?

THRASIMACHUS. In Cornwall, Locrine, is my sister now, Providing for my father's funeral.

LOCRINE. And let her there provide her mourning weeds And mourn forever her own widow-hood. Ne'er shall she come within our palace gate, To countercheck brave Locrine in his love.

[Turning to his pageboy.]

Go, boy, to Deurolitum, down the Lee, Unto the arch where lovely Estrild lies. Bring her and Sabren straight unto the court; She shall be queen in Gwendoline's estate.

[Exit Pageboy.]

Let others wail for Corineius' death; I mean not so to macerate my mind For him that barred me from my heart's desire.

THRASIMACHUS. Hath Locrine, then, forsook his Gwendoline? Is Corineius' death so soon forgot? If there be gods in heaven, as sure there be, If there be fiends in hell, as needs there must, They will revenge this, thy notorious wrong, And pile their plagues upon thy cursed head.

LOCRINE. What! prat'st thou, peasant, to thy sovereign? Or art thou strooken in some ecstasy? Dost thou not tremble at our royal looks? Dost thou not quake, when mighty Locrine frowns? Thou beardless boy, wer't not that Locrine scorns To vex his mind with such a heartless child, With the sharp point of this my battle-axe, I ‘d send thy soul to fiery Phlegethon.

THRASIMACHUS. Though I be young and of a tender age, Yet will I cope with Locrine when he dares. My noble father with his conquering sword, Slew the two giants, kings of Aquitaine. Thrasimachus is not so degenerate That he should fear and tremble at the looks Or taunting words of a venerian squire.

LOCRINE. Menacest thou thy royal sovereign, Uncivil, not beseeming such as you? Injurious traitor (for he is no less That at defiance standeth ‘gainst his king) Leave these thy taunts, leave these thy bragging words,

Unless thou mean to leave thy wretched life.

THRASIMACHUS. If princes stain their glorious dignity With ugly spots of monstrous infamy, They lose their former estimation, And throw themselves into a hell of hate.

LOCRINE. Wilt thou abuse my gentle patience, As though thou didst our high displeasure scorn? Proud boy, that thou mayest know thy prince is moved, Yea, greatly moved at this thy swelling pride, We banish thee forever from our court.

THRASIMACHUS. Then, losel [17] Locrine, look unto thyself, Thrasimachus will venge this injury.

[Exit Thrasimachus.]

LOCRINE. Farewell, proud boy, and learn to use thy tongue.

ASSARACHUS. Alas, my Lord, you should have called to mind The latest words that Brutus spake to you: How he desired you, by the obedience That children ought to bear unto the sire, To love and favor Lady Gwendoline. Consider this, that if the injury Do move her mind, as certainly it will, War and dissension follows speedily. What though her power be not so great as yours? Have you not seen a mighty elephant Slain by the biting of a silly mouse? E’en so the chance of war inconstant is.

LOCRINE. Peace, uncle, peace, and cease to talk hereof; For he that seeks, by whispering this or that, To trouble Locrine in his sweetest life, Let him persuade himself to die the death.

[Enter the Page, with Estrild and Sabren.]

ESTRILD. O, say me, Page, tell me, where is the king? Wherefore doth he send for me to the court? Is it to die? is it to end my life? Say me, sweet boy, tell me and do not feign!

PAGE.

No, trust me, madam; if you will credit the little honesty that is yet left me, there is no such danger as you fear. But prepare yourself; yonder's the king.

ESTRILD. Then, Estrild, lift thy dazzled spirits up, And bless that blessed time, that day, that hour, That warlike Locrine first did favor thee.

[Estrild kneels to Locrine.]

Peace to the king of Brittany, my love! Peace to all those that love and favor him!

LOCRINE.                            [Taking her up.]

Doth Estrild fall with such submission Before her servant, king of Albion? Arise, fair Lady; leave this lowly cheer. Lift up those looks that cherish Locrine's heart, That I may freely view that roseall face, Which so entangled hath my lovesick breast. Now to the court, where we will court it out, And pass the night and day in Venus' sports. Frolic, brave peers; be joyful with your king.

[Exeunt.]

ACT V. SCENE II. The camp of Gwendoline.

[Enter Gwendoline, Thrasimachus, Madan, and the soldiers.]

GWENDOLINE. You gentle winds, that with your modest blasts Pass through the circuit of the heavenly vault, Enter the clouds unto the throne of Jove, There bear my prayers to his all hearing ears. For Locrine hath forsaken Gwendoline, And learnt to love proud Humber's concubine. You happy sprites, that in the concave sky With pleasant joy enjoy your sweetest love, Shed forth those tears with me, which then you shed, When first you wooed your ladies to your wills. Those tears are fittest for my woeful case, Since Locrine shuns my nothing pleasant face. Blush heavens, blush sun, and hide thy shining beams; Shadow thy radiant locks in gloomy clouds; Deny thy cheerful light unto the world, Where nothing reigns but falsehood and deceit. What said I? falsehood? Aye, that filthy crime, For Locrine hath forsaken Gwendoline. Behold the heavens do wail for Gwendoline. The shining sun doth blush for Gwendoline. The liquid air doth weep for Gwendoline. The very ground doth groan for Gwendoline. Aye, they are milder than the Britain king, For he rejecteth luckless Gwendoline.

THRASIMACHUS. Sister, complaints are bootless in this cause; This open wrong must have an open plague, This plague must be repaid with grievous war, This war must finish with base Locrine's death; His death will soon extinguish our complaints.

GWENDOLINE. O no, his death will more augment my woes. He was my husband, brave Thrasimachus, More dear to me than apple of mine eye, Nor can I find in heart to work his scathe.

THRASIMACHUS. Madam, if not your proper injuries, Nor my exile, can move you to revenge, Think on our father Corineius' words; His words to us stands always for a law. Should Locrine live that caused my father's death? Should Locrine live that now divorceth you? The heavens, the earth, the air, the fire reclaims, And then why should all we deny the same?

GWENDOLINE. Then henceforth, farewell womanish complaints! All childish pity henceforth, then, farewell! But, cursed Locrine, look unto thy self, For Nemesis, the mistress of revenge, Sits armed at all points on our dismal blades; And cursed Estrild, that inflamed his heart,

Shall, if I live, die a reproachful death.

MADAN. Mother, though nature makes me to lament My luckless father's froward lechery, Yet, for he wrongs my Lady mother thus,

I, if I could, myself would work his death.

THRASIMACHUS. See, madam, see, desire of revenge Is e’en in children of a tender age! Forward, brave soldiers, into Mercia, Where we shall brave the coward to his face.

[Exeunt.]

ACT V. SCENE III. The camp of Locrine.

[Enter Locrine, Estrild, Sabren, Assarachus, and the soldiers.]

LOCRINE. Tell me, Assarachus, are the Cornish chuffs In such great number come to Mercia? And have they pitched there their petty host, So close unto our royal mansion?

ASSARACHUS. They are, my Lord, and mean incontinent To bid defiance to your majesty.

LOCRINE. It makes me laugh, to think that Gwendoline Should have the heart to come in arms ‘gainst me.

ESTRILD. Alas, my Lord, the horse will run amain, Whenas the spur doth gall him to the bone. Jealousy, Locrine, hath a wicked sting.

LOCRINE. Sayest thou so, Estrild, beauty's paragon? Well, we will try her choler to the proof, And make her know, Locrine can brook no braves. March on, Assarachus; thou must lead the way, And bring us to their proud pavilion.

[Exeunt.]

ACT V. SCENE IV. The field of battle.

[Enter the ghost of Corineius,

with thunder and lightning.]

CORINEIUS' GHOST. Behold, the circuit of the azure sky Throws forth sad throbs and grievous suspires, Prejudicating Locrine's overthrow. The fire casteth forth sharp darts of flames, The great foundation of the triple world Trembleth and quaketh with a mighty noise, Presaging bloody massacres at hand. The wandering birds that flutter in the dark, When hellish night, in cloudy chariot seated, Casteth her mists on shady Tellus' face, With sable mantles covering all the earth, Now flies abroad amid the cheerful day, Foretelling some unwonted misery. The snarling curs of darkened Tartarus, Sent from Avernus' ponds by Rhadamanth, With howling ditties pester every wood. The watery ladies and the lightfoot fawns, And all the rabble of the woody Nymphs, All trembling hide themselves in shady groves, And shroud themselves in hideous hollow pits. The boisterous Boreas thundreth forth revenge; The stony rocks cry out on sharp revenge; The thorny bush pronounceth dire revenge.

[Sound the alarm.]

Now, Corineius, stay and see revenge, And feed thy soul with Locrine's overthrow. Behold, they come; the trumpets call them forth; The roaring drums summon the soldiers. Lo, where their army glistereth on the plains! Throw forth thy lightning, mighty Jupiter, And pour thy plagues on cursed Locrine's head.

[Corineius stands aside.]

[Enter Locrine, Estrild, Assarachus,

Sabren and their soldiers at one door:

Thrasimachus, Gwendoline, Madan

and their followers at another.]

LOCRINE. What, is the tiger started from his cave? Is Gwendoline come from Cornubia, That thus she braveth Locrine to the teeth? And hast thou found thine armor, pretty boy, Accompanied with these thy straggling mates? Believe me, but this enterprise was bold, And well deserveth commendation.

GWENDOLINE. Aye, Locrine, traitorous Locrine! we are come, With full pretense to seek thine overthrow. What have I done, that thou should’st scorn me thus? What have I said, that thou should’st me reject? Have I been disobedient to thy words? Have I bewrayed thy arcane secrecy? Have I dishonored thy marriage bed With filthy crimes, or with lascivious lusts? Nay, it is thou that hast dishonored it: Thy filthy mind, o'ercome with filthy lusts, Yieldeth unto affection’s filthy darts. Unkind, thou wrong’st thy first and truest fere; [18] Unkind, thou wrong’st thy best and dearest friend; Unkind, thou scorn’st all skillful Brutus' laws, Forgetting father, uncle, and thyself.

ESTRILD. Believe me, Locrine, but the girl is wise, And well would seem to make a vestal nun. How finely frames she her oration!

THRASIMACHUS. Locrine, we came not here to fight with words, Words that can never win the victory; But for you are so merry in your frumps, Unsheathe your swords, and try it out by force, That we may see who hath the better hand.

LOCRINE. Think’st thou to dare me, bold Thrasimachus? Think’st thou to fear me with thy taunting braves, Or do we seem too weak to cope with thee? Soon shall I show thee my fine cutting blade, And with my sword, the messenger of death, Seal thy acquittance for thy bold attempts.

[Sound the alarm.  They fight.

Locrine and his followers are driven back.]

[Exeunt.]

[ACT V. Scene 5, The entrance to a cave in a hill by a swift river (The River Severn).]

[Locrine & Estrild enter again in amazement.]

LOCRINE. O fair Estrilda, we have lost the field; Thrasimachus hath won the victory, And we are left to be a laughing stock, Scoffed at by those that are our enemies. Ten thousand soldiers, armed with sword & shield, Prevail against an hundred thousand men; Thrasimachus, incensed with fuming ire, Rageth amongst the faintheart soldiers, Like to grim Mars, when covered with his targe He fought with Diomedes in the field, Close by the banks of silver Simois.

[Sound the alarm.]

O lovely Estrild, now the chase begins; Ne'er shall we enter stately Troynovant, Mounted on coursers garnished all with pearls; Nor shall we view the fair Concordia, Unless as captives we be thither brought. Shall Locrine then be taken prisoner By such a youngling as Thrasimachus? Shall Gwendoline here captivate my love? Ne'er shall mine eyes behold that dismal hour; Ne'er will I view that ruthful spectacle, For with my sword, this sharpest curtleaxe, I'll cut in sunder my accursed heart. But O! you judges of the ninefold Styx, Which with incessant torments rack the ghosts Within the bottomless Abyssos' [19] pits, You gods, commanders of the heavenly spheres, Whose will and laws irrevocable stands, Forgive, forgive, this foul accursed sin! Forget, O gods, this foul condemned fault! And now, my sword, that in so many fights

[Kiss his sword.]

Hast saved the life of Brutus and his son, End now his life that wisheth still for death; Work now his death that wisheth still for death; Work now his death that hateth still his life. Farewell, fair Estrild, beauty's paragon, Framed in the front of forlorn miseries! Ne'er shall mine eyes behold thy sunshine eyes, But when we meet in the Elysian fields; Thither I go before with hastened pace. Farewell, vain world, and thy enticing snares! Farewell, foul sin, and thy enticing pleasures! And welcome, death, the end of mortal smart, Welcome to Locrine's overburdened heart!

[Locrine thrusts himself through

with his sword.]

[Estrild runs to Locrine

cradling him in her arms.  They kiss;

 he strokes her cheek; and dies.]

ESTRILD. Break, heart, with sobs and grievous suspires! Stream forth, you tears, from forth my watery eyes; Help me to mourn for warlike Locrine's death! Pour down your tears, you watery regions, For mighty Locrine is bereft of life! O fickle fortune! O unstable world! What else are all things that this globe contains, But a confused chaos of mishaps, Wherein, as in a glass, we plainly see, That all our life is but a Tragedy? Since mighty kings are subject to mishap— Aye, mighty kings are subject to mishap!— Since martial Locrine is bereft of life, Shall Estrild live, then, after Locrine's death? Shall love of life bar her from Locrine's sword? O no, this sword, that hath bereft his life, Shall now deprive me of my fleeting soul; Strengthen these hands, O mighty Jupiter, That I may end my woeful misery. Locrine, I come; Locrine, I follow thee.

[Estrild kills herself.]

[Sound the alarm. Enter Sabren.]

SABREN. What doleful sight, what ruthful spectacle Hath fortune offered to my hapless heart? My father slain with such a fatal sword, My mother murthered by a mortal wound? What Thracian dog, what barbarous Myrmidon, Would not relent at such a rueful case? What fierce Achilles, what heart’s stony flint, Would not bemoan this mournful tragedy? Locrine, the map of magnanimity, Lies slaughtered in this foul accursed cave, Estrild, the perfect pattern of renown, Nature's sole wonder, in whose beauteous breasts All heavenly grace and virtue was enshrined: Both massacred are dead within this cave, And with them dies fair Pallas and sweet love. Here lies a sword, and Sabren hath a heart; This blessed sword shall cut my cursed heart, And bring my soul unto my parents' ghosts, That they that live and view our tragedy May mourn our case with mournful plaudities.

[Sabren offers to kill herself.]

Ay me, my virgin's hands are too too weak, To penetrate the bulwark of my breast; My fingers, used to tune the amorous lute, Are not of force to hold this steely glaive. So I am left to wail my parents' death, Not able for to work my proper death. Ah, Locrine, honored for thy nobleness! Ah, Estrild, famous for thy constancy! ILL may they fare that wrought your mortal ends!

[Sabren exits distractedly.]

[Enter Gwendoline, Thrasimachus, Madan, and the soldiers.]

GWENDOLINE. Search, soldiers, search, find Locrine and his love; Find the proud strumpet, Humber's concubine, That I may change those her so pleasing looks To pale and ignominious aspect. Find me the issue of their cursed love, Find me young Sabren, Locrine's only joy, That I may glut my mind with lukewarm blood, Swiftly distilling from the bastard's breast. My father's ghost still haunts me for revenge, Crying, “Revenge my overhastened death!” My brother's exile and mine own divorce Banish remorse clean from my brazen heart, All mercy from mine adamantine breasts.

THRASIMACHUS. Nor doth thy husband, lovely Gwendoline, That wonted was to guide our stayless steps, Enjoy this light; see where he murdered lies By luckless lot and froward frowning fate; And by him lies his lovely paramour, Fair Estrild, gored with a dismal sword; — And as it seems, both murdered by themselves, Clasping each other in their feebled arms, With loving zeal, as if for company Their uncontented corpse were yet content To pass foul Styx in Charon's ferry-boat.

GWENDOLINE. And hath proud Estrild then prevented me? Hath she escaped Gwendoline's fell wrath Violently, by cutting off her life? Would God she had the monstrous Hydra's lives, That every hour she might have died a death Worse than the swing of old Ixion's wheel; And every hour revive to die again, As Tityus,[20] bound to houseless Caucasus, Doth feed the substance of his own mishap, And every day for want of food doth die, And every night doth live, again to die. But stay! methinks I hear some fainting voice, Mournfully weeping for their luckless death.

[Sabren enters with an armful of flowers to place upon the bodies of her parents.]

SABREN. You mountain nymphs, which in these deserts reign, Cease off your hasty chase of savage beasts; Prepare to see a heart oppressed with care; Address your ears to hear a mournful style! No human strength, no work can work my weal, Care in my heart so tyrant-like doth deal. You Dryads and light-foot Satyroi, You gracious Faries which, at evening tide, Your closets leave with heavenly beauty stored, And on your shoulders spread your golden locks; You savage bears in caves and darkened dens, Come wail with me the martial Locrine's death; Come mourn with me for beauteous Estrild's death. Ah! loving parents, little do you know What sorrow Sabren suffers for your thrall.

GWENDOLINE.                  [Aside.] But may this be, and is it possible? Lives Sabren yet to expiate my wrath? Fortune, I thank thee for this courtesy; And let me never see one prosperous hour, If Sabren die not a reproachful death.

SABREN. Hard hearted death, that, when the wretched call, Art furthest off, and seldom hearest at all; But, in the midst of fortune's good success, Uncalled comes, and sheers our life in twain: When will that hour, that blessed hour, draw nigh, When poor distressed Sabren may be gone? Sweet Atropos, cut off my fatal thread! What art thou death? shall not poor Sabren die?

[Gwendoline takes Sabren by the chin

and says thus.]

GWENDOLINE.

Yes, damsel, yes; Sabren shall surely die, Though all the world should seek to save her life; And not a common death shall Sabren die, But after strange and grievous punishments Shortly inflicted on thy bastard head, Thou shalt be cast into the cursed streams, And feed the fishes with thy tender flesh.

SABREN. And thinkst thou then, thou cruel homicide, That these thy deeds shall be unpunished? No, traitor, no; the gods will venge these wrongs, The fiends of hell will mark these injuries. Never shall these blood-sucking masty curs, Bring wretched Sabren to her latest home; For I myself, in spite of thee and thine, Mean to abridge my former destinies, And that which Locrine's sword could not perform, This pleasant stream shall present bring to pass.

[Sabren jumps into the river

and drowns herself.]

GWENDOLINE. One mischief follows on another's neck. Who would have thought so young a maid as she With such a courage would have sought her death? And for because this river was the place Where little Sabren resolutely died, Sabren forever shall this same be called. And as for Locrine, our deceased spouse, Because he was the son of mighty Brute, To whom we owe our country, lives and goods, He shall be buried in a stately tomb, Close by his aged father Brutus' bones, With such great pomp and great solemnity, As well beseems so brave a prince as he. Let Estrild lie without the shallow vaults, Without the honor due unto the dead, Because she was the author of this war. Retire, brave followers, unto Troynovant, Where we shall celebrate these exequies, And place young Locrine in his father's tomb.

[Exeunt omnes.]

[Enter Ate.]

