#turning bryce into a ghost
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A Tool of Creation
CC3 spoiler. You have been warned.
In acomaf we learn that book of breathings was made to control the cauldron.
“When the Cauldron was made,” the carver interrupted, “its dark maker used the last of the molten ore to forge a book. The Book of Breathings. In it, written between the carved words, are the spells to negate the Cauldron’s power—or control it wholly. But after the War, it was split into two pieces. One went to the Fae, one to the six human queens. It was part of the Treaty, purely symbolic, as the Cauldron had been lost for millennia and considered mere myth. The Book was believed harmless, because like calls to like—and only that which was Made can speak those spells and summon its power. No creature born of the earth may wield it, so the High Lords and humans dismissed it as little more than a historical heirloom, but if the Book were in the hands of something reforged … You would have to test such a theory, of course—but … it might be possible.” (acomaf)
So...only made can use its magic.
Made = Feyre , Nesta and Elain
And later in the book we learn that the book is written in Holy Tongue—Leshon Hakodesh.
She stared and stared at the Book—as if it were a ghost, as if it were a miracle—and said, “It is the Leshon Hakodesh. The Holy Tongue.” Those quicksilver eyes shifted to Rhysand, and I realized she’d understood, too, why she’d gone.
Rhysand said, “I heard a legend that it was written in a tongue of mighty beings who feared the Cauldron’s power and made the Book to combat it. Mighty beings who were here … and then vanished. You are the only one who can uncode it.” (acomaf)
Might beings: Daglan/Asteri
And this is confirmed in Hofas.
Amren turned to Rhysand and said in that new, strange language—their language: “The glowing letters inked on her back … they’re the same as those in the Book of Breathings.” (acomaf)
Bryce's tattoo is in the holy language.
And later in hofas Rigelus says that it was his people's language.
“I can teach you things you’ve never even dreamed of,” Rigelus promised. “The language inked on your back—it is our language. From our home world. I can teach you how to wield it. Any world might be open to you, Bryce Quinlan. Name the world, and it shall be yours.”(hofas)
So the book of breathings can control cauldron and it can "open any world" to who can wield it.
Also in Hofas we learn that Asteri corrupted the Cauldron.
The Cauldron was of our world, our heritage. But upon arriving here, the Daglan captured it and used their powers to warp it. To turn it from what it had been into something deadlier. No longer just a tool of creation, but of destruction. And the horrors it produced … those, too, my parents would turn to their advantage.(hofas)
So asteri turned it from tool of creation to tool of destruction.
Once upon a time...cauldron was good.
Can we use Book Of Breathings to uncorrupt the Cauldron? To bring it back to its natural "tool of creation" state?
In Hoeab we learn that the book of breathings is in crescent city. In jesiba's library.
Micah loomed over her. She stretched her arm out—toward the shelf. Her tingling fingers brushed over the titles. On the Divine Number; The Walking Dead; The Book of Breathings; The Queen with Many Faces …
Do we need to get book of breathings from crescent city? Is the crossover not over yet? Are IC going to think with bryce having the language of book of breathings tattooed to her body she might have had access to book of breathings at some point? Are we going back to cc in the next acotar book?
Also it is a great time to add that Cauldron is obsessed with Elain.
“You stole from the Cauldron,” I said to Nesta, who seemed ready to jump between all of us and Elain. “But what if the Cauldron gave something to Elain?” (acowar)
The Cauldron purred in Elain’s presence as the King of Hybern slumped to his knees, clawing at the knife jutting through his throat. Elain backed away a step (Acowar)
The Cauldron seemed to realize what she’d done, too, as his head thumped onto the mossy ground. That Elain … Elain had defended this thief. Elain, who it had gifted with such powers, found her so lovely it had wanted to give her something … It would not harm Elain, even in its hunt to reclaim what had been taken. It retreated the moment Elain’s eyes fell on our dead father lying in the adjacent clearing. The moment the scream came out of her.(Acowar
Why did it give elain such powers? Does it want someone to see how it was corrupted? Does it want to turn into tool of creation state again? Does it see elain as its salvation? (As @riddlecrux talked to me about). All the others saw cauldron as a thing to be used. A thing to be control. But it was only elain who had never stolen from it as nesta did while she was in the cauldron. It found Elain so lovely that it gave her the seer ability.
And from acotar we know that elain look at things as hope.
I gazed again at that sad, dark house—the place that had been a prison. Elain had said she missed it, and I wondered what she saw when she looked at the cottage. If she beheld not a prison but a shelter—a shelter from a world that had possessed so little good, but she tried to find it anyway, even if it had seemed foolish and useless to me.
She had looked at it that cottage with hope; I had looked at it with nothing but hatred. And I knew which one of us had been stronger. (Acotar)
So maybe all cauldron needs for someone to look at it with hope. Also @riddlecrux told me that in cauldron myths and legends someone goes willingly into the cauldron to destroy it. Maybe in this case someone willingly going inside it uncorrupts the Cauldron..."Through love all is possible"
And we know that Cauldron is the most important thing in acotar
“Long ago, before the High Fae, before man, there was a Cauldron … They say all the magic was contained inside it, that the world was born in it. But it fell into the wrong hands. And great and horrible things were done with it. Things were forged with it. Such wicked things that the Cauldron was eventually stolen back at great cost. It could not be destroyed, for it had Made all things, and if it were broken, then life would cease to be. So it was hidden. And forgotten. Only with that Cauldron could something that is dead be reforged like that.” (Acomaf)
And in Hofas we learn that Daglan/Asteri made the Cauldron a kill switch.
“Once we left our home world, our powers began to dim. Too late, we realized that we had been dependent on our land’s inherent magic. The magic in other worlds was not potent enough. Yet we could not find the way back home. Those of us who ventured here found ways to amplify that power, thanks to the gifts of the land. We pooled our power, and imbued those gifts into the Cauldron so that it would work our will. We Made the Trove from it. And then bound the very essence of the Cauldron to the soul of this world.”
Solas. “So destroy the Cauldron …”
“And you destroy this world. One cannot exist without the other.”
In my Mystic&Seers post I connected The Void and Cauldron to each other.
I managed to stand. To take one step before I felt it. The … thing in the Cauldron. Or lack of it. It was lack and substance, absence and presence. And … it was leaking into the world.I dared a step toward it. And what I beheld in those ruins of the Cauldron… It was a void. But also not a void—a growth.It did not belong here. Belong anywhere. (Acowar)
The darkness paused. “You are impertinent as well. Do you not know where I come from? My father was the Void, the Being That Existed Before. Chaos was his bride and my dam. It is to them that we shall all one day return, and their mighty powers that run in my blood.” (hosab)
And from Hofas we know that the Void is actually a blackhole.
The only force in the universe that ate light, so strong no light could ever escape it. A portal to nowhere.
To a black hole.
Wasn’t that the unholy power that Apollion possessed? The power of the Void. The antithesis of light.
And you know how Elain was when she came out of the Cauldron?
She had been always so full of light. Perhaps that was why she now kept all the curtains open. To fill the void that existed where all of that light had once been. And now nothing remained
The power of the Void...The antithesis of Light.
Elain got rid of that murkiness in her eyes. When Azriel understood what was wrong with her.
It made sense, I supposed, that Azriel alone had listened to her. The male who heard things others could not … Perhaps he, too, had suffered as Elain had before he understood what gift he possessed. He asked Elain, “There is another queen?”
Elain blinked and blinked, eyes clearing again. As if the understanding, our understanding … it freed her from whatever murky realm she’d been in.
Maybe thats all Cauldron needs. So maybe we just need to get rid of the Void, to make sure Cauldron returns to its natural state—a tool of creation.
Also in my Mystic&Seer posts. I looked up what Mysticism is.
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ultimate or hidden truths, and to human transformation supported by various practices and experiences.
Cauldron is the absolute. We looked up that above.
The hidden truths part.
When theia and fionn overthorwn the daglan they didn't learn all their secrets.
They fought the Daglan and won, she went on. Using the Daglan’s own weapons, they destroyed them. Yet my parents did not think to learn the Daglan’s other secrets—they were too weary, too eager to leave the past behind.
And Cauldron made Elain a seer. Maybe to see to learn the other secrets The Daglan had?
We can't even ask Amren because her timeline doesn't even match.
In acosf we learn this.
Rhys shook his head. “Only vaguely now. From what I’ve gleaned, she arrived during those years before Fionn and Gwydion rose, and went into the Prison during the Age of Legends—the time when this land was full of heroic figures who were keen to hunt down the last members of their former masters’ race. They feared Amren, believing her one of their enemies, and threw her into the Prison. When she emerged again, she’d missed Fionn’s fall and the loss of Gwydion, and found the High Lords ruling.”
The problem is how can she go into prison when there was no...prison.
Silene made the prison what it was after she returned from Crescent City. So before fionn's fall...there were no Prison. Actually theia ruled from the Prison Island.
Our home had been left empty since we’d vanished. As if the other Fae thought it cursed. So I made it truly cursed. Damned it all.
One after another, I hunted monsters—the remaining pets of the Daglan—until many of the lowest rooms were filled with them. Until my once-beautiful home became a prison. Until even the land was so disgusted by the evil I’d gathered here that the islands shriveled and the earth became barren. The winged horses who hadn’t gone with my mother to Midgard, who had once flown in the skies, playing in the surf … they were nearly gone. Not a single living soul remained, except for the monstrosities in the mountain.
So even Amren doesn't know. She is even confused in hofas.
Amren picked at an invisible speck on her silk blouse. “It’s murky. I went in before …” She shook her head. “But when I came out, there were rumors. That a great number of people had vanished, as if they had never been. Some said to another world, others said they’d moved on to distant lands, still others said they’d been chosen by the Cauldron and spirited away somewhere.”
So who is better to learn these secret than a Cauldron Made seer?
Also in hofas we learn that Cauldron sits on top of Ramiel.
“The Cauldron,” Nesta said hours later, pointing to yet another carving on the wall. It indeed showed a giant cauldron, perched atop what seemed to be a barren mountain peak with three stars above it.
Azriel halted, angling his head. “That’s Ramiel.” At Bryce’s questioning look, he explained, “A mountain sacred to the Illyrians.”
And from Acosf we know that nobody went to look at what lies under ramiel. Sure enough Eris says "secrets". Maybe like daglan secrets???
Eris shrugged, and Nesta knew Cassian monitored his every breath. “There are three of them, you know. Sister peaks. This one, the mountain called the Prison, and the one the Illyrian brutes call Ramiel. All bald, barren mountains at odds with those around them.”
Eris gave him a mocking smile, but continued, “Unsurprisingly, the Illyrians were never curious enough to see what secrets lie beneath Ramiel. If it, too, was carved up like the others by ancient hands.”
What if there is more to under ramiel than we thought? What if its a secret Daglan hideout? I went into detail and what could have inspired it in my Wild Hunt post if you want to read it.
Also we know from acosf that Enalius tried to stop the "enemy" from reaching the stone on top of Ramiel.
Emerie’s eyes shone. “Long ago—so long ago they don’t even have a precise date for it—a great war was fought between the Fae and the ancient beings who oppressed them. One of its key battles was here, in these mountains. Our forces were battered and outnumbered, and for some reason, the enemy was desperate to reach the stone at the top of Ramiel. We were never taught the reason why; I think it’s been forgotten. But a young Illyrian warrior named Enalius held the line against the enemy soldiers for days. He found a natural archway of stone amongst the tangle of boulders and made that his bottleneck. He died in the end, but he held off the enemy long enough for our allies to reach us. This Rite is all to honor him. So much of the history has been lost, but the memory of his bravery remains.”
It was forgotten? Or was it never learned? What if it wasnt The stone the daglan was trying to reach but Cauldron as we know it stood on top of Ramiel? What if they were trying to reach that?
We also learn more about Enalius in hofas.
“You are no creator of mine,” Azriel said coldly. The Starsword gleamed in his other hand. If they bothered him, if they called to him, he didn’t let on. Neither hand so much as twitched.
