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judysxnd · 7 months

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Can you write about pedro and the reader in an interview for their new movie, and they just keep on giggling the whole time and can not take anything seriously. It's just very, very fluffy.

I didn’t know if you wanted them to be together, so I tried to keep it neutral, like it could imply both.

I’m almost out of the writings I did before I stopped and I haven’t been able to write the requests I still have. I’m really not into it anymore, I moved on so it’s difficult, but I’ll try.

——————————————————————————

You’re always a tad nervous when it comes to interviews and such. Being an actress makes it sound a little paradoxical but it’s true. One doesn’t prevent the other. But depending on if you’re alone doing the interviews or not also helps. This time, thankfully, you’re promoting your latest movie with Pedro.

You met while filming and immediately had a good chemistry. Everything was natural, moving on its own, like you’ve known each other your whole life. You’ve heard about him before but never met him before this movie. And everyone told you that he was very charming, that it was impossible not to be friends with him. You know where I’m going, yes, they were right.

To come back to the interviews, you were glad you met him, because he was always there trying to calm down, making jokes, helping you in finding your words and such. All of the interviews went well, but it was the first one that you remembered the most.

{flashback}

“You guys can sit here” a woman told you, pointing towards the chairs.

“Thank you” you said nervously, sitting down on the left, Pedro on your right.

“The first interviewer will be here in five minutes so you guys get comfortable” the woman added. You just smiled.

“Thank you” Pedro said looking at her. He then looked at you. “You okay?”

“I’m alright” you said with a small smile. He stared a bit more

“Okay, good” you took a sip of your drink that was on the floor right at the moment the interviewer entered the room.

“Hi guys” he said with a big smile, sitting in front of you.

“It’s been a long time” Pedro said as he recognized the guy.

“Yeah, too long” he joked

“Yes” Pedro said. You looked at them, feeling a little bit scared. They know each other, they’re going to have their own chemistry, it’s going to be hard to get through.

“So how are you?” The guy said looking at the both of you. Pedro had a big smile.

“Oh we’re great!” He said putting his hands on each side of his chair before looking at you. You simply nodded

“Good, that’s great”

“And how are you?” You managed to say without thinking

“I’m good too, thank you!” He gave you a warm smile. “Okay so, do we really have to introduce you guys? After the year you had” he opened his arms laughing. “Leading actress in one of the biggest tv shows” he said tilting his head towards you

“I wouldn’t say biggest” you blushed

“She can’t take a compliment” Pedro joked. “This is the biggest show of the year, just accept it”

“And what about The last of us?”

“Pf, that’s not the same”

“And look who cannot take a compliment either now” you argued, laughing.

“I’m not denying, I’m just saying that’s different” Pedro corrected you

“They look like an old couple” the interviewer said to the camera, then looking around laughing. You both stopped arguing, looked at each other before looking at him. “Oh oh”

“Did you-” Pedro said looking at him then at you

“Did you call us old?” You finished his sentence

“No I didn’t, it’s just-”

“But you did” Pedro kept adding, trying not to laugh

“I said you were acting like an old-”

“Hm hm, it’s too late” you said moving your hands and shaking your head

“Looks like you’ve known each other for your entire life”

“And it’s only been a year” you said “feels like forever though” you sighed. Pedro looked at you, faking an offended expression.

“She is the mean one as you can see” he rolled his eyes

“Yeah sure old man” he laughed

“Oh so she can call you old?” The interviewer asked surprised.

“No she can’t”

“It compensates all the time I had to put up with you” you couldn’t contain your laugh anymore

“Oh wow, really an old couple married for thirty years”

“You keep adding more” Pedro said, staring at him “be careful” he chuckled

“Okay okay I’ll stop” he looked at his questions “the question about being on set and such can be avoided” he joked

“Yeah” you said, giving Pedro a side-eye.

“Okay, well, how do you relate to your characters?”

“Oh that’s a good one” you said, suddenly feeling confident. “my character is very kind but too much like, she’s gives too much love when it’s not reciprocated, she’s waiting to find someone that matches her energy”

“That’s when I come in” Pedro said smiling at the camera “but my character doesn’t show it the same way, so it’s complicated between them”

“Yeah, but it makes such a beautifully relationship”

“Like the one you seem to have” the interviewer added

“Yes!” Pedro confirmed “but obviously we didn’t act like them”

“And, especially, we didn’t finish like them” you joked

“Yes that’s more important” Pedro laughed

“That would be a shame indeed. But do you think it could have ended differently?” You both looked at each other, knowing the answer.

“No” you said in unison

“They are in two different places” you said

“As much as they tried to get out, it got worse”

“Yeah, so I don’t think they would have had a happy ending either way”

“Spoiler alert” the interviewer said at the camera

“Oh shit sorry!” You looked at the camera too, covering your mouth. Pedro laughed “don’t laugh!” You playfully hit him

“Oh yes I can. You owe me twenty dollars”

“Oh man” you sighed

“You bet that she would spoil something?”

“Yes, well- I bet it would be her because she thought I would be the first”

“He’s always so excited that he forgets he cannot say anything!” You said exasperated, laughing

“That’s.. true” he admitted to the camera “but it was youuu”

“It wasn’t a big spoil come on, how does it count?”

“Yes that’s true, she didn’t say what really happens” the interviewer tried to help you

“Yes thank you!”

“Don’t help her” he frowned before laughing

“No but that’s true, I didn’t say they died at the end” Pedro had wide eyes, looking at you. You covered your face, shaking it

“There’s no going back this time, I’m sorry I can’t help you” the guy laughed

“Come on.. why??” You looked up

“Now I really get twenty dollars. I should even have forty, but I’ll be nice, twenty is enough”

“Okay let’s move on!” You tried to change the subject, avoiding Pedro. But he leaned near you, looking at the interviewer, but talked to you.

“It’s on camera, no one will forget”

“Okay okay” you tried to move away laughing. Pedro laughed too

“One word to describe the movie?”

“Drama” you said, everyone laughed

“With that ending yeah it’s a good one” Pedro said putting his hands on your arms, laughing

“Yeah rub it in, keep going” you sarcastically said laughing

“That’s what I do, you know me” he said removing his hands off of you, but kept looking at you

“Yeah, such a teaser” you rolled your eyes before looking at him. “Avoid making any mistake in front of him” you said staring at the camera “or he will make sure to never forget about it” Pedro laughed

“Good to know” the interviewer said, pretending to write it on his paper

“Like you don’t do it!” He tried to defend himself

“Because you do it!”

“They’re impossible” the guy said to the camera while you were arguing

“Can I see my word for the movie or my opinion doesn’t matter?” Pedro said, going back to the interview

“Do-” Pedro cut you, putting his hand on your mouth

“No need to say it” you removed his hand, both of you were laughing

“Unexpected” he said very seriously

“You bet it is” the interviewer said, knowing how the movie ends

“Now you too?” You asked, shocked “come on!” They all laughed

“Sorry I had too”

“Apology not accepted” you crossed your arms, looking away, pretending to be mad “if I know I would be bullied I wouldn’t have done this interview”

“Come on next one is on me” Pedro put his arm on your shoulders, and his other hand in your thigh. It’s so magical all he just makes you forget that you are in a professional environment. All the nervousness and anxiety were gone right after he started to speak. Everything was natural, like your relationship.

“It better be!” You confirmed

The rest of the interview went on like that, and as promised, you were the one bullying him on the next interview. The others went great. You were having interview after interview, all of them with Pedro, so you didn’t have time to overthink, he always made sure of it.

Everything is good, great, excellent, perfect with him. Not sure how he does that, but it’s not really important.

#pedro pascal #fanfic #imagine #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal x reader #oneshot #pedro pascal imagine #pedro pascal preferences #pedro pascal x y/n #pedro pascal x you #pedro x reader #pedro pascal one shot #pedro pascal x female reader #pedro pascal fanfic #pedrostories #pedro pascal fic

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panlight · 4 months

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I'm not sure if its possible to get something like pigs blood from a butcher in the US, but i feel like someone like Esme would prefer that over hunting animals.

And maybe Carlisle and Rosalie would work on a blood alternative, kind of like TruBlood, for vampires.

What are your thoughts on that?

My understanding is that it's tricky in the US to find it, but with the Cullens' money they could probably pay off some local butchers to save blood for them. Just imagining Esme being like "oh I make authentic black pudding and sell it online!" as an explanation and they make like a fake online store front for it and then people start trying to actually order it and she's like, oh crap I guess I have to make some now? Like when you read stories about restaurants that were really fronts for mob activity but someone wanders in and the mobsters have to get their mom to cook some pasta for the oblivious customers.

But, really, if SM were more interested in 'vampire slice of life' stuff AND if she had more room in her story for the secondary characters to have desires and motivations outsides of either facilitating or resenting the main romance, of course Carlisle would have been trying to make a blood substitute, and of course Rosalie and Edward, with their various STEM degrees, would be helping him. And OF COURSE they would have researched the myths surrounding vampires having children long before Bella got pregnant. It's absolutely impossible for me to suspend my disbelief to accept that the Cullens and especially Carlisle were just like 'wow we literally never thought or wondered about this until just now' when Bella gets pregnant. Esme and Rosalie LONG for children! SURELY they've researched this before!?!? I could accept that they researched it but found no concrete evidence and thought it was just a myth made up by the Volturi or whatever but just the 'literally no idea . . . even though apparently there are books in our library about it, and our groundskeepers on Isle Esme know about it, and there are websites online about it' does not make sense to me unless the Cullens have just literally been standing around like unplayed Sims waiting for Edward and Bella to need them for something.

I also think the Cullens probably should have been working on some kind of sparkle-suppressing vampire make-up. I've seen people asking why they don't just use make-up to hide the sparkle or look older, but since their skin is so different from human skin, normal make-up probably wouldn't work that well. But again, you've got Alice the fashion maven and bunch of other vampires with backgrounds in biology and they can't put their heads together and come up with some kind of vampire-friendly, sparkle-proof foundation?

Again, I get it: at the end of the day Twilight is a romance, and romances generally and understandably have a narrow focus on the central relationship. But romances don't usually have so MANY side characters, either. Realistically, I would expect the Cullens, with their various medical and scientific studies, abundant free time (no sleep!) and unlimited wealth, would have already solved a lot of living-as-a-vampire problems by the time Bella showed up.

Assuming they can be solved, of course. Maybe vampire venom on the skin really just makes any make-up lasting for more than a half hour impossible. Maybe a blood substitute just doesn't work because there's some magical 'blood is the life' thing going on here. Maybe pig's blood is just too impractical to get from a butcher in the volume they need it. Maybe the act of hunting helps them release tension and they realize they miss it.

But yeah I'd have loved to have seen more of this. There's some stuff in Midnight Sun that hints at the stuff the Cullens get up to, but it's more like, Emmett and Jasper's complicated chess game with multiple boards, or Alice and Rosalie designing clothes on the computer. I don't think SM really thought about 'what would a vampire doctor who wants to be as human as possible be researching in his spare time?' and so we missed out on some of this stuff.

#asks

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otdiaftg · 6 months

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The Raven King - Chapter Twelve

Day: Sunday, November 12th Time: 7:20 PM EST

Guilt was a relatively new emotion for Neil, something the Foxes were teaching him through prolonged exposure to them. Up until this point he'd felt it in uncomfortable, fleeting bursts. Now it was a fierce, all-consuming heat that made him want to cut his own stomach out. He didn't know if he was going to puke or scream. Neither one was acceptable, so he clenched his teeth as hard as he could. Meeting Andrew's eyes was almost impossible. Looking away would be unforgivable. He reached through the acid in his chest and found the only words he could: "Where is yours?" Andrew tipped his head to one side, feigning confusion. Maybe it wasn't an act. Maybe he didn't understand. Neil barely recognized his own voice through the gravel in it. Neil swallowed hard against his weakening gag reflex. Every breath he took cut him open on its way down but his voice sounded steady when he spoke again. "Why didn't you tell Higgins?" "Wouldn't have worked," Andrew said blithely. "Pig wasn't ready to hear it back then. He and Drake were friends, you see. They met when Drake went through the PAL program and hit it off somehow or other. I knew he wouldn't believe me, so I didn't waste my time trying." "So you did nothing," Neil said. "You almost put a knife between Nicky's ribs when he flirted with me, but you didn't lift a finger to protect Cass's other children. You knew what Drake would do to them, but you didn't protect them." "There weren't supposed to be other children," Andrew said. "But there were," Neil reminded him, cold and fierce and awful. Andrew laughed and pulled a hand free of his pocket. He wrapped his fingers around Neil's throat, not tight enough to cut off Neil's air but snug enough to be a warning. "I hope she was worth it." Andrew tilted forward and said, "Oh, Neil. You are far too heavy to tread ice this thin." "Is this how you stayed quiet?" Neil reached up and took hold of Andrew's wrist. He couldn't feel the scars through the cotton sleeve but he didn't need to. He knew they were there. Andrew knew what he was talking about, judging by how still he went. His smile didn't even flicker but Neil wasn't fooled. "Did you do this so you wouldn't tell her the truth about her son?" "Maybe I did." "What were you trying to do, outlast him?" Neil asked. "He was a graduating senior intent on enlisting, right? All you had to do was hold out until graduation and then she would adopt you. So what went wrong?" Andrew's fingers slowly tightened until Neil couldn't breathe anymore. He refused to shake Andrew off. The tightness in his chest started as simple discomfort but spread until it felt like every bone in his chest would break beneath the pressure. Neil's control started to crumble, no matter how fiercely he clung to it, and he'd just shifted to throw Andrew back when Andrew finally loosened his grip.

