#we'll hopefully get to see more of the twins in later chapters ^^

[archesa]

🖋 How about one (or two) drabble(s) for the time when Anwen met the twins?

Torn from the skies

The skies were ablaze. Blackened carcasses of metal and wood twisted in threatening shapes drew on the horizon the horrifying reality of their defeat. In the distance, screaming and fighting, shrieks and explosions thundered, echoed and died beyond the flames, devoured by the jungle.

Anwen stumbled up the rock promontory, stricken by the devastation before her.

She barely heard the shocked whispers of her comrades, drowned by her own terror and the bellowing chaos of torn metal and splintering wood as the remnants of the Glory of Tyria disappeared in the entanglement of vines on the horizon.

The fortune encampment, fortified with the still scorching remnants of an airship reactor fared no better in the omnipresent threat of the jungle.

Two twains of guards kept the breaches ripping the metal rampart apart. They took aim at the newcomers and maintained their rifles at arms till they entered the camp, where the rest of the soldiers kept a watchful vigil on a few familiar faces.

"Laranthir! I'm glad to see you survived! I need a status report, now."

"You're a welcome sight, Commander.", the Grand-Warmaster saluted. "The situation is grim. Mordremoth tore the fleet apart. Trahearne and Destiny's Edge were taken prisoner... The Mordrem could have killed them, but instead took them alive. Mordremoth must want them that way. I shudder to think why.", he added darkly. “The Pact is in ruins. Leaderless. And the remaining soldiers no longer trust me."

"And you're surprised?", Marjory spat, oblivious to Anwen's tense glare. "Scarlet. Aerin. And now this. Mordremoth always uses sylvari to do its dirtiest dirty work.”

“Jory.”, the Commander cut sharply, pointedly positioning herself beside her shield-maiden, a barely audible gasp stuck in her throat and her eyes downcast and pained. “This isn't helping. Our forces are scattered, survivors stranded in the jungle. We must regroup and secure rally points for our soldiers, and safe passage for our wounded. Laranthir, where are the rest of the Reavers?”

“Carys commanded an unit aboard the Glory of Tyria, and I, another. Those who had resisted the call and survived the crash regrouped under my command. We got separated while trying to reach Amber Sandfall. A dozen of ours were taken to the caverns.”

“Have you mustered a rescue team?"

"I wasn't able to. My troops refuse to risk their lives following my orders. They fear I'm leading them into a trap."

“But they might follow you, Commander.”, another sylvari intervened.

Anwen stared at him, bewildered. Ashen of bark, his face framed and his head crowned with scales resembling a pinecone, the light-armoured vigil was the spitting image of Meryw -- only their size, and the colour of their eyes, hers a crystal teal where his were wreathed in gold and violet, setting them apart.

“Warmaster Dairban.”, he saluted amiably, his demeanour as open as his twin sister’s despite the precarity of their situation.

“Honoured to finally meet you. Meryw speaks in high regards of you, I’m glad our paths meet at last -- even if I wish it were under different circumstances. I need volunteers for a rescue mission, I suppose I can count you in?”

"Don't let the plants trick you into that fool's endeavour, Commander!", a charr bearing the colours of the Priory snarled. "We must focus on strengthening the defenses around here. Our priority has been and must remain to salvaging weapon parts from the crash site.”

“The Pact does not abandon its own, soldier.”, Laranthir opposed calmly.

“Look around, 'sir’. There is no more Pact. And the prisoners you want to save are probably already dead.”

"Get a grip on yourself, Explorer!", Anwen admonished. "Laranthir is still your commanding officer. And he has my full confidence. The Pact has been beaten, that much is true. But we are not defeated yet. We will burn Mordremoth to the ground before we surrender to it.”

She turned to the Grand Warmaster.

“Laranthir and the Reavers will join the search-and-rescue team. If you're not on that team, dig in and fortify this position.”

“It's not worth risking more lives to save sylvari prisoners. Even if they're still alive, you can’t expect us to trust them after what they did to the fleet! Who says they won’t turn against us at the first skirmish? Sylvari belong to Mordremoth, now.”

“Did you just condemn my entire race?”, a rough voice snapped. “It seems the dragon brings out the worst in you, too.”

