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#especially one who just so happens to wield dark sister and is the sword of the morning wielding dawn ✨😵‍💫

anxiousnerdwritings · 15 days

Note

👀🤔What about the first wielders of Valyrian steel swords? I mean imagine Reader being the first wielder of (for example) Dark Sister? Sure it would be many years ago before Visenya wielding a Dark Sister, but I can’t help but imagine it.

😱🤩*gasp* what if Dream!Reader was the one who wielded Dark Sister? I’m pretty sure many Targaryens would fight for the sword. Yan!platonic!Targaryens who wields/wielded Dark Sister would be smug about it.

What do you think about it? I have many ideas of this concept and I’m willing to share them with you.

If Dark Sister was originally Dream!Reader’s from the beginning then there’s no doubt in my mind that that sword would be even more special than it already was in canon. Everybody would want to wield it for themself but especially House Targaryen. They’re the only ones who deem themselves worthy of possessing it but even then not every Targaryen would be deserving of it in the eyes of other Targaryens. You can bet there would be a lot of backstabbing and stealing from each other in the effort to be the one to have Dream!Reader’s Dark Sister in their hands. At that rate, by the time Dream!Reader pops up back in Westeros their beloved Valyrian sword would be absolutely lost. Or maybe it’s just so well hidden no one actually knows where it is.

This did get me thinking of Dream!Reader having their very own Valyrian weapon in general, I feel like that would make it even more special. Maybe Blackfyre and Dark Sister were originally the Reader’s too but they gifted them to Aegon and Visenya while keeping the third one for themself. I also like to imagine the Valyrian weapon that is specifically Dream!Reader’s isn’t a sword at all, maybe even something more unique. Could you imagine Dream!Reader running around the world of ASOIAF with Valyrian brass knuckles or Valyrian nunchucks??? That would be kind of wild. Or Dream!Reader’s Valyrian weapon is just some random object from our word, like a fucking golf club or something like that.

I also think that as much as quite a few Targaryens would want nothing more than to be the weirder of Dream!Reader’s beloved weapon, Dream!Reader’s weapon (along with a plethora of their other belongings) would end up in a makeshift museum/hall of fame revolving all around Dream!Reader. All of their stuff would stay there until the day Dream!Reader returns. At least until someone steals whatever before the Reader comes back cause you know it’ll happen.

Imagine yandere!House Targaryen’s reactions to thinking that Dream!Reader’s beloved Valyrian weapon was lost with them whenever they’d disappear from the world of Westeros, only to one day see someone from one of the other great houses with Reader’s weapon in their possession. Or any of Dream!Reader’s belongings in general. To say it would be a shitshow is an understatement.

#anxious answers #yandere house targaryen #yandere game of thrones concept #yandere house of the dragon concept #yandere concept

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highladyjane · 5 months

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I don't want another warrior training like we've already had in the former books, but aside from training her Seer abilities, I can also see Elain having some basic and necessary training both for self-defence and to become a spy disguised as an emissary of the NC (because she can definitely be both at the same time). And I definitely see Nuala and Cerridwen + Az, and maybe even her sisters, teaching her a thing or two about how to properly wield a knife outside the kitchen - on her own terms and choice ofc.

Feyre was the bow and arrow, Nesta is the sword, and Elain is definitely the "knife in the dark" (just like Azriel).

I can totally see her carrying a knife/dagger as her weapon of choice under all her beautiful dresses like...

I don't think Elain, nor any other female character (especially in the Maasverse tbh) will lose her "soft femininity" just because she learns how to wield a blade. I think what they choose to do with that blade is what makes the difference.

None of them likes violence itself (except for probably mostly the Illyrians), but they sometimes have to resort to it because they need to. Knowing how to handle a blade doesn't necessarily mean it's for violence or to kill - but to defend, protect and save lives just like she did with Nessian vs Hybern.

She may have some lingering trauma from that incident to process, but I think Elain will see that having a dagger around at times is actually useful and easy enough to hide - and the perfect weapon of spies.

Maybe not even just for self-defence but for random pruning, carving, and slicing things in her garden and kitchen lol... It can be subtle and unexpected, but useful and sharp enough when needed - just like her.

No matter what happens to Truth-teller after HOFAS, I still think daggers and knives will come to play for both Az and Elain.

Maybe he'll even gift her a secret, lovely dagger of her own next Solstice... 😏

So that she can...

... in front of Az so he can momentarily forget the existence of air and have something new to fantasize and be tormented about at night 🤭 Like "Call me a mistake one more time, you jackAz" 😏 loljk

Yes, I'm getting carried away.

I can see so many possibilities and potentials for Elain.

She has repeatedly shown the will of becoming more useful and not like how she herself realised and admitted to being like in the first book (because character development, duh). And since she's starting to "show some claws" I think she'll also want to learn how to really fend for herself and not always have to rely on others, especially not Az (not after that Solstice incident) nor her sisters to always come and save her.

She likes domestic things and is the only one among her sisters who is actually good and useful at it, she's a Cauldron-blessed Seer (and now likely also Koschei's next target), but she also has hinted unexplored potential for something besides all that - the stealth, shadows, and secret-keeping = spywork.

She's the perfect housewife-spy like those in WW2 that SJM herself referred to.

Introverts like Elain are always underestimated observers and always so easily dismissed as boring just because their mouths aren't as open as their minds.

Elain knows how to surprise and I think she definitely will again in her book.

Especially with something sharp at your throat the next time you call her boring and useless.

She's the perfect knife in the dark. A beautiful rose with thorns. A thing of secret, lovely beauty. 🌹🗡✨😌

#Can you tell I just watched this film and still somehow thought of Elriel and then got carried away lol #I also want Elain in more blue dresses to drive Az nutts #elain is NOT useless nor boring #spy elain #pro elain archeron #my elain #hi i wrote this at 1 am #elain archeron #elain archeron coded

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alexanderlightweight · 1 year

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Wednesday prompt with vampire Alec?

Oooh I hope you like this one! I had fun writing it

Magnus waits in the shadows, allowing Alexander to accept a last gift from his family.

His boy drinks greedily from bags and bags of unworthy blood before Fray and Alexander’s sister are using their strength runes to hold him down. And then they ensure that the twice divine blood in blondie’s veins will ensure Alexander is a daylighter and it’s the only reason Magnus is allowing Wayland the privilege of being drunk from.

Especially when Magnus is still waiting to hold his boy and keep him safe and sated and fed.

—

It started months ago, with the sudden betrayal of Dorothea, as she chose her feelings for shadowhunters over her allegiance to him.

Her betrayal is what convinces Magnus of the course he’ll need to take in order to acquire the prize he wants.

Because Magnus knows who he wants the moment he sees him.

And if Dorothea is willing to risk betraying him after the weight of her service and pact with Magnus… well, Magnus isn’t willing to risk the loss of his prize.

It’s easy enough to keep an eyes on events and to track his boy. Magnus knows exactly where Alexander Lightwood is every moment his boy steps past Institute wards and into the arrays Magnus has woven across New York.

Sometimes, in a sulk, Magnus will bemoan not lowering himself to place the magical wards around the Institute. If he had, he might have felt his boy sooner and at the very least, his magic would have already surrounded Alexander.

Now, Magnus has to watch in disgust as Alexander is dragged this way and that.

There’s almost a wedding, but Magnus ensures that several of the forsaken experiments he captured are released at the right time.

Such a pity that the bride died, but Alexander does seem more relieved than mournful.

It only encourages Magnus further, to see the relief in Alexander's eyes when he stares at his fiancés broken and empty body.

So he watches as Alexander is mistreated and bears the price of others actions and is demoted, his rank ignored by a pretentious hunter with half of Alexander’s talent.

Magnus almost acts until the the vampires begin to move and then he waits, because this is exactly the opening he wants.

Somehow, his darling boy gets entangled with protecting Raphael’s little pet and when the inevitable happens and Simon gets in the way, Alexander goes down.

It’s near torture, to feel Alexander’s agony across the the leylines and have to stand back and let it happen.

Magnus follows his boy until the last heartbeat and he means to ensures Alwxander will ingest blood. Except his shadowhunter companions are already forcing vampire blood down his blue, unbreathing lips.

Magnus blinks, shocked and delighted and muffling a dark laugh as he realizes this will be even easier than he thinks.

Magnus could wield the claves soul sword and swear that he had no hand in Alexander’s death. That he played no part in turning his boy into a vampire.

Perhaps Magnus knew it was happening, but he holds no true obligation to Alexander and it would not be expected of him.

Magnus interest alone is enough to be considered a blessing.

Alexander’s once parabatai is clutching his body and howling dramatically, as if all of a sudden remembering he cares of Magnus’ boy will make up for his neglect.

It’s tedious to listen to their mourning and Magnus chuckles darkly when he realizes they’re digging the womb of Alexander’s rebirth on hallowed ground.

—

“Guys I think this is a bad idea.” Simon says nervously.

“So we should just let him die? He died for you, vampire.”

“Yeah and you’re about to turn him into a vampire. You don’t even like vampires.”

“It’s Alec. It’s different.”

Simons groans, tugging at his own hair and pacing. “Yeah but, I wasn’t happy either! I didn’t want this I mean I’m happy now but it took time! Effort, a lot of support I didn’t really get at first and didn’t appreciate when I did!”

“Look, Alec can handle it, okay. And he’s got me and Iz. He’ll get over it. He’s got plenty of time to.”

—

Magnus scoffs quietly and settles in to wait. He sits on a throne of obsidian in the shade of a crypt and watches Alwxander’s grave with a devotion on par with saints.

The others have left for the day, leaving Alexander alone because they don’t know the kind of magic that can be done to an unborn fledgling.

Magnus walks over when the sun peaks and he treads a careful array over the loose gravedirt and then he spills his blood and his seed over it.

Alexander will never be tempted by any blood beyond Magnus’ from the first time he tastes it to his end.

It’s a cruel thing to do perhaps, if it weren’t for the fact that Magnus’ sheer magical reserves mean he can never be drained dry. If anything, the pleasure Magnus will derive from such a bond is enough to have Magnus’ magic purring in anticipation.

Magnus leaves Alexander only after he’s warded his grave to ensure no one else can take advantage of it. It’s but a snap of his fingers to portal to Raphael’s side and Magnus looks over the suddenly cowering group with disdain.

“Out.” He orders and but for Raphael they all flee. “When I agreed to let you handle Camille, as a sign of your loyalty, I expected results. When you delayed again and again, I made excuses for you, to Catarina, to Ragnor even.” And Magnus watches with satisfaction as his barbed words hook deeper than any actual punishment ever would.

“I can still—“

“Enough.” Magnus says quietly and Raphael goes still, not even pretending to breathe. “Your only job is to obey my commands. I will be handling Camille and you will be grateful for my leniency. For now, gather your vampires to reswear their vows to me and know that I will be culling whoever displeases me.”

Raphael hesitates at the door way, “Magnus, I didn’t mean to involve shadowhunters.”

“That, is the only correct thing you’ve done.” Magnus informs him, a dark chuckle leaving his lips. “That you managed to have Alexander cornered in such a way that leaves him easy to claim is why you still experience my generosity.”

Raphael looks terrified as he suddenly realizes the interest Magnus has in the nephilim his actions helped kill.

“Did you plan this? Did you know?”

“I’m an opportunist, Raphael. But remember your place. Don’t you ever insinuate I would ever harm my boy, do you understand? I have been more than patient and fate brought him to me, I’m no villain in his story.”

Magnus is going to rescue his boy from the madness he’s about to be subjected to.

“I’m sorry.” Raphael says, still wavering, the sweet child that he is.

“It was clever of you; not to let him taste and of your blood or to lay a hand on him.” Magnus praises Raphael with a cold smirk; “even my fondness for you would not have been enough to save you. Had you touched him.”

“Did you know that the soul gem of a fledgling vampire’s sire has a great many magical properties?”

Magnus smiles and he knows exactly when Raphael realizes what Camille’s fate will be.

—

Magnus gets back to the graveyard and sits back on his throne; the view unobstructed as he watches the group prepare for Alexander’s rebirth.

“Raphael won’t help us.” The youngest of Raphael’s clan whispers. “Camille is dead and the clans are in a rampage as order changes. The king of the East Coast is demanding new oaths be made. I didn’t even know we had a king!”

There’s a pause and a look of panic between the blonde and Alexander’s sister. They shuffle, fear in their eyes because neither of them want Alexander to come to Magnus’ attention.

Not when Alexander is newly a vampire and his oaths of fealty will need to be resworn.

It’s a pity, but Magnus won’t be letting them try to hide him away. Because Magnus wants Alexander and he’s not about to play a long game or fight the clave.

Magnus has been watching this particular group of shadowhunters since they first began to snoop around Magnus’ territory.

It’s completely their own fault that they left Magnus a scent of blood toward the prey he’s so meticulously lain in wait for.

And soon — after Alexander’s crawled from his grave and been reborn through the dirt— as Magnus watches Alexander rip through bag after bag of blood and then shake as clarity returns to him.

He’s still being held down when it happens. When Alexander comes back to himself and he shakes as he realizes he’s drinking blood.

Magnus bites his own lip and Alexander’s head turns to him from across the graveyard.

There’s a moment of confusion and then he rips himself from the blonde with a shocking amount of control.

The scent of Magnus’ blood after the ritual will magnify Alexander’s interest and it’s enough that he breaks away from blondie.

Alexander doesn’t come to Magnus, not yet but he’s already wavering even as he’s come to his senses.

“Jace, I didn’t want this.”

“It was my fault.” The blond admits, voice rough and hoarse. “I asked you to watch Simon, for Clary. I couldn’t handle it being why you died, Alec! Simon adapted, you can too!”

“Simon was a mundane!” Alexander yells, “you’ve taken everything from me!”

“we saved your life.”

As a newly turned downworlder, Alexander’s bonds of allegiance are aching, yearning to be connected and accepted. Magnus croons a dark lullaby as he cuts open his hand and lets it drip.

Alexander can smell it first.

It’s as if the sudden rush of Magnus’ blood trying to escape his veins is a siren song. He turns, a wild, ravenous gleam to his red eyes.

He’s a beautiful picture and Magnus can’t wait to have him painted, hungry and panting for Magnus’ blood.

“Come here darling,” Magnus calls out, low enough that without their runes active, the shadowhunters wont hear him.

Raphael’s little pet whimpers, the weight of Magnus’ power pressing down on him, forcing him to ignore Magnus.

Alexander lights up, his eyes glowing and his fangs poking out to pierce his bottom lip

“Oh darling, I have you now.” Magnus croons and he lets more blood fall. His magic will destroy all traces of himself as Alexander follows.

Alexander is like one of his arrows, a straight shot to Magnus and when he arrives, his arms come up around Magnus in a too-tight embrace.

Magnus laughs, tilting his head and offering his neck. Alexander bites deeply and groans as Magnus’ blood fills his mouth. The venom sinks into Magnus' veins like a feral ice storm and Magnus groans, delighted by how much Alexander needs him.

The divine blood of a fallen and defiled angel runs in Magnus’ veins and after this, Alexander will never crave the taste of another’s blood.

Magnus portals them both away, holding Alexander ever closer as pleasure courses through both of them.

Alexander is new fledgling with no sire and no clan that will take him — Magnus has made sure of it — he’ll greedily latch on to the bonds offered by his new king.

And Magnus will hungrily accept.

#shadowhunters #magnus bane #alec lightwood #malec #immortal husbands #lumines writes #writing wednesday #writing wednesdays

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acourtofthought · 7 months

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And as a side note, my own theory is that you want to connect Lucien to Gwydion because you realise how important Truth-Teller and Gwydion/Starsword (and the prophecy) will be in future ACOTAR books, including Elain’s.

Especially knowing that the weapons likely tie into the Dusk Court, which Elain herself is connected to. There are three sister peaks in Prythian: UTM, which Feyre conquered, Ramiel, which Nesta conquered, and the Prison Island mountain… left for Elain. As I’m sure you know, the Prison Island mountain is the Dusk Court.

Then let’s recall how SJM described the scene where Azriel gives Elain Truth-Teller:

“Elain looked up at Azriel, their eyes meeting, his hand still lingering on the hilt of the blade. I saw the painting in my mind: the lovely fawn, blooming spring vibrant behind her. Standing before Death, shadows and terrors lurking over his shoulder. Light and dark, the space between their bodies a blend of the two. The only bridge of connection … that knife.”

Light and dark… is dusk.

Elain and Azriel are the two characters most connected to the Dusk Court (aside from Bryce)… not Gwyn or Lucien.

Sure, that could change, but with CC3 dropping soon… I doubt it 🤭

And here it is, if it's not a Bryce and Az shipper it's an Elriel.

You realize what SJM is saying with that scene right?

Elain is Spring and blooming LIFE, Az is Death and the ONLY thing connecting them is that knife in that moment, which she then gave back and didn't look back. They have nothing in common, that is what the author is telling us. Why would Elain have ANYTHING to do with a sword when SJM made it clear she doesn't like weapons and cruelty bothers her? YOU are rewriting her character completely and that's so extremely strange to me. I'm guessing you only like Elain if she becomes the K-Mart version of her already warrior sisters and Nesta's already warrior friends. There's a reason neither Nesta or Elain showed interest in learning to fight in ACOWAR yet only one sister agreed to wear the leathers and took a weapon without convincing. That my friend, was a clue. Did you read TOG? Did you take note how Yrene was able to remain a healer without becoming a sword wielding warrior?

It's extremely funny how in your last post you went hard-core on me taking the sword away from Bryce for Lucien while you're fine with it if it ends up with Elain and Az 🤔

Your version of Elain in Dusk with a sword / dagger to be Az's match is proof she doesn't match Az as she is, she'd have to sacrifice parts of herself. You're turning her into the one who is already hinted at being his mate.

Words, what are you doing in my mouth?! (ahhh, you put them there).