The Asteri’s eyes flared with recognition at the long blade. “Did Fionn send you, then? To slay me in my sleep? Or was it that traitor Enalius? I see that you bear his dagger—as his emissary? Or his assassin?”
The Truth-teller was Enalius's dagger. How did Azriel come to possess it? And we know that after Enalius's dead Fionn took possession of it as it was his friends dagger.
My father had never shown himself to be giving—long had he kept Gwydion and never once offered it to my mother. The dagger that had belonged to his dear friend, slain during the war, hung at his side, unused. But not for long.
And we know that Elain used the TT to kill the King of Hybern.
But as a black blade broke through the king’s throat, spraying blood, I realized someone else had.
Elain stepped out of a shadow behind him, and rammed Truth-Teller to the hilt through the back of the king’s neck as she snarled in his ear, “Don’t you touch my sister.”
So how did Elain stepped out of a shadow?
The asteri under Prison says Azriel doesnt know it use—its full potential.
Vesperus took another step, steadier now, and smiled past Bryce. At Azriel, at Truth-Teller. “You don’t know how to use it, do you?”
Azriel pointed the dagger toward the advancing Asteri. “Pretty sure this end’s the one that’ll go through your gut.”
Vesperus chuckled, her dark hair swaying with each inching step closer. “Typical of your kind. You want to play with our weapons, but have no concept of their true abilities. Your mind couldn’t hold all the possibilities at once.”
True abilities? All possibilities? There is more than just creating a portal to nowhere with gwydion? Maybe that's how Elain could step out of a shadow? The "unknown" abilities of the Truth-Teller?
Also Autumn king says this:
“The Starsword is Made, as you called it.” He waved an idle hand, sparks at his fingertips. “The knife can Unmake things. Made and Unmade. Matter and antimatter. With the right influx of power—a command from the one destined to wield them—they can be merged. And they can create a place where no life, no light exists. A place that is nothing. Nowhere.”
As @offtorivendell theorised in her mating bond theory. Did the Asteri messed with the mating bonds too?
Can the Truth-teller unmake a mating bond? As it looks the cauldron was corrupted? It even ties to Book Of Breathings and what it said in acomaf:
Unmade and Made; Made and Unmade—that is the cycle. Like calls to like.
And don't ever forget that...
"What if the Cauldron was wrong?" 🫡
#elriel#cc3 spoilers#cauldron#my brain hurts#I wrote all this and accidently deleted it so this is the second post that I had to rewrite#Im dying#hofas
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Damn Those Dog Tags: Part 20 - Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
📜 Everyone wants Jake's reaction to Liz's risky photo. 👀😂Well, you got it... and something else... Let me put it this way: I have to take my chance where I can....
❗+18, sexual themes, strong language, godmother reader/original female character, Mentions of an original child character, deployments, letters, verbal fights, hurricanes, near-death experiences, angst, Don't read if you have Thalassophobia/Aquaphobia cause Jake and Bradley... well, you'll find out, intense moments of peril/disaster.
#7.4k words
Part 19 | Masterlist | Part 21
Hangman could hear his breath, the mechanical exhale and hiss, through his oxygen mask as he finally set his eyes on the carrier alone out at sea.
The tension in his shoulders released, and the weight that had been pressing him down since he and Rooster launched this morning lifted slightly.
"Rooster, where are you?"
"Right behind you, Hangman," came his crackled tense reply.
The attack on the facility had been gruesome and extremely time-sensitive. They only had a few seconds to spare in reaching their destination should there have been any reason for a delay. It was one of the few things he had worried about when they were being briefed, worried if the same ghost that had haunted Rooster on the uranium mission would resurface yet again.
Thankfully, it didn't, and the pair of them managed to get to the target well on time, just to take down two enemy fighter jets before they had even managed to get above the hard deck line.
It might have helped the attack happened right around dawn when nobody was least expecting it—three weeks at sea for an hour in the sky. And the worst of what they thought would happen and what they had prepared for didn't.
You and Sadie had been with him the entire time, your polaroids pinned in his cockpit near the control panel. They were the same ones he had before, the one Sadie took of you and the other of Sadie standing in front of the F-18.
He was looking at them now, between you, Sadie and his navigational beacon, knowing that the second his wheels hit the upper deck, he'd be that much closer to going home.
Hangman was cleared to land, his radio buzzing with the familiar voice of the control tower as he approached the tiny runway. He adjusted the F-18's flaps, feeling the jet respond instantly beneath him, knowing it wasn't over yet, not until both he and Rooster were safely on board.
He took a steadying breath, the sound echoing in his mask as he said to himself in his head, 'Make it perfect. For them."
The back wheels touched down flawlessly, catching the arresting wire with a strong tug. Jake felt himself being pulled forward out of his seat, the straps of his harness tight on his chest. But the second his back hit the chair, he finally felt like he could breathe. The weight on his chest dissipated, and Jake couldn't help the smug grin.
He was finally in the clear.
"Nice landing," he heard the landing officer say through the radio. Jake, taxing himself to the elevator on deck, watched as the officer gave him a thumbs up from the runaway below.
"What can I say? When you're good, you're good," his cheeks hurt from the edges of his mask, grin wide as he cockily gave a two-fingered salute.
If Jake heard the following tense groan coming out of his radio, he didn't let on.
Parking the jet on the elevator strip, Jake watched as he was lowered down into the ship's hanger bay, looking for his designated mechanic as he turned off the flight system. The second he reached the ground, he guided the machine into its designated spot, turning it off completely.
He popped the canopy open before going for his helmet, unstrapping the buckles with haist. He went for one of the pockets on his harness, reaching into the tight space to grab at the zip-locked bag, placing it on top of his helmet before reaching for the polaroids of you and Sadie. Holding both between his thumb, he brought them to his lips, kissing the images simultaneously before placing them safely inside the bag where they belonged.
As Jake stepped down the ladder, a mechanic greeted him, readying a list of questions as Jake started up his post-flight checks.
"It's a good thing you guys finished when you did. Radar points to a tropical storm coming in tonight."
Jake raked his fingers through his hair, trying to combat the sweat. "So we got confirmation we are moving out?"
The mechanic nodded, not bothering to lift his head as he dug for his notepad. "The second you guys were called back. We're already on route to base."
The news only added to his high spirits. Today was a good day.
He was going home.
As Jake answered all the mechanic's questions while checking the jet, out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Bradley's jet ascended down the elevator and rolled into its resting spot. Bradley popped his canopy, climbing out, sliding down the ladder and high-fiving his mechanic, smiling.
He had no idea where the urge, or dare he say courage, came from when he finished walking over to Bradley as he was finalizing his post-flight routine.
Jake waited till Bradley said his last word before approaching him. Jake held out his hand, his voice clear over the commotion, as he said, "Good job flying out there, Bradshaw."
Bradley glanced at Jake's outstretched hand, then to his face, his expression inscrutable. There was a palpable pause, a pregnant beat of tension, before Bradley deliberately rested his hand on the side of his jet, ignoring Jake's overstretched hand completely.
"Don't think one mission changes everything," Bradley replied tersely, eyes sharp and focused.
His reply didn't deter Jake. In fact, he only smirked, lowering his hand. "Didn't think it would. I just wanted to see if you had the balls to acknowledge a job well done. By the way, I went to Liz and apologized. Something you probably never imagined I'd do."
Bradley scoffed, a short, derisive laugh escaping him. "You think an apology is your ticket to redemption? You must have been more rattled up there than I thought. She'd never forgive you after a stunt like that."
Jake bit his lip, contemplating what you or Sadie might say to Rooster at this moment.
So, in a rare second of honesty, in front of his rival, Jake answered Bradley.
"I never expected her to accept my apology, Bradshaw. But I had to try. For her. For Sadie." Jake paused, looking solemn before continuing on. "You know what it's like, leaving on a deployment, not sure when or if you're going to come back. I had to try, and believe it or not, I want to try to get along with you for both their sakes. It's what they would want."
Jake lifted his hand once again, hoping Rooster would take it. But Bradley didn't, nor did he reply. Instead, he turned on his heel and walked away, leaving Jake to bow his head and drop his hand once again, not knowing if he should sigh or roll his eyes. At this point, it was frugal to think Bradley would ever change his ways.
Least of all for him.
...
"Seresin! Bradshaw! You have mail!"
Jake looked up from his plate just in time to see the communications officer slam a white envelope down to the empty space in front of him. The officer continued her journey down to the other end of the table to Rooster, tossing a nearly identical envelope into his outstretched hands.
Bradley hadn't spoken a word to him since the hanger earlier, not that Jake expected him to. The mess hall wasn't necessarily the friendliest place, and while Jake couldn't have cared less about whether or not he was making friends, he and Bradley tended to stick together silently. They didn't really speak to each other, though. Even when they had to bunk together.
It's funny how deployments did that.
Jake slid his tray over to the side, reaching out to grab the thick piece of paper between his hands and inspecting the front.
White was probably the wrong word to use. The envelope looked like it had a rough time getting to him. There were dirt marks and scuffed-up edges, several post stamps thrown uncaringly on the front. Even a few water marks, which made sense, considering a gust front was currently pounding the upper deck.
What stood out to Jake, though, was your handwriting still perfectly intact. He'd recognize it anywhere.
Lt. Jake "Hangman" Seresin
Jake flipped it over, not expecting to see the words written across the back.
This is everything I didn't say
Jake pulled himself back in his seat, only to realize he had a pair of eyes on him. He looked over to Bradley, noticing how the chicken was staring at the object in Jake's hands. He had already opened his, two pieces of lined paper on the table in front of him.
"From Liz?" Jake finally asked, tilting his head towards Bradley's letter. Rooster looked back down at his, staring at the front. "Sadie, actually."
As if that didn't sting a little bit, Jake thought. Bradley looked back up, eyes fixed on the one in Jake's hands. "Liz?" he asked. It was almost sombre.
Jake tore his eyes away from Bradley to trace your cursive writing with his fingers. "Yeah."
There was something to be said about receiving letters or packages from family and loved ones while in service. Regardless of whether or not Jake and Bradley were on the outs, no one ever dared to mock this particular part of their job. Hearing word from the other side, the outside world, was something sacred, and Bradley knew better than to hold it against Jake- even if he did break your heart.
You had chosen to write him that letter. There was nothing he could really do about it - like he even had a choice. Bradley had to pick and choose his moments where he could.
Jake finally broke the seal, immediately going for the folded-up pieces of paper inside. He let the envelope drop, the sound heavy as it hit the table, and Jake knew you had probably stuffed polaroids inside.
He unfolded your pages and began to read.
Jake,
Everything became still the moment my sister passed away. I keep remembering, picturing it like hands on a clock, having counted the seconds away before finally coming to a stop. The days didn't matter. My next thought, my only thought, was Sadie. Then you came into my picture, our picture, and cheesily enough, that seconds hand on that metaphorical clock started to tick.
I can’t lie; I knew you'd break through my walls the first time I saw you. Not in the Hard Deck that day, but when you were playing football on the beach, me watching you from Penny’s chair. I knew who you were instantly.
Because you had a rep, and everyone had warned me about you - Womanizer.
But I knew the second you spoke to me, the second I had turned around after fixing that damn keg, seeing that mona lisa smile of yours (Yes - I have been calling it that and no, your ego does not need to grow two more sizes because of it), my heart was screaming, Hello, I love you.
(Those are in reference to a song; they don't count just yet).
I have a confession to make, which is partly why I wanted to write you this particular letter.
I put up a wall between you and myself then and there. I think that's the only secret I've ever kept from you. Because as much as I knew something was probably going to happen between the two of us, whatever it would have been, I knew you had the power to devastate my heart completely.
I didn’t get your name that day. Not until you showed up on my doorstep with my favourite flowers, asking me to forgive you, and you sat out in my backyard with everyone singing along to Southern Nights.
