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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 2 months

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I've been dreaming of the Ambitious King.

Long live the King of Beasts, he who shines like the sun.

He stands atop the heap, clutching victory in his righteous grasp.

How does a moment last forever? How can a story never die?

"We've come to finals of the interschool Spelldrive tournament!" an announcer blares over the stadium. "It's down to the wire, and this will be the deciding round. With the scores tied, it’s anyone’s game!!"

A crowd chomps at the bit for a winner to emerge from the field. They lean forward in their seats, clutch onto hope, stuff their mouths with soda and popcorn. This is a show, the players, actors, and they, the audience.

Leona allows himself a smirk.

We’ll give’m a real show-stopper then. That crown is as good as mine.

“What should our strategy be this time, sir?” a teammate—a Scarabia student—asks.

They’re huddled shoulder to shoulder, one student contributed from each of the seven dorms. Their allegiances may lie in different places, but they all wear the same black and violet uniform. They are all Night Ravens, united under one banner: his.

“We’ll finish this in a single decisive blow,” Leona replies, snapping his goggles on. “I’ll take the disc and score us that final point. The rest of you, cover me.”

“You heard the boss,” the smallest player says. It’s Epel, tiny but feisty—a contrast to his big blue eyes and lilac waves of hair. “Don’t worry, Leona-senpai! I’ll fer sure keep’m offa yer tail!”

“That’s what I like to hear, kid.” He raises his head and calls, “Clear!”

And with that, the players peel off into their own positions. The other team, uniforms pristine white and hemmed in royal blue, are patiently waiting. Leona pulls up to the center of the field where the referee and the opposing team’s leader await.

When he looks, he falters.

It’s a face that is frighteningly similar to his own.

The same skin color, the same lion ears and tail, the same construction of the features—if not softer and more friendly. His mane is held up in a ponytail, bright red-orange that fades into a golden yellow. He’s younger than he should be, missing the slight creases under his warm brown eyes and the lines that flank his perpetually smiling mouth.

“Falena?”

An icy dread creeps up from his core. The world around him seems to slow and come to a complete stop.

But this can’t be. My brother is 10 years older than me. He’s no longer a student, he’s—

“Leona? Is something wrong?” Falena inquires with a cheeky grin. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid to play against family.”

Annoyance flares up.

Brother or not, Leona detests that smile. The smile of a man that has robbed him of everything.

“Dream on,” he snarls back. “I’m overthrowing Royal Sword Academy and you."

The referee lets the disc drop and blows into his whistle. “BEGIN!!”

"Aaand it's started!!" the announcer declares.

His body instinctively kicks into action. He swipes the frisbee, keeping it afloat in a blaze of blood-red magic.

RSA swarm him, magical pens at the ready.

“Protect him…!” he hears Epel shout. “Protect the king!!”

His team charges, each of them trained on their target. NRC and RSA, reflecting the other, copying movements as they bound around on the field, seeking an opening or cutting it off.

Leona blows into enemy territory, furiously racing to the goal post.

"What's this?! It looks like Captain Kingscholar of the NRC team has already devised a plan to secure victory. They're closing off any aid the RSA team can offer to each other!"

The crowd revs up like an engine coming alive, a slumbering city waking. Blood thunders in his ears, louder than his audience.

"Oh no, you don't!"

"Oooh, and here comes the upset! It's Captain Kingscholar of the RSA team, come to interfere with the game plan!"

Leona swerves, and a stream of fire narrowly misses him. "Tsk!"

A flash of red and gold, and there's his brother at his side. "Sorry, Leona. It won't be that easy."

"Knock it off. I don't have time to play games with you!"

He dives, trying to shake Falena off--but he pursues, relentless in the chase. They thread each other in the sky, trading spells.

Explosions of heat and color. Shards of ice whizzing by, columns of water. Windy whips lashing at them. All-consuming light and darkness.

"This is amazing, folks! We are witnessing a brotherly quarrel the likes of which we've never seen before... Look at that dazzling display of flight technique and spellwork!"

Through it all, Falena' laughs.

So carefree, so cheerful. A knife twists in his chest, and the anger spikes again.

"That's enough...! I'm ending this," Leona snarls.

His magic collects in a single sphere. There is no body to it, no true shape--only a contained vortex of gales. They violently churn in an endless cycle, raising a storm in a jar.

He sends it hurtling at Falena, who moves to conjure a barrier--

Too late.

The ball expands, releasing its energy in one deep sigh. The audience is slammed back into their seats, the players blown to the ground or sent crashing into the bounds of the stadium. They're dazed, confused, scrambling to rebalance on their brooms.

The path, he sees, is clear.

Now...!

He lets out a monstrous roar and blitzes for the goal post. The disc sparkles, charging with power for the final blow as he gallops toward his prize.

The announcer hops back on, his voice frantic. "Could this be it?! Can Captain Kingscholar of the NRC team reclaim the throne from his brother?!"

Noise builds around him. RSA players calling out to each other, NRC players changing his name, the crowd cheering.

It's now or never.

Leona spikes the disc with all his might. It clears, the winning shot like a shooting star. Some golden object encapsulated in a blaze of fire.

The adrenaline in his blood sings with triumph. His tired muscles, his heavy breathing, the sweat upon his brow--badges of honor.

The sound intensifies, joined by whistles and shrieks. Feet stomping, hands clapping. People standing and hugging their neighbors. (Leona thinks he sees Crowley among them, sobbing uncontrollably.)

“This is incredible, ladies and gentlemen! You’ve just witnessed history being made today…! Night Raven College has snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, breaking Royal Sword Academy’s 99 year win streak!!"

Leona slowly returns to the ground, dismounting from his broom. He lands beside Falena, who is sprawled on his back and wearing the usual smile.

"Ahahah, looks like you beat me," he says casually.

"... Fool. Get up, you look ridiculous. The acting king of the Sunset Savanna shouldn't be rolling around in the dirt." Leona looks away, but awkwardly offers a hand.

Falena laughs and accepts it, hauling himself up. "That's a funny joke. When did you get a sense of humor?"

He scowled. "I didn't make one."

"Are you still half asleep? And you still beat me?" Falena punches him in the bicep. "That's my talented big bro."

"What... big bro?"

There it is again: something cold and sinister inside of him. The lingering feeling of wrongness.

Suddenly, the adrenaline in him turns toxic, and he feels as though his flesh and bones are burning. Leona seizes Falena by the shoulders and shakes him.

"What the hell is going on... Gaaah!"

A metallic screech fills the stadium. Pain blossoms in his ears, and Leona rushes to guard them, hands dropping away from Falena.

"Oops, sorry! Technical difficulties, folks!" the announcer apologizes. "It looks like even our equipment wants to cheer for Captain Kingscholar of the NRC team, the star player of today! Let's give him a round of applause!!"

They explode with excitement, Clapping and calling out louder than he can think.

"What a judicious young man!"

"He controls such powerful magic with ease...!"

He stands there, shocked, at the rain of adoration. Him, recognized? Respected, saluted, and seen as the wonder he is? Him?

His mind clouds.

What is this,,,?

"Leona-saaaan!!"

He turns, finding his teammates jogging over, Epel at the head. There are members of his own dorm with them--Ruggie, Jack.

"We gotcha now, Leona-san! Thought you could get away without getting your fur ruffled, huh?" Ruggie snickers, then gives Jack a thumbs-up. "Alright, fellas. You know what to do!"

"Hah, the hell is this? I didn't ask for a surprise after working my tail off."

"Sorry, Leona-senpai! Ruggie-senpai's orders!" Jack says very seriously. "This is the only way to give you a proper sendoff for carrying us to victory... You've earned it!"

"1, 2, 3...!"

"Wha...?!"

Leona is seized and hoisted into the air with a collective whoop of excitement. Tossed up, up, up. The stadium lights glaring, sound blasting.

He returns back to his peer's arms, and heaved up again. Down and up, down and up. Each pass makes him more nauseous, blinded and deafened by the dizzying joy.

"Long live the king! Long live the king!!" they chant.

The king... me? Leona fights against it, pushing as hard as he can.

But his body is tired, his mental capacities drained, his emotions worn. The situation, too sweet, too cloying.

I'm... the king... I won. This is my prize.

He closes his eyes and lets himself fall.

This time, for good.

When he opens them again, he swears he sees a dark figure flying high above the stadium. Not on a broom, but floating of his own accord. A pair of horns protrudes him his head, and he glimpses a pair of ghostly white hands clapping.

One additional spectator with glowing green eyes.

"Congratulations, Kingscholar."

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al9ayf · 11 months

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ᥫ᭡ 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐫 | trafalgar law x f!reader

✧ chapter 1 :: winged shadow

｡˚ summary: dragon queen reader decides to ally with trafalgar law and monkey d. luffy after the defeat of doflamingo, but you find yourself falling in love with the captain of the heart pirates.

(reader is "loosely" based off khaleesi from got)

law might be a little ooc just a litttleeeeeee

｡˚ word count: 3.4k

throughout all of the summer, the skies were blue—clear, blue skies. always shining, always hot. but today it was grey. so grey that the grass appeared to have no color. nothing had any color. it was all drained. even your face had been drained of all color. trees were drained of their vibrant greens, and birds of different colors all became dark and solemn. it felt empty—as if the earth was dying.

the funeral pyre burned with dragon fire as you stared into it with nothing but sadness in your eyes. you stared into nothingness, straight into that blazing fire. it crackled and spat bits of flame around. it was the only sound you paid attention to. yet, you couldn’t bring yourself to cry. you stood there with your hands intertwined, not moving one bit. this was your mourning. you were to not be disturbed until you made the first move.

after a violent battle between your husband and an enemy, he suffered an almost fatal attack to the heart. but in the final blow, he killed his attacker and later on suffered the consequences of the attacker's hit. and while he was dying you were giving birth. in the end, you lost both your husband and newborn on the same day. all forty thousand of his men stuck by you. you were their sole salvation.

finally, you turned around with tears welling in your eyes and a face that only showed mixed feelings. your trusted advisor and handmaiden, eira, walked up next to you and grabbed one of your hands. she was younger than you, a girl at the age of only eleven. she squeezed it tight which almost caused you to let loose of your tears and fall to the ground. eira noticed your slight change in demeanor and only came up closer to you to try and comfort you. as she comforted you, one of the men from the group came up to you; the commander of the warriors, lexer. you looked up at him, right into his dark eyes. he bent down in front of you on one knee, still looking right into your eyes.

“we will follow you until we no longer walk this earth,” he said in his thick accented voice. “there is no other leader we wish to follow. you belong on the throne, not your brother. you must take it. you are the true queen…”

he bowed his head, and so did every other man and woman that followed. you felt eira let go of your hand, and when you turned your head to look at her, she too was bending the knee to you. everybody was. your white gown blew in the wind (white being the traditional color for funerals in your culture), its cape flying in all different directions as you heard one of your dragons land behind you. it screeched loudly, almost as if it was agreeing with what your army said. you only managed to shut your eyes and allow tears to roll down your cheeks. they were right and you knew it. your brother, the king aenys, was “mad”. he was vile. you knew you were the only person who could take him down. so, you decided to do it. to take the throne and become the queen.

you were only fifteen.

—

four years have passed since that day. after you usurped your brother and executed him by burning him alive, your reign has been one of the best in the history of your family. you conquered even more islands and kingdoms than you could have ever imagined. you were one of the strongest people in the new world since you conquered and controlled a third of it. and your family history with the emperors of the sea only backed you up even more. you have strong allies, strong armies, strong terrains, and dragons. you were not to be fucked with. you were not to be betrayed.

you arrived in sabaody archipelago a few moments ago. they were holding an auction to sell slaves. for a while now, you wanted to stop it. they were to be freed not sold. and finally, you decided to do it. but it was the wrong timing. most, if not all, supernovas were present. they were fighting marines while the celestial dragons walked with their slaves chained behind them. you and your army hid well where nobody could see you. you turned to the commander of your queen’s guard, saxan. lexer stood beside him with his armor and helmet on. dragon wings on the helmet and the sigil of your house banner right in the middle of it. you looked at the army behind them after eyeing what they both were wearing.

“my warriors!” you yelled in your mother tongue, aegrean. “slay the masters, slay the marines, slay every man and woman who hold chains, but harm no child. strike the chains off every slave you see!”

you turned back to look at the two, giving them one last glance before walking away. you were in a remote area of the archipelago where nobody was in due to the chaos. it was perfect for hiding and planning an attack. you walked up to one of your dragons, drago. he was the one you rode ever since you were big enough to even ride a dragon. your two other dragons glaurung and morgul, his brother and sister, were already seeking your attention as they brought their noses up to you. you caressed the sides of it before getting on drago. he ran a few ways before setting off to fly. you grabbed on tight to the saddle and allowed yourself to be calmed by the strong winds.

dragons were faster than humans, so you arrived at the auction house in a matter of minutes. the screeching of your dragons caught the attention of the marines, supernovas, and other folk. when you were close enough to be able to see them right where you wanted them, you let out the word “nār” which meant fire in your mother tongue. drago fired down on them first and then along came the other two. you heard the screaming of everybody, including one of the supernovas especially. when drago flew over them to get to the auction house, you managed to get a closer look at the three. monkey d. luffy, eustass kid, and trafalgar law. the captain of the straw hats was of course the one screaming loudly and excitedly at the sight of dragons raining hellfire onto the marines. you scrunched your nose in annoyance and turned away. you disliked the supernovas.

drago flew over to the auction house and landed on top of it. you were now behind the pirate captains. drago screeched loudly and jumped down onto the ground, breaking the auction house with a whip of its tail. your army came running towards the auction house with their weapons and artillery.

“free the slaves! slay the masters! i shall burn all of this down!” you yelled in aegrean. your dragon screeched even louder as if he was ordering them as well. you looked up at the sky to see the other two dragons continuing to burn the rest of the marines. they would soon leave to burn their ships. there was going to be no means of escape for them. drago turned and looked at the three supernovas in front of him. he growled and yelled as he ran up to them. you watched their faces as drago snarled at them. kid and law seemed a bit freaked out, but luffy only screamed as stars erupted in his eyes.

“she has dragons!” he yelled. “she saved us with them! that is so cool!”

you looked down at him with a blank expression. he was annoying you because he ran around all excited yelling praises about your child. kid smacked him across the head and yelled at him for being annoying. “we didn’t need no saving, she was just getting rid of the remainders for us!”

“it didn’t seem like that!” luffy yelled back.

you turned your head to the third one. law had the faintest smirk spread across his lips as he looked from your dragon up to you. you locked eyes. golden eyes, slightly tanned skin, and dark hair. you admitted to yourself that he was handsome, but he was a pirate, nonetheless. not a warlord of the sea, not an emperor, just a supernova. he was below you. but something about him made you want to know more about him. but you resisted your urges and turned to look away from him.

“your majesty!” yelled saxan. he came up next to you which caught you off guard. you looked at him instead and allowed him to continue speaking.

“all slaves from the auction house have been freed,” he said. “no more warriors are left in there. it is empty—“

“good,” you cut him off and drago quickly turned around to burn it down. and once it was of no more, he ran past the supernovas and took off once again. you looked behind you to see the area one more time. all that was left was the fire. you looked away and continued to fly off into the horizon. there were more slaves to free. you had arrived later than you hoped, so, of course, a few were sold and were now walking with whoever. you needed to find them. you looked around to see anybody, but the streets were empty. there was nobody here. why wasn’t there anybody? you furrowed your eyebrows in distress. it was quiet too, too quiet.

then you heard it.

the sound of something whipping through the air and a bright light. drago cried out in pain as he suddenly started to fall from the sky. you groaned as you tried to keep a hold of him. and as you fell from the sky, you saw a pacifista come from the shadows. your eyes only widened in fear as it kept its hand extended to your child. drago was smart enough though, and amid his pain, he flew to a safer place and landed. you jumped off of him and ran to his side. whatever the pacifista did it didn’t harm him badly. all he needed was time to rest, and he was in too much pain to fly. your poor baby.

tears welled in your eyes as you rubbed your dragon's side, trying to comfort him and calm him down. the sound of his cries pained your ears but you had to stop yourself from crying. he needed your support.

“rest, my child,” you whispered in aegrean. “we will heal you when you can fly again.” but he only cried in pain even more.

that’s when you heard the stomping. you turned around to face the pacifista right as it stopped a few meters in front of you. your breathing became heavier and faster as it raised its hand. but drago whipped his head around and opened its mouth to breathe fire. right before he could though, a blue sphere surrounded you, the pacifista, and drago. next thing you knew the pacifista was cut in two, and it fell over dead. drago started to snarl at whoever was behind the goddamn cyborg.

law walked around it, revealing himself to you. you locked eyes again and he started walking up to you. you straightened your back and walked a couple of feet in front of your dragon. “hold it!” you yelled in the common tongue.

law stopped and stood right when you yelled. you looked him up and down, still breathing heavily from the encounter. “another step and he will turn you to ash,” you said. you turned around to calm drago down, and once he laid his head back down on the ground, you turned back to face the pirate captain.

“i must thank you for saving us,” you said. law walked right up to you and stood only a few inches away at this point. he was tall and had a good build.

“you got the marines off my ass and my crew’s,” he said. “i don’t want to be indebted to somebody, let alone you.”

you looked him up and down, then back into his eyes. “your debt is repaid then, so i don’t know why you’re still standing here.”

“your… dragon,” he pointed his sword at him. you narrowed your eyes at him. “i can help him.”

“you only want to help him so i can be indebted to you this time,” you said, stepping closer to him.

“maybe, maybe not. but a mother’s child is in pain…”

“how am i supposed to trust you?“

“you’re not.”

law moved past you and dropped his sword on the ground. he walked up to the wound with you following behind him. hesitantly, he placed both of his hands by the wound before turning his head to look at you. he saw the worry on your face.

“this won’t hurt him, right?” you asked, your voice almost breaking. law shook his head “no” and you then let him take over. you didn’t know how but assumed it was his devil fruit power, but in seconds drago’s wound started to heal. once law stepped away from him you let out a deep breath.

“thank you,” you said.

“i’m intrigued by dragons,” he said, going to grab his sword. “do not think of this as a debt to be repaid. i’ve always wanted to touch a dragon.”

you smiled, but once he turned around to look at you, you dropped it. you didn’t say anything else as you climbed back onto drago and took off. he screeched, and in return so did his siblings. you left the archipelago with the kindness of law in mind. you wouldn’t forget it.

—

two years have gone by since that ordeal. you forgot about it in all honesty, but sometimes when you are with drago your eyes go over to the small scar that was left behind by that pacifista. you think of the kindness once more and never again. until one day when your hand, eddard, came up to you to tell you that trafalgar law has docked at the port and wanted to meet with you. he was a warlord now and was more feared. what he wanted to speak about, you would never guess. you then think back to drago and wonder if his words were a lie.

you sat on your throne, patiently waiting for him. your eyes darted around the room in boredom. dragon carvings on the wall, dragon statues, large candle holders down the sides of the room, and small steps up to your throne in front of you. the skylight allowed the sun to shine through, but it never reached your feet. eira stood next to you but down the steps some, and so did eddard. a few of your soldiers and warriors were also in the room. you were very much protected.

when the doors to the throne room opened, trafalgar came walking in. by the looks of it, he seemed stronger. you wondered if his personality had changed or not. he stopped, and behind him followed a polar bear with an orange boiler suit. you almost raised an eyebrow but stopped yourself.

“you stand in the presence of queen y/n l/n. conqueror of the new world. queen of the new world. protector of the new world. the first dragon queen…” said eira

he only nodded his head and turned to look at the polar bear. he didn’t say anything. eira looked back at you with concern in her eyes. you gave her a look that she only understood, and decided to introduce him to you since he was uninterested in doing it himself. “this is trafalgar law. captain of the heart pirates. warlord of the sea. his bounty is at four-hundred forty million berries.”

“we’ve met before,” you said with a smile. “i hope the seas weren’t too rough.” you cupped your hands over your lap.

“the seas are never rough when you’re traveling by submarine,” he said. you only nodded.

“then what brings you to my kingdom?”

“an alliance.”

“alliance?” you questioned, raising a brow. “whatever for?”

