#in that manner eri is not much different save that she is in a much more dangerous position in remaining among the displacers | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

alteredphoenix · 1 year

Photo

Some character designs for some more of the girls that appear in the Daemon Familiar’s story in the present day era and whom Airi will meet - and contend with - on her travels to find the Demon King-in-Exile. That I...did during the ice storm and three of the sixteen hours spent in the dark without power, but y’all don’t need to know that.

Locations, and mostly outfits, are not 100% finalized, but written here as a reference point for future material.

A quick rundown:

Rochelle (left): The current leader of a community-driven law enforcement agency out in the jungles west of Esserings that was founded by her ancestors shortly after the Great War, in a direct counter-response to the police brutality and corruption among and enacted by the Displacers. Rochelle is dedicated to continuing her family’s line of work and upholding the peace that they feel the Displacers have failed in their duty to follow since their formation in the Rift War. Although she is willing to give the Displacers an opportunity to redeem themselves of their crimes against the common folk, Rochelle is willing to fight dirty and shed blood against them if it means their corruptive influence and arrogance will not harm her people and fellow officers - including a time-displaced cadet in training such as Airi, whose wanderings with Iryna lead her right into the heart - and the cross-hairs - of the group colloquially called ‘the Displacer Hunters’.

Hikari/Akari (middle): A former Displacer in the Esserings Displacer agency. As one of the two rising stars among their generation, Hikari was considered to be a candidate for promotion as an elite captain of the Displacer Honor Guard, an exceptional honor that is normally granted to more older, experienced members - especially to people that inhabit the islands to the far west and south of the mainland continent. However, observation of the corruption and misconduct committed by not only her own unit but other divisions among the Displacers led Hikari to become increasingly disillusioned, frustrated, and ultimately disgusted with the lack of investigation and accountability toward them, until she became a target of harassment and sexual abuse from the upper echelons. One such crime committed by her unit was the theft of a sword from a demon society, said to be forged under a full red moon, with the spirit of a night gaunt and the ability to drink the blood of people with sinful hearts. Unaware of the crime that had been done save for the claims of its creation, Hikari was drawn to and found solace at the sight of the bloodletting blade. Eventually, she came to the conclusion that the Displacers were a lost cause and must be dismantled. On that day, she broke through the containment housing the Blade, slaughtered her way through the ranks she once called ally, and fled the Esserings a wanted fugitive, taking up the pseudonym Akari. There she finds her way into Rochelle’s community and slowly earns her favor - and her respect - by providing evidence of the ongoing misconduct of the Displacer agencies. At the time of Airi’s travels, Hikari is currently Rochelle’s third-in-command, below her lieutenant and confidante, Marshall.

Eri (right): The second of the two Displacers within the Esserings Displacer agency that were considered for promotion to Honorary Guard. Eri and Hikari belonged to and fought in the same unit and were known to be close friends, to the envy of many that vied for Hikari’s attention. However, whereas Hikari had been relaxed and carefree, Eri is quiet, no-nonsense, and a strict follower of the law, focused on upholding the honor and integrity of her organization. However, she herself was not blind to the rumors and allegations of corruption among the Displacers, and although Hikari struggled to bring to light their severity and calls for investigation from the unions and parliament, Eri could only watch as each request was denied or failed with no follow-up. It is then that news of Hikari’s theft of the Bloodletting Blade and mass slaughter of their comrades quickly spreads through the mainland - news that drives Eri into denial and despair. What became of that promotion is unknown, but presently Eri remains within the ranks not only as an elite Displacer but as a licensed bounty hunter, in the wake of rumblings that the Demon King-in-Exile has selected a new Chosen Hero. Eri bides her time and carries out her duty as seen fit, determined to keep tabs on the time-lost stranger named Airi who is on the move with the return of the Majestic Twelve but root out the corruption of the Displacers from within - and, eventually, come to blows with Hikari, who is equally resolute in supplanting the Displacers from their seat of power.

#armi's art #armi's ocs #traditional art #traditional sketch #drawing #sketch #original characters #character design #if you had asked me if i would come up w/ a story that would go on to tackle police brutality #under the guise of the inversion of the demon king candidate trope i would've called you crazy #but the past several years have been crazy so here we are #we have the 2020 riots to thank for changing my mind on making rochelle a villain that would inevitably kill her off #to making her into an anti-hero/anti-villain that cares deeply for bringing justice to the poor & downtrodden #but also absolutely willing & ready to throw down against the rich the elite & the very political bodies that keep the cycle of abuse going #in that manner eri is not much different save that she is in a much more dangerous position in remaining among the displacers #to fight the corruption from within even though there are also displacers that are fighting alongside her to change the system #hikari OTOH believes the displacers are too far gone to change from within & that an outside force must enact change #and carry on the duty placed upon them when they formed in the wake of the rift war #which in daemon familiar's canon will cause a 2v1 to inevitably erupt #and eventually become a 2v2 when airi aligns with eri - albeit for her own reasons a'la continue to find the demon king-in-exile #in reality no one is the antagonist - just ppl w/ different views on how the system should be properly utilized #especially when demons and familiars come into play among humanity #honestly i surprised myself w/ that development LMAO #i can't say much about who rochelle & eri would embody IRL #but i always likened hikari to be a feminine cross between frank serpico & adrian schoolcraft #honestly looking back on it now initially conceiving rochelle as a villain leaves a poor taste in my mouth #she is not a bad person by any means #however i wanted an antagonist that would openly challenge airi's ideals #as both displacer and the demon king's hero #if there was anybody that would fit the bill it would be rochelle

1 note · View note

daydreaming-nerd · 2 months

Text

Young Love and Old Money (Cassian x Female! Reader)

Young Love and Old Money Masterlist

AN: Sorry I’ve been a little MIA recently. I was pretty busy last week, but I’m back now and I’m so excited to be writing this series!

Summary: She was the most beautiful woman in Prythian, sister to the High Lord of Night, and now she is the soon-to-be wife of Eris Vanserra. Despite her many titles and her aura of unattainability, Cassian can't help but fall deeply in love with the princess of the Night Court. But will it be enough to stop her impending wedding to a man who is sure to destroy her from the inside out?

Warnings: Sexisim, trauma from under the mountain, Rhys isn’t the nicest in this but he has his reasons.

Word Count: 3,458

As I sauntered down the hallway towards my brother's study, I couldn’t help but feel my palms sweat and my heart race. It was the first time he had ‘summoned’ me in such a manner since we had escaped from under the mountain. That was a year ago, and ever since we made it back to Velaris he had been different. Colder. Not that I could ever fault him. Rhysand and I’s time under the mountain was grueling, but it was far worse for him. First he sacrificed his freedom to save Velaris, then he sacrificed his body to save me.

My whole life I had been told I beheld a beauty that was otherworldly. However, I had no powers to go alone with my looks. Once I got older rumors across Prythain grew of two siblings of night. Rhysand, who would be the most powerful High Lord to ever grace the land, and me, his younger sister who was born without magic but given the most coveted gift of all. Some even said that Rhysand stole my magic away in our mothers womb, making him the most powerful high fae alive and leaving me with nothing but a pretty face.

At first I loathed the idea of being powerless, but I soon realized the power my beauty had over others. High Lord’s begged for my hand left and right, males of reason and education would lose all inhibition around me. I quickly became The Jewel of Prythain, a name that was used far more often than my own. The second Rhysand and I’s mother and father realized that, they locked me away. Me and my virtue were far too good a bargaining chip to be let loose into the world. At first it was jarring, having all my freedoms taken away. But Rhys would always come home and tell me the tales of him and his new friends Cassian and Azriel. In a way I got to live through him and I was forever thankful for it.

When our parents died Rhys gave me more freedom but I neglected to take them. I became close with our cousin Mor and even spent time with his friends Cassian and Azriel, but that was the extent of it. I had grown so used to living in solitude that I didn’t long for much more. His time as High Lord was short lived, soon after the death of our parents Amarantha came into power and Rhys was to be taken under the mountain. As the princess of the night court, I had no other option but to go with him, or risk Velaris.

The second we were down there Amarantha sunk her claws into him. Rhys fought and resisted her, and for a few weeks he had been able to keep her at arms length. All of that changed when Hybern came to check on the state of things. He took one look at me and ordered Amarantha to hand me over to him, to be his whore. I had never been so scared in my life, and I had no idea what to do. Rhys spoke up and told Amarantha that if she kept me safe he would go to her bed willingly. It was enough for her to spare me, but it never spared me from the grief of knowing what Rhys was putting himself through to protect me.

50 years came and went until we were finally free from under the mountain. I remember the smell of night blooming jasmine gracing my nose as Rhys winnowed us home. Mor was the first to greet us, then Amren. Finally Cassian and Azriel flew to the townhouse and the sight of all of our old friends was almost unreal. As I watched them all embrace us, my eyes couldn’t help but float to Cassian. Had he gotten taller since I last saw him? Bigger muscles? More handsome?

After settling in Rhys changed. He was harsher, colder, no doubt the things he experienced under the mountain still plaguing him. He stayed in the townhouse while I took up residency in The House of Wind, both of us needing time to ourselves to process what had happened.

I had lived in the House of Wind for a year now, only seeing my brother once a month for family dinners, and I suppose today. I approached his office doors and knocked quietly.

“Come in,” his voice boomed, more High Lordly than I had ever heard before.

I step in the door and shut it quietly. For what reason? I’m not sure, there was just something about this new Rhys that made me feel so small, especially now.

“You wanted to see me?” I ask my brother, standing before his desk.

“Yes I did,” he started, sifting through papers. “I wanted to tell you that I finally read fathers will and there’s something in it that concerns you,” he says.

“What?” I ask in disbelief. While our father wasn’t a cruel man he never paid much attention to me, focusing all his attention on Rhys, his male heir.

“He has it written in his will that he struck a deal with Beron and Eris Vanserra years ago.” Rhys says sliding a paper over to me. “The Autumn Court will give us their armies if you marry Eris.”

I glance at the paper Rhys has handed me. Sure enough in fathers hand writing is a contract signed by all three parties. An agreement I was never told about until now.

“Hybern is on the move and Azriel say’s that he will dock on our shores when he arrives. I think now is as good as ever to call in the contract.” he states leaning back in his leather chair.

“You want me to marry Eris?” I ask, hoping it wasn’t true. I knew very little of the Prince of Autumn, except that he was a sadistic brute who had a way with women.

“Not just me sister,” Rhysand drawls sensing a fight. “It was our fathers will as well. I have every intention of finishing what he started. We leave tomorrow for the Autumn Court. You will meet Eris, and Beron and I will go over the details once more.”

Part of me boils at the idea of what my brother is saying but then I remember why our mother and father locked me up. Why every High Lord thirsted for me under the mountain. I could still hear their voices uttering, “There’s The Jewel of Prythian” and, “The most beautiful female of Prythain,” completed with, “I heard that Rhysand stole her power in the womb leaving her with nothing but her beauty”

This was my fate from the moment I came of age. A bargaining chip to whatever High Lord or Prince was willing to pay the most for. I wanted to scream and cry and beg Rhys not to make me do this. But then I thought of all he sacrificed for me under the mountain. I could do this for him.

“Then I’m excited to meet him brother,” I said, giving a fake smile.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Rhys smiled, the tension from his shoulders dissipating at my words of cooperation. “You are dismissed to begin preparations for tomorrow.”

I nod my head and take it as my queue to leave his office. The second the double oak doors close I feel my heartrate pick up and I’m suddenly dying for a breath of fresh air. I walk quickly to the front door, my dress billowing behind me as I try to keep my tears from falling. I sit down on the front steps of the townhouse and let the spring air blow across my face. My tears fell slowly but surely as I let all my composure go.

My mind raced with thoughts of Eris, all the terrible things I had heard of him over the many years. How other High Lords were terrified of the day Beron passed and Eris took his place. If they were terrified of him as a ruler, how scared should I be to have him as a husband?

A shadow slammed into the ground outside the townhouse pulling me from my thoughts. I tried to wipe my tears away and act like nothing was wrong, but I knew better than to think I could fool my Spymaster for one moment.

“Hey are you okay? What’s wrong?” Azriel cooed. Azriel and I had gotten close since I came back from under the mountain as he and Cassian also lived in the House of Wind. He had taken on the role of big brother since Rhys was battling his own demons.

“I just got done talking to Rhys,” I sniffled, feeling the large Illyrian sit next to me. “He says I have to marry Eris.”

“Vanserra?” Azriel clarified and I nodded. “He can’t be serious, Eris is a monster.”

“Apparently our father had it arranged years ago, but I didn’t know about it till now. We’re going to the Autumn Court to meet him tomorrow.” I explain, wiping my eyes.

“Well I guess that explains why Rhys called me down. Do you want me to talk to him? Maybe I can stop this.” Azriel says, taking my hand in his.

“No it’s okay. Rhys is right, war is coming and if this marriage can protect you and Cassian as well as our people then I’ll do it. Besides, Rhys sacrificed so much to keep me safe under the mountain, I owe it to him to do this.” I sigh, feeling my breathing calm down as Azriel rubs circles on my hand.

“You shouldn’t have to sacrifice yourself for Velaris and you shouldn’t be trying to even the score with Rhys. Rhys did what he did because you’re his little sister and he loves you, not because he wanted an IOU,” Azriel explains, continuing to rub circles on the tops of my hands. His scared and calloused hands soothing me.

“Maybe, but I’m going to do it anyway. I won’t let this city down or my brother,” I say, taking a deep breath.

“Then you are the bravest princess I know,” Azriel says, kissing my brow. “Not that I haven’t always known.”

“Thanks Az,” I smile, bumping my shoulder into him.

“I’m sure this meeting won’t be very long, want me to fly you home when I’m done?” Azriel asks.

“That would be great, thank you,” I smile, even though my eyes are still glassed over.

With that Azriel went inside to talk to Rhys, leaving me outside to take in the fresh air. I sat watching the people of Velaris going about their daily lives. Couples holding hands on the Sidra, children playing in the streets. I couldn’t help but wonder if the Autumn Court would have a place like this, and even though I was still here I couldn’t help but feel a bit of prophetic homesickness.

The next morning was full of primping and trying on a million gowns. Rhys had sent Nuala and Cerridwen to make sure that I was groomed to perfection. Even though they had taken hours I couldn’t help but fuss over every detail while looking in the mirror in the living room of the townhouse. After I made sure that the pins holding in my crown were secure I smoothed my hands over my dress a million times, trying to wipe the sweat from my palms.

“You look beautiful,” crooned a deep voice.

I nearly jumped out of my skin, bumping into the table under the mirror and knocking over a vase. I turn to find Cassian standing next to me, red siphons faintly glowing and looking handsome as ever.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to startle you,” he smiled, picking up the vase and turning it back upright.

“It’s okay,” I smile. “It’s my fault for being so lost in thought.”

“Everyone ready?” Rhysand asks stepping into the room where Cassian, Azriel and I have been waiting for him.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I sigh, stepping towards him so he can winnow us to the Autumn Court.

The second we arrive I’m greeted with a cold chill running up and down my arms. The smell of wet leaves and woodsmoke surrounds me, and if I wasn’t being brought here to be sold off like cattle I might even say that I liked this place. Rhys led me up the stairs to the palace, Azriel flanking Rhysand’s side while Cassian flanked mine. The closeness of him almost made my skin buzz with excitement. I mentally slapped myself, reminding my brain that I was about to meet my future husband.

The palace of the Autumn Court is beautiful to say the least. The marble floors are bathed in amber light from the various chandeliers that hang from the ceiling and swaths of deep red and golden fabrics are all over the rooms. A set of large oak double doors opens before us and I’m greeted to the sight of Beron Vanserra sitting atop his throne, his eldest son Eris standing at his side.

Eris was tall and lean. His eyes were like molten fire and his mouth turned up at the sight of me. If I didn’t know a thing about his character I would’ve said he was handsome. The throne room was intimidating and I couldn’t help but notice that only one throne sat atop the dias. Apparently The Autumn Court didn’t believe in High Lady’s.

“Rhysand, welcome to my court,” Beron greeted us, stepping down to walk towards Rhys.

“We are honored to be invited,” Rhysand smiled with a charm that only he could possess.

“This must be your sister y/n,” Beron smiled. “Step forward girl.”

I wasn’t sure if Beron’s voice was like a spell that propelled me forward or if I was just so scared my body was acting on instinct. But the second the command left his mouth I took two steps toward him.

“Very nice,” Beron drawled as circled me like prey making my cheeks burn with embarrassment. “I see that all the stories of her beauty are true. Can you vouch for her purity, Rhysand?”

“I can assure you that she remains untouched,” Rhys says and bile nearly rises in my throat.

“Wonderful,” Beron claps his hands together. “Eris why don’t you and y/n take a stroll around the terrace while Rhysand and I finalize the details.”

“With pleasure father,” Eris says, stepping down from the dias towards me taking my hand in his. “You are even more beautiful than the stories say,” he smiles, pressing a kiss to my hand.

“You flatter me Prince Eris,” I smile, allowing him to lead me outside.

“I’ve been told that flattery is one of my many talents,” he smirks as the fresh Autumn air hits my face.

We walk until we reach the bannister of the terrace. I lean against it, peering out over the valley below us. Bright bursts of reds, oranges and yellows flow throughout the land, the setting sun making the scene picture perfect.

“Over there are the kennels where I keep my hounds,” Eris tells me, pointing to a large red barn off to the left.

“That’s right, I’ve heard you’re a magnificent hunter,” I smile, craning my neck to see more of the barn.

“It’s true, I’ve been hunting for years. I’ve tried thousands of other hobbies but nothing gives me quite the thrill that hunting does,” he explains and I can sense the double meaning in his words.

“What’s that over there?” I ask, pointing to a patch of land riddled with targets, bows, swords and what appears to be a fighting ring.

“That, my dear, is where my brothers and I train, and that’s where our sons will train once they can wield a sword,” he explains and his words make me sick.

“And if we have a daughter?” I tease trying to keep the conversation light.

“Then she will be a pretty little wall ornament for a future High Lord, just like you are,” he says brushing a hand down my bare arm. “But know this, you will bear me a son.” he growls and it feels like an order.

I swallow hard trying to keep the tension rolling through my body from gracing my face, “Of course my prince,” I say turning towards him.

From the corner of my eye I see Cassian leaning against the door watching the two of us, and I wonder if he has been here the whole time.

“Who are you?” Eris sneers.

Cassian straightens up, a playful glint in his eye, “I'm merely the humble guardian of your future wall ornament, ensuring she remains as exquisite as she is now." He says with a charming smile that would normally bring me to my knees. Instead it was taking everything in me not to laugh.

Eris’ jaw ticks at Cassian’s tone but he remains ever the calm and collected prince he was brought up to be. “Very well then.” was all he could say before we were interrupted by my brother and Beron.

“Look at them, they already make a very handsome couple,” Beron says to Rhysand.

“I can’t argue with that,” Rhysand smiles. “Come sister we’re going home, you and Eris will have time to talk later this week.”

