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dragonrajafanfiction · 3 years

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Genji Heavy Industries (End) Turning Point

After all this way, we finally see the MC reach the turning point in her life.

If you’ve read this far, I thank you very much. I hope this has made you love the world of Dragon Raja

You could no longer see Caesar or Chu Zihang, but at this point, you weren’t looking. Your eyes were locked on Chisei Gen. Caesar’s final orders rang in your head like a command from Heaven. Your hands were caked in dried black blood. You were trembling with pain and fatigue, but that last brief surge of Blood Rage had revived your senses enough to stare at him, much like a cat would, eyes dilated and your body flexed. If he moved a muscle, you would draw your weapon.

Chisei watched the flames with resigned calmness however. He was tied firmly and his life was in Caesar and Chu Zihang’s hands just as much as yours was. “MC.” He said. “Where did you learn how to fight like that?”

He’s looking at you now, with the fire reflected in his eyes. His stare was confident. Even though he was asking a question, there was no question in those eyes. No curiosity. It was as if he were asking a question he already knew the answer to.

But how could he know the answer? The hairs on the back of your neck stood up. You’d learned how to shoot and hand-to-hand combat from your training in Black Swan Bay. Your training in Black Swan Bay was mostly centered however on your Yanling, focusing your spiritual energy into the ground, learning the limits of your power, how much you could manipulate the earth without suffering physical effects… This was all ingrained into you in a way that bordered on lab experiments with each result meticulously recorded and logged. It was just constant testing and while you were being tested, you learned your power and how to control it.

But Chisei hadn’t seen you use any of that. What he had seen from his vantage point in the mural hall rafters was you, walking out after Caesar and Chu Zihang armed with nothing but the laser sight of a Soviet era rifle and a pistol which you used to bait a member of the Deadpool into attacking their own kind. He observed how closely you could read the actions of the deadpool and how you picked her targets to attack. He heard your giddy laughter echoing on the mural hall walls.

After that, he would have seen clearly how you fearlessly approached that deadpool after she was exhausted, shot her in the head and then used her severed claw as a knife. How you used the non-lethal bullets from your pistol like a fist. How you were using that claw as your only weapon to render these A-ranked super monsters as weak as worms. It was no wonder that he looked at you when he was using Majesty to subdue the deadly and left a few living ones in his trail of mass destruction for you to kill. He had wanted to observe you close up.

When you don’t answer immediately he turns back to observe the fire. “Among the Hydra we have a name for that fighting technique you’re using. It’s called “God’s Eyes”. The heart of God’s Eyes is to subdue the enemy by your understanding of their movements and by your complete control of the battlefield. According to those that describe it, it takes at least a decade to approach mastery of elements of this technique. But you have mastered all of it and you’re so young. I’ve never seen anyone use God’s Eyes like you. You had to have learned from a master… but there are no masters of this technique. Only a few books that reference it or reference other works that describe it. It’s a technique that’s lost to history.”

“There’s only one man I know who can use God’s Eye on your level. And that’s Hilbert Ron Anjou. But you two just met a few weeks ago. Right?”

His eyes watch your face, but you nod, completely innocent, and his eyes narrowed to slits. You just stare back at him. He finally sighs. Whatever theory he may have had about where you learned your technique collapsed.

“Anjou can clear a room with just his pocket knife. Just like you. I don’t know anyone else who can do that.”

You do, of course, but disclosing that involves your deepest secrets and given the huge deadpool tank you found at the bottom of Genji Heavy Industry, you can be excused for not exactly trusting this man with secrets about your past. “Perhaps after this is over, we can talk more. Over sake?” You ask, taking a page from Caesar’s book.

“I would like that.” He sighed again. “I would also like to know how someone like you ended up with these people from Cassell?”

“I ask myself that every day.” Your lips quirk upward.

This was the first time you actually had a moment to sit and talk with Chisei Gen one on one and it actually wasn’t that hard. It took your mind off your pain enough for you to crack a little joke. Chisei lowers his eyes and, much to your delight, he chuckles and your smile grows.

“For my last moments, if these are my last moments… I suppose I could have worse company then these weirdos. My only regret is that Lu Mingfei isn’t here. But knowing him…” You roll your eyes to the ceiling, imagining him flapping his arms and squawking about how much danger you were in. “...nah, I'll take that back. What I really regret is that if we don't make it out of here, he’ll have lost all his friends. I know how that feels. I don’t want him to feel that.”

You rest your head against the wall of the elevator and gaze out into the flames. “Looking back, my life is very odd. Even if you ask me a thousand questions about myself, I wonder if I would even be able to answer a single one. Simple things like… where were you born… Who are your parents? Where did you go to school…?” Your voice trails off. After a moment's thought, you shrug.

Chisei looks at you, silent.

A burst of gunfire and a sudden sharp explosion made you squeak and flinch! This was it, you think, this was the end. Was it really going to end this way? Caesar’s last order was to make sure that Chisei Gen did not touch the elevator door, but he also told you to stop seeking death! You only had your miserable little peashooter pistols, your miserable little claw and your miserable little knife and your miserable laser pointer.

You were suddenly struck with a sudden and intense desperation like nothing you’d ever felt.

You force yourself up to your feet while Chisei Gen sits there astounded. “What are you doing?” Chisei shouts.

Your voice is choked off as you stagger toward the elevator door, groaning with intense pain, but this fierce determination drives you forward. Chisei can now see the full view of your ruined back, your skin-tight combat suit is torn to ribbons where the Deadpool’s claws sank deep into muscle tissue.

Caesar and Chu Zihang were visible again! Caesar held two Sten submachine guns with both hands and Chu Zihang had one. The two back to back were using the bullet screen to suppress the group of deadpool while moving slowly in the direction of the elevator shaft. The group of deadpool that had been overturned by the shockwave of the explosion regrouped, their hideous golden eyes surrounding Caesar and Chu Zihang, the bullets repeatedly knocking them to the ground as they repeatedly straightened up and charged forward. The only thing that protects them is the bullet screen in front of them, and once the screen disappears the group of deadpool will pounce and bite.

You stand in the door, a silhouette in the light of the flame, shoving a magazine into your pistol. Your black hair is being pulled by the intense flaming winds like you were standing right in the breath of a massive creature. You finally relent. You finally gave in. You finally believe the last words of your friend. You finally believe the words of Caesar and the eyes of Chu Zihang.

You have to live!

The pale red columns collapsed one by one. The hot wind and black smoke rampaged through the hall, the frescoes curled in the fire, and the painted dragons and snakes finally flew away in the black ash.

The two rival men were fighting back to back, and the group of deadpool were getting closer and closer, so close that Caesar once passed the barrel of his gun into the deadpool’s open mouth before shooting it out. Chu Zihang stuck his sword and Onimaru in front of him, so if a deadpool got too close he would draw his blade and force it back, and then pick up his gun and fire. But sooner or later the bullets will run out, just like a man holding a torch to scare the wolves would eventually see that torch go out.

So you wait, watching them, hand on your pistol, observing the battlefield with God’s Eyes! You knew how many pieces of ammunition you had and, from your observation of Caesar’s reloading, you could make an estimate of how much he had left. When you determined that they were close to being out of ammo, you raised your pistols and opened fire!

The staccato rhythm of your pistols is like the rhythmic hits of a boxer’s gloves. The bullets strike the sensitive areas of the beasts, their eyes, their open wounds, their burns. They hiss and flinch as though being stung by a sudden swarm of bees. You drop the empty magazine and reload and shoot again and again and again, cursing them with the deepest and blackest of words.

Each bullet was precious, like a drop of life’s blood. You couldn’t waste a single one. You watched the behavior of these monsters. If they reached for your friends, your bullets stung them like the whip of a ringmaster before vicious tigers. If there was even a possibility that they might think twice about doing it again, your quick and painful punishment gave them pause. If they hesitated, you rewarded them by not shooting them. But if they looked ready to pounce you shot them where it hurt.

Your support is just enough to turn the tide. The resistance of the deadpool falters and this time it doesn’t recover. If they rise up they’re either hit by the two men and if they’re not hit by the two men, they’re hit by the pistol fire.

A strange noise like the pop and snap of firewood shifts your focus and your pistol swivels and points at Chisei. “Stay Down!” You roar.

Chisei’s face is a mask of pain. His body was writhing strangely, his joints were all dislocated, and the bones moved independently of each other. It was like his arms had turned into spaghetti!

“I said stay down!” You lower your pistol to his ankle and pull the trigger.

Click. Your eyes widen.

Chisei smirks. “You’re out of bullets. It’s okay…” He grunts. “I’m not going to run. If they want blood…” He gasped. “I’ll give them blood.” Before you could comprehend what was happening, he suddenly freed himself from his restraints by wiggling out of his shirt. His bare chest looks like an ugly bag of broken bones! He cut himself across the wrist with Dojigiri, staining the white fabric of his shirt red. He stood up and walked to the elevator entrance and threw the shirt into the fire.

With that last act, Chisei Gen completely collapsed. You tried to catch him but the action pulled at your wounds and you both went down to the floor. Both you and he had given your all. You let him fall to the floor and just tried to annoy them with your laser pointer while you grit your teeth, but the Deadpool had a far more tantalizing target in mind already. You realize what’s happening, but you can’t pull the unconscious Chisei back into the elevator. You’re so choked with smoke and exhaustion you can’t even call for help.

"What's going on?" Caesar couldn't believe his eyes, the smoking muzzle points to the ground. The guns in his right and left hands stopped firing, but still no monsters pounced on him.

They were about to run out of bullets when the swarm of deadpool suddenly withdrew from them and scrambled to slither up to a corner of the hall. A minute ago they were still a seasoned suckling pig roasting in the fire, and now they suddenly turned into a disgusting slop, and the whole group just left.

"Hurry! Run!" Chu Zihang yelled.

Caesar suddenly woke up. Tight now they do not have time to think about the rationality of this miracle. The fire burning C4 explosives may explode at any time. It was still too early to celebrate. They simultaneously took off running. They shed off every entangling weight, taking off their heavy windbreakers, which still had scattered firearms and bullets in them. There was a loud bang and a searing wind behind them. It was some piece of C4 explosive behind the shaded wall that had exploded. It was so powerful that it completely took the wall down.

The first thing he saw when he cleared the smoke was you struggling with Chisei in the elevator door. His fury spurred him faster. He was coming at you like a raging bull. You couldn’t even begin to explain! Caesar didn't hesitate to pull the trigger, and blood exploded from Chisei’s calf.

“Caesar!” Your voice is a useless squeak. Caesar had grabbed Chisei and unceremoniously tossed him like luggage back into the car.

Chu Zihang picked you up and hit the door close button on his way in.

The pain woke up Chisei and he was just about to struggle to sit up when Caesar rushed into the elevator and threw a straight punch at his face.

“Stop…” Your voice is just a hiss, and you realized that you’ve completely lost your voice. Perhaps the heat, the dry air, and your screaming in pain had ruined your vocal cords.

The chain of explosions had already begun. Blinding sun-like lights are lighting up the corners of the hall as waves of hot air swept through at speeds that exceeded those of a hurricane, setting other blocks of explosives ablaze. The old freight elevator squeaked and closed with difficulty, and with a few centimeters left in the doorway, a hot air stream a few centimeters wide burrowed into the elevator, a bright red that ignited the remaining files in the car. But the elevator door finally closed.

It slowly sank into the elevator shaft, and a few seconds later there was a heavenly explosion from above, and a bright wave of air rushed into the elevator shaft, throwing the burning corpses of the deadpool into the void. The snake shadows burned in the fire, their fat dissolved, until gradually the bronze skeletons were revealed. These tyrannical creatures finally were cut off from life, and as they died they gathered around a shirt and shredded it..

As the freight elevator rumbled down, Caesar stomped hard on the burning documents, and then lay down exhausted on the file box, and kicked at Chisei’s face.

“Stop it!” You hiss. But Chu Zihang held you tight and you were far worse off than he was. Turned out that weird period style armor had actually protected him quite a bit. You dug your nails into him but he didn’t even flinch.

Chisei said nothing, powerlessly wrapping a cloth band around the wrist wound. He had cut an artery, and soaked at least a fifth of the blood in his body into the shirt. He made his shirt irresistible to the monsters. The result was that he couldn't even stand up. Caesar wasted no time, tying him up even tighter.

You’re breathing a bit easier now. Instinctively, you take deeper breaths. As your adrenaline lowers, fatigue crashes again like a weighted blanket. Breathing now became agony, but with no voice, no one could hear you moaning. There’s just the strange whistling noise, like the soft whine of a little dog.

"What do we do with this guy?" Caesar pointed at Chisei with the Desert Eagle.

You don’t even lift your head.

"It's naturally best if we can take him prisoner. But it's hard to leave Genji Heavy Industries by ourselves in this situation, and it's even harder to take him away." Chu Zihang said. He tilts his head down to look at you. “She doesn’t seem to want any harm to come to him.”

"How about using him as a hostage threat? There is no way the Yakuza would give up the precious Emperor, right?"

"It's hard to make sure we're not followed, Tokyo is the Hydra Yakuza's home turf, and we won’t be able to escape it no matter how much we run.”

"It seems the best way is to shoot this guy. Sooner or later the Academy and the Hydra family will have to go to war, such a precious weapon can not be left in the hands of the other side. Anyway, his body is flowing with dragon blood, I have to kill him as a dragon slayer!" Caesar pulled the bolt and loaded the gun.

No way! Caesar hadn’t killed anyone this whole time! And now that you’ve come this far and you had fought beside Chisei and he’d saved all your lives, he was going to kill him?

You jerk against Chu Zihang and try to sink your teeth into him. His strong arm tightens. He whispers so softly you can barely hear it. “It’s a bluff.”

In a moment of silence, you hear something else sigh.

There were only four people in the elevator, and you heard a fifth breath!

The side wall of the elevator car suddenly caves in! Before Caesar had time to react, the monstrous bony claws penetrated the sidewall and plunged into Chisei’s ribs from behind! Blood rained down like a fountain on the sneak attacker's face as it let out an ear-piercing scream of joy!

Even Caesar was stunned when he saw the Deadpool, even though they had just stepped out of the hordes of Deadpool that were trying to kill him. This Deadpool was so amazing. It was more than twice the size of the others! The longest of them was over five meters, the shortest was only about three meters, and their upper bodies were about the same size as a human, gradually getting thinner and longer below the waist, before finally taking on the shape of a snake. But this monstrosity is more than eight meters long. Its abdomen is bloated, like a pregnant queen ant. It dragged this overly deformed lower body upward but fell down, so it had just arrived at the mural hall. It became the only survivor. It was attracted by the smell of Chisei's blood and recklessly tore through the elevator car..

This deadpool had the face of a middle-aged woman, and her face was not as pale as the other deadpool. Instead, it was rosy and lustrous, like a woman who had become rounded in pregnancy. Caesar took a glance at its abdomen and suddenly understood. Its snow-white, scaleless abdomen had snake tail-like traces shining through. This was really a pregnant Deadpool and a pregnant deadpool could only give birth to those more fearsome than itself, because the fetal dragon blood would be purer. The fetuses also seem to have felt the freshness of the blood of Chisei and are stirring in the mother's body.

What had been suspected all along was confirmed, the Deadpool was capable of producing offspring, and this bloated, deformed mother's womb was breeding devils!

The Deadpool clung to Chisei, licking the blood excitedly. Chisei clung on to the handrail to keep from being dragged into the elevator shaft. Deadpool's bloated body weighing hundreds of kilograms hangs below the elevator by that single grip.

Chu Zihang presses his hand firmly on your mouth. You wanted to scream in rage, pure frustration and despair. But the monster hadn’t noticed you at all yet. You were too weak to fight this thing. You all were. You said ‘no more sacrifices’ but now you really had no more to give but yourselves, and this monster wanted Chisei. You could get away scot free if you left him behind.

Caesar tried to aim several times in the process of raising his gun, but he had no chance of hitting Deadpool, who was hiding behind Chisei. If he fired, he would first have to injure him, and it was unknown whether the force of the bullet could do that and injure the deadpool. He just fired a shot at Chisei but now he needs to shoot him again. But Chisei is extremely pale from blood loss. He originally had a feminine beauty, and now he looks like a dying girl. His soul is leaving his pale body. If he suffered another gunshot wound, Chisei could certainly die.

This world was so black, so dark, that the minute you started to believe that perhaps Caesar could be right and you could live and you could live with all your friends, that scythe of death came to collect its taxes on your happiness. You hated this world, you hated this life!

Deadpool licked the back of Chisei’s neck with her long tongue. Her sharp teeth are seeking the veins in his neck as she begins to give birth to her babies. The green and white snake-like fetuses fell one by one.

At this time there was a "thump" sound above the elevator, and the speed of the elevator's descent suddenly increased. The elevator filled with boxes of documents was close to the upper limit of the load. The weight of the giant deadpool plus the four of you exceeded the limits of the elevator, not to mention that it was running in the fragile track after the earthquake. It was slamming into the depths of the elevator shaft at an accelerating rate, at which point the Deadpool would of course be smashed to death, and the four of you would invariably be buried with her.

"Shoot!" Chisei yelled with his last strength.

You watched Caesar look into the eyes of Chisei in surprise.

"Shoot me! Hit me in the neck! Its head is right back there!" Chisei spurted out a mouthful of blood.

Caesar gritted his teeth fiercely. He was ready to shoot.

But his fingers were trembling, it was as if the blackness of the world had surrounded him and was pressing in on him, closing in and laughing, mocking him. You stood in that darkness and you could offer no answer. After all, what mercy had the world ever offered you?

A mere few days ago, you wouldn’t hesitate to reasonably make the judgment that sacrificing one person can save everyone, and it's worth doing. But now you stared at Caesar and shook your head. You didn’t want to live in a world without his justice.

You take your bronze claw dagger and stab it into Chu Zihang’s side! Caesar turns at his gasp of pain. You rise up like a lioness to seize Caesar’s wrist and push it upward, pointing the Desert Eagle in the air. You’re face to face with him and bare your teeth.

"’Never leave a friend’ is your justice.” You force the words through your dead vocal cords. Your eyes stare into his eyes and they’re cold and black as the ice sea. “I live for your justice and I will die for your justice!"

Caesar stares for a moment and, for that moment, the cheeks on either side of his face grow gradually pink.

Chisei suddenly smiled. He rarely smiles. His smile is surprisingly beautiful.

"Gattuso-kun, in fact, I have thought about being ...... friend of justice." Chisei let go of the handrail and was instantly sucked into the void outside the elevator car.

Caesar barely prevented you from plunging out there with him in your effort to stop him. He threw you back against the door of the elevator. Your vision exploded into sparks and for a moment you couldn’t move.

“Chu Zihang!”

The elevator suddenly stopped, pressing you to the floor. You blink your eyes open. Caesar and Chu Zihang are gathered by the hole in the elevator wall, shoulder to shoulder. They weren't moving, in fact, they were grunting with great effort. They were backing up from the gap and in their hands was the rope. The rope that he’d tied Chisei up in was being pulled up back into the elevator and attached to that rope was Chisei!

You gasp and crawl forward. He was unconscious, pale like death. His sword was stuck through him, front to back, but he was alive. He was still alive. Caesar looks down at you, but oddly doesn’t meet your eyes. He looks shy, almost embarrassed?

“We need to find a way out of here.” Chu Zihang, ever practical, hands you the claw dagger back. You stare at it a moment and then tuck it in your belt to let Caesar carry you out.

Together, you climb out of the elevator and into the darkness of the shaft, until you take a rest on the beam. Caesar is puffing on a cigar. You’re sitting in Caesar’s lap like a child. Exhausted, you’re turning the bronze colored claw dagger over and over in your hands, watching the play of light on it.

You all sit in silence like this for an hour.

Your head was burning and you felt numb and yet, deep down, the arctic ice that had held onto your soul since waking up at Cassell was starting to fracture and the summer sun was beginning to rise. You rest your head against Caesar’s chest and look up into his eyes.

He lets out a puff of smoke. “You’re not going to fall for me, are you?”

Your eyes narrow and then you huff. “No. I was just thinking…You weren’t going to let me die from the moment we met, right? You stinker.”

Caesar tapped the ash over the edge of the beam. “So you finally get it.”

“Uh huh. I’ll always miss my friends.” Your lip trembles a bit but you once again control it. “But… I think… with you… That’s okay.”

Caesar bit his cigar and grinned. “Glad to hear it.”

You lower your eyes to Chu Zihang who had been tending to his own injuries and was now working on Chisei’s many wounds, while he rested on the beam. “Sorry, I stabbed you.”

“It was impressive.”

You laugh, unsure of how to respond to that.

The building was chock full of Hydra operatives now. You couldn’t leave the elevator shaft yet. They were probably all looking for Chisei so you had to wait for him to wake up.

Chisei started to stir under Chu Zihang’s medical care. Caesar carefully settled you against the wall of the shaft and catwalked over to stare down into Chisei’s eyes. He pulled the last cigarette from his pocket, stuck it in Chisei’s mouth and lit it, the fire illuminating the man’s pupils. Chisei struggled for a moment but he was still in pain and tightly bound.

"The emperor hybrid is really different, huh. A serious wound like harakiri only took an hour to heal. I want to have such a good body.." Caesar moved the lighter closer to his face and illuminated it to Chisei, showing his healing injury. In the next moment, he’d kicked Chisei off the beam. The rope pulled taut where the end was tied and Chisei Gen hung from it.

"Won't you consider untying me?" Gen Chisei smiled bitterly, "It's a little inconvenient to smoke and hang from a rope."

"Not quite. With someone of your low integrity, I still can't believe you. The minute I untie you, you’ll assault us again.." Caesar gripped his cigar, "Let’s just have a good conversation."

"Is the family style of the famous hybrid Gattuso family that shameless?" Chisei exhaled a puff of smoke.

"You call this shameless?" Caesar shrugged, "If you think this is shameless, you haven't met my studly old man." After a few seconds of silence Caesar mumbled. "Sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for. At the time I really wanted to escape and leave all you behind. I'm not a friend of justice. I've done a lot of bad things, I've killed people."

"Ghosts?" Chu Zihang asked.

"We call them Ghosts, but they are actually the same hybrid species as us, only more likely to become deadly." Chisei whispered, "To some extent all of us are ghosts."

"The mural is ruined, but we took pictures. Although you do not want us to, we have to take these pictures. The Academy and the Hydra are now in a hostile relationship, and now that the Deadpool group is also finished, your cooperation with us is over, and we all revert to hostile relations." Caesar took a drag on his cigar.

You listen to the conversation and your heart is surprisingly calm when you hear that you won’t be seeing Chisei any time soon. Chisei looks up at you. “I guess we’ll have to make plans for sake later?”

