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kojinnie · 3 years

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The Impossible Request | Levi Ackerman

Based on the request by a lovely anon here. As always, I apologize for putting a little bit of angst into what was supposed to be a full-on fluff :(

levi ackerman x reader; fluff/angst; 2032 words

Captain Levi Ackerman left you with an impossible request during your last ride to the forest with him.

Throughout the whole journey Levi kept looking at you, throwing worried glances frequently at the strange way you rode your horse through the forest. A moment ago, you were about to ride yourself and your horse to a certain death offered by a cliff by the side of the trail. If it wasn’t for your horse’s trained instinct, you’d be a tragic story of a silly death by now.

Admittedly, your focus was not on the trail of the forest hill, nor was it on the hurdles of vines and fallen branches splayed all over your pathway. Levi had to keep screaming at you to keep you from bringing your horse to an accident. Your focus was somewhere else, a distant place that a soldier must not dwell within too long. The unfamiliarity of this place caught you off-guard and as evident by the harrowing way you ride the horse, it has come to ensnare you.

As the thickness of the forest started to dissipate to an open field that overlooked the castle where Survey Corps was stationed at, Levi abruptly changed his direction and stopped your way. Your horse squealed in shock and reared up in effect, almost throwing you to the ground.

The Captain immediately jumped off the horse and darted a piercing stare at you, “Get off. Now.” The way he commanded you sent a shiver down your spine, that tone – his battlefield sternness returned, something far different than the somewhat casual Levi that you have grown to be close with during your off-duty season in the castle with him and the Corps.

It was a scarce occurrence to hear him used that tone far from the warfare. You knew he was enraged. You whimpered almost inaudibly, trying to calm your own racing heartbeat as well as to calm your horse down by patting her cheek, before climbing off of her. The Captain immediately yanked your arms and brought you to the side, under the aid of a huge willow tree whose leaves were yellowing with the arrival of Autumn.

The anger was palpable on his pale face, “Are you—” he was immediately dismayed by the surprising hike in his own tone, something that was almost unprecedented of him. The captain knew that he couldn’t let his rage overcome him. He sighed out of annoyance as he came to maintain his composure, “Are you trying to kill yourself?”

“I’m sorry, Captain.”

“You were riding like you’ve got a stick up your ass.”

“I know. Sorry—I—”

“If you want to die, then just tell me. Hange can use you up for experiments.”

“Captain, I—”

There was a momentary silence looming over the two of you. Levi waited for your response but he scoffed and walked away to the edge of the hill when another second passed with your inability to bring any form of coherence in your words. Your heart sunk in disappointment.

Levi squatted and looked afar to the castle. You could see his torso heaved; it was obvious that he was trying to pace his breath from the suppressed anger. You couldn’t bring yourself to admit of what made you so distraught. The idea that a mere emotional disappointment had led you, a trained soldier, to almost kill yourself for not being able to ride your horse right, is of something preposterous. You were ashamed and girded by guilt. As a soldier, you had let emotion distraught your aptitude.

“Tell me or don’t tell me – whatever,” Levi finally broke the silence without looking at you. Your only view of him was his heaving back, “I already knew.”

You knew of it already, but his reiteration shriveled the last hope you had that the Deployment Letter you received this morning was still bound to change, “You can’t do anything to change it?”

“No. I’m a soldier, and it’s my duty to obey,” Levi spoke. You wished you could feel even the tiniest bit of an upset in his words, but there was little to none, “you have been asked for the Garrison. Effective tomorrow. You shall no longer be here when Eren Jaeger arrives. Erwin’s decision, signed by Commander Pyxis.”

It had been three years since you were assigned to the elite Levi Squad by his own choice. Within those years as well, you had seen yourself grown seasoned by the battles alongside your entrusted Captain, as you fought the mouth of deaths countless times together. Naturally, parting apart alive would be hard for you.

People of the Walls knew him as the humanity’s strongest soldier, would they gape in knowing that humanity’s hope needed to stay humane in order to be their beacon of strength? And that was your duty for him – keeping him humane. Even if it was just to learn his meticulous way of brewing his own tea, so when he was injured and bed-ridden, he would still be aided with the warmth of his favorite drink. Even if it was just helping him tying his cravat when his hand was occupied with paper works. Even if it’s just a sleepless night with him at the library as he learned the offense strategy for the upcoming expedition. You’d done all that with no words spoken of how fond you were of him. Even when your smile arose when he finally let you massaged his strained back, or when your fingers touched the bare skin on his back when you were tending his battle scars, you were adamant to let the feelings simmer in painful silence.

In keeping him humane, you must set aside what you want of him. Your childish imagination and desire to settle with him. After all, Levi was a man unbounded, and in certain liberty shall he thrive for humanity. So, you never spoke how much your heart fluttered when he rode in full-speed to save you from the monstrous titan holding you in their grasp. The way he stayed awake, sitting by your bedside all night after a near-death incident that left you barely conscious for a week. You had sworn to bring this truth to death, but you were conscious when, out of desperation, he ran his calloused fingers through the mess of your hair, stroking your temple soft with the coarseness of his fingers as he whispered in prayer, “Please stay alive, please stay alive…” and then Levi spoke of your name, calling out to what was left of you after a bloody expedition. He called for you, not in the stern command the Captain would utter in the battlefield, but with tenderness of a man bound by grievance.

Had you grown a space in your heart to love me? Was the question that hung in your throat when you finally gained consciousness after the injury, where Petra shrieked in relief and happiness, calling out for the others, and then she said, “Welcome back. We miss you terribly. The Captain has been gaunt without you.”

The question throbbed again with simple little things he did. When he shoved more mashed potato to your empty plate, “Eat more,” he would say with more of a grunt rather than a warm suggestion; The tender pat on the back when you successfully cleared your final task; The palpable look of agitation when you returned from an impromptu hunting trip with Eld in the forest that led him wary of your whereabout for two nights – in all those moments, you wished you had the courage to ask him the question: Had you grown a space in your heart to love me? Or were you just being a good leader to your comrades?

The sun was beginning to set on the horizon. The wind breezed through the forest, blowing the yellowed leaves off of its branches, drenching the two of you in the solemn noise of Autumn. Couple of hours ago, Levi had taken you to ride to the forest to collect firewood for supplies, but even then you knew that wasn’t what you rode here for. Levi sat on the dirty ground and sighed, “Come here.” He looked at you, and softly pat the ground by his side.

Levi knew that he assumed a great deal of obligation. He wasn’t daft, he’d grown aware of the murmurs that people left on his path, ‘Look, it’s the humanity’s strongest soldier – Captain Levi Ackerman!’ then when he wasn’t so well-guarded, he’d catch the way those children look up to him with earnest amazement. Those wondrous eyes. The innocence of faultless children is the thing he had sworn to protect when he braced another expedition beyond the wall, at the expense of everything that made him humane – delicacy, tenderness, warmth, and love. But then Levi met you, and since then he began to wonder: ‘What if? What if? What if?’

Levi knew the feeling he had grown to have for you was starting to cloud his judgment when he almost broke the formation to save you from the mouth of a titan. He remembered the awful feeling of riding back to the camp, with your bloodied form on his lap, to be greeted by the discerning look of disappointment from his own comrades. Later that night, as much as the expedition was a success with minimum casualty, Erwin sat him down and bludgeoned him with the fact that negated every virtue Levi had ever stood for, “You compromised the whole formation with your rash action.”

Compromised. Rash action.

The words that had brought Levi to a prolonged regret. Who he was with you, was not the person Levi devoted his heart for. Levi knew he needed to stop. His allegiance was to humanity, to Commander Erwin Smith – and not to you.

As you sat down by his side, he finally looked at you, and smiled. So scarce of the captain, but when he did, you could feel it was genuine.

“I am going to ask you a question,” Levi said, his grey eyes darkened underneath the warm dusk, “and you don’t have to answer it right now.”

You nodded obediently.

“Do you think all this will end? To live in constant fear of death, and,” there was a momentary pause in his sentence. Uncharacteristic of him, as if he was trying to fight his own fright that was starting to nestle deep in his mind, “have ourselves carrying the last bits of humanity’s hope?”

You remained silent as he carried on, “If no, then understand that your re-assignment is a necessity. For the greater good. But if yes, that you believe that this monstrosity will all end eventually, then, I hope…”

“Yes, Captain?”

Levi looked down at the soil where your hands and his were laying side by side. There was a somber smile beginning to rise from his face. He dragged his finger to tangle with yours rather cautiously. You greeted the awkward gesture with open heart, as you slithered your fingers into his grip.

“I hope, you will have the heart to welcome me home…”

“…to you.”

The words drowned you into a deafening silence, no matter that the Autumn breeze was starting to grow stronger as the sun succumbed into the night, no matter that your heart was thumping in all kinds of inexplicable agony – all you could hear was the void of nothingness, in which no matter how close you were to him, you could feel Levi drifting away from you.

Deep down, you knew that none of this walking nightmare they called life was ever going to end. You knew that each one of you was cursed to live the life in wretched reality. You always thought that he had known of it all along, out of so many people, you thought Levi would be the one to never look forward to a future of peace, for peace was an absurd concept as long as humanity was still trapped within the Walls.

And it broke your heart to gain understanding that Levi still had hopes for it. For the unattainable peace. With you.

He had believed in a future that you thought was impossible, and with it you realized that so would be your future with him.

As the sun finally slid to its resting peace, you brought your body closer to his embrace. He brought your face closer to him, he smiled before landing a kiss on your forehead. The genuine kind, of innocence that was so strange in the world of horrors. The kind of warmth he had longed for so many nights with the thought of you. And finally, you smiled at his words, “Yes, I will.” nodding at the impossible request.

#levi ackerman #levi ackerman x reader #levi x reader #levi angst #levi fluff #aot levi #snk levi #attack on titan #attack on titan fanfiction #requested

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willowbleedsonpaper · 3 years

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What Will Never Be

Theodore Nott x Reader

Second Part to What it used to be

W.C. : 1804

Warnings: Death, angst, my tears are all over the words. Tell me if I’m being dramatic ‘cause I think is angsty but not angsty, you know? You tell me.

A/N: @ptwritesmore Here it is! Posting it because of you <3

“You okay, Freddie?” George asked, elbowing his twin’s side with a playful smile on his lips. The protective barrier formed around Hogwarts shone as thousands of spells hit it, the light hitting directly the faces of the twins as Fred nodded his head towards George, “Me too.” George answered.

“Of course you are!” A cheerful voice filled their ears, both redheads turning back as you strolled down the last steps to get where they patiently waited for the upcoming battle “I’m right here to make sure nothing happened to any of you.” you said, poking their ribs as you settled between the two brothers.

“How lucky we are.” Fred said with the roll of his eyes. You turned your eyes at him, glaring as George muffled a laugh.

“We’ll see how you manage when I’m off saving the school.” you said, electricity running through your veins as the three of you stared up at the sky. A big explosion of light coming from the outside caught your eye mid sentence, reducing your voice to a very audible whisper as the barrier burned down before your eyes.

The pit of your stomach grew as the remains of the protective barrier around Hogwarts fell down to nothing, the daring side of you subsiding as you saw the statues on the bridge start to march forwards. The sky turned darker than it already was, the image of pitch black clouds a comforting thought as you realized Voldemort forces were moving towards the school. Death Eaters.

“We’ll stay together, alright?” George said, sensing the change in your mood. “Just like we always do.”

You nodded, eyes filled with tears as you saw them move in the dark sky. You all snapped your heads back, the crashing sounds and shouts telling you the fight had arrived. But you hesitated, pursing your lips. “What if I can’t do it?” you asked them in a whisper. “What if he’s here?”

“George said it.” Fred assured you, giving his brother a firm nod as they looked down at you “We’ll stay with you. If he’s here, you won’t even notice.”

You took a deep breath, filling your lungs with air as you breathed out all of your anxiety. Or at least tried. A firm nod in their way was enough, walking inside the castle as you stood back to back, wands ready as you awaited the inevitable. “George, Fred.” you called them, their synced hums in response making you continue “If you do happen to see him, don’t hurt him.” you asked, their chuckles quickly muffled as energy flowed around the three of you. “Stupefy!”

Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott apparated inside Hogwarts, just outside the dungeons where all the Slytherins ran, whether it was to fight or flee, they didn’t care.

“C’mon.” Draco mumbled, grasping Theo’s shoulder as he pulled him with him. But he had lost Theo’s attention the minute they set foot inside Hogwarts. He stretched his neck up and over the crowd, looking for any sign of you or where you could be. “Theo.” he grunted, “She won’t be here, I can assure you that.”

“You can’t and you know that.” he hissed back, following his friend closely “She could be anywhere right now.”

“We’ll find her.” Draco said in a more quiet hall, peeking over the corner as they silently made they’re way around the castle. Not an easy task, considering the state of the school. Walls were already destroyed, enormous pieces of stone blocking the way as they jumped over them, dust falling from the ceiling and into their hair, the blonde and dark brown color taking a more dull tone. The structure of the castle rumbled every time it was hit with a spell. They could feel Hogwarts dying.

“I know.” Theo said, his word dead as he yanked Draco back by the arm and into their hiding spot. Harry Potter ran past them, turning left in the next hall. “He’s headed to the Room of Requirement” Theo pointed out, nodding his chin to where the dark haired boy disappeared.

“We get to him, then we look for Y/N.” Draco said, starting to follow the path Harry went. “We’ll find her, I promise you that.”

Theo nodded firmly, both Slytherins walking side by side to the Room of Requirement. They followed close, Harry not being the most discreet as he could be heard all over the place. But suddenly a sound caught Theo’s attention, making his entire body go stiff as he turned his head towards the voice. Your voice.

“Keep up, Fred!” you yelled, standing next to who Theo could assume was George Weasley; stopping only for a second as you both ran away. Fred Weasley running after you, the faded sound of your footsteps making him react.

“Y/N.” he finally mustered.

“What?” Draco asked “You saw her.” he said, a hopeful sound in his voice when he realized it.

“She’s with the Weasleys.” Theo told him.

Draco stared at the hall Theo’s eyes were glued to, looking between the stone walls and his friend “Go.” he said “I’ll go after Potter, you go with her.”

“No.”

“I’ll be alright.” Draco assured him, but Theo shook his head firmly.

“We do this first. Together.” Theo said confidently “I’ll find her after this is over.”

George was running just at your side, the lack of jokes and laughs making you stop, taking George’s forearm on your hand to stop him. “Where the hell is your brother?” you asked desperately walking back on your steps.

“Stay here.” George told you, going back as you stood there. Your senses were on high alert, jumping at the slightest of sounds at shooting spells at the faintest move. You almost got some Hogwarts students. Your head snapped up at George who chuckled as he walked back to your side. “Well?” you asked.

He pointed at his back, Fred appearing from around the corner.

“Keep up, Fred!” you yelled at him, nudging at George’s side to start running. turning on your place, you felt a pair of eyes on you, stopping suddenly and letting Fred finally catch up.

“What is it?” he asked at the sight of your frown.

You turned back, ”I thought…” you said, considering walking back to where you stood seconds about before you dismissed the thought “Doesn’t matter. C’mon.”

They didn’t ask anything, following close as you reached more fight. The three of you hadn’t stopped all night, running all over the castle, shouting spell after spell, joking and laughing to turn back into fighter mode in a matter of seconds.

“There’s Percy.” Fred said, running up to his brother.

Sadly there was no time for updates or friendly chatter. Just as if they were expecting you, the air filled with darkness as more death eaters appeared before all of you. Your stomach dropped every time this happened, praying that Theo wouldn’t appear before you and you would be forced to fight him. You knew you could’t. You knew if he appeared in front of you you would run to him, you would get in the way of all the spells directed towards him just to protect him. You couldn’t hurt him.

It had been a couple of minutes fighting, your brain completely tuned out of what happened around you. The color returned to you as well as your spirit as you saw none of the Death eaters were Theo, shooting spell after spell, your ears ringing with he energy. You could hear George laughing, and Percy’s voice was a distant sound but he sounded confident, almost as he was bragging and maybe even joking. You couldn’t believe it. You finally sent the man before you flying across the room, turning with a smile to where Percy was, the smile on his face erasing as soon as he turned.

“Fred!” you screamed, your voice cracking as you ran towards him. It was unbearable.

Voldemort had retreated his forces. Hogwarts was safe for now. And Theo had only one goal in mind.

He quickly rolled down his sleeves, covering the mark on his arm despite everyone knowing he had it. He just wanted to pretend it wasn’t there. He wanted to find you and that not being the first thing you saw.

“Have you found her?” he asked, finding Draco for the third time after they split up to look for you. The shake of his head made Theo turn, cursing under his breath as he ran a hand down his face, his cheeks stained with dirt and sweat as he faced his friend again.

They walked side by side through the destroyed halls, soft cries and whimpers reaching their ears as they walked inside the Great Hall. No one paid them attention, and if they did it wasn’t enough reason to do anything against them. They’ve had enough death.

Theo focused on the Weasleys, all gathered and in visible pain. Theo nudged Draco’s arm, walking in their direction when they saw one of the twins fall to their knees. The sudden pit forming in their stomachs making them almost sick. Theo secretly had always thought they were funny, he couldn’t even think what he must be feeling, losing your other half so suddenly.

Then all around him went silent as he saw the other twin run inside the hall. He didn’t even notice when Draco walked ahead, the blonde already gathered next to the twins when he turned wide eyes to Theo.

“Draco,” he said, watching as Draco walked straight to him “Who’s that with the Weasleys?” he asked, fighting Draco’ grip on his shoulder as he turned down to the sobbing twins.

Theo’s heart raced, fighting Draco grip as his arms went around his chest to keep him back. “Draco!” he screamed, fighting to get out of his hold when he met his eyes, his own tears running down his cheeks. He stopped fighting. Draco didn’t cry.

“Y/N?” he asked in a whisper, stumbling to your side “No, no, no.” he mumbled, hands cradling over your face and looking for your eyes. He called your name in soft whispers, grasping your hand in his as he sat down next to you.

A sob broke out of his throat, clutching your hand in his when you didn’t squeeze back. He should have gone after you, he should have never left you. When was the last time he held you, hugged you, kissed you? He couldn’t even remember and it was all lost now. What was the last thing he told you? What was the last time you said to him? That he remembered.

