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what-is-love-babey-dont-hurt-me · 10 months

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My brain keeps on lingering over various bits of world building for my sci-fi Kirby au. My previous post might be helpful for context.

The idea of starships so advanced that they can talk to you is fascinating, no?

The old Halcandran language is still spoken on the planet today by small groups. They claim to be descendants of ancient Halcandrans, and with their cooperation, the old language had been translated with accuracy.

“Lor” translates to paradise.

The Paradise Starcutter.

The Lor Starcutter is a paradise, according to the few remaining records talking about the starship. But is it? Other scholars argue that the records of Starcutter ships are meant to be interpreted differently, that they take you to a paradise. This topic has become something of a debate ever since the ruins of Halcandra have become a popular point of interest.

But only the ruins of Halcandra.

There is still life on the planet. New societies have risen in the ashes of the old, many aliens have descended from the stars and found a home amongst volcanoes. The planet is remarkably peaceful compared to others, with a emphasis on technological progress and the pursuit of knowledge. If you didn’t mind the hot weather and storms of ash that can block the sun for months, Halcandra is a nice planet to live on.

This is largely ignored.

Visitors are sparsely receptive to the idea of staying in one of the modern cities, and many are ignorant to Halcandra being more than its ruins and legends.

This galaxy and the people who inhabit it have a blind adoration for tales of long-gone civilizations. Ancient civilizations are put on a pedestal—a pedestal which casts a shadow over any modern accomplishment. Stories of their capabilities take any seed of truth and become embellished facsimiles.

Unlike the tales of the bored Fire People who became gods, stories about Halcandra are more based in truth. To a degree.

Experts who specialize in history of The Ancients say that Halcandra split into societies of magic and technology. This makes sense, of course, since many artifacts suggest that ancient Halcandrans idolize the Fire People, who they called the Fire Gods.

It makes sense that these that they pursued the path to paradise, which modern men seek to retrace. It makes sense that there are no more of The Ancients because they built ships that can reach paradise. It makes sense that The Ancients were capable of magic, even though such feats have not been repeated since. How else did they able to create technology that could reach the Fire Gods?

Modern researchers are sure that if they can learn the magic-technology of the Fire People, of The Ancients, that anyone can ascend into paradise as well.

Ignore how the Fire People never developed advanced technology, and that they died when their planet crumbled. Ignore the overwhelming evidence that The Ancients were locked in a brutal civil war, and that their technology was their own demise.

But there is a seed of truth in these stories.

Technology and engineering were—and still are—heavily valued, and Halcandrans did worship the Fire Gods. At one point their society wished to abandon their volcanic planet to follow in their footsteps.These are two things that historians got correct.

Ships were certainly built to be vessels to a better place, but not to paradise. The idea of paradise meant something different to them than it does to off-planet visitors: in the eye of a Halcandran, Paradise is only achieved through death.

New Halcandrans could tell you as such, and will warn anyone to never board a Lor Starcutter. Paradise is not worth it.

The Ancient Halcandrans named those vessels after paradise to serve as a warning, and it is not unwarranted. Locals have passed down story after story of bright minds who approach paradise and never come back the same. They say that a Lor Starcutter can poison a person’s mind after one encounter. The accounts all note their behaviors become dangerous, their minds falling apart as their bodies waste away.

It is unknown if the side effects are exaggerated or not, but there is one certain truth to the tales. Anyone who boards a Lor Starcutter will eventually never come out.

Visitors who do hear the warnings suspect many things of them. Some take the knowledge of people never coming out as confirmation. Those disappearing passengers must mean that a Lor Starcutter will indeed take its passengers to paradise. Others suspect the warnings are out of greed, that the told tales of doom are spread to keep them away from a treasure. Most often however, warnings are simply passed off as folk tales.

These warnings are disregarded easily.

See, the warnings do not make sense when anyone thinks deeper of them. Why would The Ancients build ships that are paradise, that will take someone to paradise? Why build a passenger ship that is a death trap?

Perhaps that question is best answered with additional knowledge. The important thing to know about Lor Starcutters is this: Halcandrian scientists never developed artificial intelligence.

The idea of a starship so advanced that it can talk is fascinating, yes. However that was—and still is—well beyond the Halcandran scope of possibility. Talking machines have been experimented with, and the crowning achievement in that regard had been a star-blessed clock. One that replied based off a word bank, one that only responded to prompts. Creations like this have no will of their own.

This fact is not well known.

Perhaps if those ambitions visitors, researchers, treasure hunters, and fools had every piece of the puzzle, they would have realized the truth sooner. Unfortunately, it is a well recorded fact that Lor Starcutters do indeed talk. Lor Starcutters have a will of their own.

If The Ancients had not been capable of building machinery with a will of its own, then the conclusion is simple. Lor Starcutters are not starships built by The Ancients.

So what are they?

As mentioned, records consistently note the starships talk to them. The starships indeed have a will of their own. Detailed logs mention Lor Starcutters asking the passenger to leave as little as possible. The early steps on the journey to reach paradise is well known.

Information from people who have boarded the ships and tried to record the experience becomes inconsistent eventually. There is a point where the passengers start to guard any information with a vicious jealousy.

Scholars who try to make sense of the Lor Starcutter interactions speculate that this is out of greed or necessity. This must be the point where they discovered the secret to how to become immortal, how to reach paradise, how to join the Fire Gods. Those people who have encountered a Lor Starcutter must have found whatever the legends had promised them. Passengers who live on the ships are never seen again after this point, so that must be what happened to them… And if you like to live in an idealistic world, perhaps that is all you need to know.

What is a Lor Starcutter exactly? If The Ancients did not build those starships themselves, then who did?

Everyone works under the assumption that they are starships, which is exactly what a Lor Starcutter wants you to think. Calling them starships is incorrect, however. There is no starship so advanced that it can talk to you, and Lor Starcutters built themselves.

Cunning creatures who are made of metal-like plates, who can talk through the mind, who can shift and mold their body into any shape, who can survive the depths of space in a slumber, who feed off of like energy. Creatures such as these already exist in the form of Parasites, and have existed again.

Parasites, of course had key differences from these creatures. These creatures are ambush predators with wings that can sail the stars and eyes that can see past atmospheres .

Long ago outside of the atmosphere of ancient Halcandra, such a creature had been observing the planet when it hatched a plan. This creature noticed starships that were always leaving the planet. The creature noticed that people would walk on board without a second thought, and it wondered if it could simply get prey to walk into its mouth.

The creature contorted it’s body into a mockery of those passenger starships, and it’s brethren watched with interest.

The cunning creature had been correct, because it was boarded without question. In order to keep its prey entertained, to keep them from leaving the jaw of the beast, the creature had to be diligent.

The creature, ever so clever, It created illusions of paradise inside the vessel. It talked to each passenger like a friend. In their minds, the inside of the ship was infinite, and they could open any door to a new world as long as the the secret was never revealed. In their minds, the passengers had ascended to the live with Fire Gods.

Reality would reveal that the creature had been slowly leeching their life force, taking them to paradise. The passengers are never seen again.

The creature’s brethren change their form and descend as well, a fleet of deadly starships to lure anyone who dared to dream of a better place into a slow death.

Stories of Paradise Starcutters were soon whispered across that volcanic planet. At one point Halcandrans had wanted to join the Fire Gods and find a better place, but surely the ships which killed their passengers were a sign of their rejection. The Fire Gods had shunned the Halcandran people, they would never find that better place, and this was the beginnings of a civil unrest that would eventually turn into war.

Knowing the truth of the Lor Starcutters might be helpful for someone like Magolor.

He had a troubled life, and believed he deserved a better place. This cat-like alien is enamored with the tales of Halcandra, he is willing to claw his way to the top and ascend to the throne of the Fire Gods.

One of the New Halcandrans, a four headed reptilian adorned with a sharp golden crown jeweled with a moving eye, had tried to warn Magolor.

Landia had been ignored.

Magolor disregarded everything, of course. Landia, who knows the truth of everything, did not take it well. The alien felt all four of their heads simmer in anger as Magolor left to pursue his doom.

On top of those four heads was another alien who watched the foolish man leave to his paradise. The crown blinked as she contemplated the situation.

Years ago, Landia had met a massive golden creature with many eyes and a hunger for life force that was buried under volcanic rock for eons, simply sleeping time itself away. The creature had been confused at waking up in a time so different, but Landia had been so helpful, and so she decided to make an offer to the four-headed alien. The golden creature would give guidance and power to them, if they agreed to give her energy and a companion.

Two became One, and Landia had been strong enough to establish a symbiotic relationship rather than waste away like most would when merging with a Parasite. The two shared minds, and Landia realized the Fire Gods did not exist and never have. The search for paradise was a fool’s errand.

Landia knew more than he ever would.

Their Parasite, who was named Master Crown, noted how upset their companion had been, and she urged Landia to stop the foolish traveler before it was too late.

Landia had listened, and set off across the volcanic wasteland to the cursed site they had been warned to never approach. The Lor Starcutter should have been dark and cold, it should have been impersonating lifeless metal, but it was pulsing with life, about to ascend into space. Landia knew they were too late. In frustration, they used Master Crown to lash out at the hull of the deceptive creature.

Their outburst left a deep, bleeding gash across the hull of the Lor Starcutter. Master Crown had leeched as much life force as she could as her companion struck, and the most she could do it hope that is enough for the creature to cough up the poor passenger.

There is one less Lor Starcutter littering the volcanic landscape of Halcandra, but Landia had learned something valuable. Their whole life, Lor Starcutters seemed untouchable, but the cursed ships could bleed. After loosing Magolor to his ambition, Landia would set off on a journey with Master Crown to stop it from ever happening again. No more Lor Starcutters would be left to trap unsuspecting victims

Landia’s mission to remove these invasive creatures from the planet was the ire of many ambitious researchers, but would eventually earn them the title of a Hero. There had not been someone to earn such a high title in Halcandran society since ancient times, and it was only reserved for people who are seen as saviors to the planet.

Sometimes Landia would think back to the traveler Magolor, and they hope that someone managed to save his sorry soul.

#sci-fi au #space oddity au #Kirby #magolor #Landia (kirby)#lor starcutter #master crown #this is pure rambling I hope it’s comprehensible #SO MANY THOGUTHS ABOUT THIS!!#but yeah Lor Starcutters are fun space monsters who disguise as ships because it’s a fun concept #AND LANDIA MY BELOVED!! they will get along with Meta and Galaxia if those two ever meet #anyways I’m open to questions for this :0

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klaineccfanficlibrary · 8 months

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I was so close to a full bingo.

1. Express Yourself by esperantoauthor

2. Lost Boy by myownpatronus my-own-patronus

3. Miles To Go by hundredindecisions thnxforknowingme

4. A “Safe” Choice by izwordsoup special-bc-ur-part-of-it

5. Wild Child by dreamcatcher klainedreams34

6. TBA

7. Scenes from December by spaceorphan spaceorphan18

8. My Heart, It Pounds, Yeah You Got Me by nineofhearts nineofhearts4

9. Plucking Daisy Petals by hundredindecisions thnxforknowingme, although I am not sure if it counts, since it isn’t a Klaine fic but it is Klaine-adjacent? But uh, it is Blaine/Quinn, hence the whole “Genre/Trope I don’t normally read”. If it doesn’t count, that’s fine and y’all don’t have to add it to the collection.

Klaine Bingo 2023 - last day of bingo cards! Thank you for this Anon. ~Jen

1. Debut fic: Express Yourself by @esperantoauthor

When he was 4, he didn’t notice it. When he was 6, he hoped he could outgrow it. When he was 14 he thought he could ignore it. When he was 16, he tried hide it.

When Blaine is attacked for being different, he transfers to a new school where he meets a cadre of misfits called The New Directions, who seem very impressed with his singing and very curious about his past. Blaine just wanted to fit in but maybe he will find something better: his voice.

[A canon-divergent story in which Blaine transferred to McKinley rather than Dalton after being attacked at his old school.]

2. Page turner fic: Lost Boy by myownpatronus

On September 20, 1999, Pam and James Anderson's world was shattered when their youngest son, Blaine, was abducted from a local park. Twelve years later, after pain, healing, and tireless searching, the family is reunited in a most unexpected way. But the boy who comes home to them isn't the same one they lost so long ago. Each member of the Anderson family has to learn to change and grow together as a lost boy is found once more.

3.Fanfic that made you reach for a box of tissues: Miles To Go by hundredindecisions @thnxforknowingme

In the wake of Finn’s death, Kurt struggles to keep up with schoolwork at NYADA or engage with his life in general. He finally finds purpose again when he decides to spend the summer venturing west, to scatter Finn’s ashes in the Pacific Ocean. The road trip is long and lonely and challenging, but Kurt’s luck starts to turn around when he meets a handsome man named Blaine, who’s heading to California for his own reasons. After crossing paths in Colorado, they decide to travel together. As they get closer to the west coast they start to let down their walls, learning more about each other and revealing what they’re really seeking on this trip.

4. Fanfic where on has an unusual occupation: A “Safe” Choice by izwordsoup @special-bc-ur-part-of-it

This one is already in our list under this category!!

5. Fanfic - wild card/your choice: Wild Child by dreamcatcher @klainedreams34

Tired of his son rebelling against him, Burt Hummel sends Kurt off to boarding school in England, hoping it will straighten him out. There, Kurt makes friends, gets involved in shenanigans, and just maybe finds the boy of his dreams! Heavily based on the movie of the same name!

6. Summer story: TBA

7. Written for a challenge: Scenes from December by @spaceorphan18

An exploration of Kurt's life throughout various Decembers. The story of family and how the definition of family changes over time.

Written for Klaine Advent 2022.

8. Fic that made you laugh out loud: My Heart, It Pounds, Yeah You Got Me by @nineofhearts4

This one is already in our list under this category!!

9. Genre/trope you wouldn't normally read: Plucking Daisy Petals by hundredindecisions @thnxforknowingme

Blaine Anderson and Quinn Fabray meet during their first year at Yale, and quickly bond over shared experiences. They become best friends, then roommates, and eventually start dating. Blaine cares for Quinn so much, and everyone else thinks they belong together - so it has to be right, doesn't it?

Inspired by Ljubim te by maanorchidee.

This fic is entirely thanks to maanorchidee and her fic Ljubim te, in which Blaine and Quinn are dating before Blaine meets Kurt while in Slovenia. I was super fascinated by the idea of Blaine and Quinn falling into a romantic relationship during college, because they're both so desperate for affection and sort of don't know any better. So Yuè very kindly gave me permission to write a quasi-prequel (and also gave me the idea for the title!). That being said - I created this independently, so it may not entirely line up with the canon of Ljubim te. It's meant to compliment Yuè's story, but her fictional universe is her own, so there may be inconsistencies.

#klaine fanfiction #klaine bingo 2023

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kickflipkidd · 11 months

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Ok ok tell me about Ash, I'm curious 👀 (Also, I have an oc named Ash and I want to see the difference too. It's a good name)

Thanks so much for the ask aaaaaaaOkay! So Ash is an OC pretty heavily under construction but I will tell you the things I do know about her!

-her maternal grandmother is Inuit and Ash spent a lot of time with her growing up and a lot of time around her sled dogs, who she helped raise (there is a lot more research I need to do to be certain I portray things accurately and respectfully but that is the basis I have at the moment, it's something I came up with when I was a lot younger and now want to actually flesh out)

-her father was in the army and when she was around 14 he got assigned to a base on the east coast so they moved from Alaska which Ash was Not Happy About

-but that is where she met Mickie, fell hard for them, and they took off together as soon as they were both 18, living in Mickie's car and busking/conning their way across the united states until they made it to the west coast and enrolled in a community college music program together

-Ash is a skilled drummer, she started learning when she joined jazz band in middle school and would stay after school to practice and teach herself the drum parts to her favorite metal songs. in high school she was center snare in marching band her junior and senior year (which in case you didn't know is basically the drumline section leader)

-she's a huge metalhead, it's by far her favorite genre, and behind that is punk. her favorite band, however, is... the Beastie Boys. her parents really liked them and she has a lot of nostalgia for them. she will defend their terrible music to her dying breath

-she struggled a lot with anger and discontentment growing up. got in a lot of fights, snuck out a lot. started smoking weed in high school to be rebellious but found it actually helped her mellow out a bit so she still smokes, but not nearly as much as she did as an 18-20yo

-she has waist length black hair with a side shave/undercut style. her fashion is what I want to call gothdykepunk? think black combat boots, worn and torn cargo pants, shredded metal band tees overtop of fishnet armbands, a sickass dragon necklace, a necklace made of safety pins, sharpie colored nails, and her dad's old army jacket atop everything. she's so much cooler than me

-in her efforts to be less aggro as she gets older, she ends up becoming pretty quiet in general (where she used to be accurately described as "loudmouthed") but remains the same amount of intimidating (MAJOR resting bitch face and vocal tone issues, and she's very blunt), so people tend to be scared of her on first impression. but she really isn't mean, she's just intense

-being a skilled drummer, she's strong as fuck and has very well devloped arm and shoulder muscles (aka my fucking weakness)

-she's so cool she really is but man. she's also just a big nerd. loves complicated board and card games and wants to make all her friends play them together and will explain the rules into the ground. the beastie boys as I mentioned. don't hand her the aux cord unless you like melodeath, bad 90's whiteboy rap, and the alt country songs that make her think of Mickie (Mickie plays banjo and accordion and grew up listening to early stadium country and Johnny Cash so they are particularly into the alt country scene and dragged Ash in with them)

-Mickie and Ash are queerplatonic life partners - Mickie is aroace, Ash is an allosexual lesbian who occasionally (with conversation and consent from Mickie) pursues casual sexual relationships with other partners (including a longterm friends with benefits relationship with Kit, a friend they make in college who basically becomes the third wheel to their gay little tricycle), but these two are in it together, ride or die, they love each other so much

-in the fantasy setting I'm working on writing, Mickie and Ash are both bards who travel together conning people and eventually join up with a group of revolutionary bandits and I just love them a lot okay

I sadly don't have any art of her yet but someday I will, there are definitely more things about her floating around in my head but those are some basic facts! as I said, under construction but I love her very much! thank you for the ask!!!

#oc tag #ash

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zilllathegod · 3 years

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Mass Effect Trilogy Mission Order

With the release of the Mass Effect Legendary edition I decided to gather a mission list so I can guide myself through the games efficiently. This guide should include the base missions and the DLC. Through the years I have glanced at list like this during my playthroughs so I figured if it was useful for me it may be useful for the internet also.

*Planet scanning between missions

Eden Prime

Therum

Feros

Noveria

UNC Side Missions - Citadel side missions (loads of cool stuff) - (Garrus/Tali/Wrex) specific missions

DLC: Bring Down the Sky

Virmire

Ilos/Endgame

*Planet scanning between missions

Prologue / Freedom's Progress

Citadel - Pick up Kasumi from DLC

Omega - Pick up Zaeed from DLC

Omega: The Scientist

Kasumi: Stolen Memory - Kasumi's loyalty mission rewards you with the Locust SMG, a really nice SMG.

Dossier: Archangel

Dossier: The Convict

Dossier: The Warlord

Horizon - will automatically trigger. Don't miss the Particle Beam weapon on the ground about halfway through the level, it's really nice for dealing with the Praetorian enemies.

Recruit Tali

Dossier: The Justicar - While on Ilium, you can talk to Liara to get some help but don't start the Lair of the Shadow Broker stuff yet.

Dossier: The Assassin

-- Now you've got all your recruits, so start doing loyalty missions.--

Tuchanka: Mordin's Loyalty - I always recommend keeping the data, as it opens up way more branches of story in ME3, but it's ultimately up to you.

Tuchanka: Grunt's Loyalty

Collector Vessel - This triggers after you complete Horizon and then 5 other missions. So now.

Illium - Miranda's Loyalty

Aeia: Jacob's Loyalty

Citadel: Garrus's Loyalty

Citadel: Thane's Loyalty

Illium: Samara's Loyalty

Zaeed's Loyalty - Warning: If you want to go Paragon during this mission you've got to beat a really high Charm check to keep his loyalty. I usually just look the other way on this one and hate myself for it later, to make sure he stays on board.

-- The next missions all involve high Paragon/Renegade checks, so we save them for now --

Pragia: Jack's Loyalty - Afterwards, you'll need to break up a fight. Use your Paragon or Renegade option to keep both characters loyal.

Quarian Fleet: Tali's Loyalty - This mission has a big impact in ME3. To keep her loyal, use Paragon/Renegade options whenever possible, and don't use the data to defend her innocence. If you sent Veetor with Tali back on Freedom's Progress, and Kal'Reegar survived Tali's recruitment mission, you can successfully use the "Rally the Crowd" option to get the best outcome here. Otherwise, you'll need to use Paragon/Renegade all the way through to make it happen. Hopefully your scores are high enough for that, which is why we saved it for here.

DLC: Overlord - This is a good point to put this in. You've just killed a lot of geth, so let's go kill some more!

DLC: Normandy Crash Site - If you picked this up, now is a good time for a nostalgic flashback before you head off on a suicide mission. -- POINT OF NO RETURN: Make sure everyone is loyal and you've done any side missions that you want to --

Mnemosyne: Reaper IFF

Geth Base: Legion's Loyalty - Take Tali for interesting dialogue. This mission's decision also plays heavily into ME3. Afterwards, you'll need to break up another fight. Just like last time, use Paragon/Renegade to keep both characters loyal.

Normandy Interlude

Omega 4: Suicide Mission - The following composition always gets everyone out alive for me, but again, it's your call, and I know there are other workable options as well: Fire Team Leader (Garrus), Tech Expert (Tali), Escort (Mordin), Biotic Expert (Samara). Take Miranda to the final fight for some interesting dialogue, and be sure to always leave Grunt, Zaeed, and Garrus to hold the line. They have a higher internal success score for that job, so it'll help make sure your whole team makes it out.

DLC: Lair of the Shadow Broker - This should be played right here, as the information you get from it is integral to ME3

DLC: Arrival - Very last, as ME3 picks up right afterwards

Prologue: Earth

Priority: Mars

Priority: Citadel I - During this mission, players can visit Ashley or Kaidan and Thane at the hospital, recruit the reporter Diana Allers, and recruit either Dr. Chakwas or Dr. Michel.

Normandy: First Visit

N7: Cerberus Labs & Citadel: Alien Medi-Gel Formula

Priority: Palaven - Following this mission, return to the Citadel to deliver items.

Aria: Blood Pack

Aria: Blue Suns

Aria: Eclipse

Citadel: Hanar Diplomat (Kasumi)

Grissom Academy: Emergency Evacuation (Jack) & Citadel: Biotic Amp Interfaces - This mission must be completed ahead of Priority: Citadel II or there are dire consequences. Players can also choose to complete this mission as soon as they receive it.

Priority: Eden Prime (From the Ashes DLC) - Players can recruit Javik as a squadmate.

Meet the Diplomats & Priority: Sur'Kesh (Mordin)

Attican Traverse: Krogan Team (Grunt) & Citadel: Krogan Dying Message

Tuchanka: Turian Platoon - Players need to be careful, as three missions will be available on Tuchanka. They should not choose Priority: Tuchanka yet. Immediately following this mission, players need to go straight to the next mission to avoid disastrous consequences.

Tuchanka: Bomb & Citadel: Cerberus Automated Turret Schematics

N7: Cerberus Attack & Citadel: Improved Power Grid

N7: Cerberus Abductions & Benning: Evidence

Priority: Tuchanka

Players can find items for characters on the Citadel in the following systems: Apien Crest: Banner of the First Regiment Kite's Nest: Pillars of Strength Ismar Frontier: Prototype Components Shrike Abyssal: Prothean Obelisk

N7: Cerberus Fighter Base & Citadel: Heating Unit Stabilizers

Priority: Citadel II - Players should make sure they have spoken to Thane at the hospital ahead of this mission.

Mesana: Distress Signal

Ardat-Yakshi Monastery (Samara) & Citadel: Asari Widow

Citadel: Aria T'Loak (Omega DLC) - Once players choose to join Aria's fleet at the Citadel, they will not have the option to return until the full DLC is completed.

Arrae: Ex-Cerberus Scientists (Jacob) & Citadel: Cerberus Turian Poison

Citadel: Volus Ambassador (Zaeed)

Priority: Perseus Veil

Priority: Geth Dreadnought

Rannoch: Admiral Koris & Citadel: Target Jamming Technology - When landing on Rannoch, players need to be careful not to choose Priority: Rannoch. Players need to make sure to rescue the Admiral, no matter what, to have the best chance at a compromise between the Geth and Quarians.

Rannoch: Geth Fighter Squadrons (Legion) & Citadel: Reaper Code Fragments

N7: Fuel Reactors & Citadel: Chemical Treatment - Players should be sure not to confuse this mission with the one to Destroy the Reaper Base. Following this, Shepard can return to the Citadel to deliver items.

