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wevegottogetaway · 3 years

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Coming full circle

Here’s a little blurb about the Grammy’s, because some things just simply can’t be overlooked. I’ve also wanted to try and write in second person for a while and I thought this was the perfect occasion. Tell me what you think, I’m interested in knowing what you prefer! Happy reading xx (gif source)

The anticipation has become unbearable at this point. Sitting on the couch of the hotel suite you’ve checked in the day before, you feel more trapped here than simply waiting for your boyfriend to come back - or should you say Grammy winner boyfriend now? Watching the whole show on a flat screen rather than with your own heart-shaped eyes has been a pain to begin with, but now that there is a tiny gold trophy topping off the night with a pinch of two gifted fingers, it is downright torture.

Your legs keep fidgeting in restless expectation as you know Harry’s return is now eminent. The suspense of the show had you going insane for hours and now that it’s all over and done with, you can’t wait to shower him with love and sweet devotion. All the passion, all the self-imposed high standards, all the hard work, have finally paid off in the eyes of the academy, and though he’s always had the encouragement of his fans, it feels good to be recognized within the industry as well. To get a hat tip from pears and musicians he looks up to. To be able to bring the six pounds momento back to you since an infinitesimal but still real part of it was your doing. Also, he can’t wait to share it all with you.

At last, after the umpteenth sigh whizzing from your mouth, you finally hear it. Footstep coming to a halt behind the door, the sound of someone rummaging through their pockets for a keycard, a few lighthearted curses when said key plays hard to get, and finally several seconds later, the soft click of the lock signaling authorized entrance.

As soon as the door starts moving on its hinges, you leap to your feet to stand a couple meters from the entrance, arms crossed behind your back. And there he is.

The charismatic superstar you’ve just worshipped on TV all night is now standing in front of you in all his charming dimpled glory, orange and yellow plaid Gucci suit still on, swathed in feathery boas. Because, yes, he’s brought back all three of them; green, purple and black fluff all tangling around his upper limbs as he attempts to remove his heeled boots without tripping. If his clumsier than usual demeanor didn’t give away his slightly inebriated state, then the rosy tint coloring his cheeks was a big telltale sign of the few celebratory drinks he’d indulged throughout the night.

Harry stops dead in his tracks once his eyes fall on your frame. A shy grin appears on his flushed face, before your own lips part to mirror his glee. And for a hot minutes, it’s just that. You and him, facing each other across the hallway like in a makeshift Western dual, except you’re bearing no guns to fire at each other. Your only weapons are your beaming smiles and unconditional support.

Then there is no greater feeling than the fireworks exploding in your chest when you finally cave and run to him. He catches you with two sturdy arms as your wrap your legs around his waist and your arms around his shoulders. The deep belly laugh vibrating in his chest against yours is music to your ears and you can’t help but whisper "I am so fuckin’ proud o’ you," in the shell of his, before squeezing him even tighter against you. He buries his joy in your neck in response, knowing if he tried to kiss you right now, it’d be more of a smash of lips and clash of teeth than anything.

Once your elation simmers down just enough to relax your distended smiles though, your lips meet in a passionate embrace, tongues softly licking at the sweetest of each others’ mouth; yours from the strawberries you’ve had for dessert and his from the champagne that had been served all night at the Grammy’s.

As your hands reach up to cup his jaw, his come off your thighs to unwrap one of the boas from his neck and swaddle it around you. You squeal and giggle in delight at the furry material tickling the nape of your neck and Harry’s eyes sparkle in satisfaction, "knew you’d wanna have one, now we match."

Your heart is positively soaring, you just extend your new accessory around his neck so that you’re both protected by the green boa’s higher guardian spirit, and then you lean in for another kiss. For a while the two of you are caught up in your bubble, reveling in this night of magic and well-deserved acclaims, pride seeping through your pore to sneak under his skin much like his love for you had at the beginning of your relationship.

"I love you," the three words leave your lips as you lean your forehead against his and Harry promptly echoes the sentiment while walking you to the king size cloud-looking bed awaiting you both. He gently lowers you down upon the silk sheets, you hair spreading across the pillow cases with a look of sheer bliss etched upon your delicate features. If he weren’t so in awe of you and in awe of tonight, his signature smirk would probably taunt you with the fact that it won’t take much to unravel you tonight.

Instead he just hovers for another languid kiss, all his senses heightened by the evening’s ethereality. The sound of his name falling from the Troubadour’s manager is still reeling in his mind alongside the buzz that has been coursing through his veins ever since he took those bambi steps all the way to the stage to receive the long-awaited award for the fruit of his labour. Now that he’s come home in your arms to share every bit of that success, everything feels magnified.

He swears he’s never love you more than tonight when he’s feeling at the top and you’re here to hold his hand.

It’s a high like no other and one fix is just not cutting it. This requires a myriad of caresses and affections trailed along smooth skin. This was born out of support and loving inspiration that need to be returned to their muse in kisses that match the heat of the passion that instigated all this dream. This needs to be spelt out in love language across your body’s every nerve-endings - twice - and shouted from each one of LA’s skyscraper’s rooftop.

So Harry gets to work, diligently covering every inch of your skin with his appreciation and traipsing his reverence all the way down to the waistband of your panties with your grip in his hair accompanies his descent towards your sensitivity. "Gonna put those Grammy winning lips on me?" the smug look on your face is immediately whipped out by a moan as he noses at your clit.

"Seems only fair," he sucks at your mound through the cotton, "won the damn thing writing about eating your pussy. Reckon I didn’t properly thank you in my acceptance speech." Slowly he drags the flimsy lace down your legs before tasting your arousal with a long fat sweep of his tongue. "M’just comin’ full circle is all." You can feel his amusement against your core as you let out a giggle of your own at his silliness.

Your playful banter is quickly replaced by a symphony of moans and gasps that leave the both of you absolutely spent by the time the night reaches its real peak. After all, your acknowledgment means so much more to him than any award he could possibly receive/ Especially if it comes as sweet as your gratitude always does.

➪ Masterlist

#Harry Styles #harry styles blurb #harry styles writing #harry styles imagine #harry styles grammy #harry styles smut #just a teeny bit in passing lol #harry styles fluff #harry blurb

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epiphany-of-a-madwoman · 4 years

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The Last Dragon | The Witcher & Game of Thrones

Chapter 9 | Toss a Coin to Your Witcher

Summary: Visenya Targaryen is the eldest and only surviving child of Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell. When Robert Baratheon’s rebellion was won, instead of being slaughtered by the Mountain like her mother and siblings, she was saved by Ned Stark and taken as his ward. Years later, after she’s killed at the Red Wedding, she wakes up outside Blaviken. Now she finds her destiny intertwined with the White Wolf on her quest to go back home.

Word Count: 4,339

Note: Click here to read the previous chapters ♡

💕 Shout out to my Beta: @thisbreakableheaven , I always say it, but I’m going to say it again, thanks for listening to all my plot rambling as I try and piece together all my strange plot / chapter ideas! 💕

Visenya’s eyes shoot open. Her breathing is heavy and erratic with her heart beating rapidly against her chest. A cool sweat coats her forehead and brows with a slight tremble in her body, like a leaf shaking in the wind. Amber eyes dart from left to right, attempting to take in her surroundings. Everything is hazy and out of focus, like a thick fog hangs in the room, translucent enough to not be immediately noticeable, but still there. She’s in a bed, larger than the small lumpy ones in the inns she and Jaskier inhabit and certainly plusher than the hard floor she swears she fell asleep on last night.

Heavy furs cover her body, keeping out any potential chill, the hairs on her body stand up straight due to the cold air. Directly across from her is a small table pushed up against the wall with a small mirror resting on top of it. The window to her right is shut firmly, and adorned with loosely hanging curtains made from a thick navy blue fabric. On the left side of the room, a long wardrobe crafted from dark wood, and beside it a dresser crafted from similar materials. Visenya pushes the heavy furs and sits up. Her back pops at the movement, her neck and shoulders stiff from a restless sleep. In the back of her mind something feels off, but for the life of her, Visenya can’t put her finger on it. A part of her that’s buried deep in her hazy thoughts is screaming at the top of its lungs, but she doesn’t know why.

Winterfell, she’s in Winterfell. But she's always been here, so why does it seem so wrong?

She slips out of the bed, her left and then right foot touching the cold floor, it’s dark stone color matching with the rest of the room's decor. The cold air bites at her bare legs, the light nightgown doing nothing against the cold. Only silence fills the room, not even the sound of her feet lightly tapping against the stone floor is heard. For some reason, this unnerves Visenya, but once again she doesn’t know why. She approaches the vanity table, sitting in a wooden chair in front of it. the legs of the chair scrape against the ground, the sound echoing in Visenya’s mind. It’s the first noise she’s heard since she awoke. She sits in the chair, the wooden backing not soothing the stiffness she feels.

Looking into the small mirror, she stares at her reflection. Tangled silver hair delicately frames her pale skin that nearly glows in the dark room. Purple eyes glimmer in the reflection, staring at Visenya with a hint of mirth she’s familiar with but also seems almost like a distant dream. For some reason it seems wrong, the reflection staring back at her, but Visenya can’t place why. Targaryens are known to have silver hair and purple eyes, so why do her own features feel foreign? Another shiver overcomes her body, the sensation mildly confusing. She outstretches a hand towards the mirror --.

Knock. Knock.

The sound echoes around the room. Visenya turns her gaze to the heavy wooden door and her arm retracts. She stares at the source of the booming noise, not sure how to react. A moment passes and another knock, this time with a voice attached.

“My lady, I’m here to make sure you’re awake,” a voice calls out, the soft voice barely registering in Visenya’s mind. She blankly stares at the door, before remembering how to speak.

“Come in,” she replies, attempting to project her voice. A moment passes before it opens and a woman hardly younger than Visenya enters the room. Her hair is mousy brown, pulled into a tight bun without a strand out of place, a plain dress that’s as dark and dreary as the room limply hangs from her small body, the fabric drowning her. She nervously bows in Visenya’s direction before scurrying to the wardrobe. She flings open the doors and begins rifling through the dresses hanging inside. Visenya watches the woman, not sure what to make of the scene. She’s seen her before, that much she is sure of, so why doesn’t she know her name?

She pulls out a pale blue, with delicate embroidery near the bottom, a garment much more intricate than the one she is wearing herself, and yet she turns to Visenya with a satisfied expression on her otherwise somber face. The woman turns to Visenya, a satisfied expression on her otherwise somber face. The dress is familiar and evokes an emotional response, her eyes dampening, a sharp pain in her heart. And she’s confused, more so than before.

“This dress Lady Sansa made for you will look lovely.” the woman remarks. She begins rifling through the drawers, pulling out various pieces of fabric. Visenya turns her gaze back to her mirror, staring at her reflection with a blank expression.

Flashes of Visenya in that dress, hair braided back as she stands in line with Theon and Jon, uncomfortably waiting for the King and Queen, along with their company to arrive. But that can’t be right, Robert Baratheon hasn’t been to Winterfell since she was eight years old.

The woman begins humming a soft tune under her breath. The sound amplifies in Visenya’s mind until the melody is all she can hear and it clouds her thoughts and further muffles the distant screaming in her head. It intoxicates her like a strong northern ale, pulling her further and further away from sober thoughts and into a dream-like state. Soon the humming turns into outright singing, the hauntingly sweet words dancing around Visenya’s mind and while the woman’s voice is lovely and soft, something about it’s grating, like scraping a knife against a plate.

Visenya continues to stare at her reflection, her expression unchanging and eyes unmoving as they stare into the mirror. All the while, the woman continues singing the eerily beautiful song while rifling through the drawers filled with clothes. Everything is unchanging in the room, feeling as though time itself is still until Visenya notices a few slight changes. The metal framing around the mirror begins to rust, the once bright metal turning dark. The mirror portion starts to discolor and is blotched with dark spots and the entirety of the mirror covered in a hazy fog, obscuring Visenya from her own reflection. The vanity table shows signs of aging as well, no longing feeling as sturdy as it was a moment ago with random parts of it looking rotted. But the most obvious change is the air. The crisp morning air that’s normal in the North turns stale, the cold in the air burning deep in Visenya’s bones rather than leaving her skin cold. But the woman continues singing, weaving her hands through Visenya hair like it’s threads of silver, either not noticing the sudden change or unbothered by it.

“You seem warm, My Lady. Shall I get a maester to check on your health?” the woman says, pausing her singing.

“N-no I’m fine, just a bad dream is all,” Visenya says, staring at her reflection in the old mirror.

“Did you dream of fire and dragons?” she asks. Visenya’s heart stops as all the thoughts in her mind cease. She whips around to face the woman, the hair she previously held pulling Visenya’s scalp.

“Wha - what did you just say?” Visenya asks, her eyes piercing into the woman. She doesn’t look startled by Visenya’s sudden change in mood, in fact, her face is completely emotionless. Rather than a real, breathing, living person, she looks like a life-sized doll, eyes dull and dead, with nothing behind them.

“There’s no need to be afraid, my lady. The Lord of Light smiles down upon his chosen champions. From fire and ash you were reborn, to bring a world thrust into darkness into the light.” she says, speaking as if she were a dead person brought to life - monotone with no inflection - weaving her hands into the locks of Visenya hair, meticulously braiding each strand.

“What are you talking about? I demand you tell me.” Visenya says, her voice getting louder with each word spoken as her temper begins to flare. She stands from the chair, pushing the woman’s hands away from her face.

“Remember the words, remember what was said. With Fire and Blood.” the woman speaks, this time her tone has a sense of urgency in it, but for the life of her, Visenya can’t think why. But before she can question her further, the ground beneath Visenya is ripped away, and she feels herself free-falling in darkness, unable to make heads or tails of her surroundings. All she knows is it’s cold and dark. She tries to scream but nothing comes out, leaving her mouth open with silent screams. Her hair whips around her face and she watches the silver locks darkening until the shining silver is a dull brown.

Then she hits the ground. It’s sudden, unexpected, and very painful. But feeling solid ground around her is somewhat comforting.

And when her eyes flutter open, apprehensive and scared of what she might see, she breathes out a sigh of relief. Tall trees, emerald leaves, a fire that’s been smothered, and a sleeping figure. She’s in the camp again, if she ever even left. She places a hand over her chest as she sits up, the other one reaching to wipe away the dampness on her face. Birds softly chirp high on the branches, singing in tune with the gentle breeze that rustles the forest. The sun is rising, the faint rays of morning light hitting the trees, the leaves fanning the light out below them, and with a final heavy breath, Visenya pushes her body up to stand.

Stumbling through the small camp, past the sleeping bard, she breaks into the thick of the forest. Her hand rests on one of her silver daggers, eyes keenly looking around the thick greenery for any movement. She crouches low to the ground in an attempt to obscure herself from future prey and stalks forward. To her left, she notices the tall grass shifting, and with the grace of a cat pouncing onto its prey, she pulls out her dagger and flings it. The dagger flies through the air but instead of striking her target, it embeds itself into the tree nearby. A moment later, a fat rabbit with beady black eyes rushes out of the grass and disappears into the forest. A frustrated groan leaves Visenya’s mouth and she trudges towards her dagger and pulls it out of the wood with just enough force.

Absentmindedly wandering through the forest, her thoughts return to the dream. It’s odd, she’s had dreams before but never so...life like. She’d felt every emotion, smell every scent, and feel every surface as she would’ve in reality. The phantom feeling of ash clinging to her skin is still there and she catches herself shaking her head, attempting to get the ash out before remembering it’s not actually there. Perhaps it’s merely her mind playing games, a trick the mind was playing on itself to coax out her best-kept and well hidden fears, even the ones that had been buried so deep that she'd forgotten about them. However, the chill in her body as she remembers the madness buried in the eyes of her reflection makes it difficult to convince herself.

And that second...dream, if it was even that. The woman’s words echo in her head, on repeat over and over, growing louder each time she hears them again.

Fire and Blood.

She knows the words well, the words of House Targaryen. The only comfort she had during her darkest nights. An assurance that even if she was physically by herself, isolated from her only chance of ever knowing her family, she was never truly alone. And some nights she’d even convince herself Queen Visenya I was with her, watching over her, guiding her every step of the way. That she was there, when Visenya first started training to fight, guiding her swings with the wooden sword, coaxing her into a proper battle stance. And even though they were foolish tales and fantasies dreamed up by a small child too sad for her age, they were comforting as she maneuvered through this new strange world.

With a huff, she sinks down to the ground, leaning her back against the tree. A hysterical laugh escapes her mouth, the sound dancing away in the mellow breeze rushing through the forest.

“I’m going insane,” she mutters to herself, and she rests her forehead against the palms of her hands. Her thoughts wander as she absentmindedly scapes her hairline with the tips of her fingers. Her nails are unkempt and longer than preferred, strands of hair getting stuck in the corners of her nails.

“There you are!” Jaskier’s voice breaks Visenya from her thoughts. Her head snaps up in his direction, watching as his form swiftly approaches her spot. He’s wearing the same ensemble from the night before and his floppy brown hair is as well managed as it can be on the road. Her face twists into a look of confusion, her eyes following his nonchalant movements. However, Jaskier doesn’t acknowledge her and instead opts to sit on her left, only part of his body resting against the tree.