Art used with permission by i-am-weis. Thank you @i-am-weis

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veliamore · 1 year

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Hiii how about Mitsuba, Kou, Akane, Sumire, and maybe Yashiro (hopefully that’s not too much if so you don’t have to do her) with the Hanahaki disease and they’re too scared to confess to their crush (but does it anyways) you can choose how you want to end it

(Take your time and have a nice day/night ^^)

hi yall im finally back to write , im sorry for these months of absence 😓 ty all again for 108 followers tho !!

!! : ANGST endings im sorry

the hanahaki disease

first , lets take a look at what the hanahaki disease is ... have you ever wondered what's that feeling of sadness you feel in your stomach when you can't seem to confess your love to the person you like , or even worse when they get together with someone else ? Flowers start to bloom in your heart and lungs, and when you start to throw them up , its when you know you need to get over that certain person , for you to continue to live.

; yashiro : you have always seen her so busy these days ; you really loved her , you wished she could see herself with your eyes , so that she could know how you see her ; that's why you were always scared of confessing your love to her. Maybe she already found someone that could love her like you couldn't. And this was the truth unfortunately , she couldn't see how much you loved her , the more she passed time with Hanako , the more you knew you were losing her , though she was never yours in the first place. You always acted like you were fine , greeting her the morning , giving her a goodbye before she run to the bathrooms , doing god knows what ; you acted like you were fine while the flowers grew more till you couldn't breath anymore , because you didn't want her to feel guilty , because it was mever her fault , it was yours for not moving on from the one you truly loved ...

; kou : the fact that kou was so dense was even worse , you could act all lovey dovey with him and he'd still call you a " good friend " or was it because he didn't want to say he didn't like you more than a friend ? Thats the question that tormented you , and your poor lungs , day and night ; you really wanted to confess instead of leaving signs , but what if he would've reject you and the situation between you two would've just turned out more embarassing ? Would've he accepted you confession if he knew what was happening inside you ?? You didn't want to force him being with you , even in your last days ...

; mitsuba : oh how you despised that arrogant attitude he had everytime you tried to talk to him , you despised the fact that it was one of the many things you liked about him , you despised the fact that it was one of the reasons that took you where you are now , angry at yourself because you couldn't at least confess to him , before he passed away. It was just a silly crush , yet you couldn't get yourself to forget him , like many always did , it was so frustrating ... maybe in the other world , you'll have all the time to try and scold him for his attitude ...

; akane aoi : everyone knew about the huge love akane always felt for aoi , he never tried to hide it .. so why you needed to fall for him ? It was basically impossible trying to win his heart , that was already possesed by the purple haired girl. You tried to get close to him just as a friend , but that just made the situation worse , everything he talked about was aoi that , aoi this , it was making you crazy , and sick .. but of course , no matter how much you prayed , you knew that he had always eyes for someone else , you hated her , you hated him , but most of all you hated yourself for loving him , making yourself fall in this suicidal situation ...

; sumire : she was one of the akanes , how foolish of you thinking it could've ended better between you two. Her destiny was decided the day she was born , but that ' shinigami ' wasnt programmed as her caretaker .. if only the minamoto exorcist would've killed him , things could have gone differently , you would've taken his place , like it was said , and maybe , even if it was wrong , it would've been nice thinking about sumire seeing you as her husband / wife , until she aged till the final age , you don't know if she was really sacrificed to a god or not , you just hoped that this sickness would've taken you where she was

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andrewknightley · 2 months

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OK SO I FINISHED BG3 thoughts and stuff under the cut (spoilers obvs) . Pals and mutuals that played feel free to comment it with me, and also wyll enjoyers pls do interact fkfkdk

SPOILER about the ending

-Ok so i was playing a good tav dwarf paladin romancing wyll, got my team of wyll/lae'zel/karlach, but lae'zel felt like the real main character of this story and honestly its what she deserves.

-got orpheus and turned him into a mind flayer sorry bro. and then the emperor gets angry and fights with the baddies. like gosh this guy sucks

-saved the day yadda yadda and lae'zel went away to guide her kind and LOOK SHE IS MY BEST FRIEND FOREVER i was so sad but i knew it was what she wanted but IT PAINS ME

-then gale leaves me to become a god, and then astarion gets attacked by the sun and runs away and im like wow this ending is such a downer everyone is leaving me

-AND THEN. KARLACH.......

-Ok so i cried like a baby like. i fucked up i dont know what i did wrogn i cant believe karlach is gonna die im SOBBING

-But wyll is like "WE CAN LIVE ALL FIGHTING DEMONS IN HELL" and got the coolest shit ever of these 3 going on adventures like you dont know HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS ENDING!!! im so happy aaah TOT

-then there is the epilogue and it's the cutest thing i can hug shadow heart and halsin and karlach :_) tried with astarion but i dont know if its impossible or i had him too low (every companion loves me but he finds me acceptable fgoihdgfjiodgio) anyways i wanted to hug all my friends

-gale is a god and like good for him but im like ??? damn we dont see his mission or anything he does this all off screen?? i wanted to see his struggles and stuff idk i wanted to see the FEELINGS

-anyways idk if i got a bug or something but when i get to talk with people about what i am doing is just me and karlach and 0 mention of wyll idk why TOT let me talk about my romantic companion pls

-also i had like 2 options to talk with romanced wyll and way more conver with astarion wich again i didnt even have very high on his love for me (i do love him and my chara frienenemy status tho) but why only 2 options for wyll i wanna talk with him moreeee at the end

-he did blow me a kiss it was the cutest thing tho

-Again idk if i got a bug but i never get anyone commenting on my relationship with wyll and i know the companions gossip about karlach and probs other charas >-<

-i heard a friend who had to kill karlach to get to see her gale ending so i tried in another save to see what happened (it was awful btw) and that was the only way to get an extra scene of wyll telling me to go for mizora and having other people aknowledge him in the epilogue (just with jaheira it lets me say wyll, with astarion and shadow heart they gave me answer like "oh im with my lover" and such instead of by name)

-i am a big fan of wyll but not so much of wyll missions, like they are fun to play but gosh i wanted the cool FEELINGS moments like lae'zel, shadow heart, astarion and karlach had, i feel he is straight up a classic hero tale and i want to see this man overwhelming with feelings of all the stuff he suffered. also more stuff with the dad idk i couldnt even tell him im with his son that could had been cool

-gale also feels like ???? he didnt have a proper mission and was like off screen wich is a bit weird to me ??

-my fav chara is wyll and then second lae'zel who is perfect 0 notes on her 100% increible. Then Do Not Make Me Choose for the other origin companions i cant. I love them so much. I didn't like astarion at first and i was like "really this is the man all my friends and everyone is obsessed about??" but then act 3 arrived and i was like Ah. I Get It Now. I would say my less fav is gale but because i didnt bring him anywhere so next game im def paying him more attention.

-anyways i could have some notes but in general i fucking loved this game so much TOT

#bg3 #bg3 spoilers #karlach #lae'zel #wyll ravengard #now i wanna play the dark urge..... im gonna bring the charas i didnt bring that much before .........#baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate iii

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lucidmagic · 2 years

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A thought occurred to me just now that if Donna’s parents are dead and she was basically a teenager when Miranda gave her the cadou, then it’s not entirely impossible that by the time Donna turned 18 (the drinking age in Romania,) her first drinking experience was with Alcina

Just the image of that is incredibly funny to me because can you image:

Alcina with her extensive knowledge of wine inviting Donna over to the castle the moment she turns 18 and being really eager to give her a variety to try (most likely really luxurious vintage stuff,) and then Donna trying to be polite and accepting everything despite not really having any idea what to expect in terms of taste and tolerance

I think one of 2 things could happen in that scenario. One being that Donna is a complete lightweight but doesn’t want to be rude so she just takes what Alcina offers her and attempts (struggles) to keep up and hold conversation as Alcina just tries to act like a cool mom

The other scenario is that Donna’s Italian genes kick in and Alcina’s just sitting there wondering (and slightly impressed) how this 18 year old, 5’ something, probably less than 115lb girl is downing wine glasses like a pro

Bonus if Alcina is the one who actually starts getting tipsy first and teenaged Donna is just sitting there like 🧍🏻‍♀️ “when am I supposed to feel something”

(I'm so sorry about the super late reply to this. I meant to answer earlier but I kept forgetting. Please forgive me!)

Okay so, drinking in Italy is very liberal from what I've heard and usually, children have their first sip of alcohol before the age of 16 through parents or family. And considering her family is hyper Italian from the get-go despite being ex-pats, I have a feeling Donna (and Claudia) would have had some experience with the stuff before. Also, I doubt Alcina knows the modern drinking age of Romania and just goes by whim honestly, like "oh the girl is vaguely 16? TIME TO TELL HER ABOUT THE FERMENTATION PROCESS WHILE SAMPLING IT DIRECTLY"

So, Donna has built a tolerance from about the age of ~11 onwards, nothing like heavy drinking (though she wanted to before, when her parents passed, but Ioane made sure to keep the cellar locked during that time in case). Mostly her parents would give her half a glass of wine during dinner, and to some extent, Donna continued the tradition into her teenage years.

As for Alcina, when she thinks Donna is ready to partake in the glorious pass time that is wine with her, she's ecstatic, to be honest. I mean Donna's Italian-- so she has to have some taste, unlike Moreau and Heisenberg.

Of course, three things could happen:

1.) Donna is a complete lightweight-- well, lightweight in terms of Alcina ("I mean it's only five glasses, Dear, really not that bad"). Donna gets flushed and redness on her chest and neck that's to her paleness after her second drink and her posture is noticeably looser after the third. Alcina's voice is calming, especially, when she's teaching someone about something she's interested in, the tone calm and lulling, and doesn't have its usual bite of haughtiness. It's nice and serene. The countess is actually a great conversationalist when she wants to be and especially when she likes the company.

By the fifth glass, Donna is noticeably struggling to walk in a straight line, and try as she might, Alcina is amused and laughing at it. Which only makes Donna pout and more persistent to finish the display (aka her Italian stubbornness has kicked in). By the seventh glass, Donna is talking up a storm, sometimes in English and sometimes in Italian, and most of the time in an amalgamation of both. Alcina tries to not show her amusement and tries to be the adult, but honestly, the company is nice and loosens her up as well, despite the fear that Donna may blow chunks all over the tasting room floor. Then Alcina starts chatting (Alcina Dimitrescu doesn't gossip, she just relays what she has heard from others and makes comments on it-- that's all) and asking questions Donna would normally be too shy to answer.

"So Donna dear, what are your . . . proclivities?"

"Do you need a hands-on demonstration about things that have you hesitant, I can give you an experienced servant if you wish?"

"Tell me more about this friend you gave a necklace to..."

(If this happens again when the Phyto’s Guide Reader is around, then it goes something like: "What are your thoughts about your little gardener?" Donna: *hiccup* "Fukken perdy...")

So drunk Donna is very loose-lipped and Alcina enjoys every secret she manages to squeeze out from the dollmaker. Eventually, Alcina call its after the ninth glass and Donna starts to sway in her chair. Alcina gingerly picks up the girl and places her in one of the guest rooms, tucks her in, and informs one of her trusted servants to stop by every so often to make sure the young lord is okay.

Donna awakes to a massive fucking headache the next morning and is mortified to know that she remembers everything and so she remembers everything she said.

2.) Donna and Alcina both have a high tolerance to alcohol because of their Cadou and the experience is nice and calming and they make sure to do it again on occasion. Moreau and Heisenberg have their fishing trips, Dimitrescu and Beneviento have their wine tastings.

3.) Alcina somehow gets blasted while this 5'-something little Italian teenager, who hasn't even had her first kiss, let alone drunken stupor, outdoes her in the tolerance department. Of course, this likely won’t happen because of the Cadou, but it’s fun to imagine. I personally imagine Alcina as being a bit more affectionate when drunk, more looser, and bit more human in a sense, her walls are down. Also a clumsy 9′6″ vampire is fucking hilarious. Donna watches as the formerly refined, composed countess stumble and snort and slur her words. It’s . . . an experience to say the least. And like you said Donna just sits/stands there like 🧍🏻‍♀️ 🧍🏻‍♀️ 🧍🏻‍♀️ while Alcina is rambling about her beautiful daughters and her vineyards and the stupid man-things she has to work with for her subsidiaries. Eventually, Donna gets concerned and calls for the three daughters. They buzz in and immediately groan-- “Not again!”-- and now the three girls are trying to carry a drunk and babbling Alcina to the master bedroom-- it’s a disaster and the four younger women just drop her off in the nearest guest room, which honestly drunk Alcina doesn’t care so long as she’s horizontal.

Donna stays the night in case the countess needs her. The next morning, Donna is chipper and stays until Alcina emerges-- large cat-eye sunglasses to fight against the very bright lights in her castle. Donna brings her hand-pressed coffee and Alcina greedily takes it, clearly hungover.

There’s a pause, before Donna asks, “Same time next month?” Alcina groans but nods.

#donna beneviento #donna beneviento x reader #donna my love #phyto's guide #the phytologists guide to falling in love #the phytologist's guide to falling in love #phytoverse #tPGtFiL #my fic #lucidmagic #anon asks #my asks #asks #alcina dimitrescu #lady dimitrescu

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iiratix · 2 years

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𝐀 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐰𝐨

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝

"𝐈 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐭... 𝐍𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐰𝐨, 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮."

