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shelobussy · 3 years

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Ohmygod YES Susan Pevensie is awesome please talk to me about Susan i want to know everything you have to say

Literally THANK YOU for asking me this bc Susan Pevensie is a character I never get asked about and I have So Many Opinions.

I'm going to start by saying that Susan used to be my least favorite character in the series. This goes for the books and the movies. Some of it was for personal reasons--she reminds me of a couple of annoying ppl I know irl--but it was also bc I watched Prince Caspian which shoehorned her into a relationship with Caspian which I hated.

HOWEVER. I ended up rethinking this position after interacting with Susan fans and realizing that there are so many wonderful things to love about her!

(putting under the cut bc this got long)

Things Ash Loves About Susan Pevensie

Aight I'm not going to do a formal analysis yet on her, but instead rant about some of the unrelated things I adore about Susan Pevensie.

Susan the Archer

Look we all love archery here. I don't have anything more to say.

Okay, I actually do have more to say. I love the fact that Susan is a complete badass with the bow. You get the general impression that she's one of the royals in charge of public relations, traditions, foreign policy, etc. and yet she's the most competent archer in the series. One of the few things I liked about the movies is how they didn't downplay this. They actually let her be a badass and show off her skills.

Also the part where she kicks Trumpkin's ass was awesome.

Susan the Gentle

Susan being the most passive Pevensie was something I definitely underappreciated as a teenager. I think my non-ability to see past "I'm not like other girls" narrative and the combination of Susan being described as the most traditionally feminine woman in the Narnia series is what initially turned me off from her.

HOWEVER, now it's one of my favorite attributes! I love that Susan is a badass and the most beautiful woman in Narnia. She has hair down to her feet, every man and woman in the kingdom want to fuck her, and she's still a fucking badass who will not hesitate to kick your ass.

Susan the Sister

Most of my thoughts of Susan as an older sister mostly stem from my own personal headcanons, but she is an awesome sister to her siblings. She's Peter's voice of reason, Edmund's sass partner, and Lucy's big sister.

Susan the Mom-Friend

She is a literal mother-figure for Corin.

"[...] the most beautiful lady he had ever seen rose from her place and threw her arms round him and kissed him, saying: "Oh Corin, Corin, how could you? And thou and I such close friends ever since thy mother died. [...]"

-The Horse and His Boy, 33-34

Most everything I have to say about this ventures into headcanon territory, but I love the idea of Susan basically adopting Corin after his mom dies. The way she trusts Cor--who she thinks is Corin in this chapter--is really sweet and I wish we could've seen more of that relationship.

Susan the Flawed

Something I notice from the fandom is a lot of people who hate Susan tend to because of her flaws. On the other hand, most Susan stans like to wave away these flaws and blame C.S. Lewis for being misogynistic or Aslan for being a "cruel god" and ignore the fact that she is a deeply flawed person.

Susan gets something of a "reverse redemption arc" in The Chronicles of Narnia. This makes her not only a fascinating foil to Edmund--as both are analytical, logical people--but an interesting character by herself.

She starts out in TWW as very skeptical of Narnia and it's whole deal and also very condescending to Lucy throughout. She ultimately does admit that Lucy was right and does get on board with the whole prophecy at the same time Peter does, and ends the book being crowned "the Gentle Queen."

In The Horse and His Boy, she has a very interesting dynamic with Edmund and in even more interesting relationship with Rabadash. They don't even interact on-page with each other, but it's highly implied that she was interested in him when he was a guest in Narnia. His behavior obviously changed when she visited him in Tashbaan, but you have to wonder what their dynamic was like before for her to travel all the way to his home when relations between the countries were strained at best.

Prince Caspian is where the cracks start showing through. Susan has lived an entire life as an adult in Narnia, gets thrown back to England with her siblings, and is yet again in Narnia as a child. This book is what really emphasizes her one fatal flaw: convenience.

(Put a pin in that thought, I'll get back to it.)

Susan denies once again that Lucy saw something that the rest of them can't seen. She continues this narrative until every other sibling finally acknowledges Lucy in the right and only then does she apologize.

The last mention of Susan is in The Last Battle, where all of her flaws rise up against her in the worst way possible. I have a lot of controversial opinions on this that I'm going to address later, but I just want to say that Susan's reverse-redemption arc is something I actually like about her.

(There is also evidence that Susan does get a full redemption arc, just as Edmund and Eustace did, but C.S. Lewis was pretty much done with The Chronicles of Narnia at the point and instead encouraged fans to write their own version of how that went down.)

Okay, back to convenience being Susan's fatal flaw. So the one thing that comes up time and time again in the series is that Susan is very focused on material comforts. I believe it's implied that she's vain, and it's canonical that her own personal comfort spurs her to make decisions.

"[...] I really believed it was him — he, I mean — yesterday. When he warned us not to go down to the fir wood. And I really believed it was him tonight, when you woke us up. I mean, deep down inside. Or I could have, if I'd let myself. But I just wanted to get out of the woods and — and — oh, I don't know [...]"

Prince Caspian, 81

Prince Caspian has the strongest examples of Susan doing this, but certainly there's evidence elsewhere. There are a lot of fans who are distressed by this, claiming that Aslan and the others are too hard on her and shouldn't judge.

Honestly, I like that she's written with this flaw. Not only is it very relatable--(my own personal comfort and convenience is something I highly prioritize too)--but it humanizes a character who otherwise is ridiculously op and basically the Helen of Troy of the series. It may sound like I'm using this as an excuse to rant, but I really wouldn't have her any other way.

Susan As Portrayed by Anna Popplewell

Movie!Susan is a fucking delight.

She's sarcastic and badass and awesome and I could spend hours heaping praise on Anna's acting and her portrayal of Susan, but I can already tell that this post is going to be long so, I'll just stop here.

(10/10 want to be stabbed by her tho.)

Personal Headcanons

Let's talk about my fanon thoughts. I have many.

Susan is Aro

There's canonical evidence for this! Susan is a character who is heavily pursued by suitors everywhere, and even lets herself be courted by many of them, but chooses not to settle down. Even when she gets back to England and is described as only having interest in parties and material things, boys aren't mentioned.

I like to think that in The Horse in His Boy Susan was interested in Rabadash at first because he was a brilliant conversationalist. Nothing she says about him implies romantic interest, before and after she realizes the truth of his intentions.

Susan and Edmund Were Best Friends

This might be my love for The Horse and His Boy showing itself, but I think Susan and Edmund were thrown into circumstances where they interacted the most with each other.

Edmund is the ruler in charge of politics. Susan is the ruler in charge of Cair Paravel's public image. I imagine they spent time as ambassadors to other countries and planning royal functions.

They're also the most level-headed and logical out of their siblings, so they probably found a lot in common.

Susan Fancast

I literally just said I loved Anna's potrayal of Susan's (and I love what they gave us of older Susan too in LWW!), but I read the books in 2008 and my parents didn't let me see the movies bc I was like...nine years old and they thought it would be too scary.

So I had to headcanon my own interpretations.

Queen Susan the Gentle:

For some reason Merlin wasn't too scary for me to watch and I fell in love with Katie McGrath in like. Two episodes so. (On an unrelated note, I also fancast Bradley James as Peter at the time.)

Anyway, fanon Susan is basically Morgana Pendragon pre-evil arc. Sassy as hell, hot as fuck, and can kick your ass.

Unpopular Opinions

Yeah, feel free to skip this part if having controversial fandom opinions is a deal breaker for you.

The Problem With Susan Isn't Actually A Problem

I'm about to start so much discourse in the Narnia fandom, but C.S. Lewis's choices with her in The Last Battle weren't misogynistic. Bear in mind, I'm not saying that all of his writing choices in the series were A++ or excusing away certain racist/sexiest bits, but it's honestly baffling to me that people are so up in arms over Susan's exclusion in the final book.

So the part that everyone loses their shit over is as follows:

"My sister Susan," answered Peter shortly and gravely, "is no longer a friend of Narnia."

"Yes," said Eustace, "and whenever you've tried to get her to come and talk about Narnia or do anything about Narnia, she says 'What wonderful memories you have! Fancy your still thinking about all those funny games we used to play when we were children.'"

"Oh Susan!" said Jill, "she's interested in nothing now-a-days except nylons and lipstick and invitations. She always was a jolly sight too keen on being grown-up."

"Grown-up, indeed," said the Lady Polly. "I wish she would grow up. She wasted all her school time wanting to be the age she is now, and she'll waste all the rest of her life trying to stay that age. Her whole idea is to race on to the silliest time of one's life as quick as she can and then stop there as long as she can."

The Last Battle, 83-84

There's a lot to unpack here and I first want to say that everyone's opinion on this part, no matter how different than mine, is valid. I'm going to be quoting some other ppl's opinions on here and by no means am I bashing them. I just want to address my feelings on the matter and the best way to do that is to cite the thoughts of ppl who have opposing ideas.

Here are some arguments on Tumblr I've heard regarding "The Problem of Susan":

"How about we talk about what might have happened if Narnia hadn't deserted Susan? [...] What if we didn't tell Susan she had to go grow up in her own world and then shame and punish her for doing just that? She was told to walk away and she went. She did not try to stay a child all her life, wishing for something she had been told she couldn't have again."

"Narnia is filled with metaphors (often not very subtle ones) that are supposed to teach us how to be, and the most glaring one for any young girl to absorb is that it's okay to be a girl like Lucy, unthreatening and cheerful and valiant and faithful, but to be a girl like Susan gets you punished - in fact, you aren't just punished, you're destroyed."

"why do we call it ‘the problem’ where’s the problem about a young woman dealing with her trauma and choosing her own path, actively making the choice to keep living and to stay and to carve a life out in England when her siblings couldn’t? what is the problem about susan forgetting to somehow cope with what she’s experienced? why is it ‘the problem of susan’ that she recontextualised her faith?"

And then there's JK Rowling who said this:

There comes a point where Susan, who was the older girl, is lost to Narnia because she becomes interested in lipstick. She's become irreligious basically because she found sex. I have a big problem with that.

It's weird how I'm still finding new ways to hate JKR in the year 2021. Again, there is absolutely zero implication that Susan had sex when she came back to England. ZERO. Did she actually read the books? IDK. If someone shares this opinion pls reply with actual canonical evidence.

Back on topic, I'm a firm believer of death of the author and interpreting art via your own experiences. Which is why I'm also going to share my own interpretation by saying y'all are wrong.

Susan Pevensie was not abandoned by Narnia. She was not barred from Narnia because she is traditionally feminine or because she "owned her sexuality" (another opinion I didn't have time to condense down for this post) or because she recontextualized her faith or even because she deserved to be punished.

I also fail to see how Susan recontexualized her faith, as the entire point of it all is that she has none. Bringing this back to Susan's fatal flaw (personal convenience/material comforts), her prioritizing herself over her own faith is the reason she is "no longer a friend of Narnia." Not...whatever fanon y'all are imposing on her character.

Susan is not being punished for liking lipstick and looking pretty. Susan's not even being punished. Y'all read Neil Gaiman's The Problem of Susan and forgot it wasn't canon.

There are many reasons Susan is not in Aslan's Country (one of them being that she's not actually dead yet), but the main one has to do with this:

"[...] But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.”

Voyage of the Dawn Treader, 215-216

Yeah, okay that's why Susan is no longer a friend of Narnia. The implication when the Pevensies are told that they can no longer enter Narnia is that they are to find Aslan in other places. Susan doesn't do this, instead choosing to focus her life on material things. It isn't the lipstick, it's that she only wants the lipstick.

Susan Had Sex In The Books

Oh and not in the context y'all are thinking. (Again, there are no implications that Susan was barred from Narnia for having sex or that she had sex when she came back to England.)

So there's actual canonical evidence that Susan and Rabadash had a sexual relationship. Sort of.

"What think you? We have been in this city fully three weeks. Have you yet settled in your mind whether you will marry this dark-faced lover of yours, this Prince Rabadash, or no?"

-The Horse and His Boy, 35

Edmund calls Rabadash her lover. Not her suitor. I don't know if the word had a different meaning in 1954, but it feels like C.S. Lewis is saying that they're fucking. I'm not really happy with the idea of Susan sleeping with an abuser, but really proud of her for Getting Some as a woman born in a time period where having premarital sex was a big no-no.

This also invalidates the weird opinion going on that Susan was barred from Narnia because she had sex.

Suspian Is The Worst

I haven't really talked about Movie!Susan much, but as long as we're talking unpopular opinions, it's worth noting that I hate Suspian. Some of it is the "Susan is Aro" headcanon screaming inside of me, but it's also the fact that it's written poorly, does nothing interesting for either character and generally comes across as awkward.

I feel like they were trying to make Prince Caspian sexy and relevant to teens. It came across as super heteronormative and unnecessary.

It also gets really really weird bc the next movie then gives Caspian and Edmund mad chemistry and we're all just like........ok.

Final Thoughts

Susan may not be my favorite character in the series, but she's grown on me over the years. I have many issues with fanon interpretations of her--which definately fueled some of my disdain for her initally--and I don't identify as a Susan Apologist.

I do however adore Susan and have many headcanons for her not mentioned here. I love reading fanfic, writing fanfic and meta, and generally having conversations about her and would love to talk more about it.

I welcome criticism (CONSTRUCTIVE) and conversation on all of my opinions and observations. Please drop into my inbox. <3

#susan pevensie #the chronicles of narnia #the problem of susan #narnia #meta #narnia meta #susan meta #ash does fandom #ash does meta

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yusuke-of-valla · 3 years

Text

Two Knights' Tango

Whumptober Day 1 Prompt: "You Have To Let Go"

Summary: Akechi remebers the truth of their current reality.

Word Count: 1303

TW: Cursing, Third Semester Bad End, Akechi being Akechi

AO3

Ren knows that his plans for a peaceful evening with his friends are ruined the second Goro walks in with that smile on his face.

It’s been a while since Goro -- no, Akechi, he is Akechi right now -- has put on that mask. A smile like daggers that doesn’t reach his eyes, his whole body tense with rage at everyone around him. He takes his usual seat at the counter and stares at Ren expectantly.

Ren, uninterested in having this conversation, takes his time making his coffee.

“What do you think?” Ren asks, passing a mug down to Akechi. A floating facsimile of how Morgana used to look smiles up at him, and Akechi makes a face that gives Ren the hilarious mental image of the Detective Prince punching a mug. “Yusuke’s been helping me practice latte art. It’s not as good as his but--”

“What the hell do you think is going on here?” Akechi growls.

“Well it’s Thursday, so we’re chatting before our usual study session with--”

Akechi grabs Ren by the shirt and pulls him close so their faces are inches apart. Despite knowing better, Ren can’t help but hope Akechi will claw his eyes out or something. Really let loose this time.

Instead Akechi lets him go after a second. “Why did you take the deal?” he asks.

Ren locks eyes with him. “Because otherwise you’d die, idiot, and despite what you think I should do, I care about your life.”

“Oh you care,” Akechi spits out. “Of course, that’s why you’ve forced us all to stay in this make believe world you and that damned doctor have cooked up.”

“I mean Maruki does most of the work,” Ren says, “I just play along.”

Akechi slams his fist on the table. “How are you so damn calm about this? Changing people against their will, forcing them to live a life you decided for them? What happened to the righteous leader of the Phantom Thieves?”

“I thought you hated that guy.”

“I will stab you.”

“Couldn’t even if you actually wanted to.”

“Oh yeah? Try me.”

“No,” Ren says, taking a sip out of Akechi’s latte. “You literally can’t. Haven’t you noticed the lack of work, detective?”

“Because Maruki won’t allow it?” Akechi hisses out. “And you’re ok with that?”

Ren shrugs, and Akechi looks legitimately taken about.

“W-what is wrong with you? You don’t even regret it? Sumire is dead because of you. Her heart may be beating but the personality of Sumire, the girl who looked up to you, is gone and replaced with some idealized shadow of a person who never existed. Your friends decided to reject this reality purely because you asked them to, and you just dragged them back-”

“They chose it first,” Ren says with a bitterness he didn’t think he still had. He should probably talk to Maruki about that.

“That’s not what happened and you know it,” Akechi replies. “Maruki never gave anyone a choice. No one except you. ”

“You asked me if I regretted anything?” Ren says. “Of course I do, I regret so many many things. But there’s nothing to be done now.”

“So you’re giving up? You can’t muster the courage to fight Maruki and-”

Ren hates this part.

“Use your fucking brain for once instead of trying to fight all of your problems, Akechi!” Ren snaps. “If this was just Maruki changing the past, this place would be unsustainable. People die, people get hurt, and people hurt each other. Sometimes they hurt each other without malicious intent, which is a bitch because then making everyone happy is impossible and it’s hard to predict when those cases are going to happen. Fixing everything the first time was hard enough, imagine having to do that over and over again with every little issue that could possibly upset someone as time passes.”

Goro’s eyes widen in realization. “So to make sure everything stays perfect Maruki would have to preserve things?””

“Pretty much the only way to do his whole thing without going crazy after the first decade or so.”

Goro takes a breath to steady himself. “And how, exactly, do you know this? Isn’t it just a hypothetical at this poi-”

“How long have you been a third year?”

Akechi opens his mouth to answer automatically, then stops and thinks about it. His hands ball into fists. “How long have we been here? In this reality. How long has this been going on, Ren?” he asks.

Ren shrugs. “Like I told you the last time we had this conversation, I haven’t been inclined to keep track.”

“The last time-- we’ve had this conversation before ?”

“Yep. You don’t exactly take it well, and that pings Maruki and then he, you know” Ren waves his hands in Akechi’s face, “makes you happy.”

Akechi grits his teeth but takes a deep breath. “So how come you remember?”

“Because a long, long time ago I signed a contract that said I’d take full responsibility for my actions,” Ren says, “and I didn’t realize what that really meant. Maruki’s tried to help but I guess there are some things even he can’t do.”

“Then why don’t you try and get back to our own reality?” Akechi asks.

“Because it’s gone. Mementos, it felt huge, but it really only affected Tokyo. I’m sure you’ve figured that out since we’ve only ever heard from targets in the city.”

“Which means Maruki’s reality only affected Tokyo.”

“Finally he puts it together!” Ren applauds.

“Don’t mock me. So while we’ve been here...”

“The rest of the world has moved on. Or destroyed itself. Who really knows. Either way the world we knew is gone,” Ren says, “What if I just condemn everyone to something worse?”

“So you’re just going to hide?”

“I already made a choice to get everyone stuck here. I can’t just change my mind-”

“You already did that when you accepted the deal!”

“And that was a mistake! You want me to just repeat it?” Ren snaps. “God damn it, Akechi. Even if we can break out of here, something that will be much harder than it was back then, who the fuck knows what we’re going back to. Maybe everything’s been destroyed, maybe World War III started. What? You want me to just repeat my mistakes and condemn everyone to something worse?

“It’s not just your choice! Don’t the others deserve a say in which reality they want to live in?”

“They’re fine not knowing. They’re happy either way.” Ren runs a hand through his hair. He’s worked up, again. Why? Why is he always angry when they get to this part? They've had this conversation so many times now -- it never changes -- and it still gets to him. “Just, let go, Goro. Give up on going back. I wish I could.” With that, Ren puts his apron on the counter and heads upstairs, phone out to tell the others to cancel for tonight. “Switch the sign around on your way out.”

“So, he’s not going to help us?” Sumire asks when Goro finishes the recording for the others.

Goro shrugs. “He’s given up. Do the rest of you want to continue without your fearless leader?”

An awkward silence settles over the small laundromat that they’d decided to meet in.

Then Haru steps up, eyes burning. “I will reclaim my future,” she says. “Or die trying.”

Slowly but surely, everyone else agrees. Goro doesn’t dare think about the relief that fills his chest at the thought of the others being willing to help him. They’re allies with a united goal, that's all. Besides, he could have done it without them.

A few feet away, hidden in the branches of the tree, a blue butterfly watches. It feels hope for the first time in a long while.

#whumptober2021 #no.1 #you have to let go #persona 5 #p5r #fic #cursing #alto writes #goro akechi #ren amamiya #shuake #akeshu #more platonic but whatever #word count: 1000-1500 #bad end #'alto how many variations on this are you going to write' AS MANY AS I WANT #queuety and vice

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tesseractrave · 3 years

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Hey LOOK

That trollhunters movie was sooo bad like smh I was facepalming the whole movie.

Actually the whole series after Trollhunters was unnecessary and just...uhg.

Dont get me wrong, 3below and Wizards wasnt horrible. Just unnecessary.

Trollhunters was the gem. Beautiful story, nice armor(I'm a gal for armor. Why i watched it in the first place). Has three seasons that keep you rooted. And it ended. Ended nicely. Should've ended there...but it didnt.

3below only added another weirdness to Aradia. Served no real purpose but to add aliens. The bad guys played no part in the later seasons. It was just to add more character to the two weirdos that appeared in one or two episodes.

Wizards wasnt as useless. I guess it was a little necessary. Added a backstory to Merlin and Morgana, added a way to make Jim human again, and told the history of trolls themselves. And, again, it added more to character you see a few times in the first series. It wasnt actually that bad. Except for the introduction of the three elementals. Yay.

Which brings us to the movie. The biggest fuckup of them all. I may have missed it with some of the skipping I do, but why does the two elements want the world to end? Why do they want to start over? Why did so many characters have to perish in the most useless of ways. They just kept killing off characters for no other reason but to just...do it??!?! And dont get me started on the ending. Like Tobias could do any better? Like Tobias could prevent the apocalypse that was soon coming and Jim couldn't? Tobias is known for being cocky and flamboyant. Even more so than Jim....

I just dont understand the movie and I gave it a thumbs down for that reason. They tried but I think they may have tried s but too much

THANK you... I cannot stress enough how important Tales of Arcadia was to me.

My life revolves around stories, the art of storytelling is the most important thing in my life. It's why I become so passionate about certain topics and fandoms (that and ADHD). The way stories and situations work with the unique characters and their own branching backgrounds and relationships is so indescribably inspiring to me, especially the fact that it is real people who create all of them. Real people who either singlehandedly or work together to create these beautiful weaves of characters, emotions, relationships, and situations.

For some reason, Tales of Arcadia was my absolute favourite story. It wasn't even the best to me, but it was my highest priority in all the things I was passionate about. It was my saving grace at my low points. It brought so much comfort and joy to me, and despite my brain knowing it wasn't the greatest, my heart held it in such high regard.

I wanted to hate Trollhunters. Before I had known it even existed, my older brother (who I look up to the most) talked to my family about how he watched a few episodes, and he thought it was cringy and childish. I stood beside him as he showed me the first episode for the first time and made fun of it in front of me, all the while I just nodded and laughed at his comments. In my head, I could see where he was coming from, but as the days passed, I found myself wondering more and more about it. There were three seasons of this. What even happens in that time? What happens with the girl he liked, and the trolls, and the teacher?

So I caved. I sat down at my computer and remembered what my dad told me about how you couldn't truly judge a show until you've seen at least three episodes. I became hooked, and my ADHD was singing especially. I loved this. I loved everything about this, good and bad. I could see all the layers in the story and I saw how brilliantly this was created and how the story was told.

So I watched more, and more, and I watched 3Below, and I found myself actively anticipating Wizards to the point where I cried when the trailer came out. I cried incredibly hard, and I found myself saying to my family, "You guys, this is my favourite thing in the world!" I said it even to my brother, who I didn't care in the slightest about disappointing in this regard. When it came out, my mother sat down with me and watched it, saying that she knew how important it was to me, and she wanted to be a part of that and understand it so she could make me happier. My family's thing was Star Wars, I was raised on it, and I found myself holding it emotionally closer than even that. It was that unimaginably important to me. I had no way to truly explain why, other than the fact that I was just in absolute awe of the way these stories were told and connected and visualized. I was especially excited for the movie, and I cried when the trailer dropped for it, too. I even made my family watch it with me...

And then it came out. I had invited all of my friends and my boyfriend to come over and watch it with me, and I had bought snacks and sodas. I was giddy enough to sit outside and wait for them to arrive, and when they did, I turned off all the lights, and we all sat down and watched it together, piled onto my couch and giggling as I pressed play.

It was just... one thing after another. It felt like it was slipping through my fingers like sand. I was desperately emotionally grabbing at it and my little ADHD brain was screaming at the screen. All of the destruction of the characters' development, the deaths, and finally... the undoing of all of it. The whole story and franchise I had come to know and love was destroyed before my eyes in just 1 hour and 46 minutes. My friends and I were all blubbering messes from Toby's death and as the credits rolled, and I remember running to my mother in her office and crying into her shoulder for an unimaginably long time before all of my friends came in and hugged me. I was truly heartbroken, and it took me probably much too long to finally come out of the daze of shock I was in from that.

Rise of Titans literally and figuratively undid everything I held dear to my heart about this series. It genuinely hurts my little storyteller heart to even look at any content for Tales of Arcadia anymore. All the mistakes that were made, and all the missed opportunities, I could go on and on. It genuinely hurt me through one of my most vulnerable spots and my emotional connection to it.

I've just been trying to give it time, I guess... maybe I'll find a way to close my eyes and pretend Wizards was the end of Tales of Arcadia instead, or maybe I'll set it down in the dust and leave it as it is like a broken memory of something I used to love. All I know... is that I truly, utterly despise Rise of Titans.

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onmykneesforhotdilfs · 3 years

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Please prompt number 2, if you can of course!!! Ah, Bloom says "Kiss me" only if you can.

I am so fucking sorry you had to wait this long. I hope it doesn't happen again, or at least the wait isn't as long. Hope you enjoy.

Damn wizards. Bloom cursed in her head as another pretty powerful beam was aimed directly at her, only narrowly missing her as she managed to side step it, while she struggled to put on a shield. Of course they had to run to Omega, into the coldest and probably the most dangerous dimension there is. Of course, she was immensely grateful they didn't chose some sort of populated area for this battle, but icicles and sharp objects flying from the ceiling of the cave really weren't her idea of an ideal date. They were more in the realm of an ice witch. The thought of Icy made her shudder and loose focus for a brief second.

"Bloom!" Sharp voice echoed through the cave as another spell flew over her head. She barely managed to turn around to face the one that called her before she was pulled to the side, and what she would come to realize only a second later out of the harms way, when a painful groan rung out next to her. She turned towards the figure the floor and nearly threw up when she saw blood on it.

Valtor was laying on the floor, clutching his bleeding arm with an impressive gash on it, and Bloom would've made a joke about him acting like a prince on a white horse if she wasn't so busy trying to hold the content of her stomach there where it belonged. She stood in a stupor for a few seconds but another painful groan snapped her out of it. She dropped down next to Valtor in a crouch as her hands roamed over the injury,as if she wasn't sure what she should do.

"Layla don't!" Stella's shriek made her turn around only to see Layla disappear after the wizards, that she didn't even realize stopped throwing spells at them, deeper into the Omega. Bloom turned back towards Valtor who gripped her arm and gently shoved her away from her as he struggled to stand up. She wanted to ask what the hell is he doing when she noticed Brandon rushing towards them as Morgana held a shield to protect her warrior fairies and specialists.

"Go after them!" Valtor was shouting words at her but his voice seemed muffled, almost as if she was hearing him through a thick fog, compared to the loud noise falling debris made as it collided with the icy floor.

She shook her head negative. "You're hurt! I can fix it! I just need a couple of minutes!" She saw his eyes widen comically as Brandon finally reached them and grabbed Valtor under his good arm and hauled him up. Bloom rose with them, her hand with magic, gathered in the coiled fist, still hovered above his wound.

Valtor shook off Brandon's hands as he leaned closer to Bloom and gripped her forearms. "They need you more than I do! Layla needs you! I'll be alright! Now go give those wizards hell!" When he healized she was still hesitating and that she was about to protest, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer to himself as his forhead came to rest against her own, which was an unusual sight because he had to bend down quite a bit despite the fact she was in heels and she tilted her head up towards him as far as it would go.

The tension between the two former enemies was palpable from the moment the portal to Gardinia opened and no one was immune to it. Since the now-on-the-good-side Valtor stepped through the gates of Alfea in an effort to combine forces with fairies to battle one of his acquaintances, Ogron, who apparently rubbed him the wrong way in the past, the sparks flying from both guardians of the dragon flame were hard to ignore. Even Sky seemed to recognize the not so innocent glances the two sent to each other on a daily basis, and therefore letting Bloom go seemed like the only rational option. Bloom was pretty sure there was even a bet going on between the specialists and the Winx girls whose primary focus was the relationship of the two guardians. She heard Stella complaining once, when she thought Bloom wasn't listening, about how she will lock them up in a magic room until they... talked their way through their problems. Mind you, talked was not the term Stella used.