“Now I was going to leave you to do your…well whatever it is you were doing,” Jaskier continues waving his hand vaguely in Visenya direction. “But, then it sounded like you were having a real crisis. So I thought to myself ‘Oh better make sure she’s okay.’ You are my source of protection after all.” Jaskier muses, a lopsided grin resting on his face. The teasing tone in his voice is a stark contrast to the worry swirling in his eyes. A small grin creeps its way up onto Visenya's mouth, a warm feeling filling her chest. The harsh lines that were forming on her forehead immediately softened, the anxiety and hint of fear barely hidden behind her eyes swiftly disappearing.

“I’m fine,” she replies. Jaskier raises his eyebrows at her response, clearly not buying the lie. “Well, I’m not fine, but I will be,” she corrects herself before Jaskier has a chance to verbalize his doubts. Seemingly satisfied, he nods once at her words but makes no move to stand. Instead, he wiggles towards Visenya until their legs are touching and leans his head closer towards hers so it’s resting against the tree. Always one for personal space, Visenya normally would’ve either physically or verbally lashed at him - demanding the bard keep his distance. However, the scathing remarks never come. Instead, Visenya moves over slightly to allow Jaskier more room, watching the leaves delicately blow in the wind, the faint sound of birds singing echoing in the distance.

“If you ever need to talk to someone...” Jaskier’s voice interrupts the quiet atmosphere surrounding them. Visenya turns to face him, raising a single brow with her lips tilted upwards.

“You’ll be the first person who knows. Considering you’re the only person I talk to.” Visenya replies. At her reply the serious expression that Jaskier wore immediately dissipated. His eyes sparkling with mischief and his lips were pulling into an amused smirk.

“And what about our mighty Witcher! How would our dastardly hero feel about not being included in this list?” Jaskier exclaims, dramatically emphasizes his words. Visenya simply rolls her eyes at him.

Everything with him always comes back to Geralt.

Jaskier then leans forward, eyebrows raised so high they nearly touch his hairline. When he quickly moistens his lips with his tongue, Jaskier more closely resembles a cat that got into the canary rather than a man.

“Could it possibly be because you and Geralt don’t do much…” his eyes flit to the left and right before landing on Visenya again. “Talking?” he asks. Visenya brings a hand up and smacks Jaskier on his left shoulder. He immediately moves away from her, rubbing the spot she’d struck. “That’s not very nice!” he exclaims, moving until there is sufficient space in between them.

“Play stupid games, win stupid prizes,” Visenya replies. She stands from her sitting position and holds a hand out for Jaskier to take. Always one for theatrics, Jaskier moves backward and throws one of his hands across his forehead. He leans his head back and closes his eyes, an exaggerated gasp escaping his mouth.

“Time and time again, my fair maiden has abused and used me. When will this insanity end, giving me sweet release from her beguiling aura? I pray to the gods every night that it will change” Jaskier exclaims. After he finishes his words, he waits a moment and then opens one of his eyes only to quickly close it and sigh again, louder than the first time and far more dramatic.

“Ha ha ha, very funny. Now let's go before the sun is gone, we’ve got places to go.” Visenya says, her expression hiding any amusement she got from his antics. A defeated sigh leaves Jaskier's mouth, and a moment later he places his hand in Visenya’s as she pulls his body from the ground.

“As my lady commands,” he says. And with a single bump against his shoulder from Visenya, the two of them begin walking back to camp.

o0o0o0o0o

“When are you going to finally admit that you enjoy those novels more than you let on?” Jaskier asks, pulling out one of his quills, scratching it against a piece of parchment. Two tankards full of ale rest in front of them, neither of them drunk from. The ale here is watery and weak, yet still managing to taste worse than rotting fungus.

Flick, the thin parchment page of the book nearly rips from how quickly it’s flipped. Visenya glances at him out of the corner of her eyes, raising a single brow at him before returning her gaze to the trashy romance novel. It’s sickeningly sweet, the dialogue almost as unrealistic as the premise of the book itself, but it’s something to read when she needs to stave off boredom.

“Do you want me to hit you? Because I will hit you.”

Flick, another page. The heroine of the story finally meets up with the main love interest, practically throwing herself into his arms, that the author took time to describe every detail of. Visenya's face crunches up into a grimace, quickly turning the page.

“I’d rather you didn’t, if you don’t mind. I think I’m still bruised from where you hit me when we first met.” He runs his hand over the spot on his abdomen she elbowed him all those months ago, after the whole situation with elves resolved itself. And she can’t help the small self satisfied smirk that slowly creeps onto her face.

Flick.

The soft sun rays of dawn creep through the windows, the thick layer of dirt and grime that covers them dispersing the light. The rays shoot through the tavern, randomly choosing the next victim to blind with their radiance. The room is loud with town folk who gather around the old creaky tables, with drinks in hand, muttering quietly amongst themselves. Tension is thick in the air, everyone seemingly on edge, and it has nothing to do with the newcomers. This tension is different, almost like the whole village is slowly sinking into their fears with only the tops of their heads above the water.

“Why can’t you be nice to me, Jane? I really thought after our conversation around the fire three nights ago we were growing closer?” Jaskier asks, feigning offense in his tone, placing his hand over his heart with eyes wide and innocent looking.

Visenya snorts.

“Maybe you should try--”

The front door swings open, silencing any noise in the room. A figure rushes through them, it’s an older man, chubbier than most with a short beard and balding hair. His clothes are nicer than most other people in the room, besides the putrid smelling goo that clings to it, seemingly a mixture of blood and black ooze. His whole body is trembling like a leaf in a storm, clutching a fabric hat in his hands as he rushes towards the center of the tavern.

“Eustace, what is this?” the barkeep calls out, scrunching his nose as he passes.

“I-I saw it!” he exclaims as he drops his hat on a table, the room gasping at his proclamation. Visenya glances at him for a second before looking back to her book, scanning the words with mild interest. It seems the author is still going on and on about the hero’s rippling muscles.

Like a swarm of rats skittering towards their next meal, the entirety of the room gravitates towards him and by association, Visenya and Jaskier, since he stands closest to their table. Jaskier flips his journal to a blank page, eagerly waiting for his next grand tale.

“I tell you no lie, it swallowed the whole village it did. Not a bone to be found,” he starts, making sure his uneven and shaky voice carries throughout the entire room.

“Oh don’t give me that look, shitling. That’s why we had to call him…” he pauses, allowing the words to ring in the air before continuing, “The White Wolf.” Everyone around them dramatically gasps, completely enraptured by the story. Visenya eyes flick up from the book in her hand, leveling a hard stare at Jaskier, her gaze enough to turn him into stone if he dares to look in her direction. Noticeably, he does everything to not look at her.

The White Wolf, of course Geralt is here. No wonder Jaskier was so eager to settle in this tavern for the day.

“And he stood in the middle of that frozen lake like he knew it was coming for him. The ice cracked open and a selkimore shot out! Oh you’ve never seen one, but it’d take down a ship with its cavernous mouth full of devil's teeth!” the man exclaims, waving his arms around like a mad man. “And it… swallowed… that Witcher...whole!” he finishes.

Visenya’s head shoots up like a bolt of lightning, narrowing her eyes at the man.

‘No, there’s no way Geralt’s dead, he wouldn’t just...let himself get eaten like that.’

The words do little to comfort the small bit of anxiety inside her. Witchers hunt monsters and monsters are deadly, tearing apart people and destroying their homes as easily as Visenya breathes air. But Geralt isn’t normal, this is what he’s trained to do. She dares to glance at Jaskier out of the corner of her eyes, seeing him nonchalantly scribbling away and that does more to quell her worries than any half assed words she could concoct.

“Oh, this is brilliant!” Jaskier says, quickly diffusing the tight and tense atmosphere that surrounds the inn. In perfect synch, the patrons snap their attention towards Jaskier, staring at him in disbelief, as an amused smirk plays on Visenya’s face. Feeling a million glares piercing his skin like knives, Jaskier looks up from his writings, eyes wide and his mouth open. “Oh sorry. It’s just Geralt is usually so stingy with the details.”

“For good reason,” Visenya mutters under her breath.

Flick. Now the hero is dueling his rival so he can marry the heroine.

“Uh- and then what happened?” Jaskier asks.

“He died.”

“Eh...he’s fine.” Jaskier replies, his voice nonchalant and relaxed.

“Look, I was there. I know what I saw with my own--” heat builds in his voice, face as red as a ripe tomato, aggressively shoving a pudgy finger towards Jaskier. Visenya slowly rises from the chair, hand ghosting over the pommel of the dagger strapped to her leg, eyes in slits as they level a glare on the man.

Before he gets the chance to escalate the situation and force Visenya to end it entirely, the door slams open, metal handle clashing against the wooden walls.

In walks a hulking figure that is drenched head to toe in the same grotesque smelling foreign goo the pudgy man is coated in. Everyone’s attention turns towards the door, frantically covering their noses as the stench is stronger and fouler than what the rounder man emanates. With his sword in hand, Geralt walks towards Jaskier and Visenya, eyes set on the man before them and the people part, granting him a wide berth.

“See,” Jaskier says, nonchalantly writing in his book.

“What’s that stench?” the man asks Geralt as he approaches the table.

“Selkimore guts. Had to get it from the inside. I’ll take what I’m owed.” Geralt says, his voice rougher than it usually is. Jaskier immediately jumps up, quill still in hand and begins singing that gods awful song.

“Toss a coin to your Witcher oh valley of plenty oh oh oh.” The man tosses a coin pouch as the entire tavern begins singing along, hesitantly at first, but as the song continues, people grow more enthusiastic. Geralt side steps the crowd and moves straight for the bar, bag of gold in hand. Jaskier rushes after him, rambling on about one thing or another. A sigh of exasperation and mild relief leaves Visenya's mouth as she thumbs through the book again, despite having completely lost interest in it by this point.

‘It keeps my muse fresh and exciting!’ Jaskier always says about his large collection of frilly books, but to Visenya they’re just dead weight only useful to pass the time. But it doesn’t even do that.

“Food, woman, and wine, Geralt!” Visenya hears Jaskier exclaim. She looks up to find Geralt a few steps away from their table, still covered in guts with no drink in hand.

Wordlessly, Visenya grabs her waterskin that’s filled with Cintran ale and tosses it to Geralt. She then returns her attention back to the romance novel.

“The drinks here are shit,” she said.

o0o0o0o0o

Tags: If your name is crossed out, it means I wasn’t able to tag you. Also I’m not 100% sure if most of y’all still want to be tagged, since it’s been so long since I posted a new chapter, so feel free to message me if you no longer want to be!

#geralt x reader #the witcher fanfiction #geralt imagine #geralt one shot #geralt fanfic #geralt of rivia #Geralt #the witcher imagine #the witcher #the last dragon #the witcher one shot #game of thrones #game of thrones fanfiction #game of thrones imagine #house targaryen #targaryen!reader #targaryen!oc #CrossOver

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jessiebanethedragon · 4 years

Text

Cracked Kyber, Empty Coffins (6/?)

Approximately two years earlier:

You avoided Colt after your sparring match, even though it didn't mean anything, you couldn't even call the two of you friends. So why couldn't you stop thinking about his smile when he finally had bested you? The issue, and your curiosity, needed to be put to rest. And so you seek him out, as he prepares to depart from Kamino.

“Commander.” You greet him as he makes the final checks to his ship.

“Jetii.” He nods to you, his old habit of mando’a slipping out. Taking his helmet off as you approach. There’s a shadow of stubble on his jaw. And it’s nice, too nice.

“That’s mando’a right?” you say, trying to shake the thought of Colts handsome face.

“It is. You speak it?” His head tilts with interest. You laugh and shake yue head no.

“Unless this counts: Copaani mirshmure'cye, vod?” You struggle with the pronunciation a little but when Colts eyebrows crinkle and he looks shocked before smiling a little, the closest you’ve ever seen him to laughing.

“You know what that means right?” he asks, it comes out breathy like there's an echo of a giggle in it.

“I was asking if you wanted to fight, right?” you’re suddenly worried about what it could actually mean.

“You specifically asked if I wanted a smack in the face.” He corrects, “which, for reference, i do not.” Colt adds looking at you once more before going back to fiddling with his ship. You nod thoughtfully. Trying to figure out why exactly you’re here and how to bring it up.

“When will you be back?” Is what you ask instead, fingertips tapping against your leg, and in a haste for a distraction you miss that you’re making Colt’s helmet float towards you, until you’re holding it.

“I guess when the next batch is ready for testing.” He grumbles, stoic face returning. “Can i have that back?” he gestures to the helmet, you hand it over quickly.

“So i guess i need a new sparring partner then.” You joke to hide your disappointment.

“Or just train the cadets faster and i’ll be back sooner.” Colt retorts, looking around as some of said cadets jog by, why is it whenever he’s around you he feels like he breaks regulation by talking to you?

“How about you stay and help?” You fire back, not totally joking, you want him to stay, even if it’s completely selfish.

“There’s a war that needs winning, remember?” Colt says, reminding himself that he needs to go, if he continues talking much longer he will be off schedule, and yet, he doesn’t move to put his helmet on.

“And the entire republic would fall without you.” You make the dramatic exclamation with a small smile.

“That’s right.” He says and you see the corners of his mouth turn up, before he covers it with a cough. “Best be going then, got a war to win.”

“Single handedly.” you remind him as Colt climbs the ladder into the one-person ship.

“Considering all the Jetti are playing with the babies on kamino.” He calls down to you, he still hasn’t put the stupid helmet on.

“I don’t see you volunteering!” You shout back, trying to think of ways to get him to stay. Colt smiles and shakes his head, you really were impossible. And at last, he puts the helmet over his head, letting it hide his face from you. He doesn’t answer as the ship's engines start. The last you see before he takes off is the smallest wave from inside the cockpit.

Commander Colt returns with his full battalion in tow. The whispers of an attack on Kamino has the entire GAR on edge. So you’re not surprised that the second you are informed of the risk, the Rancor battalion is offloading materials onto the base. As you walk through the hanger, your eyes search for the familiar armor, he has his back to you, eyes on a holopad and his men who are carrying crates of supplies. His posture is tense, and for a second you don’t think you would have recognized him. You know it would be foolish to interrupt him, and yet you find yourself making your way over to where Colt stands. Squeezing yourself in between the mass of people rushing about.

“Jedi on deck!” A trooper shluts when they see you approach, everyone dropping their things to salute as you reach the bridge of their space in the hanger. Colt turns around slowly, coming to attention when he finally makes eye contact.

“... at ease.” you say unsure of yourself, not used to being saluted. And just like that everyone goes back to what they were doing.

“How can I be of service?” The modulated voice asks, and you’re beginning to think this was a very bad idea.

“Just checking in.” you lie, “making sure everything is in shape.” Colt visibly stiffens.

“So you think my men aren't up to par?” Colt hisses at you, your mind is racing, trying to draw connections between the man you knew before and the one in front of you now.

“That's not what i meant,” you rush out, “i just came by to check in.” you repeat yourself, you see the helmet glare at you, unmoving for a moment before it goes back to staring at the holopad.

“Alright, you’ve checked in, and i’m sure there’s more important places for you to be.” He dismisses you, but you feel him hurting through the force, and stubbornness begins to show as you stand your ground.

“I don’t take orders from you.” It’s said without thinking, and somewhere in the background his men stop working again, watching whatever is going on between the jedi and the commander.

“Is there a problem?” He asks, purposefully leaving out any kind of title.

“You tell me, soldier.” You fling back at him, under-ranking him with the use of soldier instead of commander. It works. The helmet comes off in a flash and hits the metal floor with a thunk followed by the Holopad.

“If you wanted a childish spat. Go find a cadet.” he's standing dangerous close to you now, forcing you to take steps back. His troopers can't believe this is happening. Colt openly challenging authority is unheard of.

“Seems to me I’m looking at one.” You retort. And you swear you see red flash across his eyes.

“Commander!” One of his men shouts running off the ship. “Incoming attack!” your eyes meet his, which have softened considerably at the news. He turns back to you before picking up his bucket and pushing you ahead of him.

“Get out!” He yells at you, desperate to get you out of what's about to be a battlefield.

“The DNA!” You shout back with a realization, before you take off running without looking back at him.

The first hit tears open the hangar doors, sending metal and clones everywhere. You turn back watching the men spring into action, Colt’s screaming orders at his men. Before he turns and ever so calmly jogs over to where you’re frozen in place.

“The DNA?” He asks gripping your arm and all but escorting you out of the flaming warzone.

“They’ll be headed to the lower levels.” You supply, picking up your pace once you finally reach an old stairwell. Jumping down the lights of stares until you hit the bottom, you land sabree drawn to light up the dark hallway. Green flooding the way replaced by the red emergency lights.

Five underwater sepratsist droids turn to you, ready to fire. But you’re quicker, rolling to the side and using the wall on your left to jump at the two closest to you, bring your blade up and over your head in a diagonal motion to slice at anything in its path. Twisting you body to kick another droid as you go to propel yourself at two more of the droids before slamming the sabre into the chestpiece of the final one.

Standing barely shaken as Colt sprints down the rest of the stairs at the noise of chaos. You're Looking into the ship that the droids came off of.

“There’ll be more.” he says, joining you.