Caesar gives you a look of sharp disbelief.

You stick your tongue out at him. “I meant it as a lady.” But you offer no further explanation. It wasn’t his business.

"Then you have to leave quickly, with my recovery speed, this rope won’t hold me for long.." Chisei smiled again.

"You can’t fool me. This rope can tether an elephant. I also tied it with a sailor knot, so the more you struggle, the tighter it will get. Your body is not as strong as we thought. You super hybrids are slightly stronger than us, but your bones and muscles can not be compared with a real dragon. You might be worse than those deadpool but the minute you release your Yanling you’re defenseless. In short, you're strong, but not necessarily without flaws." Caesar sneered.

"Well, well you guys see through me. What do you want to do with me?"

"It was too difficult to take you away, and, in the end, I decided to leave you here. Your men are looking all over the building for you, but they didn't expect you to be hanging in the middle of the elevator shaft just yet. Seriously, I think that Assistant Sakura likes you a lot, don't you?" Caesar waved his cigar.

"I'm not getting a girlfriend until I leave Japan, and isn't it a bit much to ask a woman like her to give up her life to go to France with me to sell sunscreen?"

"Isn’t that exactly like leaving behind your status as the head of the big family to go to France?"

"I am a person who has done a lot of evil. My hands are stained with the blood of many ghosts, fleeing to France to settle down would be good, I am not going to France, I’m trying to escape." Chisei said leisurely.

"You said you also want to be a friend of justice?" Caesar raised an eyebrow.

"Everyone wants to be a friend of justice when they are children." Chisei said faintly.

"Are you mocking me for still being stuck in a child's state?" Caesar gave Chisei a poke and sent him spinning.

You giggle. It hurt but that struck you as funny.

“What are you laughing at?” Caesar smiles at you.

You reply "Friends of Justice are the words from Ultraman, a cartoon for kids."

"Ultraman?"

"Superman who came to Earth from the universe to help Earthlings fight alien monsters. The heir of the Gattuso family should not have seen that kind of thing. We all watched it when we were kids. In elementary school, kids could be seen discussing which Ultraman was more powerful and saving their lunch money to buy plastic models of Ultraman. Did you do this MC?”

“No,” you chuckle. “I was a Sailor Moon fan. And James Bond fan.”

“Ah…” Chisei sighs. “Ultraman said his fans are friends of justice. We are friends of Ultraman, so we are also friends of justice. The more powerful monsters will be defeated by the friends of justice. Every episode they say that, so as children, we are convinced." Chisei mumbled slyly, "One year school performance, I went on stage to sing the theme song of Ultraman, I still remember the tune ......"

"Beep beep beep,

lots of monsters.

Look behind you,

beasts through the street there,

just to your left and right.

Can't get enough, can't get enough.

Fly one foot and hit three low,

don't presume to fly away.

Who comes from the universe to fight for freedom?

Who will be faithful to defend the world?

It is you, the great friend of justice!"

You clap your hands. “You have a good voice, Chisei.”

This scene is really weird. The big head of the Japanese yakuza and the only emperor hybrid hanging in mid-air singing the theme song of "Ultraman". The heir of the Gattuso family, Caesar Gattuso and A+ blood Chu Zihang, and you, the S-ranked young woman, are his audience. Everyone should have laughed, but no one did. All of you had childhoods that were long gone, and you paid respects to them the same as you would a long dead ancestor.

The song ended and Caesar clapped his hands.

"But I didn't become a friend of justice, I became the bad guy." Chisei said softly, "My friends are bad people. Yasha turned out to be a street fighter. Crow is a loan shark organization's strong man. Sakura is a killer. And I have done a lot more bad things than you can imagine. You might think the Japanese executive bureau is here to maintain order. But more often, it all just ends in bloodshed.. The mob is like this. In this business only violence speaks. The ones who are the most violent are the loudest. We live by doing evil. We belong to a family. We must be loyal to it. For the benefit of the family, we may strike at the innocent. For the benefit of the family we can sacrifice our companions or ourselves. Everyone can be sacrificed so that more people can live a good life. This world is so cruel. I am not Hikari Ultraman.I can not save everyone. If doing evil can make my people live a better life, then I am willing to become a bad guy."

"Bad people can become good, but bad things will never become right." Caesar said.

Chisei made the effort to give Caesar a look, "At your age you can still say such things, Gattuso-kun. I envy you."

"Is that another Japanese style taunt?"

"No, people who strongly believe in justice are happy people." Chisei said softly.

Caesar was silent for a long time and raised his eyebrows: "What a bitter thing to say. But there's no time for your bitterness, I hear footsteps approaching, it's your people looking for you, right?"

"Goodbye then, have a good trip." Chisei said.

"The next time we meet, we'll be enemies again. Can't we say some warm and fuzzy goodbyes?"

"Don't get involved in this. Leave Japan if you can, this is not something you can get involved in."

"That kind of bullshit might as well be Saying Sayonara.”

"Sayonara." Chisei said softly.

"Sayonara." Caesar said, "People who could have been friends end up like this. The world isn't cruel. It’s Bullshit.”

You stare down at Chisei. You want to say something, but you feel like you and Chisei were strangely similar. You were both violent people and trained to be so from an early age. You both felt similarly when Caesar spouted on about justice and being right and good in a world that was cruel.

“Chisei… please don’t give up…” You whisper, but your voice is still hoarse.

“Come on, girl, he’s not worth your time.” Caesar once again lifts you up on his shoulders like a child and starts to climb. But you look over his shoulder. You and Chisei lock eyes as he hangs there in the void and you keep looking at each other until you’re both out of sight.

#Dragon Raja

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storysofmyown · 4 years

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Obey me! Scarred, Chap. 13

Plot:It’s time for the next step in Diavolo’s plan to unify the realms. But, in order to work, the demons would be subjected to confront their worst fears, and in some cases, who they are.

Trigger Warning: Mentions of wounds, death, self hate, manipulation.

Word count: 6,076

There was a thunderous silence that enveloped the house of lamentation. The feelings of insecurities, sadness, and danger that could be felt at the brink of the territory was enough to intoxicate and leave a dark mark within anyone close by. And all of them knew it. All I them knew just how badly they were doing. Each one locked withing their own safe heaven, locked doors of muffled screams and yells of isolation as Mc sat in their bed, heart put at ease by the banishment of God from the devildom. The being could never set foot in the devildom unless permission from the current king was granted, this should have put Mc’s mind at ease as well. But the moment each of the doors closed slowly, or with bangs, the moment Mc took in the notice of how much silence took place of the usual vivid house…their heart sank. Not a word had been spoken at their way home. Them all too focused on helping the injured family that they didn’t process at all. But Mc saw the curtain of tears that was being held back in each of the demons eyes.

Mc sat on their bed, the screams of pain of the demons resonating in their mind just as much as the sight of Asmodeus burned face, Beel’s stab wound, and the contorted pain that was depicted in each of the demons faces the moment they thought Mc was going to due at the hand of their father. And who could blame them…who could blame them from pausing their feelings long enough until they were somewhere, they could…breath…but could they breath right now? God had stepped in their house, had gone trough each and every single one of their minds, dissecting their fears to perfection, how were they supposed to breath in a space that had been tainted by the blood dripping figure of their father…

Mc groaned for the seventh time since they arrived at their room. Unease bothering them with every second, left to the imagination what the demons might be doing…They needed to check up on them, even it was just outside their door to make sure that they were breathing…even just that would be enough for Mc. Every step they took from their room up the stairs was like walking to a cemetery. And as their steps echoed in the seemingly empty hall, Mc saw, right in front of Lucifer’s room, the demon sitting on the floor, a blank expression on his face as a sole wing covered in bandages moved ever so slightly. The demon didn’t seem to notice Mc, or perhaps he had and chose not to address them, whatever it was, the demon didn’t react at all when Mc sat beside him, back against the wall, face turned in his direction as the man seemed to be lost in his thought, and he certainly was. His hair was messy and for a moment Mc thought that perhaps he was devoid of all emotion…but then he faced them. And in those red eyes that had threatened to kill them so many times before, Mc saw the pure fear and sadness he felt.

“…he was right…” Mc did not say anything. They had to stop themselves from ripping those thought out of Lucifer. They just sat, and listened, because they would rather listen to Lucifer scream for endless hours as he poured out all those thoughts and everything that had always plagued him. They would rather see the man cry like never, than from him to deny all those feelings that were eating him alive. Inside, the demon was completely crumbling down with every passing second, as the words of his father slowly but surely made their home in his heart. “…I still expect to see her smile when I open my eyes…”

And the silence remained…it remained for exactly one second more, because sometimes we just need time to understand what is happening…and Lucifer had just realized just how broken his family was. The silence remained for just one second more…before the sobs of Lucifer as he covered his face with his hands broke this tormented silence that had made itself at home in their minds.

Within closed door and abysmal darkness, hidden behind mountains of knowledge and pledges of self-worth, corroded by doubt and unsure if he could even consider himself one of their own, in bed laid a demon. A demon full of rage, hate, despise, wrath, but underneath all…sadness. In the back of his mind words of displeasure being repeated one after the other. Flashes of his family and the sweet smile of a woman he never meets plagued him. What was once meant to be a sanctuary where he could be himself had turned into a prison he built slowly over the years, a prison that no matter what he did or who reached it could not come down, because he had made sure it didn’t. Now he was being faced by dangers within the wall of his own prison and the young demon had never felt so helpless. The monster that had plagued him for years had finally reached to him and were making sure he knew of their presence.

Over and over God’s voice asked the same question. Again, and again and again and he didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t want to think about how different he was from his family. He didn’t want to think about the implications of his birth or the way the others had always treated him. He didn’t want to think about his childhood and how behind every laugh and smile and fun moment behind the eyes of the demons he called family there had always been doubt towards him or sadness about their sister. He hated it. He hated it so badly, he hated being different, he hated not having ever been with his family when they were happy in the celestial realm. He hated wanting that. He hated the way they all pitied him, he hated having to hate things with his entire beings but most importantly…he hated himself…but what did that even mean? How could he hate himself when he didn’t even knew who he was…

Who really are you, Satan?

Those words…over and over, and over again, ripping his heart to pieces. How was he supposed to know that?

Who really are you, Satan?

He was someone…he had to be. No matter how they looked at it Satan had to be someone and he knew it…right?

Who really are you, Satan?

Because it just made sense, there was no way he was no one. He had knowledge and a history, he had people around him, so he had to be someone…he needed to be someone but-

Who Really Are You, Satan?

“…who really are you?” He questioned, now in front of a mirror as he looked at himself and past himself, kneeled down as a feeling he was used to hid seethed out of him as tears decided it was time for them to plague him.

The state of himself surprised him…when had he broken the mirror? That didn’t matter, what laid beyond the mirror was far more broken than the hundreds of fragments on the floor…when was the last time he cried…when was the last time he was anything other than the condescending bookworm that always had a quick response and a sharp tongue to everyone in his family…to everyone around him…whatever he was…if he was anything at all…he hated it…he hated it so much…

There was only darkness surrounding him. The noise had died down, his own breathing had slowed to an inaudible level. Hands no longer shaking as they were wrapped around his neck. He could still feel the phantom ache of God’s hands wrapped around his neck as he starred into his eyes and made Leviathan fear for his own life. Only twice in his life had he ever felt that scared, when the war took place, and when God confronted him alone that one time…and in those scenarios he was still the week little brother, the one that needed protection. He was the laughing matter of the family, Grand Admiral Leviathan of hells Navy, yet a weak pathetic demon that couldn’t fight off God and ended up getting reverted to his angel form…how was he supposed to be the third born?

He was weak, if it hadn’t been for Mc’s help and the others God would have been able to get out of the weak trap he had set him on, and possibly kill them all…or worse, because as an angel there were flashes of light were he could see himself attacking those he loved…attacking his family…why was he so weak…how had he let God take control of him like that? Leviathan took a deep breath s his eyes were focused on the aquarium were Henry was peacefully swimming, his eyes suddenly focusing on his own reflection starring back at him. The tired eyes and the dried blood, the hand wrapped around his neck…which when moved, gave away to purple bruises which every time he looked at all he could hear was the diabolical laugh of God and remember those glowing eyes…

Leviathan closed his eyes and took a deep breath…but all he saw was God standing in front of him, the feeling of God humiliating him, the lack of air and the way the coldness had made him shrink in himself as God manipulated and hurt him in ways that Leviathan had been suffering for so long…the repeating form that mocked him of the demons, the bag hitting the floor, his ears ringing as his knees gave out, breathing accelerated…he hated his father…he hated that Lucifer was right by worrying about him so much, because he had a reason to worry. After all, Leviathan was weak…of course Lucifer would put someone to be his guard so he would not go and get himself killed. Lucifer didn’t trust that he could stand on his own and Leviathan knew he was right!

But that did not mean it didn’t hurt. That didn’t mean he hated the way everyone saw him and the way God had taken advantages of all those insecurities and fears that Leviathan had tried so hard to escape. He hated the way his hands were shaking in that moment and how he couldn’t do anything for himself. Even Mc was stronger than him when they had magic and he was supposed to be one of the damn ruler of hell?! He hated how his family knew all of this and looked for ways to protect him, he hated they had all the reason in the world to do so…but most of all…but worst of all, he hated himself…

“-mon!” Mammon heard the echo of a voice. It was calling him, but there was something holding him from the inside that did not let him recognize the voice. “ma…MMON ple…ASE!” The fading voice begged harder, why were they calling him? Furthermore, where was he? There was something holding him down, not letting him get up as he wanted, a feeling of chains pulling him down, chains that were growing weaker as the voice became more and more present. “Hear me denizens of the darkness…” …wait…Mammon recognized that voice. “…you who are born of shadow and you who give birth to it…” Yeah…of course he recognized that voice, how could he not.

“…Mc?” Mammon tried to call out, but his voice was that of a ghost.

“Hear me and do as I command.” He started to struggle against the chains, who even if weakened, they still held him down. Now, it was a race of who was the weakest one, if Mammon or the chains, the demons kept struggling trying to break free as the voice of the human he had grown so fond off finished the incantation. But nothing, he still had not managed to break free, he was still being subjected to whatever punishment was this. For a moment he contemplated giving up…maybe that way everyone would be happier without the troublemaker to cause more problems.

But as he was thinking that the chains were getting weaker and weaker, then another voice came in. A voice that could kill with the amount of fear it inflicted on those he claimed to love. The voice of his father as the decorated that it was time to deal with the human.

“No…No, I won’t let you!” Mammon gritted his teeth. Pulling on the chains who still refused to brake as he screamed for them to realize. He needed to be quick, he needed to save them. He may not had been the best oldest brother or even a good demon but this…he was not about to let anyone else get hurt. The chain broke…and as the sound of the pieces hit the floor, Mammon’s eyes snapped open, just in time to see his father send a lightning bolt in Mc’s direction, who was just awaiting it, who was just ready to accept it. “D-damn it” He whispers, as he launches himself at Mc’s body, either to shield them or some them out of the way, but as his body was meant to collide with Mc’s, they disappeared.

Mammon stumbled upwards as the expected action did not take place. He blinked in confusion before he heard a devious voice laughing. Sending chills to every part of his body. He turned around…or maybe the room shifted, but there was a fireplace now and Mc was standing behind an armchair, as God looked at Mammon. The memory immediately being recognized as his heart sank. No…he was meant to protect them…not hurt them.

“…attack them.” Mammon could feel his body moving without his permission as Mc’s scared expression appeared closer to him. His heart beating fast before somehow managing to stop right in front of their face. Claws out, inches away from tarring at their skin as they gazed into his eyes. Their scared expression changed to that of a smirk.

“Are you going to hurt me Mammon? Because you already did.” Blood…blood started spearing on Mc’s body as he watched in horror as claw marks and bite wounds started to appear on Mc’s body, tears of blackness started dripping from their face before slowly morphing into blood, he could hear the sound of bones braking as mc starred directly into his eyes. No…no, no, no, no, no! Please no! He cannot lose anyone else! Mammon closed his eyes, tightly as he begged for the sight to go away. “…Mammon…” The sound of a now distorted voice made him snap his eyes open almost instinctively, Mc was no longer standing in front of him…now they were lying dead on the floor with blank eyes as he stood on a pool of their blood.

“…mc…” His voice was shaking as he looked at the scene, closing and opening his eyes…and the more he reapeated this action the more bodies were seen…those of his family, those of his brothers and even his nephew were laying dead on the floor, all of their dead and blank eyes starring directly at him. Mammon had to choke down a sob, his eyes dancing with the circles that the drops of blood caused, Mammon was shaking at this point. His knees had hit the floor as he closed his eyes and tears fell slowly.

“How pathetic.” Mammon looked up, not knowing what to expect but just wanting to get this over with. The form that appeared in front of him…even his own father would have been better than having those white robes bathed in blood as his own eyes looked down on him. “C’mon on Mammon…we could have all the power and the money in the world…yet…you are so pathetic…” The figure in front of him crouches down, darkness in the eyes that once looked at his family with love before sighing. “Mhm…father, Lucifer…our brother, Satan…even Mc…they all think you are pathetic and a waste of space…and they are right.”

Mammon jolted awake. He could hear the noise of his accelerated heart rate as he breathed in rapidly, barely maintaining composure as he took in the darkness in his room before the flashes of his family dead came again to torment his mind. It didn’t take long before Mammon broke down and was sobbing all alone in his room asking himself how could he be so fucking useless.

Belphegor lied in his bed, looking at his twin between tired eyes and broken pieces of himself, the sight reminded Beel of all the mistakes he had committed, all the ways he had failed everyone in his life. From not being able to save Lilith, from being one of the first demons to be transformed by his father…not being strong enough to keep fighting after the archangel stabbed him…he was surprised how he had yet to cry at all. His back was resting against the wall, eyes locked on Belphie before het let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes, forming a fist with his hands as all the thoughts came spiraling back at him.

Deep breath…exhale…inhale…Lilith had come back for just a moment trough Mc…Lilith had looked at them and claimed she loved them…The memories of her smile were always linked with those of her screams of pain as she fell to her death…deep…breath…exhale…inhale… oh…he was crying. A touch to his face and purple eyes meeting those of his twin confirmed it.

Belphegors eyes had been lost as he gazed into the bracelet, his heartbeat having slowed down so much he wasn’t aware of existence any longer, all he could think about was the existence Lilith…o her lack of existence…Belphegor brought the bracelet to his lips, kissing it softly, tears in the corner of his eyes before he heard his brother choke down a sob he wasn’t even aware of. Belphegor looked at Beel with such sadness and pain…how had he neglected his own brother this much? How had he forgotten of his pain once again? Belphegor moved over to his brother slowly, he doubts Beel heard him judging by his expression once he touched his cheek.

“Beel?” Belphegor spoke softly, his voice merely a whisper, if his brother had not been so close, he probably would not have heard him. He just plopped his head on Belphegor’s shoulders… because what was there to say? That he was sorry? That Lilith died because of him? That every night he woke up with tears in his eyes because all he could see was the face of Lilith the moment, he made the decision between his twin and his little sister? That he was guilty of it all? That even as an angel he was victim of the sins that plagued his skin as he watched them share their love for humans while he stayed behind. Didn’t Belphegor already know all of this? Didn’t his brother avoided him because of all of his? Neither of them where aware of when it happened, or who started it, but both were now crying in each other arms, Belphegor sobbed as he held Beel close, unaware of how many times how twin had wished to be held like this when he cried over Lilith’s memories.

“…I miss her…” Beel spoke after a few minutes of only tears being heard.

“I know…” Belphegor sniffled a little, pulling away just enough to catch a glimpse of the bracelets, Belphegor chuckled sadly before taking Lilith’s one off, taking Beel’s wrist and putting it on.

“Belphie…is that?” Beel did not even had time to finish his sentence, recognizing the bracelet immediately, eyes damping with tears once again.

“That way, we will both be connected to her.” Belphegor managed to smile, taking Beel’s pinky in his and making the inner promise of always being there by his brother. Maybe it was Belphegors influence, or maybe even the ache that both felt from the fight and the pain from their wounds, but they fell asleep hugging each other like they used to do, except that now Lilith was not in the middle singing…but they still had each other, they still loved each other just like they loved all the others.

Mc´s words left their throat the moment they saw the demon start crying. The demon that held himself so high and mighty no one thought could be knocked down. The demon that had looked over his family for who knows how long and had always protected them…yet here he was…thinking he had failed those he cares about, his heart being torn open at the realization that he didn’t do enough for those he loved yet not realizing how much he had actually done. It was devastating watching the always prideful firstborn breakdown like that as he cried and was consumed by his own resentment. It took only a few moments for the demon to control himself, looking at the ceiling as the tears left their trail along his cheeks, a devouring silence as Mc saw the expression of the man.

How many times had he cried like this and no one found out? How many times had he hid his feelings of fear for his family behind the carefully crafted façade of a strict older brother who was now in pain at the mere thought of having hurt his family? Lucifer cleared his throat and chuckled dryly, moving his head to the side, and locking red eyes with those of Mc. “I…this is all my fault…I should just go to them and tell them…how sorry I am.” Lucifer closed his eyes…only for his heart to break at the sound of a soft voice speaking through the maze of hate and sadness that had consumed the house.

Lucifer looked at his brother, a twisted knot in his throat as he tried to find a way to confront him. He had wanted to apologize to them…but not like this…he wanted to do it properly…but he had heard. Mc watched from the floor as Lucifer got up, taking a few steps towards Leviathan, who for some reason was glaring at Lucifer, their hands shaking with fear. But the words that came from Lucifers mouth had already took a toll on the envious brother. His glare was sharp and venomous, why would he react like that at his brother saying he was sorry?

“What do you mean you are sorry?!” Leviathans voice was heard echoing through the hall, sounding commanding like never as he locked teary eyes with Lucifer, shattering the demon’s heart even further. “Why are you apologizing?!”

“Leviathan…” There was such a fear and sadness in Lucifers eyes as Leviathan took some steps back, moving away from his older brother. Lucifer just wanted to protect all of them yet here they were…all his brothers and his son were broken…he was broken…how was he meant to fix this?

“Answer my question!” Leviathan was glaring at his brothers, but behind that glare there was no bite nor hate. There was just sadness and desperation for words and explanations to be provided. Why would Lucifer need to apologize for the actions of his father? Why would Lucifer need to blame himself for the actions of the man that had tormented them way before the Celestial War? He should not…unless he felt like he needed to protect his brothers because he knew they wouldn’t be able to protect themselves. Gods words became a storm feeding the insecurities of Leviathan as he basically begged for the world to give him a reason not to loathe himself…as he begged for Lucifer to blame god and not himself because if Lucifer blamed himself then…then that meant that he… “…why are you apologizing?” Leviathans teary eyes meet those of Lucifer…and the little control the demon had left shattered the instant his brother looked at him like that.

