#she can sail with them in heaven now )

[bby-deerling]

what comes after (zoro x fem!reader)

pure fluff! ft. zoro and sanji bickering and general strawhat antics. same reader in mind as my other zoro x reader fics, but they can all be read separately!

Pure bliss enveloped you as you drifted in and out of sleep on Zoro’s chest, afternoon sun dancing across your limbs.  Quiet days sailing like this felt like heaven, with no worries in the world except for whatever antics Luffy would inevitably rope the crew into.  You and Usopp were usually involved with helping Luffy concoct whatever silly game or activity he would impose on everyone else, but today the two of them had secretly decided to initiate a round of your least favorite game: bugging Zoro with questions while you both were trying to nap.  You let out a sigh and try to roll off of Zoro’s chest as Luffy whines in his ear for him to wake up, but the hand he has tangled in your hair keeps you in place.

“What do you want?” he asks, voice raspy and with exhaustion dripping from every word.

Luffy rocks back and forth while sitting on top of a nearby crate, unable to keep still.  “Zoro, what are you gonna do once you’re the World’s Strongest Swordsman?”  You let out another small sigh, slightly irritated that you were both woken up for this, but you never quite had it in you to get mad at Luffy, especially when he had that goofy grin plastered across his face.

“I dunno.  Probably sleep, like I’m trying to do now.” Zoro says with a grimace, shutting his eye and tightening his grip on your waist.

“C’mon, Zoro, there’s gotta be something you want to do!” Usopp protested, not willing to let the issue go so easily.

Zoro groans, and then lets out a huge yawn.  You tilt your chin up to look at him, and catch him deep in thought, making your heart flutter and leaving you slightly spellbound.  More alert than you were before, your stomach began to fill with nervous butterflies.  The two of you had been together for a long time, and there was an understanding between you that you were both in it not just until death did you part, but whatever came after. However, you both took each day as it came, and dwelling on specifics of what your life together would look like once you achieved your dreams wasn’t something the two of you did often, if ever.

“A castle.  I’ll buy a castle.” he finally says, causing Luffy to burst out in laughter, and Usopp to question why he had such a seemingly random desire, especially when he had expressed to the crew how much he hated getting lost in Mihawk’s castle during his two years training on Kuraigana.

“Mihawk has one.” he said matter-of-factly, “If I’m going to be the World’s Strongest Swordsman I probably need one too.”

“Castles are huge!  You’re gonna make her clean all of those rooms?” Usopp asked, pointing at you.  You and Zoro both scrunch your faces, annoyed by the implication.

“Just because she’s going to be my wife doesn’t mean that she’s going to clean my house.  We’ll hire people for that.” Zoro says, eliciting a mixed bag of reactions from the crew ranging from more laughter to shock, to irritation.

“You’re not going to be hiring anyone while the two of you are both knee high in debt higher than your bounties!” Nami snapped, rolling her eyes, mainly directing her annoyance towards Zoro.

Sanji, on the other hand, had nearly dropped the tray of drinks he was carrying onto the deck.  “Since when are you two engaged?” he spit out, nearly choking on the word.

“We’re not engaged yet, blondie—” you assure him with a cheeky smile, before Luffy shouts out another question to Zoro, completely drowning out your request to him for a glass of water.

"When you do get engaged, can we have a big banquet? With tons of meat?" he pleads.

You both nod, and Luffy cries out in happiness. "Why don't you two just get married right now? You love each other don't you? Plus I'm so hungry..."

"Too dangerous right now. We'll do it once you're the Pirate King." Zoro replies, hand around your waist tracing circles into your skin.

"Gives me more time to talk her out of it." Sanji mutters, earning him a glare from Zoro, and an amused smile from you.

“Who’s going to cook in this castle of yours?” Usopp asks, causing Luffy to perk up, his mind never able to leave the topic of food on the backburner for more than a few seconds.

“Him.” Zoro says, pointing at Sanji, a wicked smirk spreading across his face.  “He’s going to be our butler.”

“Me?” the cook asks incredulously.  “And why the hell would I do that for a moron like you?”

“Please, pervert cook, all I have to do is get her to bat her eyelashes at you and you’ll gladly do it for free.” the swordsman snaps back.

“No fair!  Why do you get to take Sanji?  I wanna take him with me!” Luffy whines.  “I can’t cook on my own!”

“Zoro’s not an awful cook, y’know.” you chime in.  “His food was good enough for Mihawk to eat.”

Zoro smiles at your praise, completely forgetting his idea of making curly-brows your personal servant.  “Damn right it was.”  He says, sending another smirk to Sanji.  “Hear that?  My cooking is good enough for the World’s Strongest Swordsman.  What have you done?”

Sanji’s mouth nearly drops to the floor, becoming so heated he nearly catches on fire.  “What have I done?  How about what I do for you every single day, you miserable, ungrateful, moss-headed bastard?”

“What about you?  What does our super painter want to do once she achieves her dream?” Franky asks you with a grin, ignoring Zoro and Sanji’s bickering.

“I’d like to live in a small cottage by the sea,” you say with a smile, “with tons of wildflowers swaying in the breeze on a patch of land big enough to build a studio with lots of natural light and a gym for Zoro to train in.  And when we get restless, we can hop in a boat and drift to whatever island we land on first and drink until there’s no more booze left to sell us.”

Zoro’s fingers rake through your hair, a huge smile plastered on his face.  “Forget the stupid castle.  That’s what we’re doing.”

“How romantic!” Robin muses, giving you a sly smile.

“Until they die of cirrhosis at the age of thirty from heavy drinking.” Usopp says, causing Chopper to wail, and start to plead to Zoro’s deaf ears to stop drinking.  Eventually, the crew ends up going back to their own business, the little reindeer settles into the hammock with you both, and the urge to sleep begins to take over once again.

“You’re too good for him, sunshine.” Sanji whispers in your ear as he returns to the kitchen.

Zoro’s eye cracks open.  “Watch it, shitty cook, being our butler is still on the table.” he warns, snuggling both you and Chopper closer to his chest.

#zoro x reader #one piece x reader #x reader #zoro x you #roronoa zoro x reader #roronoa zoro x you #more fluff hehe

[babyloniastreasure]

Enkidu FGO is absolutely a troublemaker. Enkidu Source Material was also absolutely a troublemaker, but of course he was! He was literally created to be the equal to the #1 Mesopotamian troublemaking king, Gilgamesh. It's basically a requirement

I see it from time to time, but there's an opinion that Enkidu was killed in the Epic because he was a troublemaker. This is not true, but easy to understand why it's a popular conclusion

The decision to kill Enkidu was made after he and Gilgamesh made some glaringly poor choices--the first one being the slaying of Humbaba, and the second the slaying of Gugalana. I think people attribute the reason Enkidu was killed instead of Gilgamesh to Enkidu's actions after Gugalana was killed, which something I will get to in a moment. It might be different in Fate, and depending on what version of the epic you read some details differ, but generally here's what went down

Gilgamesh one day gets the idea that he and Enkidu should go into the Cedar forest and kill its guardian, the monster Humbaba. Now, wood was a very sacred and rare material in ancient Mesopotamia, cedar wood in particular. Hence why the gods had such a powerful monster keeping it safe. Gilgamesh goes to Enkidu with his grand idea to hunt down and kill Humbaba, but he needs Enkidu's help to find him. Enkidu is very hesitant at first and tells Gilgamesh the equivalent of, "Dude that's a terrible idea. Humbaba is extremely powerful. Absolutely Not." Gilgamesh urges Enkidu to reconsider, because together they can survive anything! It'll be easy with the two of us and it'll be so much fun!

Enkidu is eventually persuaded and agrees, and together they track down and kill Humbaba, as well as his seven sons. They worship/thank the gods by sacrificing Humbaba-meat to a fire (as ya do), and they cut down a RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF CEDAR while they're at it, then sail home down the Euphrates on a newly carved boat and a bunch of extra wood. Needless to say, The Gods Were Not Pleased.

But since this was King Gilgamesh and Enkidu, they chose to simply take note of this transgression and not do anything to punish them so long as they didn't do something equally grievous in the future.

Fast forward a bit and Ishtar is upset that Gilgamesh doesn't want to sleep with her. Gilgamesh heavily insults her, naming off dozens of her past lovers and how she treated them, driving her to tears. She goes up to the heavens and pitches a fit to her father, Anu, about the rejection. She threatens to raise zombies all over Mesopotamia unless he gives her the Bull of Heaven (Gugalana) to lay siege to Uruk in vengeance against Gilgamesh. Sending out this divine beast is a HUGE deal, not a decision to make lightly. However, Anu doesn't want zombies. He gives her the Bull.

Ishtar immediately sends it down to Uruk where it promptly kills a BUNCH of people and causes a heap of environmental disasters. Enkidu fights it off alone for a while, but it isn't until Gilgamesh joins the fight that they are able to take it down. Gilgamesh makes the final blow, killing him, and with Gugalana defeated the kingdom celebrates victory. They worship/thank the gods by sacrificing Gugalana-meat to a fire, and Ishtar shows up again. She is very upset that Gugalana was slain. How DARE you two kill the Bull of Heaven? She says. Do you have any idea how important that was? She says. Enkidu responds by insulting her and throws a chunk of the meat from Gugalana's hind at her head. She is humiliated and goes back up to the heavens. I think this is where people get the idea that Enkidu was a troublemaker, and that this was why he was chosen over Gilgamesh to die. However. It is not. Once again, The Gods Were Not Pleased. Gilgamesh and Enkidu are out of control. They call a meeting.

Gilgamesh and Enkidu, as a pair, had:

Slain two divine beasts (which they knew the importance of)

Cut down a sacred forest (which they knew the importance of)

Heavily insulted the same goddess to her face. The patron deity of the kingdom, no less!

Three major transgressions! But the most concerning ones were the deaths of Humbaba and Gugalana, and were the primary discussion at the god-meeting. The others are bonuses.

The gods decide the fitting punishment is death. However, killing both Gilgamesh and Enkidu is too severe and must choose one.

Now there's no literal written reason for Enkidu being chosen. But looking back on the Epic as a whole, we can infer the reason he was...is Gilgamesh.

Enkidu was created by the gods to rein Gilgamesh in, to control him. Gilgamesh on his own was unruly, unchecked, overpowering and selfish. By giving him Enkidu, he had someone he could be unruly with, who would check him, who could match his power and balance his needs. Enkidu was literally made to be his perfect match, and thus he became the most important thing in the whole world to Gilgamesh. Some might say that Gilgamesh's wanton disregard was rubbing off on Enkidu, or that Enkidu's unwavering loyalty and support was making Gilgamesh overconfident, and that he was killed because he was no longer fulfilling his purpose. However, I do not think that's the reason, either.

There's this neat thing in Mesopotamian literature and poetry where the theme of the work appears again and again. Prose is often repeated, whole stanzas are recycled over and over, words and the way grammar is used, and lines are reused in patterns. Very often, a work begins and ends the same way. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a shining example of this and does it constantly. So,

Just like in the beginning of the Epic, in order for the gods to rein Gilgamesh in, they use Enkidu.

--

TLDR; Enkidu was not killed because he was a trouble maker. By killing both Humbaba and Gugalana, both he and Gilgamesh were in trouble but only one of them needed to die as punishment. Enkidu was chosen because he was created to control Gilgamesh--both through his life and through his death.

#wowie this took longer to write than i thought it would #mesopotamia my beloved #enkidu #gilgamesh #anyway everybody should read the epic of gilgamesh. right now

[fillinforlater]

Paradise

Male Reader x Kim Gaeul

Length: 4646 words

Tags: non-smut, story heavy drama, angsty, best friends, young love, looking for paradise

TW: to avoid spoilers, assume all trigger warning apply (I promise nothing sexual!)

Inspiration: "Paradise" by Coldplay (I love that song. Others have inspired me as well e.g. "Clocks" but this is THE one).

(A/N: Happy Anniversary to me <3 fricking 2 years since y'all had to read my first fic. Thanks for all the support! Enjoy this fic that means a lot to me. @firagaarmor, this ones for you too!)

“Can you tell me what paradise is?”

You raise your eyes over the sharp edge of your book, your mind still lost in the adventures of a young sailor, trying to make a name for himself and fighting with the deadly, dark blue sea and the temptation of strong liquor. He’s a brave man, firmly gripping the loose end of a rope to hold the sail steady while a thunderstorm makes his life seem defenseless, fragile, miniscule. The book is too tense, too captivating to stop now!

But then you continue to look past all the letters on old, yellowed paper, straight to her face. Feel her strong gaze grab you and freeze you in place with nothing but softness and innocence. Suddenly, the meaning these words had on you evaporates; the capturing story is nothing but a hallucination you experience while staring at them. You are not hallucinating now. She is here, she is real—and she is absolutely gorgeous.

“Paradise?” you sum up her question in a rather uncertain whisper, Gaeul nods nonetheless.

“Yes!” her eyes beam with thrill and she closes the gap between you and her on the couch. Usually, the two of you leave some space on the worn-out, white sofa, with you reading in one corner and Gaeul resting in the other. It’s rare for her to be this close; it makes you trip up and drop the book on your chest. “Tell me all about it.”

“Well it’s… simple, yet also very complex, you know?” You scratch the back of your head and avoid her face. Straight brown hair frames her soft features, puts a stark contrast between dark beauty and pale beauty, while every nook and cranny on it is just flawlessly carved—you’re red now.

“You need to tell me everything!” Gaeul insists.

“F-fine. Paradise is the place that we go to after we die. We of course don’t know if it’s real or not or if we have to do something or believe something to get in it. Maybe it’s guarded by angels, gods or titans! Maybe it’s just something we tell ourselves to feel better about what death might be: just nothingness. Sometimes people imagine heaven to be this overwhelmingly marvelous forest, where everything is in harmony. Sometimes they see it as a golden gate with everything perfect and beautiful behind it. Sometimes people just call some place on earth paradise.”

