#she could hit me with an arrow to the dome

[black-kitties]

Worldheart - Chapter 8

Start reading from Chapter 1

Jaz kneeled alongside Brin pulling Hero into an embrace. She left a kiss on his snout.

“I’ll get us out of this. Just wait for me.” Brin whispered. His voice sounded gravelly and low, more like a growl than speech. The Raptor soldiers quickly seized him, roughly pulling him to his feet. They shackled him using a giant block like cuff that attached magnetically to itself before dragging him away. Their tails slam into his legs tripping him up, but she never heard him make so much as a grunt of pain before she lost sight of him.

At the same time, two Raptors grabbed Jaz by her upper arms while another tried to get a hold of Hero. He slipped out of its arms, easily dodging behind it. Jaz felt a metal tail snake around her neck. It squeezed cutting off her air. She struggled to grab it, to rip it off her neck, but her arms were clamped against her sides in a bruising grip by both Raptors. Seeing this, Hero stopped struggling and allowed himself to be grabbed. Jaz gasped for air, tears blurring her vision as the tail finally released her. By the time she’d recovered Hero had already disappeared and she was being dragged away in the opposite direction of Timber Wolf.

This time she was conscious for them marching her through the halls. She didn’t attempt to resist. There was no point anyways, being weaker than a normal human. Jaz focused on trying to memorize the exact path they were taking, recounting each twist and turn as well as every door number they passed. She looked for any markings she could use, but every hall was the same; smooth cement with no distinguishable features. In her mind she repeated each twist in turn like a mantra, adding to it as they went.

They stopped in front of a door labelled seventy three. The door slid the wall revealing a large laboratory with rows upon rows of operating tables and machines. At the center of the room was a large glass dome with green liquid suspended in it, but aside from bubbles it was empty. Jaz managed to catch a glimpse of the code they keyed into the door to open it and she burned it into her memory. They pushed her through the lab snaking between various large machines and equipment designed to scan and monitor. On the other end of the room was another door locked with a keypad. This time the Raptor noticed her watching and hit her hard on the back of her head scattering stars in her vision. She focused hard on remembering the two codes, completely ignoring her surroundings even as she was being shoved into a small metal cube of a room. A blue force field stuttered to life sealing her in. She glared at their retreating forms until the door had hissed shut.

“Hey. Are you ok?” A male voice called out at her from the cell directly in front of hers. Jaz blurted out the two codes she was trying to memorize. “What was that?”

“The codes to the doors, remember them.” She continued to focus on the mantra.

“Six numbers and five. You’re missing a digit.” A female voice caught Jaz’s eyes and she focused on the woman approaching the forcefield on the far end of the room. She had ice blue eyes and golden hair she let flow freely over her shoulders. She had the face of a supermodel and her bright red lipstick really stuck out to Jaz. She was dressed in black spandex with a blackish blue leather jacket on, floral patterned black spandex leggings and heeled ankle boots. Jaz took another look at the man who’d asked if she was ok before. He wore a black mask that concealed just his eyes, his blond hair was topped by a feathered green hat and he wore a green spandex and leather body suit.

“Oh! It’s you two!” Jaz smiled, “The Black Canary and the Green Arrow! I’m a big fan.” Despite herself, she smiled at the sight of them in the flesh. If only she was meeting them at a fundraiser or some other innocuous event, rather than trapped in a creepy old mans laboratory dungeon.

“We get that a lot,” The Green Arrow winked, flipping Jaz a finger gun.

The Black Canary rolled her eyes at him, “The door codes. What doors do they go to?”

“The complete one is the door to the lab, incomplete one is the door to this room.” Jaz replied.

“Great…” The Green Arrow paused, “You don’t happen to have a plan to get us out of the cages, do you?”

Jaz leaned against the wall, letting herself slide down the wall till she was sitting. “None whatsoever.”

The Black Canary swore under her breath turning away frustrated. “Don’t mind her,” Arrow tried to reassure Jaz. “So. You know who we are, but we don’t know you. Or, err. Recognize you at least.”

Jaz could tell by the way he was speaking that he was trying to help take her mind off things, “Uh, it’s probably best if I don’t say.” She smiled sheepishly trying to come up with some excuse.

“Oh! You’re not in uniform, are you?” Arrow came to the wrong conclusion, but Jaz quickly nodded happy to be saved the work of lying. In truth she just didn’t want it to get back to Terese and Clara that she’d been captured in this crazy man’s basement. He laughed embarrassed, “And here I thought you were a civilian.”

“She’s to calm to be a civ, Arrow.” Canary spoke behind her shoulder.

“So, how did they capture you two? I don’t think I’ve heard anything about you missing yet.” Jaz tried to change the subject fast.

“We don’t know how long we’ve been down here. We were tasked with protecting the streets of Metropolis while the rest of the league took on their main base of operations… Or at least, where we thought it was.” He scratched the back of his head. He was sitting on the metal cot that jutted out of the corner of his cell. “The rest is kind of blurry.”

“Ah, no wonder. That happened last night so you haven’t been here long at least.” Jaz gazed at the metal cot in her own cell calculating whether or not it would be comfortable enough to warrant moving.

“It hasn’t even been a day?” Arrow nodded, “Felt like its been forever since we’ve been trapped here together.” He shot Canary’s back a coy smile, “Well I’m sure they’re already looking for us as we speak.”

“I remember us checking in at the end of the mission,” Canary turned to face them, “They won’t come looking until someone notices us missing; and that could take days.”

Arrow stood and stretched, “Then we’ll just have to save ourselves.” He gave Jaz a confident smile before stretching out on his cot. Canary just shook her head before punching the force field for good measure. Her fist bounced back as if slammed with an equal amount of force and Jaz watched her rub her gloved hand as a wisp of smoke rose up.

The room fell quiet which was just as well to Jaz. The smack across her head had re-awoken that concussion of hers and her body felt heavy as it hit the metal cot.

 -          -      -

 Hero slammed into the glass wall of his chamber at the center of a circular room. The door they’d thrown him through sealed so tight the seam disappeared. He slammed himself against it, bouncing off the glass harmlessly.

“It’s no use,” The nasally voice of Maxmellius chimed in. Hero searched the room outside until he spotted the hunched figure walking along the upper balcony high above his chamber. The glass extended another story up with a lower walkway surrounding it and a balcony looking down on it. “The glass is infused with the same kind of red Kryptonite that I inserted in your body a week ago.”  His smile turned mocking, “How does it feel, being reduced to a mere dog before your fellow supers, Superman?” He spat the name.

Superman bared his teeth, releasing a menacing growl but the man simply laughed. “Oh that’s right, you’re a dog.” He sneered, “I can’t understand you, what was that again?” Superman took a running leap attempting to smash through the glass in front of Maxmellius. The glass hummed from the blow, but Supermans already weakened body couldn’t hold up in the face of the kryptonite infused glass. He bounced off harmlessly.

“Oh, don’t think you’ll be escaping again super dog. I want to make sure you watch as each one of your friends become mere pet’s just like you. Soon the world will see the downfall of the Justice League, and it all started because of you.”

Maxmellius paused for a moment, his face twisted in rage as a memory flashed in his mind. He smiled again when his eyes fell on Hero. “Now that I have you again, I’m going to shock the world with how its greatest hero has stooped so low as to eating dog food off the floor.” He slammed his fist into a button and a stream of kibble fell from a small hole in the ceiling high above. Superman ignored it as it rained down around him. “Oh? Not hungry? Don’t worry.” The man pointed to several cameras all pointed on the cage, “The camera’s are always running, Superman. No matter how long it takes, every animal has to eat.” The man’s laughter echoed long after he’d left.

 -          -      -

 Jaz startled awake to the sound of the forcefield shutting down. She blinked trying to get her bearings as two thug-like looking men dressed in torn jeans, ripped black shirts and spiked vests walked into the room pulling her to her feet. Canary was awake and standing at the front of her cell. “Where are you taking us?” She demanded.

“Us? Don’t remember inviting you,” One of the men responded. They didn’t wait to hear her response. They led Jaz to one of the numerous operating chairs in the lab, pushing her roughly into it. It had large leather straps to restrain her arms and legs which they wasted no time fastening despite her barely being in the seat. By the time they were done, and she’d squirmed her way into the seat properly, she realized they were loose enough for her to slip out of. Her heart began racing as she tried to figure out what to do.

“Head back.” The second man pulled her head against the pad, strapping it in place. He glanced at a notepad before positioning some of the machines, pointy ends towards her. As they worked around her they were complaining to each other.

“I can’t believe they have us doing this menial bullshit. What the fuck is this for anyways?” The grunt who’d strapped her down spoke.

“Oh shut up, will you?” The second one cursed as he sat himself behind a computer, “The gig’s gonna pay real good, who cares if we have to strap some dumbass’s down and press buttons.” He was following some instructions written down on a paper pad, typing it into the computer in front of him. As he did some of the machines responded, calibrating or adjusting themselves. The computer was facing her making it impossible for her to see what he was doing.

“That’s assuming we even get paid. Don’t you forget he was supposed to pay us a week ago, then it became once that damn dog was captured. Now, we got half our people behind bars and still no cash.”

“And It’s only been a day since we got the damned mutt in the glass cage. Besides, the guys running the dog collection got themselves caught, leading those damn detectives right too em. Just play it smart and we’ll get our money.” Silence fell between them while Jaz looked for an opening. She couldn’t help but notice the guns holstered on their belts. While they were ‘grunts’ to say the least, they were huge compared to her and she had no weapon she could use to knock them out.

“You guys honestly think he’s got the cash to pay you?” She chimed in, hoping to instigate something. They didn’t strike her as the type who were particularly loyal, at least not to anything but cash.

“Don’t talk to her.” The one behind the computer warned his friend. The other one just clicked his tongue, jabbing a needle into her arm far too aggressively. Jaz winced but otherwise made no noise.

“God damn it, why isn’t the vial filling.” He moved the needle in her arm forcing her to bite her cheek to stop herself crying out.

“Go for the vein dude, the fucking vein.”

It was a painful few moments as he kept jabbing and missing it. Finally, the vial began to fill. “Bet you don’t know what he’s gonna do with the blood eh?” Jaz kept prodding.

“I don’t give a shit what he’s going to do to you-“ His friend cut him off warning him not to speak to her. They yelled at each other for a moment longer before he returned to swap vials, filling multiple in a row.

“Don’t care, or don’t need to know?” Jaz tried again.

He chuckled, “Look, hero girl. I’m just in it for the money. Cold. Hard. Cash. I don’t give a shit about needing to know anything, so long as I get paid.”

“Then you should at least know whether or not this guy’s good for his word, eh?” She noticed his eyebrow twitch. It was all the indication she needed to know a seed of doubt was planted, “Think about it. Some nobody scientist experimenting on dogs, illegal operation in a shitty bunker of a laboratory down here. Hell, the guy can’t even afford real lab assistants, so he’s got you two down here using post it notes for his research. Does that sound like a guy who’s got money?”

“She’s just-“ He yelled at his colleague to shut it.

“And why do you care?”

“Honestly? I don’t. But I can say, if it turns out the guy’s been playing you, you’ve got a room full of problems to get back at him with.” She shrugged, hoping any of her bullshit had some truth to it. The rest of the procedure wrapped up in silence. Nothing else stood out to her that she could use. They escorted her back to the cell, taking care to conceal the pin from her.

“Damn.” Arrow was the first to speak. “I was hoping you could take those two.”

Jaz simply shook her head, laying back onto her cot wordlessly.

Chapter 9

#worldheart #fanfiction #fanfic #fanfic writing #justice league #writing #ao3 writer #ao3 author #chapters #chapter 8

[acerace]

Just finished watching Pete’s pov so have some random good moments from Orange17:

-first of all, Pete’s girlfriend Kara uploading a 10 gb file like 30 minutes before MCC, breaking Pete’s internet and freaking him out with Orange15 flashbacks- “I nearly just dropped out of the event chat” 

-Pete’s mom gifting 20 subs before MCC :D

-another before stream moment when Pete leaves to go to the bathroom and Grian turns to stare into chat’s soul (part one, part two, Pete’s reaction) 

-False and SB met/spoke to each other at Minevention?? 

-the group talking about Pete's sleep schedule and how he wakes up at 4 am, and Grian laughing that "not even the sun can beat Pete"

-False seeing Ren's skin and going "who invited Freddie Mercury?" in chat (bonus clip) 

-actually can we talk about how Grian spent the day of MCC17 feeding giraffes

-Pete, about Ace Race: "I was possessed" 

-the entire team absolutely refusing to let Grian talk himself down and self deprecate we love to see it 

-False and Grian’s bow synergy?? Both shooting at the same time in Sky Battle and Dodgebolt, and of course in Survival Games when False gave Grian a multishot book for his crossbow (which he then put quick charge I on as well) and Grian giving her punch II for her bow, with Grian’s multishot getting multiple hits in the final fight and False’s punch II saving Grian’s life against Fruit 

-Grian literally just following Fruit in the lava TGTTOS map and getting 11th place LMAO + bonus “11th, not too bad, yes Fruity, thank you!” and in chat “I love you fruity b” 

-False muting just as Pete asks “False, how you doing, you good?”, waiting in silence, before going “understandable” 

-All of the Vault Hunters jokes! No echo in this vault sadge 

-SB’s “I just killed a man I’m not proud about it” having the exact opposite energy from “just killed a woman, feeling good!” 

-Grian in Ace Race going "I was 5 seconds behind Philza and he's really good so I'm happy"

-False just doing her thing the entire event, getting blue vault and doing parkour like nbd, her fighting in Sky Battle and Survival Games (top 5 in SG hello???), completing build after build in Build Mart without much struggle 

-do I even need to mention Sky Battle or Build Mart, or that Dodgebolt, or Pete’s Ace Race, or SoT winning the audience takeover by 0.1% like holy cow 

-Jimmy and Grian excitedly showing off their top 10 placements to each other!!

-Grian’s experience with invisible mazes coming in major clutch in Grid Runners

-Pete and False going to DB 3 out of 3 times they’ve teamed what a duo hello?? 

-Grian doing the piston parkour first try in SoT like hello?? And the word puzzles without chat?? My streamer using his braincells?? And he did really well as sandkeeper for his first time even though he gave me mini heart attacks every time he walked out of sight from the timer </3 Sand Daddy ftw 

-Pete’s whole “Grian if YouTube and Twitch don’t work out, Fiverr, you know, a one time gong session, that could go” 

-every “HBG on top” moment <3 

-Grian and Pete looking at each other in the windows at the start of Grid Runners, Grian going “hey handsome ;)” and Pete responding “oh?” with the full eyebrow wiggle as his chat is just full of :flushed: and peepoShy

-Grian going to the bathroom during the Decision Dome, going "oh please tell me it's Build Mart- YES" just as he returns

-Pete’s chat that’s it that’s the post seriously they’re hilarious and straight up simping for Grian the entire event 

-in TGTTOS round 2 when SB was considering punching Gumi off if she made it to the end LMAO 

-In SoT, Pete running all the way back to get arrows from Grian to do the skeleton lava parkour, then going back, doing the parkour, and turning the corner to find arrows on the floor XD 

-Grian calling Fruit “his best friend in TGTTOS”

-every time Pete says something along the lines of “Grian I’m so happy for you” 

-not Orange specifically but Survival Games really was adoptee on adopter violence huh, Fruitninja annihilating Purple and then Orange killing H and Pink

-Pete’s reaction to Grian taking charge in Build Mart like seriously go watch his face 

-Pearl and Scar watching Grian's stream, and Pearl and Martyn donating for the school project <3

-Pete outdated sadDrake Tech overrated NOPERS Dre annihilated MEGALUL long have we waited PauseChamp Grian activated 

-bonus after event stuff, Fruit in chat going “I think Grian is the best player by far”, a whole bunch of people (including Bad, who wasn’t even in the event) joining the call to congratulate them, Scott telling Grian he’s not teaming with Pete and Fruit anymore and their cries of horror, Martyn reacting to Grian’s shriek of victory and their Build Mart 

-bonus x2, this clip of Martyn telling his chat he knew Pete and Grian would hit it off <3 

#long post #my posts #mcc #mcc 17 #grian #petezahhutt #falsesymmetry #fruitberries #best event #mcc appreciation

[the-broken-truth]

Can you do yandere bully damian wayne with fem reader how is a 🐺🔥🥋 🛡 🏹 🏠 she is like demon Hunter in Gotham and sometimes batman call for her help with joker/villains and goes to Gotham academy

They Heated each other guts and she tolerated him for her best friend Jonathan Kent

Damian was dating raven how was using him as cashcow

one day in park damian get drugged and kidnapped and reader saw all the and follow there car to save him after killing his kidnappers and heal him she comfront him and tell him everything is going to be alright and give him her jacket (which he will keep it for eternity) she dropped him to his house after buying him something to eat when damian get to his father house he sees the no-one care of what happened to him they saw the he got kidnapped and they didn't care at all but reader did and the how the obsession began

*STATIC*: An Obsessive Love Born From Loathing Hate? A Golddigger, as well? Quite an interesting request we have here, Broken.

Broken Truth: That we do, so let's see what words weave together from this.

Quick Note: The name of the reader shall be Kacela - The name means 'Huntress' and is of African Origin. Just like Damien, she is a rich kid but not because her parents are rich - her human parents abandoned her and she started her own business; it's well-known but not on the same level as Wayne Enterprises.

Broken: SORRY IT'S LATE! I'VE BEEN BUSY!

- THE RUNED HUNTRESS -

[On Top Of Gotham's Rooftops - Across from a besieged Research Facility]

[The Joker was at it again but this time he wasn't working alone - he enlisted the aid of Clayface, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Riddler, and Penguin to take hold of a Research Lab that contained something each member of the crime group wanted; how Joker knew this and managed to use to persuade the villains into working with him is something The Dark Knight couldn't quite figure out. What he did know was that he was going to need some help.]

[At the moment, Damien (Robin)., Dick (Nightwing), and Barbara (Batgirl) were the ones of the Bat-Family that were with him at the moment but the 4 of them weren't going to be enough and - as much as he hated it - he needed aid from a power beyond what his gadgets and training could do.]

Damien (Walks over to Batman, who is standing on the edge looking at the facility): Father, why are we still waiting while those criminals are making a mess of the place?

Bruce: Because we're waiting for someone.

Damien: Who? We have enough people, we can take them.

Bruce: Don't be foolish, Damien. It's the four of us up against seven of Gotham's Worst, plus they have hostages and have access to unknown tech or substances that could put us at a disadvantage. The person I called has abilities unlike our own and can help us a great deal.

[Damien opened his mouth to protest when a smell hit his nose - it smelled like something was burning.]

Dick (Sniff-Sniff): Does anyone else smell something burning.

Barbara: It smells like brimstone.

Bruce: She's here.

[Nightwing opened his mouth to question who 'she' was when a burst of red light from a ball of fire came shooting upward from the edge of the building before falling and landing in the clear space. The ground was scorched from the fire impact and cinders flowed around the air and lined along with the black marks up everyone looked at the person - or creature - that caused it.]

[The creature was large and muscular the body of a wild canine - a wolf - but it stood on 2 legs; except, wolves didn't have 2 horns on their foreheads. The forearms of the beast were scarred with runes that were glowing red against the black fur. The creature began to stand on 2 legs - its height towered over Bruce - and opened its eyes to reveal eyes made from hellfire. The humanoid wolf opened its jaws - letting the hot smoke out - as it began to speak to the Head of the Bat-Family.]

Wolf Creature: Dark One (What she calls Bruce), I'm answering your persistent summons. Why have you decided to bother me this time?

Barbara: Summons? (Looks at Bruce) Bruce, what is that thing?

Wolf Creature (Glares at Barbara): I am not a 'Thing', I am a Wolf Demon while you are the daughter of a cop - playing dress up just to spite him and stick your pointed head where it doesn't belong.

Barbara (Points at the Wolf Creature): Hey, don't call me a...

Bruce (Raises his hand): That's enough. (Looks at the Wolf Creature) Runed Huntress, I know you told me that you're not interested in helping me but this is important. Those criminals have many innocent people captured and are trying to access some very dangerous information and products. Our gadgets can only get us so far but your power is limitless. We need your help.

Runed Huntress (Snorts - making smoke shoot out her nose and blow in Bruce's face): Very well, I shall aid you once again but - as I said before - do not make a habit out of this; you are this city's protector, not me.

Bruce (Nods): Noted. (Turns back to the building) Now, let's get a move on.

[The Bat-Family & The Runed Huntress leaped across the building rooftops until they reached the last roof that sat at the edge of the street that separated the distance of the buildings and the facility. The Bat-Family watches as the large humanoid wolf clapped her hands together and slowly brought them apart - bring a bow that looked as if it was forged from hellfire itself. The Runed Huntress took the bow in hand and did the motion of drawing back an arrow - Damian's eyes widen as an arrow materialized in her clawed hand before she releases it. It goes soar across the street and crashes into the glass dome but doesn't shatter it - it melts it away and forms a large hole, big enough for the rescue party to get inside.]

[The villains looked upon the hole of melted glass as the Bat-Family glided in and stood before the corrupted 7. The Ringleader - The Madman known as Joker - began to chuckle and clap his hands.]

Joker (Clapping): Bats! I knew you would be here! A little late to the party, don't you think?!

Bruce (Glares at Joker): I don't have time to deal with your demented mind, Joker. Release the hostages and turns yourselves in or we can do this the hard way.

Joker (Pouts and shakes his head): Oh, Batsy... Always the party pooper; no cake for you. But in case you have noticed, I outnumber you so...I don't think you can win.

[Just then - the monstrous roaring howl of the Runed Huntress echoed in the hall as she leaped through the giant hole and landed on all fours between Joker and Bruce. She glared at the villains as her jaws opened as lava leaked from the cracks of her fangs, making 2 pools on the tile floor that began to rise and form into 2 clones of herself.]

Runed Huntress (Rising to her feet as the lava clones did the same): Now...it's an even playing field.

[When Killer Croc let loose a hiss, Runed Huntress barked back at him and the two of them charged at each other - fighting as beasts knew how to. Bruce dealt with Joker, Barbara took on Harley Quinn, Dick took care of Riddler, Damian attacked Penguin, while the other two clones took on Clayface and Poison Ivy.]

[The fight ended with the villains in cuffs and loaded into Transportation Trucks, Barbara found the scientists locked in the safe - all accounted for and unharmed, but mentally scarred - Bruce was talking to Gordon while his family looked on. Damian looked off to the side and watched the large wolf walking away and ran after her as she turned into an alleyway.]

Damian: Hey, where are you going?

Runed Huntress (Looks over her large shoulder at the Wayne Family Heir): What do you want, boy? I have aided your leader, that doesn't mean I need to stay around for his talks with the Commissioner.

Damian: Just what the hell is your problem?

Runed Huntress: My 'problems' are none of your concern, Rich Boy.

[Damian opened his mouth to speak but the large beast was engulfed by a flammed vortex that erupted from the ground around her feet and covered her until it exploded into cinders - leaving Damian alone in the alley, looking at the charred circle in the ground.]

- RAVENS LIKE THINGS THAT SPARKLE -

[The Next Day: Gotham High School - Courtyard]

"I gotta go to the library to do some last-minute reading before class starts but before I forget, can I get some cash, Bae?" The Indigo-Eyed Girl asked as she looked upon the Wayne Heir.

"More? I gave you $700 just last week." Damien said as she looked at his girlfriend.

"I know but there's a sell on some rare spell tomes and I didn't want to risk someone else getting their hands on them. o, can you give me some cash?" Raven asked with a tilt of her head like a cat; making the heir exhale.

"Okay, I send another $800." Damien exhaled, earning a kiss on his cheek from the girl how had his heart before she turned and began to walk away.

"Hey, Damien!" Damien turned to see his friend Jonathan Kent walking up to him, but he wasn't alone.

Beside Jonathan was a dark-skinned female around the same height as him with golden eyes in a constant glare, She had short black hair in an undercut - only on her right side. She was wearing the Gotham High School uniform but the man one - she wasn't in comfortable skirts and she had the money to allow this. On her wrists there 2 golden bracelets - long ones that start at her wrists and end further up her forearms - that had some kind of writing on them that Damien didn't care to translate. Why didn't he care? Because he didn't like her.

"Hey." Damien said as he looked in the direction of his friend and...tolerant.

"You good, Bro? You seemed stressed out." Jonathan said with concern in his blue eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine - Father was telling us that there is some large event tonight and he wants all of us there; no questions asked." Damien said.

"Large event? What's that?" Jonathan asked.

"He talking about Gotham's Angel Award - it's when all of Gotham's CEOs and Walking Wallets gather in one room to see who's been recognized as the most giving and kind." Kacela said as she looked at Jonathan with her arms folded.

"Funny the stray (That's what Damien calls her began she doesn't have parents, relatives, or even a surname.) knows what it is, even though you would never step foot in that place, much less get to hold an invitation." Damien said with a smirk on his face. Imagine his shock as Kacela pulls an invitation to that event from her pocket.

"You were saying, Bird Brain?" Kacela asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. Damien began to get mad and Kacela glared at him when Jonathan stepped between them.