Gwydion is not hugely important aside from what it represents to the fae and their history, I'm not sure why you're assuming I think it's the key to the future of the series. Truth be told, I rarely think much about Gwydion because it's one sword out of many and SJM never makes a single weapon the savior of all (most of my theories were about Az giving TT to Bryce though I'm not sure I see that happening anymore).

To me, Gwydion is still just a sword just as Ataraxia is still just a sword.

Nesta is not powerful because of the sword she has just like Bryce is not powerful whether or not she keeps Gwydion just like the one who gets Gwydion isn't going to be the most special of all.

Sure these are Made weapons and yes they will be important in battle, just like if they call Narben from the sea but do they really and truly need them when they all have magic and can just destroy people with blasts of magic? When they have the mask and the crown?

Lucien doesn't necessarily need Gwydion to be powerful, he commanded Cassian with a single word (just like Az doesn't need TT and TT alone to save anyone). Not to mention Lucien already has a pretty fancy collection of weapons (remember the jeweled one? I wonder where he got it... hmmmm, maybe family heirlooms? Ones not stolen by a certain queen and general?)

These weapons are simply relics of their history and while they are meaningful because they were weapons that are what their ancestors used long ago, I doubt SJM will write it so her heros and heroines are worthless without them. That only the people with made swords are the important ones. SJM typically gives even the unlikeliest of her characters big roles in the war (Yrene anyone?).

Fionn didn't win the war single handedly with Gwydion. Also, Ataraxia is made as Gwydion was made. So based on your logic that Gwydion is the key to everything...... Why? Gwydion is almost redundant at this point. It's not really about it being one of its kind anymore so much as what it represented to the fae in Prythian millennia ago.

The big difference is that Gwydion does not have the dark history of Narben or even the fact that Ataraxia was made with Nesta's death powers, it's a saviors light and I'm sorry but if you think that means Az deserves it or your dark version of Elain deserves it ..... 😬

Gwydion, "savior's light", and fun fact, Lucien's name means "light" and SJM has made it a point to reference Lucien's "goodness" on a few occasions.

Az not caring whether he kills an ally doesn't really strike me as someone who would be granted a sword dubbed "savior's light".

That's once again assigning characteristics to characters who don't fit the profile.

I'm sure all these made weapons will eventually be used in battle, that Narben will also make a reappearance but I think you're putting way too much on Gwydion being the most important thing ever.

Just like Captain America's shield isn't the main thing that makes him him, it just completes the imagery.

Just like Thors hammer wasn't the source of his power but a way to channel it which he learned how to do without it.

I wasn't desperate to connect Lucien to Gwydion because I strongly feel Lucien is going to be High King during the war with or without it, I've always thought that.

I don't think Lucien is going to rule over all the courts, simply unite them during war.

This all came about a few days ago when I was chatting with a friend and had a random thought which is what spun my wheels:

I was messing around and joking with someone and I turned it into a "crazy theory" which I admitted.

And Lucien is actually more connected to dusk than Elain considering Helions connection to the Mask, and the fact that he owns the Pegasus which are originally from the Dusk Court. Helion is his father so.....

Considering Elain's scent is a promise of Spring and Spring had been MADE for someone like her, I'd say you are the one trying to fit the square peg into the round hole with Elain now being connected to the Dusk Court in any way that means she belongs there.

And the Dusk Court is THE PRISON. WHY OH WHY are people convinced there's going to be homes and a city suddenly built up on this land in the very next book?! Something like that would take time. 😂. And Az can't even talk to people outside the IC, he would honestly be the worst ruler ever and that's no shade to Az, he's got his strengths. But let's be for real. He likes his space and his shadows and he doesn't play well with others.

P.s. To your other post, I'm not sure why you keep choosing to ignore that Fionn is known for his heroic deeds. Again, any connection to leading the wild hunt in his lore (where he wasn't even the bad guy) is not something that makes him a monster in acotar just like Rhys isn't actually Hades kidnapping a bride of spring. SJM is using the imagery and loose ideas, not everything is a perfect match. You have to know that by now instead of acting like all pieces line up as a perfect match.

"Mythological HEROS"

Heros are the good guys, just in case you're confused

In Blodeuwedd, the guy that would be Az's character ends up murdered for what he did wrong to Lleu (Lucien). Does that make Az the bad guy in ACOTAR?

And once again:

“I rode in the Wild Hunt before you were even a scrap of existence, witch from Oorid. I summoned the hounds and the world cowered at their baying. I galloped at the head of the Hunt, and Fae and beast bowed before us.”

Lanthys told us he rode at the head of the Hunt and Fae bowed before him

You have a nice day now! Really looking forward to seeing your reaction after CC3 and the next ACOTAR book 😁

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misteria247 · 1 year

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Ok so

The au is called "ghost Katans"

It might have toddler leo, but the backstory behind it is a bit sad

Basically

Toddler leo dies in a krang accident leaving his grieving father and brothers

They grow up and go to the surface

Same shit happens onky this time its minus leo yknow

Karai shows up

Mikey believes in her instead of leo in this

They manage to show her the truth that she's theur sister and splinter is her father

Once they return to the lair and they have their reunion splinter gives karai two twin katanas, twin katanas that were meant for somebody else

He gives it to her saying that it's a hamato heirloom and it'll be better to wield it than the foot's weapons, and he'll train her with them if needed (it's not like someone will use them anyways)

Karai accepts tge gift, not knowing that it wasn't meant fir her, and tge bros and splinter never bother to twll her about the fourth dead brother

So her wielding the katanas awakened a little ghost of a toddler little turtle tot

Now there's a little tot tgar follows her around, asking about what she's doing with his weapons

And she's just confused and scared bcus wtf wtf, shoukd i tell someone?

She tried to talk to raph about the possibility of the existence of another turtle and he just exploded on her in a fit of grief, so she just went "okay, sensitive topic i see" and decuded to not bring up leo to anyone else fearing the same reaction

Onky those who wield the twin Katans have the ability to see, hear, and interact with Leonardo as he is attached to the things

So he mostky follows karai around because she's the only one that acknowledge his existence (that doesn't ease up the hurt and confusion on why his brothers and father keep on ignoring him, but it helps)

So yeah

Turns out karai is an older sister of four turtles and not three, she'll grow accustomed to the tot, she'll live

O.m.g.

DUDE-!!!! I LOVE IT-!!!!!

Like the premise??? Holy hell dude, it'd be like Karai inheriting a ghost artifact only the ghost is this mischievous, sweet toddler who pesters her and she grows to enjoy his company. They start an unlikely friendship/sibling bond and Karai starts to want to figure out why Leo's attached to her swords as well as his cause of death cuz she hates being left in the dark about things. Especially secrets as big as her having four brothers instead of three. There's so much to explore with this concept and ohmigosh the angst!!!! Leo's hurt over his brothers and father not responding to him, as he desperately tries to reach out to them even though he can't. And he's only a child which just makes it hurt even more. And Karai's pain at having something as big as the death of her little toddler brother, as well as the rage she'd feel once she discovers that Kraang are the ones responsible for his death! And Splinter's grief and guilt that haunts him still fifteen years later. And Raph, Donnie and Mikey's grief and despair, the constant feeling that something's missing. That no matter how long time passes there'll always be someone missing amongst themselves and it's soul crushing.

Just dude-!!!

I'm in love with this you're a big galaxy brain my friend omg, omg, omfg-

If you come up with more of this au I'm begging you please tag me in it I'm like in love with this dude you have no idea!!!!

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panda-noosh · 3 years

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the normal one {Leo Valdez x Reader}

Words: 14k

Summary: Your sister is the demigod. You’re just the unlucky one who got dragged into her mess.

Genre: angst??

Notes: support my writing or ask me about commissions! - omg happy first day of nano y’all.

---

You never knew your sister was a demigod.

Of course you didn't; it's not the kind of thought that crosses the mind of a logical individual, though it seems obvious now that you're being greeted with the proof.

Emma has never been particularly normal. She's three years older than you, and yet she carries herself like she's been through years upon years of unforgiven trauma, glaring at anyone who dares even speak to her. You used to just describe her as grumpy, not-a-morning-person, just leave her alone and you'll be fine.

Now, you're beginning to think it might not be as simple as all that.

Your day starts off pretty normal; you wake up, greeted by the sunlight streaming through the curtains you once again forgot to close over the previous night. You look down, not surprised to see you're still dressed in a pair of jogging bottoms and a loose white shirt instead of the pyjamas your sister has been trying so desperately to make you wear at night. You got ready, brushing the knots from your hair before marching downstairs.

Your mum is in the kitchen, whistling to herself, frail hands forever trembling around the pot of boiling oatmeal; you and your mum don't really talk that much. She favours Emma over you, and she's never found much point in wasting breath on the child she doesn't necessarily like. She'll smile, feed you, let you have a roof over your head, but neither of you pretend like your relationship with each other is permanent. One day you're going to move out, and your mum is never going to contact you, never going to step foot in your house, never going to give you a house-warming gift.

You're fine with that.

Emma is sat at the kitchen table, her head in her hands. It's not even that weird of a sight, considering you've always known Emma to be into the dramatics. You sit across from her, folding your arms over the table before whispering, rather loudly, "Rough night?"

Her head jerks up, revealing her wild, bloodshot eyes. "What?"

You laugh, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl in the centre of the table. "You look like shit, Em. Where have you been all night?"

Her jaw twitches, and she doesn't respond, which is a pretty normal reply for her, especially at this time of day.

"Whatever," you mumble. "Can I borrow that fancy deodorant you bought back from that summer camp you go to?" Emma nods. You grin, banishing the conversation all together as you stand and skip upstairs.

So, yeah. The day was starting off pretty normal. Not a single worry in sight. You would go to school, mope around classes for a few hours, come home and stress eat over a pile of unfinished homework that was probably due multiple days ago.

Instead, you have to deal with the boulders being thrown through Emma's bedroom window.

The first one hits just as your grabbing Emma's fancy deodorant from her bottom drawer. There is no warning, no low whoosh sound that would give you a chance to step away and make a run for it - no. Instead, it goes straight to the shattered glass and bloodied arms. Instead, it goes straight to the boulder smashing against your hand, crushing your fingers against the wall.

You are stuck, legs crumbling beneath you. You should be slipping to the floor right now, probably unconscious, maybe dead, but your hand, trapped between the biggest rock known to man and the wall, keeps you upright. Blood leaks from gashes forming on your fingers, dribbling down your wrist, your arm, dripping onto your knees. You stare at the scene in shock for a moment, unable to register what on earth has actually just happened.

And then Emma is screaming your name, thundering up the stairs, and you're crying out, trying to form words but they get lodged in your throat, replaced by the overwhelming pain and realisation that you're going to die, you're going to fucking die on your sisters bedroom floor because there is so much blood, and there is no way in hell you won't be drained before the end of this day, probably within the next ten minutes, probably within-

The door opens. Emma barrels inside, wielding a golden sword that honestly just makes you think of course she has a golden sword.

"You son of a bitch!" she cries out, darting to her bedroom window. She stands upon the sill and waves her arms at the sky. "You got the wrong L/N, you idiot! Get back here and finish me off if you're so tough!"

"Emma," you croak, tears flooding down your cheeks. "Little help here."

"It's the giants." She leaps off the window sill and swivels round, darting to your side. Something has changed in her, something you've never seen before; she seems stronger, her eyes a little brighter yet still eerily dark at the same time.

She crouches beside you and begins manoeuvring your trapped hand back and forth. You hiss, throwing your head back as blood spurts down your arm, staining your shirt. Emma grits her teeth, keeping her eyes peeled on her work. "They've found me," she continues muttering. "We need to get out of here - all of us. You, me, Mum. They know where the house is. How did they find out where the bloody house is?"

"Can you shut the fuck up talking crazy for one second?"

Emma pays you no mind, taking a tiny knife from her back pocket and wriggling it between the wall and the boulder. "I'll have to get in touch with Chiron, tell him I'm bringing a few mortals with me to camp this summer."

You grunt. "I'm not going to some hippy-Christian summer camp with you."

"It's not a hippy-Christian summer camp." Emma swats your head, forcing you to look away from the blood dribbling down your arm. "It's a place that will keep you safe, alright? So don't argue."

"Don't tell me what to - AH!" The boulder falls, crashing to the floor. Tables rattle, things tumble off shelves, and your hand is freed. You pull it to your chest, but Emma doesn't let it go unaided for long - she grabs your wrist and tugs it back, examining the damage; your nerves have clearly been ripped, fingers cold from lack of feeling. Gashes have been made into the back of your hand, fingers torn to shreds.

She shakes her head. "I'll get Will to have a look at this."

"No, you idiot, you'll call 999 before-"

"We have to go now. That giant will be back soon enough, especially once he realises I'm taking you guys with me." Emma doesn't even give you a chance to respond before she's grabbing your good hand and dragging you from her bedroom. You hiss in pain, stumbling behind her, but there's really no point in arguing. When Emma has her mind set on something, she goes for it no matter what objections people put in place. Mum always said she gets that from her dad, but you've never met the man, so you wouldn't know.

Speaking of your dear old mother, the woman doesn't even give you a second glance when Emma drags you into the living room and shoves you onto the sofa next to her; she's frozen in fear, fingers pulled to her lips as she bites on the nails, a habit she's had for as long as you can remember.

She shakes her head, dazed. "He's coming back to me. He's sending signs."

Emma groans. Looking over, you see her with a phone pressed to her ear, big and bulky with an oversized antennae peeking from the top of it. "Mum, that wasn't Dad sending signs. That was a giant trying to kill me."

You blink, certain your blood loss is contributing to this wild conversation somehow. "A giant? Your dad?"

Emma raises a finger, telling you to be quiet. Mum whimpers at the movement and goes back to chewing her nails, gazing steadily out the window. She looks terrified, but her knee is bouncing in that way it always does when she's excited. You've given up trying to understand her. In fact, you've given up trying to understand your entire family.

So you just sit there, trying to fight off the black spots dotting your vision and the blood dribbling through your fingers; you don't know why Emma hasn't called 999 yet, considering you're basically on the verge of unconsciousness, but your throat is too dry to ask. Instead you listen as she says, "Leo! Where are you? Are you close?" and then she sighs in relief, and within three minutes, there's a knock on the door and she's barrelling out of the living room to grab it.

You look up, dazed, when she returns with a small curly haired boy in tow. He's a bit scruffy, you have to admit, but in a cute way, like a bunny with a bit of dirt on its nose.

"Not really the time for guests, is it, Em?" you grumble, before falling face first into the floor.

---

You wake up, and immediately wish you hadn't.

Emma always messes things up - always.

Her life has to be so damn dramatic all the damn time, and you're getting pretty damn sick of being dragged into it. All you want to do is sit in bed with a nice blanket and a cup of tea, maybe practice a bit of witchcraft, maybe sink into the dirt and become one with nature.

You don't want to be hunted down by rabid, murderous giants, that's for sure.

You also don't want to be trapped in a hospital bed at some hippy-Christian camp you don't even know the name of. But that's exactly what has happened.

When you open your eyes, you're greeted by the sight of white, cloth walls and multiple eager faces gazing down at you. Most of them have blonde hair and the brightest eyes you have ever seen, and then there's that curly haired boy, and Emma herself, and there's a guy who is half horse-

"Oh god, this is death. I've died."

"She's awake!" the curly haired boy - Leo, you remember - cries, throwing his hands in the air. "Good job, Apollo kids! Another point for you!"

"Shut up, Leo." One of the many blonde haired kids steps forward and places the back of his hand against your forehead; in any other situation, you might have pulled away and told him to step back, but the feel of his skin against your own is surprisingly soothing. It's almost against your will when you melt into it, eyes gliding shut. Your hit with images of you and Emma as children, running through fields, her punching that guy in the nose because he called you short that one time, and-

He snatches his hand back, startling you back to reality. "The fevers definitely going down," he says, turning to Emma.

"Uh, excuse me," you chirp, raising a timid hand. "She's not my legal guardian, I'll have you know." You glance at Emma. "Where is my legal guardian, by the way?"

Emma rolls her eyes, and that's answer enough.

"Ah. Frollicking in the leaves again?"

Emma hums. "I left her to it; we have bigger things to worry about than her love life."

"That's a bit morbid, Emma," says Leo. "Love is a magnificent thing."

"So is me not dying," you say, before turning back to the blonde haired boy. "Can I leave?"

The boy blinks, staring at you like you have two heads. It almost makes you uncomfortable, but his eyes are so pretty, and the way his palm felt against your forehead-

Leo shoves to the front. "Will here is gay, Y/N. Stop staring."

You look away, flustered. "I wasn't even staring."

"Yeah, you were. I see that look of lust on people all the time - I get it a lot, to tell you the truth."

You look at his curls, the oil on his tattered overalls, the dirt smothering both his cheeks, nose and hands.

"I'm sure you do, big guy. I'm sure you do."

Will sighs, shoving Leo out the way again. "I'm gonna do a final check up before I let you leave; I can't give mortals any nectar or ambrosia, so the healing process might take-"

Awkwardly, Emma coughs. The entire tent goes silent, turning to her with raised brows and narrowed eyes, but all you can focus on is Will's strange choice of vocabulary. Nectar. Ambrosia. Those don't sound like common prescription pain meds.

"Emma..." Will drawls. "What have you-"

"I'll talk to them," Emma mumbles. "Can you guys just give us a minute?"

You grab Will's hand. "Please don't leave me alone with her."

Will gives you a timid smile, squeezing your hand gently before he, Leo and all the other blonde haired strangers exit the tent, leaving just you and Emma to your own devices.

And honestly, Emma's your best friend. She means the world to you. She's the one person in that god forsaken house that actually pays you any attention, and it doesn't even matter that she's the favourite, that Mum basically licks the ground she walks on for a reason you have yet to pinpoint. You love Emma with all your heart, but right now, you would rather be anywhere but in her presence.

You pull the quilt up to your chin and say, "I'm very confused."