“Why?” Gaeul asks, her ears twitching but not really twitching. She is just excited to listen to you, probably. “Where is this place?”

“Well, uhm,” you mutter and scratch harder. Surely you’ll find an answer that will satisfy her. “I think you need to find this place yourself. Like I said, everyone thinks paradise is something different.”

Gaeul nods with the eagerness and naivety of a child. She still possesses this deeply rooted innocence, this greed for knowledge and finding new things. All these years of school could not squeeze it out of her, no belittling, no bullying, nothing can break her spirit. You adore her for it, you envy her for it.

“Paradise,” she says and returns to her original position. “Paradise, paradise.”

She smiles.

“I want to see it with you.”

#

Gaeul and you are stuck to each other like glue. God put this glue on you from the very beginning. Gaeul was born seventeen days after you, in the same hospital, and grew up in the same street, in the same town as you. You’d always meet her at the playground and from wordlessly playing with her in the sand to fighting and hating her, you felt every emotion towards her every day for all those long kindergarten days. 

In school, it was more or less the same. Other people were always interesting for Gaeul, but she kept them at a distance, unlike you, who she never ignored or turned down. You were a bit more difficult back then, frankly, the teasing from the other boys about her was annoying, but you got over it the day you found out she liked the same songs.

“Seventeen?” she chirped when you mentioned their debut track. “You like Seventeen?”

“Well, yes. This song sounds very… nice,” you whispered, phone in hand, eyes on the pavement.

“Do you know all their names?”

“Ha, no way! There is like so many of them.”

Gaeul grins and grabs your hand. Triumphantly, she announces: “I know all of them, all thirteen! I guess I’m smarter than you!”

“Pah, I-I was born seventeen days before you. I’m older and I’m smarter!”

“No~”

The bickering made you bond, while the fantastic songs of Seventeen drowned out all foreign criticism. You found more and more things to like and dislike about each other, which made every day spent together worth it. Be it playing games together, preparing food (let’s be honest, you mostly just tried mixing random ingredients and had her mom save it in the end) or just chilling on the couch—it never got boring.

It was about a year ago when you noticed that she had these long phases where she just did nothing. Her small body was positioned on the couch, always the same way on the same spot, and then she would look into nothingness. You wanted to tease her for it, for being a daydreamer, someone who spaces out and drools while doing it, yet you stopped.

She is so pretty.

You admired her. There was no drool, no dumb, mindless dreaminess in her eyes. She was in her own world, thinking of something so incredible, it made her beam with life. Her eyes were like orbs, set ablaze by golden light. Movies could never get her attention and admiration for this long—movies could never get your attention and admiration for this long. You were the one staring, you were the one drooling over how everything about her is just so flawless—you still do.

This was the day you noticed you liked her. 

Seventeen days later came the day she asked about paradise.

That was the day she stole your heart.

…

Today is the day a cruel devil came to smash it into pieces.

Being friends with Gaeul for almost twenty years, it is only natural that her parents would inform you as soon as possible. You dropped your phone as the words left the speaker, it’s smashing on the floor goes unnoticed by you. Seconds later, you’re already on the street, on the run, straight to her parents’ house. You didn’t need to ring, her father wordlessly held the door open and pointed to her room. 

She sits on her bed, her lower body tugged in a blanket, her back against the wall, her eyes… shut. You look at her mother, a mess of tears and snot; it’s not yet on her face but the moment she looks at you it, the dams break. Her knees unstable, she walks out of the room into her husband's arms. 

“Gaeul, I—”

You look at her again. Her eyes are open, focused on the opposing wall, the sparkle of life, wonder, joy still strong, but it’s slowly getting drowned in this puddle of tears that glisten in them, a stain on her that you can’t bear to see. So you kneel down, reach for her hand and watch her leave whatever world she tried to escape into.

“Gaeul, I-I’m sorry,” you stammer out, your hands the ones shivering more, though you’d love to think that you’re strong and she is the one folding. 

“It’s not your fault, dumbo,” she semi-laughs, semi-sighs. Then she rasps: “Nothing you can do about it.”

“I-I know… and I hate it.”

Silence. You look at her chest, slowly heaving up and down in a rhythmic cycle, gently increasing when you squeeze her hand and she looks down on it. Gaeul cracks a small smile, a smile so full of pain, every second you look at it is sending daggers to your chest. 

Rage is building up inside you. Feel it creep up every limb, every toe, every finger, up to your head where you imagine the cruelest things you could do to the devil or deity who let this happen, no, who made this happen. They are a devil, and you will go down into the depths of hell to make them suffer for eternity. 

How could they do this to her? What did she do? She doesn’t deserve this! 

And you don’t deserve this either. What did you do, to see pain and horror like this? What did you do to hold a warm hand soon to be cold? What did you do, to see the love of your life become nothing but ash and dust, buried somewhere in the ground, forgotten in two generations, a life too short, too cruel to even call it that?

I’ll—

“Do you remember,” Gaeul suddenly asks, her voice soft and calming, like the wonderful, nostalgic wife you never had, you never will have. “The day I asked you about paradise?”

“Of course I do!” you blurt out, voice a bit hoarse. You could never forget the day you fell in love with her.

“You said that people can find paradise here on earth,” Gaeul starts. “I know I should probably go look for it myself but… can you go with me and show me paradise?”

The tears she held back in her eyes must have found their way to yours. Your vision is all blurry, your voice barely registers, but you are certain she hears you and knows what you're saying. You would never let her down, and in this moment, no feeling could be stronger.

“Of course, Gaeul. A-anything for you.”

#

You have only heard of cancer from these dramatic movies that people watch and then cry. Maybe somewhere in the news or a documentary, but then it was usually older people, not young and youthful spirits—those who don't think that a tragedy is right around the corner, waiting to rip apart their bodies, souls but first of all, their dreams.

Gaeul’s condition got worse rapidly. For the first two weeks, Gaeul’s mom would call you every other night because something seemed to be up. She was throwing up, had a high fever, the doctor was late, she didn’t respond—some of them were clearly only in the head of Gaeul’s mother who started to smoke again, the butts of cigarettes soon littering the tiled kitchen floor.

You’re not at all better though. Every time the phone rang, you ran over to her; throughout all other seconds of the day, you were frozen in place. Like a puppet, you sat on your bed, blankly staring at the wall and into nothing. Your body is perfectly fine, nothing hurts or is out of place yet everything feels agonizing in its meaninglessness. 

You can’t even light up this tiny, simmering flame you always see in Gaeul’s eyes when you enter her room. It has not faded, no tears, no vomit, no painful breaths, nothing has put it out. It’s remarkable, beautiful, it’s the only thing that rids you of your agony for a moment. 

When she was just a girl, Gaeul expected the world to tell her everything, to the minutest of details to the broadest of concepts. She sucked it all up like a sponge and let the mechanisms in her small, pretty head work with it for hours. Now it’s about to fly away from her reach in a cruel race where the world might only be jogging, but Gaeul legs are literally withering away under her tiny weight.

Yet you see the dreams in her eyes. She will not relent until she has—

Paradise.

Not even past the door frame, you drop the backpack to the ground. Gaeul jumps a bit and smiles at you in confusion. Your expression must be bewildering, funny, but she has no idea with what conviction your heart is finally urging your stupid brain to get going.

“Hey, what’s up? You alright?” she asks.

“Gaeul.” You reach for her hand, down on your knees to be level with the small, bedridden girl. “I’m going to look for it.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“I will look for it and find it! A-and then, I’m going to take you there, I promise!”

Gaeul looks at you funny, her free hand pushing away your torso in a playful gesture. A coughing fit interrupts her initial chuckle. “You’re playing around, talking weird stuff. But it’s funny.”

“No, I mean it—

“Paradise, Gaeul, I’m going to look for it—and I will find it for you.”

“Really?”

Really?

#

Early in the morning, the sky is still more dark, navy blue than anything else, you stuff whatever you might need into your backpack. Long forgotten and unnecessary are those school books and pens; you’ve not lost a thought about that in weeks. Frantically, you replace them with snacks, some water bottles, a map, a book, a phone, a towel, a shovel and a pocket knife. No dehydration, no getting lost, no boredom will prevent you from undertaking a journey to—

Where to, you wonder. The compass on your phone points in directions, probably the right ones, but it’s meaningless, useless. The correct route to paradise has to come from your heart. Your heart has already embedded its needle in the magnetic field that is Gaeul, now all you need to do is feel in which direction it points. 

On the calm streets of this town you walk, along pretty houses which were always the start to all of yours and Gaeul’s games and adventures. It never ended here however. The two of you were always drawn to what's beyond the tarmac, the stones, the plastic. It all changes, quickly blurs to a mix of brown and green, every color in between, on this spectrum. On the soft soil of the forest underneath your feet, mixed with crunchy leaves and crunchier twigs, your adventure continues.

You might be closer, but this is definitely not yet paradise. Beautiful, but you can find it elsewhere equally as beautiful. Without second thoughts, you march on, deeper into the woods towards the pull. Gaeul’s magnetic field has this tendency to swirl off the main road. Suddenly, you find yourself in between thick bushes and young trees that make walking through them quite challenging. 

Some plants wrap themselves around you like vines trying to hold you back. Slash them with the knife, bite into an apple and don’t stop for nothing. Soon, you find parts of the forest completely unbeknownst to you. The green looks darker, sunlight is a bit sparse and more animals run through your field of view. Bird, mice, dear, they all seem to look at you and when you hush and look back, it’s—

Peaceful. A piece of heaven, of paradise?

Though this spot may fill you with wonder and calm your heart, it's not yet paradise. It's all fleeting; the animals jump at your first motion, all it takes is a single cloud blocking the sun and its soft, faint rays are gone as well. You have to move onwards, past the mushrooms and moss, the deepest you have ever been in this forest.

Thousands of steps later, the dryness in your throat and the hole in your stomach force you to take a break. In midst all the tall, blooming trees you find a patch of grass, a glade, untouched by man. A perfect resting spot for the wild life, unbothered, untouched beauty. You feel a bit out of place, but you won't deny that it's a privilege to just sit down and take a breather.

You quickly down sandwiches and the water, realizing that both are not enough to quench your hunger and thirst. The sun is barely visible from here—how long has your adventure lasted until now? At some point you need to turn around, find your way back; thank God for phones and Google Maps, otherwise you'd be lost forever.

Amongst all of nature's sounds, you suddenly hear the splattering of water, probably in a small creek nearby. You grab your things and move closer to the source. The splattering gets louder and louder, oh, what you would give for the water to be clean and drinkable. 

Uneven terrain and bushes block your way, but you can see the sun bursting through small gaps in between branches. You find an angle, with less thorns and stinging nettles and cut your way through it. Feel your heart throb in excitement, even when nature tries to resist you. There is something behind this, and now you are free to—

Close your eyes, because this cannot be real.

A picture before you, beautiful drawn, everything perfectly decorated, yet it cannot explain the stunningness of the sight before you. A wide open cliff gives you a perfect view of the entire forest and the lake in its middle. To your left, the outskirts of the city, only a couple of streets with both a school and hospital in sight. To your right a miniscule waterfall, fueled by the aforementioned creek. Everything is overstimulating, yet absolutely coherent in both its vibrantness and peacefulness. 

Best of all, above a small rock overhang along this cliff, a pair of butterflies seem to happily dance around each other, blissfully unaware of the steep fall below them. No, they just love each other. Both swing their colorful wings to their own rhythm, not caring if someone sees, not allowing anyone to disturb them. 

You carefully step towards their overhang, take a look down and see that it might be a dangerous fall, but you don’t feel any danger in this place. It is cozy, relaxing and quiet. There is nothing to fear, not even boredom. There is unlimited adventure and excitement amongst these gigantic trees, they embrace you with their twigs and tuck you in with their leaves. You can stay here for eternity, in fact you almost want to.

But not without Gaeul.

“I think I found it,” you’ll tell her. “I think I found paradise.”

#

“Gaeul is in the hospital.”

Your mothers first words when you return from your trip. The strain on your muscles, your back, your hands; they fade into the background the moment you realize what might be happening.

“What, why?”

“Her health has been… rapidly declining the last two days,” your mother says and urges you to sit down. You do not. “At some point, I could hear her scream from across the street, she… she has to be in so much pain.”

“A-and then?” You can barely stand standing around and not being by her side.

“They came like two hours ago, took her to the lake-side hospital. Her mother is—”

“I’m going there,” you say, drop your backpack and turn on your heels. Your mother sighs, deeper than ever. There is tears and misery in her eyes.

“I… don’t want you to go. You shouldn’t see this.”

“Mum, I will go. Why would you stop me? I need to be there; I can’t leave her now!”

Your mother stands up. You watch her reach for a cup of tea and drink the entire thing. Maybe it wasn’t tea. Maybe she needed some strength right now. This strong woman has never looked so vulnerable to you. She reaches for your hand.

“Okay… I’ll drive you.”

#

“You came,” Gaeul whispers, her voice hoarse, her eyes puffy, her skin pale. Well, she has always been quite the pale girl, but now her skin is rivaling snow in terms of whiteness. You push away a doctor and a relative or two and reach for one of Gaeul’s fragile hands.

“Of course I did. I’m never not there.” You smile.

“There you go, saying silly things again.” Gaeul smiles.

This is where you lose yourself in her eyes, those deep brown marbles, like bitter yet sweet chocolate—fitting to the overall mood in this hospital room. While you continue to stare into Gaeul’s dreams, the people around you go through all those stages of grief in front of the doctors, their powerless deities. Denial in her fathers voice, anger in the way her mother grabs her brother, they are bargaining, well onto their way into depression.