The first crack in the wall started when you followed me inside, helping me with the dishes. You were honest with me that night, not the person I thought you to be, and I realized you were putting on a show for others to see. And when I showed up in that long cool black dress at the hard deck that day, and you taught my klutzy ass how to throw a dart, the wall cracked further.
(I can hear you as I write, Jake Seresin. Saying I love your ass, don't diss my ass. Stop making everything sexual, you horny beast.)
Sadie knew it, too... that my walls were cracking. She sees everything. It's why she invited you on that damn hike. And there is also a part of me wondering if Ridley sent that damn sake from wherever she is now, hoping to get the two of us together - it would be something she'd do if she had the power…if she was able to rule the world to make it happen.
Then, all of you guys were deployed. And everything that could have gone wrong went wrong.
I don't know if three little birds told me things were going to be alright back then, but I somehow knew, deep down, they would be - even if you fly like you have nothing to lose and everything to prove. You don't, not to me. And oh, what a night it was when you came home.
I wanted you to kiss me that night. But I'm glad you didn't. Because the night I drifted away in your arms, you might as well have shot a missile from your F-18 and made my walls crumble almost completely.
Almost. Because what truly did it was when you let Sadie hang on to you during that thunderstorm. How you cared for her and told her it was going to be okay. How good you were with her and how you might be with your own. I will never stop saying how much that meant to me- what it still means to me.
Then you rammed me up against my hallway, and I had to really hang on for dear life.
(I just realized we never talked about our futures on our first date. We were too busy screaming Let's dance to figure out if Marriage/Kids, etc., were on the table - if they are something you want. Cause I'm all in Jake, whether we do or not. All I know is that I want to be with you - you and Sadie are enough.)
Then someone made himself known, and hell would have to freeze over before I mentioned his name in a letter to you - Dream on asshole. But you loved, yes loved, me through my worst moments, Sadie's worst moments. When I sang as a Blue healer for my feelings deep blue, when sons and daughters of people long gone raged, and I had to hide in my bathtub, waiting till it was all over.
When you showed me it was okay to live and experience life through the bad moments, that it was okay to remember my sister, even in the rays of a sunset from the sky. And when you made me want to scream sex on fire, cause damn Jake, we definitely weren't taking things slow.
I won't mention the 'incident' with George or how much rain I saw when Bradley drove me home. I know; I've always known how much generational trauma you've carried in your blood throughout your entire life. I will say, though, out of all the songs that had to play on the jukebox the night things for Sadie and I finally came to an end, it had to be Come a little bit closer. (That pissed me off, you have no idea, Jake.... stop laughing, you asshole).
And although it’s been weeks for me since you left me standing at the end of my driveway, after you apologized and I felt like a Sapling, searching for an Oak, watching you drive off to go our separate ways for a small length of time, being worlds apart, I’m counting down the minutes, the hours, the seconds till I can tell you what you need to hear.
Because My sister had a box. A just-in-case box. Filled with letters, objects, and memories. I finally opened it, with Sadie, of course, on an evening I will never soon forget. I don't want a repeat of that. Of me finally visiting Ridley and reading her letter, her last words to me on her grave.
I don't want that to be us.
So Jake 'Hangman' Seresin, after breaking down my walls not once but twice, I will not write those three words down in this letter. I'd rather tell you in person. So I can see your face when I do. I’m a fair lady - if you wanted me to wait to tell you until you are home, I’m waiting till you come home.
So much of our relationship started backwards. A first kiss before the first date, an extended sleepover before the first touch. We made a promise to each other, not already realizing we had already broken it.
So, sir, if you think the second I see your face, I'm not going to try to jump you, drag you home and lock Sadie out of my bedroom, you can kiss this idea of going slow out the window. Life's too short to go slow when... well, you'll find out soon enough.
And I know you think Sadie doesn’t want to see you again. That's she's still mad at you and will be forever mad for what happened. But I know for a fact the second she sees you, she will jump into your arms. You’re her uncle - you count more than you’ll ever know.
And while sleep deprivation is my remaining side effect from dealing with the grief I’ve shouldered, I know part of it involves counting down the days for when I can fall asleep with you next to me.
And maybe even doing something else ;)
Your darlin' Elizabeth
P.S. Sadie wanted to send some Polaroids - I promise you, she doesn't hate you, but I know you're still going to think otherwise until you come home. We went on a hike, so there are probably some bug-themed ones in there... I'm sorry for what you see... so if you have anyone lurking over your shoulder, you might want to be careful. They aren't for everyone.
You were right about one thing: he was still so sure Sadie had it out for him. The day she had cornered him at the beach haunted his thoughts. The look and level of disappointment she had on her face would forever remain imprinted in his head.
Yet, he still wiped at his eyes and raked his fingers through his hair, his heart feeling like it was going to beat out of his chest. He reached into the envelope and grabbed at the small stack.
The first few were from the hike you mentioned; Sadie chose one of you, sitting on the same rock she had done last year. He still had the photo he took on his phone. There were some ones with bugs, no question about it. But they weren't random ones, either.
There was one of Sadie surrounded by what looked like to be monarchs. Jake had never seen her look so happy, her smile wide and beautiful, and he couldn't help the grin on his face looking down at the image.
But when Jake went to slide the image of Sadie behind the others, he did a double take, quickly hiding the following polaroid from view.
You wouldn't have, he thought. There was no way.
Jake glanced around the hall, turning the collection of pictures down to face the table in his hands, wondering if anyone had seen what he had seen. But next to Bradley, who was too engrossed in his own letter even to lift his head, the hall had cleared itself out, leaving the two of them practically alone.
Hesitantly lifting his hands, Jake slid Sadie's photo over, carefully peering down at the image of you.
You. On your bed. Half naked.
You seemed carefree, leaning back on your bed, damp tendrils of your hair half clinging to your face, half covering the sharp lines of your neck. Oh, how many times he had kissed that neck, and now, seeing it on display, only for him - Jake had to draw in a sharp breath.
And his dog tags hanging between your half-bare breasts, framed by the silk of your robe, glinting in the soft, warm sunlight from your bedroom window. And written along the bottom... Come home and take them back ;)
You cheeky... Jake could feel the heat rush to his face: surprise, desire, and pure pride. He was thousands of miles away, and you found yet another way to remind him of what awaited him when he got home.
The Mona Lisa smile, as you had so deemed, spread wide across his face as he whispered to himself in one ragged breath, "Damn, Liz."
He felt himself getting hard just looking at you.
He'd send you a message when they were closer to American soil, hoping you and Sadie would be there to greet him. But more importantly, if you'd make plans for Penny to take Sadie that night. Cause fuck the lock on your bedroom door. He wanted to find out all the ways he could make you scream for him, all the sounds you had yet to make for him.
Until then, Jake climbed into his bunk that night, reading your letter over and over, staring at the photo you had gifted him, wondering and coming up with all the ways the two of you would celebrate his homecoming. Because lying on that narrow bunk, he couldn't stop his rampant thoughts.
He could almost feel the silk of your robe against his fingertips, the wet strands of your hair brushing against his palms, and the warmth of your skin. And those fucking dog tags he gave you, nestled between the soft curves of your breasts - everything made a fierce heat coil in the lower half of his stomach.
Jake shifted uncomfortably, the rough sheets tangling around his legs, the damp are doing little to soothe his fevered skin. He rolled over into his pillow, trying to summon any other thought but that photo - anything to take his mind off the overwhelming feeling of pure want that consumed him.
You were there, in every corner he turned to, beckoning him with both those innocent and mischievous glint in your eyes, making him crave the day he finally came home. He took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to find some semblance of calm against the lust you had ignited within him.
But falling asleep, his dreams were only filled with you. And all the ways he'd finally have you cumming on his cock.
...
Jake jolted awake to the sound of a high-pitched beeping in his ears, almost hitting the bunk above his. His stomach felt uneasy, like it had been flipped upside down, and every sense was screaming at him something was wrong. He was off balance, unable to ground himself to a solid point.
He hated not being in control.
Rooster shouted from the bunk above, and Jake pressed himself against the tiny wall as he felt himself tilted hard to the side, masked by a shutter that shook their entire room.
Bradley wasn't as lucky, rolling straight out of his bed and landing hard on the ground with a massive thunk. Jake wanted to laugh, but even he couldn't stop the grimace as he heard the sound.
Bradley groaned a long, pitful sound, lifting himself to rest on his hands. "What the hell is going on?!"
"What do you think, Bradshaw? You've never been stuck in a storm on a deployment before?"
He knew he shouldn't be so snarky with Bradley, but this morning had left him in a sour mood. Not to mention, the storm was but another obstacle in his path stopping him from getting home sooner.
It was going to be a long night.
Bradley sat up, about to reply with a remark just as snarky, when the PA system blared above their heads.
All currently available personnel report to the lower decks for assistance. I repeat all currently available personnel report to the lower decks for assistance.
Jake tore out of bed, and Bradley stood sharply, both reaching for their fight suits, putting them on in a rush. As Bradley laced his boots, Jake reached for your letter and picture on his bed, quickly shoving them inside the packet he had in his chest pocket with the other Polaroids.
He didn't know if and when he'd be back here.
As the pair emerged from their room, they had to dodge multiple people flying past in a mass panic, trying to get to their respective stations. The added struggle of not knowing what the carrier was going to throw at them next also didn't help. All Jake and Bradley knew was that, given a storm, let alone even in a hurricane, they needed to be down at the lower docks, reinforcing the restraints on the Jets.
The ship groaned, then shook, the floor vibrating beneath their feet.
"What the hell was that?" Bradley shouted, his voice strained with concern. Jake struggled to steady himself, gripping a nearby railing. His Texian accent was strong as he shouted his reply, "It doesn't matter. Let's just get to the hanger bay!"
It was pure chaos the second they arrived. Bright flashing red emergency lights, crew members scrambling in every direction. Next to the high-pitched alarm going off every other second, the ship continued to creak and groan, rocking enough that Jake and Bradley had to steady themselves.
"Get the damn secondary restraints on the F-18s!" A senior official shouted as they passed. Jake and Bradley's 'Yes, sir' only seemed to fall on deaf ears.
The pair raced towards the first jet, stopping momentarily to assist what they needed to do. Jake's voice was barely audible above the chaos. "We need to get the secondary straps down and make sure the wheel jacks are in place!"
Bradley shot him a disdainful look. "Thanks for stating the obvious. I was about to suggest a picnic."
Jake gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to snap back. "Not now, Bradshaw."
Bradley only rolled his eyes. "Let's just get this over with."
As they began to secure the planes, the ground started to tilt enough to throw them off balance if they weren't careful. Jake and Bradley tried to brace themselves as one adjusted the straps while the other secured the wheel jacks.
A cry for help managed to break through the alarms and shouts, and both turned towards the sound. Bradley was closest, shouting out, "I got it!" before running off, not bothering to hear Jake's reply.
The sound of a wire recoiling, snapping hard like a whip through the air, startled Jake, making him turn sharply. A wooden crate, the height of his chest, had broken loose from its net, sliding directly towards him.
Bracing himself, Jake charged forward, holding out his hands to stop it from crashing into the jet behind him. He grunted hard as the wood slammed into his palms. Jake used as much strength as he could gather, baring his teeth and straining his muscles, to push the crate back towards where it came from.
Jake's mechanic from before suddenly appeared next to him, helping him push the crate back into the relative safety of the net.
"What the hell is going on?!" Jake shouted over the alarm system. The mechanic continued to work as he replied, "Everything! The whole ship is going to hell! We've got engine failure. Some of the airlock doors won't seal properly on the lowest deck, and to fucking top it off, one of the ballast tanks is compromised! In a fucking hurricane!"
That would explain the rocking, Jake thought, as the ship titled back, allowing for the create to easily slide back into its original spot with no more effort. The mechanic knotted the net through a few metal loops on the ground while Jake rested his hands on his knees, bent over and panting hard.
The second he finished, the mechanic left Jake standing there as he was called off towards another task.
