#this ring has survived a lot and I cannot lose it or I will actually have a complete meltdown

[karahalloway]

(Less Than) Noble Intentions: Chapter 16 - Snakes in the Garden

Fandom: TRR

Pairing: Drake Walker x F!OC (Harper Gale)

Series Summary: The social season may be over, but Harper Gale’s problems are just beginning. With everyone at court a potential suspect, can she and Drake survive the engagement tour and get to the bottom of the plot against her and clear her name? An AU take of TRR2 featuring my OTP - Harper & Drake.

Masterlist: (Less Than) Noble Intentions

Chapter Summary: Harper greets the world as the new Duchess of Valtoria, but that is not the only newsworthy item that rocks the Apple Harvest Festival...

Word Count: 7,300

Rating/Warnings: M (swearing, angst, possible ulterior motives)

Chapter theme song:

A/N1: Things are slowly coming to a head! Thanks for bearing with me on this series - I know I have a lot of other projects in the works, so I have not been updating as much as I probably should. But, we are finally getting to the exciting parts (as if what's happened until now hasn't been exciting 🤣) as after this chapter, we are into the meat of the engagement tour, and all the juicy plot changes that I have been wanting to write for over a year will finally come to a fore! *evil laugh*

A/N2: If you have not heard of TURN - the TV show from which I borrowed the chapter theme song - then, I can highly recommend it (especially if you like historical dramas, US history (specifically the Revolutionary War period), or just really good story-telling)!

A/N3: This is also much submission for @choicesjanuary2024 Day 12: Smiles / Secret

Chapter 16 - Snakes in the Garden

"Are you sure I look okay?" I ask, nervously pulling at the high-necked strip of emerald lace that circles my throat.

"Stop fiddling!" Bertrand berates, slapping my hand away. "We are running late as it, and we cannot afford to lose any more time to last minute touch-ups!"

"Yeah, but—"

"You look great, Harper," Maxwell assures me with a beaming smile. "Marcie did a great job."

The petite make-up artist that the Beaumonts had procured out of thin air bobs a curtsy to my right. "It was my pleasure, Your Grace."

Her words hit me like a whiplash.

Your Grace.

My new form of address. One I'm not sure I'm ever going to get used to. Lady Harper had been one thing, but that had always felt like a curtesy. A temporary formality that had been extended to me by virtue of my sponsorship by the Beaumonts during the social season.

But there is nothing temporary about my current situation. The weight of the ring on my hand — and its implications — bears down heavily on my finger... and my thoughts. Especially since I still haven't found a moment alone with Drake to finish our conversation from this morning... or bring him up to speed on my new status.

Because no sooner had my ennoblement been sealed with the very expensive — and very potent — champagne, than the Beaumonts had shown back up (somewhat mercifully) to crash Christian's surprise party.

And from there it had been a whirlwind of hair, makeup and outfitting for the all-important Apple Harvest Festival where I am due to make my grand debut as the new Duchess of Valtoria.

A position of some importance — Bertrand has stressed, multiple times — given that in addition to the impressive estate that I am now the official caretaker of, I also have a seat on the infamous Council, as well as a seat on the even more exclusive Privy Council. Not to mention my own fleet of staff, vehicles, bank accounts, and carefully curated online profiles.

Which is why — on top of everything — the ever-industrious press corps have worked at record speed to throw the fruits of yesterday's labours together into an exclusive, twelve-page spread as part of a special edition of Trend magazine, which dropped this morning.

And while I haven't actually had a chance to read through the copy that currently sits on the coffee table of my room (together with every other major national and international news publication), Maxwell has assured me that the social media reactions have — so far — been positive. The snaps of my stress-fuelled efforts at yesterday's apple pick have apparently helped.

Which means that Jonathan's PR gamble is starting to pay dividends, and I now have a public image to maintain. Not just for myself, but for Cordonia as well. Because when I step outside today, I'll be representing everything that the kingdom under Christian's burgeoning rule is striving to be — beauty, modernity, opportunity.

Definitely not the best day to wake up with a litany of awkwardly situated bruises!

Thankfully, both Maxwell and Bertrand seem to have had a chance to pull themselves together after this morning's surprising (and definitely explosive!) turn of events, and — after the initial shock — have set about covering for mine and Drake's mess with the same coordinated precision that they employed to pull the Beaumont Bash out of their butts.

With the result that they somehow managed to transform me from the black and blue disaster I woke up as, into the picture of a polished and refined lady.

I glance apprehensively out at the bright sunshine blanketing the hills. Hopefully, the carefully applied window-dressing survives the literal trial by fire it's about to be subjected to. Because just like yesterday, the temperature is set to climb into the mid-90's today as well, which means I'll most likely end up sweating buckets again, thanks to the Edwardian nature of my dress's neckline.

And what I definitely don't need today is for all the blush and cover-up getting smudged away so that everyone at the event can start speculating about the intimate placement of my of hickeys!

I close my eyes wearily. God, I can't wait for all this to be over...

"No catnaps!" snaps Bertrand, slapping a wide-brimmed hat onto my head. "The people are waiting on us!"

I barely have time to grab my matching clutch before the Beaumonts are whisking me out of my room and down the length of the corridor towards the manor's lawn.

"Surely the Festival can start without us...!" I gasp as I stumble after Bertrand in my heels.

"No, it cannot," he reprimands. "All members of the Council must be present for the ceremonial tree planting."

I frown. "Tree planting? Isn't that a little... agrarian for the aristos?"

"It is a time-honoured tradition!" corrects Bertrand. "Cordonia owes its existence and livelihood to the noble Ruby, so it is the duty of the Council to ensure that the fruits of our bounty are secured for future generations! Hence, the requirement to plant new saplings at the end of each harvest!"

"If you say so..." I concede as we pass through the back doors of the manor.

Based on what I saw at the apple pick, Bertrand's pronouncement seems optimistic at best, given that none of the aristos even bothered to lift a finger to a tree yesterday.

But, looks can always be deceiving, so maybe today is the day that the I am pleasantly surprised for once.

A deafening cheer erupts as the Beaumonts and I step out onto the manor's steps.

Snapping my head towards the source of the commotion, I see what appears to be thousands of people crammed behind velvet-lined cordons, screaming and jostling for position like they're in the front row of a Taylor Swift concert...

...and it takes me a second to realise that it's my name that they're shouting.

"Duchess!"

"Lady Harper, we love you!"

"You're the true Apple Queen, no matter what anyone says!"

"Wow..." I blink, taken aback by the fervency of the crowd's reaction. "I didn't realise I had such a rabid following..."

"Best wave to them," suggests Maxwell, leaning in as he raises his arm into the air with a wide smile.

"Okay..." I concede hesitantly, turning to the crowd to do the same.

The last time I experienced anything remotely like this had been on the red carpet at the Derby — my first public outing as a suitor. But even the bright flash of the cameras and the intrusive questions that the reporters had flung at me paled in comparison to the reaction I am receiving today.

Phones and cameras are thrust into the air as the Beaumonts and I descend the manor's stairs to the accompaniment of the increasingly frenzied cheers and shouts of encouragement. Even a few bouquets of flowers fly through the air, narrowly missing my hat.

And I can't help but smile in the face of the genuine outpouring of support from the crowd. Because it sure as heck feels good to be on top for once!

However, arriving at the edge of the orchard where the tree planting ceremony is due to take place, I am greeted by a very different type of welcome.

Snooty expressions drip down the ends of aristocratic noses as the members of the Council pass silent judgment on my somewhat bombastic entrance.

"They're just jealous," Maxwell whispers to me as we take up our spots at the edge of the gathering.

"Yeah..." I agree with a stilted voice. "That's what I'm worried about."

I know firsthand of the lengths that these people are willing to go to in order to exact vengeance for perceived slights. And I did not particularly feel like painting a target on my back a second time while I am still trying to recover from the hurt caused by the first.

Maybe this is a mistake...

But I don't have time to think on it long, because the public erupts into an even more deafening outburst as Christian appears with Madeleine on his arm.

"Look at her..." snips a voice from behind me. "Acting like she's Queen already."

I whip around in disbelief. "Olivia!"

The Duchess of Lythikos cuts her green eyes over at me with a derisive look. "Oh, don't look so surprised, Harper. Just because you are now a duchess, does not mean that the rest of us have taken early retirement."

"Trust me," I grumble under my breath, "this was not the plan."

"Opportunities multiply as they are seized," she replies sagely.

I quirk a brow at her. "Meaning?"

"Meaning," she expounds surly, "opportunity breeds opportunity. And only by exploiting every advantage will you uncover previously hidden gains. Do they not teach The Art of War inyour schools?"

"No..."

She scoffs under her breath. "Explains a lot."

I roll my eyes at her as Christian and Madeleine pause on the steps for photos and a couple of quick sound bites. "I guess this means your sabbatical was productive?"

"Exceedingly."

I heave a breath. "At least one of us is making progress..."

"Oh, don't sell yourself short," she counters out of the corner of her mouth. "Your recent advancements have served as a welcome distraction..."

"Not sure if that’s a compliment, or not..." I admit sourly.

"You have more power than you realise," she insists quietly. "Make sure you use it."

"Wow..." I mutter, glancing over at her in genuine surprise. "Friendly advice from the Scarlet Duchess? What else have you learnt during your time away?"

"Our interests are temporarily aligned, nothing more," she replies, shooting daggers across the lawn towards Madeleine. "And I'll fill you in shortly."

"Well, it's good to have you back, regardless," I say with a dip of my head. "Your Grace."

Olivia shoots me a sidelong look. "Don't get sentimental on me, Duchess."

But I can see the hint of a smile pulling at her lips.

Christian and Madeleine arrive at the edge of the trees. Stepping up to the row of waiting saplings, Christian pulls a stack of notecards out of his pocket and delivers a short speech to the click of the cameras.

As the mandatory applause dies down, he slots the pieces of paper carefully away... and pulls off his jacket.

"What are you doing?" hisses Madeleine as the crowd descends into a hubbub of excited reactions.

"Taking a leaf out of the Duchess of Valtoria's book," he replies, handing his jacket off to the closest shocked Councillor as he sets about rolling up his sleeves.

"Out of—!" Madeleine bristles in indignation, while trying to maintain an outwardly calm composure. "The only thing you have taken is leave of your senses! Now get back here and—!"

Ignoring his fiancée's outburst, Christian grabs the ribbon-bedecked shovel out of the hands of the footman that was holding it, and steps up to a clear patch of grass. Adjusting his grip on the handle, he digs the metal blade decisively into the ground to the accompanying slew of clicking camera shutters.

"Shall we?" asks Olivia with a sly smirk as she pushes her way to the front of the line of gawping nobles.

"Let's," I agree, instantly catching onto her plan.

"Lady Harper!" hisses Bertrand from behind me. "What do you think you're—?"

"Lending a hand to the King," I throw back over my shoulder as I step to the front of the row of aristos who are looking mutely onto the sight of their monarch working up an actual sweat before them.

Grabbing another shovel from the pile in the corner — these ones obviously having seen some honest work already, judging by the dirt encrusted on their faces — I join the King of Cordonia in enlarging the hole in the ground.

Because regardless of Christian's underlying motives for ennobling me, and whatever his broader game may be, what he is doing right now is bigger than me, bigger than him, bigger than any of us. And that deserves recognition. Especially when he is taking such active — and public — strides towards being the change he wants to see unfurl during his rule. Where the ruling class doesn't just offer empty platitudes and hollow ceremony, but actually practices what it preaches. So, what better way to do that, than by planting the seeds of change in front of thousands of people in the literal heart of the kingdom?

Christian rewards my arrival with a nod and a smile as I take up position next to him.

Hefting my shovel, I slice it into the earth that he's already uncovered, using the somewhat flimsy sole of my heeled sandals to drive it deeper.

Scooping the blade back out, I suddenly feel a presence to my left. Looking up, I see that Maxwell has also joined our impromptu work crew.

Throwing me a wink, he drops his shovel in next to mine.

With the three of us working on tandem, it takes us almost no time at all to dig out a hole large enough to house the new apple tree.

Wiping the sweat from my forehead — the weatherman had not lied, that's for sure! — I see that Olivia, with some assistance from Hana, has already prepared the sapling by shunting it closer to the hole and removing the burlap covering from its roots.

Laying down our shovels, we help her manoeuvre the tree to the edge of the dint. Cheers and applause rise up from the onlookers as the sapling thuds into the earth. Olivia uses one of the knives from her hidden arsenal to slice off the twines holding the branches together, and the tree unfurls itself with a satisfied snap.

"Your Majesty!" shouts a reporter, who I recognise as Frederick Capone. "One for the Cordonian Times, if you please!"

"And for the CBS!" adds Donald Brine, muscling his way to the front.

"Certainly," accedes Christian graciously, holding his arm out. "It was a group effort, after all."

We all gather in — sweaty and dirty, but smiling — as the press corps immortalises the scene...

...and I innocuously sweep my hair over my shoulder in a vain effort to try and hide any bruises that may have become uncovered as a result of the unplanned exertion.

"Thank you for joining me in my moment of impulsivity," Christian acknowledges softly as the bulbs flash.

"Please," scoffs Olivia out of the side of her mouth. "It was coordinated from the start."

"The people don't seem to mind," counters Hana with a demure smile as she faces the cameras.

"With the exception of about half-dozen," I note, glancing back at the disgruntled looks of the Councillors from behind us, as they try to save face by applauding our efforts together with the rest of the crowd.

"They'll fall in line." Christian assures me as he lifts his hand with a wave.

I feel a prick between my shoulder blades. Turning my head, I catch sight of the cold fire radiating out of Madeleine's gaze from behind the mask of her perfect smile.

"Maybe not everyone..." I mutter under my breath as I turn back towards the paps.

I'm already on Madeleine's shit list for daring to return to court after my very public humiliation and banishment. On the night of her engagement tour launch party, no less! So, the fact that I ended up upstaging her — again — probably means that I've sunk even further down the ladder of her estimations.

To what end, I have no idea. But I'm going to have to start being more careful from here on out.

Once the press are finally placated, we disperse across the lawn in search of some much-needed refreshments.

"Harper!"

I swallow a groan as I'm brought up short, mere steps from the freshly squeezed, rosemary-infused lemonade that I desperately need after toiling away in this heat. "What now, Bertrand...?"

"I... uhm..." He clears his throat as I turn to face him. "I wanted to apologise for my earlier outburst. It was unseemly... and in retrospect, short-sighted."

"What do you mean?" I ask with a frown. Bertrand very rarely — if ever! — apologised.

"The public reaction to the tree planting has been overwhelming," he clarifies, pulling his phone out.

My eyes bulge as I take in the view count on the screen. "A hundred thousand views already!"

"And counting," Bertrand adds. "And that is only one website."

"And look at the comments!" I exclaim, scrolling through the feed. "They're loving Maxwell as well!"

"Yes, it appears that my brother has a keener instinct for media relations than I do..."

"You should tell him that," I say. "It would mean the world to him."

Bertrand looks momentarily taken aback. "I... Well..." He clears his throat again. "Yes. Maybe I will. He deserves some recognition for his efforts in diverting — at least temporarily — the negative attention away from our financial predicaments."

"A simple hug and a 'thank-you' will do," I tell him with a knowing look.

Bertrand reels back in abject horror. "I will not subject my brother to such a sordid display of affection! Especially in public!"

I heave a sigh. "And there's your problem, right th—"

I trail off as I spot a familiar figure signalling to me from over Bertrand's shoulders.

"Excuse me," I say, palming Bertrand's phone back to him as I move towards one of the marquees that had been set up at the edge of the lawn.

Slipping inside the flap of the tent, I come face-to-face with Ana de Luca.

"Your Grace," she nods, dipping into a curtesy, something she hasn't deigned to do before. "Thank you for making the time."

"Ana," I nod in return, wondering why the influential editor of Trend chose to pull me away for a private meeting. Especially after I cornered her so forcefully at Madeleine's garden party a few days ago.

"I suppose congratulations are in order," she continues, straightening back up. "Since returning to court you have managed to elevate yourself not just in rank, but in the eyes of the public as well. Rolling your sleeves up in tandem with the King was a masterful piece of image enhancement."

"I didn't do it for myself," I reply evenly.

"Of course," she nods quickly. "We must all step in line with our new King. But your reputation is certainly reaping the benefits as well."

"As is your bottom line," I point out.

"Your initiative is markedly boosting sales of this month's special edition, as well as traffic to our website," she concedes. "For which Trend is very grateful. But that is not the reason I pulled you aside."

"What is it then?"

"I found out the name of the photographer," she replies, reaching into her handbag.

I feel my heart jump in my chest. "You're joking..."

She raises a brow at me from behind the lenses of her black-out Versace shades as she pulls a small flash-drive out. "I can assure you that I am not."

I quickly pull myself back together. "No. Of course not..."

Handing the drive over, she adds. "On there you will find all the pertinent information I was able to obtain through my own means."

"Thank you," I say sincerely, taking the piece of plastic from her. "I honestly was not expecting this..."

She shrugs an elegant shoulder. "I said I would look into it, so I did. It is not much, but I am sure you have people who can hopefully take it further."

"I do," I affirm, slotting the device into my clutch.

"After all," she adds with a knowing quirk to her lips. "You are not the only one with a vested interest in seeing your name cleared, Your Grace."

With another quick bob, she exits the marquee.

I let out a low exhale as the tent flap drops back into place in her wake. "Thank God..."

Some much-needed progress at last!

Hopefully, Drake can take the information from the drive and do a deep dive into the photographer to see if they ever crossed paths with whoever it is that has it in for me.

Which reminds me...

Opening my clutch up again, I pull my phone out and type up a quick message to my elusive boyfriend.

I haven't seen or heard from him since the event started. And now I have two pieces of critical information I need to share with him. So, rather than chasing after him like some damsel in distress, I'm going to make him come to me for a change. Because time is of the essence, and I don't want to wait.

Hitting send, I exit the tent and head back towards the orchard. I figure that since everyone is on the lawn, the secluded garden hidden amongst the trees will give me and Drake the best chance to meet in private, away from the prying eyes of the court and the press.

Slipping between the tree trunks, I try to make my way as casually as possible through the orchard, as if I am simply out for a walk, in order to ward off potential suspicion. But, as I drift further away from the Festival, I start to pick up the pace, mindful of the short timeframe I gave Drake... as well as the exposed roots on the ground.

Because as much as I might want to hurry, I definitely don't want — or need — a twisted ankle the day before we're due to start the international leg of the trip. As Mom was right — I should take advantage of the upcoming whirlwind tour of Europe to at least try and get some sightseeing in. As who knows when I'll get the chance to do this again...

...especially if I'm forced to become a hermit because we fail to expose the mastermind behind the press scandal.