»»————-　　————-««

Lilia Vanrouge. Such an honorable name for a famous warrior among the fae. It is no more surprising, if you find their names one way or another in the myriad of familiar books, where those who played an important role in their lives are written down in history.

During those times, when war was going on, calamities—catastrophes swept through every realm of the kingdom. A war between two races that are not in accordance with their nature, a war to seek the safety of their own people. Without knowing, each war has its own consequences. And it involves an innocent life being taken right before a soldier's eyes.

Unfortunately, that was what prompted Lilia to put herself in front of the battlefield. The once beautiful meadows were quickly replaced by the smell of the dead being soaked and dirty, blood spilled all over the field, with eternal sorrow at the loss of an acquaintance. It was a horrible, intoxicating, excruciating experience.

"General! There's a report which proclaimed that the east forest has been claimed by the opposing side!" Well, that's certainly not bright news. A sigh was caused by Lilia's parted lips. Oh how he longed for a peaceful life, however, it was a very impossible miracle at any given time.

Reluctantly, he raised his arms in a tired motion, swinging them back and forth, driving the soldier away. The group he must be leading. Again."If you were so kind, do spare me the details, I will form a strategy in a moment. In return, give me a moment of solidarity and I will come back to state our next move."

Of course, he needed a break or a long term vacation after all this was over. Fatigue and regret settle every day, his fallen comrades must be witnessed, followed by the great responsibility that gnaws at his mind. The monsters that had disturbed his mentality had reappeared, messing up every plan he had made.

Enough was enough, he needed more time than he thought he would. With his mind in turmoil, there was no way he would form a strategy that could lead them to victory. No, he needed… He needed solitude, he needed a place where he could calm his mind. Even if it was only for a few seconds, he would immediately accept the offer.

And what else is more relaxing than a walk in the woods?

●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○

There are times where one stumbles upon a miracle. It was such a refreshing sight, a memory that will remain a fond one no matter the time and age has passed by. The general clearly remembered what had happened. The reflection of the moon that basked under the figure and the sword, the sharp edge of the blade near the skin of the figure. Contrary to their situation, she seemed calm, unaffected by Lilia's tending to be hostile all along.

"How brave you are. In fact, I have to commend such an act. Frankly, what is a Lady like you doing in the fae region?”

“Ah? Have you come to the conclusion that I violated the territorial kingdom?”

"Actually, yes. Yes, you simply do, my Lady."

A pair of e/c eyes stared straight ahead into his bloodshot eyes, it didn't show the slightest ill will or fear. Amazed, he is. After all, she boldly stepped into the limits of his kingdom, followed by the fact that she displayed a facade of innocence. Honestly, what other things could pique his interest?

"Are you very aware of where you are standing at this exact moment?" There was a mischievous smile on her lips, h/c's hair cleverly passed through the night breeze. The image of a girl who meets the exact embodiment of grace. And that would be the case, if it weren't for her eyes gleaming with mischief.

"Would you believe me if I said no?" His reaction alone was enough to give her the answer he needed. A flabbergasted expression, it was priceless in his opinion, how he seemed to have such distrust of her. "It's possible, but it's unlikely."

"I guess I'm a rare matter." How outspoken she was. Her straightforward candor and fierce personality began to preoccupy his mind within moments. The aura in which she radiated, somehow reminded him of an old friend he had reunited with. Although, it was a fact that the two of them were just strangers to each other.

Lilia couldn't be sure what caught him off guard. His defensive stance dropped drastically, causing him to return his sword to its place. The piercing silence, moments of silence, and gazes reciprocated. It was enough to pull a smirk at the corners of her lips.

“Have you come to a realization that my words are true?”

“No, I couldn't bring myself to realize so.” She puffed out her cheeks, eyes narrowed whilst keeping an eye contact with the feared general.

"Truly, your appearance isn't bad at all. It might even exceed a standard of normality, but your norm of distrusting a Lady's words is extremely rotten." Okay, to be honest, his statement made one of his eyebrows pull up, a look full of disbelief where he was questioning the meaning of her words.

“Pardon?”

However, she bluntly ignored him, her eyes fixed from the top of her head to her feet, observing him like he was a subject to be closely watched. She pondered for a while, until at last, her lips parted slightly. "Too bad. If you had shorter hair than your long hair, I might have fallen a bit."

Lilia chuckled at that. "What are you implying, my Lady? Surely you are not making fun of my long hair, are you?" The mysterious girl shook her head with a mischievous smile on her soft lips. "I couldn't have done something so absurd, could I? I didn't want a sword tip, where it would be beside my neck."

"No, I swear that I will never do it again on behalf of my descendants. Even though you are the enemy of the fae, a human." Y/n in response, smirked at his swearing declaration. "Has anyone here said that I'm a human?" Lilia blinked uncontrollably at her words, staring at her as if the information given to him was just a lie.

“Don't be so dumbfounded. I might have a human appearance, though that doesn't make me one, does it?’ The corners of her lips curved into a sincere smile. It was more than enough to make his heart beat faster every second.

This is serious, very, very serious. There's no way he, a general who is notorious in the field, melts just because of the presence of one woman, right? Come to think of it, he wasn't someone who was so desperate for a lover. In fact, many women from a respectable family were happy to be his fiancee from the start. However, compared to all of them with elegant appearances and the worldly beauty that was available to them, there was something about her that made her slightly different.

If you look closely from his point of view, she does have a pretty innocent face with a pair of cheeks screaming to 'pinch me'. Her hair flows wavy in the night breeze, along with the shimmer of the moon embracing her figure… How could Lilia describe it? There were so many words in a dictionary, there were millions of hymns he had heard, but none of them fit the label.

“Y/n L/n.” She said it with a smile full of mischief and indescribable sparkling eyes. Before Lilia could ask once more, Y/n, or who she introduced herself to, crossed her arms in front of her chest. "That is my name, O soldier. Isn't that something so easy for you to understand?"

"Do you understand what all this means if you give me your name?" Lilia asked, her mouth finally forming a small smile, following an aura filled with joy. Compared to the rotten feeling he had when he was on the field, for some reason, he was entirely melted by her presence.

"Should I succumb to fear just because of the existence of such a pitiful young man?" With that, her eyes widened slightly, looking at the one who boldly said it all. However, there was not the slightest expression where he felt insulted. "A young man? You can't possibly think of this general as an ageless person, can you?" Y/n just hummed a little hearing it, looking at the taller fae compared to her.

"You'd be offended if I called you old, wouldn't you?" Lilia couldn't do anything more than a nod of approval. Y/n took a few steps forward, holding his hand which in the end made his tense up with surprise.

"So? Would you mind introducing yourself?"

“Lilia Vanrouge. It is a pleasure to be in your presence, my Lady.”

"Alright, Lia! Let's go to the interior of the forest, looking for a lasting peace for both of us." And on that very day, Lilia found something. He found a glimmer of hope in his life. His hands bound by death, stained with bloodshed, are lifted up by her, who offers a place full of the light of life.

●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○

Memory... is the most beautiful thing, isn't it?

"Wait... I can..."

Every incident and story that has been immortalized, will always be remembered in our memories.

"I didn't... Knew that..."

Truly, everything that happened, will forever be remembered and replayed. Hence, how does it all end in such a gruesome end?

Lilia remembered with certainty, memories filled with joy, exciting moments along with feelings that were slowly smothered by fear. Wasn't it, a few days ago he had just spent one of those moments where they enjoyed a dessert together? Where is her smiling face with her brilliance, shining on his dark and shattered world?

At that very second, at that very moment, he could still feel the burning heat that always appeared on his face. Somehow, slowly, this General was completely controlled in the palm of her hand. She had all control over himself, even he, who should be able to think logically, was made a fool just for her.

However, it will all come to an end. The sparks of her e/c eyes disappeared as time passed, her body stiffened, standing right where she was, drowned by the sight before her. And on the opposite side, stood Lilia, fear clinging to his face, a sword stained with blood splattered on his uniform.

Y/n lips parted open, but there’s no words that manage to be uttered out. She was speechless, stupefied and frightened. Ignoring the screams and havoc in the background, she continued to stare ahead, a glint of betrayal in her eyes. And that was enough to make Lilia rush into her form.

“My Lady, my Dear... I’ve no... I didn’t know this place was your hometown... You never told me–” There was a hint of desperation in his tone, a hoarse and trembling voice behind the vile image. “Because it is not...” If possible. Lilia would’ve happily cheered internally, holding her close and muttering out how relieved he is to hear that.

But, it’s completely a different story with her crestfallen expression. “But... The place where you are currently standing... The home you just demolished and the lady you just killed... She’s the one who took me in when no one was around for me... The one who sheltered me and fed me...” Have Lilia filled with such remorse? Has he ever felt his heart clenched in pain?

He didn't mean to. Rather... He had to, because most of the tasks had been delegated to him. The task in which he must lead the end of this bloody struggle.

“General!” A loud shout was aimed right at Lilia. He gritted his teeth, lowering his head. What should he do at this critical time? He had an army he had to lead, and on the other hand, he had to explain himself, he had to be right by Y/n's side. He didn't want to leave her but… The responsibility that weighed on him continued to eat him up slowly. What should he do–

“Go.” Before he could respond, Y/n took his hand that gripped her shoulder tightly. It was as if he had a fear of losing her to the point he can’t help but feel devastated. She intertwined their hands together, causing Lilia to raise his head involuntarily. Those deep red eyes stared straight ahead at the e/c filled with agony.

“You have obligations to settle, don't you? Go forward, continue on to lead your people to victory.” It was hard, Lilia knew how her eyes shone in sorrow. He knew how he was suffering right now, how she felt as if her world had been completely shattered right in front of her.

“...It might be hard, if we encounter each other again.” The cries of his soldiers looking for their general were deafening, all attention earnestly by her voice only. “Especially with the current time we’re living in.” Y/n said, looking at their hands that fit with each other, filling the gaps that seemed empty.

“Hence, we’ll see each other again when things settle down... And when I've entirely moved on from this incident.”

“...In short...”

“Hmh, see you again, Lia.” On that very day, two people separated from each other's side. Waiting for tomorrow where the two can be reunited by fate.

●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○

"Father?"

"Oh? Silver, what's wrong?" Silver rubbed the back of his neck, the aurora's eyes diverted to look elsewhere, away from his proclaimed father. "There's... Something I wanted to ask you." In response, Lilia hummed, letting her continue her words.

"Since orientation... You've been keeping an eye on Prefect Ramshackle... Why?" Lilia blinked a few times, her short hair swaying in the breeze. He was more than surprised to learn that Silver was keeping an eye on him.

“Fufufu, curious now, right?” Lilia chuckled in response, looking up at the taller figure with a smile. “Well, she reminds me of an adorable bunny, surrounded by predators and waiting to be eaten. I couldn't help myself but felt the need to protect her from any wrongdoing.” He crossed his arms, explaining his reasoning very confidently.

“Besides, she reminds me of an old promise.” That caught Silver's attention, looking at Lilia in surprise.

“Old promise…? What kind?"

“That's for me to know and you to find out~” Silver knew, if Lilia said it, then there was nothing else he could know. Even so, he sometimes found him looking at her with deep affection and love.

Silver doesn't even really understand. If he really has one deep feeling, shouldn't he be trying to get close to her? But, why would he do the opposite? He watched her from a distance, but he also kept his distance from her. It was like Lilia was afraid that if they interacted with each other everything would fall apart between them in an instant.

"That's right, Silver, don't you have a remedy to do with Kalim?"

"...Ah!"

“Fufufu, run along now, you mustn’t keep him waiting for more than scheduled.” Silver looks at Lilia, before nodding a bit too obediently. He turned around and rushed out to meet Kalim at the location. The fae could’ve only hoped he won’t fall asleep during those remedies from Prof. Crewel, which is quite unlikely.

The courtyard seems awfully empty during this time. Of course, Lilia couldn’t blame it, considering the fact school hours just end. The wind gently caressed his hair, with silence accompanying him. It was only at times like this that he could think back on everything that had happened and his feelings.Although it can't be equated with her existence.

Several centuries had passed, the wars fought in the past were finally won and peace was reunited between the two races. However, the whereabouts of her that he had always been looking for could not be found. He spent so much of his life traveling from one place to another, visiting other parts of the world and even studying various kinds of knowledge. However, none of them give a clue to her whereabouts.

In the end, he just let time pass, leaving his heart filled with emptiness. He thought that it was the end of him. The ending where they had to part for good, ended with the uproar of an unexpected event, he didn't want their separation to be filled with betrayal and guilt on the other side.

And just imagine how happy he was, seeing such a familiar figure in the new student orientation. Y/n looked the same as the last time she remembered. Her h/c hair, and e/c eyes sparkled with life and determination. He remembered that cheerful expression with certainty, due to the time and the sweetest moments that were shared between each other.

Only, he couldn't get close. For some reason, his instincts immediately told him to stay away. It was probably because he remembered exactly what she had last told him. They should not meet, if the situation has not returned to its original state and if she has not fully moved on from the events that have occurred.

"Would've thought even after all that time you kept my advice by heart. Seems like you're dying to make me fall for you?" Lilia's eyes blew wide in surprise, and in an instant, he turned around. That smile… That voice…And that figure… He remembered it by heart.

She pointed towards his hair, smiling genuinely. "Short hair suits you after all." His heart starts to pick up the pace, beating up uncontrollably in excitement and joy. "...My... Dear?" He never thought, he would've met her once more in this place. Out of all places, a prestigious school ended up being the place where they'll include their reunion.