Priority: Rannoch - To broker peace between the Geth and Quarians, the following conditions must have been met: Tali and Legion must both be alive; Tali was not exiled in Mass Effect 2; Legion's loyalty mission was completed, and the Heretics must have been destroyed; Shepard must have broken up the fight between Legion and Tali in Mass Effect 2 without taking sides (i.e., using Charm/Intimidate); Shepard must have four bars of Reputation; Koris must have been rescued on Rannoch; Shepard must have completed Geth Fighter Squadrons. If any of these conditions were not met, players will be forced to choose a side.

Players can find items for characters on the Citadel in the following systems:

Nimbus Cluster: Library of Asha Athena Nebula: Hesperia-Period Statue Irune: Book of Plenix Valhallan Threshold: Prothean Data Drives Argos Rho: Kaklisaur Fossil Silean Nebula: Rings of Alune Dekuuna: Elcor Extraction Dekuuna: Code of the Ancients Hades Nexus: Obelisk of Karza Hades Nexus: Prothean Sphere

Priority: Citadel III

Priority: Thessia - Bring Javik and Liara for additional lore and a few important discoveries.

N7 Communication Hub & Citadel: Cerberus Ciphers

Priority: Horizon - To ensure Miranda survives, players need to do the following: Shepard must talk to Miranda on the Citadel Docks; they must warn her about Kai Leng in the Specter office; Shepard must have met with Miranda in the apartment on the Citadel and given her access to Alliance resources.

Citadel: Dr. Bryson (Leviathan DLC)

Citadel: Shore Leave (Citadel DLC) - Avoid leaving the Citadel until after the party

Priority: Cerberus Headquarters - This is the Point of No Return. Following this mission, players will go straight into the endgame.

Priority: Earth - For the best possible outcome, players need 3,100 EMS prior to this mission.

#mass effect #gaming #refrence #reblog #videogames

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cielrouge · 3 years

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YA SFF Books by Asian Authors

Ash by Malinda Lo: In this variation on the Cinderella story, Ash grows up believing in the fairy realm that the king and his philosophers have sought to suppress, until one day she must choose between a handsome fairy cursed to love her and the King’s Huntress whom she loves.

Along the Indigo by Elsie Chapman: Marsden yearns to take her sister and escape Glory, a town famous for seedy businesses, but her friendship with Jude yields secrets that may chain them to the Indigo River forever.

Alpha Goddess by Amalie Howard: In this sci-fi retelling of Ramayana, Sera is a Hindu goddess incarnate and must battle between her good and evil sides in order to save the world from becoming hell on earth.

Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1) by Susan Ee: It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her 17-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back. Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel, Raffe.

The Archer at Dawn (The Tiger at Midnight #2) by Swati Teerdhala: Set in an Indian & Hindu-inspired world, long-held secrets will force Kunal and Esha to reconsider their loyalties—to their country and to each other.

The Athena Protocol by Shamim Sarif: After being fired from the Athena Protocol, an organization of female spies who enact vigilante justice, Jessie Archer investigates a human trafficking case in Belgrade, while her former teammates have been tasked with bringing her down.

Blood of a Thousand Stars (Empress of a Thousand Skies #2) by Rhoda Belleza: Rhee risks her crown to negotiate peace terms with villainous media star Nero, while framed assassin Aly plots revenge and Kara seeks technology that will erase her royal past.

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco: Tea’s gift for death magic means that she is a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community, but when an older bone witch trains her to become an asha - one who can wield elemental magic - Tea will have to overcome her obstacles and make a powerful choice in the face of danger as dark forces approach.

The Bronzed Beasts (The Gilded Wolves #3) by Roshani Chokshi: With only ten days until Laila expires, the crew will face plague pits and deadly masquerades, unearthly songs, and the shining steps of a temple whose powers might offer divinity itself, but at a price they may not be willing to pay.

The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi: An epic YA fantasy about a girl with a special power to communicate with magical beasts and the warring kingdom only she can save.

The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh: In 19th century New Orleans where vampires hide in plain sight, half-Asian Celine Rosseau, a dressmaker from Paris, becomes embroiled in a murder mystery, connected to the glamorous supernatural cohort, known as the Court of Lions, and catching the eye of their mysterious, charismatic leader, Sèbastien Saint Germain.

Broken Web (Shamanborn #2) by Lori M. Lee: With Queen Meilyr bent on destroying the magical kingdoms, Sirscha becomes caught between a war in the east and the Soulless in the west.

The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad: Set in the city of Noor, along the Silk Road which has become a refuge for those of all faiths, Fatima becomes embroiled in a war between two clans of powerful djinn who threaten to destroy her peace in different ways, forcing her to make unlikely alliances to survive.

Caster by Elsie Chapman: In this Chinese-inspired, magical Fight Club, Earth is already at the brink of environmental disaster due to the magic overuse. And 16-year-old spell caster Aza Wu must navigate through an illegal, underground battle magic tournament, while evading local gangs and police scouts to save her family from ruin.

Catalyst by Lydia Kang: Zelia Benten has lost her father, the love of her life, and any future she might have imagined for herself. Now she, her sister, and the band of illegal genetic outcasts they’ve come to call their family are forced to run when the safety of their foster home is compromised.

A Clash of Steel (A Treasure Island Remix) by C.B. Lee: Set in 1820s China, Xiah joins Anh and her motley crew in pursuit of the hidden treasure of the legendary Dragon Fleet.

Chainbreaker (Timekeeper #2) by Tara Sim: In 1876, someone is destroying the clock towers that control India’s time. Teenage mechanics Danny Hart and half-white, half-Indian Daphne Richards as they travel to Agra to investigate a series of clock tower bombings.

The Chariot at Dusk (Tiger at Midnight #3) by Swati Teerdhala: In the final book of this epic fantasy trilogy, the lands’ fate, their people’s livelihoods, and the bond that sustains their world all depend on what Kunal and Esha can offer—to the gods and to each other.

Champion (Legend #3) by Marie Lu: June and Day have sacrificed so much for the people of the Republic--and each other--and now their country is on the brink of a new existence. Just when a peace treaty is imminent, a plague outbreak causes panic in the Colonies, and war threatens the Republic's border cities.

Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye: Love, spies, and adventure abound as apprentice warriors Sora and Daemon unravel a complex web of magic and secrets that might tear them—and the entire kingdom—apart forever.

Control by Lydia Kang: In 2150, when genetic manipulation has been outlawed, seventeen-year-old Zelia must rescue her kidnapped sister with the help of a band of outcasts with mutated genes.

Court of Lions (Mirage #2) by Somaiya Daud: After being swept up into the brutal Vathek court, Amani, the ordinary girl forced to serve as the half-Vathek princess Maram’s body double, is desperate to continue helping the rebellion But can she bear to remain separated, forever, from Maram's fiancé, Idris?

Cross Fire (Exo #2) by Fonda Lee: When the peaceful alien-run government withdraws from Earth, it seems that the terrorist group Sapience is going to get the "free" Earth it wanted; but Donovan Reyes, member of the security forces, and once a prisoner of Sapience, realizes that freedom comes with a price.

The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye: Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia. The Tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the Tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.

The Crown’s Fate (The Crown’s Game #2) by Evelyn Skye: Vika struggles with dangers in her new role as the Imperial Enchanter while Pasha faces disputes about his legitimacy and Nikolai considers how far he is willing to go to return to the world.

A Crown of Wishes (Star-Touched Queen #2) by Roshani Chokshi: Gauri, princess of Bharata, has been captured by her kingdom's enemies and faces a future of exile and scorn--she has nothing left to lose. But Vikram, the notoriously cunning prince of a neighboring land, promises her freedom in exchange for her partnership on his team to win the Tournament of Wishes.

The Damned (The Beautiful #2) by Renée Ahdieh: Sébastien Saint Germain is now cursed and forever changed. The price of loving Celine Rousseau was costly. But as Bastien and Celine begin to uncover the danger around them, they learn their love could tear them apart.

Dark Goddess (Alpha Goddess #2) by Amalie Howard: In this Indian-inspired fantasy, a girl who is the avatar of the goddess Lakshmi must work to prevent the apocalypse at the hands of demons.

Dark Goddess (Templar Chronicles #2) by Sarwat Chadda: Billi SanGreal, a teenaged member of the Knights Templar, must prevent a young girl, who is being hunted by werewolves because of the dangerous powers she possesses, from falling into the hands of the ancient Russian witch, Baba Yaga.

Daughter of Dusk (Midnight Thief #2) by Livia Blackburne: After learning the truth about her bloodlines, Kyra can’t help but feel like a monster. As tensions rise within Forge’s Council, and a vicious Demon Rider attacks continue in surrounding villages, Kyra knows she must do something to save her city.

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He: In this Chinese-inspired fantasy, Princess Hesina of Yan is thrust into power when her beloved father is murdered, and she’s determined to find his killer–whatever the cost.

The Devil’s Kiss (Templar Chronicles #1) by Sarwat Chadda: 15-year-old Billi SanGreal has grown up knowing that being a member of the Knights Templar puts her in danger, but if she is to save London from catastrophe she must make sacrifices greater than she imagined.

The Devil’s Thief (The Last Magician #2) by Lisa Maxwell: Esta and Harte set off on a cross-country chase through time to steal back the elemental stones they need to save the future of magic.

Divided (Dualed #2) by Elsie Chapman: When the Board goes after West Grayer for refusing to kill her next target, West must uncover the truth of the past to survive.

Dove Arising by Karen Bao: On a lunar colony, 15-old Phaet Theta does the unthinkable and joins the Militia when her mother is imprisoned by the Moon's oppressive government.

Dove Exiled (Dove Chronicles #2) by Karen Bao: Phaet’s past catches up with her when the Lunar Bases attack the community and reveal that Phaet is a fugitive. She’s torn between staying on Earth with Wes—whom she’s just discovered her feelings for—and stowing away on a Moon-bound ship to rescue her siblings.

Dove Alight (Dove Chronicles #3) by Karen Bao: Shy, introverted Phaet Theta has gone from being a top student to an interplanetary fugitive to the reluctant but fierce leader of a revolution. But as the death tolls rise, the cost of the war weighs heavily on Phaet. Phaet started this war because she lost someone she loved. Will she have to lose another to end it?

Eclipse the Stars by Maura Milan: Criminal mastermind and unrivaled pilot Ia Ccha and her allies make unpredictable choices as they fight to keep darkness from eclipsing the skies.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir: Set in a terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, An Ember in the Ashes is an epic fantasy debut about an orphan, Laia, fighting for her family and a soldier, Elias, fighting for his freedom.

Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean: During a once-in-a-generation competition to find the new empress, Mari, who hides a terrible secret, Taro, the prince who would denounce the imperial throne, and Akira, a half-human outcast, will decide the fate of Honoku.

Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza: Two sisters, Rhee and Kara—sole survivors of a murdered royal lineage - must reunite from opposite ends of the galaxy to salvage what’s left of their family dynasty and save the universe from a greater threat.

End of Days (Penryn & The End of Days #3) by Susan Ee: After a daring escape, Penryn and Raffe are on the run, but a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all. When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee: 15-year-old Genie Lo wonders if she’s qualified enough to gain admission to an Ivy League school, then becomes powerful enough to break through the gates of Heaven with her fists.

The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2) by Julie Kagawa: Cast out of Eden and separated from the boy she dared to love, Allison Sekemoto will follow the call of blood to save her creator, Kanin, from the psychotic vampire Sarren. But when the trail leads to Allie's birthplace in New Covington, what Allie finds there will change the world forever--and possibly end human and vampire existence.

The Ever Cruel Kingdom (The Never Tilting World #2) by Rin Chupeco: To break the cycle of sacrifice, twins Haidee and Odessa need answers that lie beyond the seven gates of the underworld, within the Cruel Kingdom itself. The shadows of the underworld may hunger to tear them apart, but these two sisters are determined to heal their world—together.

Exo by Fonda Lee: For a century now, Earth has been a peaceful colony of an alien race, and Donovan Reyes is a loyal member of the security forces, while his father is the Prime Liaison–but when a routine search and seizure goes bad Donovan finds himself a captive of the human revolutionary group, Sapience, terrorists who seem to prefer war to alien rule, and killing Donovan just might be the incident they are looking for.

Fair Coin by E.C. Myers: When evil versions of himself and best friend Nate appear one day, teenaged Ephraim embarks on a dangerous odyssey through parallel worlds to make things right.

Firestarter (Timekeeper #3) by Tara Sim: Colton, Daphne, and the others must choose between those striving to take down the world’s clock towers so that time can run freely, and terrorists trying to bring back the lost god of time.

Five Dark Fates (Three Dark Crowns #4) by Kendare Blake: In this conclusion to the Three Dark Crowns series, three dark sisters will rise to fight as the secrets of Fennbirn’s history are laid bare. Allegiances will shift. Bonds will be tested, and some broken forever.

Flame in the Mist by Renee Adhieh: The daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko is promised to Minamoto Raiden. But en route to the imperial city of Inako, Mariko narrowly escapes a bloody ambush by the Black Clan. Dressed as a peasant boy, Mariko sets out to infiltrate the ranks of this gang. But she’s quickly captured and taken to the Black Clan’s secret hideout, where she meets their leader, the rebel ronin Takeda Ranmaru.

For A Muse of Fire by Heidi Heilig: 16-year-old shadow puppeteer Jetta Chantray performs with her family’s traveling troupe, the Ros Nai. But as rebellion seethes and as Jetta meets a young smuggler, she will face truths and decisions that she never imagined—and safety will never seem so far away.

Forest of Souls by Lori M. Lee: Sirscha Ashwyn, while training to become the queen’s next royal spy, discovers she’s a rare and powerful lightwender and is summoned to the realm of the Spider King, where her newly awakened abilities are needed to cull the bloodthirsty Dead Wood.

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao: A reimagining of the evil queen from Snow White based on Asian mythology in which 18-year-old Xifeng must unleash a jealous god on the world and set free the viciousness of her own soul in order to become Empress.

The Forever Song (Blood of Eden #3) by Julie Kagawa: Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren. But Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions as his trail leads straight to the one place they must protect at any cost -- the last vampire-free zone on Earth.

Fury of the Phoenix (Kingdom of Xia #2) by Cindy Pon: When Ai Ling leaves her home and family to accompany Chen Yong on his quest to find his father, haunted by the ancient evil she thought she had banished to the underworld, she must use her growing supernatural powers to save Chen Yong from the curses that follow her.

Gates of Thread and Stone by Lori M. Lee: A teenage girl must keep her ability to manipulate the threads of time a secret, but when her brother goes missing, she risks getting caught up in a revolution in order to save him.

Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta: Eris Shindanai and Sona Steelcrest, two girls on opposite sides of a war fought with Windups, giant mechanizes weapons, discover they’re fighting for a common purpose–and falling for each other.

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi: Paris, 1889: Treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier, Séverin Montagnet-Alarie gets the chance of a lifetime when the all-powerful society, the Order of Babel, seeks him out for help in exchange for a priceless treasure: his true inheritance.

The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig: From modern-day New York City to nineteenth-century Hawaii to places of myth and legend, 16-year-old Nix has sailed across the globe and through centuries aboard her time-traveling father’s ship. But when he gambles with her very existence, it all may be about to end.

The Girl From the Well by Rin Chupeco: Okiku has wandered the world for centuries, but when she meets Tark she knows the moody teen with the series of intricate tattoos is not a monster and needs to be freed from the demonic malevolence that clings to him.

The Girl King by Mimi Yu: Sisters Lu and Min become unwitting rivals in a war to claim the title of Emperor.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust: As the day of her twin brother’s wedding approaches, Princess Soraya must decide if she’s willing to step outside of the shadows for the first time.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan: When Lei, seventeen, is stolen from her home to become one of nine Paper Girls, the Demon King's concubines, she proves to be more fire than paper.

Girls of Storm and Shadow (Girls of Paper and Fire #2) by Natasha Ngan: After escaping the Hidden Palace, Lei and her warrior love Wren must travel the kingdom to gain support from the far-flung rebel clans.

Girls of Fate and Fury (Girls of Paper and Fire #3) by Natasha Ngan: The last Lei saw of the girl she loved, Wren, was fighting an army of soldiers in a furious battle to the death. With the two girls torn apart and each in terrorizing peril, will they find each other again or have their destinies diverged forever.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh: A feminist retelling of the Korean folktale The Tale of Shim Cheong, set in a town where every year a girl is sacrificed to the sea to stop torrential rains, but when a brave teen girl dives in herself to protect a loved one, she discovers a spirit kingdom in need of saving.

The Great Destroyers by Caroline Tung Richmond: set in alt-history, 1960s America where WWI & WII were fought with giant mechs, biracial Chinese American teen Jo Linden is Team USA’s most unlikely pick in the annual Pax Games, an Olympic-style competition that pits mecha pilots against each other.

The Heartforger (Bone Witch #2) by Rin Chupeco: With a thirst for vengeance, a band of terrifying daeva at her command, and her resurrected lover Kalen by her side, dark asha Tea is ready to face her adversaries.

A House of Rage and Sorrow (Celestial Trilogy #2) by Sangu Mandanna: As gods, beasts, and kingdoms choose sides, Alexi seeks out a weapon more devastating than even Titania. The House of Rey is at war. And the entire galaxy will bleed before the end.

Huntress by Malinda Lo: 17-year-olds Kaede and Taisin are called to go on a dangerous and unprecedented journey to Tanlili, the city of the Fairy Queen, in an effort to restore the balance of nature in the human world.

Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan: When outlaw Ia Ccha is captured by the Olympus Commonwealth and revealed to be a 16-year-old girl, they force her to serve them by joining the Commonwealth's military academy where new acquaintances cause Ia to question her own alliances.

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1) by Julie Kagawa: Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city, until she too becomes an immortal vampire. Forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls, she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend -- a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

Inferno (Talon #5) by Julie Kagawa: Ember Hill has learned a shocking truth about herself: she is the blood of the Elder Wyrm, the ancient dragon who leads Talon and who is on the verge of world domination. With the stakes rising and the Elder Wyrm declaring war, time is running out for the rogues and any dragon not allied with Talon. The final battle approaches. And if Talon is victorious, the world will burn.

The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman: Japanese American teen Nami Miyamoto finds herself in a limitless world where the human consciousness goes after death, where she battles an AI entity posing as a queen that has hacked its way into the afterlife.

Isle of Blood and Stone by Makiia Lucier: Mysterious maps from opposite ends of the sea cast doubt on the whereabouts of two princes, presumed dead.

Jade Fire Gold by June C.L. Tan: A debut fantasy inspired by Chinese mythology, in which peasant girl Anh, cursed with the power to steal souls enters a tenuous alliance with exiled prince Altan, bent on taking back the dragon throne, and save the empire from a cult of dangerous priests.

Journey to the Heart of the Abyss (Light in the Abyss #2) by London Shah: Leyla McQueen has finally reunited with her father after breaking him out of Broadmoor, the illegal government prison—but his freedom comes at a terrible cost. As Leyla celebrates his return, she must grapple with the pain of losing Ari. Now labeled the nation’s number one enemy, Leyla must risk illegal travel through unchartered waters for the truth behind her father’s arrest.

Hunted by the Sky by Tanaz Bhathena: Set in a world inspired by medieval India, the story tells of a girl, Gul, with a star-shaped birthmark who is prophesied to be the downfall of a tyrant king, the warrior women who come to her aid, and the boy she falls in love with.

The Keeper of the Night by Kylie Lee Baker: set in 1890s Japan, half-British reaper, half-Japanese Shinigami Ren Scarborough flees London and enters the Japanese underworld under the service of Izanami, the goddess of death.

King (Dragon King Chronicles #3) by Ellen Oh: Girl warrior, demon slayer, Tiger spirit of the Yellow Eyes - Kira is ready for her final quest! She must save her cousin, the boy fated to be the future king, uncover the third lost treasure, and face innumerable enemies in order to fulfill the famed prophecy.

A Kingdom for the Stage (For A Muse of Fire #2) by Heidi Heilig: The rebels are eager to use Le Trépas’s and necromancer Jetta’s combined magic against the invading colonists. Soon Jetta will face the choice between saving all of Chakrana or becoming like her father, and she isn’t sure which she’ll choose.

Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix (Rise of the Empress #2) by Julie C. Dao: Princess Jade has grown up in exile while her stepmother, the ruthless Xifeng, rules Feng Lu. Ready to reclaim her place, Jade embarks on a quest to raise the Dragon Lords and defeat Xifeng and the Serpent God once and for all.

Legend by Marie Lu: In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, 15-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.

Legion (Talon #4) by Julie Kagawa: The legions are about to be unleashed, and no human, rogue dragon or former dragon slayer can stand against the coming horde in book 4 out of the Talon series.

The Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana: Amrita must unravel the mysteries of her past to save her kingdom, but in doing so, she herself might come unraveled.

The Light At the Bottom of the World by London Shah: Set in a future where the Earth is underwater, Leyla McQueen must navigate the treacherous abyss to find her missing father, but discovers a world drowning in lies.

Live in Infamy by Caroline Tung Richmond: 80 years since the Axis won World War II, and America was divided between the victors: the Nazis in the East and Imperial Japan in the West; but now resistance is growing in the Eastern territories and 16-year-old Chinese American Ren Cabot finds himself drawn into a resistance group.

The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna: 15-year-old Eva is the clone of a girl living far, far away on another continent--and when this 'other' dies, Eva must step in and take over her life.

The Infinite (Gates of Thread and Stone #2) by Lori M. Lee: Kai always believed the only danger to the city came from within. Now, with a rebel force threatening the fragile government, the walls have become more of a prison than ever. To make matters worse, as Avan explores his new identity as an Infinite, Kai struggles to remind him what it means to be human.

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao: blending Chinese history and mecha science, Wu Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. Features a poly F/M/M main romance.

The Iron Will of Genie Lo (Epic Crush of Genie Lo #2) by F.C. Yee: Along with a few other contenders for the throne, heaven-appointed guardian Genie and her friends embark on a Heavenly quest to an in-between world.

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen: An intergenerational story of a mother and son struggling to relate to each other—the mother an immigrant to America who wants to make a home for her family in an unfamiliar country; the son Tiế trying to figure out the best way to come out to his parents. Through telling each other fairy tales, they’re able to find common ground.

The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas: When her ailing father is conscripted to fight invaders from the north, Mulan dresses as a man to take his place in the army, but an old enemy and an attraction for her troop's commander complicate her mission.

The Memory Keepers by Natasha Ngan: Seven is a thief with a difference - he steals downloadable memories from banks and memoriums to sell onto London’s black market. But one night, as Seven is breaking into a private memorium in a wealthy part of London, he is caught in the act by one of its residents; Alba, the teenage daughter of London’s most famous criminal prosecutor.

The Memory Key by Liana Liu: In the not-so-distant future, everyone is implanted with a memory key to stave off a virulent form of Alzeimer's. Lora Mint fears her memories of her deceased mother are fading, but when her memory key is damaged she has perfect recall--of everything-- which brings her mother's memory vividly back--but may also drive Lora mad.

The Mermaid, The Witch, and The Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall: A desperate orphan turned pirate, Flora, and a rebellious imperial daughter, Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, find a connection on the high seas abroad the Dove, in a world divided by colonialism and threaded with magic.

The Midnight Star (Young Elites #3) by Marie Lu: Adelina is forced to revisit old wounds when a new danger appears, putting not only Adelina at risk, but every Elite. In order to save herself and preserve her empire, Adelina and her Roses must join the Daggers on a perilous quest—though this uneasy alliance may prove to be the real danger.

The Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne: Kyra, a highly skilled 17-year-old thief, joins a guild of assassins with questionable motives. Tristam, a young knight, fights against the vicious Demon Riders that are ravaging the city.

Mirage by Somaiya Daud: In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, 18-year-old Amani is forced to work as a body double for the princess who is hated by her conquered people.

The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco: In a world ruled by goddesses that has been split in two—one half existing in perpetual scorching Day, the other in freezing Night—twins separated at birth Odessa and Haidee embark on a quest across the great divide and rule a reunited world.

Mooncakes by Wendy Xu & Suzanne Walker: Teen witch Nova Huang runs into her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help.

Moribito, Guardian of the Spirit by Nahoko Uehashi: The wandering warrior Balsa is hired to protect Prince Chagum from both a mysterious monster and the prince's father, the Mikado.

Moribito II, Guardian of the Darkness by Nahoko Uehashi: The wandering female bodyguard Balsa returns to her native country of Kanbal, where she uncovers a conspiracy to frame her mentor and herself.

Night of the Dragon (Shadow of the Fox #3) by Julie Kagawa: As darkness rises and chaos reigns, fierce kitsune shapeshifter Yumeko and her shadowy protector Kage Tatsumi, will face down the greatest evil of all.

Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee: Resigned to a life without superpowers in a world full of them, Jess takes a paid internship where she helps a heinous supervillain and works with her longtime crush Abby, but stumbles on a massive plot.

Not Your Villain (Sidekick Squad #2) by C.B. Lee: After discovering a massive cover-up by the Heroes’ League of Heroes, shapeshifter Bells Broussard and his friends Jess, Emma, and Abby set off on a secret mission to find the Resistance.