I shake my head. No. I need to stay positive. It's the only way I'm going to get through—

"Competing with a herd of elephants, Gale?"

I snap my gaze up at the sound of Drake's voice... and nearly trip over a hidden apple lodged in the grass.

"You try sneaking ‘round in four-inch heels," I grumble back at him, while using the trunk of a nearby tree to steady myself.

He mutters something under his breath as he steps over to me with an outstretched hand. "Here."

Grabbing his hand, I navigate gingerly away from the tree, only to find that the slightly rotten fruit has become impaled on the end of my stiletto.

"Great..." I groan, trying to flick the stupid thing off... But it stays stubbornly stuck.

"You're a walking disaster, y'know that, right?" drawls Drake as he drops down in front of me.

"Ha-ha, funny," I snark back at him while trying to balance on one foot on the uneven ground.

He meets my eye with a wry look as he finally manages to pull the offending fruit off with a squelch. "You're only gripin' 'cause it's true."

"Yeah, well, not all of us have... reflexes... like Neo..." I reply sardonically as I save myself from tipping over by grabbing onto Drake's shoulder.

He stifles a scoff as he tosses the apple into the trees. "You good?"

"Yeah," I confirm, righting myself again and letting go of his shirt.

Drake regards me critically for a long moment — as if expecting me to keel over again at the drop of a hat — before pushing himself up.

"Thanks," I say, laying an appreciative hand on his arm.

The humour fades from his gaze at the contact.

"Drake..." I start...

...but he's already pulled away.

"What did you want to talk about?" he asks, not quite meeting my eyes as he slots his hands into his pockets, the momentary lightness of our previous interaction gone.

I heave a breath.

We really need to talk about what happened this morning. But his suddenly standoffish demeanour makes it clear that he's not quite ready for that yet.

So, I decide to start with something less contentious.

"We have a lead on the photographer," I tell him, reaching into my clutch.

His head perks up with interest. "That was fast."

"Teamwork makes the dream work," I agree with a smile, pulling the flash drive back out and holding it out to him.

His posture suddenly stiffens. "The hell is that?"

I glance around me uncertainly. "What?"

"The fucking ring on your finger," he declares dispassionately, his accusatory gaze scorching into my outstretched hand.

My heart drops. Oh, no...

This is not how I wanted to break it to him. But unfortunately for both of us, the cat has now ripped itself out of the proverbial bag, so I'm just going to have to scamper after it.

Taking a steadying inhale, I look him square in the eye. "It's my new signet ring." I turn my hand over to show it to him.

His face darkens. "Fils de pute de—" he grits under his breath, snapping a hand out to grab my wrist.

My eyes widen. "Drake, what are y—?"

A storm is raging in his espresso gaze. "Signet rings go on the little finger. On the right hand."

"Oh," is all I can manage as he swipes the golden band off my left ring finger.

"You didn't know, did you?" he asks softly, reaching for my other hand... more gently this time.

I shake my head with a constricted throat. "No, I—"

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

My head jerks ‘round at the sound of the unexpected voice. "Christian!"

"I see you couldn't resist a somewhat impulsive stroll through the orchards, either?" he asks, more rhetorically than anything else. "The scent of apples is truly luscious this time of year."

"Erm... yes...!" I manage to squeak out, shoving my right hand behind my back. "Smells like apple juice!"

Christian's brow quivers ever so slightly at my slightly random — and obviously unexpected — comparison.

But I'm too busy coordinating with Drake to get the signet ring shoved back onto my hand while trying to palm the flash drive off to him without dropping either in the process. As both outcomes would lead to some very awkward conversations!

I feel the warmth of the metal slide onto the index finger of my hand (Drake had probably ascertained that the circumference of the band was too large for my pinky), and I'm finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Embarrassing backpedaling, narrowly averted!

Drake uses the opportunity to extract the flash drive from my hand as well, dropping the device casually into his pocket as he moves beside me. "She ain't wrong."

"No," concedes Christian, eying the two of us for a second longer than strictly comfortable. "She rarely is."

"So, umm... Are you hiding from the paps as well?" I ask in a bid to diffuse the growing tension in the air.

"No, I came looking for you, actually," he corrects, taking a step forward. "I saw you slip into the orchard, and thought it prudent to follow you."

"Oh?" I say, feeling my stomach tighten again. "Worried I might get lost?"

"I was hoping to catch you alone," he corrects, coming to a stop in front of me.

I swallow tightly as I see him glance over at Drake.

Please don't fight... Please don't fight...

Christian's gaze reverts to me. "But I suppose it is convenient for Drake to happen to be here as well."

My heart skips an uncomfortable beat. "It is?"

"Yes," he affirms. "I have received some news that you'll both be interested in hearing."

"Well, don't keep us in damn suspense, then..." mutters Drake with a noticeable edge to his voice.

I try to reach discretely out to brush my fingers against his, to reassure him that come what may, we'll get through it together, that—

"We found Tariq."

Christian's words hit me like a kick to the chest. The breath explodes out of me so forcefully that I am actually forced to take a step back in a bid to maintain my balance as the apple trees descend into a spin around me.

No way...

"Where?"

Drake's voice floats across the edge of my awareness. And even in my spaced-out state, I can feel the weight of the cold, calculated fury infused into that single word.

No corner... No mercy.

"Dubai," replies Christian, who also sounds like he's miles away. "He—"

But Drake's already spun away. "Send me the coordinates."

"Harper?"

I blink up at Christian in a daze. "Huh?"

"Are you alright?" he asks, laying a concerned hand on my cheek. "You... You looked as if you were about to faint..."

"I..." I swallow past the sudden dryness in my throat. "I'm okay."

"Are you certain?" he presses, peering down at me. "I could ring for a doctor, and—"

"No," I insist, pulling away from him. "I'm fine. I... I guess I just got caught off-guard..."

"It is an unexpected development, certainly," he concedes. "But hopefully still a welcome one?"

"Yes!" I blurt out. "Of course! I want to clear my name more than anyone, and Tariq is key to that! I just..." My voice trails uncertainly off.

Christian flashes me a knowing half-smile. "Feel some trepidation about the prospect...?"

"I guess so," I concede, my fingers moving unconsciously to the horseshoe charm at my wrist.

Because as much as I may want Tariq to pay for what he did from a rational point of view, from an emotional standpoint, I’m terrified.

As even though I know in the back of my mind that a lot of my trepidation has to do with the fact that I am still trying to recover from the psychological trauma that Tariq inflicted on me, a major part of me is also scared of what setting the record straight would entail in practice.

Christian had mentioned that there were 'methods of persuasion' that could be used to force a confession from Tariq. But then what? Would I be made to very publicly relive the entire horrible episode in the form of TV spots and interviews, or would we be able to get by with one official press release? And given my spotty history with the press, will people actually believe my side of the story...?

I mean, Meghan and Harry didn’t exactly fare well in the court of public opinion when they tried to counter the official royal narrative...

On top of all that, in light of my very visceral reactions to returning to Applewood, I have no idea how I'm going to react to seeing Tariq in person again. Would I burst into tears? Have a nervous breakdown? Dissolve into a panic attack? Stab him in the gut and then the nuts?

And (possibly worst of all) what if we discover that Tariq had been acting alone? And his attack on me — while traumatising — is in no way connected to the larger, and definitely more dangerous plot to remove me from the running for Queen? What then...?

"Your qualms are not as misplaced as you may initially think," Christian consoles. "It is a daunting prospect to face the person who actively sought to harm you."

Something in his tone catches my attention. "What do you mean?"

Christian heaves a sigh. "I do not know if you are aware of this, but several years ago, I was the target of an assassination attempt."

I nod tightly. "Yes. Drake told me."

"Then I presume he also told you how deeply the experience affected me," he says, catching my eye with an uncharacteristically guarded look.

"Yes," I affirm, thinking back to the conversation in Olivia's wine cellar that felt like years ago.

"What he probably didn't tell you, however," he continues, "is that I visited the perpetrator in prison."

My jaw drops. "You what!"

"Not publicly and certainly not in any official capacity." He shakes his head wryly. "I did not even talk to the man."

"Then why...?"

"I... I was having trouble reconciling with what had happened," he explains. "And moving past it. The trauma councillor that I was working with suggested that it was perhaps because I was subconsciously endowing the gunman with too much power, and thereby transmuting the man into something more akin to an evil monster."

A shiver runs down my spine at Christian's words. It's like he's talking about Tariq...

"So, to help break the negative emotional associations I had built up, my councillor arranged a clandestine meeting where I would have the opportunity to face the man."

"How... How did that go?" I ask nervously.

"I was terrified, of course," Christian admits. "I had no idea what to expect and each scenario I imagined in my head was worse than the last. But, when I finally got into room where the meeting was to take place, I was surprised by what I saw. As rather than some hulking, shadowy fiend, it was a pale, somewhat diminutive man sat across from me."

"So… what did you do?"

"We simply sat at a table and stared at each other," he recounts. "He with more than a bit of contemptuous malice, I have to admit, but in that moment, I realised that he was a flesh-and-blood person who had fallen prey to the same misguided emotions as I — anger, fear, resentment — just manifested differently. And that helped set me onto the path of true healing. As ultimately, I was able to forgive him."

"Forgive him?" I gasp disbelievingly. "For trying to murder you?"

"Nobody acts in isolation," Christian advises calmly. "Even the most unconscionable horrors perpetrated by the villains of humanity — torture, mass murder, genocide — sprout from the basis of an emotional or psychological motivator such as love, fear, greed, jealousy... to name but a few. So, while we may disagree with and condemn the action retrospectively from the safety of the moral high-ground, it is very possible that had we found ourselves in a similar situation, we would end up being just as guilty as the person we are looking to condemn."

"So, what?" I demand testily. "I should feel sorry for Tariq for what he did to me?"

"Showing empathy and compassion towards our counterparts does not mean forgetting or excusing the harm suffered," counsels Christian. "But it will certainly allow you to start on the path of true healing."

I shake my head as I turn away. "I'm not sure Tariq deserves that..."

"It is by no means an easy assignment," he admits, laying a hand on my shoulder. "But even if you cannot find it in your heart presently to forgive him, do at least try to keep yourself open to the possibility down the line. You may be surprised by the results."

Looking up, I can see that there is sincerity welling on his emerald gaze. And — for once — I don't doubt the true intent of his words. "Thanks. I'll think about it."

"As diplomatic as ever," he smiles, the tips of his fingers brushing down my back as he drops his hand. "And, regardless of what you choose to do, I'll be right by your side to support you."

"Thanks," I mutter with what I hope is a genuine smile, suddenly acutely aware of the fact that with Drake’s abrupt departure, it’s just me and Christian amongst the trees. Taking a step back towards the way I’d come, I ask, "So, umm... How did you end up finding him?"

"Instagram," replies Christian with a wry chuckle as he falls into step beside me.

My head snaps up in bewilderment. "He posted his whereabouts?"

"No," he laughs, looping my arm through his in reassurance. "Not intentionally, at any rate. He took shelter on his cousin's yacht docked off the coast of the Palm Jumeirah, and—"

"What's that?" I ask with a frown.

"One of a trio of artificially constructed archipelagos located off the coast of Dubai," he explains. "They are so called for their shape, which resemble stylised palm trees."

"Sounds... fancy," I admit, while trying to maintain some semblance of platonic distance between the two of us.

"They really are a sight to behold," he affirms, pulling me back to his side. "But it is part of the reason why we were not able to locate him initially — we knew he has family in the Emirates, of course, but—"

"He does?" I interject in surprise. This is certainly news to me...!

"Yes," he nods. "His father is a Cordonian nobleman, but his mother hails from the House of Al Falasi, the branch of the Bani Yas tribe that also produced Dubai's ruling family."

My eyes widen. "So, his mom is royalty?"

"No," chuckles Christian. "She is not directly connected to the Al Maktoum dynasty. But her family is nevertheless influential in the region. Which is why when we hit a roadblock with the French authorities, we decided to focus our efforts on countries where we knew he had familial or business connections. The Emirates, however, boast a multitude of private airfields, not to mention water-based ports of entry, so attempting to narrow down Tariq’s possible time and method of arrival and determining where he went from there was providing to be a complex undertaking. Especially since we had to ensure to conduct our enquiries outside of the official channels."

"Specifically, via social media," I supply dryly.

"Yes," confirms Christian, only half jokingly. "When we realised that Tariq must have switched off or changed out his phone, Drake suggested that we set up a facial recognition-based search algorithm that could scour the various social media and news portals in a bid to help us pinpoint his exact location."

"That sounds... technical," I admit.

"A few years ago, it would have been, But the technology is relatively commonplace now, thankfully."

"So, you managed to get a hit?"

"Yes," he affirms. "One of his cousins on his mother's side posted a selfie featuring his new yacht a couple of days ago... and someone who partially matched Tariq's features was visible on the edge of the frame. But it wasn't until this morning that our man on the ground was able to obtain independent confirmation that it really was him."

"Wow..." I manage. "Talk about blind, dumb luck."

"Never underestimate the awesome power of serendipity," counsels Christian with a smile as we reach the edge of the trees again. "It certainly played a hand in crossing our paths."

I swallow nervously. "Yeah, I—"

"You have some nerve!"

Before I have a chance to realise what is happening, Madeleine has swooped in from seemingly out of nowhere to intercept us with all the wrathful precision of a homing missile.

"Ow!" I hiss, feeling the ends of her manicured nails sink into my arm as she wrenches me off Christian like I'm some kind of plague.

"One would think you would be grateful to His Majesty for his benevolent generosity in elevating your previously non-existent status to that of a duchess," she spits with barely disguised contempt as she pulls me nose-to-nose with her.

"Get off me!" I grit, trying to shake her loose.

"Madeleine..." interjects Christian from behind me in a voice that I only heard him use once before... in the hallway at Ramsford when he realised that Drake had brought me back to Cordonia. "You overstep."

But the Countess of Fydelia seems to hear neither of us as she tightens her claw-like hold on me. "Yet instead, you repay him by not only by hijacking a royal event to serve your own shameless self-aggrandisement—"

I shake my head in disbelief. "Wait... Wh—?"

"—but then you have the unmitigated gall—"

"Madeleine," says Christian again, more forcefully this time. "That is enough."

But Madeleine is oblivious to the quiet threat suffused into the sound of her name, choosing to continue her tirade instead, "—to sneak off into the bushes with my fiancé in order to do God-knows-what when he should be—"

"I said, enough!" snaps Christian, coming suddenly between Madeleine and me with a face of thunder.

The force of his command is loud enough to cause a few heads on the edge of the lawn to turn curiously towards us.

Even Madeleine startles somewhat in response to the uncharacteristically vehement order. But not enough to let go of me.

"Can you not see what she is doing?" she demands indignantly as she turns to face Christian. "Or does she have you wrapped so tightly around her finger that you cannot even—?"

"How I choose to spend my time with the Duchess of Valtoria in private is of no concern to you, Countess," interjects Christian bluntly. "Or do I need to remind you of the conditions of our engagement?"

Madeleine's alabaster cheeks flush scarlet. "No..."

"Then I strongly suggest that you unhand Lady Harper, and ensure that this kind of juvenile outburst does not happen again."

Madeleine's eyes blaze with cold fury. But she relinquishes her hold on me, nevertheless. "My apologies, Duchess..." she snips, her voice dripping with insincerity.

I reach up to rub the spot where her nails had been on the verge of puncturing my skin.

Bitch...

Christian nods tersely in approval. "Now that that is sorted, I believe our guests are waiting. Lady Madeleine, if you'd be so kind..."

Madeleine takes his arm with a look that could've killed. "Of course, Your Majesty."

"Lady Harper," acknowledges Christian with a dip of his head as he starts to steer his seething fiancée away.

Knowing that all eyes are still on us, I drop into a quick curtesy as they walk past, on one hand grateful to Christian for shutting Madeleine down, but on the other hand wondering how badly we kicked into a nest of hornets in the process.

As it is clear that Madeleine is still raging with jealous insecurity... Perhaps even more so than she had been back at her manor when she cornered me in the bathroom. And the fact that — despite the massive diamond on her finger — I now technically outrank her is definitely not helping the situation!

So much for making allies at court…

Blowing a wayward strand of hair out of my face, I turn back towards the festivities…

…only to be greeted by a wall of judgemental eyes, and more than a few camera lenses.

"Great..." I mutter under my breath.

Whether catching me with Christian had been the genuine straw that snapped Madeleine's cool, or whether she deliberately fabricated the showdown to undermine the positive reactions I got from the press earlier, the end result is the same...

I'm going to be on the front page tomorrow. Again.

Exactly in what form, I have no idea. But I've been at court long enough now to know that the whole thing will be blown completely out of proportion, and the resulting story will generate even more press frenzy.

But if there’s one thing that Drake has taught me, it’s that I cannot allow myself to give the aristos the satisfaction of ever thinking that they’ve managed to squash me into the dirt. Because that would undermine the entire reason why I came back to court in the first place, and given how close we now are to claiming back the truth, it would be a massive and premature admission of defeat.

So, raising my chin defiantly, I make my way back across the lawn to rejoin the remainder of the Festival.

The story continues in Chapter 17 - News Flash

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(Less Than) Noble Intentions only (let me know if you want to be added!)

@thetruthisthatiloveyou @anakjaybon-blog

#harper gale #drake walker #the royal romance #less than noble intentions #king liam #maxwell beaumont #bertrand beaumont #olivia nevrakis #trr fanfic #cfwc fics of the week #choices fic writers creations #choicesmonthlychallenge #choicesjanuary2024 #Spotify

[inbetweenhours]

so concept, humans are space orcs traffic series/3rd life  au featuring human Scott because he has main character energy and is unsurprisingly my fav character in most smps-

anyways uhh I doodled this sloppy concept like a week ago because I on and off daydream about space aus with hermits and life series characters y’know? Anyways I actually go far enough in daydream mode to double down and talk about the concept in a brainstorming discord and ended up with the following plot, which will explain the context of the doodles lol. Enjoy

Basically to my memory it was a very basic usual humans are space orcs kinda set up. Or at least a concept I’ve seen enough times to grasp and remake. Humans are kind the boogey-men of the universe. Underdeveloped enough they haven’t been able to reach out to the rest of the galactic community on their own. Were largely considered protected for a while, and there was lots of disputes politically about interfering with them.

This all came to a head when a group of humans had gotten off planet, likely through malicious outside intent, and ended up breaking havoc and killing many aliens. Pretty deserved but with no survivors and gruesome display of adrenaline force and cruelty they immediately earned a name as the boogeymen of the greater universe.