But Gaeul is still right there. She is still breathing. She is still breathing, even after they all leave the room. You stay by her side, long after midnight and most of the time, you just listen to her breath. Weak and shallow, but enough to keep her going. Then it starts to rain.

“Did we play in the rain back then?” you ask, looking out through the window into the dark clouds and the impending torrential downpour. 

“Once or twice for sure,” Gaeul responds. You feel her eyes in your neck. “We should have done it more often.”

“Yeah, but only when the rain is warm.” Caress her knuckles. Gaeul sighs.

“Then I could have seen paradise in the rain.”

Feel a rush of excitement run down your spine when you turn to her.

“Gaeul, I think I found it. I found paradise! It’s not far from here. Let’s go there tomorrow or the day after—”

“Y-you did?” Gaeul suddenly squeezes your wrist tightly. “Where is it?” 

“Near the lake, secluded in the forest. It’s beautiful—I’ll show it to you.”

“C-can we go now… please?”

Your eyes widen, your breath quickens. Someone has a belt wrapped around your chest and gradually tightens it. It’s as if there is poison in the air draining your life. This can’t get to you—no, it cannot be true. All the dreadful thoughts, you push them to the side, though they sink into your heart like the pointiest of knives. In your turmoil, you forget to answer.

Gaeul props herself up and stretches her arms out.

“Take me there, please.

“I want to see it tonight.”

No matter how much your heart bleeds, you find a way to work. For your best friend, the childhood love, the—current love. You easily pick up the thin girl and she finds the strength to secure herself on your back. She is light and heartbreakingly weak. Everything falls on you now.

“I don’t know if I’m strong enough,” you hiss when you piggyback carry the girl out of the room and quietly sneak her out through the fire exit. “But I’ll try my best to be your hero, Gaeul.”

“Don’t be some hero from your book,” Gaeul whispers, her lips right on your earlobe. “Just be you, that’s cool enough already.”

The rain is worse than you expected. Thick droplets a plenty make all colors of the quite illuminated town blurr. You just know you have to run away from them, towards the forest. There the roof of leaves will protect you from getting more soaked—which is not possible. After only a hundred meters, both you and Gaeul are two human sponges, drenched in heavenly water.

“It’s warmer than I thought,” Gaeul croaks as you sprint down the final street where the trees finally start. “Let’s play in this rain.”

“S-sure,” you grunt through gritted teeth, your exhausted legs barely keeping you upright. At the first tree, you take a breather. “But let’s get to paradise first.”

“How long is it?”

“About a kilometer. Can you hold my phone?” 

Gaeul grabs it, the faint light showing a messy hill with a hundred reasons to doubt that you can carry her up there. Worriedly, Gaeul clings onto you stronger than before. 

“Isn’t this too steep?”

You smile and adjust Gaeul, the friend on your back and take away all of her doubts by marching onwards, into the mud. Soon your legs are all covered in the heavy mixture of dirt, leaves, twigs, a couple of bugs, some plastic—it’s almost impossible to lift your legs over the taller roots breaching through the ground.

“Sorry that you have to carry me,” Gaeul murmurs, her face sunken into your back. The wind whips above the trees, their tips shake and you get showered in pine needles. You pause for a second, then laugh.

“Look at this mess! Mother nature is really playing with us tonight.”

“I-I’m sorry, I can’t—”

You pull a couple of needles out of Gaeul’s short, muddy, messy hair. In the faint light of your phones’ lamp. She looks like a ghost with barely lit eyes. God, it hurts to see her like this… but you will never deny that she isn’t drop dead gorgeous. The flame in her eyes hasn’t faded yet either. No matter how much fucking water the clouds above you pour down, they burn and they burn into your heart.

“Gaeul,” you say with confidence and unbridled determination as you take the first step on your final surge up to paradise. “Don’t be sorry. Don’t be sad. We are almost there. Hold onto my shoulders and you’ll be fine.”

Gaeul quietly sniffles into your thoroughly wet t-shirt, only a few tears, yet each of them is like a waterfall and adds to the weight of the most water you have ever seen in your life. Not even the oceans can compare to whatever mother nature has decided to unleash onto this area. If this is what it takes to get Gaeul to heaven, you will swim through it.

Again and again, until the end of time. And then you’ll still do it.

A bush brushing over your bodies, its evil thornes piercing your skin. You don’t feel it. Your hand shelters Gaeul, before pushing away the final branches of a familiar oak tree. There it is. Your heart skips a beat. You sink to your knees.

“Hey! Hey, are you okay?” Gaeul shouts, then she looks ahead. In this exact moment, a miracle: a lightning bolt in the distance, bright and wide, hits a far away field. Everything is illuminated, the ridiculous beauty of paradise visible in the middle of the night—for your best friend to see.

“What do you think?” you ask, out of breath and smiling brightly, brighter than the lightning. Gaeul has gotten off of your back and her weak legs carry her towards the overhang. The visual is impeccable, epic on so many levels, it’s like the grand finale to the universe:

Gaeul, the love of your life, looking at her paradise. It should be impossible, but she stands there. What might her face look like right now? You don’t need to see it to know. 

Suddenly, she turns back around and sinks down on the floor. You try to catch her. A second to late, all you can do is prop her back up, shake the collar of her hospital gown. Her eyes are barely open, her lips tremble. You hug her tightly, not caring about the mud below you.

“Gaeul… no!”

Lying underneath the stormy skies, the only thing holding her in this world are your arms underneath her. Gaeul stretches out her pointer towards the horizon.

“I know the sun will rise.”

Her voice is but a whisper in the downpour, quieter than even the waterfall of tears running down your face—but it’s powerful enough to pull a single, all illuminating beam of sunlight from the edge of the world. In a final, painful but infinitely freeing breath, Gaeul says it all:

“This could be… you could be… no—

“You are my paradise.”

“Gaeul, I love you!”

As if to say ‘I love you too’, she puts her cold lips on yours a final time and flies away, forever. You hold her forever, kiss her forever, love her forever while the strongest gusts of wind don’t feel like anything. Gaeul is in your arms, looking so alive with her closed eyes and peaceful smile; but it’s all not true.

You decide to fall 

faster than the rain drops, 

faster than the waterfall 

and then meet her; 

for she is your paradise.

#kpop angst #kpop fanfiction #ive angst #gaeul angst #ive gaeul angst #gaeul fanfiction #kim gaeul

[storydays]

Dad Beat Dad P2

(3rd POV)

*With the tour*

"So, once we have proof that redemption is possible, this whole hotel will be full of demons wanting to check out into Heaven. We just need a little more time to prove it." Charlie rambled to her father, "The sharing circles haven't been working as fast as I hoped..." 

" 'Ey, Boss? Can I have a word?" Husk whispered to Alastor. The Radio Demon watched as the tour continued, before turning to the cat demon with a raised eyebrow. "What is it?" He asked, turning the radio effect off on his voice. 

"You and I both know Mimzy only shows up when she needs somethin'." Husk's wings ruffled slightly showing his irritation. "That bitch is trouble, and who knows what kinda demon she fucked with to come running to you this time?"

"It's nothing I can't handle. Don't worry, Husker. Who in their right mind would cross me?" Alastor said smugly. "I mean...you've been gone a while and it's not like anybody knows why." Husk raised an eyebrow.  "They don't need to know. And don't worry your fuzzy little head about it." mocked Alastor as he rubbed one of Husk's ears. 

The cat demon shoved his hand away, and growled, "You may own my soul, but I ain't your fucking pet!"  "Hmhm! But you are! Haha!" Alastor giggled, walking away. 

"Big talk for someone who's also on a leash/" muttered the bartender.  Static filled the hallway as the lights flickered, Alastor stopping in his walk before side eyeing Husk. "Aha, what did you say?" he demanded, eyes now radio dials. 

"Oh, fuck!" groaned Husk as a green chain formed around his neck before pulling him to the ground. "Nothing, I um--" Alastor pulled on the chain, making the cat choke. "If you ever say that again," the deer started, playing with the chain in his hands, "I will tear your soul apart and broadcast your screams," He briefly grew to a bigger size, towering over Husk, "For every other disrespectful wretch who dares to question me."

"Understood." Husk muttered, trembling in fear. "Lovely. Good talk, my good man. Always nice to catch up." Alastor chuckled, jaunty music playing. 

*Back with the tour again*

"And we've almost been able to find all of Angel's drug stashes." Vaggie looked to the side as she added, "Almost." The three had now made their way to one of the balconies, to talk more privately. Vaggie leaned against the railing as Charlie took over. 

"Soo, once that's out of the way, it should be much smoother sailing." Charlie chimed in. "Well, that certainly is, uh...is-is something." Lucifer commented. 

"So..What do you think?" the princess asked hopefully. "About what?" The king asked lazily.

"The hotel." Charlie replied, slightly desperate. 

"Oh yes, it does....it does look much better now, doesn't it?" Lucifer sweatdropped nervously, looking for an excuse, before messing with the railing in front of him. "Ya know, but I'm thinking this railing needs work, one good push and you'd just go right over the edge. Whoopie, bye-bye." 

Charlie blinked at her father's weirdness. "What? No, no, the plan, Dad!" 

The princess was so frustrated, she didn't seen the forlorn look on her father's face. "What do you think about using the hotel to help sinners?" she asked. 

"Ahh..." he sighed before turning to look Charlie in the face. "Alright, I mean, look, I love that you want to see the best in people, but these sinners..." He made a face, "You know, they're just the worst. I-I don't know how much you can realistically expect from them in Heaven. Hohoo boy, Heaven is not exactly carefree as you might think." The king draped himself over the railing at the thought of his old home, before standing straight. 

"Yeah, they have rules. Lots of rules. And they aren't very open minded as you'd hope." 

Vaggie looked away, as Charlie tried again, "These are our people, Dad. I...I have to try." 

" 'Our people, Charlie, are awful! They got gifted free will and look what they did with it! Everything's terrible." exclaimed Lucifer, gesturing towards the city. "I just don't want you to put yourself on the line for people like---"

A loud thud shook the hotel, making the three grip onto the railings.  "Geez! What now?" Vaggie groaned. "Well, like that." Lucifer gestured to the shark demon gang outside the hotel, holding a battering ram.

"Mimzy! We know you're in there you lousy bitch." 

*In the main foyer*

"Oh shit." whimpered Mimzy, ignoring the looks (Y/N) and Angel sent her. Lucifer opened a portal, allowing him and the women to run down quickly. 

"Que carajo?!" cursed Vaggie, the royals running out of the portal after her. "What's going on?" Charlie questioned.

"I maaaaaaay be in trouble with some loan shark's, I may or may not have borrowed fifty grand from--eep!" The flapped squeaked and hid behind the bar, before peeking out and flinching at the looks she was getting. "You better come out!" called one of the sharks. 

"And I may have also stolen a car..and crashed it...into the loan shark's girlfriend. But that bitch had it coming!" She growled, just as fireballs were thrown into the hotel breaking the windows, much to Niffty's horror. 

"My windows!" she shrieked.  "Ah! We're under seige! Ah! Take cover!" cried Pentious. "Look out!" Vaggie cried, dodging another. "What the fuck?!" Angel yelled, picking Niffty up from being hit. 

(Y/N) growled and used his wings fly up to the windows before using his magic to close the them before grunting when a spear was thrown at him, slicing his cheek. "Fuck!" He hissed before flying outside, hands glowing with magic. "That was a lucky shot, bitch! Now I'm going to fuck you up!" He laughed manically.

Charlie looked at her father as he smirked, "Ya see, this is exaaaactly what I'm talking about Charlie. You build something nice, you invite people in and offer them everything, and they just bring violence and chaos to your doorstep. It doesn't matter how well intentioned  you are, they're always going to disappoint you." 

Niffty giggled as she scooped up glass before being picked up by Pentious, "Niffty, come along!" "All of you, get a safe distance!" Vaggie called, angelic spear in her hand.  "I'll take care of this." she raised her spear, ready to join the manically laughing prince. 

"No, my dear, leave it to me. It's time I remind everyone why I am here." Alastor grinned, radio dials for eyes and a dangerous tone in his voice. 

"Oh, finally! Took ya long enought!" Mimzy snapped from behind the bar. "A reminder to all," Alastor called, the hotel glowing green, as tentacles came out from his back. "Not to mess with the Radio Demon!" his evil laugh echoed in the air as he climbed out of the hotel in his demon form.

His tentacles started to kill the shark demons, making (Y/N) grin. "Yes! Let's fuck shit up, Alastor!" He cackled, drawing his angelic sword before flying down to continue his attack. "I will devour each and every one of you!" Alastor exclaimed, gladly catching and eating a demon that the prince had thrown his way. 

*Back with Charlie*

"Mhm, ya see?" Lucifer hummed, wincing at his son's sadistic side. "What I tell ya? Charlie, sinners are violent psychopaths, hell bent on causing as much pain and destruction as they can. There's really no point in trying." he chuckled before the princess snapped. 

"Dad, stop! They're defending this hotel! It may be a little more.....sadistic than I'd hope." Charlie cringed at the two demon's actions. "But they're doing it for me! How come they can have faith in me, but my own father can't?" She sobbed, making Lucifer look down. 

"Ooh, drama." Angel grinned, taking some popcorn from behind the table, Husk taking some as well.

*Outside*

"Oh, I missed getting to let off steam." Alastor shrunk to his normal size, smiling as (Y/N) landed next to him, putting his sword away, and snapped his fingers and he was all cleaned up,and the cut on his cheek as now healed. "Huh, we'll have to team up more often, Alastor." "Indeed, prince (Y/N)."