“Canach is right. Mordremoth wants us to turn on each other. Are you going to play right into the enemy's hands?”

“No. But I’ve come here to slay an Elder Dragon. Not to wait in line to be slaughtered by its minions. This camp won't last another night. Those amongst you who want to live, come with me!”

A warhorn sounded, thundering upon the gorge and casting the Explorer to her knees, lightning ensnaring her ankles and wrists and pinning her to the ground.

All eyes turned, expecting to find yet another crazed sylvari but instead were met by the freezing cold demeanour and disdainful sneer of the warmaster elementalist breaking the circle of Vigils held at gunpoint, lightning engulfing him as it tightened around the charr.

"You filthy coward.”, he chuckled incredulously. “You swore your blood and honour to the Pact when taking this mantle and when the shadow of the dragon looms darkest over us, you'd turn your back and leave your brethren?”

The deserter convulsed, once, twice and fell limp on the ground, electric arcs holding her like shackles, but no longer coursing her body.

Riffles clicked. A crystal shield encased him. And a panicked voice shattered the deathly silence.

“Hold your fire!”

Meryw was standing between her twin and the Commander, and the Commander between Meryw and the raised barrels of three silver shotguns.

The lightning dissipated in flickering sparks, and the charr took a deep, ragged breath.

"You see?", she coughed, red staining her fangs where the shock had made her bite her tongue. "They're not to be trusted! They will kill us all!”, she cried pointing at the warmaster staring down at her, his golden eyes ice cold and the shock long faded, giving way to an eerily static expression. “You stay and die there for all I care. I’ll stick to protecting the companions I know I can trust. Gunnard, Gatt! Come on. We'll fare better off on our own.”

“Can’t fault Dairban on this, Metella. You count me out of your tiny mutiny.”, the asura rebuked. “My duty is to my fellow soldiers. I'm staying.”

The charr shook her head dejectedly.

“It’s your funeral. Good luck—you're going to need it. As for you, Commander, you may be blind, now. But I hope you open your eyes before one of these ferns inevitably slits your throat.”

A heavy silence weighted on the fortune camp, a knell resounding to the bones of the earth as a good quarter of the survivors headed off in the jungle.

Lips tight and joints blanch as she curled her hands to fists at her side, the Commander swallowed thickly and turned to the remaining men.

“Everyone fall in. Let's get to work! Braham, I want you and Taimi to find and weld some metal pieces to the outer rim. We must seal off these wide breaches, focus our fire on a single entrance. Crusader Gatt, you’re in charge of the camp while the Reavers and I search for our prisoners. Jory, see if you can stabilize our most heavily wounded enough so that Kas can portal them to Amber Sandfall. I need Meryw with us in case the captured soldiers need healing. Rox, you and Frostbite, take a twain of men to scout around and see if we can anticipate the enemy’s move, maybe set up some traps — trip wires, explosives, whatever we got at hand. Canach, you’re with me. I want to know if we’re running into a trap.”

They progressed out of the camp, under the wary gaze of their fellow soldiers and companions, and to a long eroded flight of stairs descending in the depths of the canyon.

“Thank you for taking our side, Commander.”, Laranthir offered once out of ears reach.

“No need to thank me. I trust you, and I trust your judgement in your men. We’ve had difficult choices to face in Orr, and I expect the jungle will hold even more for us... The Pact prevailed against Zhaitan because we were united. Neither the Vigil’s artillery, the Priory’s erudition, or the Whisper’s intelligence could even have opened a way through Orr had we not stood together. We cannot afford to let doubt and mistrust fester our bonds of fellowship. And we owe to our companions to keep hope alive. So we have to look out and speak up for each other.”, she added offering a knowing nod to Dairban, standing a watchful vigil behind him.

The days would turn dark, and blood would draw, but if she had any certitude these were the one she’d build the foundations of her fortitude onto.

However strong the dragon was, there were some things it could never defeat.

Kindness. Love. And hope.

[dear-mortality]

The shepherd prince

Chapter eleven: it sure is nice here

Chapters

Enfys and ether made it to their room and it was HUGE, they both had such wide eyes and enfys couldn't get his eyes off the king sized beds.