Valtor squeezed Bloom's hips in a bruising grip and the flashbacks seemed to evaporate before her eyes. His sharp features slid back into focus and Bloom opened her mouth to say something but Valtor was slightly faster about it. "There is something I've been meaning to talk to you about! But in order to do that you need to go there," he pointed behind her in the direction wizards of the black circle disappeared, "and win this battle!" She opened her mouth again to finally say something only to realize she had nothing to say. She snapped her mouth shut and nodded. "Go! We'll be fine!" And just like that she broke out of his hold and rushed towards the battle sounds.

Valtor turned around on his heels and this time grabbed still shocked Brandon and pulled him towards the protective dome Morgana struggled to keep up. His arm stung unpleasantly but the bleeding stopped and regeneration already started knitting torn ligaments and tissue together. His commanding voice rung out. "Alright, let's get out of here." No one dared to argue, well almost no one.

"What about the girls, we can't just leave them to fight the wizards alone?" The blonde prince was sending glares in Valtor's way but they weren't as hostile as he expected. Valtor turned his head to look at the place where Bloom dissapeared.

"Layla is their responsibility, and besides, we ourselves are more of a liability than help. "

Sky nodded and Valtor grabbed one of the injured fairies while specialists helped the rest as they made their way out.

Ground shook beneath Valtor's feet as an epic battle raged in the tunnels beneath the ground. Valtor could feel pulses of magic, light and dark beams equally strong, until something seemed to happen and light magic prevailed. Valtor held his breath. Time seemed to stop. Not even a single sound was heard. Seconds passed. Until a familiar beating of wings disrupted the eerie silence and six fairies flew out. Valtor's heart climbed into his throat. The winx seemed to be one fairy short, one fiery fairy short to be precise. Valtor focused on the flame raging in his chest as it searched for it's other half. The pull in his chest seemed to get stronger until it almost bursted from it's place of residence when he saw Bloom flying out with Nebula in tow. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief as cheers of both the Winx and the rest of the fairies rung through the valley.

The Frutti Music bar was overflowing with people. Andy and his band took the stage as Roxy served drinks to the impatient customers and Klaus hurriedly mixed cocktails behind the bar. Everything seemed to return to normal, almost like nothing happened in the first place. That was one of the things Valtor never understood about humans. No matter how big of a trouble they seemed to find themselves in, they never lost hope. His arm almost healed in the few hours but Flora insisted that he should wear a bandage just in case the wound reopened.

His gaze ran over the bar, searching for a group of six fairies, or more precisely, searching for a head full of bright red hair that somehow always managed to stand apart from every environment and every crowd. He found what he was looking for on the other end of the bar and he made his way towards them. As he drew closer he noticed another blob of silver hair that belonged to only one person Valtor knew. An arm grabbed Valtor's biceps and he turned towards the owner.

Brandon handed him a cocktail and Valtor's confusion must've been pretty obvious because Brandon shrugged and said, "I figured you'd want something to drink before you face Faragonda."

Valtor laughed, a deep sound coming somewhere from his stomach, even his shoulders shook with it. "I am unsure just how much it will help me relax, considering the fact I usually indulge in something a bit stronger... but I appreciate the effort."

"I didn't believe Stella when she told me you can be pleasant to be around."

Valtor raised a questioning eyebrow. "What is your opinion now?"

"That I should always believe what my girlfriend says."

Valtor chuckled. "I'd take that with a grain of salt. After all, I can also be really unpleasant."

"Oh we know." He slapped Valtor on his shoulder. "Good luck man. You'll need it." Valtor had a sneaky suspension Brandon wasn't refering to a meeting with a headmistress of Alfea. He looked at the retrieving back of specialist with a smirk on his face. Who knew not all of them were just fools with an inflamed ego and fancy swords.

He shook his head and took a sip of the drink he had in his hand and then grimaced. The cocktail was definitely something that Stella or Flora would prefer. Fruity and sweet. He stepped towards the group he originally intended to meet and managed to catch what Faragonda was saying. "I'm extremely proud of you girls."

"You should be." His booming voice reached them and Faragonda jumped a bit, startled, as seven pairs of eyes turned towards him. "They did defeat the wizards all by themselves." He locked eyes with Bloom who had a smile on her face and Valtor felt his lips twitch upwards.

"Something happened to your arm Valtor?"

"An icicle fell on it. Just don't tell me you're worried about me Faragonda. I'll start thinking you care." Valtor rolled his eyes as sarcasm dripped from every word.

"What a shame it only grazed your arm. I would think that enormous head of yours makes for a convenient target. It's so massive it probably has it's own gravitational pull." Faragonda smirked and it looked surprisingly evil on her.

"Are you sure you're a fairy and not a witch Faragonda? Might wanna erase that smirk from your face unless you want people to start thinking otherwise. " Valtor looked at her with challenge in his eyes as his lips formed in an evil grin that would scare lesser beings but it only managed to irritate Faragonda.

"Touché Valtor."

"Thank you, I try." He handed the fruity cocktail to Stella that tried really hard to resist laughing at the irritated face of her headmistress, but some giggles still escaped, as she held Flora's arm for support. He turned towards Bloom who now had a hand across her mouth so Faragonda wouldn't see her laughing but the adorable wrinkles around her eyes crinkled, a clear sign she was smiling. He made a gesture with his head that indicated she should come with him when she finally finished laughing and looked at him. He heard Stella squeal in excitement as Flora gasped when Solarian princess gripped her arm. Bloom bit her lip and took Valtor's offered hand as he lead them to the beach and away from the crowd. He heard Stella scream about how 'It's finally happening!' And Flora's gentle voice telling her to calm down because 'You're crushing my arm Stella.'

They walked hand in hand through the crowd, some of the guests giving them weird looks, but Valtor's intimidating form seemed to part the said crowd like a Red sea. She stopped at the exit that lead to the beach, Valtor offering his support while she bent down to take off her shoes because she learned that high heels and sand don't really mix that well. She once again took his hand when her bare feet touched the now pleasantly warm and no longer scorching hot sand but she also went step further, something that greatly surprised Valtor, when she intertwined their fingers.

They walked hand in hand for a while, not daring to break a rather pleasant silence. When they were far enough from praying eyes of the people Valtor finally stopped and turned towards the ocean. He was eager to get Bloom alone but now that they actually were alone he started wondering if it was really a good idea. He felt Bloom's eyes drilling a hole at the back of his neck but he patiently waited for her to make the first move and break the ice so to speak.

"So..." her voice broke through and Valtor turned towards her, "you wanted to talk. Well here we are. What did you want to tell me?"

Valtor chuckled bitterly. "I wanted to talk to you about... us. But now I'm not sure if that's a good idea."

She crossed her arms underneath her chest. "Are you having second thoughts?"

"Not in the way you would think. I know I... like you." He inhaled sharply, "Dragon, I sound like a teenage boy."

Bloom giggled at that statement but Valtor could see if was forced. "But?"

"I don't know if this will work." Admitting that he didn't know something wasn't simple for him and he realized Bloom knew it as well when her lips pressed together in a small but embarrassed smile. "I know we have... something. Something is obviously here but... will that something be enough to keep us motiva-"

"Kiss me." She interrupted him with a phrase Valtor never thought he would hear directed at him. His mouth opened and closed but no sound escaped. He was shocked into silence.

"W-What?"

"Kiss me." She repeated loud and clear. "You want to know if the chemistry we have will be enough to... get us through it." She lowered her gaze as blush appeared on her cheeks. She shrugged. "It's like a Schrodinger's cat. We won't know unless we try." Her eyes swept across all the surfaces she could find until they locked on Valtor's shocked one's. She squirmed and averted her gaze as she started fidgeting and her arms came to hug herself in order to make herself appear smaller. "Of course if you don't want to that's ok I was just making a sug-"

In all the rush she was in to excuse her impulsive words she failed to notice that Valtor finally got over his shock and has quickly reduced the distance between their bodies. This time it was Bloom that got interrupted as Valtor cupped her face and did exactly what she asked him to do. He sealed their lips together, cutting off her nervous speech in the best way possible. There was no firework or explosion behind closed eyelids, just an incredible heat that coursed through their veins. He felt Bloom's breath hitch but she quickly recovered and her arms came to grip his shoulders as she stood on her tip toes and craned her neck upwards. Valtor chuckled at her attempts to make this easier on him but took pity when she whined and pressed her lips harder against his. He bent down as his tongue swept over her lower lip, asking for a permission that she granted without any resistance, and his arms came to wrap around her waist before he picked her up and she let out a noise of surprise as her feet no longer stood on firm surface.

Bloom was first to break the kiss as her teeth came to bite her already swollen lips. "Wow." It was the first thing she spoke since he kissed her and he laughed at her surprised expression and astonished whisper.

"Wow indeed." He lowered her feet back on the ground but she swayed for a second so he kept his arms on her waist just in case she got light headed. "So... is the cat alive?"

"Alive and kicking." Her hands gripped his shirt.

"Hmmm."

"Maybe we should, ehem, repeat the experiment a few more times... just so we're sure in the result." Valtor's pupils dilated and his grip on her waist tightened.

"We should be careful." His voice was a growl and Bloom shuddered visibly. "We might set something on fire."

"Well," Bloom smiled as she lifted her head up once again and her hands started tugging on his shirt to get him closer. "at least there's an ocean to extinguish any wild fires we might cause."

#bloom #winx club #baltor x bloom #bloom x baltor #bloom x valtor #sparxshipping #valtor #valtor x bloom #winx #sparxshipping prompts #sparxshipping questions #sparxshipping requests #sparxshipping fluff

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yodamn · 4 years

Text

Boys

This is such a stupid idea but I think im a comedic genius. I think im hilarious so here you go. Heres that fic I mentioned!

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

The council sits in their chamber, in their little circle in their chairs. Most are there, those who cant are there in hologram. They star at Plo Koon, who is calmly standing in the center.

Mace begins, "Master Plo Koon, do you know why we have called a meeting with you today?"

Plo shakes his head adjusting his robes slightly, "I am afraid not"

"To discuss your habits, here we are" Yoda explains. The Kel Dor cocks his head, habits?

Seeing he was confused Mace added in once again, "You have taken on too many clone troopers and have clearly gotten attached to them, which is against the Jedi Code"

"What do you suggest I do? I feel I have cont

"Master Plo" Yoda hummed, "Take people in, you must not"

Plo nodded in reply, "I must take people in, to help the boys to learn how to rely on not me but each other"

The council stopped and stared at the man in confusion. Did he not understand? Many people often get confused by Yodas wording, so it wouldnt be unusual. But Plo had been on the council for a while.

Obi Wan leaned forward in his chair, "Master Plo, no more boys"

"More boys?"

Due to the mask he wore, and him shielding himself with the force. No-one. Not one person. Could tell if Plo actually didnt understsnd, or if he was just being cheeky. It could be either. A 50/50 shot. Quinlan once said that Plo mentioned he was 385 in Kel Dor years. Whatever that meant. Maybe his hearing wasnt all that good after all this time.

"Master Plo-" Mace sighed rubbing his forehead.

"I understand that it is my duty, as a Jedi, to guide these fine young men to figuring out who they are and becoming fine additions to society at the end of the war, as well as winning the war of course"

"Master Plo! No more boys! Or girls!" Eeth Koth called louder than the others, maybe then he would hear.

"Ah yes my bad, of course!" Plo nodded gratefully. Finally, they can move on. Mace nodded and was about to continue onto another discussion about their next move in the war. The air in the room settled

"I would never turn away any young lady who needed me, little 'soka", Plo started again gesturing to Anakin who was laid back in his chair, doing his best to cover his laugh with his hand, "has a permanent place in my heart. As does any of the young padawans and younglings in the creche"

A groan resonated through the chamber. Shaak Ti held a hand to her mouth to hide the humorous smile of her hologram. A few other master giggled at him. Yoda was silent.

"Plo-"

"My door is open to all those who need me!" The Jedi Master preached, as if trying to convince the council he was doing his proper duty as a Jedi.

"Plo we know you-"

"I have always encouraged and lifted others, Padawan, younglings, or one of my troopers, to be the best they can be!"

Now there was some chuckles mixed in with the groans of frustration.

Shaak Ti giggled, "Well then Plo ill be happy to let you know that you have a few squads of very confident clones headed your way soon" she earned herself a couple of glares. She winked at Plo and there was a suspicious shuffling under her robe. Obi Wan couldve sworn he saw little hands and feet sticking out.

Plo somehow, somehow, beamed at that. Anakin laughed and jumped onto the bit.

"I think I may have to get some more boys into the 501st, I need some fresh meat every now and again. And I'm feeling kinda fatherly as of lately"

Anakin then got the glares.

"No, Plo, no more!" Mace shouted, like hes talking to his grandfather, trying to get him to stop, giving the kids candy, but he cant hear him and no-one can find his hearing aids. "No more troopers!"

"Ah yes more troopers! We will win the war! And make them healthy young men who know how to handle their emotions, we should start on Kamino" Plo agreed.

Mace groaned, covering his face with his hands. He was tired. Already had to deal with the shenanigans of Jedi Knights and Padawans. He didn't want to deal with this. Yoda chuckled at his misery.

"Adjourned, this meeting is" Yoda declares before making his way to the door. He nods at Plo on his way past.

One by one the masters left, feeling either disgruntled or laughing due to the antics of the Kel Dor, until only he and Mace remained.

"I need to look up Kel Dor hearing so that we can avoid this issue in the future" Mace muttered to himself.

"My hearing is fine" Plo commented, "And the issue has passed, now I must go find my boys"

Mace stood staring at where Plo once stood, staring. Before shaking his head and chuckling. Its not like he could argue, he also liked his own boys.

@clonesandmoans @morganas-pendragons @royalhandmaidens

#clone wars #star wars #commander wolffe #plo koon #jedi council #the clone wars #clone troopers #boys #the boys #boy4plo #shaak ti

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twinkleton · 4 years

Note

ok but what if... a spin off of your douxie x reader where we get the details on how douxie proposed 👀

Ask and ye shall receive! This takes place a year after my At the End of the Century fic, I’m considering call this series just Married!Douxie since any fics I do with this universe they will be married. I didn’t imagine them living in the castle anymore without Merlin, and I just wanted some cottagecore lmao. And yes, reader invents cat trees 😂. Hope you guys enjoy!

Tags: @clarencebells @purplesinnerw

“Archie, could you come over here?”

The familiar pokes his head up from his proclaimed resting spot, a basket generally used for berry-picking, and lets out a big yawn.

“I’m afraid I can’t, you’ve sucked all the energy out from me already,” he mumbles, plopping his head back down. Archie and the young witch had spent the morning organizing their belongings into their new home. As a show of gratitude and solidarity for the small family, the trolls of Dwoza had been building them a little cottage in the forest for the past year, between walking distance of their land and Camelot. They graciously accepted the gift.

“Please, just for a minute! Then you can continue your lounging,” Y/N pleaded from her and Douxie’s bedroom. Archie makes a low groan and rolls out of his makeshift bed, slowly making his way over to her.

“I swear if you ask me to fly over to a shelf you can’t reach one more time, I will-” His sentence stops short once he enters the room, eyes wide. Unbeknownst to him, while he was taking his little cat nap, the girl had been spending her time crafting up a tower for him, with all sorts of levels for him to climb, at the top of it being a cozy bed for him, made out of fabric she’d stolen from the castle. Old habits die hard. However, it was worth it for Y/N to see the look on her friend’s face.

“Is..is this for me?” Archie climbs up to the first level.

“Well I don’t see any other cat familiars lying around,” she replies with a smirk.

“Always so cheeky,” he says with a chuckle. His nose slightly wiggled, detecting a fishy odor coming from the top.

“Oh, you didn’t.”

“Oh, I so did.”

He swiftly leaps to the highest level, eyes gleaming with delight as his suspicions to what was there were confirmed. Y/N, being the angel in his eyes that she is, had prepared roasted salmon for him. How she somehow was able to hide all of this from him, he’ll never know.

“Do-do you like it?” Y/N asked sheepishly.

Suddenly, there’s weight on her chest, as Archie had flown over to her, trapping her into a bear hug that she quickly reciprocated.

“I don’t understand, why did you do all of this for me?”

She laid her hand onto his head, gently stroking, “I don’t need a reason, Arch. You’re my friend, we've been through a lot. You deserve this.”

If it was in Archie’s nature, there would have been tears falling from his eyes. However, what felt right for him was to embrace her for a little bit longer, ending the hug with a simple, “Thank you, Y/N.”

Their bonding moment was cut short by the sudden loud bang of the front door opening, a disheveled and filthy Douxie stumbling in. His man bun had completely become undone, leaving his hair a tangled mess on top of his head. His clothes were covered in soot and his shoes were mysteriously soggy, leaving footprints on the floor. He leans into the door, slamming it shut behind him.

The two rush over to him. “Oh, fuzzbuckets. What on Earth happened to you?”

“Stealing my catchphrases now, love? I knew I’d eventually rub off on you,”

An annoyed groan escapes Y/N’s lips as she walks over to assist Douxie in standing. “I thought you said you were helping Deya with a simple errand. You look like you volunteered to be her personal target dummy.”

“Knowing Douxie, that probably isn’t far off from the truth,” Archie smirks, giving Douxie an all-knowing look.

“So she didn’t give all of the details of her request, she’s a busy woman. She has a legacy of Trollhunters to begin, can’t expect her to be so thorough.” Douxie chuckles nervously, a laugh that tells Archie all he needs to know but seemingly raises no concern for Y/N.

“All right. Arch, go enjoy your dinner. I’ll take care of him,” Y/N says, leading Douxie towards the bath further down the hall.

Once she has filled the bath up sufficiently, she sticks a hand into the water, muttering under her breath a spell. Her hand glows a vibrant scarlet shade, and soon the water begins to bubble up with steam rising into the air. Douxie, with clothes discarded onto the floor, leans onto Y/N for support as he slowly descends into the bath. He relaxes his muscles, the warm water helping ease all the aches he has in his limbs.

“Have I ever said that I love magic? Because I do, I really do,” his girlfriend giggles at his comment as she softly brushes out his mangled locks. Afterwards, she pours some of the water onto his hair, washing away the sweat and grime.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“With you, never better.”

“No, I mean, with everything. I know it’s been a year since the battle, but we haven’t really talked much about what happened. How it’s been for you without...Merlin.” Y/N had been hesitant with bringing up his master, not wanting to cause him any stress or discomfort. Still, she figured it was better than the alternative of Douxie bottling up his feelings.

He adjusts himself so that he’s facing Y/N, looking up to make eye contact with her. Despite himself, he can’t help but get entranced by her eyes, so vibrant and full of genuine love and concern for him. He reaches over and brushes away hair, cupping her face. How he became so lucky to have someone as kind, beautiful, and thoughtful as her be in his life, let alone be with him, he’ll never understand. He doesn’t know what living would be like if she wasn’t a constant presence and he doesn’t want to know.

So, he lets out something he’s truly been bottling up.

“Marry me.”

Y/N can’t fully process what he’d just said to her. Her brain hasn’t caught up with her heart, which fluttered the moment those two little words left his mouth.

“What?”

Douxie lets go of her face to grab onto her hands, pulling them close to him.

“I wanted to pick a better time to bare my heart out to you, one where I’m not bare...myself,” that earns a little chuckle from Y/N, “But, I just can’t wait any longer.”

He instructs her to grab his tunic still lying on the floor and to check the inner pocket. Once she reaches her hand inside, she feels a small band of metal, pulling it out to see. It’s revealed to be a golden ring, with intricate carvings all along the band, and secured on top was a small emerald gem, so polished that light reflects beautifully off of it. The sight of it alone is enough to make Y/N’s eyes start to water.

“You made this?”

Douxie gives a little nod, “Hence my very repugnant appearance earlier. I did go to see Deya, but it was to ask her for a favor, not the other way around. I knew they would have just the metal and stone I needed for the ring, however had they warned me that retrieving said materials would be so difficult, maybe I would’ve looked elsewhere,” he explains with a smile. “Go ahead, try it on.”

Y/N slides the ring down her finger, a perfect fit. She looks up at him, eyes brimming with tears.

“Why?”

The answer is simple for him, “Because I love you. It has been hard without Merlin. He was always who I looked to for guidance, afraid of any misstep I would possibly make without his advice, but with you, I’m not afraid. You’re so encouraging and loving that I believe I can trust myself and make my own decisions and they won’t lead to chaos somehow. I look forward to each day because I know you’ll be there. I can’t imagine life without you in it, and I never want to. I realize asking to be with me for the rest of your immortal life is a lot, but-”

“Yes,” she answers, finally letting the tears fall. The biggest smile she thinks she’s ever had spreads across her face.

Douxie lets out a mixture of a laugh and a gasp of surprise. “Really? Hold on, I don’t want this moment to be me in a bucket the whole time,” he jumps out of the bath, quickly drying himself and tugging on a clean pair of pants. His hair is still wet, leaving droplets of water on his shoulders. Then, he walks in front of Y/N, picking up her hands again to bring them to be his chest. “You’re sure about this?”

Y/N waves her thumbs over his fingers, feeling an overwhelming sense of happiness, “All I’ve ever wanted was a family. People and a place I can consider home. I thought I had found that with Morgana, but I was wrong. Who I really found it with was you. You and Archie are my family. I love Archie dearly, and I’m so in love with you. An eternity with you still doesn’t feel long enough.”

Now it’s Douxie who’s crying tears of joy. This has to be one of the greatest moments of his life. He gets to be with the love of his life forever and always. He picks her up effortlessly, spinning her around while the two joyously laugh and squeal. Still in the air, Y/N grabs onto his face to pull him in, capturing his lips in a kiss. Douxie sighs into it, not able to properly kiss due to him not being able to stop smiling. They come apart, still holding onto each other and giggling like teenagers.

“Ah, so he finally did it. He’s been worrying about it ever since we moved here,” Archie says, doing his well known habit of waltzing in unannounced.

Douxie lets her down, facepalming at his familiar’s interruption. “That was supposed to be kept a secret, Arch.”

“Apologies. But really Doux? In the bath? Even I could’ve thought of something more grand than that.”

“Why you little-”

“How was your dinner, Archie?” Y/N says before Douxie can have a go at him.

“Absolutely delightful, you truly are amazing Y/N.”

Y/N thanks him. As Douxie and Archie continue their snarky banter with one another, she can’t help but feel so content in the moment. She realizes that that loneliness she used to feel before will never come again thanks to these two. She may have had to defeat Morgana in the end, but she will be eternally grateful for the gift of love she granted her.

#douxie x reader #douxie imagine #hisirdoux x reader #hisirdoux casperan #douxie casperan #douxie #tales of arcadia #married!douxie #at the end of the century #hisirdoux casperan x reader #douxie casperan x reader #trollhunters

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lorkai · 3 years

Text

🌺 Title: One More Life

🌺 Summary: There is no future without learning the mistakes of the past, but there is also no past without the hope of a better future. And to repair mistakes or to make things better, a child is dragged into a tragic history of coups d'état, deaths and re-concessions.

🌺 Words: 4096

🌺 Notes: Some may remember that I already posted this story here, but I decided to rewrite this chapter. Hope you like it.

🌺 Warnings: Mention of dismemberment, explicit death, gore. Please check the tags for more.

The closed clouds formed strange patterns over the faint sunlight that ended on the horizon, red and orange slowly disappearing, leaving behind a thin trail of snow. And despite the hours, the children ran over the lights of the lanterns that they carried in their small hands, without knowing what was close to happening. Their laughter would be remembered in young Morgana's mind for a long time. Everyone was happy, after all it was the Harvest Festival - affectionately nicknamed the Demon Race by the girl - it was the day when her Lord liked to send his little soldiers to face demons that he summoned to see how much they had evolved with their magic and spells, that always happened at the end of the night.

Morgana did not grow up in a good or happy place, but she had no choice but to follow what her Lord commanded. The organization he worked for was also not a good place if she remembered correctly, there were so many experiments going on, so much pain and cries of help echoing through those walls that would never come out of the young girl's head or anyone who heard them. It was terrifying.

And in the dark of the old empty hut, she sat. Chained at the ankles by a metal pillar. The dark did not frighten her any more than the task entrusted to her, hunting demons, killing them and bringing their hearts to her Lord. Morgana hated that time of year, hated the snow pulling her down and the cold so intense to freeze her bones, and on top of that she hated the magic that came out of her hands and the blood that spread through her fingers afterwards. She hated the throbbing of the organ in her hands and even more that sadistic smile on the face of the man who had taught her so much about magic. But she had no choice, not yet.

"Your folly is amazing, my dear." Said a well-known voice, making Morgana turn around. It took her eyes to get used to seeing something in the immense darkness that surrounded her, but when she finally found him she started to massage her temples in search of momentary relief. It was Toby, a small, transparent ghost who wore bloody rags of clothes that looked from the 1800s. He was, unfortunately, the girl's dead brother, now a ghost bound to accompany her.

"What would you have done?" She replied, showing her hands chained by heavy metal. She didn't want to have to deal with the ghost now.

"I sure as hell wouldn't be pretending to be a good girl, waiting for someone to give me an order. Morg, you must take the chance to escape. They plan to summon a strong demon this time... What was the name again? Diavovo? Dialovo?" Toby yelled, crossing his arms. He floated to the other end of the cell, tossing a thick, old black leather book from hand to hand. And contrary to his angry tone, the ghost seemed calm, stopping beside his sister to hand her the book. "Whatever! You know the Demon Race is the closest thing you have to an opportunity to escape."

"Patience, my dear. I can't rush the sand into the hourglass any more than it can." She said, mysterious. Her fingers traced the pattern of unfamiliar letters and she smiled, feeling the strong magic so familiar that emanated from that Grimoire. The book that belonged to each of her brothers was hers now and she asked that it be useful in her journey. "Can't run away now, brother. This isn't the time. Also, you know what B would say."

"I don't care what that traitor has to say to me! He wasn't there when you or our brothers begged for help, he isn't here now to save you." the ghost grunted grudgingly and crossed his arms over his chest, seeming to adopt a defensive posture. "I insist you use this to escape, there's a very useful spell here. Take a look."

Morgana looked. It was the old book that passed from sibling to sibling in her family, but she never read it and didn't even know her secrets. Its pages were old and fragile, yellowed, she analyzed the strange letters forming strange words – it was an unknown language that was written there, but little by little the words moved and began to form sentences that the girl knew and understood. Spells appeared over the pages and she let out a big sigh this time, one of relief. Toby moved closer to her. "There are some spells you won't understand, Lothos made sure the younger ones wouldn't understand. So I can translate what you don't understand." The ghostly fingers roamed the pages with great nostalgia as he read her the simplest spells, almost overjoyed that she couldn't read in the dark.

And she was looking at him even through the dim light from a lantern, but it pained her to nurture his hopes when she herself knew she might die at any moment. She wasn't going to run away from Cosmos, no, she was going to destroy them inside and save those who could be saved. The emotion she felt at the moment couldn't be explained, she was happy to have him around and hear his voice, but she didn't feel his touch, his heat. Anyway, that moment was almost enough to make her forget what was going to happen within the next few minutes. There was a noise that disconcerted her and made her close the book with a bang, she quickly stuffed it into the pocket of the dress she was wearing. And she waited.

She looked at the figure standing over the wooden door, the light shining over his head as he chuckled softly. Then she noticed that he was shaking the human head of a child much younger than she was, and his red eyes glowed with excitement, watching the blood trickle across the floor of the cell. "He deserved it, he was making so much noise when I whipped him. But I like to think of it as his good luck gift." He threw his head towards the girl, falling to her feet. The child's transparent eyes stared at her, hot blood running in abundance over her legs and onto the floor. A horrendous image. She tried to move away but the chains stopped her.

"Too bad. His voice was so beautiful when he screamed." He commented and removed a cork of keys from his pocket, walking very calmly towards his expressionless pupil. He seemed to root for her to cry, for her to scream so he could punish her, but that didn't happen. He released her from the chains slowly as the blood on his hands smeared her and made her shiver even more, he pulled back far enough so that she could get up and seemed to find the sounds of bones cracking amusing. "Project K is almost perfected, so no failures will be tolerated. Stay still."

Morgana pressed one hand against the other, bracing herself. He handed her a red pill and watched as she swallowed without question. The burning sensation that engulfed her body was almost unbearable, causing her to fall to her knees and bring her hand to her throat. And anger filled her as her lord laughed to the point of being in tears. The pill he handed her must have been an improved version of the drug they were creating, she felt like she was being ripped from the inside out and blood leaked from her mouth as her vision glowed. Everything about her body ached, Toby and His lord went out and into focus. His voices mingled in her head as she vomited more blood.