(Y/N)'s smile dropped as Mimzy came out. "Oh Alastor! Princey! What a fantastic show! Bravo!" Mimzy clapped her hands, posing. "Thanks for helpin' lil' old me outta a tough spit, you're always such a pal." She flinched as rumble fell nearby. 

"Oops." She shrugged, as (Y/N) crossed his arms, glare on his face. "Heheheh, sorry about the mess. But I'm sure the lil' bug can take care of it for ya." "I think you should go Mimzy. Now." Alastor demanded. 

"Oh, pfft, Alastor, you're such a kidder you! Haha, you are so funny. " laughed the flapper demoness.

"I mean it. You deliberately brought danger to this place just to have me clean up your mess." The deer glared at Mimzy, "I can't have that here."

"But you love takin' care a' me! What? You don't actually give a shit about this tacky place, do ya? Come on. I know you. You heartless son of a bitch." Mimzy giggled, poking Alastor's chest. 

"Okay, I had enough." (Y/N) interrupted, hands on his hips, "You can stay here if you want to actually try and redeem yourself, but we can all see that's not you aren't willing to change your ways, so get out of here." The prince stood at his full height, glaring down at the demoness. 

Mimzy looked curiously at Alastor, waiting for him to deny what the prince was saying. 

Alastor merely blinked. "Fine! Who needs ya? Have fun with ya lil' royals and ya lil' hotel. See if I care." Mimzy flicked the men off before leaving. 

"Ugh, finally. Thought that bitch would never leave." (Y/N) rolled his eyes before turning to walk over to the damaged hotel entrance, watching his father and sister with a thoughtful look. 

"This is getting really good." Angel smirked, as he and Husk continued to smack on popcorn, Pentious rolling his eyes at the two.

"Dad..just..help me." pleaded Charlie. 

"I...I can't." the king replied, facing away from her. 

"Why can't you?" pressed the blond princess.

(Y/N) smiled softly from where he and Vaggie were standing near the door as his father and sister finally talked about their feelings.

"Okay," Lucifer relented, "I can get you the meeting, but once you're in Heaven, I won't be able to go with you. Will you be okay?" He asked, looking into Charlie's eyes, waiting for her to answer. "I'll be fine." She promised. 

"That's my girl."

Lucifer held a hand out for (Y/N) to come and join them. The prince took his hand and smiled when the King cupped his son's cheek, looking at Angel briefly before turning to his son's mismatched eyes. 

"Eisai eftychismenos gie mou (Are you happy, son?)"  He asked. "Eimai, bampa. Me kanei...pio dynato. (I am, Dad. He makes me...stronger.) Ton agapo. (I love him.)" (Y/N) replied softly, pushing against his father's hand,just like he did when he was a little boy. Lucifer's eyes widen slightly before he smiled softly, "Kalos. (Good)." 

He took a step back, smiling proudly at his children. "Good luck, kiddos." With that, he teleported away. 

(Y/N) wiped a tear away, smiling up at Angel Dust as he came over and pulled the prince into his side, with a soft smile.

"This next part is going to be scary..." Vaggie sighed, rubbing a hand over her neck as she approached Charlie. "Are you ready?" 

"I am ready." Charlie pulled her girlfriend into a hug. " 'Cause you and (Y/N) will be with me." "In spirit, right?" Vaggie asked, still hugging the princess. 

"In Heaven." confirmed Charlie confidently.  "Yay!" Vaggie replied dryly.

*With (Y/N)*

The prince and the spider were hanging on (Y/N)'s balcony, each sitting in their respective spots, (Y/N) playing with his magic in his hands. 

*Timeskip*

The couple was sitting on top of one of the highest buildings in Pride ring, holding each other as they watched the lights below. "Mia cara...." (Y/N) started, fidgeting slightly with Angel's fingers. Angel hummed in acknowledgment, running a hand through (Y/N)'s hair. 

"We've been together for a while, a-and w-well, I um..uhh..." Angel looked down at the prince questioningly as he stuttered. 

"It's okay, amore. Take ya time." He soothed, (Y/N) sighing softly before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a tiny box.

Angel looked at the box in confusion. "Bambino..." 

"I-I know it's too early to get married, but this love that we share, I haven't felt since Archer," (Y/N) continued to play with the spider's fingers, ignoring Angel's soft gasp at the mention of his last lover. 

"This is a engagement ring, and I will wait for you. And I want to protect you, and keep you smiling because you are such a beautiful soul who deserves everything and I--" Angel pressed a kiss to the rambling prince's lips. "I will happily marry you." He whispered, holding (Y/N) close as their foreheads pressed together. "Whenever you are ready, amore mio." Angel chuckled to himself at the flustered look on (Y/N)'s face, before kissing the blond demon, turning it into a heavy make out session.

"Angel..." moaned (Y/N), gripping onto the spider's shoulders. "Mm, let's go to your room, and let me make those wings flap." Angel giggled.

*End!*

Tbh, I'm not too sure about this chapter, might do a rewrite. Let me know your thoughts!

#storydays #hazbin hotel alastor #hazbin hotel charlie #hazbin hotel husk #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel lucifer #x male reader #hazbin angel dust #viziepop #hazbin hotel fandom

[violet-fluff]

💙 Post War! Levi x Baker! Reader

Love in the Oven

Levi lives a quiet life in Marley after the War of Heaven and Earth ended almost three years ago. The old Survey Corp group and those who helped them during the war are now peace ambassadors and are setting sail back to Paradis Island to give peace talks. Levi was invited to go but he’s still tired.

Tired mentally and physically.

He would rather stay behind than go argue with Jaegerists who have no interest in changing their beliefs.

Besides, he couldn’t leave behind the three people he cares about the most. You, Gabi and Falco.

After the war ended, Gabi and Falco were already so close with Levi that they decided to move in with him to stay together and to help care for him since he is still learning how to work around his injuries. But man, sometimes Levi can sure use a break from these two rowdy brats.

“Wow, Miss y/n! These are even better than last time!” Gabi says as she stuffs a blueberry muffin in her mouth.

Falco stresses as usual as he watches her eat like a rabid animal. “Gabi! You’re going to choke!”

Levi sighs as he watches the two start to bicker again, but you quietly laugh as you put out the fire in the oven and hang your apron.

You own a bakery here in Marley, and you met the trio when they came in looking for shelter from the rain some months ago. The four of you have been inseparable since.

“Here,” Levi places a bag of coins on the table in front of Gabi and Falco, “Why don’t you two go to the market and get food for dinner.”

Gabi smirks. “If you want alone time with Miss y/n, you could just say so.”

Falco sighs and grabs the bag of coins. “We’ll meet back here later.”

As the two are walking out the door, Gabi turns around and wiggles her brows. “Don’t get too crazy, lovebirds.”

“Gabi!” Falco yells and drags her out the door.

Levi sighs and rubs his head. Gabi wasn’t wrong when she called you and Levi lovebirds. There has been romantic tension for a long while now, but neither of you have yet to make a confession.

“Should we go crazy, Levi?” You joke as you place a warm cup of tea in front of him.

Levi rolls his eyes. “Don’t encourage her.”

You sit across from Levi and stare at him while he stirs his tea. The scar across his face and blind eye scrunches when he blinks, and he stretches out the three remaining fingers on his injured hand. Despite his injured flaws, you find him greatly attractive.

“You’re staring again.” He tells you without looking up.

You smile softly. “I can’t admire you?”

“Tch,” He scoffs while taking a small sip of tea, “Admire what? There’s nothing to admire.”

“That’s not true. You are very handsome.” You argue back with a frown.

After a few seconds, Levi sighs and looks at you. “You deserve someone better.”

“What do you mean by that?” You asked in shock.

Levi is getting frustrated now as he is insecure about himself. “Look at me, y/n. I have to use a wheelchair most days, and still need a cane on the others. I can’t see out of one eye and my face is disfigured. Two teenagers help take care of me…a grown man. I’m not good with my feelings and I still have nightmares from war. Want me to continue the list?”

You look at him sadly since it makes you upset with how little Levi sees himself. “Don’t see yourself as less of a man, Levi. None of that matters to me. I will help you through it and stay by your side.”

Levi hits the arm of his wheelchair in frustration, and it makes you jump a bit. His head falls slightly forward, and you see a tear fall down his face. “I don’t deserve you.”

Tears fall out of your own eyes as you see Levi cry. You get up and kneel in front of him and lift his face to look at you. “You deserve love, Levi. I want to give you that love. I don’t care if you need a wheelchair or can’t see out of one eye. I fell in love with YOU. I love how caring you are even though you try not to show it. I love how determined you are to keep going forward. Gabi and Falco don’t only take care of you, but you also take care of them even though you might not notice it. You have your own way of showing your feelings. Like how you brought me soup everyday while I was sick.”

You grab his hands and hold them tight. “I love you, Levi. You’re one of the toughest and most loving men I have ever met.”

Levi stares at you in shock, not knowing how to respond. “I’ve never been in a relationship before. I don’t even know how it works.”

You hum in thought. “Well… a relationship will always be a learning experience anyway. No matter if you’ve been in zero or ten. If you allow me to be by your side, I can learn along with you as well.”

Levi gently cups your face. “Be with me.”

“That’s what I’ve wanted this whole time.” You say softly.

“Finally!! ….OW!” A yell comes from behind the front door.

You laugh as Levi once again rubs his head in annoyance.

#levi ackerman #levi attack on titan #anime #attack on titan #levi x reader #fanfic #captain levi #levi aot #gabi braun #falco grice

[eslypyiris]

Hazbin Gods AU (Chapter 1)

Four hours.

Four hours in a rented gym that "still smells like shocks and chilhood trauma" as Vaggie said, and what did we get?

Nothing but boredom.

I could see from the corner of my eye how Dazzle fell asleep on Fazzle's back while Fazzle looked like he wanted to cry.

"Ok! Thank you, we'll call you!" Vaggie said to the last person we were auditioning.

Everthing went silence as the man left the gym.

"Charlie?" Vaggie called me.

"Yes?"

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"Yes! Why are you asking?" I said, trying to sound as happy as always.

She didn't believe my act, but didn't insist either.

Instead, she changed the topic.

"I'm taking this two on a walk, Ok?"

Vaggie whistle, calling Dazzle and Fazzle's attention.

Both of them ran towards her and looked at her as if they were asking for a treat.

Vaggie peted their heads and then put the leashes on their collars.

"Oh, sure! This two have been here for hours, poor things..."

Vaggie stopped me.

"No, you are staying here."

"What?! Why?" I asked her.

"Because you haven't slept since yesterday and I'm worried about you."

I sighed and rubed my eyes. Only then I realized how true Vaggie's words were.

"You are right... I should rest a little bit."

She kissed one of my cheeks.

"It won't take us long." Vaggie added before heading to the front door.

"Try to not get them too dirty when they play with other dogs." I joked, knowing how dirty Dazzle and Fazzle always get.

"Don't worry, I will bring them back as clean as heaven." She laughted.

When she left, I looked back at the stage.

A single light was lighting up the microphone. Insecurity was rising up my chest, making me feel like every decision I had made so far were the wrong ones.

Since I was a child, music has always been my passion. One of my fondest memories was when mom and I used to go to the roof and sang our worries to the wind.

Sometimes people looked at us as if we were weirdos, but they couldn't take our smiles from us.

Now I'm an adult, and my passion for music never disappeared. That's why I'm here now, trying to make a band.

Usually, people play safe. I could have become an hotel manager or a psychologist, but that wasn't what I wanted. I choosed to follow my dreams, to do what I love... and that wasn't safe.

I'm afraid to fail and end up homeless with all my dreams shattered.

"Like a boat lost at sea/with no sails not a breeze/ I am drifting cold waters/ no star to be seen..." I started singing.

Soon my entire voice began to fill the gym as I was completely immersed in my own song.

"You sound conflicted." A familiar voice said out of nowhere.

I couldn't belive it.

"Mom! What are you doing here? When did you arrive?" I yelled out of suprise.

"I had some business to attend and decided to pass by to say hi. Now, could you tell me what's wrong?"

I hesitated.

"It's nothing important, I'm just... "

"Scared of the future?" She spoke like she just read my mind.

Silence.

Mom walked to the stage and she stood in front of the microphone.

"I know this isn't much, but I hope that at least it makes you feel a little bit better." She said before she stared singing.

Lilith: With a fire furious, I have burned my tongue/Grief from all the promises, too many dreams unsung/All the steps I didn't take, and paths proved untrue/Is there any path through?

I was never able to figure out how Mom was able to made music start playing out of nowhere. At some point, I just stopped asking her and decided to just live with it.

Without even realizing it, I joined mom's song.

Charlie: Like a boat, lost at sea.

Lilith: Though I'm about to wreck

Charlie: with no sails, not a breeze

Lilith:  you still have your life ahead of you

Charlie: I'm drifting, cold waters/No star to be seen...

Lilith: All things that lose their way can find it again/There is no inertia in the ocean...

She went silence, allowing me to do a solo.

Charlie: Maybe if I lean upon my friends/Raise the alarm, I'll call for them/Do I have the heart to trust they'll keep me safe from harm?

And with that, the music stopped and our song ended.

She gave me a warm smile before leaving the stage.

"I once was in a similar situation like yours. Although, the circumstances were different." Mom spoke after a while.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

She shook her head, as if she wanted to erase some memories from her mind.

"Maybe one day I will tell you about it... But not now." That's what she answered.

Mom have always been strange, but that moment she was acting particularly strange.

Before I could ask anything, Vaggie came back from walking Dazzle and Fazzle.

Vaggie's eyes widened when she saw my mother.

"Hi, Mrs Morningstar" she greeted

"Hello, Vaggie. It's been a while." Mom greeted back.

"7 years. Good to see you are doing great." Vaggie said.