I don’t argue or ask questions as I am dying to get out of this wretched palace as soon as possible. I bid my goodbyes to Eris and take my brother's hand as he leads me out of the palace and winnows us away. It isn’t until the scent of jasmine fills the air that I let myself finally take a deep breath. I barely have a moment to think before Rhys speaks up.

“Things went well, but Eris has asked for the contract to be changed,” Rhysand states.

“In what way?” I ask, fearing the worst.

“He wishes for you two to court for a month, if at the end of that month he finds you agreeable you will become his wife,” Rhys states.

In a way part of me is relieved, if at the end of the month Eris decides he doesn’t want me anymore I’m free. Free from this marriage, free to stay home with my family.

“Then I guess I’ll have to continue to spark his interest,” I say, my words betraying me.

“Precisely,” Rhys nods. “Azriel come with me I have a mission to discuss with you, Cassian fly y/n to The House of Wind.”

“On it boss,” Cassian replies jokingly, turning to me. “Ready to go?” he asks me.

“More than you know,” I sigh, tossing my arms around his frame and letting him fly me out of the townhouse.

I had always loved flying, I remember when Rhys first summoned his wings and was learning how to use them. He would come home with cuts and bruises all over him that Madja had to clean up. She always joked that he spent more time being bandaged up than he did in the air. But the day that Rhys finally learned how to fly he rushed to tell me all about it. Later that night he snuck me out of the townhouse and took me on a flight around the city. I had never felt so free in my life.

I felt the same way now as the wind whipped my hair behind me, Cassian’s warmth seeping through my clothes keeping me from getting cold. I tried to not breathe in his scent of cedar and leather, but with my face so close to his neck it was hard to ignore.

A sudden gust of wind had us blowing sideways and I gripped his neck tighter, peering down at how far the drop would be.

Cassian chuckled, “Don’t worry princess I got you,” he assured me, holding my body a little closer to his own just to ease my worries.

“I know you do,” I laugh nervously, trying to act unaffected.

“Are you sure? Because you’re still gripping my neck like you’re going to topple out of my arms.” Cassian chuckles again.

I loosen my tight grip, feeling embarrassed. “Sorry,” I murmur, trying to cover my blushing cheeks.

“No need to apologize,” he laughs, touching down on the balcony outside of the living room.

“Thanks for taking me home,” I say softly, turning towards the door.

“Of course, anytime,” he smiles before taking off into the sky again.

I watch his form disappear into the clouds and as I make my way into my room I can’t help but long for that smell of cedar and leather.

Part 2

Taglist: @crystalferret202, @nickishadow139 , @graceshifts , @writeroutoftime , @heyyitsnat21,

#cassian x reader smut #cassian angst #cassian smut #cassian acotar #cassian x reader #cassian x you #rhysand acotar #azriel shadowsinger #azriel x reader smut #azriel x reader #azriel x you #azriel smut #rhysand smut #rhys acotar #rhysand x reader #rhysand #rhysand angst #rhysand fluff

297 notes · View notes

separatist-apologist · 8 months

Text

Still A Sunbeam

Summary: As a child, Elain Archeron is pushed into a pond by the heir to the Day Courts throne, Lucien Spell-Cleaver, and vows she'll never forgive him for it. But as an adult, Elain finds that if she wants out of an arranged marriage to a Spring Court prince, she will need Day Court's help. More is at stake than a decades-old rivalry, and when their home is threatened, Elain and Lucien will have to set aside old differences and work together

Previous Chapter | Read on AO3

Having no expectations should have saved Elain some surprise. Her and Nesta had rushed off too quickly for Elain to really consider what she might find in Night Court, and once Velaris shattered her expectations, her mind didn’t bother filling in any new gaps.

Still, finding her sister paint streaked and beaming ear to ear. Elain certainly didn’t expect to be assaulted by the smell of her sister, either.

Glancing up at Nesta, her older sister merely shrugged as if to say, we don’t talk about that. Elain had a million questions, squashed as she stepped into the airy, bright sitting room that her sister was currently painting in. Seated in a chair, presumably for study, was the object of the scent rolling off her sister.

The new High Lord. Elain recognized Rhysand from those meetings in Spring. He was just as handsome as he’d ever been, though somehow more relaxed. It seemed it ought to have been the opposite—that becoming High Lord in such a violent manner ought to have made him more nervous, more uptight. Certainly more fearful than he was, out in the open where anyone could drive an ash arrow through his throat.

“Hello, Elain Archeron,” Rhysand purred, crossing one leg over the other. “How fascinating to hear the kingslayer think of all the ways I might be killed. Not at your hands, I hope?”

Right. She’d forgotten he could hear people’s thoughts.

“Kingslayer?” Elain asked instead.

Nesta scoffed, pushing through the living room to stand beside the mantle place. Cassian grinned at the High Lord before dropping into a chair just beside him, wings draping over the arms. In some ways, it reminded her of Day Court, though much, much smaller. Perhaps the rest of Rhysand’s court was in a palace somewhere.

“That's what they’re calling you,” Feyre told Elain, really studying her for a moment. “Did you truly kill the High Lord of Autumn?”

“No,” Elain said automatically. “Eris Vanserra did.”

“She merely stabbed him through the throat, darling.”

Darling?

Feyre didn’t react to the endearment and Rhysand turned to his sleeve, plucking at some stray thread Elain couldn’t see.

“Can we talk to Feyre without an audience? For once?” Nesta interrupted, eyes narrowed. Rhysand turned his head to look at her and Elain bet he couldn’t push through the walls that guarded Nesta’s mind.

“We’ll be fine here,” Feyre told the High Lord, once again confusing Elain. What was their relationship, exactly? It didn’t seem romantic on her sister's end, though there was some kind of affection in the undercurrent of her words.

Rhys stood then, shooting Nesta a look she’d seen on the faces of men one too many times. The sort that warned her to mind her own business, and the kind that only made Nesta more iron willed. Cassian, on the other hand, swaggered to his feet with a lazy, lopsided grin on her own face.

“Nes—”

“Don’t call me that,” she snapped, for all the good it did. Cassian merely straightened himself, a soldier being reminded by a general not to slouch.

“Call if you need me.”

“I won’t,” Nesta retorted, though Elain caught color crawling up her neck. Elain would have given anything to have Lucien with her, murmuring some missing context in her ears. She swallowed, waiting for the males to exit before Nesta rounded on them both.

Feyre had already plunked down in the chair Rhys had been sitting in, drawing her knees beneath a thick, cable-knit sweater.

“Nesta—”

“If we left right now, no one would stop us,” Nesta whispered, glancing toward the open window. “We could be back in days.”

“If you make me go back, I’ll take Spring apart flower by flower,” Feyre shot back, eyes flashing with fury. Elain remembered these sorts of fights—her sisters refusing to back down until Elain stepped in and smoothed things over.

She tried not to feel resentment for being thrust back into this role. It was a role she’d never wanted to play and had felt forced to, and now, as adults, felt even more so now that she’d been pulled away from her mate and husband to convince the two of them to stop acting like they didn’t love the other.

Their mother wasn’t around, pitting them against each other. They could be friends if they wanted. Elain understood why Nesta wanted her there, though she waited to jump in so she could hear Feyre’s reasoning.

“He won’t let me go. You know he won’t. Lucien Spell-Cleaver saw me unbound and in my right mind and Tamlin is still convinced—”

“It’s not about Tamlin!” Nesta interrupted. “Fuck Tamlin. Let Elain explain how you kill a High Lord for all I care. I know you’re worried about Amarantha.”

That silenced Feyre. Elain came around the room, sitting across from Feyre while she waited, too.

“Killian is there, too,” Elain told her younger sister, echoing the same fear that Feyre had. “Everyone surrounding them will be telling them how smart and clever and wise they are.”

“I know,” Feyre whispered with a huff of air. “Just the thought of…of placating him when he’s done so many horrible things, I…I want to rip his neck from his body.”

“Do it,” Nesta said dismissively.

“You’re not helping,” Elain murmured without malice. “There is no need to kill anyone, just as there is no need to marry anyone—”

“You’ve done enough of that,” Nesta muttered.

“You’re married?” Feyre asked as Elain wished for a moment she had the fortitude to scream at them both.

“Yes,” Elain said through gritted teeth, “and I do not want to be here, either. Yet here I am. We will go to Spring and try and put some sense into the heads of the males there. We will spend a week in our old beds, walking those old hallways, and being good daughters. And if we aren’t successful, we will leave and inform our respective High Lords of what we’ve learned.”

“Rhys will never allow it,” Feyre murmured. Elain thought the same was true of Lucien…if he’d known it.

“They don’t own us,” Elain told her sister while Nesta crossed her arms over her chest. Whatever was going on between her and the warrior named Cassian was apparently going to remain a mystery. Nesta said nothing, made no comment on a male she’d miss.

“We should go before they realize what’s happening.”

“I don’t think we’ll be able to get away with killing two High Lords,” Feyre mumbled, rising to her feet. “And I need a few things. Hold on.”

She raced upstairs, leaving Elain a little irked that she hadn’t thought to grab anything, either. She’d be back in spring florals before the day was through.

“I didn’t kill Beron Vanserra,” Elain grumbled.

Nesta shrugged. “Semantics.”

Elain sighed, because there was real danger to people believing she’d killed Beron Vanserra. She was safe with Lucien, but anywhere else she might be perceived as a threat. Tamlin could hold her hostage, if he liked, and demand an inquiry to the High Lord’s death. He could ransom her back for gold or protection or allies. It was foolish to think he wouldn’t, and Elain had to hope that her insisting she would never do such a thing, coupled with her reputation for non-violence, would spare her.

Feyre returned with a bow slung over her shoulder and a quiver of arrows tucked under one hand. “While we’re there, I want to trap the Suriel again.”

“Again?” Elain and Nesta gaped, looking at the fine, silk cloak hanging from Feyre’s shoulders. Feyre glanced at them both. She’d changed from her comfy sweater into a high necked, long sleeve, white shirt with a blue and gold tunic falling over top. Tight pants were tucked into immaculate boots, and the paint had been scrubbed from Feyre’s face, her hair braided off her face so the tail draped neatly against her shoulder.

“Subtle,” Nesta commented, though there was no ire to her words. “Maybe we should tell everyone our plan.”

“We have no plan,” Elain hissed, rising to her feet. “We are just three daughters going home to see our parents. As far as anyone else is aware, we are doing nothing else. And we are not assassinating a High Lord.”

“Again,” Feyre added with a twitch of her lips. “No instructions about a foreign general, though?”

“One problem at a time,” Elain replied, hating the way her palms were sweating. Too much stood to go wrong, with very little seeming as if it might go right. The part of Elain that prioritized safety and comfort was tempted to start screaming until Rhysand returned and gave her back to Lucien. And then what, she wondered? Lucien would know for the rest of their lives that when things got hard, she didn’t really want any of the things she’d once clawed so desperately for. How long before he began suggesting she just stay home? That she didn’t need to do anything at all? And how long before she just let him?

They had to go. It was a week, which was no time at all to accomplish anything and just enough time, Elain thought, to sow some seeds of discordance. Nesta and Feyre would be far better at that then she was, but Elain was a lot more careful and closer to Killian than she preferred to be. Perhaps he could be reasoned with, even if they were never going to get married. Elain had to trust it, because Nesta was hellbent on them going, and she refused to be branded the coward of the Archeron family.

And maybe, deep down, Elain wanted to prove to her mate that she had just as much courage as he did. That she was the kind of wife he could be proud of. Elain wanted to feel that same pride in herself, too. To know that she didn’t run away when things got hard—that she still tried, even when she was scared.

Kingslayer. That’s what Rhysand had called her, even though in truth, Elain had just been scared and had acted anyway. It hadn’t been bravery, it had just been instinct. Choosing to walk out the door, though, sandwiched between her sister, though?

That felt like bravery. Even if their presences grounded Elain and made her feel safe, it still felt like courage, however small.

“Lets go,” Feyre murmured, taking the hand Elain offered to them both. “Rhysand is on his way back.”

“Tell him not to do something foolish,” Nesta warned as Elain realized Feyre could speak to the High Lord mind to mind. Elain squeezed both their hands.

“Tell him to trust you.”

And then they were gone, gobbled up by the icy wind Nesta commanded. Elain held her breath, eyes squeezed shut even as the cold gave way to a cool, lilac scented breeze. Sunlight warmed her cheeks even as somewhere in the distance, thunder rumbled threateningly.

They were home.

LUCIEN:

“Baby brother,” Tanwen began, clapping his hand on Lucien’s shoulder. Already, Lucien had regrets. Namely, agreeing to anything Eris had proposed, alliance or not. Let Autumn rot for all he cared—if Hybern swept in and took Spring, they’d take Autumn too. Eris could be High Lord for a month before he was replaced.

It was the thought that losing both Spring and Autumn left Summer vulnerable…and forced a battle to be fought in Winter, that convinced Lucien to unpack his clothes in a bedroom that smelled deceptively like apple pie.

Now he was in the hall, snooping because he was bored, only to find himself face to face with Tanwen and Conall. He knew them apart by their height—Tanwen was taller, Connall bulkier—and the fact that Tanwen kept sharp-bladed axes strapped against his back. Connall merely looked dangerous, but Lucien knew Tanwen was the warrior, Connall another courtier.

“What do you want?” Lucien asked, shaking off Tanwen’s hand.

“Come outside with us. Play a game.”

“Is the game hunting me for sport?” he snapped.

Connall’s grin widened. “Tempting, but no. You’re the one who hates us, remember?”

No, Lucien very much did not remember that. Still, it seemed better not to argue with them when he was currently residing in their fragile court. “What’s the game?”

“Counting how many new sentries Tamlin has sent to our borders,” Tanwen said, flexing a broad hand at his side. Lucien hesitated, certain he must have heard that wrong. It seemed risky to let him see any of the inner workings of their court or relationships with other courts…unless there was something they wanted his father to know.

“How tightly does he guard his border?”

“Lately?” Connall asked, steering Lucien down a hall. Both Vanserra’s flanked him, leading him toward some exit he’d never seen before. Lucien was surprised they were offering him any information at all. Eris must have given them permission—their positions were precarious as it was. Any one of them could make a play for the throne. Could campaign quietly for an army, for support, kill Eris, and take his place.

And yet none of them seemed terribly interested in it. Not that he thought they’d betray that to him. Things seemed…peaceful. Sorted. And Connall didn’t hesitate as he told Lucien, “The borders are tightly patrolled on Spring’s end. They never used to be so well monitored.”

“We slipped over all the time,” Tanwen added with a savage smile. “There is the most delightful village with the curious problem of too many females and not enough males.”

Connall was grinning too, stepping through the immaculate lawn toward the forest beyond. “Say what you want about Spring Court, their females are unmatched.”

Lucien’s spine straightened, hackles raised. He didn’t offer a comment to that, hating both Tanwen and Connall had made him the butt of their joke. Lucien was also strangely drawn to the creeping forest. Something in his blood jumped at the rustling tree tops and the loamy scent emanating from the shifting, golden light slithering through the shadows.

Tanwen glanced over. “You feel it?”

“Yeah,” Lucien agreed, unable to lie.

Connall’s brows rose. “Interesting. We wondered…since mother…”

Never once in Lucien’s life had he wondered if he had any claim to Autumn. That place belonged to the Vanserra’s—his enemies. And because Lucien hated them so much, there was no reason Autumn would call to him. And maybe, if he’d known that this place was in his blood, he would have hated them all harder for it.

Lucien was his fathers son—had always been.

But maybe he was his mothers, too.

Lucien took a breath of crisp air before plunging into the woods after his brothers. It felt good to stand there, like something that had long been writhing in his body were suddenly soothed and settled.

“Welcome home, little brother,” Tanwen murmured, shoving Lucien playfully with his shoulder. “Maybe you’ll think kinder of us, now.”

“Convince your father to let us see our mother more often,” Connall added, darkness lacing his otherwise easy words.

It was on the tip of Lucien’s tongue to remind the two of them that it wasn’t his father that kept them away, but their own dead one. He was certain his mother had already written, begging them to come to dinner once a week, if not more. And Lucien knew—though of course his brothers didn’t—that his father had no say over what his mother chose to do.

They’d have to figure that one out for themselves. Maybe Arina could model it for them, given Lucien very much doubted his friend was going to let Eris boss her around. Maybe they knew it, given there was no true anger in their expressions.

“Is there a reason you brought me out here?” he finally dared to ask.

“Just to see how you’d react,” Tanwen admitted, that practiced smile slipping back over his features. “Eris wanted to know.

“He could have asked—”

“And watch you refuse?” Connall replied, halting in front of Lucien. Their boots were lost in a sea of multi-colored leaves, their faces dappled in sunlight. “We have to force your hand to see you at all.

“Why would you want to?” Lucien demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. “We are—”

“Brothers,” Tanwent finished flatly. “Which clearly means nothing to you. Here, though…”

“That’s all we have,” Connall added, his expression neutral and guarded. “That’s all we’ve ever had. You don’t understand it and we’ve never held that against you but now…”

“Come on,” Tanwen said when it became clear Lucien wasn’t going to respond. What could he say? This was all news to him. Lucien was trying to parse through his memories, trying to piece together a time when he thought his brothers actually liked him. Never, if he was honest. He was content to trudge behind them, mind racing. What would life had been like if he’d been allowed to be friends with them?

Lucien couldn’t even imagine it. He tried for the duration of the now silent walk, but his mind rebelled. These were the Vanserra’s, tainted by their father no matter how they tried to untangle themselves from that legacy. Lucien’s whole world was shaped around Beron’s cruelty. To admit his brothers had somehow been spared of his influence meant everything Lucien had ever believed was fundamentally flawed.

He wanted to go home. Right then, Lucien considered just winnowing out and burying himself in his wife until this was a grainy, half-forgotten memory. The only thing keeping him from doing exactly that was the disappointment he could see so plainly on her face. She wouldn’t like knowing he’d left rather than try, nor would she appreciate him snubbing Eris when it was so clear that Eris had built some kind of trust with his mate.

So Lucien trudged on, increasingly aware of the world around him. The trees seemed to whisper secrets, speaking in a language he only half understood. Beside him, Tanwen’s head was cocked, ears twitching.

Connall had stopped altogether, one hand on his sword. The two brothers looked at each other before their gazes slid to Lucien.

“You’ll go home after all this,” Tanwen murmured, his voice a whisper on the wind. “And tell the solar courts what you saw.”

“What…” Lucien turned his head, looking through the thinning treeline. He’d expected sentries, well armed but mostly harmless. Not an encampment, with tents buttressed against the borders of Spring and Autumn. Stretching seemingly for miles, and likely touching Summer, too. It wasn’t guards, but a full army preparing for invasion.

“Time to go,” Tanwen said, his word law. Both Lucien and Connall stumbled back, winnowing back to Autumn before anyone caught the scent of them.

“Tamlins a fool,” Connall spat the moment they were inside the walls of the Forest House. “Foolish to think you could align with Hybern and not end up ashes, too.”

