#you cannot tell me that the first time he's said anyone from one directions name is organic and real or that he even means it

[holdingthornsandroses]

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[joekeeryswife]

Hi I wanted to request Felix and reader getting into a huge fight over rumors of him and India hooking up. Lots of angst that leads to fluff😭 thank youuuu

The party - f.c

hello honeys! first Felix imagine eeek. FELIX DOES NOT DIE AT THE PARTY IN THIS FIC! i’m too excited. i hope you like how i interpreted your request🫶🏼 anyways, i hope you enjoy this imagine! (lmk if i should make a taglist for Felix!)

“Venetia, have you seen Felix? i cannot find him anywhere” you had been looking for Felix everywhere. you had left his side for two seconds to get a drink and when you came back he was no where to be found.

“i saw him with Ollie and i think her name is India? find Ollie, he will know where he is” Venetia said as she scanned the room to see if she could see her brother. you furrowed your brows, India was here? Felix hadn’t told you India was coming.

in the two summers you had grown incredibly close with Venetia, she was the sweetest girl and you were lucky that she was your boyfriends sister. “i’ll keep looking but if you see him, please tell him i’m looking for him” Venetia nodded “of course, don’t worry about India. i didn’t know she was coming either. but good luck okay?” she winked.

the house was huge, one of the biggest houses you’d ever seen and finding him would be nearly impossible without some sort of indication as to where Felix was. you went into the garden eyes darting in every direction seeing if you could see the tall boy anywhere but it was no use, it was like he completely vanished.

“y/n darling, are you okay?” you heard Elspeth say as you huffed, you turned to look at her and nodded slightly. “yeah i’m okay, i’m just looking for Felix is all” she smiled “he couldn’t of gone too far, don’t worry about him. i saw him with Ollie and some girl, maybe check the library? or the maze?” you nodded and thanked her as you started making your way toward the maze.

the maze was where you and Felix liked to go when you wanted some alone time. even though you both loved spending time with his family, sometimes the two of you just wanted to be alone and the maze was the perfect place for the.

as you started making your way through the maze you saw Oliver walking back out. “Ollie thank god, have you seen Felix? i’ve been looking for him everywhere” he jumped when he saw you “y/n, what are you doing here?” his thick accent filling the quiet maze.

“Elspeth told me you’d be in here and she said guy were with Felix. is he down here-” you started to walk down the maze but Oliver quickly stopped you. “y/n you don’t want to go down there” your heart started pounding.

“why?” you looked at him and by the look on your face you knew something was happening. “he invited India here. me and Felix had a fight and the two of them came in here. when i came here to apologise the two of them were hooking up. i’m so sorry”

you felt your eyes fill with tears and your heart dropped. Felix was cheating on you? you knew the two of them had some sort of history before you and Felix got together but that was two years ago. you felt your chin quiver and a few tears slip down your face. just as you were about to walk away Felix and India came round the corner.

Felix saw you and the smile on his face dropped when he saw your face. you had tears rolling down your cheeks, he quickly started making his way toward you but you just shook your head and started walking out of the maze.

“y/n sweetheart what’s the matter?” he called out but it was too late, you’d ran off. Felix was confused, Oliver had been told by his mum that he could invite anyone he wanted so he invited India and a few other girls from college.

he left India standing there to chase after you, he was still utterly confused as to why you were crying. he brushed past Oliver who felt like he had succeeded, he had tricked you into believing that Felix had cheated on you which would no doubt lead to the two of you breaking up which mean Oliver could have Felix all to himself.

he saw you running into the house, brushing past the hundreds of people which filled practically the whole house. Venetia saw you crying and was confused, what could have happened in that short amount of time.

Felix lost you in the crowds of people but spotted his sister and briskly walked toward her. “Venetia, have you seen y/n? she was crying and i need to make sure she’s okay” she frowned “i think she went to your bedroom but i’m not too sure, she went in that direction” by the time she had finished her sentence he was already gone, running off to his bedroom to find you.

he ran up the stairs to his bedroom and put his ear to the door, he could hear your small sobs and his heat broke. he knocked on the door and walked in, seeing you sat on his bed with your suitcase half packed with your belongings. “what’s the matter? why are you packing your stuff?” he frowned.

“i don’t know Felix, why don’t you tell me?” his frown deepened. “don’t act so innocent okay? i know everything. and it’s a shitty move that you brought her here. you have no idea how embarrassing this is” he could control the small smile that formed on his face as he saw your jealousy peak through. he thought maybe you were jealous that India was here, not that he was cheating on you with her.

“what? are you a little jealous?” he smirked “i can’t believe you’re making a joke about this right now. i’m going home” his face fell. he made his way over to you “what happened, i’m sorry for whatever i did” he pouted but you scoffed and rolled your eyes “yeah well i don’t think sorry is gonna cut it this time Felix”

“okay i seriously have no idea what you are on about. why are you so upset” he tried to sit next to you but you scooted away from him. a whole batch of fresh tears filled your eyes, your head fell into your hands as you tried to hide how hurt you were. “come on baby, talk to me” he placed his hand on your leg and stroked it gently.

“don’t call me that, not after what you did” you pushed his hand away from you as a few tears fell. “what did i do? you’re confusing me” you looked at him with bloodshot eyes “you slept with India.” he looked at you and burst out laughing “what?” you wiped your tear stained cheeks which probably had mascara all over them.

“Oliver told me that you invited India here and that you two slept together. this isn’t funny Felix, i’m serious. i’m going home tomorrow” you sniffled and he shook his head “Oliver told you that? and you believed him?” you shrugged “well, the two of you looked very friendly when you came walking around the corner so yeah i believed it”

“that is the silliest thing i’ve ever heard. i would never ever do that to you.” he placed his hand on your cheeks and placed a delicate kiss on your lips. “i’m too in love with you to cheat on you” he kissed you again.

“why did Oliver say that? he said that you invited India and that he went into the maze to find you to apologise because you two argued and then he said that you two were having sex” Felix frowned “what? having sex in the maze? no that’s not what happened at all” he shook his head.

“Oliver invited India and he got mad because she rejected him, we argued because i told him to not invite her and he did it anyway. i knew her being there would upset you. i was only being nice to her because her friends left her” he explained, his hands falling from your cheeks.

“i’m sorry i was so mean to you” he shook his head “im sorry that i laughed at you, i honestly thought it was just because you were jealous i didn’t realise Oliver told you that. ill speak to my parents, see if they can get rid of him early” he smiled.

“you know i love you, don’t you?” his eyes started into yours, he hated that you were hurting. you nodded “i love you too” he kissed you passionately.

[allthingscons1dered]

As someone who grew up with 5 older brothers, I cannot help but think of how older-brother-coded both Dick Grayson and Jason Todd are.

(A/N: It’s not that I don’t love Tim and Damian also, they just give off more younger brother vibes to me. Also, I tried to make this as gender neutral as possible, please don’t hate me if it’s not.)

CW: None, slight cursing.

So I proudly introduce as my first ever post:

Annoying Older Brother!Dick Grayson and Jason Todd Headcannons:

Batfam x gn!reader

Y’all ever come home from school excited for the leftovers that you’ve thought about all day and FIND THEM GONE?!?! Jason ate them. Just to spite you. And he won’t even play dumb about it either. He will admit it so carelessly.

“Did you put your name on it?” He’ll shrug with confidence. He gives no fucks. He needs that caloric intake.

Jason is that sibling who you’ll argue with until you’re blue in the face and then text you 20min later with no explanation, just: “food?”. (Said argument was probably about the leftovers btw).

And you’ll still go get food with him because, well, siblings.

Dick is an older brother in the way he’s not even the tiniest bit nonchalant. He will 100% tell the cringiest stories about you in front of anyone you bring home. Unapologetically.

Or drop you off at school with the most EMBARRASSING song blasting from the speakers. He lives for it.

Another thing about Jason? He will absolutely barge into your room, flex in your mirror, knock shit off of your dresser, throw something at you, and then leave. Completely unprovoked.

He probably even steals the current book you’re reading from your nightstand.

It will return a day later out of nowhere.

Imagine just chilling on the couch, scrolling on your phone and suddenly you’re bombarded with their presence.

“Is that a *boy/girl* you’re texting?” Jason will ask as he looks over your shoulder, knowing damn well it’s not.

But guess what? Denying it would just make it worse.

And of course, Dick would freak out.

Because why would his younger sibling be dating? You’re way too young; practically a baby in his eyes.

In the case that you’re actually talking up your latest crush, Jason would have the following reaction:

“I don’t give a damn who you date,” But give him ten minutes and he’ll hit you with the classic, “so what’s this kid’s name again?” He will be looking them up later.

I think Jason would try to be the brother who acts like he doesn’t care but would most definitely be over your shoulder 24/7 about a lot of things. Dating being one of them.

One time, my brothers shoved me into a box, taped it shut and then set me on the front porch. These two shitheads would do that— or something similar, like hanging you upside down from a grappling hook— and say, “It builds character.”

Ohhhh, that reminds me. You think the two of them are annoying individually. Think of them both TOGETHER.

You try to avoid being around the both of them at any given time, but it’s inevitable.

Like picture yourself coming home after fighting some D-list villain like Condiment King— because of course everyone else was busy— hoping that no one else is back from patrol.

But no! No, no, no. Why would the world ever want you to be so lucky?

In front of the Batcomputer sits Dick and Jason, there to witness your arrival in your mustard-and-mayonnaise-covered suit. Dick will at least attempt to hide the smile behind his hand.

Jason openly laughs his ass off. Tears will be brushed from his eyes as you glare at his shameless reaction.

“Well, I hope you were able to ketchup to him,” Dick cracks with a grin.

The sound of their laughter follows you as you retreat to the locker room, middle finger raised in their direction.

[lksvi]

love him and let him love you

𝆹⭒ re6!leon kennedy x gn!reader

⏜ ‎ ◯𝆹⭒ synopsis — meeting you in raccoon city was a blessing. now, you've become the light within leon's darkest hours.

𝆹⭒◯ ⏜ content — fluff, probably some angst?, no uses of [name], i love leon kennedy, focuses on leon, a lot of leon reflecting

⏜ ‎ ◯𝆹⭒ word count — 2.2k

𝆹⭒◯ ⏜ note — the mischaracterization of leon kennedy makes me Sad so i wrote this. also requests r open js as a reminder!!!! enjoy this work!

𝆹⭒ masterlist

Leon is a graveyard of empty promises and bloodied corpses. Too many times has he promised what he cannot uphold, given what he shouldn’t– At his core, he is selfless. His heart beats the same direction of Ashley’s veins and his breath is remnant of Luis’ cigarette smoke. Those things kill, you know, he had said, not yet understanding what Spain had in store for him.

If there was any test of loyalty to his country, it was Spain.

He can’t tell you what he went through. The government holds him on a tight leash, never straying too far from the D.S.O. headquarters. Your home is a temporary peace; a light in the dark. Soft cushions and open windows, moonlight filtered through glass. Tranquility is not often felt by Leon, but whenever he is with you, at your home, with the gentle light of the moon brushing over pale skin, it buries itself into his bones. Carves into the marrow, makes a home of his ribcage.

Peace has never felt so free until he met you.

He thinks of that time often: Surrounded by the groans of the undead, brain matter sticking to the soles of his shoes. Yet, in the darkness of Raccoon City, laid a savior in the shape of you. Leon, a rookie cop who had yet to experience the weight of the world, thought you were an angel. He thought your purpose was to guide him out of the shadows, rescue him from the grime and filth that was Raccoon City.

Instead, he rescued you. Adrenaline pricked at his skin, shot through his veins. He remembers the sight of you: All-consuming fear swimming deep within angelic eyes, covering you head-to-toe. His gun did not feel heavy, nor did the bullet sound loud. All he could focus on was you, you, you.

He did not hear himself ask you, “Are you okay?” He simply saw you nod, and without a second glance, reached out to touch you. Fate intertwined your paths, brought you to him and him to you, for this moment. For Leon to gently grasp your wrist, flesh marred with dried crimson and flakes of dirt. For him to guide you to the police station, luminescent lights flickering overhead.

Underneath the fake lighting, he saw beauty personified. Breathless from running or from the sight of you, he did not know, but even if he wasn’t already panting, he would’ve started at the mere glance of you. He’s seen beautiful women, ones who turn heads and capture the lenses of cameras, but he thinks any lens would’ve shattered upon your grace.

Ever since Raccoon City, Leon has had a sworn duty: Protect the country and protect you. Helping has always been second nature for him, ever since he was six-years-old and standing up for the bullied kids housed in the orphanage, but for you, it’s his first. He helps you before he thinks of helping himself. Even with mundane tasks such as unscrewing the lids of jars and reaching something on the top shelf for you come natural to him.

He’s always helping you. So, he doesn’t know what to do with himself when you help him instead.

It’s long after midnight. Moonlight seeps through panes of glass, illuminating your living room. Tonight is cold and lonely. You reside by yourself, the glow of the television the only source of light within the home. A blanket drapes over you, shielding you from the cold, and a hot cup of tea sits on the coffee table. You’re about to go to bed when there’s a knock at your door.

You weren’t expecting anyone tonight. Confusion knits between your brows, teeth digging into your bottom lip as you stand up. Cautiously, you undo the locks and open the door, surprised to see Leon there. His sleeves are rolled up, dirt and grime stuck to the surface of his knuckles and inside of his nails. Turning up at your house with bruises and scratches are common for Leon, but he looks particularly rough tonight.

“Leon!” You gasp, moving to the side to let him in. A crooked smile plays on nude-colored lips as he steps inside, a shiver racking his frame. Dark blue fabric does little to shield him from the cold. The first few buttons are undone, revealing an array of yellow and purples peeking out from beneath it, along with a few cuts along his collarbone. “I thought you weren’t supposed to be back for another two weeks?”

A light chuckle escapes him. He’s grateful to be back in your home, the comfort already making a home within his beating heart. “Got back a little earlier,” Leon responds, raspy timbre not giving away his exhaustion. You don’t miss the hitch in his breath when he steps, or the way he tries to conceal his pain. “Thought I’d swing by, pay you a visit. How’re you holdin’ up?”

You don’t answer his question, too busy eyeing the unusual color against his skin, eyebrows furrowed. “You’re hurt,” You say instead. He offers a small sigh, a tug at the corner of his lips. “S’The job, sweetheart. What can you do?”

Gently, you lead him to your bathroom. It’s small, barely able to fit the two of you, but you make it work. You treat him as if he’s made of glass, even if you know he isn’t. Although you don’t know what happens in his line of work, you see the aftermath of it. The angry splotches against his skin, dark bruising and crimson-dried cuts. “Was this one of the rough ones?” You ask softly, even if you know the answer.

Leon can try to lie. He can attempt to conceal the truth behind vague words and shifty eyes, but he doesn’t. He sighs, watches you get out the first aid kit, and nods. “It’s always rough,” He mutters, eyes cast downwards. Talking about work isn’t something he enjoys. He doesn’t like to bring his work home, even if it infects certain aspects of his day-to-day life subconsciously.

He doesn’t trust anyone. He eyes down any suspicious looking person while getting you both coffee, always takes a sip of yours before he gives it to you, just in case. You don’t know he does these things– He’d rather deal with his paranoia himself. He doesn’t want to make you paranoid. Leon keeps you close to him in crowds, a hand splayed out on the small of your back or an arm wrapped around your waist or your hands intertwined. Touching you in some way is a must. If he can’t physically feel you, he thinks you’re going to disappear.

And Leon understands it’s silly. The things he does, the precautions he takes, he knows it’s coming from a place of anxiety. Humor me, won’t you? is what he asks every time, accompanied with a playful click of his tongue. Yet, he’d rather be safe than sorry. Risking your safety in any way is the greatest sin of all, one he refuses to even chance.

You try your best to cheer him up. His job is dangerous, that much you know, but you try to be a beacon of light for him. He has a mansion of his own, but you always welcome your quaint home up to him. A place of safety. At first, he didn’t take it. Showing up at your home was rare, if he came at all. Truthfully, he was worried about infecting your home. Plaguing the air with his anxiety, worries, and fears; somehow shifting the quiet environment to one of chaos.

His own house may be tainted, but he didn’t want to risk yours.

“Take off your shirt for me,” You instruct him. The first aid kit is laid out on the counter, gauze and bandages and band-aids littered about. He’ll never admit it, but he always looks forward to your band-aids. You always go for a colorful theme of some kind. Last time, your bandages were space themed, littered with stars and galaxies and asteroids. He secretly loves your themed band-aids.

This time, they’re Hello-Kitty themed. One of the characters, who you’ve told him is My Melody, takes up the space of the band-aid. His lips quirk in a smile. “Hello-Kitty this time, huh?” He says as he unbuttons his shirt, letting the fabric fall to the ground. Scars litter the expanse of his chest and abdomen, taut skin stretched across muscles. Chasing down Bio-Organic Weapons for a living gave him the physique he dreamed of having as a young boy (with several scars added, too).

He doesn’t say it out loud, but the themed band-aids remind him of Sherry. The young girl you two had taken care of for a short amount of time, who Leon sacrificed the rest of his adult life for. Getting recruited as a government agent was his part of keeping you, and her, safe. In exchange for his recruitment, you and Sherry got to live a normal life. Although Sherry was much more grown up, now. Seeing her in China had been whiplash for Leon.

She was a young woman now, different yet similar to the little girl you two had rescued long ago. He was different, too. No longer a bright-eyed rookie cop who blindly protected in the name of justice. He thinks back to Ada’s words– “You haven’t changed. You just think you have.”– and ponders on if he really has changed. In a way, he has. Gruesome sights and ungodly terrors have plagued him, shaped him into a man of battle. But in a way, he still helps. He still offers a hand to those in need.

Helping people has always been what he wants to do. It sits at the core of his being, flowing through his blood. He thinks of Ashley, Luis, and Sherry– All the people he could and couldn’t save. He will never be okay with not being able to save everyone. It keeps him up at night, infects his dreams until they morph into night terrors.

But he has saved people. Like you.

You nod your head, cleaning the cut on his collarbone and decorating it with a band-aid. He doesn’t tell you that he saw Sherry– Not yet, anyway. He doesn’t want to disturb the serene silence. It brings forth tranquility, a type he only feels when around you. It’s quiet as you continue patching him up, save for your delicate humming (a quirk about you that he loves– Silence often scares Leon, makes him await when the next B.O.W. will find him or when an enemy will come out of nowhere. Your humming doesn’t interrupt the silence, instead making it more peaceful) and the sound of gauze and bandages ripping.

Sleep tugs at his eyelids. It isn’t often he gets the pleasure of falling asleep, but he hopes he does tonight. Even so, he’ll get to lay with you, and that’s enough to relax him.

When you finish, you smile at him. “All done,” You tell him. You card a gentle hand through his hair, brush through the knots with nimble fingers. Luxuries such as brushing his hair aren’t often thought about during his missions. Typically, he comes back with his hair in knots. He hates the feeling of you brushing through them, but he enjoys sitting on the floor in front of the couch, your legs over his shoulders. Leon will turn his head as you’re combing through his hair simply to press a kiss to the inside of your thigh, leaving you to complain about having to start all over.