Jake straightened, looking around to see where he was needed next, his eyes instantly landing on Rooster, who was dealing with his own crate. He ran towards him, using his weight to help Bradley push the crate back and away into its designated spot.
The two managed to secure it, and struggling to catch his breath, Bradley glared at Jake. "Didn't need your help."
"Of course, you didn't," Jake retorted, frustration evident.
"I had it handled."
"Right," Jake panted.
"Always gotta be the hero, don't you, Hangman?" Rooster grumbled.
Whatever had encouraged him to reach an olive branch earlier was long gone. Whether it was Rooster's words or the situation, Jake simply had enough.
He hit Bradley square in his chest with both hands, sending him backwards a few steps. "Okay, what's your damn problem with me, Bradshaw?!"
"Now?!" Bradley shouted, ready to fight it out. "You want to do this now?"
"Good as time as any!" Jake remarked, throwing his hands to the side in open invitation. He was tired of Rooster's animosity, of the constant back and forth, but damn if he wasn't ready for the confrontation.
"What is it? My call-sign? What I did to earn it!?" Jake cocked his head, stepping to the side, causing the two pilots to circle each other. "Or is it what I said about your old man two years ago?! You didn't even let me finish, so I couldn't have said anything that truly pissed you off. And you know what, not that it matters, but I'm sorry if it hurt your feelings."
The floor shook beneath their feet, but neither man seemed phased. Bradley only fisted his hands tighter with each remark that passed Jake's lips.
"Or is it Liz? Sadie? The fact they welcomed me in with open arms, loved me, and there wasn't a hell of a thing you could have to stop it?"
The surrounding chaos only seemed to amplify Bradley's longstanding irritation with Jake. Bradley stalked forward, slamming his hands to Jake's chest and returning the favour.
"It's everything! Everything you stand for!" he shouted, his nostrils flaring hard. "Don't you dare say Sadie's name, not when I know you are going to leave that little girl out to dry. I won't have it, Hangman!
Recognition flashed in Jake's eyes, and he knew, he understood right then, amongst all the chaos and panic, the lengths any one of the Daggers would go to make sure their bug was loved and protected above all else.
It had never been about you. It had always, always been about Sadie.
"Sadie?!" he shouted. "That's the reason?"
Jake clenched his fists, struggling to find the words. "You think I would ever abandon Sadie? Or Liz? You've seen me, day in and day out, fighting for them, fighting fucking Tyler, fighting to get back to them. I would die before they were hurt. Before any one of you were hurt."
"But you did! The second your brother asked you to." Bradley's voice hardened. "Answer me this: in the heat of the moment, when you're faced with a choice, can you honestly tell me you'd put them first?"
Tyler and everything he had wrought flashed in Bradlely's mind, but he pressed on.
"Not your pride, not your ego, but them? Or any of us. Unasked or not on the job! Cause I know you wouldn't!"
Jake reeled back, Bradley's words hitting him hard. But Bradley didn't falter. His face was still lit up with all the pent-up anger and frustration he held for Jake since the day he got his call sign.
"I see the man behind the show, the guy who thinks he's invincible. But you're not." Bradley pointed his finger. "Until you prove otherwise, I won't trust you with them. Not with Sadie. Not with Liz. Not with any of us."
Jake opened his mouth to reply, but a shout from the officer who gave them orders before interrupted him.
"You two, Top Gun! Quit standing around and go to the communications office and see where we are at with our navigation systems!"
Bradley stomped past Jake without another word, leaving him to silently fume for a few seconds before following him out of the hanger.
In the dimly lit, claustrophobic corridors of the carrier, the metallic walls groaned, strained by the might of the storm. Water or steam, they weren't sure which, was starting to pool in patches along the floor. With each wave and rock the ship encountered, the intermittent jolts sent the two pilots grasping for whatever was nearest to stay upright as they tried to make it to the communications office.
Following Bradley, Jake felt a spike of irritation. 'Why's he got to make everything so damn personal?' Jake thought bitterly. Bradley, meanwhile, was a simmering pot of anger.
"Why do you always have to be right in the middle of everything, Hangman?" Bradley shot over his shoulder, clearly irritated. "Can't you just once follow orders without making it about you?"
Jake gritted his teeth, trying to hold back a retort. "Look, can we just get to the comms and figure this out? We can bicker like an old married couple later."
Bradley's face twisted in a smirk, his pace never faltering. "Don't flatter yourself. I have standards."
A loud klaxon sounded, the eerie wail echoing through the narrow halls of the carrier. Jake and Bradley covered their ears, falling into the walls.
The second they managed to pull themselves up onto their feet, the PA system blared out another warning.
Begin bail-out and evacuation procedures. I repeat, Begin bail-out and evacuation procedures. All personnel should be on the upper decks in five minutes.
Jake turned to Bradley, his face filled with urgency. "We need to go! Now!"
Bradley snarled. He had no idea whether it was out of frustration with the current situation or Jake barking orders at him. But Jake was having none of it, grabbing Bradley hard by the collar of his suit and tugging him hard.
Jake's eyes were hard and furious as he remarked, "I'm not dying today, and neither should you."
Something flashed in Bradley's eyes that Jake could not name. But it was enough to give Bradley pause, water droplets running down his face as the anger and tension decided to leave him from earlier.
"We need to get home! For the girls," Jake roughed out. "For Liz and Sadie! Whatever hate you have towards me, we need to get out for them. Now!"
Another name came to Bradley's mind, but he couldn't bring himself to say it out loud, even now. Instead, Bradley could only sallow and nod. He couldn't deny Jake was right.
It was damn near impossible to sink an aircraft carrier. Jake and Bradley knew this. The things were built to withstand the roughest seas, hurricanes included. They were the most balanced and sturdiest things that ever graced any body of water on this planet. They had to be if aviators were literally landing planes on them.
But as water continued to breach the carrier, and as the pair raced through the ship to get to a proper stairwell that would get them to the relief point on the upper decks, they both wondered about the series of unfortunate events that led them to this point. The mechanics in the hangar bay had said everything was going wrong.
Bradley was on the verge of saying sabotage, wondering if they had a spy amongst their ranks. The mission had gone so much better than they had thought. But in their line of work, if something suspicious didn't happen, then their job wasn't over.
Jake just wanted to get both of them out of there.
They finally reached one of the escape hatches, a stairwell that led directly to the upper deck. Bradley was the one to turn the wheel on the door first, Jake joining in shortly after once he realized the sheer force Rooster was putting into opening the door.
A pressure vale released, and the second the two managed to open the door, Jake surged forward, followed by Bradley, who made their way into the narrow stairwell, hoping all had not been lost.
Jake paused on the small landing, looking up at the flights guided by the emergency light. There were a few fires scattering the walls, but it was climbable, and if both of them hurried, they wouldn't have any issues.
Bradley's hand on his shoulder made him pause.
"Dude, we have to book it."
Jake turned his head, ready with a cocky reply of something resembling a 'you don't think I know that' until he took in Bradley's panicked face, staring at the stairs below. Following Bradley's eyes, Jake reeled, noticing the rising water levels.
Grabbing Rooster by the back of his suit, Jake pulled Bradley in front of him, pushing him up the stairs, urging him forward and shouting, Go!
The two tried not to look up as they climbed, picturing their destination in their minds. Ignoring the sound of the alarm and the rushing water, Jake and Bradley counted their steps as they tried to reach the top. And they were close. Even as the rest of the ship creaked and groaned, they still fought to reach the top, unaware if help was waiting for them on the other side.
Then something blew up on one of the upper levels, the sound, the vibration, causing Jake and Bradley to slam themselves into the wall, trying to make themselves as small as possible. The lights flickered once, twice, then completely out, before a rotating red emergency light dimly lit the narrow stairwell. Metal crunched above their heads, snapping like twigs, and Jake didn't dare look up for fear of what might happen to either of them.
They felt it before they saw it, thin metal snapping out from underneath their feet. Feeling himself lurching forward, Jake immediately reached out for anything to hold on to. His fingers met a railing untouched by damage, and he latched on, suddenly opening his eyes to pull himself up and towards the relative safety of the remnants of the broken landing.
Bradley hadn't been so lucky.
Because the falling debris favoured his side of the stairs, the section he'd been crouching against completely crumpled under the impact, leaving only an empty space where thick, rushing water roiled menacingly below. There was nothing Bradley could have clung to, nothing that would have saved him from falling towards those black depths or allowed him to reach the warped edges of that landing.
Till his hand slapped onto a piece of a broken railing, Bradley struggled to find a grip tight enough to counteract the sweat on his palms. A panicked noise escaped his mouth as he slid down the newly indented piece of metal, finally stopping just before the end, muscles taunt and ridged as he forced breath into his body.
Jake had managed to pull himself up onto the landing as Bradley had fallen, instantly rolling himself up onto his chest to look down for the pilot.
He was within reach, and Jake extended his hand, on the verge of falling off the flimsy piece of metal. Bradley was hanging on, barely, looking between Jake's hand and the beam, the metal becoming looser and looser by the second.
And yet, Bradley still wouldn't take his hand.
"For godsakes, Bradshaw, just take my fucking hand!"
Jake purposely tried to jolt his arm forward in emphasis, hoping Bradley would finally take the leap and let go. But Bradley bowed his head, trying to force air into his lungs through his mouth as he looked down. With each pulse of red light, the water appeared to be getting higher and higher with each second.
He let out a panicked noise, trying to adjust his slipping grip. The movement caused the metal beam to drop slightly further, accompanied by a jarring clang. Bradley cried out, trying to reach for the broken edge of the landing.
Jake could feel himself slipping, sliding forward until he caught his boot on the railing, locking his body tight as he hung over the edge. Sharp, broken pieces of metal bit into his stomach as he swayed, trying to reach once again.
"Bradley! Just take my hand!" he shouted over the alarms, not any less urgent than before. "Please!"
Jake had never begged a day in his life, let alone to someone like Rooster. But there was no way he wasn't going home without him. You would never forgive him, and Sadie would never recover. He knew that for a fact.
Metal snapped, and Bradley dropped another inch, thinking this was it. That the railing was no longer attached to whatever had been holding it in place, baring his entire weight. Bradley threw his arm up towards Jake's in a desperate move.
Jake grabbed his wrist at the last possible second, a pained shout escaping his lips as he completely absorbed his weight, metal grating bending underneath him. But the grip he had on the railing with his foot held, and Jake bowed his head in relief, taking a few seconds with Bradley hanging dangerously off his arm to ground himself, trying not to think about what might have happened had he not caught him.
Jake grunted hard as he pulled Rooster up, his other hand finding a grip on the fabric of his flight suit along his back, hoping the railing from where he grounded himself would hold long enough to support them both. Bradley did the same with Jake's, using it as leverage to hoist himself up over the edge, only to roll onto his back, breathing hard.
Jake twisted his body away from the edge, laying on his back next to Rooster, staring up at what remained of the remaining flights of stairs. With the water still rushing below them and red lights spinning above them, the two dagger pilots took a few seconds to recuperate in the middle of the danger.
"You had to wait till the last second, didn't you?" Jake roughed out, panting hard. Bradley took three deep breaths before managing to gasp out, "I had to keep it interesting, right?"
Jake slammed his eyes shut, rocking his head to the side in slight annoyance. Bringing himself to a stand, Jake held out his hand again to help Bradley up. This time, Rooster didn't refuse it, instantly throwing his arm out to grasp the back of Jake's elbow, hoisting himself up.
Jake went to let go the minute he was up, but Bradley's grip remained firm.
"This is the second time you've saved me," he said, trying to make out Jake's face in the red light and dropping water. "You could have left me this time, for everything I've done, said..."
"What would be the point?" Jake interrupted him. "If I'd left you, I'd be no better than the person you thought I was. Besides," Jake added, smirking, "who else would I have to constantly prove wrong if you weren't around?"
Bradley scoffed, a tint of a smile tugging at his lips. "Asshole."