“dressrosa is one of your kingdoms, is it not? doflamingo took control of it when your brother was still king. we both have a mutual hatred for the man and i think it would be best if we were to be allies in taking him down.”

eddard walked up the steps to get to you. you lingered your gaze from law and then to your hand right when he reached you. he gave his back to the pirate and pursed his lips at you. “your majesty, trafalgar has a long history with doflamingo. it would be best to let him take doflamingo down on his own. a reminder that kaidou—“

you cut him off. “i’m no fool, pirate,” you said, raising your voice. “there is more to this than what meets the eye. what is it that you truly want?”

law smirked. “i could never lie to a queen,” he said, taking a few steps toward you. your warriors moved forward though, causing him to stop. you raised your hand. “it’s alright,” you said in aegrean. they moved back and law walked up the first few steps but didn’t dare come closer to you.

“my main goal is to defeat kaidou,” he said.

you scoffed. “then you may leave this kingdom and my seas. when the time comes, i will fight doflamingo with my army and dragons. i will take back control over my kingdom by myself. but if you wish to get that out of the way for me on your own, then go ahead.”

“you cannot fight doflamingo on your own. you need my help.”

“i do not need the help of a pirate. you’re the one who needs my help,” you glared at him. “i will not betray an emperor of the sea. i don’t want any involvement in this plan.”

“kaidou is no ally of yours,” said law angrily. “an emperor of the sea, yes. but when the time comes, he will not hesitate to betray you and kill you. his only allies are pirates that would love to help him rebel against you.”

“and why do you think so?” you snapped.

“isn’t it obvious? you sit on the throne and control most of the new world. you have three dragons and two of the most powerful armies at your side. you are one of the most powerful people in the new world, and you ask why kaidou wouldn’t take the opportunity to kill you?” he asked. “once you are dead, he will only gain more power by eliminating a threat. he will take your throne.”

eddard moved away from you as you slowly got up from the throne. you were angry. you walked down to him but stayed two or three steps away from him. you wanted that leverage. you wanted to show him that there would never be a time when you would be defeated. you wanted your stance to intimidate him, but it only left you cowering under his piercing eyes.

“when the time comes, you will know when i have made a decision,” you said. he was going to speak up but you continued speaking. “because i will either burn you or burn my ally.”

you took one more step down to get at a leveled height with him. “but if you are wrong, trafalgar, you will be my enemy until you are no longer breathing.”

you eyed him and then turned around to sit back down on your throne. law looked at the window behind you, the gigantic triangular-shaped window, and saw as one of your dragons flew by. he will have you as an ally. and with one more look at you and your people, law turned around and beckoned for his crew mate to follow him out of the throne room, leaving you all alone to think about what he said.

you leaned toward where eddard was standing and called for him. he bent down next to you and leaned his ear close to your mouth. “keep an eye on him. i want updates on whatever he is doing. let me know immediately if what he says is true.”

eddard only nodded before leaving the throne room. and you continued sitting there playing with your old wedding band that now sat on your right ring finger. what would your husband have done? and what would your brother have done?

ch. 2 !

#one piece #one piece x reader #law x reader #trafalgar law x reader #one piece x y/n #one piece x you #trafalgar law #one piece law

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nox-the-former-demon · 7 months

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>>Today, news arrived that has lead me to decide to disclose details about my former enemies and rivals. I, Nox, a former demon now living life as a second soul entangled in a human body, fought a vicious campaign against the keepers of order and status in the rivers of death and birth, and during that time, I had many a foe. Several I destroyed by my own hand, others I had subordinates dispose of, but over my 800 years of near stalemate war, three stood out. The three that never died and never retired… well, mostly anyway.

The first was a man who to this day maintains the name of the Christian god as his name of choice, something that dozens are beyond annoyed by. At a time, he was considered the justiciary of order, the keeper of the status quo. But eventually, he became big headed and to this day isn’t particularly popular. Still, as the founder of the knights of justice, and to this day the one on charge of determining punishments, if there’s one thing positive he brings, it’s that he doesn’t make decisions rashly. Still, his position has been severely limited due to drops in popularity. The fact that he still exists and hasn’t retired is something that can only be attributed to stubbornness.

The next notable figure is one that demands far more respect. Terrifying respect at that. A man with a name now lost to time. The first face the departed see, the arbiter of the end. Death. Death has long been the overseer of the moment life ends. Making sure souls don’t get lost in their way to their cleansing. Making sure that all things come to their end when their time comes. I remember that moment for myself clear as day. I panicked at first. But he calmed me. Explained that death wasn’t the end, that a new opportunity awaited, and showed me which way to go. He didn’t stay around of course, he had other places to be. But Death’s job isn’t to oversee what comes after, only that moment.

At least, when he is at his job. But of course my war forced his hand a few times. Death rarely took to the battlefield himself. Too busy, too obsessed with making sure his job got done. But I’d there was a single soul that could make me feel fear, it was Death. In hindsight, I think his general policy was to only get involved when my actions might have ramifications on earth, or might disrupt the rivers’ flows.

But it didn’t matter. In a fight, the man was a butcher who left nothing standing. I have been lead to believe it was an inherent trait to his mantle. That those who carry the name Death have some trait to their spirits that make them almost impossible to harm, and that make their blows against others almost impossible to resist. Why he never actually ended me, I don’t know. But if I had to guess, it was because of his lover, and my greatest enemy. Cariel.

Cariel. One of the 6 capable of creating new souls, one of the most proactive and efficient warriors, leaders, and keepers of the cycle. Healer of the wounded, predictor of fate. Not the most powerful, sure, but effective at anything they did. Out of all my battles, they were the most consistent face. They lead dozens of teams against me and mine, both sides losing some, facing changing.

Maybe we were just equally matched, or maybe Cariel held back. Who knows. But those seven eyes, the golden claws… trauma may be why I remember them so vividly, or maybe it was infatuation, or jealousy… Cariel left the rivers nearly 20 years before my fall. I thought for sure I would be able to complete my coup with that, but no. It was always planned with Cariel. 20 years later, Cariel’s most loyal soldier boy showed up at my door with his former brother turned demon turned traitor. And for one reason or another, I didn’t stand a chance.

I wrote all this now because it has reached my ear that Death is finally hanging up his hat. That he is retiring, handing the mantle down to a chosen successor whom he is sure will be up to the task, and being born anew. So both my enemies are gone now. The only one truly left is being kept on the sideline. Even if I could return to the rivers, nothing would be the same. And that’s both terrifying, yet strangely comforting. Still, when the day comes for you to die, don’t expect a silver haired man with a gaunt face. Because he won’t be the one to meet you.<<

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tenthgrove · 3 years

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can i order a uhhhh... a hc scenario with la squadra members where s/o is kidnapped by a rival gang/syndicate no matter if s/o is a stand user or not? you don't have to do all the members if you don't want to c:

La Squadra rescues their beloved

La Squadra (separate) x Reader, Romantic, SFW

They left this morning with menial business. A hit, no complicating factors, minimal difficulty. There was no cause for concern in leaving you to watch the base. You relaxed on the sofa, content in the promise of a date that night and unaware of the figures creeping towards you from behind. Maybe if you had known what was happening, you could have saved yourself, but even the most powerful stand users in Passione are useless when knocked out. The intruders dragged your unconscious body out the window and into the trunk of the waiting car. If their intel on you was correct, the weight of your loss would immobilize the assassins for days. If only they knew the lengths your love would go to to bring you back.

Formaggio- There’s no way to beat around the bush. Formaggio panics. While he doesn’t doubt the capacity of his team to break you out, that relies on them actually knowing where you are. And that’s going to take hours of slow, excruciating investigation. Formaggio doesn’t have time for that! His baby’s life is on the line! But then, the young man bearing the conditions of your release arrives at the hideout, and Formaggio gets an idea. They aren’t going to comply with the terms, but they aren’t going to take Ghiaccio’s idea of just killing the agent and his escorts either. Instead, as Risotto is sending them on their way, Formaggio slips himself into the agent’s bag. How kind of the man to give him a ride all the way back to the enemy’s hideout! Once there, Formaggio shrinks himself further to the size of a keyhole, and slips his way through doors until he reaches the dingy room you’re being kept in. He crawls into your lap and nudges you to wake up. You’re amazed and overjoyed, and spare no delay in letting him shrink you down as well so you can sneak out together. Your captors will never know what happened! After a couple days of recuperation, the two of you will be sure to return with the rest of the team to give the group who took you their payback. Formaggio wants them to know what happens to anyone who hurts his beloved, and he’s going to make sure the two of you have fun doing it.

Illuso- Illuso’s first concern is to balance the dangers of busting in to save you without adequate planning, with the dangers of leaving you alone too long. Fortunately, Illuso’s stand is perfect for observation without risk of being spotted, so it’s easy for him to spy on the enemy syndicate’s associates and follow the right leads until he finds you. Taking a prisoner from La Squadra di Esecuzione has everyone in the syndicate talking, so it’s only a matter of hours until Illuso collects the information he needs to find you. With that sorted, Illuso seeks you out and pulls you into the safety of the mirror world immediately so you can’t be harmed, but then, he’s going to fuck with your captors. The doors are barred from the outside and they find their colleagues disappearing one by one until suddenly, the hallways start to look wrong. It’s as though the layout of the building has been flipped somehow. Then they see the laughing figure approach them, and they know it’s too late. You watch this all go down from the safety of behind Illuso, content to watch your captors cower like children as your boyfriend avenges your imprisonment.

Prosciutto- For a day, there is silence. The success of their plan is almost surprising to your captors, who fully expected at least one reprisal from La Squadra by now. They’re ready to present the terms of your safe return when, another shock, Prosciutto beats them to it. He phones them up. In exchange for your safety, he promises to switch sides. Your captors are floored. He’s actually willing to take their deal without them even needing to hurt you? Perhaps he won’t be worth much to them at all if he’s this spineless! Nonetheless, they agree to a meet up. Prosciutto can come, but he has to come alone and with no weapons. They’re fully aware his stand is indiscriminate, so if they bring you to the meet-up, the risk of hurting you would render him powerless. Surely. When the meet up begins it seems Prosciutto has kept to his word. He is alone, free of any weapons and carrying nothing but a suitcase of ransom money to smooth things over. Everything goes as expected and you find yourself staring dumbstruck as Prosciutto so willingly signs away his loyalty to Passione. Finally, Prosciutto hands the leader of the enemy suitcase the briefcase. A token of goodwill, he assures him. The leader unlocks the latch and opens the case, and is hit by a wave of cold air. The case is packed with nothing but bags of ice. Your heart leaps. “(Y/N)! CATCH!” Prosciutto yells, ripping the suitcase back from the mobster’s hands and tossing it at you. As the confused mobsters try to make sense of what is going on, Prosciutto summons his stand and begins its deadly effect. You hurriedly stuff the ice bags down your clothes to save yourself, but nobody around you is in any state to make the connection. One by one, they wither and fall. Grateful Dead snaps into nothingness and Prosciutto lends you a hand, helping you to your feet.

Pesci- You’d think he’d freeze up. You’d think he would become paralysed and indecisive with the fear of losing you. But no. When Pesci realises what has happened to you, all he can feel is anger. Anger and resolve. He sits down immediately and begins compiling everything that is known about the group that took you, having no qualms with ordering about anyone who volunteers to help him. Within a couple of hours he knows where you most likely are and has a concrete plan to get you out. And yes, it involves a lot of blood. Pesci will accept help in getting you back, as he knows it increases your chances, but he still wants to be the one to avenge the wrongs against you. Make no mistake that Risotto and Prosciutto are only there for support. The unprepared kidnappers have no chance against Beach Boy, when Pesci’s insecurities are completely buried under an overwhelming desire to be back in your arms. The battle is over in minutes and Pesci is holding you tight, muttering that he’ll never let anyone harm you again. Prosciutto is proud of him, as are you.

Melone- Now this is somewhat fortunate. With your permission, Melone collected some of your DNA a while ago in case you ever became useful as an emergency mother or father for his stand. He doesn’t make a habit of tracking you, but with your profile saved to Baby Face’s memory he can activate that ability whenever he wishes, and have your location in a matter of minutes. Deciding that with your life on the line, there isn’t time for him to take the lengthy route of creating a junior to attack your captors, he calls on the help of the rest of the team to break you out by force. But even with Risotto or Ghiaccio leading the attack, Melone will still ask to come along just to be reunited with you all the sooner. He’s going to be at his absolute best in taking care of you after you’re safe, making sure you’re unharmed and reassuring you with his attention. In terms of revenge, Melone would like to see you take your own against your captors. If any were taken alive, he wants to see you make them pay.

Ghiaccio- There’s no sense of hesitation as Ghiaccio speeds out the front door the second he realises what happened. It’s a good thing that La Squadra already has some knowledge of the group that took you, because Ghiaccio’s going to make up his plan as he goes along. All he can think about is having you safe and alive, and those thoughts possess him as he goes from place to place, tearing up every known haunt of the syndicate holding you captive until he finds you. When he finally arrives at the correct place, your capturers know to expect him. They’ve increased their security to the max until there’s a veritable army present to greet him at the door. But it’s no match for White Album. Nothing is. Ghiaccio doesn’t stop running when he gets to you. He carries you in his arms at full speed all the way home, terrified of any small injury you might have gained. Your close-call will leave him shaken, and he’ll guard you very closely for a long time. However, there won’t be any talks of revenge. After Ghiaccio’s rampage, there is nobody in the enemy syndicate left to pursue.

Risotto- A darkness falls over Risotto’s eyes when he finds you missing. His mind is filled with regret- regret for not following up on this new enemy sooner and regret for leaving you alone while the rest of them went out. But the time for remorse will come later. Now, he’s going to get you out. He scowers his contacts for clues as to your whereabouts, and he’s not afraid to threaten anyone he suspects of being compliant with your capture to find out what he needs to know. Anyone in the building when Risotto arrives might as well already be dead; he’s not showing mercy to any of them. After ensuring your safety, Risotto has no need to finish things quickly, so your captors will be subject to slow, agonising deaths courtesy of Metallica. Risotto believes strongly in principles of revenge, so he invites you to take the finishing blows if you so wish. Once the enemy hideout is coated wall to wall in crimson, Risotto wordlessly picks you up, regardless of whether you’re hurt, and carries you home. He takes you to your shared room and cradles you gently until morning comes.

Sorbet and Gelato- When the team discovers what has happened Sorbet and Gelato share a silent, all-telling look. They disappear to their room shortly after and anyone who passes can hear the distinct noise of weapons being moved around and loaded. They leave the information gathering to those more suited, but as soon as your location is known they emerge from their room armed to the teeth, announcing that they’ll be leaving right this second regardless of who will be joining them. They ram down the gates of the enemy hideout with a car, before bursting in, firing off their guns at whoever is unfortunate enough to be near. Gelato keeps everyone occupied at the front of the house, while Sorbet takes the mildly more stealthy route to seek you out. When they find you, you’re struck by the fact they seem almost gleeful to be presented with the opportunity for such bloodshed. But make no mistake, they’re absolutely furious. Never have either of them had to deal with one of their lovers threatened to this extent. Like Risotto, they’ll be looking to make your kidnappers suffer, but it won’t be over so quickly for them. They’ll be dragging the worst offenders home, to be subject to their torment for however long they please. The rest of La Squadra knows better than to ask questions. When they aren’t down in the basement getting revenge against those who hurt them, they’ll be sandwiching you between them on the bed or the sofa, whispering words of affection into your ear. You’ll be lucky if they let you get up any time this year.

#la squadra #formaggio #formaggio x reader #illuso #illuso x reader #prosciutto #prosciutto x reader #pesci #pesci x reader #melone #melone x reader #ghiaccio #ghiaccio x reader #risotto nero #risotto nero x reader #sorbet and gelato #sorbet and gelato x reader

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perriwinklesblog · 3 years

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I know some people prefer consistent content but I like to take it as it comes and sometimes life happens and other projects need to take priority.

So right now, I consider this to be a mid season break. Techno going into the prison was like the midseason finale for the Dream Prison Arc and Wilbur and Ranboo’s stuff was like their midseason finale and the Red Banquet where the egg was contained, was a midseason finale and alllllllll the mini episodes we’ve had since there are like specials etc.

You know, like how in Dr Who you can go a few years without a solid season but get a special at Christmas and New Year? You know like that.

So like all other programs, stories, videos I watch, I am coming up with ways in which the next bit could go. Some are a bit out there and definitely not happening, others I could see happening.

This is long and pointless and full or errors both grammatically and spelling wise but I had fun thinking of what could happen next. Read if you want.

Dream escapes prison with Technoblades help. A server wide man hunt comes for Dream but unlike his videos he had stolen the spare armour in the prison and so is pretty OP making it easier for him to put distance between his enemies and himself.

Technoblade returns to the artic and him, Phil and Will come to an in pass, a slight disagreement. Philza whilst having sided with Dream before, knows he’s not a good guy. Only used him to help destroy lmanburg for his own morals. It was not because he agreed with Dream. In his eyes, he was using Dream for his own goals. Plus, now he’s seen the aftermath of Dream’s terror on the citizens he realises the man perhaps shouldn’t be set to run entirely free. This slightly goes against Techno’s beliefs but the main issue of tension between them is Technoblade willingly placing himself in danger when he didn’t need too and helping release the man who tortured Tommy and clearly has something going on with Ranboo thats bad.

Wilbur is angry because Techno won’t say where Dream has gone due to an agreement between the two and Technoblade is a man of his word. Wilbur wishes to thank and meet the man who saved him. This also worries Philza because he’s worried he’ll revert back to the man he saw the day he blew up L’Manburg. Over all tension between the three

Niki and Wilbur finally meet and it is as heartbreaking as it is beautifully tragic. Wilbur apologises but misses the mark, misses what hurt her which hurts her more. There’s an explosion with their argument that leaves a stunned silence. Niki asks Wilbur to leave. He does so.

This leads to a Wilbur and Ranboo conversation where Ranboo tries to reason with Wilbur about Niki’s side. Wilbur brushes it off because much like the blue counterpart we all miss, he’s not a fan of the negative emotion. He tries to focus on the business etc and let’s slip that Dream has escaped somehow. Ranboo leaves. Wilbur is confused but distracted by a confrontation with Quackity.

Ranboo then starts his stream and he’s in the fucking panic room and he’s panicking because there are signs so many signs and they don’t make sense. Theres lesson rules, asking about the missing journal and it’s like every issue he’s ever faced is staring right back at him because Ranboo has never really resolved any issue, just pushed and moved on. He’s tried but that usually failed and for a while he’s ignored all the issues and here they are in front of him, all at one. A big volcanic eruption of anxiety and stress, and it ain’t sitting with him.

Dream appears. But is it really him? We never know because after a conflict and a back and fourth about everyone in Ranboo’s life eventually landing on a threat about Michael and Tubbo, he blacks out and the stream ends.

Quackity is livid with everything thats happening, the careful empire he’s building is falling apart and he’s shifting the blame around from person to person. He manipulates everyone around them into believing this is somehow their own fault and that they must make it up to him because he has been nothing but kind and loving to them. He gave them a place, a roof on their head when they had nothing. He misses out the parts where he insulted and or destroyed their homes, but it works and his employee “family” become the main bounty hunters for Dream, with Bad and Ant tagging along since they’re guards.

Now the streams relating to the manhunt displays everyones wants. They’re all doing this wanting something, and whilst it’s to gain Quackity’s favour back they’re all doing that for different reasons. Their motivations are somewhat different even if on the surface they are the same and so on the man hunts, because there will be many, this is slowly picked apart and through that the manipulation of Quackity is revealed and then we see a parrallel between Quackity and previous people in power where they start to get desperate to keep control over the thing they’ve created. Because that’s been one of (not the only) issues with every leader on the server, the control and their feeling of lack of, even if thats not truly the case. But you get these moments between all the characters where they’re trying to outwit one another, trying to figure it out without blatantly saying it. Maybe Foolish does. He’s a bit of a himbo.

Ponk always said he’d leave the door open for Sam and I truly think something happens, whether it be a look in the mirror with one of his guards going too far with someone or a conversation with Quackity where Quackity holds the mirror up to Sam maliciously, that causes him to hit the rock bottom and just break and I want that breakdown in front of Ponk. And I want Ponk not necessarily to give him the second chance off the bat but give him that peace offering, give him that hand to pull him up. I want him to take Sam to Niki and explain to Niki we’ve done bad things in the past, this is a safe haven and I believe Sam needs help and a place he can truly feel safe and for a moment Sam does and this begins his raid to redemption in gaining back the trust of the people in his lives. He becomes Tubbo 2.0 spying on Quackity like Tubbo did for Wilbur, but maybe less... bad.

But what of the Fiances? Wellllll,. With Dream escaping him and George meet in secret. George confesses he doesn’t believe it’s real and for a long time has been struggling with reality. He misses the early days, misses when they’d just have fun. Dream says he was having fun and George says I wasn’t. Dream shows true regret for George but says its too late now, can’t change the past. George agrees. Dream asks him what he’s going to do and he simply replies with “Sleep” Ending stream.