It’s the domesticity that kills him to be away from you. Thoughts of you persist even when he’s on a mission. Close calls have led to him thinking if leaving you, gentle kisses and exchanged laughter, would be the last time he saw you. A few times he’s picked himself up, even when an ache settles itself into his bones and he’s lost blood by the liters, because the thought of leaving you tears him apart. Never getting to see you making breakfast for him or your tongue sticking out when you focus or the blotches on your lips after anxiety-ridden days would break him.

He never wants to leave you. The image of you sobbing, tissues piled high and comforter up to your chin, makes his heart ache. He’s getting up before he realizes it, tugging you close. He hopes you can feel his heartbeat and understand that it beats for you. Leon’s never been good at expressing his emotions, but he hopes you know how much he loves you. How he would die and kill and tear apart flesh a thousand times over just to come home to your sweet smile.

“C’mon, sweet thing,” He murmurs into your hair. Rough fingertips gently scratch up your back, caressing the soft skin. He pulls away, just to see you look up at him. In this moment, he memorizes your eyes and your smile. He memorizes the feel of your skin, the smell of your perfume, the veins that map out a river beneath your flesh. He memorizes you and your love. “Let’s get to bed.”

[heavyhitterheaux]

The Marriage Pact Part 3

For Better of For Worse (Slight NSFW)

Read Part 1 and Part 2 first

Synopsis: Urban urges for Jack to tell you a secret that he's been holding onto, but of course someone else tells you before he does and all hell breaks loose

Pairing: Fiancé!Jack Harlow x Fianceé!Reader

Series Masterlist

Please Do Not Repost My Content Anywhere

Jack had now been on tour for two months and it was around 12 am when all of you were on the plane heading to Prague. Jack and Urban were the only ones awake as you were currently laying on Jack's chest on the couch that was perched in the back of the plane. He was currently scrolling through his phone looking for a necklace that he wanted to buy you since he noticed that you had been eyeing similar ones when Urban came and sat across from him and simply looked at him before saying anything.

"Did you tell her yet?" Urban asked and Jack looked over at him with wide eyes and gestured to you sleeping on his chest.

"Cut the shit. She's sleeping so I know she can't hear us." Urban said in response as he rolled his eyes.

"To answer your question, no I haven't told her."

"Are you? Are you fucking serious? The two of you have been engaged for almost five months! Don't you think that's important to let your future wife know!?"

"Of course I think it's important! I just… didn't think she would actually say yes when I proposed to her."

"You still should have had a plan in place! Like come on, did you really think she was going to tell you no? It's Y/N we're talking about."

"I know, I know! I'll tell her soon."

"You need to tell her like today when we land. She's probably going to be so pissed at you. No not probably, she definitely will."

"I just…. We're in a good place right now and I don't want to do anything to mess that up."

"You not being honest with her is messing it up. Now what if she suddenly decides to go public with it? Then what? And once again did you forget about your future wife being your manager? She could make this go away with the snap of her finger since it's not true. You haven’t seen her since last year, right?"

Jack didn't say anything in response and Urban simply hung his head.

"Sooo since you're quiet there's a possibility that it could be true!? What the actual fuck?"

"I saw her a week before I proposed."

"You… you cannot be serious? And you fucked her knowing that you were going to propose!? What the hell is wrong with you!?" 

"And I haven't met up with her since. I completely cut her off."

"Yeah until she sent you that sonogram pic."

"It's not mine."

"And how do you know exactly? You fucked her didn't you?"

"But I used protection. I'm not stupid."

"I beg to differ. Y/N is going to kick your ass about this. That's why I was so concerned when you told me that you two made a marriage pact.. Ain't no way in hell she would have said yes if she knew this beforehand. All your one night stands are about to come out as soon as you announce that you’re engaged. It’s literally only a matter of time."

"Just don't tell her."

"It's not my place to tell her but you better prepare yourself before you do. We've all seen Y/N pissed and it's never been directed at you and now it will be."

All Jack did was look down at you sleeping on his chest and simply sighed.

How was he supposed to tell his soon to be wife that there was a chance he could have a kid on the way? Deep down, he knew it wasn’t his, but he also knew for a fact that you weren’t going to be satisfied until there was a negative DNA test put in front of you. 

And since he was now on tour, who knows how long it would be until he was able to get one. 

Her name was Gabrielle and Jack was floored when he first laid eyes on her. She wasn't anything compared to you, but for a one night stand she would have to do. He met her at one of his shows in Atlanta and they eventually went out on a date that was actually set up by you so Jack would be able to avoid paparazzi or anyone seeing him.

You met her and thought that she was a nice girl, and didn't think anything else of it. Jack had hooked up with her numerous times with the last time being a week before he proposed to you and the next day he told her that they couldn't see each other anymore. He thought that she took the news well because she didn't seem fazed by it. It wasn't until last week when he was with Urban and got a text from her saying that she was pregnant and that it could be his. His heart immediately jumped in his throat knowing that there was a good possibility that you would leave him once he told you, but at the same time it happened when the two of you weren't even together.

So he thought to himself that you couldn’t be but so mad at him.

On the other hand, since he knew you so well he knew that as soon as he told you that shit would hit the fan and this was about to be hard for him to wiggle out of.

His main thing was breaking your trust. He had told you once he had proposed to you that getting hurt in relationships would be a thing of the past, but the two of you didn’t even make it down the aisle yet and this was happening. 

He knew that he had to tell you and soon before you found out from someone else that wasn't him.

That was literally the last thing he wanted. 

"Before the day is over, you need to tell her."

“I don’t know if it’s that simple.”

“It won’t be because she’ll probably want to murder you. And I am all for letting her at you because what you did was fucking stupid. You know I always have your back, but right now you’re on your own. Oh, and you better hope that she doesn’t tell Ari.”

Jack had been on edge since all of you touched down in Prague and you couldn’t put your finger on as to why. He typically didn't keep anything from you and your plan was to get it out of him one way or another because you always did. Between you and Urban, he couldn’t keep anything from the two of you for very long. 

The two of you were currently in your hotel room resting before he had his show tonight when you cornered him as he was sitting near the window staring off into space. You could tell that he was upset no matter how hard he was trying to hide it. 

"Babe."

"Yes?"

"What's wrong?" You asked as you came over to him and started to play in his curls.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired, that's all." He replied while shrugging but you weren’t buying it. 

All you did was cross your arms and look down at him.

"How long have I known you?"

"My entire life."

"So don't you think I know when you're lying to me?"

"I promise that I'm fine and that you have no need to worry."

“Easier said than done. But I’ll let it slide for now. I’ll get it out of you sooner or later because I always do.” You answered while kissing his cheek and he smiled at you. 

"I love you more than anything and don't ever forget that." Jack quietly said and it left you wondering what he was getting at.

"I love you too and why would I ever forget it?"

"No reason, but just in case. No matter what happens your happiness is always going to be my priority."

"And the exact same goes for you. Did you want to sleep for a bit before your show and then we can get food after?" You asked and Jack quickly nodded his head.

"Will you lay down with me though?"

"Of course I will."

You got comfortable on the bed with Jack following suit and laying on your chest as you played in his hair in order to get him to fall asleep faster. 

About fifteen minutes had passed when you noticed that Jack’s breathing had slowed down so you took the opportunity to set an alarm on your phone and drift off too so that you would have energy for later. 

Jack's second show out of three was currently underway in Prague as you were watching from the side of the stage. You had always admired his confidence and was in awe every single time that he performed.

There was only about fifteen minutes left in his set when you heard him say something that caught you off guard.

"Hold on. I'm almost done, but I want to brag a little bit and for good reason. So, I finally got my shit together and did something that I wanted to do for years. Yall know my best friend Y/N who is also my manager? I mean Urb is my best friend too but this isn't about him and needs to wait his turn." Jack said while laughing and the crowd erupted in screams as you looked to Urban to see what was going on, but all he did was shrug his shoulders.

"She's been in my life literally since I was eight days old and has always been there for me and as we grew older, my love for her did also. So, what did I do? Buy her an engagement ring and held onto it for an entire damn year because I was scared that she was going to say no. But, I finally grew some balls five months ago on her birthday and asked her."

"Oh shit. I had no idea he was going to do this." Urban thought out loud and for good reason, because he knew something that you didn't.

"I didn't either, but is it really a bad thing?" You asked Urban as you turned towards him and all he gave you was a tight lipped smile. But however,  you didn't think anything of it

"Oh, I'm keeping you in suspense aren't I? Well she also decided that she wanted to wake up next to me for the rest of her life so come next year, I'm about to be a married man. I'm not asking her to come out here because she hates being the center of attention, but Y/N…" Jack said as he turned to look at you on the side of the stage as you stood next to Urban.

"I love you and thank you for saying yes for marrying me. You've made me the happiest man on earth."

You quickly mouthed the words 'I love you too.' Before you heard someone scream in the crowd.

"And it's about fucking time!"

"I know, I know and I agree!" Jack responded and laughed.

"But for now let me finish so I can go and love up on my future wife. I'm never going to get tired of saying that." 

By the time all of you got back to the hotel it was around one in the morning and Jack could tell that you were fighting to keep your eyes open seeing as you had to be up in about six hours. One thing that happened while Jack was touring was you not being able to get a lot of sleep. You embraced it however seeing as not many people got an opportunity like this and the last thing you wanted to do was take it for granted.

Once the both of you were in your shared hotel room, you slipped off your shoes along with your jewelry, except for your engagement ring and simply sat on the edge of the bed and stared at it for a few minutes before starting to play with it and twist it around your finger. Jack took notice of this and also how quiet you were being and was concerned that something was wrong.

“Umm, babe? You okay over there? Why are you just staring off into space like that?”

“I’m okay.”

“Wait, you’re not pissed at me right? Because of what I did earlier? I should have asked you before I did it but I figured that it’s almost been five months and….”

“Jack, calm yourself. I’m not mad. I swear that you always stress yourself out over the tiniest things.” You said while laughing as you took note of how much he had started freaking out. 

“Well I had to make sure, but you’re obviously thinking about something so what is it?”

You took a deep breath before answering him and you felt like it was the right time since you had been thinking long and hard about it since the night of your birthday when he proposed. 

“I’m ready.”

“Ready for what?” Jack answered you while looking at you with a confused look on his face. 

All you did was stare at him until it finally clicked.

“Oh…OH! Oh… are you… are you absolutely sure? Because the last thing I want to happen is for you to regret it.”

“Why would I regret it if it was with you?”

“I just want for you to be…”

You immediately cut him off and grabbed his hand as he sat down next to you.

“I am and I wouldn’t say anything to you until I was. That’s what you told me to do right?”

“Yes, but…”

“But what?”

“I don’t have any condoms with me because I thought that you were actually going to wait until we were married.”

“I’m on birth control so that isn’t a problem.”

“And you’re sure that you’re ready?”

All you did was nod in response and you loved how thoughtful and caring that he was.

“Shit, I told you that I was going to make this extra special, but now…”

“It’s going to be special because it’s you. End of.” 

All Jack did was smile at you before leaning over to kiss you as you felt your heart begin to flutter. Once he had broken apart from you, he motioned for you to move towards the top of the bed. When you were he simply went to hover over you as he leaned down to kiss you once more.

“And at any time you want me to stop, just tell me, okay?” Jack quietly said to you as he began to stroke your cheek. Once you nodded, he leaned down to kiss you again and slowly started to make his way down your neck and to your cleavage that was poking out of your dress. Jack didn’t say it to you out loud, but he had been eyeing you in your dress since the moment you put it on.

“May I?” Jack politely asked and as soon as you had given him the okay to do so, he slipped the dress from over top of your head and took in the sight before him as you didn’t wear a bra with it and only a black thong.

Jack then went back to placing kisses along your body and as he got lower, your heart rate then began to increase knowing what was about to happen.

He played with the band on the side of your thong before looking up at you and making sure that it was okay before going to slide it off. Once he did, he threw it across the room and simply peered down to look at you.

“You’re beautiful, baby. Inside and out. I’m about to get you ready for me, okay?”

“Okay.”

Jack then slowly inserted two of his fingers inside of you while kissing you at the same time. Feeling how wet you were only made his erection start to become painful seeing as he hadn’t been with anyone over the past five months and simply waited for you to be ready for him. 

“And now why am I the only one who doesn't have any clothes on?” You curiously asked as Jack smiled before he leaned up away from you and reached down to pull his shirt over his head to throw it in the same direction that he threw your dress in.

“Now, we can’t have that, can we?”

“No we definitely can’t.”

Jack then hopped off the bed in order to take off his jeans and boxer briefs along with them and you were amazed at the sight as Jack quickly began stroking himself. You could see the precum leaking from the tip, but your focus was on how he was going to fit.

Jack saw the look on your face and immediately knew what you had been thinking as soon as your eyes had gone wide.

“Yes, baby it’s going to fit. That’s what you’re thinking isn’t it?”

All you did was nod before answering him.

“But how?” You quietly asked not 100% believing him.

“I’m going to go slow and take my time, that’s how.” He answered as he once again got on top to hover over you.

“Now, are you ready?”

You simply nodded as Jack told you to spread your legs a little bit more in order to give him room.

When he first inserted himself into you, it felt weird and didn’t hurt, but once he began to move further, you felt that first sting.

“Shit.” You muttered as you tightly squeezed your eyes shut.

“It’s going to be uncomfortable for a minute, but if you want me to stop, all you have to do is tell me.”

“No, keep going.”

“Just a little bit longer, baby. I’m almost there.” Jack said as he began to kiss you to take your mind off of it.

Once he was, he stopped moving in order for you to breathe for a second since he could tell that you were in pain.

“Whenever you’re ready for me to move, let me know.” He said as he placed kisses all along your neck and down the valley of your breasts. Another minute or so has passed when you felt as if you were ready for him to continue.

“Okay, I’m good now.”

“Now let me show you how much I love you and how much you mean to me.” 

You woke up wrapped in Jack’s arms as he was lightly snoring in your ear and turned to your left so that you could get your phone and check for any messages that might have been sent to you after you fell asleep. It was around eight in the morning and you knew that you had a full day ahead of you and wanted to get an early start no matter how much you wanted to lay and stay in Jack’s arms.

Since Jack had announced your engagement last night at his show, the notifications had been flooding in, but there was a particular one that caught your eye. Your heart rate ended up increasing and you were trying to steady your breathing as you shook Jack awake. Because he needed to explain this and explain it now.

“Jack, get up.”

“Hmm, you want to go for another round? Give me five more minutes.”

“Jackman, NOW.”

“Okay, okay. Damn, so impatient this morning. I’ll eat you out for as long as you want so I can get rid of that attitude.” He replied while laughing as he turned to look at you and by the look that you were giving him, he knew that something was wrong.

“What’s…. Wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“So you’ve been lying to me?” You asked quietly while Jack was looking at you confused. 

“Baby, lying about what? What do I have to lie to you for?”

“Then who the fuck is Gabrielle and why is she saying that you are her baby daddy and tagging you in a sonogram picture of her baby?”

Jack then sat up and turned towards you and tried to take your hand, but you immediately snatched it away from him.

“Hold on, babe. I can explain.”

“Then start fucking explaining and this better be one hell of a good explanation in order for me to not kick your ass.”

“We hooked up a few times and I….”

“When was the last time you saw her?” You asked while wrapping the sheet around you and looking at him for an explanation. 

“Um…”

“Jackman, you better not lie to me because I will find out sooner or later and you know that I’m good for it so out with it.”

“A week before I proposed to you.”

You immediately looked away from Jack and simply peered down at your hands in your lap and didn’t bother to respond.

“But, I didn’t know if you were going to say yes or not! And….”

“So you had sex with her knowing that you were getting ready to propose to me without protection and want me to be okay with this? Did I get that right?”

“I wore protection and there is no way that the baby is mine, I promise. You have to believe me baby.”

“Well, didn’t you have sex with her?”

“Yes, but I wore protection like I said!”

“Condoms are only 99% effective so there is a chance that the baby could be yours and you had still been in communication with her so you knew about this shit and didn’t bother to tell me? Your best friend? Future wife? And your FUCKING MANAGER?”

“So, what was I supposed to say? Hey baby, I think I got a girl pregnant who I had a one night stand with?”

“Yes! That is literally exactly what you say! So you were about to just show up with a baby at our house one day and say this is my kid?!”

“For you to throw the ring at me and leave me? I…..”

“You know me better than that and I’ve put up with your shit for how long? The fiance in me might kick your ass and leave you, however manager me is going to try and save your career!”

“I’ll just get a DNA test and this can all go away.”

“Didn’t you make her sign an NDA then why the hell is she posting all of this?”

“Um…. about that….”

“HAVE I TAUGHT YOU NOTHING SINCE YOU’VE BEEN IN THIS INDUSTRY? WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK JACKMAN?!”

“I know it looks bad, but….”

“That’s putting it lightly! You take my virginity one night and the next day I learn that my future husband has been lying to me, possibly has a baby on the way, and also doesn’t get his one night stands to sign NDA’s so that they can embarrass me on social media!”

“Why are you making this about you?! It’s my career that could get tarnished over this! And we weren’t even together when I hooked up with her!"

“So, you obviously don’t care how this affects me? Got it. My last name is about to be Harlow in case you fucking forgot and your career? The career that I MANAGE in case you forgot about that part too. We might have not been together but you knew that you were going to propose to me so make it make sense!" 

“Okay, baby I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that but… I’m sorry for keeping this from you.”

“This is what has been bothering you since we landed isn’t it? And I gave you plenty of chances to tell me but you decided not to.”

“Because I didn’t know how you were going to react!”

“So, you let me find out by her tagging me and you in the sonogram pic on instagram? You could have told me this before you had sex with me. I just feel used and disgusted. I thought I knew you better than that but I guess not. The fact that you know that I always have your back and do anything for you but you decide to hide this from me? We're supposed to be a team, Jackman."

“I….”

“Do me a favor. Listen to me and listen to me good. I do not want to see you, hear your voice, or even be around someone that simply utters your name for the rest of the day while I try to do my best and be a good manager and fix the mess that you created because you wanted to get your dick wet. Get out and go to Urban's room.” 

“But, babe….”

You simply shook your head at him and made your way to the bathroom as you slammed the door behind you while locking it. 

Jack sighed and ran a hand through his curls as he could hear you start to cry in the bathroom not knowing how in the world he was about to fix this. He gathered all of his things while sliding on his sweatpants before making his way towards Urban’s room. He knocked a few times and Urban finally opened it while looking confused.

“Why are you over here?” He asked while moving to the side and letting him in and seeing that he had all of his bags with him.

“She found out through an instagram post and told me that she didn’t want to see me for the rest of the day.”

“About Gabrielle?”

“Yes.”

“I told you to tell her when we landed! Why did you wait so long in the first place?!”

“I… I don’t know.”

“How are you supposed to get out of this one? Because it is literally all over social media.” Urban said as he scrolled through his timeline on instagram. 