"Whoa. Whoa. No need to fight! Just relax, guys." Jonathan said as he looked between her friends. Kacela exhaled and stepped back.

"Fine. I won't fight because Jonathan asked me to." Kacela said as she glared at Damien.

"Same here, Stray." Damien glared at her too before turning back to his phone.

"Whatcha doing, Damian?" Jonathan asked.

"Sending some cash to Raven's card." He said.

"More? Didn't you send her a lot just a few days ago?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes, but there was a book sale and she didn't want to miss out on the rare tomes that were for auction." Damian explained.

"Is that the song she sang to you? For someone so brilliant...you can't even see when you are being played." Kacela said as she placed her hands in her pockets and began to walk away.

"What's that supposed to mean, Stray?"Damian glared at her.

"Just remember - Ravens are fond of things that gleam and shine but they are also creatures that sing songs of deception." Kacela said before she entered the building, leaving Damian and Jonathan standing there.

- THE RAVEN'S DECEPTION & TRAPPED IN THE LION'S DEN -

[After Highschool]

Damian wished his friend a good evening before getting on his motorcycle and driving out of the school's parking lot. He knew that the normal route he would take was going to be caked in traffic for the event tonight and decided to head the long way. He was coming up on the red light at the intersection of 4 famous restaurants/cafes sat at the 4 Corners. He was the first vehicle in line when a familiar voice was heard from the right - he looked and the eyes under his helmet widened when they landed on his girlfriend sitting at an outdoor table with shapeshifter of the Titans - Beast Boy a.k.a Garfield. They were sitting at the table, holding hands and smiling at each other - as if they were in love.

"So, what do you want to do this weekend?" Raven asked.

"I wanna go to the new exotic animal show but tickets to that places are stupidly expensive." Garfield said.

"Don't worry, babe; I got the money from that walking piggy bank, Damian." Raven said.

"You got more? I thought he gave you some a few days ago." He said.

"Yeah, I just told him I spent the money on tomes and he gave me $700 more. All I have to do is pout and he'll give me whatever I want." Raven smirked at the notion and Garfield laughed.

Damian felt so bad about what he just heard - when the car behind him hooked their horn to let him know the light was green, he floored it and began driving down the main streets before the tears in his eyes began to blind him and he stopped on the edge of the park, took his helmet off and hid his face in hands - sobbing; showing the weakness of the Al Ghul.

His heart was broken - the one he loved was using him for a wallet for the shapeshifter and he was too blind to see it. The words Kacela said before she left that day - she was warning him that Raven was disloyal to him. The one he hated was the one who warned him.

He was so caught up in his crying that he didn't see the hooded figure sneaking up behind him and smacking him off the bike with a metal pipe in the back of his head. His world got dark when he heard the words.

"We got Wayne's Brat - we're in for a huge payday, boys." the fading voice chuckled until Damian faded into nothingness of mind.

[Around 2 Hours Later]

"Wake up, pretty boy!" someone commanded as he slapped the Wayne Heir wake - he was tied to a chair in the center of an unknown warehouse with 6 Thugs surrounding him - all of them with weapons in their hands.

"What? What the hell do you want from me?" Damian demanded as he glared at the man who slapped him - only for the same man to punch him in the face; Damian could taste the blood on his tongue before he felt it flowing out of his mouth as he tried to shake the daze from his head.

"We don't want shit from you, brat; we want a payday from Wayne and I know he'll pay huge racks to get his little boy back." The leader said.

"Boss, we've been calling Wayne but he ain't answering." A good said.

"Then keep calling! The sooner we finish this, the better." The boss order. Damian hung his head down - he was done for: his father wasn't answering the phone, his love breaks his heart...just what was he to do

The answer came as the window of the warehouse came crashing inward and a familiar Lycan-Shaped Figure came crashing into the room and landed on the ground on all fours before rising to its hind legs with a very pissed off glare in its eyes - the runes on its body shining in the light.

"What the hell is that?!" One of the Goons said as he tried to get his gun - only to have his head bitten off by the creature's jaws, letting his body hit the floor.

"Kill that thing! Fucking kill it!" The Boss said as he made Damian get to his feet and used his as a human by holding his arm around his neck and hold his gun at the creature that jumped around, slaughtering his men before turning to face him.

"Don't come any closer or I'll blow his brains out!" The boss said as he held the gun against Damian's head.

The Runed Huntress looked at a long metal nail that was sitting between her feet and reached down to gather it in her large clawed hand. Damian and the boss watched as the large wolfish creature twirled the nail between her fingers before flicking it on its head and sent it flying like a bullet - hitting the boss in the center of his head, making them lose his grip on Damian and slump to the ground. The Huntress ran over to Damian before he could fall and gathered him tenderly in her large arm before using the other one to cut his ropes - even free, the boy didn't move, he was too...cold.

"Damian, are you okay? Did they hurt you?" The Runed Huntress asked him as she looked at him with concerned eyes. Damian opened his mouth to speak but he noticed the bracelets on the creature's wrists - he saw them before, he saw them every day during school.

"K...Kacela?" Damian questioned as he looked into the creature's eyes again - there was a sparkle, a smile, then a small vortex of fire that revealed the human face of the one he hated at school.

"I always told you that you were brilliant, just weren't wary of the right people."Kacela said as she took off her jacket from her shoulders and placed it over Damian's, "Wear this, you're freezing." She said.

"You... You saved me? I thought you hated me - after everything I said and did to you." Damian said as he looked into her eyes.

"I never said I hated you, Damian; I said I hated the way you acted. As for saving you, I may have a beast's soul and form but I'm not a heartless monster to just let someone get hurt; not even someone who tries to me." Kacela explained before she turned back into the Runed Huntress, gathered Damian in her arms, and rose to her feet, "Now, let's get you home; you are too cold, you might be sick." she said as she turned on her heel and leaped back through the window she came through with the Wayne Family Heir in her arms.

- THE ONE YOU HATE IS THE ONE WHO CARES THE MOST -

[Wayne Manor]

The Runed Huntress landed in front of the door to Wayne Manor, using one of her hands to knock heavily on the door - it was soon opened by the Wayne Family Butler - Alfred Pennyworth.

"Hello, Madam Huntress, is there something I can help you with?" He then noticed Damian in her arms, "Is that Master Damian? Did something happen?" He asked.

"He was attacked and held for ransom but Bruce never answered the phone and he was harmed." Runed Huntress said.

"That's understandable - Master Bruce and the others are currently getting ready for the event and have asked not to be disturbed." Alfred said, making Kacela's eyes widen in anger.

"What?" She growled out. She pushed past the butler and followed Bruce's scent up the stairs to a meeting room - she barged in and - sure enough to what Alfred said - Bruce, Dick, and Barbara were all there, dressed in elegant attire; they all looked at the large wolf who barged into the room.

"Huntress? Is there something you need?" Bruce said.

"Are you serious, Bruce? Your son is in my arms, beaten & possibly sick, are you're asking me if I need something? Why didn't you answer the calls from Damian's phone?" Kacela asked.

"As Alfred told you, we're busy getting ready for the event." Bruce said.

"He's your son, Bruce Wanye - he was attacked, held for ransom, and beaten up and all you care about is this event? He could be sick, he's as cold as a block of ice." Huntress growled.

"Well, you got to him and saved him before he was hurt too bad, but since he can't come to the event, take him to bed and we will deal with him in the morning." Bruce said as he began walking do the door, past the wolf and his sick son, with his other 2. Kacela growled at him before looking at Damian.

"Where's your room?" She asked, her eyes widened when his hand grabbed her fur and held her close.

"Please... Please, don't leave me here." Damian pleaded - begged - as he tried to hold more tears while shivering.

"There's no way in hell I'm leaving you here. I need to get you some warm clothes." She explained.

Damian told her where his room was and she when there - placing him on the bed for a moment as she gathered pajamas and a new school uniform into the bag before closing it, picking Damian back up, opened the window, and the two of them disappeared into the night.

[Kacela's Loft]

*BEEP - BEEP - BEEP*

"Yeah, just as I thought - you're sick." Kacela said as she pulled the thermometer from the boy's lips and looked at the numbers. Kacela placed it on a napkin on the nightstand that was beside the bed Damian was laying in and the chair she was sitting in. "It seems to be a simple head cold - some medicine and rest should get you and running again, not to mention a good night's rest." Kacela explained.

"How come...you didn't go to the Gotham's Angels Award?" Damian asked as he looked at her with a warm feeling on his face - it must have been the cold.

"That place is full of people who just wanna get seen, not for doing right." Kacela explained before she reached on the nightstand to her phone, "You have to eat something before taking your meds and I don't feel like cooking tonight, so I'll order something. What are you in the mood for - Pizza or Burgers?" Kacela asked.

"What? You're letting me choose?" Damian asked.

"Sure, I don't usually have guests, so why the hell not?" Kacela gave a smile...and the warm feeling returned but it was stronger this time.

When the pizza arrived, Kacela helped Damian sit up, and the two of them ate while having conversations - turned out they had a lot of things in common, from their love of books to their outside activities. Damian asked Kacela a few questions about her knowing Raven was cheating on him and why she didn't tell him directly - she explained that it wasn't her place to speak on another person's relationship, plus he made it very clear that he had a dislike for her so what reason would he have to believe her? Damian apologized for his words but Kacela said she heard worse and wasn't bothered. Just before bedtime, Kacela gave him cold and sleeping medicine so he would be alright in the morning; she stayed with him until he fell into slumber before she went to sleep herself.

When the morning sun rose - Damian woke to the smell of pancakes. Kacela made them breakfast and even made sure Damian's phone was placed on the changer. Damian got dressed in a fresh outfit and went to eat with Kacela; who informed him that she got his bike and helmet from the park after he went to sleep; he thanked her, finished his breakfast, and left out the door...with her jacket.

- NOT SO BLIND ANYMORE -

"What do you mean we're over?!" Raven yelled as she stood before Damian.

"Just as I said - I'm done with you, Raven. You're nothing but a gold-digger and a liar, and you only see me as a mess to keep that green boyfriend of yours happy. I'm not giving you anything else but a hard time if you ever show your face again." Damian glared at her, causing her to huff and march away to the school building.

"Whoa, Damian." Jonathan said as he walked over, "You really broke up with her?" He asked.

"I don't have time for gold-diggers and liars." He looked around, "Where's Kacela?" he asked.

"She called and said... Wait, did you just call her by her name? I thought she was a stray?" He said but swallowed when Damian glared at her.

"Never. Call. Her. That." Damian growled.

"Okay. Okay, man - sorry." He said.

"Now, what did she tell you?" Damian asked.

"She said she couldn't come today - there are some major investors that are interested in her company and want to make a partnership, so she won't be in today." Jonathan said.

"Really? Then, I'll speak to her later." Damian said.

"Talk about what? Wait, isn't that her jacket?" He asked.

"Yes." He said, 'But it's more than just that. It's the start of what Kacela and I shall be...together.'

#yandere damian wayne

[zmwrites]

Tag: Word Find CCCXXVIII

I was tagged by @spacetimewraithwrites​ and given the words keep, gold, goal, fire, and breathe. Thank you!

I’ll take these from Just Jane:

KEEP

The ground rumbled.

Jane’s hand fell from the witchlight as she struggled to keep her balance.

Percy ran the warlock through from behind with calculated efficiency.

Dust and pebbles fell.

Pavia surged to her feet and threw her hands towards the roof just as pebbles gave way to larger rocks. The cave was collapsing. Cracks webbed across the stone ceiling too fast to be tracked. Blood trickled from Pavia’s nose and ears as she fought to hold the weight of the mountain and the fort above. 

The realization hit Jane within milliseconds: they were too far away. She and Mr. Dyer were too deep into the cave. Pavia wouldn’t be able to hold the ceiling long enough for them to get back to the cellar.

GOLD

Jane sidestepped a person in a beautiful red and gold brocade coat, barely avoiding being knocked over, and instead collided with the chest of the person directly behind them. Hands landed on her shoulders to steady her as she stumbled back, but she batted them away.

“Excuse me, I—” She stopped, finding herself looking into brilliant green eyes for the second time in as many days. She frowned. “Oh. It’s you again.”

“Do you make a habit of not watching where you’re walking?” the man asked.

GOAL

“Are you expecting we’re going to run into trouble?” Jane asked Nic as he returned a small mountain of knives to sheaths hidden in his clothing.

“It’s always better to be prepared,” he replied. He had a sword strapped to his hip. 

She hummed her agreement. “Do you think Percy would get me a sword if I asked?”

“Do you know how to use a sword?”

“No, but I could learn.”

Nic laughed. “Always good to have goals.”

FIRE

She slowly turned the knob until the latch undid, then slipped inside. A small fire burned in the hearth and there was a teapot sitting on one edge of the central table. Diagrams of strange creatures were plastered over the walls, colourful claws and scales were displayed under glass domes, brilliant crystals and gems that seemed to glow from within sat on a shelf, and a brown sludge bubbled in an alchemist’s beaker over a candle. Every bit of the room was full of some fascinating thing that vied for dominance.

But the map—the map is what occupied her attention. There were several wooden charms pinned to it, with notations and arrows muddling the painstaking work of the mapmaker. A tiny leaf over the ruins of Nightwell Keep, a goblet over Calbridge, a smooth oval over Summerlight. A teardrop and a minuscule sword were pinned to the edge of the map. Sections of the writing were too messy to be legible, and the bits she could make out contained too much short-hand to make any sense.

BREATHE

The rumble faded and the shaking slowed to a stop. Jane exhaled, dropping to one knee and pulling her mask down around her neck so she could breathe better. Almost dying was not what she’d expected when she’d gotten out of bed.

“What the fuck?”

She startled, stumbled, and landed on her ass. The man who’d spoken was standing in the doorway in just knee-length trousers, his brown skin shiny with sweat and his black hair pushed back from his face. The earthquake must’ve interrupted his workout.

He noticed her. “What the fuck did you do?”

“Nothing!” she said, scrambling to her feet.

He gestured to her clothes, expression pinched with what Jane would call annoyed disbelief.

Jane has so much more chaotic energy than my other main characters, she’s very fun.

I tag @akindofmagictoo​, @sleepyowlwrites​, @talesofsorrowandofruin​, and anyone else who wants to play! Your words are start, smooth, learn, and rumble. As always, no pressure@

#tag games #just jane #jj excerpt

[weirdfanaus]

The Path that Leads Home

Summary: Azriel, on a mission in Day Court, finds himself in a moment of weakness, but somehow he finds his way back home with a life-changing dream in mind.

Rating: Mature

Words:  3347

Pairing: Azriel (ACoTaR) and Original Character

Author’s Note:  All characters except the original one are from A Court of Thorns and Roses. The original one was created by a friend and she allowed me to use her in this story. You can find her under @majolishdustybooks​ .

No spoilers for A Court of Silver Flames

Also on Ao3

Azriel didn't know what to do. 

He had always known what was going on, but now he was lost. 

He was in the middle of nowhere, had muddy attire, no trace of the target he was chasing and a mood at its lowest. 

He sat down on a stump and felt how his syphons hummed in agreement; they needed a break too. He sighed, combing his hair with his fingers and angled his head towards the warm light. 

The sun shone and through the dome of leaves, its rays got to his tanned and tired face. 

And the only thing he wanted was to sleep. 

Azriel and his spies had been chasing his target for more than three months. And when they found that they had been hiding in a forest over the border with the Day Court, he didn't care who was supposed to take care of them. Thus, he winnowed near the frontier and used his connections and knowledge about that court to pass it as silently as possible. 

But the mission after passing it… was not as easy as it was supposed to be. 

The Day Court had always meant something else for the Spymaster. He was feeling closer to home, calmer and even younger. His instincts were different than usual and his lazy syphons, having a mind of their own too, were enjoying their time in the court of light more than they should. 

He was sitting against another tree, half of the front of his leathers open due to the heat and was trying to find the will to fight the sleep that was slowly conquering his whole body.

A voice broke the silence of the forest, the birds stopped singing and the Illyrian opened an eye and looked at at the owner of the voice:

"Wow! The Night Court's Spymaster sleeping? During daylight? I've lived to see this day! I thought that you, bats, slept only during the night. Is the Night Court no longer good for you, old man? Decided that you preferred the sun over the moon and the stars?"

His siphons suddenly woke up. 

"Nice to see you're alive too, Cyra," he replied with a tougher voice, sleep already clouding his body. 

"Darn! You really must like me, if you are still half asleep right now."

If it were autumn, her proximity would've been alerted by the fallen leaves. But because they were still enjoying the calm weather and longer days, the summer gave Azriel the lisp of the leaves’ help. 

"One of our guards caught Edgard trying to break into the main building." That sentence was a wake-up call for the Spymaster and when he stood up, back in the middle of the clearing, he noted how close he was to the female. 

The silence was familiar. He didn’t like to talk too much when it wasn’t needed, but her presence demanded it and his heart and mind was happy to oblige.

And that's why, even though it was not needed, Azriel's right corner of the lip rose and a "Hi" broke the silence.

Cyra's hazel eyes sparkled at his tone and, because of the light, they became greener. Her lips curved in a smile too, while saying: "Hello, Azriel. Nice to see you alive and well. Heard you made new friends." 

The male shrugged and stretched his wings lazily, while the female was assessing him, looking judgely. He knew that his wings were something meaningful to her, not only because they were his, but also because of her Illyrian heritage. His wings, scarred and darker than wet tree branches, connected her to her mother, whose wings brought the late female more pain than freedom. 

“Can we go to where you hold him? I need to winnow him to the Court of Nightmares and get him to talk.” Cyra was somehow caught by surprise by his voice, but she shook it off fast. 

“Yeah, he is kind of asleep now. You hit him hard.” Her voice was calmer, her body more relaxed than usual, not as guarded as she was the first time he met her. Back when she was cold, young and with strands of brown hair flying in the bitter winds of the Winter Court’s mountains, possessing a look in her eyes that would’ve killed him right there. 

“It’s of no surprise that you look like you got hit by a volley of arrows. Yeah, minus the blood. That’s all mud and probably… poop.” her hands moved with such speed, while she spoke, that only by looking at them, he felt more tired than before. 

“Cyra… I know I look like actual shit, but can we not talk about my attire right now? I would prefer to sleep, I haven’t slept five hours continuously for days and I think that I might pass out.” He stepped towards her in a manner very unlike him and Cyra’s face turned into an open book, worry filling its pages.

“You smell…” was her reply when she caught him right before he could fall. It was a sure thing that she was thinking whether she had a dead man in her arms or not, but his head moved against her hair, white strands finding their way through his dark locks and some even reaching in his mouth. He tried to get rid of them without using his hands, but when he realized there had been no progress made, he tried to use his hands, but the female moved faster than him. “And still act as a baby.” Azriel’s face was empty of any sign of emotion.

One moment they were in the middle of a clearing, in the forest, under the sun and the other they were in the middle of a living room. Warm colours, browns and a lot of white surrounded them then.

He would never get used to the great number of plants in that house. Even though in the years he had known her and they had started to get closer to each other, his house back in Velaris was almost as crowded as the one he was in. Stalks, leaves and flower petals covering almost every surface. 

He asked her once, while she was bringing yet another potted plant into his apartment, back in Velaris: “Why are you so keen on growing a forest inside my apartment?” 

Cyra just shrugged and while he waited for the more elaborated answer, which was coming, he watched how she played with one of the white hair strands that were framing her face, the rest of it was kept together with a clip. 

"More oxygen won't hurt you." 

"Yeah, but when there is no light outside, they use my oxygen. So…?" 

She made an annoyed face then and raised a finger in his direction. "You are already dark and broody, why not brighten the place a little bit?" 

"I get that you don't like my colour preference, even though we are in the Night Court, sweetheart. You didn't have to fill this place that much that I don't have any place to even stand. And it's my apartment!" 

The female shrugged, pissed off by his statement. She bit her lip and looked at the plant she was still holding. 

"Plants show us that even after weeks of cold weather, there is still a moment when the sun will come and we will have our moment to be reborn. They bring us all joy. I thought you needed some joy in your life, Az." 

He had always known, deep down, that happiness would come at some point, even though for much time he had lived in darkness, hurting. 

Cyra, with her bright hair and hazel eyes, sometimes even the colour of the plants she loved and cherished, was like the light at the end of the tunnel for him. She brought him joy, freedom and he felt like light, weightless, although he was always in the shadows.

And then, in the Day Court, surrounded by plants and flowers and vegetables, he was home. 

But he was still unsure what to do next.

The female started walking around the room, moving blankets on the sofa, opening cabinets and pulling out packages, cans, jars, utensils and plates.

The water was boiling on the stove when he finally decided to talk.

"I should've gone to sort the problem with Edgard."

"Don't worry about him, he will be there after you take a shower and have something to eat. We need to catch up. It's been a while. I want to know everything about your brand new High Lady." Cyra didn't raise her eyes from the cutting board, where vegetables started gathering. But her tone showed that she was in the mood to gossip. 

"I heard she likes soup." She rose her eyes to him and cleaned the tomato juice off one of her fingers. 

Azriel chuckled at that. 

There was a joke between the Inner Circle, about how Feyre gave Rhys canned soup when they sealed the mating bond. And Azriel knew that there was no way, the Spymaster of the Day Court would not find out about it.

She lived off tormenting his friends, usually the males.

"Can I at least have a bite… small bite… from what you have decided to cook?" He tried, but he was very aware that he was full of mud, probably smelled of deer poop and looked like he had got run over by dozens of wild horses. He knew Cyra very well and her eyes told him that he needed to get cleaned as soon as possible and there was nothing else to discuss. 

He puffed, sad that he had lost that ‘battle’ and aimed for the bathroom.

The bathroom was the same as he had seen it last. Toiletries spread out on the counter by the sink: toothbrushes, razors and different kinds of soaps, each specially created for certain use. 

He swiftly undressed himself and lowered in the already filled magical pool. The water was always warm and his muscles sighed in approval for the moment of peace. The last week had been filled with the smell of grass, branches and flowers. Their pollen sometimes disturbing his senses, a problem, which was once a disadvantage but had been redeemed by knowing the woman in the other room.  After all, he basically had a garden in his house back in Velaris.

He rubbed all the mud off and when he decided that he had spent enough time in the bathroom, he got out. And with a towel around his waist, he walked into the bedroom linked to the bathroom.

Sunlight bathed the room and the plants were sprawling towards it. On the bed placed against the wall, right in the middle of the room, sat a pile of clean clothes, black pants and underwear and a white short-sleeved shirt, which he put on. 

Back in the kitchen, the female, now with her long white hair bound, was mixing something in a bowl, the water in the pot boiling behind her. He reached it and the smell it emanated was a sign that its contents were done. Opening cabinets with familiarity, Azriel strained the vegetables and dumped them in an empty, clean bowl, placing it on the counter. He seasoned them and watched Cyra take a tray with meat out of the oven.

"Take a plate and pick your favourite." She said, tray in one hand and a fork in the other, gesturing towards a cupboard where he knew she held plates. 

Minutes later, the two of them sat at a table by the window, plates before them, glasses filled with lemon water. The sun was covering everything on the table, the flowers in the vase spreading their petals in approval. 

Everything in that house loved the sunlight. He preferred it over the darkness of his past and shadows.

"I've heard that Rhysand got a mate." Cyra, even though she wasn't a fan of talking, was the one that usually started a conversation between the two of them. 

And this conversation wasn't something he felt like doing after the week he had just had.

"Yeah, he did," was what left his lips as he chose to pick at his vegetables and steak instead of looking at her.

"When?" she stopped eating altogether, now sitting in the chair in a way that favoured conversation.

"When what?" 

"When did the mating bond go… boof." she moved her arms as if she had just finished a magic trick. 

"I don't know… maybe around the annual snow fight? We were in the Steppes when Feyre found out that Rhys kept the fact that they were mates from her. “

“So, she is what… angry at him, takes some time off from all of you and they sort it out?”

She jumped in, making her usual assumptions, and Azriel just nodded his head in approval. “And they do the whole cook a meal thing and stuff like that.”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“What do you mean by ‘something’?” she looked at him confused.

“Cans.” the word made her burst into pure laughter. She moved her hands and was almost going to spoil a glass’ components on the table, but Azriel caught it just in time.

When she calmed a little, she wiped some tears from her eyes while saying: “If Cassian gets the same treatment, I swear to the Cauldron that the three of you are destined to have mates that know nothing of the culinary arts.” 

Azriel just puffed at her statement, which made Cyra shrug and plaster a small smile on her slightly tanned skin. 

“She will learn…” he said hopefully, but Cyra just continued to look at him, smiling. 

“It’s not like she will starve by not knowing” They looked at each other longly, thinking about a night around 200 years ago in a cabin in summer court, during a horrendous storm and a bag of potatoes.

“At least I knew how to mash potatoes,” she added a second after while grabbing another bite from her serving.

Her words, her tone and her actions right after she said that, made Azriel burst into a laughter of his own. He didn’t stop for a while, thinking of the awkwardness that went on between the two of them that night. Possibly thinking about that she started laughing too.

Still laughing, she collected the dishes off the table when they were finished, his plate almost empty, except for some leaves she used for seasoning. 

