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copias-juicebox · 9 months

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It's a Sin Chapter 1

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Part 4

So this is my small story. I have no idea what i want to do with it but some of you kindly showed some interest in reading this. Special thanks to @thatoddgirl1035 and @unrealistici. So please leave me some comments how you liked it or what i could improve. Feel free to contact me to talk about the plot as well since i have no idea where i wanna go exactly. INSPIRE ME PLEASE. lol

So the Main Idea behind this fic is that reader is the child of the local priest of a christian church. And reader has been raised the old catholic cristian way of course with all it's flaws.

This part is sort of just to set the scene and stage. Reader is still a child here and meets a young copia who at this point is still a Bishop. He is of course quite a bit older here than her so expect an age gap for later chapters as well. Reader will be in their mid 20ies in the fic and copia will be in his 50ies.

Pairing: Cardinal Copia x fem! Reader Words: 3000 something Genre: romance, smut, fluff, hurt/comfort, SLOWBURN Warnings:runaway girl on the loose, explicit languge, violence, abuse, age gap, smut (in the upcoming chapters blabla)

It was a summer night. What started as a beautiful summer day ended up in a cold and wet storm. The heavy rain and thunder that haunted the small town you called your home was rumbling loud and you just ran. You ran as fast and far as you could. Your town was surrounded by mountains and woods. It was a rather small town, one where you rarely ever saw strange faces around the place. You kept running, barefoot in your nightdress. There was no destination you were going and you just let your feet carry you to wherever they liked.

You felt lost. Utterly lost. At this point you could no longer tell if your face was wet because of the rain or your own salty tears. Everything was a blurry mess. You lost every orientation you had. You felt numb, and deaf running, just running until you could no longer. Not even feeling your feet that must have been aching by now. You just did not feel a thing anymore.

It could have been minutes or hours since you‘ve ran from your parents house. You lost every sense of time by now. Only when your lungs burned did you stop. You stood in the middle of the woods by now. Every feeling of guilt, shame and sadness came like a tidal wave, crashing down on you at once. The feelings you tried to suppress for so long now were overwhelming you and all you wanted was to be swallowed by the wet ground you now broke down on. Your silent sobs became louder but there was no one to hear you. Not with the heavy thunderstorm washing down every vibration from the air surrounding you. You curled up on the ground, hugging yourself as you cried out.

From between the branches of the thick treeline a dark figure stared in your direction and found your crumpled form laying on the ground.

„Hello there little one. Are you okay? Are you hurt?“ a soft, deep voice startled you out of your daze. „Oh I am sorry darling, I did not mean to scare you.“ the voice chuckled. You turned around and came to see a man with a strange face kneeling beside you. Your eyes widened and you rubbed your eyes since his face was all blurry.

He had dark circles around his eyes, hair on the sides of his face and a mustache above his lips. It should have scared you but he had a calming aura that put you at ease and you just stared at him with your bloodshot eyes. The stranger smiled softly at you encouraging you to speak. „I.. I am okay.“ you hiccuped, voice small. „Then why are you lying outside in the cold, little one? I don‘t know if you have noticed but it is raining and thundering here and you will catch a cold if you stay here like that, eh?“ the man had said. You stared at the man with big eyes, not knowing what to do so you just stayed still. „Come on now get up. You cannot stay here like that.“ With these words the man extended his hands to you to help you lift you off the ground.

He saw your hesitation and smiled down softly. „I won‘t bite, little one. I swear on the dark one.“ This strange man must be one of the evil people your mother had warned you about. He spoke of the dark one. One of the reasons why you were never allowed near the woods. Because the evil people resided there. In your head many thoughts whirled around. All the bad stories you had heard about these people, doing bad deeds, sinning, sacrificing animals and even humans. It all scared you but yet the man in front of you seemed harmless, offering help even. In fact he was treating you with a kindness you longed for all your life. Against your better judgement you took his hand and let him pull you out of the puddle you sat in. Only then did you realize how bad your feet hurt and how cold it actually was.

„Oh my you are freezing little one. Come on and let me bring you to our ministry. You can have a hot cocoa there. Only if you‘d like that of course yeah? I always find myself feeling much better after a good cup of hot cocoa.“ he said taking off his cloak that he put around your shoulders, wrapping you up in it to keep you from shivering all the time.

He lead you through a smaller passage between the trees and you walked next to the man holding his hand when his voice rang one more time in your ears. „Now would you tell me your name little one?“ It only fueled your internal battle more since you knew you had to be careful. Your parents would probably lock you away in your room for months, making you pray to god for forgiveness. For forgiving you any contact to the evil people from the woods. You were still very young but you were not stupid. „No I cannot tell you my name. You are a stranger and my mama always told me not to trust strangers.“ you tried to sound confident.

The man next to you looked down at you and chuckled. „Ah I see. Well that is not even wrong but tell me why are you accompanying that stranger to a strange place, eh?“ At that you looked down to the ground and stopped walking. The man turned to you and knelt down again. He looked at you with sincerity in his eyes. „You see little one I know you have no reason to trust me and there is nothing I could possibly say that would make you believe me. You are right to be suspicious of strangers for many of them have bad intentions. But we. The place we are going and the people there are not of this kind. I will promise you to bring you back to whereever you want to go or leave you alone should you wish for me to leave you alone. I could even call your parents or the police if you want me to but something is telling me it is probably because of them that you ended up here in the first place?“

You stared down at your feet and kicked a stone to the side of the path. He nailed it. Only a few minutes of talking to this man and he already knew the reason of your flight into the woods: Your parents.

„I see there is truth to what I assumed. Now I am going to ask you again do you want to come inside and warm yourself? I won‘t be mad if you don‘t. But I also want you to know that I will be listening to you if you want to talk.“ he smiled down softly at you easing your nerves a little. Whatever your parents had taught you the man in front of you seemed to be calming you in a way you have never experienced before. It was all very strange especially when he only said so little. „Whatever you decide you should probably hurry. It is not getting any warmer is it?“ he said looking up into the dark clouds. By now he was drenched. Just as you. You decided to trust your gut and took his hand in yours.

The two of you walked a few more meters before you saw it. A huge dark place. Circled by a fence. That must be that „ministry“ he talked about earlier. The house was looming over you. It had an intimidating effect on you, with the dark clouds and occasional lightning striking down. It was massive. The building and the grounds were covering a large area right in the middle of the woods.

He lead you inside where you were met with an odd looking figure. He wore a mask and opened the door for you. When the masked man saw you he looked at you curiously, tilting his head to the side. „Off you go Swiss. Do not scare our little guest now will ya. Oh and start the fire in my office will you?“ the man holding your hand shooed off the masked one. „I apologize for them. They tend to be a little rude sometimes. They are just not good with human interactions. Now let us go to my office. You need to dry and get your cocoa." He said leading you down the hallway, to where the masked one hurried off to.

He turned a few corridors and opened a big door to a big office space. Stepping inside you saw the man from earlier rise to his feet from the fireplace and staring at you once more. You just stared back at him. He was so odd behaving. „Thank you Swiss now please can you ask Sister Helena to bring us two cups of hot cocoa?“ The masked man nodded and left.

„Okiedokie little one you need to warm up now. Here take the blanket and hand me back the robe. You might want to sit closer to the fire, yes?“ he said with his thick italian accent.

When you had yourself wrapped around the blanket and sat in front of the fire for a few seconds you could already feel your cold frozen limbs warming up. You did no longer feel stiff and rigid from the cold. The man draped his drenched coat over a chair and pulled it to the fireplace. Then he opened up his gloves and took them off laying them next to the coat. You noticed the crucifix on them making you realize that indeed these were the bad people you should not talk to. But so far they have treated you with so much kindness you were confused. „Now do you feel better, bella?“ He sat down next to you. You nodded still unsure what to say. „Do not worry, no one here will harm you. You have my word. And after the cocoa you might feel a bit more comfortable talking eh?“ He smiled goofily.

You wondered if you could just ask him the many questions you had in mind. But you feared to speak freely. Your parents never seemed to like when you spoke freely, openly, whenever you had questions. And you had many questions. You were an overly curious child.

His warm smile made you feel secure enough to try though. „What is your name sir?“ A look of surprise flashed over his face. „Oh where were my manners all this time. I did not even tell you who I was. My name is Copia. Bishop Copia. Pleased to meet you, nameless one.“ He bowed down a little making you giggle at his overly silly actions.

It warmed the Bishops heart to see the young girl giggling and smiling genuinely for the first time. She was a cute child not older than 7 or 8 and it made his heart ache knowing that someone must have hurt her deeply for her to run into the forrest under the conditions he found her in. She was in fact lucky that it was him who found her but she did not need to know that. She was safe now and he would make sure she would safely return home as soon as he made sure she felt better.

„Nice to meet you too Copia.“ you answered not bothering with stuff like titles and all. The past few minutes you spent with this strange Copia person you felt increasingly comfortable around him. It made you more confident so you decided to just try to get answers to the thundering questions that formed in your head each time you looked at him.

Playing with your fingers you asked „Can I ask you a question Copia?“ you prompted with a look of uncertainty in a barely hearable manner, slightly scared he would punish you like your parents always do when you ask them.

To your surprise he seemed to encourage you to ask him. „Certo piccolo. Whatever it is you would like to ask please feel free to do so yes? I will answer you honestly.“ „Oh“ you answered a bit surprised „uhm.. are you sure is it not too much?“ you stammered, taken aback by the earnestness in his tone. „Of course little one. It is good to ask questions. You should always question things yes? Proves that you have a brain and are trying to understand the world around you. It only shows you are an intelligent young girl.“ the bishop said in his accent.

„Uh and what if it involves people?“ you asked shyly. „Oh especially if it involves people. You should question their motives and backgrounds. It is a way of self preservation no? To make sure you are not fooled around.“ Just as the Bishop was about to speak once more a knock on the door interrupted you. He got up and opened the door. You heard hushed voices and then the door clicking shut again.

When the Bishop came back to you he placed a cup of heavenly smelling hot cocoa in front of you. „There you go cara.“ He patted the space next to the cup.

He sat back down next to you in front of the hot cracking fire. The hot cup warmed your hands even more and you took a small sip from the cup. The hot liquid ran down your throat and warmed you from the inside. It made you feel utterly exhausted and you felt yourself getting drowsy with each passing second when suddenly Bishops voice rang through the silence of the room once again. „So what did you want to ask about young one?“ You sat up right again hesitating once more to ask your questions.

„Well I was curious. This is a religious place isn‘t it?“ The Bishop raised one eyebrow looking at you. „Yes it is indeed.“ he answered nodding. „But you do not worship god. You worship the devil.“ Once again he nodded but stayed perfectly calm. You expected him to get mad at you to maybe even hurt you or kick you out of this place. Instead he surprised you even more. „I know you probably heard many bad things about this place and us. People usually do not like the devil or those who swore to him. But I can assure you that none of that is true. We are not evil. We do not do evil things in the name of Satan.“ he said nonchalantly, taking another sip of his cocoa as if it was nothing special for him to speak about these things.

„But if you swore to him isn‘t it true that you do the devils work? And the devil is bad everybody knows that. He hurts people and causes suffering and pain.“

Copia chuckled hearing that. „Now now is that what you have experienced? Did anyone in the name of Satan ever hurt you? Caused you suffering and pain? Or did somebody merely tell you these things so that you stay on the ‚right‘ path? Their path?“ He used his fingers exaggerating the word „right“.

That stunned you silent. Indeed no one from the Satanic Church had ever done you any harm. Quite the opposite actually so far they seemed to be ok. But you had merely had one encounter with members of this church now so who were you to judge.

The Bishop cocked his head to the side and looked at you. He was quite fascinated with you. „You are an intelligent little girl I see that. You are asking the right questions now do not let anyone tell you any different. Most people who will tell you that we are doing evil are people who try to control you. Who try to make you their pawn so that you will obey them.“ Copia said with his finger raised. „But my parents always told me to stay away from you people.“ you countered. Copia took a sip from his own cup now. „Ah I see your parents raised you in a christian way and they are very strong believers, yes? Tell me little one do you believe in God?“

You stared at him and answered instantly. „Yes I believe in God and Jesus Christ our lord and saviour.“ The sentence shot out of your mouth before you could even think about it. Years and years of your short life had your parents spent to burn these words into your brain. They were a part of you ever since you could remember. When it came to religion your parents were strict. There was no other way for you than become the good catholic girl that everybody expected you to be.

Copia raised one eybrow at your far to soon answer. „Is that truly your answer or your parents answer from your mouth?“ You gazed at him wide eyed. No one had ever dared to question your devotion to God. „Of course I do. My father is the local priest. How could I not believe in God?“

At that Copia choked his cocoa and set his cup down coughing violently. „Excuse me bella. Did you just say your father is the local priest?“ At that your eyes widened in fear. Only then you realized you just told the devil worshipping man that you were the child of the man that has sworn to fight his church, who has sworn to do anything to wipe them away from this town. Fear consumed you and you froze, your face twisting in horror. „Oh no no no little one do not get scared i will not harm you or your father if that is what you are thinking. It is just you see it makes much more sense now. Your beliefs and your actions and all.“ He said in a calming manner. „You see I have never seen such a young one with such strong beliefs as yourself.“ his face was only a few centimeters from yours now and he winked at you.

A sigh escaped his mouth and he finished the rest of his cup and encouraged you to keep drinking yours. When you did he kept his eyes on you contemplating. You were too young to see but he was watching your every move. He could not help himself but pity you in a way. You must have suffered so much already under the christian church in your short life. The daughter of the local priest. Copia knew you were going to suffer far more under the heavy weight of your parents' church. He wanted to help you but there was not much he could do that would not cause even more damage. Satan, he hoped that once you returned home you would not be punished for talking to him especially. It was getting quite late now and he knew the sooner you were back home the better it would be for you.

„So do you want to return to your family now? I can send a Ghoul to escort you back.“ You stared back at him in horror. „C.. Can you come with me?“ you stammered out. „Well yes of course. Now let us go before it is too late.“

Copia and the Ghoul dropped you off around the corner of the street you lived in. The rest of the way you would have to walk alone you both decided so she would not get into extra trouble at the door. Copia watched from a safe distance as the door opened and your father grabbed your arm rather harshly and pulled you inside and the last thing he saw was your father banging the door shut.

#god i am so shy posting this #cardinal copia #cardinal copia x reader #ghost band #ghost #papa emeritus #myedit #tobias forge #ghesties #papa emeritus iv #copia #ghost sweden #ghost fic #mywriting #papa emeritus fic #copia x reader #my fic #it’s a sin

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shamandrummer · 9 days

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How to Do a Therapeutic Drum Massage

A therapeutic drum massage is a profound way to restore the vibrational integrity of body, mind and spirit. Through the natural law of resonance, the sound waves produced by the drum impart their energy to the resonating systems of the body, mind and spirit, making them vibrate in sympathy. When we drum, our living flesh, brainwaves and spiritual energy centers begin to vibrate in response. This sympathetic resonance forms new harmonic alignments, opens the body's energy meridians, releases blocked emotional patterns, promotes healing, and helps connect us to our core, enhancing our sense of empowerment and stimulating our creative expression. A single-headed frame or hoop drum works best for a drum massage. The larger the drum, the greater the resonance. You will need a partner to act as your client. The basic steps are as follows:

First, have your partner lie down on his or her back on a blanket spread on the floor of a quiet room. During the drumming, the client's only task is to remain still and relaxed with eyes closed and to stay aware of what they are experiencing.

Kneel down next to the client and hold the drum so that the lacing or open end opposite the drumhead faces the client. Most of the sound energy from a single-headed drum flows out through the opening opposite the head of the drum. By holding the drum over the client in this manner, a resonating energy current will flow readily into the client when you strike the head of the drum.

Starting at the feet of the client, begin drumming a rapid cadence of about three to four beats per second. Find the drum's sweet spot and make it sing and hum. Work the drum to build up the hum of the overtones. These are the best frequencies for healing.

Crawling along beside the client, gradually move the drum from the feet to the top of the head. Keep the drumhead parallel to the client and 18 to 24 inches above the body.

Listen very carefully to the sound and resonance of the drum as you move it back and forth over the body. It is not unusual for the drum to go flat or lose its resonance over a portion of the body that is in need of healing. When this happens, continue to drum that area until the drum begins to sing again. Let the drum do the healing.

Upon reaching the top of the head, make your way gradually back down to the feet.

Upon returning to the feet, make certain that you drum this area for at least a minute to firmly ground the client back into his or her body.

Standing Drum Massage

A standing drum massage should also be explored. Have the client stand with his or her feet parallel and about six inches apart. Their knees should be slightly bent, removing any strain on the lower back that would occur if the knees were locked. The arms should rest easily at the sides of the body. You should stand about two feet away, facing the client, and perform the basic steps of the exercise as outlined above. You will have to kneel or squat down to effectively drum the client's feet, and then gradually stand as you bring the drum up the body. It is not unusual for the client to rock or sway while being drummed.

A variant of the standing version can be undertaken with up to four drummers. Have the drummers stand at the four cardinal points with the client standing in the center, facing whichever direction he or she feels most appropriate. The four drummers should drum in sync as they move up and down the body. It is not necessary to move in sync, since each drummer may find that a different portion of the client's body requires more attention. Be careful that you don't overwhelm the client with an energy overload. Four drums will generate a powerful vortex of energy and move it up the body from the feet to the top of the head. This ascending surge of energy tends to give the client the sensation of leaving the body through the top of the head. It is very powerful and ecstatic--a peak experience. When the drummers reverse direction, they bring the energy back down into the physical body and help ground the client.

Finally, there is a very powerful group variant of the standing version. The group version works well with eight or more participants. I have facilitated this exercise with groups of up to 40 people. First, divide everyone into two equal groups--one group of drummers and one group to be drummed. All participants in the group to be drummed should stand shoulder to shoulder in a circle, facing outward. The drummers should then form a circle around this inner circle and perform the exercise as outlined above. Upon completion of the exercise, the participants in the inner circle should exchange places with those in the outer circle, then repeat the exercise.

Allow your intuition to guide you when performing a drum massage. Experiment with different postures, tempos, and rhythms. There is no single right way to do it. Each person must ultimately go within to find his or her own way.

#shamanic drumming #drumming #shamanic practice #shamanism #drums #alternative therapies #massage #sound healing

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holly-fixation · 10 months

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Sprouting

Summary: It started when he was young, soon after Professor Gast left. Sephiroth tried desperately to hide it. But it hurt, and like everything in the lab, nothing hid from Hojo’s gaze.

Please enjoy.

…

Sephiroth had not left his room. He was three minutes late, three minutes Hojo would rectify through more rigorous training. This was completely unnecessary and disrespectful.

That boy would learn obedience no matter the circumstances. He had two minutes before the scientist broke the door down.

“Sephiroth,” Hojo spat with two bangs on the metal door, “get out here.”