"The only thing I can think of is doing a DNA test but I'm not back in Atlanta for another two months."

"And you know good and damn well not to ask Y/N to fly her out here in order to get it or have you fly back just for a test."

"I broke her trust and I have no idea how to get her to forgive me."

"She probably wouldn't have been as mad at you if you had been the one to tell her and not social media."

"And not to mention she finds out after we had sex for the first time last night."

"This literally just keeps getting worse." Urban responded as he hung his head.

"But that's not the worst part."

"How!? How is it not?!" 

"Because that was her first time ever so she told me this morning that she felt used."

"You are such a dumbass. And I can see why she felt like that! You had literally been fucking Gabrielle up to the point where you proposed."

"I guess I'll just give her space but how is that even possible? She literally always has to be around me."

"You better get her a lot of expensive gifts in order for her to forgive you."

"I literally just bought her a car. And besides you know that isn't her thing. I'm better off actually making her something."

"Well get her a private jet next. Shit, I don't know. But if you make something that better be one hell of an arts and crafts project. That shit better be good enough to put in a museum. See I don't have these problems because I'm not a dumbass like you."

"I beg to differ, but okay."

Meanwhile, once you had gotten out of the shower and had gotten dressed, your phone alerted you to a text from Chris who was also Jack’s manager but taught you everything you knew in order to be able to handle things without him and be with Jack full time per Jack’s request.

Chris- Meet me in the lobby of the hotel and grab Jack

You- Is something wrong? Why are you even here?

Chris- I know you've seen it trending that's why I'm here

You- It literally broke less than 24 hours ago so you aren't even about to let me do my job?

Chris- Just meet me downstairs so we can talk

You rolled your eyes at his response and sent a quick text to Urban to tell Jack to meet you downstairs in the lobby. Once you got down there, you saw him conversing with Chris and a woman who you had never seen before. Once you reached them, Chris smiled at you.

"Y/N! Okay good everyone is here so we can go to the restaurant in the hotel to talk and Y/N this is Neelam and I'm bringing her on to manage Jack as well."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." Neelam said, but you as well as Jack looked at Chris in disbelief.

"Uh, you too but um what? So you think I'm incapable of doing my job?" You questioned Chris as your arms were crossed.

"Y/N that isn't it at all. I know you can do your job well since I taught you everything that you know. I just figured you could use extra help since…."

"Since what?"

"Well since you two are now engaged, I don't want anything clouding your judgment as it relates to Jack’s career. I mean you two were close before, but now it's completely different."

"What does that even mean? My judgment has never been clouded before. His career is just as important to him as it is to me. I will always do what is best for him." You fired back and Chris simply sighed as Neelam was standing there awkwardly while Jack was scratching the back of his neck.

"Y/N, it's just to give you help."

Despite you not wanting to speak to him, you turned to Jack for an explanation.

"Did you know about this?"

"Me and Chris had talked about it, but I didn't…."

"So no one wants to be an adult and communicate around here? And tell me things that are going on? Okay, got it. Wonderful."

"Babe…." Jack started to say, but you simply held up your hand. 

"Y/N, just come on so we can talk about this. I didn't mean to blindside you, but I thought Jack had at least mentioned it."

"Clearly all of the talking was done without me so it can continue to be done without me. Why would he mention that when he didn't even mention the possible baby he has on the way? You know what? Yall can figure it out while I take a personal day."

Once you walked away from them, you went back up to your hotel room and simply sat on your bed and the tears that you were holding were starting to come down your face at a rapid speed all while Jack and Chris were blowing up your phone.

Future Hubby- Babe, please just come back down here so we can talk. I admit that it slipped my mind and I forgot to tell you. I did it to put less pressure on you so we can plan for our wedding. I know you’re pissed at me with good reason but please talk to me. 

Chris- Y/N, I'm only doing this because I want to help you. Please understand that.

All you did was place your phone on DND as you tried to even your breathing. The calls and texts were coming in left and right including from your parents, Ari, Urban just to name a few and you just needed a second to breathe.

About ten minutes had passed before you heard a knock on the door and went to look to see that it was Jack and immediately rolled your eyes before opening it.

"Can I help you?"

"Baby please just talk to me."

"And what am I supposed to say? You left me in the dark about two things and I'm just supposed to be okay with it?" You asked while moving to the side so he could fully come into the room. 

"No and I admit that what I did was wrong and I'll try to fix it the best way I can. Neelam seems nice and I think you'll like her."

"She has one time and one time only to get on my nerves and if she does I want her gone. I don't need to be micromanaged."

"I know you don't, but this is just to have an extra set of hands and that's it. I promise."

"Hmm you've been promising a lot of things lately and have broken each one."

"And it won't happen again."

"I'll believe it when I see it but for now, I'm not believing anything else that comes out of your mouth. I never thought I would ever say that. You have literally broken thirty years of trust in a matter of three hours. You tell me everything and I do the same exact thing to you. Still can't believe you thought that you could hide an entire HUMAN BEING from me."

"I wasn't trying to hide her."

"Her? Oh, her. It's a girl then huh?"

"Well she told me that the baby was a girl. I was just saying." Jack quietly said and all you did was eye him.

"I still mean what I said. I really don't want to see you for the rest of the day."

"But…. You've never missed one of my shows."

"I can still come to your show and not look at you. It’s called being backstage."

All Jack did was sigh.

"What can I possibly do to make this better? I don't like when you're mad at me."

"Pissed and hurt is more like it and truth be told… I don't know. But tell your little baby mama to stop tagging me in shit on instagram. You can start there. As for now, I am going to the spa to relax because I know my blood pressure is through the roof right now. Also, you better hope and pray that the DNA test is negative."

"Wait! You aren't going to leave me if the baby is mine are you?" Jack asked and was low key starting to panic. 

All you did was stare at him.

"Hold on, I know you’re pissed and I shouldn’t have been having sex with her up until the point that I did but like I said earlier we weren’t even together. And I don't want to be with anyone else."

"And like I said before, you planned on proposing and you told me that you had my ring for a whole damn year. And if it's yours that's not the problem. I'll even throw you a fucking baby shower. My problem is you lying to my face about it. For now, I'm done talking about this so go find Urban and bother him."

"Baby…"

"No. You don't get to call me that right now. And Urban knew about this didn't he?"

Now Jack was quiet.

"Yeah, you definitely aren't sleeping in the same bed as me tonight. Get out."

Taglist:

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[httpknjoon]

eagle-eyed | ksj

plot | That time Jin saw you arriving on set with someone else.

word count | 805

genres | fluff(?)

pairing | actor!jin x famous!reader

note | my first drabble about them in their pre-relationship era! this one's short but enjoy reading!

main masterlist | the a-listers: confidential masterlist

It was around the first week of your filming for your second movie together, Lonely People.

Jin was just having a small chat with one of the crew guys from the sound department when he noticed an unfamiliar car arriving at the set. It’s not like he knows every vehicle in the set but this one caught his eye. It’s one of Bentley’s latest releases. So, whoever it is in that car does have a thick pocket. But he could not tell who it was. The glasses were tinted very dark.

Additionally, it was a very early call time, before four in the morning to be exact. The skies were still in deep shade of blue.  The scene he is about to shoot with you includes a beautiful sunrise, that’s why.

When the car stopped in one of the less crowded spaces, a bit distant from where was Jin standing. he was surprised to see you got off the passenger side of the car. You were wearing a loose white button-up shirt, tucked in your high-waist jeans. Your hair was tied in a messy bun, which is fine since you still have to go in the makeup chair before getting in front of the camera.

He watched your back leaning in inside the car once again, as if talking to the mystery driver, before closing the door. Even though it’s a little dim, Jin catches a small glimpse of the driver. With a medium-sized coffee in hand and a shoulder bag on the other, you walked in the direction of the parked trailer. Jin said goodbye to the crew member he was talking with before following behind you. 

“Hey, bub.” he greeted you.

“Oh, hello, Jinnie. Good morning.” Turning around, you smiled before leaning in to give him a friendly cheek kiss.

He didn’t mean to be weird. But that short interaction gave him a small sniff of a strong scent in your hair. It was familiar and he could tell that it was men’s shampoo. He tried to shake off any thoughts bubbling in his mind. Instead, he asked,

“Where’s Hailey?”

“She’s coming. We came with different cars, a friend drove me here,” you replied while typing in your phone before sipping in your coffee.

Jin reiterated, “A friend?”

His strange tone made you turn around to look at him. You stared at his face like you were studying his expression. He simply grinned.

“Yes, Jinnie. A friend,” you repeated, squinting, before walking again.

Jin continues to follow behind you until you stop in front of your trailer. He spoke again, “Well, your friend looks like the popular Kim Taehyung.”

Kim Taehyung is another well-known name in the industry. He is one of Hollywood’s favorite heartthrobs. Other than his works, he is also popular in gossip magazines with his ever-changing dating rumors. He is often captured by paparazzi hanging out with various actresses and personalities. His rumors often paint him as a womanizer.

As if the name was something illegal, you immediately looked around before pulling Jin, by his shirt, inside your trailer. You locked the door and eyed him.

You sighed, “Okay, it’s him. We’ve been seeing each other for like weeks now.”

Jin never knew how hard it was not to slump his shoulder until now. He didn’t want to look like he was disappointed or jealous because he wasn’t. He wasn’t. He. Wasn’t. 

“And I really like him. He seems very nice and sweet too. Plus, we are enjoying the company of each other. But it would really suck if the media gets their hands on us. So, I’m begging you, Kim Seokjin. Please, don’t tell anyone about this.”

Pleading, you looked at him.

And your eyes. Your eyes were doing those things on him. Again. Every time you look at him, he always sees those sparkles that he cannot see with anyone else. It does things in him that usually include a million butterflies playing around in his stomach. 

Feeling something stuck in his throat, he cleared his throat. The anxiety is written all over your face and he can understand why. Dating is hard in Hollywood. Privacy doesn’t exist for everyone here. But if you manage to keep a relationship secret, it can be really nerve-wracking to maintain it. And you saying this to him meant that you truly trust him. So, Jin exhaled through his nose. He raised his hand and acted to zip his mouth before throwing the imaginary key away.

He spoke, “I saw nothing, bub. What are you saying?”

Your expression relaxed while the corner of your lips turned upward. You wrapped your arms around his waist,

“Thank you so much, Jin. I appreciate it. A lot.”

“No problem, bub.” Jin hugged you back as he whispered, hoping it would hide whatever he was feeling.

THE A-LISTERS: CONFIDENTIAL TAGLIST

@xiumo @joonsbvtch @firesighgirl @qualityjoonie @txtlyn @yoontaethings @zwiehe

PERMANENT TAGLIST

@dunixxd @cixrosie @jksjx @embrace-themagic @buttvi @starbtslove @missseoulite @vanntaesworld @kenqki @imajinthis @stopeatread @seolaquotes @greyrain23 @chimchimmarie @petalsofink @jayhope88 @moonchild1 @laylasbunbunny @nikkiordonez12 @misshale21

[aishangotome]

Alfons Sylvatica: Chapter 1

*The MC's default name in this game is Kate, so I will be using this name for the translations.

Mirror, mirror, don't show me pleasant dreams.

Even if it's a reality full of sadness, tell me your truth.

Before this love fades into an illusion.

-

Having stumbled upon the secrets of the Queen's personal assassination organization, "Crown," I was to live in their castle for a month as a Fairytale Keeper, chronicling their sins. I---

---I stayed up all night without getting any sleep.

(Never have I longed for the morning as much as I do now...)

Whenever I closed my eyes, a scene of crimson blood spurting forth in the pitch-black darkness emerges, and tears come out as fear wells up in my heart.

(I must stay strong. Crying won't solve anything.)

I splashed my face with cold water, slipped into a clean blouse, and shifted my mindset.

(I'll get you to trust me and let me return to my normal life.)

(That is what I must do.)

I cannot remain frozen in fear.

Kate: I have to face reality...

(And then...)

Kate: I'm going to the theater as soon as I'm free!

In my current situation, that hope was the only thing that kept my heart from breaking.

-

Emerging from my room, I immediately cornered Victor in the common room.

Kate: To what extent will I be surveillanced?

Victor: Hmm, that's right. First of all, don't go out alone.

Victor: To be able to submit a report, you need to spend some time with the cursed ones. Other than that, you're free to do whatever you want.

Despite my early morning intrusion with pen and notebook in hand, Victor greeted me with a warm smile and a welcoming response.

Kate: Who should I ask to accompany me when I want to go out?

Victor: Anyone is fine! Just ask anyone in the castle at the time or make an appointment with them.

Kate: I haven't brought any money or anything... is that okay?

Victor: Of course! This is a direct order from Her Majesty the Queen.

Victor: I will provide you with all the cash you need to carry out the mission, and you don't have to worry about anything to food, clothing, or shelter.

Victor: Do you have any other questions? You won't be able to focus on your work if you have any doubts, so please don't hesitate to ask.

(I have one more question...)

Kate: What exactly does it mean to "record the sins of the cursed?"

Victor: It's okay if you just write down the facts you witnessed and what you felt were sins.

(So it's up to my judgement... This might be a much more difficult task than I imagined.)

What makes a "sin" a "sin"?

Those standards vary from person to person.

(But I'm starting to get a much clearer picture of what a Fairytale Keeper is like.)

(It's a relief to clarify what needs to be done...)

While writing down what Victor said before I forget---

Alfons: You're so dedicated. I'm impressed.

Startled by the sudden voice behind me, I turned around to find Alfons standing at the doorway, seemingly out of nowhere.

He was clearly applauding in a manner to mock me.

Kate: Yes, because my future freedom is at stake.

Alfons: I just hope it isn't forced enthusiasm to mask fear.

(!!...)

I freeze up, my face involuntarily stiffening.

Alfons: Oh, did I hit a nerve?

Alfons: Hehe, your face is quite honest, isn't it?

With a playful expression, almost like a child who has found a new toy, he approached me.

A sudden whiff of sweet perfume brushed against my nose.

Kate: Perfume...?

In response to my murmur, Victor let out an exasperated chuckle.

Victor: Alfons, did you happen to go out again last night after that?

Alfons: Yes, of course.

He had a faint smile on his face.

Shrouded in an overly sweet and complex fragrance, he exuded an air of languid indifference---

(!! This scent... so that's what it means?)

As I widened my eyes, he pierced me with his gaze.

Alfons: Hehe...

Kate: ...!!

Alfons: Ah, I see! You're definitely on guard.

Alfons: Like a cat that doesn't warm up to people.

As I backed away, he beckoned me with gestures like those used to call a cat.

Alfons: Come on, come on, don't puff up your fur. Let's be friends. I'll give you some snacks.

Kate: Ah...!

Victor: Okay, you two.

It was Victor who put an end to our fruitless exchange.

Victor: Well, of course Kate would be on guard if she saw a man coming home early in the morning.

Victor: She's a young and beautiful lady after all, right?

Kate: Uh, well, yes, I guess so.

(Yes... I guess I got a bit carried away for a moment, partly due to lack of sleep.)

(It's also possible that Alfons is undercover in the red-light district or somewhere else for a mission.)

(Making assumptions based on prejudice isn't right.)

Kate: ...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that without knowing you very well.

Alfons: No, no, your caution is perfectly understandable.

Alfons: As if partying is a reason to live.

With a flourish reminiscent of a party greeting, Alfons placed his hand over his chest and bowed at the waist.

Alfons: We're only going to be together for a month anyway, so there's no need to get to know me deeply. Therefore, an apology is unnecessary.

With exaggerated gestures, he approached me--

Alfons: Oh, and by the way, I love cats.

He blew softly into my ear in a sweet whisper.

Kate: !!?

My shoulders jolted in surprise, and then a smile broke across his face.

Alfons: Oh, haha! That's a unique reaction. What a childishly cute little robin you are!

Alfons: A whole month to play with you... this is going to be the best way to kill time.

His fingertips tickled my ears, and I instinctively pulled away to cover them.

(Nn...., nn....!!)

Alfons: Well, it's about time for me to call it a night. Goodnight!

Victor: Sleep well, and have sweet dreams, Alfons.

Alfons: I hope I have the most wonderful dreams imaginable.

He leaves without even glancing at my reaction.

(What kind of person---?!)

Kate: Is he going to sleep at this hour of the morning?

Victor: Well, that's just how he usually is.

(It wasn't just my imagination after all... Alfons is dangerous.)

Beneath his aristocratic demeanor and courteous manner, I sense a hint of dangerous artifice and a fragrance of immortality.

(William, who can manipulate people to kill, is obviously dangerous, but...)

(There's a different kind of danger coming from that person as well.)

---"a rotten private life."

Such a phrase came to mind.

-

And so, time passed mercilessly, and as night fell, the time for the "mission" came.

My companions for tonight were William, Roger, and Alfons.

William: I'll carry out the assassination. Roger will be on perimeter watch, and Alfons will be the... "distraction," I guess.

("Distraction"...? I wonder what that means.)

(Maybe I can understand if I know their curses or abilities.)

As I pondered to myself, William looked back at me with just his gaze.

William: This is a momentous first mission for our esteemed Fairytale Keeper.

William: Before the mission, is there anything you want to ask?

(....!)

Kate: ....In that case, may I ask about Roger and Alfons's curses and abilities?

William: Ah, then it would be best to ask them directly.

Roger, who met me with his gaze, replies in a casual tone.

Roger: My curse is the the "Treacherous Huntsman." I have the ability to hear sounds from 100 yards away.

(Wow, 100 yards!? That means he has incredibly good hearing... it's definitely perfect for "perimeter watch.")

Kate: Thank you. What about Alfons...?

Alfons: It's a secret.

Alfons: Hehe, wouldn't it be a waste to teach you in such a moodless situation?

--CHOICES--

It can be a secret forever.

No need to be coy...

That's mean.

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

Kate: That's mean.

Alfons: Hehe, it's not quite like being mean. I just want to savor the pleasure of you begging me for a little longer.

William: Well, if there are no other questions, shall we go now?

"It's time to begin the mission," said the red eyes as he gazed up into the dark night.

-

William: Here.

What they arrived at was--an orphanage.

(It looks like an ordinary orphanage...)

In London, orphanages are not particularly uncommon.

Especially in the slums, where people who have fallen out of the overcrowded city gather.

However, the problem was what was happening here.

According to what I just heard...

What is happening here is--literally, a massacre, they say.

Surely not... such a thing... in this place?

I wish it were a lie---I pray that it is---but the scene I witnessed last night flickers behind my eyelids...

I held my breath and followed them.

And, what I witnessed there was---

Kate: ...Th-this is...?

William: This is the reason we came here.

It was like a black mountain.

At the same time, I realized that what was piled up like objects were human bodies.

Beyond fear, disgust welled up from the bottom of my stomach.

Kate: Ugh...

My stomach convulsed, and my vision swayed unsteadily.

It was indeed a tremendous number---of children's corpses.

(This is terrible... why is this happening...)

Unable to look directly at it, I covered my mouth with my hands and turned away.

Even so, the stale smell relentlessly screamed, "This is reality."

Alfons: Now, now, don't be so shocked. Reality is always a tragedy.