Emma pulls a stool over and takes a seat. "I know. I should have explained. I need to explain."

"Yes, you do."

She hollows out her cheeks, which only makes your fear spike - you've never seen Emma act like this. She's usually so brave, bold, confident. She doesn't do a single thing without planning it out perfectly beforehand, and yet here she is, looking completely stumped. You almost feel bad for her until you remember the way she completely ignored your pleas for her to call 999 when you were fairly certain you were bleeding out.

"Well?" you push. "Go on, Em. I'm listening."

Emma sighs, scrubbing a hand down her face. "Do you have any idea where we are right now?"

"Absolutely none. There was a guy with a horse body-"

"That's Chiron. He's a centaur."

You blink. "Okay."

"This place is called Camp Half-Blood; it's where I go to every summer."

"Well, I assumed."

"It's a camp for Half-Bloods. Demigods. People who are half-god, like. . . like me. Like Leo, and Will, and probably loads of other kids, too."

It's starting to get jumbled now, a string of words that don't form to make a coherent, sensible sentence.

You don't even respond, simply staring at Emma until she is forced to continue.

"It sounds insane, I know, but I'm not lying. I'm a demigod, Y/N, daughter of Ares."

It goes silent, because of course it does. What are you even meant to say to that? The logical part of you says to just call her out on her lies, ask her where the hell you actually are and where Mum is and why she brought you here in the first place. But the other half recognises that Emma being the daughter of a war god kind of makes perfect sense.

In your conflicted state of disbelief, you say neither of those things. Instead, you look at Emma and say, "Mum hooked up with a god?"

Emma breathes a laugh, closing her eyes. "Yes, little one, she did."

"And she couldn't have done the same thing when she was conceiving me?"

Emma winces. "I don't want to talk about Mum conceiving either of us, thank you very much."

You shake your head. "So that's why she's always hated me."

"Mum doesn't hate you-"

"I'm the repair kid. I'm the one who-"

Leo pops his head in the door. "Did someone say repair kid?"

Emma looks up, giving Leo a tired little wave. "You can come back in now. Y/N's all caught up."

"Oh, happy days!" Leo marches in and reaches for your good hand, giving it a vigorous shake. "Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus. Nice to properly meet you."

"Y/N L/N, child of - uh - that guy from McDonalds.

Emma stands up quickly, grabbing Leo's shoulders as his eyes narrow. "Alright! Now that we've got the niceties out of the way, I think it's time we let Will back in here so he can do his final check up. Sound good?"

"Sounds fantastic," you mumble, sinking down into the pillows. "Bring the nice looking blonde boy to me now, please."

----

Camp Half-Blood kind of looks like a dream scape. But a really bad one.

A nightmare-scape.

There's sword fighting, and teeny tiny girls in green dresses that get wildly offended when you call them Tinkerbell. There's people riding around on winged horses like it's no big deal, and you're almost certain it was raining when you left the house earlier, so why is it sunny and warm right now?

Leo is the one who greets you when you're finally allowed to step out of the tent - the infirmary, apparently, run by the kids of Apollo. All of them were really nice. They all had really nice hands.

"You're looking fresh," Leo says, tucking his hands in his pockets as the two of you stroll across camp together. "Will and his siblings really know what they're doing, huh? I had my doubts, with you being a mortal and all. I don't know how often they work on people like you."

You shrug. "It was just a bit of nerve damage in my hand."

"You passed out."

"I blanked. It happens to the best of us."

Leo's lips twitch. It shows you just the briefest hint of dimples, and you hate that it immediately turns your tough-guy demeanour to mush. It seems like you have a soft spot for demigods. You look away quickly, tucking your hands - bandage and all - into your pockets. It's this movement that seems to tilt Leo's attention to the clothes you're wearing, all of which are smothered in your own blood.

Pleasant.

He grimaces, stopping dead in his tracks. You would continue walking, being an independent mortal and all that, but you don't know your way around this place, and you'd rather not accidentally walk into a fighting arena. So, you stop and look back at him. "What's wrong?"

"You need a change of clothes, my friend."

You blink. "No, I don't think-"

"They might be a bit big on you, but I have the perfect pair of overalls you could borrow. Come on. To Bunker 9 we go."

He starts walking away before you even have a chance to protest. It really puts the fear of god - gods? - in you, because at that very moment, a winged horse slams into the floor at your side. You squeal, immediately sprinting after him, and the bastard doesn't even turn back to look at what has just startled you. He merely grins, cocky and annoying, and says, "Yeah, stick with me and that won't happen."

You grunt, knowing he's right.

The two of you arrive at Bunker 9 in no time. It's like an old bomb shelter, with tin walls and a door that looks like it's about to fall off it's hinges. You make a joke about why Leo can't just fix the hinges, considering he's a machine expert and all that, and Leo rolls his eyes and says, "I'm busy enough as it is."

The room lights up without a switch needing to be flipped, which you think is pretty cool.

"My school used to have lights like that," you point out, gazing up at the ceiling. "They were motion censored."

"Mm. They're handy little things until you haven't moved in fifteen minutes and they switch off whilst you're still standing there. The amount of times I've nearly put a screw through my finger." He shakes his head, tossing aside discarded tools in his search for the overalls he promised you. "Mental."

You pluck at a random copper wire hanging out of a drawer. "So, is this like. . . your dorm room?"

"Hm?" Leo looks at you. "Oh, no. I don't sleep in here - I sleep in the Hephaestus cabin. I'm the head counsellor, so I have to keep an eye on things, you know."

You raise a brow. "Is your bed more comfy in the Hephaestus cabin?"

"That, too." He blushes, lowering his eyes back to his search. "But honestly, my job is pretty important. I've got to keep that place running, keep all my siblings in check."

"I'm not being funny, if Emma tried telling me what to do, I would tell her to piss off."

Leo scoffs. "Yeah, I got that vibe off you."

"So how do you do it?"

Leo pauses, glancing over his shoulder."How do I do what?"

You push yourself up onto the counter, ignoring the saw dust that now litters your hands and the back of your already ruined jeans. "How do you get them to listen to you? You don't look to be much older than I am - surely you have older siblings in that cabin of yours. It can't be easy getting them to fall into line, too."

Slowly, Leo turns. He leans against the chest of drawers he has been digging through, regarding you with a single raised brow. His gaze is hard, but you keep the eye contact, smiling just the tiniest bit.

He doesn't respond with words. Instead, he stretches his hand out, palm towards the ceiling, and uncurls his fingers, revealing a bright orange flame dancing in the centre. It doesn't make you jump as it probably should have; instead, you are mesmerised, caught in the slick movements of the tiny ball of fire.

You slowly reach out. Leo slams his hand closed and pulls back. "You can't touch it."

"I wasn't going to."

"You were fully going to touch it."

You scowl, folding your arms over your chest. "What was the point in showing me that?"

He turns on his heel, going back to digging through the chest of drawers. "That's why I'm head counsellor - no other child of Hephaestus can do that." He glances at you. "You don't think it's weird?"

"Well, yeah - very weird." You shrug. "But who am I to judge? I can do this thing where I dislocate my shoulder, and that's pretty weird, too."

Leo blinks, mouth opening like you've caught him off guard. He swipes his tongue along his lower lip before he turns away and mumbles, "Yeah. That is pretty weird."

Bunker 9 is doused in silence after that. Leo rummages through his drawers as you inspect every nook and cranny of the place, running your fingers along the tin walls, picking up tools you have never seen before; you can feel Leo watching you from the corner of his eye, probably making sure you're not stealing anything. Honestly, the golden screwdriver set is pretty tempting, but you wouldn't want to risk getting on a demigod's bad side.

Finally, after what feels like far too long, Leo pops his head up, grinning broadly with a set of overalls in his hands. "Found them!" He tosses them at you with no warning; you just barely manage to catch them. "They got shrunk in the wash, so I was gonna rip them up for hand towels in here, but I'm sure they'll be more useful for you."

You pull them into your chest. "They smell like oil."

Leo spreads his oil stained hands. "Yeah, well, that's how life is, love. I'll let you get changed - I promise I won't peak!"

Laughing, he leaves Bunker 9; his footsteps stop there, though, and there's a glimmer of relief when you realise he isn't just walking away and leaving you to your own devices.

You get changed quickly, bundling your blood stained clothes into a ball and shoving them beneath your arm - you don't know where you can possibly wash them, but you refuse to leave this camp in Leo's old overalls. First of all, they're much too big on you, pooling over your feet despite Leo's own small stature. The striped shirt he gave you to put underneath it has oil spots embedded in it, too, which just makes you look like even more of a slump. Nonetheless, you throw open the door to Bunker 9 with your arms outstretched and call out, "How do I look?"

Leo peaks his head around and freezes.

You drop your arms, rolling your eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. This isn't a romance movie."

His nose erupts into flames. He yelps, swatting the fire away before he awkwardly coughs and says, "Good. You look good."

You grin. "Thank you. Do you have any idea where I can put these?" You offer up your pile of clothes. Leo takes them from your hands and tosses them over your shoulder, back into Bunker 9. You frown. "Do you have a washing machine in there?"

"It won't take me long to rig one up. I'll have them washed before you leave, don't worry." He offers his arm, grinning yet again. "Now, how about we go up to the dining pavilion and get some food? I'm starving!"

----

Leo did not know one of his best friends was related to such an attractive individual.

It wasn't really that big of a shock when he walked in and saw you sitting there in the living room, looking dazed and out of it with blood dribbling from some pretty severe cuts in your hand. Emma had rang him and filled him on all the details, so there was no surprise at the scene. And plus, Emma's not exactly ugly. She has that rough look to her, sure, but Leo would probably date her if she asked him. Again, it wasn't much of a surprise when he walked in and saw you there, all pretty with the innocence only a mortal could have.

But then he got a glimpse of your personality.

No. Scratch that. He got an entire bucketload of your personality, and he was still craving more by the end of it.

He tried his hardest to fight off these feelings, because he's felt them before - with almost every person he finds attractive, in fact. He gets it lodged in his head that he can impress them, that this is the one and he can make it work if he just tries hard enough. It's kind of hard not to think that way - hopeful, desperate, almost - when all his friends are hooking up and getting boyfriends and girlfriends, generally just having the time of their damn lives. And Leo is just. . . making machines.

But then the two of you went and had dinner together, and he found himself asking if you wanted to go for a walk along the lake before you would have to go to bed. You had agreed, and the conversation had continued, and Leo has never laughed so much in his entire life.

You tell stories of these little memories you have with Emma, enjoying the embarrassing little details you add in whenever you can. Leo struggles to imagine the daughter of Ares being anything close to the Emma you're describing, but he can tell in the passion of your words you're not telling lies.

"What about you, though?" he asks.

Your hands drop to your side, smile curving. "What about me?"

"Well, you're going on about Emma and all the cool stuff she used to do - what about you, though? What have you been up to?"

It's a pretty simple question in Leo's mind; with his ADHD brain, he is able to come up with a million different answers on the spot.

You, however, look at him with a raised brow. He stares right back.

Finally, you crack and say, "Uh. . . I've been doing some school work, I guess."

Leo blinks. "You go to school?"

"I do indeed. I'm studying psychology, but it's really difficult, so I might drop it."

Leo nods like he understands, even though he doesn't. All he really remembers of his school days is him sitting in the back of the classroom plotting his next escape. "Interesting," he says. "Does Emma go to school?"

"She's doing an apprenticeship at some mechanics place. She dropped out when she turned sixteen."

"Naughty."

You shrug. "She does what she wants. I would love to drop out, but Mum would flip." Leo glances at you; the mention of your Mum seems to be something a little heavy, as your smile immediately dips, your shoulders slumping. Leo knows he probably shouldn't pry, but he's Leo, so he does anyway.

"Is your mum tough on you?"

"No. She's not tough at all. She's not light, either. She just. . . lives with me, I guess."

"She just lives with you?"

You inhale, looking out over the lake. For a moment, Leo thinks you might start crying, but then he shakes that thought out of his mind, because you don't seem like the type to cry in front of a stranger, and that's really all Leo is, which is why he shouldn't expect you to open up to him right now, not if this is something you don't want to-

"Mum only had me because she wanted to see if she could get over Emma's dad." You wince. "Ares, I guess."

Leo pauses. His fingertips start glowing, a sign of his anger, but he shoves them in his pockets and dispels the flames before you see them. "That's horrible."

You shrug halfheartedly. "It's fine. She was crazy about the guy from what I've heard - it's why Emma's her favourite. She's the only piece of him she has left, really."

"But that doesn't mean-"

"You don't have to tell me she's a bad mother, Leo. I know. I've known from day one; I've just gotten used to it." You pick up a rock and toss it into the lake. "Honestly, we're better off out of each other's hair anyway; put us in a room together and make us talk, we'll probably burn the house down."

Leo doesn't know how to respond; he's never felt like that. Ever. Even with his dad, there's always been some level of affection there, even though his dad is a Greek god who only pops in when he wants something; Hephaestus has never straight-up ignored him, never made his favouritism clear.

Leo finds he wants to punch something, and not even the steady whisper of the lake can calm him down. He walks a little bit behind you as the silence settles, you picking up random rocks and tossing them into the water, apologising profusely when the eighteen tentacled octopus pokes its head up and yells at you.

Your calmness makes it even worse, though, because that lets Leo know that this treatment is something you've grown used to. You've never known any different.

----

Three days in, and Emma still insists on keeping you at Camp Half-Blood.

"You're not leaving until that giant is dead, and that might take a while."

You drape your arm over your forehead, still sprawled across her bed in the Ares cabin. It's a pretty musty cabin, to be fair, but you won't mention that when all of Emma's siblings are glaring daggers at you. "Do you have any idea how many assessments I'm missing? Mr Wrightchuck is gonna be furious with me, and I do not have the mental energy to deal with his shit right now."

Emma throws a pair of shorts at you. "Shut up and fold those for me."

You grunt, sitting up and getting to work; you've decided to make yourself at least a little bit useful around here. These people were nice enough to offer you accommodation, even though it's clear being around mortals isn't exactly their everyday routine. The amount of times you've hissed in pain because of your hand and been offered a chunk of ambrosia is uncountable.

"So," Emma starts suddenly, taking you by surprise; she hardly ever initiates conversations, preferring to brood in her own head when she can get away with it.

You look at her, sitting cross legged on the floor in front of the bright pink laundry hamper she stole off your Aunt Grace. She's not even looking up, lips pursed, eyebrows raised as if expecting you to fill in the blanks from that single word.

"So, what?" you push. "What did I just say, Emma? I don't have the mental energy-"

"You and Leo have been hanging out an awful lot these past few days."

You pause. That certainly wasn't what you had been expecting to hear.

"Uh. . . I suppose. He's a cool guy. Cool fire, and stuff." You wriggle your fingers, imitating flames, though Emma's sideways glare makes you mumble an apology and drop your hand to your side. "Is there something wrong with Leo and I being pals?"

"Leo's a very. . . hopeful boy," Emma replies. "He tends to get lost in his own fantasies sometimes."

You blink. "What, like kinks?"

Emma groans, throwing some socks at you. "No, you idiot! When he likes someone, he tends to get a little carried away. It's quite sad to see, actually."

"What does that have to do with me and him being friends?"

Emma glances at you; you recognise that look. It makes your stomach curl, heat rising to your cheeks. You look away, coughing awkwardly into her shirt before you mumble, "No. No, absolutely not. Leo doesn't like me that way."

Emma shrugs, grin spreading across her face. "Maybe, maybe not. I'm just saying, if you don't like him that way, try and break the illusion as soon as possible. It's easier to just rip the bandaid off."

"You're heartless."

"I'm a daughter of Ares, Y/N. We don't bullshit people. We say it how it is."

You scowl, snatching another set of trousers from her wash pile and getting to work, trying to ignore the thump of your heartbeat, which suddenly seems to have sped up a fair bit.

----

You lose track of how long it has been since you last saw your mother.

This happens sometimes, these long stretches of time when neither of you will acknowledge the other person; it's easier that way, just pretending she doesn't exist, just pretending the house is empty besides you.

You've been caught up in camp activities these past few weeks. Your hand is starting to heal, the nerves tingling, which Will says is a good sign. You've been talking to other campers, learning more and more about the world Emma has kept hidden from you for so long, a world that fascinates you, a world you will never want to be properly part of.

Now, however, you see her. Sitting on her own by the lake, knobbly knees pulled into her chest, dazed eyes locked on the swirling water in front of her. The little sea creatures have long since hidden, probably put-off by the presence of a stranger, but your mother doesn't seem to care. She just sits all on her own, long hair billowing out behind her as the moon begins to rise in the distance.

You lean against a tree just a little bit behind her and say, "Are you not cold?"

She doesn't even flinch, like the voice of her child has no effect on her whatsoever. Instead, she digs her fingernails into the dirt and grabs a handful of stones, lobbing them into the lake.

You sigh and crouch down next to her; she smells of sweat and dirt, a sure sign that she hasn't been taking much care of herself these past few weeks. "Let's go back to the Big House, Mum. You're gonna get hypothermia out here."

"He will protect me," she replies. "He's always protecting me."

"You mean Ares? Emma's Dad?"

"He's protected me from day one; he loves Emma and I. He's just busy."

You swallow, staring at the side of her face. "I'm sure he does, Mum. But he's clearly running a little late right now, so he's asked me to come make sure you get wrapped up before the wind eats you alive." You gaze at the trees. "Which I'm pretty sure is a thing that actually happens here."

Finally, your mum gazes at you, lower lip trembling. "I just want him to talk to me."

You freeze; it's most unlike your mother to talk like this, especially to you. She rants and raves about Ares to Emma, but she barely pays you any attention when it comes to things like this. You don't really know how to handle it, whether you should comfort her and tell her Ares loves her - this Greek god, surviving somewhere on Mount Olympus, overlooking the entire world. Yes, of course he still loves her. Of course he does.