“…why do you think Leviathan?” Lucifer scoffed, his demeanor changed at the yelling of his younger brother, hints of a glare could be seen in the man’s expression.

“W-what’s going on?” Satan opened the door to his room, the demons hair gave away just how much he was hiding in as he tried to keep his voice calm and monotone, but for the first time everyone could see trough his carefully crafted masks and feel the panic and sheer desperation the young demon felt as his anger had run out and all he had left was the sadness in that moment, as he looked at his uncle and his father, memories of how he and Mc had to fight them…doubts of he should even be there right now…the young demon’s gaze was meet by the overwhelming anger of Leviathan. “…why are you yelling?”

Satan tried his best to port a blank expression and not let anything show…but everyone could see…and the young demon just felt…exposed. But his mind could not process all those feelings right now…or more like it didn’t want to process them, distracting itself by the situation taking place right outside the jail that was his room. And the fact that his question was ignored only made the unwelcome feeling to grow.

“Don’t give me that! I want an actual answer!” Leviathan ignored Satan’s voice, eyes focused more on Lucifer who looked now at his son, he felt a tug in his heart, knowing how much pain his son must be in given the sheer emotions that were being overflowed by his vulnerable expression at the fight.

Door could be heard opening, first the form of Mammon could be seen walking out of his room, hunched a little, half lidded red eyes as looked at the scene unfold, the usual talkative brother going quiet at the news that Lucifer had apologized, moving carefully towards Leviathan, in an attempt to appease the demon who was close to losing control. Beel and Belphie also had come out of their rooms after hearing Leviathan yelling, surprised expressions at the sudden snap of their older brother who always avoided any type of confrontation.

“…I’m apologizing because thanks to me Father got to all of you!” Lucifer blurted out, anger and sadness, confusion, pain, and disappointment attacked him as he looked back at his brother. “I didn’t protect any of you…”

“…You think we are so weak that we need your protection all the time?! Even if you were there Father would have manipulated us…how weak do you actually think we are?!” Leviathans eyes were shadowed by his hair, his demon form out as his tail swung slowly to his sides, before pulling from Mammon’s hold, who only looked at his younger brother with sadness. “…how weak do you think I am…”

“Lucifer…it wasn’t your fault” Beel’s voice comes in, he was holding hands with Belphegor the whole time, both afraid of letting go and losing themselves in the thoughts and fear, neither of them daring to let go thinking that if they did they would watch the disappear like Lilith had…but even while holding each other up, that didn’t meant either of them could handle what was going on. “Y-you…you don’t have to blame yourself” Beel’s sadness could be felt in the air as mc saw his shoulders shaking lightly.

The sight of his little brother crying broke Lucifer even more. The words not helping at all. How was it not his fault? If he had let go of Lilith so many years ago then perhaps he could have been there for his brothers, if he had been there for his brothers then none of them would feel the way they did…if he had been there for them then perhaps God would not have had any insecurities to exploit of abuse his family. This was all his fault…and the fact that it was Beel the one saying it wasn’t…and that he shouldn’t blame himself…the same anger he felt the night Satan was born corroded his thoughts as he chucked darkly.

“Please Beel, don’t be such an hypocrite, you claim I shouldn’t blame myself, but you still believe it’s your fault that Lilith is dead…” Everyone’s eyes went wide at Lucifer’s voice, Beel’s expression was that of a child being hit for the first time by the person they loved so dearly, his eyes immediately covered in tears as he opened and closed his mouth, not knowing what to say.

“Lucifer what the hell was that?!” Belphegor shot up, glaring at his eldest brother for having said something like that to Beel, knowing well how the demon felt about the whole situation.

“Y-yeah! There was no need for you to say that Beel was just trying to help.” Mammon’s eyes moved from Belphegor to Lucifer, and then to Mc, his scared expression gave Mc goosebumps as millions of words were stuck in their throats, not knowing what to say to stop the fighting of the demons.

“O-okay how about we calm dow-“

“Shut up, Satan! I am not going to let Lucifer talk like that to Beel!”

“Talk like what?! All I said was the truth”

“…I d-do blame my self for what happe-“

“I don’t care how much you blame yourself! Lucifer still has no right to speak like that to any os us!”

“Its no use Belphegor, all Lucifer sees us as is weak brothers that cant even go out alone”

“Okay guys, we need to calm down. L-lets stop yelling-“

“Mammon stop trying to act all mature-“

“Belphie don’t take it out on Mammon!”

The yelling and screaming was overwhelming. Lucifer, Leviathan and Belphegor were fighting like never before, Leviathan accusing Lucifer of think all of them were weak, Belphegor mad because Lucifer had hurt beel, and Lucifer enraged by the fact that his brothers couldn’t see things his way. Everyone was so…angry, and mad and Satan should be feeling angry as hell but he wasn’t…he wasn’t feeling mad at all. The one thing he was supposed to be…the one thing that was him…he wasn’t feeling it at all. He didn’t even knew when but his hands were covering his ears as Mammon stood in front of him, saying something the demon refused to hear, he could see Beel holding back Leviathan while Belphegor full on screamed at Lucifer. Mc was watching from the side with shocked eyes, a hand holding Lucifers arms, either holding him back or stabilizing him and then…and then there was a crash.

The sound of something broken, it was like the embodiment of their family had come crashing down for milleniums and finally…finally it had hit rock bottom, it was finally broken. The room fell quiet, only for sobs to be heard…sobs coming from the room of the only demon that wasn’t there.

“…Asmodeus’

Lucifer whispered, before basically sprinting to the demon’s room, the rest following closely as he threw the door open, scanning the room looking for his brother. Part of him knew he must be okay, part of him remembered his white eyes and wings when his father reverted him back to angel.

“…Asmodeus?” Mc asked in a soft voice when the demon comes into view, his long bangs attempting to hide the side of his face which was covered in bandages after the burn. The eyes of the human falling on one of the younger demons as he was kneeling in his room, in front of a broken mirror and his bleeding hand.

“Asmo!” Lucifer rushes to his brothers side, kneeling beside the smallest demon, taking his hand to inspect it as the demon refused to look up. The noise of the glass braking had put a stop to all the fighthing outside…but the sight of the demon made mc somehow wish for the fight to come back, for him to look anything else than that broken and sad. “What do you think you are doing?” Lucifers voice is full of desperation as he looks at the spilled blood before he can feel Asmodeus other hand take his, a thumb slowly caressing his as the demon looked up.

Tears in the eye that wasn’t covered in bandages before he gave Lucifer the weakest smile he had ever seen his brother port. Immediately the wave of feelings he felt in that moment made him feel sick as he starred back at his brother, the others feeling like the world outside ha disappeared and like the only thing that mattered right now were the people inside that room, the only ones mattering were those who have been hurt so badly moments ago. The silence was only broken when Asmodeus opened his mouth, a small sob escaping his lips before he could even get a word out, the others walking closer.

“D-do you…do you blame me…f-for being the f-first one father controlled?” His voice was so many things at the same time, a soft tone that awoke immediate tears in the family, a slap on the face which told Lucifer more than the endless yells his mind repeated each night, a gentle hand that proclaimed how everything would be okay. But most of all, it was a reminder, a message…a silent plea. And the worst of all…he was being sincere.

He had heard every word as he gazed at his tormented reflection, the way Lucifer blamed himself, the way Leviathan loathed himself, Beel refusing to acknowledge that it was his fathers fault the fact that Lilith was gone…it got him wondering…was he at fount that everyone else got controlled? If he hadn’t been so weak…then perhaps…perhaps he could have resisted long enough for someone to walk in and that way his father’s plan wouldn’t have taken off. That way his face wouldn’t be burned…that way his family wouldn’t have been put under that sick and twisted control as well. He meant every word…and Lucifer was not about to let another member of his family be corrupted by feelings of guilt.

“…no…I would never blame you” Lucifer finally answered, soft like never in his life. Of course he would never blame any of them, he could never blame beel for not saving Lilith, he could never blame Belphegor for showing Lilith the human world, least of all blame Asmodeus for the actions of God…but here he was…blaming himself…oh the sweet irony.

Then the strangest thing happened, the thing that neither of the demons expected at all. Lucifer chuckled, it was low and barely audible, but very slowly the chuckle transformed into a laugh as he closed his eyes, Mc was confused but…the sight of Lucifers tears falling as the laugh died and his expression shifted to that of a pained one, a sob marking a line between everything as he pulled Asmodeus into a hug, before taking Mammon’s hand, since he was the closest, and bringing him down for the hug as well. Mammon let out a soft yelp at the sudden pull but he fell on his knees beside the two, immediately being hugged by Lucifer as well as he looked at the remaining members of his family who watched in awe, he extended his hand, welcoming them to be even more closer that they were once.

The memory of the first night they came the house of lamentation crossed his mind. The seven of them slept together for none could bare the idea of being apart in that moment…and neither could any of them now, so before long, the seven demons were all hugging into a ball…and for the first time they let their full emotions out. There were sobs and many tears as they held into the other, there was fear and insecurities, feelings of guilt and hate either towards themselves or the being that had caused them all. But there was something even deeper than that, there was something even deeper than the same scars God had inflicted on his sons, and that was the love they had for one another.

Because you could take everything from them, but as long as they had each other…as long as the seven were a family…they could get trough anything. And mc was more sure than ever about it as they joined the hug. They didn’t expect the seven to simply be okay tomorrow, there were many screams, tears and sleepless nights to go trough until they all felt secure again…but for just that one moment, for just that one second as Lucifer held his family and they were all there alive…they felt safe.

So...here it is! The final chapter of Scarred! I am truly sorry for the wait and i know that this chapter is probably not worth the 2-3 month hiatus this fic went trough but I wanted this final chapter to be good...I’m still not totally convinced it gave the vibe that i wanted it to...and I’m pretty sure the narration style changed like at least five times but, i don’t hate this version so. I really hope you guys like the conclusion to this fic and i must thank you all for reading it! So yeah, hope you guys enjoy the final chapter of Scarred and thank you so much to everyone that commented, reblogged or liked it! Stay safe loves!!

Chapter one

Chapter two

Chapter three

Chapter four

Chapter five

Chapter six

Chapter seven

Chapter eight

Chapter nine

Chapter ten

Chapter eleven

Chapter twelve

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hopeswriting · 3 years

Text

KHR x The Umbrella Academy AU

I need to get this out of my system before I think too much about it and want to write an actual story about it lol. With the Arco as MCs because I’m very predictable. TUA spoilers.

Words: 2579

Kawahira is Reginald because who else he’d be.

Every generation he gathers the most powerful extraordinary kids to make sure there will still be a world come next generation for him to do it again.

The current Arcobaleno he gathered are, well, the Arcobaleno lol.

Maybe there are the ones who’ll be smart enough to find another way around the Tri-ni-sette that doesn’t involve human sacrifices too, or strong enough to fight back against him and not let him kill them even if it means the world burns, or even strong enough to straight up kill him and put him out of his misery.

A dead man can’t be blamed to not give a shit about the end of the world after all or make it his problem.

(Well, this went dark real quick lmao.)

But why does he give a shit while he lives you ask?

He met this one human that one time and love sure has a way to make you care like the dumbest of humans.

(Yes I’m talking about Sepira.)

------

An Anti Tri-ni-sette Movement is born in this generation only, but not so much because of the whole human sacrifices thing mind you.

By design they just so happen to actively trying to prevent it, but they don’t care enough to come up with an alternative to stop the apocalypse.

Not that stopping the apocalypse was ever their end goal because yeah, it’s Byakuran and his Guardians that lead the movement, and Byakuran would just like to say if Kawahira wanted the most powerful extraordinary kids, he was right there.

Also playing the anti-hero (when he’s actually a chaotic neutral bad guy lol) sounded like a lot of fun.

------

The Commission is also still a thing because, well, someone still has to keep track and protect the timelines, right?

And as I’m writing this I realize it would have make more sense to have Kawahira leading it, or even Byakuran, but whatever.

Among their many assassins there’s this one elite squad the Commission tries very hard to keep them out of the field as much as possible (and fails), because they always need to send others agents after them to sort through their collateral damage and actually keep the timelines as they should be.

Yes I’m talking about the Varia.

Byakuran is very acquainted with them (both the Varia and the Commission), because they keep trying (and failing) to kill him.

Because Byakuran keeps using his power whatever the way he fucking wants, even while being very much aware of how timelines work.

Because of course he is lol.

------

Reborn and Verde are number one and two respectively, and always butt heads.

Not because of jealousy or because Kawahira trying to pit them against each other works on them or anything like that, they just infuriate each other at a very deep level lol.

Especially because they recognize (and begrudgingly admire/respect/trust) each other’s respective strengths.

They just don’t agree/approve on how the other uses them.

(Does Reborn need to be such a huge show off all the time? Being confident in his strengths enough to play with his enemies before winning against them is one thing, showing all his cards for the world to see just so he can win against them after they tried their hardest to defeat him is just incredibly stupid.)

(Does Verde have to be so straightforward and play by the book every time? Being the smartest in the room is one thing, walking out of the room alive because of it is another one entirely.)

------

A mission goes wrong and Reborn is dying, so Kawahira injects him with the Deus Ex Machina whatever-it- is, and he gains super healing.

And the super villains and every day villains are in for an entirely new level of Reborn wiping the floor with them lol.

(And yesI know, I’m shallow, but come on Reborn is too pretty to become half-ape, half-human.)

Reborn doesn’t go on the moon.

(They all turn eighteen and Kawahira isn’t even allowed to breathe in their direction anymore, let alone send them on the fucking moon.)

------

Fon is number three.

I have this headcanon he’s a bit of a manipulator, and uses his nice guy persona to wrap people around his finger.

Or he can be anyway, but it isn’t nowhere near in the first options he considers, because I also headcanon he’s genuinely a nice guy.

Anyway he doesn’t exactly hate his power, but he doesn’t trust it himself for shit, and wants to rely on it as little as possible.

So he also ends up a martial artist in this universe, and a very quiet guy.

(He remembers all too clearly what kind of words he can speak while under emotional stress.)

(The awful, horrible, haunting feeling of realizing even he can’t take them back.)

(Lal remembers it too.)

(Then Kawahira makes it so everyone forgets.)

(And Fon makes himself forget.)

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Colonnello is number four.

Yeah I know, it could be Skull, but let’s go with him.

Reborn is number one but it’s Colonnello who’s daddy’s good little soldier boy.

For a very simple logic that goes like this: the more he behaves, the better he is at being and doing whatever Kawahira wants, the less traumatic encounters with his power he’s forced to have.

(Colonnello was never afraid of the dark, but then he’s thrown into the mausoleum again and again, and he never stops being afraid of the dark.)

So he doesn’t turn to drugs because he can’t afford to not be at the top of his game, but he does turn to Lal and her music.

If he closes his eyes and listens hard enough and it’s loud enough, he forgets the ghosts for as long as the music goes on.

------

On the other hand he can’t help having a bit of one-sided strained relationship with Reborn, with a lot more resentment than he’d want.

(Meaning zero because in an ideal world they’re best friends, and it’s really easy to tell the rare times when Kawahira isn’t looming above their relationship.)

It’s not even like he can’t see where Reborn is coming from, taking a stand against Kawahira and defying them and crossing the line further and further each time (of course he does), but he really could do without the collective punishment.

All in all, number four is doing very good, while Colonnello is doing very bad, and maybe does become an addict as soon as he doesn’t have to play superhero anymore.

------

Viper is number five.

They’re very happy with their teleportation power, and is right there with Colonnello in being daddy’s obedient child until they can hightail it the hell out of there.

Kawahira is very invested in their training and making them take the next big step with their powers.

Viper is smart so they know of the possibility of them being able to time-travel, but no surrogate A+ parenting dad is getting them in no time-travel shenanigans, nu-uh, they don’t think so.

But then a mission goes wrong, and instead of the little jump back a few minutes in time they wanted to do, they jump in the future.

They keep jumping in the future as they try to go back, and oh, look at this, the end of the fucking world.

And his siblings’ dead bodies.

And a very alive, adult Skull??

(This is such a relief.)

(Skull is so happy to see them again.)

------

Something goes wrong when they try to jump back to the present, and only Viper makes it back.

In their thirteen year old body, because stopping a goddamned apocalypse isn’t enough to deal with already.

Their siblings are useless and no help and broken and very traumatized dysfunctional adults and alive, and they’re so, so happy to see them again.

(If they tear up and cry a bit later when they’re alone, that’s no one business.)

They hug (only) Skull, to no one surprise, and keep hugging, which does surprise everyone, and Skull may have written that book but he’s no monster and it’s Viper, so he hugs back.

(Of course he does.)

Viper still doesn’t know he’s immortal.

(Because Skull is a dumbass and kept waiting for the right moment, and what do you know, it never showed up, but to be fair with him they had a lot to deal with.)

------

No number six even though I do like the Ben, and dead!Ben, and ghost!Ben storylines.

But it there was a number six, I guess it could be either Skull or Viper maybe?

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Luce is number seven as in she’s the most OP of them all. Not in a “raw strength” sense of course, but seeing the future?

I think Byakuran demonstrated perfectly how OP a power it is if you’re willing to weaponized it.

She doesn’t see the end of the world coming (where would be the fun if she did?), or at least doesn’t understand it’s the end of the world she’s seeing, and not just some big scale catastrophe.

She is not daddy’s good girl even though he shows a particular interest in her power, but he can go fuck himself actually.

She’s a bit of a number four too as in she hates her power, and it certainly gives her her fair share of nightmares.

It’s a special kind of gut wrenching feeling to see when and how people will die, and not always being able to save them even if she wants to.

(Nothing terrifies Luce more than when she sees her siblings in her visions.)

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Skull is also number seven as in he’s the ordinary one who’s actually the most extraordinary of them all.

They just never figure out he’s immortal because Kawahira doesn’t push them that far in training, and he doesn’t go on missions.

He’s shunned and isolated by everyone, except for Viper and, hear me out, Luce.

Viper is afraid of heights, and maybe it shouldn’t matter because of the “jump” way their teleportation works, but sue them it does and they can’t help it.

Skull is the only one who takes the time to help them with that in another way that isn’t telling them to get over it, or making them dangling over edges.

Their friendship starts from there.

------

Luce on the other hand approaches him for selfish reasons.

Skull is the safe sibling, the one if she were ever to see his death, she can only hope it won’t be a too brutal one (or a brutal one at all).

But then, well. Skull is Skull, and he’s fun to be around with and funny, and he’s so good at keeping you out of your own head and thoughts, and he is such a breath of fresh air from her usual, unbearable routine, and—

He’s better than her at keeping his resentment and envy of her extraordinariness at bay than she is at doing the same with his ordinariness, and she’s so grateful he doesn’t push her away for it.

------

Skull is still very much treated like dirt, and he rolls with it as best he can.

Mostly because being left out of this whole extraordinary superheroes stuff lets him see how truly fucked up it is.

Skull is the one who wakes up at night not because he can’t sleep, but because the others can’t, and they don’t always manage to be silent about it.

He’s the one who sees them coming back from missions injured like no children should ever be, who assists Kawahira during their training and has to help them up at the end of it because they can’t move anymore.

He’s the one who watches them never really growing close with each other as much as he is the only one shunned, because Kawahira only has enough favors in him for only one of them.

Except he doesn’t even have that of course.

Skull is the only one who hasn’t blood on his hands, and he always feels guilty and awful at how relieved and lucky he feels whenever he sees that look in their eyes.

So he rolls with it, but not quietly, and forcefully makes himself a place among them even if it’s only to be their Lackey, because these guys are in dire need of ordinariness, no matter what Kawahira made them believe.

No matter what Kawahira made him believe.

It doesn’t work a lot of times, and only work a little when it does, but it’ll have to do.

Skull of course still hurts and is forced into his own traumatic childhood, so he still writes the book.

------

Skull figures out he’s immortal as soon as he’s left alone into adulthood because he is a dumbass.

The others learn about it because Luce saw the vision of his first death, and they were quite literally there to stop it from happening.

But instead they saw him coming back to life.

They don’t talk about it.

(None of them are in the right head space to talk about it).

And then they’re back at having no contact between them until the next time Luce has a vision of his death.

(Because he’s immortal now, but what if he’s not anymore?)

(Skull is so sorry of this new layer of fucked up he added to Luce’s visions.)

It’s very awkward when Viper comes back and tells them Skull is the only one who survived the apocalypse though they don’t know how, and they have to break the news to them.

------

Lal is also number seven as in she’s the one being medicated to keep her powers at bay.

She’s The White Violin, if only because one of them needs the raw strength and ability in their power to blow up the moon lol.

Lal is extraordinary until she isn’t.

She’s thirteen, and the mission goes wrong, and she’s losing control of her powers, and Fon says some unfortunate words.

Then Kawahira makes him say other unfortunate words, and Lal never has been extraordinary.

(Because she’s too powerful, and he’s trying to keep the world turning, not end it whenever she’ll feel too strongly too much.)

Her relationships with the others kind of fall short because it kind of feels hollow/shallow now, and she ends up isolated too.

But because of their respective unique circumstances, Skull and her unfortunately never bond.

Colonnello and her stays close, because if Lal can be useful with her music that way, she’s more than happy to do it.

And on an entirely unrelated note, I really like the idea of musician!Lal actually.

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Sepira is Mom.

Yeah I know, the similarities with Luce would be very obvious, but let’s pretend it wouldn’t be.

And they don’t have a chimpanzee uncle, but they do have pets from that one time they gang together against Kawahira.

But they never said what kind of pets they wanted to have lol.

------

So it goes something like this:

Number One: Reborn – Super Strength and Super Healing

Number Two: Verde – Either The Smartest Man In The World or controlling the trajectory of weapons (while still being the smartest man in the world even if it isn’t in the “super” way), or both

Number Three: Fon – The Rumor

Number Four: Colonnello – The Seance

Number Five: Viper – The Child

Number Six: Luce – The Prophetess

Number Seven: Lal – The White Violin The (Extra)Ordinary One

Number Eight: Skull – The Immortal The Ordinary One

I actually have AUs of this AU, but let’s not make myself too comfortable in this hole lol. Hope you enjoyed it, and feel free to add!

#katekyo hitman reborn #khr #khr au #khr arcobaleno #the umbrella academy #tua spoilers #khr tua au #i'm talking about the netflix tv show btw #maybe i WIIL write a one-shot for this #but it's much MUCH more likely i will not lmao #it really was fun to think about tho #aus are really fun to come up with #mine

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nextwarden · 3 years

Text

Webtoons are good for the soul PART II - ECLECTIC BOOGALOO

A continuation of this.

