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houseisekai · 3 years

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House Isekai: A Realm Reborn - Part 2, Through the Maelstrom (3 of 3)

House Isekai ARR Masterlist Here

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Client: Hilda Valentin Goneril

Refusing to work with the newly reformed House Isekai due to Class VII, Duvalie takes her orders and storms off to Goneril territory, trying to get home faster. Not wanting to leave Duvalie completely alone, Raelyn and Fireteam Alpha-Nine accompany her.

Reports indicate of a giant serpent-like beast terrorizing the ocean trade routes near Goneril territory, and an unknown entity accompanying it…

[Respite and Sunlight - Fire Emblem: Three Houses OST]

The carriage carried a group of knights as it made its way towards the fishing town.

As the horses leisurely drew the carriage forth, the dirt kicking up on the path, the driver turned his head and shouted out.

(Driver) "We're almost there, milady."

Hilda sighed as she stretched, putting her head back onto the carriage.

(Hilda) "Finally. That took forever."

She looked around and noticed the two knights accompanying her were calmly sitting still, not saying a word.

(Hilda) "Am I seriously the only one who noticed?!"

(Knight 1) "No milady, we feel the same. Now isn't the time to be lax, however."

(Hilda) "Percy, I remember you being the one telling me that this town wasn't anything to be concerned about!"

(Knight 2) "It was, until that letter came in. We only put the request out three days ago, how could mercenaries possibly have responded that fast? And I do not like the descriptions of them either..."

(Percy) "I agree with Jonas. Tech that looks too advanced for random mercenaries to have? This seems like it's a trap..."

(Hilda) "I sincerely doubt the Separatists would cause any trouble for the Alliance. And what strategic importance would a fishing town like this have?"

(Jonas) "I think that's all the more reason to be wary, milady. Besides, orders from Lord Holst were specifically to-"

(Hilda) "Yeah yeah, I know, make sure I'm safe and everything. It's when we get out to the ocean, you guys can start doing your jobs properly."

Jonas looked at Percy, in which his response was just a shrug.

(Percy) "Hmph. I wonder what those mercenaries are like..."

...

Duvalie woke up and quickly looked around before her shoulders relaxed. They were still inside the building the Class VII members led them to.

Duvalie noticed the ODST's were already awake.

Dutch was near the window, looking at the small blue device curiously.

(Dutch) "Hell is this thing?"

It was making a small static noise, Dutch poked at it until Mickey came close and examined it himself.

(Mickey) "Looks like a jamming device of some kind."

(Buck) "Yeah, it's messing with my helmet's visor a little. You think a fishing town like this would have something that'd warrant a jammer?"

(Romeo) "Oh, you're finally awake."

The ODST's turned to Duvalie who picked up her sword and shield.

(Duvalie) "No one bothered to wake me up?"

(Mickey) "Hey, Fie's orders. Not ours."

Duvalie rolled her eyes and noticed Raelyn and Class VII were gone.

(Buck) "They said they were going out to patrol the area, wanted us to stay in here in case someone tried snooping around."

(Duvalie) "Guess that's fair enough."

Duvalie stood next to Buck, both of them not saying a word while Romeo cleaned his sniper and Mickey and Dutch were still examining the supposed jammer.

(Buck) "So...what exactly is your problem with those kids? If you don't mind me asking."

(Duvalie) "Ugh, we were enemies during a war, then we fought alongside each other and thats IT. Don't wanna talk about it. And we're NOT friends."

(Buck) "Alright, I believe ya. Dunno why you have to say it so forcefully."

(Duvalie) "Because it doesn't go through THEIR thick skulls! I DON'T LIKE REAN EITHER!"

(Buck) "Listen, Duvalie. I am right next to you. Stop frickin' screaming."

(Dutch) "Plus, you're making it harder to figure out what this is."

Duvalie and Buck turned to Mickey and Dutch who were still staring.

(Duvalie) "What in the hell is so fascinating about it that you two are still looking at it?!"

(Mickey) "Because, I don't think it's just a jammer. It's something else..."

That caught everyone's attention.

(Romeo) "...What makes you say that?"

(Dutch) "It's making some static noise, and it's sticky too. What kind of jammer is this small?"

(Duvalie) "Huh. I don't think we had anything like that in our world, so where did those brats...?"

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

(Raelyn's voice) "We have returned."

The door opened with the members of Class VII and Raelyn.

(Fie) "Coast looks clear, and looks like we already got someone to help out with the Serpent problem."

(Buck) "Damn, that was fast."

(Raelyn) "I recommend we hurry, lest we make the townsfolk angry again."

Everyone grabbed their equipment and left the house, Class VII leading the way.

(Mickey) "Hey, so those blue things you put in the house, what exactly are those?"

(Laura) "It's best we not say just yet."

(Dutch) "That's...reassuring."

(Elliot) "Anyways, we visited the tavern from yesterday and he said someone wants to see us there."

(Fie) "And you can leave your weapons down, it won't be a fight."

(Duvalie) "What makes you say that?"

As they were walking to the tavern, Hilda and her two knights exited and saw them.

[Musica Universalis - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers OST]

(Hilda) "Oh my gosh!"

(Elliot) "Ha, aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"

(Laura) "It's been quite a bit hasn't it, Hilda?"

(Fie) "Yo."

Hilda smiled as she ran up and grabbed all three of them into a hug.

(Hilda) "It's so good to see you guys again!"

(Percy) "Hey...you were with the professor when you came to Derdriu all those years back!"

(Jonas) "Don't think we've seen their friends though."

Hilda noticed the new group behind Class VII and raised an eyebrow.

(Hilda) "These your friends?"

(Raelyn) "Raelyn Amuto, at your service."

(Duvalie) "...Duvalie."

(Buck) "Call me Buck. Squad behind me is Mickey, Dutch, and Romeo."

(Elliot) "Hopefully, we just got here super recently ourselves. Though, Rean and the others can watch over them."

(Hilda) "Wait, everyone else is here?"

(Raelyn) "Not exactly."

Raelyn quickly caught Hilda and her knights up to speed.

(Hilda) "I see...So it's happening again?"

(Laura) "That's what we're here to investigate. Originally we came here to see what was blocking communications from Sitri to us, and find out what teleported this group here."

(Elliot) "After a day of investigating, we think it may actually have to do with the serpent problem you're having."

(Buck) "Huh, isn't that convenient."

(Duvalie) "When exactly did this problem pop up anyway? We only got here three days ago."

(Hilda) "Hm...I think it was about a week ago. Same time Claude let us know something was coming from the Tower, actually."

(Romeo) "...Too convenient."

[Briefing Time - Trails of Cold Steel 3 OST]

(Raelyn) "It seems to line up with our arrival. Has there been anything in the past House Isekai and your Houses have fought that can cause this amount of trouble?"

(Hilda) "Too much to count..."

(Laura) "It wouldn't be the first time for us."

(Fie) "I think we can kill two birds with one stone here then. We can investigate that Serpent and determine if it has anything to do with our problems."

(Hilda) "Sounds good to me."

(Dutch) "So...how exactly are we going to fight a giant water monster? Our gear isn't equipped for aquatic fights."

(Percy) "We have that taken care of. We're going to use a boat and investigate it the old fashioned way."

(Duvalie) "...That is the worst idea I've ever heard."

(Buck) "Inclined to agree with the lady. That seems a good way for our asses to get eaten out there."

(Elliot) "I'm kinda drawing a blank on what else to do. It's not like they have any high tech boats."

(Jonas) "Unfortunately, he's right. All of our efforts on expanding our sea travel has been fruitless, or its too early to tell. It only has been two years before we began these projects."

(Raelyn) "Us Space Marines are engineered to breathe underwater."

(Romeo) "Damn, is there anything you guys can't do?"

(Raelyn) "Have good luck."

(Duvalie) "Was that a joke?"

Raelyn's head slowly turned to Duvalie.

(Raelyn) "It is the last thing I would joke about. You all being near me already carries a risk of a violent death, including myself."

(Dutch) "What, your gun malfunction on you in battle a lot or something?"

(Raelyn) "It is a curse our Chapter seems to suffer. For one reason or another, something unfortunate happens, and I guarantee you it will happen when we attempt to hunt this beast."

(Hilda) "Jeez, quit that downer talk, we'll be fine! We've survived plenty worse than just some monster. Heck, it's not even our first monster we've fought!"

(Laura) "If that is the case, where is this boat?"

(Percy) "This way."

Percy and Jonas led the way to the docks, everyone following them.

Fie looked behind them and saw a small boy and girl staring at them. Specifically Raelyn.

She noticed an older girl walk up to them, she couldn't be older than 15. Fie put a mental pin on them and quickly followed along.

The older girl knelt down to get on their eye level.

(Older girl) "Hey, why are you staring at them so intensely, they didn't say something to you, did they?"

(Young girl) "Nuh uh, Mila! The big yellow man was super nice!"

(Young boy) "Yeah, he helped her out and everything!"

Mila had short brown hair and a small stature, carrying two daggers on her back.

(Mila) "Did he now...?"

...

The group took an Alliance controlled ship out into the coast, being helmed by the local garrison.

They set out to the last known location to where this Serpent had been reported, which fortunately was only an hour away from the town.

The day was bright and the winds were strong, and not a cloud in sight.

They skipped across the waters with relatively little trouble.

Hilda stood next to Class VII while everyone else was scattered.

(Elliot) "Man, I can't remember the last time we've been out by the sea."

(Laura) "A shame it wasn't for a more pleasant reason."

(Fie) "Oh, hey Buck."

Buck walked up to Hilda, followed by Raelyn and Duvalie.

(Buck) "Mind if we ask you something, miss Hilda?"

(Hilda) "What's up?"

(Buck) "Who exactly are these Separatists your townsfolk are so quick to anger about? An insurrection?"

(Laura) "I remember hearing about it while we were investigating the area as well."

Hilda frowned and looked back out to the sea.

(Hilda) "After House Isekai left Fodlan, our three nations decided to form a temporary pact in order to fix the damages done by Those Who Slither and the Church. It...hasn't been easy.

For the first two years, the Empire and Kingdom were at war, until it suddenly stopped with the Church to be the ones on the offensive.

The Battle of Gronder had all our blood shed, and its nothing that everyone can easily forgive with how recent it was.

So when news that we'd all be fighting as one, it made our citizens outraged. The only people who knew the truth about Zanado and Byleth was our militaries..."

(Elliot) "So, these Separatists...-"

(Hilda) "They've been wanting us to split up and leave each other be, just like it's always been. The Alliance has a mixture of Imperial and Kingdom Separatists, and Claude has been doing his best to keep the neutrality. It hasn't been easy, in addition to the Zanado Tower acting up again."

(Raelyn) "Which is why you sent this letter of the Serpent to Garreg Mach, correct?"

Hilda nodded.

(Hilda) "And if it requires House Isekai's help again, I fear the worst..."

(Laura) "Rest assured, we will do everything in our power to help Fodlan."

(Buck) "Not sure how long we'll be staying but, might as well. It's either that or be stuck here."

(Duvalie) "Wait a second, if you guys were stuck here before and got out, then how did you get in?"

(Fie) "Teleportation with the help of the Doom Slayer."

(Hilda) "Wait, he was the one that set you guys up with that?!"

(Raelyn) "I am not sure who he is, but perhaps he can teleport us out of here."

(Buck) "With how troublesome everything sounds, I sort of doubt it'd be that easy to get out of here."

(Fie) "Only one way to try."

Fie reached out a small crest of House Isekai's logo and pressed the center.

...Nothing happened.

(Fie) "Uh oh."

(Duvalie) "W-What does that mean?"

(Elliot) "Huh? That's how we were able to teleport from our world to the base! Why isn't it working?"

(Hilda) "Does that mean you're stuck here too?"

(Buck) "Well, that's fantastic..."

Dutch, Mickey, and Romeo were listening into the conversation.

(Dutch) "They got Insurrectionists to deal with too?"

(Romeo) "Great, that means we'll be here even longer."

(Mickey) "Their teleportation isn't working, so what is the cause of-"

(Percy) "Hey, we need everyone up here!"

[Dark Clouds Gather - Fire Emblem: Three Houses OST]

The groups looked up and went to the top deck where the wheel was. Percy and Jonas stood near the captain.

(Hilda) "What's the problem?"

(Jonas) "The skies in front of us are suddenly starting to darken."

(Captain) "The weather the way it was, this was too fast for it to suddenly darken! Something's about to happen!"

(Buck) "...Motion tracker's picking up something!"

The ODST's turned on their visors, blocking out their faces while Raelyn silently looked at his tactical display.

(Raelyn) "I am detecting something as well."

(Romeo) "Hey, remember that conversation about your luck from earlier? Suddenly beginning to believe it..."

Everyone drew their weapons as the crew of the ship shouted, readying cannons and bows.

Hilda drew out her relic axe and looked in the water.

(Hilda) "Where exactly are you sensing this thing?"

The ODST's had their weapons drawn, slowly looking to their left. The movement was quickly circling around them.

(Elliot) "U-Um, how big is this Serpent, exactly?"

(Percy) "Not sure, reports are inconsistent."

(Raelyn) "If it is as big as we expect it to be, what's stopping it from tearing this boat in half?"

Raelyn readied his Bolter and quickly turned around to the back of the ship, finally seeing a shadow.

(Buck) "ON OUR SIX!"

Only the ODST's and Raelyn turned to the back at first.

It took everyone else a second to realize what Buck meant, turning around and facing the same direction.

[Wreck to the Seaman - Final Fantasy XIV OST]

The shadow quickly vanished underneath the ship, making everyone nervous of what its about to do.

The ODST's and Raelyn paid attention to their motion tracker, and realized it was suddenly in place.

(Romeo) "Why the hell's it stopping?"

(Raelyn) ...!!! "It's not! CAPTAIN, TURN YOUR SHIP TO THE RIGHT, NOW!"

The captain quickly got on the wheel and steered right, the wind forcing the ship to make a hard right.

From the waters emerged a massive serpent, the water splashing onto the ship and blowing back some of the crew members.

The waves rocked the ship violently, almost tipping it over.

(Elliot) "AGH!"

Elliot lost his footing and was about to go overboard before Dutch grabbed his arm.

(Dutch) "Hang on kid!"

The ship barely managed to balance itself, throwing itself back with a force that made everyone lose footing again.

Duvalie was the first to stabilize herself when she realized the serpent was staring at them.

As the serpent opened its mouth, it was about to strike before Duvalie leapt forward and hit its face with her shield, making it stagger back and roar in anger.

Duvalie used the force of her attack to launch herself back onto the ship, twirling her sword.

(Duvalie) "Little help?!"

(Percy) "FIRE THE CANNONS!"

Crew mates rushed to the cannons and lit the matches.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The cannons opened fire, most of them missing their mark while only one managed to hit the torso of the beast.

Raelyn and the ODSTs rushed to the side and held the triggers of their guns, the bullets rushing towards the head.

The serpent dove underwater to dodge the gunfire.

(Crew) "IT'S COMING AROUND THE OTHER SIDE!"

Its head emerged from the water on the opposite side of the ship, its head about to strike into the heart of the ship before Laura ran to the middle and swung her sword upwards, the blow knocking it away.

Fie used her gunblades to fire at its head as well, but the bullets deflected off the scales and it dove back underwater, this time no one being able to see where it went.

(Buck) "Dutch, Mickey! Heavy weapons, NOW! Romeo, crow's nest and snipe that son of a bitch!"

The ODST's nodded and quickly did as they were told, Raelyn going to Duvalie with his Bolter still raised.

(Duvalie) "Hey, Amuto, got any ideas?"

(Raelyn) "One, but with my luck-"

(Duvalie) "Grr, SHUT UP ABOUT YOUR BAD LUCK! It's either that, or we let the ship get torn in half!"

(Raelyn) "If that is the case, please hold onto this."

(Duvalie) "...Wha-"

Raelyn put his bolter into Duvalie's arm, almost making her tip over from the weight.

(Duvalie) "HUARGH!? H-HEY...W-WHAT TH HELL?!"

(Raelyn) "I will be right back."

Raelyn pulled out a knife and looked over to the side.

(Hilda) "H-Hey, what's the yellow guy doing?!"

(Elliot) "Huh?"

Elliot, Fie and Laura turned around and saw Raelyn peeking over the edge.

(Fie) "What is he...?"

(Laura) ?! "WAIT, ARE YOU GOING TO?!-"

(Raelyn) "BROTHERS, SISTERS! PREPARE FOR ITS RESURFACING!"

[Through the Maelstrom - Final Fantasy XIV OST]

Raelyn hopped over the ship's edge and dove straight into the water.

He quickly looked around, and noticing a shadow emerging from the depths as it was rushing upwards at him.

He did everything in his power to swim away from the ship and-

(Buck) "The hell is he-"

Everyone saw Raelyn shoot upwards as the Serpent's mouth grabbed him, the Space Marine now in its teeth.

Although it tried to devour him, the armor's weight and size made it extremely difficult to do so.

(Elliot) "OH AIDIOS!"

(Percy) "Is he insane?!"

(Romeo) "QUIT STARING AND FIRE DAMN IT!"

Romeo cocked his sniper's handle back and pulled the trigger, the shot ringing out across the air as the bullet attempted to hit the wildly flailing serpent.