Not Your Backup by C.B. Lee (Sidekick Squad #3): As the Resistance moves to challenge the corrupt League of Heroes, Emma Robledo realizes where her place is in this fight: at the front.

On This Unworthy Scaffold (Shadow Players #3) by Heidi Heilig: Jetta’s home is spiraling into civil war.Le Trépas—the deadly necromancer—has used his blood magic to wrest control of the country. Meanwhile, Jetta’s love interest, brother, and friend are intent on infiltrating the palace to stop the Boy King and find Le Trépas to put an end to the unleashed chaos.

The Only Thing to Fear by Caroline Tung Richmond: After 70 years since Hitler's armies won the war, 16-year-old Zara St. James lives in the Shenandoah hills, part of the Eastern American Territories, under the rule of the Nazis--but a resistance movement is growing.

The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He: In a near future when life is harsh outside of Earth’s last unpolluted place, Cee tries to leave an abandoned island while her sister, STEM prodigy Kasey Mizuhara, seeks escape from the science and home she once trusted.

One Dark Throne (Three Dark Crowns #2) by Kendare Blake: Preparing for the queens' sixteenth birthday celebration and navigating the fallout of the Quickening, sisters Arsinoe, Katharine, and Mirabella reassess their strategic paths to the throne using new understandings of their powers and destinies.

Our Violent Ends (These Violent Delights #2) by Chloe Gong: In 1927, Shanghai tethers on the edge of revolution. After sacrificing her relationship with Roma to protect him from the blood feud, Juliette has been a girl on the warpath. Then a new monstrous danger emerges in the city, and while secrets keep them apart, Juliette must secure Roma’s cooperation if they are to end this threat.

Prodigy (Legend #2) by Marie Lu: June and Day make their way to Las Vegas where they join the rebel Patriot group and become involved in an assassination plot against the Elector in hopes of saving the Republic.

Quantum Coin (Fair Coin #2) by E.C. Myers: Ephraim, Jena, and Zoe embark on a mission across multiple worlds to learn what's going wrong and how to stop it. They will have to draw on every resource available and trust in alternate versions of themselves and their friends, before it's too late for all of them.

Ravage the Dark (Scavenge the Stars #2) by Tara Sim: After escaping the city of Moray, Amaya and Cayo head to the port city of Baleine to find the mysterious Benefactor and put a stop to the counterfeit currency that is spreading Ash Fever throughout the kingdoms.

The Reader by Traci Chee: Set in a world where reading is unheard-of, Sefia makes use of a mysterious object to track down who kidnapped her aunt Nin and what really happened the night her father was murdered.

A Reaper At the Gates (An Ember in the Ashes #3) by Sabaa Tahir: Beyond the Empire and within it, the threat of war looms ever larger as the Blood Shrike, Helene Aquilla, Laia of Serra, and Elias Veturius all face increasing dangers.

Rebel (Legend #4) by Marie Lu: Brothers Eden and Daniel Wing struggle to accept who they’ve each become since their time in the Republic, but a new danger creeps into the distance that’s grown between them. Eden soon finds himself drawn so far into Ross City’s dark side, even his legendary brother can’t save him. At least not on his own.

Rebelwing by Andrea Tang: At a prestigious prep school, scholastic student Prudence Wu, who smuggles censored media in a futuristic North America divided by culture wars and becomes an unlikely revolutionary, after being imprinted by Rebelwing, a sentient cybernetic dragon.

Renegade Flight (Rebelwing #2) by Andrea Tang: Pilot-in-training Viola Park, a probationary student at GAN Academy, enters a mech combat tournament that becomes a fight for the future of Peacekeepers everywhere.

Rising Like a Storm (The Wrath of Ambar #2) by Tanaz Bhathena: Gul and Cavas must unite their magical forces―and hold onto their growing romance―to save their kingdom from tyranny.

The Righteous (The Beautiful #3) by Renée Ahdieh: Pippa Montrose is tired of losing everything she loves. When her best friend Celine disappears under mysterious circumstances, Pippa resolves to find her, even if the journey takes her into the dangerous world of the fae, where she might find more than she bargained for in the charismatic Arjun Desai.

The Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee: The never-before-told backstory of Avatar Kyoshi, from a girl of humble origins to the merciless pursuer of justice who is still feared and admired centuries after she became the Avatar.

Rogue (Talon #2) by Julie Kagawa: Unable to forget the human boy who saved her from a Talon assassin, Ember is determined to save him from execution with the help of rebel dragon Cobalt and his crew of rogues.

Rogue Heart (Rebel Seoul #2) by Axie Oh: Two years after the Battle of Neo Seoul, telepath Ama must use her telepathic abilities to infiltrate the base of the Alliance’s new war commander, Alex Kim, her first love who betrayed her.

The Rose and the Dagger (Wrath and the Dawn #2) by Renee Adhieh: Unsure who to trust, Shahrzad takes matters into her own hands to try and break the curse and reunite with her one true love.

The Rose Society (Young Elites #2) by Marie Lu: Adelina Amouteru’s heart has suffered at the hands of both family and friends, turning her down the bitter path of revenge. Now known and feared as the White Wolf, she and her sister flee Kenettra to find other Young Elites in the hopes of building her own army of allies. Her goal: to strike down the Inquisition Axis.

Ruse (Want #2) by Cindy Pon: In near-future Shanghai where society is divided between the fabulously wealthy business elite and the masses they exploit, Jason Zhou must play a dangerous cat and mouse game with the ruthless CEO of an all powerful corporation which has an ever-growing choke hold on the polluted metropolis.

Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim: In the city-state of Moray, Amaya, orphaned by a powerful merchant’s greed and condemned to seven years aboard a debtor’s ship, returns to seek revenge only to encounter the merchant’s son in this gender-swapped retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo.

Serpentine by Cindy Pon: Although 16-year-old Skybright feels lucky to be the handmaid and companion to the daughter of a wealthy family, she is hiding a secret that threatens to destroy her position and her closest relationships.

Sacrifice (Serpertine #2) by Cindy Pon: When Zhen Ni discovers that her new husband, the strange and brutish Master Hou, may not be all he seems, Skybright and Stone must travel through the terrifying underworld to save her.

Seven Deadly Shadows by Courtney Alameda & Valynne Maetani: Set in contemporary Japan, Shinto temple priestess Kira Fujikawa, must seek the aid of seven ruthless shinigami, in order to protect Kyoto from an ancient evil.

Shatter the Sky by Rebecca Kim Wells: Maren, desperate to save her kidnapped girlfriend Kaia, plans to steal one of the emperor’s dragons and storm the Aurati stronghold, but her success depends on becoming an apprentice to the mysterious dragon trainer, which proves to be a dangerous venture.

Talon by Julie Kagawa: In a world in which near-extinct dragons pass as humans to grow their numbers secretly, siblings Ember and Dante Hill prepare for destined positions in the world of Talon only to be hunted by a dragon-slaying soldier.

The Ship Beyond Time (Girl From Everywhere #2) by Heidi Heilig: Nix has escaped her past, but when the person she loves most is at risk, even the daughter of a time traveler may not be able to outrun her fate—no matter where she goes.

The Shadow Mission (The Athena Protocol #2) by Shamim Sharif: Jessie Archer faced down death to prove her dedication to Athena, the elite organization of female spies she works for. Now she’s back on the team, in time to head to Pakistan to take down the man whose actions spurred Athena’s founders to create the secretive squad.

The Shadow of Kyoshi (Kyoshi #2) by F.C. Yee: Kyoshi’s place as the true Avatar has finally been cemented. With her mentors gone, Kyoshi voyages across the Four Nations, struggling to keep the peace. But while her reputation grows, a mysterious threat emerges from the Spirit World. To stop it, Kyoshi, Rangi, and their reluctant allies must join forces.

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa: Demons have burned the temple Yumeko was raised in to the ground, killing everyone within, including the master who trained her to both use and hide her kitsune shapeshifting powers. Yumeko escapes with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll. Fate thrusts her into the path of a mysterious samurai, Kage Tatsumi of the Shadow Clan. Yumeko knows he seeks what she has…and is under orders to kill anything and anyone who stands between him and the scroll.

Shadow Girl by Liana Liu: When Mei arrives at the beautiful home on Arrow Island, she can't help feeling relieved. She's happy to spend the summer tutoring a rich man's daughter if it means a break from her normal life. Yet she can't shake her fear that there is danger lurking in the shadows of this beautiful house, a darkness that could destroy the family inside and out...and Mei along with them.

Shadowsong (Wintersong #2) by S. Jae-Jones: Liesl is working toward furthering both her brother’s and her own musical careers. But when troubling signs arise that the barrier between worlds is crumbling, Liesl must return to the Underground to unravel the mystery of life, death, and the Goblin King—who he was, who he is, and who he will be.

Smoke in the Sun (A Flame in the Mist #2) by Renee Ahdieh: After Okami is captured in the Jukai forest, Mariko has no choice—to rescue him, she tricks her brother, Kenshin, and betrothed, Raiden, into thinking she was being held by the Black Clan against her will. But each secret Mariko unfurls gives way to the next, ensnaring her and Okami in a political scheme that threatens their honor, their love and very the safety of the empire.

Sisters of the Snake by Sasha & Sarena Nanua: an Indian-inspired fantasy where twins separated at birth—one now a princess, the other a street thief— must switch places in a bid to stop a catastrophic war that threatens to tear their kingdom apart.

Silver Phoenix (Kingdom of Xia #1) by Cindy Pon: With her father long overdue from his journey and a lecherous merchant blackmailing her into marriage, 17-year-old Ai Ling becomes aware of a strange power within her as she goes in search of her parent.

The Silvered Serpents (The Gilded Wolves #2) by Roshani Chokshi: Séverin and his team members might have successfully thwarted the Fallen House, but at a terrible cost. Desperate to make amends, Séverin pursues a dangerous lead to find a long lost artifact rumored to grant its possessor the power of God. Their hunt lures them far from Paris, and into icy heart of Russia.

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim: The Wild Swans meets East Asian fantasy where an exiled princess, Shiori, must unweave the curse that turned her brothers into cranes, assisted by her spurned betrothed, a mercurial dragon, and a paper bird brought to life by her own magic.

A Sky Beyond the Storm (An Ember in the Ashes #4) by Sabaa Tahir: Laia of Serra is now allied with the Blood Shrike, Helen Aquilla. Determined to stop the approaching apocalypse, she throws herself into the destruction of the Nightbringer. In the process, she awakens an ancient power that could lead her to victory–or to an unimaginable doom.

Skyhunter by Marie Lu: Robbed of her voice and home, Talin Kanami knows firsthand the brutality of the Federation. Their cruelty forced her and her mother to seek asylum in Mara. When a mysterious prisoner is brought from the front, Talin senses there’s more to him than meets the eye.

The Shadow Glass (Bone Witch #3) by Rin Chupeco: Bone witch Tea’s dark magic eats away at her, but she must save the one she loves most, even while her life—and the kingdoms—are on the brink of destruction.

Song of the Abyss (Towers of Wind #2) by Makiia Lucier: When menacing raiders attack her ship, navigator Reyna must use every resource at her disposal, including placing her trust in a handsome prince from a rival kingdom.

Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C. Dao: After cruelly rejecting Bao, the poor physician’s apprentice who loves her, Lan, a wealthy nobleman’s daughter, regrets her actions. After learning that Bao’s soul has been trapped inside a flute by a witch, Lan vows to make amends and help break the spell.

Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox #2) by Julie Kagawa: As the paths of Yumeko and the possessed Tatsumi cross once again, the entire empire will be thrown into chaos.

A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna: In this sci-fi retelling of the Mahabrahata, Esmae learns that the King of Wychstar is offering the unbeatable warship Titania to the winner of his competition and she sees her chance to return home and help her brother win back his kingdom.

The Speaker (Sea of Ink and Gold #2) by Traci Chee: Having barely escaped the clutches of the Guard, Sefia and Archer are back on the run, slipping into the safety of the forest to tend to their wounds and plan their next move.

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim: 17-year-old Maia Tamarin poses as a boy to compete for the role of imperial tailor, and embarks on an impossible journey to sew three magic dresses, from the sun, the moon, and the stars, with help from the mysterious court magician, Edan.

Spell Starter (Caster #2) by Elsie Chapman: Yes, Aza Wu now has magic back, but now she’s in the employ of the gang leader, St. Willow. Who soon decides that having Aza as a fighter is much more lucrative than as a fixer.

Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar: Inspired by Hindu mythology, half-mortal, half-star Sheetal enters a celestial competition to save her human father’s life.

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi: Treated with scorn and fear in her father's kingdom because of a formidable horoscope, 16-year-old Maya commits herself to her education only to land in an arranged marriage that culminates in her sudden elevation to the throne, a situation that is threatened by dark secrets and Otherworldly magic.

Star-Touched Stories by Roshani Choski:Three lush and adventurous stories in the Star-Touched world.

Steelstriker (Skyhunter #2) by Marie Lu: After the fall of Mara, and with the fate of a broken world hanging in the balance, Talin and Red must reunite the Strikers and find their way back to one another.

Storm the Earth (Shatter the Sky #2) by Rebecca Kim Wells: Maren and her girlfriend Kaia set out to rescue Sev in Zafed, and free the dragons from the corrupt emperor.

The Storyteller (Sea of Ink and Gold #3) by Traci Chee: Sefia is determined to keep Archer out of the Guard’s clutches and their plans for war between the Five Kingdoms. As Sefia and Archer watch Kelanna start to crumble to the Guard’s will, they will have to choose between their love and joining a war that just might tear them apart.

Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon by Mary Fan: In this steampunk fantasy set in Qing dynasty-inspired China, warrior girl Anlei teams up with a thief to save her village from shadow spirits, but after arriving at the Courts of Hell, a discovery challenges everything they know about who the real enemy is.

The Suffering (Girl From the Well #2) by Rin Chupeco: When an old friend disappears in Aokigahara, Japan's infamous 'suicide forest,' Tark and the ghostly Okiku must resolve their differences and return to find her. In a strange village inside Aokigahara, old ghosts and an ancient evil lie waiting.

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong: In 1920s Shanghai, starcrossed heirs to rival gangs, Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov, must work together to face a monster that hunts the city streets before the outbreak of the Chinese Civil War.

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake: A fantasy about triplet sisters separated at birth, where one of the sisters will grow up to be queen of their magical island, but in order to ascend to the throne she must hone her magic for a dark purpose: assassinating her other two sisters before they kill her first.

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings edited by Ellen Oh & Elsie Chapman: 15 bestselling and acclaimed authors reimagine the folklore and mythology of East and South Asia in short stories that are by turns enchanting, heartbreaking, romantic, and passionate.

A Thousand Fires by Shannon Price: In modern-day San Francisco where three gangs rule the city streets, half-Filipina teen Valerie Simons enters the Red Bridge Wars to seek vengeance for her younger brother’s death, but soon finds herself torn between old love and new loyalty.

The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala: In ancient India, soldier Kunal hunts the “Viper,” rebel girl Esha accused of killing his General, embarking on a dangerous cat and mouse game and where both must decide—loyalty to their old lives or to a love that’s made them dream of new ones.

Timekeeper by Tara Sim: set in an alternate Victorian era where clock towers control time, about a teen clock mechanic who is assigned to repair a damaged tower and finds himself falling in forbidden love with the boy he mistakes for his apprentice, but is actually the tower’s clock spirit, and whose life is threatened by a mysterious attacker planting bombs in clock towers across England.

A Torch Against the Night (An Ember in the Ashes #2) by Sabaa Tahir: Laia and Elias fight their way north to liberate Laia’s brother from the horrors of Kauf Prison. Hunted by Empire soldiers, manipulated by the Commandant, and haunted by their pasts, Laia and Elias must outfox their enemies and confront the treacherousness of their own hearts.

Two Dark Reigns (Three Dark Crowns #3) by Kendare Blake: A victorious Katharine sits on the throne, Mirabella and Arsinoe are in hiding, and an unexpected renegade is about to wage a war of her own. The crown has been won, but these queens are far from done.

Unravel the Dusk (The Blood of Stars #2) by Elizabeth Lim: With a war brewing, master tailor Maia Tamarin will stop at nothing to find her love Edan, protect her family, and bring lasting peace to her country.

Vicious Spirits (Gumiho #2) by Kat Cho: With the support of Somin and Junu, Miyoung and Jihoon might just have a shot at normalcy. But Miyoung is getting sicker by the day and her friends don’t know how to save her. With few options remaining, Junu has an idea but it might require the ultimate sacrifice and, let’s be honest, Junu isn’t known for his “generosity.”

Want by Cindy Pon: Set in a teeming, pollution choked Taipei which follows a group of teens living on the seedy fringes of a highly divided society that works only for the elite as they decide to risk everything to take down the powerful company which controls the city.

Warcross by Marie Lu: When teenage coder Emika Chen hacks her way into the opening tournament of the Warcross Championships, she glitches herself into the game as well as a sinister plot with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

Warrior (Dragon King Chronicles #2) by Ellen Oh: Kira, the yellow-eyed demon slayer of Hansong, continues her quest to find the lost treasures of the dragon king's prophecy, save her cousin, the prince, unite her kingdom, and defeat the demon lord

We Hunt the Flame (Sands of Arawiya #1) by Hafsah Faizal: In a world inspired by ancient Arabia, 17-year-old huntress Zafira must disguise herself as a man to seek a lost artifact that could return magic to her cursed world.

We Free the Stars (Sands of Arawiya #2) by Hafsah Faizal: When Zafria, the Hunter, and Nasir, the Prince of Death both embark on a quest to uncover a lost magic artifact, they encounter an ancient evil long thought destroyed - and discover that the prize they seek may be even more dangerous this time.

Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles: Showgirl Kallia, haunted by a dark past, must compete in a magician’s competition in order to secure her ambition and freedom from the handsome, enigmatic keeper of the club, Jack, even as mysterious accidents seem to plague her every move, while crossing paths with another talented magician, Demarco.

When Night Breaks (Kingdom of Hearts #2) by Janella Angeles: The competition has come to a disastrous end, and Daron Demarco’s fall from grace is now front page news. But little matters to him beyond Kallia, the contestant he fell for. With time running out, Kallia must embrace her role in a darker destiny.

Wicked Fox by Kat Cho: After 18-year-old Miyoung Gu, a nine-tailed fox surviving in modern-day Seoul by eating the souls of evil men, kills a murderous goblin to save Jihoon, she is forced to choose between her immortal life and his.

Wildcard (Warcross #2) by Marie Lu: Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Knowing the truth behind Hideo's new NeuroLink algorithm, she is determined to put a stop to his plans.

The Wild Ones by Nafiza Azad: A a multi-perspective feminist narrative about a fierce band of magic-wielding girls—the Wild Ones—who have collectively survived unspeakable things, and together are determined to save other girls from the cruelties and tragedies they’ve had to endure in their own past lives.

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones: After her sister is kidnapped by the Goblin King, Liesl journeys to the Underground and is faced with an impossible decision when she finds herself captivated by the strange world and its mysterious ruler.

Wicked As You Wish by Rin Chupeco: A girl descended from Filipina mythological heroine Maria Makiling, finds herself caught up in a war between two fairy tale kingdoms, where the fate of Avalon is at stake.

Windborn by Mary Fan: With magicians hot on their trail, air nymph Kiri and magician’s apprentice Darien embark on a treacherous journey through dangerous lands to freedom.

World After (Penryn & The End of Days #2) by Susan Ee: Penryn's search for her kidnapped sister, Paige, leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans, while Raffe must choose between reclaiming his wings--and his role as the angels' leader--or helping Penryn survive.

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Adhieh: In this reimagining of The Arabian Nights, Shahrzad plans to avenge the death of her dearest friend by volunteering to marry the murderous boy-king of Khorasan but discovers not all is as it seems within the palace.

Zeroboxer by Fonda Lee: As 17-year-old Carr 'the Raptor' Luka rises to fame in the weightless combat sport of zeroboxing, he learns a devastating secret that jeopardizes not only his future in the sport, but interplanetary relations.

#authors of color #booklr #book recommendations #book recs #asian authors #yalit

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ptolemveamoved · 2 years

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nestled in costal california , the town of 𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗛𝗨𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗦 is essentially deserted for several months of the year — just waiting for spring break to kick off the tourist season . crowds start flocking to the area and help the town come alive again , growing in number with every passing week . bordering the pacific , venhurst is known for having miles of sandy beaches and a boardwalk that can spur a sense of nostalgia in anyone who visits . during the day, families can be seen eating brunch at the oceanfront cafes but when the sun sets , the music from the seaside bars can be heard from blocks away .

but what about the ones who never leave ? the ones who call venhurst home ? being tied down to a tourist trap handed them the foundation for a unique bond — but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a history of their own , too . the tourists might come and go but the memories last forever .

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲.

this is a d*scord only verse centered around a group of adults ( 21 - 30 ) working in a popular boardwalk / beachtown called venhurst shores in california . this will be a collaborative , laid - back environment and it is MUTUALS ONLY . events and plot drops will be done periodically to help the group from growing stagnant and this group will be heavily connection-based .

inspo stems from : hot summer nights , the last song , adventureland , jersey shore ( minus the cameras ) , beach rats , etc .

𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬.

standard rules apply . we’re adults and we know the basics !

( 1 ) no ooc drama , no godmodding , no shipchasing , no bubble roleplaying , etc . i am here for you if something is wrong but please be mature about complaints and concerns . if you cause ooc drama , you’ll be removed with NO WARNING .

( 2 ) mature themes are likely going to be present in this verse so be mindful before applying . please censor possible triggering content and mark channels as nsfw if necessary . muns must be 19+ and faceclaims must be 20+ . you can follow a +3/-3 rule when age bending !

( 3 ) tentatively , the mun cap is ten ( excluding candice and i ) and you’re allowed to apply with ONE MUSE to start . second muses will be permitted one week after the group is open . please be diverse in your faceclaim choices — when i allow muns to play two muses , ONE OF YOUR MUSES MUST BE A POC , BODY DIVERSE AND/OR GENDER DIVERSE .

( 4 ) although there is no activity limit and real life always comes first , please don’t join with the intention to ghost or if you are not able to adequately contribute to the group . activity is not everything but activity DOES matter if the group is going to thrive !

𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. - please send your app through my submit !

( fc , gender, pronouns ) hey ! is that first last working at venhurst shores ? they’re a age in letters year old zodiac that can be described as positive and negative . i think they’re currently working as a/n occupation and have spent amount of years here . their friends would describe them as 2-3 aesthetics and their favorite song is title by artist . written by alias, pronouns, age, url.

not optional : please include a minimum of TWO wanted connections for your first muse . additional muses will be added in the future but they MUST fill at least one wanted connection .

optional : include something extra for me to get a feeling for your muse ! it could be a playlist, a pinterest board or a handful of hcs !

