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imaginesfordifferentfandoms · 2 months

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With Me

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Prompt - "I didn't know where else to go."

Things had been bad for a while.

You’d noticed things within the Order had started turning, noticed the Master’s had started turning a blind eye to things they usually would never have let pass. The war had dragged on for years, everyone was tired, everyone felt older than their age.

You knew things were bad, knew supplies must have been stretched thin, when you were sent on your own mission. You were still only a Padawan, granted you probably should have transitioned into Knighthood by now but with the war that was the last thing on anybody’s mind, but you were still a Padawan.

You shouldn’t have been leading a battalion.

It was bad enough being entrusted with the lives of all these men, each of them looking to you for answers you didn’t have. You couldn’t contact your own Master, he was far away on another planet leading his own men.

You were on your own.

The battle was bad. It was a bloodbath. You had barely come out of it with your life, four days fighting non stop only to come out without a victory and with the lives of many men on your shoulders.

The only reason you had come out alive is because you called so strongly upon the Force you were certain you’d touched the Dark Side. You could still feel it thick in your veins but by the end of four days you were too tired to care.

You sat on your bunk on the way back to Coruscant, feeling numb. There were no words to make it better, nothing you said could comfort the remaining men on the ship. You’d already been called to the meeting room, expected to fill the Council in once you arrived.

You weren’t exactly thrilled to be going before the Council. You could still feel the dirt on your clothes, the blood on your face, aches spread throughout your whole body and you were pretty sure you needed to see a medic but you were so numb to everything that it didn’t matter.

Eventually the ship landed, you stayed on your bunk for a long time before you managed to pull your tired body up, somehow forcing one foot in front of the other until you found yourself in the middle of the Council room.

Master Yoda had been talking for some time, filling the other members in on your mission and informing them that he felt a disturbance in the Force.

“The Dark Side, did you touch?” Master Yoda finally addressed you.

It took you a moment longer than it should have to realise the attention was fully on you and you managed to shake yourself back to reality, looking around the room to see the majority of the Master’s looking at you with mistrust and disgust. You couldn’t help the stinging in your eyes when you saw your Master’s seat was empty.

“Yes.” You forced the word out, too exhausted to care anymore.

Master Yoda started talking again but you drowned him and the other Master’s out as they began to discuss your fate. You wanted to care what became of you, any other time you’d have fought hard to be heard but the war had drained you, you hadn’t seen your Master in so long, hadn’t trained properly in years, there was no community among the Jedi any more, your friends were scattered across the galaxy and you hardly had anyone to confide in anymore.

You couldn’t help but smile, a weak, barely there tug of the lip as you thought about the few people you did truly have in the galaxy.

Clone Force 99.

They had been brought in on plenty of your Master’s missions and you had been excited to meet them, back before the war had drained everything from you. Wrecker had been the easiest to get along with, especially once he saw your knack for blowing things up. Wrecker was the best to go to when you needed cheering up, when you needed someone to shoulder the weight on your back with you.

Hunter and you worked well together. It might have taken him a second to warm up to you, to welcome you as one of his but once he had, stars help anyone who tried to hurt you. You gravitated toward Hunter when you needed advice, when you needed to vent, when you needed someone to ground you. Hunter felt like everything your Master used to be, back when you were a child, back before the war became the only thing that mattered.

Tech had taken the longest to warm up to you. You hadn’t minded though, you understood that their whole lives had been just them, the regs didn’t exactly treat them well. Letting somebody else in for somebody like Tech was a big step. You’d manage to earn his trust though, letting him ramble on about things you didn’t understand, brushing away the others when they told Tech to calm down. You’d let Tech teach you about the ship, about the blasters, about your lightsaber and slowly he let you in, seeking you out on his own and the good thing about Tech was he didn’t expect anything from you. He was content for you to sit and watch him tinker away whilst he filled the silence without needing a reply.

You loved them, some days they were the only thing that stopped you from going rouge, from leaving the war behind.

It was Crosshair that kept you going though. Whilst Hunter and Wrecker had warmed up to you easily enough, Crosshair had kept his distance. He’d look at you from across the room with a scowl on his face, he’d grunt at you instead of giving you an actual response and he just about drove you crazy.

You loved him anyway.

It had taken you nearly dying for him to admit he didn’t hate you as you’d originally thought, he just hadn’t wanted to like you as much as he did. Crosshair was used to what he had, much like Tech was. He didn’t want to care about somebody else and yet you made it impossible for him not to.

Once Crosshair finally let himself admit that he liked you it was like something in the galaxy itself shifted. Clone Force 99 was brought onto more and more of your missions and you found yourself staying in the Marauder more than your own quarters. You and Crosshair worked like you’d been working together your whole lives, you didn’t need to talk, able to communicate through looks and work your way through whatever obstacles stood between you and your goal like it was nothing.

It was only a matter of time before you felt yourself falling from the sniper.

At first it terrified you, sure you’d looked at people before, could appreciate that they were attractive but you’d never wanted to act on it. Never had to force your eyes away from their lips, fixated on how Crosshair fiddled with the toothpick in his mouth. Never had to snap yourself back into a conversation so much because you were too focused on his hands as he cleaned his weapon.

Everything about Crosshair was intoxicating, it was consuming. Most days it felt so easy to lay your head on his shoulder, to forget that outside the walls of the Marauder there was a war happening. Most days you could sit at his side, listening to the sound of his voice as you let him lull you to sleep.

Everything about Crosshair was everything the Jedi Code forbade.

“Dismissed you are, from the Jedi Order.” Master Yoda’s voice had you flinching out of your thoughts, mouth falling open to protest the sentence only to snap back shut again.

Did you care enough to fight the punishment?

What would you do?

You didn’t argue, didn’t say a word. Some of the Jedi looked sympathetic as you bowed your head before turning from the room, leaving silently.

You made your way through the Temple, no real destination in mind as you stared ahead. You felt more than realised you were outside when the fresh air hit your face, it was dark out now, you’d been standing before the Council for hours.

What would you do?

You didn’t know. You let your feet carry you, not sure where you were heading but knowing you had to get away from the Temple.

You couldn’t say how long you’d been walking aimlessly for, only that at some point the rain had come flooding down and your feet ached.

Eventually you came to a stop, not even really realising you had for a moment until you blinked back to reality and felt a choked sob escape you at the sight before you, surprised you hadn’t ended up here earlier. You couldn’t blame yourself though, your thoughts weren’t there clearest right now.

Apparently seeing a familiar sight was enough to send you over the edge, bringing the floodgates down and sending tears down your face. You let yourself stand there, letting your tears mix with the rain still falling heavily from the dark clouds above, just staring at the Marauder and feeling a sense of relief, a sense of finally being home.

Eventually you forced your fist to knock at the door.

Crosshair frowned at the sound of a knock, barely audible over the sound of the rain coming down. The others were asleep by now, readying themselves for an early start on yet another mission.

He waited a moment but curiosity got the better of him and he forced himself up. When the door opened his heart ached at the sight of you, soaked through your clothes and silent sobs wracking your body.

“I didn’t know where else to go.” You choked out before Crosshair had the chance to ask what had happened.

He didn’t waste any time stepping out into the rain and wrapping his arm around you, pulling you into the warmth and safety of the Marauder. More sobs escaped you as you entered, being encompassed by the only home you had left.

“I’ll be back, wait there darling.” Crosshair instructed as he sat you down and you could only nod, watching as he busied himself with making a hot pot of caff before leaving the room.

Crosshair made his way over to Tech’s things, you were more his size than Crosshair’s but he did stop to grab his own blanket before making his way back to you, snatching a towel from Hunter’s things as he passed.

“Let’s get you dry.” He murmured, kneeling down next to you and helping you out of your soaked clothes.

Any other time he would have savoured the feeling of peeling your clothes off but now he was only methodical, trying them to the side and drying your body with the towel before he helped you into Tech’s blacks and wrapped the blanket around you.

Crosshair stood up, ready to make you a hot cup of caff when he was stopped by your hand gripping his. He looked down at you, hating the lost look on your face.

“What happened?” Crosshair asked, his voice low as he knelt back down in between your knees, taking your other hand in his and looking into your eyes. The question of who did he have to hurt was heard clearly, even if it wasn’t said out loud.

“They kicked me out of the Order.” You told him quietly, playing with his long fingers as you spoke. “It doesn’t matter, I’m not even upset about it.”

Crosshair gave you a doubtful look and you couldn’t help but laugh, though it sounded more like a sob.

“I know it doesn’t look that way but…the Order, it’s all I’ve ever known. I don’t know what I am without it. That’s the scary part. I don’t know where I belong.” You confessed, looking away from Crosshair and down at your joined hands.

“With me.” Crosshair said before he could stop himself but even when the words registered he didn’t take them back. “You belong here. You belong with me.”

///

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@ughhhhfoff , @bobaprint, @starstruckfluff,

#crosshair #the bad batch #bad batch #bad batch crosshair #clone wars x reader #star wars #clone wars #crosshair x reader #the bad batch x reader #bad batch x reader #bad batch crosshair x reader #tbb x reader #tbb #tbb imagine #tbb imagines #crosshair imagine #crosshair imagines

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libraryofgage · 4 months

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PJO Steddie Seven

One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six

PJO show is living rent free in my head everyone. I love that funky little fantasy show

Anyway, welcome to part 7, where we learn more about some of the kids' powers, get a peek into Steve's growing troubles with his powers, and Steddie get a fun little development too

As always, if you see any typos, no you didn't ;)

Oh! And a meme, another meme for you at the end lol

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While the kids have no problem adjusting to Camp Half-Blood and making friends (several of the other campers have asked El to freeze them if only because they think it's funny), Steve runs into a few bumps. He's not used to relaxing. He's not used to letting his guard down and having the children out of sight for so long. And he's definitely not used to his powers feeling beyond his control whenever Eddie is around, which is...well, always.

Don't get Steve wrong. He likes being around Eddie. In fact, he looks forward to it. Steve hasn't smiled or laughed this much or been around someone his own age in a while. It's new and kind of weird and just a little scary.

But it doesn't at all help with his growing nervous energy. He keeps waiting for a shoe to drop, quickly followed by another. It never does, and Steve fully realizes what a problem this is when Eddie is in his room one day and casually says, "Your clouds are different."

Steve blinks, looking over at Eddie in one of the chairs. He has a guitar in his lap, idly strumming as Steve's phone plays music for them. Steve had just been nodding off, feeling relaxed and sleepy when Eddie spoke. "What do you mean?" he asks.

"They changed again." Eddie says, frowning slightly as he points at the clouds drifting along the ceiling. They're a slate color now, not exactly brewing up a storm but looking ready to start pouring down on them. They aren't gloomy, though. It's more like...like the tension you feel when a natural disaster is about to strike and the clouds are the only warning you'll get of its arrival. "They were starting to turn white, but they're grey again."

"Oh," Steve says, flopping back on the bed with a sigh. "They're supposed to reflect my mood."

He hears the chair shift and steps coming closer to the bed before Eddie sprawls across the mattress next to him. "What's got you so grey, sweetheart?" he asks. Their hands aren't touching, but Steve can feel that now-familiar buzz at his fingertips, the little arches of lightning begging to reach out if he'd only let them.

Steve curls his fingers into a fist, refusing to succumb to the urge. He considers lying, just brushing off the question, but then he makes the mistake of looking at Eddie. He looks right into Eddie's brown eyes, and his resolve crumbles. His fist uncurls, their fingertips brush, and he allows a harmless spark to pass between them. "I'm just on edge," he says, looking back at the ceiling and watching the clouds. "Restless, I guess."

"You're used to fighting monsters and moving across the country, Stevie," Eddie says, sliding his hand closer to Steve's so their fingers are tangled together and a current begins to pass between them. "Being all...still is getting to you."

"Yeah, no shit," Steve says with a quiet snort. "Can't do anything about it."

"Well...there is Capture the Flag next week," Eddie points out, shifting closer, like their hands aren't enough. Now their arms and shoulders are pressed together, and Steve inexplicably feels some of that nervous energy disappear, like Eddie is taking it from him. "It can be an all-out bloodbath, you know."

Steve huffs softly, getting a wry smile. "I'm not sure anyone's gonna want to be on my team," he says. The other campers avoid him. Despite his best efforts, his attack on the patrol campers spread fast and mean, and everyone is a little wary. "So, unless I can be on a team by myself, it probably isn't gonna happen."

A few beats of silence pass, and Steve is about to assume he's somehow fucked up the conversation when Eddie says, "You wouldn't be alone. There's me. And the kids. And I could get the Hermes Cabin to partner with you. Plus, you know, you're a Zeus kid, Stevie. You ask to be in charge and nobody's gonna argue."

He...hadn't thought of that. Steve frowns slightly, letting the idea turn in his mind. It would be a challenge, of course, especially if all the other cabins decide to team up. But...a challenge means pushing himself, reaching limits he's never come close to, letting go completely and losing himself in the battle, whether he wins or not.

The clouds above them start to roll, broiling with the energy of a storm that's all thunder and lightning, and excitement surges through Steve. He doesn't even realize he's letting it get the better of him until Eddie yelps and jerks his hand away.

Steve blinks, jerking up and reaching out to Eddie but stopping halfway. "I'm sorry," he says, frowning slightly as he watches Eddie look at his hand. "I'm really sorry. Are you hurt?"

"No, no, it was more...," Eddie trails off, and then he gets an obnoxious grin and looks up at Steve. "It was more the shock of it."

A beat passes before Steve groans, grabs his pillow, and whacks Eddie in the face with it. Eddie dramatically falls back on the bed, lamenting Steve's cruelty and superior fighting skills as Steve laughs. When Eddie finally stops hamming it up, he pushes the pillow away and says, "So, I'd guess you're excited?"

Steve rolls his eyes, his cheeks hurting from smiling. "I...have an idea already, yeah," he says, looking at Eddie and leaning closer. "Wanna hear it?"

"Hell yeah," Eddie says, his eyes lighting up as Steve lays it all out.

And so begins a week of planning.

It's a week (most of which was spent convincing the Hermes Cabin to join his team and agree to just sit back and guard the flag) that leaves Steve buzzing with energy on the day of Capture the Flag. Eagerness makes his limbs tingle and his body beg to pace as he looks over the demigods in front of him. It's just the Hermes Cabin, Eddie, and the kids, meaning they're facing off against the rest of the camp.

He can't blame the Hermes kids for looking like they've already been defeated. The only reason they're still hanging around, Steve is sure, is because he and the kids promised to do all of their chores for two months if they lose.

Steve takes a deep breath, rolls his shoulders back, and consciously lets go of the Mist around him. He's used to holding it close, using it to cover himself and make him look, well, weaker, that he has to purposefully send it off. He knows the moment it's completely abandoned him; the demigods all stand straighter, only the kids and Eddie dare to meet his eyes, and the snakes poking through the hole in El's beanie start tasting the air with interest.

"You've put your faith in me," Steve says, his volume normal but his voice still booming in the otherwise silent clearing. "You probably think we're fucked, but you'd be wrong. So, listen up. I will be offense. Eddie, Will, and El will be extraction. And you, with the strength of numbers, will be defense. Guard this flag with your life, and we will win. If any of the enemy manages to slip past me, hold steady. You are the final line of defense. Your job is the most important, and I expect you to give it your all."