Raelyn was being thrashed around, the teeth unable to go through his armor. He swung his knife into the beast several times to no effect despite it piercing the scales.

(Raelyn) "INCOMING!"

Having no option, he grabbed the beast's upper jaw and slammed his fist onto it, the force of the blow knocking the beast's head onto the ship.

The ship almost submerged itself into the water from the sheer weight of the serpent's head.

Everyone managed to keep their footing, letting Duvalie, Hilda, and Laura strike fast.

Duvalie dropped the Bolter and let it slide onto the floor as she stuck her sword into the teeth, breaking a few off and letting Raelyn awkwardly roll out of it's grasp.

Hilda smashed it's skull with her axe overhead, Laura swinging her sword sideways to strike at its mouth.

It recoiled back in pain, tipping the ship over again.

Raelyn was about to get on his feet before the cannons from the right side slid over and hit him back into the water.

(Hilda) "Wow, he wasn't kidding!"

The Bolter slid over into the water and landed near Raelyn, which he quickly grabbed and looked for the serpent again.

It was coming through the other side, but it was only now he realized how huge it was.

The tail was coming near him, and he rushed over to grab it as the tail violently dragged him along the water.

Dutch grabbed a Spartan Laser while Mickey had a rocket launcher, both of them checking their motion trackers.

(Buck) "Right side!"

Romeo reloaded his sniper and quickly spun around, being the first one to see the serpent emerge and fly towards the boat.

(Romeo) "It's gonna ram us!"

(Dutch) "Like hell it is!"

Dutch's Spartan Laser began to form a red line as it whirred up making a high pitched activation noise.

Mickey fired first, the rockets flying off and trying to lock onto the serpent. They went into the water as it nimbly swerved to the left and right, the waters catching the explosion.

Raelyn held on as the water's currents fought against him, using one hand at a time to climb up the serpent until he got near the eyes.

The pupil looked directly at Raelyn and widened, realizing he was there.

Raelyn's hand with the knife stabbed directly into the eye, making the serpent thrust upwards into the air, roaring and shaking into the air.

(Dutch) "GOTCHA!"

With another second passing, the Spartan Laser shot out a force even stronger than the cannon, a burning red beam of death searing through the Serpent's skin, making it drop into the water dead.

(Buck) "Good work, gentlemen."

(Elliot) "Whew, is everyone okay?"

(Percy) "Check on the equipment and for any wounded!"

(Jonas) "Captain, get us closer to the body we need to-"

Jonas stopped midsentence when he looked up.

Percy noticed it and turned around, seeing what he was staring at.

[Blinding Indigo - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers OST]

"An assassin from our homeland? Or a foolish trespasser upon these waters?"

(Jonas) "What in the hell?!"

(Percy) "SOMETHING'S UP HERE!"

(Buck) "OPEN FIRE!"

Fie and Buck pointed their guns and pulled the triggers, the bullets passing through the aquatic creature's body, letting them drop onto the floor, water splashing from the impact.

"Very well. Then Her power shall crush the miscreant that dares pollute these waters."

The creature began glowing, making the clouds above them start pouring rain and the water glow as well.

The Serpent Raelyn was still attached to started glowing a pale blue, the wound quickly regenerating. He was quick to aim his bolter and open fire on it, but had no effect.

Hilda and Laura ran up to it with their weapons swinging overhead, it quickly teleporting away as it vacantly stared at them.

Elliot was about to cast a spell with his staff until he realized the rain was forming puddles on the ship, slowly bubbling.

(Elliot) "Uh, guys?!"

Birds made of water emerged from the puddles and flew at Elliot, the force of the impact making him fall onto the floor.

Romeo immediately turned his attention to the bird and pulled the trigger.

The bird exploded into water, it calmly splashing down onto the ship.

Hearing something behind him, he reached for his pistol and spun around, pulling the trigger.

The bird exploded, and it was then he realized a puddle was beneath him.

From the puddle emerged a wolf-like creature that leapt up, knocking Romeo off the tower.

Before he could land, Duvalie caught him and set him down to the floor and raising her shield as the wolf leapt on top of her.

Its teeth was made of water as well, but Duvalie didn't want to find out if it hurt just as bad as a real wolf, so she plunged her sword into its body making it explode.

Mickey switched to an SMG and opened fire on the other puddles before anything else could show up, Buck and Fie joining in while Hilda, Laura, Jonas, and Percy fought other wolves.

Dutch was about to switch weapons before hearing the water explode behind him.

The Serpent was glowing the same blue as the winged creature, Raelyn still on top of it, stabbing it with his knife.

(Dutch) "Oh for the love of-"

He aimed his Spartan Laser at the Serpent again, only for the shot to be taken and hitting birds that flew in the way.

Elliot rushed over and healed Romeo of any injuries, making him push away the staff.

(Romeo) "Stop healing me and get to killing these things!"

Romeo reloaded his pistol while Duvalie dispatched of another wolf that was trying to attack from behind.

(Duvalie) "They just keep coming!"

Meanwhile, Raelyn lost count of how many times he stabbed the head of this beast, it would not stop moving.

It tried ferociously to be rid of Raelyn, eventually dunking its head back underwater and using the tail to swipe him off.

Raelyn flipped several times underwater, trying to steady himself as the Serpent bit Raelyn again, this time half his body inside it's mouth.

He said nothing as he remained calm, putting his bolter into the mouth before he was thrown out of the water and into the air.

Raelyn broke through the top deck and landed onto the bottom, creating a massive hole on the top part of the ship.

The Serpent's tail slammed onto the side of the ship as it wrapped its head around to the front deck of the ship.

Dutch aimed the laser at the head, until realizing it was too close to the ship.

(Dutch) "Damn it, I'd just rip this ship apart if I took the shot!"

Fie hopped onto the Serpent's back with both her gunblades anchoring her onto it, making it twitch only a little.

She pulled the triggers several times as the bullets went into its body.

It loosened up its grip on the ship, Laura using her sword to chop off part of the tail, making it roll over and tripping some of the crew and water-formed creatures.

Buck picked off one target after the other, struggling to reload.

A wolf jumped onto him, the teeth scraping against his helmet's visor as he grabbed his knife and plunged it straight into its neck, making it disappear.

As he got up, he noticed that the winged creature only staring at them.

(Buck) "The hell is this thing?!"

Elliot tried to heal any injured crew member he could while Hilda, Percy, and Jonas covered him.

Slamming his spear into a wolf, Jonas turned to HIlda.

(Jonas) "What do we do?! There are too many of them!"

The ship slowly began to crack loudly as the serpent's grip refused to let go.

(Captain) "At this rate, the ship is going break!"

(Percy) "Wait, wheres your yellow friend?!"

(Duvalie) "Think we saw him make a hole into the lower decks!"

(Dutch) "Then what is he-"

Cannons fired onto the serpent's side that was directly next to the ports, before an entire cannon was thrown out, a rope attached to it making the serpent drop from the weight.

It finally loosened its grip and struggled to get the attached cannons off of it.

(Raelyn) "The rope will not hold, TAKE THE SHOT BROTHER DUTCH!"

(Dutch) "GOTCHA!"

Dutch grabbed his Spartan Laser and charged it, aiming at the head.

Multiple puddles formed around Dutch before the others rushed to it and stuck their weapons inside.

As several birds were about to fly into the shot again, Raelyn emerged from the lower decks and opened fire with the bolter, the shots thundering out and completely shattering them into droplets.

Dutch's Spartan Laser kicked back as the beam hit his target, its head being completely blown off, making the serpent's body go limp and dissolve into the water.

The winged creature suddenly stopped glowing, making the ODST's spin around and open fire, the bullets going into the creature.

Hilda, Fie, Laura, and Duvalie swung their weapons at it, the streaks of their weapons severing it.

Elliot's staff formed into a violin-like shape as he casted a spell that formed a circle of light, blasting upwards and making the creature finally dissipate into the air.

[End Song]

The weather finally began to clear above them, everyone now trying to catch their breath.

(Dutch) "Lord, can you please get us out of this ocean now?"

The ship began to making an uncomfortably loud screeching noise before crewmates were on it, trying to fix the damages.

(Dutch) "...So was that a yes or no?"

An explosion occured where the serpent's body was, a mixture of the rain and saltwater pouring down onto them. A tiny rainbow formed from the storm in sight of the direction back to the town.

(Dutch) "...Amen."

(Fie) "Ugh, finally."

(Elliot) "That wasn't like anything we fought before..."

(Hilda) "Whew...to be fair, don't think we ever had to fight in the ocean."

(Duvalie) "So, do any of us have an idea of-AAAAAGH!"

Duvalie suddenly fell to one knee, grabbing her head.

(Buck) "H-Hey, what's-URGH!"

Buck quickly followed suit, then the ODST's fell to one knee as well, mimicking her action.

The members of Class VII and Raelyn were soon to follow, their heads pounding as their vision suddenly faded to white.

...

It was an empty lake with a strange platform in the middle, the sun was bright and the skies only had a few clouds.

And going towards that platform was a blonde-braided man and a small floating companion.

(Paimon) "Hm...Is it a good idea to mess with this?"

(Aether) "It's where the villagers told us that this...thing was, so it's not going to get rid of itself.

(Paimon) "Yeah, but still-"

Before they could continue their conversation, they heard something appear behind them.

It was a small floating creature with a staff, laughing maniacally.

(Aether) "Damn it, why now?"

Aether's sword materialized into his hand and was about to swing before a bright light appeared in front of them, catching the both of them off guard.

(Abyss Mage) "Eh?"

(Aether) "What the?-"

The bright light made the both of them step back, Aether accidentally triggering the platform, and the weather suddenly clouded up.

(Paimon) "Uh oh!"

(Aether) "Damn, now we have to deal with this-"

Before he could finish, the bright light exploded and made the air push them back, before slowly pulling them in.

The Abyss Mage and whatever was summoned with the platform was sucked into the light.

Aether and Paimon came dangerously close to before he shot a powerful gust of wind out of his hand, making him fly further back as the light quickly disappeared.

The weather returned to normal as he got up trying to catch his breath.

(Paimon) "What the heck was that?!"

(Aether) "I...I have no idea..."

Everything started to turn into a static mess as Aether and Paimon slowly faded out of view...

...

(Hilda's voice) "Hey...HEY!"

Everyone's vision returned to them as they looked around confused.

(Percy) "What was that about?"

(Buck) "Alright...we all saw that too right?"

(Duvalie) "Agh...you mean that lake platform thing...?"

(Laura) "I...saw it too!"

(Raelyn) "As did I...None of us possess any psychic abilities I am unaware of, correct?"

(Mickey) "If I had the ability do that crap, I would've in that fight!"

(Hilda) "What are you guys talking about?!"

Everyone turned to Hilda and her knights. It seemed they were unaffected.

(Fie) "You...didn't see that?"

(Hilda) "No, you guys just all reached for your head at the same time!"

They all looked at each other now.

(Elliot) "Was that some kind of dream?"

(Dutch) "Looked more like a memory to me."

(Romeo) "Memory of what? Who the hell were they? And what was that winged bastard we were just fighting having to do with that?"

(Jonas) "Captain, take us back to port."

(Captain) "No need to tell me again. RAISE THE SAILS, LET'S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"

Everyone slowly rose up, with Raelyn helping Duvalie up.

They all remained quiet on the ride back.

An hour passed as they finally reached the shore, reaching for their heads.

(Laura) "If we go to another ocean, it will be too soon..."

(Fie) "Let's go head back to the building and-..."

Fie frowned as her ARCUS unit was now beeping.

(Fie) "...Someone's been inside."

They all reached for their weapons and slowly approached it, including the door.

Percy and Jonas quickly scattered the townsfolk, Hilda drawing her axe and joining them.

The ODST's went near the door and silently held up their weapons, turning to the others and nodding.

Duvalie raised her shield and was the first one in, kicking down the door and drawing her sword.

(Duvalie) "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

(Mila) "AAAAAGH!"

The young girl fell backwards, completely terrified of all the weapons suddenly pointing at her.

Romeo and Raelyn looked around the room to make sure no one else was present.

(Fie) "Hey...you're that girl who was talking to those kids."

(Mila) "I-I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO MAKE YOU ANGRY! I WAS JUST CURIOUS!"'

Fie turned to the blue devices she stuck on the walls and back to the girl.

(Mila) "U-Uh, I was just wanting to talk to the big yellow guy!"

Everyone turned to Raelyn, who looked back at the girl.

(Raelyn) "...What is it?"

(Mila) "I-I was just wanting to thank you for helping those kids? From yesterday?"

(Raelyn) "...Ah. I do not believe she means us harm."

Everyone slowly put away their weapons while Raelyn took off his helmet and knelt down.

(Raelyn) "Why did you break in here?"

(Mila) "The door was open, promise! At first I checked to see if you were home and...well, then I got curious."

(Elliot) "You could've gotten hurt! You're lucky it was just us, I don't think other mercenaries would be nice enough to let you go unscathed!"

Mila was about to say something before noticing Hilda.

(Mila) "M-MILADY!"

She quickly scrambled to get on one knee before Hilda sighed.

(Hilda) "Hey, come on kiddo. Get up, no need for that around me."

(Mila) "Are...are you guys just mercenaries?"

Raelyn cleared his throat to catch her attention.

(Raelyn) "Yes, we are. Do not mistake our intentions, we were just for the coin. But...give the children my regards. My name is Raelyn. Yours?"

(Mila) "M...Mila."

Raelyn nodded.

(Raelyn) "Then I will see you home. Everyone else we should prepare to get moving."

(Buck) "Right. Pack it up ladies, let's get ready to move."

(Dutch) "On it."

Mickey and Romeo nodded and checked around the house for leftover equipment.

Duvalie shrugged and stood in the corner with the members of Class VII. Hilda stayed with them as Raelyn walked out with Mila.

Fie activated her ARCUS unit and checked the screen.

The blue devices started to beep rapidly, making everyone turn around to see what the noise was.

(Mickey) "So...now can we know what that is?"

(Fie) "Yup. First we just gotta get away. No evidence and all that."

(Mickey) "...Oh, that explains why it looked familliar."

(Duvalie) "Huh? W-What is it?"

(Buck) "...Are we safe-"

(Fie) "I gotta push the button first. We're fine. We put these here last night in case we had to leave early."

(Elliot) "We made sure this building was abandoned and out of the way of everyone."

(Hilda) "Uh...what are they talking about?"

(Laura) "We have our things, let us get moving."

...

Raelyn walked alongside the girl, his helmet underneath his arm.

(Raelyn) "Mila, do your parents know you like to snoop around like this?"

(Mila) "Hah...y-yeah. It wasn't for anything bad, I promise!"

(Raelyn) "Hmph. Those children, who are they to you? Siblings?"

(Mila) "Nah, they're orphans. From the war..."

(Raelyn) "War?"

(Mila) "You know...the Five-year war? The one with the Church and Empire?"

(Raelyn) "Ah. My apologies, it seems I forgot."

(Mila) "Are you really mercenaries? Figured you would've remembered that at least."

(Raelyn) "...I am. My age is getting the better of me is all."

Mila raised an eyebrow at Raelyn's half assed excuse.

(Raelyn) "Regardless, you did not answer my question."

(Mila) "Oh, right. Well they were kids that were on the streets for a while. None of us really knew what to do, so I became friends with them! They ended up following me around everywhere for the past three years."

(Raelyn) "Then you have a good heart it seems. What are their names?"

(Mila) "The boy is Emil, and the girl is Lena."

(Raelyn) "Well then, take care of Emil and Lena. They are going to need you for the coming times."

(Mila) "Yeah..."

Raelyn stopped following when Mila approached a door, assuming it to be her house.

(Raelyn) "Take care then, Mila."

(Mila) "W-Wait, where will you guys go?"

(Raelyn) "I cannot say. Wherever the wind takes us I suppose."

(Mila) "Will...we see you again?"

Raelyn put on his helmet and turned to her.

(Raelyn) "If the Emperor wills it, then yes."

(Mila) "Emperor? Like, Emperor Edelgard?"

(Raelyn) "Er...different one."

KABOOM!

Raelyn turned to the source of the explosion, seeing his group semi-casually walking away from it.

(Mila) "What the?!"

(Raelyn) "Get inside. I will investigate."

Mila nodded and quickly went inside while Raelyn walked over to the group.

(Citizen) "Good goddess, the building collapsed on itself?!"

(Citizen 2) "No one was hurt, were they?"

(Citizen 3) "N-No, just-" cough cough "Some dust!"

(Fie) "Aaaand that's your answer to what they were."

(Duvalie) "Bombs?!"

(Laura) "We wanted to cover our tracks."

(Raelyn) "Would that not make them suspicious of us even more?"

(Elliot) "No more than they already were."

Buck's visor picked up signatures to their side, quietly watching them.

(Fie) "There's been people watching us ever since we arrived."

(Dutch) "Think it's those insurrectionists?"

(Hilda) "Too early to tell. We'll investigate things from our end."

(Mickey) "Well, good luck to ya then, ma'am."

Hilda nodded and went joined Percy and Jonas who were looking at the collapsed building.

(Buck) "Well then, mission accomplished on our end. Wonder how the other kids are doing."