ATE. Lo here the end of lawless treachery, Of usurpation and ambitious pride; And they that for their private amours dare Turmoil our land, and set their broils abroach, Let them be warned by these premises. And as a woman was the only cause That civil discord was then stirred up, So let us pray for that renowned maid, That eight and thirty years the scepter swayed, In quiet peace and sweet felicity; And every wight that seeks her grace's smart, Would that this sword were pierced in his heart!

[Exit.]

[Finis.]

[1] Even he is pursued by punishment and shadow.

[2] Uncle.

[3] The gods rule all.

[4] Meaning always or ever.

[5] The Vale of Tempe, or “Tembi” in Greek, lies at the foot of Mount Olympus, home of the Greek Gods.

[6] Karma is a bitch.

[7] Alba was the Gaelic name for Scotland.

[8] A mountain range in Albania.

[9] Even those unconquered by tyrants and gods, are conquered by love.

[10] Nauplius, to avenge the death of his son Palamedes, was the cause of many Greeks perishing on their return from Troy at Cape Caphareus in Eubœa, famous for its dangerous rocks. 

[11] Triptolemus was a demi-god of the Eleusinian mysteries who presided over the sowing of grain-seed and the milling of wheat. 

[12] A place, possibly Romford a large town in East London.

[13] A long life is misery, a short life happiness, and extreme hunger is the greatest misery of all.

[14] Blood follows blood, and in blood is found peace.

[15] Taenarus, a son either of Zeus or Icarius or Elatus.

[16] The caverns of Mount Aetna do not burn as fiercely as a scorned woman in love.

[17] A worthless or despicable person, a scoundrel.

[18] A companion, particularly a mate in marriage; a spouse; a husband or wife.

[19] Abyssos is a kingdom of the dead, similar to Greek Hades. 

[20] In Greek mythology, Tityus, son of Zeus and Elara, was a gigantic chthonic being, living in Phocis and Euboea.

[clouds-rambles]

hi bestie!! i loved the prompt you wrote where the reader dies in the genshin boys arms,, so do you think you could do that for zhongli and xiao? :]

We about to cry again huh?

Bro Stormbearers Lair is making me sad and for what? All I’m doing is looking for chests. Bruh. Kinnie moment

Pairing(s); (Seperate) Zhongli, and Xiao x reader

Warnings; major character death, angst, hurt/no comfort, injury description, blood

Keep reading under the cut!

Zhongli

He had lost many a person over the millennia, so loss isn’t exactly foreign to the ex archon

But you, even if you were mortal. In Zhongli’s eyes you would grow old with him. You would get to see your children grow into adults, you would get to see grand children, maybe you would even get to see great grand children if you were lucky.

But no

Your body lays limp in Zhongli’s arms. You were both fighting a particularly tedious foe, like you have done some many times before. But this time ended with you dying

And Zhongli didn’t even get to say his goodbyes to you for he was too preoccupied with putting down the enemy. Like has happened so many times before, people close to him, gone without even a goodbye let alone a kiss on the cheek

It had happened with Guizhong too. One day she was there fighting beside him and the next. Gone

Zhongli finds himself doing something that he hasn’t done in a very long time. He cries. He cries for you. Your loss of life, for your loss of experience. For all those years he was going to spend with you. For all those years that he did spend with you that are going to be nothing but a painful memory that he has to dwell on to remember why he’s alive

How would he explain it to his children? Children that are certainly not going to understand why one of their parents are gone. Especially when the said parent is used to being gone for long periods of time? How would he explain this to himself? That the person he loves above all things has been taken away?

Hu Tao is funnily enough the one to find Zhongli dry sobbing in the middle of the plains. She says something about how she was in the area, but really? Hu Tao had this sudden gross gut feeling, as if your spirit was trying to call out to her. The gross gut feeling she had was right

Hu Tao suddenly ever so professional helped the broken Zhongli up. She doesn’t mention it when his trousers are stained by your blood, nor does she mention Zhongli’s wet face. Hu Tao knows better, especially when dealing with the dead.

The service is as small as it could physically be, considering that just in Liyue you and he have made so many friends that want to say goodbye

Both Zhongli and his children are so overwhelmed with emotion that none of them cry at the service. But everyone knows how they’re feeling. 

After the service Zhongli sits his kids down and tries to explain everything to them without crying. He must stay strong for his beautiful children, he wont let himself crutch onto them.

Often when the kids are tucked away happily in bed Zhongli will visit your grave. Often with flowers, it doesn’t matter which ones. You always had a way of finding beauty in even the weeds that litter both the garden and the wilds

On more than one occasion Zhongli has found Xiao and Ganyu silently saying goodbye to you. In all honesty you were the reason why the human adepti started seeing the ex-archon in the first place. It’s only right they offer their blessings to the person who bought them closer to the only father figure they have

As the years pass your loss has gotten easier. Zhongli still visits your grave often and occasionally brings the kids to say hello. 

Though Hu Tao cannot help but note that Zhongli still wears his wedding ring on his finger. And sometimes, she can catch glimpses of what she can only presume to be your wedding ring hanging around his neck.

Zhongli isn’t going to be letting your memory within him die anytime soon

Xiao

Having a mortal lover really wasn’t the best plan for Xiao. But he had always pictured at least you getting old. That way it would be less painful for the adeptus to let you go.

But fate obviously didn’t want that for him

He should have been more careful about having you near. You had helped him open up, so much so displays of PDA were something that he really began to enjoy. Holding your hand as you wonder about Wangshu’s market stalls, or kissing each others cheeks just when you feel like it

That’s what must have enticed the Abyss to target you. While you were defenseless

It was just a night like any other. Xiao had decided to go out for some monster slaying. He had noticed a slowly growing presence and generally a night out slaying monsters cleared out the area for a week or two

And it was going great until he heard the bloodcurdling scream of his name. If Xiao wasn’t a lightning fast adepti the scream of his name alone would have caused him to cry

The scene as he entered your room was much worse

The first thing he notices is the smell of the elemental traces of the abyss, but that smell is quickly overpowered by a metallic smell Xiao has become more than acquainted over in his lifetime. Blood

They you are lead on your bed, somewhere that should have been a safe space for both you and Xiao by extension

“Xiao” you speak again between laboured breaths, he is by your side in an instant, he clasps your hand in his

“Tell me who, I’ll ki-” he says before you interrupt

“shh” you shush with a weak smile “Xiao, I’ll” you pause coughing “I’ll find you in my next life, I promise” you manage to say

“[name], [name] stay with me!” Xiao yells as he begins to shake your body. It’s obvious from your glassy eyes and lack of breath that you’re not going to

Xiao leaves Goldet to clean up the room of blood, and you as he tracks down the culprit of your demise

He eventually does. But Xiao realises that much time has passed since your death. How long had he been pursuing this abyss herald? Days? Weeks?

When Xiao returns to Wangshu Goldet almost hugs him exclaiming that she and her husband had been worried sick. They had almost come to the conclusion that he to had taken his own life

“How long have I been gone?” Xiao inquires

“Four months” Goldet responds “We tried to hold [name]’s funeral back as much as we could, but we buried them three months ago. I’m sorry Xiao”

The adepti shakes his head. A million thoughts race his mind as he ponders what he should do next. Visit the grave and make himself be lost in your memory? Or just bury you in his head like he had done with the yaksha during the war?

He settles on both

Xiao visits your grave and says his goodbyes. He sets up some incense to help your spirit rest if its in turmoil before he turns to leave your grave. Your memory is like a wound. He will bury it in the sand like all the others in due time

A hundred years later is when he visits your grave again. Not because he forgot to before. But because this wound of your memory has infected his brain. In the last decade your memories have resurfaced once more

The memories range from the first time the two of you shared a kiss, shared the bed to when he had reached you in the bedroom

Xiao wonders to the promise your dying breaths offered, were they an empty promise like all other dying breaths? Or was this a true one?

“You know I’ve been tending to this grave for the last decade or so” a voice behind Xiao speaks. “My name isn’t [name] but I think I am them” the voice continues standing just behind the yaksha

“A hundred years is a little long for you to have grown” Xiao tells the figure behind him. You hum

“I think I was blessed by the gods” you confess “For I am truly a century old”

[zellerysworld]

『 Comfort 』

Sukuna x F!Reader

Word count: 2.1k

Tags: Fluff???, Established Relationship, Angst, Mentions of death, self hate, and abuse, slightly insane reader, slightly soft Sukuna

A/N: Readers abilities are touching people to make them sleep, transfer memories, and see past (for those with DID, talk to the souls within the persons mind). She serves as a informant by going inside victims heads to look in their pasts for curses that were around them; informing her teammates of location and grade level. She can also gain powers from whomever she touches for a short period of time.

Ex: Sukuna can give Malevolent Shrine to her for battle, but after one use/within five minutes, it vanishes. If she uses powers that are harsh on her body, (domain expansions or strong cursed manipulation) she faints/gets nose bleeds.

Your feet dragged against the brutally cold floors of the first-year dormitories at Jujutsu Tech. Everything around you was dark, dim light being provided by the full moons reflection through the windows. The corridor felt like a never-ending strip as you silently sobbed under your h/c locks.

Today was… hard. Usually, you can handle the painful endeavors of reaching into the depths of stranger’s minds, but today was different. Todays victim was a young boy, not even a teen, who was abused by his own parents. When you grazed his swollen cheeks as he lied motionless on the floor, the fear he felt as his mother raised a hand to him engulfed your body. Then and there on the scene, you began to cry uncontrollably.

Doing the same thing every day, seeing the same pain in people’s memories, reliving all of their fears within seconds- it was beginning to rip your soul apart piece by piece. At first, it was manageable. However, over the past year of being at this damned jujutsu school, all you seem to feel is excruciating aches in both body and soul.

Recalling the child’s memories, you fell against the wall of the corridor while burying your tearstained face into the same shaking, gloved hands that touched him. Gojo Satoru picked you to be a student because of your “Stability”, yet you were turning into the opposite. The way you viewed death and the nature of It was what impressed Gojo and everyone around you the most, though you have never seen yourself as impressive. All you do is touch people and relay information, nothing too complicated, right?

A door creaked open after your fall emitted a loud thud in the room behind you. When you lifted your head to apologize, you noticed it was none other than Yuji Itadori- Sukuna’s vessel in other words. The young sorcerers’ eyes widened at seeing you in such a distraught state, hastily running over to you. Yuji scanned your body for wounds but was only able to find a pair of empty eyes. “Y/n? Are you alright? C’mon, lets get you to your room.” He scooped you into his arms, carrying you as a mother does with her sleeping child.

Yuji opened the door, gently placing you onto the silk sheets of the rooms bed as you silently cursed yourself for being so weak. The expression you bared made him pained, so he attempted to make you comfortable by taking your shoes off. After doing so, he sat to side of the bed. He held your shielded hand into his bare ones before recommending, “How about talking to Sukuna?”

Your voided eyes closed as you slouched into the headboard. Sukuna would be disappointed to see you in such a state, him possibly refusing to secretly work with you anymore if he saw this mess. Or even worse, he’d stop loving you. From that thought, your mind continued to spiral.

While stuck in your self-pity, Yuji was removing a glove from your hand. “Gojo makes you talk to Sukuna for information, but I know you enjoy talking to each other. He thinks about you a lot.”

Hearing Yuji’s words made your eyelids flash open like lightning as he removed the glove completely. Gojo assigned you to become an informant for him by touching Yuji to go into Sukuna’s domain, however that plan backfired. Overtime, you began to tell Gojo you couldn’t get anything from him, while secretly falling for and scheming with Sukuna. There was a pact made between the two of you: In exchange for touching Yuji to temporarily gain sukuna’s abilities, you must kill with those powers.

You grew to hate violence over the years; having seen multiple forms of it through people’s memories. But you made an exception, being that violence should be used against those who use violence with malicious intent. Although it is a bit of a hypocritical way to think.

When going out with Yuji and others, you take advantage of the surroundings by stalking your next prey. You do this by “accidentally” bumping into people on the streets and reading their memories to search for any abusers, cheaters, or murderers. Although you were technically a killer too, you knew one day you’d have to pay for your sins. Lately, that day seems to be snaking its way closer to you.

“Y/n?” Yuji questioned with a slight tilt of his head; his voice snapping you from your train of thought. Raising the hand he ungloved, the fingertip of your index finger tapped against his forehead. With the tap, his body relaxed before falling into a deep state of sleep. His head fell onto your lap, giving a perfect opening to use your ability. You took the smooth palm of your bare hand, and cupped Yuji’s jawline. This was how you opened communication into someone’s memories, or in this case, into someone’s personalities.

Although you were nervous to see what sukuna would think of you in such a ruined state, Yuji’s words made you feel relaxed. Sukuna was your partner after all, he should be able to see you like this. But then again, he was the king of curses, not just some human guy you picked up on a dating website. In the end though, your want of Sukuna’s comfort overlaps your fear.

Your eyelids shut, then reopened in a different place. It was still nighttime at this location, but it was not the physical world that humans are used to- even if it felt like it was. A vast plateau of flowers swayed in the man-made dream you were in. Constellations of multiple forms helped the moon light up the colorful night sky. The cool air caused you to slightly shiver as it brushed through the grass.

“Why did you bring me here, brat? I was sleepin’ on my throne.”

Sukuna’s rugged voice didn’t seem to faze you as you gazed upwards to the moon. Instead, it oddly comforted you. Although most are terrified of his presence alone, it did not budge your already cracking mind in any shape or form. It slightly annoyed Sukuna that he couldn’t scare you, but it felt comfort in knowing that there is at least one person in this world who doesn’t flinch at the sound of his name.

When you didn’t respond to his question, he lifted a brow in confusion. The robed man slowly stepped through the tall grass, his hands staying in his pockets of course. “Hey,” he started as his warm palm gripped your right shoulder, “Answer me.” His tone became serious, but if you squint, you can see the worry in it. The sound of your silence was so damn loud.

Sukuna jerked your shoulder, revealing your heartbroken expression to his red pupils. You leaned your head downwards, feeling embarrassed that he had to see you like this, but who else could you have gone to? “Yu-Yuji told me y-ou,” you hickuped while trying to speek, trying to hold back your tears from him, “He t-told me you… think about me.” Your tears looked like melting diamonds as they fell from under your locks and into the moonlight.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3qrKjywjo7Q

(For those that want to feel the moment.)

He didn’t know what to feel, nor what to do, until you muttered out, “I’m sorry…”

In that moment, you felt your knees go weak. Your legs gave out, making you fall into the grass. Sukuna quickly grabbed your waist, falling into the grass with you as your cushion. He nuzzled his tattooed face against your puffy cheeks while whispering, “Show me what happened.”

You lifted a hand, cupping his jawline to open communication into his nervous system. Through the line, you showed him the memories you saw and how they hurt you. Sukuna couldn’t have been less fazed, seeing as he is the king of curses and was a mass murderer. But when he saw the expression you made when ripping your hand away from the boy, his spirit felt like a nail went through the center of it.

He sighed, moving loose hairs from your forehead so he could have a full look at your bloodshot eyes. Your e/c orbs told him how drained you were beginning to feel from the mortal world. He cooed, “I wish I wasn’t trapped in this brat. I would destroy the entire world for you, Y/n… You wouldn’t have to deal with any shitty pains like this.”

Sukuna hated everyone, except you. As the saying goes, Heroes would sacrifice you for the world, while villains would sacrifice the world for you. He enjoys telling himself the lie of “Y/n got on my good side”, but Sukuna always knew the truth of why he couldn’t help but care for you so much: You changed him. Out of billions of people just on this planet alone, you were the one to take his heart, mind, and philosophy and then mold it.

Killing was killing to Sukuna, and that’s all there was to it. But he found his goals shifting when he meant you. The insanity that filled your eyes as you’d hold a fresh blade against the neck of your enemies. Human or curse, it didn’t matter to you. Bad was bad, good was good; things were black and white to you as they were to him, but in a different manner. Your bravery was another factor to his care for you. The fact that you went unarmed into Yuji’s mind after he ate the finger just to get a view of Sukuna’s throne without any care for consequences was such a curious thing to him.

You both saw things the same way, yet not. The complexity of your careless philosophy was something to applaud in his eyes. But as you lay in your despair, Sukuna is grimly reminded you are still a human that must endure the torture that is a fleeting life. He wanted you to be a curse like him, enjoying the comfort of eternity in a paradise he could build for just the two of you.

But in the end, you were just a human. And although it sounds like something he is absolutely disgusted by, it’s not. If anything, the fact you are just a human girl catches him off guard even more. A human girl managed to move a god’s heart. A human girl somehow has the power to see people’s pain and was never moved until many years later. Sukuna didn’t know if he should have been happy or terrified to find someone like you.

His thoughts were cut off by the sound of your silent sobs, making him close his eyes in uneasiness. It took him a few minutes, but he soon realized what he could do to relieve your pains. He saw what you saw and felt what you felt, therefore he knew just how helpless and weak you were feeling. To him, you werent weak at all, and he needs you to see that.

“Y/n.”

Your crystalized eyes looked to his blood-colored ones.

“Let me show you what I see.” His voice was soft, yet still had a rugged tone to it.

He pulled you upwards, making you sit up across from him while waving grass continued to surround the two of you. Leaning into you, his forehead leaned on yours as you snaked a hand across his palm, entangling your wrist with his fingers. The hand you were snaking tightly gripped at your forearm before you gripped onto his. Using this technique is a more intimate way of opening a line of communication. Both of your eyes closed to open it completely.

In Sukuna’s memories, you view things how he views them and see things through his mindset. It felt like a wave of ease flow throughout your body as you became comforted in the way he sees you. Most of the moments you saw were when you would smile, fight, or annoy Sukuna in general. Which, by the way, you were the only person who could ever taunt Sukuna and live to see the sun rise.

When your eyes fluttered open, he felt your lashes against his skin. This prompted him to open his eyes as well, and he found a pleasant surprise upon opening them. “What?” You questioned with a hint of sass, feeling your tears dry as your aching mind became soothed. Sukuna smirked, enjoying seeing a temporary tint of red over your normally e/c orbs.

Usually, your eyes don’t change colors after a connection, so it struck him as pleasant while it lasted, “Nothing, you are just a giant ass baby.”

“Oh shut the fuck up. You are the same person who got mad and came out when I ate a croissant that was meant for yuji!”

“I can taste whatever this brat eats, you realize that right? Those butter ones are tasty…”

Your eyes reverted back to their normal state as you bickered with your partner in the moonlight lit field. While back in the physical world, Yuji was snoring away on your bed in a very unflattering position. Although you don’t get to see Sukuna in the physical world, you still find comfort in feeling his soul In the spiritual world.

⥈⥈⥈⥈⥈⥈⥈⥈⥈⥈⥈⥈⥈⥈

My request are open. <3

Edit: on my god thank you guys to much. ❤️❤️ I’m getting so many requests! I’ll start working on them when I get home from work today. They will be posted within 2-3 days because these requests are actually pretty good ones that are really long 😂. But my requests are still open so don’t be afraid to submit something!