The hesitant expressions have become impassioned, if not a bit confused by the fact. Steve grins at them, feeling the air crackle between his teeth as his excitement grows. He exhales sparks, his fingers buzzing and his skin close to bursting.

Steve doesn't often pray to Zeus. He's never felt a need to, and several goddesses have made themselves better known to him. But now, as excited for the fight as he is, Steve thinks to Zeus, If you've never watched me before, then watch me now.

He puts on his Blue-Team helmet, the distant horn ringing in his ears as the lightning floods through him, and heads into battle.

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Eddie's role is simple: keep El and Will from getting hurt. He'd be offended at the simplicity if he weren't already plenty aware of his inability to fight well. He's built for defense and retreat, which is why he's got his shield at the ready and is preparing himself to jerk the kids back at the slightest hint of danger.

They're crouching behind some dense bushes, Will and El peeking through the gaps at some Red-Team campers, the first line of defense for the red flag. "So, what's the plan?" Eddie whispers, shifting slightly as he looks between the two kids. Thunder rumbles, and it takes every shred of Eddie's self-control to not look at the gathering storm clouds above them.

"Will makes them daydream," El whispers back, her beanie squirming as though the snakes can feel their imminent freedom. "If that does not work, I will turn them to stone."

Eddie slowly nods, glancing at Will as he cups his hands to his mouth and whispers unintelligible words into them. "And, uh, how is making them daydream supposed to help with distractions?" he asks.

"They are very strong daydreams," El replies.

Will finishes whispering, and a purple dust-like swirling mist is nestled in his palms. He nods to El, waiting for her to carefully make a larger opening in the leaves before gently blowing the mist from his hands. Eddie watches as it twists and curls around the Red-Team campers, slipping under their sleeves and floating to their ears and eyes. The mist settles there, a thin and nearly imperceptible film that Eddie wouldn't know to see if he hadn't watched Will make it.

A few seconds pass as the campers slowly relax, their grips on their weapons loosening until a few swords fall to the ground. El waits a few more seconds before picking up a sizeable pebble and throwing it at a tree across from them. Despite making a loud thud when it hits and falls to the ground, none of the campers blink or move an inch. The only movement Eddie can see is a slight sway and the occasional twitch of fingers, like their body is trying to follow through on movements they make in their daydreams.

"Metal," Eddie whispers, keeping pace with El and Will as they move out from behind the bush. If everything is this easy, they'll get back in time to see Steve fighting. Eddie would love if he could see Steve fighting again. "How did you do that?"

Will flushes slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's not a lot, really," he says, his voice quiet and a little embarrassed. "I mean, I just use dream-speak to give the daydreams specific emotions and then send it over."

"Dream-speak?"

"You know how you can't read in dreams? And if you try to remember exact conversations, you can only get snippets or a word or two? That's dream-speak," Will explains. He thinks for a few seconds before adding, "It's, um, supposed to feel intangible."

"How long does it last?"

"Usually," El says, her voice soft as she pauses and gestures for Eddie and Will to follow, "around twenty minutes. But it depends on the person." She leads them to large boulder, all of them ducking behind it in time for some Red-Team campers to walk by.

"Holy shit," one of them says, looking in the distance at the gathering storm clouds as she slows down. "Man, I am fucking glad we're not fighting that Zeus kid."

"No kidding," the other mumbles. "He's a monster."

Eddie has heard plenty of people call Steve a monster in the past week. Most of them say it with awe in their voices, unable to find any other word to describe the sheer power they saw from Steve. But others, like the one here, say it like Steve is a monster for them to defeat for the glory of it.

He clenches his jaw, grip on his shield straps tightening some. Before he can do anything, El reaches up to her beanie, and Will slaps a hand over Eddie's eyes. He hears the hiss of a writhing mass of snakes, aborted shouts, and then nothing. When Will takes his hand away, the two campers are statues, shock and terror contorting their expressions. El, with her beanie back in place, considers them for a moment before turning. "We should keep moving."

Eddie doesn't argue, but he does hold up a fist to El, grinning when she slowly bumps it with her own. She then turns to Will, her expression expectant, and she flashes her own tiny smile that matches Will's when their fists gently bump together.

Of every game Eddie has participated in, this game of Capture the Flag is by far his most relaxed. Will and El seem to have plenty of experience sneaking around and launching sneak-attacks. The closest Eddie gets to seeing any kind of action is when a Red-Team camper happens to stumble across them on their way back from the bathroom. Even then, before Eddie can raise his shield to block their sword, El slides in front of him and rips off her beanie.

"Thanks," he says, keeping his gaze away until the beanie is back on.

"You are welcome," El replies, staying quiet for a few seconds before adding, "Steve would be sad if you got hurt."

With that statement dropped on him, she continues leading the way to the Red-Team base. By the time they reach it, several Red-Team campers have been deployed to support the other campers fighting Steve. Between those, the ones stationed on the other side of the forest, and the campers they've disposed of, only twenty remain to guard the flag.

"I'm surprised the Athena kids aren't more prepared for you," Eddie whispers, glancing at El. She's the kind of secret weapon everyone knows about and prepares for, but he hasn't seen any of that so far.

El glances at Eddie, considering her response for a few moments before looking at Will. When he nods, she says, "I have not told Steve, but the Head Camper for Athena approached me two days ago. She offered me a personally-designed weapon if I did not use my powers during the game."

"El agreed," Will says, picking up the explanation with ease, "and promised not to use her powers to steal the flag."

"I am not stealing the flag," El finishes, a proud smile tugging at her lips, "I am capturing it."

"You're a little devil, you know that?" Eddie asks, grinning brightly.

"No. I am a little gorgon."

-----

They leave a garden of statues in their wake, and El takes a few moments to sigh and say it's not as good as her mother's before they leave with the Red-Team flag carefully hidden under Will's shirt. As they approach the border between the team territories, the sounds of battle grow. Swords clash, fighters shout, and lightning cracks between them all.

"We can take the long way," Eddie offers, his tone reluctant as he glances in the direction of the fight. They're close enough that a few trees are singed on the edges from lightning strikes, and Eddie holds his shield tighter. Letting the kids get anywhere near that fight isn't protecting them, and he should direct them in a wide circle around it.

But something is calling him, urging him closer to the fight in a way he's never felt before. He's not an Ares kid---Eddie has no desire to enter a blood bath---but he gets the feeling that Steve is going to need him soon.

"El and I can make it by ourselves," Will offers. "It's only a few feet away, and the game ends once we cross, right?"

Eddie nods, frowning before taking a deep breath. "No, it's okay," he says, waving for the kids to keep moving. "We'll try to head straight through and end the game sooner."

It's a choice he was expecting to regret, but doesn't get the chance. Nobody notices them, even when they get close enough to see a swarm of Red-Team campers surrounding Steve. None of them glance in their direction, too distracted by the fight to spare any attention to three insignificant campers sneaking by. Thunder rumbles endlessly above them, a deafening soundtrack that's only broken by cracks of lightning striking the ground and knocking campers back a few feet.

"Steve is having fun," El observes, sounding happy for him as they approach the Blue-Team border.

"He's never really let go, huh?" Eddie asks, getting a quick peek at Steve through the swarm. He lost his helmet at some point, leaving his feral expression and static-raised hair in full view, and arches of lightning jump across his body, occasionally reaching out to strike any Red-Team campers that get too close.

"No," Will says, his voice soft as they approach the border. The moment Will steps over, the horn sounds in the distance, and Eddie waits for the fighting to stop.

But it doesn't. Nobody in the swarm seems to realize the game is over. They continue to attack Steve, and Steve continues to fight against them, the air churning and sparking and ready to burst. A few seconds pass before Eddie realizes they won't stop until only one side is left standing. He gets it. Kind of. Steve carries the air of royalty; a challenge. If you can beat the son of Zeus, a literal Prince of Olympus, the glory of that achievement is untold. And it seems his fellow campers have fallen prey to that glory, utterly lost to it

Eddie feels that urge to join Steve surge through him again. He swallows around a sudden lump of nerves in his throat, searching for any other peek at Steve he can get as he says, "You guys go ahead. I'll help Steve. We'll catch up."

He doesn't bother waiting for El or Will to answer. He just rushes into the battle, something he never expected himself to do. Somehow, he doesn't meet any resistance. Lightning strikes the ground around him, pushing Red-Team campers back and urging him on, and Eddie wonders if Steve knows he's coming.

When he finally reaches the center of the battle, he sees Steve swing his bat against someone's side, the nails dragging painfully before he kicks the person back. Steve has lost his chest plate as well, and the only armor he has left are the wrist guards. There are slashes in his clothes and the edges are burnt. Eddie is almost distracted by the sight until he sees a daughter of Ares rush Steve from behind, her sword raised to bring down on his back.

In a move of unprecedented grace (seriously, Eddie will look back on that moment and never understand how he managed to not trip over himself), Eddie springs into the battle. He rushes at Steve, sliding behind him, twisting, and raising his shield in one smooth movement. The sword comes down on his shield, sending vibrations down his arm but otherwise causing no harm to him or Steve. Eddie pushes back as hard as he can, sending the daughter of Ares sprawling before pressing his back to Steve's.

"Thanks," Steve says, his words crackling and sparking against Eddie's ear. He thinks it's just a phantom sensation at first, but Eddie soon realizes lightning is literally arching between them, jumping across their shoulders and through their hair and buzzing down Eddie's chest.

He licks his lips, electric ozone lingering on his tongue, and Eddie is fascinated by the taste. "No problem," he says, his body following Steve without thinking. It's easy when he can feel the bolts of lightning between them start to shift, telling him which way Steve is going so he can keep up. "You know the game is over, right?"

"This is the most fun I've had in years," Steve replies, his tone implying that should explain everything.

And, yeah, it kind of does. He sounds genuinely happy and thrilled, his voice teeming with eagerness that's punctuated by the sound of his bat hitting a Red-Team camper in the head hard enough to make their helmet ring.

Eddie knows Steve would stop if he asked. Eddie knows he could talk Steve down from this lightning-fueled battle high. Eddie decides that wouldn't be nearly as fun.

"Okay," he says, pressing closer to Steve's back and blocking an arrow headed straight for Steve's shoulder. "Have fun, sweetheart."

Eddie didn't know it was possible, but Steve's power surges again, like it was just simmering under his skin, waiting for permission. And Eddie gave it. Bolts strike from the clouds above while arches jump across Steve and Eddie, running down their arms and leaping at Red-Team campers who get too close. They don't stop; the lightning continues to jump from camper to camper, electrocuting whoever it touches, and Eddie realizes he should have been electrocuted, too.

He blocks another sword, lightning crackling along the edges of his shield and shooting off sparks when its hit, and looks at the white-blue arches running along his arm. Without thinking, Eddie touches one, a gentle buzzing spreading through his hand as the arch transfers and jumps around his palm. It tickles more than anything else, and Eddie would think it's harmless if a Red-Team spear didn't get close enough for the lightning to jump and shock the camper unconscious.

It's not that the lightning jumping between him and Steve is harmless, Eddie realizes, it's just that it won't hurt him. He feels like some of the lightning has settled in his chest, crackling and warm and soothing. Eddie glances over his shoulder, taking in Steve's breathless smile and the way light splashes across his face with each bolt that hits the ground and the sparks that jump from his bat.

That feeling he got when he first saw Steve, the breathlessness and awestruck realization that the whole prophecy was just him, hits Eddie all over again. He lingers in it for a few seconds, letting it wash over him and settle in his limbs, before getting yanked out by a particularly close lightning bolt that makes his ears ring.

Right. A fight. That he's part of.

Eddie forces himself to focus on defending Steve's back. He blocks arrows and swords and shields and, once, a battle axe that makes his shield groan. That one pisses him off some. This shield was a gift from Hermes, a gift that showed surprising knowledge of Eddie's interests, and he'll be damned if it breaks. As though fueled by his anger, the lightning on his shield crackles and shoots down the battle axe, converging on the camper until she drops the axe with a yelp.

He doesn't get to linger on that too long; another arrow comes straight at Steve again, and Eddie is far more occupied by blocking it. And so it continues. Steve fights, lightning strikes, and Eddie defends him the entire time, giving Steve the space and security to just let go and release all the energy that had been building since he arrived at camp.

It's over sooner than he expects. One moment, Eddie's arm is buzzing from a particularly strong hit to his shield, and the next, the field is silent. Thunder still rumbles above them, lightning still crackles around them, and Eddie's heartbeat is pounding in his ears. Campers are scattered around them, all breathing but most knocked out for a while. Eddie takes a deep breath, feeling the air spark harmlessly in his lungs, and slowly lets it out.

He rolls his shoulder and retracts his shield, placing it around his neck again before turning around. "You good?" he asks, looking Steve over for any obvious injuries. His clothes are even more singed, the hem of his shirt blackened, and his hair is sticking up wildly but still somehow perfect. Steve's tense, his muscles strained as he pants, looking around them before his gaze finally lands on Eddie. He's still gripping his bat tightly, his knuckles white, and Eddie is about to gently pull it away when Steve just drops it.

Eddie blinks, frowning slightly as he starts to ask Steve if he's okay. And then he can't speak at all, because Steve's hands are cupping his cheeks and Steve's chest is pressed against his own, and Steve's lips are thoroughly occupying his. Lightning shoots through Eddie, jumping down his throat as Steve's tongue licks past his lips.

It doesn't hurt, though. Nothing from Steve could actually hurt him; instead, it makes his fingers tingle and his lips buzz and his heart jackrabbit against his ribs. Eddie is filled with an inescapable energy, and there's only one way to expel it.

So, he kisses Steve back. Eddie wraps an arm around Steve's waist to tug him closer and pushes a hand into Steve's hair, finally feeling the soft strands tangling between his fingers. He tilts his head and lets Steve have the quiet groan that slips from him when tiny bolts jump from Steve's molars to Eddie's tongue.

Eddie is breathless and floating and completely under Steve's spell and...and...and he's confused. Because Steve yanks himself away, a panicked noise in the back of his throat as he takes a step back. His chest is still heaving, but Eddie knows it's for a different reason now. Steve starts to say something, his lips swollen and red and begging Eddie to kiss him again, but no words come out.

And then he does something Eddie never expected Steve to do. He runs. He panics so badly that he runs back toward the Blue-Team base, leaving Eddie in the middle of the Red-Team carnage with a floaty brain and a stupid smile.

Maybe, if it had been anyone else, Eddie would be panicking, too. He'd be worried about the person actually liking him, worried about what the kiss meant, worried about any number of things, really. But it's Steve. Eddie knows Steve. He knows Steve's laugh and his walk and his lightning and now his kiss.

There are only two possible reasons for Steve running away: either he panicked because the kiss was too sudden, too heat-of-the-moment, or he panicked because of the literal lightning he sent through Eddie. Both are easily addressed, easy to soothe Steve down from freaking out about so they can get to kissing again.

Eddie's smile widens some, and he takes one last look at the campers around him before carefully making his way past them, figuring he should tell Chiron they'll be needing ambrosia and nectar.