Sea Salt and Sand by neggut [ongoing]

In the autumn holidays 3 months ago, Brynn and Bailey shared a kiss. When Bailey left, Brynn tried to forget all about her and continue living an unremarkable life, only for Bailey to suddenly transfer to her school! What follows is a coming of age story full of pining, misunderstandings and confusion as Brynn and Bailey question the true nature of their relationship.

It’s cute and a bit angsty but not too much. The art style often feels incomplete or rushed but in a good way, its flaws give character to the characters and the story. One of my all time favourites.

Apathy meets labrador/10

Dragonbourne by Gummy Shark [ongoing]

After a troubled past, Sir Ross Edmund Avery is somewhat content to lead a mundane existence, alone in his house. However, when he stumbles upon a child in the woods on Solstice Night who is anything but mundane, his simple life will be turned upside down.

A scar(r)ed man adopts a feral child, hijinks ensue. Once again, the art style is endearing, full of curves and long lines. Haven’t checked on that one in a while but the first twenty chapters were very promising.

Found family/10

The Last Human by Zack Jordan [ongoing]

She's the galaxy's worst nightmare: a Human. Fortunately, she's the last one. Now her adoptive (alien) mother is realizing that raising a young Human is no easy task.

Basically the badass and child duo trope but the truth may surprise you. Fun, cute, very wholesome, and surprisingly emotionnaly philosophical at times. Spidermom is best mom.

Recommend/10

Vampire Husband by Scragony [ongoing]

The life of Charles the Vampire an Cheryl the human after years of marriage.

What if tragic romance between human and vampire but they had their “happy-ever-after”? This is after. It’s funny and cute.

Relationship goals/10

Blood Stain by sigeel [ongoing]

A story about courage, growing up and finding friendships in most unlikely places... spiced with some MAD SCIENCE!

Haven’t quite wrapped my head around this one yet, but it’s fun and drawn by sigeel (a.k.a. Linda Sejic) so of course it’s beautiful. Enjoyed it a lot, will have to keep reading.

Bloody merry/10

Punderworld by sigeel [ongoing - on hiatus]

Hades' and Persephone's love-struck misadventures.

Another take on Hades and Persephone’s love story. Once again, sigeel, so of course I love the art.

Bumbling idiots/10

The Queen and the Woodborn by Shiniez [ongoing]

Far away behind seven hills and seven forests, seven fields and seven rivers, there lived a Queen... welcome to the queen and the woodborn. a fairy tale romance for the mature readers about the unseen Queen and the Goddess in the woods. a tale of the two forgotten by the world around them who will make the world remember their names. expect gods and monsters and a romance for the ages.

Not many chapters yet but very long ones to compensate. This one is by Shiniez (a.k.a. Stjepan Sejic) so, once again, love the art. The story, the character designs and concepts, and the pace are all amazing.

Very wow/10

P.E.T.S. by Gyxks [ongoing]

Just when Tasha was about to start a new life, she was abducted by aliens. Fortunately, she and other humans were rescued by an interstellar general named Tourmaline. She soon discovered that her body was unfit to return home without endangering life on earth. Join her on her journey traversing this new world and these new feelings for an alien general.

POV: You’re living your best life as a young adult, at the shopping mall at 2am in your pyjamas, when suddenly death aliens rain pain all around and you’re abducted only to be saved by tall buff alien commander lady. Romance ensues. Maybe, it’s slow burn but quite enjoyable to read.

Blush/10

Scoob and Shag by Misterie Krew [ongoing]

Scoob and his best pal Shag are up to their usual hi-jinks, but everything is not as it seems in their latest adventure.

No relations to any character whatsoever. None. None at all. Also no relations to any kind of sense at all either. Can’t quite explain that one except that it’s genius. Just read it.

Is that a gun?/10

Bewitched by peachyytown [ongoing]

The witch who keeps "kidnapping" the princess is actually her girlfriend and they're just going on dates.

Short but cute alternative take on all that witch/monster/princess shenanigans. In the same vein as Our days in Lumain. Also the art is very nice.

Meetcute/10

When the Pink Trees Bear Fruit by neggut [completed]

A sweet love blooms between two women on an orchard in 1973.

A short story, five chapters only, but play devastatingly well with one’s heart. In the same vein as It Stems From Love by Soya S. Holm. neggut ist sehr gut.

Tears/10

Rooftops & Roommates by Zaanart [ongoing]

Jeb is an architecture major at university, rooming with his best friend Todd. There's just one problem... Jeb’s secretly a gargoyle! Between studying, partying, and a bad ghost problem, will Jeb be able to keep his true identity a secret?

Jeb is sweet, Jeb is fresh, but Jeb is decidedly not very good at keeping a secret. It’s funny, slice-of-life, roommate college shenanigans at its finest. With a magical twist.

Ship/10

Everything is Fine by Mike Birchall [ongoing]

Sam and Maggie are a normal couple, in a normal house, in a normal neighborhood. There is nothing strange about their heads, their neighbors or their sweet little dog. Everything is Fine.

I haven’t actually started this one yet, but the premise is very very very interesting. Perhaps not for thos who are faint of heart? Deceptively cute. Or is it?

It’s fine/10

Castle Swimmer by Wendy Lian Martin [ongoing]

What happens when your entire life is ruled by a prophecy – your future foretold by people you’ve never met, who died long before you were born. Such is the story of two young sea creatures. One believed to be a guiding light for his people, a Beacon who will lead them to a bright, prosperous future. The other is a teenage prince for who’s destiny is to KILL the Beacon so that HIS own people might thrive. When both reject the course set for them, it leads to a raucous adventure as big and unpredictable as the ocean itself – and a romance that nobody could have predicted.

It’s fish. It’s gay. It’s under da sea and ya gotta kiss the boy. I haven’t read it all yet but enough to vouch for it and to have some vested interest in the universe and its lore.

Enemies to lovers/10

Demon Highschool by Kiiyoko [ongoing]

After a compromise it was agreed that criminals would attend a "demons highschool" where they would work as slaves for demons And while it was all in good favor, things take a very dark and twisted turn at said, highschool.

There’s something, some kind of twist, about the MC which I haven’t gotten to yet, and which I am very interested to discover. I’m not quite sure how I feel about this one as of now, mostly curious I’d say.

Pet/10

Hooky by Miriam Bonastre Tur [completed]

Dani and Dorian have missed the bus of the school of magic. Now, they must find someone who teach them how to be a great and good witches... Or maybe not.

This one is a strange one about witchery and family. Surprisingly deep and serious at times, very enjoyable. Unfinished on Webtoon but a good start to get into the story.

Siblings/10

Loving Reaper by Jenny Jinya [ongoing]

Animals struggle. Pets and Wildlife alike. The reaper cares for their stories and helps them with the crossover. Short stories about the "Loving Reaper" to raise awareness and collect funds. Breaking hearts for a good cause.

Beautiful bittersweet stories about animals, pets, life and death and love.

Tissues/10

Batman: Wayne Family Adventures by StarBite, CRC Payne, Kielamel Siba, Lan Ma, C.M. Cameron, and Camille Cruz [ongoing]

Batman needs a break. But with new vigilante Duke Thomas moving into Wayne Manor and an endless supply of adopted, fostered, and biological superhero children to manage, Bruce Wayne is going to have his hands full. Being a father can't be harder than being Batman, right?

What if Bat-family but happy? Official comic, barely started, very fun.

Wholesome/10

The First Night With the Duke by MSG, Taeva, from an original work by Hwang DoTol [ongoing]

A handsome, selfish noble falls for a beautiful, kind commoner -- at least, that’s how the story’s supposed to go. When an average college student wakes up as Ripley, an extra in her favorite romance novel, she resolves to enjoy the luxuries of her character’s status while watching the novel's plot unfold from the sidelines. However, her plans are soon derailed when she finds herself in bed with no other than Duke Zeronis, the novel’s hero! Dodging the villainess’ schemes, the Duke’s advances, and her own feelings, can Ripley keep the story on track and survive beyond the first night?

Haven’t read that one but a very dear (and respectable) friend (*cough* @berigolote *cough*) of mine keeps pestering me to give it a try. So here it is, try it.

Do it before me and you get a cookie/10

HEART Anthology by Marvin.W, caw-chan and many other artists. [ongoing]

Featuring stories from the 2020 Short Story Contest! From wholesome stories to tearjerkers, are you ready to catch these feelings?

A collection of beautiful stories on the shorter side, all about the many kinds of love in life, the many beauties of it, and the pains that make it worth living.

Tears that warm the heart/10

In My Heart by Redfield42 [ongong]

Sasaki Mari is a typical delinquent troublemaker whose only goal is to get a boyfriend, but due to her reputation as bully and low grades, all the boys reject her. Then she decides to change her style, and asks for help from the student with the best grades in the class.

It starts off light and fund and progressively seems to delve a little bit more into the seriousness of life. Not a tragedy, however, and very much worth a read still.

I think I have a trope I like/10

My awkward princess by LazyArts [ongoing]

This love story is about a girl named Luna charlotte, and the student council president Alice Evelyn. Luna is a delinquent whom often gets in trouble, as Luna reaches the end of the line she almost gets expelled, now luna has to become a model student with the help of Alice. Will Luna be expelled or will she succeed, read to find out.

Along the lines of Not So Shoujo Love Story, In My Heart, and Susuhara is a Demon. Delinquent/Good Student meetcute, romantinc hijincks ensue.

Seduction/10

RAINBOW! by Rue & Sunny Gloom [ongoing]

This is the story of a girl named Boo. She has pink hair and a vivid imagination and she is about to discover a side of herself that she never considered before.

Okay, so yes, this one is also also a delinquent meets cute nice girl, but - BUT! - there’s an element of story telling that I love about it: the way we see Boo’s anxiety incorporated visually into the story. Just for that it is one of my favourite recent discoveries!

Protecc/10

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Okay, that’s all for part II. Hope you enjoy those as much as I do. Thanks for your attention, sorry for the length and, please, do keep on reading, they all deserve it! As do you.

PART I

#webtoon #webcomic #comic #comics #recommendations #part 2 #the return of the revenge #wlw #mlm #long post #mega thread #keep reading punk

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vvakarians · 3 years

Text

World lore and Arc 1 Character lore from Melrose: City of Monsters! This world is a story that myself and my boyfriend @thecoffeerain

Maxime and Victor belong to my boyfriend!

Charlie’s Twitter | Charlie’s P a t r e o n

Info under the cut!

ABOUT MELROSE: CITY OF MONSTERS

Melrose is a city just south of New York City in America, it’s a small town that is unassuming at first but is filled with dark secrets. Vampires, witches, werewolves, and humans exist together, though in a vaguely dysfunctional way. The government broke the news about vampires and werewolves only five years previous, though they’ve lived in society for far longer than that. At this point people are getting used to them living among the human population, but knowledge about magic is still kept under wraps. Vampirism, lycanthropy, and magic comes from a disease that is both highly contagious and genetic. Once you have it, you have it for life, eternal or not.This information is primarily for the first arc. MC information will be updated with each arc.

MAIN CHARACTERS OF MELROSE: CITY OF MONSTERS

Father Charles ‘Charlie’ Larousse-Robineau

Pronouns: They/them

Occupation: ‘Priest’

Bloodline: Vampire, former Human, Crowley Lineage

Maker: Belladonna Crowley, the Duchess

Origin: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Love Interest: Victor Talbot

Father Robineau is a charming and well traveled individual, having been born in the 1860’s to a fur merchant and his musician wife. A tragedy struck the family in the early 1880’s when Charlie’s father snapped after a fight between them, and he supposedly killed both Charlie’s younger brother Jean Marie, as well as their mother, brutally with an axe. Charlie barely got out alive, killing their father in self defense. After getting medical attention they fled to England, hoping that their extended family would take them in.When they didn’t, Charlie settled in Whitechapel, hired by a brothel to be a charlatan, medic, and overall fluffer for the girls there. It is there where they fell in love with a woman named Lilith Brown, or Lily, as she preferred. They were best friends and messed around with each other, but Lily turned their courtship down. Sad but understanding, Charlie continued to work as a charlatan, only to watch as their friends would begin dying one by one. People suspected Jack the Ripper and would lend no help to the people affected. As we know, the killer was not caught, and unfortunately one of the last to be taken would be Lily.Whether it was Jack, or a copycat, Charlie was determined to figure out who it was. Driven near mad by grief, Charlie called out to anything that would listen while attending the autopsy of Lily. Who would show up would not be their savior, but their Devil. A woman calling herself the Duchess. She promised Charlie power to find the person who harmed their friends in exchange for a favor at a later date. Charlie was then sacrificed on an altar far below Whitechapel, but to what goddess or entity, they did not know. All they know is that they were opened up much like the corpses on the autopsy tables in the morgue, and then drained of all blood, turned into a bloodthirsty monster. Then abandoned on the streets. After becoming feral and accidentally slaying two people, Charlie turned themself in, though they were quickly turned over to the Vampiric Council of the United Kingdom. This is where they were rehabilitated by Delilah Ainsworth and her husband Aegis Stone, then allowed to return to the USA. Though it was still hard to find a food source and the only thing they could think of to get a large group, but not have to worry about too many people finding out -- was build a congregation. This of course backfired and they made more of a cult than anything, and one of their cult members developed an unhealthy obsession with them. His name was Cedric.When Charlie saw what they had created and tried to disband the cult, Cedric intervened, but a few weeks afterwards Charlie would poison his blood supply with silver, enabling them to flee. After that they never saw Cedric again and would go on to serve in World War II before settling down in Melrose in the 1940’s, creating the cathedral they now work in, St Januarius’, but making sure that a cult never happens again. Thankfully with blood bags it’s become less of an issue.Their life changes though when a man named Victor walks into their church…

Victor Talbot

Pronouns: He/him or they/them

Occupation: Sex worker / Artist / Cat Wrangler

Origin: Sussex, England, United Kingdom

Love Interest: Charlie Robineau

Victor is the only child born to a surgeon and an art lecturer. He spent quite a bit of time with his mother who taught him all about Hinduism and the ways of their culture. As a child and throughout his school life he was bullied for being larger than his peers; this made him quite shy and destroyed his self esteem. He did find a love of dance though when he would watch Bollywood films with his mother at home, and then at school he got involved in modern dance. Though it was in secret, as he did not want his peers to bully him further. As he kept at it, Victor lost weight and began eating better, becoming how he’s seen today. Which of course gained him attention and popularity where there was none before.

While studying medicine, as his father had proclaimed he would as all of the men of his family had, Victor found that he could help people by giving them the medicine they needed but couldn’t necessarily afford. He then began to sell narcotics to addicts to cover the cost of the extravagant lifestyle forced upon him by his peers. A tragic accident occurred when the man he was seeing stole from his stash and OD’d, then was brought to the hospital where Victor was doing his residency. Victor did try to save his life but the man ended up dying. Of course he came clean about it to his dad, who was the chief of surgery at the hospital, but Victor’s dad told him to keep quiet about it lest he lose his job. Unfortunately, the damage was done and Victor became haunted by the loss of life at what he believed was his hands. Unable to cope with what he had caused, he began to take the pills he used to sell and became hooked. After a severe mental break having spent too many hours on shift he was suspended and dismissed from the program, now having to deal with being haunted continuously with what he’d done.

He would then fall into a drug spiral where he stole his father’s script pad, implicating him in his stealing, which got his father suspended. During this time he began taking street drugs and getting involved in the party scene, all to whisk him away from the trauma he suffered. This cycle only stopped when a tragedy happened for a second time. Another man he had been seeing died while they were together, and he woke up to his lifeless body in the bed. It’s here that Victor blacks out and does not have much memory of, only remembers waking up in the hospital and being convinced to go to rehab.

After being released and having his parents hovering over him every second of the day, he relapsed, then was cut off by his mother and father. He would then sell all of his belongings, or what he could, and bought a ticket to America where he would be picked up by the infamous Red in Melrose, New York. It would be here that he’d meet Father Robineau at the St. Januarius Cathedral…

Hazel Coldbrook

Pronouns: They/he

Occupation: Personal Assistant + Receptionist

Origin: Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Love Interest: Maxime St. Martin

Hazel was adopted at the age of six by a Jewish doctor and a First Nations professor of linguistics at one of the universities in New York. He was put into the system after his father lost custody following a terrible car accident that killed his mother. He did have two younger siblings that were sent to different homes, he never saw them afterward. Hazel did have an older adopted sister named Morgan, who was often cruel and rude to him. She got him into a lot of trouble and often got him bullied by other children at school, more than he already was. It didn’t help that he was starting to have issues seeing and hearing things, on top of paranoid delusions.

His parents did their best to set him up as much as they could, and he did get better eventually. Therapy and medication got him on the right track, though his night terrors do plague him still. Once he went away to college, Morgan was cut off from the family around the same time after she was arrested for violent breaking and entering. They didn’t see her for a while after that, though at one point she did make a brief appearance. Morgan chased after him and one night broke into his dorms while he was with his girlfriend, Willow. She was killed after trying to wrestle Morgan away from him, and he was bitten by Morgan. Thankfully, he survived, but he did find out that his sister had been turned into a vampire.

Charlie found him in the dorm shortly after the attack, having gone hunting during a blood bag shortage. They took him to the hospital and then offered him a job as a PA at their church, helping transfer all of his college credit over to the local community college where he is now studying psychology and theology. During his time in Melrose though, he begins attending drag performances at a local club and comes upon a gorgeous drag queen...

Maxime St. Martin / Enzée Bytten

Pronouns: He/him (She/her, in drag)

Occupation: Club Owner/Drag Queen

Bloodline: Vampire, former human, Seraphim Lineage

Maker: Gabriel

Origin: Saint Martin d'Oydes en Ariège Pyrénées, France

Love Interest: Hazel Coldbrook

Maxime was born in a small, self contained village where he did not leave much until his late teens. Unfortunately, the reason why he left was not a matter of simply being sick of the small village life, it was due to a much darker purpose. A man named Gabriel had come to the village and infected the residents with vampirism, causing them all to turn on each other night by night. This was but one prong in a grand scheme to build an entire army of vampiric soldiers indoctrinated with Gabriel’s radical beliefs about humans and vampires. Maxime --being young and impressionable-- followed his Maker in his footsteps, having a sort of love for him that one could only have for a Maker.

As the decades went on, Maxime would turn people he met and attempt to sway them to their side of things, but became infatuated with human culture as he went. Eventually he saw the error of his Maker’s ways and began planning a rebellion against Gabriel. Maxime even managed to convince a human soldier who he had picked up during World War II, who he would then turn after he would get severely injured. You could say the plan went off without a hitch, though there were many casualties and a lot of fighting.

Eventually he would move on to the states where he steadily sunk into his trauma, though he would find a club to make his own in Melrose. There he would build a reputation of being cold and calculating, but as Enzée he is warm and lively -- or rather she is.Le Syndicat is where Maxime would meet Hazel, who had just come to the bar for a drink…

VAMPIRES:

Vampirism, lycanthropy, and magic all come from a single source. Different strains of diseases that all come from one person, who thus far has been lost to history, as well as the war that led to the werewolves and vampires becoming tense with each other. Vampires come from the strain that needs blood to survive, but also an undead host. It attacks all systems aside from the nervous, and shuts most of them down. They do process blood but not in the same way that a human would food. Their waste system is completely cut off and their stomach has become oddly misshapen, different. It ‘digests’ the blood and filters it back through the body so that the vampire can use it as a source of energy when healing, keeping them young, and making sure their body doesn’t rot from the inside out due to their functions being cut off. The disease is parasitic in nature this way, but eventually becomes symbiotic. Vampires need blood to survive and can be affected by blood born illnesses, though never die. At least usually. In the cases of aggressive cancers and autoimmune disorders, it can kill the host, but it’s very rare. Those with vampirism can only be turned after being fed on, drained, and then made to drink the blood of a disease carrying host; be born as a Stillborn, or be born as a fully fledged vampire. They are ever immortal, cannot eat human food unless it has blood in it and even then they cannot eat a lot of it, though this is not the same for liquids, and every bloodline has a ‘feral’ type that is different from another. Reproduction is a bit of an unknown for vampires. There are creatures called Stillborns that are the successful offspring of a vampire and a human, or are the human offspring of a vampire when the disease becomes recessive. Almost always the disease is terminal and it kills them, then resurrects them from the ages 19-31. Scientists think this could be the peak age range for humans healthwise, which is why the disease stops their aging as well at that time. Otherwise, vampires can have offspring with other vampires, however it is unsure how. It could be that their reproduction systems come alive when with a compatible partner, but no one knows for sure and it isn’t full proof. Even so most vampires, just as they will do with humans to prevent possible Stillborns, will wear protection when with other vampires. It is whispered that there are ways a vampire and a werewolf could also have child, but seeing as one is dead and one is alive, that is skepticism at best. Vampires who are born from other vampires age very slowly until that 19-31 age range and then suddenly stop. They can of course be created when one is fed off of or drained, then made to drink the blood of a host. These vampires are called ‘newborns’ and are often very attached to their makers. They acquire a Bond, which is crucial for a newborn, though they don’t always get that treatment from their Maker. A newborn without a Bond will have issues trying to feed and they often become feral. If they do form a Bond, they will feel drawn to their Maker for decades if not for life. Some may need extra care and attention, even touch when they’ve been turned. The stage when a newborn becomes a stable vampire varies from bloodline to bloodline. Becoming feral is usually something a vampire wants to avoid. It happens when they are too hungry and have been starved of blood for too long, or sometimes when they experience very strong emotions. The form of being feral varies from bloodline to bloodline, just as it would for werewolves. When being fed off of a human will feel the pain of the bite but then a euphoria will settle, which is dangerous at times. A pheromone is also given off that makes them smell and taste amazing to a human (such as saliva and skin, this is not a reference to cannibalism lmao), which was once so they could draw in prey to better feed off of. In Melrose, vampires and werewolves live together in a tenuous harmony. Again no one really can point out why they have tension but still that thought has lived on in more traditional, and older people of both kinds. They try not to encroach on the others territory and spaces, and their councils work together along with the human government when needed. Vampires answer to the Vampiric Council of their country when a crime has been committed or they need other governmental help. Currently the hub for vampiric activity is in two parts. St. Januarius’ Cathedral, and Le Syndicat, respectively a church and a nightclub. The church is a safehouse for all werewolves, vampires, and humans , and the nightclub is well...a nightclub. One is ran by a charming but seedy priest, and the other is ran by a cold, but sweet once you worm your way into his heart.