Ether quickly went to look outside the window and the marvellous view of the gardens behind the castle was so mesmerising he almost fell out of the window from being so stunned.

"ETHER!!" enfys called as they quickly reached to hold them with his magic, having saved them he sighed in relief. "PLEASE dont do that again. Or anything else that will get you killed for that matter." Enfys yelled in a stern voice while frowning

Ether looked down and seemed ashamed like a child that was getting scolded

Having noticed that enfys quickly thought of something to take their minds off it.

"so how was the book i lent you? Did you learn something about the deities?"

Ether immediately smiled and looked excited to discuss it with ether

"yes!!! The deities of the sun and moon seem so nice! I wonder if we'll ever meet them."

"meeting gods isn't exactly common occurrence ether. Don't get your hopes up about it. Though to be fair we ARE trying to meet one."

Ethers eyes widened and he was surprised

"WE ARE?? WHICH ONE? I HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO SEE THE OTHERS SO UHHH GIVE ME THEIR NAME I'LL FIND THEM IN THE BOOK"

Enfys chuckled at ethers excitement "here" they said before handing her the book. "Their name is labeeb."

Ether quickly started looking through the book for the name, pages flapped quickly until he arrived at the gods drawing. It showed a deity that had the same style of clothing as enfys, long coat filled with beautiful marks and drawings, a messengers bag and multiple earrings that looked like stars. The deity stood tall with an arm resting on the bag and the other gently stroking their big beard despite seeming young. They were raising an eyebrow and it felt as if they were looking at ether directly.

Then ether started reading. "The deity of knowledge, one of the twin deities of curiosity and master of all sorts of mortal practices from simple tool crafting to magic and sorcery, despite all that they mostly work on making sure knowledge is easily accessible and to always find out the truth behind any phenomenon that mortals may not understanding. Those who have come in contact with heard the sentence 'im too busy' more than anyone should in their lifetime." Ether giggled after reading the last line. "Pffft He needs a vacation"

Enfys suddenly looked proud as he sat down on the bed with his legs crossed. "You know, im technically very close to that deity."

Ether immediately got really close and blinked aggressively at enfys

"okay so im taking it you're invested"

"yes. Now explain."

Enfys then cleared his throat and got ready to reveal how important they are

"as you heard me tell Zaroth and all the generals, i am a high mage. There's something called the magic guild which is alot of magic users of all sorts teaming together to keep order and make sure magic isn't used for evil. a high mage is someone who represents magic users of a certain category. I represent witches along with another two. We are looking for the arch mage who represents the deity of magic, she is the most powerful magic user out there and can pretty much use any spell out there." Enfys then noticed that ether got comfortable on their bed and tried to snap out of melting immediately from how soft it is. "The arch mage can help us and if she can't then she can just get as an audience with the deity of knowledge. Problem is she's been missing for a while and although she normally does this it NEVER took her this long to show up."

"and zaroth can help us find her?"

"hopefully."

"hmmm. Well we can think about that all later!" Ether smiled while melting into the bed "this bed is so comfortable and soft i never felt something like this other than.....my sheep...."

Awkward silence filled the room. Ether looked sad.

"i miss them.... playing with them was how i spent my days before all....this." he said as he gestured at everything around him. "But at the same time i can't believe im actually seeing and talking with other people and learning about the world. I was always too scared to leave my home thinking if i do I wouldn't survive and then who would take care of the sheep?"

Enfys got up to sit next to ether and put a hand on his shoulder

"i know this is all too new for you. Im sorry i failed to make your life less lonely..."

"no no you don't get it." Ether stood up and walked around a bit "this is all i wanted. Meeting new people, learning new things, making friends and feeling like Im not alone in this world. Thank you for bringing me with you enfys. Sure, it would've been nice if this all wasn't about trying to save my people who I've been slaughtering whenever i was out of it haaaahaaaa......i know you probably put a spell on me to keep me calm and i appreciate the thought but....can you take off that spell please?"

"i wish i could but...i think its the reason you're not turning into a werewolf when you go to sleep these days. Im sorry ether...."

Ether looked disappointed but not surprised "well i had to give it a shot." Ether looked outside the window before sighing "its really nice here."