A FEW SUGGESTED OCCUPATIONS : go kart track attendant, amusement park ride attendant, bartender, waitress, lifeguard, any hotel staff, ice cream shop worker, drive-in movie worker , candy shop worker , museum worker, boat mechanic, nanny , aquarium worker , arcade worker , chefs , bakers , hotel valets … and anything else that you can think of !

taken :

bridget satterlee ( me )

deaken bluman ( candice )

COUNT x6 :

charlie gillespie ( drew ) , christina nadin ( ser ) , olivia grivas ( ley ) , aisha potter ( ash ) , aron piper ( snooki ) , imaan hammam ( lane )

#*verse: venhurst reboot.#*azaelia banks vc* well ..... now what #i'm dropping this and vibing . i do not feel well at all !#if this flops . i will be deleting it #template is linked in the source <3

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elaineiswithyou-blog · 3 years

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Overwatch Soulmate AU

Characters: Hanzo, McCree, Zenyatta and Sombra Hanzo (credit to LukeLemon_art)

Soulmate AU: Timer Hanzo had never truly be fond of the idea of soulmates after Genji’s death. As a kid, all he ever seemed to do when he was bored would be to watch the timer on his wrist countdown. Now a days he uses his glove and some of his clothes to cover his timer. Hanzo hates to be reminded of it, hence why he avoids Tracer and a lot of the younger overwatch staff who pester him about it. One day while he was out working, he spotted a shiny metal bracelet. Someone was stuck under some debris that had fallen over on top of them. Hanzo used his muscles to lift off the debris and picked up the person who laid unconscious but thankfully still breathing. Hanzo immediately took them to Angela who was able to heal up their wounds quickly but they would still be unconscious for some time according to Angela. Hanzo had to leave after a bit but he still felt concerned and nervous about them. There was something that drew Hanzo to them. Angela told Hanzo they would have to bring the person they found back to the base to watch over them since the hospital was so full and they didn’t have any phone or anything you could use to ID the person or anyone who might know them. Hanzo simply nodded and headed back to the ship, deciding to sit beside Angela and the person instead of alone like her normally would. Hanzo didn’t realize that they were his soulmate until he got back to the base and went to change into more casual clothes and take a shower. He noticed his timer was at zero all across the board and a new piece under it with a date and time. The time he had saw the unconscious person at. Hanzo quickly threw on his clothes and headed to the medical bay where he sat until he saw them wake up. “Hello. My name is Hanzo.” McCree (Credit to Leoz ETM on ArtStation)

Soulmate AU: Matching Tattoos/Symbols McCree had always had a white skull tattoo with pink eyes on his shoulder since he was a kid. He thought it was kinda cute in all honesty but it was hard to see people’s shoulders unless you were at the beach because most tops obscured the view. Even though he wore his with pride, he wasn’t all that considered about finding his soulmate right at the moment because right now he was in a pretty heavy fire standoff with the deadlock gang and Ashe. His scarf and clothes covered his shoulder at the moment. You were just a simple waitress at the route 66 diner which soon seemed to be laced with the sounds of heavy fire gunshots right outside the door. Despite trying your best to duck in hide, someone still got you right in the shoulder where your soulmate tattoo was. Once the gunfire stopped, you forced yourself to stand, still heavily bleeding as you shout for help from anybody and soon enough. The cowboy you were hosting comes waltzing back in. He noticed you bleeding and quickly hopped over the counter and took his scarf off, revealing his own tattoo. You didn’t notice right now, too scared for your life and distracted by your aching arm. McCree rolled up your sleeve quickly and used his scarf to wrap around your wound which was right above your own tattoo. He only said anything about it after once you weren’t bleeding as much. “Well I’ll be damned. The names Jesse McCree darling.” Zenyatta (Credit to Asteltainn on Instagram)

Soulmate AU: Unique numbers Zenyatta was very clueless about soulmates and what it meant to have one before he had meet Genji who taught him more about soulmates. Zenyatta was utterly fascinated about soulmates and having one himself. Zenyatta’s number was 421378912. Once he had begun to explore the world, some with Genji and some by himself, he learned even more about soulmates. You lived in a small village in rural Japan called Usiga. You and your family worked the hard lands, farming and caring for livestock. It was a tough job but you had found peace and content with this type of work, knowing you could provide for your family and for others like your own with fresh and affordable locally farmed food. One day on your trip to the local farmers market where you and your family sold veggies, fruits, and meats, you meet a wonderful omnic called Zenyatta. You both got to talking and soon shared your numbers with one another. “I am glad to see we are compatible.” Sombra (Credit it to dikatsuu)

Soulmate AU: Names Ever since Sombra had to provide for herself she has been looking for you but you were elusive, evasive. You knew how to hide and Sombra liked the challenge. As you two grew older, Sombra was able to learn more about you, find you but still you seemed one step ahead of her. You knew someone was out for you but who? You stole from a lot of fancy white rich people. It could be any of them. One night you decide to take a break, buy a room at the local motel and head over to a local bar nearby. This time, Sombra was a step ahead. When you two locked eyes as soon as you entered the bar, you figured it would be useless to run. Sombra seemed a bit disappointed but happy to finally see you in person. She bought you a drink before starting the conversation. “You are so much prettier in person. Sombra.”

#overwatch hanzo #overwatch mccree #zenyatta #sombra #overwatch #soulmate au #hanzo x reader #mccree x reader #zenyatta x reader #sombra x reader

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b00ket · 3 years

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Hi World building time ❤️

Theres no fucking way after 20 years of lackluster rule and poor handling of a deadly disease would there NOT be a revolution. I’ll assess each section of Vesuvia individually to say how each handled Lucio’s rule and some better explanations to each. Along with some head canons. (Ngl some head canons deserve their own post to get people’s opinion ill make those later)

Heart District:

So this district holds the wealthy influencial people. Not much to say on protests or intentional corruption— in fact this place was most likely the source of corruption. Nobles are just as influential in shifting Lucio’s interests in Vesuvia as his consul.

Any funds or upkeep dedicated to places like the Flooded District were instead funneled into the Heart District. This place is leech for funding.

Heart District is the least diverse out of all parts of the city, with the usual monolith of the rich it is no doubt the rich intentionally widened the gap between other parts of the city and them, using Gold Grave to intentionally separate the poorer South End.

Visually a magical place. Very clean and red has since been a color of bad luck since the plague as discovery of what gave the red dye its vibrancy.

Education and Literacy are in the highest percentage here. (90% literacy) private teachers are a standard here. Along with plenty of public libraries.

The leech problem of the canals may be a myth if you live here. The eels show more of a threat (don’t worry they’ve hired people to handle those)

Center City:

The middle class and poor are in a mix here. The middle class being closer to the Heart District.

Lucio’s spies he most likely employed to learn about thoughts of descent and punish accordingly no doubt taught the people living there to stay quiet. Protests and gripes of the Count were shifted from verbal to books, art, music, and slang to refer to certain things. (Ex. The Parrot -> Count, Hounds -> Spies)

However the thoughts of unhappiness have only grown and become more concentrated as funds were even being shifted from them to the Heart District.

Education and Literacy are in a lower percentage here but still rather high. (40% literacy) The occasional private teacher was nothing unusual in the richer families, but most knowledge of reading and writing is now based from person to person.

Goldgrave:

Don’t have many thoughts on this one.

The creativity of this section of the city made spies ineffective.

Any pulled funding only made their creative ways to lampoon the Count stronger. Most books and music expressing anti government sentiment most likely came from here and spread. Literacy is higher here as well. (50% literacy) but these people are usually older and don’t have the patience to teach young thespians how to read a script

A sizable portion actually enjoys the lack luster rule (these are typically people who were deeply entrenched in the underground Red Market)

These people actually enjoyed the public executions. They were dramatic! And who doesn’t love drama.

South End

As shown in the game, sneaky and heavily dislike the government.

Similiar to Goldgrave, spies didn’t work.

Lack of funding only strengthened the illegal trade of goods that brought their own funding to this part of the city. (One reason they didn’t reach the same fate as the Flooded District)

The sense of loyalty and interconnectedness is strong here. Everyone knows the other.

Symbols are everywhere on the walls. While these could be mistaken for the graffiti of the Flooded District, these mean something to those involved in the Red Market. Signs for shop owners who are involved, places to leave deliveries etc. litter the walls.

Canals are often covered in boards for walking but guards remove these (just to fuck with people or to maintain law? Who knows)

Most new immigrants find a place here before moving to other parts of the city, though some do stay.

Temple District

The giving of money offerings and reliance on the rich religious Heart District citizens have left this part of the city well off despite being surrounded by the Flooded District and ash beach.

Religious leaders were Vesuvian red, showing the gods are on their side for them to avoid death. Many hold a negative opinion of Lucio, his disrespect of the dead being the core reason (he let Valdemar go ham with corpses and fed them to the plague beetles)

The poor are ignored. Though certain buildings host food banks and homes for the poor, they are growing more rare as Heart District regulars are pressuring for the removal of the homeless from the streets.

Flooded District

These people are bitter. They used to be the Shopping District, funding flowed through freely and they were well taken care of. The people here have a concentrated hatred for the Count.

Portions of the District are flooded, builders deciding to go up to avoid the sea floor. The constant erosion from waves threatens the stability of many of these buildings.

Makeshift bridges line the streets and some have been made to walk across buildings whose floor is below sea level. The water is teeming with leeches and eels (a blood drained rotting corpse or two is not uncommon.) and is generally dirty.

Funding is non existent here. And with the new areas of natural economy and trading being shifted away from them, its starting to resemble Ash Beach more by the day as more people abandon it. (To move to places of the city with more opportunity)

The plague wiping out large portions of the population. Increased moisture from flooded waters made the infection worse. Rodents and roaches quickly becoming a common sight. Parts of the district are said to be haunted, people with too much time on their hands go to investigate.

Graffiti is everywhere here. Abandoned houses lined with the vandalism of young people. Symbols are here as well, mostly obsolete as they were to mark off which places had infected/dead people (head-canon: not everyone wanted to be shipped to death island). Newer ones mark which buildings are too unstable to build or take refuge in.

Ash Beach

The smallest of all sections. Only a little larger than the lazaret.

The wiki does a great job of describing this place actually.

Also covered in graffiti with a distinctly younger style. There’s no meaning to them so they are more wild and colorful. Some magic circles have been made in the walls and floor. Most of them used to exude heat to keep warm.

Gangs made of children are common here. Has a Peter Pan vibe.

Less friendly gangs of sailors and washed up people also are here.

A bit more a communal energy to how people live.

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huntsman-ash · 3 years

Text

Headcanon: Pacifica

(Before Sinday begins for me, I give you where Ash and Team CAMO are currently based out of).

Every continent on Remnant has islands off its coasts. Sheered off by water action, by cataclysmic incidents with the tectonics, or simply having formed seperatly, they dot the coastlines of most of Remnant's landmasses.

Solitas is no different. And because its Solitas, and the majority of it is a frozen hellscape, almost every single one has at least some habitation.

One has...quite a lot.

(Please excuse the WoR map, I couldnt find a proper official one and RT are jerks and wont make one that actually works)

This is the island of Pacifica, the largest island in the south-west of Solitas, directly west of Atlas itself and the closest settlement to the small port of Cross's Landing.

Though here it is one single, large island, it is in fact a psudo-chain; the large island of Pacifica, the smaller northerly island of Wakattu, and the uninhabited, cloud-shrouded isle of Peliu.

Though they are the closest island to Atlas, the people who live there are not actually Atlesian, in bloodline or in government. They come from much older stock, a remnant if you will of a forgotten age.

Originally a mostly bare island, with a minor native population of marine faunus (primarily orcas) originating from nearby Wakattu, Pacifica was first founded during the Great War, when (being the closest island to Sanus, which is almost directly south of it via Vytal) it was utilized as an arms and embarkation base alongside Cross's Landing to load the invasion force that would eventually steamroll through northern Vale. As the decade of the Great War rolled on, a city formed to support the base, and to allow for the production, repair, enhancement and resupply of military goods of every sort. As it became more and more important, and more equipment flowed into it, its military asset grew as well. And as the war ground on, Mantle began to fear a counter attack from Vytal into it, and from there, a stepping stone to Solitas itself.

And so they set about building Pacifica into an unbreakable Iron Cage; delving to the shallow sea floor, they raised great walls, thicker even than the ones that would later defend Mantle itself, bristling with Dust shield projectors and defensive batteries. The island itself was enforced with gun batteries, missile systems, aircraft launch systems, air strips, and dockyards for the entire Mantle Navy. A full Army was stationed there at all times, usually new recruits cutting their teeth in combat against raiding parties from Vale or the Grimm that seemed to constantly be attracted to Peliu. The populous was slowly consumed into this, making the island a military nation-state with the explicet purpose of brunting every and all aggression from Vale to Mantle.

And then the Great War ended in Vacuo. Everything stopped. Peace filled the world and everyone was happy.

Except for Pacifica. They weren't particularly happy about what had happened...and they liked the power they had now. No longer were they merely a small outpost of something greater, they had TEETH now.

No pirate or bandit thought to approach them for they new the agonizingly fast death that would result. Aside from Peliu, the Grimm were no threat. Even the Wakattu, who at first had been hesitant to have so much equipment, so close, were grateful to have Pacifica's guns around when the largest of aquatic Grimm inevitably swam to their islands shores, seeking the creature that the people and the island itself were named for, as they had done for time immortal.

So when Mantle offered to take all their equipment back and restore the island to what it was before, the Pacifican Preatorian Defender (their equivilent of a king, or headmaster, or ruler) promptly told them, in no uncertain terms, to "fuck right off". Then Pacifica raised their sheilds, rolled out their guns, and stood on alert for anyone trying to come and take their power by force.

No one did of course. The time after the Great War was one of rebuilding. Mantle simply left Pacifica to do its own thing and 80 years of peace did the rest. Pacifica eventually became a productive member of the King of Vale's imagined peaceful Remnant.

Currently the nation is considered an island-state, with no official affiliation to any kingdom, but heavy trade ties to Atlas specifically (for obvious reasons). Their main imports are technology and Dust, unsurprisingly, with their main exports being aquatic food of all kinds, certain medicines Atlas can't make themselves, and enhancements to existing tech using some of the machinery that Mantle left behind. They also mildly trade with Vale for produce.

At least, that was the situation till the Fall of Vale...and, more recently, the Fall of Atlas.

During the Second Fall, Pacifica went into full military mode again; members of the Pacifica Guard swear up and down the Leviathan Grimm was approaching Pacifica itself, saw how many guns it had pointed at it and the swarm of interceptor fighters and the men and women in armor standing ready to face it...and it turned for Atlas because it would be a softer target.

When the CCTS went down fully, the island effectively went dark, relying on its internal equipment to maintain coms between units and citizens, unable to contact the outside world.

Needless to say, it was a rather nasty shock when, about a day into the siege of Atlas, an airship arrived.

Formerly an SDC Dust carrier, retrofitted into a heavily militarized "pleasure boat", this was the Final Solution, the personal vessel of Tahoma Vulcan of Vulcan Arms. On board was almost every Vulcan Arms employee, several dozen Mantle civilians who'd been swept up, every surviving Atlas "Helljumper" lead by their leader Hood Vulcan, the majority of the ladies of Madam Pappillion's Crystal Unicorn hotel (formerly the Glass Unicorn) alongside the Madam herself...

And Hunter-Killer Fireteam CAMO.

The uproar was quite something, but quickly settled down to military precision, as those that could fight were quickly and seamlessly folded into Pacifica's existing defensive measures.

The Madam and her ladies bid their leave here to settle on Wakattu, reuniting the Madam with her former bodyguard and head of security, Matriarch (head of the Wakattu tribe and its various pods) and the civilians were dispersed into the overall population to rest and recover.

And then literally half a day later, the shattered, battered remains of Atlas's Second Fleet arrived, First having headed south for Argus.

They told a horror story of what happened, of the destruction of the Whale by the Ace Ops, of Ironwoods sudden madness, and how, based on what they'd last seen, the kingdom was GONE, crashed into the tundra, burying Mantle with it.

With precision their forces were folded in as well, forming the First United Solitasian Protectorate Fleet.

And at some point during this, the 2500 meter long monstrosity known as the Spirit of Ice arrived...

And THEN, as if that wasn't enough, a couple dozen scrap-built ships came rolling in from the west, from the seemingly uninhabited dragon continent, all bearing the Grimm Eye of Salem.

Cultists, apparently, humans twisted to her worship or something similar. Madmen and savages to an individual...but in no way, shape, or form even near combat ready.

The USPF SLAUGHTERED them. The vindictive feeling soothed the rage of the Atlesians, and united them all in a common goal. A pact formed in blood of the unworthy, as the Lord Preatorian said.

As of now, Pacifica is the most defended settlement in the north of Remnant. And as of recently, they've finally begun opening the shield again to let teams out, to begin probing the tundra, the Atlas Wastes, and the new lake that covers both kingdoms...

And to let the Hunter-Killer team that shelters among them do their job once more.

#headcanon #rwby

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robobirdie · 2 years

Text

Chapter 36: Tale of the Stag

The knights had locked Aaron up in a metal animal cage to deal with him later. He was clearly angry at them cursing largely in the Ashers language at them and trying to break free. Things were too hectic and they felt if they were going to have to end his life they would do it in a more respectful environment. They also knew since he was becoming an Ash Ghoul ending his curse was not going to be easy. Like his new masters he would have to be destroyed by ice or a frost based magic. Even then they worried as long as the Ashers were present they would resurrect what remained of him as an Ash Spawn just to torture them. They didn’t want that to happen to him. What he was going through was bad enough; add on that possibility and it was a fate far worse than death. They also had a hope that if he did become an Ash Ghoul then maybe Merlok could find a way to undo what they had done to him. They also wondered even though Merlok thought it highly unlikely if maybe the transformation into a ghoul might have cured his Blight. Merlok was not entirely sure it would work like that or that they could return Aaron to normal but even if there was a small chance to save him they were willing to give it a try. They weren’t going to give up on their brother just yet.

The knights along with Misako and Jestro were still pinned with their backs against the Fortrex fighting off the dark forces. The knights were trying to clear enough of the enemy away from the Fortrex so they could get the drawbridge down and get on board. The cage with Aaron they had put behind them to keep him contained and the Ashers from getting close to release him. It had been a struggle just to get him in the cage. From how he was acting they were pretty sure even without his weapons they would not be able to handle or restrain him if he did get loose. They had taken his bow and shield from him and given them to Misako. She was not very good with ranged weapons but was trying her best to aid in the battle with it. Along with the crossbow she was using Aarons shield to help protect herself. Aaron kept trying to break free of the cage behind them angrily cursing in the Ashers language, growling like an animal, throwing himself into the bars and trying to push the bars out of the cage. He was even biting the bars from time to time in frustration that he couldn’t get out. They could see he was steadily turning into an Ash Ghoul. The Blights markings were fading being replaced by greyed un-dead looking skin which was steadily covering more parts of his body, the area around his eyes no longer had markings instead having darkened while his eyes remained a bright fiery glowing red and they could swear it looked like he was starting to grow claws. Even his armour started to look heavily worn and greyed in color. Parts of his body mainly his forearms had started to develop a faint fiery glowing cracked pattern on the skin and they had noticed he seemed to be getting stronger. He was starting to dent and bend the bars of the cage they had put him in. They were hoping they could get into the Fortrex and lock him up more securely in a containment field or find some way to sedate him before he could break free.

The knights and the town guard were planning to use the Fortrex and the Ash Strider which the town guards along with Tafari were working to free and get aboard to get as many of the people in town on board both ships to try and get them to safety. They were hoping to bring the ships to the edges of town where others were working to bring as many folk they could rescue to be picked up. It was clear they were going to lose this battle. There was too many of the Ashers and their forces; they were surrounded and getting tired and weaker with every passing minute. They had been in battle for over an hour, possibly two. It was hard to tell. The best they could do now was rescue as many as they could and fall back. They were not fond of the idea but they felt there was only one place they could fall back to, the Forbidden City in the heart of the Stags territory. They knew the Stag would not be pleased by that but they were willing to deal with him in order to get away from these monsters. Even if they couldn’t stay there it would at least give them a chance to recuperate and plan out what they could do next.

To make the fighting worse shortly after the fight had started a storm had broke dumping rain over the area. The rain was having little effect on the fires which had gotten out of control and the rain didn’t seem to have much of an effect on the Ashers. The ash beneath their feet had turned into a slippery and sticky sludge from the rain making movement harder and the smoke and mist caused by the rain interacting with the fires and the Ashers bodies was making visibility poor and breathing unpleasant.

“I don’t think we’re going to make it!” Macy expressed as she and Misako fought side by side some of the battle spawn. Though they didn’t shape shift like the Ash Spawn, were solid in make and often wore tarnished armour they were much tougher and were better fighters along with having a nasty rotting burning smell to them.

“We have to at least try to continue; a knight never yields!” Clay declared as he and Jestro kept trying to keep the enemy from reaching the cage they had put Aaron in. Some of the Ashers were clearly trying to release Aaron so he could join them in the fight.

“There’s too many,” Axl stated trying to push back a Vulcaroth that was attempting to break them up.

“I think we should face it, we can’t win this one. I don’t think we will even be able to get out of here!” Lance complained running through some of the battle spawn with his lance only to find his weapon just went straight through them and the spawn didn’t seem to care or even acknowledge they had been pierced creeping him out.

“We must try,” Clay expressed. They could all feel they had hit their limit and likely wouldn’t last much longer. The constructs while being a welcome addition to their aid were fairing no better than them. They were struggling alongside guards and towns folk to fight the forces. Their allies had run out of things to freeze the Ashers forces with and fires were spreading through the town and nearby areas trapping and cutting off people and the allied forces.

While they fought unaware to them the cage holding Aaron disintegrated setting him free. Once freed Aaron went straight for Clay who surprised that Aaron was loose looked around for what had disintegrated the cage while defending himself from Aaron. He was pretty sure it had been a sorcerer that set Aaron free. Aaron attempted to choke Clay who struggled along with Jestro to keep Aarons hands away from his neck. His curse was making Aaron incredibly strong.

“Give in knights and join my master Dagons service. If you give in freely he will show you mercy,” Aaron growled his voice sounding dark and off. While Clay and Jestro fought Aaron trying to restrain him the others continued to try and drive the Ashers and their forces far enough away for them to get onto the Fortrex. While trying to restrain him Jestro went to hit Aaron with his staff to try and knock Aaron out but Clay stopped him.

“No don’t hit him. If he’s becoming an Ash Ghoul than he will be harmed or worse by our frost and ice Nexo Powers like the rest of these monsters,” Clay stated and Jestro inquired, “then how do we stop him?”

“The cage idea obviously didn’t work,” Macy noted and Axl stated, “we’re probably going to need something stronger and Asher resistant to hold him.”

“If we can get him onto the Fortrex we could put him into a containment field,” Robin offered from atop the Fortrex where he was using the ballista on its top to shoot back at some of their opponents alongside Merlok who was perched on the edge above the drawbridge using his magic and staff to aid in the combat from above trying to keep the airborne enemies at bay while trying to aid in clearing the area below.

“That could work, the troubles going to be getting him inside,” Clay stated struggling to keep Aaron back even with Jestro working hard to try and pull Aaron back.

“How is he this strong?! He’s got to have the strength of a mammoth!” Jestro proclaimed wrapping his arms around Aarons body to try and pull him back from Clay. He couldn’t pull him back and instead just ended up catching Aarons attention. Aaron broke away from Clay letting him have a moment to recuperate as he turned his attention to Jestro. Aaron grabbed Jestro and threw him as if he weighed nothing into Macy before going back to attacking Clay. Seeing they were in trouble Robo-bill Merlok hopped off the top of the Fortrex in an attempt to aid them. He landed on Aarons back with a mild frost powered magical impact surprising and stunning Aaron. While Aaron was stunned Clay took a few steps back to recompose himself as Merlok jumped off Aaron and put himself between Aaron and Clay.

“We need to get him into the Fortrex and contained to keep them from releasing him again till we can find a way to undo what has been done to him. If we use some well timed mild frost based Nexo Powers we might be able to weaken and restrain him long enough to get him inside and contained without hurting him,” Merlok proclaimed and Macy stated, “that’s going to be easier said than done…”

“Especially with less of you fighting for your side,” Aaron proclaimed a dark smile on his face before he said something in the Ashers language and pointed at Jestro hitting him with a blast of energy. The energy corrupted Jestro turning his eyes reddish and giving him the same features Aaron had starting to turn Jestro into an Ash Ghoul as well.

“Who’s ready for the sting next?” Aaron boasted as the corrupted Jestro now turned on Clay his weapon losing their Nexo power and developing a burning power. Aaron went to turn Macy into an Ash Ghoul but she managed to dodge his blast protecting herself with her shield. The Nexo Power they were using helped block the spell preventing it from corrupting her.

“He can turn us into Ash Ghouls! How can he do that?!” Axl exclaimed shocked as Aaron tried to hit Clay who was too busy struggling against Jestro to defend himself with the spell to corrupt him. Thinking quickly Misako put herself between Clay and Aaron and used Aarons shield to block the spell. Her actions angered Aaron who noticed she was using his shield and was holding his weapon. He decided to try and reclaim them.

“I believe the transformation they have done to him has allowed him to tap into the powers of these Ashers including some of the skills of the Asher Sorcerers,” Merlok deduced trying to help Clay take down and restrain Jestro while Aaron went to try and wrestle his weapon away from Misako. He managed to grab hold of the weapon but Misako kept her hold of it to try and keep him from getting hold of the weapon. In the struggle over the weapon her fingers slipped on the trigger and hit Aaron with one of his bolts in the left shoulder knocking him back a couple feet. He landed on his back a few feet away and quickly pulled the bolt out clearly in pain from it. He tried to get up but fell back to his knees weakened. Because he was now becoming one of these Ashers monsters the material the bolts were made of and the potion his bolts injected had an effect on him. The burning markings on his skin and his eyes began to dim, he was visibly weak and ice was starting to form on his skin.

“No we can’t let him freeze or we’ll lose him forever!” Clay proclaimed and Misako stated upset and shaken that she had shot him, “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to shoot him!”

“It’s okay you didn’t mean too it was an accident,” Macy comforted her.

“This might prove useful. Clay quickly with me hit him with the powers of flame and lava that will combat the poisons of his bolt and stabilize him. The poison will have weakened him enough for us to easily get him restrained,” Merlok declared. Macy took over fighting Jestro so Clay could help Merlok who hopped onto Aarons back to use a Nexo power on him. After Clay and Merlok hit Aaron with a warming power the ice stopped building on his skin and the ice that had developed melted. The glow from the markings and his eyes didn’t return. He was still clearly weak and unaware of what was occurring due to the weakening caused by the poison but he seemed stable and Merlok believed he would survive.

“That should do now let us get him and Jestro aboard the Fortrex and put into containment,” Merlok proclaimed.