Jake shrugged. "It's in my nature. Now, can we please get the hell out of here?"
Bradley nodded, releasing Jake's elbow. In a dramatic fashion, he gestured for Jake to lead the way, looking up towards the rest of their journey to escape. But Bradley's eyes widened in horror as he saw the chunk of ceiling, metal, and wiring breaking loose directly above Jake.
"Jake, move!" Bradley bellowed, his voice echoing with urgency as he dropped to the ground, trying to drag Jake with him.
But in the chaos of falling water, blinking lights and cacophony of alarms, Jake was a split second too late to comprehend the warning fully. Just as he turned to see the descending danger, the heavy debris crashed down, the force of the impact throwing him off balance, rocking whatever remained of the grating they were standing on.
A metallic clang resonated sharply, followed by the splash of water as Jake was sent reeling backwards. The last thing Bradley saw, huddled against the wall, was the look of shock and realization in Jake's eyes, his silhouette disappearing beneath the surging tide of murky water, quickly consuming any trace of him.
Bradley, mouth agape, crawled over to the edge, Jake's call-sign a cry masked by the high-pitched alarms.
"Hangman!"
Bradley couldn't see him anywhere. Water continued to rush into the space, and Bradley, kneeling against the metal grating, tried to spot any area where Jake could manage to resurface. But with the power out and the pulsing red emergency lights, he couldn't see beyond the water's black surface.
Last call, I repeat, last call for evacuation and bail-out procedures.
Rooster pulled himself to stand, weighing his options.
He could jump and look for Jake. Despite the precarious situation they found themselves in, the water was still slow to fill the narrow stairwell. Bradley estimated he had minutes before the water became too much for him to handle.
Or he could leave, save himself. Say he did everything he could. That Jake was lost, the situation was too dire.
That Jake died a hero, trying to save him once again.
But it wasn't even a choice; the decision had already been made. It had been made the second your face appeared in front of his, and how it changed into a faded memory of his mom, collapsing to the ground at the news of his father's death. And Bradley, watching it all from behind the corner of a wall, forever feeling small.
But then it wasn't him as a child, but Sadie, the same look on her face the day the two of you walked up the driveway of your sister's place. The same look he found on her face the day she ran into your backyard, pulling at grass.
Jake would be another person for the both of you to mourn. He couldn't let that happen.
Bradley crossed his arms over his chest and jumped, diving under the water.
All he could see was black.
I had to cliffhanger you guys one last time with this one 😂 Please forgive me....
Tag list:
@blue-aconite @tinytotontheoversizedpony @djs8891 @caitsymichelle13 @startrekfangirl2233
@mayhemmanaged @ereardon @dempy @shanimallina87 @teacupsandtopgun @daggerspare-standingby
@phantomxoxo @formulapierre @eli2447 @fulla02 @blckgrl-sunflower @mizzzpink @ohgodnotagainn
@bubblegumbeautyqueen @sarahsmi13s @desert-fern @lynnestra44 @memoriesat30 @penwieldingdreamer @mxlanciia
@bradleybeachbabe @bobby-r2d2-floyd @lavenderbradshaw @roosters-girl @lovinglyeternal @kmc1989 @gigisimsonmars @dakotakazansky
@keyrani @craftytrashprincess @hisredheadedgoddess28 @abzidabzy @memeorydotcom @vicsnook @taestrwbrry
Part 21 - My Fair Lady Coming Soon 👀
-Wickett ;)
#Spotify#horseshoegirlwrites#jake x reader#liz and jake#jake seresin fic#jake hangman fic#jake hangman seresin#jake hangman x reader#jake hangman x you#jake seresin#jake seresin fanfiction#jake hangman seresin x reader#jake hangman seresin imagine#jake hangman imagine#jake seresin imagine#jake seresin imagines#jake seresin x oc#jake seresin x reader#jake seresin x y/n#jake seresin x you#top gun au#hangman top gun#top gun fanfic#top gun fanfiction#top gun fic#top gun hangman#hangman fic#hangman fanfiction#hangman seresin#damn those dog tags
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༻༉ Alastor (spotify) playlist
Songs:
Stalker's Tango - Autoheart
Bernadette - IAMX
Killing of A Sacred Deer - Nick Cause
Dead to Me - Melanie Martinez
The Red Means I Love You - Madds Buckley
Mama's Boy - Dominic Fike
Roaring 20s - Panic! At The Disco
Outrunning Karma - Alec Benjamin
Sociopath - Stay Loose, Bryce Fox
my boy - Billie Eilish
I Can't Decide - Scissor Sisters
Mama - My chemical Romance
Boy In The Bubble - Alec Benjamin
The Masochism Tango - Tom Lehrer
Posin - Glenn Gatsby
You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile - Peter Marshall
An Unhealthy Obsession - The Blake Robinson Synthetic Orchestra
People I Don't Like - UPSAHL
Fire Drill - Melanie Martinez
MONSTER - KIRA, GUMI
Twisted - MISSIO
Sarcasm - Get Scared
Cry - Cigarettes After Sex
my strange addiction - Billie Eilish
Look Who's Inside Again - Bo Burnham
Sex with a Ghost - Teddy Hyde
bury a friend - Billie Eilish
We'll Meet Again - Vera Lynn, Sailors, Soldiers & Airmen of Her majesty
Black Coffee - Louia Prima, Wolfgang Lohr
Tag, You're It - Melanie Martinez
All Eyes on Me - OR3O
911 - Ellise
The Fine Print - The Stupendium
If I Killed Someone For You - Alec Benjamin
Psycho - Mia Rodriguez
Turn the Lights Off - Tally Hall
The Mind Electric - Miracle Musical
Crazy = Genius - Party! At The Disco
Zydrate Anatomy - Paris Hilton, Alexa Vega, Terrance Zdunich
I Love You Like An Alcoholic - The Taxpayers
Test Me - Melanie Martinez
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I've recently been noticing some angermanagement (jason/jazz) ship posts on my dash.
And my brain only saw the potential family dynamic in those posts. Like,,,just consider this,,,, jazz grows up, moves to Gotham to work as a therapist, her highly traumatized recently dissected non aging little brother follows her. Jazz meets Jason, Danny's happy that Jazz's happy and still is very traumatized. Jason and Jazz grow closer and Jazz introduces Jason to Danny. She introduces Danny as her recently orphaned little cousin and mentions nothing about ghosts.
Danny has a LOT of trust issues and so does Jason so their first few series of meetings are awkward as hell. But they do get along eventually and it turns out Bryce's genes did carry over and he ends up sort of adopting Danny.
Until one day, Jason sees Danny hurt himself while chopping vegetables (or smth idk) and instead of red blood, green ectoplasm flows out of the wound. Jason recognizes that as something distinctly almost like the Lazarus pits and has an internal freakout.
And then he connects some dots on Jazz's polka dot dress and comes to the conclusion that Danny must be Damien's brother or relative (because they look just so alike) who was experimented on by the league and that Jazz, who also was part of the league, managed to grab Danny and run away.
And to him, that explains everything. It explains how Jazz fights like she has real world experience, it explains why she's distressed leaving Danny alone for even short amounts of time, it explains Danny's sheer reluctance to trust anyone other than Jazz, why he assess every room he enters and his absolute fear of hospitals.
And oh,,,Jason is going to murder Ra's Al Ghul
#danny phantom#danny fenton#danny phantom shitpost#shitpost#dp x dc#jason todd#jazz fenton#anger management#ship#jason todd/jazz Fenton#bruce wayne#batman#red hood#dad jason#angsty danny#angst#bro got cut open like a dang slice of cake he is not okay#my arm got cut open like a slice of cake by the pavement too Danny#more like i fell but same difference
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Inspired by @lovesongbracket and @dominosbrackets.
What is your favourite song that is NOT about romantic love, but is still close to your heart? Maybe narrative song that you enjoy?
Submissions are closed, sorry!
1. You can submit as many songs as you want.
2. No romantic love songs, but ones about platonic love are fine. I prefer songs with clear narration/theme (ex. friendship, betrayal, sadness).
2. Submissions will close, when there are too much songs for me to handle.
Tagging other brackets that I like, pls don't bite ;^;.
@qpr-competition, @ultimate-poll-tournament , @aroace-awsomeness-arena, @girlbosswar, @asexual-swag-competition, @thecompetitionshowdowntournament .
Playlist with submissions:
Current Sub-Bracket:
Next Sub-Bracket:
You can check other sub-brackets by going to
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CFWC F/AotW - March 10 - 16, 2024
✒️ = Fanfic | 📱= Text Fics/Edits | 🎨 = Fanart
Ⓜ️ = Mature Content 18+ | 🔥 = Explicit/NSFW 18+
🏳️🌈 = LGBTQIA
BLADES OF LIGHT AND SHADOW
Battle ✒️| Tyril Sarfury x f!human!mc - @petalouda85
Blades Fanfic ✒️| Tyril Starfury & MC - @skepticalfrogcat
Names ✒️| Tyril Starfury x F!human!MC - @petalouda85
Nyx x Luna Rose 🎨| Original Characters by @lilyoffandoms
C: @storyofmychoices
Second Thoughts ✒️| Tyril Starfury x F!MC - @thosehallowedhalls
CRIMES OF PASSION
Confrontation ✒️| CoP F!MC, M!OC - @thosehallowedhalls
Home Without (Series) ✒️| M!Trystan Thorne x F!MC - @thosehallowedhalls
Part 4
Mama, Didn't Mean to Make You Cry ✒️| M!Trystan Thorne, Viktoria Thorne - @inlocusmads
Running on Empty ✒️| M!Trystan Thorne x F!MC - @inlocusmads
THE ELEMENTALISTS
Your Love is Sweet Like a Honeysuckle ✒️🏳️🌈| Griffin Langley x F!MC - @aallotarenunelma
Yoga & Pancakes ✒️| Beckett Harrington x F!MC - @storyofmychoices
THE HAUNTING OF BRIARWOOD MANOR
Chicory Flowers For My Beloved ✒️🏳️🌈| Eleanor Waverly x F!MC - @aallotarenunelma
IMMORTAL DESIRES
Lavander Sass ✒️🏳️🌈| NB!MC, Original Characters - @aallotarenunelma
OPEN HEART
Complete Open Heart List for Week Ending March 16, 2024
PERFECT MATCH
Alstroemeria as in Adoration ✒️🏳️🌈| PM F!MC - @aallotarenunelma
RED CARPET DIARIES
My Favorite Place 🎨| Thomas Hunt x F!OC by @/majoma_art (IG) C: @storyofmychoices
THE ROYAL ROMANCE
Ghosted (Series) ✒️Ⓜ️| Liam Rys x MC - @kristinamae093
Chapter 11: Altering Visions
Second Chance Love (Series) ✒️Ⓜ️🔥 | Liam Rys x MC, Liam Rys x F!OC - @mysticalfangirl
Part 1
Turning the Page (Series) ✒️Ⓜ️| Liam Rys x F!OC - @tessa-liam
Chapter 11: A Step Back in Time
Vancross (Series) ✒️Ⓜ️| Liam Rys x F!OC - @ao719
Chapter 23: Rescue You
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
Stitched Sunflowers ✒️🏳️🌈| Dean West x F!MC - @aallotarenunelma
SAVE THE DATE
Origami Daisy ✒️🏳️🌈| Simon Hendricks x F!MC - @aallotarenunelma
CROSSOVERS
Blades of Light & Shadow / Nightbound
Kit Meets Rock ✒️| Mal Volari x F!MC, Nik Ryder x F!MC - @ladylamrian
Immortal Desires & Murder at Homecoming
Murder at Homecoming: Harlow (Series)✒️| Cas Harlow x MaH F!MC - @korgbelmont
Part 2
Open Heart & The Royal Romance
Don't Call Me Angel ✒️| OH F!OC, Bryce Lahela, Tobias Carrick, Maxwell Beaumont, Bertrand Beaumont - @peonierose
#choices fanfic#choices fanart#blades of light and shadow#crimes of passion#the elementalists#the haunting of briarwood manor#immortal desires#open heart#perfect match#red carpet diaries#the royal romance#rules of engagement#save the date#playchoices#playchoices fanfic#playchoices fanart#choices fic writers creations#choices stories you play
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The Haunting of Edenbrook
Premise: It’s All Hallow’s Eve, and something wicked lingers in the air of Edenbrook Hospital’s hallowed halls.