"There, there." Her lord pulled her to her feet, using a spell to stop the bleeding. He patted her head lovingly as he smiled and she leaned closer to the contact, albeit involuntarily. His gestures didn't match what he was saying at all, but it took her a few more moments to process that. "It's going to be alright honey so don't let us down. I know you can do it, now go." He gently guided her out of the hut and closed the door slowly. A barrier was erected as soon as the girl was thrown out, to protect him. And she heard him laugh. Maybe he imagined all the bodies he would have on his worktable in the morning. Perhaps he had imagined a morbid joke. She didn't want to know.

"Are you okay?" Toby questioned. "Do you feel pain anywhere?"

"I am fine, brother." She analyzed the landscape around them. Shady trees, whose roots were hidden by snow, rose so high that their leaves and branches almost completely obscured the dim moonlight. This was a perfect place for demons to come to hide waiting for a meal, a subtle black trail of sulfur could be discerned through the tree branches. The smell also did not hide that there were demons there. She looked up at her brother, stifling a moan of pain as she smiled so as not to worry him. "Where are we going?"

"Demons everywhere. Three of them are northwest, seventy meters and they're strong. But there are two weaker ones you can kill easily, ten meters away. This way." Toby pointed, starting to follow a narrow path between some crooked trees, destroyed by the force of some demon. He heard Morgana walking behind him and her teeth gnashed so hard that he felt sorry for her, he couldn't feel the cold or heat anymore due to his condition, but he remembered now that she wasn't so lucky. The fine clothes she wore couldn't protect her from the incessant cold, that was a punishment and even she knew it. She had failed in her last mission, so it made sense to let her suffer her own luck. He knew she wouldn't survive like this and they had little time for it. Unfortunately she couldn't use any fire-based spells either because the scent would alert the demons.

Toby stopped his sister with a wave of his hand, gesturing to the pockets of her dress. "I almost forgot, but there's a spell in the Grimoire you can use to keep yourself warm. Let me show you."

"You know the cold can't kill me, even if it hurts" She warned him, giving a half laugh that was followed by several sneezes. Toby frowned as if he didn't quite believe his sister, signaling to himself as if he was setting an example. "Right, but that won't happen, brother."

"Enough stubbornness and give me the Grimoire. We have to be quick." Morgana let out a huff of indignation as she pulled the book out of her pockets and opened it, after glancing from side to side to make sure no one else was there. She created a sphere of light and illuminated the pages while a short wave of wind caused by the ghost opened the right page. He whispered the spell to her once, twice. Then she chanted it aloud and felt something warm run through her body, strengthening her. "Back to the subject... Use the Grimoire." He muttered looking directly at the book in her hands, with puppy eyes.

Morgana was preparing to give him an answer not as kind and patient as the others, but she was silent. She hid behind a tree when she heard a thin scream very close by. It had started. Really started. Limb by limb and the sound of flesh being ripped off was heard through the forest loud and clear, she covered her mouth with her hand so that no sound escaped her and signaled for the ghost to see what was happening.

"Looks like we found them, yay." Toby muttered grudgingly, his fingers making hollow sounds against the trees he touched. The feeling of running or fighting was never higher than when he approached some supernatural being, not that the ghost had seen more than other ghosts and lost souls, but he knew a thing or two. Finally he went to his sister, almost exasperated. "If you insist on following your role, the audience awaits your show, little star. They say they want to see his heart."

"If you insist." The girl whispered something in a low tone with her hands clasped together as if to pray and from the center of her hands flaming chains ripped the skin until they huddled together, moving of their own accord. Morgana was smiling. And she moved faster than Toby's eyes could see, like furious lightning. Toby ran to accompany her, without worry. He had seen a lot of that happen over the years. And it came as no surprise to him when he saw Morgana manipulating the chains and lifting the demon's body by one, two, three, four meters from the ground, hearing him scream when his arms and legs were broken, twisted at odd angles. Bones exposed on his skin. Black blood trickled over the snow as he screamed profanities.

"I really didn't want to do this." A deep, husky voice came from the girl's lips as she laughed, enjoying the smell of burning flesh. The chains slowly burned the entire demon's body, to the point that she would have ripped his heart out of his chest before he died. "But the grains of sand can only fall into the hourglass when it is time for them to fall."

"You are the disgusting witch that everyone talks about!" The demon screamed, blood dripping from his mouth. He struggled against the chains, but the more he struggled and screamed, the more the chains tightened.

"The only one but I think you don't like me that much, too bad." Morgana made a single movement that threw the demon on the ground and she approached him, pulling a red blade from her pocket that she would use to kill him. The demon tried to fight the chains, struggling, forcing its wings to work to get him out of there. But the girl kicked him in the face and commanded the chains to hold him more tightly. Toby flinched when he heard the sound of more bones being broken. "You had to be a low level one, it smells like sulfur. Shame on you, someone of your level would never be able to kill me." And then she sank the blade into the demon's chest. More blood flowed as she stabbed again and again, feeling it tremble beneath her small body, laughing when she saw life abandon the weak entity.

Toby yelled after her that he was dead, but she only stopped stabbing him when he was reduced to an unrecognizable mass of flesh. The white dress she wore was black, filled with demonic blood. She looked down at her hands with something akin to curiosity, then she looked down at the body and for a moment she couldn't make out anything that had happened there. "Fuck, this shit is scary every time. Morg, you...?"

"I'm fine, silly." She returned the chains back into her hands as she grunted in pain, the next moment her palms were intact as if they had never been injured. She got up quickly, muttering aggressively that she would have to find another demon now that she couldn't take the one she'd just killed, so she stepped away from the dead body and looked around. The sun wasn't even close to rising yet and she had plenty of time, but she also knew that failing couldn't be an option. Not this time. She has seen what happened to those who failed and it was something much worse than what happened to that demon at her feet. There were so many limbs and guts out of a body while her lord was using poisons and having fun, she didn't even need an anatomy book to tell the difference between a lung and a tibia. She wouldn't be next - between failing here and being next, she could freeze to death.

"You went into a trance again." Toby sighed, if he was alive he would probably be shaking. "Are you wondering about your next target?" Morgana nodded.

"Far away. About forty meters. But they are powerful." Toby tried to concentrate to find out something else, but he didn't have much to feel. They were powerful entities without a doubt, if they were strong to face the girl or not he did not know and did not want to know, he wanted her to run away. But there was only a little he could force her to do. The ghost watched as she seemed to consider whether she was going after them or not, but stopped walking before she could state her thoughts. There was a dismembered body in front of them. The head was tied to a tree as if it were a sinister pinata, a wide smile from cheek to cheek still frozen on the face. Blood dripping still. It was recent. She gasped and tried to walk away, but she felt something hot and hard on her feet that made her stop. Something that the faint light of the moon illuminated very well, she stepped on top of the corpse's guts.

"All this for what, I wonder sometimes. So many dead children, so many tormented spirits. If the fate had been different they could have been happy away from this misery." Toby whispered so quietly that even a breeze made more noise. He tried to pull her away, despite being cruelly reminded that he couldn't touch her. He was just a lost voice over others inside his own sister's head, so he did what he could. He caught her eye and pointed to a safe place.

"Because they are all too cowardly to fight for what they want, so they train us and use us," Morgana shivered with rage when tears came to her eyes, her fist closed on the blade that was just used in the poor devil's murder. "We are weapons in a war that we do not even know when it will happen. But it will be all right because I will destroy Cosmos and free all who still live, even if I die trying, I will drag those motherfuckers to hell with me!"

"Oh, now you're talking like yourself, good little girl." She felt the speck of happiness in the ghost's voice, even with all the sarcasm he dripped from each syllable. "Morgana, the girl who wanted to save the witches. Sounds like a good title for a biography." Toby continued to tease.

"I won't save them, wizards, humans, they both always think they're above everyone else. I'm just going to free them and then go home. Or what's left of our house. They can handle their problems on their own." Morgana sighed, crouching for a moment in the mud to undo an exploding trap. She eyed the device curiously before standing up and following the ghost further into the forest. The trees gave way to a brighter place, a snowy field opened up for them. A frozen river was mere steps ahead, their reflection was reflected under the stars and moon. There, the girl almost looked livid. A confirmation that her dead brother really was by her side - not that she didn't know it, but she thought she was crazy after everything she'd been through there.

"What are you going to do?" Toby asked, floating around her. She shrugged with a cynical laugh.

"I have all the information to destroy them, but I need time and resources," She explained taking a big breath to try to warm up, but she failed and she shivered. "We will complete this ridiculous task and we will go back to the base."

"Or you can open a..." Toby tried to dissuade her like an annoying good brother, but he stopped in mid-sentence and turned with confusion hovering over his face. And for the first time he was serious. If he could go pale with fear, he would surely be now. Although he was tired of running around, protecting the girl, he knew that every year was the same thing. But as he said hours earlier, her lord had summoned stronger demons this year. And the ghost felt three of them behind them at that moment. The same ones he didn't know if his sister would be able to defeat.

He pointed out to Morgana that she should start walking slowly and quietly to get as far away from the hiding demons as possible. Stumbling and almost slipping, Toby pushed his human and hoped that no one would appear. To his displeasure, Morgana started sneezing and coughing up blood again, he felt her magic get out of control and he cursed himself for letting her drink that strange pill the old man had given her. A lot of things could go wrong, but he really hoped nothing would happen now. The bushes moved and branches broke, and when Toby looked around there were three demons staring at Morgana with a desire to take her soul. The young girl was on the verge of a breakdown and he knew that her magic would be as unstable as every other time that she drank that pill.

"Can i do this?" He heard his sister swear in pain. "Do it, brother."

He looked at her before taking possession of her body as he had already done before. The cold she felt, he felt. The feelings and thoughts she had were his now. And with that, he moved his hands very quickly when he realized that the demons were approaching and surrounding them quickly. A great barrier separated them and prevented them from attacking it. It was weak and so he started running while he still had time, looking for a place he could use to keep his sister's body warm and safe until he thought of something.

"Bloody hell, what a shit situation, Morg!" Toby grunted, but now in a hoarse and dragged tone. He did not know how long he looked for shelter or how much time he spent running, but he knew that the presences were approaching again and this time much more aggressive. He heard the murmurs of disdain and sarcasm, and he feared for his sister's life. He saw the horns slowly came out of their heads, small and sharp, twisted to the sides and long black wings with emaciated feathers punctuating out of their backs.

'We are going to die!', Toby thought, no longer able to continue. 'This is all B's fault!'

"Look, Apoliom, Belial! Such a brilliant soul. Will you want to?" One of the demons commented to his friends in a tone of immense mockery, lifting the girl by her white hair and smiling when she struggled to get out of his grip. Unsuccessfully. Toby tried to use the chains, but the most that came out of the palms of Morgana's hands was smoke. And it made the demons laugh hysterically.

"If you're going to eat her soul, do it soon. We have to go back sooner or we are going to have problems." Apoliom murmured with great disinterest in the situation, but he wanted to know how someone so young had a soul as brilliant as those. "We're already full." Belial shrugged. "Hurry up!"

The demon's face seemed to melt like candle wax, revealing a hideous face of muscle, and his eyes went the blackest shade Toby had ever seen. He leaned forward, encouraged by the other two friends who had already satisfied their hunger, he opened his mouth ready to suck Morgana's soul, and if Toby still had one, his too.

But a very bright light suddenly blinded all the demons. It was hot. Intense. Angry and calm in the same proportion. There were screams of pain and curses thrown at random, but the light just kept expanding and expanding. And a flood of warm feelings went through the ghost's chest and he knew that this sensation reached Morgana somewhere in her tired mind, he felt that she fell into a deep sleep, warmed by that light. Her body finally fell, but not in the snow. In a pair of firm and gentle arms that lifted the small body. The demons were forgotten, expelled, although not even Toby was able to remain lucid for a long time, visibly affected by using possession for so long.

"The only survivor, we are going to take her with us, Barbatos."

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stargazer-balladeer · 4 years

Text

Them with a Shy S/o [Persona 5]

anon: Hello! Congratulations on your Followers! I wanted to ask if you can write the "Them with a shy s/o" for the Persona 5 cast as well? Thanks!!

Characters Included: Akira Kurusu, Ryuji Sakamoto, Ann Takamaki, Yusuke Kitagawa, Makoto Niijima, Haru Okumura, Futaba Sakura & Goro Akechi

Note: A lot of you guys like Persona 5 huh? Oh well, I can see why :) Hope ya’ll enjoy this!

Reader’s Gender: Neutral

Warning: none

Akira Kurusu

This guy? He'll find it cute— no, scratch that. ADORABLE that his s/o's shy. He'll be all over them when he laid eyes on them, they better be prepared >:)

We all know this guy's a tease, right? And you are NO exception to this. Actually, you had it worse.

Because you are shy, he'll find every reaction of yours cute and always seem to tease you about it, until you were pretty much the twin of an apple -_-

But he knows his limit, of course. If he sees that it's either making you uncomfortable or hurt by what he's doing, he'll stop.

When you two first meet, it's you avoiding him and him pouting as you ran away. Pretty much a cat-and-rat chase, which the Phantom Thieves find funny, watching their leader chasing his s/o.

The reason why you're running? You heard the rumors and thought it was true. Not wanting to be his next victim, you ran whenever he's near you.

He only managed to talk to you (without you running away) when Ann drag you over to Akira, the group have had enough of this shenanigans.

You two hang-out in either LeBlanc or outside, but mostly in LeBlanc though. You two just chilling while drinking coffee (or tea, or whatever beverages you prefer) and just talk.

He'll find it hilarious if he finds out you're talkative, he might tease you about it but other than that, made no comment about it. He loves your voice so it's a bonus for him :D

How he ask you out? He asks you in a straightforward manner while you were drinking, which made you successfully chock. You two panic for a bit before you answered him yes, with a bit of embarrassment ofc.

Ryuji Sakamoto

He might not at all notice you, srry. Unless you're either friends with his friends (or his friends pointing at you) or you're a victim of Kamoshida. Yeah. That's the only way for him to only notice you.

He might not really care about you much but when he notices you everywhere he goes, he suddenly cared about you.

Like Akira, he finds your shy trait cute and find it hilarious when he finds out you're talkative. But he also LOVES hearing your voice so its a plus for him.

I don’t see Ryuji as a tease though, he might be as shy as you are! Which frustrates the group when Ryuji is being his Tsundere self. Like you would go up to him and he will either freeze or go away from you, that is, IF he realizes his feelings for you.

But he finds every reaction of yours cute but he wouldn’t admit it.

How you two meet? The first bulletin pls. If you’re friends with one of his friends, namely Ann, she would basically drag you over to meet him and the rest. If you’re a victim, chances are you appeared as a Shadow in Kamoshida’s Palace.

He would find your shy self indifferent really, he already has seen that reaction of yours everywhere he goes (his delinquent self and all). But he might get to know you if you two were (force) to be together or left alone, he finds silence uncomfortable afterall.

You two will be often seen hanging out during and after school, probably in front of a store or the arcade. Akira (with Morgana) and Ann will also join in but not all the time, so its basically you and Ryuji.

How he ask you out? Very hesitant, shy and in-denial. It might take some time, and his friends pushing, for him to ask you out. But when he does confess, you could hardly understand what he was trying to tell you. Him stuttering while blushing while still acting cool, yeah, you were hella confuse.

But when you DO understand, you’ll blush and nod, too shy to say anything (much to Ryuji’s relief and dismay).

Ann Takamaki

This girl’s basically gushes about how adorable you were and spoils you rotten, much to your embarrassment. You two definitely met by her approaching you and just start talking.

If she sees you were uncomfortable with her, she would keep her distance. Other than that, she’ll be stuck with you. Good luck with that.

She’s so energetic that she would drag you to places where you’ve never been before.

She’ll be the one who orders for the both of you if you are uncomfortable doing so, she really doesn’t mind.

She might tease you a bit, just to get a reaction out of you. But if she sees you were getting hurt or uncomfortable by her teasing, she’ll stop. This woman respects your privacy to a whole new level -_-

Like I said, Ann drags you places to places. You two are hardly ever seen in one place really, except for school, LeBlanc and that store that sells sweets.

She doesn’t really mind your shy self really, but when she finds out you’re chatty, you two will be talking non-stop. Your topics will keep bouncing from one to another, till there is nothing left to say (which would probably never happen since you two always seem to find something to talk about).

How does she confess her undying love to you? She does it in a cliche way, this girl lives for cliches :) She does it by giving you 3 red roses, which means “I love you”. Whether you know or not about flower language, she wouldn’t tell you at once. She’ll wait until you figure it out.

If you don’t know, either search in Google or ask someone (Siri?). You should probably go to Haru or Makoto for this.

If you already knew or just figured it out, you would immediately go to Ann and say your answer to her. Pls say yes ;-;

Yusuke Kitagawa

This boi doesn’t really care about your shy personality, no, he finds it endearing. You somehow managed to caught his artistic eyes. Don’t get me started with this poor boi. He doesn’t know how to approach you! So he did it the only way he knows how, following you around.

Ofc, this has an opposite effect than what Yusuke wanted. This made him creepy and stalker for you, so you keep running away while him chasing you. You even thought he was a kidnapper or a thief (not literally tho COUGH COUGH).

The group finds it amusing (Mommy Makoto sighing in the background) as they watch the scene unfold. But as the days go by, they were kinda worried and concerned about the two of you. So they decided to take matters in their own hands.

They managed to get you and Yusuke in the same room together. They even instructed Yusuke to not be weird. Yusuke, being confused, decided to follow their orders.

The two of you managed to have a civil conversation about sunsets of all things. Ofc, you were still wary around him but you soon found yourself being comfortable around him.

Yusuke isn’t a tease at all, actually, he’s more oblivious than you even! Yusuke doesn’t really understand the concept about love but is willing to learn about it.

(PS: Pls also feed this bby boi ;-; he needs it DESPERATELY)

You and Yusuke can be found either in a art gallery or his house. It’s also either watching him paint, listening to him rant or being his muse. It might be boring to others but you always found yourself enjoying his peculiar self.

He doesn’t mind if you’re talkative really. He likes to listen to you whenever you talk about something, he also finds this trait of yours endearing.

How he ask you out? Pls don’t ask ;-;. This boi doesn’t even know his feelings towards you, which was VERY obvious to everyone, heck, even you! You, being your shy self, is very hesitant to confess to him. WHAT IF HE DOESN’T LIKE ME? -_- <-- my reaction

It take everyone to explain to him his feelings. You might need to wait a bit long for him to finally realize his feelings. But when he does, he’ll immediately confess to you. This boi doesn’t know how to be embarrassed unfortunately ;-;

Makoto Niijima

This girl would notice you if you were in the Student Council or classmates with her or a victim of someone’s Palace. Other than that, you’re pretty much a background character for her.

You always thought she was intimidating so you avoid her as much as you could. When Makoto notices you avoiding her, she would be hurt ofc. Did she do something to you that she doesn’t know of? You can be sure that Makoto would rack her mind for DAYS, trying to recall what made you avoid her so much.

If she couldn’t find out about it, be sure that she’ll approach you the following day. Managing to corner you, which is unintentional for her part. She would ask you the question and when you answered honestly (you can’t lie to her), she would be confuse.

But ever since then, she would make an effort in becoming friends with you. She’s not bothered by your shy self, she finds it cute though :)

If she finds out you’re talkative, she’ll be surprised about it but it was warmly welcomed, especially during her time in being President. During her signing papers, you would talk to her about your day and some unrelated topics. She doesn’t mind at all, she finds your voice soothing.

Pls give this girl a rest ;-; she works wayyyy too hard.

You two can be found hanging out in LeBlanc or either houses. You two can be drinking coffee (or whatever beverages you prefer) and just chat with one another.

How does she confess? It might also take some time since she wants to make sure that what she’s feeling is true. Bc I can see her as the person who likes someone, it’s already that person that they want to marry and spend their whole life together.

But when she is sure about it, she would take it slow and confess to you. She’s patient so she watches as you fumble your words up. She’ll be overjoyed that you accept her feelings though.

Yay! Happy mommy Makoto :D

Haru Okumura

She already notices you wayyy before you notice her. She notices your shy self and talkative self, she finds it adorable though. I’m gonna bet that she will be the one who approaches you first and strike a conversation with you.

You couldn’t afford to run away from her, she’s too precious! TwT So you decided to converse with her also and find yourself enjoying her presence much.

Her aura around her gives out a soothing one, it easily attracts someone to her. It could be a weapon or defense, not sure. But one thing is for sure, you’re hook at once.

She might tease you here and there, but she’s rather passive. She enjoys cuddling and holding hands with you, even before you two started to date. She’s touch-starved ;-;

She is the kind of person who listens to other people talking. She wouldn’t dare to interrupt you while you are talking about something you are passionate about.

You two are never in the same place, like Ann. You two can be found everywhere, since I like to think that Haru likes to explore new areas. But she’s not gonna drag you around if you don’t like it. She would DEFINTELY stay with you at home, cuddling with you in the couch.

Haru might seem shy at first, but don’t be fooled! When she finds out she has feelings for you, she would straight-in confess her feelings to you. It might involve a bouquet or two :)

Pls say yes ;-; this bby deserve da world :)

Futaba Sakura

She doesn’t know you at all, unless you are either a part of the Phantom Thieves or a friend of her friends. Though she wouldn’t meet you either in that, so you best believe that you are a member of this outcast group or else you wouldn’t meet this hacker girl.

She can relate to you so much, although hers is much more of anxiety than shyness. She can still relate to you. You two might not talk at all, unless someone forces them to talk each other (i.e: mommy Makoto or daddy Akira :3 I don’t ship them tho).

You two instantly click though, much to everyone’s relief and dismay. You can bet that Futaba would drag you in her shenanigans, better be prepared :)

SHE LOVES THAT YOU TWO CAN TALK ENDLESSLY :D

Where you two can be seen? In her room. She never leaves her room unless necessary. So you two hang-out there, hope you don’t mind. You two play video games together or her teaching you how to hack.

She isn’t much into touchy-feely things but she would welcome a hug or cuddles. She’s more touch-starved than Haru unfortunately ;-;

How she asks you out? Simple. She doesn’t. And the worst thing, you don’t either. So you two can be friends for so long until either one of you confess.

So you better toughen up if you want her to be your girlfriend >:) This girl would surely say yes if you (stutter your) confess(ion).

Goro Akechi

This boi is almost like Akira in so many ways, except for the fact that he handle his situation in a much different way. This two bois can be best bros if they want to -_-

Anyway, back to hc.

You two would meet during his school days or outside. He recognizes you as the shy girl in his class. He might scare you away though, since you can’t handle his fangirls or his charming looks, much to his confusion.

He tries talking to you but you always manage to find a loop-hole, much to his dismay. He managed to talk to you when you two were (coincidentally) riding the train.

That’s the start of the bittersweet friendship you two have.

Much like Akira, he WILL tease you to get reaction from you, he finds this adorable. He would leave teasing kisses around your faces and leave a lingering kiss on your lips, leaving you wanting more. He’s such a tease -3-

But he’ll stop if he sees you embarrassed or hurt, he’ll kiss your entire face in apology. At the end, you are as red as a Cherry.

You two can be seen either in either your home or in LeBlanc or anywhere private, since he has a fanbase. He would rather for the two of you to be at home or at LeBlanc since it really provides privacy.

His work schedule is all over the place, so be sure to always be prepared whenever Akechi wants to hang-out with you.

It’s also a plus if you can cook pancakes for him :) You get his approval

How he asks you out? In the most basic way, asking you if you are available tomorrow to eat dinner or watch movie. SAY YES PLS :)

(He’s internally panicking ofc)

BTW, be sure to be prepared when he breaks up with you at the end. You know what I mean :)

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kareofbears · 3 years

Text

plainly in truth, chapter 2/5

“Without you around, it’s sorta like stuff is just kinda…bleh.“

—

Or: hiding, confiding, and misguiding.

read on ao3 or below the cut :)

Yusuke wasn’t too sure if what he was doing was of the right mind, but his heart is definitely in the right place.

There’s a lapse in time between Jails and hitting the road. Everyone is out soaking in the last of Sendai; Ryuji and Akira (and by extension, Sophia) are on a quest to buy any last minute supplies that they might need while the girls and Morgana are taking in the sights that they didn’t quite manage to explore as much as they’d like.

Well, the girls who like crowds and sightseeing are on a quest, at least.

Futaba and Yusuke are in the trailer by their own volition—he didn’t need to see anything else that wasn’t a timeless statue, and he learned early in his life that if you pace your spendings, you can then use that money to spend in the future. Quite the contrary, Futaba has had a little too much excitement these past few days and is more than happy to hide away in her top bunk with only her laptop charger peeking out from the bottom of her fleece blanket.

(A cartoon rendition of the Sendai temple is printed onto the fleece. Apparently Haru had yet to see Futaba purchase anything ‘tourist-y’ and action figures of various anime characters don’t seem to count.)

He tugs on her laptop cord. “Hello.”

“...What?” she grunts, voice slightly muffled. Through the thin fabric, he can see the illumination from her screen.

“I need help reacting to something.”

“And you decided to ask me?” she deadpans. “The literal shut-in?”

“The previous shut-in,” he corrects. “You haven’t been a shut-in in nearly a year. A marvelous feat, if I do say so myself.”

“Yeah, and this is my way of celebrating.” The lump on the bed seems to curl further in on itself. “Begone. Do a painting or something. This is my me time. The equivalent of guzzling down a boat load of Arginade. There’s barely any time to be by myself considering the whole group is treating this RV like a pimped out party bus, so shoo.”

J-pop starts playing from inside the blanket fort, and even Yusuke knows a dismissal when he hears one. That won’t stop him, though.

He tugs again, harder. “That is the reason I’m asking you now. I can’t have this be heard by prying ears.”

Had there been a cat on the bunk bed, its ears would have twitched. “Is this…?”

“Yes,” he nods sagely. “It’s a secret.”

Futaba’s head pops out, eyes wide and nearly glowing in excitement. If there was one thing that she liked more than recovering her energy, it's uncovering every nook and cranny of people’s lives, whether they want it or not.

“Inari, you should’ve said something!” She throws the blanket off herself, snatches her laptop in her arms and jumps down. Slamming it down on the booth, she throws herself on top of the smooth faux leather. “Tell me everything. The deets, the specs, all down to the last dirty drop of tea.”

He slides in to join her, albeit much slower. “Before you tell me that I misled you, I want to make it clear: I don’t know what the secret is.”

“What!” she slaps her forehead, groaning. “Yusuke, why would you do me like that? That’s false advertising to the max, and I do not appreciate you tricking me.”

“There wasn’t a trace of trickery. What I’m about to say really does have to do with a secret, but I need your help with how to deal with it.”

“I’m gonna level with you here pal,” she puts a hand on his wrist. “I’m not the right person for this, but I’d be darned if I let you walk away without telling me anything. So let’s hear it! I’m ready for some juicy goss. Oh! Can I guess? Is it about Haru?”

He frowns. “No. Is there something about Haru?”

“I don’t know, that’s why I was asking you!” she says, patting her hands rapidly on the table. “Come on, just spill the beans already.”

“There are no ‘beans’ to spill yet, and besides, that sounds like a waste of perfectly good food.” He leans back against the plush cushion. Only a pinch of guilt arises in him as he says it. “It’s about Ryuji.”

“Ooo, Skull himself. Gotta admit, I wasn’t expecting him.”

“It relieves me that you said that. I share the same sentiment—it wasn’t until I had run into him the night before when I had started to truly suspect something. And what I found was…” he trails off.

Her lips pull downwards. “That bad?”

“It was worrying, to say the least.”

She sighs. Most of the energy in her seemed to have filed out in the presence of a more serious topic. “Dang. I knew it was fishy when he left, but he’s always been able to just hash things out on his own.” Her expression changes as an idea pops into her head, and it morphs into one he recognizes. “Does—?”

“No. Akira doesn’t know, apparently.”

Futaba splutters, and he has to resist the urge to nod his head at her reaction. “He—Akira—wait, what? He doesn’t know? Oh, it must be bad bad.”

“My thoughts exactly. Initially, I had thought that whatever this was, it was manageable. Like that time he had spent his month’s allowance on a claw machine to win Makoto that light-up buchimaru.” Idly, he touches her keyboard lightly, appreciating the kaleidoscope of colors that emanate from it. “You know how I feel. We’re the Phantom Thieves; we can’t allow anyone to suffer alone, even if the one we’re helping is a Phantom Thief himself.”

Futaba raises an eyebrow. “And how do you want to help him?” she asks. “By talking to him? Let’s be real, you and I have the lowest social stat in this group. Combined, we can maybe reach the nerd student council president, and the guy who can and should handle this doesn’t even know about it!” Biting down on her lip, “Should we tell Akira?”

“Absolutely not. That was the one thing he had requested, and we cannot go against it. By extension, I don’t think we should tell anyone else.” A thought comes to him. “Wait, he mentioned that Ann knows of his situation.”