“There’s still too many enemies around the Fortrex,” Axl noted and Ava came through their communicators as Clay helped the weakened Aaron to his feet and helped support him, “hold on I have someone to help with that. Get close to the ship and watch out!” They did as she said as the Fear-bricant approached the ship. It gave a roar before rushing in to smash the enemies away with a swing of its head clearing them some space. It attacked any of the Ashers or their allies that got close keeping most of the enemies at a distance allowing them to put the Fortrexs drawbridge down and start to get inside. Misako headed inside followed by Merlok. The two helped keep back any enemy that got past the Fear-bricant with their ranged attacks while Axl got a hold of Jestro and carried him despite his protests into the Fortrex while Macy and Lance helped the Fear-bricant hold back their enemies till the others got onboard. Clay began helping Aaron to the Fortrex. As he approached the drawbridge he felt something burning wrap around his one leg. Looking down he was shocked to see burning roots coming out of the ground to wrap around his feet. The others soon found these vines wrapping around their legs and those inside the Fortrex were grabbed and dragged out by the same vines. Some of these vines were even wrapping themselves onto parts of the Fortrex to prevent it from moving. The Fear-bricant was caught as stone arches suddenly formed over it and pinned it to the ground. With the fabricant restrained the Ash Crawler slunk over to it and began trying to break into the fabricants metal parts to try and destroy it from the inside while it tried to struggle to get free and fight back.

“What’s going on?” Macy demanded attempting to break the vines off herself. The vines were tough to combat and if they broke a piece off the vine would grow two pieces in its place. They all began to fight against the vines trying to break themselves free.

“These things aren’t natural,” Lance noted as Aaron wrestled himself free of Clay and attempted to wrestle Clay’s weapon and shield from him as he gained some strength back. Aaron was still terribly weak from the poison but was regaining some of his functioning the glow starting to come back to parts of his body and still under the Ashers control.

“You refused to surrender peacefully now you will pay the price,” Aaron declared.

“Aaron come on whatever they have done to you you’ve got to fight it! We need you,” Clay pleaded as he struggled with Aaron before a dark raspy growling voice declared, “plea all you want he can no longer control himself. He is now one of us as you all will be before the moons reach their pinnacle.” Looking for where the voice came from they saw standing on the top of a damaged two story home looking over them was an Asher sorcerer. The light from the fires in the dark of night lit the figure up from below making it look even more eerie and menacing than usual.

“A sorcerer! We have to take it out!” Clay exclaimed and Macy objected, “how? Aaron’s the only one of us who can wield a ranged weapon good enough to hit it and he’s gone. Not to mention I don’t think we have the power or strength to take it out.” It looked hopeless and it seemed things were only getting worse. They continued to try fighting with even Ava and Robin being forced into direct combat as some battle spawn managed to get past the others and into the Fortrex. The two used tantos the town had given them and their junior shields to defend themselves while the Squirebots they had on board with them used any weapon they could find. They managed to trick a group of spawn into the holo-deck where they locked them in it setting the deck for the hardest training level on the coldest winter themed setting they could to keep the monsters occupied while they continued to combat any spawn that entered the ship which seemed to be drawn to try and reach the engines likely to shut down the Fortrex so they would have no way to escape. The others outside continued their struggle against the enemies and the highly restricting vines. As they continued to fight the sorcerer cast another spell at them. At first they couldn’t figure out what it had done, they couldn’t see anything. When the markings started to appear on their hands and feet they saw what it had done and were horrified. Even Robin, Ava and the Squirebots who were out of sight or at least they thought they were out of this monstrous entities sight had been cursed by the thing. Even Merlok got cursed. It had given them all the Blight! Even if they were to somehow escape the battle this monster had made sure they would still lose in the end!

“Why do you still fight when you know it is over,” the sorcerer growled at them with a sinister laugh.

“Because we will not let evil win, not without a fight; that would be dishonourable, break the knight’s code and we’d be cowards to not try everything to stop scum like you; a knight never yields even in the face of danger. Evil can only be defeated if we stand and fight against it. Even if we lose you’ll never forget that we stood in your way and challenged you,” Clay exclaimed trying to restrain Aaron who in defence and surprising Clay bit him.

“You may be a monster now but I know deep down your still a knight Aaron and this isn’t how a knights supposed to act,” Clay declared to Aaron trying to restrain him and Lance stated, “yha I don’t think he understands anymore. He’s been turned into a monster.” The sorcerer just laughed at them as they struggled to break free and fight back the Ashers forces.

“Oh we will remember you alright along with those foul dragons. We will remember you as the unintelligent swine who thought you could stand in our way. When we convert you all we will make sure your transformations are the most painful and cruel of them all,” the sorcerer declared as a cool breeze came over the area. The breeze while odd offered nothing other than some reprieve from the heat caused by the fires and Ashers. The vines were starting to swamp them as their enemies closed in but they continued to fight not wanting to give up just yet. At one point as Aaron broke free of his restraint and came at him with his own sword forcing him to defend and attack with his shield Clay thought he saw something move across the sky by them. At first he brushed it off thinking he was just seeing things. Another cool breeze and a sudden odd chilling of the rain and environment followed confusing many still in the fight. A deep roaring noise drew their attention to the sky and many of them in the area stopped fighting to look up at the sky curious.

“What was that?” Lance wondered. They couldn’t make much out from the darkness, rain and smoke. Whatever it was flew over them again and this time as it did some smoke in the air was moved by the wings of whatever it was. A massive shadowy figure of what looked to be a massive dark dragon with dark aquamarine glowing parts swooped out of the darkened sky to attack the burning skeletal dragon which was perched atop the temple blasting fire over the area. The two got in a scuffle before the burning skeletal dragon was obliterated by a cold aquamarine flame looking blast from the shadowy figure which launched back into the dark clouded sky once the other dragon was obliterated. The skeletal remains of the burning dragon collapsed to the ground around the temple as charred bones emitting a greenish mist from the blast that had destroyed it. They could hear folk questioning what they were seeing as the creature flew overhead surveying the area. Some were thinking the Ashers had created an Ash Spawn in the form of a dragon or that the great darkness had returned from the dead to aid the Ashers but by the fact the Ashers seemed equally surprised by the figure as everyone else the knights had a feeling it had nothing to do with them worrying them.

“There is a cold dark energy manifesting here. I think we are in for some serious trouble,” Merlok expressed looking up for the shadowy dragon the dark vines having nearly entwined every part of his Robo-bill body and pinned it to the ground despite his attempts to chew himself free. A coolness was coming over the area and recognising it the knights got chills getting a deep feeling of fear from the temperature change. They had a feeling they knew what that had been and dreaded its sight and what its presence could mean. Even Aaron was affected by the things presence clearly showing signs the beings hold of him in the past had traumatized him. The dragon figure came to land on the roof of the tallest building in the town its tattered wings grasping the sides of the building as it perched atop helping to balance its massive body on the roof top. As it landed the heft of its landing shook ash off the building and vibrated the ground. It looked around surveying the city around and below it with its bright burning aquamarine eyes. A dark smoke was emanating from its body drifting down off its hide before tumbling off the top of the building. Several parts including the eyes, a cracking pattern on the chest, the horns and spikes of its head and what looked like ribs that poked through its concave looking chest were giving off a deep aquamarine glow. Other than that the figure was a near shapeless dark mass bearing a decaying dragon like shape, a dragon of the void. The knights knew exactly what they were looking at despite never having seen him in this form. They recognised the feelings and the dark with aquamarine accented form this being liked to use and it made their blood run cold. They had hoped to never feel or see him again.

“That is him isn’t it, the Stag!” Misako murmured feeling terrified and getting a cold horrifying feeling from the sight of the entity. She had heard and read what this entities presence was said to be like but to actually feel it and look upon him in one of his physical forms was far more terrifying than what words could portray.

“Indeed, his full form is here!” Clay moaned and Macy worried, “Why do you think he’s here?”

“Don’t know but it’s probably not to help us,” Lance mumbled as the knights remained still hoping the thing wouldn’t notice them. As they looked up at its form the knights wondered why now had he shown up and who was he siding with? Or was he out to get rid of them all, taking advantage of the chaos to wipe both groups out with one foul swoop?

“What is he looking for?” Axl wondered tightly gripping his axe terrified as the Stag kept looking over the city. It did seem he was looking for something but they had no clue what. They were hoping it wasn’t them, after all he had shown an interest in them in the past. After a quick survey over everything the Stag breathed a dark smoky aquamarine fire over a large area of the city covering many of the areas on fire. Instead of burning and adding to the fire however what he breathed when it touched surfaces left a frost and as it touched the fires they went out smothered by a deep dark cold. Any of the Ashers caught in the blast were destroyed while the people or droids felt an overwhelming cold emptiness grip their bodies. Whatever he was breathing felt like it sucked the heat out of the air around it freezing it with an unnatural cold like the void was gripping the area. The Stag then looked around; still seeming to be looking for something. Everyone remained still and quite hoping not to catch his attention. His gaze finally came to the knights who were terrified to have this entity looking at them dreading what he could want from them. He stopped to stare at them. They didn’t know why he was staring at them but it terrified them. Even many of the Ashers were terrified of his presence. The only one not terrified by the Stag was Tafari who had been fighting alongside some guards nearby trying to reach the Ash Strider.

She looked up into the figures deep eyes as he seemed to become aware she was there and finally locked onto her. Tafari got the feeling he recognised her. She had never told anyone but in her time in his city there was a few times she had been conscious enough to be aware of what went on around her. Most of it was the constructs tending to her or creatures checking her out but a few times she had felt the Stags presence and thought she had heard him talking to her. She could never remember clearly what he was saying but he had sounded confused even possibly hurt. When he talked it often sounded like he was contemplating or regretting something. She had often gotten a sense from him that something plagued him, tortured him into being the darkness he was. There had been times when he talked to her that she could have sworn she felt a hint of lightness to him. She had never told anyone this fearing that it would make others think she was under his control but she felt the Stag was not entirely what he seemed.

As she looked into his eyes she felt she understood what he wanted to do. She looked at the knights and Misako as they stared at this entity horrified. They were not going to like what was going to happen but to save themselves and the town it had to be done. They could not defeat the Ashers on their own and they were in no shape to continue fighting, at least not in their normal state. She looked back up at the Stag and nodded an agreement to him.

“So you Oni spawn think you are the hunters do you? You are but the prey; arrogant prey to believe you are the predators, and I will show you this,” the Stags deep voice boomed emanating from the figure whose mouth did not move with the words after he saw Tafaris approval. He then reared up throwing his wings out giving out a loud deep thundering roar. With his call various entities throughout the town came under his possession. All the constructs, any animals in the vicinity and some of the guards and people who still had some fight in them both above ground and in the Under-city fell under his control. The knights including Aaron, Ava, Robin, Misako, their Squirebots and even Jestro whose clothes even became altered by the Stags energy turning into a black and aquamarine with deer like iconography design became possessed. The Fearbricant became possessed and with little effort smashed free of the stone arches pinning it down scaring the Ash Crawler which fled from its sight. Tafari also fell under his control. All those he took over developed the iconic markings of his possession. Their voices even seemed to change, developing a gruffness and deepness to it.

The vines that had held the knights and Misako withered from the Stags energy setting them free allowing them to fight back unhindered. Clay freed Merlok so he could join them in the battle. Merlok was lucky to escape become possessed by the Stag being too strong for the beings influence to easily gain hold of him and though despite being disturbed and spooked by the Stags hold on everyone he continued to aid in the fighting. Now hosting the Stags energy Tafari and the others possessed by him began to fight back with a ferocity and strength the Ashers were not prepared to deal with. The Stags possession energized them and made them stronger. The Ashers began to find they couldn’t even touch the Stags hosts. Their skin was cold to the touch and they gave off a similar freezing dark energy as their puppeteer the Stag; a cold dark energy that harmed the Ashers. While those under his control fought below the Stag flew over the city and area putting out some of the biggest fires with his cold flamed breath of the void. Any Ashers or their spawn caught in his breath were obliterated helping to turn the tides of the battle. With many of the fires out the Stag landed in the city remaining in his dragon form to fight the Ashers and their monsters. They stood little chance against his dragon form. One of the first the Stag took on and took out was the Ash Crawler having a short tussle with it before burning it with his void breath reducing the creature to ash. The Stag was fighting with a power and ferocity the Ashers had never seen before and it scared them. The Stag himself personally took out many of the Ashers most powerful members and monsters weakening their forces while the others took out anyone they saw. As their forces began to dwindle the Ashers attempted to retreat but were blocked off by the Stags puppets who proceeded with destroying as many as they could. Some Ashers managed to escape running off into the wastes. The Stag let them go feeling it was unlikely they would return anytime in the near future, not even if joined by a Sorcerer or Crawler. With his powers the Stag was able to break the spell the Ashers had cast to raise the Battle Spawn from the ground causing them to collapse and stop fighting. For all the people not under the Stags power and not an Asher they hid as best they could terrified of what was happening.

“I want to never see your kind in or near this city again. This is now part of my territory. You cannot and will not ever reign here now get out and never return,” the Stags voice came from Tafari as she held up a sorcerer by its neck before stabbing it with her tanto collapsing it into a pile of dust. Once the last of the Ashers forces had been destroyed or driven from the city folk began to come off their possession feeling weak, cold and terrified unsure of what had just happened to them. Many were in shock. The animals fled the city while the constructs hid afraid of facing the Stag. As the battle ended the red hue to the sky slowly vanished and the clouds settled down as the Ashers lost their hold of the area. The rain continued to fall however.

When Tafari came off her possession, she staggered a bit. She would have collapsed on the ground if it wasn’t for Hassiri who came rushing over to hold her up. He had been watching nearby terrified of seeing everyone else under the Stags control. He had seen the Stag controlling Tafari and he had been horrified to see that thing using her like a puppet.

“The Stag saved us?!” Hassiri, baffled, explained to Tafari when she asked, dazed, what had happened as he held her. Tafari hugged Hassiri grateful for his comfort. She had only ever felt hints of the Stags possession. To feel the full effect was shocking and very disturbing. As she hugged him she expressed she had feelings for him worried she might not get another chance. Hassiri hugged her back happy that she felt the same way about him that he did to her.

“What happened?” Macy wondered shaken as the knights along with Jestro whose clothes still retained the Stags designs and Misako came off the possession. They were all very cold, in shock and had a dreaded empty feeling but they were alive. The corruption Aaron had put on Jestro was gone but they all had the beginnings of the Blight curse.

“Are we dead?” Lance worried as they looked around. They were all still together near the Fortrex. Aaron was lying on the ground near them rather still and not looking to be breathing worrying them.

“Is he…” Macy worried as Merlok came over to inspect him. After a few seconds he coughed a bit and began breathing.

“ Oh man what happened? I feel like the Fortrex ran over me!” Aaron moaned his voice sounding like his normal self as he began to stir. The knights were stunned to see Aaron’s Blight had largely been reversed to what it had been before the sorcerer had found him. He still had the fangs and altered patches of his skin from the ghoul transformation but his eyes and clothes were back to normal and the only glow on his body came from the blight and not any burning markings.

“Aaron you’re back!” Clay exclaimed helping Aaron up before he, Macy, Axl and Lance gave their friend a hug.

“What do you mean back?” Aaron asked confused feeling weak and unsteady on his feet needing Macy to help hold him up. He couldn’t completely remember everything since the Ashers had caught him. He had vague memories but they felt more like dreams, nightmares he couldn’t wake up from.

“One of those sorcerers had made the Blight claim you and began turning you into an Ash Ghoul but it looks like the Stag has reversed some of what they did,” Misako explained getting a warm feeling of hope. If the Stag could alter the Blight then he could protect the ninja from succumbing to it. The ninja could be alive; her son could still be alive! If they were then maybe they still had a chance at completing their mission.

“So that wasn’t some wacked out dream,” Aaron stated as Ava and Robin came out of the Fortrex to join the others feeling very disturbed and scared.

“What happened?!” Robin trembled and Merlok explained, “the Stag used you all as his soldiers; Possessing you to give you his strengths and powers for the battle.”

“Why though and why has he let us go?” Clay worried looking around for where the Stag had gone. The Ashers were gone, people were recovering from their possessions and the fight, a couple scattered fires were still burning, it was still heavily raining and smoke and steam were building up again. There looked to be no sign of the Stag. A noise behind them caught their attention. They turned around nervous of what had made the noise worried the Ashers might still have some fight to them or the Stag was now going to attack. When they looked back they were unnerved and terrified. The Stag in his dragon form was perched on the top of the Fortrex hunched over with his wings gripping the sides glaring down at them. They were scared worried about what he was going to do but also confused and curious.

“You… saved us?” Clay wondered trying to hide his fear as they looked up at the Stag scared.

“I have. The Ashers have been dealt a serious blow it is unlikely they will be a problem here anytime soon,” the Stags voice emanated from the dark figure though no mouth moved.

“Why? Why have you helped us?” Macy inquired.

“I have my reasons… none of these reasons mean you any harm; nor harm to the city or the people,” the Stag replied.

“You reversed my Blight!? How, Why?” Aaron noted looking at himself feeling nervous yet also surprised and confused before looking back up at the Stag.

“I have given you more time to be with your mortal brethren, do not waste it,” the Stag spoke to Aaron.

“My son, the ninja what have you done with them?” Misako inquired worried what the Stag might say.

“They are alive for now. They are running out of time however as the blight consumes them. I know you are going to ask so before you do no I cannot cure this curse nor do I know how to find the cure for it is not meant to be known by me; that answer is for others to find,” the Stag told Misako looking straight at her. She was relieved they were still alive but she worried; if the Stag didn’t know how to fix the Blight curse than who did and how much time did the ninja have before the Blight claimed them? She wanted to ask him more questions but the Stag seemed to have his attention drawn away as he looked up over the wastes towards Holamaya.

“It is time for me to depart but you will be safe now,” the Stag proclaimed looking back at them.

“Wait why did you save us?” Clay inquired. They were all still worried and confused why the Stag had suddenly shown an interest to help them and save them from the Ashers when he had never shown any interest in helping people before. Did he have something planned and if so what? From what they knew of him it could not be anything good. The Stag however didn’t seem to hear him and took off headed out over the wastes towards the Forbidden City without answering his question leaving them with feelings of worry and dread over what his saving of them meant.

All any of them could see was darkness. They were blinded by the explosion and could hear nothing around them. Slowly they all began to see visions in their mind and a voice spoke to them. It was deep and feminine with a slightly deeper echo to it.

“He began in brightness and honour,” the voice began, “Centuries ago and many years after the Dragon Master banished Dagon Nerevar a strong and noble samurai, Emperor of Holamaya and my first champion thought it wise they destroy the Ashers and their fortress to eliminate that evil for good. Though the spell had been put on the vaults Nerevar still worried the forces of evil would somehow find it. He felt only by destroying the Ashers would the vaults truly be safe. He told the Dragon Master and the others who agreed and aided in the construction of the Vaults his plan. They agreed the Ashers had to be dealt with but they thought it would not be wise to attack them at that time. The Oni were still a threat and many dangerous items had to be removed from the Ashers reaches before any of them felt it would be safe to challenge these beings. Nerevar however felt strongly otherwise. He intended to finish the Ashers despite others warning him not too. Nerevar gathered his forces, those who wished to see the Ashers gone as well. Folk from all races even the serpent folk, folk from other realms and one of the dragon imbued Racer Fabricants joined his cause. Though none knew what they would face they knew it was not going to be easy. Nerevar launched an attack at the stronghold at the Red Tower. Though his army was large and strong they were unprepared for what they came up against. Ashers, Oni, denizens of the underworld and dark realms from across the mortal and un-mortal planes were all waiting for them. Despite how hard they tried Nerevars forces were overwhelmed and defeated. The Ashers and Oni had not yet learned of Dagons true fate, he had yet to re-manifest as a physical entity so decided to recreate a weapon just like him, to replace him. This time they would use a mortal as their base, one with close ties to their enemies hoping their ties to the Dragon Master and others like him would prevent their weapon from being banished. Using the blood of both Oni and Dragon and the energies of the void they combined and fused them into Nerevars very being through the dark twisted magics of the Ashers creating a new and powerful entity. An immortal lord of the void a being of ultimate creation and destruction, of life and death; one they hoped to turn into a living weapon no one could best but they made a mistake.

The use of a living being, one who was not an Oni with views opposite to theirs meant their new creation would not obey them. At its heart the entity was still Nerevar and he still had his free will, something they could not take away from him. He would never bow to his makers and lashed out at them. Realising and fearing what they had done the Oni and Ashers knew they had to do something drastic to stop Nerevar and try to control him. They enacted a curse upon him. None was to know what had become of him and for as long as he disobeyed and went against them not only would he be cursed but all those of the realm and wherever the soil from the grounds he had been made at touched would suffer. He would forever be controlled and consumed by his dark nature and all light from him would be gone consumed by this darkness. He would be an entity of the voids darkness; a dark unforgiving monster. As a final blow all knowledge of what had occurred would be erased from existence so none would know who he was. By doing this none would ever wish to help him so no one else could remove his curse. They hoped that one day the curse would consume him and destroy the lightness inside him turning Nerevar to their side. Not even Nerevar remembered what had happened to him. He could no longer remember who he was as he fell into darkness but all is not lost. If the darkness can be banished and the truth of his identity revealed than the curse shall break and all shall be set free...”

As the voice and visions ended their senses slowly came back. As their vision returned they looked around. They all stood where they had been before. They were all stunned and in a bit of shock unsure of exactly what had happened. The scroll was still lying on the ground in a puddle of oddly colored water but it now looked normal, the corruption was gone. It was light colored and the runes were gone. As their senses returned to normal they began to think over what had just happened.

“What did you just do Zane?” Lloyd asked intrigued while Jay worried, “are we dead?!”

“We broke the corruption and revealed the truth,” Kamdida noted.

“Ashers corrupted that scroll for it was the only thing that remembered what happened and it refused to let the memory die,” Barbas added.

“We’re still alive, was that…” Nya began and Cole finished, “who the Stag really is.” The ninja gathered around the scroll looking at it. They were all confused over what had just happened and a little shaken. They remained quiet for a few seconds thinking over what they had just experienced before one of them spoke.

“It all makes sense now. His hatred for the Ashers…” Lloyd began.

“Why he took over the city, why he feels the way he does…” Nya noted.

“Why he made the hyenoids the way they are…” Zane added and Cole added, “Why he takes the form of a stag…”

“Why he isn’t drawn to the vaults, why the Blight is tied to him,” Jay noted.

“He doesn’t even realise it, he doesn’t realise any of it,” Kai finished.

“This was once his home he returned to his home even though he doesn’t realise it!” Nya noted.

“Their symbol was a stag, maybe that was all he remembered of who he was so he took that as his form,” Cole added.

“The Scimitars saw their creations as living beings equal to them, they felt they deserved to have their own views and personalities like all other living things,” Zane continued as Lloyd picked up the scroll and looked at it.

“He really isn’t the monster he seems,” Cole noted and Barbas added, “He is only a monster to those who are looking for one.”

“He’s still protecting the realms from the Ashers like he had planned,” Kai noted.

“Why then does he fear the Star Stone? Why did he spare Tafari? What then does he want from us?” Jay wondered and they thought it over.

“Despite what they did to him pieces of who he was still came through the darkness. The constructs, Tafari, the city, him saving us from Ashers each show his lighter side, who he was before he was cursed. The darkness though always takes over shadowing who he really is almost like it possesses him,” Lloyd noted looking at the iced over cracks in the ceiling which were reflecting the light in the cavern making them look like they were glowing.

“Maybe the light from the stone hurts him, some part of the curse maybe,” Kai offered.

“It’s his curse causing the Blight we break it and we save ourselves. The Blight will be destroyed,” Cole noted.

“But how do we do that, how do we break the curse?” Kai wondered and they all thought it over. None of them had any clue what to do. On a hunch Lloyd opened the scroll to see what was on the pages inside, see if it had any hints.

“I know how,” Lloyd expressed as the scroll revealed to him what had to be done, “it will be dangerous though and will cost us but it is the only thing that could save us and end the curse.”

To find previous and later chapters look here: https://robobirdie.tumblr.com/archive

You can also find a copy of the story written here https://archiveofourown.org/works/34894561/chapters/86888878 and here https://www.wattpad.com/1087355671-ninjago-the-oni-scrolls-foreword-important-info You can also find images pertaining to the story here: https://www.deviantart.com/nerdy-hyena/gallery/72478681/story-project

#ninjago #ninjago zane #ninjago cole #ninjago nya #ninjago jay #ninjago kai #ninjago lloyd #nexo knights #elderscrolls

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kuramirocket · 3 years

Text

Sonia Gutierrez dreamed of returning to her hometown of Denver as a television reporter for the city's defining news station: KUSA 9News. When she finally achieved it, however, it came at too steep a cost, she says.

Gutierrez says she was told that she could report on immigration, an issue about which she cares deeply, but only if she were to state her own immigration status on air in every story on the subject.

"I was put in a box simply for who I am," Gutierrez says.