“I can't!” The boy's response came much faster than it should have if the boy was telling the truth.

“Sephiroth.”

“I can't! I really can't!”

“Then unlock the door so we can treat this ailment properly.”

“No!” The child rapidly denied. “No no no- I'll be okay! I just need to stay here until I'm okay! I'll work twice as hard tomorrow! Promise!”

“'I promise', you insufferable child,” The scientist corrected. “And my answer is still no. Stop being so annoying.” Then Hojo heard sobbing. Low, attempted, quiet sobbing, but sobbing nonetheless.

“I don't wanna be bad… I don’t- I really don’t… Just let me be bad today and I'll be really really really good tomorrow…”

“You will be perfect even if I need to rip out all your worthless imperfections myself, boy!” This bang stung his hand, but he felt no pain. “Open. This. Door. Now!”

“NO!”

These fruitless minutes already irritated the scientist, but this childish temper tantrum filled him with rage. He slipped his key into the lock and opened the door himself.

Every object was thrown or shoved to every section of the room. Books from the fallen shelf were ripped and open faced on the floor. The mattress rested against the far wall, the bed frame dented and splintering. All loose folders and papers littered the ground, but some were stained with drops of blood. Claw marks marred every wall and surface, some even stained red with bleeding fingertips. But the deepest crimson led to the bathroom.

Still no sign of the boy.

Hojo grabbed the inner door and tried to jerk it open. A metallic clatter responded from the lock. He didn't warn or ask, inserting a separate key.

The smell of copper hit him like a wall.

A ruby explosion soiled every surface, heavy drops running down the mirror as rain does a window. Flecks of beige and white freckled every inch, some even dyed pink with time. The toilet, the sink, the mirror, all were subjected to the same fate. Except for the shower.

The curtain rod fractured in two, its steel speared points without any red. In the resulting bathtub laid the cardinal sullied curtain that trembled over the boy, blocking and protecting him from sight. However, nothing could muffle his petering sobs.

Only one theory ran through Hojo's mind: did this boy harm himself? Did he try to kill himself? This psychotic break could shut down the program completely, and the boy's life would be terminated to confirm no possibility of continuation outside of Shinra's sight. No. Word could not spread, no matter what. This was unacceptable.

The scientist clutched the tip of the white plastic curtain, but the boy yelped sharply in pain and jerked him off, twisting and writhing and clenching away but not touching the wall.

“Hojo, please! I-I can stop this! I-I just need time!”

“Let me see it.” He would assess the boy's injuries himself.

The boy shook his head vigorously, and only then did Hojo realize something else was wrong.

The curtain moved from the bottom of the tub near the drain. Two lumps pinning the curtain remained by his head, obviously his hands, and two others remained at the end of the tub, his bare feet. The single position that could justify the boy's orientation was simply laying down, so what was this large mass sticking above the walls of the tub, tenting the curtain to its limits?

“Let me see it so we can get you the care you clearly need. This isn't up for debate, Sephiroth.”

“It still hurts too much! Please!”

Hojo reached for it again, this time with a bit more caution.

The boy screamed, “WAIT!”

The voracity in the child's voice made the scientist delay for a moment but only with a very good reason.

“H-here…” Sephiroth hesitantly released his death grip on the fabric and handed a single corner to his caretaker. “Please… please be careful…”

Hojo took the offering and yanked the fabric up, allowing the boy to suffer the least from its removal as Hojo came face to face with a massive gray wing.

The wing was proportional to Sephiroth's entire body, at least the span that he was tall. Each feather was perfect down, soft and fuzzy and useless for flight even if the boy had two wings. No, he only had one rooted in his right shoulder blade, somehow connected with a ball in socket joint just as a shoulder itself. It was folded but upward, not touching any obstacles or objects in the room. Sephiroth, however, was face down, trembling, as he carved more scratches in the porcelain like a kneading cat, reaching futility for any kind of relief. Both the wing and the boy were covered in blood and bone debris, but the elbow of the wing also held torn skin.

Hojo scanned and scanned, conflicted deep in his chest. On one hand, this was an incredible discovery, Jenova's cells mimicking even creatures he had not seen out of books. On the other, the child before him was deathly pale, the lost blood and unhealed damage actually threatening the boy’s life. The project itself was threatened.

“Get up,” Hojo grabbed the boy's hand and pulled him to his feet, genuinely avoiding any contact with the newborn wing. He grabbed the child by the waist and hoisted the boy over the tub.

“I can't train today…” The boy begged as he was pulled out of his cell.

“We're going to the exam room.”

“No- wait- Hojo, please don't touch it-”

“I’ll take X-rays first and determine where to go from there. If it’s still uselessly sensitive, an orderly will bring you pain medication.”

“Th-There’s medicine for pain?”

“Only for absolute emergencies, so don’t ask for any.” They entered the room, and Sephiroth climbed up and laid face down on the cot. Hojo’s black eyes analyzed the growth. “A surgical procedure is necessary.”

“What will a procedure do?”

“We'll find connections between the wing and your body. Muscles, tendons, veins, arteries. Possibly gain some answers as to how it appeared. Now stop asking questions and stay perfectly still.”

Sephiroth nodded, looking down. “Yes, sir…”

Thanks for reading!

#One Winged One Shot #one winged one shot #one winged angel #sephiroth #hojo #ff7 hojo #ff7 #ffvii #final fantasy vii #final fantasy 7 #jenova

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eveningstar1516 · 3 years

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Rise of the Demon King ~ Chapter 4

Rise of the Demon King

Fic: Multi Chapter Paring: MC x Everyone (Mostly Lucifer) Type: Angst with a Happy Ending Total Word Count: 26,758 TW: Major Character Death, Reader gets stabbed with a sword through their chest so…, Abusive Parents, Past Child Abuse, Demon Hunters, Loss of Control Summary: You’ve done it. You’ve finally done it. You’ve managed to anger the demon king. Now you hold your head high as he hands down your sentence.

AO3 Portal: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27065362

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

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Previously:

Not wanting to stay in my head any longer, I drift off into a dreamless slumber awaiting the day that will ultimately decide not only my fate, but the fate of the demons I’ve grown to call, family.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CHAPTER 4 - I want you to be the one... (1842 words)

Snapping my eyes awake I shivered against the air as a bucket of ice cold water was thrown into my face.

“Get up human!”

A guard then roughly pulled me up by the shoulder twisting my arms behind my back and locking them together while unlocking the chain on my ankle. Pushing me out of my cell and half escorting me half dragging me out of the dungeon and to where my trial was supposed to take place all before I could even register that I woke up. As we were walking toward what I assumed was the very same courtyard where we welcomed the king not 24 hours ago, I started hearing lots of yelling. Straining to hear, I realized that it was the brothers arguing amongst each other about what they should do and Diavolo attempting to calm them down, sounding conflicted himself. Upon entering the courtyard I locked eyes with the brothers as they fell silent in shock upon seeing me bound in chains as I was escorted on stage where the king was waiting with Diavolo and the brothers.

*Flashback*

After I passed out.

“Father! What did you do to them?!”

“I am humouring you my son. They are being held under the palace and I am forbidding any one of you from making contact with them.”

“My Liege, I implore you to please reconsider your judgment. They are unaware of how the politics work here and they simply misspoke. I assure you they don’t mean you any harm.” Lucifer lowered his head pleading to the king to reconsider his choice.

“Lucifer is right! They mean the world to us and they can’t possibly do anything to you or the Devildom!” Mammon joined in. The brothers then each said their piece about you.

“You all disgust me, pleading for a human's life. You are my highest ranking demons. Show some dignity!”

“With all due respect my king, that human you are referring to is the one that bettered your kingdom and has achieved far more than any human, demon, or angel could hope to accomplish in the span of just 1 year. They have brought us all together and mended ties we didn’t even know were broken. Y/N is a human I would give up my Pride for-”

“My Greed for-”

“My Envy for-”

“My Wrath for-”

“My Lust for-”

“My Gluttony for-”

“My Sloth for-”

“My title for-”

“My powers for-”

“Y/N is a one of a kind human. They have found their way into our lives and there is nothing you can do to take that away from us my Liege.”

“That was quite the speech Pride, although that doesn’t change my opinion about them. If anything, it just makes my decision all the more ironclad. But I will humour you all. Seeing as how you’re all willing to give up the very thing that makes you, you for the human, a public trial will be held. Their fate shall be decided there. Until then, I forbid any contact between them, through their pact, dreams, or any interference with the timeline. Am I understood?”

“Yes, my Liege” they all responded simultaneously as the king left the room.

*Later in the east sitting room with Lucifer, Barbatos and Diavolo*

“What are we going to do Dia?” Lucifer exclaimed as he did something he has never done while sober and flopped onto a couch opposite of Diavolo as Barbatos sat into a seat in between them.

Holding his head Diavolo responded.

“I don’t know Luci. I just don’t know. As the crown prince I can’t go against my Father and as my right hand neither can you, but things are different with them involved. I just don’t know.”

Sighing, Diavolo laid down on the couch no longer giving a care about anything, just thinking about different possibilities.

“Barb-?”

“No can do my lord. The king forbade me from using my powers. Even if you were to command me, I don’t have access to them for the time being.”

“Do me a favour Barb and drop the title for now? Please? I need my friends, not my subordinates.”

“Alright, Diavolo. Let me say this then. You both know that no matter what happens tomorrow, Y/N will be banished from the Devildom. We all know that the king isn’t above making us suffer just to prove a point. How are we going to support Y/N and stop them from harming themselves should they be banished to the human realm?”

“Jeez Barb! That isn’t what we need right now! I don’t want to think about that.” Lucifer added the last part with a whisper.

“My brothers are going to be absolutely devastated. Y/N kept them all together, it’s going to be really difficult keeping everyone together with them gone.” “Adding to the list of problems, now that my Father is back, we 3 now serve him. I don’t get to dictate anything until he crowns me, not like before. We will all be swamped with more work as Father will more than likely try to “fix” my improvements to the Devildom.”

The three sat in silence, lost in their minds, endless possibilities and scenarios floating around in their heads. Eventually, Lucifer excused himself under the guise of some unfinished paperwork and returned back to the House of Lamentation.

“Barb?”

“Yes?”

“What have we done?”

“I don’t know my friend. I don’t know.”

*End Flashback*

Walking up the steps towards the stage, I held my head high making eye contact with no one other than my demons as I kept my expression as comforting as possible for them. Poor Asmo and Mammon looked like a dam threatening to burst. Beel wasn’t faring any better holding on to Belphie for comfort. Levi squeezed Mammon's hand discreetly. Satan gave a sad smile. Lucifer stood by Diavolo’s side, each giving you the smallest hint of a smile while Barbatos stood behind Diavolo's left looking like he always did, but after spending so much time with him, you noticed the small sign of sympathy in his eyes. Making my way center stage I was pushed onto my knees in front of the king. I raised my head up high making direct eye contact in defiance. The king then addressed the crowd which I noticed is filled with not only Demons and Sorcerers of different powers but many demons I knew from RAD and called my friends. They looked solemn as I realized that I made an impact on more than just the brothers.

“Denizens of Devildom! Here is a human who has upset the balance of the Devildom…”

I drowned out the rest of his speech not focusing on anything except for my family up on stage. Ignoring the ringing in my head, I reached out with my pacts just enough for them to feel it. I sent them some of my favourite memories over the years and wished Satan a happy birthday before the king declared my sentence. Holding my head high, I locked my gaze onto him.

“The human known as Y/N is hereby banished from the 3 realms, their soul to be returned to oblivion!”

Smirking he turned to face me. Smiling, showing off his fangs he asked,

“I believe that is a suitable sentence, don't you Y/N?”

I ignored him and turned to the demons on stage. I watched as Beel grabbed onto Belphie harder as tears came to both of their eyes. I saw the dam break in both Mammon and Asmo as Levi and Satan both battled their own tears to try and comfort them. I watched as Lu’s face paled and Diavolo squeezed his friend's shoulder a little tighter to try and ground him. Barbatos looked more solemn as his eyes started to water ever so slightly. The king then summoned a sword, turning towards the brothers, then walked until he stood directly in front of Lucifer and Diavolo. Letting go of his friend's shoulder, both Diavolo and Lucifer bowed their heads towards their king. He then shifted to face Lucifer and held out the sword towards him. A look of shock crossed over the brothers' faces as Lucifer looked up to his king in confusion hoping this didn’t mean what he thought it meant as he slowly accepted the sword.

“Lucifer, Cardinal Sin of Pride. You will be the one to deliver the blow.”

The colour fully drained from his face as the king stepped to the side to allow Lucifer to step up. Slowly with a trembling breath, Lucifer approached you with pleading eyes silently praying that this was some sick nightmare. His brothers looked on in horror, shock freezing them in place. Stopping in front of you, he took one look at you, turned to the king and lowered the sword.

“No… I won’t.”

“Pardon me?”

“I said NO! I will not kill Y/N!”

“Yes, you will.”

The king's eyes started glowing as an aura surrounded Lucifer. His brothers broke out of their trance and tried to reach towards you to hold back their brother from killing you against their wishes. Diavolo and Barbatos stood in shock as the scene unfolded.

“Hear me, denizens of the darkness.” Everyone onstage immediately stopped in their tracks and looked my way.

“Hear me denizens of the darkness. You who are born of shadow and you who give birth to it.” Upon starting the incantation, a magic circle appeared beneath me and Lucifer; my shackles started glowing. An intense pain shot through my skull. Pushing past the pain I continued.

“HEAR ME AND DO AS I COMMAND!” The shackles around my wrists broke under my power and I stood up facing the brothers. The king tried to move towards me but the circle by my feet prevented him from getting close.

“I Y/N order the 7 sins not to interfere with this trial. You are not to make a move against the king after the completion of the trial. You 7 are to remain loyal to Lord Diavolo and continue serving him as his word now outranks the kings!” Ignoring the pleading looks on the brothers' faces, I turned to Lucifer.

“Lucifer, Avatar of the Cardinal Sin of Pride, you are to follow through with your king's command and execute me as is due with your sword. You are to remain loyal to Lord Diavolo above the crown. You are to continue watching over your brothers and are not allowed to fight me on this decision.” Cupping Lucifer's cheek I whispered into his ear, “I want you to be the one Lu.” Stepping back I finished my order. “Now kill me!” Kneeling before Lucifer I looked up with a smile on my face watching as unshed tears began pooling in his eyes as he summoned his sword.

“LUCIFER! NO!”

“LUCIFER! PLEASE NO!”

“Y/N!”

Lucifer looked into my eyes muttering something in angelic before whispering, “I’m sorry…”

With tears burning his eyes he buried the sword deep into my heart.

“Thank you”

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elminx · 3 years

Text

Energy Update: October 2021

October is a “6” Universal Month {10(October) + 5 (2021) = 15 = 1+5 = 6}. For most of us, the quiet introverted energy of the number 6 is going to be a deep breath of relief after September which with its 5 energy made us feel like we needed to scurry, hurry, and do away, even when there was nothing left to do.

6 Energy is in perfect alignment with the harvest season as it encourages home, support, empathy, and even stillness. 6 carries to pause of expectancy, much like you experience within the Inguz rune. Within the 6 energy, perhaps, we can find the balance we would otherwise be sorely lacking this Libra season.

The Setup

The Sun, Mercury, and Mars are all in Libra heading towards a stellium (conjunct of three or more planets) that will peek slightly after our Libra new moon. Venus is ahead of the gang in Scorpio. Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Chiron all begin this month in retrograde. This is the nadir of retrograde season. The air is hazy, perceptions may be a bit off. Sink into the 6 energy by spending time in your home – go deep with your space. That will be an antidote to this energy all month long. This is a great month to do a deep seasonal clean. Donate the things that no longer serve you. Hold a seed, plant, or clothing swap. Get together with your loved ones to have a good meal. Stay close to home. Mercury retrograde in Libra is going to bring a lot of the retrograde tension into our relationships to remember to make space for conflict and try to find a solution that fits all people involved. Watch out for stickler issues around people-pleasing and unhealthy compromises. You can refer to my post about Mercury in retrograde for those details.

There are big shifts happening this month, we will end the month with the Sun and Mars in Scorpio, Venus in Sagittarius, and with Pluto, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mercury stationed direct. When the planets stand still while they station, it can feel like life is also standing still. We will be going into and out of this retrograde fog until Mercury and Jupiter station direct on 10/18. I reiterate: you may feel helpless to affect anything outside of your immediate home right now, but you can always have an effect on your home. Tap into the 6 energy to make your home a perfect haven for you and your others.

As Saturn begins his ascent forward again, he will tighten the ongoing square with Uranus in Taurus – this is our force paradox beginning to re-exert the vice grip we’ve been stuck in all year long. If you feel like you can’t make any headway, know that you are right on time.

The Nitty Gritty

This month we are being asked to sink deep into the root of it. We are at the end of a cycle, during the new year our lunar nodes will transition from the Gemini-Sagittarius axis to that of Taurus-Scorpio. Something deep inside all of us needs to shift to accommodate these changes that are happening all around us. This is a time to go slow and really tune in to your own rhythm.

This month has a lot going on: we will experience two cardinal T-squares between Aries-Libra-Capricorn, 1 Air Grand Trine between Moon-Mars-Jupiter, 1 Air stellium of Sun-Moon-Mercury-Mars in Libra, three planetary ingresses, and four planets that station direct and out of retrograde. Every one of our planets are fully engaged in this transformative moment.

The MVP for the month is going to be Pluto in Capricorn. Here we see echoes of all of 2020 but most specifically last Autumn when Mars went retrograde in Aries and squared off with Pluto in Capricorn. Now, one year later, in the opposite sign, Mars will do so again alongside the Sun and Mercury. Pluto is also, ironically, the first of the planets to move out of retrograde. He also rules one of our two cardinal T-squares of the month. Some outdated form or structure needs to die. Agreements are being tested. Loyalties are being questioned.

Mercury and Pluto clash twice more this cycle: they square off while they are both retrograde on 10/1 and then later when they are both direct on 11/2. These are part of a series of ongoing cardinal squares we’ve been experiencing since the very beginning of 2020. The Sun squares Pluto on 10/17 and Mars squares Pluto on 10/23. Additionally, our full moon in Aries on 10/20 is overshadowed by an intense cardinal T-square as the moon in Aries squares off against Pluto in Capricorn and opposes retrograde Mercury in Libra. All of these dates should be approached with a reasonable amount of caution. Pack your patience and expect some explosions. Pay special attention to when Mars and Pluto square off in the sky – those are fighting words. It may be difficult to escape the adrenaline rush of quick reactions but it is wiser during this time to step back and sit with things before leaping.

Again, the 6 energy of October can really support Sun and Mars in Libra’s ideal of everybody getting an even slice of the pie. Dig into this. Where are you taking too much? Where are you not giving enough? Start small this month – look at your own body. Think about how you take care of yourself. Or, if you are more inclined, take a deep look at how you are taking care of your living space. Check on all of your plants. Do a roommate-style check-up with any humans that you live with. Spend some time with your pets. Come back to center by grounding yourself in your safe home, in your body, in this moment.