Book: Open Heart
Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Cassie Valentine); feat. Bryce Lahela, Jackie Varma
Rating/Category: Teen. Fluff
Words: 1,400
A/N: Submission for @choicesprompts Flufftober prompt "Embarrassing Secret Revealed" and @choicesholidays Halloween. I'm also using @choicesflashfics week 56, prompt 3.
The October sky raged, dark and churning, echoing the turmoil of a sea in a tempest. Every once in a while, the skies erupted, and a brilliant streak of lightning would illuminate the city. It was a night made for things that went bump in the night.
Witches and ghosts roamed free in the dark shadows, floating above the cobblestone streets of Boston that glistened in the pale. As the clock neared midnight, church bells tolled in eerie harmony, their rhythmic clanging calling all the lost souls home.
Thunder rattled the windows of Edenbrook Hospital’s cafeteria, and a fleeting glow of a lightning bolt forked across the horizon. For a split second, Cassie Valentine thought she saw something streak across the black sky, but she blinked, and it was gone.
She glanced warily at the storm raging outside and wondered if the Emergency Department would be calling for reinforcements. She hoped people had the good sense to stay inside on a night like this.
But it was Halloween, and Boston was a college town. College students weren’t exactly known for playing it safe, she thought with a heavy sigh.
The overhead lights in the cafeteria flickered, and she hoped the hospital wouldn’t lose power.
“You know hospitals have backup generators, right?” Jackie Varma mocked, and Cassie realized she’d spoken the words out loud. “Why so antsy, Valentine?”
She ignored her roommate’s jibe and looked away from the stormy scene outside. “I hate working nights.”
“Welcome to the intern life,” Bryce Lahela called out. He plopped down on the seat across from her and handed her a pudding cup. “Scared of the dark?”
The surgical intern was part of her friend group, so she didn’t mind his glib attitude, just like she was getting used to Jackie’s occasional surliness and cutting remarks.
“Of course not,” Cassie huffed, but Bryce smirked, clearly not believing her.
In the dim light, Bryce leaned in and whispered, “Haven’t you heard? Once upon a time, in between the world wars, Edenbrook used to be a mental hospital. They housed the most dangerous patients on the tenth floor, where the path lab is now.”
He slowly licked his spoon. “They say it’s haunted. Years ago, on a night much like this one, with a storm raging across the harbor, a fire broke out. In their hurry to escape the raging flames, the staff forget about those locked in padded cells above.”
Bryce paused dramatically, his gaze turning inward as he stared at the darkness beyond. Jackie snickered, but Cassie felt dread rising at what was to come.
“The legend goes that nurses hear phantom footsteps in the hallways and icy chills grip rooms,” his voice dropped further, and Cassie leaned forward, her forehead almost touching his. “On All Hallow’s Eve, at midnight, you can hear their sorrowful wails echoing, searching endlessly for a way out.”
Thunder clapped outside, and Cassie jumped in her seat, a shriek escaping her lips. Bryce burst into laughter.
“You should’ve seen your face, Valentine,” Jackie chuckled, giving Bryce a high-five. “Who knew you were such a scaredy cat?”
Sick of being made fun of, Cassie grabbed her tray, pushed back her chair and stalked off, Bryce and Jackie’s laughter echoing behind her.
She started for the staircase, but the creepy feeling from Bryce’s ghostly tale still lingered, and she detoured instead toward the elevator bank. The hallways were quiet this time of night, and she hunched her shoulders as she waited.
Sensing something behind her, she glanced over her shoulder, only to relax when it was clear. But the feeling lingered, and she quickly jumped inside when the doors slid open.
“Dammit!” She noticed the elevator was heading up instead of down. “Great,” she muttered, watching the numbers change as she leaned against the cold, steel wall.
When the elevator slowed its ascent after the ninth floor, her dread returned.
“Please don’t stop at ten. Please don’t stop ten,” Cassie prayed, even as the car stopped and the doors slid open, inch by slow inch.
Cassie almost screamed at the sight of a tall figure standing in the shadowed hallway. And then he stepped forward into the light, and she slumped in relief.
“H-hi, Dr. Ramsey,” she said, her voice strangled by the thought of phantoms roaming the dim hallways stretching behind him.
No wonder Dr. Wen, the chief of pathology, was always jumpy. She would be, too, if she had to work on this floor every day.
Ethan Ramsey nodded in acknowledgment but didn’t step into the elevator. Instead, he quirked one eyebrow. “In or out, Valentine? I haven’t got all night.”
Cassie realized he was waiting for her to exit. “I’m not getting off,” she said, “I got on the wrong elevator by accident.”
He mumbled something about interns under his breath and crossed the threshold before the doors slid shut. Pressing the button for his floor, he looked back expectantly at her.
“Four,” she sputtered, gripping the railing behind her.
Cassie didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath until the doors slammed shut.
“How come you’re here so late?” she asked as the elevator began its descent.
“Gee, Valentine, I had no idea I reported to you now,” he said, sarcasm dripping from each word.
That shut her up, and she went back to staring at the numbers above the door.
Ethan’s cologne filled her senses. The subtle scent reminded her of summer nights after a rainstorm washed the world clean. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears, and she felt a spark of electricity crackle in the air. It was always thus when he was near.
She wondered if she’d ever get over this ridiculous crush. She was competing for a spot on his team, and whatever this…thing was between them couldn’t go anywhere.
There was no denying Ethan Ramsey had sex appeal oozing from his pores. She was likely just horny, Cassie reasoned. Maybe she should give the dating apps another try. If she scratched that itch, she could stop fantasizing about the man who held the fate of her career in his beautiful, long-fingered hands.
Cassie felt his gaze upon her and slid her eyes sideways. There was something indescribable in his blue eyes as he watched her. Her brows furrowed as she tried to decipher it, but his face became inscrutable when he caught her spying.
“You seem jumpier than usual,” he commented as an uncomfortable silence stretched between them.
“I’m just not a fan of that floor,” Cassie mumbled.
“And?” he prompted when she didn’t say anything more.
“I guess I hadn’t heard about Edenbrook’s past before, and it spooked me,” she shrugged.
“What on earth are you talking about, Rookie?” Ethan said, brows beetling in confusion.
“You know, the fire when the hospital was a mental asylum, the patients that died,” Cassie explained. “On the tenth floor?”
Ethan stared at her as if she’d grown two horns, and then his face cleared. His laughter boomed in the air, and Cassie realized it was very much at her expense.
“And when exactly did this gruesome incident occur?” he asked as the elevator stopped at his floor.
“Bryce said it was sometime in the nineteen thirties,” Cassie said, wondering why Ethan didn’t know this.
“Edenbrook was founded in the late nineteen sixties as a teaching hospital, and only a teaching hospital,” Ethan emphasized the latter. He stepped off the elevator and turned to face her. “In case you missed the plaque hanging on a wall in the atrium.”
“Oh,” Cassie said, embarrassed beyond belief. Now that he mentioned it, she had seen the sign in her first week and even remarked on it with Sienna and Elijah.
“I’m afraid I may have made a mistake with you,” Ethan drawled, deceptively calm, placing his hands on the sensors to stop the doors from closing. “Gullible residents have no place on my team.”
“I’m sorry, Dr. Ramsey,” Cassie muttered, a flush spreading up her neck. “I’ll do better.”
“See that you do, Dr. Valentine,” Ethan shook his head in exasperation and released the doors.
The last thing Cassie saw before the elevator doors closed was Ethan chuckling as he walked away. She inhaled deeply, her nostrils flaring as his lingering scent filled her senses, and she sighed wistfully.
Crushing on Ethan Ramsey was a recipe for disaster. The man was trouble with a capital T.
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All Fics & Edits: @bluebelle08 @coffeeheartaddict2 @crazy-loca-blog @genevievemd @headoverheelsforramsey @lucy-268 @jamespotterthefirst @jerzwriter @lady-calypso @mainstreetreader @peonierose @potionsprefect @queencarb @quixoticdreamer16 @rookiemartin @socalwriterbee @tessa-liam @trappedinfanfiction
Submissions: @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics
Ethan & Cassie only: @cariantha @custaroonie @hopelessromantic1352 @mrs-ramsey @youlookappropriate @zealouscanonindeer
#open heart#open heart choices#ethan ramsey#ethan ramsey x mc#open heart fanfics#open heart fanfiction#choices fanfics#choices fanfiction#choices fic writers creations#cfwc fics of the week#ethan ramsey x cassie valentine#choices open heart
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I feel like it's a good thing that Nico doesn't seem to have any trauma from killing Bryce (whether that's because he doesn't remember it or because Bryce had it coming or both is unclear, but in TSatS he seems pretty okay with it even though he's still dwelling on Octavian's death), because I don't think Dionysus would be a huge amount of help there. Nico would mention it and Dionysus would hear out the description of what he did to Bryce and go "That sounds awesome actually, do you think you could do it to my enemies for my amusement?"
...Then again, maybe that would be helpful. Nothing like your godly therapist hearing you talk about that time you turned someone into a ghost and going "Fuck yeah, you go you funky little demigod".
#riordanverse#nico di angelo#dionysus pjo#dionysus is the best therapist#he'd hear that nico killed two people and go 'i'm sure they had it coming. anyway how'd you do it?'
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Ok so like
Everyone talks about how Nico ghostified Bryce Lawrence and is so badass and powerful
And I absolutely 100% agree and that scene is terrifyingly amazing
But NOBODY talks about how in ToN Nico just straight up TURNS A LIVING MAN INTO A SKELETON AND IMMEDIATELY STARTS ORDERING HIM AROUND!! LIKE, WHAT THE FUCK?! FUCKIN 10/10 I FELL OUT OF MY CHAIR AND WAS LIKE YAS GHOST KING YOU GO and no one ever brings it up 😭
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I need to share this excerpt of Blood of Olympus where Nico is at his best mix of righteous anger and terrifying power:
Nico marched towards him. He grabbed Bryce’s probatio tablet and ripped it o ff his neck.
‘You aren’t worthy of this,’ Nico growled.
The earth split under Bryce’s feet. He sank up to his waist. ‘Stop!’ Bryce clawed at the ground and the plastic bouquets, but his body kept sinking.
‘You took an oath to the legion.’ Nico’s breath steamed in the cold. ‘You broke its rules. You inflicted pain. You killed your own centurion.’
‘I – I didn’t! I –’
‘You should’ve died for your crimes,’ Nico continued. ‘That was the punishment. Instead you got exile. You should have stayed away. Your father Orcus may not approve of broken oaths. But my father Hades really doesn’t approve of those who escape punishment.’
‘Please!’
That word didn’t make sense to Nico. The Underworld had no mercy. It only had justice.
‘You’re already dead,’ Nico said. ‘You’re a ghost with no tongue, no memory. You won’t be sharing any secrets.’
‘No!’ Bryce’s body turned dark and smoky. He slipped into the earth, up to his chest. ‘No, I am Bryce Lawrence! I’m alive!’
‘Who are you?’ Nico asked.
The next sound from Bryce’s mouth was a chattering whisper. His face became indistinct. He could have been anyone – just another nameless spirit among millions. ‘Begone,’ Nico said.
The spirit dissipated. The earth closed.
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Who’d Nico kill? It’s been a whine since I read the books so I can’t remember lol
Nico killed Bryce Lawrence.
He turned Bryce into a ghost and the ground swallowed the guy up 👍🏼
It was in Blood Of Olympus
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Nico: Everybody else has to go in slow motion now!