SO onto plot we actually care about with that basis in place. The 3rd life characters are all champions of a super illegal fighting ring run by a group of watcher adjacent aliens probably. Some have been champions longer than others, some are much newer. They are kept in various different cells around the facility when not fighting to contain them, since they’re all various types of aliens with unique strengths and weaknesses. The unique layout of the fighting matches, and proximity of cells allows very specific groups of them access to each other most of the time. 

For example, the Dogwarts folks are in cell blocks close to one another, and thus have time between fights to socialize. They have the opportunity to forgive injuries and make plans.

Jimmy is a bit special, a unique alien. Kinda a cross between a nymph/floran and an avian yknow? So he’s very pretty and incredibly fragile with his stupid bird bones. He is often, if not always the starter event for fight nights. Him losing his match (because he literally never wins) is the kind of kickoff to the main event. Then he is kept separate from all else to be healed and such. Somewhere a close eye can be kept on him than others, can’t have their favorite canary dying after all?

Nearby to Jimmy is where Scott is kept when its brought in. Scott is, of course, human. He cannot communicate with anyone like the other prisoners can, and is having a considerably tough time.  He proves push come to shove that human survival will win, and he will fight and fight well. However he also shows restrain, making him terrifying but perfect for these fights where they don’t actually want a champion dead, lest they have to be replaced.

Scott is kept in close proximity to Jimmy also to be kept under watch, though much more because he is considered a much higher risk than other fighters. Because of this though, he and Jimmy end up forming a kind of bond. They’re the only non hostile presence the other has and despite the language barrier they get along. They even begin learning to communicate, though its uniquely not quite either language.

There's definitely other background dynamics and shit happening with other fighters but these two have my focus rn so sorry. 

The actual plot kicks off with Grian, formerly staff of the fight pit went rogue and for his disobedience became a fighter himself. He hatches an escape plan, ends up finding a way of communicating it to as many of the other fighters has he can, and fight his opportunity to spring it. 

Gotta clarify, the fights are run either on a big old travelling ship. Like a BIG ship that smaller ships can doc on to come watch fights n stuff. Allows for maneuverability n hiding. OR an obscure ass moon.

Anyways so Grians springs his plan, the establishment is in chaos. The other fighters are making a break for where ships are parked with the intention of hijacking one and escaping together. Whatever beef anyone has from the amount of breaks and bruises were given in the pit aside, they gotta get out of this together. That's why the group waits as long as they do while Grian (follows by Scar for backup) hunt down Jimmy to get him out too.

They hadn’t expected to find Scott, the human. They hadn’t fully considered Scott for saving. So new, and so dangerous. But they find him crouched over Jimmy, unconscious and various of their captors strewn around. Unconscious or dead Grian doesn't check.

He wants to get to Jimmy, but Scott won’t back off. Scar manages to deescalate and its terrifying but they manage to communicate bringing Jimmy with them. Scott picks Jimmy up on his own, intending to follow them. And Grian finds he doesn’t have much of a choice. The human is coming and also helping them he guesses? He hopes?

They get to the ship the others have yoinked, no one has time to question anything they just get the fuck out of there. They tend to their wounds, watch over Jimmy, and Scott passes out at Jims side once he’s sure he’ll be okay.

The rest of  the actual au would theoretically consist of the various fighters coming to terms with what happened, with their gripes and treatment of each other. Scott learning to communicate, all kinds of misconceptions from everyone being addressed and broken. They learn to trust each other, stay on the run from their poachers, and reunite with a couple helpful family and friends on the way (Pearl, Mumbo, Lizzie,, as ya do. gotta get em in here somehow lol)

anyways that was all it wasn’t a big thing but it’s a fun brainworm. Y’all can do as you want with the thoughts :]

#trafficblr #trafficshipping #flower husbands #smajor #grian #goodtimeswithscar #solidaritygaming #life series #3rd life #space au #tw blood #its shitty cartoon blood but still ig #hourspost #hoursart

[claire-starsword]

The Guardiana Magic School Run - Part 2

We're back after an unexpectedly long pause, I played this part last sunday actually but didn't have time to post/finish the doodle til now. I've been typing the reactions live while playing though so it's not a problem.

That's all for big rambling preambles, Guardiana's magic parade exits the mountain hut and immediately gets into the action.

The clear bonus this time is the Demibuster, a sword not only stronger than Max's current one, but which also deals extra damage to Dark Dwarves. Dark Dwarves will be around for the next three or so battles so it's a neat bonus, but losing it is not the end of the world, as these things sell in Alterone shops as well. Of course, I'd rather save money for Steel Rings.

Unfortunately, this clear bonus is also kinda hard. The beginning of the battle is neck deep in mountains and the great feats of Guardiana's magic users do not include flying magic, so everyone's movement will be sucking for the foreseeable future. I think Max and Gong have enough defense to go in front alone, but I did say my challenge here is to minimize deaths so I'm a bit afraid of risking. Meanwhile Tao and Lowe have less movement so I expect them to suck. I even transferred an herb from Lowe to Max as he might struggle to reach people to heal them.

First enemies are a trio of goblins, I expect them to be ridiculously easy. They were doing like 3 damage on Gong last time and he and Max both gained defense on level up.

See everything's fine.

I'm gonna play a bit risky and keep advancing with Gong, letting Tao and Lowe deal with the goblin early on since they won't be crossing that area any time fast. The enemy AI tends to attack a character once they're in front of them so I don't expect this goblin to ignore Gong and go beat the squishy ones.

Infuriating survivals happen.

This guy thus gets a hit on Lowe but as you can see everything's fine. There are occasional benefits to being in the mountains I guess, the terrain bonus might be helping.

The third goblin does rush Tao so I was being reckless but she's fine, it's all good.

It does suck that now Max can't reach the guy next to Tao though. I'm not wasting Max's attack on a guy with 1 HP, so he's joining Gong.

See look at the numbers this guy's doing.

Hilariously the speed boost means he's now faster than the goblins so he's gonna finish this guy anyway, I don't want the squishy ones to face too much for too long. They drop a Medical Herb which is nice of them. Also I did promise to highlight differences so, unlike the clunkiness of item management in the mega drive version, this one has an item box you can store items in. It cannot be accessed in battle of course, but it's great to keep key items in. I'm bringing this up because enemy drops also go to it if your character's inventory is full, which is very convenient.

Turn 4. I'm clearly risking Gong a lot, but Tao and Lowe have finished the last goblin and Max should be reaching the front somewhat fast. Gong can also heal himself to buy time if things get dicey. I also don't think the dwarves advance as much as the goblins, so it should be fine for now.

Turn 5. Nothing happened! Which is bad because I guess the goblins and dwarves will want to come all together now. I'm still sending Gong ahead but I'm increasingly scared.

Turn 6. Turns out I found the perfect bait position for Gong as most enemies advanced yet none could reach him. We now have the initiative to deal with this group, but.. Max won't be reaching anything this turn, and Tao and Lowe are out of question. Perhaps they'll get baited by their obsession of Max, let's see if I can spread them out like that.

Yoooo nevermind I underestimated our great leader let's gooooo

MAX GREAT WARRIOR NEVER SAID ANYTHING BAD ABOUT HIM IN MY LIFE

He's also taking 1 damage from the dwarf so I have zero worries now.

I decide to get greedy now that I know the hero is very great and all that.

I'm fairly sure these guys could reach Lowe but they wanna kiss Max so bad it makes them look stupid. Max also counters the other dwarf, I suck at screenshotting counters, but the guy survived at 1 HP which is such a waste.

Max gets another absurd level up, this isn't even every stat, I'm bad at screenshotting level ups too, but look at this, no wonder I used to basically solo with him back when I was worse in the game.

I'm also convinced at this point Lowe won't be doing any useful healing so I'll start spamming the spell just for the exp. He and Tao did take some damage at the beginning so it's not totally useless.

Turn 9. I think Tao can reach that dwarf and finish them to get some exp. Would like to save the goblin for them as well but the guy is dedicated to chasing Max and I don't want them around while dealing with the last enemies.

The blazing woman succeeds, gets a good level up, and an item drop for her trouble, actually I don't think I've ever got so many item drops, it's hilarious to get so lucky at a first challenge run.

Disaster! We're at Turn 12 and the dark dwarf has done this garbage move, I thought these enemies had fixed position beyond the bridge. Maybe that's how it is in the mega drive version, this one has more aggressive AI, but don't quote me on that. What matters is that I messed up big time, bye bye Demibuster.

You can't say Max isn't trying though because he does a double hit and massacres the dwarf immediately. I have also healed him with a medical herb and Gong with himself last turn so we can be aggressive at these enemies, we just lack time.

AND AS I SAY THAT, a knight counters for a whooping 4 points of damage, because I forgot how absurd they were compared to everything else, and then the knight pair finishes Gong off with their own turn actions.

Congratulations Gong for getting the first death of the playthrough! This is why I did NOT challenge myself to a deathless run.

Worse part is that like, the battle sure was easy. Had I totally given up on the Demibuster instead of trying some miracle this could have been avoided. Alas.

Everything finishes up perfectly in the next turn. Man, I'm mad, this was so easy to avoid. My shame costs me 90 gold, I think reviving is pricier in this version??? Oh this will suck. I save in the Mountain Hut because might as well save entering Guardiana for the next update.

Losses: 0 Deaths: 1 My hubris: immense

#shining series #shining force #ressurection of the dark dragon #sf tao #guardiana magic school run #:((

[doctorstrangemetas]

Doctor Strange Powers Meta Compilation Part 1

Doctor Strange’s Powers: Portal Conjuring

Portal conjuring was the first spell Doctor Strange learned, so obviously, it has a special place among his skills. We can see him using it in Thor Ragnarok and Infinity War with such ease we could be fooled to think it was easy for him to learn it, while it was not. The Ancient One had to leave him on the top of the Everest so Strange could leave his self pity aside and give total focus to the spell. So far, we’ve learned a few things about it.

Strange can make the portals appear anywhere and they don’t lead necessarily to another place in our dimension. When Stephen captured Loki, he claimed to have fallen for 30 minutes. Assuming Loki would have been able to escape if he was falling in the sky, from portal to portal, we can conclude Loki was trapped inside a pocket dimension created by Doctor Strange, where no matter how Loki teleported, he couldn’t leave it.

Originally posted by marvelmao

Another property of the portals is that they can cut by burning whatever gets pressed against its edges, just like Wong did, cutting Black Dwarf’s arm off. Considering that, the portals aren’t just a way to move from a place to another, but they’re also a dangerous weapon. Strange could form portals around an enemy’s body in order to have it chopped, but that probably goes against the doctor’s oath of not killing, at least, not killing if not necessary.

Originally posted by fyeahmarvel

The spell however, has its limitations. One must picture the place they want to go clearly in their mind, so it requires a lot of focus, no matter how good one is at it. Also, since the place has to be pictured, one cannot go to a place they don’t know. Strange probably needs to use his magic mirror in order to see places and track people before opening a portal to a place he doesn’t know. Another weakness is the need of a sling ring so a sorcerer can open a portal.

Originally posted by dailymcugifs

Of course there must be other ways to conjure portals, like we saw the Ghost Rider from Agents of Shield doing, but so far, our doctor has used just his sling ring. At this point he probably knows how to craft new ones in case he loses his. (Or get in Kamar Taj).

Doctor Strange’s Powers: Eldritch Barrier

Originally posted by dailymcugifs

Without a specific name, the “Eldritch Barrier” (it’s made using his Eldritch Magic aaand it’s a barrier) is perfect for absorbing impact…however…not so perfect because the sorcerer conjuring the spell still can’t do it perfectly! Strange more than once showed insecurity about his spells, despite being able to conjure them and despite being badass as hell, Strange clearly still learned 100% of the spells he showed us in the movie, even if he’s a lot more experienced by now. The Barrier is supposed to act not just like a….barrier, but also like an impact “nullifier” or “anulator”. Considering Peter, Tony and Stephen were inside a crashing ship, we know the problem isn’t just whatever object that might hit you. but the impact per se. We already know strong impacts might damage inner organs and even dislocate neurons from place, killing the person even if they’re apparently intact. The thing is so serious that despite having a super high tech armor, Tony and Peter are SUPER worried. Tony would be confident if he knew his armor and Peter’s could sustain such an impact, but he doesn’t know if they actually can! That’s why he’s so nervous and scared. Considering the scenario we saw in the movie, the only one who would most likely survive was Peter, because of his enhanced durability and higher density plus improved regeneration skills. Even so, if I had to bet, I would bet Spidey would survive, but probably be in a coma and wake up only days later.

So, as we see, to conjure the spell, Strange joins his hands, gathers energy and then crosses his arms, his hands facing the direction he wants to place the front of the barrier. But that’s not just it. The barrier continues forming and makes a cylinder around Strange and the others, and supposedly, that cylinder gets unaffected by external impacts, pressure and temperature (yeah, the temperature outside could have been lethal as well). After the impact, Tony fell or crouched and Spidey got attached to the ceiling, so yeah, Strange’s spell isn’t perfect yet, some of the impact hit them despite his effort.

Originally posted by strangestephens

Considering the face Strange makes when he’s using the spell, the barrier (at least the high level of the spell he used) demands a lot of energy, and despite the energy used not being directly Strange’s, Stephen definitely has to use a lot of his own energy in order to conjure the energy to be used in the barrier. For the barrier to absorb and nullify all that impact, its energy probably has to be the same or very close to the energy of the impact, which is A LOT OF ENERGY. Strange got drained and it would explain well why he’s more defensive than offensive during the fight against the Guardians, and why the Cloak steps forward to stop Drax, preventing a direct fight between tired Stephen and angry Drax. Stephen still is able to fight, but if we check his breathing and his expression, we can see he’s super tired. His hands are shaking more and he looks way more stressed than usual.

As you can see, the barrier surrounds them, what makes it less like a shield and more like a super resistant force field.

You know what’s interesting? That wasn’t the first time we saw that spell. Wong also conjured it in the beginning of the movie during the fight against Ebony Maw and the Black Dwarf. And do you know what’s even more interesting? Wong used different hand signs to conjure it. Differently from Strange’s version of the spell, Wong just conjured the front of the barrier. Considering Wong is Strange’s teacher and he probably still is more skilled than Strange, we can assume the sorcerer can choose the “level” of the spell they are conjuring by controlling the amount of energy they use.

Strange seems very chill about the fight when Wong intervenes, so that sort of proves how that Barrier is super resistant. The impact of a ship might have required an extreme skill with that spell, but in most situations, the barrier and Strange’s experience is more than enough to handle it. In fact, if we think about it, the ones attacking Wong are super strong and even so, Strange and Wong seem super confident about it.

So, we can conclude every spell has levels and each level demands more energy. Higher levels don’t mean just more spell strength, but they also mean different spell utilities, as we saw in Wong’s barrier (level 2?) that is huge but has just the front of the barrier and as we saw in Strange’s barrier (level 3?) that’s not just huge, but it also forms a cylinder around himself, Tony and Peter. Wong probably knows how to conjure higher levels of the spells, but Strange probably is the guy who’s able to do it because of his intense willpower and determination, while I believe Wong is less clumsy and more skilled, Strange is more intense and explosive, but also clumsy and a bit unstable.

 See? He’s a bit clumsy. He totally loses balance when he uses the Crimson Bands. The Cloak can cover that, but still, Infinity War’s direction and Benedict’s acting were perfect to give us the impression Strange grew a lot, learned new spells and he’s freaking powerful, but that still, he’s not a sorcerer supreme yet, he’s not complete, he still has a lot to learn and he’s still is getting used to the powerful spells he learned, he’s still getting used to his own intense potential, a potential he still doesn’t quite know how to use or control.

Originally posted by thetony-stark

Seraphim Shield, Grimsom Bands of Cyttorak, Eldritch Whip, Rings of Raggadorr

People often confuse the Rings of Raggadorr with the Shields of Seraphim. The shields are way larger and can reflect energy, the rings are smaller, their energy is more aggressive and they might amplify the impact of a punch and burn or be thrown. Also, the rings seem to be able to act like a shortcut if the sorcerer wants to conjure other spells. We still didn’t see Stephen hitting someone with the Rings, he used them for intimidation so far, but according to the concept art, the rings are deadly and can cut like blades too. I would go crazy if the added that energy tail to Strange’s slashes in the movie. (pic source, check for more concept art)

These are the rings:

Originally posted by tomloki

This is the shield:

The Eldritch Whip and the Crimson Bands are different too. The whip burns and it’s a lot more thinner, golden and violent, causing pain and impact, like a legit photonic whip, while the bands are larger, and even if they burn, their focus is resistance, and of course, they’re more…red. 

Whip:

Originally posted by ageofsuperheroes

Bands:

Doctor Strange’s Powers: Bolts of Balthakk

Originally posted by palmerchristine

The bolts of Balthakk is a spell that focuses on power and destruction, but not just that. It has two special elements to it. The first one is that IT EXPLODES whenever it touches a surface. The second one is that it ricochets, and depending of the sorcerer’s skill, this ricocheting might be manipulated so the bolts will follow the enemy until the spell ends. In order to conjure the spell, hands/arm signs are required (or mental signs if the sorcerer can picture them perfectly) and the bolts come from the rings formed in front of the sorcerer’s hands.

Originally posted by mydoctorstrangegifs

We can see the exploding and ricocheting nature of the spell by observing these shots below. But how can we define the nature of this spell? Even if it might seem it behaves like electricity, it’s probably closer to photonic manipulation, just like the entire Eldritch Magic Spells seem to be (Strange’s spells). In fact, today we know light (photons), if provided enough energy, can be condensed and even be crystallized. That could relate to how the control over the mirrored dimension can be obtained, how crystal walls appeared when Strange used the Eye to open rifts in time by accident and how the bolts resemble photonic plasma. Maybe the explosion is caused my the photons releasing all the stored energy at once, overheating all the surroundings.

The Bolts might look like a fire spell, but it’s clear how it doesn’t behave like fire or lava. It might burn the enemies, but not because it’s fire per se, but because of the huge amount of energy stored in the particles manipulated by Strange. The signature of the spell looks like some sort of super dense plasma, loaded with energy. The way the rings shine before the spell is released also suggests it has to do with light.

In Marvel vs Capcom, the bolts also have an electric aspect, but still, the silhouette of the bolt seems to behave like plasma. Could it mean the Bolts actually consist in PURE ENERGY that is simply controlled by Strange and that affect both electrons and photons? If I had to bet, I would say it’s photonic manipulation affecting electrons by consequence, or that electrons are triggered to canalize energy to photons, which are manipulated to form the spell.

#organized #compilations #doctor strange #doctor strange meta #marvel #mcu #avengers #avengers infinity war #magic #doctor strange powers #spells #marvel phase 3 #iw #endgame

[pathfinderunlocked]

Frost Man Vampire Spawn - CR5 Undead

It’s nearly impossible for most creatures to live in the arctic wilderness.  But that just means that if you run into a creature, there’s a good chance it’s not actually alive.