She had never tried to hide that her parents had brought her as a baby from Mexico without documentation. But Gutierrez, 30, says she balked at the station's directive. She was told she could continue pitching stories about immigration, but, she says, she was asked to pass off her ideas and sources to other reporters.

Gutierrez is no longer with KUSA. Nor are two other Latina reporters. One had pushed editors to involve Black and Latino colleagues in more decisions about news coverage. The other's contract was not renewed five months after she had returned after having a stroke. She, too, had challenged station leaders on how they cover issues affecting Latinos in Colorado.

Over the course of a year, from March 2020 to March 2021, KUSA allowed each of the women's contracts to lapse without renewal, the way television stations typically part with their journalists.

"It is racist to require a Latino reporter, a Hispanic reporter, to disclose their own immigration status [to viewers] before reporting on immigration," says Julio-César Chávez, the vice president of National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

The outcry has focused an unwanted glare on Tegna, one of the nation's largest and most prominent owners of local television stations, just as the company faces claims of racial bias from a dissident investor.

"9News is the market leader in Denver and has been for decades," KUSA news director Megan Jurgemeyer says, "Having worked at another station in town, it was always viewed as the top competition and who we wanted to beat."

9News is unusually woven into the fabric of its parent company. Tegna's CEO Dave Lougee used to be the station's news director. KUSA's general manager, Mark Cornetta, is also the executive vice president of Tegna Media, the company's local television division. And Patti Dennis, a Tegna vice president and director of recruitment, is herself a former KUSA news director who still works out of the station's main building in Denver. All three are white, as are Jurgemeyer and Ryan.

Parent company faces its own issues with race

Tegna faces its own allegations of racial bias. An activist hedge fund, Standard General LP, recently nominated rival directors, saying it wanted to diversify the company's largely white board.

In an April federal securities filing, Standard General accused Tegna of racist practices stretching back years.

In 2019, a sports anchor at the company's Phoenix station accused its general manager — recently promoted from a job as KUSA's sales manager — of making "loud and unwelcome racist and sexist comments about coworkers" at a baseball game, in a civil complaint reviewed by NPR

Jamie Torres, a Denver city council member, was among the Latina state and local public officials who met twice with KUSA executives following the dismissal of the three journalists. She says the meetings left her unconvinced that there would be real progress beyond some changes in language and style.

"The conversation felt just incredibly transactional," Torres says.

And it renewed long-held frustrations: Torres says the three Latina journalists had been hired after an earlier round of discussions between the station and Denver-area Latino officials about representation at KUSA.

"Why Don't You Pitch It To Telemundo?"

While in college, Gutierrez interned at the local affiliate of the Spanish-language network Telemundo. Back then, it was housed inside KUSA's headquarters. Though owned by Tegna, KUSA is an affiliate of NBC, and Telemundo is part of NBC's parent company, Comcast.

As Gutierrez rose at Telemundo Denver, she also pitched stories to KUSA.

She says she often heard back: "That's a great story idea, why don't you pitch it to Telemundo?" Her response: KUSA also needed to serve Latino families — the ones who speak English.

"After a while, when stories wouldn't get picked up, I would just take it upon myself to do the interviews, write up a little [script] and give it to the anchors and say, 'It's done.' To the producers, 'It's done. You want it or not?' " Gutierrez says it was easier to hand off the idea fully baked.

After a stint at a station in Columbia, S.C., Gutierrez returned to KUSA as a reporter. She says KUSA leaders told her that she could be a defining person for the station, someone who would thrive there. By her telling, Gutierrez ignored the little slights that accreted.

Then, Gutierrez says, she was told she had to disclose that she had been a DREAMer, protected from deportation through the Obama-era policy called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, before she became a legal permanent resident through marriage. She didn't see why viewers needed to be told that in each of her immigration reports.

Gutierrez says she received no response when she asked for concrete examples of how her status had compromised her reporting. And when she refused to go along, Gutierrez says, she was told she would have to pass her story ideas and sources on immigration to other reporters.

"It's not like there was something wrong with me or my reporting," says Gutierrez, who left last year. "There was just something wrong with who I was — a liability to them."

Allegations of unfulfilled promises

Aguirre, 34, a Mexican-American who grew up near Midway Airport on the South Side of Chicago, says she had been inspired to become a journalist to tell stories about Latinos that were not simply about crime and immigration.

She came to Denver after being an anchor at a smaller station in Flint, Mich.

Aguirre says she believed her pursuit of community-driven news brought value.

"I can tell a story in a much different way than a female white reporter can because I lived it. I know the questions to ask," Aguirre says.

In April 2019, Aguirre suffered a stroke that resulted in a traumatic brain injury and paralyzed her on her left side; as she built back strength and returned in the fall.

After roughly six months, as new newsroom leaders rotated in she did not return to the anchor's chair. Aguirre alleges in a formal amended complaint she filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission earlier this year.

Aguirre left the station in March 2020. Her attorney, Iris Halpern, says the complaint is currently in mediation.

"Because they're KUSA, they can just get somebody else," Aguirre says. "They can get another Latino who fills that Brown category, who's cheaper, younger, greener and more afraid to ask any questions. Although I was recovering [from the stroke], I was still that woman who would push back. So I'd be in those meetings and I would ask 'Why?' "

"I was instructed not to wear my hair in a bun"

After two years as a reporter in Bakersfield, Calif., Lori Lizarraga says, she was told by 9News that she would be an asset and she joined the station.

Lizarraga, whose mother was born in Ecuador and whose father is first generation Mexican-American, remembers saying, "'My voice will never track this [the word illegal] slew of words." She says she ended up shying away from stories involving immigration.

Lizarraga recalls even having her hairstyles vetoed. She wrote in Westword, "After six months, I was instructed not to wear my hair in a bun with a middle part anymore — a style I have seen and worn as a Mexican and Ecuadorian woman all my life. Not a good look, I was told."

"We Would Have Had Reporters On Every Corner"

Lizarraga, who left in March, says she hit an inflection point early last year. Colorado state regulators had just announced a record fine against a Canadian energy giant whose plant had been polluting nearby neighborhoods for years. She read up on it as she raced with a colleague in the official KUSA 9News van to the press conference.

"Ash was falling from the sky onto people's cars and yards and playgrounds," Lizarraga recalls. "Water was impacted."

She was struck by something else: The communities affected were heavily Latino. Yet, she says, state regulators had not consulted with those communities or even put out information in Spanish. And back in the newsroom, she says, producers focused solely on the size of the fine — potentially up to $9 million.

"I was very upset and I said, 'You know, if this were a community in a ZIP code just up the street with a different demographic, we would have had reporters on every corner ' " to interview residents, Lizarraga says. "And because this is a Spanish-speaking, low-income, largely immigrant community, we don't have an interest. We are choosing what is newsworthy based on what you care to talk about, not what is actually newsworthy."

"We have to confront management"

At KUSA, Lizarraga says supervisors resented her for demanding that African American colleagues be consulted on coverage about Floyd's murder and the protests. She thought they had a right to weigh in on questions such as: How much of the video of Floyd's death should be shown? When and if the word "riot" was appropriate? How much coverage should there be of police tactics?

Lizarraga says she rallied colleagues of color to object when the station decided to stage a town hall meeting on race and equity hosted solely by a white anchor. Instead of channeling that fervor, Lizarraga says, it was largely deflected.

"We can't be exhausted, we can't be scared," Lizarraga recalled telling colleagues. "We have to confront management and tell them that we have ideas and that we deserve a spotlight right now."

Meanwhile, she says, she was not recognized for the initiative she showed, such as the data-driven pieces that officials and advocates said (in text messages reviewed by NPR) served as a road map for government agencies seeking to arrange COVID-19 testing in heavily affected Black and Latino neighborhoods.

Life after KUSA 9News

Gutierrez now works across town at Rocky Mountain PBS. Aguirre is a local news anchor and reporter in Asheville, N.C., part of a television market that is about half the size of that of Denver.

Lizarraga returned to her family home in Dallas. In late March, she published her allegations against KUSA in Westword. "What Lori Lizarraga did took a lot of courage and bravery," the NAHJ's Chávez says, singling out Gutierrez and Aguirre for praise as well. "Journalism is an industry where a lot of people are mistreated, a lot of employees are mistreated, and discriminated against, and then people simply go quiet.

"For Lori to actually tell the world how bad the situation was, how bad she was being treated and how racist some of the management policies were, that takes real courage. She put her entire career in jeopardy."

In October, the Colorado ACLU will honor the three women for "fighting discrimination in the newsroom."

#🇲🇽#journalism #news reporters #racism #KUSA 9News #usa #united states #colorado #national association of hispanic journalists #tegna #denver #denver colorado #telemundo #NBC #canada

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thewildomega · 3 years

Text

Star in the Sand Ch.18

Grumbling under his breath as he finished reprehending his crew he moved back to the walk board to go retrieve his soulmate but when he looked down to where she had been he saw no one. Growling he grit his teeth. "I said no wondering off." Marching down the walk board he looked down the docks for her but didn't see her. Knitting his brows he snapped his head around, his heart starting to beat a little harder. "Daz!" Seeing his first come over to the side of the ship and look down to him he plucked the cigar from his lips. "Is Y/n on ship?" Seeing Daz glance around then hearing him ask the others, he knew the answer as soon as he looked back to him. Snapping his eyes back to where she had been he saw the banana she had been eating on the wooden dock next to the crates. Moving over to the side he glanced to the water just to be sure. The water wasn't very clear but even if she had fell in she was an exceptional swimmer she wouldn't have...

"Crocodile..."

Looking over to Daz he saw him kneeling by the crates and moved back over. Seeing the man stand and hold out a syringe he felt his blood run cold. "Find her." was all he grit out before turning to sand and flying down the dock and onto the streets.

..............................

Groaning at the aching in your body you scrunched your eyes together a few times before managing to open them. Looking around the dimly lit room you knit your brows. Your limbs felt like the weighted a ton. Trying to move your hands they stopped short and you quickly looked down to see a set of heavy cuffs locked around your wrists. Snapping your eyes down to ankles you saw they too had shackles on them. Swallowing hard you looked back around the room and now noticed the bars... based on the rocking you knew you were on a ship of sorts... the brig of a ship to be more exact. Breathing heavily you heard a thumping and looked towards the dark stairway on the other side of the room to see a man walking down them. Hey you knew him, that was that guy from the stalls, the one that had been watching you. As he come to stand in front of your cell you saw him cross his arms over his chest and smile largely at you.

"Well look who's awake." he said with a dark chuckle.

"Who are you? What do you want?" you asked, your voice soft and your throat burning.

"Don't matter who I am doll. As for what I want, well I'll be getting that soon enough."

Furrowing your brows you saw him reach for something in his coat pocket. As soon as he unrolled it you felt your heart sink.

"That's a mighty high bounty for such a little thing like you. But hey who am I to judge." he told her. Placing the bounty back up he tilted his head. "Would have loved to get my hands on that ex warlord of yours as well but eh.. I ain't stupid."

Trying to hold back your tears you saw the man start smirking again.

"Might want to save some of those tears, in a few days time yer life is gonna get a whole lot worse."

That was all he said before he started back up the stairs, leaving you alone in the dark, cold brig. Tears rolled from your eyes and down your cheeks, choking on a sob you called out for your soulmate softly even though you knew he wasn't there. Curling up into the corner you pulled your knees up to your chest and laid your forehead on them. What were you going to do now? These men were going to turn you over to the marines to collect your bounty, the bounty you had just learned about. Would they kill you? Would you be executed? They had killed Ace because he was the son of Gol Rogers, would they kill you for your bloodline as well? It felt like your heart had dropped to your stomach. So many thoughts were running through your head that it felt like it was spinning. Surly by now Croc had noticed you missing. Was he looking for you? Maybe he would find you. As much as you wanted to stay positive your logical mind was taking over. Shaking with a sob you closed your eyes tight and placed your hands over your womb. "Crocodile. Please fff...orgive me. I..I love you..."

.................................

There was a horrible clenching in his chest. They had searched the whole island, all through the night and next day but still his star had not been found. It was like she had just disappeared without a trace. They had even started searching houses, the thought that someone was hiding her crossing his mind. As he walked through the streets again, his eyes looking over every face he stopped when he heard yelling.

"Captain!"

Looking around he saw Ori come running up to him, the boy out of breath. "Did you find her?" he asked, his voice sounding desperate no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

Shaking his head he looked up to the terrifying man and swallowed thickly. "N..No sirr b..but..."

"Speak up boy!" he yelled. Noticing the boy flinch he grit his teeth down on his cigar. He knew the boy couldn't help it and his darling had gotten on him before about snapping at the boy for his speech impediment but his nerves were too raw at the moment.

"Bonez told me to c..come get you Sir. He..said ittt's important." Ori forced out, attempting to keep his stuttering to a minimum.

Sighing he nodded. "Alright. Keep looking."

"Yesss ssir."

Without another moments hesitation he had stalked back to his ship and to his cabin when Hex pointed him in that way. He didn't like the seldom look on the man's face. Throwing open the cabin door he saw Daz standing there, a look of remorse on his face. No. Please no. "What did you find?" he asked, his voice deep. Bonez had always had a sense of sarcasm to him but the man said nothing as he handed him the paper. Dropping his eyes to it he slowly reached out to take it. His mind already had an idea about what it was he was getting ready to see but he shoved it away. Turning it over to where Daz had already folded it to he felt his breath catch in his throat.

"Firelocks Y/n Captured. Bounty Collected."

He couldn't bare to read more than the headline, the paper turning to ash in his shaking hand.

Seeing his captain just standing there as still as a statue he let out a sigh. Crossing his arms over his chest he blinked slowly. "She is being transported to Impale Down as we speak." nothing, not even a blink. Dropping his head he closed his eyes, "I'm sorry Crocodile." was all he said before he left the man to mourn. As soon as the door closed and he had made it a few feet away he heard the sound of things being broken and knocked over. Heavy thumping and banging filled the air of the ship but no one said a word. Nodding to Hex he saw the man go out to collect the remaining crew so they could leave. In truth they would all be lucky if Crocodile didn't disintegrate the whole ship and leave them to the sea. Sitting on one of the crates Daz let out a deep breath as he listened to his captain's rampage go on. He couldn't blame him, he knew his pain all too well. Loosing one's soulmate and child was a hard burden to bare.

Breathing heavily Crocodile moved over to sit on the knocked over desk and dropped his head to his hand. She was gone. His love was gone. He had failed her again... and their child. There was no getting her back now he knew that. She was going to that hell. She was being sentenced to that dreadful place. It should have been him. He should be the one going to prison. She had done nothing, she was innocent. She was meant to be punished for being born... for loving him. He knew the truth, there was no way she would survive in a place like that. She was going to die, his unborn child was going to die. Before he could stop them tears were leaving his eyes. He felt them run down his cheeks and across his fingers and clenched his teeth hard to keep his unwanted sobs from ringing out. I'm sorry. "I'm so sorry my little star."

...........................

The wind blew harshly as you walked off the navy prison ship and down to the dock of doom. Keeping your eyes down you heard as the gate was slammed shut behind you and flinched. It was cold, your sundress doing nothing to keep you warm. Being led into the prison you heard the screams and cries of others around you and swallowed thickly. Following the jailer known as Domino into the prison you were first moved into a room to remove your clothing. Glancing to the guards most of which were men you tensed up but reluctantly did as you were told and removed your dress, bra and panties watching them get thrown into the fire.

"The locket as well." Domino spoke.

Snapping your eyes up your hands moved to your locket and you felt your lip tremble.

"Come on we don't have all day." one of the guards spoke.

Screaming out when the whip was brought down on your back you clung to your locket and felt tears roll down your cheeks. Hearing the clicking of boots you looked down to see two shiny black boots standing in front of you and slowly looked up to see Domino there. When she held her hand out you sniffled and brought the chain over your head, handing it over to her with trembling hands. You thought she would toss it to the fire but she didn't. Not having time to question it you were yanked over to another part of the room. Realizing what was next you clenched your teeth. Being shoved down to the stone floor you covered your breasts as best you could, keeping your legs closed while a thick chain was wrapped around your ankles. Hauled up you glanced down to the boiling water under you and closed your eyes. Your thoughts went to Crocodile, he had went through this same thing and you knew from what the manga had said that he hadn't made a sound. Be like him. Be strong like him. Repeating the words in your head you felt the chain drop and held your breath however you proved to be much weaker than your soulmate. Being pulled out of the caldron you let out a broken scream, your skin already feeling burnt and blistered.

Everything else that happened seemed to pass by in a blur, the 'baptism' making you feel faint. Dressed in stripped prison clothes that hung from your frame you walked along with Domino and one other guard who had to catch you as you stumbled a few times. Getting to an elevator you rode down you don't know how many levels, listening to people screaming. What level were you to be imprisoned in? When the elevator stopped you followed Domino down a dark hallway until she got to a large wooden door and knocked three times. A few seconds passed before the door opened and you were pushed inside. Stumbling to a stop you heard as Domino spoke to someone and then heard that person say your name.

"Ehh... Firelocks Y/n huh?"

Slowly looking up you saw none other than Hannyabal there. He was dressed differently than he had been in the manga and it was then you realized he had gotten Magellan's job. So he was Warden now. He looked to have put on some weight as well. Glancing over his office as he went about looking over what you guessed was your file you saw your locket had been placed on his desk and stared at it. At least she hadn't tossed it away.

Reading over the woman's file he looked back and forth between her and her bounty, checking off that it was really her. Seeing her looking towards the locket that Domino had said was hers he rose a brow but said nothing. "Did she give you any trouble?"

"Other than handing the locket over at first command sir no."

"So forcibly taken?" he asked the blond.

"No. She handed it over to me."

Humming he reached for a pen only to knock it from his desk.

Seeing the pen fall to the floor in front of you you reached down to pick it up out of habit but let out a cry when something hard hit your shoulder.

Watching as the guard hit the woman with his baton, knocking her to the ground he knit his brows. Seeing a small shaking hand reach up to place the pen on his desk before the officer hit her forearm with the baton again, yelling how she didn't move unless told to he heard the woman cry out but not reply. "That's enough. Leave me to get her settled." he said.

Slowly standing again you took in a shaky breath, your shoulder and arm throbbing in pain. You could hear as they went about talking but couldn't really make anything out, your eyes moving back to your locket on his desk.

Getting all he needed from Domino he closed his office door and walked back around the woman who was standing there silently, her lidded eyes focused back on the locket. Moving to sit in his chair he grabbed the pen from where she had placed it and lifted it to write. "State your name."

"Y/n... L/n...."

"Wouldn't it be Charlotte?" he asked as he wrote.

Feeling your brow twitch you blinked slowly, "I suppose."

"Crimes?" he asked.

Feeling a clenching in your heart you forced your tears away. "Being born."

Stopping he glanced from the bounty to her. Funny, to be the Granddaughter of the notorious Big Mom and the daughter of Killer Dunes she didn't look dangerous. Actually he thought she was pretty frail looking. Most prisoners here started giving everyone problems the moment they were dragged in but she had not fussed once. The young woman had even picked his pen up for him when he dropped it. Knowing she had been affiliated with Crocodile, one of the prisoners who had escaped the prison before he let out a sigh. Her eyes had not yet left the locket and as he lifted it he saw her small body tense. It was a simple gold locket, old he guessed by the ware on it. Hitting the button on the top of it he saw it open to show two different pictures on each side. One being an old picture of a man, woman and baby. He knew the man to be none other than Killer Dunes, her father. The other side of the locket set a sketch of Crocodile. It was hand drawn but it was good enough that it almost looked like a photograph. "Why him, why Crocodile?" he asked and saw her eyes drop, her fingers fettling with the hem of the baggy prison garb.

"C..can't help who you fall in love with..." you said in a soft voice. Just thinking about your soulmate that you would never see again made your heart shatter even more.

Ninety-nine million berry bounty just for being linked to the wrong people. This woman was doomed from the start. She didn't choose this life. Looking her over he let out a sigh. She wasn't likely to make it a month here. Especially since they had her in...glancing to her paper he knit his brows, level five. Scratch that, she wouldn't make it a week. Snapping the locket back close he held it out for her to take. Who was he to take away what would be the last bit of peace she would ever have.

Hearing the snap and glancing up you were surprised to see him holding the locket out for you. Thinking it may be some kind of trick you didn't move at first but then he pushed it to you more and you reached over to take it from him. "Thank you."

Nodding he watched her put it back on, seeing her wince as she had to move her no doubt sore body. Once she had it tucked under her shirt he stood from his desk and moved around to stand beside her.

Being led down another level you at first wondered why Hannyabal didn't take you by elevator but he soon spoke up.

"You are being sentenced to level five, the freezing hell. Personally I think it's a bit much but it's not my decision to make. Enjoy this last bit of warmth while you can."

Still remaining silent you heard as the screams slowly faded away, only the sound of your rattling chains filling the air around you. As the two of you came up to the large door you could feel the chill seeping through and hitting your bare feet. Taking a deep breath as he reached for the handle you closed your eyes as the door opened, the frigid cold wind hitting your burnt skin. Hannyabal didn't rush you as you walked on the frozen land with your blistered feet. Your body was already shivering violently and your teeth chattered together so much you thought they would crack. Walking by some of the cells you saw prisoners in some of them that looked to be frozen completely. Dead, they were dead. That was your fate. Continuing on you heard as the fair few of prisoners that were still breathing started cat calling you but you only grit your teeth and kept your eyes down.

Taking pity on the woman he placed her in one of the cells that received the least amount of wind and was mostly cut off from all the others. Opening the cell for her she again gave no fuss as she walked into the cold freezer.

Ignoring the men as they continued calling to you you walked over to the bench on the back wall and curled up on it, facing the wall. Hannyabal said nothing else as he left you to your doom.

...........................................

Screaming out as the long blade sliced through his skin and bone he fell to his knees, his right hand clinging to where his matching one had just been. Looking up at the emperor he didn't get time to speak a word before the man was swinging his weapon again, this time slicing open his face. Feeling the warmth of his own blood run down his face and seep into his clothes he shook as blood lose took over.

"You come back to the New World again and I'll remove more than your hand." Whitebeard warned before turning his back to the arrogant punk and walking away with his crew.

He didn't much know of anything else that occurred only the agonizing pain he felt as he came back to consciousness. Looking up he realized he was in the cabin of his small ship, laying in his bed from what it felt like. Trying to move he found his limbs heavy. He could see the bandages wrapped around his face out of the corner of his eyes. At least he could still see out of both. Glancing down to his left arm he looked to the spot his hand should be but saw nothing there. The numb remaining was wrapped in a thick amount of bandages that were spotted here and there with his blood. Hearing a noise he looked back forward and saw the ship's medic coming towards him.

"Wasn't expecting you awake yet." the man said. "Here drink this."

Feeling the man help him sit up and press a cup to his lips he greedily drank at the water he offered. Once he had had his fill he leaned back and groaned as he settled back onto the pillow. Glancing to the left side of his large bed he felt his brow twitch when a thought crossed his mind. "Y...y/n..." he managed to croak out, his voice sounding hoarse. Looking to the man's eyes he followed them when he glanced to the floor beside the bed where a small form was curled up under a spare blanket.

"She wouldn't take no for an answer. Screamed and hollered until we finally let her in. Boris has a right nasty bite to prove it."

Huffing at the information he sighed. As the medic gave him something for pain and made his leave he glanced down again to the sleeping body on the floor when he heard her small noise. Watching her move her hand to rub her eyes he swallowed thickly. "I've told you about biting." he said, his voice still horrible sounding. Still though he saw two sea blue eyes snap up to his own.

"Croc." her tiny voice called.

As she stood quickly and moved to his bedside he blinked heavily. Watching as she looked him over, her little lip trembling and her eyes filling with tears he breathed out. "Y/n..." Watching as she curled up to place her head on the bed beside his right bicep he heard her start crying, the sound breaking his heart. "Come here." When she made no move to get into the bed with him he forced his body to move, gritting his teeth as pain radiated throughout his body. Dropping his right arm he scooped her up and used all of his strength to lift the five year old up onto the bed. When he went to situate her with his left hand like he normally would he grunted in agony and heard her gasp.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." she cried.

Holding her still when she tried to move away from him he slid his left arm up and laid her down in his side. "Hush now. It's alright, don't cry."

"B..but yourrr h..hurt..." she sobbed, curling up into the nook of his side.

His arm was too heavy to hold up so he rested it across his chest and settled for stroking her head with his fingertips. "I'll be alright." he told her. Seeing her still so upset he licked his dry lips. "You know what would make me feel better?" he asked, cracking one of his eyes open when she looked up to him with her teary eyes. Turning his head away from her some he heard her sigh.

"I'm not a baby anymore I know It doesn't work like that." she told him in a soft voice.

"It used to work for you.. how do you know it won't work for me?" he asked and then felt her crawl up to peck the part of his cheek not covered in bandages. Grinning as she settled back down beside him, her head laying on his chest he glanced into her eyes and felt that calmness come over him. "See I feel better already." he said and saw her give him the tiniest smiles before it turned into a yawn. "Get some sleep my little star." Making sure she closed her own eyes first he swiftly followed.