Mercury makes two additional trines to Jupiter in Aquarius during its retrograde cycle while both are retrograde on 10/3 and later when both are direct on 11/1. This is a fast-moving transit but can provide insight and luck when needed.

As the first full week of October progresses, the Sun, Mercury, and Mars fall into line for a stellium that lights up the sky when joined by the moon on 10/6. This is a big power day. If you have been looking for a day to find your new path, this one is it. Just remember, Mercury is still in retrograde so you may see your path only to have it obscured in the mists again. Look towards 11/6-11/7 when Mercury will again conjunct Mars (this time in Scorpio) for a day to put this new path into action.

On 10/7 Venus enters Sagittarius and the mood will get marginally lighter. Venus in Sagittarius is mutable fire energy – she wants you to let your heart roam. You might find yourself more interested in trying new things and going on adventures while Venus is in the sign of the archer. The excitement of Saggy bear energy will get tamped down quickly by the retrograde haze so don’t expect to follow through on those beautiful but whimsical plans anytime soon.

The weekend of 10/8-10/10 is a great time to take one big cosmic pause. Stay home. Say no. Take a bath instead. The Moon, Venus, and the South Node will make a brief conjunction at 02° Sagittarius just as Venus goes out of bounds. A planet is considered out of bounds when it goes above the tropic of Cancer, or, in this case, below the Tropic of Capricorn. These points reflect the plurality of the solstices and Summer-Winter connection. Planets that are out-of-bounds can be hard to reach – you may find it harder to access your feelings of empathy or may be down on yourself more about your physical appearance while Venus is out of bounds. This may be especially rough for our Venus-ruled Libras who are already undergoing an intense Mercury retrograde transit in their chart.

Be wary here. There’s a lot of prickle to the world these days and something about Venus going out of bounds right now reminds me a bit of checking out instead of dealing with what is going on in your own life. That won’t cut it through this year – through these hard aspects – you really need to settle in and do the work. There is so much to be gained right now by showing up and staying aware with yourself through these adjustments.

What is coming up during this time needs to be addressed. With so many personal planets involved, something close to home needs attending to. This weekend and really the whole month would be very counter-indicated for going away. Watch for who runs rather than showing up. On Sunday, Saturn stations direct at 06° Aquarius – this immediately reactivates our Saturn-Uranus square and tensions will begin to rise a bit. This is a long-term aspect that doesn’t resolve until the end of the year so there’s not much to do other than observe it now.

We experience our second cardinal T-square on 10/12 as Mercury retrograde in Libra squares off with the Moon in Capricorn and opposes Chiron retrograde in Aries. This is a major pain point, something that has been brought to light during this Mercury retrograde cycle.

This Mercury-Chiron oppositional peeks on 10/18 and will continue strong for another week or so. Mercury’s post-shadow stretched through the rest of October and into November, remember that we need to retrace our steps back through Libra before the lessons of this retrograde cycle will be fully revealed.

Mercury is joined by Jupiter going direct also on 10/18 – this is a go day. Do it. Make a difference. Make a plan. Make a list. You are supported.

The energy should shift drastically as the Sun enters Scorpio on 10/22 and Mars follows on 10/30. We might feel a bit like we’ve jumped from one deep pool to another as Scorpio season hints immediately at its own depths and the eclipse season that comes with it.

Our sweet Air Grand Trine happens on Monday 10/25 when the Moon in Gemini lines up briefly with Mars in Libra and Jupiter in Aquarius. This is another go day. Think big. We are starting to feel the pull of forward momentum now that some of the retrograde fog has lifted. The last week of October holds the lightest energy of the month – again, ironically.

As if we are walking this month backward, like Merlin. Spirit reminds me that he was another traveler who walked the low path.

All in all the energy of the month is going to be dense and prone to internalization. How you perceive that and how comfortable it makes you have a lot to do with your personal chart and comfort with self-reflection. Watch out for emotional regulation or disassociation especially around any of those harsh aspects between the moon, Mercury, Mars, and Pluto. Watch out for denial and rose-colored glasses – the world is trying to tell you something for a reason – it’s time to stop ignoring your gut instincts. It’s the time for you to show up every day, as often as you are able, for yourself.

Good Days: 10/2, 10/6, 10/8, 10/13, 10/16, 10/18, 10/25 Caution Days (Saturn square Uranus): 10/14, 10/21 Caution Days (Cardinal squares): 10/1, 10/3, 10/12, 10/17, 10/20, 10/22 Fuzzy Days: 10/6, 10/10, 10/18, 10/26

The Aspects

Please keep in mind that most aspects have an effect for a number of days before and after the day of exactitude, listed below. I have bolded aspects the require particular attention.

10/1 – Mercury Rx in Libra square Pluto Rx in Capricorn, Mars in Libra opposed Chiron in Aries 10/2 – Venus in Scorpio sextile Pluto Rx in Capricorn – sweet days 10/3 – Mercury Rx in Libra trine Jupiter Rx in Aquarius, Sun in Libra opposed Chiron in Aries 10/6 – Dark Moon at 13° Libra conjunct Mercury Rx and Mars, Pluto SD 10/7 – Venus enters Sagittarius 10/8 – Sun conjunct Mars 15° Libra – where do you need to move forward in your life? What motivates you? How can you be the best version of who you are right now? 10/9 – Sun conjunct Mercury retrograde, Mercury retrograde conjunct Mars, Moon square Jupiter Rx, Moon sextile Pluto Rx, Moon conjunct Venus and the South Node 2° Sagitarrius, Venus OOB – here you may really see where you are out of alignment with your path here. You may have to return to something you think that you’ve outgrown (Venus conjunct South Node). See warning above about Venus OOB 10/10 – Saturn SD 10/11 – Mercury opposed Chiron begins – this close aspect will last for the next 15 days, its a pain point that is being reactivated by this Mercury retrograde cycle – these to planets will stay within one degree of conjunction from 10/15-10/20 10/12 – Moon in Capricorn square Mercury Rx in Libra, Cardinal T Square – CAUTION – this is another one of these days that is going to light up that long-term fight. You know the one. 10/13 – Venus in Sagittarius sextile Saturn Rx in Aquarius 10/14 – Sun in Libra trine Jupiter Rx in Aquarius, Moon conjunct Saturn in Aquarius, Moon square Uranus – CAUTION – the Sun meets Jupiter while the sky is tense with our Saturn-Uranus square. Don’t pick that fight. 10/16 – Mercury Rx in Libra sextile Venus in Sagittarius – a way through, seek out freedom for everybody 10/17 – Sun in Libra square Pluto in Capricorn – CAUTION – go slow 10/18 – Jupiter SD, Mercury SD, Mars in Libra trine Jupiter in Aquarius, Mercury opposed Chiron – go days – get it. 10/20 – Full Moon at 27° Aries, T Square between moon in Aries, Pluto in Capricorn, and Mars in Libra – CAUTION. Take things slowly today. Watch your temper. Remember to pick your battles. 10/21 – Moon square Saturn, Moon conjunct Uranus – CAUTION, go slow 10/22 – Mars square Pluto – CAUTION, go slow. Take a break. Stay home. 10/23 – Sun enters Scorpio 10/25 – Air Grand Trine between Moon in Gemini, Mars in Libra, and Jupiter in Aquarius – go days, get it. think big. 10/26 – Venus in Sagittarius square Neptune Rx in Pisces – foggy 10/30 – Sun in Scorpio square Saturn in Aquarius

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#witchblr #words #mine #energy update #astrology #October 2021 #retrograde season #Jupiter retrograde #Saturn retrograde #Pluto retrograde #Mercury retrograde #Saturn square Uranus #2021

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sergeantsporks · 3 years

Text

Whatever it Takes

Rating: Teen and Up, Gen

TW: Self-harm, attempted suicide, emotional manipulation

“While I’ve got you here, want to hear the complete history of wild magic? I’m sure you’ll find it very interesting, considering that you’re old enough to have lived through it.”

“I am not, you little brat. Shut your mouth, I don’t want to listen to your voice.” “Yeah? What if I don’t want to shut up? What if I feel like singing?"

Hunter is a difficult prisoner to keep, and Lilith and Eda are about to find that out the hard way.

Ao3

Ch 3/4: I’ll Escape (one way or another)

Ch 1, Ch 2

Hunter rocked back and forth in the chair he was tied to, wincing as the movement made the ropes tied around his chest put pressure on his aching ribs. Right. Messing with Lilith had been all very well and fun, but it was time he got out of here. If he got out now, he could always claim that he’d been attempting to track the assassins down. Much longer, and… well, it wouldn’t be a very believable lie. Lilith’s taunts echoed in his head. He needed to get out of here before anyone at the coven realized what had happened to him.

He managed to rock hard enough to bend over so that his feet were on the ground, but the legs of the chair were up in the air. Then he ran backwards, full tilt, at the wall, slamming into it with a jarring crunch that rattled his teeth. He shook himself, crouch-walked forward, and did it again. The chair legs and seat splintered and broke, letting him stand up straight. He used the wall to slide the chair back out of the rope, and wiggled free, rubbing feeling back into his arms and picking a splinter out of his back with a wince.

Hunter sat down on the basement stairs. Ow. He still had a pounding headache from when Lilith had hit him with her staff, and ramming into that wall hadn’t helped. Still, he pulled himself back up to his feet and crept up the stairs, opening the door quietly. Wasn’t even locked. Lilith really had gotten soft, hadn’t she?

Hunter padded down the hallway, until a loud snore stopped him in his tracks. He froze, holding his breath, until another snore sounded, and he took a few more steps forward.

Lilith was snoozing on the couch, her staff leaning against the back of it.

Hunter’s brain started to click quietly.

Wait. Yes. Steal the staff. Kill Lilith while she was sleeping. Bring staff and Lilith’s corpse to Emperor Belos. Dead assassin=complete mission. Palisman=extra good, made up for falling out of contact for a day. No one needed to know he’d been captured, and if they DID find out, he could always claim it was part of his plan to get Lilith to let her guard down.

Yes. This would work. Lilith was wrong—he could go back to the coven, and this was how.

Hunter reached oh-so-slowly and carefully for Lilith’s staff, hardly daring to breathe.

The raven at the top’s eyes flashed as he grabbed hold of it, and the bird disconnected, cawing loudly and dive-bombing him. Hunter swung the staff at it with a yelp, and Lilith snapped awake, launching herself over the back of the couch and sweeping his legs out from underneath him. Hunter rolled backwards, swinging the empty shaft of her staff at her. She caught it and yanked, pulling him forward.

Hunter let go of the stick, skipping backwards as she tried to kick him again. He ducked back into another room—a kitchen! He snatched up knives from their block, throwing a few of them at Lilith as she chased after him. She ducked and weaved to the side, swinging her staff towards him with a yell.

Hunter ducked, and lunged forward with the last knife.

And then Lilith disappeared, zipping behind him and smacking him in the back with her staff. Hunter was thrown forward and landed on his hands and knees, barely avoiding cracking his head on the kitchen counter.

Lilith’s staff pressed to the back of his head as he wheezed for breath. “Stay down,” she ordered.

Hunter growled softly. He should have just escaped while he had the chance.

Lilith carefully drew a set of glyphs while still keeping her staff aimed at his head. Ice crept up out of the ground, freezing him in a solid block, only his head remaining sticking out. Lilith pushed the block, and it slid easily across the floor, bumping down the basement stairs. Hunter strained against his new prison with no results.

“I am getting out of here, and I am going to take you down!” he yelled as Lilith climbed the stairs.

Lilith yawned, shutting the door. “Goodnight, Hunter.”

Almost the moment the door was shut, Hunter heard a low chirp. His palisman fluttered through a tiny window. Hunter had to squash a big, goofy grin, switching for a stern look instead.

“Hey! I told you to stay at the keep!”

Another chirp.

“Yes. Okay. Fine. I guess I’m glad you didn’t. I am very, very glad that you followed me, and I will consider taking you along on more missions. Happy?”

The cardinal fluttered down, pecking at the ice surrounding his hand. It was slow going, but the instant Hunter could wiggle his fingers, his palisman shifted into a staff, landing in his open palm. Hunter blasted the ice holding him, then froze, listening for any sounds from upstairs. Once again, the only sound was Lilith snoring, so Hunter crept towards the stairs. No nonsense this time—he had his palisman, he was going to finish the job.

When he opened the door and took a step out into the living room, however, his foot landed on something small and papery.

Another ice wall rose up, this time freezing his palisman along with him.

Lilith yawned, getting up. “You don’t know when to quit, do you?” She held out a fire glyph, unfreezing Hunter’s palisman. The cardinal hopped off of the staff, shivering. Lilith gently caught it between her hands, and at a whistle, her own raven hopped off, tucking Hunter’s palisman under its wing. The cardinal tweeted frantically, twisting around trying to get free.

Hunter struggled once again against the unyielding ice. “Give it back! Let it go!”

“Don’t worry about your palisman, it’ll be fine. My raven won’t hurt it. But I’m not going to hand you a weapon.” Lilith pushed the ice block down the stairs again. “Good luck getting out of there without your staff.”

“This ice has to melt eventually!” he yelled as he thudded back down to the basement floor.

She waved a hand at him, yawning. “Yes, but by the time it does, you’ll be too cold to move. Hopefully that will let me get some sleep.”

Xxx

Lilith was right. By the time the ice was a soaking, uncomfortable puddle, Hunter’s teeth were chattering so hard he thought he might wear them down, and his limbs were heavy and cold. He couldn’t move even if he wanted to.

I am going to kill her. I really am. And I won’t regret it even a little bit.

Why did they even want him here?

The owl lady clomped down the basement stairs. “Rough night?” she asked with a grin.

“Y-y-you ar-are going t-t-to p-pay for this,” he chattered, glaring at her.

She shrugged, finding a new chair and sitting him in it, tying him back up. “I doubt it. You’re running a two-for-two ratio on failing to escape.”

“I’m—I’m not g-going t-to t-tell you any-anything.”

“Yeah, I figured. But it’s not just about information—we’re done with interrogations. Belos needs you for something, so we’re going to keep you nice and snug here.”

“Why don’t you just kill me then?”

“First of all, that would be murder, second of all, I did give it my best shot, and third of all, I’m not entirely sure that killing you would solve the problem—as long as you’re alive and away, Belos can’t replace you, we’re pretty sure of that much. So again, you’re not going anywhere until the day of unity is over.”

“Where’s my palisman?!”

“Safe. No, you cannot have it back, because we’re currently having trouble explaining to it that it should NOT help you break out of here and kill us all.” Eda patted his head and disappeared back up the stairs. “Have fun contemplating all of your horrible actions down here!”

Hunter watched her disappear up the stairs.

It would be a hassle to find a replacement.

A hassle. Not impossible. But if he stayed here, according to Eda, there was no possibility of Uncle Belos completing his plan.

Hunter glanced back up the stairs. One last way to be useful. One last thing I can do for him.

Xxx

Eda shouldered the basement door open. “Hope you like omelets, kid, because I had some eggs I needed to use up before they…” Hunter was limp in the chair, and she rolled her eyes. “I know you’re awake, you little brat.” She strode down the stairs, flipping the lights on. The plate in her hands dropped to the floor, shattering.

“LILITH!” she yelled, “GET DOWN HERE AND BRING YOUR ICE GLYPHS!”

Blood dripped from Hunter’s mouth, and his head sagged forward, his breathing ragged and gurgling, like he was drowning. Eda lifted his face. “Hunter? Hey, talk to me, kid, come on!” She held the cloth napkin she’d brought down with her to his mouth, red blossoming across the fabric. “Stick with me here!”

He coughed, spitting up more blood. His eyes opened just a crack, and he wrenched his face away from her. “Jussssst lemme die…” he slurred, his lips stained red.

Horror swept over Eda, nausea rising up in her stomach. “Did you bite your tongue?!” she yelled, “Titan, Hunter! LILITH!”

Lilith pounded down the stairs, holding her ice glyphs. She took one look at the situation and added another glyph to her combo, tapping it gently. A glowing ball floated above her hand, and she brought it slowly over, wafting it into Hunter’s face. Ice solidified over his injured tongue, slowing the bleeding and preventing him from being able to bite it again.

Tears rolled down his face, and he let out a wild, animal cry of despair, slumping forward.

Eda pointed. “This is what you did with all of your talking about how he failed, Lilith! Is this what you wanted? Titan’s sake, he just tried to kill himself rather than go back a failure!”

Lilith looked down to the side. “No,” she muttered, “I didn’t want this.”

Eda crouched down to Hunter’s level. “Hey. Hey, look at me, kid. Look at me. Belos isn’t worth taking your life, okay?”

Tears were still rolling down his face, and he shook his head.

Lilith knelt down next to Eda. “Hunter. I know I said you failed. I know I said that you couldn’t ever go back to the coven. But trust me, you can find things to live for other than the coven. Other than Belos. One failure does not mean the end.”

He closed his eyes, and Eda nudged her sister gently. “Go get that knockout potion,” she murmured, “I think he needs it.”

Her sister disappeared up the stairs, and Eda sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You’re a real hotbed of issues, you know that? Here’s a word of advice; if someone makes you feel like you should kill yourself instead of disappointing them, then you should NOT hang around that person.” She snorted. “I have half a mind to keep you until you figure out that Belos is bad for you.”

He coughed up more blood, and slumped forward with a groan.

Eda shook her head. “Titan, kid. What have the two of us gotten ourselves into, huh?”

Lilith brought down the knockout potion, and Hunter was so out of it that he drank it without question, passing out almost instantly. Her sister froze his tongue again, untying him and hefting him in her arms. “Keeping him prisoner as easy as you thought it would be, Edalyn?”

Eda sighed again, getting up. “Guess not. Where are you going with him?”

“Upstairs. I’m going to be keeping him where I can watch him.”

“What if Luz comes home today?”

“Then you can explain to her why the Golden Guard is passed out on the couch. I am not going to risk another escape or suicide attempt.”

Eda followed her up the stairs. “I just—I don’t get it, Lili! Belos is the worst, what do people see in him?”

Lilith set Hunter down on the couch, sitting next to him and picking up her book. She clicked her fingers, and her raven released the cardinal that was struggling against it, shrieking shrilly. Hunter’s little palisman chirruped and warbled worriedly, fluttering around his face, before finally settling down in his hair, glaring at Lilith and Eda.

Lilith flipped pages of her book back and forth, but Eda knew she wasn’t reading them. “Belos… can be persuasive. He can give you the things you’ve always craved—validation, kindness, respect. And then? When he takes that away? You feel like it’s your fault. Because someone like him, someone who treated you kindly, would surely only take away that kindness if you’d done something awful, right? He thinks you’re special. Until you prove him otherwise. And no matter what, you cannot prove him otherwise. Because if you’re not special, if someone as giving as him doesn’t think you’re special? You must be the most depraved creature in the world, and you deserve any punishment that comes your way.”