Artwork by Josh Nizzi at joshnizzi.com, copyright Marvel Studios.

Frost Men are a race of wandering, rugged nomads who live in the wilderness of the tundra at the edges of the world.  They call themselves frost folk, but other races only ever see adult males, and so call them frost men.  The frost folk never correct them.  They’re originally from Forgotten Realms, and appeared in D&D 1e and 3e, but were converted to Pathfinder by Necromancer Games.  The D&D 3e lore is somewhat different, making female frost folk simply an unusual sight instead of being unheard of.

This is a frost man that was turned into a vampire’s thrall, presumably after trying to fight a vampire and losing.  Vampire spawns typically ignore everything about the base creature and completely overwrite their stats with those of a wight, but to me that makes more sense when the base creature is a human.  I wanted something that felt more like it was still connected to the frozen wilderness, even in undeath.

It annoys me that the typical vampiric “if defeated in combat, it becomes totally invulnerable and flies home to its coffin” nonsense applies to vampire spawns, which are theoretically meant to be used as nameless combat minions in a vampire adventure, not complex exploration encounters that force you to track down each one’s coffin.  A lot of vampire spawns probably don’t even have coffins, considering they're just captured enemies being used as cannon fodder.  With that in mind, I slightly altered the frost man vampire spawn’s version of this ability, compared to a typical vampire.

Frost Man Vampire Spawn - CR 5

The pale, largely unprotected body of this frost man wanderer seems unaffected by the ice and snow.  He has an axe in one hand, and he casts no shadow on the frozen tundra.

XP 1,600 LE Medium undead (cold) Init +3 Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +10

DEFENSE

AC 19, touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+2 armor, +3 Dex, +4 natural) hp 38 (4d8+20); fast healing 2 Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +7 Defensive Abilities channel resistance +2 DR 5/silver Immune cold, undead traits Resist electricity 10 Weaknesses vulnerability to fire, vampire weaknesses

OFFENSE

Speed 30 ft. Melee slam +6 (1d4+4 plus energy drain) or morningstar +8 (1d8+4) or morningstar +8 (1d8+3) and slam +1 (1d4+2 plus energy drain) Ranged composite longbow +6 (1d8+3/x3) Special Attacks blood drain, dominate (DC 16), energy drain (1 level, DC 16)

STATISTICS

Str 16, Dex 16, Con —, Int 12, Wis 17, Cha 19 Base Atk +3; CMB +6; CMD 19 Feats Toughness, Weapon Focus (morningstar) Skills Intimidate +11, Perception +10, Sense Motive +10, Survival +7, Stealth +18 Languages Common, Frost Man, Necril SQ gaseous form, shadowless, spider climb Gear leather armor, mwk light flail, composite longbow (+3 Str), 30 arrows

SPECIAL ABILITIES

Frost Howl (Su) Once per day as a standard action, with its voice, a frost man vampire spawn can create a ten foot ring of supernatural frost on the ground around it.  Creatures within a 10-foot radius of the frost man vampire spawn when it performs this technique take 1d6+4 points of cold damage, and can make a DC 16 Reflex save to halve this damage.  The save DC is Charisma-based.

A frost man vampire spawn is immune to the effects of its own ring of frost.  A creature can walk within or through the area of ice at half its normal speed with a successful DC 10 Acrobatics check.  Failure by 4 or less means the creature can’t move that round (and must succeed at a Reflex save or fall); failure by 5 or more means it falls (see the Acrobatics skill).  Creatures that do not move on their turn do not need to attempt this check.  The ring of frost lasts until it naturally melts (about 6 hours in comfortable weather).

A frost man vampire spawn cannot use this technique if it is silenced.

Ice Blast (Su) Three times per day as a standard action, a frost man vampire spawn can release a blast of freezing mist in a 30-foot cone from the eye underneath its eye patch.  A frost man vampire spawn can remove its eye patch as a free action.  A creature in the area takes 3d6 points of cold damage (DC 16 Reflex for half).  The save DC is Charisma-based.

Hunter’s Mark (Su) As a swift action, once per day, a frost man vampire spawn may place an invisible mark on a creature that it can see.  Its attacks against this target have a +2 bonus to hit, and the frost man vampire thrall can perceive the approximate direction of the marked creature if it is within 1000 feet.  This effect lasts for one hour.

Blood Drain (Su) A frost man vampire spawn can suck blood from a grappled opponent; if the vampire spawn establishes or maintains a pin, it drains blood, dealing 1d4 points of Constitution damage.  The vampire spawn heals 5 hit points or gains 5 temporary hit points for 1 hour (up to a maximum number of temporary hit points equal to its full normal hit points) each round it drains blood.

Dominate (Su) A frost man vampire spawn can crush the will of an opponent with the cold subtype as a standard action.  Anyone the spawn targets must succeed on a Will save (DC 16) or fall instantly under the frost man vampire spawn’s influence, as though by a dominate monster spell (caster level 12th).  The ability has a range of 30 feet.

Energy Drain (Su) A creature hit by a frost man vampire spawn’s slam (or other natural weapon) gains one negative level.  This ability only triggers once per round, regardless of the number of attacks a frost man vampire spawn makes.  See Energy Drain description for details.

Vampiric Fast Healing (Su) A frost man vampire spawn gains fast healing 2.  If reduced to 0 hit points in combat, a vampire spawn assumes gaseous form (see below) and attempts to escape.  It must reach an area of natural outdoor ice or snow within 2 hours or be utterly destroyed.  (It can normally travel up to 9 miles in 2 hours.)  Additional damage dealt to a frost man vampire spawn forced into gaseous form has no effect.  Once at rest, the vampire is helpless, and an ice tomb with 20 hit points forms around it as the gaseous form wears off.  The frost man vampire spawn heals at the rate of only 2 hit points per hour while reforming inside this ice tomb, instead of its normal fast healing rate, and remains paralyzed and unconscious until its hit points are fully restored, at which point the ice tomb shatters and the frost man vampire spawn emerges.  If the ice tomb is destroyed while the frost man vampire spawn is still healing, the ice tomb reforms 1 hour later unless the frost man vampire spawn is destroyed.

Gaseous Form (Su) When reduced to 0 hit points in combat, a vampire spawn can assume gaseous form (caster level 5th), as the spell, but it can remain gaseous indefinitely and has a fly speed of 20 feet with perfect maneuverability.  It cannot assume gaseous form under any other circumstance.

Shadowless (Ex) A frost man vampire spawn casts no shadows and shows no reflection in a mirror.

Spider Climb (Ex) A frost man vampire spawn can climb sheer surfaces as though under the effects of a spider climb spell.

Vampire Weaknesses Frost man vampire spawns cannot tolerate the strong odor of garlic and will not enter an area laced with it.  Similarly, they recoil from mirrors or strongly presented holy symbols.  These things don’t harm the frost man vampire spawn—they merely keep it at bay.  A recoiling frost man vampire spawn must stay at least 5 feet away from the mirror or holy symbol and cannot touch or make melee attacks against that creature.  Holding a frost man vampire spawn at bay takes a standard action.  After 1 round, a frost man vampire spawn can overcome its revulsion of the object and function normally each round it makes a DC 25 Will save.

Frost man vampire spawns cannot enter a private home or dwelling unless invited in by someone with the authority to do so.

Reducing a frost man vampire spawn’s hit points to 0 or lower incapacitates it but doesn’t always destroy it (see fast healing).  However, certain attacks can slay frost man vampire spawns.  Exposing any frost man vampire spawn to direct sunlight staggers it on the first round of exposure and destroys it utterly on the second consecutive round of exposure if it does not escape.   Each round of immersion in running water inflicts damage on a frost man vampire spawn equal to one-third of its maximum hit points—a frost man vampire spawn reduced to 0 hit points in this manner is destroyed.  Driving a wooden stake through a helpless frost man vampire spawn’s heart instantly slays it (this is a full-round action).  However, it returns to life if the stake is removed, unless the head is also severed and anointed with holy water.

#D&D #pathfinder 1e #undead #cold

[khaleesiofalicante]

"Love isn't soft, like those poets say. Love has teeth which bite and the wounds never close" -Stephen King.

Rafael is so dramatic and I love him jdvdjsjl

There is something so fucking soft and homelike and nostalgic about this scene🥺🥺

As always I love good sibling representation 😎

The way you can see how becoming the governor affected everyone even in the little things as t-shirts or tweets... Wow

Gen Z humor is top tier udhdkdbdj

The man is like wine. He keeps getting better with age. He aged like fine wine indeed😌🍷

It’s hard to feel nostalgic about something you never learned how to love. THIS HITS TOO FUCKING CLOSE!!!

They made it🥺 I'm so proud of how they always kept growing!!

Alec being practical as always. Although I would be kinda traumatized knowing my parents had sex in that room..poor Max...

I mean... They did put in good use Max's gift... They are a horny mess and honestly no one can blame them... Imagine having a husband THAT hot??? And no, idk of which one I'm talking about!!

No room will ever feel unfamiliar or alien to Magnus when Alec is there with him. Every place they lived in was a home because Alec was there, in this essay I will-

“It’s yours,” Magnus whispers. “All of this is yours. Only yours.” I SCREAMED-

Second timeline was so fucking sad😭😭 The parallels of when Alec was at the lowest he just wanted his mom🥺 And him repeating that he can't live without Magnus but not realizing the way he can lose him completely if he doesn't let him go... This just breaks me😭

Brooklyn got lost somewhere in Albany. I NEED A MINUTE. OMG

Janie>>>>>>

“Your marriage is not broken,” she tells him again. “It’s just hurt. It is hurt very badly. You have to let it heal. Otherwise, it is going to fester.” I love Maryse and the things about marriage and doing what he needs to survive. The power of that woman istg

Magnus losing either way, he needed healing so bad...

THE FUCKING LETTER!! I LITERALLY CRIED. I had to stop reading it a couple of times because it was just too much. I'm in awe with your writing!! Some of my favorite bits:

This isn’t me running. This is me stopping.

Because I’m tired, my love.

Because it hurts so much.

///

I love you.

But just as everything else right now, loving you hurts.

I love you.

But I’m so, so sorry that it wasn’t enough for me to hold on.

///

It was supposed to be everlasting, wasn’t it?

///

Love me until it becomes unfair.

Love me until it becomes impossible.

Love me until you cannot.

That last one. Istg I've repeated that in my head for the last couple of days. It was just so beautiful and raw...

All their family sessions heal my soul on a personal level... And they are also funny af😂

I need to know Rafael's decision👀 but I support him 100% tho!!

Was this fucker really going on dates with his wedding ring and holding it while he was nervous? He is sometimes an idiot.. but we love him anyways

Love me reading some of Alec's hoe thoughts jdhsidjs

I mean... It's only fair or Magnus to be the one that comes back

Magnus making him eat the muffin😂 he can be a little shit when he wants to huh?

He better end up in heaven when he dies. Fair enough

But Max being the first son would actually give a lot of rwrb vibes!! I'm sure David would like that, wouldn't he??😏 My priorities aren't straight, what can I say?

Honest talk I'm so proud of Alec just for the fact that Jai considered him as a candidate!! But also, damn!! Rafael?? You got it boy!!

AHH NOT THE NECKLACE!!!😭 AND MINERVA!!! THEM>>>>

She walks away and Alec rolls his eyes. “No wonder they like each other. Maybe they were roommates in hell.

///

“It’s sweet that you think that,” Shinyun smiles at him. “But you run a state and I run an empire. We’re not the same.”

If I ever get to have the sass they have I will have done something good in my life :)

Goodbyes are fucking hard indeed😭 I love this family and this timeline and this scene and-

Rafael is onto something 👀 but yess please stop talking idhdjdbdkdk

Song rec: Missing you by Hunter Hayes

THE QUOTE BRO OMG.

This song was so tlnd.

ps - have i ever told you that you remind me of rafe?

#tlnd

[martianbugsbunny]

OUAT Thoughts Pt.36--Episodes 8-9

I have watched through S4E9; spoilers DNI. Also, spoiler warning for anyone further behind than I am.

—Elsa planning a whole chocolate dinner for Anna is adorable! 💖 these girls.

—I love the Arendellian soldiers’ uniform. Red and bluish-grey go well together, and I’ve loved the cut of the coats since the movies came out.

—What is it with Ingrid and not wearing shoes? I don’t care if her feet don’t get cold, they’ve gotta be seriously gross. She spends all her time in a forest, for Pete’s sake.

—It’s cool that Hook gets to advance the plot by not trusting Rumple. I’d never believe that Hook trusted him completely, and having him be the one to figure out that Emma is trouble because of it is a neat way to utilize him.

—Ingrid is a big ol loony. Her obsession with finding new “sisters” really freaks me out.

—Also, the big-ass crystal on her ring is ugly. Once jewelry reaches a certain size it starts to lose its charm.

—Anna is serving some major Pinkie Pie vibes and I’m loving it. She’s kinda dippy, but in an endearing way, not a stupid way. I also like that she and Elsa are socially awkward in their own ways; Elsa is bad at relating to people, and Anna is pretty blunt.

—Elsa looks so elegant when she’s using her magic *sighs wistfully* it is literally impossible for me to be more in love with a Disney princess than I am with Elsa. LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE.

—Emma’s lack of control over her magic feels really out of left field. I get why she needed to have that story, but it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. At least that got resolved quickly.

—I might have to quit the show. Rumple stealing Hook’s heart cannot in any way have anything but a bad ending. The odds of both of them surviving are slim to none, and I will be terribly upset by either death.

—Maybe they’ll both die. Go for the double whammy.

—Regina owes Snow a quarter! Hope worked!….Until we find out that somebody was playing a mean trick on her, which would not surprise me. Or maybe I just need to give that whole hope thing a shot.

—I’m enjoying the aura of darkness that the Sorcerer is getting (and I haven’t seen a hair of his hide yet!) He sounds like he’s not a light sorcerer, which could be an interesting take on him. I wonder why it is he loves the hat so much—besides it being his.

—I love Elsa and Anna for sticking together until one of them was under a curse. Elsa would never believe Anna was against her because that’s not who Anna is, and although we haven’t seen this yet, Anna would never believe that Elsa was against her because…that’s not who Anna is. Reminds me of that unused thing from Frozen 2 where one of the parents said “her love could hold up the world.”

—I’m pretty sure this stupid Shattered Sight curse is going to emotionally annihilate me as much as it is the characters.

—Getting a little bit upset about Rumple’s villainy now. It was alright before, when it looked like all he wanted to do was ascend beyond the dagger, but now that it involves hurting/killing people like Hook and Emma I’m not so thrilled with it.

—Seeing Elsa’s gloves *with* her ice dress tickles me. They’re such a paradox together.

—I adore Robin for being the kind of guy to go to bat for Regina. She got upset about not having a happy ending in the book, so he stole it to see if he could find her a happy ending. That’s love.

—Emma doing fun things like an aurora and fireworks with her magic (yk, before it all went to hell AGAIN) was neat.

—I like the satiny shirts Regina wears with her suits. I mean, I love her Enchanted Forest riding habits, and some of the other outfits she wears there, but I also like elements of her Storybrooke clothes too.

—Currently I’m leaning towards either 1) the Apprentice is actually the Sorcerer, he’s just trying to safeguard his identity, or 2)—and not mutually exclusive—the Sorcerer wrote the book.

—Yeah, Anna was under a curse, but I appreciate that they’ve acknowledged some of the trauma from her and Elsa’s childhood. Obviously Elsa has had a crappy life, but I think the effect all of that had on Anna is often overlooked. Course, when it comes to the movies, I’m biased in favor of learning more about Elsa, even though it relegates Anna to the back burner, but in a TV show with wider scope, I’m glad I get to see more of both of them.

#once upon a time #ouat #queen elsa #princess Anna #snow queen Ingrid #Captain Hook #rumplestiltskin #regina mills #Robin Hood #the sorcerer #the curse of shattered sight #martianbugsbunny reviews

[bioshocked-astroghost]

hey guys almost had a mental collapse cuz I lost a ring (that I’ve owned for 4 years and worn every single day) in 5 inches of snow :):):):):):):)

but I found it after searching for 45 minutes with my bare hands so mental collapse avoided

#I :) almost :) cried :) #this ring has survived a lot and I cannot lose it or I will actually have a complete meltdown #I have a very intense connection to it and I don’t rly know why but everytime I lose it I can’t stop looking until I find it #it’s nothing of particular interest either I fucking bought it on Amazon for like $12 and it’s just a stainless steel ring w/ skulls on it #I think it’s just a consistency thing #it’s the one thing I can always keep track of and hold onto but idk #anyway sorry I’m so fcukding tired

[crimziedrawings]

I had a Elorcan story that I was really excited about but I've been too busy to actually write it so here, have the outline I created instead. It's a bit choppy, I had the fine details in my head and the outline was just to contain the general points.

The Dead Gods' Blessing (an Elorcan story)

Chapter 1

• Elide/Lorcan wake up, blissfully

• Elide reminds Lorcan that Aelin/Rowan/Fenrys/Vaughn (the gang) are visiting, he is not happy

• Lorcan makes Elide breakfast while she is bathing as a surprise

• They talk about the baby and baby names

• ~ They meet the gang outside the front door because Elide is so excited

• Lorcan's fae-male-protective-bullshit comes out

• Fenrys smirks, Rowan looks a little sad

• Elide reveals the plan for a picnic

• ~They go down to a creek nearby with a nice view

• Elide has to go to the bathroom since the baby is pushing on her bladder

• Chapter ends with Elide screaming

Chapter 2

• Lorcan and the gang runs after Elide

• They don't see her but Vaughn finds blood

• Lorcan freaks out

• Suddenly they see something move and run after it

• A creature has Elide

• They chase it down to a cliff

• The creature scrambles to stop but ultimately falls off

• Lorcan screams and tries to follow

• The Cadre holds him back

• Aelin looks down at the cliff and spots the monster impaled by the rocks, notices a human hand underneath

• Lorcan manages to get away and crawls to the edge, seeing the same as Aelin

• He screams and cries

• The rocks give way and it falls into the water

• Rowan tries to comfort him but fails as Lorcan's grief is so overwhelming that he loses control of his powers

• Aelin tries to use the bond to make Lorcan stop but is interrupted by a whisp of darkness (Lorcan's power)

• Rowan, Aelin, and Vaughn join forces to create a shield around Lorcan

• *Fenrys pov

• It last a long time unless Lorcan passes out

Chapter 3

• Lorcan wakes up in his bed

• He feels heavy and looks over for Elide

• She's not there and he remembers what happened

• He doesn't want to believe it, refuses to and starts to lose control again

• Someone comes in and injects him with something, and all of a sudden he passes out again

• ~ He wakes up again to find Rowan besides him, with red trimmed eyes and looking like a mess

• Lorcan begs "Please... Please tell me it wasn't real, I can't-"

• Rowan reaches over and grasp his shoulder, sad for his brother and says "I'm sorry"

• Lorcan continues to cry and Rowan stays with him

• Lorcan asks "How did you do this? How did you go on, please tell me how"

• Rowan replies "I didn't. I can't ever forget what happened. I spent some time in disbelief. There was a moment where I knew it was the end and I couldn't handle that. I was so close... But then someone showed up at my door. Nearly broke my door, as I recall. He told me that it's gonna hurt but I need to keep going and fight. It's what she would want. You saved me, Lorcan"

• Lorcan says "I was wrong. I did not understand what it was to be in your place. The pain, the loss, it... you lose yourself"

• Rowan says "No, you were right. Because everyday it became a little easier to breathe to the point where I found myself again. In Aelin. I am eternally grateful for your appearance because I got to meet Aelin, my real mate"

• Lorcan screams "there is no one else! There will never be anyone else! Elide is it for me, she will always be the only one. I can't do this, Rowan... it feels like all the air has been taken from me and I can't catch a breath. Elide was all that was good of me. I'm barely alive without her. And barely alive is just suffocating..."