WEREWOLVES:

Werewolves, like stated above in the vampire section, come from one large strain. There was a war a very long time ago but no one really knows that anymore, and there’s just some strain among the more traditional folks. Werewolves can be born with lycanthropy, or they can be turned; though werewolves can have offspring with humans at the normal rate unlike vampires. Their children tend to be hyperactive and need a lot of attention to keep their instincts under control, much like newborn vampires. They burn off a ton of calories and usually need to be on a high calorie diet because of this as well as high in iron, which becomes worse during a full moon. Changing in and out of their forms, whether it be bipedal or all fours, tends to burn off a lot of calories and consume a lot of energy. Werewolf kids need that extra supervision so that they don’t hurt themselves during the night, but they will learn to cope as they get older. Pain management those nights is a must, a lot of werewolves keep a well stocked medicine cabinet. Being turned into a werewolf is not as a rampant problem as people used to think, it never was. Usually they can only turn someone during a full moon when their saliva has more kick to it and is full of the lycanthropic strain, which their body has on a cycle much like a period. However, they can turn someone on the odd night but it’s usually just before or just after a full moon, and they will not get the chance to turn someone during a full moon that time around. Werewolves also often experience PMS like symptoms close to the full moon, no matter what gender they are.

Their hair grows very thick and fast, usually covering their entire body in a peach fuzz and growing more prominent on their arms, chest, pubic area, back, head, etc. Sometimes the back of their hands and feet as well. They see exceptionally well in the dark, usually have the speed and strength to rival vampires, and are always on the taller side. Though there are some exceptions, especially for human born wolves, or those turned into one. Aging is slow for them, some can live up to three hundred years before they pass on. Werewolf society usually comes in the form of a pack, designating an Alpha and Betas (usually two to three) in their own way and coming to them for advice as well as governing matters. They have their own council and converse with the human or vampire government if needed. How they govern is really up to them however, just as it is for vampires. In Melrose there are smaller packs everywhere, and a bigger one out on the edge of town. This pack has recently elected (through a physical challenge of the previous Alpha) Dante Kāne as their Alpha, and he has two Betas : Serj Allgood, and Ty Hacon. The previous Alpha, a man named Gunner, is a very traditional man who put into practice not so great things (drug running, not so safe sex work, etc) but Dante is slowly trying to ease the pack into doing better things.

MAGIC:

Magic is an inherited trait, usually through a distant tie to the strain that gave the world vampirism and lycanthropy, or it is learned. Witches can be born to any human, werewolf, or vampire; though most humans still believe magic to not be real. It can also come in the form of anything, blood magic, rituals, soothsaying, fortune telling, necromancy, green magic, etc. It all exists all at once. Some believe in gods, some don’t, it’s all up to the person.

#vampire #werewolf #fantasy #melrose

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undermounts · 4 years

Text

Bound―Chapter 3: Common Ground

Summary: While traveling to Rome, Diana learns about Gaius’s life alone in Europe and is forced to confront the weight of her decisions.

AO3 | Masterlist

Pairing: Gaius Augustine/Diana Leigh (BB MC)

Somewhere in Northern Italy, 2042

The following evening, Diana sat with her arms folded across her chest, nestled in her oversized coat as she slouched in her seat, feet propped up on the seat across from her as the sparsely populated train car gently swayed from side to side. Gaius sat opposite her, looking perfectly normal as he gazed out at the Italian countryside that passed through the window in a dark blur. Their weapons sat in a nondescript black sports bag, one typically used for baseball bats, beneath his seat.

It was still bizarre, seeing Gaius in the modern world. Diana realized that most of her memories of Gaius were not her own but those that she had gathered as the Bloodkeeper and all of those visions had taken place long before her time. Whatever personal memories she had of Gaius usually involved fighting for her life, so there was never time to note just how out of place he was.

“Stop that,” he huffed, not turning away from the window.

“Stop what?”

“Staring.” Gaius rolled his eyes, directing his attention to her at last, gaze cool. “Weren’t you the one who said it was rude?”

Diana frowned, shifting in her seat. “Sorry. It’s just… weird. Seeing you here.”

“Perhaps you should have considered that before proposing I come along with you,” Gaius scowled, turning back to the window, slouching down in his seat and folding his arms. If Diana didn’t know better, she would have assumed he was pouting.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” she amended, brow furrowing as she tried to find the words to explain it properly. “I meant that it’s weird to see you―”

“In pants?” Gaius supplied, eyebrow lifting.

“...Essentially, yeah.” Diana shrugged, pursing her lips and glancing around. Although no one seemed to be paying them even the slightest bit of attention, she lowered her voice, so that only he could hear. “Gaius, so many of my memories of you are the ones I saw in fragments. Decades before I was even born.”

“Is this your way of calling me old, Diana?” His tone was flat, but Diana noticed the way his lip quirked ever so slightly. He was teasing her.

“You said it, not me,” she said innocently, before shaking her head, serious once more. “But you know what I mean.”

He hummed. “I suppose I do. But if I’ve learned anything over the course of my arduous existence, it is how to adapt to the changing times. Just like Kamilah and your Adrian. Just as you will continue to do.”

Just like Kamilah and your Adrian.

Diana winced but didn’t bother to correct him.

She directed her gaze to the window, but instead of a moonlit countryside, she only saw shadows and her own reflection.

“What’s it like?” Diana asked, setting her feet on the floor and sliding into the seat next to her so that she sat directly in front of Gaius, nestled against the wall of the train. “Rome?”

“Never been?” Gaius faced her fully now, their knees just barely touching.

“No,” Diana sighed wistfully. “I thought one of the pros of being a vampire was having an eternity to do whatever you want, but I’ve never had the time. It seems that I only get to travel when I’m on some sort of mission or running for my life.”

There it was again, that nearly imperceptible quirk of his lips. Good to know he could appreciate the irony as well.

“I have… fond memories of Rome,” Gaius admitted. “I spent quite a bit of time there in the early years after I was Turned. I watched it become an empire, watched it fall. I went back a while ago; a lot has changed, but you would be surprised how much is still the same. There is a lot of supernatural activity there―vampires, werewolves, and the like.”

“Wouldn’t it be smarter to go away from hotspots like that?”

“That logic is the exact reason why we are going. If someone is searching for you, say the Daughters of Rheya, they should expect you to steer clear of populated areas. As long as you conceal yourself,” Gaius said with a very pointed look, “it should be a perfect place to lie low until you figure out where we’re going next. And there should be plenty of activity for me to keep tabs on.”

“What, like, vampire attacks on humans? Werewolf and vampire territory wars?”

Gaius scoffed, rolling his eyes. “No. Well, occasionally, that first part. But all sorts of creatures, minor but still troublesome, occupy the city. I try to visit every few years to make sure they don’t get out of hand.”

Diana nodded to herself, tucking this information aside. Rome was heavily populated with vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural beings. Gaius made rounds across Europe, single-handedly watching over an entire continent. She supposed that after nearly twenty-five years of seeing the impossible, none of this should have surprised her. And yet, she couldn’t help but feel as if there was so much she didn’t know, so much of the world she had neglected to see while she was content in New York. Diana frowned; there was one more thing…

“Were you alone this whole time?” Diana asked. She couldn’t imagine wandering around for twenty years, much less on her own.

Gaius simply said, “Yes.”

Her frown deepened. “Didn’t you ever get lonely?”

He fixed her with an odd look as if he either didn’t understand how the question was relevant or why she cared to ask. “There was not a second that went by that I didn’t feel alone, Diana. But what can I do? There was no one I could ask to accompany me, no one I would have asked to do so.”

“Why?” Diana shook her head. “There weren’t any other vampires that wanted to join you?

Gaius pursed his lips as if something about what she suggested was distasteful. “People want stability, humans and vampires alike. They want safety. Most would not consider traveling around Europe in search of murderous beasts to provide either of those things.”

“Then couldn’t you have done something else? Something where you didn’t have to be alone all of the time?” Diana asked. When she had sentenced him to live, she had not given him specific instructions on how to do so. She hadn’t even allowed him to live on the condition that he atone but merely given him the chance to do so.

Gaius’s gaze suddenly went flat, his face a stoic mask. When he spoke, his voice was carefully neutral, devoid of emotion. “With or without Rheya, I am a killer. Do not be mistaken. At least now, I can try to kill the right monsters this time, if it will provide protection to those who need it along the way. I would not subject anyone else to that sort of life with me. So if loneliness is part of the price I must pay in order to atone, then so be it.”

A chill ran down her spine at that. While his expression, seemingly impartial and aloof, reminded her so much of the Gaius of the past, his words were a far cry from who he used to be. It was this difference, more than anything, that unnerved her the most. Perhaps removing Rheya’s influence on him had broken Gaius more than she had thought.

Despite everything, she couldn’t help but feel some compassion for the man across from her. It occurred to her briefly that this could have been part of some scheme, that he was playing up his guilt to deceive her. But for what? The threats to both humans and vampires had gone, and if it came down to a fight, Diana knew how to win. Nevertheless, she could feel his remorse as clear if it were her own. Without even touching his mind, she could sense that he was telling the truth.

“You’re more than just a killer, Gaius,” she said softly, studying his countenance. “Fighting might be what you are good at, but it’s not the only thing you have to do. I think… I think you owe it to yourself to find out what else is out there for you.”

Gaius stared at her, brows drawn together and lips pulled down into a frown. He shook his head and Diana realized that this was the most honest they had ever been for each other. Willingly, at least.

“I don’t understand you,” Gaius confessed after a long moment had passed. “You gave me a second chance on the basis that I would have the chance to atone. That rather than face death, I would face the truth of what I have done. And now that I have, you seem uncomfortable with the notion of it.” He leaned forward, gaze intense and searching, although Diana noticed that she found nothing menacing about this gesture as might have before. “Tell me, Diana. You know who I am and what I have done. You set me off to do some good in the world. Do you not think me deserving of punishment along the way?”

Diana opened her mouth to respond, but paused, realizing she didn’t know what to say to that. There had been times, even within the last twenty years when she had seen some of the lasting effects of Gaius’s misguided ambition, and in her anger, had momentarily wished she had made him suffer just a little bit more.

“I don’t know,” she breathed, surprised that her answer was more complicated than it should have been. Diana sighed and set her forehead against the window, watching the lights of a nearby station grow steadily closer. “Truthfully, sometimes I think I should have punished you somehow. But there’s another part of me that thinks you have already suffered enough.”

When she glanced over at him once more, Gaius was no longer looking at her, but at some distant point inside the train, although she could tell that he wasn’t really seeing. His eyes were distant, lost to some memory she was not privy to.

Diana closed her eyes, suddenly exhausted, mentally and physically. Why did every conversation with Gaius have to be so… taxing? Beyond that, it had been a while since she last fed. Even if she didn’t need blood as often as the average vampire, it still helped keep up her strength, and she didn’t think it would be exactly appropriate to pull out one of her blood packs in public.

“When was the last time you fed?” Gaius murmured and Diana opened her eyes with a start, slightly unnerved that she had just been wondering the same thing.

“I had a blood pack on Adrian’s plane about a day ago,” she shrugged.

“So you do still need it. Blood,” Gaius observed, giving her a look of appraisal. “Rheya fed regularly with me and Xeno, but in your memory, she made it sound as if she only needed it to gain power.”

“I can go without it, but it doesn’t exactly feel great.”

“Hmm.” Gaius hummed, eyes roaming to the sparkling lights visible through the window. “I recognize this town. When the train stops, we’ll have about an hour to find something. Does that work for you?”

Diana licked her lips, running her tongue along the sharp points of her incisors. “Perfect.”

***

The moment they were a safe distance away from the train station, Diana unshouldered her pack and unzipped it, searching for a blood pack when she felt a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

“Not that,” Gaius said, wrinkling his nose in distaste. “I know where we can find something better.”

They were stopped in a rural farming town, surrounded by pastures and rolling hills. Diana followed Gaius down a nondescript country road, their path lit only by the moon overhead. She scrunched up her nose; mixed in with the scent of fresh grass and dew was the unpleasant tang of fertilizer.

“Where are we going?” Diana asked, glancing around. All of the houses were behind them; only farms lay ahead.

Gaius shifted the sports bag that held their swords from his shoulder to hang across his back and shrugged. “You’ll see.”

Before long, Gaius suddenly turned off the road and heaved himself over an old wooden fence, landing in the field on the other side. Hesitantly, Diana followed, taking Gaius’s offered hand as she climbed over the post, although she was quick to drop it once she landed, mud squelching under her boots.

“Gaius, what―”

“Patience,” he murmured, leading her away from the road and up a hill, seeming to have no trouble with the muddy ground that was sucking Diana’s feet down. Diana was relieved when the ground became more solidified near the top of the hill, although her spirits quickly dropped when she heard it. The reason they were here.

“Oh no, you are not serious.”

“It’s better than those sacks of blood,” Gaius quipped, and although she couldn’t see him clearly in the dark, she had a feeling he was rolling his eyes at her. Diana sighed as he continued on to the other side of the hill where familiar shapes roamed.

Cows.

Diana swore but followed anyway. Fresh blood, no matter where it came from, had to be better than the packs.

“You do this often?” she huffed as they stopped beside one of the hulking animals. It seemed to pay them no mind, nonchalantly grazing, its tail swishing in the breeze.

“It’s not often that I find random humans that are willing to let me feed on them, especially when I’m in the middle of nowhere,” Gaius shrugged, reaching out and trailing his hand along the cow’s wide neck.

Despite her misgivings, Diana felt her fangs dig into her bottom lip, ears immediately picking up the animal’s powerful heartbeat, the blood rushing through its veins. Stepping forward and resting her hand against the cow’s flank, she looked to Gaius. “Will it… mind?”

Gaius scoffed. “If you’re asking me if the cow consents, you don’t need to worry. We’re barely more than pests to it. She’ll just be tired afterward, that’s all.”

Diana swallowed, petting the cow’s hide as if she could apologize for what they were about to do. “If you say so,” she mumbled, and then sank her fangs into its neck. On the other side, Gaius did the same, the cow merely grunting in surprise. Diana was pleased to find that its blood tasted pretty much the same as a human’s aside for the slightly bitter taste of dirt from its hide. She drank deeply, feeling strength return to her bones, the familiar tingle of her power once again awakening beneath her skin.

A minute or so later, she pulled back with a gasp, hunger thoroughly sated. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she stepped back unsteadily, nearly overwhelmed with how refreshed she felt as she pricked her finger and sealed the puncture wounds she had left.

“Better?” Gaius was standing beside her, watching her curiously. She hadn’t noticed when he had finished feeding or when he had come so close.

“Yeah,” she breathed, running a self-conscious hand through her hair before settling her hands on her hips. “That was…”

“Filling?” he supplied.

“Humbling.”

Gaius smirked, exhaling a small huff through his nose. Diana supposed it was the closest she could possibly come to ever seeing him laugh.

Before she could truly come to appreciate this odd moment of camaraderie, simple as it was, Gaius’s face fell, lips tightening into a grim line. He swung the long black sports bag over his shoulder and withdrew his gladius, its sharp edge glinting in the moonlight.

“Gaius, what―” Diana started as she turned around, following his gaze. Her mouth dropped open, heart seizing in her chest. “What the hell is that?”

Barely discernible against the dark sky was a large black figure, vaguely shaped into the form of a dog. Tendrils of night wicked off its edges, as if it were made from shadow and darkness itself. Diana would have thought what she was seeing was merely a trick of the light, her mind simply seeing danger where there was none, if it hadn’t been for its eyes . White, glowing orbs burned at the center of the darkness like twin flames of heavenly fire. And they were staring right at her.

Diana took a cautious step back, snatching the bag from Gaius and retrieving her own sword. “Gaius?”

“It’s a Black Shuck,” he said quietly, deathly still and eyes trained on the dog as it remained approximately twenty feet away, unmoving. He held his sword out in front of them with one hand, the other stretched out before her, the gesture almost protective.

“Okay,” Diana nodded, glancing once more at the figure. “But what is it?”

“It’s a sort of spectral hound,” Gaius supplied as he studied the dog, expression focused. Calculating. “Shucks are said to be malicious omens of death, although there are many accounts of them being companionable creatures, especially to maidens and lost travelers. Some are more helpful than threatening. But they’re native to East Anglia… This one is either lost, or it’s here for a reason.”

“So what kind of Shuck is this?” she breathed. “The good or the bad?”

“That remains to be seen.”

“Wonderful,” Diana said, her voice flat as she gave in to her instincts, readjusting her grip on her sword. She willed her heartbeat to slow, settling into that killing calm. She’d fought plenty of monsters before and come out on top. She would do it again if she had to. She was one of the most powerful beings to ever walk the earth. She would not die in some random pasture because of some dog.

Gaius’s concentration broke and he glanced over at Diana, as if sensing the change in her demeanor. If Diana had been paying attention, she would have seen the range of expressions that flurried across his countenance. Surprise, confusion, recognition, fear, and concern. It passed like a shadow, leaving only traces behind as Gaius focused once again on the creature before them.

He took a step back, the arm he extended before Diana encouraging her to do the same. “Slowly, now, Diana. If we can leave without a fight, no one has to get hurt―”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the Black Shuck’s gaze shifted from Diana to Gaius, and it snarled, crouching down as if ready to attack. Diana cast her senses out but could find no trace of the Black Shuck’s presence. There was no power, no energy, no mind or life force for her to control.

“Gaius,” she murmured, voice eerily calm. “I don’t think we’re getting out of here without a fight.”

Diana let out a long breath and held her sword out before her, sensing all of the life forms around her, the cows grazing nearby, the creatures that burrowed into the ground beneath her, and Gaius, a pillar of strength and stability beside her. She heard the crunch of hard-packed earth underfoot and felt the air shift, the tension snap, as the Black Shuck snarled and lunged.

Diana shifted her stance, digging her feet into the ground as she brought her sword up in preparation for a devastating blow when she was suddenly thrust to the side. She stumbled, arm falling to the side, sword missing its target as the Shuck rushed by her in a dark blur and launched itself at Gaius.

Diana barely turned in time to see Gaius toss his blade to the side and throw his arms up, burrowing his hands into the shadowy, shifting fur of the hound. As the Shuck barreled into him, Gaius spun with it, hurling both himself and the beast away from Diana in a tangle of shadow, fangs, and claws.

“Gaius!” Diana shouted, snatching his gladius from where it had fallen in the tall grass. What the hell was he doing? She ran down the hill where Gaius and the Black Shuck had tumbled away.

“Diana, don’t!” Gaius’s voice came from amidst the shadows and she felt a wave of his presence wash over her, a manifestation of his insistence. “It’s trying to protect you.”

Diana didn’t have time to process what that meant, how it was possible that Gaius had exerted some sort of psychic will over her as she raced towards the fight, two vicious shadows in the night. As soon as she was within a few feet of Gaius and Black Shuck, she paused, locating Gaius in the fray. He was bloodied and flagging. That creature never should have gotten a single blow on him, unless Gaius let it.

Diana faltered. Gaius was letting the fight go on. She watched for a moment, noting how he was pulling his punches, doing just enough to project himself and fend off the hound, but careful not to actually inflict serious harm. But why?

The Shuck lashed out, gnashing its teeth mere inches from Gaius’s neck and Diana snapped out of her thoughts. She grit her teeth and closed her eyes. If Gaius wasn’t going to end this, she would. Diana reached out with her power and found Gaius’s presence. She could sense his pounding heartbeat, the blood rushing in his veins. She used this, anchoring her power to his body, and yanked.

Gaius came tumbling away, crashing to the ground at her feet with a grunt. His eyes widened as he pushed himself to his elbows, reaching out towards Diana. “No!”

She ignored him, calmly striding towards the Black Shuck, which now faced her, silver eyes flaring. It did not waver, staring her down as she approached. Diana gripped the swords in her hands, both hers and Gaius’s as she towered over the shadow beast, blood singing with the anticipation of another threat neutralized. The Black Shuck snarled once, then backed away, whimpering.

Something inside of Diana delighted in the sound and snarled, Good.

She raised both of the swords above the creature, prepared to put the dark dog down.

“Diana!”

She glanced over her shoulder, prepared to tell Gaius to just be quiet―

And then she wasn’t in her body. She was on the ground, watching herself from behind, a hand that wasn’t hers outstretched before her. Diana saw herself through Gaius’s eyes, saw her rigid posture, locked in an executioner’s stance, two swords of different makes and eras gleaming silver in the moonlight. She saw her own face, blank and perfectly impassive, dark eyes staring back at her. There was no rage, no fear. Only detached indifference.

Diana came back to her body with a gasp, legs weak beneath her. She once again saw Gaius over her shoulder, his expression alarmed, as if he had sensed her mind merge with his too. Diana tore her gaze from his, once again facing the cowering shadow hound before her. All around her, she felt fear. From the Black Shuck, from Gaius, from herself.

She lowered the swords in her hands, breathing hard. The Black Shuck’s ghostly gaze met hers and she finally sensed its presence, sensed its will. This was not a malicious creature. She felt its intentions, its desire to help and protect.

It had come to protect her.

Before Diana could do anything, the Black Shuck disappeared, dissipating into shadows and wisps of darkness.

“Why?” she asked, her voice faraway in her own ears. “Why did it want to protect me from you?”

“It seems that even mythical dogs know what I have done. It must have thought I was a threat to you. Shucks tend to have a soft spot for wandering women,” Gaius huffed, but Diana had stopped paying attention.

Diana collapsed to her knees, blades falling to the ground, forgotten. She had been prepared to kill the Black Shuck in cold blood. Even before she had sensed its truth, it had backed down, unwilling to fight her. And Gaius had urged her not to get involved.

She had lost herself, given into warped instincts and the power in her veins. She had become… detached.

Diana frowned, eyes falling to the ground. Was this how it began? How power set her apart from everyone else? Not all at once, through pain and anger like it had for Rheya or Gaius, but slowly, as she gradually lost touch with the things that kept her grounded. As she gave pieces of herself away, bit by bit to the immense power at her disposal. Was this why she had started having those dreams about the artifacts? Why she had wanted to go alone to Europe? Why… why she and Adrian had grown apart?

You’re different, Gaius had said. He had known right away.

She heard grass crunch underfoot behind her and turned around, hands shaking in her lap.

“Come on, Bloodkeeper,” Gaius said softly as he stood over her, expression surprisingly tender as he extended his hand. “You’re okay. Let’s get back on that train.”

Diana closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to center herself. She would not lose herself. She had made the right decision before, had resisted the temptation to give in to power. She would do it again. Diana looked up at the night sky, the stars twinkling overhead, and nodded. She took his hand, gathering the fallen swords with the other. “Let’s go.”