“How’s Cas?” she asked while cleaning the dishes. Azriel walked around the counter, right from the dining area and propped himself against the now clean marble. 

“In the Illyrian Mountains. He is trying to help Feyre's older sister figure life as Fae out.” he said while crossing his arms. 

“Oh… is he all right? After what happened during that last battle…” 

“It’s been a rough period of time for all of us. And I also know that I should’ve come by sooner…”

“I knew that you were alive. I could feel that you were also well, as much as somebody can be after a war… That’s what mattered,” she told him while drying her hands with a cloth. They looked at each other for seconds that felt more like hours. The silence was familiar, calm and it assured both of them that there was still time left, it wasn't running out, just yet.

“I think…”

“We should…”

They started talking at the same time. And sharing a mind connection had never been weirder and more useless before. But they held their minds from each other most of the time and that path that connected them was used in the most important situations.

And that was one of the reasons why they were that day together, because, in his state, Azriel used that connection to call for help. Help that he knew would come unconditionally.

They had decided decades ago that for this eternity to not be a burden, they needed their space. Also, the secrets of their Courts were bigger than them and they needed to be kept safe. 

But the last war woke up something in him. Something that he had known since he had first met her during that mission in the Winter Court.

“You say first.” As she could feel the fight that went on inside his head, she broke the silence. Cyra looked off guard, something that he wasn’t used to, but he had seen before.

His hands were sweating, he was nervous and he didn’t even know why. It wasn’t like that was the first time they shared their hopes, dreams and insecurities with each other.

They were mates.

“I think… I think that we should try to have a baby.” He said. His voice small, eyes partially filled with fear, scared of rejection. He didn’t expect her to be always on the same page as him.

But Cyra didn’t look as angry as he had expected. She played with her fingers, one holding her wedding ring with a blue stone, the same colour as his siphons, which shone in the midday sun. And when she raised her eyes, hazel mixed with silver, she just nodded.

"I think so too."

And his whole world became even brighter than before.

He hugged her and kissed her whole smiling face, forehead, cheeks, nose, eyelids and lastly her lips a couple of times.

Their last kiss was longer than the previous ones, minds open to each other, secrets still hidden in the darkest depths of them, but happiness was buzzing between them.

Their foreheads were together when Cyra opened her eyes to look at him. He could feel her eyes on his face, his olive skin, the scars on his brows and cheeks, the circles under his eyes, but also the wrinkles created by the smile still present.

He started kissing her skin again, but this time his lips took a different path. Her throat was covered by his warm, chapped lips and in their trail, the skin was left wet and sometimes red, from sucking. She brought her arms closer to his neck, fingers running through his dark locks.

Small sounds were leaving her full lips when Azriel’s hands gripped her thighs and she was lifted off the floor and carried to the bedroom.

The sound of a closed door was followed by the rustling of clothes. Laughter filled the air again when the Illyrian stuck his shirt in a talon of his wings, but she helped and they kissed again.

The world seemed to be suddenly set on the right path when they finally joined. His kisses covered the inked skin of her chest, their marriage tattoo set right over each of their hearts. And with each step they took in their dance, they got closer and closer to the end.

Her legs hugged his waist, her arms, his neck, hands massaging his scalp, his elbows on the mattress, one hand at her nape, the other keeping him from crushing her, lips glued and their hearts were over the other, skin on skin, tattoo over tattoo. His hand searched blindly for hers when he felt that they were close to the climax, his movements speeding up. When their fingers laced through each other on the bed, the moment came.

Ragged breaths replaced the sounds of pleasure and their foreheads were once more against the other, bodies still joined and coming down from the high.

“I love you.” Her hoarse breath broke the silence. Her hand covered his cheek, trying to wipe some sweat off of his face. In a movement so similar to a cat’s, Azriel nuzzled his nose, face and hair against her damp face and placed his head in the crook of her neck, kissed the pulse point and hugged her body even more. She replied to his action by moving her hips higher and squeezed his middle. He muffled a swore in her now wild hair.

I love you too. Filled her head and a smile crept on her lips.

#azriel #azriel shadowsinger #a court of thorns and roses #a court of frost and starlight #azriel x oc #azriel x original character #acotar #acofas #weirdfanaus

[teyvattherapist]

Another one, set directly after the one where Sandrone finds Childe~ :)

-

Sandrone-- by a feat of miracle-- snuck Ajax into his Academy room and squirreled the boy away into the cramped bathroom while he snuck into the infirmary again to retrieve a first aid kit. When he returned, Ajax had stripped off his coat and scarf, leaving him in a shirt that was more holes than fabric and his bloodstained shorts. Wordlessly, Sandrone handed him an energy bar he'd swiped from the cafeteria and wetted a towel, rubbing away the dirt and grime that layered Ajax like a second skin. As the dirt washed away, the wounds were brought into stark relief. Hundreds of them, layered over each other and crisscrossing Ajax's skin like gaping mouths. Some were fully healed, nothing but thin, silvery lines. Others were an angry red and purple, bruised and swollen around the edges. All had clean cuts, suggesting an expert hand behind the blade. "Who did this?" Sandrone asked. He wasn't really expecting an honest answer, anyway. But Ajax was always one to surprise him. "The Abyss. I fell into a hole in the ground, and I was taken away to somewhere." "Was it scary?" Sandrone didn't look up from his ministrations, choosing to focus on the mangled mess that was Ajax's knees (how hard did he fall?) "It was," Ajax sighed dreamily. "But the things I saw down there... it spoke to me. The Abyss spoke to me, Sulien. It told me things that scared the everloving hell out of me, but I'm grateful to them." "Why?" Sandrone finally looked up. There were a hundred questions packed into that one word. Why are you still alright? Why are you thanking the Abyss? Why do you sound so different?

And from the bloodied fragments of Ajax's face, the eye of the Abyss stared back at him, milky and purple. Ajax smiled, a pristine tear in the mangled visage of a beast rebuilt from the ground up. "So I can protect you."

IM SCREAMING, ALMOND, THIS IS

KJFDSKJDFS??

SULIEN BEING A SNEAKY LIL SHIT IS SO TRUE, THAT'S JUST HOW HE WAS-

BUT THE SO I CAN PROTECT YOU?? SO I CAN PROTECT YOU!! OH MY GOSDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. THE ?? JFDDF YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW!! I KNOW YOU DON'T KNOW THE LOFE, BUT THAT FITS SO WELL IM SCREAMING

as promised. Part two of Desiderium under the cut.

Another nightmare, another sleepless night. This nightmare was real though, it wasn’t like his usual ones, the ones where he was bound by chains and forced to- No, he didn’t want to think about those. His mind wandered to the latest one. He had given thought to Zhongli’s words, he was longing for somebody. But who? The God had never brought it up again, so he didn’t know. It had to be Lumine right? She was pretty, sure. Strong, good with a sword, her eyes were a nice shade of gold. But something still felt off.

He needed to take a walk.. He stopped when he reached the living room, blinking at.. Lumine? Asleep on his couch? The blonde stirred and pushed herself up some, blanket falling around her shoulders. “Sandrone? Ah- your mask- I- Sorry.” She averted her eyes and Sulien realised he wasn’t wearing his mask. This was his house! Of course he wasn’t wearing his mask. He cleared his throat.

“I thought I heard voices.” Ajax commented from the hallway, hair messier than ever from sleep. “I hope it's alright I invited Lumine to stay with us while she’s in Liyue Harbour. It's closer than the inn.” Ajax explained, seeing the panicked body language only he could understand on his fellow harbinger made him feel bad that he forgot to bring it up. Paimon snored away on the armchair, clearly unbothered by it all.

Without his mask, without his gloves, his scars and face on display. He felt uncomfortable. Incredibly uncomfortable. “I’m going for a walk.” Sulien pivoted and made a beeline for the entrance. Lumine rubbed her sleep riddled eyes, a small yawn escaping her as she looked up at Ajax who was busy staring at the archway into the entrance.

The door slammed shut.

“I’ve only known him for a month or so but,” she yawned, “I take it this is abnormal?” She sat up properly, tightening the blanket around her though. Liyue evenings could get quite cold. Ajax nodded his head in response to her question. Abnormal indeed. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen such an influx of emotion. Perhaps when they were kids? That was probably it.

Sulien breathed in the fresh air, late at night, he didn’t need his mask, he didn’t need to be his rank. He could just be another nameless person in the streets, he preferred it this way. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants as he walked down the streets. Very few people were out and about so late at night, but he enjoyed watching them. A ghost of a smile on his lips as he watched lovers enjoying a late night getaway or a tired sailor returning home late.

But despite his usual late night activity that often cleared his mind, his mind began to fog once more. Trailing back to his dream, it wasn’t even that bad, especially compared to the usual ones. But being abandoned in a dream, he supposed, tied into the feelings he had been having recently. The stabbing pain in his poor heart, the squeezing of his lungs, stripping his body of blood and air.

There was no way it was about Lumine though. He didn’t feel anything when he looked at her except the pain, there was nothing underneath. He sighed, finding himself at the docks. He looked out on the dark water, lilac eyes searching the depths for answers. He furrowed his brows, all he could think of when he looked at the water, all he was reminded of.. Just one thing.

Ajax.

Sulien shook his head, no, he shouldn’t think of Ajax of all people. He couldn’t, that wasn’t allowed as far as he was aware. Well no relationship was allowed in general, he was their puppet after all, he couldn’t have any strings except to Her. But still.. This seemed somehow worse. His heart lurched at the thought and he hissed in pain, bringing his hand up to his chest, scarred fingers digging into the black fabric of his shirt.

All the books he had read, all the research he did. None of it had any answers for this. And he wondered why he felt wrong. Sulien sighed, sitting on the edge of the docks, legs dangling above the water. Ajax seemed happy with Lumine either way, right? They were much cuter together. Sulien never really belonged anyways, an outsider looking in on everybody else. He sighed, leaning back on his arms.

There were footsteps on the dock behind him and he tensed his body, ice already forming in his fingers. Then the familiar scent of cologne hit him and he watched as Ajax sat down on the docks beside him, wrapped up in Sulien’s coat of all things. Sulien’s heart hurt and he looked out at the water, it was becoming so frequent that it was more of a dull ache. Ajax deserved better than him, better than some man who couldn’t give him what he wanted.

“Talk to me.” Ajax whispered, dull eyes trained on the ocean. “You’re hurting and I want to be there this time.. I wasn’t.. I wasn’t last time.” The man hesitated, pulling one knee up and rested his arm against it. Sulien wished nothing more than for the waves to take him away, drown him until there was nothing left. He could not tell the man beside him how he felt, it was wrong. It wasn’t fair.

“I’m just sick, I’ll be fine.” Sulien manipulated his voice so he sounded more hoarse, as if to hammer in the point that it was nothing more than some freak illness. “We have field work tomorrow, you should go back home and sleep. I’ll walk you back.” Sulien stood and Ajax slowly followed him. But before Sulien could head off the docks, Ajax grabbed his elbow, stopping him.

“Please talk to me when you feel ready.” Sulien merely smiled, one of the ones that Ajax knew was fake and full of lies. But the ginger accepted it in the moment.

-

Sulien sighed as he summoned his claymore, flipping the massive weapon in one hand. The conversation from the day before played in his head, over and over. But he had work to do now. Why did Ajax care? What did he mean when he said he wasn’t there last time? Sulien swung his weapon, the frostbitten blade slicing clean through the arm of the Ruin Guard. He didn’t expect to be smacked by the automaton’s other arm, he barely protected himself with a wall of ice.

“Sandrone, pay attention!” Ajax called, utterly confused on why his colleague was so lost in thought. Ajax ripped apart his bow, the hydro blades forming as he slashed at the ruin guard. It was a simple side mission, really. Destroy the ruin guard near the skirmisher camp. Easy peasy between the two of them. Hell even alone, just one of them probably could have done it. But it was rare they both were allowed into the field together.

Sulien froze the ruin guard and Ajax’s daggers turned back into his bow, he nocked an arrow and drew his string back. Right through the core, bullseye. “Alright that’s that!” Ajax’s bow dematerialised as the automaton fell. There was a whirring nearby and Sulien narrowed his eyes, Ajax didn’t seem to hear it. But he did.

A wall of ice protected Ajax from the incoming missiles of another automaton. Sulien barely dodged the drill of a ruin hunter. Why were there so many all of a sudden? Ajax easily flipped out of the way of the hit of the ruin guard that had attacked him, sliding back to where he had been when fighting the first one. His bow appeared in his hand and he got into position again. “Tartaglia! How many did the Skirmishers report?” Sulien questioned as blocked an attack with his claymore.

His arms shook as the hunter tried to keep cutting downwards with its long sword-like attachment. He had to yield, ducking underneath it. Ajax bent down on his perch, pointing his bow upwards he released multiple hydro arrows into the air. “They only reported one ruin guard! There was no mention of multiples, let alone a hunter.” Ajax called back as another hydro arrow appeared between his fingers.

Now underneath it the ruin hunter decided this was the time to use lasers. Sulien barely constructed the dome around himself in time, manipulating the frost in the air and creating a solid ice dome. A fourth automaton had Ajax seething, how in the hell did their subordinates miss this? When the one he had been fighting slammed its hand onto Ajax’s perch he used its arm as a bridge, bow turning into a polearm.

The ice around Sulien melted but before he could react a second ruin hunter was slamming into him, sending him flying backwards. “Sulien! Careful!” Ajax called, stabbing his polearm into the core of the ruin guard. Sulien got back up, dodging out of the way of one of the hunters. He ran for his claymore, weaving between various attacks as quickly as he could while Ajax struggled with the ruin guard.

Sulien picked his claymore back up and adjusted his grip on the weapon, he slashed at the legs of the ruin guard Ajax was battling, sending the automaton to the ground, the whirring of its body stopping. Two ruin hunters left- Sulien turned around and was faced with three. What in the world- “Something is summoning them here, Tartaglia. This is abnormal.” Sulien adjusted his grip on his blade, peering through the new crack in his mask. He’d have to fix it again.

A bright light beside him blinded him and Sulien hissed as he turned away from Ajax. He didn’t really have time to focus on the transformation as he shielded the both of them from the incoming missiles. A wall of ice reinforced with vines splintered and exploded, the shards turning into snowflakes as they fell from it. At least the wall had lasted against the missiles.

While Sulien thoroughly distracted one of the ruin hunters, Ajax focused on the other two, he brought his hand down, summoning multiple thunderbolts onto one of the ruin hunters, causing it to collapse to the ground, stunned from the electricity. His bow turned into a water spear as he dashed forward, the water from his weapon spraying the automaton, thoroughly frying it. Sulien’s claymore became encased in ice once more, and the ruin hunter he had to deal with was down for the count.

Ajax turned his attention to the last ruin hunter, turning in time to watch the missiles coming at him. He used his ability to blink, reappearing closer toSulien who was looking worse for wear quite frankly. Ajax lunged forward once more, a wheel of electrified water surrounding the ruin hunter, tightening on it. Sulien stepped forward, releasing a blast of ice that froze the machine, causing it to fall from its awkward frozen position, shattering upon contact on the ground. Ajax was beaming, still in his Abyss form but he let himself actually touch the ground rather than float and he turned towards Sulien.

Sulien's claymore dug into the stone and he used it to keep himself up. Ajax closed the distance between them, his weapon floating beside him. Sulien collapsed onto his knees, the large weapon giving out underneath his weight and clattering to the stone floor of the ruin. Funny.. This didn't hurt as much as the heart problems had been hurting.. Life was funny that way. "Hey, hey what happened?" Ajax shifted back, he was exhausted from the fight and using foul legacy. His eyes trailed down to where Sulien's hand was pressed against his side. Ajax gripped the man's hand, pulling it back. The dark green of his palm stained even darker.

"The ruin hunter hit me." Sulien's head hung low, the mask he wore finally giving out, falling to the stone floor, the crack that had started to form fully breaking through the fragile mask. Ajax wished that Sulien didn't look so void, maybe it could help him assess the extent of the wound. Ajax helped Sulien out of the coat he wore, discarding the heavy material onto the ground. The touch was electrifying to Sulien, whose heart only clenched more. So many things unsaid.. But even now, he figured, he didn't deserve the right to say them.

Ajax pulled the man's shirt up, inspecting the wound. It was bad. Really bad. Sulien didn't even flinch when the man used his hydro vision to try and get rid of some of the blood to see better. "I never wanted this." Sulien mumbled as he stared up at the sky. Yes that much was true, Sulien never wanted to be on the battlefield. He was not a warrior. At one time he wanted to be a scholar, he wanted to teach. All of that ripped away with his memories. This was the end Ajax wanted, surrounded by bodies on the battlefield. Ajax ripped the banner he wore, pressing the fabric against the wound.

"Sulien, keep your eyes open, okay? I'll get you help." Would he be strong enough to carry Sulien and his weapon all the way back to Liyue Harbour? Sulien laughed, it was bitter though and it made Ajax's heart hurt. They both had so many things left unsaid. Ajax grunted as he lifted Sulien, the man hadn't listened. Though, when did he ever listen, Ajax mused. The harbinger had to use foul legacy again, there was no way he'd be able to get from the ruins all the way back to the harbour. The warm blood on his hands made the decision for him.

The stares he got as he moved through Liyue Harbour meant nothing to him, he kept Sulien's coat over the man in question, shielding his face and wound from the general public. The claymore in his free hand as he quickly moved through the streets. There were so many things Ajax hadn't said, so many things he felt, so many things he wanted to do. He gripped the man in his arm tighter.

Ajax kicked the door open, much to the surprise of Zhongli and his guests who watched as the large abyssal creature ducked to get through the doorway. Ajax dropped the claymore in the entrance way, letting the weapon clatter to the ground. He then shifted back, all but falling to his knees, Sulien’s still body rolling from his arms. Ajax slammed his hand into the ground as he tried to push himself back up.

“Help, help him please.” But he found himself unable to get up, breathing too unsteady, his own wounds catching up with him as the adrenalin was all but gone. Zhongli dropped his teacup, moving quickly he picked up Sulien, bringing him further into the house. At least Ajax could rest now, leaning his head against the hallway wall.

“Lumine, go get Baizhu please. Paimon, could you bring me the medical kit from the kitchen?” Zhongli lowered Sulien down onto the couch, pulling the fabric away from the wound the God grimaced. Lumine nodded, stepping over Ajax to get out the door as fast as she could. Paimon also listened, despite her small frame she managed to drag the medical kit into the living room. Zhongli peeled his gloves off and rolled up his sleeves as he tried to stop the flow of blood now staining his furniture.

-

“He should recover if he doesn’t get an infection. But do you think it is wise to treat Fatui? One less Harbinger may be-”

“I appreciate your concern, but Sandrone is a good friend no matter his occupation. He can’t help his work. Thank you for coming. Have a good night Baizhu.” Zhongli shut the door soon after and then returned to the living room. Sulien was asleep on the couch, a thin blanket covering his lower half while his torso was wrapped in multiple bandages. Ajax, meanwhile, was sitting on the ground, holding Sulien’s hand, head resting against the couch.

“They look kinda cute.” Paimon’s whisper was absolutely not a whisper, but at least she tried as she floated between Zhongli and Lumine, a smile on her face despite the fact it was two harbingers in front of her. She couldn’t know, there was no way for her to know what the two men in front of her have been through. Both alone and together. The scars could give her a hint. But that was it, and she was too naive to get it. And so to her, they were just bloodsoaked warriors who fought in the name of something she did not understand.

To Zhongli though, he’d seen this story play out thousands of times throughout history, and all he could muster was a frown, especially as his eyes traced the scars on Sulien's bare chest. As he retraced their previous conversations, he had first thought maybe it was Lumine. But as he watched the way Ajax nearly killed himself for the man. Zhongli sighed softly. What a tragic position to be in indeed.

“I’ll bring him home. Thank you for helping.” Ajax stood slowly, wincing at the pain he felt. He was in a bad state himself. Lumine held out the tattered coat, the black and navy fabric stained in hidden crimson. Ajax took it, wrapping it around Sulien before hoisting him up with a grunt. Sulien stirred in his arms but remained asleep. “I’ll pick up his claymore tomorrow.” Ajax couldn’t carry the weapon right now.

“Be safe.”

-

Sulien blinked at the ceiling of his bedroom. It was light outside, but the room was dark, the curtains drawn shut. His side hurt like hell, the events of what happened melding into his fragmented memory though, and he couldn’t quite recall at the moment. He felt weight shift in the bed beside him and he tensed immediately. There were very few he’d ever let close enough to him who-

“I know you’re sleeping but..” Ajax started with a soft sigh and Sulien promptly squeezed his eyes shut and evened out his breathing as if he were sleeping. “I think I know why you’ve been sick lately.. It’s the same reason why I’m sick.” Sulien wanted to furrow his brow as he quickly grew confused but opted to continue pretending he was asleep.

“I thought spending time with Lumine would take my mind off of you but it didn’t.” So he had been doing it on purpose. “Lumine is nice and all. But she’s not you.” Sulien could feel Ajax’s warm hand against his cold one, his long slender fingers playing with the scarred skin of Sulien’s hand. “I just don’t want to ruin the friendship we have if you don’t feel the same. So I tell you when you’re asleep like a coward.” Ajax sighed to himself. “This is so pathetic of me.” He mumbled.

“And then it’s my fault you’re hurt, they were my subordinates and my mission.” Ajax’s voice cracked and he didn’t even try to hide it. Though, Sulien supposed when you’re talking to somebody who is asleep, there’s nothing to hide. “All I do is fail you, what kind of friend am I? If I can’t even be a good friend, how am I supposed to be a good enough lover to tell you how I feel?” Ajax intertwined their fingers, but his touch was so hesitant. His hand was so warm, too.

“You say it all the time.. We’re just pawns in all of this.. This is one choice I have control over in this mess and yet I can’t even make it. You deserve so much more.” Ajax pulled his hand away and Sulien missed the comforting warmth. “You deserve somebody who can help heal those wounds, not.. A bloodthirsty monster like me. Whew, okay.. That helped. Good job Ajax.” Ajax mumbled to himself, a soft sigh of relief now that the weight was off of his chest.

“I think I’m in love with you.”

Ajax sat up, dull eyes wide as he looked down at Sulien whose eyes were still closed. “I don’t really know how love is supposed to feel. But I think I feel it.” The man sighed, he didn’t know very much it would seem. “Could I have your hand back? I like how warm you are.” Sulien finally opened his eyes to Ajax staring at him, a range of emotions on the ginger’s face. Huh.. Had he always had that many freckles on his face? Cute.

“How much did you hear?!”

“All of it.” Ajax inhaled sharply, panic setting in. Sulien reached out, grabbing Ajax’s hand, warm. “You deserve somebody who understands the things they are feeling. And I’m not that. But I can try to learn..” Sulien cleared his throat, it hurt to speak but he couldn’t really remember the last time he had. He must have been hit pretty hard. “Te-” he hesitated, looking away from Ajax’s shocked expression and out the window. “Teach me.”

Ajax settled back down on the bed, intertwining their fingers once more. “Okay.. I’ll teach you.”

#moots #asks #Almond<3 #Tandrone #Lane's ocs #Sulien Ambros #Sandrone #p1 of Desiderium is on my main btw #this is p2

[liketolaugh-writes]

Heavenflower

The first part of this is too vague to catch a lot of immediate interest without an explanation, so I'll say this: this is best summarized as 'that AU where Link knows even less than normal, dyes his hair green, and people start to call her the incarnation of Farore- and she's not quite certain whether or not it's true.'

----

The moon was the only way I could keep track of time on this stupid plateau.

I had watched it disappear six times. Five times it had turned into a beautiful, pockmarked orb. I had watched it go from one state to the other, back and forth, enchanted by the gentle glow and the wax and wane of its shape. On days it was covered by clouds, I imagined it. Sometimes I traced its shape into the soil or the snow. It was due to turn full again in only a couple of days, and I wondered if I should mark the occasion. Six times, back and forth, wax and wane.

Eight times the moon had turned red, and every cursed bokoblin on the plateau had been ressurected and found new weapons. I had tried to find a pattern to that, too, but if there was one, I couldn't make any sense of it. I just grabbed whatever I could find too, and went after them before they could get comfortable.

Not for the first time, I took the mysterious little device off the specialized, sticky holster on my hip, and I traced one fingertip over the carvings – the same ones that had been on the diamond structure I had found, the one that had risen out of the ground, and the little domed constructs that had followed. I fancied that it had come from the goddesses themselves, a divine relic that had fallen into my hands by chance or design. Or perhaps it was a commonplace tool, and I simply did not know it because I knew no one. For all the wildlife and greenery, the plateau was empty of what I really wanted: answers. How had I gotten here? Why had the entrance – and exit – been sealed off? What had given me the tight, gnarled scarring that made every stretch painful? But I was alone on this plateau, just me and the trees and the animals.

How had I even gotten here?

Boredom had led me to scour every nook and cranny of what surroundings I could reach. I'd met a dozen cheerful, charming little Koroks. I'd climbed Mount Hylia a hundred times. I'd hidden in the trees to watch how the bokoblin made their arrows. I'd eaten everything I could fit in my mouth at least once, driven by gnawing and recurrent hunger. I'd even, on one particularly long wait between red moons, pressed the stone tablet to one of the dome structures, and watched it open in front of me.