• Rowan looks sad

• Lorcan "And I was going to be a father"

Chapter 4

• Rowan walks in to see Lorcan still in bed (he smells)

• Rowan says he need to get out of bed, he has a city to run

• Lorcan basically has given up

• Rowan talks about how it's Elide's home and his home now too so he has to get up. He also says that he is staying in Perranth for a while.

• Lorcan says he doesn't need a babysitter but gets up anyways

• He goes to take a shower and comes out to open curtains and windows, a made bed, and his clothes laid out

• He knows it was Rowan and rolls his eyes

• He gets changed and looks in the mirror, catching a glance at his ring

• He starts hurting again, but decides to go on "for you, my loves. For both of you..."

• *Rowan's pov*

• Rowan is sad for his brother but is proud of him for making that big step

• He called for a town meeting in the castle's front grounds and is watching as Lorcan steps forward on the balcony

• Lorcan announces that Elide is dead and that he will continue to build Perranth if they will have him

• The town bows, as a sign of acceptance and for Elide

• Rowan knows it's going to be hard being away from Aelin for a while but Fenrys and Vaughn are there, and his brother needs him

Chapter 5

• It is 2 and a half months later

• *Fenrys pov*

• Aelin, Fenrys and Vaughn visit again

• Fenrys and Vaughn walk in first because Aelin got distracted by some cake

• They ask Rowan how Lorcan is, he says that he has his moments but he's been strong for Perranth

• Aelin walks in and there's an explosive reunion between the two so they go off, presumably to a bedroom

• Fenrys and Vaughn walk to the library to find Lorcan there

• They try to talk but Lorcan doesn't want to talk about it

• He instead asks why they're there

• Fenrys responds that they wanted to see their brother

• Lorcan asks for the truth

• Fenrys reveals that they have a mission and that they can't protect Aelin while on the mission so she's staying in Perranth for a while

• Lorcan isn't happy

• ~ Rowan is happy to have Aelin back

• They stumble out of a closet

• Fenrys and Vaughn are distraught as they see this

• They say they're leaving

• Rowan and Aelin wish them luck

Chapter 6

• Fenrys and Vaughn are riding through the mountains

• They talk about Lorcan

• Vaughn recalls how surprised he was to hear that Lorcan was married

• Fenrys responds that he missed a lot and tries to get info on where Vaughn was all this time, but he still won't tell

• Fenrys talks about how good Elide is and how happy Lorcan was with her and about being a dad

• "Out of all of us, he deserves that peace the most"

• Vaughn announces that he spotted the cave entrance, the one that the anonymous tip gave

• They tie up their horses and prepare, then go inside

• They go in further and eventually come across different paths so they decide to split up

• Fenrys scouts the hallways for a while, passing numerous rooms

• He hears footsteps so he ducks into a room quickly

• He freezes and waits for the footsteps to pass

• He exhales, is relieved, but then a voice startles him

• "What do you want"

• He swirls around, seeing darkness

• Then a candle is lit, and his eyes start to adjust

• "Fenrys? Is that you?"

• Fenrys cannot believe what he is seeing "Elide?"

Chapter 7

• Elide is happy to see Fenrys

• Fenrys is confused as to how she is alive, they saw her body being impaled and crushed

• Elide explains that the creature had another person in its hold-after all, it had 6 arms, and that she was dropped while the creature was running

• Elide understands how they could've believed she was dead

• She asks how Lorcan is

• Fenrys responds that he's breathing but only to run Perranth, for her

• Elide is sad

• Fenrys asks how she got there

• Elide says that after the creature dropped her and she passed out when she hit her head, she was found by some travelers. They took her to their home in the mountains and cared for her. They were behind on some debts and were taken, the people assumed Elide was one of them and took her as well, next thing she knows she is in this dark room alone

• Fenrys asks if she's ready to go home

• Elide is nearly crying, nodding

• He goes to check the hallways and when he turns back, Elide is wrapping a scrap piece of fabric around one shoulder, it slinging around her small frame

• Fenrys finds it weird but shrugs it off

• Then Elide is bending behind the bed and picking something up, putting it into the fabric so that it is held up

• Elide walks over to Fenrys, ready to go

• His breath catches as he sees that it's a baby

• "His name is Ragnar"

Chapter 8

• Fenrys is speechless, struck dumb at the realization that he didn't even consider the survival of the child. The first thing that comes to his mind is "its a boy?"

• Elide chuckles softly and responds with yes

• Fenrys is reminded of the situation and checks the hallway before pulling Elide behind him

• They manage to get out safely and go back to the horses

• They realize they have to wait for Vaughn

• Elide figures they have some time to kill and looks down fondly at Ragnar and says "do you want to meet your uncle fenrys?"

• Fenrys is near tears when he hears her

• Elide asks "do you want to hold him"

• Fenrys is hesitant but Elide assures him that it will be fine, he won't bite

• Fenrys is amazed at how light and small he is. Also how beautiful. He definitely looks like Lorcan.

• Elide ask for water, Fenrys says that its in the pack around the horse

• Vaughn comes back and stops when he sees Fenrys and the baby

• ".... did you steal a baby?"

• Fenrys looks up and smiles

• Vaughn is confused but then he sees Elide coming around the horse

• He is in disbelief, and his confusion of the baby is resolved when Fenrys hands him back to Elide

• Fenrys says he'll explain later, they have to get them home

Chapter 9

• *Elide's pov*

• Long ride, thinking of her time and much she misses Lorcan

• Vaughn was able to go a little faster as Fenrys did not want to harm Ragnar, only a mile ahead or so

• Because of that, when Fenrys and Elide arrived, Vaughn was already searching for Lorcan in the castle

• Elide hands Ragnar to Fenrys and slides down the horse

• Aelin and Rowan were in the nearby garden so they came out at all the commotion

• Aelin cries when she sees Elide and runs to hold her

• They are both crying

• Elide looks over and sees Rowan then goes to hug him

• She pulls back, looks at them both and says "would you like to meet your nephew?"

• Aelin gasps as Fenrys steps forward with Ragnar

• Fenrys looks at Elide and she nods

• Rowan has tears in his eyes as Fenrys hands Ragnar to him

• The front door burst open and suddenly Lorcan is there, panting

• Elide sobs as she sees him and start making her way toward him

• Lorcan runs to her and they meet halfway

• Lorcan picks her up and holds her, small kisses in between words

• Lorcan "Elide, Elide"

• Elide "I've missed you so much"

• Lorcan "It's really you"

• Elide "Yes, yes, it's me"

• Lorcan "I love you so fucking much, you are never allowed to leave my sight, ever"

• They share a big kiss and both have tears running down their faces

• Lorcan "I was so lost without you"

• Elide "You seem to have found your way just fine"

• Lorcan "No... I kept going, for Perranth, for you... but I broke down everyday"

• Elide is speechless, "Lorcan..."

• Lorcan "Now that you're here, I can finally breathe again"

• Another kiss

• Lorcan rests with his eyes closed, breathing in her scent

• Elide "Do you want to see your son?"

• Lorcan's breath catches as his eyes shoot open. He takes a few stuttering breaths before asking "I have a son?"

• He looks over at Rowan who is now standing a few feet away

• Rowan is smiling down at the babe

• Elide walks over and takes Ragnar from Rowan, then walks back to Lorcan

• Lorcan is barely breathing at this point

• Elide places Ragnar into Lorcan's arms

• Lorcan "My son"

• Elide steps closer and says "I've named him Ragnar"

• L "My Ragnar"

• Ragnar opens his eyes at Lorcan

Chapter 10 (Final Chapter)

• Elide and Lorcan are laying in bed with Ragnar in the middle

• Elide and Ragnar are asleep, Lorcan is not

• Lorcan gazed lovingly at his son

• Elide wakes up and sees that Lorcan is awake

• Elide "you need to get some sleep"

• Lorcan "I can't"

• There's a look

• Lorcan "I've had many dreams like this, where you come back and we have our child and we are finally a family... but then I wake up. And it kills me every time"

• Elide reaches over to rest her hand above his, which is resting lightly on Ragnar's stomach "this is real, my love"

• Lorcan looks at Ragnar and decides that it is real, because even his dreams could not picture his son being so beautiful

• He is reminded of how he felt when she told him he was pregnant, and how his fears ranged throughout her pregnancy

• Then he remembers that she went through childbirth alone and is heartbroken and angry

• Lorcan "I am so sorry"

• Elide "For what?"

• Lorcan "You brought our son into this world by yourself"

• Elide has a moment and then says "It was hard. But I kept hearing your voice, telling me to stay strong so that we could- so that we could be a family. In a way, you were there"

• Lorcan grabs her hand and kisses it as not to disturb Ragnar

• Elide whispers "I love you" before drifting off to sleep

• Lorcan kisses Ragnar's head and strokes Elide's hand as he says "I love you too"

• He falls asleep

• ~ Lorcan wakes up to find Elide and Ragnar gone and starts freaking out, thinking it truly was a dream again

• Then Elide walks out of the bathroom, holding Ragnar to her chest

• He sighs in relief

• Elide says to Ragnar "Look who's awake"

• Elide settles into bed next to Lorcan

• Lorcan kisses Elide deeply, the fear that had pulsed through his body still causing him to think irrationally

• Lorcan "it wasn't a dream"

• Elide "I told you"

• Lorcan smiles and looks down at Ragnar "and how's my boy?"

• Ragnar is looking around the room and his eyes rest on Lorcan, then his arms reach out towards him

• Elide "I think he wants his papa"

• Lorcan takes Ragnar from Elide as she say that she's going to take a bath

• Elide "Tonight, Aelin and Rowan are going to watch Ragnar"

• Lorcan "What? Why?" He just got his son, and he wants to spend time with him

• Elide "Because we have a lot of catching up to do" she winks and pulls her nightgown off before walking into the bathroom

• Lorcan is left staring after her, thanking the universe, the dead gods, whatever the hell is out there for this moment, for his family

#elide lochan #lorcan salvaterre #aelin galythinius #aelin ashryver galathynius #rowan whitethorn #fenrys moonbeam #throne of glass #crown of midnight #heir of fire #empire of storms #kingdom of ash #queen of shadows #elorcan #rowaelin

[fbfh]

Leo Valdez relationship and intimacy headcanons

As with all steamy/nsfw works, the characters are aged up to 18+/college era

so

let’s get started ‘,:)

(1.2k, get ready)

When you’re making out he’s a top

But when things get heavier

Bottom as hell

Like he’ll instigate

He’ll dance with you and playfully grind a little

He’ll kiss you and bite your ear and whisper things in spanish that shouldn’t be translated

But as soon as you reciprocate

Oh

Bottom mode: fucking on

[plankton voice] I didn’t expect to get this far

Later on in the relationship he might get a little more confident and top you on occasion

Or more if you encourage it

But if he could have one image for the rest of his life 

It would absolutely be you hovering over him about to go to town

Dies in the best possible way if you push him onto the bed/couch/wherever

Gets very excited when you straddle him

Please please straddle him

His hips will automatically go up a little before you even do anything

Really loves when you straddle him 

Loves holding your waist and loves squeezing your butt and loves touching your hair

Genuinely loves all the parts of you

Ass? Yes. Tiddies/pecs? Yes. Legs? Yes.

Big fan of making out

B i g fan of grinding

You could absolutely finish him by grinding

I’m not saying it hasn’t happened before

Like if you grind against him at all even a little

Shabam

Putty in your hands

If you do that little swirly thing with your hips that he loves he’ll moan so loudly

Speaking of which

He is so vocal

S o vocal

Half to break the tension half cause he can’t help it

Makes the absolute nicest noises

Like he takes in a sharp breath and then moans it out

It’s n i c e

A little part of you wants to bite his neck and record the noise as his ring tone in your phone

L o v e s  when you grab him by the collar

If he’s wearing a tie grab him by the tie

Lowkey started wearing a tie more often jus so you’d do this

Generally loves being in a very close proximity to you

He’s the type to be at least a little horny all the time 

His love manifests as horniness a lot

I’m talking any time any place

Especially if it’s inconvenient

Grocery store, clothes shopping, bumping into an old friend

Wake you up in the middle of the night to see if you’re feeling frisky kinda shit

And how could you not be with this boy

The morning after he’ll wake you up with neck kisses

And in his gravely ass morning voice 

“So… you up for round… what round are we up to?”

Goes feral when you lift up his shirt/hoodie by running your hands up his abs

Member 2/2 of the growl/purr thing club

He’ll say something dirty in spanish and punctuate it with some kind of purr snarl and maybe a well placed bite

It’s extremely effective

Don’t let him know that though

Otherwise he’ll do it all the time and have too much power

Speaking of power

Call him papi and he bursts into flame

“Whatever you say, papi…”

!!!!!!

He’ll genuinely freeze in shock

Red as a firetruck

But you can only do it like once a year or he’ll actually die

It’s that powerful

Really likes lacy underwear

If u wear bras and you happen to wear like 

An unlined lace bra

Esp if it’s like burgundy or red

Obvs

Or if you genuinely want to end him then wear matching bra and panty sets

The top of his head unfolds like a cartoon and animated rockets and fireworks spray out  

Another fun thing you can do to ruin him:

Trace your fingers over the lines of his muscles 

Especially his v line

Makes him shiver every fucking time

If you surprise him by pushing him onto the couch, straddle him and grind until he’s bucking his hips and moaning

Dw it doesn’t take long

He will literally genuinely unironically propose marriage if you do that

The type of person to cancel plans if you take off your shirt

Have you seen those tiktok videos where people surprise their s/os by walking out naked

The first one in this compilation is all I have to say about that

H i c k i e s

This man and his hickies,, eye-

He fucking LOVES giving you hickies

Will not object in any way shape or form if you give him a few on his chest and neck

Will “accidentally” let them show without an ounce of shame

r/oopsdidntmeanto

Bite his collar bones really gently

Just trust me his reaction is worth it

Very very worth it

Squeeze his thighs from time to time

It’s a nice surprise for all parties

He is a total hoe for egirls 

You cannot convince me otherwise

Like if you put on any kind of egirl outfit/makeup he loses his shit

Do an ahegao face as a joke 

He actually stumbles backward and falls onto the nearest surface

And then bursts into flame

He just stares at you and you know you’re in for a long night/afternoon/morning

“H-how… how do I make you do that again??”

If you combine the face with the egirl look just uuuh

Time it at the beginning of a vacation or three day weekend

Cause neither of you will be doing anything for a while

Except each other

An “every surface in the house” kinda guy

Literally genuinely such a good lover

Like he’s so focused on you 

Gets serotonin just from you being around

Much less you trailing your hands under the waistband of his underwear

Oh do that too

Like you unbutton his pants and start to tug them down

But kinda play with the band and material of his underwear before you finish undressing him

Drives him fucking wild

m u t u a l  g r o p i n g

Very into foreplay/fun teasing

But won’t die without it

It’s like,, you get a cake and it’s amazing

And the more frosting decorations and sprinkles you add it gets even better

You’re just so excited you have dessert 

Idek if that makes sense but you probs get what i mean

He has a unique brand of aftercare

Ig it’s like,,, more focused on bonding than one person taking care of the other

Good luck not cuddling with this man

Let him sleep with his face in your chest

We all know he’s a stomach sleeper

Esp if you have boobs

If he could purr he absolutely would

If you try to wham bam thank you maam without cuddling after like 

He’ll survive

But when he finally gets you to cuddle he will absolutely make up for that lost time

His favorite thing ever is when he gets to see you just like,,, being organically yourself

Like watching you take off your makeup

Absolutely the type to watch you get dressed the morning after

Like you don’t even really realize he’s awake 

But you get that feeling like eyes are on you yk

You turn around and see him looking at you all sleepy and lovey

“...What?”

“Nothing…”

So you keep getting dressed

But the look doesn’t fade 

And you know it’s not nothing

The way he’s looking at you now, you know you’re the something

He makes it feel really nice to be the something 

Cause like you view yourself as his something

But he deadass sees you as his everything

And he will do everything he can to make you feel euphoric in as many aspects of your life as possible

#leo valdez x reader #heroes of olympus x reader #Heroes of Olympus #Leo Valdez #heroes of olympus headcanons #leo valdez headcanon #leo valdez imagine #heroes of olympus imagine

[fresh-prince-of-denmark]

Cyberpunk 2077 Literary Analysis Pt 7: Leave me Alone, Hemingway, You’re Supposed to be Dead

Surprise bitch I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me.

Cyberpunk spoilers ahead!

Cyberpunk meta literary analysis masterpost here 

Okay, so I thought I would be done with this, but it kinda feels like Hemingway has me by the left asscheek and won’t let me go as of late. So here we are: Cyberpunk literature meta-analysis part 7: For Whom the Bell Tolls

Hemingway comes up a few times in Cyberpunk, too many times to ignore. It’s not surprising, really. We know that Johnny is actually a pretty well-read guy from some of his passing comments, and if I had to guess, he’d probably really connect to Hemingway. In fact, if you play Johnny’s ending with Rogue, the final quest is called “For Whom the Bell Tolls” (which is also cool since it keeps the theme of all the missions being song titles, as this is also a Metallica song). But for once, this analysis isn’t entirely about Johnny or V. Hopefully this rings a bell (pun intended), as we’re very explicitly told who else really connected to Hemingway.  

Jackie Wells.