-------

Tag List

@mugloversonly, @mentallyundone, @hairdryerducks-blog, @carriethesaint, @lunabyrd, @weekend-dreamer7, @farfaras, @littlelady03, @my-tears-are-becoming-a-sea20, @mogami13, @a-little-unsteddie, @itsall-taken, @queenie-ofthe-void, @tinyplanet95, @littlebluejane, @hangoversandhandgrenades, @rabbitwhoeatsstars, @bisexualdisastersworld, @steddieinthesun,

@paintgonewrong, @sadcanadianwinter, @deehellcat, @blanketlicker, @angrydonutdestiny, @booksareportal, @fallingchemicaldiscos, @am-i-obssed-probably, @anne-bennett-cosplayer

@estrellami-1, @fandomcartographer, @steddie-as-they-go, @cris-wants-a-word, @potato-of-the-lord, @plasticcrotches, @enigmahaze, @melodymeddler, @lololol-1234, @sageclipse, @steddiehyperfixation, @livelaughlexa, @genderless-spoon

For those who made it this far, a meme:

#steddie #steddie fic #semi divine steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #will byers #eleven stranger things #pjo au #percy jackson au #my writing

191 notes · View notes

jq37 · 10 days

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The Report Card – Fantasy High Junior Year Ep 15

The Buddy System

Welcome back to Fantasy High where the Bad Kids are still fighting for their lives and, more importantly, their grades.

After a sterling start to their Last Stand exam, they still have a lot more test to get through before they’re academically out of the woods and they need a perfect score on the written portion to pass which is incredibly harsh but that’s Aguefort for you!

This is a very long episode where everyone gets to be so cool. Truly, you can see how competent all of the players and the characters have become as they carve a bloody path through wave after wave of enemies.

As usual, it doesn’t really make sense for me to do a blow for blow recap of this fight but it’s absolutely worth watching. It’s an absolute delight from Siobhan and Emily irl making up a limerick in tandem to pass the Performance section of The Last Stand to Gorgug rolling truly more Nat 20s than I’ve ever seen in my life and almost solo-ing a *Purple Worm*. There’s not really any commentary that I can add to improve on just how amazingly they do in the episode. They’re forced to use the auto-pass stamp twice but only on the two most unreasonable things Brennan asked them to do–write a 300 word essay longhand in five minutes and do a (gag) math word problem. With those two stamped, they get 100% on their written exam. They even get some extra credit (partially due to Siobhan’s IRL LOTR geekery).

Not only that, but Gavin (the proctor) only gets hit (I think) once and never actually goes down! None of the Bad Kids do. Hell, Adaine–their squishiest member–basically just sits at her desk the whole fight answering questions and slinging spells and she’s fine! Happy ending, A+s all around, roll credits, right?

No, of course not. Nothing is that simple–not that this was simple. They can’t just be the first party to ever pass The Last Stand without dying and have it be done.

During the fight, everyone–but especially Kristen–has been suspicious of Buddy. She does an Insight check and sees that he seems on the level but that’s not enough to quell her suspicion. Near the end of the fight, she eats the Vulture King eyeball (granting her a minute of Truesight) with the intent of seeing who Buddy really is–a reasonable instinct considering Ruben was in disguise at the festival.

She sees that Buddy is Buddy. She *also* sees Kipperlilly Copperkettle invisibly aiming a crossbow at Gavin. KP clocks Kristen clocking her, smiles, and lowers the crossbow, instead choosing to SLIT BUDDY’S THROAT. Buddy falls to the ground, absolutely DEAD. Not making saves. FULLY DEAD. A blue scaly hand touches her and they both vanish–Kristen can tell that the spell was Plane Shift (which is necessary for getting in and out of this testing pocket dimension). She frantically looks for a diamond to cast Revivify but her pockets have been picked and Buddy’s Revivify diamonds are gone as well.

They finish the fight victoriously but Buddy’s death casts a pallor on everything. This was supposed to be a fight to the death but Buddy was the one person whose death wasn’t figured into the bloodbath. Gavin tells them that they pass the rest of the year with A+s but is shaken and thrown off kilter by the seemingly random murder. Kristen tells him what she saw and Gavin says that he was observing so he can vouch for the fact that none of them had anything to do with the murder but this is a crime scene and they have to call the Fantasy FBI. The Bad Kids are all super worried about Gavin’s safety since Kipperlilly was going after him initially, but in the end they agree to take him to the Council of Chosen office in Bastion City so he can be under their protection and to leave Fig’s phone (juiced up by Gorgug) in the pocket dimension with Buddy’s body in case there are any shenanigans (you know, besides him getting murdered which was already a pretty big shenanigan).

The Bad Kids drop off Gavin and then take a bus back to Elmville with a new mission: CSI Elmville, let’s get this bitch arrested!

Editing to Add: This is a very cool post by @thisisnotthenerd that covers all the Last Stand Qs and monsters in the form of Gavin's proctor notes. Check it out!

Detention

Kipperlilly for Icing Buddy

This was gonna go to Brennan for making a bunch of stand up comedians do math under a time limit but I can’t not give it to Kipperlilly here. She smiled. She looked at Kristen, smiled, and slit Buddy’s throat. There was no gritting her teeth like it was a hard but pragmatic choice. She was about to take the life of someone who fully trusted her and she did it with glee. There is something *deeply* wrong with this bitch, and we knew that already but hoo boy this certainly clinches it.

Honor Roll

Gorgug for DESTROYING that Purple Worm

Everyone was in top form this episode but if I have to give it to one person, I’m gonna give it to Gorgug for single handedly holding back a Purple Worm, a monster so terrifying that there is an official D&D show where the premise is that all the players have to fight an OP monster they’re almost certainly gonna TPK against and the title is “Faster, Purple Worm! Kill! Kill!” Our boy didn’t even drop. That’s Maximum Legend Behavior.

Random Notes

Kristen has the thought that she interrupted a truly horrible thing that KP was about to do and wonders what the crossbow bolt was loaded with. I didn’t mention it in the recap but I wanted to call attention to it because Brennan called attention to it.

Also Riz got some footage of Gavin clearing them with his tie and Gavin sent their scores to the superintendent (not Jace to be clear–Tectonya Karkovnya who we met in The Seven).

Ugh I’m so annoyed because if KP and Oisin get questioned under Zone of Truth they’re absolutely gonna be dosed up with Devil’s Honey.

Buddy’s throat was slit and there’s no rune on his chest so presumably he can be revived if he’s brought to a hospital–hell Kristen could probably do it with a higher level spell–but I’m worried someone’s gonna slap that rune on him while his body is alone.

Do we think KP killed Buddy without a thought because she knows she lives in a world with revives and she knows it’s temporary or is she just like I truly do not care what happens to this (literally) corny ass cleric. I don’t know him like that.

Once again, I love Adaine’s div powers so much. “You crit actually.” What a legend. Also love Fig coming to her with doubt and her just being like don’t be crazy and slapping a reticle on the monster to help her aim. I really love their friendship.

Adaine is my favorite Bad Kid and I am first in line to throw down wrath on anyone who tries to mess with her. That being said, my favorite non-Bad Kid character is Aelwyn who has absolutely tried to kill Adaine and attacked her on multiple occasions and also is wanted for murders she absolutely did. My point here is that Oisin’s next moves will determine if he’s “surrounded by bad influences/I can fix them” material like Aelwyn or, “Throw out the whole man” material like that cop Antiope had a crush on. I am still rooting for the former but I will flip on a dime, do not doubt me.

I tried that essay writing task and with 25 seconds left on the clock (I stopped when I finished making my points) I was only at 174 words and my hand was seriously cramping. So I would say, valiant effort from the Bad Kids but that was a *rough* ask.

Kristen’s Bless really came in clutch! Honorary mention to her for that AND for having enough intuition to keep an eye on the Rat Grinder situation. I wonder if Brennan contemplated that might happen.

Fig bug zapping all those flying monsters was chef’s kiss.

Did Bobby Dawn fail Kristen specifically so she’d have to take the Last Stand? If so, he is indirectly responsible for his grandson getting iced. Hope that tastes bitter when he finds out but for all we know he’s one of those ends justify the means guys. Bleh.

This season really is a love letter to all that came before it. The questions, the pentacorn, Adaine’s go to move even magically just being making a fist and letting it fly. I really love how much love Brennan clearly has for this world. And the 100% score the players got on the test shows they obviously love it right back!

Loose Ends

It is Fantasy High tradition for us to get a huge lore dump near the end of the season that ties together a lot of disparate clues and I hope we’re getting there soon because there are a LOT of loose ends we have yet to tie. Here are as many major ones as I can think of right now in case it helps spark productive speculation amongst y’all.

Who killed the Loams?

Why the move to Loam Farm for Frosty Faire?

What specifically was Ruben trying to do with the symbol when he was playing at the festival? Presumably the thing Grix was trying to prevent?

Who killed Professor Badgood?

What were the exact circumstances behind Lucy’s death?

Who was able to put the rune on both of their bodies and what exactly was the goal there?

What is the Devil’s Honey being used for? What about the other things Aelwyn was getting for KP like Ambrosia? Why did she want a Cloud Rider engine?

How is Jace involved? Why is he manipulating Ruben?

How culpable is each individual Rat Grinder? Are they all in it together or are there varying levels of how involved they are?

Why were Ankarana’s domains wiped from heavens’ computers?

Why did Ankarna become corrupted and why was she forgotten? Were the celestial gods (Sol and co) involved?

How did KP find the rogue teacher?

Also what’s her damage? Why is she obsessed with Riz? What are her anger issues about?

What’s her current goal? Who is she loyal to (if anyone)? Why did she want to know about Kristen creating a god exactly?

Why did Lucy change her god and then change it back?

Why was Buddy specifically requested by the Rat Grinders?

Why is KP running for class president? And is Mazey being principal a purposeful machination or just a weird thing that’s happening incidentally?

What’s up with Spy’s Tongue Curse and Kalina only being able to say Ragh’s name? Is it related to that conversation between Kalina, Adaine’s mom, and Jace from SY?

Why wasn’t Ivy surprised to see Fig in disguise as Lucy who was at the time fully dead?

What’s up with the party vision that Adaine has now had at least twice?

Where is KP getting her money from?

What made the Rat Grinders become the Rat Grinders when they started as the High Five Heroes?

What's up with the shatter stars infecting the soil around Elmville?

Where exactly is Cass right now?

What does Ankarna want?

How does Ruvina fit into all of this?

Feel free to hit me up if there's something you think I should add to the list! Can't wait for next week. I'll see you then!

#Dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #d20 #d20 spoilers #fantasy high #fantasy high spoilers #fhjy #fhjy spoilers #spoilers #the report card

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mumms-the-word · 26 days

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Shadow Curse Events Pt. 3

The first 40 days

Hello, friends, and welcome to the third and final installment of this little series about the Shadow Curse in BG3. Part 1 talked about Ketheric's descent into Sharran worship and how he built his Dark Justiciar army. Part 2 detailed the events of the war between the Harpers/druids and Ketheric's army, a bloodbath that culminated in Ketheric's supposed death and a high-cost victory for the Harpers and druids.

With Ketheric's dying breath, he utters a curse and the shadow curse takes full effect within hours. That's what this post is about. There are two journals that give us a day-by-day breakdown of the shadows as they roll outward from town, Olam's Journal and Oliver's Diary. Using these (plus other materials, naturally), I wanted to construct a kind of timeline for the first 40 days of the shadow curse as it slowly took over the landscape.

Quick cw: some descriptions of madness and implied sexual trauma from one note left behind by a Reithwin citizen

As always, long post ahead, under the cut!

———

Dear Diary, Day 1: Nothing ever happens in this town. I'm ready to go to the Gate. If Mother won't let me, I'll run away myself. She says my lungs are too weak for the smoke. But how am I living at all, when all I do is milk the rothe? [mumms' note: I imagine this diary entry by Oliver was written before the battle, but during the siege. I can't imagine him writing "nothing ever happens" when a battle is actively taking place.]

Let me set the stage. It is the third day of the battle between the Harper-druid army and Ketheric Thorm. The Harpers have already tried to surrender, only to be denied by Ketheric, who joins the battle himself. The death tolls are astronomical and the citizens of Reithwin are either cowering and trying to survive the battle that rages outside their doors or fighting as part of a volunteer force. The tides have turned in the Harpers' and druids' favor as reinforcements for Dark Justiciars inexplicably stop coming (thanks to the mason's infernal deal). At last, some lucky Harper or druid strikes the blow that finally fells Ketheric Thorm. Ketheric uses his last breath to utter a curse on the land, the actual words lost to time, and dies. Together with other Harpers and druids, Jaheira assists in dragging Ketheric's body from the battlefield and sealing it inside the Grand Mausoleum. But the damage has already been done.

It's day one of the shadow curse.

Day 2 of Darkness I stood calm as Ketheric uttered his final curse and then withered. As my fellow Harpers dragged his putrid corpse from the battlefield, I allowed myself to feel relief, even solace. A wrong had been righted, an evil thwarted. Victory had come - but I had yet to know its true cost. The darkness shrouded the land like a vast cloak. It began as a chill, as if the Claw of Winter had gripped us. Within hours, every breath was a dagger piercing my throat. I hungered for air like a wolf hungers for meat - yet I could still get my fill, thanks to my armour. Would that the men and women of Reithwin had been so well-equipped. One by one they fell, only to rise as shadows of themselves, intent on extinguishing all light, and all life. The shadows hang less heavy in this place. It still takes some effort to fill my lungs, but better to expend effort than to unite with darkness. My traps should keep me safe - or at least, safe enough.

Olam, an aasimar Harper who eventually fell victim to the shadow curse as he was trying to find ways to reverse it, is our best record for the first day. According to him, the first sign of the curse was a chill, as cold as the Claw of Winter, a reference to the winter month of Alturiak.

Months in Faerûn have two names, a sort of "official" name and a common name. The second month of the year, Alturiak, is commonly known as the Claw of Winter, a month of deep cold that sets in after Midwinter (the day right before Alturiak 1). Given that Ketheric's speech to his troops suggests they're preparing to face winter, and the fact that Thisobald's notes tell us that Ketheric was poisoned by the Harpers in Elient, the month that contains the Autumn Equinox, it's safe to suggest that the battle happened in late autumn. A sudden chill as cold as deep winter would be very alarming, especially accompanied by an unnatural darkness.

So, first comes the cold, so piercing and uncomfortable it makes it hard to breathe. Then comes the shadows, a darkness that settles over the town and begins to spread. If you're in armor, if you've trained your body to withstand magical and physical attacks, if you're resistant to any kind of damage, if you're one of the miraculous soldiers who hasn't been horribly wounded and weakened, you have half a chance to survive the initial shadows.

The untrained citizens of Reithwin don't have even that half-chance.

One by one they fall to the shadows. One by one they rise again as twisted, changed, ravenous undead, "intent to extinguish all light, all life." We've seen what the curse does ourselves to Harpers like Yonas, or to other living creatures like the hyena or the goblin near the mountain pass entrance. The Harpers and druids who believe that they can put battle behind them at last are now faced with a new enemy—the undead, shadow-cursed husks of innocent (and perhaps not so innocent) citizens.

Image: An armored arm covered by black and green shadow magic reaching out.

Not just citizens, either. The shadows soon claim Harpers and druids too. The shadows do not discriminate.

Halsin: Even in defeat, though, Ketheric turned to Shar. Not long after we sealed him away in his tomb, the shadow curse took hold. No one had seen the likes of it before. No one knew how to react…Then it started to claim all those within its reach. Those who had survived the battles now fell to the shadows - became part of the shadows. And worst of all…I lost contact with Thaniel. I wanted to try and find him, but we couldn’t stay. We would have all succumbed. When the Archdruid of the Grove - my predecessor - was seized by the curse, I had to lead the survivors to safety. That was my first day as Archdruid. An inauspicious beginning.