(Huh...?)

Kate: Alfons...?

I looked up while holding my throbbing head.

---and suddenly, something warm touched the nape of my neck.

Alfons: ---You are dreaming. A very pleasant dream.

Immediately after hearing those words... my thoughts were swallowed by a sudden wave of drowsiness---.

Roger: ...Oops.

Catching Kate's collapsing body effortlessly with one arm, Roger raised an eyebrow and glanced at Alfons.

Roger: Hey, hey, don't take her job away.

Roger: Make sure she sees our sins with those eyes and write them down. Isn't that the condition for her to be freed?

Alfons: Then why don't you write down that "I have committed the sin of obstructing her work"?

Alfons: What she should be writing down are the sins of us, the "cursed ones."

Alfons: Not the whole picture of London's darkness.

William: Ahahaha, you certainly have a point.

William: It's a shame I can't ask her to write down my sins tonight.

At that moment... a new set of footsteps echoed through the dark underground space.

Red-faced man: Who are you---!?

The person who rushed in seemed to be the orphanage manager who sensed something unusual.

William: Freeze.

Before the man could widen his eyes---an absolute command was given.

William: We apologize for intruding at night. But don't worry.

William: We promise to let you sleep if you answer a few questions.

William: Answer my questions honestly.

Red-faced man: Wh-who...?

-

Kate: ...Nn, ...Uh... Where is this---

Gazing vaguely at the unfamiliar interior, I realized I was in the room that Victor had prepared for me.

(When did I get back...?)

(---come to think of it, when did I go out... and what was I doing?)

I press my forehead, trying to recall the memories before I had that pleasant dream.

(That's right, it was my first time accompanying them on a mission... and...)

(A mountain-like... black mass...)

Kate: ...!!

My memories came flooding back, and I jumped up.

(Did I faint when I saw that scene...?)

I crawled out of bed and walked unsteadily towards the mirror.

(There are no wounds on my body... did someone help me before I fell?)

Kate: I wonder what happened after that...

I wonder if William killed and "judged" the person who created that horrible scene.

Thinking about it made my stomach convulse again and I put my hand over my mouth.

(Should I write that down? For a whole month?)

Just thinking about it made my head spin, so I staggered to the bed and sat down...

There was a knock, and the door opened without waiting for an answer.

Alfons: Good evening.

As soon as Alfons enters the room, his face fills with pity.

Alfons: Oh dear, you look pale. Are you alright?

Kate: Alfons... Yes, I'm okay---

I started to say something, but then I abruptly stopped.

(No... I have to apologize first!)

(What if I'm judged unfit as a Fairytale Keeper...?!)

Kate: I-I'm sorry... I fainted in the middle of my work!

Kate: Next time, I'll definitely be fine. I will fulfill my duties as a Fairytale Keeper without fail.

When I lowered my head, a loud laugh rang out.

Alfons: Ahha! You're so ridiculously serious.

Alfons: Do you really think I'd waste my time coming here for such a trivial matter?

Alfons: I came because I thought you'd be waking up soon and I was worried.

Alfonse approached me, taking one step, then another---

Held tightly in his arms, our faces drew closer, so close that our lips almost touch.

Kate: Worried...?

Alfons: Yes, isn't it obvious?

His fingertips slid smoothly down to the nape of my neck...

Alfons: Because... you're my lover, after all.

Kate: Huh...

The moment the whisper fell by my ear, something, in my head--was distorted.

(---Ah, that's right.)

(Alfons is my...)

(The only person I can trust.)

(Someone I can trust with my heart... a partner...)

Into the hollow space left in my chest, Alfons's presence smoothly slipped in, slowly melting my heart from within.

Alfons: You don't have to be strong in front of me, Kate.

Kate: ...!

As he gently caressed me, the tension in my body suddenly snapped, and tears welled up in the corners of my eyes.

Kate: Alfons... I...

Alfons: There, there. Don't hold back, just let it all out.

His gentle lips absorbed the tears, their warmth pressed against my own.

Kate: Hmmm...!

(Why is my heart pounding like this?)

Since we are lovers, it should be normal for us to kiss.

My heart was pounding, as if it was my first time.

(But as much as my heart races, it feels like my heart calms down when he touches me...)

The fear and confusion---, the sweet pleasure of his lips slowly wiped them away.

While exchanging sweet kisses, Alfons repeatedly caressed the nape of my neck.

Alfons: Come now, let's forget all the scary things... and do something fun together, shall we?

.

.

.

.

.

.

Chapter 2

If you’d like to support my translations, feel free to buy me a coffee here! :)

[completely-real-and-normal-human]

an untitled magnus archives fic

the document this fic was in was just called ‘an indulgence in these troubling times’ and like yeah. sums it up really.

this fic isn’t really part of a wider au, i just threw one of the scrunklies from my brain into tma and wrote down what happened. i think it’s set somewhere in season 2 but i cannot be sure!

basic synopsis: spiral train.

my first fanfic on tumblr so pls be nice!!

tw: mentions of transphobia, spiral-typical body horror

[CLICK]

OLLIE A tape recorder? Seriously? I mean, I knew you folks were old-fashioned, but...

ARCHIVIST (mildly irritated) We've made several attempts to record to digital software, but it seems to disagree with most of the statements. This is the next best thing.

OLLIE Y'know what? I like it. Very retro. It kind of fits with this place.

ARCHIVIST Well, quite. (pause) If you'd like to begin?

OLLIE Sure. Do I, like, introduce myself, or...

ARCHIVIST Yes, just say your name and what your statement is regarding.

OLLIE Okay, uh, my name is Ollie Maverick, and this is regarding the disappearance of my coworker Grant Lewis due to an unexplained train in my workplace.

ARCHIVIST An... unexplained train?

OLLIE Well, it wasn't supposed to be there, and I sure as hell never got any sort of explanation for it.

ARCHIVIST R-right, well... (clears throat) Statement recorded direct from subject eighth of March 2017. Statement begins.

In your own time.

OLLIE (STATEMENT) Working in security was only ever okay, to be honest. The work's all right, apart from the night shifts — those really messed up my sleep schedule. I was working the night shift at a London train station when this happened. I know that's very vague, but I don't think I can name the station here, so you'll have to bear with me on that. We didn't exactly part on the best of terms, and I'd like to avoid a lawsuit at all costs. Anyway, like I said, I worked in security, and it was one of my least favorite jobs. Not the worst, but it's up there. Top four. Mostly because of Grant Lewis.

Not to speak ill of the dead or anything, but Grant was an asshole. He drank too much, chewed spearmint gum way too loudly, and he ran one of those alpha-male podcasts in his spare time. You know the ones — white guys in their twenties spend thirty minutes a week ramming their unsolicited opinions about women who won't date them and abortion and liberal politics down the throats of their listeners. That should tell you all you need to know about him. He was a prick, and he had it in for me from day one.

I was the only queer person on the security team, and I looked it. I came in the first day with a pronoun pin and a pink mullet and... well. He latched on to me, and I couldn't get rid of him. The worst part was, since we'd started working there at the same time and he kept making these awful jokes about me, to me, everyone else assumed we were friends. No one else could stand him, so we got lumped together the whole time on shifts. I spent hours with him in the control room, patrolling the station, even on my lunch break a few times when I came across him accidentally in a café. Every time, I'd have to listen to this — endless stream of unfunny jokes about my gender identity and my sex life. And, of course, those controversial opinions he aired on that podcast. He was infuriating, and he wouldn't go away.

But however much I hated Grant, I still don’t think he deserved what happened to him. Officially he's just disappeared, but I don't think anyone believes that now. I really, really don't want to know if he's still alive.

It all happened about a month ago. I was working the night shift from 11PM to 7AM with three other people — Allison Bates, Fred Landy and, of course, Grant. (long, irritated sigh) I... wasn't in the best of moods, to be frank. I'd spent the whole day dreading this, and to begin with it was exactly the kind of awful I'd expected. It was a Sunday, so the trains kept running until 2AM. The first hour or so was in the control room with Allison and Fred, who spent most of that time loudly flirting with each other. It was... very uncomfortable to watch, so I volunteered to go help Grant keep an eye on the platforms. It would have been well past midnight by this stage, coming up to 1AM, and he was out making sure the drunks lurching off the trains from holiday parties didn't get too rowdy.

There were four platforms in that station, grouped in pairs, and he was looking after platforms one and two. So, I headed off to look after platforms three and four, because I didn't feel like dealing with his bullshit. The steady flow of commuters was starting to peter out, and those that were drunk were harmlessly so. It looked like it might be shaping up to be a fairly quiet night. But I only got around forty minutes of relative peace before my radio crackled. Grant was apparently coming to join me, as Allison was covering platforms one and two. I had an idea that she'd probably sent him, as Grant had no idea how to be around any female-presenting people without getting really creepy. I may have mentioned he was a complete asshole, so I didn't really blame her, but I wasn't happy about it.

Grant showed up and we began patrolling the platforms and the small shop and cafe area together. He talked too much and chewed gum loudly, and I tried to ignore him as best I could and focus on the job. The last train rolled in around 2AM, and once the final passengers had stumbled out into the night we went to lock up.

It was then that we heard it. As we were walking back to the control room, the tannoy system crackled into life.

'The train now approaching Platform Four is not intended for passenger use. Customers are advised not to interact with the train, or indeed acknowledge it, in the interest of health and safety. Under no circumstances attempt to board the train now approaching Platform Four.

Thank you.'

It didn't sound like the usual train announcements. Those were an automated vaguely female voice, distant and slightly robotic. This voice was a garbled, distorted mess that I could barely understand, and it cut off with a screech of static that made my head ring. Grant and I stood there in confusion as the echo of that sharp static bounced off the walls, warping into something like a faint, mocking laugh.

I've not painted a great picture of Grant here, I know, but he was at least a fairly competent security guard. While I was still reeling from the announcement, he managed to get out his radio and make contact with Fred and Allison in the control room. They'd heard it too, and they were going to head towards the room that the tannoy operated out of, to see if it had been hijacked. Grant said we'd go take a look at Platform Four, to see if there was anything we needed to deal with.

It took us about two minutes to get there, and it felt like the echo of the tannoy announcement still hadn't died away. The air seemed different — heavier, maybe, and it smelled a little bitter. It made me slightly nauseous. Grant didn't seem to notice; he just started checking around the platform for anything suspicious. I was going to join him when there was a sharp, screeching whistle, like an old steam train, and I realised that I was smelling smoke.

It filled the platform as the train chugged into view, curling around everything and shimmering with colours that I — can't describe. The cloying, bitter smell of the smoke grew stronger and I could see Grant choking on it, tears streaming down his face but I breathed it in and it was... (panicked, breathy laugh) ..intoxicating. The train itself was an old steam train, bright purple and gold, with no driver that I could see. It slowed to a stop and the door to the first carriage swung open right in front of me. Mocking. Beckoning. (another laugh) It seemed the most natural thing in the world to just... step in.

Inside was a narrow corridor, carpeted in that same rich, wine-toned purple. The doors of the seating compartments faced me, and each had gauzy purple curtains pulled across the windows. I started down the corridor, and noticed a figure sitting inside one of the compartments. I couldn't make out much through the curtains, but they had long hair that seemed to be moving of its own accord, and….. their hands were... wrong.

I don't think I was entirely... myself, at that point. (shaky breath) I reached for the handle, and suddenly Grant rammed into me from behind, sending me sprawling onto the floor. He was pinning me down, talking fast and terrified, saying we had to get out, had to get help. I could see the long-haired figure in the compartment behind him slowly rising to their feet, rising and rising far beyond the proportions of a normal human body, limbs bending oddly in ways that hurt to look at. I screamed for Grant to run, but it was too late.

The door of the compartment opened with a creak, and... it wasn't a person. I don't know what the hell that thing was, but it was not a person. The hair was blond, and twisted and curled in on itself like a nest of snakes. Its eyes were hard to look at. B-but its hands... they were long, and the fingers had too many joints and they were sharp, and it looked at Grant and he started screaming, and it started laughing. That sound, it... it made my mind sting.

He tried to run, then. Got to the door that should have led back to the platform, but it was different now, smaller. Painted yellow. He opened it to show another long corridor, this time lined with mirrors and twisting wallpaper that hurt my eyes, and the monster-thing just... pushed him in. (pause) I... really hope he's dead. I really do. The alternative is just... well.

I scrambled to my feet and backed away as the thing turned to me with this... self-satisfied grin on its impossible face. Like it had just had a good meal.

Go if you like, it said. You'll be back. You won't be able to help it.

It began to laugh again as I began to run.

I don't know how long I ran. The carriage never seemed to end, and every door I opened led either to a set of seats or to another twisting corridor. Eventually, think I just... gave up. Lay on the floor and waited to dissolve into an impossibility.

I woke up lying on Platform Four with Fred leaning over me asking panicked questions while Allison was calling the police. I couldn't focus on any of what Fred was saying. My head was spinning. I... wasn't really aware of much until the police arrived. They asked me where Grant was. I said I didn't know. I was too rattled to come up with any sort of lie, so I just... told them what happened. (quiet laugh) I'm not really sure what the official proceedings were, but they didn't want to know. One of the officers dropped me home and I just went straight to bed. Thankfully my partner Rory was out on his own night shift at the time, so I didn't have to explain anything just yet. I slept like the dead until about four o'clock the next day, and the first thing I did when I woke up was send in my resignation.

I tried to... well, not forget about it, but to... put it at the back of my mind. I had no backup plan for a job, and Rory could only cover the rent alone for so long. I had to tell him what happened, obviously. I don't know if he fully believes me, but he hasn't said anything. He knows I saw something that really scared me, and he knows that that's why I quit my job. He's sticking with me, though.

Last week, I managed to get an interview for another security job in the Foundling Museum. And when I went to catch the train to get there, well.. I'm sure you can guess what happened. The smoke, this time, it... it was so hard not to get on that train. It felt... right. It was all I could do to walk away.

That blond monster-thing is following me, too.

It doesn't look as, as wrong as it did in the train, but I know exactly what it is. I see it pretty much everywhere I go. It catches my eye and winks at me, and I just about throw up with fear. Rory thinks they're panic attacks. He's trying to get me to see a doctor, or a therapist or something. He's probably right, but I wanted to come here first. I thought you... might be able to help.

ARCHIVIST (pause; a few abortive attempts to speak) Statement, eh... statement ends. I — I think I recognise this, ah... blond monster-thing you've mentioned. Did it... have you approached it? Talked to it?

OLLIE (incredulous) No!

ARCHIVIST Good. It... it calls itself Michael. I don't know exactly what it is, or what it wants, but it enjoys. toying with people. Doesn't seem to have any real purpose other than... spreading misery and madness.

OLLIE W-well, I... (clears throat) What do I do?

ARCHIVIST I'm afraid I... don't really know. (noises of panic and indignation from Ollie) I mean, I can tell you to avoid any suspicious doors, but I... have a feeling you could have come to that conclusion yourself.

OLLIE Great. Great. I knew this would be a waste of my goddamn time. Is that seriously all you've got for me? Avoid suspicious doors?

ARCHIVIST I'm sorry, I —

OLLIE (overlapping) Don't even —

[DOOR OPENS]

ELIAS Sorry Jon, am I interrupting?

ARCHIVIST Oh, Elias! Um... no, I, I think we're just about done here. R-right?

OLLIE Sure. We're done.

ELIAS Is everything quite all right?

OLLIE Apparently, you people are perfectly happy to take my statement, but you can't actually help me with my fucking eldritch stalker.

ELIAS Ah, yes. I can see how that might be... upsetting.

OLLIE (barely controlled rage) Can you, now?

ELIAS I believe I can. (pause) I'm Elias Bouchard, head of the Magnus Institute. And you are?

OLLIE Ollie. Ollie Maverick.

ELIAS Well, Mr. —

OLLIE (overlapping) Mx.

ELIAS Oh, my apologies. Well, Mx. Maverick, while I don't really know much about your situation specifically, I've found that our Institute is quite good at deterring any, ah, supernatural harassment of our employees. For the most part. And I believe you're in the market for a new iob?

OLLIE Uh. I mean….. yes, but how did you —?

ELIAS I was waiting outside for Jon to finish up, and I couldn't help overhearing. Interested?

OLLIE I... don't know that I could do much here. I don't know anything about ghosts, or - whatever it is you do...

ARCHIVIST I — Ollie, I really wouldn't —

ELIAS (overlapping) I'm sure you'll pick it up very fast. Should we discuss this in my office?

OLLIE Um... sure. May as well.

ELIAS Lovely. Oh, and Jon?

ARCHIVIST I — yes?

ELIAS Basira’s just got back. I believe you wanted to talk to her?

ARCHIVIST Oh, uh... okay, I'll — I'll go do that, I suppose.

ELIAS Right. Follow me, Mx. Maverick.

[FOOTSTEPS; DOOR SHUTS]

ARCHIVIST (sigh) Damn.

[CLICK]

[CLICK]

ARCHIVIST Well, that was... (sigh) ...anyway. Another person trapped in the archives. Better than being trapped in a corridor hellscape or an endless train carriage, I suppose. (pause)

Though... would they have been trapped? The way they described the train, and especially that smoke... what did they call it? Intoxicating.

They're clearly very scared, and I can't say I blame them, but I have to wonder if what I'm seeing here is... the birth of a new avatar. With Michael shepherding them to their new domain.

In terms of follow-up (sigh) I have been able to confirm that a Grant Lewis was filed as missing on the third of February this year. However, I was not able to find anything else about the case or the circumstances of his disappearance. The police don't seem to have done anything, and it looks as if this Grant didn't have any friends or family to make a fuss about it. I talked it over with Basira, and she agrees with me that it probably comes under Section 31. Obviously, this makes it difficult to get any real evidence for this statement, but I'm inclined to believe it anyway.

What I don't understand is why Elias would offer Ollie a job. They've made it clear that they need it, but I hardly think it's out of the kindness of his heart. (quiet, tired laugh) He's probably got some secret, evil plan for them. Some way to cripple the Spiral, perhaps. Or maybe he just wants to inflict a new and interesting kind of trauma.

Either way, I think I'll be keeping a close eye on Ollie Maverick.

End recording.

[CLICK]

[CLICK]

[SOUNDS OF SHUFFLING PAPER AND DRAWERS — A FILING CABINET? — OPENING AND SHUTTING. A DOOR OPENS.]

TIM Oh, uh — sorry, this area of the archives isn't open to the public.

OLLIE Yeah, I — I work here.

TIM In the Archives?

OLLIE Yeah, it’s my first day. My name's Ollie Maverick.

TIM Um... Tim Stoker. (pause) Sorry, what are your pronouns?

OLLIE (pleasantly surprised) They/them. You?

TIM He/him. (pause) So... you don't exactly look like the academic type.

OLLIE Says the person wearing a Hawaiian shirt to work.

TIM (laughs) No, I meant... y'know, people in this profession don't tend to be quite so buff. We're all skinny little nerds.

OLLIE Ah yes, my perfectly chiseled physique. I can see why you'd be confused. (Tim snorts) My last job was as a security guard, so...