During the quest Heroes, Mama Wells will ask you to go through Jackie’s garage to find something for the ofrenda. One option is a book, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Earnest Hemingway. Misty will comment that he used to read it before a big job, and that it was important to him. If you choose to bring the book for the ofrenda, V will “read from the book” (I put this in quotes because the passage they read has actually been misattributed, it is a Hemingway quote, but not from FWTBT, rather from another of his works titled “Men at War”):

“When you go to war as a boy, you have a great illusion of immortality. Other people get killed, not you... Then, when you are badly wounded the first time, you lose that illusion, and you know it can happen to you.”

The majority of our main characters start out as The Fool, naive and feeling like they’re on top of the world, the kind of hubris that can only come with youth. Yet, like Hemingway says, it takes a bullet to give one a dose of reality.

For Whom the Bell Tolls is a story of war. Our protagonist, Robert Jordan (I’d be really interested to know if Johnny’s birth name, Robert John Linder, was inspired by this), leaves his cushy job as a college instructor in the United States to join the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War. Robert begins the novel fairly bland; he has no real friends, no real family, and he feels completely disconnected from the world. In all honesty, he’s boring. Like, if wet cardboard were a person. He doesn’t really care if he lives or dies, not because he’s a badass, but because he really doesn’t have anything to lose. No passion, no connections, nothing he loves that ties him to this earth despite the fact that he is a man of such strong convictions that he willingly joins this war. Robert is tasked with destroying a bridge, meeting comrades of varying philosophies along the way, who become a kind of found family to him. Despite going out of his way to avoid making connections, he falls in love, not just with the love interest Maria, but with his friends, finally giving him something worth fighting for, something connecting him to this life. The novel concludes as the group finally blow up the bridge (a task done in vain, since the Republican side has ultimately sustained more losses than the Fascists), and Robert is injured. He convinces the others to leave him behind so he can buy them time to escape. The novel ends just as it begins; our protagonist lying in wait in a forest, gun in hand, “heart to the ground,” on a bed of pine needles. (For more on cycles/mirrors/reflections, see here).

While there’s a much larger political message here that could parallel the themes of Cyberpunk, I want to focus more on the philosophical side, as it ties in with my previous analysis much more coherently. The biggest theme of this novel is about how interpersonal relationships are what matter most in this life, which is summarized very nicely by the poem by John Donne which not only lends the novel it’s name, but serves as it’s opening epitaph:

No man is an island,

Entire of itself.

Each is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less.

As well as if a promontory were.

As well as if a manor of thine own

Or of thine friend's were.

Each man's death diminishes me,

For I am involved in mankind.

Therefore, send not to know

For whom the bell tolls,

It tolls for thee.

This poem and the overall meaning of the book work on two levels. The most obvious is that we all die one day, that mortality is fleeting. But on another level, No man is an island. Our identity is tied within our communities, those that love us, and those we live for. “Therefore, send not to know/For whom the bell tolls/It tolls for thee.” Each time a person dies, a piece of all those who loved them dies with them. Funerals are not just for the deceased, but for us, a chance to bury the pieces of ourselves that died with them. “Each is a piece of the continent/Apart of the main/If a clod be washed away by the sea/Europe is the less.”

Johnny is incredibly similar to Robert Jordan. Despite knowing a lot of people and having a lot of connections, Johnny is not particularly loved, and that feeling is mutual. He even tells V that they are the only person who knows him that that doesn’t hate his guts. Both Robert and Johnny are men who base their morals and identity solely on principal and ideals; standing up for what is right, fighting against oppression, rebellion, but that passion is not borne from interpersonal relationships and connections. It is made of hate of the world, not love of their fellow man. This leads to one of Johnny’s fatal flaws; he did not fear death, because he did not feel as if he had anything to lose. He was consumed and driven by hate, not love, leading to all of his failed relationships. Had Johnny something to lose, he may not have taken all of the stupid the risks he did, acting as if he did not care about his own life.

V, in many ways, parallels Maria, Robert’s love interest in the novel. While Robert salvation lies in the love he has for all of his newfound friends, the main focus is on the love interest, Maria. Here’s an interesting bit of dialogue between Maria and Robert:

"Now, feel. I am thee and thou art me and all of one is the other. And I love thee, oh, I love thee so. Are you not truly one? Canst thou not feel it?"

"Yes," he said, "it is true."

"And feel now. Thou hast no heart but mine."

"Nor any other legs, nor feet, nor of the body."

"But we are different," she said. "I would have us exactly the same."

"You do not mean that." (20.66-71)

In this moment, Robert and Maria are talking about how they feel as if they have fused into the same person, as if they share a body. Yet there is a key difference in how they view their relationship: Maria wishes that they were exactly the same, while Robert states that she doesn’t mean that. Similarly, while Johnny seems to enjoy the growth he and V provide one another, his greatest fear is V/himself being changed into something they are not. Hmmmm….

Johnny and V are very different people by the end of Cyberpunk, finding meaning in relationships just as Robert has. For V, this means Judy, River, Panem, Kerry, Misty, Vik, etc. And for Johnny, this means V, and by extension, all of the people who make up V’s identity through their love and friendship. Despite dying and rising again as lines of code, V is able to finally show Johnny what it means to be human. His journey, I believe, can be accurate summed up by this quote from the novel:

“This was the greatest gift that he had, the talent that fitted him for war; that ability not to ignore but to despise whatever bad ending there could be. This quality was destroyed by too much responsibility for others or the necessity of undertaking something ill planned or badly conceived. For in such things the bad ending, failure, could not be ignored. It was not simply a possibility of harm to one's self, which could be ignored. He knew he himself was nothing, and he knew death was nothing. He knew that truly, as truly as he knew anything. In the last few days he had learned that he himself, with another person, could be everything. But inside himself he knew that this was the exception. That we have had, he thought. In that I have been most fortunate. That was given to me, perhaps, because I never asked for it. That cannot be taken away nor lost. But that is over and done with now on this morning and what there is to do now is our work.”

In addition, Robert’s final conversation with Maria as he is convincing the others to leave him behind so he can buy them time to escape is nearly identical to Johnny and V’s final conversation:

"Listen to this well, rabbit," he said. He knew there was a great hurry and he was sweating very much, but this had to be said and understood. "Thou wilt go now, rabbit. But I go with thee. As long as there is one of us there is both of us. Do you understand?" (43.319)

Here, Robert is telling Maria that because they are the same, only one of them needs to survive in order for them both to live. Compare that to what Johnny tells V:

V: For fucks sake, defend yourself! You’re not even trying!

Johnny: Hmm…sounds kind of familiar. We know that attitude. See, V? Stayin’ with you whether you like it or not.”

This scene is further paralleled by the fact that V crosses a bridge to reach Mikoshi, which is set to be destroyed, just as Robert was tasked with destroying the bridge. Furthermore, in the Suicide ending, the overall theme is about how V “never realized just how many friends they had.” Friends who, in all other endings, were willing to die for V, as losing them meant a piece of themselves dying with them. Similarly, Robert considers killing himself as his friends escape, as the pain of his injury becomes too much to bear. However, he is comforted knowing that his sacrifice will mean that they live, telling himself, "I don't mind this at all now they are away.” Despite now having something to live for, like Johnny, they are still able to brave their deaths as now they have been given meaning. And not just any meaning; love. No longer hate, or rage, or blind idealism. Love. 

This is the overall message of Cyberpunk: maybe you won’t change the world. Maybe you won’t win the war. Maybe your sacrifice isn’t going to change history. Maybe, in the grand scheme of the universe, you don’t matter, and you won’t ever be a legend. But you do matter to the people in your life. No man is an island. We were made to be in each other’s lives, to love one another, to change one another for the better. And that’s what life is all about.

#finally an author im familiar with even if it was against my will #like it’s the misogyny for me but god damn it’s some tasty misogyny #cyberpunk 2077 #cyberpunk2077 #cyberpunk 2077 v #cyberpunk spoilers #cyberpunk meta #cyberpunk 2077 meta #johnny silverhand #v #v cyberpunk #my posts #hemingway #cp2077 #cp2077 spoilers #cp77 #cp project red #jackie wells

[surelookbutnothingtoseehere]

About the importance of taking care of nature in the words of Tolkien

Isengard depicts in the world of Tolkien what happens when people lose the love for nature. It becomes a mess, one loses the connection and for some more important: one will eventually lose the battle against nature. From my perspective, that’s actually a good thing, but for Saruman it was clearly not a good thing when the ghosts of the forests, the Ents, were finally at his doorstep when nature hit back against the one who destroyed their place. 

Nature is one of the most important things we got. My blog is full of things I find in nature and in general I love all there is there. Nature has one big enemy: men. As humans, we want the world to be as cleaned up as possible. And that is nice, when it involves trash. The whole world is full of trash, plastic soup and other mess that people have dumped in the nature. Last summer I saw this. 

At the side of the road, was the trash dump of some towns. Of course, the trash spread through all of the surrounding, including the nearby sea. Swimming there was hardly possible because of all the trash, but also: collecting trash was actually useless because it would end in nature no matter what. But in Europe we also ruined a lot by wanting to regulate things like nature. Or pour trash over it from the sky, killing vulnerable plants. Or worse, in cities, where garden change into stone desserts because ‘it takes less work.’

In the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien lets Gandalf say: 

“It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succor of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till.’

A painting by Alan Lee, depicting Gandalf and a tree. 

He wrote this in the 1940′s - speaking of course from the perspective of Gandalf, but the message is clear. We who are at the earth now, have to make sure the generations after us still have an earth to live on, and one that’s actually livable.  But it’s interesting what he says. We cannot master all the tides of the world. This implicates also that we have to do the best as we can now. Some people claim that we should wait to protect the environment until there are new technologies. Tolkien clearly disagreed. Every generation has to do their best for the world and to keep it clean and beautiful.

A not so well known book of Tolkien, is ‘The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.’ In this book, you can follow Tolkien from his time at the front of the First World War to literal days before his death, when he goes to a house to rest a bit and dies there. The Letters show a lot of the person Tolkien was (It includes for example a letter to The Third Reich, saying that he is sad to say that he has no Jewish blood, because they are talented people - quite brave in the time that Hitler ruled) but also show his chaotic personality, his way of dealing with things he did not like (such as movies) that he could write into pieces, but also his deep love for nature. A great letter he wrote in 1962..

There was a great tree – a huge poplar with vast limbs – visible through my window even as I lay in bed. I loved it, and was anxious about it. It had been savagely mutilated some years before, but had gallantly grown new limbs – though of course not with the unblemished grace of its former natural self; and now a foolish neighbour was agitating to have it felled. Every tree has its enemy, few have an advocate. (...) This fool* said that it cut off the sun from her house and garden, and that she feared for her house if it should crash in a high wind. It stood due east of her front door, across a wide road, at a distance nearly thrice its total height. Thus only about the equinox would it even cast a shadow in her direction, and only in the very early morning one that reached across the road to the pavement outside her front gate. And any wind that could have uprooted it and hurled it on her house, would have demolished her and her house without any assistance from the tree. I believe it still stands where it did. 

Tolkien did not mean he hated the neighnor: in a sidenote he wrote that she was a nice person, except from this. But Tolkien does find a true problem here in this letter. 

‘Every tree has its enemy, few have an advocate.’

It’s maybe the most powerful quote of Tolkien that I know, because it’s so true. We all know the examples of trees going down, sometimes being replaced by a small tree, sometimes not being replaced at all. Often because it creates a mess (or, actually, that what keeps forest growing forever and is a perfect circular system), because it creates shadow (very much needed in the world that keeps getting hotter and makes cities livable in summer) or because there needs to come a new road (making the city even hotter). This particular tree survived a lot of things, but the neighbor in question wanted it down because it could fall on her house. Tolkien writes it amazingly: any wind that could have unrooted it, would demolish her house as well.  He clearly shows by that how ridicolous it is to remove trees: they give so much to us. And trees will die at some point and than give way to new trees. 

Tolkien’s love for trees went deep. So deep that he wrote the Ents in the Lord of the Rings as guardians of nature, and presented them as some of the wisest creatures in the books. He wrote them as protectors of the forest. They had to defend the forests against other creatures, and in particular dwarves, who would try to cut down trees. The Ents were literally meant to defend the forests against deforesting. 

But another clear sign we find in an little book of hardly 50 pages that Tolkien Wrote: Leaf by Niggle. Niggle is a painter, who is really busy painting a tree, but never finishes it. Until he dies and goes to another world, where he can live in his painting and enjoy the true majesty of his tree. 

Source: https://ar.pinterest.com/pin/691935930228115781/

But it also becomes clear in the Scouring of the Shire, the last Chapter of The Lord of the Rings, in which the Hobbits return to the Shire and find that it has been changed. The agricultural area has changed into an industrial area, full of smoke and machines. Tolkien clearly uses that to show that this industrialisation is a bad thing - and in particular industrialisation for the cause of industrialisation. Sam get’s the chance to restore the Shire.

All in all, we can still learn a lot from Tolkien about trees. His love for trees and the forest, but also on how to deal with them: with respect. If the books of Tolkien should teach us anything, it’s respect for the woods, respect for the tree and the love for nature.  

#Tolkien #tolkienquote #jrr tolkien #JRRTOLKIEN #my text #my writing #nature #tree #lovefortrees #lovefornature #bomen #forests #tolkien writing #the shire #The Scouring of the Shire #Isengard #Mordor #Alan Lee #Leaf by niggle #The Letter of Tolkien

[waywardwrestlewritingwaif]

Raise the Stakes, Part One

So this is a sequel to Place Your Bets. It's actually just the first part of a sequel because I'm trying to publish things in shorter segments. Time is valuable and I know it can be tricky to sit down and read through someone's 8,000-word opus.

That said, you will have to read Place Your Bets first or this isn't going to make any sense.

Pairing: David Finlay x OFC with mentioned Jay White x OFC

Word count: 1,641

Content advisory: Brief sexual references, Jay being an emotionally abusive asshole

You’ve tried three or four times to reconcile the pay statement from New Japan with the list of expenses you submitted for Jay last week. They’re different. The check is lower than it should be and even though it’s not by a lot, this sort of thing drives Jay mental and he’s been in such a mood since you dared go on a date that you’re going to extraordinary lengths to try to pacify him.

If anything, you feel like making more of an effort is making him harder on you. He’s had you working practically around the clock, thinking nothing of waking you up in the middle of the night to demand you find some obscure record, or complaining that he doesn’t understand something. He’s demanded you reschedule every appointment you’ve made for him at least once, so that everyone who’s relying on you so that they can work with him has been screaming at you.

So you’re exhausted and anxious and you can’t figure out why you have a check that doesn’t match your invoice because the accounting department here codes everything differently, so the amounts per line are combined or split up in ways you don’t understand and you have to patch it back together. It’s impossible.

The thing is, you’ve done it before. The expense checks are screwed up 4 times out of 5 and it’s always a chore that takes you hours to resolve. You’ve done this when you’ve been travelling nonstop for a day, when Jay has been screaming at you for hours, and when you’ve been surviving on coffee and stubbornness. The difference now is that you’re distracted.

In the years you’ve had this job, you’ve never felt distracted this way. You keep replaying your night with Finlay in your mind and you catch yourself smiling like an idiot at the way your stomach flips. Despite the fact that Jay’s been keeping you on a tight leash, you’ve caught plenty of glimpses of David around the place. Sometimes, you’ll pass close enough that you catch a whiff of his soft amber-y cologne and your skin shivers. And you look. Jay isn’t interested enough in you to watch you closely enough to see what you’re doing as long as he knows he can order you around whenever he feels like it.

David looks back, too, with a sly smile or a wink. He actually has to be a little more cautious about it because Jay has been watching him since their New Japan Cup match, already fantasizing about revenge. But he has his techniques. He’ll glance over and lock eyes with Jay before letting them drift to you. The looks you exchange feel almost as intimate as when the two of you were naked in his bed together.

You’ve sent a couple of cryptic text messages back and forth but David’s perfectly aware that Jay will flip through your phone without even asking because he considers it his property. It’s killing you, always being in each other’s orbit and being unable to do anything about it. But more importantly, it’s distracting you from work.

You’re standing over the table, using a pencil to note where you think the things from your invoice have been entered on the payment statement when your breath catches. There’s that scent in the room with you, easing close behind you until you feel a strong pair of arms close around you.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself,” he murmurs into your skin.

You exhale and let yourself melt into him, resting your hands over his as you incline your head back.

“I can’t stop thinking about you,” you breathe.

He holds you a little tighter.

“I have to go back to the States to do some Impact shows. I’ll be gone a few weeks.”

You whine quietly.

“I’m leaving tomorrow night.”

“It’s not fair.”

He hums and kisses his way up your neck, making your whole body tremble.

“Any chance you could sneak out tonight?”

“I’d like to see someone try and stop me.”

“The slave driver won’t be happy.”

“I cannot tell you how little I care right now.”

He loosens his hold and you take the opportunity to turn around, touching your lips to his as you’ve been longing to do for days. You peck at each other a few times, smiling, both of your eyes lit from within.

“I’m in room-“

“I know what room you’re in,” you grin.

“Are you stalking me?”

“Damn right I am.”

You give in to the urge to kiss a little more urgently until a noise at the door has you jumping apart like reversed magnets.

You’re terrified it’s Jay because you are in no way ready for that showdown. But it’s Sanada coming to get a drink from the vending machine. He cocks an eyebrow at the two of you, which is enough to let you know that he’s aware of the nature of what he’s interrupted.

It isn’t a problem, though. He doesn’t talk to Jay unless they have a match and even then it’s only going over the game plan. He’ll gossip to his LIJ buddies but it’ll stay within their tight little circle. They'd rather laugh at Jay behind his back.

When he leaves, David takes your hand and the two of you are smiling like teenagers again.

“Guess I should run away before we really get caught.”

You kiss him, fervently, and you’re hardly able to pull yourself away.

“I’ll text you when I know what time I can escape.”

You’re both blushing as he exits the room. When you turn around to face your payment problem, you could swear it’s gotten more complicated than it was before.

*

“I need you to reschedule that appointment with the physio guy to Thursday,” Jay grumbles.

He’s been hovering since he came in, although he hasn’t been quite as obstreperous as usual, muttering to himself or to his game console rather than outright trying to interrupt you. You could take your work to your room but then he would be texting and calling you all the time, assuming that you weren’t working if he couldn’t see it. You’re still trying to untangle the knots of the expense report and it’s tantalizingly close. You’ve gotten nearly this far a couple of times only to be forced to backtrack and re-evaluate but this time you can see your way through; just a couple of twists and tugs and you’ll have it all smoothed out.

You roll your eyes at the sound of Jay’s voice, content that he can’t see your face from his vantage point.