“You go.” you say deadpanned and serious. “I’ll find the rest.” You think he hesitates for a second, but it could be your mind playing tricks on you. Before he takes off jogging down the corridor. You sprint in the other direction, finding two more empty ships embedded in the metal. And that's when you feel it. For the first time in your life, you feel the imbalance, a cold front washes over you as you come to terms with the presence of the dark side.

Deactivating your sabre and using the darkness to your advantage you make your way towards the feeling until it's so strong you feel overwhelmed. The sound of a blaster bolt shakes you, but the sound that follows scares you.

You can hear the plastoid crack and the helmet fall as Colt struggles mid air for oxygen. Stepping out from around the corner, the sound of your sabre igniting catches her attention.

“Ventress.” You spit at her, turning her attention away from the commander to you.

“A padawan, how sweet.” She talks like a snake moves, slithering with purpose to its destination.

“Let him go.” your voice is shaking, but the grip on your sabre is strong. Colts face is turning a worrying shade. Ventress gives you an over exaggerated pout.

“But i like this one,” She tells you, bringing Colt closer until he’s right in front of ehr. “Look at that angry handsome face, he really is a fighter isn’t he?” you're breathing heavily with anger as you watch her toy with the two of you. All that changes the second her hand goes for a lightsaber. In one fluid movement your hands go out, pulling Colt towards and behind you and Ventress down the hallway away from him.

They both go flying, rolling to stops on separate ends of the hallway, as you stand protective over him while Colt desperately sucks in air. Ventress glares at you, activating her twin sabres as she pulls herself up. You take a fighting stance, focusing yourself.

Your face pales as you hear the telltale cough intermingled with laughter. Still woozy Colt looks over to the source. Grievous stalks into view, a pile of droids behind him. Without thinking, you send your saber into the metal wall, slicing open a gash that sends water rushing through at an unimaginable rate. Pushing all of you off your feet as the current becomes too much. Scrambling to find Colt you throw one of his arms over your soldier and the two of you half walk and half swim to the stairwell. Watching Grievous and Ventress take off as the water fills the hallway. A very injured Colt holding onto you entire time.

#clone wars #the clone wars #clones #clone x reader #clone x jedi #clones x reader #the clones x reader #the clone wars x reader #the clones #commander colt #commander colt x reader #colt x reader #clone trooper colt #colt

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etlunainmorte · 4 years

Text

Very brief mention of abuse and bullying. Read with caution. Thank you!

***

📷 Memories 📷

***

Click.

There. He heard it.

Click.

He heard it once more.

Click.

There it is again!

"V!" The demonic familiar screamed. "Watch out!"

The warning came too late when one of the full - grown parasite’s snake - like heads hit V right in his stomach, throwing him across the messy, and thankfully deserted, marketplace.

Groaning in pain, the tattooed poet did his best to get up despite his fragile form and fight once more alongside his familiars to bring the unspeakable thing down. One strong attack after another, the poet's beasts finally managed to reduce the parasite into its most vulnerable form, making it weak against one final attack, which, of course, must be dealt by him.

Throwing his cane to the weakened Demon ( click! ) and using his ability to teleport, he instantly vanished and materialized in mid air right before the enemy ( click! ), making it even more confused than before this unexpected battle began.

His eyebrows twitching in annoyance when he heard that clicking noise again, he grabbed his metal cane, raised it high above his head, and pierced the enemy's chest with it.

"The cut worm,... forgives the plow." The poet quoted and smirked, relishing the satisfying feeling of the metal cane on his hands, piercing the pulsating flesh of the unknown Demon. "What do you say?" And with one final sadistic push of the cane deep into its flesh, the enemy finally took its last breath and disintegrated into nothingness, just like what always happens to the unlucky Demons who found themselves at V's mercy.

Click!

And just like those nasty Demons, this one left a fair amount of funk in the air that assaulted V's nostrils. More than necessary, in fact. This one really left an impression.

"V." Griffon whispered as he landed on his master's waiting arm. "I found the culprit."

"Where?"

"Behind that stall!" The bird pointed with his wing.

Eyes dangerously narrowed, he took a deep breath, and threw his cane. And the moment he grabbed it, he vanished once more into thin air.

And when he materialized once to where Griffon directed him, he heard an unmistakable little yelp as the culprit, who was, indeed, the source of those annoying clicking sounds, was finally caught.

And those annoying clicking sounds that distracted him more than once during the fight? It was a camera, after all!

The chit has been taking pictures of him fighting that Demon!

Forcefully taking the camera from the culprit's trembling hands, he directed his threatening, jade gaze at her, and it seemed to work really well.

"Are you the one who summoned the parasite to this world?" His low voice laced with threat and poison, V carefully asked the little blonde female, who was positively cowering in fear before his tall frame.

"Yeah, start talkin', lil' bitch, or I'll fry ya where ya sit!" Griffon added his ear - piercing threat.

The blonde's green eyes widened. She shook her head as she tried to cover her head in fright. "Summoned? I can't do that! I swear!"

"V, SHE'S LYIN'!" Griffon squawked angrily, making her even more frightened.

And this pushed V a little off balance. She,… seemed to be saying the truth. "What is your proof?"

"I,... ah,..." The blonde stuttered. Pointing at the camera, she said, "It's my job to take photos of Demons. I swear I didn't summon it! Please, believe me!"

"Do ya honestly believe this bitch?" Griffon asked V as he watched how the poet's facial expression soften but, only a bit. He's still suspicious of this female, after all.

"No but, let's have an agreement, shall we?" He declared, his attention fully focused on her. "Tell your boss to stop sending you to life - threatening commissions. Do you have,... any idea,... that this,... stupidity,... would cost you your own life?"

The female gulped nervously, her large eyes focused on his. She did not, or cannot, answer, and this irked V even more.

"No? Then, let this be a lesson to you. Stop chasing after such,... dangerous creatures,... and I will let this pass. That is for your own sake, believe me."

Satisfied to see the female nodding in agreement, he answered, "Good." Then, looking at the camera in his hands, he added, "Then, I shall give this back to you."

"T - thank you!" The female expressed her heartfelt gratitude with a relieved smile but, when she was about to take it from V, the man let it fall to the ground, and before she could even retrieve it, the man crushed it beneath his foot.

"That settles it." V murmured as he walked away from the female, hoping to not see those startling green eyes of hers, or that annoying camera, ever again.

"Haha! Couldn't agree more." Griffon jabbed.

***

"Who did this?" The teacher questioned as he showed the whole class a single report sheet with a big red F mark written on it. And, oh, how mad he looked! Those veins popping from his forehead! That left fist clenched and ready to take down the culprit! "Who. DID THIS?"

And lo and behold, from the sea of frightened faces rose a single, tiny hand that trembled.

Tiny and trembling, and yet bold and daring.

"It was me, sir." The little girl squeaked and stood, frightened beyond her wits but determined to the bone to face the lion before her.

"SUERMANN!" The teacher growled, making the students gasp in fear. The balding adult closed his eyes, his lips spouting silent curses, and his fists clenching to restrain his anger. He opened his eyes and took out something from his drawer - a long piece of thin, flat wood.

THE long piece of thin, flat wood.

Nodding at the little girl with the feared device on his hand, he instructed, "Come here."

It took the little girl a whole minute to process what's going on, and when she and the rest of the class heard the awful sound of their angry teacher slamming the desk with his large palm, she jolted in attention.

"I said, COME HERE, YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT!"

The little girl came forward as she was told, knowing all too well what would happen to her. She stopped right before the adult and looked up, feeling as if her life would end right then and there.

It did not, fortunately. But, she did end up having bruised hands later after school. And, oh God, it hurts! It hurts so, so much!

"Mary!" Her best friend called, catching up to her. "Mary, I'm so sorry! I must be the one who's punished, not you!"

Mary smiled at her best friend and shook her head. "It's okay. I can't let that man hurt you."

"Oh, Mary!" Her best friend cried as she saw the ugly bruises on Mary's hands. "I'm so weak! I shouldn't have listened to them when they told me to write on Mr. Burns' papers. But, I had to because they're gonna tell the whole school I'm adopted!"

Mary sighed and shook her head. Why are there such bad people living in this world?! And why do they keep torturing the weak?!

"Forget it, Vanessa. I'm here, and I'll protect you from those bullies!" Mary told her with a brave smile as she hid her hands behind her back.

"Thank you, Mary!" Vanessa cried as she threw herself at her best friend and gave her a big hug.

And that's how Mary Suermann came to hate Mr. Burns, his thin piece of flat wood, and those bullies who forced her best friend to vandalize on the teacher’s precious report papers.

***

"Thanks for pitchin' in, man!" The freckled woman with glasses patted V on the shoulder. Wearing a huge grin of success on her face, she added, "I knew I could count on ya."

"Where is your partner, if I may ask?" The poet questioned as he took a seat on one of the chairs inside the woman's spacious, and yet messy, trailer.

"Oh, Nero? Heh. Bet he's gettin' his ass kicked real good,..."

"Says who?" The man called Nero, himself, interrupted just in time when he opened the door and let himself in. And he clearly looked like he got his rear side kicked real good, just like what the woman said. From V’s fair perspective, Nero looked like someone who could face a horde of Demons with a smile on his face and still come out victorious. After all, his posture and his overall appearance said so.

Then, again, appearances could be deceiving. And V knew that very well.

"Whatever." The woman answered, rolled her eyes, and lit a cigarette. "Oh. This is V. V, this is Nero, my partner."

"Hey, man." Nero greeted with a nod.

"It's a pleasure." V simply answered without too much of a fuss.

"Same." Nero nodded, and with a disgruntled expression on his face, he opened the door to let the cigarette smoke out and kicked the sofa where his partner was sitting. "Got any leads?"

"Hmm, aside from the single fact that these Demons just keep poppin' outta thin air, nothin'!"

"Nothing? Not anything?"

"I told ya!" The woman answered. Facing the poet, she then said, "How about you, V? Any leads?"

"That Demon," V answered. " ... it's a parasite called Nidhogg. I believe it latches on Qliphoth roots to sustain itself."

"Qliphoth?" The woman and Nero spoke almost simultaneously.

"It's a demonic tree that thrives on human blood." V explained. "And I found it,... quite baffling to encounter such a creature when there are no,... Qliphoth roots around."

"Great. Now, I'm even more confused." Nero muttered as he waved the cigarette smoke off his nose. "And it already smells like ass in here."

"That's you!" The woman retorted. Looking outside through the window, she spoke in a lower voice, "Ah, she's late."

Nero's eyebrows shot upwards in attention as he moved a bit away from the door.

And the person who entered the trailer made V's own eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

"I'm sorry, Nico, there's - "

The blonde stopped talking abruptly when she saw the mysterious man who crushed her camera sitting on the chair across her boss!

What is he doing here?!

Unless - !

"What is it?" The woman named Nico, who was unaware of what happened between the blonde and her friend V, asked as she looked up at her, a bit excited to know what news she brought for all of them. "Oh! Oh! Before I forget," Nodding at V, she said, "This is V, my good friend from Red Grave City. He's that other one I called to help with our investigation. Ya know! The one I told ya about last night!" And with a proud smile on her face, she stood up and roughly brought her hand down on the little blonde's shoulder, a thing she enjoyed doing just because she's small compared to her. "V, this is Mary, my assistant. And friend."

"Guys, I'll just call Kyrie." Nero spoke as he took his cellphone from his pocket and made his way out of the trailer. And nobody even noticed him.

"So! Got any leads for us, girl?" Nico asked, waiting for Mary to speak.

"I,... ah,... " Her nerves betraying her and getting the better of her, she took out the broken camera from her large We Bare Bears handbag and handed it to Nico. "I'm,... sorry,... about that."

"GIRL, WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS?!" Nico, whose eyes got as wide as saucers, freaked out as she held the broken thing on her hands.

"Well, I'm - " Mary began, seeing the look of utter horror on V's face at the corner of her eye. He just,... didn't expect things to turn out like this.

Who knew that chit worked for Nico?!

"WELL?" Nico screamed hysterically.

Oh, dear, V thought helplessly, deciding whether to, at least, save the girl from being fired, or not.

Then, something happened that he never expected.

Mary,... the little blonde chit,... smiled.

She smiled!

"I'm a klutz, right?" Mary squeaked with a nervous little laugh.

"This thing is OLD! You should've fixed your clumsiness a long time ago!" Nico scolded the blonde.

And to this, Mary just scratched the back of her head. "I'm sorry. I really do. But, hey! I can show you what that Demon - thing looks like - "

Nico growled, cutting her off and making her way to the back of the trailer to fix her grandmother's camera.

V's eyes widened in disbelief.

Why,... he thought as his eyes focused on the girl, who looked more relieved than worried. Would she cover for me like that?!

***

📷📷📷

***

#vitale sparda #devil may cry 5 #memories #v x oc #v x mary #chapter i #griffon #nico #nero

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entropychanges · 4 years

Text

Michael and Alex’s Excellent Adventure Chapter 1: June 2008

The first of four chapters of my teenage Malex time travel au.

Posted as a part of Alex Week 2020 Day 2: au + canon divergence.

Also on ao3.

Warnings: descriptions of a ceiling collapsing, claustrophobia

June 2008

There was something so exhilarating about the desert in the late evening. Maybe it was the warm, dry breeze that caressed their cheeks and blew sand across their ankles. Maybe it was the night sky, stars scattered and visible with the absence of city lights. Or maybe it was the fact that they could make out in the open air without the chance of anyone seeing them.

“I don’t want to make out in the back of your truck tonight, Guerin.”

“What? Where do you want to make out then?”

Alex rolled his eyes. They were parked in the middle of the desert, not far from Foster’s Ranch. They were lit only by the dome light in the cab of Michael’s pickup truck.

“I don’t want to make out anywhere right now. I just want to walk a bit, to explore. Lay a blanket down somewhere and look at the stars.”

“And then we can make out?” Michael asked cheekily.

Alex laughed.

“Fine, then we can make out. Nothing more, though, there are some areas I don’t want scorpions to have access to,” he said with a shudder.

“Take it away then, Manes.”

Alex glowered at the use of his last name, and made his way into the desert.

After a few minutes of aimless walking and light bickering (“Michael I can carry the blanket it was my idea” “No, it’s my blanket, I’ll carry it” “Well at least let me carry-” “I’ve got it, Alex”) they found a mound of dirt to lay their blanket on.

They climbed to the top and set their belongings down as Alex began to scope out their surroundings.

“What are you even looking for, Alex? There’s nothing here, come back here I’m freezing.”

“It’s 85 degrees out, Guerin, you’re not freezing. I’m just making sure there aren’t any rattlesnakes and then I’ll be right back, okay?”

As he walked down the other side of the mound, he shined his flashlight ahead of him, searching for any dangerous critters.

He found nothing, except…

“Holy shit.”

“What is it?”

“Look, Michael, it’s a secret tunnel!”

As Michael walked down to meet him he said, “Alex, I swear to God if you’re bringing me down here to show me a gopher hole-”

He cut himself off as he approached what was clearly not a gopher hole. No, this was a human sized tunnel, burrowed in the side of the mound, leading to what seemed to be a cavern.

“Holy shit.”

“I know, right?”

“We should go down there.”

“Seriously, Michael? I’m trying to get us away from rattlesnakes, not into a cavern that’s presumably full of them.”

“Alex, there’s something important in there, I can feel it. You don’t have to follow me, but I have to see what it is.”

Before he could enter the tunnel, Alex grabbed Michael by the shoulder and turned him so that they could look each other in the eye. Alex was confused, this behavior was so unlike him. Michael didn’t believe in anything spiritual or supernatural, much less in anything like fate or God. So the idea of some metaphysical force “drawing him in” was… strange, to say the least.

“Are you high, Guerin?”

Michael gave him a piercing glare and said, “No. Give me the flashlight.”

“I’m not giving you the flashlight. Just follow me and tell me if you see anything creepy, got it?”

Michael huffed but followed his lead anyway.

As they crawled their way into the tunnel, the space around them grew wider, and they began to notice a glowing purple light ahead.

“What the hell is that?” Alex asked, pausing to shift his position. The tunnel was beginning to slope downward, and he was forced to do an awkward sort of crab-walk with his feet in front him to create resistance.

“I don’t know, but this tunnel is only getting steeper, it’s making me nervou- ALEX!”

Alex had slipped and slid down the rest of the tunnel, plunging into the cavern below. Michael watched as the flashlight fell with him, becoming a small dot of light before hitting the ground and flickering off.

“Shit, shit, shit. Alex can you hear me? Are you alright?” he shouted into the abyss. His heart pounded into the abyss as he searched for any sign of him, but all he saw was the purple light, the source of which he couldn’t see. Still, he had this unsettling feeling in his chest that even if he couldn’t see it, he knew what it was. It was something alien.

“I’m fine, I think I just twisted my ankle.”

Shit.

“But look, Guerin, you have to see this, you have to come down here.”

“Are you insane? I have to get help!”

As he said this, he tried to reposition himself to begin climbing back up the tunnel but, as if pulled by what felt at the time by a magical force (which he’d later remember was called gravity), he felt himself drop to the bottom of the cavern onto his back.

“Fuck,” he groaned.

“Shit, Guerin, are you okay? Did you hit your head?” he heard Alex ask. He seemed close, though Michael couldn’t tell without any decent light source.

“I think I’m fine,” he mumbled as he sat upright. It was then that he came to face the source of the purple light.

“What the hell?”