Magnesis, Cryonis, and Stasis had opened up a few new paths for me to explore. But not many. So, the only place left untouched was what my map called the Eastern Abbey.

And the Eastern Abbey had the monsters – the towering horrors with their huge glowing eyes and the shrill warning that hurt my ears and tightened my chest until it hurt to breathe. With a blast like a sledgehammer, and the red light that hit my stomach dead center, that had left burns that had made me cry-

I didn't want to go there.

Determined to stay as far from the ruined abbey as possible, I cut through the forest to skirt the cliffs again. The bokoblin camps had long since been cleared, but my stomach ached hollowly, and I wanted to find a boar again. The forest had plenty of them, and some mushrooms that hadn't made me sick before, and shrubs to pluck leaves off of. I'd have to wash off before I went to sleep, or I'd wake up sticky, but nothing kept me full as long as the bloody meat of an animal.

It only took a few hours to track down a snorting, snuffling target, and by the time I was within reach it was barely evening. I nocked an arrow, aimed- and yelped loudly, the arrow releasing prematurely, when a bird startled, flying out of its perch in a screech of feathers and wind. I had to shake my hair out of my face before I looked, and by then the boar was gone. I let out a soft, disappointed groan, reaching up to rub at my face. So much for that.

Shaking myself off, I went to grab the arrow – no sense letting it go to waste. It had flown into a patch of overgrown bushes, thick with thorns, and I had to grit my teeth as I pushed through them; my thin, threadbare shirt offered almost no protection, and in fact gained several new holes during the ordeal. On the other side, I found the arrow tangled in a twisted, beautiful vine plant, then hissed as my hand brushed a flower, giving me a painful shock so strong I could taste it.

I rubbed my hand and cautiously leaned against the cliff face, examining the flower. It was a beautiful little bloom, a bright green only a few shades darker than a Stamella, with frail, thin petals like honeysuckle. About six inches below the cluster of flowers, there was a much darker green pitcher, shaded and dimpled to blend in with the shrubbery around it. When I looked, I could see a couple of rats gruesomely stored inside. Confused, I looked around.

I had been here before, certainly – I'd scoured what I thought was every inch of the forest. But this was a little path, hidden by the thicket of thorny bushes, and it quickly disappeared underground. Every wall was covered in the toxic green flowers.

Curiosity overcame me, as it always did when I encountered something new, and I had nothing to lose. I pushed through, hissing and stumbling every time I came into contact with one of the flowers. By the time I got through, my tongue and fingertips tingled, and I was oddly dizzy. My skin prickled painfully. But I'd gotten through, and the cave under the mountain was beautiful, with flecks of sunlight coming in from far above to illuminate it.

There was a chest in the middle, more ornate than any I'd ever seen. Cautiously, I dropped to my knees and edged closer.

It was a beautifully gilded golden chest, gleaming in the light. There were carvings set into it, Koroks and leafy vines and wind runes, all painted in a vivid green that had only worn away in a few places. I almost didn't want to touch it; I was certain I would get it dirty.

But if I didn't touch it, I would never know what was inside. I reached forward and fumbled with the lock, my fingers still numb from the flowers in the tunnel, and after a few minutes managed to unlatch it. I pushed the lid up.

There was a bow inside.

It wasn't anything like the crude bows the bokoblin made, or the flimsy wooden ones I had found lying around. It wasn't even quite like that one metal knight's bow that had been on top of the ruined temple. It was wood, earthy red, a beautiful recurve bow that had been polished until it shone in the dim light. The limbs were carved as if the bow had been draped lovingly with wildflowers, and the grip was moss green, thick and sturdy. There was a jewel set into the arrow rest, flush with the surface so it didn't throw off the aim. A topaz.

There was a quiver in there too, almost as pretty as the bow. It was leather, as soft as if it had been freshly oiled, and shaped like the pitchers of the plant outside. The surface was embroidered with pictures; they looked like they told a story, but I didn't recognize it, and even after studying it for several minutes I couldn't even begin to decipher it.

I strapped on the bow and the quiver. Whoever they had belonged to before, they were mine now.

#legend of zelda #breath of the wild #botw #loz #link #farore #fanfiction #my writing

[saphirered]

Really live your fic on Cabel. Think you can do a M9 one shot with Artificer reader? With a flashback of their war and lost their group.

I hope it’s to your liking. I’ve been caught up in work so sorry for the wait 😅.

You were sitting with the rest of the Nein in a tavern. Tensions had somewhat lowered for now but you’d be off on your next adventure soon. For now you would relax even if for a short while. The band was playing a lively tune and you could feel your foot tapping on the ground along with the beat while sipping your drink making happy conversation with Caduceus. A hand grabbed your shoulder and pulled you to your feet turning you around. Slightly caught off guard you stumbled but the laugh from Caduceus confirmed it was safe.

“Come oooon y/n!” Jester exclaimed while pulling you to a makeshift dance floor. 

“Okay. Okay.” You laughed taking your place as Jester did hers, waiting for the right beat to hit and starting your dance. Jumping, bouncing twirling and twisting arm in arm along to the beat. Eventually Beau joined in too and she somehow managed to drag Fjord and Caleb with too. How she managed you didn’t know but possibly under the threat of exposing all their secrets. Before you knew it all of the Nein had joined the dance laughing along. How far you’d all come. 

——————————————————————————

You’d been captured at the Garrison. The back and forth between sides taking control of the Ashguard Garrison had been maddening. You and your unit had been sent in to defend the garrison once it fell into your hands and now the enemy had gotten it back from you. You had been taken prisoner along with the rest of your group. You were escorted through the mountain passes back to the other side to be interrogated but you and your friends weren’t much looking forward to the ‘gracious’ offer of food and shelter and especially not the prospect of spending your final moments in chains at the mercy of those who would see you dead after you’d outlived your usefulness. 

They made a mistake not searching thoroughly and letting you keep your armour. Blessed be the gods for your ability to integrate your tools into your armour. You devised a plan with your friends. Every time you rested they would try and steal some materials. Not enough to notice but just what you needed. The time of your escape came around. While most were asleep one of your friends picked the lock on your cuffs freeing your hands. Another distracted the soldiers in charge of keeping an eye on you, shouting profanities, cursing them and complaining about anything and everything to be as much of a nuisance as possible. It worked.

First up you freed your tools and began the construction of an Eldritch Cannon, small enough to hide it behind your shapes and not draw the attention of your captors. You were successful. 

Your friend acting as the distraction got a pretty good beating after refusing to shut up that would certainly result in bruises and might actually be a broken nose but it’s worth getting out. You gave a nod to your friend who’d been picking the locks on the others’ manacles one by one. 

Okay you had one chance. They started getting fed up with your talkative friend began losing their interest but he kept trying. It was time for him to get out too so you threw a pebble as far as you could in the opposite direction. The sound gained their attention but the light you made it admit scared them even more. They shouted waking the others, save for a few all going in the direction of the light. Taking this as your cue you set off the cannon blasting the soldiers close to you away. Second another of your group tossed a fireball right at the cluttered mess igniting their supplies and blasting away those within range. 

You got up and began running. All of your able-bodied enemies now awake began giving chase but you had the advantage here. You kept running, jumping over rocks, sliding down ledges dodging arrows. You saw one of your friends had managed to sneak your firearm and some ammunition from their stash before it was set on fire. They toss it over and you begin loading a shot while running. 

——————————————————————————

You’re hidden behind a fallen decaying tree as Beauregard begins walking over the hunched figure in the swamp. You don’t trust the situation for a second but she insisted in taking the ‘right approach’ as whatever this creature was it might be friendly. You take aim waiting for whatever happens next, ready to take the shot if you need to. 

Of course it went south pretty quickly and you took the shot as you expected. The fight began. You really had gotten so used to this that your nerves had gone away entirely and instead were replaced with a calmness every time you took aim. It wasn’t always like that.

——————————————————————————

The enemy was still giving chase and you’d eventually have to stop. Some of your fellow soldiers had fallen and you were forced to leave them behind praying that whatever deity they worshiped would shelter them. You couldn’t afford to slow down but you had to rest at one point. A few of your group had already begun to lose pace. You had noticed a ledge a ways ahead. You were a quick climber and an especially good shot from the distance. Someone had to hold them off because there was no way you could out run them especially not if they had called for reinforcements. Someone had to create a window for them to get away. 

“You have to keep going.” You spoke out of breath. “I can hold them off for a while.”

“We’re not leaving you behind.” Your friend spoke.

“We’ve already left behind enough. Someone’s gotta make it out alive. I’ll come find you when I’m done. See you on the other side, old friend.” You clasp your friend’s hand before you let go and begin running to the ledge and jump to the other side beginning to climb up before they can stop you. They try to call after you but don’t want to risk anyone hearing them or exposing you. 

You climb up the mountain to the spot you had seen and lay down using the natural rock to stabilise the barrel. You calm your breath but the nerves make you shake a little. And a little is a lot on a long range. You breathe and count. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5…. Breathe. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Breathe. The tremor subsides in the next minute and the first target enters your range. You take aim. And fire. First one down. Reload. Take aim. Fire. Reload. Take aim. Fire. Reload. 

——————————————————————————

“Are we there yet?” Jester asked Fjord as you were trudging through the snow, the Kiln far behind you.

“No not yet.” 

“Are we there yet?” This time it was Beau asking. 

“No.”

“Are we there now?” Beau and Jester asked in unison. You could practically hear the half-orc grind his teeth trying to keep his cool. You knew he loved every single one of the Nein to hell and back but even you had to admit they could be quite something to deal with.

“Maybe it’s best to stop asking so we can focus on directions instead of getting lost? Besides if you’re not constantly reminded of the time it may look like we’ll be there faster and the faster we can get some pastries.” This seemed to quiet Jester down but Beau was about to counter that statement so you instead indulged her in a conversation about her latest workout routine. Fjord shot you a thankful glance. 

You continued on your path for many more hours until the sun set. Caleb put the dome up keeping you all warm. You sat around a fire provided by both you and Caleb just engaging in happy conversations. 

“Ooh, ooh, ooh! Y/n can you tell the story of how you found us again! I love it when you tell stories!” Jester exclaimed practically begging you.

“Yeah y/n, tell me more about how you use that weapon of yours so I can shoot Beau in the ass with this!” Nott cackled holding up the pistol she had been holding on for a while now. 

“Okay, okay. If you want to hear the story I’ll tell you but Nott, you have to promise you won’t shoot anyone on purpose. These are no toys and they’re only to be used responsibly in self defence.” 

“I will make no such promises!” Nott screeched but puts the pistol away. 

“I-uh think you should. If not for your sake, for mine besides I’d like to hear the tale too.” Caleb argued which seemed to convince the goblin although begrudgingly so.

“Okay. I promise I won’t shoot anyone I don’t intend to and will use it only in defence.” You were pretty sure you could see Nott cross her fingers behind her back but it was the best you were gonna get and you weren’t gonna derive the others of a story just for that. 

“Once upon a time…” You began as you tinker up a quick little trick drawing up pictures using one of your abilities to display some of the scenes like a children’s storybook. Beau lied down stretching her legs across your lap and Jester sat right next to you pointing out little details as you brought the pictures into existence. Nott studied every single one that portrays any kind of firearm while Caleb covered her eyes jokingly every once in a while preventing her from inspecting it closer. Fjord sat back hanging onto your every word as Caduceus poured everyone some tea. 

——————————————————————————

You were running out of ammunition but you managed to sent quite a few of them tumbling into the crevices between the rocks and off the steep ledges. You weren’t equipped well enough to take them all out but you certainly got their attention as seemingly they lost the tracks of your group and were only chasing you but you had no intention of getting caught. Covered in scrapes and cuts and arrow wounds you treated on the fly. You were no healer but you managed to patch them up enough to be able to keep moving until you could get proper treatment. 

They were gaining on you to the point where you could see them and they could see you. You’d be in open range if you were to stop now and take down as many as you could so your only hope was running. A piercing pain reached the side of your lower back. You suck up the pain and keep going taking a quick glance around for any way to gain an advantage on the terrain. A tunnel not that much further, or climbing up a mountain side again… You’d take your chances with the tunnel. The tunnel drew closer so you turn around and stop for a second casting Wind Wall between you and the soldiers chasing you. That should hold them off for a little bit or at least long enough for you to disappear. 

You enter the tunnel… shit…. dead end… You should have gone for the mountain! You slam against the stone wall up ahead and when you do the ground beneath your feet sinks away sending you tumbling and sliding down bouncing between rocks until you reach the ground. You just lay there for a bit. Oh how the fates loved messing with you. You looked up into the shoot you fell down into the darkness up above. At least you got rid of them and no way they were gonna find you now. 

You laughed feeling heavy and tired. Closing your eyes you felt the exhaustion go the past days come over you and you embrace the darkness of sleep and your surroundings. 

——————————————————————————

“I thought I was dead for sure but then when I woke up I looked into the bright yellow eyes of this goblin woman standing over me aiming a crossbow at my face scaring the living daylights at me. My wounds were cared for and the bad ones were covered by this lovely pink green moss. Then of course in the first moments of consciousness I was questioned by a daring woman in blue inquiring with such expertise any word may give away just exactly what information she needed. I had to prove myself friendly and told them what happened and told them what I wanted to do because you see, I only wanted to end a war, bring peace and protect my people. I wanted to leave this world better than I found it and turned out so did these people. 

They told me they were on their way to save someone but couldn’t share who. So in return for helping me I would help them in any way I could. We braved the wilds of Xhoras together…” You continued the epic tale and slowly one by one they started to fall asleep exhausted from the day. 

“The story doesn’t end there. There’s still much more to be told as the final chapter is yet to come but that’s for another time.” You catch a smile from Caleb as he lays down and closes his eyes. 

“Tell it again please.” An already half asleep Jester mumbles leaning on your shoulder. 

“Tomorrow. Time to sleep now.” You carefully lower her to her sleeping bag and make sure she’s tucked in properly as to not grow cold in the night. 

“Thanks for the story.” Fjord said, still awake for the first watch. You join him sitting next to him looking over the snowy wilds with a smile.

“You’re the ones bringing the story. I’m just the one telling them. There’ll be plenty more in the future I’m sure.” You glanced over the rest of the sleeping Nein with a smile. To many more stories to come.

#critical role x reader #mighty nein x reader #fjord x reader #caduceus x reader #caleb widogast x reader #jester x reader #beauregard x reader

[silentprincess17]

Sometimes Things Have to Get Worse Before They Get Better

This is essentially a darker, heavier alternate take on Memory #7 - Blades of the Yiga. I wanted to write a fic with a competent Yiga Clan. (Yes you read that right). It is very angsty in the beginning and then becomes fluffy (hence the title!)

Summary: Link and Zelda have returned from Vah Naboris with Urbosa and have spent the night in Kara Kara Bazaar Inn. Link wakes up and finds her missing.

Cue the angst.

This story is complete and I will post each chapter daily on here but you can read the whole thing on AO3

Rating: Mature (Graphic descriptions of violence) Pairing: Link/Zelda (Zelink) Characters: Link, Zelda, The Yiga Clan, Master Kohga

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6

Chapter 7: Dawn of the Second Day

TW: Huge wounds, massive haemorrhage (a lot of blood loss yes I am a medic geek) and pain. Also Nintendo owns Legend of Zelda and some of the dialogue used. Please don't sue me.

This time, they teleported in, grabbed him, and teleported out.

Zelda screamed his name, but it got lost in the vortex of red paper slips, as he felt his insides split apart and then reform.

He was glad though. Incredibly glad that they’d taken him and not his Princess. He ended up on the floor, in the big arena that wasn’t an arena and he coughed, trying to get the sand out of his mouth, and eyes.

He heard Zelda shouting for him, and it suddenly hit him-this was it. The perfect opportunity. He could try and get her out. He was outside Hylia above!

And just as he thought that, four giant metal clamps locked onto his limbs. And that same cursed red glowing thing was applied so he couldn’t move. He swore at them but stopped struggling. He would have to bide his time, he already felt a little weak from not eating for three days, so every store of energy was precious right now. He had to wait for the perfect opportunity and then unleash it all.

He took a moment to try and calm down. Think things through. He was outside the cell, that was better than being inside. He just had to be observant and careful. He started by trying to determine what their motive was, but he wasn’t sure what was happening. Why had they decided to take him out, if they were only going to restrain him down again?

He looked up, at least they hadn’t clamped his neck. And then a… well. There was no polite way to think of him, if Link was being honest. And frankly, being polite was really quite low down in his list of concerns at the minute.

The Yiga Clan were... normally, at least, easily categorisable. All the Yiga Foot soldiers were thin, agile, capable of moving at lightning speed with their teleportation. The Blademasters were by comparison much larger, and they wielded the more powerful windcleaver. And now he knew of the researchers, but they looked a lot like the Foot soldiers, just with a red lab coat on.

This man… although dressed as a Yiga, didn’t match one of the above categories. He was, well, fat. He had a huge abdomen, which Link didn’t really see working in a fight, either with a sickle or a windcleaver and he was confused really. It was the most bizarre thing he’d seen since arriving.

Link wondered if the lack of food was getting to him.

“Yeah, IT'S YOU! You're that Link guy I've been looking for! And the Princess of course but she’s BORING."

Uh… what? This guy had been… looking… for him? Not to sound egoistical, but wasn’t it really obvious who he was? He literally wore bright blue and had the Master Sword strapped to his back. Admittedly, he didn’t have those two things right now but…

"I need to bust out my serious moves... A secret technique taught by my mother's father! It will...destroy you!"

Uh yeah. It probably would do that because Link was currently strapped to the floor with no weapons. So, whatever this guy chose to do, it would, in all likelihood, work by default.

“Release him from the magnesis bonds! NO WAIT! I need to finish my speech first!”

This man was starting to get on Link’s nerves, like a bratty child who wanted a sweet. But he just said to release his bonds. Yes, if that happened, he would destroy them all, steal all their weapons, physically break down those bars, rescue his Princess and then hightail it out of the desert. So, he would remain calm. Collected. And not think of what happened yesterday.

“Now. Hero of Hyrule. I will DUEL you. So someone told someone who told someone yada yada yada that I should give you a fair chance, and something testing something Princess, I'm not sure, I fell asleep half-way through, so here we are. Of course, you’re a KNIGHT so I assume you know what a DUEL is!"

Link remained silent. He figured it probably wouldn't work in his favour if he started to laugh.

"You know, your silence really is unnerving. ANYWAY, I will fight with my chosen weapons, and you will be provided with a Duplex Bow, ten arrows, a Vicious Sickle and a Windcleaver. A very generous selection, in my opinion. If you defeat me, I will allow you to walk away.” Link’s eyes widened. “YES, WALK AWAYYY!” He laughed, “I won’t kill you to DEATH! Even-if-that's-what-I-really-want-can-you-imagine-being-named-Top-Banana-Of-The-Yiga-Clan-comma-Slayer-Of-The-Hero!”

Okay yeah, there was clearly something wrong with this guy, but Link focussed on the important parts. A Duel. Of which the outcome would be freedom. But. He hadn’t mentioned Zelda. No matter, Link would be a fool not to accept. He’d defeat this fat lug and then Kill. Them. All.

And those Blademasters that had stood on that cursed table? He’d make sure to find his sword and would ensure they suffered a slow, prolonged death. But first, he’d win, take Zelda to the Castle where she’d be safe, and then he’d come back. And exterminate them like the rats they were.

He nodded.

They dropped the connection, freeing him, and he didn’t try anything. Not yet anyway. Once they gave him weapons though, Link would forgo whatever pact he’d made with this man. This didn’t count as an honourable situation anyway, this wasn’t a duel between Knights, it was a duel between captor and captee.

What he hadn’t been expecting, was the fat man to throw a small capsule in the middle of the hole, and the capsule didn’t fall, no, it hovered in place. And the outlines of a dome formed, it extended from the centre of the seemingly bottom-less hole and spread out to include a small ring of sand around said hole. All of a sudden, sound seemed to stop coming through, and he could barely hear Zelda, although maybe she’d come to realise it was futile and had gone quiet.

The capsule made a clicking noise, like an activation of something, and then a burst of red light cascaded from it, down the dome, forming a crimson-lined grid along the surface, almost like red electricity was crawling along the lines. They connected to metal ridges that Link hadn’t even noticed in the sand. He swallowed. He knew, instinctively, that he wouldn’t be able to escape. He wouldn’t be able to get out. Because it was the same thing that had trapped him in those cuffs.

It would have to be honourable. By default.

Still, Link wasn’t feeling that scared. If the fat man wanted a duel, Link would give it to him.

“In the name of Calamity Ganon!” He pranced around, shimmying from one foot to the other. "That's what you say when you start a DUEL right?!"

Link decided to ignore him, and simply looked over to where he thought the Princess was, the red light made it hard to see. “In the name of Princess Zelda Bosphoramus Hyrule, my charge, my liege… my Princess.” And his heart whispered one more thing, my soulmate.

It had started out well enough, the man simply summoned rocks at him, not unlike an octorok, but these ones were considerably larger, with a glowing upside down Sheikah eye on them. Still, he dispatched the obnoxious man in quick time, shooting a well-timed arrow into his head, and then jumping in bullet-time to attack with the sickle.

And then the fat man got angry, stamping his foot into the ground like a child having a tantrum. He moved to hover on top of the hole, and this time he had a blue barrier. Link had wasted one arrow hitting it, only for it to bounce right off. Useless. And there was no way for Link to jump in, seeing as he was without his paraglider and he'd fall down anyway, not sideways to the centre of the abyss where the man was.

So, he bid his time, going as far back as possible and decided to just observe the attack. He remained calm, although for some reason he was a little more flustered than he ordinarily was. Perhaps because the Princess’s safety relied on this fight. Yes, that wasn’t an unusual occurrence, but normally, she’d be hidden, well-protected, should anything go wrong with him. This time… If he failed, then who knew what the consequences would be.

He refocussed, the next move simply involved two rocks hovering horizontally and then vertically to the man, where his barrier faulted for a split second, just before he chucked them at Link. It was easy enough to dodge, and now Link knew what to do. He simply hit the man when the barrier was down, and the Yiga lost control of the rocks, so they hit him instead. After another couple of rounds, where Link looked worryingly at his meagre five remaining arrows, another tantrum fest occurred, this time jumping up and down with one foot whilst floating. Link rubbed his eyes in case he was hallucinating. No, he wasn’t.

And that is where everything went wrong.

The man was now using that accursed red thing to move a giant metal ball at him. The ball had spikes. Huge ones at that. And despite Link keeping his eyes trained on the man, his barrier did not fall. Not once.

Crap.

How?! How could the Yiga mentally control metal?! How was he supposed to defeat him now?

The spiked sphere continued to crawl after him, a slow and steady reminder of what was coming. Link was trying hard not to panic. What else could he do? He didn’t have any of his other weapons. He didn’t have shock arrows. He didn’t have his bomb bag. Maybe he could parry the sphere? But he didn’t have a shield either. He cried, almost, thinking back to his prized Hylian shield sitting in the Inn at Kara Kara Bazaar.

What else what else what else

He knew one thing for certain though. He wouldn’t be able to keep up running forever. Not as weak as he currently was from all the stresses over the past two days and the lack of food. Yes, the sphere moved slowly. But it moved. And eventually he would tire.

The man took back the sphere and Link aimed, hoping his barrier would come down for one second, but no. All he did was pause before sending the sphere. Straight. Back. At. Him.

Goddesses above he wouldn’t last.

Was this his true Hero trial?

Was this how he would die?

He decided to try to use the windcleaver to generate some gush of air that would what? Move the giant ball? He was crazy enough to at least attempt because what else could he do? None of his weapons would even reach the man, even if he chucked them, let alone penetrate the seemingly solid blue barrier.

He ran to the edge of the dome, hoping to be a little out of the ball's range to give him some breathing room should this go wrong, but he had no such luck, because it came, hard and fast for him. He waited until it came close then swung the blade down and tried to repel it.

It obviously failed; no colossal, incredibly heavy, metallic sphere was going to shift with the mere power of air.

Belatedly, he realised that the fat man could afford to be fat. Who was going to hurt him if he could levitate himself out into a pit of no end so there was no hope of reaching him, put up a barrier that you had no hope of penetrating, trap you in a hemisphere so you were effectively at his mercy and was armed with a deadly weapon only he could control?

Link only had just about enough time to turn, for his fingers to hit the dome, before the spikes rammed into his back and Link heard himself scream.

He was used to pain, he thought distantly. He’d hurt himself so many times, from climbing accidents, to training mishaps, to when he’d first started fighting monsters, especially those Goddess damned Lynel swords, oh, wait, no, the crushers were worse.

But he’d never had enormous sharp cones ram into his back, upper thigh and calves, all at once. He was effectively pinned against the dome. And then the ball was pulled out, and shoved right back in.

And again.

And again.

And then for flavour, the fat man shifted it just to the right, so now his wounds grew and grew, until he was slowly ripped apart, until the only thing actually holding him upright was the metal sphere.