TIM Sounds interesting.

OLLIE Well, it... didn't end well. I actually came to make a statement about it yesterday, and then your boss — Elias, I think his name was — offered me a job. For some reason.

TIM What?

OLLIE I know, right? I mean, I know jack shit about academia, but I did English in college and that was apparently good enough for him. I got the feeling that you're a little pressed for job applications.

TIM Yeah, well... I just hope you know what you're getting into.

OLLIE Oh?

TIM This place is... wrong. In a lot of ways.

OLLIE (jokingly) What, you've come across a lot of ghosts and ghoulies?

TIM I'm serious. It does things to you.

OLLIE Such as?

TIM It... won't let you quit. You can try it, but — you won't be able to.

OLLIE That all?

TIM (sigh) You'll find out soon enough, I guess. You're stuck here now.

OLLIE (pause) You're not just — messing with me?

TIM No.

OLLIE Well... fuck. (resigned sigh; pause) Out of the frying pan, into the fire. Assuming this even works.

TIM Assuming what works?

OLLIE It... doesn't matter. I guess we'll see.

TIM I guess we will.

[SILENCE]

OLLIE Hey, has — has that been running this whole time?

TIM What?

OLLIE That recorder. Did you bring it in here?

TIM Oh, for fuck's sake —

[CLICK]

[ealeczander]

Fuck “death of the author” I have a new solution to Harry Potter. From now on, the only canon I will acknowledge the existence of is “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” the movie. Not because it’s the best movie, even though that can be reason enough, but also:

The movie builds on the story of the book and expands it to such a great extent that it can exist on it’s own merit. I remember as I child watching the movie first, liking it so much that I wanted to read the book, and when I finally got to the fun part of the story, where the characters travel back in time, sneak around and solve the mystery.. - the book ends. All the fun stuff are only in the movie, which I deem enough of a reason for the movie to be considered it’s own thing.

Every ship that the fandom loves is in this movie. Alfonso Cuaron, being the mad genius that he is, even back then knew how prejudice she-who-must-not-be-named is, so he secretly told Lupin’s actor to play gay and in love but to not tell anyone about it. This action single-handedly brought to canon the entire Marauders fandom with wolfstar in the lead. Apart from that, we got Drarry being their usual selves (was Draco sending a paper bird to Harry in this movie, I’m not sure, but they were definitely in their “i had a crush and didn’t know how to deal with it so I wrote him a letter that said “leave my school” era). And let’s not forget Hermione punching Draco in the face which is the beginning of the Dramione enemies to lovers arc. We got Ron x Hermione, Harry x Hermione, literally every major ship started here.

The theme of characters being black and white, good and bad. From Sirius being considered a criminal to finding out he was innocent, Lupin being a nice teacher but also a dangerous werewolf, Harry being the protagonist but also threatening the Dursleys with magic etc. You cannot convince me that this was done intentionally in the book, but I’m 100% sure it was on purpose in the movie. The way the movie portrays it is so impactful. For example Snape being Neville, a student, biggest fear, but also trying to save the trio at the end of the movie. This had such an effect that people still quote it in their argument for or against Snape.

The movie is just a million times better than the book. It also changed the direction of the series to a darker tone, which I can argue, means that the other movies derived from this one, making this one the original and the other ones fan fiction. The cinematography is breathtaking, the characters are fleshed out, the conflict is intense, even the time travel was explained in a way that is intriguing but also easy to understand for children. Nothing else is canon to me from now on, only this movie.

[noelle666]

Ship/Kiss challenge - Heinrix van Calox/Noelle von Valancius

Original post with all options

Some post-game events.

30. ... as a comfort (I hope I understood it correctly)

A middle of a night was one of the most peaceful periods on a voidship: the great mechanisms were working without rest, but even they, the insides of a great leviathan, seemed to turn into a different, calmer mode. Heinrix van Calox, former interrogator of Ordo Xenos, rolled over to the other side in a bed, his mind was covered in deep warm slumber. Some time passed after events on Epitath, the Koronus Expance was awaiting for changes, but for now all what was needed is a breath of a fresh air and some time to recover. And the one who needed it most was Lord Captain, who was sleeping next to Heinrix, or so he thought.

Psyker felt something is not right and opened his eyes - Noelle was not in bed. On one hand there could be nothing extraordinary, yet a glimps of anxiety appeared in Heinrix's heart. He noticed a dim light in bathroom and decided to wait for a bit: one minute, two, five, nothing has changed. Silence added more notes of worry with its heavy invisible hand, so the man decided to get up and check if everything is alright with his beloved. He entered the room and saw Lord Captain sitting with her back to the entrance on a round ottoman, she wrapped her legs with arms and looked completely tiny in this pose, like a hedgehog hiding from danger. Heinrix came closer, he squated down and looked into the woman's face: her gaze was directed to one point, filled with something... dark. She didn't noticed a visitor - it seemed the whole world around her did not exist at all.

"Noelle, what is it? Are you hurt?"

The words awakened her.

"Heinrix? Why are you here?" - she looked surprised at the man nex to her, - "Please, go back to sleep. I just need... some time..."

"I can call for healers if you don't want to bother me, even knowing care about you is my primary goal..."

"No, no, I am fine", - Noelle interrupted psyker. She made a pause and continued, - "A nightmare, that is all".

"A mere nightmare cannot frighten Lord Captain, there was definitely something more. Tell me, please", - Heinrix gently took Noelle's hand in his. Young woman hesitated at first but started her tale:

"You told me that after leaving the Inquisition your former collegues will start hunting you. You said, when they come for you I won't be harmed because you will make everything possible to protect me. Since then this thought can't leave my mind. I started to think on a solution to avoid it, to protect you or even hide you. I could not allow anything to tear away your freedom which you recieved recently, which you needed and desired deeply inside of your heart. And I could never allow anything or anyone take away the one I love.

Recently these thoughts occupied me completely, after we finished our mission. Calcazar was the Lord Inquisitor of the Expanse, yes, he brought a good number of his forces to Epitath but still there are many other acolytes who could restore the Koronus branch of Ordo Xenos and continue his work. And if... when they find out about you...

I think tonight I just gave up at some point, my spirit did, at least. I saw a dream: we were stanging on a deck, as usual, discussing where to travel next. You were next to me. And then doors opened, and a dozen of people appeared. Two of them, a man and a woman, introduced themselves as an Inquisitor and an acolyte, I couldn't hear their names or see their faces, but I clearly saw rosettes on their chests, and behind them was a squad of armed soldiers. They said they came after the traitor, after you. I was ready to tell them I won't allow them to do anything but you stopped me. You smiled at me and said: "Don't worry. It is my business, not yours, you won't be harmed, as I promissed to you. I must go with them. I love you and always will". You touched my cheek, then you turned to them: a woman handcuffed you, and I noticed you moaned out of pain and your nose started to bleed. I made a step towards you, someone touched my shoulder and tried to stop me, and I felt... emptiness as if something bit a piece of my soul. I realised this acolyte was Pariah and could only imagine how hard and painful it was for you to stand next to such person.

They decided to handle the matter without mittens, they started to drag you out of the deck, and the more time you were spending next to the Pariah acolyte the worse your condition became. They were cruel. They would've definitely tortured you. I couldn't allow it to happen... And then...

My own shriek deafened me. I don't know how and where I got these poweres, but the only thing I remembered and felt was flaming anger. I fell on my knees and screamed, and then... when my sight was cleared I sawa deck engulfed in flames, people, survivors, were screaming in horror, some were helping wounded. Dead bodies were lying everywhere. I saw you - you grabbed a pistol from a dead soldier and shot this Pariah woman. I looked at the Inquisitor, who stood behind you, he wanted to stab you with a dagger, and I thought "Don't!" and his head exploded the moment the thought appeared in my head.

The whole place was swallowed with warp and I was its source. You ran towards me, grabbed me and commanded to look at you. "We need to run, get up, quickly!" - you said. You tried to help me but a strong sharp pain pierced my head. My eyes become wet, I touched my cheeks and saw blood. You were still holding me and said: "Hold on, I will help you! We just need to leave!" but... I felt this was the end of me. I could only push you from me and... I screamed again. The last thing I remember is your far away voice calling me".

Noelle shrinked on an ottoman even more than before, Heinrix felt her hand shivering. The man carefully hugged her and pressed his lips to her forehead.

"I needed to be more careful with words. Yet again the fault is mine".

"Don't say that. This time I couldn't hold my emotions under control..."

"Noelle, my love, my little guardian", - Heinrix smiled and looked at Lord Captain, - "We all can make mistakes. I need to learn a lot about being happy and about mutual love and I know you will help me with that. But please, you too let me help if something's bothering you. We are together, remember? Don't be afraid to share your worries with me, even if you think the matter is not important. I am always here for you. Forever and ever".

Lord Captain looked into Heinrix eyes trying to drive away the obsession which almost took over her again: grey eyes, one brighter and one darker, which looked cold as ice when they first met and now were filled care and love. Psyker kissed Noelle, the warmth of his lips helped her to calm down; one kiss after another, each filled with gentleness as if the man was telling her "I am here. I am with you". Afterwards, Heinrix picked his beloved up and carried her to the bedroom, he covered her in a blanked and kissed her goodnight. The rest of the night passed quietly and calmly.

[dearweirdme]

you know I have always been one of the first in lines fighting to defend Tae from that rumor, I'm 100% positive that is mediaplay still but something shifted these days as in yes it was mediaplay but ultimately Tae did choose to take part in that paparazzi walk( albeit he didn't look happy at all I think I have reasons to believe that even if he was somehow coerced he probably was made to feel like he had some negotiation power too) and honestly I guess I felt more adamant to defend him bc i saw how much he tried to fight the tide and separate himself from all of that ( the wv live in the airport, these insta pic changes being the last example etc and seeing ppl disrespecting his agency and his right to state himself his own truth really pissed off me a lot ) but I started to think these last days what's the point in him doing all of that when he agreed to do that walk and he must know what would happen otherwise why did he even agreed, what is he even fighting himself doing little things to separate himself from being associated to this person when he will forever be associated,for the gp and fandom itself and as you said once this will be in the historial of his live forever? By doing all of that it's like he made us, the fans who cared for him and were paying attention to him fr want to defend him too and literally fight air because there is nothing to defend when he did that walk, when the purpose of that walk being met. I'm not saying he did any of that with the purpose of having fans fighting on his name at all, I don't think so but that's what happened, I guess I'm feeling disappointed these days bc i see no need for him to even fight against all of this when this issues reached the levels it did when he chose to do the walk. I'm also disappointed bc i think anything he might do that would have been considered brave and important about his identity before loses weight completely now, him smooching jk's cheek on the party and uploading it, him being bold etc bc no one but a small group of ppl considered delusional by everyone will see this for what it is. He can do a lot now only bc no one it's going to take him/it seriously.

I used to be pissed by Holland behavior that one time but I even kinda can get the frustration now. Tae is safe or at least has reduced the risk at a minimum now to do whatever bc everyone thinks he dates women. And some ppl be crowing him as an LGBT icon when some other idols have actually exposed themselves honestly to a lot more without any security plan to fall back into. And that actually feels like being brave and doing something. Not making everyone who supports you look like a delusional clown and make the thought of you being queer laughable to most ppl. Moonbyul being a pretty good example of someone who has been direct and brave.

Im sorry I really needed to vent, I have loved Tae for a lot of time ( not that i dont love him now but sometimes i cant shake the disappointment and the distaste of not being able to enjoy his content without seeing him being constantly related to ppl I don't like at all) and I'm open to anyone making me feel different about this situation

Hi anon!

Let me give you my perspective on this and maybe that will make you see things differently as well.

Tae is moving within certain boundaries. It is most likely that there are actual clauses in his contract that tell him what he can and cannot share publicly. That goes beyond plain saying that he is queer. That also goes for the level of queerness he can show through art and media. Basically I feel he is able to show queer media and art, but not adress it as such. Going beyond that would probably mean he’d be breaching his contract, which could lead to monetary penalties… and when it goes too far he could be kicked out of BTS (not that I think it would ever go that far). I think it’s possible that with this new contract, things have become more loose though. BH/Hybe doesn’t want to lose Tae, because he is one of the most popular members and losing any member would look bad. So I think there was some leverage there.

In my opinion it should not be underestimated how bad things still are for queer people in SK. Artists loose their careers over it stil. People like Holland are absolutely very brave and I hope within time there will be more and more like him. But you cannot compare one person’s choices with that of another’s. I think Tae possibly discovered his sexuality when he was already under contract with BH.. that would mean he had the choice to either hide, or to break his contract… leave BTS… and be left with a shitload of debt (because you don’t simply leave a contract). He would have no perspective of any career after that.. losing all his dreams and all chances of having any influence at all. It is an impossible choice maybe.. or maybe not.. I don’t know. Has he chosen to leave BH would his life have been easier, better? He would still have had to deal with severe homophobia. So I don’t think Tae had much options but to hide in the first case. It is not something he chose.. it was basically decided for him. Contracts are no fun anon, they basically chain them to the company in many many ways. I don’t think Tae ever had the option to be as open as Holland. And I think that is something he struggled with greatly. So if that walk was something he agreed to just because it would give him some more room to be authentic, I am absolutely not holding that against him. It doesn’t make him bad or whatever, it makes him someone who needs a bit of room to breathe.

In general I don’t feel Tae owes us much. Speaking for myself, I am here completely voluntarily and completely aware of forever being shit on by the rest of fandom. I’m of the opinion that both Tae and Jk aren’t actually fighting to be out and open.. so that probably makes my perspective on this different than yours. I think they’re just trying to live their lives and what we see of them is just stuff we pick up on.. because we pay attention. I always see myself as a bystander and not a participant in this. But.. that’s just me ofcourse.

So how did we end up here; Tae doing a walk with Jennie. Looking at it from a practical side, it was only one walk.. half an hour tops. If we assume he did agree to it and he wasn’t actually forced all the way, for him that was probably doable, and if he traded that for more freedom to be authentic.. to insert more queerness in his work (which is eventually what people will remember him by), then I think the trade probably looked worth it. Ultimately it wasn’t a fair choice ofcourse, because trading anything for freedom to be yourself is insane.. freedom should always be yours. But I do think the company possibly sold it that way.. and being used to having no freedom for years, maybe to Tae it did seem like a chance. It is ofcourse also possible they made him do this, but it’s not something I’m leaning towards personally.

It is not something Tae would’ve done/come up with himself. Tae didn’t go “yeah, I want to do a papwalk with Jennie for fame and attention”… people are right when they say he didn’t need that. He was not enthusiastic. And I think he was very over it all soon after.

The way I see it.. is that possibly Tae gave away a small part of himself to do something he felt is necessary in a broader way. His new mv is so important! To have such graphic display of queerness is so important! Especially from someone as famous as Tae. Imagine all the young queer fans he has seeing that! Tae knows what kind of influence he has. He has probably missed seeing representation like that himself when he was younger. I think this is what matters to him most and personally I just applaud him for that. Taennie will be nothing but a blimp on our radar in a few years, but his songs and mv’s… I think those will have an actual impact on many lives.

[ivoryminitower]

FFXIV Write 2024 prompt 25: Perpetuity

Husband likes to not say things.  It is not that he wants to keep secrets from me (I think), and it is not that he is shy with me (I think).  What he told me when I once made him tell me was that he does not want to affect reality.  He is afraid that saying something is impossible or does not exist or cannot be done or does not work here as it did in Eorzea might make that true, partly because of what he thinks is possible, and partly because of what I think is possible.  He does not want me to think of anything as impossible…he wants me to simply do things, and show him they are possible, and then he knows he can do them too.

I partly understand this.  I have met Sharlayans who have talked about how aether can be changed by will, and will is based on belief.  But I also understand how to use google and wikipedia and ck12.org, which means him not telling me something only slows me down.  And sometimes annoys me.

Last night we were camping at the edge of an area called the Ozarks.  We were sitting by our small fire.  We had had some cider.  We could simply have leaned against one another until one or both of us fell asleep, but I found myself thinking of Earth, and then of Hydaelyn, and then of the Mothercrystal.

"Does Earth have a mother goddess, Husband?"

"Some say yes, and her name is Gaia.  Some would direct you to God.  Most people would lump it under religion…I am not aware of people with actual practical experience in the matter, though there's lots of people who might claim they do."  He toyed with my hair.  "What brought this up?"

"I sometimes think about the struggle between light and darkness in Eorzea, and wonder if it exists here."

"Again, most people would call that religion, or think of it metaphorically.  I myself am not aware of an actual active war, no."

"So there is no reason to think the world could be destroyed, correct?"

His fingers stopped.  He fell silent.

"Husband?"

"...I mean, maybe not in the sense that you mean, but…"

"What?"

"...You know how there's things I'm not sure I want to tell you because it might color your thinking?"

"Yes.  Do you know how much I dislike being kept in a box?"

"...Yeah.  Okay."  I gave him a moment to find the words he wanted to use.  Then he said, "Scientists say the sun is like a really big campfire."

I did not expect this.  I looked at the fire in front of us.  "Campfire?"

"Yeah.  A small campfire, contained properly, not a lot of fuel, will just run out of fuel and burn out after a while.  Make a campfire too big, though, and it can grow, get past the place you put it, catch other things on fire, and consume everything around it."

"And the sun is a…very big campfire?"

"Last estimate I heard was that in about five billion years the sun will get bigger, consume the planets around it, and then start to burn out."

"The planets around it include Earth?"

"Yeah."

"So it is not that the world can be destroyed…it is that it will be destroyed?"

"Right."

"Five…billion years is a long time.  I cannot even think of how long that is.  Surely in all that time people will find a way to…perhaps move to another star?"

"Probably, yeah.  Though the other stars are campfires too.  Some burn faster, some burn slower, some explode…but they all eventually burn out."

I lifted my head from his shoulder to look at him.  "What will be left if all the stars burn out?"

"I don't think anyone knows."

"Do scientists think anything lasts forever?"

"I'm not aware of anyone who's been around long enough to answer that."

I thought about this.  I looked at our campfire.  I looked at the other campfires in the sky.  None of them seemed to be exploding or burning out right then.

"Why did you not want to tell me this?"

He sighed and let his gaze fall to the ground.  "This'll sound stupid…"

"Entertain me, please."

"...I heard about all this when I was a kid.  Lecture at a planetarium.  Great visual effect of the sun getting all big and red.  It was the first time I really thought about impermanence and stuff.  The sun could die, the planet could die, all the people could die…"  His eyes closed.  "...I could die."

I watched his face.

"The people there tried to make me feel better, saying stuff like, 'Oh, it's okay, it's way far in the future, we'll be long gone before it happens.'"  A strange smile appeared on his face. "Somehow that didn't help."

I tried to fit this into his usual pattern.  I tried to understand what he did not want me to think was impossible.  "Did you think not telling me the world will end would mean I might think I would live forever?"

"We never died in Eorzea."

"We died many times in Eorzea.  We simply never went to the aetherial sea."

I returned my head to his shoulder and slowly stroked his back.  "Five billion years…so we are probably fine tonight?"