Running a hand over your cheek, he moved a strand of hair from your hair as he leaned down and placed a kiss on your forehead. “I love you too.”

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Theo Nott

@heart-of-tempered-steel

#Theodore Nott #Theo Nott #theo nott x reader #theo nott x y/n #theo nott x you #theodore nott x reader #theodore nott x y/n #theodore nott x you #Theo Nott fanfiction #theodore nott headcanon #theodore nott oneshot #hp fanfiction #hp fanfic #harry potter fanfiction

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wallwriterstuff · 3 years

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Hi! Can I please request a Demetri x mate!human!fem!reader where she’s Bella’s younger sister, and when the Volturi come for Renesmee, the Cullens tell her to stay with Charlie, since they had a bunch of vampires with them plus the Volturi showing up, it’d be bad with a human in the mix. Being related to Bella (haha) she doesn’t listen, choosing to hide behind a tree to try to see how Bella and her family are (she was worried what the Volturi would do). I’m sure everyone would realize there’s a human there, and Aro sends Demetri to check it out, who finds Y/n, and quickly realizes she’s his mate. Ooo that would be nerve racking to Bella because she’d see Dem speed her younger sister over to where all the Volturi are. I’m sure she’d have to go back to Volterra with them, and she’d be a little freaked out. Awhhh it’d be so cute to see them bond, and on New Year’s, she wants to watch the ball drop (because it’s a tradition), and when it’s the New Year, she kisses Dem for the first time!

Little Red Riding Hood Part 1 ||Demetri Volturi x Female Reader||

Part 2: The Big Bad Wolf

Part 3: What Soft Lips You Have

Part 4: And They Lived Happily Ever After

Warnings: None, just Aro being a manipulative little meanie

Words: 4793

Summary: Against her sister’s advice, Y/N Swan sets off on a one woman mission to protect her family, unaware of the price she will have to pay to do so.

One of the worst habits you had was wondering the house late at night when you shouldn’t be. It wasn’t your fault really, insomnia didn’t have an easy cure and your sleeping medication was…well, when you woke up in the morning you felt drunk, they weren’t really something you enjoyed using. It had been an innocent quest really, a simple mission – get a warm mug of milk to go back to bed with. If anything, you were perfectly in the right to go wandering your own home. It should have been safe, even at 3:24AM.

Riley Biers shouldn’t have been there.

But he was.

In your living room.

And so were you.

Until you weren’t.

Alice had seen it all in advance of course and whisked you out of that room so fast the venom hadn’t even had time to properly enter your system after Riley bit down. Charlie hadn’t even been woken from his slumber by the time you were whisked into the depths of the forest to a nice little clearing where you could scream to your hearts content and nobody would hear you. Carlisle had saved you that night, sucking the venom out as quickly as Riley had injected it. The night that had followed was a surreal, whistle stop tour of the vampire world and its laws, laws you were technically breaking since you knew about the Cullen’s now. Of course, that meant you knew about the newborn army to, but you decided to stay out of that one. Some things however…some things demanded your attention, and whether you were human or not you simply had to at least see your family would be okay.

After a whirlwind few months your sister was saved, married and knocked up. Come Christmas, your hybrid niece was looking to be nine years old and your father was suspicious but none the wiser to the world you knew all too much about. You had carefully hidden your bitemark with polo necks, a sudden and bizarre choice your father had commented on once but quickly dismissed after you spouted some fashion facts Alice had prepared you with – fashion and Charlie did not mix and he dropped that conversation faster than one might drop a saucepan on fire. Of course, Renesmee (who you had created a variety of nicknames for just to tease Bella because otherwise you…well you’d have to call her Renesmee, and that was just cruel) was unique in every way, and unique and unknown equated to threat and danger in many minds, many minds the Cullen’s had slowly swayed over the few weeks since Alice had informed them of their impending death sentence.

You hadn’t been allowed to visit since the nomads and covens had started arriving, and though you understood the reason it didn’t make it any easier to know your sister, your niece, your extended family, were all in danger and you weren’t getting to spend what might be their last moments with them. It was only made worse when Bella and Edward had brought your father tickets to go fishing out of state, and tried to do the same to you. You loved your TV shows, truly you did, so for them to somehow get you backstage passes for Supernatural of all things was…immense. What you hated the most was how tempted you were to go. Who would say no to a long stay in a five star hotel, all expenses paid for and any bills you accumulated paid for by a Cullen, bottomless credit card?

When Edward and Bella had dropped you at the airport, part of you really had been ready to say goodbye to them, but as you stood in line for the gate the heavy weight of guilt settled in your gut and wouldn’t stop squirming. You had to turn back, you had to go. Nobody knew when the Volturi were going to land exactly, but you knew the day, and with Charlie and Sue gone for their fishing trip you would have nobody to stop you doing the incredibly dumb thing you had set your heart on. The taxi fare home had been extortionate but you couldn’t exactly have called anyone for a lift could you? You called the hotel and told them you were cancelling your stay, having to push your backstage pass for the Supernatural set deep into the depths of your bag to manage the grief of missing that opportunity, but family came first.

A restless night’s sleep later and you were dressing for the snow. It had fell fast and thick since Christmas day, so you had to set out early if you were going to get anywhere fast. Bella was your sister and you loved one another dearly, so of course you had spoken all about the upcoming battle, her hopes and her fears, her plans.

“There’s a clearing to the North of the house, we’re hoping if we engage them there it’ll be far enough away from people to stop anyone else getting involved by accident.”

Clearing to the North of the Cullen residence, right. With your Grandfather’s old compass you had set out, bundled in your thickest woollen coat and decked out the whole nine yards with scarves and hats and gloves. The air was freezing, nipping harshly at your exposed skin till your ears and nose were tinged red. Sniffling, you trudged through the layers of snow, stumbling over your own feet once or twice in the hereditary Swan way before regaining your footing and ploughing on. The trees seemed never-ending, an identical blanket of white on each and every one that towered above you, encroaching from all sides and making you lose all sense of direction. If it wasn’t for the compass in your hand you could have easily gotten lost in the winter wonderland, but a break in the treeline finally made an appearance. Numb as your extremities were, you forced your tired body to cooperate and propelled yourself forward, stumbling towards a tree you might be able to see past.

The forest was eerily silent, not a single scuttling animal or twittering bird to be found today, and the clearing itself was so large and the covens spread so far apart you could barely see a thing either, not with your dull, human eyes. A swarm of black gave away the Volturi, the mismatch of beiges and neutral tones on the left letting you know your family had yet to be taken down. A sigh of relief escaped you and you clapped a hand over your mouth in alarm, heart skipping a beat in your chest. Vampires had extremely sensitive hearing, there was no way somebody hadn’t heard you, and if it wasn’t the sigh that gave you away then it would surely have been the sound of mitten slapping flesh. Pressing into the bark you peeked around the tree trunk, heart hammering in your chest now as you tried to establish what was happening. You couldn’t hear a thing, could barely see. Ness sat atop Jacob, his russet fur glinting in the bright white of the snow-covered landscape.

“It all looks so terribly interesting from this distance does it not?” the smooth voice was right by your ear, and you screamed louder than you ever had in your life. Whirling around you shrunk back from the vibrantly red eyes of an admittedly handsome man, his expression devoid of any emotion as he looked you over. He had boxed you in against the tree trunk, his cloak billowing about him, the shiny, golden ‘V’ hanging around his throat making your chest constrict. Volturi, he was a Volturi guard. With wide eyes you stood in a silent stare-off, unable to decipher the emotions flickering through his eyes as he stood a step toward you.

“Stay away from me!” you cried, cringing back into the bark behind you. His head tilted.

“You came to spy and did not expect there would be consequences?” he asked, not stopping till he was almost on top of you. Your breath hitched. He had the most gorgeous looking face but you could identify the features of a killer in it. The glowing red irises didn’t look at you with malice however, more…confusion. His sharp, pearl white teeth weren’t bared to take your throat out but carefully sealed away behind plush lips. You could almost believe he didn’t intend on hurting you if his hands weren’t still reaching for you.

“You’re here to butcher my family, I had to…” you trailed off, because in reality what could you do? What could you possible say to this vampire that wouldn’t make him laugh? You were human, you stood no chance. He had paused, waiting patiently for your answer, yet when you gave him none he proceeded to pick you up like you weighed next to nothing, your feet being whisked out of the numbing snow to dangle over his arm. His eyes never left yours.

“Hold tight little one.” He suggested, his voice devoid of any emotion. If there had been any part of him you might have been able to appeal to before it was gone now, hidden behind a stony exterior. The world blurred around you and the jarring movement thew you off balance as he set you on your feet again, your body tilting in a way it shouldn’t till he was forced to grab you and hold you steady. Nausea rose quickly in the back of your throat, the world still spinning and blurring your eyes. You could see the edges of black cloaks swirling in your vision as you fought back the urge to be sick. There was no way to hide your anxiety now, your heart hammering away for all to hear, your breathing too quick to be normal.

“You seem to have distressed our dear friends, Demetri.” The smooth voice was sickeningly sweet, entirely false to your ears. Trying to take a steadying breath, you forced yourself to look up at the three imposing figures before you. A giant stood behind them, two young twins to their right. The three were quite obvious to you form the stories you’d heard, and your shudder had nothing to do with the cold this time. Demetri, the man holding you, had yet to let go of your waist, and his hands felt strangely soothing, their firm grip something that felt grounding and reliable despite your terror in this moment.

“An intruder who has already seen too much, end her now as yet another of the Cullen’s mistakes.” The blonde sneered. You swallowed, mind spinning. You were dead either way, right?

“My niece is not a mistake.” You retorted. You were proud that your voice didn’t waver once, though the grip on your waist tightened slightly and you weren’t sure if it was to warn you or scold you. Caius hissed, eyes narrowed in a vicious glare.

“Your niece? May I, my dear?” Aro stood before you, taller than you had expected with hair almost as long as yours. You knew it wasn’t a request, but you found yourself desperate either way to avoid touching him and shrank back from his extended hand, straight into Demetri’s chest. His hand was hesitant, but it lifted from your waist to lightly skim down your arm, his lips close to your hairline as he whispered, “Do as you are told now, little one.”

He carefully extended your hand for you, noting the tremor in it once more as Aro’s eyes flickered between you. He removed your mitten with a flourish, your hand immediately clenching and unclenching at the sudden blast of arctic cold it had previously been shrouded from. Aro’s skin was somehow even colder and your shivering grew in intensity. Very vaguely, you could hear Bella shouting something, but the distance was so great and the clearing so vast it swallowed the sound. His eyes flickered over yours, completely pinning you to the spot, and then they looked past you to whatever was happening behind you. Demetri was blocking your view when you tried to see what Aro was seeing.

“Sweet Y/N, your bravery in coming here is applaudable. I can only hope our own dear ones are as dedicated to our family as you are to yours.” Aro sighed, a hint of melancholy in his voice. You flinched, knowing the next words from his mouth would most likely be spelling out your death sentence. The sound of the breeze was all that filled your ears for a moment, the anxiety and anticipation growing in your stomach making it difficult to hold onto the meagre breakfast you’d forced yourself to eat. It occurred to you in that moment that this would be your final moments with your family, your last chance to say goodbye, and they could hear it. Squaring your shoulders, you held your head high.

“I came because I love them, and I don’t regret that. You can’t destroy my family, their witnesses are proof of that. My niece was created out of love and the legacy of love they would leave behind will be far too great for you to overcome. So go ahead and do what you have to to me, if I can die with half their grace then I know I’ve done them proud.” You clenched your fists at your side, prepared for the bite that Aro would deliver, maybe Demetri. Caius looked most upset by your little speech, hissing quietly and looking prepared to spring towards you. More muffled noise from behind you let you know your family had heard, even if you couldn’t hear their goodbyes you felt them in your heart.

Aro’s head tilted slightly, his expression cold, and then his mouth opened slightly and he was leaning forward. You closed your eyes, flinching as you braced for the pain of a bite you knew well, but instead you felt cold air, and when your eyes snapped open you were shielded from Aro’s bite by a tall, lean body, one strong arm curled backward to keep you caged against his spine. Demetri.

“Master…please.” He extended his hand, ripping off his glove with his teeth as he went. Aro eagerly took his hand, probably as desperate as you were to know why one of his most treasured guard would so openly defy him. Some of the Volturi’s people were starting to whisper behind them but a lethal look (from the giant of a man you guessed was Felix from Bella’s stories) silenced them. His grip on your hip tightened for a moment, the silence deafening before Aro chuckled.

“Ahhh…così si forma un legame eterno.” he murmured. You scrunched your nose, having no idea what he meant since you didn’t speak Italian. When Demetri carefully moved aside, giving Aro as slim a chance to access you as he possibly could, and your heart twisted with gratitude that he would even bother to try. You swallowed, doing your best to keep your fear from your face.

“Aro.” Caius growled. Aro held his hand up, forcing his brother to heel even if he couldn’t placate him.

“You are intriguing, Y/N. The Volturi do not offer second chances, but for the sake of our dear Demetri we are willing to bend the rules just this once,” Aro smiled, a shark-like grin that made your stomach sink, “You have a choice before you. Your family are quite innocent in regards to the accusation against your niece, for that we will deliver no justice-“ there was some uncomfortable shuffling behind him Aro dutifully ignored, “-however you are a law broken, yet another example of the Cullen’s inability to guard our secret from humans. An example must be made, you must be dealt with appropriately. Either you turn here, now, or you come with us, and we turn you.”

It was a Hobson’s choice. What Aro was really asking was how dead did you want to be? Dead dead? Or undead dead? If you let Carlisle bite you now in the clearing there were so many unpredictable nomads around. Bite your wrist and it would take forever for the venom to reach your heart and really start the change, you would be tortured right in front of them, a punishment for them all no doubt. Bite your throat and blood would spill, blood so many of those nomads wouldn’t think twice about feeding from in any other situation. So, what did you do? Did you choose the option where you ended up far from home but safe? Or did you choose the option that did not guarantee your safety but did guarantee your family would suffer watching you suffer?

For the first time since you entered the snow you felt warm, warm with so many eyes on you. Swallowing thickly, you tried to will your mind to work faster to outwit the vampire before you. In the end, you could only think of a compromise.

“My father’s not home right now. If I chose to come with you, could I have time to pack some clothes?” your voice was slightly weak, your heart aching in your chest. Your father would never see you again, he’d have to believe you just ran off, that you were the same flighty woman your mother was. Bella might never get a chance to see you again either, an eternity of knowing you would never lose your sister, but that you would never be reunited. It was painful however you spun it. Aro’s smile only widened, knowing he had successfully backed you into a corner.

“But of course! Such a…noble, sacrifice, must be rewarded. You have earned that much my dear. Demetri will take you now.” Aro gave his tracker a nod and Demetri seemed to relax, swiftly turning on his heel to march you across the snow. His hand was gentle on your arm, but the speed he set almost had you running to keep up, like he was desperate to get you out of there lest Aro change his mind. As you were escorted out of the clearing, you dared a single glance back at Bella, her face the very picture of horror as Edward held her back. All you could manage was a weak smile as your sister disappeared from view for what was possible the last time.

Once you were far enough into the trees that the clearing was out of sight for you, Demetri suddenly came to a stop, exhaling sharply and dropping his hand from your arm. It ran through his hair but barely ruffled it. Whatever he was thinking, you weren’t about to be privy to it as he slung you across his back with ease. You gasped, clinging on tight.

“Hey! What are you doing!” you protested.

“Taking you to your home. You are slower than I am.” He retorted, his voice quiet and his grip on your thighs firm. You held on tight, heart rabbiting in your chest.

“You don’t even know where I live.” You squeaked. Demetri chuckled, the sound vibrating through your gut.

“No, but I know where the Cullen’s live, and I find it hard to believe that in all this snow you walked all the way here. Now hold on tight and try closing your eyes, it may help with the nausea, cara mia.” He gave you seconds at most to bury your face in his shoulder before he took off, maybe…or not? You weren’t really sure but you didn’t dare lift your head to look. He made sure his gait was smooth, every stride flawless so he didn’t so much as jostle you, and by the time he gently encouraged you to unwind your legs from his waist you were in front of the Cullen’s house. The only reminder you had ever ran anywhere with him at all was the windswept state of your hair – it was unfair his still looked perfect.

He had been right of course, you had driven to the Cullen’s today. It was hard to imagine him sitting beside you in your small car, his cloak about him and his outfit all…well, what even was he wearing? Why did that even matter when this Volturi guard was escorting you to pack things that would be your only reminder of home? Demetri was quiet, watching you carefully as you stared at your car. Nothing made sense. Why had Demetri saved you when he was the one who hauled you out in front of Aro? Why had it felt like he was protecting you? Why was everything so…comfortable? Being around him was like being in the company of an old friend, it was familiar and warm, inviting, the silences felt natural.

Demetri quietly called your name, his expression questioning, but you didn’t bother to give him an explanation, simply pulled out your car keys and got into the driver’s seat. The radio chased away the silence, your fingers clenched tight around the wheel as you tried to figure out what to pack.

“Where are we going?” you asked him finally. Demetri kept his eyes on the horizon.

“To our home, to Volterra. You will be joining us in Italy.” He answered. Italy? You didn’t know the first thing about Italian culture. What was the food like? The people? The language? You’d need to pack warmer clothes, and they didn’t accommodate turtle-necks – not that you needed to hide a bite from vampires. It wasn’t really until you pulled up in the driveway of your home that it really struck you, the weight of the deal you made hanging heavy on your shoulders as you idled in front of your childhood home. In your mind you could see yourself running up the drive, your suitcase abandoned for your father to pick up as he welcomed you to stay for the summer. Other winters where you had opted to spend Christmas with Charlie over Renée flashed through your mind next, dilapidated snowmen and strung up lights over the porch flashing bright. Tears stung your eyes.

“I’m never coming back here, am I?” you whispered. Demetri remained silent, and you were grateful for it. There was nothing he could say to make this better and you suspected he knew that. Furiously wiping at your eyes, you rummaged for your house keys and cleared your throat. “You should wait until I open the front door, it’ll look suspicious if you follow me in and any of the neighbours see.” You muttered, already climbing out of the car before he could argue. It was a slow walk up the drive, a walk where you desperately tried to imprint the bumps in the concrete, the muddy smells of the forest surrounding you, and the awful netting in the windows’ you father hadn’t changed since your mother moved on, into your memory.