“Maybe he couldn’t back out of the deal,” Lucien suggested. His brothers turned to look at him, an idea forming in his mind. One his father almost certainly wouldn’t agree to…if he knew. Lucien could go on behalf of Eris, though. Take Connall or Tanwen or Cadmus with him.

“What are you thinking?”

“Two of us go. Just to visit, to extend a friendly welcome. Emissaries,” he added pointedly. “They wouldn’t tell us much, but we just need to see how much of Hybern has clawed its way into Prythian and convene the other six High Lords. And quickly.”

“Take Cadmus,” Tanwen said after a moment. “If Eris will allow it.”

“Lets go ask, then.”

In the end, it took very little convincing on Eris’s part. The words had only half left Lucien’s mouth before Eris was agreeing. Lucien intended to quickly pack his things, the thrill of doing something making him a little less careful than he usually was.

“Lucien. Cadmus,” Eris interrupted, halting them both in their path. “You come back together, or don’t come back at all. Do you understand me?”

Lucien and Cadmus looked at each other, a ripple of understanding passing between them. Brothers, Cadmus’s brown eyes seemed to say. Lucien inclined his head before turning to Eris.

“Understood, High Lord.”

“Don’t fuck this up,” Eris added, though who he was speaking to was anyone’s guess. Cadmus and Lucien exchanged another look, one that very clearly expressed their shared annoyance. It felt brotherly and Lucien didn’t hate that feeling.

“Heard, loud and clear,” Cadmus mumbled with an eye roll.

“Let's get out of here,” Lucien added, reveling in the camaraderie. He ignored the knowing looks from Tanwen and Connall, telling himself this was his way out of his promise to Eris.

Knowing full well it counted, all the same.

#elucien #sorry this is so short #sometimes it be like that

41 notes · View notes

mahoutoons · 2 years

Text

Sonic Dimensions: Chapter 2 - The Tale of Two Princesses

yes i have the second chapter already.

at the time of publishing this i have already written four chapters of this fic and i'm currently writing the fifth.

anyways, this entire chapter is narrated by blaze the cat, except the very end after the asterisks.

AO3 link

A long time ago, the king and queen of the Sol dimension had twin daughters - Eris and Harmonia. The tradition of the Sol dimension said that only the Imperial Princess could guard the Sol emeralds, which meant that only one of them would become the Imperial Princess of the Sol dimension. The twins were meant to be in competition from the start. But they were the best of friends.

The twins could not have been more different. Eris was loud, boisterous, and chaotic. She loved adventure and would often leave the palace by herself to explore. She was not afraid to speak her mind. She’d often be the one getting into trouble. In contrast her sister Harmonia was the voice of reason. She was more calm and collected. She knew her manners and tended to be a stickler for the rules. She was obedient and often kept anything she had to say to herself. Though she would tell Eris those things usually. You can guess which one of them was more favoured by their parents. But despite their differences, they were best friends, at least at first.

As children, Eris and Harmonia played a lot. They’d run around the palace, in their rooms, in the palace gardens. They’d go out to explore. On one of their adventures, they came across a beautiful cave, with emerald green gems for stalactites. The cave seemed to glitter from the inside. The children, of course, went to play inside. It became their secret hideout. Any time Eris was upset, she’d go to the cave. And Harmonia would follow right behind her. They’d stay there for hours, wallowing in the beauty of the cave, staring at the stalactites.

That was when they were children. As they grew up, the king and queen’s favourtism towards Harmonia began to show more. They had always neglected Eris or gotten into arguments with her but now it only became worse. They were sure that Harmonia be the Imperial Princess and they trained her as such. That meant Eris would often be separated from her. She’d often ask Harmonia to play with her, only to be told that she was busy and couldn’t play. Eris’ arguments with her parents became more frequent. She’d go to the cave more often. But this time her sister didn’t go with her. No one came to get her. The cave did make Eris feel better but it simply wasn’t the same without Harmonia around. Harmonia, who used to be her best friend but barely talked to her anymore except to reprimand her. Harmonia, who used to comfort her but now didn’t even give her a second glance because she was too busy with her Imperial Princess training. Eris didn’t mind that Harmonia was to be the Imperial Princess. She thought it would be too much work if she had to protect the Sol emeralds herself. But she at least wanted there to be a semblance of the old times.

One day, when Eris had an argument with Harmonia, she stormed out of the palace. As she made her way to the cave, she met a sorceress named Hecate. The two of them soon became friends. Hecate taught Eris a bit of her magic. Eris was fascinated by magic. To the point she wanted to become a sorceress herself. She showed a talent for magic from the first time she tried it. Hecate saw it and told Eris to meet her everyday and she would teach her magic. From then on, Eris would sneak out of the palace to meet Hecate and learn magic. Eris became good at it very quickly. At the same time, Hecate also became her best friend and mother figure. Eris would tell her everything and Hecate would offer her comfort. Those little sessions with Hecate became Eris’ saving grace. Life at the palace was miserable so she would always look forward to sneaking out and meeting Hecate. Those sessions were the only times she was truly happy. Until her parents discovered what she was up to.

Now in those days, magic was seen as a forbidden art form. There was a lot of panic around it and everyone was skeptical. There were rumours that sorcerers and sorceresses were evil and out to steal your souls. The fact that a princess had been visiting such an individual and learning this dark art form did not sit well with the king and queen. They forbade Eris from ever seeing Hecate again. A long argument escalated between them. Eris looked to Harmonia for support but her sister just turned the other cheek. She said she was disappointed in Eris that she would even learn such an evil form. Eris was outraged. She tried to run away to the cave, but the king and queen forbade her from leaving the palace.

The very next day, the king and queen tragically died in an accident. The entire kingdom was devastated. Screams of mourning rang throughout the palace. Harmonia, in her grief, claimed that it was because Eris started learning magic that such a fate befell their parents. She claimed that Hecate had cursed the king and queen and killed them. Eris couldn’t take it anymore and fled the palace. She ran straight to Hecate, only to find out that she had also died. She had left a letter for Eris thanking her for everything, praising her magic skills, and leaving her the two bracelets Hecate had always been wearing. Hecate said in her letter that these bracelets enhanced her magic powers. Eris was wracked with grief at losing not only her parents but her best friend. So devastated was she that when she wore the bracelets, they turned black due to Eris’ strong emotions. They filled Eris with a dark power and enhanced her negative emotions.

The first thing Eris did was go to the palace and start wreaking havoc there. Harmonia tried to stop her but she was no match for Eris’ magic. She had no choice but to flee. With the rings enhancing her powers, Eris threw the Sol dimension into a state of chaos, as a punishment to all the people who had spoken badly of her.

Harmonia knew that to defeat Eris, she had no choice but to learn magic. She sought out a sorceress, Hecate’s sister, and began learning magic from her. Soon, she too was good at it. Hecate’s sister told Harmonia that though Hecate was powerful, much of her power came from her bracelets. And the same would be true for Eris. If she could get the bracelets away from Eris, she could defeat her.

Once Harmonia was good enough in magic, she went back to the palace to challenge her sister one last time. She tried to reason with Eris, but she was too far gone to listen to Harmonia. A battle broke out between the sisters. Harmonia could match her sister this time but Eris was still too strong. Seeing no other choice, Eris summoned the Sol emeralds. She harnessed the power of the emeralds and transformed into Burning Harmonia. With this new power, she was able to take Eris’ bracelets away from her, and remove their dark power. They now became the Rings of Light. With the power of the Sol emeralds and the Rings of Light at her disposal, Harmonia delivered one final blow to Eris. But to her horror, this blow was so powerful that it ended up killing Eris. Harmonia was devastated! She wanted to humble her sister but she had never meant to kill her.

Harmonia took Eris to the cave they often went to as children and buried her there. She also left the Rings of Light there. She never wanted to wear them again as she believed they helped her kill Eris. But she put a spell on it, that the rings only choose those who are worthy of their power and can handle them. Others cannot even touch the rings.

Harmonia continued to rule the Sol dimension till her death. It is said that her spirit resides in the Rings of Light. As for Eris, she remained a haunted spirit, believing the rings to be rightfully hers. If anyone were to get them, she would hunt that person down and take her rings back.

So that is the story of Eris and Harmonia.

***“What a sad story,” Amy said after Blaze had finished narrating. “I feel so sorry for Eris. She just wanted to be loved.” “Y-Yeah, I’ve a-always felt bad for her,” said Serena. “S-She…. Just had a bad hand at life.” “That’s true, but it doesn’t excuse hurting a bunch of innocent people all for revenge,” said Knuckles. “You’re right, these people weren’t the ones who wronged her,” said Sonic. “No matter, Eris is driven by vengeance. She wants to cause chaos throughout the universe as a way of showing people her anger,” Blaze explained. “With the power of the Chaos emeralds AND the Sol emeralds at her disposal, she has become unstoppable. If she gets a hold of the Rings of Light too, well then she will be truly powerful.” “Oh my….. I-it seems like…. There's n-n-no way to stop her,” said Serena. “Don’t say that. There has got to be a way. Right Blaze?” said Amy. “Eris may be powerful but having both the Chaos and Sol emeralds with you makes your power unstable. As she hops from dimension to dimension, she is sure to drop a Chaos emerald and a Sol emerald. If we follow her and collect all the emeralds, and use the power of the Rings of Light as well, then there is a chance of stopping Eris. But since she’s already had a taste of both the emeralds’ powers, she’ll still be powerful even without them.” “Then what are we waiting for? Lets go where Eris went and get those emeralds!” Sonic declared. He put his hand forward and everyone else followed. Serena hesitated. “C’mon, you too Serena,” said Amy. “M-M-Me?!” “Yes, we cannot do this without you. You have the Rings of Light after all,” said Blaze. “A-A-Alright.” Serena put her hand forward with all of them. “Then its settled! Lets go!!” Sonic exclaimed.

The group went outside, towards the tear. “This is it,” said Sonic. “You all ready?” Everyone nodded. Serena stepped back a little. Blaze noticed it. She went back with her and held her hand. “Don’t be scared,” she whispered. “You have the power of the Rings of Light at your disposal. You can do this. If anyone can stop Eris, its you.” “Ah…. b-b-b-but I…. d-d-don’t know to use them…. I-I-I can’t c-c-control my powers. You saw that,” Serena stammered. “You’ll learn in due time,” Blaze assured her. “Don’t worry. Just hold my hand and you’ll be fine.” Serena seemed to be stiff at Blaze holding her hand. Her cheeks flushed. But she looked forward. “I-I-I’m ready!” she announced. “Then lets go!” exclaimed Sonic. The group all held hands and jumped inside the tear.

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic oc #sonic dimensions #miles tails prower #knuckles the echidna #amy rose #blaze the cat #serena the butterfly #eris the cat #harmonia the cat #my fanfiction

2 notes · View notes

yn-dreamlife · 3 years

Text

Mr. Confident

Warnings: Simping over tama, smut under the cut, daddy kink (eventually), dom/sub dynamic, he calls reader bunny, dumbmification mentioned, breeding kink, degradation (kinda)

Description: Tamakis secret confident/dominant side (you will pry this from my cold dead fucking hands)

Tamaki Amajiki was a shy guy, there was no doubt about that in everyone's mind. Well, everyone except you. You could see it, the glint in his eye when he took charge of a situation which were few and far between.

You saw it when he had to take charge and hold back three villains on his own during the mission to save Eri.

You saw it when he had to take charge during a situation with panicked civilians, when he would take charge and while yelling orders he would still be able to calm them down with his natural demeanor.

You saw it when he got recognized by a child, albeit it was much smaller than but it was there, he knew at that moment he wasn't the shy student but he was the brave pro-hero.

Now Tamaki being shy was NOT a bad thing, you found it cute and endearing. And so did everyone else, it is what allowed him to be so loved by the people.

While Mirio and Nejire were both loved for their bubby personalities he was different out of the big three. He was loved because even tho he could be 'Mr. Confidnet' as his friends would call him, he could still be soft-spoken and full of stutters.

You wouldn't change him, honestly, you wouldn't. But there was one other time you saw that glint in his eyes, and that was with you.

When you would look up at him his larger stature causing him to also have look down at you. it flickered whenever you would say "yes sir," in a teasing manner. It happened really whenever you came around, you noticed it his friends noticed it and so did he.

He enjoyed the feeling of confidence that washed over him when it came to you. Of course, he still blushed and stuttered and he never acted on what his confident mind wanted him to because in his mind you fell for shy him you wouldn't want 'Mr. confident'.

He was wrong in that regard, you see while you may be a hero and you may be an independent woman, you were also a naturally submissive person.

You remember the first time you really saw his confident and dominating side in your relationship. Not that he was ever the submissive mainly because you were too submissive to ever dom him.

But the first time it happened was when it was just the two of you. You on top of him riding him in bliss loving how he made you feel. And you didn't mean for it to slip, honestly.

there were other times you wanted to bring it up, on many occasions in fact but you never did because it never felt like the right time. But you two had been together for two years, you were out of high school and into the hero world.

And after being with him so long your submission was already his, there was no doubt in your mind. You always tried hard to hold it back till you two talked about it but this time it slipped.

"P-please sir!" His body tensed but you didn't stop as you saw the glint coming more to life in his eyes. "Please l-let me c-cum." you moaned out as you continued to ride him. The words that rang over and over in your mind, the begs that you never let out began to slip.

A surge went through him when the words fully processed in his head and before you could blink you were underneath him, your ass in the air. Tamaki didn't like to be on top often acting like he was too shy to pound into your tight heat like he wanted. He was just so worried you wouldn’t like that, but he did have a suspicion you would and those words just seemed to confirm it for him.

you whimpered as you felt empty and you were so close to your high, but it was cut off by a loud moan as he slammed back into you.

"Do you want to c-cum for me b-bunny?" He said lowly in your ear as he continued to move rapidly inside you. You nodded quickly but he tsked at you, "Now now I know my g-girl can use her words cant she? Be a good girl and tell me." He purred into your ear as he bit at your ear and neck his hips no longer moving.

"Please, sir! Please I need to cum so bad let me cum for you!" He relished in the way you begged for him, his confidence only growing.

"Go on bunny, cum for me." He said as he began to pound into you once again. He reached his arm down so his hand could find your clit and he rubbed it as he continued. "Show me how good I make you feel."

As he felt you come undone around him he wasn't far behind his thrust gradually becoming sloppy. But your begging pushed him over.

The words poured out of your mouth on their own accord as ecstasy washed through you. “Yes please fill me with your cum! Want your cum deep in me, breed me please sir!”

That seemed to be the final push for him and his mouth poured absolute filth into your ear as he came deep inside you.

“Gonna fill your tight little pussy bunny. You feel me stuffing your greedy little hole? This is what you wanted, isn’t it? Want me to make you my own personal breeding toy?” And all you could do was moan and blissfully take it.

After that day you two sat down and had a proper talk about it. Deciding your hard and fast limits and negotiating others, setting safe-words and signals as well as establishing roles. And surprisingly Tamaki was less blushy and stuttery than you.

“Alright, bunny let me ask you, what do you want from me?” His voice was soft yet steady as he looked at you. You forced yourself to hold his gaze.

“I-I want you to-to take care of me. I want to serve you and make you feel good and I....” you trailed off.

“And you? Go on bunny, being so good for me already~” he cooed to you softly.

“Want you to make all the thoughts go away when they’re too much.” You mumbled softly get loud enough for him to hear.

“And how can I do that baby?” He whispered as he cupped your cheek.

“By uh.... well y-you know by-“ you broke finally the heat in your cheeks becoming too much as you covered your face with your shaking hands and rapidly shaking your head.

He eventually coaxed it out of you albeit, in a somewhat roundabout answer he found out you like the idea of dumbification, you want him to fuck you stupid whenever it gets to be too much.

The thought made his clock twitch but he decided that would be for another day so he allowed you two more time to talk about what you needed to.

And now a month later the time has come. He could see it, the jitteriness in your form. The agitation and the snappy attitude, you were never a brat for him every time you tried all he had to do was whisper something along the lines of

“I thought you were my good girl?” Or “don’t you want to make me happy, bunny?” And you were once again his obedient little thing.

You two had yet to delve into anything too hardcore, the most being rougher sex and dirty talk mentioning breeding. He had yet to cum in you more than once whenever he did. Nor did he act on the idea of degradation or dumbmification.

Although the idea of you becoming nothing but a babbling little cocksleve for him to use always made him rock hard. So when you came home and slammed the door and promptly threw yourself into his lap he knew what he needed to do. He wanted to see if you would ask first though so he waited.

“Hey, bunny.” He whispered softly running a hand up and down your back and running his nose along your hairline. This was the first time you two could see each other for more than just a fleeting kiss. Thanks to hero work you two had been busy.

You said nothing but have a low grunt in response along with a deep sigh. “Long few days at work?” You nodded. “Wanna talk about it?” You shook your head.

He held you for a bit and he could feel you grow restless. Your body shifting above him just barely stopping when his hands met your hips. “Bunny?” He whispered and you still said nothing. “If you want something use your words.” He could practically feel your body just melt at his dominating tone.

“N-need you sir.” You finally mellowed.

“You already have me right here silly.” You groaned knowing he was teasing you. Knowing he wanted you to say it. He felt your cheeks heat up as you hid your face deeper in his neck.

When he still didn’t give you what you wanted when you tried to roll your hips only to be met with his hands holding you still he heard your needy voice right near his ear.

“Please, sir. Please use me for your pleasure and don’t let me think about anything but you. Jus’ wanna make you feel good. I just want to be your little toy~”

His breath hitched, of course, he was expecting it but to hear you begging for him like that sent a wave of excitement through him.

"You want me to use you?" He whispered his teeth grazing against your earlobe as you shivered at the feeling of his warm breath.

"Yes"

"Yes, what?" He asked moving to grab your jaw, squeezing your cheeks together to form a pout on your lips. "Go one bunny, yes what?"

"Yes, daddy!" You finally squeaked and this time you had caught him off guard. No one moved, and no one spoke. You had half the mind to get up and run from the embarrassment but the second you made to do so you were being flipped onto your back only to have a blown-eyed Tamaki on top of you.

"T-tama?" you whispered.

He chuckled the sound low and deep sending a vibration through you where your chests were connected. "That's not my name anymore bunny."

930 notes · View notes

wisteriabookss · 3 years

Text

An Extensive Analysis of Eris

The recent excerpt from ACOSF has got this fandom spinning on it’s head because it includes a feral-smiling Eris waltzing with Nesta. As a result, people have now delved deeper into his character and whether or not he deserves a redemption arc (or an arc of any kind).

So naturally, he has been compared to Rhys, because Rhys also appeared to us in the beginning as a cruel, cunning person, who was eventually revealed to have a bigger heart, and a valid excuse (at least amongst the IC) for his behavior.

I made this post to mainly catalogue all that Eris has done, analyze his actions, see if he indeed can be compared to Rhys, and to determine whether or not he should have a redemption arc.