The Harpers and druids no doubt scatter, scrambling for light, caught flat-footed in a fight against the undead they must now kill, some of whom might even be their own allies, their own friends, and a darkness they can scarcely understand. As more and more people fall, more and more corpses reanimate. There's no use fighting. Their only real choice is to run.

Halsin, among the survivors, desperately tries to gather together druid survivors and rescue the wounded from the curse, going so far as to carry some on his back, according to unique dialogue with Jaheira. As they attempt to flee, the former Archdruid falls, seized by the shadows. Halsin is forced to leave him behind to ensure the survival of the other druids.

Halsin: It is an honour to see you again, High Harper. Jaheira: No need for titles. You may call me Jaheira, so long as you are content to be known as Halsin. And the honour is mine. Your stewardship of the Emerald Grove has made for something of a story among the circles. The apprentice who survived the shadow curse, and carried his masters home on his back. Who was raised their master in turn, and searches still for a way to save what was lost. [mumm's note: Halsin says he never met Jaheira, but this could be him being polite, or him referencing that he has seen Jaheira before, they've just never spoken or officially met.]

At the same time, he's lost contact with Thaniel. The spirit of the land has been pulled into the Shadowfell somehow by the onset of the curse as it spreads outward and begins to take over the landscape. Perhaps the Shadowfell claims others, as well, the moment the darkness falls over them, rather than transforming them into undead shadow corpses. We know this happens to Art, after all.

But Halsin doesn't have time to think about Thaniel, unfortunately. With the Archdruid dead, it is now his responsibility to look after the wounded and surviving druids and lead them to safety.

[This is an ancient notebook, whose ink is faded and pages are starting to crumble. It's not easy, but some words can still be made out.] Ketheric is finished, but it cost us the land. Darkness has fallen, corruption is everywhere. [...] ...chased by shadows, picking us off, druids and Harpers alike. [...] ...our wounded were safe, I returned, searching for survivors... [...] ...lost, but I found his shade. I put it to rest and took his glaive... [...] ...blade infused with shadow. I have locked it away, to serve as a reminder that even victory can taste bitter.

In the launch version of the game, the glaive Sorrow belonged to the old Archdruid. (In early access, it belonged to Halsin, but that is an entirely separate post.) Halsin's old notebook reveals the lengths he went to save the wounded, becoming the Grove's leader the very hour, the very minute that the old Archdruid succumbs to the curse. He doesn't stop to fight the Archdruid's shade. He must save whoever he can.

In town, others are trying to flee the curse as well. The first couple of days, it's all the citizens can do to stay ahead of the darkness and escape the shadows before they're taken. One person attempts to send word via a raven seeking help. The raven, too, succumbs to the curse.

[This letter is written on a scrap of paper. Blood and age have made it near illegible in parts.] HELP! A darkness has rolled into Reithwin, cutting us off on all sides. We’ve sent people through, but no one can make it more than a few steps before [the words are obscured by drops of blood.] This letter is our last hope. Send help - anyone, from anywhere, I beg of you. I will renounce our Lady Loss and kiss the Moonmaiden’s feet if that’s what it takes. Just don’t let the darkness take us.

It's nearing the end of the first day. Halsin has at last seen the wounded to some kind of safety and turns back, braving the shadows again to try and find the old Archdruid. He finds his shade and kills it, taking his glaive as a reminder, since the shadow-corrupted body must be left behind. With his duty at last done, Halsin departs the shadow-cursed lands to return to the Emerald Grove with the survivors. He does not return again until a century later.

———

Day 2 of the shadow curse.

Olam the Harper manages to secure something of a safe refuge in a hidden room of the House of Healing's morgue where the shadows hang less heavily. He sets up traps to deter shades and shadow-cursed zombies.

Citizens of Reithwin who haven't fled the curse on day one and are resilient enough to survive the first day are slowly succumbing, too. Some citizens seem to willingly give themselves to the shadow curse, or are taken entirely by surprise.

A couple on the roof of the House of Healing lay together, whispering poetry to one another as the darkness falls. Another couple lays curled up in their home, perhaps trying to hide from the shadows as the darkness presses against the doors and windows. Other citizens drag their feet, trying to pack up their lives and follow after more slowly. The result is the same for all of them. Death to the shadow curse, or the shades it creates from the dead. Their skeletal remains lay untouched for decades afterward.

———

Day 5 of the shadow curse.

Olam, sequestered inside the morgue, is simply trying to survive. The curse begins spreading outward, its borders expanding toward the outer reaches of the landscape.

Day 5 of Darkness The shadows ebb and wane. A torch flame is sometimes enough to burn them away, but no light can dispel the deepest of them. I called my familiar Corvin to my side, but he could scarcely take wing. Tomorrow I search, and not just for food and drink. I might find a scroll, or an artefact, or an arcane focus that can ward off this curse. Perhaps I might even find another survivor.

Olam is hopeful, but he is very likely the sole survivor of the shadow curse within the town itself. There are, however, survivors outside the town, some of whom are still trying to flee. Others, like Oliver and his mother, are forced to stay in their home as the shadows creep closer and closer.

———

Day 7 of the shadow curse.

Before Oliver held half of Thaniel's essence, he was a young boy (possibly a tiefling) on a rothé farm on the outskirts of Reithwin. He seems to have been born with or developed a chronic illness of some kind, as his mother worries about his lungs not being able to handle the smoke of Baldur's Gate (I assume this is a passing reference to some early industrialization of the city). But by day seven of his journal, the shadows have already started to spread outward toward his home.

Day 7: Ha, a strange fog is descending over our own town. Hasn't left in days. Getting hard to breathe. Mother is eating her words, saying we should head out to the city to stay for a while until it lifts. We go at dawn.

(I personally don't think the numbered days in Olam and Oliver's journals align, where Olam's Day 5 of darkness is also Oliver's Day 5 in his diary. I think it's more likely that they're offset by 2 or 3 days, with Oliver beginning his journal 2-3 days before Olam did, so Olam's Day 4/5 would be Oliver's Day 7, and so on. But for simplicity's sake, I'm just going to use both of their dates as if they were perfectly aligned.)

———

Day 8 of the shadow curse.

Oliver and his mother try to brave the shadows to head west to Baldur's Gate, but the shadow-cursed creatures are too dangerous. They turn around and take shelter in their home once more. They spend another several days protected from the curse, somehow.

I suspect it's Thaniel's lingering presence near the house that is saving them. But they couldn't possibly know that.

———

Day 14 of the shadow curse.

Oliver and his mother have given up hope for any kind of escape. The shadows are too dangerous. It's too late to leave.

Day 14: We tried to leave, but there are creatures from beyond the grave, skulking around the outskirts of our land. It's too late.

———

Day 18 of the shadow curse.

Everything is dead or undead. Everything except Olam, Oliver, Oliver's mother, and the animals they care for...for now. The town is still, as if suspended in time, but not quiet. Things stir in the darkness.

Day 18 of Darkness It's a particular loneliness, in these shadows. Corvin shows great affection when I call him, even as he suffers. Those few minutes are at least some comfort, for us both. It is remarkably still in here, and even stiller out there. I have found a few scrolls and books near the House of Healing, as well as some scattered artefacts, but they hold nothing for me. The only answers call out from within the House itself, where I dare not enter. I hear the moans of the anguished, the shouts of the cruel. There are those who make their home in the shadows, but I am no less alone for them.

Olam's hopes are dwindling. The shadows had taken the life of everything they've touched. Many shadow-cursed undead lie dormant, waiting for something to stir them back into action. Others have been reduced to shades and towering living shadows. Still others, like those inside the House of Healing, have been transformed. In particular, it seems as though the nurses, if not Malus himself, have become twisted undead versions of their living selves, something different than the average shadow-cursed corpse.

Because, you see, being transformed into a shadow-cursed being doesn't simply mean death and undeath. Not always. It also means a descent into pure madness as you lose your entire sense of self. Some victims choose to venture more into the darkness rather than fight it.

Shadow creature transformation is like this: I am standing in a tunnel with one way leading into light and the other leading into darkness. The tunnel glistens and stinks like a tube of rancid sausage. Everything slick with slime. I've got to get out of here. I know I do. But which way? Light or dark? Not day and night. The light is coming from the face of my grandfather, who used to squeeze my knee under the dining table with his bony fingers. His wizened, grinning face is the face life wears. It has flayed off his face and is wearing it now, lantern bright, in the light at that end of the tunnel. The dark though. The dark is absolute. No faces there. No old family trouble there. No bad dreams or memories there, well, well that's decided then isn't it! Sauntering now, striding now, running into the velvety black, embraced, bones snapping, body softening, silking, feeling the change, old life left behind, new life new me let's go yippee!

(There's also weird poetry about the shadows, if you're interested.)

The shadow curse is still Shar's darkness, and the allure of the dark's embrace is still there. Victims who lose their minds to the shadow curse as they turn into shadow creatures are drawn to this twisted idea of a new life (an un-life, really). As we see with Yonas, they're eager to bring others down with them.

Harper Yonas: There you are...come...join me...

Reithwin may be dead, and it may be still, but it isn't quiet.

———

Day 21 of the shadow curse.

In the outskirts, the shadows have possessed Oliver's rothé. They too grow mad, attacking one another and dying, only for the shadows to resurrect them again.

Day 21: The rothe are all possessed, knocking down their fence, battling and bashing one another to death... Dying then fighting again. The shadows are everyone... right outside our window. I can't see more than a few strides out. [mumm's note: I think "everyone" is supposed to be "everywhere" here.]

The darkness is only getting worse.

———

Day 26 of the shadow curse.

Nearly one full month since Ketheric's death. The shadows have grown darker and darker. In Oliver's cabin, he and his mother can only see a few strides beyond their windows. In town, where Olam continues to try and search for ways to end the shadow curse, the air has darkened from grey to black and grown so thick that breathing it in is like swallowing molasses or tar.

Day 26 of Darkness I called on Corvin yet again, but I cannot bear his torment. Nor can I bear my own. Grey has turned almost to black, and the air might as well be molasses or tar, so hard as it is to choke down. 'All beings should walk free of fear', I was taught. Oh, if only were I granted such a fine fate.

This is the last entry in Olam's journal. After days of trying to break the shadow curse, experimenting with various spells to push back the darkness or dispel the magic, after days of him and his bird familiar, Corvin, being the only living things he has encountered since the onset of the curse, Olam finally succumbs to the shadows. Perhaps he chooses to end his own life, or perhaps the shadows have crept into the morgue and at last killed him. Either way, his body, tainted and ruined by necrotic magic, remains sealed in his morgue hideaway for another century.

———

Day 28 of the shadow curse.

There are only two people still living in the midst of the shadows. Oliver and his mother remain unaffected by the curse, so long as they stay within their home. Oliver has no idea why the curse does not push into their house—it certainly has no issue creeping into every other home in and around town.

But I suspect Thaniel is at work. Given that Thaniel's spirit was torn in half by the shadow curse, perhaps the part that lay behind took refuge in Oliver's home. Perhaps that half is already in Oliver himself.

But Oliver grows restless. Though the curse has yet to take them, living with it is not easy. His weak lungs can't handle the shadow-thick air, even if it does not corrupt him immediately. He begins to contemplate death.

Day 28: I'm not dead yet. But I'm going to die here, aren't I? I can hardly breathe. Why does it not get into our house? Why doesn't the curse take us already. Day 35: I can't stand this. I've been trying to write a memoir of myself but it's still no good. I'm too weak to pen fine words. I am going to die unremembered, be what may. It's getting pointless to cower in here. There is nothing we can do about this all-encroaching dark. Tomorrow, I will walk out into the fog, and I will laugh. With love, a farmhand, forever to be unknown.

———

Day 35 of the shadow curse.

Olam is dead. Everyone in town is dead. Most people in the outskirts are dead. Except for Oliver, and perhaps his mother, and even Oliver can no longer handle the loneliness and despair of the shadow curse. Oliver plans to leave the safety of his home and give in to the shadows, rather than die a much slower death as the shadows continue to creep in.

———

Day 36 of the shadow curse.

Oliver opens his door and walks out into the dark fog of the curse. Some flowers still bloom, untouched by the curse or the shadows, just outside his doorstep. The corpses of the rothé lie inert in the darkness, having died twice over days before. Oliver likely doesn't linger on either detail. It only takes a few strides for the darkness to envelop him.

It only takes moments for it to change him.

Oliver as he was in life is gone, taken by the shadow curse. But some vestige of Thaniel keeps him alive, keeps them both alive. But the shadows have already done their damage.

Oliver remains near his home as the years pass, his laughter and his games turning ever deadlier as the curse strengthens and grows.

———

Day 39 of the shadow curse.

Halsin and the other druids have long since returned to the Emerald Grove. The mantel of leadership weighs heavy on his shoulders. He has sealed away the old Archdruid's glaive, tainted as it is with shadow magic, and begins to turn his attention to leading the Grove. A task he never asked for, and doesn't feel he deserves.

Jaheira has moved on to other adventures, working independently or with other Harpers. It will be another several decades before duty calls her back into the shadow-cursed lands, back to the site where she fought to maintain balance and put an end to a corrupted Sharran general.

The town of Reithwin and the surrounding landscape is dead. Dead, but not quiet. The shadows sink into the land itself, twisting the trees, slowly cracking the very earth apart. Shadows continue to stir, corrupting everything they touch. The unlucky undead that are not granted blissful oblivion shamble among the ruins of the town, between the remains of the battle. Their actions are twisted recreations of their living days, as nurses or as patrons of the Waning Moon. Their minds are all but obliterated.

The town settles into a pattern of hungry shadows on the hunt and undead corpses shuffling mindlessly through the motions. This pattern will remain undisturbed for a century or more.

———

Day 40 of the shadow curse.

Inside the Grand Mausoleum, behind the sigil-sealed doors, the crypts of the dead are not as still and silent as they should be. Something, someone moves in the darkness.

Ketheric Thorm, pulled back into the land of the living, stands at the foot of his daughter's sarcophagus. He wants to forget. He wants the darkness to swallow him whole. But it does not.

A bloated, fleshy hand reaches out in the darkness, and Ketheric hears an all too familiar voice, deep and resonant with dark magic.

"Let us refocus our efforts, General. In here, we have everything we need to bring her back. It will only take time."

Ketheric, having lost everything, agrees.

———

Okay, so maybe Day 40 was just me guessing/wanting to get creative. I believe Ketheric probably woke up, since he's still functionally immortal thanks to Aylin, relatively soon after the shadow curse was unleashed. But because he was sealed in the mausoleum by the Harpers and druids, he must have spent the better part of a few years, maybe even a few decades, trying to gather the strength to blow open the doors and leave.

He's been defeated, and Shar has likely withdrawn her blessings on him. His only power now is his immortality (probably). We know he doesn't build an army again until a century later, when he does so under Myrkul's command. So I imagine he probably spends many decades in the mausoleum, trying to forget, or (failing that) trying to resurrect his daughter.

Forgetting evades me in this infinite darkness. Balthazar is my own source of the barest comfort - the thought that, perhaps, she might be brought back to me. If oblivion can fail, what defence have we against death? None except its mastery. Balthazar's words have never felt more promising.