The smell of stale beer from the cans in the recycling box beneath the sink hit your nose as the door opened, the familiar smells of Charlie’s aftershave and Sue’s perfume coming next. The house was cold, quiet, desolate even. Demetri was in front of you in the blink of an eye as you shut the door behind you, nobody would have seen him enter for sure. He glanced around himself, obviously curious at the choice in décor and the photographs along the walls – you couldn’t bear to look at them. With a soft sigh, you left him in the living room, knowing he would do what he liked anyway regardless as to whether or not you invited him upstairs.

The suitcase you had packed for your trip would need to be unpacked, some of your jumpers and long-sleeved shirts would not be needed in Italy after all. It would be hot, and heat was not a friend to wool. Your wardrobe doors flung open, you were contemplating what to put back when Demetri interrupted you.

“Vampires do not feel temperature the same way humans do. When you turn it will be no issue to wear jumpers, if they are what you prefer.” He said. Brows crinkling, you subconsciously lifted a hand to your throat.

“It’s not really a fashion choice,” you murmured, “But I guess I don’t need to really hide a bitemark from a bunch of vampires, do I?” Just like that the air changed; you no longer felt comfortable with Demetri, not when he was giving off such a sour energy. He radiated danger, anger. He took a breath to visibly compose himself, but his eyes were still darkened by anger, near black with the rage he radiated. The leather of his gloves squeaked as he clenched and unclenched his fists. You took a step back from him, biting down on your lower lip as your heart skittered.

“Show me,” he said, eyes blazing. You shook your head. “Show me.” He growled, stepping forward this time. Gulping, you reached up with a shaky hand to pull the turtle-neck down as far as you could, thankful the material stretched slightly. Demetri peered past the fabric to the silver crescent shapes of Riley’s teeth, emblazoned on your skin until Volturi venom decided to buff out that imperfection. He hissed quietly, his fingertips tracing the mark and sending shivers down your spine. He was freezing cold, cold as a corpse actually since that was technically what he was, so why did his fingers leave a blazing trail of fire across your skin?

“It’s just small, it’ll go away anyway if-“

“It will not, go away.” Demetri ground out, his eyes fixated on the scar. He looked genuinely disgusted and you couldn’t tell if it was at you or the bitemark, you couldn’t tell quite why it bothered you so much either. Why did you care so much that this upset Demetri?

“It won’t?” you asked weakly. He winced a bit, letting his hands drop and looking away. You counted ten whole seconds before he dared turn back to you.

“No, it will not. Venom is what will immortalise you, petrify your system, it has had a chance to do so to those cells it has touched already and they will be forever changed by it. My only hope is to bite down there, that by breaking the surface with my teeth it heals over with my venom.” He almost growled the word at you in his frustration and you swallowed, blinking in surprise.

“You’re going to be the one that turns me?” you questioned. Could he even do that? Did he have the self-control? You had thought Aro would do it if you were honest, though you couldn’t say you were over the moon to have that old coot’s teeth in your throat it was guaranteed to at least be safe. What right did Demetri have to steal your life? Why was he so angry over the thought of another vampire biting you? Had he claimed some weird sort of vampire dibs?

“Of course. The Volturi have laws they enforce but when it comes to affairs between mates, they leave well enough alone.” He informed you, head tilting. Your breath caught in your throat.

“Mates?” you whispered, mind reeling.

“You do not feel the pull?” he asked. He had yet to step back from you, unbearably close and yet somehow not close enough. For a moment you couldn’t say anything, simply trying to desperately scramble to think coherently enough to consider answering.

“I don’t…I barely know you, you can’t just…say that.” You stammered. Demetri very gently grasped your chin between his fingers, tilting your face upward so you were forced to maintain eye contact with him. You weren’t sure what he was searching for, if he found it or not, but he dropped your chin with a sigh.

“Pack, tesoro, we have little time.” He murmured. You were relieved when he stepped back – it gave you a chance to breathe. Mate? Demetri thought you were his mate? You knew what that meant, Edward had explained to you what his connection with Bella was like after Riley had introduced you to his world, trying to help you understand how awful the months leading up to Bella’s running away to Italy had been for both of them. Is that why he had been so protective of you on the field? Is that why he was so furious another vampire had dared mark you? It crossed your mind then just how selfish your decision actually looked to the outside world. In your head, you had been saving your family from suffering, but to them it probably looked like you had chosen to run off with your mate because you didn’t trust they would take care of you. How were they ever going to forgive you for this?

#twilight #twilight fanfiction #volturi #demetri volturi #demetri volturi x reader #request #swan sister #they're all as dumb as each other I swear #x reader #possessive demetri is kind of a thing I'm suddenly into apparently

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fweasleyswhore · 4 years

Text

F.W. Who We Are

Chapter One: One More Time

a/n: ok chapter one! i was going to start with a one shot but got rather carried away with this idea so this will prob be a three - five chapter kind of thing. hope you like it !!

Pairing: Fred Weasley x fem!reader / Slytherin!reader

Summary: fred and george tell you their idea for a new prank. cute fluff with some memories. (groundwork for upcoming chapters)

Word Count: 3.2k

I always looked forward to Christmas, every year it was a chance to go home and relax, considering everything that had happened in the past two years, watching your friends battle death itself when they themselves barely understood it as it is. I looked at Ron, Hermione, and Harry like little siblings, and watching them constantly get tackled with hardships and pain hurt me. I often put myself out on the line for them, I was only a year older than them but I knew if in their position I would want help too.

Ron was actually how I met Fred and George, although I knew of them due to their pranks on the student body I didn’t know them personally. Their company was worth the many times I stuck my neck out for the trio. I reminisced on the times I almost died or nearly got expelled but it was completely worth it, my friendship blossomed with George first, he never let me forget how I helped save Ron and Harry from the forbidden forest spiders, he would go as far as to tease Ron about having a crush on me but I assured him Ron had a thing for Hermione. Fred took longer to warm up to me though, I thought he hated me at first but he’s a sweetheart, just was shy, I understood why with my house being what it was.

“Ah, my favorite imposter. How are you Y/N?” George asks. I turn around from my position on the couch, grinning up to George and Fred. The Gryffindor common room had become like a second home to me. I believe I spend more time here than my Slytherin common room, the portrait just lets me in, although I believe that may be because it was hexed by the twins.

“I am doing swimmingly George, although I would be doing better had you two arrived on time.” I said, still smiling. It was no secret that the boys tended to make plans and be anywhere from 20 to nearly 40 minutes late.

“Have you ever considered that you are always early? We never said 2 o’clock I remember us saying 2-ish.” Fred said as he plopped down on the couch. He adjusted for a moment finally sprawling about and placing his head in my lap. He grinned up to me and I could feel my face begin to flush. I turned my attention to George who promptly smacked Fred on the forehead, I assume for taking all the space up on the couch before sitting on the floor in front of us.

Finally, I spoke again once I knew that my voice wouldn’t falter. “2-ish does not mean after 3.” I flicked Fred on the head and he yelped dramatically and placed his hand over his heart with a hurt look on his face.

“You can’t act like you want our company and then bully us!” Fred said, drawing out his dramatics. I rolled my eyes.

“Wrong.” I chirped, looking down at the beautiful boy under me. I nearly forgot to speak, I was so transfixed on his eyes. “I’m not bullying George.”

George snorted and threw his head back laughing. Fred glared at me and stuck his bottom lip out in a pout. My eyes moved down looking at his lips. Don’t stare at your best friend’s lips Y/N. I shook my head at the thoughts of Fred’s lips and instead looked at George who was smirking at me. He had caught me multiple times ogling at his twin. The first time he confronted me about his question was “Why not me, I’m obviously the better-looking twin!” which earned him a good punch in the arm. I had never admitted to the growing crush I had on Fred to him but then again I never denied it either. That was enough for my private teasing from him. I ignored him and pressed on.

“Now will you tell me what the plan is, you keep almost telling me and I swear to Merlin if you don’t tell me this time…” I trailed off while giving them both a stern glare to which they both snickered at. I raised my hand to flick Fred again, his eyes widened with fear. “Ok fine!” he exclaimed. “George tell her before she bruises me!” He looked pleadingly at his brother who only rolled his eyes before getting up and looking around making sure we were alone. My hand was still raised and pointed at Fred’s forehead but my eyes were trained on George inspecting the common room. Before I could react Fred had lifted my cardigan and successfully shifted himself so his face was now pressed against my shirt while my cardigan covered his head.

“Hey!” I yelled while pulling my cardigan back but to no avail, his grip was on it tight.

“You can’t flick me now Y/N! My forehead is safe!” He yelled into my stomach. I looked up to George who was now sitting in front of us making kissy faces. I rolled my eyes and grabbed a pillow that I promptly chucked at his head but he caught.

Now hugging the pillow against his chest George looked very serious. He lowered his voice when he spoke. “We need you to help us with this prank because you are a Slytherin.” His eyes met mine pleadingly. My hands stopped wrestling Freds for ownership over my cardigan as I looked at George.

“Haven’t I already told you guys I’m not helping you torture my house because then my house would torture me? Do you not remember last year?!” I huffed. I hadn’t forgotten the year before when I let them hang out with me in the Slytherin common room. They had offered to help me study but they had ulterior motives, motives which laid with turning most of the other students in the common room into birds. Once I realized what was happening which wasn’t long after a few screams and a lot of feathers being strewn about, I had grabbed the back of their collars and threw them out. Even after shutting the door in their faces, I could hear them laughing on the other side. I spent the rest of my evening burning their Feathered Figs and transfiguring birds back into students. It didn’t upset me too much until I had about five teary first years coughing up feathers and sobbing. I rushed all the ex-bird people to Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing who took care of them.

Soon enough, Snape had found out, rushed into the hospital wing, grabbed the back of my neck, and pushed me out. Once we were out of earshot he let out on me, he demanded to know the origins of the candies and I took the fall. Saying that I had bought some candies from Honeydukes and Zonkos for friends and got them mixed up. He huffed and gave me a week of detention. It took me two weeks to even look at the twins, they had done everything in their power to try and get my attention on them again but I ignored them. Purposely sitting with Cedric or Luna every day at lunch and dinner.

After a week and a half of me ignoring them, I was sitting in the courtyard with Cedric. It was our Tuesday tradition to spend the afternoon together doing homework or more likely procrastinating together. Ever since my first year, even after I was sorted in Slytherin, Cedric made time to be with me. He didn’t care so much as some other people who I thought I was friends with before, he said he knew I was a kind person and didn’t see that changing. His kindness was something I always appreciated. Something I didn’t always appreciate was his ability to read me. He always seems to know what is bubbling under the surface, and always knew exactly what to say to help. In this instance, it was to hear the twins out. I remember us fighting about it but in the end, he was right. I had been missing their company more than I had liked to admit, and in my attempts to ignore them I had also been ignoring Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

The guilt ate away at my chest and I went to the Black Lake, a place the twins and I would meet to blow off steam. Almost like they had telepathic powers, they arrived nearly five minutes after I did, both panting heavily as though they had sprinted from across the castle. Fred was teary-eyed and George held a guilty look on his face. They hugged me at the same time and told me how much they have been dying without me. I laughed, then cried, which freaked them both out because they hugged me with too much force. I smacked them both on the head.

“Don’t ever use me like that again,” I said sternly. They both nodded looking guiltily at their feet. “Because Merlin I missed you so much.” Their heads snapped up and they smiled, I smiled back. “It’s damn hard to stay mad at you.” I laughed out the words and their smiles grew. “Especially when you are stalking me.”

Fred and George glanced at each other then laughed. I gave them a puzzled look. “We weren’t planning on stalking you.” George grinned.

“Not that intensely at least,” Fred added and George shook his head again. “After 3 days Hermione sat us down and lectured us. She told us about your detention, how you took the fall for us-” “Made us feel like foul gits, she did.” George piked in, crossing his arms. Fred nodded enthusiastically. “She told us if we had just driven away one of her best friends and-” he untucked his arms to use air quotes, “The only other girl in the group.” He rolled his eyes. “She would make us wish we weren’t born. I told her you were more like one of the guys in the group and well, she didn’t like that at all.” His eyes went wide at the end of his sentence. I smacked him on the arm.

“Well I don’t either you git!” I laughed. “At least I know Hermione will always have my back.” I threw my hand on my chest rather dramatically.

“I will too you know,” Fred spoke up. I looked at him with my brows furrowed. Did he really just? “have your back, I will always be there.” He smiled softly at me and my knees felt like they were going to give out. Something about his soft smile just made my heart swell up.

We spent the rest of the evening at the lake. Eventually, I laid my head in Fred’s lap, my feet residing in the lap of George. Talked so much that we missed dinner. I hadn’t noticed how late it had gotten until I saw the darkened windows of the castle indicating that everyone had moved up to their dormitories. I shot straight up, bringing myself then the two boys to their feet before jogging towards the castle. They walked me to the Slytherin common room through a secret passage they had found the year prior. Once we got to the painting I looked at both of them. We all had a sudden hesitance to do anything, but not wanting to leave.

“Well,” I coughed the word out. “Goodnight then.” I smiled at them weakly. George pulled me into one of his famous bear hugs. I laughed into his chest and hugged back. When he finally released me I turned to Fred. My cheeks were burning but it was too dark for him to notice and thank Merlin for that. He quickly wrapped me up as well but his hug felt different. His hands didn’t rest on my back like Georges did, they wrapped around my waist and brought me in tightly. His head was placed in the crook of my neck. With his hands and breath on me, I was feeling dizzy. I stood on my tiptoes to wrap my arms around his neck and shoulders.

“I don’t want you to go, we just got you back.” He murmured into my neck. I squeezed him into me as a response to tell him I felt the same, not trusting my voice to remain steady, before releasing him. When I looked back at him his face resembled a kicked puppy, he looked sad, his brown eyes which usually gleamed with mischief were now glossed with sadness.

“We could always sneak her into our dorms,” George said, raising his brows at me. “I think I’ve done it about a dozen times with Angela, really easy.” Fred and I both stared at George with our jaws on the floor. After realizing what he had said George turned red. “N-Not like that!” He said loudly. Fred and I looked at each other, we both had the same look on our face- disbelief. Soon enough the secret passageway was echoing with laughter. I had to grab Fred’s arm to balance myself, my own laughter causing my legs to feel like jelly and my stomach to cramp up. He was quick to support me by placing his arm around my waist and pulling me into him, my hands rested on his chest but I couldn’t think of it to be flustered. I was still struggling to breathe and stop laughing.

“Really mate, did you have to bribe her?” Fred asked between chuckles. George didn’t respond; he just huffed angrily and leaned against the wall very over our antics.

After grabbing some things I would need from my dorm I spent the night in Fred’s dorm. George told me he simply would not have me because I continued to giggle about the thought of him and Angela together while sneaking into the Gryffindor common room. I didn’t think much about it until George excused himself for bed, not before winking at me and making glances between me and Fred. My face turned red but Fred didn’t notice too busy focusing on finding a sweater to sleep in. He and I sat and talked for a while.

“I can leave so you can change. You probably don’t want to sleep in your uniform.” He laughed while standing. I immediately facepalmed myself for forgetting to bring nightclothes. Fred noticed. “Of course you did.” He laughed seemingly being able to read my mind.

“Shut up! You wouldn’t have thought to grab a new uniform if the roles were reversed and I got that!” I huffed, embarrassed. I stood too and shook off my robe. “My uniform isn’t too bad, I can just sleep in it.” Fred looked at me like I had grown a second head. “What!?”

“You’re going to be uncomfortable!” He exclaimed. I rolled my eyes. “It’s not that bad Fred.” I smiled.

He began to ruffle through his drawer and mutter to himself. Finally, after going through all of his drawers he handed me a pair of sweatpants that looked like they wouldn’t have fit Fred in years. His legs were far too long. Before I could say anything he was taking off his F sweater, as he did his shirt was pulled up and exposed his midriff. He handed me that too and I stared at the clothes instead of him, my cheeks burning. “I’ll be outside the door, let me know when you’re finished.” He stood there for a second longer, hesitating like there was something else he needed to say or do. But then he was out of the room without another word.

I pulled my uniform off, actually excited to be out of it. I pulled the sweatpants on first, they pooled at my ankles and slid down my hips. I tied the strings tighter to fit my frame more comfortably before cuffing the bottom of the pants so I wouldn’t trip on them. Then I slid Fred’s sweater over my head. It smelled just like him which made me smile, the sleeves ended past my fingers, and the bottom of the sweater ended a little past my mid-thigh. I smiled to myself while I could, there was something so comforting about being in his clothes even when they were so oversized.

I let him back into the room and he looked at me for a moment. Having his eyes rack over my body made me suddenly very self-conscious and I hung my head to hide my red cheeks. He quickly walked over to the bed and grabbed the sleeve that hung from my hand, pulling me with him. “You should read to me that muggle book you keep talking about.” He finally spoke.

My cheeks burned red. “You remembered?” He hummed in response while moving his other arm under his head. He turned to look at me. “Did you bring it?”

I scoffed. “You know I take it everywhere with me.” He grinned at me. “That I do, go get it.”

I spent the next long while reading to him. He was quick to ask questions which I had to refrain from answering and spoiling the future chapters. When my speech began to slow he instructed me to move and give him the book. I laid my head on his chest and listened to it rumble as he spoke. He continued to read with a lot of enthusiasm. I don’t remember much but I do remember waking up in his arms the next day.

“Y/N!” I snapped my head up, pushing the events of last year back to the depths of my mind. It didn’t mean anything. I had to remind myself. Fred was a touchy person, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had done that with many people, that being said I never asked. I knew that if my suspicions were true my heart would shatter that I wasn’t for a fact special to him. I didn’t want to ruin my memory of that night. It was something I thought back to quite a bit.

“How many times are you gonna make us apologize for that?” I smiled smugly and rolled my eyes.

“I didn’t ask you to apologize again, just not include me in pranks against my house.” I sighed. Fred had finally released his hold on my cardigan and pulled his head out. His long hair was a mess and some of it had fallen into his forehead. He looked up at me with a smile I couldn’t help but smile back.

“That’s the great thing Y/N, the prank isn’t against your house technically speaking.” He shot me a wink that made me giggle. I brought up a hand and brushed his hair out of his face. “And how is that, technically speaking.” I made sure to draw out technically the same way that Fred did and I looked between the two brothers. They were looking between themselves almost as if they were speaking telepathically.