It seemed to be a giant piece of glass, but covered with markings in some foreign script, emitting a bright purple-pink light that swirled in his vision (whether this was due to injury or not he wasn’t sure). It took up an entire of the cave.

Michael struggled to get to his feet as he approached the object.

“Michael, don’t get too close, we don’t know what that is or what it does!” But Michael walked toward it as if he was in a trance. Against his better judgement, he placed a hand on the glass.

Once he did this, it was like something switched in Michael’s head. He and the glass seemed to communicate, maybe even combine. The material was sentient, and its intentions were clearly dangerous.

“Michael we need to go, now!” Alex screamed behind him.

It was then Michael realized that the cave was shaking, and dust was falling down upon them. Pretty soon, the walls would crumble and collapse in on them. Michael also realized that the source of the chaos was him… or, perhaps, the piece of the glass that was now a part of him. He tried to center his powers, control them as best he could, but they seemed to culminate into one mass of energy that he couldn’t seem to harness.

“Guerin, what the- is that you? How are you doing that?”

Michael was glowing. He was emitting the same light as the glass, only much brighter. He had never seen this before in his life. He was afraid of his own body.

“A-Alex. Stay back, I don’t-”

He was cut off as pieces of the ceiling began to drop down. Despite what he had just said, Alex ran to him, and Michael held him, preparing to be buried alive under dirt and rocks. Michael shut his eyes.

He opened them for just one more second, expecting to see his own demise.

Instead, he was blinded by a flash of violet, the brightest light he’d ever seen.

Then, nothing.

#alexweek2020 #alexappreciation2020 #alex manes #michael guerin #malex #malex fic #roswell new mexico #roswell nm #rnm fic #claustrophobia cw #im posting this 1:30 am so sorry if that comes across in my writing lmao

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mst3kproject · 5 years

Photo

Daughter of Dr. Jekyll

John Agar’s in this. So, for that matter, is Gloria Talbott from Girls Town and The Leech Woman, and it was directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, who brought us The Amazing Transparent Man. It was released on a double-bill with The Cyclops, which I’ve already reviewed, and while all that seems to promise us an utter crapfest, the premise at least sounded intriguing. Then I actually pressed play, and was greeted by an opening consisting of gray fog, theremin music, and a bored narrator. Oh, yeah. This is gonna suck.

Said opening narration very (and I mean very) quickly introduces us to the tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in which a distinguished scientist used a strange potion to turn himself into a werewolf! Wait… that’s not what happened in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at all. Wasn’t it a story about how every person has the capacity for evil and that’s part of what makes us human, and… aw, fuck it, this is a John Agar movie. Okay, sure, a werewolf. Whatever you say, Portentous 50’s Narrator. Moving on.

Janet Smith and her fiancé George Hastings arrive at her family’s palatial home, which she will inherit on her upcoming twenty-first birthday. That’s not all that’s come down the family line, though. Janet’s last name is not Smith, but Jekyll, and she was born after his experiments in lycanthropy had begun. Might she pass it on to her children? Or might Janet herself not be affected? Or is her father’s old friend Dr. Lomas an evil hypnotist using her for his own ends? Wait… what?

After sitting through crap like The Incredible Petrified World and Creatures from the Abyss, I kind of want to give extra points to Daughter of Dr. Jekyll. It’s actually fairly well-constructed for the most part, it’s rarely boring, and the sets representing the Jekyll family estate are very nice. There’s a plot I can follow, I know who the characters are, and so forth… my standards have dropped so low, that’s actually kind of impressive. The creepy delivery guy who hangs around whittling stakes and sowing discontent is pretty effective, himself, even though he’s a very one-dimensional character.

There’s still plenty of badness to be had, of course. The movie appears to be set in the first decade of the twentieth century, but it’s not very committed to that. The sound is frequently weird, from the absolute cacophony of frogs at the opening to musical cues that I swear were stolen from Robot Monster. There’s a random cameo from a very 50’s pin-up girl who appears, gets killed, and vanishes without us ever even learning her name. The climactic fight between George and the werewolf is extremely shatnery and the werewolf makeup is even lamer than in Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory.

Even worse, there’s an entire subplot that kind of doesn’t even bother happening. Most movies that are going to involve angry villagers have some scenes in a local pub or something to show the rabble being roused – even The Giant Spider Invasion had that. In Daughter of Dr. Jekyll we hear about angry villagers from a couple of different people but never actually see them until the pitchfork-toting crowd appears out of nowhere at the end. It’s like an angry flash mob. All we needed was a few thirty-second scenes, but I guess this movie couldn’t afford villagers. The whole climax is obscured by fog that makes it very hard to tell who’s who and what’s going on.

As usual, we’re confused about who our main character is supposed to be. The person whose eyes we see the story through is Janet. It’s Janet whose arc we follow, and Janet who we learn the most about, but she’s a very frustrating character because she is entirely without agency. The only choice she appears to make in the entire film is agreeing to marry George, before this story begins. Otherwise, she’s letting him or Lomas tell her what to do, completely incapable of making her own decisions (she even says as much, when George asks her if she’d like to go to London and elope). When the action occurs, she’s drugged with sleeping pills or in Lomas’ hypnotic thrall.

Even the very premise strips Janet of control over her own fate. She is not the heir to a scientific legacy (as other descendants of Henry Jekyll in other movies have been) but to a genetic one. Tanya in Lady Frankenstein chose to continue and improve on her father’s work. She might not have. Janet, on the other hand, cannot opt out of the family’s potentially tainted DNA. This lack of control is reinforced through smaller events as well: George won’t let Janet change her mind about marrying him, and when the young couple tells Lomas they don’t want his money or estate, he reveals that both were actually Janet’s the whole time. Like Eddie in The Beatniks, Janet is basically a victim even when good things are happening – they always happen to her rather than because of her.

The character who actually tries to take control of the situation, and who I think we’re supposed to see as the ‘hero’, is George �� but we know nothing about George. He loves Janet and he has terrible fashion sense, and that’s really it. It’s her family we learn about, and her mental disintegration that follows. George spends most of the movie just hovering on the sidelines watching, and even at the end he doesn’t do very much. He explains what’s really going on to Janet and the audience (though we’ve already figured it out) and gets his ass kicked by a geriatric werewolf. The monster is actually killed by the mob of villagers, while George just stands there with Janet sobbing into his shirt. The movie probably wouldn’t have been much different without him.

The thing that really takes the viewer out of the movie, however, and does so repeatedly for its entire seventy-minute running time, is that it can’t make up its mind what its monster is supposed to be. I already mentioned the narrator’s conviction that Mr. Hyde was a werewolf, but it gets way weirder and more confusing than that.

The servants at the Jekyll house also talk about werewolves, and tell Janet and George in threatening voices that they know how to deal with such creatures. On the other hand, when Dr. Lomas himself tells them what happened, he tells the story we’re familiar with: Dr. Jekyll wanted to separate the good and evil parts of a person, and ended up giving the evil in himself a free agency of its own. This made me think maybe the servants were just a bunch of superstitious peasants? Maybe they called Mr. Hyde a werewolf because they didn’t know what else to call him? That almost started to make sense… but then George picks up a book about werewolves, and in its pages he reads that a werewolf leaves its tomb on the night of the full moon so it can drink blood, and can only be killed by a wooden stake through the heart.

Wait. What?

That… that’s not werewolves! Werewolves are killed by silver bullets! Stakes through the heart are vampires! Werewolves don’t have tombs! What is going on here?

By the time the climax rolls around, we’ve already figured out Dr. Lomas’ evil plan, and sure enough, it turns out he’s hypnotizing Janet into believing she’s a werewolf so she will commit suicide and he can have her family’s money. That makes sense in a Scooby-Doo kind of way, I guess, and I can accept it for the sake of the movie… but then he actually turns into a werewolf and goes out to suck blood! What? What? How did that happen? Was he playing with Jekyll’s formula? But Jekyll turned into Hyde when he took the drug, not at the full moon! What the fuck?

The movie never explains itself. We’re just supposed to take this bizarre conflation for granted. But vampires, werewolves, and Mr. Hyde are three totally different types of monster! Vampires are undead corpses who avoid decay and death by sucking blood. Werewolves are living people who transform under the full moon and kill out of animalistic rage. Mr. Hyde was Dr. Jekyll’s repressed evil side given form. You could probably argue that all three have the same root, in our need to conform to certain standards in order to make society work, but Daughter of Dr. Jekyll doesn’t try to do that. It just mixes and matches story bits at all, combining conflicting mythologies and leaving very visible seams. In fact, we may as well consider this a Frankenstein movie, too!

I can only imagine the fun Mike and the Bots would have had with this confusion. I’m picturing a game show in which they must match the weapon with the monster, and if they lose, they get eaten. Tom would have figured out that you survive by picking what ought to be the wrong answer. Crow would not.

The opening narration of Daughter of Dr. Jekyll notes that Robert Louis Stephenson’s book is a classic, and it is so for good reason. It’s an exploration of the evil within us all, the intrusive thoughts and secret desires we would rather attribute to an alter ego than ever admit to anyone, and the fact that the sinner is as much a part of each of us as the saint. Daughter of Dr. Jekyll throws all that out the window by equating its villain with a vampire/werewolf, making him a sort of mindless monster. It’s confusing and annoying, and its compelling source material deserved far better.

#mst3k #reviews #episodes that never were #daughter of dr jekyll #oh shit it's john agar #50s #you is a warwelf #just fuckin weird

18 notes · View notes

ficclique · 4 years

Text

In addition to our own personal top fics (which you can view here), we asked you all to send us your choices for your fics of the decade and why you loved them. We received so many wonderful submissions, and now want to share them with everybody! In an effort to not make this post too long we’ve edited down the comments that people left us, but everyone had some really lovely things to say, so if anything catches your eye here we really encourage you to take a look at the complete list of comments here.

Without further ado, please enjoy the top fics of the decade as chosen by you, our listeners:

Submitted by: Cricket

Fic 1: pilgrimage by wolfsupremacist

Info: EXO RPF, Baekhyun/Sehun

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18411497/chapters/43607615

Cricket’s comment: I can't get over all the building in this fic -- the world building, the character building, the relationship building. The main character’s development was like watching a child grow: it's hard to see it happening, but once you reflect on who he became versus who he was, it's so obvious how he changed.

Fic 2: the eye of providence by minhyukwithagun

Info: NCT RPF, Jaehyun/Taeyong

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14981330

Cricket’s comment: I have genuinely never laughed so hard while reading a fic.There were so many little details that the author added that were unnecessary to the overall plot but just made the characters so much more real. You get to learn so much about everyone in such a (relatively) short amount of time.

Fic 3: so collect your scars and wear them well by addandsubtract

Info: Hockey RPF, Connor McDavid/Dylan Strome

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5075128

Cricket’s comment: I feel like this fic changed me as a writer. It touches on such a relatable subject: that feeling of being completely unsure of what you should do with your life when Plan A doesn't work out, and discovering who you are without the thing that you previously thought defined you.

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Submitted by: Claire

Fic 1: The Baffled King and The Idiot Hero by Ellarose C

Info: Hetalia, ?

Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/5819880/1/

Claire’s comment: This fic launched 3 of my high school friendships that continue to this day. It's cute and Hallmark levels of unrealistic, and I LOVE it. The overwhelming nostalgia and gratefulness I feel towards this fic (and all of Carrie's work, honestly) still blows me away.

Fic 2: Embers by Vathara

Info: Avatar: The Last Airbender, gen

Link: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/5398503/1/

Claire’s comment: The best, wildest, most comprehensively worldbuilt ATLA fic I have ever read. Tea, dragons, realistic motivations, that ending... perfect. *chef kiss*

Fic 3: Of A Linear Circle (series) by flamethrower

Info: HP, various

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/series/755028

Claire’s comment: I linked the whole series because I simply cannot pick a favorite installment. OaLC focuses on fixing the glaring plot holes in the Wizarding education system, accurately depicting the Founders' Era thanks to copious research, and showing that no one is truly irredeemable (except Voldemort himself, who more than earns it).

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Submitted by: Threepwillow

Fic 1: All the Other Ghosts by rainjoys

Info: Glee, Kurt/Blaine

Link: https://rainjoyswriting.livejournal.com/146587.html

Threepwillow’s comment: All The Other Ghosts and its direct sequel, Grey, are some of the most incredibly original and simultaneously incredibly transformative works of fanfiction I have ever read. The way they masterfully twist elements of canon to fit into the lore of their AU is second only to the profound, revelatory character studies that they've executed. This shit is extraordinary.

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Submitted by: Segs

Fic 1: Hemostuck (series) by roachpatrol and urbanAnchorite

Info: Homestuck, various

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/series/8470

Seg’s comment: THE WORLDBUILDING. THE ARTWORK. THE NARRATIVE VOICE(S). THE INCREDIBLE GRASP ON CHARACTERIZATION. DID I MENTION THE WORLDBUILDING.

Fic 2: transistor by fishcola

Info: Polygon RPF, Brian/Pat

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18760093/chapters/44503969

Seg’s comment: Rips my heart to shreds piece-by-piece and then gently puts it back together in the end. It's another put-these-characters-in-a-darker-setting sort of thing. It is brilliant and beautiful and I love it dearly.

Fic 3: any sign of spring by bluecarrot

Info: Hamilton, Hamilton/Burr

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7523227/chapters/17100376

Seg’s comment: This fic is so dang atmospheric. It feels very physical -- the temperature, the environment, the drawing. It's bittersweet, but ends on the sweet, and I think the sweetness is all the more emphasized for it. Rereading it feels like coming back to a familiar place.

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Submitted by: Ang

Fic 1: Anarchy In The U.K. by Yahtzee

Info: X-Men First Class, Erik/Charles

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/673552/chapters/1232410

Ang’s comment: the writing of this one made it so easy to get completely lost in the au while still knowing the characters so well from the source material! super engaging, totally consumed my life for a week

Fic 2: blackjacks running down by back by dangerbears

Info: 1D, Harry/Louis

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/499474

Ang’s comment: this is like my comfort blanket fic! every time i reread it (even though i'm not in that fandom anymore), it's still just as funny and cute as it was the very first time i read it - again the au is so easily believable because the characterizations are so familiar.

Fic 3: this city bleeds its aching heart by renne

Info: MCU, Steve/Bucky

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/835829

Ang’s comment: unsurprisingly, it's another au that is so easy to fall into! this is another one that i've been consistently rereading since i first read it (in 2015, for this one) because it's my absolute favorite trope with a ship that i'm still very much into!

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Submitted by: Scout

Fic 1: she called it a void by vans88

Info: Star Wars, Finn/Poe/Rey

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5493500

Scout’s comment: Short and powerful and essential to anyone's viewing of the new Star Wars trilogy. Seriously one of the most careful, tender, and graceful queer addendums to a piece of pop culture this decade.

Fic 2: The Love Song of The North American Douchebag by gyzym

Info: Star Trek RPF, Chris/Zach

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/852395

Scout’s comment: JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, I HOPE I CAN SWEAR. I'm not even in this fandom. The world building is just THAT good. It's one of my highlights *because* of its power to draw me in as a standalone. So much fucking talent in the transformative work community. The banter, characterization, sardonic-ness of this – international impact baby!

Fic 3: all this learning here is by you by decinq, nighimpossible

Info: Hockey RPF, Jamie Benn/Tyler Seguin

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5105441

Scout’s comment: Revolutionized – and I would argue – drove the GROWTH AND SURVIVAL of hockey fandom. One of the best known works in the fandom, and a masterclass in how to build a set of characters that you're genuinely envious you don't get to see or know. Two incredible authors and a plethora of personality. Fun and sexy and lighthearted but poignant. Chef kiss.

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Submitted by: Em

Fic 1: the subtle science and exact art of chess-boxing, by fishcola

Info: Polygon RPF, Brian/Pat

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18931885/chapters/44945971

Em’s comment: fishcola is definitely one of the top reasons i actually started reading/writing polygon rpf. this fic!!!!! i sWEAR its so /so/ good oh my GOSH. yes, full disclosure im fish's beta for chessboxing but also i am enthusiastic simply because it is a very beautiful and powerful narrative on trauma, healing, and how the people we choose to interact with affect our emotions.

Fic 2: the old men call me by my mother’s name by theviolonist

Info: HP, Hermione/Ron

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1044467

Em’s comment: as a certified Trans(TM) im always pursuing and consuming trans content. the old men call me by my mother's name is an hp fic that i still cherish years after first reading it. trans!ron is a concept not often explored in hp fic, much less trans /girl/ ron. massive gender feels, folks.

Fic 3: national hot dad alliance is now calling… by dicaeopolis, owlinaminor

Info: Haikyuu! , various

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5663683/chapters/13045579

Em’s comment: national hot dad alliance really is the perfect evolution of a groupchat fic. i laughed, i cried, i fell in love with the characters all over again as these captains from different teams bond over graduating. and also being Dads(TM). in some cases-- pining over their fellow volleyball players-- plus star wars, the x-files, and memes. overall its is very good and i will stan it eternally

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Submitted by: Staci

Fic 1: No Homo, by orphan account

Info: Teen Wolf, Stiles/Derek

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1148039/chapters/2326073

Staci’s comment: Literally my favorite AU ever written. The characterization is SO on point and it truly is a super fun read. It’s also a super long which helps with painting such a detailed picture of these two dummies who are-totally-just-bros-with-added-benefits. I’d recommend this to anyone, even if they’re unaware of Teen Wolf, but if you’re a Teen Wolf fan then it’s even better.