There was tension in the air.

"Yes, remind me to thank your parents for taking good care of my Charlotte" Mom told her.

There was a time where Vaggie and mom used to get along really well, in fact, Vaggie used to idolize mom. But now they can't stand eachother.

"I should go." mom spoke.

"Wait! Are we going to have dinner togheter? Like old times?" I didn't wanted her to go yet.

"I will see what I can do. I'm a busy woman after all." she joked.

Vaggie didn't liked the joke at all.

"Ok! Sure! Have a nice day!" I said goodbye trying to not sound heartbroken.

She left the gym without looking back.

After that, the day flew by and before I knew it, I was back at home with my whole body facing the couch. I could see a beautiful starry night from my window.

Dazzle and Fazzle were sleeping in my room and they didn't wanted to give me back my bed.

Vaggie went to MCDONALD'S to get us some dinner.

So, I was basically alone. Enjoying the silence and the stars.

Until someone knoked the door.

"Did you lose your Keys again, Vaggie?" I asked as I approached the door to open it.

A heavy body collided with mine and disoriented me for a moment.

After a few seconds I recognized a blonde woman that I had known all my life.

"WHAT?! MOM?!" She had a deep wound on the side of his stomach and was losing a lot of blood.

"Charlie... I'm sorry... I didn't wanted to do this to you..."

I was afraid and without any idea of what to do.

"Mom! What happened?! Who did this to you?!"

"Charlie... I don't have... a lot of time left..." She seemed to be making a great effort to speak.

It hurted me to see her so weak and helpless. I had never seen her like that before.

"Hold on, I'll call an ambulance!"

I tried to reach my phone, but It wasn't in my jacket. I panicked. This was the worst time in the world to lose a phone.

"Charlie... "

Mom putted one of his hands on my cheek.

"Mom..."

I was a crying at that point.

"I'm very proud of you... My beautiful little girl... I love you..." She said before losing all her strengths.

The hand she placed on my cheek hited the floor and her eyes gradually began to lose their spark.

"MOM!! NO NO NO NO!! MOM, WAKE UP! PLEASE, WAKE UP!" I yelled desperately as I held her body close to mine.

Then, something weird happened.

A sphere of golden light emerged from my mother's chest. It floated for a moment in the air before entering my body.

"What the...? What was that...?" I murmured confused and still unable to get out of the state of shock produced by my mother's sudden death.

Little did I know that that wasn't the only strange thing that would happen to me that night.

My life was about to change forever.

#hazbin hotel #stray gods #hazbin gods au #hazbin hotel au #hazbin lilith #hazbin vaggie #hazbin charlie #chaggie #charlie x vaggie #hazbin dazzle #hazbin fanart #hazbin fandom #hazbin fanfic

[ashleigghh]

Day 8: glitter- raising harry, 1004 words.

Harry James Potter was born at 5:14 am, the sun had been rising but the stars were still visible in the sky, and flowers were in full bloom. He was brought into the world crying, little sobs escaping his tiny face, but he was quickly comforted, he had four parents after all, and he was completely surrounded by love.

Harry had been blessed with two mothers and two fathers, all who would have moved heaven and hell just to see him smile. It wasn’t always smooth sailing, James and Mary would bicker about what Harry wore, if he was warm enough, what if he was too warm? Well, it isn’t like he’ll be able to tell us, leaning over Harry peering down as if trying to read his mind while he giggled and waved his hands around. 

Lily and James would whisper in hushed tones, snapping at each other while trying not to wake Harry, bickering about who would get up with him in the night, who would buy the next set of clothes, who would go out to buy more supplies, who was going to host dinner this week. 

Regulus would coddle Harry, and everyone would beg him to hand Harry over and stop hogging him, you’re going to make him think you’re his favourite, he shouldn’t have favourites.

They had been adamant from day one, making promises (mainly for Regulus’ benefit) that they would never, ever let Harry doubt the pure adoration they held for him, he would grow up so loved and so happy that he would brighten up the world. 

His first Christmas had been extravagant, all four had gone all out to provide him with the best, leading to a pile of presents taller than the tree and an absurd amount of days out, decked in one of his many many winter sets. They had agreed to coordinate more, and reel in their excessive spending.

That hadn't happened, and now, three years later, Lily and Regulus were walking Harry around a Christmas fair…the third one they had been to this month.

“Be careful Harry, don’t go too far!” Lily called after him, laughing as he tried to run, the place too packed and his winter gear wrapped so thick he couldn’t get very far. Regulus smiled softly, watching with wary joy as Harry enjoyed every second, yet still cautious of him getting hurt.

Harry gasped suddenly, turning to them with his mouth open wide in shock, eyes pleading before he even pointed out where he wanted to go. He used a mittened hand to push his glasses up his nose, the other pointing to what had caught his attention.

“Can we do it, can we, can we!” He yelled, running and attaching himself to Regulus’ leg, waiting for him to pick him up. He obliged, holding him tightly as he attempted to swing off of him to hold Lily as well. Lily grabbed him too, keeping him from trying to throw himself to the ground. 

“I want to make a card, please!” Harry wiggled in their grip, so excited his whole face was split wide open in a grin that looked identical to James’.

“Of course we can, do you want to go now or wait and have some food first,” Regulus asks, readjusting his grip so he can straighten Harry’s hat with one hand. Harry hums, scrunching up his face as he tries to decide, 

“Cards first, food later,” He answers seriously with a solemn nod as if he had made an extremely difficult decision, causing both Lily and Regulus to laugh gently, sending Harry into fits of pleased giggles as they walk over to the card-making booth. 

They’re greeted by a bored-looking teenager, whose gaze lingers on Lily like she’s an angel in front of them, looking at her in awe, leaving Regulus to clear his throat quietly to gain their attention. He pays them, trying not to make them feel embarrassed that he noticed. 

“Mum, come help me hide it from Papa, he can’t see until I finish his.” Harry grabs his mother’s hand, leaning far forward and dragging her over to a small table in the corner of the tent. Regulus hovers, back turned to Harry so he can be sure Regulus isn’t peeking. 

“Okay, I’m done!” Harry claps his hands together, causing Lily to laugh and groan at him to be careful, then there's a small tug on the bottom of Regulus' coat,

“Papa, you can look now,” Regulus turns and looks at the card Harry holds out proudly, it's wonderful, although he might be biased, it’s the most beautiful card he’s ever seen. 

“Wow, you made this?” Regulus teases, pinching Harry’s cheek playfully as he kneels to be on the same level, holding one half of the card so he can look over it with his son. “It’s perfect, how lucky am I to have the greatest artist in the world make me a card!” Harry giggles and it fills his heart with joy. 

The card is covered in a thick layer of glitter, glitter glue, glitter paint, glitter pen and loose glitter depicting what he assumes is all of them on Christmas morning.

“Thank you, Harry, I'm going to put it up as soon as we get home, I love it,” He kisses Harry’s forehead and bops him on the nose “and I love you.”

Harry reaches up, no doubt getting glitter all over Regulus’’ jacket as he wraps his arms around him, hugging him tightly in a way he clearly learnt from his mother. Regulus closes his eyes, taking in the moment silently before Harry’s little voice whispers in his ear

“Can you help me hide a card from Mum now?” Regulus laughs, getting up to block Lily’s view while Harry has the time of his life throwing every glittery product he can find on the card in front of him. Regulus is just glad Lily and Mary have Harry for the night and have to deal with the mess.

#christmas writing challenge #christmas #marauders era #marauders #jegulus #marylily #jegulus raising harry #marylily raising harry #regulus black #lily evans #harry potter

[moorishflower]

Oh my brain is running away with me, think about Pirate Hob first meeting siren Dream - think about how Dream wakes up and attacks and drags Hob into the sea, and Hob is already immortal, AND a pirate, so he has taken his time to learn how to dive, you know, he can hold his breath for a long time, and they grapple and fight and Dream rips his throat out and drags him into his cave to eat slowly, but Hob wakes up again and Dream is just. Confused? Delighted at a ressurecting meal? Something to keep? Or will he let Hob escape but visit every night at his ship, until Hob gets to finally catch him in his net?

Idk I just want to know how these two hook up

asdhgds okay so my rough timeline is:

1389: Hob Gadling challenges Death to a game of cards. He cheats OUTRAGEOUSLY, and Death is so charmed by this dumb bandit that she grants him immortality, though she calls it a curse, and not a blessing

1390: the Age of Discovery is in full swing, and instead of selling his sword arm to this Richard or that Henry, Hob takes to the sea instead, and for a time gets a reputation as being extremely lucky. Mortal wounds fail to kill him, no infection ever takes hold in him, and he's hale and hearty no matter how long he spends at sea

1399: Hob makes the mistake of staying on with one crew for too long, and he's marooned on a tiny island some 300 miles from Plymouth because the crew figure if he can't be stabbed and he can't be strangled then maybe just. leave him out to sea and maybe that'll do it?

1400 - 1650ish: Hob spends the next several centuries slowly courting the attentions of a weird sea creature that he falls outrageously and instantly in love with

It's been ten years since Hob Gadling challenged the pretty, dark-haired stranger in the tavern to a friendly game of cards. Ten years to the day, he thinks, though of a necessity, of recent, he hasn't been tracking the hours with quite as much accuracy as he has in the past. Ten years since he'd laid down a nine of Hounds that he'd secreted up his sleeve and confidently declared himself a winner. Ten years since the audacity of his cheating had made Death herself laugh until she grew hoarse from it.

This won't be a blessing to you, she'd said. Humans aren't meant for eternity. Their minds aren't wired for it. It does queer things to their souls.

He'd wanted it anyways. You say that someday, if I wait for it long enough, we'll sail the stars the same way we sail the sea, he'd said in response. I want to see that. I want to dip my hand into the heavens.

He'd accepted immortality with open arms, and damn the consequences, and Death had smiled at him, an odd little twist to her lips that Hob only now recognizes, with the gift of hindsight, as pity, and she'd patted him gently on the hand.

And now the consequences come to damn him right back.

It has been ten years since Hob cheated Death, and it has been three days since his crew marooned him on this sun-blasted ocean strand, and Hob feels quite strongly that, somewhere along the way, he has perhaps made a mistake. Lingered too long, perhaps. Grew too complacent. The immortality was never the problem, by his reckoning, only that he stayed in one place overlong, and assumed that old friendships would survive the revelation that Robert Gadling had ceased to age, the knowledge that the few lines of silver threaded at his temples were the only wealth that Time, the old bastard, would ever bestow upon him.

So now he lies upon the sand beneath the baking noonday sun, so close to England that he might spit upon it if he only had any liquid left in him, and yet so far away that it might as well be hung in the sky alongside the moon. He knows precisely where he is. He knows the shipping lanes exactly, and how none of them intersect with where he's been left. When night comes, he stares up into the sky and marks the position of Polaris with a breathless ache in his breast.

Only a hundred leagues from London, give or take, and he's finally going to learn if he dies of thirst like any other poor sinner.

The weaker he feels, the more tempting the ocean becomes. The glass blue expanse of it a drink that cannot pass his lips, the sultry, cool depths a balm to sunburned skin. If he crawled into the sea, he thinks it'd be a kinder end than baking himself to death on the sand like a beached whale.

The thought hooks into him, and does not let go. The sun crawls below the horizon, inch by inch, and when the last of its light bleeds away, and the stars peek their winking eyes beyond the shadowy skirts of night, the chill of the night air fills him with a new invigoration, and Hob pushes himself to standing.

He has been stabbed, and clubbed, and strangled in the past ten years, and it has all hurt, but none of it has stuck. Mortal wounds have miraculously healed. He never seems to run out of blood.

Drowning, he thinks, will be a new experience, and there is some part of that that cheers him. After all it, was new experiences that drove him to cheat Death.

Humming tunelessly to himself, Hob wobbles down to the edge of the water, and looks at it for a time, and shrugs.

He keeps walking.

He walks into the sea and lets it take him.

Surprisingly, he wakes up.

He wakes up to pain.

There is a deep and uncomfortable throbbing radiating from his inner thigh; all of him is cold and wet, so numb he can't even shiver, and his eyes are having trouble focusing. Or perhaps it's only that it's dark, a tenebrous pitch so thick it seems a texture, and spotted all throughout with hundreds of glittering stars.

Stars.

"Fuck," he says, and hears, somewhere in that darkness, somewhere close, a chittering, clicking noise like a startled animal, and the pain at his thigh eases, but does not cease. The spotted field of starlight vanishes, and Hob's eyes begin to adjust to the velvet darkness, and right as he thinks he's got a handle on things, his eyes picking out a vague and huddled shape, the entire area floods with multicolored light. It's blinding. It's beautiful.

The thing in the light is beautiful. A vibrant, oceanic shape, roiling and tempestuous as the sea; he catches a glimpse of skin as pale as fresh milk, the outline of a face as sharply-cut as though it were hewn from marble, and the busy movement of uncountable limbs, twitching and grasping, indigo-blue and purple and dawning pink. The light comes from the creature's body, he thinks. Like it carries the whole of the night sky under its skin.

It's gorgeous. It's otherworldly. It is, very clearly, not human.

There's blood smeared all around its mouth. Dripping claret red to compliment the blue-black of its hair, hanging lank and salt-stained around eyes that were never intended to see the sun. Its eyes are wide, and unblinking, and black as the deepest reaches of the ocean, with flecks of diamond light bursting in the depths of them, like bubbles, like stars.

"Did you bite me?" he says, the cold and the blood loss making him bold, or insane, or both. The creature hisses at him, and, between one moment and the next, it has darted past him, quicker than the eye can follow, and Hob finds himself alone, and once again in darkness.