He snorted softly.  "Yeah, probably."

"Perhaps even tomorrow night."

"We'll see how tomorrow goes."

(Based on Echoes of Home, hosted on Wattpad.)

[sapphire-heart-tippy]

Okay so here's something interesting about the Sapphire Heartverse:

In canon, Vanilla is a pretty isolated person. He only cares about Dio, serving him and living under his rule. He has no friends or family (that we know of), and he seems like a very lonely person in general. He never smiles, he's serious and keeps to himself.

That being said, he says something I found kind of interesting. Vanilla tells (what he thinks to be a deceased) Polnareff, "Anyone else would've instinctively saved himself over risking life and limb to come to the aid of an oblivious comrade." (direct quote)

From what I can gather, both from this quote and from all of the other information I have learned from the manga, anime, OVA, and wiki... Vanilla has never had anyone. No friends, possibly no family. He was an outcast until Dio came along. Then his unhealthy obsession began because Dio was most likely to be the only person to ever show Vanilla any kind of grace or affection.

Now onto the Sapphire Heartverse. (You can read the actual fic here! It's not finished yet by the time I'm writing this however)

When Tippy comes along, Vanilla reacts neutrally to him at first. After Tippy pulls his first prank, that's when Vanilla gets upset because he sees it as disrespecting Dio's property. He cannot do anything about it besides scold him, because Dio instructed him to keep Tippy safe and train him how to use his stand for fighting.

Over a few months, they actually have to fight a rogue stand (not stand user!). Vanilla gets injured, but the two gentlemen defeat it. Tippy takes Vanilla to the hospital and learns Vanilla's real name. Two very important things happen here:

Vanilla takes Tippy into the void with him (if Cream doesn't see somebody as a threat, he will not shred them to pieces). Vanilla has only ever been in the void, nobody else up until that point. Vanilla had no choice but to save Tippy from the stand, even if he didn't want to. Dio's orders.

Tippy learns Vanilla's real name is Ezekiel. Vanilla has never told anyone his birth name, not even Dio. Tippy is told, rather harshly, to never call him "Ezekiel" ever, though.

Vanilla tends to be very secretive, but two key points in this very short period of time cause some very intimate secrets to let loose to somebody he doesn't really like very much. Vanilla finds himself thinking, "Well.. he already knows a lot about me already. I might as well explain..." and he tells Tippy parts of his past he has never expressed to anyone.

They both warm up to each other quite a bit, even though Tippy irritates Vanilla every now and then, causing mayhem. But, Vanilla eventually realizes that the same feeling he gets when he thinks about Dio starts manifesting when he thinks about Tippy. (mini episode here)

Later on, Tippy gets cornered by Alessi and Dan, getting beaten up and even sliced in the face. Vanilla is furious when he sees this. Not only does he feel like he is failing Lord Dio's orders to protect this little termite, but... he kind of... sort of... maybe... cares about him?

Vanilla dresses Tippy's wound and finds himself cradling Tippy's hands in his own to stop him from messing with his injury. This gives him a pleasing feeling in the pit of his tummy. Ice chalks it up to the fact he just loves his job very much. After this, Vanilla teaches Tippy how to defend himself from a physical attack, no matter how large his opponent is. Things get a bit deep and now Tippy is the one bringing up his past.

They both end up spending the night in Ice's bedroom and falling asleep wherever they decided to rest their eyes. For the first time, Vanilla is truly content.

***SPOILERS PAST THIS POINT!***

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(This has not been fully written yet! The "Bad Ending" however, is completely finished but I am not releasing it until the full fanfic is done! I will also be editing it too, of course.)

So, in the SHV, Polnareff and Jotaro are the only ones (in the main SDC crew, there are others all across the world who still remember certain things) who remember everything that happened. Polnareff has reverted back to his part 3 appearance, while Jotaro is still in his part 6 appearance. (Avdol, Joseph, Iggy, and Kakyoin are still alive and have their part 3 appearance as well. They remember hardly anything, everything is all a blur and it's as if they never went past that point in their lives at all).

The people who do remember everything all across the globe are not special, everything is at random due to the stand user who tried to reset the universe. It ultimately backfired and fried the timelines. Nobody truly knows what year it is exactly, so they all call it (current year the viewer is reading in)

Fast forward:

Polnareff now knows Vanilla's every move and is sure to avoid Cream's attacks, saving Avdol and Iggy. He is so relieved that his wish has been answered, to get a second chance... What Polnareff didn't take into account was Ice would have a little helper with a similar stand.

Tippy is confident in his abilities the same way Vanilla is. Things get more difficult for both parties. Iggy gets lost in one of the many holes Ice has created with Cream, leaving it all up to Avdol and Polnareff to stop Vanilla and Tippy.

It gets very confusing and anxiety inducing considering the fact, one has a lightning fast black hole that swallows up everything in its path, and the other can sneak up on you and stab you from behind without a second thought as well as having an indestructible force field. Cream is an unstoppable force and Sapphire Heart is an immovable object. When they are put together, they have the ability to defeat anyone who crosses paths with them.

However, Vanilla hardly thinks ahead, while Tippy tends to overthink. This can cause their natures (and stands) to collide, making them disoriented and confused. Avdol and Polnareff are putting up the fight of their lives with these disappearing void dwellers.

That is until they decide to split up. Polnareff wants to fight and destroy Ice the same way he did last time. Avdol decides to take on Tippy. Avdol is quick to notice that Tippy acts more playful, like a mischievous imp while Vanilla is more calculated and calm. Avdol immediately has this strange feeling that Tippy... is not supposed to be here... Polnareff's confusion to meeting Tippy for the first time rung some alarm bells in Avdol's head already, but this makes him even more stunned.

Meanwhile, Polnareff is even more aggressive with his attacks. Vanilla's plans are foiled every which way. He gets frustrated but remains calm. When Polnareff thinks he has Vanilla cornered, he rips off a curtain! This floods a beam of sunlight in the room and all over Vanilla Ice! ..... Not doing anything but confusing him. Polnareff yells in frustration about Dio turning Vanilla into a vampire.

"Vampire? What the hell are you talking about, Polnareff?" Ice is very perplexed until he realizes... (mini fic here) Dio... did try to turn Vanilla into a vampire... but Ice wasn't able to give himself to his master, so Dio told him to redeem himself by sacrificing his own life in battle. Polnareff is still livid at what Ice did to Avdol and Iggy, even if it got reversed and Ice doesn't have any recollection of those moments. Polnareff tries everything he can to kill Vanilla, but to no avail.

Tippy and Avdol end up in the same room as the other two. Polnareff finally notices that Avdol is there. He gets terrified of losing his beloved once again, so he yells to him to attack. Avdol doesn't attack, instead he starts talking to Tippy.

***BAD ENDING STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION BUT HERE IS THE GIST OF IT (false but plausible outcome)***

***HEAVY SPOILER AND VIOLENCE WARNING***

Avdol doesn't listen to Polnareff. Tippy is still on guard, but won't attack just yet. Avdol asks him questions about where he came from and why he's here. Avdol straight up says, "You shouldn't be here."

Polnareff, in a fit of fear and fury, rushes to attack Tippy in a flurry of rapier strikes. Vanilla doesn't see this in time. Tippy is fatally wounded and drops to the ground bleeding to death. Avdol is horrified and tries desperately to tell Polnareff what he was doing. Polnareff feels bad and wishes he would have just killed Vanilla Ice instead.

That was when they both hear a blood curdling shriek coming from the throat of Ice. He rushes to the aid of Tippy, cradling the dying man in his arms. Ice's emotions flood out. Tippy tells Vanilla that it's over, he's not coming back from this... his last words to Vanilla were, "I'm sorry for everything."

Ice sobs and holds onto Tippy. Vanilla carries Tippy's body away from what will soon become a battlefield, lays his hoodie over his face.... then in a flash, he physically attacks Polnareff. Instead of Iggy feeling his wrath, he goes straight for Polnareff. This catches both Polnareff and Avdol off guard as Ice gets a few good punches in, badly injuring Polnareff. Avdol decides to cremate Ice alive.

Vanilla is burning to death, but he still tries to destroy Polnareff. His body is crumbling and he's dying... but before he dies, Ice flings a necklace he was wearing across the room. The last thing he did before his death was reach out while crawling on the ground, trying to get to Polnareff. Ice was reduced to a pile of ash.

Avdol finds out what Ice had thrown prior to succumbing to a fiery grave. It was a cheap heart shaped locket with a picture of Vanilla and Tippy inside of it.

After this, Dio is defeated. Everything goes back to "normal"....

But... nobody is in the mansion... Jonathan is left in the fridge. (mini fic, written by a very talented and amazing fan here) He realizes, after days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months, that nobody was coming to get him... he had no other choice...

***GOOD ENDING HEAVILY UNDER CONSTRUCTION (true ending)***

Polnareff goes in to stab Tippy in a flash of rage, but Vanilla catches him in time. Vanilla takes a few stabs in place of Tippy. They both are swallowed up into the void for safety. Polnareff is frustrated but Avdol tells Polnareff what he was doing. Polnareff feels bad, but still feels good that he was able to get a few stabs on Ice.

That was when he was hit with the realization.... Ice just saved somebody. He turns around to see Vanilla in front of Tippy, both ready to fight. Polnareff shakes his head,

"What was that about saving yourself over risking life and limb over an oblivious comrade?! You're a god damn hypocrite, Ice."

Vanilla still has no idea what Polnareff is talking about. There's a pause in the fight. That's when Tippy chimes in asking what they're fighting about anyway. Polnareff is dumbfounded. The only thing Tippy knows is that he and Vanilla have no choice but to fight for their lives. Avdol's intuition was correct, as usual. After some more intense conversing and questioning, they come to the conclusion that they key to stopping Dio's reign is not to kill him... they just need to reattach Jonathan's head to his own body.

The meeting between Jonathan, Polnareff, and Avdol is startling.

[under construction, this will be very choppy]

Long story short, they find a way to reattach Jonathan's head to Dio's body. Dio gets his old body back, but he's not happy about it.

Everyone is confused about their bizarre adventure, but happy everyone is safe. Avdol and Vanilla talk a little, Polnareff still very much hates Vanilla and stays hateful towards him due to the past that never was... yet, it still definitely was.... Even though Ice has no idea what he actually did to elicit such a hostile reaction from Polnareff, he still respects his space and they do not speak to each other ever again (unless it's funny).

Tippy has to go back home, but Vanilla doesn't want him to leave. Ice begs Tippy to stay in Egypt forever, but Tippy has tons of friends and family back home. Vanilla is not ready to let him go.

Over the last days of Tippy's visit, Vanilla works up the courage to humbly ask Dio if he can go with Tippy. Dio and Jonathan look at each other, Jonathan gives him a warm smile and nods at Dio.

Dio rolls his eyes and crosses his arms,

"I suppose I can part with my most loyal and favorite servant... now that I have an extra pair of hands around here, it won't be too difficult. Plus he won't be slobbering all over my possessions anymore."

To this Jonathan laughs and holds Vanilla's hands, dreamily telling him,

"Go to him. Go to your love... live your happily ever after, my dear friend."

Vanilla smiles... He nods and races to Tippy.

Dio sighs and tells Jonathan that he'll just have to find another obedient servant boy toy with a cute butt. Jonathan playfully hits his arm,

"Dio!"

Vanilla tells Tippy the good news.

They end up moving together, getting a quaint one story house built with the money Dio paid them. They live a happy, peaceful new life together. The two disappearing void dwellers travel the world together, and even get married.

Eventually they have a kid too (mini fic here)

***The Jonathan's Headverse explained***

The main universe you all see here is technically a spin off of the Sapphire Heartverse. It is not always in chronological order! It follows most of the same rules as the Sapphire Heartverse does:

The unnamed stand user fried the universe and collided the timelines

Most characters have been revived

Most characters lost their memories (some worse than others.... *cough* Kars)

Some characters still have their memories (such as Polnareff)

Vanilla Ice and Tippy are a couple and have Ramon

The only thing it retcons is the part where Dio and Jonathan get their respective bodies. Also there are some new characters who live on as heads, and others who were turned into heads as a punishment. Dio's dark magic can also only revive characters who have not been revived by the universal frying, from the neck up. Dio lazily and reluctantly attempts to fix this issue, but it only ends in disaster and terrifying results! (as seen here)

For the most part, the Headverse is a slightly skewed version of the Sapphire Heartverse. It is a more lighthearted and silly au that still ties into the SHV canon

(perhaps the dark magic Dio used to reattach their heads to their own bodies wasn't a perfected spell. Over time, things started going awry and Dio, being selfish, decided once again to take Jonathan's body, leaving his own body to decay and turn into dust? Something like that maybe!)

Well, I hope you all endured- I mean, enjoyed this long drivel of my selfship alternate universe haha!

[kirbyprompts]

𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐃 ( 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐘 𝐃𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐍 ) 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒.

while you’re here, consider reading the legendborn cycle. feel free to change the prompts as you see fit! extends under the cut because it got very long and i don’t have the heart to delete any of these, because they’re all so good. seriously click on the read more. warnings: mentions of grief and death.

❝no more running.❞

❝what the hell are you doing?❞

❝he’s going to catch you one of these nights, you know.❞

❝you here to stop me?❞

❝you can’t blame me, can you?❞

❝your life is currently in far more danger than mine is.❞

❝i should kill you for touching her.❞

❝be specific when you apologize, [name]. it makes the act far more effective.❞

❝i said i was sorry about that!❞

❝‘sorry’ didn’t cut it then, and it doesn’t cut it now.❞

❝i have you, don’t i? tonight was my mistake, not yours. you’ve kept me safe.❞

❝nothing to say about our previous discussion? or had you forgotten that detail in your current, immature display of defiance?❞

❝you are being such a jerk right now.❞

❝actually, i come bearing some news you’re not really gonna like….❞

❝what are you wearing?❞

❝what are you doing here?❞

❝your safety should not be debatable to anyone.❞

❝when you’ve got a ticking clock over your head, there’s no reason to hold back.❞

❝head and chin up, shoulders back. don’t fidget.❞

❝my grief may tear at my insides still, but the wounds and memories are mine. mine.❞

❝how dare you!❞

❝do not apologize for doing what needed to be done.❞

❝i wasn’t going to blow my cover.❞

❝take a walk, [name]. you’re causing a scene at a funeral.❞

❝her behavior was not your fault.❞

❝this is on me too.❞

❝there’s nothing anyone can say that will make things better.❞

❝i hope the pain lets up a little soon. gives you a…a break.❞

❝we need to talk.❞

❝i know what you’re doing. you’re letting me rant, then calming me down.❞

❝right now, we all need to keep level heads and play the game.❞

❝chess, not checkers.❞

❝don’t be scared. don’t be scared, fight.❞

❝i’m sorry i broke your hand. i didn’t mean to, but i still did it and that’s not okay.❞

❝are you nervous about tonight?❞

❝i just want it to be over.❞

❝you don’t believe people can lie? hide their true nature?❞

❝run.❞

❝can you listen to directions? for once in your life?❞

❝secrets don’t stay buried forever.❞

❝is that a threat, [name]?❞

❝do not think you know enough to judge my fate.❞

❝when the time comes, don’t be scared.❞

❝just as a flower turns toward the sun, my anger seeks a source to feed it.❞

❝we are not alike.❞

❝you invoke grief now so that death will never surprise you again. you imagine how it could happen, so that you can imagine how it cannot. you wish to destroy it before it destroys you.❞

❝half a heart is not enough to live a whole life, is it?❞

❝i can help you know strength, power, and control.❞

❝i don’t understand.❞

❝before you learn to fight, you must first protect yourself.❞

❝can you walk?❞

❝will you sit?❞

❝you planned all of this?❞

❝how the hell did you get here?❞

❝not every move is about winning. not in a war like this one.❞

❝i’m not a coward.❞

❝how many more have to die? how many, [name]? do you even know who we lost tonight, or are you already dreaming of the next strategy?❞

❝i don’t care!❞

❝i’m getting better at my powers.❞

❝you don’t think i can handle myself.❞

❝you are smart to be cautious.❞

❝shut up. you’re trying to make me angry. it won’t work.❞

❝i am not trying to make you angry. i am trying to make you understand.❞

❝what does it matter? i saved you. then i got caught. now i’m here.❞

❝what i dislike is that you’re keeping things from me.❞

❝no one has ever called me innocent before. you sure you want to be the first?❞

❝you wanted to kill me, but you didn’t.❞

❝saving you is not a choice; it is an obligation.❞

❝can we reminisce another time?❞

❝i’ll take the couch.❞

❝tell me something happy.❞

❝i know how to throw a punch now.❞

❝you have to admit this sucks. if not a lot, a little. small amounts of suckage, scattered generously.❞

❝you are vicious right now, you know that?❞

❝i like excelling at new things.❞

❝genius levels: maximum.❞

❝it’s been really, really hard.❞

❝we had a deal, [name].❞

❝i’m okay!❞

❝that was too much. you’ll overextend yourself.❞

❝i am still a healer.❞

❝shut up!❞

❝i won’t talk.❞

❝i can make you talk.❞

❝it’s just water.❞

❝you lost someone, didn’t you? what was their name?❞

❝you can’t be sorry about pain you’ve never felt or seen.❞

❝that’s why you can’t understand. it was my fault. i could have saved her. should have. instead, i watched her die, felt her anger, her fear.❞

❝you find an opening, you take it. aim for the head.❞

❝i don’t forgive him, or respect his decisions. i’m glad he can’t hurt anyone else.❞

❝nice nap?❞

❝get your shit together, [name].❞

❝i have a name. three, actually. first, middle, and last. you’re welcome to use any of them.❞

❝i’m honestly still deciding if i want to refer to you at all.❞

❝we should leave in the afternoon if not earlier.❞

❝were you listening to me cry in the bathroom?❞

❝thank you for saving me tonight.❞

❝why are you thanking me for that?❞

❝what did you find in the cabin?❞

❝is this you being coy, [name]? i don’t think i care for it.❞

❝why are you laughing?❞

❝let me do it.❞

❝see something you like?❞

❝your teeth look different today.❞

❝do not ask questions you do not truly wish me to answer.❞

❝want to tell me about it over two a.m. pasta?❞

❝haven’t heard from you in a week and all i get is a ‘hey, [name].'❞

❝got one of your all-purpose pep talks handy?❞

❝you don’t have that kind of time.❞

❝you have to run, or you’ll die.❞

❝you’re still talking about this like it’s a game and i told you not to play it.❞

❝we know when it’s time to retreat.❞

❝say that again.❞

❝i���m not okay with this.❞

❝this is james bond-levels of cool.❞

❝come back from wherever you go to hide. look at me.❞

❝do you want me to go?❞

❝you were furious with me earlier. why?❞

❝i am a classics major, you know. i understand how to make a proclamation.❞

❝first things first, find a bathroom.❞

❝dragons aren’t real. are dragons real?❞

❝you need to go back to the car.❞

❝let’s find a place to sit.❞

❝does your vocabulary only include basic adjectives?❞

❝the service here is lacking. if i had my phone, i’d leave this establishment a horrible review for their horrible service.❞