'Hmh, see you again, Lia.'

"I'm happy to see you again, Lia."

Ah, that nickname she has given her, the way his name rolled out her tongue… He never noticed this beforehand but, he truly became a fool for her.

Y/n L/n has entirely claimed the heart of Lilia Vanrouge. Forever and always, it will longed for her presence and affection.

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst #twst oneshot #lilia #lilia vanrouge #lilia x reader #lilia vanrouge x reader #angst with a happy ending #fluff #𝙸𝚒𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚡™

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cuddle-2-electric-boogaloo · 1 year

Text

Apotheosis

Many people believe that the life of a god is one of luxury, of being worshipped and generally having it easy. Truthfully, it isn't.

Especially when locked in combat with a horrific abomination that wants to devour you to assimillate your power.

CW: eldritch concepts, such as disturbing descriptions, permanent, unwilling vore

Eru wasn't the most powerful of gods by a long shot. In fact, she often thought of herself more being a powerful guardian spirit more than a god. But the people of Vrilens referred to her as such, and so she accepted it.

But now she was being pushed to her limits while fighting this... thing high above Vrilens. But it still wasn't enough. It didn't help that she could find no weakness on it; there were no blind spots due to it having eyes everywhere, and it seemed every inch of its horrific body was armed in some way or another, preventing direct combat.

"Given up?" it... spoke, with a clashing harmony of voices coming from every mouth on its body. The sound made Eru wince.

"Not a chance" she spat back, preparing herself to launch another attack.

"Oh, why don't you just quit, you know you don't stand a chance against me on your own" it retorted with what could be interpreted as a grin.

She didn't say anything to that. Because she knew it was right. She was pulling out all of the stops, while that thing was acting like if it could sweat, it definitely wouldn't have done by now. She needed help. But she knew exactly where to get it.

She sent out a psychic distress call to her friend Oso, who was another god who protected a city not too far from Vrilens. He was Eru's best bet.

"Trying to call you're little friend won't help you. Haven't you wondered why you haven't heard from him in months?"

What? How did it know I was calling him here? she thought to herself before asking "What do you mean?"

The abomination erupted into a cacophony of laughter, the sound of which gave Eru a sudden headache, which died down quickly, but still lingered.

With every other mouth still howling with laughter, it spoke again using the mouth that seemed to be on what could be called a face, "He's been here the whole time! Do you wanna see him?"

Before she had a chance to answer, it opened its main mouth wide, and held out a humanoid figure wrapped in its tentacles, while they were struggling with all their might to break free. And once her and the figure locked eyes, they both instantly recognised each other.

"ERU!!" Oso screamed at the top of his lungs, "PLEASE, GET-"

He barely had the chance to start his plea before the abomination clamped its mouth shut, and swallowed him back down. Every other mouth on its body still laughing maniacally.

Eru didn't know what to feel. She felt confused, terrified, distraught, anger, fury, hatred. Hatred of the monster that would dare eat her oldest and closest friend. She stopped thinking rationally. She lost every self-preservation instinct she still had. She only saw red. She wanted this thing to suffer.

She collected all her remaining strength to fire herself at beyond terminal velocity towards it, holding her blade directly in front of her. She aimed squarely at its largest eye that she could see. Directly where it wanted her to go.

Just before she impacted its eye, it slammed her with an appendage that resembled a claw, sending her crashing down to the ground, settling right in the centre of the city.

Once she collected herself, she looked up and saw the smug "face" of the abomination grinning down at her, all of its eyes focusing their soul-piercing gaze directly on her.

"I told you," it said in its conglomeration of voices, "you didn't stand a chance against me."

She tilted her head downwards, both due to her pain, her distain for it and the fact that looking directly at it from so close gave her a painful headache. "Alright. Fine. You win. On one condition."

"Oh?" it asked, lifting her head up by her jaw with its claw - or tooth, it was impossible to tell with it. "And what would that be then?"

She stared it directly in its eye "You don't harm a single person in Vrilens."

It flashed a grin at her, before saying with only that mouth "Fine by me, I never had any qualms with them anyway."

With that, it opened its mouth, revealing its numerous rows of teeth, as well as a ring of them that surrounded what seemed to be its throat, which lead into the abyssal void within it. That ring of teeth then folded outward to allow the same tentacles that held Oso to emerge and grab Eru. Once they wrapped around her, she got a horrible sensation. It wasn't wet, but it wasn't dry either. It was just... wrong. And its not as if she was unfamiliar with being eaten. Quite the opposite, in fact. Whenever she and Oso met, more often than not one would swallow the other in a show of affection. This was not anywhere close to feeling like that experience.

Once safely in its mouth, its jaws snapped shut, leaving her with only a faint maroon glow. Not that it helped much. Most of its body was pitch black, and that included its innards, apparently. The only thing she could really see were its teeth, which were still open and awaiting her to be pulled past them by the tentacles constricting her whole body.

She quickly passed these teeth, which quickly shut back into place behind her, before she was unceremoniously shoved by the tentacles into its gullet, or what could be called that. She was effortlessly pulled along by it, until she was pushed out into an opening, where she was deposited ungraciously. The glow was brighter in here, allowing her to see much clearer.

"Eru?"

She knew that voice.

Oso rushed over and practically pounced on her, locking them both into a massive hug.

Tears were streaming down his face, as he repeated over and over: "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm so so sorry please I didn't mean for you to..."

She just kept hugging him and reassuring him: "Shh, shh, it's not your fault, none of this is your fault."

Once he had stopped apologising to her, she looked around where they both were, to find they weren't alone. Several other gods were in here as well, all of them being about the same strength as her.

"Welcome to the belly of the beast" one of them said, in a sarcastic yet empathetic tone.

She soon realised just how powerless she felt. Not just in a sense of inescapablitiy, but in that she felt like all of her godly abilities had been stripped away. And judging by the defeated expressions of the others in there, they felt the same way.

"So that's its game" she thought to herself, "It eats gods and steals their power for itself."

She sat down by one of its "stomach" walls, still with Oso sobbing in her arms, and surrendered herself to their new eternity. Trapped within the eldrich abomination which, from that day forth, would be known as the Devourer of Gods.

Oh boy some more Vore Lore™️!

Introducing the Devourer of Gods (who might be given a name rather than just the title but for now just go with it) who I am going to have a lot of fun drawing when I get around to it (I won't be having a lot of fun drawing it). This abomination is gonna be making quite a few appearances throughout the Vore Lore™️.

Also decided to have a much less wholesome story this time. Normally I prefer doing the wholesome stuff but I like this sort of stuff a lot too.

#the vore lore™️#soft vore #safe vore #sfw vore #vore story #i have a thing for horrific abominations honestly #cw: eldritch concepts #cw: perma vore #cw: permanent vore #unwilling prey

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lollytea · 2 years

Note

What if red string au but only witches “have” a red string.

Witches can see their own string, usually they’re long, so long it’s almost impossible seeing who could be attached to it on the other side.

Willow’s and Amity’s strings tho, they’re not that long, they can see the end of it just floating in the air with no one attached to it.

When they meet Luz and Hunter they can feel the string pull slightly, is if getting them closer to them for some reason.

I personally don't like soulmate/red string AUs for a bunch of reasons but I'm really interested in this AU you've presented here cuz the pairs in question don't even have the conventional red string setup. It's a really cool idea!!

(I know 'red string' is an inherently romantic trope but I like to believe that there are different colours for aro people. Platonic soulmates and the like.)

Because like. It would be so fitting for Amity and Willow's characters. Like Imagine it from their perspective. Everybody in the Boiling Isles has a string. Everybody has somebody out there. Except for those two. And its not even like its a fluke. They each have a red string but it's attached to nothing at all.

Like both girls would be led to believe that there's something deeply wrong with them, as the universe itself tried to locate a single person in the entire world who would be able to love them and failed. It would take a toll on their confidence for sure. Maybe the similarity is how they became friends in first place. Because at least they weren't entirely alone with their weird defect. So you can imagine how much that little comfort was completely destroyed once Amity’s parents split them apart.

It's really sad cuz like. We know Amity is a hopeless romantic. And she and Willow were known to read YA romance when they were little, so it's possible both of them hoped for a love of their own in the future. But now they believe that they just. Aren't good enough for it.

They both have different methods of coping. Willow believes it's because she's half a witch. She has accepted it as her unfortunate reality but has repressed how much it hurts too much to think about. She tries to remain upbeat but with the stress of school and the bullying and her lack of friends and her teachers' disappointment, it is just one of many problems that chips away at her self esteem.

While Amity believes, for the sake of preserving her self esteem, that she just has to justify her existence. If she were to take the Willow route and accept it, she would shut down completely. She needs to believe theres hope for her. So she convinces herself that she can fix this. If she just works herself to exhaustion, becomes top student, joins the Emperor's Coven, proves that she's actually a person worth loving, her string will finally latch on to somebody.

It's also quite interesting from Hunter's perspective. Not so much Luz cuz she knows she simply doesn't have one because she's human so it probably wouldnt bother her much. (Knowing what a romantic she is, she would probably sorta wish she did. If she even learns what red strings are. Maybe its a personal (somewhat intimate and embarrassing) topic so its literally never been mentioned to Luz so she remains oblivious.)

But Hunter? He was born and raised here. He also thinks he's a witch so he has no idea why he doesn't have a string. Like he's not really interested in all that stuff at this point but still. It's weird that he's the only person who doesn't have one, right? He's asked Belos about it when he was younger, only to be told "It is the will of the Titan." So Hunter is just like "oh..."

It reinforces his belief that his existence belongs entirely to the Titan and, by extension, Belos, making his desire to choose a life for himself much stronger. Of course, he never dares act on it and instead accepts his fate. Like Willow and Amity, Hunter has believed from a young age that there is nobody in the world who is destined to love him but he has a much easier time dealing with that than the girls. However, it is an isolating life he leads. I don't think he could recognize when he's lonely because he's never known anything different.

I like to believe that red strings have a hivemind network and can sense the personalities/compatibility potential of every single witch on the Boiling Isles. But when it comes to humans/grimwalkers? They're completely blind. They don't have jurisdiction to see through Luz and Hunter, yknow? So in order to work, Amity and Willow's strings need to rely solely on the subconscious feelings of their witches to pass judgement. It's a fun kind of irony because for every other witch, its the other way around.

So like. They don't start to pull when they first meet Luz and Hunter respectively. But maybe Amity feels the slightest tug when she and Luz have their little moment on the floor at the Covention. But it's so feeble that Amity doesn't quite know what happened so she just shrugs it off. But then the library incident happened, then Luz gave her that Azura book, then grom happened, and then and then and THEN

At this point Amity is straining against the pull of her own string.

But then Looking Glass Ruins happens and Amity compulsively kisses her cheek and a stunned Luz turns her eyes on her. Amity panics and makes to run back to her house but when she turns on her heel, something snags. She looks over her shoulder to find, with shock, horror and something else she doesn't have time to analyse right now, that her string has finally tied itself to someone. But the weird part is that Amity has no idea when it did that. However it is simply TOO MUCH right now so she still bolts in her door, leaving Luz to stare after her, slack-jawed.

This is when Luz learns what red strings are cuz there's now one attached to her and Eda has to tell her what the fuck it is. So now it is equally nerve wracking new territory for both Luz and Amity and they're both so afraid for it to snap. (Luz because of her insecurities, Amity because she's been wanting this her whole life and now she feels like it's the most fragile thing in the world.) It adds a whole other LAYER to Knockin on Hooty's Door.

But yada yada you know how it plays out from this point.

There isn't actually a lot to say about Huntlow in this case cuz Willow has not yet reached the Wing It Like Witches and onward!Amity era. Willow's string is not yet straining to the point its nearly knocking her off her feet. But like. It's definitely active.

Little tugs that she finds kinda weird but doesnt quite understand why its happening. When she sees Hunter flying for the first time. When they link hands while passing flags. It gives a real firm pull when he stands in front of the Entrails and Darius and then a while later when he saves Gus. So at this point Willow can't even deny that it's doing something and it has to do with Hunter, she's just not exactly sure what.

#lmao i talked more about lumity than huntlow for once #its cuz theyre established and we already know how their red string journey would go #meanwhile huntlow is still in the budding stages. they dont have a real conclusion just yet #theyre probably not even attached yet. and if they are they havent noticed #anyway this is really cool to think about. how a norm such as magic strings would tie into how these characters behave #huntlow

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beantothemax · 9 months

Note

INBOX FIC DONE!!!!

Context: this is everything sucks. The Agnea dies fic is canon in everything sucks, with the minor edit that Throne was not there when Agnea died. This takes place immediately afterwards.

Hours passed before the silencing spell wore off. Even when Hikari spoke, his throat ached.

“Why did you kill her?” he asked weakly.

He did not have the strength to scream at the demon like he wanted to.

“Boredom,” it simply said.

Boredom? It threw away Hikari’s friends and love because it was bored?

Hikari wept for Agnea. Every second that passed was just more stinging but he couldn’t care less. Chances were that he’d die there anyway, there was no point in preserving a body that would be devoid of life within a few days.

“Oh just shut up already! She was just a common harlot anyway. There are countless women who dance better than she could even hope,” the shadow rolled its eyes.

“Why? Why her? Why couldn’t you have hurt her less? Why? Why? Why?” Hikari muttered.

He incoherently repeated those words to himself and the shadow couldn’t even speak. Human grief always fascinated it. People would act as though they’d lost their minds for three weeks then return to their day to day routines. But it was especially interesting to see Hikari. When his mother lost her life, his rage had been strong enough to awaken the shadow that lay dormant in his blood. It was eager to see if Agnea’s death would allow it more control over him.