[seattlesea]

Why Percabeth Isn’t a Good Ship (Sorry 2x)

I’m definitely getting cancelled- 

1. Annabeth is physically abusive. The fandom makes this point seem controversial and debatable, but it’s really not. The definition of abuse is hitting someone. Annabeth hit Percy. Therefore, Annabeth abused Percy. Is that really that hard to understand? Annabeth hit Percy for the first time in The Titan’s Curse when she, Percy, and Thalia were looking for the di Angelo siblings. She punched him in the gut when he asked her who he should ask to dance with him. Annabeth knows that Percy can be oblivious at times...but punishes him when it benefits her? The second time was in The Mark of Athena, when she judo-flipped him because she missed him. That’s...what?? Usually when people are worried about someone else, they hug or kiss them, not flip them over their shoulder. And yes Annabeth kissed him first, but the judo-flip was completely unnecessary. Annabeth punished Percy for ‘leaving’ her despite him being kidnapped and his memory wiped. And everyone’s like ‘But Percy didn’t feel any pain!!11!!1!’ The chapter wasn’t in his point of view, so that claim is a guess. Just cause he didn’t say ‘Ow’ doesn’t mean he wasn’t in pain. Also- Annabeth slammed him on a stone pavement on his back. That definitely hurts, even if Percy is a demigod, physically strong, and has gotten hurt a lot. There’s a difference between ‘playful hitting’ and actually hurting someone. Yes they trained a lot, but this isn’t training. This is Annabeth punishing Percy for being traumatized with yet another life-threatening quest and being kidnapped. I don’t remember Percy judo-flipping Annabeth after he saw her again when she got kidnapped in TTC. Besides, the Romans were about to take out their weapons when they saw Annabeth attack Percy, so if all of them thought it was an attack...it was most likely an attack. Even Annabeth said herself “I only attack my boyfriend like that”. The thing is, if it was Percy who flipped Annabeth over his shoulder and slammed her on her back or punched her in the gut, all the fans immediately would’ve freaked out and cancelled him, calling him a horrible and abusive boyfriend, but because it’s the girl hitting the guy, it’s fine apparently. Nothing wrong with it, right? And then Riordan (and the fandom) had the audacity to romanticize that abuse. Abuse isn’t a sweet, romantic gesture. Stop making it seem like it is. That’s disgusting. 

2. Annabeth is also verbally abusive and toxic. Annabeth canonically lowered Percy’s self-esteem, constantly insulted him and his intelligence despite knowing he was insecure about it and always getting kicked out of schools and getting bad grades (even with her so-called ‘endearing’ name for him ‘Seaweed Brain’), and the overall idea of Percabeth is a super smart, pretty girl making a guy with below average intelligence feel insecure about himself. Percy’s self-esteem has plummeted since he met Annabeth and her behavior is never called out or even noticed, which implies some manipulation going on. Annabeth is shown to be extremely capable of manipulating her enemies and anyone else she pleases, and there are quite a few signs she’s using it against Percy (his feelings of obligation, fear, and guilt of and over her, questioning himself, having strings attached, always only thinking of her and no one else in his life, etc.), especially since Percy begins to gradually stop noticing Annabeth’s wrong and toxic behavior as the story progresses. 

3. Annabeth only likes Percy cause he’s the chosen one. Annabeth only hung around Percy since The Lightning Thief cause she thought he was ‘the one’ and so she could finally go on a quest. She literally used Percy to go out to the mortal world and ‘prove herself’ cause really, all she cares about is glory, which is shown multiple times throughout the series with all her pride and ambitions. Plus the fact that Chiron made Annabeth swear on the River Styx that she would keep Percy from danger is a pretty clear sign she didn’t stick around him just cause she wanted to, but because she felt obligated to and cause it would benefit her. Take all of this and it’s kind of obvious Annabeth only hung around Percy cause he was the chosen one of the prophecy, a son of one of the Big Three, and was destined to go on multiple quests and play a big part in the mythological world, which is what she always wanted since book one.

4. It was forced. Since the beginning of book one, it was so obvious that Percy and Annabeth were going to get together that their relationship ended up being boring, dull, and flat. Riordan made it so obvious they were going to be a couple that nothing that happened to their relationship really mattered, cause everyone knew it would work out in the end (which is probably why everyone *wrongly* hated on Rachel) so what happened in between didn’t matter. Their relationship was the typical ‘male lead and female lead’, ‘bad boy trouble-maker skater and nerdy good girl’ power couple that was way too clear. And Riordan made it worse by pushing their relationship and shoving it into the readers’ faces way too much. In MoA Annabeth states that she’s always had a crush on Percy (since they were twelve) which immediately rips all the development their relationship (which was supposedly ‘friends to lovers’, but not anymore) had away. Riordan made up a bunch of honestly dumb scenarios that were legit cringe to make Percabeth seem like ‘OTP’ that really didn’t make sense.

5. It ruined their characters. Percy and Annabeth would’ve been way better off as just friends. After they got together in HoO, all their personality and everything else that made them independent was destroyed to make room for more ‘Percabeth’. All of Annabeth’s skills, bravery, intelligence, pride, ferocity, judgmentalism, and all the other traits and flaws that made her a well-written character were never utilized or even mentioned. All she thought about was Percy, and the same goes for him. His loyalty, sarcasm, humor, obliviousness, etc. disappeared to make room for arrogant Annabeth fanboy. In PJO, they were amazingly well-written and great role models for younger readers (especially Annabeth), but in HoO their characters were exclusively ‘Annabeth’s boyfriend’ and ‘Percy’s girlfriend’. Their characters were completely dependent on each other, and they were way better off as just friends. 

6. Annabeth is way too possessive. And creepy. It’s fine and honestly normal for people to get jealous when another person likes someone they do, but Annabeth’s jealousy was downright creepy. Not only did she not know if her feelings for Percy were reciprocated or not, but she also didn’t know if Percy and Rachel liked each other, either. The very first time she met Rachel she immediately hated her. That’s not ‘I’m jealous cause this girl likes the guy I do’, that’s ‘I’m jealous cause the guy I like has another female friend’. She had no reason to believe that Rachel and Percy liked each other and has no say in who they can like, either. She thought that she and Percy absolutely had to be in a relationship and that he couldn’t even have friends with different genitals than him. And remember when Annabeth literally stalked Percy in The Sea of Monsters? Like when she creeped by his window, constantly watched him, and kept tabs on him just cause she ‘couldn’t find the right time’ to tell him something cause he was ‘never alone’ despite him being alone multiple times and despite the fact that she literally could’ve just knocked on his door like a normal person instead of creeping around his cabin and staring at him through the windows? Again- switch the roles. If it was Percy who was stalking Annabeth, everyone would’ve immediately called him a creep. If- according to Tumblr and almost everyone who read Twilight- Edward is a creep for stalking Bella, then Annabeth is a creep for stalking Percy. 

7. It’s mostly fan love. Honestly, the fandom is the only thing that fuels Percabeth. Riordan just destroys it. He shoved it down the readers’ throats, forced it way too much with really dumb and honestly unrealistic scenarios, and made it abusive and toxic. On its own, Percabeth freaking sucks. The fandom’s version of Percabeth is 1000x better than whatever the hell Riordan was doing, but even that version is toxic. Like, I’ve seen way too many jokes about Annabeth hitting Percy (as if abuse is hilarious and amazing meme fuel and not an extremely sensitive topic that triggers multiple people who actually went through it). Half the time, the fandom fixes Percabeth and the other half of the time they over-glorify and ruin it. The fandom over exaggerates and over glorifies it way too much. It’s not that great of a relationship, to be honest. Most of y’all only like it in the first place cause Riordan made it canon.

8. It was cringey. Like I said above, Riordan wrote some really dumb scenes for Percabeth. I mean- the matching gray streaks in their hair despite Atlas and Artemis not getting any? Percy’s tie to the mortal world while bathing in the River Styx being Annabeth and not his mom, Grover, etc.? Percy only remembering Annabeth, the girl he’s only known for four years and not his mom, the only woman who actually cared for and took care of him or Grover, his best friend who protected and continuously cared about him? Percy turning down immortality only for Annabeth and not even bothering to mention the pain of leaving behind his life, friends, family, memories, etc. behind if he accepted it? The romanticized judo-flip? The whole ‘dark-haired rebellious bad boy/nerdy blonde good girl who can be bad’ trope? Even the boring predictability of Percabeth is cringe. 

9. It’s a bad influence on younger readers. Basically the lesson of Percabeth is ‘Once you get a love interest nothing else in your life matters’. Besides that one single scene that took like three lines in The Son of Neptune, Percy never even thought of his own mom, nor did he think about any of his friends or passed allies like his dad, Rachel, Grover, Paul, Silena, Luke, Ethan, Bob/Iapetus, Tyson, Calypso, Charles, Michael (whose death he accidentally caused), Bianca, Zoë, etc. Even when in Tartarus with the curse of the Arai being forced to remember all the people he forgot and feeling guilty about abandoning Bob and Calypso, all he thought about was Annabeth. Even when faced with the man who broke the heart of the girl who sacrificed herself for him, Percy didn’t even think of her, only his jealousy of Jason. Same thing with Annabeth. She never thought about her mom, Luke, Thalia, her step-mom or step-brothers, etc. It was all about Percy. Cause yes, Riordan, that’s exactly the lesson you should teach your younger readers- forget everyone you ever knew the moment you get a partner. Besides that, it also teaches readers that being rude to people who like the same person as you is completely okay cause no one will care and once you start being rude, bitter, and possessive you’ll get exactly what you want (that’s literally what happened, with Annabeth and with Calypso, too). He also teaches that after you get a partner, everything that makes you you will disappear and you’ll be completely dependent on them and nothing in your life will matter, even your own independent life and personality. 

10. The fandom tries to excuse and explain Annabeth’s behavior??? What??? Since when does explaining and excusing hitting people put you in the right again? And the excuses aren’t even good, too! Percabeth fans use-  Annabeth was full of emotions/mad and doesn’t know how to deal with emotions. Annabeth really loved Percy. It was only one time. Annabeth was worried about Percy and mad that she left him. Annabeth didn’t mean to hurt him. Annabeth didn’t know what she was doing cause she was full of emotions. ??? Annabeth was full of emotions/mad and doesn’t know how to deal with emotions- Annabeth was seventeen years old, the daughter of the wisdom goddess, and is supposedly the smartest character in the series who is shown to be extremely good at reading people and their emotions. And y’all are really trying to say she doesn’t know how to deal with her emotions?  Annabeth really loved Percy- SO? A mother might really love her child, does that excuse her for hitting them for dumb reasons? It was only one time- actually, it was twice, and so what? If someone was slapped across the face ‘only one time’, does that mean they weren’t abused? ‘Abuse’ doesn’t mean ‘hit constantly’, it means ‘hit’. If someone was hit, they were abused. Is that really not a known fact in this fandom? Annabeth was worried about Percy and mad that she left him- last time I checked, people didn’t hit others when they were worried about them. If I was worried that my friend was going to get hurt, I wouldn’t hurt them myself. That literally makes no sense. And again- Percy didn’t leave Annabeth. He was kidnapped. Do y’all not know the definition of that, either? Annabeth didn’t mean to hurt him- yes, cause that’s why she decided to flip him over her shoulder, slam him on a stone pavement on his back, and punish him for ‘leaving her’.  Annabeth didn’t know what she was doing cause she was full of emotions- Annabeth??? the daughter of the wisdom goddess??? not knowing what she’s doing??? huh??? I mean, would any of you really, legitimately try to use any of these dumb excuses to excuse a man from hitting his wife? Hopefully not. And if you did, you would immediately get hated on and legit cancelled. So what makes this any different? Also- I see the excuse ‘Annabeth didn’t know Percy lost his Achilles Heel and thought he was still invincible’. Under different circumstances I’d accept that, but Annabeth knew that Percy’s Achilles Heel was on the small of his back...BUT SHE SLAMMED HIM ON HIS BACK. If Percy hadn’t lost the Achilles Heel, Annabeth literally would’ve killed him. Abusive enough for y’all? Or is attempted murder excusable and still ‘OTP’? 

11. They had no chemistry whatsoever. Was I the only one who felt...absolutely no chemistry between Percy and Annabeth? Like some of their moments were cute, their friendship was really good, and they had a lot of potential, but they didn’t feel right for each other. Remember- opposites don’t attract (they just argue, and no one has ‘another half’ that needs to ‘complete them’, everyone is their own person), they cancel each other out. I mean, Reyna and Annabeth had more chemistry in that one chapter of the New Rome tour in MoA than Percy and Annabeth had in 12+ books. They’re just...not right for each other, I guess. 

I’m definitely getting cancelled-

Edit 2: Sorry if I offended anyone with that last note. Just wanted to let y’all know that I am not here to start any drama, hurt anyone, or disrespect any Percabeth shippers. I respect your opinions 100% and only ask you do the same for me. Like I literally only wrote this at 12 am when I was bored and had nothing else to do and couldn’t sleep (same goes for pretty much everything else I write about PJ). Besides, why argue and start drama over dumb stuff like that when we can just find something we agree on? Don’t like Piper McLean? Let’s talk about that. Think Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano is a queen? Let’s talk about that. Think Nico di Angelo is freaking amazing? Let’s talk about that. Think Theyna would be adorable? Let’s talk about that. Want someone to vent to about writer’s block? Why the hell not? Want random writing advice and tips for writer’s block? Sure, I got plenty. Instead of arguing and starting beef over trivial fictional ships. 

[marblesphere]

Dream or Reality (Noctis x Reader)

I wrote this fic years ago. So, I fixed up a little and decided to post it here. I have also posted it in devianart under LastMoogleHunter. Happy reading!

“Aaaaahhh….what a boring day, always the same. There’s nothing new, nothing makes me excited.” I sighed for the umpteenth times. I see, I haven’t introduced myself, my name is [Name] [Last Name], I am 12th grade in Destiny High. This is my last year, thus was recommended in making good memories. Though…there is nothing fun, I wish Final Fantasy characters are real people. That’ll so much fun, especially if there is Noctis.....

Kyaaaa!!! I am so embarassed... ahem, let’s put that aside and let’s get onto the story.

This morning also has the same routine, wake up, bath, breakfast, school, home, dinner, sleep and so on. And coincidentally my literature teacher decides it’s fun to see her students suffer, and thus given us a homework about composition. I groan, this is going to kill my brain cells. “God, please let my life get interesting such as Final Fantasy character come to life..... Just kidding, it’s not like it can be granted anyway.” I exhaled. I put my homework and stationery on my desk and start thinking about the theme I am going to write. Not long after I start doze off.

My internal clock woke me up from my slumber. Groggily, I glance my clock and it shows 6.30 a.m. I blink once, twice and rub my eyes to make sure I am not mistaking it. In instant, all sleepiness fades away. ”Aaaahh!! I am late!!” I freaked out and with lightning speed I took a bath. While I was stripping though, something fell from my shorts’ pocket. I pick it up and examine it, it was a golden watch. Curious, I open it and something was craved on the lid ‘aeternam vinculo’ ‘what’s this mean? More importantly when I got this thing?’ I was thinking and completely forgotten the time.

“[Name]! breakfast is ready!” Kaa-san called.

“No way!” I yelped and resumed my activity.

I run down the stairs and eat breakfast quickly, “[Name], there’s still some time.” Kaa-san said.

I gulp down my orange juice, “Gotta go. Bye Kaa-san, Tou-san.” I said as I ran to school. Fortunately, the distance to school from my house is not that far. Upon arriving there, I still see a lot of students leisurely walking to the school. Looks like I am safe. I sigh in relief as I pat my chest. suddenly, I feel a tap on my shoulder and I turn around, but the sight of that ‘someone’ tapping my shoulder made my eyes widenend.

“Morning.” He said, while I blinked once, twice, titled my head and stare at him as he is an alien landing on earth. The person who greeted me is no other than the famous Chocobo head, Cloud Strife.

I keep staring at him without blinking. “You…” I could only manage a word to come out from my mouth.

Cloud looks at me oddly, “What’s wrong?” he asked. 

“Good morning you two.” A new voice called. Our head snap to that direction and find Tifa and Yuffie are walking toward us.

My eyes widened ‘[Name].exe is shutting down.’ I can practically hear a robotic voice said that. ‘What exactly is going on?’

Seeing my confused blank looking face, concern made to Tifa’s face, “[Name], what’s wrong?” She asked.

So, I did the most logical action I could at the moment, I pinch my left hand, “Ow…” ‘It hurt.’ I rubbed my reddening left hand.

“[Name], are you really alright?” Tifa asked again. “Don’t worry Tifa, I bet she just woke up.” Yuffie grinned.

‘It’s not a dream....? t-they are really alive...?’ I am still confused, I am still not sure if I am having a realistic dream or this is the reality. But if so, what about yesterday and the day before yesterday and the days before today? Was that reality a dream? And this is the real reality? My mind is in jumbled mess, but I am happy. My wish has come true, my wish for the Final Fantasy characters are real people and as a bonus I have befriend with them. There’s no more I could ask for.

I feel someone shakes me. “Huh?” I snapped back to the reality.

“Maybe we should get her to infirmary.” Tifa said.

“Whooa. [Name], you really sick?” Yuffie was shocked by the news.

“Let’s go.” Cloud said as he prepared to drag me.

“W-wait! I’m fine, I just dozing because I just woke up.” I said putting a sheepish grin.

“See, she’s just woke up.” Yuffie grinned again, but I can see she was relieved as well.

‘Well, I did wish something interesting like this happen. Well, dream or not let’s enjoyed it to the last.’ I smiled at my thought as we walked to the class.

Upon entering class, I no longer panic on what I saw. There are some FF characters here and there, but I spot no Noctis, ‘Well, I’ll be lying if I am not disappointed.’ I sigh softly. ‘Well, nothing goes smooth now.’

Then I heard giggles and squeals. ‘Don’t tell me this is a famous scene from shoujo manga. The moment when male lead and his group enter the classroom. If so, then… Those girls will be the mortal enemies of the female lead. After the plot milked her usefulness, she and her sidekicks will fall into ruin.’ I blinked as I looked at those girls. ‘What a shame. They look nice enough though. But, I wonder who they’re fangirling about.’ I follow the crowd’s eyes, then the door opened revealing ‘Emergency! Mayday! Mayday! All staffs please evacuate! The ship will sink soon!Eh? EEEEEEHHHHH???!!! What is happening?! Why is he here?! No... I mean… I am happy that he is here. But he being here is a problem itself to me, in many ways.’ The one who opened the door is no other than Noctis.

I stiffen when he walks to me. “Good morning.” He muttered as he walked past me to his seat which is behind me.

“Mo-morning…?” And the problem is I was suttering when I replied, ‘Now I’ve done it…. he officially think I am one of his fangirls.’ I sighed earning a few snickers from Tifa and Yuffie which I give them an odd look.

“Morning, Hime-chi.” Prompto greeted.

I am not sure who is Hime-chi is. But seeing no one responds to him, it must be me, right? “Morning…?” I greeted back hesitantly.

During the duration of the lesson, I can’t concentrate at all. Part of it is because Noctis is sitting behind me. The other part is I am frantically thinking what should I do, what is my relationship with him and the other characters. Just because some of them are my friends, that doesn’t mean all of the characters must be my friends. And I have to be careful how to act around them, so they didn’t notice my awkwardness.