Sapanps stream is a lot more WE ARE GOING ON A DREAM HUNT WE’RE GOING TO CATCH A BIG ONE, I’M NOT SCARED. vibes. He’s gearing up, he’s suiting up and he’s saluting pets on the way. He made a promise and with everything else going on in his life, he’s ready to throw himself into a distraction. He tries to convince George to help him but he waves him off saying, what’s the point? and mumbles something about divine powers and dreams which Sapnap just shakes off. He tries to find Karl in Kinoko but instead comes across Quackity. They have a blow up about how They abandoned each other, both did wrong but neither see the other side of things and eventually he tells him to leave. Quackity says okay, and the place blows up. Foolish cries in the corner. All that heard work but the boss said so. Sapnap ends the whole thing saying at least he’s there for Karl and Quackity pauses and is like why? And Sapnap is all like you care. Just go, you’ve done enough damage, I can’t have you damaging him too. And after a little more but but but between the two, Quackity goes. Sapnap leaves the place to burn, going to find Dream and hopefully Karl on the way.

Karls in space. That’s where his latest travels have taken him and where the other side decided was his time to visit. Here I see a Wizard in Oz scenario where solutions to some issues will be revealed for Karl in relation to the other side. When it comes to his Dream SMP stuff, he starts confusing names and people more and Sapnap is worried about him, considering keeping him in a safe place. The only place that survived was the library with Karls books. Karl says he’ll stay there. Thats where the answers are anyway. Sapnap is unsure and gets bad vibes but is distracted by a lead on Dream and agrees, he tells him he’ll be back soon.

They don’t see each other for a long ass time

I’m not sure on the egg stuff but I do feel Niki and Puffy should have a conversation about all the shit thats happened and Puffy trying to help Niki and vice versa. I feel like Puffy should reach out to Foolish and try and comprehend what the fuck is he doing with Quackity. They have a little argument but it comes to a point where Puffy realises she cannot shield Foolish from harm and that her son ,just make his own decisions. All she can do is guide him where she can and hope that when it comes down to it he will make the right choice. She hopes she didn’t fail this dependant like she did with Dream her duckling. Though only she sees it as failure.

Jack and Niki finally talk. She goes searching for some things and comes to his new place, he tells her to fuck off and that he doesn’t need anyone. They all abandon him. Niki pretty much does the verbal equivalent of slap some sense into him as she and him discuss how he is not the centre of everything, how he is not the sun. She was hurting, and he didn’t bother, no instead they just fed off each others anger and once he couldn’t feed of her or anyone else he isolated himself. She tries to convince him there are better things in life, there are better ways to place your energy etc. A lot of healing talk with Jack being stubborn. Eventually Jack finds himself at the door of Quackity after sticking to stubbornness, not quite ready to heal and he becomes the next member of Las Nevadas. A big blow to Wilbur too.

They finally destroy the egg with magic. I dunno how but either destroy or hatch. Either or would be great. Red comes out the thing and I want a gay ass villain please. Bring it Red. Let’s go. Invite him to the server, bring the fire, bring the plant power Red. He can be the villain that unites everyone in a begrudging way. Like they all hate each other but fine i guess we’ll team to stop Red and Ant.

Skeppy’s dead.

Tubbo and Ranboo have a fight but Ranboo says “Weren’t we enough?” and it’s in relation to him and Michael (this happens before panic room). Thats when Tubbo realises where the wires got crossed and he immediately rectifies it but explaining he’s happy with the two of them but he wanted a job, something to work towards. Family wise he’s got it all, he’s content with it all but he wanted a project and one that didn’t incite violence. Fun rivalry sure, but he’s done with violence, he’s doesn’t want to add to the nightmares he already has. He wants competition but not one that will put all he loves in danger. So they talk it out and Ranboo feels more confident and Tubbo asks him to tell him if he ever takes anything too far because he can get a little carried away sometimes. Ranboo agrees and then they have a cute playdate with Michael. Then Ranboo does the thing with Wilbur and ends up in panic room.

Tommy and Tubbo discuss everything and lay it all out on the table because Tommy doesn’t want to be on the other side again with Tubbo. Tubbo doesn’t understand why everyone is making such a big deal about his burger business and Tommy tries to explain the issues with Quackity and the level of intensity he’s seen with Wilbur but Tubbo just laughs it off. They eventually talk about Ranboo and Tommy relents saying he likes Ranboo although he does sometimes get jealous of how Tubbo seems to have it all. Tubbo tells Tommy of his nightmares and so does Tommy to Tubbo. They come to an understanding with each other and understand that no matter how long they go apart, there is always a space shaped to fit them perfectly in their lives for them. Tubbo and Tommy then go play some pranks.

Wilbur is unhappy with the pranks and gives a lecture and they get into a fight. This leads to Wilbur talking man to man to Quackity. Theres some weird sexual tension. Once again they’re trying to outwit one another. That when we get to the crazy stuff.

And here’s where I get crazy with my stuff.

Ponk is digging in his lil cave when he accidentally breaks through to a random room buried deep underground. Tommy’s there trying to scam him out of something he has. Tubbo and Ranboo too. When they get to this room Ranboo thinking it’s the panic one and freaks out, but the others calm him down. Ponk thinking theres diamonds in the room storms ahead setting off some traps but surviving. Tubbo opens one of the chests and just says theres a bucket in there. Ponk pulls it out and says it has a named fish in it.

You see where I’m going.

They empty the bucket whilst asking what the fish is called. They are interrupted by a voice. It’s Sally.

Dream had captured her and bound her to a bucket and put her in the chest and hid her from Wilbur.

She has been released. She freaks out over how much time has past because for her nothing has changed at all. She thought it might have been a couple of hours or something since Dream pulled that prank on her but clearly not.

They all catch up and the season ends with Sally and Wilbur meeting in front of Quackity, Dream in the shadows and Sally and Wilbur turning to see Fundy who just freaks the fuck out.

Oh and just a side, Callahan is the last member of the syndicate and God of the server and is having fun playing with the mortals.

And then I have the next season planned out and how I’d end the whole thing but like until then. This is it. Mid Season to finale. How I picture things happening.

None of this will happen but isn’t it fun to imagine?

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marsbutterfly · 3 years

Text

Skyfall

Summary: When you are hired to kill the most dangerous mafia boss, things get a little complicated.

Wattpad Version! | AO3 Version!

|◁ II ▷|

“This is the end

Hold your breath and count to ten

Feel the Earth move and then

Hear my heart burst again”

7:34pm

The clock on your wrist tics quietly but in the silent room, it nearly sounds like bombs being dropped from above. Not a word is exchanged between you and the man sitting across the room but you know exactly what he wants.

In his hand rests a dark colored suitcase, you can barely tell until the light hits his belt ever so gently but you finally see the gun he’s been carrying.

You take a deep breath, getting up for your seat. The sound of your heels clicking on the floor fills the atmosphere as you walk towards him, the smirk on his lips is undeniable and you don’t understand what he has to be smiling about.

He stands up a second after you and walks in your direction, bumping against you and dropping his suitcase and the papers in his hand. In response, you throw on the floor the suitcase you once held.

The man apologizes profoundly as you help him collect the papers on the floor. You say over and over that it is ok, while all the curious eyes in the room land on you. As you stand up, you hand him the suitcase you once had in your hand and he nods, thanking you for the help and apologizing one last time.

You begin to make your way back to your car, the smirk on his lips still engraved in your brain as a chill travels down your spine. “Why was he smiling?” You ask yourself not wanting to admit it but you are a bit scared of knowing the answer.

Though once you open the suitcase, you understand why. Inside, rests the pictures and information of your next target, the millionaire leader of an enemy gang. Though you don’t enjoy taking sides, you’ve been paid a large amount of money to take her out, more than you have ever made.

The war between these two gangs has been going on for the longest time and you have killed enough people on both sides to earn a fair amount of enemies, but this time you couldn’t help but feel a sinking hole opening in your heart.

Hanji Zoe has always been the deadliest member of the underground group. Her kill count is even higher than yours, at least 500+ heads under her belt. They say her torture methods surpass even the ones they use in hell.

She’s known as the Devil herself.

“For this is the end

I've drowned and dreamt this moment

So overdue, I owe them

Swept away, I'm stolen”

8:15pm

Your keys unlock the heavy doors of your house and somehow the marble floors feel colder than ever. Your shoes rest in their designated spot by the coat holder and you throw the suitcase on the couch.

Two cups rest on the counter near the bar area inside your home. One of them contains what you assume is whisky, due to the color and the amount of ice in the cup, it has always been her favorite after a work day.

The lipstick marks are fresh meaning she has just now gotten home. Upon paying closer attention, you realize the shower is on and steam is coming out of the bathroom. You think about joining her but ultimately decide to have a drink first, trying to forget about your next target.

Gently, you take two rocks of ice and place them in the clean cup specifically placed out for you. Pouring yourself a single shot of whisky, you walk towards the balcony feeling as the cold air of the night hits your face.

You knew this day would come but you hoped it would take longer.

Deep in your own thoughts, you don’t realize the water has been turned off in the bathroom and wet footsteps approach your body.

It’s not until her wet arms wrap around your black dress that you realize you are no longer alone. Her face is buried in your back and you can see steam leaving her arms as the hair on her skin stands up.

The tattoo of your initials on her hand still brings butterflies to your stomach. The memory of the night she got it is still one of your favorite moments you spent together, especially since it was after your first date and she told you she knew you were the one.

“I missed you.” She says, placing a kiss on your skin. You can feel as her breasts are pressed against you and a gasp leaves your body.

“I missed you too.” You reply, a disobedient tear rolling down your face as you chug the contents of the cup in your hand.

“What’s wrong?” She asks, placing her hand on your waist as she turns your body around so you can face her. She is a few inches taller, nothing too extreme but enough to make you look up at her gently.

Her thumb brushes the tear on your cheek before rubbing it above your lips. You take a deep breath, gathering the courage to tell her the news you just received.

“You are my next target.” You say and Hanji nods, a sad smirk on her lips.

“Let the sky fall

When it crumbles

We will stand tall

Face it all together”

9:00pm

The brush goes through her hair with ease for the first time, as if she took care of the tangles in the shower already knowing what the news you were bringing would be. After shower moments were the ones where Hanji was the most vulnerable.

She would simply close her eyes and appreciate the attention she’s been given as she fades in the echo of your voice. You hum a melody quietly, Hanji’s favorite song in the hopes to bring her any comfort at all.

Your tears drip down your nose onto her scalp as you put her hair in a ponytail, attempting to help her get ready for the party she will be attending in an hour. At the highest floor of the second tallest building in the entire city.

“How are you going to do it?” She asks, lighting a cigarette and blowing the smoke up in the air while trying to make rings out of it. You giggle, touching her shoulders before sliding your hands down her arms.

You notice the goosebumps rising on her skin and can’t help but smile at how she reacts to your touch. “Must we talk about it?”

“I need to know.” She replies and you nod, sighing heavily while finally agreeing to talk about the elephant in the room.

“I’ll be on the roof of the Paradise building. I am pretty sure they will send someone to watch me do it.” You begin, spraying the bottle of perfume around her and noticing as the drops of liquid fall on her tan skin, masking the smell of the cigarette.

“But they might not.” She says and you shrug your shoulders.

“They might not.” You say quietly.

“I wouldn’t expect any less from this city’s top 1 assassin.” She says, taking your hand in hers and planting a soft kiss on your palm, leaving behind the red mark of her deep colored lipstick.

She stands up, allowing the robe to fall to the floor and reveal her naked body. You can’t look away from the perfect shape of her breasts, the line that goes through her abdomen from a previous surgery and all of her battle scars.

“Make me yours one last time.” You say, pulling your shirt above her head as you expose yourself to her and she nods, a devious smile curling up on her lips.

You see a few old bullet wounds, some healed while others are still healing. Every single one of them tells a story about who she is and how she has lived her life but your favorite story has always been the one of how she lost her eye.

It was three years ago, the day you met. How could you ever forget?

“Let the sky fall

When it crumbles

We will stand tall

Face it all together

At Skyfall”

Since you were a teenager, you’ve been good at killing. First your shitty parents and every family member who sided with them, including your own brother and sister. Finally being able to control your life, you decided to make a living out of it.

This career put you through college where you earned a chemistry degree, learning how to mix your personal kinds of poison, some of which no one has ever even heard of which makes it hard for the police to find who was responsible for it.

At first, you would go for basic targets: rapists, animal abusers, anyone who dared hurt another soul but word got out of how excellent and quick you were at your job and your number of clients tripled and your name was in everyone’s mouth.

One day, you got a call from a blocked russian number. A smile creeped on your lips as you heard a familiar voice over the phone, Erwin Smith. The man who gave you a chance to grow in this life and made you who you are today, your mentor.

“Y/N, I’m dying.” He says, his voice is faint and you notice his life force is fading away.

“I can tell.” You reply trying to lighten the mood and he laughs.

“Will you still work for the next boss?” He asks, coughing out a liquid which you could only assume was blood.

“If that is your dying wish.” You respond and he hums in agreement over the phone, “Then yes.”

Later that week, two men showed up to your house to escort you to Erwin’s funeral. The rain poured over his coffin, hiding away the tears of those who loved him.

Surrounded by at least five men sat a woman in a black coat, her eyes looking in your direction as she took the cigarette to her lips. The tattoos on her leg on display for anyone to see, you could’ve sworn she was silently flirting with you.

And in a moment of weakness, a car drove by shooting up the place completely. Of course they were received with a buffet of bullets as well, but nearly a third of the people around the casket were now dead.

As a bullet makes its way towards you, the brunette with danger in her eyes rushes forward to protect you only to receive the bullet with a glass platter. Needless to say, an uncountable amount of shards found their way into her eyeball.

While she bled in your arms, you tried to make sure she remained awake.

“What’s your name?” You ask and she smiles, bringing your hand towards her lips and licking your thumb with a palpable sexual energy.

“Hanji. Hanji Zoe.” She replied, “The new boss.”

“Skyfall is where we start

A thousand miles and poles apart

Where worlds collide and days are dark

You may have my number, you can take my name

But you'll never have my heart”

10:05pm

Once you are finished redoing Hanji’s hair, she stares at the closet before finally picking out a blood colored suit. No shirt underneath, she places the blazer right above her nipples, only enough to cover them while allowing the rest of her breasts to be exposed.

You on the other hand plan to dress yourself in a completely black outfit hoping to blend into the darkness of the night. Luck was on your side for there were no stars to brighten the sky, allowing you to take complete cover.

As far as you know, nobody is aware of your relationship with Hanji, not even her subordinates. Keeping business away from your private life has always been a priority, even before you committed your first paid killing.

She places a final kiss on your hands and one of your lips, though it does not feel like a goodbye and you sadly accept any kind of comfort you can find.

When her car is out of view, you decide to go up and take a shower by yourself. You wanted to decline this job, to throw everything away: your reputation, the money and simply run away with Hanji to a place where you could live your lives.

But you can’t. Before even knowing who your targets are, you are always made to sign a consent form and if broken, it would cost you your life.

The warm water hits your face and you can still smell Hanji’s strawberry shampoo in the air mixed with the fading smoke of her cigarettes. You begin to remember every shower you spent together, every kiss you shared at the most exquisite places around the world.

Hanji always knew how to make you feel like the luckiest girl in the world. Eventually, you can no longer if the water streaming down your face comes from the shower or your tears.

As you finish your shower, you begin to get ready. The black outfit had never been colder and the unsettling feeling at the pit of your stomach still remains. While putting a mask above your face, you look at your rifle.

It has your initials and Hanji’s secretly carved on the side and on the other it has the date you started dating. A good luck charm, as she liked to call it.

Tonight will be a fucking awful night.

“Let the sky fall (let the sky fall)

When it crumbles (when it crumbles)

We will stand tall (we will stand tall)

Face it all together

At Skyfall”

1:53am

Hours have passed since you've been sitting at the top of this building by yourself, looking through the binoculars at the party happening not too far away. In the end, they decided not to send anyone to watch over your shoulder as you do your job.

The richest and most powerful people in town were all attending and, even though they wore masks, you could still tell exactly who they were. The years of analyzing and recognizing targets from afar has given you the extraordinary ability to identify covered faces.

By the bar, you see her as she rests her arm on the glass top. She looks beautiful. Her whiskey brown eyes match the liquid in her cup as the black mask covers her features. For a second, you could’ve sworn she looked directly at you.

The instructions were clear: at 2am, a single bullet should be shot directly to her head, killing her instantly. So you position your gun, looking through the lense as Hanji disappears in the crowd for a bit before returning to her usual spot.

You sigh, stopping the tears that attempt to cloud your vision. Your finger slowly moves towards the trigger, as if time itself is desperately trying to stop you from killing your loved one, but it doesn’t matter. No one could stop you now.

Counting the seconds, you make sure the shot to her head is clear and you pray she won’t suffer at all. “Goodbye, my love.”

Time nearly stops once you pull the trigger. You watch closely as the bullet goes through her brain and blood splatters across the clear counter causing every person in the room to desperately run for their lives, not knowing they are all safe.

Only one man stands in the room and he raises his glass at you for he is the only one who knows no more shots will be fired. The asshole who hired you to kill the love of your life. Fucking Zeke Yeager.

With every ounce of your body, you decide that killing him isn’t worth it. He deserves to live to suffer in the future.

You bring your body back up, beginning to disassemble your rifle. It takes you less than a minute to be on your way and you can hear as police sirens approach the building in front of you.

“Where you go, I go

What you see, I see

I know I'd never be me

Without the security

Of your loving arms

Keeping me from harm

Put your hand in my hand

And we'll stand”

Finally getting back to your house, you throw the bag containing the gun on the couch before plopping your body right beside it, a long sigh escaping your lips.

Your eyes then notice the packed bags, all ready to leave as soon as possible. The clicking of heels comes from the other side of the house and you smirk, rushing your thumb through your lips.

“I feel bad for the lady you hired to die in your place.” You say, turning around and propping your chin on the back of the couch.

“Would you prefer if I had died in her place?” Hanji asks, rushing her hand through her freshly shaved head in an attempt to get rid of any hairs that still remain attached to her.

“Of course not, love.” You reply, walking towards her before taking the glass of wine from her free hand.

“Hanji Zoe is dead and the witness to it is Zeke Yeager himself.” She says, a devious smile on her lips.

You can’t help but link your mouth with hers, tasting the delightful mixture of alcohols she has had tonight. Her hands travel through your body, exploring every inch of your skin before gently brushing against your inner thigh.

You gasp gently, nearly melting in response to her actions. God knows you want to melt but you don’t have time.

“It’s 4:25am, the plane leaves in 35 minutes so we should go.” She says and you nod.

You grab one of the packed bags plus your rifle and she grabs the rest before extending her hand to you, hoping to walk away from this life with you by her side but not before staging your own kidnapping and death, everything so no one would ever look for either of you.

Once done with arrangements, she smiles.

“So where are we going to make our new home?” You ask.

“My home is wherever you are.” She replies and you feel your cheeks getting warm before she continues, “But I was planning the Carribeans.”

“Fuck yes.” Is all you say and she laughs, squeezing your hand as you both say goodbye to the apartment you’ve shared for years. Leaving behind a life of danger to live together in the house of your dreams, far away from all the negativity.

Just you and Hanji. And maybe a few cats and dogs along the way.

“Let the sky fall (let the sky fall)

When it crumbles (when it crumbles)

We will stand tall (we will stand tall)

Face it all together

At Skyfall”

69 notes · View notes

nerdlydelicious · 2 years

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Jaune Arc, Gryphon Knight: Prologue

Hey folks!

This is a fic I have been working on for a few years now over on fanfiction.com. I've decided to begin exporting it by chapters over onto here to bring it to more people. I'll be uploading a chapter a week of what I've already written onto here until I'm caught up to what's on FF, at which point uploads will slow down to one a month as that's my upload schedule for the chapters. If you don't want to wait a week I'll leave a link to the story on FF at the bottom of the chapter.

Now in this story there's going to be two things I'm changing right off the bat. One: Jaune's weapon. It will no longer be his sword Crocea Mors with a shield/sheathe. Instead It will be a Halberd called Brillant Mors, or shining death in english. Other than that the story is pretty much the same up until where this fic picks up. Jaune is still a bad fighter, he still has a crush on Weiss, Pyrrha still has a crush on him, and no one has died yet (probably). Other than the halberd the events of volume 1 up to this point haven't changed, including Jaune killing the Ursa Major and saving Cardin's life. I will be doing my best to follow the story line of the show but will of course be changing things as needed to suit the fanfic.