(Duvalie) "More importantly, I want answers to whatever the hell's going on with this talk of separatists and that vision thing."

As they walked away from the town, Mila watched from the window.

(Mila) "Just who are you...?"

PART 2: ENDED

TO BE CONTINUED…

[Lost in Paradise - ALI]

Gotta get it homie gotta move it If you gonna do it then, push everything to the side Everybody just talk nobody really do it You should keep a secret until you actually do it No need to double check with someone Use your judgement only, break the walls Let’s do flashy fake More Cool, keep it low, prove them wrong I won’t give up the fight in my life 'Cause my life is living for love I won’t give up the fight in my life Stand off and groove on time Tokyo prison Going to relight your feelings When times get too rough Night and day are fading Going to relight your feelings There’s no time to explain Gimme your love Access to your love Oh yeah Lost in paradise Night and day are fading out When times getting rough Access to your love Lost in paradise Night and day are fading out Keep on dancing now Hеy hey hеy hey heyeah

#House Isekai #House Isekai ARR #duvalie #buck #romeo #dutch #mickey #raelyn amuto #elliot craig #laura s arseid #fie claussell #hilda valentine goneril

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thethoughtsfromthreeam · 4 years

Text

Monument Woman

Pairing: Marcus Pike x OC (Rosemary Carter)

Warnings: None

A/N: God, I have been wanting to finish this story for weeks, but once we got out of quarantine, I lost all ambition to write. So, I’m glad I finally have enough of a cushion to get part 1 out to you guys. I won’t be following my old posting schedule, but I hope I don’t go so far between posts that you all forget about me!

Reminder: I ain’t ever seen Pedro Pascal in FUCK ALL, I’m just coming up with this as I go along, using imdb.com, wiki, and 84,000 tabs I got open to plan out this shit. I also write soft versions of his characters so if you’re craving asshole vibes, I ain’t got any but my own to offer.

Tag List:

@zeldasayer , @romanticgumchewer, @beskars , @coolmaybelateruniverse , @the-feckless-wonder , @pascalisthepunkest , @mandoandyodito , @randomness501 , @fioccodineveautunnale , @ahopelessromanticwritersworld [please message me to be added or subtracted]

Part 1 – And So We Begin

“Thank you for calling Fort Jamison Historical Museum, this is Rosemary. How can I help you?” The jaunty-sounding phrase rolled off her tongue automatically with little thought behind it until she heard the wizened chuckle on the other end.

“Do you always answer your cell phone like that?” She pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned as Robert Lancaster’s chuckle morphed into a hearty laugh. She couldn’t help but giggle along as she dropped her pencil and took off her glasses, setting them on the desk in front of her.

“You know, sometimes I do, especially when I’m not paying attention.” Rosemary leaned back into her chair, propping her feet up on the desk. Her free hand dropped down to fondle Banana’s ears as the dog snoozed next to her. “What’s up, Robert?”

“I’m doing some spring cleaning at the house and shop. I got quite a few boxes accumulated, including stuff I’d like to donate to the museum. When do you think you can come down to look through them? I don’t expect you to take them all, but there are a couple of items I want you to specifically have.” His voice sounded muffled over the phone as he bent down to toss another book into the Friends of the Library box.

“It’s a little slow this week,” she started as she checked the calendar on her wall. “Looks like I can come as early as tomorrow. So, if that works for you, I’ll bring the paperwork with me and we can just get it all done at once.”

“Oh, great! I was hoping you could come soon. It’s been a while since we had time to visit.” His smile was evident in his voice. “Can you do the paperwork on the computer?”

“Sure, we have the fillable PDFs.”

“Even better. Just bring your laptop and we’ll work on it as we go through everything. We can connect to the printer here and then you don’t have to worry about doing any of this at the office. By the way, do you think you’ll have time for lunch?”

“Robert, you know I always have time for you.” She smiled. They had been friends for ten years by that point and he never failed to ask the lunch or dinner question and she never failed to make time for him. Robert had been her first friend when she arrived in Michigan and the long-running friendship between the perpetual bachelor and the bold curator was stuff of area legend.

There had been speculation of a May-December romance between the two, but Robert saw the younger woman as the daughter he never had and on her part Rosemary saw Robert as the father figure she lost when her grandfather passed away.

“Want to do Phil’s or Coral Gables?” She smiled. Just as their dates were always guaranteed, she knew that their location was as well. But it was habit to ask and it never felt right if she didn’t.

“Why do you even ask the question? You know it’s supposed to be nice tomorrow, Coral Gables’ patio all the way.” The two chatted a bit longer before they hung up, returning to the rest of their respective duties. Rosemary sat up and Banana whined when she stopped petting him. Spoiled dog.

“Sorry, Baba. Work calls.” She stood up from her desk and wandered down the hall to the director’s office, knowing Helen was at her desk. The third floor of the museum was workspace for the staff and despite working there for so many years, Rosemary never failed to draw an appreciative breath at the stunning sight of the Kalamazoo River.

As she ambled down the hall, Banana’s nails clicked on the tile floor, hinting that she wasn’t alone on her journey. She smiled as she waved her hand and the dog rushed to her side. The two slowly walked to the director’s office, warming themselves in the afternoon sun that poured through the windows.

Rosemary heard the muttering first as she rounded the corner and entered the office. The stout woman was hunched over her laptop, her salt and pepper pixie cut sticking up everywhere. Whatever she was working on, it was stressing her out. Helen always pulled at her short strands when she was concentrating hard.

Smiling, Helen’s head jerked up as Rosemary knocked on the door. The older woman waved her curator into the office and leaned back. As she stretched, both women could hear a series of loud pops and they started to giggle.

“Ugh, I am getting too old to sit like this. I need a massage.” Helen groaned as yet another loud pop emitted from her shoulder. As Banana scooched under the desk to get scritches from Helen, Rosemary plopped down in one of the armchairs and it creaked in complaint. “Do you have to sit so hard? Those are collection pieces, you know.”

“Not anymore. I deaccessioned them last week into the decorative collection. Donor approved, mind you. So, we can sit in these however we want.” Rosemary grinned as she threw a leg over the arm of the ornate chair. For being so ugly, it was comfortable and not for the first time, she wondered if she could move them to her office without Helen noticing.

“That may be, but it’s not like we have money to fix something you broke because you were being too careless.” Helen raised her eyebrow and Rosemary sat back up in the chair like normal, having the courtesy to look chagrined. The director sat back.

“So, what do you need? Are you still having issues with that Gaylord order?”

“Naw, I talked to them last week, they shipped it out yesterday. Finally.” She rolled her eyes. “Robert Lancaster called me just a bit ago, wanting to donate some items to the museum. I got the time, so I’ll head to Saugatuck tomorrow to handle it.”

“Well, I know Robert is quite the collector, but do you think there are things we’ll want? I’m hard pressed to start accepting any old thing again after we finally got the collections cleared up and decluttered. I know he’s a long-time supporter of the museum, but I don’t know if I can take another ugly piece of furniture with a smile.” Rosemary laughed at the comment.

“To his credit, he said there were things we probably wouldn’t want, and I doubt he’ll be sad if I said no to some things. I certainly want to see what books he’s got for us. We have a few things in the library that probably need to be rotated out into archives for their own protection.

“Besides, I am not going to pass up a chance to swoop in and yank the rug out from underneath Saugatuck. You know that. Watching Fred get mad that I got the leg up on him adds ten years to my life.” Rosemary rubbed her hands gleefully, a glint of mischief in her eyes.

“You really hate him, don’t you?” Helen laughed. Lake Michigan History Center was a charming coastal museum, but everyone agreed their curator was a bit odd. Rosemary took an instant dislike to the man when she came on Fort Jamison’s staff and over the years, their dislike turned into a mutual hatred. Like her friendship with Robert, everyone knew Fred was Rosemary’s mortal enemy and vice versa.

“God, yes! Helen, he’s a dick and greedy as hell. I don’t trust him any further than I can toss his skinny ass. I am still pissed over the diary! Mrs. Greenwich assured me that we were getting it and he slithered into the village last year and took it!” Rosemary’s voice got louder. “THAT DAMN DIARY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SAUGATUCK, LET ALONE MENTIONS IT!”

Helen laughed harder while raising her hands in surrender and her curator stopped herself before she got too carried away. Rosemary cleared her throat and drew a deep breath. Ugh, he always managed to get her riled up even when he wasn’t around. Damn Fred.

“Sorry, sorry. I shouldn’t let him get me so mad, but god. I hate him so much! So, if Robert Lancaster’s got something that would make Fred die with envy, then by god, I’m gonna bring it home.”

“Alright. I trust you as usual. But since you’re here, I want to go over a couple of things with you for this grant so I can get it out Friday.”

The two women moved on to other things and fell into discussion about the future of projects for the museum and how to fund them.

---***---

“Cripes.”

The word was accompanied by a deep groan. Agent Marcus Pike sat back in his chair to rub his eyes for the third time in less than an hour. Some intern had dumped four boxes of case files in his office and was coming back with four more. And the intern was certain there was another half dozen.

When three art pieces were stolen in Canada last year, Pike had been notified as a courtesy from his Canadian counterparts. Which in and of itself wasn’t unusual, but the notes from the agents there stood out to Pike and he realized that the details match another case he had worked on earlier in the year. And further digging uncovered almost three dozen cases dating back almost thirty years that carried all the hallmarks of this most recent one. And more importantly – they were all still open.

He had taken his concerns and theories to the Art Squad chief, Agent Maria Luisa Armand, and with her blessing, assembled a crew to explore these cold cases. Maybe with new technology and eyes, they’d get the lead to solve them all.

The dull throbbing behind his eyes seemed to get worse and he leaned further back in his chair, trying to do some breathing exercises to reduce the pressure. He let his eyes go unfocused, letting the colored light reflected on his ceiling go blurry. The stained glass propped up in his office window had been a bit of an indulgence for him, but Pike never regretted the purchase and, in that moment, the colored streaks help bring some sense of zen that he needed.

A knock on his door forced him out of his zone and he sat up to see his partner, Brenda Carmichael, waiting at the door. He smiled when he saw her and she returned the gesture, coming in to sit in one of the chairs. The two had been partners for six years and together they had solved dozens of cases and thwarted twice as much.

“Do we have a plan, Carmichael?”

“Yep. Someone is coming to get these boxes and take them to Conference D, which I commandeered.”

“How did you do that?”

“Threatened to tell Harrison’s wife that he was spending big cash on that escort he’s seeing.”

“Ouch, a little low, don’t you think?” Pike laughed.

“God no. Harrison doesn’t ever play nice, so you can’t do it with him.” She waived her hand and laughed, her tightly coiled hair bouncing as if it was laughing, too. “Anyway, three junior agents are on the job currently preparing to create the timeline and pulling all the files. Two more are working to create point of contact lists for witnesses and such. And finally, I think Armand is putting on the coffee.”

“So where does that leave you and me?” He didn’t think he’d get such a big crew to do this. Must be a slow day in other departments. “I want Fitzbender on the NSAF search and follow up, though, before I forget.

“That’s fine. And we supervise.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it for now. Until we have more material to work with. So up off your duff and let’s get going.”

Pike smiled as he pulled himself out of his chair, grabbing his jacket and gesturing to Carmichael to leave first. If they could solve these cases, it would be the biggest win in the Art Squad’s recent history and Pike really wanted to bring those pieces home where they belonged.

---***----

“Robert, you know I love you, but you have some ugly stuff here.” Rosemary’s nose wrinkled at the stuffed monkey with murderous eyes staring at her from a box. The only place that creepy thing was going was in the garbage. She moved on to another open box, pawing through the items that were housed there, pulling out a couple of potentials.

“Yeah, well no accounting for taste, I guess.” Robert groaned as he leaned over and pulled open another box. He thought he had labelled all of them for the museum, but he realized three of them got mixed up in the junk pile. “God, how did I miss all these boxes. I’m sorry Rosie, I am usually better organized.”

“It’s not a problem, Robert.” Rosemary walked over with the contents of yet another box, a bounce in her step as she realized she snagged a two-hundred-year-old map of the area that Fred would have murdered her to get for himself. Her grin was almost feral at the idea that she one upped the old bastard. “Hey, question.”

“What?” Robert had moved on to a small box on his desk that had a post-it with Rosemary’s name on it.

“What’s with all the cleaning and giving away all of a sudden? The house wasn’t like this when I visited two months ago.” She wiped the sweat off her brow and turned to look at him. He was quiet and she took a moment to really look at him.

She knew from long talks that Robert had been living in the Saugatuck area since the 1990s. He had come from Chicago, declaring he needed a slower pace and his bookstore was a welcomed addition to the downtown area. He was highly philanthropic to causes he loved, like the Fort Jamison museum.

After her Pops passed away several years ago, she seemed to lean even more into Robert to fill the empty void and he did so gladly. As she watched him shuffle about, she grew concerned because he looked more frail than usual. The man had always been on the thin side, but he looked scarily thin and a thought skittered through her mind that sent a wave of sadness through her.

“Robert, are you sick?” There was no hiding the sadness in Rosemary’s voice. When he stopped and hesitated, she didn’t need a verbal answer from him. She walked over from where she was standing and placed her hand on his shoulder, turning him around. “Robert.”

He bowed his head and wrapped his arms around the younger woman as tight as he could, and she did the same. He began to cry on her shoulder, and it startled her, causing tears to form in her eyes. She silently rubbed his back in comforting circles as sobs wracked Robert’s body. They stood there a long time before he quieted down, but even then, Rosemary refused to let him go, hugging him close to her.

He was her friend and she loved him dearly, so if he were dying, it would devastate her. Robert made a move to pull back and she reluctantly let him go but held onto his arms with her hands to keep him close. His red-rimmed eyes crushed the broken pieces of her heart. He sighed.

“Rosie.” He took a deep breath. “I met with my doctor last week and I have stage four pancreatic cancer. He only gave me a few months to live.”

“Oh Robert.” The tears started up again and she threw her arms around him. They cried together a second time and the sadness enveloped them. As she held him close, her tears made her voice rough. “That’s what spurred this on, isn’t it?”

“Yes. But you’re the only one to know right now. I didn’t want to tell anyone else until you knew.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Well, for starters, this hug is pretty good.” He chuckled a little bit. “And get some of this stuff out of my house. And then just be my friend until the end.”

“Always.” She pulled back to look at him. “But it will be a cold day in hell before that ugly ass monkey comes with me.”

The tension and sadness were broken, letting them laugh a bit through their tears. They stepped apart and let themselves smile at each other.

“Let’s get lunch and come back to this stuff later. It’s too nice of a day to miss out on the patio.”

#Agent Marcus Pike #marcus pike x reader #marcus pike x oc #Pedro Pascal #pedro pascal x reader #fanfic #the mentalist

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guardmesherlock-rowan · 4 years

Text

Sick MC/Reader cont.

Anon: Hi! We have main trio dealing with sick MC, but can you please write headcanons for other characters as well?

Of course! For those new, the mini sick headcanon was the first one I did while forced to be at work during a dead day while recovering from a cold. Link to be found here.

(understand that this request was made long before the pandemic)

Mycroft Holmes

A low grade fever means he wants you in bed resting. Pushing yourself means your low fever could get worse. If you do get worse, of course he’ll see about having a doctor come over to check on you. Probably John due to knowing he can trust him. Though if it’s more complicated then he would ask someone who has a specific knowledge in the field (despite if the person lacks bedside manner). His worry about you does not stop unless he knows how you’re doing. If he has to work and you’re home sick he will set up a camera so he can check in on you more easily. Though he’d want to be home with you to take care of you. Which is very sweet, but also a little concerning as that means one terrible thing: Homemade chicken noodle soup.

Jack Stillman (warning: this is more based off of the him that I’ve headcanoned instead of what we got in his route)

Once it’s confirmed he’s in love he has a way of showing it. He might be a little bit of a sadist, and likes to tease, but he is always deadly seriously about safe words and not liking things happening to you that he’s not in control of. Little scrapes and bruises are met with scolding and a keen doctor eye. Which makes illnesses all the more frustrating. He will take you at your word that you’re fine unless he finds proof otherwise. A sniffle. Looking a little pale or ‘green around the gills’. All are indicators for him to check on you. If you prefer to do things on your own he will be beside you each step of the way to make sure you don’t get into serious trouble. Otherwise he will have strict doctor’s orders to follow and he expects you to listen. While he might not make a habit of staying at your place regularly, this is a special circumstance. You can find him sleeping on your sofa with a timer near by to wake him up to check on you.

Sebastian Moran

He is not the best at knowing when you’re sick. He’s also not the best at knowing how to handle it. No matter the illness, once he knows, he’s insisting you stay in his bed. He’ll bring you different home remedies for what ails you. And others that make no sense. Any and all ‘old wives tales’ that he finds are going to be tried if only so he can do something to help you. Course he’d let James know, but mostly so they end up both trying to take care of you. He might even drag Jack into his room and tell him to make you better. Only to watch with a careful eye and most likely a ready trigger in case Jack tries anything, even if he exclaims that Sebastian needs to calm down and let him work. You can guarantee that once Jack and James have gone to bed Sebastian will be herding his cats into the room so that they may snuggle with you. Sometimes just being with those that comfort you can be the best medicine when you have nothing else at your disposal.