“We’ve been through this, Jay. This guy is a specialist they’ve brought in and his schedule’s been set by the company. No changes, no exceptions.”

“Well you need to ask, at least,” he huffs.

“Why? All it’s going to do is aggravate management and you won’t get what you ask for.” You pivot to face him. “Why would you even want to change it?”

“I have something I want to do on Wednesday, not that it’s any of your business. I’d rather see him on Thursday.”

“It’s not going to happen.”

You fully expect from the look on his face that he’s going to lose it and start screaming about how you’re just there to do what he says. But though his lips twitch and his nostrils flare. He says nothing. Perhaps this is it. Perhaps this is the week that he fires you and replaces you with someone new who’ll do everything he says and flatter his ego without the attitude you’re prone to giving him. A couple of times, he’s told you that you were fired in a rage, only to contact you hours later and start grumpily giving you orders again. He never apologizes when this happens but he’s always a little quieter and less belligerent for a few days.

This nonverbal fury is something new, so maybe it’s a sign that the end is nigh. Maybe you’ll suddenly find a way to reinvent yourself without Jay White in your life. Take a calligraphy class. Teach English at some private business school. Get a dog. Have a relationship with someone who could love you back.

With that in mind, you force yourself to work out the final parts of the project that’s haunted you all day. You’re so happy when it’s done, when you understand exactly what’s missing and what you need to tell them to have it corrected, that you want to stand up and cheer and pat yourself on the back because god knows that no one else will.

Normally, you’d email the head office right away and go through everything you’ve found in concise bullet points to make sure you’re understood but instead, you close your laptop and stand up.

“Right,” you say breezily, “I'm off then.”

“Off where?” he growls without looking at you. “Another date?”

“Actually, yes.”

“This is becoming a problem.”

“No, it isn’t. I’ve done everything that’s required of me. I’ve jumped through every insane hoop, dodged every trap you’ve given me. You know perfectly well that the fact that I’ve been… that I’ve… There is no issue with my work.”

“I say it’s becoming a problem and in this equation, I’m the only one who matters.”

His reflexive cruelty always hits you right in the stomach, like you’re in the ring with him, and knowing that you have someone who wants to be with you and wants to please you doesn’t dull that at all.

“I matter Jay,” you say quietly. “I just don’t matter to you.”

You see a muscle in his beck twitch but even though you give him a moment, he says nothing. And it’s a painful realization that the only reason you’re waiting is in the desperate hope that he’ll contradict you, that he’ll surprise you for once in his life.

#njpw fanfic #njpw imagine #jay white fanfic #jay white imagine #david finlay fanfic #david finlay imagine #wayward wrestle writing #wrestling fanfic #wrestling imagine

[rainydaymiddleearthimagines]

Destiny Calling: Chapter 4

"I cannot believe—" "ow" "How you didn't tell them once— " "Arwen, there is a head under there." You winced as your sister roughly brushed your hair "How could you not mention you were an elf!? Or at least removed the cloak!? I'm sure Aragorn did!" She said. "He did! I just... Felt out of place. I responded to seeing four strangers by pulling up my hood, out of plain awkwardness I never removed it" you admitted. "Did you at least speak elvish in front of them?" Arwen asked. "Yes." You said. "Well that's good, they won't be completely oblivious to every aspect of you." She sighed. "Arwen, when you are on the road trying to not die, formalities tend to be absent." You said. "Clearly." She sighed, setting the brush down. "Your dress is on your bed." She sighed. "Why can't I just wear-" "Do not start with me. Remember I helped you get here." She halted. "You sound less and less like a sister and more like a mother." You sighed.

You looked at the dress, it's blue being soft and nearly matching what your sister usually wore. You grimaced but put it on, putting on your silver crown before walking out. "I didn't have to fight you. Thank the gods." Arwen said. You rolled your eyes. "They're out in the courtyard, go and greet them." She said. One night had passed since the incident, you feeling incredibly anxious. You were sure the trees must've tired of your constant asking of "are they okay? Tell me they're alive". You decided to leave nature alone this morning, rather than pester it again.

Aragorn felt slight relief when he saw your horse. Sam seemed very anxious about Frodo, pacing a lot as Merry and Pippin seemed more... Vocal about their anxieties. Aragorn had to sit through hours of  "BUT ARE YOU SURE Y/N IS EVEN TRUSTWORTHY!?" From Merry. Pippin didn't seem to distrust you as much though. Aragorn suspected that you had spoken to Pippin at one point. You actually did go off with him to find herbs for a nasty cut that Merry got after he tripped. It was plausible that Pippin got to know you in that small amount of time.

Aragorn sighed as Merry was ranting over "Who goes on a journey for almost a week, and doesn't remove their hood the entire time!?"Pippin looked at Aragorn and then sighed. "Merry, there isn't anything to worry about with her. She left with Frodo because she was trying to save him, not because she had a plan to kill him." Pippin defended. Merry looked over. "Well— Woah." Merry paused as Arwen walked over. "Your friend is fine. He's alive. Asleep, but still alive." She said softly. "Where is he!?" Sam asked. "I will take you to him. A...Strider, Y/n is fine as well, I found her before she could be seriously hurt." Arwen said. "Where—" You walked out, seeing Aragorn. Sam and Merry gaped, seeing you without your cloak. "She...Was an elf?" Sam gaped as you hugged Aragorn.

"I never removed my cloak because it was awkward to do so by the point I knew all of you." You said. Sam locked onto the silver crown upon your head. "Princess..." He muttered. "I told you that you should have mentioned your status." Arwen muttered. "You're a princess!?" Merry gaped. "Well... What is royal status, really?" You said nervously, earning a snort from Aragorn. "Don't get me started on you." Arwen huffed. He straightened up and you sighed. "I didn't actually intend on hiding my identity Sam. I just—" "She felt incredibly awkward around us. She put up a cold front but she's actually nice." Pippin explained to Merry. You smiled. "Precisely." You nodded. "Just what did you two talk about while getting herbs?" Aragorn asked you.

"You." Arwen said, tapping his shoulder. "Me?" Aragorn asked. "Father wants you at that meeting. Clothes are already set out—" "Oh no." He breathed. "Do not make a scene like Y/n. I swear you two are becoming more and more like each other every passing day." Arwen muttered. "Where's Gandalf?" You asked. "Room next to Frodo's." She said. "I'll take Sam then. Show Merry and Pippin where the food is." you said.

You walked with Sam. "I didn't mean to conceal my identity mister Samwise... I am sorry." You apologized. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you or Strider. And it's alright to just call me Sam" He said, walking with a small frown. You sighed, opening the door to Frodo's room. "Make yourself comfortable mister Sam. If you need anything, ask a healer to point the way." You said. He nodded and you left, walking into Gandalf's room. He was smoking out of a pipe next to the window. "Saruman betrayed us." you said, closing the door behind you. "Indeed." Gandalf nodded. "What do we do?" You asked. "We attend the meeting. We hear what everyone has to say. We come up with a plan and we destroy that ring." He said. You nodded and sighed, messing with your dress's skirt. "Does he know of your plan?" He asked, referring to Aragorn's ignorance to your plan to leave with the group to destroy the ring. "No... He doesn't." You admitted. "What if he's in the group?" Gandalf asked. You swallowed hard. "Who all is going to be there at this meeting?" You asked. "Other elves, men and the dwarves." He said. "Men? Men from where?" you asked. "Gondor." Was all Gandalf said before you felt this shock go through you.

Foresight. Of course on the mention of Gondor. You had this vision of ten people, all faces blurry except two. Yours and a man from Gondor. Your vision seemed to shift and it was of you fighting in battle, the man dead in front of you. You stumbled forward, Gandalf catching you. "One of the men in the fellowship... He's destined for death." you whispered. "Who?" Gandalf asked. "His face was blurry... I couldn't tell you." You breathed. You sat down on the edge of the bed. "Someone in that fellowship is destined to die, whoever he is, is a man. Not an elf or a dwarf. It was a man." you said. "Do you need water?" Gandalf asked, noticing your pale face. You nodded and he picked up a silver pitcher, pouring you water into a glass. He handed it to you and you drank. "Breathe my dear girl, breathe." He said. You sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. "Do you think it was—" "No... no. I distinctly recall lighter hair than his." You said. "If you meet him tomorrow, will you recognize him?" Gandalf asked. "Probably." You nodded. "Try to soothe your nerves. Find Aragorn, he always seemed to calm you down." Gandalf said. You nodded, standing up. "Do you think Frodo will wake soon?" You asked. "Yes... I suspect within a few hours." He said. You nodded before walking to the door. "Gandalf?" You asked. He looked over. "I'm glad you're alive." You said. He smiled. "I'm glad you kept them safe." He said before you left.

You walked to your room, making sure your bag was still packed. You sighed sitting on the edge of your bed, putting your face in your hands before you heard the door open. You looked over to see Aragorn. "Gandalf said you seemed shaken up over something." He said. You sighed. "Men from Gondor are coming." You said. Aragorn rose a brow, sitting next to you. "I see...Well everyone has been calling me 'Strider' since—" "I had a vision... One of them is destined to die." You said. Aragorn looked at you, surprised by your prophetic words. "That's been happening more often. Visions..." He noticed. You nodded. "There is a change coming. Something big. And some sort of higher power clearly wants me aware." You said. He looked at you and then looked down to see your bag. "Haven't unpacked yet?" He asked. You seemed to tense up, which of course he noticed.

"Y/n, what are you not telling me?" He asked. Damn it. You could do a lot of things. Lying to Aragorn? Not one of them."...When the fellowship is formed, no matter who is escorting it, I am leaving with them." You said. He frowned. "Y/n, are you insane?" He asked. "My father failed." You said. Aragorn sighed. "There were two people there that day and my father did nothing. Instead he let Isildur walk away." You said. "What makes you think it will be different?" He asked. "Because I want to have a future with you. If we fail, the world will fall into the hands of a sadistic monster." You said. Aragorn looked at you. "Y/n... You've brought up our future a lot as of late, is there a particular reason why?" Aragorn asked. You sighed and shook your head. "I keep having this feeling... Something is going to change. Something is shifting. And now Gandalf is saying there's a possibility of a new age about to be ushered in." You said. "What is the age of?" He asked. "The Age of Men." You answered. "...I see.." he said. You sighed. 

"This foresight... It was supposed to be a gift but right now at this particular moment it's more of a burden than anything." You murmured. Aragorn pressed a kiss to the side of your head. "Y/n, I ask that you at least try to spend some of these days in Rivendell as peaceful as you can. You need the rest." He said. You smiled softly at him, holding his hands. "I always find peace when you're present." You said. You absolutely adored the man sitting next to you, and judging by the love in his eyes he was completely in love with you too. Aragorn seemed to look at your hands. "If you leave with that group... I will leave with them too." he said. You frowned. "Aragorn I can't ask that of you—" "You're not asking me to do anything. I'm volunteering." He said softly. You sighed. "Aragorn... What if I lose you?" You asked. "And what if I lose you?" he asked. You sighed again. "I'm not stopping you am I?" You asked. "No." He admitted.

You shook your head. "I can't stop you from making your own choices..." You said. "Can we get something to eat now? We've survived off of lembas bread for so long, I'm beginning to forget what other foods taste like." He asked making you laugh. You nodded. You walked out of your room before you saw Sam running past you. "What's going on?" you asked. "Frodo's awake!" Sam said. Aragorn walked in, standing next to you. Frodo looked over at you with  slight surprise. "Elf- you're an elf?" He asked. You nodded. "I apologize for not saying anything before." you said. "It's fine... Really- you...You saved my life." He said. You smiled softly. "Actually my father did most of the work." you said. "Your father?" he asked. "Lord Elrond." Gandalf said. You heard footsteps and turned to see your father. "Welcome to Rivendell, Frodo Baggins." Elrond said. Frodo sat up, looking at him. "May we speak?" He asked. Frodo slowly stood up, walking out with Elrond.

"Come on. I believe food was mentioned." you whispered. "Right." Aragorn nodded. "Sam, have you eaten?" You asked. "...no." He said. "Come on then. Rest for a bit." You said softly. He looked at Frodo's bed and then you before nodding. "I don't know my way around... Do you mind?" He asked. "I'm happy to be your guide mister Samwise." you said with a joking salute. He smiled as you walked. "So are you really a princess?" He asked making Aragorn chuckle. He walked with the two of you. "That's what the coronation was for." you said. "You have to be coronated to be a princess?" Sam asked. "Oh yes. It's quite long. And very, very boring." Aragorn said making you laugh. "That sums it up perfectly." You said chuckling. "You were at the coronation?" Sam asked Aragorn. "Yes. As I recall he started taking bets on which guard I was going to make laugh first." You said with a grin. "Did he win?" Sam asked. "Indeed I did." Aragorn said making you laugh.

You all ate, Sam relaxing for a little bit before it was clear he got in his own mind. Would they be able to make it home? Would he be able to keep Frodo safe? How bad was this going to be? Was this truly over?  Well, Sam was freaking out now as he packed his bag the following morning, trying to remember what he might be forgetting. Lord knows Merry or Pippin wouldn't know. "No...What have  I forgotten?" He asked himself, unaware that Frodo was watching. "Packed already?" Frodo asked, making Sam jump. "No harm in being prepared." Sam said, turning back to his bag. "I thought you wanted to see the elves, Sam." Frodo said. Sam looked down. " I did. It's just..." Sam sighed. "We did what Gandalf wanted, didn't we? We got the Ring this far, to Rivendell...and I thought... seeing as how you're on the mend, we'd be off soon. Off home." He said. "We did what we set off to do..." Frodo agreed, looking at the ring in his palm. "The ring will be safe in Rivendell... I am ready to go home." Frodo said.

You sighed, leaning against the column waiting for the potential fellowship members. "You seem nervous." Aragorn said, his hands on your waist as he spoke in your ear. "Having a fellowship that is potentially saving the world, has a tendency to do that." You muttered. You were trying not to think about your previous vision. A white steed rode in with a familiar face making you gasp. "Oh here we go." Aragorn muttered before you sprinted off. You rushed down, hugging the traveler's next. The elf laughed. "Y/n! What's it been, forty years?" Legolas asked. "That's rubbish, I've written to you!" you said. He chuckled before looking over. "Ar—" "SHH!" you both halted. You both nodded to the hobbits walking around. "Strider!" Legolas corrected. You nodded and Strider shook his hand as another rider rode in. You looked over seeing the man on horseback. The face might've been blurry but the light brown hair definitely matched the vision. You locked onto him, heart pounding as you looked at him. He dismounted and looked over, raising a brow. "Do I know you?" The man asked. You shook your head. "Strider I have to... Go speak with father." you  muttered. He noticed that look in your eyes before you left. He was definitely the one you had a vision of.

Aragorn spoke with Legolas watching the man with his sword. He noticed the man's clothes, seeing the horse he rode in on. He was definitely from Gondor. If he was sent to protect the ring, he definitely was of some sort of higher status. "Please feel free to explore while your here." Arwen said to him before walking over. "Legolas, old friend! It's been a long time!" She said hugging him. "Arwen, who is that man?" Aragorn asked. "Boromir. Son of Denethor II." She answered. His eyes wandered back over. He knew exactly who he was now.

The Stewart Prince to Gondor.

#aragorn imagine #aragorn x reader #aragorn

[a-for-alternative]

Hello, A! So I was wondering do you have any headcannons about how you and B were like at Wammy's together? PS. I thought dead men tell no tales lol (sorry about the joke if you didn't like it)

// Oh do I ever... Alternative has such potential to highlight things about B’s character that develops him into the killer of Mello’s novel. The lore surrounding the first generation (and the notion of Mello writing about a dead successor that previously filled his position - his predecessor) is more poignant than I think it was intended to come across but here are some headcanons~

Wammys House:

A & B are the first to receive their secondary alias after which it becomes a kind of right of passage for other successors, choosing their own (though often not official) - to A & B, only theirs will ever be legitimate.

A is introduced to B after only 1-2 years of being at the house

A, before becoming a letter, was taken into Wammy’s due to his intellect but only later is selected as the first attempted L-backup, probably pulled from a satellite home 

Alternative & Backup (A’s perspective):

His introduction to B is a pivotal moment for him. After so much loss, he sees this as an opportunity for redemption and a return to a clear path forward, and now it is under threat. B represents for A the physical manifestation apathetic fate, he is foreign in every sense, they cannot even communicate when they are initially introduced. His presence signifies A’s disposability - B is the backup plan for when A fails, like a vulture circling over head, it looms over him like a prophesy he is trying to outrun..  though, B can also overtake him at anytime, relegating him to a future that, from A’s perspective, is neither known nor the success story that he has put so much hope in. The world for Alternative at this point in his life is an unreasonable and precarious place. All he knows, up to this point as a seven year old, is that everything is fragile and must be hard won - and there is no guarantee that one can keep what they have fought or sacrificed to obtain. --- after all, he is in line to replace L and L is about as far from vulnerable as he believes a person can get --- Maybe, B also represents a challenge that requires a level of maturity that he does not yet possess - the inevitable dilemma, that this position is of such consequence to the world, that it needs the best person for it, — and that may not be him...

There is nothing genuine in the sweet smile.

The way he extends an open hand, how his soft, his boyish voice offering “ Hello, Alternative ” …  

A feels an unpleasant sensation snake up his spine like a fever’s chill, empathetic aptitude ringing in his ears with all the incongruence rolling off this boy.

His gentleness feels scripted, words trilling out of his mouth- practiced and angular; absolutely, wholly contrived. A has never meet anyone with such an emptiness in their words and actions…

A returns the greeting with a stony, silent stare - I know what you are. 

They slide up from the open palm to meet the foreign boy’s gaze - Blue eyes resting soft, knowing and stormy, heaven’s skies empty of angels. Alternative is standing his ground, refusing to pretend they are not here for a reason, telling himself, “I’m not afraid…”

 But,  he has never seen anyone with such deep eyes.

 They are the windows into an empty soul, a black abyss,                                                                                             absolutely apocalyptic…

Alternative is capricious in his treatment of B, vacillating between animosity and empathy- at times he’s even conspiratorial , allying himself with B and undermining their superiors- beginning to identify with B (even in spite of the language barriers). Backup is clever and naïve and careless, and unreserved in a way that A wishes he felt safe to be. B is the only one that can truly grasp what he is going through but he is also very strange... -- Alternative struggles with trials & setbacks that roll off Backup’s back with ease. B is several years into his understanding of his eyes and it shapes how he moves through the world, what he feels is worth his pain, what ultimately just doesn’t matter. A is, in some ways, what B might have become if he were a little more ignorant, spared the ever present reminder that this is all so temporary.