Somehow Balthazar finds him. Perhaps Balthazar was sealed inside the mausoleum too. But Balthazar promises to find a way to restore the one thing Ketheric wants. Ketheric doesn't desire vengeance. Ketheric doesn't want another army. Ketheric wants Isobel. And Balthazar, a powerful necromancer, believes he can deliver.

So the experiments begin. And fail. And fail. Thisobald, Gerringothe, Malus. The Thorm family members rise again, except they're twisted, grotesque, a little mad. Not how Ketheric wants Isobel to be. But they keep trying. Until at last, nearly a century after his defeat, after a century of struggling to forget and fall into oblivion, ignored by Shar, Ketheric turns to Myrkul. He agrees to become Myrkul's Chosen and do his bidding, in exchange for the one thing he wants most.

Isobel.

Melodia would understand, if she knew my aim. She too, I believe, would have turned to Myrkul under such conditions as these. Our darling will live again. What kind of man would I be if I didn't raze the world entire for her sake?

Ketheric at last renounces Shar to pledge himself to Myrkul. And Myrkul, unlike Shar, keeps his promise. The death that began the spiral into Sharran zealotry, that led to the shadow curse itself, is finally reversed.

After more than a century of death, Isobel wakes up.

———

So ends the three-part series about the shadow curse. What a ride. I'm so fascinated by this entire act/history because it feels like diving into war history or something. So thanks for following, if you followed all three parts!! Let me know what other deep dives you want me to do!

Tags for those who wanted an update! @fingons-rad-harp @stuffforthestash @cakenpiewhyohmy

#bg3 #bg3 discourse #bg3 meta #bg3 critical #halsin #halsin silverbough #jaheira #ketheric thorm #deep dive #long post #super long post #someone tell me why this was the easiest one to write

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eldritch-spouse · 9 months

Note

Icons and triplets reaction to s/o whose love language is biting

(No, Kalymir, you deranged demon, this is not an offer to start a bloodbath and tear eachother to death-)

(Vorticia, my amazing and beautiful wife, why are you drooling so much, didn't we just returned from The Clergy and that nightmare of a feast? Vorticia??)

Absolutely love you and your characters, Pinnie, I'll fight anyone for you

[Yes please, bite demons twice your size and find out what happens. Thenk! Welcome to my personal army.]

Ya bite 'em 🦷

Zizz might flick you away in his sleep, so be careful. He can sleep through a few love nibbles, but chomp too hard and you're getting an unconscious swat. He'll wake up with your grunt and fret over it. He does find it cute if you bite his fingers or hands however, though has no desire to bite you back usually.

Rinx jumps ocassionally, but given one of his love languages is hard squeezing, he has no room to complain. Do not chew rare belongings, he will scream. He can ignore your bites well enough, ocassionally taps you to ease up.

Cero always makes an indignant sort of sneer, groaning about how gross you are, and how you're putting your saliva everywhere, like an animal. He will push your face away. Although, thing like biting Cero's lip during kisses are perfectly welcome.

Vesper definitely moans about it. Because why wouldn't he? Requests to bite harder are frequent, even if you can't really leave marks all that easily. He bites back very softly, even his stomach mouth very sweetly just pinches a little.

Vorticia hisses sharply when you catch her off-guard, but it quickly becomes a noise of excitement. Although the snake woman doesn't bite you back, she has a tendency to return the gesture by partially putting you in her mouth. Chomp her hand, she puts your whole head in her jaws for a moment. Kinda gross.

Ludwig appreciates the gesture, and doesn't feel as reserved about giving in to his own desire to bite, although he's definitely more measured. He may just pinch and scratch at you sometimes. Any bite of yours will make him swoon.

Kalymir will fucking bite you back, no questions asked. You will more than likely bruise and bleed, but thankfully he goes after your meatier sections, so you might not come out of it with severed fingers. He bites several times too, so you're in for it now. Occasionally, he might just brush his sharper teeth against your skin.

Livius, as you know, will pick up on your habits pretty quickly. By the time you start biting him, he probably already knows that this is your love-language. So, not only is he flattered, he's also likely to initiate it himself! He's got this weird ability to bite only just as hard as you do, and that accuracy should be more off-putting than it is.

Obie refrains from biting you back entirely, he doesn't really trust his teeth. In fact, sometimes he misinterprets and just offers you hard candy. You can chew just about anywhere but he'll flick you if you go too hard.

Mervin constantly talks about getting a muzzle for you, but he ends up goading you to chew him harder when he comments how flat and useless your little human teeth are. Is he doing it on purpose? Maybe. He might bite you once just to get you to have a taste of your own medicine, but it's rare.

#Kalymir oc #Cero oc #Livius oc #Rinx oc #Vesper oc #Vorticia oc #Zizz oc #Obie oc #Ludwig oc #Mervin oc

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laughing-with-god · 2 months

Note

How would victor jungkook be ?

in terms of what? like yandere or his story?

well, my original plan was that Victor's revenge would be the sequel to Quarter Quell once JK won it and he'd join the other victors. However, I used Taehyung in QQ so it wouldn't make sense if he was also in VR lol. Ofc, i can prob do a rewrite and just replace taehyung in QQ, but idk.

either way, here are some random headcanons for how I picture jk as a Victor

thinks some of the other victors only won on a technicality and doesn't mind making passive-aggressive comments about it

does NOT like being associated with Jin or Jimin's weak asses, thinks they're sneaky little shits who had to rely on tricks bc they would lose in a physical fight

he's very popular as a victor. tbh i think he's the only one who rivals jimin's popularity. the capitol love how bloodthirsty he is. while jimin mainly has female fans, jungkook has a good mix of both since men want to be like JK, and obvi women find him hot

I think he'd do a lot of tv shows and interviews. he knows people value his input for games so I can see him offering his insight on current tributes. remember the scoring system for how tributes would get rated? i can see him being asked to be on the team that assess those.

as a mentor, I think he'd be the type to pick a favorite and only really focus on that kid. he doesn't care if it's heartless, he's not wasting his time on a lost cause just to make them feel better.

I can see him looking at the other kid like "you might as well live it up while you can, you probably aren't gonna make it past the bloodbath."

if by some miracle that kid did survive and win, JK would be like ".....damn, guess I owe you a drink. my bad. welcome to victor's row tho :)"

as a mentor, he will tell his kids to just stick to the career alliance. if for some reason a kid from 2 wanted to align themselves with someone whose not a career, JK would just be like "ur on your own w that" bc ain't no way he's gonna attempt to talk to non career victors who prob hate him

I think he's another victor who splits his time pretty evenly between the capitol and his home district.

does not have to sell his body or anything because he is a capitol fav, but I do think he'll make shitty comments towards jimin

"Hi whore- I mean, Jimin"

yeah those two hate each other lol^^

doesn't really have any triggers or trauma from his games.

if anything he looks back at it with fond memories, which kinda freak the rest of the victors out

I don't think he has any victor friends

thinks jin and jimin are weak, namjoon is too clever for his own good, yoongi is annoying, hoseok is ungrateful and tae is just there...

I think yoongi is the only one who outright tried fighting jk once in a drugged up rage

jk prob made a comment about a tribute from 6.

"I bet if we put morphling in the cornucopia she would've actually survived the bloodbath. all kids from six are just addicts."

yeah yoongi tried punching him for that and Jk wiped the floor with him, namjoon had to get involved

I don't know how he'd spend his winnings tbh. I don't see him being really into anything other than weapons.

As a yandere, i think he'd try really hard to market you guys as the ideal victor couple

he'd def talk anout marrying you and having other victor babies in interviews n shit

"when it comes time for Yn and I to train our kids for the games-"

it's an open secret that the capitol just let JK have you lol

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xetswan · 7 days

Text

Unknown- Maria

(Alice x Reader x Jasper)

[five] [six] [seven]

We're now outside, by we I mean Bella, Alice, Edward, Jasper and Carlisle. "How long?" Edward questions Alice.

"They'll be here in four days." She answers him. "This could turn into a bloodbath." Carlisle speaks. "Who's behind it?" My sister's boyfriend asks. "I didn't see anyone I recognized. Maybe one..." She thinks back to her vision.

"I know his face. He's local, Riley Biers." Edward looks over to my sister after he reads Alice's mind. "He didn't start this."

"Whoever did is staying out of the action." Alice informs them. "They must be playing with the blind spots in your vision." Carlisle tells her. I try to think of who's doing this.

"Either way the army is coming and there aren't enough of us to protect the town." Jasper speaks up this time. "Hold up. What damn army?" Jacob jumps into our conversation. I watch as Carlisle and Edward share a look. Edward shakes his head but Carlisle goes with his decision instead.

"Newborns. Our kind." He tells the wolf. "What are they after?" Embry asks, looking in between us. "They were passing around Bella and [Name]'s scent. A red blouse and a black sweater." Alice tells the boy.

"They're after Bella and [Name]?"

"What the hell does this mean?" Jacob questions. "It means an ugly fight. With lives lost." Carlisle retorts sadly. "Alright... we're in." The wolf tells us. "No. You'll get yourselves killed, no way." Bella disagrees.

"I wasn't asking for permission." He shrugs.

"Edward." My sister looks back to her boyfriend who actually agrees with the other teen. "It means more protection for you."

"Jacob." She pleads. "Do you believe Sam will agree to an understanding?" Carlisle asks. "As long as we get to kill some vampires." He grins in a disgusting manner.

"Jasper?" We then all turned to my boyfriend who was thinking. "They'll give us the numbers. And the newborns won't know they even exist. That'll give us an edge." He enlightens us.

"We'll need to coordinate." The doctor says. "Carlisle they're gonna get hurt." Bella frowns, but no one pays attention to her. "We'll all need some training. Fighting newborns requires knowledge that Jasper has. You're welcome to join us. Alright?" The man tells Jacob who smiles with a nod.

"Name the time and place."

Bella goes after Jacob, Quil and Embry as we stay outside.

I hold myself thinking about how this is going to go down. I know I have the leverage, I'll be fine. But I'm worried about the others, and the wolves. Thinking about little Seth getting hurt just leaves a harsh taste in my mouth.

"[Name], we need to talk to you about something. Jasper, Alice you guys as well." Edward starts, Carlisle has a solemn expression across his face and Emmett even looks serious.

"Hmm?" I look up to them. Alice and Jasper have the same confused looks on their faces as I do. "[Name] may need to go into her wolf form. They're looking for her. The wolf form would protect the scent." Carlisle tells us, I furrow my eyebrows, not expecting this conversation.

"I don't know about that." I shake my head. "I haven't held my wolf form for longer than 5 minutes and it was one time." I argue with their statement. "That's why we're going to take these four days to train with the wolves." Edward tells me and I take a breath in, still shaking my head.

I know I talked about it with Alice and Jasper but turning into a wolf means this whole hybrid thing is actually real. I mean I know it is I can eat now and be in the sun but this is different. This sets it up to a whole new level. "I don't know if I can do it, Edward." I tell him honestly.

"[Name] I can understand how you feel but this will protect you in the fight. It will catch them off guard." He places a hand on my shoulder trying to comfort me but I just continue to feel tense and against it. Another hand goes to my other shoulder.

"We'll be there with you, it's okay." Alice encourages me, Jasper nodding along with her. I sigh. "Okay."

Emmett gets flung through the air, landing hard on his back but springing back up to face Jasper who threw him. I stand behind Alice, hugging her as we watch them spar with Esme, Carlisle, and Rosalie. Edwards' Volvo coming to a halt next to Jasper's Jeep. Him and Bella climbing out, heading into the field together.

"They're here." Edward stops, we all look to the treeline. I tense up, beginning to let go of Alice but she keeps a hold on me. Eight large wolves walk out of the forest. They're on edge, wary just like the rest of us.

"They don't trust us enough to be in their human forms." Edward tells us. "They came. That's what matters." Carlisle smiles. "Will you translate?" Carlisle asks his 'son'. "Hey, Jake. Welcome." Edwad tells the red-brown wolf. "Jasper has experience with newborns.

He'll teach us how to defeat them." Carlisle says. "They want to know how the newborns differ from us." Edward translates for the wolves.

"They're a great deal stronger than us, because their own human blood lingers in their tissues. Our kind is never more physically powerful than in our first several months of this life." The man explains, the wolves taking it and then he looks over to my boyfriend to take over. He hesitantly steps forward.

"Carlisle's right. That's why they are created. A newborn army doesn't need thousands like a human army. And no human army could stand against them. The two most important things to remember are, first, never let them get their arms around you. They'll crush you instantly. The second, never go for the obvious kill. They'll be expecting that. And you will lose. Emmett? Don't hold back." He points over to the large man who smirks.

"Not in my nature." Then Emmett charges at Jasper with impossible speed but Jasper is practically a blur when he moves out of the way.

Emmett lunges several times, but his arms just grab at the air. Jasper stops for a quick moment. "Never lose focus. One more thing, never turn your back on your enemy." Emmett lunges again but the same thing happens but then he suddenly freezes as Jasper has him from behind, his teeth an inch from Emmett's throat.

It was pretty hot watching my boyfriend in action.

Everyone takes turns sparring with Jasper, except me. I'm just watching what he does. Observing his every move.

Alice and Jasper spar, something I was anticipating excitedly. It's been attractive just watching Jasper but both of them. That's like my biggest fantasy I didn't even know I had. They were basically dancing at how swift they both were. Alice called his every move. Seeing it before he makes them then out of nowhere she jumps down from a branch and perches on his back, kissing his cheek.

"Gotcha." She smiles before jumping down.

Edwarrd and Carlisle attack one another now. Jasper tells them what they need to focus on.

I make eye contact with Sam, obviously in his wolf form. I purse out my lips.

Knowing that he's probably the best one to go to about my wolf form. I whisper to Alice about what I'm doing before I do it.

She takes my hand in hers before I walk away. "Be careful." She kisses the top of my hand. "Always." I smile, walking away already missing the touch of her hand.

I go up to Sam, he takes a step back but I stop him.

"Can we... God, I don't even want to do this. Can we talk?" I ask him, he lets out a huff, looking at his pack but then moving his head to follow him into the woods.

I walk behind him and then when we are deep enough I observe around us.

He looks like he's going to shift back but I put a finger up to tell him not to. I focus on what I'm doing.

Feeling the heat emit off of my body. And as I shift into my wolf form I feel my clothes rip.

Mentally cursing remembering that was going to happen after it did.

"You said you weren't going to use your wolf form, what happened?" He questions me immediately. I roll my eyes.

"The Cullens, they thought it was a good idea. Said it will protect me since the newborns won't know who I am and it hides me actual scent." I inform him, he walks around me and I just stand still. It's weird being on all fours. This whole situation is just weird.

"What do you need help with?" He asked me. "I need to learn how to fight in this form. I- can I try something?" I get in front of him. "Uh sure."

I focus as I look at him, just wanting to know. I watch his form get a little weaker. "What are you doing? What did you do to me?" He questioned me, his form was panting suddenly as if he had been running.

"My vampire ability. It's taking peoples energy or their ability they possess after turning. Seems like I can do it as a wolf too." I laugh, now getting excited. "Maybe warn a person next time you do that." He huffs. I chuckle.

"Will you help me?" I ask, tilting my head. This is where it goes silent. "I guess. It's important we win but no more of that... whatever that shit is called." He tells me and I laugh.

"Of course." I say. I then stare at him, his eyes finding their way to mine as well. "I'm sorry [Name]. I truly and honestly am." He tells me in a sincere tone. I look at the ground.