But as Hikari wept, he distantly heard a familiar voice. He silenced himself, straining his ear to hear who it was and what they said.

“-but I don’t think sending him to Timberain alone is a good idea,” the voice said.

…Kazan?

Right, he still lived in Montwise. It wasn’t impossible that he would be on a walk in the woods surrounding the city.

“Agreed, that kid’s far too unstable to do that alone,” another voice spoke.

It wasn’t anyone Hikari knew, at least not off the top of his head. But if Kazan was with them, they must be safe.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” Hikari said.

He wished he could have spoken louder but the strain his throat had been under made that impossible.

The two stopped their conversation. Their soft footsteps grew louder as they approached Hikari. Kazan caught a glimpse of him from between the trees.

“Hikari?” he said.

He ran to the prince’s side and pulled a knife from his pocket.

“What in Alephan’s name happened to you!?” he asked.

“I-I-I,” the prince couldn’t get a word out.

After some futile attempts to speak, the dam broke and he began sobbing. Even just thinking of the glimpses he got of Agnea’s body, he wailed. She hardly looked like herself and it was clear from her injuries that she would not survive. But the others still tried so hard to save her… and they abandoned him…

Kazan cut and tossed the rope aside and began examining the countless wounds that littered Hikari’s body.

“Harvey, come help me, I don’t know much beyond first aid,” the strategist said.

His companion emerged from where he stood, awkwardly watching from some meters away. He knelt beside Hikari and was careful when he moved fabric aside to look at the wounds.

“Hmmm…” he hummed, “we still have time. Let’s bring him to Montwise.”

“Of course, that’s smart,” Kazan agreed.

Him and Harvey both stood. The latter offered a hand to Hikari which he accepted, not without groaning though.

“Can you walk?” Harvey asked.

But he hardly even stood. His knees wobbled and threatened to buckle under his weight. Kazan quickly grew tired of watching him like this and picked him up. During the walk to Montwise, his sobbing came to an end and he lost consciousness.

He awoke in a nice looking room, one he recognized as being the inn. He’d stayed there enough times to know what the rooms were like. At the desk sat someone with a cloak and white hair. Their posture was dreadful, their spine akin to the curve of a bow as they sat deeply focused on a… puzzle? It was hard to tell from where Hikari lay.

“He might not be safe, you should kill him,” the shadow spoke.

“Shut up,” Hikari muttered.

“Hmm? Did you say something?” the man asked.

He finally turned to look at Hikari. The shape of his face was oddly familiar, but just foreign enough that he couldn’t even begin to figure out why this man struck a cord deep within him. A pair of dark circles sat under his sea green eyes and his short white hair was a mess.

“Sorry, I was just talking to myself,” Hikari said, “where am I?”

“Montwise inn. I’m Trousseau, Ob- sorry, Kazan said you’re a friend of his and that I must treat your wounds,” he replied.

He stood and placed a careful hand on Hikari’s shoulder.

“Lie down again, you need to rest.”

Hikari was never one to question healthcare professionals and did as he was told. Trousseau carefully took his arm and inspected the bandages. How he ran his hands across Hikari’s arm was just how Castti did it…

Where was she? And what about Temenos and Partitio? Were they okay?

But then he remembered his last interaction with them. Of course. They no longer cared for him. Wasting energy worrying about them would only harm him. And yet, his chest ached. They were truly special people, always so kind and eager to help him.

And then there was Agnea.

Once again, he started sobbing. She was gone. And by his hands. It didn’t matter that the shadow had done it, her blood still stained his clothes.

“Hey, it’s okay, you’re safe here,” Trousseau whispered.

He stroked Hikari’s hair for several long moments, just watching as he wept.

“I’ll go find Kazan and some water, you just stay here,” he said.

And with that, Hikari was alone in the room.

He missed his friends. The ache caused by the now empty space in his heart that they occupied only some hours prior only became more intense as he cried. But Kazan was kind, and Harvey and Trousseau seemed to be as well. They would help him.

(In case you still haven't caught on, Hikari joins the Moonshade order after killing Agnea. This is because his friends no longer trust him and Oboro takes him in)

PIE. PIE IM GOING TO BECOME VIOLENT.

DHDBSBBDHDNDJXHB AAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHH. EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS. THE SHADOW KILLING AGNEA JUST BECAUSE. BECAUSE IT FUCKING WANTED TO. NOT HAVING ANY KIND OF REASON BEHIND IT. JUST. IT JUST WANTED TO. AND. AND HIKARI, EVEN AFTER HIS FRIENDS LEAVE HIM FOR DEAD, STILL WORRYING ABOUT THEM,,,,,,,,,,,,,, he has so so much kindness and love in his heart. and. adn the shadow is tearing everything away from him just to see how far he can go until he breaks.

also considering the things you said about Harvey I’m not trusting him for a second. he absolutely does not have any good intentions for Hikari.

the title didn’t lie. everything truly does suck in this au. gonna go crawl into a hole and cry now

#asks #pie-knight #inbox fic

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wellofhavoc · 1 year

Text

A Dog, A Bone, and A Lake

Summary:

Lex Luthor talks a lot about tough decisions and how people have to make them because it's sometimes impossible to always get what you want. Perhaps, when he has to choose something over another, he's just better at acting like he never wanted it in the first place.

Fandoms: DCU

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: M/M

Characters: Lex Luthor, Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Mercy Graves

Relationships: Lex Luthor/Bruce Wayne

Additional Tags: Hanahaki Disease, Possibly Unrequited Love, Confessions, Blood and Injury, Identity Porn, Terminal Illnesses

He shouldn’t have worn white with his condition. Lex knew better one week into dealing with the disease, but it had slipped his mind for whatever reason until a handful of bloody, pink Peruvian lilies petals fluttered from his lips right before the final speech of the expo.

Mercy dutifully arranged his mic on the ruined dress shirt to cover the speckle of blood placed there, a job she wouldn’t normally be in charge of if he could trust anyone else with this embarrassing truth.

She raised a hand to her ear-piece. “Three minutes. Are you ready, sir?”

Are you okay?

He knew that’s what she wanted to ask.

“You know, Mercy,” he began, head tilting to instead gaze at the sliver of light from the other side of the curtain, “it’s widely theorized that Julius Caesar truly died of hanahaki.”

She tilted her head. “Oh?”

He’d never believed it himself. The emperor slept around too frequently for Lex to believe he wasn’t open enough with his feelings to avoid such an embarrassing fate. Still, he continued, “The idea was most likely popularized on the man’s pride. The flowers are a symptom, after all. It’s the pride that kills the patient.”

She looked as though she wanted to ask something. Instead, she tightened her lips and held her hands behind her back.

“I’m ready, Mercy.”

---

The speech went well. The flowers remained nestled in his lungs, though his voice was clear and crisp. Advancements had been made in the twenty-first century for hanahaki. There was of course the surgery to remove the flowers, though it would also remove emotion from the affected person. More than never being able to love again, passion would disappear. What kind of inventor of the future lived his life without passion? It wasn’t a way to live. Medications with light herbicide could keep them at bay without killing the bulb, but they were poison. Lex opted to prolong his torment rather than down the pills as quickly as he could. It would be just his luck that a non-obtrusive cure would be found the day after he’d passed.

It wasn’t fair, he reasoned, that a man who so rarely found attachment would be damned by one of the few he’d fostered.

He was sure that the two doctors who he’d allowed to assess his condition were just grateful he’d grown to acceptance so quickly. Not without the initial stages, of course. He’d threatened them, offered them both as much money as they would ever need so long as they cured his body without neutering who he was-

The only thing he hadn’t allowed himself in front of the doctors or even in private was to cry.

He’d remain strong until the last blossom caught and the last thorn clawed its way through his lungs. This wouldn’t break Lex Luthor, who the world would see die tragically and mysteriously. His body would be placed into an ornate coffin after an “extensive” autopsy that would come back negative for anything else.

Perhaps hundreds or thousands of years later, his prideful face would be more correctly theorized as a victim of this humiliation. Either way, he wouldn’t allow them to know for sure. That would be his final ace should nothing else work.

That was far from even being plan B, though. Going into his second week when the flowers were getting bigger- the tiny petals turning into long stalks of rosemary and true, orange lilies of the larger variety- he briefly considered hiring a surgeon to simply trim back the larger plants or remove some of the dead blossoms that already broke off of the main bulb. This was a stupid idea he never followed through on. The last thing he wanted was for this disease to take anything from him, and repeated, difficult surgeries on a tender area such as his lungs was not an attempt he’d make lightly.

Instead, he opted to cut back on public appearances, knowing that he couldn’t stop going entirely.

Of course the one he would go to that week would be one of the few Bruce Wayne didn’t stand up.

So he stood there, immovable and quiet, watching the other man out of his peripherals and clearing his throat as if it would help to keep the buds at bay. He tried to not appear as a total statue, laughing when everyone else in the circle he was in did so, smiling and nodding along to some story about how one of their toddlers had tried to give their cat a bath in the toilet.

When did all of his friends have kids? Should he have had kids already?

He absently reached out for a flute of champagne when the waiter neared, dropping it when a coughing fit over took him and effectively doing the opposite of keeping up appearances.

“You okay, Lex?”

He looked up at that voice, seeing Wayne already leaning down to where Lex had almost slid to his knees from the force of his cough.

“Yeah, I’m f-” he cleared his throat once more, swallowing against the rosemary that scraped up his throat.

Wayne helped him up, his hand warm around his bicep before Lex pushed him away and straightened his lapels. “Sorry about that,” he apologized to no one in particular. “Maybe that’s a sign I’ve had my fill for tonight.”

THe few that had taken notice of him were quick to dismiss him with empty smiles and return to their conversation, though Wayne was still there.

Eager blue eyes scanned Lex from head to toe- and that’s how he felt: Scanned. It was like Bruce Wayne was seeing more than the physical, that he’d somehow gained the kryptonian ability to see the flowers nestled deep inside his chest.

“Let me help you to the lobby.”

Before the hand could return to his arm, Mercy had appeared, gently steering him away as if he were a drunkard.

“I’ll take it from here, Mr. Wayne,” she said with a smile.

“I’ll be fine, Bruce. You just enjoy your own party for once.”

He didn’t look convinced, even when he smiled with this mouth and not his eyes, waving the two of them off without even a reminder to pick up their goody bags.

---

With that humiliation behind him, Lex had the rest of the week to consider other treatments to slow its progression.

“I’m dividing the assets between you and Lena for the most part,” he told Mercy as he studied the makeup of the plant cells, finding where they were merged with his own organ tissue. More than that, they were blended together. Interesting. “She’s to get my untaxed properties and any clean money not already tied to LexCorp and the investors. I’m leaving everything else, including the company, to you.”

She nodded. “What should I tell the lawyers before they speak with you?”

“What do you mean? I’m making a will, not asking them to go to the moon. They do this every day.”

“I know,” she said, “but some may have questions about the timing.”

He slammed his fist down on the counter and pulled his goggles up to look back at her. “Tell them I’m one of the richest men in the world, and whatever time I’d like to get my affairs in order isn’t too soon.”

“Understood, sir.”

He flew out of his seat with a sneer, the force causing it to shoot back with a loud screech against the tile.

“You think you could handle this better?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“No, but you didn’t have to, did you? You think I’m irrational.”

She lightly grimaced, forcing her eyes to remain on her tablet. “You’re behaving that way, yes.”

He laughed only to double over and grab the desk when a rough cough overtook him. She stood to help, frozen in place by Lex’s raised hand.

“Don’t touch me! I’m behaving quite rationally. I am dying.”

“You don’t have to be. You’ve faced rejection before. Your father rejected you, the sister you want to leave everything to rejected you- even romantically, Lois Lane has been quite public in saying she doesn’t want you. Who could it be that you would turn yourself into knots and become this? What person could make you act like- like such a mess?”

“Eno- he-ick!” He folded a hand over his mouth and tried to sit down, missing the chair and instead clattering into a ball on the floor.

He didn’t move to stop Mercy as she calmly crossed the room to kneel at his side, focusing on evicting the plant from his lungs. His eyes were wet, though the tears were not born of emotion. They pricked at his eyes in time with the stabbing pain in his throat as he pulled out two crumpled, blue roses complete with a trail of thorns down either of their stems.

They were brilliant. Unnatural, and yet he held them in his hands. Organic blue roses not born in a botany lab but from his own body. They were not white roses dyed by his throat, but deep blue blossoms tinged with red.

She tucked some of the herbicide pills into his hand- one more than his regular dosage- and stalked to the elevator. “I’ll make the call. You only have to ask.”

Whether she meant to a surgeon or the object of his suffering she didn’t specify before the doors closed behind her.

Luthor swallowed the pills dry.

---

It was a magical disease, so it was only a matter of time before he’d try Kryptonite radiation. If Superman was affected by magic normally, perhaps Kryptonians and such a magical disease were connected.

He was expecting the shipment in the morning. For the quiet night, he took some time to himself on his balcony. Of course even in that low moment, some people couldn’t help but want to take him lower.

“Luthor.”

He turned with an exaggerated sigh, anger bubbling as he felt a vibration at the back of his throat from where a leaf fluttered just at the edge of his tongue. He tugged on his tie as he cleared his throat, hoping to appear that he was doing it to annoy the alien hovering over his long-cold fire pit than anything more genuine.