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Submitted by: Nadine

Fic 1: Too Long, Too Close (series) by callmejude

Info: MCU RPF, Chris/Sebastian

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/series/253528

Nadine’s comment: kink exploration and bdsm done well.... and so thoroughly. but there's more! theres FEELINGSSSSSS uhhhhhhh it made me CRY it's so good.

Fic 2: On a Clear Day by Saras_Girl

Info: HP, Harry/Draco

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/879841

Nadine’s comment: I could've put a few other fics by this author because they write the best drarry but uhhhhh. I had to choose and it was either gonna be TURN or this one. Idk why but this one makes me so unbelievably emotional bc it was Harry who's Going Through Stuff and I just loved it a lot.

Fic 3: around the world in eighty thousand days, by fallfreely

Info: 1D, Liam/Harry

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/856935

Nadine’s comment: It was hard to pick a 1D fave but I think that this fic always had a v special place in my heart & I can't even explain why. I love the dynamic of this pairing (even though it's not even my OTP, wtf. I'm a Gryles and Narry truther... *eye emoji*) and the whole FEEL of this fic and it's slow burn tour fic, soo.

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Submitted by: Frecklebomb

Fic 1: Shalbatana

Info: Mars Trilogy, Gen

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6629

Frecklebomb’s comment: A beautifully-written gen fic (with an incredibly gorgeous podfic by Luzula) in the near-future-scifi Mars Trilogy fandom but very easy to enjoy without canon knowledge. I revisit this story over and over and always marvel at the presence of the landscape and alien planet in it, the way it feels like a character. Bonus Mars rover feelings (I cry every time about the robot).

Fic 2: Through a Glass Darkly, by susiecarter

Info: DCU, Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19395793/chapters/46155535

Frecklebomb’s comment: Sprawling post-apocalyptic epic, so rich and cinematic that it feels like a movie I somehow read. The worldbuilding and tension of the focal ship are what sucked me into this fic, but what stayed with me was the richness of the ensemble characters. I find myself just thinking about their character arcs, and imagining what they'd be doing post-story. I want fic of this fic.

Fic 3: Too Far Down The Road, by SoniaVice

Info: Hockey, OMC/OMC

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13208136/chapters/30212907

Frecklebomb’s comment: An amnesia trope origfic set in handwavey hockey fandom (author said they 'set it free' to be OMC/OMC when the dynamic needed to be different from the RPF ship it started out as). It gives me so many good feelings about family (of choice and otherwise) and ageing and self-acceptance and sexuality, and the way you can choose to be changed by the people you spend your life with.

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Submitted by: Em (Springsteen)

Fic 1: Pull Me Under, by zarah5

Info: 1D, Harry/Louis

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/870766

Em’s comment: first of all zarah5 is a fandom legend. second, this is like the pinnacle of fake relationship fics to me it's 140k and so much of it is pining and like truly, who among us doesn't love harry styles with their whole heart. I can't think about the '10s without thinking about one direction and when this fic came out I remember a lot of people fully losing their minds.

Fic 2: Door to Door, by Ferritin4

Info: Hockey RPF, Jamie Benn/Tyler Seguin

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3478298

Em’s comment: this is one of the first hockey fics I ever read and I still come back to it so often. The relationship builds so well, Tyler's dogs are in it, it's just so sweet, and plus it's a very readable 10k.

Fic 3: Darling It Is No Joke, by thehoyden

Info: Teen Wolf, Stiles/Derek

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/399194

Em’s comment: look I can't be retrospective about this decade and /not/ include a sterek fic. the first half of this decade for me was all 1d and teen wolf and full disclosure, it's been a while since I've reread this fic, but I remember the banter being really stellar and thehoyden is another one of those authors who I just. Adore.

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Submitted by: Dan

Fic 1: The Heart Rate of a Mouse (series) by Anna (arctic_grey)

Info: Bandom, Ryan Ross/Brendan Urie

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/series/712953

Dan’s comment: This fic is incredibly iconic. It’s definitely one of my favorites of all time—the way the story is told is just heart wrenching, and it manages to always keep you on edge about what’s going to happen. The portrayal of self discovery, love, jealousy, down to the settings and all the social issues of the time period (the 70s), is amazingly done.

Fic 2: The Cat’s Miaow by Pennyplainknits

Info: Bandom, Patrick Stump/Pete Wentz

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/930529

Dan’s comment: This fic is unlike anything else I’ve read. First off, I LOVE historical AUs, and the noir setting is everything I could have wanted and more. The author has managed to create such a delicate and profound romance along with an interesting plot that borders on thriller without ever going too far with either side of the story.

Fic 3: Get Real Get Right (Fuckin Right) by sophiahelix

Info: Riveyonce Cuoknowles, Sufjan Stevens/Drake

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9029020

Dan’s comment: Honestly? This is just art.

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Submitted by: Carina

Fic 1: Bite Marks by provocative_envy

Info: HP, Hermione/Draco

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3580953/chapters/7894464

Carina’s comment: i've shied away from aus in harry potter fic for years, especially american college aus but this fic in my opinion kept the best of the characters and modernized them in a way that felt true to who they are.

Fic 2: old jokes from a wild youth, by knightspur

Info: SEVENTEEN RPF, Mingyu/Minghao

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18127073

Carina’s comment: mingyu and minghao are in love, but they're not soulmates. i love the dynamics and the quiet intimacy between them, and also how they work through wanting to be together despite them not having a bond in the way soulmates have.

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Submitted by: Katy

Fic 1: The River and The Deep Green Bend by liquidmeasure

Info: 1D, Harry/Niall

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6005275

Katy’s comment: this fic honestly surpasses the genre of fic. it is a genre all its own. it is the pinnacle in catharsis and heartbreak and having a satisfying end that is completely unsatisfying as well. I will never recover from this fic.

Fic 2: Out of the Dead Land by Orphan Account

Info: MCU, Steve/Bucky

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1871955

Katy’s comment: there is a specific phrase in this fic that has and will continue to stay with me. I will never hear the phrase "up or down" without feeling immense heartbreak. an amazing blend of source material to create something altogether its own - but could still take place in either canon

Fic 3: Up We Go by Oh_Hey_Tae

Info: BTS, Taehyung/Jimin

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12297168

Katy’s comment: this fic is one that I found more recently, but I can already tell that it is one that is going to stick with me for a long long time. it is another fic that I feel transcends the genre of fic entirely

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Submitted by: Corie

Fic 1: Build A Temple In Me by Authoress

Info: Haikyuu!, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3716002

Corie’s comment: A wonderful and moving fanfic with fantasy akin to studio ghibli. If I have to recommend Haikyuu fanfiction this is it.

Fic 2: Close to the Chest by darkmagicalgirl

Info: Haikyuu!, Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3898771/chapters/8721568

Corie’s comment: Another haikyuu!! Fic! I remember reccing this to my friend and she said it was more akin to a novel then any fanfiction she has read. High praise IMO

Fic 3: Fake Sugar by minverse

Info: BTS, Jungkook/Seokjin

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14707098/chapters/33987549

Corie’s comment: Oh sweet god I love minverse’s writing and this fic has it all. Romance, smut, and a nice dollop of humor.

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Submitted by: Abby

Fic 1: an awful curse by blinkiesays

Info: Teen Wolf, Stiles/Derek

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/604092

Abby’s comment: Non-linear timeline, au within the story, "every me loves every you," domesticity but also heavy angst, and it's so beautifully written it makes me want to cry reading it. also it harkens back to the time of when the show was still good.

Fic 2: dance this silence down (the emergency room remix) by Fahye

Info: Les Miserables, Enjorlas/Grantaire

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/994140/chapters/1966093

Abby’s comment: It's such a great, understandable ensemble fic for a dense canon, with such a great modern day au setting, but the whole time it really deals with the main character's depression and alcoholism and the complete overwhelming love that he has for the guy he's shipped with. it's so gritty and real but the ending brings so much hope I love it.

Fic 3: comment fic by anon

Info: iCarly, Sam/Spencer

Link: https://author-abz.livejournal.com/35003.html

Abby’s comment: this is an ANONYMOUS comment fic someone wrote me when I was feeling down on LJ and it's so short but so complete, and it says everything it needs to about it being okay to mess up and just be messed up together. also: "glitter emergency" (technically a cheat, it's from 2008; I forgot it was so old)

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Submitted by: Kassie

Fic 1: An Exercise in ‘Worthless’ by beastofthesky

Info: Supernatural, Dean/Castiel

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/535676

Kassie’s comment: an exercise in worthless introduced me (indirectly) to my favorite musician and (directly) to the subject i almost minored in during undergrad, so honestly i would put it as a fic of the decade even if it wasn’t one of the best fics i read in the supernatural fandom.

Fic 2: Superstition (series) by Superstition_hockey

Info: Hockey, OMC/OMC

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/series/413233

Kassie’s comment: superstition started out as a tropey, fun, lighthearted short fic, and grew into a big thing that deals with a lot of serious topics incredibly well while also being still very funny and emotional and having honestly some of my favorite fictional characters i’ve read in years

Fic 3: United States v. Barnes

Info: MCU, Steve/Bucky

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2304905/chapters/5071058

Kassie’s comment: united states v barnes is the multimedia fic of my DREAMS. this is what i want to show people to explain why i love fanfic so much. it does so much with the medium its working in and the presentation of the fic, and fits that perfect fanfic niche of exploring the kind of background that will never appear in canon but that everyone wonders about.

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Submitted by: Kat

Fic 1: I’ve felt and I’ve Been by autotunedd

Info: Big Bang RPF, Seunghyun/Jiyong

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15349758/chapters/35616516

Kat’s comment: Possibly the fic that marked my entire decade. The characters are so human and real, the plot is heavy and winding and the twists sometimes seem life ending. It is heavy, it is painful, it is sad, it is angsty, it is maybe even a smidge too real and dangerous at times, but it makes a solid read, a long, relatable novel about real people with real fears and problems.

Fic 2: Eversion by thespectaclesofthor

Info: Detroit: Become Human, Hank Anderson/Connor

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15754140/chapters/36638253

Kat’s comment: Beautiful, long, detailed, well written, hard hitting, serious, sweet, painful, kinky, all in one! The characters have so much depth, their issues and inner workings seem so real and the plot is so carefully crafted and detailed, every chapter keeps you at the edge of your seat. All in all, beautifully crafted, passionate, hard hitting piece that I couldn't help falling in love with.

Fic 3: Eggshell Landscapes and the Burden of Love by NoContractTermination

Info: NCT RPF, Taeil/Johnny

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10446438

Kat’s comment: Short, sweet, angsty and charming! I loved the intimate look into their relationship this fic brings, the trials and tribulations and the struggle to communicate. It all seemed so raw and real and coupled with the author's beautiful writing, it all came together in a perfect read, with bounds of re-read potential.

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Submitted by: Wen

Fic 1: the bellwether by highoctane

Info: Polygon RPF, Brian/Pat

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18634426

Wen’s comment: Feelings!!! It's really refreshing to read a character who, as an established adult, is reconfiguring an understanding of himself without it being either a whole crisis or a sudden seamless lightbulb moment. It's very fair to both characters' emotions, letting them both react in a way that feels wonderfully human and real rather than idealistic.

Fic 2: Five Times the Potion Seller Refused to Sell a Potion (and One Time He Didn’t) by misura

Info: Potion Seller (Justin Kuritzkes Short Film), Knight/Potion Seller

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5441447

Wen’s comment: It's based on a 3 minute meme video and if it was just a tweet or post with the title alone it would be a great joke but... someone went and wrote the dang thing! And it could have been ridiculous crackfic, and while it certainly toes that line it's also got a really fun flow of dialogue that leaves a lot to the imagination without it getting confusing.

Fic 3: I Am The Horrible Goose That Lives In The Town by Daniel Lavery

Info: The Untitled Goose Game, gen

Link: https://www.shatnerchatner.com/p/i-am-the-horrible-goose-that-lives

Wen’s comment: the writing is tremendous and sits beautifully in that razor's edge space where english is used just strangely enough to create a fantastic character voice without going too far and falling into some kind of awkward english language uncanny valley. it's so hard to pick out the best line because every line is the best line. "Here I am coming, with the good news of me, and you hate it. You can think only of the bell and how much I have it, and you are never the goose."

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Submitted by: Mage

Fic 1: Fog, Sheets and Thunder by theopteryx

Info: My Chemical Romance RPF, Frank/Gerard

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/351396

Mage’s comment: i have literally thought about this fic at least once a week since i read it in 2012. do not ask me why. i have no answers.

Fic 2: Flowers in Bones by fringecity (indiachick)

Info: BTS, Taehyung/Yoongi

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16256390

Mage’s comment: sometimes i just wanna be a careful selection of small animal bones that yoongi gently unearths and meticulously crafts into an altar of pressed flowers and ink

Fic 3: It Happened Quiet by hobimo

Info: BTS, Taehyung/Yoongi

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15070646/chapters/34939646

Mage’s comment: haunted woods :) cryptids :) that deeply unsettling feeling that there are greater, mysterious forces at work and there's nothing you can do about it :)

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Submitted by: BirdieLeonie

Fic 1: Reprise (series) by Elfpen

Info: Star Wars, various (Obi-Wan centric)

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/series/454408

BirdieLeonie’s comment: I spent about seven months of my life reading nothing but Star Wars time-travel fix-it fics. (I am not exaggerating; there are enough of them to last that long or longer.) This is my favorite.

Fic 2: Friday Night Arrives Without a Suitcase by marycontraire

Info: Hockey RPF, Danny Briere/Claude Giroux

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/534247

BirdieLeonie’s comment: This is a fic I have kept coming back to again and again in the years since I first read it. It's domestic and sweet and still adult. It's like curtainfic, inverted; the leads live together and parent their kids and go grocery shopping before they have a romantic or sexual relationship.

Fic 3: The Hero’s Journey; or: What Jasper Sitwell Did Last Summer (podfic), by artzbots, blackglass, daroos, girlwithabubblegun, kalakirya, Opalsong, reena_jenkins, RsCreighton, sabinelagrande

Info: MCU & Welcome to Night Vale, Jemma Simmons/Jasper Sitwell

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6462223

BirdieLeonie’s comment: I love podfic, I love crossovers, and I love this fic. Again, I picked this because of all the thousands of MCU fics I've read, this is the one I find myself coming back to repeatedly. This crossover is creative, fun, and plays with one of my favorite tropes: what was happening to a minor character in the background of the story we saw?

#fic clique #fic recs #multifandom #minisode #top fics of the decade #fics of the decade

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rainsonata · 5 years

Text

Doppelgänger 1/15

Chapter 01: Another World

Fandom/Pairing: Elsword; none Rating: K+ Word Count: 5,624

Summary: It was like looking into a mirror. What happens when one’s reflection talks back and throws uncomfortable questions? El Search Party struggles to find entrance into the Demon Realm, but Dominator has a plan.

AO3 Link / FF.NET Link

— [Chapter 01] [Chapter 02] [Chapter 03] [Chapter 04] [Chapter 05] [Chapter 06] [Chapter 07] [Chapter 08] [Chapter 09] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13] [Chapter 14] [Chapter 15] —

Class Notes:

Canon Path: Knight Emperor, Aether Sage, Daybreaker, Rage Hearts, Code: Esencia, Comet Crusader, Apsara, Empire Sword, Doom Bringer, Ishtar and Chevalier (Innocent), Bluhen

Alternate Path: Rune Slayer, Oz Sorcerer, Anemos, Furious Blade, Code: Ultimate, Fatal Phantom, Devi, Flame Lord, Dominator, Timonia and Abysser (Catastrophe), Richter

Rune Master

Once the El Search Party parted away from the ruins of the ancient capital for their next destination, everything was starting to look blue. It gave the Rune Master a headache to how everything down to the soil had traces of cyan, the color of toothpaste and hurt his eyes. Due to the influence of the El, it was difficult to tell if night time came because the forest glowed regardless of what time of the day it was. He was going to lose Richter at this rate because the trees were the same shade as the priest’s hair.

The El’s presence attracted monsters and anyone else that wanted it for personal gain, including the corrupted monsters that were once Henir’s followers. Their numbers ever-growing, it felt wrong to leave them to the El Masters despite being told it to. Running away from the enemies didn’t sit well for Rune, but half of his friends wanted to visit the demon realm. For different reasons, but at least they had a common interest, which was all that mattered because it was better than sitting around and waiting to see what the enemies next objective would be. At least until they figured out how to reach Demon Realm.

“What is this?” Abysser asked. The demon squinted at the strange device, plated in black material similar to the Henir monsters they fought in Elrianode. Blue light flickered through the minuscule windows covering its sides and shone as his teammate tinkered with its coding. “This machine you claim to work...”

“Of course it will,” A man in white didn’t look up from his machines, his gaze glued to holographic screens that never seemed to run out of power. Legs crossed, Dominator kept his balance sitting on Dynamo and hummed as he worked. “I figured out the basis of how it functions. All we need now are new coordinates.”

“That’s great!” Rune was impressed by to how quick his friends were in utilizing the little material they had in Elrianode. Rubbing his hands together, he grinned, “See? That didn’t take long!”