Enfys looked worriedly at ether before staring outside the window with him. "Yeah. It sure is."

[popcornfairy28]

Probably nobody here really cares about this, but I figured I should probably post about this anyway. I finally updated The Crystal of Neahtid, a Merlin watching the show fic that I barely started during 2020. Back then, I had just started posting to AO3 and sharing my writing for pretty much the first time ever, so I didn't have a solid plan. Life happened and I went on hiatus, and now I'm coming back to these old fics but I am changing how I write them so I don't go back on hiatus.

In other news!!! I've gotta fill you guys in on lots. I've been working quite a bit this month because my boss hasn't been feeling well, so it looks like to make up for that my July schedule has the least amount of work days that I've had since taking this job, which means that I will actually have time to write and record stuff!!! Plus a few issues are hopefully finally being resolved there, which means I'll be less stressed/probably have more time to write while at work.

What Hides in the Dark has a new first chapter, "I Guess I Should've Known" because I decided on a different beginning point, which should be up earliest tomorrow or latest Friday (I've gotta work, so we'll see). With it will be posted the next chapter for The Older Siblings.

I'll be posting a one-shot related to this Merlin fic called "Never Really Fit In" probably Thursday. I'll probably end up updating 50 Ways to Not Die sometime around then as well.

As for Perry the Teenage Spy, I think I'll try catching up with the few episodes I wanna do for Extra Scenes with four more before I post "It's About Time!". Besides that, I'm thinking of writing a one-shot in Perry the (Teenage) Rebel about a certain family's perspective during the Star Wars Rebels episode "Twin Suns" (inspired by me finishing season 3 of Rebels yay!)

Remember Bap Away at My Heart? After I get the aforementioned stuff posted, I'll finally get around to posting the third and last chapter which had previously gotten delayed due to the death of a friend mere hours after I had last updated this fic. After that I've got a couple ideas for one-shots with Bap, but nothing concrete. I also kinda wanna make a human AU with this?

I've also got a handful of podfics that I recorded during May that I have yet to edit that I'll probably get around to next week since I will only be working one day that week. The fandoms of these include Phineas and Ferb, Merlin, and Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarves!

The Chesterton Challenge Prompts kinda got dropped in the midst of Voiceteam, so I'll be trying to update that every Sunday or so until Inklings Challenge this year.

If you wanna ask me for any snippets of anything I've put here, feel free to do so! Otherwise, see ya later!

[liquidstar]

Hello! I binge read oshi no ko bc I saw you read it and i enjoyed it alot! It's very crazy and weird but also super compelling?? It's like how did the guy who made love is war make this and then you read the character dialogue. I was irked yet invested in all the weird ways "romance(?)" Was written in it. I also really liked the endnotes of the translator, they were fun to read :). So thanks for posting abt it and reminding me to read it

Also! I was weirdly sad that the twins weren't developing at the same pace? Ruby was really darksided by her brother lol. The mangaka was weird abt their past lives too (the crush on the Dr was kinda pushing it for me). But I hope she gets treated better with more screen time later

NO YEAH FOR SURE i totally agree w everything you said. i think the thing abt a lot of the romance in oshi no ko is its supposed to be sort of off-putting though, like, im not saying its explored perfectly but its ultimately a psychological story it comes across as a genuine character exploration so it doesnt seem like its just creepy glorying wish-fulfillment. im not saying its always handled perfectly and it can be pretty fucking irking at times like you said- the series itself lampshades this with a nurse in like the 1st or 2nd chapter so i took this as a sort of meta reassurance about the angle its at least trying to go about these themes at. but i guess we'll see how everything plays out as it goes on, hopefully it doesnt shoot itself in the foot. either way tho intentionally off-putting is still off-putting so i get why some ppl wouldnt wanna get into it.

but like i was also soo sad that ruby was sort of getting pushed to the wayside, like, i was starting to wonder why she was even in the story to begin with. but now that shes getting her turn to be the murderous one it just seems like all the idol stuff going on in the background with her was just set-up for this eventuality, so i actually think it was fairly well done! now aqua and ruby feel much more balanced as twins and protagonists, assuming she gets the same amount of development he did w the play arc. again though we have to wait and see exactly how her arc plays out before making any definite statements about that too. i hope she goes absolutely nuts though.

also something that personally compels me a lot abt the story is how its mainly centered around murder and trauma and attempting patricide but, like, at the same time its also a genuine exploration of... different fields of the entertainment industry? and it works. like lets take a break from aqua's inner dialog abt killing his dad so we can learn about how manga is made, and how adapting it to a play works, and how there are different kinds of plays and theaters, and how this all differs from television acting, or music video idol shoots or modeling. yeah sure why not! fuck it!