Jeremy Cassel

This guy knows how to make home made meals that are meant to comfort you or help get different vitamins into you when you need them. Or so he’s read, and heard, mostly from Mycroft. He will insist, no matter the illness that you get up and walk, even a little bit, even if it’s from the bed to the balcony. Fresh air and sunlight. If he cannot move you from your place to his, then he will be there with you, making sure everything stays clean, making sure your windows stay open. He will do what legitimate work he can from your place. But he will have, more or less, moved in. This man also has little to no care for his own safety as he holds you at night, trying to comfort you. Most likely getting himself sick in the process.

Hercule Poirot

He will clean everything. You can stay at your own home, which is fine, but firstly he will see about getting professional cleaners to take care of the rest of your home. He will want to oversee it of course. Helping get you to the sofa to let them clean your bedroom before you go back to lying down. Whatever made you sick had to be removed. Which means changing your bedding everyday. Also insists on having you taking a bath and that he helps. Which first sounds flustering, until he comes into the bathroom with elbow length gloves and a face mask on to make sure he doesn’t catch what you have so he can keep monitoring you and not feel compromised. He will read you to sleep, make sure the food you eat is nutritious and easy on your stomach if needed. You can ask him for a full report on what you went through as he’s made note of it. In case there was any pattern that meant he needed to get the opinion of a specialist.

Arthur Hastings

If you say it’s nothing, he will agree. If you tell him that you’re just tired, he will believe you. Up until the moment you pass out from fever or can no longer talk from your sore throat. He will take you at your word, not because he’s a gullible person, but because he trusts that you would be doing what you can to take care of yourself. After all, if you got sick you’d be worrying a lot of fans, friends, and family. Especially your boyfriend. Once he knows you’re sick he will make recommendations, but will not always be able to enforce it because he cannot take time off of work to stay home. But he can conference call you often and keep you on the call so he can check in on you and you can talk to him whenever you want or need to. It gives him a piece of mind to be able to see you while you’re sick, and he likes to think it makes you feel better being able to see him. When he can be there he will try to make sure you take care of yourself. If you are supposed to be doing something and are too tired he will help you do it. He wants you to know you can depend on him.

George Lestrade

This fool will not notice unless it becomes abundantly clear. You telling him, or straight out collapsing on him, or throwing up in front of him(That last one will have him reeling at first, worrying that you’re pregnant or poisoned). He does try his best afterwards to take care of you, but he has a more hands off approach, asking what you need and jumping to get it done ASAP. You say you need fried chicken from the place across town to sooth your fever? ON IT. You say that you need him to rub your back in the bath to keep your nausea at bay? He will climb in that tub fully clothed if you don’t remind him to take off his clothes at first. He struggles at times to take care of himself, and he struggles at times to remember how to properly look after you. He knows this, and tries. Which means if you say you need something he will not question it. Even if John comments about what you really should be getting, because surely you know better, it’s not like John’s a doc- (be kind to him. He is gullible. He will eventually remember that John is not just Sherlock’s assistant, but actually a doctor)

Mikah Hudson (older Mikah)

Immediately excited that he has a chance to show you how good he is at taking care of you! He sends you to bed, and later comes back with soup, but first he insists on taking your temperature. Is constantly looking up your symptoms just in case, and paying attention to different forums to see if there is any bug going around. Anything that could give him a heads up on what to expect. There is a box of tissues if your nose starts running, and two more back up boxes, just in case you need them. There are many times when you wake up in the middle of the night to find him sleeping on the floor so he is there to make sure you’re okay. You being sick makes it hard for him to focus on anything else. John will sneak in to check on you. If he tries to do it with Mikah there, Mikah is right over his shoulder making sure that he isn’t trying to hit on you in your vulnerable state. He will get a baby monitor if you let him so he can keep listening in on you while he’s tries to take care of 221B, but if Sherlock makes any loud noises that could wake you up, there will be hell to pay.

Henry Jekyll

Despite what others may think of him, he is not a physician. He is a chemist. That said, when he realizes you are sick, he will start to make recommendations on you resting and starting to address your minor symptoms. If you get worse he will just as calmly suggest what you to do to take care of yourself. While he insists that he cannot force you to take care of yourself, he is checking in on you often, despite the pleas that he focuses on his work. Taking care of his brother has given him a view on taking care of the sickly as ‘you can only do so much if they insist on wearing themselves out’. This doesn’t stop him from worrying and wanting to be by your side, reading to you, getting you food himself. Anything to help watch over you, the most he can do is order for food to be delivered to you so he knows you’re at least getting that while he’s away.

Edward Hyde

He doesn’t pay too much attention to small stuff. Chalking it up to allergies or not enough sleep. If you got sick to the point of needing of feeling fatigued or dizzy from fever he immediately sits you down and gets you comfortable. As soon as he’s sure you’re good he’ll be in the other room calling Henry to get advice. His voice on the edge of panic and uncertainty, if this was someone bothering you, sure, easy fix. However, with a disease there was little he could do besides follow the directions Henry gives him while he watches over you. He’d still go out and take care of things, but you have his phone number. He also calls you every few hours to make sure you’re okay. If he has to go out while you’re very unwell he will call Henry to come watch over you.

‘Irene’ (based off of the conwoman headcanon)

Did she have medical training? Maybe. She’d never tell you. Mostly because that wasn’t what was important. Starting from a mild fever she’d start tracking your symptoms, asking for help moving furniture if it got to the point that she needed to make sure you were well rested. Meaning the bed was going into the living room so she could cook and not have to go too far to see you. Every cough or sniffle was scrutinized as she worried over you. She’d hold you and cuddle you every chance she got, but she would go and wash up afterwards just in case. No sense in getting you better only to have you turn around and have to take care of her.

(please like, comment, and/or reblog to let me know what you thought and to let others know my blog is still alive)

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notmyrick · 4 years

Text

General Arc 5

/She had a Rick once, but she also had a Diane. Then a Beth. / She and Diane raised Beth without Rick for 3 years, specifically her high school years. Beth was turning out to be a remarkable young woman. But things took a turn for the worse when Diane was hospitalized, near the end of Beth's junior year. She died that summer. "Diane Sanchez died due to depression." The doctor stated as he forlornly gave the news. "According to your reports Ms. Rivas, her body was healthy as could be and her genetic disease was handled with all proper precautions. The forensic department agreed with you. The only underlying cause of death is depression." "But she didn't commit suicide, a heart just doesn't stop when you want it to." Roxx reasoned. She couldn't accept Diane's death, not like this. The doctor gave her a sympathetic look, before answering. "It's unexplainable I know, and it is hard to accept a person's death. The best way I could explain this phenomenon is like trying to prove why medical miracles happen. Sometimes things just happen without rhyme or reason, there is nothing scientific about them. And where there are miracles, there exist the opposite, tragedies." "So your just saying, she was a medical tragedy!" "I'll give you a moment with the patient to mourn." The doctor left and Roxx turned her head to the window which hosted Diane's body. She entered the room and cried silent tears as she held the cold hand. Beth was interning at a different hospital, so she wasn't here. Roxx felt as cold as the body, but she knew that was a lie. "Why? Why did you leave us? I finally got you back." Roxx kissed Diane on the forehead before wallowing in her own grief. /She had a Rick once, but she also had a Diane. Then a Beth. / It was late at night and Beth was over at a friend’s house. Her daughter was enjoying her senior year of high school as she only had 2 core classes and the rest were extracurriculars. When it was only Roxx and Diane raising her, Beth started to both call them her mothers. Roxx never felt so much joy that night when Beth called her mother; Diane didn't mind, she even encouraged it. Roxx was home alone drinking wine. She already finished a whole bottle and was debating opening another. Suddenly she heard noise coming from the garage. She grumbled to herself and got a box of Lucky Charms from the cabinet. Beth exited the house through the garage when her friend picked her up. She would not be surprised if she left the door open for the raccoons to come in. She unlocked the door to the garage, ready to throw the cereal to the driveway for the raccoons to chase. As soon as she opened the door a drunk Rick fell on top of her. She yelped as they both kissed the ground. The clearly drunk as fuck Rick passed out as soon as she opened the door and the less coordinated Roxx fell due to the influence of alcohol and surprise. The cereal box spilled all over the floor, but that was instantly forgotten for the more pressing issue at hand. Roxx maneuvered the blue haired man off her for a moment so she could drag him to the living room. Although the living room was only 12 feet away from the where they were at. With Roxy’s lack of coordination factored with Rick's height and weight, the result was her hitting her hips and stubbing her toes against surfaces. It wasn’t until she flopped him onto the couch did, she hear his mutterings. "It’s all my fault. I did this. Why am I so toxic? I deserve this, I should never be happy." Roxx was sad that Rick was muttering these things. She stumbled her way through the house, though not as much anymore with the lack of mass hauling her down and a little bit more sober. She started to clean Rick up. She wiped away assumed vomit on his lips, grabbed his flask from his hand so it doesn't spill, and stripped him of his dirty coat. As she was about to put the coat in the laundry, but first she emptied out his pockets for anything important. She took out some electronics and a few pieces of paper. She was curious and unraveled the pieces. One was a noted from one of his friends, a person named Bird person. Coordinates that look like it can be inputted into the portal gun. And a certificate. She flattened out the as best she could try to read it. Her eyes widened, she turned the paper over and saw taped to the back of the certificate was a picture of Rick, Diane, Roxx, and Beth, all smiling. She looked at the drunk on her couch as she began to weep once more. The certificate in Rick's lab coat was Diane's death certificate, with the cause of death highlighted. /She had a Rick once, but she also had a Diane. Then a Beth. / "Your mom would say you look beautiful." Roxx said as she placed a necklace on Beth's neck. She was dressed for her high school prom, looking absolutely stunning. "Thank you mother." Beth smiled at the same vanity that used to be Diane's. Roxx smiled in response to her daughter. As she led her daughter down stairs, Rick appeared at the end of the stair case and looked at Beth up and down. "Change." "Rick." "She's not going to prom like that." "You were there when we went dress shopping, you were the one who picked this dress." "And now, I'm saying the dress is too inappropriate for my little girl." Beth chuckled as Roxy and Rick argued about her. "I know these little shits because I was one of those little shits! Beth will attract those horny prepubescent boys like a moth to a flame!" "And you know what Rick, if they get too close to our Beth, they will get burned. Baby girl, I give you full permission to kick a boy’s ass if they get a bit too familiar with you. Don't worry about lawsuits, I can win them." Roxx comforted both Rick and Beth. Beth smiled at her parents and gave them both a hug. Both parents reciprocated as the doorbell rang. Beth's friends squealed at the sight of her and thus began the grueling process of photographing. Rick oversaw all the pictures as Roxx relaxed on the sideline. Rick lost rock, paper, scissors. However, it wasn’t as "troublesome" as Rick complained about it to be. She saw a brief smile as he took pictures for Beth with her friends. She sat down on the couch reading her favorite book with a plate of cannolis beside her as she heard her husband yell "More?!" And the group of giggling girls moved to the backyard. She turned the page. ------ "You piece of shit!" Roxxanne held a boy by the collar of his shirt against the wall. He was nervous and confused. She lifted him off the wall before slamming him right against it again. This hormonal teenage child had the audacity to come to her house, after he knocked up her daughter, and dare say to her that he could support her. All because Beth did a pity lay. A DAMN PITY LAY. Because she felt sorry for the guy who seemed to be the next top candidate for 40-year-old virgin, Beth had sex with this no spine, conniving, useless, shit stain of a man. Her Beth was having a midlife crisis at the age of 17! Luckily Rick took Beth out today for some quality father daughter bonding time. Because if Beth was home and saw this tool out here, she no doubt have another mental breakdown. "M... ma-... m-ma'am. I- I promise to support Beth..." "So you don't think I can't support my own daughter, you punk!" "N-no! Not at all. Not that I mean you can't support her, I mean you can obviously support her, we would be blessed if you could support us!" "So you were planning to dependent on us! Am I and my husband only cash cows to you!" "No that wasn't what I was trying to imply!" "What are you trying to imply!" "I know Beth is a smart girl and she has dreams to become a surgeon. So a child will obviously hinder her plan-" "Boy you better stop while your ahead of yourself." "I'm just saying the cost of an abortion-" Roxxanne flung the brown haired boy to the side and grabbed a belt from the coat closet and used it as a whip. The sudden sound scared the boy as his eyes grew wide. "You! Don't get a say in anything. You don't even mention this possibility to my daughter. What she does with your unwanted sperm donation is up to her. If she wants to keep the child, she'll keep the child, if she wants an abortion, she will get the abortion. She does not need your shit filled input to decide what she can or cannot do to HER body. Don't you dare try to make her lean towards one choice or the other for your shitty fantasy." She stepped menacingly toward the boy who crawled backwards toward the door. "Regardless of her choice, your life belongs to me. You WILL take responsibility for your actions. You WILL listen to every command I give you. And you WILL compensate by any means necessary for the troubles you inflicted on MY daughter." At each emphasis Roxx whipped the belt at the feet of the young boy, effectively scaring him as he edged closer and closer to the door. "You will pay for you actions Jerry Smith, I guarantee you that." Finally the young boy scrambled up at the door and ran out of her house. When he left, she place the belt back into the closet, grabbed a glass of wine, and waited for her daughter and husband to come back. /She had a Rick once, but she also had a Diane. Then a Beth. / "Are you sure mother?" "Yes, yes, yes. A million times yes! Don't worry, Rick and I got this, just have fun with Jerry. Okay baby girl?" Roxx shooed her daughter away toward her husband Jerry. They said goodbye to Roxx and Rick as the blue haired man held onto their granddaughter. Beth and Jerry ended up keeping the baby and did a shotgun wedding. Because Beth wanted to keep the baby, she thought she would have to give up being a surgeon. Roxx quickly dismissed that idea saying she and Rick could watch over the baby while she's getting her degree. They argued for a while, but Roxx ultimately won at the end. In addition, because Roxx believed Beth was too good for Jerry, the only way the stupid male could marry her daughter was to be at the same level as her. So, the first thing she had a problem with Jerry was his looks. Instantly she made him do military drills from all sectors, 6 days a week for 12 hours every day, not including mealtimes. Not only did his body barely become passable, his personality shifted 30 degrees in the right direction. He was still annoying and dumb, but at least he can be passable eye candy. After military training was done, she encouraged him (read forced) to pick a major that won’t embarrass her daughter. All the art majors were immediately disqualified for him. He ended up picking marketing, which wasn't the best, but it would not embarrass her daughter. She made sure Jerry understood, passed, and excelled on all his classes. Only when he was on his way to finish his undergraduate’s degree and got a paid internship with a ladder system, did she deem him as a viable candidate for Beth's husband. Not the best, but viable. Only then did she approve of their marriage. They may have married young, but she didn't let Jerry lived with them until last year. Up until then, he still lived in his parents’ house and only visited Beth, not even staying over nights. Anyway, Rick carried their 2-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter to the living room. She wasn't as smart as Beth, but she was smarter than average. Summer amused herself with crayons and paper and went to her room. Roxx leaned against Rick and sighed. "I am way too young to have a grandchild already. My hair didn’t even start graying yet." "I know the feeling, we don't even qualify for the early bird special yet." They chuckled as the TV played in the background. "So I was thinking..." "And what thoughts are going inside that mind of yours." Rick replied as he kissed the top of her head. "Maybe we should move out." "Roxx..." "Just hear me out Rick. This house is worth more to us than mansions in California, penthouses in New York, or even estates in Texas. This place has sentimental value. So, I don’t want to sell it. Plus, we already bought it out. We can give the deed to Beth, under her name. She can start a family here and grow into the person I know she could be." "And what does us having to move out clash with Beth's development." "You know there isn’t enough space here for all of us, especially if Beth wants her family to grow. Plus, Beth has grown a dependency on us, specifically you. This dependency can impair judgment, we both know that. Look I'm not saying we should go across the globe. I'm just saying, maybe 30 min. Or an hour away drive. Close enough if she really needs us, but far enough to deter her from "casually" dropping by." Roxx laid her head against Rick's chest drawing patterns on his chest. "Plus, instead of having to stay at a motel every time one of us want to do it, we have our own place." Rick grabbed Roxy’s ass and gave it a firm squeeze. "Should've argued with that first." "Shut up." She smiled and chuckled.

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jadeender · 5 years

Text

The War Comes

**quick note: sorry its been so long guys, college is a hell for time consumption and plus my fixation has kind of been slipping, but I promise to give this series the ending it deserves. Just hang in with me a little longer. Thank you to my dedicated readers and friends who keep me encouraged.**

In the passing days their few allies had assembled in the castle. Savage and Noble arriving last the previous night, Tempest a day before grumpy to be pulled away from wherever he was. Acidic was a no show but from what Legend had told him he was glad that one had stayed away.

Altogether it was the nine of them, Ravio and Curse, and the three “friendly” darks against Callous and his army. They hadn’t dared to look for Conqueror or Stygian, even if they were willing to fight against Callous there was no guarantee they wouldn’t turn against the lights at the first opportunity. Even if they needed the extra man power it was risk they hadn’t decided to take.