“Who are you trying to convince?” A woman dressed in purple kicked her shoes for ruffled frills to shimmer under the night sky. Oz watched her breaths evaporate into the cold air and ran her hand through her hair with an exaggerated sigh, “You’re the one rushing to leave.”

Rune’s cheeks flushed to the same shade of red as his hair, glancing down and avoiding looking at Oz, who was definitely snickering over his embarrassment. What did the Oz Sorcerer know about what went through his mind? The El may have increased his powers, but being close to a powerful energy source left static in the air that made Rune self-aware of his powers and feared setting something ablaze if he wasn’t careful. He huffed and maturely stuck out his tongue at the dark mage before turning his head to look at the device in Dominator’s hand.

“How does this work?” Flame scratched the back of her neck, “Say it again for some of us to understand.”

“It was once connected to the Heart of Henir and will take us straight to the Demon Realm,” Dominator wasn’t fazed by the Flame Lord’s uncertainty. One could say he was beaming on the concept of potential interdimensional traveling, too eager on the new discovery to be bothered by small questions. He chuckled, “No need to thank me.”

Flame had her knuckles placed under her chin for support, a thoughtful expression on her face. Rune could see the wires turning as his sister processed the new information and accepted the explanation with a nod.

“And this will transport all of us?” Blade asked.

“Where is this sudden skepticism coming from?” Dominator looked up from the screens to see the mercenary gingerly tapping the surface with his Nasod arm. “Are you doubting my perfect plan?”

“Last machine,” the Furious Blade deadpanned. “Bugs.” (1)

“You remembered that?” Dominator covered his mouth, but Rune could hear the amusement in his voice. “Anyway, that’s in the past. Things will be different this time.”

“What machine?” Rune asked. How come Blade got to tinker with Dominator’s inventions while he was pushed out for ‘messing with important data’ when he tried to break into the scientist’s lab? He leaned over to see numbers and letters running across Dominator’s screen, too quickly for anyone aside from the scientist to understand them.

“It was supposed to kill mosqui-”

“If it could transport enough monsters to fight us, it can handle a dozen of us.” Fatal Phantom said with nervous laughter. “How long will it be until it’s done setting up?”

“As soon as you all stop talking and let me work.” Dominator complained, but the effect was lost in a smile as if pleased by the sudden attention by his teammates. Scanning over the screens for last-minute adjustments, he mumbled to himself, “What else?”

“Elsword,” a male voice called. “There you are.”

“Ain!” Rune spun to see a blue-haired man in white robes with a somber expression. Spreading his arms in a gestural hug, he exclaimed, “I was starting to think I lost you back there with the Elrianode monsters!”

“You remembered me,” Richter blinked, as if the celestial couldn’t believe it.

“Of course I do,” Rune frowned at his friend’s statement, confused to why that surprised the priest.

Richter has been bringing up that topic more lately - memories, missions, whether or not he would be remembered. He thought after near corruption from Henir and apologizing to Timoria in Elrianode, Richter would be more at peace with himself. Quiet as ever, Richter didn’t express it, but his eyes crinkled to Rune wrapped his arms around his friend into a tight hug to let him know the redhead was there for him.

A pair of mechanical wings came into view from Rune’s peripheral vision, drawing his attention to see Code: Ultimate with Moby and Remy. Arms to her side, the Nasod queen’s forehead was framed by a black helmet matching with the rest of her armor, wings folded in to make space for Rune to approach his teammate. Cold and stoic, her face betrayed little as the knight searched for answers to why Ultimate looked so stern.

“Heya, Eve.” Rune chirped and let go of Richter. “Are you here to remind me about something?”

“Yes,” Ultimate said. Side eying Dominator, who was still mumbling numbers to himself, she placed a hand over Rune’s shoulder and nodded to Richter. “If you mind, we need to talk. Away from everyone.”

“Both of you?” Rune was flabbergasted when she ushered him to the side, closer to the edge of the woods where the party chose as their new resting area. His hands growing warm at thought of what could have nudged Ultimate and Richter to team up. “What is it?”

It must be serious if they confronted him on an individual basis, was it about Demon Realm? But why Ultimate too? She had no reason to be affected by demons, but it was Richter that worried Rune. The priest was surprisingly impulsive around demons as evident when he lost control in Feita and disappeared. Richter retained his composure since then, but after what happened between him and Timoria last week…

“The El has been temporarily restored because of your interference.” Light flickered in her eyes, but Ultimate blinked and it was gone, “It’s stable for now, but there isn’t much time for us to find a new source before that it becomes unstable again. When entering the Demon Realm, it’s best that you let us take care of the demons.”

“Huh?” Rune tilted his head to the side.

“Consult us,” Richter said. “Think before you act.”

Rune opened his mouth in protest, “If this is because of Solace.”

“It’s because you do things without telling us first,” Ultimate snapped. “You discarded yourself without considering the consequences or how the rest of the group would respond. I won’t hesitate in fighting if you fail to reassess yourself next time.”

Spears drew out from Ultimate, long blades emerging from her back and pointing at Rune to make her point. He snapped his mouth shut at first sign of anger from the Nasod queen, grumbling as he did so, feeling Richter’s daggers drilled into the back of his head.

“You wouldn’t hurt me, would you Eve?” Rune gave her the best puppy eyes he could make, searching for hints of joking or sarcasm from Ultimate, only to see cold ones staring back.

“We have alchemists on our team to keep you alive.” Richter said, yet Rune found little reassurance in those words.

It was naive to believe what Rune did would be dropped in a matter of weeks, but it stung that the more stoic of his friends showed strong emotions. Richter’s disappointment was like a sharp blade through his chest, feeling guilty if the celestial had nothing to say and mouthed an incohesive phrase in an unfamiliar tongue.

Uh oh… The priest must be furious if he was swearing in another language.

“What are you guys doing?” Anemos appeared between them. Pulling Rune away from Ultimate, who still had her weapons out, the elf groaned. “We’re about to depart and you three are fighting?”

Withdrawing her spears, Ultimate lowered her head. “I apologize. I won’t let this happen again.”

Rubbed his temples, Rune interjected. “It’s nothing. Tell Add we’ll be ready in a bit.”

Unconvinced, Anemos had her hands on her hips. “Just don’t lose your heads over petty fights.”

“I’ll make sure Elsword is safe,” Richter promised the elf.

What happened to the threats on keeping him alive, speared or not by Ultimate? Sparks emitted from Rune’s fingertips at the earliest signs of annoyance, a newfound emotion as of lately. He could take care of himself fine! It was clear that his friends were worried for his safety, but he didn’t need to be coddled like a child. Maybe it was a bit of pride on his part, but it served as an aching reminder to how far he had to grow if he wanted to be taken seriously.

Rune sighed. Nothing will be accomplished if he didn’t keep pushing forward like he always did. No use in dwelling over small things like pride. It wasn’t his style. Guilt surfaced once he recognized the sadness in Ultimate’s features.

“I don’t think you realize the effect you have on people,” she uttered. “That’s why I’m upset.”

That snapped Rune out of his trance and looked at Ultimate in distraught. He had known her for years since they have met in Altera, but this was the closest thing she had come to admitting her emotions out in the open. Confusion hazed his mind as he swallowed down the guilt.

“Now I do,” Rune admitted. “That’s why I’m trying to make up for everything.”

“You don’t need to change,” Richter said. “Stay the way you are.”

Looking at the two, Rune smiled. Their words held weight, but their expressions and body language told another story. Tense from his impulsive decisions, yet they stayed because they trusted him and fussed over him. He had underestimated how much his friends valued him. How he be blind?

A pair of purple cat ears poked from the side of a small bush. Rune blinked and turned his head again, but there was nothing. His paranoia told him it was another corrupted monster, but sneaking around was out of character. Rune sighed and rested his chest over the base of his sword.

“Thanks, guys.” Rune said with a smile, “Let’s get going before everyone wonders where we went.”

Comet Crusader

Cannon laid down by his side, Crusader leaned over and wiped the edges clean with a cloth until it shone. Black soot and ashes smeared over his hands and some fell on his white armor. It was a routine for the guardian of Hamel, one that required diligence to make sure he reached all the corners and sides of the cannon. The destroyer was easily taller than him, but creating and testing new functions to stay up to date with their fighting situation kept Crusader on his toes.

“Chung?”

He looked up to see a man glancing over at him with concern. Wearing a collared shirt with long sleeves cuffed at the end, Cavalier’s hair was tied into a thin ponytail trailing behind the half-demon. Balancing on one hand was a blue tray with a tea kettle and pristine teacups in a neat stack of twos or threes. If Cavalier hasn’t spoken up, Crusader wouldn’t have heard the butler approach him.

“Did you get any sleep?” Cavalier frowned, “You look exhausted.”

Wiping his brow, Crusader laughed. “Hardly. Thanks for worrying about me.”

Setting the tea tray onto the grass, Cavalier offered him a cup. “Would you care to join me for tea then?”

Crusader nodded.

Using the tea tray for a flat surface, Cavalier held the tea kettle up and carefully poured a cup to offer to Crusader before pouring one for himself. The butler followed the younger male as he grabbed the sugar bowl to drop a couple of sugar cubes into his tea. White clouds turned into mist inside his cup as Crusader stirred the contents with a spoon. Its aromatic smell invited him to take a sip.

It wasn’t the first time he had Lanox tea. Apsara’s herbal teas had a sharp and bitter taste that reminded him of the earth on summer mornings, but Cavalier’s had a clean yet sweet taste at first sip. He let the light and spicy aftertaste linger on the tip of his tongue as the butler spoke.

“You’re committed,” Cavalier eyed the destroyer on the ground. “You should be resting.”

“Ain healed me,” Crusader grew defensive.

“Even magic can’t heal scars.”

Small tugs and stinging sensations strained his muscles at a moment’s movement with Crusader setting his teacup down on the tray to pause. With limited resources, potions and elixirs exclusive were weaker and took longer to heal injuries that once recovered within hours. Injuries weren’t new for him, especially with stronger enemies waiting for them at every turn, but it pained him in know he was dragging the team down for being hurt.

Burnt marks over his chest were from Nephilim Lord. They were clean cuts, making them easier to clean and bandage every few hours, but the pain inflicted held a constant icy burn over the days he spent healing. He knew the Lord of Spirit Asylum was influenced during the attack, but bitterness lingered as an afterthought. Once again, someone or something reached their goal before they did. How much longer could they do this until the gap between them and their enemies was too much?

“I’m not angry at you,” Cavalier said with kindness. “It was a tough battle against Nephilim Lord. You’re not the only one that got hurt.”

“I know,” Crusader stared at the crimson mist hovering over their campsite. “This really is the Demon Realm… Everything here is different than what we’ve encountered before.”

Demon Realm, or as the dark elves dubbed it as Varnimyr had contrasts. Red mist against blue trees and there were numerous moons instead of the suns Elrianode had. Eternal nights overtook the region with many of its inhabitants using their body or external means to brighten the dark forest with fluorescent light. They have found a way to flourish with limited resources.

Crusader had found his strength in recent battles against stronger enemies the longer he fought, but was it enough to withstand future enemies? Far from the El’s influence, his powers have weakened and to his astonishment, Cavalier and Ishtar were affected as well.

“I suppose it’s different than what we’re used to,” Cavalier agreed. “But that didn’t stop us in Elysion or Elrianode, did it? We sorted out the misunderstanding with Nephilim Lord and are closer to our goal than before.”

Crusader wasn’t one to ponder over his friends’ histories out of respect, but with Cavalier, it was hard not to be curious, if not wary. What was a human like Cavalier doing with a former demon queen and what could have happened to have them act as one unit? Their fighting style synchronized in a way that couldn’t have been achieved without magic involved, leaving much to Crusader’s imagination to why or how.

No, that was none of his business! The El Search Party were at their most vulnerable in a place outside their comfort. Those two have stayed long enough to have plenty of opportunities to backstab them if that was their intention. He needed to have faith in the Knight Emperor’s judgment in letting Cavalier and Ishtar be a part of their group. However, no amount of loyalty in his closest friend could undo the ongoing suspicion he had on a pair of demons, even if one of them was half demon.

“You’re right, it’s too late to have doubts after coming this far.” Crusader was apologetic. “I’m sorry for taking up your time to attend to my needs.”

Cavalier said, “I need to be here for my friends too. You don’t need to apologize.”

“I guess so,” Crusader broke into an awkward smile. “Where’s Lu?”

Taking his cup in one hand, he held it to his eye level. A unique design of intricate lines cut into the edges to form into flowers native to Lanox, it was a true work of art. He admired the effort his teammate had put into making tea in enemy territory when they should be rushing back to Elrianode to report their findings to the El Masters.

The butler sighed, “Still asleep. It’s been a long week for all of us. I won’t bother her.”

“There you are!”

Purple hair obscured his view with color matching eyes narrowed with displeasure. Cheeks puffed out and bright pink, a look of distraught as Aether Sage folded her arms inward to hug herself. The white jacket she wore slide over her shoulders and the bow on her collar was uncharacteristically uneven today. One might think the woman was hit by a hurricane by the two strands of hair standing over her roots with the rest of her hair in a mess of disarray.

“Have you seen Elsword?” Aether asked out of breath. “He’s gone!”

Rubbing his chin, Cavalier shook his head sullenly. “He offered to help me with the chores this morning, but I saw him just an hour ago. Have you checked his tent?”

She sighed. “I told him not to move around after that fight. Why doesn’t he ever listen?”

“Let me go look for him,” Cavalier said. “He might be training with Raven again. Why don’t you and Chung search the surrounding areas?”

Lowering his cup onto a tea plate, Cavalier set it down to grab a platter of pastries over to his left. Croissants, fruit tarts, and bread rolls stacked on top of one another with slices of preserved meat in between. Placing inside a small cloth bag for storage, it was enough food to last them for a few meals.

“You don’t think he’s going to be gone for that long, do you?” Alarm rose in Aether’s voice in response to seeing what was meant to be their rations. “He’s been fine before.”

“We are in Demon Realm,” Crusader placed his hand on his destroyer for support to stand up. Quiet grunts escaped from his lips as he struggled to find his footing, leaning against his weapon. “Even with the dark elves on our side, demons are waiting for us.”

“I know that,” Aether snapped. “That idiot better not do something stupid again.”

One moon hung over his shoulder with light soaking into their path as he and Aether walked past their campsite in search for their missing teammate. Radiant colors danced off the fungi and fauna lining up the dirt road, glowing faintly in time to the chilling breeze sending shivers down his skin. An eerie silence occupied alongside their heavy footsteps with quiet sighs and breathing from either of them. With better luck, maybe Cavalier could find Knight before they had to consider researching past familiar territory.

“Was there something you needed Elsword for?” Crusader asked.

“I was going to check his bandages,” she said. “Ain can’t always be there for him.”

Blinking a few times, he looked at her in confusion. “I suppose so. Did he say anything about where he went?”

“Elsword said he needed to talk to the dark elves again,” Aether groaned. “That was this morning. He should have been back by now, but his stuff is still gone. He needs to stop acting like he’s alone in this, we’re here too!”

“I don’t think that’s why he does things alone.”

“What do you know what about Elsword thinks?” She was hard-pressed to let Crusader back down, demanding answers and glaring at the guardian of Hamel.

Despite knowing her for years, it surprised Crusader to see the mage initiate interactions with Knight, who often buried her head into books with a sandwich in hand outside of battles. What brought on the sudden change in tune? After rescuing Knight from the El, something happened to make Aether stay close, her attention always drawn back to the redhead. Harsh words from before softened into mild comments on Knight needed to look after himself more. Her tough exterior always wavered to reveal a gentler side for her friends as evident when she approached Crusader to help. She was stubborn about showing her emotions, but she didn’t let her pride stop her from seeking help. It was something Crusader admired about the mage.

If Knight went back to talk to the dark elves, he couldn’t be far, but the village’s location remained unknown. Unless he had gone back to talk to Edith, the dark elf elder who granted them an ear to listen to their side of the story after the El Search party was caught by their sentry guardians. Were the dark elves still there? Crusader saw the tents waiting for them in a distance. What could be on Knight’s mind to seek the dark elves first instead of his friends?

“What am I doing losing my temper with you? You’re not Elsword.” Aether rubbed her temples, “I shouldn’t have said any of that. It’s just frustrating feeling like he left us again.”

“Well, he does what he thinks is right, even if it means going through demons.” Crusader chuckled, “We’ll catch up to him.”

“Then we better hurry,” she tugged on her white gloves to tighten them with her stuff between her arms. “I don’t want to look like a fool because he did all the fighting without us.”

Striking her staff overhead, water danced across her feet from the puddles and morning dew, lifting her feet to leap as the stream turned into solid ice. Awe and wonder stole Crusader’s concentration as Aether landed on her feet and slid over the frozen path with her hair flying from behind. Thin layers of frost brushed over the ice in powdered snow, water droplets surfacing before freezing again from the cold air. Flowered patterns overlapped as Aether slid forward to form a path with magic emitting from her staff.

Mud mixed with thin layers of ice made it difficult for Crusader to skate without losing his balance. Aether didn’t seem to notice his struggle and was already several meters ahead with her head held up high. Following after his teammate, all Crusader could do was to make sure he wouldn’t lose the mage in the fog.

Flame Lord

“I’m back!”