“Great! Someone who knows how to deal with people’s problems and isn’t us. What are we waiting for?” She reaches for her phone, and Yusuke proceeds to smack her hand out of the way. “Ow?”

“Don’t call her!” he hisses. “Ryuji said that she’s, and I quote, ‘part of the problem’. We can’t have her knowing that we know something.”

“Ann is?” Futaba exclaims, shoving her glasses up her nose. “This is getting too deep. We don’t even know anything yet, and it’s really starting to feel like we’re part of some conspiracy.”

“That’s right, we don’t know anything, and it is our largest road block.” Yusuke crosses his arms. “We don’t know what happened between Ryuji and Ann, or if something even occurred between Ryuji and Ann. What if they had an argument? What if they’re fighting, and it becomes irreparable between them? What if it begins affecting our Jail runs?”

“You really gave this some thought, huh?”

“But of course. I must nurture the few friends that I have managed to treasure.” He glances outside and sees the crowds clambering to see their tourist spot. “We may be different from most teenagers, but I don’t believe we’re immune to the nature of cliques or dramas or even insecurities.”

“God, what a good friend you are, it’s bugging me,” Futaba accuses. “So what the heck, Mr. Philanthropist? We’re stuck between a rock and our friend group here. This mission was doomed before you even dragged me out from my hideout,” she says, eyes drifting away to stare longingly back at her bunk bed.

“Stop making that expression. There’s a reason why I talked to you about this.” He leans forward. “What I’m asking is, to be frank, unfavorable, but I really do believe that it’s worth it to do this.”

She looks at him, and it only takes her a few seconds for realization to set in. Her jaw drops. “Oh Inari, that’s vile.”

“If you’re uncomfortable with it—”

“I didn’t say I was uncomfortable with it,” she cuts in. The grin on her face is wide; a woman in her element. “I just thought you’re the one who’d be all against this kind of thing.”

Futaba pulls her laptop towards her. “Sit back and observe the master at work.”

He watches as her fingers breeze through the keyboard, eyes inscrutable as light reflects off of her glasses. “So you can do it?”

“I’ve hacked into the Diet Building’s security cameras on a dare back when I was twelve,” she snorts. “This is Mario Kart Baby Park with the railings up.”

“I don’t know what that is.”

“It means—” With a flourish, she hits a key before glancing up at him, smug. “That this will be very easy. I’m thinking we can start with their text messages and work our way up to the big stuff.”

“Oh, right. You can go through our phones,” he grimaces. “You’ve stopped doing that, yes?”

“Of course I have! By the way, did you figure out what courses you wanted next term? I saw your advisor was bugging you about it, you should really email her back.”

“Yes, I’ve finally decided on sculpting as opposed to visual photography since it lets me focus on the anatomy of...” he pauses. “Wait—”

“Okay, looks like I got his text messages with Ann, so let’s all focus on this now!” she says loudly. “Scooch over, let’s go through ‘em.”

He does, and she moves to sit next to him. Yusuke peers at her screen. “Nothing out of the ordinary. There is a significant drop in the frequency of his replies, but that’s been the case for me as well.”

“Same here.” She continues scrolling up rapidly, so fast he wonders how she can keep up with herself. “Memes, memes, lots of ‘where you at’ texts, more memes…”

Something catches his eye. “Hold. Go down slightly, I think that link might be interesting.”

“‘How to treat knee pain: 11 steps with pictures’?” she reads aloud. “His knee is acting up again?”

“What’s peculiar is that I haven’t seen any sign of it.” He squints at Ryuji’s response to it—generic gratitude. “Even in Jails, he runs around without a care in the world.”

“What’s even weirder is that Ann is actually sending Ryuji wikihow links on how to treat his knee,” she snorts. “Let’s put a pin in this one and move on, Ann’s chat is chalking up to be a dead end.”

Rubbing her hands together, she straightens up like a professor in front of a lecture hall on the first day of classes. “Now Yusuke, when you’re looking to crack someone open like a tasty, moist omelette, there are two things that you must look into: their email and their bank account.”

After some clicking, Ryuji’s email pops up. “Email is obvious, since this pretty much tracks anything big. Delivery shipments, subscriptions to websites, acceptance letters. It’s all here in a neat little bow, ready for us to read.”

“‘Manga’s are 20% off for this weekend only,” he reads. “‘Anime convention next weekend’, ‘Pizza coupons’.”

“Ugh, he’s so boring! Next!” Clicking sounds through the RV, emphasizing how much they were snooping through their friend’s private life. “Bank account, show us your wisdom.”

“My word,” Yusuke gasps when the tab opens up. “That’s quite a lot of funds.”

“Inari, four thousand yen is definitely not a lot of money. How much do you have in yours?”

“I don’t have an account,” he admits. “I was on my way to the bank to open one, but I ran out of train fare. By the time I had gotten there, it was already closed. Quite rude, considering that it was only two o’clock.”

She levels him with a look. “Was it a Sunday when you did all this?”

“Why does that matter?”

“Never mind,” she shakes her head. “Okay, so nothing conclusive or even embarrassing. That means that whatever this is, he really doesn’t want anyone knowing about it.”

Futaba hops out of the booth and starts rummaging through everyone’s luggage. “That means we unlock the secret, classic, never goes out of style method of snooping—” with an expression of triumph, she showcases Ryuji’s backpack to him. “Going through their stuff IRL.”

Yusuke winces. “Don’t you think we might be going too far?”

“Hey, what’s with the cold feet? Where was your ‘justice’ from before?”

“I’m all for justice,” he watches her unzip the backpack, recoiling. “But even this seems a little excessive.”

“Look, we already went through his email, his bank account, his text messages. At this point, it’s kind of weird if we don’t find anything. Like—” she throws a pair of shorts behind her as she rummages. “What kind of teenage boy doesn’t have anything to hide? And also, it’d be kinda messed up to go through his stuff and come up empty-handed. If we didn’t find anything—” she pulls out several t-shirts and a crowbar and places them on the ground next to her. “Then we’d just be a bunch of snoops.”

“I suppose you’re right,” he reluctantly agrees. “Above all else, we need to find out what’s happened in his life to make him so upset.”

“Exactly. Oh man, wouldn’t it be crazy if we just found some porn mags or something? Retro to the max, but I can totally see him as the kind of guy to lug something like that along. Unless it’s of Akira.” She makes a face. “Ew. Funny thought is no longer funny.”

“Karma, if you will.”

“Shut it. Oh ho ho, what do we have here?”

“You found something?”

“It’s some fancy looking letter.” Futaba flops herself on the ground. She clears her throat. “'Sakamoto Ryuji. This letter is to inform you that…'” she stops all of a sudden.

“Futaba?” he probes.

“Um,” she blinks, and laughs nervously. “Um?”

He reaches over, and she doesn’t resist when it slips out of her hands. Skimming through the letter, only his eyes dare to move. When he finishes, he lets out a breath. “Oh no.”

“We shouldn't've read that,” she whispers, a perfect summation of what he was feeling. “We really should not have read that.”

—

There’s something to be said about the quayside in Sendai, in the way that it’s almost exactly like Tokyo.

Sure, the buildings here are definitely shorter—gone are the towering structures back home, and instead they’re replaced with shorter structures with cute local designs and colorful patio restaurants. The people here are different, too. Maybe it’s something to do with the water here, in how it’s cleaner and how you can actually see some fish down in the canals if you know where to look. Don’t even get him started in the air; jeez, do they infuse the oxygen here with something? He hasn’t stopped taking deep breaths ever since they got here.

But despite all of those discrepancies, the feeling of Akira’s hand in his is just like being home.

“And it’s actually really interesting,” he hears vaguely. “Because back in Leblanc, there used to be a couple issues about the temperature and stuff, but in my hometown there’s…Ryuji? Are you even listening to me?“

Akira’s telling him something. A story about Morgana? And Ryuji’s sure it’s very interesting, but he’s too focused on the way that sunlight hits his cheekbones.

“I’m listening,” he lies. “Keep going. This is just my listening face, I promise.”

“Sure, sure,” Akira agrees easily. “That’s just your listening face, rather than me and my wicked good looks, right? I totally believe you.” He wiggles his fingers. “Give.”

Ryuji offers him the caramel ice cream cone in his other hand, letting him bite into it like some kind of psychopath. “Done?” he asks, shifting the tote bag tucked into the crook of his elbow, careful not to rattle the eggs inside. Akira bravely offered to carry the groceries, but he had obviously refused.

“Mmm. That’s good stuff.”

“Right? I read about the ice cream here when I was younger, and they were really hyping it up on the ad.” He takes a lick, grinning when the taste hits his tongue. “And on a summer day like this? Unbeatable. It’s really reminding me of last summer when we hung out everyday in your room eating crap, taking naps, and playing games.” It also helped that hanging out with his crush was a daily thing, he thought.

“And I got to hangout with my crush a lot too, so that’s always a plus,” Akira adds.

Ryuji stops, and Akira turns around to give him a weird look. “What?”

“You get me,” he says in awe.

“I sure hope so,” he tugs him forward, and they continue their walk, their shoes rhythmically landing on the wood in unison. A comfortable silence takes over, but that’s no good. Ryuji wants to hear him talk.

“So imagine you get ten million yen,” he starts. “What do you do with it?”

It’s not the first time he’s asked this. They discuss it often, eagerly like the dreaming boys they both are. Akira considers it and Ryuji loves that about him. It doesn’t matter how stupid his questions are—he will always answer them with as if it were a serious question.

“For starters, Yusuke’s getting a place as soon as possible.”

“Duh,” he snorts. “Apparently, his roommate brought someone back to hook up with them. Poor guy got so traumatized he slept over at Haru’s.”

“We should be glad that he didn’t ask them for poses,” Akira laughs. “Next, I’m making sure that Sojiro has enough for retirement.”

“Obviously. Rest in peace Leblanc—you make fire coffee, but no one’s there to drink it.”

“And then I’m making sure your mom has the funds for retirement for sure.”

“I love you,” he sighs.

“I know.” Akira starts swinging their hands back and forth. “Then with the rest, I’ll buy us some new shoes for when we start training again together, and whatever’s left we can split it up with the rest of the Thieves and they can do what they want with it.”

“I bet Ann would go on a shopping spree in France,” he says.

“Haru would probably donate hers.”

“Makoto’s is going straight into university. I can see her going in to get a Masters with that kind of money.”

Ryuji refuses to let his expression fall. “That’s her. Big bookworm with a capital B.” Stop talking about this, stop talking about this. “How about you, Sophia? Any clue what you’ll do with a boatful of moolah?”

A harmonic beep rings through the air and Akira passes her over to him. “I would invest in cryptocurrency and turn ten million into one hundred million,” she says cheerfully. “Then I would take that hundred million and turn it into one billion yen.”

Ryuji coughs, sliding her into his back pocket. “You know what? That’s my bad. I should’ve expected that, honestly.”

Akira plucks the remainder of their ice cream cone from his hand and throws it in his mouth, munching. Wordlessly, he takes out a pack of wet-wipes from his pockets and hands it to Ryuji.

“Thanks.” Reluctantly dropping his hand, he thoroughly cleans through his sticky fingers. “You didn’t ask me what I was gonna do with my money.”

He nods in a go ahead way.

“After I give most of it to my mom, I was just gonna give the rest to you.” Ryuji kicks a stray pebble. It skirts off the edge of the boardwalk. There’s a tug on his arm. “Yeah?”

Akira covers his mouth with a hand, before making an incomprehensible garble of noise.

“Huh? My bad, I didn’t catch that.”

A few seconds of vigorous chewing, he swallows. “I said,” Akira says, eyes glimmering the way it does when he gets really excited. “I was going to do the exact same thing.”

“Dude!” Ryuji throws his arm around his shoulders, tugging him in close. “You understand me like no one else does. What the eff!”

“I’m glad,” he says softly. Wrapping his arm around him, Ryuji blinks at the unexpected hug. “It’s nice that we're on the same wavelength.”

Suspicion tingles across Ryuji’s skin. “Hold up.” Pulling away, he squints his eyes at him. “No.”

Akira immediately looks to the side. “What?” he says, defensive. “It’s nothing.”

“No freaking way.”

“I think I saw a cool arcade back there, it has cool prizes that I think you’d like, and—“

“Kurusu Akira,” he says sternly, grabbing his face between his hands. “Don’t tell me that you’re jealous.”

“I’m not!” he insists, pushing his glasses higher on his nose. “I’m not, you know I’m not that type of guy.”

“But?” Ryuji prompts.

“But…” he hesitates. “I’d be happy for you, if you find that it’s easier to talk to other people that aren’t me.” Akira straightens up, pulling out of Ryuji’s grasp but inspects his hand like it were something to be studied. How strange it was to see his long, elegant fingers grasp his brutish, blistered ones. “I’m relieved that I didn’t leave you alone. I just...miss being your go-to, I think.”

“Akira.” He says slowly. “My man. The love of my fucking life. You are never not gonna be my go-to. You’re my go-one.” Rapping his knuckles against Akira’s temple carefully, “Your hometown is messing with you up here, making you say weird shit like that.”

“I know, I know.” Running his index finger down his wrist, Ryuji can feel how cold he is. “You knew what you were getting into when you started dating an overthinker.”

“As a chronic underthinker, no, I did not.” He kisses Akira’s palm. “But it works out, so it’s all good.”

Turning them both around, Ryuji starts walking. “I know this is super duper impossible for a guy like you, but I’m gonna have to ask you for a favor.”

“Anything.”

“You have got, to the best of your ability,” he bumps into Akira’s shoulder. “Stop stressing out.”

He frowns. “It’s my job to stress out.”

“It’s our job to stress out,” he corrects. “You and me. Founding Thieves. We share the burden, bro. We got into this together, we’re getting out of it together. That includes you worrying about our relationship outside the ‘Verse, and extend it all the way to what dingy hometown you took the bullet train from.”

“I’ll try,” he says doubtfully. “You’re kind of enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“What do you mean? No way I can enjoy the most perfect person on the planet be a little jealous over his boyfriend getting attention, what kind of asshole would I be?” And before Akira can say anything, “I know, not jealous, but I’ll take what I can get.”

“I love you.”

“I know,” he flashes a peace sign.

“I know you know.” A group of middle schoolers pass them, chattering about nothing and pointing out random things on the quay, all enjoying their summer vacation. “You know that you can tell me anything, right?” he asks suddenly.

Unable to help himself, he ruffles Akira’s hair, pitch black and hot to the touch. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

“I don’t?”

Gray eyes look into his brown ones, earnest and trusting. Just like that, the light feeling in Ryuji’s chest vanishes. “No,” he responds slowly. “You don’t.”

“Good,” Akira nods, and sees where they were heading towards. “Oh, you took that seriously?”

“You bet your crisp ass I did,” he says, pushing the glass door open. The arcade is bright, neon, and littered with claw machines. Add that to the list of similarities from Tokyo. “I don’t fuck around with arcades. I’m in the top hundred players in the Gun Gale in Shinjuku.”

“Was that with Shinya or without?”

“Not important.” He surveys the area. “There it is. Can you grab us some change? I’ll pay you back.”

Akira waves his hand, walking towards the coin machine. “Don’t. What kind of a boyfriend would I be if I let you pay for our dates?”

“A hot one!” he yells. When he turns the corner, Ryuji collapses into a bright red racing chair. “Fuck,” he hisses, heart beating too damn fast for it to be normal. “Chill out, Sakamoto, jesus.”

It only gets worse when a familiar beep rings out. “Ryuji, your heart rate is at 160. Is everything alright?”

“Sophia!” he wheezes out, relieved. “Can you—will—” he stops, scrunching his eyes closed. “I’m having a panic attack, I think.”

“Searching for how to treat panic attacks,” she says immediately, and he sags into the cool plastic gratefully. “Deep breaths will help, slowly to the count of ten.”

His heart is beating so hard that he can barely hear the jingles and the whirrs of the machines around him. “Count out loud. Hurry, before he gets back.”

She does, and he grips the side of the chair as he focuses on breathing. The attack passes by faster than he hoped it would. “Thank god,” he breathes. “Thank you.”

“No prob,” she says, before hesitating. “Akira—”

“Will not know about this,” he cuts her off, rubbing his hand over his face. “I’ll tell him eventually, don’t worry, et cetera. I know all this. Ann’s been hounding me non-freakin’-stop. Just don’t tell him, Soph. Please.”

Before she can say anything, Akira comes back, pockets full of change and that signature small smile resting on his lips.

—

The bright side about missing out on Sapporo’s snow festival is having its tourism as its lowest point when you visit it in the summer.

Even the shopping district just outside Susikino isn’t very crowded; there’s the usual street vendors and shops with bright pastries and cute clothes. But even having it right beside the Sapporo Tower, it’s still nothing uncomfortable. At least, it’s not uncomfortable when you get to observe the environment through a phone lens.

“This is nice, isn’t it? I don’t think I’ve had much of an opportunity to talk to you yet, which is quite rude of me.”

“No prob,” Sophia replies easily. She was swaying from Haru’s neck, hanging by a silicone phone holder that she had bought from a convenience store. Futaba had guffawed when she saw it, but Sophia’s happy about the purchase. It’s fun, and it lets her people watch from the perspective of one of her friends. “I have been meaning to talk to everyone one by one as to better understand each of you.”

“Oh, good! What better use of a nice chat while doing some shopping along the way?” Haru chirps, thumbing through a rack of out-of-season clearance sweaters as they pass. “I have to admit, I’m not the best when it comes to fashion and whatnot. Most of the time, I ask Ann-chan to accompany me.”

“I can try my best! Online websites are constantly updating in order to provide their readers with the newest trends.” Idly, she takes a peek. “Wide-legged pants are back in style.”

“That’s a relief,” she sighs. “I never pulled off skinny jeans too well. Long, flowy skirts have always been my thing. It just gives off such a nice aesthetic, doesn’t it?”

Sophia smiles. “I think you’d look good in anything. Have you considered going punk? You’d look very dope and intimidating with a black streak in your hair and a leather jacket.”

“Now that I can agree with, but that’s more Mako-chan’s style, I’m afraid.” She pauses. “Actually, I bet Mako-chan would actually like that. Sometimes I feel as though she isn’t willing to branch out of her circle of clothes past a pair of Oxfords and a deep-coloured sweater. A push might be what she needs.”

She considers this. “Is it possible to buy clothes for her? That can be a possible ‘push’, quote unquote.”

“Hmm, I don’t think so. She would never let us do such a thing.”

“One moment.” Pulling out a few files from inside her memory storage, she clears her throat. “According to my data analysis, Niijima Makoto has high difficulty straying away from well-mannered behaviours. Do you think that includes saying no to gifts given to her? That can be advantageous.”

Haru stops walking and pulls the phone up so that they’re at eye-level. “Sophia-chan,” she beams. “I have a feeling we’re going to be very good friends.”

They continue walking down the street when Haru gasps suddenly. “You literally can’t shop, can you?”

“Of course I can. I can get anything in the world for you,” she says proudly. “Anything.”

“Alright, we’ll have to test that later, but I mean you can’t use what you buy,” she frowns, eyes troubled. “Your sweater is adorable, but you’re forced to wear it everyday, right? Can you even do your hair differently? Is it possible for you to pin it, or even let it down?”

Sophia finds it endearing that she would let such a thing bother her. She doesn’t even have a social insurance number, but Haru’s worried about hair clips. “No, but I quite like it the way it is. It doesn’t get in the way when I do my work, and in the Metaverse, it gets completely hidden as to let me do my fighting,” she explains, karate chopping in her screen. “But I can understand the human desire for change.”

“Would you like that?” Haru asks gently. “To change? Um, change out of your clothes, and change mentally. Either one.”

“Change mentally, of course! I’d love to understand my friends better and understand how to help them. It’s a vast mountain of knowledge, but I’d want nothing more than to decode the mystery of the human heart,” she says eagerly. “But for clothes...I’m not sure. I haven’t tried it. I’m pretty sure I can’t try it.”

“That settles it,” Haru looks both ways before crossing the street, jogging slightly.

Sophia perks up. “If you’re heading somewhere specific, I can give you directions.”

“No need.” She has an intense, hungry look on her face, not unlike the one she had when the new axe Akira bought had finally arrived at their RV. “We’re just about here.”

They stop in front of a store, and she can barely read the sign from the phone’s angle. “‘Case in Point’?”

Haru pushes the glass door open, greeting the cashier. “It’s a phone modifier shop.”

There’s no effort to explain anything else, but Sophia can confidently add ‘anticipation’ onto her growing list of experienced feelings.

—

“Out of curiosity—” Haru begins as they exit the modifier store, the cashier still bug-eyed from the tip she had left at his counter. “Can you see everything inside Akira-kun’s phone?”

“Yes,” she replies. The environment that she lives in, and more specifically, Akira’s phone, is now a bright, perfectly polished shade of rose gold with a mint outline. A far cry from the matte black that it was before. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason.” Her voice is sweet as sugar. “Out of curiosity once again, is there anything interesting? Anything worth noting?”

She jumps as Sophia’s voice suddenly morphs into Akira’s without warning. “Nice try,” the phone plays. “But no.”

And just as quick, Sophia comes back to the phone. “Sorry about leaving,” she says. “Akira had asked me to play that clip if someone ever, and I quote, ‘tried me.’”

Haru giggles. “Just like Akira-kun to be so thorough. Impressive as always, leader.” She peers down at her watch. “I suppose it’s about time to head back, isn’t it?”

“We still have eight minutes to spare.”

“We do. Perhaps we should take a stroll around the park?”

“Cool,” she says. “Wanna ask Futaba and Yusuke if they want to come with?”

“Sure?” Haru blinks. “That’s very specific.”

“On your two o’clock,” she points out. “In front of the book store.”

They watch as Futaba and Yusuke stand across the street from them. Futaba is aggressively pointing her finger at the books on display, then slapping her fist against her palm like she was devising a war strategy. Yusuke shakes his head wildly, comically putting his hands in his pockets and revealing that there was nothing inside. She sighs and walks away, tugging along a dejected boy behind her.

“Aren’t you going to ask them?”

“In a moment.” Haru takes them to the front of the store. “This isn’t a bookstore, I don’t think. What’s it called Sophia?”

After a quick search: “‘Sapporo’s School Supply Store’,” she says. “The alliteration makes it fun to say.”

“Indeed it does.” Peering into the store, Haru makes an introspective noise. “Now isn’t this interesting?” she hums. “Do you mind if I make one more purchase?”

“Not at all,” Sophia says, thrilled to add another point she had learned: If Haru wants something, there’s nothing that will get in her way.

—

“So,” Makoto starts, and Ryuji has to hold back a groan. He knows that tone. He’s memorized that tone. All the second years can feel her tone from a mile away. Hell, Ann probably took an instinctive step back just now. “Have you started to think about university?”

“Nope,” he says, wiping the sweat off his brow as they jog around the corner of Odori park. Back before he had left for his hometown, Akira and Ryuji would be up at dawn to train. Lately though, he’s been using any free time he has that isn’t planning for, prepping for, or actively doing a Jail run to sleep in the RV. And hey, he has no beef with Makoto, and it’s not like she can’t keep up with his training (she can most definitely kick his ass in hand-to hand), but she has a tendency to push when it comes to this sort of stuff. “Not a single thought towards it. It’s been pretty good, actually.”

“I can tell,” she agrees. “It’s almost like you blocked my number.”

“I did not!”

“So you actively choose not to answer any of my texts?”

“Ugh, don’t set me up like that,” he winces. “You know I’m stupid enough to fall for shit like that everytime.”

“Hold on.”

Ryuji grunts as he feels a hold on his shirt, forcing him to stop. “Ew, don’t touch my back, it’s Nigeria there.”

“First of all, it’s Niagara.” She spins him around. He’s only a little taller than her, but something about her always seems to tower over him. “Second, do you know why I keep pushing all of you to go to university?”

“Because you hate us?” he mumbles.

Makoto glares at him. “Try again.”

“...Because you don’t hate us?”

“Because I don’t hate you,” she repeats. “You’re all rowdy and wild and sometimes I don’t understand the jokes you make—”

“You’re just mad ‘cause you fell for a deez nuts joke.”

“But I do, inexplicably, love all of you,” she pushes on, and that shuts him up. “I know what you’re all capable of. Amazing things! I understand you all believe that I’m the be-all end-all, and I appreciate your compliments, but there are some things that only Ann can do, or Akira, or Yusuke.”

Makoto continues running, and he reluctantly follows suit. “And you. You can achieve things that I can’t even dream of, Ryuji.”

He resists the urge to yawn. “Thanks for the pep talk, Niijima.” Looking left, the gelato is looking real good. “Wanna get something to eat? I’m starving.”

“You aren’t very good at hiding secrets, Ryuji.”

Now that grabbed his attention. “Whoa, whoa, whoa there, prez!” Speeding past her, he holds out a hand to make her stop. “What do you mean by that?”

She raises a brow. “Nothing in particular, but your reaction is showing me that I should have meant something by it.”

He gnaws on the inside of his cheek roughly. “Okay, but why did that come into your brain? Why do you think I have some kinda secret?”

“I live with a prosecutor everyday of my life, of course I know when something’s afoot.” Pushing her hair back, she squints up at him. “You’ve been more...jumpy lately, yet somehow more laid-back than usual. I wanted to talk to Akira about this—”

Blood pours into his mouth when he accidentally bites too hard. “You talked to Akira?!” he half yells, red dribbling from the corner of his lips.

“Oh my god!”

“Fuck,” he clamps a hand over his mouth. “Sorry. Bit too hard.”

“N-no! Don’t apologize!” she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a napkin, pulling him to a stone ledge. “Sit and take this so you don’t bleed all over yourself. I’ll be back.”

He doesn’t bother speaking, only nods as she turns around. When she comes back, she’s holding a water bottle. “Here.”

Taking it gratefully, he takes deep gulps before spitting it out. “Why the hell does this taste like the beach?” he splutters.

“I didn’t say to drink it! It’s salt water to get rid of infections!”

“Why would you do that to me?!”

“Because I thought you knew to do that from the second-year health class!” she shoots back. “Gargle it and spit. Near the gutter, mind you, it’s rude to spit in front of kids. They might get the wrong idea.”

As if kids are gonna see him and think that there’s something worth remembering. He sips, sloshing it around his mouth before gently letting it dribble into the grated sewer. “Blegh.”

“You’re welcome. Keep at it. And while you’re doing that,” she sits next to him, shoulder to shoulder. “Do you want to tell me what’s been making you anxious?”

He pauses. “Anxious?”

Makoto gives him a stern look. “‘Experiencing worry, unease, or nervousness, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.’ It was covered in your midterm.”

“Ah, right,” he mutters. Gripping the fabric of his shirt, his heart is beating too quick for it to be normal. Then again, when was the last time it wasn't? “You think I’m anxious?”

“I’m not sure. Keep gurgling,” Makoto chides.

He does, the salt water still red whenever he spat, and she continues. “All I know is when my anxiety gets really bad, I chew on my lip. Sae used to chide me when we were younger, but you know, she got busy,” she shrugs, as if he didn’t know how much it pained her to lose her only family member to a career of protecting the wrong people. “When I mentioned it to Akira, he took it upon himself to check up on me regularly during exam weeks.”

To prove her point, she takes her lower lip and flips it out for him to see—white teeth marks, but old scars instead of anything fresh. Letting go, her expression is smug. “He hasn’t felt the need to check in for a while now.”

Spitting, water finally running clear, he grins. “Good for you. I’m glad to hear that, dude.”

“Thank you, but that wasn’t the point. My point was that I was only able to get better because I told someone about it. Someone I trusted.” Makoto turns to him, her gaze serious. “I know that’s what Akira is to you. Habits like these are harmless at first, but they can turn into something else more dangerous. I won’t stand for that. My own justice won’t stand for that.”

Ryuji opens his mouth, before closing it. I’ll tell Akira, he wants to say. How many times does he have to repeat that line before he starts believing it himself? “Okay,” he says, because it’s the only thing he can say without hating himself even more.

“Okay.” She pats his knee before standing. “I can get us some gelato.” She stretches, wincing as her joints crack into place. “If you’re feeling up to it, start your cool down. Unless you wanna keep training?”

“I’m good. Felt enough blood rush for the day.”

She goes to the ice cream stand, and he stares up at the blue sky.

Makoto’s right, because of fucking course she is. She’s right, he knows she’s right. But she doesn’t get it. To her, Akira’s a friend. A guy who helped her out and changed her life, yeah. If he hadn’t met her when she did, maybe she would’ve become a scummy adult who didn’t look up from market pricing and hedge funds.

But Ryuji? Ryuji would be dead without Akira. That’s a fact and a half.