The second thing is that I will be renaming the Griffons, the Pegasus looking Grimm in volume 3 to, you guessed it, Pegasus. I mean they already look like pegasi anyway right? and It'll help clear up any confusion over which kind of gryphon I'm talking about when I say gryphon in the story

This chapter will pretty much be a prologue chapter, so chapter two will be where we pick up after forever fall. With all that out of the way, on with the story!

Prologue: Fall of the Order.

They chanted his name as they slammed the ends of their weapons against the floor, shields, or breastplates.

"Arc! Arc! Arc!"

Those in his path stepped to the side as he walked through their formation. His white full plate armor covered him from the neck down, his helmet strapped to his side. Brillant Mors, his ever reliable halberd, was gripped in both hands, the low torch light glinting off the dust treated steel.

"Arc! Arc! Arc!"

They faced certain death. He knew it. His men knew it. There was no escape. On the other side of the massive double doors leading to the interior of the Order's fortress was an army of Grimm, uncountably large. They would all die here. Their corpses would be naught but Grimm food when they fell. There would be no funeral rites sung, no great feasts to celebrate their memory, because they were all going to die here. Yet no man felt fear at the death waiting outside the door, and why would they? Every man there was a warrior of the Lady of Light. They were the bastion against darkness, and even in death they would strike a blow against the shadows.

And he?

He was the greatest of all the Lady's warriors.

He was Her Champion, Her will incarnate. He was their leader, their Knight-Lord.

The first Gryphon Knight, Cailan Arc.

Out in front of his men Cailan turned and faced them. Their weapons slammed as one against the nearest hard surface, shaking the walls with their force of impact.

"ARC! ARC! ARC! KNIGHT-LORD ARC!"

He raised Brillant Mors in one hand, and at the same time as his men slammed the pommel against the stone floor in a final crash that shook the very foundations of the fortress.

Silence filled the hall as he gazed out upon his men. Blue eyes burned with inner power. Every inch of his tall and muscular body was covered in full plate and chain mail. Messy blonde hair framed his face, and thick blonde facial hair covered the lower part of his face. If one looked closely they could see a hint of silver in his hair, a sign of his age.

"Men," he called, his deep and powerful voice radiating throughout the hall, "the enemy has us surrounded."

No one spoke, but at the mention of their hated foes the Grimm their eyes hardened, and furious snarls twisted their faces.

"And at the head of the horde is the witch herself atop her mount. The goddess of darkness, Salem."

This time roars of rage and defiance shook the hall, and Cailan Arc had no doubt that Salem could hear them clearly. He held up a hand, and all fell silent.

"In a way we should be honored. Our greatest foe has come in person to ensure both our destruction and the destruction of the Order. I will not lie to you my brothers. We who remain here shall die. However, the Order shall not die here. Sir Marusus, step forward."

From behind the formation of soldiers a black haired man in full plate and clutching a Halberd similar to Cailan's walked forward, the men in formation stepping out of his way as he walked forward with Cailan's personal Gryphon, Talon.

All gryphons were mighty beasts, part lion, part eagle, and large enough for a man to ride, but even amongst other gryphons Talon was magnificent. Like all gryphons his rear half and legs were that of a lion's, but instead of fur his body was covered in feathers, save for his mane. Massive wings sprouted from his front shoulder blades, powerful enough to create gusts of wind strong enough to knock men and grimm off their feet. His head was that of an eagle's with a beak powerful enough to rip through the toughest Grimm hide. His retractable claws were long and just as deadly as his beak. Where most full grown gryphons were the height of war horses Talon stood taller than his kin, making him a truly massive beast of war. Normally the war beast wore armor that covered his entire body like all gryphons that were ridden into battle, but today his body was barren of his war gear. Talon would not be taking part in this final battle. He would be part of something far more important, and far more difficult. He was leaving the fortress behind to go into hiding so that someday he would be of use to House Arc in the future.

As Marusus reached his Knight-Lord he knelt and held out his own halberd in both hands. Cailan took the proffered weapon and placed Brillant Mors in the hand of his most loyal knight. "Marusus. Do you understand why I entrust this task to you? Brillant Mors must be returned to my family so that my descendants may take it up. Talon must be taken to a mountain far, far away and put into the Great Sleep, so that he will wake when the time has come. All of our remaining gryphon eggs have been hidden all over Remnant in places where Salem will never find them, and have been placed into hibernation until one who is worthy of a gryphon mount finds them. I know it pains you to leave us to die old friend, but always remember that it is the duty of yourself and your ancestors to safe guard the remnants of our order and ensure that it may be revived someday."

"I understand my lord," swore the kneeling Gryphon Knight.

"Then rise my knight, my brother in arms, and embrace me." The two men embraced, knowing this would be the last time they saw one another in this world, and separated. Marusus stepped aside as Talon stepped forward and bumped his beak against Cailan's neck, cawing mournfully. Cailan wrapped his arms around the massive war beast's neck. Tears gathered in his eyes but he held them back. It would not do to cry in front of his men. Cailan spoke no words to his mount. He did not have to. The telepathic bond shared by gryphons and their riders negated the need for words. However as he released the creature's neck and placed his forehead against Talon's beak he whispered a final message to his beloved mount. "Look for the scion of House Arc."

With that he released his mount, and Marusus and Talon left the great hall where the remnants of the Order were gathered, heading to a secret exit that would allow them to escape from the Grimm and find a safe place for Talon while he fell under the spell of the Great Sleep.

Marusus and Talon gone, Cailan turned back to his men. He raised the halberd he had taken from Marusus over his head. "Men! We march out against the darkness one final time! We are the warriors of Vaya, the goddess of light! We are the foes of darkness!"

He gazed out at his men, pride welling in his heart at the fearless faces that gazed back, knowing what he was about to say.

"Men!" roared Knight-Lord Arc, "who are we?!"

"We are the blades of the light!"

"Who are we?!"

"We are the flame of hope!"

Cailan felt pride and righteous rage building up in his soul in equal measure. "Who. Are. We?!"

"WE ARE THE BLADES OF THE LIGHT! WE ARE THE FLAME OF HOPE! WE ARE THE FOES OF DARKNESS! WE ARE THE WARRIORS OF VAYA!"

"MEN!" roared Cailan Arc. "PREPARE FOR WAR!"

Thousands of voices roared in jubilation as they rushed to their gryphon mounts. Their magnificent steeds clawed the ground anxiously, knowing the Grimm were just outside the massive double doors, clawing and smashing at the door in a vain attempt to get in. Gripping Marusus's halberd Cailan mounted his old friend's gryphon, named Razorclaw. Not as large as Talon, Razorclaw was an older gryphon, and thus far calmer than his younger brethren, but Cailan could feel the energy thrumming through the war beast's body. He smelled Grimm and wanted nothing more than to tear them apart.

All saddled the Gryphon Knights formed up and awaited the order from their Knight-Lord at the front of the formation. Down a long and massive hallway was an equally massive set of double doors. Beyond those doors lay the Grimm and, atop her dragon mount, Salem herself. The Knight-Lord offered up a final prayer to the Lady and turned to the man next to him. "Open the doors."

The knight trotted his gryphon over to the lever in the wall that opened the double doors, pulled it down, and rushed back to his place in the line as the doors slowly groaned open.

The noise coming from outside the door was almost staggering in its intensity. Roars, howls, snarls, and hisses rent the air, loud enough to drown out all other sound. Save for one.

"FOR THE LADY! FOR REMNANT! CHARGE!" With a shriek of rage Razorclaw charged onward, spurred on by Cailan as he lowered his halberd at the Grimm who began to pour through the now open doors.

Thousands of roars and shrieks of enraged gryphon knights and gryphons alike rent the air and drowned out even the bestial sounds of the Grimm as the ground shook beneath the paws of charging gryphons. The blade of every man's weapon glowed with a white light that burned the creatures of Grimm as they roared their devotion to the Light.

"FOR VAYA!"

Of all the lights Cailan's was the greatest. Even without Brillant Mors Cailan was still Vaya's Champion, and the light emanating from the blade of his halberd was enough to drive the Grimm before him as they fled in fear.

They could not run nearly far enough to escape the rage of the Order of Light.

The Gryphon Knights smashed into the Grimm with the force of an avalanche. Grimm were shattered under the paws of gryphons, ripped apart by beak and claws, or cut down by the glowing weapons of Vaya's knights. At the front Cailan and Razorclaw reaped the greatest tally. Cailan lashed out on all sides with his halberd, the light burning the Grimm as his blade cut through them with ease. All the while keen blue eyes searched until finally he saw her.

Salem, atop her dragon, with hundreds more of the monstrosities hovering in the air beside her along with many thousands of lesser airborne Grimm. Cailan raised his halberd and pointed it at Salem. "Knights! To the skies!"

The massive wings of gryphons unfurled and they all took to the sky, heading directly towards Salem.

With a flick of her hand Salem sent the lesser airborne Grimm towards the knights, knowing it would only slow them down at best. Nevermore and Pegasi were smashed aside by the knights, hardly even slowing their rapid ascension towards the goddess of darkness.

As the knights drew closer to Salem the glow on their weapons faded and quickly failed, the strength of Salem's magic crushing their lights.

All but one.

Dimmed slightly but in no way fading, Cailan's light continued to burn as he flew towards Salem, his halberd couched and pointing directly at her.

With a contemptuous smile and a wave of her hand Salem sent her dragons flying towards Vaya's knights with great earth shaking roars.

The very air seemed to quake as the two sides clashed.

the Gryphon Knights were valiant and fearless, but none save Cailan could hope to be a match against a Dragon on their own. Scores of knights and gryphons were knocked down to earth by the teeth, tails, claws, and fire breath of the dragons. Those who survived landing fought to the bitter end against the earthbound Grimm and slew scores of them individually, but were eventually overwhelmed by sheer numbers as they were dragged down and ripped apart. However the dragons, the greatest of Salem's creations, fared little better. Even with their lights quashed the Gryphon Knights of the Order fought savagely against the dragons. As wounds accrued the dragons fell to earth one by one, and either died upon impact or were finished off by the knights. As the last of both dragons and knights fell to earth only two remained in the skies. Knight-Lord Cailan Arc, Champion of Vaya, and Grimm mother Salem, the goddess of evil in the flesh.

The goddess laughed, but it was strained and forced as she watched the last of her dragons fall. "You think killing them will change anything? After I kill you your order will be gone. I won't need the dragons to crush whatever pathetic resistance the rest of humanity manages to cobble together. The Order of Light was the last great threat to my plans, and now it has been extinguished, all save for you Cailan Arc, so called champion. Look around you. My creatures of darkness, My Grimm, cover the land as far as the eye can see. You have failed. Your Order has failed. Vaya has failed."

Indeed no matter where Cailan looked the Grimm were everywhere, like a black carpet smothering the land. Lesser men would have felt fear or doubt, but Cailan felt no such things. He knew his duty was not to stop Salem. That would fall to another, far far into the future. His duty was to ensure that the world survived long enough for that other to be born.

Without saying a word Cailan leveled his halberd at Salem. The message was clear. Salem sent walls of pure shadow at Cailan and his mount which Cailan smashed through with his glowing halberd. He flew directly at Salem, Razorclaw shrieking in rage. Salem's dragon roared in response as it soared towards Cailan and Razorclaw. The airborne foes smashed into each other, the mounts clawing and snapping at each other as Salem created a sword of pure blackness and clashed with Cailan.

It was clear who held the upper hand. Razorclaw was a crafty and vicious creature but he could not hope to match the insane ferocity of the dragon, whose claws and teeth cut through metal and flesh with ease. The same was true of Salem and Cailan. He fought with all his might, slamming his still glowing halberd into Salem's black blade with enough force to shatter granite and crumple steel, but she deflected each and every attack with ease, her own counter attacks nearly knocking the halberd out of the Champion's grip. But Cailan was counting on her hubris to be her undoing and leave herself open.

Soon enough he was proven right as Salem's dragon landed the final blow on Razorclaw. With a lunge of its head it closed it jaws around Razorclaw's throat, crushing the gryphon's neck but leaving its rider open. Salem herself briefly took her eyes off of Cailan to watch the life flicker and die in his mount's eyes, a grin of blood lust on her ivory face. Cailan leaped from the back of his dying mount onto the neck of the dragon and raised the halberd for an overhead stab. Salem's eyes widened in fear as she tried to raise her sword to deflect the blow, but both she and Cailan knew it would be too late to stop him.

Salem shrieked in agony as the Knight-Lord's glowing blade sunk into her chest. He roared in defiance as black waves of energy radiated out from Salem and killed everything around her for miles. Including her dragon.

As life left the dragon Salem and Cailan fell to earth, the halberd still lodged in her chest as she wailed. With a final burst of black energy Salem disappeared, fleeing back to the Grimm lands with what was a severely grave wound, even for a goddess.

Cailan could feel his body going numb from as he fell, his life quickly leaving him. He closed his eyes and saw the one whose duty it would be to safeguard the world from Salem when she returned to full power. He was young, untrained, uncertain, and afraid. So very afraid. But beneath a scrawny frame and nervous grip on Brillant Mors there was something there. A spark. Of hope? Courage? Rage? All three of these and more? Cailan did not know, but he did know that this boy was the Scion of House Arc, and fated to be Vaya's champion. A smile came to Cailan's lips as he whispered the boy's name.

"Jaune Arc..."

The Knight-Lord never felt his body hit the ground.

*****

And so we begin. I'm sure some of you have questions about certain events and plotlines established here. Don't worry, they'll be answered as the story progresses. That said, please don't hesitate to comment or PM me what you think so far. I always encourage feedback and want to here what people think of my writings.

If you're enjoying this story please like and reblog it! There's plenty more to come, that I promise you.

If you want to read the rest of the story and don't want to wait for weekly uploads you can find what's been written so far here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12061581/1/Jaune-Arc-Gryphon-Knight

If you want to further support myself and my works as I strive to establish myself as an author then please consider following the link below to pledge to my patreon and monetarily support me in my quest to be the very best, like no one ever was: https://www.patreon.com/Nerdlydelicious

A very big thank you to my two Knight-Lord level patrons Scout and Lufftewaffle for their support!

#jaune arc #rwby fanfiction #rwby #Jaune Arc Gryphon Knight

7 notes · View notes

darkherolovercroissant · 2 years

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Sequel Trilogy Layout Remake

Before all the toxic fans and upset fans come out and attack me, this is just how I would of wanted it to be made. No negativity here!

The Force Awakens:

-Start movie off with young Ben Solo being dropped off at the temple with Luke and younglings.

- Show when Ben started feeling the dark urges and when Luke felt the darkness inside Ben.

-Instead of Luke hiding away from the world, have him search for a new Jedi temple and look for those who are force sensitive and train them.

-Have the other new characters introduced (Rey, Finn, Poe etc)

-Rey being found on Jakku by both Finn and Poe and being a dynamic trio by escaping with the Falcon.

-rendezvous with Han Solo and Chewie and making it to where the resistance is where the trio comes face to face with Leia (I know she’s dead).

-Rey and Finn both being sent to Luke where they’d both be trained in the force.

-bring back other Star Wars species from the other lore and mix them with the new lore. (Twi'leks, Togruta etc) and have more Jedi than just two.

-Also just add diversity. Have poc in the trilogy.

-Rey having more chances to show her skills outside of combat.

-Luke teaching them about how to feel through the force and lift rocks (so fanboys can shut up about it)

-towards the end of the movie, have the group on their way to build their own lightsaber.

The Last Jedi:

-Honestly keep the title, because it still fits.

-They build their lightsabers, which is based off their skills.

-Rey rightfully gets a double bladed lightsaber (why they never bothered to give her one is stupid)

-Training really begins. We see more fighting techniques come out through fighting.

-Have characters study the legacies of the past Jedi and have them learn from their mistakes.

-Rey & Kylo force bond, but Kylo is a complete asshole (like he was meant to be)

-Bring out the Knights of Ren and have the group face off for the first time, but the bad guys win causing the group of Jedi to flee and regroup.

-Rey digging deep down into the Jedi sacred texts to learn more between lessons while also teaching Finn and the others.

-Poe Dameron being the best pilot in the resistance and blowing up enemy ships to piss off enemies, but also gaining intel on the enemy plans.

-Rose Tico being taught by Leia on how to be a commander and when the time comes, she will be promoted to run the resistance.

-Kylo Ren sensing that the Jedi are getting stronger and urges to forward a new assault, but Snoke miscalculated and said it wasn’t anything to worry about.

-the Jedi decide it’s time to strike and gain leverage, so they attack the first order and ultimately causes catastrophic losses for the first order.

-Snoke is over powered and outnumbered by the resistance and then is killed, which after the Jedi flee.

-Kylo Ren takes over as leader and launched an assault on the resistance base. Killing almost all but the few ships that escaped.

-the resistance joins the Jedi at the temple where Luke and Leia then begin to teach together to hopefully speed up the process.

-Kylo Ren looses the ability to sense them as his mom (badass alert) blocks them from the force to prepare for the final arc.

The Rise of Skywalker:

-In many ways I like the title and it’ll hopefully match with the direction this goes, so we’ll keep it.

-The Jedi remain hidden for a year and they begin to finish their training, when Luke says that the battle is coming their way.

-Pilots rush to their ships and get ready to launch a bombing run.

-The first order arrives, but Kylo Ren is nowhere to be found.

-The knights of Ren show up and make their presence known.

-a large casualty for the resistance as they flee, but Leia sacrifices herself so the others could flee safely.

-in turn it takes a great toll on the resistance which is now under Commander Tico and Commander Dameron’s control.

-Luke finished the Jedi training and makes them the first Jedi masters of the new council.

-Rey starts to feel the pull to the dark side as Kylo manipulates her through the force, but Luke counters it and blocks her off from the force again.

-Kylo Ren gets a visit from a force ghost of Anakin who says that it’s not too late for Ben Solo. That there is still enough light inside him.

-Kylo swears that Ben Solo is dead and that Vader never made mistakes, except for when he saved his own son.

-When Anakin no longer can get through to him, he calls Luke through the force.

-Luke tried and calls to him saying that he was an idiot for not realizing what happened until it was too late. That he knows that Ben solo is still alive.

-Ben Solo comes out for a split second before immediately replaced by Kylo Ren once again. That was all he needed for his answer as he bids him farewell and that he was still his family and that he loved him.

-The Resistance starts the final assault and begins to bring the first order to the ground.

-The Jedi launch an attack on the Knights of Ren.

-Finn goes after Phasma

-Rey slips by all of them on the hunt for Kylo Ren.

-Poe joins Finn after he defeats Phasma after a lengthy battle.

-they take to wiping out the rest of the stormtroopers even though Finn is hurt with everyone they kill due to them being stolen children just like him.

-Rey and Kylo Ren meet for the final time.

-Manipulation takes place as Rey tries to defeat him physically and refuse to let him enter her mind and corrupt it.

-Rey’s energy feeding through her attacks.

-Rey being overpowered majority of the fight, but still able to land the odd blow to him and burning him with the lightsaber.

-Rey connecting with the Jedi of the past through the force, when that happens, Kylo Ren feels the force has completely betrayed him.

-Rey, after a hard fight, manages to overpower Kylo Ren and Defeats the first order.

-As he lays dying on the ground, Rey offers him a chance to live and promises to use the force to save him.

-he just ignores her and takes his final breath before dying and joining his family in the afterlife.

-Rey rejoins the resistance as they take in the first order going up in smoke and Rey rushes to apologize to Luke.

-Luke saying that Ben might have died, but so did Kylo Ren and now the universe would be able to rest.

-The Skywalker family would never be able to hurt anyone ever again. That the family plagued with suffering and hatred would now be in peace and quiet.

-Rey shares that she doesn’t feel like she belongs on the resistance after finding out that she’s a palpatine.

-Luke comforting her saying that she is who she thinks she is. That she may be a palpatine, but she’s in fact whoever she claims to be.

-Luke calls her a Skywalker as she’s the closest thing he has to a daughter and that he cares bout her a lot. Which Rey accepts as she now has the title of Rey Skywalker.

-Rey is standing on the one hill of Naboo after visiting the grave of Leia who was buried beside her mother and placing the Skywalker lightsabers inside the tomb.

-Igniting her lightsaber, a golden yellow hue shoots out of the hilt, indicating that Rey has achieved the Jedi Sentinel rank. For her skills outside of combat.