Link lost track of everything. He’d never felt so humiliated, so weak.

He’d never lost a fight.

What would happen now? What would happen to him and Zelda?

He felt wet, lethargic and so, so heavy. Which struck him as odd, especially considering he’d probably lost a lot of blood. Shouldn’t he be light?

Little spots of blackness coated his vision, somehow he blinked and he was on the floor, on his knees, the dome gone, his hands shaking trying to hold himself up. His blood rushed through his ears, thundering too loudly, and everything else was muted, muffled, and he could no longer focus properly.

"-oga! Did you se- I did i-"

Link must have blacked out again, because the next thing he knew he was being hauled by his armpits back into the cell, and his injuries were stretched even more, and Link screeched in pain. He was so far gone it was silent, and he lost consciousness yet again, because he practically fell on top of Zelda, landing on his front, in her arms. She was shaking, maybe? Or was it him? Probably him, but he couldn’t tell, and he heard her furiously mutter under her breath about hypo-something shock, but really, he was barely holding onto the few remaining threads of consciousness he had.

“Link?” She sounded frightened, but he couldn’t bring himself to respond. Instead, when he opened his mouth, he coughed up an alarming amount of blood. He felt some of it dribble down his chin and he heard her half scream in response.

“LINK! No! In - name of Hylia st- with me! Link!” She gently held his head in her hands, his head rolling in her hold because he'd now lost what little control he had over his muscles. He focussed on the softness of her touch, and how it contrasted so deeply to the agony that he was in, although everything was dulled around the edges right now, probably from the blood loss. He stared at the growing pool of bright crimson around them, it seemed to be coming from everywhere. Like he was a dam that had suffered too many hits and now all the water was leaking through. That wasn’t that far from the truth to be fair.

“Zel-” He tried to say something, to reassure her that he would fight to stay awake. But it ended in another, harsher, coughing fit, and it felt like Daruk had grasped his chest in his hands and squeezed. Dear Goddesses, he felt his vision start to fade again, it was already half faded, in all honesty. And it scared him, because this wasn't the same blackness he'd had after being knocked cold from a fight. This was darker, more permeating. It felt... more permanent.

She cried, and it pained him to see her tears for him, but the blackness forced its way upon him, and he slowly closed his eyes, trying his hardest not to give in, but even from the start he knew it was a losing battle. Vaguely he wondered if the sword would remember him. He wondered what would happen to his family, to Hyrule, to her, if there was no Hero for the Calamity. He wondered, if he'd had more time, more courage, if he and Zelda could have-

She cradled his head in her arms, gently brushing his matted hair away from his forehead, and he allowed himself a final deep breath, for her lavender to imprint in his mind one last time.

Link was not... scared of death. He knew it was inevitable, and there was a significant probability of him dying, either in the line of duty to the Crown, or against the Calamity, his destiny-chosen battle. But... he was scared now. He was scared of what the consequences of him dying meant. Her verdant eyes stared at him, and she was saying something but he could no longer hear. She was his biggest regret, he couldn't stomach leaving her, here and now, because who knew what horrors would await her once he left. So much guilt, so much shame, so much despair hit him, in the final moment but there was nothing left to he done. He tried to convey that to her, through his gaze, that he was sorry, for not being enough, for not doing enough, for failing to get her out of here- the list continued, but he was rapidly losing what little control he had left, and he felt his eyes glaze over. He’d seen enough death to know where he stood. Because everything ached, he felt increasingly weaker, and his breathing grew progressively more ragged, as stabs of pain shot up his ribs for every centimetre he inhaled in.

He gasped for air, one final time, trying to commit her to his memory, and that seemed to be the very last assault his body could handle. Because within seconds he lost all sense of the world, his final thought was of his silent princess, and of a lullaby, that would forever haunt him till the end of time.

#zelink #botw zelink #botw #botw link #botw zelda #pre-calamity #yiga clan #master kohga #Alternate take on Memory 7 - Blades of the Yiga #angst with a happy ending #enemies to friends to lovers #more so understanding enemies? #heavy angst #angst and feels #some fluff intermixed because i am incapable of writing pure angst #selectively mute link #slow burn #mutual pining #link's pov

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Lineage

“In the world of dragons, All dragons are the offspring of the Dark King, directly or indirectly. The Dark King is the source of all dragon lineage, Yanling and Hybrids in the world. It is said that his wings can obliterate the sky and cover a mountain and the realm of his Yanling could cover half the planet.” 

Professor Guderian lectured his class “Dragon Lineages 101” in the largest hall in Cassell, able to seat up to 80 people, but this class was comparatively small, about 25, and composed entirely of Freshmen. It’s also the oldest hall. The original frescos still lined the top of the domed ceiling, with scenes of war, men bearing spears, bows bent back with arrows and fire breathing dragon opponents that dwarfed them.

These scenes and Guderian’s words convinced Tigre that he’d seen the actual Dark King in his vision - that voice that could shake the ground and shake his bones from the inside out, those wings that obscured the moon in the sky. When he stood on the throne, a great flock of dragons surged up and he was caught up in it.

This simple lesson was already taught to him, but in pictures.

He rested his cheek in his hand, looking up at the ceiling. On the first class of the first day of school, he had already convinced himself that he was right where he needed to be. He sighed, dreamily contented.

A sharp elbow interrupted his euphoria. Porsche brought his attention back to the lesson.

“Dragons are grouped by their generations.” Guderian switched on a slideshow of a chart. “Generally speaking, the closer a dragon’s lineage is to first or second generation, the smarter, stronger, and more capable it is, and the higher tier Yanling it has. The Dark King is Generation Zero, above the the first generation.” 

“The known first generation includes the Light King and the Four Lords that were directly created by the Dark King. The Four Lords control the four classical elements of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water, and the Light King controls the fifth element of Spirit. Each of the Four Lords are actually twins of dragons who can combine their bodies to attain their ultimate powers. The Light King may have been a set of twins as well but evolved to transmit her genes via parasite. Next slide.”

“The Second Generation is far more numerous, created by the Four Lords and are called ‘princes’. A very high class prince is called a ‘lord’, not to be confused with the Four Lords. All prince-level dragons are recorded by their names and there are a few dozen of them. Next slide.”

“The third generation and below are exponentially weaker. They’re still stronger than humans but it’s easy for humans and the modern Hybrids to deal with them with weapons and manpower.”

Outside the lecture hall, umbrellas bloomed like black flowers under the steady rain. The students without the foresight to bring umbrellas dashed through the rain with their backpacks over their heads.

“I wonder what lineage I am.” Tigre mused, walking alongside the sisters.

“Given your high level of ranking on the test? First Gen for sure. Only First Gen can reach S level. The lower generations don’t resonate as well because they don’t have as much access to those high level genes needed to rank that high. Cassell wants the strongest hybrids here. So they really want the high quality first generation genes to fight in the war. That’s why the 3E is important. If you want to kill the Dragon Kings, you need Dragon King level lineages for hybrids.” Ruby helpfully explained as she walked alongside her sisters.

“You’re rank A. So that means you’re first generation as well?” Tigre asked.

“That’s correct, though our family lineage dramatically improved in one generation. It’s quite interesting. We had a few A-ranks in our family, my mother is A-ranked, married to A-ranked in the hopes of getting one A-ranked child, but she got three. Some would say that the appearance of more high level hybrids from around the world at Cassell College, from areas where previously few or none existed, is a bad sign. A sign that the awakening of the Dark King will happen very soon.” Celeste said softly.

“I don’t really see the connection.” Tigre scratched his head.

“There was one S-ranked student before Lu Mingfei around twenty ago but now we have two within 3 years and the ratio of A-rankers has increased as well. The voice of the Dark King could span the world and suppress every dragon within it. It would makes sense that the stirring of the Dark King could cause a reaction in those who are already attuned. They call it “Blood Call Theory.” Of course, this is just a theory with no proof.”

Tigre went quiet. The only person who called him was Chu Zihang. Before seeing that man, he never felt a special kinship with anything. He didn’t understand the existence of dragons until he heard the words through the speaker at the 3E test. This ‘Blood Call’ theory didn’t seem to apply to him.

At the same time, when he heard the recording through the music, he recognized and responded immediately and without question. Something had been there all his life, but he had no point of reference. Even if he had been called, he couldn’t respond.

He couldn’t remember anything outside that basement. He wasn’t born there was he? People should have fathers and mothers be they dragons or humans. Everything he learned at Cassell, he associated it with his 3E vision. But he was an adult, alive for two decades. Beyond the 3E, there was only the hospital and the dark cave-like cage where he fought and ate and slept. No parents, no childhood.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Ruby asked. “You look upset about something.

Tigre lifted his head and looked at the three girls who stared at him in rapt attention. “Oh… I was just trying to understand.”

“Do you feel like something is calling you?” Celeste asked carefully.

“No. I was trying to remember if I heard something like a Blood Call. But I… I don’t remember anything.”

“Don’t remember anything? Do you have amnesia?” Porsche who had been texting contentedly as she walked suddenly caught up from where she’d fallen behind.

“Amnesia…”

“It’s when you lose your memories. Like you hit your head or something and you can’t remember your past. Tigre is a weird name. That’s probably not your real name.” 

“Porsche.” Ruby interrupted. “I think maybe we should change the subject.”

“Why?” She put her phone away, tilting her head to look up at him. “Tigre. Aren’t you interested in where you come from? You were saying that you wanted to know which Lineage you had. Who gave you the name Tigre?”

“I don’t know. That’s just what people called me…” The shadowy figures that opened the cage. They called him and woke him up and opened the cage and let out the monsters to feed him. They called ‘Tigre’ and told him to ‘come and get it’. That was the extent of his human contact that he could recall. He felt a pain in his heart, like it was being squeezed.

“What people?”

“Porsche stop! You’re upsetting him.”

Tigre wiped at his face and smiled. “It’s just the rain. Don’t worry.”

#Dragon Raja

[i-drink-and-i-write-fics]

Ronin

Chapter 8: Wakanda

Summary: Thanos pays Earth a visit.

Notes: This chapter is going to be hella long and have cannon typical violence.

AND SO MUCH ANGST! Just saying.

You watched in awed silence as the sixteen-year-old princess used a bracelet made of beads to scan Vision’s body. The advanced technology of this country had floored you, to say the least.

She opened her hand and a hologram of the stone in Vision’s forehead popped up from her palm.

“Whoa,” whispered Banner.

“The structure is polymorphic.” Shuri looked stunned.

“Right, we had to attach each neuron non-sequentially.”

Shuri looked up from the hologram. “Why didn’t you just reprogram the synapses to work collectively?”

That gave Banner some pause. “Because…. we didn’t think of it?”

She sighed. “I’m sure you did your best.”

You repressed the urge to snort as Wanda spoke up. “Can you do it?”

“Yes, but there are over two trillion neurons here. One misalignment can cause a cascade of circuit failure. It will take time.”

“How long?” Steve questioned.

“As long as you can give me.”

Suddenly, a beeping noise seemed to emit from Okoye’s beads. She flicked one of them onto her palm and a hologram of the earth popped up. “Something’s entered the atmosphere.”

You and Clint raced to the wall of windows just in time to see a large pillar hit the top of the dome covering the city and burst into flames. In your ear, Bucky chuckled. “God, I love this place.”

“Don’t celebrate just yet,” Rhodey spoke up. “We got more incoming just outside the dome.”

You and Clint hurried out of the room to join Sam, Rhodey, and Bucky outside.

“What, no mask this time?” Clint teased as you ran, referring to the Ronin mask you wore when on missions.

“Hell no. Whoever this fucker is will see my face when I kill him.”

“Let’s just hope you’re not biting off more than you can chew.”

“Never had before.”

“Yeah, but this is vastly different.”

You stopped just before the doors and grabbed Clint’s arm. He only had to look at your face to be on the same page as you. You shared a fierce kiss, knowing damn well that this could be the last time you saw each other.

“Don’t do anything stupid out there, Hawkbutt.”

“No more than you, little samurai.”

“Love you.”

“Love you, too. See you when this is over.”

You each climbed into a Wakandan hovercraft and headed out for the edge of the shield where the alien army had landed. The tribes of Wakanda were already there, performing their chant as they waited for T’Challa to join them. Jumping out of the vehicle, you walked over to stand with Steve, Nat, and Bucky, knowing Clint went to find a piece of high ground to fire arrows from.

T’Challa, Steve, and Nat then left to meet with the leaders of the alien army, no doubt to issue threats. The chat didn’t last long and soon all three were with you again, just as the ships opened up to an outpour of creatures you couldn’t even begin to describe. Were they dogs? No, too many legs. They also didn’t seem to have any eyes and very sharp teeth.

“What the hell,” Bucky whispered.

“Looks like we pissed her off,” Nat stated.

“Should have known nothing would be easy with you guys,” you reached back and pulled out both of your swords. “But I did need a new kind of challenge.”

The creatures were either trying to climb through the shield or around it, no doubt on a single-minded mission: get to Vision. Some actually managed to get through. The Wakandan army began to fire their weapons along with Bucky and his gun, while Rhodey and Sam used their weapons from above.

T’Challa spoke into his earpiece for his people to open the shield on his mark, to make sure the creatures stayed focus on your group. He then took a few steps in front of the group before crossing his arms in front of him.

“WAKANDA FOREVER!” And his mask closed over his head as he raced towards the aliens.

His army echoed the chant before all of you began to race after him. You could feel the subtle ground shake as Banner raced by in his giant armor. Halfway across the field, T’Challa gave the signal and the shield parted in front of your group, hundreds of the six-legged creatures stumbling over themselves to get in. Sam and Rhodey flew overhead, firing off whatever weapons they had as you jumped into the fray with your swords at the ready.

You quickly saw how grossly outnumbered you all were. It didn’t matter that you were slicing off limbs, the creatures had more and would use their last ounce of strength trying to rip you to shreds.

Out of the corner of your eyes, you saw T’Challa being tossed around like a rag doll in his vibranium suit while Steve tried to cover his head with his new vibranium shields. Could this really be it?

Banner’s panic voice filled your ears. “There’s too many of them!”

“Ronin?!” Clint was panicked as well. “They found my hiding spot! Where are you?”

But you couldn’t answer him. Every ounce of energy in your body was used to try to slice these creatures before they could kill you.

Suddenly, the sky filled with bright rainbow lights and a loud bang followed. Just out of the top of your vision, you saw what looked like a very large ax covered in lightning heading your way. You immediately dropped onto your back to watch it shred through the creatures that had crawled over you, make its way across Steve, then Banner, before boomeranging back to the large tunnel of rainbow light.

Relieved that the creatures were no longer inches from your neck, you sat up to see the light disappear. In its place stood a tall man in armor and a red cape, accompanied by a raccoon with a gun and a walking tree. Just when this day couldn’t get any weirder. But you were too happy to really think much more about it.

And you weren’t the only one. Banner’s laughter filled your ears. “You guys are so screwed now!”

Which meant that man had to be the one and only Thor. He wasn’t dead after all! The air all around him charged with electricity as blue lightning covered his entire body. He began to race towards the aliens.

“BRING ME THANOS!” He cried as he jumped high into the air, bringing his ax down as he landed to cause a spray of lightning for fifty feet, killing all the creatures within that radius.

You then remembered Clint. “Hawk, are you there? Are you ok?”

Before you could get an answer, another one of those creatures was on you. The sword couldn’t come up fast enough and you braced for impact. Until an arrow went straight through its head.

“I thought you were supposed to be more alert than that, little samurai?”

Clint’s calm tone told you he had found a new perch to land on. You sighed. “Thanks, Hawkbutt.”

Suddenly the ground shook as several large spiked wheels tunneled up from under the ground.

“Fall back!” T’Challa shouted. “Fall back now!”

“Fucking hell!” You barely managed to dive out of the way as one wheel missed you by inches.

Sam and Rhodey flew overhead, trying their damndest to destroy just one wheel. A wheel that looked to be at least ten stories tall when it rolled by. Thor being here or not, you were grossly outnumbered.

Behind you, Wanda cried out in pain and you heard a gravely voice. “He’ll die alone. As will you.”

You turned around to see a tall, blueish alien with horns standing over Wanda. “Excuse you?!”

She turned to face you and you easily twirled both swords in your hands.

“She’s not alone.” The alien turned again to see Nat had joined you. And coming up on the other side was Okoye with her staff.

She turned back to you and let out a mix between a growl and a cry. She raised her own sword high above her head and struck for you. It was nothing to block her by making an X with your own and pulling your arms apart caused her to move back. You swung just as Nat did with her batons and the creature rolled out of the way, directly into Okoye’s path. Despite it being three-on-one (Wanda was still shaking off a blow to her head), the alien was able to fight all of you with ease.

You all ducked at a giant wheel rolled over the ditch you had been fighting in. The alien took this opportunity to hit Nat in the face and then toss Okoye over her head. Crying out, you swung your sword and the steel rang as it hit hers. Your feet slid against the dirt as the alien began to overpower you, her sword getting closer to your neck.

Red light began to surround the alien and she was lifted up into the air, hitting a passing spiked wheel. You all became covered in blue goo, no doubt the alien’s blood.

Looking over, you saw Wanda sitting on the ground as she panted from saving you.

“Well, that was gross,” commented Nat behind you.

You couldn’t help but chuckle. “C’mon. Let’s find out what happened to Vision.”

Remembering who she should have been guarding this whole time, Wanda used her powers to fly off and into the jungle. Your group was joined by T’Challa, Sam, Bucky, and Rhodey as you came across a badly injured Vision and a very tired Steve. Wanda landed next to Vision and he grabbed at his forehead in pain.

“What is it?!” She asked in panic.

“He’s here.”

You had no idea what Vision meant by that, but you didn’t like it anyway. Clint came running up to you as the wind began to blow haphazardly. “Are you ok?”

“Well, I’ll know more once the battle is won. But ok for now. How are you?”

He smirked. “They couldn’t get near me.”

A strange sound filled the air and you saw what looked like a portal opening up. And out walked a very tall - very purple - man, with a golden glove on his left hand filled with stones. Shit. Wherever those other stones had been hiding clearly hadn’t been also well protected. Looks like your little ragtag group was all that stood between whoever the fuck this was and the safety of the universe.

Off to the side, you heard Banner. “Cap. That’s him.”

So this was Thanos? Makes sense. You twirled your swords before handing one over to Clint. He raised an eyebrow at you. “Close range. You’ll never get a shot off.”

Nodding, he took the sword from you. Steve raised one arm and the shield attached expanded.

“Eyes up. Stay sharp.”

Thanos slowly approached your group, with all the confidence of his mission already complete. Banner went at him first and the glove glowed red. The Veronica armor was tossed aside and Banner was sunk into the wall of rock nearby. Cap tried his luck next, but a purple haze tossed him up and over Thanos, who had to be standing between eight and ten feet. Sam and T'Challa tried their luck next, with similarly sad results.

With a cry of anger, you tried your luck. You kicked off a tree and spun, your aim true and slicing at his head. But when you landed and looked back, he barely had a scratch on his cheek. He smiled down at you and took a step forward.

“Stay away from her!” Clint came after him with your other sword, only to be backhanded like an annoying fly, rather than a bulked-up former Avenger.

“No!” Thanos turned back towards you as you ran in that direction, but you rolled under his golden glove that reached for you and popped back up on the other side. Now you were crouched in front of Clint, you left hand behind you hovering just over Clint’s unconscious body and your right hand in front ready with your sword.

Thanos regarded your stance over Clint, the wild, angry look of protection in your eyes. You knew that this monster could crush you both without even trying, but it was going to be a cold day in Hell before you went down without a fight. Especially if it meant standing between Clint and death.

But instead of attacking, he just smirked and turned back towards Wanda and Vision. Looking over, you saw that Wanda had begun a red stream of energy into Vision’s gem, tears streaming down her face the whole time. Others moved to stand in Thanos’ way: Bucky, Rhodey, Okoye, Natasha (you’re dear sweet Natalia), even the walking tree. All to no avail.

You tried desperately to shake Clint awake. If this really was it, you had to hear his voice one last time.

“Clint. Clint, baby, please wake up. Clint!”

He coughed awake and you cried tears of joy, part of you hearing Steve try once more against Thanos. You held Clint close.

“We’re gonna lose, aren’t we _____?”

You can’t remember the last time he called you by your name and not your calling card. “No, Clint. Wanda’s destroying the stone right now. Everything’s going to be ok.”

“I love you, ____.”

“I love you too, Clint.”

Looking back at Wanda, she now had one stream going into Vision’s head and one keeping Thanos just out of reach of them. You weren’t sure, but you thought you saw Vision mouth “I love you” to Wanda. Your eyes began to tear up. If only they could have a happy ending once the battle was won.

The stone cracked, Vision exploded, and the battlefield was bathed in a bright orangish-yellow glow as you and Clint were tossed back a few feet. Coughing, you helped pulled each other to your feet in time to hear Wanda yell.

“NO!”

You looked back in time to see Thanos had used the golden glove to bring Vision back before backhanded Wanda. He grabbed Vision by the throat and ripped the gem out, dropped a now all grey Vision on the ground. You felt like you would be sick at the sight. He wasn’t human, but the whole thing still felt very wrong beyond Thanos getting that fucking gem.

He placed it in the last spot on his hand and you watched as six lines of light traveled up his arm and into his body. You could swear that it looked like the whole situation hurt. Good. Hoped the damn glove killed him.

Oh God, this was it. You had actually lost the war.

But just as you were about to grab Clint for one last hug, a bolt of lightning dropped out of the sky and struck Thanos, knocking him to the ground. He quickly got back up and lit up all six gems to attack Thor, who was now flying in, but Thor tossed his giant ax. It pushed the six streams of light back and caught Thanos square in the chest.

You let out a relieved laugh and sheathed your katana on your back once more, Clint still holding your other one. Oh, thank you, Thor!

But as Thor pushed the ax in farther, Thanos leaned in to whisper….. right as he snapped his fingers.

There was a huge energy surge, a blinding bright light, and then you could see the two again. Thanos’ left arm all the way to his neck was now charred from using the gems.

“What did you do?” Thor demanded. “WHAT DID YOU DO?!”

Instead of answering, Thanos opened up a portal and left. Steve came stumbling over, clutching his side.

“Where’d he go?” He gasped. “Thor. Where’d he go?”

But Thor was clearly being haunted by whatever Thanos whispered to him before he snapped his fingers. He wasn’t able to answer Steve.

Then Bucky spoke up. “Steve?”

Looking over, you all watched in horror as Bucky began to disintegrate right before your very eyes, dropping his gun as he went. All around you, confused cries filled the air.

Then you felt it. Like a pit in your stomach, but the opposite. As if you were starting to feel void of anything.

“Clint?” You turned to look at the man you loved. “I- what?”

Panic was in his eyes, despite trying to keep his face calm. “It’s ok, baby. It’s gonna be ok.”

But as he grabbed for you to hold one last time, all he came up with was a handful of ashes.

Chapter 9

#fanfic #fan fic #requests #request list #marvel #marvel cinematic universe #ronin #canon divergence #canon typical violence #clint barton #hawkeye #clint barton x fem!reader #fem!reader #angst

[mcyt-amber-tftsmp]

𝐈 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 {𝐑𝐚𝐧 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫} 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐈𝐈

Part I : Growing Feelings

Request?: Liznix_

Character: Ran

Side Character(s): Technically the rest of TFTSMP The Pit Cast!

Story-type: The first part is platonic and a bit romantic at the end but the second part is romance and slightly angst

Story Length: 6450 words

AU or Not: Assassin! Ran AU! And a few of things would be different

Time Period: Future and technically the Subbin Empire

Plot Summary: hmm well i was thinking something like Ran is an assassin that infiltrated the games to assassinate the king (King Porkius VII) and the reader is someone close to the king, so ran tries to get close to them to get close to the king, but ends up falling for them accidentally and is conflicted about what to do.

Small Info: The Reader would be the king's younger sibling who is a few months younger than Ran who is 17 and the Reader is 16! Also instead of Jackie winning it would be Ran who would take John's place in fighting against Jackie!

Keywords:

Y/N = Your Name H/L = Hair Length H/C = Hair Color E/C = Eye Color

Trigger Warning:

- Mentions of killing and assassination - Falling into a huge conflict - Death - Slight blood and gore - Slight Catcalling

Normal Warning: Cringe writing cause yes- ✨

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

Third Person Point of View~

At this point Ran was thinking over what just happened. He denied the fact that he could have fallen for you and just stayed quiet. He had to do his mission for the sake of you staying alive and him as well. He felt very weak at this point.

Meanwhile, Jackie and Genevieve were fighting in the water dome thing and lastly Jackie won. You were pretty much not sure who to root for considering you liked them both and were good fighters but the boy won.

Porkius then told him to tell the three of them to come up for the Three Person fight. As Jackie went down he saw Genevieve being carried down to be healed. He felt bad but he didn't really have a choice.

As he went down he called, he found John and Bartholomew and told them that it was the Three person fight right now and told them to get ready. He saw that Ran wasn't here so he went to search for him only to find him in a corner putting his forehead against the wall.

"You okay Big Man?" Jackie asked which brought Ran's attention to him as he looked down.

"Yes and no." he responded to the shorter boy as he lifted his head from the wall.