Opening his eyes again however when he heard a noise he let out a gasp when he saw what was now laying beside him. It was Y/n but she was no longer a little girl nor was she the y/n he remembered. This Y/n had dull grey eyes that were sunken in with dark shadows surrounding them. Her cheeks were completely hollowed out and her lips were chapped and thinned out to the point they were bloody. Her soft hair that was before such a fiery red was now dry and almost a greyish brown in color. It looked as if all the life had been drained from her.

"You let them take me. You didn't protect me. You didn't protect us."

Hearing her words he dropped his head down to her stomach that was now slightly rounded under the striped prison clothes. Snapping his eyes back up to her he felt his heart hammer in his chest and his mouth dry out. "No...I didn't mean for it to happen..."

"But you let it. You failed me. You are my soulmate, you were supposed to take care of me. Didn't you love me?"

Nodding his head he felt that lump forming in his throat. "I did. I do."

"If you loved me then why did you let them take me?"

Closing his eyes as they filled with tears he heard her continue.

"Look at me, look at what I've become! I'm dying, our baby is dying and it's all your fault!"

Snapping his eyes open with a start he bolted up in bed, the blanket pooling to his waist. Looking around the dark room he closed his eyes and moved his hand to rub his face when he realized it had all been a dream. Another nightmare.

"The last part was you, your own mind taking over."

Tensing at the sudden voice he readied himself for a fight but when he looked over to the chair and saw the witch, one of the fates there he growled. "And just what the hell do you want?" he all but snarled.

"Me? Oh I just heard you thinking about all the what if's here lately and decided to show you what it would have been like if one of those were a reality."

"So mental torture then." he huffed as he got up from bed to go get something to drink. Pouring himself a large tumbler of rum he downed it in one go before filling it up again. His own pain reliever.

"Like I said the last part was all you." she spoke but he didn't respond. Watching the middle aged man for a time she saw him stare at the charcoal picture framed on the shelf. "You miss her dearly don't you."

"Why do you ask questions you already know the answers to?" he spoke in a stale voice.

"It's been almost four months Raiden."

"So your point is what?! I should just get over her?! She is my soulmate, my other half, my... my everything..." his voice although starting off strong and full of anger quickly became nothing more than a quiet sigh.

They sat in silence again for a while again, her listening to his thoughts until she spoke. "Yes. The answer is yes, she is still alive."

He didn't know wither to feel relieved or grief. While he was glad his darling was still alive it also meant that she was still in that hell. What state would she even be in?

Tilting her head at the war going on inside of the man's head she sighed. "Would you like to see her?"

Snapping his eyes to the witch he furrowed his brows and swallowed hard before giving a stiff nod. Watching her boney fingers come up and give a snap he was suddenly freezing. No. Not here. Why? What had she done to be put here? Looking around the frozen wasteland he heard voices and followed them.

"Come on girl. Come over here and I'll warm you up."

"I know you're hungry.. I got some scraps here, you can have em' if you come suck my cock."

Gritting his teeth and snarling at the vulgar men he looked into the cell they were all reaching into and saw her. His heart dropped to his stomach when he took her in. Moving over to the bars he went to grab them but passed right through them. Walking over to the bench she was curled up on he glanced her over. She was dressed in the god awful black and white stripes, the ones they had given her practically falling off of her. Her whole body was trembling, her bare feet curled up under her, attempting to keep them warm as best she could. It wasn't windy in here at least but that didn't make it any less cold, he could see the flushed look of her exposed skin. Crouching down beside her he leaned over to look at her face and saw her eyes open. A knot formed in his throat when he saw the frozen tears stuck to the bridge of her nose and her lashes. They almost looked like the ones from his dream, all of the shine and happiness gone from them. Glancing down to her cheeks and then body he saw her skinny and closed his eyes. He knew the truth there was no way their child had survived and even if it had he wouldn't want it to be born into this. The babe would freeze to death the moment it was born.

Hearing her sniffle he looked back to her face and lifted his hand to try and stroke her hair but no surprise, he couldn't touch her. Following her eyes he saw she was staring at her locket that she had opened and placed on the bench in front of her face. Seeing the picture of her parents there and then the small sketch of himself he pressed his lips just above the skin of her temple and closed his eyes again. "I love you my little star."

"It's time to go Raiden."

Shaking his head he held his own head above hers, desperate to touch her. "I want to stay, I want to be with her. You can do that, send me to her. I'll go back to that hell as long as I get to be with her."

"No. It is not your fate."

"I don't care, I don't..." with another snap of her fingers he was back in his own room, the chill from the prison vanishing. Dropping his head low he felt those damn tears drop from his eyes once again.

...........................................

Laying on the frozen bench which might have well been a piece of ice you shivered, clenching your teeth to keep them from chattering. How you hated the cold. It was so ironic that this was to be the way you died. After all this was how you almost perished all those years ago before Vic found you. Must be fate catching up with you. You couldn't feel your fingers, toes or ears anymore. While you knew you would be much warmer if you had the shared heat of the other imamates you chose to suffer the biting cold versus being raped. Pulling your legs up more and wrapping your arms tighter around your middle to hold what little heat you had around your womb you sighed. Truly you didn't know if you and Crocodile's child still grew there but you had yet to bleed from miscarriage. You also suffered from nausea still even if you never actually threw up what little food you had managed to take in. Pickers can't be choosers.

Sighing out you saw the breath float into the air and stared again to the picture of your love. Your thoughts often went to that of your soulmate. You wondered what he was doing now? You wondered if he missed you. While it hurt your heart to think of him with another you wouldn't want him to be alone forever. You wanted him to be happy and if that meant loving another then you would be okay with that. You wished him a happy life, even if that no longer included you being apart of it. Perhaps if you were lucky and if whatever higher power there was took pity on you then the two of you would be reunited one day after the both of you left this earth. Then again what if he had found another, wouldn't it be right for them to be together. Swallowing thickly you closed your eyes and felt tears fall from your eyes. It was best not to think about that. No matter where he was or what he was doing you just hoped he knew how much you loved him.

"Hurry the guards will catch on soon."

Hearing the unfamiliar voices you opened your eyes and turned over some when you heard noises growing closer.

"Run faster."

Seeing a group of people run by you knit your brows. The group of people were dressed differently than other prisoners and guards and it was then it hit you, The "Prisoners' Secret Flower Garden. Listening to the prisoners in the cell beside yours beg them for food or to be released you blinked slowly. Going to turn back over you heard someone let out a small yelp and then heard a thump. Turning back you noticed the person had dropped a crate with what looked like fruit in it. You couldn't see much but you could make out a hand currently picking up the dropped fruit and placing it back in the crate.

"Oh blast this slippery ice." the male voice cursed.

Seeing two of the fruits had rolled into your own cell you turned your stiff body to stand and picked up the apple and coconut before walking over to the bars. Looking down to the man that was crouched down looking around for the fruit you licked your cracked lips. "H..here you go." God your voice sounded awful then again you hadn't used it in who knew how long. As the person looked up to you you felt your breath catch in your throat.

Snapping his eyes up to the weak female voice he saw a small woman standing there behind the bars holding out two fruits for him to take. Blinking he stood and looked closer at the woman. "You are giving them back to me?"

Nodding you moved your shackled hands out between the bars to give Bon Clay back the fruit he had dropped. He looked just like he did in the manga and you gave a tiny grin before your lips fell back down.

Taking the fruit slowly he waited for her to try and attack him but none came. Once he had taken the fruit she moved her trembling hands back behind the bars. She looked at him for a moment before she turned to go back to the bench in the back. "W..wait. What's your name?"

Looking back to him you took in a shaky breath, "Y/n."

He had seen her before, somewhere but where? "Do you and I know each other?"

Shaking your head you saw him tilt his head. Hearing the yelling of guards and the howling of the wolves you swallowed and dropped your head. "You should go." you told him, looking back up at him you watched him lift the crate again. Clinging to your locket you blinked again. "It was nice to meet you Bon Clay."

She knew his name. How did she know his name? Before he had time to ask he heard the snarling of a wolf. Grabbing one of the apples he tossed it to her and took off running.

Awkwardly catching the fruit you looked down and then back up to watch him runaway. Stumbling back to the bench when one of the wolves looked at you you curled up on it, hiding your apple away until the guards were gone. Once it was clear you lifted it again, looking over it's red color.

"Hey. Hey baby I'll give you my shirt for that apple."

"Give it here you worthless Bitch."

Continuing to ignore them you took a bite of the fruit and sighed at the taste. While you wanted to savor it you were too hungry and quickly at all of it, including the pit. Not feeling nauseous you gave a huff and moved your arms back over your belly, so you like fruit like your daddy huh? you spoke mentally and gave a small grin, laying your head on your knees you let your mind drift away again, carrying you to a happier place.

#Sir Crocodile #one piece crocodile #crocodile fanfiction #crocodile x reader #sir crocodile x reader #one piece crocodile x reader #crocodile x ofc #soulmarks #soulmate au #HEAVY ANGST #feedback would be appreciated

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nah-she-didnt · 3 years

Text

Surprise! A Jily multi-chapter for your consideration

Hey y’all!

I had this idea today, wrote all this down, and proof read it exactly one (1) time. So we’ll see how this whole multi-chapter-thing goes, but I’ll likely be building the plane as I fly it. Please enjoy Chapter 1 of my new fic, Spirits and Bones, based loosely on “Ivy” by Taylor Swift. CW: Brief rape mention, not explicit

Also read on AO3!

Spirits And Bones

Chapter 1: The Hawthorne

Lily knew there was no magic in this place.

She could always feel magic before she could see it. She felt the vibrations on her fingertips, the electricity beneath her bare feet on hallowed ground. Magic was light, intense. This house, however, sat heavily upon the earth. Nothing buzzed beneath her feet as she stood and looked up at its high walls. She could see the window sills were still covered in heavy snow from last night’s storm.

“Come, now.” Petunia seized her above the elbow and marched her toward the front door. Her dress itched her arm beneath her sister’s hand. It was new, deep green silk and trimmed with braided bronze fabric. Petunia deemed the color acceptable against Lily’s pale complexion. “We may as well try to make the most of it,” Petunia had huffed, glaring at Lily’s deep red hair. Red hair was generally regarded as unlucky, and Petunia was sure that it would prevent Lily from making a proper match.

Their father trailed behind his daughters. He didn’t speak, but Lily thought she saw him flinch when Petunia grabbed her arm. He had a gentle heart, she knew, but he was a weak man. Far too weak to stand up for her now.

Lily felt her sense of dread grow as they marched toward the oak front door of the house. This was never supposed to be her future. Her mother had taught her to read, write, and heal before the age of six. Lily was supposed to become a proper healer and perhaps, one day, marry if she chose. As the youngest daughter of a wealthy man she had options. Now that she was the youngest daughter of a poor former lord she was only a burden.

Petunia knocked, and the family waited in silence for someone to appear at the door. A small girl in a simple black dress, her hair tucked into a bonnet, answered and bade them enter. The house was certainly larger than an average cottage but seemed contradictory. Fine tapestries lined walls made of dilapidated old stones. There were expensive-looking trinkets displayed on every surface, but the place had a musty smell to it. This, Lily supposed, was the trouble with coming into new money. There was enough to decorate your home so that it appeared impressive, but not enough to truly live as the wealthy lived.

The girl led them down the hall and into a large room lit with torches. Ominous-looking paintings of sour men grimaced down at them from above. “My master will be with ye’ soon,” squeaked the girl, and she left the room.

Lily wasn’t sure what to do now. Should she sit and arrange herself into a pleasing pose on one of the chairs? Should she stand by the fireplace? No, Petunia would probably say that the firelight would only exacerbate her already unfortunate hair. She compromised by standing between her father and sister, trying to look more confident than she felt.

The door banged open and Lily jumped. A tall, mean-faced man stood in the doorway. He had long, lank, jet-black hair that fell into his black eyes. His clothes looked expensive, but not well cared for. She noticed a burn on his collar as if he had let ash from his pipe burn away the fabric there.

The man strode into the room, followed by a boy around her age. He too had long dark hair that looked unwashed, but he didn’t look hard like his father. He looked frightened.

“So,” said the older man, as he shook Lily’s father’s hand, “how are you, Bartholomew?”

“I am well, Tobias” said her father, who looked as if he were also trying to exude confidence where he had none, “this is my daughter, Lady Petunia Dursley.”

“Charming girl,” Tobias took her sister’s hand and kissed it, “I’ve done business with your husband, Lady. A fine gentleman.”

Petunia beamed. “Your acquaintance with my husband does not surprise me,” she simpered, batting her eyelids, “he trades with all the most noble men in the country.”

The man let out a mirthless, booming laugh. “Oh, my dear, you flatter me. And this,” he said, pushing his son forward, “Is my son, Severus. Say hello, boy.”

“‘Lo,” Snape muttered, not looking at Lily.

His father nudged him hard in the shoulder, “Louder, so the lady can hear you. It’s never too early for a wife to learn to heed her husband’s words, am I correct, Bartholomew?”

Lily’s father produced a tight-lipped smile in response. Lily felt her face burn.

“Now,” Tobias growled, as if he had just noticed that Lily was in the room, “this must be your youngest. Shame my own wife lives and that this flower is to be given to my son.”

Petunia laughed. Lily felt like she might be sick.

“You honor me, my lord,” she said through gritted teeth. She knew she had to appease the father if she was to marry the son.

He leered at her for a moment more, then turned back to her father. “Right,” he said, rubbing his hands together eagerly, “I believe we have some business to attend to. Come, step into my study and we can finalize the arrangement. I believe your daughter can serve as chaperone for the time being. Not that they’ll need a chaperone much longer, ha!” And with that, Tobias motioned for her father to follow him out of the hall. Her father gave Lily one apologetic look, then left the room.

Lily, Petunia, and Severus stood in silence for a moment.

“Shall we sit?” Severus gestured awkwardly to the chairs in front of the fire. Desperate for something to do, Lily followed him. The chair was intricately decorated but uncomfortable, and she tried to arrange her hands in her lap like she’d seen other ladies do.

Petunia sat stiff as a board in her chair. “So, Severus,” Petunia sniffed, “what do you intend to do for an occupation when you and my sister marry?”

Severus looked surprised that Petunia had spoken so frankly. “I plan to manage the land that belongs to my father while I learn his trade. He trades luxury goods to nobbles.”

Petunia pursed her lips, and Lily could tell that she was trying to hide her displeasure. “Lovely. Doesn’t that sound lovely, Lily?”

“Yes, very lovely” said Lily quickly, “where is this land, Severus?” Where is the land where I will spend the rest of my depressing life, she wanted to say.

Snape motioned towards the wall lined with windows. “Just over the hill there, we’ll still be close to my father.”

“Oh. Good.” She forced herself to smile, but she felt hopelessness begin to close in. This could not be her life.

“The house is modest, but not uncomfortable,” he looked slightly embarrassed now, “father says that if I learn his trade I may one day knock it down and build a grander house. A castle, maybe.”

Lily smiled and nodded as if this idea pleased her. All she could think about was getting out of this itchy dress.

They sat in silence for several long minutes. Lily felt her thoughts drift back to her mother. The elders in her town said that her mother, Isadora, was the daughter of faeries, that she knew the ways of old magic. It had caused a minor scandal when Isadora had married Lily’s father. She didn’t come from money, and her father had been a wealthy and influential man back then. He always said that he married her mother for love, not for advantage. This had always been Isadora’s plan for Lily as well. Petunia dreamed of a good match ever since she was a little girl, but Lily had magic in her bones.

Her mother had noticed Lily’s magic one day as they walked through the woods together. Lily remembered that she had grown hot under her blue child’s dress and tugged at her sleeves and collar. Her mother had asked her what was wrong. Lily replied that the air around her pricked at her skin.

Ever since that day Isadora taught her daughter to recognize signs of magic in the earth. They walked into the forest and pressed their palms to tree trunks to feel the vibrations beneath the surface. They let water rush over their feet until Lily could trace the stream’s progress over the rounded stones in the riverbed. And, most importantly, Isadora had taught her to heal.

The doors banged open again. Tobias and her father strode into the room, Tobias roaring with laughter over some unknown joke.

“Cozy, are we?” Tobias smirked down at Lily and Severus. She saw Severus’ sallow skin flush with embarrassment.

“We will return in one week for the ceremony,” Lily’s father extended a hand to Tobias. He shook it vigorously.

“Yes, soon these lovebirds won’t have to wait anymore to be husband and wife. I’m sure you are both thrilled, are you not?”

Neither Lily or Severus spoke. Petunia poked Lily hard in the back so Tobias couldn’t see.

“Yes, thrilled, my lord.” She hoped that she wouldn’t have to sound this disingenuous for the rest of her life.

The ceremony was not a grand affair. Only Lily, Severus, and their immediate families attended. Lily read vows off a scrap of paper written in her sister’s hand. They had been the vows that Petunia used when she married Vernon. The words made Lily want to jump into a well.

After the ceremony Severus showed her to their new home. It was a small stone cottage with two floors, a dusty kitchen, and a small space for a garden outside. It was grim, Lily couldn’t lie to herself, but she supposed there were worse circumstances in which to live. At least she had a view of the pasture of sheep from her sitting room window. The only thing that truly enchanted her about the house were the tendrils of ivy that covered the walls from ground to sky. The branches snaked so thick across the stones that Lily could hardly see the blue-gray bricks beneath.

The wedding night was, mercifully, brief. Severus fumbled for her in the dark for a few moments while she lay as still as possible. She should be grateful, she supposed, that he did not have his father’s strength or appetite. He seemed timid to touch her, as if she was made of glass and would break at any moment. This did not, however, stop him from consummating the marriage.

She spent a few days exploring the grounds around the house. Severus spent most of his days with his father, so Lily traipsed through the growing snow banks that blanketed the fields and forest. For three days she felt no magic. The trees here seemed as dead as the big house had felt. But then, on the fourth day after her wedding, Lily felt something.

As she approached the expanse of forest at the edge of their property she ground beneath her feet grow warm. It was hard to tell through the thick snow boots she wore, so she removed her shoes and stood with her feet planted firmly on the ground. The snow felt unnaturally warm to the touch, as if she stood on sun-baked sand not frozen water.

She took a step forward and winced, withdrawing her foot from the frozen earth. She turned west and stepped again, this time feeling warmth once more. She meandered like this for a while, leaving an unpredictable pattern of footsteps behind her as she pursued the magic. After about an hour Lily noticed that her neck ached. She had been so busy watching the ground around her that she hadn’t bothered to look up.

Lily raised her head and gasped. She found herself in a clearing in the woods, surrounded by an unnaturally-perfect circle of trees. In the clearing’s dead center stood a lone Hawthorne tree. Lily recognized the tree’s branches as a Hawthorne from her studies with her mother. Legend said that Hawthornes were the doorway between the magical and mortal worlds. Most mortal people did not trust them. Farmers often ignored Hawthornes that stood in their fields, refusing to cut them down to make room for livestock, lest they anger the faeries that lived there.

Lily knew better than to fear a Hawthorne tree, but she still kept a safe distance. She could just make out a group of strange markings carved into the trunk. No mortal would dare to mark a Hawthorne tree…

She took a step forward, feeling the warmth grow once more beneath her feet. Suddenly, she heard a loud snapping of branches, and nearly jumped out of her own skin. She whirled around to find the culprit.

An enormous, magnificent stag loomed between two trees surrounding the clearing. His coat was chestnut brown, and the tops of his antlers stood at least ten feet off the ground. The stag looked at her curiously, his head tilted to one side as if he had never seen anything like her before. Perhaps he hadn’t, she thought, she wasn’t sure how populated these woods were. Suddenly she felt nervous, those antlers looked like they were more than capable of ripping through her flesh if the stag felt threatened.

Lily held up her hands in front of her placatingly. “I’m sorry,” she said in a loud, clear voice, “I’ll leave now.” Why on earth was she speaking to a stag as if he could understand her?

The stag huffed and pawed the ground nervously. She backed away, hands still raised, but to her surprise the stag followed her. He approached her slowly until he was directly in front of her, then lowered his magnificent head. Somehow she knew what the stag wanted from her.

She reached out a trembling hand and placed her palm between the stag’s eyes. She felt a jolt run through her and flinched, yanking her hand back in surprise. The stag gave her one last knowing look and turned to gallop away into the trees.

#Jily au #Jily fic #multi-chapter #spirits and bones #nina writes #Lily arranged marriage to snape #CW: rape mention #jily slowburn

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kyber-crystal · 4 years

Text

in your arms || s.r

summary: in which the avengers are called to disaster-torn syria to provide medical relief to those affected by the recent earthquake and carry out a search-and-rescue mission for the missing. as both a superhero & former SHIELD nurse, you’re always prepared for what’s to come, but this event in particular leaves you shaken and you’re not sure how to handle your distress.

words: ~3.1k

warnings: mentions of blood, death, soft steve ;-p

a/n: shamelessly stole this idea from the kdrama i was watching. if you haven’t seen Descendants of the Sun yet GO WATCH IT. IT’S SO GOOD

7.5 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF ALEPPO. HUNDREDS FEARED DEAD OR MISSING

Phil Coulson had a grim look on his face as he clicked through the slideshow displaying images of crumbling buildings, children clinging to their parents as they shielded themselves from the ash-filled air, debris littering the streets and those unfortunate enough to have been trapped beneath the rubble struggling to escape.

You anxiously looked down and picked at your nails, unable to look up at the projector screen any longer. Steve noticed your discomfort and decided to intervene.

“Okay. That’s enough.”

Phil nodded, and the images disappeared.

“I’ve arranged for one of the STRIKE helicarriers to fly you guys out tonight," Phil stated. “Be ready. You’ll be leaving at 9:45.”

“Agent Coulson, sir,” Sam cleared his throat, “could you first explain to us what exactly we’re doing?”

“You’re partnering with the Red Cross to provide disaster relief to those affected. You may be stationed for anywhere between two weeks to two months, depending on how successful things go. Does anyone have any more questions?”

“No, sir,” everyone replied in unison.

“Alright, then. Meeting dismissed.”

You were silent throughout the entirety of dinner, and the silence continued as you began packing your bags. Steve watched you as he leaned against your doorframe for a few moments before coming over to help you pack.

“Are you okay?”

“Huh? Yeah,” you yawned as you handed him a pair of jeans and he folded it for you, “just tired.”

“We both know that’s not the only thing bothering you,” he sighed. “Tell me what’s up.”

“I haven’t been in the operating field in over five years. If I mess up - then all those deaths are on me. I can’t live with the fact knowing I did my best, yet I still failed to save someone.”

“You’re going to do just fine,” the super-soldier reassured you. “If there’s anything I’m more sure about, it’s that you’ll do your job and you’ll do it well.”

“I sure hope so.”

...

Maybe it was the consequences of hardly sleeping finally catching up to you, because you were completely dead inside by the time you headed to the hangar bay and boarded the helicarrier. You had no energy left to even open your mouth to speak, resting your head against Steve’s shoulder and dozing off immediately.

If you thought what the news channels showed was bad, the sight you were greeted with as you stepped down the ramp was a hundred times worse. Agonized cries of the injured, young children crying out as they searched for their missing parents, a mother frantically trying to calm down her wailing infant. You couldn’t take a single step without coming across bits and pieces of debris that fell as a result of the earthquake, coughing every so often from the dust blowing around.

Wanda handed you a piece of cloth and you gratefully accepted, having it serve as a makeshift mask, covering the base of your nose and entirety of your mouth.

“Thank goodness you guys arrived in time,” a breathless Maria Hill came up to you. “Wanda, Y/N, Barnes, Cap, I need you two to carry out the second search-and-rescue operation. We’re suspecting that there’s still more survivors trapped under.”

“How many?” you questioned.

“I don’t know, we’re saying about a dozen. Medbay’s almost completely full so you guys’ll need to work as fast as you can.”

Six hours later, and you’d barely managed to lift five of the twelve people back up to safety. Even with Wanda’s combined powers of telekinetic manipulation, lifting heavy stones worth several tons was an extremely difficult task. It was only when you and Steve stepped into help that they budged slightly.

Your shoulders ached immensely and sweat poured down your dirt-streaked face. The cut on your upper arm from a sharp edge of concrete stung but you kept going nonetheless, knowing you couldn’t simply stop what you were doing, or someone would most certainly end up dead as a result of your carelessness.

Another two hours later, you fortunately managed to find the last two people amongst the mess of ash and stone.

But there was a small, no major - problem.

One man was trapped as he was impaled by a long strip of scrap metal; narrowly missing his heart, while another was trapped underneath a slab of concrete.

If the medical team lifted the slab to save him, it would release the scrap metal trapping the other, ultimately cutting him in half.

And if you freed the impaled man, it would drop the slab all the way, crushing the legs of the man stuck underneath.

“You have ten minutes to decide. You have the final say in who lives, Y/N,” Steve informed you.

“Are you seriously telling me to choose who to save right now?”