Eda shuddered. “Again. Horrible, horrible man.” Hunter’s palisman chirped in agreement.

Lilith twisted her hands, glancing down at Hunter. “But it never feels that way when you’re with him. That’s the problem. That’s how he creates soldiers that would rather die than disappoint him. You’re miserable, but you never realize that you are, and besides, even if you did leave, where would you go? I was lucky. I had you.”

“Eugh. Can’t believe I ever wanted to join that coven.”

“It’s… an efficient system. One I am quite glad I got out of.”

Eda nodded to the unconscious teenager on her couch. “Yeah? And who’s going to get him out of it? Titan knows he’s miserable, he might even realize that.”

Lilith shrugged. “Likely nobody. Except perhaps this little fellow.” She held out a hand for Hunter’s palisman, drawing back when the bird pecked her fingers. “Ow! Ugh—don’t know what else I expected from Hunter’s palisman. Belos is all Hunter’s ever known—I doubt he even knows what a regular life should look like. He’ll probably keep slaving away for his emperor, no matter what you or I try to say to him, and one day, it’ll get him killed. Whether at an enemy’s hand, Belos’, or his own, that’s the question.”

That bothered Eda more than she liked to admit, even to herself. “Well, thanks, Miss Depressing.” Hunter’s cardinal chirped and warbled disapprovingly at Lilith, as if to say not if I have anything to do with it.

Lilith shrugged again. “That’s his reality. I won’t sugarcoat it.”

“Well, it shouldn’t be.”

“Edalyn, he tried to kill me this morning. He could have escaped, but he’d rather risk getting captured again than return to the coven empty-handed. Belos’ influence runs deep. I know it’s hard to accept, but… at this point, I don’t think there’s anything you or I could do that will save him from himself.”

Xxx

Darius kept up a friendly, composed appearance until he got far enough away from the Clawthorne house that Gwendolyn couldn’t see him, at which point he snarled, punching a tree. He knew he’d heard Lilith’s voice, taunting him. But her insipid mother was being absolutely no help in trying to find her, and he was relatively certain that she was doing it on purpose.

Last he’d checked in with the coven spies, Lilith had been living with her mother. He didn’t know what had changed, but he could piece this together.

After all, Lilith hadn’t been alone. She’d brought along some kind of demon monster that had attacked him from the air.

And he was relatively certain that he knew exactly which demon monster she was in cahoots with.

Ch 4

#toh #tw: self harm #tw: attempted suicide #the owl house #toh hunter #edalyn clawthorn #lilith clawthorne #lil rascal #my writing #toh fanfiction

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thedailyimagines · 4 years

Text

Imagine being the descendant of Victor Frankenstein, and working alongside Gabriel Van Helsing.

Description: Though the threat of Dracula was gone from the world, there were always other supernatural threats. Who better to help Van Helsing than the granddaughter of one such legend?

This is bending the Van Helsing universe just a little, where Victor Frankenstein isn’t as young as he is portrayed to be in the movie. Otherwise everything takes place after the movie.

~~~~~~~~

“So. Plovdiv. Bulgaria. What exactly is in the city?” Gabriel Van Helsing walked alongside Cardinal Jinette, crossbow resting against his shoulder.

“There’s been reports of attacks in the city, mostly at night. Our sources say that while nobody has died, the injuries are not of human nature. There has been requests for help.”

“And you decided to send me. I assume you want me to take Carl?” Jinette shook his head.

“No. Friar Carl will be busy with another assignment. You’ll be headed to an ancient library in the city. Hopefully you can find some information on the attacks there. The locals say the attacks have happened in the past, and there might be records of them.” Van Helsing stopped and gave the Cardinal a confused look.

“So if Carl isn’t going, who is?” Jinette kept walking and Van Helsing had no choice but to follow. Soon the two came to the entrance area of the church, where a woman sat writing in a journal. When she saw them, she shut her journal and held out her hand to shake. Cardinal Jinette took her hand in both of his, shaking it in greeting.

“Van Helsing, this is Y/n Frankenstein. She’ll be going with you to Plovdiv.” Y/n’s smile twitched downwards slightly at the mention of the Frankenstein name.

To Van Helsing, she didn’t seem like she could be related to the creator of the monster. Of course, every account he had read about Victor Frankenstein claimed that the scientist was a madman whose loved ones and family died because of his actions. This woman looked like a school teacher.

“So the church finally invested in a necromancer? Have to say, usually it’s the Big Guy who does the reanimating.” The woman scowled and crossed her arms. Cardinal Jinette shook his head in annoyance. Of course Van Helsing would joke about holy miracles in a church.

“And I’m a scientist, not a witch. I assume you know the difference.” Van Helsing raised an eyebrow in amusement.

“Well excuse me Madam Frankenstein—”

“Lavenza.”

“Pardon?”

“I go by my grandmother’s maiden name, it attracts less attention. Her name was Elizabeth Lavenza.” Jinette began apologizing profusely, but Gabriel just shrugged nonchalantly.

“Alright then, Madam Lavenza.”

“You could just call me y/n. I’m not married nor a spinster. Not yet anyway.” Van Helsing turned to the cardinal.

“Explain to me why she’s coming with me?” Cardinal Jinette shook his head. Van Helsing was really going to complain his whole about taking the scientist, wasn’t he?

“Because she can translate the texts you’ll need, at a much faster rate than you could hope to.”

<—>

The hot sun beat down on y/n’s head, and she was glad she had chosen to wear lighter clothes. Glancing over at Van Helsing, she almost winced in sympathy. The man was decked out in his usual heavy leather gear, which while offering protection from the sun was no doubt unbearably hot.

“See something you like, Miss Lavenza?” Y/n rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat in the cart. The man was still refusing to call her by her first name.

“I was considering if I should ask you if that’s the city we’re headed to, and if you were beginning to suffer from heat exhaustion. All that heavy leather can’t be comfortable in this heat.” Van Helsing chuckled and tilted his hat to shield his face from the sun.

“You almost sound concerned.” A small huff came from y/n, and she pulled her journal out of her small bag.

“Considering you’re the expert in getting around the city, I’d prefer not to lose you and be stranded.” Van Helsing just turned to the cart driver and began talking with him. Y/n began writing in her journal, making note of the city and the sites around them.

When they arrived at a small church, a meek looking man greeted them. Compared to Gabriel, y/n noted in amusement, the pastor was tiny. He guided the two visitors to the old library beneath the church and left them. Neither y/n nor Gabriel noticed how the pastor’s eyes lingered hungrily on the two of them.

<—>

Sighing and rubbing her eyes, y/n looked down in frustration at the book in front of her. Translating it from Latin to German was easy as breathing for her, but sometimes there were random words thrown in that were of a completely different language and it was slowing y/n down.

Across the room, Van Helsing was tossing books to the side if he didn’t deem them useful. It slightly annoyed her to see the delicate books thrown aside so carelessly, and y/n briefly wondered who had taught the monster hunter his manners.

“If all you’re going to do is throw books around, you can leave.” Van Helsing scowled at another book, and as if to rub it in y/n’s face, tossed the book down the aisle between the shelves.

“No.”

“What? Think the scary monster is going to come after me?” Y/n laughed and adjusted her reading glasses, fixing Van Helsing with a stern look. “I’m not a child, Van Helsing. I can look after myself. Besides, didn’t you state that this library was sanctified by your church?”

The dark haired man opened his mouth to argue, then closed his mouth and shook his head.

“Don’t stay up too late. We’re leaving early tomorrow morning.”

“I’m touched, Van Helsing. You do care.” The monster hunter snorted, taking a lantern with him as he left the library. Y/n turned back to the book in front of her and cracked her knuckles. It was time to get back to work.

Not even an hour into her work, a scratching noise came from one of the aisles. Y/n quickly turned her head towards the source. The area between the shelves was too dark to see, and against her better judgement y/n took a lantern and walked down the aisle. Dust motes floated through the air, and y/n raised her lantern a little higher.

A loud growl came from in front of her. A large, dark mass emerged from the darkness and another growl rumbled from its throat. Y/n’s mind took two seconds to register what she was seeing before she booked it for the exit. The monster howled and gave chase.

“Shit shit shit shit!” Her mother would have been horrified at her use of language, but right now y/n could care less. Her mother could come lecture her when she wasn’t being chased by a monster four times her size. Said monster crashed through the bookshelves in front of her, and y/n screamed and changed direction.

“GABRIEL!”

<—>

Gabriel was halfway up the stairs to the exit when he heard the loud crash. He half wondered if y/n had knocked something over, or if—

“GABRIEL!”

That didn’t sound good. Taking the stairs two at a time, Van Helsing all but flew back into the library. Shelves were shattered and books lay in pieces everywhere. And there was y/n back to a wall as something huge closed in on her.

“Y/n!” Gabriel grabbed the closest thing to him, an unlit torch sconce, and flung it at the monster. The beast didn’t even flinch, but it turned slowly towards Van Helsing. With a roar it lunged at the seasoned monster hunter, who dodged and ran for cover. He found y/n with a book, ready to hit whatever came near her.

“It’s me! It’s just me!” Y/n lowered the book slightly.

“How did that thing get in here?!?!” Van Helsing shook his head and handed his crossbow to the scientist.

“Take the crossbow, and shoot it!” Y/n jerked back in surprise, almost dropping the heavy weapon. She shoved it back at Gabriel.

“I don’t know how to shoot a crossbow!” The monster hunter gave her a disbelieving look.

“Seriously?”

“I’m a fucking scientist, not a bloody monster hunter! I study the human body and it’s different functions!” Gabriel rolled his eyes. Of course she couldn’t fight. She could translate dead languages seven ways to Sunday, but not fight.

“Fine. When I say go, you need to make a run for the exit. Keep running and don’t look back.”

“What about you?” Gabriel prepared a crossbow bolt.

“Is that concern I hear, Miss Lavenza?”

“Yes.”

“Then thank you. Now get ready.” Y/n took a deep breath, and got into position. Van Helsing stood up and sprinted away from y/n. Once he deemed himself far enough, he quickly shot two crossbow bolts into the monster. The beast howled and whirled to face the monster hunter.

“Run!” Y/n sprinted towards the exit. Van Helsing kept the beast occupied with his crossbow. For a brief moment, he saw an open wound on the creatures underbelly.

The creature reared up again, and Gabriel fired a crossbow bolt at the wound. The monster howled and staggered, clawing at it’s chest. Finally, it fell to the ground. With a spasm it began to shrink, until it was a middle aged man covered in black goo.

“Gabriel?” Van Helsing turned to find y/n standing at the exit, armed with nothing but a fireplace poker from the church above.

“I thought I told you to run.” Y/n stepped into the library, staring with wide eyes at the the goo-covered man.

“I—wait, isn’t that one of the church’s men? The one who showed us the way here?” Gabriel gently turned the man over, finding that it was indeed the pastor of the church.

“Shit.”

~~~~~~~~

I don’t own the above gifs, all credits go to the owners.

#thedailyimagines #imagine #female reader #frankenstein!reader #scientist!reader #van helsing 2004 #van helsing 2004 imagine #van helsing #van helsing imagine #gabriel van helsing #gabriel van helsing imagine #gabriel van helsing x reader #gabriel van helsing x reader imagine #van helsing x reader #van helsing x reader imagine #the reader is not a fighter #and is not afraid to make that known

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makeste · 4 years

Text

BnHA Chapter 263: [Immigrant Song Intensifies]

Previously on BnHA: Ujiko sicced five Noumus on Miruko. Rephrase that: Ujiko sicced only five Noumus on Miruko. In hindsight this was obviously a mistake. Miruko proceeded to laugh and jump around kicking all of them and literally ripping the head off of the strongest one’s neck with nothing but her thighs. It was legendary and awe-inspiring and also she lost an arm but WHO EVEN CARES, I’m still pledging my allegiance to her. Miruko once beat the sun in a staring contest. Miruko’s calendar goes straight from March 31st to April 2nd, because nobody fucking fools Miruko. Anyway so also the heroes are finally attacking the League of Pliff’s HQ and Skeptic is running around all “AHHHH” so I guess we’ll see how that goes now.

Today on BnHA: Things finally get started over in Gunga, although for the time being most of the kids from 1-A and 1-B are still sitting around in the woods all pent-up and anxious and restlessly shipping KamiJirou. Meanwhile on the front lines, three-and-a-half-year-old Kaminari Denki is all “SOB I WANT TO BE BACK WITH MY FRIENDS WHERE IT’S SAFE”, to which Midnight, who I would just like to remind you is (1) an adult, (2) a teacher, and (3) a person responsible for this literal child’s safety in any number of other capacities, responds with “SORRY KIDDO WE NEED YOUR QUIRK.” I have yet to see any compelling evidence that they really do need it, but putting that dubious matter aside, Kaminari does kick some ass once he gets over his anxieties. Meanwhile Cementoss tears a building in half, Tokoyami reflects on how he was exposed to Kaminari’s good and pure moral character during their many soulful jam sessions, Hawks is about to kill Twice, and – wait, what.

a few stray thoughts since this chapter is taking forever to come out today. one, the good guys need to take out Twice and Toga as soon as they find them, because they’re currently the deadliest combination in the League. Twice for obvious reasons, and Toga because I’m pretty sure she got some of Aizawa’s blood that one time back during the Basement arc, and that fact coupled with the fact that she can now use the quirk of whoever she transforms into spells big trouble for the good guys since she can basically just cancel out whoever’s quirk she wants. plus she’s probably also immune to Midnight’s quirk. all in all bad news

two, it is interesting that Hagakure is the only 1-A kid we haven’t seen yet! probably just me overreacting, but still interesting!

(ETA: we do see her standing next to Mina in this chapter, so so much for that. you get out of it this time Tooru!)

and three, I’m not clear on whether or not Skeptic has actually figured out that Hawks betrayed them, or if he just suspects it, or if he thinks that Hawks leaked something accidentally and doesn’t realize that this entire time the dude was 100% playing them. I’m sure we’ll find out shortly. but regardless of how this plays out, I’m already dreading Twice’s reaction to all this :/ my sweet innocent baby. HE THOUGHT YOU WERE HIS FRIEND HAWKS. HE TRUSTED YOU. fff I really hope Twice’s inherently good and trusting nature isn’t a casualty of all this. then again I still think Twice himself is very unlikely to survive this. so basically I’m just bracing myself for pain sob

(ETA: oh this is bad.)

(ETA 2: by the way just to clarify, the above paragraphs were all written on Friday, and the rest of this recap+all ETAs were written the next day when I finally got to read the chapter! this is not important in any way whatsoever but now you know and that’s half the battle!)

“it’s time” holy shit finally lol. you all have been camped out over here for weeks now. not that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy each and every second of Miruko’s one-woman murder show, but it is nice to finally check in with you guys over here so we can get to work at last and I can get a better feel for who’s about to die. cuz someone here is dying guys

the chapter is called “I wanna be with the others!!” so. this is gonna be a Kaminari chapter isn’t it. I wonder what fresh new traitorous hijinks he’ll be getting up to this week. that detestable scoundrel

Mineta is being all weasel-y and reluctant, and honestly, I’m a bit annoyed. and for once it’s not directed at him! it’s like... how do I explain it. okay, so like, the manga is showing him being all cowardly and clearly not at all happy about being out here, and the fact that it’s Mineta doing it only adds to the general flavor of this being the wrong attitude to have and just a really shameful way of acting in general, because it’s Mineta and we all know Mineta is vile and so clearly he’s in the wrong here! the only thing is though, I actually don’t blame him even if he’s being a little shit about it, because the kids absolutely should not be here in the first place. are they strong? fuck yes. are they gonna end up being the ones to turn the tide once everything inevitably goes to shit, and thus the others are really goddamn lucky that they’re here? probably. does that make it right to conscript kids and send them out here to a soon-to-be war zone which the adults have very little control over meaning that some of these children will almost certainly be injured and traumatized and possibly even killed? nope! not right at all! no amount of “plus ultra” can justify this, folks. and “we get that it’s wrong but that’s just the fucked up times we live in” doesn’t actually justify it either, even if the HPSC seems to think so

but having said all that, there’s clearly nothing to be done about it at this point, and I’m about to enjoy this chapter of the kids presumably kicking ass even after all that whining, so I’ll just carefully climb down from my soapbox now. but I’m still keeping it handy just in case!

who the fuck is this Thundercats guy who looks like he was part of an old timey street gang in 1920s Chicago

lol can he hear the villain hotel being ripped in half over there in the distance

and speaking of hearing, Jirou is popping her earbuds into the ground to do some reconnaissance of her own I guess!

the heroes?? she better not mean the villains. oh lord I still don’t have the faintest idea how they’re planning on actually containing them all. well, brace yourselves everyone. here comes the shitshow

now Gangs of New York is making the most unnecessary speech in the history of this manga

were any of them actually going to be careless?? I’m pretty sure they understand the gravity of the situation my dude. and if they didn’t, I’d say that’s honestly on you guys and not on them because, again, they’re kids. and if you didn’t want a bunch of teenagers goofing off during your incredibly dangerous and vitally important do-or-die hero mission, then maybe you shouldn’t have brought a bunch of teenagers to your incredibly dangerous and vitally important do-or-die hero mission

“listen makeste are you just going to sit around all day bitching about my cardinal sin of daring to involve your precious little darlings in the actual plot,” the imaginary Horikoshi that sits around trying to keep these recaps from veering off track interjects. and okay fine

sob it feels wrong to see MomoJirou there without their Kaminari

(ETA: and there is Hagakure on the left, FYI. at least I think that’s her?)

their baby boy is all out there alone in the woods. is that why you were really listening, Jirou? you can tell me, I promise not to make a big deal about it

MOMO ARE YOU COMFORTING JIROU WHILE SHE OPENLY WORRIES ABOUT “TOKOYAMI”

I lied, I might make a big thing about it. what a beautiful March day for some OT3

MY INFANT SON!!