Gently, Gaius took the blades from her grasp and set them back in the bag, slinging it across his back. They walked together, side by side, back to the train station, and Diana tried hard not to think about how for the first time in years, she was afraid.

Note: Check out the Black Shuck here.

Tagging: @bigmemesplz, @somin-yin, @bachelorettebound14, @mkamra2355

#gaius augustine #gaius x mc #my writing #bloodbound #adrian raines #kamilah sayeed #jax matsuo #lily spencer #choices #my fic #rheya apostolous #serafine dupont #fanfic

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missjosie27 · 4 years

Text

The Other World- Part 1

Ladies and gentleman, I’d like to say my customary few words before you read this fic. As most in the HM community know on here, there are many who have drawn or written out our characters for this extremely flawed game that we’ve come to love one way or the other. One of the best and most thought out is the one created by @hogwartsmysterystory better known as Ethren Whitecross. I think we can all agree how incredible his writing is and how it’s inspired many people, including myself. This is my own way of saying thank you and to pay homage to his MC.

The following story is split into two parts, since the whole story is too long to release all at once. It is my tribute to him and his writing and I hope you all enjoy reading it. Part 2 will be released tomorrow.

If anyone needs background on my MC, please visit my tumblr page and MC info. I realize not everyone will get the context right away.

Enjoy!

A ringing in David Grant’s ears echoed as though it were the loudest noise on the planet. It was also hardly the only commotion going on at the moment. Within the confines of the Ministry, the scene could be described as quite chaotic.

It’s to be expected. Especially given that You Know Who has been dead for less than forty eight hours.

Standing within the spacious halls of the atrium, the once precocious curse breaker of Hogwarts was a much different man from the days of chasing after his long lost brother. Gone was the easy going smirk, the baby faced features of a teenager ready to take on whatever the world had to throw at him. What remained was a tired, unshaved, long haired ex-Auror who had suffered the trials of war, intrigue and then some. The once warm hazel-blue eyes were dulled to a flint like cynicism unrivaled even by the hardiest of warriors.

With the exception of Harry Potter (the stories were certainly true about his exploits), the law enforcement of Magical Britain had suffered more than most. Some had kept up the charade of the blue robes by staying in the Ministry after Voldemort’s takeover, others were placed under the imperious curse (poor Dawlish), while others yet defected and joined the resistance. But to David, that mattered not. The end of the battle of Hogwarts only brought a simple question to his mind.

Where was his wife?

Memories of the battle against her parents flashed in his mind once more- the sickening crunch of Matthias Snyde’s neck breaking, the unhinged screams of his wife, Lyra, who ordered her daughter to kill him. The battle for the soul of Merula Snyde. It had taken every once of his willpower to break through to her and he was certain she had been placed under the imperius curse herself. No one could control his wife, not unless they were prepared to do so by using the Dark Arts. However, that did not change the fact that she still carried the Dark Mark on her forearm and that in turn marked her as a Death Eater and a traitor.

Funny how fast things can change in the span of two days, he thought humorlessly.

There was no joy in his heart, no consolation to be had. He had stepped into the halls of this Merlin forsaken place for a single purpose and would not leave without knowing that Merula would not spend an eternity in Azkaban for crimes she was not culpable for. Consequences be damned, he would spend an eternity in there with her if he had to.

He needed to see someone with the authority to release her. Someone close to the newly appointed Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt, his mentor and friend. Surely, he would listen.

Finally, amongst the crowd of hectic witches and wizards, he spotted a familiar face, Williamson, one of the few Aurors that had actually been clever enough to escape the Ministry and resist the dark regime before it happened. He was also a protégé of Kingsley and was probably in a position to speak to him given the circumstances, even if they were not the closest of blokes in the past.

He grabbed the shorter man by the shoulder as he hurried by.

“Williamson.”

“Grant?” the dirty blond haired Auror exclaimed. “Is that really you?”

“No, it’s the Archbishop of Canterbury. Of course, it’s me.”

Williamson shook his head.

“Still haven’t lost that infamous sarcasm, have you Grant? It used to be a lot funnier.”

David’s patience, already on thin ice, showed signs of cracking. He had not gone traveled thousands of miles and collected numerous bounties across Europe and the U.S. to bandy words with a lesser Auror.

“You know why I’m here, Williamson. I need to speak to Kingsley.”

The man gave a haughty sigh, though similar to everyone else, he too showed signs of immense fatigue and stress.

“The Minister,” he corrected. “Is not seeing anyone at the current moment as he has quite enough on his plate. Namely, the envoys from France and the United States.”

“He can make time for me. My wife is currently locked up in a cell somewhere in this fucking hellhole and I want assurances she’s not going to be charged with anything.”

Williamson tried to tug himself out of his grip, but David was much stronger and much more seasoned than his counterpart. The former recognized this and attempted to placate him as best he could.

“For God’s sake David, let me go,” he said, shaking his shoulder away. “I don’t know what’s going to happen to your wife. And I don’t think the Minister does either.”

That evasive response got his blood boiling again. Even with Britain and shambles, red tape and bureaucracy still impeded him.

“She’s innocent,” he growled. “She was under the imperius curse and nothing she did was voluntary.”

“We can’t prove that one way or the other. She’s got the mark and is the suspect of several crimes perpetuated against muggle born families.”

David could feel himself going numb, refusing to believe that Merula ever did anything so horrific under her own willpower. It wasn’t possible. Even as young children, when she was at her worst, he never truly believed she was capable of such atrocity.

“You’re wrong….”he managed to choke out. “You’re wrong and I can prove it. I just need to see Kingsley.”

This time it was Williamson’s turn to get serious as he received a hard stare.

“Frankly, you don’t have much to stand on either. Your own conduct in this war is under scrutiny as well. We’ve received word from the American, German, and Russian governments about various undertakings that occurred under your watch. Bounties, assassinations…”

“I did what I had to,” David replied with quiet fury. “You have no right to judge me for anything, Williamson. I’ve suffered through enough, I’ve…” he barely contained the lump in his throat as thoughts of the deceased permeated through his mind, people he’d never talk to or interact with again. People he loved.

“I just want my wife back. Please, she doesn’t deserve to be treated like the rest of those monsters.”

A flicker of sympathy appeared on his colleague’s face, but it was clear from his defeated posture there was nothing he could or was willing to do.

“I’m sorry, Grant. My hands are tied. The dust hasn’t even settled at Hogwarts nor on this new Ministry and you come barging in here demanding a Death Eater be released? Not only can I not guarantee such an action, but the question of your reinstatement among the Auror office remains to be seen as well. I’m sure the Minister will see you when he has sufficient time. Until then, there’s nothing I can do.”

And with that he walked off without another word, leaving David with no prospects or immediate solutions to his problem. He was completely and truly alone.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Quiet. Then again, this place was always quiet.

In the aftermath of his plea falling on deaf ears, David did not heed Williamson or any other Ministry official. Given the chaos surrounding Britain, there was no one to stop him from going into the Department of Mysteries, namely the room of death.

He had only been in here once. And that was in the aftermath of a massive battle between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters over some ancient prophecy that You Know Who had desired for some reason or another (the circumstances surrounding his connection with Harry Potter were still dubious). That basically had been mop up duty and ensuring that Tonks was not too seriously hurt.

A massive lump formed in his throat at the thought of the pink haired witch, one of his best friends and partners in crime. Seeing her body- pale, cold, and fragile body on the stone floor of Hogwarts- was too much to bear. Despite Tulip’s attempts to console him, there was no consolation to be had.

David shut his eyes as silent tears rolled down.

Tonks, Fred, Talbott, Badeea, Ben….they’re all gone. They’re gone and I’ll never be able to see them again.

If there had been a stray rock or pebble, he would have flung it into the archway itself. But there was none to be had. The emptiness was symbolic of room itself, black and devoid of life. Personification of death, the lives robbed by its random cruelty. Because that’s what this was in his mind: simply cruel

Dropping to his knees, he ran his hands through his almost-shoulder length hair, the tears dripping off the stubble of his chin and onto the floor. By now the shock of the battle had well worn off and the only thing remained was the unadulterated, raw pain that marked its end. Hundreds were dead, including numerous friends and coworkers. And now his wife was essentially condemned to live out the rest of her days in prison, victim of a family legacy forced upon her.

It’s my fault, he thought to himself. I couldn’t protect her. I let her fucking manipulative, piece of shit parents get their hands on her and now our entire lives are bloody dead on arrival.

After all the fighting, after all of his efforts to find Merula and end the pestilential war that plagued the U.K. for almost twenty years, he had failed. Even with You Know Who dead, the ideology he perpetuated took a piece of himself and his life with him.

What was the point? What was there left to live for or hold onto? Merula wasn’t dead but she might as well have been- a fantasy of something that wasn’t coming back. Just like Tonks.

Like Ben….

Like Badeea…

Like Talbott….

There is no point, came the internal conclusion.

Suddenly, David felt another presence within the room. At first, he believed it to be some stuck up official who was about to order him to leave (in which case he would have been in for a rude awakening) but he found that the feeling was much different than sensing a person sneaking up behind you. No, this was…supernatural.

The presence was not one entity, rather it felt like multiple. Even more unsettling was that these entities seemed to speaking to him.

David Grant…..David Grant

It was barely more than a whisper, but it was extremely audible, as though the message was specifically designed for his ears only.

David Grant….David Grant

He looked around and realized that this voice, or voices, were coming from the mysterious archway itself. Even more mysterious, he felt drawn to it, despite his own fear.

“Who…who are you?” he said standing up walking towards the archway.

Come….Come….

“Come where? I don’t understand.”

Come see….come see….

At this point, David was so delirious, so filled with grief and emotion he didn’t even consider he might be going mad. Who were these spirits that desired to speak with him? What did they want to show him?

“Tonks?” he asked aloud, swallowing his throat. “Ben? Talbott? Grandpa? Is that you?

He reached his hand toward the shadowy, white substance that moved about within the archway, all rationality forgotten. The knowledge that this door was the veil to a world beyond life, to death itself, did not register.

I can see my friends again. Maybe I can go to a place and be with Merula again and start over. No war, no pain. Just a life worth living, a life better than this…

As the tip of his index finger touched the veil a white, hot flash blinded him as a force more powerful than he had ever experienced tore into the very soul of his being. Time and space seemed to be ripping itself apart and back again as he was plunged into an unknown cosmic channel that seemed to go faster than the speed of light, yet slower than the oldest tortoise. Just as David thought he might go mad from the insanity around him, everything went black.

Then he knew no more.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The scent of daisies and wildflowers wafted in the air, carried by a soft breeze. The air was warm and tender as it was on a summer day in Britain. The chirping of birds signified the season and the promise it offered to all creatures.

Hazel blue eyes fluttered open.

Thinking back to what just occurred, David sat up and saw that he was in a meadow on the edge of a forest of some sort. Tall grasses partially obscured his view, and the ground itself was so soft, he almost wished to remain there. However, curiosity got the better of him.

Standing up, the scene became more familiar. This was no ordinary meadow. It was a place he and someone very dear to him had once visited during a weekend at Hogwarts. A peaceful place that had been the spot of one of the greatest moments of his life.

This is Hogwarts. Or at least the edge of the grounds.

He saw the forest, the same one he once saw Fenrir Greyback emerge from in his first year, its tall trees just as imposing as ever, though less so in daylight. To his north, was the castle itself, its massive presence right where he left it…except it wasn’t. There were no visible signs of damage to the longstanding magical institution, at least none that he could see. It was as if the Giants who had wreaked havoc with their clubs on the towers, never existed in the first place.

Frowning, David turned his gaze downward. Though the day was cloudy, visibility was still strong. The hoops of the Quidditch pitch could be seen even from this distance. Sloping all the way across the hill was Hagrid’s hut, the fire damage to its roof also gone.

“What on earth?” he muttered to himself. This couldn’t be Hogwarts, he was just there. The state of the school was a mess and the physical damage immeasurable. How could it have been gone in the span of one day? Come to think of it, how long had he actually been out for after he touched that veil?

“Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea, after all,” he said aloud. “But how in the hell did I get here?”

Whatever the case, he needed to find out what exactly was going on. If a significant amount of time had passed, Merlin only knew what happened since his absence.

But before he did, another marking caught his eye, one that he was unfamiliar with. To the untrained eye, it looked like a piece of dark granite stuck in the middle of the ground, but David knew better. Whatever it was, it warranted a closer look. As Kingsley always told him- “Check every aspect of your surroundings. If something is out of the ordinary, investigate with caution and care.” As David often joked, it was his own version of ‘constant vigilance’ employed by Mad-Eye Moody. Really, it wasn’t a surprise the smooth and capable man became Minister.

Deciding to test apparation this far from the school itself, he discovered that there were no wards and saved himself the walk.

Upon closer inspection, he saw that the gray semi-obelisk was actually a monument. A monument to those who had died in the fighting against Voldemort and his forces during that fateful night. He read the inscription.

Here lies those who willingly gave their lives in the face of the greatest evil our world has yet seen. May their sacrifice never be forgotten, and their memories preserved by the love of family and friends. This monument is a tribute to them and the day of May 2nd, 1998.

David could feel goosebumps rush down his body as he glanced at the names engraved on the stone. There was at a least a hundred, which thinking back to the official dead count was about the number killed in the battle. His heart sank as the casualties remained unchanged, ‘Nymphadora Tonks’, ‘Remus Lupin’, ‘Fred Weasley’, ‘Ben Copper’, and others were all listed. Curiously, however, there were others he didn’t even recognize while some were conspicuously absent. Badeea’s name was not among the dead nor was Talbott Winger. One of the names, a man by the name of ‘Ethren Whitecross’ had the stars and stripes flag next to it, signifying he was American.

“There were no Americans at that battle as far as I know,” David said to himself. “I spent the last two weeks of the war trying to bloody well convince them not to intervene, didn’t I?”

It suddenly occurred to him, that this monument had to have been created after the epic battle and sure enough when he checked the creation date, his guess proved to correct.

“Commemorated September 1st, 1998,” he said. “Paid for by the Board of Governors with the consent of Headmistress Minerva McGonagall.”

David almost had to sit down again and suddenly felt very disoriented.

I’m…I’m in the future, he realized. But how is this possible? Has such a thing ever been confirmed?

Sure, there were stories, but they were usually old wives tales, legends that carried no bearing on reality. Though time turners technically had the ability to send someone back in time, they were all destroyed three years prior and besides, it could only send you to the maximum of thirty-six hours back in time not forward.

There was no question, he needed answers. And the sooner he received them the better. What year was it? Were people wondering where he went? What was the state of the Ministry? Was Kingsley still in charge? Were the Death Eaters given trial or executed? His stomach then dropped a few notches.

Merula

Above all else, the fate of his wife was the most important aspect of this investigation. If something had happened to her without him there to defend her honor…well he didn’t want to think about that just yet.

“She’d come and find me no matter where she was and tear my ear off,” he said with a dry chuckle.

Wasting no more time, David decided to visit the Ministry first. They would surely hold the records and documents about all trials, prisoners, and even the status of current, ex, or retired Aurors. People might be shocked or incredulous to see him barge in randomly, but it was worth a shot.

Making sure he maintained the necessary distance from the wards, David apparated away and in a flash was gone.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Unbeknownst to everyone aside from the Minister and the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, there was a secret entrance to the Auror Office in a random pay phone booth in Manchester. As part of their training and oath, they were not allowed to use it except in cases of extreme emergency such as an attack or during a war. And though David’s situation didn’t qualify under either circumstance, he figured that going missing for God knows how long and not knowing what happened was enough of an excuse. Besides, if Tonks didn’t get caught for sneaking a whole case of beer during training, it was a safe bet no one would give him grief over this either.

Trying not to think about Tonks and making sure no muggles were looking, David stepped into the booth, awaiting to be transported to the main Auror office. It was quite a simple process. The old muggle machine had been charmed to recognize the magical signature of any law enforcement officer in its ranks. All you had to do was place your wand in the tray, say aloud your name and you’d be whisked away to the halls of the Aurors.

David did just that, as he could feel the magical sensors checking him over including multiple dark detectors.

“David John Grant,” he said, showing his badge.

However, instead of finding himself inside the Ministry in the next second, a wave of green slime appeared out of nowhere, drenching him from head to toe in a disgusting ooze.

“ACK! What the f-”

He quickly exited the booth to the curious glances of some muggle onlookers, who were no doubt attracted by the minor commotion. Giving them all a quick smile and a wave, David ducked behind one of the brick buildings the city was known for, cursing himself and the booth.

A few cleaning charms later, there was little trace of the substance on him (save for his vans) but the incident only brought more questions. Why had the secret entrance denied him? Technically speaking, he hadn’t officially resigned from the Aurors when he went into hiding and took up being a vigilante. His magical signature and badge should have been more than enough to avoid the pitfall of having that odious slime dropped all over him. It was merely a safeguard against dark wizards, but it also revealed something else.

Whatever the reason, the Ministry no longer recognized his credentials. That in itself was an ominous sign. If he wanted answers, he would have to go about it the old fashioned way.

Ensuring no one was peering into the alley, David apparated out of sight once more.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

One trip to London and a red phone booth later, David was finally inside the Ministry. Walking down the sleek, marble halls, it was almost exactly as he had remembered- the same statues, same fountain, same amounts of flying memos zooming in and out of their respective stations. The hustle and bustle was back and there was no sign of any damage from the war.

If the Ministry looks this good, it must be a fairly long time since the last battle.

Even more promising was the person sitting at the front entrance desk. David recognized those dark features and orange sideburns anywhere: Talbott Winger. He was wearing the blue robes most Aurors did while on duty and that was also a good sign. He, Tonks, and Talbott were the last ones accepted for mentorship in 1991 which meant he would know just what the hell was going on.

He was just about to greet his old friend, until he stopped dead in his tracks, recalling the monument and how Talbott’s name wasn’t on the list of the fallen. Seeing him alive and well at the Ministry all but confirmed this was the case. But this only brought more confusion to David’s already very bamboozled mind.

He died during the battle. I witnessed it with my own eyes. So if this is the future, how can he still be alive?

None of this was making any sense at all. Nevertheless, David knew that he had to try and do something to figure this mess out. Though naturally reserved, Talbott did not hesitate to help the rare few he called ‘friend’. Perhaps he could provide some assistance, whatever the reason for this madness.

“Hey, Talbott.”

The ebony skinned wizard looked up, his sharp eyes penetrating him like the hawk of his animagus form.

“Can I help you?” he asked, his voice betraying no hint of recognition.

David rolled his eyes playfully as he leaned on the desk.

“Come on, mate. Quite having me on. It’s Dave.”

An awkward silence followed as he sought to clarify.

“David Grant.”

Again, the name did not compute as Talbott merely gaze a polite look of bewilderment.

“I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met.”

Okay, now this was definitely getting weird. How did Talbott, even if he was somehow not dead, not even know who he was?

“Talbott, I’m your friend. David Grant. We went to Hogwarts together. I helped you find your lost necklace that your mother gave you.”

That statement lit up the dark, brown eyes of the animagus though it was not out of familiarity, rather the emotion seemed to be pain and shock.

“I don’t know how you know about that, but I can assure you, you were not the one to help me find my necklace nor did I attend Hogwarts with you. Now, is there something I can help you with?”

David was practically reeling. How was it possible that the man he had gone through so much with didn’t even so much as recognize him? It didn’t make sense. Nothing about this made sense.

Alright, at the very least, I can get in here, find my old office and pour through some old files. I’m sure whoever’s in charge now can clear this up.

“Yeah…uh…I’m an Auror,” he said showing his badge. “Listen, I’ve been gone awhile for reasons you wouldn’t believe anyway but I just need to get to my old office and talk to someone. Is that possible at least?”

“Give me your badge and wand.”

Short and to the point, no time for idle chit chat. That was Talbott alright, which made the situation all the more disconcerting.

Talbott took his items and examined them, muttering a few standard identification and security spells, before getting up from his chair.

“One moment, please.”

David raised an eyebrow but didn’t object. Though he didn’t know why a simple identification spell required going into a backroom, he was sure whatever issue popped up would be cleared soon enough. After what seemed like half an hour (it was only ten minutes, but it seemed longer), Talbott returned and handed his wand and badge back to him.

“I’m not quite sure what the issue is, sir. But there’s no record of any David Grant of having worked for the Auror Department, or any other Ministry job for that matter.”

The twenty five year old leaned forward slightly, as if not hearing him correctly.

“I’m sorry what?”

“Your badge is authentic but there’s no employment history of anybody with your name here. When I applied more tests to your wand, it didn’t match any current witch or wizard in the entirety of the United Kingdom, nor anything ever sold from Ollivanders.”

This time the confusion was shared by both men, as David looked incredulously at his wand and badge as though he no longer knew what they were, while Talbott appeared to be a cross between dumbfounded and even a tad sympathetic.

“Nothing at all? No David, or John Grant or anyone with that name?”

“Nothing. If it makes you feel any better, I’ve never seen anything like this before. I want to believe you. But as far as the government is concerned, you don’t exist.”

David let those words hit him a few times before even contemplating a course of action.

As far as the government is concerned, you don’t exist

You don’t exist…

You don’t exist….

“I-I don’t understand,” he finally spoke aloud.

“Neither do I,” Talbott affirmed. “But unfortunately, I can’t let you in the Ministry at this time. I’m sorry.”

David didn’t even bother to argue the point. It seemed as though every time he found a simple method to answer his questions, the end result would just add more to his ‘to-do’ list. The revelation that the British Ministry held no record of anyone with his name was the icing on the cake.

“Well…uh…thank you anyway.”

Turning around to leave, there was one more question burning on David’s mind, one that he was sure even this version of Talbott wouldn’t mind revealing.

“Would you at least mind telling me this? What day and year is it?”

Talbott gave him a questioning look but gave him a straight answer.

“May 4th, 1999,” he answered.

So a whole year has passed? That explains why the war damage has been fixed. But not everything else. Including my own status as living, breathing person.

Then he noticed something else. A small pin attached to the front of Talbott’s Auror robes. Upon closer inspection, he saw it was an American Flag, the second one he had seen today.

“I beg your pardon but why do you have a lapel of the United States flag?”

“Full of questions, aren’t we? It’s a commemoration.”

David didn’t understand but then again what else was new. He needed to ask for more.

“What does America have to do with the commemoration of the end of the war?”

There was no mistaking the obvious look of pain and sorrow on Talbott’s face this time. So distraught that look was, he shifted his gaze to the side.

“The citizens of the United Kingdom weren’t the only ones who gave up their lives in order to stop You Know Who.”

It was there that David ceased, prudently unwilling to press the matter further. Talbott wasn’t going to speak more on the subject anyway and to do so would have been inappropriate anyway.