To Makoto, Akira’s a friend. To Ryuji, he’s Akira, and you can’t be on a higher pedestal in his mind than that.

—

It was Yusuke who took the first step.

“Ann,” he greets cordially. “How do you do?”

She gives him a weird look. “Kinda trying to focus here,” she says, gesturing at the scene in front of them. They, Morgana, and Sophia were in the B team as they watched the rest of them try and get rid of the remaining Shadows in Mariko’s Jail, tersely attentive and waiting on Joker’s word in case they needed a last minute switch. The Jail was environmentally brutal; the ice underneath the soles of their shoes makes them skid more often than they’d like. It almost makes the fights seem quicker, one notch faster than usual.

Yusuke pays her dismissal no mind. “I, myself, am learning many new things lately. Can the same be said about you?”

In the corner of his eye, Futaba pauses typing on her laptop to face palm.

“Are you...” Ann says after a brief pause. “Is this a threat? Are you threatening me?”

“No—”

“Panther!” Akira’s clear voice rings out.

Ann dashes forward without question, high-fiving Morgana as they trade spots.

Futaba marches forward, glaring at Yusuke like he was crazy. “You dolt!” she hisses. “What was that supposed to be? I said be slick and cool, not act like a fool!”

“While I admire the rhyme scheme, I don’t understand what you want from me. That was as ‘slick and cool’ as I’m capable of,” he furrows his brow. “I even opened with a question that seemed as though the conversation would be a normal one, but then used that to transition into what I actually wanted to discuss.”

“Stop looking so proud of yourself and—”

“Fox!”

“Back in a moment,” he says before he’s gone, Makoto taking his place, leather uniform still smoldering from when she took a fire move head-on.

“What was that about?” Haru asks, swinging her axe like a picnic basket.

“Nothing, Noir,” Futaba sighs, plopping back into place where Ann had stood. Carmen had kindly left a warm patch of concrete in her wake. “Just Inari became a big ole’ dumb-dumb.”

“I see,” she hums. “So this has nothing to do with what you two have been conspiring about lately?”

Her eyes shot wide open. “Con...conspiring?” she stutters out. “What do you mean by—”

A particularly loud scream rips into the air, and everyone turns their heads to see Captain Kidd slam his hook into the ground, purple arms erupting from the snow and wiping out a huge chunk of Shadows all in one go.

“Hot damn,” Futaba says, directing her focus back to her laptop and making sure Ryuji has enough health to keep going.

“He’s strong,” Haru observes, all playfulness gone.

“Too strong.” After Futaba gives everyone on the main team a good amount of health, something on her screen makes her pause. “Huh…?”

“Noir.”

Haru turns around to see Makoto waiting for her. “I need to discuss something with you.”

“Of course,” she steps closer to her and drops her voice. “Is everything alright?”

“I’d bring this up with Joker, but I don’t want to bother him if I’m not sure if there’s anything wrong yet,” Makoto pushes her mask up. “But have you noticed Skull's been acting strange lately?”

“Mona!”

He swaps with Ann, her pigtails covered in snow. “Ugh,” she grimaces as she shakes it out. “I could try and melt it, but it’ll just drip down my back and freeze later on, and I do not want that.”

“Panther, I’d like your input as well, if you don’t mind,” Makoto says.

“Sure. What’s up?”

“I was just talking to Noir about this, but did you notice anything strange about the way Skull’s acting lately?”

Ann takes a step back. “Well, what—No—I mean, that’s your opinion, I think!” she exclaims. “To me, Skull's acting is completely normal. He’s normal—actually, scratch that, he’s better than usual. Nothing about him is wrong, I think, and that’s pretty outstanding and impressive once you consider that he’s the one with the life-long injury. Not that that has to do with anything!” Ann yells. “I just wanted to point out how far he’s come, and how much he’s kicking ass right now. Actually,” her voice shifts to a stage whisper. “Don’t mention this because I don’t wanna cause drama, but Fox has been a little weird.”

“Weird how?” Makoto whispers back, looking extremely lost.

“Just earlier, he asked me how I was.”

“...I’m not following.”

“No, Panther-chan has a point,” Haru breaks in. “I can’t say for certain, but I have a strong feeling that Fox and—” she points at Futaba conspicuously. “Are up to something.”

“Sophie and Fox?” Ann breathes.

“Panther!”

“Damn, again? That’s what we get for going into an ice Jail,” she grumbles, swapping with Yusuke.

Haru sighs. “Panther-chan isn’t the best with context clues, is she?”

“Hello ladies,” Yusuke greets. “What were we discussing?”

Makoto gives him a suspicious look. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

His jaw drops, bewildered, but before he can say anything, Futaba waves him over. “Get your fox butt over here!”

“I...Alright,” he says, resigned.

“Look at them,” Makoto nods at the pair. “I think you’re onto something.”

“I think so too, but I don’t want to be too hasty. After all, the two of them are such good friends now; it would be unfair to assume negative outcomes without evidence, or at least confront them first,” Haru says nonchalantly.

She understands immediately. “You have evidence?”

“Something of the sort.”

“Noir!”

“Duty calls,” she gives her a thumbs up, before Ann comes back once again.

“I can’t wait for us to go to a really hot place again,” she kicks the snow with her heels. “Then I’ll be comfortably in the B team because all the Shadows have fire resistance to the max.”

“Oh good, she’s back,” Yusuke’s expression is one of relief.

“Fox—” Futaba warns without looking up from her laptop.

“Come here. There is something we would like to discuss with you.” Whether or not it was intentional, he rests his hand on the handle of his katana.

“Okay but before we start, I just wanna ask—what are you doing with Sophie?” Ann accuses. “It’s fine to be friends with her, but you have to be careful. She’s really susceptible to what we say right now, and if you try anything funny—”

“What are you even saying?” he says, offended. “I barely even talk to her!”

They all glance at Sophia, who had been standing perfectly still and silent. She gives them a wave. They all awkwardly wave back.

Makoto places a hand on Ann’s shoulder. “Panther, Noir meant Fox and Oracle.” Ann flushes red as she continues. “And while we’re all here, I wanted to bring this up with you as well. Have you all noticed something strange with Skull?” Futaba stops typing. “I’m not sure how to explain it, but I think he’s extremely anxious about something. You all know that I’m an overthinker, so I might have the wrong idea but…” she trails off.

Futaba glances at Yusuke. Yusuke glances at Ann. Ann helplessly glances at Ryuji, still fighting alongside Akira and the others.

“I know nobody asked me,” they all jump a foot in the air when Sophia speaks beside them. “But I can at least confirm for suresies that there is something strange with Skull.”

“Which is…?” Makoto prods.

“I don’t know the specifics.” Ann, Yusuke, and Futaba let out a breath. “But he did have a panic attack recently.”

“I knew it!” Makoto snaps her fingers. “He’s had signs of being anxious, but I wasn’t too sure about it.”

“Queen!”

She runs out, and Ryuji comes in, looking exhausted but pleased. “Hey y’all, what were we talking about?”

It was dead silent before Sophia steps forward. “Look what I can do!” she exclaims, changing the expression on her screen to be an emoji with a flower.

“Whoa!” His eyes bug out, and they all sigh in relief. “That’s awesome! Can you do more?”

“That’s super cool Sophie, but,” Futaba looks at Ryuji, skeptical. “Don’t you feel weak right now? Your health is way down.”

“Oh, I didn’t even notice,” he rubs the back of his neck. “Sophie, you mind?”

“Not at all.” She calls for Pithos and green sparkles fall on him. “Better?”

“Thanks, I owe you one.”

“Skull!”

“When the king calls, his knight answers,” he salutes, sprinting out as Makoto comes back in.

“So,” she glares at the rest of them. “What do the rest of you know?”

Ann groans. “Even if I did know something, I probably wouldn’t be able to tell you.”

“Wait,” Futaba points an accusing finger at her. “What do you know?”

“What do I know? What do you know? And for that matter, what does he,” Ann points at Yusuke. “Know? Noir said you guys are doing secret stuff together!”

“That’s preposterous,” he scoffs. “If it was secret, she wouldn’t have known.”

“That’s the dumbest argument I’ve ever heard.”

“How is it dumb?” he asks. “You can’t possibly think that just because Futaba and I are doing ‘secret stuff’ that it has anything to do with Skull’s situation!”

There was a pause. “Are those two connected?” Sophia asks. Futaba buries her face in her hands.

“That was...not the question I expected,” Yusuke answers weakly.

“Sophie!”

“God, I wish Joker would call for Inari instead,” Futaba groans.

Rushing out, Sophia high-fives Ryuji on the way. “Guess who’s back, motherfuckers?”

In an effort to bury their conversation, they all begin cheering overenthusiastically, Yusuke clapping politely. Bewildered, Ryuji instinctively gives them a thumbs up. “Thanks guys. Usually, my jokes don’t really land, but that made me real happy.”

“Uh, Skull,” Futaba raises an eyebrow. “How do you keep losing health? I didn’t even notice you taking a hit.”

“I’m low again? Damn, I didn’t even notice,” he groans loudly. “Queen, can you—”

“I’m on it.”

Just as Johanna heals him, Akira calls out once again: “Skull!”

“Joker really does rely on you, doesn’t he?” Yusuke observes.

Ryuji laughs. If they didn’t know any better, they would think it sounded a little nervous. “Well, gotta jet!”

High-fiving Makoto, he runs out. She stares at the remaining members of the B team. “You all know something,” she accuses. “And I understand if you’re all being loyal to him by keeping what you know close to your hearts. But remember this:” she takes a step forward, and they all take an unconscious step back, Futaba scooting from where she sat on the ground. “There comes a point where it’s actually more important to keep a person safe and healthy than to uphold a potentially dangerous secret.”

They all digest her words for a second, and flinch when a flash of blue flame appears, taking Akira’s Persona away.

“Finally.” He stretches his shoulders, satisfied. “That took awhile. Good work everyone, let’s keep going.”

Making their trek deeper into the Jail, Futaba half-jogs, half-speed walks to Ryuji. “Your health again,” she chides. “Seriously. I know I like to play around, but I always have my eye on you guys when you’re fighting. I literally have not seen you take a hit, but you’re getting drained like milk in a sink.”

He shrugs, unperturbed. “Whatever. You see my hits today, though? They were tough.”

“Yeah,” she agrees reluctantly. “But your health is still low. I’ll call Joker about that.”

Before she can turn, he grabs her wrist. “Nope,” he says. “I’ll ask Panther. Thanks though!”

Ryuji goes to Ann, and he can feel everyone’s eyes on him, watching him, surveying his every move.

All eyes except for the one that really matters.

#p5 #p5s #yusuke kitagawa #mine #fic tag #plainly in truth #ryuji sakamoto #akiryu #pegoryu #chapter two! neat #akira kurusu #persona 5

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frostsinth · 3 years

Text

Burdened by the Stars - Pt. 2

Part 1 - MasterList

I am having so much fun writing this story so far. I had a bit of a struggle to figure out how I wanted it to go, but I think I’ve got that down now. And so it’s getting a bit easier. I hope you guys love this part as much as I do, because it has some returning characters.

I’ve already got most of the next chapter written, so I might post it 12/24 or so if I have enough interest and get far enough along to continue to be ahead of myself.

If you like my work, please think about going to BuyMeACoffee (which you can access from my MasterList above or through my header) to support me. If you would like to commission a piece, DM or shoot me an ask for details.

All the best!

We reached the outer walls of the goblin city an hour or two shy of nightfall, and I heard the trumpets announcing our approach as the gates swung wide. I smiled eagerly, and spurred my mount into a graceful canter through the streets of the outer city. The majority was below ground and deep into the mountainside, but since the signing of the Peace Treaty between the Kingdoms somewhere around a dozen years before, the goblins had set up a trade haven here on the surface. During the day, the streets were often bustling, but with night fast approaching and temperatures dropping they had a quiet air of productivity about them now. A mixture of goblins spattered with the occasional human were closing up shop as I rode, and I heard a few happy cries of greeting and murmurs of excitement when they recognized me as I passed them by. My hair billowed and bounced out wildly behind me, and I offered a friendly wave to the merchants and shoppers who greeted me as I left the royal carriage far behind and rode up the slope to the castle proper.

Those gates opened as well without delay, and the echo of my horse’s hooves clattered about the cobblestones. A herald darted from one side doorway, quickly straightening his tunic. He had only half my name out before I passed him, and he gave a tiny puff of air as he realized the pointlessness of his loud announcement of my arrival was overshadowed by the racket of hooves. But news certainly did travel fast here regardless. It had only been maybe ten minutes since I had first crossed the threshold of the outer city, and already someone was waiting for me at the top of the long, shallow steps. I pulled up my mare short before the wide stairs of the main doors at the head of the courtyard, and my smile grew at the familiar figure I saw standing before them with his shoulders squared and his hands clasped behind his pin-straight back.

I called out to him loudly with a cheery greeting, already swinging out of the saddle before my mount had come to a full stop. A few attendants rushed forward, and I passed her reins over with a kind word of thanks to them and a pat to her thick neck.

The second eldest of our family looked down at me with a slightly exasperated expression. It could be hard to tell with him sometimes; like our oldest brother, he tended to conceal most of his emotions beneath a stony façade. Remnants of a childhood with our strict father, I had been told, though I recalled only very little of that time myself. Not to mention that the etiquette of human court still aired towards a more stoic and reserved composure. But I knew both my brothers well enough to read the tiny changes which denoted their thoughts behind their masks. So I already knew King Nikostratus was not particularly pleased to see me on his doorstep that evening even before he spoke.

“Chickadee, what are you doing here?” He exclaimed as I skipped up the steps to him. “Valerianus assured me he would send word ahead for when to expect you.”

Despite the scolding edge to his voice, he enveloped me in a warm hug when I reached him. It had been more than three months since we had last seen each other after all, though of course we wrote to each other regularly. I forgot how much I had missed him myself until I was firmly enveloped in his arms and his familiar scent. I saw his expression had softened a little by the time I pulled back, and he fondly pushed my hair out of my face as he must have done a million times before.

“The roads were perfectly clear, Niko!” I told him, not fighting his fussing over my wild locks. “I don’t know what Val was waiting for, but I got tired of waiting for it.”

“Please tell me you at least informed our brother you were leaving?” He bemoaned, a slight frown pinching at his brow. I gave him a tiny, sheepish grin, and he sighed heavily in defeat. Gesturing over an attendant. “Morgana, you cannot just ride back and forth across the countryside whenever you very well feel like it. You are a Princess for goodness sakes. It’s dangerous!”

“But Niko-!”

“Auntie Gana!” Came a shouting chorus of gleeful voices from behind my brother in the castle, interrupting his reprimanding and my planned defense.

I dropped to one knee with a returning grin as two of my nephews and one of my nieces sprinted into my arms. They very nearly knocked me over with their combined weight, and I laughed as I fell back onto my bottom.

“My goodness!” I gasped. “Look at how you’ve all grown! Izaak, is that you?? I can barely recognize you! And Lorette! You’ve grown your hair so long!”

I scooped up their youngest, Viktor, into my arms as his remained stubbornly latched around my neck. The other two let me unwrap them so I could stand once more, but clung to my legs and tunic excitedly. I vaguely overheard my brother giving instructions to the attendant to send word to Val about my surprise but safe arrival. I placed a hand on Izaak’s head, scruffing the eleven year old’s hair. He pushed my hand away with a soft yelp and a fussing word before quickly working to smooth out the messy blonde curls as best he could. Lorette tugged on my shirt.

“Auntie Gana, are you here for the rest of winter now?” She asked eagerly.

I looked up at Niko, raising one eyebrow pointedly. I heard the creak of the carriage arriving in the courtyard, followed by the click of its doors as my Ladies emerged from within. My brother looked over at it, then gave another heavy sigh, shaking his head.

“Honestly, chickadee, I should send you straight back.” He told me, but belittled his words by turning and leading the way into the castle proper. “This behavior is absolutely unacceptable and-”

“Ah, I thought I heard the trumpets! And look who’s come to call!” Came a cheery voice, interrupting us for a second time. We turned as a group to face the goblin King as he strode down the hall with an excited skip in his step. “Finally! I thought our little bird might just end up staying south for the winter this year!”

Viktor wriggled to be released at the sight of his father, squealing with delight. I put the four year old on the ground to sprint over to the King next, who scooped him back up with a small touch of difficulty. Even at four, the little human boy was starting to outgrow his tiny 5’2 foot goblin parent. But if the weight bothered him, the goblin King didn’t let it show, sauntering over with a toothy grin and his son perched on one hip.

“Grier, thank goodness,” I greeted him, giving my brother’s husband a warm and grateful smile of relief, “Just in time to talk some sense into Niko! He wants to send me back!”

“Send her back??” Exclaimed Grier, his brow shooting up as he looked over at Niko. “Whatever for?? She just got here!”

His voice was full of his usual vibrant lightness, and it echoed about the large hallway around us. I felt like I was floating on air at its sound. I loved the vibrancy of the goblin kingdom, especially compared to the solemn human court of Geriveria, and that vivacity was in no small part due to its monarchs. It always made me feel so happy to see both of them, though it might be hard to see how they were compatible at all at first glance. Where my brother was soft spoken, stoic, and as unreadable as stone, his husband was everything the opposite. Grier was flamboyant, loud, and wore his emotions on his sleeves for everyone to see. While Niko wore dark solid coats with sensible black or grey pants and subdued gold buttons, Grier wore loud prints, usually several of them at once, with strange cuts, frills, and styles. His long blonde hair was absolutely wild in contrast to Niko’s short cropped black. He wore bangles and bobbles and earrings, where the most my brother ever wore was a decorative belt or a ceremonial sword at his hip. One would be hard pressed to find a more unalike pair of men. But one would be equally hard pressed to find a pair that somehow worked as well together as they did. Or made each other half as happy.

Niko gave Grier a look which equaled the same level of exasperation he had given me just a few moments prior. “She snuck out of the castle, again,” he told him, his voice as level and smooth as always but hinting at his frustration around the edges, “She didn’t inform King Valerianus she was leaving. And she didn’t send word ahead.” His hazel eyes shot back to me, narrowing slightly. “What if something had happened to her on the road? We would never have known until it was far too late.”

I took the scolding with a slightly bowed head, biting my tongue, and even Izaak and Lorette hid behind my legs with the sternness of my brother’s voice. Perhaps out of sympathy; I was sure they had heard that tone more than once themselves. It had the quality of making one feel not fearful of punishment, but instead horribly guilty for their actions. And longing to correct whatever disappointment one had inadvertently fostered. I rested a hand on each of their heads reassuringly.

Grier, however, seemed unaffected by the tone, and waved his free hand with a loud scoff that echoed about the stone hall. “Nonsense! She’s here safe now, and that’s all that matters, isn’t it?” He nudged his husband with his elbow. “Let the girl be, Nikostratus. I’m sure she’s learned her lesson and won’t ever scare you like that again.” His scarlet eyes flicked to me, and his slender brows raised high. “Right, little bird? Certainly your brothers have enough to worry about?”

I nodded solemnly, silently thankful for his intervention. Otherwise the lecture might have continued all night. “Yes, you’re right.” I glanced over at Niko. “I’m sorry, Niko, I didn’t mean to scare you. I promise I won’t do it again.”

“See there? No harm done.” Grier shifted his grip on Viktor, cocking one brow at Nikostratus. “What do you think then?”

My brother gave another long, deep sigh, shaking his head. He considered the goblin for a moment, then I saw his hazel eyes flick down to the children at my knees. I saw the sternness lift from his features again, and Izaak released my leg to move over and stand at his side with a shy smile.

“I suppose I am outnumbered.” He mused, sounding almost indifferent to the fact as he tenderly smoothed Izaak’s hair behind one ear. But then lifted a scolding finger to point at me. “Just this once, I’ll let it go. But never again, chickadee.” He warned.

Grier was already grinning wide before I could offer a response. “Excellent! I’m so happy that’s settled!” He turned to me. “You are just in time for dinner! Would you like to go to your rooms to wash up before? You’ll have to forgive the state of them, we didn’t have a chance to have them fully prepared for your arrival.” He gave a friendly wave to Safa and Lisbet over my shoulder. “I’m sure your Ladies might be able to help to that end, and would remember where everything is should you require aid.”

I smiled back at him. “I should change at the very least. I probably stink of horse.”

That made the goblin laugh, and he hoisted his youngest over one shoulder so that he squealed with delight as well. “You can’t be any worse than these little beasties of ours!”

His words had Izaak and Lorette giggling as well.

“Inunu! I took a bath today! I don’t stink at all!” Lorette proclaimed, going over to wrap herself around his leg. “Izaak is the smelly one! Boys are always smelly!”

“I am not!” He whined angrily, stamping one little foot at his sister. “I take a bath everyday! Right, papa?”

“I know you do, Izaak. You smell wonderful, of course.” Niko reassured him, gently tucking his fingers under his little pointed chin briefly.

“Where are all the rest of the little beasties then?” I asked, looking around as we made our way down the main hall. “Or perhaps I should just follow my nose?”

“Oh, they’re around here somewhere, getting into mischief I am sure.” Grier replied, waving his hand about errantly as his present children burst into a fresh set of giggles at my teasing. “They’ll be down for dinner, gods know they are always hungry.”

“Chickadee,” my brother began as the two older children sprinted off down the hallway ahead of us, bickering amid themselves, “What made you leave without telling Valerianus? That’s not like you, and you know he worries-”

I groaned, shaking my head. “Come on, Niko.” I grumbled, surprised to find myself quite irritated at his prying. “I’ve only been here two minutes! Can’t the nosy brother act wait until later? I’ve got to go get washed up for dinner.”

He looked slightly appalled by my words. “But-”

“I’m here all winter,” I reminded him before he could finish, hopefully curtailing the conversation successfully again, “We’ll have plenty of time to catch up. Right now, I want to go get out of these clothes. Plus I’m famished! And I still haven’t seen Corwin and the twins yet!”

I saw him open his mouth to speak again, and darted over before he could. Springing to the tips of my toes and wrapping my arms around him for a quick hug. His response sputtered on his lips, and I used the opportunity to dart away, my Ladies trailing as fast as they could behind me, hiding their own giggles behind gloved hands. His words had struck a chord of guilt in me that had nothing to do with how I had left without telling Valerianus, and my Ladies’ giggles had me flushing a little darker... I certainly did not want to remember the strange visitor that had driven me out of Geriveria’s castle. But couldn’t help lingering on the thought of him, as he had come unbidden to my thoughts anyways… I wondered if he had anyone to worry about him…

“Was she always this difficult?” I heard my brother mumble softly as I made my way to the nearest stairwell to head to my tower rooms. “I swear, I don’t remember having this much trouble with her when she was little.”

“She’s always been trouble.” I heard Grier chuckle quietly in response. “But she’s all grown up now, Nikostratus. You can’t keep her a little girl forever.”

Another sigh. “... Perhaps if you cast that time spell on her...”

The goblin King’s laughter followed us the rest of the way up the stairs.

...

I sighed deeply, kicking about the powdery snow with my boots as I trudged over to set up my targets by the riverbed again. The forests were quiet this time of year, and a lingering storm from the night before crunched fresh snow underfoot as I moved. I didn’t bother to walk with a lighter step; it didn’t matter. I wasn’t far enough away from the outer castle wall to be in danger, nor was I trying to be particularly stealthy to hide from the old bottles I had brought along for target practice. I didn’t suppose they would much care if I were upwind or down. The forests surrounding the castle were at a high enough altitude that they were mostly inaccessible to anyone coming from beyond the kingdom borders, though it ran alongside the main road in places. I could be alone, but wouldn’t run into any patrols. And was close enough to return with haste should I hear the distinctive alarm bells that signified my absence had been noticed.

Not that it should be today, though perhaps Safa and Lisbet would be looking for me at the castle. I had given them and everyone else the slip that morning when I had left without a word. Tired of their prying and longing for some time alone. I doubted they would spend much time looking for me; I had long outgrown any need for chaperones or nursemaids. Their positions as my Ladies were mostly ceremonial. Occasionally they would help me dress (for my more elaborate and highly disdained ensembles) and they made sure my chambers were kept neat. Otherwise, their only other responsibility was keeping me company. As of late I had pushed for them to take more time for themselves, and they had reluctantly agreed. Giving me long afternoons or sometimes almost full days to myself. They would likely think today no different.

As I collected the bottles and set them back on the fallen tree, I couldn’t help my thoughts wandering again. As they had frequently over the past few days since my arrival at the goblin castle. And Niko’s pestering desire to speak to me had not made my stay any easier. Luckily, he was King after all, and his Royal duties kept him pretty busy. Add that to the overall huge size of the castle, and it was pretty easy to avoid him. Especially as he had quite the knack for getting very lost in its halls without a proper guide. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how he had managed to call the castle his home for the last decade and still not know how to get from the dining hall to his own bedroom without getting lost. But as it was to my advantage this time, I decided to take it as a blessing.

It was my only blessing at the moment, as it seemed my conscience was weighing rather heavily on me. Every time I had even a breath without something to occupy it, my mind raced to the thought of the strange half-orc I had met in the palace gardens of Geriveria. The sky was as dark as my thoughts as I fretted and worried over him. Was he alright? Had I sent him to his death? Certainly, the trek to the crags of Almayit was not an easy one in fair weather, let alone in the deep of winter. Or so I had been told. And the forests of Pyejara? I had read such stories of the beasts that lurked there. I shivered, both against the chill that had descended upon the world with a vengeance for the mild weather days that had preceded it, and for the thought of that fool orc lost somewhere, perhaps in the rocky outcropping. My mind supplied ample visions of misfortune for the poor fellow, to which my stubbornness gave offhanded replies that only left me feeling a little guiltier. His shoulders were bare, and it’s been so cold! Well, then he should have worn a cloak. The footing there is hazardous, what if he twists his ankle out there all alone? Then he shouldn’t have gone alone. I did warn him it was a dangerous place. If he got hurt or lost, it was his own fool fault! Especially for having taken the word of a woman he had just met, after all!

Still, I couldn’t help my thoughts wandering to him, even now as I set my targets and stared at the icy cold water of the small riverbed. I wished perhaps I hadn’t been quite so impulsive and brash. Surely there were other ways to rid myself of a pesky suitor, orc or otherwise. I could have simply told him the truth; that there was no way in hell I was getting married. That was not the path for me, nor had it ever even remotely interested me. I had never fawned over fairytales of true love, or imagined myself a Queen of anywhere. I didn’t want to be some polished princess set on a sparkling throne and no more useful than a flower painted on a wall. I didn’t want to be seen as a reward, or a trophy wife. And I certainly didn’t want to stay in one place for the rest of my life. It may have been a perfect and happy ideal for my brothers, but I had loftier goals for myself.

I paused, thumbing the bowstring thoughtfully. I welcomed the change as my thoughts shifted to wondering how much longer I would have to wait for my own adventure to start. I had spent my life reading about them, or prying them from travelers and merchants. How did one start these things anyways? In the stories, there was always a catalyst. Something that came along to change the main character’s routine. I wondered what mine would be, or if I could in some way instigate it. Perhaps I needed to simply leave. Pack a saddle and go out into the world. I felt the itch of it in my palms, the biting urge in my legs. I imagined with glee the freedom of the open road, of wandering wherever I wished without the binds of my title weighing me down. Out in the world where no one knew nor cared who I was or where I had come from...

Grier had always said there was a natural magic to the world. When I was little, I used to get jealous of the way he could snap his fingers, mutter a word, and simply manipulate the world around him. I poured over the spell books that I managed to sneak out of the royal library, trying my hardest to understand why it worked for him and the other goblins but not for me. When my efforts had been discovered, when Niko had tried to explain to little twelve year old me that humans weren’t able to learn magic... I had been mad; mad at Niko. Mad at Grier. Mad at magic for refusing me, even though I wanted it so much and tried so hard.

Then Grier had taken me to the side and in that soft way he was so good at, said something to me that stuck solidly in my mind even to this day. So much so that I could hear it now as clearly as if he were standing beside me speaking the words anew.

“Magic does not exist to be bent to our will.” He had told me, handing me a handkerchief to wipe at my tear stained cheeks. “It is not made to be commanded about; it has a will of its own.”

“But you command it!” I had argued.

He then shook his head. “I ask of it, and it accepts.” He had replied. “It is a partnership, an understanding… and goblins have been speaking with magic for many, many centuries.”

“.... So Niko was right? I’ll never be able to learn magic?” I had whispered sadly, swallowing back a fresh wave of tears.