[nothingbutfangirlsmut]

The Trials of Emi

Pairing: A little Minho. A sprinkle of Frypan. Gally x Emi(OC)

Summary: Emi, her twin brother Thomas, and a small group of gladers had been rescued and taken to a safe haven. Or so it seemed. It doesn't take long for Thomas to realize something is wrong. What happens next is a true trial for all of them but Emi's trials began the moment she was ripped away from a dying Gally. Watching someone you love die right before your eyes truly takes a toll.

Finally meeting the right arm could have been the end but betrayal leads to even more chaos and loss. A new mission to rescue those taken from them leads them to a city. The last city. After Emi finally comes to terms with everything that's happened something unfolds that changes everything again. She will have to not only deal with helping her brother take down WCKD and save their friend but also deal with all the new problems in her head and her heart.

Rating: As of right now it’s at most PG13. Some strong language that’s about it but it could change.

(This is the 2nd part/book to my other story "The Maze trials: A Gally Fanfiction". This will cover the events of the scorch trails and the death cure.)

Chapter Four

As soon as we were outside the wind whipped around us stronger than anything I'd ever felt. We ran down the concrete towards the spot the helicopter had landed when we first got here. Past that was nothing but sand. We ran up the huge sand hill most of us using our hands to help us climb. Once on the other side I leaned back putting most of my weight on my heels to slide down the sand. We kept running until Teresa and Fry had to stop for a breath.

We ducked behind a larger sand dune to catch our breath. In the distance I could hear the faint sound of shouting. A few moments later there were several revving engines.

"We need to keep moving," Thomas said as he peeked over top the sand dune.

"Do you have any idea where we are going?" Newt asked as we picked up the pace again.

"Janson and Ava mentioned something about a rebellion group called The Right Arm in the mountains," Thomas stated as he ran.

"That's it? Just some rebellion group supposedly in the mountains?" Newt asked sounding harsher than I'm sure he intended.

"Look!" Teresa shouted pointing.

We followed her finger to find a building almost completely buried in the sand. We ran down the hill towards it but before we could check it out and make sure it was safe Teresa was running ahead straight into it.

"Teresa!" Thomas shouted running after her.

We all ran after them. I stopped at the edge glancing inside before climbing in through what looked like a shattered and old window. The room was dark but I could tell it was an open room with lots of different items in it.

"Emi, come over here," Clint said from a few feet away.

Minho walked over to him as well holding one of the two flashlights they stole from WCKD. Thomas and the others were talking about splitting up and checking out the area. Minho gave Clint the flashlight then went to the rest of the group.

"Someone try to find me something to wrap this wound with and possibly clean it," Clint said to the others.

He put the end of the flashlight between his teeth as his hands moved my shirt out of the way. I hissed as he seemed to pull the skin open. He looked it over for a moment then let go stepping back and taking the flashlight from his mouth.

"It looks like something is in there. That could be bad but I can't get it out right now. Hopefully we can soon though. Looks like its stopping the bleeding for now." He explained wiping my blood onto his pants.

We sat in silence for a few minutes waiting on the others to come back. It didn't take long till we heard footsteps coming back towards us.

"Guys!" Fry shouted gleefully.

I could see his outline a few feet away. He came over to us quickly with a few things in his hands. He handed something metal and shiny to Clint.

"I found this too." He said excitedly holding up a small bottle.

Clint smiled taking it from him. He opened the bottle pouring a small amount of the liquid on the metal in his hand.

"Fry, I need you to hold the light steady. Emi, lay back and try not to move." Clint said sternly pushing me back onto the floor.