What We Know So Far

Our first mention of Eris is in ACOMAF, when Rhysand is explaining to Feyre what happened to Mor. I could put the quotes here, but just to save some time I’m gonna make a long story short.

Mor’s father, Keir, declared that she was to be sold in marriage to Eris. Eris is known for being cruel, and Mor begged Rhys to stop it. Rhys brought her to the Illyrian camp for a few days, and she decided to sleep with Cassian in order to ruin her “pure” image. Because she slept with Cassian, Eris refused to marry her. Said, “she’d been sullied by a bastard-born lesser faerie, and he’d now sooner fuck a sow.” Her family, although it’s not said explicitly, basically beat her, and then dumped her body on the Autumn court border with a note nailed to her body that said she was Eris’s problem now. Eris left her for dead in the middle of their woods.

Now, we’re going to look at what he exactly said during this event, given to us from Mor’s POV in ACOFAS:

“Don’t touch her.” Those steps stopped. It was not a warning to protect her. Defend her.

“No one touches her,” he said. Eris. “The moment we do, she’s our responsibility.”

Cold, unfeeling words. “But—but they nailed a—”

“No one touches her.”

A pale, beautiful face appeared above her, blocking out the jewel-like leaves above. Unmoved. Impassive. “I take it you do not wish to live here, Morrigan.”

He must have read it in her eyes. A small smile curved his lips. “I thought so.”

Eris took a step away. Someone behind him blurted, “We can’t just leave her to—”

“We can, and we will,” Eris said simply, his pace unfaltering as he strode away.

“She chose to sully herself; her family chose to deal with her like garbage. I have already told them my decision in this matter.” A long pause, crueler than the rest. “And I am not in the habit of fucking Illyrian leftovers.”

Now that we have Mor’s side of the story, we’re going to look at what Eris has said about that fateful day during a discussion with the IC in ACOWAR:

Mor snarled, rattling the glasses. “You never gave any evidence to the contrary. Certainly not when you left me in those woods.”

“There were forces at work that you have never considered,” Eris said coldly. “And I am not going to waste my breath explaining them to you. Believe what you want about me.”

. . . .

A frown at Mor as he drained his wine and set down the goblet. “I’m surprised you still can’t control yourself around him. You had every emotion written right on that pretty face of yours.”

“Watch it,” Azriel warned.

Eris looked between them, smiling faintly. Secretly. As if he knew something that Azriel didn’t. “I wouldn’t have touched you,” he said to Mor, who blanched again. “But when you fucked that other bastard—” A snarl ripped from Rhys’s throat at that. And my own. “I knew why you did it.” Again that secret smile that had Mor shrinking. Shrinking. “So I gave you your freedom, ending the betrothal in no uncertain terms.”

“And what happened next,” Azriel growled.

A shadow crossed Eris’s face. “There are few things I regret. That is one of them. But … perhaps one day, now that we are allies, I shall tell you why. What it cost me.”

A main takeaway from this is that there seems to be much more to story of what happened between Eris and Mor.

Does that mean him leaving her in the woods is excusable? No. Absolutely not. He didn’t try to take the nail out of her (which would’ve been the bare minimum), he didn’t alert Rhys that she was there, he didn’t do anything to help her. He started to make the situation even more traumatic by saying vile things to her. Whatever reason he gives for not helping her will be just that: a reason. But not an excuse. Those are two very different things.

Eris say’s that leaving her there is one of the few things he regrets. There’s something in that. I’m not saying under any circumstance that he should be forgiven because he feels guilty, thats stupid as hell, but it is showing that he’s not some apathetic, other-worldy evil person. There’s some semblance of a conscious in him.

He also say’s that one day he’ll tell them why he did it and what it cost him. By what it cost him, I’m guessing he’s talking about the cost of ending his betrothal to Mor, because I can’t think of what he lost by leaving her there.

I don’t think there’s been any mention of someone getting revenge on Eris because A.) Rhys told Feyre that, “Azriel found her a day later. It was all I could do to keep him from going to either court and slaughtering them all.” and B) her family was obviously going to do nothing cause they’re the ones who hurt her.

I’m not going to try and theorize what cost Eris had to pay. It obviously is something (or someone) important to him.

But to me, one of the biggest things we got from this discussion is that it seems Eris knows Mor is gay. That secret smile of his that had Mor shrinking, the way he says he knows why she slept with Cassian, and that he gave Mor her freedom by ending the betrothal without giving a reason . . . he knows.

He knew she was gay, so he ended their engagement, no questions asked. And then Mor was dumped in his woods, and he did nothing to help.

Morally grey, indeed.

(P.S. To the person that posted something along the lines of, “I can’t wait to see Mor’s face when she see’s Eris dancing with Nesta,” . . . get help)

Another excerpt I wanna look at also happens during the recent discussion we’ve just seen, but it has to do with Feyre and Lucien.

“You hunted me down like an animal,” I cut in. “I think we’ll choose to believe the worst.”

Eris’s pale face flushed. “I was given an order. And sent to do it with two of my … brothers.”

That little hesitation before he says ‘brothers’. . . sus. That’s all imma say. (maybe there’s more than one illegitimate son in that family . . .)

“And what of the brother you hunted down alongside me? The one whose lover you helped to execute before his eyes?”

Eris laid a hand flat on the table. “You know nothing about what happened that day. Nothing.”

Silence.

“Indulge me,” was all I said.

Eris stared me down. I stared right back.

“How do you think he made it to the Spring border,” he said quietly. “I wasn’t there— when they did it. Ask him. I refused. It was the first and only time I have denied my father anything. He punished me. And by the time I got free … They were going to kill him, too. I made sure they didn’t. Made sure Tamlin got word—anonymously—to get the hell over to his own border.”

Where two of Eris’s brothers had been killed. By Lucien and Tamlin.

Eris picked at a stray thread on his jacket. “Not all of us were so lucky in our friends and family as you, Rhysand.”

We see another semblance of conscious here when Eris refuses to take part in the slaughtering of Jesminda. To even be in the same room as it. He then made sure that Lucien wasn’t going to die by making sure Tamlin was at his border.

I’m not putting these quotes here to say, “Look, he cares about stuff , so let’s excuse everything he’s done.” No. There is no excusing any of his actions. Just like we can’t excuse Rhysand’s behavior in the first two books, or Cassian’s, or Nesta’s, or even Feyre’s, etc. But what we can do is see the reasons for their actions, and try and understand why they acted the way they did. They have their reasons, and Eris has his. (P.S. I’m not trying to compare what they’ve done, I’m just noting that they all had reasons to do what they’ve done, and they all deserve to be heard out.)

Comparison To Rhys

As I said earlier, Eris has drawn a lot of comparisons to Rhys. I agree with most of them.

This fandom has catalogued all of Rhys’s questionable actions like . . .

*TRIGGER WARNING: words like sexually assaulted*

Rhys sexually assaulting Feyre three times in the first book by drugging her, and then compelling her to give him lap dances in front of the folks Under The Mountain. He then displayed Feyre again in a sexual manner in the second book in front of The Court of Nightmares as, and I quote, “The High Lords Whore.”

In both situations he could’ve done things so much differently. In the first book, he could’ve just, oh I don’t know, kept her in her cell? Or maybe brought her upstairs as a normal person?

And in the second one she literally could have been ANYTHING else. Everyone thinks she’s his prisoner, so why didn’t they go with that? Why couldn’t he have just dressed her in some raggedy-ass clothing, messed up her hair, and then tell her to act super stoic or frightened? Really Rhys, she just had to be your whore? (I know it was consensual but that doesn’t make her persona okay. He could’ve picked literally anything else)

Did he have his reasons for doing this? Yes. Does his reasons excuse what he did? No. You don’t have to make everyone else around you act a part just because you do.

So while we may not excuse Rhys’s actions, we can understand his reasons even if we don’t agree with them. Same with Eris. We know Eris has his reasons, and I doubt we’ll all agree with them, but he still has them.

Let’s also not forget that Rhysand made a deal with Eris and Keir that he would support Eris’s claim to the Autumn Court throne when Eris decides to kill his father for it. He also allowed Keir and his court to come into Velaris, and even though they’ll be turned away by every vendor, he still allowed them in. While he had his reasons for doing this (the Darkling army for ACOWAR) he still did it. It still hurt Mor.

Redemption Arc

My biggest hesitation in thinking Eris will get a redemption arc is wondering where it would fit in the books for him to have one. We don’t know how if his waltz with Nesta is just a one-time thing or if it’s a result of a friendship between the two. The second book is supposed to be centered around Elain, Azriel, and Lucien, so that could also be a spot where he get’s an arc, maybe through a relationship with Lucian or Azriel.

Either way, I’m not gonna bring down the hammer and say that he shouldn’t get a redemption arc. Tbh, the term ‘redemption arc’ kinda annoys me because it shouldn’t be about redeeming what was done in the past, but more about learning from past mistakes and taking the initiative to grow into a better person. That’s what I want for Eris. He’s not going to magically be revealed to be this super sweet fun-loving guy like Rhys. I don’t want him to be revealed like that either.

I just want to see more of his character, see why he is the way he is, and, like i’ve said a million times in this post, know his reasons for acting the way he does.

One last thing before I go. I’m not interested in seeing any relationship blossom between Eris and the IC, or Nesta, and I think it’s unlikely anyways. There’s a possibility for them to have an understanding, sure, but no friendship. I know there are some people who automatically adore Eris because they hate Mor and that’s just stupid. Mor isn’t my fav either, but I won’t cheer Eris on just because he hurt her.

That’s all I’ve got. If you’ve made it this far, I appreciate you. Really.

416 notes · View notes

linkspooky · 4 years

Text

The Kids Who Can’t Cry

Plenty of people besides myself have pointed out this pattern, but what does it mean? Why are Dabi, Himiko, and Shigaraki essentially the main trio of the league of villains all drawn making this face? Analysis underneath the cut.

1. Shigaraki

What’s important is all three of these scenes where Dabi, Himiko and Shigaraki are all drawn smiling in the most inhuman and unsettling manner possible are all parallels to one another. In those scenes the villain is talking with the heroic foil, and trying to express themselves some way only to be misunderstood. Shigaraki is with Deku. Himiko is with Uraraka. Dabi is with Hawks.

The common point between all three scenes is that these three characters are fumbling, trying to express something inside of them. The first scene happens between chapter 68-69 when Shigaraki wonders lost in the crowds trying to find an understanding with himself.

During the scene Shigaraki genuinely talks to Midoriya and asks him what he thinks. He expresses the feelings inside of himself.

However, Midoriya describes Shigaraki as someone he can neither understand nor accept. He rejects him entirely.

We, as the audience know all of the similiarities between Shigaraki and Midoriya. We know that Shigaraki was once Shimura Tenko, a boy with a dream of becoming a hero who was told by everyone he couldn’t. We know that Tenko once stood up to bullies and tried to make friends. It’s understandable that Midoriya doesn’t understand this, he’s not a mind reader, but there’s still a great deal of ignorance in the way Midoriya acts.

Shigaraki shows clear signs of trauma and mental illness, especially in his connection to All Migt, and yet Midoriya’s understanding of him is shallow and two dimmensional. He can’t possibly conceive of Shigaraki having any othr motive for hurting people besides “Wanting to destroy them.”

Shigaraki is trying to express himself to somebody unwilling, and unable to understand him despite all the similarities between them. This is a pattern in hero society, immediately after the UA attack nobody can conceive of a reason why Shigaraki would want to attack UA besides him being a man-child who enjoys destruction.

When Midnight suggests that somehow Shigaraki might not have gotten the same quirk counseling as everyone and that’s why his quirk is out of control and he uses it so dangerously, Vlad even directly questions why they should even bother talking about his motives.

Does Deku have to go out of his way to try to understand the motives of him and his friends? No, not necessarily. However, Deku is somebody billed as an empathic and caring character. It’s a character willing to empathize with anyone before this point showing a complete lack of empathy. To a character who shows clear signs of instability and mental unwellness. Shigaraki’s genuine signs of trauma, his itching, his fickleness, his inability to process his emotions in a healthy way just get him demonized as a man-child.

The kid who was able to see the kindness, in Eri’s quirk.

The hero who says that he can’t call himself a hero unless he saves a crying little girl in front of his eyes. The hero who says he wants to save everyone, just sort of treats Shigaraki like he’s a one dimmensional monster even though his circumstances are literally exactly the same as Eri’s. Just because Shigaraki can’t cry the same way Eri can. But some people smile when they express trauma.

When Shigaraki experienced the worst trauma of his life, he smiled and tried to ask for help when his family just died five minutes ago, and this was used to deahumanize him and as an excuse for everyone else in the busiest intersection on the road to ignore him. This didn’t just happen to him as an adult, it happened as a kid as well, nobody helped because he couldn’t beg and cry for help, because he looked ugly instead of like a perfect helpless victim in need of saving.

Shigaraki smiles in response to his trauma. He remembers his worst trauma, literally his family dying, and he grins. It’s literally an attempt to distance himself from his own emotions and process them because he has no healthy way of doing so otherwise. He’s trying to express himself in the only way he knows how and he gets ignored.

2. Toga

Toga acts similiarly to Shigaraki. She tries to express herself to Uraraka, tries to compare the two of them. As Himiko is much more emotionally intelligent than Shigaraki she also gives a voice to Uraraka’s innermost feelings.

Once again Uraraka doesn’t see her as a human, or try to listen to anything she’s said. Himiko isn’t a person with feelings and her own reason for doing things, she’s just a psycho.

Even though Himiko is really perceptive of Uraraka’s own hidden feelings the same is not true the other way around, even though we know that Uraraka is a very kind, emotionally intelligent girl who is always noticing the pain on other people’s faces she loses all that perceptiveness when dealing with Himiko.

Does Uraraka have to empathize with a girl literally trying to stab her and suck her blood? No, not necessarily. However, at the same time this is a character we are told always goes the extra mile to understand people, notice their pain, and always being motivated to help just kind of ignoring Himiko.

This relates to Himiko’s backstory as well. What was Himiko explicitly told to do by her parents? Always hide her pain. Always keep herself hidden for the sake of blending in. Wear a fake smile and be a nice, normal girl.

Himiko couldn’t even cry when she was sad and alone. She had to repress everything for the sake of being normal, for the sake of being acceptable to others, and now she doesn’t know how to anymore.

Himiko at least tried to be normal, tried to express herself in normal ways only to be misunderstood by everyone around her and is continually misunderstood and dehumanized even now. The easy life she wants is just the normal life that everybody else has, the one a normal girl like Uraraka has. But she doesn’t know how to express that, and Uraraka who has not been traumatized in any significant way doesn’t really understand what she’s been through. She can’t.

3. Dabi

We finally get to Dabi and his foil Hawks, where we can see not only is Dabi misudnerstood like in the previous two examples but his feelings are outright denied. Uraraka and Deku are ultimately both children, it’s understandable they don’t get the feelings of villains who have tried to kill him but this.

Hawks is not any better than Dabi in this situation. He just murdered Twice in cold blood right in front of him, but even though Hawks is actively the agressor in this situation look how he treats Dabi.

He accuses Dabi of nearly killing Twice, even though not only did Dabi show up to intervene for Twice’s sake, but he showed up to rescue Twice, from Hawks. The sheer gall of Hawks to try and kill twice but at the same time accuse Dabi of being the one to put Twice in danger.

The way they interact is completely different. Twice is someone who trusts Dabi. Dabi literally puts himself directly in between Hawks and Twice so Twice won’t get harmed any further. Yet, Twice still sees himself as the hero in this situation. Even while actively harming, and trying to kill Twice in his head he still thinks of himself as saving him.

Then after murdering Twice in cold blood after going on and on about how he was avoiding his vitals, and how he was going to carry him out of here and save him, when he’s directly confronted with Dabi’s anger over his dead friend, Hawks invalidates those emotions.

You’re not sad because you’re smiling. Hawks says. Hawks, literally the person who killed Twice, right in front of Dabi, then criticizes Dabi for not being appropriately sad about it. This is when Hawks has expressed no remorse for what he has done.

In his own head, Hawks is the hero and Dabi is the villain. Hawks feels guilty for his own actions. His own inhuman ability to shut off his own emotions and do what must be done. However, Heroes don’t kill people. Hawks must somehow remain the hero. He must be the one who is right. Therefore, he blames Dabi as the villain. Dabi is the scapegoat. Dabi is the one who was wrong. Dabi is the cold blooded killer even though he has done nothing more than try to protect his friend.

Dabi must be evil, must be a villain so that Hawks can be good. Hawks has to justify his actions and emotoins by dehumanizing the person in front of him. It’s not about Dabi at all. Dabi’s emotoins don’t even factor in or matter. It’s all Hawks self justification and the narrative he tells himself where he is the hero doing the right thing. And this is something that appears in Toga’s fight against Curious too, the villains literally have to fight for control of their own narrative, to be able to tell their story about their trauma in their own way because the heroes will always try to render it in easily digestible forms. They can’t be people, complex, messy people they must either be categorized as hero or victim.

Toga can’t be a normal girl, she has to be a martyr. Toga’s own feelings or opinions don’t matter. Hawks goes one step further and suggests that Dabi doesn’t even have feelings, he’s not even properly sad that his friend is dead.

Which Dabi finally replies with what is true for Himiko and Shigaraki. It’s not that he doesn’t want to cry, he can’t cry. Heroes continually confront villains with their actions and act like they feel no guilt at all, like they’re heartless psychopaths and treat them as such when the manga has shown us again and again the opposite.

Even if Dabi was crying his eyes out it wouldn’t matter though. Jin was crying, and that did not stop Hawks. The heroes who view themselves as heroes, who view themselves as empathic and good people who would never ignore a cry for help all stop acting that way when confronted with Shigaraki, Himiko and Dabi.

It eventually crosses a line into deliberate ignorance. It’s not seeing those on the other side as human beings, which is dangerous because it can literally turn murderous in the case of Hawks and Twice. It’s cries for help that go ignored because they’re not presented as easily digestible narratives. It’s a breakdown in empathy in a story where the stated goal of the main character is to be a hero who “never loses, and saves everyone.” There are people not being saved. There are people who are not being helped because they can’t ask for help.

Thanks to @savetenko for pointing out this parallel to me here!

#shigaraki tomura #himiko toga #dabi #todoroki touya #shimura tenko #uraraka ochako #midoriya izuku #hawks #keigo takami #league of villains meta #lov meta #mha meta #my hero academia meta #my hero academia theory

587 notes · View notes

hot-wiings · 3 years

Text

The One Where Dabi Gets Involved With Overhaul’s Girl. Part Fifteen.

Edited: 1-29-2021

You walked with Kai down to the infirmary. It was a pristine and clean place. It was attached to the Shie Hassaikai but felt like a separate building on its own. Once you opened the door, it took you down a long hall. Several doors led to a hospital-like room. The ones on the left were room with beds for the injured, the ones on the right held chairs you sat in for checkups, and held several different types of equipment used for checking your vitals and various things like running bloodwork.