Hyrule however wasn’t much involved in the planning, Time and Warriors had spent long hours trying to figure out some tactics to maximize their chances but all of that flew over his head. He was used to fighting alone, what help could he give to planning coordinated strikes. The atmosphere around the castle was different. Instead of enjoying the paradise like castle grounds they spent free time training. Warriors could bark orders with the best of them. Physically they were all ready, their entire lives were a training session for this. Mentally none of them knew when the hammer would fall.

When they fought Veran they were constantly seeking her out, hoping to stumble upon her fortress. A familiar scenario to Hyrule, having to wait for an enemy to come to them was infuriating. Working out a guard rotation, the lights covered during the day and the darks at night in addition to the castle guard.

“We need to move out of the castle and towards the forest.” Warriors told Time as they once again met to review any new tactics the two had worked out. “If Callous’s army attacks us full force the civilians here will suffer, and we already decided not to involve the soldiers here, they won’t be able to handle the shadowlings.”

Time rubbed his face, “That wouldn’t be a bad idea. The farther we are from the civilians the less that are likely to get caught in the battle. We know they’re more likely to attack at night when the darkness is a disadvantage to us. If we move out in the early morning we can set up camp and get ready before they attack.”

“Everyone remembers their positions right?” Warriors questioned looking at them. “Time, Twilight, Savage and I will take the front line offensive. Tempest, Noble, Wild and Hyrule will take the second row and use your magic and abilities to clear a path. Ravio and Curse will provide support from the back and take out any split offs. Sky, Four and Legend will go in and try to find Callous and Maverick, separate them and get Maverick back to us if you can. If you can’t do what you have to do.”

Everyone just nodded solemnly, it was a good plan but they all knew it was going to be a bloody battle.

"And Hyrule," warriors turned his attention back, "we need you to conserve energy for your healing spell, it seems to be there most powerful heal we've got and we'll need it even with the potions Zelda stockpiled for us."

“I know what to do.” He sighed and let them continue. Finally what felt like an hour later the meeting wrapped up with the promise to move out to the countryside in the early morning. As they all headed to bed, Noble and Savage off to guard they heard a deep rumbling cry throughout the castle. It seemed the army had arrived.

____________________________________________________________________________

As quickly as they could the heroes and their allies sprinted through the hallways towards the castle doors. Twilight shifting into wolf form to keep running. They had been keeping armed for this moment so everyone already had their armor, weapons and equipment on them. What precious little wasn’t on them had been stored near the door in case of emergency.

So they streamed out of the castle armed to the teeth, Four was wearing his pegasus boots and had the four sword and his other weapons ready to go. Legend beside him was toting a small armory, magic tools of many kinds alongside his normal weaponry. Sky was with them rounding out their strike group, their goal was just to get to Maverick and Callous, take out the leaders and take out the army.

Four knew though, he knew that Maverick hadn’t betrayed them, not really. Those words, joining the winning side, he’d said them or really Vio had the specifics are confusing. None of the others believed him though, they were so willing to believe Maverick had succumbed and betrayed them. In some small part of his aching heart Four quietly wondered if that time in Callous’s castle after he dusted Curse could have changed his friend.

But there was no time to doubt now as an army of pitch black shadowlings marched on Hyrule Castle. The castle guard was quickly evacuating the civilians around moving them away from the battle that would soon take place. A terrible roar came from overhead again drawing their attention, a large crimson dragon descended to the front of the forces roaring again as it came.

When it landed two figures jumped off the back of the dragon landing at the front of their army, Callous and Maverick.

Four gasped at seeing his dark. The dark was still wearing the same clothes, the dragon scale plates he’d designed prominent and Dragon Fang at the darks side. But everything was thrown off my his face, Mavericks eyes glowed crimson red and his face was fixed in an awful smirk as he stood just behind Callous. Callous himself looked neutral though a shark like grin gradually filled his face.

“You gathered your allies while I gathered mine.” Callous looked over their group and saw the darks they had assembled. “It’s a shame you four had to choose to fight with your lights, especially after Maverick here was smart enough to choose the winning side.”

There it was, those keywords that made Four hope, beyond hope that his friend was just playing to Callous’s game and waiting for the moment to betray him, just like Vio had. Then as though Callous could read his mind the dark trained his eyes on Four.

“And just in case you were planning on my dear friend here betraying me and returning to your side, you were mistaken. While initally I knew that was his plan I won him over to my side. I made sure of it, he couldn’t betray me now even if he wanted to. Isn’t that right Maverick?” Callous asked and Maverick took a step forward.

“You’re the one who kept me weak, fed the fake persona of Shadow that was created for all those years. But now I’m free of you and free of the mirror. I do what I want now, and I intend to take my revenge upon you fools for underestimating and mocking me.” Maverick looked Four dead in the eyes and in them Four couldn’t see any trace of his friend, his fifth half, in them. “Starting with you.”

A whip of shadow materialized from nothing cracking down towards Four’s head, he was so stunned, so devastated he couldn’t even react. Faster than any of them Savage had shifted into wolf form and run up pushing Four out of the way as the whip sliced the darks side. Savage flew backwards turning back into a hylian.

“You’ll have to do better than that if you believe a little whipping will keep me down, I’ve dealt with worse.” Savage taunted him. “I wish the good guys hadn’t fixed your voice, but I can rip it out again.”

Once again shifting into wolf form Savage launched himself at Maverick who drew Dragons Fang and began to fight back. Behind them the army was still as though waiting for this to be settled. Time stepped forward and looked at Callous.

"Since you haven't sent your army out to start pillaging or to attack us you must be waiting for something. What is it? Or do you only intend to play with us?" Time asked his calmness sobering though an anger slept just below the surface.

"Oh I'm just watching my commander for now, once he finishes of his vengeance then I'll allow my forces to attack. I promised him as much." Callous replied casually as the shadowlings indeed stayed quiet and sedentary behind them.

Four glanced over and found that Tempest had joined in trying to stop Maverick, calling up a storm overhead that rumbled with thunder and strikes of lightning.

"How? How did you do it to him? Shadow would never have hurt us willingly, we know him better than anyone and this what he's become, is the last thing he wanted." Four screamed at Callous focusing extremely hard on staying together. His sides screamed out their opinions, his head filled with noise, but he forced them to stay together though the stress of them coming to the forefront of his mind changed his speech.

"We and us? Having a hard time keeping it together?" Callous laughed, in one hand a dagger formed. "You see I only convinced him of the truth that always was. He came to my castle begging to be trained so I taught him how to truly use his abilities something no light ever could. And I helped him discover what he was, how he had been controlled by you and by the dark mirror. How that powerless wind sorcerer got his hands on such a powerful relic though is beyond me. But now he's free, to be my commander and help me take my true place as the ruler of both realms."

In one fluid motion as his words ended Callous turned and flung his knife with extreme precision which hits it's target perfectly going into Fours left hand causing him to drop the four sword which he kicked away in his panic. It had sink straight through his palm burning like fire.

"Four!" His allies yelled jumping towards him. Sky scooped him up and started running back towards the others away from the dark Army as Callous cackled.

Inside Fours mind was a mess, he ended, they needed to separate this was too much to hear together, but the sword the sword was gone. Trapping then within their own mind, suffering. They screamed in pain when Sky removed the dagger which disappeared into shadow. A gaping hole went through the hand and they couldn't even feel their fingers. Sky carefully poured a health potion onto his hand hoping the effect would pull the tissue back together.

"It's not working." Sky exclaimed as he began to wrap the hand. Four bordered on the edge of passing out, everything too much.

"I can fix it." Hyrule said as he began to chant.

"Hyrule wait…" a voice screamed as finally Four succumbed to unconsciousness.

#linked universe #merged #altered #maverick is a little crazy #and the fighting begins

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risrielthron · 4 years

Text

Families can be rough...

(Written with @selisegraves and @silentasagrave continued from here)

"It's been awhile. I trust all is well?"

Her gaze shifted to Selise’s hand as it pulled the notebook close and the doctor began writing. An eyebrow raised as she lifted her eyes to Selise’s face, “All is well with Dra and I, and perhaps even better for you and Nick?” a smile playing at her lips as she spoke.

Chery glanced between the two of them not sure what was transpiring between the two her expression full of confusion at the change in Risri’s tone.

Her gaze rose slightly before she looked down at her book again, but the smile was evident in her tone. “That is, um...accurate. It just happened a few days ago.” Selise looked up fully and shook her head at Cherysa’s statement. Was that a bit of color in her face?

Risri’s smile broke through and she sat back looking over Selise, “Have you set a date? You will let me know if I can help with anything? Pictures or even just being there.” Her gaze shifted to Chery and noting the confusion she pointed to the ring on Selise’s hand.

The red-head followed Risri’s point to Selise’s hand and the ring that she’d not noticed before. Her mouth fell agape and she looked up at Selise’s face then back to the ring then to Risri before back to Selise. “You...you got engaged?” She stammered then rose practically shouting, “You GOT ENGAGED!!” her enthusiasm back she moved around to give Selise a hug from behind, “Oh my goodness, Doc! I’m so happy for you. Is he that man that comes to see you when I’m leaving? I thought he watched you too closely but now it all makes sense!” her words were rushed and excited as she bounced back to her chair, “OH! Can I make your dress? Please!”

Selise blinked before making a face as she was squished into Cherysa’s embrace. “Whoa, whoa, okay. I-I haven’t-” She sighed and pressed her eyes closed in an attempt to collect her thoughts, but only succeeded in making the color on her face more pronounced. Selise gave up and looked back to the two of them, a small smile on her face as she spoke. “Yes, you’ve seen him Chery, but you tend to cut out of here when he’s around...not that I’m complaining...We haven’t picked a date and I haven’t even thought of a dress. We were talking about something more low key…” she glanced off to the side.

Risri watched Chery with amusement evident in her gaze, when the spectacle was finished her eyes lit on Selise and she felt a hint of sympathy for the obvious discomfort. She leaned forward and touched Selise’s hand with the ring gently, “Something simple yet dignified for the Doctor and her beau.” Risri sat back again, “Well, I am happy for you both and however you wish to seal your union is the right way. And you do not have to do it alone. I will help, you have only to ask.”

Chery looked a little set down at Selise’s words but she nodded, “I ...I still would make you a dress. Every bride should have a special dress.” She sounded meek but sincere as she gave puppy dog eyes to Selise.

"Thank you, but…" Selise rose a brow at Risri. "'Beau', really? I think you've been hanging around humans too long." She smirked, but the sarcasm was short lived as she noticed Cherysa's expression. For a moment, she stared blankly at the display, then smiled. "Okay, Chery, but nothing crazy…" she was quick to add.

Chery clapped her hands and smiled, “I have the perfect look. Trust me.” Her eyes alight with excitement.

Risri chuckled softly at Selise’s comment, “Perhaps I have. But you are all so wonderful I can not stay away.” Her smile sincere as she looked between the two humans. “I wonder… do you wish to tell him yourself or should I break the news to Dra?”

A quiet scoff escaped his mouth. Dragaur already knew. He found it laughable that either of them thought they could keep anything from him. He was in the back hallway as being outside made listening in on them difficult. He saw the ring days ago. It disturbed him then it disturbed him just as much now to hear the other two women talk about it. He was completely sure why. Could be because he thought Nick was a prick. Worse then that a know it all prick that thought he was better than Dragaur. Truth be told he never got a chance to get to know him but it didn’t take Dragaur long to get the measure of him.

He took care of Tess supposedly, someone else he used to watch out for now and then who didn’t appreciate it. No one ever really does, he knew why but it was for their own good. He never sussed that relationship out. Brother and sister. Didn’t look alike, sound alike, or act alike. Then again Selise and he had their differences. Not as different as them though.

Dragaur had stayed quiet long enough. He stepped out and leaned against the entryway to where they were sitting. He was wearing what he usually wore when he was stalking about. It was partly habit by this point. Dark armour and hood. Metal skull mask. The mask was more than habit. It was who he was. No one understood that. Not really, not even Risri. Sure he wasn’t a murderer anymore, usually. He could be one again very easily though hadn’t been that long since he’d killed. His thoughts were dark but that was normal. He took a breath before speaking in case they hadn’t noticed him. “We aren’t that wonderful Risri...anyway not much slips by me. Especially not stupid descions.” A low-pitched hum sounded behind the rogue as soon as he appeared. Cornelius’ size expanded slightly and the blue glow increased in intensity around the arcane familiar as it stared Dragaur down.

“Cor.” The statement from Selise seemed to make the creature back down, but her tone matched its annoyed display. Cor stared at the rogue for a moment longer before bobbing around him and settling in behind Sel’s chair. “Hello to you too...Dragaur. I’ve heard the stupid decision lecture before, thanks.”

Risri blinked slightly as Dragaur made his appearance. Her silver eyes looking him over not so much in surprise but more to make sure he was all in one piece. “Perhaps not all are wonderful but those I spend most of my time with surely are.”

Cherysa gave a startled gasp as the rogue appeared before eyeing Cor a moment.

He paid no attention to the arcane construct. It was no threat to him as far as he was concerned. It was probably made by some two bit garbage hedge mage. He rolled his eyes behind his mask. “Please when was the last time I gave you a lecture...I can’t think of one time to be honest. I mean I guess if you wanna go back to when you first moved here and I felt sorry for you because you were sleeping in a sewer pipe. I believe it went something like. That’s a bad decision because you will likely get murdered by a hobo for your shoes or your cloak. I mean compared to this current poor decision I suppose that one was worse.” He paused and looked at Risri and then Cherysa. For most people this particular group of people might make them feel awkward. Dragaur, not so much. He turned back to Selise and the glow behind his mask flickered slightly. “You can do whatever you want with your life little sister. I just wish you would marry someone nice. Ya know someone I might not kill in the future if they ever give me a good enough reason to do so.”

Selise’s gaze narrowed on her brother. “You’ve spoken to him for what, five minutes? He is nice. And it was a park bench.” She crossed her arms tightly and spun her chair to face him directly. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, now having forgotten the two other women seated around her. “People tend to say the same thing about you that you spout about everyone I know. The fact that I’m happy should be good enough reason for you to leave it all well alone.”

Risri sighed softly at the back and forth. “Can you not be happy for Selise? She is. I would think if he has thought enough of her to want to spend his life with her, and she has agreed, that should prove his worth. Can you not try to get along with him? Perhaps if you tried, you might find you like him as a person.” An eyebrow raised, “Or is that it? If you liked him, you might have to be nice to someone besides me?”

“I specifically remember the culvert off the canals.” He smirked behind the mask. He was annoyed that she would get married to someone who was clearly a jerk. At least as much of a jerk as him, but he found the back and forth at least slightly funny. She probably won’t. “I can guarantee I won’t like him. He’s an ungrateful mouthy asshole at best. Besides I don’t HAVE to be nice to anyone including you.”

He looked at Risri realizing he was going to have to fight her too if he was going to argue about this. “Anyway get married if you want. It worked out so well for our parents. Ask dear old father about it some time I think he would agree their marriage was a mistake. Maybe not being together but definitely the marriage. Afterall that’s when her shitty family got involved and helped make things difficult.”

Selise was silent for a few moments, but there was clearly anger building in her gaze. “Are you my shitty family that’s going to get involved and make things difficult? We’re not our parents.” She cast a sidelong glance to Risri and Chery before looking back to Drag. “Get out.”

Chery sat with eyes wide, her fingertips pressed to her lips as the “grown ups” argued back and forth. The red-head was no stranger to sibling fights but she hoped there would be no hair pulling involved. She gasped at Selise’s order.

Risri shook her head and crossed the room, a hand on Dragaur’s arm she looked into the mask with a bit of a “please” look on her face, “What is done, is done. Will you try at least to be civil to the man your sister loves?” At Selise’s ordered statement, she glanced back before frowning up at him, “Have you two ever ended a conversation on good terms? I will see you at home, I hope.”

Dragaur stared at Selise for as long as he had before Risri walked over. He pulled his arm away from her and stepped back. “I don’t get involved in things unless I’m asked...or if I think you might get yourself hurt. I think he’s trash. Worse Trash then me and that’s sayin’ somethin’. He thinks he’s better than me. You and me aren’t so different though so I wonder what he thinks about you. He asks for my help with Tess and because I figure part of you cares about her maybe differently then she cares but still... I do it, And then gives me shit when it goes sideways. You marry him fine but you let him know he makes a wrong move toward you I’ll kill him slow.” Dragaur spun away and stomped toward the front. He yelled as he walked away. “What did he do to Tess anyway I haven’t seen her since.”

“Better than you? Is that what this is about, your stupid pride?” She glared at his back while he headed for the door. “I asked for your help, not him. Clearly one of my stupid decisions that you’re so fond of pointing out. Don’t worry, I won’t do it again.”

Risri looked hurt when he pulled away and she pursed her lips together at his angry words to Selise. A sigh of regret escaped when he walked away, the elf shaking her head at the turn of events. Risri eyes followed him even as the elf leaned against the wall where he’d been a moment before. There was no fixing whatever underlying issue was between the two siblings. The yell had her looking to Selise, “He does care you know.” Her words were soft though she figured Dragaur would hear them even across the room. She shook her head, Selise was likely to turn that anger on her now but she pressed on. “If he did not, he would not have said anything at all. You both are so stubborn.” The last was half said under her breath.