-The Jedi masters agree that it’s best to go out and search for apprentices to train and begin teaching the ways of the force in case darkness ever rose again.

-No Reylo bullshit as the whole ship is extremely stupid…like you had a trilogy where the main character was a woman and you had her whole arc rely on a man…wtf??

-The force was once again balanced as the universe had come to perfect ending.

-✨Cue credits!✨

#Star Wars #sequel trilogy #remake #my personal touch #personal take on the trilogy #Rey Skywalker #anti reylo #Finn #Rose Tico #Poe Dameron #the force awakens #the last jedi #the rise of skywalker #darkherolovercroissant #no hate zone #take negativity somewhere else

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nillegible · 3 years

Text

(Part 3 of Stay, the MY time travel fic. Read Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 )

It’s several more weeks before he meets Qin Su again, and it’s like having a sword shoved through his gut a second time.

He thought he’d gotten over her death in the weeks since, but apparently not.

Meng Yao’s skills at administrative work, honed to perfection over years of managing Jin sect, had resulted in a series of rapid promotions, as more and more people realized that Meng Yao was not only capable but willing to do boring meticulous drudge work and do it well. By the time Qin Su returns from her mother’s small, secluded clan, Clan Liu, Meng Yao is one of Qin Cangye’s personal aides.

He keeps his face when she thanks him for saving her life just barely. It’s so hard, when she looks so young and carefree, untouched by the grief for a lost child, of a secretive husband who never turned to her.

Meng Yao had done that to her.

I didn’t have a choice, he’d cried to Er-ge, in a temple and felt justified. In front of her sweet face, that defence dies a quiet death.

She’d killed herself, when she heard the truth, and for one moment, in between the grief, the rising terror of an unknown enemy stalking him, he’d hated her for it. Do you think you have suffered more than I? How dare you take your own life, while I still didn’t give up?

But he owes her better than that, so he smiles, and promises the Young Mistress Qin that it was Meng Yao who was honoured to have been of assistance to her. He remains perfectly cordial, always, in her presence. He doesn’t hide away, doesn’t take paths around the buildings that she frequents, even though every time he sees her again, it hurts.

This pain, at least, Meng Yao deserves.

He’s careful not to get too close though. He makes his excuses not to join her where he can, and never shows her the attention he had in a previous life. He didn’t expect this to be noticed, but as he’s learned the hard way, some eyes are always sharper than Meng Yao would give them credit for.

When Qin Tianyu approaches him for tea and a discussion of the talismans that Meng Yao has been reworking to be more efficient, he thinks nothing of it. When they’re working on writing some together after, and the talisman master carefully broaches the topic as if it wasn’t intentional, Meng Yao can see the Sect Leader’s interest in the matter.

“Meng Yao has been noticeably cold to Su-sizhi,” says Qin Tianyu.

Meng Yao looks up, sharply. “I have no quarrel with Qin-guniang.” How did I miss this?

“I said cold, not a quarrel,” he returns calmly. “She is the only one you do not call shijie.”

“She’s the heir, it’s polite, Qin-shishu,” Meng Yao says, even though he knows it’s not good enough. Everyone else calls her Su-shijie, quite enthusiastically. He endures the carefully considering look that Qin Tianyu sends his way. His mask had held up beneath Wen Ruohan, Nie Mingjue, Jin Guangshan, and Lan Xichen. He would not be unmasked by the a simple elder of Laoling Qin.

But Qin Tianyu just nods, as if confirming something to himself. “The idea was floated that Meng Yao joined Qin sect for Su-sizhi.” he says, and Meng Yao freezes, wary. “After all, Sect Leader Jin does not need another spare heir.”

Meng Yao sits in silence, work ignored as he tries to decide on a response. He had briefly considered before approaching Sect Leader Qin that it may look like this from outside, but had reasoned to himself that as long as he showed no interest in Qin Su, it would blow over, and he’d look like any other disciple. That people would find it suspicious that Meng Yao was not angling to marry her to become the next Qin Sect Leader is a surprise.

So, what should he say to turn this suspicion astray?

“This humble disciple is merely Sect Leader Jin’s bastard son. Young Mistress Qin deserves better,” he says, hoping that was vague enough to be acceptable.

“Meng Yao professes to be remarkably unambitious,” returns Qin Tianyu, lightly. Liar, he’s saying, even though for once Meng Yao isn’t actually lying. Qin Su did deserve better than what he’d given her. He’d loved her enough to know that. But unambitious people cannot do what Meng Yao did to keep his place at Wen Sect. Couldn’t remove the head of Wen Ruohan and end a war.

Unambitious people would not do all of that, just to become one of threw personal aides of a minor Clan Leader.

“Maybe I used it up,” says Meng Yao. From the way the elder glances up, he realizes that he had been silent long enough that he believed he wouldn’t get an answer. But Meng Yao has found his words, and there’s nothing to do but continue, “My mother wished to be a Jin concubine. She wanted me to do anything it takes to secure a place within Jin Sect. That it was the only way for me to live well.”

And she was wrong. She was as wrong about this as she was about Jin Guangshan. It had been a constant, grinding pain, to know again and again that the person he loved above all else had been so incredibly wrong. Meng Yao had thrown himself life and soul into trying to prove her right, into gaining his father’s regard and living well. He’d fought desperately, thinking that if only he gathered a little more influence, that if he did just a little bit more, then he’d succeed. Get the recognition his mother craved for him.

At some point, spite and fury had taken the place of love and duty, but he had not wavered in his goal. But he’d still never proved her right; had murdered his own father, and sat in mourning like a filial son, truly mourning how much he’d failed.

Nothing that he did could ever make up for it. This time, he knew better than to even try.

“It was my mother’s ambition,” he says aloud for the first time. Perhaps to a broken woman who did not even own herself, it had been liberating to imagine owning so much, to be in control of her own fate. “It was hers, but I…”

He falls silent, and after a few moments Qin Tianyu returns his attention to his paused work. For several minutes, he just watches the hypnotic way that the talisman master draws the same talisman again and again with the most minute of differences, to be tested and ranked according to efficacy.

“But you?” he prompts, when the stack is complete.

I want to live. That single, animalistic need, that had kept him alive through so much that would have killed others. I will not die here. Not now.

“I want to live,” says Meng Yao. And then continues, unable to stop, “I wanted her to live, too.” And when she didn’t, when illness wasted her away, taking her from him in pieces, unable to save her for want of something as immaterial as gold… something had broken in him.

Qin Tianyu nods, serene, as he gathers up the completed talismans. “Meng Yao would do well to think about why.”

Why?

You think your life is worth more than theirs? All the people you sacrificed, to live just a few years longer?

“Why shouldn’t I deserve to live?” asks Meng Yao, sharp. “Why shouldn’t we… why are our lives to be discarded at the whim of those stronger than us?”

“Silly child,” he says, “You have survived. You are alive. Now what?” Meng Yao just stares. “Perhaps Meng Yao should consider getting on with other things.”

Get on with what? Meng Yao had turned down Sect Leader Jin’s offer, had given up the name Jin Guangyao, just to escape the tragedies that that would precipitate.

But he was alive now. He was alive, and had time – perhaps even unmeasured time, so long as he stayed out of his father’s way. Perhaps he wouldn’t cultivate to near immortality, like those stronger than him, but he could live nearly a century more. Now what? Why are you alive?

It was so unlike him to not have a plan, but for once he hadn’t really. He didn’t…

“Meng Yao,” Qin Tianyu snaps, and when Meng Yao looks up, he’s leaning forward over the table, hand out and hovering over Meng Yao’s wrist.

“Master Qin?” asks Meng Yao, but rather than answer, the elder gently touches his fingertips to Meng Yao’s wrist. The pressure of foreign qi is familiar; light and diagnostic, before it withdraws.

“This old teacher apologizes,” he says, when he’s done. “I did not mean to cause you distress.”

“Not at all, this martial nephew is glad for his elder’s guidance,” says Meng Yao, taking his hand back and holding it to his chest. “I will meditate on how to prove myself more useful to Qin sect in the future.”

“Meng Yao, you misunderstand. No, rather, it was this master who misspoke. I did not mean to imply that you must prove yourself.”

“I understand,” says Meng Yao, after a beat. Spoken aloud, it must have sounded more cruel than he wished. But that was still what he meant.

There is no resolution after that. Qin Tianyu seems unable or unwilling to explain better, though he clearly thinks about it for a while. Finally, he dismisses Meng Yao, who leaves with the talismans. The lingering unease of a conversation that went poorly is left to fester in the room, while Meng Yao retreats to the disciple quarters immediately.

He resolves to work harder.

[AN: What do you think? Too OOC? I'm hoping to give MY a proper and slow redemption story, but it’s a toss up whether it’s going well or not. Thannk you for reading, please drop a comment in the replies if you have writing advice! I’ll be so grateful!]

[Click here for part 4!]

#jgy time travel verse #meng yao #qin sect #meng yao is on qin sect #qin su #OC

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professionalranter31 · 3 years

Text

What is this kid?

As Izuku lands, he tightens the cape to keep Eri close. The raid just went straight out window with Nighteye injured and Mirio losing his quirk. He is honestly just running on his instincts at this point and trying to ignore the pounding in his head.

A giant monstrosity bursts out of the ground and Izuku sees Overhaul at the center. He growls and activates Full Cowling ready to fight to protect the little girl who is clinging to him shaking in absolute fear. Taking a step he rushes forward and kicking Overhaul into the sky and jumps after him delivering a quick punch.

“Don’t you-” Overhaul tries to say something but Izuku doesn’t care and hits him again.

Down at the ground Uraraka and Tsuyu have gotten Nighteye there and watch the fight in awe but notice something that doesn’t look right, “Why is there steam coming off of Deku-kun?”

Another hit to the madman and Izuku just keeps getting angrier ‘Why won’t he just stay down!?’

As Izuku continues to hit Overhaul more steam continues to come off of him until a burst of it covers both Overhaul, Izuku and Eri until the trio see the little girl falling from the sky still holding onto the cape as though it were a life line. Tsuyu quickly jumps and grabs the little girl and as she comes down she sees the cape ‘Did Overhaul mange to grab it?’ near the knot it was torn.

As they look up they see a giant shadow begin exit the cloud. Overhaul plummets to the ground and another blur rusher after him with steam coming from it. Another hit and the blur seems to grow bigger but then another explosion of steam appears as Overhaul hits the ground.

He gets onto his monstrous feet and tries to move and grab Eri when a large blur hits him away. A large stomp was heard as growl escapes whatever is in the cloud.

Suddenly, a large gust comes from within the cloud and blows away the steam revealing the creature that stands where Izuku should be.

Towering even over Overhaul in his monstrous form stood a green scaled dragon. Spikes trailing down the back ending in a spear-like tail the muscles rippling with scarred flesh. Upon the head adorned five sets of horns the slit eyes a vibrant green. Another growl escapes the beast’s throat showing the maw of razor sharp teeth before it bellows a monstrous roar that shattered the windows leaving those closest to it to cover their ears and alerting those that are currently underground.

Taking a charge the dragon headbutts Overhaul back into the air and with mighty push of it’s wings follows when green lightning flows over the creature in some areas taking shape of the scars.

“DEKU-KUN!?!?”

Izuku in his new form punches Overhaul with his paw before quickly headbutting the Yakuza leader again. As he goes further in the air smoke begins to leave Izuku’s mouth before he breathes out a torrent of fire straight at his enemy.

As Overhaul screams in pain Izuku hits him one more time and forces him to crash once more into the ground where he disconnects from the ally he combined with.

Trying to get up Overhaul reaches for his gun hoping maybe he can salvage this situation when the dragon lands in front of him. The other heroes coming out from underground they stop and gape at the site before them of towering dragon leaning its giant horned head to growl at their main target of the raid who is shivering in utter fear.

Overhaul begins to raise the gun with quirk erasing bullets loaded inside when black tendrils burst out between the scales of the dragon and grabs his hand while new tendrils grab the gun and the other cartridge of bullets. Raising his free hand he tries to bring down on the face of the dragon when another tendrils stabs through the palm of his hand spins rapidly creating a hole in his hand. His once captive arm is let go but before he can try and heal himself his hand is stabbed again and the process is repeated.

Multiple tendrils take the gun and bullets; and cover them into a sphere and begin to squeeze breaking everything throwing the ruined weapon into the sky and Izuku breathes another torrent of searing flames completely destroying the dangerous weapons. As he takes a breath a third explosion of steam escapes from him and there he stands human again at least somewhat. Before anyone can ask questions, the green-haired boy falls to the ground unconscious.

~A couple hours later~

At the hospital Aizawa, Toshinori and Inko stand on in a hospital room.

“I thought his quirk was super strength not turning into a god damn dragon!” Aizawa suddenly screams out frustrated since none of this makes sense.

“Aizawa, I don’t understand this either, but there is no need to lash out. Ms Midoriya can you explain the quirk of young Midoriya’s father please?” Yagi decides to try and get to the root of this connundrum they are currently experiencing.

“T-this wasn’t what was on-n the donor’s-s inform-”

“Wait, donor?”

“O-oh um, my husband wasn’t f-f-fertile and well I-I had always really wanted a child so I had gone to a sperm bank and asked for an insemination from someone with a fire quirk so it could be like it was o-our own child but well when Hisashi f-found out what I had done h-he left. T-t-turned out he had cut his tubes a-and never wanted a-a child.” Inko manages to get out through her worry for her son as she looks to him on the bed.

Izuku is now sporting the same amount of horns as his dragon form. Scales litter his body now and x-rays showed that he now has a new organ which they theorize is for the fuel for his fire breathe.

“I’ll have Recovery Girl run a DNA test to see who the sperm donor is so maybe we can get some answers.” with that Aizawa and Toshinori leave the room in the hopes of getting some answers.

~One hour later~

Toshinori and Aizawa sit before Recovery Girl waiting for her to tell them the results.

“Midoriya’s DNA is a bit strange right now but I managed to isolate what I was looking for and for some reason he has four biological parents. I have yet to call the three donors yet as I figured you would like to know who they were. First, we have Ryuko Tatsuma AKA the Dragon Hero Ryukyu so one part is solved on Midoriya’s quirk. Secondly, we have Taishiro Toyomitsu AKA the BMI Hero Fatgum, I have yet to figure out how this factors into his quirk yet. Finally, we have Enji Todoroki AKA the Flame Hero Endeavor which explains the fire breathe.”

The room is currently silent as the two teachers absorb the information they have just been told.

A/N

Welp, that’s it people. One piece of information I couldn’t tell you guys is that the sperm bank was a front for the HPSC to try and create powerful quirks for the future and Inko’s request was perfect for them to try their hands at combining multiple pieces of DNA.

@musicfeedsmysoul12 @anastasian-dreamer

Have fun with this!

If you got any feedback for me on how I can improve my writing you can tell just don’t be rude about it.

#bnha #izuku midoriya #sir nighteye #yagi toshinori #shouta aizawa #inko midoriya #recovery girl #fatgum #ryukyu #bnha endeavour #eri #overhaul #uraraka ochaco #tsuyu asui

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a-drama-addict · 3 years

Note

ohh somft prompts.... maybe 7 or 9 for anyone you'd like?

Somft somft hours with Chloe and Isabela >:3 (since chloe is in fact a big idiot)

"Do you know what Hawke and Varric are doing?" Merrill asked. Isabela shrugged while she and Merrill were standing next to each other. They were looking at Chloe and Varric trying to navigate the Wounded Coast. Emphasis on trying. This was obviously going to end poorly, it always did when those two had to navigate. Isabela could help them, considering she's the only one who knows how to navigate this place, but she wanted them to learn the layout. It'd go right this time. ..Maybe it would go right this time. "She is trying to figure out where we're supposed to go." Isabela said, with a blank expression. Normally she'd have joked but it was getting late and she was getting tired. And because it was getting late that meant more gangs would be out, both in Kirkwall and everywhere else. "It's not going that well, is it?" Merrill questioned, crossing her arms. Isabela chuckled. "No, not really Kitten." Isabela would give anything to be in her room in The Hanged Man right now, or in Chloe's bed. Just anywhere but here. She heard Chloe let out an exasperated sigh, throwing the map on the ground. "This is stupid!" The Champion stated, turning her gaze to the other two women. Isabela snorted, seeing Chloe's face go red with frustration. “Let’s just go this direction.” She grumbled, picking the map up and shoving it in her backpack. Varric casually took place walking beside Chloe -- kind of disappointing Isabela. It wasn’t that she minded that much but she always seemed to get more clingy at night. Something Isabela noticed and something that annoyed her. Commitment is nice, yes, until you realize you’re afraid to be replaced. Her train of thought was disrupted by Merrill, somewhat happily, starting up another conversation. Isabela was kind of grateful actually, she didn't really wanna show her mushy side around the others yet. Nope, that side is for Chloe alone at the moment. "Do you know why we're here? Because I don't think Hawke does." Merrill stated, making both Varric and Isabela laugh. "That's a good question, Daisy. But I don't think our fearless leader wants to answer that." Varric joked, nudging Chloe's side. "Oh, I'm the fearless leader now? You should've told me! Here I thought Merrill was the leader." She said sarcastically, nudging Varric back. Both of them chuckling, or well cackling, softly while throwing witty remarks to one another. "That's a definite no." The pirate said, turning her gaze towards Merrill once more. Isabela caught Merrill nervously fiddling with her hands. "What's wrong, Merrill?" She asked, in a softer voice so the other two wouldn't hear. Merrill sighed "I don't know, I just feel more nervous at night. Like anything or anyone can attack--", the sentence was cut off by Varric. It was as if the Gods had read her mind. "Grab something sharp and pointy! We've got company!" The dwarf yelled, already firing a shot towards one of the men. "Of course, Mercenaries. Lovely." Isabela thought to herself. Isabela grabbed her daggers quickly, already slashing away at her nearest opponent. She caught a glimpse of Chloe hitting someone with her staff, with quite some determination. Of course there was still a hint of a smile on Chloe's face, she would always have a cocky look. She would be buried with that expression. The flashing of the blades, the sound of spells and stabbing, it was always enough to keep all of them awake. Chloe personally had already started using blood magic, not the wisest action considering she was almost overwhelmed. That became all the more apparent when she tasted a bit of blood in her mouth. “Shit, shit, shit--” Chloe muttered, backing away from the mercenary rogue, who was only walking closer. “This is going badly!” She yelled out, catching the attention of the others. She tripped and fell on her back, starting to block the man’s blade with her staff. "Hawke!" Merrill yelled back. "If you see any paths in the Fade, don't take them, stay put!" She stated, her voice a mix between worry and stern. "I'll keep that in mind!" Chloe somehow joked, even though she was

actually feeling herself weaken, she could swear it was hot a minute ago, so why did she feel so cold now? Before she could even mutter another joke or even a call for help, Isabela kicked the man off her. "You'll pay for that!" She stated, pounding her fists into the man's face, quickly ending his life by pushing her dagger into his chest. During the rest of the battle Isabela stood in between Chloe and any enemy, even after the latter had been healed. When the fighting stopped, everyone let out a sigh of relief. Chloe chuckled, quickly thinking of something to say, "Well, at least we w-" but was quickly cut off by Isabela. "What in the Maker's name were you thinking!?" Isabela yelled, taking everyone by surprise. Chloe cringed, but relaxed a bit as she saw Isabela's expression was more worried than actually angry. "You were almost overrun and decided to do blood magic!?" She continued. "You can't heal yourself when you're using blood magic! You could've died! Do you realize what could've happened?!" Chloe gazed over to Varric and Merrill, who just backed away. The Champion gulped. “I’m sorry.” She said softly, her expression turning more serious than before, looking down. "I know it was.. stupid but I panicked." Isabela’s expression softened. Chloe appeared to be unharmed now, much to her relief. She hit Chloe’s shoulder, a bit harder than intended. Varric inhaled sharply, expecting an argument to blow up between the two. Since Chloe didn’t like people hitting her, jokingly or not, and Isabela seemed to be pretty pissed that Chloe endangered herself like that. But, to his surprise, the two women started chuckling. Isabela dropped her head on Chloe’s shoulder, shaking her head softly. When she raised her head again, a playful smirk appeared on her face. “You’re an idiot.” She said, stepping a bit back from the other woman. Though that appeared to have no effect, since Chloe got closer to her. She grabbed Isabela’s face gently, planting a kiss on her forehead. She caressed Isabela’s cheeks, with a smile. “But you love me.” Isabela started blushing, she wasn’t used to affection like this yet. It was.. almost embarrassing to have Merrill and Varric around here too. The other two clearly were taken aback by the entire interaction. Chloe and Isabela had never been lovey-dovey around the rest of the group, so it was always surprising when it happened. Isabela looked down, failing to suppress her giggles. “I do, don’t I?” She said, finally meeting Chloe’s gaze again who had a wide grin on her face, the one she always has when she looks at Isabela. “You doooo.” Chloe said in a teasing tone, planting another kiss on Isabela’s forehead, making the latter chuckle. “Alright, keep it in the bedroom you two.” Varric said, making gagging noises right after, causing Merrill to laugh. “I thought it was cute!” Merrill said, with a reassuring smile. Those comments only made Isabela blush more. “Why am I so flustered? It’s like I’m 20 again.” Isabela thought, burying her face in her hands. “Speaking of bedrooms- let’s go home.” Chloe said, "I've had enough near death experiences for today",starting the walk back to Kirkwall. This time Isabela managed to walk next to Chloe before Varric. She was glad she managed to, especially after what just happened. Chloe absentmindedly took hold of Isabela’s hand, who quickly returned the gesture by gripping on the Champion’s hand pretty tightly. It was weird to admit it.. that she loved Chloe. Even if she never really said the words, she felt it. It made her feel vulnerable but in a good way. It was strange, but a good kind of strange. It just made her feel good, that after all these years she managed to settle down. Even if it’s with an idiot.