The bell rings signaling lunch break. Finally, me and the group which included almost all of the alvalanche members plus some other go to school cafeteria. Minus Cid and Barret cause they’re too old to go to school anyway which I found out later the two of them are school staffs. Barret as P.E teacher and Cid as engineer. And of course, let’s not forget Zack and Aerith. We go to cafeteria to eat lunch, while the others eat and talking each other, I am thinking about a lot of thing and that mysterious golden watch.

“[Name].” A voice snapped me out of my own world and I found all of them were staring at me.

“Huh?” I blinked owlishly.

“Are you okay?” Aerith asked worriedly.

“Did they bully you?” Prompto frowned.

“Eh? Bully? Who?” I tilted my head not understanding who were they talking about. ‘…For the first time in my life I was bullied…’

“WHAT!? Those girls are bullying my little sister?! How dare they!” Zack raged.

“W-Wait a minute. I am fine. No one is bullying me.” I said quickly calming them down.

“I heard something about bullying [Name]. Who is daring enough to do that?” Another new voice chimed in.

“Ah.” I blinked at the newcomers, twins exactly.

“Stella, Luna. Where were you guys?” Yuffie asked.

“Sorry, the teacher needed us just now.” Stella apologized.

“So, I heard someone is bullying [Name]? Which idiot?” Luna smiled scarily.

“No one was bullying me.” I shook my head quickly. ‘Scary…. Does Lunafreya is this kind of character?’ I sweatdropped.

“If we are talking about bullying, then I am sure it’s no other than her and her little group.” Tifa rolled her eyes.

‘I wonder who and why would people bully me? I don’t think I’ve ever made someone mad enough to be bullied by them.’ I scanned the cafeteria and spot a group of girls glaring at me, ‘Ah. So, they are the bully group.’ Then a mop of blond caught my attention, I narrow my eyes to get better sight, ‘…Who is she? I have never meet her before, but strangely her name popped out in my mind. Tachibana Kirika-san, Noct’s fangirl…. Ah, no wonder.’ I looked at her object of affection.

“Ignore them” Noct said.

“Umm...okay.” I answered.

After that staring contest, all is well. No war break between us. The last bell finally rings, signaling the end of school. And so, as per usual ritual, apparently we always go home together. “See you tomorrow.” I waved to them when I arrived at my house.

“See you.” They waved back. I open the door only to find it is hollow of life. I found a note one dinner table ‘Business trip one week, there’s a leftover for dinner. We’ll get your cousin to stay at the house tomorrow.’ I sighed. It’s still the same,’Oh well, I’m used to it.... wonder who is my cousin. This is the first time I heard about having a cousin staying over.’

Tired and still in term of accepting what has happened today. I am feeling really sleepy, but I didn’t dare to sleep. What if this is just a dream and I’ll wake up in the same position on my desk, as selfish as it may sound I still don’t want this to end yet. So many thoughts race in my head, absetmindedly I take out the golden watch and finally fallen asleep holding that.

I wake up with a start and glancing at my room, then realize something, FF charas. ‘Is it a dream?’ I sighed and I felt something in my hand. The golden watch, it’s still here. That means ‘It’s not a dream.’ I grinned widely, they are real. Thus, I quickly begin my routine of the day.

Arriving to the class, I greet them. Them as in the group. “Morning.” I greeted.

“Morning.” They replied. I sit at my seat and put my bag on drawer, but then a sharp pain creeps through my hand, instictively I take out my hand and trail of blood is dripping from my hand. My eyes flicker at the sound of giggles, there Tachibana Karin stand proudly at what she have done, she even raises her chin up to which I reply with raised eyebrow.

‘Truly, this is the first time I am being bullied for real.’

Seeing my bloodied right hand and still bleeding. Cloud quickly take my hand and examines it. “You okay?” He asked.

“As okay as someone will be with bleeding hand.” I remarked. Zack is definitely pissed off by the look of his face and stalks toward them.

“Why you little-“

“Zack. There’s no need to get angry.” I called to him.

Ignoring my call, he still stalks toward them, that is until Vincent holds him, “Ignore them. We should take her to infirmary.” He said.

“No no no. we can’t let this kind of things go.” Stella stepped in.

“Indeed. We’ll need to teach her a lesson.” Luna easily agreed with the older twin.

“Stella, Luna. Not you two too.” I sweatdropped.

“Let’s just take [Name] to infirmary first.” Tifa said. With that, the group accompanies me to the infirmary.

“The cut isn’t deep, it will heal in few days.” Nurse Quistis said after she finished bandaging me.

“Thank you.” I thanked her.

“It’s my job, now off you go to class.” She ushered.

“Yes ma’am.” I give her mock salute as I get out of the room.

Entering the class, I was bombarded with questions. Quistis kicked all of the out for being so noisy and too much. “I am fine.” I said for the umpteenth time.

Then Tachibana-san comes to me and asks with her sickly sweet voice, “How was your hand? Is it hurt?”

“Well, why don’t we try it to your hand. And then you’ll know whether it’s hurt or not.” I smiled eraning a few snickers from my friends as they heard my reply.

Tachibana-san’s face is red with anger and opens her mouth to say something. But then, the door opened revealing Noctis and Prompto. she quickly puts her sweet façade again to which I know that isn’t fooling anyone with decent IQ. “Good morning.” She greeted him which was ignored and laughter rose from our throats.

“If you didn’t do something like bullying his friends, you might have a chance.” I told her.

“You!” She gritted her teeth.

‘Aaah… She really didn’t get it.’ I sighed mentally. “Good morning you two. How unusuall for you to almost late.” I greeted.

“Good morning, Hime-chi. You see, we are almost late because we met an old woman on the street. She… Hime-chi, what happened to your hand?” Prompto frowned when he saw bandage on my left hand.

“Your hand...”

“Oh, this..” I said as I lift my hand. “Apparently, someone with a bad hobby finds it interesting to get me scream in pain. Unfortunately, they didn’t get what they want.” I smiled. Noct opens his mouth to ask something when the bell rang, signalling the start of class. All of us goes back to our seat. Well, in my case after recieving a hateful glare from Tachibana-san.

‘More importantly I wonder… Why is she targeting me? I mean, Noct’s female friends are not only I. There are Luna and Stella too…. Does she know I like him…? Well, I do like him as character in games before. And meeting him right now does make my feeling stronger… but, I am not sure if I like him as man… Besides…’ A certain scene from the game flashes in my mind. It’s overlapping in a scene I’ve seen here. ‘I am such a fool… obviously they are together…’ A bitter smile graces my lips.

The lessons went well, save for the ocasion hateful glare... okay scratch that, hateful glare all along. Lucnh break bell rings..... “Okay class, that’s all for today... oh and there is winter ball on the 28th December. All of you MUST come, it’ll be the last event for you. Class dissmissed.” Then the teacher goes out of classroom.

I groan inwardly, ‘Great… a ballroom.’ Note the sacarsm. The students scatters, chatting about the ball, while the group (girls only) advance to me.

“Soooo.....” Yuffie begins the conversation. “Who is going to be your date?” she asked excitedly.

“I don’t want to go.” I groaned again.

“You shouldn’t idle too long [Name], he will be snatched away.” Aerith said gigglig slightly.

“He? Who?” I titled my head. ‘Do I like someone?’

“Of course it’s him.” Yuffie answered.

“Tsk tsk tsk. As if [Name] will like another boy except from him.” Stella raised her brow.

“That dense man is too dense.” Luna giggled.

“Who is he exactly?” I frowned. But to them, my expression right now is quite funny because they are giggling.

“Don’t play dumb [Name]. all of us already know who is he. He is the one who gifted you the golden watch on your birthday.” Tifa said.

 ‘So, that was a gift from someone. And that someone is my crush so to speak…’ I blinked. ‘Who is…’ Suddenly the answer appeared itself in my mind.

*Poof* my face explodes to a blush. ‘It’s him. That man who is a trouble to me just by being here.’ I covered my face looking away from the evil grins on their faces.

“That time he was so shy. It’s funny, right?” Yuffie exclaimed.

“Hey, you guys.” I was saved by Reno. “Who are going to be you girls’ date?” He asked excitedly.

“Not again…” I groaned. “Reno, you don’t have any delicacy at all.” I whined.

“What happened to her?” Reno blinked.

“Just girl trouble.” Stella giggled followed by the rest of the girl.

“I mean you guys have fixed date already. Is there any point to ask?” I pouted. “I’m sure Tifa is going with Cloud, Aerith and Zack, Yuffie with Vincent. Stella is with Prompto and Luna will be going with No-.” I said.

“My date is a secret.” Luna cut my sentence.

“Secret?” I blinked.

“Yep. You’ll know when the time comes.” She smiled mysteriously.

“So, what about you [Name]? Wanna be my date?” He winked.

I snort, “No, thank you.” I flat out rejected him. “If I go with you. Your group of angry girlfriends will be waiting for me. Nuh-uh. I still want to be perfectly healthy, thank you.” All of them excluding Reno who is now sulking are laughing at his misfortune. “I am probably going alone. There’s no rule I can’t go alone.” I smiled. “…What’s wrong?” I blinked when I found them stared at me oddly.

“[Name]… You are quite dense…” Tifa sweatdropped.

“Huh?” I titled my head.

“[Name] you know, you are quite popular. If you say you are searching for a date. Everyone will probably line up.” Aerith giggled.

“…You are teasing me, aren’t you? I have a plain face you know. The one that is neither pretty, beautiful or cute. Besides, if I mean if I am quite popular, how come no one talk to me or better yet flirt to me?” I put an unamused face.

‘That’s because a certain someone made sure no one will not talk to you more than necessary. How can they have a gut to flirt with you with him hanging around you like a guard dog.’ All of them sweatdropped.

“Enough about me. What about the prince?” I turned my question to the prince that walked past me back to his seat.

“About what?” He sat back down.

“The winter ball. Who are you escorting?” I asked.

He snorts. “I don’t want to go.” He said.

“Me too. But we are forced to go.” I chuckled.

“I am waiting for someone.” He answered shortly. His answer makes the boys laugh. I raise my eyebrow at their odd reaction.

“You should hurry and ask her out, or else she’ll out of your reach.” Zack chuckled.

“Yep. After all the effort you put into.” Cloud nodded.

Zack’s word make my chest stings a bit. ‘What is this feeling?’ I blink the I shake my head to ignore it and chat with the rest of them.

Zack’s word is still ringing in my head. I am indeed curious as who is he going to ask, but I am more curious about the feeling in my heart just now. ’They are just characters from game, right? So, why did I have this feeling? Besides, I am sure he is going to ask Luna. No need to think that hard. They obviously are going to reveal it at the winter ball.’ I finally asleep while thinking about this.

Again, I wake up from my peaceful slumber before the alarm rings. I rub my eyes to get rid the alimighty power of sleepiness. The calendar on my wall made me realize this is Saturday. ‘Oh, it’s finally this day.’

As usual, I did my everyday routine, and then off to school. My peaceful day was once again ruined by Tachibana-san and the rabid fangirls follower.

“You! You dare to embarass me the other day, in front of my Noctis no less.” She screehed.

“My...Noctis...? Wow, I am not sure how to reply to that statement... Besides, weren’t you the one asked me about my hand, I just answered that it would be better for you to experience it first hand.” I answered effortlessly.

“You bitch!” She swung her hand to slap me. I am ready to dodge and prepare some wise words. But, her hand was caught midair by a more masculine hand.

I turn my head to get a better look of my savior. ‘Squall.’ I blinked at the unexpected character. ‘Rinoa shouldn’t be too far from Squall.’ I giggled inwardly at my own thought.

“You better stop this or you’ll get more than just slapping.” He growled. Tachibana-san turns pale. She and her follower quickly retreat back.

Then suddenly a girl pops out from his side. “Are you okay, [Name]?” Said girl is no other than Rinoa. ‘As I thought, Rinoa is not far.’ I chuckled at my own thought.

“I am fine.” I answered. “But, why are you two here?” I asked, I am not surprised with the characters popping out as my friends anymore. Last time, I found out Ignis is our Chemistry teacher and Gladioulus as our school security guard.

“Listen well! this isn’t over! I’ll make your life a living hell!” Tachibana-san sreeched which we of course ignored. The she stomps out here with her rabid fangirls follower.

“Just like always, you are a trouble magnet.” Squall Leonhart, which like to be called Leon sighed.

“You haven’t answered my question... Squeon.” I added my personal nickname just to annoy him.

“Your parents were worried, so they asked me to take care of you.” He said ignoring my nickname.

“I am fine, Squeon.” I said again.

Squall snorts, he lifts my bandaged hand, “And you said this was okay.”

“[Name], you are injured. What happened?” Worrywart Rinoa asked.

“I am okay. It’s just a small wound, Quistis said it will heal in 2 or 3 days.” I said calming Rinoa down.

Then, we heard some footsteps running toward us. The group are rushing to us. “Squall! Rinoa!” They exclaimed happily when they saw them.

“It’s Leon.” He grunted.

“Nooo, it’s Squeon.” I laughed. Squall only glares at me using his infamous glare.

“Long time no see.” Rinoa smiled.

“[Name], are you alright? I heard from some people Tachibana was bullying you, what did she do to you?” The now panicking Tifa asked.

“I am okay. she was just going to slap me, but Squeon stopped her.” I answered.

“WHAT?! She was going to slap you?! That damn bitch! How dare she!” Zack cursed.

“Calm down. I am not strupid just standing there waiting her slaps me.” I snorted. ‘Besides, which idiot will stand still when they are going to be hit.’

“By the way, if Squall and Rinoa are here. Does that mean they are going to be your care taker again?” Cloud asked.

“Yes, they are.” I said grinning.

“Oooooh, it’s rare that we can gather here together. So, how about we go to Chocobo Land  tomorrow?” Yuffie exclaimed excitedly.

“Chocobo Land.... Well, it’s been a while, the last time we go together was on [Name]’s birthday.” Aerith said. With that said, all of us decide to go to Chocobo Land tomorrow. Unbeknwon to me, I am playing right to their trap.~”~

“Eeeeehhhh~ Why can’t you go with us?” I asked, dismayed at the fact we couldn’t spend time together.

“Rinoa isn’t feeling well.” Was Squall short answer.

But I can’t shake the feeling that something is off. “She was fine yesterday.” I mumbled.

“Yesterday and today are different.” But all I did was stare, stare and stare. He sighs, “Just go already, you don’t want to be late, right?” He ushered me to go.

“Yes~” I sulked.

Arriving at the Chocobo Land. Only Noctis is at the rendezvous point. “Hey, Noct, where is the others?” I asked.

“They still haven’t arrived.” He answered.

‘Weird. They are usually on time. Maybe Yuffie will be a little late.’ I blinked at the unusual happening. And suddenly our phones ring at the same time signalling there are messages in our group chat.

Tifa

“Sorry, my parents are out of town suddenly. Need to housesit.”

Yuffie

Some brats in neighborhood are hunting my treasure. Need to safeguard it.

Zack

Am grounded. T.T

Luna

“Sis and I have trouble escaping from arranged marriage.

Stella

“Have fun. We will arrive there late.”

Aerith

“The shop is crowded. I can’t go out yet.”

Squall

“Rinoa is sick. Need to take care of her.”

Rinoa

Sorry guys.

Cloud

“Fixing my bike.”

Vincent

“…Sleepy…”

Prompto

“Helping acquaintance in photoshoot.”

‘What kind of hellish timing is this?’ I sweatdropped. ‘…No matter how I think, they are definitely setting us up.’ I sighed softly.

The two of us look at each other and sigh. “We were set up.” He said. “So, what should we do? Should we go home?” He asked again.

“Hmmm… We’re already here anyway. So, let’s just play. Just the two of us.” I grinned. A small smile is tugging on his lip hearing my sentece. But, unbeknown to us, we were followed by eight enthusiastic stalkers plus two reluctant stalkers and cameras.

Everywhere and anywhere as far as I can see, all I can see is Chocobo. The excitement is building up. “Chocobo♪~ Chocobo♪~.” I hummed out with sparkling eyes.

“Your love for Chocobo is something else.” Noct sweatdropped.

“What can I say, I just love Chocobo.” I giggled. “Then, our first ride will be that.” I pointed to the Chocobo Jet that was quite far from our meeting point.

“Figures you will ride that first.” Noctis chuckled.

“Let’s go!” I giggled excitedly. ‘Just for today. Let me spend a quality time with him. Yes…Just for today.’ The Chocobo Jet is really exciting. “I want to ride it again.” I said enthusiastically.

“Let’s ride the other attraction first. We’ll ride the roller coaster again later.” He sighed helplessly.

“It’s a promise, okay. I won’t go home if I don’t get to ride it again.” I stuck my pinky to him.

“Yes, yes. It’s a promise.” He hooked his pinky to mine. And then seamlessly warps his hand around mine and tugs me along.

I blink at the action. ‘Alert, alert. The parameter is rising.’ A slight blush adorns my cheeks. I quickly put a hand on my cheek to cool it down.

“What’s wrong?” He asked when he saw my weird action.

“Nothing!” I squeaked in high pitched voice.

He blinks, “You are so weird.” He laughed.

“I don’t want to hear that from you.” I stuck my togue out to him.

The next ride is Chocobo Cup. “Spin faster!” I laughed cheerily as I spun the cup faster.

“You’ll get dizzy later.” Noct smiled.

‘Hm…?’ from the corner of my eyes, I think I caught a glimpse of a familiar chocobo head. ‘Was I mistaken?’

“What’s wrong?” Ncoct asked when he realized I stopped spinning.

“Ah, nothing, I thought I saw Cloud.” I shook my head. “It must be my imagination. I mean this is Chocobo Land.” I laughed. All of the visitors are wearing Chocobo headband which we get as a free gift in the entrance.

“What do you want to do next?” He asked.

“Hm…Oh!” My eyes are drawn to the shooting range not far from us. More accurately, drawn to the prizes in that shooting range. “That! Let’s compete!” I turned to Noctis.

“Yes?”

“Let’s see who will get the grand prize first!” I exclaimed.

“Yo, ojou-chan, an-chan. The point for the grand prize is 150. The rule is easy. Your gun has 3 bullets. Knock down the plate with the point written on it. collect 150 points and you have the grand prize. Easy, right?” Baku explained.

“Yep!” I nodded.

“One game is 150 gil.” He smiled.

“Give us two guns.” Noct said as he handed him the money.

“Haiyo!” Baku handed us the bullet.

“The game is on!” I grinned.

~One Round Later~

“Not fair….” I sulked. In the end, Noctis wins with overwhelming victory. I don’t understand how he managed to get 200 points, while I couldn’t even get the 10 points plate down.

“Bwahahahaha! Ojou-chan, you are the best! Your skill is one in one hundred!” Baku laughed merrily.

“Sh-shut up!” I cried out.

“An-chan, your skill is amazing. Usually, the guests will spend more than 3 games to get a hang of this game.” He smirked.

“This is just a fluke. My friend happens to be good at this kind of game. I was only following his advice.” Noct answered.

“Heh. I want to meet this friend of yours.” Baku smirked.

“Next time, I guess.” Noct shrugged his shoulder.

“Bahahaha! I can’t wait!” Baku laughed harder.

While those two are chatting. I am already at my own land of misery. “I am sorry Chocobo. I can’t get you. I am sorry I am such a failure.” I murmured.

“So, what happen to Ojou-chan?” Baku sweatdropped.