“It’s on Snape,” George said smugly. “So technically not your house, just the head of the said house.” My eyes shot open and I jumped up knocking Fred off of me in the process. I could hear him whisper something but I was too caught up in the multiple thoughts running through my head.

The boys looked at me expectantly, Fred rubbing the back of his head where it had made a harsh impact with my knee.

“How can I help?” I grinned wildly, this was going to be my favorite prank yet.

Chapter Two

#fred weasley #fred and george #fred weasley x reader #fred weasley fanfiction #george weasley #fred weasley fluff #fred weasley fic #weasleys wizard wheezes #harry potter characters #harry potter #fred weasley imagine

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beautifulterriblequeen · 3 years

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B2:S - Chapter 3

Much of this series will be about the differences and additions in the novel version, and how they contribute to my understanding of story canon. But there will be character appreciation, the odd theory and headcanon, and suchlike as well.

Here be Lujanne, Callum, Rayla, Ezran, Bait, and Soren goodness!

Spoilers for Book Two: Sky below.

Lujanne having excellent fitness for all her walking around the Moon Nexus, and she's so energetic that Callum has trouble keeping up with her! She seems like those active grandmas who almost never stop moving, who have a lifelong supply of endless stamina. It makes me wonder if Lujanne will need that level of fitness for some upcoming conflict.

Callum feeling really hungry over not eating grubs and then still deciding he'd rather be hungry. It makes me wonder all over again how Lujanne got to the point where she eats grubs, considering that other Moonshadow elves we know of back in the Silvergrove don't. I still love my hc that the giant leech ate all of Lujanne's moonberry bushes and she's taking her revenge. Whatever's going on there, Callum is definitely not at that point yet.

When Lujanne asks Callum how he knows she's real, he thinks to himself that he'd put up with just about anything from someone who was going to teach him magic. That's a great parallel and foreshadowing for Viren's student/master relationship with Aaravos! And it's telling that neither student gets exactly what they hoped to get. Lujanne doesn't actively teach Callum any spells, because she believes he can't learn Moon magic at all. Aaravos does offer Viren power, but it takes him to some very dark places - literally and figuratively - and the cost is terribly high.

Callum sees a moon shape among the ruins, and Lujanne explains that the Moonhenge layout is an intricate rune that uses the structures themselves as part of its symbols and power. That's apparently a thing even with ordinary Moonshadow villages like Hollow Wood in the east, which is the coolest idea I've seen in a while: city planning as magic runes!

Yes, that's the same shape as the pendants Ethari made for himself and Runaan. Protection? Home? Feelsiness? A sense of safety and belongnig for all cycles and seasons?

Wonder what this Moonhenge rune stands for, then, and how much of this landscape is included in that rune. I bet it's more than we think!

But it makes sense now, how toppling the stone pillars would disable the spell the druids would cast to connect with the Moon Nexus lake. Breaking the infrastructure of the Moonhenge breaks the rune.

There's a physical sensation involved with the visuals that Historia Viventem brings up! When that one ghostly druid walked through Callum, he felt icy cold. Like in ghost stories. I really wonder about what exactly Historia Viventem is doing when it activates. It shows truth, "what really happened here?", so it must have some kind of time-related element, maybe tied to how the moon always repeats the same cycles or something. But it also seems to draw on the spirits of any living people involved in the flashback, because Callum could physically feel that wispy shape passing through him. So very interesting!

Orrr... is that all wrong, and there's something else at work with this spell than time? Maybe the world beyond life and death can act as an imprint of the things that have happened in the living world, and the spell that Lujanne (and later Callum) casts taps into that place, with perfect recall. I'm looking really hard at the sentence that says "dozens of translucent elf ghosts" and "phantom Moonhenge" and "lost in their own world" here.

Lujanne says more here than in the show about the world beyond life and death, being her mysterious Moonshadow-mage self. She says that "beyond" and "between" might both apply to where this other plane of existence is, and she doesn't much care which. With all the relativity swirling around this place, and not much in the way of empiricism, it's sounding like perhaps multiple conflicting ideas might actually coexist in such a place, allowing more ideas to fit there than we might normally believe is possible. Which is a fascinating bit of worldbuilding. Basically, every headcanon anyone has ever had about the Moon Nexus could all be true at the same time, for all we know.

Oh oh oh, Callum coming in soft with a secret wish! He takes one look at the Moonhenge and immediately thinks of finding a way to see his mom again! Poor boy, my heart! I'd say that could be another interesting parallel with Viren, but then, who wouldn't hold that sentiment?

Oh my, is this another breath of life into Ye Olde Ley Lines headcanon? Lujanne mentioning the Nexuses again, so soon after talking about the runic design of the entire Moonhenge, makes me wonder if the six nexuses are in fact giant runes. On Earth, the places where ley lines cross are called nexuses, and there are those who believe those points got marked with ancient structures, like Stonehenge and many many others. If Xadia were crossed with magical lines which naturally formed nexus points where they met, and if powerful magical runes were built across those entire areas, well. That would be cool beans, fams. Can I smack a map of Xadia and release a spell like Luz Noceda does? Because ngl that is my first instinct here.

Lujanne has got to be missing some grandkids to spoil, right? The way she's always whipping out cake and ice cream for Callum, and she's so grandma-ish about it. Headcanon about her being Runaan's mom aside, she is canonically lonely and she's very sweet to Allen and Ellis and I think she's missing whatever family she once had in the past. She may never get to have that family back, so she's finding a new one among the humans who live nearby, and I think that's sweet. Found family isn't just for the young.

But Ellis is straight up gonna be her fave, I bet, because she didn't turn up her nose at Lujanne's illusion food!

Ezran and Bait have a lot more to their relationship than was visible in the show, and I'm so excited by it! Ez can tell by looking at Bait's colors that he's not truly jealous of Zym, even if he's really grumpy about the dragonling taking up his favorite human's time.

And Ez thinking a lot about his dad and the things he's taught him. They're soft leadership material, and I love that so much! "Pick your battles" and the importance of encouragement. Ahh, my heart. Ezran, you're going to be such a good king.

But wait a second: both times that Bait gets extra grumpy in Zym's first training session, Ezran has just mentioned something about flying. Guys, I think Bait wishes he could fly, really badly. And that's his biggest problem with Zym, and with Ezran teaching Zym to fly, instead of Bait who doesn't have wings so. Bait is so old that his secrets have secrets, and I'm really curious how flying fits into them now!

Rayla, Dramatic Assassin: "I need to patrol for dark forces." That's what Lujanne called the source of the purple wisps that found them. I wonder if that's an official term all Moonshadows know, or if Rayla is just taking her cue from a veteran Moon mage. And I wonder how far Rayla is falling into the apparent pattern of "one mage, one assassin", since she does spend a lot of her time patrolling without being asked.

When Callum tells Lujanne that he was bad at prince stuff, and she asks if he didn't give up and got good at those things anyway, it's an opportunity for Callum to embrace subverting his parents' expectations in favor of seeking his own path, which is a primary theme of the show. But Lujanne is a couple generations older than Callum, at the very least, and I have to wonder what her upbringing was like. Is her version of success the one she took? Was she bad at magic once too, but she persisted? She is very soft and doesn't want to kill anyone.

Maybe Lujanne had dreams of doing something else with her life, but she felt she had to pursue the destiny that others handed to her, so she studied magic as hard as she could, and she did get good at it, but using it to defend Xadia from humans is not what she wanted to do with her life. Whether there's a parallel between her and Ethari on that point, there's one between Callum and Ethari, I think. How much of your life are you willing to let others direct for you?

LISTEN I WAS DYING AT THE EAR BREAD SCENE OKAY

This is my new favorite Soren and Claudia moment ever. Soren loves him his bread, okay. Even as earplugs for Claudia's sleep ocarina tune. The fact that it's "super effective" makes me think of a Pokemon defense. The fact that he learned it at camp, where he also learned about Moonshadow Madness, is hilarious. Later on, Corvus doesn't know Soren by name, but I still love the idea of Corvus being a kind of Strider-esque camp instructor, filling the ears of his young charges with all kinds of useful tactics like ear bread for magic spell songs (which actually seemed to work as intended), and warnings about the enemy elves' blood-themed tactics (which may or may not come back around in BH)

I thought they were gonna go in a kind of deep direction when Soren still wanted his ear bread back, but then he just. Eats them. Just noms them. I love this kid. Give Soren all the bread!

#book two: sky spoilers #book two: sky #b2:s #tdp spoilers #ToX spoilers #gloaming glade spoilers #lujanne #callum #rayla #ezran #tdp zym #soren #tdp claudia #tdp bait

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redrobinhoods · 3 years

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Sticks and Stones | Chapter 5, goodbye to the silence

AO3 Link | 2,300 words (approx) | Chapter 1, Chapter 4

Chapter Summary: Stone grows more comfortable with Riyo's presence as the war draws to a close.

“Senator Chuchi?” Stone stopped just inside the doorway to Fox’s office. He’d expected the room to be empty, not to find Riyo sitting in Fox’s chair, her feet up on Fox’s desk, with Rys slumped over on the desk opposite her, asleep.

“Commander Stone!” She greeted him. “Fox is off responding-.”

“-to the prison breach.” Stone finished the sentence for her before he made up his mind and stepped fully into the room, allowing the door to close behind him. “I thought I’d just return these datapads without a conversation, but it appears I was mistaken.”

“He asked me to keep an eye on Rys while he was gone.” She gestured apologetically to the sleeping man.

“Right. It’s physical time for the officers.” That meant hypertests. “I should’ve told him to take the day off.”

Riyo raised her brows. “Do clones get days off?”

“No.” Stone laughed. “But we give them anyways. Can do that here, without a Jedi breathing down our necks. And the Chancellor doesn’t care so long as he’s got Thire to run around for him.”

“How is Commander Thire? I assume he’s accompanying the Chancellor on his trip to Naboo?”

“I didn’t know the Chancellor was leaving Coruscant any time soon.”

“He’s taking a week off at the insistence of his aids.”

“Well, Thire has a physical scheduled for next week. He’s not going anywhere with the Chancellor.” Stone drummed his fingers against the stack of datapads in his hands as he contemplated if his next question was worth asking. “Riyo, assuming that the Redrobes are handling everything on Naboo, would you mind if we borrow Fox from you sometime next week?” For a moment, Stone feared that the look upon Riyo’s face was anger, he had seen that look many times before he or his brothers had been admonished by a senator, then she laughed.

“He’s your brother, Stone.” She straightened up in Fox’s chair and threw on her senatorial tone. “I give you permission to take care of Marshal Commander Fox, Commanding Officer of the Coruscant Guard, for the duration of one night in the upcoming week, provided that he be safely returned to a bed on that night.”

“What about early the next morning?”

“Or early the next morning.” She slouched back down into Fox’s chair and changed her tone. “What do you have in mind?”

“To be honest, Riyo, getting him and Thire absolutely piss drunk.”

Riyo laughed again and shook her head. “Fox will enjoy that. And I imagine all three of you need it.”

“We’re going to win this war, Riyo. It’s just a matter of staying alive until we get there.” He had initially been skeptical of Fox’s belief that the war was soon ending, but something was changing in the Senate. In just the past few days, something was in the air that hadn’t been before. The Outer Rim Sieges were coming to a close, and with them, an anticipation that Stone hadn’t felt since his last months on Kamino. They were all waiting for something promised, and something said that the time would be soon.

Riyo smiled up at him, then her gaze flickered towards Rys, who hadn’t stirred throughout the conversation.

“He’ll be alright.” Stone promised her as he made his way to his brother’s side. Shifting his hold on Fox’s datapads, he reached down to clasp Rys’ shoulder. When his brother didn’t stir, an idea came into his head. “Have Jek and Rys ever told you of the rampant corruption in the Guard?”

“No, they haven’t.”

“Well, you see, apparently some of the commanders are too soft to hold their men accountable for things such as betting rings and pranks. Because of this, they’ve gained some confidence in their actions.” Stone let go of Rys’ shoulder and reached for the datapads in his arms. “They’ve stopped believing in consequences.” Using the juts and crevices of the armor, he was able to lay the datapads across Rys’ shoulders without any casualties. “But I have nothing else to do this afternoon. Could you pass me the datapads on the cabinet?”

---

“That was you?” Rys stared astonished across the table at Stone while Jek laughed into the back of his fist. “I thought it was Jek, I’ve been snubbing him all week!”

“I told you I was innocent!”

Stone shrugged and swirled the blue liquid in his glass around. “I saw a chance and I took it, nothing more.

“I just didn’t know you had a sense of humor, Commander.”

“Rys!” Thire protested.

“I just might. Don’t tell the men.” Stone spared a glance towards Fox as he raised the glass to his lips. “At least I’m not the one shoving my men into trashcans. Not that Kilo didn’t deserve it.”

Fox lowered his head in faux shame. “Actions have consequences. I could’ve fit you too, you know.”

“I have too much dirt on you. Thire and I, we’re safe from the garbage.”

“And what dirt does Thire have?”

Thire raised his brow. “Your holonet history. And the stories Thorn told me, but I feel that the holonet history comes off as a better threat.”

“What does the Chancellor’s holonet history look like?” Jek pressed.

“Boring. Now, Mas Amedda’s history…” Thire shook his head and took a sip of his drink. “That’s a whole ‘nother can of joopas.”

“You’re a menace to Coruscant.”

“I’m just enjoying my one free week. I don’t have to worry about the Chancellor, I am a model of physical health, and they fixed the water heater in the barracks so toasty showers are back.”

“That’s the most important thing on that list.” Rys agreed. “Hot showers.”

“The Kaminoans must’ve hated your batch for going through all that hot water.” Stone said.

“Commander Thorn did log a few complaints about his squad using too much hot water on deployment.” Thire gave a weak laugh. “When most of your men are hot water fiends in a galaxy with water rations, beings get angry.”

Fox matched Thire’s sad smile. “That’s why I let him and Stone sweep your batch up.”

“Jek and Rys were forced on me by Thorn.” Stone corrected. “Sorry, you two.”

Jek shook his head sadly. “It’s okay, we know we were unwanted.”

“Don’t say it like that!”

“How else do you want me to say it?”

When Stone laughed, he turned towards Thire to watch his brother’s reaction. With the Chancellor gone, Thire’s headaches had subsided little by little each day, and with them the stress of waiting on the leader of the Republic. Now, surrounded by his fellow commanders and batchmates, he seemed entirely at peace. It only made Stone hate the Chancellor more. As a figurehead, he still had Stone’s respect, and Stone would do anything that he’d asked out of loyalty to the Republic. But Stone was growing to despise the man.

He’d tried to talk Thire out of it. Tried to get him to take on a new duty, fill his time with things that he couldn’t be taken away from. But Thire had refused and Stone would respect his wishes.

The energy that had been in the air before had only grown over the past few days since he had talked to Riyo. He and Thire had talked about it, late at night when the trepidation was too much for them to sleep. The Senate felt different. The galaxy felt different. Even Wolffe, on Cato Neimoidia, had shaken his head when talking to them two days ago and confessed that something felt wrong even there.

Stone wasn’t sure if he wanted the war to end anymore.

---

But as with all things, wars begin and end whether one wants them to or not.

Stone’s heart leapt in his throat as the barrage of tri-droid fire hit the line of riot shields, sending some of his men flying through the air. This was wrong. This was very wrong.

“Hold rank, hold!” He shouted at the clatter of armor that rose around him. “Close the gaps and hold.”

They had never trained for something like this. Sure, they had been trained for riot shields, for city combat, and for aerial strikes. What they hadn’t trained for was using riot shields against aerial strikes. And the Coruscant Guard had never been given any form of battle-ready shielding. Even the legions of men who fought with them didn’t have their field-gear. All of that was on the Venators, and nearly the entire fleet was above the city at the moment. They had nothing.

“We’re going to be slaughtered out here!” Jek yelled above the clamor around them.

“Hold the line, Jek.” Stone growled. “We’re the only cover these men have.”

The open area around the Senate had not been built for war. There was nowhere to hide, which, while good for fending off local crime and providing little to no sniper perches, made it a hard position to hold.

“With all due respect, Commander, this is not a riot. This is not what we’re here for!”

“We’re here to serve and protect the Republic, Jek. With our lives if necessary.”

“And this much death is not necessary.”

“If we lose this battle, there will be so many more dead. Hold the line.”

Another burst of fire from the tri-fighters rained down, and Stone’s grip tightened on his shield in anticipation. It was only a matter of time. While the shields held off the fire of the battle droids before them, they were no match for the tri-fighters. They had no match, nor any means of pushing them off. Anti-aircraft weapons were not supplied to the Guard either.

Stone raised his comm. “Fox, where’s that air support?”

“We’re trying. The Separatists have the airspace; none of our ships can get in.”

Stone watched the group of tri-fighters circling back around. “Tell the admiral that if he can’t get any ships in, we and a good portion of the one eighty-seventh are going to die.”

“I know, Stone. I know.” Fox sounded tired. He had no reason not to be, for all the two of them knew, this could be the last time they spoke. Stone had to give him something.

“If we get out of this, you’re buying me and the one eighty-seventh captain drinks, okay? I’m going to hold you to that, Fox.” The fighters were lining up again. “I’m going to hold you to that drink.” He tightened his grip on the shield once more as the tri-fighters made their run. But this time, there was no fire. The tri-fighters streaked overhead and disappeared into the sky above.

“Stone? Stone do you read me?”

“They left. The fighters left.” Stone rose from the duracrete, keeping the shield before him to deflect the incoming blasterfire from the battle droids. But then that was unnecessary as the droids stopped and began to fall back. “Fox, what’s going on?”

“I’ll call you back.” And the comm clicked off.

Stone turned back to look for the purple-painted captain of the 187th, who he found making his way through the crowd towards him. “What did I miss?”

“I came here to ask you the same. Should we press after them, sir?”

Stone would have preferred the captain made the call, but this was his ground, and he was the commander. “Our objective is to guard the Senate building. This could be a feint to draw us away.”

“I agree, Commander…?”

“Stone.” He extended his hand.

The captain took it. “Law. Pleasure to serve with you, sir.”