“Thank you for your help, good day.”

David didn’t turn to witness Talbott’s reaction. He had seen enough. From being thrusted a year forward in time, to seeing an old friend alive, right down to his own seemingly non-existence, this whole scenario was becoming positively ridiculous. And if he couldn’t find information at the Ministry there was another source he could turn to.

It was a time for a trip to Diagon Alley.

#ethren whitecross #david grant #harry potter #hogwarts mystery #tribute #fanfiction #talbott winger #nymphadora tonks #battle of hogwarts #au #hphm #hphm fanfiction

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twilightprince101 · 4 years

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Why I love Yan-Shu Chi/Leopard Cat: A Character Analysis

While I am fully aware that I don’t need to have a reason to love an F/O and self ship, I still want to explain why exactly I love this boy so much. I still love Likulau and Lin Hu just as much-refer to my carrd, we’re in a poly relationship-but I feel like Shu Chi overall is in a different bag than them.

I absolutely adore his antics and how cute he looks (I mean look at that face. How can you say no to that face), but what I want to focus on is his actions throughout the game, more specifically: Shu Chi’s self perception and his actions surrounding that. For a while I didn’t know why I loved him so much, but after playing through the game three times now and seeing his actions with full context, I believe I now know where my affection comes from.

(Spoilers for all of Nekojishi. Also to clarify, I’m solely referring to the SFW version, I like to pretend the NSFW version doesn’t exist)

So for anyone who doesn’t care about going through and playing Nekojishi themselves or it’s been a while since you’ve played, here’s the general gist for Shu Chi: From the beginning you are introduced to Leopard Cat as a spirit that is possessing Liao/MC/Your classmate, Yan Shu Chi, doing so in order to try to convince you to help him with repairing his spirit temple. However he does insist that since he is possessing Shu Chi’s body, he has all his memories and should be treated as one and the same, and throughout the game you do.

But if you stick to his route until the end, the truth is revealed: The real Yan Shu Chi is dead, killed by the Leopard Cat spirit you’ve grown to know.

Apparently Leopard Cat is not actually a god, but a devilish yaoguai, born at first like a natural predator, eating people’s souls to survive. With each soul he consumed he gained that one’s intelligence and memories, slowly becoming more intelligent until eating human Shu Chi and quite literally becoming him. The entire time he tried to get close to you was to eat your soul since it was special *obvious hand waving* and needed to eat to survive.

At the end of the game though, you’re able to talk him down and through help from Lin Hu, transform him into a half-god, no longer needing to prey on others in order to live normally, in exchange for continuing to pretend to be Shu Chi for the sake of his friends and family. Blah blah blah, happy ending for everyone!

So now that his actions have been explained, let’s get into the real meat of this whole thing: Shu Chi’s self perception and overall growth in his ability to trust (for simplicity and epilogue’s sake, I’m going to continue referring to him as Yan Shu Chi).

Now knowing that Shu Chi was putting up an act in order to deceive you, it’s easy to realize that his actions early in the story were just attempts to get close and trick you. His moving in with you, constantly pestering to go on dates, his quirky and pretty boy attitude: all of those are a part of his facade. But as the story progresses, the line between act and true feelings becomes blurry as he is shown true, unconditional kindness.

Around the mid-point in the story, Shu Chi has to move out and go back home to his family, as they don’t agree with his lifestyle and sexuality. Since Shu Chi is still putting up an act, he needs to leave in order to preserve it. But if you bought him the husky hat in his first date, making sure to clean it while keeping his stuff laid out during his absence, you give it to him as he is about to leave, and he’s shocked by this.

Let it be known that, growing up, it was quite literally in his nature to prey on others. He had to in order to survive and it was all he knew, so he couldn’t even fathom the idea of doing things for others and was-in all senses of the word-unable to change. He was never shown kindness as a yaoguai, always hunting and being hunted, hurting others because it was the only thing he knew. Even through the first half of the game he doesn’t see the stuff you do for him as acts of kindness, as he was the one that prompted them in the first place like going to hot springs and having a picnic.

You keeping the husky hat for him is the first time Shu Chi has ever been shown unprompted, unconditional affection. Because of this, self doubt had begun to form and as he turns to leave, he needs to actively hold back tears.

It’s at this point the cracks begin to show in Shu Chi’s act. For the first time he has been shown kindness and affection, entirely unprompted, without asking for anything in return. He begins to doubt not only his actions, but himself, wondering if any of this is worth it, or if he is even worth it. For a while, he distances himself from you, in hopes of trying to rid himself of these feelings. But those feelings don’t go away, the guilt grows into self-loathing and only gets worse.

Later on during a date in the arcade, Shu Chi says that he will soon have to stop possessing your friend’s body, as his spirit power is slowly fading away to nothing due to his loss of followers and his temple. This is still a lie in his act as Shu Chi, but it isn’t done to prey on you, it’s done to distance himself from you even more, out of fear that he’ll just go on to hurt you down the line.

But once again Liao does something he doesn’t expect: offers to build him a temple in his room. The underlying rules for gods in this game is that their life force is tied to spirit power, which comes from worship. This worship doesn’t have to be at a temple, but it is stronger there, and as long as one person worships him he will have enough power to stick around. So by Liao/you offering this, you’re giving Shu Chi a chance to live on.

This moment, this moment right here, is the moment that absolutely breaks him. In an attempt to distance himself from you, to get away in an attempt to keep you safe, he is offered a true act of kindness without asking for anything in return. This person he has lied to and plotted against for so long, under the pretense of yet another lie, is willing to help purely for the sake of helping.

It’s at this point he realizes: He truly does love you, and to him, that is hell.

His self-loathing spikes as he struggles with all of the guilt that has piled up, and just for a moment his act drops, admitting to you that he does in fact want to stay and be with you. But the fact that he is a yaoguai, that he has to prey on others in order to survive, plagues him. It is unknown if at the start he was comfortable with what he was, but for the rest of the game he is disgusted with himself. “I want to be with you, I want to stay with you, I don’t deserve you, I am a monster.”

Of course, if I’m talking about Shu Chi, there’s one thing I know I have to mention: the bad endings. Throughout Nekojishi there are a handful of bad ends, but for Shu Chi there are mainly two, both following the same order of events. Liao gets hit by a truck, and as he slowly dies, Shu Chi pulls you into a dream where he is your guardian tiger, putting him at ease in his last moments. But while they follow the same events, the context of both of these scenes are drastically different.

For the first one, it is a little before he moves out. Shu Chi lures you into the street on purpose to be hit, pulling you into the dream as a way to lower your guard so he can consume your soul. For the second one though, it is immediately after the arcade scene, after Shu Chi realizes that he wants to be with you, wants your affection. He still lures you into the street to get hit, but he immediately regrets it after, mourning the loss of the only one that cared for him.

When he pulls you into the dream this time though, it isn’t so he can consume your soul. It’s so he can continue to be with you. He realizes that, through all of this, he still does want to be with you, but he feels like he can only do so through lies. So as you’re on your death bed, he creates a dream where he can be with and comfort you in your last moments, paying back the affection you’ve given him. He wants to love you, he wants to be loved. But in his eyes, this is the only way that can happen: through lies.

From the arcade date onward, the self loathing and self hatred grows even more, with his perception of “I am a monster” lingering throughout. After enough time, eventually, he begins to truly believe that. “I am a heartless monster, that is all I will ever be.” Because of this self-perception, in the climax of the game, he leaves in the most messy and destructive way possible: tricking Likulau into trying to kill you and running away.

But through the help of Lin Hu and Likulau, you track him down and talk to him. Through all of his self-hatred over being a Yaoguai, he’s fully convinced himself that he is a monster, and it is in his nature to hurt others. Not a choice, but an inevitability. So instead of staying with the threat of hurting you down the line, he burned the bridge with gasoline and napalm.

As the conversation progresses though, it’s clear that through all of this, Shu Chi is just afraid. Not just of losing you, but through everything. As a yaoguai who was raised to prey on others, he was-in a way-born evil. So those that were “good” hunted him to protect others. Gods treated Yaoguai as a menace, so they had to become more devious to survive. Shu Chi isn’t evil, he was raised to believe he was.

So now that both Lin Hu and Likulau have him cornered, with his actions being brought to light, he thinks that he’s going to die. If he runs, he’ll be hunted. If he stays, he’ll likely be killed. There’s no way out. He’s nearly entirely committed to this act he put on to fool himself. But one final act of kindness makes that act completely crumble: being spared and turned into a half-god, freed from having to hurt others.

It’s important to clarify that Shu Chi wasn’t forced to come back to negotiate. He chose to do it himself. In his mind he feels like he’s going to die no matter what he does. So when he was presented a choice, he came back. The act of being presented a choice alone broke the act he built up for himself. Even if either ended in his own death, he came back, because he wanted a reason to live.

These final moments truly show Yan Shu Chi’s character. He’s not a monster, he was raised to believe he was. He’s not evil, he’s just scared of affection. Then, finally given a chance to live on without hurting others, he is brought to tears.

All of this is why I love Shu Chi. Throughout his entire life he believed himself to be a monster, but over the course of the game through acts of kindness, he slowly transformed from a being who’s sole purpose was to hurt others into a human longing for affection and a reason to live.

This isn’t a quick fix ending either, it still takes a long time for Shu Chi to accept who he is and he still feels immense guilt for what he’s done. This can even be seen in the epilogue, where he puts others’ happiness over his own, doing something that could potentially get him killed in the process. But in the end, he still wants affection, and compared to how he started out, he is an entirely different spirit.

That is why I love Yan Shu Chi. Not because he’s cute, not because he’s playful. I love him because he is flawed. I love him because of how much he’s grown over the course of the story. I love him because of him trying to protect others from himself, even if they hurt others in the end. I love him because in the end he isn’t evil, just unlucky. I love him because in the end he just wants affection.I love him because of how he realized he has just enough potential to be good as other people.

I love Yan Shu Chi because despite everything, despite the way he was raised, despite what he has done, despite everyone else and even himself saying otherwise,

Yan Shu Chi is human.

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sceptilemasterr · 5 years

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ES Act 3, Scene 9 - Midnight Vigil

Title: Endless Summer: The (un)Official Screenplay

Main Pairings: Estela x Ian (M!MC), Jake x Alyssa (F!MC)

Other Pairings: Craig x Zahra, Grace x Aleister, Michelle x Sean, Diego x Varyyn

Genre: Full Rewrite

Rating: PG-13 for swearing, violence, alcohol, and sexuality

Summary: That night, Ian gets an unexpected visitor.

Previous Scene: “Not Just Anyone”

Masterlist: Link

A New Note: Being an Estela stan myself, I know the slow burn of her relationship here must be frustrating, especially in contrast to Jake and Alyssa in the previous scene! I felt it fit her character better to open up more slowly, but don’t worry, she and Ian will get their “30-diamond” moment eventually. Plus, this scene has a lot of plot and I didn’t want to alienate anyone who’d rather skip the steamy scenes!

The Note Strikes Back: There are some hints toward it here, but the whole backstory with Olivia, Rourke, and Lila is going to be significantly different from canon and probably the biggest plot divergence thus far!

Return of the Note: Those of you who’ve read my Estela anthology fic might recognize a certain moment here...

INT. HONEYMOON SUITE - NIGHT

Much later that night, Ian lays in bed, eyes open, turning restlessly as he tries to fall asleep. There is a soft knock at the door. Ian jumps and narrows his eyes at the door suspiciously. Slowly, carefully, he gets out of bed and creeps as quietly as possible to the door. He peeks through the peep-hole... and immediately opens the door when he sees who it is, trying and failing to smooth down his bed-head as he does so. Estela is standing on the other side, looking incredibly nervous. It is a massive contrast from her usual demeanor.

IAN: ...Estela?

ESTELA: Ian. I can’t sleep. Do you mind if I... if I join you for a while?

IAN: I, uh, well... of course! Sure! I- I mean... I couldn’t really sleep much either, to be honest.

Estela sighs in relief and visibly relaxes. She enters the room, closing the door behind her, and crosses to the bed, where she sits down. After a brief hesitation, Ian joins her, and the two sit side-by-side. Neither says anything for several moments, until finally:

ESTELA: I hate this... it’s like this island is taunting me. I’m no closer to finding what I came for, and now we might die tomorrow at the hands of these... these “Hostiles” that apparently just appeared out of nowhere!

She grunts in frustration. Ian tentatively puts an arm around her shoulder, and to his surprise, she leans in rather than pulling away.

IAN: Come on. We’re tougher than that. You’re tougher than that. If anyone’s gonna die to those elf guys, it’s not gonna be you.

ESTELA: You don’t know that.

IAN: Pretty sure I do, actually. I’ve seen you fight, Estela. I may not know your mission, but I promise you’ll get the chance to do... whatever it is you’re here to do.

ESTELA: I probably owe you an explanation, don’t I? I’m sorry for not telling you sooner-

IAN: Seriously, I get it. You don’t need to tell me if you don’t want to.

ESTELA: I do want to. You’ve already earned my trust. You deserve to know.

She takes a deep breath and sighs, then continues:

ESTELA: I don’t... don’t exactly know what to say. Where to start. My mother, I suppose.

She takes Ian’s hand in hers.

ESTELA: I grew up in San Trobida. My father died the day before I was born, and I was raised by my mother and my tio... my uncle. But my mother was always traveling. Working. All for me. Trying to save enough money to move my tio and I out of San Trobida and into a peaceful, safer life. She wanted nothing more than that. To know that I would someday be able to live in peace, grow old, start a family if I wanted. Everything she did, she did for me.

IAN: It sounds like she cared about you a lot.

Estela smiles.

ESTELA: She was. That’s why she spent so many years working for Rourke International.

IAN: Wait, what? Your mom worked for Rourke?

ESTELA: Yes. Here on this very island.

Ian’s jaw drops.

IAN: Here. At the Celestial?

ESTELA: I’m not sure. On La Huerta, certainly. She was always so secretive about her work; it was for our own safety that we not know too much. I think even then, some part of her knew how dangerous this island, and Rourke, could be.

IAN: Rourke is... dangerous? I mean, from what I’ve heard, he’s kind of a smug jackass, but-

ESTELA: Very dangerous. More than you know. More than I realized... until her last letter.

She shuts her eyes tightly, blinking back tears. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a yellowing, wrinkled, torn sheet of paper, handing it to Ian.

ESTELA: This letter hasn’t left my side since it was sent to me, two years ago. I haven’t shown this to anyone besides my tio.

Ian unfolds the letter, reading it aloud. As he reads, his voice transitions into the voice of Estela’s mother, OLIVIA MONTOYA, in voiceover.

IAN/OLIVIA: My dearest Estelita: I do not have much time. This island is no longer safe. Someone here is trying to have me killed. I do not know who, but I have discovered a horrible secret about this island, and about our very world. If I do not survive, you must finish what I began. Go to Rourke’s island. From the gates: 55, 90, 19, 08. Look beneath. You will understand. Trust no one there but Rourke. Someone on his staff is the killer. Stay safe, my daughter. Stay safe, Estelita.

Ian stops reading and looks at Estela, who is staring down at her hands, clenched tightly into fists.

ESTELA: If only she knew. Not two days later, we received another letter. Directly from Rourke International. It claimed that my mother had died in an “unfortunate incident.” But I knew better.

Ian nods, coming to the same conclusion Estela had.

IAN: Rourke did it. Your mother thought she could trust him... and he killed her.

Estela’s gaze turns cold and steely.

ESTELA: I vowed, then and there, to come to this island, discover the secret that my mother had died for... and to avenge her death.

IAN: You’re here to... kill Rourke?

ESTELA: Or die trying. I got lucky, winning this contest. I had come to Hartfeld because I knew Rourke had a son who hated and resented him; I planned to find out who he was and convince him to help get me to La Huerta.

IAN: So that’s why you stood up for Aleister back there.

ESTELA: Exactly. As soon as he told us he was Rourke’s son, the pieces all clicked into place. He’d been the one I was trying to find all this time.

IAN: Makes sense. So do you have any idea where Rourke might be? Aleister said he was supposed to be here this week.

Estela pauses, looking at Ian curiously.

ESTELA: I don’t know what reaction I expected, but... you really still want to help me? After I told you I want to kill Rourke? Most people would try to talk me out of it. Tell me I don’t need revenge. Or that “it’s dangerous,” as if I don’t already know that.

IAN: I promised I’d help you, didn’t I? And I never break a promise. Besides, Rourke’s the reason I’m stuck on this island in the first place, so it’s not like I’ve got any love for the guy. He already seemed like a total dick anyway.

Estela laughs for a moment at Ian’s comment, then turns serious once more.

ESTELA: I... I don’t know why I’m telling you all of this. All this time, I never... I never wanted to trust anyone. I never even told my tio what I’d done, before I left for Hartfeld under a fake name.

She swallows hard and looks away, searching for words. Ian waits for her patiently.

ESTELA: I can’t explain it. I don’t really... I’ve never felt like this about anyone before. I feel like I can trust you, Ian. With anything. When I’m with you, it just feels... I don’t know. Comfortable. Familiar. Like we’ve known each other...

Her voice trails off, and Ian finishes the sentence:

IAN: ...our entire lives.

ESTELA: Exactly.

IAN: Estela...

Estela embraces him, and he returns the hug. They hold one another tightly for several moments. Then they finally break apart, and Estela holds Ian’s hand, gazing into his eyes. Both of them look equally nervous, yet hopeful.

ESTELA: Look, I... I don’t have any experience with this sort of thing. I don’t exactly know what to say, or...

IAN: To be honest? Me neither. So there’s no pressure.

Estela visibly relaxes.

ESTELA: So, uh, what happens now?

IAN: What do you want to happen?

In response, Estela grabs Ian and pulls him into a sudden kiss. He flinches, surprised, and she breaks away, averting her gaze.

ESTELA: Dios, I’m sorry, I- why did I-

In response, Ian returns the kiss, holding her tightly. When they finally break apart, Estela’s eyes are watering.

IAN: ...Was my kissing really that bad? I know I haven’t really had any practice-

Estela’s tears turn to laughter as she shakes her head, hugging him.

ESTELA: What? No, I- I was just so scared-

IAN: You, scared? You faced down two sabertooths, a giant crab, some warrior elves, and a sea monster! I’m pretty sure you don’t get scared.

ESTELA: Those kinds of things? I know how to handle them. But this... being open, vulnerable with someone... trusting someone like I trust you... that does scare me, Ian. But somehow in a good way. Sorry, I know that must sound strange!

Ian considers this, then smiles at her and nods.

IAN: Like how I froze up downstairs. I was scared, too.

They both start laughing at the memory.

ESTELA: We were both such idiots!

IAN: ...Guess we’re idiots together, then.

Estela leans into him, all fear and nervousness forgotten. They sigh and lay down on the bed, suddenly feeling tired.

ESTELA: ...Ian?

IAN: Yeah?

ESTELA: Can I... stay with you tonight? Not like- you know- not yet. But I just-

IAN: I get it. ‘Course you can. I can sleep on the couch if it would make you more comfortable-

ESTELA: No. Please, just stay here. Beside me. So I know you’re safe.

IAN: Of course, Estela. Don’t worry. I’ll be right here.

Lying side by side, the two of them drift off to sleep, safe in each other’s arms...

Next Scene: If At First You Don’t Succeed...

Tag List: @brightpinkpeppercorn @mysteli @edgydepressedchoicesthot @bbaba-yagaa @endlesshero1122 @endlessly-searching-for-you

#endless summer the unofficial screenplay #choices endless summer #choices stories you play #endless summer rewrite #fanfic #ciu project #ian czasa #estela montoya #everett rourke #olivia montoya #aleister rourke #estela x mc #but who is varyyn going to attack?#hmm... find out next scene!

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dratin-dragonadetinta96 · 6 years

Text

A little Barnaben fanfic

Hi, people, This is a little gift for @hey-jacob-its-me, because I know that you need more Barnaben and you deserve this. Really this started being a headcanon and well, now it isnt. This would continue more or less her headcanon- fanart about the pairing.

The beginning of their relationship hadn’t been easy, sometimes they were too differents. Barnaby was a boy with a strong and noisy personality, always highlighting in the crowd. Ben was the opposite, shy, always avoid being the spotlight. A gryffindor and a slytherin. A strange couple that, in some way, complemented each other.

It was summer of sixth year; in a few week they would start their last year in Hogwarts. And Barnaby was completely bored. The summer was supposedly the favourite season of the young people, but he hated it. He had lived in the grandparents house since their parents was sent to Azkaban and, though he loved their grandparents, living here was tedious with the only company of their grandparents and their friends.

In the boring afternoons, with nothing to do, Barnaby decided to do a surprise date with Ben in the muggle world, despite the short life of their relationship. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea (Ben didn't like the surprises), but Ben seemed as bored as him and this date would break, at least one day, the tedious summer.

However, his emotion disappeared quickly. He didn't know what muggle do in a date, even he was unaware of what kind of clothes muggles wears. His father did a perfect job to ensure that he ignores all about the muggle world, except the belief that pure-blood superiority to muggles and muggle-born wizards (idea that he had discard when he had met his friends)

He needed help, but hesitated about who to turn to. He couldn't ask Penny because she would tell MC it (and he understood the reason, he did the same thing with Ben), MC would tell Rowan it (due to they were best friends) and Rowan, who couldn't keep a secret, would tell Ben it (Ben had been angry with Rowan due to the theory "Ben is R", but now they had a good friendship again). And neither he couldn't ask Bill, Charlie or Andre, as they were pure-blood like him.

He only had a solution and it was trusting Tonks whose father was a muggle-born who had taught her the muggle customs. Unfortunately he didn't know the big mistake that he had made.

Tonks (and Tulip who was visiting her) helped him, of course, he was his friend. When they got him dressed and he were wearing muggle clothes, in that sense they kept their word, but it was the most colourful, the most horrible and the most sparkly clothes that Tonks and Tulip could find.

Tonks, feeling a bit guilty, shared a romantic muggle tradition with him. According to her words, muggles give their partners flowers as a show of love. He didn't like so much the idea (killing flowers was stupid gift, but they were muggle customs and Ben would be proud of his knowledge about muggles). Despite this, he decided to buy a common muggle flowers.

In the florist, the sensation of being watched by another customs and the retailer didn't disappear while he was looking for the flowers. He was afraid of the attention (he didn't know if muggles noticed that he was different), trying to find the perfect flowers quickly, except their new plan had a fault. He couldn't. The muggles flowers were lame. Not screams, not magic powers, not move. Nothing like plants of herbology. He could give Ben grasses of parks, because they were the same.