Bryce Lawrence, very confused: Wait a minute, I don’t-
Nico: You have to talk in slow motion, too. Liiiiike thiiis.
Bryce, slowly turning into a ghost: Thiiiis gaaaame maaaakes noooo seeeennnsssee. Iiiiit’s almooost aaas iiiif yoooou’re makiiiing iiiit uuuup aaaas youuuu goooo.
Nico, definitely just winging it: Reyna! He stumbled into the perimeter of wisdom! Run!
#this one was a friend’s idea#source: calvin and hobbes#incorrect pjo quotes#Nico di Angelo#Bryce Lawrence#the Bryce Lawrence scene TM#reyna avila ramirez arellano
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Hello there! Can I get some Nico whump reccomendations? You seem to be a huge whump enjoyer, so you look like the right person to ask
Anon you're feeding my ego (yes i take huge joy in seeing Nico get hurt and I'm not even ashamed)
Well then, here're some fanfics I think you should check out for a hurt Nico!
Warning tho: since you don't include any preferences or triggerings, i'm pretty much going in blind here so... bear with me ig lmao
The whole Whumptober 2021 series by sunflowersandscreams. Especially This is gonna suck (Jason, Leo, Nico and cauterization)
Dying is always simple by Joana789: Nico dies what do you expect
the haunting of ghosts by orphan_account: Nico, Reyna, the platonic love of my life. And nightmares.
The Most Beautiful Sound I've Ever Heard by ewtp: Solangelo and so much angst (since when it isn't)
Dreams by Phelpsgirlxxx: Nico's suffering. Apollo helps a little.
Clawing At The Ceiling Of His Grave by Helenpraspro: Solangelo but Octavian is awful. TW: non-con. Like. straigh-up full package omfg
Twinkle Twinkle by Pey119: Nico has cancer. Percy's POV.
Naturally Broken by our lovely Avaetin: Jasico, including school bullying so i think it fits?
Put Your Hand In Mine by robindrake93 (Percico, past Solangelo): A monster turns out to be toxic. Nico takes the blunt.
tiny haunts by enbyofdionysus (has Nico/Pollux and Nico/Bryce featuring abusive relationship. Rec mainly because 1/ wow this thing is a banger 2/ holy shit that's fucked up)
Hope you enjoy!!!
#nico di angelo#pjo#hoo#toa#yone rambling#percy jackson and the olympians#heroes of olympus#trials of apollo#percy jackson#jason grace#jasico#solangelo#percico#nico/pollux#whump stuff#hurt nico#fic rec#pjo fic rec#percico fic rec#solangelo fic rec#octavian/nico#jasico fic rec#tw noncon#tw violence
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I keep thinking about Percabeth's scene in Tartarus where Percy uses the dark side of his powers on Akhlys and Annabeth is terrified and pleads with him to stop. And I keep thinking about how that scene would not work with Solangelo. Will lets Octavian die because Nico tells him to in BOO and by TON Nico is turning people into skeletons. I love how completely unafraid Will is of Nico and I love how that unflappable-ness extends to Nico's demigod abilities. He seems to care more about Nico being okay than about whoever's on the other end of Nico's powers. I really hope we get his POV in the book because Nico could tell us all about him, but there's never really been a character in Will's position before. I'm invested in how differently he thinks from the traditional heroes, the people who are used to questing and fighting, but also I desperately want to see "creepy and gloomy" Nico and his "terrifying" powers described in Will's eyes.
Ah, yes, Akhlys, who we're almost certainly going to encounter because she's been set up as having some sort of interaction with Nico already in BOO. I've been thinking a bit about this scene as well, and you're right.
Personally, what I want to see of Tartarus this time is something completely different to Percabeth's journey. Solangelo is not Percabeth 2.0 and I don't want the narrative to mirror it, so if it was up to me, I don't want to see them encountering the same things at all. However, realistically we're going to get at least some overlap (although I'm hoping not too much) and Akhlys is top of the suspect list.
But yes, Will won't be afraid of Nico, no matter what Nico does. He will be afraid for Nico, for the consequences of Nico's powers on him, but he won't be afraid of him. And also, from the power arc standpoint, Nico has had this moment of dark, when he literally reduced Bryce to a ghost in BOO. It serves no narrative purpose to repeat this revelation that Nico can go incredibly dark even for this reason, never mind the fact that it's already expected and implied due to his parentage, and if Will doesn't by now know about what Nico did to Bryce (or at least heavily suspect) I will be incredibly surprised. For all we know, Hedge may even have told him in BOO when he told him about everything else, so, no. Something like that would not add any depth to Nico, Will, their relationship or the plot, and I'll be incredibly disappointed if it occurs.
(That being said, I, too, really want Will's pov on Nico and the powers that Nico wields, because he's clearly unafraid but that doesn't mean he's unaware of how terrifying his boyfriend is to other people.)
What would make this encounter interesting is if it was Will, not Nico, who snaps. I am on the fence about plague!Will and in almost every situation it is a headcanon I cannot get on with, but there is exactly one scenario whereby I would find it an interesting premise, and that is this one.
Where Will is the one whose powers go out of control, where Will is the one who unlocks something dangerous, deadly, and arguably should never be unlocked. Where Will is terrified of what he can do, because he's a healer, not a killer, but Tartarus has broken something inside him and now he can't turn it off, now he's inflicting plagues on everything around him and he can't stop it.
Where Nico is the one terrified - not of Will, no, Nico would never be terrified of Will the same way Will would never be terrified of Nico - but of what it's doing to Will. How he's watching his boyfriend break under the strain of what Tartarus has done to him, how it's changed him in a way that's irreversible and Will can never be who he was before, but a compromise has to be reached or this will kill everything Will's ever been. Kill his spirit, crush his soul, watch his powers spiral out of control and know he's directly responsible for everything he tries to stop in the world.
Where Will tries to push Nico away because he can't be the reason Nico dies, but Nico will never leave Will, no matter what, and maybe this is something that can't be fixed, but it's something they can grow into together, something they can face together, help Will control (and lock away, because he doesn't want this, he's a healer not a killer and this power should never have been unlocked, but he can't lock it away until it's controlled, and he has to live with the knowledge that it's there, now, the same way Percy has to live with the knowledge of what he did - only with Percy the fear was never his power, it was the way it made the person who loves him recoil in terror, but Nico will only hold onto Will tighter and it's the power Will will fear).
If we're going to get Plague!Will, that's the only way I'll be happy with it, and from a character development standpoint it will force the narrative to really dig deep into who Will is and show us everything - his loves, his fears, the innermost workings of his mind - which is something that, honestly, we really need in canon for Will. I love him, and there's a lot of extrapolation that's possible from what we have, but in terms of blatant canon we still don't have much.
Meanwhile, Nico's had his big story arc already. He's gone from the naive young child to a traumatised war veteran, and learnt to accept who he is, who he loves, and be confident in himself. We've seen Nico at his lowest, most broken points and now he's working so hard on putting himself maybe not back together, but he's rebuilding a whole out of his shattered parts again, and honestly I think it'd cheapen his arc over the past three series if the point of this book is to tear him apart again. Will, on the other hand, is a near-blank slate with so many hints (he, too, is a traumatised war veteran, but so far we haven't been shown this) and getting his pov in the Solangelo book would be a perfect way to finally learn what's really going on under that laid-back and gentle yet steadfast and stubborn presentation he's had so far.
So yes, Will pov for this book please, and treat him like a main character and not a trophy boyfriend with no other narrative purpose.
#Anonymous#will solace#nico di angelo#solangelo#pjo akhlys#riordanverse#rrverse#tsari analyses things
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Chapter 11 - It'll Be Okay
Summary: Clay goes to the reader's house to comfort her.
Warnings: Mentions of sexual assault, mention of food.
Genre: Heavy Angst
Word Count: 1.6k
< Previous | Next >
“Hey Y/N, how are you? Please reply to my texts or call me back.” You got a text from Clay.
“Y/N please, I am worried”.
This was not the first time you were getting these texts from Clay. It had been a week since you met him or talked to him. Since the day Bryce tried to rape you, you have not been to school and have not seen anyone. After crying that whole night, you shut your emotions off because it is always easier to not feel anything rather than cry over the same thing over and over again.
You decided not to tell anyone because you did not know what to tell them. Somehow as always, it felt like all of this was your fault.
What would you tell others? That Bryce tried to rape you, and you couldn’t even fight back? Everyone in the school would slut-shame you without knowing the truth.
Thoughts like these ran through your mind and you could not take it anymore honestly, you were not strong enough to feel such heavy emotions, so you shut them off. You went miserable during that week, did not eat properly, and did not care about your skincare and body. You were losing your shit.
You had a perfect plan; you sought Tony’s help and made him swear that he will not open his mouth to anyone about anything. Every morning you came to his place instead of going to school and by the time school got over you came home so that no one would even notice. You got many texts from Jessica, but the good thing was that she was out of town, and you could easily lie to her about everything.
Stalling Justin was easy too and as Tony told you even Zach did not say anything in school about you, but he told you that Zach use to ask about you every day, about how you are keeping up, about your health, about you not coming to school. But you still didn’t care about it. All you cared about was Clay. Seeing those texts, and the endless missed calls made you want to go to his place and tell him the truth but a part of you was scared. You were scared to confront him about Bryce, feared him judging you, and scared to ruin what you had with him.
Every day you had this thought of breaking up with Clay because you did not want to drag Clay into your drama. He was doing simply fine in his school you did not want him to suffer because of you. A part of you felt that Clay is better off without you and that is why you ghosted him.
Today, you reached your home a bit late because though you were not going to school you kept your homework up to date. So, after finishing your work you went to your place, and it was almost dinner time. As soon as you opened the main door you heard your parents talking and with that, you heard a familiar voice. You went inside the living room and saw Clay sitting on the couch with your parents.
Upon your arrival, all three of them stood up. Clay looked sad and confused and as your eyes met you felt pity for not talking to him all this week. Your mother looked furious before you could ask about the unknown arrival of Clay your mother started yelling at you, “Y/N Y/L/N you had a boyfriend? And if you were not going to school all this time, where were you going? What is happening? Answer me!” She demanded.
You did not answer any of her questions and instead turned to Clay, “Clay what the hell are you doing here? You are not supposed to be here, just leave.”
Before Clay could say something, your father intervened and said, “Let us all just calm down and have a peaceful family dinner, and Y/N you cannot skip dinner today like you have been doing for the past week. Clay, I would like you to join as well and then after dinner, we can talk.”
Your father was always the savior. You all sat down at the dining table and said grace. Your mother still had that death glare on her face which scared you. Your father was quick to notice the tension building in the atmosphere and suggested “Now everyone will tell us about how their day was.”
Your mother tried taking the first bite of her food, but rage took over her hunger and she slammed her fork on her plate and asked you “So tell me Y/N how was your day? And where did you spend it?”
You were annoyed and could not take it anymore you stood up and announced “You all want to know about my day huh? So, I made a particularly crucial decision today. I am quitting the baseball and basketball team.” Your mother though was furious with you, but her face revealed a sigh of relief. You glared at your mom and said “And you would be happy right, Mom? Because you never wanted me to play in the first place.” After saying this you left the table and stormed off to your room.
Your father and Clay were shocked at whatever you just said. They knew sports was one of the most important things in your life that kept you happy and they knew you could quit anything but sports.
Clay followed you to your room. You sat on the edge of your bed looking at the floor and Clay came inside shutting the door behind him.
This was the first time Clay was coming into your room. Your room was subtle, it had a mauve aesthetic with contrasting curtains hanging on the window just above the couch in your room. Your bed lay in the middle of the room with blue sheets. There were fairy lights on your headboard and some Polaroids were clipped to the lights.
Clay looked outside the window to prevent eye contact with you.
“Why would you do that Y/N? Why me huh? A week and no texts no call? Who am I to you?” you could hear the anger in his voice. He had every right to be angry with you but did not know the truth.