Kai opened one of the doors on the left and let you go in before him. He followed after you and closed the door behind him, if you both were infected it was good to keep it confined.

"Take a seat. I'll check my blood, then I'll check yours."

You stepped up on your tiptoes and wiggled yourself up on the patient's chair. It was tall and your feet dangled before you turned your body so your back was slightly reclined and your legs were up on the end of it. Kai sat on a rolling chair that you would typically see in a doctor's office and rolled over to the drawers that held various blood drawing equipment.

Kai rolled his sleeves up before he washed his hands thoroughly and pulled a clean pair of medical gloves on himself. He took a long piece of elastic material and tied it around his upper arm, making a tourniquet. He opened up an alcohol wipe and wiped down the area where his upper and lower arm connect. He pressed his finger down on the skin, looking for a good spot to poke a vein before he swiftly punctured his skin.

He did it so fast and swift, without a moment of hesitation. Kai was in his element when he was doing medical procedures. You had to wonder for a moment if he had been placed in a better environment, somewhere better than the yakuza, would he have gone on to be a doctor, rather than dabbling in drugs and experimenting on Eri. With a quirk like his, he could have easily cut and removed tumors. He had so much potential, but it was all wasted on the life of a criminal.

You watched as the tube inside the syringe attached to the needle filled up with Kai's dark red blood until he untied the tourniquet and pulled the needle out, along with a now filled tube of his fresh blood. He pulled the tube out of the syringe and put a lid on it before rolling over to the biowaste can and throwing the used needle and syringe inside. He rolled over to the counter and pushed the vial into a machine attached to the computer. It sucked the vial in the machine and unscrewed the lid before taking the blood in and testing it.

"This machine takes the blood and tests it for anything and everything out of the ordinary. It takes a few minutes for it to read the blood, then it displays it on the computer."

Kai crossed his arms as he stared at the computer, patiently waiting for the results to flood on the screen. You sat there, quietly as possible with your hands folded on your lap before Kai turned to you. He looked like he was hesitant to open his mouth, but he opened it anyway.

"Do you want to know where I was the last two weeks?"

"If it has to do with Eri, I don't want to hear it."

Your tone came out fast and hard, you bit your lip as soon as your mouth closed. You needed to control your tongue. You were supposed to convince him you loved him, not make him angry. Love him, don't agitate him. You weren't sure what he was thinking, what he was feeling. He had an undecipherable expression on his face, still, you tried to deescalate it.

"I love you, but she's my sister."

"I wasn't away on business. I wanted time away from you, time to think to myself. Time to think about us."

The computer behind Kai chimed, he swiveled around in his chair and rolled over to the computer which now held his blood result transcripts. Your chest bubbled at the sight of him going through his test. It bubbled both with nervousness and a tickled feeling. Seeing him like that, in such a setting brought back those feelings from earlier. He could've ended up so different, had he not been dragged into a life of criminality.

Your grandfather saved Kai, he took him in when no one else would. He fed him and housed him, he had to join the yakuza as a result. You partially couldn't help but resent your grandfather for that. He could've pushed Kai to be something better. He could've pushed Kai to use his quirk for something better, he would've excelled as a doctor. Maybe you would've finished your psychology degree, and maybe you would've met like that in a different setting. You would've had a better, more normal relationship.

Yet there was no use thinking about this. It wasn't Kai. It wasn't who he chose to be, nor would he ever be that. He was Overhaul, the leader of the yakuza. You shouldn't dwell on it, not when you'd already chosen to betray him by sneaking around with Dabi.

Kai's words also left you with a bubbling nervous feeling. What did he need to think about? What was there to think about pertaining to your relationship? You watched him with careful eyes, analyzing his every move as you tried to say something. Was he sick of your disobedience? You'd given him a hassle as of late before he took off. Between sneaking off to see Eri then taking the blame for Dabi's action, and overall just giving him lip, you were sure he'd finally gotten fed up. You took in a shaky breath and silently prayed he wasn't going to do anything sudden and drastic to you or Eri. You weren't sure whether he would hurt her to get to you, she was his precious merchandise, but she was still your sister.

"Why'd you need to think about us?"

"It's not important."

You wanted to huff and cross your arms, but that would just be showing Kai what a defiant attitude you held when it came to him. You tried to calm your breathing as you watched Kai read his transcripts. His body was tensed up, worried he was infectious with some disease, and anxious to see his results. Perhaps the reason he hadn't divulged you in a conversation was that his mind was preoccupied with his test results. He got so overworked with things in this manner, of course, he didn't want to indulge you with a conversation.

You shouldn't work yourself up over something you don't know the truth about. For all you knew, it was something stupid and minor. For all you knew, this was another attempt at making you submit yourself over to him. Another manipulative tactic that he had hidden up his sleeve.

"I'm clean. There's nothing in my blood."

"Good."

"Even though I'm clean I still want you to get tested."

Kai pulled out more syringes, tubes, and needles from the same drawer. He neatly set them on a tray, then he pulled out a tourniquet and a clean pair of gloves. He rolled the tray over to the patient chair you were sat in then he pulled the clean gloves down on his hands swiftly, a sharp sound resounding in the room as it snapped against his wrist.

"Put your arm out for me."

You put your arm out immediately to show your obedience to him, but your other hand was grasping a tight hold onto as much excess material from your pant leg as you could. You watched cautiously as Kai rolled up your arm sleeve and then proceed to rip open an alcohol wipe. He grabbed onto your arm and lightly pulled it open further, giving him better access to your arms midsection. He wiped your arm, rubbing the wipe in a meticulous motion, careful not to go over a spot he already wiped. He was gentle and careful, he did it in such a manner he hadn't treated you with in such a long time.

Kai took the wipe and discarded it in a small metal bowl on the table, then he proceeded to grab the needles and syringes. He pulled them all out of their packaging before attaching the correct pieces together, then he gripped your arm and carefully, yet firmly pressed his finger down in various spots, looking for the right vein. Once he located it he pressed the tip of the needle to it.

You felt your heart stop beating as the needles cold metal made light contact with your skin, but it was barely a graze. It wasn't even in yet, you felt stupid really. Kai had inflicted such pain, yet you were afraid of a tiny one-inch needle.

"This is going to pinch you, alright?"

You gave Kai a little nod. It was almost like he noticed your fear and uncomfortablility. He never cared before, and he wouldn't have hesitated just to push it in without giving you a forewarning. You were truly grateful. You closed your eyes as the needle went in and a sharp pinching feeling went through your skin like Kai had said. You kept your eyes closed as you waited for the tubes to fill up. You didn't open your eyes again until you felt Kai pressing a bandaid against your skin tenderly.

"All done."

Kai took the blood vials and walked them over to the machine. He took his out and replaced them with yours, then he walked his blood over to the biowaste can as the machine sucked your blood vials in and began to run the blood test. You looked down at the bandaid as you waited for your blood results. It was pink. You didn't know they made pink band-aids, let alone that the Shie Hassaikai would buy them.

"I bought them for Eri. Figured if she's going to be littered in bandages, she might as well have kid ones."

Noticing your prolonged stare at the bandage, Kai answered the question you didn't ask. You didn't want to smile for him, at least not genuinely, but the words elicited a small but undeniable smile from your face. You worried about what kind of treatment she received. You knew he was experimenting on her, but you worried— more so not being able to see her—that her quality of life wasn't good. Knowing that Kai was taking care of her, even going as far as getting her girly kid bandages, made you feel more at ease.

"Thank you. She likes pink."

He walked over to you and leaned against the chair as he stared at the computer screen. You supposed he was really anxious to see your results, whether he actually cared and valued your life, or was concerned with you infecting everyone else was unknown. You liked to believe he actually valued your life, or else keeping you captive here was for naught. Experimenting on Eri would be for naught. After all, he claimed he was doing this for you.

"I've been thinking about that night a lot. I want you to genuinely love me, coaxing you into it at such an extremity wasn't how I should've gone about it."

The computer chimed, signifying your blood results were done. Kai sat back down in the wheelchair and rolled over to look at your test results. You were glad for the distraction from your conversation. He was referring to that night he took his need for you to love him one step further. The night he coaxed you into being his 'good girl'. He seemed like he was regretting it and he was being gentle with you, but you weren't ready to forgive him, and you weren't sure you would ever forgive him.

You stared at the back of Kai's head as he silently read your test results. Maybe if he hadn't been experimenting on your sister, you might consider forgiving him. Maybe if he hadn't already previously hurt you, you would consider forgiving him. But you just couldn't. He hurt you too much, you couldn't possibly consider forgiving him. You would just have to fake it. Fake forgiveness, fake your love until Dabi could get you out.

"Odd."

"What? Is there something wrong with my blood?"

You had thought that your blood would've been perfectly normal and healthy. It wasn't like you had been going anywhere outside, of course someone in the Shie Hassaikai could've given you something. If Kai thought there was something odd with your results, then you should be worried.

"Your blood volume is thicker than average for females your age and size. Your platelets are low, and your white blood cells are high. I'm going to have the machine run a deeper search on your blood."

"Is it bad if my white blood cells are high and platelets are low?"

Kai turned around to look at you. He let out a light chuckle as he ran a hand through his hair, he was trying to remain calm, but you could hear the stress behind the chuckle.

"Yes, in some cases it's dangerous. There shouldn't be so many white blood cells considering you haven't been injured as of recent and platelets are responsible for your blood clotting. In other words, take away your platelets then get cut and you'll bleed out."

The computer chimed again and Kai swiveled back around to check the deeper results. You anxiously waited for him to read the results, he was starting to get you worked up and you began to think the worst. Finally, he stood up and walked over to you with a tight smile on his face.

"You're completely fine and healthy. I checked your hematocrit and HCG levels, you're just pregnant"

"Pregnant."

You say the words in disbelief. You couldn't be pregnant. You couldn't be. You were too young, and you slept with Kai once. But then there was Dabi. Your stomach quaked at the realization that you had been not so careful with either of your partners. You had been so picky with your eating, overly hungry at times, peckish at others. Horny one minute, sad the next. This wasn't ideal. You were trying to escape this place, not up your security.

"Yes. Your platelets go down during pregnancy, and your blood volume rises to create better blood flow to your uterus for your child."

Kai took his gloves off and placed his hand on your stomach gently. He looked genuinely happy. Of course, he was. He claimed to love you, and he just said he wanted you to genuinely love him. What else would tie you to him even more besides a child. What else would make you his more than bearing his children?

"I'm with child."

You say the words again but in different phrasing. You were still in a slight shock. A baby was growing inside you. In the coming months, your stomach would begin to protrude, making space for an infant. You would be achy, you would hormonal and hungry all the time.

"You're with child. You've got a baby growing in there. Our baby."

41 notes · View notes

fivenightslaughter · 3 years

Text

Wicked Serpentine (Part 2)

Part 1

pairing: draco malfoy x femravenclaw!oc

summary: slowburn enemies to lovers fic, multiple parts. <3

warnings: use of m*dblood, malfoy being mean

word count: 2,174

taglist: let me know if you’re interested in being added!

I knew nothing of this school I was willingly sending myself off to, nothing of this world. Other than the fact that I was severely late. I felt stunted and out of place. I couldn’t decide if this was some crazy, hyper-realistic dream or an even more unfathomable reality. But yet, I was standing here, at King’s Cross station.

“You look rather lost, love.” A voice rang.

Another chimed. “Mighty lost, really.”

Two voices on either side of me interrupted my contemplation and quieted the thumps of my palpitating heart. My palms felt clammy.

I had briefly considered asking these two ginger strangers about platform 9 and... ¾ , but ultimately I’d decided to hold my tongue from uttering such an outlandish thing.

“I, well… I’ll find my way, thanks.

”They looked at each other and seemed to jest before looking back at me.

The one on the left introduced himself.

“I’m George.”

The other followed swiftly, gracefully nabbing my trunk from my betraying slippery fingers.

“And I’m Fred.”

They gave each other a glance again before one pointed at the other.

“No, you’re George, I’m Fred.”

Their playful bickering lasted a few seconds before they had spoken to me again, this time about the platform. I had resolved already that these two must be quite familiar with young or lost wizards attempting to find this mystery location? They seemed eerily comfortable in this situation.

“Here, let us show you to the train. It’s just through this brick.”

I nearly gaped, incredibly unsure of this new situation or how to handle it. Was I being toyed with? I decided to give them more merit than I should a stranger and did as they gestured. I aimed to go headlong through a brick wall.

I braced for impact.

There wasn’t one.

Instead, I was met with a completely new sight of bustling students and their parents waving them off. Kisses and hugs goodbye. Yells and whispers, people filing onto the train. It was brighter, much brighter than the train station I had arrived at.

Following shortly behind me were clearly twins I’d now attempt to recognize as Fred and George, not respectively however, as I couldn’t exactly tell the difference yet.

I could swear I felt a fleeting pang of despair as my eyes trained unnecessarily long on two parents who had wrapped their daughter in a hug before she scurried off. My parents had no desire to be here, not with me, not in this world.

That was okay though. I tried to soothe my racing mind by turning to face one of the fiery-haired boys I’d just met, to attempt conversation, but they had busied themselves as pests to some other small, first year looking students. They seemed like a funny pair, maybe I’d unknowingly made my first friends already.

‘Fred and George’. I turned their names over in my head. Friends. I liked that.

I shuffled towards whichever was closest to me, needing a shield from the busy platform. Tapping him on the shoulder, I tried my hardest to gather my thoughts.

“I don’t mean to sound thick, but what do I do now? I mean, at all? I know I need to step onto the train but…” My face flushed as I admitted myself to someone I’d just met, “I don’t know anything about magic, or… Or this place.”

His jubilance eased into faint seriousness. He smiled genuinely at me.

“Oh, we could tell.” He let out a warm laugh.

“Also, I really am George. Don’t tell Fred I told you, though, …?” He trailed off as I assumed he realized he still didn’t know my name. No, there hadn’t been time for that yet.

I answered the question that lingered after his sentence. “Eris. Woodwork, if it matters.

”He seemed to enjoy my full answer, turning to look at Fred not far off behind him, I looked with him, noticing Fred hanging around other red haired kids dressed in robes. I made eye contact with George again and he nodded knowingly.

“Weasley. My last name is Weasley. And to answer your question, you’ll catch up easily and it will all make sense. I promise.”

Lingering kids rushed onto the train like lightning bolts and I took that as a cue to board immediately. I went to wave but noticed George had already taken back up with Fred and the other bright headed kids he had confirmed to be his family.

I suppose that meant I’d be navigating my way into this solid metal contraption alone. I didn’t much mind, though. Deep down I was glad, because I’m sure if I spent any longer with someone so nice I’d bare my whole soul before I could even think about the consequences.

I made my way on and took it all in rather slowly. It’s just a normal train. How curious it was, to be just a normal train. I began searching for an empty compartment from which I could stare outside in awe from without judgement. But it was proving to be more difficult than I thought. Everyone seemed well acquainted with one another, squeezing in with their friends and taking this as a chance to lightly doze before going back to school.

My head began to spin uneasily and my resolve was beginning to fade. Without the twins, or at the very least someone to guide me, I felt as helpless as when I arrived blindly at King’s Cross.

My helplessness only amplified when I felt an aggressive impact with my entire left side, followed by snickering.

“Out of my way, mudblood.”

Mudblood? What did that even mean? I stared back at my aggressor in confusion and it seemed to spark an odd glint in his sharp grey eyes. I took in his features. Pale, blond hair tossed over his forehead and ears. Pink lips pressed in a tight line, lifted into a slight smirk. He was rather attractive, though it was offset by a radiating malice that seemed to course through his very veins. I wasn’t expecting a negative encounter so soon.

He examined me up and down, finally settling on the door behind me. I knew he could see through the window into the empty compartment, as I had nearly moments before. I knew where he was looking and yet it felt like he was looking over me into nothing, in a way that made me feel small and invisible.

“You’re so stupid you don’t even know what it means, do you? How pathetic I have to explain. It means your blood is dirty, filthy really, and you’re inferior for it. You’re lowly. Like dirt. Get it now?” He had a haughty air about him, as if explaining his insults was below him.

That was my first introduction to a... word of that manner in this brand new world. No good without the bad, I rationalized. I suppose there wasn’t much I could do about that.

“I see, thank you for explaining.

”His lips curled in response and I assumed it wasn’t an answer he heard often.

“Yeah, you should be thanking me. You’ll do well to mind your manners.” He was almost spitting his words as he started off in the direction my presence had halted him from, followed by two others I hadn’t noticed before.

I opened the door of the compartment I had just been pressed against, sliding into a seat. This had been easy enough so far, save for the mark of impurity that I was now aware danced above my head.

My thoughts flurried as I gazed out of the window and with a jolt, the train began to move. Fast. I was determined to take in the scenery passing on the ride but the speed turned it all into an amassed green blur that allowed me to be lost in thought again. The ride was eerily smooth and calm, save for the quick succession of grassy hills and trees I could make out, and it seemed to lull me into a quiet comfort.

I opened my bleary eyes slowly. Without even realizing I had, I'd dozed off. I frustratingly berated myself for allowing myself to miss out on my surroundings, but I was cut short as I noticed a figure in the seat across from me.

She… stared. Right into my eyes, into me. She bore into my very soul. A soft, knowing smile lifted her features up.

"I've interrupted a deep thought, haven't I? I can see it growing smaller in your eyes." Her bluey grey eyes looked dazed and vacant, as if she were talking to herself as much as she spoke to me. Her hair was long and blonde, falling against her almost ghostly frame. For a real, palpable person, she seemed almost see-through.

“Ah, no. Not too deep.” I managed to smoothly answer, much in contrast with my nerves. The only other blond-haired person I’d encountered thus far had been rather harsh. There was something about this girl, though, that felt eerily still and yet pleasant; very much unlike the writhing, seething heat I’d received from the other boy.

“Luna Lovegood,” she began. She structured her sentence as if there was more, but blatantly said nothing. Simply smiling, the action lifting her eyes. What an odd girl, very odd.

“Eris Woodwork. Nice to meet you, Luna.”

I wondered if sharing my name over and over would get old, as it already had bothered me this second time over. It felt intensely personal, despite being the most impersonal part of me yet.

She nodded and I finally noticed an odd looking magazine resting loosely in her hands, upside down. She looked through the window to my left and back at me, then to her magazine cover.

“We’re here.” She seemed to always have a faint smile affixed to her face as she spoke.

She silently slid out of her seat, opening the compartment door. She didn’t look at me, but I was too nervous and out of place to be left alone again. I swiftly followed her, my mind at war with my legs, which threatened to buckle and lock me on this train.

A large man covered my field of vision, Luna had floated off to wherever she saw fit. I looked up, and up a bit more before I found a face under a large, dark beard. He had a positively emanating grin as he clamped a warm hand on my shoulder.

“You must be Eris now, aren’t ya? Woodwork?” He offered, inquisitively. I felt my eyes widen a bit, my eyebrows now drawn together in confusion. He chuckled heartily, a booming and yet, sincere sound.