“Likewise. This is far more exciting than it usually gets around here. I’m glad to have you and your men at my side.”

“Just glad we can help, sir.” Law’s helmet moved down as the light from Stone’s comm caught his eye.

“Excuse me, Captain Law.” Stone raised the comm back to his helmet. “What do you have for me?”

“Stone, I need eyes on the Chancellor. Thire’s comm is dead.”

Stone froze as his mind ran through scenarios. “They had the airspace.”

“The Jedi aren’t communicating with us. Please, Stone. I need someone to talk to me.”

“I’ll look.” He lowered his comm and turned back to Law. “Hold the line. If they come back, we need to be ready. I’m going to check on the Chancellor.”

“Sir, yes, sir.” Law gestured for one of his men to take Stone’s shield, leaving him free to sprint up the steps behind them into the building.

It was quiet, too quiet. But the senators sheltering in their offices were not his concern. Stone took the stairs two at a time, the most his armor would allow, as he ran to the saferoom. The halls were quiet there too, but the sound of coughing and groans reached his ears as he drew closer.

The Jedi that had once guarded the Chancellor were dead. Bodies of the Red Guard, the Senate Guard, and the Coruscant Guard lay around them. Stone took note of their identities to mourn later as his eyes scanned over them until he saw the armor he was looking for, laying helmetless on the ground before a medic. Stone made his way over as fast as he could with the bodies between them. “Thire.”

“We failed, Stone. We all failed.” Thire rasped. Above the collar of his blacks, Stone could see a sharp red bruise around his neck.

“We failed you.” Stone reached down and brushed his fingers across Thire’s hair. “They should have never reached you while we still breathed.”

“One of the Jedi, she ran after them.”

“I don’t know what happened to her, Thire. I’m sorry. What did they do to you?”

“Grievous grabbed me, threw me into my men. I don’t know why he didn’t just stab me.”

“Because you’re the Chancellor’s favorite Corrie. Can’t deprive him of that.” Stone joked, gaining a pained smile from Thire for his efforts.

“I changed my mind. You can be his favorite now.”

“I’ll consider it.” Stone smiled fondly down at his brother before withdrawing his hand. “I need to comm Fox, tell him that you’re alive.”

“I’ll be here.” Thire tried for a laugh, but what came out was a hoarse cough.

Stone reached down once more to squeeze Thire’s shoulder before he rose and made his way out of the room to somewhere he wouldn’t be overheard. He didn’t know what treasonous things he might say if Fox asked.

#commander stone #riyo chuchi #clone trooper rys #clone trooper jek #commander fox #commander thire #foxiyo #my fics #sticks and stones fic

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palepinkycat · 4 years

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I’ve made this quite some time ago, needed a reference becaue ughh, could never get his tattoos right.

*click for better quality*

And a fancy war paint version because? He’s dramatic, let my brooding sweetheart be dramatic.

His backstory under the cut, tried to make it as short as possible but, well… 🤠

- Born to a humble family of carpenters on Medriaas, Lakqâ wanted more than a lifetime of chopping wood.

- He sought to impress the Gods. He used to use an old axe for training since he couldn’t afford getting a proper weapon.

- His friend and later fiance, Iviluann, managed to smuggle a sword out of her house. He didn’t want to accept her gift at first, he knew the sword belonged to her family but Ivi asked him to keep it and wield in her honour. He’s been practicing day and night ever since.

- On the day of the Annual Tournament, each of the Six would choose sixty-six warriors - either Dashades or Sith from the Massassi caste.

- Aivela’s new lover - one of the slaves she’s received as a gift from her father, a cunning man she quickly rose through their ranks - asked her not to choose the Massassi brutes but instead men of every caste and origin willing to fight for her. And so she did. Lakqâ was one of them.

- When Izax learnt about his daughter’s intentions, he went furious. He believed the slave poisoned Aivela’s mind seeking to destroy their sacred traditions. He wouldn’t let his best champions fight low-borns and outcasts.

- After defeating Scyva’s warriors, Izax ordered the other Gods to leave and challenged Aivela’s champion. She agreed, choosing Lakqâ as her representative. Instead of warriors, however, Izax chose sixty-six slaves.

- Izax knew that refusing to fight them would bring shame upon Aivela. He wanted to see if he could force her hand.

- Ready to suffer humiliation, she ordered her champion to stand down. Everyone went quiet when Lakqâ approached the group of slaves with his sword still in hand. Aivela’s lover stood up, ready to attack the man as he raised the blade and cut the ropes freeing Izax’s slaves.

- She decided to take them under her wing, probably persuaded by Chirikyât, others thought.

- Impressed not only by Lakqâ’s abilities but also his courage and determination, Aivela asked him to stay with her. She’d take him to the Palace of the Eternal Dragons, provide with equipment of his choosing and name him her honoured guard.

- At first, he found himself surprised with her offer - he wasn’t a trained warrior after all. Iviluann and him were about to get married. He loved didn’t want to leave her. He didn’t want to dissapoint Aivela either. He had a deep respect for her. He admired her for her wit and wisdom, especially after the latest events.

- Ivi loved him as well. She couldn’t, however, ask him to stay. She couldn’t ask him to abandon all his dreams and ambitions for her. How selfish would that be?

- Lakqâ gave the sword back as he could no longer wield it in her honour. He still seems reluctant about his decision. Iviluann tried to reassure him. She asked him not to fear, ever. She asked him to live his life without worries and stay alive so that one day tell, he’ll tell her of all the glorious battles he’d won. She smiled and kissed him goodbye.

- Upon his arrival to the palace, Lakqâ’s sworn an oath to Aivela. He’d guard her legacy, fight for her and give his life for her becoming her most loyal and devoted servant.

- She trusted him more than any other of her followers. She used to share most of her secrets and plans with him knowing that unlike the Massassi warriors, he had little to no interests in politics or personal glory.

- People started calling him Taral - “He, who protects”.

- In the meantime, Chirikyât began smuggling out Izax’s slaves. He’d bring them to his lover, knowing she’d offer them the same help she has once offered him. Aivela assigned some of them to Lakqâ. He was to train and later command them.

- He was the first to learn about Aivela and her lover’s plans on overthrowing Izax.

- Taral followed her to the war and fought by her side until the day of her death.

- It was a huge breaking point for him. He truly believed she was the only chance to change their world. She was different, willing to discuss things, she never abused her power. She used it to improve their people’s lives, instead. But now she was dead and he wasn’t there to save her. He’s broken an oath and deserved to die as well.

- Shortly after Aivela’s death and Chirikyât’s disappearance, Izax launched an attack on Medriaas. Lakqâ gathered a group of his most loyal soldiers and returned to Medriaas to save as many people as he could.

- He knew they probably weren’t going to live through the attack - they stood no chance against Izax’s power - yet, if there was still a way to help, he was willing to try. Aivela would have wanted him to.

- By the time they reached Medriaas, most of the people have already been slain. Lakqâ hid the survivors in a nearby cave, hoping the battle would soon stop as he didn’t have enough men to fight their way through.

- Iviluann was among the refugees. She and her newborn daughter. Her husband was killed back in the village.

- They didn’t talk much. Ivi noticed Lakqâ’s grown his hair and commented on his new title. He promised to keep them safe and get them out of Medriaas alive.

- The battle wasn’t coming to an end. Izax had the upper hand, but the lower-caste sith, mostly slaves, kept fighting like mad, calling out Chirikyât, begging for his blessing. Yet he did not answer. He tricked them into war and then abandoned them all, even Aivela, like a coward.

- Seeing that they had no chance to win in a direct fight, Aivela’s lover decided to sacrifice his people on Medriaas, hoping that cutting this entire world off from the Force would stop or even kill Izax.

- Chirikyât didn’t realise the consequences would not only affect the force sensitives on the surface, but the entire life of the planet.

- Izax’s power took a great hit but there was no way to confirm his death. Most of the force users who happened to be near Medriaas at the time either died or fell unconscious with little chance of waking up.

- Some time later, groups of fanatics and Izax’s followers started scavenging Medriaas, currently known as Nathema. They were hunting down all the possible survivors, claiming to be working on Izax’s orders.

- Meanwhile, Lakqâ, Iviluann and two of his warriors managed to survive the planet’s destruction. There was no way to escape - neither the place nor Izax’s assassins - and the supplies were running low.

- Taral ordered his men to try and search the area, otherwise they were all facing certain death. The soldiers never came back.

- By this time, Lakqâ’s lost all hope. Taral, they called him. The one who protects. He’s broken this promise in every way possible. He couldn’t save Aivela, he couldn’t save his people, not even the refugees, not even his love’s child. And he knew he won’t be able to save Iviluann, either. Once a name he carried with pride, now sounded like a mockery.

- He’d stay up all night watching for the assassins. He didnt need sleep. He gave all of their remaining food to Ivi, he didn’t need it either. He didnt need anything, anymore. All he wanted was her survival though there were times, he wished Izax’s soldiers found them and gave them a swift death. He CRAVED death. Of all the people, why was he the one to survive, he wondered, why did the Gods keep him alive? Perhaps, it was Aivela herself who shielded him from the blast. Perhaps, she wanted him to suffer. He believed it was her way of punishing him. And as an ever faithful servant, he chose to endure her punishment.

- Lakqâ’s warriors have been captured and tortured by the Nathema Zealots. One of them revealed their hideout location.

- A group of Zealots attacked out of nowhere. Lakqâ stood no chance, there were too many of them. He noticed Iviluann lying on the ground, bleeding. He tried to carry her somewhere safe. Unable to defend against the opponents, he was badly wounded - hence the scars on his back.

- Lakqâ crawled to Ivi, he knew this was over. His wounds must have been fatal. She was no longer able to speak, shaking and choking from time to time. He took her body in his arms and apologised. He kept apologising, trying to hold back his tears. This was the first time he couldn’t.

- He survived the Zealots attack. He planned to stay on Nathema for the rest of his life living as a hermit, serving his sentence and honouring Aivela’s legacy as the last of the Pureblood Sith.

- Years later, the Alliance arrived on Nathema. Reluctant at first, he helped them find their way into the Sanitarium.

- As much as he wanted a revenge on Valkorion, he refused to join them in their future efforts against him.

- He’s decided to trust Cithar once again and support him in the upcoming war.

OTHER INFO

- Although he’s force sensitive, he’s never received any formal training. He had an opportunity to change it after becoming Aivela’s servant and refused. He did pick up some tricks during his time in the Palace of the Eternal Dragons but that was all. He’d rather leave such matters to Gods or at least those possessing more skill. A sharp sword was enough for him.

- The word painted on his shield, “pain-coddled” - Iviluann called him that after he gave up on his own happiness only to serve Aivela. She knew he won’t find joy there, even though he’ll be coddled and spoiled with riches.

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tyrilblue · 4 years

Text

Live for me

Part II - Rome’s power

Marc Antony x MC (Alba)

Word count: 2700

If you want to be added to the taglist, let me know ✨

You can find Part I here

Ante diem iv Nonas Septembres XXXI

(September 2nd, 31 b.C.)

Roman-Egyptian encampment.

Actium promontory, Greece.

Marc Antony scribbled hastily on a makeshift table, stopping every so often to check for noises. The encampment was eerily quiet in the dead of night, washed by moonlight. The only sound Antony could hear was the crackling of the fire at the center of the tent. He sat in silence, his pen hovering just an inch above the parchment, his head crowded by a million thoughts.The world's future, together with his own, would be decided at dawn. Antony's last, great stand against Octavian's forces could take place any minute, depending on the moment of his enemy's arrival. Thankfully, Cleopatra still did not doubt his loyalty and love. With her support he had his fair chances of winning, but good commanders knew never to take victory for granted.

In that chaos of uncertainty there was only one thing he now knew for sure.

He wanted to see her again.

Antony never thought he could feel such a thing, but after decades of warfare, plotting and bloodshed, all his heart ached for was peace. Of course, power was still his goal, but he did not view it as the only option anymore. A younger version of himself would have laughed at his weakness, and at times he still thought aging might have softened his heart. Still, he wasn't so ready to give up the rest of his life anymore, if his fate was to live beyond that battle.

At that thought, images of Alba promising to die with him flashed through his mind. His heart ached as he remembered her, as beautiful as a goddess in a cloud of white silk, and he desperately, hopelessly went on writing.

«My dearest Alba, I hope this message finds you alive and well. The final battle against Octavian will take place tomorrow in the bay of Actium, and my fate - our fate - will be decided then. All these months in exile have taught me much, but more than anything I now know I do not want to give up on our future. No matter the outcome of this war, if I do not die in battle, I will do everything that is in my power to come back to you. If I lose, we shall flee Rome together. Please, disregard the last message I sent you. If the battle should not fare well for me, run and seek shelter in the home of Lucius Pontius. I am giving this message to him, a trusted soldier, who will be leaving on a merchant ship at dawn. I hope he manages to reach you before the news about my possible defeat reach Rome. I want to live for you, with you, even if that means being idle for the rest of my days.»

Antony skimmed the text once more, waiting for the ink to dry, then he added their secret code, small enough to go unseen, at the bottom of the paper. He and Alba had agreed she should trust no one's words while he was away, even if they should come from his most trusted messenger, so they'd established a code to make sure their letters to each other could not be forged.

He sighed. He felt hopeless, his logical mind couldn't allow him to hope, because he knew that the news about a war's outcome could travel faster than the wind. He read the letter over again, kneading his brow in frustration, then started to wrap the parchment in a roll.

At that moment the entrance to the tent opened, letting in a ray of moonlight that was quickly shadowed by queen Cleopatra's figure. Antony's heart shrank with dread on seeing her, despite the queen's beauty. She was dressed in her night attire, her linen tunic billowing in the soft sea breeze coming from outside.

"Marc Antony" - she said in her typical low, mellow tone, her Latin hinting at her Egyptian nature. "Why did you leave our tent? I have been missing you". She was calm, but there was a silent threat hidden in her soft words. Antony had gained most of her trust, but after Caesar, no amount of flattering and calculation could gain him her absolute faith. Cleopatra walked towards him, and Antony was careful to act natural, leaving the half-wrapped roll of parchment exposed so as not to raise suspicions on her part. The queen laid her golden hands on Antony's shoulders, drawing circles with her thumbs. He let out a sigh of pleasure, only partly meant to satisfy her.

"Is the upcoming battle troubling your sleep?" - she asked, and suddenly her lips were on his neck, kissing him softly.

"Yes, my Queen, deeply" - Antony replied, "But your hands are working a very powerful magic". He let his head fall back onto Cleopatra's shoulder, hoping to concentrate her attention on him instead of his letter on the table. He softly grabbed her wrist, moving her hand from his shoulder to his chest, and lower under his toga. He felt her smiling in the crook of his neck.

"Would some attention from me ease you into our goddess Nwt's arms?" - she asked, her voice as sweet as dates.

"It certainly would" - Antony replied, and in one final move to distract her, he pushed his chair back and stood up to kiss her. The sudden movement caused the the small table to wobble, and Antony's stylus fell with a tinning sound. He couldn't but watch helplessly as Cleopatra's eyes travelled from the fallen pen up to the parchment on the table, narrowing as soon as they landed on his letter.

"Have you been writing?" - she asked, falsely naïve.There was nothing Antony could do to prevent what was about to happen. He gritted his teeth, waiting, his mind racing in an attempt to find an explanation as Cleopatra took the parchment and unrolled it, reading quickly.

"What is this?" - she looked up at him with a deadly stare in her black eyes, "This Alba... Alba, the Gaul courtesan of Rome?".

Antony put on his best smile, faking amusement and shaking his head.

"Yes, my Queen, exactly, Alba of Lena's scholae" - he said, "And my old lover". Cleopatra's eyes flashed with rage at his words, but Antony raised his hands in surrender.

"I am only using her, my Queen, to obtain information about our enemy" - he explained calmly, "Her futile feelings for me have proved invaluable since I left Rome". The artful disdain in Antony's voice seemed to convince Cleopatra, but she kept looking at him with suspicion.

"Of all the spies you could have in Rome, of all the men who would be ready to serve you, why her?" - Cleopatra's voice ringed with contempt when referencing Alba, and for a split second Antony had to clench his teeth in a surge of rage. Then his lips melted into his usual, cool smile, and he stroked Cleopatra's cheek with the backs of his fingers.

"Because she is no common spy, she is still the most renowned courtesan in Rome" - Antony raised his eyebrows conspiratorially, and Cleopatra smiled for the briefest moment. "She has access to alcoves and bedchambers no spy could ever dream of entering". The queen of Egypt seemed to ponder his words for a few, endless seconds, then she turned, seemingly satisfied but still resentful, walking away from Antony with his letter clutched in her hands.

"However useful she may be, you certainly won't need her help now that we are so close to our victory" - she stated, and with a coy smile she ripped the parchment into pieces, throwing them into the fire pit at the center of the tent.

"Now come, my love, I need my commander to be well-rested for battle".

Antony, seething, looked at her as she crossed her arms and stood waiting for him. He cast a glance at the remaining fragments of his message burning quickly among the embers, noticing just one corner of it had been spared. It now lay on the ground outside the fire pit.

"What are you –" - Cleopatra burst out angrily, but was immediately cut off by the sound of a war horn breaking the silence of the encampment.

"Octavian" - she whispered. "He's here".

A few tense moments passed as the two of them looked at each other, a mix of fear, determination and anger in the eyes of both. Outside, the camp was starting to stir with the clang of metal and shouting in both Latin and Egyptian. Then, the horn sounded again, calling for blood.

"One way or another, this battle will show me the extent of Rome's power" - Cleopatra said, and without another word, she left the tent in a cloud of linen. Antony wasted no time trying to interpret her sentence, which sounded a lot like a prophecy. There was no way he could remove the suspicion from her mind now, so he rushed to pick up the surviving scrap of parchment and his stylus. Without thinking, he dipped the pen in a pool of spilt ink on the table and wrote as fast as he could.

«Alba, live for me

V.XIV.L»

And then he was outside, paper in hand, shouting the first orders and calling for his armour as the black expanse of the sky slowly started to turn into the colour of lavender flowers. As soon as his servants were next to him he turned to one of them.

"Fetch me legionary Lucius" - he commanded.

Ante diem iv Nonas Septembres XXXI

(September 2nd, 31 b.C.).

Bay of Actium, Greece.