Alternative has many faces that none are as acutely aware of as B- it is why he doesn’t take the quips and backhanded apologies personally. Alternative’s identity has been tailored to his circumstances — so much of it he had to leave behind to become this -- to his superiors, he is mature, disciplined and motivated -- exemplary if not a bit too austere. To those that benefit him, he is considerate and trustworthy- and honest. To those that he fears will take advantage of him, he is an arrogant and harsh - conniving and spoiled. When he is caught without a persona on hand, he is awkward, reclusive, and reserved. Despite this, his cardinal traits are eloquence and persistence, he thinks deeply about his place in the world and who he should be but not enough on who he is — Only B is audience to moments when he is short sighted and immature, when he is undone or humiliated - when he is elated or truly.. afraid of what lay ahead of them. When he is sick or less than who he wants to present himself as, B has been there whether he wanted him to be or not.

Alternative is attracted to B though it is initially a disquieting realization, one even he doesn’t entirely understand. It isn’t that B is unusually good looking or charming — though perhaps A has peculiar tastes that B unintentionally satisfies (I can’t imagine him actually trying)... The level of intimacy involved in knowing someone this long, on such a personal and inescapable level has made B a source of unwavering acceptance, — because he had to be. The alternative would have been sleeping next to someone he would gradually come to despise any who really wants to live that way? Yet, B comes to represent stability and unconditional regard that feels a lot like love. There is a fraternal element to it in that B anchors who he is. B is someone that has a history with him that hasn’t been erased or eroded -- that contradicts A’s perception of the world as fragile or finite - it is comforting to have something seemingly permanent ... and terrifying that he cannot start anew, if he doesn’t like who he is and cannot be hidden in the obscurity that L enjoys.

When B begins to insinuate an interest in something more, A is not initially receptive and becomes genuinely distressed. This doesn’t translate with any logical sense to B, who believes it’s born out of A’s latent fears of realizing his own sexuality...  But, by the time they are entering late adolescence, A is more concerned with the prospect of romance and that becoming L is destined to be a lonely path. He sees their childhood in it’s twilight as a tragic loss that cannot be reclaimed or rewritten, and B’s subtle advances as destructive to the purity of their friendship -- but he can’t stay a child forever even if he feels a sense of unfinished business surrounding it and he can’t keep B there either... It takes B’s attention shifting elsewhere for A to begin softening to the idea that B isn't ruining what's between them but expanding on it.

Alternative has experienced depression -- at some point he was prescribed SSRIs, as a part of basic care for successors. While it does alleviate the depth of his lows, he begins to worry that it is dulling the sharpness of his mind, which he has come to see as central to his self-worth. It may have no foundation in reality but A develops an inconsistent relationship with any medication prescribed to him out of those fears. In the end, - there are some things medicine cannot fix...

A few other small things:

- A loves the smell of lavender and grass, it reminds him of his home though as he gets older this memory is more elusive and he begins to wonder if they memories from funeral flowers or even if they are impressions left over from a dreams.. did he even attend his parents funeral?

- A knows they aren’t allowed to take pictures of each other in Wammy’s for good reason but when Y sneaks a camera into the house one summer evening, he is can’t deny there is something precious about having pictures of B perched on the railing of the back steps - his hair sweep by the wind just as he turns his eyes to look, soft unfocused, — like the tender look he gives him just as he wakes up in the morning before he remembers who they are. A traces the lines of his face while lying beneath his bed, where he tucks it between the boards. It’s only a few years later that he will see how much his friend has matured. -- B hates photographs and will place them face down when they go into Roger’s office. Roger has never understood why.

- A drinks his coffee and tea black as tar. B thinks it is terribly bitter but will bring it to him anyway, unaltered. There is something uniquely enjoyable in knowing that B doesn’t need to be told what he likes~

- A is borderline masochistic though perhaps only B has any inkling of it. He would probably never acknowledge it openly... it is degrading to get a charge out of being hurt.

- A loses his faith around age 10 but still believes that he might as well act as though there is a purpose in being good and not just adept and ruthless. The only alternative, from A’s perspective, is to believe that everything he has been through meant nothing and he will ultimately change nothing. And, that may be too painful a philosophy for him to embrace. 

- A’s worst injury occurred when he was deliberately shoved off the roof by an irate B ( thatvhe provoked). While it was a watershed event for A coming so close to death and experiencing the consequences of pushing B beyond that point of caring about consequences... For Backup, this a was also critically informative event, an exercise proving the numbers were infallible -- he was genuinely surprised that A survived the fall and, to a greater degree, surprised that he felt regret in having done it ... left alone in their room to wonder for days, searching for the contraband pictures from that summer A had hidden that could prove if A was even still alive....

#death note #beyond birthday #wammys house #death note a #the first child

[pomegranates-and-blood]

ἀλήθεια (Chapter 1, Vοσταλγία AU)

ἀλήθεια Masterlist

Pairing: Freydis/Reader, Ivar/Reader (past)

Word Count: 2.9k

Warnings: The usual, plus like a lot of angst, a lot of it. (Sort of, I’m not very good with death/violence) graphic descriptions of death.

A/N: The first part of the AU of Nostalgia for Freydis/Reader! This is a deviation from Chapter 37, so beware for spoilers, and also...prepare for pain. Anyhow, I hope you like this!

She finds you sitting on that same clearing from so long ago, sitting almost in the same place. Only this time, you are twirling your wedding ring on your finger.

It is still clear as day, the memory of that time she found you praying on that small clearing, the mark of tears on your face doing nothing to diminish the fire in your eyes. She remembers, because that is the night she realized there was something more to you, something more to the way she saw you, something more to the way she felt greedy and possessive over your attention, something more to the way she felt about you.

Fitting, she supposes, that it was that night when you told her Ivar was forcing you to marry him. She never doubted something back then she called love -now knows better, and calls obsession, calls need, calls selfishness- was what made him bring you to Kattegat, and so Freydis wasn’t really surprised to hear he intended to make you his wife.

It still hurt. If she is honest, it still does.

She remembers what you looked like that night, the defeated edge and the anger and the desperation. She remembers what your hand felt like in hers, warm and tethering and hers. She remembers the way you lived up to the name they give you when you pulled promises of helping you escape from her lips, as if she were under a spell -and maybe she was, maybe she still is-.

And just like that night she approaches silently even though she knows you are aware of her presence, and just like that night her heart pulls in her chest.

Freydis is used to your pain, she is used to your anger; she has been a witness to both many times before.

But this, this is nothing like pain, nothing like anger. This is devastation, and wrath.

She never saw devastation quite like the one that is written in the way your spine isn’t as straight anymore, in the way your voice cracks and breaks and you still talk, in the way you tell her the Greeks were attacked, and they will be attacked again.

There’s a strange air around you, like all that is alive and warm comes to die willingly at your feet, like through the cracks of your broken heart seeps in all the warmth of the earth as if to try to heal it.

Freydis still sits by your side, shoulder to shoulder.

She asks by whom.

And she can’t help but think she has never actually seen wrath before, not until now, not until she sees the gentleness in your eyes fade away in but a breath, not until your expression -always so honest, so alive- gives in to nothingness, not until she hears none of the usual warmth when you say Ivar.

And she realizes maybe it isn’t willingly that the warmth comes to die at your feet, but that your touch that has given so much is also capable -willing- to take it all, even life; and maybe it isn’t a soft heart needing the earth to tend and mend it, but it is the woman that had wars started and ended in her name -for a chance at her love- that demands the world pay for the mistake of trying to break her.

Many times she has looked at you and thought of the spring you always spoke so fondly of. She thought of warmth and gentle breezes and flower crowns.

She looks at you now and thinks of the rage of a storm clouding the skies and ravaging the warm earth with strikes of hail and lightning, she thinks of thorns and poison ivies and vines wrapped tightly around the throats of the undeserving, and yet in the devastation and the wrath there’s still you.

And she reaches for your hand.

You hold hers back so tightly she still feels the ghost of your touch when you’ve left her behind, your back straightened once again, but your eyes dead -so dead, so unlike yours- when you go to face the King.

____

She waits for the world to shake and tremble, she waits for Kattegat’s streets to be a swirl of madness as they did when you were made queen, she waits for word to spread of how the queen has died at the hands of her husband.

She waits, but nothing happens. The earth isn’t split in two, even though she knows you are.

A part of her, a part of her that grows stronger with each passing moment since you left that clearing, begs her to go to the longhouse. She knows she could never kill him -but she wants to-, she knows she couldn’t even try to fight him -but she needs to-.

She doesn’t want to leave you alone.

Night falls, and she tries sleeping, even if her body feels jittery and something in the back of her mind reminds her why she always found ways to hold on to small bits of control. Because there is men like him, and there’s monsters like him, that are willing and able to take everything from her, in ways that are worse than she ever imagined, in ways she can do nothing against.

She stands in front of you, watching you as you carefully finish braiding together a wreath of flowers. The distant door to the longhouse is forced open, and your hands still.

“My love, where are you?” He calls out, and Freydis watches, unable to move, as you close your eyes where you stand and take a deep breath. A cleansing breath. A last breath.

The wreath of flowers falls from your hand.

You start walking, and it feels as if thick vines trap her, but she still fights, she still tries reaching you, pleading with you not to go.

“I’m here.” You tell him, eerily calm.

“Come here,” Ivar calls, still slightly manic, still lost and erratic as big eyes look over you. Freydis takes steps twin to yours, but feels like she is watching from afar when he extends a hand, “I need you.”

Freydis cries and pleads, screams and rages, but neither of you listen. She wishes you could just listen, because…she knows how this tale goes, she knows how this ends.

He kisses you, and for the first time she wishes that kiss to never end. His hand caresses the side of your face, and for the first time she pleads he holds you close and you let him.

But he turns you around in his grip, your back to his chest, his nose buried in your hair as he whispers something Freydis can’t hear, but that she knows doesn’t matter. Won’t matter.

Because she knows what happens now. She doesn’t know how, but she knows.

And all she can do is watch.

The scream is caught in her throat as she watches pull tight at the metal cord, choking you. You both fall to the ground, but it is Freydis who breaks.

You fight, of course you do, and she claws and tears at herself trying to reach you, trying to save you. But she can’t, and your neck bruises and bleeds, your body loses its strength, and your gasps and whimpers fade to nothing.

You fade to nothing.

There’s a deafening moment of silence that follows the moment she realizes you are no longer in this world, a moment where she realizes there is a world without you and she is stuck living in it, a moment where at the fading of your voice and your laughter it feels like it is the rest of the world that has died instead.

She watches, frozen and trembling, as Ivar sits up. Her stomach churns at the way your head lolls lifelessly at the movement. She wants to scream, she wants to fight, she wants to…Gods, please, anything but this.

Shaking fingers move your hair away from your face, but Freydis cannot focus on how that makes her feel sick, and the king’s body is shaken by cries that sound more like a wounded animal’s than a man’s, but Freydis cannot find it in her to think it fitting for a monster.

No, all she can focus on is the metal around your neck. It looks so much like chains.

You died with chains around you. She remembers your voice, quiet and warm, telling her about the thing you feared the most about death; and she has to look at your dead body and remember she will never hear your voice again, and that she failed at keeping you from dying how you most feared: chained.

She wakes up screaming, and blindly stumbles out of the room, towards the entrance of the home. She has to find you, she has to-…

“She won’t die, child of Freyja,” A voice behind her says, and she turns around with a gasp, finding a woman sitting on one of the flimsy chairs with all the poise of who sits on a throne. Her blind eyes feel all-seeing as the woman tilts her head to the side, so reminiscent of…you. “Her death isn’t his to have.”

The woman smiles, and only then Freydis notices the way her full lips are stained with a shade of red that looks sweet.

She blinks, and the wooden roof of her bedroom greets her. She closes her eyes, clutching the pendant that hangs from her neck, and tells herself everything will be alright.

She was always a good liar, after all.

____

“Tomorrow, there will be-…I will be dead tomorrow,” You explain, and though Freydis feels her heart squeeze in her chest, you speak too calmly to be considering your own death. A deep breath, and, “A thrall, she…she looks like me, she will be dead in our-…in his bed come morning. Ivar will know it’s not me, of course, but…tis not something one survives, leaving Ivar the Boneless, everyone knows that.”

Freydis bites back words -accusations, really- that you are still protecting him, protecting his pride, his image, his reputation. That you are still trying to find a way to spare him the pain.

You breathe something that in a life before this could have been a chuckle, but now only sounds bitter and broken.

“Kattegat will see its queen die, I’m sure that surprises no one. Especially with a…a foreign witch on the throne of a realm she never belonged to.”

“You’re leaving.” The shieldmaiden states, instead of replying to your strange and manic words. Freydis is almost grateful she speaks, because she knows you would have kept on talking.

You meet Valdís’ gaze and in your eyes shines what in a weaker woman would be desperation. But all Freydis sees is determination, and relentlessness, and the stubbornness of something warm and alive trying to survive the winter.

“I have no choice. These are my people, he-…I need to return to those who are still alive. If I wait any longer…if I wait, I may not have life or freedom to make this choice, Valdís,” You raise your chin, but the tears clog your throat and make your voice break. Still, you push on, a rueful smile on your lips, “You know to me there isn’t a difference in losing either.”

The shieldmaiden nods, what Freydis would swear are tears shining in her pale eyes, and embraces you tightly. You barely move to return the embrace, and she has a feeling she understands why.

“I love you, witch. May we meet in the life after this one.”

You look up at Valdís broad frame, and your expression trembles, your breath trembles past your lips in a sob you mask in a pitiful and bittersweet laugh that whispers what you cannot, it won’t happen, not to us, Valhalla and the Underworld will never be one and the same.

“If my mother-…if you ever meet Sieghild, if she returns here,” You close your eyes as you step back, “Tell her I couldn’t survive till the spring. Tell her I love her, and that I hope her Gods and mine keep her.”

Valdís nods her head again, the clear tell of gritted teeth as she looks away from you.

You approach Freydis, and she sees some of your resolve crumble, as if the goodbye hurts you as much as it would hurt her.

“Freydis…”

“Don’t say goodbye,” She advises you, stepping forward. “I am not leaving you alone.”

Your lips part, something quite close to a sob leaving your throat. Still, you shake your head. Stubborn woman.

“N-No, Freydis, I can’t...I can’t ask this of you.”

It is foolish, since you remind her now more than ever of the skittish and distrusting woman that was first brought to Kattegat; but Freydis still reaches forward, grasps your hand in hers.

“Wherever your Gods or mine take you, I shall be at your side,” She vows, as quietly as she can, looking directly into your eyes. Her mind was made long before she even told you those words for the first time. “I swore by it. You aren’t alone.”

You return the hold of your hand on hers, and that is all the answer she needs. With nothing but the clothes at her back and an amulet of Freyja hanging from her neck, Freydis leaves it all behind.

____

She feels like you have been on the run for an eternity, it feels like her legs burn from days of walking, and her body is being pulled to the earth by unseen vines wrapped around her.

By the way you lean against a tree and take careful breaths, she would think you feel the same. But then she catches the faraway look in your eyes as you look back at the direction you came from, and even if you are so far now from Kattegat that this isn’t even considered its border anymore Freydis knows to you it feels like it is still behind you, breathing down your neck.

You meet her eyes, and she doesn’t hesitate to straighten her back and motion for you to continue walking. She doesn’t mind walking for as long as she has to, not for you.

You find a hunter’s camp near the city you say the Greeks had settled at, and you silently agree to spend the night there.

Before the dim fire you two are able to start, Freydis sits and watches the shadows battle the light of the flames, darkness and light, life and death, fighting for the bigger portion of your soul.

The tears make a silent trail down your cheeks as you twirl the golden ring in your hand. The engraved flowers seem to mock you, standing out even more now that the ring is dirtied and muddied from days on the run.

“Did I make a mistake?” You ask her, big eyes filled with a mix of nostalgia and hope she is so used to seeing in your gaze, but that now more than ever, maybe because so much has changed and so much remains the same, it breaks her heart all the more.

And she doesn’t have an answer to give you. She wishes she could tell you coming back would be the right choice, that there’s more waiting at your back than whatever you are facing now. She wishes she could tell you that it was the right choice to leave it all, that you belong to Greece and that there is hope to be found after all that has happened.

But she can’t do either of those things, because she doesn’t know.

And how she wishes she did, if only to make the lost look in your eyes disappear, if only to somehow protect you from the desperate and broken hope that makes your breaths shallow.

“Do you think you did?” Is what she asks instead.

You meet her eyes, unwavering. And shake your head.

Your answer breaks you further than any of hers could, and your face crumples in pain.

It isn’t just the fear of them finding you what keeps you quiet, it is grief cutting any sound from leaving your throat even as you bow your back and part your lips in a scream. The rage and the pain threaten to break you at the seams, and desperate hands clutch at your hair, your own arms wrapped around you as you fold in over yourself, as if to keep yourself together.

All Freydis can do is put her own arms around you, bring you close to her and let you shake and cry and break.

Your breaths never find a regular pattern, scattered and shaking, more labored and pained whenever your hands tighten and you feel the press of that damn ring against your skin. You never lose the tension in your frame, not once in the whole night does your pain leave you for long enough to let you rest, you hold yourself tightly and desperately under your own control.

You tell her it hurts, you tell her you have been torn apart, and the way your voice breaks and shakes around the shape of her name makes her wish she had anything other than quiet and warmth to give you.

When the first rays of the new day try piercing the darkness of the forest around you, there’s a defeated kind of resilience to the way you stand up and walk away.

She moves to follow, but you tell her to stay and rest, and that you will return soon.

When you do, there isn’t a ring in your finger anymore.

____ ____ ____

So, what do you think?

Ivar attacking the Greeks is something I considered a lot for the plot of Nostalgia, but it was something so unforgivable that I couldn’t put in the main story, so here goes. I hope you like this Freydis, and idk, that you like the pairing. Of course they won’t get there anytime soon cause Reader truly loved Ivar and is going to have to grieve that relationship, but I like these two together, a lot.

Enough rambling! Please let me know what you think! Also, if you don’t want to be tagged in this AU, lemme know! I know Freydis isn’t for everyone, so feel free to ask me to take you off the list for this one! Love ya!

Taglist: @youbloodymadgenius​ @heavenly1927​ @toe-vind-ek-jou​ @xbellaxcarolinax​ @pieces-by-me​ @angelofthorr​ @samsationalwilson​ @peachyboneless​ @1950schick​ @punkrocknpearls​ @ietss​   @itsmysticalmystery​ @revolution-starter​ @chibisgotovalhalla​ @the-a-word-2214​ @fae-sedai​ @crazybunnyladysworld​   @funmadnessandbadassvikings @stupiddarkkside​ @aprilivar​ @msrawog​  

#freydis x reader #freydis vikings #freydis #ἀλήθεια masterlist