Out of breath, Rune waved his arm over his head, red hair mopped over his head in disarray not unlike a bushfire. Walking from behind him were Richter and Ultimate, maintaining stoic expressions on smooth features as the first hint that they weren’t of human origin. Their walking movements had the same grace as angels. Anemos was the last to appear with her arms crossed with mild frustration from the way she bit into her inner cheek. Did something happen back there without her knowledge?

“Took you long enough,” Dominator scoffed. He tucked his bangs behind his left ear, only for it fall back and cover his eye again. “If you walk off again, we’re leaving you behind.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Ultimate gave the scientist a cold glare.

Attentive and precise in the smallest details, the care Dominator placed into a device that wasn’t of his creation impressed the Flame Lord. It reminded her of the kind of care she placed into cleaning her claymore in between battles. According to Dynamo, it has been over an hour since Dominator made adjustments to stabilize it. There was something mesmerizing in watching him work with something Flame had little understanding of.

Half of the El Search Party grew restless from the wait and drifted away in groups of twos and threes. Phantom sat on the floor to clean his phantom shooters. Blade and Abysser recounted their supplies in preparation for the upcoming journey, a quiet discussion among themselves with Timoria giving them tips on rationing food. Devi said little, but the Haan warrior held a steady gaze when their eyes met.

“Do we all have to hold it to activate it?” Flame asked. From what Blade had told her, an earlier invention held a similar function as to what Dominator was currently working on.

The scientist’s brows rose, “It should work as long as we’re all touching each other while one of us holds the device.”

“So we should hold hands,” Rune grabbed the scientist’s arm and cheered. “I’ll be your partner!”

“Don’t decide things for me without my permission!” Dominator protested.

Flame’s heart fluttered as Dynamo blinked pink (“It’s magenta!” Dominator huffed.), her skin patched with sweat not because of the sparks threatening to escape from her warm palms. They were doing it. Demon Realm was minutes away from their reach.

Entering the strange dimension demons considered to be home was something she had anticipated for years. It was a strategic decision to initiate their attack on the source of their troubles in Elrios. Yet her heart couldn’t stop racing on the idea of threading into enemy territory with limited resources. Timoria was a demon, but how useful could her knowledge be if they were going to be outnumbered? Learning the mechanics on how the place functioned, its origins, and going there was surreal for the fire knight.

“Add, the machine.” Flame breathed. Turning her head over to the rest of their party, she cried. “Grab someone’s hand and don’t let go!”

Quick to act, Phantom searched for Dominator’s hand with his silver shooters hanging off his belt and his arm extended. Ultimate followed suit and let Timoria and Abysser hold hands with the rest of the El Search Party. Blade was with Anemos and Richter, hands hooked together to form into a chain behind them. At the end of the long line was Oz, standing her ground as the gravel around them hovered from the earth shaking. Black gloved hands grabbed Flame’s with no hesitance, a familiar grip leaving little surprise in seeing Devi next to her.

Flashing light burned her retinas as Flame struggled to keep them open in search for red hair. Concern was as foreign of a concept as raisin cookies were to Timoria, but it was a strong emotion driving the ‘what ifs’ running through her head. Flame reached for Rune’s hand in the blind. Gravity pressed against them as static encaved the group and lifted them off their feet. Fear latched onto Flame’s subconscious with the knight struggling to not to fall over with nothing to grab onto. Her fingers slipped from Devi’s grasp and gasped.

Everything stopped. Her weight brought her back to earth with the Flame Lord crash landing with her face first. Bleh! Demon dirt!

Her sides hurt when Flame rolled over with her elbows on the floor. She dug her hands into dry crumbled soil, a dusty brown tinted with red. She took deep breaths. The rustic foreign landscape reminded her of Lanox, but the humidity was that of Feita. Mist hovered over the blue and purple-hued grass, or was it because it was nighttime with two (no, three!) moons overhead. Demon Realm looked different than what she imagined.

Strong and steady, claymore maintained its balance as Flame drew out her weapon, a black blade bearing markings in gold writing. Flame held her guard up with her legs spread apart with claymore in one hand and fire building up in her other. Gold sparks flared up and burst into flames from her blade at the feeling to someone tapping her on the shoulder.

They were faster and twirled to disarm her, pulling claymore away and grabbing her arms, pinning the fire user and bearing tiny fangs into a wide grin.

“Looks like Add’s plan worked.” Devi balanced claymore with her fingertips before tossing it back to its owner. “Did I surprise you?”

“I could have burned you!” Flame protested.

Devi giggled, “Hopefully that’ll be the last time we do that.”

It took Flame a moment to force her temperature down to stop the heat from traveling up to her face and leaving her tongue-tied on being snuck on by Devi. Black bangs obscured one side of Devi’s face with the back of her hair was tied into a tight bun by a multitude of hairpins. The longer ends of her dress fanned out to touch the ground.

“Where are you going?”

“Anywhere but here,” Flame tucked claymore back to its strap. She strained her eyes for Oz’s iconic pointed hat or Richter’s radiant aura shining like a lighthouse between the misty terrain. Timoria and Abysser could avoid arousing trouble because they were demons, but what about the others? She held faith in her friends to stay hidden until they were reunited, but where was Rune? He wasn’t one to keep a low profile for long.

“You’re eager to fight,” Devi said with glee. She took Flame’s hand, “Your hands are getting hot.”

“I’m not,” Flame felt sick. She needed to find Dominator and give the scientist a talk for alternative traveling methods that didn’t make her want to throw back whatever Furious Blade made for lunch. “Have you seen anyone else from our group?”

“No.” Concern graced her pale features, “What’s putting you on the edge?”

“Nothing,” Flame clenched her fists. “Let’s find everyone and go.”

“Do you really think this will be resolved that quickly?” Devi asked with no humor in a dark chuckle. “Our poor luck won’t let that happen.”

Blue light flashed across the sky like fireworks and rained overhead. Fire whistled and burst into violent flames for all to see, trees trembled and tectonic plates shifted to loosen the soil from beneath. She struggled to keep her footing as she charged to the chaos, covering her face and coughing. The smoke and fire made it hard to breathe. Each step grew heavy as she dragged her foot over to where she heard voices. Flame didn’t check to see if Devi was behind her.

Between a grove of trees were monsters with extra limbs and moved around mechanically, but they were too fluid and organic like to be a machine. Blue web-like veins etched through their bodies and illuminated the destruction they left behind. How did the Elrianode monsters follow them into Demon Realm?

Orange light blazed from behind, Devi throwing herself through the air and her spear pierced into a Skin Splitter. Blood blotted out from the monster through its armored skin with an inhuman screech. Mutated monsters crawled around them and hissed in response to the hot fumes created from Flame’s palms, all of them disintegrating into ashes from the contact of her fire. Runes showered over the monsters to set ablaze.

“Sis!”

Rune’s voice rang over the chaos. Scars decorated his exposed skin with the redhead beaming.

“Elsword!” Flame cried.

Behind him was a creature that towered over most humans and had a multitude of long appendages as limbs to support its weight. Glossed armor-plated around its “shoulders” if that was what one would call them and had half a dozen eyes moving and blinking all at once. Metallic appendages shot out and curled around Rune’s arms and legs, pinning him to the ground and limiting his movement. His pupils were dilated with the beast reflecting off the lights of his eyes.

Flame raced to find a way to climb onto the monster and pull her brother out, but someone else beat her to it.

A harsh breeze picked up, two shadows in the form of Timoria and Abysser appeared to slam their bodies against the Spatio Reaper and causing it to tumble, putting out the fire hazard created by the Sieghart siblings. Silver bullets hit the creature in the chest just below from where Rune was positioned. A young man in plated armor pursued after the creature with pistols at his arsenal. Anemos and Phantom Phantom!

“Ignis...” Fire enclaved around the red knight. “Crusher!”

Fireballs hit the Spatio Reaper’s exterior, melting away a thin layer of its armor and dripping out an unnatural blue liquid from its pores. Attacking it did little to slow down its sluggish but persistent movements that caused the ground to shudder while Rune squirmed in its grasp.

“No!” Flame choked on blood and saliva. Her legs were heavy lifting them and forcing herself to stay upright. Smoke and fire hindered her vision. Where was it taking Rune? “Must keep going…”

Her eyelids grew heavy and everything faded to black.

Notes:

“Bugs.” (1) - Raven was sent back in time in his webtoon “Company” Double Crow when he touched Add’s invention designed to kill mosquitoes by sending them back in time. Yes, Add invented such a thing.

Author Notes: Please like and reblog! Leave a comment or tag your lovely thoughts! I've been so excited to write this fic and make it work to write 24+ characters interacting with each other. I had fun writing from everyone's different perspectives and hope to upload the next chapter by next month or so. Thank you @dezimaton for beta reading!

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velkynkarma · 5 years

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End of Year Meme 2018

@bosstoaster tagged me a while ago for this here so here I am late to the party as always. (Note: Failsafe was posted in 2018 but I counted it towards 2017 because it was written fully in that time period, so it doesn’t count this year). The Greatest Challenge ~ 49663 words (Shiro and Ryou centric, exchange fic with @bosstoaster ) A Long Night ~ 2359 words (Shiro and Ryou centric) The Red Bayard ~ 6914 words (Lance and Keith centric, for @platonicvldweek ) Color Theory ~ 7574 words (Ryou centric, for @platonicvldweek ) Innervate ~ 18503 words (Shiro and Ryou centric, for @platonicvldweek ) Break Even ~ 4312 words (Matt and Shiro centric) Window Shopping ~ 3391 words (Ryou, Lance and Hunk centric) Genesis ~ 32545 words (AU, ensemble, for @platonicvldweek ) Patience is a Virtue ~ 7349 words (Ryou and Slav centric) Paying Respects ~ 4967 words (Shiro centric, about Kuron) Talking in Tandem ~ 11559 words (Shiro and Ryou centric) 149136 The Best Lies ~ 13814 words (Shiro and Ryou centric) Need a Hand ~ 2923 words (Shiro centric) Target Practice ~ 3834 words (Ryou and Lance centric) Little Crystals ~ 24515 - 19627 = 4888 additional words (Assorted prompts & characters) Familiar Faces ~ 72730 words total written with @bosstoaster (Shiro and Ryou centric....times two lol). Of that, about 38,172 is mine. This thing that still doesn’t have a title ~ 3952 words (Keith-centric, set in Parallel by Proxy universe) Total Fics: 17 (counting Little Crystals prompts as 1) Total Words: 216,719 Ship/character breakdown: Ship breakdown: You’ve come to the wrong writer if you’re expecting anything here Character breakdown (all counts based on -centric or focus for a character, with or without the inclusion of other chars): 10 Ryou-centric or Ryou-focus 9 Shiro-centric or Shiro-focus 3 Lance-centric or Lance-focus 2 Keith-centric or Keith focus 1 Hunk-centric or Hunk-focus 1 Slav-centric or Slav-focus 1 Matt-centric or Mat-focus Plus 1 Ensemble fic and assorted prompts & characters

Characters that had the main focus: Shockingly Ryou actually pulled ahead of even Shiro in this....but only by 1, and only because Color Theory is really just about him, and not both of them.

Specifics:

Best/worst title? Best title: Break Even happened on a whim but I actually like that it works on multiple levels. To break even colloquially means to come out without gains or losses (which happens in the course of the fic when Shiro and Matt come to terms with each others’ part in their capture and escape, or lack of rescue). But it can also more literally mean to have been broken, but as cleanly as possible, meaning they may be damaged but it can be fixed if handled well. Worst title: The Greatest Challenge is kind of bland but I really struggled to find anything that would work. It ended up being too similar to its inspiration, The Most Dangerous Game, though.

Best/worst first line? Best first line: From Paying Respects, “Adjusting to being alive again is…difficult.” Because what a way to open (and also I feel a lot of people didn’t really give this part of Shiro-being-brought-back-to-life much consideration). Worst first line: From Color Theory: “Hey. Ryou. Got a second?” Because I just realized while looking for this that literally the fic prior to it I used the exact same opening line and now I’m kicking myself.

Best/worst last line? Best Last Line: Ooooh this is tough because there are a LOT of good last lines this year with some gut-punching impact. Here’s my faves: Need a Hand: “Excellent,” Commander Holt says, shaking his hand gently but firmly, sealing the deal. “I stand by what I said last year, Cadet Shirogane. You are going to be the greatest pilot this world has ever seen.” Paying Respects: But he was free. He was home. And Shiro, at least, will respect him and remember him for what he was and what he’d wanted to be. Because he’d known. And because nobody else will. A Long Night: He never does sleep again, that night. Worst Last Line: From Color Theory again (I swear I like this fic): “And they spar.” Just a generally weak ending. The good stuff was all in the middle and I wasn’t really sure how to close it, and it shows.

General questions:

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted? More than I anticipated, considering. 2018 was a very stressful, very bad year for me for personal reasons. Stress means no writing. I’m genuinely shocked I kicked out even half as much as I did.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year? I don’t think I intended for Parallel by Proxy to get as big as it did, so I guess ‘AU’ in a way? Or just...a series? What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest. I’m with @bosstoaster on this one, my favorite was our collab fic Familiar Faces. It was super fun to figure it out together as well as a great challenge. Plus it was really nice to actually fic-ify the goofy chat ideas we’d talked about for ages if our respective renditions of Ryou and Shiro actually met. Plus we’d been working on it since June 2018 so it took up a great deal of the year, a lot of work, and a lot of focus, but it had a lot of reward.

Okay, NOW your most popular story. By kudos this is technically Failsafe and Little Crystals, but both counted for last year so I don’t think they qualify here. Sooo....looks like it’s Familiar Faces lol.

However if we’re going by bookmarks, Paying Respects took the unquestionable lead. Story most underappreciated by the universe? Genesis. Hands down. Something I completely expected, since it’s a self-indulgent AU/Crossover fic regarding one of my favorite Playstation 1 era games Legend of Legaia, which virtually nobody has heard of. I wrote it to be accessible to people even if they didn’t know the source material, but people generally aren’t willing to step into a crossover like that unless they A) know the source material already or B) really trust the author. Story that could have been better? I see a lot of edits that should be made or errors when I go back to every single one of these stories on the list, but none of them stand out as ‘I fucked up somewhere.’ Sexiest story?

Saddest story? Ahahaha there were....a lot. Probably Paying Respects since it was a response to Kuron essentially being murdered at the end of season 6 and nobody seemed to care. But A Long Night is also painfully bitter (only fixed somewhat by the fact that the reader knows by then Ryou will get better). Most fun? Familiar Faces was the most fun technically along all stages of the writing process since I was working with @bosstoaster for that. I was also in a no-motivation phase at the time we were actively writing this, but the fact that I was working on it with another person and I knew toaster was relying on me to finish my part really kept me excited about writing my parts. So I had a lot of fun just trading off and sharing pieces as we went. Without other people being involved, probably Genesis. Again, completely self-indulgent based on a favorite game. I had a lot of fun replaying the game to get details and a lot of fun playing with the universe. It practically wrote itself. I still want to go back to it. Story with single sweetest moment? This question is tricky because I do bittersweet more than actual sweet haha. I’m not really a cute/fluff writer. If going for pure good feels/charm though, I guess the scene in Color Theory when Allura gives Ryou (actual, decent) advice on how to choose his color (and subsequently, how to identify what he considers important about himself) was pretty sweet. It’s too long to post here though.

Hardest story to write? Target Practice. Guns scare the ever loving shit out of me, I know nothing about them, and I want nothing to do with them. But I wanted to write things accurately, which meant research. Research was watching police training and instructional videos for hours to try and get the accuracy right. I can only hope I did it justice.

Easiest/most fun story to write? Paying Respects. Not ‘fun’ exactly but it just...happened. It’s the only fic I’ve ever did as a ‘reaction’ fic within 24 hours of the source material posting, I never get things planned and worked out that fast. Kuron’s death hurt me and he needed justice ASAP, and a lot of friends out there needed some closure for him.

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters? Not really. If I had to give an answer I guess I’d say Familiar Faces helped me learn @bosstoaster ‘s Ryou a little better, but he’s not a canon character.

Most overdue story? Parasite Knight sequel Also a fic I’m working on right now that I’d been working on since season...4? This one actually is guaranteed to make it though.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? Yes, with Familiar Faces. Working with another writer is tough but rewarding! I also stepped outside my area of expertise by tackling Parallel by Proxy to keep an ongoing series maintained.

What are your fic writing goals for next year? I have a lot of scattered ideas I’d like to hit. I definitely want to explore some little-used characters or side characters in actual plots. I also have a couple AU’s or more ambitious ideas that I’d like to try and buckle down to tackle, in part thanks to encouragement by @bosstoaster and @butteredonions

Whew! Okay. That was long. I won’t tag anyone but feel free to do this if you like :)

#Velkynkarma memes #Velkynkarma writes #fanfiction #fanfic #Voltron

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ask-shakespearehigh · 5 years

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Q&A post with the Mods!!!!