#idiots. these two are idiots and they are in love #stubborn idiots in love no less #idiots (very affectionately)#dragon age #dragon age 2 #my writing #chloe hawke #isabela #varric tethras #merrill sabrae #dragon age isabela #dragon age varric #dragon age merrill #prompts #hawke x isabela #hawkebela #also a fight scene was the worst ever decision because i can't write fight scenes LAKJSHD

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bloodyshadow1 · 3 years

Text

Beauyashaweek 2021 day 2 Classical Art: Birthed from Stone

Beauyashaweek 2021 day 2 Classical Painting Art

Technically, the prompt is Classical Painting, but I couldn't really think of anything to write for that so I decided to do Classical Art as the prompt and thought of this. There's more to it, but I decided to cut it short because it was getting too long and not ending. I hope you enjoy my story, if you do please leave a comment, they help more than you know.

It was Saturday, there were a million things Beau would have preferred to be doing on her Saturday, one of the few days off she had, than going to the Zadash Museum of Art. That wasn’t fair, she liked the Museum, she liked the artwork, but she hated that she was here on an assignment for school rather than because she wanted to which meant she hated the Museum currently.

Beau had only taken Art Appreciation 110 on her best friend Jester’s suggestion. The blue tiefling art major thought it would be fun to have her best friend in the class she was TAing and assured Beau that it was an easy class being a 100 level. Beau didn’t mind an easy A, she was a double major history and sports medicine in her senior year, she figured she might as well since the rest of her course load was killer.

Unfortunately, unlike most of the classes Beau had taken though her time at Z.U. Art Appreciation 110 wasn’t a blow off class that she could just take the tests and write papers to pass with an A. The teacher Mr. Artagan was more eccentric than most of the faculty at Z.U. full of new age ideas how to run his class. No tests at all and only a few papers, which would be fine for most people, but the fact that participation was worth 60% of her grade made the class a living hell for Beau. He thought that children (despite them all being college students) should be rewarded for showing initiative, not just memorizing facts, something that Beau relied on. She was a smart girl who read the assigned reading before the class had even started hoping it would mean she didn’t have to show up for class only to have Jester’s hippy mentor ruin that dream the first day.

Artagan, as he liked them to call him, no mister for him, was one of those ‘cool’ teachers who thought they were changing the world in their 100 level course that contained mostly freshmen trying to get their gen ed credits out of the way. The teacher who wore an actual green cloak to class everyday that clashed horribly with his tangle of reddish orange hair, but went well with his inhuman green eye, knew he was put on this earth to reach the kids. Beau hated him instantly and thought if not for his laziness, his biggest weakness other than a wicked case of ADHD that no amount of Adderall would fix, he would probably be a cult leader. Luckily for the class, Jester took her job as his TA seriously, or at least as serious as Jester could leading a class taught by Mr. Artagan about appreciating art, so she was at least a competent teacher when the actual teacher decided to take a nap in the middle of a lecture or jump out the window to chase a bird. She would call on Beau whenever she could because she knew her best friend at least knew the information even though she wouldn’t volunteer the information willingly. It saved Beau’s average from tanking in class, but by the time the semester came to a close it didn’t look good, Beau was sitting at a low C which again, wouldn’t be bad for most people in their blow off class, but was horrible for Beauregard Lionett, the disgraced daughter of the Lionett wine family in Kamordah.

Without getting into it, Beau’s relationship with her family, especially her dad Thoreau, was horrible to be kind. She was only at Z.U. due to both academic and athletic scholarships, and losing one would mean she wouldn’t have enough money for her final semester, and she needed at least a B in all her classes if she wanted to graduate. Technically she would still be able to graduate, but her diploma would remain as property of the school until her debts were paid up, which meant she couldn’t get a job with her diploma unless she lied on her resume. And while, no one could say Beauregard Lionett was against lying, she wasn’t a self destructive teenager anymore she knew it would only hurt her in the long run.

Luckily, having her best friend as her T.A. meant Jester begging Mr. Artagan to let Beau have some extra credit so she could pass. Artagan agreed and told her to write a paper on how a piece of art makes you feel. If Beau didn’t desperately need to pass this stupid class she would have thrown it in his face, but instead as a self destructive adult who at least was aware of her money problems, she gritted her teeth and took the extra credit assignment.

Beau had been to the museum at their school a bunch of times, she had given tours for a bit as a work study gig until the people in charge realized how bad she was with people. But there was something about being forced to go there for an assignment that soured the whole thing for her.

“Let's check out the Emon exhibit first Beau,” Jester said taking her and dragging her to the Tal’Dori section. Beau didn’t mind it, but there was too much…, cleanness in the artwork of their neighbors to the West. Tal’Dori was really similar to Wildemount in a lot of ways, without the whole equally large enemy neighbor country that you’ve been in a Cold War with forever. Emon had its own set of problems, but propaganda or not, whatever Beau read made the other continent sound like a less shitty version of the Dwendalian Empire.

Still, the paintings and sculptures were nice enough to look at even if she didn’t have Jester’s excitement. There were a lot of paintings of naked people in some of the exhibits, which Beau enjoyed since there weren’t a lot of men as the subject. She had to hand it to the old masters, they might have been a bunch of old pervs, but they painted a pretty dame without her clothes. Even if they did give their works pretentious names like, “the Sin of Sarenrae,” or “the Seducer of Nations,” as if the women who were the subjects were at fault for being beautiful enough for men to want to paint them naked.

Eventually Jester got bored, it didn't take long, and they moved on to the other wings of the museum. “I’m gonna check out the Xhorhasian exhibit for a bit Jester,” Beau said, needing some alone time. She loved her best friend, but the girl could talk forever on her worst day, a day surrounded by hundreds of years of artwork around her meant she hadn’t stopped since Beau mentioned her paper.

The Xhorhasian exhibit was small and quiet, they were technically at peace, legally and all that, but two powerful countries can’t be neighbors without a lot of animosity. With only the Ashkeeper Peaks between them, there had been a long cycle of wars and ceasefires between the two nations that could break at any moment. That meant not a lot of people congregated in this out of the way exhibit. Most of the artwork and relics were probably technically stolen. Beau wasn’t happy about that despite being a citizen of the Empire, born and raised in Kamordah, less than a day from Zadash.

Maybe after she graduated she could break into the museum and somehow send the stolen goods back home where they belonged. Jester would probably be into it, and Veth wasn’t exactly opposed to petty theft or grand larceny. But that was for Future Beau with her bachelor’s degree to think about. For now, since they were here, Beau was going to enjoy the things from the Empire’s oldest enemy and learning about them, despite how they were procured.

Technically, the Empire wasn’t enemies with Xhorhas, they were enemies with the Krynn Dynasty, the country that had been the dominant power in the Wastes of Xhorhas for thousands of years. There were other people living in Xhorhas that were roped into the conflict, or so Beau heard, most of the stories from the East were about the Cricks or Krynn and the rest were hardly mentioned at all.

As Beau walked around the empty exhibit, for the most part it was bleaker than the other exhibits. Xhorhas seemed like a dreary place, all their artwork lacked the color of other nations artwork. Most of the paintings, few of them as there were, tended to be battle scenes of Drow soldiers in their dark insect like armor tearing through Empire soldiers like paper, it's a wonder citizens of the Empire never come to look at this exhibit. The rest was mostly pottery or weapons, the placards said they were souvenirs from survivors of perilous expeditions into enemy territory. Beau had read them all before.

But surprising her, there was something new in the exhibit. In the center of the exhibit, in a place of honor was a statue with lights pointing down on it. It was made of white marble and depicted the most beautiful woman Beau had ever seen. She was large, tall and wide, if she wasn’t made of stone she would tower over Beauregard, with arm muscles larger than Beau’s head. Long wild hair that the sculpture had managed to get across in the marble. She wasn’t just standing still either, she was swinging a sword like some goddess of battle. The massive feathery wings exploding from her back, that almost looked soft to the touch despite being made out of rock, made her seem even more divine. But even more than the wings, Beau was drawn to her eyes, they were perfect. Despite being just another part of the woman carved from the white stone, they seemed so dark, holding so much anger and sadness that it made Beau’s chest hurt to look into them, but she didn't have the willpower to look away.

The only flaw Beau could find in the sculpture of the beautiful woman, was the smile. Unlike the rest of the statue, the smile was just off. It was just too plain. The rest of the work from the woman, from the way the marble simulated how her arm muscles tensed like a real person would when swing a sword to fight, to her large soulful eyes, to the massive two-handed sword that looked like it was a real metal blade turned to stone, was the work of a master. Yet the smile was clearly the work of an armature, it looked like the smiles Beau had drawn on posters to look extra goofy to passersby. It didn’t fit such a beautiful woman, especially when the rest of her was clearly ready for battle.

It looked so off Beau immediately looked at the placard to find out if it had been damaged in shipping and the archeologist or smuggler did their best to fix it with a smile. The sign didn’t say anything about the smile, just that the sculpture had been found 3 years ago in an ‘expedition’ in the south of Xhorhas. The title of the piece was ‘Angel of Beauty,’ which made Beau gag. Sure the woma-, the sculpture was beautiful, but it was such a boring shitty title for such an awesome bitch. She was wielding a sword ready to chop someone to bits and ready to take on a whole army, Angel of Beauty was such a generic title for a real work of art. Skimming the rest of the paragraph for any more info, Beau learned the locals called the work ‘The Orphanmaker,’ before the archeologist procured the work.

Beau thought it was a bit better, at least more metal and fitting for such a bad bitch, but it still didn’t fit the woman or the sculpture in Beau’s unasked for opinion. Still, Beau couldn’t let her dumb lesbian brain that made her have a crush on the only more unattainable woman in the world than Jester, stop her from getting her paper done. She took a picture of the placard to get a reference and took a few more of the statue itself from as many angles as she could. You weren’t technically supposed to take pictures of the artwork, but no one was around and Beau needed the pictures for her project…, and nothing else.

Still, the more time she spent with the statue the more Beau was enthralled. The more she stared at it, from every angle it felt like the woman was ready to come alive at any second. That one second Beau would be staring into eyes of white marble and then she would blink alive the next. The skill of the sculptor had practically tricked Beau into thinking the woman would have a pulse if she touched her, like she wasn’t carved out of stone.

It got to the point where Beau, who would never break the law, especially when it came to stolen art, got so fed up she decided to touch the statue just to prove to herself it wasn’t a real live person. Just a quick tap on the arm to prove to herself that the woman wasn’t alive, that’s all it would take to make her crazy thoughts quiet for a bit.

Unfortunately, or perhaps very fortunate given the outcome, Beau was wrong, very wrong. The moment she touched what would be the flesh of the woman, not her sword, or hair, or clothes, the moment her finger touched the skin on the woman’s arm, it felt warm. So warm that Beau couldn’t believe it, until the woman’s pulse woke her up. She tore her hand away like the statue was made of fire, but even as she did, she could see cracks forming in the sculpture starting from where she touched the woman on the arm.

“Shit,” Beau yelled, as she slammed her back into the wall, she didn’t even know she had backed away that far. She desperately tried to search for glue or anything that she could use to fix the crack she made, but the cracks only got bigger. By the time Beau looked back, they had shot down the woman’s arm and were coming down her body, and Beau only had time to swear every curse she knew in the five languages she spoke fluently (which you would think would take a while, but Beau had always been quick with her mouth and was well practiced with it and cursing) before the statue exploded.

The room was full of dust clouds and the only sound other than the hammering of Beau’s heart was the sound of a large woman breathing heavily. It only took a moment for the dust to clear and give Beau a good look at the Orphan Maker. On a whole, she was pretty much the same as the statue, same massive frame, same gorgeous face that Beau had gone gaga for, same strong arms holding the now sharp steel blade, and older Xhorhasian garb, not from the Krynn Dynasty. Now that she wasn’t a statue anymore though, there was a big change, even if she was mostly the same, there was a big difference between a beautiful woman carved out of white marble and a real gorgeous flesh and blood woman.

Her skin was pale, almost as pale as the white marble, but the rest of her and her clothes had splashes of color, mostly black, but not white stone. The biggest change though, other than being a living person of course, was her wings. When she was a statue the wings on her back had been white and feathery, now, they were black and skeletal. As if they had been burnt to cinder’s but still attached to her. She has heterochromatic eyes, one is light green, the other is violet, they are filled with rage, but it’s not directed at Beau, the woman who burst from the marble is just angry.

“Where am I,” the strange woman demanded once the dust cleared enough to see Beau.

“The Zadash University Museum,” Beau said trying to stay on the good side of this strange Amazonian goddess that just flexed out of a statue.

“Zadash,” the woman said slowly, like it was a foreign word. “That is a is a name from beyond the mountains,” she asked more than said.

“Yeah,” Beau nodded, “or I mean I suppose. We’re on the other side of the mountains from Xhorhas if that’s what you mean.”

“Then I am a long way from home,” the strange woman said seeming to calm down.

“Are you a spy from Xhorhas,” Beau asked, immediately realizing how stupid that sounded. Beau could handle herself in a fight, but this woman was massive and had a sword almost the size of her. It would be really hot if it was in a movie or a book instead of real life.

“No,” the woman shouted, “I am from Xhorhas, but I am no spy.”

“Alright,” Beau said, throwing her hands up to show she meant no harm, “I believe you.”

“I think…, I am lost,” the woman said calming down, her voice was a lot softer than Beau would have guessed when she wasn’t angry. “I was in my homeland, I was fighting something and then…, nothing.”

“Well, maybe you could start with something you do remember,” Beau asked, trying to keep things calm. “Do you remember your name?”

“Yasha,” Yasha apparently answered after a moment, “Yasha Nydoorin. And I think I need your help.”

It probably wasn’t a great idea to agree to this, she didn’t know Yasha much other than she was big, gorgeous, and popped out of a marble statue. But despite her well above average intelligence, she was also a lesbian with a dumb lesbian brain sometimes, and all she could say was “sure.” Maybe she’ll let Jester drag her off to the museum if this happens all the time.

#critical role #the mighty nein #fanfiction #beauyasha #beauyashaweek2021 #beauregard lionett #yasha nydoorin #my work #cracklepop #modern au

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hufflepuffhollander · 4 years

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fire and gasoline (mob!tom series) ch. 1: new vendetta

a/n | wooo buckle in this is a wild ride 😼 and pls share w the world! i’m proud of this one!

synopsis | Your family runs a sect of the british mafia. Tom Holland is the son of the mob leader in your rival gang. You’ve been groomed to be at each other’s throats for as long as you can remember, and a chance run-in after over a decade of feuding and secrecy has you questioning everything you thought you knew.

cw | mob!tom au. enemies to lovers. language, angst, death threats, objectification, sexual tension, and lots of spit. 3.1k words.

read the prologue, join the taglist :)

Roxy’s was your spot- it always had been. The dark alleyway entrance, the smoky air inside that concealed who you truly were, the faceless regulars that just knew to leave you be- it was everything you could want in a local bar. So, instead of somewhere a little cheerier, you chose here; instead of a glimmering club with strobe effects to blind you and music loud enough to burst your eardrums, you decided to spend your birthday where you knew you could melt into the blackness of the night and live mess-free, even if it was just for a few hours.

You had just gotten your second round of drinks with a few friends, your heels clicking from across the room as you wandered over to your table with freshly topped off shot glasses. A brand new, skin-tight black dress paired with electric blue heels adorned you, and the birthday glow radiating across your skin had you looking and feeling like absolutely nothing could bring you down. You were celebrating, you had just landed a major deal with a supplier to your casino; and better yet, you hadn’t heard from the Hollands in weeks. Since their failed attempt at taking out your father during a high-profile event, they had been lying low, full of shame. A recent victory for your family in the never-ending turf war with the Hollands? Not a single mention of Dom or Nikki thwarting your plans in days? Well, that was the best birthday present a girl could ask for.

You barely had time to feel the gin roll down your throat before the bar door was shoved open, bells tied in a knot overhead chiming ominously as it felt like a tornado had blown in. The room fell quiet, the punkish music on repeat seeming to mute itself. Even the smoke moving through the air was put on pause. Everyone was eyeballing the doorway, where two heavily armed young men stood rigidly; right behind them, a pale, muscular boy with the scent of his own ego radiating off him, a slick smile painted across his face. Every part of your body suddenly felt ice cold.

The boy took off his glasses, the sheer notion that he was wearing wayfarers at night making you groan, and coated the room with his gaze until it landed—and stayed—on you. You tried to avert your attention but couldn’t, as a wave of realization fell over you when he made eye contact. You knew this fuckwad. It was Tom Holland- the son of your rival mob, the boy your father always told you to imagine a target was when learning to sharpshoot...the one who had orchestrated the failed assassination of your dad. Your belly filled with a white-hot fire at the audacity he had to show his face here. Who did he think he was? What the hell was he doing on the East side? And did he know he had just walked into his own execution?

You would’ve seen it through, too, had he not been about to strike you square in the face with a curveball.

“We’re closed.” you heard Roxy spit out, not even bothering to look at the boys as she dried a glass.

“Doesn’t seem like it, babe,” Tom sneered, flashing her an insincere smile and focusing his attention back on you. “And anyway, we aren’t staying; I just came here with a message for the birthday girl.”

You fantasized about a knife appearing on the table in front of you so you could slice the little bitch to shreds for even daring to acknowledge you. But no such luck.

Tom whisked past the bar front, taking his time to saunter over towards your booth. You had bribed your security guard to let you take the night off- he was only there because of your dad’s doing, so he could breathe easier when you were out of his sight. But you hated feeling like a little kid needing to be babysat, especially tonight, when you were turning a year older, and paid him off to get doped up with a friend instead of coming with you. You were kicking yourself for that decision now, watching Tom come up to you without a hint of fear in his dark, shimmering eyes.

You hadn’t seen him since you were kids, when you had told everyone you were getting married to the cute boy you played with and exchanged candy rings with him in your backyard.

“My my, what an impressive array of barbies,” Tom laughed as he stopped in front of your table, swiping his tongue across his teeth. “any of you pretty things looking to blow this joint?”

Your few friends looked simultaneously revolted and terrified, and you knew they lived their lives too sugarcoated to witness the interaction you were about to have.

“Girls, you should leave,” you said, giving them a concerned stare, and it took them less than a second to get up and bolt. Some real friends you had.

You tried to remain composed as you turned your attention to Tom, syllables seething through your gritted teeth. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?”

“Aww, baby, that’s no way to greet an old friend, is it? ‘Coulda least let me wish you a happy birthday,” he sat down on the bench across from you, making you recoil into your seat. “I even have a candle you can blow, if you like.”

“Don’t flatter yourself, asshole.”

“Well someone just isn’t feeling very sentimental, hmm? You remember all those years ago, playing hide and go seek in your mansion, holding hands under the dinner table...I think I remember you having it pretty bad for me back then-”

“You must have a death wish, huh?” you cut him off, standing up and advancing towards him, but taking a step back as he stood up to meet you and towered over you menacingly. He smelled like cigar smoke and cherry aftershave and it clouded your thoughts. You’d always said you’d kill him if he ever got this close to you. Why were you faltering now when it mattered most? Your heart couldn’t keep up with your head.