“She just happened to love Chocobo a bit too much. Too much that I am jealous.”

“Bwahahaha! You win the game, but lost the war. I really pity you, An-chan” Baku patted his shoulders.

“Haahh…” He sighed. “[Name]. Here, this is yours.” Something is shoved to my face. It’s the grand prize of the shooting range, Golden Chocobo.

“For me?” I blinked.

“Of course.” He rolled his eyes. “If I don’t give it to you. You’ll keep staring at me as if you are having a grudge on me.” He smirked.

“I-I will not.” I flushed.

“Ojou-chan!” Baku called.

“Yes?”

“Here. A consolation prize.” Baku gave me two droppy chocobo hat. “Thanks to Ojou-chan, I have a great laugh today.” Baku grinned.

“Thank you!” I quickly put it on my head, while keeping the headband I got on my small backpack I brought. “Noct, you wear one too.” I gave the hat to him. The said man obediently bends down his body so I can put it on him. “We match!” I laughed happily, completely missing his softened look to me.

“Bahahaha! I pray for your success, an-chan.” Baku laughed.

“Thanks.” Noct replied. While I completely don’t understand what they were talking about. “Let’s go. We still have many attractions to ride.” He tugged my hand along.

“Yes!” ‘I think whether this is a dream or reality, this will be the happiest day of my live.’

Our next destination is, “Chocobo House!!!” I shrieked at the sight. I rush to the house, wanting to see it up close and personal.

“Hey! Don’t run!” I heard Noct’s warning.

“Don’t worry! I am not a child. I won’t fall down. Hurry up! Hurry up!” I urged him.

“We need to buy tickets first.” He sighed.

“Ah.” I blinked, completely forgotten that. Noct rolls his eyes as he pays for the tickets.

“Thank you for the purchase. Please enjoy the house.” The staff smiled.

Chocobo House, truly befitting the name. The house is basically Chocobo den. Look right, there will be a lot of Chocobo. Look left, there will be a lot of Chocobo. Look up, there will be a lot of Chocobo lantern. Look down, the tile is Chocobo pattern. And in the center if the house, there is the fat Chocobo.

“….Can I take that home?” I muttered out loud.

“Will it fit in your room?” Noct sweatdropped.

“I have an unused room. It will fit there. I can just move my Chocobo shrine there.” My eyes sparkled.

“Oi oi oi. Will they even let you buy it. Rather, even if they are willing to sell. Does your pocket money enough?” Noct sighed.

“Hmmm…. I should really get a part time job.” I muttered as I trying to calculate how much the Fat Chocobo will cost.

“Wait! Wait! They are selling the miniature version of Fat Chocobo. Let’s take a look.” Noct dragged me to the merchandise counter. In the end, I buy the Fat Chocobo plushie. More precisely, it was bought for me.

“I could buy it myself. You’ve paid for the rides and tickets. I can at least buy the merchandise myself.” I pouted and frowned as I hugged the plushie.

“It’s fine. I just want to. My father told me I need to spoil you to win your heart. He even willingly and happily to let me spend money to make you his daughter in law.” He muttered.

“Hm? What did you say?” I couldn’t hear the second part of his sentences.

“Nothing. Let’s ride that next.” He pointed to the Chocobo-go-round.

“Okay!” ~”~

“I am hungry~” I whined as I sat on the park bench.

“It’s already 1.00 p.m.” Noctis said as he looked at his watch. “The food court is over there.” Noctis said.

“Yosh! After lunch, we are going to continue.” I beamed, while my companion just shook his head at my antics. “Hey, don’t tell me you don’t enjoy it. Because we know it’s a lie.” I pointed my finger to him.

“I never said I didn’t.” He chuckled.

“Then all is well.” I grinned.

We are sitting in the food court, waiting for our order. The topic of our conversation is the hellish timing our friends have. “They are definitely…” I trailed off.

“…Doing this in purpose…” He finished.

“There’s no way they have this kind of convenient timing of not going. Well, in Zack’s case… he might be really grounded.” I giggled as we glanced secretly to the seats behind us.

“He-hey! Don’t be too noisy, they’ll find out.” A familiar voice of Tifa was heard.

“But, I can’t hear what are they talking about.” Yuffie whined.

“What a sloppy tailing.” I sniggered.

“They really… have too much free time.” Noct sighed.

“They seem don’t know that we’ve know they tailed us from the start.” I laughed merrily, really enjoying this charade. From the corner of my eyes, I can see now they are fighting for food, Zack and Cloud plus Yuffie. “Let’s caught them red handed later.” I laughed.

“Here are your orders.” A kind waitress set down our food.

“Thank you.” We thanked her.

“Please enjoy!” She smiled cheerily.

“Thanks for the food.” ~”~

“Noct. Let’s go over there.” I pointed to an ice-cream stall.

“Didn’t you just eat lunch?” He blinked.

“If it’s for ice cream, I am sure my stomach will make more room.” I answered.

“….What flavor?” He could only helplessly ask.

“Sea-salt ice cream!” I said excitedly.

“Wait here.” He told me and he is off to the stall.

“Ah, I want ice cream too.” I heard Yuffie whined.

“If we go now. We’ll be caught.” Stella reminded.

“But… ice cream…” I could already imagine her face looked like a kicked puppy.

“We need to endure.” Luna said sternly.

“Here.” Noct came back with an ice cream.

“Where is yours?” I blinked as I took the ice cream.

“I am good.” He said.

“Is that so?” I licked the ice. “Mmmnn… It’s delicious.” My eyes sparkled. “Here. Have a taste. It’s delicious. Delicious food should be shared to double the deliciousness.” I grinned.

“…Then, I’ll be happy to oblige.” He smiled softly as eat the ice from my hand.

“How is it? Isn’t it delicious?” I asked animatedly.

“Yeah. It’s delicious.” A ghost smile on his lips.

“See! I told you, you should buy one for yourself.” I said smugly. I quickly devour the ice cream until I realize what have I done. *Poof* ‘He ate mine…. Indirect kiss… No no no, let’s not think about it.… Okay, breathe in… breathe out… It’s okay. It’s just indirect kiss. No biggie….NO! it’s not okay for my heart! Does he even realized what he has done! I know I was the one offered it to him, but…’

“Why is your face red? Is it heatstroke?” He frowned.

“No! I am fine! Completely fine. It’s only a little bit too hot! It’s not a heatstroke!” The completely flustered me squeaked out. “Let’s go there!” I randomly pointed a ride and hurried there, missing the knowing smirk on his face.

The clock has shown 5.30 p.m. the only remaining ride is, “Hey, Noct. Let’s ride Chocobo Wheel.” I dragged him to the line. The said man allows me to drag him, he’s suprisingly obidient.

The Ferris Wheel stops when we are at the top. “When are we going to catch them red handed?” He smirked.

“You’ll see.” I grinned mischievously. “As expected from the highest point. I can see all of them park from here. It’s beautiful.” I was awed by the breathtaking view.

“Indeed…” What I didn’t know is, he wasn’t talking about the view.

The ride has ended. We are back on the land. “Ah! I have to call Squeon, first. I am worried about Rinoa.” I said out loud, letting our stalkers hear. “If he has something he needs, I can swing to the nearest drug store.” I fished out my phone from my bag. Can practically hear the nervous choked sounds from our stalkers. I push the speed dial button number 1. A familiar ringtone rings. My smile widens when I heard that.

“Hello!” I waved to them. We catch our stalkers red handed. “I thought you all have some kind of troubles.” I raised my brow.

“Ahahahha… We were just...uh…worried about you two. Yes, we were worried.” Zack laughed nervously, which then elbowed by Aerith for stuttering.

“So, did you guys get nice pictures? Because I am expecting it.” I snickered.

“I thought you were grounded, Zack.” Noct smirked.

“Hey, everyone! The photos are done. What are- “Yuffie stopped in mid sentence when she saw us. “Ahahahaha. Hello, [Name].” Yuffie greeted me.

“Geh! Noct!” Prompto gasped.

“Yuffie~, Prompto ~ What about those pictures in your hands?” I asked with a smile etched on my face.

“O-oh, th-this is..” She trailed off, senaking a glance on me, I still waiting her answer with a smile. “Eheheheh.... Okay, I give up. Here, all yours.” She gave us the photos they took. To put it simply, those are our candid photos. There are also the others but mostly about me and Noctis.

“Awww, this one is soo cute.” Tifa cooed. The pictures she chooses is the one when Noct was eating my ice cream. The angle is good. It’s just quite embarrassing.

“Heheh. Mine is this.” Luna chose the time when I put Chocobo hat on Noct.

“Oh. I like this one.” Stella picked our competition in shooting range.

“This one is good.” Aerith liked the one where I hug the huge Fat Chocobo in Chocobo House.

“Oookay. Let’s save this for later. For the last ride, we’ll go on Chocobo Jet. I will not allow any objection.” I exclaimed happily. For the last ride. We are fortunate the ride is enough for all of us.

“It was fun! It’s been a while I play this much.” I stretched.

“We should come here together again.” Rinoa smiled.

“Agreed! But no more stalking.” I laughed.

Time sure flies fast. It’s already one week before Christmas, we the girls are shopping for Christmas gift. ‘Sooo, what should I buy? Let’s just buy what they can use everyday.’ The other girls already busy choosing their own gifts. I am just strolling in the accesorries shop. After all of us finished, we head back to home. ~”~

It’s finally Christmas. The girls agreed to gather at Tifa’s house and give a make-over to each other, while I opted to not involved which is not an option. I am also dragged in to the whole fiasco. Exactly 7 p.m. We heard the knock, signaling the boy group has come.

“Merry Christmas.” Zack said excitedly.

“Merry Christmas.” We greeted. After we greeted each other, the party starts. I give them their respective gifts. Earrings for Tifa, bracelet for Yuffie, a necklace for Stella and Luna, a phone case for Vincent, a dress for Aerith, a google for Cloud, another dress for Rinoa and a for Zack, my self proclaimed brother, I gave him a pair of shoes. For my dearest cousin, it’s a leather jacket.

I am now down to the last person, but the said person isn’t in the room. The gift is still clutched in my hand. I see Tifa tilts her head to the yard, I nod and flash a grateful smile.

I found him gazing stars. “Not going to enter?” I asked.

Noctis glances at me and then back to the stars. “Too noisy.” Was his short answer. I laugh lightly at his short, but clear answer.

There is a comfortable silence between us, until I remember the reason I searched him. “Here.” I gave him the small blue box.

“For me?” I nodded at his question. Then he also pulls out something small from his pocket and gives it to me. I look at the gift curiously. I try to guess what’s in this little black box. Seeing the blatant curiosity on my face, Noctis chuckles. “Open it.” He said. With that said, I open the box excitedly. There, in the black box there is a ring necklace. My name is carved on the ring. My eyes widened and let out a small laugh. Noctis only stares at me with raised eyebrow.

“Open my gift.” I said still laughing. With a strange look he opens the box. His eyes also widen, there in the blue box I gave him, there’s also a same ring necklace. the only difference is the carved names. Then a small laugh also escapes from his lips.

“Will you allow me to escort you in the winter ball?” He asked.

This question caught me off guard. I never thought he will ask me let alone think about it. I look left, right and then behind me to see if someone is there. “…Are you practicing so you can ask Luna?” I blinked.

“Why are you bringing up Luna?” He frowned.

“Eh? Why? Because isn’t that so?” I was taken back.

“It’s not.” He sighed exasperated.

“Then… If you are fine with me. I’ll be happy to take on your offer.” I smiled. ~”~

The day before the ball. The girls agree to meet up again in Tifa’s house right after school. They are going to match the dress they’ve bought with their accessories. “Hm? [Name], where’s your dress?” Luna asked.

“Ah, I don’t have one I was sure I am going alone, so I didn’t buy dress. I am going to wear school uniform. The rule didn’t specifically say the dress code is an evening dress.” I smiled sheepishly.

“School…” (Stella)

“Uni…” (Aerith)

“…form” (Tifa)

“You said?!” (Luna)

“Huh? Isn’t Noctis escorting you?” Yuffie blinked.

“He did two days ago. It’s just, I don’t have time to pick up dress. So, I am going to wear school uniform.” I nodded.

“Change of plan.” Stella said seriously.

“Yes. We have a change of plan.” Luna agreed.

“Huh?” I blinked.

“We are going to shop for your dress right now.” Aerith smiled.

“Eh? Right now. We don’t have that much time…anymore.” I finished timidly, seeing their scary smiles.

“Sorry [Name}. Even I can’t help you.” Yuffie said. ~”~

At last, the most dreaded day that I wish never come is finally here. 28th December, that means the winter ball. ‘Why it has to be a ballroom, can we just change to more casual party?’ I groaned.

“[Name], you shouldn’t put that kind of face. You are the prince’s date, are you not?” Zack teased.

“The said prince has the same opinion as me.” I said unamused. The girls and the boys wear a matching color, including Noct and I. Apparently, Luna called Noct and asked, no demanded him to wear a cobalt blue suit, so he can match with my dress.

The hall is decorated just like a real ballroom. There are also snacks and drinks there. Once we enter the hall, Reno instantly flies to the other side of the hall sweet talking to a group of girls. The others asked their dates to dance with them. Being a gentleman he is, our favourite prince also asks me to dance. “I can’t dance.” I smiled wryly.

“Don’t worry. Just follow my lead. Waltz is an easy dance.” He said taking my hand. We dance peacefully until someone with the name of Tachibana Kirika ruins it.

“Noctis dear~” She called with such coquettish voice that it actually made me had a goosebumps. “I am sure I can be a better partner than this plain looking girl.” Tachibana-san winked at him.

“Sorry if I am plain looking. At least, you should learn how to wear a proper make up. The color doesn’t suit you.” I rolled my eyes.

“No, thank you.” He refused politely.

But that sets Tachibana-san in rage. “Exactly what did you see in this girl?” She screeched and pointed her finger to me. “I am prettier and a ton of guys asked me to be their date.” She yelled.

Noctis narrows his eyes. “Then, you can have them to accompany you. Listen, I am tired of your antics. Don’t you dare badmouth her! The next time you do so, I won’t forgive you!” Noctis snapped. Then, Noct storms out from the hall, leaving the said girl there standing dumbfounded and biting her fingernail.

‘Wow, this is the first time I see him angry.’ I too, quietly leaving the hall searching for my partner.

“So, you are here.” I said after I found him on the rooftop. He only stands there unmoving. “Still angry?” I asked.

“Not anymore.” He answered.

“I doubt she will stalk you after your outburst just now.” I laughed.

“She better be.” He let out a snort.

“Hey, Noct.”

“Hm?”

“What was the meaning of the word carved in the golden watch?” I asked as I took out the watch from my dress’ small pocket.

“Are you curious about that?” He asked.

“Very.” Was my answer.

“That is-” He walked closer to me without breaking the eye contact. He stands right in front of me, making me wait with bated breath. He bends down so his mouth right beside my ear, and whispers softly. “Eternal bond.” After saying that, he stood straight. A small smile on his lip, satisfied with my now blushing face.

“You-! Can just say it normally.” I glared at him. The futile glare only makes him smiles. He pulls me toward him. “Wha-” I blinked rapidly as he pressed his lips to mine.

‘Unable to process. [Name].exe crashed.’

I suddenly wake up from my nap and look at my surrounding. I am in my room, the same room before all of that happen, my workbook is still on my desk untouched. “I see, that was a dream after all.” I said disappointed. I blush again remembering the last part of the dream. “What an outrageous dream I had.” I sweatdropped. I put my finger on my lips as if I can still feel the warmth.

“[Name], you idiot. That was just a dream.” I scolded myself. “Rather than thinking about it, I should take a bath.” I mumbled walking to the bathroom. Unbeknown to me there are a ring necklace with my name and a golden watch with its lid opened on my desk.

“Our bond is eternal”

[antebunny]

Wei Wuxian, worst supervillain: part 2

Full series here.

-

“Wen Ning,” Wei Wuxian, with the urgency of a doomed man. “You gotta help me.”

“What’s the problem?” Wen Ning says immediately.

“Absolutely not,” Wen Qing says, without looking up from her book.

She’s sitting comfortably on the single couch in Wei Wuxian’s so-called villain lair. In reality, he couldn’t afford anywhere else, and the Burial Mounds are rent-free and neighborless. She still made Wei Wuxian buy the red couch, and it remains the only splash of color in the whole complex.

Wei Wuxian pauses, his palms still slammed down on the creaking table in the center of the room. Wen Ning continues mixing his tea. “Okay, first off,” he says, mortally offended, “you didn’t even know what I was going to say. And second, I wasn’t even asking you!”

“I’m answering for A-Ning,” Wen Qing says calmly.

“Wen Ning is a free man!” Wei Wuxian argues. “He can make his own decisions!”

“What do you need help with?” Wen Ning intervenes, dragging Wei Wuxian’s attention away from the argument.

“I’m not being taken seriously!” Wei Wuxian wails.

Wen Qing snorts. “Why would I?”

“I didn’t mean you,” Wei Wuxian says, once more mortally offended. “I mean the superheroes! They’re not taking me seriously as a villain! Last time I robbed the national bank, they just sent Lan Zhan, and we didn’t even fight!”

“Right,” Wen Qing says drily. “You just debated philosophy for two hours.”

“He had some interesting points,” Wei Wuxian mutters sulkily. “What was I supposed to do, just not debate him?”

“Yes,” says Wen Qing.

“I can’t just ignore Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian says belligerently. “Anyway, shouldn’t you be concerned? If the superheroes don’t take me seriously, how am I supposed to secure the safety of your family? If I just rescue them the government will never stop hunting them!”

Wen Qing rolls her eyes. “It’s not my fault you chose the stupidest way to go about it. Now both of your siblings are mad at you.”

Wei Wuxian opens his mouth to retort and then pauses. “Okay, but,” he tries, “it’s too late now! After last Friday–”

“There were easier ways to explain to Meng Yao where he got his psychic powers from,” Wen Qing notes, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

Both Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning flush bright red.

-

“–the truth, Meng Yao,” the Yiling Patriarch said melodramatically, and his black coat billowed out behind him as he stalked towards Meng Yao.

The young man scrambled backwards over the rubble of the destroyed convenience store, his honey eyes wide with fear at the sight of the masked supervillain loomed over him. He was the communications director for the superheroes before all this happened, but during this fight Wei Wuxian had noticed his fledgling psychic powers and looked at the young man, who happened to look eerily similar to Jin Zixuan, and realized what was going on.

“They never told you what happened to your father,” Wei Wuxian continued, easily cornering Meng Yao.

Back in the Burial Mounds, Wen Ning leaned towards his computer like he could merge into the scene. His fingers flew across the keys, as he suddenly remembered some quote about a father that would be perfect for this situation. If only he could get to his list of villain phrases fast enough–

Wei Wuxian paused as the line flashed in front of his eyes, projected by his mask. Without registering the words, he read it out loud. “I am your father!”

Meng Yao stopped cowering.

The Yiling Patriarch stopped stalking dramatically. “Ah, fuck,” he said, his pointed finger drooping. “Wait–I meant–”

Two superheroes landed on the pile of rubble beside Meng Yao.

“Darth Vader, The Empire Strikes Back,” Hanguang-jun said confidently.