He seemed to think about this for a moment, then shook his head again. “You may never hear it,” He admitted, “... Not in the way I do. But that doesn’t mean it won’t be able to hear you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Magic is all around us.” He explained. “It’s in the air we breathe, and in the stone at our feet… It is always listening.” His toothy grin had filled his face. “How else do you explain the rain starting just as you’re thinking things can’t get any worse? Or when you’re already having a bad day and you accidentally drop your dessert? Or when you spend hours looking for something just to find it in your pocket? Or what about when you bite into a pastry and it brings you back in time to when you used to bake with your brother?”

“...That’s magic?”

He nodded, still smiling. “Sometimes if you think or worry about something enough, magic will hear you. And who knows what it’ll do when it does.”

I was forcibly reminded of this fact when I heard the snap of a branch in the trees behind me. I spun gracefully on one foot, raising my bow and notching an arrow all in the same motion. So that by the time I was facing my would-be attacker, I already had the string drawn level to my ear.

I nearly let it loose in shock when my eyes fell upon the hulking yellowish-green figure standing before me.

Erramun scowled at me, his brow becoming more pronounced as he scrunched it together. Despite the cold, he still wore nothing but the pauldron on his shoulder and the furs about his hips. He was clutching one large hand at his side, and I noticed he was hunched over slightly. He was also filthy. Covered from head to boot with dirt and mud, and gods knew what else. The recognition must have hit him at the same time it hit me, because he shook his head.

“The gods certainly have a sense of humor,” He growled, “To put you back in my path.”

I hesitated, but felt the strong urge to keep the arrow notched. As I was suddenly reminded he was larger than me, and obviously quite cross. Though I was sure he had a good reason to be. My stomach twisted in knots as my hazel eyes darted over him, accessing every inch. Trying to decide how best to handle this particular situation.

“You are certainly the last person I expected to see as well.” I replied coolly. “... Did you find the flower then?” I added, as if it were no more than a casual comment about the weather.

The half-orc laughed, a booming sound that reverberated around the trunks of the trees surrounding us. “Some flower, eh? Magical and rare?” He replied, his scowl deepening. “I searched high and low for it. Then I go back to the castle-” He took a slow, almost menacing step forward, and I matched him for a wary step back “-and the staff tells me that the Princess left.” He cocked his head to the side, considering the tip of my arrow as I straightened a bit taller nervously. “You forgot to mention I had a deadline.”

“We left rather suddenly.” I told him, careful to keep my voice steady. “How did I know you would be back so soon?”

Honestly, I hadn’t expected him to come back at all! Being sent on a wild goose chase, only to return and find out the one person he had sought to impress had left for the winter. By the gods, how had he even managed to get this far? I glanced about, but he seemed to be alone. No one had guided him here. Were orcs so good at hunting that he had been able to track me like a dog, despite my trail being nearly a week cold? I highly doubted that, narrowing my eyes at him suspiciously. I doubted also that the palace staff would have told him where I had gone, especially to a stranger at court. So how had he managed to charm that out of them? What else was he hiding?

He shifted, considering me with an equal wariness. “... So the goblin Princess is here?”

I was very good at keeping emotions from my face, especially the ones I didn’t want anyone else to see. Human court was no place to let such things slip, and I was very practiced there. But I still nearly lost my composure at his words. My lips twitched, and I was much more aware of the distinct pull of the bowstring against my fingertips than I had been previously. I wasn’t sure which was more surprising; that he was still interested after all I had put him through, or that he still didn’t realize who he was talking to.

I chewed over my words for a long moment. “... And if she is?”

He growled from somewhere deep in his chest. I almost winced, but quickly realized the sound wasn’t menacing. It was… affirmative, almost.

“Then I want to meet her.” Emerald eyes fixed on the tip of my arrow again. “Will you put that toothpick down, girl?” He grumbled. “You said you would help me. And I think you owe me now.”

His words sparked a bit of fire in my belly. “Owe you?? Are you really that desperate?” I scoffed. “Are there no orc ladies for you to court back home? Why are you even still here?”

His expression shifted drastically at my sneering, and I drew in a deep breath at the way it made his whole face seem to change. He glanced down, as if burdened by something he could not find the words to describe. But I knew that look. I had seen that look on Val’s face. On Niko’s. That weight of a thousand weights… I swallowed hard, but felt a little of the tension leave the bowstring as my tight grip relaxed. When he looked back up at me, his previous scowl was gone. Replaced by something I wasn’t quite sure how to name. But it made me lower my bow the rest of the way. Who was this man?

“I am a stranger to these lands… I cannot do this alone, but it needs to be done.” He told me, his voice quieter than I had yet heard it, but determined. He sighed, almost in irritation. As if resigned to his fate. “... Will you help me?”

I looked over his shoulder, back towards the castle. I felt guilt and stubbornness in equal parts, fighting for position inside me. But I couldn’t. How was I supposed to help him, when I knew what he wanted? And knowing that what he wanted went against everything I had ever dreamed for myself? I could feel the looming trap of his intent like a heavy iron cage dangling over my head. Following my every move. Ready to drop at the slightest provocation and take away the last of my freedom for good. I had already let this go on for far too long. I couldn’t keep up the lie any longer, but felt the truth was far too heavy to speak. Best to just toss both out the window.

I shook my head, resolved. “No, I’m sorry, I can’t help you.” I replied, returning the arrow to the quiver at my back with one smooth motion and slinging my bow over my shoulders. “I’ve already made enough of a mess of things. Now, if you’ll pardon me-”

I went to collect my pack from the snowy ground and saw him open his mouth as he stepped forward to intercept me. Likely with some argument or further point for his case. But as he stepped forward, barely a yard away, he staggered, wincing heavily. I moved forward instinctually as he fell to one knee, and found my hand on the pauldron plating his shoulder before I had fully realized where I was.

His big head pulled back, emerald eyes meeting mine. Barely a hair’s breadth between our faces. I had dropped to a crouch beside him, and after a long pause where I found myself trapped in his eyes… I pulled back my hand.

He growled quietly, glancing off to the side.

“Are you alright?” I asked tentatively.

He offered a grunt, shrugging one big shoulder. “I will be fine.”

The half-orc shifted his weight, nearly bumping into me as he moved to yank himself back to his feet clumsily. He got almost halfway there before he started staggering again. Once more, I jumped forward, forgoing my previous embarrassment and hesitation to shove my shoulder into his. Propping his larger body up with mine to the best of my ability.

“You certainly don’t seem fine.” I shot back. I saw his hand move from his side as he tried to find his balance, and my eyes went wide with shock to see his side gashed and bloody beneath. “You’re bleeding!”

It was his turn to scoff. “It’s barely a flesh wound.” He grumbled.

“Barely a flesh wound?” I echoed, shaking my head incredulously. “You can’t stand straight. I think we’ve passed the notion of ‘barely’.”

Erramun shrugged, shifting his weight and slowly easing himself back to his own feet. But I noticed him look me over again. I wondered what he was thinking as he did. Did he find me as annoying as I found him? Some errant fly he just couldn’t seem to get rid of? I shuffled my feet in the snow, casting my own attention over towards the castle. Then back at him. I realized now that some of that previously unidentified substance smeared across his filthy skin and furs was probably blood. I could smell it a little now that I was closer, the air had a tangy iron bite to it. It made my stomach twist a little more in guilt.

“... Where are you headed?”

He shrugged again, wincing as he did and his hand returning to clutch at his side. “I haven’t figured that part out yet.”

I groaned. He was an idiot. An absolute, bonafide dumbass. I was quickly realizing that I couldn’t in good conscience leave him again. But I couldn’t exactly bring a bloody and wounded orc through the front gates either. I didn’t imagine I would much enjoy the lecture I would get from Niko once the truth came out. My stomach twisted further with dread at the thought. My mind raced through the other options. Leaving him in the outer city? The stubborn ass would probably end up on my doorstep again. Send him away? I was surprised he had made it as far as he had already. I wasn’t sure he would make it to the road without help now. So what did that leave me with? I almost groaned again, but settled for a sigh as I made up my mind.

“How did you get here?” I asked him, collecting up my bag.

“Eh?” He blinked at me.

I sighed again, more heavily this time, and hoped it was the blood loss making him thicker than a brick wall. “How did you get here?” I repeated. “Did you ride?”

He nodded after a moment. “I have a horse.”

“Well, that’s how most people ride, yes.” I returned, shaking my head. “Come on. Let’s go.”

“You’ll introduce me to the Princess?” He asked, and I thought his voice sounded a few octaves higher with his suddenly piqued interest.

I resisted the urge to wince myself, clearing my throat and shouldering my pack. “I didn’t say that.” I followed him as he staggered back along his own trail in the snow. “But if I leave you out here, you’ll probably freeze to death or something. And I don’t want that on my conscience.”

He snorted, shaking his own head. “I would not die.”

I almost laughed at that. “Indeed. You seem far too stubborn for such a thing.”

We had emerged to a break in the tree line, not far from the road, and found a large horse waiting there with its back legs hobbled. The big white mare whinnied excitedly as we approached, tossing her head up and down to make her mane slap upon her neck. Erramun grinned as he neared, smacking her side fondly and using her for support to maintain his balance.

“Get on.” I ordered him, giving the mare a friendly pat myself. She turned her head, flicking her ears toward me with her nostrils flaring curiously.

Erramun considered me for a moment, still leaning heavily on the mare and smearing more than a little of his blood against her white hide. Perhaps contemplating the order, and the tone with which I had issued it. Watching as I removed her hobble. He raised one eyebrow and peeked about.

“Where are we going?”

“To the castle.” I tucked the hobbling rope into a pouch on her saddle, and took my own pack off to hook over the horn of it. “I’ll take you the back way.”

“Why?”

“To avoid attention. I don’t feel like explaining to the guard why I’m dragging a bleeding orc around the city.”

“Half-orc.” He corrected me, his voice light with his teasing edge.

“So you like to remind me.” I grumbled in response, watching as he carefully hauled himself haphazardly back into the mare’s saddle. “What’s the other half? Ass?”

He laughed, and I felt a slight stiffening to my spine as the sound bounced around us. “Human.” He assured me. “Like you.”

I took up the mare’s reins, patting her nose. She lipped at my fingers, and I tickled under her chin until she gave a pleased whuff.

“Who says I’m human?” I replied lightly, careful to keep my voice overly flat as if to add to the mystery of it.

He laughed again, though softer this time. More a petering chuckle that remained trapped behind his teeth. “You smell human.”

“Smell??”

Erramun nodded. “Orcs have a good sense of smell. Not like ma’iitso, and not so much when only half-orc… but I can tell you are human when you stand close.”

I ignored the shiver that went down my spine at the reminder of our previous proximity, swallowing as I began to lead the mare back through the trees. “Ma’iitso?” I echoed the unfamiliar term by way of distraction.

The half-orc rubbed at the back of his neck, making some strange sounds in his throat. “Eh… the big wild dogs. They hunt in packs.”

“You mean matsio.” I said, realizing what he meant. “Wolves, in Common.”

He didn’t answer for a long moment, and I could almost feel his eyes boring into the back of my skull. I ignored him to the best of my ability, leading the mare not to the main road, but to a small deer trail that ran along the outside wall. Luckily, the goblins depended pretty heavily upon their enchantments. I wouldn’t have to worry about being spotted as we approached the wall and followed along the smoother track I had picked out years ago. Guards did not frequent the turrets, and I knew we would not set off the magical triggers here. Once we got into the castle? That would be a different story...

UPDATE: Part Three HERE

#orc #half orc #monster x human #monster romance #slow burn #terato #exophilia #orc lover #orc boyfriend #frenemies #reluctant mutuals #monster lover #monster boyfriend #Burdened by the Stars #Royal Flush Sequel #li'un ma shkio

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writings-of-a-daphodil · 4 years

Text

Fire Keeper: Chapter 13

Douxie x fem reader

Chapter 1

Masterlist in bio!

Series Summary: You are Jim’s older sister who is taking a break from college and has moved back home to Arcadia. You end up joining Jim and his friends on their adventures.

Chapter 13 summary: You are doing your best to help out Mindy when a mission with Douxie leads you to discovering Claire is possessed.

A/n: So, I’m mainly going with the history that was described in wizards because there are some huge discrepancies from what was described in trollhunters.

You knocked on the door to Mindy’s apartment. It was quaint, but it also seemed sophisticated and stylish. Yet it didn’t have a good aura.

Mindy opened the door and rushed you in. You noticed that the windows had their shutters nailed shut and how the door had several locks. You looked at Mindy and noticed she looked stressed.

“You were right, the goblins are after me,” Mindy admitted.

“I’m here to help,” you said.

“The goblins have been trying to get in and I haven’t been able to sleep. I need you to take care of them, permanently.” Mindy sighed and you noticed how exhausted she seemed.

You smiled at her sympathetically. “I’ll see what I can do and I’ll text you if I have a plan.”

“Thank you,” she said, getting the door for you again.

You said goodbye and hopped into your car. You needed to talk to someone who knew about goblins. Blinky was too busy helping the trolls, so you would have to ask Strickler. You wrinkled your nose as you began to drive to the sewer entrance by the place he was training Jim.

You pulled your car over and then walked into the sewer. “Ah, Ms. Lake. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Strickler asked and you rolled your eyes.

“I’m only here because I don’t want to bother Blinky,” you stated.

Strickler gestured to a box. “Do sit down. What can I help you with?”

“A...person that I know is having goblin troubles. Is there any way to scare them off permanently?”

“Hmm,” Strickler thought for a moment. “Yes, goblin repellent. It’s not easy to get your hands on, but I should have some in my old office. You’re going to want to paint it all over the person’s home. Similar to how your brother is using those signs to ward off gumm-gumms. And don’t worry, it’s not dark magic so you should be fine.”

“How did you know I’m allergic to dark magic?” You asked.

“Your brother told me,” Strickler explained and you tilted your head. How had that come up in conversation?

You decided to push that thought away for the moment. “How do you expect me to get into Señor Uhls office?”

“Create a distraction, I’m sure you’ll figure it out and be just fine. You were always creative,” Strickler said. “And before you ask, I can’t just walk into the school either.”

“Fine, thank you for your help,” you said, maturely.

“You're welcome, Ms. Lake. And for what it’s worth, my condolences on what happened to Vendel.”

“I still don’t like you, but thank you.” You felt your eyes tear up as you left the sewer. It had been a few weeks since Vendel’s death and it still hurt to think of him. You had been struggling to practice magic ever since.

It was just like writers block, but with magic. So, you weren’t going to be able to get into the school with that. You would need help and your thoughts immediately went to Douxie. The two of you had just had coffee together and you were still feeling embarrassed about the way he was gazing at you, he seemed to be enamored with you and what you were saying. But you needed help and you didn’t want to bother your brother and your friends. Not that you wanted to bother Douxie, but he had offered his help.

You pushed your thoughts aside and concentrated on driving home. You would text Mindy tomorrow about your plans and you would enlist Douxie to help you get into the school. Maybe he could distract everyone by telling them about the battle of the bands.

~~~~

“Okay, so you want me to distract everyone? How am I gonna do that?” Douxie asked as the two of you sat in your car.

“Really?” You deadpanned, but he didn’t seem to understand. You laughed. “You have an accent, you're in a band, and you are walking into a highschool full of teenage girls. Everyone is going to be distracted.”

“Are you sure?” Douxie asked.

“Yes, the girls will think you’re cute, the boys will be jealous, and the teachers will want to know what’s going on. And spreading the word about the battle of the bands is the perfect excuse.”

Douxie gave a cheeky smile and gently nudged you. “You called me cute.”

Your face grew warm. “Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Already has, darling.”

Fortunately the bell that signaled lunch rang, saving you from having to come up with an answer. “That’s our cue,” you announced, getting out of the car.

“Good luck! And remember if you have to use magic, well, I know you can do it,” Douxie called.

“You too.”

You waited til Douxie had gathered everyone’s attention and you could tell he was using magic to keep everyone captivated. You felt yourself wanting to go over and listen, but you didn’t want an angry assassin after you, so you made your way to Strickler’s old office.

Nobody you saw gave you any attention and you made it to Señor Uhls’ office without any problems. You tried the door handle only to find it locked. You sighed and began to focus on the lock. Normally it would be easy to push the lock pins using telekinesis, but it was hard to levitate even a feather since Vendel died. You thought back to what Douxie had said after you got out of the car and you pushed yourself to use your magic.

An orange glow came from within the keyhole and you turned the handle.

You allowed yourself to celebrate a little before you walked over to the desk. Taking the key-pen you unlocked the wall and you walked into the little room.

The dark aura of the room made you feel uneasy, so you sped up your searching. It wasn’t hard to find, Strickler was pretty organized.

You quickly grabbed the bottle and shut the door. Just as you put the key-pen back in its place you heard the door knob click.

Panicking you took a seat in front of the desk and tried to look as professional as possible. Señor Uhl walked inside and he seemed to be confused as to why you were there.

“Hola, Señor,” you greeted, reverting to Spanish.

“Hola, Ms. Lake. What are you doing here?”

“I’m here, to...uh, to talk about Jim. I’m concerned about him,” you said, and it wasn’t exactly a lie.

“Mhmm, yes. Your brother has missed quite a few days of school.” Señor Uhl considered what you had just said. “Perhaps I can figure something out. He will need to do summer school.”

“Yes, I agree,” you said, feeling bad for Jim. Glancing out the window you saw Jim arguing with Douxie. You mentally face palmed. Douxie probably hadn’t been able to distract Señor Uhl because Jim was distracting Douxie. You scolded yourself for not telling your brother about your mission.

“—and that is why I think Spanish is a great language to learn,” Señior Uhl was saying and you nodded enthusiastically. You hadn’t paid attention to a word he had said.

“I completely agree. Anyways, Adios Señor, I need to get to my job. Have a great day!” You called, ducking out the doorway. You speed walked through the halls and eventually saw Jim practically threatening Douxie.

“If you want to flirt with someone, flirt with um...” Jim glanced around, eyes landing on you. “flirt with my sister.”

This time you actually face palmed, hiding your blush. You pulled your brother away from the group. “Jim, we are on a mission and Douxie was distracting the school for me. I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want to worry you,” you explained, your voice strained.

“Well, it was, uh, lovely see you again Jim. Shall we Y/n?” Douxie asked, taking your arm. You followed him to your car.

“What was that all about?” You asked, confused as to why Jim was angry at Douxie.

“It was a misunderstanding, I’m really sorry about that. I sensed dark magic on Claire, dark magic that reminded me of Morgana. I was just trying to investigate more.”

“Oh, it’s okay. The dark magic you sensed is probably like Morgana’s because Claire uses her old shadow staff.”

“That does make sense,” Douxie mused.

“Of course it does,” you affirmed.

You dropped Douxie off at the bookstore and after a quick conversation with Strickler on how to use the goblin repellent, you made your way to Mindy’s house. You once again knocked on the door and she rushed you in.

While the house was gorgeous, it had an unwelcoming aura so you tried to do your job as quickly and perfectly as possible. As a way to distract yourself from the aura and the fact that you were helping your assassin, you struck up a conversation with said assassin.

“So, what are you going to do with your life now that you are free from Gunmar?” You asked.

“I’m going to move very far away from here. Once I can get the Goblins off my back then I can leave. Gunmar won’t bother sending actual soldiers,” Mindy explained.

“Ahh, where do you think you will go?”

Mindy seemed to perk up at this question. “I want to go somewhere tropical,” she explained excitedly. “I was thinking of going to Hawaii, that’s where my parents are.”

You tilted your head at her. “I didn’t know there were any trolls in Hawaii.”

“No, my human parents are from there; and more sun means less chance of gumm-gumms coming for me,” she explained and the more you talked to her the kinder the aura in the room felt.

“That sounds like fun,” you said, finally finishing one of the marks. To use the repellent you had to pour a bit of it into water and then paint designs on the walls. It was tedious, but the markings didn’t have to be perfect to work.

“It will be,” she paused. “So, how did you figure out you were a sorceress?”

You gave a small smile. “It’s a long story, but I guess we have time.”

You began to explain how you had been startled by Aaarrrgghh and Blinky when they came into your home and how you had wanted to protect your brother so you accidentally blasted Aaarrrgghh.

“Mhmm, it must be nice to have friends that are so forgiving,” Mindy mused.

“It is nice,” you agreed.

“So what about that Douxie guy. I can’t read aura’s like you, but you two seem close.”

“Um, yeah. He’s a good friend,” you said.

“So, you like him?” Mindy prompted and you looked out the window, feeling your face heating up.

“Maybe,” you mumbled.

“Well, you should talk to him,” Mindy suggested and you laughed.

“Maybe,” you repeated, a smile gracing your face.

~~~~

You let out a shriek as you accidently knocked a glass off the shelf and it shattered. You had been making tea for Claire. She and Jim were going on a double date with Toby and Darci so he would give it to her. Once you were done you would finally be able to relax.

It had been a few days since you had helped Mindy and you were still exhausted. You had ended up spending almost eight hours at Mindy painting marks all over her house. It was finally a weekend and you were ready to chill.

You sighed, you didn’t want to waste valuable magical energy picking up the glass so you walked downstairs to get the broom from the basement. You switched on the light only to see several paintings that depicted trolls and Jim in his armor and even you playing with your magic. Where had they all come from?

“Jim!!!” You called and you heard his footsteps running to the basement.

“Y/n? What is it? Are you okay?” He asked, out of breath.

“I’m fine, but where did these paintings come from?”

Jim dropped his gaze to the floor. “Well I think mom is slowly getting her memory back.”

“Oh, Jim this is great. Who knew mom is really good at painting?” You beamed.

“Yeah, but-“

“No buts,” you interrupted. “I know you didn’t want mom to know, but the universe wants her to. I think it will be good for her.”

“I...I don’t know, can we talk about this later?”

“Of course. Go have fun on your date,” you called, grabbing the broom. “Oh, and the tea is on the counter.”

“Got it, Y/n/n. Have a good night!”

“You too!” After you took care of your mess, you made your way to your room and plopped down on your bed. You on some Netflix and relaxed.

Unfortunately, there’s no rest for you. Your phone began to ring and you paused the show you had been in the middle of binging. It was Douxie and you hoped everything was okay.

“Y/n, you know how you told me not to worry about how I sensed Morgana’s magic in Claire?” He asked and you noticed how worried he sounded.

“Yeah, why? Is everything okay?”

“Claire just ordered a raw steak, dripping with blood for dinner and I’m certain that’s not normal.”

“Diets these days are wired, but you’re right. That’s not normal.” You sighed as you got out of bed. “I’ll be right over there.”

“Okay, I think she’s possessed by Morgana. You asked for the tea recipe because Claire opened that portal, that must have been when it happened.”

You cursed. “I’ll be right there.”

You closed your laptop and put on a comfy sweatshirt. You shivered as you went outside and walked to your car. It was chilly outside for late spring.

You drove to the restaurant only to find NotEnrique signaling you from an alleyway. You waved Douxie over to you.

“Where are they?” You asked.

“They left a little while ago. My shift just ended so I couldn’t follow them,” Douxie explained.

“Yeah, that wasn’t my sis. She’s definitely possessed by something,” NotEnrique added.

You frowned. “Okay, do you know where they went? I remember Jim was saying something about going to see Danger House Two or something.”

“I was waiting on another table when Claire said she wasn’t feeling well so maybe she and Jim went to her house,” Douxie suggested.

You nodded. “Alright get in.”

You definitely broke the speed limit as you raced to get to Claire’s house. You had read books about Morgana and you knew she was bad news. You were also pretty irritated that she had possessed Claire, there was no way that witch was going to get away with it.

You parked on the street and NotEnrique ran into the house and through the window. You and Douxie went to the front door and he unlocked it with magic.

The two of you entered the house to see a passed out Claire and no furniture. Jim was standing in the middle of the room in his armor.

“Mordrax's Miracles! What happened in here?” Douxie asked as you rushed to hug Jim.

“She called herself Morgana. Who is that?” Jim asked.

“Uh...Not somebody you want to date,” NotEnrique said.

“Let’s tie her up,” Douxie suggested nervously.

“Ugh, what’s he doing here?” Jim asked.

“Get over yourself Jim. He’s here to help.” You rolled your eyes and turned to DOuxie. “Can you please chain her up?”

“My pleasure,” Douxie said, using a spell. Suddenly glowing blue chains were wrapped around Claire’s body and Douxie levitated her up the stairs.

Jim led him to Claire's room and Douxie set her down on the desk chair.

You smiled at Douxie. “Thank you.”

“Any time.”

You took a seat on the bed and watched the unconscious girl. You scowled, Morgana was going to pay for this. Claire was like the little sister you never had and you didn’t appreciate Morgana possessing her.

You and Douxie sat in silence as Jim went to call Toby. Occasionally Morgana would wake up, but Douxie would always put her back to sleep. It was growing harder though.

Eventually Toby arrived and Morgana woke up again, spewing insults. Douxie did his best to knock her out again, but you could see he was growing tired.

“You should rest. Blinky will be here soon,” you told him and he nodded, sitting down beside you. He almost immediately fell asleep on your shoulders and you realized he had to be immensely tired. You hoped Morgana would let him sleep for a little while.

Suddenly Claire began to glow gold as Morgana woke up again. “Release these shackles or I’ll wear your spin as my crown, peasants!”

“That’s a new one,” Jim mumbled as Douxie jolted awake.

Toby chuckled nervously. “Her creativity knows no bounds.”

Douxie stood up ready to send her back to sleep and you stood up to stop him, but Morgana acted first.

Claire grew even brighter and the four of you were thrown against the wall. Somehow Douxie managed to catch you, taking the impact from the wall.

“Um, thanks,” you mumbled, getting off of him as Blinky burst into the room.

“Apologies for my delay.” Blinky ran over to Morgana and resealed her chains with a blue stone. “I was awaiting Aaarrrgghh’s return, but he never showed.”

Blinky helped Jim to his feet. “I’m sure he’s fine, we’ve got bigger problems.”

Morgana growled and tried to attack Toby, but you pulled him away as Jim pushed Morgana towards the window.

“After I feast on your souls, agony will rule for a thousand millennia.

“How long is a millennia? Is that like a million years?” Toby asked, panting.

“I think it’s a thousand,” Jim corrected.

“Indeed, Master Jim,” Blinky affermed.

Toby stepped away from Morgana. “I would not like my soul to be feasted upon, if that’s all right with everyone inf the room.”

Morgana laughed. “Don’t worry Toby, I was there when she was first sealed away and I know we can do it again,” Douxie said optimistically.

“Who’s this?” Blinky asked, studying Douxie.

“Hisirdoux Casperan, apprentice of Merlin, at your service,” Douxie said, bowing.

Blinky opened his mouth to say something then he appeared to decide against it. “That’s a conversation for another time,” he mumbled to himself.

“What’s wrong with her?” Jim asked, guiding the conversation back to the problem at hand.

Morgana continued to laugh maniacally as Blinky talked, “She is most certainly possessed.”

“Does the name Morgana mean anything to you?” Jim asked, ignoring Douxie who opened his mouth to explain.

Blinky gasped. “You cannot hope to contain me, trollish whelp. I am the Eldritch Queen of the Seventh Plane. Baba Yaga. The Pale Lady. I have slain scores of Merlin’s fools.” Morgana threatened as she glowed gold again. She levitated into the air and books flew around her.

“How is that possible?” Douxie muttered and you looked at him concerned.

Before you could ask what he meant, Blinky began to yell, “I do know that name! This is far worse than I could have ever imagined!”

They dragged Morgana to the ground again. “Morgan le Fay, Merlin’s-” Blinky glanced at Douxie “-eldest apprentice.”

“Like Merlin who made my amulet?” Jim asked.

“I spit on his name as I spit on his grave,” Morgana growled.

“Sounds like they didn’t get along,” Toby mumbled.

Morgana laughed. “He thinks he can be rid of me? The fool. I will erase his name and all of his creations.”

“The sorcerer and sorceress dueled at the battle of Killahead and Merlin sacrificed himself to banish her from our world. But now she’s here,” Blinky explained.

“Oh, what little lambs. My work here is done. Gunmar knows how to bring the Eternal Night. All you can do is sit back and watch the world as it burns,” Morgana said calmly. Levitating a pillow to herself she leaned back and relaxed.

“Oh, boy,” Jim groaned.

Blinky began to protest. “It’s not possible. With what relics? What magic?” Blinky began to shake Morgana.

“Blinky!” Jim warned, pulling him away.

You pulled Douxie out of the room, leaving Jim, Toby and Blinky to discuss the next move. “You seem tired. Are you alright?”

“I-I didn't know that she could do this. Merlin left me a huge list of things to do and I forgot the most important one of all,” Douxie sighed and you could see the anguish in his Hazel eyes.

“Hey, hey. Look at me. It’s not your fault. Morgana has been planning this for centuries and even if you had checked up on her, she would have still found some way to complete her plans,” you said, in an attempt to console him.