“Superman,” he said, glad when the name came out clearly without obstruction, “whatever could I help you with?”

“I’m here to help you, actually,” he said. “Figured I’d save you from having to report a late delivery.”

His eyes widened. “What?”

“Don’t play dumb with me. I received word that a shipment of kryptonite was on its way to a lab in Metropolis for disease study- a branch specifically funded entirely by Lexcorp. I suppose you could say they lost their cargo.”

There was a moment when he didn’t know how to respond. He wanted to get angry. He wanted to throw a smooth stone at this Goliath and finally see him fall, but he’d thrown stones before and it hadn’t worked out.

That was fine, he wasn’t a religious man anyway.

He blinked his weary eyes. “I hate you.”

Superman smiled and shrugged with his still-crossed shoulders.

Lex nodded slowly, tilting his head and barely hanging on when a laugh finally bubbled from his throat. It was a weak thing, horrible notes flooding the air between them as his eyes squinted shut before he could see the revulsion come over Superman’s chiseled face.

The disgust subsided as something new took over, and Lex allowed Superman to help him down into one of the chairs.

“Are you-?”

The laughter stopped and the smile faded. “The kryptonite wasn’t for you, you oaf. It was for me!”

Superman’s eyes widened and he looked Lex over. This time, he was scanned.

“Oh.”

Superman again floated back- above it all, as he always was- though his expression was weighed down with something else. There was confusion, though Lex knew there wasn’t anything in that situation that the x-ray vision couldn’t parse out for him.

He thought he’d hear “I’m sorry” or perhaps questions about how long he had- what he’d tried, maybe the confusion was more linked to what the kryptonite was for.

Instead, Superman left.

His greatest nemesis was dying because he couldn’t admit feelings of unrequited love like some stupid teenager, and the only thing the alien paragon could say was, “Oh.”

---

Lex curled over in his bed, arms framed around his face and raised onto his knees as if the slight angle was going to encourage the flowers interrupting his sleep to finally empty from his throat.

His eyes flicked over to the cellphone on the bedside table.

One call could end this.

He hacked and hacked, pushing himself up only to slam a fist against his own chest and retching from the effort.

It would all be over with just three words, but Lex Luthor wasn’t the kind of man to only be met halfway. All or nothing. This life with his emotions and his fantasies- private and revered- were to remain intact.

One call could end this, and yet the phone remained untouched.

---

He didn’t think anything would come of the balcony discovery. Superman was cruel in many ways, in Lex Luthor’s own opinion, but kicking a dog when he was down?

Then he was alerted by his secretary that a reporter from the Daily Planet wanted to speak with him.

He allowed the reporter through, ready to see one of Superman’s buddies from the paper ready to press him about his disease and ask all of those questions the hero had spared him almost three nights before.

Of course one of the last ones he wanted to see was Lois Lane, her hands gently clasping the top of her purse as she was escorted inside.

Lex waved her escort- Mercy- away with a slow nod to confirm he’d be fine.

“Lois Lane,” he said, “to what do I owe the pleasure?”

She shifted her weight from one foot to another, eyes on the edge of his desk before raising over his torso.

“We have a mutual friend,” she began, “and you know that. So, I’d like to cut to the chase.”

“You want an exclusive interview with the first man to die of hanahaki in the last decade?”

“I don’t want you to die, Lex. Let’s just get this over with.”

He stilled at that, brow still heavy over his glaring eyes. Slowly, it lifted with the wave of realization flooding him, his head turning to the side.

“Ah that’s adorable, Ms. Lane. Please leave.”

“Lex, don’t do this. Come on, I wouldn’t call us friends, but I really don’t want you to die. Let’s have one moment here. You can check my bag- no recorders, no private laughs-”

“It’s not you.”

She stopped, mouth open slightly as she blinked at him.

“What?”

“It’s not you. Now get out.”

She didn’t do that, in fact, she stepped closer, laying her palms flat on the desk as she leaned over him. “Then who is it, Lex? I only came here because Superman told me what happened.”

“And why would he do that?”

“Obviously to torment you. Why do you think he told me? He thought what I thought: That me coming down here and forcing you to stop being stupid was the only way to save your life. Now tell me who it is so that I can get them down here.”

“You don’t even know them.”

“Ha! Try me, Lex. I’ve got every celebrity on the east coast in my address book and every one of them in Metropolis on speed dial. They live in another country? I’ll get my sources together. Another planet? I’ll throw you out that window so you can talk to Superman again.”

“Get out of here, Lois.”

“All you have to do is say ‘I wanna live!’”

He finally looked up from his papers he was absently sorting without really reading any of them to finally meet Lois’ glare.

“I do want to live, but I don’t love you, Lois Lane. You can leave knowing you did more than I deserve. If this were just about living, I’d have my bulb removed without a second thought. Do you think I like dying? That I’m doing this to get back at you? To get back at Superman?”

He stood up quickly, forcing her back as he pulled out the tiny trash can from under his desk and whipped it on the floor beside her to spill bloody tissues out among the rows of pink, orange, and blue petals.

She didn’t shake as she looked up from the basket to him.

“Are they dead?”

“No.”

“Then you have no excuse. This doesn’t have to ‘just’ be about living. Whoever it is, they can’t have a reaction that would be so terrible that dying would be better.”

“Do you know how deeply one must feel for their bulb to start growing, Ms. Lane? You must know romantic feelings aren’t the only ones that start the sprout. Hatred and fear will do it just the same, but those aren’t the ones we talk about because they can be solved with time. The only way to really put the ones born of love to rest is to confess. That’s the only way to get rid of them, because either the feeling is mutual or it can never be and either way that’s enough to get them to stop burning.

“I was smitten with you once before. You have your husband now. Children have crushes, and people are infatuated with celebrities that may never know them- why don’t flowers bloom for them?”

She deflated where she stood. “I know it’s more than just wanting to be with someone. Whatever you feel, though- whatever the worst case scenario is for telling them- how is dying any better?”

“I’m not going down without a fight,” Lex said, “but I will be going out on my own terms.”

She stood taller. “I always thought you were a smart man. I never respected you, but I never thought I’d overestimate you. Thanks for proving me wrong.”

She stalked out of the room, leaving him alone to stoop at his desk’s side to gather the flowers back into the waste bin.

---

Lex had wanted the night to end with a bang. He’d prepared a grand fireworks show to punctuate the last event he may ever oversee, though the guests would only see a big party.

The last thing he wanted was for those canisters to be replaced with Joker gas that flooded the attendees. The many who couldn’t get somewhere safe at the outdoor event were only saved by Batgirl, who reversed the air conditioning units on the roof to pull the gas off of it into a safe filtration system presumably set up beforehand that an engineer would only find three days later when they came into reverse the reversal.

That didn’t fix the issue of the Joker showing up to take in Lex himself while Harley emerged to keep Mercy busy. He fought back against the clown’s goons who held his arms down as they boarded a helicopter.

“Oh, Lexi-million, baby-” Joker sighed, “you should know better than to leave me hanging. Ghosting the Joker’s a good way to become a ghost yourself!” He shrieked with laughter as the helicopter lifted off the roof, Lex falling back against the wall of muscle behind him.

He’d been a bit too busy to even think about his… other interests. Never did he think he’d end up getting picked off by the Joker of all the villains he’d dealt with. He started coughing, as if the humiliation wasn’t already deep enough, and he hacked just enough to feel a leaf on the back of his tongue just before a meaty hand closed around his mouth.

“Woah there, open his mouth,” the Joker said, shrinking down against the seat and rising up against it as if it would allow him to see better through his grunt’s hand.

When it was removed, Lex forced his lips closed and tried to swallow the stem, coughs upshing open his lips once or twice before he managed to keep it shut through the rest of the fit. All the while he was leaning left and right to dodge the hands reaching for his face. Finally one arm locked over his chest while the other pushed into either side of his jaw, locking it open and baring his mouth to the Joker who once again hollered with laughter.

“Oh baby- is this what that was all about?” He twiddled his fingers and forced them inside, Lex gasping and wincing as the stem was forced up a little bit by the Joker’s fingers. “Don’t worry, Lexi- Just washed them!” He finally pulled out a bud with a satisfied noise and gestured for the grunt to release him.

He did, Lex falling to the floor with his forehead pressed to the trembling platform as his breath rasped beyond the plant and blood trickled down his tongue.

Another rose vine, this one with only a bud on it.

“Oo hoo, pretty! I do love flowers, Lex, but you shouldn’t have! Here, let me return the favor.”

He was grabbed by the collar, and the Joker turned him around to squirt him in the face with the flower over his breast pocket. He floundered in panic before realizing it really was just water. Blinking the drops away, he opened his eyes just in time to see a pair of legs swoop into the room and kick the two grunts out of the chopper.

Batman stood at the other end of the cabin, glaring at the Joker who laughed and backed against the opposite seat next to Lex rather than the one the grunts had previously been sitting in. He again wrenched Lex off of the floor by his jacket, pointing the barrel of a gun at his head.

“Stop right there, Batsy. You may have a problem with killing supervillains, but we both know I don’t.”

“It’s over, Joker,” Batman said, stalking just a bit closer in the already small space.

The Joker laughed, his arm coming under Lex’s chin. “I have to say that, for once, I agree.” He pulled the hammer down on the gun.

In that split second, Lex realized that this might be it. He may have gone through all of this, all of this belly-aching about how unfair it all was. How he shouldn’t have to sink or drown- how swimming should have always been an option but it never was.

With the Joker’s finger on the trigger and Batman stalking closer with a claim to save him, Lex still couldn’t comprehend if admitting his feelings and avoiding all of this would have been a less infuriating way to go. In that moment, he went through his grief all over again.

When the anger overtook him, there was only one thought going through his mind: He wanted to kill that fucking clown.

He shoved the hand up, the shot deafening him for just a moment as he pinned the joker down and wrestled with him like a mad man. He ignored the increasing fluttering in his throat, splattering blood over the Joker’s maddening face, the bright red more obvious on his white face and against the locks of green hair that Lex pulled and yanked at amidst beating him to the ground.

The Joker only needed one good kick to shoot him off, stumbling just as he made it to the edge and his hand a hair too late to catch on the handle above the open door. He fell, and Batman leapt after him, bundling him into his cape and firing something from his hand- a grappling gun- to swing them from under the Joker’s helicopter to land a bit further back.

Batjet. Or maybe Batplane with how slow it was going. The sound of the wind was cut off when a glass dome came over them, Batman having laid him in the passenger’s seat but still kneeling over him.

“Are you okay?”

Lex stared up at him for a moment. He considered yelling at him, but just like with Superman, he didn’t really have it in him.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re bleeding, Luthor.”

He wiped at the corner of his mouth with his fist and turned to the side. “Shouldn’t you catch the Joker?”

“The Coast Guard will fish him out by tomorrow.”

Any questions of what that meant were answered with a bang as Batman rolled back over the consul to expertly pilot the plane through the debris of what was once the Joker’s helicopter.

“You could kill him one of these days doing that,” he said, not because he cared but because it was something to say.

Batman only said, “I won’t, though.”

He reclined against the chair, passively watching the clouds through the dome. He only moved when he noticed Batman was handing him something- a box of tissues.

He dabbed at his mouth, only to find no more blood there.

“Your eyes are wet.”

They were. His entire face was wet from the eyes down. A lifetime of near-death experiences, and this was what finally brought him to shock and tears. Too tired to even feel sad, yet here he was crying in the Batplane.

Batman only said, “From the Joker’s spray, probably.”

“Probably,” Lex agreed, though he knew it wasn’t true, and he knew that Batman knew it wasn’t true.

A tickle in his throat brought him to sit forward, the tissue raised to his mouth as he started coughing again, mouth swelling around the head of a marigold that he crumpled into the tissue and threw at the floor before sitting back with his arms crossed.

Silence filled the plane.

“Who is it?”

“Someone I haven’t really talked to in a long time, and someone I don’t want to bother,” Lex said.

“How long has it been going on?”

“This is my fourth week.”

Batman didn’t say anything to that. He didn’t have to, most hanahaki patients didn’t last more than a month.

“I can call them, or a surgeon. However long it’s been, whatever you’ve done, I’m sure they wouldn’t want you to die.”

“But they won’t reciprocate.”

“The feelings don’t have to be reciprocated. You just have to get closure.”

“I know that. That’s why confessing won’t solve anything. I’m obsessive, I know that. I’m prideful, and greedy. I want what I want, and nothing stops that. I can’t just stop wanting someone the way that I want them.”

“Then you’ll have to learn to try, or you’ll die literally choking on your pride. If even I don’t want you to die, whoever it is probably doesn’t want to see you go down either.”

“Don’t you get it? Confessing won’t keep me alive if they don’t reciprocate. I’d just be bothering them over nothing.”

Batman stilled, inclining his head toward Lex. “You’re protecting them. You don’t want them to think they didn’t do whatever it took to save you.”

Instead of confirming or denying outright, Lex settled against his seat. “They’ve been through enough.”

The plane began to land, though the area was too quiet to be on Lexcorp tower. A hospital, probably- it would have to be somewhere else with a landing pad. With the plane off, Batman asked, “Who is it?”

And without anything left to lose, Lex let out a final, ruined sigh.

“Bruce Wayne.”

He could hear Batman moving in the other seat, Lex’s eyes still locked on the dome and his head still turned to the side.

“He devotes so much of his time to others in such genuine ways. He lost everything and only wants to give everything back, I just… I know he doesn’t care for me in the same way. I don’t really know when it started, but I know when it started getting bad, and at that point, I couldn’t think of anyone else.”