The sky roared with thunder, but it was almost inaudible among the sounds of battle. The waves clashed heavily against the ship's hull, making it rock dangerously as the battle raged on.

Antony couldn't tell how long they had been fighting. The sky had turned a deep, ominous grey, soaked with rain. Standing on the deck of his ship, higher than any other, he could see a landscape of destruction. Wood splintered under the blows of catapults, the water was stained red and everywhere he looked he saw fire, smoke, death. The battle was even, no side was prevailing, and Antony had to make a move to turn it in his favour. Lightning made armours and weapons shine for a split second, and as he was about to order the ballistae to shoot, he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned, raising his sword in one swift movement, just in time for it to clash with the blade that was about to sink into his neck. One of Octavian's legates now stood in front of him, and Antony gritted his teeth. They had managed to board the ship, probably on a small boat that had passed unseen. A short distance away from him on the deck, he saw his soldiers start to fight with a small squadron of enemies. With a growl, Antony took his sword away from the lock and ducked out of the way, letting the legate stumble forwards. The two of them settled into a fighting stance, swords at the ready. The first drops of rain started to fall, but he was focused on his task.

"You and your Egyptian whore will never win this war, Marc Antony" - the legate snarled in an attempt to distract him. Antony couldn't help but smile. The man clearly believed Cleopatra was the woman he was fighting for. He silently repeated his vow to return to Alba, then, without answering the legate's provocation, he attacked with a cry.

The deck was becoming slick with rain, but Antony couldn't let the fight distract him from commanding the fleet for too long. He dealt a series of vicious blows to the legate's defense, taking advantage of his arrogance and growing tiredness. Whenever he saw an opportunity, he aimed his blade at the exposed skin of his arms and legs in order to weaken him.The legate stepped back from him to catch his breath and Antony smiled at his upcoming victory. He was about to attack once again, when suddenly an enormous wave hit the side of the ship, throwing him off-balance. The legate used his distraction to go back to the offense, and before Antony could stop him, he tore a long gash on his thigh. The pain was blinding for a second, but Antony managed to block the following blow to his throat. He furiously responded, finally locking the legate's sword with his and making it fly from his hand, beyond the railing and into the raging sea below. Before his enemy could draw another weapon, Antony pointed his sword at the legate's neck, ready to slit it open. He was about to let the blade run, when the man's smile stopped him.

"You have been betrayed, Marc Antony" - the legate smirked, "Octavian knows all of your strategies. You cannot win". Antony pressed the blade further into the man's neck, and as he swallowed in fear, a drop of blood ran down its surface. Antony's mind travelled faster than lightning, trying to figure out who could betray him among the few who knew his strategy for the battle.

"Quintus Dellius" - the legate preceded his thoughts, "He came begging for Octavian's favour, offering you on a silver pl...".

His last words were choked by Antony's sword, and the legate's lifeless body dropped to the floor. Blood spilled over the deck, mingling with Antony's, that was dripping thickly down his leg. He looked around frantically for more enemies, but his soldiers were gradually taking back control over the ship. He allowed himself to wince in pain and look down at his wound. It was long, deep and needed mending, but he'd suffered worse over the years. He tore a strip of linen from the garments under his armour, and gritted his teeth as he tied it tightly around his thigh. The blood flow was momentarily stopped by the cloth. It would be enough to get by for some time.

"Ballistae! At the ready!" - he shouted, trying to bring back order in his fleet, but as he looked around he saw his soldiers look at him first, disoriented, then out at the sea. The battle seemed to have died down momentarily.

"Domine!" - one soldier turned towards Antony, then went down on one knee in deference.

"Speak, legionary, what is it?"

"Domine, her Majesty the Queen of Egypt has ordered a retreat!".

Antony looked up, and that was when he heard the sound of the horns. His heart dropped as if it was suddenly as heavy as his sword. The Egyptian side of the fleet was hoisting the sails and putting out the oars, and the first ships were already starting to drift out of the bay. Antony rushed to the bow, trying not to show his limp. Once there, he saw Cleopatra's ship sailing away in front of him. The horns sounded the retreat once again, and Octavian's forces stopped the attacks completely, waiting for orders. For a few moments an eerie silence reigned over the bay, only the crashing sound of the waves on wood to break it.

Cleopatra turned around and locked eyes with Antony. Her look was full of disdain, only colored by the smallest hint of regret. Her words echoed in his mind. One way or another, this battle will show me the extent of Rome's power.Then, she turned her back to him and looked ahead. With a small motion of her hand she ordered for the oarsmen to start rowing, then disappeared below deck.

Antony looked around... Helpless. All he could see were damaged ships and tired, wounded, dead soldiers. Not even the best strategy could possibly turn that into a victory.

The battle was lost.

Rome was lost.

Everything was lost, and he would soon be captured.

TO BE CONTINUED

Taglist: @ritachacha @thatcatlady0716 @missameliep @goddesskrystaljung @storyofmychoices @tacohead13 @gonewithpersephone @winchesterwolves @isometimesplaychoices @kay-ali @why-am-i-eeyore @princess-geek

#acor marc antony #marc antony x mc #choices marc antony #marc antony fic #marc antony #acor fanfic #acor choices #acor antony #choices acor

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orlissa · 3 years

Text

Shadow of Night Read Along: Chapter 12

So this is the Wedding Chapter, which takes place on 7 & 8 December--and out of sheer coincidence, I’m posting this review on 8 December :D

The whole castle is preparing for the wedding that is to last for three days. Left to their own devices, Matthew and Diana lie in front of the fire, talking about the upcoming ceremony. Eventually, the probability of the two of them having children on their own comes up. After throrough discussion, they decide that even though they both want children, Diana is unsure and feels like it’s too soon, therefore they’ll do their best to limit the possibility of conception. Phillippe overhears their conversation, and although Matthew tries to dismiss the possibility of conception between a witch and a vampire, Phillippe tells him not to be so sure about that, as he has seen things that later generations wrote off as myths. He invites Diana to an ancient temple dedicated to Artemis, so they could make a sacrifice to the goddess before the wedding. There, Phillippe prays to the goddess, asking her to protect Diana and to give her children, so his lineage could continue. Back at the castle, on their way to the pre-wedding banquet, Diana tells Matthew that she (moved by Phillippe’s prayer) sent the contraceptive herbs back to the stillroom. During the happy feast that night, Phillippe entertains the guests with the tale of Peleus and Thetis, that parallels Matthew and Diana’s story. The next morning, the maids get Diana ready, dressing her in what she dubs La Robe. Soon Phillippe arrives, bearing gifts: jewelry and money, as the de Clermont women take care of their own finances. After a short procession, the wedding ceremony happens on the stairs of the church, in both French and English. After the feast and some dancing, the couple retreats to Matthew’s rooms, where they consummate their marriage.

Notes

Three feasts with the whole village involved is Phillippe’s idea of a “small family affair.” I wonder what a great celebration looks like for this guy. Also, I love how everybody is totally on board with the whole shebang, insisting on a big party.

I wonder what the village thought of such a rushed wedding.

Another instance of Matthew’s casual bodily presence, once again lying in front of the fire, with Diana, probably making out like teenagers.

Matthew’s “riveted” due to Diana’s exposed legs—so is he a legs man?

I love how Matthew is treating the baby question—he would want to have children, but as long as Diana is unsure about it, it’s off the table. He is not pressuring her at all.

Mermaids have existed, pass it on. Also, how old is exactly Phillippe? I’d be ready to write him off as 2000-ish at the time of his death, but I might be lowballing it. 3000-ish?

Phillippe brings money to offer to Artemis, to symbolize Diana’s worth—and he also feels the need to add that he meant to give more, but had to save some for Matthew’s god as well, highlighting how greatly he really thinks of her.

Phillippe praying for grandchildren is such a freaking powerful moment.

I’d love to know what was going on in Matthew’s head when Diana told him she was on board with, well, with not trying to prevent pregnancy.

I’d like to know what was exactly said between Matthew and the men around him during the banquet that was so crude Phillippe didn’t even want Diana to hear.

In a way, Phillippe’s story at the banquet is his way of telling Diana and Matthew that he believes they will have children, and that they will be powerful.

I’d also love to see how Matthew got ready for the wedding.

I really want Matthew and Diana to have a make-up wedding in the present, so Ysabeau and Sarah could see them marry too.

Matthew adding “with joy” to his vows is more than what my poor heart can bear.

I wonder if during that first night, Matthew thought of the possibility of conception as they lay together.

Favorite quotes

“The family never puts ‘surely’ and ‘Phillippe’ in the same sentence. It always ends badly.”

“Who knew the de Clermont men could thread a needle, never mind stich a straight seam?” Phillippe’s eyebrows rose. “Did you think Ysabeau mended our torn garments when we came home from battle?”

Marie had used her powers of misunderstanding and creativity to modify my initial design [of the wedding dress] long before Phillippe told her where and when the gown would be worn. After that there was no holding the woman back.

Did time misbehave this way for all brides, I wondered, or only for witches?

When the dance brought us together once more, he took me by the elbows, pulled me tight against his body, and kissed me. “Now that we are married, will you keep forgiving my sins?” he asked, swinging back into the regular steps. “That depends,” I said warily. “What have you done now?” “I’ve crushed your ruff beyond redemption.”

#adow #a discovery of witches #all souls trilogy #shadow of night read along

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zamorawrites · 4 years

Note

I suspect that Prince Megamind is responsible for many religious conversions. Megamind is born and invents dehydrated stasis for 100X-the-storage-capacity, 3000-gallon Water Purification Tablets, Invisibility Coating, planetary-defense portals, AND Bryse Cyborgs, and also kills a rapist... RIGHT when they needed to pack up literally everything & flee to the planet of polluted waters and hostile, non-monogamous natives. That's GOT to be a sign from the gods, right?

I really love this question! Especially because I haven’t really had much of a chance to dive too deep into the religious aspect of OWBP yet (other than that the governmental system is a mixture of a Monarchy and a Theocracy, considering that the Monarch’s in command are seen by some as demigods. Ergo, the translation in Chapter 9 of Aevurlla meaning Divine Guidance. The leaders of a branch are seen as divine beings by the majority of the population.)

I’m really excited for some of the upcoming chapters because we do get to see a bit more of the religious side of their culture. (In the next chapter Roxanne goes out with Megamind’s parents. There’s a scene that starts out the chapter where she’s literally just walking through the ship with them and when people realize who Megamind’s parents are, suddenly hundreds of people are holding a fist to their chests and taking a knee as a show of respect and loyalty.) (Needless to say Aevurlla’s normally have someone else run the weekly errands, because talk about making a scene.)

(I’m gonna take a rabbit trail for a little bit here.)

In the next chapter, Roxanne is talking with his parents over lunch and Megamind’s father tells her; “He’s a genius even by our standards, let alone human ones.” and then blatantly just upright admits; “If he hadn’t have been born and accomplished everything that he has, none of us would have survived the black hole. Our whole species would be dead.” Which is, a lot to get hit with over lunch. (Of course then he goes on to explain why that’s true.)

Now, Megamind, having spent the last 15 years of his life under house-arrest honestly doesn’t have that great of a feel for his own society. He’s not particularly interested in politics, and when he had the choice to go invent something or watch the news, he chose the prior. He’s the next in line to lead, and he’s lost when it comes to leading. He doesn’t even really know how his people see him.

In reality, people either love him or hate him. The number of people who are neutral towards him is so small that there’s not really a reason reporting the figure. And even then, out of the of people who hate him, the main reason is that he’s being seen as such a powerful religious figure, and it’s not like he’s a saint with a perfect record. He’s killed before. And no one wants a wrathful God running around.

The religious adore him.

The non-religious see him as a threat, because religion gets people killed. It justifies terrible wrongdoings. It starts wars. ‘You can do no wrong if the God you worship mandated what you did.’ It’s dangerous. (But they’re the minority, now more than ever.)

Meanwhile, Megamind is over here throwing around the sentence; “I’m a man, not a God.” nearly every other chapter.

Roxanne is interviewed during the next chapter, and the reporter gives her a quick run-down before giving her an interview; “So, I’m gonna start by asking you what it’s been like here and how you’ve liked it. Let’s try to keep it positive, given the current climate. Then, I’m gonna ask you how the third day has been going, how you’ve been enjoying meeting your future in-laws. Make sure you keep that one very positive, everybody adores those two. Then, I’m gonna ask how things have been going with Mehkean.”

To which Roxanne has gotten the idea already, and she says: “Keep it positive, I take it?”

And at that question the reporter suddenly gets really damn serious and tells her; “You don’t just keep that one positive. You act like he invented the god-damned sun. Do you understand?” And when Roxanne asks an incredibly justified ‘what?’ she’s quickly told; “People are going to kill you if you say he’s a jerk. So act like he makes this fucking planet spin.”

Megamind hasn’t just converted non-believers to religion or restored the weary’s faith. He’s starting to be seen as The New God.

After all, did their Goddess not die with their planet? And was he not the one who led them into a new life on a new planet?

Was that not the end days? And did he not save them all from certain death, and lift them up from a dying planet, and provide them with a new one?

Is he not their savior?

Like Drarro says next chapter; If it wasn’t for what Megamind accomplished in the twenty-seven years he had on his planet before it was destroyed, their species would no longer exist.

And sure, the new planet he led them to isn’t perfect. It’s polluted, not that he couldn’t fix that. And it is already inhabited with primitive, seemingly bloodthirsty creatures.

However, he seems to be willing to give them a chance. Perhaps they all should too. He clearly knows what's best, right?

I’m really excited that I’ve finally gotten a lot of the political stuff out, because now I can start delving into these religious intricacies.

In an upcoming chapter, Roxanne asks him what his view on religion is. Does he worship their Goddess? Is he an athiest? What are his views there? To which he says; “I have a hard time dedicating myself to something that I don’t know exists. And... scientifically, I have no proof that there is a higher power. It’s a nice thought, but... where’s the proof? People like to go preaching about this all-powerful and all-knowing being and... no. Just no. Maybe there is a Goddess or a God, but I refuse to accept that there’s a higher power that’s both all-powerful and all-knowing, because if there is, that person is a tyrant. If you know everything that’s wrong, and you can fix it all with a snap of your fingers, and you choose to let people suffer, then you don’t deserve worship. I could understand worshiping an all-knowing God or an all-powerful God, but not one that’s both. I just... I’m rambling... sorry. I suppose the answer you wanted was, I’m not particularly religious myself, but perhaps I could be if I knew there was something out there worthy of my worship. For now, let’s just say science is my Goddess.”

In a few chapters Megamind is going to be hit with the reality of what he’s become to his people, and it’s going to be an internal battle. Because he’s not a God; he’s lost, and confused, and terrified, and he just wants his mother to stay in charge. But people want him in charge.

There is going to be a metric fuckton of character development coming up for him. He’s going to struggle with trying not to fall prey to the power that comes with being seen as a literal God. Thankfully, he has Roxanne to put him back in his place and smack some sense into him when he gets out of control; but like he thought in chapter 10, ‘Power was a very addicting thing.’

Anyways, if you’ve read this far I’m amazed! lol. Here’s my favorite ‘Megamind being forced into God-hood’ line:

“I know you’re all angry, you want revenge, but what kind of a God would I be if I wasn’t a merciful one?”

This got out of control and I’m going to end it here before I spoil the whole damn story lol.

Thank you for the ask Elf! :D

#megamind #one white blank page #owbp #my writing #god this got out of hand #i just really love talking about the owbp universe because there's so much going on #elf-kid2

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dak-legacy · 4 years

Text

Tyra’Xiachayl - The Cursed Red Dragon

Lady Tyra’Xiachayl. Child of Ashzu, Red Dragon, and Mistress of Flame.

This was once how Tyra would embellish herself. A proud and fierce creature, she invoked terror into the hearts of those who angered her, and commanded respect from those fearful of her.

History

Tyra, and her sister Maya, were born in the isolated Underdark city of Ashzu. Her family held sway in the court of the city’s ruler, The Greatwyrm Wymar, though not very much. They were a wealthy noble family of lesser birth. This didn’t stop Tyra from enjoying the privileges granted to her by her position. She was the very definition of a spoiled brat. The only thing bigger than Tyra’s ego was her fear of the surface, and the humanoids who inhabited it.

From an early age Tyra heard stories of the greed and evil that humanoids wrought upon dragon kind. Hunting them for their wealth, their skin, glory, any reason they could muster to hunt her kind. Tales of dragons who had left Ashzu often ended in insanity or death on the part of the wyrm, and Tyra bought every sentence of the stories with no questions. Her fear turned to hatred as she grew older, seeing humanoids as needing to be ruled and kept in line through fear.

Her only tempering came from her sister, Maya’Xiachayl.

Maya was Tyra’s best friend, and the only one to ever temper Tyra’s anger. Unlike her sister, Maya was calm and measured in her approach. She was wise and powerful. A measured ruler and the perfect inheritor of Tyra’s family line. Tyra even had hopes that one day Maya would be chosen to succeed Wymar as ruler of Ashzu, seeing Wymar’s own children as too weak to possibly follow such a powerful legacy.

During her formative years Tyra trained as a squire to another dragon, Lady Vashti. Vashti was another powerful dragon, much older than Tyra and fiercely strong. Even in her humanoid form Tyra aspired to be as great as Vashti.

As she grew Tyra became less interested in maintaining her humanoid form, choosing to remain draconic as often as she could. Her relationship with her family became strained with Tyra taking less interest in court but demanding to still be part of the ruling of the house. On top of this Maya became distant with her sister, leaving for long periods of time and rarely speaking to her.

One day, when Maya was due to return from a long trip away, Tyra had a rare moment of wisdom. She saw Maya slipping away from her, not wanting to lose her sister Tyra sought to make amends starting with a small gesture. She assumed her human form and went to buy a present for her sister upon her return. Unfortunately when Tyra came home she found that Maya had been murdered, her body had been bought home for the family to grieve over. Tyra was told that Maya had been murdered by a group of people who infiltrated Ashzu to steal its riches. With this story Tyra’s anger resurfaced with a vengeance.

Following Maya’s death, her family refused to seek a resurrection service. Tyra could not understand why, and for her sister she would do anything. Tyra stole 25,000 gold pieces worth of items from her personal treasure hoard and made her way to the surface, seeking a powerful cleric to perform the ritual of True Resurrection.