HE’S ONLY TWO YEARS OLD!! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!? MIDNIGHT YOU BETTER KEEP HIM SAFE!! at least until he makes it back safely into the hands of his friends, the League of Villains

meanwhile here’s a fun tip, this manga gets 100x funnier if you scroll back up to that panel of Jirou being all serious and saying “they’re on the move” now that we know that this outburst is almost certainly what she was listening to lmao. “oh, Kaminari is crying, that must mean they’re getting started”

and here they go!!

who is that in the witch hat?? COULD THIS BE THE LEGENDARY MAJESTIC, AT LONG LAST? this person looks like they cobbled together their entire hero costume from Sero’s bedroom. just ransacked it and draped all of his tapestries and throw pillows every which way over some Adidas pants. goddammit who is this person, I need to know everything about them right now

DAMMIT MIDNIGHT

HE’S NOT OLD ENOUGH TO MAKE THOSE KIND OF DECISIONS GODDAMMIT. HE IS YOUNG AND PLIABLE!! WHAT DID YOU DO, OFFER HIM CANDY. DID YOU PROMISE YOU WOULD TAKE HIM TO CHUCK E. CHEESE AFTER IF HE WAS GOOD

SON OF A BITCH ARE YOU GUILTING HIM

I DON’T LIKE THIS, MIDNIGHT. I MEAN, YOU ALREADY KNOW, IT’S NOT LIKE I’VE MADE A BIG SECRET OF IT OR ANYTHING. GUH

and he’s shouting back “no I don’t think you adults are pathetic at all!” while still looking terrified! goddammit how do I cast protection on a fictional character in a manga. I don’t play D&D, but D&D players can do that, right? how do I create a shield around my party. Kaminari you stay put while I try and figure this all out

lmaoooooo Tokoyami’s words of encouragement

A MAGNIFICENT FELLOW. you guys I’m gonna be honest, lately I’ve been enjoying these fan scanlations even more than the official ones at times. obviously Viz’s are fine and good, but sometimes it’s almost like they localize everything a little too much, you know? most people don’t go around calling other people magnificent fellows, but would Tokoyami? yes. yes he would. I believe this in every fiber of my heart

LMAO KAMINARI

“KAMINARI, I REALIZED WHEN WE WERE PLAYING GUITAR TOGETHER... WAY TO WHITE-KNUCKLE THOSE SICK FRETS, HALEN.” thank you so much for that Tokoyami but we are kind of in the middle of something so I’m not sure if right now is really the time to start asking my boy here for his autograph. after, maybe

now Cementoss is literally screaming “ATTACK!” and throwing subtlety to the winds

and now we’re back to this!

and it looks like this is most likely Cementoss using his quirk to tear the building in half! so that’s one mystery from last week solved! holy shit you guys I just realized we’re actually going to see Cementoss in action. so long as the environment is right, dude is a literal earthbender. we may be in for a rare treat

Skeptic is shouting at his minions to alert the Council. it’s okay, Cementoss already alerted them for you I’m pretty sure

so he’s sending Violet and Black to the front entrance, and Cleveland and Carmine to the Assembly Hall (where the Council is). these, if you recall, are the names of the various Vanguard squads, though I don’t recall who is actually on which squad and I really don’t want to go back and look it up... but fine!

okay, Twice is on the Black squad and Dabi and Otter Pop are on Violet. so they’re being dispatched to the front, while Toga, Compress, Spinner, and Skeptic himself (how convenient for you Skeptic) are heading to the Assembly Hall. isn’t that nice that Dabi is heading out to the front, where my son Kaminari “Clapton” Denki is. hahaha. fuck

Lefty Hair is now making a sudden appearance and giving Skeptic some threatening “you majorly fucked up and the only reason I’m letting it slide for now is because we’ve got bigger things to worry about” vibes, which I like. also he has a cigarette. it’s been a while since I’ve seen a manga character actually smoke a cigarette. I guess only villains are allowed to smoke them now

YOU GUYS LOOK HOW FUCKING RAW CEMENTOSS LOOKS HERE HOLY SHIT

HOW MANY PEOPLE IS CEMENTOSS GOING TO KILL TODAY. place your bets. and is cement stronger than fire. please don’t die Cementoss

YOU GUYS HE FUCKING SLAMMED THE FUCKING BUILDING OPEN LIKE ARAGORN OPENING THOSE FUCKING DOUBLE DOORS IN THE TWO TOWERS. I KNOW YOU CAN’T ACTUALLY SLAM A DOOR OPEN BUT ARE WE GOING TO SIT HERE AND ARGUE SEMANTICS ALL DAY OR ARE WE GOING TO KEEP READING??

ARE WE EVEN ALLOWED TO HAVE THIS MUCH BADASSERY IN A CHAPTER THAT DOESN’T HAVE MIRUKO IN IT. LOOKS LIKE SOMEBODY FORGOT TO INFORM THE BADASSERY GUILD THAT THEIR UNION MEMBERS ARE WORKING OVERTIME. I DON’T KNOW WHERE I’M GOING WITH THIS METAPHOR I GOT TOO EXCITED

by the way I like how a key part of their “let’s contain all the villains” plan was to open up their secret HQ and spill them all out like a bunch of ants. everyone knows this is the best way to keep people contained. instead of stationing people outside of every exit, let’s just make the entire building into one giant exit and MELEE AWAY ALL YOUR PROBLEMS

who died and made Lefty the smartest guy in the room

if only they had all listened to you, Mister Smart Guy. you’re so smart. why didn’t they put you in charge. probably just because they were jealous

booooo it looks like Black and Violet are attacking but Twice and Dabi are nowhere to be found! because they’re part of the Council?? boooo

Best Sweaterist can do anything a sweater can do. it’s not a very good power. everyone was all “you look like the number 3 hero you must be really strong” and so she got promoted waaaaay above her skill level and it’s too late for her to do anything about it now so good luck Best Sweaterist

finally some people from the League!

but where is Hawks? AND WHY IS DABI HEADING THE OPPOSITE WAY AS EVERYONE ELSE HOLY SHIT

LOL HAWKS YOU BEST MAKE YOURSELF SCARCE MY DUDE. OH FUCK

(ETA: Dabi is either going to arrive just in time to save Twice, or just in time to witness Hawks murdering him, and I’m not sure which would be worse.)

OH MY GOD EDGESHOT GOT A LINE

I CAN’T FUCKING WAIT TO HEAR THIS WITH MY OWN TWO EARS IN THE ANIME. IT’S GONNA BE SO GREAT AH MAN. but real talk, Miruko should be above him in the power rankings. I’m sorry I don’t make the rules. but unless you kill three Noumus within the next few pages here I’d say it’s pretty clear cut

OH NO MY SIX-YEAR-OLD SON, MY POOR BABY, HE LOOKS SO FRIGHTENED NOW. LIKE GENUINELY AFRAID-FOR-HIS-LIFE FRIGHTENED AND NOT JUST COMICALLY FRIGHTENED OH MY GOD I CAN’T

Kaminari you sweet little lamb, it’s going to be okay. you just take a deep breath and zap some of these PLF fuckers and then you can go run and hide and you’ll be playing tacky arcade games and eating hit-or-miss-quality pizza before you know it

Kami is actually in a lot of danger here what with how helpless he gets after he uses too much of his quirk though. (unless of course you subscribe to the theory that he doesn’t actually go dumb at all and that’s when he’s secretly transmitting his traitor messages to the zetans.) whose fucking idea was it to put him on the front lines, honestly. he’s only four!!

fuck me, Midnight sees him panicking and she’s being all soothing and encouraging while also being ridiculously sexy as usual. dammit Midnight

hey Kaminari if you want to think about Momo and Jirou I’m not going to complain, I just want you to know that. you can even make it all platonic by just saying “my friends.” either way is fine and I will respect your smokescreen

ahh he’s turning around and the camera is zooming back to the woods where the rest of 1-A are!

the title of this chapter is becoming surprisingly meaningful!! well played!

WOW

I don’t even know what to say?! I basically just slapped both of my cheeks and said “AWWW” out loud?! would you fucking look at these two bisexual icons living it up in this the year of our lord 2020. what a blessing

oh hey this guy decided it was time for him to talk again

okay Kami I give you permission to go pikachu on his ass. go ahead and show us why the heroes went ahead and violated ILO conventions in order to bring you here

don’t tell me this guy is also an electric type. lol who could have guessed that, there were absolutely no clues at all in his hairstyle or anywhere else. I would definitely have noticed something like that because I definitely pay attention to these things lol

(ETA: and presumably the heroes knew the identities of the Vanguard squadron leaders thanks to Hawks, and knew they had to have some sort of plan in place for this guy’s quirk, hence them being all “hey Kaminari let’s talk.”)

anyway

OH SHIT YOU GUYS KAMINARI IS ABOUT TO BE A BADASS!?

MOTHERFUCKER WAS THAT A SHOUNEN WOOSH???! whaaaaaat oh shit everybody brace yourselves

and now a Tokoyami flashback to the two of them jamming like little hero Hendrixes

because he prioritized the health of his fingers beneath his desire to learn the guitar to help his friends perform, you realized he was truly a magnificent fellow. aw shit it’s all coming together

yep

look how evil that smile in the last panel is. clearly the traitor. probably this other electric man is his dad

USING AN ELECTRIC ATTACK AGAINST ANOTHER ELECTRIC TYPE CLEARLY WON’T WORK AND THUS THIS IS ONLY A FAKE ATTACK DESIGNED IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN HIS COVER!

LOOK HOW EVIL HE IS

HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN A FIVE-YEAR-OLD HAVING THIS KIND OF RAW FIREPOWER UNLESS HE’S SECRETLY EVIL!??!

OH MY GOD I LITERALLY SAID “OH MY GOD” VERY LOUDLY IN REAL LIFE AND NOW I’M HOPING MY NEIGHBORS DIDN’T HEAR HOW LOUDLY AND EMBARASSINGLY I SAID “OH MY GOD”

FUUUUCK

just. it’s like this weird and crazy feeling that’s a combination of adrenaline and chills-rushing-up-your-spine. that’s the sensation of clicking to a page and suddenly seeing the thing we fucking knew was going to happen, but just because we knew doesn’t mean we actually wanted it to happen, shit

holy shit. does Jin have to die in order for the heroes to succeed? probably. do I want it to actually happen? NO. am I suddenly reevaluating every single thing I thought I knew about Hawks and mentally updating Jeanist’s presumed mortality status in my head?? yes. are Hawks’s eyes here going to give me nightmares for the entire coming week? also yes. am I really unsettled wondering if those eyes were the last thing Jeanist ever saw? listen why do you keep asking me all of these intrusive and deeply upsetting questions like I’m some kind of magic 8 ball?? am I going to be on the edge of my fucking seat now waiting for next week? fuck

#bnha 263 #kaminari denki #jirou kyouka #tokoyami fumikage #cementoss #hawks #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste spoiler recap #makeste reads bnha #is kaminari the traitor? still no #is horikoshi the traitor? probably #nah you know what #yes

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sabineelectricheart · 3 years

Text

Verlangen

Summary: Lili has no more strenght to fight Dante. She can only fight for her son.

Rating: M - Not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16 with non-explicit suggestive adult themes, references to some violence, or coarse language.

Explicit depiction of domestic violence. Reader discretion is highly advised.

Words: 1600

Notes: I am a nasty, nasty person. I know.

"I don’t want for the entire province to know I am married to some ungrateful little slut!" Dante thundered, backing her into the brick wall of the manor house.

She was scared, and her husband has hurting her, but she tried to manage to keep herself standing, if she fell to the ground, it would only be worse.

Her expensive mink coat snagged on the prickly thorns of a long-dead rose bush and ripped a piece off. She would have to fix it tonight, before dawn.

"I d-didn't do anything," Lili managed to get out.

“Spare me, will you? I have you all figured out, cunt.” He sneered. "I saw him eyeing you up and down, and you laughing at his tasteless jokes."

Lili backed further into the wall as he spoke, the creeping ivy scratching at the back of her neck. She had been here before. She knew nothing she had to say would convince him that a barely-cordial conversation with Gilbert on her way back from the church was anything less than a cardinal sin.

"I'm sorry, Dante.” She cried, pleading. “I didn't mean anything by it. You've got to believe me."

"I don’t have to do anything, dirty whore." He spat. “Or have you forgotten who has the upper hand in this marriage?”

His turquoise eyes were as hard and sharp as flint, forcing her to look away. There was no future in trying to out-stare a monster.

Luca was crouched behind a tree in their front garden, a large apple tree that hung in front of their home long before she and Dante were wed, his little fists clenched, tears streaming down his cheeks. He had asked her to bake him a pie and insisted to go shop for the ingredients himself when his father came across their stroll in Creta.

Run, she pleaded silently, locking eyes with her son. Run to the grotto.

He nodded once and dropped the bag full of food into the grass as he backed away.

"You have nothing to say for yourself? No excuses? No empty promises?" He growled as he pushed himself against her, his deceivingly fresh breath tickling her ear.

She heard barely-there footsteps disappear down the ginnel. Luca was safe.

"No, I have nothing to say to you."

His large, calloused hand was hot against her throat.

"Are you quite sure about that?" He flexed his hand.

Her voice was little more than a gasp. "Yes."

His hand closed vice-like around her neck, crushing force constricting her windpipe. Her lungs burned as they begged for oxygen, hot tears spilled from her eyes, and dark spots danced enticingly across her vision as she fought to remain conscious.

She lost the fight, she always did, and fell limp as the darkness overtook her.

Dante was gone when she came to her senses in the dim starlight of their bedroom. He must have brought her up and then left somewhere, to his office or to some cantina on the edge of town, to drink his rage away.

The dull, throbbing ache of her throat was unsettlingly familiar. It used to make her angry.

When they had first married, she would fight for all she was worth against the smacks, the punches, and the pushes. She had tried to free Orlok many times from the dungeon, and even made the mistake of pulling a knife on him once, one that he immediately used to stab her in the leg.

Now, she was too exhausted to fight for herself. She had only had the energy to fight for Luca.

She pulled herself up from the overly soft bed, dusted the grass on her dress and took a sip of the icy water that was left conveniently on her bedside table. The liquid quenched the fire that burned her throat, but the relief it provided was only temporary.

Lili notes that her coat was gone, and she would likely never see it again. Soon, another one, more luxurious than its predecessor, would find its way to her overfilled wardrobe.

As for now, she limits herself to picking up another coat from the armchair near the window, having the foresight to choose a larger one that she could snuggle Luca if need be, and left through the bedroom door.

The fact that Dante beat her up was common knowledge, and the reason for that was mostly old news for the Family and the servants. Still, when Lili passed through them, they would always look curiously, even if no-one ever said a thing to her. It did not matter, anyways, because they also did not impede her movement, either by her husband’s orders or they legitimately felt sorry for her.

The reinforced wall of their manor house ran the length of the eery street it was located. The little starlight that escaped the clouds was scattered by the broken glass that littered the floor. Old crisp packets rustled in the light breeze, and the acrid stench of piss assaulted her nose and caught in her bruised throat.

How she wished she could escape from this place, wished she could save Luca from its poisonous grasp.

Eventually, the pavement gave way to lush grass. The scent of tree sap and mulch caressed her nose and filled her lungs. Lili carefully picked her way through the darkness, avoiding tree roots and dog shit. A twig snapped beneath her foot, and she heard a gasp. Luca was perched, bird-like, on a fallen tree, his pale face ethereal in the filtered starlight.

"It's just me, honey." Liliana said, calmly, revealing herself to her son.

His shoulders relaxed slightly and he shuffled over, making room for her on the log.

They had found this place when Luca was barely walking. Dante had been especially stressed with the politics in Rome and was spending more and more time drinking and hitting her to relieve tension.

One night, he had come home angrier than he ever used to be, smashing plates, slamming walls, and effing and blinding. The sharp edge of a broken plate had caught Luca's cheek, slicing through his pale skin.

Lili would never forget the drip of scarlet as her little boy's lip wobbled and his tears stung his cut.

The next day, she had made sure they were both out of the house when Dante came home. They had walked for hours, trying to stay out of sight, until they had wandered into the woodland and found the little grotto. It was open to the sky and stars but closed off to the rest of the world. A retreat.

"Mom, are you alright?" The boy asked, softly.

She sat down next to her son, wrapping an arm around his thin shoulders.

"I'm fine." Her voice was barely more than a hoarse whisper, the words clawing at her sore throat.

"Why does he hurt you?" The drawl of the Florentine Italian, reserved for highly educated individuals, people much, much above her poor station, was both cute and heart-breaking on the tongue of her young son.

She sighed. "Because he's an angry man. His father used to beat his mother, and his grandfather beat his grandmother. He doesn't know any different."

"But you're an angel, right?" He looked at her, unsure. "So, can't angels defeat monsters?"

Her reply caught in her throat. Children should not have to think of their fathers as monsters.

"What your father did…” She breathed out. “When I married your father, I sullied myself. I am not pure on the eyes of the Lord, and so I can’t be the angel anymore. Now, I'm nothing."

"You're not nothing!" Luca insisted, facing her properly. "You're everything to me."

Tears clouded her eyes, but she did not let them fall.

"And you are everything to me." Lili whispered back.

"I know." He snuggled more firmly into her side, wrapping a skinny arm around her waist.

The cold easterly wind blew with force through Burlone. With it, a dark cloud shifted overhead, revealing more of the stars.

Luca pointed to the brightest one. The North Star. Polaris. "We could wish him away? Will you say it with me?"

She could not refuse him anything. They chanted together:

Starlight, star bright, the first star I see tonight,

I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.

Their voices mingled together as they had a hundred times before, his still high and sweet, hers raw with abuse.

"Do you think it'll work this time?" He looked expectantly at his mother.

Stormy clouds rolled across the sky, cloaking them in near-darkness once more.

Lili smiled. "There's always a chance, Luca."

She pulled herself to her feet and held a hand out for him to take. His small hand was cool and fragile in her own.

"Let's go home."

Lili woke in the pre-dawn light of the following morning. Dante's side of the bed was cold, the blankets unwrinkled. Childish hope coiled in her gut.

She padded down the stairs, careful not to wake Luca, and grabbed the empty milk bottle from the kitchen, so the milkman could take it away this morning.

Opening the French door to the salon, she was greeted with the grunting snores of her husband. He was splayed out across the white couch and covered in dirt. Drool hung in a glistening thread from the corner of his mouth, and his rough hand was clasped loosely around a gun.

Liliana carefully left the room and left Dante for his underlings to find.

Ah, well, she thought with some acidic humour. Maybe next time.

*_*_*_*_*

Nach die Alptraum Masterlist

Piofiore Masterlist

#piofiore #dante falzone #orlok

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yourdeepestfathoms · 4 years

Text

Baby Bat

Wing Chart

[Wing AU]

[UK Tour]

some Momward anyone? ;)

TW: Broken bones, vomit

---------------------------

“She’s gonna get pummeled into the ground…”

“I told her not to do it…”

“She thinks she’s showing off…”

The ridicule of the flock was soon cut off by introductions given by an eager cardinal. He flapped his bright red wings, gesturing with one arm to a feathered man on his left.

“On my right we have Zeke of the peregrine falcons!” He shouted. “And on my left we have Joan of the Honduran bats!”

Joan flicked her ears. Her nerves were running wild. She had never cockfought before, but she was so desperate to impress the others that she threw herself into the opportunity when it presented itself.

“Wings up, talons ready, FIGHT!”

Joan pumped her wings down and shot into the air. With such a large wingspan, she was able to get herself rather high, but peregrine falcons were known for their speed and it wasn’t long before Zeke caught up to her. He reared back and then slammed one of his wings into Joan’s stomach.