Another bout of silence claimed them, and Lex wondered why Batman wasn’t just opening the dome and telling him to head home.

“I don’t think reciprocation is something Bruce Wayne is ready for,” Batman said. “Not just for you, but for anyone. But I still think he’d be touched that you’d worked yourself up so much over this that you would rather spill yourself out to a total stranger just because you think it’s been too long to say anything. It takes two people to grow distant, after all. Not just your fault.”

“Whoever said anything about being distant?” Lex snapped, turning around only to freeze. Everything was cold- too cold for a late night in July on the east coast- and Bruce Wayne’s placid face had trapped him in that plane seat better than any buckle or even the dome above him could.

“We should have talked sooner,” Bruce said, fingers fumbling with the edges of his cowl before leaving it back with his cape.

It took a rough cough to let Lex know he’d been holding his breath, sputtering and coughing over his chair all over the floor, which he suddenly felt terrible about after having thrown down that tissue. He also felt silly for feeling terrible while he was choking on flowers brewing in his own lungs over the man so calmly looking down at him with fucking bat drawing emblazoned over his chest.

This time, he allowed Bruce’s hand to come over his back, the warmth steadying him as more carnations and roses and lilies big and small pooled to the floor, accented with the herbs and even a small branch he knew was from some actual tree instead of the bushes and bulbs.

“Feel better?” Bruce asked when he was done coughing, now just staring down with blood pooling in the corners of his mouth.

He did feel better- he felt lighter. That was it, one last-hurrah like a fruit tree drowning in the weight of its produce when it reached the end of its life. He felt free of the weight, though his branches were snapped and tears were still sticking to his face and his mouth still tasted of copper.

“You know everything- you and Superman-”

“Easy, Lex.”

“No!” He shoved him off. “I- I can’t- You’re Batman.”

“Not that anyone will believe you without proof.”

“I’m not interested in anyone else! You were Batman this whole time. You weren’t dodging my deals, you… you just hated me as a villain.”

Bruce’s face remained level.

“But you cared enough to tell me- to risk it all just to save me.”

“No one deserves to die like that. Least of all you.”

“But you have to know what I’ve done! You have to know the truth about me, and-”

“And I still don’t think you deserved to die, and I still ran to Metropolis to save you when I found out the Joker was going to kill you. I don’t want you to die, and I’m not talking to you now just to laugh you out. I don’t want to lose you again, Lex.”

He stood up a bit in his seat, eyes trailing down to the flowers that sat as evidence of feelings he couldn’t believe he’d ever held for a man he obviously never even knew.

Feelings he might still…

“Let me out of here.”

Batman returned the cowl to his head and raised the dome.

“My schedule is clear this weekend,” he said as he stumbled out of the plane and adjusted his tie. “If you… if you meant what you said.”

“I’ll let Bruce Wayne know.”

The dome closed and the plane took off with the silence only the Batplane was capable of, Lex standing alone on the hospital roof.

Only when the plane was far off did he allow himself to say, “Thank you.”

#lexbat #brex #dc #comics #fanfic #batman #lex luthor #writing havoc

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fuzzypersoncycle · 3 days

Text

in the morning

Steph Mana, as usual, got dressed and did her routine

She prepared breakfast for Lakia to go to school.

After doing all the work, the hour came and evening came

They asked to prepare for the interview with the man called Al-Baluf who had risen

He offers her a job

When she arrived at the café, she saw that Adlov was sitting and waiting for her

Apparently he arrived before her

There was a feeling in Sana's mind telling her to stay away from this

The place and go as much of this as possible or it prevents her and makes it

She wants to return home.

She even felt that her limbs had frozen and she could no longer

the movement.

And between them, what is not fighting inside her, oppressed by that familiar voice.

It was impossible for Sana to forget what a memory she had

Rather good

He spoke, saying the Woodlove

The Sunnah and the Prophet are gone, so please sit down when Al-Badin

To Sana's silence, he told him that the goods were fake and she sat in the place

Which was presented to him

As she sat, the silence lasted a full minute until Bana interrupted

By saying it.

Ask: I agree. I want to see the conditions first and compare them before signing

On that paper

Al-Loof smiled a smile that looked like a Western tongue, and it was difficult

He interpreted it to add:

Oh Plov Oh good thank you for accepting the offer and of course I will

By giving you the paper while we drink juice and eat something

the solution

The appraiser applauds to show the meditation as the speaker bows broadly.

Saying, “Sid or Daluf, do you want to ask for something?” 22

Onof, if you miss me, what is it that Irbidin is asking for?

Sana Thank God I traded my food at home for this ur request

A cup of coffee, please

O Delov: As I heard, bring Miss Waltabi’s request and come

A piece of cake with you for me

The waiter acted in one second and apparently he was Kadan

He says in his pants to Sana who was noticing his movements

And under it.

O Dlov is an important person and owns this club.

After that, a few seconds passed until the request was ignorant

Odlov was happy and had an Arabic smile while talking

About the contract

While Sana's doubts about him increased even more, he prepared the order quickly

Unlike the times when what do you ask for it takes

Waiting 10 minutes or more.

This may seem like a normal thing, but for Sana it was more

Her doubts

More and more, imagine some strange scenarios in...

her job.

Why would Toy Bunny come to a place like this and ask her in particular?

Join his work?

Until O'Blouf interrupted her while saying the Sunnah and the second according to the one

You understand 22

Ask you what, yes, of course

O Delov looked at her with looks that told her that he did not meet her, but that he was perfect

saying

Unlove: As you know, you can read the contract carefully before you sign

If there is a question, tell me now because I am busy

Sana pushes that paper from the table and as soon as she reads it, he shuts up

O Munouf was holding her expression while he was tense.

Sana began reading the contract and analyzing it well, and its terms

1- Provide her personal information with them

I cannot do household tasks such as cleaning and work.

3- She is older than 15 years

Not to infringe on the privacy of its masters

5 We are good at reading (When Sana saw this sentence, she almost laughed

for several)

Non-destructive when commanded

7- She shall not return to the house beyond the expiration of nine months, or if she has

Very funny situation!! And send a message to her family or someone else

Unless you have written permission from the head maid.

Then Sala stopped reading and looked at this sentence

Her expression looked annoyed.

It was then that O Toph, who was contemplating her, had a feeling

With her facial expressions that were so intense, this made him startled

Speaking as he says

Onuf: Sunnis and Nabi, is there a problem 115

Sana's expression turned annoyed and she began to remember

another

#Flach backs

Kalay, I will not be able to return until after the end of nine months

‎‫گانای: Sorry, the butler was sick, so I couldn't‬‎

He asked her to send a message

The salary is high

#And Flach backa

Ask: Can you inquire about this sentence??

We twisted the knot in front of Orov's face, her expression full.

Very disturbed.

Fields in a slightly low voice

Malik: This sentence

Steer to the sentence as she speaks and gives sharp looks

Erdlov Ur regarding this God intends to you throughout the decade that

Retro home, but there will be custom in the place where

We will go there, do not worry, God is safe, but it is far away and it will take time

About an hour to reach the desired location.

San I can't

He was surprised by what she said and continued

He is the delof 112

The complement is saying

Sana: I have a certain person I have to take care of

I would like to love: Sorry for this condition, but it must be implemented, so you are

I am no exception 13

No, you also had conditions, so you must accept

My conditions too

It is not fair that I apply your conditions while you do not apply mine

Unlove Alba and Tabbi, give me a little, we can solve this

The problem (he added tense)

I don't want Maha to blame you, sir

O Dalof: Well, what do you think about bringing God the Arabic meaning?

The person who responded remains contagious

Also, tell me who this person is so that I can choose the best Arab

Teacher, you know 22

Sana: No, thank you. I don’t want anything from you. Now excuse me, I have to

Going as it seems to me that these insurance terms.

Or you yearn for the Sunnah and the theoretical prophet

Sala grabbed her small pink bag to go, but she stopped

He looked at her by her wrist and gave him a red glare

On him and say

Mana sir or dlov please take your hand away because I am letting him go

Scream and tell me magic is upon you and then you know the rest

He quickly took his hand off her after noticing all the eyes.

Heading towards them, especially him

Orlov, wait, let's talk. We can solve everything

Himself, I can't let her go. Many before her have rejected her

My only hope of escaping Mr. Kurokari's wrath

Sana: Well what now?

He bluff al-Jalsi

Sana obediently sits while looking at him and does not tell you about

The amount of tension between them

Silence reigned supreme

Oblov says everything I asked you about is from the person who...

Why do you want to stay away from all this anger among the Sunnis? There are many

Of solutions

I can't say enough about my sister.

Because I don't like to tell anyone about my personal information, this is the first thing

Secondly, why did you stop? There were so many people

Ludlove, I'm sorry for what you did a moment ago, second son, ironing the girl

appropriate for this task

Good money, but what is the salary?

Orlov's hips, saying

Sorry, this doesn't help me

Ludlove Sana 11

Sana: I want more, give me what you have

After much negotiation, they finally found a suitable passenger for both

Both parties

O Dlov: Thank you for dealing with us

He said with obvious annoyance

They asked for forgiveness. As for the issue of Arabic, there is no need for anything wrong

One time I'll handle it myself

Or get ready in the evening and bring your bag as well as your high

To a station.

Asking good deeds for education

It was a good conversation for them.

Gold for everyone.

at home

When Sala arrived home, Akina threw her younger sister into her arms

She says in a tone of voice on the verge of tears

Akita in pomegranate, where are you??

Sala, I was interested in some topics. Come on, I want you on a topic

Important

Akinat Well I'm Mahir

She said while sitting on the sofa.

Satak I decided to work

This is really true, I swear

Sala, but there is a problem

Aki (worriedly, what is my sister?)

Sala (I told her the terms of the contract) I'm sorry I'm leaving you

Let us help you, my sister, to understand your neck with the help of our older sister

I cannot leave you to set my path with me and guide me.

By God, I cannot even take care of myself or tie the knot of Haqqani

So how can I take care of myself every day and you are the one who cries for me?

In my family there is sometimes a hair that everyone wants to turn away from

Mala, this is what I felt in the same breath, “My little girl is not pious

I will take care of my stomach. Grandma Yura will take care of the country as well

Olayanya, don't worry, I will visit you every nine months. Okay, bear with it

Just

This torment will end soon

Akinar, well, keep your promise

The sharpie, while she is holding it together, uses her little finger to straighten out what cannot be tied

Her other finger was with him and she was nervous

Sana, promise my little girl, study well

Kina ok sister

After that, Akina went to her room, Madam, and Sata was sitting in it

Waiting for Grandma Yura for the second

Al-Hada Bora, despite her poverty, was helping the technicians

In times of need, she was their neighbor before their parents escaped

And disappearing from their children and she was the only person who was

He gives them money and teaches them how to cook....

She made them live with her for a period of time.

But they moved to God and felt distressed.

Upon Bora's arrival, Sana greeted her and they exchanged greetings

The conversation and then I told her about the topic of work and told her about

How to take care of the little one and so on

After that, Mana left after preparing everything and went to the station.

The time at that time was 8:30 pm

When he arrived, the mood was all over the place and she was waiting

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hellmouth-manor · 8 months

Text

event horizon || cassandra || trial 2.2 || re: alou :(

Time and time again, the people who occupy this manor with her have been kind enough to remind Cassandra that no one truly knows anyone here; the bonds of friendship are not tied together by years, or even months, of memories and trust, but by a single thing they briefly have in common. She knows that, of course, though part of her finds it hard to believe that anyone could hide something so insidious for so long, but still be kind enough to warn someone like her against kindness. It is a kindness of its own, to care about someone enough to bother trying to protect them at all.

But Hisashi had been kind, sitting with her in the dirt within hours of arriving just to try to get some squirrels a few feet closer.

And Nori had been kind, following Cassandra from store to store as they picked different outfits for each other – a semblance of kindness and normalcy that she was yet to be used to.

And, Alou–

Alou was so kind. Tea in the garden, discussions by the fountain, an insistence to split payment on something that didn’t matter with what she viewed – perhaps foolishly so – with little more than a desire to do something nice for her. Personalised nicknames. A calming demeanour, so pleasant, and so deeply nostalgic that when she spoke to him, she couldn’t help but be reminded of–

He speaks, measured, and Cassandra wonders – is it scary, to be unable to look a murderer in the eye and say they’re wrong? A righteous hand that brings death to those who cast their shadow on countless others...

… But that’s what he says. Maybe it’s all true. And maybe not a single word of it is.

She doesn’t know. There’s no way for her to possibly know.

He says he genuinely likes them all. He says it wasn’t an act.

She doesn’t know. There’s no way for her to possibly know.

All Cassandra can draw from is the pitiful little that she does. Her hands shake as they draw to her chest, pressing against a heart that races with emotions too plentiful to name.

“… They really wanted to make a meal for you.”

Maybe she had been sharing a dorm with the exact person Alou described. Maybe she hadn’t. But that doesn’t change the towering figure that had bellowed their praise over her hitting someone with a dodgeball. They’re still the same person who had joined her and Raoul for a celebration in the dorm they covered up and redecorated time and time again together.

“Th-they weren’t a person who only did harm. That’s - that’s not the person I-I knew. I-I can’t… possibly imagine them d-doing what… what happened to Nakano-san…”

Like everyone here, she doesn’t know them much at all. This should be the dawning moment of harsh realisation, of a harsher reality. She can’t imagine Poppy doing it. She can’t imagine Alou doing it, either. She can’t imagine anyone here doing such a thing–

Ahh, geez. Reality has always been so impossibly hard to accept.