Tyra found someone very quickly. In the northern realms near the city of Winterholt she found the Bastion of Sages, home to the Sage of the North, Gilbert and his apprentice Elyse. Gilbert was indisposed at the time, but his apprentice was more than capable of performing the ritual. She refused, however.

Elyse attempted to explain that resurrection is not a simple spell. It requires divine intervention from the gods of the caster, as well as compliance on the part of the soul who may have found peace in the afterlife.

Tyra did not want to listen. Enraged at the defiance of this humanoid she attacked Elyse. The two fought for a long while, destroying part of the bastion in the process. Elyse pushed Tyra to her very limits, but eventually Tyra emerged victorious, burning the cleric with her dragon fire.

Injured and dejected Tyra returned home, only to find her family waiting for her.

Word of Tyra’s crime had spread quickly. The Sage, Gilbert, now hated all Red Dragons and Ashzu for her crime. Tyra was dragged before the court of Wymar and her sentence was clear. Exile.

Her draconic aspects were sealed deep in the depths of her soul by the court wizard and she was banished from her home. Unable to assume her true form and saddened at further loss Tyra wandered the world, with only her anger to warm her on the cold nights.

Involvement with the Saintess of Light & the Main Party.

Three years after her banishment Tyra heard rumor that the son of Wymar, Voss was in the desert city of Rhaz receiving tutelage from a humanoid Wymar was friendly with. Seeing potential in seeking and audience with Wymar she traveled to the city to confront him.

Tyra found herself met with his large retinue, headed by Vystra, brother of Vashti. She exchanged heated words with the young prince and his enforcer, receiving a slap to the face for her trouble. Angered by impertinence by someone who was far beneath her in her eyes she stormed off, cursing in draconic.

Voss warned his tutor, Horatio Atherton, of Tyra. Explaining that it was because of her that his mother, Wyla’s, resurrection could not be pursued as Gilbert had declared he would not provide such services to them. While Horatio knew that Wyla was not dead, he could not tell the young boy and took his warning graciously to be wary of Tyra and her hatred of humanoids.

Meanwhile Tyra wandered Rhaz, realizing quickly that her pockets were becoming empty. She sought employment and quickly found work for one such as her.

Tyra met with the Saintess of Light, Aelia Crassi, and her party, after reading a notice about needing help in an upcoming battle. They consisted of the young Wyther Marche, a gnome named Brooke, a northern dwarf named Fortinbras, and the wizard Horatio Atherton.

Horatio informed Aelia as to his distrust of Tyra, though they couldn’t be picky about the help that came before them. Tyra was given a place on their first job, retrieving a staff of power for one of the other Saints to use in a vital battle. Seeing this as a chance to test this party’s resolve she came along.

The party were teleported to the southern Dolman jungles with the task of retrieving a staff from a temple of Yuan Ti, snake people and worshipers of a demon god.

Tyra proved herself quickly in battle, assisting in the cutting down of many Yuan Ti, though the party remained distrustful of her, not knowing exactly what it was she had done.

After successfully retrieving the staff she attempted to recruit the party to help her return to Ashzu and plead her case to Wymar to remove the curse and give her back her power, as well as revive her sister. However the party shot down her request stating that the upcoming battle was far more important.

Unbeknownst to Tyra, Horatio had used his connections in Ashzu to already request Wymar’s help for this battle, a request which was granted.

Tyra followed, reluctantly, to the Golden Isles, a beautiful paradise of an archipelago, where she had been told a demonic incursion had occurred. She doubted the assessment of the situation until she saw the destruction wrought.

Through combined forces consisting of multiple powerful Saints, draconic forces from Ashzu, naval support from Rhaz and arcane artillery from the city of Geffen, the party were able to battle their way through the Isles and slay the mastermind behind it. The Monk of Pale Night, Dontae.

Upon her return to Rhaz, Tyra sought another resurrection for her sister from the Saintess of Rhaz, Nina. She was met with the same words Elyse had echoed to her years before. With her anger quieted and her ears open Tyra listened to them for the first time. Not only could this ritual possibly fail, but with her actions Tyra may have doomed any chance she had at returning home, and having her sister back. She realized too that the actions she had taken since Maya’s death would certainly have made her sister saddened and disappointed by them.

Distraught and alone Tyra pledged herself to Aelia, the Saintess of Light. She wished to find redemption in the eyes of her sister, and saw a possible way to do that by following someone who might embody Maya’s ideals better than she ever could.

Now Tyra finds herself in the North, fighting against the regime of blood and death in the form of the vampires who have terrorized these realms for generations. The Saintess traveled there to end the parasitic threat to the North’s people once and for all, and Tyra followed, still seeking actions that might redeem her in Maya’s eyes.

Mechanics & Stats

Tyra is functionally a human with limited Red Dragon features. Her class Warlock, with her patron and pact being Hexblade and Pact of the Blade.

Her patron takes the form of her draconic powers, sealed deep within her but still crying out to be tapped into. Tyra is able to manifest these powers as a magically bound weapon forged from her draconic essence. She is also able to muster limited uses of powerful spells and abilities such as Terrifying Presence, and Dragon’s Breath.

Str: 14

Dex: 14

Con: 20

Int: 10

Wis: 8

Cha: 20

Tyra is trained in the use of both martial and simple weapons, as well as how to effectively use shields in combat. Her preferred weapon is a segmented longsword, combining the effects of a whip and longsword into an elegant and powerful sword which she feels mimics her tail.

She is able to speak common and draconic, though her common is broken at times. She does not enjoy speaking it and much prefers to converse in her native language. Surprisingly she can also speak Ignan, the language of the fire elemental, which stems from her reverence of flame and that aspect of her.

#Tyra'Xiachayl #D&D #Character Bio

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awolfhasnoname · 5 years

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Her Hound, His Wolf

PART 3

Warnings: Swearing, Sword fighting, animal death, angst, mentions of death, usual GoT warnings.

Words: 1.4K

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or gif(s) used below.

The road to Kings Landing was fairly uneventful, Y/N rarely saw Sandor as his duties to the Prince took up most of his time.

This was until one day when she was relieved of looking after her younger sisters, Y/N had heard word of Arya and some boy getting into a fight with the King’s son, Joffrey. Whilst looking for Arya she saw Sandor approach, leading his horse through the camp. The young wolf went to smile at him before seeing the look on his face and then looking at the lump hung over the back of his horse. Her smile quickly faded. The butcher’s boy, cuts and blood all over him, his lifeless body swaying with each stride the horse took. “Why? He was just a boy.” She called to him, almost pleading, he stopped and she could see the look of shame on his face. “Because a dog always follows orders.” He turned and walked away.

Sandor hated the fact that Y/N had seen him that night, every time he sees her he remembers the look on her face as he walked by her with the young boy he had just slain hanging over his steed. A look he hoped he would never have to see from her, a look he had seen from many others but never her. Fear.

The pair didn’t speak again until after arriving in Kings Landing. Y/N wouldn’t even look at him when in the same room. She couldn’t. Not out of fear or anger at the man, but knowing that he could cut down an innocent boy just for the sake of orders made her question whether he was trustworthy. If the orders had have been directed at Arya instead of the boy would he have gone through with it? She couldn’t trust anyone that could threaten her family.

**********

It was the day of the tournament. Y/N sat at the front row next to Sansa and her father, Ser Loras rode in and Sansa was practically gushing. Y/N rolled her eyes, Ser Loras was a handsome man but not her type. The young knight rode up to where the Stark girls were sitting, a single rose in his hand and a bright smile cast across his face. He handed Y/N the Rose before giving her a warm smile “Thank you, Ser Loras,” she returned his smile before watching him ride forward for the upcoming joust.

Sandor watched as the scene between the Knight of Flowers and Y/N unfolded. He couldn’t help but feel hatred towards the man that could so casually walk up to her. He didn’t know why this surprised him Y/N deserves a man like Ser Loras, someone worthy who could give her the things in life she was used to. He wasn’t even focused on the tournament in front of him until he saw his brother Gregor or “the Mountain” as they called him knocked off his horse. Gregor stood up and took to his sword, in one swift movement took the head right off his horse. It was horrible, Sansa screamed and tried to hide from the sight. Gregor just took off swinging his sword at the boy.

Y/N heard her favorite gruff voice from behind “Leave the boy be!” Before heading straight towards his brother with his sword unsheathed. As both brothers’ swords met with a sharp clash Y/N stood and couldn’t help but call out Sandor’s name.

Eddard grabbed Y/N and forced her to sit as she got some strange looks including the one her father was currently giving her. Sandor looked over at her, his heart constricting noticing the worry in her eyes. For his safety? Surely not, he thought to himself. The brothers battled with clashes of metal. “This has to stop father, stop them!” Eddard just looked at his daughter confused. She watched as the larger of the brothers lifted his sword as if to cast one final blow and she froze. A wave of relief washed over her as King Robert yelled out for both men to stop fighting she let go of a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Ser Gregor just threw his sword down in the dirt and marched off.

Sandor was kneeling down after being instructed by the king to stop. His eyes met hers and all he could see in them was relief. Relief for his safety? Why did she care what happened to him? Even after the night she saw what a monster he could be she was still worried for him. Loras walked over to Sandor as he stood

“I owe you my life ser.” Sandor turned to the small man “I’m no ser.” Loras just lifted his hand for all to see. Seeing the way Y/N looked at him and clapped he felt such pride, a feeling he can’t remember ever having before. He turned to talk to Loras in a hushed tone “But if you speak to Lady Y/N again I’ll be sure to take that life from you, pillow biter.” Both men turned back to the crowd. Loras looked at Y/N with fear in his eyes and then quickly looked away.

Y/N wondered what Sandor had said to him to make him look at her this way.

Later that afternoon Y/N was wandering around the palace garden admiring the flowers when she heard the usual sound of clunking armor, when it came to a stop she turned to find Sandor standing before her, obvious after today’s events he had been released of duty. She took steps until she was right before the tall man, reaching out for his hand, “I’m so glad you’re okay.” Her touch melted his heart but he retracted his hand, knowing far too well it wasn’t wise for him to be seen as more than the palace dog.

Y/N stepped back, looking down. Embarrassed at her rejected touch, feeling stupid she went to turn away.

“It was stupid to call out to me today girl, letting people see that you know me.” She snorted back at his stupid comment “And why can’t I know you?”

“People think differently when ya hang around with dogs like me.”

This angered the young wolf, she was never one to tread lightly around others or hide her thoughts. “Fuck what people think, I never thought what people think would be something to bother you?” There’s that sharp tongue that he admired so much.

Before Sandor could get another sentence out he saw Lord Stark watching the two. Sandor just grunted before turning and walking in the opposite direction.

Her father had a dislike for Sandor, after the incident with the butcher’s boy and other things that he had heard about the man. Eddard found him to be just like everyone else did, a dangerous beast.

“How do you even know him,” her father demanded. “I spoke to him a few times in Winterfell and then on the road here, why is it a problem who I speak to?” Her defending tone took Eddard by surprise.

“You can’t be seen with people like him, what will people think? How will we find you...” before he could finish the young wolf snapped and bared her teeth. “Find me what father? A husband?” The girl practically growled at him. Y/N had never liked the idea of arranging a marriage based on alliances and power. She believed she should be allowed to choose her future, if she decided to marry it should be of her own accord. She went to continue the argument before realizing something. “This is why I’m here isn’t it?” Eddard didn’t respond and she could feel the tears pricking her eyes. “Please father, please tell me you didn’t bring me all this way, to this shit city, away from my family, just to marry me off to some ponce of a Lord.” Tears threatened to fall by the end of her sentence and Eddard’s face softened.

He went to reach out to his daughter but she took a step back before snapping again. “You worry about who I speak to, but you’re willing to give me away to whoever Robert sees fit for your alliances. You’re willing to let Sansa marry that horrible little shit Joffrey, and why? Because your King tells you so, if you’re weak enough to give away your daughters to people like them, then you have no power to tell me who I will and will not speak to.” Tears had begun falling as she turned around and walked out of the keep.

Tag List:

@hedakylo @journeyrose @affection-rabbit @imalittlebean @valhalla-ally

#sandor #Sandor clegane #sandor x reader #sandor clegane x reader #got #got x reader #game of thrones #sansa #sansa stark #stark #eddard stark #joffrey #stark reader #got fanfiction

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widonotts · 5 years

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What frustrates me about all the Clarke hate is that I think it comes from a misunderstanding of where Clarke fans are coming from. Nobody is saying that Clarke has never done anything wrong and that she should never be held accountable for the choices she’s made that have caused pain. We’re saying that she should be held just as accountable for her choices as every other leader has been held accountable for theirs—both by the fans and by the narrative itself.

This has been true of some main-characters-turned-leadership-figures. Octavia became an undeniable villain and was held accountable for what she did because she explicitly did them to keep herself in power. For the first three seasons, Bellamy was absolutely held accountable for his actions; especially in Season 3, the narrative clearly painted him as being in the wrong, and even now, fans see S3A Bellamy as out-of-character when, from his perspective, there was no good choice, and he truly was doing what he thought was best, even if that was Bad(TM). What the audience was shown (both in the story itself and in how it was presented to us) told us without a doubt that siding with Pike was Wrong.

Eventually, though, while we saw guilt from Bellamy in Seasons 4 and 5, the narrative finally let him be the hero. And don’t get me wrong; I am so, so happy for that. Bellamy is my favorite character on the show; he deserves happiness and self-love and forgiveness. However, once Bellamy was finally allowed to make choices with no good outcomes and be forgiven for it, it was Clarke whose actions became more and more criticized by the narrative and, subsequently, by the fans.

The first major instance of this is the bombing of TonDC. Again: don’t get me wrong. The choice Clarke made was a Bad Choice that resulted in terrible chaos and death. But one has to remember that evacuating the village would have alerted Mount Weather to the presence of Bellamy, who really was, as Clarke said, “the key to everything.” Without his presence as a spy, it would be practically impossible to save both the Sky People and Grounders trapped in the Mountain. And the Mountain Men’s extreme prejudice and cruelty towards the Grounders suggests that they would not have stopped their brutality once they were able to leave the bunker.

Clarke knew that letting TonDC be bombed was wrong. She explicitly said it. But her suggestions of finding another way to get people out (e.g. starting a fire to evacuate the village) were promptly shut down by Lexa, who was both a more experienced leader, resulting in Clarke’s respect, and who had a hell of a lot more power than Clarke did. Between letting the village be bombed and telling everyone of the upcoming strike, the former would result in the lesser casualties. Yes, it was morally wrong. But so was the other choice. There was no good decision. That’s the show’s whole thesis. But while other characters have been “let off the hook” for their decisions, this one has clung to Clarke throughout the show.

Then there’s making the list. Oh, the list. Was it horrible? No question. But Clarke is held solely responsible for this as if she just wanted to make a list of the hundred people who deserved to survive. Clarke agonized over making this list. She did it so that Raven and Bellamy wouldn’t have to. She put it off and tried to avoid it for as long as she could, while Raven pressured her into doing it as soon as possible. In the same episode, Raven tells Clarke that “choosing who lives and dies is your specialty” — before Raven has to make that decision herself and denies medicine to a dying child so that it could be used for those who survive Praimfaya. What Raven learns that episode is that nobody could make this decision morally. It’s an amazing moment for her. Raven shouldn’t be deemed a horrible demon for this choice, and thank God, she isn’t. But if Raven shouldn’t be demonized, Clarke shouldn’t be demonized either. The List isn’t Clarke being a bad person; it’s Clarke being forced into making a terrible choice.

And though the show might have us forget it, let us remember that the reason it needed to be determined which 100 people would be allowed to survive in Arkadia is because in the previous episode, the group sent to retrieve the hydro generator from the Ice Nation decided to use that machine to ensure the escape of the Skaikru prisoners trapped there. Now, again: there is no good choice. They could either save the prisoners now and destroy the machine, or they could take the machine that would ensure all Sky People could survive in Arkadia during Praimfaya and doom the prisoners. It would result in terrible casualties either way. But their choice is only touched on briefly upon their return, when both Raven and Clarke are shocked at Bellamy’s decision, and Bellamy says, “I am not sacrificing any more innocent lives,” and Clarke responds, “You just did.”

But that’s it. It isn’t focused on again. The narrative suggests that Bellamy’s was the Right Choice because it did save those people, but it never fixates on how that decision ensured that only 100 people could survive in Arkadia, instead of every Sky Person.

It’s the same with Clarke taking the bunker. The show suggests that Clarke was horrible and cruel and Bad for taking it. It was undeniably a Morally Ambiguous Choice. But Clarke took it with the very rational expectation that Luna would win, considering that she was immune to the black rain and, from prior knowledge, probably the best fighter there. Clarke didn’t know that she was in a TV show and thus Octavia wasn’t going to die even though she had only been fighting for a couple months. I’m going to stress it again: Clarke taking the bunker was a morally wrong decision. But it was not irrational.

Bellamy opening the bunker was, again undeniably, a good thing. But it was not the unequivocally, undeniably Moral decision that the show portrayed it as. For one, it was unknown if opening the bunker would expose it to radiation that would doom humanity. For another, more relevant thing, opening the bunker once again meant that only 100 Sky People would live, and most of the people who had been guaranteed life would now be sentenced to death. Now, Skaikru didn’t have a higher right to live than anybody else; nobody in the show was saying that—not even Clarke, who knew that if Luna did win the conclave, the Grounders’ system of hierarchy through battle would mean that they would honor that Luna “fought for no-one.”

But even though we see that this choice meant many of the Sky People were doomed, Bellamy is just barely held accountable. In the next episode, when he, Clarke, Murphy, and Emori set out to save Raven (Murphy and Emori’s plan being to stay in the bunker on Science Island), Bellamy is distrustful of the pair of them, asking Murphy "what he’s really up to.” Murphy’s response: “You killed us when you opened that door. You know that, right? What, did you think our people were going to waste a spot on Emori? On me?”

He’s right. That doesn’t mean Bellamy was wrong or that he should be demonized for his choice, but it’s true that what he did, as Murphy so eloquently put it, screwed a lot of people over. But that’s the extent of people holding Bellamy accountable for the morally ambiguous things he did. It’s never touched on again.