"Why'd you do it?" I ask.

"I wanted you. I wanted you to be mine. It was selfish, childish even. I could tell you were forever going to want those bloodsuckers. No offense." He pauses before continuing on when I don't say anything. "When they wrote that letter and I read it. I knew if you read it, that you immediately would've dropped everything to join them. I didn't want to lose you but I lost you in every way imaginable with that decision. I'll regret it for a while." He exclaims, his gaze never left the sight of me. I let out a shaky breath.

"Thank you." I say.

"For the explanation. I can't get myself to forgive you right now but slowly. You're getting there." I walk up to him, nudging him with my snout.

"This is weird though." I changed the subject. "Being an animal. It doesn't feel right." I chuckle.

"It's a strange feeling but you get used to it." He tells me.

It grows quiet. "I should get going. I uh, have to get to Alice and Jasper." I begin to walk away. He doesn't say anything in return so I continue to go back home.

I wait outside the Cullen's house, I don't want to transform back without having some change of clothes. I lay on the porch in front of the door.

Moments go by and I finally hear voices. Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett are talking to one another. Laughing about something. I lift my head up but stay still. They spotted me and at first glance they were cautious but Jasper immediately recognized me.

He throws his sweater off, covering me as I transition back into my normal form. He has his body cover me as I throw the sweater on. It goes to my mid thigh.

"I hated that." I laugh to myself stretching out my limbs. Alice immediately pulls me into her arms, standing on her tiptoes. "You did amazing!" She compliments me, I furrow my eyebrows. "I barely did anything?"

"Well you did it and that's enough." She kisses me.

"Oh, okay." I smile. "Thank you." I peck her lips one more time. She lets me go to go back to talking to Rosalie and Emmett. I looked over to Jasper who was now only wearing a plain t-shirt.

"You look handsome." I tell him, playing with his hair. He rolls his eyes playfully as he attempts to stop his smile.

"I'm serious, seeing you fight the others... It did something for me." I fan myself acting as if I was hot. He lets out a scoff while smirking.

"It was a real..." I quiet my tone. "Turn on." I whisper, kissing his ear. His hands go to my sides, gripping them, making me laugh.

The next day, Bella and I were sitting on the hood of Edward's Volvo. Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie and Emmet left in the Jeep. Jasper approaches us, kicking the mud from his shoes.

"Jasper, are you sure there's nothing I can do to help?" Bella asks my boyfriend.

"Your presence alone, your scent will distract the newborns. Their hunting instinct will take over, driving them crazy." He explains her part in everything. "Good. I'm glad. Hey, how do you know so much about this?" She asks and I forgot she never knew about his background. Or really much about my past lives or anything.

"I didn't have quite the upbringing as my adopted siblings." He sighs, he takes my hand and begins to walk away.

Bella followed behind us. He pauses to see her inquiring look. He lets my hand go to roll up his sleeve. Showing her his arm that's feathered with a bunch of white half-moon shaped marks.

"Those bites are like mine." She looks down to her wrist.

"Battle scars. All the training the Confederate Army gave me... it was useless against the newborns. Still, I never lost a fight." He smiles softly.

"This has happened during the Civil War?" My sister questioned him. He nods, taking my hand once again. "I was the youngest major in the Texas cavalry. All without having seen any real battle." He exclaims.

"Until..."

"Until I met a certain immortal. Maria." I feel him stiffen up from even saying her name.

"I was riding back to Galveston, a few towns over from my own, where [Name] was with our families. After evacuating a column of women and children. When I saw her." He doesn't make eye contact with Bella but she furrows her eyebrows glancing over to me.

"I'll explain later." I mouth.

"I immediately offered her my air. She was with two others." He says. "She told me I'd be a great use to her. Telling me she hoped I survived." He stops walking, the memory washing over him. His hand squeezing mine.

"Maria was creating an army?" Bella tilts her head, sitting on a fallen log.

"They were very common in the South. And cost a brutal battle for territory." He tells her before continuing. "Maria won them all. She was smart, careful. And she had me. I was the second in command. My abilities to control emotions served her well."

"I trained her newborns. An endless occupation since she never let them live beyond their first year. It was my job to dispose of them. I could feel everything they felt." He grimaces at the thought of what he did back then. My thumb gently rubs his hand.

"Maria would tell me she was a friend and was going to bring me to my wife, [Name] and our child. That they were safe and made me her puppet along the way. She pulled the strings and I had to do these things... until a man told me about what happened to [Name] I..." He stops himself but I nod my head, encouraging him to go on.

"I left Maria, did some horrible things to [Name]'s murderer. He was older of course, almost 80 at that point. I almost did worse things until Alice found me. She had seen what I did and she knew [Name] well another life [Name] held." He explains everything, Alice appears next to us.

"Both liked to keep me waiting." She smiles staring up at us.

"My apologies, ma'am. I don't know what I'd have done become without Alice." He sadly says, looking at me as Aliee wrapped her arms around him.

"You'll never have to be that again. We're together, forever now." She kisses us both.

I observe Bella as she takes everything in.

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thorns-fixations · 10 months

Text

What It Takes To Survive - Sub Zero / Reader SMUT 18+

Non-Con WARNING

Screams and shouts filled the air as the smoke and flames engulfed the structures that made your town, darkly clad warriors seizing all of those they could get their hands on, slaughtering the men and the resistors in a merciless bloodbath. You sprinted desperately, shoeless, throughout the wreckage, heart pounding in your chest as you attempted to duck and weave through collapsed buildings, your long sheer nightdress now weighed down by mud that you had rushed through to escape the warriors. ‘The forest, run to the forest,’ your thoughts echoed in your head, making a dash of pure desperation for the trees that surrounded your town, fresh tears gently rolled down your face, the fear of what happens next escaping your eyes with the aid of the stinging smoke that filled the air and had harshly invaded your lungs. You had just managed to navigate through the last row of buildings towards the forest when your ankles swiftly twisted around each other, being caught up by some weights and rope that had been thrown to slow your escape, you fell to the ground with a heavy thud, your arms barely braising your body for impact before the collision. Panic rushed through your mind at the idea of being caught out by the warriors, you had only just entered adulthood by your clan’s standard - there was so much you were meant to do, so much you were looking forward too with the other girls who had come of age at the same time as yourself. It wasn’t meant to end like this, not at the end of an assassin’s blade, alone, watching the life you knew being destroyed before being released into the arms of death himself. You composed yourself as much as you could, twisting around to reach the weighted rope that had wrapped around your ankles, grabbing the ropes, you began to pull at them, unaware of the assassin slowly approaching you from the wreckage you had come through. The sound of metal chains froze you solid where you sat amongst the grass, eyes still locked onto the rope, your heart sunk into your stomach, your breath catching in your throat, the tears once again falling from our eyes silently as you dared yourself to look up in the direction of the noise. A lone assassin stood between you and your town, angry orange flames climbing meters behind him, the hot colour contrasting to the mans vibrant blue armor garments a silence stood heavily between you as his eyes raked over your body – the bright light casted from the fires behind him emphasizing the sheerness of your nightwear, a dress normally never worn outside your chambers. The sheer cloth garment softly draping over your naked body left nothing to the imagination, you had not experienced a great deal of men, but you knew how to recognize the dangerous lust that grew in your captor’s eyes as he looked down at you. He began towards you, crossing the space that sat between swiftly and confidently, never breaking his eye contact with you.

‘Scream, run, fight, don’t just sit here, what are you doing – he will kill you, and if he doesn’t – just run!’ Your conscious screamed inside your head, frantic at your inability to move, his stare alone enough to render you frozen in time, unable to defend yourself, unable to run and hide – only able to move your head slowly to meet his glare as he approached. Now directly in front of you the man lowered himself towards the ground, inches away from your face – freezing cold mist leaving his mask as he breathed, the low temperature a welcome adjustment to the heat that had tortured you during your escape. He grabbed your wrists with demanding force, clasping metal shackles around them, the restraints are cold and heavy – your arms quickly drop towards the ground when he releases them from his hands.

“Behave, or die – the option is yours, Woman.”

The man spoke clearly before slicing through the rope constricting your ankles with the dagger on his thigh. He stood upright again before sharply tugging on the chain that connected to your wrists, lifting you up off the ground, painfully demanding you return to your feet. You quickly scrambled to regain your footing as he walked back into your town, the loud screaming that once filled the air had stopped, replaced by the weak cries of the women and young children you had once laughed with. The man stopped you in front of a small group of women – girls your age, a few a bit older, before shoving you to your knees with them, freezing your chain to theirs, you huddled to one of the girls – a close friend, someone you had spent days with, dreaming of future life’s, joyfully discussing people you found attractive, now at the mercy of the men who have massacred those you loved.

“Why are we separate from the others?”

You whispered to your friend nervously, met with a silent shake of the head as a response, she didn’t know either. You silently awaited your fate together, miserably watching the assassin’s gather bodies from the town and return them to an area nearby, setting the fresh corpses alight in a tower of death, the smell was horrible, one you never thought you could forget. A harsh looking man in red approached your group with an amused smile across his face, his enjoyment sending shivers across your body.

“Stand them up.”

The man commanded some plainly decorated assassin’s close by, who hurried to fulfil his order, ripping you all to your feet by the heavy chains that bound you, you stood in a line, anxiously awaiting any explanation of your fates. You saw the man nod at another of his clansmen who had been crafting something in a nearby fire, out of sight from the group – the man approached him with a grim answer to your worries, he held a glowing red brand proudly, the insignia matching the icon the assassins wore on their chest. You felt yourself go numb upon your realization.

“You ladies are lucky enough to be joining our clan’s live-in entertainment and service teams upon our return to the Lin Kuei Temple – Of course, as our property, we must brand you as such.”

One by one the scorching iron landed on the shoulder blades of the group until you had all been marked. You all stood together, defeated, dreading your new futures, you watched them destroy your home and you watched the man in blue return – this time in the company of two men, one in grey and another in the same shade of blue as himself. The colour-clad assassins mingled between themselves for some time, you knew who these men were, and how dangerous they could be – it would probably be best if you stayed on their good side and obeyed them where possible. As if he knew you were thinking about him, the man in blue – whom you assumed to be Sub Zero, upon seeing that he was the larger and elder of the men in blue – turned and walked towards you with haste, the other men completely undisturbed by his sudden departure from the group. Upon reaching you he disconnected your chain from the others and lead you forcefully away from the town square, you struggled to stay on your feet as he dragged you through the smoking remains of your town towards the temple you often spent time in, made from stone, it had survived the flames that suffocated the rest of the town. He led you through the halls towards the monk chambers, you felt sick at the blood that now stained the walls of the structure, you tried not to imagine the fate of those who were here throughout the attack. You were pulled into a room usually kept vacant for any travelling monks or people of importance, the room was larger than the others and held much more comfortable furniture, a large shelf bed as well as some upholstered chairs with a large fire pit along the wall. The man pushed you towards the bed, dragging you on your stomach toward the other side, attaching your chain to the top left post, trapping you on the mattress on your knees, you looked up at the man from your vulnerable position, you watched with dread as he removed his armor and clothing, his body was large and muscular, scars littering his skin. You tried not to look, you really did, so much so that you turned your face away from the man when he removed his pants, a deep chuckle filled the room, you heard footsteps move from in front of you until you felt the heavy weight of him crawling over the bed behind you. You shut your eyes tight, preparing for the next few moments… moments that didn’t come, you opened your eyes, mildly confused at the absence of the man, you could have sworn that you felt him climb onto the bed behind you – perhaps you were mistaken-. Your thoughts were cut off as you felt your nightdress lift from your legs and over your ass to drape over your back, you felt cold breaths over your core, your thighs quivering in retaliation.

No, no this couldn’t possibly be exciting you, the idea of being at the mercy of this man, this monster shouldn’t be filling you with lust!

“N-No!” You squeaked, almost pathetically, recoiling away from his breath, disgusted in your body’s reaction to the man’s presence, an amused noise came from behind you.

“No? Are you sure?” the man teased, running a single calloused finger down the wetness that had formed at your entrance, “Perhaps you should tell your body that “the man chuckled. You stayed silent, embarrassed by his comments, you shouldn’t be reacting this way.

“Well- alright then, we will do it your way” the mans voice dropped into a threatening growl, licking a forceful stripe from your clit over your entrance. You gasped at the sudden sensation before you felt his tongue forcefully enter you quickly making a wet mess of his saliva and your forbidden excitement, his cold tongue sent shivers through your heat as he continued to hungrily eat you. After a little while he pulled his mouth away from you, allowing himself to watch down at you. You had become a mess in front of him, desperately gasping for air between moans, a painful open hand slapped and grabbed your ass, causing you to wince and yelp in pain. Amused at your obvious mental battle, he placed an ice cold digit on your clit, placing an unfair amount of pressure behind it – just enough to make you moan and scream as your lust and disgust battled for supremacy, he could certainly have a lot of fun with you back at the temple but time was not his ally right now. Aware that his clansmen would soon come looking for him, he took himself in his hand, slowly down his length a few times before sliding his velvety head through the wet mess he had created, unfortunately for you, he didn’t give you much of a chance to prepare for what was coming next. He lined the head of his cock up to your entrance, in awe of the size difference between the two, an intense burning sensation startled your body as he forced his head into your entrance, the wet sounds of the union quickly overshadowed by the mans long moan of pleasure. The tightness surrounding him forced primal growls from his mouth as he slowly forced every inch of himself inside of you, the sensation sending you wild, his long, thick coldness slowly stretched you to his size before you finally felt his body against the skin of your thighs and ass. Two large, cold hands grabbed at your hips, you cherished the moment of stillness, a tiny chance for your body to adjust to him, a tiny chance cut very short.

You felt him begin to move out of you slowly before quickly snapping back completely, a moan screamed out of your mouth in retaliation before he sped up, mercilessly using you for his pleasure, his thick cock slick with your arousal, an applause of wet slaps echoing through the room as he assaulted your cunt. You felt your body go limp as he continued to fuck you, load moans falling from his mouth as roughly snapped his hips into you, almost desperately shoving as much as he could of himself into you, he growled at your weakness before freezing your chains and shattering them. His hand quickly grabbed your shoulder, flipping you onto your back and effortlessly spreading your legs open as far as they could go, leaning over you he wastes no time sliding his cock back into you and thrusting his hips into you as hard as he could. Your arms wrapped around his body instinctively, scratching and clawing his back, your moans echoing through the temple, his powerful thrusts soon became erratic as his moans grew louder, you watched as his head threw back, sweat glistening down his fit body, the muscles in his upper arms tensing as he chased his high. His eyes dropped back to you and his mouth curled into a mean smirk

“Like what you see, whore?” he growled through unsteady breaths, his hand weaving into your hair and pulling down forcing your face upwards “Open your, u-uoh, open your mouth, I don’t want cum to leak out and ruin my horses saddle on thew way to the temple”. You reluctantly opened your mouth as he pulled out of your body, stroking himself over your mouth until he reached his climax, filling your mouth with his thick salty orgasm.

#sub zero #sub zero / reader #sub zero x reader #bi han

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yumemiruuuu · 3 months

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TGCF Hunger Games Simulator Series

Hi guys, thought it would be a fun idea to put the cast of TGCF through the hunger games simulator- I will probably do multiple rounds and share them in separate posts so I hope everyone has as much fun seeing the results as I do 😂 And all are welcomed to make fanarts and such of the simulated scenarios!!