❝god, i am so embarrassed for you right now.❞

❝protecting others from harm is one of the most human things someone can do.❞

❝wanna get put in magical-bar jail? cuz stealing drinks is how you get put into magical-bar jail!❞

❝you have really gone and fucked things up, haven’t you?❞

❝i’ve lived long enough to learn to live as the willow, not the oak.❞

❝i will tear your limbs from your body.❞

❝you look like you need a drink.❞

❝well, never say i wasn’t hospitable at first.❞

❝you’ve been crying.❞

❝this isn’t over.❞

❝i can afford to be arrogant. i’ve earned it.❞

❝looks worse than it is.❞

❝you look like you have a question.❞

❝eat breakfast and meet me on the porch.❞

❝there are many reasons to hide the truth from those you do not know. but when there is care between two people, and trust built, there is only one reason that lies continue: not fear of safety, but fear of judgment. shame and guilt are powerful motivators. not easily overcome.❞

❝i believed i was right, all in the name of duty.❞

❝why would you lie to me about this, every time i asked you if you were okay? did you think that i wasn’t strong enough to deal with it?❞

❝you are the strongest person i have ever met, [name].❞

❝i deserve better than lies. you were lying to me, lying to yourself. how can i know what was real?❞

❝are you saying you’re going to kill me?❞

❝i won’t ask you for forgiveness.❞

❝we are all that is left.❞

❝i dream about us, [name]. fighting side by side. together. but lately, i dream that one day, we won’t have to fight at all.❞

❝let’s put our issues aside for the moment.❞

❝i don’t have to explain myself to you.❞

❝we’re too late.❞

❝[name], drop the weapon.❞

❝put me down.❞

❝stay behind me.❞

❝i can fight. we can fight.❞

❝i like how present-minded and witty you are.❞

❝i feel… like i’m tired of almost dying.❞

❝if i didn’t adore you, i’d shake you half to death for scaring me like that.❞

❝i…i don’t know what to say.❞

❝[name], you’re incredible. the strongest person i know, but you have got to stop almost dying. it’s not cool.❞

❝i’m sorry for worrying you.❞

❝i want you to live, because i want you to be happy.❞

❝not running for our lives is the new vacation.❞

❝we need an actual vacation.❞

❝i need time. i’ve never had time to myself, [name].❞

❝i really think you should explain yourself!❞

❝even a petty, evil broken clock is right twice a day.❞

❝heard from a little birdie that it was your birthday.❞

❝i honestly don’t know what i’d do if you weren’t here for all of this.❞

❝is this my present?❞

❝i have to be honest, at this point, i have no trust in your ability to follow instructions.❞

❝you don’t listen. you’re the most stubborn creature i have ever met.❞

❝you’re the most wondrous being i have ever encountered, will ever encounter. and i believe there is nothing in this world that you cannot do.❞

❝are you jealous?❞

❝maybe i’ll start buying into my own hype just to prove you wrong.❞

❝are we there yet?❞

❝even though you trust me with your life, you don’t trust me with your heart.❞

❝don’t say you didn’t mean to kiss me. i couldn’t stand it if that were true. instead, tell me you meant it.❞

❝do you trust me?❞

❝i take it back. don’t trust you.❞

[myriad-miscellaneous]

vignette dump

i’ve got all these brain worms that i want to share but will probably never be finished own full-fledged stories. the first one of these is already at 3.2k words and it doesnt feel remotely finished omg

i'm never going to get past my mental hurdle to actually write smut, am i?

"If a demon can achieve godhood like you, then tell me," he growls. "Is there a chance that, demon and monster that I am, could I be like you? Can I find purification in the wake of your vaunted flames, Professor? Will I find salvation if I were to follow your lead — as I so blindly did a lifetime before?"

  A sliver of his heart still capable of hope prays that her cold, soft-spoken voice tells him that he can, that he is deserving, that all his sins could be forgiven and swept away as easily as the clouds before the breeze. But, as always, his prayer is a useless gesture — a testament to his ineptitude that he dares to hope at all. She does not tell him any of those things. She does not tell him anything at all at first, meeting his plea with only silence.

  "...Dimitri," she says finally, as if that is her answer, and he bites his tongue to stop himself from shouting that the fool who once went by that name is dead.

  Her sea green hair rustles with a sad shake of her head, and she crouches down to meet him, searching for a gaze that turns fearfully away from hers. "I am neither, Dimitri," she whispers, and the sound is too loud, nearly deafening against the vast emptiness of the cathedral. Hearing her voice rattles him like thunder, shakes him like a Thoron cast through his racing heart.

  "I am and I have only ever been human," Byleth tells the walls behind him, averting her eyes to avoid spooking him any further. "I was your professor for a time, but now not even that. Now, I suppose, I am no one at all…"

  "Ha!" he barks. "Do you claim to be a ghost, then? Do not be so delusional, Professor." He spits the title like a swear, the title that he used to exclaim with such joy, such excitement, such — don't-say-it-don't-fucking-say-it-you-wretch — love — fuck — once upon a time. His voice grows harder, harsher, from his self-directed fury. "As long as that heart of yours beats, pumps blood within your whole, hale skin and bone, you cannot contend to be one of the many spectres that haunt me. You have said the same yourself."

  "Then take it."

  He lifts his aching head to behold the piercing glow of green in her eyes, searing with hurt and something that does not look like wrath, which would be what he rightfully deserves. Behind her beautiful, haunting visage is a blend of resignation and determination, and it bores into his soul more powerfully than even the memory of her bewitching smile.

  He is mesmerized all over again when she pledges herself, heart, body, and soul to him, as if he is the god and she, the believer.

  "If you need a heart, Dimitri, then I will give you my heart," she says. "If you need a sword, then I will be your sword. And when you need someone to show you the way, then I will become that person to guide you back. Ghosts and gods should not dictate the paths of the living."

  And he laughs, oh, how he laughs, cackling like the madman that he is — not from the sheer blasphemy of her words, though she would likely be put to the stake had she told anyone actually devout, but from the idiotic notion that she believes he deserves her help or anything at all. He is a man steeped in sin.

  …He is a man steeped in sin, he realizes, and the flash of greed that flickers to life in his mind seems like a mere speck against his mountains of misdeeds.

  "If—" And he stumbles over the words; he's indignant, outraged, in disbelief at what he's about to say, but that is Dimitri feeling all of those human foibles, and he is a savage beast.

  "I-if your words ring true, then kneel. Offer your body to your king."

  She leaves him.

  That is — she should be leaving him; that's what she's supposed to do, but, oh goddess, she's not; she's staying; she's kneeling, and what in the eternal flames was he expecting when he explicitly ordered her to do that?

  He curses himself, but the thought is drowned in the cacophony of screeches from his dearly departed. His step-mother hangs her head in despair, even as it hangs by a flap of skin to her neck. His father is all outrage, assaulting him with a flurry of questions: What do you think you're doing? Will doing this bring you any closer to our murderer's head? How could I raise this as my son? 

  Glenn clicks his tongue in disgust and doesn't even face him. I can't believe that I died just for you to get your dick wet.

  Glenn's comment stings most of all, and Dimitri prepares himself to send her away — tell her that it was just a tasteless joke, just like his joking not-joke at the Goddess tower.

  But then Byleth, obeying the spirit of his law but not the letter of it, begins to strip, and the words disappear with all his ability to think.

Bits of metal clang against the stone floor, and he swears that he can hear the goddess laughing cruelly at him through the echoes. Illuminated in the moonlight pouring down from the broken rooftop, her vessel looks every inch divine, soft curves and sinuous muscle, and he is helpless, pathetic, weak. He is a mortal, a man, and (he tells himself that) instinct possesses him the moment that she casts off her shirt. With only inches in between them, the hem of her clothing grazes against his gauntlet.

The new archbishop had brushed away the dust coating the headstone, plopped her bum onto the grass, and spoken aloud to the frigid air. In hindsight, a living confidant might have been better, but sharing the news with her parents first just seemed right.

  So she told them, or what she had left of them, about the proposal. About how her betrothed made her really, truly, happy, despite having every possible reason to languish in abject misery for eternity. About how he was the same, charming man who originally taught her what happiness was supposed to look and was supposed to feel like, a short lifetime ago. And about how he was to be crowned king of the United Kingdom of Fodlan in just a few hours' time.

  And only after she finished her impromptu briefing — for just a fleeting moment — Byleth had heard her father's gravelly chuckle, stretching all the way down from his space in the heavens.

  It is a preposterous thought, to be fair. Jeralt would've laughed and laughed and then drank himself into a stupor to cope once he realized that she was serious.

  After all, the lifelong mercenary Byleth Eisner AKA the life-shortening Ashen Demon doesn't know a damn thing about nobles and noble etiquette, much less royal etiquette. The daughter of the Blade Breaker grew up using knives as forks and her hands as spoons and only bothered learning otherwise after a scandalized Lorenz blockaded the door to her quarters with etiquette textbooks.

  Reading his disciplinary book report had been more punishment for her than it had been for him, come to think of it.

"Well, what are you waiting for, my king?" his beloved asked, cupping her breasts in a way that just barely — inadequately — protected her modesty. "Come and conquer me."

  Dimitri awoke with a start, falling off his bed in his panic. "Professor!"

  Sylvain awoke to the sound of a violent thump.

"It's not just revenge that I'm fighting for, Dimitri. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I choose to fight for what I believe in."

  He scoffs. "And what might that be?"

  Her lips quirk in what resembles a rueful smile, but it can't be counted as a smile — not with the crushing, despondent pain that wells up behind her eyes. "It's for a wish that I made long ago. Our wish."

  He hasn't the patience for these games of vague words and masked intentions, but perhaps once upon a time he did, when he was still playing prince atop a stage of pretty words and ugly ambition. 

  "It's clear that you don't remember," she says, too quickly. "Maybe another time, then."

"I fight to create a world where no one will be unjustly taken from us again. That is my wish — to see yours brought to life."

"Even if you didn't remember it anymore; even if you didn't believe in it anymore — this has been the path that I've chosen for myself, Dimitri."

[ofdragonsdeep]

The Weight of Eternity

For those we can yet save.

When presented with the imminent destruction of the crystal which contains Hephaistos's essence, Ar'telan makes a choice.

(Part 1: Quiet Desecration)

Ar’telan had made the journey to Elpis many times, and each time it felt stranger to return to the present than the last. He took the briefest of moments in the Ocular, then dove back into the Rift to return to the Source, and wondered that it did not feel better to ruminate on it.

The gloom was thick in the air in Mor Dhona, as it so often was. Ar’telan walked the stone and gravel up to what was left of the paths from the first Revenant’s Toll, nodding in greeting to Deryk, idling under the trees, as they passed. Ar’telan had grown skilled in hiding his discomfort over the long years as Warrior of Light, and that was perhaps the only reason Deryk did not notice the cloud that followed in his wake.

He had promised those close to him that he would stop hiding it, though, and that was why he approached the Rising Stones with trepidation building in his chest. It was not the hurried rush to Sharlayan that he had felt obliged to do when the worst had passed, but it was the first time he was bringing this news back to anyone who was not a researcher in Labyrinthos.

He was afraid of it.

---

The Rising Stones was more empty than it had once been, but it was far from a graveyard even now. In one corner, Tataru was stitching with a hum on her lips, and in another, Mitron had submerged himself in an aquarium to rearrange the decor. As Ar’telan arrived, the door to the Solar closed with a quiet click of the latch, and Elidibus smiled at him.

“I sensed your return,” he said, walking across the room. Tataru offered a wave of greeting, but her focus - and Mitron’s, for that matter - were on their respective tasks. “You were gone for some time. Is all well?” Ar’telan’s grimace told Elidibus all he needed to know, and with a sigh he directed the pair of them to one of the empty tables nestled in one corner, an illusion of privacy provided by the wooden dividers. Elidibus watched as Ar’telan sat, suffused with indecision, carbuncle butting its head against his leg, and then sighed.

“I did not expect good news when you spoke of Pandæmonium, Ar’telan. But you must tell me. I do not remember.” Ar’telan closed his eyes and attempted to calm his nerves. He had told Elidibus everything with no trouble of the first time he had delved into Pandæmonium, for though the events had been dire, they had not been so difficult to deal with as this.

He picked up his hands.

“Lahabrea,” he said, and Elidibus inclined his head.

“It seemed inevitable that he would arrive eventually. He never did trust important tasks to me entirely,” he responded. “Not that he did not trust me, of course, but…”

“Worried for you.”

Elidibus blinked in surprise at the statement, then sighed.

“Perhaps. Perhaps not. A haze of darkness lies over it, and if I think overlong on the weight I begin to miss it,” he responded. “But you must have anticipated this yourself.” Ar’telan nodded, unease still in his chest.

“Yes. I told Erichthonios…” The name meant nothing to Elidibus now - he acknowledged its familiarity, and had listened to Ar’telan’s talks of the way Themis had treated him with undisguised interest, but it had not survived to the present day. In a way, Ar’telan thought it kinder. “We thought perhaps, that he-”

“Responsible? No, not Lahabrea,” Elidibus said, before he could even finish. “I know you do not well like him, and I cannot dispute your reasons, but the chaos you have described? The senseless death, the loss of work? He would never do such a thing.” Ar’telan stared down at his hands.

“Themis said the same.”

“Yes, I imagine that I would. It seems my lot in life to come to his defence.” 

“He was right. But so were we.” Elidibus frowned at that. “Lahabrea, I… I had expected to find him. Knew it was coming. He was…” Ar’telan paused, considering his words carefully. “Different.”

“As was I,” Elidibus said, and Ar’telan flinched at the reminder.

“Yes. But… not like this.” He made a frustrated noise, although no sound left his throat despite it. “He was… kind is not the word. Respectful.” The frown had not disappeared from Elidibus’s face, but he nodded slowly nonetheless. “He said… I was interesting. I represented… something strange. But I did not give him the truth, and… he did not demand it. Erichthonios made to vouch for me, but he did not need to.”

“Of course not. You are a fragment of Azem,” Elidibus said. “That much is clear to all who meet you. Before Zodiark, this would have meant a great deal to Lahabrea.” He drummed his fingers on the table, a thoughtful noise on his lips. “He was ever a driven, dedicated man. But-”

“Do you remember Athena?” Ar’telan asked. Elidibus paused. The frown on his face became, for a moment, a look of abject horror.

“...Athena,” he repeated. There was a disdain laced into every syllable that Ar’telan had never heard from Themis, even in the depths of Abyssos. “A little. I know that she hurt him. Lahabrea.” Ar’telan stared back down at the table. “The specifics escape me, I fear, but it must have been a grievous wound, for the name to feel so reviled in my mouth.”

“He broke himself,” Ar’telan said. “Lahabrea. To escape her.” Elidibus’s frown deepened.

“Thorns about the soul…” he murmured. “Tell me all that you know. I would hear it from you rather than the past.” Ar’telan considered his words. The name still made him flinch, even after all this time. The damage that Lahabrea had done to him - it seemed so little, against the weight of the years that followed it, but it still gripped him like a vice at the sound of the name. But even in the height of his Tempered insanity, Lahabrea had never been like Athena.

“She sought immortality,” Ar’telan said. “Meant to use Erichthonios for it. Manipulated Lahabrea. He loved her.”  The memory of the smile on her face, the certainty of her voice, made his stomach turn. “Offered him the truth. He took it.”

“No love to be found,” Elidibus said, his voice quiet. Ar’telan nodded.

“They joined their souls. She used it… She…”  He hated how it made it all make sense. Lahabrea in Thancred’s skin, whispering ‘do you love me?’ into his ears. The air of desperation. The long years of loss, his finer points drowned in Zodiark’s will, seeping into the cracks and pushing them open wide.

Elidibus touched his fingers to Ar’telan’s trembling hands, jolting him back to the present. There was a kind smile on his face, even as worry reflected in his pale eyes. Ar’telan took a breath. 

“He cut her out of himself. Sealed it away. He… She planned for it. He came back. Hephaistos. But…

“But?” Elidibus echoed, surprised by the word. “You found this twisted mirror in Pandæmonium, bound to her will, and put it to the sword, surely.”

“Him,” Ar’telan corrected, and in a moment confusion changed to understanding. “Hephaistos, he… he was trapped. Twisted out of shape. It reminded me of- of Tempering.” Elidibus frowned.

“There are similarities, yes, but the source is different,” he responded. “Rather than a… stillness of the soul, this is the opposite. A direct infiltrator, enacting constant change.”

“But with our knowledge, we-”

“Did you not destroy him?” Elidibus asked, and Ar’telan flinched and tried not to think of Agdistis.

“No. When I freed Erichthonios from his clutches, he and Lahabrea sealed him away. Lahabrea has kept the crystal, but…”

From the bag at his side, Elidibus took a pale blue crystal, placing it on the table between them. The constellation on it glimmered in the candlelight.

“His grip upon such things faltered as the years progressed, but Lahabrea believed in logic,” Elidibus said. “As with all things, Zodiark twisted the meaning, but the core remained. The true course. The optimal course. So long as Hephaistos persists, Athena does, in some small manner. The horrors you have clearly witnessed are proof of that. He will… he did… he must have destroyed it.”

“Him,” Ar’telan said again, and Elidibus sighed.

“I understand your reticence,” he said. “It is akin to your own state, in a way. A fragment of a soul, persisting but for tenacious determination, considered naught but a passing concern to those dealing with it. But Lahabrea would not have torn himself in half lightly.” He frowned. “The idea of melding souls was considered… The specifics escape me, but I remember it being frowned upon. Unwise. Taboo, perhaps?” He shrugged. “The soul was a sacrosanct thing. That was why Hydaelyn’s actions hurt so deeply, on top of all we lost.” 

“But he is still a person. Isn’ t he?” Ar’telan asked. Elidibus had his eyes on the crystal, rather than Ar’telan’s words, but he caught the gist nonetheless.

“He is. But he is an amalgam,” he replied.

“But we could fix that.”

Elidibus picked up the crystal, holding it up and considering it. The reflections in his eyes almost made them shine like Themis’s did, just for a second.

“Perhaps,” he said. “But it is not me that you want for such an undertaking. Nor even to ask the question. Mitron!” Their companion, who had likely not heard a single word of their conversation while absorbed in building his aquarium, surfaced from the water.

“Yes, boss?” he asked. Elidibus made a weary noise.

“I told you not to call me that. Ar’telan has a conundrum for you.”

“Sure thing, boss,” Mitron replied, hopping out of the aquarium as Elidibus shook his head in despair. “What’s the problem?” Ar’telan regarded the slowly growing puddle at Mitron’s feet with trepidation.

“It is… A soul problem. Could you reverse a merge gone wrong?”

The change in Mitron was immediate, and a little disconcerting. His face went from jovial, to deep and sincere thought, and Elidibus waved a hand to evict the worst of the water as he sat down at the table. Mitron was so happy to throw himself into his new life of fishing and aquarium arranging that it was easy to forget that, in another life, he had been a scholar. 