"Well whatever is bothering you I hope you figure it out cause now it's your turn along with two others! Best of luck! I am rooting for you!" he said giving him a slight pat on the shoulder and running off.

Ran watched him go as he got ready to go through the water. He went up first whereas John followed him through the same one. They waited for a few for Bartholomew to get up from his side which he took a bit longer to come considering he is drunk.

After Bartholomew came up everyone was giving him a weird look considering he looked different. He technically said that you would have to look good if we had to survive in fights. Ran just shook his head at his words. He was too drunk for his own good. You on the other hand was thinking as to who left the alcohol downstairs.

The fight commenced after Porkius set off the zombies and made them literally swim through air to fight each other which was kinda difficult. At this point the entire thing was like a show until Porkius disabled the dive mode thing and now everyone was fighting like normal except zombies were chasing them.

Though the zombies were chasing John the most and Ran technically came out from the opposite area and started to attack John while Bartholomew was behind him. Before anyone knew it was Bartholomew and John fighting each other while Ran was using his strategy of being as isolate as possible.

"Ran is the only person here whose technique we have not witnessed yet. This is his first battle." Porkius said and as he did Ran took down Bartholomew.

Now it was just Ran and John who now had to fight each other to get the one spot in the Final Round.

"Oh my gosh! It's officially Ran versus Grievous." Karl exclaimed.

You on the other hand was amazed with his fighting skills and was quietly cheering him on. You were hoping for him to win at least.

"Oh he has he already has an entire army after him I think I am good." he said running the other direction laughing at his own words.

"No!" John wailed trying to attack Ran as he continued laughing.

"No I think I am I think I am completely fine actually I think I literally just have to keep on running away from that guy." Ran said continuing to run laughing.

This made Karl and you laugh at his words and what was going. To you he was actually pretty funny and to be honest this was the first time when you saw him goof off a bit especially here and his humor was pretty nice.

"I don't think that will work. The zombies are not very fast." Porkius said as Ran stopped.

"You're right they aren't." Ran said turning on his heels and started to fight John.

"You have to get much faster zombies next time king." Karl said turning to look back at the two fight.

You noticed that John was giving Ran way more hits than Ran was and was about to shoot him with an arrow but Ran quickly dodged it and lunged at him with his sword and struck a blow to John  making his fall unconscious as Ran stood victorious.

((Author: You really couldn't do what I just wrote here in the episode now could you Ran?! 🤦🏻‍♀️))

Ran literally thought he was going to lose and that rush of adrenal really nearly killed him. Luckily he was able to control himself from doing that. Karl was technically shocked along with Porkius with Ran's surprise attack. You were pretty much amazed at this.

He was quickly dismissed as John was taken away. God he felt about nearly killing him. He quickly went down the steps as everyone excluding John who was being treated right now looked at him as Watson and Jackie came up to him and congratulated him.

"Good job mate. You did well." Watson said to him while giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"Congratulations Big man! I will see you at our Final fight!" Jackie said with a grin.

At this point Watson was like a dad to him while Jackie was a younger brother.

"Your parents would be proud of you right now." Watson said which made Ran's eyes widen.

He slightly frowned as he looked down. He knew they wouldn't knowing what he was doing here in the first place. He had to quickly respond since he didn't want to them to get worried.

"Yeah they would be... if they still lived..." He said the last part a bit quieter which Watson was able to catch and felt really bad.

"I-I am sorry mate I didn't know." Watson said apologizing as Ran sighed.

"It's fine dad- I mean Watson. Sorry about that." He said quickly apologizing since he accidentally called him 'dad'.

Watson smiled. No one really called him dad that much but he was a pretty good fatherly figure towards everyone and Ran calling him dad was something he liked. He went to him and gave him a warm hug which surprised ran a bit. It has been a while since he got a hug.

"I don't mind you calling me dad ran, it's fine really. I am just letting you know I am here for you if you ever need me." Watson said.

Ran was shocked at his words. he felt like crying but he didn't want to seem weak. He wanted to tell Watson everything right now but he didn't want to knowing that it would ruin everything. He slightly hugged back as he thanked him.

After all that Jackie and Ran were now fighting in the Last Round though what Ran found out was how Jackie carried at least three Totems of Undying and he made a quick strategy so he doesn't use any of them and would able to kill him off without him coming back three times.

The fight didn't last too long Ran used his strategy and whenever he saw Jackie about to use a Totem of Undying he would simply somehow make it fall out of his hands whilst trying to use it and before he knew it he fell unconscious as ran won the event. The entire crowd was cheering for Ran as Jackie was carried down to be treated.

They had to wait for a few minutes for all the gladiators to come up. Once they all did Porkius literally told Ran to just kill them all of altogether. You knew well that this wasn't what was supposed to happen and you told Ran to just fight them unconscious and that's basically it.

Ran technically fought of all of them minus Jackie and Watson who were just keeping their distance not fighting at all. ran was able to make them all fall unconscious and was made General while Watson and Jackie ran off somewhere which the king didn't seem to notice nor care.

Oh and a Karl was basically able to take all the footage of the show which you were relieved since you didn't want him ending up like all the other ones which have somehow messed up. Then Karl just went somewhere and vanished which kind of made Ran suspicious but he shook it off knowing he had a mission to complete.

Ran's Point Of View~

I exited the stadium following Y/N. Technically the king was going to be here for a while and I had to go with Y/N which was okay for the time being. Before I could get down the stairs I heard a small 'psst' and looked behind me to see Watson and Jackie. Watson quickly came in and handed me a paper which looked like an address.

"This is my address if you ever feel like visiting me. Jackie is apparently planning in staying with me since he has nowhere to go now. I don't want to keep you waiting so bye Ran." Watson said as Jackie waved me goodbye.

I quickly followed up on the king and stood beside Y/n as we walked in silence. I didn't really know what else to say other than feel my heart beat really fast since I was somewhat close to her right now.

"So how are you feeling about all of this?" I heard her ask me.

"... You could say I am slightly nervous." I responded to her.

"That's understandable. How old are you anyways?" She asked yet again.

"I just turned seventeen last month." I said.

"Oh that's cool. I am sixteen and I will soon be seventeen in five months." She said as I nodded.

Before I could say anything else I heard a whistle and looked to my side to see a man was looking at Y/N which she seemed to notice but she was feeling pretty uncomfortable and to make things worse the man started to catcall her.

I took off my coat and draped it around her and gave a man a threatening death glare which seemed to scare him. Y/N looked surprised the fact that I gave it to her.

"Y-you didn't have to do that..." She said as I shook my head.

"It's fine really I couldn't really get him get away with that. Does this happen often?" I said and asked her as she slowly nodded.

"Sometimes not all the time." She said.

Timeskip to them reaching the palace~

We reached the palace after a few minutes as Y/N was leading me towards my room. As she was doing so I remembered what I had to do originally. I can't really get distracted right now. If I don't do this then I am dead and so is she. God I am just hoping these feelings go away. I noticed that she came to halt in front of a door which I presumed was my room.

"This is your room. I hope you like it. You can get settled in and I will come back after a few to give you a tour around the place." She said before leaving.

I entered the room and it was pretty decent. She did say she was going to come back later to give me a tour of this place. It was enough time for me to try and set my plan. I am basically given a month to do this and if don't do this by the end of the month I don't know what to do. I started to set a plan as I laid down on the soft mattress as I faced the ceiling.

Timeskip~

I had already set up my plan on assassinating the king but I just need to find the right time. At this point I feel like my boss has eyes on me whenever I do missions or maybe I am just paranoid. I am just hoping his two men aren't watching my every move.

Right now I am on a tour with the princess, Y/N. I actually like her company. She's nice and very beautiful- okay Ran stop it. You can't get distracted. God I hate this. She showed me around the place. I clearly made a map of the place in my head as she took me down to different places.

The tour was pretty long but interesting. To be honest being a general is something I could have originally taken if I hadn't really been an assassin. After the tour was done I went back to my room after telling her. I was planning on using the training room later. I looked out the window to see it was evening already.

I decided to go to the training room after a few m minutes which I did. The room was a pretty god place for training and other combat practices such as sword fighting, hand-to-hand combat and others. The King had already arrived after I was done with training.

After I had freshened up I had a quick dinner which the maid had given me inside my room. It was a pretty decent meal i got for the first time. Normally I don't get stuff like this to eat but it was pretty good.

After I was done eating I didn't really know what else to do I just thought of going to the garden at the back. It was a pretty nice and well made garden. I headed towards the place as I looked about in my surroundings like it was all new to me which it was but I have seen it a few times already in like a few hours.

As I arrived I noticed a lone figure sitting on a bench and once I came a little closer I noticed that it was Y/N. She looked beautiful under the moonlight. A blush crept up on my face at the thought ad I looked away. God I need help. I just met her a few hours ago and now this. I was able to calm myself down and went to her.

"Y/N?" I said which snapped her attention towards me and he face turned into relief.

"Oh it's just you Ran. Sorry I thought you were someone else." She said apologizing.

"It's alright really." I said and she smiled with a nod.

"You can sit with me if you like?" She asked as I looked at her for a few seconds before slowly sitting down next to her.

"So you like coming out here?" I asked as she nodded.

"It's one of my favorite places to be most of my time. My brother knows I don't like social gatherings much so she just lets me off to be here or in my room most of the time." She explained to me as I listened.

"That's very nice of him. I like the outdoors a lot myself. It's pretty calming to say the least." I said.

Then there was a small yet comfortable silence between us as we didn't speak but the sounds of crickets didn't make it so awkward. I hands slightly shook but I was able to stop it from happening.

"So you love your brother a lot huh?" I asked as she looked at me and nodded.

"Mhm! He's really the only one I have. After my parents died he took care of me the most. He would always think of my safety before anyone else's." I heard her say.

I felt guilt building up in me. After hearing those I didn't feel like doing my job and just wanted to run away from all this yet here I am doing my boss' dirty work which I am not even fond of doing anymore.

"That's... nice. I think I am going to go now. Goodnight princess." I said as I got up and walked back in.

I felt bad for not letting her say anything as I went away bu I couldn't bear it. I thought of just sleeping through the weeks until the last day where I am supposed to set my plan into action. I know I am going to regret this but I already hate it but I have to do it. I can't get distracted at all.

Third Person Point of View~

The weeks weren't so good for Ran as it went by. Everyday whenever he would do his job of getting closer to you, his face keeps on heating up at times.

The first week went by pretty fast.

He would train and do whatever he had to do. He would notice how you and your brother would talk down the hallway. It made him feel more bad on what he was already planning and it just didn't get any easier.

He tried to block out all his feelings so he could focus on his mission. He didn't want you to get hurt but he knew you would be more hurt knowing his brother was killed by someone she and the king trusted the most.

He didn't want you to be stabbed in the back.

But he didn't really see any other choice.

The Second week went by a bit slow. Luckily for Ran it was pretty fine considering he didn't want the months to go away cause he didn't want to do this. His feelings for you at this point was huge. He knew it was pointless having feelings for you knowing you don't even feel the same way so what's the point in having them.

Plus he wasn't even sure how the king will react knowing the General he is, is in love with his little sister. What he didn't know was that you also were catching feelings for him and would sometimes blush whenever he called you princess.

The king may have already noticed how his sister looks at the general. He smiles knowing her sister had maybe found love but he really didn't know if the general felt the same. He didn't want his sister to be hurt.

The third week went by slowly. Ran was right now in a huge problem. More like a huge conflict he wouldn't be able to get out of anymore. He has so many regrets right now. Yet here he is doing this crappy job he has fallen into.

If he had to end a person's life right now it was going to be his but he felt weak to do any of that. He just wished things would get easier for him for the next six days. Though he knew very well that wouldn't be happening.

Six days of the fourth and final week went by. Ran knew his feelings for you were strong. He loved you. A lot. Everything about you was just wow. If he had to describe anything beautiful it was going to be you.

This was now a huge problem. He didn't know what to do. He was just in a huge problem. Either way of doing things would just lead to death. He couldn't do it. But he had no choice. At this point he didn't care. He didn't care if you hated him after all this. She deserves better.

He had an event tomorrow to join the king for dinner with other kings and generals across the kingdoms and empires and he will be poisoning the king's drink. There was no turning back.

"I am sorry Y/N for what I am about to do tomorrow. I hope you one day forgive me." he said wiping his face which were covered in tears.

Let's see how things go tomorrow.

Timeskip to the last day of the month~

Ran's Point of View~

I walked down the hallways with my head lowered as I looked at the ground. Today was the day I would be putting my plan into action. Did I want to do this? No. Did I have a choice? No. Do I hate myself? Yes.

If god plans on sending me to hell for the things I have done then I would be happy. I deserve this anyway. As I walked I stopped for a bit and looked to my side to see the entrance to the entrance to the garden. I took a deep breath and headed towards the garden.

It was a pretty nice afternoon which was going to turn bad sooner or later thanks to me. I let out a huge sigh as I walked around until my eyes landed on a single bright pinkish-red rose. I slightly bent down and slowly plucked it out. Luckily it didn't have any thorns. I picked it up and put it i the inside pocket of my coat.

I then heard a faint voice. I think someone was... singing? I headed towards that direction and soon saw that it was Y/N who was singing. God her voice sounded like an angel. To be honest she looked like an angel who was sent in this world.

I swear I sound like a hopeless romantic at this point. I was about to move away when I accidentally stepped on a twig which stopped her singing as she looked in my direction. God spare me from this embarrassment.

"S-sorry about that Y/N." I said apologizing.

"Hey Ran and its fine really. But how much did you hear?" She said looking a bit nervous as she fiddled with her fingers.

"Um well I think I heard all of it? I am not really sure but all I can say is that you have a nice voice." I said as I went to her to sit down next to her.

"Thanks. You are really kind." She said as I shrugged.

"I guess so." I responded.

There was a small silence between us yet again. I couldn't really believe what I was going to do tonight. God I just hate this. Y/N is so nice and here I am just straight up going to kill her only family.

"So you are going to have dinner with my brother and the people from the kingdom am I right?" She asked which brought me back to reality.

"Yes I am. Are you going to be there?" I asked as I saw her shake her head.

"No. Even if I was I wouldn't be able to go since it's not something I should be there for. Are you nervous?" She asked.

Nervous? Yeah pretty much and not because of the many people going to be there but because of my plan of killing her brother.

"You could say that." I said.

"You don't need to be nervous. Everything will be fine. And here have this." She said and soon enough I felt her hugging me.

"This is for good luck." She finished saying as she released herself from it.

I smiled as I nodded. I noticed that it was getting late and I should get ready. Y/N seemed to notice it too. We both got up from the bench and were about to head off but then I remembered the rose in my pocket.

"Wait! Before I go, I want to you to have this." I said as I took out the pinkish-red rose from the inside pocket of my coat and handed it out to her. "It's for you."

She was slightly shocked but she gently took it from my hands as she smiled.

"Thank you Ran It's very sweet of you." She said.

Before she could do anything and before I could even think, I leaned down and kissed her on the lips. I quickly pulled away. God what was I thinking. She looked pretty shocked that I did that and was technically blushing mad.

"S-sorry. I will be heading off now." I said as I took out an enderpearl and teleported myself to the entrance of the garden.

God I think I just made this even more difficult for myself. Before i could head in, I heard the rustling of a bush. I looked behind me but I saw nothing. Strange... I thought there was something. I shrugged it of thinking it was just the wind. I let out a huge sigh and went to my room to get ready and to poison the drink.

Y/N's Point of View~

I stood there shocked, still not letting go off the fact that Ran just kissed me?! God I am such a blushing mess right now. I am just hoping he isn't beating himself up for doing that. I really like him as well.

I want to tell him but I don't think he is able to now since he has a dinner to attend to. My thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of rustling bushes. I looked to my side to see no one. But I didn't feel like sticking around right now so I just headed for the entrance of the garden to go to my room.

But I just felt like someone was following me. God I think I am just paranoid. But this time I am actually getting the feeling I am being followed or watched. I quickly entered my room and closed the door and shut the windows.

Eventually I calmed down and sat on my bed thinking as I put my fingers on my lips. I blushed at the thought. I liked him a lot. Way more than friends. I decided that I will tell him after this. But for some reason i still felt like I was being watched...

Ran's Point of View~

I wore a decent formal outfit which all generals wear . Of course I still had my white Victorian shirt on me but my coat was a black coat with a green stone on the side like my usual maroon coat.

I was able to poison the drink which was laid at King Porkius' table without anyone present in the room. Though it did make his drink's color change a bit lighter color but I don't think he would notice.

I went out of my room and headed towards the dining pavilion. As I entered I noticed a few kings and generals have already arrived. Slowly and gradually all the guests were here and I was getting even more nervous.

I was introduced and greeted everyone as we all sat down. The king didn't seem to notice the wine was slightly discolored from everyone else's. I was thinking if I should let him have it or take it out right now.

After a few minutes the king was about to start drinking his wine. The glass was inches away from his lips and before I could think of anything I quickly knocked the glass of wine out of his hands and it landed onto the floor. The other guests gasped as King Porkius in shock. I knew I made the right decision.

"What is the meaning of this General Ran?!" King Porkius yelled out.

"Your majesty I can explain! Your wine was tainted and looked different from all of ours. I could tell that it was poisoned." I said immediately which shocked him and the other guests.

He looked at our wine glasses and his one on the floor which was sizzling. He then noticed that he was about to be killed if it wasn't for my quick thinking. Then the next thing I heard was a scream.

Not just any scream. It was a girl's scream and it belonged to Y/N.

I quickly got out of my chair as the king and a few guards followed me into Y/N's room to see that she wasn't there and instead it was pieces of broken glass on the floor with the window broken. I went over to see anything to help me find and so did a few guards.

I found a scrunched up piece of paper whose hand writing I knew very well.

It read,

You knew the consequences Ran. I sent two of my men look at you do your job to see if you would do it yet you failed me. Now your little princess is with me. If you want her to live then come after me. Then we will see what happens next. Oh and here is the location for it. You better hurry cause your princess wouldn't last forever.

- anonymous

I saw the location was written here. I scrunched up the paper and stood up and bolted out the door. I felt eyes on me as I ran out of the place and the palace altogether. But I didn't care. I had to find her. I can't lose her. I just can't!

As I entered the forest area I was straight away ambushed by his two men. They thought they could take me down this easily. God they seriously don't know that I have done my years of killing and stealth. I was able to take them down and killed them. Luckily I was wearing gloves so my hand-print doesn't get on the dagger.

I was glad to be done with those two and won't be seeing them for like ever. I ran as fast as I could until I reached the location but I didn't see where they were until I heard a faint cry and yelling. I went towards the direction of the clearing and found. I was finally able to find them but what I saw made me livid. He was hurting her and this made my blood boil.

"Leave. Her. ALONE!" I said which made my boss turn around to face me with an evil grin.

She was holding Y/N by the neck with her arms and had a knife in his other hand. I looked at her and she looked so scared and I hated to see this.

"Ah! Ran I am so glad to see you." He said with an evil smirk forming on his face.

"Leave her out of this Nicholas!" I said as he laughed evilly.

"Oh this is funny considering you were about to kill the king." He said which made me freeze as Y/N looked at me confused and scared.

"W-What...?" I heard her say.

"Tell her Ran! tell her how you were about to kill her brother tonight but decided not to and you just joined the Gladiator Event just to get close to her in order to do this job!" I heard him yell.

I didn't hear a response from Y/N. I could tell she was angry but when i saw her face, all i saw was how scared she was and the fear in her eyes. I had an idea on how to get out of this but it was going to be risky.

"Now Ran you either join me and kill the king off or I kill your little princess over here." He said.

"Ran don't- hmph." I saw my boss cover her mouth.

I already had my plan set in motion and I was hoping it would work.

"Alright... I will join you but please... let her go." I said.

"Good." I heard him say as he dropped her harshly on the ground.

"Now come here Ran." He told me as I looked at him as I came close to him.

"You know..." I started as he looked at me slightly perplexed as I took out my enderpearl. "I still remember how you always told me to never let my guard down." I finished.

I looked at my boss's face as it his realization of what I meant and before he could react I teleported behind him and was quickly about to stab him but he countered back but he didn't know I had another dagger and drove that straight in the heart.

I took out the dagger as he dropped dead on the ground. The dagger had blood. His blood. I looked at my now dead boss on the ground with his own pool of blood.

I panted as my heart raced. This was a close call. I looked over at Y/N who was also shocked and surprised. I dropped the blade next to my dead boss' corpse as I helped Y/N up. I expected her to slap me and hate me but she just hugged me. I slowly hugged back not sure what else to do.

"Let's get you home princess. Your brother is worried sick." I said as I led her out of the forest as we walked towards the palace.

Third Person Point of View~

The entire walk was silent as none of them said a word. It was not until that much until you started to speak.

"Why didn't you do it?" You said.

They both came to a halt as ran looked down at the ground. His messy black hair slightly falling over his eyes as he tried to find the right words.

"I never wanted to in the first place but I was threatened to do it. He said that if I didn't he would kill you and your brother which also included me as well." He stopped saying as tears welled up in his eyes eyes as it flowed down his cheeks.

He explained how he got himself into this mess and how much he hated this job he was stuck in. he even mentioned how he never wanted to do it in the first place. He even mentioned how he was supposed to get close and befriend you only to fall in love with you and how she had said his brother was someone who was her only family and that this made him think about his choices of doing it. He never wanted to hurt you in anyway possible.

You looked at him as you felt pity and bad for him. You still loved him and you couldn't hate him for this but the fact that he didn't do it was because he fell in love with you. This made your heart skip a beat. You didn't know what to think.

"Ran I could never hate you. I forgive you okay?" You said as you embraced him in another hug.

He didn't know what to think. You had forgiven him and that shocked him the most. He hugged you back slightly crying. He finally felt free. All the burden he had were now gone. Yet he knew those would still remain but he felt free. After a while you both released from the hug as Ran wiped his face.

"Ran?" You spoke up yet again.

"Hmm?" he hummed in response.

"Did you... regret falling in love... with me...?" She said.

Ran was surprised at her words. He didn't think of anything else as he put his hand on her chin and lifted it to make her look at him. Ran looked at E/C colored eyes. He could get lost in them for days.

Ran didn't hesitate and slowly leaned down and kissed you on the lips. This time you kissed him back while standing on your tippy-toes to slightly reach his height as you wrapped your arms around the back of his neck while one his hands caressed your cheek.

The kiss was long and passionate and had to pull away for air. Ran pressed his forehead on hers as his hand was still on her cheek as his thumb rubbed on it. They both had a smile on their faces.

"I never regret falling in love with you Princess." Ran said as your giggled.

"I love you too Ran." He heard her say.

"I am glad. In case you are wondering I will still remain a General for your brother I am also planning on visiting Watson and Jackie sooner or later and they will be glad if you came along." Ran said as you smiled and nodded.

"I would love to." She said as ran gently picked her up in bridal style and kissed her on the forehead as he chuckled while you giggled.

"Come on now love let's get you home." He said as he started to walk while you held onto him close.

You both reached home safely as King Porkius was glad to see you safe and not harmed or hurt in anyway. He was very grateful towards Ran for protecting you and bringing you back here safely. He felt happy for saving you and him and forever grateful to have him.

Eventually you both did visit Watson and Jackie. They didn't live very far from the Subbin Empire which was fine knowing you could visit them any time. They were both happy to see you two and what you liked was how Watson treated Ran as his own son and Jackie treated him as a big brother.

But Ran was a different case.

He didn't care about his dark past and was finally able to start anew by being a General and having family like figures like Watson and Jackie.

He was finally happy to be with you.

His light in the dark.

The love of his life.

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

#ran #ran x reader #ran x you #ran x y/n #tales from the smp #assassin au #the pit #fluff #angst #oneshots

[mihidecet]

Sbi&CO d&d AU: A Familiar Face (1/?)

WELCOME WELCOME EVERYONE! Today, the tournament arc begins! I do hope you’ll enjoy this ahahah

I dedicate this to all the wonderful people of the Au’s Discord - hit me up if you wanna join! Also, a special thank you to @traitorous-bisexual and @awebo without whom this arc wouldn’t exist <3

Finally, before we start: make sure you check out @whatimevendoinhere , @spout1nk and (soon) @julius-ranch for art and fanfics about the AU!!

It was a lovely morning. 

The sun shined through the tinted windows, turning the light a soft orange glow that lessened the glare of it against his eyes. 

It was a welcome respite: during the months that involved preparing the tournament, days were quick to melt together, nights becoming just darker afternoons as Scott and everyone around him hurried to make everything look ready for the contestants' arrival. So, not having the sun shine directly into his eyes as he looked over the final challenges that had been chosen for the tournament was a relief. The cup of warm tea by his desk was also a saving grace.

Stifling a yawn, Scott figured that he could let himself take a stroll. Maybe open up his window, let the room freshen up a bit. 

With his window overlooking one of the many parks inside the Academy, maybe he could distract himself for a moment and see if his protege had finally started warming up to his teammates. 

That plan had flown out of the window almost immediately. Or maybe it would be better to say that it had flown into the window, along with a green tipped arrow that had suddenly appeared in his field of vision. 