“How are you so fucking stupid,” Sandu Shengshou said, almost wonderingly. Bright purple lightning crackled around his fingertips.

“Shut up, I don’t know you!” The Yiling Patriarch cried. “I meant Jin Guangshan! I meant Jin Guangshan!”

-

“I think Zewu-jun’s handling it,” Wei Wuxian says evasively.

Wen Qing snorts. “Sure.”

“The point is they’re not taking me seriously!” Wei Wuxian insists. “Wen Ning, what can I do to make them take me seriously as a villain?”

“Do something only a villain would do,” Wen Ning suggests.

“Well obviously,” Wei Wuxian says. “But what?” He pulls out the chair across from Wen Ning and plonks himself down in it. They both ponder this question.

“Maybe you could kidnap a hero?” Wen Ning suggests.

Wei Wuxian brightens. “That’s a great idea! But who?”

“Oh my God,” Wen Qing mutters from her comfy seat on the couch.

“Not Jiang Cheng, he’d kill me,” Wei Wuxian muses. He props his chin up with one hand. “And I don’t want to kidnap someone who’d get actually scared…Lan Zhan! Perfect. I’ll kidnap their precious Hanguang-jun. Then they’ll have to take me seriously!”

"Kill me now," Wen Qing groans.

-

When Lan Wangji wakes up to see the Yiling Patriarch looming over him, he thinks he’s still dreaming for one embarrassing moment. He’s glad he recognizes his mistake, or he would’ve said or done something mortifying that he prefers not to think about.

“Good morning, Lan Zhan!” The Yiling Patriarch says, grinning evilly. “You are in the lair of the Yiling Patriarch.”

Lan Wangji sits up. He’s on a soft red couch, wrapped in at least three blankets. Other than that, the large room is rather sparse; the walls are plain stone, as is the floor, save for a threadbare rug on top of which a rickety old table sits, with four chairs of varying styles situated around it.

“How does it feel to know you’ve been kidnapped by your worst enemy?” The Yiling Patriarch says gleefully.

He leans closer, and Lan Wangji swallows, his throat dry. It seems that the Yiling Patriarch forgeos his high-collar black coat when he’s at home. He’s currently wearing a baggy black shirt and black ripped jeans, which means that when Lan Wangji looks up, he’s looking directly at his collarbone, then up at his jawline, and then at the bottom half of his face. As he leans in, his lips curve in a wicked smile, and no, Lan Wangji not thinking about his forearms, or those beautiful, slender hands–

“How does it feel knowing you’ve been rendered powerless?” The Yiling Patriarch continues. His silver eyes track the movement of Lan Wangji’s throat. “Are you uncomfortable?” He asks worriedly. “This place has no heating–you know, free rent, that’s how it is–and I didn’t have anywhere else to put you, but I thought I brought enough blankets. Do you want tea? I can make tea!”

And the Yiling Patriarch bustles off, throwing a “Be right back! Don’t go anywhere!” over his shoulder.

Lan Wangji pushes the blankets off. “I am quite comfortable,” he says to himself. Perhaps he could’ve said it earlier, but he wasn’t going to dissuade the Yiling Patriarch from making him tea.

The Yiling Patriarch returns with two cups of jasmine tea, and invites Lan Wangji to take a seat at his table.

“Sorry about the chairs, they’re kinda falling apart,” the Yiling Patriarch says. “I got them at a yard sale. Well, four different yard sales, so none of them match.”

“It is fine,” Lan Wangji says.

“Right, right.” The Yiling Patriarch clears his throat, and pushes one teacup towards Lan Wangji. “Anyway. I thought it was time I proved my worth as a villain, don’t you think?” He leans back in his chair. One of the chair legs squeaks.

“You could always retire,” Lan Wangji suggests.

The Yiling Patriarch’s casual smile drops. “Not until I’ve done what I set out to do,” he says seriously. He pulls up his villain smile again. “Though I’m sure you heroes must be eager for me to retire, hm?”

“I am worried one day you might be seriously injured,” Lan Wangji replies.

“Ah, Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan,” the Yiling Patriarch says, shaking his head. “The tragedy is not to die, but to be wasted. I have so much–”

“Hannibal Lecter,” says Lan Wangji.

The Yiling Patriarch scowls at him. “Stop doing that. As I was saying, I have so much to do, and so little time on this earth. If I must turn to villany to accomplish my goals, then I will. You cannot debate me into giving up my pursuits.”

“Why must you turn to villainy?” Lan Wangji asks. He drinks his tea. It’s over boiled, but still the best tea he’s ever had.

“Because otherwise, nobody listens,” the Yiling Patriarch says. “You think I didn’t try the proper way first?”

“No doubt you tried,” says Lan Wangji. “Nevertheless: what are your goals? Why do you hide your face? Who are you protecting?”

The Yiling Patriarch slams his teacup down. “You want the truth?” He pauses. “You can’t handle the truth!”

Lan Wangji sips his tea. “Colonel Nathan Jessup, A Few Good Men.”

“Stop doing that!” The Yiling Patriarch cries. He stands up and shakes his finger very threateningly at Lan Wangji. “You seem to have forgotten that you have been kidnapped, Lan Zhan.”

“I have not,” Lan Wangji says. The location leaves something to be desired, but other than that he thinks it’s a very fine first date.

“Then–! Don’t forget who holds the power in this situation!”

“Mhm,” Lan Wangji agrees. He sips his tea again. “Thank you for the tea.”

“O-oh, of course,” the Yiling Patriarch says, thrown. He sits down again. “You seemed like a no sugar type of person.” He pauses. “I mean, if you want sugar, I have some in the pantry. I think. Unless we ran out.”

“No need,” Lan Wangji says. He is, in fact, a no-sugar type of person.

“That’s good,” the Yiling Patriarch says. He smiles at Lan Wangji, who almost smiles back, heart set aflutter by the gentle smile on the Yiling Patriarch’s face.

“What is your plan?” Lan Wangji asks.

“My plan?” The Yiling Patriarch echoes, thrown once more. “I mean, my villainous plan! Uh. The one that I have.”

“Is this all for your image?” Lan Wangji presses.

“Of course,” the Yiling Patriarch says immediately. “You know me. Vanity, definitely my favorite sin.”

“John Milton, The Devil’s Advocate.”

“Shut up! I can’t believe you memorized all these quotes,” the Yiling Patriarch bemoans. “Lan Zhan, you’re ruining all my fun.”

Lan Wangji sips his tea again. “I am quite capable of research.”

“I’ll say,” he mutters.

“It is not too late to turn back,” Lan Wangji says, trying for once to put the turmoil of emotion he feels into his tone. “We can still put old wounds behind us. I can help you.”

The Yiling Patriarch slumps against his table. “Can we?” He asks, subdued. “After all, our scars have the power to remind us that the past was real.”

“Hannibal Lecter again,” says Lan Wangji.

“Fuck you! Hannibal Lecter is a good villain!” The Yiling Patriarch swells belligerently.

“And you,” Lan Wangji says calmly, “are not a very convincing villain.”

“What do you mean?” The Yiling Patriarch demands. “I kidnapped a hero! Only villains do that!” He sweeps one arm across the situation, gesturing at the hot jasmine tea and the pile of blankets on the couch behind them, and at Lan Wangji, seated primly on the old wooden chair provided for him. “This is a kidnapping!”

“Hm,” Lan Wangji says.

“I am a supervillain!” The Yiling Patriarch insists. “There’s no coming back from that. I destroyed a skyscraper last week. I’ve cost the government too much money for them to ever forgive me. There’s no way for you to redeem me!”

“There is nothing to redeem,” Lan Wangji says sharply.

The Yiling Patriarch flinches. When he stops, his expression is scraped raw. “R-right,” he says shakily. “O-of course–”

“I meant there is nothing to redeem, because you are already good,” Lan Wangji says hurriedly, realizing the misinterpretation of his statement.

The Yiling Patriarch pauses, mouth half open. “Lan Zhan, there’s no way for you to know that,” he croaks. “You don’t even know my name.”

“I do,” Lan Wangji says quietly. “And I don’t need to.” He hesitates, then reaches for the Yiling Patriarch's hand. He grips it tight, and the Yiling Patriarch lets him. “You are good.”

The Yiling Patriarch draws in a shaky breath. “Wei Ying,” he blurts. “Courtesy Wuxian. That’s. My name.”

Lan Wangji can feel the corners of his lips curve into a smile. “Wei Ying,” he repeats. “Wei Ying, you are good.”

[voidstilesplease]

Percabeth Fic List 1/?

For @annalise-elizabeth-jackson. Here's the Percabeth fic list I promised you :) It might be a bit out-dated, though, because I haven't read any Percabeth fic since late 2019. But these are some of my favorites, and I hope you find something that you haven't read yet!

Also, here's a gif of the scene that should've made it to The Lightning Thief movie that I'm inserting for no apparent reason. > <

I Got a Boy by flyingcrowbar (Teen | 136k words | complete)

Tag/s: Crossdressing, Pretend Identity, Homosexuality, Homophobia, Hate Crimes

Summary: Bolt Academy has everything: prestige, affluence, renown. Almost every world leader, CEO, athlete, and have stepped through its doors. Problem is, it’s only for boys. But it’s the only school with the most challenging architecture program in the country. What else is Annabeth Chase supposed to do? Desperate to achieve her dream of becoming an esteemed architect, she cuts off her long curls, binds her chest, and goes by the name of Andy - the newest male student on campus. Now she must travel the dorms, the locker rooms, even the hallways with her secret. It’s smooth sailing, that is until Annabeth’s roommate Percy Jackson - a nationally ranked freestyle swimmer - starts to have feelings for Andy.

Coming to understand his sexual orientation, Percy navigates a campus filled with homophobia and hate crimes, all while every day taking a step closer to competing in the Olympics. Around every corner lies an opportunity for sabotage, and Percy has a target on his back.

But when Percy discovers the secret that Annabeth has been keeping, hard choices must be made and neither are willing to let the other give up on their dreams.

An interpretation of “She’s the Man” and the Korean drama “To the Beautiful You.”

⭐ Vivid by lesbabeths (Gen | 13k words | one-shot)

Tag/s: Soulmates, Color bonding

Summary: Percy is two when he first learns what a 'color' is, and although a whole lot more time passes before he sees one, he gets there eventually, and it's just as amazing as he'd always hoped.

Law of Attraction by greenconverses (Explicit | 2k words | one-shot)

Tag/s: Shameless smut

Summary: Through months of careful experimentation, Annabeth learned that one sure fire way to guarantee getting laid was to be caught wearing Percy's Mets jersey around the apartment.

⭐ if i were to pluck on your heartstrings (Gen | 22k words | one-shot) and its companion fic in Percy's POV would you strum on mine (Not Rated | 22k words | one-shot) by seaweedbraens

Tag/s: Soulmates

Summary: Annabeth thought she was right on track until the universe just decided to give her a red string that just so happened to link to her best friend, forcing her to face her dormant feelings and effectively screwing up her life for good.

Not So Shore by bananannabeth (Gen | 9k words | one-shot)

Tag/s: Outsider POV, Mortal OC POV

Summary: Percy Jackson just transferred to AHS on a swimming scholarship, and Olivia is convinced that there's something weird about him. In order to get to the bottom of it, she decides to befriend him and his girlfriend, Annabeth, and drags her best friend Kelly along for the ride.

⭐ The Curse of Lethe series by shiiki (Mature | 100k | complete)

Tag/s: Memory Loss, Canon-typical Violence

Summary: Percy and Annabeth intended to retire and spend a quiet four years at college in New Rome. However, old enemies have other ideas, and one very determined attack leaves Percy poisoned and fighting for his life and Annabeth facing the difficult decision of giving him the only cure: water from the Lethe...and dealing with the heartbreaking side-effects. There is hope, though, but will Percy, Annabeth, and their friends have the courage to brave Tartarus again to retrieve Percy's memories from the edge of Chaos?

⭐ To Build a Home by bananannabeth (Mature | 9k words | complete)

Tag/s: Major Character Death (but it's worth the pain 😭), Heavy Angst

Summary: Percy Jackson is the worst neighbour Annabeth Chase has ever had. Loud music, lots of friends, skateboarding in the hall - he's everything she doesn't want. So why can she not imagine home without him?

---

He rubbed slow circles on her back and murmured sweet nothings into her hair. “I’m sorry,” he kept saying, over and over. “I’m so sorry.”

“Why are you apologising to me?” she croaked. “You’re the one who’s -”

“Dying,” he finished for her. “I’m dying, and that’s why I’m sorry.”

Home Run by Millennial_Medusa (Explicit | 9k words | one-shot)

Tag/s: Shameless smut again 🙈

Summary: Percy is the pitcher for their college baseball team, and the sight of him in the uniform is giving Annabeth all kinds of dirty ideas.

⭐ Murkiest Intentions by inkncoffee (Teen | 144k words | complete)

Tag/s: Jurassic World AU (man, I loved this so much), Annabeth is the Park Manager, Percy is the Raptor Trainer

Summary: On Isla Nublar, one wrong move could mean certain death. Park manager Annabeth Chase is certain that adding the raptor paddock with their infuriating new trainer, Percy Jackson, is the epitome of this idea. But they find that here in Jurassic World, the secrets that lie in the shadows just might be more dangerous than the dinosaurs themselves.

If You're Comfortable by Quietnerdgasm (Explicit | 7k words | complete)

Tag/s: Lol, smut. Photography and smut.

Summary: Architecture student Annabeth takes a photography class to practice finding the beauty in things. When her final project requires a human subject she begrudgingly reaches out to an acquaintance.

~•~

[undertale-anomaly20]

Mortal Kombat 11 x reader: Chapter 1 Next of kin

The scene shows the exterior of Earthrealm's Sky Temple. A raging storm echoes through the landscape, with red lightning cutting through the cloudy night sky and going straight into the top of the temple itself. The temple is shown from several angles, gradually getting closer with each passing camera shot. As we close in, the sound of someone screaming in agony echoes over the continuing lightning strikes.　

The camera cuts to an overhead shot of the Temple, directly above the hole where the lightning is shooting into. Many floors of the Temple have been outright demolished by the lightning, and the hole extends to the very bottom floor that houses the Jinsei, the life force of Earthrealm. The camera pans down the hole, and it becomes apparent that the red lightning is being blasted directly into a person, and once the bottom of the hole is reached we can see who that person is. It is the fallen Elder God known as Shinnok. Bound by chains and bloodied by the continued assault, Shinnok is powerless to do anything but scream at the lightning striking his body. The strikes stop for a moment, allowing Shinnok a moment to catch his breath and speak.　

"You... you should thank me, Raiden. Our battle changed you... for the better!" he chuckles through the pain. Raiden stands across from Shinnok, in front of the Jinsei itself. Upon a closer inspection, it becomes apparent that Shinnok is correct in that Raiden has changed; his eyes now glow a bright red instead of blue, his attire is more armoured and warlike, and most tellingly of all he wears Shinnok's amulet in the centre of his chest. In response to the taunts, he charges up red lightning through his hands and blasts it at Shinnok once more. The blasts continue for several seconds as Raiden closes the distance between himself and his mortal enemy.

"Be silent, Shinnok!" Raiden commands then stops the blasts and Shinnok sinks to his knees, the chains on his arms preventing him from keeling over entirely. He nonetheless manages to chuckle, in spite of his predicament. Raiden hovers his hand over Shinnok's head for a moment, then he suddenly grabs it, channeling more lightning directly into Shinnok for a brief moment. After the assault, Shinnok finds his tongue once again "But you wear my amulet. Finally you embrace the truth the Elder Gods deny. The truth I was cast out for speaking" Shinnok taunts "The truth I embrace, Shinnok, is that mercy is wasted on those who defile Earthrealm" Raiden growls.  He places a hand on Shinnok's chains "I will destroy our enemies before they destroy us... starting with you!" He yanks the chains, pulling Shinnok to his feet. Shinnok begins to chuckle in response "How, Raiden? Not even you can kill an Elder God" he grins with amusment Raiden says nothing, but instead charges more lightning through his hand. Shinnok braces for another assault, but Raiden does not blast him this time.　"There are fates worse than death"  He closes his fist, and the lightning forms into a blade pulsing with red electricity. Raiden draws his arm back and then slices the blade clean through Shinnok's neck. Shinnok gags as blood begins to spill from the wound, and a moment later his severed head falls from his shoulders. Raiden dismisses the lightning blade and drags Shinnok's head - still leaking blood - across the Jinsei chamber to a nearby table.　

When Shinnok opens his eyes once more, he tries to speak, but cannot form any words without the use of his lungs. Raiden slams his fist down onto the table, sparking once more with red electricity.　

"I will deliver you to Liu Kang and your Netherrealm minions. You will serve as warning - and an emblem of my wrath" he says as he walks to the hole in the Temple and teleports away. As soon as he does so, another figure appears in the Jinsei chamber. As this person walks into the fray, the raindrops from the raging storm slow and then stop entirely, suspended in midair. The person is a woman, bald headed, clad in white and shimmering with a faint blue hue that permeates her skin. She walks over to the table with Shinnok's head on it.　

"This is not your destiny, Shinnok. Once again the Thunder God has upset the balance of history" she said in a monotone voice Shinnok is unaffected by the time bending occurring in the rest of the chamber he regards the woman in front of him with what appears to be horror "But know this, The arc of the universe bends to my will" She clenches her hand into a fist. The blood flowing from Shinnok's head starts to drip down the side of the table... until it suddenly stops. Shinnok tries to speak, but is still unable to do so "It is only a matter of time"　

Another cut transitions to a waving flag with the Special Forces logo on it, and the title of the first chapter appears on screen.　

The camera pans down past the flag to show an open hangar. In the interior, a squadron of forty soldiers stand at ease. At the front of the ranks are Cassie Cage and Jacqui Briggs. Cassie's father Johnny is in front of the squad, casually leaning against some crates. The soldiers all snap to attention and salute as a lone figure enters the hangar. Johnny stands up and takes off his sunglasses, smiling as General Sonya Blade walks up to the squad. She stops in front of Cassie and returns the salute.　

"As you were" Sonya states. In perfect synchronization, the squadron all stand at ease. "For twenty-five years, the Special Forces have been Earthrealm's sword and shield. We've pushed back Shao Kahn, defeated Shinnok. Yet none of our victories have come without cost" Sonya says as a flicker of sadness passes across Jacqui's face "Recently, Commander Jackson Briggs was honourably discharged. His wounds, both physical and psychological, left him no longer fit to serve" Jacqui continues to look downcast Sonya looks in her direction "We honour Jacqui's father, and we honour his sacrifice by doing what he would do; tirelessly defend Earthrealm" After a pause, she looks over to Cassie "Sergeant Cage, step forward" Cassie does so "Your leadership and war-fighting ability have earned you promotion to Commander" Cassie beams with delight at her mothers words "But there are no family favours here. By Special Forces tradition, you still have to pass one last test" Cassie smile and says "I need to kick the CO's ass, ma'am. Your ass, ma'am" they boh get into fighting stance "Alright then, Sergeant, let's see if you can take me" Sonya says ready.　