“If I had any pride I never would have come here!” He shouted before pushing the door open. “Maybe I’m wrong and he's a great guy, but then that just means he's a pussy who can’t get his hands dirty! And he runs to a woman to fix his problems!” He turned again at the open door and saw a hand full of people looking his way. “Mind your fucking business you slack jawed morons!” His voice loud and deep and it soon scattered said slack jawed morons.

Selise’s gaze snapped to Risri, a dark look in her eyes likely brought on by her brother’s yelling which continued out into the street. “Risri…” she paused, her gaze narrowing before she shook her head. “You might be okay with expressing you care through death threats, but I’m not. You know him well enough to know he isn’t playing the ‘typical big brother joking around’. You...don’t understand and I wouldn’t expect you to, but I’m sorry you were in the middle of it.” She ran a hand through her hair and caught sight of Chery.

Chery frowned, she could sympathize with not liking your brother-in-law. She thought hers was an idiot. And she would never understand how someone like Jazi could even like let alone love Dunn but she agreed with Selise, death threats were not the way to keep family harmony. Her head was nodding at Selise’s words to Risri, however.

The elf sighed and gave Selise a contrite look. “He takes things to extremes. And...he is overprotective of those he sees under his care. Perhaps his wording was harsh, but can you not see that he wants you safe? Even if it was a bit over the top. But you did not see your parents together the way he did. It scarred him and his view of all things.” She put up her hand, “I will not make more excuses for him. I hope that you will find it in your heart to understand where he is coming from. And I will do my best to talk to him. Not just for your sake.” She pushed off the wall, “I am happy for you Selise. For both you and Nick. And if you love him, then I want only your happiness.” She moved to follow Dragaur, “I hope this will not change our plans, I shall see you tomorrow if it does not.”

Selise simply stared at Risri, a bit of an edge returning as she held up her hand. Still, she said nothing and waited until she too had left. “Let me know when the next patient shows up,” she mumbled toward Chery before retreating to her lab in the back.

#risri #chery #selise #dragaur

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darkobsidianquill · 4 years

Text

Harry Potter and the descent into Darkness.

Chapter Nineteen.

Harry easily slipped into his new routine. Every day after lunch he would slip away to Voldemort's manor house and keep the Dark Lord 'company' while he performed his meditation exercise. Harry would read while he sat there; some days Voldemort would supply him with a specific book, but other days Harry would just read his text books or work on homework for some class.

He was spending almost all of his evenings with Ron and Hermione again, but he still tended to spend at least a half hour a day as he continued working on copying the book down in the chamber. By Wednesday night he had almost finished copying it. He left the chamber with only five more pages left to copy, and a hand cramp. He and Hermione were spending a lot of time in the evenings working on translating it, and their efforts had gained the curiosity of Ginny, who had started 'helping' them – which really meant that she was sitting at the table with them and asking questions that were slowing down their progress.

Ron was clearly very annoyed at their boring little side project and was spending more and more time with Seamus and Dean.

Thursday morning arrived and Harry had Transfiguration during first block and then a free period. Once the class had begun to clear out, Harry turned to Ron and Hermione and told them to go on ahead. When they looked at him with curious confusion, he told them he was going to speak with McGonagall about his classes for next year and they both understood quickly.

Harry stood up from his desk and packed away the last of his books just as the last of the other students left the room. Professor McGonagall looked up to see him still standing there and rose a single questioning eyebrow in his direction.

"Was there something you needed, Mr. Potter?" she asked.

"Actually, yes. I was hoping to speak with you about my elective courses and my options for next year."

She looked mildly surprised by this but quickly stood to her feet and began to walk towards the door to the class room. "Alright, Mr. Potter. Shall we continue this conversation in my office then?"

"That would be great," Harry said with a grin as he began to walk beside her and out of the classroom.

After a brief journey down the corridor, the two of them reached the deputy headmistress's office and sat down on opposite sides of her desk. Harry quickly began to explain to her what he was hoping to do with his classes for the following year.

"This is a very unusual request, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said after he had finished explaining everything.

"I really don't see why it's not done more often. I mean, how many people really know what they're going to be interested in later on in life, when they're only twelve years old? Besides, worse case scenario, I end up in the class with the third year's and take my Ancient Runes and Arithmancy OWLs in my seventh year."

McGonagall nodded her head slowly, but from the thin-lipped frown on her face, he could tell she wasn't convinced.

"I'm also thinking about looking into some private tutoring this summer in both subjects. At least the theory and all the reading. If I can pass competency tests in August, I was hoping that maybe I could get placed with the forth years."

"Private tutoring?" McGonagall echoed with surprise.

"Yes. I've already spoken with someone who is willing to help me. Do you think it would be possible to arrange for a test in both Ancient Runes and Arithmancy?"

"Well, I..." she began hesitantly before huffing a bit and then giving a somewhat resigned sigh. "I'll have to speak with Professors Septima and Babbling to see what they think of all of this. There will also be the issue of making sure that the classes work with your normal fifth year class schedule. There may be timing conflicts."

"If that does become an issue, perhaps I could apply to the Ministry for a time-turner?" Harry asked with big, innocent, puppy-dog eyes.

McGonagall narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him, which only made Harry grin.

Harry ducked his head and then took on a more serious expression. "All fun aside, Professor, I really am serious about this. It's important to me. I made a mistake at the end of second year. I chose the wrong classes. Pure and simple. And I chose them for the worst reasons."

"And what reasons would those be?"

"I chose them because everyone said they were easy. But now I realize that I'm just wasting a precious, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Arithmancy and Ancient Runes are really valuable subjects, and I'm really interested in learning both of them. Now that I've realized what a stupid mistake I've made, I'm trying to fix it. Surely it isn't too late?" he finished, with a pleading tone.

McGonagall gave another resigned sigh. "I will admit that I would normally tell you no in this situation. However the tremendous improvement in your classwork over the year, and the fact that your other professors have given similar reports during staff meetings leads me to give your request more consideration than I usually would."

Harry blinked. "Staff meetings?" The teachers had been talking about him in the staff meetings? Somehow this didn't exactly sit well with him.

"Yes, your classwork improvement over the last year has come up several times in our meetings. Even Professor Snape has had no choice but to admit that your work has improved," she said with the faintest hint of a smile on her lips.

Harry choked out a bit of a laugh that he tried to morph into a cough. "Is that so?" he asked innocently. "That must have been quite painful for him."

McGonagall snorted. She would deny it till her dying day, but Harry had heard it and he would never forget it. He had made McGonagall snort.

"Yes, well... Mr. Potter... Taking into consideration your improved worth ethics and study habits, and your sincere desire to learn the subjects, I will do my best to help you with this. I cannot guarantee anything, but I will try."

Harry gave her a huge smile and thanked her profusely before bidding her farewell and heading off to find Ron.

– –

By Thursday night Harry had finished copying the last few pages of the ancient elven book and returned to the common room to help Hermione with translating it. The book seemed to be made up of several ancient legends, and the further they translated, the more and more interesting they were becoming. However translating the texts was still extremely slow-going, and Harry found he rarely had the energy at the end of the days to dedicate a lot of his focus towards the task. In contrast, Hermione was becoming down-right dedicated to it, and Ginny was acting as her personal cheerleader.

During the last week, Harry hadn't felt nearly as strong a need or deep seeded desire to spend an hour each day practicing the dark arts as he once did. The anxious, antsy, tension that had eaten away at his mind each day up until he was finally able to get down into the chamber, had dulled significantly now that he was spending several hours a day in the company of the Dark Lord.

Harry had absolutely no explanation for why spending time with Voldemort every day would have any effect on that irrational itch he'd been experiencing for months now. Despite not having an explanation for it, the fact that it clearly had an effect was obvious. Harry decided that he needed to try speaking to Voldemort about it and see if the Dark Lord had any insight into the matter.

The more time he'd spent in the man's company, the more comfortable he felt with actually asking questions, so the idea of trying to explain his experience to Voldemort and asking the man's opinion wasn't nearly as scary or intimidating as it might have once been. But this would also mean openly broaching the subject of how he was affected so strangely by Voldemort's presence, and that still made him feel a little hesitant. Despite the fact that they had acknowledged that the two of them were interacting in a way that was probably a bit odd for both of them, they hadn't actuallydiscussed it.

Unless it was normal for the Dark Lord to spend large amounts of time with individual followers and pet their hair if they sat within reach.

But somehow Harry seriously doubted that was the case. It really didn't seem like the sort of thing Voldemort would normally do.

Saturday arrived and Harry portkeyed to the manor as soon as he was finished with lunch. Voldemort was already in his usual meditative position on the floor and Harry took up his usual spot a few feet away.

After an hour, and the most powerful spike in Voldemort's parselmagic that Harry had thus far sensed from the man, Voldemort stood, stretched and sat heavily in his chair. He read a couple muggle newspapers and then went through the Daily Prophet – Harry had learned that the house-elf, Mixey, was going out daily to acquire a copy of the magical paper for her master – Voldemort sighed, set the papers aside and stood up.

Harry turned and watched the man, curiously for a moment without saying anything. Voldemort took a few steps towards the door before turning back and looking at Harry expectantly.

"Coming?"

Harry blinked, but then quickly scrambled to his feet. He followed Voldemort as his long fast strides quickly took them down the stairs and through the corridors towards the ballroom where they had performed the resurrection ritual.

"So what are we doing?" Harry finally asked as he managed to make his strides match Voldemort's and walked beside him.

"I am going to begin teaching you a few important skills during your visits here. The first one is apparition."

Harry's foot caught on the rug and he almost stumbled in surprise at this, but he collected himself and caught back up.

"Apparition? You're going to teach me to apparate?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Potter. I'm going to teach you to apparate," Voldemort echoed while rolling his eyes.

"Can the Ministry detect that? As I understand it, you need a license to apparate, and you can't even take the test until you're seventeen."

"The Ministry cannot detect it from you because your trace is gone."

"Oh, well that's brilliant," Harry mused as a grin spread across his lips and the pair of them entered the ballroom.

Voldemort quickly began to explain the theory behind it, and then apparated from one side of the ballroom to the other, and back again, so that Harry could feel his magic during the act. Once he learned that Harry had never experienced apparition at all, he did a side-along apparition just to make sure Harry would know what to expect.

Harry spent the next two minutes crouching on the floor trying to make sure he didn't lose his lunch.

"I thought portkeying was bad..." Harry grumbled as he finally felt stable enough to stand up straight. "What is with all forms of magical transport being horrifically disorienting? I can't use a floo without falling on my ass, I've only just barely begun to land from portkey travel without stumbling, and now this. Ugh..."

Voldemort chuckled in amusement. "You'll get used to it."

"So... I'm curious, when you apparate, I hardly hear a sound from you. It's almost as quiet as a house-elf's pop. Everyone else I've seen apparate always makes a loud crack."

"Again, it just takes practice and power. I'm sure with some work you will also be more than capable of near-silent apparition. You certainly have the power reserves for it."

Harry nodded his head thoughtfully. "You know, I had another question I've been meaning to ask since we started this."

"Yes?" Voldemort said dryly with a sigh of impatience.

"We're apparating inside the manor, but I thought that the manor had anti-apparition wards all around it?"

"I am keyed into the wards, and I have keyed you in as well. So we will be able to apparate in and out of the manor, as well as aparate within it's boundaries. No one else will be capable of the same thing, however, unless I key them in as well."

Harry blinked. "You've keyed me into your apparition wards?"

Voldemort rose a single challenging eyebrow, and Harry ducked his head to try and conceal the huge grin that was spreading across his face.

"Are you're curiosities sufficiently satisfied now? I would appreciate getting on with the lesson."

Harry chuckled and smiled up at the man. "Yeah, I'm good. Let's get on with it."

Voldemort rolled his eyes at Harry, but quickly slipped into what Harry had deemed his 'teacher mode'. Harry didn't manage to apparate that evening, but Voldemort said he was convinced Harry would get it within a few more lessons with relative ease.

When the lesson had come to a close, Harry casually thanked Voldemort and said 'bye' before heading out to the time-turner room and then returning to Hogwarts.

– –

It was Sunday at lunch, and Harry, Hermione, and Ron were all sitting in the great hall eating. Or rather, Ron was eating, Hermione was working on translating some more passages from the ancient elven book, and Harry was thumbing through a book on occlumency he'd found down in Slytherin's study. He had disguised the book's cover to look like his charms text book, while also casting a mild notice-me-not charm on it, and so far, no one had noticed it.

"Harry, are you sure you copied this part down, right?" Hermione's voice cut into his focus suddenly and he looked up at her with a blank face.

"Hmm?"

Her face was buried in her copy of the bound notebook that he had given her, while the Old Aldric language book sat on the table beside her.

"This part here... I can't find this word anywhere... I almost think you may have copied it down wrong," she said with her brows furrowed as she continued to look back and forth between the two books intently.

"Hm... I suppose it's certainly possible. I've tried to recheck my work pretty thoroughly."

She huffed in frustration and set the notebook on the table with a thwap!, causing Ron's cup of pumpkin juice to wobble precariously for a moment. Hermione's eyes widened as she watched it in horror for a second before it became clear that it was not about to spill on the notebook. She sighed in relief before returning her attention to Harry.

"Are you sure you can't just bring me the original book?" she asked in a pleading voice.

Harry shook his head. "Nope. Sorry Hermione, but I'm not willing to remove it from the room where it's kept. It has to stay there."

She narrowed her eyes and gave him a hard look. "Could I just go to the room then?" she asked after a second in an innocent tone.

Harry gave her a hard look for a long moment. It had been a while since their last spat about Harry's mysterious secrets. He supposed he was due for another. "Sorry 'Mione. I'm not telling."

She huffed, folded her arms across her chest and scowled at him. For a long minute she fumed quietly. Harry assumed she was just going to let it go, but this time, she didn't. "Why!" she cried in a sudden explosion of pent up frustration.

"Why what?" Harry said, taken aback by the intensity of her burst.

"Why won't you tell me where it is you're going! What are you doing! Where are you going? Are you breaking a school rule? Are you leaving the grounds?"

"I'm not breaking any rules, and no, I am not leaving the grounds. Where I go is still within the school," Harry lied easily.

"Then why can't you tell me where it is! Why don't you trust me! You talk about us earning your trust back, but you know trust is a two-way street, Harry James Potter! If you keep pushing us away like this, how are we supposed to trust you!"

Harry had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. He was getting fed up with making excuses to them and realized that he was going to have to give her something to hold her off a while. "Maybe I like having a secret place that only I can go to, and no one else can bother me at, did that ever occur to you?" Harry asked with a rather pointed look and raised eyebrows.

Hermione came up short, frowned, and looked legitimately hurt. "So you go there to get away from us, then?"

"I go there to get away from everyone, Hermione. You see, during first term, there was this thing where every bloody student in the school suddenly hated the very air I breathed, and all I wanted to do was get away from all the glares, snickers, and snide remarks. I found someplace that I could to to be alone and I got used to it. I found that I honestly enjoyed the alone time, and that it allowed me to think clearer and get more accomplished. So even after people decided to do another flip-flop and stopped hating my guts, the fact that I enjoyed the alone time didn't change. I got used to it.

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I'm not actually hiding anything big? Maybe I just found a secret room in this big crazy castle filled with old forgotten secrets, and that room has some books in it, and I like to go there to read and get my work done? That's it. No big crazy conspiracy. No rule breaking, or devious ulterior motives. I did go there for my animagus practice, but now I just go there to be alone and read in peace."

Hermione still looked rather crushed at this point, and not as convinced as he was hoping, so Harry huffed an annoyed breath and pressed on.

"Maybe you aren't entirely clear on some of my personal history, Hermione, but before Hogwarts, I was always alone. I went to school, came home, did my chores, and then I got locked away in my cupboard and spent all my time alone in a dark little space with absolutely no company. When I got to Hogwarts I thought 'This is my chance to finally make friends without them being chased away by Dudley, and to try and be outgoing, and spend my time with people.' But it's always been forced for me. I've been forcing myself to be outgoing. Forcing myself to be social. I've realized that I'm not a naturally social person. It's just the way I grew up. I've come to realize that I enjoy being able to go someplace and just be alone. It's like I can breath again. I spend some time alone to recoup, and then I feel the ability to be around people again.

"And it's not like I'm not trying here. I mean, you have to acknowledge that I'm spending less time there then I used to! I've been with you guys every evening for the last two weeks! I'm even including you in this project with my book! So come on! Give me a break, will you?"

Ron and Hermione sat there, looking at him with rather stunned expressions for a long, thick minute before Hermione's jaw began to move a bit.

"They locked you in a cupboard?" she asked in a weak voice.

Harry blinked. "I've mentioned my cupboard before, haven't I?" he asked, mildly surprised and confused by her response. Hadn't he mentioned it before? He did suppose he had glazed over it a lot in the past. He didn't want their pity. Plus, he recalled having actually been rather ashamed of it. Like it was somehow his fault how his relatives had treated him. He no longer held those delusions though. It wasn't his fault at all. His shitty muggle relatives were just monstrous assholes. For them, it was all about fear of what they couldn't understand or control. Magic scared them, and Harry had personified it. Harry had realized that it was simply human nature to instantly try to destroy anything that scared or confused them. His relatives were scared and confused by him, so they tried to break him. And someday, he would repay them for their sacrifice and kindness. Harry remarked, sarcastically, internally.