“So the answer depends on how you define wrong,” Mitron said. He glanced at Elidibus, who still held Lahabrea’s crystal in one hand, and did not comment on it. “You don’t just… meld with someone without purpose. Without reason. It’s difficult to convince anyone to do it unwillingly.” 

“But Gaia?” Ar’telan said, and Mitron grimaced.

“The girl wasn’t willing of her own volition, but my magic had done enough of a number on her fragile mind that it was easier to call to Loghrif,” he replied. “That’s why when you returned her to her senses she had the strength to sever it of her own accord.” He sighed. “So, you can break it two ways. You can employ strategically placed violence, or someone can withdraw.”

“And what if neither works?” Ar’telan asked. “What if one half left, but intentionally…” 

Mitron frowned. He traced lines upon the tabletop, which began to glow faintly in blue and red. Two souls, or a metaphor for them.

���To do such a thing to someone who willingly bared their essence to you would be malicious in the extreme. A hideous betrayal of trust,” he said. The two lines merged to purple, then drew apart, each coloured a little with the other’s shade.

“No. Only one.”

Mitron’s frown deepened. A gesture left the red line unmolested, but peppered the blue.

“It isn’t impossible,” he said. “I’d need more details. Who, where, what, why. The soul was never my area of expertise. I just know how to do it. How to break it. How it feels.” He glanced to Elidibus again, and received a placid look in response. “I can tell you the core of what we’ll need. Something to contain what we… remove, definitely, if the original donor isn’t there to receive it.”

“They are not.” Mitron raised an eyebrow at that.

“You’ll have to tell me eventually, if you actually want me to do this,” he said. “Anyway. I’m going to need help. Lots of it. Your smart friends in Sharlayan, if I can swing it. Maybe the Thavnairian alchemists, they always knew a lot more than they should have about this sort of thing. You’re not off the hook either, boss.”

“I doubt that I will be of much use, but I shall endeavour to provide,” Elidibus allowed, inclining his head. “Ar’telan, the details, if you would.” Ar’telan fought back the grimace.

---

To his credit, Mitron waited until the end before he began his litany of issues.

“So, first point. Lahabrea - the old one, the grumpy one, the one twelve thousand years in the past - he has this crystal,” he said. Ar’telan nodded. “And you’re… expecting that he will give it up?”

“I can be very persuasive when I need to be,” Ar’telan replied. Mitron ran a hand back through his hair.

“Alright, so we’ll ignore point one, which is where this will be stonewalled, by the way. Point two - you want me to try and extract the remnants of Ethierys’s original recipe mad scientist from the ragged ruins of part of his soul?”

“That was what I was hoping. Yes.”

“And you think that Lahabrea will let you do that?”

“I can be persuasive.”

Mitron shook his head, leaning back in his chair and considering his red and blue lines of aether as if they would offer him a route out of the madness he had been signed up for.

“Alright, so we’ll ignore point two as well. Point three, a very important one, is that this is not just Lahabrea-”

“Hephaistos.”

“Not just Hephaistos and Athena,” Mitron corrected. “It is Hephaistos, Athena, some sort of snake, a really weird dog, a bunch of… creepy eyeballs, some kind of plant, and wherever the hell he got those tentacles from, if your description is accurate, which - given the extremely specific nature of it, I unfortunately must assume that it is.” Ar’telan nodded in confirmation.

“I will show you, if you like,” he offered. He did not have the command of the Echo that had allowed Agdistis and Lahabrea to project the past upon the present, but he trusted Mitron enough to offer him a glimpse into his memories, at least.

“I would really rather not, if that’s all the same to you. Not even a little bit fishy. Never had any taste, Lahabrea,” Mitron complained. “I’m still half convinced it’s his fault Hythlodaeus rejected my really good sharks.”

“It is not Lahabrea’s fault that Hythlodaeus possesses eyes, Mitron,” Elidibus disagreed, the first comment he had made the entire time. Mitron sighed at that.

“Alright. So. I cannot promise you that this is actually possible,” he said, rather than address that complaint. “With the knowledge and experience I have, I strongly believe that it is, but I do not know. So even if you do manage to get this crystal and its highly insane occupant from Lahabrea, and smuggle it through space and time, we might not be able to save him. Are you ok with that?” Ar’telan glanced to Elidibus, and unlike Mitron, got a nod.

“I know the movements for the binding magic that they use in Pandæmonium,” he said. “I don’t have the aether to cast it, but Elidibus does, even now. If it fails at the final hurdle, we can seal him again. And I will… take him back to Lahabrea. It will be kinder than the alternative.” Mitron nodded.

“Alright. Well, if you’re sure, I suppose I will be taking a trip to Sharlayan,” he said. “Tataru! I need you to feed my fish!”

Ar’telan and Elidibus watched as he left, Elidibus turning away first with a sigh on his lips and his eyes closed in quiet despair. Lahabrea’s crystal was returned to the others, back out of sight, and he gave Ar’telan a level look.

“Far be it for me to dissuade you from the course you have chosen,” he said, “but it is a perilous one. For many reasons. For all that Hephaistos has rejected the mask, he is yet Lahabrea in a way. Not the man who hurt you, certainly, but a part of him all the same. Are you certain?”

“I am the only one who can help him,” Ar’telan said. “My feelings, they… it isn’t that they don’t matter. They do. But I would rather wrestle with knowing him alive than knowing I all but sentenced him to death.”

“It is Athena who carries that guilt, not you,” Elidibus disagreed. “Though I know it will not change the feelings in your heart. Very well.” He sighed. “I will confess that my first instinct was to call for Thancred, but I do not know if it will help or hinder. I did not… know enough. Of what happened.” Ar’telan forced himself to sit with the memories conjured up by Elidibus’s words. He would need to, if this worked.

“Even if he is angry, he deserves to know what we are trying to do,” he said eventually. “I don’t… don’t think he will be. Angry. We’ve been through enough to know the difference.” Elidibus nodded slowly, considering that.

“Then I shall ask for him, and explain to him what it is you mean to try,” he said. “In persuading Lahabrea to part from the crystal… I can but wish you luck. To convince him would be difficult enough, to do so without revealing what is to come seems nigh impossible.” He smiled at that. “Still, you are quite fond of the impossible, as I have learned. Go well, Ar’telan.”

“I will be back with news, one way or the other,” he agreed, and steeled himself for what had to be done.

—

Bright sunlight and the sound of singing birds greeted Ar’telan as he materialised in the courtyard of Anagnoresis. Each time he made the journey, Ar’telan was left to wonder if this would be the last time, if the portal would close at his leaving - or worse, spit him out to the devastation of the Final Days, leave him stranded in nightmare made manifest. Each time, he wondered which of the three woes would claim Erichthonios at the last. 

It did not help that he knew the answer for Themis. 

He rode the aether to the aetheryte at Poieten Oikos, then walked to the neus. It was hard to escape the feeling that he should be rushing, and harder still to ignore the horrible, artificial void of a sky above him. The pulsing lights of the weather control towers made him shiver, and Lily sat herself on his shoulder to try and ease the anxious beating of his heart.

Elpis. Azys Lla. Amon had, in that aether-scarred madness, recreated the scenes of his trauma in distressing detail. Ar’telan wondered where Elpis had come to rest, on the Source. If anything was left of the islands that had once cradled hope.

—

When he arrived in Pandæmonium, he was struck by how quiet it was. Not the pressing quiet of their time struggling to regain control of the wards, but a calm, broken only by the faint sound of clanking chains - the wards working as they should, as Ar’telan understood it. It was perhaps the closest he would ever come to seeing Pandæmonium as it was supposed to be.

Themis saw him first, his face lighting up in a smile as Ar’telan approached the doors to Asphodelos proper. He did not wear that heavy strain on his face that had come from fighting with the wards, and Ar’telan hated that he had grown so used to the weariness on Elidibus that he had not even noticed before all was said and done.

“Ar’telan! I will confess when you arrived I had to be sure we were not beset with issues,” he teased, and Ar’telan sighed.

“Perhaps I am the issues this time,” he replied, a faint smile on his face. Themis raised a curious eyebrow at that, and Ar’telan grimaced at the scrutiny. “I need to… to talk to Lahabrea.”

“Is that so?” Themis replied. “How strange. I had thought you glad to put malms between the two of you, whatsoever your reasons may be.” Ar’telan wished that he could argue with that. Wished that it had been easier to accept Themis’s opinion of Lahabrea, before the man had walked into Pandæmonium himself.

“It’s… complicated,” Ar’telan said. Themis gave him a searching look. Even after so long spent helping them reclaim Pandæmonium, he was still not quite used to how bright and blue they were. 

“I shall accompany you, then,” Themis decided. “Lahabrea is working with Erichthonios to aid the Warders. We have made some small strides with freeing their minds from the magic which controlled them, I am pleased to report.” Ar’telan smiled at that.

“Good. I would… rather talk in private,” he said. Themis nodded.

“Take yourself to the Keyward’s office here in Asphodelos. I shall bring them to you,” he promised.

—

The Keyward’s office lay empty in Asphodelos, though not, like Tartaros, for want of its occupant. Ar’telan was still unsure if what they had done for Hesperos truly counted as saving him, still tied to the aether-thirst of the Vrykolakas as he was, but it had been something. And, like Hegemone, in time it would be more. He tried not to think that he had helped to save them only to have them witness the end.

For those we can yet save. Half of the mantra which had powered his steps across a desperate realm, but Elidibus had told him that he should not, could not save those here. This now was sacrosanct, necessary as it was for their present to exist at all. And yet, when Ar’telan had spoken of Hesperos, Elidibus had remembered death. Ar’telan had seen it, in the Echo, a sword driven through the heart. Was this the same? If Elidibus reached to the stones at his side and the memories within, though he had sworn not to take his own, what would he see of Hephaistos? Would it matter? If time had seen him destroyed at Lahabrea’s hands, what difference did it make if Ar’telan instead took him from history instead?

Dangerous questions to ask. But he had to know the answer.

“Ar’telan!” Erichthonios’s excited voice startled him from his thoughts. The Warder, normally far more surly than Themis, all but sprinted across the office floor to pull a surprised Ar’telan into a hug. “I have news! Quite a lot of it, in fact. We-”

“I see your public decorum still leaves much to be desired,” Lahabrea cut in. It was not chiding, not quite, but Erichthonios rolled his eyes regardless and stepped back.

“As I was saying. We think we’ve found a way to undo the transformation,” Erichthonios said, brushing the creases from his robe and rearranging the crystals on his belt. “Well. Themis, mostly, I’ll admit.”

“Please, I cannot take all the credit,” Themis disagreed, closing the door behind him as he entered. “And that is not what Ar’telan is here to learn, I believe.” Ar’telan made an uncertain noise at that.

“I am interested,” he disagreed. “Perhaps after?” He could feel Lahabrea’s eyes on him as he signed. While most of those he spoke to in Eorzea knew the basics of his signing by now, there had been no way that the Ancients would, and so the Echo had translated his words as it always did. Ar’telan did not like that so many people found it ‘intriguing’.

“Elidibus said you wished to speak to me,” Lahabrea said, his voice level. Between them, Erichthonios whispered the word ‘Themis’ with an irritable look on his face, then retreated to join his friend.

“Yes. It’s…” Ar’telan had promised persuasiveness, but in truth he had no idea how to approach this particular issue. “About Hephaistos.” He saw Lahabrea stiffen, as if on reflex. Saw the pain in the lines on his face. Remembered the echo of it, on Thancred, and tried not to shudder.

“He is dealt with,” Lahabrea said, his tone clipped. “I have not destroyed the crystal as of yet, as we have more pressing concerns, but he will provide no more trouble.” Ar’telan swallowed down his nerves.

“I know,” he said. “I want… I want to take the crystal.” There was a moment, brief though it was, of stunned silence. “I think that I can help him,” he added, seeing all three of his hosts open their mouths at once to reply.

“That’s… bold,” Erichthonios managed. Themis relented from his comments in the face of Ar’telan’s addition, but his eyes were on Lahabrea.

“That is hubris,” Lahabrea said. “If there was aught to be done for him, I would have found it by now. There is none.” Ar’telan shook his head.

“None with the knowledge that you have, but you are not the only one who knows of the soul,” Ar’telan replied. “Corruption like his… I’ve seen it before.”

“Tempering,” Erichthonios said. Lahabrea glanced to him, a frown on his face. “That’s what Ar’telan said about Keyward Hesperos. It was Tempering.”

“A malady of the mind and soul,” Themis said then, his voice quiet. “The very aether stilled and twisted to suit a specific design. All that did not aid it stripped clean, and that which did brought to bitter prominence.” He hummed thoughtfully. “It was not entirely accurate, where the Keyward was concerned, but it was enough to allow us to forestall his desire to impede our progress by means of his demise. Ar’telan is not entirely uneducated.” Lahabrea made a surprised noise at that.

“It was your knowledge?” he repeated, and Ar’telan wilted under his keen gaze. 

“It is… an affliction of my people,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “Our aether is weaker than your own. More susceptible to such things. For a long time we, too, thought it incurable. But not so any longer.” He shook his head. “I know that it’s not the same for Hephaistos. I spoke to… some friends. They said his condition was more like… constant change, rather than a stilling of the soul. But we can do it. We can get her out.” He saw Lahabrea hesitate. It was a strange thing to witness on him, even if Ar’telan had never seen the true Lahabrea, with his suits of borrowed skin. He had pushed, always. He had never held back.

“If this is true,” Lahabrea said, his voice quiet, “then how have we not found it?”

“Have you looked?” Ar’telan replied. “You have. Alone. But has anyone else?” Lahabrea was silent at the challenge, a frown settling into the lines on his face. “You told no-one of what she had done. The idea of melding souls is one not spoken of in polite society. You are a master creator, yes, but you are not a master of the soul.”

“And you claim that you are?” Lahabrea countered. Ar’telan shook his head.

“Not I. But I have very smart friends.” If he could have but invoked Emet-Selch’s name, perhaps the statement would have held more weight. Mitron, Elidibus, Emet-Selch, with their weight of knowledge. Y’shtola, Alisaie and Alphinaud, Nidhana and her alchemists, with the things the tragedies of the Source had forced them to become achingly familiar with. 

And he himself. Warrior of Light, beacon of hope. Even down here, where Lahabrea had locked his darkest, most shameful secret, he had shone the light.

“I don’t think he’s lying, Lahabrea,” Erichthonios said, and Lahabrea sighed.

“The risks are… too many to count,” he said. “If there is even the smallest chance that you fail, that Hephaistos is free once more to do her bidding… I cannot allow it. I will not allow it.”

“I know someone who could bind him,” Ar’telan replied. Themis made a thoughtful noise at that.

“The interment spells, even those used by the Keywards, are not beyond anyone who knows them well, given the right amount of aether. This we proved with Erichthonios,” he said. “Certainly I would offer to accompany him myself if I could, but I cannot imagine why he would lie about being able to chain Hephaistos anew. He did not precisely enjoy their first encounter.” Ar’telan flinched at the memory despite himself. Lahabrea noted that, but did not say anything. His silence lasted long enough for the room to grow uncomfortable under the weight of it before he spoke again.

“...Even if all of this is true,” he began, folding his arms. “If you have the means to… save him where we do not. If you have friends at your disposal who can enact it. If you have the means to rebind him if it goes awry. Even if this is true - why would you offer it?” Ar’telan blinked.

“Why wouldn’t I?” he replied. Lahabrea sighed.

“I am not a fool,” he said. “I have seen how you look at me. Some part of you despises me, and some other part fears me. When you confronted Hephaistos I was more concerned for your mental well-being than your physical.” The idea that Lahabrea had been concerned at all was still strange to Ar’telan, though he did not voice the thought. “You share an aetheric signature with Azem, even if you are clearly no familiar. You…” Again he hesitated. Again Ar’telan wished he could be honest. “You are more akin to what Hephaistos is than any familiar might be. A fragment, torn from a larger whole. I know, to the best of my knowledge, that Azem has never had need to do anything like what I deemed fit to do. But I wonder if that does not influence your opinion of Hephaistos.”

“Even if it does, I’m still a person, aren’t I?” Ar’telan replied. “I’m no aetheric construct. I think. I feel. I care. Does it matter that I am a fragment? Does it matter that he is?”

“So in spite of this - in spite of your fear and your hatred, in spite of your weak aether, in spite of the very rules of nature as we understand them… you would save him?” Lahabrea said.

“In spite of Athena, I would,” Ar’telan replied, and Lahabrea - laughed.

It was not the manic cackle of who Lahabrea would become. Not the desperate exultation of a broken man. He seemed amused. Reserved, as he always was in this now, but amused. Not mocking.

“Are you ok?” Erichthonios asked, looking extremely alarmed by this state of events. “You shouldn’t dismiss him. He-”

“Peace, Erichthonios. I know he believes what he says,” Lahabrea responded. “You are a curious man, Ar’telan.” Red eyes regarded him, the curiosity benign and unfamiliar. “When first we met, I was struck by how… different you are, to Azem. How you spoke only in defence. How you shied away. But you are more similar than I had imagined.”

“Compassion is a fine trait to share,” Themis said, the smile easy on his face. Lahabrea sighed.

“...Despite my better judgement, I will acquiesce to your request,” he said. “On the condition that should you fail, you will return the crystal to me. I trust you to do all in your power to aid him, but I do not trust you to destroy him, should it come to that.” Ar’telan nodded.

“You have my word,” he promised. “But if I succeed, you will have to trust me. I can’t… I won’t bring him back here.”

“I doubt he will wish to have aught to do with me, even with Athena’s influence purged from his soul,” Lahabrea responded. “It is… difficult to consider, after all this time. That something could be done. That I have failed to find it, and left a piece of myself, however small, to avoidable misery.”

“We cannot hold blame for the past when new knowledge is presented to us,” Themis disagreed. “You did what you could. Given the circumstances, you can be forgiven if it is not perfect.” Erichthonios grimaced at that, but didn’t say anything aloud. Lahabrea simply held out his hand, the red crystal glimmering in his palm. There was a palpable aura of malice about it, one which Ar’telan hoped was only the result of Athena’s inescapable presence. Even if they succeeded, he didn’t know if he would be able to stay around a fragment of Lahabrea for long.

He took the crystal in his hands, and Lahabrea watched him, an unreadable look on his face.

“Be sure that he does not manage to manipulate you ere you entrust him into the care of those who will deal with his… issues,” Lahabrea said. “His magic is a subtle working.”

“We can undo it, if someone gets you back to us, though,” Erichthonios said. Ar’telan knew that would be impossible, but offered a smile nonetheless.

“The thought is appreciated,” he said, after he had secured the crystal in a bag at his side. He could feel the presence within it, festering with hatred, but even if Hephaistos managed to reach beyond the wards that Lahabrea and Erichthonios had fastened around him, he would not be able to pierce the Blessing of Light. He hoped.

“Let me tell you about our work, then,” Erichthonios said, his voice as eager as the look on his face. To finally be able to help those he worked with must have been a great weight from his shoulders, and so Ar’telan listened with eager ears.

Perhaps it would help Hephaistos, too.