They fight. Even in her advanced age, Sonya remains a formidable opponent, with years of experience in close quarter kombat and the weaponry to match. But Cassie proves that she is more than up to the challenge and takes the fight to her mother. It's not long before Sonya is knocked down to the ground. With the fight over, Cassie salutes over General Blade.　

"Commander Cage, reporting for duty" Cassie helps her mother back to her feet. Johnny walks over as Sonya returns the salute "Congratulations, Commander"she says then steps aside as Johnny throws his arms around his daughter in a loving embrace, returned eagerly by Cassie. The scene then cuts to the outside of the hanger. A couple of soldiers are putting suppliers into a nearby helicopter "C'mon Dad, you really have to go?" she asks "Well, you've got your duty, Commander, I got mine"he says as Sonya smiles, putting a hand on Johnny's shoulder "Starring in another Ninja Mine sequel isn't what I'd call duty" she says smirking Johnny takes her other hand lovingly "I need to provide for you in the manner to which you've become accustomed" he said as they draw close and start kissing "Geez, guys, I'm right here" Cassie's words fall on deaf ears, but a moment later a crash of thunder - on a hot summer's day, no less - grabs all of their attention. Raiden teleports in front of them and strides forward.

"General Blade, Cassandra Cage" Raiden says standing before them "What is it, Raiden?" Cassie asks "The Netherrealm"　The scene cuts to the interior of the Special Forces command centre. Raiden, Sonya, Johnny and Cassie are all inside, walking over to a holographic table "We should open a dialogue. Maybe there's an explanation. Liu Kang and Kitana were friends once" Cassie suggests "They are irreparably polluted by Shinnok's evil. They are no longer the champions we once knew. We must strike them preemptively" Raiden says "It's about time we brought the fight to them. What's the target?" Sonya asks as she presses a button on the holoscreen. The table interface displays an image of several Netherrealm structures. One is a tower that reaches into the sky, and below it is what appears to be a church of sorts.　

"Buried deep between Liu Kang and Kitana's castle is the cathedral of Shinnok - the seat of their power. Destroy it and their undead army will fall, removing its threat to Earthrealm" Raiden informs them "Aren't your powers weaker in the Netherrealm?" Cassie asks "Yes, but I will have sufficient strength to occupy the undead army" "That'll buy us enough time to infiltrate the cathedral. Destroy it from the inside" Sonya says looking up from the holoprogection "We get pinned down in there, there's no way out" Cassie says shaking her head "To ensure Earthrealm's survival, we must all be willing to sacrifice" Raiden states making Johnny grunts in disgust "Y'know, it's been two years too much of your grim, gritty makeover droning on about sacrifice. You don't have a family to lose" he growls making raiden frown "I know loss, Johnny Cage" "Raiden's right, Johnny. We're not ready for another war. We've got to take out Netherrealm's army now, before Liu Kang can bring it here" Johnny looks unconvinced "if were actually doing this shouldn't we get (name) in on this" Cassie asked but Raiden shook his head "Lady (name)is unable to as she is bound to Kotal Kahn as hs second in command" Johnny nodded "that and she has a kid with her" he said as Sonya, Cassie and Raiden look over the plans regardless.　

The scene cuts to the Netherrealm. A storm of red lightning is striking the nearby landscape, with a dark grey cloud hovering on the ground. Out of the cloud comes Raiden, and a squadron of fully armed and armoured S-F soldiers jog past him. Cassie, Jacqui and Sonya all follow as well. The camera lingers on Cassie as she pauses to take in the dark, foreboding atmosphere of what is also known as Hell. She rejoins her fellow soldiers atop a hillside overlooking the cathedral of Shinnok. The camera pans down to the vast army of oni - Netherrealm demons - that surround the temple. They are innumerable in number and their howls echo across the landscape. Using the hillside as cover, the Special Forces creep towards the temple. An eerie silence permeates the air as they try to keep as silent as possible. Cassie kneels down for a moment to check a rangefinder on her holographic tablet. The oni army flashes in red directly in front of their current location.　

"We're in position. Hope Raiden's planned one hell of a diversion"Cassie says to her squad The camera cuts to Raiden, striding forth out of a cloud of dust. Shinnok's amulet pulsates with magic and he takes it from his chestplate into his hand. Directly in front of him, the oni army realises he is there and make their way towards him. "Withdraw, or feel the wrath of Earthrealm's protector!" he announces bu the oni pay no attention to his words, so Raiden lifts his hand into the air. Shinnok's amulet sparks even brighter as Raiden is surrounded from all sides. He makes no effort to move, and the first three oni to step too close are blasted by the amulet's magic. They are all disintegrated on the spot. The blasts continue, and many more oni are blasted into dust. Inside the castle, two figures walk onto the main balcony overlooking the army. They are the Emperor and Empress of the Netherrealm, Liu Kang and Kitana. They look down on Raiden blasting their troops, then at each other, but say nothing. The main gates of the castle are opened.　

More Netherealm demons come running out of the gate, these ones equipped with swords and axes. The Special Forces, with Cassie taking point, wait just out of sight by the main gate. After an age, the last of the oni runs into battle. Cassie leads the rest of the team into the castle. A lone oni straggler attempts to chop her in half with a sword, but Cassie deflects its attack with her machete and decapitates it without missing a beat. Inside the castle, Cassie, Sonya and Jacqui lead the soldiers down a spiral staircase into the lower levels. Bodies long rotted to bones litter the ground they walk on. A partially opened doorway stands before the Special Forces. Sonya and Cassie wait on either side of the doors and look into the chamber ahead. Inside the room is a sight to behold; the decapitated head of Shinnok is held in place next to a wall by two skeleton hands. Behind the wall is a raging inferno. Sparks of red electricity emit from Shinnok's head frequently; the torture Raiden inflicted upon him still causing him constant pain. Sonya and Cassie look around the rest of the room. The right side shows just a cavernous wall, but as they look to the left they hear demonic growls and step back instinctively. More oni start walking into the room, and among these oni are two recognisable revenants; the Black Dragon Kabal and the Edenian warrior Jade. They walk over to Shinnok's head.　

"Should Raiden get this far, eliminate him" said Jade. The oni say nothing in response. Jade and Kabal clasp their hands together and bow before Shinnok "That burn victim's Kabal? Wasn't he Kano's goon back in the day?" Cassie whispered "Don't let the scars fool you. He's fast. Take out him and Jade. I'll go downstairs and set the C4" Sonya replied "Roger that" Gritting her teeth, Cassie barges the door open. As the oni turn around, the front lines are cut down by the spread of bullets poured into the room by the S-F automatic rifles. Numerous oni fall, but one manages to floor a soldier with a jumping tackle. The demon stabs its sword through the poor man's eye repeatedly, though he was already dead on the first strike. Elsewhere, Cassie focus fire from her rifle on Kabal, but he deflects the bullets with his hookswords effortlessly as he charges forward. He then ducks low and changes direction, impaling another soldier through the chest with his weapons. Kabal then runs toward Cassie, using the dead man as a human shield. As she runs out of bullets and tries to change her ammo magazine, Kabal tears the soldier's body in half and swings his swords, forcing Cassie to dodge to the side. As Cassie backpedals from Kabal, Jacqui tries to flank him, but Jade jumps into the fray and slams her staff into the ground, missing Jacqui by inches. As Jacqui steps backward, Jade throws the staff into the air, catches it and swings, knocking Jacqui's rifle from her hands. Behind them, a rearguard of soldiers fires into the room while their comrades, led by Sonya, descend to the lower levels.　

"Move! Charges on every column! The Special Forces spread out into the basement, a dank and dark room flooded with more partial skeleton remains. Each soldier runs to a supporting column, taking out plastic explosives from their backpacks and attaching them to the columns. Upstairs, Jacqui blocks two strikes from Jade but a third catches her in the face. Undeterred, she strikes back, with Jade blocking two strikes but taking a fist to the belly. Jacqui follows through with a right hook and a roundhouse kick to the chest that sends Jade into a backflip. The agile Edenian lands on her feet and Jacqui targets her with a wrist-mounted machine gun, but an oni charges her before she can fire. She instead turns her aim to the oni and perforates its head with bullets, making it explode in a shower of gore. Kabal continues the assault on Cassie, forcing her to block his sword strikes with her rifle. However, one fierce blow of his manages to outright shear the gun in half. She gasps in surprise as she's left clutching the useless weapon, and then drops it with an almost sulky expression "You're a dead ringer for your mother" Kabal taunts "I'll kick your ass on her behalf, Kabal" Cassie growls.　

They fight. Kabal presents a formidable challenge in kombat with his speed and hookswords, but Cassie's own skill and fighting ability allow her to get the upper hand eventually. After a furious struggle, the revenant Black Dragon is finally knocked unconscious by Cassie "You lose as fast as you run" she mocks. Around Cassie, the soldiers that survived the fighting are assisting those who are injured. Jacqui comes running up to her "Jacqui, where's Jade?" she asked "She bailed. Getting help, I'm sure" Cassie turns her com on radiong Sonya "General, how we doing?" she asks Below them, Sonya picks up Cassie's voice over her earpiece as she finishes arming a C4 plastic explosive "Need ten minutes. The support columns are further apart than expected" she replies "You need help?" "Negative. Just watch our backs" "Ten more minutes? We needed to be tail-lights in five" Jacqui comments. Cassie almost responds, but a demonic roar from above stops her. Both she and Jacqui look up to the roof "Well, we're in the shit now. We have extra C4, yeah?" Cassie asked Jacqui "Yeah, why?" Cassie walks towards the entrance "Let's buy ourselves time"　

Outside, the Netherrealm army continue to converge on Raiden's position. Raiden has stopped blasting them with Shinnok's amulet, but is now wielding dual lightning blades. Every oni that steps too close to him is instantly cut into and disintegrated. He tirelessly kills every oni he swings at, with none of them even landing a hit on him. On the balcony, Liu Kang and Kitana continue to watch him slaughtering their forces. Jade walks onto the balcony with them "Emperor! Empress! Earthrealmers have captured the Bone Temple!" she warns them "But Raiden--" Kitana says in disbelif They look out to the Thunder God once again. Understanding comes a moment later for the revenants Liu Kang growls "He's the diversion!"　Back in the Bone Temple, Cassie runs her fingers along a tripwire attached to some armed C4 charges. She turns to Jacqui "Lock and load" They run back to a makeshift choke point, diving over two parts of a collapsed column that the rest of the soldiers are waiting in cover against. Jacqui pulls out her rifle, while Cassie is forced to rely on her dual pistols. Cassie glances upward. Through the glass on the roof above her, she notices the oni army - countless in number - running toward their position. She looks over to Jacqui, who is also gazing upward. Eventually the oni stampede finishes charging past the opening. When it does, Cassie faces forward with a look of determination. The first line of the oni charge into the room, but before they reach the doors, the plastic explosives detonate, engulfing the swarm in a massive explosion. But before the fireball has even finished dissipating, waves of oni leap into the fray. Cassie, Jacqui and the rest of the Special Forces all start firing at will, cutting down the oni charging them with a constant barrage of bullets.　

Down below, the shockwave of the explosion is felt by Sonya, who is still planting the explosives on the columns around her "What's going on up there?" she asked worried "Watching your back, General" Cassie replies. Heedless of the losses that went before them, the next wave of the oni army charges into the Special Forces' choke point. Like the demons before them, they are mowed down by the firepower of Cassie's duel pistols and the rifles of Jacqui and the S-F soldiers. Behind Jacqui, a group of oni charge from the opening behind the S-F choke point. She turns around just in time to shoot down an oni leaping in to attack. She stomps its head into mush for good measure. She drops an oni with a burst of bullets, then throws down her rifle and plants both her knees into the face of another charging demon, perforating its head with bullets fired from her wrist gauntlets.　

As the oni falls dead, Jacqui rolls off its corpse and comes to her feet, firing a barrage at another leaping oni. She staggers another with a single shot and jumps onto its shoulders, cutting down three more oni with precision shots while her mount flails about. The oni finally collapses, but Jacqui is already standing again. She shoots two more oni on either side of her, then crushes the throat of the oni beneath her with an ax kick, finishing it with a three round burst. Another oni charges and throws a punch, but Jacqui blocks it and fires a barrage into its chest, before exploding its head with a single shot. She judo throws the corpse to the floor, then shoots up another oni charging her from behind. She charges it in return and blasts into its chest, prompting a shower of blood from its back as it crumples to the floor. With the immediate threats downed, Jacqui looks off to one side and her eyes widen in horror.　

Liu Kang has arrived. Roaring with fury, he launches a flaming skull directly at her. Jacqui sidesteps it in the nick of time, but the skull shoots over to where Cassie is. She dives to the floor just before impact, and the skull explodes against the wall, sending a soldier sprawling. As Cassie looks up, she rolls backward, a split second before a bladed fan stabs down where she once was. Kitana presses the attack, slashing out with her fans and forcing Cassie to scurry backwards, each swing narrowly missing her. Finally Cassie manages to roll to her feet and into a fighting stance "Kitana, Empress of the Dead" Cassie states as Kitana pulls down a skull mask - almost reminiscent of Shao Kahn's - over her face "I've not forgotten our last encounter at the Sky Temple" Kitana commented "How're your scars healing?" Cassie asked sarcastically.　

They fight. Even in death, Kitana has lost none of the fighting skill she had while she was alive. But Cassie has taken her down before and this time proves no different. The Empress is soon beaten into the floor by Commander Cage. Before Cassie can deliver a quip, a cry from Sonya catches her attention "Move! Move, move, move!" Sonya shouts. The General and her soldiers have finished arming the C4 and the soldiers begin filing out toward the upper floor. The roof is starting to crumble around them. Back in the Bone Temple, Jacqui and Liu Kang are locked in kombat, and Kang hits a right cross and follows it with a backfist. With Jacqui stunned for a moment, time slows down as Kang charges up his fist with fire and slams it into her torso, sending her flying across the room. She lands hard and is knocked unconscious. Liu Kang turns toward the lower entrance and smiles. As the soldiers ascend the staircase, they find him waiting for them. They raise their weapons, but Kang sends a burst of fire into the roof above them. The already weakened roof begins to collapse even further, and in the room below Sonya is pounded repeatedly by falling debris. Cassie hears the sounds of her mother being hit by the rocks over her earpiece, and her expression turns from shock to horror "General? General!" She looks over the entrance to the lower levels. The collapsed roof has covered the stairwell entirely, blocking all entrance and escape. Liu Kang suddenly steps into Cassie's line of sight. "She's trapped, Cassandra Cage" he states. Cassie's horror turns into a tranquil fury as she approaches the Emperor of the Netherrealm "How the Chosen One has fallen. Raiden's right - whatever Shinnok did to you, you're a lost cause"　

They fight. Even though she's faced down an Elder God before, the fight with the former champion of Mortal Kombat ends up being one of the toughest of Cassie's life. Liu Kang is faster, stronger and more skilled with magic than Cassie is, but her willpower, determination and a few dirty tricks allows her to gain the upper hand. After a mighty back and forth battle, Cassie finally manages to defeat the Emperor of the Netherealm "FUCK. YOU" she spits her words at him. With Kang down, Cassie runs over to the debris blocking the lower levels. After a moment of hesitation, she crouches down and starts pulling at the rocks "General, can you hear me? General? Mom!" In the basement, Sonya is buried under a ton of debris. She's bloody and battered, but still alive "I'm here, Cass" Sonya coughs out "Hang tight, we'll get you guys out!" Cassie says worried Sonya coughs. The rocks remain unmoving, though the roof above continues to collapse "They're gone, Cass... and I'm not gonna make it" Sonya says knowing it's no use and Cassie pauses for a moment "What?! I'm not leaving you behind!" "...Get your team home. That's an order. Your duty" Sonya clutches the arming device for the explosives in her bloodied hand "Mine's to finish the mission" "Mom, no! We can save you!" Sonya smiles sadly "I love you, Cass" She coughs again "Give your dad a kiss for me" "Mom, no, don't!" Cassie begs. With tears in her eyes, Sonya looks at the arming device... and presses it. In the room above, Cassie hears the device being armed and frantically starts pulling at the debris again. "Mom? MOM!" Behind her, a recovered Jacqui closes her eyes in pain and sorrow, then looks down at her military tablet.　

The words "DETONATION SEQUENCE INITIATED" are on display, along with a countdown of less than 3 minutes and counting. Below that are the words "OVERRIDE DISABLED" "She's started the detonation sequence!" Jacqui said in disbelif causing Cassie to become even more hysterical "Override it, Jacqui!" "There is no override" Cassie ignores her and keeps pulling at the rocks. Jacqui grabs her arm but is shoved back "Commander!" Jacqui yells as she grabs Cassie by the shoulders and moves her away from the rocks. Cassie desperately struggles against her, but Jacqui eventually pulls her face to face "Our orders are to leave" Cassie almost bursts into tears, but steels herself at the last moment. She takes another look at the fallen debris, breathes deeply... and a loud roar catches their attention.　

The oni army sprawl into the Bone Temple, converging on the Special Forces. Cassie, Jacqui and the remaining soldiers all open fire, cutting down the demons. The clip on Cassie's gun empties, so she draws her machete, parries a blow from a spear wielding oni, slashes its throat and hits a roundhouse kick that takes its head clean off its shoulders. She kicks it down and takes off running, shooting down the oni following her with her other pistol "C'mon, move it!" Cassie yells. The soldiers flee toward the exit, Jacqui taking the rearguard and shooting behind her as they escape. They make it outside, where the oni army has thinned out significantly thanks to Raiden. As they continue to shoot wildly into the oni around them, the charges laid deep in the cathedral finally explode, completely engulfing the structure in an almighty blast. As it collapses, a huge dust cloud begins to swarm over the Netherrealm. The S-F soldiers continue to charge, finally making it over to Raiden. Seeing them approach, Raiden finishes cutting down the last remaining oni near him and teleports them all out of the Netherrealm in flashes of red lightning.　

They all teleport back into Earthrealm. Cassie falls to her knees, her emotions finally catching up to her. Jacqui crouches down next to her friend, offering what support she can. Cassie looks over angrily towards Raiden "Your mother died a warrior's death. May we all be so fortunate Jacqui looks at him in disgust at his words "You did NOT just say that" Cassie remains on her knees in grief. In front of them, Johnny Cage comes over to greet them "Thank God you're back. How did the mission g..." His words die on his lips as he takes in his daughter; on her knees and crying. Raiden is nowhere to be seen nor is Sonya "No..." Silently, Johnny walks over, kneels in front of Cassie and gently lifts her face as Jacqui backs up away from them. As Cassie continues to cry, both father and daughter pull each other into a desperate hug. Cassie closes her eyes, tears streaming down her face, lost in grief.　

Back in the Netherrealm, only Liu Kang and Kitana have survived the destruction of the cathedral. Their armies and the other revenants are nowhere to be seen "Without the cathedral's power, we stand alone. We are vulnerable" Liu Kang growls Suddenly, a sandstorm begins to whirl around them. They look up to see a vague figure in the sand, the one that is generating the storm around them. As the storm settles, the sand forms into the bald headed woman seen earlier in the Jinsei chamber. She remains floating in the air "Who are you? One of Raiden's Elder Gods, here to taunt us?" Kitana sneers "No, Kitana. I am much more. Behold!" the woman says as she raises her hands.　