"What kind of cupboard?" Hermione asked, her voice getting harder and a bit cold.

Harry sighed and let his head fall into his hand. "Uh... a boot cupboard, I guess. Under the stairs. They put a little cot in there for me. I lived there till I turned eleven and got my Hogwarts letter. The Dursley's panicked when they saw that my acceptance letter was addressed to 'Mr. H. Potter, The Cupboard under the Stairs'. They thought they were being watched and finally moved me into the extra bedroom."

"They had an extra bedroom, but they kept you in a cupboard!" Hermione all but shrieked.

Harry's eyes widened as he glanced around the great hall for a second before he glared back at her, hard.

"Would you keep it down!" he hissed angrily. Harry pulled out his wand and did a few quick movements with it while silently incanting the proper spell in his mind. The sounds of the great hall suddenly muffled into a distant buzzing noise, as the three of them were enclosed in a small privacy ward. "Look... how the hell did we even get on this? Weren't we arguing about me sneaking off to a secret room or something?"

"How could they do that!" Hermione said in a horrified, sad voice, apparently not listening to Harry. "They still treat you terribly, don't they? Oh, Merlin! The bars! The bars on your window!" She turned her gaze to Ron, who was suddenly looking rather pale. "Before second year when Ron and the twins rescued you... oh Harry! How could they treat you like that?"

"Yeah, well I've got a better question for you. How could Dumbledore leave me there as a baby and not once check up on me? Or better still – how can he know about it now and still make me go back? Says it's the only place I'm safe," Harry sneered sarcastically while rolling his eyes.

Hermione looked horrified. "He couldn't possibly know! Harry, you have to tell Professor Dumbledore! If he knew the truth, he would never make you go back!"

"He does know, Hermione," Harry said through clenched teeth. "He knows perfectly well, how they've treated me my whole life. My aunt has written him letters over the years, begging him to take me back and leave me with someone else. He knows how much they hate me. How much they wish to be rid of me. And I've told him how they treat me. That they don't feed me and that they work me like a bloody house elf each summer. He knows Hermione. Honestly, I thought you knew. Or at least, I thought you would have figured it out from all the clues."

"No..." Hermione said in a weak little whisper as she began shaking her head back and forth. "No... I never knew... Oh Merlin Harry... I'm sorry... I never realized... I..."

"Hermione," Harry said in a hard tone, "Just stop. There's nothing for you to apologize for –"

"Yes there is!" she insisted. "There is, Harry! I should have realized! I can't believe I was so stupid that I never listened! You have mentioned the cupboard before, but it was always in passing and you acted so dismissive about it that it never stuck. I wasn't listening. I should have... I should have..."

"Should have, what, Hermione? What could you have done?" Harry said, leaning back on his seat and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well I should have done something! Told a professor, or something!"

"I've told teachers. Back in primary school I tried telling people and it just got me in trouble. The only times my uncle has ever really hit me were after I told people at the school and they visited the Dursley's or called them. All the rest of my life they just neglected me. Dudders made a sport of beating the shit out of me, but I got pretty good at running from him and his friends, and he's let up since he found out I'm magical. And I've told Dumbledore about all of this and he doesn't give a damn. Telling McGonagall won't do any good because in the end – for some unfathomable reason – Dumbledore thinks hehas say over where I go for the bloody holidays. Well, fine. Whatever. Asking to go somewhere else won't work. So I just won't ask."

"But you can't go back there! They can't treat you like that! It's criminal!"

"Yeah, I'm aware of that now."

"Professor Dumbledore must just not realize how bad it is. Harry, you've got to just tell them!"

"No."

"But you don't want to go back to the Dursley's right?"

"Correct. And I'm not going to be going back."

Hermione opened her mouth to speak but then stopped, coming up short with a confused look on her face. "Wait... what?"

"I'm not going back. But I'm not asking Dumbledore for permission first, either. In what way is it his business what I do over the summer? Legally, it isn't. If I get permission from the Dursley's to go somewhere else for the summer, that's all that matters because they are my legal guardians. Dumbledore has no say over my life while I'm not in school. So I'm going somewhere else, and I'm not telling him."

"What! But... where? Harry, that's dangerous! You're not thinking of running off with Sirius are you? That's just not safe! You saw how Sirius has to live, Harry –"

"I'm not going to stay with Sirius," Harry broke in.

"But where are you going then? What if someone comes after you! There was that Death Eater attack at the World Cup, and we all know that someone wants you dead, because they orchestrated this whole tournament thing. Harry, it's just not safe to run off without telling Dumbledore where you're going."

"If no one knows where I go, then no one can find me. That's why I'm not telling anyone. And I'm sorry, but that includes you two. If you don't know where I am, no one can force you to tell them. Nice and simple. And by the way, Hermione – if you run off to the headmaster before the end of the school year, and tell him that I'm planning to run off this summer, I swear I will never speak to you, ever again. Do you understand me? You can feel free to go off and tell him that I've been abused and neglected by my relatives and just see for yourself how seriously he takes it, but mention that I'm running off, and we're through. I will never trust you with a secret, ever again. Do you get it?"

Hermione jerked back as if she had just been slapped.

"Harry... I..."

"I want you to understand something here. I'm trusting you with this info. Do you see? You know the whole 'trust is a two way street' bit from a few minutes ago? Well, here I am, trusting you. I've just told you something that no one else knows, and I have no intention of telling anyone else. Ifyou tell someone else, then you're betraying my trust. You've already seriously betrayed my trust once this year Hermione, and in my game, it's two strikes and you're out, not three."

"Harry! Come on, give her a break!" Ron said, speaking up for the first time in ages. Up until this point, he had sat there with a shocked and utterly dumbfounded expression on his face.

"This goes for you too Ron. I don't see you running off to the Headmaster like I see Hermione doing it, but the warning goes for you too."

"Why do you think that I would run off and snitch!" Hermione asked indignantly.

"Because you would convince yourself that you were doing it to help me. To protect me. To keep me from making a mistake or something. You'd convince yourself that you were being a good friend by betraying me, but I will never see it like that. As far as I'm concerned, it's just betrayal."

Ron nodded his head a bit and looked thoughtful. "He's got you there, Hermione. You probably would run off and tell. It's just like the thing with the Firebolt, last year."

"Ron!" Hermione cried out. She looked back and forth between Ron and Harry with hurt in her eyes before she sunk a bit in her seat and looked down into her lap.

"I won't tell anyone," she said weakly. She paused for a moment and then appeared to make up her mind about something. "But I still want to try speaking to Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster about your relatives! I just can not believe that they would know about how they treat you, and still make you go back there!"

Harry rolled his eyes and sighed. "Suit yourself."

Hermione sat there gnawing on her bottom lip with a look of deep concentration for a few minutes before she looked up at Harry with legitimate worry in her eyes. "You really can't tell us where you're going?"

"Nope," Harry said simply as he returned his focus to his book.

"But how do you know it'll be safe?"

"You can never know these things Hermione, but I do know I'll be safer there than I am at the Dursley's."

"But I thought that your relatives house had some super fancy wards or something?" Ron pitched in.

"The blood wards are worthless against everyone except for Voldemort himself," Harry began, and then silently added, and they're probably worthless against him now too, since he's got my blood in his veins... "I think Dumbledore threw up a whole bunch of wards on his own on top of them to keep out Death Eaters, but they only work so long as I'm in the actual house. If I leave the house to go to the park, or just down the street, then I'm out of their so-called 'perfect protection'. So to stay 'safe' I have to, literally, be a prisoner in my own home.

"And while the wards protect me from Death Eaters, they don't protect me from Vernon, or Dudley, or any of Dudder's shitty friends. I've had a lot more bruises and broken bones at the hands of those arses than I've ever had from Death Eaters. Personally? I'll take my chances with the Death Eaters."

Ron looked pale and Hermione seemed shocked to the brink of tears.

"Broken bones!" Hermione gasped. "Are you serious?"

Harry huffed and looked up from his book in annoyance. "Yes, Hermione. Broken bones. My left arm, and my right wrist, to be specific. Ages five and seven. Probably got some fractures over the years too, but they went untreated. Vernon was too cheap to let me see a proper doctor unless there was a bone practically protruding from the skin. I suspect I've got a bit of a magical healing factor because without it I doubt I'd still be alive with all the beatings Dudders and his buddies put me through. In any case, all the more reason for me to stay the bloody hell away from those people. I'm Not Going Back."

"Alright, Harry. I totally agree that you definitely should not ever have to go back to those horrible people, but are you sure that where you're going is really going to be safe?"

"Yes, Hermione. I really am sure. I mean, technically, I've got two different ideas in mind for what I could do this summer, but I'm definitely leaning more towards one than the other, and that option would actually put me behind wards even more powerful than the 'super fancy wards' that Dumbledore put on the Dursley's."

"No way!" Ron gaped.

Harry chuckled. "Yeah, well it's a new residence and the wards are being constructed right now, but it's some seriously high level security. For that matter, I'm not totally sure I'll even be able to receive owls there, because I'm pretty sure that he's adding anti-owl wards in the mix, but I'll make sure to send you guys letters so you know I'm still safe."

Hermione's jaw floundered, helplessly for a few minutes. "I... but... Harry, how did you... I mean... this place that you're going to go to, how did this all come about? How long have you been planning this!"

Harry could see the hurt in her eyes at realizing that he had once again been hiding something that she probably deemed as 'a big deal' from them.

Harry sighed, closed his book, and gave Ron and Hermione a long, hard look.

"Have you ever heard of legilimency?"

"Legililiwhuh?" Ron said. He turned and looked over to Hermione, expectantly but she just shrugged, helplessly.

"Wow, really?" Harry said, looking at Hermione with legitimate surprise. "You've never heard of it, Hermione? Really?"

"No! What is it?"

"It's a mind magic. Really high level magic and very few people can learn it. It lets you read other people's minds. You can sift through their memories and their thoughts, and they'll never even know that you're doing it, unless they know the counter magic called occlumency. The only thing that a legilimense needs to read your every private thought and memory, is eye contact."

"Blimey!" Ron whispered, looking horrified.

Hermione looked disgusted by this new information, but then she looked very thoughtful. "Harry..." she began hesitantly, looking up at him, "why are you telling us this?"

"I've been teaching myself occlumency, so no one can read my mind. Neither of you have that protection in place. If I had told either of you what I'd been up to, then certain people in the school, could have taken that knowledge from your heads without you ever even knowing it."

"Who! Are you saying that there's someone at Hogwarts who can perform legilimency?"

"I know of at least two people in the school who can," Harry said dismissively.

"Who?" Ron and Hermione asked in the same whispered hush.

"Snape and Dumbledore."

Hermione gasped.

"SNAPE!" Ron roared, looking a mixture of horror, anger, and disgust. "Snape can read our minds!" Ron paused, grimacing in thought for a moment before he gasped again. "But Snape's a Death Eater!"

"We don't know that Ron!" Hermione instantly reprimanded. "And it's Professor Snape!"

Harry then sat back and watched as the two of them began to bicker about Snape and what it could mean that he was able to read their minds, and all Harry wanted to do was point out that he hardly gave a damn about Snape, and was far more ticked about Dumbledore doing it.

Now that Harry knew the signs to look for, in retrospect, there were a number of instances where he had been sitting with the headmaster and he was sure the man had used legilimency on him. First year, second year, even third year. If Dumbledore had read his mind, in the instances when he suspected the man did, it would mean that Dumbledore knew about Harry and his friends investigating the stone, and that Dumbledore knew about Harry having found the diary, long before Ginny took it back... hell, Harry had known that the diary belonged to Tom Riddle, and if Dumbledore read his mind when he suspected the man had, he undoubtedly saw that.

It all just led more and more credence to his theories that Dumbledore wanted Harry to keep having run-ins with Voldemort, and Death Eaters, and near-death experiences. The real question, was why?

Harry refocused on Hermione and Ron, just as Ron was getting all red-faced with his own frustrated insistence that Snape was pure evil and couldn't be trusted, against Hermione's arguments that Dumbledore would never let the man teach if he hadn't earned the headmaster's trust. It was an old argument and Harry rolled his eyes.

"But anyway!" Harry said interrupting them. "The point is that if I tell you guys too much, then someone can pluck the knowledge out of your minds, even without you realizing that they've done it. If you two knew how I came across this place I plan to go, you could figure out what the place was. Anyone who knows legilimency could read your minds and pluck the knowledge right out of your heads and you couldn't do a thing about it. When people realize I haven't got back to the Dursley's like I'm supposed to, and they can't find me, you two are sure to be the first ones that they go to. Any clues I give you two are just going to be clues used by other people when they go trying to find me. The best way for me to stay safe is if no one knows where I am. And that means absolutely no one."

"But what if a Death Eater or someone out to get you finds out, and then none of us know where you are and can't come help?"

"You really really don't have to worry about it. I'm not a fool Hermione. You know – Constant Vigilance, and all that? I'm taking Moody's advice to heart. Remember him? Mr. 'You're-not-being-paranoid-if-people-are-really-out-to-get-you'? Trust me when I say that I'm taking loads of precautions."

Hermione heaved a heavy, defeated sigh and nodded hear head. "Alright, Harry. But please be careful! And you have to promise to write to us at least several times a week so we know you're alright."

Harry grimaced a little, realizing that that would be rather annoying, but it was a fairly simple step to secure their cooperation.

"Fine, but I'm probably going to by cycling owls. Hedwig is too obvious and easy to spot."

"Harry... you mentioned a 'he' earlier, so you're staying with someone specific?" Hermione began to ask hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"Well, I mean... how can you be sure you can trust this person? I understand that you can't tell us who it is or anything about him, but what do you know about him? What makes you think you can trust him?"

"I know a lot about him, actually. And I really, honestly do trust him. I trust him with my life. I know he can, and will make sure I'm safe. I'll be okay. Don't worry. I really have got this covered."

Hermione frowned sadly and her shoulders sagged somewhat but she nodded her head.

Harry went back to his reading, but paused as he realized that out of everything he had just said to his friends, it was the last statement he made that had the most truth to it.

He trusted Voldemort with his life. He'd already placed his life in the man's hands several times, in fact.

He trusted the most dangerous and deadly Dark Lord in half a millennium with his life, and he felt safer and more secure in that trust than he ever had in placing his trust in anyone else.

He cracked a smile and chuckled to himself at the insanity of it..

#Harry Potter #Tom Riddle #Dark!Harry #Tomarry #Harry Potter and the descent into Darkness..

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mewpanmika-blog · 5 years

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The Logic Of Exercise

Since you're actually reading this, I'm assuming a few things about you, the reader. First, you're at least somewhat interested in muscle mass, or more specifically, how to increase the amount you carry. In other words, you want bigger muscles. You might not realize this is your goal, however. You might just want to get 'in shape', or lose some fat, or even just look better. You've probably spent some time in the gym. Maybe you've gotten results, maybe you haven't. You could just be interested in knowing more about the hows and whys, or you might be after some new ideas to improve your own training. You could be tired of all the myths that people spread without any kind of proof. Or maybe you've had enough of marketing hype and just want a frank discussion of the facts. Whatever your reasons, on some level, you're concerned with 'bodybuilding'. Allow me to elaborate on that before you freak out and think you've wasted money. By bodybuilding, I don't mean you want to step on stage in your underwear while covered in oil and fake tan. When I use the term 'bodybuilder' in this book, I'm referring to anyone that's concerned with improving his/her appearance with the use of exercise and nutrition strategies. Don't freak out because you're not getting ready to step on stage. The way I'm defining it, the vast majority of people that exercise are 'bodybuilders' even though they have no competitive goals. Most people are just after visible abs, or bigger biceps, or whatever the fad is these days. If you're concerned with getting a bigger squat or a faster sprint, odds are you're not going to pick up much here. I don't want to discourage you, but this book is mainly oriented around getting bigger muscles with the end-goal of making your body look pretty. A lot of the traditional rules and suggestions that given for athletes with an anti-bodybuilding stance aren't going to apply here. I'm narrowing it down even further because there's going to be very little in the way of nutrition info here. I thought long and hard about that (not really), but the conclusion I reached was that, although nutrition is absolutely vital for muscle growth and being pretty – at least as important as anything I discuss here, if not more so – it's just outside the scope of this particular book. To be blunt, it's just not my area of expertise. While I can discuss the topic, I'd simply be rehashing other (superior) sources, and I don't see any need for that. Now muscle, on the other hand – that's where I can break it down and talk shop. In contrast to diet information, I'm not aware of any works out there that are doing what I'm attempting here, which is to really sit down, have an honest look at what people do in the gym, and relate that to the research. In particular, I want to address a lot of the myths that people hang on to and how exercise relates to the results people get. Most books on lifting look at the process from the top down. They start with a conclusion, then work backwards to find data that supports it. I'm doing the exact opposite here, going about things deductively – by examining the situation and using that to reach conclusions. To do that, I'll be diving into a good amount of scientific research. At times it can get a little thick, but I've done my best to keep it as easy a read as possible. Just be aware that when given the choice between oversimplifying and being correct, I'm going to go for correct. The core of this book is actually logical reasoning and critical thinking. You thought you were buying a book about lifting? Well, you did. I'm just approaching this from an entirely new direction.