This is going to be a long one oh boy

How strict is the delineation of creative control vis-a-vis characters/plays between the mods? (@pedanticlecturer)

We generally have the plays split up along lines of “what we know”— we have a list at the very beginning of the blog. Sometimes we’ll draw the others’ characters (mostly me drawing some of Star’s…) but even then the final say on characterization is up to the “main” mod for that play — mod aster

what aster said -- mod star

What is your favorite play? What is your favorite character in terms of how they were written in the source material? (@pedanticlecturer)

I think my favorite play overall is Macbeth, just because I like the vibes (and the fact that I too could kill Macbeth), the fact that you don’t say it’s name in theatres, and the fact that it’s a play I did a full read through and analysis of in class. Favorite character? Puck from Midsummer. — mod aster

uhhhh,, hmm. ive always had a soft spot for midsummer since i saw it with aster esp bc of how fun the costumes were. of the comedies it has the largest potential to be the most visually pleasing bc of the concept of fairies,,,and im gay and dramatic so i love that. id die if i got to costume design for midsummer,,,or be in it,,,yeah. fav character. hmm. probably mercutio?? i recently saw a version of romeo and juliet where mercutio was played by a woman and oh my god it was amazing!!! not to mention mercutio’s portrayal in baz luhrmann's INCREDIBLE version of r n j!!! (I based my mercutio design on him) he just spends the entire time making dick jokes. love that. -- mod star

How do you answer asks so fast? I mean it's great but I'm impressed 😂 (Anon)

Personally, it’s a mix of: notifications on, quick drawing speed, and using the blog to avoid my class work — mod aster

aster is fast and (as you can see from all of my answers) im lazey -- mod star

Are there any elements/characters of the plays you're covering that you would have liked to work into this blog's plot, but couldn't due to the constraints of the setting or the synthetic nature of the blog? (@pedanticlecturer)

I wanted to make everyone gay but unfortunately due to plot constraints we have to have some hets but that wont stop me from making it lgbt as possible. -- mod star

I did want to make The Tempest more of a central play, but it just didn’t translate well. Similarly, other supernatural elements like the witches in Macbeth. This isn’t so much a constraint mentioned, but my own time/energy means that I want to show the Macbeth backstory, in a specific format, but I can’t right now— mod aster

Is there a hierarchy of import when it comes to each play's individualized impact on shakespeare high's general arc? If so, what plays are crucial to the foundation of the story? Which ones did you do mostly for shits and giggles? (@pedanticlecturer)

This is phrased like an ACT question and i might not answer it right so sorry in advance but: mod aster and i only selected a few plays for each of us to do given we dont know all of shakespeare’s works, but we tend to put more emphasis on the the more well known. But it also comes down to 1. How much we have plotted out for each play and 2. What the followers ask about most. Our two most popular are hamlet and macbeth bc people are familiar w those but around march caesar always becomes relevant again. I didnt even have designs for some of the characters until someone asked about them. -- mod star

I would say the same as star— it generally comes down to what people ask about. I will say that the overall plot is sort of separated into “has happened” and “is happening”. Like, the human potion of Midsummer, Julius Caesar, and Macbeth are all in the “aftermath” portion, while Twelfth Night, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet, among others, are happening. We’re trying to incorporate as much as we can, and I don’t think any of them were really put in without some thought.— mod aster

What personal significance does shakespeare hold in ur guys' lives? (@pedanticlecturer)

I go to a theater school rn and so ive dealt w shakespeare (although not all of them) it also helps that i was in loves labours lost last year as moth and that i read hamlet and r n j. Theres also a theater in my state that always does One Big Shakespeare per season and they always do them super well!!! My love for shakespeare probably started w seeing midsummer at that theater w mod aster!!! So. Theater kid rights!! -- mod star

To be honest, I got back into Shakespeare Because of the blog. I’ve been friends with some people that got really Pretentious about Shakespeare, and it kinda put me off of it. I did have a book of abridged plays (the plays’ plots written out in prose, basically) that I read as a kid, which is what got me into not only the plots of a lot of the plays, but also the idea of having them illustrated. And, same as star, the theater in state does the One Big Shakespeare— and they tend to do some really cool things with the costumes, setting them in diff time periods. I haven’t been able to see any lately since I’ve moved, but they still slap. — mod aster

🥰😘💙🥰🥰💜💟🥰I 😍💗💚😍😍LOVE🖤🖤 YALL ♥️♥️🧡💛💚💝❣️💕💘💖💗💓💞💝❤️💛💜 okay now i have a question i swear— how long have the two of you been doing art??? and what were your first shakespeare plays??? (@hellaghosts)

Uhh i started drawing when i was like idk 12 and i have the giant boxes of sketchbooks to prove it!!! I moved to digital art at abt 14-15 but mostly stayed traditional until this yr when i got a Neat New Tablet so some of my sketchbooks are sitting abandoned rip. My first shakespeare was either romeo and juliet or midsummer nights dream and i love both of them v much!!! I have a very old piece of art that i did for r n j for my freshman class assignment on it and it hasnt aged well alsdjfjafd circa 2016 i think??? -- mod star

Oh man. I started drawing when I was about 10, but it was Bad. I don’t think I got much into drawing again until I was about 14? Sometime around the end of middle school/beginning of high school. I would say I started getting into drawing as more than doodling/coloring edits sometime around 2015-16? I would draw on my iPad with my finger, then I got a tablet for my computer, and now I pretty much stick to my iPad with an Apple Pencil. My first Shakespeare play was….. uh…… probably Midsummer???? I have No idea. We would go to plays when I was little, so I honestly don’t remember if I saw others before. It may have been Romeo and Juliet— I had that book where it was the original and the “modernized” with the little dog that explained things— which, if you know it makes sense, but if you don’t is probably a bonkers answer. — mod aster

Do you think this blog has like? An overarching thesis (be it b/c intentionally or simply b/c ur own take on the world has bled thru to the point where u believe it’s central to the piece at this point)? (@pedanticlecturer)

Not gonna lie, I had to read that like three times AND dm you to figure out what you were asking from us and all I have is “be gay, respect women, write your own happy endings”. — mod aster

This blog started with an ides of march shitpost and you think we have enough brain energy to write a whole thesis? I projected feelings of found family onto my half of the blog but idk if that counts. Be gay do crime 420 69 -- mod star

What’s the nature/rough dynamic of ur relationship? How do y’all know each other? (@pedanticlecturer)

Met mod aster when i was like 4 and even tho we didnt live close we became like, best friends although the Best part didnt start until we were like 13-ish and eventually we talked like non stop (about anime and homestuck. Yknow. 13 year old kid things) and we didnt see each other a lot bc of Distance and now its even worse bc aster is in colleg.,e but we consider each other siblings regardless of family bc we’re adopted into our own respective families so that bled over into our friendship and it would feel weird calling him anything other than my brother now. We’ve seen each other at our best and worst and if you really want a good insight on what we’re like as siblings watch griffin and justin mcelroy’s overview video of catlateral damage wherein i am griffin and he is the long suffering justin. -- mod star

Star is basically my long distance sibling and functionally the only cousin I recognize bc like their parents are basically an aunt and uncle and like our dads look enough alike that we’ve both accidentally gotten the wrong dad for a hug or similar so like. Anyways yeah Star is the Griffin to my Justin, complete with our absent middle brother who we love dearly— mod aster

Dubiously relevant q but what kind of music do y’all listen to when u do art (if that is indeed a habit either of u partake in) (@pedanticlecturer)

It can depend on the piece? I was working on some (unrelated) oc prints that were song-focused, and for those I just listened to said song on loop. Sometimes I have playlists. Sometimes I’ll just be in a Mood and throw a song on loop. But a lot of time for the blog, I’ll listen to The Adventure Zone for the billionth time, because I have Too Much Attention. I’ve also, on request from Star, linked the most recent “loop song”.— mod aster

I tend to obsess over the same like 3 songs every few weeks so those get listened to on repeat but it also depends on the tone of what im drawing or who im drawing i might genre switch bc of that. If im drawing ophelia i stick to lana del rey and if im drawing hamlet its the neighborhood, horatio is sufjan stevens etc. i have categorized,. Most of the characters i draw into different songs/genres/energies of music but not like i ever follow that. Sometimes i just pull up a really long nonsense video and forget to draw. Essentially: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ -- mod star

How’d y’all come up with ur pseudonyms? (@pedanticlecturer)

I love space so much and my main blog is starryeydsailor space gay rights!! Im also tiny and full of energy and bright so basically i;m star -- mod star

Uhhhh i was like “hey i want to do uhhhhhh flower?” And then I google searched flower names until I found one I liked —- mod aster

How did you end up deciding the rough timeline of events in canon? (@pedanticlecturer)

It’s mostly determined by like. How we choose per story? If that makes sense. Like, we just take story by story, and decide “is it happening, has it happened, and when?” And then we fit them together in relation to each other just by dint of. All existing at once. Like, I knew I wanted Macbeth to be in aftermath, because like, even though there’s no murder, the way I’ve translated it to the AU is still kinda heavy, and it’s something that I don’t know that I could do properly if it were happening right now. Also, it’s more interesting IMO to have them at different times. Tl;dr we wing it per story and slot them together— mod aster (mod star agrees I just can word better, in theory)

If you could tell the story of shakespeare high in a different format than an ask blog, would you? Obviously y'all are making very good use of the format, but would you want to write this as a animated series or like? a comic book? or is the form inseparable from the story? (@pedanticlecturer)

I kinda wanted to do a webcomic or maybe to plot develop through like, animatics but the element of surprise comes from the asks we get and really makes us think so the blog is a good start. We didnt think we’d get this far -- mod star

Pretty much what Star said— there are certain elements where it’d be neat to do as a comic or as an animatic. Like, the fantasy dream is like, an anthology webcomic of each story, where you can like, see other characters in the background and stuff. But to be honest, we develop a lot by what we’re asked— there was a post about developing worldbuilding by being asked questions and then pretending you’ve thought about the answer, and it’s not far off. Personally, it’s hard to just lay out a story, because I have a whole WORLD and what’s relevant? What are people interested in? It’s by getting questions that I can then focus in on an area to develop. And yeah, we Super didn’t think we’d get this far lmao — mod aster

Any headcanons about your characters that you don't think will ever come up on the blog through asks or plot posts? (@pedanticlecturer)

I could make a whole separate post for this!!!!! Mostly its voice headcanons (and by mostly i mean like 1 or 2) or relationship hcs!!!! -- mod star

Honestly same. I don’t think I have voice headcanons for mine, though I bet I could find some. I’ve got a bunch of miscellaneous headcanons that just kinda float around, but like they’re scattered, too numerous for this post, and also not always things I’m sure are canon yet.— mod aster

#mod post #mod aster #mod star #q and a #birthday #we cant seem to read more AND tag so like brb gonna go kill god

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animebw · 5 years

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Binge-Watching: Soul Eater, Episodes 49-51

At long last, we reach the end! In which I consider the long road we took to get here, some things fall by the wayside, and Maka pierces the heavens with her scythe.

To a Close

One of the few things I knew going into Soul Eater was that a lot of fans were pretty disappointed in the ending. Similarly to Studio Bones’ first adaptation of the FMA manga back in 2003, this was a situation where the source material was still ongoing while the adaptation was being produced, so rather than stretch it out with filler, they decided to write their own ending based on what already existed and bring the story to a close in their own way. That’s always a risky movie; the scars of Ajin’s second season are still fresh in my mind as a harsh reminder of just how disastrously going off in your own direction can fuck up. Popular source material gets popular for a reason, and diverging from it risks losing the heart and soul of what made that story connect with audiences in the first place. That said, adaptation is an art unto itself, and swearing complete fealty to the source material shuts you off from so many fantastic possibilities. Hell, Studio Bones is kind of the master of using adaptation to its advantage. Where would the Mob Psycho 100 anime be without its stunning, intricately realized animation? Hell, the reason anyone remembers FMA 03 at all now that Brotherhood exists is that it had the boldness to carve its own path, crafting a uniquely compelling take on a familiar story that can 100% stand on its own two feet. Creative liberties are not an inherently flawed approach; it’s the execution that makes the difference between FMA 03 and the colossal trainwreck that was the back half of Blue Exorcist’s first season.

That said, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t understand where some of the disappointment surrounding Soul Eater’s anime finale is coming from. It’s far from a bad ending by any stretch of the imagination, but when all is said and done, I definitely get the feelings that things weren’t wrapped up quite as perfectly as they could’ve been. The problem, I think, is that while the main story and character thrust was wrapped up about as perfectly as it could have been (more on that later), there’s a lot of stuff in the sidelines that feels like it deserved a more complete conclusion. We never got a resolution to Maka’s estrangement from her father, despite that being one of the first subplots this series ever introduced. Soul finally making peace with his black blood, while satisfying on an emotional level, felt like a hurdle overcome far too easily for the amount of angst we’ve spent on it. DK’s story as a whole never felt as fleshed out as it could’ve been; perhaps if Death really had been keeping secrets, it would’ve added some legitimate drama to his growth into becoming a true shinigami and successor to his father. I’m still not quite sure what Medusa’s plan for Asura even was, and Arachne was just never a compelling enough villain to justify taking time away from her. Plus, I really would’ve just personally liked a little more epilogue following the final battle than just a “where are they now” credits scroll.

It’s these little frustrations that keep me from embracing Soul Eater as completely as I want to. My long-time readers know I tend to put a lot of stock in endings; your reaction to a story’s conclusion can reveal your true feelings about the journey you’ve been on. And were Soul Eater just a little more focused than it was along the way, with fewer plot-based distractions, I don’t think this ending would’ve left any bad taste in the mouth. But as is, there are so many fantastic elements of this show that I wish were given more closure than they got. How amazing would it have been to see Maka, awash in her newfound bravery and confidence, finally meet her father on her own terms, and see them start to patch up their relationship? Little details like that are what make the difference in these kinds of good-enough shows I so often gush over. Again, Soul Eater is still really, really damn good, even great at its best. I just wish its best had been more frequent over its run, because that would have propelled this show to something truly special.

The Word is Bravery

But you know what? That’s enough bitching from me for today. As much as I can complain about missed opportunities and heights that weren’t reached, I am still coming away from this show incredibly fucking satisfied. Because like I mentioned above, while some of the subplots may have had less-than-perfect resolutions, the conclusion to Maka’s arc of personal growth was truly goddamn spectacular. From the very beginning, her story has been one of fear. Fear that she wasn’t good enough, fear that the people she cared for would leave her (looking at you, Spirit), fear that everything she cared about would crumble under the weight of her own inadequacies. She’s seen her friends get hurt, her city shake, and been terrified at the thought of rising to the challenge and being completely unable to face it. But again and again, she’s burned through those hallways of horror and come out stronger for it. She’s seen the power she can have to help her friends, the faith that they have in her in turn. And she’s refused to give up on that faith. When Soul’s black blood takes over, she doesn’t hesitate a second to dive in after him, no matter how dangerous it might be. The old Maka would have been trembling every step of the way down those dark stairs, but now, she’s making wisecracks and thinking of possibilities the whole time (”Dig up the floor and make a tunnel!”) Fear’s an old friend of hers now, and unlike a certain demon hell-bent on world domination, she has no trouble facing it will all her heart.

Really, Crona said it best; Maka’s true strength was never the powers her mother left her. It was her bravery. Her refusal to stand down in the face of impossible odds. Her refusal to give up on the people who carried her on their shoulders. Her ability to see BlackStar and DK splayed out on the ground, but still face Asura with the piercing gaze of a warrior, only needing to wordlessly reach her hand out to summon Soul to action. Compared to the pain she’s already gone through, the hundreds of iterations of fear she’s suffered, this three-eyed emo motherfucker is nothing. And that’s what ends up defeating Asura in the end. A monster who tried to erase uncertainty from the world was faced with a young girl who embraced that uncertainty with every fiber of her being, who allowed herself to be scared and unsure, who shattered his perfect bubble of isolation with a single, simple word: Bravery. It’s a truly spectacular sequence, from the slow build of Asura’s fear to the fantastic musical underscore to that final, jaw-dropping sakuga cut as Maka races across a field of exploding rubble and meets the threats of an elder god with a punch to the face and a cry of “Hell if I care!” That is the heart of Soul Eater, and for all I could nitpick the road we took to get here, I can at least appreciate what a stunning high note it went out on. I hope your proud of your daughter, Ms. Albarn. She really is something special.

Odds and Ends

-Okay but why does BlackStar’s sword look like a mile long in that shot

-Side note, I recently found out that Crona’s gender is meant to be ambiguous, so apparently Netflix’s subtitles (which use he/him pronouns) are wrong and stupid. Sorry about that! And also, hey more awesome genderqueer rep! As if I couldn’t love you enough.

-”Even your sword threats are cliche.” Get rekt edgelord

-Dude, that fucking tracking action shot around Asura was sick!

-Maka and Soul touching foreheads was as close to a kiss as we’re gonna get, so I will take it.

-”Your defeat to the Kishin was my fault.” I mean... not really? You could’ve gotten the hell out of dodge well before then.

-Okay but what’s with all the fantastic rotoscoping shots lately

-I... guess we’re Naruto now. Huh.

-”I’ve changed my opinion of you somewhat!” These two really are gonna kill me with sweetness one of these days.

-Dude, I forgot she came from a weapon lineage! Sick!

-GOD THAT FUCKING SCREAM OW

-”The sky is blue, dammit!” I need a million times more Patty in my life.

-Okay, but Stein and Spirit sharing a cigarette in that ending montage? Unbelievably gay.

And with that, Soul Eater is done! Expect my closing thoughts later tonight, as well as what show will take its place!

#anime #the anime binge-watcher #tabw #soul eater #maka albarn

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