“Ah, ‘course ye are. Well, on now! Let’s get going ‘for yer late.” He shrugged his large hand from my shoulder and motioned for me to walk in front of him.

“This ‘ere is the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; though I’m sure you knew that much at least. You’ll get yer house sortin’ with the other wee first years and we’ll be on from there!” He shined another pleasant smile while leading me to the school, among some scattered first years from the train.

It was beautiful. Extraordinary, really. A steely grey, old castle. It felt archaic in a gorgeously antique way. Elegance and, dare I say, magic, radiated in waves from the architecture. I felt safe enough with the rather large oaf guiding me to begin asking questions. Although, I could barely find my footing, causing me to stumble embarrassingly over what I wanted to know.

“So, where… What; no, who... “ I stammered out stupidly. I tried to focus on the immediate things I didn’t know- like that boy on the train.

“Is mudblood a dirty word?” I finally managed. I knew it was. I had just wondered, well, if it were a popular or well-accepted ideal.

He took in a sharp breath, leading me to assume it wasn’t.

“Now where ‘ave ye heard that already?” There was a short pause as he continued, almost defeatedly.

“See the thing is, Eris, there's some wizards, like the Malfoy family, who think they're better than everyone else because they're what people call ‘pure blood’.”

It was my turn to take in a sharp breath. The boy on the train must have been a Malfoy, who else could taunt that word so carelessly and be so well-known for it? The large man continued, passively angered.

“And it's codswallop to boot. ‘Dirty blood’. Why, there isn't a wizard alive today that's not half-blood or less.” He finished off his rant with that, looking back at me. My eyes were searching the dirt for some sign of life, the buzz of the magic that I knew scattered this place.

“Ay, but I’m Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds here at Hogwarts. An’ I’ll be right willing to help with anything you need, lass.”

Relief flooded me to know that I wouldn’t be as openly hated or condemned for coming from two muggle parents. I also felt satisfied in knowing the last name of the blond from the train, as it hadn’t been so hard to piece together from Rubeus Hagrid’s small bout.

‘Pure blood’.

I mulled the words over in my head, wondering how much that word would fit in this new world of mine. If it were something important to remember, because it surely seemed like it was.

#draco malfoy x oc #luna lovegood #george weasley x oc #draco malfoy imagine #harry potter imagine #draco lucius malfoy #george weasley #slowburn #enemies to lovers #harry potter #draco malfoy x ravenclaw!reader #draco malfoy x ravenclaw!oc #slytherin #ravenclaw #draco imagine

14 notes · View notes

mikireyna · 3 years

Text

Best of 2020: Best Relatable Villain

Gentle Criminal (My Hero Academia)

What makes a villain relatable? Is it the troubles that they have faced? The trials that they have to overcome? Do they have to be likeable? Maybe the other question one could as is do they relate to the hero of the story? After all, isn’t the difference between a hero and a villain is simply a choice? Because of that and more. My Best Relatable Villain will be Gentle Criminal.

Gentle Criminal is the man named Danjuro Tobita who once had dreams to be a hero. He wanted to save people but to also make his name known in the history books. The problem was that he couldn’t pass the Provisional Hero Licensing Exam that all would-be heroes needed to as one of the steps to become a certified hero. To make manners worst, he got in the way of a hero trying to save a window cleaner. Tobito illegally used his Quirk, Elasticity, which hurt both the hero and made the window cleaner hit the ground. This action of failed heroism got Tobito kicked of school and disowned by his family. Leaving Tobito wandering aimlessly in life with no hopes to become a hero.

It was a chance encounter with a former classmate that pushed Tobito into villainy. If Tobito couldn’t make it into the history books as a hero then he would do so as a villain. Tobito don the name of Gentle Criminal. He would record his crimes and upload them to YuTube. Eventually gaining a fan in the name of Manami Aiba. She would eventually join him on his crimes as cameraperson, hacker, video editor and ace in the hole as La Brava.

I love Gentle Criminal and La Brava so much. They are the perfect mix of silly but their story can really hit you in your emotions. I would include both in this category but it is really the story of Gentle Criminal that fits this category better. Maybe they could be best team but I didn’t want to give these goofballs two days.

The story of Gentle Criminal and his involvement in the story really hits hard due to the timing and how it relates to Deku. That is because he too wants to be a hero. Perhaps their end goals were different but they both have dreams to be a hero known by all. Things become even more interesting because the reason for their plan and fight. Gentle wanted to infiltrate UA High’s Spring Festival to prove that it can be done to make others know about him and live up to La Brava’s love. Deku wanted to help a little girl that he rescue in the previous arc, Eri, to smile. During their fight, Deku learned that this was more than just a prank by some C-Tier Villain. He found out that this was a person who was just like him. They were not fighting for themselves. Gentle went all out to make sure that his plan was successful. Even to the point where he had to fight hand to hand, a thing that he never does. All for the chance to pull off his scheme. In the end, Gentle was defeated at the hands of Deku but the young hero could see who Gentle was. Both were people who had or have dreams to be a hero to make a person important to them smile.

I like to call Gentle and La Brava the Jessie and James of My Hero Academia. They do crimes but nothing major. In the end they want to make each other happy and to reach their dream. Maybe that is the part that I can relate to. We can’t be successful in reaching that dream all the time but they keep trying for each other. Gentle may not have been the strongest villain Deku has fought but he was the hardest.

#my hero academia #MHA #deku #deku midoriya #gentle criminal #la brava

10 notes · View notes

aidendh · 3 years

Text

BSD! RAU! Fyodor Dostoevsky

Adopts Atsushi as a child

Adopts the red head (Karma) from a mission(Killing Ace, PM executive) after not being able to bring himself to kill him

Has a personal gruge against Dazai

Has a dark brown streak in his hair

Has a butterfly necklace (Hidden under clothing)

Kids grow up in Russia but move to Japan later

Atsushi still joins the ADA but wouldn't betray his father, and spy's (Spying is just a bonus)

Same with Karma rejoining the port mafia

(Still wants to become the boss)

Vulnerable to mental powers but has some resistance

Teaches his children manners / formal talk

Owns Krysa Orphanage, any staff that harms a child will go missing a week later

*Slams open door dramatically*

"Atsushi! You have a brother!"-F

Karma has a ribbon around his choker

"We'll find a way to remove it."-F

Fyodor Dostoevsky, Father/Papa

Atsushi Dostoevsky, Little Tiger

Karma Dostoevsky, Little Topaz

[Dos•doi•exty]

When referring to more than one of his children, he calls them his Little Krysy(plural)

AUs Theme: Blame It On The Kids (Nightcore)

All children live in the orphanage, on their own or in homes he sets up except Karma and Atsushi

His Children/Deaths (Crossovers)

In order of appearance

{Bnha}

Denki Dostoevsky, Little Spark

Shoto Dostoevsky, Little Snowflake

Neito Dostoevsky, Little Phantom

Toya/Dabi Dostoevsky, Little Ember

-Deaths-

Endeavor

Vlad King

Hagakure (not personal)

All For One (posed as police at Kamino Ward)

-add ons(after mirac)-

Converts Bakugo?

Let's heroes capture him and put quirk suppressing cuff

On drive to tarturous, car found crashed with all dead by 'quirk' and Fyodor missing

Evidence on deceased police phone of a selfie of Fyodor showing the cuff still on wrist and dead body's in background

-Deaths-

Overhaul (Posed as member / saved Izuku)

-Children-

Mina Dostoevsky, Little Wonder (Was torchered by the league with Denki but league left denki as under protection, she gave in and joined rats)

Eri Dostoevsky, Little Apple (Karma took her / Karma earned Overhauls trust)

{Persona 5}

Goro Dostoevsky, Little Crow (keeps Akechi as celebrity)

-Deaths-

Masayoshi Shido (Goro's Father/CHECK SPELLING)

Palace - Fyodor Dostoevsky - Empire - God - Krysa Orphanage

Shadow - Crime/Himself & Punishment/Ability - doesn't look different apart from shadow eyes

Any of his children's palaces merge with his and his children's shadows live in his palace/empire

{Miraculous}

Adrien Dostoevsky, Little Kitty

-Deaths-

Master Fu

Gabriel Agreste (left Butterfly Miraculous)

Stole Dragon Miraculous for Karma

Stole Rabbit Miraculous but kept dormant (he liked the pocket watch)

Future Alix/Bunix gets ladybug to try to prevent it as it's the second paradox but fail

Ladybug witnesses the death and theft but is frozen in fear / trauma

lb is spared because he makes her promise to never tell anyone about his power

*lifts lb head up under chin gently*

"You would not tell anyone about this, will you little bug?"-F

Ends future alix/bunix because of Rabbit being stolen

Kills Hawkmoth then adopts Adrien after

Lb/Marinette ends up telling everything (including ladybug) to Alya as it is too much on her

CN ends up renouncing Plagg and revealing himself to Ladybug to return his Miraculous

Karma's Choker / Dragon Miraculous is Silver with a Topaz gem

{RPs / KP ocs, AUs}

-Children-

DE! Izuku, Little Bunny (DE! Bnha)

OC! Hazel, Little Knight (BSD) (Forgot original nickname)

-Deaths-

DE! Bakugo (DE! Bnha)

Osamu Dazai (Hazel / After killing Fyodor)

{Death}

In a crossover with kp RAU! Haruno

Killed by her ability

RP with KP oc! Hazel

Killed by Dazai after avoiding other deaths

Hazel chokes Dazai and is given the Rabbit Miraculous

Is reincarnated as Goro Akechi {See Fyodor Goro}

(KP is @noodlekat )

#bungou stray dogs #miraculous ladybug #ml #bnha #persona 5 #RAU #reincarnation #fyodor dostoevsky #atsushi nakajima #karma #dragon miraculous #rabbit miraculous #death #Dostoevsky fyodor #nakajima atsushi #Atsushi Hinata #Karma Hinata #Fyodor Hinata

8 notes · View notes

moiralovestowrite · 3 years

Text

Drifter’s Wild Card Chapter 2

The woman ate everything Drifter put in front of her. The brown eyes that held soft warmth now held a darkness, like she could consume everything in the room if the man let her. It was like watching a starving animal. The old man had been in this position before, He remembered the pain that came with his stomach eating itself. The rouge lightbearer had helped the new re-born onto Derelict, the brunette was tattered and bruised, weak and hungry. Drifter was quick to get her patched up and fed while he waited for Eris to come examine her. Moondust had been completely speechless when Drifter explained what he had found. She called him a liar and demanded the truth. When the man insisted that was the truth, she turned her ship around and made her way straight for The Derelict. “Slow down kid, you’ll kill yerself at this rate.” Drifter chuckled before carefully removing the plate from in front of the woman, trying not lose a finger. Wiping her mouth with her torn sleeve, the nameless woman gazed up into the strangers eyes. Each time they made eye contact it felt like they were dancing. Drifter had never felt like this before, it was so new, so...nice. “Thank you.” With the kindest smile Drifter had ever seen, the man felt his legs turn to jelly. Taking a deep breath in and quickly attempting to put his mental walls back up, Drifter smiled and nodded. “Your welcome, save some for me eh?” The woman laughed, turning her eyes away from the man and began taking in the view of the ship. The ice glistened in the rooms dull lights creating a calming wave of energy. The woman knew nothing, she had no name, and her ghost couldn’t talk, like the old mans. It raised a lot of questions, truth be told, Drifter thought he was the only one in the world-hell the universe with that kind of ghost, one that snapped, one that was ready to kill. “I take it I’m different.” The woman asked in a soft voice as she began to get up from the table. The man was startled by her sudden question, placing the plate into his small kitchen sink. Shit. How was he meant to answer that? Did he go the brutally honest route? Tell her that she’s going to be hunted, to be tormented if anyone found out she was born from Darkness? Or did he charm his way out of it, saying that she was special like him? Before either one of them could continue the conversation, the dining room doors opened on the Derelict, revealing a terrified looking Eris Morn.

“Amazing…” Eris’s cold fingers trailed over the woman’s face, causing the young one to flinch. The woman didn’t like this kind of contact, it wasn’t like Drifters. It wasn’t there to help or calm her down, it was to poke and examine. She felt like test subject. “You’re ice cold. Yet you cannot feel it?” The brunette shook her head, watching as Morn circled around her, examining everything about her. “No I just-I just feel okay? Do you feel cold? Should I feel cold?” Panic began to set in as the woman thought about what this meant. She really was different wasn’t she? How long before she was in a zoo for people to stare at and play with? Eris Morn took a step back and let out a small hum. “Um, if it’s not too much to ask, Drifter left some clothes out for me, could I go change?” The woman’s manners were strange, she didn’t need to ask permission to get comfortable and yet she did, treating Eris like a figure of authority. The old man laughed and gently placed a hand on the girl’s shoulders. He knew that she was mentally freaking out, and to be fair he would be too. There was so much happening in such a short amount of time. “Go for it kid.” Drifter’s touch instantly calmed the woman down. The brunette gave the man a smile before she turned, heading down the hallway Drifter had showed her earlier. The moment she was out of ear shot Eris spoke. “We must tell the Vanguard. Zavala and Ikora need to hear about this. If there are more like her out there, this could be the Darkness making an army-” Drifter was quick to cut Moondust off. No way in HELL was he letting that big blue idiot near the woman. Just by looking at her you could tell she meant no harm, for fuck sake she didn’t even have a name! But Zavala would take her as a threat the moment he would lay eyes on her. “Moondust, you really think you can just stroll in there, show them this kid and they won’t kill her on the spot? This isn’t a Vanguard issue. This is a US issue.” Eris’s lips fell into a frown as she listened to the Drifter’s words. There was some truth to the statement. There was no telling what would happen if they brought the woman to the Vanguard. But if they hid her? The outcome could be much worse. It was worth the sacrifice in Eris’s mind. “It is just one soul. If she has to die, then so be it. This could save lives Eli. This could save us from the future.” The Drifter flinched hearing Eli come out of Moondust’s mouth. A logical part of him knew that someone else needed to hear about this, The Vanguard may be filled with idiot’s but they did help upon occasion. However deep inside the old man’s soul he knew he couldn’t let that happen. Dammit why was he so attached to this kid? Something about her, she felt like a part of him even if they had only met hours ago. “Then tell em this. You found a signal from the Darkness, you went to find out what it was, ya got there too late and missed the whole show, now the signal’s alive and there could be more like it. Simple. Hell don’t even mention the kid, the weird signal should keep em sniffing around for days.” Eris’s eyes sharpened upon the Drifter’s form, she could smell his desperation. “I am taking her with me. You do not get a say.” The man’s gaze turned into a glare as the two stared each other down. “Don’t do this moondust.” “I have to.” With a swift sudden movement, Drifter’s hand cannon Trust was placed upon Eris’s forehead. The man was fast, faster than she thought. Why was he acting like this? What was with this caring, this compassion? He had never had it before, did he see this woman as a gift from the Darkness instead of a threat? She could kjll them all without a moment’s notice! The former lightbearer slowly began to reach for her pocket, her fingers searching for her knife before Drifter’s foot landed directly upon her stomach, kicking her harshly into the ships wall. With a pained grunt Eris wrapped her arms around her stomach and glared up at the man. The gun continued to be aimed straight at her head. “I Think Its Time To Go.” Eris’s teeth grit as she slowly began to inch her way towards the dining room door. “You cannot hide her forever Eli. Do not think this is over.” “We’ll see about that.” The man snarled back, watching Morn leave the dinning room. He kept his gun pointed at the door for a few moments before he heard Eris’s ship leave. With a loud sigh, the man put his gun back into his belt and rubbed his hand on his forehead. Fuck, what had he done? Drifter began to turn, facing the hallway the girl went down. He had to put on a play, make sure she didn’t know what had just gone down. However he was too late for that. As he faced the hallway, his eyes instantly locked with the girls. She had seen the whole thing, DAMMIT! The man quickly shoved his hands into his pockets as he stiffened his back. Now she probably thought he was a monster huh? Suddenly, with no warning, the woman flew into the Drifter’s form, hugging him as tightly as she could. A tear trickled down from her brown eyes as she spoke. “Thank you…” The man’s arms were struggling, he had no idea what to do with this form of affection, he didn’t even know how to return it. Speechless, the man simply just took it, trying to hide his smile. She had just watched him attack another person and she was hugging him? Was she insane? A small chuckle left Drifter’s lips as he thought about it. Yeah, she was nuts, but so was he. This trusting feeling was nice. Too bad it wouldn’t last. After a few moment’s the girl pulled away from him, wiping the tears from her eyes. She was wearing Gambit clothing, snakes trailed over her form as the clothes hugged her hips and curves. Her long hair covered the back of the black leather robe while she stood easily in green heeled hunter boots. The old man smiled “No worries Moira.” The woman’s eyes widened as she heard the name leave Drifter’s lips. “Moira?” The man shrugged as he gave the girl a wink. “I think it suits you.” Moira was a strange name, one of the few that Drifter knew the meaning of. Funny enough, the name meant Destiny. The man had quickly realized why he had become so attached to her. She was going to change everything but first...she was going to change him, for the better.

#Drifter #The Drifter #Destiny 2 #Zavala #destiny ikora #ikora rey #eris morn

5 notes · View notes

uozlulu · 5 years

Text

Not sure how long Viz had this offer up but I’ve got until tomorrow to read all of this for free so here we go~

BnHA/MHA chapters 122 – 162 reaction and spoilers. I also eluded to some Black Clover manga spoilers but I tried to be vague about it. I also mentioned One Piece once but nothing actually spoilers I don't think

I sorted everything by chapter under the read more cut

Chapter 122

This chapter appears to pick up towards the end of season three. Present Mic being hyped to teach the kids still gives me life

If Hound Dog loves soccer does he play it like a guy or like a dog or does it like all depend on his mood?

Chapter 123

Must be awkward knowing you’ve seen your senpai naked on national TV

lol “His [Mirio’s] face is a good one. Easy to draw.”

Chapter 125

I like that Overhaul is kind of a look at what Crazy Diamond could be if it was wielded by a proper villain and not just some chaotic teenager

Chapter 126

Yagi’s got some solid reasons for not being on board with this whole let’s send the sixteen-year-olds to war idea, but it also cracks me up we’re getting peanut gallery commentary from the other teachers in the teachers’ office in the background of the panels.

lol “Three, it’d be awkward for me” but also another solid reason

”..you’ve got to make him smile” “He’s got a lot of respect for humor” something something King Kai

Tickle Hell. Why WHY are you like this, Horokoshi?

Of course Sir Nighteye’s a Capricorn. Of course he is.

Chapter 131

Let’s be perfectly honest here, with Yagi’s body the way it is, an early death is inevitable. The gruesome part though makes me curious how an upcoming event in the manga is going to pass and if maybe that will be when Sir Nighteye’s foresight will come to pass. It would also make sense since the manga feels currently (in the 240’s) like it’s about to shift and evolve as a story, like a potential half way point is looming

Also, this chapter lends insight into why Midoriya is telling us this story as a narrator. Given whatever’s about to happen it makes sense that he would want to lay everything out to the next successor of One for All. It only strengthens my theory that the end of the manga is Midoriya looking at the reader and offering us a chance to become his successor in some manner.