But the other half of you just doesn't want to lie. You don't want to get her hopes up any more than they already are, because anyone with a brain will be able to see that Ares has long since forgotten about the mortal woman he apparently fell in love with, and the daughter they created together.

So, you grab your mum's hand and drag her to her feet. She slumps against you like a child having a tantrum, and you have to basically lift her off the floor to get anywhere. Nonetheless, you eventually have her standing, and together, you walk up the hill, back to the main camp.

It's dark, probably past curfew, but campers are still walking about. Mostly the Apollo cabin, never off their feet with the casualties they have to tend to in a day, though there are other campers enjoying a late night cup of hot chocolate by the fire, laughing merrily. They don't notice you walking up the hill, don't notice your mum mumbling to herself, words you can't even grasp being right beside her.

"The Ares cabin," your mum suddenly blurts.

You pause, nearly stumbling over your own two feet as your head whips around to the direction she is now staring, eyes wide.

"Yes, Mum," you grumble. "That is the Ares cabin - now, can we keep moving before my fingers fall off?"

"Is that where you've been sleeping these past few weeks?"

You narrow your eyes. "What? Yes, Mum, it is; Emma lets me sleep with her, now can we please-"

"He isn't your father."

You stop dead in your tracks; oh no. You've heard this line of speech before, and it's never pleasant. Mum gets angry, enraged, when she thinks you're trying to take on the same status as her beloved Emma, daughter of the war god. She likes to keep you in your place, which is a good few tiers below everybody else, apparently.

"I know that," you say quickly. "Emma was just nice enough to lend me her bed so I didn't have to sleep in the Hermes cabin - you know I don't know my way around here, so-"

"He wouldn't like you sleeping amongst his children. He told me."

"He what now?"

She shakes out of your grip, gritting her teeth. Her eyes are wild, dilated beyond anything you've ever seen, and when she next speaks, the words are a cry. "He told me!" She shakes her head, gripping the strands of hair between trembling fingers. "He's so mad at me, Y/N; he told me it was disrespectful to have a child with another man. He said he would burn you to the ground if you stepped out of line. He said he would kill you, just to teach me a lesson for going behind his back!"

You blink. You're used to this. You're meant to be used to this, but holy mother of god - gods? - you don't know what she's on about. You've never heard her talk like this. You've never heard her speak of your death before, and the words coming from her mouth are so eerie, so fucking terrifying that you stumble back, hands trembling, tears rushing to the surface.

"You crazy bitch."

She laughs, loud and clear so the entire camp's attention turns directly to her. "That's what he said! He called me insane, and then he said he loved me and gave me a child - and that child certainly wasn't you."

"Mum, what are you-"

"He talks to me sometimes, you know." She nods, hands still buried in her hair, tugging her eyes back so she looks demented. "In my head, he talks. We have little conversations, but he's been so much more talkative since we arrived here, like this place really is my home." She releases her hair, eyes dimming. "But you're not meant to be here; he told me that, too. He said Emma and I were welcome amongst his kind, but not you - not a bastard like you."

You look around; all the demigods are on their feet now, staring at the scene in confusion. It's embarrassing, absolutely mortifying to suddenly be the centre of their attention, especially under such circumstances.

"Okay," you croak out. "Okay, that's fine - I'll go, then. Leave you and Emma here. I don't mind, Mum. You don't have to get angry."

Mum's nostrils flare. "It's not me who's angry - it's him-"

"Well, tell him that he doesn't have to get his godly bollocks in a twist, because I'm leaving." You raise your hands in faux surrender, taking a few tentative steps back. "I'm leaving, and you'll never have to see me again."

The words hurt, but they're the truth - especially now. Mum doesn't respond, merely stares as you take a few more steps backwards, turn on your heel and dart towards the Ares cabin, fighting desperately to push the tears away, because crying is stupid.

This is just your mum being. . . your mum, just as she's always been. Sure, her words tonight were a little harsher than you're used to, but her neglect has given you thick skin, thick enough to take her words on the chin.

You see the Ares cabin, and run right past it towards the lake. You nearly slip in the mud on your way down the hill, catching yourself before finally crumbling to the floor against a tree by the lake side.

You'll take her words on the chin, but you'll cry over them first.

----

When Leo hears the news, he's pretty sure his blood turns to fire.

He's half-asleep, but that doesn't stop his understanding of Will's words, his descriptions of the scene he just witnessed at the camp fire.

And the thing is, after hearing all the things your mum has done to you, Leo isn't even surprised to hear it's finally boiled over.

Doesn't make him any less angry.

He storms out of the Hephaestus cabin wearing nothing but his pyjamas. He feels the heat beneath his skin, threatening to break the surface as he forces it down, gritting his teeth. He's half tempted to turn to the Big House to give your mum a piece of his mind, but his main concern at the moment is you, and where you've gone, and where you plan on going, because according to Will, your last words to her were "I'm leaving, and you'll never have to see me again." That's a horrible thought. Leo doesn't want to think about that.

He heads to the lake, because according to Will, that's the direction you were running, and Leo knows how much you like the lake; it calms you down, you said, and he stored that piece of information in his brain for weeks, as if in preparation for this very moment.

He stops at the top of the hill and gazes down, lighting up the darkness with a ball of fire cupped in the palm of his hand. You don't flinch at the sudden intrusion, instead curling into a tighter ball against the roots of a tree, burying your head in your knees. The sight breaks his heart. He swallows, slowly waddling down the hill, careful not to fall in the dirt.

You don't look up when he finally arrives at your side. "Y/N."

"Who told you?"

Leo crouches. "Will. He said you seemed upset."

"That's literally nobody's business."

Leo sighs, slumping against the tree beside you; his shoulder brushes your own, and for a moment, you stiffen against his side. "You don't have to tell me what happened if you're not cool with that," he says. "I'm not being nosy or anything."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm really not. I just wanted to make sure that witch didn't hurt your feelings too bad." He pauses. "What did she actually say?"

Your head snaps up, eyes blood shot, lips dry. "Ah, see! You are just being nosy!"

He swats your arm, scowling. "Be quiet, no I'm not; but how am I meant to help you if I don't even know what happened?"

"I never said I wanted help, Leo. My mum not caring about me isn't something that can just be helped." And you didn't even realise those were the words you were going to say, because they sound so heartbreaking, so self-pitying, even though they're the truth. You've always just brushed your mothers behaviour off as normal, the only hand you've ever been dealt, but phrasing it in that way, claiming she doesn't care . . . something about that makes your heart break.

Your lower lip trembles before you can stop it, fresh tears springing to the surface. You remember holidays, catching Emma wrapping up gifts of her own to give to you, just so you could wake up to something on Christmas morning. You remember making your own Halloween costume because your mother spent all her money on Emma's. You remember thinking it was okay, because it was all you ever knew.

You're older now, though. You can recognise mistreatment when you see it, but it's still a blow to the chest realising that you were on the other end of it, that you're a victim, whether you want to deny it or not.

Leo notices your sudden change of emotions and immediately lurches forward. His fingers are hot, almost scalding when they make contact with your arm, his brown eyes burning holes into your own. His eyebrows are furrowed when he says your name in a whisper, just your name, like nothing else needs to be said.

You close your eyes. "I'm fine."

"I wish you'd stop saying that. It's starting to grate on my skull, and I can't afford that kind of damage."

You let out a breath of a laugh, just because you think it's appropriate; in truth, you find none of this funny. You want to curl up and cry. You want to leave Camp Half-Blood and everything it stands for, start a life away from demigods and Greek gods alike.

What's stopping you?

Leo's hands heat up on your arm, forcing you to look at him again. He's closer now, head tilted, all amusement flushed from his features, which is a sad enough sight on it's own. It's been two seconds, but you already miss that sparkle in his eyes.

"Hey," he says quietly. "Talk to me."

And you do. You don't know why, but you do. The words pour out like a broken faucet, a complete mess of incoherence's that Leo - and only Leo - would ever be able to understand. He nods along like the words are making sense, like these sentences aren't just complete gibberish.

When you finish explaining everything that happened down at the camp fire, you gasp, starved for air. Leo grabs your hand and tugs you forward, cupping your face in his attempts to calm you down; you didn't realise the tears had started pouring, didn't realise you're breathing heavily, totally lost, unable to catch a breath.

"Calm down," he mumbles. "Y/N, calm down. I'm here. I've got you, pal, I've got you."

You close your eyes, leaning into his palm. He traces his thumbs along your cheeks before slowly, slowly, slowly running his hand over your ear, tucking a strand of hair back. His eyes never leave your face, despite the state you know you are in, how awful you must look.

"I'm sorry," you choke out. "I didn't mean to. . . to get so worked up."

"Don't be stupid," he replies. "Did she really say all that to you?"

"She's not in her right mind out here. She thinks she's one of you guys, that she can be part of the group just because-"

"Because she slept with Ares?"

You laugh, exhausted. "Yes, exactly."

Leo rolls his eyes, finally letting his hands drop back to his sides. "Honestly, everyone and their grandfather has probably slept with Ares. She's nothing special, and she needs to get that through her head." He pauses. The air crackles. "But - uh - you're, you know, special. Very special."

You blink, certain you heard him wrong. The words don't really make sense in this context, so you're trying to disentangle them.

Finally, you crack and say, "What?"

Leo rubs the back of his neck, glancing awkwardly over his shoulder. Over the hill, everything is silent as Half-Bloods sleep, unknowing to the panic attack that has just captured you, unknowing to the magic Leo has just cast to calm you down.

"I said you're special," he mumbles. "In a good way, I mean. Like, a really good way."

Your heart thunders. "Thank you?"

"You're welcome." He looks at you then, chirping up. "But seriously, don't let her get to you. She's just a love sick psycho who doesn't know when to back down. Clingy ex-girlfriend and all that."

He changes the topic so swiftly it nearly gives you whiplash. You stare at him for another moment, and just when you're about to open your mouth to continue the previous, deserted conversation, Leo stands and reaches his hand out. "Shall we go before Hedge thinks there's some funny business going on?"

You nod dumbly, taking his hand only because you don't know what you want to say in response to what he has just said - he called you special, and he said it like it was just. . . normal, like it was something you could slip in without any further questions being asked.

You try and let the subject drop as Leo leads you back into camp. He walks you to the door of the Ares cabin, and it is there that he turns to you and says, voice low, "You can sleep in my cabin if your mum is in there; Chiron won't mind, and I won't either."

"No, it's okay," you reply. "Mum's staying in the Big House; I'll just slip in next to Emma." You glance at him, his eyes meeting yours because he never looked away. He looks so sweet beneath the lantern light, flames dancing across his skin like they were always meant to be there, like Leo has lived his life in fire and came out smiling every time. "Thank you, Leo; you really didn't have to help me tonight."

He scoffs. "Don't be daft. Next time you have any issues, I want you to run to me instead of the river naiads, you hear?"

You smile and nod. "I hear."

And so, Leo and you bid each other goodnight, and you watch as he walks across camp, past the Hephaestus cabin, right in the direction of Bunker 9. Half of you wants to go after him, question him on his use of the word special earlier on, but you don't. Your limbs are heavy with exhaustion, and so you turn on your heel and head into the Ares cabin, unable to stop the tiny smile that forms on your face.

----

Bunker 9 looks very nice in the morning.

"Oh, the tin is just glistening!"

Leo yelps, dropping a spanner on the ground as he whirls around. His overalls are covered in oil, along with his face, arms, legs, and every other body part that is presented to you on this fine Monday morning. In your hand is a plate of steaming cinnamon buns that Leo's eyes immediately fix upon, his startled expression quickly being replaced by one of pure hunger. You're almost certain you see his mouth salivating.

You tug the plate back, holding one arm out. "Not so fast, Fire Boy."

He frowns. "What did you just call me?"

"No cinnamon buns for you until you tell me how many hours of sleep you got last night."

Leo raises a brow, a tiny smirk making an appearance. "Are you kidding?"

"Nope. I want the details, Valdez, or these cinnamon buns are all mine."

"That's really unfair, and very unnecessary. A body like mine was made to work off two hours sleep."

Your eyes widen. "Two hours? Leo!"

"Can you just hand me my breakfast already?"

You groan, but a promise is a promise. You set the plate down on a nearby toolbox before pushing yourself onto the counter, legs swinging. Leo dives for the plate, nudging your knee with his hip as he grabs the first cinnamon bun he can see and stuffs it in his mouth, nearly swallowing the thing whole.

"Watch you don't choke."

"Why are you so protective this morning?"

"Two hours sleep, Leo? That's awful."

He shrugs, fingers hovering over the plate as he searches for his next victim. "I'm used to it. I'm not even tired! It was a really refreshing two hours."

"You get worse, you know."

Leo rolls his eyes, looking up at you. "And how many hours of sleep did you get, Sleeping Beauty?"

"More than two hours."

He clicks his fingers. "I want the details."

You roll your eyes, swatting his hand away. "I had six hours, if you must know. I'm refreshed and ready for my day!"

"So am I."

"Liar."

"And what?"

You laugh, and Leo smiles, making the noise louder than it really is.

"But no," he continues. "Don't you go worrying about me, dear. Ol' Leo Valdez can handle himself."

"Ol' Leo Valdez needs to take a nap."

"A nap? Sounds cowardly." He grabs the spanner from the floor, spins it in the air, catches it with an ease that makes your breath catch. "How about I show you the new updates I've made to Festus?"

Festus, Leo's pride and joy, the one thing in the world he will talk about for hours upon hours on end; you've sat there and listened to him every single time, absorbing every word, even if you don't understand it. He talks about circuits and updates and tools you have never heard of, but he says it all with such enthusiasm it's almost impossible not to get involved. And even though you know you should be stubborn, insisting on him getting into bed right this instant, you want to see him in that state again. You always want to see him in that state, eyes glittering with passion, hands moving all over the place, smile brighter than anything.

He doesn't need an answer. You simply smile at him, slightly exasperated, and he says, "Alright!" before spinning on his heel, the very beginning of his lecture.

You listen to him talk like how you would listen to lo-fi music. Your legs swing back and forth, back and forth, a tiny smile gracing your features. Leo shows you different parts, illuminating the inside of Festus's new helmet with fire ignited in his calloused palm. It makes his grin impossibly brighter. It makes his curls that little bit darker. It's him.

Finally, he spins and says, "Cool, right?" and even though you were mildly distracted the entire time, you nod and say, "Very cool. As always."

"What are you doing here so early, anyway?" He strolls over, casually plucking another cinnamon roll off the plate and taking a bite.

"I saw you heading to Bunker 9 last night and just assumed this was where you slept. I thought you said you didn't sleep in here?"

He shrugs. "I sleep in here when I'm stressed; gets me away from the ruckus of everyone else, you know."

You raise a brow. "You were stressed?"

"Of course I was stressed." He looks at you, exasperated. "Do you not remember anything we discussed last night?"

You blink; it's not that you had forgotten - there's no way you'll be forgetting that night any time soon - but you thought for sure Leo had. Yes, he'd been there to help you through it, and he was the reason you went to bed smiling, but you were still a mortal, and your problems surely could never be as big as his. You genuinely sat in front of him and cried about feeling neglected by your mother when his own mother is dead, and his Dad doesn't even talk to him, too busy producing other godly children. But here he is, head tilted and eyes slashed with worry. You almost want to look away, but the colour in them has become so noticeably entrancing these past few weeks that you find it nearly impossible to do so.

"I didn't mean to stress you out," is all you can manage. "I was just ranting."

"You were crying."

"I was - I mean - like - yeah, I guess, but you don't have to stress."

Leo narrows his eyes. "You really are dense, aren't you?"

You open your mouth, ready to chastise him for saying such a thing, but your words are swallowed by the loud clang clang clang of the door opening. Leo stares at you for a second longer before glancing over his shoulder, sharing your shock at the sight of Will popping his head in the door. His lower lip is pulled between his teeth, movements slow and timid.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt," he says. "But we kind of need Y/N up at camp."

Those words are terrifying. They jolt you and Leo into action almost immediately; you slip off the counter, stumbling over a few discarded wrenches and old toolboxes. Leo catches you before you can fall, but neither of you comment on your suddenly linked hands before following Will out the door, curiosity getting the better of you.

You hear the commotion before you see it.

The sound of your mothers shrill voice is all-too familiar, and it echoes now. Bouncing off trees, sinking into the dirt, giving you a blistering headache that immediately makes you want to turn around and pretend you never heard it. But there's a crowd, an ocean of demigods, all with weapons and angry expressions trained on the woman who raised you - the woman who tried raising you - and despite the anger you once felt towards her, you pick up your pace, rush into the scene and say, "Ay! Get that spear out of my face!"

The demigod - you don't even know who she is - stumbles back, gaping at you. You don't give her the time of day, instead pivoting on your heel towards your mother.

There she is, stood in the middle of the clearing with her arms above her head, screaming up at the sky. Blood coats her elbows and knees. Chiron and Emma are beside her, but it seems like both of them have given up trying to make her see sense; they simply stare, Emma with tears in her eyes, Chiron looking like he's on the verge of booting her out of camp right this instant.

Leo stumbles to your side and grabs your arm. "What's wrong with her?"

You touch your mum's arm. "Mum, you're being proper embarrassing right now."

She spins. Her hair is matted, the product of having not been washed in weeks. Her eyes are dark, lips chapped and bitten, utterly destroyed. You've seen her when she's having one of her episodes, but this is worse. This is the worst you've ever seen it. It breaks your heart, even though it shouldn't. It was only last night she was basically calling you worthless, a mistake, the reason her little affair with a Greek god didn't work out.

You swallow. "Mum. . . It's me."

"Emma?"

You bite your lip, trying to ignore how much that hurts. "Uh. . . not quite, but nearly. Emma's over there."

"Don't get me involved in this," Emma spits, roughly swiping a hand across her cheek. "I don't want anything to do with her."

Your heart judders. Your mother's eyes narrow, like she's taking a little longer to process her first childs words. You decide to step in before she has a chance to.