[ Round 1 ]

The Bloodbath

As the tributes stand on their podiums, the horn sounds.

Ruoye grabs a shovel.

Mei Nianqing and Mu Qing fight for a bag. Mei Nianqing gives up and retreats.

Guzi and E-Ming work together to drown He Xuan.

Pei Ming runs away from the Cornucopia.

White No-Face runs away from the Cornucopia.

Yin Yu runs away from the Cornucopia.

Shi Wudu takes a spear from inside the cornucopia.

Pei Xiu runs away from the Cornucopia.

Qi Rong runs away from the Cornucopia.

Xie Lian runs away from the Cornucopia.

Ban Yue runs away from the Cornucopia.

Xuan Ji runs away from the Cornucopia.

Feng Xin scares Jun Wu away from the cornucopia.

Hua Cheng runs away from the Cornucopia.

Ling Wen gathers as much food as she can.

Yushi Huang, Quan Yizhen, Jian Lang, and Shi Qingxuan share everything they gathered before running.

CuoCuo retrieves a trident from inside the cornucopia.

Day 1

Guzi, Quan Yizhen, Ruoye, and Yushi Huang hunt for other tributes.

Shi Qingxuan sets an explosive off, killing Feng Xin, Shi Wudu, and CuoCuo.

E-Ming tries to spear fish with a trident.

Xuan Ji falls into a frozen lake and drowns.

Mei Nianqing makes a slingshot.

Qi Rong and Pei Ming work together for the day.

Pei Xiu makes a slingshot.

Xie Lian runs away from White No-Face.

Hua Cheng receives a hatchet from an unknown sponsor.

Jun Wu thinks about home.

Ling Wen discovers a river.

Yin Yu makes a wooden spear.

Jian Lang stalks Mu Qing.

BanYue questions her sanity.

Night 1

Pei Xiu receives fresh food from an unknown sponsor.

Quan Yizhen and Jun Wu tell stories about themselves to each other.

Yin Yu throws a knife into Ling Wen's head.

Hua Cheng begs for Shi Qingxuan to kill him. He refuses, keeping Hua Cheng alive.

Pei Ming, BanYue, and Ruoye discuss the games and what might happen in the morning.

White No-Face receives a hatchet from an unknown sponsor.

Xie Lian passes out from exhaustion.

Qi Rong, Jian Lang, and Guzi cheerfully sing songs together.

E-Ming, Mu Qing, and Yushi Huang sleep in shifts.

Mei Nianqing questions his sanity.

Day 2

Qi Rong ambushes Pei Ming and kills him.

Hua Cheng scares Yushi Huang off.

Pei Xiu questions his sanity.

Guzi goes hunting.

Ban Yue constructs a shack.

Jian Lang runs away from Quan Yizhen.

Ruoye convinces White No-Face to not kill him, only to kill him instead.

Yin Yu throws a knife into Shi Qingxuan's chest.

Xie Lian poisons Mu Qing's drink, but mistakes it for his own and dies.

E-Ming defeats Mei Nianqing in a fight, but spares his life.

Jun Wu receives medical supplies from an unknown sponsor.

Arena Event

A cloud of poisonous smoke starts to fill the arena.

BanYue survives.

Hua Cheng and E-Ming decide to run into the cloud together.

Yin Yu is engulfed in the cloud of poisonous smoke.

Ruoye is engulfed in the cloud of poisonous smoke.

Guzi slowly pushes Mei Nianqing closer into the cloud until he can't resist any more.

Pei Xiu survives.

Jian Lang and Mu Qing agree to die in the cloud together, but Jian Lang pushes Mu Qing in without warning.

Quan Yizhen survives.

Yushi Huang survives.

Qi Rong slowly pushes Jun Wu closer into the cloud until he can't resist any more.

Night 2

Ban Yue receives fresh food from an unknown sponsor.

Qi Rong is unable to start a fire and sleeps without warmth.

Quan Yizhen thinks about home.

Pei Xiu receives a hatchet from an unknown sponsor.

Jian Lang questions her sanity.

Yushi Huang and Guzi talk about the tributes still alive.

The Feast

The cornucopia is replenished with food, supplies, weapons, and memoirs from the tributes' families.

Guzi steals Qi Rong's memoirs.

Yushi Huang gathers as much food into a bag as she can before fleeing.

BanYue shoots a poisonous blow dart into Quan Yizhen's neck, slowly killing him.

Jian Lang decides not to go to The Feast.

Pei Xiu decides not to go to The Feast.

Day 3

Guzi shoots an arrow at Yushi Huang, but misses and kills Pei Xiu instead.

Jian Lang fishes.

Qi Rong overpowers Ban Yue, killing her.

Night 3

Qi Rong fends Jian Lang, Guzi, and Yushi Huang away from his fire.

Day 4

Qi Rong's trap kills Guzi.

Yushi Huang receives an explosive from an unknown sponsor.

Jian Lang hunts for other tributes.

Night 4

Yushi Huang cooks her food before putting her fire out.

Qi Rong sets an explosive off, killing Jian Lang.

Day 5

Yushi Huang stabs Qi Rong with a tree branch.

The winner is Yushi Huang!

Summary Below ↓↓↓

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youareinlove · 4 months

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welcome to the swiftie hunger games!

tagging all tributes: @taylorslastkiss @foreverwintertv @butyoupaintedmegolden @noitsdibbles @evermorecatra @violet-prism-creatively @isitovernow-ootw @alltheliars @longlivestv @brenninthetaylorverse @dearreader @borninjuly95 @mynightsoutofsight @urfav-mirrorball @atwtmvftvtvsgavralpsss @lovestrucklovelorn @anixknowsnothin @sophiesonlinediary @urbanflorals @taygracie @squishy-lemons @typingwithmyhandstied @isitovrnow

(disclaimer: all events, deaths, etc. are dictated by a simulator. i put in custom events but i can't control what happens to who any more than you can so please be kind).

today we're going to witness the bloodbath. tributes, may the odds be ever in your favor!

The Bloodbath

taygracie runs away from the Cornucopia.

evermorecatra and youareinlove fight for a folklore cardigan. youareinlove retreats.

violet-prism-creatively runs away from the Cornucopia.

butyoupaintedmegolden runs away from the Cornucopia.

atwtmvftvtvsgavralpss , isitovernow-ootw, and squishy-lemons get into a fight. squishy-lemons triumphantly kills them both.

brenninthetaylorverse grabs a jar of fishing bait while borninjuly95 gets fishing gear.

longlivestv runs away from the Cornucopia.

isitovrnow scares mynightsoutofsight away from the cornucopia.

lovestrucklovelorn runs away from the Cornucopia.

taylorslastkiss grabs a backpack and retreats.

typingwithmyhandstied runs away from the Cornucopia.

urbanflorals grabs a jar of fishing bait while anixknowsnothin gets fishing gear.

alltheliars reminds dearreader of the Cornelia Street/You're Losing Me parallels. dearreader dies instantly.

sophiesonlinediary steps off their podium too soon and dies.

noitsdibbles runs away from the Cornucopia.

foreverwintertv runs away from the Cornucopia.

urfav-mirrorball grabs a backpack and retreats.

#hunger games simulator

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blossom-works · 1 year

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Two to One - Hades x Reader

A/N: I fell in love with Hades and I could not stop thinking about this after I read the manga so, spoilers after chapter 50 of Record of Ragnarok/Shuumatsu no Valkyrie.

Editors Note: Some things were changed to fit with the OG’s setups.

---

You know just how much he loves his younger brothers. No matter how obnoxious or arrogant they are, he loves them and will do what he can to ensure their wellbeing. Once, long ago, he single handedly defeated the Titans that escaped Tartarus to ensure their safety. Sending out his men to fight alongside his brothers on the surface. His protective nature and the love he has for his younger brothers is what charmed you alongside his mannerisms and personality alone. The man was confident yet a gentleman.

Long ago you were once a human that turned into a God. You are a Demigod like the famous Hercules. To sum up your story, you stopped a war all by yourself. While you were strong as a human, able to handle yourself in battle against an army of men, you did not match the strength of Hercules. You combined your athleticism with your smarts. The combination of skills allowed you to dissolve a fruitless and inhumane war. At that time, women were simple housewives so you were not taken serious in the beginning. But with persistence, you made a name for yourself. So much so that you caught the attention of Zeus, the Godfather among Gods.

Time and time again you were able to defeat armies after armies. You did sustain damage, but your smarts is what allowed you to always end up the victor. You did show mercy though, giving the soldiers an ultimatum, join your cause and end the war, or to die fighting an unjust war. Eventually, you yourself had an army. Together, you ended the long bloodbath with you taking the heads of the kings responsible. Ironically, your efforts and tenacity is what got you in trouble. The people you persistently tried to save turned on you. The men that fought alongside you turned on you. They feared you. They feared that you would become a tyrant, leading them in another war or some crap like that. Your closest soldiers are the ones who build the platform where you would be hung. The people you fought for were joyfully anticipating your death. But you did not fight back.

Despite the cruelty of it all, you understood their fear. After all, one person, a woman at that (an indication that led people to think you were a witch) essentially stopped the war all by yourself. You accepted it. Your job was done. If this is how you die, then so be it. Moments before you were supposed to be hung Zeus, the Godfather of Gods made his appearance. He praised your efforts and your ability to still have compassion for your kind despite their barbaric treatment. With a goblet in hand he gave you a choice, drink is divine blood and join the God world, or be hanged by the very people you helped. Logically, you accepted his offer. Out of all the Gods, Zeus’ blood can turn a human into a Demigod. The only catch though is if someone who is not a true hero drinks it, they die.

From that day on, you became the Goddess of Life and Death, protecting the weak and innocent while condemning the wicked. Having only two Demigods recorded, you and Hercules because good friends. He, like his adoptive father, commended your work. You both held humanity dear in your hearts, vowing to do whatever you could to keep them away from the Gods’ wrath. Human would pray to you, asking for your help in times of conflict. You did what you could to help them and those responsible for the mass suffering would be met with your wrath. You were a forced to be respected and feared.

A couple hundred years after you joined the Heavens, you met the King of the Netherworld in one of his rare visits to Valhalla. Zeus decided to throw a welcoming party for his oldest brother. All Gods and Goddess where essentially forced to attend. While mingling with your fellow Demigod, and his adoptive brother, Hades came up to you. Hercules and Hermes greeted their uncle, and you gave a formal greeting. All Gods and Goddess respect the man, even his brothers do not sully his name. You would be damned if you would be the first person to anger him. You would have to be as crazy as Zeus is when he decides to cheat on Hera.

To your surprise, Hades ignored his nephews, choosing to focus his attention on you. He asked about your work as the Goddess of Life and Death and was curious about your process. Any and all questions he asked you answered accordingly. Hercules and Hermes left you two some time ago as you and their uncle entered an intellectual conversation. Despite being the king of a domain that is essentially Hell, he rarely visits the mortal world. You kept him up to date on your findings of humanity and Hades even wondered what your thoughts were on them. Passionately, you told him that you hold your former race near and dear. Humans may be complex and frustrating creatures, but they are no different that Gods in your opinion. Yes, you boldly told that to Hades.

Your statement intrigued the man more than you already had. Resulting in an extended conversation. For the entire night you two busied yourselves in each other. Topics ranged from philosophy, science, human nature, history, and more. To say the least, your interaction with Hades left the Heavens in gossip. Has the King of the Helheim taken an interest in someone? Will there be a new queen of the Netherworld? To answer it, yes. A week after your intellectual talk, one of his servants came to your home to invite you to Olympus Palace. Apparently, Hades came back to Valhalla to have dinner with you. Ideally, he would rather it be in Helheim, but the taboo of The Bifrost forbade you from going to his realm.

You may not have been a God for long, but you were pretty sure that Hades rarely visits Valhalla. Let alone to have dinner with a newer Goddess. Hades does not even come here to have dinner with his own brothers!

His visits kept happening to the point where at least once a week for a month, Hades would come up to have dinner with you. There was one time where you were allowed into his domain though.

True to word of mouth, Helheim is a dark domain. There is no sun or vegetation of any kind. To your surprise, Hades invited you to meet Cerberus. Taking your hand in his, Hades planted yours on top of one of the heads. Cerberus held no animosity towards you (mainly because of Hades), and allowed you to pet him like a domestic dog.

Somehow, Hades got you permission to travel to Helheim whenever you like without facing the consequences. Till this day you still do not know how he did that.

From then on, whenever you would go to Helheim, you would always greet Cerberus with a pat on each head as you make your way to have dinner with Hades. After that one month, Hades had formerly asked to court you. When you asked why he said, “I have finally found someone who can rule Helheim by my side. I would be a fool to let you slip through my fingers.”

To an outsider, the proposal may sound like an act of duty, but you knew better. Hades is more than capable of ruling Helheim by himself. He has been for the last thousand years. He does not need your help, but he is willing to have you by his side. He wants to have you by his side. In a sense, Hades humbled himself before you. You accepted, and when the Heavens found out, it became the biggest news in centuries. Hercules jokingly started to call you “auntie” when he found out. A couple months into your courtship you met the most terrifying God, Poseidon. Hades introduced you two when Zeus arranged a little welcoming party for you. Only members of their family were invited.

True to his character, the sea God did not acknowledge you, but you were not offended. You knew what to expect from Poseidon and that was nothing. Getting riled up over his lack of interest would be fruitless. You did not ask anything of the God, nor did you try to interact with him. The only interaction you gave him was a bow of the head. You never knew how Poseidon felt about you (if he even cared to think about it). Adamas, now known as Adamantine, took a liking to you. You were told about what happened between him and his brothers. You neither judged nor commended him, choosing to remain neutral. Out of the four, Adamantine adored Hades. You two created a sibling bond. Other than Hera, you would be only woman in their family (and he liked you a lot better than Hera. For what reason you do not know).

After ten years of courtship, you and Hades were married. The big gap was all for preparation. Not for the wedding, that took two months to plan. The preparation was to get you ready to rule Helheim. Hades made sure that you were familiar with the territory and its inhabitants. Mainly Tartarus. He wanted to make sure that if they were to ever break out again, you would be able to handle yourself in the chaos. Given your background, it did not take you long to prove that you could. Your wedding was elaborate. Worthy for a literal God. Hades chose to wear his usual clothing while you opted for a traditional bridal attire. Given the fact that Hades is a Greek God, a Stefana was used. A crown made of golden leaves was placed on top of your heads and tied together by a ribbon to symbolize the union. You two also sipped from a single cup of wine that was blessed by Zeus.

After that, you officially become the Netherworld’s queen. Hades had another throne made for you and had it sit right next to his. While upholding your duties as its queen, you also continued to do your regular duties and the Goddess of Life and Death. It got a bit overwhelming, so Hades gave you two assistants. One that would help with your duties in Helheim and the other to help with your Goddess duties. You still visited the mortal realm, but not as much as you used to. Your clothing changed as well to fit your role as queen. You started to wear a long white dress with sleeves. It is a dress that overlaps itself like robe, tied together with a white strip of fabric. It leaves a subtle slit for one of your legs and your collar is held together by a metal clip that resembles Hades’ choker. You also started to wear purple heels made of crocodile skin. The ankle straps are designed to resemble the vines tattooed on his forehead. A gift he gave you on your wedding day.