For a moment, Joan is falling. Fast.

She flapped her useless wings and managed to catch herself, but Zeke was already upon her again. She twisted upwards and flew away rather than fighting.

The crowd below her was getting antsy. They started to hate her even more. She needed to fight back.

Whirling around, Joan’s attempted strike was countered with a heavy blow to her head.

Joan plummeted.

She fell at an incline, too dizzy to catch herself. When she hit the ground wing-first, there’s a horrible CRUNCH, but her body continued to go forward, ripping off skin and fur in the process. When she finally rolled to a halt, there’s a large patch of white fur missing, leaving an ugly bare spot. Blood dyes raw, pale flesh red, only adding to the eyesore.

What’s worse? She was sprawled out right in front of her flock.

Joan didn’t dare look at them. She tried to push herself up, tried to shake off the pain, but then a boot drove into her stomach and she collapsed onto her throbbing wing. Her spine arched and she couldn’t choke back the cry of pain that wormed out of her throat.

From above her, Zeke smirks as he rolls her over. He grabs onto her wounded wing and lifts her up before laughing.

“This was too easy.” He said.

“It looks like we have a winner!” Warbled the cardinal.

The crowd parted soon after, as watching a bat moan and groan on the street wasn’t that fun. Joan’s heavy wings kept her grounded no matter how hard she tried to stand up. Her flock weren’t in any hurry to help her.

“You did, uhh, great!” Maria said, which only made Joan feel worse.

“Don’t…lie to me,” The bat grunted. She pulled away and tried to walk on her own, but the pain in her wing was too severe. Her small body just couldn’t support itself anymore. Aragon swooped in before she could break her nose on the pavement when she fell forward.

“Easy,” The dragon chided lightly, “Your wing is broken, Joan. Don’t push yourself.”

Almost on cue, the bones shift beneath her skin. Joan’s stomach bubbled in warning.

“I-I think I’m gonna-”

She definitely was.

Nearby avians either snicker in amusement or scoff in disgust when the bat- just a bat. just a useless bat. just a stupid fucking bat- dropped down to her knees, throwing up all over the street. Joan cringed as some of her dinner splashed out onto her hands and knees, which makes her stomach roil like a nest full of restless snakes. She vomited again.

Aragon, not phased by the mess Joan was making, crouched down next to her and began to rub her back gently, but made sure to stay away from the injured area. She coiled one arm around Joan’s heaving stomach to support her in case she passed out, while also brushing her hair out of the way. Howard was making herself useful unfurling her huge pink wings and flaring them at anyone who stared for too long. The other simply stood around, not really caring.

“You’re okay, love, you’re okay,” Aragon murmured in that loving, motherly voice of hers. The one that made Joan’s heart leap every time she heard it. The one that Joan didn’t think she deserved. “You’re going to be okay. Just get it out. Then we’ll go home and get you all better, alright?”

Thank god broken wings weren’t something that required medical attention. Avians knew how to treat wounded wings, and just going home and being out of eyesight would make Joan feel a tiny bit better.

The journey back to the house was torturous. Joan insisted on walking on her own, but it came to a point where she was silently sobbing in agony. Her flock saw the way her shoulders shook as she staggered and struggled forward. Eventually, Aragon had to butt in, and she did so by scooping Joan up into her arms. The bat- the stupid, useless, good-for-nothing bat- squealed in alarm, but couldn’t do much in her exhausted, pained state. Her dewclaws latched onto Aragon’s shoulders and held tight.

Much to Joan’s dismay, she was taken to the queen’s house, but decided to keep her mouth shut as she’s carried into the bathroom and set on the rim of the tub. She winced when Aragon prodded her wing, but tried not to move.

“You busted it pretty badly, love,” Aragon said softly. “I’m more worried about that, though.” She nods at the bare patch. “Hold still, okay? I’m going to clean it.”

Joan struggled not to cry out in pain when an antiseptic-soaked rag was pressed to the wounded area. The sting morphed into clarity- something she told herself she deserved for being so pathetic and worthless. It gave her something to grasp onto.

“Shh, shh,” Aragon murmured.

Apparently, she hadn’t been trying hard enough to hold herself together because an unbidden whimper escaped her throat. She choked back another noise before it could come free.

“There. I’m done, darling. It’s okay.”

But it wasn’t. Could the dragon not see how terrible the bat she was taking care of was? How it was a waste of time? How she was a lost cause?

“Your fur might take awhile to grow back. You don’t have to play for the show tomorrow if you don’t want to. We all understand.”

“No, I’m…I’m fine.” Joan choked out.

Aragon frowned a little, but nodded.

“I’m going to put a splint on your wing. Just hold still for me, love.”

———

Joan didn’t take the painkillers she was given. Not that they would help. No, she wallowed in the pain until it became a deep, slicing-like sensation that pounded so viciously it had her running to the bathroom again in the middle of the night.

She hadn’t been able to sleep. She had passed out on the couch from the pain, however her dreams were tainted with the sound of bones crunching and ripping free from wings. It wasn’t her body that was being mauled, though. It was Jane, it was Howard, it was Anne, it was Aragon all being bent into grotesque positions because she hadn’t been able to protect them. When they called out to her, asked her why she didn’t help them, she could not answer.

Joan woke up in tears. If it was from the night terror or the agony radiating in her back, she didn’t know.

Sleep was impossible after that. If it wasn’t the pain, then it was the discomfort of the splint bound to her wing. If it wasn’t the splint, then it was the fear of seeing her mind create images of her dear flock dying brutally. If it wasn’t the fear, then it was the deep-seeded hatred she had for herself.

Eventually, she had enough of tossing and turning and putting pressure on her back. She went to get a drink of water, but now she was in the bathroom, coughing and wheezing and sputtering. Her body was wracked in shivers, but sweat rolled down her face. God, she felt miserable, but she must have looked even more pathetic now.

When she raised her head, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Howard at the doorway. Right, her bedroom was nearby. The worried look on her face made Joan’s stomach twist in guilt and she had to turn away to cough up more bile. When the flow of stomach acid stopped lurching up her throat, she set her head in her folded arms on the toilet seat.

“How long have you been like this, kiddo?” Howard asked, taking a step inside.

“Nnng…” Joan moaned, flushing the toilet before teetering backwards against the wall. Tears pricked in her eyes when she practically crushed her wing against her body and the plaster. Howard noticed and clucked sympathetically.

“Done?” Howard asked.

“I-I think.” Joan panted. She tried to stand up, but her legs were weak and Howard had to steady her.

“Easy, kid,” The dragon said, “Easy. I’ve got you. Let’s take this slow, okay? I won’t let you fall.”

Getting back over to the couch took a lot longer than it should have, but, eventually, Joan collapsed down into the soft cushions. She winces when her wing throbbed again.

“Did you take the painkillers? I thought they would last at least until morn…” Howard’s eyes widened when Joan shamefully shook her head. “You didn’t take them? At all?”

This time the bat- who needed to be shot down- nodded.

“Oh, honey,” Howard murmured. She moves closer and runs her fingers through Joan’s hair because she knew she liked that almost as much as when her ears or wings were stroked, but Howard knew better than to touch her wings right now. “Why? They were gonna make you feel better.”

Joan shrugged uselessly. She can’t get her stupid mouth open to answer or reply to relieve Howard’s concern.

“Sweetheart,” Howard opened a wing around Joan’s smaller body. “Is something wrong? Aside from your injury of course. You can tell me, you know?”

Suddenly, the dam Joan had spent so long trying to subdue feels as though it is about to burst. Her breath hitched and her eyes stung horribly and she felt more panic welling up. She doesn’t know why she’s suddenly losing control of herself like this, but Howard was looking at her so softly and the gentle touch around her is the sweetest thing she had ever felt and she had a sudden, awful, terrible urge to wrap her arms and wings around Howard- to be wrapped up, to be held.

“Joan? Hey, honey, are you okay?”

That does it.

Joan can’t even attempt to stop the tears that are pouring out, the hiccup that escaped her lips or her face from crumpling horrendously. All she can do is swallow down the sobs as best she can, hunch forward until she’s doubled over her knees, and shield her body with her wings to hide her face that is steadily flushing red from embarrassment.

“I…s-sorry, Katherine....I…”

It’s pathetic. She’s pathetic. She can’t even get the sentence out without choking on her rapidly hitching breaths. So she snaps her mouth shut- the last thing she wants is to start sobbing for real.

Minutes passed in silence as she struggled to swallow down her emotions to no avail, gasping for breath and fighting for composure. What made the situation worse is the pure, unadulterated shock she can feel radiating from Howard. And most likely the disgust- Howard is surely looking for a way to escape, Joan thinks, she wouldn’t want to be stuck with herself either. With a sniveling, pathetic excuse for a friend, a lady in waiting, an avian, a human being-

A gentle hand grabs her uninjured wing and slowly pulls it away from her face. Joan can hardly make out Howard’s worried, heartbroken expression through the blurriness of tears before she feels herself being tugged forwards, an arm wrapping around her back and another hand cupping the back of her head. They don’t stop pulling until Joan’s face is nestled snugly into Howard’s chest- forcing Joan’s brain to a stuttering stop. For a moment, she feels too startled to even cry. But then the warm, protective wings wrap her up and she’s whimpering all over again.

Never. Never in a million years did she ever think anything like this would happen- that her ex-queen would wrap her up so tenderly, holding on gently like she was an actual baby bat, precious and breakable.

It’s--

It’s too much. Too overwhelming, yet it's everything she’s ever dreamed of. Joan wanted to shy away from the touch, push Howard to the ground and yell at her and beat her into a bloody pulp with her wings and claws that should have been able to do lots of damage, make her hate Joan even more than she probably already does (like Joan deserved). At the same time, however, she wanted to hold on tightly and never let go, wanted to be cradled like this forever.

She settled for shakily returning the embrace with one wing, holding on with her weak dewclaws, while her trembling hands twisted themselves up in Howard’s nightshirt. Her ears fold back and she can’t stop her shoulders from tensing and shaking just as hard as her hands. Tears continued to leak out, but she stayed silent. She felt like she was going to shake apart in this sweet hold, especially when Howard began to speak ever so gently in her ear.

“Shh, shh, it’s alright. You’ll be okay, Joan.” Her voice was so soothing and velvety, and it sends shivers down Joan’s spine.

“I’m here, darling. I’m here.”

Joan felt truly ruined.

She’s wanted to hear those words for so long. She’s wanted to be held like this all her life. She can’t. It’s too much. And, before she can stop it, an ugly, pained sound a kicked puppy would make escapes her throat, somewhere in between a whimper and a sob. She felt Howard stiffen a little and expected her to pull away. To push Joan off of her, tell her what a nuisance she’s surely being, beat her over the head with her wings until her skull cracks open and her pathetic excuse for a life finally ends.

But instead, she was squeezed tighter and her back was rubbed with more confidence. It breaks what little is left of her composure and the next moment, Joan is outright sobbing.

Her cries felt like they were being ripped out of her body, leaving her absolutely mortified with embarrassment. She can’t remember the last time she cried this hard and it most certainly had never been in the vicinity of another person, definitely not a queen. She felt terrible for desperately clutching Howard to her, for staining her clothes with tears and god know what else. For burdening her with this, when Joan was only suffering what she deserved, what she brought upon herself--but she can’t find the strength to stop.

Her shoulders jumped violently with every gasping sob and she tried to calm down, to make herself quiet so she won’t wake up the rest of the flock, but it’s so hard when she felt so raw. It doesn’t help that Howard was rocking her, shushing her so gently and practically cooing in her ear, making her feel cared for…and loved.

She cried for what felt like hours and, after a while, her breaths were no longer heaving, but stuttering. The tears were still flowing but it's slower now, too.

Exhaustion set deep into her muscles and she could only really lean against Howard because her wings have gone numb and they’re too heavy to move

“Feeling a little better?” Howard asked softly, so softly.

Joan shrugged a little, snuggling closer because she did not want to be released. Not yet. The fear was still present, as was the dull pain and the raging hatred.

“I-I just…” She screwed her eyes shut. Oh god, the tears are coming again. “Kat, I hate myself so f-fucking much.” Her voice cracked horribly on the swear and her face turned impossibly red. “I-I don’t know why. B-but ever since we were reincarnated, I just- I can’t stand myself, Kat. I’m so useless. I can’t even work my wings properly, and don’t even get me started on how I fantasize about removing them, pulling them out, breaking them beyond repair-“ She gasped sharply, choking for a moment and jerking out of the embrace. “Oh my god, Kat, I’m such a freak. I’m so sick.”

Her hands flew to the crown of her head as she doubled over, pulling hard on her hair. Immediately, Howard jumped into action, easing her grip open and taking her hands in her own.

“Breathe, love, breathe. In and out. Here, follow me, okay?” Howard took in a deep, exaggerated breath, but the poor little bat in front of her struggled.

Joan shook her head, pulling her wings close around herself.

“I-I can’t.” She whimpered. “H-hold me again. Hold me, Kat, p-please.” Her words come out in pained gasps.

Howard doesn’t hesitate. She pulled Joan all the way into her lap, wrapping her back up in her wings. The poor bat- the useless useless useless little bat with wings too big for her emaciated, pathetic little body- was shaking so violently in her arms.

“Joan, I need you to try to breathe. Please, honey. You’re going to pass out if you don’t.”

Oh how she hoped she passed out. She hoped she suffocated and finally fucking died. For good.

But the pain from oxygen starvation became too much and Joan’s body forced her to take in a sharp breath. She didn’t want to do it again, but then Howard praised her and it sent her head spinning because the love she was being spoken with was all she ever wanted.

“That’s very good, baby, that’s so good.” Howard murmured and there’s a warm smile on her lips. “Can you do it again for me?”

Joan listened this time, only because she liked the tone she was being spoken to with.

“I’m sorry,” She croaked. Her throat strained when she spoke. Her lungs needed more air, but she just wanted to apologize. “I-I didn’t…”

“Shh,” Howard soothed, “We can talk later, okay? Or tomorrow morning. For now, just breathe. Sleep, if you need to. You must be exhausted.”

She was. She really, really was.

“P-promise you’ll be here when I wake up?” She stuttered weakly.

Howard kissed the top of her head before saying, “I promise, little bat.”

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holographic-chogi · 4 years

Text

Protector pt.18/?

Author: holographic-chogi

Pairing: fem!reader x skz

Warnings: swearing, abuse, violence, the cold.

A/N: So, I’m very torn on whether or not I want to do a sequel. I have another story I’m planning for sure, so there will be more content regardless. However, I kinda love writing these characters so if you guys want to see more, I’d love to continue with this universe. We aren’t at the end yet (we’re a few chapters away) but we’re approaching. Lol and to anyone reading all these author notes for the first time, I’ve been extending the story quite a bit, hence me saying we’re getting close to the end all the time. As always, feedback is welcome and appreciated!! Hope you guys enjoy!

Summary: a virus has wiped out most of humanity, and society has collapsed. People survive in groups where they live in constant fear and a struggle to survive. Women were the primary victim of the virus, leaving few behind. You are one of the few, kept in secret since the beginning. However, you’ve just been caught.

Masterlist

The overwhelming soreness was the first thing you noticed.

You woke up on the floor, sprawled out beside the bed, back to the bare wooden floor. As you became more and more lucid, you became aware of the several points of pain spread throughout your body.

Your left shoulder, your right forearm, your neck. Your wrists. Not to mention, a nasty headache.

You forced yourself up, limbs shaking from exhaustion and overuse. Would it have killed you to crawl into bed before passing out? You guess you could cut yourself some slack this time.

You lean back, flinching as your back cracks in various places. Sore was absolutely an understatement.

You flinched as your door swung open, a feeling of dread sinking in as it revealed Hyuk on the other side. He seemed very nonchalant as he eyed you and the room up and down.

“Damn. He really did go to town.”

You don’t bother responding, choosing instead to continue stretching out your back.

He clears his throat, and you finally spare him a glance. He looks smug. “Taeil sent me over to make sure you weren’t still tied up.” he crossed his arms, licking his lips as he continues to stare you down. It makes you shudder. “I almost wish you were. I bet you’d like that, hm?”

You narrow your eyes at him. You feel vulnerable in your current state, especially with this man looking at you like you were prey.

He continued, kneeling down to your level. It was then you realized that his look was becoming one of lust, no longer just smugness.

“Strip.”

Your eyes widen and your knuckles go white from the grip they have on your forearms, completely ignorant of the pain it causes. You couldn’t handle another one of these sick freaks, not the way you are now.

You can’t hold back the exhale of relief once you hear the knock at the doorway.

“Hey, I’m here to pick her up.” Hyoseob’s voice, thank god.

Hyuk looks back lazily at the open door, before looking back at you. “Next time, then.”

He strolls out, as if nothing had happened. Clearly Jiho and Taeil weren’t the only people to fear in this place; you couldn’t be any less safe.

Hyoseob walks past him, and the two don’t exchange so much as a nod before Hyuk closes the door behind him.

As soon as the latch clicks, Hyoseob’s visibly relaxes, before scanning you up and down warily, “rough night?”

You burst out laughing, unable to ignore the hilarity of that understatement. Your whole body radiates pain as your shoulders shake; your voice think with hoarseness as you use it for the first time today. “Yeah. We’ll call it a ‘rough night’.”

He snickers a little, “Yeah, you look like shit.”

You chuckle a bit more, before letting your laugh die down. “I bet.

He sits on the floor next to you, “any specific reason you’re on the ground?”

“I think I fell asleep down here last night,” you pause, “Or maybe passed out.”

He nods, holding out a hand to you, “ready for breakfast part two?”

No. You’d even rather have another date with Taeil. Just the thought of Jiho’s face made your entire body tense. “I’m guessing I don’t have much of a choice.”

He spoke solemnly, “you probably don’t.”

Luckily, he had grabbed your good hand as he hoisted you up, pulling you to your feet as you winced. You wobbled a bit on your feet as vision spotted black, gripping Hyoseob’s shoulder to keep yourself from keeling over. “Sorry, I’m just kinda lighthea-”

You freeze mid sentence, clutching your gut as overwhelming nausea radiated from your stomach, “I-I’m,”

You vomit again, doing your best to lean away from Hyoseob as you lose what little contents of food you had left. When you look back at Hyoseob, you see his face clouded with worry.

“What happened to you?”

“I’d rather not get into it”, you croaked. Your voice sounded terrible.

He nodded knowingly, “You’ve obviously been strangled, from the bruises and vomit, and,” He raises your right arm, revealing the burn on your arm, “And you’ve been burned. Anything else I should know about?”

You look at him blankly, voice deadpan, “My other shoulder is dislocated. Pretty sure my wrists are fucked up from those ropes too.” You nod towards the ropes lying loosely on the ground beside your bed.

He slowly lowers your hand, “We need to see if you can walk on your own. If you can’t, we’re gonna need to push our plan backward a few days.”