“No, doll. Not tonight, and definitely not in a place like this. But I gotta admit, I was not expecting you to look so fucking good after all these years. Pop had me believing you were some kind of ugly recluse. Makes it extra difficult for me to tell you to give daddy a call before your birthday is over,” his eyes hungrily flicked over you in your dress, making your blood boil. “y’know, tell him you love him.”

“The hell are you talking about?” you reached for your purse where your pistol was lodged, but felt a cold piece of metal touch the back of your head, halting your movements.

“I wouldn’t, if I were you,” said minion #1, standing behind you with the barrel of his gun nestled into your curled hair. You swallowed nervously and felt your heart rate skyrocket. The bar seemed to have emptied out; it was just you, Tom, and the promise of death caressing your scalp, and you had nowhere to go.

“Hey, now, Harrison, there’s no need for that! y/n and I go way back,” Tom said, motioning for his friend to lower the weapon. Deeply buried flashbacks of child you linked arm in arm with child Tom flicked through your mind, memories you had suppressed long ago.

“Love,” Tom started, advancing towards you again, leaving you nowhere to go if you didn’t want gun grease staining your head. “I’m simply hinting that you may want to get out any last sentiments before we bleed him out on his crisp white sheets tonight.”

Your eyes widened in panic, and your words came out stuttered. “Y-you’re bluffing-”

“You so sure of that, baby?” He clicked his tongue against his teeth, leaning his head in so his face was only inches from yours. “You tellin’ me you know he’s safe and sound right now? Or does an itty, bitty part of you think that maybe, when his baby girl and best insurance policy went out for drinks, it left his ass dangling out in the open, just begging to get capped?”

Your nostrils flared and your teeth were clenched so hard together that you were sure they’d break, but you couldn’t move, couldn’t fight. You were stuck in the space of Tom as his cool breath violated your cheeks, suddenly picturing violent images of your family in a pool of blood.

Your eyebrows raised with each syllable you spoke, trying your best to conceal the incredible stress eating at you from the inside. “Get...the fuck...out of my face.”

Tom did something that almost made you combust then, swiping his thumb across the bottom of your chin, grinning, and blowing a smooch at you before finally drawing back. The sound of his lips smacking together lingered in your ears, like he not only had total control of you, but of all the soundwaves in the air.

“Look, I thought I was doing you a favor, giving you the heads up and all...I definitely didn’t have to. So if you wanna be an ungrateful little bitch about it, fine,” he stepped back, sitting down in the booth again and casually propping his feet up on the seat opposite. “don’t call him. I don’t fucking care.”

With a path to the door finally freed, you began to calculate your next move in your head, but Tom seemed to have violated your thoughts, too.

“Nuh-uh,” he tsked, looking off to the door and giving a nod as minion #2 locked it into place and stood with his arms crossed in front of it like the world’s least intimidating bouncer. “You really think we’d come all this way to tell you we’re about to kill daddy and then just let you, what, leave? Run home to his rescue?” he scoffed at the mere thought, and his worker bees in black laughed along with him. Tom gave you an infinitely objectifying once-over. “Like you’d make it that far in those heels.”

“I’d like to see them off,” one of his men said, prompting Tom to violently curse at him.

“Don’t you fucking dare talk about her like that, Harry. She’s not yours.” He was acting like some protective owner of you, which only made you angrier as you felt a dull electricity appear in your stomach.

The alcohol already in your system mixed with the adrenaline coursing through your veins made you feel fiery, out of control, erratic. You weren’t sure if you wanted to lunge at him or cry, the sting of worry pinpricking your eyelids as Tom’s smirk stayed put.

“What do you want?” you resigned, looking down and away from him, leaning against the wall behind you for support. You didn’t want to cave, but you couldn’t help it- you were paralyzed, fight or flight response warring with itself.

Tom shrugged, remaining nonchalant. “Just bragging rights, really,” he picked up an arm and ran his fingers through his tousled hair, his oversized platinum watch catching the light as he did it.

You were able to regain some composure as you responded, remembering who you were, knowing that your family could hold its own. You took a few paces forward in an attempt reclaim your pride. “Slim chance. You’d never be able kill him anyway, you pathetic excuse of a television criminal,” you spat out, seeing Tom’s expression falter just enough to spur you on. “You’re not the only one who knows things, y’know, I’ve learned all about you, too. All bark and no bite. A puppy who acts tough until he gets a paper cut and cowers under the bed.” you could feel your confidence refueling your words, and narrowed your eyes. “Maybe you were intimidating as a kid, but you don’t fucking scare me now, Holland.”

Upon the callout, Tom bolted up from his seat, swiftly pulling a handheld gun out of his belt and backing you up against the wall, barrel aimed at the perfect angle to blaze a clean hole through your head. “You little-”

Thankfully, you had friends on this side of town, and Roxy always had your back.

She tore out of the back with an assault rifle twice the size of her, firing a round of warning shots into the rickety ceiling. It shook Tom’s focus enough for you to make a break for it, running and ducking behind the safety of the bar.

“You better get to leaving before I have to mop you greasy motherfuckers off my floor,” Roxy said in her thick cockney accent, looking as intimidating as you’d ever seen her. Tom sniggered and stayed put.

“You think I’m joking?” she said, aiming at the wooden boards and landing a shot barely an inch from one of his friends’ feet.

“Jesus-!” they yelped, forcing you to stifle a laugh as you watched the scene unfold.

Three very oversized men walked out from the back of the room with their own weapons of choice to back Roxy up. Seeing they’d been outnumbered, Tom retracted his gun and looked warily at his friends, grouping up to leave the bar. He saw you backed in the corner and took an extra moment to let that cocky sneer find its way back to his face, making sure to remind you why you ran in the first place.

The group walked out unscathed, leaving behind a deafening silence until Roxy looked back at you and shook you from your trance.

“Go home, babes, and make sure your family is okay.”

As you ran outside against your better judgement, eyes locked on your car parked in the alley, an abraisive pair of hands grabbed you from behind and pushed you up against the side of the building. You recognized the sickly sweet smell of cherries and knew Tom wasn’t finished with you.

He had his arm up over your head and the other on your shoulder, evidently taking in all of your features for the first time in years.

“Time did you well, didn’t it? My god, can’t believe my little kid wife grew up to be so pretty,” his eyes sparkled with a twisted, deep desire. “We’d look good together in different circumstances, hm?” His words prompted you to spit in his face.

“In your fucking dreams.”

“Ooh, a feisty little thing. I’d watch that temper of yours, y/n, you’ll make a lot of enemies talking like that,” he said in a low voice, collecting your spit from his cheek and sucking it off of his finger.

“We’re friends forever, darling. I’ll find my way back to you.” he winked at you and sauntered away into the dark. “Say hi to daddy for me.”

Your foot on the gas pedal made an indentation on the floor of the car as you sped home, tears almost blinding you from the road, making every streetlight overhead look like an abstract explosion of color. You left the ignition on as you careened into the gated entrance of your house, kicking your blue heels into the grass and sprinting inside, yelling. “Dad? Mum? Hello???”

You almost ran head first into your parents as they rushed out of the den after hearing your exasperated calls.

“y/n? What the bloody hell is going on?” your mother saw you standing shell-shocked, taking in the fact that they weren’t chopped into pieces, and pulled you into a hug as you broke out into uncontrollable sobs.

“T-they locked me in and told me they were- that you’d be dead when I got home-” you choked out in between tears, unable to calm your breathing.

Your dad gripped his tumbler of scotch with so much sudden anger that it shattered into his hand. You could see fire in his eyes. “Who? Who told you that?”

You looked up at him and said exactly what he was expecting. “The Hollands. Tom. He- he came into Roxy’s.”

“I’m going to hang that chav from his wimpy little fucking-”

“Hon, please.” your mom said sternly while motioning to you in your sorry state, making your dad’s face a little less violently red. He took a deep, ragged breath.

“Hey, sweet pea, look,” he said, tucking away a strand of hair that had fallen in your face and was clinging to your tear-streaked cheeks. “We’re okay, alright? Tonight is an ordinary night, and our security detail is the best in the city. You stop worrying and go get yourself cleaned up, mum and I have something special we want to give you.” He smiled only to steam off and slam the door to his office, most likely to make a call to get someone, anyone, that may have had a hand in tonight’s events drawn and quartered by dawn.

You came downstairs after a long, boiling hot shower that only made you seethe more at the fact that Tom had been bluffing the whole time. It had clearly just been a fear tactic, probably done for no other reason than to fuck with you on your birthday and ruin your night. He loved crafting little games like that, this being the first time he’d come to play in person—and what made you angriest is that it had worked.

“Honey, we have a gift for you,” your mom said, handing you a silver box that was much heavier than it looked. She and your dad sat on the big sofa in the den, looking at you expectantly.

“Well, open it!” she smiled.

You undid the box, hands still shaking from earlier, and found a shiny, pitch black glock with a silver inscription in its body reading “sweet pea”, the nickname your dad had given you forever ago.

“Uh, wow, I don't know what to say...” you trailed off, picking it up and turning it over in your hand. It became surprisingly weightless, feeling like it was made to fit in your palm.

“It was mine, back in the day,” your dad spoke, seeming wistful. “Had it rebuilt and shined up for my baby girl.”

“Thank you, daddy, I love it,” you said, leaning over to hug your parents. You smiled blankly as they talked to you about the gift and how special it was, nodding at their comments...but you weren’t really listening.

All you could think about was a pair of flushed lips inches from your own, an intoxicating smell lingering in your brain; and just how amazing this gun would feel in your hand right after it had burned a bullet-sized cavity into Tom Holland’s chest.

#fire and gasoline #new series #mob!tom #tom holland #tom holland imagine #tom holland blurb #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland one shot #tom holland fanfic #tom holland smut #tom holland x reader #tom holland x you #mob!tom x you #mob! tom x reader

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ravioxhilda · 3 years

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Here is my contribution to the Ferriswheelshipping one-shot stockpile, written by yours truly. I decided to do a slight canon divergence of N returning to Unova before Hilda leaves to go search for them so they actually see each other. I hope you enjoy!

The past year had been...harrowing, to say the least.

Ghetsis, the leader of Team Plasma, had been defeated and arrested by Alder and Cheren, as well as the remains of his team.

The Pokémon League had suffered a large blow by being defeated and taken over by the enemy, the Elite Four barely managing to escape before Team Plasma’s Castle had erupted from the ground.

Unova had since fallen into a sense of restless peace, celebrating the rise of its new Champion who had brought Ghetsis and the whole of Team Plasma to its knees, Hilda.

“A teenager defeated our greatest threat? How did she do it?”

“Are we sure she wasn’t apart of their team this entire time? She is awfully suspicious.”

“Yes, she was seen with the leader’s...what was he, son?”

“I believe so, they even were together at the Ferris Wheel in Nimbasa City, one of the top romantic spots in Unova. That is a little strange.

Those were stories and rumors circulating around the region’s newest Champion, and she possibly had more articles written about her and the elusive “King of Team Plasma who had mysteriously disappeared” in the few weeks after she became Champion than Alder had his entire time as Champion.

How Hilda wished she could dispute the rumors, explain about what exactly had happened between her and N, but she couldn’t. In truth, she couldn’t even decide what exactly her relationship with him was either.

So she sat in silence, the new responsibilities as the representative of all Unovan Trainers keeping her mind occupied most of the time, though at night when she could finally gather her thoughts, her mind drifted towards N.

She hadn’t seen him since he had disappeared with Reshiram after the collapse of Team Plasma’s Castle, the castle he had summoned from the ground.

She had known who he was, she had known the dangers of associating with him, with being around him, and yet, she couldn’t help but feel drawn to him unlike anyone else she had ever met before.

Now, he was nowhere to be seen, his father imprisoned, his loyal followers having gone into hiding all across the region. Everyone knew they were there and simply biding their time, but even after multiple rigorous searches carried out by the International Police, they had found nothing.

It was as if they had disappeared into thin air.

Hilda lay in her bed at her home in Nuvema Town, the moonlight streaking across the floor as she stared out the window towards the night sky, as if she would catch a glimpse of a white dragon streaking through the sky.

She sighed, turning away as she felt exhaustion beginning to creep into her body, allowing her to finally fall asleep.

At the entrance to the small town, where Pokémon were scattering about, a large white dragon had landed, a green long-haired Trainer sliding off its back and landed quietly on the grass.

“Looks like we’re finally home, Reshiram. I’ll go find out any information about where she might be, you go back up and hide in the sky.” The Trainer said, patting the Pokémon’s back before it flew off, leaving him alone.