Chapter 1: The Logic Of Exercise

You see, anybody can write about 'science'. You see it all the time. One of the most common things you'll see in fitness publications is some author grazing over the abstracts of a few papers, jumping to some hasty conclusions, and then claiming that his or her thoughts are based on science. That's not what I'm after here. Anybody can write about strength training, or diet, or bodybuilding. While there is some science involved in many cases, a lot of it is based on anecdote and on guys that are simply working to 'prove' conclusions they've already assumed are true. That's not productive - that's just reinforcing old myths and creating new ones. This isn't just about science, about relaying all those sound-bite factoids and slogans that the fitness industry seems to build itself on. Yes, I'll be quoting research; quite a bit of it. At the core, I want it to be more than that. I want to go over the hows and whys of my reasoning. If you don't understand my thought process, then we won't be on the same page. One thing I find myself saying repeatedly is that having opinions and drawing conclusions is as much about the journey as the destination. What you think is not necessarily more important than how you think. There's something to be said for having a rational thought process and having the tools required to evaluate information. If you aren't able to filter information, then you can come into a situation where even the broken clock is right just by coincidence. Is it really 6:42pm, or did you just happen to glance at the clock at the right time? You may have the right facts, but you have no way to objectively know if you're really correct. This leads to an unfortunate situation; without the ability to separate the ice cream from the manure, you can fall into the trap of assuming that every viewpoint is equal and worth attention. As unpopular an idea as it seems to be these days, some viewpoints are objectively more correct than others. Just because someone believes something or holds an opinion does not mean that viewpoint is right. If there is an overall theme to this book, besides 'get jacked', that would be it. My goal here is not just to give you information. My goal is to make sure you understand why I draw my conclusions. To do that and make sure we're all on the same page, I'm going to raise the bar a little. This isn't just a matter of copying abstracts off of Pubmed and cherry-picking data that supports my pet conclusions. That happens enough already. Instead, we need to look at the tools of critical thinking. Everybody talks about science, but nobody actually looks at the underlying thought process. I'm a firm believer in using logic and basic common sense to cut through the garbage out there. If you can do that, then you've got a leg up on most people.

Why You're Reading This

If you're like the average person in the modern Western world, you don't get a lot of activity. Chances are your job has you sitting down most of the day. You probably don't eat that well. It's very likely that you don't look the way you'd like to look. If you picked this up in the first place, I'd put very high odds on that last statement. Question is, what do you do about it? If you're really honest with yourself, do you even know where to start making changes? You may have an idea about needing to exercise and eat better, but really, where do you start? You don't know, do you?

I'm sure that you've got your own beliefs, shaped by things you've heard over the years. Things you've picked up on the news, things you've heard from buddies that lift, things that you remember from playing sports in high school. But have you ever asked yourself if these things are true? We live in a time where anybody can just make a claim or have an opinion – and it will be taken as authority, regardless of evidence or proof. One of the drawbacks of a media culture is that there's just no critical thinking. There are no standards of evidence. Simply stating something is enough for most people to assume it's true. Maybe you're not the average guy. Maybe you've got some gym-cred. You've spent some time in the trenches. Maybe you've had some results. Trained some clients. Even done a show or two. Certainly you know what you're doing, right? Not so fast. Although it may sound crazy, your results are not a guarantee that you've got the Holy Grail. Don't believe me? Keep reading – I'll make you a believer. Even a lot of experts are too results focused. Meaning, they only focus on their own results, without considering the larger body of evidence. This isn't bad – there's nothing wrong with ironing out a system that works. But that's not what I'm after here, and you need to realize this up front. This book isn't just going to lay out a program and an eight-week plan for you to follow. I'm not going to spout off a personal methodology and then tell you why it's better than what everybody else is doing. I've always been a believer in teaching a man to fish. If you just want 'Matt's Eight Week Bulking Cycle', sorry. You're not going to find it here. This book is going to look at what people do in the gym, what the research says, and then try to make some sense of the two. I'm not here to lay out a workout plan. I'm here to flesh out the core principles of bodybuilding – the rules that define all muscle-building workout routines. The goal is a model of muscle hypertrophy – the process of muscular growth. I want to account for What Works. If you understand the bigger picture, all the other routines tend to crystallize out of it. It sounds like a lofty goal, for sure. And it hasn't been easy. But what you'll get is my best shot at it. I can't promise it's 100% complete, and I can't promise that my reasoning is fool-proof. But with luck, you, the reader, will at least come away looking at things in a different light. At the end of the day, that's all I'm after. Once you start looking at weight training in the right way, a lot of the questions go away. I want you to ask yourself a question, and be honest about it. Why are you exercising? What do you want to get out of it? For better or worse, most people are in the gym to chase some appearance-related goal. I'm not going to sit here and argue over subjective aesthetics. What I like isn't what you like, and it's just that simple. But I do need to clarify what this book is going to discuss. When it comes to appearance, I've found that it always boils down to a few different mindsets. 'I don't want to get too big' Also found in women as 'I just want to tone up a little'. These people are under the impression that if they touch a weight, they'll wake up in a week or two looking like the shredded bodybuilder they saw in the magazine, complete with veins popping out all over the place.

This usually leads to training with a vague goal of 'sculpting' or 'toning up'. For a variety of reasons, this usually ends up with said person getting little to nothing in the way of results. 'I need to add some muscle, but my abs go away' This one is usually limited to younger, usually skinny guys that think they need to keep a visible eight-pack all year long. They're around 150 lbs, and while they realize they need to get bigger, they've convinced themselves that they can't gain weight - because as soon as they eat, their abs vanish. Also applies to the ladies, as they tend to have a chronic fear of any weight gain, loss of definition, or the slightest sign of 'bulking up'. Nothing wrong with being lean, but if you're going around trying to stay small, you're going to limit your results in both size and in strength. GFH GFH guy is a complete 180 from abs guy. He's on a quest to get as big as possible, and to do this he'll eat, and eat, and eat. He's overcome the issues with eating, you see. GFH guy tends to have good results in terms of adding muscle, but the problem is he'll never see it because he carries too much fat. Ladies, you don't seem to have an equivalent, since it's really not marketable to become a tank-ass power ogre if you're a girl. This may be for the best. What does GFH mean? I'll give you three guesses. The Competitor The Competitor may be the best off out of the lot. He (or she) has done some shows, probably looks pretty damn good, and at first glance wouldn't need any kind of help. As you'll see though, just being in that condition isn't a guarantee of being able to apply knowledge. And even the Competitor is looking for an edge. You never know when a new outlook can give you an advantage. All of these groups can (probably) benefit from reading this, because all those approaches have some problems to overcome, and all hold their own sets of myths. Tone-up girl and abs guy are probably the most challenged. They're operating on a lot of assumptions that just don't hold up to scrutiny. GFH guy may have a better insight; additionally, he could be a strength athlete that's just not worried about getting fat. This isn't to be confused with an obese person, mind you. He's got muscle, he just has to get around the problem of holding lots of fat. If you're a would-be bodybuilder, though, you've got some issues to think about. Again, this isn't a diet book, but if you're like GFH guy, you can still benefit from the information. The Competitor might just want a better understanding of the subject and some new ideas to think about. Whatever category you fall into, you'll probably find something to make you think about what you're doing and why you're doing it. As you might have gathered, this isn't just for men. Women will benefit just as much as (arguably more than) men will, simply because women are bombarded with so much, well, pure bullshit.

The bad part is that women are more prone to buy into it because they tend to have a very specific body image in mind, and a lot of social pressure to keep smaller. For reasons beyond the scope of this, women as a group have become convinced that muscle just isn't attractive. At the same time, they're continually being sold on the idea that they can sculpt their bodies in all kinds of crazy ways. Sadly it doesn't work that way. If that's what you feel you need, ladies, I'm not going to try to change your mind. Just be aware that the advice and information is not going to be geared towards you. There's no shaping, sculpting, or toning up – this book is geared towards building muscle and improving body composition, full stop. If you think you need that kind of thing, and manage to convince yourself that I'm full of shit, well, you'll find plenty of people willing to sell you that dream. If the skinny starlet look is your thing, you need to look to the things that will get you there: different parents, starvation, and heavy partying. Now, I will take a look at why these myths came about, and what might be the real culprit behind them, so if you're interested in a new viewpoint to contrast your old outlook, you're in the right place. If you bought this expecting just another Guru book on lifting, I'm very sorry to disappoint you. This isn't going to be just another re-packaged trip through the exact same science with the exact same conclusions, nor is it going to be a showcase for all the neat recycled programs and training methods that I'll claim I came up with in order to feed my ego. I just can't write one of those books and still feel good about myself. If you just want a program, then there's plenty of resources out there, and a lot of them are free. This is written for those of you that are tired of program-hopping, tired of not getting actual results, and tired of getting scammed by marketing hype. Don't worry about the whole logic/critical analysis stuff, either. I'm not going to turn this into a strict treatment of the subject; I just want to get into some basics that will hopefully help you to understand where I'm coming from. From there, we can see what Will Work. As far as that goes, I like to look at it as an umbrella. At best we can draw out broad guidelines, general principles that tell us what tends to be effective on average. The problem we run into is in laying out specifics; once you get underneath the umbrella, it's very hard to say that one approach will work better than another. That's a little secret that most would-be Fitness Experts don't want you to know. In marketing, it's all about creating a brand name for people to associate with. If you're coming out and admitting that your favorite program is just one combination of principles that happens to work - instead of being a magical program of magic - then you're losing that competitive edge in the market. This method of branding is a hallmark of Guru marketing; to set himself apart and 'create value', the expert will claim that his program is better than others. Or he'll use some gimmick to try and be flashy. The reality of it is that there is no legitimate way to say that any effective program is better than any other. By the time you're done with this, you'll understand why.

To see more about bodybuilding and training advice please follow our blog. We offer MK 677 Reviews and Roidtest videos with links to products

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pressography-blog1 · 7 years

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How to Shield Your self From Ransomware

New Post has been published on https://pressography.org/how-to-shield-your-self-from-ransomware/

How to Shield Your self From Ransomware

Meet the new hostage disaster: “Ransomware,” which includes the usage of the malicious software program to hold human beings’ laptop documents for ransom.

Shield Definition

The rip-off has to turn out to be considered one of the cybercriminals’ favorites in recent months. By using the Federal Bureau of Research’s estimate, scammers have grown to become this reliable racket into a multimillion-dollar business with hundreds of compromises in the United states. Ultimate 12 months, the bureau tallied 2,673 victims and $2.9 million in losses, up from 2,453 complaints and $1.6 million in losses in 2015, an FBI spokesperson told Fortune.

NBC stated earlier this yr that ransomware losses have been expected to attain $1 billion in 2016. But an FBI spokesperson clarified with Fortune that this parent not noted to make a difference between “suggested losses” (what victims stated they lost) and “adjusted losses” (what those victims verifiably misplaced), main to a discrepancy in scale. That stated the actual range of sufferers and ransomware losses are possible to be higher than the FBI’s estimates due to the fact the company counts simplest what has been said to it.

The extortionists have reputedly no remorse. They target everyday Net customers, groups, police stations, universities—even hospitals. Any corporation that needs continuous access to its structures and can not come up with the money for to go through community downtime—say, one on which sufferers’ lives depend—are premiere victims.

Generally, the scammers trick human beings into strolling pernicious code on their computer systems that encrypt their contents—a system that is regularly irreversible, except Via way of a special cryptographic key or string of virtual bits. In a change for the key, the thieves demand price, generally in Bitcoin.

Normally, it is a horrible idea to pay up. The investment the crook employer all However guarantees to make the hassle larger, worse, and worse for each person (besides the crooks) in time to come. Plus, there may be no guarantee that sufferers get their information again, nor that the attackers won’t strike again; you may come out a poorer sucker for it.

However, a few groups have calculated—every so often selfishly, other times legitimately—that the quality direction of action is to quickly surrender the ransom and hold quiet about it. some companies have reportedly taken to stockpiling Bitcoins for just such a contingency. A couple of years in the past, the FBI caught flak while one agent stated the catch 22 situation and stated the business enterprise frequently really cautioned groups to pay up once they had no different recourse.

Unfortunately, many victims do supply a ransom. According to the latest file from the security research firm CyberEdge Institution, 61% of the 1, one hundred IT execs it surveyed said their businesses have been compromised By means of ransomware Final 12 months. Of those, a 3rd suggested paying up to get better access to their networks.

A phrase of recommendation: Don’t be like them. Study on for a few pointers on A way to Defend Yourself. Like maximum topics of protection, the crux comes all the way down to cyber hygiene. You have heard the recommendation earlier than: preserve your software program patched and your systems updated. Be wary of phishing scams—Don’t click on suspicious links or electronic mail attachments, as an example.

corporations: educate your employees to workout caution online. Have your data safety crew send benign trick emails to employees to educate them to spot phishing attempts. Or as Stu Sjouwerman, CEO of KnowBe4, a protection consciousness education firm, places it: “rework personnel into a human firewall.”

Many safety specialists also propose the use of software program gear to dam a part of the attacks a good way to inevitably get thru. In its 2016 danger file, Carbon Black, one such issue of so-referred to as endpoint safety, recommends configuring firewalls to disclaim connections to regarded malicious IP addresses, blocking ads on websites, and segmenting computer networks to forestall the spread of infections.

No person man or woman or product is perfect although, so it is great to have a backup plan—actually. One of the best ways to recover from a ransomware assault is to back up your records on a separate hard power, or on a separate computer community. Make sure this backup machine isn’t linked to the frontline network, otherwise you run the threat of that getting encrypted too. (This reporter has heard horror memories of well-intentioned preppers forgetting to abide By that high-quality print.)

Should catastrophe strike, and barring alternatives, close down your system. If ransomware is popping all of your statistics into inaccessible gobbledegook, it is sensible to save you the virtual contagion from spreading to connected machines. Kill the energy; reduce the cord.

Jeremiah Grossman, leader safety strategist at SentinelOne, any other endpoint protection company, advises that human beings Have to regularly take a look at their backups—and not smash encrypted information. In some instances, it’s even possible that researchers have discovered—or will discover—a flaw inside the cryptography, or the necessary key, used inside the data lockdown, and sufferers can use tools later to decrypt their documents.Kidnapping has been a commercial enterprise version when you consider that lengthy before squads of Mogadishu-born marauders took to the seas, before a murderer nabbed the kid of acclaimed aviator Charles Lindbergh, and before a band of Sicilian pirates captured Julius Caeser in 75 BCE, Grossman notes. through use of the cutting-edge technologies, criminals have recently determined a mainly powerful way to scale their shakedowns. Don’t let them win.

Protect Yourself always

At the start of a boxing suit, the referee brings the warring parties to the center of the ring and troubles his commands. earlier than the combat starts of evolved, One of the commands the referee shouts to each of the fighters is “Shield Yourself always!” For the duration of the path of the bout, if a fighter isn’t always shielding himself, and taking too many blows, the referee will step in and prevent the fight, awarding a TKO to the fighter touchdown the blows at the technically out of it opponent. This brings up a very crucial idea while considering self-defense. Need to a person wait until he or she is attacked before thinking about defending? Is self-protection best a sequence of strategies for use if someone bodily attacks you? I Do not suppose so. I Do not view my martial training with such a restricted definition, and that i wish you Do not both. I look at my Hapkido and self-defense schooling as part of my normal approach to Defend myself at all times. In this regard, putting on my seat belt earlier than riding is also “self-defense education” in motion.

In case you educate for self-protection, I want you to consider this as nicely. (I might not cross into the specific motives for schooling right here, consisting of self-protection, sport, exercising and so on, However I am that specialize in those who educate for defending themselves.) I Don’t want you to assume that gaining knowledge of some strategies is all self-protection includes, and which you simplest consider training in the schooling corridor, and use it All through a violent attack. I need you to consider protective Your self always. This consists of knowing the tiers of cognizance that I often talk and write about, working towards safe behavior along with sporting seat belts and locking doorways, being selective in in which you move and who you go together with, reading deescalating techniques such as I educate in my effective verbal exchange classes or taught in publications which includes Verbal Judo.

Self-defense, or defensive Yourself, is not a now and again component, it’s an all of the time element. The extra you learn about safety, the greater you educate, the extra you exercise secure habits, the better prepared you’re, the more likely you might not turn out to be a victim, and that is what self-defense is all approximately. Self-protection isn’t always simply understanding A way to beat someone up. In reality, understanding the physical talents of preventing are simplest a small portion of your usual self-safety approach. So begin searching at self-protection and protecting Yourself In this different light If you are not already. Be secure at all times.

It’s far every and each one our responsibilities to Shield ourselves. Nobody else is necessarily going to do it for you. But, if you have a large other or kids, I do agree with It’s miles your duty to appearance out for them as properly, and also train them to Protect themselves for the ones instances you can’t be with them. At the same time as I am always seeking to Defend myself, I’m even extra committed to shielding my wife and daughter. What suitable is all my education and understanding if I Do not put it to use to Protect those I like? So I wager I Ought to say, Defend Yourself and those you like, at all times.

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