You pull out of his grasp, determined, “Oh absolutely not, I can walk.”

You start trudging towards the door, ignoring your body screaming at you to rest. “I can’t survive another day in this place.”

---

You were sitting back at the table from yesterday, nervously tapping your spoon as you were taunted by the empty seat in front of you. Hyoseob was beside the table again, eyes directly ahead of him.

You whispered under your breath, “What am I gonna tell Jiho about the bruises? You said they were visible.”

He looked down at you for a second, pointedly, as if to say ‘you know you aren’t supposed to talk to me in Jiho’s house’.

Then you heard the steps, and the familiar racing of your heart continued.

However, to your surprise, Jiho rushed past you, beelining for the door. “Sorry, can’t stay for breakfast. There’s been someone spotted nearby on patrol.”

You open your mouth to ask who, but Hyoseob notices and beats you to it, “Anyone we should be worried about, sir?”

He shook his head, “He’s gone now, but that Thai kid from JYP was spotted snooping nearby, so keep an eye on Y/N” He glared at you, “seems you can’t stop causing trouble.”

Your heart thuds in your chest. Bambam? What was he doing here? Did the others know something was wrong? You kneaded your hands together, smiling to yourself.

Little did Jiho know, you really, truly, weren’t alone.

Jiho scoffed at your expression, turning towards the door before adding, “He won’t get far.”

Sure about that? The man has some long legs.

As the door closed behind him, Hyoseob spoke from behind you. “We should leave now, nevermind waiting until tonight.”

You whirl around in surprise, “are you sure that isn’t too risky?”

He nods, “Everyone’s gonna be distracted with the intruder today, and no one will question us being alone, since I’ve been assigned to protect you.”

It makes sense. Excitement begins to bubble in your stomach as you stand from your chair, breakfast forgotten. “Then let’s get the hell out of here!”

He chuckled before gesturing to your plate, “Food first.”

---

Despite the hurry the two of you were in, you couldn’t deny how good the chilly air felt. The snow was obviously an obstacle, but it looked so pretty as it collected on the ground.

You had been “escorted” to your room to grab your things, and the two of you had traveled through the forest from there. The snow clouds above made it difficult to identify the cardinal directions, but you could still make do.

However, the pace the two of you were going at was fast. Faster than what was comfortable, especially in your condition. Your breaths were ragged as you tailed behind him, a familiar burning feeling returning to your lungs.

When you vomit the first time, Hyoseob stopped to cover it, making sure it’s untraceable. It’s a common after-effect of being strangled, but with each time you did it, he appeared more and more concerned.

You braced yourself against a tree with your good arm as you retched, fingers numb as they clutched the bark.

“Fuck, Y/N. Can you make it?”

You nod vigorously, wiping your mouth before staggering over. “I’m fine. Keep going.”

Could you? You weren’t sure. What you were sure of, is you would die trying before staying another second at that hellhole. You’d much sooner give your life to the winter before any of those men, any day.

And so you kept going. You tried paying attention to your surroundings, but Hyoseob just powered forward. What surprised you, is that beside your own fear, he seemed terrified too. He had seemed so calm and unmoveable before, but you couldn’t miss the trembling in his fingers as he pulled you forward. You’d blame it on the cold, if it weren’t for the look in his eyes.

Like wild game just before you shoot it between the eyes.

Suddenly, you hear shouting in the distance, and the two of you freeze.

You look up at him, squeezing his hand in reassurance. “It’s okay, it sounded far off.”

He shook his head, gripping your hand tightly. His breath showed in a cloud as he spoke, “Not far enough, and it’s in our direction. They’re tracking us.”

He released his hand completely, “I have to throw them off now. You’re on your own from here.”

You shivered as he rubbed your forearms, trying to warm you up before he departed.

“Stay traveling in this direction until you find a clearing, there’s usually a ton of rosehips there, but I can’t guarantee it because of the season.” He turned away from you, ready to bolt. “From there, there should be a path to the left that takes you to the farmhouse. It’s long, but you can make it.”

You smile at his retreating figure. “Rosehips can survive the winter just fine.”

“So can you.”

Taglist: @leetaemintrashnumber1 @peachescherryheart @lico-rice526 @claire4799 @lanie-is-a-unicorn @tottalbabe

#skz #skz reactions #skz fanfic #skz scenarios #stray kids #stray kids fanfiction #stray kids reactions #stray kids scenarios #protector #dystopian au #apocalypse au

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aire101 · 3 years

Text

Ferrum Chapter 5

LINK TO FIC MASTER POST

A/N: Well, I'm definitely not winning Nanowrimo again this year, but I did get a chapter out earlier than previously, and hopefully I'll be updating again soon. Also, this chapter I attempted to briefly show different perspectives on the game being cleared, and both were based on what my own feelings would have been at two different points in my life, so don't come at me about it please. Take care of yourselves, and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

---

The Town of Beginnings had changed remarkably from three weeks ago. Sure, the buildings and streets were all the same, but the mood and tension in the air hung like a thick blanket over nearly every person within the walls. In sharp contrast, the NPC’s on the street continued to merrily hawk their wares and interact with those in the street, most of whom seemed to be ‘out of towners’ like themselves. From windows above, you could occasionally see a face peering down before a drape would be pulled closed again.

All in all, it was distinctly unsettling, but exactly what Tony had expected.

“I knew some would hole up in the starter town, but this is a bit more intense than I imagined,” said Peter, as they made their way towards an inn.

“Kid, almost two thousands people have died since this game began—two out of every ten people who started. In all honestly, I’m surprised how many of us have hit the ground running,” said Tony.

“I know, but turning into a complete shut-in seems a bit extreme. Its not like anything is going to attack you within the city’s Safe Zone…”

“You say that, but that assumption is born from an inherent trust of the system. A system that has already been previously hijacked and altered to trap us all here on the whim of a asshole with a god complex. Considering that, who do you really think is crazy? The ones who can’t bring themselves to trust the system to protect them, or the ones who do?” asked Tony.

“I guess when you put it that way, I see your point. But still, we’re probably going to be here for a while. Are they just planning on staying in one room for the next however many years?”

“I imagine some of them will eventually venture out and find their own niche in the world, even if it isn’t battling the local mobs. Some will start fishing, or hunting, mining, cooking… the skill list for the game is extensive. Some entrepreneurs will probably start opening player run businesses and establishments. But I doubt we’ll see much of that until the Level One Floor Boss is found and cleared. These people are stuck in the dark without a light, believing the system is rigged against them. They need to see proof of what’s possible, a light to guide them forward, before we’ll see any real progress here. And even then, there will still be some who never go further than the walls of this city,” said Tony. “The amount of specialized therapy everyone in this game will need afterward is going to make some psychologists rich.”

Ahead of them, Tony saw a sign for an inn and turned to Peter.

“You can go ahead and get us set up for the night. I’m going to go and find a tool shop and a smithy, see if I can add a durability upgrade. Do you need anything while I’m out?” asked Tony.

“Um… Maybe some more potions. I used the last one back in the West forest. Though god those things taste like dirty socks,” said Peter, checking his inventory.

“You know, if you stopped doing dumb crap like jumping between me and attacks you wouldn’t have this problem,” said Tony, with a dry tone and a distinctly unsympathetic expression.

“What’s the point of having each other’s back if I don’t guard it?” said Peter, completely unrepentant.

Tony threw up his hands as he turned and walked away, calling over his shoulder, “Potions it is!”

He didn’t have to look back, he could feel the boy’s eyes roll into his head.

As Tony worked his way towards the central market, he took in the graystone streets and buildings with ornate windows and battlements. Every so often he would come across small barren plazas with lovely fountains and flora, nearly empty cafes and brightly colored vendor stalls. Even an occasional vista located just perfectly to allow someone a majestic view of the city and the surrounding area. Tony sighed, thinking of what could have been for this city that many had spent years of their lives developing.

The Town of Beginnings would have been a beautiful city without the miasma of despair that clung to its inhabitants.

It got him to wondering exactly what had come of his AIs, the ones Argus had requested. He had almost had one completely coded at the time of their last meeting. She had been a sweet one. But since he had woken in the game, he had seen no sign of her. Did they end up including her in the Cardinal System at all?

Maybe he should start poking around the GM user panel in earnest, see what he could find out. So far, he had mostly kept away from delving into it, afraid of catching Kayaba’s attention. But if there was something he could do to help, he would damn well try.

Up ahead he saw a sign advertising a blacksmith and item vendor. Eventually he wanted to try and open a smithy himself. Peter seemed set on throwing himself into harms way (per usual), and if he was going to do that, Tony wanted to make sure he had the best equipment available to do so. So Tony started learning how to do what he did best— make weapons and armor.

But to do that required a blacksmith’s forge and anvil. And to get that required a hefty amount of Cor. So for now, he rented an NPC blacksmith’s resources every now and then in order to improve and repair their equipment.

A bell jingled as he opened the door, undoubtedly triggering the customary NPC interaction.

“Welcome to Varden’s Smith and Sundry! How may I help you today?” called the man behind the counter.

“I would like to buy potions,” said Tony.

“What quantities would you like?”

“Ten.”

“That will be 1,500 Cor.”

“Ugh…” Tony broke the script to groan. He didn’t begrudge the purchase, far from it. But seriously, the kid needed to stop getting hit in the first place. His heart really couldn’t take this, and neither could their pocket book.

Who would have guessed he’d finally learn the concept of budgeting in his fifties? And boy did it suck.

Tony opened up his inventory, removing the required amount to place on the counter. As soon as it hit the counter, the bag of Cor flashed and disappeared.

“Thank you for your purchase! Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Yes, I’d like to rent your forge,” said Tony.

“Ah, yes! Come! Follow me this way…”

—

As Peter entered the inn, he glanced around the first floor tavern where various parties sat around rough hewn tables over pub fare and pints. At the bar, several others sat, conversing casually, though a little less intimately than those at the lower tables. Making a decision, he approached the bar.

“What can I getcha?” asked the barman as Peter sat.

“Whatever today’s special is and a pint,” said Peter, setting the typical meal cost in Cor down on the counter.

The barman nodded, accepting the payment and placing a full pint down in front of Peter before turning to finish the task.

As he waited, Peter took sips of his drink and listened in on the conversations around him.

“Word is they’ve finally found the entrance to the dungeon, as well as a new town relatively close to it called Tolbana. Hopefully within the next week or two they’ll find the boss and the first floor will be cleared,” said a woman to his left.

The girl sitting on the other side of her shook her head. “But how many more will die clearing it out? There’s already almost 2,000 names crossed out in the Monument of Life in the Black Palace.”

“What else are we supposed to do? We either die trying to get out or die of old age stuck in a virtual world.”

“Would that really be the worst thing, though? In the real world I’m in constant pain from my condition, some days I can’t even make it out of bed for more than the absolute necessities. Here I can live without that.”

The woman next to him sighed, “I’m sorry for that, and I understand why you would consider the option of living within the system. But some of us can’t. When I dove, I told my husband it would only be for a couple of hours, then we could take our five year old son to the park. They’re waiting on me to return. I want to be able to see my child grow up. So its a risk I have to take.”

The other girl nodded, “I get it.”

It was at that point the barman set a plate of what looked and smelled like chicken and roasted squash in front of him. Peter thanked the man and began to eat.

“God that looks good…” said the girl a couple seats down. “I haven’t eaten a proper meal in a couple days. The black bread is cheaper, though its dry and doesn’t last very long.”

“You really should try and go hunting. You’ll never make enough Cor or skill points to survive comfortably unless you do. Even if its just around this area,” said the other woman. “Going hungry for the next few years would be pretty miserable.”

“Sorry if I’m intruding,” said Peter, “but I’ve been curious about something— how often and how quickly do you get hungry in here?”

“Well, I haven’t really left the city, so I don’t make much Cor to buy food with,” said the girl. “So I kind of just stay hungry throughout most of the day.”

“When I’m leveling I tend to press through instead of stopping to eat,” said the woman, “But when I am eating regularly, I’d say I start feeling hunger similar to how I would in the real world, about every four to six hours. But I’m not sure if its tied to our real world feelings of hunger or a virtual schedule.”

“Might be a little of both… I tend to get hungry a lot in RL, but in here its spaced out a bit more,” said Peter, taking a bite of chicken.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see the girl still looking wistfully at his food.

“Sir, I’d like to order a second plate, but give it to her,” said Peter, nodding in her direction.

As the barman nodded and walked off, the girl started waving her hands.

“No, you shouldn’t do that. Save your Cor—”

“It’s alright, I promise. I’m in here with—”

Shit. What should he call Tony?

“…Imagine being stuck in here with your dad.”

“Er— my sort of Dad, and we’ve been doing pretty good with the mobs. So I can afford it.”

She looked for a moment like she was thinking of arguing still, until the plate was set in front of her. She eyed the food before her eyes teared up a bit, and she nodded.

“Thank you. I really appreciate your kindness.”

“It’s not a problem. I’d do the same in the real world. And what I would do there is what I should do in here,” said Peter.

“Those are wise words,” said the woman. “And you are uncommonly kind. I hope you are able to keep that, but don’t expect everyone in here to share your mindset.”

“I won’t, but just because others choose to not do the right thing doesn’t mean I have to. We all have the power and responsibility to choose to do good,” said Peter, and he felt the intangible feeling within him that he had been wrestling with since the beginning calm.

It wasn’t that the responsibility was no longer his without his powers, it was that the power and responsibility was everyone’s.

Perhaps it always had been.

And just like in the real world, there were those who used their power for good, those who used power for evil, and those that never used their power at all. Most thinking they had none, just like the girl a couple seats down.

But if they worked together…

Peter felt his resolve form.

He was going to the front line.

—

As Tony stepped back out onto the street, he considered his options.

Obviously he needed to head back to the inn. Afterward they could probably head out and take a look around town, seeing as they hadn’t really done so on day one.

But the memory of a café he had passed was singing its song…

He really missed coffee.

Surely they had some digital variation in this game. If not he was lodging a complaint.

The café was just as vacant as when he passed earlier. There were a couple people sitting at a table outside, but was otherwise empty of players.

The customary tinkle of the door as he entered prompted the NPC barista to smile and wave. On the wall behind the counter was a blackboard with various items written— sandwiches and what Tony suspected were types of teas, and in a bottom corner there was a selection of drinks called ‘Kaf.’

“Bingo! I’ll have a black kaf,” Tony looked at the pastries on display off to the side, spying a familiar donut shape with pink frosting, “And one of whatever you call this.”

A minute later he was sitting at a table out front, facing away from the two other patrons with his visor moved, taking a drink of the weirdest tasting ‘coffee’ he had ever tasted. If he had to describe it he would say it was more like a tea, with floral and berry notes and a touch of honey, but with a darker color and consistency of a french press coffee. It wasn’t bad, it just was not what he had been expecting.

Oh well, the donut was a perfect reproduction of a strawberry frosted Dunkin Donut.

“Man, if I make it out of this alive my wife is going to kill me. She’s been super anxious since the Blip— not that I blame her, you know— and this whole thing was definitely not something she was very confident in to begin with,” said one of the men sitting at the nearby table.

“Damn… you were one of the ones caught up in that? I lucked out I guess… I’m not really close to anyone and the ones I am were spared,” replied the other.

“Yeah, I know the Avengers ended up saving everyone in the end and I’m thankful for that obviously, but everything is still such a damn dumpster fire.”

That caught Tony’s attention.

The Blip? Bit of an odd name for an Avenger’s battle. How were the Avengers even a thing? Last time he checked Rogers and his merry men and women were still considered war criminals at large. The ‘Avengers’ consisted of himself, Vision and Rhodey.

“No joke. Almost every economy is still tanked at the moment. And I’m pretty sure half of upper New York State is a crater. Glad that fight was over there and not in my part of the world.”

The bottom of Tony’s stomach dropped out at those words.

“There was a battle… you won, but you took a lot of damage. You’ve been in a coma ever since.”

Peter had never said anything else about the battle, and Tony hadn’t pressed. But if a giant chunk of the state had been completely destroyed because of the battle surely he would have mentioned that?

Wouldn’t he?

Obviously a lot more happened in that battle than Peter had led him to believe. Tony eventually being taken out of commission in a fight was one thing, but from the sound of things this was on par with the Battle of Sokovia.

So why hadn’t Peter mentioned it?

“It was good to catch up, we’ll have to do this again when I’m back this direction. Or maybe on another floor if the rumors of the first floor dungeon door being found are true,” said the first man, standing up.

“Sounds good to me, though I’ll probably be pretty busy soon. Some of us around here have started organizing to try and provide resources for the people here in town. Some of them are players who don’t want to chance dying in the game, but there’s also some kids who are way younger than what the minimum play age was supposed to be. A few volunteers have taken up residence with them in a church in town and we’ve been supplying them with food…” said the other man, as they both walked away.

Damn… that wasn’t something he had thought about, but of course there would be kids who either snuck in on a parent’s account or who were allowed to lie about their age to play the game. Jokes about eight year olds talking crap on Call of Duty were a dime a dozen and everyone laughed about it, but here…

Maybe he should look into that, see what help he could offer. Though unlike in the real world, simply throwing his money at the problem couldn’t fix it. Mostly because he didn’t have any money. Ugh…

Speaking of kids though, he’d need to decide what to say once he got back to his kid at the inn.

Tony took a few deep breaths, trying to loosen up the hold his anxiety had started to take.

Obviously whatever had happened had been huge— Avengers assembled (with or without Rogers and co?), massive property damage, Iron Man out of commission, every country feeling the economic backlash. But unlike what had happened with Sokovia, despite the damages it seemed like the general public opinion after the fact was positive…?

That was unusual.

Most importantly at this point, whatever had happened had affected people across the globe, but especially one young man from Queens.

Had he been at the battle? Tony had initially offered the kid a spot after the whole vulture debacle, but after he had actually slept on it a few hours (the first time he’d slept properly in a few days) he had come to the realization that Peter turning the position down had saved them from what had been an awful idea in the first place. And that was BEFORE May Parker had shown up at the complex in an unholy righteous fury.

So Tony could not imagine having called Peter into a fight, and if it had taken place at the compound like he suspected, Peter shouldn’t have been anywhere near there.

He wanted to go back to the inn and wrangle the details out of Peter. Who was the fight against? What was it about? Was Rogers there? If so, how was Rogers involved? Why was public opinion seemingly in their favor for once? Had anyone other than him been hurt?

Oh god… What if something had happened to Pepper…

No. Peter would have told him that. He wouldn’t lie to him about Pepper, and he had told him weeks ago that she was fine. She was safe.

Tony dropped his head into his hand.

He wanted to ask all those questions, needed those answers…

But even if he got his answers, what could he do about any of it?

And was it worth potentially driving Peter away from him? His kid. The only person he knew and could dare to trust with the truth of his identity in this world?

No. No it wasn’t.