I hissed clenching my teeth as he used the small metal to reach inside my wound. My hands balled into fists. My nails digging into my palms. My head tilted back as I tried not to move or scream.

"I got it!" Clint said excitedly.

I let out a shaking breath but I could feel the blood resuming to flow. I screamed caught off guard as Clint poured the rest of the small bottle onto my skin. It burned. It must be alcohol. Fry handed him the fabric in his hands. It looked like an old shirt possibly. Clint wrapped it around my shoulder tying it then he slowly lifted my left arm and laid it across the fabric making a sling. He pulled me to my feet.

"How's that feel?" He asked.

"Like I got shot," I muttered glancing at my bloody chest and shoulder.

Clint and Fry chuckled but said no more. Lights filled the empty room blinding me. I covered my eyes for a second until they adjusted. Once I could see properly I noticed how lived in this space looked.

"You've got to come see this place," Fry said with a huge grin.

Clint and I shared a look then followed behind Fry. He brought us to an area fully lit up where Newt, Winston, Aris, and Teresa were standing.

"We found more flashlights. Kinda pointless now though." Winston said handing one to me.

"We might need them later so hang on to it," Newt said.

"What is this place?" Clint asked.

"No idea" Newt said looking around.

"Looks cool though" Fry added with a smile.

"Go!" I heard the echoing voice of Thomas before I saw him.

He and Minho came around the corner hauling ass. We all stood for a moment looking at them. What the hell are they doing?

"Run!" Minho shouted.

"Go! Go!" Shouted Thomas.

The next second a group of odd-looking people came around the corner running full speed after the two boys. This didn't look good at all.

"Shit" Newt said backing up.

"Go! Run!" Thomas shouted again as they got closer.

I grabbed Fry with my uninjured arm then took off away from them. I could hear the others starting to run behind us. Just when we were about to go around a corner another one came out of nowhere.

"What the hell is that?" Fry shouted.

Aris pushed through the group with his bat in hand. I tried to pull him back as someone else shouted his name. He swung the bat taking the thing out at the knees. It fell sliding towards the group. Thomas and Teresa got cut off from the rest of us as two more came near them.

"We'll go around! Go!" He shouted pointing to the stairs.

The rest of us took off towards them as Teresa and Thomas backtracked a few feet to go up another set. They met us at the top reforming the group as we took off again.

"We gotta find a way out of here!" Fry shouted.

A sudden loud crash followed by a scream had me spinning around to see Newt pinned to the ground with one of those things on top of him. Without thinking I ran over to him but before I reached him Thomas kicked the thing off Newt then pulled the blonde to his feet.

"Thanks, Tommy" Newt said affectionately as he grabbed hold of Thomas.

"Keep going!" Thomas shouted.

We took off again trying to figure a way out of this apparent maze. Isn't that ironic. Following Thomas we got into a narrow hallway surrounded by brick walls. By this point I was panting out of breath. The searing pain in my shoulder that I had been ignoring was pulsing threw my entire body.

"Where are we going?" Clint asked.

We came to a door. Minho pulled and pushed it but it didn't budge.

"They're coming!" Teresa shrieked.

We moved farther down the hall until Thomas found another door. This one was cracked open but padlocked.

"This one!" Thomas shouted as he kicked at it.

"They're getting closer!" Teresa said unnecessarily.

"I'll hold them off," Winston said taking the gun from Minho.

Thomas continued to kick and throw himself against the door. I grabbed him pulling him back as shots rang out from the gun in Winston's hands. I pulled back and with all my might, anger, and fear I kicked the door as close to the lock as I could and it flew open.

"Go! Go! Go!" Shouted Minho.

We all ran through the door. Winston came through last. At the last second he was grabbed and pulled back towards the group of fucked up people. We all scrambled to grab him. We pulled as Thomas and Minho kept the door from opening completely. We pulled Winston free helping him back to his feet. The two boys holding the door gave us a head start. When I saw them back in the group I knew those things were coming after us again.

A little farther down when we got out of eyesight of those things we found a place to hide. I was squeezed between Newt and unfortunately Minho. I could hear them above us making horrible sounds as they seemed to slow down like they were actually looking for us. At some point we all passed out from exhaustion.

—