"No, Mum, I'm not Emma, I'm Y/N. I'm here to - uh - take you home."

As soon as you say it, you want to curl in on yourself. It's a truth you've been trying to avoid these past few weeks, the idea of finally breaking away from camp and heading back to your shitty apartment with your shitty mother to live a shitty life of online classes and pretending everything is normal and okay. Behind you, Leo mumbles, "Sorry, what was that?" which hurts your heart even more. "Yeah," you continue, taking another timid step towards her. A branch cracks beneath your foot, and your mother flinches, looks up into the sky like the sound of a god appearing will be nothing more than a simple crack.

"Yeah, Mum, we're gonna go home, and you're gonna get some rest, okay? You look exhausted."

"Exhausted," she mumbles. "Home."

"Home, yeah. Remember home? We liked it there. Things were normal there."

Mum's nostrils flare. "Normal-"

"But our house is also where Ares thinks we are right now!" you barrel on. "He's got our address in his little address book - he doesn't actually know we're at Camp Half-Blood right now."

Her shoulders deflate, eyes brightening. "Oh. You're right. He's probably visited so many times and we haven't even been there! He's going to be so angry!"

"So, so angry." You wrap your arm around her shoulder, gently drawing her away from the crowd of angry demigods, of sobbing sisters and confused centaurs. You meet Leo's eyes only once, and it's enough to shatter your being, enough for the burning of tears to erupt through your senses. You want to turn and run to him, tell him you're sorry, promise to never leave him, but the feelings are so extraordinary and so weird, unfamiliar, that you can't.

You turn your gaze to the floor and guide your mother through the crowd towards the Big House, uttering words about home and comfort, and going back to a life you want to abandon for good. You pretend it's all okay, because that's all you've ever known.

----

Leo finds you that same night.

You left your mother in Chiron's care. She fell asleep immediately, and you were free to do what you wanted after that, but the thought of parading through Camp Half-Blood after being in the centre of such a weird scene made your stomach curl, so you stayed by her side until you were positive most of the campers were in bed, sleeping.

Except Leo, of course.

He sits down in the grass, shoulder brushing yours. You don't look over; you know it's him just from the scent of oil, and the way he cracks his knuckles, and the way he awkwardly coughs into the darkness. These are all little things of him you have memorised. Each one makes your heart ache.

Finally, after what feels like forever, he speaks. "You don't have to do all that, you know."

"Do what?"

"Stick up for her. Make her comfortable.

" You shrug. "I know I don't."

"So why do you do it?"

"Because she's my mum."

"She's barely your mum. She doesn't even do the bare minimum for you."

True. Painfully, awkwardly true.

You shrug again. Leo sighs, tilting his head back. When you glance over, you see him gazing up at the stars, jaw clenched in a way that throws off the soft features of his face you have grown so used to seeing. You don't like it.

You reach over and poke his cheek in an attempt to make him loosen up. He closes his eyes. "I don't get it."

"What?"

"Why you have to be the one taking care of her when she's never taken care of you."

You swallow thickly. "I'm not. . . I'm not taking care of her. I'm just-"

"Then what was that back there?"

"That was me trying to make sure my mum didn't get a spear shoved down her throat. It's basic human decency, Leo."

He purses his lips, like this is something he has never heard of.

You sigh, slumping back against a tree. "I don't hate my mum, you know; she's done some fucked up stuff to me, but I don't hate her."

Leo stares at you. His eyes are lazors, flames, beams pouring into the side of your head, and you want to look at him, but you think it would be a very bad idea right now.

Neither of you say anything for what feels like forever, which is a big deal when sitting with someone like Leo Valdez. The only noise filling in the silence is the steady drip of rain drops rolling down the leaves, bouncing against the lakes surface. A few ocean creatures peak their heads up, examine the scene, duck back beneath the water.

And then, "Are you actually leaving?"

You bite back a sob. "You didn't expect me to stay here forever, did you?"

Leo doesn't respond.

"She's not well here," you continue, tilting your head back. The moon waves at you. The stars smile. "She was bad at home, but being here - around this kind of thing - it's going to drive her insane."

"She's a grown woman."

"Ares messed her up." It's the first time you've said it out loud, the truth. Your mother was okay before she met that man. You've heard stories from your grandparents, your aunts and uncles, of the days when your mum was winning medals for her skills in ballet, the days she was getting awards for her academic success, the days where she played mediator in a house full of people who could never see eye-to-eye on anything. You listened to them with only half-interest, because you never fully believed them. You had lived with the crazy side of her for too long by that point.

But it's true. Ares waltzed into her life, promised her the world, gave her this child with skills beyond human comprehension, gave her a taste of real love for the first time in her life - and then he left.

"Why do gods think they can just get away with that?" you find yourself asking before you can stop. "Mess with people's lives like that. Why do they think that's okay?"

Leo sighs. "They run the world. They can do whatever they want."

"That seems really unfair."

"Yeah, well, it's also unfair that you have to give up your own happiness for your mum."

You close your eyes; there it is again, the topic breached. Leo doesn't understand that this is all you've ever known - caring for her, making sure she's okay, being ignored and neglected because you're not the gods child. He doesn't understand that this has been your life from day one. You were never given a chance to mind it. You were never given a chance to know anything else.

"You know, I think this place could really benefit with someone like you."

You look at him. "You're just saying that."

He shrugs, picking up a pebble and lobbing it at the lake. Always keeping his hands moving, never being still. "Maybe. Maybe I'm just a little desperate for you to stay." He looks at you. "Is that weird?"

You swallow, unable to respond, because you want to tell him no, no of course it's not weird, please keep talking and I'll stay, I'll stay here with you, I'll never leave, I never wanted to leave in the first place.

Leo looks down at his hands, fingers fiddling with the threads dangling from his overalls. "Sorry. I - I didn't mean to - like - put you on the spot or anything. I just care about you. A lot. And I hate seeing you upset. It bothers me."

The way it says it, words spoken through gritted teeth, makes your heart stutter. Oddly, it reminds you of those days spent laughing in Bunker 9, calling him stupid as he tried so hard to keep you amused, like he wanted to keep your attention as firm as possible so you wouldn't get up and leave. For once in your life, someone wants you to stay.

And it's sad - heartbreaking, even - that you have been cursed with these circumstances, that the mere notion of staying at Camp Half-Blood is so beyond reality; you're no demigod. Even if your mother were to head home on her own, do you a favour for once, the chances of Chiron being allowed to let you stay are incredibly, incredibly slim. You won't entertain the idea. You won't get your hopes up like that. You won't play to your own feelings, because that has never done anything for you, nothing but leave you in a state of despair.

And so, you keep quiet, staring out over the lake with Leo by your side, his hands working, his mind probably racing, your heart a steady thump in the distance.

---

The next day, you are ready to leave.

You packed all your things the night before. You said all your goodbyes the night before. You and Emma got into a brutal argument the night before, and now you're stood before her, trembling from head to toe as you patiently wait for Chiron to lead your mother to Thalia's pine tree so the both of you can finally be let go.

Emma stares at you. She's been doing that since last night, her hands balled into fists, jaw strong, so she looks a little bit like her father; you can say that now. You hate him. You think you'd punch him in the face if you ever saw him.

"I can't believe you're actually doing this for her."

"I never understood why you hate her so much - you're the one she actually cares about."

Emma grits her teeth, looking to the ground in that way she so often does when she's trying not to punch you square in the face. "That's not the point."

"You don't even deny it any more," you scoff. "You've just come to terms with the fact that she basically worships the ground you walk on. How about you start understanding how lucky you are rather than giving me grief for taking care of her?"

"Taking care of her?" Emma bursts. "She's your mother! She should be taking care of you!"

"Right, but that's not the way things have turned out, so we might as well cut the shit now before-"

"Leo spoke to me, you know." You freeze. Your mouth stays open, eyes widening; Leo is the absolute last thing you want to talk about right now, not after last night, not after hearing the hint of heartbreak in his voice when he realised it was too late, you were too far gone, there was no keeping you.

Emma nods, even though you haven't said anything, even though you can do nothing but stare at her in complete shock and bewilderment. "Yeah, Leo Valdez, the boy you're head over heels in love with."

You splutter. "What?"

"Oh, don't play dumb! I've seen the way you are with each other. I've seen the way you look at him. I've seen the way he looks at you, and for fuck sake Y/N, you shouldn't have to give all that up for someone like her!"

"That person you're on about is our mother!"

"And what? That means you have to put your entire life on hold for her?" Emma drops her sword in a move close to desperation, startling you when she barrels forward and grabs your shoulders. She holds you at arms length, eyes like fire. "You're my only little sibling, Y/N; it's my job more than anything else to look after you, and I'm not going to sit back and let your selflessness ruin your whole life."

You blink, and only then do the tears make an appearance. You think of Leo, even though you hate it, even though you've already said your goodbyes to him and you should just leave it at that. He hugged you, and you hugged him, and you apologised and he told you there was nothing to be sorry for - it was the perfect potential ending, but you don't want it to be over.

Emma is right; you're jeopardising your own happiness for this woman.

Emma stares at you, the tears leaking from your eyes. Her own lower lip trembles, but she's Emma, so she won't start crying. Not properly.

You inhale shakily, ducking your head down. "I can't let her go home on her own, Em. She'll never make it. She'll never agree to go if she doesn't have someone with her."

"So I'll go."

You freeze. "What?"

Emma tilts her head forward, catching your eye. "I said, I'll go. I'll take her home, get her settled, and then I'll get someone to come take care of her - a professional. Someone who should have been there for her a long bloody time ago. You can stay here for a while."

Your heart thunders. You're certain you've heard her wrong, because this isn't right - none of this is right. Emma's the demigod. She should be the one staying here whilst you get shipped off back home with your mother. That's how things have always been, how things were always meant to be. But when you look back at your older sister now, there is no glimmer of amusement in her eyes; she's being serious, more serious than you've ever seen her before.

She squeezes your shoulders, curling her stubby nails into the fabric of your hoodie. "I mean it, Y/N. If you want to stay here-"

"I do," you croak out. "I really, really do."

"For Leo?"

You blink.

Emma grins. "For Leo." She pats your shoulder, nearly knocking you off your feet. "Go, before her and Chiron make an appearance. I think Valdez is-"

But you don't let her finish. You know where Leo is even without her input, and so you throw yourself into her arms, squeal a thank you in her ear before sprinting off down the hill towards Bunker 9.

The gods should be yelling at you right now, casting lightning and rain and every other deadly element down upon you, because this must be so far out of the rule book. This must be going entirely against everything they have ever set up, every rule they have laid out - a mortal in one of their demigod camps? A mortal hanging around their children like their even close to being equal. Complete blasphemy.

But you don't care. Not when you round the corner to see the door to Bunker 9 already wide open, little flashes of Leo Valdez skimming past the entryway.

You pause in the trees, craning your neck to catch a glimpse of what he is doing, and it is only then do you see the spanner smash against one of the windows. The glass doesn't shatter, but it shakes and it makes a loud noise, and it's followed closely by Leo yelling out a curse that would get him blown to smithereens if his father were to hear it.

You sprint towards the door. "Leo?"

He spins around, eyes widening. He grips his hand, blood seeping from one of his fingers, dribbling down his wrist and landing upon his boots. He doesn't seem to care, though, simply staring at you in shock.

And then, "Y/N?"

You throw yourself forward, grabbing his wrist. The blood from his gets caught beneath your fingers, but you don't care. You stare at it, shaking your head, whispering his name over and over, and all he can do is stare at you, dumbfounded, before he exclaims, "Hey, wait!" and stumbles back, yanking his hand from your grip in the process.

"Leo, let me have a look at that-"

"You shouldn't be here right now!"

"Okay, Leo, yes, we'll discuss that later, but please, let me look at your hand. What the hell did you even do?"

You reach for him, but he's like a wild animal, startled and afraid. He stumbles back, nearly tripping over a toolbox discarded on the floor. You notice the mess that wasn't there this morning, the tools laying everywhere, sheets of torn paper thrown left, right and centre, broken glass littering the hard floor.

"Jesus, Leo," you gasp. "What have you been doing in here?"

"Why are you back? Why aren't you away yet?"

You lift your gaze, narrowing your eyes. "If you want me to go, you can just say so." And right now, looking at the scene around you and the state of Leo's hand, and his startled expression, you don't even feel bad that he very well might just ask you to turn and leave. Your mind is preoccupied, wanting nothing more than to grab him and force him to shut up so you can pay some attention to the gaping wound on the tip of his finger. His mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water. He's staring at you, unable to move, small of his back pressed against the workbench. The blood welling in his fingertip looks to only be getting worse.

"Leo," you say softly. "Please, can we talk about this later?"

He doesn't respond, but he doesn't run away when you take a step towards him, either. His eyes never leave your own as you reach for his hand and pull him towards a chair in the corner, slowly pushing him into it. You softly ask him to reach into that magic toolbelt of his to pull out some medical supplies, and he does so with trembling hands, never saying a word, never really needing to.

You get to work in silence, trying to ignore the thumping of your own heart, the tremble of your own hands, the desperate need you have to just apologise over and over and over for scaring him so bad, for startling him to the point where he can't even form a full sentence, to the point where he was willing to run away from you.

You clean the wound and bandage it the best way you can, remembering all those times as a child when you would cut yourself by accident and your mum would be too dazed or too neglectful to take you to the hospital or do anything about it herself.

Leo watches your hands working wonders until it's all finally complete and you step back, admiring your handiwork with a pleased grin on your face. "Not too shabby."

Leo swallows. Finally you take the time to look at him, his pale face and startled eyes; he looks like he's on the verge of tears, which really isn't the reaction you were hoping to receive when you walked back into Bunker 9.

You fold your arms over your chest, nibbling your bottom lip as you say, "I'm staying."

Leo exhales shakily. "I don't get it. Last night you were so adamant-"

"I know. I know I was, but I never wanted to go in the first place."

"So why-"

"Emma made me realise some things." You push yourself onto the workbench behind you, the very same spot you always found yourself sitting when Leo is working away on one of his projects. You used to sit with your legs pulled beneath you, watching him work in silence.

He stares at you. "I fully prepared myself to never see you again."

You wince. "I'm sorry."

And then he's scrambling out of his chair, stumbling between your legs, grabbing your hands, tugging them into his chest, all in that order. You gasp at the touch, the rough fabric of his plaster rubbing against your wrist, the forever warm touch of his skin so familiar yet you crave it so badly.

He's shaking his head, mumbling "No," on repeat beneath his breath

. "Leo. . ."

"I didn't mean to make you feel bad," he says. "So don't apologise to me again, alright? I don't want it. I don't need it - all that matters now is that you're here, and you - you said you're staying." He looks up, almost timid. "Did I hear that right?"

You nod, dazed; he's not mad. He's happy. He's smiling, and his eyes are doing that thing again where they glint and they crease into crescents, and he looks so cute, so happy, so like the Leo you've come to know and love so deeply. It makes your heart stutter. It makes this entire thing so, so worth it.

He grins. "Oh gods, Y/N, you scared the shit out of me. I nearly tore this place to the ground-"

"I can see that," you croak.

He winces, glancing awkwardly over his shoulder. "I didn't mean to - It was honestly an accident, but-"

"It's okay, Leo." His head snaps back round.

"It's okay?"

"It's all okay."

You reach forward, winding your arm around his neck, dragging him closer. His curls flood through your fingers, his eyes fluttering closed for a split second before he opens them again and says, "Can I kiss you?"

You nod, because of course he can. He does just that, pressing his lips to yours delicately, so, so delicately, like he's afraid you'll shatter. His hands are tender on your hips, thumbs rubbing gentle, mindless circles into the fabric of your shirt, and it's all so slow, all so gentle, but your heart is exploding into constellations, sprinkling over your being in a way you have never experienced before.

For someone who is never still, never calm, never quiet, his kisses are like a warm summer afternoon spent wading along a beach. They are aquamarine waters and birds chirping around a morning sunrise. They are everything and nothing and more than enough but never enough all in the same breath.

He pulls away first, uncertain, glancing nervously into your eyes as he slowly releases you. He takes a steady step back, rubbing the back of his neck, and it takes everything in you not to pull him back in.

Instead you laugh, swinging your legs back and forth like a giddy child. "Don't look so sheepish or I'll think you've poisoned me."

"I'm not very good at that," he mumbles. "Machines don't usually need kissed, so I don't tend to do it that often."

"I'd hope not." You grab his hand, pulling him back between your knees. "I'm sorry for scaring you earlier."

He opens his mouth, ready to protest your apologies once again, but you cut him off with five fingertips pressed to his lips. His eyes cross over as he glares at them, making you giggle. "I know you said I shouldn't apologise, but I shouldn't have been so. . . hasty. I shouldn't have lost my temper with you. I should have let you speak-"

"I don't say very interesting things."

"You say the most interesting things." You drop your hand, intertwine your fingers with his. "But I'm staying, Leo. I promise." He exhales shakily, like this is what he has been waiting to hear for a while now; it breaks your heart, rejuvenates you at the same time, and you realise suddenly just how awful it would have been to pack up your stuff and head home, to live a life without Leo Valdez in it.

---

Your mother looks a little better. A little healthier. A little happier.

Emma sits beside her, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, a denim jacket over the top. She looks happy, too, a little exhausted, but you never expected anything less. She's still smiling, though, and when her face appears in the Iris message, she lets out a happy sigh of relief.

"I thought you two would fuck it up."

"Go to hell, Emma," says Leo.

You chuckle, leaning back in your seat; it's been two weeks since Mum and Emma went back to the flat together, two weeks since you agreed to spend the rest of your summer at Camp Half-Blood, working on a relationship with Leo Valdez. It's been a grand two weeks, yes, but you still have responsibilities back in the real world.

"So, how's it going?" you ask. "Mum, you're still going to therapy, aren't you?"