Chapter 132

Tamaki’s quirk is basically you are what you eat. I’m screaming. lol

Chisaki’s plan kind of reminds me how in a way Black Clover and BnHA are tackling some similar questions and themes. There’s a hierarchy that’s existed for generations and there are people who want to upend it. However a key difference is Asta is a driving force for changing the system, which he begins to understand more and more as he goes along, which is I think why we’re starting to see a shift in narrative with the story’s current arc. Meanwhile, Midoriya is trying to preserve the current hierarchy, which while being questioned by the villains, is not really questioned by the heroes (at least not yet). It’s interesting to watch the similarities and differences in Tabata and Horokoshi’s approaches to questioning and challenging concepts like tradition, system, structure, and inequality.

I already know what Eri’s power does and how she’s basically the X-Men mutation cure plot point, so that actually kind of helps here I think. Thank goodness Kirishima’s quirk is basically a defense against needles (that must have been a pain at the doctor’s office for all adults involved as a kid)

Chapter 135

I love Tamaki ngl

Chapter 136

Even though they’re being more blatant in this chapter, I do like that once it’s revealed that Sir Nighteye saw how Yagi will die, it’s part of the motivation for why he does some of what he does like being on the fence at first with Midoriya in terms of acceptance, calling Midoriya’s desire to want to do more for Eri when he met her arrogance, trying to play things as safe as possible, etc…etc… and now he’s reluctant to use his quirk and it all comes back to foreseeing his good friend/mentor/hero’s death even if it’s been six years since

I like that Aizawa is taking the track of basically he knows Midoriya is a hero of a Jump manga so they might as well work together on this because he already knows Midoriya will just run off and try to solve this problem since it’s personal for him. I also kind of hope letting Aizawa help is part of the track the narrative takes because I think actually Midoriya could learn a lot from observing Aisawa up close in a non-school setting about patience, strategy, and timing as well. It might even help Midoriya with his quirk problems.

Chapter 137

Actually enlisting Kirishima, Uraraka, Asui, and Midoriya to help retrieve Eri is probably a good idea considering what the kids were able to do when it was time to rescue Bakugou a while back. While it isn’t ideal asking sixteen-year-olds to take on responsibilities of adults, this is a task this group of kids has shown they are well suited to. Even Asui who was not a direct participant in the rescue but could size up the situation for what it was and make sure the adults knew what was about it happen. Knowing when to go for help is as important as being a helper. The group can benefit from her maturity.

I like that Nejire is using her hair as a scarf

Chapter 138

Gung Ho! Pretty Yure 10! Sure sounds like a play on Futari wa Pretty Cure

Chapter 139

I wonder if Mirio had to get in contact with someone whose quirk increased hair growth so they could get enough hair to make that fabric.

Chapter 141

I can’t wait to see Tamaki’s quirk animated. I want to see this kraken thing in all its glory

I like how in the story about why the underlings joined Hassaikai it continues the theme of how there’s so much wrong with the structure of the world. Like these guys, just like a few others from season three, found themselves sliding down the hierarchy until they were on the streets and at the bottom. Then comes Chisaki who gives them what the hero and common world won’t provide. Of course they will be loyal to him. It also illustrates why Tamaki can’t understand it. It’s not brain washing, Chisaki saved them from the streets in a society that doesn’t care once you hit rock bottom. It reminds me of that guy who could copy himself last season who didn’t realize he was damaging himself mentally in the process until he created an irreversible mental illness. The heroes would want nothing to do with that and so he had no logical place to go but villainy. The way the villains are going about fixing the situation is of course villainous, but I like that the narrative keeps showing us that the villains do have appoint, that their society is indeed broken and in need of some kind of repair. It’ll be interesting to see if the story gets to a point in which the heroes in turn begin to realize this. Or perhaps they won’t be able to realize it until the tables turn since they’re on the top of the hierarchy and don’t really analyze what’s in the shadows. It’s like I was saying a few chapters ago. While Midoriya, like Asta in Black Clover starts out as an outsider who wishes he could be on the inside, Midoriya as he becomes an insider, loses some of that outside perspective while Asta retains it. Even after meeting Endeavor and learning of his hidden villany, Midoriya doesn’t really question if other Endeavors exist in the hero world and the narrative doesn’t really go there either whereas in Black Clover there’s a constant theme of the nobility having a lot of problems and while some are starting to come around, there’s always another asshole to uncover, to challenge. One Piece does this too. There’s the Celestial Dragons and the Marines and once one problematic person gets their just deserts five more show up, but One Piece always tries to kill the evil dream rather than the bad guy for the most part and try to have them learn something if possible, and show that growth and change in society is a multi-level, multi-person effort. Anyway, it’s interesting how these manga all kind of tackle similar things in different ways and this is getting to be too big of a bullet point, but I should expand on this thought sometime properly.

Chapter 142

I think it’s interesting when we run into linguistic nuance in this series. Like for example the yakuza guys from the previous boss’ era clarifying that there are villains that have come into their yakuza group since Chisaki took over and started using the name Overhaul. Even though yakuza do bad things, there’s a distinction, at least to them, between themselves and villains.

Chapter 151

Honestly I would be the threat of STDs and STIs would put Chisaki off sex entirely come to think of it

Chapter 158

The thing is even if you destroy the quirk factor humans will still find yet another hierarchy to create. It’s what we do.

Chapter 159

Then again now that we’ve proven that Sir Nighteye’s quirk can be wrong (which honestly makes sense since the future should be fluid like time) then maybe I was wrong earlier in thinking that Yagi might just die coming up here sooner than later. Though I do know he will eventually die. Because he’s the mentor and because he’s probably like 50 years old anyway so by the time Midoriya gets to a point in which he’s passing on One for All, it’s probably unlikely that Yagi’s still living. Unless I’m wrong about that too and the manga isn’t ending on Midoriya telling his successor enough information to make an informed decision of course.

Chapter 160

Oh good. Spinner learned how to drive from video games.

Honestly surprised Chisaki didn’t consider the fact that when he talked about getting rid of all quirks he was basically threatening the League of Villains with possibly the biggest possible threat out there so of course Tomura was going to neutralize him instead of make him some kind of weirdo martyr.

Chapter 161

I love how Rock Lock’s baby has such a Rock Lock expression their face

Chapter 162

Mirio mentions being the “final hero” and it makes me wonder since Yagi gave Midoriya his quirk instead of Mirio if perhaps that shifted things so Midoriya will be this final hero. Or perhaps Final Hero is idek Mirio’s eventually vigilante name or something. Lots of options

#liveblog #manga liveblog #bnha manga liveblog #mha manga liveblog #bnha manga spoilers #mha manga spoilers #i read a lot of chapters #boku no hero academia #my hero academia

4 notes · View notes

silly-nonny-fics-are-for-fandoms · 5 years

Text

Halloween hauntings

Bakukami week day 6 (Part one) : Fall Nights @officialbakukamiweek Summary: Halloween parties are just excuses to sneak in alcohol, get fucked up, and wear stupid costumes. Bakugo had never liked the holiday before, but a cute devil was quickly changing his mind Read on Ao3

Halloween was never Bakugo's preferred holiday, despite the free rein to scare the crap out of little kids.

He honestly preferred Christmas, or at least the idea of it, if only it weren't for the cold. New Years, Valentines, White Day; he liked all of them, except Halloween. He hated that everyone used it as an excuse to get drunk, wear costumes of things which should never be sexified, eat a bunch of candy and complain about getting scared.

What was the point of it, really?

He'd never enjoyed trick-or-treating since his mom and dad had always insisted on picking out his costumes and hand making them. Don't go crazy, don't get it dirty, and don't rip it. Problems of having fashion designer parents, he guessed. His mother got way into it every year, doing family costumes together with them and going out with Izuku and his mother.

He usually also had to match Izuku, since their moms enjoyed the holiday and it was easier to find them if they had matching costumes.

And as he'd grown up, his Halloweens changed. His parents started holding parties once he'd decided that he didn't want to trick-or-treat anymore, another excuse for Inko and Mitsuki to hang out together on their second favorite holiday. Those two had been friends since they were in High School. He couldn't understand why they were both insufferable. The parties had gotten louder and louder the older he got, parents and teenagers using the holiday as an excuse to drink. Someone always brought the booze from the adult's side of the party to the teenager's side, or the teenagers would have to take the younger children out to trick-or-treat. It sucked if you got stuck with that.

When he got into UA, his parents asked if Halloween was a holiday that they'd be home for. Aizawa had responded no. And with the introduction of the dorms, UA had been forced to do something. They'd announced a Halloween party to their students by year. The first year party was going to be chaperoned by Midnight and those she chose. Present Mic would be joining her, as well as three other pro heroes which had not been announced. Aizawa had been reserved for watching over his Daughter, Eri, as she went trick-or-treating for the first time.

This would be the first year he didn't have to match Midoriya or his parents; where he could pick his own costume and do whatever he wanted.

He wanted to stay at the dorms, studying or training. Nothing good would come of the party, especially if it was going to be as loud as he expected it to be.

His friends tried to convince him, Kirishima especially persistent in his efforts. Apparently, he was going as a half-dragon shifter thing, since his red riding hood costume, which he'd worn as a joke the previous year, had been denied by both of his mothers since they needed to remake it; he'd grown since Middle School.

"But Kaminari and I have already made plans next year to match! We're gonna do Oni's next year!"

"Kirishima. Your point?" Bakugo glared. "Also, who the fuck prepares that far in advance?"

"Kaminari and I, obviously! And, yeah. You should totally go to the party with us! It'll be so much fun!"

"Absolutely not."

"C'mon, man! We're all going, and who wants to sit in the dark, alone, on Halloween? That sounds like the beginning of a horror movie!"

Bakugo rolled his eyes.

"I don't like Halloween."

Kirishima's eyes widened, placing his hand on his heart in shock. "How can you not like Halloween?!"

"If I fucking go to the shitty party, will you not ask?!"

"Yessir!"

Bakugo only realized what he'd agreed to after he saw the grin on Kirishima's face, recoiling from how bright and sunshine-y he was.

"You're way too fucking happy about that, Hair for brains."

"Well, now we can all hang out at an awesome, manly party! Why shouldn't I be excited? Any ideas for what you're gonna be?"

"I'll kill you in three seconds if you don't get out of my room."

Bakugo had learned long ago that hanging out around a single one of his dumbasses for any length of time was too mentally draining for his comfort, and Kirishima understood that despite being an extrovert.

He did have to think about what kind of costume he wanted, though. Something which made sense with his personality.

On the night of Halloween, October Thirty First, Bakugo reconsidered going. His costume, a werewolf, looked amazing and it was comfortable, but he didn't honestly feel the need to go other than he'd told Kirishima that he would.

Kirishima and Sero went to get him ten minutes after they said they would, Mina in tow.

"Bakugo! We match!!!" Mina exclaimed her own werewolf costume a pretty impressive display. Shorts, a tail attached to the belt in the same fashion as his own, her pink ears high and proud. The crop top she had on likely wouldn't be allowed on any other day, looking at it.

Kirishima wasn't looking bad either, red scaled tail coming just above the floor and fire red horns matching. He'd managed to put patches of scales on his cheeks and down his neck, on his arms and part of his exposed chest.

Sero, however, was hilariously creative. A spiderman mummy. He'd managed to place his tape so perfectly that his elbows were almost completely hidden by the material, in fact.

"Where's Sparky?" Bakugo asked, looking at the three expectantly.

"He's finishing up; he'll meet us downstairs, so come on!" Mina grabbed Bakugo's arm, pulling him along with her to make it down to the first floor.

"Everyone else has already headed out," Sero explained, as to why they were late.

"We figured you wanted as little to do with Midoriya as possible," Kirishima grinned. He was right, of course. After years of spending the holiday with Deku, Bakugo wanted nothing to do with him. Especially not tonight.

Once they got to the main floor, Mina dragged them over to the candy bowl she'd set up with Sato, waiting for Kaminari.

Three minutes ticked by slowly, the four of them conversing lightly about what the party would be like. Would it be a dance? Would there be games? The possibilities were endless, really. They knew that each year was given a location, the first six floors of one of the four pillars of UA, while the fourth one was left locked, save for the first floor where Recovery Girl's office and the lecture hall was.

The front left had been reserved for the third years, front right for the second years and the back left for first years. For everyone's safety, the windows would stay locked as well as the upper floors. School IDs were to be kept on everyone's person at all times, otherwise, they wouldn't be able to get into the dorms or the building. All other school rules applied, which hadn't made Hagakure too pleased.

The main difference between the party, it seemed, is that quirks would be allowed during the event so long as it wasn't in a destructive manner. No school the day after, either, so they could stay up as long as they wished.

"Hey, you guys ready to go?" Kaminari's voice broke through the narration, the four of them turning to face him.

Bakugo's face went a gorgeous shade of crimson, Sero and Mina whistled, and Kirishima fist pumped the air.

"Looking good, man!" Kirishima said, grinning,

"Get it boy~!" Mina winked, her voice peppy,

"I have no idea how you're walking but I like it!" Sero chuckled.

Bakugo didn't know what to say.

Kaminari had walked downstairs, tight wine red pants clinging to those long legs of his, a blood red silken shirt adorning his top, partly undone to expose his chest. A smooth cherry vest trimmed with obsidian topped it, showing off his wonderful waist and leading into a swishing devil's tail, which likely was moving through some animatronics. His pitch leathery colored wings curled to hide behind his shoulders, though Bakugo was sure they had some form of a motor in them as well. In his hand was a metallic raspberry trident, long and strong enough to withstand his weight. He had reddish black horns upon his head,

What killed him was the shoes, however. Leather, black and sleek, lace up and coming to his knees with five-inch dagger heels. Kaminari walked as if those weren't killing his feet to wear, even swinging his hips with a smirk.

He knew what he was doing.

"Well, what are we waiting around for? There's a party to go to!" Kaminari smirked, the devil in him coming forward.

If Kaminari would dress like this every Halloween, Bakugo might be able to learn to love this holiday.

Bakugo did hate the holiday. Oh, how he hated it. They'd arrived at the party, the dancing and partying was taking place on the main floor, food was on the second floor, the third floor was reserved for movie watching and the other three floors were reserved for games. Someone had proposed the idea of a test of courage, only for Midnight and the other faculty members to shoot it down due to the anxiety and memories such a game might hold for the hero course students.

'We are not in the business of giving people anxiety attacks,' Midnight had said, 'You are free to play pranks and the like, and hold a test of courage in everything but name; if you play Murderer in the Dark, you're more than welcome to hold some scares as well.'

Jack 'o lanterns lit the halls of the upper allowed floors, setting the mood for frights. The first and second floor, blissfully, was fully lit for proper sight.

After sitting on the second floor for a half an hour, Kaminari and the rest of his friends had dragged Bakugo into a game of Murderer in the Dark on the upper three floors. As much as he had intended to leave them be, he found himself staring into golden eyes full of excitement, blushing cheeks and blonde hair which glowed in the light, and he heard himself say okay before he could stop himself.

So, they'd been given ten minutes to hide among the three floors, and they'd scattered. He'd lost track of his friends and remembered exactly why he hated Halloween parties.

They'd started on the sixth floor and made their way downstairs. Bakugo had made it down to the fourth floor by the time a small scream came, registering pain and he saw lights from within a classroom.

He opened the door, slipping in carefully.

"What the fuck?" He asked into the darkness of the room, the lights coming again from the corner.

In this classroom, the music room he realized, was a cabinet wall at the back of the room. He heard buzzing from that corner, realizing exactly who was there.

"Sparky, what happened?" He knelt down to his friend, who sat against the wall with one leg out, the other pulled in close. Electricity buzzed around him, Kaminari hissing and tearing up.

"I. Fuck this hurts." He hissed, and Bakugo raised an eyebrow.

"Do I need to carry you to recovery girl?"

"Can you help me get my boots off first?" Kaminari's voice was wavering, pained and he was on the verge of tears.

Bakugo obliged him, unlacing one of those knee-high boots carefully while Kaminari did the other. Fuck, those look as good as the fabric feels, he thought.

As soon as the boots were off, Bakugo saw the issue. Even through the socks, he could tell that Kaminari had definitely damaged his ankles. They were swollen, certainly, and Bakugo assumed he'd tripped on those dagger heels.

"How the hell did you fall? You were fucking fine before." Bakugo hissed, glaring at the little devil.

"I was running, man!" Kaminari winced, "This dude from class E has been following me around since the party started, I saw him, and I bolted." He choked on the end of his sentence, "I didn't know what to do!"

Bakugo reached over, slipping one arm under Kaminari's knees and the other under his shoulders, lifting him up.

"Well, they're gonna have to fuck off. I'm bringing you to Recovery girl, you're going to have to fucking deal with it."

Kaminari moaned in pain, holding onto Bakugo with one hand, the other holding the boots which had been the cause of his pain.

When he walked out of the music classroom, Bakugo spotted Kirishima as Kaminari's electricity started dying down.

"Oi, shitty hair!" Bakugo said, Kirishima turning around in a panic.

"Oh, hey bro, can't- Is that Kaminari?"

"Yeah, I'm taking him to Recovery girl. Tell the moderator to fuck off or I'll kill him."

Kaminari was getting redder by the second as they Bakugo brought him to Recovery Girl, trying to attract as little attention as possible.

Recovery girl healed him up, gave him ankle braces for his feet, and told Bakugo to escort him back to the dorms to change into supportive sneakers. If Kaminari was going to go back to the party, he wouldn't be allowed to participate in any of the physical activities, so he'd be stuck on the second and third floors.

The fall air was crisp, cooling and refreshing to their lungs. The leaves crunched beneath their feet, neither one of them talking, instead appreciating how beautiful things were. The trees were gorgeous, amber, umber and hues of red mixing together. The smell of Pumpkin filled the air, sounds from the party coming through the building as they made their way back.

Fall was the kind of season which made people want to cuddle up together, ushering in the icy breath of winter some days, summer heat lingering in others. It was nice, the best of both seasons. Under his green coat, Bakugo as more than warm enough to combat the cold breeze, but Kaminari wasn't the same.

Thin silk shirts weren't exactly resistant to the cold, after all.

The warmth of the dorm, with its heating and lack of open windows, was welcoming.

Bakugo and Kaminari made their way to their individual dorm rooms in silence, unknowingly to do the same thing. Change back into their pajamas, then go down to the common room and watch movies while binging on candy.

Kaminari had changed into a pair of cozy sweatpants, and one of the sweaters he'd stolen from Mina accidentally. A dark burgundy, embroidered in wool with the word 'Snuggle' on it in white. Comfy.

Bakugo changed into sweatpants and a black-skulled sweater, heading back down and turning on the television. Kaminari made his way out of the elevator, sitting next to him on the couch as the television illuminated the room. Scrolling through the movies available, Bakugo chose the Halloween movie and leaned back, Kaminari snuggling against his side, to which he moved one arm over the injured blonde's shoulder.