He grasped the charm on the necklace he wore as he stepped nervously into the town, afraid of what awaited him within.

~~~

“Hilda? Sweetie, are you awake?”

Hilda blearily opened one eye, looking to see that the sun had already risen quite high into the sky, not a good sign to see when she was supposed to be working or training.

“Yeah, I’m up.” She mumbled, rubbing her eyes as the door opened, her mother peeking her head through the doorframe.

“When you’re finished getting ready, could you come downstairs? Someone is here to see you.” She said, though Hilda could sense the unease in her mother’s eyes.

“Who is it? Is it that International Policeman again?” Hilda asked, and her mother shook her head.

“He wouldn’t tell me a name, only a letter. He has been waiting here for the past twenty minutes, though he insisted on helping tidying up while waiting for you to wake up.” She said, and Hilda froze, a million thoughts spinning through her mind as she immediately got out of bed.

“Hilda, is everything alright?” Her mother asked, eyeing her daughter with concern as Hilda looked frantically into her eyes.

“Mom, whatever happens, don’t let him leave. I’ll be down in a few minutes, don’t let him out of your sight.” She said, rushing over to close the door before her mother could utter another word.

“Is N really here? Why is he here? Doesn’t he understand that the International Police are on the hunt for him?” She thought as she ran around the room, desperately trying to get dressed as well as tidy up the room.

Hilda rushed downstairs into the kitchen to see her mother chatting amicably with another person.

He hadn’t changed one bit. Even his hair looked the same, and the warm smile on his face still served to make her heart beat slightly faster.

“N?”

He looked over to see Hilda, though if he hadn’t known it was her, he could have easily mistaken her for someone else.

Her clothing hadn’t changed much, except she had stopped wearing her hat, but the way she held herself was more...confident, though even he could sense the exhaustion weighing her down.

“Hello, Hilda.” He said, smiling softly as he walked closer towards her, though she looked as if she’d seen a ghost.

“But, how are you-“

“I’ll explain everything later, I promise.” He said, then turned to Hilda’s mother, bowing his head to her respectfully.

“Thank you for your hospitality, but I should be leaving. Do you mind if take your daughter out? She will be back early if that is an issue.” He said, and Hilda’s mother smiled and nodded.

“Of course I don’t mind! Feel free to be out as long as you want.”

N nodded as he held out his hand towards Hilda, who was still trying to process the situation, though that damned smile was making her face heat up.

“Will you come with me, then? We can go anywhere you’d like.” He asked, and Hilda slowly nodded as she took ahold of his hand, firmly grasping it to make sure he was really there.

“Come on, let’s go. Reshiram is waiting for us, and it can be pretty impatient at times.”

N then dragged Hilda out the door, leaving her mother very confused as she waved good-bye.

The two ran through the small town, the dirt kicking up underneath their feet as N pulled Hilda away from her home.

“N, where are you taking me?” She asked, though was cut short when he abruptly stopped, scanning the sky as if he was searching for something.

“I need to find...ha, there it is!”

Hilda squinted as she followed his gaze, though was only given a second to back up before Reshiram slammed into the ground, seeming a little annoyed as it glared at N.

“I’m sorry, it took a little longer than I thought it would to find her, but here she is. Hilda, I believe you remember Reshiram?” N asked, allowing Hilda to step closer to the Legendary, reaching out to touch its side.

“Hello, Reshiram. It’s been a while since I have seen you, though I suppose a year isn’t incredibly long for a Pokémon that’s lived as long as you.” She said softly, the Legendary Pokémon grunting in response.

“Do you know what N is planning on doing?” She asked, Reshiram shaking its head as it leaned down, allowing N to climb onto its back.

“It does not, but do you trust me enough to come with us?” He asked, holding out his hand once again to Hilda, the sight of it so very enticing. What would happen if she accepted his proposal? Where would they go?

She sighed, grabbing ahold of N’s hand, allowing him to pull her up behind him onto the Legendary, wrapping her arms around his torso, shocking him for a moment as he heard the words he’d been so afraid he’d never hear again.

“I trust you.”

N smiled, patting the side of the Legendary’s neck, signaling for it to take off from the ground.

It did so with no warning, causing Hilda to bite down on her lip to keep from screaming as she held tightly onto N, still confused by everything that was happening but knowing he was key to her not panicking and possibly falling off.

It was silent for a time, no words spoken, just the wind rushing around them as they soared through the sky, though N couldn’t help but think that having Hilda hold onto him so tightly was...nice.

He had longed to see her since leaving Unova, even with everything else on his mind, such as finding out his father using him or the International Police doing their utmost to track him down.

Now here he was, her holding onto him for dear life as they soared through the skies of their home, and now he was so unsure of what to say.

“Hilda? Are you ready to look at me now?”

Hilda slightly relaxed her grip as she moved her head away from his back to see him staring at once again with a smile, as if her presence was bringing him joy.

“Where are you taking me, N? You can’t just disappear for a year and then show up at my home with no explanation!” She demanded, though N could only laugh at her pouting expression. How he had missed this. How he had missed her.

“I have no particular destination in mind, but I needed to get away from your home as quickly as possible. I spotted some International Police agents in the woods surrounding it, and I am still a national fugitive.” He said, his expression suddenly serious.

“If you’re still wanted, then why did you return to Unova? Team Plasma is probably also trying to track you down.” She asked, and N seemed to hesitate, looking past her into the distance, as if a painful memory had come to mind.

“It’s...difficult to explain. Perhaps you and I can go somewhere to chat? Where would you like to go, we have all of Unova to explore.”

Hilda thought for a moment, a place coming to mind almost immediately, though for all the wrong reasons.

“Nimbasa City. I want to go to Nimbasa City.”

That shocked N. The very place he had betrayed her, had hurt her, why in the world would she want to go there?

“Hilda, are you sure? Do you not remember what happened before?” He asked, her nodding as she clenched her fists against her lap.

“I remember. It hurts for me to remember, but I want to have new memories of it with you so it is less...painful.”

N nodded, urging Reshiram onward as they returned to the uncomfortable silence, the memories of that night still in their minds as Hilda held onto him once again, afraid that if she looked away again, he would be gone.

The sun was already beginning its descent when the three had finally arrived at Nimbasa City, a shining city in Unova that housed many attractions, including the Gym Leader Elesa’s Electric Gym, as well as the Ferris Wheel.

The very sight of it dredged up many more painful memories for Hilda and N. It was as if they were reliving the past all over again.

“Hilda, are you absolutely certain you want to be here? We can go to another city if you’d like.” N asked, though Hilda glared at him a with a determined look in her eyes as she pointed towards the Ferris Wheel.

“I am. We should talk there, less chance of being spotted by the International Police.” She said simply, walking in the direction of the Ferris Wheel, leaving N to send off Reshiram before rushing after her.

After catching up with her, the two arrived at a small kiosk that lay at the foot of the attraction, an obviously bored engineer standing behind the counter collecting money from passengers.

“Welcome to the Rondez-View Ferris Wheel, where couples can board and enjoy the view to their heart’s content. Fee is ¥1,000, pay the money or stay away.” She said, looking between Hilda and N with a skeptical look on her face.

“Huh, never would have expected the Champion would be here with Unova’s most wanted criminal. I guess the rumors are true.”

Hilda looked at N with worry before taking out the money from her bag and handing it to the engineer.

“You won’t tell the International Police we’re here, will you?” She asked, and the engineer waved her off before opening the small gate.

“I’m not one to get in the way of a blossoming romance, go have a good time, just try and be discreet and we won’t have any problems.” She said finally, allowing Hilda and N to slip by the a silent nod of thanks before stepping into an gondola, the door closing behind them.

The area was small, two cushioned seats allowing enough room for two people each to sit, a small air conditioning whirring to keep the enclosed space cool.

Hilda and N sat down together on one seat, almost touching though trying so desperately not to.

“We’re alone now. Now tell me everything that has happened.” Hilda said softly, though N couldn’t even make eye contact with her, instead looking out towards the horizon of the evening sky.

“I know that I have done some...very bad things in the past, and there is no making up for it. Me running away and leaving you behind was another one of those bad things. But the truth was...I was scared.” He said, shocking Hilda as she looked up towards him, trying to catch his eye.

“You were scared of being caught by the International Police or by Ghetsis?” She asked, placing a hand on his arm as she felt him shudder at the sound of his adoptive father’s name.

“It wasn’t just that. I was scared, no I was terrified, of what would happen if I stayed here in Unova, with you. The thought of you getting hurt because of me was something I couldn’t bear, so I left before it could happen.”

He then turned towards her, his eyes full of such sadness that it caused Hilda to freeze, her tears in her eyes matching the ones forming in his own.

“I understand, N, I really do. But you being gone for so long hurt me more than anything anyone could do to me. I missed you so much, I came here every day just in the hope that I’d see you sitting right here, waiting for me.” She said, tentatively reaching out to cup her palm against his cheek.

“Hilda...” He started, though Hilda shook her head as she placed a finger to his lips.

“Please, let me finish. You had such noble intentions, and I thank you for that. But listen to me when I say this, please don’t leave me behind again, I don’t think I could handle it.” She pleaded, causing him to smile as he leaned his forehead against hers, taking ahold of both her hands.

“Nothing in this world can keep me away from you forever. You showed me the true value of this world after I had been led astray by the lies of my father my entire life. Hilda, you made me want to become a better person, someone who is worthy of you, of being with you.”

Hilda smiled, leaning closer towards N until the space between them had been closed, her lips touching his as she closed her eyes, feeling him let go of her hands to pull her closer to him, holding her tightly in his arms.

The feeling of being held so tenderly, brushing her hand through N’s hair so softly as he kissed her so softly made Hilda feel as if she was walking on air, the taste of his lips so sweet and warm.

To N, this was something he had never thought about, never even considered a possibility in his life. Loving someone had always been out of the question as he tried to free his friends from the confines of their Trainer’s every whim, but now, he couldn’t imagine anything else other than being with the girl in his arms.

Neither had ever thought it would feel so...right, so natural.

“N...” Hilda murmured, causing N to pull away to look her in the eyes, though he did not let go of her, which she was grateful for.

“Is everything alright?” He whispered, Hilda nodding quickly as she leaned towards him, laying her head against his shoulder as she pulled him into a closer embrace.

“I just...I never imagined that’s what that would be like. I feel so...safe with you here, I haven’t been at ease like this in so long.” She said, breaking into a fit of hysterics as N smiled, patting her back in a comforting manner.

“I’ve never felt calm as I am when I’m around you. You put put my mind and soul at peace, and I’d never want it any way.” He said, Hilda smiling as she looked up out the window, realizing they were almost back down to the ground.

“Looks like our time is almost up.”

N nodded sadly, reaching over to open the door as the gondola slowly slid by the platform, pulling Hilda out onto the flat steel area, the engineer staring at them as bored as ever.

“Looks like you two had fun. However, you may want to skip town, I’ve had two International Police agents come waltzing by while you were being all lovey-dovey.” She said nonchalantly, holding up her hand to stop any protests from either of them.

“I don’t care if you were kissing in the gondola, that’s the least of what I have to worry about people doing, just get out of here, and next time, don’t bring a fugitive.”

Hilda nodded, scanning the area to see two suspiciously dressed characters loitering around the Ferris Wheel entrance.

“Come on, Nimbasa City will be crawling with police if you’re spotted.” Hilda urged, now pulling N along as he waved his hands frantically in the air, attempting to capture Reshiram’s attention.

Thankfully, it worked as the Legendary Dragon soon landed in front of them, immediately kneeling to allow the two to hurriedly climb on before taking off again into the now dark sky before two police officers could catch up to them.

The wind whipped around them harshly, causing Hilda to shiver before deciding to lean backwards into N, his body heat seeping into her skin as she smiled with contentment.

“Are you taking me home?”

The question seemed to sit in the air for a moment, one that should have been so simple, and yet it brought both of them a sense of dread. They had known this day couldn’t last forever, and yet neither of them wanted it to end.

“Yes, I am. There’s nowhere safer for you right now.” He said simply, feeling a sort of sadness beginning to creep in as he held Hilda towards him once again, afraid that if he let go, she would no longer be there and it was all a dream.

Reshiram soon landed back at the outskirts of Nuvema Town, though thankfully there was no one wandering about the small town, allowing Hilda and N to land on the dragon unnoticed.

Hilda slid off its back, patting the Legendary’s head and whispering thanks to it before turning to look at N, a look of sadness in his eyes.

“Are you leaving?” She asked, and N hesitated for a moment before nodding, a look of utter sorrow in his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Hilda. You remember what that woman said, I’m still a wanted fugitive, and even if you may be Champion, you can still be arrested for just being around me.” He said, and Hilda sighed, stepping closer before pulling him down towards her for another kiss, which he happily obliged.

“You better not be gone for an entire year this time. I don’t care how dangerous it is to be with you, I would go through anything just to have you close.” She whispered, N nodding as he kissed her once again, desperate to have as many from her as possible.

“I’ll come back as soon as I can, I promise. You still have things you need to do here in Unova, and you aren’t allowed to come with me. It’s too dangerous.” He said, Hilda sighing as she felt tears start to well up.

“I know, I have my duty as Champion to fulfill, but N?”

“Hm?”

Hilda wrapped her arms around him and held him as close as she could, squeezing him tightly as tears began to run freely down her cheeks.

“Please don’t forget about me.” She whispered, N smiling as he held her.

“There is nothing in this world that could make me forget you. Farewell, Hilda.”

#ferriswheelshipping #hilda pokemon #n pokemon #unova #pokemon black and white #black and white

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a-secret-bolton-vampire · 3 years

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Daenerys Stormborn, Part 1: From Pentos, to Vaes Dothrak, from Qarth, to Slaver's Bay

I've decided since this tiny post; I'll write about Dany. But there's so much I can talk about that I will most likely write between other essays (unless I feel otherwise). Daenerys Targaryen is my favourite character in ASOIAF. She's an incredibly complex character, and one whose fate interests me quite a lot. Of all the endings in the show, Dany's made me the saddest and angriest. Not only did they rush and make her turn a "twist" that happened on a dime, but it fed into the Mad Queen theories that I really despised.

Can't a powerful women with dragons not go mad with power and become prone to hysteria? Also, can said woman not be murdered by her lover/nephew as a way to give said lover more pain instead of having any meaningful end to her arc? And can said woman not have been "an insane tyrant the whole time"? I may one day vent on season 8, but I won't. Instead, I want to attempt to make sense of the ending we saw in the show, and how it applies to the books. Bit by bit, I will build up to Dany's ultimate role in the series. But first, we need to set the groundwork for it.

(CW: Rape)

The Last Dragon

The first we see of Daenerys, she is a very shy girl who was under the thumb of her physically and psychologically abusive brother Viserys. With no agency, she was married off as essentially a marital slave to be raped by Khal Drogo. However, after some meaningful dragon dreams, Dany began to try and take advantage of her surroundings to give herself power. Of course, Viserys didn't like this very much. Dany was everything Viserys wasn't.

Whereas Viserys was incredibly narcissistic and had no real feelings for anyone other than himself, Daenerys shows empathy to those lower than her. While Viserys was prone to violent outbursts of intense rage and did not think things through very well, Dany is more measured, perceptive, and intelligent (not to say she's infallible, nobody in this world is infallible). As Daenerys became more and more loved by Drogo and the Dothraki, Viserys found himself jealous that she was better received than him, the lawful heir to the Targaryen dynasty.

This culminated in Viserys threatening to cut Rhaego out from her, and Drogo pouring molten gold onto his face to kill him. Good riddance, fuck Viserys. Anyways, she then tries to convince Drogo to cross the narrow sea to invade Westeros, but he stubbornly refuses until an assassin hired by Robert attempts to poison her and is caught, at which point he vows to do so. In her first real experience with war, when the khalasar sacks a Lhazareen village, Dany is disturbed to see all the innocent men being massacred and the women being gang raped, so she decides to take the women under her protection, which earns her resentment from some of Drogo's bloodriders.

I don't think Dany was quite aware of what war and conquest would look like until the village, and she was horrified by what she saw. During the sack, Drogo was wounded slaying Khal Ogo, and with Dany's urging, one of the women she took under her protection, Mirri Maz Duur, agreed to heal his wound. Of course, being a maegi, she is hated and not trusted by the Dothraki. Regardless, Mirri heals Drogo's wounds and they continue on until Drogo collapses from a fever, having removed the poultice of his wound.

From there, Dany's hold on the khalasar is weakening. Her power is really tied to Drogo's, as Dothraki society is extremely misogynistic and views women as lesser beings. Desperate to save him, she turns to Mirri for any magic she could use to heal him. This decision is what finally breaks the khalasar, several of the bloodriders try to kill her, and in that time, another one of the women Dany rescued, Eroeh, was gang raped and murdered by Jhaqo and Pono. The result is Daenerys being left with what can't be more than 100 people out of the original 100,000 or so people in the khalasar.

However, Dany suffers another crushing loss; her child Rhaego. While Mirri says that death may pay for life, and she sacrifices Drogo's horse, the real price was Dany's unborn child. She did so because Rhaego was to be the stallion who mounts the world, a prophesied leader of all Dothraki who would become a great conqueror. In addition, Drogo is "healed", but permanently left in a catatonic state. When Dany asks Mirri when he will be back to normal, Mirri says;

"When the sun rises in the west and sets in the east," said Mirri Maz Duur. "When the seas go dry and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. When your womb quickens again, and you bear a living child. Then he will return, and not before."

Dany seems to take this to mean "never", and is heartbroken, so she mercy kills him by smothering him with a pillow.

Throughout the first book, Dany has a series of dreams and visions involving dragons, the most telling of which was her "wake the dragon" fever dream she had during Mirri's ritual. As a result, and to get vengeance for her husband and child, Dany decides to tie Mirri on a stake to Drogo's funeral pyre, as well as placing the dragon eggs with Drogo. Then, when it is lit, and Mirri burns alive, Dany walks into the flames. Everyone thinks she is mad, that she is out of her mind, but Dany seems to think this is all part of her destiny.

And sure enough, when the fire burns out, she is unburnt (save for her hair), and she has three newly hatched dragons. The "wake the dragon" dream also features, near the end, her opening the red door of the house she stayed in as a young child in Braavos, and finding herself under the visor of Rhaegar's helmet, as Jorah repeats "the last dragon". Dany's journey in the first book is about taking control of herself and her family's legacy.

Early on, she realizes that Viserys will never conquer the Seven Kingdoms, and although Viserys originally had Dany marry Drogo to get an army of his own, the khalasar eventually became Dany's army. And when Viserys died, Dany decided it was her responsibility to do what he could not; take back the Iron Throne for her family. And then, at her absolute lowest, when she has lost practically the entire khalasar, her husband, her child, she gains three dragons.

Viserys believed that his name made him a Targaryen, that being King meant he was a true Targaryen. His anger was a tool to assert his dominance as a Targaryen, to get others to bend to his will. He has immense pride for his family, which turned into unchecked narcissism. But for all his talk, Viserys was no true Targaryen, and no true dragon. Dany even thinks this just after he dies.

He was no dragon, Dany thought, curiously calm. Fire cannot kill a dragon.

Dany has brought dragons back to the world, a symbol of the power Targaryens had, back to life. She was not killed by the fire of Drogo's pyre (of course, she isn't fireproof, this was a one time weird occurrence). She is a true dragon, a true Targaryen, who is truly following in the footsteps of her family.

The Lost Dragon

During the Drogo pyre fire (hah), a red comet appeared in the sky. Believing that she has a bigger purpose, and that the comet was sent for her, she and her khalasar follow it, into the Red Waste. Despite thinking this is a sign for her future, she is mostly lost and unsure what to do. With enemies all around, the Red Waste is the only way to go. They find the abandoned city of what she calls Vaes Tolorro, and she sends out her bloodriders to look for what is around.

Eventually, Jhogo returns with three representatives of Qarth; Xaro Xhoan Daxos, Pyat Pree, and Quaithe. They bring her back to Qarth, where she is showered with gifts and given part of Xaro's own palace to stay at. She begs an audience with the Pureborn, the descendants of the kings and queens of Qarth, but they reject her plea for aid in conquering Westeros. Xaro meanwhile suggests marriage, but only as a means to steal her dragons for himself. Quaithe gives very cryptic and vague as hell prophecies to Dany.

With no one left to turn to for aid, Dany decides to seek answers from the warlocks at the House of the Undying, drinking shade of the evening and having numerous visions. When she finally finds the Undying, they seem to be trying to steal her life force, only for Drogon to set them alight. After that, with no way to leave Qarth and refusal to be sent off with any ships, Dany is stuck, and is the subject of an assassination attempt by the Sorrowful Men, sent by Pyat Pree, only for it to be thwarted thanks to Barristan.

On surface level, Dany's ACOK arc is less eventful and straightforward than AGOT; she remains in roughly a single location the entire time, with only two major events occurring (the Undying visions & the attempted assassination). However, after such a journey in AGOT, it makes sense for her story to slow down a bit before speeding back up in ASOS. After finally embracing the responsibility of carrying the Targaryen legacy her brother failed to live to, Dany now has to deal with the fact of how important she is and what her next moves are.

Despite Qarth being so beautiful and splendid, with seemingly everyone ready to provide aid for her quest to conquer Westeros, it is all an illusion. They see someone who is now one of the most powerful people in the world, someone they can use to manipulate for their own ends and gain power for themselves. Quaithe tells Dany as much:

Last of the three seekers to depart was Quaithe the shadowbinder. From her Dany received only a warning. "Beware," the woman in the red lacquer mask said. "Of whom?" "Of all. They shall come day and night to see the wonder that has been born again into the world, and when they see they shall lust. For dragons are fire made flesh, and fire is power."

Dany thinks to herself that there must've been a reason the comet led her to Qarth, as part of her belief that she is heavily tied to destiny.

"The comet led me to Qarth for a reason. I had hoped to find my army here, but it seems that will not be. What else remains, I ask myself?"

So what was the reason she was in Qarth? In my opinion, it was partly to teach her a lesson in not trusting people, but mostly knowledge. The House of the Undying is a massive moment in the series, as it lays out many future events of the series before us (and her!) that are very cryptic and hard to uncover. I will one day examine the full scope of the visions of the Undying, but I want to focus on the narrative reason for this.

Daenerys has a strong sense of destiny. The hatching of the dragons, the red comet, the visions, they all have to mean something, lead toward this grand destiny of hers. I think that a lot (but not all) of the visions Dany experiences are relevant to her future, and lay out a lot of what she will experience/do in the last two books. The prophecies she learns (especially concerning being the "slayer of lies", "three treasons", "three fires", and "three mounts") stay with her into ADWD, where Quaithe once again appears and asks she remember the Undying.

Prophecies are also very common in Greek tragedies, and also appears in Macbeth, a tragedy written by Shakespeare, wherein Macbeth seeks out the knowledge of the witches again out of fear that he will lose his position as king. Daenerys is aware that there will be three treasons committed against her, as well as three fires she will light, and three mounts she will ride, and that there are three heads of the dragon. She constantly considers in ADWD whether these prophecies are coming true, that she finds confusing and suspicious, frustrated even.

In short, the Undying is not just a window into the future, but more of an exploration of the effect prophecy has on a young person like Daenerys who so strongly believes in destiny. She also learns in a vision of Rhaegar about something called "the song of ice and fire", which seems to be extremely significant, and that she will be at the centre of the climactic events of the series.

In the end, it is not herself or the Qartheen who get her out of Qarth, but a disguised Barristan Selmy, sent with three ships by Illyrio to bring her back to Pentos. Dissatisfied with her time in Qarth, she decides to return to Pentos with Barristan... but Pentos is not where she ends up, not even close.

The New Dragon

After leaving Qarth and the return west, Jorah, mistrustful of Illyrio, instead convinces Dany to turn the ships to Astapor and buy Unsullied slave soldiers to help in her conquest of Westeros. Stopping by Astapor, she finds a hellish place, red bricks, tortured slaves, and narcissistic slave masters who have no regard or empathy for anyone other than themselves. Disgusted by what she has seen, Dany formulates a plan entirely in her own head; she decides to buy all the Unsullied by giving Drogon over to Kraznys.

Only she didn't. She only did that to gain control of the Unsullied, before burning the masters and freeing all the slaves. As she tells Xaro later in ADWD, despite being surrounded by slaves with the Dothraki and in Qarth, she did not see how horrible it could be until she got to Astapor and saw how the slaves were tortured. She had the power to try to end it, and decided to take it upon her hands. So instead of heading to Westeros, she decides to liberate Yunkai and Meereen as well.

It's easy to be frustrated at Dany's Essos arc, especially since it doesn't really interact with the Westerosi plot where the majority of the action is taking place, but I think it's important that Dany repeatedly is given an option to go to Westeros, but instead stays in Essos. Progressions in real life are rarely linear, and I applaud GRRM for being able to have clear character arcs while not having the progression be entirely linear and staying true to life.

After Astapor, Yunkai fears what will happen to them as she approaches and hires two sellsword companies for aid. Instead, Dany purposefully lies to the Yunkish envoy and the sellswords, and gives the later wine to get drunk on (and an offer to join her) while she attacks at night. Daario, a lieutenant of the Stormcrows, is won over by Daenerys, kills his fellow captains, and defects to her side. Yunkai is defeated, and the slaves are let go. However, unlike Astapor, Dany does not put an end to the Wise Masters. For this, she is hailed by the freedmen as "mhysa!" or "mother". The Second Sons also join Daenerys after the battle.

Then they move on to Meereen, who has decided to crucify a little slave girl for each mile as a marker from Yunkai to Meereen. When she arrives, the Meereenese champion is easily defeated, and Mero, the former captain of the Second Sons, attempts to kill Dany in her camp, but is promptly killed by Arstan Whitebeard, who is then revealed to be Barristan, who reveals Jorah has been spying on Daenerys for King Robert.

Daenerys takes Meereen and crucifies the 162 Great Masters as retribution for the 162 slave girls crucified. When Barristan explains why he did not tell her who he was, she accepts and forgives him, but she finds she cannot forgive Jorah and banishes him. And of course, instead of leaving for Westeros, she decides to stay in Meereen, after learning that Astapor has been left in the hands of a butcher king named Cleon, overthrowing a council she had instilled when she left, and proposing war against Yunkai, which she just liberated.

Worried about what the effects would be if she simply left Meereen for Westeros, she decides to stay in Meereen and rule as its queen. I decided to call this section "the new dragon" because of Daenerys dismantling an institution her own ancestors helped found. The Ghiscari of Old Ghis had slavery of their own, which they ended up teaching to their new conquerors, the Valyrians. Then, after the Doom, slavery continued again, only this time it was now being practiced by the Free Cities, who are in constant trading with the masters of Slaver's Bay.

As she notes, they keep to the Ghiscari gods, and their symbol is of the harpy, a symbol of Old Ghis, but they no longer speak Ghiscari, instead speaking High Valyrian. Slavery was something the dragonlords of Old Valyria engaged in routinely, and that legacy is still all over Essos. In a way, she is undoing the sins of her ancestors past, and trying to make the world a better place and fighting injustice by using her dragons.

In contrast to ACOK, where she seems as yet undecided on what exactly her destiny is, she seems to be taking control of it in ASOS, becoming Mhysa, the Breaker of Chains, a saviour to those who have been enslaved. It is at this point that she starts to gain a serious following, one that I only assume will continue to grow in Essos. Because of her actions in fighting against slavery, she not only becomes a real saviour to the freedmen, but she also becomes a messianic figure to the followers of R'hllor, as a reincarnation of Azor Ahai.

This is where Dany goes from being simply the last Targaryen, the last dragon, and into a legendary, almost mythic, god-like figure. In my future essays, I will expand upon this aspect of her, since it is going to be really important moving forward, but the start of that is here in ASOS. And thus, this will be where I am concluding part 1. AGOT had Daenerys starting low, but eventually learning to rise up and realize she has to be the one to carry on the Targaryen legacy, after knowing Viserys would never live up to it.

ACOK had Dany questioning her destiny, as well as figuring out what her next step is after the miraculous birth of her dragons. And ASOS concludes her act 1 arc, by having her take control of her destiny and becoming a truly legendary figure who is changing the world. In part 2, I will be discussing in depth the thematic and personal struggles Daenerys faces as she is ruling Meereen in ADWD, and what those struggles and their resolution means for her future.

#asoiaf #asoiaf meta #daenerys targaryen #daenerys stormborn #house targaryen #asoiaf character arcs #essos #mother of dragons

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