"Yes," Mum mumbles, sounding more like an anguished teenager than anything else. "I've told you both already, I don't need it - I got over Ares years ago. I have my own family now - he can go to hell."

"Tartarus," Leo corrects.

"Whatever."

You grin. It's been so long - so long - since you've heard your mum mention you in the same context as Emma, including your name in the same sentence as the word family. Leo must notice your sudden shift in mood, as he chuckles, placing a gentle hand on the small of your back. He does that sometimes, letting you know he's there, like you'd ever forget. You reach behind you and tangle your fingers with his, subtly placing your joined hands in your lap.

"A few more weeks," you tell her. "That's all you have to endure, and then they're putting you on that trial, aren't they?"

"Apparently," Mum replies. "I was thinking of coming to visit you."

You and Emma share a look - the last time your mother was at Camp Half-Blood, things didn't exactly go well. The energy of this place drove her insane, reminded her of days with Ares, reminded her she'd been abandoned by the one man she ever loved.

Leo cuts in. "Oh, no! I was hoping Y/N and I could come out there and visit you guys for the week!"

Your head whips round. "You were?"

"Well, yeah." Leo rolls his eyes, faux exasperation. "I did tell you about it. I haven't been back to your house since the giant threw that boulder through your window." He rubs his finger along your scarred, damaged knuckles, forever torn from the boulder that destroyed all your nerve endings. "I think it would be a grand old time, personally."

"I agree," Emma chimes in. "And it would be less stressful for us - we can just wait here for them to arrive, and you still get to see Y/N!"

Mum hums, thoughtful, and for just a second, you're certain she's going to revert back to her old ways. She's going to call you scum, pretend you don't exist, make you feel like shit all over again; judging by the sudden grip Leo has on your hand, he thinks the exact same thing. You thought this was over with. You thought your Mum had gotten better, that she finally realised you are her child, too, and-

"I guess it would be a lot less hassle."

Leo exhales. "Great! It's a date."

"For you two, maybe," Emma grumbles. "Look, we have to leave in two minutes, so this is goodbye."

"Jeez, Em, tell us how you really feel."

"See you in a few weeks, assholes!" And before you or Leo can respond, the Iris message is flickering to a close, leaving you and Leo alone in Bunker 9.

It's silent for a few seconds. Leo grips your hand, running his thumb along your knuckles, and it suddenly feels so, so hard not to cry.

"She's getting so much better," you choke out.

Leo's head snaps round, eyes widening at the crack in your voice. "Hey, no. Don't you start crying on me, okay? This is a good thing! Good!" He cups your face, forcing you to look at him. He has that goofy look, his eyebrows stitched together, his lips pursed; it makes you laugh every time.

You reach up, wrapping your hands around his wrists just to keep the feel of him against you for a little longer. "I'm not going to cry. I'm not a bitch."

"It's all good here, Y/N," he says. "I always told you it's all good here."

And with his hands on your face, his eyes gazing into your own, the sweet weather of Camp Half-Blood flourishing outside, you know he's telling the truth. It's all good.

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yellowmagicalgirl · 3 years

Text

Seklos and Gaylen, They Were Cagemates! Chapter 5: Cagemates

Plans are made by the boys' families. Kubritz offers a deal.

After four chapters, the boys are finally cagemates!

So, during the longer-than-planned hiatus, a movie was released. Don't worry, not only do I refuse to watch said movie, the exact events of RotT cannot happen in this universe because of things that happen in my outline for the AU.

Content/Spoiler warning: Grieving, loss of child, and suicidal ideation

AO3

FFN

The first thing Merlin had done when he felt his magic return to him was cast his senses outward to look for Hisirdoux.

Well, no, not exactly. The first thing he had done was groan in pain as his many injuries began to heal themselves. Morgana had already brought him to the brink of death twice, only healing him enough so that he would live, and she could continue to torture him. But, after groaning in pain, Merlin had cast out his senses to find his son.

There was no trace of Hisirdoux anywhere. Archie had been a clear signal, as was the Trollhunter. Nari, as distant as she was, had been a powerful beacon.

Hisirdoux’s magic was nowhere in this world. There was only one explanation for this: Merlin’s son was dead. And so, for the first time in many centuries (even whilst ignoring the ones between Killahead and now), Merlin Wylt allowed himself to cry. He did not allow himself to cry for long, of course. He couldn’t let his grief consume him. There was work to be done. An Eternal Night to reverse, a familiar to collect, a sword to repair, and a Heartstone to find.

Merlin had done two of those things, and he had tried to convince Archie to come with him. Merlin owed it to Hisirdoux to at least try to protect his familiar. But, as usual, Archie was too proud to listen to reason. He always thought he knew best on matters concerning Hisirdoux. And, in some ways, Archie had known better since he had known Hisirdoux for longer, but he was clearly in denial of the obvious.

That was a day ago. Now he was in the process of doing the fourth of those things. Merlin had to deal with a tribe of irritable trolls, all crammed into a too-small cave. The sun wouldn’t set for another hour.

Merlin felt a wave of energy pass through him.

It was like an agonized cry of distress coming from his son. It was short, and it was brief, but Merlin could feel Hisirdoux’s fear.

For the briefest of moments, Merlin almost hoped that maybe Hisirdoux was alive. Alive, scared, and in pain. Perhaps hoping that his master would come to save him, as selfish as Merlin knew the thought was.

But no. Hisirdoux was dead. This was merely an echo of his last dying moments, and Merlin must have been close enough to feel it. He wasn’t sure why Hisirdoux had died so far from Arcadia Oaks. Even if in life Hisirdoux hadn’t been the best at following instructions, that one was simple enough that he should’ve been able to follow it easily. Besides, there was no reason for Hisirdoux to abandon Archie like that. Could it have been Morgana? He had foreseen her trying to kill Hisirdoux, and clearly Merlin’s visions had been wrong since the formerly human Trollhunter was even younger than Hisirdoux should be now. But no. Morgana wouldn’t have killed Hisirdoux so far away. She would have dragged Hisirdoux to where Merlin lay gasping for breath and tortured and killed Hisirdoux in front of Merlin.

And to think she had once cared about the boy, or at least, seemed to have cared about him. Merlin wasn’t sure if he would ever know how early her betrayal started.

Merlin would never know how Hisirdoux had died, not unless he stumbled upon what was left of his son’s body. And call Merlin selfish, but he didn’t want to see it. Seeing his son’s corpse would only be useful if Merlin was planning on reanimating it. Bringing his son back was an act of dark magic, and Merlin would not partake in it no matter how desperately he wanted his son to be alive.

Merlin knew how the Trollhunter and his allies saw Merlin. A washed-up, bitter old man who had failed to do nearly anything useful. And Merlin had failed. He had failed his last two apprentices. He had failed to stop Morgana from going down her dark path, whether by guiding her better or just by annihilating the threat no matter what cost it would bring down, Merlin killing the king’s sister.

And he had failed Hisirdoux. For a millennium and a half, Merlin had not taken in another apprentice because he had always planned on returning to his apprentice. Tradition dictated that Merlin only take on a new apprentice should Hisirdoux die, become a master wizard, or should Merlin decide that Hisirdoux was too much of a nuisance to keep around and break the apprenticeship. No matter how frustrating Hisirdoux was sometimes, whether it was disturbing Merlin with his lute or trying to get out of doing his chores by wrestling with a broom, Merlin never would have abandoned Hisirdoux. He was far too attached to his son to do that, and so he had not taken an apprentice during the absence.

Perhaps it was time to change that. There was, after all, an orphan wizard nearby. One who had learned the hard way why a staff was only something a master wizard could safely wield. First off, though, he would need to see if she had any skill beside shadowmancy.

“Fair lady Claire,” Merlin said, approaching her. He kept his voice steady and even, betraying nothing of his grief. “Levitate that rock for me?”

She flinched.

“Sorry, Aja,” Stuart said. “He wasn’t anywhere in Arcadia. Or at least, I couldn’t find him.”

“It’s… it’s not your fault. Zadra and Steve couldn’t find Krel either,” Aja said. It had been a long day of searching for everyone gathered around the dining table of the Mothership. Stuart, Zadra, and Steve had scoured the town and woods for Krel, while Aja and the Blanks had been more successful in their search for the core scanner. Even the success felt weak, though. Between the crash and Krel’s sense of organization, it had taken her all day to find it. It hadn’t helped that three horvaths into searching, she had found herself wanting to walk up to Krel and lecture him on how just because he was smart it didn’t mean his organization patterns were the best ones to follow since only he could find things, but then she’d remembered he was missing and burst into tears. She probably wouldn’t give him the lecture when they found him, not until she had to look for something else he’d hidden away in a place that was only obvious to him.

“But we will find him,” Aja continued. “We have to.”

Aja didn’t even want to imagine what would happen if she didn’t find her brother. She placed the core scanner on the table. “Stuart, do you know how to make a second one of these? We only have one, but if we had more we could split up and look for Krel. Krel and Varvatos.”

“I can try,” Stuart said, “But I get the feeling that I won’t have all the parts. At best I can make a version with a very, very short range.”

“You still want to find the traitor?” Zadra asked.

“Our first priority is finding Krel, but if we find Varvatos in the process we’re not going to leave him to suffer,” Aja said. “We’ll bring him home to the Mothership. He sacrificed himself to save my parents, and I won’t let that sacrifice be in vain.”

Besides, depending on how badly hurt Varvatos was, he might be able to help search for Krel.

For all she knew, Varvatos had already found Krel and was trying to take care of him, especially if Krel had been knocked unconscious and Varvatos no idea where the Mothership was. That happened to Krel a lot, so surely it wasn’t too unreasonable to hope for.

Right?

Krel slowly began to wake up, and he realized he was laying on his side. That didn’t make sense. In his cage, it was impossible for him to lay on his side; he had to remain sitting up. He almost began to hope the past several delsons were all just some awful dream, but he was in so much pain from the cuts and the beating he had endured.

Krel opened his eyes.

He had been transferred to a larger cage, one where he could lay down. He tried to push himself onto all four of his hands and knees and gasped as moving brought more pain to him from every place the batons had struck him. He pushed himself up onto his lower pair of arms instead and saw Douxie laying barely a foot away from him in the same cage. White hair hung in front of his closed eyes. Krel frowned; Douxie’s hair had been darker before. Was that a normal thing that happened when he used his magic? Krel couldn’t be sure, but if it was then capturing Douxie and any other wizard must have been easy if there was unexplained glowing and hair lightening. Humans didn’t glow.

Douxie looked almost peaceful in his sleep, enough so that a small part of Krel was loathe to wake him up. That small part was very easy to ignore. Krel began to nudge at Douxie with one of his upper arms. Douxie groaned out something about arches.

“Please, please wake up.” Krel shoved a little more forcefully. Douxie had sounded hurt back when he had used his magic. Maybe that was normal. Maybe being a wizard was a constant sacrifice, which sounded extremely inefficient.

“What do you want?” Douxie hissed even though his throat hurt. Why were they even in the same cage, for that matter? Douxie wouldn’t have minded if it weren’t for the shoving.

“Oh, good, you’re okay.” Douxie opened an eye to find Krel looking concerned, except something white was blocking most of Douxie’s field of vision. Douxie opened his other eye and focused on the white strand of –

No.

Oh, fuzzbuckets, no!

As the memories of what he had done flooded back to him, Douxie sat up straight and away from Krel’s hands. His head was swimming and he felt sick as he pinched his bangs between his fingers as he glared at the stark contrast.

His hair was white.

Of course it was white. There was a reason why wizards who chose to dye their hair did not let it go bleached for very long, according to Zoe. Dark magic attacked life forces, and that attack could make dyed hair into something eternally white. Of course, this was only if the wizard using dark magic survived.

Douxie hadn’t planned on surviving. He’d planned for himself and Krel to escape, with Douxie’s escape to be death and Krel’s escape to outside of the base.

A woman in green walked towards the cage, hands on her hips. As Krel tensed, Douxie realized she was the same one who had tased Krel. She stopped in front of the cage and gazed at the boys smugly.

“I don’t think we’ve ever been properly introduced,” she said. “I’m Colonel Kubritz, and I’m going to give you two a deal.”

“Oh, really? And what do we have to give you to let us go?” Krel asked. He didn’t trust this colonel at all, but it was worth asking.

She chuckled. “Oh, no, both of you will be spending the rest of your lives in captivity. I just have a way for you two to extend those lives: if one of you resists experimentation or an order, the other will be punished.” She turned around and began to walk away before casting a glance over her shoulder. “Oh, and keep the conversation quiet, or there will be consequences.”

“Resist as much as you can,” Douxie said in a low voice as soon as she exited the room. Krel looked towards him and saw him staring at the ground. “Don’t pay what happens to me any mind.”

“What? Didn’t you hear her say that you’ll get punished if I resist?” Krel suspected that they’d get punished anyways, but any minimization was a good thing.

“Even if I somehow get out of here, I won’t have anywhere to go. I’ve used dark magic, and it’ll be obvious to everyone.”

“Dark magic?”

“It’s dangerous, and it feeds on life forces, and only evil people use it. Evil, or desperate, like I was desperate to save you. You’re welcome, by the way. But they won’t see it as desperation.”

“Thank you,” Krel said. You don’t seem evil to me, he didn’t say. An evil person wouldn’t have saved Krel, except what did that make Varvatos? Varvatos had saved Krel over and over again, despite the danger it had posed to Varvatos. Despite the way that Varvatos betrayed the Tarrons and had led to Krel and his family being hurt over and over again.

“My familiar, my master, and my,” Douxie cut himself off, shaking his head and biting his lip. “The coven I’ve been taken in by will all outcast me at best. They might just outright kill me for being dangerous. You, though, I’m sure you have something left to live for. If you resist, you might live longer than if you don’t.”

Krel stared at Douxie for a long moment, noting the defeat in his posture. “No.”

Douxie looked at Krel. There were tears forming in his eyes. Krel found the strange urge to hug his companion, but no. The two of them were getting unwanted touches from everyone else, so why should Krel do the same to Douxie? Granted, he had already shoved Douxie, but he would be better from now on.

“No, I’m not going to let you die here,” Krel continued. “Even if everyone else casts you out, you can stay with me. My sister will come for me, and when she does, I’m going to make sure that both of us escape with her.”

Author's note: Now that Claire has officially been made more important to this fic than she was in 3Below season 2 what no I'm definitely not still salty that freakin' Kanjigar got a cameo while Claire only got mentioned in the last five minutes she probably won't show up again (though she may get mentioned).

#krexie #toa merlin #claire nuñez #aja tarron #stuart of durio #lieutenant zadra #krel tarron #hisirdoux casperan #colonel kubritz #area 49b #trollhunters #3below #toawizards #tales of arcadia #and they were cagemates #seklos and gaylen they were cagemates!#my writing #Suicide #death mention

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transmogrified-in-the-void · 3 years

Text

look im depressed have this “thk and ghost land in bleach” crack fic ok

Urahara honestly didn’t even know when it happened. It definitely started out slow, with Ichigo Kurosaki coming over more and more frequently for training. Eventually his sisters (terrifying and sweet, how fun) started to appear with their older brother. Soon, the candy shop owner found himself with a store full of teenagers. With rooms. Who lived there. Urahara doesn’t even know where the rooms came from in the first place, although he suspects that Tessai had something to do with it. Regardless, they all fell into a pattern, and, while none of the spiritually aware children lived there per-say (Ishida remained adamant that he would not be living with shinigami), they were around often enough that they could be.

Then Aizen happened, and Ichigo lost his powers, part of his soul, and the first thing that happened was everyone came back to the shoten for him. Urahara thinks quiety, in the back of his head, that had this small family not been made. Had his innocent candy shop not become home to so many, Ichigo could have been alone for a long time.

He did make the sword to return that missing part of his soul, of course he would. Because, as much as he tries not to show it, he genuinely cares for the band of misfits now under his wing, and damn it all if he doesn’t try to fix the pain he caused.

And they fall back into their routine. There are some bumps, namely Urahara finding out how Isshin “trained” Ichigo and proceeding to make the shoten a permanent home for the Kurosaki children. Not that anyone was complaining, Tessai loves talking with Yuzu, and Karin and Jinta compete to see who gets more work done. Meaning less for him and that is wonderful.

So imagine his surprise when two writhing sources of reiatsu, or something similar, suddenly appear at his front door.

Urahara was in his lab when it happened, and he spent no time getting to the door. Sliding it open, he sees two creatures that look like they could be Hollows, but something’s wrong. Distinctly, profoundly, wrong.

The first thing is how human these creatures looked. One tall and thin, their black body writhing as they desperately claw at their face with one hand. A quick glance shows that their other arm is nothing but a stump. In front of the tall creature is a significantly smaller one who is trembling, but also trying to pry the tall one’s hand away.

The second thing is their masks. Where Hollow masks are made just to hide the face, these ones seem to be encasing the whole head.

The third is the amount of terror pouring out of the tall one. It’s near suffocating, and yet they don’t make a single sound. Not one.

Urahara sees the small one signing something, but he’s not in any angle to be able to see what they’re trying to say. The tall one does though, and seems to grow more agitated before tilting their head back and shrieking.

They start to claw at their chest (with no hole in it), then their face, then their stump, shrieking and definitely waking up at least Tessai and Ichigo, sensing them coming towards the source of the sound quickly.

The small one suddenly turns to Urahara, a sudden spike in their reiatsu appearing as a many-layered voice cries out inside his head.

Help them! Help Hollow! It begs. Sibling in pain! Help them!

Tessai is the first to arrive, pausing at the scene, partially out of the mass amount of reiatsu

“This little creature wants me to help their sibling.” Urahara says. “Although I’m unsure how.”

Tessai nods, looking the tall one up and down. Then Ichigo arrives, and the small creature’s reiatsu flares more, and everyone takes a few seconds to get used to the sheer amount

Higher one! Help them! Help them!

Ichigo flinches, and Urahara tucks away what the little creature said for later.