Somewhere around ten thirty, Kaminari fell asleep to the beating of Bakugo's heart, the warmth radiating off of the other teen a wonderful protection against the natural cold of a fall night.

Bakugo silently amended his thoughts from earlier in the night. If Kaminari dressed like this, staying cuddled up with him and falling asleep while they watched old movies, he may start to like Halloween and even look forward to it.

#Bakukamiweek2018 #bakukami #Bakugo katsuki #Kaminari denki #Halloween #Halloween parties #Minor injuries #Caused by high heels #Cuddling #Fluff and light angst #I've never celebrated halloween I'm sorry #Ask to tag I'm shit at it

27 notes · View notes

faerytalesfromtheabyss · 5 years

Note

Which series do you like better ACOTAR or TCP? Why?

(OMG anon, you know not what you ask.)

Folk of the Air/Cruel Prince all the way! I’ve been reading Holly Black’s books since I was 12 and Spiderwick Chronicles got me interested in faerie lore and urban fantasy. (It inspired a lot of my own writing.) I just loved the idea that a world of magic could be right under our noses.

I'm obsessed with Holly Black’s expanded Faery universe (the Modern Faerie Tale Series and Darkest Part of the Forest) and how these books give you more insight into Folk of the Air but you don’t have to read them to understand the story. Holly Black is the queen of morally gray characters and writes my favorite heroines. They are so deliciously flawed yet brave and cleaver. And each character and each story is so unique from one another.

I’m going to put the longer answer under the cut. There are a lot of things I like and dislike about A Court of Thorns and Roses, especially when compared to Holly Black’s books. I will preface this by saying that I like ACOTAR, but there are a lot of things I think could have improved the series.

Okay, here we go:

One of the things I love most about Holly Black’s books is that she follows very specific rules about faeries that are derived from folk lore. (Eg. Faeries can’t lie, iron harms faeries, rowen berries can protect from enchantments, etc.) It threw me through a loop when SJM set up similar rules but then (surprise) it turned out faeries could lie and were not affected by iron. To me, the folklore rules are one of the most interesting things about faeries and it keeps their power in check.

I love how Holly Black’s faeries speak in riddles and in an antiquated manner. I also love that Holly Black has such a diversity of faeries in her books. I feel like SJM (especially in her later books) only has high fae and they really don’t act much different than humans; they just have super powers.

Honestly, I hate the trope of humans transforming into Fae/supernatural creatures. I think humans have their own strengths and being human is enough. (You know, I might be a little biased. I am human after all). Becoming High Lady was cool and all, but I found Feyre facing down the world of Prythian way more compelling when she was a human than when she was as an overpowered Fae.

That’s the other thing I don’t like about A Court of Thorns and Roses. Everyone is waaaaaaay overpowered. And SJM sometimes breaks her own rules for what magic is possible. In Folk of the Air, the magic is so natural to the world that a lot of times it doesn’t feel like magic. (That’s a good thing. It means that the magic makes sense to the world and the story.)

The only time someone is overpowered in The Wicked King is when Cardan raises an island out of the sea. But that situation was a one time thing and it showed Cardan truly accepting his position as High King (and I thought it was foreshadowed well.)

I appreciate SJM’s optimism that people can become better people. But sometimes that optimism is a little much for me. SJM’s characters do shitty things sometimes and are rarely held accountable for them (unless you’re Lucien or Nesta). Also, It seems like Tamlin and Eris (Lucien’s brother) are going to have redemption arcs (and don’t get me wrong, I looove a good redemption arc—I live for Zuko’s redemption arc in Avatar) but after what those two did to Feyre and Morgan… those two don’t deserve redemption arcs.

I also like Cardan’s character development a lot more than Rhys’. The Rhys in A Court of Thorns and Roses is not the same Rhys as the one in A Court of Mist and Fury. Granted, I love Rhys’ character in A Court of Mist and Fury. But it just doesn’t make sense with his previous behavior. If Rhys is actually this good guy, wouldn’t you think he would make a plan with Feyre or let her know his plans in Amarantha’s court?

It might sound like I hate A Court of Thorns and Roses, but I don’t. (But I do have a lot of issues with consent in the first book, but that’s a whole different post.) I’m just also critical about it because, as a writer, I see a lot of ways the series could have been improved.

Here are some of the things I love about A Court of Thorns and Roses:

I think SJM writes likable characters very well. Like, if I had to choose a group of friends, I would probably choose the Court of Dreams over the Court of Shadows.

But as a person reading a book, I appreciate the moral grayness and flaws of Holly Black’s characters more. I love that none of them are completely good or bad people. Even Balekin was willing to try and save his brother in The Cruel Prince. Don’t get me wrong. Balekin’s a monster (I’m so happy Jude killed him even though Cardan banished her because of it.)

I also think that SJM has her characters process emotions of grief and PTSD in a more realistic way than Holly Black’s characters. I love A Court of Mist and Fury and how Rhys and Feyre support each other after the events of the first book.

I really hope that Jude and Cardan’s relationship turns out in a similar way. They both really need someone to support them after the horrors they have both faced throughout their lives. And they are so similar in that way. I think that they are the only ones who could really understand what each has gone through.

I think these two series are really interesting to compare side by side. A human taking on the world of Faeries, the dynamic of three sisters, the tortured love interest, both of these books contain these themes/tropes but take them on in a totally different way. (I also think it’s kind of funny that both Feyre and Jude are the youngest sister.)

Another cool thing, Holly Black’s first book, Tithe, is a retelling of the Tamlin ballad which is also one of the inspirations for A Court of Thorns and Roses. It’s really interesting to compare those two books to the original ballad.

Sorry, this went waaaay longer than I thought it would!

12 notes · View notes

hellas-himself · 6 years

Text

Where There Are Shadows Pt26

AKA in my feelings aka I am Lucien and Lucien is me (but that’s a personal problem)

The whole Dawn/Day got me fucked up. I had to fix it. DAWN JUST FLOWS BETTER. AND IT IS THE SAME DAMN THING. but whatever. not my world. SJM knows best.

I tried to play with what little info we got in WAR and then in the novella and make some sense out of it. I hope I did Helion justice.

-Lucien-

Son of day.

Elain’s voice had echoed in the darkness. Sometimes, I’d hear Rhysand crying, asking me to wake up. I might have heard Feyre describing the color of the sun. But it always came back to Elain.

She held the sun in her hands and gave it to me. And then I was falling, falling, falling. Until I was welcomed by a darkness so deep, so endless that I let it consume me.

I looked at Helion, High Lord of the Day Court. There was something akin to remorse in his eyes. He looked at me, expectant, anxious. Feyre and Rhys were still at my side, they had known. Somehow. I wasn’t stupid- yes, I was stubborn and at times I was dense, but it did not take much to put the pieces together… Even if some of them were missing. But for now, I did not care.

“I’m not Beron’s son,” I whispered, leaning forward as I brought my hands to my face. Beron and I- there was nothing there that bound me to him. Every childhood dream came to mind, the ones I’d confessed to Mor. However late, it was here. I was not Beron’s son. It was as if this terrible weight had at last been lifted from my shoulders, and I could breathe. I didn’t realize I’d been crying until Rhys pulled me into his arms. After kissing my tears, he took my hands in his.

“I’ve theorized that losing your eye awakened another sense, to see beyond what others see. The mechanical eye was a perfect disguise for it,” Rhysand said.

My eyes fell on Helion once more, his eyes were glossy. Had he been crying, too? Feyre and Rhys both took turns giving me a kiss and without a word, left us alone. Until of course, I heard him whispering filth into her ear as they descended the stairs. Prick.

“I’m certain you would rather be in the midst of that,” Helion said, “Than sitting here with me.”

“Unfortunately, I’m forbidden from any activity that brings me pleasure.”

He smirked. I expected some kind of inappropriate retort, and I knew that it was at the tip of his tongue. But it was as if he remembered himself, remembered what he’d admitted and all of that arrogance was gone.

“How… when?” I didn’t even know what I wanted to know, if I wanted to know.

“A year before she was sold off to Beron. There had been a ball, it was the Equinox, after all.”

I opened my mouth and then closed it.

“During the war, the first war with Hybern- I rescued your mother. And that… well, that was when we threw all caution to the wind.”

“But I wasn’t born during the war.”

He chuckled. “No. You were not.”

“So that means…” They had managed to have an affair far longer than I could have imagined.

He shrugged.

“Mother’s tits,” I muttered.

“He discovered our affair, of course. But to admit it, to admit that he’d been bested- humiliated by her. Beron could never survive such a thing. And he never saw her as anything more than a possession.”

I felt the power that threatened to escape him at the thought of Beron’s treatment of my mother. He unnecessarily smoothed his tunic and twisted one of the cuffs at his wrist.

“I never knew,” he said softly. “I never even thought that it was possible that I would sire a child. Let alone with Aurelie. We had never dared to dream of such things. And then she went back to him. Chose him. And I let her go.”

“I don’t believe that.”

Helion still held hope for her. I could see it in his eyes. In the way he spoke of her. The way I had once dared to hope for Feyre, even at Tamlin’s side. Helion still loved my mother.

“I know that my reputation is… well known across Prythian. But for her, for Aurelie- I would have given her the world if she’d asked it of me.”

“But she never did.”

My mother never fought against tradition. Never fought against Beron. Silent. Timid. Pawn.

“I am not too proud to admit that I’d begged her to leave him. Once. But she refused. Had I known that you were mine-” He sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

“Would it have made a difference?”

“Yes. No. It has and always will be Aurelie’s decision.”

“Even though it was a fucked up decision?”

I knew that my words were sharp, I saw in his eyes that I’d hit him low. But I knew that I’d made the same decision to stay with Tamlin and I only left because if I’d stayed my fate would have been worse than death. I sighed, running my fingers through my hair.

“I’m sorry, I should not be so short. I forget my manners.”

Helion smiled.

“You’re not wrong.”

“It took me this long to get away from Tamlin… I can’t blame her, nor you for Beron’s actions. As I cannot blame myself for Tamlin.”

Something vicious flashed in his eyes but was quickly replaced with… curiosity.

“I do not understand how I never noticed. How many times had you come to my court?”

I chuckled. “I think I’ve seen the Day Court more in the last few centuries than Autumn.”

“I suppose we’ll have to ask your mother about that conundrum, won’t we?”

I raised a brow.

“We’ll have to get her out of there first.”

Helion grinned and I realized how similar he and Rhysand were. I was not sure how I felt about that.

“Leave the scheming to me. Your only job is to get out of bedrest.”

I chuckled. “I think I can get out of that one.”

He raised his tea cup at me. “A fox, through and through.”

Side by side, Helion and I walked through the halls of Beron’s home, led by guards that had met us at the border. Wards were useless against him, but he’d given them the illusion of control. Helion walked as if Autumn were his, and I knew if he wanted it, it could be. Was that what Beron feared?

The throne room was perhaps as long as it was wide, trees lining it on either side instead of walls, breaking it up into various ‘rooms’ for other court matters. The leaves overhead kept out the sun… But one look at Helion and I knew better.

I saw my brothers… half-brothers standing near Beron’s throne, an old gnarled tree with roots that grew right into the stone floor. It always looked as if Beron’s magic had to fight nature from reclaiming its rightful place. As if it refused to submit to his will.

Beron looked as cruel and angry as he always did. But as Rhys had helped me into my fighting leathers, he’d told me not to falter. Not to let my eyes waver when he looked at me. So I stared him down as we approached the throne.

And there she was, sitting on her small seat below his. My mother was still, her eyes on the floor. Behind her glamour, I saw the bruising. Old and new.

Beron chuckled. “Lucien… I see we are still climbing the ladder. Was Rhysand not enough?”

“I am not here on Night Court business,” I said as proud and arrogant as I could. “I’ve come to deal with family matters.”

My half brothers laughed. Save Eris. He had managed to step back beneath the shade of the trees. Watching. Waiting.

“Family? You denounced your family after you chose that low born whore over your court.”

“Oh, forgive me, Lord Beron. I should have been more concise. I am here for my mother.”

I heard her little gasp, and I saw the way Beron looked down at her.

“The Lady of Autumn does not have leave to go anywhere outside of this Court,” he said to which my brothers and others in the room laughed.

I opened and closed my hands. How Helion remained so calm was beyond me.

“I don’t believe anyone was asking permission,” Helion replied.

Beron was now furious. I could feel it. I remembered the ferocity of his wrath. Everything that had made me happy had been burned to ash by it. When Beron rose to his feet, I fought the urge to step back as he stepped down. He grabbed my mother by the arm and forced her to her feet.

“To your quarters,” he growled at her, but was met with a low snarl that silenced the room.

“You will take your hands off her if you value your life.”

All eyes were on Helion now. It was grounds for war for anyone to take a High Lord’s wife. But he had promised this would go without bloodshed. And I wanted to believe it.

“You dare threaten me?”

“It is no threat, Beron. I have come to claim my mate and no one, not even you can keep her from me.”

The room might have held its breath. I was staring at Helion now. He had failed to mention that particular fact. But it was as clear as day now. My mother’s eyes were wide and she finally looked up at Helion. She had not known it either.

With a look of absolute disgust, Beron shoved my mother away from him, but she barely missed a step before she was rushing to Helion’s side.

Helion wrapped an arm around her, but his eyes never left Beron’s.

“You have committed acts worthy of death,” Helion growled. “What do you say, my son? How shall we address this?”

He finally looked at me, and I swore that my heart might burst in my chest.

“She has seen enough violence,” I said softly, but I knew everyone could hear me. “But if she wishes for his head on a platter, we will surely gift it to her.”

Helion grinned as he looked back at Beron.

“Your marriage is forfeit. Your claim to her and her lands, her wealth is forfeit. Your claim to Lucien is forfeit. They are mine by blood and bond.”

Beron was growing red in the face as he staggered back. A dog with its tail between its legs.

At once, whispers erupted in the throne room. Beron would now be humiliated. Shamed. He would lose an insurmountable amount of wealth and property without my mother. They whispered if I could claim both Courts, if Helion would wage war against Beron. Some were surprised that someone as timid as Aurelie could have an affair and get away with it for so long. What a fool Beron had been to keep her at his side all these years. But the whispering stopped when Eris finally came to the front. He gave them all a look of utter repulsion before his eyes fell on our mother.

Something silent passed between them before he looked at me and gave me a nod, bidding me farewell.

“Be sure to sleep with one eye open,” Helion said, before he reached for my hand.

Eris was smiling when we winnowed away.

I knew I needed rest. I knew that Madja would surely kick my ass when we went back home. I knew that Rhys and Feyre were waiting for us in Kallias’ palace. But I couldn’t move. Helion stood there, both hands cupping my mother’s face. Her glamour was gone, her eyes were lined with tears as she looked into his. And he… Helion looked at her the way Rhysand looked at Feyre.

“I’m sorry,” I heard her whisper. Helion shook his head.

“I should have told you… I should have killed him.”

Her nervous laugh broke my heart. And then she looked at me and she sobbed.

“Lucie…”

“Mother.”

When I held her in my arms, she began to weep.

“I’m so sorry,” she said.

“This was not your fault. None of it ever was,” I replied. I looked at Helion, and perhaps, my words were for him as much as they were for her. “I don’t blame you for any of it.”

If tears lined his eyes, I was not sure. Not when it began to snow and he begged us to go inside as he was only wearing sandals and his legs were too lovely to get frostbitten. My mother laughed, a true laugh, and let him take her by the hand and lead her away.

Our arrival was met with hugs and an assault of kisses from Rhysand, who only made my mother giggle. There were many tears. Far too many tears. But for once, they were of joy.

“I’ve never forgotten what you did for my son,” my mother said to Feyre who couldn’t seem to leave her side. They sat beside the fireplace, hand in hand. Rhys sat on the armrest beside them, listening as he drank from his glass. Feyre insisted on looking at my mother’s arm, but there was no evidence of that old hurt.

“We are fire made flesh,” she said to Feyre, looking at me with a glimmer in her eye that I’d not seen since I was a child. “It’s alright… He deserved what he got.”

“So, Helion,” Viviane began, crossing her arms as she unceremoniously sat on Kallias’ lap. “Your mate is the Lady of the Autumn Court.”

He poured himself a glass of liquor. “Yes.”

“Your heir is also the paramour of the Lord and Lady of the Night Court.”

He took a long sip before pouring again. “Yes.”

“So when Rhysand marries him, Lucien will be High Lord of two courts. Three, if you decide to get rid of that bastard.”

Helion shrugged.

“Lucien will have three titles! Three!” she shrieked at Kallias who sighed in a way that reminded me of Azriel. The sigh of the long suffering.

“Let them have their moment, my love. When it passes, we will discuss the matter then.”

“That’s what you said on Solstice.”

Helion put an arm around my shoulder, leading me away from the others. Now in white furs and actual boots for once, Helion looked as though he would survive the winter.

“You and your mother are free to do as you will,” he said softly. I knew none of the others could hear. Not even Rhys who was now charming my mother. “All that I said to Beron… It was all for show.”

I looked at him in disbelief. There had been truth to his words… But very much like Rhys, that choice was ours to make.

“What if that was what we wanted?”

He seemed surprised by that.

I looked outside, watching the snow fall, the fae playing in it. The ice of the windowsill was a welcome relief, and I was surprised it didn’t melt beneath my touch.

“I’d always dreamed of this. That her mate would find her and take us away. Like-”

A small ray of light in all the darkness.

“I dreamed of you,” I said out loud and felt my face go warm.

Helion set his glass down on the windowsill and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I was Under the Mountain… All those years. Knowing what she was to me, and ignoring it. She didn’t know, Lucien. What we were to one another. I had felt it right to spare her from what you and your mate have had to endure.”

“Her sons were all she lived for… Until they grew up to become worse versions of their father. And then you came along… I had never even thought that far. I had only wanted her to be happy. And we were so young. What the hell did I care for children? Except that when you were born and that news spread across Prythian I knew that I’d been lying to myself. It was deeper than the sting of her refusal to leave him. It was like an emptiness I could never quite fill.”

He sighed.

“You’re not a child, Lucien. I can’t raise you,” he said with a chuckle. “But the Day Court is yours, as much as it is mine. And I would like it very much if you went to experience it as my son. Nothing will be denied to you… Although I would prefer it if you kept Rhys away from the throne room. He might just charm the mirrors off the walls.”

We both looked at him as he spoke with my mother and laughed.

“I would love to go… But after my mother accepts the mating bond. Much, much after.”

Helion’s laughter brought all eyes on us, and by the look on my mother’s face, I realized that though many things were broken and unsaid, there was a chance for things to change. A chance for us to have the life we had only dreamed of and never thought possible.

@readingismycopingmechanism @fuzdog @gently-say-aha @highladyofherondale @alxanxah @city-of-fae @rhysands-highlady @myfeyrelady

If anyone would like to be tagged, please let me know!!

40 notes · View notes