“... Oh, Alou… I-it’s just so terrible. … Wh-why did you do… everything after? The – posing th-the bodies. Godfather Death. I-I just – I can’t understand…”

It's funny that she even bothers to ask. Her voice trails off, and she looks to the ground. Even if he answers, she doesn't think she'll ever understand.

#ch2 #trial #cassandra

0 notes

flame-nova · 1 year

Text

Chapter 4: The Cursed Blood

Books

Reminded me of a certain turquoise haired demon who used to pester me whenever I wanted time alone. Now that I graduated from the sorcerer academy, I couldn't help but thinking wistfully upon the memories I spend there as a student.

They had a library similar to the one I'm in right now. But this was Granadia's biggest library. The amount of documents found here was enough to cover half of the history of Granadia. My eyes quickly glanced over the sections. I was not here for relaxing reading like so many other demons were here to do. I was here with a purpose.

Finally, my eyes landed on a section that titled "ancient copendium". I figured that I could probably find some clues here as to why Queen Juno acted strange. My finger trailed over to the column of books on the shelf, my mouth moving, silently reading the titles of each book. Finally, I stopped at an ancient looking book titled "Curses of the Old". I was pleased. I took the book out of the shelf and I was about to walk away with it until I ran into someone. I fell and the book dropped on the floor with a "thud".

I raised my eyes angrily, about to snap at the person for not being mindful of their surroundings before I was met with a pair of calm, amber eyes. It was Vox.

"Oh I'm sorry Berwick." He bend over and offered me a hand to help me up. "I didn't think I'd run into you here."

I laughed quietly. "Neither do I."

I took his extended hand and pulled myself back up. Vox handed me the book and read the title with a raised eyebrow. " 'Curses of the Old?' What are you up to?"

Consider he also saw Queen Juno being out of control, I told him of my plans.

"Hmm..... Maybe we could figure something out together." He agreed. I nodded and took him to the reading area. We sat side by side and begin to look over the content of the book. My eyes stopped at a section specifically addressed to "Cursed Blood".

"Hold on." I told Vox. "That day when her majesty was going out of control, I saw red substance under her feet. I could only guess that may be her blood. This 'Cursed Blood' article may be able to help us figure out the problem."

Vox nodded, his eyes on me. I turned to the correct page as I begin to read aloud.

"The Cursed Blood was a phenomenon that was passed down from the royal family centuries ago, more commonly seen on female members. The cause of it was that the blood flowing in the royal family was also that of the Titans, thus granting them with an immense amount of power. However, loss of control could result in a destruction so great that it would cause the doom of the world."

The atmosphere was dead silent as both me and Vox sat lost in our own thoughts.

Isn't there any way to save Queen Juno?

"Wait- there's more." My eyes sparked with hope as I continued to read.

"However, there is a way to which that can keep the curse contained. It was the Dagger of Testament. A short sword masterfully crafted in a massive kiln by the Ancients. It is made of an impossible metal, said to need heat millions of times stronger than the sun to forge. The blade itself also bears three high-ranking Crests layered over each other. This lets it synergize with the powers of its owner, making it much more than a mere dagger."

"Maybe we can find a way to forge this blade so that she can live!" Vox stood up. I nodded. I'm confident that the heat coming from my flame magic is hotter than the sun. We just needed to find the three high ranking crests in order to forge the blade. And to do that, we'd have to ask her majesty to give us the crests.

"But how will we get the crests?" I asked. "The Queen is the keeper of the crests after all. We won't be able to ask for the crest without raising suspicion. Besides, knowing her, she won't allow us to do such a thing for her. She would rather suffer than accepting our aid."

Vox seemed to be deep in thought." You do have a point. But the only way for us to possibly get our hands on the crests was through her majesty. So whether it's a good idea or not, we might have to try our lucks."

"What about the others? Should we let Riviera and Duke in on the secret? I mean, it's our job as the Knights of Blood right? Protecting the kingdom includes protecting the Queen so in my opinion, we should tell them. Besides, we might just convince her successfully since there are more of us."

He nodded."You're right. Let's get going. Time's a wasting."

We returned to the castle grounds. Behind the closed doors of the headquarter, Vox and I took turns sharing what we saw earlier that day. I showed them the book and explained to them what we had to do.

"I didn't know that she was going through such a painful curse....." Riviera's face fell. Sadness swimmed in her eyes. Duke nodded. "But don't worry. I'm 100% agreeing with your ideas and you have my aid."

"Yeah. We need her majesty. She had done so much for us. It's about time we return the favor. It's only the best we could do." Riviera stood up. But Duke stopped her in her tracks."Hold up, it's late and her majesty had probably already retired to her chambers. We can try tomorrow instead."

"That's true. Well, you guys have a good night. I have to head back to my cabin and move my stuff over." I said. "I haven't had the time since I was busy all day.

"You need a hand?" Vox offered. "I mean, consider that it's dark out there and I don't want what happened to the night before happen to you again."

"Sure."

We walked in silence. After a while, I decided to break the ice."So, how did you find out where I live? I mean, I couldn't have ended up in my own cabin right after I passed out."

Vox scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well, thing is, I don't. I had to ask around and thankfully, you're quite well known and a few people does know who you are and your cabin's location. That's how I found your place."

"Huh, I'm quite famous you say?"

He chuckled."Of course. You came from a long family line of fire mages. It's not a surprise that quite a few people knows you."

I smiled bitterly. "Have you ever felt the pressure of carrying the family name on your shoulder? Because you're simply the next one in line to take the baton? I didn't have my own purpose and didn't even know what I wanted to do in life until I saw you guys sparring. That gave me a new meaning to life. I wanted to become a Juno Templar. Simple as that."

Vox lowered his head. "Nope. Can't relate at all. My parents died when I was a kid. I lived as a mercenary and met Duke. The two of us relied on each other to live until one day our mission failed. We almost died if it wasn't for her majesty. I owe her big time and that's why I agreed to help lift her curse. I'm forever indebted to her."

I was suddenly filled with sympathy and sorrow for Vox. "And that's why you swore on your life to protect Granadia." I concluded.

He nodded. The night was dark. I couldn't see the expression on his face. The two of us fell into awkward silence again.

I looked at the sky, the night was clear and I could see a lot of stars shining down on us.

"Look, that's Cancer." I pointed to one constellation. "In the Greek mythology, the giant crab was created by goddess Hera to kill the hero Hercules. But Hercules killed it instead. To commemorate for what the crab did, Hera threw it to the sky and allowed it to become a constellation."

"And that over there," I continued, pointing to another constellation. "Is Virgo. She was supposed to represent the daughter of the grain and harvest goddess. The daughter's name was Persephone. Her famous story of the pomegranate should explain why the constellation was there to remember her." I chuckled.

"Wow," Vox looked at the sky, his amber eyes gleamed as he marveled at the beauty of the night. I chatted and shared more of my knowledge of the stars with him. Before I knew it, we were in front of my cabin.

"Thanks for accompanying me and listening to my rant of the stars Vox." I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. "I just love astronomy."

Vox only chuckled."Of course I know that. You really opened my eyes on the stars though. Always thought that the stars were beautiful, but I've never felt so breath taken by them. You're a good teacher. Engaging and entertaining."

I blushed."Thanks. Now, I'll be back. Just going to grab things I'll be needing for tonight. I'll come back for the rest tomorrow."

He nodded and stood outside waiting for me. I quickly gathered my clothes for tomorrow and some hygiene products before locking the door behind me. We laughed, talked and got to know each other better that night. But Vox had no idea that I had developed some kind of feelings for him. I will probably keep it to myself. Only the stars will know.

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

Author's Note

Like Berwick, I did a lot of research on this chapter. From Juno's curse to the constellations. Thankfully, I knew a little about constellations and Greek mythology since I was in 7th grade (as an elective class) so the knowledge helped me a ton.

I also logged on GS specifically and rewatched the CG scenes from the Copendium so that my memories can be jogged. It was a lot of work writing this chapter and I've been trying my best to stay in canon as much as possible. I apologize if incorrect information had been inserted. Please feel free to correct me of any errors I've made. Thank you for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter!

Oh also, before I go, I want to thank the unknown reader who had followed me all through. I don't know who you are, but I'm thankful that you're reading the series. Really appreciate it. It gives me the motivation to keep the stories coming. Thank you!

#voxwick fic #grand summoners #gs #voxwick #gs fanfic #berwick #vox

0 notes

redemptioninterlude · 1 year

Note

🌂 (for rue)

let's go on a date meme ( accepting ) + @sunxsin // ling 🌂 kiss in the rain

LA ALMOST NEVER RAINS... it’s the thing about the valley that seems impossible to most, where the weather seemed stuck in perpetual sunshine and glossy days, the people found beneath its rays all artificially accustomed to what it was like to never know anything but the golden warmth it brings. But Rue, oh Rue, she knows better than this, East Highland a place where it all strikes, unexpected, and she carries her bad habits from home with her, no matter what the miles put between there, and here. It’s not as if she becomes a brand new fucking person, no matter what other people say about, think about it... everyone’s just trying to get an angle and an in when it comes to the Hollywood game, and she learns early on that you need a thicker skin to make it, and fuck if that shit wasn’t hard sometimes.

She’s 20 now, and in the game, 2 years gone by and she’s done more releases than she thought to be possible. Maybe it helps that she’s young and starving for it, or that the industry’s just blooming for the prospect of girls with more than a dash of colour to claim the silver screen, but who cares? SHE’LL TAKE IT, she doesn’t blink at the idea of claiming ground where it comes, no pride to get in the way of her navigating forwards, ruthless. You have to be if you’re going to survive it, and by now she finds herself with a name people know, a face that sometimes people look twice at, those low whispers, the pinch of a brow when they were trying to place her with a name to a place and a reason for why she seemed so recognizeable.

And it then that she’s been dating now, some producer from the hills making moody art films, and it works and yes, he’s, SO MUCH OLDER than her but that’s Hollywood, baby. Or maybe that’s what she tells herself because she’s so strung out and needed shit to finally work and he was so kind when they first met but it’s the shit that comes after that makes her question herself every time there was another photo taken and all she could see were the comments about how this was such a fucking cliche, and she felt so weirdly complicit about it, and how it all just... weird. That maybe he’s inside networking and she’s so bored to tears that she doesn’t know what to do or say as this circle of men in well-tailored summer suits talk round and round about the artistic integrity of film, so Rue just drifts apart, peeling away and finding a quiet spot to forget about everything.

How her train of thought is cut off quick, when one Ling Yao stepped outside onto the balcony with her, their eyes catching with one another, and a jagged, wicked grin spreads wider. It’s always DRUGS AND STRANGE INVITATIONS whenever the two of them get together, and, it’s dumb that seeing him makes her chest go a little tight, despite all the impossible things that sit there before it, she waves at him casual, and the carton she’s got in her hand’s shaken to product a joint. “Wanna join me?” because the invitation’s always open between the two of them, as he strolls to close the space between the two of them, a lighter ready, Rue leaning in with her fingers caught in her hair to pull it free from the butane burn, gaze flickering to his as she pulled in that first draw, easing her shoulders back to keep a respectful distance, her grin drawn pleased.

"I didn’t know you were going to be here tonight.” they meet all over, though in this industry, isn’t it expected? The young and the brilliant and pushed together to network and be seen, it’s all an act built upon artifice, and wasn’t Ling the king of that? Another quick hold of smoke within her lungs, and she surrenders over what she’s god, Rue left leaning into her heels, the clothes that feel so unlike her. “I woulda brought like TWO if I knew. Can’t be missing out on a chance to catch up with the one and only Ling fuckin’ Yao.” especially since... “I heard you just got cast for that new movie right? The remake of the Blair Witch?? I mean, don’t tell anybody, but I’m wrapping up the last parts of the contract.. I think it’s finally happening. We have a project together!”

Eyes all lit up, but when they look past him, she can see, can feel, that sudden onset ; the dripping drops of unexpected showers sweeping over them, Rue’s excitement put on pause as she reached into her bag, pulling out an extendible umbrella, perfectly packed, able to have it up and over the both of them in but a practiced flick of the wrist. A step closer, and she realizes, WHEN’S THE LAST TIME they’ve been this close, other than in bathrooms where they were drawing lines and losing themselves to a wasted night at yet another dull event, the both of them laughing at the pretentiousness of it all until - yeah. That’s it. That’s when she’s ever been this near, eyes blowing wide by degrees as she tried, and failed, to pull the conversation back to the subject at hand. How being this close had her head all filled with the wrong ideas, coughing, suddenly, to try and bring them back to a place where a silence didn’t stretch as it did, her heart not beating all too quickly within her chest.

And most of all, she tries to wind it back to the point where it feels like all she wanted to do was lean in and kiss him, thinking she had to be crazy, what was she thinking? Wasn’t her boyfriend inside, doing the HARD WORK of a director to recruit people in on his next upcoming venture? A sharp breath drawn as Rue blinked fast, trying to slide her gaze from the intensity of his own, trying to smooth out that sudden hiccup of anxiety that bubbled within her chest.”Uhh... maybe this is like, the universe telling us that we should save this for another time. Literal rain check? We should um...” maybe kiss a little while. Wait. No. Fuck. “Go back inside.”

#sunxsin #❝ r. bennett ❞ ┆ meme reply ┆ everything feels so permanent !#❝ r. bennett ❞ ┆ actress verse ┆ you wish i was different ? so do i !

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