“Why can’t you help them?” He retorts. Of the three, Ichigo definitely was not the one to go to for healing.

The little one stills, like memories are coming back to them.

Unifying Void. Killing Infection. Saving sibling. Can’t Focus. Can’t use SOUL. Help them! Help them! Higher being! Help them!!

Tessai steps forwards, going near the still-writhing tall creature. The small one watches with a dead look, although it’s hard to get much out of a full-head mask.

Help Hollow? Shell-less Shaman helps Hollow? Ghost thanks! Help them!

Tessai starts to heal the stump, which had started bleeding blackness. The small one’s thoughts continue to be impressed upon the trio, although Urahara’s almost positive they don’t know they’re doing it. Especially with how dark they start to get.

Green SOUL? Wandering Shaman? Higher being? Three higher beings. Danger to sibling? Kill them if danger. No Infection. Radiance dead. Squished. Hollow okay? Hornet okay? Lost sibling okay? King is dead. Kill mother. Shaman heal Infection? Where Shaman go?

More questions than answers, but the thoughts and immense amount reiatsu dissipate, leaving the two creatures. The tall one is sitting up now, looking around and analyzing their surroundings. The second one is signing, now where Urahara can see it.

Hollow! You okay? I killed the Radiance and now I’m here. Think she brought us here. They sign. Is she gone? Shell-less Shaman healed your stab wounds. How is your mask? Do you need a bench?

The tall one holds up their hand, signing the best they can with one arm.

I am fine, sibling. Why do you call me Hollow? Is it a name? Have you bestowed me a name? What is your name, if you have one? It signs back, and the three shinigami (well, two shinigami and one part shinigami), watch in rising horror as the small one (Little Ghost, a name apparently given to them by their sister), is technically a god and a god killer, and a master of the nail, whatever that means.

Hollow does ask about the Nailsmith and the Nailmasters (what are with these names??), and Little Ghost talks about how Nailmaster Sheo now is a Paintmaster, happily with Nailsmith to make their own art and their own path. Hollow is not happy with how Little Ghost calls Sly a conniving bitch, though.

Once the catch-up is done, Hollow looks between Ichigo, Tessai, and Urahara.

You feel like Pale Being. They sign. Like Father and Mother (Little Ghost’s reiatsu screams hatred at the mention of their parents), like Radiance, like the Troupe Masters.

Little Ghost starts to flit at the mention of Troupe Masters, looking through a bag with fervor, but Urahara ignores them in favor of figuring out what is going on here.

“I don’t know what ‘pale being’ you speak of.” He starts. “But if they’re some kind of god, I can guarantee that we aren’t.”

Hollow seems to relax at that. Little Ghost sits down with a soft ‘thump’ and puts something on. Suddenly, there’s a chirp and a small creature that looks like it’s made of fire appears and nuzzles against Little Ghost. Hollow shifts at the creature.

Is that a... Hollow trails off.

Grimmchild! They sign excitedly before jumping and sprouting a pair of wings in pure joy. Didn’t think charms worked- You! They point towards Ichigo. Wield your nail!

They pull out what looks like some sort of sword, and things start to fall into place. Slowly.

Ichigo looks reluctant to fight this early in the morning, so Urahara gestures that he go back inside to sleep. He unsheathes Benihime, and Little Ghost lets him hit them.

Or so it seems because Urahara feels something go through his body, making his very soul quiver, and suddenly Little Ghost is behind him, and Tessai is looking increasingly concerned.

“Urahara-dono, maybe we should do something.” He says, and Urahara almost agrees. Until he sees what Little Ghost is signing to Hollow.

You can be free, Hollow. They sign. Pale King isn’t here. You can feel things, you can finally cry and smile and not hide. You are free. Ghost emphasizes the last word, and in that moment Urahara knows he might just have to bring these two into the family.

#bleached knight #thats the au tag now #<3 1 am writings #p bangs the keys #should i use bleach tags?#nahhhh well see how it goes

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laceymorganwrites · 4 years

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The story of the sad chapter 16

Word count: 1,106

Pairing: Ban x reader

Warnings: gore, mentions of blood, character death (the gore isn´t too explicit, I tried writing it as such but I suck at explaining things so yeah...)

A/N: I´m just gonna act as if this didn´t not update in the last few months...

You couldn´t feel your wings any longer. The pain was dull and you merely felt the weight dragging you down. You couldn´t move, every time you did a sharp pain went through your spine.

Otherwise the pain was aching, throbbing.

You hated being useless like this, with your magic having run out and you being injured like that, you couldn´t even wield your sword right now.

And that at the most crucial part in battle. It was truly pathetic, you could hear your former soldiers laughing at you in their grave.

It felt wrong talking to Diane so peacefully while the others were fighting and investigating the cave, but you had no other choice.

Yet, you still felt bad for holding Diane back.

You screamed out in pain when a giant shock wave struck and blew you away to the capital again.

Landing on your wings, you broke them even more, almost tearing one off.

You could feel warm blood drizzling down your back at an alarming rate, it was only a matter of time before you got drowsy.

Looking around frantically for the source of the shock wave, you made sure everyone was okay.

Noticing that your fellow sins were blown away as well you scrunched your nose at the sight of how beaten they looked.

“That fucker...” you winced as you saw Hendrickson approach you. His appearance had changed into something demonic, well not truly demonic, but part of him certainly was.

You still wondered what his role in all this was, if he was part of a bigger picture you were missing, just what exactly his goal was.

Somehow you couldn´t figure it out, but honestly, you were glad to even be able to think right now.

Though you couldn´t really complain, you weren´t the only injured one.

Hendrickson proceeded to attack Gowhter as Meliodas tried to stop him from getting near Elizabeth.

You crawled your way to her and Margareth and sprawled out in front of her to protect her.

To be fair you looked quite pathetic, your sword was almost falling out of your hand and you could hardly breathe.

There was confusion among the masses of holy knights as to why their grand master suddenly was the enemy, thus made it easy for Hendrickson to cast a demonic spell with a wide range which annihilated quite a few holy knights.

He continued to attack as the dawn roar, Slader´s group started battling him, another magic knight stepped in and they cast their strongest attacks on him.

To no avail however. In this state he seemed invincible. Especially since almost everyone on the battlefield was injured somehow.

Gilthunder tried to rekindle their fighting spirit as Elizabeth awoke, sitting up and proclaiming that everyone should flee, she didn´t want any more deaths.

You understood her too well, but you had to stop him here and now, whatever the cost. Otherwise the world would be doomed.

The knights kept attacking, but nothing helped.

You could feel the ground rumble and smirked weakly, now was Diane´s turn.

King joined her and together they cast a combination attack, but Hendrickson didn´t even frown, they also ended up being defeated, thrown away as if they were mere flies to him.

This couldn´t be.

He should at least be a bit tired now…

Your eyes went wide as you realized that he cast yet another long range attack and you tried to protect Elizabeth when Meliodas jumped in front of you to do just that.

However even he couldn´t withstand the aftermath of such an attack and collapsed on the ground.

He weakly told her to run, but she stood her ground, tearing up slightly.

No other words could be exchanged before Hendrickson collected his demonic magic in his hand, forming a dark orb that would obliterate anything and anyone that would come into contact with it.

“Don´t you dare… touch them… asshole…” you heaved, an unpleasant whistling sound emitting, your lungs were screwed as you figured. But what part of you right now did even work anymore?

With shaking hands you crawled your way forward, all the time raising your head to glare daggers at him.

“Be patient, insect. I´ll put you out of your misery soon enough” he darkly commented, letting his magic loose and attacking Meliodas.

You bit your tongue, tears streaming down your face from the pain and continued crawling your way to the dirt, feeling your nails rip but you had to keep going.

Who would have thought that the one to bear the attack would be none other than Hawk?

As the attack hit him your voice was gone, you couldn´t believe it, choking out air, mouth wide agape, it looked comical.

All of this happened because you were weak, you let this happen, it was your fault alone.

You had one mission: to protect the princess, your sister. And you couldn´t even do that right.

The shock wave that followed was the last straw of your consciousness and you let yourself be engulfed into the darkness, feeling the dull ache your body was in more than ever.

You awoke by a bright light and flowers blooming around you, squinting your eyes you sat up, suddenly all the pain was gone and replaced by this familiar magic.

Startled, you hastily stood up and looked at Elizabeth, but the little hope you had vanished.

She didn´t remember yet, but she certainly unlocked her magic.

You picked up your sword and looked around to see where everyone was, feeling relieved when you saw that almost everyone was alright.

Everyone except the dead.

Elizabeth was soon surrounded by Diane and King who wanted to ask her all sorts of things, yet she couldn´t answer because she had no knowledge of casting the magic, to her it was like it just appeared.

Margaret came to her sister´s aid when she collapsed and took her to safety.

Meanwhile everyone was grabbing their weapons and tried to stop Hendrickson from getting to her.

Meliodas was the first to move, kicking him right in the face, following it up with numerous blows of his sword, you were getting excited just watching him.

You decided to wait a bit before you joined in, letting him have his fun first.

This also motivated everyone else and you quickly joined your friends, readying your sword.

Ban quickly checked you for injures and you flapped your wings to show him that you were alright.

You smiled at him, holding his hand and squeezing it in reassurance, somehow you´d make it, whatever it took, you´d win.

And it already took way too much.

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thebibliomancer · 3 years

Text

Tides of the Dark Crystal liveblog pt 21

Tides of the Dark Crystal because Tavra is revealing her spidery fate to Tae!

Last times on book: Amri and co are on a quest to unite all the Gelfling against the Skeksis. They've managed with the Sifa and with the Dousan. They thought they managed with the Vapra since All-Maudra Mayrin was part of the big Gelfling conference call Aughra hosted but they've just received word that Mayrin has died. The group has come, finally, to Ha'rar to find the streets stalked by sinister Skeksis. They also find Tae of the Sifa and have gone off to regroup with her.

Chapter 21

Tae and the group catch each other up, then Amri tries to catch a sea monster.

At the far end of Ha'rar, the cliffs dropped away into the ocean. A narrow, carved stairway cut down the steep mountainside and deposited them at the wharf, a stretch of ice shelf held against the Ha'rar cliffside with stone pillars. Metal poles -- used for docking ships, Amri imagined -- stuck out of the ice and water like spines. But all were empty. What had probably once been a bustling marketplace and landing for the Sifa and other seafarers was now barren and silent.

There was only one ship in the harbor, a familiar Sifa craft with red, blue, and purple sails. Amri felt safer as soon as they were inside, cabin doors locked and the cushions and quilts surrounding them with the scent of Onica's herbs and Sifa fernsage.

Huh! Welcome back to Onica's ship everyone. Once they went to the desert, I didn't suspect they'd be back to it.

Tae explains that she accompanied Ethri to the maudra meeting and since they didn't know what to expect, they borrowed Onica's ship instead of bringing the Omerya. But she wants to hear their explanation first. She called dibs on hearing exposition.

So they recap how Tavra got taken over by Krychk the spider and used to infiltrate Team Naia, how Kylan dream-stitched Tavra’s soul to the spider when her body died, and how they sent the flower petal warning to the world. For good measure, they recap the part of the book after they left Cera-Na.

Tae is curious about the spider thing and asks what its like to do the crystal-singer thing.

“It’s sort of like dreamfasting,” Amri answered for them both. “You know how in a dreamfast, you feel like you’re someone else, just for that dream? It was like that. I felt like I was her.”

“And I was you,” Tavra finished in agreement. “Yes, it was like dreamfasting. I was able to see through Amri’s eyes. When we flew to save Onica from the Crystal Skimmers, it was as if for a moment...”

As if for a moment I was Gelfling again, she had been about to say. Amri frowned. He wondered how it must have felt, if even for a moment. To fly once more, only to have to go back to being a spider again.

Poor Tavra.

Tae asks why she didn’t reveal herself back at Cera-Na.

“What was there to say?” Tavra asked with a spider-size shrug. “My own sisters do not know I am still alive. If this state could be called living.”

=( =( =(

Are there Gelfling therapists?

Onica interrupts this sad line of thought by asking Tae to take her turn to explain whats been going on. She especially wants confirmation that the Skeksis killed the All-Maudra.

THIS is news to Tae but not a surprise and she has to shake off the anger with a sigh of frustration.

So Tae explained that Seladon sent out windsifters with pieces of the crown and a message that Mayrin had passed. No further information.

As was tradition, the maudra gathered in Ha’rar to crown Seladon and that’s when things got weird. Once the maudra were gathered, Seladon announced that Mayrin was a traitor and would not be given burial honors. Then she declared that the Vapra were loyal to the Castle and called for the maudra to bless her ascent to All-Maudra with the insinuation that to not support her was the same as declaring war against the Skeksis.

Ethri didn’t know what to do given this subtle ultimatum and with the Ritual Master and General in the city so wound up supporting Seladon for All-Maudra, figuring that the resistance could still be built in secret under cover of maudra unity.

So that’s the explanation for why Ethri supported Seladon in the All-Maudra election despite having come around to resistance in this book. Cool, cool.

However, Momdra Laesid withheld her support. Amri guessing that she wouldn’t support an All-Maudra swearing loyalty to the Skeksis when the Skeksis have named two of her children as traitors.

And Maudra Fara also withheld her support, I guess having changed her mind from Song of the Dark Crystal she didn’t want to rock the boat.

Maudra Argot didn’t attend the meeting, having important cave business but sent back her piece of the crown.

Maudra Seethi and Maudra Mera blessed Seladon and Tae isn’t sure whether its because they support the Skeksis or fear them.

So that’s a majority vote for Seladon for All-Maudra. One that bodes of a split among the Gelfling. Right when they need unity. Even if Seethi and Argo flip for the resistance, its not looking good.

After the vote, Maudra Ethri returned to Cera-Na to update the Sifa but Tae stayed behind.

Tavra tells her it was foolish to stay and analogizes the current situation to a storm.

“I know that. But the last time I faced a storm near Ha’rar, I could do nothing to stop it. You had to save me. This time, I will do everything I can to do the saving.”

Naia and Kylan glanced at each other and Amri remembered he was the only one who had seen Tavra’s memories and heard from Onica about her Far-Dream of the storm. Naia and Kylan had no idea what Tavra and Tae were talking about.

Hah.

Onica cuts the tension by saying there’s no point arguing about it when its already happened. Tae is here with Onica’s ship so they might as well accept it.

So Amri questions what Maudra Fara will do after denying Seladon as All-Maudra.

“The Stonewood are loyal and Maudra Fara is a fierce maudra for her people,” Kylan said. “I learned that much when she forced us to leave instead of offering us sanctuary. If she’s decided to stand with Rian, and knows that the Skeksis will come for her people first...”

“She may go to war with them,” Tae finished. “She said as much when she challenged Seladon. And Naia, you mother, Maudra Laesid. What do you think she’ll do?”

“Fight,” Naia replied without hesitation. “She didn’t lose her leg running away from battles... But this is wrong! Now isn’t the time that any of them should be fighting among themselves. We need to unite, not break apart!”

Tavra decides that this is why Mayrin was killed, because the Skeksis found out she was going to join the resistance and Seladon would be easier to manipulate.

Seladon has also gone dark since the crown ceremony and there’s rumors that she left Ha’rar or that the Skeksis killed her too. And the Vapra are loyal to a fault, like the Stonewood. They’ll follow their maudra but if their maudra isn’t given a voice, the Vapra will remain docile.

Everyone feels pretty down now with the situation being pretty dire and Tae announces that Tavra should be All-Maudra instead of Seladon.

“This isn’t fair, Tavra! It should be you leading the Vapra -- your voice that should be heard. It should be you standing against the Skeksis for the Vapra, not Seladon! Everyone has always known it should be you!”

Man. I cannot imagine that helped Seladon’s inferiority complex. Never able to live up to her mom’s standards and everyone thought her younger sister was a better All-Maudra prospect than her. Geez.

Despite Tavra shooting down her argument by saying that Seladon is the rightful successor due to being the first-born and that even if she had a body, its not given that she’d beat Seladon in a challenge since her lack of fortitude is what got her into this spidery predicament to begin with.

“And yet you fight on, like a true leader --”

“Because there is nothing else I can do!”

Aw geez.

“Of course I wish I could displace Seladon. Lead my people. But I can’t! The Vapra cannot see me. Ha’rar cannot hear my voice. I cannot wield a sword against the ones that killed my mother. I cannot even hold the one I love. So let it go, Tae. Let me go and find another hero to put your faith in.”

Aw geez again.

There’s only so much a stoic demeanor can hold when someone is piling on and making you feel how helpless you really feel.

Tavra does the thing she’s been doing when she’s done with a conversation and physically leaving the room. Its about the only thing she has control over so I get it. She just squeezes between the table planks and disappears into the room.

Onica changes the topic because she’s been really good at that. But she brings up that they need to try to unite the Vapra but that the Skeksis in the city makes that hard.

Tae tells her that the Skeksis requested that the Vapra gather on the steps of the citadel tomorrow night. Some believe that Seladon will finally make an appearance but others believe that the Skeksis will announce her death.

Either way, that gathering is their best shot to reach the Vapra but at the same time, having the Skeksis present makes it dangerous. Even if they get the Vapra to light the fire of resistance, the Skeksis will be there to see it and so much for uniting the Gelfling in secret, its instead an open declaration of war and one that the Gelfling might not be able to win. Especially with not all of the clans united.

Tae asks Onica to do the Far-Dreaming thing she does and ask for Thra for answers. Though Onica tries, no answer comes from Thra. “It does not always, and we must find peace within that.”

Darnit, Thra.

Although I wonder if this is one of the things like with the Dousan, where Thra isn’t going to answer because the answer is already there.

Onica tells them to get some sleep and immediately gets up and goes to bed.

There’s nothing really that everyone can do but follow her lead.

Amri is still awake as all his friends drift off, the poor protagonist nocturnal boy. And he thinks that what the Vapra need is something or someone to remind them that they’re not alone.