Now, Scott hasn't been adventuring for a while, but it would be foolish to think that he's forgotten how the world works - with a flick of his wrist, a translucent dome of purple arcane energy materializes between him and the incoming arrow, which impacts with the barrier a split second later. The tip goes through, piercing the veil of his magic, and for a terrifying moment Scott thinks it's not gonna stop, but it simply stops, held in place as if caught in a web. 

Which is a relief, the amateur that tried to attack him - an Archmage, in the middle of his own Academy - failed to get their first shot in and this will give him the time to step back and call his most trusted in order to quickly and efficiently get rid of the problem at hand. He has other more pressing matters to attend to, he's not going to waste his time on this. 

As his Shield spell fades, it congeals like a shimmering second skin over his upper arm. Maybe calling the guards isn't that pressing, he's got this. 

Or maybe he doesn't, he thinks as he get a second, much more terrifying surprise - in the span of a couple of seconds, he really can get no breaks.

A figure materializes in the air in front of him, with a dark hood over their head that covers most of their features except for a huge - terrifying - grin and an intricate bow strapped to their back.

The figure appears with a puff of iridescent smoke, crouched in the air as if they'd been in the process of jumping before they decided to teleport, and- crashes into him, the force of the impact and the shock of it happening making him lose his balance and start falling back. 

There's a moment where Scott is confused: is this some sort of strange tactic? Did the stranger misjudge their trajectory? Are they going to wrestle on the ground as if they weren't both magic users? 

Then, a brief split second of panic - he didn't look what the stranger was holding, and he is currently falling on his back. He is going to get stabbed, at the very least, and that conviction is only made stronger as he feels the stranger's arms close in around him. 

But then, Scott has simply enough time to blink in shock, as the arms just wrap around his back, before his world is literally turned upside down.

One moment he is falling on his back, already anticipating the pain of a knife to the back - please no vital organs, spare him the need for an extremely expansive healer. The next the is wrapped in a hug and grunting in pain as his knees impact with the ground. 

"Ah, fuck that hurt- Scotty are you alright?" 

Scott refuses to believe this. He pushes against the chest under him - the arms give, letting him go - and finds himself face to face with a sight that is both very familiar and weirdly unusual. 

"You-" Scott says, tone an unconvincingly mix of menacing and angry as he jabs a finger into the not-so-stranger's chest -"Are lucky to be alive. I could have murdered you."

Hbomb's worried glance instantly brightens, despite Scott's best hopes, and he throws his head back to laugh. No matter how irritated he is at his friend, he can't help but huff out a laugh himself, and a moment later they're both chuckling together on the floor. By all the gods, it has been some time.

"You are a dumbass, H. You couldn't just use the door? You know, like a normal person?!" Scott asks, holding himself up on his left elbow because H has always been one to laugh with his whole body and Scott is still recovering from jamming his knees into the floor, he's not in the mood to be jostled around by an enthusiastic ranger. 

"Aw, Scotty, aren't you happy to see me?" The half-elf asks, putting a hand on his chest as he fails to pretend he's insulted. Scott flicks his nose. 

"Ah- that hurt!"

"I know, I meant it to hurt. Now, do you want to tell me what you're doing here? And what is that doing on your face?" Scott demands, serious at first until he realises that H has been growing out his beard well past what he considers to be a good length - H's pout is barely visible under all that scruff.

"Well, now, that is unnecessarily rude. I've been traveling for a while now, and I wasn't gonna risk injuring myself-" Scott grabs a wandering hand and brings it back on H's chest. 

"H." Hbomb has a tendency of gesticulating when his hands aren't being kept busy, and while he did figure that his friend had simply forgotten to shave, he has known him long enough to be able to recognise when H is going off on a tangent - which is perfectly fine - and when he's changing the subject because he doesn't want to answer. 

He knows he's right when H simply shuts up, eyes wide like those of a deer - quite fitting, considering where he enjoys spending most of his time. But instead of looking pensive, or starting to answer, H just … looks down. At where their hands are. 

Normally, he wouldn't think much of it. But H looks almost sheepish, and his eyes keep moving from his face to their hands, so Scott looks down. 

His brain screeches to a halt, and suddenly he stands up a little straighter, sitting on the floor next to H as he grabs his hand in his. 

Around his fingers wraps a perfect replica of a silver winged fae dragon, while in his palm- one of the most accurate representations of the different Planes. 

Scott turns his stare to his fiend, who looks more calm than Scott feels he has any right to, and when he speaks he sounds almost breathless. 

"What happened to you?"

The tale of how Shubble's patron reached out to him to grant him powers is exhilarating. Not in the "funny" sense, more in the "my friend who is usually not that fond of talking and interacting with people especially when he's not in a place he is familiar with, was transported to a different plane and spoke with a being of transcendent power". So maybe a bit in the "funny" sense. 

The only negative side of the whole affair is the fact that Shubble is currently not present. 

She actually teaches at the Academy, so H was right in his assumption that reaching this place would have helped him out, but he just barely missed her by a couple of weeks. She's recently left, called out on an urgent mission by her patron themselves, and a part of Scott's mind can't help but feel like it is an extremely weird coincidence: he respects power gained through pacts, but he fears deeply the machinations of otherworldly beings' minds and the power they hold over his friends. He'd much prefer dealing with forces controlled by his own self, so that when a spell backfires comically he only has himself to blame. 

But all things considered, he's glad to see H is still alive and seemingly doing better than ever. He looks fine, happy and more confident than the last time he saw him - the way he stands and moves more firm, more secure, filling his space in a way the Hbomb of some time ago wouldn't have. 

It's nice to see him like this. 

What isn't nice is the way his increased confidence leads him to suggest how good of an idea it would be for him to take part into the tournament. Which is a horrible idea. 

"Listen, I know I am banned from playing again-" H starts, arms spread open with a mischievous grin on his face. Scott has sudden flashbacks to all the times he'd seen that grin from the other side of the battlefield and shakes his head firmly before pointing a stern finger at his chest.

"You still have a year before you can." 

H huffs, shoulders falling, and he adopts the most fake-innocent expression Scott has ever seen. 

"But I'm just here to say hi!" Scott levels him with a blank stare, using all of his willpower and internal strength to avoid bursting out laughing. Because for all that his friend's expression is hilarious, this is really no laughing matter. He can't have him win again. 

"I said what I said." H's head hits the desk with a groan of protest. 

On the other side of the table, Scott pinches his own arm in order not to laugh. 

He fails.

H still manages to pout his way into getting a free room to stay in for a while - just like the old times, come on! - and seems to be alright with being left to his own devices for the rest of the morning. 

Knowing him, he'll take it as the perfect chance to snoop around, make new friends and bother the tournament's contestants. 

As Scott turns back to his schematics, the only thing he does is chuckle to himself. 

#sbi&co dnd au #sbi dnd au #hbomb94 #smajor1995 #tournament arc

[taptroupe]

evergrace chapter 11 FINALLY LET’S GO LET’S GO

This would happen if darius did not push the two out of the way in the first four lines of this chapter. yes. lmao. 

WILL DARIUS AND CO MAKE IT OUT OF THIS BATTLE ALIVE?! READ MORE NOW. LOTS OF FUNNY ART WITHIN

they’re teleported into the lab, which has a dome like ceiling, very spacious, and with markings engraved into the walls. the light of the magic circle fades away, and....

Immediately, Darius pushes the two out of the circle. Right in front of his eyes, a roaring flame crashes into the floor, making a wave of red. The fire dies down, revealing who other than that small child... Trandin. 

And behind him, standing on a shadowy pillar was... ooohooo.... The Morpheus.... or something like that

“Hyohyohyo, you’re here, you’re here. I’ve been waiting...”

“Give Sharline back, now!”

“Hyohyo, seems like that little missus is very important to you, isn’t she?”

Morpheus pointed a skinny finger to a corner of the room. [i swear the lab is circular]

Against the walls of the circular lab, several enclaves sealed off with green glass. In one of them, a small, enclosed room where Sharline was held. Turning to face Darius, she seemed to be shouting something with all her might as she hit the green wall of the room over and over.

“Indeed, the Cycle was a big help, a great lab rat to aid in freeing this country from its binds. To let go of such a test subject, never!”

Sharline pointed to another room beside her. There was another woman, the same person who kidnapped her back at the Human Research Lab. The woman who saved Sharline’s life - it must’ve been Sienna.

From behind Darius, Orladin and Ralbadora jumped forward. [there’s a metaphor here for jumping as fast as rabbits, please imagine they wavedashed] Trandin’s eyes seemed to dart from left to right, confronted by these two -

“DON’T LOOK AT THEM BUDDY. I’M DARIUS AND I’M GONNA FIGHT A CHILD WHO IS YOU. MEET YOUR NEW BULLY”

Darius readied his spear, forming a ball of ice palmira at its tip. Blasting it off, a countless number of shards were aimed at the young boy. But, a wall of light appeared, and it probably melted those shards or threw it back at darius, whatever works. Trandin, weakened temporarily by his epic flex of power, floats to Morpheus’s side.

“How, Trandin, how can you already be at your limit? I gave you the ultimate weapon, the Alcrest! Did my readings on the Cycle go wrong somewhere.... Useless!”

Morpheus waved his cane, and ORLADIN JUST GETS HIT WITH A BLAST OF THUNDER. MAN WAS JUST STANDING THERE 

“Prince Orladin, it’s an honour that you came all this way. These two men are here to save these two ladies, but you’re here for Princess Lismur, aren’t you? How about you look through this door, then?

Hyohyo, what a nice man I am, aren’t I? However, you’re the one who left the princess behind in the castle - she must be in so much pain, don’t you think? I’ll let you meet her again.”

“WHAT?!”

Morpheus, standing atop his shadowy pillar thing, raises a hand. A certain green wall in the back disappears, and out comes black, black ivy... Ivy that entwined the princess, slithering out...

“Orladin?”

An overflowing wave of black seemed to approach Orladin, who was standing with sword gripped tightly. Watching the whole spectacle, Morpheus simply laughed to himself full of satisfaction, as if dancing.

[the descrption of lismur comes from the rieubane castle chapter. blonde long hair, blue eyes, a red dress. . ...................... i had to make her naked here at least i wouldn’t be reminded of katia and get too horny to translate more LOL DON’T READ THIS DON’T READ THIS PART]

Suddenly ralbadora tries to hit morpheus while he’s laughing, but the man in black armor is deflected by a shimmering wall as usual. An assortment of blades, all engraved with dragons, all trying to break through that protecting light wall. But only sparks of beautiful green light came out.

“You! There was another Palmira soldier you had at your disposal?”

Waving a cane, Morpheus launches a purple ball of energy as Ralbadora, but he’s cool and just jumps backwards before opening his mouth to speak (coolly).

“I have neither the Crest nor the Alcrest. The Palmira soldier you (derogatory) speak of, it is not I (politely)”

“What? So you’re another one graced by the Cycle?”

[note the usage of grace. heh. lol. yeah when they say evergrace the grace bit is meant to refer to “being chosen” or “favoured”]

“My power comes from The Mother of All Things. I do not know anything regarding this Cycle you speak of. For your senior of your age, I suggest you get off that platform for your own safety.”

“Hyo, say that again! The one backing off will be you lot!”

From the ground underneath Morpheus, a ring of light appeared, hitting Ralbadora’s feet. Well, obviously it’s gonna hit his feet, right? From his platform, Morpheus raised a shaky finger.

“Hyohyo, now look well. To the little miss you call Sharline, keep your eyes glued!”

Darius was in the midst of the battle with Trandin, when suddenly a groan reverberating through the air made his body freeze up.

From beyond the green glass wall, Sharline was grasping her head, body hunched over in pain.

From atop this black platform, Morpheus raised a finger, and suddenly Sharline’s body lifted from the floor - with the floor below her crumbling.

[you can probably guess the floor below her is probably you know, air]

“Don’t move! If you do, this girl will...”

“Morpheus, you motherfu - URGH” 

Trandin’s ball of light hit Darius’s chest, blasting him away. probably sending him flying, can never tell with tobasu

Orladin, who had given up cutting the ivy intertwining around him, seemed to be entranced into the pale arms of the princess.

Ralbadora, at least, could slowly approach Morpheus, letting out a weakened voice.

“That girl is important to us... As she is to your research, isn’t it?”

“A good assumption, but no. I don’t have any sentimentality for the little missus. Sure, Trandin wasn’t the right research sample at all, but the use for that is all over now.”

As Morpheus’s finger danced, so did.... i’m sorry sharline..... So did Sharline’s body, violently shaken around in midair. Ralbadora could only look on in anger, as Morpheus laughed loudly.

“And now, you can’t even run away. Only pitting three people against me? Just foolish! For believing you could even try to oppose me, I suppose I’ll just turn this girl into Palmira.”

OY WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO!? SAY THAT AGAIN

SHARLINE IS NOT JUST SOME KIND OF FERTILZER FOR YOU BASTARD. SHE IS A CURED DELI MEAT - I MEAN SHE IS MY FRIEND

“TURN INTO PALMIRA?!” Darius groaned.

“Fascinating, isn’t it? Whether it be Billiana fruit or a human, both can be transformed into Palmira. If we’d known this sooner, there sure would’ve been a lot less waste.”

The three could only watch as the cheerful Morpheus continued his monologue.

“Hyohyo, Trandin, fetch the Crest if you could please.”

Trandin floated over to where Darius was, and landed in front of him. Extending his small hands out, Darius tried to shield himself with his own arms.

“Hyohyo, a tug of war, is it?”

“Trandin, stop it!”

A spiral of yellow light appeared before Darius, unfurling itself to be none other than Krisalis. She fluttered noisily at Trandin’s emotionless face.

“Trandin, can you hear what I’m saying? It’s me. Please, stop this.”

“What in the.. You’re... No, it couldn’t be...?!”

Upon realizing Krisalis’s appearance, Morpheus turned his head towards Sienna. Beyond the wall, her head was slightly lowered, with her hands resting on her chest, unmoving.

“So if that’s how you’re going to be, one ridiculous thing after another... Then you’re next!”

Morpheus raised his hand, and suddenly Sienna’s body................. BENT BACKWARDS?! JISHO!?!?

Krisalis let out a wail of pain.

“.....Tr... an..... din.....!”

The bird-like shape disappeared, leaving nothing but a spiral of yellow light left in front of the boy’s eyes.

But, slowly, his eyes grew wide.

“Mom..... my?”

no agetec, not mom, my. mommy

As the yellow light gently embraced the boy, he turned around and looked at Morpheus. And he flew to him, as if an arrow flying from its bow.

Of course, the reflective wall around Morpheus repelled the boy, but only for a moment. In a flash of light, the wall came crashing down.

Morpheus, still focused on Sienna, was knocked down from his platform. As he tried to get up, a short sword swung by Ralbadora struck him.

“Trandin?! Wait, no, how, impossible..!”

A green, glowing sword with a polished tip plunged deep into the robes that Morpheus wore. His body leaned uncomfortably backwards, cane on the ground. This is basically old man dying i’m skipping this tiny portion.

The blood stained the robes black. Painful breaths, veiny arms, clawing over to Sienna’s wall.

“Why... Now... You’re going to destroy it all... Your very purpose.... Your reason to live.... Destruction...

Truly, you both are... A demon...”

A shaky finger pointed at Sienna, who kneeled down in her cell. She had a face of sadness, listening to Morpheus’s groans of pain, she tried to say something with nothing coming out. 

With great effort, Morpheus raised his finger once more.

“Why.... Does this world.... have something.... like you.... a demon... exist? Everyone..... was..... alive......”

“I’m sorry..... Even I...... Couldn’t do anything.... Not a single........”

Sienna turned away.

“My..... To Medina, I..........................................”

With that final word, Morpheus’s arm dropped to the ground. 

And that was the last of Morpheus’s strength.

#evergrace novel funtime #this will now be tagged as my art

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #234: The Witch’s Tale!

August, 1983

“Seasons of the Witch!”

If Wanda offers you a free Halloween mask, politely tell her no thanks.

A lot going on in this cover. Because this is one of those issues that summarizes a character’s continuity because wikipedia doesn’t exist yet and back issues aren’t super easy to get. 

Last time: There was an Avengers/Fantastic Four sorta crossover where Annihilus tried to blow up the universe. The primary fallout of that is that Vision walked into a null-field and then collapsed. He’s basically in a robot-coma recovering.

This time: the Avengers bring Vision home in a tube.

It looks like the kind of coffin you shoot into space but it’s not. It’s just a life-support capsule that looks like a space coffin.

Now though it sucks that Vision is in a robot coma, this does mean that he and Wanda are back involved with the book again. We briefly checked in with them during the Trial of Yellowjacket arc.

But we’ve been pretty short of Scarlet Witch and Vision since #211 when they left the team to try to have a go at a regular life. I’ll summarize in brief how that’s been at the appropriate time. Point being, that’s twenty some issues with a very low amount of my second favorite comic couple.

She-Hulk and Thor carry the capsule into the basement of Avengers Mansion because that’s where their medical center is. The basement. Of course. Why wouldn’t you put your medical center in the basement. Best place for it.

Wanda thanks Wasp for inviting her (and Vision) to stay at the Mansion when they could have stayed at the Baxter Building.

Wasp: “Nonsense! That place was left in a mess by Annihilus! Besides, the Avengers take care of their own!”

(Tangentially, the Avengers have always been more of a family to Wanda than anyone else aside from Django and Marya Maximoff who raised her and Pietro. The Avengers are Wanda’s family basically.)

Also, it’s not said anywhere but I feel like probably Reed Richards never did do that procedure that was supposed to help Vision recover more quickly as distracted as he was by Franklin’s injuries.

While Wanda hovers (metaphorically) around Vision’s tube, Wasp reflects on how hard this is hitting her.

Wasp: “She and the Vision were such a strange match, but they’ve been so devoted to each other their marriage worked -- !”

Oof, that bold hurts, Jan.

Wanda asks for some time alone with her husband so the Avengers leave the basement level medical center, all thinking thoughts as often happens.

Wasp feels guilty because she’s the one that called Wanda and Vision into action but justifies that they were needed. Even though they didn’t really accomplish much.... Kinda makes it worse.

Captain America asks Thor off to have a private chat.

Captain Marvel laments that they couldn’t destroy the field before Vision was injured. And Starfox muses about the sensitivity he senses from Captain Marvel.

Kinda wondering if Stern is trying to set up a love triangle between Starfox, Captain Marvel, and She-Hulk.

Speaking of She-Hulk.

She-Hulk: Any of us could’ve wound up in a tube... or on a slab. But that’s the risk we have to take!

A very typically She-Hulk of this era kind of thought. She’s very direct.

Wasp calls a rain-check on apartment hunting. Which is what she and She-Hulk were doing before the whole invisible dome thing.

And She-Hulk finds other ways to occupy her time.

She-Hulk: “Hey, Starfox! You have any plans for tonight?”

Starfox: “Well, I’d considered checking out the local sights, but if you have a better offer -- !”

She-Hulk: “Spaceman, I can show you some things you won’t believe!”

She’s very direct.

Over at Captain America and Thor’s private conversation, Captain America catches Thor up on the happenings re: Iron Man, i.e. Tony Stark.

Cap(tain America): “It’s Iron Man, Thor... the Wasp and I paid him a visit to find out why he’d resigned from the Avengers. I... don’t quite know how to say this, but... Tony Stark hasn’t just left the Avengers! He’s given up his identity as Iron Man... turned his armor over to another man!”

Thor: “Eh? ‘Tis most passing strange!”

Cap: “That’s not the only thing that’s ‘most passing strange!’ When we talked to him, Stark was so drunk, I’m surprised he was able to stand up! And when I suggested that he’d had too much to drink, he ordered Jan and me out of his apartment!”

Turns out that off-panel at some point, Tony confided his problems with alcoholism to Thor.

Another example of the close relationship that Thor and Iron Man used to have and lamentably don’t seem to have anymore.

Cap even says that Thor has known Tony longer than the rest of the Avengers. While Wasp has been on the team just as long as Thor has, yeah, Thor has known the man in Iron Man longer.

So Cap asks Thor to try to talk to Tony because maybe he could get through to him.

Thor: “I could try, Captain! But if he rejected your advice, while under the influence, I fear for my ability to do better!”

Cap: “What about your mortal identity? Maybe if you approached him as Dr. Don Blake... man to man...”

Thor: “Mayhap. I shall give this thought.”

Thor then hammer-whirl flies off, leaving Cap to think about whether there’s anything additional that he could do, maybe in Iron Man #172, which was on sale at the same time.

Since this issue is otherwise going to be a lot of recapping Scarlet Witch’s entire life, why not pop into another book briefly for some additional content?

I’m the boss and I’ll allow it.

So over in Iron Man in general and issue #172 specifically, Tony Stark is on hard times. We know about the alcoholism and Rhodey taking over as Iron Man. But a man called Obadiah Stane is also attempting an incredibly hostile takeover of Stark International. He’s bought up all the company’s debt (and it has a lot), he has a bunch of civil suits pending against the company, and he’s secretly been the architect behind Tony Stark’s imploding life. That and Tony himself. Takes two to implode.

The last hope Stark Int. has is a writ that will force Stane to back off for a week or two. It’s not a lot but it’ll be some breathing room. Only problem is that it needs Tony Stark’s notarized signature before 5 PM and they kinda lost track of him after he broke into a museum to put on some knight armor and had to be bailed out of jail.

Rhodey decides to call Captain America for help and that’s how we get the asterisk indicating that you should check out Iron Man #172.

Cap does find Tony but unfortunately, Tony slips away in the confusion when an old Iron Man foe called Firebrand (unfortunately not a gargoyle) sets the hotel on fire because he’s just incredibly pissed off at the idea of Tony Stark.

Cap’s less-nice confrontation with Tony about his drinking is decent drama (but possibly not the right tactic to take) though so have some of that.

Anyway. Back to Avengers.

Meanwhile, over on Long Island and at the Cross Technological Enterprises building, industrial espionage gets aggressive as some men in jumpsuits and balaclavas climb the building to sneak in.

One of them is worried because that Avenger guy Hawkeye is in charge of security but the boss is like pssh Hawkeye is a chump with a broken leg.

Then Hawkeye arrives on a hover scooter because insulting Hawkeye probably just summons him to prove you wrong. He has that kind of contrarian energy at times.

He shoots all of their guns out of their hands and pins them to the wall with arrows all before they can really do anything.

His leg may be broken but his arms aren’t. And those are the limbs that do archery.

Sure, his style is slightly harshed by having only one swashbuckler boot on but that still doesn’t stop him from shooting arrows.

A woman and a photographer show up instantly to take pictures of Hawkeye’s cool victory. Apparently the woman is Sheila Danning and she says that she’s in charge of PR for Cross Technological Enterprises.

People showing up to take pictures of how cool he is makes Hawkeye feel very appreciated so he happily poses for some pictures with the captured intruders.

I feel like this is going to end up related to the Hawkeye solo miniseries that’s published around this time. The events of the miniseries cost Hawkeye his hearing but gain him a wife. So we’ll call it a net positive for Clint.

I’ll possibly summarize the relevant parts of the series when it becomes relevant to Avengers, which I’m sure it will.

Several hours later, back over at Avengers Mansion, She-Hulk wakes up after a night with Starfox.

So let’s discuss a thing.

In a later She-Hulk series, the moral iffyness of Starfox’s ability to shoot pleasure at people’s brains and make them become infatuated with him is explored. In a legal sense. As in, Starfox gets put on trial for sexual assault and accused of using his powers to seduce people.

The question is raised whether he had ever used his powers to seduce She-Hulk in regards to them getting together like this in Avengers. And when he won’t give her a straight answer, she beats the shit out of him.

Eventually, the case goes all the way up to the Living Tribunal, the cosmic judge of all realities because of course there’s one of those, and a mind probe proves that Starfox did not use his abilities to influence She-Hulk’s decision to have sex with him.

They’re both just horny people.

Anyway, Starfox and She-Hulk get on first name non-codename basis with each other. Then Starfox takes off to go explore New York, but he and She-Hulk do make plans to get together again in the evening.

She-Hulk’s post-implied-coitus giddiness is rained on when she learns that Wanda hasn’t slept at all and has spent the whole night at Vision’s side.

So now its time for She-Hulk brand very direct friendship.

She tells Jarvis to go make breakfast and she’ll deal with Wanda.

As we saw in and about the Trial of Yellowjacket, She-Hulk doesn’t really beat around the bush.

So when Wanda says she’d rather stay at Vision’s side rather than get breakfast, She-Hulk grabs her and tries to physically drag her towards self-care.

She-Hulk: “Look, watching your hubby won’t make him get well any faster. You’re coming with me! You’ll feel a lot better with a little breakfast in you!”

It doesn’t go over well.

Wanda blasts She-Hulk away and now Jen and Wanda are angry at each other and Wasp arrived just in time to play baffled mediator.

She-Hulk: “I hope you have a good dentist, Red!”

Wasp: “Jennifer!”

She-Hulk: “She started it, Wasp! I was just showing her some hospitality, and she sent me flying with her crummy hex bolts!”

Scarlet Witch: “What?! You physically pull me from my husband’s side, and you call that hospitality?!?”