The Gods gather in a grand council meeting led by Zeus to discuss the existence of humanity. It occurs after every millennium. The rules are simple. If the majority of Gods vote against humanity, the human race would be wiped out. You try to attend when you can to vote for humanity, but this year something new has occurred. From what you heard; a Valkyrie has proposed a Ragnarok. A thirteen round tournament where Gods would be fight humans and humans would be fighting Gods. If humanity wins at the end of the tournament, they will live for another millennium. If they lost, their entire existence will be wiped off the face of the earth. An intriguing notion that exited the Heavens. When you heard of this you were relieved. Humanity now has a literal fighting chance. That was until today.

In round three of Ragnarok, your brother-in-law, Poseidon, perished in his fight. You and Hades did not attend but you did hear of it. When the news hit your ears, Hades orders one of the servants to pull up the video footage and sure enough, the King of the Seas did die. You place your hand on your husband’s shoulder as an effort to comfort him. It was when you witness your dear friend, Hercules, perish when you both decide to make a trip to Valhalla. You arrive during Buddha’s fight. Plot twist, the man is fighting on the side of humanity. While you are thankful for him, you did not announce it, nor did you show it. Other than Hercules, you got along well with the Buddhist Pantheon.

Upon your surprise arrival, you two sit on the couch in the skybox where your in-laws are after Hades essentially kicks his nephew, Ares, off. Your husband busies himself with talk while you focus on the fight. Since your shared arrival, neither of you have let go of each other’s hands. Both hands are resting on top of Hades’ crossed knee. A bang against the back of the couch from Ares startles you. Your husband glares at his nephew, demanding Ares to apologize to you. While your in-laws are surprised at the fluctuating battle, your husband pressed a firm kiss to your knuckles. Once the battle ends with Buddha being the victor, the problem of which God will fight in the next round arises.

Ares is about to volunteer to take Buddha’s place before your husband announces that he will be fighting the next round. His declaration shocks his family but not you. Before leaving Helheim, you two discussed Hades’ participation. It was not much of a discussion but an understanding. You already knew Hades will avenge his beloved brother’s death no matter what. The only reason why it was discussed is because your marriage is heavily reliant on communication. Over the centuries, you and Hades have built a bond where neither of you need to voice something for the other to understand. While you did want to argue against his wish, you knew it would be useless. Hades might even see it as an insult that you would deprive him of his duty as the eldest brother. You may be worried, but you have faith in your beloved husband.

In a private room prepared for Hades is where you stay until the match starts. Under Hades’ orders, no one is to disturb your family until then. While he is confident that he will win this match, the time alone is for your sake. A way to ease your anxious heart. There you spend your time as a family, doing what you all would normally do. The knock on the door signifies that the round is about to begin. Hades is sent off with kisses as you hand him his bident. After making sure things are taken care of, you go back to the skybox where your husband’s opponent is walking down an elevated carpet into the arena.

Sitting on the same couch you watch the fight with a sunken stomach and a rapidly beating heart. You have faith in your husband, but you are still a wife. It is your job to worry about Hades’ wellbeing, God or not. It is not until Hades’ spear, Desmos, is destroyed when you stopped watching. Opting to let your bangs hide your eyes. Your heart drops to your stomach as is twists and turns. Your jaw is clenched so tight that you chip a tooth. You can no longer breathe. As your husband’s body begins to vanish to Niflhel, you leave the skybox. Your in-laws look at you with concern and pity. You find an empty hall to process what has just happened. Hearing a loud voice, you follow it as you know who it belongs to. Best to get there before things get out of hand.

“Adamas. That’s enough.”

“But you can’t be serious! They’re hiding the man responsible for killing Hades! Justice must be served!”

“Keep in mind brother that Hades saw Qin Shin as an equal. He acknowledged the human’s strength and in the end, I believe something of a friendship had been established between them. As his wife I ask of you, Adamas, to honor that.”

Adamas and the two Valkyrie sisters can see just how much you are holding in. The deep breaths you are talking tells them everything you need to know. Your brother-in-law huffs in a fit but respects your wishes. He walks off to who knows where and you are about to do the same until the older Valkyrie stops you.

“M’lady, you have my sincerest apologies for your husband’s death. I wish things did not turn out the way they did.”

In your white clothing you turn your head. “I appreciate it Brunhilde.”

“If I may, you have been a long fighter for humanity. Now that humanity is the reason behind Lord Hades’ death, will you turn your back against them?”

You turn around to face the sister who is still kneeling on the ground. Her pink haired sister stands behind her, unsure of what to do or say.

“It is true. Since I became a Demigod, I, like Hercules, have been fighting for humanity. Never once have I voted to exterminate their race. My affections for humanity have remained. I, like before, still have a compassion for them. Truth be told when I heard about Ragnarok, I was happy. Humanity has a chance at survival, but...but the love I have for my husband far exceeds the love I have for humanity. I no longer care for the outcome of this tournament...What happens will happen.”

You take in another deep breath and walk down the hall. “The only thing I care about right now is the fact that I am now a widow, and that my daughter is now fatherless.”

Walking through the building you pass by a couple of nymphs. Each bow to you out of respect and offering their condolences. Without knocking, you enter a somber room. A little girl is in tears as the servants try to console her. In her arms, she has a death grip on a stuffed owl her father gave her. You lay a hand on one of the servant’s shoulders, silently thanking them and asking for them to leave. Bowing, they leave their queen and princess to be alone. You gently caress the top of your ten-year-old daughter’s head before lifting up her head. The little girl looks just like her father. White hair with purple eyes. Only this time, her eyes are as glossy as ever.

Seeing her mother, she thrusts herself to you. Her small hands wrap around your neck, and she wails over the death of her dear papa. The owl still held tightly in her arms, getting soaked with her salty tears. Tightly, you hug the product of yours and Hades’ love. Finally, you let yourself go. Together you both cry over the great loss. You carefully drag her off the couch and place her on your lap. The servants outside the room look down at the floor in sympathy. Eventually, your daughter cries herself to sleep. Your white attire is now wet and stained. Scooping her up you head to where you entered Valhalla from. There you see your in-laws.

“Oh my...how is the little one?”

“She cried herself to sleep Zeus. She kept calling out to Hades…I’m afraid it’ll be like this for the next couple of days. Maybe weeks.”

The girl loved her father as much as he loved her. Despite his duties as king, he would always kiss her goodnight and even squeeze in a story or two. He got her the owl a day after she was born. He said it looked like her with its wide eyes. Hades was a stern but loving father. He always made sure to give his little love attention but would discipline her accordingly when she acted out. Helheim may not be a warm and welcoming place, but inside the palace it was. Just a couple of days ago your family was playing hide-and-seek. You and your daughter would hide as Hades tried to find you. Every time he found you, he would always go after your daughter first. Scooping her up in his arms, her innocent giggles, and his boisterous laugh. The memory starts to create a gloss over your eyes again.

Adamas places a hand on your shoulder. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay? Do you want to go back home right now?”

You give your brother a small and sad smile. “I appreciate the worry you all, but I am still Queen of Helheim. I have a job to do as its sole ruler now. Hades would be disappointed if I let things go downhill because of his death.”

“Will you not avenge his death?”

“Do not mock me Hermes. I want to avenge my beloved’s death, but Hades made me promise not to join Ragnarok...I will leave it to you all to avenge my husband. After all...only a Greek can seek retribution for another Greek.”

On your way through the portal to go to Helheim, her family bows to her. Walking, you remember something Hades said to you one night, a few years ago.

“I love my brothers, but loving you has a whole other meaning. Our sweet girl here is proof of that. The both of you are my life’s greatest treasures. She may be the center of my eye, but you my love, you are what my heart beats for. Never forget that.”

#record of ragnarok #shuumatsu no valkyrie #ror hades x reader #snv hades x reader #hades x reader #angst #fanfiction #record of ragnarok hades #shuumatsu no valkyrie hades

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niqhtlord01 · 1 day

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The Great Git Hunt Part 1: The Death of a Legend

During the turning of the 42nd millennia the universe was to see many upheavals of a galactic nature.

The 13th Black Crusade finally shattered Cadia and opened the great rift, sundering the universe in two and unleashing innumerable demonic incursions into real space. Tyranid Hive Fleets began appearing more frequently along the entire eastern fringe devouring innumerable worlds and forcing the Imperium to fight tooth and nail for every world to slow the tide of chitin.The Tau launched the Fifth Sphere Expansion while the Imperium’s attention elsewhere and sought to steal several dozen worlds from Imperial control and integrate their populations in the name of the greater good.

Yet the most perplexing, if not confounding, event was to pit two of the greatest warhosts against each other all over the death of one elderly man.

That man was Commissar Sebastian Yarrick.

Dying at the age of roughly 153, the energetic Commissar Yarrick made a name for himself by leading the Imperial resistance against Ork Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka on the world of Armageddon. Taking for himself the severed arm of an ork warchief he slew in combat to replace the arm he lost, Yarrick would become a nay mythical figure amongst Ork culture and the primary rival of Ghazghkull himself. It was said that the warboss only ever cursed Yarrick; an honor amongst orks for sure. Their rivalry would span nearly a century as the two would fight again during the third war for Armageddon and then far afterwards as Yarrick chased the warboss half way across the universe seeking to end the green threat once and for all.

Many would be safe to assume that with a rivalry so deep between two titans of their peoples that their stories would end with a climatic clash of arms where one would lay dead at the others feet. Yet fate sought to intervene in the cruelest of manners.

While pursuing his eternal foe with a fleet of Black Templar space marines, Imperial Guard, and several warships of the Imperial Navy; Commissar Yarrick was set upon by the newly reformed World Eaters chaos space marines legion led by their demonic primarch Angron.

With the opening of the great rift Angron emerged from the Eye of Terror at the head of the largest force of Khorne worshipers the universe had seen since the Horus Heresy. Angron was not content to follow Abaddon and his mongrels, so set out on his own to leave a path of devastation and slaughter spanning several sectors. Each world his followers set foot upon they would leave in fire with nothing but the hollow skulls of its former inhabitants piled in mile high mounds to watch over them. It was in fact the most recent slaughter on the planet Mori that reverberated throughout the warp so strongly it incapacitated the navigators of Yarrick’s fleet and pulled them out of the warp.

Angron was surprised at the sudden appearance of an Imperial war fleet, but welcomed the new challengers with great relish. The Khorne warships descended upon the imperial fleet like carrion fiends and began pulling it apart piece by piece. The navy fought back with great ferocity but the troop transports were left to fend for themselves as hordes of boarding craft were launched at them, each packed with world eater space marines churning for the coming bloodbath.

With their escape routes blocked and the transport ships in danger, Yarrick ordered the ground forces to land on Mori. It was only on the surface of the planet could the imperial force bring to bear their full might. The landing was hounded the entire way by the ever pressing chaos war fleet with many ships never making the journey, but by the grace of the emperor several made it to the surface and disembarked their forces.

Never one to back down from a massacre, Angron landed on the planet once more and led his legion against the now dug-in imperial forces. Under the leadership of Yarrick, the guard and space marine forces held the unending horde back for seven days and seven nights. Yet by the dawn of the 8th day only Yarrick and a handful of guardsman remained. Angron himself took to the field for the final slaughter and slew the guardsman with ease until only Yarrick stood against him.

Power claw met demonic axe as the elderly commissar matched blow for blow. So assured of his victory, the inability to shatter the crude ork weapon infuriated Angron and his rage furthered him to unleash a flurry of blows. One snuck past Yarrick’s guard and violently severed the commissar’s right arm at the shoulder.

As the arm and power claw fell to the ground Yarrick staggered backwards. His remaining hand tightened around his bolt pistol as blood began flowing from the wound. He looked up and saw the demon primarch looking down at him; mangled and jagged teeth grinning as Angron looked down at him. No doubt the monster expected him to beg for his life, but Yarrick would not.

Spitting out a glob of blood at the traitor, Yarrick brought up his bolt pistol and roared “FOR THE EMPEROR!” one final time and pulled the trigger. A single bolt left the weapon before Angron swung his axe and decapitated the commissar. The bolt struck home against one of the skulls hanging from the primarch’s neck and shattered it; a prized treasure as it had belonged to one of his close comrades back when the primarch had been mortal and a slave in the fighting pits of his homeworld. The primarch took up the severed head of Yarrick and put it in its place around his neck; a sign of honor for a great warrior while the rest of the skulls of the dead imperials were collected and offered to Khorne.

News of this massacre did not reach the wider galaxy for several months until a passing merchant ship picked up the distress signals of the imperial navy that still echoed in the warp. They soon found the lifeless husks of imperial ships floating above the planet of Mori and when they descended to the surface found the remains of the imperial’s last stand as well as a lone ork power claw still stained with demonic blood.

When the merchant ship reported their findings to nearby Imperial authorities an investigation force was dispatched by inquisitorial agents which further discovered the truth of the situation and the death of Yarrick.

Initially, there was hesitance with releasing the information regarding Yarrick. In a time of such chaos, the death of such a notable figure if reported to the wider imperium could trigger further outbreaks of panic. In a rare show of defiance however, the Astra Militarum insisted that it be made public and a large scale military funeral be held and broadcasted imperium wide to turn Yarrick into a martyr and potentially Imperial Saint stating that he chose to die fighting the forces of chaos then be cowed into submission.

Had the Astra Militarum made such demands a few generations earlier the Inquisition would have purged their ranks for such brazen defiance; but since the great rift’s opening they found their position had weakened and they needed the legions of Imperial Guard standing with them than against them. So, the Inquisition relented and the military funeral was held on Yarrick’s homeworld. Despite the great dangers of warp travel, several high lords of Terra made the journey to pay their respects as well as countless Imperial Guard regiments, space marine contingents, mechanicus forces, and even a rare Imperial Class Titan joined the funeral procession.

It was during this period of mourning as news of Yarrick’s death was spread throughout the imperium that it also trickled into the hands of the Imperium’s enemies as well.

Ork freebooters hijacking Imperial ships learned of the news while having fun with their human prisoners. There wasn’t an ork alive that didn’t know of the legend of “Old Bale Eye” and the impressive ork body count he had amassed over the century of fighting. News of his death spread even faster amongst orks than it had with imperials until finally words reached the green prophet himself, Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka.

At first, Ghazghkull refused to believe that anyone but him could have done in his oldest rival. He had fought Yarrick too long and knew that the wily hummie wouldn’t go down so easily. But when a squad of his handpicked Kommandos came back from Mori and presented him with Yarrick’s severed power claw, the green prophet flew into a rage.

The roar let out was so powerful that it reverberated in the warp, silencing nearby warp storms and sending countless ships of all affiliations from the astral tides of the warp back into real space. Not since the war of the beast was an ork roar heard so strongly in the warp from so far away that even the navigators on holy terra itself could hear the anger of Ghazghkull.

From that moment on the greatest warboss of orks the universe had ever seen had a new mission. He would take every ship in his fleet, every gargant and war machine his boy’z made, and every ork boi in his waaagh and he would not stop until he had the head of the one who done in Old Bale Eye and mounted it to the front of his flagship.

The Great Git Hunt, had begun.

#warhammer 40000 #warhammer 40k #commissar yarrick #orks #imperial guard #angron #chaos space marines #deamon primarch #fanfic #fanfiction #scifi #story #writing #original writing #niqhtlord01 #The Great Git Hunt #Imperial Guard #Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka #revenge

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