“Clay you were not supposed to be here, my parents don’t know about you. After Zach, they prohibited me from dating someone because I went miserable after the breakup.”
Clay turned towards you, but you were still looking at the floor, you said “I think we should break up Clay, it would be best for both of us.”
Those words were such a thunderclap to Clay. He could be angry with you, mad at you but he could not stand the idea of breaking up with you. He sat down on his knees to bring himself to your level and held both your hands in his with a look of distress in his eyes and he could not help but stare. He felt like he didn’t recognize you. You were not the Y/N he admired, weak and miserable. You had deep dark circles under your eyes and looked fragile.
“Y/N are not eating enough? What is it, baby? Talk to me. It is okay whatever it is. Hey, look at me. Please, don’t do this to me, it hurts.”
He pulled your chin and made you look him in the eye. As your eyes met you could not keep your tears away anymore, “Something happened Clay…” you sobbed.
“What is it?”
You told him everything that had happened to you. His face was mixed with reactions he was angry at Bryce, sorry for you, and mad at himself for not knowing earlier and not being there for you when you needed him.
“Why didn’t you tell me Y/N about all this? Why would you even hide something from me?”
“Because I thought you’ll judge me like every other person in our school and think I am just another girl who slept with Bryce.”
“Are you crazy? I would never. Y/N you are one of the most important people in my life and I could not lose you to that asshole. I told you everything about Hannah and how he screwed with everyone I ever loved. I am not letting that dick do anything to you. We will fight back. But if you want some space and time, I will understand but please, God please don’t break up with me.”
Clay held your face in his hands and looked into your eyes, you could see that his eyes were tearing up too.
“Y/N, I love you…” You intervened “But Clay…”
“No, Y/N you don’t have to say it back. I just wanna let you know that there are people who love you and care about you so that you don’t do anything stupid. I meant to say this for a long time, but Y/N Y/L/N I am in love with you.”
You looked at him with pity in your eyes and said, “But I am a mess Clay, why would you love me?”
“Well, I love your mess. I love everything about you” replied Clay.
Clay kissed your forehead and engulfed you in a hug and caressed your back. You took a moment to realize it was fine for him to touch you. Since Bryce, you prevented every possible human touch because you lost trust. But this felt different. As he hugged you tightly instead of revolting back you hugged him back and started crying. You could feel his damp sweatshirt on his shoulder and a couple of Clay's tears on your shoulder.
“We can tell people whenever you are ready. It’s all gonna be okay.” He whispered.
At that moment you felt protected. You knew you could move past this. You knew everything will be fine and you will be able to face that asshole and get him punished for whatever he did. You knew it will be okay.
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TWO
MAIN SYNOPSIS: You're not sure if you want to light the fires that will see the world burn, or put out the fires, either way, you're doing both. After a secret meeting with Rigelus of the Asteri and his charming--yet deadly proposition--to join him in the Eternal city and rain down hellfire on all who have wronged you, you decide to accept what should be a suicide mission.
Only it isn't, and as you walk into the Eternal City and away from the five men who love you the most in the whole world, you cannot hope to ever see them again... unless you're not as burned up as you thought you were.
Unless you burn bright, as a double agent.
chapter one / two (you are here) / three / four / five / six / seven / eight / nine / ten
the light of stars is an explicit (i cannot emphasize this enough.) reverse harem (kinda) sjm crossover x reader fic. there are some inconsistencies, which i am in the process of fixing! most of this chapter is under the cut, it clocks in at about 3.5k words and I wasn't going to make everyone read that lol
You wake like a ghost in the night, haunting the halls of the camp you have called home with your fellow rebels for so long now. The abandoned mansion of a once great king—it was perfect for a rebel strong hold. It had been lost to view for centuries, and only your magic could undo the warding on the cloaking spells. For a moment, the happy memories of discovering the place and your triumph over your magic makes your frown disappear for a long moment. But none of it could last, the people would never accept a queen with five king consorts, that was practically a fucking harem. You groan to yourself and wander out to the veranda where you know he is waiting.
Your greatest enemy.
The decision is made, in your mind, you’re the only one you have to consult with anyway. They will wake to a bed without you, assume you didn’t sleep well and are getting breakfast. But when they realize no one has seen you for hours and and hours, they will want to tear the world apart. Went the world in two.
But they cannot. They have enough to be getting on with, as heads of the rebellion you’ve carefully created. Against your own people.
Rigelus’s profile cuts an impressive figure against the night. The strong back, tall stature and broad shoulders make something feminine in you soften—though you do not want it to. Rigelus and you had known each other eons and he knew each and every one of your dirty secrets. How you loved to fix broken things, and how this rebellion was just one more broken thing you had chosen over the eons to fix.
What you couldn’t live with is seeing the magic fade. Rigelus had promised to cast out the magic from the world, to banish it like one would an unworthy solider from their little band of Lightfall Squadron soldiers. It would suffocate all you loved.
You wanted your freedom above all. Your freedom to love who you wanted, and marriage to Rigelus was nothing more than a legal contract. Maybe he would let you keep a harem in the in the Eternal city—not that your young, wild and carefree warriors will ever want to see you again.
It was nothing you hadn’t borne before.
“Hello princess,” Rigelus croons, his voice hasn’t changed from all the eons you’ve known each other. Where yours is sweet and soft, his is hard and otherworldly.
As if they’d cut you from the same cloth, but dyed his too dark.
You scowl, “We’re not married yet, don’t call me your princess, and if I am to be your wife—I will be queen.”
He turns slowly to look upon you, as if he has all the time in the world. He is wearing a different body than the young, athletic boy he’d been wearing to deal with Bryce and Hunt’s transgressions. No. This was as close close as he came to a true form. “Not yet, no.” Rigelus puts slim fingers into his pockets, and he looks on at you, “but we will be by the end of the night.”
You bark out a foul laugh, a spoiled sour feeling seems to be churning in your stomach—and yet…
And yet, would it be so bad? You and Rigelus have been clowning around this godforsaken universe for a few hundred millennia. What does it matter if you marry him? He’s the only one who knows your secret—besides Eopshoros, his sister.
And she might as well be your sister too, for how you’ve missed her.
You had risked your immortal life, a truly immortal life, not one that would burn out in a couple thousand years for Tamlin today. For part of your heart, your hope.
Rigelus scowls, as he notices your eyes brimming with tears at the memory.
“Don’t think I didn’t notice your little stunt.” His gaze hardens with some unspent emotion.
“Rigelus, did it bother you that much?” You sniff hard as you ask him an impossible question. He looks on at you for all the world like you could burn the world down and he’d see no reason for forgiveness, that the forgiveness would have been granted as soon as you lit the fire.
He rankles his shoulders, “They are below you in every way, and so is this conversation.”
“But Rigelus—“
“It is our wedding night and I will not have it ruined by candles in the wind.”
And he snuffs out your hope just like that.
*~*~*
You arrive at the Eternal City and Rigelus disappears to change, likely with his man servant, Arobynn Hamel, fussing about cufflinks.
And you’re swarmed by people, a whole team of fucking people stripping you down and plucking, pruning and waxing you. Life with the rebels was hard, you were sure this body hadn’t seen a good waxing and plucking for… at least three years, since the blockades on supplies.
Seems the Eternal City was facing no such supply shortage.
As a matter of fact, when you are zipped into a lovely emerald green, mermaid fit gown—as was customary for weddings in the Eternal City—you realize that perhaps it would indeed not be horrible. Perhaps you could live with your people’s antics and just try to enjoy the night.
Rigelus is outside, smoking clove cigarettes when you meet him. It was not necessary for a bride and groom to stay separate before nuptials, in the Eternal City. Rigelus exhales smoke through his nose, looking more like a dragon than ever before.
“How in god’s name can you stand these?” You say, coughing. Still, the sweet, spicy smoke, tickles some distant memory, of parents who had fought more than they loved you, and you know the marriage contract will come next. You wish you felt worse about it, than you do. You know you’re truly about to sell over your body in name and deed. It’s traditional in he Eternal City for husbands to own their wives’ magic. To control it. And you cannot for the life of it think of anything less appealing. You’re not even sure if Rigelus could contain your power, should you deign to sign it over: lock, stock and barrel.
Rigelus flicks the butt, and you grimace, “Litterbug,” you whisper under your breath, he doesn’t even smell like smoke, and you wonder if this is something he does to take the edge off how much he’s missed you, and the chaotic sphere of politics he has to entertain.
Your hair is in some elaborate updo, and the pins are truly hurting, “Rigelus?” You pause, looking at the men in suits, through the glass windows, silouetted by the night sky. “Could you fix this pin?” You gently tug on the bond between the two of you, knowing it had been there.
Rigelus bends over double, breathless. “A little warning, before you do that, again, princess.”
You bend down, though it’s a tough stretch in this dress, and take his face in your hands, “You knew it was there and you didn’t tell me?”
He groans, rubbing his ribs, so the bond was tied there? The bond was literally tied at his heart bone? You grimace, gods no this wasn’t happening, you should flip him over the railing of the veranda. How ridiculous.
You blink and you meet his gaze, piercing, filled with pained tears at your magical tug, which you’re now sure had knocked the wind from his sails, if not his lungs. “I will do anything to preserve their safety, and not throw away five years of freedom from you—but at the same time, even an hour of time…” You swallow hard, around the word, “at home has given me more energy and wisdom, freedom and restored my strength than the hundred years I spent beyond it’s borders.” You sigh, kiss his forehead, as the lovers of old did. As if to say, I understand you better than anyone else in this universe, let me, let me, let me in.
It hurts to see him like this but you know he’ll draw it out for every minute it’s worth. And you know you’re just as vicious as he is. It’s tit for tat around here. No peace to be found under these stars.
“One might think you remember how you used to say we’d be married, when we were small.” Rigelus bemoans.
You stop dead in your tracks, because of course you remember. How could you not? But is he remembering or preparing to weaponize that memory?
“Rigelus—don’t you dare.” It is both a warning and a plea for peace.
He rolls his shoulders uncomfortably. You stand and try to put some distance between both of you. But he is kissing you. Your mouth is full of the scent of clove cigarettes, sweet and spicy and something else too.
He’s gripping your hair to keep you from pulling away. Rigelus should get a hard slap for this. But he won’t. You lean into the kiss, and you can feel his end of the bond lighting up, a lone star in the darkness of a bond you had long let go to seed.
He feels like the closes you will get to heaven. You kiss him for the longest time, until both your high fae vessels protest at the lack of oxygen.
You separate from him reluctantly, and taste him on your lips. “Are we doing this? I want to get out of my gown, and these fucking pins are about to puncture my brain.”
Rigelus is grinning at you, though, as if you’ve hung the moon in the sky. He kisses you again, and you don’t want to ever miss him, grudgingly or not, ever again. Rigelus is kissing your lips, and cupping your face.
Someone clears their throat, it’s Arobynn Hamel, Rigelus’s man servant. “Your Grace, the minister awaits.”
You and Rigelus take a long moment to disentangle yourselves. And in the old language of the stars he whispers, “Aven, mas doray.”
You’re aware there’s company around, and through the huge glass doors you can see that the minister is glaring through brightly lit windows at your amorous display. You squeeze Rigelus’s hand for a long moment, while Rigelus and you walk inside.
Te ceremony is fast, so fast you barely remember it, and mostly consists of signing magical documents. When you get to the end of the pile, you notice you did not sign a prenuptial. You could take him for all he’s worth tomorrow, for fucks sake.
Still, part of you is giddy at the idea of spending many midnights with your bright star.
For right now, though, you must perform the duties of a wife.
#crescent city x reader#azriel x reader#tamlin x reader#tamlin#azriel shadowsinger#fenrys moonbeam#dorian havilliard x reader#anti acotar#dorian havilliard#ruhn danaan#ruhn x reader#acotar#acotar x reader#acotar x you#acotar fanfiction#acotar imagine#a court of thorns and roses#house of earth and blood#hosab#*mywriting#*mypost#fricky frack canon
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