He would just have to see what he could find out from others. And hopefully Peter would eventually come around and open up about what had happened. He trusted the kid with his life, he would trust him in this, too.

The walk back to the inn seemed much quicker than the one to smithy due to Tony’s preoccupied mind and nerves. He was still unsure what to say when he got to the room. He needn’t have worried though, because Peter fixed that problem.

“I want to start fighting on the front line. I’m heading to the dungeon tomorrow.”

“Wait— excuse me, what?”

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fandom-meanderer · 5 years

Note

Hi, I may or may not be the one who requested the Felix likes reader but she likes Sylvain fic. That was litro the best thing to wake up to and I may have quietly squealed when I saw it. Thank you so much for writing it; it was perfect!(And for Felix’s P.O.V. you mentioned, I certainly wouldn’t complain seeing it😉) Your work is incredible, and now I have a huge smile on my face(and you may’ve given me the final push to marry Felix instead of Sylvain in my BL run🤫)Thank you so much ~💝♊️

I see I’ve converted another person 😈 Welp, let’s see what Felix thinks about all this, shall we?

[Part 1/Reader POV]

The clash of metal filled the air, blades crossing at every possible second. But for some reason, it seemed like you were moving slower than usual. Then, right as Felix dodged your incoming attack, he noticed it, the opening he had been waiting for. But you saw it coming too, didn’t you? Too bad, you didn’t react fast enough. Felix flicked his wrist slightly and watched the steel sword fly from your grasp.

“You’re distracted,” he scolds.

“Am I?” Gods, that damn smirk. Felix suddenly feels his legs give out from below him and finds himself on the ground. Of course she would be able to do that. “If this was an actual battle, you’d be out of commission, Felix,” she laughs.

“You’ve got a point, I can’t be careless,” he concedes. He notices her looking towards the door.

‘Oh, right,’ he feels himself grimace. ‘Sylvain.’

“Thinking about that idiot again?” He asks her, but in truth, he really didn’t want to know.

(Full Name) started out as his rival, the only person who bested him on their first try. Then he strove to train harder, and even after all these years, they’re still even matched. For years, that’s what he told himself. He was only getting frustrated because he couldn’t beat her. But goddess was he so very wrong. It wasn’t until they did a mock battle with the Knights of Seiros when he noticed. It was the way you and Sylvain just clicked when you fought together. He didn’t want to admit it but it was true. He was jealous. Jealous of his best friend.

The thought sickened him.

“No!” You shout. A false hope. “Yes...” That’s what he thought.

“I honestly don’t know what you see in him,” Felix grumbles. ‘He’s frivolous, eccentric, and in some cases can be cruel.’ When did he start thinking that way? He shakes his head. “We’re in war. You should be focusing on your training.”

“What do you mean? I just bested you, did I not?”

“That’s hardly relevant!” Felix turned away to hide his blush.

“Yeah, yeah...” You trail off. “I think I’m going to tell him tomorrow.”

Felix suddenly became hyperaware of his own heartbeat, it was beating against his chest and he was afraid that it might just jump out all together.

“Nothing good will come out of that, I promise you,” he musters out.

“Like you’d know!” Felix feels her disapproving glare, he doesn’t need to look back.

Ah, fuck, where’d his heart go? Oh, there it is, on the floor. Yup, let’s just put that back. He really just grabbed his sword. But can he blame her? While his friends were out having fun, he decided to stay in and study the blade. He is a bit... uneducated when it comes to pursuing any form of relationship, really.

“I’m gonna call it a night. I take it that you’ll stay here for another hour or so?”

“Yes. Unlike you, I care about surviving.” That came off a bit colder than he intended it to.

“Of course,” you sigh. Felix picks up his sword again and begins to practice his combat arts, ending the conversation. He hears you huff, then your footsteps leaving the training ground. Once he heard the click of the doors shut, he started attacking with a new found vigor.

“Sylvain this, Sylvain that,” he buries his sword into the training dummy. “Gods above. Why must you be so dense?!” He completely decapitates the dummy and throws his sword on the ground.

He could treat you so much better than Sylvain. He knows his best friend, if he was interested in you he wouldn’t be that cool with you. He knows how this is going to end, and he knows that Sylvain will most likely just drop you once another pretty woman walked past him. Yet here he was, in the training grounds, taking his frustrations out on a dummy. Then, a realization hit him.

He’s about to lose you forever. And he’s never even had the chance.

“Why do I feel this way?” He asked himself. His eyes lingered on the door.

His thought of you a while longer. The two of you would be a much better team in battle. You’d work better together than you and Sylvain, surely. He’d have to talk about that with Professor Byleth later but... right now all he could think about was the slight possibility of waking up tomorrow and watching you and Sylvain enter the Cardinal’s Room hand in hand. The mere idea of that was enough to make his blood boil.

“Okay, fuck this. I’m going to tell her right now,” then he stormed out of the training grounds. Right as he was about to knock on your dorm floor, he noticed you run back into the training grounds, leaving the door open behind you.

Well, that makes this easier.

He follows you in, taking care not to alarm you. He figured that he wouldn’t listen to what you said until,

“Stupid Sylvain!”

Oh, now he’s definitely listening.

“You and your dirty tricks! Making me fall for you! And then tossing me away! Why did I allow myself to be led on by you, you idiot!” You shout. Felix watches you completely slice off the dummy’s arm in a clean slice. What was this he was feeling? Pride? Surprise? Love? Whatever it was, he was intrigued.

“So, you finally agree with me?” He asks. He sees you tense.

“How long have you been there?”

“Since I saw you walk in, I figured you left something so I came to see what it was.”

“Gods above...” you curse. He watches you pick up your sword and make a beeline toward the exit.

‘Oh no, I’ve already gotten this far,’ Felix thinks to himself. He puts his arm out, stopping you in your tracks.

“What, Felix, going to tell me ‘I told you so’?”

“Not exactly.” Felix takes a deep breath and, in one swift movement, pins you to the pillar. His eyes moved down to stare into yours. Had you been crying?

“What?” You move your gaze to the ground. Great, now you were hiding it from him. He places his hand gently on your cheek and pushes it to meet your gaze again. Only one person could make you cry like that,

‘Sylvain,’ the thought made him grit his teeth. “I guess that idiot was good for one thing,” he accidentally says out loud.

‘Fuck it, I’m going all in.’ Felix leaned in slowly.

“Which is?”

‘Okay. Abort mission. ABORT. MISSION.’ Felix sighs, his head dropping. “Ugh, you’re too dense.” He moves away from you. You grab his shirt and move in front of him, standing slightly on his toes so he wouldn’t try to move away.

“Wait just a second,” you growl. You grab onto his collar and bring him down slightly, pressing a quick kiss to his lips.

Felix.exe has stopped working. Felix felt his world stop for the brief second that the two of you kissed. He couldn’t describe it in words, all he knew was that it just felt right. Once he finally came to, he noticed you a foot away from the door. Without thinking, he moved in front of you. You looked up at him, a mix of ‘What now?’ and ‘Please let me leave I’m tired.’ but none of that mattered right now.

“If you’re going to start something, own up to it and finish it,” he says before bending down and capturing your lips once more. He rests his hands on your hips, and there it was again. That feeling of this being just right.

As much as he hates to think this, he’d have to thank Sylvain later. Whatever he did to you led up to this moment. And once Felix felt your arms wrap around his neck he realized that you must have felt the same.

“Thanks,” Felix says gruffly. Sylvain looks at him, just about to climb up on his horse.

“For what?”

“It’s not important! Just know that I’m thanking you,” Felix scoffs.

“Right, okay, Felix,” Sylvain jumps on right as Byleth walks up to them. “What’s the game plan, Professor? Should I go pick up (Name)?”

It took every fiber in Felix’s body to not kick his horse and send Sylvain running.

“Actually, (Name) requested that she work with Felix for this mock battle,” Byleth says, eyeing Felix.

“What why would she- Oh.” Sylvain suddenly remembers the events of that morning. “OH.”

“Quit gaping and get ready for battle,” Felix storms off.

“Oh gods,” Sylvain places a hand to his head. “THAT’S WHAT HE MEANT BY ‘SOMETHING LIKE THAT’!”

#Fire Emblem #Fire Emblem Three Houses #feth #fe3h #fe3h Felix #felix hugo fraldarius #felix x reader #sylvain jose gautier #Blue Lions #fe3h x reader #request

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loyalflutist · 5 years

Text

Summoning Ritual (F!Byleth x Edelgard)

Rating: General Audience Archive Warning: N/A Words: 2,066 Summary: The time has come when they must summon their professors. Edelgard is nervous, but it appears that luck may be on her side...

A/N: It started with a BS idea. Now it became a BS one shot. Just thinking about the Fate series concept of Master-Servant. Enjoy this random drabble! Am hoping to work on a Fate/Three Houses crossover series soon for comedy. (Comedy to an extent, of course.)

---

Here at the Officer’s Academy, something magical has happened. Various students from all three Houses stood in their classroom, their eyes all aimed at their house leaders.

Dimitri from the Blue Lions.

Claude from the Golden Deer.

Edelgard from the Black Eagles.

Three of the royal members of their family are in full preparation for what is to come. They cannot miss a single item on their checklist. Should they fail to do so, their efforts would be all for naught. Their classmates showered them with praises, luck, prayers, and even a snack for the long, arduous process.

“I wish you the best of luck, Lady Edelgard,” Hubert bowed his head, hand placed on his chest. “I have great faith in you.”

“You got this! If anything, I’ll be punching good vibes to your way!” Caspar nodded. As if to emphasize his encouragement, he began jabbing at the air. It would have continued had it not been for Linhardt slapping one of his flurried hands with a flick of his wrist.

“If there is anyone that can do it, it’s you, Edelgard,” Ferdinand tilted his head. “I know that for a fact.”

“Edie, make sure to take your time. It would be bad if the ritual failed because you were in a rush,” Dorothea handed her a small bag of… charcoaled cookies. (Edelgard is currently suppressing a mortified expression.) “I’m sorry these are a little burnt, but I’m sure these will give you energy!”

“I will be a here, praying for your safe return,” Petra bowed in a similar fashion as Hubert. “I heard this ritual is something of a tradition in this monastery.”

“I think the archbishop is just lazy to recruit new professors.”

“Linhardt!” Bernadetta swung her head towards him. “H-How could you say that!?”

He shrugged. “Why do you think this is the first year she proposed this idea?”

“W-W-Well, she might not want to come out of her room!”

“She’s not you, Bernedetta…”

“You’ve always got a sharp tongue, Linhardt.”

“Aren’t you one to say, Hubert.”

The noble scratched her cheek, beads of sweat flying out of her head. Her comrades and classmates were lively. Although Edelgard’s heart is racing, a small wave of nausea pulsed within her stomach, and her fingers were trembling, they soothed her shaken soul. She licked the bottom of her lip and gave a small huff.

“Thank you, everyone, for your kind words. I must now be off.”

Everyone in the Black Eagles waved their farewells as she turned her back towards them. When she took a step out of the lecture room, Claude and Dimitri both exited at the same time. The three paused in their place. They exchanged looks.

“Isn’t this a coincidence,” Claude placed both hands behind his head. His signature smile flashed at his rivals. “You both ready for this?”

“Of course,” Edelgard placed a hand on her hip. “I will be sure to summon a professor worthy to teach our house.”

“Likewise,” Dimitri faintly smiled. “It would be nice to have a professor who can lead our house to victory in the upcoming festival.”

“Isn’t that too far away, though?” the Golden Deer’s house leader mused. “We still have more than half a year to go.”

“It’s never too early to think ahead.”

“I agree with Dimitri.”

“If you both say so… I’ll just sit back and watch you both go at it.”

The other two leaders chuckled as they proceeded to walk towards the holy ground. It was not far and took less than five minutes by foot. However, each step brought them closer to an important ground. In their hands were the necessary ingredients for the archaic ritual. They gulped. One misstep and it’s all over for their house. The last thing they would want is to be stuck with a horrific instructor for the rest of their school life.

“Welcome, my children,” Rhea greeted them once they’ve arrived. As they got to their destined spot, the holy maiden graced her hands at the marked flooring before them. Black inked patterns drawn within the circle were scrawled all over the pristine surface. She let out a small exhale. “This is the first time in the history of Fodlan and the Officer’s Academy to conduct this ritual. It is a summoning ritual that will call forth not only your professor but your Servant too. This is an important role of a new Master.”

Right… Servant and Master. They were terminologies that were vaguely touched upon in this country. Apparently, they were from a famous magical war called the “Holy Grail War” in a land called “Japan.” Not that the citizens of Fodlan would know. The reason why Rhea decided to pursue this was due to the ease of access to the houses’ mentors. It would save her plenty of time to search for a suitable teacher. Based on the house leader’s personality, they would be likely matched with a Servant of a similar attitude. Plus, since these students are trained for battle, a Servant’s battle status is beneficial to teaching them the ropes with their potent abilities. There is also the limited time of when a Servant can stay with their Master. Until their Master either dies, chooses to free them, or finishes their schooling, the Servant is stuck by the house leader’s side.

Alas, it is simple on paper though! Physical and mental fortitude are required to make this a reality. Otherwise, a disappointing result will shortly follow.

“Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd.”

“Guess I’m the first one up…”

The blonde stepped forward. He walked up to the magic circle and began to place the necessary items. He spoke of incantations for the ritual.

Manuela came to him.

“Claude von Riegan.”

The brown-haired stepped forward. He walked up to the magic circle and began to place the necessary items. He spoke of incantations for the ritual.

Hanneman came to him.

“Edelgard von Hresvelg.”

The white-haired stepped forward. She walked up to the magic circle and began to place the necessary items.

Her heart thumped hard; she could hear it from her eardrums! A piece of green fabric. A pile of salt. A small stone from ancient times. A small vial of blood from an eagle poured upon the marked crest. Edelgard backed away and watched the circle begin to faintly glow. She closed her eyes. Darkness enveloped her vision as she deeply inhaled.

‘ Focus, El, focus! ‘

She touched upon her bloodline’s Crest of Seiros and extended her opened hand at the markings. One hand holding the outreached arm, the noble began to chant an incantation for the ritual.

“Let silver and steel be the essence. Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation Let red the color I pay tribute to Let my great Master Hresvelg be the ancestor Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall Let the four cardinal gates close Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate.

I hereby declare Your body shall serve under me My fate shall be your sword Submit to the beckoning of the Church of Seiros If you will submit to this will and this reason… Then answer!

An oath shall be sworn here! I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell!”

A searing burn spread on the back of her right hand. It was as if someone pierced the skin with an iron knife! She immediately grimaced; her eyes narrowed as she felt a huge gust of wind blow in her direction. Just like Dimitri and Claude, a gust of wind whipped against her. This time, she was the direct target of the powerful blow. Edelgard’s knees bent at the immense pressure. Still, she maintained her stance and bit back a yelp.

The whole room became bright red. It was bright enough that everyone was forced to shut their eyes. Unlike Dimitri’s light blue and Claude’s golden yellow, their eyes instinctively avoided hazardous exposure.

“…?”

No one was there at the magic circle. All of the items were left untouched on the floor.

“…”

Did she fail? Even Rhea was a bit perplexed at the sight. The archbishop slowly examined the quiet premise. Aside from Manuela and Hanneman, no other professor showed up. Claude and Dimitri exchanged nervous glances as Edelgard felt her shoulders slump.

“Did I fail?”

“Edelgard…”

Dimitri started to approach her. He reached out towards her shoulder and eventually gave it a gentle pat.

“I’m so sorry.”

Edelgard hardly heeded any attention to him. She brought her right hand up. The burning sensation now throbbed, its red marking resembling an unknown crest fading into a black tattoo. Was it even possible to fail with the Command Seals still intact?

Shortly after that train of thought, a loud crash came from deep inside the holy ground. It shook the ground beneath their feet, all four present members nearly losing their balance. They were alarmed.

“Is that an intruder?!” Claude immediately pulled out his bow. “What an unlucky timing!”

Edelgard and Dimitri followed suit and unsheathed their weapon of choice. Rhea backed away as the three students and two Servants ran to the source.

It was surreal.

A teal-haired woman sat on a pile of rubble. The abnormal hole that cracked through the decorated ceiling shone the sun’s ray upon the newcomer. It was as if it were a beacon of light from the heavens above. Bits of debris crumbled upon the resting figure. An archaic sword at hand, the young adult raised her head.

‘ She looks like a queen… ‘ Edelgard widened her eyes. ‘ She’s beautiful. ‘

“…”

It took a bit of time until she broke their silence by standing. This made the three students gasp as both Hanneman and Manuela moved in front of them. Respectively Casters, they raised their hands in preparation. Not that they needed to. The unknown female walked up to one of the students nearest to her: Edelgard.

“Tell me,” she softly spoke. “Are you my Master?”

“Um— Y-Yes. Yes, I’m your Master.” Edelgard scrambled for words as she felt a flash of heat run into her head. “I’m Edelgard von Hresvelg.”

The Servant blinked. Then, she cracked a small smile. (Unironically, Edelgard's heart skipped a beat! The smile was so pretty!)

“I am Byleth of the Saber Class.” As if out of a fairytale, Byleth reached out to grab ahold of Edelgard’s unoccupied hand. She got down to one knee and, as a knight, looked up to the house leader. “I will teach and protect you with my life.”

A blast of heat blew out of Edelgard’s ears as she began to open her mouth like a fish deprived of water.

“I-I— Yes! YES! Um— I mean… it would… be a pleasure having you as my queen-- I... I mean, Servant.”

She could not help but let out an additional comment afterward. This time, she didn’t mean to let it slip out.

“You’re so beautiful though.”

Byleth blinked. That caused Edelgard to immediately regret the sudden words that flew out of her lips. She dropped her axe and concealed her mouth, her pupils looking anywhere but the teacher’s face. This caused a chuckle to come from the older female. She squeezed Edelgard’s hand.

“Thank you for the compliment. I am happy to serve someone who is even more beautiful than I.”

That’s it, that did it for Edelgard. The Black Eagles’s house leader felt a mini-mushroom explosion occur on top of her head. This caused the Saber class to raise both brows when her Master became beet red.

Meanwhile, Dimitri and Claude squinted their eyes.

“What the Hell?” Claude mumbled. “Why did she get the hot one?”

“I’m impressed, Edelgard,” Dimitri crossed his arms. “I didn’t think you would summon someone like her…”

“Just... damn, just look at her. Why did I get an old man?”

“You’re one to talk. I got someone who is much older than Byleth.”

“Hey, at least yours is a woman. Mine is a dude! I’m not into old guys.”

“…I wonder what goes through your mind sometimes, Claude.”

“I’ll be blunt this time: I’m jealous.”

“It appears that this is something we both have in common.”

“I hope you both understand that we can hear you both loud and clear,” Manuela and Hanneman both remarked at the same time, their frowns evident.

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