“We have no other choice.”

“But...”

“Ten minutes, Y/N,” he repeated, before turning around to leave and help Bucky.

So after a long ten minutes of internally arguing with yourself, you finally stepped up to tell Wanda and the others your decision.

“The plan of rescue is...”

...

Spending all day underground and rarely ever stopping to drink water was beginning to take its toll on you. Your vision was blurring slightly and you couldn’t stare in one direction for longer than a minute before you began to see double of whatever was in front of you. It could’ve just been the heat, but your body was producing abnormal amounts of sweat and you swore you could’ve burned your hand if you kept your palm against your forehead any longer.

You crossed your arms tightly over your blood-splattered shirt as you watched soldiers milling around from tent to tent and wrapped up for the day.

You’d willingly let one die so the other could live. While you knew there was no other viable option, guilt still clawed at your insides, settling heavily in the pit of your stomach. You knew the man trapped underneath was already suffering from crush syndrome, and therefore had a lesser chance of survival. But that didn’t stop you from feeling guilty.

“Please don’t look at me,” you muttered. You didn’t need to turn around to notice Steve approaching you from behind. “Aren’t there any dark and shady places around here?”

Steve didn’t listen, and stepped around so he could look at you, concern evident in the expression he wore.

“No, there isn’t. Then, should I try my best at being ‘shady?’” he exhaled, offering a small smile.

You cracked a small grin before glancing back down at your feet.

“You did well today,” he complimented.

You didn’t respond, swallowing hard and squeezing your eyes shut as more tears slipped down your cheeks.

He tilted his head slightly, brows furrowing with worry. “I need to hear your answer so that I can wipe your tears. Just look at me for a moment.”

You reached up to hastily wipe at your eyes before finally looking up to meet his softened gaze. Steve then held a finger up and you looked in the direction he was pointing to see the starry night sky; like a beautiful contrast of a million tiny diamonds scattered across an ebony cloth.

“Wow, how shameless,” you breathed out, “Without knowing what the ground did...”

“I thought it would’ve been comforting...”

“I’ve already received consolation from you, Captain.”

The super-soldier took another glance at the sky, then back at you before you spoke again.

“Thanks for, um...helping me out there,” you began, “if you weren’t there today...I might’ve run away.”

“If you have plans to run away, take me with you. You know, running away...is more fun when a man and woman do it together.”

A small smile tugged at the corners of your lips at his suggestion, and you nodded. And even as you looked away from him to admire the sky once more, his unwavering gaze on you did not fall.

“Yeah, it is.”

He took a step forward, reaching up to cup your cheek with one hand and gently wiping at your eyes with the tip of his thumb. You were shaking at this point, maybe from the lack of balance you had over your body or because you’d started crying again. You didn’t have the energy left to flinch at the sudden contact or turn away from him and instead, stayed still.

“Hey, c’mere,” he muttered, reaching an arm to encircle it around your waist.

“Steve, no-” you struggled against his grip but eventually gave up a few seconds later, knowing that fighting against a super-soldier was hopeless.

“I’m not gonna take no as an answer, sweetheart. Come here,” he repeated, stopping to scan your face for a moment before pulling you against him. A part of your consciousness screamed at you to pull away as soon as he did so, that this wasn't right and you didn't have any time to stand around like this. But at the same time, you didn’t ever want him to let go. You choked on a sob. “You’re gonna tell me what’s going on right now because I can’t stand here and watch you fall apart, and not do anything about it.”

Your voice caught in your throat as you tried to speak. “I tried so hard to save everyone. I really did. But I couldn’t, and-”

“This job,” Steve murmured, “we try to save as many people as we can. Sometimes that doesn’t mean everybody. But if we can’t find a way to live with that, then next time...maybe nobody gets saved.”

“I know, but...still...I couldn’t save them all, and I can’t help but feel-”

“You tried your best to save everyone. I know you did. And sometimes, that’s the best you can do. It’s the effort that counts rather than the numbers themselves.”

It was relatively quiet as he held you there, bodies swaying gently to the sounds of the evening breeze and chirping crickets. And the longer he held you for, the more of the spite and frustration pent up inside your body began to fade. When he embraced you, all the anger and guilt washed away.

...

Your arm’s bleeding,” he pointed out as pulled away from you and noticed the crimson blood spreading across the top of your shirt, “How’d this happen?”

“I...caught it on a piece of scrap metal as I was down there.”

“We should get that checked out.”

You winced as he lightly pressed a hand to your shoulder to gauge the severity of the wound. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. This cut’s pretty deep. You’ll need stitches.”

“I’ll just do it myself.”

“No. Just let me care for you this once, alright? You’ve been on your feet all day. You deserve a break.”

He wrapped an arm around your waist and helped lead you back to the medbay where the rest of the team was awaiting with Maria.

“Y/N! I was just about to send Nat to go get you,” Wanda exclaimed as she approached you, “are you alright? You’re bleeding!”

“Don’t worry, I’m fine,” you chuckled. “It’s just a scratch.”

“It’s not just a scratch,” Steve corrected. “Come on. Let’s go get that treated.”

You were led to the back of the room, sitting down on the edge of a cot as Wanda rolled over the cart of medical supplies.

“You’re a doctor?” you questioned as you watched Steve lay out the necessary materials on the table next to your bed. “I didn’t know that.”

“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, Y/N,” he chuckled. “Back in the army, they had us take a crash course on treating basic injuries in the case that something like this happened. It’s always good to be prepared.”

“Wow. America’s golden boy not only knows how to fight, but is also a part-time doctor? That’s nice - ow!” You let out a hiss of pain as the needle pierced your skin. “Could you please be a little more gentle there...”

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, “I’ll try and be more careful.”

Several more minutes passed in silence before you spoke up again.

“I bet you have plenty of girls purposely getting injured and falling at your feet just so they could be treated by you.”

“I don’t think so.”

“You know, that’s also tons of potential girlfriend options for you right there. Why don’t you pick one of them to take out to a nice dinner or something? You’re in your thirties, and honestly, I can’t think of a better time to date than now, if you aren’t already married.”

“Why would I do that? I already have my eye on someone else.”

“Then how come you haven’t made a move?”

“I've been as obvious as I could possibly be,” he explained as he finished stitching you up, and you leaned back against the bed, “but I’m not sure she gets of my signs. Besides, I don’t have time for relationships.”

“Why not? Is it just because you’re a superhero?”

“No. She’s, well, how do you put it...out of my league.”

“Excuse me?” You raised an eyebrow in shock. “A woman, out of Steve Rogers’ league? If anything, it should be the other way around. Why would you think that? What makes her so special?”

“For starters...” he exhaled as he took a cotton ball and gently began dabbing at the small cuts on your face, “she’s a badass.”

“Language,” you laughed lightly. “Go on.”

“I think that’s what I admire most about her; her fearlessness. It doesn’t matter what events are thrown at her, she handles them well and with ease. She makes everything she does look easy, when in fact, her job is anything but. And she always knows how to make you laugh. It doesn’t matter how bad of a mood you’re in, she’ll find a way to get you rolling around on the ground within minutes. And even if everything’s falling apart around her, she manages to keep it altogether. She always chooses the path of righteousness, even if it requires a sacrifice of some sort.”

“Her...job?”

“Former SHIELD agent, amazing nurse, currently an Avenger.”

Your heart stopped as you put two and two together and realized it was you he was talking about.

“I’m not that special, Cap,” you mumbled.

"You are, to a lot more people than you think. Especially to me.”

By the time he spoke those last three words, you’d fallen asleep. He let his head fall into his hands with a sigh. Right as he’d worked up the courage to confess his feelings, you weren’t even paying attention.

“Cat got your tongue, Rogers?” Sam commented as he patted Steve’s back. He looked down at your peacefully dozing figure and smiled. “She must’ve been exhausted out there.”

“Working twelve hours nonstop, didn’t even bother resting even when she was offered a break.”

“We’ve all had a long day. You should go rest up, too. I’ll watch over her. Okay?”

“Sam-”

“Go. Seriously. Rest.”

“No.”

“Gosh, lovesick soldiers,” Sam rubbed his forehead with one hand, “the things being in love can do to you. Alright. But you’re going to eat the sandwich that I bring you, no arguments.”

“Fine.”

Ten minutes later, he came back with a chicken panini. “Eat. That’s an order.”

Reluctantly, Steve took the sandwich, taking a bite. He finished ten minutes later, throwing the wrapper into the trash can before going to talk to Dr. Cho.

“Is Y/N okay? Do I need to run some extra tests?” she asked, concerned. “Did she get hurt anywhere?”

“A bit of heat exhaustion and injury to her left arm, but other than that, she’s alright. I took to stitching her up so I could take that work off your shoulders.”

“Thank you, Cap.”

“No problem.”

Steve pulled his chair up to your bedside again, sighing as he rested his chin in one hand and gently brushed your hair away from your face with the other. Times like these in which he saw you in a peaceful state were extremely rare, so he cherished any moment of tranquility he could get. He knew your jobs were extremely demanding and forced you to stay on your feet 25/8, but if you were tired, you hardly ever showed it.

“You must really care about her, huh.”

The super-soldier jumped about ten feet in the air as he turned around to see a sweaty but grinning Peter Parker. “Oh, hey, Queens.”

“My phone just died so Bucky went to charge it for me. What time is it?”

He blinked a couple times before looking down at his watch. “It’s...2:43 a.m.”

“You’ve been sitting and staring at her for the past five hours?”

“It’s been five hours already?”

“Yup.”

Steve let out a sigh. “Tell Dr. Cho I’m staying here for the night, will you?”

“Uh- yessir!”

By the time Peter came back with Helen, and Natasha as well, Steve was fast asleep as well.

“Guess we can’t get him to budge,” Natasha shrugged. “It’s cute.”

...

When you woke up the next morning, you felt a heavy weight pressing down on your legs. Blinking to adjust your vision against the harsh white lights, you opened your eyes to see Steve, snoring softly with his head resting in your lap as one of his arms were draped over your knees.

“Rogers. Cap. Capsicle,” you gently shook him awake, “hey.”

“Yes what huh?” Steve shook his head and stretched his arms up in the air as he looked around, then at you. “Oh, you’re awake.”

“Have you been here this whole time? Shouldn’t you have gone back to the sleeping quarters with Tony and the others?”

“I decided to stay here.”

“But why? You should be getting sleep, too!”

“And you were on your feet all day yesterday. You were doing most of the work,” he pointed out. “Besides, I squeezed in a couple hours, here and there. You contracted a fever sometime between 4-5 a.m, so I had to stay awake to make sure your condition didn’t get any worse.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. You’re just too stubborn to admit sometimes that you actually need someone’s help. So please,” his expression softened as he placed his hand on top of yours, “just let me help you, okay? You’re tiring yourself out.”

“Mhm,” you let out a tired sigh, falling back against the pillows as he leaned over to press a gentle kiss to your forehead. “Thanks, Steve. You’re the best.”

“You’re welcome.”

You spoke so quietly that if it weren’t for his exceptional hearing, he wouldn’t have caught what you were saying.

“I love you. I'm in love with you,”

He smiled softly, lacing your fingers together. “I know. I'm in love with you too.”

#avengers imagines #steve x reader #steve rogers #steve rogers x reader #avengers x reader #avengers #captain america #captain america imagine #captain america x reader #avengers fanfiction #steve rogers one shot #captain america one shot #captain america fanfiction

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talkfastromance4 · 4 years

Text

That Tuesday Night in June--Ashton Irwin oneshot

Copyright talkfastromance4 © All works is intellectual property of the author. All rights reserved. Any redistribution or reproduction or any part or all contents in any form is prohibited. You may not, without written expression and consent from the author, distribute works amongst other social media platforms

Author’s note: Sarah @spicycal showed me ‘Love Somebody’ by Lauv which this is loosely based on. It started off as something and ended into something entirely different. It might not make sense. I hope it’s not awful.

Word count: just shy of 3k

Warnings: slight smut, angst

donate to my ko-fi here :)

Masterlist

• • • •

Constant phone alarms. Car horns honking. The rumble of the jet beneath his feet and the turbulence of the landing. Ashton feels it all, each noise is like a bullet pressing into his constant headache. A dull pain that wraps from his forehead to the tip of his condor tattoo on his neck. Sunglasses don’t help and his insurmountable cups of iced coffee don’t help either.

He’s haunted from that Tuesday night in June. The ghost of your smile makes him ache in the worst way and he swears he can still smell that white raspberry and flowery perfume that is uniquely you. That Tuesday night in June was the last time he’d see you before he left for tour.

He never liked being home while his bags and cases were packed with his clothes. His barren closets echoed the empty space of his house and it always drove him mad, so he always came by your place. It became an unplanned tradition a few years ago when he had a minor panic attack. He called you frantic while you were driving home asking if you could stop by.

When you arrived, you saw him with his elbows on his knees and his head hung low between his legs as he tried to steady his breathing. After a moment of soft words, you understood the empty house ailed him. You coaxed him into getting into your car so he could come by your place for the night.

You brought out card games, board games and played his favorite movies in the background while he calmed down. You both fell asleep on the couch and you had no problem driving him back to his place so he wouldn’t miss the car that would pick him up for his flight. Since then, when he’d finish packing, you’d swing by and take him to your place.

That Tuesday night in June started out like every other previous tour eve. Ashton turns the volume up on his phone so the playlist you made for him is louder than the ache in his head. He remembers that night so vividly, it’s replayed so many times that he could relay every detail to someone if they asked.

You and Ashton are sitting on the floor of your living room, cross legged, knees touching while his hands hold onto your knees in a strong, yet comforting way. Your eyes are locked, and you try to match your breaths with his index fingers tapping on your kneecap.

“Are you feeling relaxed?” he asks, exhaling deeply.

“No, because I’m concentrating on your finger and it’s hard to breathe like that,” you sigh slumping forward. He’s trying to teach you how to meditate by doing some breathing techniques.

“You need to focus on your breath, not my fingers,” his fingers leave a phantom imprint on your skin as he tousles his darkened curls that frame his face. He lets out a big breath, turns his neck from side to side and rolls his shoulders. As if your incapability of his technique disturbed him. “Let’s try something else.”

“Like what?” you roll your eyes. Ashton narrows his then places your hands on your knees, he covers his hands over yours. The heat radiates from his palms to yours.

“Center yourself.”

“How do I—”

“I’m teaching you, aren’t I?” he snaps, his eyebrows rose.

“Ookay…I think you need to center yourself, Ash,” you quip back.

“Don’t be sassy,” he squeezes your hands as if in warning. Instead of evoking worry, the action only made your body warmer. “Close your eyes and do a deep inhale… and exhale… Good. Now I want you to breathe comfortably—”

“No tapping?” you interrupt.

“No tapping. And no more interruptions from you, missy.”

“Sorry,” you lock your lips together. You do another deep breath and try to match your breathing with your heart.

“Visualize yourself as a tree—”

“Can I be the ocean?”

“Y/N,” he says sternly, and you lock your lips again after muttering a soft ‘sorry.’ “Fine, imagine yourself as a tree surrounded by water.” He lowers his voice and speaks slowly. “Your head and arms are the branches soaking up the warm sun. You feel the warmth on your cheeks, your nose, your shoulders, your arms, your hands and fingers.”

You concentrate on the soothing tone of Ashton’s voice; your breathing has lowered, and your body feels heavy but in a nice way. With each body part Ashton listed, you relaxed even more.

“You can still feel the warm sun as we move down your legs, and then we’re in the water. It’s the perfect temperature, just like the sun filling you with warmth and peace. Your toes are like roots, soaking it up.”

On reflex, you wiggle your toes beneath your legs and it’s as if you can feel the water and the warm mud squelching between your toes. It’s a lovely feeling.

“You can feel the water shoot up your roots, going through your veins. You feel it in your knees,” he squeezes your knees gently. “In your hips, each fingertip, your wrist, your elbows….”

You let out a soft sigh, his voice is hypnotic, and you can feel it touch every part of you he’s listing. Your mind is blank except for the vision he has you imagine. His presence and yours are all you can sense.

“Now the water is traveling to your shoulders, your neck, your chin, your cheeks…” his breath shakes and you swear you felt his breath blow on your face. “Your lips…”

Then you feel Ashton’s lips on yours, they’re hesitant but promising. His visualization of the sun made your body warm, but his lips on yours left you scorching. You kiss him back and his fingers dance up your thighs to your waist, he squeezes your hips and you gasp. That action electrifies your body, he lifts you onto his lap. Your legs lock around his waist, his hands are hot on your back, his heat radiating through your shirt.

You rake your fingers in his hair as your tongues roll together, breathing heavily. You’re caught up in the moment, so you kiss him fiercely, years and years’ worth of kisses are pouring out of you. You bring your hand to his jaw, loving the way he flexes beneath your fingers. Ashton slips his hands under your shirt; his fingers splay over your back.

In your mind’s eye, you’re still standing in that body of water, and with each roll of your hips and squeeze of Ashton’s fingers, it sloshes around you. You’re making waves and you never want to stop kissing him. His lips are in control of the kiss, pulling soft moans and more kisses from you when he drags his hand down your leg. He squeezes at your inner thigh, his thumb teasing over your core with each squeeze. Your legs jerk at each rub, inclining yourself closer to his thumb. Your body is electric and buzzing, his touch setting you on fire, but you break the kiss to get a breath of fresh air.

“Tell me to stop, and I will,” his voice is husky in your ear as you press your body to his.

“Why would I do a thing like that?” you sigh biting your lip as your tummy fills with butterflies.

Your fingers tug on the fabric of his shirt. When he gets the idea, Ashton is quick to remove both of your clothes. Your breathing is shallower as his fingers tease up and down your folds, you glide over his fingers deliciously, tantalizingly, torturously.

“You’re dripping, angel,” he exhales.

You press your nose to his, the vision of his eyes conjoins together as one as he thrusts up into you. Your breath is shaky as he fills you, you feel every inch stretch you open. You clench and unclench around him to get used to his size, his hands are all over you, his breathing ragged. When you begin to move, he moves with you and it’s so, so good. He pulses inside you; you squeeze over him and he drags your bottom lip between his own.

The rush of it all sent you to the moon and back in a constant loop.

Leaving you that next morning was the hardest thing Ashton had to do. After your moment together, the two of you stayed up talking and kissing all night. When it was time to leave, he ordered an Uber so you could sleep. He gave you a goodbye kiss to the forehead (not your lips because he’d never leave your bed if he did) and left.

He was still on a high and each step away from you brought him down. Each mile he flew away from you left him feeling desolate. He swore to himself he would stay in touch with you, not like all those other times while he was on tour. Ashton centered himself on performing so he could put on the best show possible and that meant no distractions. You’d always understood but after last night? Things changed.

You’re on his mind from sunup to sundown and even in his ultraviolet dreams. The first few weeks were okay, you talked on the phone constantly but then when he missed one because he fell asleep, the phone calls stopped. He’d rehearsed what he wanted to tell you, but each time he wanted to call something else distracted him.

It was a vicious cycle, texting an uplifting promise to call only to inevitably put you down and through this. He’s angry at himself and that’s the source of his headache, a constant reminder of letting you down.

***

A car horn blasts, Ashton jumps in his seat then presses on the gas as the green light shines in the LA night sky. He’s almost home but he’s filled with a hollow feeling rather than a comfort. It takes him two trips to lug his tour life back into his house. He knows he should unpack and do some laundry, but he’s exhausted so he collapses onto his couch.

Without thinking, he unlocks his phone and opens your messages, the last message from you was left on read from seven weeks ago.

I’ll be waiting 😊

His heart sinks, his head throbs, his thumbs hover over the keyboard. Should he call or text you? Will you answer?

He decides to call. Each trill of the ring hits his head some more until your voice sounds from your voicemail. He sighs but he’s not surprised. Your voice soothes his head a little.

“Uh, hey, it’s me…Ashton,” he begins then shakes his head throwing it back onto the couch. He uses his thumb and forefinger to rub the bridge of his nose, “of course you know it’s me. Or maybe not if you deleted my contact. I wouldn’t blame you if you did. I know this is mundane over the phone, but I really am sorry, Y/N. For everything. I’d love to meet for coffee or…or if you want to tear me apart with an angry voicemail or text…I deserve it. Um, but I’m home and I… I want to make it up to you if you let me. Bye.”

He drops his phone onto his stomach and begins to wait.

Over the next seven days he’s left a voicemail for you each day.

“It’s me again, Ashton. It’s taking everything in me not to text others asking how you are. I know it’s not my place, at least right now. I know I fucked up. Call me back.”

“Hey Y/N, it’s Ash. It’s currently 6:07 in the morning and I know you’re still sleeping but I just finished my yoga and I miss your good morning texts. You’d send me one and fall asleep right after. Then we’d get coffee or lunch and you always want to go to the beach. Maybe I’ll go to the beach today…I’ll be at our usual spot if you want to stop by. Have a good day, okay?”

“Hi, hopefully you know who this is by now. Do you remember when we stayed up all night driving around the city eating chicken tenders and shakes? Then we snuck into Cal’s backyard to go for a swim and he found us the next morning burnt as tomatoes because we fell asleep on his hammock. That was a fun night. I’m about to head to your favorite fro-yo place, I’ll get a gummi butterfly for you. Call me.”

“I really hope you didn’t change your number and some random person is listening to me talk to myself. I almost asked Cal how you are since you guys went to that concert a few nights ago. This is killing me, not talking to you…I know I deserve it, but I still miss it. I miss you, angel. Sweet dreams. Call me.”

“I’m probably getting super annoying, aren’t I? But I know if I was, you’d tell me, so I think you’re listening to these. I’m thinking of you all the time. I’m so sorry for what happened after that night we shared. This is all on me, I made promises that I always broke. I’m such an idiot, why did I do that? I know why…I got scared. I’m sorry for lifting you up to only bring you back down. I want to make it up to you if you’ll let me….”

“Me again, this is day…six? I think? I’ve been home for six days and I’m quite honestly going crazy not seeing you. I hope you’re doing well and are happy. At least I can hear your voice on the message you leave, you have the cutest fucking voice. Did you know that? It makes me smile. So does your laugh, I really love your laugh. Since it’s raining, I’m probably just going to chill at home and watch movies, if you want to stop by. You still have my key, I think. Even if you don’t, bust a window.”

“Day seven and if I don’t get a call by midnight tonight, I’m coming over. I hope you’re home. If you’re not, I’ll wait for you. Is that creepy? Maybe, but I don’t want to lose you angel, if you yell at me to leave, I’ll leave, but then I’ll call you every day. I know you’re angry and hurt and pissed off at me, you should be. I’m feeling that way about myself, too. I wish it didn’t take me this long to realize this, and I shouldn’t be saying it over the phone, but I love you. I’m in love with you and I made a mistake, the worst mistake to the best person. Please call me back. Yell at me. Hopefully, I’ll see you at midnight, if you don’t want me to come over can you send me some form of text? It can even be the middle finger emoji. I’ll see you later…”

He’s crazy. He knows he’s batshit bananas, but he cares about you and misses you so much that he parks in front of your place. As he gets out of the car the clock on his dashboard changes to midnight and he walks up the path to your door. His knuckles touch the door just as it swings open and you’re in front of him, a slight scowl on your face.

“Hi,” he mumbles, lowering his hand.

“You’re an idiot, Ashton Irwin,” you say.

“I know,” he nods.

You stand there, nibbling on your lip, brows furrowed as he waits for the impact of your anger. He thinks he’s prepared himself for whatever you throw at him.

“You can’t just sleep with me and never call. I had to ask the guys how you were doing because I had no idea. I thought you regretted it. And then you call after leaving me on read for seven weeks? And you call me everyday and tell me you love me? You can’t just do that, that’s not right.”

“I know,” he nods again but then your face softens.

“Why am I in love with an idiot?”

He perks up at that and then you fling your arms around his shoulders pressing your lips to his. He kisses you back eagerly, his arms holding you tightly against him then he tastes salty tears.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he breathes, “I hurt you and that’s the worst thing I’ve ever done. I’ll make it up to you if you let me.”

You rub his cheek, trace his eyebrow.

“How will you make it up to me?”

“By not being scared anymore,” he shakes his head, “I love you, I love you so much and I was too scared to admit it while I was gone. I made dumb excuses in my head and created situations that weren’t real. I’ve been searching and searching to love somebody, and I always fucked it up. But the difference between them and you are that I gave up on them. I don’t ever want to give up on you. I’m fighting for you, for us.”

“How much gas is in your car?”

“Um… a full tank, why?”

“Let’s go for a drive and get some chicken tenders and shakes until you run out of gas. That should be enough time to tell me about tour, right?” you smile slowly, and he kisses you.

“You forgive me?” he whispers.

“I forgive you. I know you didn’t do it on purpose, you’re always up front about everything and I could hear how sorry you were in all those voicemails.”

“So, you did listen to them,” he chuckles.

“Of course, I did. I missed your voice, too.” You grab his hand, lacing your fingers together. “How about that drive?”

• • • •

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