“That’s not great either. I’m still just an apprentice.” Douxie avoided eye contact.

“Come on. Let’s get some fresh air.” The two of you walked out of the house. “Okay, take some deep breaths, okay? I get it. This is tough, but we’ll figure it out.”

Douxie opened his eyes and gazed into yours, taking you hand, he said, “Thanks, Y/n. You don’t know what it means to have a friend like you.”

Your face grew warm. “Of course Douxie. We’re both going through some things and you were there for me, so I’m here for you.”

You smiled up at him and he opened his mouth to say something when a car pulled into the driveway. You got ready to distract Mr. and Mrs. Nuñez, but Strickler got out of the car.

“I came as soon as I heard? Where are they?” Strickler asked.

You gestured towards the house. “Upstairs in Claire’s room.”

“Alright, carry on,” Strickler said, running into the house.

You realized how close you and Douxie were standing and you pulled away. You cleared your throat. “I should go back in and help.”

“I’m coming too,” Douxie said, following you back inside.

You arrived to see Strickler holding the shadow-staff. “What’s going on?” You asked.

“I’m trying to open a portal,” Strickler grunted.

You sighed, but you didn’t hesitate when you said, “Here, let me.”

"Y/n, no. You ended up in the hospital last time," Douxie argued.

"There isn't much I wouldn't do for my friends," you responded, taking the staff.

You did your best to summon all your anger at Morgana. You hated how she had possessed Claire. You hated how she was helping Gunmar. You had read about her and how she had been an advocate for magic and you hated that siding with Gunmar was her twisted idea of saving the world. And you really hated how she made Douxie feel bad about himself.

You tried to send the hate into the shadow staff and out to create a portal, but it began to consume your energy as well as your anger.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Douxie said, taking the staff away from you once you began to sway. He handed the staff to Jim just in time.

You collapsed into his arms. “Next time, I’ll listen to you,” you mumbled. “I don’t know how Claire does it.”

Something about claire

“Let’s make sure there won’t be a next time, Love.”

“Good plan.”

Douxie put an arm around your shoulder, supporting you. “I’m going to take her to get some tea. Good luck,” he announced.

Jim nodded. “Keep her safe,” he ordered, turning his attention back to Claire.

“Stay safe, Jim!” You called and he gave you a weak smile. “Call me when Claire has been successfully exorcised!”

“Thanks for being here,” you beamed.

Douxie opened the passenger door for you. “Any time.”

You did your best to breathe during the car drive, in and out, in and out. You were feeling a little nauseous after your brush with dark magic and you were looking forward to getting some tea.

“Are you alright?” Douxie asked, turning onto the street.

“Not really, but I’ve been sick like this before and last time it was so much worse.”

“Yeah, it was scary seeing you in the hospital. I didn’t know your injury was dark magic related, I just thought you had battled someone who practiced it when I sensed it on you. I remember just sitting in the waiting room, listening to the doctors panic about how they didn’t know what was going on. Your mom was really determined though, she seems great.”

“Oh, Douxie! She is great, but I’m so sorry for worrying you like that!”

“It’s fine, Y/n. You’re okay now. It was scary though, and I don’t really know any healing spells. I felt so helpless.”

You didn't know how to respond to that, but your arrival at the bookstore saved you from having to say anything.

Douxie helped you out of your car and to the couch where Archie jumped onto your lap. “How’d it go?” The familiar asked.

“Not well. It was definitely Morgana possessing her. I can’t believe I didn’t catch it sooner,” Douxie explained and you could tell he was blaming himself.

“Douxie, it’s not your fault. At least you know now and you can take the precautionary actions to stop her from truly getting free.”

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do,” he said, determined. “Right after I get you your tea.”

“Archie?”

“Yes?”

“Is Douxie going to be okay? He’s pretty harsh on himself. He hasn’t said much, but I can tell he is blaming himself.”

“Douxie tends to put the weight of the world on his shoulders,” Archie explained.

“Oh.” You didn’t say anything else as Douxie came back.

“Here,” he said, handing you a cup and you thanked him.

“I need to get packing, do you need anything else?” Douxie asked.

“I’m good, but what are you packing for?”

Douxie began to pace. “I’m going to try to reseal Morgana in her prison. I can’t let her get out.”

You gaped at him. “You can’t do that alone. Wasn’t Merlin the one to do it?”

“Well, yeah. But it’s been nine hundred years, I’m ready now,” Douxie argued, but you didn’t know who he was arguing with. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

“Well, then I’m going with you,” you stated.

“Wait, what?” Douxie asked, startled out of his rant he turned to you.

“I’m serious. I-I need a master and you need help.”

“A-are you sure?” Douxie asked, walking towards you.

You stood up, not breaking eye contact with him. “I’m sure.”

****

So tada! This chapter was a dream to write and I really enjoyed it. I hope y'all like it as well and I can't wait to write the next! I can't wait to write that one though it might take some time. Anyways I hope y'all are going to have a fantastic weekend and please stay safe out there.

P.S. if you want to be on the taglist feel free to ask. I hope it works and please message me if it doesn’t.

P.P.S. I'm totally open for requests on fluffy half chapters! If you have any ideas for the half chapters send them in and I'll do my best to include them. Also do y'all want to see a deleted scene from this chapter? I'll probably post it anyways, but I was just wondering if any one is interested. 💖💖

#douxie x reader #douxie imagine #toa imagine #trollhunters imagine #tales of arcadia imagine #wizards imagine #douxie #toa douxie #wizards douxie #wizards #trollhunters #trollhunters douxie #toa #tales of arcadia #tales of arcadia douxie

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kationella · 3 years

Note

Can you do Persona Q3 plot with P1 and P2 characters what Labyrinth theme is to be Art museum or a Library? what you favorite conversation for your idea, What your story plot for PQ3 and Can you make New Character(s) in this story? NOTE: Can you Fanfic PQ

Oh, wow! I'm not sure I have the focus to write a PQ3 fanfic. The Batman one I'm writing is updated every two months 😅

I don't mind sharing my ideas, though.

First, it would be necessary to find a point in the story where every cast is taken from.

The P1 gang would be taken after they realize they had been with the Ideal Maki all this time but before they save the real one.

The Tatsuya Squad (Tatsuya, Michel, Lisa and Jun) would be taken after they recover the crystal skulls but before they confront Nyarly.

The Maya Squad (Maya, Katsuya, Baofu and Ulala) is taken before the Other Tatsuya joins them.

SEES would be taken after Ikutsuki's betrayal (I also want Minako and Shinjiro to make an aapearance, so those two will be from the FeMC timeline).

The Scooby Gang would be from before Nanako is kidnapped.

The PTs (including Sumire and Akechi) would appear before the final fight with Maruki.

Everyone finds themselves in a deserted theme park Disneyland Destinyland style. This place will serve as the labyrinth and provider of games/shenanigans for the social interactions.

Suddenly, shadows/demons start to appear in waves, but a cute girl called Erity takes them to safety in a funhouse. She says she doesn't remember who she is or where she came from (in true Persona Q tradition). Minor conflict and confusion over the whole situation arises but is quickly cleared up. Introductions take place.

The smart ones quickly figure out that talking about the events that take place in the future would wreak havoc in the time-space continuum, so talking about their games becomes a no-no.

Erity shows them that the gates of the theme park are closed and they can't get out.

Erity says that she remembers that in each ride (there are five of them) there is hidden a key. If they find the five keys they will be able to unlock the park's gates and leave back to where they came from.

The only problem is that each ride is infested by shadows/demons with a mini boss guarding each key, so the heroes split up into teams from mixed games to cover more ground quicker (and for interaction purposes).

With a new journey started, the Velvet siblings (sent by Phil) appear to aid our heroes, accompained by the Demon Painter (for game mechanics), Belladonna and Nameless (for social interaction). The Velvet gang takes residence in the funhouse, where the party can rest after a fight.

As they clear the theme park from enemies the heroes will constantly encounter an underwhelming guy in weirdly colored clothing who calls himself their "Ultimate Foe". He has a funny mustache. He doesn't do much apart from minor inconveniences and trash talking each party member he encounters (he calls it constructive criticism) before disappearing via colorful smoke.

The Ultimate Foe turns out to be the god Momus, who claims to have created the theme park for his own amusement and gathered the strongest warriors for a "fun adventure for the whole family". This angers some people in the party. They fight Momus for the final key.

In a predictable twist, Erity turns out to be the true mastermind. Her real identity is Achlys, goddess of the death-mist, misery and sadness. She convinced Momus to create the theme park and let shadows/demons roam free in it. Why? Due to the heroes fighting the evil in the world, she has grown weak. This is bad news for her. To prevent this, Achlys chose to kidnap everyone where they would either die by shadows/demons or remain trapped forever.

Obviously the heroes defeat her (with some help from an offended Momus) and retrieve the final key. Final goodbyes take place and everyone goes back to their timelines with no memores of the events.

This whole thing needs polishing but that's the basic plot. Now, for some of the interactions I would show in the game:

The obligatory talk between the protagonists. Naoya, Tatsuya, Minato, Minako, Yu and Akira talk in a way that makes no sense for everyone else. Maya acts as their translator.

Yuka, Ulala and Yu share cooking tips.

Everyone pets Koromaru.

Some people pet Morgana (aka Katsuya).

Kei, Tatsuya, Mitsuru and Makoto talk about motorcycles (Makoto also shows off Johanna). Yosuke stares from a distance.

Revenge and its merits is discussed by Reiji, Jun, Ken and Akechi. Eveyone agrees that its better things ended the way they did.

Jun and Akira bond over the single fact that they're both Jokers. Clown to clown conversation takes place.

Katsuya, Naoto and Makoto talk about the law system. Dabbles on philosophical grounds.

Gardening time with Jun and Haru.

The Lovers girls (+Eriko) have a talk about the entertainment industry.

Eikichi convinces Rise to join his band (or at least perform together at least once). Naoya offers to sing but he is dismissed.

Kei, Mitsuru and Haru talk business.

Hidehiko, Junpei, Yosuke and Ryuji get into a mess.

Teddie tries to "score" what else is new. He freaks some people when he comes out of the suit.

Maki, Masao and Yusuke have an artistic conversation.

Baofu and Futaba realize they have the same Persona. They become besties from then on and talk hacker nonsense. Everyone fears this duo.

Lisa and Chie bond over kung fu.

The P2 cast freak out after meeting the younger versions of their P1 friends.

Tatsuya and Makoto talk about siblings. Yu gives a speech about family somewhere in there.

Maya freaks out when Tatsuya, Lisa, Eikichi and Jun talk to her like they know her. Remember this is her EP version.

Likewise, Tatsuya gets weirded out when Ulala and Baofu (people he barely knows) approach him in a similar fashion.

Katsuya almost arrests someone.

Fuuka, Rise and Futaba talk about the importance of the navigator in a fight.

I also have other interactions in mind but this post is getting too long.

#persona 1 #persona 2 #persona 3 #persona 4 #persona 5 #not tagging everyone #thoughts

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arcadianstuff · 4 years

Text

“School rivals” p.t 4

So I said this would be the last part but it’s taken a turn and there might be two more parts not sure yet. This one has more twists than a bloomin maze but I hope you enjoy !!!

“Wake up mortal ! I said awaken !” An angry, thunderous voice rung through your ears. Before you could even react to the voice a mind numbing sensation of pain started to spread through your right side. Bellroc had grown impatient with your sleeping stages and decided to jolt you awake - quite literally.

The fiery magic burnt your side, the pain setting your nerves alight figuratively and literally. You struggled onto your knees, coughing as you tried to stand up.

Blood had dried on your soccer jersey and around the wound on your head. Youd probably been locked away for two days, but you weren’t to sure. There was no way to tell trapped in the darkness of your prison. But what you did know was that the longer you left your wounds the worse they’re get. If they became infected from lack of treatment there’d be no saving you.

“I’m up you ugly bitch.” You spat at her, a little bit of blood mixed in with you saliva.

To be fair, spitting and swearing at an ancient magical deity probably wasn’t the smartest idea, but you certainly didn’t care anymore. The pain of your wounds, and distress about the entire situation, was causing you to lose a little bit of your sanity.

Magic was real; These creatures were as old as time; Your brother was the troll hunter, which you didn’t rally understand but it meant he was tangled up in this; There were trolls and two of them had been in your house; and Douxie was a wizard. This was about as much as you’d gathered over the last couple of days.

“How dare you ! You’ll regret that girl.” The creature that was the keeper of the flame, better known as Bellroc, cast another magic spell sending a wave of fire straight at you. You screamed this time, the fire burning everywhere. They’d said they were going to keep you alive but you weren’t so sure anymore.

“Bellroc stop. We need her alive.” Skrael interrupted her fun, watching as the troll hunter’s sister writhed in pain.

“Maybe but I have another plan for her.” Bellroc cackled, malice filling her voice.

For the first time ever, Skrael appeared worried at what the other member of the Arcane Order had planned. They needed you alive to ransom with the troll hunter but it appeared Bellroc had another idea. After al this time and so many failures, Skrael could tell she was slipping into insanity and becoming more and more dangerous. She was wild and unpredictable now.

“Mortal you will be my weapon ! This will be the final battle and you will be my champion !” The evil bitch approached you, hands grasping the metal bars that confined you in your prison. She cackled manically in a way that almost scared you. She was crazy.

“Over my dead body.” You spat before quickly pushing yourself off the floor and rushing to the bars, swinging your fist back and punching the ancient deity straight in the face.

Taken by surprise, Bellroc actually faltered a little, stumbling backwards as her mask cracked. You’d actually managed to hurt her. A mortal at that. Instead of reacting with anger and violence like you expected, she started to laugh in a way that chilled you to the bone.

“Yes ! You will be perfect my champion.” Bellroc cackled again, before swinging around and grabbing your face in one of her clawed hands, magic emitting form her hand.

Your entire body started to glow with a bright orange light, her magic starting to fight its way into your body. The pain was like nothing you’d felt before, it boiled your blood and singed your nerves, like you were being electrocuted. In that moment you wished for death, anything to make it stop.

“Bellroc..” Skrael watched on in horror at what he was seeing. She’s made this mistake so many years again with Morgana and Arthur and now she was doing it to you and the Trollhubter.

Your screams filled the cave, so loud that above you the group of your friends, who’d come to save you, could hear.

“What’s that ?” Toby asked hearing faint wails. The pain and fear that filled them chilled him to the core.

The others exchanged looks of horror, Douxie clutching his wizard staff tightly in fury.

“It’s (y/n). We must hurry !” Blinky said his calm voice wavering with worry as he heard master Jim’s sister scream in pain from below them.

They stood in the middle of a dense forest outside of Arcadia. Darkness swarmed the forests, sunlight unable to pass through the thick grove of trees. Not a single animal could be seen, not even the smallest bug. Nothing would enter this place and it wasn’t too surprising. It reeked of death. A giant chasm loomed below them. How deep it went they couldn’t tell but Blinky was sure you were being held down there.

“What is this place ?” Claire asked, her magic was behaving strangely. Even her shadow magic seemed insigincant in this place.

“This place is Mortis Forest fair Claire, this is a place of unspeakable danger. Terrible things happened here.” Blinky answered shivering as he thought of the monstrosities that occurred in this place.

The only reason why he knew was because of his wide reading. Most would never be allowed to know of this place’s existence. It had been erased from history and for good reason.

“The Magic here allows you to do unspeakable things.” Blinky continued, watching as Jim took hold of Daylight, swinging the sword in front of him.

“Even more reason to go now and find my sister.” Jim’s tone was dark, determination and something else that almost seemed like bloodlust filled his eyes.

Before anyone could respond, he jumped down into the chasm before them, the darkness swallowing him.

“Jim !” Claire screamed watching as her boyfriend disappeared below.

The others yelled after him, before eyeing the gaping chasm. Douxie rushed down after him, leaping into the chasm. He couldn’t wait any longer, you needed to be saved now. God knows what they’re were doing to you and it was his fault. He’s brought the arcane order here and he’d be dammed if he let them hurt you. In the back of his mind Douxie prayed those screams hadn’t been yours.

“Guys we should really think about this.” Toby mumbled. Of course he wanted to save you, he just hated heights.

“No time wingman.” With one swing of his arm, Arrgh picked Toby up and placed him on his back before jumping down after Douxie and him, Toby screaming at the sudden feeling of weightlessness.

“Come on Blinky.” Grabbing the trolls hand, Claire conjured a portal using her shadow staff and dragged the troll through before he could say anything.

Luckily for them the chasm wasn’t to deep and the whole group had managed to land safely on the chasm floor. It was pitch black in the murky depths of the cavern but a faint red glow could be seen coming from one end of the cavern.

All thinking the same thing they rushed towards the source of the red light, entering the cae system.

“Creepy.” Arrgh mumbled looking up at the skulls that lined the cave walls.

“You can say that again.” Toby whispered from on top of Arrgh, cowering a little at the sight of what he hoped wasn’t dried blood on the floor.

Jim and Douxie led the group, both furious that you’d been taken. To Jim this was a family matter, he’d failed to protect you and it could cost you your life. He could remember all the times you’d protected him. When your dad had left, you’d hugged him for hours telling him it would be okay and that it wasn’t your guys fault. When your mum worked late at the hospital you made sure he got to bed on time and had done his homework. At school if he was being bullied by Steve you’d put him in his place or get Señor Uhl off his back.

So many times you’d been there for him and yet this time when it’d really mattered he’d failed you. And all because of his own selfishness. He thought he was protecting you, but now he knew he was enjoying the fact that he had this thing that you didn’t. You were perfect, the perfect student, the soccer captain, spring fling queen. How could he compete ?

Much like Jim, Douxie felt like a failure. He’d failed at protecting you and felt like he was the reason the Arcane order had reappeared in Arcadia. Sure you riled him up, your stupid quips and sarcastic remarks made his blood boil and your immunity to his flirting also bothered him, but he cared about you. He didn’t want you to get hurt. He loved you. He’d said it in front of everyone and yet you didn’t even know. He couldnt lose you now without telling you.

They finally approached the source of the forboding red light, and found themselves at the entrance to a wide cavern. Two figures could be made out round the corner: Bellroc and Skrael.

“Okay so we need to follow the plan. Now mast-“ Blinky began to recall the plan they’d come up with until Jim, without wanting, rushed into the cavern, sword drawn and yelling furiously.

“So much for that.” Douxie mumbled before following after the troll hunter.

Jim rounded the corner, sword swinging at Bellroc who was taken by surprise. Daylight made contact against the top of her skull mask, cracking it in two.

“Ah troll hunter ! So nice to see you again.” Sliding back Bellroc smirked maliciously at the now panting troll hunter, who pointed his sword at her.

“Give me my sister back now ! And I might let you live !” He roared charging again to go in for another attack, sword pointed to drive through Bellroc’s heart.

Behind him, Douxie had begun to engage in a fight with Skrael with the assistance of Claire.

“Where is she ?” Douxie roared, sending a magical blast straight at him, which Skrael just dodged but unfortunately was truck by Claire’s shadow staff, who’d appeared behind him.

“Give us (y/n) !” Claire yelled, swinging her staff down, aiming for Skrael’s head.

Struggling between dodging Douxie’s spells and Claire’s staff, Skrael started to feel threatened. The two sorcerers had grown much stronger since their last battle. He could feel himself becoming desperate.

Bellroc wasn’t doing much better as she faced off against Jim, Toby and Arrgh who combined were beginning to overpower her. Their anger over (y/n) being taken also helped fuel them and at this rate the pair would be defeated.

“Bellroc now !” Skrael yelled before Douxie landed a hit straight on him, sending the god of the north wind straight back into the wall. Claire high fived her teacher, who looked satisfied at seeing one of your captors knocked out for the count.

Seeing Skrael hit the wall and knocked out, Bellroc could see their window of opportunity closing. Rasing one hand into the air, the warm glow of red coloured magic left her hand. The cave began to tremble, the floor starting to shake as if an earthquake was happening.

Startled the others struggled to stay upright, looking around each other in shock and fear.

“Rise my champion !” Bellroc screeched cackling manically as a figure began to emerged from the darkness of the end of the cavern.

A woman sauntered into the cavern, clad in a suit of ruby red amour, a domino mask covering her face, highlighting the malice in her (e/c) eyes. In one hand she held a bow, a quiver slung over the other shoulder.

For a second the group stood their stunned, until a small gasp left Jim’s lips.

“(Y/n)...” his words caused the others to also let out gasps, Douxie dropping his staff in shock as he realised that it was you under the mask.

‘What have they done to you ?..’ he thought in anguish at the sight of his rival and love in strange armour, armed with a weapon.

“Champion kill them all !” With the group frozen in shock, Bellroc saw an opportunity to strike and finish the deed: Kill the troll hunter and all the other pests there, whilst also gaining a new champion. It was brilliant.

“As you wish.” Words mixed with bloodlust, you strung an arrow through your bow, aiming right at your brother’s head before pulling the bowstring back and releasing the arrow. With a worried glance Claire realised Jim was frozen still.

“Jim !” She screamed trying to get his attention. Sadly it didn’t work and seeing this Arrgh quickly dove forwards, taking the hit. The arrow pierced his back as he protected Jim who’d finally come to his senses.

“Master Jim !” Arrgh let out a pained yell, the arrow wound radiating with some strange magic.

“That’s no ordinary arrow.” You smirked as you started to float up into the air, a red glow surrounding you.

“By Merlín.” Douxie whispered in shock as he watched you perform magic.

Arrgh let out a cry of pain before collapsing, knocked out from the sleep spell you’d cast on your arrow tips.

“No Arghh !!” Toby yelled out in distress as he ran to his wingman, reaching the dormant troll’s side.

“Arghh !” Blinky ran to his friends side, watching in horror as the troll wouldn’t respond.

Toby glanced up at your looming form, the red aura surrounding you as you hovered above them adding to your menacing appearance. This person in front of Toby didn’t look like the girl who’d bandaged his knees when he fell over or played on his game console with him when nobody else would. Whoeve this was in front of them it wasn’t the real you.

“Oh I’m sorry. I was aiming for you brother, he shouldn’t have gotten in the way.” You cackled evilly, flying towards them.

“You aren’t my sister. (Y/n) would never do this ! Give her back to us !” Jim roared, swinging his sword at the flying sorceress.

“Oh but younger brother I am (y/n). I’m right here. And look at all of this power I have now.” As if to show off you conjured up a magical balls of red energy before sending it straight at Claire, who wasn’t paying attention, and as a result was sent flying into one of the cave walls.

Her small body collapsed as if she was a rag doll. A scream of anguish tore from Jim’s lips as he stared in horror, before turning onto his newly transformed sister.

“You need to stop this (y/n) ! You’re hurting your friends ! Your family ! The people closest to you.” Trying not to cry Jim yelled at you, terrified that his sister was gone now, and also terrified for his friends lives.

This was unlike any situation he’d ever encountered. For the first time ever the enemy wasn’t some troll or goblin or an evil sorcerer, it was his sister. What would he do ? If he fought you, you might be seriously hurt or even worse killed, yet if he didn’t fight you then he risked the lives of his friends. He didn’t know what to do.

“Friends and family you say. Well where were my friends and family when I was being tortured to death down here ? Donyou know what they did to me ?” You removed the domino mask, letting it fall to the floor.

A large scar covered the left side of your face, the markings like the one Agnor Rok had once placed on Jim. Yet they looked a lot tougher as if they’d been cut into your face. The breath left Jim’s chest as he stared at you properly now.

He could see dried blood in your hair and cuts littering the palms of your hands. He was sure there were more wounds covering your body that they were just unable to see because of the armour.

Before he could respond, Douxie let out a roar of anger next to him and charged at Bellroc, chanting an incantation as he sent a bolt of blue magic straight at her. Just as it was about to hit her, you soared down and blocked it was a red glowing shield of magic.

“Nice try but you’re just an amateur compared to me punk rock boy.” You jeered, summoning two balls of glowing red energy in your hands.

“Blinky, Toby get everyone out of here now !” Douxie yelled, his eyes wide with fear as he started to realise show powerful you were. Whatever magical spell Bellroc had placed you under it wasn’t working alone.

Douxie guesses it was some type of mind control and magic enhancement. But it would only work if you were already a magical being. Yet he’d never sensed anything magical about you. It must’ve been buried deep within you. Bellroc had managed to unleash it and without any training, and the influence of dark magic, you were uncontrollable. You might be powerful, but without the proper training you’ were at risk of letting yourself be consumed by it.

“No we won’t leave you !” Toby yelled back, only for Jim to turn on him, his face more serious than his best friend had ever seen it.

“Go now tobes !” Jim’s order was enough for Blinky and Toby to struggle pulling Arrgh through one of Claire’s shadow portals. Blinky gave Jim one nod, a sad smile on his lips as he watched the young boy he cared for so much about to fight his toughest battle.

“Goodbye master Jim.” Blinky whispered as they disappeared into the darkness.

“Retreating I see ? Cowardly even for you Casperan.” You cackled, combining both of the magical orbs of energy in your palms together, sending the magical blast straight at the wizard.

In retaliation, Douxie sent his own bolt of blue magical energy from his wizards staff. The two collided with each other, becoming a purple crackling mass of magical energy. Bloodlust filled your eyes as you pushed further, trying to overpower Douxie who wasn’t going to back down.

Out of the corner of his eye, Douxie noticed that Bellroc was trying to make an escape, backing away from them. And it looked like she was actually injured as her right arms was bleeding. Realisation dawned on Douxie. Bellroc was vulnerable right now, she must’ve used lots of magical energy to turn you into this monstrous killer.

“Jim ! Bellroc ! She’s vulnerable !” Douxie yelled to the trollhubter, who was standing still next to him, completely lost in what he imagined were some very conflicting thoughts.

Douxie’s yelling, though, brought him back to real life and the trollhunter lunged after the goddess, managing to land a second strike on her.

“Aww Casperan wont you pay attention to me ?You love to flirt with girls so why don’t you try it with me !” You screamed cackling with glee, as Douxie faltered and was sent spiralling back against one of the cave walls.

Like predator to prey, you advanced on him hands crackling with two fiery red orbs of energy.

With one hand you cupped his chin, bringing his face close to yours. The wizard was blinking lazily, head foggy with the hard impact of the stone wall. He could just about register your sinister smile and empty (e/c) eyes. You were like a complete stranger.

“You know Casperan if you weren’t such an awful flirt I might’ve considered dating you. You have such a nice face. It’s a shame I’m going to have to ruin it.” You swung a hand down, claw like nails ready to tear him to pieces when Douxie’s hand shot out and grabbed your wrist, blocking your attack.

Before you could react, he swung his other hand back and punched you right in the face. Under normal circumstances Douxie would never hit a girl, certainly not one he liked, but these were abnormal circumstances. With the force of the impact you stumbled back, giving him enough time to reach for his wizards staff and lunge at you, pushing you straight down to the floor.

Full body weight and staff pressed down against you, you were unable to move growling in frustration at your predicament.

“(Y/n), love, you need to snap out of this. This isn’t you.” Douxie said, voice full of despair on as he stared into your eyes looking for a glimpse of the girl he used to know.

For a second your eyes softened, face morphing into something recognisable as you, but it shattered just as quickly. A malicious smirk crossed your features as you looked up at the wizard enjoying how miserable he looked.

“And how would you know me Casperan ? We aren’t friends. I mean we don’t even like each other. I hate you.” You spat, bloodlust clouding your eyes as you wriggled below him.

Hurt flooded Douxie at that, but he knew he had to push it aside if he had any hope of pulling back the real you.

“We might not have been friends love but I know you. You have the dorkiest victory dance that you do after you win a soccer match. You don’t want anyone to know but you secretly want to move as far away from here as possible, that you don’t like Arcadia as much as you make out to because your afraid of hurting peoples feelings. “ he said, and with each word you began to falter more and more. Those once hard and sinister eyes, softened and he could see the old (y/n) peeking through, like he was scratching away at layers.

Inside your mind a mental war was being waged. One part of you, the new evil magical side that had been borne of pain and misery wanted destruction and hurt, whilst the other side, the one that had always been you wanted to help your friend and family. Both were warriors but with agendas.

“And love you got something completely wrong there. I don’t hate you. It’s quite the opposite actually.” Douxie held your gaze for a moment watching as the old (Y/n) began to return. You stared up at him, anticipating what was to come next.

“I love you (Y/n).”

A gasp left your lips as his words settled in your mind, Douxie watching you anxiously for a reaction. On one level he’d just told his arch nemesis that he loved her, and then on another it could determine life and death.

His words were enough to tip the scales in your favor and the dark side of you cried out as you overpowered it, combining into a brand new version of yourself. This time you weren’t under the influence of Bellroc and your darkest side. This time your magic was yours, the pain would heal and turn to scars with time. You were you again.