Though there is a faint light in the direction the creature went, and one that is recognizable. The sun. The sun. Hob gets his good leg underneath himself, and feels the ooze of blood run hot and staticky down his injured thigh, and, one bleeding foot at a time, he crawls towards the light.

Later, convalescing in St. Peter's Church, bandages wound tight around the meat of his thigh, Hob muses that Brighton seems to be a lovely town at this time of the year. Airy, quaint, a little dock just large enough for a decent-sized ship, if one was so inclined to visit. Quite a lot of sandy beaches, and a handful of chalky white cliffs that hide secret grottoes within their water-carved depths.

His fingers find his thigh, almost by instinct now, and though he cannot see them, he imagines he can still feel them. The needle-point of the creature's teeth buried in his flesh. The hot gush of blood. He'd seen the marks left behind, while the sisters of the Church had generously cleaned his wounds: two perfect rows of garish red, precisely the width and height of a human mouth, if a human mouth were equipped with daggers instead of teeth.

Their minds aren't wired for it, Death had said of humans, and immortality. It does queer things to their souls.

Hob traces his fingers over the hidden marks, sure to leave a scar, and feels a pulsing satisfaction at the idea. He hopes it scars. He rather hopes he feels it ache, when storms pass overhead.

He thinks he's going to find another ship. Another crew. Be more careful this time. And, when he's back on his feet, when he's got a good blade and a bit of coin to his name, he's going to come back. He's going to find that creature that took a chunk from his thigh.

He thinks he might ask it to do it again.

#siren au #dreamling #hob gadling #dream of the endless #the sandman #fanfic #my fic

[twinkleallnight]

Isle of Misfits

Chapter 10: Dealing with the Paparazzi.

Fandom: TRR x Platinum x OH x CoP x TNA x ?

Series: Isle of Misfits, Round Robin 24, hosted by @choicesprompts

Characters:

TRR – Liam Rys, Leo Rys, Olivia Nevrakis, Madeleine Amaranth

RoE – Katie Rys

TNA – Sam Dalton

Word count: 1240

The phone pinged.

‘1 new message’

Leo sighed and picked up to read. He was tired of explaining himself to Katie. The world never understood him or his desire to live a care free life. The paparazzi won’t let him breathe. But he thought Katie would understand. She would always know. He had tried to be honest with her, always.

He was struggling to stay abreast sailing through the rough waters when his brother decided to take the corrective action for Leo’s deeds . He was forced into this PR stunt of a circus with his childhood friend, Bertrand, playing the ring master. And as if Gods had not had enough of entertainment, he was paired with his ex, Madeleine! Just perfect!

Coming out of his reverie, he tapped his fingers on the home screen to check the new message .

‘Meet me at the beach restaurant in 10minutes to collect your dossier .

Countess Madeleine .’

“Better than having Sam Dalton as a mentor” he consoled himself. “His brains function through that Rocket in his pocket. At least Madeleine has her head over her shoulders.”

He dragged himself out of his bed. Sharp after 10 minutes he presented himself in front of the Countess.

“What do you plan to do with this?” He lifted the heavy bundle of papers filed into a folder neatly. ‘Prim and proper. So much like Madeleine.’

But Madeleine’s reply was totally off beat. “why you have not shaved?”

Leo shook his head as if trying to decipher. “What?” He moved his fingers through the over grown messy beard.

Madeleine scoffed, “ Let me make it clear Leo. You are constantly under lens.”

“That’s exactly what I don’t want.” He cut her off.

“You were the crown prince.”

“And I abdicated.” He tried to prove his point.

“Doesn’t matter. You can’t change who you are born as.”

“Why?” He pulls his fingers through his sandy blonde hair In frustration.

“Prince Harry abdicated too. But he is always in news.”

Leo scowled, “For heavens sake! Can’t they let me live in peace?”

“Only if you don’t give them chance to rip through your peaceful personal life.” She air quoted.

He nods in agreement. “And I can see, you are here to tell me, how.”

“Now you are talking business.” Madeleine smiled.

Leo closed his eyes for a moment. He had to do this for Katie, for his children. He took a deep breath. “Okay. Tell me what am I supposed to do?”

“You need to look perfect when you walk in public. It shows that you are leading a perfect and happy life.”

Leo smirked, “Yes it’s a very happy life.”

“Make it look like one and I can tell you, they will stop chasing you.”

“Fine! What next?”

“I have appointed a valet for you. He will help with your attire, hair and your over all appearance. You will not leave your room before he checks you.”

Leo rolled his eyes. He had no other option but to accept what was thrown at him.

For the next hour he went back and forth over the plans Madeleine had laid out for him.

******************************************

Bertrand’s office next day

Olivia was seated across Bertrand, discussing their next modus operandi. Olivia had successfully completed her task with Raleigh Carrera and was now assigned to the case of the exiled crown prince, Trystan Thorne, of Drakovia.

An urgent knock on the door brought them to a halt. They both looked at each other. Bertrand voiced, “Come in” , wondering who was their uninvited guest for the meeting .

Leo stormed in and slammed a tabloid onto the desk in front of Bertrand. Olivia stared back at Leo’s fuming face while Bertrand looked in confusion, “ What does this mean?”

“Open and see for yourself.” Leo pointed out his finger.

As soon as Bertrand picked the newspaper and unfolded it, his eyes went wide with shock. Olivia leaned towards him to peer into the news.

The newspaper had images of Leo and Madeleine sitting in a cafe. The first one had Madeleine gleaming at Leo and the second one showed them shaking hands near the exit. The tag line read ‘Former crown prince Leo Rhys, spotted with his ex, Countess Madeleine, at leisure on a private island. Do we smell something burning in Katie Rhys’ sweet home?”

A smile played on Olivia’s lips.

“Seriously?” Leo asked looking at Olivia’s reaction.

“It’s not about you.” She fanned away with her hand.

“From what I can see, it’s definitely about me.” He turned to Bertrand angrily, “This is how you were going to help me save my image and my marriage?”

Olivia spoke instead, “Its not his fault. Madeleine should have been more discreet while planning her meetings.”

Just as on clue, Madeleine stepped inside the office. “Speak for yourself. I know my job well.” She snatched the tabloid from Bertrand’s hand and glanced at the pics, dismissing it in an instant.

She focused on Leo, “ This is the reason I insisted you need to dress up properly. Had you been in a formal attire, this would have been ignored by the media as just another business meeting.”

“Great ! So now it’s all my mistake? You know what my mistake is? Trusting you guys with my future.”

Bertrand replied in a calm note, “I think you are over reacting. It’s just two pics, we can change the flow of events. My PR company can assure you, we are good at turning the waves in your favour.”

Before he completed his sentence, the doors to his office opened with a bang. Drake barged in raging in anger. “The hell you turn things only in your favour. You Beaumonts are the most mean and selfish men walking on this damn planet.” His voice echoed across the halls outside the office.

Bertrand’s eyes roamed behind Drake to check if there were any audience at his doors. He settled his gaze back on Drake. “May I know the reason for this intrusion?”

Drake sneered, “You call yourself CEO of a PR firm yet you don’t have updates of the newsflash on TV channels across Cordonia?”

Bertrand gave Drake an irritated glare and picked up the remote to switch on the flat screen hanging on the wall across his table. The screen brightened up with flashes of red haired lady bouncing on a dance floor. All of them in the room knew that was Olivia but the next few moments left everyone’s mouth hanging open.

Bertrand came into the frame trying to dance. He made some lewd gestures and then grabbed Olivia into a smooch.

Leo and Madeleine jolted back at Bertrand. Even Olivia had shock written all over her face. Definitely she was drunk that she didn’t remember this incident.

Bertrand gulped and fumbled with the remote to switch off the TV. He didn’t want to listen or let others in the room listen to the reporter’s remarks.

“I... I ... I can explain”, he said nervously.

Drake sprinted to him in two steps and held him by collar. “How many times are you going to explain? First my sister, then your back stabbing brother took Riley and now you target my girl friend?”

“Riley is with Max?” The baritone voice from the entrance of the office brought everything to standstill. They all turned to see Liam standing in a thunderstuck state.

Tags : @angelasscribbles @alj4890 @tessa-liam @lizzybeth1986 @3pawandme @annabellewynter @bascmve01 @bebepac @busywoman @dcbbw @choicesficwriterscreations @harleybeaumont @iaminlovewithtrr @karahalloway @kingliam2019 @lovingchoices14 @nestledonthaveone @neotericthemis @mom2000aggie @phoenixrising0308 @princess-geek @sazanes @secretaryunpaid @sfb123 @sillydg @tinkie1973 @txemrn @walkerdrakewalker @rubiwalker @703cowbarn @kyra75 @likealotus @kskvb20 @marietrinmimi @aussiegurl1234

#round robin fic #the royal romance #choices fic writers creations #pixelberry #playchoices #trr fandom #trr #choices game #liam rhys #liam rys #leo rys #olivia nevrakis #bertrand beaumont #madeleine amaranth #drake walker #twinkleallnight

[abovexhorizons]

@venalos continued from here!

----

She'd been confused when the ship had taken a different course; the one that Isa had expected to been traveling on now disembarking in "Astera, the New World", wherever that was.

She'd not even heard of a New World before, let alone her own being referred to as the "Old" world. According to those aboard the ship - Hunters, they called themselves - it was a new breeding ground for Monsters, and they intended to study them.

She'd shrugged it off before, but now that her feet hit the dirt, it was surreal just how different this place was. It truly felt like a new world; a new adventure, waiting for her.

She was glad she'd left Rika in another's care back home; Isa would need to take the next ship out of here. Which, according to the Harbor-keep, wouldn't be for a while.

Might as well make herself at home, as they say.

"I, sorta... Boarded the wrong ship?"

A strange thing to say, truly, but it were the truth; she'd meant to set sail for a land of ice in the far north, but ended up here instead. What was supposed to be a round-trip turning into...

Well, whatever this was.

Giving the other a wry smile and a shrug, she'd bring her focus back to the people around her; it seemed as if Safine were popular; recognizable, even. Tons of people moved back and forth, the clanging of a distant hammer echoing like a belltower to them down below. Smoke, likely from a fireplace or stove, bellowed off into the heavens above them.

What was strangest of all, though, were the bones; from a creature Isa had never met, hopefully to never see either. They were huge, gargantuan in size. Probably from Ragna, if she had to guess.

"This place - Astera, right? - is wonderful and all, but I'm no hunter. I can barely lift my sword over my head, and I don't want to be a burden on your... Society."

A brief swirl of her tongue against her gums gave Isa pause, at least long enough to consider her next words.

"If I can help, I will, but I would much rather be on the next ship back, if it's all the same to you. I'm worried about my friend, and I... It'll be a worry, being away from them for so long."

#venalos #{knight clad in shining armor | isa}

[gazeofseer]

Your Dream Versus Reality

Yesterday the free reading I offered I saw how much there is a gap in between what people want, what awaits next for them and this had a calling in me that everyone was waiting..

No action, no blockages were there but the reading was quite floating and it was hard to ground them as if I am doing reading for the passing wind..

Even Divine alignment is important the what keeps you restless and numb? find out in today's general reading as I am doing this to ground few messages I felt for the collective energy here at my feed

Images from Pinterest.

______________________________________________________________

1st Picture

Song : Say Yes to Heaven by Lana del Rey 'I have got my eyes on you'

Dreams : The world in your head is happening somewhere on the basis of your expectation and you know disappointment gives birth to such things this blocks your will, desire and intent there is a great gap in here, what you intent is not what you are actually dreaming about I see you want to buy a book or journal 'But your expectations are playing out on, no someone should gift me so they will also feel the way I feel about my life and what is the point of writing when my life is so boring' expectations are like sharp edged cutters it can shape and can also kill the ideas of it.

You are having dreams about swimming lately, moving your hands somewhere, or someone at you in the alley of your way to home, you nerves are feeling cold you want to hug or hit someone badly, you are having a bad sleeping routine where you are constantly thinking, you are escaping and avoiding day to day chores and sailing away like nothing touches or passes through you anymore and those sighs are so exhausting to led tears of storms but not single drop of it falls down, so you gulp on it

Reality : Wow, you have cheerful people I see people hugging you and especially your mom oh she looks some great food, and your best friends you keep texting you, and the guy who wants to message you is still waiting for your response also the cat you meet on the way is looking at you, your reality is already made with agony small little hurts especially mockeries is what affects you mentally is creating a fallacy of fear to treated as a clown and someone for granted so you throwing tantrums and attitude as it it will fix them all, it won't..Find power in being vulnerable kiss your mom's forehead and know that she have tears too, call your friend and know that she was so worried about you, connect with new people and know things you had unknown about yourself, stop running away, the more you will, the more heavy it may feel.

'Missing on life is not the best defence skill, living it to the fullest is the best way to offend the dead'

Confirmation : You fell down today morning, your sandal is broke, there is a little scar you got recently, blue and yellow makes you happy, you are having so much of notifications, the cats, there is something special about the alley.

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2nd Picture

Song : Falling by Harry Styles What am I now? What am I now? What if I'm someone I don't want around?

Dreams : You have nightmares recently as if someone is dying, your dream speaks of fears you have accumulated all these years especially, fear of intimacy and touch, you might have dreams about running naked and then people are looking at you but all you do is try to hide under the open sky, this is a sign of losing vulnerability. There is so much of pain which is forming a gloomy head full of thoughts and visions like that, but if see through it clear you crave for love that is safe 'I see bad influence of friends like you are the one guilty for being a part of a bully gang kind of people you are'

'You love sitting in corners, on soft things white is your favourite color, you want love that comforts you and does not consumes you anymore is why you dream a lot about holding hands with your dream person under the moonlight but the nightmare begins when you feel it, the hand slips or you think the same hand raises to kill or hit you away, stop sleeping with open hair braid it.