But he’s still stuck on Tavra being that something and he can’t wrap his head around a workaround to the whole she’s a spider thing.

He hears a CLUNK in the night. He thinks its the boat bumping against the wharf but it keeps CLUNKing followed by splashes so now he starts wondering about that story he heard about a water spirit that lures little Gelflings into the sea.

Gelfling or humans. If you live where theres a sea, you’re gonna worry that there’s something in it that will drag you in.

He tries to wake up Naia but she’s fast asleep. So Amri goes out onto the deck alone, in the middle of the night.

Oh, Amri. Never become a horror movie character.

You’re probably okay here because the book doesn’t switch POVs.

On the deck, he becomes distracted by the light of the Waystar up on the cliffs.

Amri walked out, staring up at it. It had guided ships into the wharf, had brought travelers north as they came to meet with the All-Maudra. To see the beautiful Ha’rar, a place whose name was known as far and wide as the Gelfling race had traveled. A place now as vulnerable as Domrak. As silenced as a Silverling in the body of a spider.

There’s still splashing and clunking against the boat, so like a smart person, he leans over the side to look into the water.

He sees a long shape with a long tail swimming and bumping into the ship. Amri calls for Naia or Tavra but neither his voice nor the collisions seem to wake them up.

So like a smart person, Amri grabs a coil of rope, ties a slipknot, throws the loop at the sea creature just as it breaches, snagging it. Giving him rope burn because this thing can pull.

“Naia!” he shouted. She didn’t answer. She didn’t come.

A loop of the rope came racing up behind him. Before he knew what was happening, it caught him around the ankle. He lost his footing as the line shot over the side of the rail, tangling around his legs. Then he was falling over the rail, crashing into the frigid ocean water below.

Well, Amri. You only have yourself to blame for this.

You Ahab’d yourself.

#dark crystal #the dark crystal #Tides of the Dark Crystal #liveblog #Amri #Naia #Kylan #Tavra #Onica #Tae #wanted to get this post out sooner but I've been on mandatory overtime and was too tired to liveblog

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gmfgravitymayfall · 4 years

Photo

For Dipper, I wanted to mix more of Vergil into the design, rather than just making him older and built like he can hold himself in a fight like I did with Mabel. I also tried to put a little bit of Ford into him. Especially with the coat. Thinking about it, I’ll probably experiment with graying his hair a bit. A little Mr. Fantastic strip on the sides, maybe?

I kinda wanted to flip a specific dichotomy between Dante and Vergil with Mabel and Dipper that I noticed, especially in DMC 5. Dante is really scruffy and unkempt, but when Vergil comes back he’s very well groomed and put together. Now Mabel is still very casual with the way she dresses, but I wanted to give the feeling that she takes care of herself and Dipper doesn’t. So he looks like he hasn’t shaved in a few days and he hasn’t slept even longer.

Also, Dipper with his hair slicked back (Much like Vergil) to show off his birthmark.

Mabel and Dipper are the offspring of the human witch Eva and the Demon Knight Sparda.

When Dipper was seven, Sparda’s former blood brother Bill Cypher attacked their home in an act of revenge after Sparda single-handedly fought off Cypher’s armies to protect humanity. Cypher managed to imprison Sparda in the underworld and murder Eva.

In order to protect them, Sparda decided to separate Dipper and Mabel so they can grow up without Cypher breathing down their necks. He has Eva’s uncles Stanley and Stanford take the kids and wipe their memories of their parents or what happened when Cypher attacked.

Ford takes Dipper and moves him to the small Oregon town of Gravity Falls. An supernatural hot spot where the veil between the human world and Limbo is especially weak.

Ford had taken to studying the supernatural and demonic, and even built a lab under his house to research and catalog his findings.

Dipper spent most of his childhood acting as Ford’s assistant. Though Ford never let him participate in research that would be to dangerous for him, at least until he was older.

While Ford rarely ever left his house, Dipper would occasionally go into town and eventually became friends with, and developed a crush on, Wendy. But only referring to himself by his real name, Mason. (And if I hadn’t gone on the Gravity Falls wiki to get references, I would never have known what Dipper’s real name is, and I would have just named him Alex)

In addition to doing research, Ford also gave Dipper access to his fairly large library of fiction books. He developed a taste for fantasy, pulp adventures, and poetry. Ford even gave Dipper his favorite book: a collection of William Blake poems. Something Dipper would keep well into his adult life.

Dipper had been suffering from nightmares of Limbo for most of his time with Ford. During an experiment to see if he is subconsciously accessing Limbo, he summons the Yamato for the first time.

Dipper and Ford immediately begin training to use the Yamato and Dipper’s other abilities. He even began slaying demons that have been possessing citizens of Gravity Falls.

Because Ford explained the dangers of letting the demons know of his existence, Dipper learns to eliminate the demons quickly, quietly, and very efficiently.

While the demons never learn that Dipper is Sparda’s son, they realize someone is killing them and suspect Ford because of the experiments and research he’s been doing for years. Dipper does kill all of the demons, but is unable to save Ford.

Ford, assuming something like this could happen eventually, left Dipper a video message that tells him the full details of Eva and Sparda’s death, the existence of Mabel, the threat of Bill Cypher, and the location of his childhood home, believing traveling there would fully restore is memory.

After getting his memories back, Dipper decided that he and Mabel are the only ones who could destroy Cypher. But they couldn’t do so on their own.

Ford had multiple unclaimed patents that Dipper could sell to finance his war against the demons. By the time he managed to track Mabel down, Dipper had gained a small fortune both from Ford’s creations and his own.

Dipper established the Order, again, only referring to himself as Mason, to launch domestic and cyber terrorist acts against Cypher’s control over humanity.

After the Order is up and running, Dipper’s information network discovers Cypher has been operating out of Gravity Falls for a few weeks, and found out Wendy’s family had been targeted by Cypher because of her psychic abilities. Dipper helps get her out of the situation and brings her into the Order.

After he and Mabel defeated Cypher, Dipper admitted his ultimate plan was for the two of them to rule humanity in Cypher’s place, believing that humans were too weak to protect themselves. Mabel disagreed with this, and the two fought with Mabel winning.

Dipper’s wounds were so server he had to retreat using Yamato to cut open a gate way to recover. He found his way to Fortuna City, collapsing in an alleyway behind an apartment building.

He is found by a young nursing student, Camilla Noceda, and after Dipper refuses to be taken to the hospital, Camilla takes him up to her apartment to nurse him back to health.

While Dipper physically recovers in a day or two, he sticks around for about a week more, trying to figure out what to do next. At one point, Dipper and Camilla sleep together a single time. Dipper leaves while she’s asleep, unaware she’s pregnant.

Dipper spends several years furthering his studies of various demon lore, looking for a way to increase his power to achieve his goals.

He comes in contact with the maniacal scholar, Arkham. Dipper and Arkham agree to work together to open a hell portal using the two pieces of the Perfect amulet that he and his sister inherited from their parents.

Mabel and Arkham's daughter, Candy, come to stop their plans and Dipper and Mabel have a rematch. Dipper, having grown much stronger since their last duel, defeats Mabel and takes her half of the Perfect Amulet.

Dipper and Arkham double-cross each other, and with Mabel's help, Dipper defeats him. But the Pines Twins fight once more, this time with Mabel as the victor, and Dipper falls into the Hell Portal.

While in the Underworld, Dipper is confronted by the disembodied spirit of Cypher. With nothing else better to do, convinced he's now strong enough to do so alone, and wanted to take out his aggression on something, Dipper draws his sword and charges the Demon King.

Unfortunately, Cypher utterly wrecks Dipper's shit and spends many, many years torturing Dipper and warping his mind. Eventually transforming him into his personal dark knight, Nelo Angelo.

When Cypher tricks Mabel into coming to Mellet Island, Dipper, as Nelo Angelo, fight his sister multiple times. However seeing Mabel's half of the Perfect Amulet breaks through Cypher's reprogramming, and give her the opportunity to defeat him once again.

While Dipper was not directly involved with the Emperor's Coven incident, his influence could be felt in two specific ways.

First, the coven was using the Yamato to both give their witches the ability to transform into Nelo Angelo like monsters, and to open a portal to the underworld.

The other was his own daughter, Luz, whose right arm was transformed into the Devil Bringer when Dipper's demonic blood awakened within her. Luz also heard Dipper's voice in her head, desiring more power, when she first wields the Yamato herself.

Some years later, Dipper somehow escaped the Underworld after being freed from Cypher's control. But whatever he went through left him extremely weak.

Dipper finds where Luz lives and rips off her Devil Bringer arm in order to retrieve the Yamato. Dipper uses the Yamato to split himself in two, creating the human Wirt and the Demon Urizen.

After Mabel successes in defeating Urizen, Wirt merges with him and Dipper is restored to full strength.

Dipper and Mabel fight to a stalemate, but their duel is stopped by Luz. After Luz defeats Dipper, he agrees to help Mabel destroy the demonic Qliphoth tree so the Pine twins can continue their duel uninterrupted.

Dipper promises Luz that he will return, both to get to know her and for a rematch. And leaves her the book of William Blake poems Wirt would regularly read from.

#Gravity May Fall #Dipper Pines #Devil May Cry #Vergil #Mabel Pines #Stanford Pines #wendy corduroy #Bill Cypher #luz noceda #The Owl House #Wirt #Over the Garden Wall #Urizen #eva dmc #dmc sparda #Camilla Noceda

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gleam-and-darken · 4 years

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Zelda AU #2: The Triplets

The sketch is rough at best, but Zelda is supposed to look like she does pre-calamity, Tetra looks like the girl from the BotW 2 trailer (because it is her, I might explain that later if anyone’s interested), and Sheik has his design from Smash Ultimate. This is really just my take on the twins AU which was originally created by someone else (rockingthegraveyard, I believe).

https://triforce-princess.tumblr.com/post/627266504652668928/this-is-awesome-your-brain-is-so-good

Anyways, I was thinking of what this might actually look like as a fleshed-out story, and I decided that Zelda’s twin could be named Tetra. And then I thought, “hey, we can’t leave Sheik out!” And so here we are. Basically, thanks to her siblings, Zelda is able to stop the calamity and (almost) everyone lives happily ever after. I don’t actually plan on writing this into a formal story so this is a long post where I just dump a lot of my ideas concerning the trio. I will not be writing this into a story, because I’ve never played BotW and I fear I would get everything wrong, but you’re welcome to! If someone ends up writing something based on this, I’d love to know so I can read it. I also have lots more ideas about this, so if you want more content (aside from this ridiculously long post), just ask!

Zelda is technically the oldest, although it hardly matters since they’re triplets. Thanks to this, she is arbitrarily the one who had all of the responsibilities heaped upon her. She’s pretty similar to how she appears in BotW, except Link isn’t even a potential love interest for her. He’s just her knight whom she’s gradually grown close to - as a friend.

Tetra is the middle child, and by far the most troublesome. She is outgoing, adventurous, brash, and basically everything you don’t want in a princess. King Rhoam tried to raise her to be proper, constantly reminding her that it was the hero’s (Link’s) duty to be the courageous one, not the princess. This often resulted in her running away and threatening to join the gerudo. She and Revali got along like a house on fire, often bonding over how overrated Link is. She absolutely hates Link, because to her, he represents not her failures, but the failures of her country and family. Why can’t a princess with no triforce be the hero as well? She makes no attempt to hide her distaste for him, although she might have changed her perspective a little if she realized that Link actually greatly admired her. It’s too bad that he was too scared of her to tell her himself. Speaking of being too scared to admit things, the one thing Tetra can’t bring herself to say aloud is that she has a huge crush on Princess Mipha.

Sheik is the little brother, known as the quiet one. Unlike his eldest sister, he knows how to fight, but hates doing so. He would much rather prefer to be exploring the lonely areas of the wild, or researching ancient tech with Zelda. He’s trans, and while his sisters support him and his father respects that, King Rhoam also saw that as an excuse to ignore him. After all, the legends never told of princes doing anything noteworthy. Thus, the king, and by extension almost everyone in Hyrule, more or less forgot about their quiet prince. The champions knew about him and were varying degrees of nice to him, especially Lady Urbosa, which was more than almost everyone he met could say. He didn’t mind it too much, and didn’t even realize that it was wrong until after his father was dead.

Link had a varied relationship with the triplets. Originally, both Zelda and Tetra despised him, because he reminded them of everything wrong in Hyrule - Zelda’s own self doubt, and Tetra’s failed attempts to become her own hero. Since his two sisters were always talking about how much they hated having this royal knight follow Zelda around, Sheik grew to dislike him as well, despite having never met in person. However, there was a time in the castle when Tetra practically kidnapped Zelda and whisked her away to an unknown location in Hyrule, sending everything into chaos. Sheik was pretty sure that they were both in on it and were simply trying to prove how well they could manage without Link, but they hadn’t informed him of their plan before they left, so he really had no idea. What he did know was that they left Link behind, and now the royal knight was panicking because he thought the king would blame him for letting his daughters vanish, and feared he’d be at the very least jailed.

Link, to his surprise, was not punished - the king was too busy cursing his own tomboyish daughter - but was sent to go find them alongside a team of Hyrulean soldiers. Not wanting to look useless, Sheik joined the quest. In their travels, Sheik discovered that Link was actually a lot like himself, just in completely different circumstances (and much more reckless, unfortunately), and the knight found that the prince was one of the few people who didn’t meet him with impossibly high expectations, for which he was thankful. They became fast friends, although since they both said an average of ten words a week combined, their friendship often looked more like them being present in the same room.

Much later, after both princesses had returned to the castle (“of our own accord,” Tetra had reminded everyone within earshot), the king doubled down on Zelda discovering her powers. She and her knight were rarely seen around the castle, always visiting springs and whatnot, while Zelda’s siblings were left at the castle doing... basically nothing. They were both training constantly for a battle that they were beginning to believe would never come.

Their seventeenth birthday started like any other day. They were at the castle while Zelda and her knight were off at another spring to pray, along with the champions. Then all hell broke loose. (Literally.) Something monstrous decided to rear its ugly head from under Hyrule Castle, and it took over the guardians to boot. Of course, both Tetra and Sheik became extremely concerned for their older sister, since she probably couldn’t fight a bokoblin, much less corrupted ancient technology. This, combined with the fact that the castle was probably the worst place to be right then, prompted the two to bolt into the field and find their sister. They had to fight guardians the entire way, and Sheik recieved a nasty injury, but kept denying how bad it really was.

Despite the storm, she wasn’t that hard to find, thanks to that explosion of what they guessed was her divine magic that had finally decided to say hello. They found her as opposed to the sheikah, but arrived on the scene a bit to late for the hero. He wasn’t dead (or was he?), or at the very least he could be saved/brought back, but he was clearly not about to help them fight. (Still, Sheik absolutely lost his mind when he saw the state Link was in, to the shock of his sisters. Neither of them knew he was close friends with the knight.)

Zelda quickly explained her plan to her siblings, where she would return the sword to the forest and face Ganon herself, to which Tetra said “hell no.” The Master Sword was right there! Hyrule needs saving, and the princess found herself to be a perfectly competent hero. The sword could be fixed. Somehow.

This part is where I’m a little on the fence about what happens. The sword’s health and power does seem to be tied to Link’s, as evidence by how it heals with him over 100 years and can only shoot sword beams when he’s at full health (I think), but since Tetra actually was worthy of wielding the sword, Fi could have been restored when she accepted the blade. Alternatively, Tetra and Sheik could have been the sages of earth and wind without realizing it, and we’re able to restore the sword on the fly. You get to decide how the sword repaired itself.

So now Tetra has roped herself into fighting Ganon with the Master Sword, Zelda by her side, while Sheik is losing his mind over what is basically the corpse of his closest friend. It’s at this time that Zelda realizes just how injured her brother is. She knows that he can’t fight the calamity like that, so she tasks him with taking Link to the Shrine of Resurrection, like Fi said. Initially, he refuses, but he soon decides that it’s all he can do and agrees.

The triplets go their separate ways. Somehow, the sisters are able to get to the castle very quickly, and start to challenge the Calamity. Zelda uses her new sealing powers to force him into a mortal form, while Tetra beats him up with her new weapon of choice. Ganon originally shrugs them off, more or less, but as they start to win he activates Panic Mode and summons all of his blights back to the sanctum to fight the sisters. Luckily, the blights were snatched right out of their battles with the champions, who were beaten and shaken but still alive.

However, thanks to his new allies, Ganon starts to win. Just when the princesses think they’re about to die, the divine beasts - which are under the control of the champions after the blights left - strike, finishing off the Calamity. Naturally Ganon has a few tricks up his sleeve and transforms into Dark Beast Ganon, moving to Hyrule Field. By Hylia’s (late) divine grace, Tetra and Zelda are teleported to the field as well, alongside Sheik, surprisingly. He’d just set Link up in the shrine before getting pulled here. Zelda is able to summon the Bow of Light, which becomes his weapon.

Together, the three of them are able to take out the dark beast. Zelda creates weak points, while Tetra and Sheik shoot them with Master Sword beams and light arrows, respectively. (Maybe Tetra DID die, but her health was restored by a fairy, or she’s at full health for some other reason.) So now Ganon is dead. Castle town is in shambles, and multiple people are dead, including the king. But don’t worry - Urbosa quickly makes herself the new parental figure of the triplets.

Hyrule is rebuilt. The people celebrate the defeat of the calamity, and the guardians are restored to their former abilities. Tetra becomes the new Champion of Hyrule Castle, wielding the Master Sword and the Sheikah Slate. For an extra happy ending, maybe she and Mipha formally become a couple. Sheik pioneers work on improving ancient and modern technology, showing a special interest in ways to reverse aging. After many years, Queen Zelda’s son, Daphnes Link Hyrule, becomes the ruler after her reign ends.

And so, the people of Hyrule live happily ever after.

... and 100 years later, Link wakes up.