The ground around her shifts back into the shape of the Cathedral, completely restoring it in moments "What power is this?!" Kitana demands "I am Kronika, Keeper of Time" the woman, now known as Kronika, says as she generates another sandstorm that engulfs the three of them. They reappear in a completely new area. Constantly shifting gears make up most of the scene outside of the platform they stand on, but in between them stands a giant hourglass "The Sands of Time guide the destiny of the realms and every soul therein. I have carefully crafted them to keep the realms in balance. But my work's perfection has been irreversibly tainted by Raiden's actions. The two of you have felt that pain most acutely" 　

"What can be done? The past is the past, is it not?" Liu Kang says curious of this woman "It need not be. I intend to wind time back to its beginning and restart history. But even with my vast power, I cannot create this New Era alone" Kronika replies "How will this "New Era" be different?" Kitana asks "In many ways. But most importantly, there will be no Raiden" she looks direclty at Liu Kang "and your lady (name) will not have perished" Both Kang and Kitana look at each other at these words "How do we begin?" Liu Kang asked Kronika says nothing, but merely smiles. 　

[annabethisterrified]

Book Review: THE TOWER OF NERO (The Trials of Apollo #5)

***No spoilers until you go under the cut!***

After months in the human form of Lester Papadopoulos, the former god Apollo is nearing the end of his trials alongside the young Meg McCaffrey. All their adventures and misfortunes have landed them back in the place it started-- New York. Meg and Apollo must defeat the final, most powerful emperor of the Triumvirate, who also happens to be Meg’s manipulative stepfather. Meanwhile, Nico, Will, and Rachel have important roles to play as the final battle looms. Even if they can defeat Nero, a more terrible enemy awaits in the form of Python, Apollo’s nemesis. Still, if they can succeed, Apollo will finally be restored to godhood. But after everything he’s been through, going back to the way things were doesn’t sound so great anymore. Apollo and his friends will have to find a new way to make all the sacrifices and pain they’ve experienced and witnessed worth it. That is, if they can survive their final trial.

As both the culmination of The Trials of Apollo series and the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles, The Tower of Nero excels at bringing the complicated, moving themes of the saga into final, meaningful reckonings. Nero proves to be a chilling and impressive enemy who forces Apollo and Meg to put everything they’ve learned through their journey together to the ultimate test. New and old characters combine to see the story to its end, and long-time readers are rewarded with actualized development and a bittersweet farewell. The Tower of Nero is a fitting and robust conclusion that shines with all the heart, humor, and growth that makes this saga a worthy frontrunner in children’s literature.

SPOILER SECTIONS BELOW

Welcome!!!!!!!!! Y’all. Y’ALL. I am REELING. If you’ve been around here a while, you probably know I’ve been online here since 2012 (?????!!!!!) where I subjected by followers to weird takes and frantic excitement about the upcoming installments of Heroes of Olympus, then Trials of Apollo. Since I was ten years old, this story has been such a huge part of my life. Now I’m 22 (?????!!!!). So. How am I feeling? I’m feeling like I need to flip over every piece of furniture in my house. In a good way. Look. I gotta break this down into three parts because I’m the worst!

I. TRIALS & TRIBULATION

The Trials of Apollo, to me, felt like the inevitable conclusion to Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Heroes of Olympus. We went through two series where we intimately followed the lives of young demigods growing up through two brutal wars, dangerous quests, and personal reckonings. Gods certainly made appearances, and some were more helpful than others, but the message was always clear-- the demigods were on their own. Two wars fought, two wars won, and at what cost? For what change?

Bringing a god down to earth (both literally and metaphorically) is really the only way a story like this could be rounded out. Especially when the god in question is Apollo. He’s the son of Zeus, who punishes him by turning him mortal. This family set-up already has enormous implications in reference to the previous chain of mythological events: Zeus killed his father Kronos, Kronos killed his father Ouranos, etc. 

Prophecy is also the scaffolding of this entire saga. Everything is dictated by it-- every quest relies on it, most of the demigods we meet are led by it, and the whole Greek/Roman world seems to build their lives around it. My point is, Apollo was a great character to use as the mouthpiece of this last series. He’s been present throughout the previous two series, and he’s relatively unaffected by the Greek/Roman divide. The enemy, the Triumvirate, is also an exciting antagonist-- they’ve fueled and funded the previous two wars, and their obsession with becoming “gods” is loaded with implications as Apollo races to return to his own status as a god.

Apollo himself is also a completely terrible being. From the first pages through his perspective, there’s certainly little sympathy or commiseration with our narrator. Apollo is many things: spoiled, petulant, selfish, and arrogant. He is not good, and now, he is no longer a god. Still, his voice and struggle remained compelling and engaging throughout the series. 

His bond with Meg McCaffrey is, without a doubt, the emotional heart of the whole series. I think they both see aspects of themselves in each other, and it was a genius move to make her the stepdaughter of the enemy. Nero literally sent Meg to be Apollo’s controller and thought that she would easily bring him down; the fact that both these very troubled people cling to each other in the face of such manipulation and frightening circumstances-- and then repeatedly choose to fight their ways back to each other time and again-- is really what makes this series work so well.

With Meg and Apollo at the forefront, after The Hidden Oracle the series takes on something of a “tour” format. We discover new places and revisit old characters across the country, which was definitely exciting for long-time readers to see familiar faces undergo even more development. (This might just be me, but I don’t think ToA can really stand on its own without the worldbuilding/establishment of the first two series-- that’s not a knock on it, but so much of it picks up where the previous series left off, which might make it a disorienting read for someone new to the world.)

Of course, the obvious midpoint reversal of the series is the death of Jason Grace in The Burning Maze. A flip switches completely-- not just for Apollo, but for the whole cast. This is not an incident that just “happens” and is swept aside. In the final two installments, Jason is threaded throughout the story, showing how grief is never truly over. But his sacrifice saved everyone he loved, and had profound impacts on everyone he knew. As brutal as it was, I appreciated how Jason really changed everything through his choice. 

By the time Apollo and Meg return to New York in The Tower of Nero, they are better, stronger versions of themselves. The things they once wanted-- godhood restored, or a father’s approval-- are no longer appealing. Their development (both individually and as friends) is utterly believable and hard-won. We see characters from The Hidden Oracle return changed, too. Losing Jason has dredged up dark feelings within Nico, Rachel is warding off the influence of Python in her mind, and Will’s healer heart is put to the test in yet another final battle. (Listen, this kid played instrumental roles in The Last Olympian, The Blood of Olympus, AND The Tower of Nero. The fate of the world really is in his capable, glow-in-the-dark hands.)

Together, Apollo and team venture into Manhattan for a very intense, exciting, and profound final reckoning with Nero. (CHAPTER 20, ANYONE????) Both Apollo and Meg, once and for all, come into their own and reclaim their power and independence. The pay-off is immaculate, and it’s jarring to remember the Apollo we once knew-- the easygoing one from The Titan’s Curse, the snobbish one from The Blood of Olympus, and the self-pitying one from The Hidden Oracle. His development throughout ToA is seamless and incredibly moving, and we’re left with a protagonist that we can truly, unequivocally root for and love.

II. HAVE YOU LEARNED?

When Nero is defeated, the real enemy still lurks. Apollo’s age-old nemesis, Python, has long haunted him. Their final reckoning is one-on-one, and after everything Apollo’s learned and been through, he goes into his last battle not necessarily caring whether he lives or dies-- he just knows Python must be defeated, no matter the cost. Don’t get me STARTED on his last conversation with Meg!!!!?????? (”Just come back to me, dummy.” I LOVE THEM) 

So, yeah, I’m already crying at that point. Apollo (slowly regaining his godhood) goes into this completely by himself, assuming all risk and responsibility. He’s forced to sacrifice the Arrow of Dodona, and eventually chooses to sacrifice himself by flinging them both down to Tartarus. But we don’t stop there! Oh, no, we go all the way down to Chaos. The primordial soup of all the pantheons, all of existence. Python crumbles, and Apollo clings to the edge-- he clings to life.

This is it. This is the literal rock-bottom moment of the saga, and I’m completely unsure of how he’s getting out of this one. Who’s going to rescue him? What can he even do at this point? Genuinely, I had no idea where this was going-- and I never would have guessed that it would be the goddess Styx who shows up. She’s played an important, but also very minor, role in ToA. I was baffled at first-- I thought, what does she have to do with any of this? But then it ended up playing out in like the most breathtaking, moving way possible. It’s one of the most defining scenes of the entire 15 books to me. 

She only asks him: “Have you learned?”

This is the goddess of promises and oaths. Since The Lightning Thief, we’ve seen how oaths are tossed around like confetti. Percy’s very existence (not to mention Thalia and Jason’s) is because of a broken promise. An oath to keep with a final breath is one of the revisited elements throughout the Heroes of Olympus series. Apollo makes willy-nilly promises in The Hidden Oracle, which he later regrets. 

Then, at the end of everything, Styx only asks Apollo if he’s learned. All the talk of promises and oaths in this story doesn’t actually have anything to do with “keeping promises”-- certainly, so many promises are broken we can’t keep track. It all boils down to whether we learn from what we experience and use that to become better people moving forward. It’s about making sure we mean what we say and what we do. It’s about commitment and devotion to the people we love and the things we care about. Promises don’t matter. Only action does. 

I can’t understate how thoroughly pleased I was that this was the final reckoning of the saga. It was an unexpected and completely profound moment, and such an important scene to use as the emotional climax of the book.

III. WHERE WE GO FROM HERE

After 15 years and 15 books, The Tower of Nero had to find a way to bring the saga to a close without nailing the coffin shut. More standalone novels are surely on the horizon (I’m looking at you, Nico and Will), but as a whole, this saga did need to come to a satisfying end. 

Let’s pick up after Apollo is restored to godhood. He wakes up to his sister Artemis, and the very first thing he does? After finally returning to his true form, the thing he’s relentlessly yearned for the whole series? He just breaks down sobbing. He’s miserable. There’s no relief or joy in the realization that he’s once again an Olympian. 

I’m always a sucker for the trope of “Character does everything possible to reach Goal only to realize that Goal isn’t actually what they want or need at all”, so of course, I was moved to see Apollo learn that he doesn’t actually care much about whether he’s a god or a human anymore. (In fact, he later remarks that he envies Lu’s new ability to grow old and age alongside Meg and her foster siblings.)

I was doubly-moved that Apollo’s restoration to godhood was not an action on Zeus’s part. From what little context we get (a lot happens “off screen” and even Apollo isn’t sure), it appears that Apollo either reclaimed his own godhood through sheer force of will to return from Chaos and reunite with his friends, and/or Styx aided him. But it seems obvious Zeus wasn’t involved, which has HUGE implications for the power structure of the Olympians moving forward.

A lot of us, myself included, had certain expectations for how Apollo’s inevitable reunion with Zeus and the rest of the Olympians would go. I, for one, was excited to see Apollo either tell off his father, or possibly assume a position as the new Camp Half-Blood director or New Rome’s pontifex maximus. Instead, we got a somewhat quiet, but incredibly tense interaction between all the Olympians. The closest thing to an outburst is actually between Hera and Zeus, as she tells him off for not mourning his son Jason, as Apollo did. (Dare I say....I liked Hera for a moment?) (ALSO, I’m fully on-board with the theory that Zeus did not intervene in Jason’s death as a punishment for Jason publicly calling him “unwise” in The Blood of Olympus.)

The whole scene reads as a powder keg. Already, it’s established that Apollo, Artemis, and Dionysus (and possibly even Athena and Hera) have no illusions of Zeus’s grandeur. They do not view him as family, or even as a leader. He’s simply just the one with enough power to punish the rest of them when they get “out of line”. 

Apollo began naming Zeus as his abuser fairly early on in the series. Perhaps witnessing the way Meg thinks and speaks about her stepfather Nero made this clear for him. In either case, he begins to explicitly mirror the very same advice he gives Meg in dealing with her abuser: distance yourself from the abusive person/situation, and accept that tyrants do not change and it is not your responsibility to attempt to make them “see the light”. Thus, Apollo makes no appeal or argument to Zeus– he understands by then that it’d be fruitless. Instead, he’s concentrating his energy on doing everything he can do with what he has; he’s committed to being a protector and friend of demigods, and he sees that other gods are beginning to (if not already) see Zeus’s wrongness. (More on this here.)

Was it what I expected going into the book? Nope. But I have to admit that it was really exciting to see Zeus try to hide the very real fear of realizing that his son Apollo is no longer afraid of him, and is quite possibly more powerful than him, too. Apollo switches gears entirely away from Zeus, and focuses his energy back on the friends he’s made and the children he has. It’s a refreshing reminder that it’s often more productive to concentrate on helping others instead of harming those who harm us. 

That being said, I would have liked a few paragraphs or pages discussing what practical differences there will be for the lives of young demigods in the wake of this change. I understand that might not have worked given the very condensed timeline post-returning-to-godhood (the story ends literally the same day or day after), but I do hope and believe that Apollo’s transformation is going to change the way demigods perceive gods-- and what they will expect of gods in the future. Just look at how Apollo is received by the campers at CHB. They’re ecstatic to see him. They think of him as a hero. Apollo is coming back just to help and spend time with his kids, his friends, and the campers, and he’s going to keep coming back. The other gods are certainly going to feel some pressure to follow suit. 

Speaking of Apollo’s reunions...shall we?

I loved that we got to see all the main-players one last time. Mimicking the “tour format” of the series, we get to watch Apollo catch up with his loved ones, who helped him learn how to be a better person throughout his trials.

It was sad, but reassuring, to watch Nico come to terms with Jason’s death. I like how he outlined the differences between Hazel’s and Jason’s deaths, and why he isn’t interfering out of respect for Jason. Watching Jason appear to Apollo (ambiguously as a ghost or as a figment of Apollo’s dream-imagination) was another moving reminder of the stark differences in the ways that different demigods prioritize and think about what it is to be a hero. Jason’s idea and Percy’s idea, for instance, are super different because of the way they were raised. Percy would put anything on the line for his family and friends; so would Jason, of course, but he also has a much broader view of what’s worth sacrificing your life for...which is admirable in ways, but also painfully sad, since a lot has to change in order for Jason’s death to carry weight. Over the course of the last two books, I think it’s very safe to say Jason’s death did change just about everything for the people who knew and loved him, and even those who didn’t. 

Whew. Okay, back to Camp Half-Blood. Nico and Will are clearly now very comfortable with each other, and it’s refreshing to see how they both watch out for each other and bring out the best in one another. I’m excited for their inevitable solo book, but regardless, it’s good to see Nico getting the help he needs (from his own experiences, from Dionysus, Will, etc), and for Rachel to get some distance from her terrible parents by living out her art student dreams in Paris. 

Then, we drop by the Waystation. I simply cannot get over the fact that Calypso is at BAND CAMP. Anyway, it’s unsurprising to find out that she and Leo are still “complicated”, but I’m glad she’s experiencing the highs and lows of mortal life, and that Leo is working on helping out vulnerable youth (and has two mom figures in his life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). Glad we get to see Thalia and Reyna both happy and healthy, too.

Next up, Camp Jupiter and New Rome. LOVE that Hazel and Frank have both reclaimed the curses that haunted them since The Son of Neptune. They really both did just...like...basically die to bring down the Big Bad and then come back better than ever. (Side note: I still obviously have issues with the fact that Hazel is SO YOUNG! There was no reason for her not to be 15/16 like the rest of the Argo 2 crew! Ugh.)

Anyway, then we say goodbye to Percy and Annabeth. Except for the annoying continuity error in terms of the timeline of them learning about Jason, I really really really loved this parting moment with them. I know some readers wanted Percy and Annabeth to stay in New York, but it always felt very natural and meaningful for me that they’d want to relocate to New Rome. That was always the Big Dream for most of Heroes of Olympus, and it makes sense to me that they’d choose to live somewhere designed for demigods to actually live and grow old and raise families. Besides, I’m quite certain they’ll frequently be visiting New York. I digress. 

It was super bittersweet to see these two finally off on their own (and basically living together, as Apollo teasingly implies) going to college! Definitely a huge sigh of relief and satisfaction after following all their exploits since they were twelve. I’m so glad we get to see them (all things considered) happy and excited for their new life together. They certainly stepped back in this series, as they deserved. But they still lose Jason, and that’s something that weighs heavily on them and likely always will. Apollo calls Jason “the best of us”, and I don’t think that use of “us” is lost on Percy, Annabeth, or anyone-- Apollo’s identity and alignment is with them now, which will hopefully lead to positive change.

Then, simultaneously the saddest and happiest (?) reunion-- with Piper. This was obviously really heavy, since the last time Apollo sees her is in the wake of Jason’s death. For me, I’m very proud and excited by the fact that Piper is the only character who basically forges a whole new life (outside of the sphere of the Olympians) for herself. She’s far from other demigods and gods, and is committed to reconnecting with her mortal family and making a beautiful life. She has a new friend, too, which is absolutely awesome. (I mean, we all KNEW, right? But it’s really great to see this confirmed on-page.) When Piper told Apollo that he did right by Jason, I definitely lost it. And I also just really loved the final beat with her-- Apollo’s stammering a goodbye, but Piper’s already turned around to walk back to her new friend and her new life.

The final farewell, of course, went to Meg McCaffrey. She’s reclaimed Aeithales, and is now foster-sibling-extraordinaire by rescuing Nero’s other adopted demigods and giving them a new chance. Meg’s really matured and grown into such a kind and strong leader, but it was super bittersweet to see how much she still values Apollo. Their reunion just about broke me. They share a bond that no one else will ever understand, and they brought each other out of darkness that nearly ended them both. I literally can’t think of a better final dialogue than what they share:

You’ll come back?

Always. The sun always comes back. 

I’m fine!!! 

Anyway, this brings me to the closing lines of the story. Just as Percy opens The Lightning Thief by directly addressing the reader, Apollo closes The Tower of Nero by bidding farewell to us. 

Call on me. I will be there for you. 

On so many levels, this line works really well as the ending. For me, and I imagine for you too if you’re reading this, these 15 books are a pillar of our childhoods. We grew up alongside these characters, and found enormous excitement and identity and magic in these pages. The story may have come to a close, but it lives on within us-- it’s something we can return to time and again for enjoyment and understanding.

More than anything, this story pulled off something I didn’t really know was possible: it makes me feel genuinely and enthusiastically glad to be human, no matter how strange or hard it gets.

____________

My fifth-grade teacher assigned The Lightning Thief as mandatory reading when I was ten years old. I picked it up reluctantly, but from the first lines, I just completely fell into this story. Twelve years since that assignment, I’m now a traditionally-published author myself...writing about what else but mythology, of course. These books saw me from elementary school all the way to post-college life. It’s hard to imagine where I’d be without them-- certainly, I’d never have achieved my lifelong dream of becoming an author, nor would I have found such an incredible online community like the one I’ve found here. I consider myself extremely lucky to have grown up alongside these characters and their incredible story. 

I know we’ve likely got more standalones in this world to come, but this is still the end of the saga. I’m sad to see it come to a close, but I’m so ecstatic with the send-off we got, and I’m excited to let the story settle and become a part of me-- something that will always affect how I see the world, something that reminds me of why I write, and something that’s always there to welcome me home.