By Season 5, Clarke is an anti-hero. And again: she undeniably does Bad Things. But so does everyone else. Including Spacekru. Leaving Bellamy to die was Bad... but it was in reaction to Bellamy manipulating her daughter into taking the chip, which, as we saw from the many Wonkru members who were more loyal to Octavia than the Flame, put her life in absolute grave danger. Shock-collaring Madi to keep her close was, again, completely and undeniably wrong. But what is also morally wrong is putting a child into a war zone. They’re not comparable, but neither are Good; but only one is vilified by the narrative and fans.

None of these decisions mean that any of these characters are Bad People. But they have all made these decisions. Holding Clarke accountable for her actions is a good thing; holding only Clarke accountable for her actions, and ignoring what others have done, is myopic.

I’m hoping that the moment in the trailer where Raven calls her out is also a growing moment for Raven (and ideally all of Spacekru) where they also acknowledge that they have been forced to do Bad Things. But the new trailer and Raven’s comment have resulted in a renewed onslaught of Clarke hate, and I’m so frustrated and so tired of Clarke’s morally ambiguous actions being the only ones demonized.

#the 100 meta #the 100 #clarke griffin #pro clarke griffin #t100 #long post #fuck i really didn't mean for this to be so long jesus christ #i'm so sorry #i'm just... frustrated #my post #and if any of y'all want to come for me about hating bellamy and raven i s2g...#bellamy is my number one favorite character #and raven and clarke are constantly battling it out for the number two spot #it changes every day #so PLEASE do not come for me #sorry for any typos!

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whimsicallytwisted · 5 years

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Six Sentence Sunday: Massive WIP Edition

A bunch of snippets from wip’s I have that may or may not ever be finished.

1) Title: ???? This was supposed to be cute and it started getting angsty so I dropped it. I may or may not pick it back up.

Imogen’s crown of bright orange blooms and green leaves was jammed onto her head so quickly that Vyxen thought she’d accidentally snap it in two. “This is fabulous, it clashes perfectly with my hair!” A few pins ensured the acrobat could still do flips without the thing flying off her skull and she was happy to carry on her merry way, now 30% more tacky than before.

Zercey’s crown was made of lilacs and she laughed when they were handed to her. “Lilac’s mean first love,” the green haired half-blood informed her as she placed it on her head, “you basically just confessed to me.” Vyxen assured Zercey that she was the light of her life and hugged her super hard. She then used her new flower knowledge to dramatically profess her undying love to the ever patient Raemina, placing a crown of lilacs and dark purple blooms upon her head. She’d even made a mini crown for Nyxx, who accepted it less graciously.

Scyanatha’s crown was done in moss roses, one of the few flowers of which Vyxen already knew the meaning. She did love Scy though, so it was fine and the faerie queen had been delighted to don it. Similarly, Abaddon had been happy to be thought of and titled their head forward so Vyxen could fix the extra-large crown of yellows and pinks around their horns.

Nyima’s crown had been made of pale blue and purple buds, but the ice queen politely declined it, not keen on having nature strewn about her hair. Vyxen tried not to be personally hurt by the rejection. It got harder to pretend it didn’t sting when Tundra loudly proclaimed, ‘not it,’ and vanished out of the house as fast as possible when presented with a second pale blue crown. She’d made it so his and Nyima’s matched. Were supposed to match, anyways.

2) Title ???? Something in the Water

The upcoming battle was too great, their enemies were too many. Scyanatha and Inari were trying to remain hopeful, with hollow promises that Cthul would help and that Maraxis, the snake, would turn up with warriors at his back. She didn’t trust it. They needed more than soothing words and the hope that enemies would come to help them face other enemies.

She grabbed the hull of the small wooden boat she was borrowing from whoever owned it. It was difficult dragging it through the wet sand and somewhere in the back of her mind, that single brain cell responsible for all her good sense was telling her how stupid this was. The waves were rough, the ocean was black as the night around her and she was alone. She should ask for help, she should wait for the wind to die down, she should, she should, she should…

But she wouldn’t.

3) Title ???? Mildly NSFW, Fertility Festival WIP

There were many things that Seth thought he might find when they arrived at the small village of Akaiga. He expected homey taverns and cozy bars, maybe some vendors stopping to sell wares on their travels. What he did not expect was to walk through the village’s gate and be greeted with a 10ft tall penis statue, made of hay and mud and decorated with brightly colored ribbons. The sight was so startling that he stopped dead in his tracks to stare openly at it, unable to utter a single word to correctly translate just how confused his brain was.

“So… what the fuck?” Tundra was the first to speak, his voice figuratively breaking the ice.

“It’s a penis, haven’t you seen one before?” Imogen asked.

“I think he’s afraid of them,” Vyxen chimed in, happy to throw Tundra under the bus.

“That has to be rough,” Imogen let her eyes roam over his form in the most obvious way possible, “doesn’t he have one?”

“He does,” Nyima responded automatically. Her cheeks flushed dark blue a moment later when she realized what she’d said.

“You’ve seen it?” Imogen shook her had solemnly, “poor girl.”

“I bet it looked like a finger puppet.” Vyxen added her own view in. She, Zercey, Seth and Imogen all promptly dissolved into a pile of giggles.

Tundra did his best to ignore them.

4) Title ???? In which Avari and Salem have a moment.

Salem was silent, it was starting to concern Avari. The mission they had been on did not go perfectly, but it was still a success. No one got hurt and everything was resolved in the end. They were on their way back to Las now, with barley a bruise between them and enough supplies to last the trip comfortably. As far as she knew, there was nothing to be somber about. She expected to have to endure Salem and Ghenha being ridiculous the entire trip and depended on Rhoe to hold her back from flinging them both of a cliff to their deaths.

There we go! Excerpts from some short stories that might eventually be finished, or might never be finished. Who knows? Not me.

#six sentence sunday #a little more than six in some of them #illthdar fanfiction #nonsense #my wips #wips #writeblr #I need to stop starting new stories and finish chapter 14 is what I need to do

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travllingbunny · 5 years

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The 100 rewatch: 2x06 Fog of War

This episode has one major character introduction (and one minor one), which might have been a cool reveal the first time I saw it, if I hadn't been always spoiled on it; some really tense moments involving major revelations for the characters themselves, which made me think for a moment I'd give this episode a higher rating; and a very questionable follow-up to the major storyline from the previous episode, which made me rate it lower than the previous few episodes, but nowhere near as low as an upcoming episode all focused on that storyline, and that's just because it's still a minor part of this episode.

Rating: 7.5/10

You've probably guessed what I meant already: the way the show deals with the aftermath of Finn's mass murder in the Grounder village is full of problems and annoying character behavior. Which gets even worse in episode 2x08, but it starts here, when we learn that Finn was questioned by the Council*in Camp Jaha and fully cleared, because, according to Abby: "He thought he was rescuing his friends". Sorry, what? Usually it's the Grounders that get on my nerves with their dumb decisions and attitudes, but this time, this storyline always made me extremely irritated with the Arkers. WTF is wrong with their judicial system and their moral views? They used to give death sentences on the Ark for any damn thing, from smoking weed to stealing medicine for your kids to giving birth to a second child to getting born as a second child; they announced they aren't doing it on the ground, but then were insisting on maintaining law and order by locking people up for hitting someone, or shock-lashing them for letting some of them go on an authorised mission; but killing 18 unarmed civilians who weren't posing a threat, all on your own - that's what they're OK with?

*Speaking of which, who’s in the Council now? Not any of the old members, since they died in Diana’s terrorist attack last season. We never see any of the new council members and I don’t we ever even hear about the council again. It’s always apparently just the Chancellor – whoever it is at the time (Abby, Kane, Pike) – making decisions on their own.

Now, if they had released Finn on the grounds of him suffering from PTSD, having diminished capacity - that would be a different matter. But they didn't. No one ever says explicitly that Finn is suffering from PTSD or has any kind of mental issue, and if they do think he has, why haven't they tried to help him? Do they even know anything about mental health? Do they have psychologists and psychiatrists? Going by everything we see in this and the following seasons, they have no clue. But in this case, the writers didn't seem to have much of a clue, either. (The show did much better with Jasper's storyline later on, though characters in-universe treated it just as poorly.) They even let Finn carry a gun and go on a recon mission with everyone else, and this time I’m totally with Octavia when she says she can’t believe they did it. (But does this mean that Octavia is the only one bothered because she is the only one who knew one of the victims?)

There are just mentions of how Finn has changed, etc. And then Raven even tells Finn "We all have battle scars, Finn. Suck it up and build a brace for yours." Um, no, no, Raven, you cannot do this with mental scars. That's not how it works. But, ironically, she'll find that out herself with what she will go through in seasons 3-4.

When I binged the show for the first time, I thought Finn’s character was a big failure because he was supposed to likable and a good guy, but never really came off that way. On rewatch, I realized he works much better as a character if I assume he was never meant to be all that likable in the first place. But “did they actually expect me to find him likable here, or not?” is something I’m still not sure at many points, and that’s the case in this episode. If they did, they really failed. It would be different if Finn was showing real guilt over what he had done, instead of going around trying to talk to Clarke and complaining because she’s not comfortable around him. “You don’t look at me the way you used to.” Duh! What did you expect?

The episode starts with an interesting scene where Clarke and Bellamy are making plans how to save their friends from Mount Weather. Bellamy actually says at one point that, if the Council doesn’t authorize the mission to save them, he’ll go there on his own. Which he seriously meant as that’s what he does in 2x09. Bellamy then asks about Finn (the second and last time the two of them ever talk about any of each other’s love interests) and Clarke replies she hasn’t talked to Finn, while Bellamy is trying to make lighter of Finn’s actions, saying “We’ve all done bad things” - .obviously to try to make her feel better, and because he feels guilty for allowing Finn to continue the mission with just Murphy to look after him, since we know from before that he’s well aware of the gravity of Finn’s actions. Then Finn arrives, his body language saying: “Go away, I need to talk to Clarke, since my relationship with her is the most important thing in the world”. Bellamy is understanding and walks away, while Clarke is following him with her eyes until he leaves, her body language saying “I much preferred you company, why did you have to leave me with him?” She’s obviously creeped out and doesn’t know how to act around this new, murderous Finn, who appears to be so much different from what she thought the guy she fell in love was. The time they spend together – hiding from the acid fog – in the house, where Finn killed Delano, the Grounder prisoner, doesn’t help – Finn takes a chance to give her Jake’s watch, but the moment is obviously spoiled for her by Delano’s dead body she sees lying there. What do you mean, murder isn’t a great way to say “I love you”? But it seems like I’m supposed to feel sorry for him, when he and Clarke have an exchange about how war has changed them all:

“I don’t even know who you are anymore.”

“Neither do I.”

“What have we become?”

With how I feel about this storyline, it may seem odd that I’m still rating this episode rather high, but 1) it is still a rather small part of this episode (and I’m going to pour all my hate for this storyline into episode 2x08), 2) Clarke’s extreme discomfort with Finn is character and makes sense –they may have released him, but that doesn’t mean people really feel like nothing has changed, and 3) the other storylines in this episode are really good.

I really like the scenes where Bellamy and Octavia go on their own to find an entrance into Mount Weather to save Lincoln -together with some Arker guards who decided to help them rather than listen to their orders - and are shocked to find him as a Reaper, who doesn’t recognize them but seems to have some sort of a reaction to Octavia’s voice. Those scenes are really intense, and the literal darkness of the Mount Weather hallways combined with the cheesy Christmas song that starts playing all of a sudden from a wind-up toy, just before a Reaper attack, makes for one of the creepier and more effective season 2 scenes.

(Season 2 was by far the most harmonious one for the Blake sibling relationship. Or rather, the only one. Their relationship is usually extremely dysfunctional.)

Major developments happen in Mount Weather itself. This is when Jasper, Monty and the other Delinquents finally learn the truth about their hosts – thanks to Maya, who has found out that her “accidental” radioactivity contamination was planned, and realized that the 47 may soon meet the same fate as the Grounders caught in MW. I’ve always liked Maya – I trusted her since first seeing 2x01. She’s one of the most underrated characters on The 100, IMO.

The scene where Maya shows Jasper and Monty the cages with people in them and people getting drained, is a really strong one. I love this dialogue where she tries to explain the mentality of the ordinary Mountain Men and their silent complicity in what their regime is doing:

Maya: “Everyone knows, we don’t talk about it (…) Look, without the treatments, we die. What were we supposed to do?” Monty: “Die.”

It’s one of the times when the show really successfully did moral ambiguity. Monty’s answer is kind of harsh, but completely understandable since he’s just seen the horrors happening, and he’s kind of right, but he’s also kind of wrong… Because it’s not exactly easy for people to ignore such a basic instinct as survival, for the sake of morality and humanness. But as we later learn, Maya’s mother did make that choice, refuse the treatments, and die. And Maya herself will help the Arkers, and die, as a result – kind of killed by Monty himself, saying “None of us is innocent” as her final words.

We also get more insight into the Wallace father-son relationship, with signs of their upcoming conflict, and some more info about MW. Though Dante’s title is President, we learn that every president of MW has been a Wallace. They’re basically a dynasty like the Kims in North Korea. We learn that the initial plan for the 48 was to “assimilate them into our gene pool”, which explains the chocolate cake and all other attempts to charm them. Dante must have been happy to see Maya and Jasper get close, in that case all he needed to do was let nature take its course, but how did they intend to do that with the rest of the kids? Arrange marriages/relationships? Ask them for sperm/egg cells? Dante is against draining the kids and says he “won’t put them in cages like animals”. You mean, like other people you already have in cages? Mount Weather will, in Dante’s opinion, eventually will be breached by radiation, which is an explanation for the panic of the Mountain Men, but Dante insists that it’s not just important to be able to go the surface, but that he won’t deserve to survive if he allows it. Um… you already don’t deserve it. Why does he draw the line with the kids? Is it because he thinks of the Grounders as “savages” and finds it easier to dehumanize them?

(BTW, what on Earth made Dante give his son the name Cage, of all the things he could have possibly named him?!)

At the end of the episode, the kids in MW have decided to pretend and work within MW to get out, with Jasper and Monty have decided to volunteer for blood donations to fool their hosts. Raven has meanwhile discovered the secret MW channel, realized that it was MW that crashed the Exodus ship and that they are jamming all radio communications. She and Abby discussed whether to destroy the Mountain Men tower that does the jamming, which would allow them to get in radio contact with other possible survivors from other Ark stations, or to not do it and listen in to the Mountain Men conversations instead, which would allow them to rescue the kids from MW – and Abby finally made the decision to do the latter, which means she’s finally supporting Clarke in her determination to save her friends. The consequence of this is also that the Farm station survivors (including Pike, Hannah Green and Bryan) will only join the other Arkers in season 3.

The big character introduction in the episode is, of course, Lexa. Her right hand man/bodyguard Gustus is also introduced, and he utters the line “Blood must have blood”, talking about retaliation for Finn’s massacre, which is the first time we hear that line. I’ll never know if the twist at the end of the episode that Lexa is the Commander would have been a surprise for me. I was already spoiled, long before I started watching the show, that there was a character called “Commander Lexa”, that she has a relationship with Clarke at some point, and gets killed by a stray bullet after the first time they had sex – because that was a huge controversy in 2016, which you couldn’t avoid if you were visiting any online fandom sites, even if you knew nothing about The 100. So, when she introduced herself as Lexa, I knew “oh, so she’s the Commander”. The show did a good job playing against expectations by introducing her as a frail-looking young servant girl, playing on her youth and looks, so I might have been fooled otherwise, or I might have gotten suspicious after she was just standing there listening and observing Jaha and Kane all the time? Or maybe I would have thought she was someone spying for the Commander. In this episode, we just learn she’s smart and can be sneaky and likes to get a measure of her opponents/enemies – but we don’t really get more sense of what she’s like as a person and leader until around 2x09.

The thing with Kane and Jaha being made to fight to the death to supposedly decide who will live and be set free, reminds me of the Blodreina gladiator fights in season 5, except those were actual fights to the death, while this was just a ploy, and Octavia got the idea from the Roman history. But I guess that type of death match wouldn’t have been a foreign concept to the Grounders from the Wonkru.

The show tried to play with expectations for a second with Kane taking the knife to do something, as if he was going to kill Jaha, but at that point, we already knew what Kane was really like, so his attempt at self-sacrifice, in order to end the war, was not a surprise. He is still haunted by guilt for the culling (Jaha: “You didn’t order the massacre” – Kane: “Not this one”). One of the reasons I started liking him is that he is one of the few characters, alongside Clarke and Bellamy, who show genuine remorse for their actions. Another good piece of dialogue is when Jaha says that the things they did on the Ark were for survival of the human race, with Kane pointing out that the human race was, in fact, surviving without them anyway – to which Jaha replied that they are, then, doing everything for their people. Which is the justification/guiding motive Jaha has from this moment on: “for my people”.

I’m still not sure what exactly Lexa’s take from all of this was, since she declared to Kane“Your intention are honorable, and your desire for peace is true”, so apparently, she appreciated his conviction – but then she let Jaha go to be a messenger and deliver the dramatic message to the Arkers to “Leave or die!”, while detaining Kane to further talk to him, or observe him (?), or keep him as a hostage? What exactly was she planning to do with him?

Anyway, this is the only time that Lexa and Jaha ever interacted. It would have been interesting to see them talk about leadership some time, since they strike me as similar type of leaders: both are ruthless, believe that the end justifies the means and justify their actions by saying it’s all for their people, but their concept of “their people” is an abstract one, because they are less concerned with the welfare of individuals that make up the collective called “my people”, and are ready to sacrifice quite a few of them if their goals require it.

Timeline: 2 days after Human Trials. This is one of the few times we actually get some pointers about the time that has passed – and one of the few times we get a.. mini time jump. It’s weird to call 2 days a time jump, but most of the episodes start right after the previous one. It was only late in season 3 (after the “Six months earlier” tag in 3x13) that I realized how condensed the show’s timeline was.

Body count: 1 Arker guard killed by the fog, other two killed by Reapers, a couple of Reapers killed by Bellamy.

#the 100 #the 100 rewatch #the 100 season 2 #the 100 2x06 #fog of war #clarke griffin #bellamy blake #octavia blake #finn collins #marcus kane #thelonius jaha #monty green #jasper jordan #dante wallace #maya vie #I'm not tagging you-know-who in this or any further post #because that would just be asking for trouble #even when I'm not saying anything particularly negative about her

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