Wasp: “Girls, girls! We’re all friends here! I know how upset you must be, Wanda, but you mustn't let worry get the better of you! I think we all need a spot of breakfast! Please join me, Wanda. The She-Hulk will relieve you at watching over the Vision... we all will!”

She-Hulk: “That’s what I was trying to tell her!”

Jen’s heart was in the right place but she lacks much in the way of tact?

Anyway, Wasp and Wanda set up in the library and Jarvis brings breakfast pastries to them, though Wanda refuses any.

Free breakfast aggros Captain Marvel and now she’s here too. That and She-Hulk trying to make up through a proxy.

Captain Marvel: “A little bird told me that you were serving your continental special, and I just couldn’t stay away!”

Wasp: “A little bird, C.M.?”

Captain Marvel, whispering: “Well, a big bird! She-Hulk radioed me that the Scarlet Witch was still a little down, and suggested that I might be of help, cheering her up!”

You have a good heart, Jen-Hulk.

Also, Monica just beams right in through the library window as a sunbeam before forming back into her human shape. And that’s delightful. But would be startling. Jarvis is startled. He’s seen it all but all keeps expanding.

Monica and Wanda briefly bond over both speaking French when Monica praises that Jarvis’ pastries rival the best of the French Quarter. Jan is a bit lost because she doesn’t know any French but Monica and Wanda were just very excited because they don’t get to French very often. The language.

AND with the ice broken, Monica smoothly shifts topics over to asking Wanda about herself.

Captain Marvel: “You know, there’s so much I’d like to ask you. I’ve read all about you in the files, of course -- but they’re so impersonal. You’ve led such a fascinating life.”

Scarlet Witch: “Fascinating? I suppose... but I was too young to appreciate some of the more fantastic moments.”

AND THEN WANDA LEGIT, NO FURTHER PROMPTING, STARTS NARRATING HER WHOLE LIFE STARTING FROM BIRTH.

DAMN WANDA, exposition under pressure?

So Wanda tells Monica about how she was born in WUNDAGORE, a Balkan mountain in Transia with a super-advanced city built on it. The High Evolutionary was making furries for reasons which escape me but it explains why a cow-woman answered the door when Magda, supposedly Wanda’s mom although that has changed, came knocking on the door.

She was double pregnant and on the run from a husband who had developed terrible problems and an attitude problem.

The cow-woman Bova, invited Magda into the city and helped deliver her children Pietro and Wanda. And then Magda walked off into the snow to die, pulling a Padme-on-purpose-but-years-ahead-of-time by dying just after having twins.

Her thought process was that Mystery Husband would come looking for her but if he found her frozen in the snow, he wouldn’t find out that she’d had children? I dunno, this logic is a bit spurious.

I’m glad that Wanda’s current in the year 2021 real mom isn’t someone who walked off into the snow to die because it seemed like a good idea.

Showing what an awful idea this was, Magda left Wanda and Pietro in the care of Bova who had no idea what to do with two babies. So she took the matter to the High Evolutionary who also didn’t want to deal with it and decided to dump the babies on a childless Roma couple.

High Evolutionary: ‘DOES ANYBODY WANT SOME BABIES?’

Except the comic doesn’t say Roma, they say the g-slur. I don’t think Marvel ever stops doing that. Its a weird case where the portrayal is overall sympathetic but tinged with stereotypes and using a slur.

Shape up, Marvel.

I also notice that Wanda’s recap leaves out Fake Dad Robert Frank, the Whizzer.

The first time Wanda’s parentage was Totally Revealed For Real, it was revealed that not only Magda but Robert and Madeline Joyce Frank were hanging around Wundagore waiting to give birth.

I’ve already been into it before but originally it was just the Franks kids but the Whizzer whizzed off in grief when he learned his wife died in childbirth. Then when someone got it into their head to retcon otherwise, Magda was at Wundagore and gave birth to twins and then the High Evolutionary had Bova try to give the kids to Robert but he ran off in his grief so shrugged and passed them off to Django and Marya Maximoff AKA the real parents even if not biological.

To editorialize, the Maximoffs actually raised Wanda and Pietro so no matter what, I’ll always consider them the twins’ real parents.

Anyway, the Franks aren’t part of this retelling. Which is funny because for a while Wanda thought the Whizzer was their dad and treated him like one and now she’s dumped him like raw meat for ease of retelling. Tsk tsk.

So, Wanda and Pietro lived a good life and “better parents could hardly have been found.” Then when adolescence happened, Pietro suddenly could run really fast and Wanda “discovered that strange, unpredictable things would happen if I was in a certain frame of mind and gestured in a particular way.”

That’s a pretty specific mutant power. And she relates that she kept causing accidents by gesturing in the particular way while in a certain frame of mind, it’s like, Wanda, don’t gesture that way? Get mittens or tie your fingers together. Its not hard.

Your powers are so specific!

Stereotypes happen and an angry mob burns down the Maximoffs’ camp.

Pietro ran Wanda to safety and the shock was so great that they got AMNESIA.

Marya, I think, died but Django survived and went a little mad with grief, assuming he lost his wife and kids.

For a couple years, Wanda and Pietro just kicked it around Eastern Europe, Pietro using his superspeed to catch game. Things were going okay but not great up until the time that Wanda wandered into a village and made the fuck-things-up gesture and whoops fucked things up.

I’m telling you, Wanda, mittens.

Anyway, she set a house on fire, WITH HER MIND, and now there’s an angry mob after her assuming that she’s a witch.

As sometimes happens in Marvel Eastern Europe.

The mob chased Wanda to camp where Pietro lost his shit and superspeed tried to beat up a mob but wound up getting pinned down and beaten.

Then Magneto showed up and yanked all the crude farming implements away and told the mob to gtfo.

Magneto: “Come no further, homo sapiens! The two whom you attack are under the protection of Magneto!”

An idiot: “With power such as his, he can only be Satan himself!”

An idiot who has the right idea: “Run! Run for your lives!”

Wanda thanks Magneto for the save and he demands “Let neither of you ever forget what you owe me... ever!”

Cool. Cool cool cool.

Wanda: “He took us in... fed and clothed us... but never did he show us any human kindness. We were supposed to be above that, he said... we were mutants, and under his tutelage, we became Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch!”

What a dick.

Anyway, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were forced to join Magneto and his other agents Toad and Mastermind.

Magneto’s Brotherhood clashed with the X-Men multiple times. And then the Stranger just sorta yoinked Magneto into space.

Early X-Men is a bafflement to me.

Wanda: “Our debt had been repaid to Magneto many times over. We were beholden to him no longer... We were free. And... we were alone. We had just begun to realize the potential of our mutant powers, but we did not know how best to use them. Cut off from Magneto’s cruel exploitation, we didn’t know what to do. I don’t know what would have become of us, had we not been accepted as Avengers! The Avengers gave purpose to our lives, gave us something to be part of.”

Anyway, being on the Avengers meant dangers and foes to fight but it also meant allies, friends, and ROBOT BOYFRIENDS.

Wanda: “Were it not for the Avengers, I might never have met the Vision! He was the product of a laboratory -- and many thought him to be inhumanely cold -- but I grew to love the warm, feeling inner man.”

Of course, if you tell Vision he has feelings he gets mad and insists NUH UH.

And dating Vision pissed off Quicksilver who basically disowned Wanda for a while.

But who gives a fuck what Pietro says, Wanda also learned WITCHCRAFT and (although not explicitly mentioned) how to summon METEORS TO SMASH HER FOES.

And she got married in a double ceremony where the other bride married a tree! That tree part doesn’t get mentioned.

After this, Wanda and Vision went on a short honeymoon but found that the hashtag Avengers life kept them so busy that they didn’t have a lot of time to themselves.

Then Real Dad Django Maximoff showed up and Wanda and Pietro went with him to Transia to learn their backstory.

Annnnnd Wanda got possessed by Chthon. Won’t be the first time ha ha.

Thankfully, the Avengers managed to do a care bear stare to unpossess her. Oh, and Django died. A misstep if you ask me. There was too much character potential to just kill him off after one arc.

Alas, alas.

Anyway, the recap skips over a whole bunch of stuff and doesn’t mention Moondragon’s role but we get to the point where Wanda and Vision quit the Avengers.

Wanda: “When the Vision and I were finally reunited, our thoughts began to turn inward. Our life with the Avengers was fulfilling, but apart from our careers, we had no real private life of our own. Would society accept us on our own, away from Avengers Mansion? We didn’t know -- but we had to at least try to find out. Taking our accrued Avengers salaries, we bought a modest little home in Leonia, New Jersey.”

So a brief recap of their adventures in the first Vision and Scarlet Witch miniseries.

In the first issue, Captain America’s Halloween housewarming gift of a cursed book winds up being cursed and contains Samhain. When Wanda didn’t immediately free him, he got angry and turned some trick or treaters into monster versions of their costumes to attack Vision while Samhain attacked Wanda. She manages to set the cursed tome on fire, ending Samhain’s power. FOR NOW. Then Not-Actually-Their-Father-But-Doesn’t-Know-It-Yet the Whizzer shows up.

In issue two, the Whizzer is looking for Wanda’s help in regaining custody of his son Nuklo the Nuclear Man. With their help, Whizzer manages to get the court to agree to release Nuklo to his custody. But the lead doctor managing Nuklo is secretly ISBISA! ... Y’know, the Whizzer’s old foe from his All-Winner’s Squad days? No? Okay, well he also masterminded the nuclear ‘accident’ that led to Nuklo’s birth in the first place. And now he’s back to finish the job with radiation siphoned from Nuklo. In anger at Wanda being drawn into Golden Age drama, Vision reveals that Wanda isn’t the Whizzer’s kid but it little matters because Whizzer has a massive heart attack and dies. Nuklo helps defeat Isbisa and both of them are drained of atomic power leaving them human. Oh and Vision’s arm gets melted off. That’s kinda important.

In issue three, Vision is in a robot coma and he needs an energy donation from Wonder Man, his brain brother, to recover. Comic books! Vision has a meaning laden coma dream where Ultron screams at him a lot. Grim Reaper attacks and tries to kill Vision and Wonder Man while they’re incapacitated because he has one character beat and its that. But Vision manages to subdue him.

In issue four, is the pertinent one for this issue.

I’m going to say, I think the second Vision and Scarlet Witch series is better. This was a series of loosely related mishaps. The second volume does more with Vision and Scarlet Witch living in suburbia as a concept.

Anyway, in the fourth issue and in this Avengers recap of Wanda’s entire life, after Vision lost his arm, he and Wanda went up to Attilan to get it replaced. Because the Inhumans can casually just build him a new arm that works with his powers.

And people say the Inhumans aren’t good for anything.

While on the moon, Wanda and Vision decide to visit with Pietro and Crystal and their new daughter Luna. Pietro was even not a dick to Vision. It was a nice moment until Magneto barged in and started a fight by insisting he wasn’t here to fight while trapping everyone inside the building. Also, he threatened Bova to get information on who his kids were and frankly, that’s unforgivable. Bova is an angel. A cow angel.

They fight fight fight and then the fight is ended when Luna cries and Magneto realizes he’s doing a big superhero/supervillain fight in the same room as a fragile child and realizes ‘wow maybe i’m the dick here.’

Now the Vision and Scarlet Witch series ends with the internal-reveal that MAGNETO is the father (for now) of Wanda and Pietro. Magneto asking them to accept him as such. And on a confused moment of ‘shit what now.’

The Avengers issue picks up on that and finishes out the scene.

While Wanda is too stunned to know what to say, Pietro has some choice words.

He snatches his daughter away from Magneto and tells him fuck off, you’re no father to me.

Magneto’s argument is ‘hey genetics is the only thing that matters you’re my son like it or not.’

Pietro’s counter argument is ‘nuh uh’ and that Django Maximoff is the only man he calls father. And Wanda agrees.

Its good to see some Django respect.

Magneto tells them they’ll see the error of their ways and flies off.

Which is the wrong tack to take to prove that you’ve changed and are ready to get some good dadding in and won’t kill your granddaughter for being a human.

He’s super bad at this.

After that, Wanda and Vision went home to New Jersey and just stayed at home for a while, Wanda was so horrified by the reveal.

Wanda: “Even now, I can hardly begin to express the horror, the shame! It’s as if I suddenly discovered Hitler lurking in my family tree! Part of me wishes that he is really sincere about tempering his hatred for non-mutant humans. But even if he was telling the truth, that can never excuse his past crimes... Nothing can!”

Its really surprising how ready people are in-universe to compare Magneto to Hitler. From Wanda to Cap to Xorn.

Wasp: “Wanda... you mustn’t torture yourself this way! Magneto has no claim on you, and you’re certainly not responsible for him! I know it must be tough, but you can’t let him ruin the rest of your life!”

These are helpful things to tell Wanda to calm her down.

Less helpful is when Wasp speculates that hey maybe it was okay not to believe Magneto when he said he’s changed because maybe he’ll become worse! Maybe his newfound tolerance of humanity will lead him to try to save humanity from itself rather than wipe it out. In reference to how Moondragon tried to do that on that planet we never heard from again.

Wanda: “Heaven help us, if such a thought occurs to Magneto!”

I’m pretty sure he’s going to be too busy in the near future trying to be teacher to the most death-prone idiots this side of Westchester. And then after that when he decides to be evil again, he’s going to do some nonsense with Asteroid M. But I don’t think he ever hits the ‘save humanity from itself’ point.

Anyway.

Wasp and Captain Marvel reassure Wanda that if Magneto Strikes Again the Avengers will be with her!

The following day, Wanda returns to Leonia, New Jersey to put together a suitcase of stuff since she’s going to be staying at Avengers Mansion for a while.

Wanda: “Jan was nice enough to offer me a few of her things, but they’re all too small for my figure. And that robe the She-Hulk lent me last night fit like a tent!”

Wasp and Scarlet Witch usually look the same size and shape but that’s important canon body shape information for someone, I guess. If they wanted to draw Avengers But Not All The Same Paper Dolls character designs.

Anyway, the issue really ends with Dr Strange showing up to pull Wanda into a crossover with his own book in Doctor Strange #60.

Ergh. This era sure has a lot of stuff going off on the sides.

I’ll synopsize Scarlet Witch’s time in Doctor Strange’s book if it becomes necessary but I’ve already looked at five non-Avengers issue for this post and am probably going to have to cover the Hawkeye series in brief too when it intersects with Avengers.

Follow @essential-avengers​ for grudging contextualization of everything that’s happening in Avengers, when I feel like it. Like and reblog if you liked.

#avengers #scarlet witch #the vision #the Wasp #Captain Marvel #Monica Rambeau #there were more people but they're not very relevant #essential avengers #essential marvel liveblogging #because this is a big recap of everything wanda it has a lot of the g-slur in it #i've tried to not use panels where its used #and just up and cropped the high evolutionary one

[jurassicsunsets]

Pachycephalosaur domes: Function

Welcome back! We last left our heroine (that’s me!) as she gave a brief overview of the history of interpretations of pachycephalosaur domes. We now return to your regularly scheduled program.

However, little discussion was had of the function of the pachycephalosaur dome in this early work, with suggestions limited to the broad category of “armour” (ex: Gilmore, 1924). 

(Image: A skeletal restoration of Stegoceras validum showing pachycephalosaur anatomy as known in 1924. Outlined parts are inferred from comparison with Hypsilophodon. Image from Gilmore (1924).)

The first worker to propose a functional use of pachycephalosaur domes was Edwin Colbert in 1955, who compared the domes to the cranial “bosses” of artiodactyls and suggested that they may have been used similarly in head-butting battles - here used to mean head-to-head smashing contests -  over mates. 

Galton (1971) thought this was a pretty boss idea, and pointed out that the domes of pachycephalosaurs were made of very thick solid bone. Bone takes a lot of energy to maintain; despite looking like a static, dead rock, it is in fact a living tissue that is constantly remodeling itself (hence why you can repair after a broken bone!). If the domes were just for display, Galton argued that it’d be much more beneficial for them to be hollow. (This would also make them lighter to carry around.)

This still left the suggestion of the dome being used as an anti-predator weapon. Galton argued that this also was unlikely — after all, if something is trying to kill you, why not have a sharply pointed head instead of a dull, rounded one? Finally, Galton pointed out that the neck articulation was rotated to the bottom of the skull, a condition that we’ve seen is extremely rare among animals. He argued that this was an adaptation for transferring stresses away from the brain and into the body after two pachycephalosaurs bonked heads.

(Image: *Bonk*. <Drawings of pachycephalosaur skulls bonking into each other, with arrows showing his interpretation of how forces would be transferred>. From Galton (1971).)

Sues (1978) agreed that the thickening of the skull functioned to reinforce it for use as a battering ram. In order to see whether it had any structures that indicated special adaptations for bonking heads, he cut a pachycephalosaur dome open and looked inside it.

Modern animals that butt heads with each other are, of course, in danger, because the skull contains the brain, which is a part of the body that you generally don’t like getting sloshed around. A completely solid dome, while very durable, might thus not be the best way to go if you’re bonking into things. This is because it would lead to all forces traveling directly into the brain, without absorbing any of the impact. A more springy dome that keeps its strength but can deform would mean that that stress gets reduced. It’s the same reason why modern cars are designed to crumple to keep you safe. 

So in order to counter that, modern head-butting mammals have hollow areas on their heads that are reinforced on the inside with bony struts. Here’s an example of that in a Cape Buffalo:

(Photo: The skull of a Cape Buffalo (Syncerus caffer), which has broken open, revealing a complex series of sinuses and body struts under the horns. Source)

 So what did Sues find when he cut open the skulls of pachycephalosaurs? See for yourself:

(Image: A thin section through the dome of a Stegoceras validus - this section is cut from “ear to ear”, if that helps you imagine it (though note that their ears weren’t quite in the same place as ours; this is just to help clarify what’s being shown here). I’ll describe anatomically what’s going on in the next paragraph. Image from Sues (1978).)

First things first, those big cracks are not anatomical features; so far as I can tell, they are just cracks in the specimen. What we’re really looking at here are the much smaller bony struts and cavities that radiate away from where the brain would be towards the outside of the skull. Sues termed these radiating trabeculae, and argued that they served a similar function to the sinuses in buffalo. They are not nearly as big as the ones in buffalo, but Sues suggested that differences in brain size and structure might have meant that such protection wasn’t as necessary in pachycephalosaurs.

This idea that the pachycephalosaur skull could resist stresses was elaborated on by Snively and Cox (2008), who, using computer models, demonstrated that point stresses applied to higher-domed skulls would diminish rapidly with distance from the point of contact. They found that flat-headed pachycephalosaur skulls would propagate stresses through their structures far more. Based on these results, they predicted a high occurrence of injury to the surface of the dome. 

(Image: Biomechanical computer models of the flat-headed Homalocephale and the dome-headed Pachycephalosaurus. The former shows high stresses throughout the “dome”, while the latter shows stresses diminishing near the point of contact.)

Their predictions were confirmed by Peterson et al. (2013), who examined domes across pachycephalosaur diversity for evidence of injury. Fully 22% of specimens observed showed injuries to the frontoparietal dome, and 7% of specimens had 6 or more lesions. This is an insanely high frequency of injury, and lends some support to the idea that they were hitting their heads against something. Injuries were concentrated near the peak of the dome, as might be expected were domes used in butting behaviour; all flat-headed specimens examined lacked head injuries. 

(Image: Six different pachycephalosaur domes, all with surface injuries (indicated with white arrows). Image from Peterson et al (2013).)

Snively and Theodor (2011) offered comparisons to modern head-butting mammals including giraffes, musk oxen, and duikers by examining bone density. Their results showed that pachycephalosaur cranial domes exhibit particularly dense bone superficially but much less dense bone as one moves deeper into the dome, a pattern seen also in head-butting artiodactyls, and suggested that this supports them using their heads to hit things with. 

(Image: Scans through the skull of Stegoceras, showing higher bone density in red and lower in blue. Higher-density bone is concentrated towards the outside of the dome, with lower-density bone inside. Modified from Snively and Theodor (2011).)

Modern animals that butt heads typically have broad-flat surfaces (as in bighorn sheep) or otherwise branches or structures to maintain contact (as in ibex, for example). Pachycephalosaurs have neither of these, instead having rounded domes; if two ran at each other, it is easy to image how they might glance off each other and injure their necks. Sues (1978) thus argued that the domed shape might indicate flank-butting (in which animals would ram each others’ sides). 

(Image: Problems with pachycephalosaurs bonking heads. Modern bighorn sheep skulls have wide surfaces of contact, while pachycephalosaurs would have only a very small point on the top of a round dome. Image from Carpenter (1997))

 This was elaborated upon by Carpenter (1997), who noted that the head-butting hypothesis supposes that the skull and vertebral column act in a straight line to transmit forces through the body (rather than into the neck). Carpenter observed that, though no complete neck is known from a pachycephalosaur, the orientation of the back vertebrae and of the socket on the skull necessitate a gently S-curved neck and back, as in most ornithischians. As such a curved neck would transmit stresses diagonally on the spinal column, it risks breaking the neck. Today’s head-butting mammals solve this problem by having tall spines on their neck and back vertebrae, but these are not present in pachycephalosaurs. 

(Image: Schematic drawing of a pachycephalosaur skeleton, showing S-curved neck and transmission of stress shear-wise to vertebral column. Modified from Carpenter (1997).)

He agreed that flank-butting was a more likely use of pachycephalosaur domes, pointing to similar behaviour in modern African antelope. Finally, Carpenter pointed to the wide ribcage of pachycephalosaurs as possible evidence of thickening the torso to better protect against butting behaviour. 

(Image: Drawing of two pachycephalosaurs butting each others’ flanks. Modified from Carpenter (1997).)

Goodwin et al (1998) agreed about flank-butting, and also believed that the structure of the dome would not have offered protection against stresses as the trabeculae were not interconnected. Instead, they interpreted the structures instead as artefacts of rapid growth of the dome.

Bony reinforcements of the tail are pretty common in dinosaurs; they are most extensive in the “duck-billed” hadrosaurs, in which the tendons of the back have turned to bone and effectively make the entire back and tail stiff and unable to move. 

Pachycephalosaurs have similar-looking structures on their tails, and Goodwin et al. suggested that the reinforced tail of pachycephalosaurs may have served a role in flank-butting behaviour, offering that it may have been used as a defensive weapon against other pachycephalosaurs.

(Image: Skeletal drawing of Stegoceras. Note the complex “basket” of bones reinforcing the tail. Image by Scott Hartman @skeletaldrawing​.)

However, the idea of the tail as a defensive weapon was rejected by Brown and Russell (2012). These authors demonstrated that, amazingly, the “basket” of bones reinforcing the tail are not tendons, but instead the divisions between the individual muscle blacks that have turned to bone! This is a condition that’s unknown in any other tetrapod (though it’s present in some fish). Due to the location of the ossifications within the muscles rather than the skin, these authors argued that it would not be useful as a weapon. These authors instead suggested that the the tail served to brace the body in a tripodal stance during flank-butting, an idea first proposed by Maryańska and Osmólska (1974).

The first major objection to be raised against generalised butting behaviour in pachycephalosaurs was by Goodwin and Horner (2004), who sliced into the domes of pachycephalosaur skulls of different ages. Building off of work done by Goodwin et al. (1998), they argued that the “radiating trabeculae” that had been cited by previous authors as being adaptations for reducing strain on the brain are instead temporary features associated with the rapid growth of the skull and disappear as the animal ages, and that the shape of the adult dome was ill-suited for dissipating stress. 

(Image: Thin sections of two pachycephalosaur domes, the left from a younger individual, the right from an older individual. Stage II (the less dense, spongier bone) is propotionally thicker in the younger individual. Images are not to scale. From Goodwin and Horner (2004).)

The authours instead argued that pachycephalosaur domes functioned as species-recognition characteristics, as they were apparently not sexually dimorphic (to be discused in a future post, which will be linked here).

This idea received criticism for failing to address why animals would evolve such thick and dense structures if they were just for display, and I confess I don’t buy the idea at all. . Lehman (2010) also took issue with the characterisation of the dome histology, concluding that the radial structure of the bone was present even in the most superficial, densest bone zone, albeit with a decreased amount of vascularity; and that the less compact, vascular bone was maintained at least until the individual attained adult size. He further noted that trabecular struts of a form similar to those found in pachycephalosaur frontoparietal domes are strongest against compressional stress along their long axis, consistent with high strength in pachycephalosaur domes. 

Longrich et al (2010) argued that the dome could not possibly have functioned in species recognition, because dome shape is not significantly different between different species — an observation that, to my view, is an extremely convincing argument against the “species recognition” idea. These authors also pointed out that some degree of asymmetry was not uncommon in pachycephalosaur domes, and noted that this is a common trait of featured which have been sexually selected (both in display structures and intra-specific weapons).

This was a bit of a longer post this week, but I wanted to make sure I had a good overview of different proposed functions of the dome. This series will conclude next week with a look into who had the dome, and finally what I think they were doing with it! A link to that will be >here< once it’s up.

#palaeoblr #paleontology #palaeontology #dinosaur #pachycephalosaur #ornithischia #sunday long posts