He was about to give up, when a red and green plant attracted his attention. Their flowers looks like a monster’s mouth with sharp fangs. the retailer say its name, a carnivorous plants, and its name was enough cool to buy it. Besides, there weren't bouquet of those plants, so he took the alive and happy plant in its pot.

He was in front of the door of Ben’s house. His hands were sweaty due to the nervous, rising up in him. Now he wasn't sure if it had been a good idea. It was the first time that he went to boyfriend’s home and he hadnt been invited. Literally he didn't know if the family was here in that moment.

But he couldn't give up now. He breathed deeply and rang the doorbell. Barnaby had been right, Ben were in the house. When the bell rang, he had been reading a book, or rather tried it. he couldn't stop to think about the fear that he felt when his parents asked about a girl that he liked in the school. He always had been a terrible liar, and he couldn't only give a trembling smile, assuring them that his little boy was still too young to think this. He has never been able to speak the truth.

He couldn't imagine their shocked faces if they would discover his boyfriend and how they were dating during 7 months happily and how he had been less stressed since they were together, except when he thought about these.

Maybe they wouldn't expel him from their house (and family) at that same moment (What would the neighbour think?), but in his 18 birthday, they would do it, without hesitation. Either he couldn't share this with Barnaby, he wasn't able to tell him the treatment that people like them received in the muggle world and why Barnaby couldn't visit him. Really not world wanted them, neither wizard world, not muggle world. He was more scared due to the hatred due to their relationship than the hatred, that pure-blood wizard, of being a “Mudblood”. At least in the magical world he had friends that would defend him. In the muggle world he was alone against all of them.

When he opened the door, he couldn't believe his eyes. His goofy, but kind boyfriend were wearing a horrible clothes that he could only get in the hell with a carnivorous plants and a his big brilliant happy smile.

He didn't know what he must do: Laughing for the clothes and surreal situation? Being surprise, but delighted due to his visit? Hugging him (not kissing because of gossip neighbours)? Closing the door and curling up on the floor until that strange hallucination disappears? Or being really scared of their parents and their opinion?

He didn't have time to choose, because their parents appeared behind him, asking who was this strange boy. He was in panic without being able to know what he must say.

Saying the truth, risking the relationship with his parents?

Lying and breaking the Barnaby’s heart?

He only saw a solution. He ran.

If he ran, he wouldn't have to choose it. He wouldn't lose anybody. He wouldn't face hurt people due to his words.

He was the Schrödinger's cat, between two ways.

He ran until he is tired, hardly breathing. But he didn't stop, moving away from the house and its choices. But running was vain.Not matter how many time he was running away from his problems, finally its would catch him.

He needed time and place to think carefully about what he would do. He hugged himself, feeling alone and lost.

He remembered his secret hiding place when he was a child and the things were too difficult for him. His parents knew about that place and it was too near his house, but it the only one site that he could think.

After a minutes, he was hidden in that secret place, behind a bushes near the river in a park, where he could think peacefully.

He was still confused and scared about what he would do, he needed somebody to help him to choose it, but nobody was in the park due to the sun’s heat.

Like he had been called, Barnaby appeared in the distance, shouting Ben’s name. For a moment you wanted to hide again (and take more time to think it), but neither Barnaby nor you his parents would deserve that agnst. Ben continued in the same site, let Barnaby seeing him. It didn't take long to it. When Barnaby approached him, Ben noticed how he could hardly breath, but seemed so relieved to find him safe and sound that Ben was embarrassed by his escape. He hugged Ben tightly, trying to calm both of them.

Seeing Barnaby so affected, Ben finally decided to explain the situation about the same-sex couples in the muggle world and what would happen if their parents knew the truth. And the world hadn't finished as he had feared.

Barnaby understood him, each words (and he promised himself that his boyfriend would never feel this fear again if he was be able to avoid it), because their fears were very similar. His own parents would throw him out the family If they knew that he had a muggle boyfriend. They were scared by their families, but also to hurt their partners. And the hesitancy on both sides had been about to hurt themselves.

After the hard conversation, they spoke about trivialities, something that Ben appreciated (he needed to forget the discussion that he was going to have with his parents in the near future), and relaxed in this peaceful place, evading the time when Ben must return his house.

However, the time passed quickly, having to come back the Ben’s home. While they were walking they couldn't hold hands, Ben couldn't let rumours about them. Although their hand touched, that reminds them that they didn´t face this (the fear, the misunderstanding, the hatred that their relationship created in both worlds) alone because they had each other.

When they arrived his house, they would lie, being only best friends, and would hide a beautiful part of themselves during months, maybe years. They didn't know.

But for now they would enjoy the little moments, where it wasn't important if they were muggle-born or pure-blood or loved a person of same-sex.

Where they were only two boys in love.

I hope that you liked this, the english isnt my first language and I wrote this without beta, so Its possible that it has (a lot of) mistakes. If you see them and you say me, I would really apreciate it.

#barnaben #barnaby lee #ben copper #barnaby lee x ben cooper #hogwarts mystery #hphm #Dratin fanfic #harry potter hogwarts mystery

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troofless · 5 years

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Under-appreciated light novels recommendation list, ranked in terms of PLEASE READ, to ehh, I’ll just put it in anyway:

Legend of Sun Knight (Completed Translation+Series): Set in a world of knights and magic, this series is golden comedy because the MC literally carries the plot. He’s smart, snarky and sleazy… but in a good way. I wrote about it here, but this series is for people who love comedy and political-castle-intrigue-level manipulation. ANYWAY PLEASE READ IT IT’S UP THERE ON MY TOP TEN BOOKS TO READ. No anime or manga translation. WHY.

Rakuin no Monshou (Completed Translation): For people who love the switching-the-royal-prince-with-a-body-double trope, political manoeuvring, military tactics, having the main character travel to different countries and exploring their governing system, and major character growth. No ecchi scenes, mentions of sex and rape (if any) are not elaborated on. Love between the MC and the female lead is more of a stranger to mutual respect to love, but since the female lead is literally 14-15 (they’re engaged to foster peace between two countries and not some lolicon thing), there are literally 0 sexy/blushy blushy/kissing/intimacy scenes between them. In the story their relationship feels less like a lovey dovey couple and more like the relationship between two generals that trust each other. This doesn’t have an anime or manga series after it. Why.

Only Sense Online (Ongoing Translation, Ongoing Series): Unlike the recent isekai and trapped-in-an-online-game-and-if-you-die-in-the-game-you-die-for-realsies trends that are going around right now, this is just a game where the MC has fun playing a normal VRMMO and makes new friends in it. …In fact, the MC isn’t an otaku or a game maniac, his sister and childhood friend are the ones crazy about levelling up and doing all the main subjugation-monster quests and everything, he’s more of the chill type who’d rather hang back and craft stuff to sell in his shop. He likes doing things at his own pace and learning how to craft new things in his own time. Instead of battling monsters and levelling up, he’s more likely to be seen harvesting items and mining rocks. Oh, and also at the start of the game he mis-clicked and is stuck in a female avatar, and combined with his mothering, take-care-of-everyone personality, everyone treats him like like a ‘nanny’ and is in awe of his ‘moe-ness’, even though he keeps insisting he’s a guy. One of the story’s underlying message is that different people have different ways of enjoying the same game, be it doing quests in a party, creating items to support players, roleplaying, and even PKing, and that’s okay because that’s what a game is for. No angst or permanent character deaths (it is a game after all), tis for warming your heart with the sheer sunny goodness that is the MC. No ecchi. Has an ongoing manga series, but no anime.

Hidan no Aria (Ongoing Translation, Completed Series): MC goes to a 'military’ school that trains students to be armed detectives, or as they say, ‘Butei’ (Busou Tantei). Think mercenaries. Female MC is a OP genius and major tsundere, only out-shadowed by our MC. MC considers himself weak, and because of his genes, his innate OP powers is only triggered when a certain condition is met: aka when he is sexually aroused. (Insert sexy times.) In this mode he doesn’t get flashy superpowers or anything (at least, by the world’s standard) — all it does it accelerate his brain’s thought process, but it gets so OP to the point where can deflect bullets with his own bullets and slice bullets in two with his knife. OP God Mode. This trigger also turns him into a major flirt and gigolo that can’t say no to a girl, which caused him to actively seek to avoid situations where he is in close contact with girls to prevent being triggered. Has a ‘harem’ of girls if you wanna call it that way, but even though the story is halfway translated as of now, it’s obvious he’s fallen for the main female lead. You’d only want to read this story to find out the next BS thing the MC does when he’s triggered, and it can only get higher and higher. Seriously, the moment where he catches a bullet in his teeth (way later in the story) gives you the best feeling ever. To put it in the Female MC’s words: "How about that rating, Kinji? Being classed by the world as a dangerous character who fights non-humans? Tell me how do you like that?” And his words: "–I’m a senior high school student. My grades are slightly below average, and I attend a violent school.”, and his monologue: [At least that was what I want to be. Honestly…] Had a 2011 anime and ongoing manga series, as well as a Yuri spinoff series (as per the usual anime law decreeing that all spinoffs have to have Yuri plot in them, see Soul Eater and Fate Prisma).

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu (Completed Translation + Series): Idiots doing idiotic things in school. Interesting battle system, with loads of comedy. Loads. Of. Comedy. No ecchi scenes. Had an two-season anime series in 2010 and 2011, and a manga series.

Chrome Shelled Regios (Completed Translation + Series): Main character is OP but gets debuffed at the very start, tries to restart his life as a normal person but realises that his innate talent for fighting doesn’t allow him to. Has many female love interests but at the end MC only chooses one. ‘Magic’ system works a little differently from conventional sources, nearing more to martial arts style, and telekinesis-telepathy combination rather than enchanting-spell type. What else can I say other than the MC controls a weapon made of thousands of infinitely thin and sharp wires that he uses to slice bugs (the main enemy) up with... which is so badass. (Though his main weapon is a sword.) No ecchi scenes. The sideplot about ‘fate’ and the history of the setting gets a little confusing though. This had an anime, but since the director died right before the 2009 anime ended it’s unlikely that a second season will come out. It does have a manga side plot series that is completed and a great accompaniment to the main light novel.

CubexCursedxCurious (Completed Translation + Series): MC lives in a house that is apparently so holy that cursed weapons journey there to get purified and lift their cursed. Oh yeah, and some cursed weapons can turn into people too (Soul Eater style?). Wielding the weapons will obviously give you great power, but it also has serious drawbacks, e.g. A sword cursed to be able to slice through anything, drawback is that their owner will be consumed by bloodlust and is compelled to draw blood with that sword (in other words, the old regular cursed sword rule). MC is of course immune to curses (and so he can wield that sword) because he was born in that holy place. Female lead is originally a torture device made of 32 different torture tools, including Iron Maiden, Guillotine, Pendulum, etc. Literally the first scene is the female lead found naked (since her real form is a mcfreaking cube I would not be surprised) in the MC’s kitchen looking for food to eat so let there be a representative of the subsequent ecchi scenes to be found. The cursed tool system is cool, anyway. MC doesn’t end up with anyone is particular. Plus point: Not all female characters introduced are in love with the male MC. Just three (3) girls. Also, the second light novel doesn’t feature the ‘second’ heroine’s backstory arc like a lot of light novels do... but instead a couple of a girl and a genderfluid character. Cool stuff. Had a 2011 anime and (very behind) manga series.

Other more well known ones:

Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku (Up to Date Translation, Ongoing Series): Think Battle Royale x Danganronpa x the Mahou Shoujo Trope. Lots of blood and death, so don’t bother if you don’t want to see your favourite character die/put through lots of angst and depression. Each Magical Girl has different superpowers and you’d only want to read it in hopes of seeing your favourite character live to the end/have a cool death scene/have cool action scenes in general. One of the underlying themes was that it’s not a given that powerful people will always win; the strong can be overthrown by the weak (I can think of at least two occasions), a person can win a killing game without any blood on their hands, and the magical government is pretty much corrupt. Had a recent 2016 anime series and a manga series.

Hyouka (Up to Date Translation and Series): Based on Agatha Christie stories, think mysteries but without any actual murder.

And then I’ll throw in a few English books to show that I have good taste in books:

Captive Prince by CS Pacat: Gayyyyy + lots of politics. THE ROMANCE THOUGH.... enemies to tentative friends to hostile ‘ah we’re supposed to be on opposing sides as enemies of each other’s nation’ to lovers YEAAHHHHHHH. Some parts are explicit, yeah.

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan: MC was dragged into a magical military academy in a magical land to be a child soldier, but instead of being typical Harry Potter he is snarky, sarcastic and actually raises valid questions like why the heck are they raising child soldiers??? Bisexual icon male MC who is also a pacifist I love him he must be protected

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein: War story narrated by a spy who was caught by enemy soldiers and forced to reveal her state secrets in the form of written narrative. Mystery and unreliable narrator time! If you can survive the first few draggy chapters and then a little more the reveal is SO. REWARDING. Female MC.

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett: I tried recommending this to my friend and sadly I realised that if you have no background knowledge on Christianity and what the apocalypse details you may not find this interesting. It’s a shame because it’s so funny. EDIT: I’m so glad it got a TV series??? That means more people will read the book, which is amazing, right???

The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope: Female MC and the story of her ancestor’s romances (think short story-style but all connected together). Straight romance. Female MC.

Any book by Brandon Sanderson: Yes. Just… yes.

Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn: A bastard girl stays in the castle with her royal relatives for the summer. (If you’re wondering there is discrimination against her as a commoner but overall she is loved by her family there.) Somehow the only page I have bookmarked in this book is the part near the end where the MC commits royal crimes, and is slapped by the king, giving the reader no small amount of satisfaction. Fantasy-style with small amount of political intrigue, female MC is a apprentice hedgewitch so she knows herbal knowledge (which is a prominent part of the book when she uses it?). Anyway, please read.

A Posse of Princesses by Sherwood Smith: Female princess MC is invited to a large one week (?) party with the other country’s princes and princesses to celebrate this big county’s prince’s great birthday or smth. Some political intrigue and also great plot twist. At the end of it I got really invested in the romance between the side characters bc they were really well developed lol..

The Queen’s Thief Series by Megan Whalen Turner: The third book is my favourite book because I love the MC (Costis!!!!!), bless his innocent soul (COSTIS!!!!!!) caught up in the nefarious plots of the first book MC. Little romance and more of political plots.

Warriors by Erin Hunter: I had to include at least one joke book and this was it. Anyway this was the series I grew up reading, honestly the third series had the best MC in the blind, grumpy, no-nonsense healer who is so refreshingly different from a normal ‘hero archetype’ MC. (*whisper* You gotta talk about the furries, troof!) Oh. Oh yeah, they’re all cats.

#troofless stuff #living trooflessly #I just finished reading Rakuin no Monshou and it ended satisfactorily #troofless reads books

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smilingformoney · 5 years

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It Lives Beneath Diamond Scene: Take a Breather

You: Let’s take five, get ourselves together, and then we’ll go. Danni sighs, nodding reluctantly. Danni: Yeah. Okay. Imogen: Danni, can you help me with my shirt? I think something got me in the shoulder. While Danni helps Imogen, Parker leads you and Tom to a cabinet on the wall and begins rooting around inside. Parker: Let’s see… First-aid kid… Gauze… Alcohol wipes… Parker: Hey, an old handset! Parker passes Tom the first-aid kit and pulls a dusty old shortwave radio from the cabinet. You: What good will that do? Parker: If it still works, I should be able to get in touch with the rest of the force and let them know there are people holed up here. You: Nice! Tom: Yeah, well, in the meantime, your face is still bleeding. Tom and Parker sit down at a table. While Parker fiddles with the radio, Tom hunts through the first-aid kit. Tom: Looks like this thing’s fully stocked. Should be enough for any injured people here, too. At least that’s some good news… He sighs, shaking his head. You: What’s wrong? Tom: Everything! This is exactly what I came here to stop, and I failed! This is Westchester High Homecoming all over again!

You: Tom… -You didn’t fail.

You: This was always going to happen. It’s been brewing since before either of us was even born. You: If not for us, if not for you, the Society would still be killing people to cover up Josephine’s drownings. You: And Josephine would still be down there. Getting madder. Getting stronger. And eventually, she still would have broken free. Tom: Great, so nothing we did mattered? You: Everything you did mattered. Without you, the rest of us wouldn’t have any idea what we were up against. We might not even be here. You: Hell, I could have died that night by the lake, when you saved us from that bear thing!

-It’s not over yet.

You: We’re gonna stop Josephine. Tom: But look at how much damage she’s done already! The town is a wreck! People have died! You: And it could have been a lot worse! Tom, imagine if you hadn’t come to Pine Springs. If we hadn’t learned everything we know now.

You: And if we weren’t here, none of these people would be either. Tom frowns sceptically, looking around at the other survivors. But the longer he looks, the more uncertain he becomes. Tom +10 Tom: Jeez, I… I don’t know what to say. Parker: That’s because [Name]’s right. You and Tom turn to Parker just as he closes a panel on the radio. A faint crackle of static fills the air. Parker +10 Parker: Ha! Got it! Parker picks up the receiver and begins tuning the frequency knob. Parker: This is badge 225, Pine Springs PD. If anyone can hear me, please respond, over. I repeat… Tom pulls a few supplies out of the first-aid kit for himself and Parker, then hands you the rest. You make your way back to Danni and Imogen. Imogen: Ow, ow, ow… As you approach, Danni is peeling fabric away from a gash on Imogen’s shoulder. Danni: Yikes, you weren’t kidding. They got you good. You: Here. This should help. You take a seat nearby as Danni tends to Imogen. You: So how are you two holding up? Danni: Oh, y’know. Constant panic, no sleep. I haven’t had anything to eat in the past twenty-four hours except stale crackers from a dead guy’s house… Imogen: Oh my god, tell me about it. I could eat a h-- Imogen stops mid-sentence, whimpering softly and pulling her knees to her chest. You place a gentle hand on her forearm.

You: Imogen… -I need you to stay strong.

You: I know you’ve had it rough. Maybe rougher than any of us. And that right now, probably all you want to do is lay down and cry. Imogen nods, blinking back tears. You: But we’re gonna get through this. And after we do, we’re gonna be there for you. For each other. We’ll all have a good long cry together. Imogen: You promise? Danni: Oh yeah, girl. When this is over, you and me are going on a double date with a box of tissues and a copy of Titanic.

-How are you holding up?

You: You’ve had it rougher than any of us. Your friend… your horse… your dad… Imogen: I… I’m okay. I’m mostly worried. Danni: Worried about what? Imogen: I know how this is going to sound, but… my mom. Imogen: Don’t get me wrong, she’s done some awful things, and she deserves to pay for them, but I still don’t want to lose her… Imogen: I don’t want to lose anyone else. Danni: Hey. Nobody’s going anywhere. Except maybe to therapy, when all this is over.

Imogen laughs, wiping tears, as Danni hugs her from behind. You: We’re gonna get through this. All of us. Imogen +10 Imogen: Thank you both. Danni +10 Danni: Of course. Danni: Now [Name], get over here and help me disinfect my leg. I’m not surviving hosts and monster just so I can die of sepsis a week from now. MC +10 You: That’s the spirit. Also, gross. You set to helping Danni. Across the room, Parker stands up, claps his hands, and puts on his best cop voice. Parker: Okay, people, listen up! Pine Springs PD is camped along Route 140, outside Bonanza, along with most of the other survivors. Parker: The rest are likely still holed up in town, same as us. Parker: As we speak, PD is coordinating with the nearest Coast Guard air station, in North Bend, to start aerial search and rescue. Parker: What I need you to do is hold tight here, do NOT open this door, listen for helicopters, and when you hear them, signal out the window. Civilian: Got it. Civilian: We’ll make sure everyone gets out safe, chief. The survivors all nod. For a moment, the mood in the room feels almost hopeful. You all help one another bandage your wounds, then get ready to leave. You: (Now would be a good chance for a quick word in private with someone…)

What do you do? -Pull Imogen aside. +Romance

You: Hey, Imogen? Can I have a second? Imogen: Of course. The others give you some privacy while you and Imogen step aside. Imogen: What do you need? You: I just wanted a moment alone together, before whatever happens next. Imogen: I like the way you think. You take Imogen’s hands. She smiles, fingers lacing with yours as she stares into your eyes…

You: (I’ll…) -Kiss her.

You step closer, moving your hands to Imogen’s waist as hers move to your shoulders. Your lips meet, Imogen’s breath a whisper as her mouth opens to yours, tongues fluttering softly together for just a moment… And then you pull apart with a sigh.

-Hug her.

Imogen leans against you, eyes closed. You bury your face in her hair, sighing softly.

You: Okay. We should go now. Imogen: I just wish we had a little more--

-Pull Tom aside. +Romance

You: Hey Tom, before we go, can I talk to you real quick? One on one? Tom: Of course. The others give you some privacy while you and Tom step aside. Tom: What’s up? You: I just wanted a second before we all go rushing back out there. Tom: A second for what?

You: (I’ll…) -Kiss him.

You: This. You softly press your lips to his.

-Pull him close.

Tom smile as you pull him close, touching your forehead to his. You: This.

The two of you step apart, looking into each other’s eyes. You: Do me a favour and don’t die, okay? Tom: Same to--

-Pull Parker aside. +Romance

You: Hey Parker, can I talk to you real quick? Parker: Of course. The others give you some privacy while you and Parker step aside. Parker: What is it? You: I just wanted one nice moment, to get us through whatever happens next. Parker: Sure. I think I can help with that. Parker gazes into your eyes as you take him by the hips, stepping close…

You: (I’ll…) -Kiss him.

You slide your hand up Parker’s neck and pull his mouth against yours, your kiss soft and urgent. He pulls you tighter against him, arms strong, heart beating fast, before you pull apart with a reluctant sigh.

-Hug him.

You lay your head against his shoulder, closing your eyes and basking in the warmth of his embrace.

You: Okay. We should go now. Parker: I wish we had more--

-Pull Danni aside. +Romance

You: Hey Danni, before we go, do you have a sec? Danni: Of course. The others give you some privacy while you and Danni step aside. Danni: What’s up? You: I just wanted one nice moment between us, before we go back out into the circus. You pull Danni into a tight hug.

You: (I’ll…) -Kiss her.

You press your lips against the side of Danni’s neck. She exhales softly, then turns and pulls your lips into hers. Danni: How’s that for a nice moment?

-Hold her.

You hold Danni close, listening to her heard beat against you. You: Your heart’s beating really fast. Danni: That’s all you. I mean, also monsters. But mostly you.

Danni: I wish we could-- You: Perfect. I‘m ready now.

#playchoices #choices stories you play #choices it lives beneath #choices ilb #it lives beneath #it lives beneath walkthrough

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