And you knew what you had to do. With a big shove you pushed Douxie off of you, the wizard falling on his back in surprise. He could tell something had changed. From the way you smirked, to the way you held yourself he could see it was you again.

“It’s good to be back Casperan. I know I should say thank you but it’s kinda your fault I’m in this mess.” You chuckled teasingly, cracking your knuckles as you stared angrily at Bellroc who had your brother pinned to the ground.

“(Y/n)...” Douxie gasped watching as you summoned your bow and arrow to your side, taking aim at the goddess.

“Watch and learn.” You said a little arrogantly as the arrow hit the monster dead on, who in turn let out a high pitches shriek.

“‘My champion ! You’ll pay for that !” She screamed, pulling the arrow out of her chest and snapping it in half in rage.

A laugh left your lips as you advanced on her, hovering just above the floor.

“I’m not your champion ! And the only one who will pay here is you !” You screamed, magic radiating from you.

Bringing your hands together, you manifested a large amount of red energy and sent it straight at her. Having lost the element of surprise, Bellroc easily deflected it.

“That’s child’s play. You’ve barely had your powers for an hour. I’ll kill you slow and painfully.” She cried cackling manically as she lunges for you.

The two of you engaged in a battle, flying around each other, deflecting and sending attacks. Even though your powers were new, you were managing to hold your own so well that you were at a stalemate. Bellroc was still weak from the magic that it took to turn you into that magical killer, and you knew this might be your only chance to kill her.

‘I need an edge. We’re at a stalemate.’ You mumbled to yourself, peering round the cave as you dodged one of her attacks.

Douxie and Jim were injured and barely able to fight so you knew they couldn’t give sufficient aid to win this. An epiphany struck you, as you glanced up at the ceiling of the cave, and saw multiple sharp stalactites hanging there.

You knew your plan was risky, and there was a good chance you would di, but if it killed Bellroc and Skrael once and for all then it was worth it. You didn’t quite know what sort of astrocities they’d committed but not only had they tortured you, turned you against your friends, but they’d also hurt the people you cared about most.

“Jim ! Douxie ! Get out of here now !” You screamed at them, launching another arrow at Bellroc who was starting to regain her strength.

The pair exchanged worried glances, neither of them wanting to leave you. Jim couldn’t stand to lose his big sister, his dad was already gone he couldn’t lose another family member. And Douxie has just told you he loved you, you hadn’t even begun to start that journey together.....but then he’d once before been in the situation you’d been in. He knew what to do.

Regretting it already and full of remorse Douxie grabbed Jim, roughly pulling him towards the exit of the cavern. Screaming and struggling, Jim tried to pull away from Douxie, but the wizard was biologically a few years older and so a bit stronger plus he wasn’t as badly injured as Jim.

“(Y/n) ! No ! Please I can’t lose you to !” Jim cried, tears starting to stream down his face as he watched you turn to face him with a remorseful smile.

“I’m sorry Jim. Tell mum I love her okay. And know you’ll never be alone. I’ll always be here for you.” You cried out to your brother, a few of your own tears streaming down your face.

Safe outside of the cavern, Douxie watched as you launched three beams of magic up at the ceiling, the stalacites cominf lose and collapsing on top of you, Skrael and Bellroc. Just as the three of you were about to be engulfed by the masses of rock he saw your lips move.

“I love you too.”

And with that a thunderous rumble filled the cave as the stalactites smashed to bits on the ground.

Ringing filled Douxies ears as he stared, frozen as he tried to comprehend what had just happened.

“No ! (Y/n) ! Please !” Jim cried, rushing forwards and trying to pull pieces of the smashed rocks out from the car, trying to tunnel his way in. Sobs could be heard coming from him, as he made futile attempts at rescuing you.

“Jim, she’s gone. I’m sorry.” Douxie placed a comforting had on Jim’s shoulder, gently pulling him away from the cave entrance.

“No !” Jim yelled before collapsing to his knees, smashing his fists against the ground.

‘I’m sorry I couldn’t save you love....’ Douxie knelt next to Jim and brought the devastated troll hunter into a hug, the pair of them crying quietly as they mourned the loss of a person they loved.

————————

“What do we have here ? Sorceress (y/n) Lake, sister of my troll hunter Jim Lake and apparently my Douxie’s girlfriend.” A voice rang out, awakening you with a start.

A cry left your lips as you shot upright from your lying position, a heavy breath leaving your lips.

“Where am I ? I thought I was dead...” you mumbled, hands fumbling over your body as you tried to feel for an injury. Even the once dried blood that had stained your hair and clothes was gone.

“You aren’t dead. Yet. I am Merlín child, the greatest sorcerer to ever live. And I need your help.”

#douxie x reader #trollhunters #douxie #tales of arcadia #toa #toa douxie #toa wizards #troll hunters #hisirdoux casperan #hisirdoux casperan x reader

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a-small-batch-of-dragons · 3 years

Text

Split

Prompt: hello! i adore your merlin writing and i saw you seemed to be doing prompts? if so, i'd like to submit one, no pressure though! a mysterious spell hits arthur and splits him into different facets/parts of his personality and merlin has to fix it before uther finds out. (this could be an opportunity for some fun shenanigans with the arthur's running around making a mess or an opportunity to explore something a bit angstier ;), up to you). Thank you!!

Thanks for the prompt, babe! I hope it’s what you wanted!

Read on Ao3

Pairings: Merthur, can be platonic or romantic you decide

Warnings: Implied/referenced child abuse, nothing graphic, nothing explicit. Uther’s just a dick.

Word Count: 4470

Listen, there is a reason you don’t run into glowing circles of magic even when the sorcerer you’re chasing is standing right inside it. You don’t do that, Arthur, you especially don’t do that when there is a helpful chorus of people behind you passionately yelling ‘no.’

You know what, if there’s ever a chorus of people passionately yelling ‘no’ behind you as you’re about to do something, don’t do it. Just good advice.

“Sire!”

Merlin turns, ducking Leon’s swing as the sword arcs above their heads to come crashing down on a tree limb. With a sharp crack, the branch falls into the circle and a flash of light makes Merlin wince.

“Arthur!”

The gold dies down. Merlin cautiously moves his hand. No sorcerer. A pile of tattered robes lies a little way away. He must’ve gotten hit with part of the magic blast.

Groaning comes from the middle of the circle. The mass of red cape stirs.

“Arthur, you bloody idiot,” Merlin hisses, rushing forward as the knights look around, “why’d you do that, you could’ve gotten yourself killed, it—“

Merlin’s hand falls away from the cape in shock. His mouth drops open. A blond head raises to look at him. Then another. Then another.

“A-Arthur?”

“Yes?”

“Merlin?”

“What do you want?”

“Bloody hell…” Gwaine’s voice comes from so far away. Merlin can’t tear his eyes away from the sight.

There are three Arthur Pendragons, each with their own red cape, crouched in the middle of the circle.

Cautiously, Merlin reaches out to touch the one closest to him. The Arthur raises his eyebrows and regards the hand with disgust, almost slapping it away. Well, he’s definitely real.

“Get my horse, boy,” the Arthur says haughtily, looking around to see the knights, “and you, men, tell me what happened.”

Gwaine’s eyebrows shoot to his hairline. “Well, that one’s a prat.”

“I’ll have your head for that,” the Arthur snarls, drawing his sword in a flash of steel despite Leon’s hurried ‘sire, no!’

And Gwaine’s ‘come on, then.’

“Not helping,” Percival mutters as Merlin manages to tear his eyes away from Prince Prat to look at the other two.

“Arthur?”

The second Arthur looks at him from where he’d been gazing at the trees. “Hello. Are you my manservant?”

“Uh, well—“ Merlin glances over his shoulder to where Leon and Lancelot have just started to calm down Prince Prat—“I think, technically, I’m…all of your manservants.”

“I’m sorry.”

Merlin’s head snaps around. “What?”

The second Arthur shrugs. “I’m sorry. That seems inconvenient for you. You were expecting to serve just one master and now it seems you have to serve three.”

“Y-yeah, um…” Merlin swallows. “It’s not ideal.”

“How did this happen,” the second Arthur says, gesturing between himself and the others, “did we accidentally provoke someone?”

“…yeah, you could say that.”

“What happened?”

“You ran into a magic circle.”

“…why?”

“I don’t know,” Merlin sighs, “I was about to ask you that.”

The second Arthur looks…contrite? Apologetic?

“I truly don’t know what would’ve pushed me to do something like that. Were you or any of the knights in direct danger?”

“No. Not really.”

He frowns. “Then I don’t know.”

Merlin glances over his shoulder to where Leon is calmly talking to Prince Prat while Gwaine raises an eyebrow at Merlin. Merlin shrugs. He doesn’t know what’s going on either, okay?

“Where’s Morgana?”

Merlin looks back at the second Arthur who’s still looking around. “What?”

“Where’s Morgana?” The second Arthur shrugs when Merlin looks at him like he’s sprouted another head. Which Merlin’s not ruling out as a possibility, by the way. “She’ll know what to do, or at least have some idea. She’s cleverer than most people give her credit for.”

“She…she’s back in the castle,” Merlin says finally, “but that sounds…reasonable.”

Reasonable Arthur gives him a nod and a smile, trying to get to his feet. Merlin jumps up to help him, eyes widening slightly when that smile only grows.

“Thank you,” Reasonable Arthur says, “I do hope this won’t be too hard for you to adjust to.”

“Um…thanks?” Merlin blinks a few times when Reasonable Arthur’s smile still doesn’t go away. “Oh, um, I should’ve asked this earlier, but…what do you remember?”

“Unhand me!”

“Sire,” comes Leon’s voice, making them turn around to look. Leon stands with his hand not quite touching Prince Prat’s chest, with Lancelot and the others behind him, “you must listen to us, we’re not in danger, the sorcerer is gone—“

“I’ll believe that when there are no longer three of us!”

“What do you remember,” Merlin says quickly as Leon shoots him an exasperated glance, “of before this happened?”

“I remember enough to know I have actual knights in my employ,” Prince Prat sniffs, “and that you are an absolutely awful servant.”

“I think we have most of our memories intact,” Reasonable Arthur says quickly, “just…not about the split.”

“And I have yet to have that explained to me!”

Merlin rolls his eyes. “Why don’t you explain why you ran into a circle of magic without any sort of plan?”

“I had a plan!”

“Yeah, what was it?”

“Kill the sorcerer!”

Merlin pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. Whoever got the intelligence in this split, the commons sense definitely isn’t with this one.

“Alright, well, until we figure out how to fix this, we should get back to Camelot and try to keep this a secret.”

Reasonable Arthur nods. Prince Prat just stares at him. “And what makes you think you give the orders around here?”

“You have a better idea?”

“It’s a solid plan,” Reasonable Arthur says quickly, looking between Merlin, Prince Prat, and the knights, “and I think it would make the most sense.”

“Who cares about making sense, I want this fixed!”

“But considering we don’t have the ability to do that right now—“

Merlin gets distracted when the third Arthur stands up. If he’s being completely honest, he almost forgot there was a third one. This Arthur doesn’t speak, just takes off his cape and turns it inside out, putting it on and pulling up his hood. Reasonable Arthur and Prince Prat are still arguing, only stopping when the third Arthur slots himself into line behind the horses.

“…um…Arthur?”

“What?”

“Yes?”

“No, no, not you guys, um…” Merlin cautiously approaches the third Arthur. “Are you…injured?”

The third Arthur shakes his head. “It will be easier if the others do not see me,” he says so quietly Merlin has to bend closer to hear him.

“Right, er—“ Merlin looks over his shoulder. “One of you should probably, er, hide as well.”

“I’m not hiding,” Prince Prat sniffs.

“I would…rather not?” Reasonable Arthur adjusts his own cape. “I don’t think it would be—“

“Well, one of us has to, and I’m not going to.”

“Can’t we talk about this?”

“No.”

“Look—“ Merlin quickly puts his hand on Reasonable Arthur’s shoulder. “It’s just until we can get to Gaius.”

Reasonable Arthur sighs and fiddles with his cape, standing next to the third Arthur. Prince Prat swings himself up on Arthur’s horse and commands the knights to follow him home. Lancelot spares Merlin one last glance before subtly taking over the lead. Merlin shakes his head. The sooner they can figure this out, the better.

Gaius, to his credit, simply raises an eyebrow and sighs. “I take it the patrol went well?”

“You’re hilarious.” Merlin shoves Prince Prat away from the bubbling tonics. “Now what happened?”

“Based on the fact that they all seem to still have their memories intact, I’m inclined to think it’s some sort of Division magic.”

“Division magic?”

“Yes.” Gaius watches as Reasonable Arthur attempts to tug his cape back on right while Prince Prat struts about like he owns the place. The third Arthur sits on the stool and doesn’t say anything. “Splitting a person into their separate parts, different versions of themselves that normally reside inside their own heads.”

“Why would you want to do that?”

“To weaken them, perhaps, in the hopes that it would be…easier to control them.”

“You mean kill them,” Prince Prat corrects, “don’t beat around the bush.”

“We don’t know that—“

“Of course we do!” Prince Prat almost cuffs Reasonable Arthur upside the head. “What else could a sorcerer possibly want?”

“How do we fix it,” Merlin says quickly before this conversation can get anymore…terrifying, “there’s got to be a way to fix it.”

“There is.”

“Then why didn’t you lead with that?” Gaius just gives him a look. “…oh.”

“We should tell Morgana,” Reasonable Arthur pipes up, “she’s good at keeping secrets and she’s very clever.”

“She’s a girl,” Prince Prat huffs.

“She’s cleverer than you and you know it.”

“I’m gonna go get Morgana,” Merlin mutters and tears out of the room.

Morgana doesn’t believe him at first. He doesn’t really blame her. Still, her face when she walks in to see three of Arthur standing there is…interesting.

“Oh, what’ve you done now?”

“Like you can talk!”

“Morgana! You’re here!”

Morgana’s eyes widen when Reasonable Arthur looks overjoyed to see her. “…yes?”

“I told them you’d help, you’re clever.”

Morgana glances at Merlin. “…is he alright?”

Merlin quickly fills her in.

“Must we fix them,” Morgana muses, “I quite like that one.”

“We don’t know how stable it is,” Merlin mutters, “plus, part of this is supposed to make Arthur inconspicuous, right? How well d’you think Uther would react to seeing his son like that?”

Morgana hums. “Well, if there’s that in him normally, I suppose we’ll just have to work on getting it out more often.”

She walks over to the others and is promptly swept up in a conversation. Prince Prat is being a prat, Reasonable Arthur is being reasonable, Morgana is being amazing, and Gaius is looking a little less like his forehead is going to iron itself into a frown.

The third Arthur doesn’t say anything.

Merlin carefully scoots around them, laying a hand on the third Arthur’s shoulder. “Arthur? Sorry, sorry,” he says quickly when the third Arthur flinches, “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

The third Arthur glances up at him and shakes his head. Merlin breathes out slowly. He lays his hand back carefully, glancing up to signal Gaius to have the others give them some space.

Prince Prat has the strut and the puffed-out chest and the voice. Reasonable Arthur has the easy movement and the gracious words and the confident nod.

The third Arthur, as Merlin looks at him, is the only one who doesn’t really look like Arthur. Not…not really.

His cheeks, while not visibly more gaunt or drawn than the others, have this sort of ashen look to them that makes Merlin’s chest clench in a funny way. The way his sits is almost too still, eerily so, like if he moves even an inch he’ll fall over. There is a solemnity to his movement, as if every step is done with the care and caution of someone balancing on a tightrope, high up in the clouds, the wind whipping about them.

He hasn’t said more than half a dozen words, the first of which being Merlin’s name.

“Are you alright?”

The third Arthur looks up and nods. Merlin’s breath catches in his throat.

There is almost nothing behind his eyes.

“That sounds fine,” Prince Prat announces, startling Merlin. He looks around to see Reasonable Arthur shaking his head slightly and Morgana’s hands perched on her hips.

“What sounds fine?”

“Gaius says he can have the cure drawn up by the end of the week,” Morgana says, “and until then, the Arthurs will stay in their chambers and only one will be allowed out at any given time.”

“And how’re we supposed to manage that? I mean, are we just supposed to have someone in there all the time that can control them and tell them which one is supposed to—“

Merlin stops. Oh, no. No, no, no.

“Believe me,” Prince Prat grumbles, “I’m not thrilled about it either.”

A quick glance around the room shows that yep, this is in fact happening. Fortunately—or unfortunately—it seems that only Prince Prat and Merlin have some sort of reservations about this. Morgana looks positively gleeful.

“Don’t worry Merlin,” she says as she sweeps out of the room, “I’m sure you’ll figure it out!”

Well, once they get to Arthur’s chambers, it becomes clear that they have a lot to figure out. Prince Prat insists on sleeping in the bed because it’s his, Reasonable Arthur points out that technically it is all of their beds, Prince Prat threatens to take Reasonable Arthur’s head off until Merlin threatens to make them both sleep on the floor. The grudging agreement to share it doesn’t come free. Reasonable Arthur gets an apple chucked at his head. The rest of that day and the next is spent in terse, tolerable silence that makes Merlin want to bite his own head off.

Then of course it’s supposedly time for Arthur to go train and of course Prince Prat has to go. Merlin asks a guard to summon Leon and it’s a testament to how much shit Leon’s been through that he simply nods and lets Prince Prat lead the way. Merlin shakes his head and wonders how the knights will deal with this. He’s sure to get an earful from Gwaine about it later.

Then Reasonable Arthur sits down at Arthur’s desk and picks up a quill and just…works. Merlin has to stop every once in a while as he's doing his own chores to watch Arthur sit there, scratching away at the roll of parchment, glancing up every so often to smile at Merlin or ask him a question. Then he wants to go talk to Morgana and Merlin has to explain that no, everyone thinks that Arthur—the one Arthur—is outside training right now, he can’t be also seen going to Morgana’s chambers, and having Morgana come here while everyone thinks Arthur’s outside is also not good. Merlin hands the work off to another servant to bring to the King.

Then Merlin notices that all the third Arthur’s done is sit quietly on a chair in the corner, toying with something.

Glancing over his shoulder to notice that neither of the others has even noticed, Merlin sets down his basket and crosses the room to crouch down in front of him. The third Arthur barely blinks.

“…Arthur?”

His head turns but he doesn’t make eye contact.

“Do you need anything?”

He shakes his head with the smallest smile, discreetly tucking whatever he was toying with into his sleeve. Merlin glances over his shoulder again. Reasonable Arthur is paying them absolutely no mind.

“…are you alright?”

The third Arthur doesn’t quite look at him, but his hand twitches toward Merlin. Merlin holds his own trembling hand out—why is he shaking? What’s happening?—for him to take, if he wants.

He doesn’t, and Merlin doesn’t push. This Arthur is…intriguing, to say the least. As he gets back to his chores, pointedly avoiding looking in that direction to give him privacy, he thinks.

Has he ever seen this part of Arthur before? Is it just so small normally that he doesn’t? Was there some rule about the spell having to split them into three so they just…made another Arthur?

A thundering of footsteps signals the return of Prince Prat, much to Reasonable Arthur’s chagrin.

“Off with my armor,” Prince Prat orders, “now.”

“Tell you what,” Merlin sighs, “you ask me by name and I’ll do it.”

“And why should I do that?”

“Because it’s the decent thing to do?”

“Who cares about decent?”

“We should,” Reasonable Arthur says, frowning, “of course, we should care. If we’re going to be king—“

“You’re not going to be king, I’m going to be king.”

“Technically we’re all going to be king.”

“You won’t do a good job of it. All you want to do is talk, and not fight for what you want, what kind of king will do that?”

“And what kind of king will just prattle on about whatever he wants and not listen,” Reasonable Arthur shoots back, “how many enemies will you make because you want to answer things with a sword?”

“You have to fight for what is right!”

“And how will you know what that is if you don’t talk?”

Merlin sighs, leaning back against the pillar of Arthur’s bed. To be honest, he’d be more invested in this conversation—which is pretty interesting, even without the fact that it’s two versions of Arthur shouting at himself—if he wasn’t already fed up with this entire situation.

Then a knock at the door.

“Sire!”

“Yes?” Prince Prat turns.

“The King has summoned you!”

The room falls deathly quiet.

Merlin quickly says that he’ll be on his way in a second, gaze darting back and forth between the two Arthurs, both of which have gone pale.

“W-well,” Reasonable Arthur says, “er…duty calls.”

“No, no,” Prince Prat says, actually moving away from the door, “you should go. He wants to talk.”

“But you’re in armor.”

“But you can actually think.”

Merlin’s stomach drops. Arthur…the Arthurs look scared.

“I’ll go.”

The third Arthur stands up, the chair scraping against the floor with a horrid noise. He rolls his shoulders back and something in Merlin’s mind clicks.

He knows that posture, recognizes it from when they went out to face the dragon. He knows that walk, knows it from seeing Arthur walk towards the block as Morgause held aloft the axe.

And as the third Arthur turns around to give them one last look, Merlin recognizes the look in his eyes as their gazes finally meet.

Resignation.

The door thuds shut behind him before Merlin can even move.

His fingers itch. He needs something to do. He turns to Prince Prat. “I’ll, um, I’ll get your armor off.”

“N-no,” Prince Prat stutters, still looking at the door. “I need it. I need it on.”

“What?”

“I need it on,” he repeats, almost clutching his sword.

Soft scratchings fill the room and Merlin looks around to see Reasonable Arthur scribbling frantically.

“I have to tell him,” he keeps muttering, “I’m right, I just—if he would let me explain, I could—“

“You can’t,” Prince Prat interrupts. “You know you can’t. He won’t listen to words.”

“If we defend ourselves it—“

“If we talk it—“

“We have to—“

“We can’t—“

The Arthurs freeze. Prince Prat’s hand is wrapped firmly around the pommel of his sword. Reasonable Arthur’s hands ball up in spare sheets of parchment. Neither of them dares look away from the door.

An icy pit opens up in Merlin’s chest and a cold fire rages.

Somewhere, in this castle, there is an Arthur standing in front of Uther Pendragon, with an indifferent cool gaze iced into place, and the only words on his tongue are: “Yes, Father.”

Merlin has no idea how long they stand there.

Footsteps.

Merlin blinks and suddenly Prince Prat is in front of him, holding out an arm to shield him. Reasonable Arthur is at his shoulder, clutching a scribbled list in one hand, the other on the back of Merlin’s tunic.

The door starts to creak open.

The Survivor Arthur appears and the room heaves a sigh of relief, quickly followed by Merlin ducking around Prince Prat to rush to Survivor Arthur’s side. His hands flit about anxiously as he asks about injuries. Survivor Arthur shakes his head, moves away from the door, and sits back down in the chair. Merlin watches, gobsmacked, as Reasonable Arthur and Prince Prat just…return to what they were doing. Without any sort of…anything.

“Merlin?”

Survivor Arthur’s voice breaks him out of his trance, looking around to see his head turned just enough to stare at Merlin’s torso.

“I’m here,” Merlin says quickly, “do you need something?”

He shakes his head. “Just…wanted to know you were here.”

Yeah, Merlin’s not leaving this room for shit.

He makes sure Survivor Arthur is in the bed that night. The other two must see something in his gaze because they don’t argue, just curl up on either side of the truly massive bed. Prince Prat nods off right away, Reasonable Arthur following not long after. Only Survivor Arthur stays awake, his eyes darting around until his gaze lands on Merlin, finishing up the last of his chores.

“Arthur?”

In the dark, Merlin can only see half of his face. “You’re staying, aren’t you?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Merlin promises, “not for anything.”

“…I don’t want you to leave.”

“I won’t.”

“No one does what you do.”

“Well, there’s only so many manservants that will put up with their charge splitting into three.”

He doesn’t laugh. Merlin pauses, walking closer to the side of the bed.

“…no one takes care of me like you do,” comes the whisper. Merlin’s heart clenches.

“I’ve got no one else to care for like I care for you.”

Something in the darkness softens. “Don’t leave?”

“…I’m not going anywhere.”

Merlin doesn’t move from his spot next to the bed until the sunlight wakes him up. He groans, shifting around and rubbing his eyes blearily.

“Merlin?”

“Yeah,” he grumbles, “I’m awake.”

“Merlin.”

“Yes, I’m awake, hang on.”

“Merlin.”

“What?”

Merlin looks around, expecting to see Prince Prat glaring up at him, only to blink and see one Arthur in the bed, not three.

“…Arthur?”

Arthur looks down at himself, then back up to Merlin. “Pretty sure.”

“Are you—you’re—you’re back.”

“I am.” Arthur swings his legs over the side of the bed and stares up at Merlin with far too much awareness for this early in the morning. “Not that I ever really went anywhere.”

“Do you, er, what do you remember?”

Arthur gives him a look that should not be turning Merlin’s legs to jelly. “I remember everything, Merlin, including something about—“

“Please don’t,” Merlin says, feeling his face flare, “you don’t have to—”

“Merlin,” Arthur calls softly, “look at me.”

“Is that required?”

“Come on, it’s not that bad.”

“Says someone who couldn’t look at me most of the time,” Merlin shoots back instantly, only to wince a second later. “Sorry, that was…bad.”

He hears the faint rustling of sheets as Arthur stands, then a warm hand under his chin. He lets Arthur guide his face up.

“You’re right,” Arthur says softly, “I couldn’t look at you then. But I can do it now.”

“Are you sure,” Merlin tries weakly, “that this isn’t just Reasonable Arthur?”

“Reasonable Arthur?”

“Yeah. The one of you that admitted Morgana was smarter than you and actually did your work.”

“I don’t know if I would say smarter…”

“And wasn’t a massive pain in my are.”

“Wait, did you give names to all of them?”

“Had to tell you apart somehow, didn’t I?”

“What were the others?”

“Prince Prat.”

“Of course.”

“And, um…” Merlin chews on his lip. “…Survivor Arthur.”

“Survivor?” Merlin nods. “Not ‘coward?’”

“What? No!” Merlin’s jaw clenches and he stares at Arthur in disbelief. “No, protecting yourself isn’t cowardly. You—you—what the hell are you talking about?”

Arthur swallows heavily.

“…Arthur…Arthur, are you ashamed?”

Silence.

“You listen to me,” Merlin growls, taking a step forward right into Arthur’s space, “there is nothing to be ashamed about surviving. You have to live first and foremost and the last thing I want is for you to hurt yourself for the sake of it. You had to learn how to survive and I’m sorry and I hate it but I will never call you a coward because of it!”

He’s only aware that he’s shouting by the end of it by the strain in his throat. He blinks, going to take a step back, only for the hand still under his chin to hold him firm.

Arthur’s hand comes up to gently trace his cheek, looking at him like he’s something precious.

“I meant it,” he says softly, “no one takes care of me like you do.”

This time, Merlin can see his face clearly and the sincerity in his gaze makes him tremble.

“…I meant it too,” he manages, “I’ve got no one else to care for like I care for you.”

The corner of Arthur’s mouth quirks up. “I didn’t look at you because I couldn’t,” he whispers, “I didn’t have the part of me that was brave enough to look.”

The hand slots back under his chin.

“But now I do,” he breathes, “and I…I actually might believe you now.”

“…now that you’ve got your intelligent side back?”

Arthur gives his chest a gentle shove, chuckling. “Enough, you idiot, I’m trying to be sincere here.”

“Sorry, sorry.”

Arthur sobers, his hand coming up to ruffle through Merlin’s hair and cup the back of his neck. “…don’t leave, Merlin.”

Merlin reaches back to cover Arthur’s hand with his. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“No,” Arthur corrects, the hand under Merlin’s shifting a little, “I mean don’t…don’t leave. I know I was the one literally split into three people but you…I saw more of you too.”

Oh.

“So please, Merlin,” Arthur whispers, his voice shaking slightly, “please, don’t leave.”

“I told you,” Merlin says, “I’m not going anywhere, you prat.”

His voice is shaking a little too much for it to be completely joking.

The sunlight on the back of Merlin’s neck is not nearly as warm as Arthur’s hand, nor is it bright enough to hurt when their foreheads touch and their eyes fall shut. Arthur’s breath is warm on Merlin’s cheek.

“…no more running into magic circles, okay?”

“I don’t know,” Arthur murmurs, tilting his head just enough to brush his nose along Merlin’s temple, “I think this turned out alright.”

Merlin draws back just enough to open his mouth in some snappy remark only to have Arthur’s pleased smile immediately ruin it for him.

“…I’m sure the knights have questions.”

“I think Gwaine’ll be happy, don’t you?”

“I think he was grateful for an excuse to kick the shit out of me.”

“Wait, are you admitting that Gwaine is a better fighter than you?”

“Merlin!”

#bbc merlin #merlin #arthur pendragon #merthur fic #merthur #dragonbabbles #fic

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