Reality : Calm down, you do not have to cost yourself to form friendships and relationships anymore stop taking a toll on people's actions on your part of living anymore let them take responsibility, blaming is not necessary if you see the chance call them out, confront, you should not let people walk over you and expect them to give you hand for the same, understand this do not reflect their negative patterns on yourself before it becomes your belief take the action these are petty fights and argument but remember, this is the time to let yourself be vulnerable and brave if you miss here big things will start smudging over you.

Confirmation : Argued with someone in authority, had a argument this morning, resilience to their behaviour towards you, loud voices shuts your strength to speak, crying in the corners, wanting to scream, tolerance, naive, work on your throat and heart chakra it will help you find strength.

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3rd Picture

Song : ilomilo by Billie Eilish Told you not to worry But maybe that's a lie Honey, what's your hurry? Won't you stay inside?

Dreams : What a perfect person you are in your head ? bossing, controlling and taking over the places procrastinating a pending assignment and calling people out for their mistakes while missing your very owns, there is a skit running your mind that you play, pause, and resume accordingly as you want to plead away your egocentric beliefs and idea around being perfect then others.

Reality : You are grown in such a family for which status and image becomes something near to pride and life somewhat but that keeps you in the loop of your generational ideologies you live a joint group of family of society where they have constant check on you because you give them that piece of information, everyone says I know how this person he/she is always and never like that..

Kills your authentic life nothing bounds it, you have addiction somewhat which cools down your aches but the moment you are awake panic.

Confirmation : Fear of getting caught off guard, you are weird, you love sauce on rice and snacks in soups, there is beast in you while you are playing to be the beauty, you need balance in life, toxic culture growth, learn, and find a mid ground to live.

______________________________________________________________

Note : I hope this reading helps and resonates well as general reading is not completely relatable only few parts of it does also as per the energy of yours and guess what I am off for another week !

#divination #pyschic reading #intuitivereading #divine guidance #general reading #dreams #pac reading #wisdom #writing #gratitude #free tarot reading #tarot witch

[freddie-77-ao3]

Help me choose a fic to work on:

(summaries below poll)

Gorgeous Girl, Goddess Girl, (Good Isn't All You Have Been)

Silena raises her head high as she dons Clarisse's armor. One way or another, it ends today.

She places the note on Drew's pillow, and then Clarisse's.

She steps in the chariot.

She dies.

~~~

Silena dies. These are her actions leading up to it.

___________________

Everything Is In Past Tense Now (You're All Gone)

("And Silena, she makes chocolates with her dad right before the start of summer, and she'll bring them in and they always taste awful 'cause she never makes them any other time, but everyone eats them, 'cause it's Silena. You'll love 'em though, 'cause Cecil always makes ice cream to go with the chocolate, and Malcolm and Beck'll make some baked goods." Chris sees Drew leave the room, Nyssa wipe away a tear, and Clarisse balling her hands into fists and whispering 'hero, hero, hero, she was a hero,' and he realizes his slip up.

Slip ups at camp fires where people don't quite seem dead. (Denial is much stronger than reality when we want it to be)

___________________

This Ship Can't Sink Until It Sails [Tales From The Argo II]

1-3: Piper & Percy prank Leo. Leo tries to rope in Jason & Frank, who can't prank. Meanwhile, Hazel & Annabeth have plans of their own.

4: Annabeth & Jason bond over Thalia, and telling stories about their time at the camps, and architecture after Kym.

5-6: HOH rescue. 7+Reyna/Nico play truth or dare & monopoly. Percy & Nico have just enough time to take Hazel&Jason out for burgers.

7: Jason & Nico talk more after Eros. Hazel & Piper bond.

8: The seven manage to get sick, and Hazel is introduced to Disney movies.

9/10: Coach Hedge & Percy have a bonding moment, & Percy IM's people at camp.

11-12: Coach Hedge's POV on each of the 7. Reyna&Nico&Hedge in Alberta and why it will NEVER be mentioned.

13: the aftermath of the ending of MOA.

14: The last day, the 7 play uno and write goodbye notes. Leo's funeral.

___________________

The Gods Watch From Their Heavens And Judge Us (But Their Sins Outnumber Ours)

Annabeth and Jason and Luke. Those are all the people that Thalia has cared about in her twelve short years. Jason is dead. Annabeth is screaming. Luke is sobbing.

Thalia has failed them all. 

Thalia's reflection on her life as she dies.

___________________

Before And After (Though We Often Wish It Hadn't)

There have been hundreds of events in her life that have a before and after. There was the before she ran away, and the after of Camp Half Blood. There was the before she met will, and the after: when she would do anything to protect him. Clarisse has had hundreds of befores and afters, but nothing quite like this. 

She didn’t think that there was an after to watching her siblings get consumed by the earth, screaming, while another watched. 

She doesn’t know how to cope with that after: a quieter cabin, unfinished bottles of hair solution, and unmade beds.

___________________

Where Our Lines Blur (Hold My Hand)

Connor Stoll likes Malcolm Pace. Malcolm Pace likes Connor Stoll. Seems simple, right? Even more so when they go out to eat together, alone, once a week? But no, it isn't, and Annabeth is going to lose her damn mind if this keeps up. Travis too.

So they drive the two out of camp until they confess, which leads to a day of disasters and disregarded laws including car theft and shoplifting, not to mention the fact that neither of them know how to drive or are of age for a license. 

And then they manage to go on a two person raid of a camp with 40 demigods in it, the two are forced to swear something on the River Styx, and it somehow isn't even the worst part of the day?

Travis and Annabeth aren't impressed.

___________________

Come Down The Floods (And Bathe In The Blood Of Gods)

Connor Stoll's morning starts like this: it's three twenty in the morning, and there is a ghost next to them. Drew is already up. There is a storm giant in battle against the gods, and they are in a war against Kronos. It is five days before the biggest battle of Connor's life, and in forty minutes, they'll be dancing on the table with their friends. 

ALT: Connor's perspective of the mission to blow up the Princess Andromeda, the day of Beckendorf's funeral, the three days of the Battle of Manhattan, and the funerals that come afterwards.

___________________

Hateful Heroes (Burdened With Bitterness)

(I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU-)

War. War and Death and Tragedy galore. Clarisse isn't mourning properly. Percy isn't either really, and it's of no surprise. (What teenagers are meant to mourn for the people who make up their entire world?) Clarisse starts a fist fight by the dying embers of Hestia's fire and Silena's shroud- but it won't bring her back. Percy stays awake at night watching blood arise from his skin- no amount of it is going to make up for the lives lost.

And then they break. It's not a surprise, but for Hestia who sits by the hearth as they scream? Her heart breaks.

(THIS WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED IF YOU HAD DIED- DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT? I WISH I HAD!- I WISH YOU HAD TOO! MAYBE SILENA WOULD STILL BE ALIVE!)

___________________

Tell Me I Can Live My Life (Don't Tell Me How To Live It)

The moment that Silena decides to become a spy for Kronos is the day that Drew breaks down in tears over her sexuality.

Drew wants to join the Hunters of Artemis, Aphrodite has a rule against that, and Mitchell tells horror stories about the rule.

___________________

So We Scream At The World (How Dare It Be Bright In Light Of Our Loss)

Will Solace is thirteen years old and ready to die. He's seen other people die, lots of them, and thinks that some of them didn't look like they were in pain, so really, how bad could it be? He's exhausted.

He is thirteen, and in charge of the infirmary. Usually it would be left to older kids, but he is the oldest. He's thirteen, and in charge of his siblings. Of making sure they don't die. He is not a leader, but he has been at camp the longest.

He just wants to sleep and never wake up. His family (because that is what they are, what they have become in this war) doesn't want to let him. (They want him to sleep, but they also want him to wake up.)

___________________

When All Your Fucking Dreams Are Dead

The Olympian dream is dead. Demigods pile up in bodies, and learn to fight monsters before they learn how to do addition- if they ever do learn either of those things, that is. Funny, right? They’re myths, they’re fairytales, it’s not like any parents would ever let their six year old fight monsters and take care of a toddler to survive, no, why the fuck would you think that? Fucking Olympian dream, folks. And hahaha, it’s all too funny, then you get to camp, you have no money, don’t even get your own clothes- no. Far to expensive when there’s two hundred children waiting for some food, and some bedding, and gods if someone else could just get a bed to sleep on, or even a place that wasn’t the floor- 

Has anyone considered that might have stopped the fucking war?

Or: time travel escapades lead Luke Castellan to be a little less bitter, and things- things go better- somewhat. 

Drew Tanaka, Connor Stoll, and Malcolm Pace travel back in time to just after Luke Castellan returns from his quest– Alone. 

___________________

Rewind, Rewind (I Remember That Night)

Characters reading the books fanfiction, will hopefully span from the start of PJO to the end of TOA. Minor character discrepancy.

"There's something worse coming. Isn't there? That's why we're here. Because something worse is going to happen-- again? You're doing this to us again? Three times. Three times we've fought for you-- when is it enough?" The figure still encloaked in shadows bitterly called towards the ceiling.

At once, like the hissing of snakes, like every sound in the world at once, the three fates rasped out, "Do not lecture us, child of the gods, of Athena and Hecate, this is the ONLY thing left..."

The figure did not recoil, and stood firm, "What is it this time? It was Kronos, then Gaea, then the emperors and Python... What's next? Ouranos? Khaos? What can't we recover from?" Behind him, the other campers whispered in shock and horror, but the boy didn't stop glaring at them.

#pjo hoo toa #pjo #pjo series #pjo fandom #fanfiction #pjo fanfiction #heroes of olympus #riordanverse #percy jackson #argo ii

[legitimatesatanspawn]

What happened to Shelob's giant mother who bit the Devil so hard that the entire universe heard him scream? (Not that I blame him on that one, as I would also utter the most unholy shriek if a big spider bit me.)

Oh crap I thought I answered this. Geeze, it's been a while, sorry. Also same about being bit by a big spider. The guy is pretty damn big so the spider itself would be terrifyingly huge and that's before the "webs of unlight" and other fun powers. Y'all thought Mirkwood's were big? Nah, they're tiny compared to Ungoliant.

We have no idea where Ungoliant is from although it's assumed it's space but it's implied she's some kind of maia (angel/minorish god) that went off in her own particular rocker. She's basically a Primordial Hell Spider. We don't know where she went or and what became of her. Last we know, she was seen fighting and then just skittered off to parts unknown "southward" and was never seen again.

Knowing Dagor Dagorath, Ungoliant will probably show up at the end to help further that Ragnarok / End of Times setup. I mean after all, the Silmarils will be shattered there and the Sun and Moon will crash to the planet and you know she'd be hungry for that final feast of the Trees and their tofu/seitan imitations.

Although the fact that she dipped South makes me very worried about the people living south-ish past Gondor and Mordor. Like, what kind of unholy spider abominations do they get plagued with that teaming up with the evil "god" Sauron is a good idea, even with any Morgothian indoctrination at play? The Blue Wizards are late to that party but at least they can help shake things up over there.

Okay so to clarify for people who no idea: Shelob is the giant spider living in Sauron's mountain range nearish to the front gates. Ungoliant is her ancestor to an unknown degree (mother? grandmother? ungodly number of greats? who knows how long giant spiders live for in this setting) and is famously known for draining dry the giant magic trees that glowed brighter/dimmer in an about yearly cycle.

The trees, for the record, are the source of the Sun and Moon and also part of the inspiration for Feanor creating the Silmarils (specifically their light reflecting off of his niece Galadriel's hair). Telperion was planted first and then followed by Laurelin. The silver-leafed tree Telperion had flowers that dripped star-like dew, while Laurelin had clusters of golden fruit surrounded by golden glowing leaves. I mentioned before in another post about these trees and how the last flower and fruit were shotpucked into orbit on skyships. The moon's driver is apparently kinda shitty at sailing which is sometimes why the moon is larger. You'd think he'd get better but…

Anyway, the Trees' light stretched all the way from Valinor (basically heaven on earth) all the way to the known lands across Arda (including Middle Earth, which is charitably around the size of Europe compared to the rest of the landmass). Now it wasn't a perfect go and I forget at this moment when exactly the Two Pillars over on the continent Middle Earth is on were built to give that continent its own light source but Morgoth hates it when people have nice things so either he deliberately smashed them or a fight with the Valar got out of hand there and they got smashed in the fight. Because of this, the land got "ruined" by developing rocky mountain ranges, canyons, and so on so instead of being completely perfect it's wonderfully imperfect and varied. Similar way that Morgoth fighting with Ulmo - the Valar god-archangel-master of the Oceans - helped carve the shorelines and ocean-facing cliffs.

Ungoliant joined up with Morgoth with the promise that he'd offer her freely from his hands anything to satisfy her endless hunger. Using her webs as a ladder to breach Valinor's capital during a massive party since everyone would be busy, Morgoth struck down the trees with his giant spear weapon, and then she lapped up all the sap and her hunger and gluttony only got worse and Ungoliant grew larger and possibly more monstrous-seeming if she was able to scare Morgoth shitless.

They fled across the Grinding Ice, a jagged arctic wasteland (which is why the Noldor when led by Feanor went across that rather than any sensible path).

Ungoliant wasn't an idiot even if she was greedy. She knew that Morgoth broke promises when it suited him, so she demanded her goods. I am not sure how he had the time to do this but Morgoth looted Feanor's treasury along with swiping the three Silmarils. So the promise was demanded and she was fed all the gems held in his left hand… but he refused to open his right which contained the Silmarils (somehow, given that nothing evil can hold them).

Understandably pissed off, Ungoliant wrapped him up in her webs of unlight and tried to kill him. This created the echoes of Lammoth - the endless scream that would rattle forever until the area's destruction. This scream is what drew his minions' attention to the area and so Ungoliant exited the scene, pursued by Balrogs.

Yes, Balrogs. Plural. The Balrog of Moria was just the one and possibly a weak one at that.

Each Balrog is a fallen angel that was formerly working for others or could've been one of Melkor's had he stayed true (which was never gonna last given how he changed the Song and went Lucifer on God).

She wandered around, was known to have attempted to breach Doriath but was somehow successfully fended off by Luthien's mother Melian (told you she was a bamf), then had lots of spider babies in the ruins of Angband (Morgoth's Hell on Earth capital).

After that we have no idea where she went or what Ungoliant is up to beyond going "southward". Come the Fellowship's founding, it's been about 6458 years (not counting the exact date she was last seen in the Second Age) but if she was sniffing around for a Silmaril then that'd make the last possible sighting around 466 First Age so…6583 years.

That's a long time to lose track of a giant spider. Hope it doesn't literally bite them in the ass. Hopefully Pallando and Alatar (the "missing" two Wizards of the Istari Order) are handling things over there.

#sorry i'm late #lore drop #lore dump #the silmarillion #lord of the rings #tw spiders #ungoliant #morgoth #melkor #silmarils #melian #doriath #ulmo #valar #noldor #valinor #feanor #telperion #laurelin #dagor dagorath #shelob #mirkwood #you shouldn't lose track of giant monsters #to be fair its a big world and only Eru and maybe Manwe and Mandos know what's going on south of Middle Earth #Good luck Blue Wizards #pallando #alatar

[camille-lachenille]

@tolkiengenweek DAY FIVE: Culture • Diversity • Traditions:

Being of the same age, rank and of similar enough mixed heritage, their parents and guardians had declared they should play together. Elwing glared at Eärendil, arms crossed on her chest. “You speak weird!” she declared with a definitive tone.

Ëarendil glared back. “You speak weird!” he replied with a pout. “I speak just like my ammë and my papa speak.”

“They speak weird too!” Elwing countered. “And I learned how to speak like a princess with Lord Oropher and Nellas.” She didn’t say that Lord Oropher was a stuffy old grump and Nellas called her Lúthien on the days she was less present. She didn’t say she had no parents to pick language tics and mannerism from.

Eärendil’s frown softened. “Maybe you can teach me how to speak like the people here?” he asked with uncertainty. “And I can teach you songs in exchange?”

Elwing nodded firmly and extended a had for him to shake. “We have a deal!”

From that moment on, they were best friends, and one was never seen without the other. Elwing taught proper Sindarin to Eärendil, and hand games with silly songs in Iathrim Sindarin. He taught her to play hopscotch in the sand. “In Gondolin I drew it on the stone with the colourful chalks Glorfindel gave me,” he said as he traced the grid on the beach with seashells and driftwood. “But this is pretty too.” The song to play hopscotch was in Gondolindrim Quenya, and Elwing felt she was doing something very bad by speaking this language. She asked Eärendil to teach her more of this forbidden language. He taught her Taliska, too, his father’s language.

They were thirteen and Eärendil spent his summer apprenticing with the carpenters at the heavens of Sirion. He came back each evening with splinters on his hands and sea shanties in the Falathrim dialect with lyrics that made them giggle and blush when they sang together. Elwing made him Lembas for his first day of sailing. “The receipt comes from my ancestress Melian,” she told him. “Only the highest ranking lady of the Sindar can make and give Lembas, and only to people she deems worthy.” Eärendil beamed at her as he accepted the leaf-wrapped package.

On the eve of the first day of summer, the refugees from Gondolin all regrouped around Idril on the easternmost square of Sirion, and, from Midnight to Dawn, stood silent there. At the first light of day, they sung laments in their old language. The year they turned fifteen, Eärendil brought Elwing with him. “It was a night of celebration, when I was a child, Tarnin Austa,” he explained after the silence was broken and the laments sung. “Now it is a night to remember the fallen city of Gondolin and all those who died defending our escape, and all those who couldn’t escape the fire.” When his voice cracked at the end, it was not because he was a teenage boy but because of the grief. Elwing held his hands as he cried.

They were twenty and both adults by the laws of Men when Idril and Tuor decided to try sail West. Elwing gave them plenty of lembas and blessed their ship the Falalathrim way. Eärendil said his farewell in the mix of Quenya and Taliska proper to his family. He stood on the pier until the ship disappeared on the horizon. Elwing stood with him, wondering if she would ever leave Sirion. Life at the mouths of the sea was hard and grimmer by the day but it was all she had ever known, no matter how much the surviving lords and ladies of Doriath had tried to raise her in the culture if her birth. Idril and Tuor, a Noldo and a Man, were more her parents than Dior and Nimloth ever had the chance to be. She spoke Sindarin with the undefined accent of Sirion, this ragtag town of exiles and refugees from all over Beleriand. Elwing was as much an Elf as she was a Daughter of Men, she was all and nothing at the same time. And, as she silently walked back to her house, she knew she wouldn’t want it another way.

#tolkiengenweek #tolkien #the silmarillion #elwing #eärendil #sirion #ficlet #fanfiction #diversity #culture

[panicroomsammy]

Good Omens S2 through the lens of Black Sails

At the end of Good Omens season two, Aziraphale talks with a seemingly reasonable representative of the hegemonic power and decides that he can best effect the change he desires by working within the system. Viewers are positioned to see Crowley’s perspective - that Crowley and Aziraphale should run away together - as sympathetic through the framing of the show and to therefore see that Aziraphale is wrong. I am not the first to propose that Crowley is wrong as well, but I will be using Black Sails to argue my point.

Throughout Black Sails the characters are confronted with the same (false) dichotomy that Aziraphale and Crowley face. The plot of the show is set in motion when Flint is sent to help a young lord, Thomas Hamilton, to address the issue of pirates in Nassau. His plan is to grant the pirates pardons and bring them back into the nation rather than killing them as has been the policy of England, however he is still working within the system. While working with Thomas, Flint becomes romantically involved with both Thomas and Thomas’s wife, Miranda. England cannot abide by the plan to pardon the pirates, as a hegemonic power cannot allow any challenge to its power - no matter how small - to succeed. When the nature of Thomas, Flint, and Miranda’s relationship is discovered, it is used to put an end to their plan as this relationship is also a challenge to societal norms that England cannot allow. This attempt to change the system from within results in Thomas’s “death” and Flint and Miranda being cast out. Flint and Miranda now transition to running away from the hegemonic power rather than attempting to change it from within.

Even just this beginning parallels Good Omens in many ways. Crowley is cast out of heaven for asking questions in the beginning, akin to being cast out of the British Empire for questioning their policies. This positions the two powers (heaven and England) as both intolerable of the expression of subversive views. This also means that we know from the beginning there is no changing heaven from the inside, as if this was possible Crowley would not have been cast out. There is also the aspect of Crowley and Aziraphale’s relationship being considered unacceptable by heaven and hell. Queer polyamory is unacceptable to Great Britain, a relationship between a demon and an angel is unacceptable to heaven and hell.

Flint and Miranda now live in Nassau, a place away from the hegemonic power of England. They spend ten years there, away from the hegemonic power and having successfully run away. Flint has built a legend of himself as a pirate to be feared as a means of securing this existence.

This is where Crowley and Aziraphale are at the beginning of season two - they have successfully gotten heaven and hell to leave them alone, as heaven and hell view them as dangerous due to their failed executions.

Black Sails begins with Flint attempting to secure Nassau further with means to defend itself from England, but Miranda attempts to betray him, asking for a pardon for him so that he may rejoin the empire. This clearly parallels the way that the metatron told Aziraphale he could reinstate Crowley as an angel, and Aziraphale agreed. Flint rejected Miranda’s attempt to procure a pardon for him, and Crowley rejected Aziraphale’s offer to reinstate him as an angel.

Despite this initial rejection, in the second season Miranda convinces Flint to attempt reconciliation with England, once again attempting to obtain pardons for all the pirates of Nassau. She tells Flint “there is no life here, there is no love here, there is no joy here” in regards to Nassau. Despite having run away from the empire, their precarious existence is not a happy one.

Others have already written wonderful meta on this, which I am drawing upon, but this is where Crowley and Aziraphale are at the beginning of season two. Throughout season two Crowley and Aziraphale do not have the dynamic that they had for the 6,000 years prior. We never see them sit down for a meal together or have a lengthy conversation. One or the other of them is constantly running off to do something on their own. They are together, but this is precarious and we are introduced to it as it becomes most precarious with the arrival of Gabriel.

Flint and Miranda go to Charlestown, Virginia to speak with an old friend and attempt to gain pardons for the pirates again. The friend demands that in exchange for the pardons Flint publicly confess to all of his crimes, including having loved Thomas. Miranda is outraged by this and is killed for expressing her outrage.

Flint and Miranda attempted to return to the empire and work to change it from the inside once more after they realized that they could not find the fulfillment they desired in running away from it. This did not work and ended quite badly. We can anticipate that of course Aziraphale returning to heaven and attempting to change it from the inside will not go as he plans either.

In response to Miranda’s death, Flint wages all-out war on the British Empire. Meanwhile, another man working within the system succeeded in obtaining pardons for the pirates of Nassau. The two of them speak and Flint says

Thomas Hamilton fought to introduce the pardons to make the point that he could change England, and he was killed for it. His wife and I went to Charlestown to argue for the pardons to make peace with England, and she was killed for it. England has shown herself to me, gnarled and grey and spiteful of anyone who would find happiness under her rule. I’m through seeking anything from England except her departure from my island.

This shows that Flint has accepted that it is not possible to truly change England from the inside. I believe season three of Good Omens will be about Aziraphale coming to this realization regarding heaven.

Another theme that is addressed over and over again in Black Sails is that if one loves one place they will eventually have to learn to love the whole world. The pirates occupy Nassau and begin fighting solely for Nassau. Over the course of the story this expands to the entire West Indies, the entire New World, and towards the end there is discussion of the world as a whole. The pirates also gain allies in a group of Maroons living on an island not far away. The Maroons are governed by a queen who is initially wary of the pirates, but Flint convinces her that the only way to ensure the safety of her people is to defeat England. She loves her people and the place she has made for them, but she was running away from the empire and came to realize that this was not sustainable. Even if you run away, the empire cannot stand even that and it will come for you.

This means that while Aziraphale is wrong to attempt to fix heaven from the inside, Crowley is also wrong in his attempt to run from them. God is by definition omnipresent; there is no running away successfully. Hegemonic powers cannot allow things that challenge them to exist, and we have see this already in the metatron taking Aziraphale back to heaven and therefore neutralizing the threat he and Crowley present.

So what is the third option? I believe Crowley already said it at the end of season one: all of us against all of them. Humanity against heaven and hell. This was not a fight it was possible for humanity to win at the end of season one, but I believe now it is. Crowley and Aziraphale were shown to perform an extremely powerful miracle together in the show, which is what caused heaven to take interest in them again in the first place. Heaven and hell are also both now missing the beings most capable of effectively carrying out an actual war, as Gabriel and Beelzebub have left. This may just be the Black Sails fan in me, but I think that there is a real chance we might get a story of rejecting both working within the system and running away from the system next season.

#good omens #black sails #good omens s2 spoilers #black sails spoilers #crowley good omens #aziraphale good omens #thomas hamilton #james flint #miranda hamilton #ineffable husbands #flintmiranda #I am coping well with no longer being a college student why do you ask

[libraearthtravelco]

Aziraphale = Anne Elliot

Gaiman said Aziraphale's favorite Jane Austen novel might be Persuasion. It's mine as well so I've been thinking about it and how it parallels the Ineffible Trial Separation (IT'S NOT A DIVORCE PEOPLE!!)

So, Anne Elliot is the smartest, kindest, relatively most well adjusted member of her family [Read: Heaven] that was once great and wealthy and now is barely scraping by on the illusion of organizational perfection.

She meets dashing, stoic Captain Wentworth [Crowley], who is on leave from the military and they make a strong connection and fall in love. He proposes!

Anne desperately wants to marry her love, but her Godmother [with serious Metatron vibes] Lady Russell discourages it because of Wentworth's lack of wealth and status so Anne turns him down.

And basically spends THE NEXT 8 YEARS regretting it and missing Wentworth.

Well, he returns a rich successful self-made gentleman and Anne is like "oh man, I still love him so much and he'll want nothing to do with me."

Loads of other stuff happen [you should really read it] but it ends with Wentworth basically releasing his anger towards Anne and realizing he's STILL MADLY IN LOVE WITH AZIRAPHA... uh, ANNE!

Then, because it's the era of repressed feelings and communication, he sneaks her THE MOST ROMANTIC LETTER EVER...

"I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone, I think and plan. Have you not seen this? Can you fail to have understood my wishes? I had not waited even these ten days, could I have read your feelings, as I think you must have penetrated mine. I can hardly write. I am every instant hearing something which overpowers me. You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others. Too good, too excellent creature! You do us justice, indeed. You do believe that there is true attachment and constancy among men. Believe it to be most fervent, most undeviating, in F. W.

I must go, uncertain of my fate; but I shall return hither, or follow your party, as soon as possible. A word, a look, will be enough to decide whether I enter your father's house this evening or never."

[sigh] UGH!!!

Anyhow, ignore the "Father's house" part because they pretty much literally sail off into the sunset but long story short, IT'S NOT A DIVORCE! They're gonna end up together after we all hurt for too long and THESE IDIOTS ARE THE MOST ROMANTIC COUPLE SINCE JANE AUSTEN AND I LOVE THEM. THE. END.

#good omens 2 #good omens fandom #good omens #ineffable #aziraphale x crowley #azicrow #michael sheen #david tennant #neil gaiman #jane austen #this show will be the death of me