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#he recognizes ida's magic

sweetnsquishy · 10 months

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𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐃𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐚

DO NOT STEAL!!

Description/Author's Note: A 60s Harry Potter AU where I made a character and decided to place her in the 60s lol. Not really following any main story lines from the main franchise but just a little "series" I wanted to start on here and maybe ao3. DO NOT REPOST ANYWHERE! Please let me know any thoughts and the main character has a pinterest board lol (i got very excited with making this fic.) *fun fact - throughout the stories, you'll see "familiar" characters that I thought would be fun to include. I did my best with research to make this as "accurate' as possible for a prologue so please enjoy!

*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*

ＰＲＯＬＯＧＵＥ

"SLYTHERIN!" The Sorting Hat does this every year, announcing the house of countless Hogwarts First Years; the cheers always happen, no matter what house. This time was no different as another witch was added to the serpent den. Millicent Barrows knew what the hat was going to say, Slytherin was in her blood. Being a legacy might've been tough for others but she had been prepared since before she was even born. Millie proudly stood to her house's cheers, with an impish, dimple revealing smirk. She snuck a peek over to the remaining incoming First Years she had come with to look for a "familiar" face, if familiar could include someone you just met. She found the ear-to-ear grin of her train buddy, Ida, hysterically clapping for her and gaining sideways glances from those around her but not letting them affect her. As she took her seat, she was flooded with "welcomes" and "hugs" paired with up and down glances that reeked of "will you live up to the great "Barrows" name?".

After the revelation of Ida being placed in Hufflepuff, the ceremony breezed by. With a final goodnight from Dumbledoore, the hall cleared as Headboys and Headgirls brought their new intake to their common rooms. "Keep up First Years! I don't want to have to repeat myself because I won't" Slytherin's Headboy yelled without even turning around. Millie waved one final goodbye to Ida as she was swept up with her peers trying not to be left behind. While all the other house headed around through the castle, their Headboy led them down for what seemed like forever. With each step, a degree dropped and the air became damp. Reaching the bottom and turning who knows how many turns, the Headboy had brought them to a big door. "When I say this, it will be the only time you will learn it from me, is that understood?" with an eyebrow raised looking over the class, clearly trying to scare them but Millie wasn't worried. "Venenum linguae!" the door squeaked ajar to the Headboy's phrase. "Remember those words." Millie thought to herself, she recognized the root of both words but couldn't exactly place them. She recognized "vene-" which is something with posion and "ling-" having to do with speaking or languages. She wasn't completely sure but she knew it was a start.

Piling into the almost vast common room, the temperature not budging, the Headboy stood on a step to have a better look at his year ones. "Good evening, I am Teddy Sable, the Headboy of Slytherin. Some of you might recognize my name from Sable's Suits and yes, I will be their rightful heir." his voice bounding over the class for such a dainty man. Short and sure of himself, Teddy went through the rules and regulations of what was expected of them as Slytherin students at Hogwarts. Millie knowing everything that was going to come out of his mouth and more, she decided to take a true look at those who were going to be with her day in, day out. A few familiar faces, magic world wise; a few rumored halfbloods here and there and then there were a few faces she had never seen at all. Most likely not purebloods but still intrigued her because she wondered what made them worthy of her house. She knew Teddy because her father and grandfather were longtime investors and customers of Sable's and on a few house calls, she had seen or run into him. He quickly became a big brother figure to her as he was only 2 or 3 years older than her-she could never remember. When he visited this past summer, they had discussed Hogwarts, what there was to look forward to, what to look out for-just anything and everything he could without "spoiling" her First Year experience. Especially with who her family was to Hogwarts and their world.

"This is where I bid you audieu. In your rooms, you will find your things and a few Slytherin gifts. Get your rest, young ones, tomorrow will not wait for you and neither will I. I will see you all at breakfast." With drama and flair, Teddy turned , throwing his robe and ascending up the stairs that followed the step that gave him extra foot above them. With hushed giggles and a few sighs of relief, Millie's peers turned towards each other and started a few introductions. "Are you really a Barrows?" A loud curious voice startled Millie, causing her to turn around to see where it even came from. A boy almost a foot taller than her she doubted he was actually 11 or 12, long brown hair, green eyes staring so hard he seemed like he was constantly trying to figure something out.

"Yes, and you are?"

"Wayne St. Griffis, you probably never heard of me but everyone knows the great Barrows family. You just don't look like a Barrows so I asked my question."

There it is. She was surprised it took someone this quick to bring up the fact that she didn't look like the rest of The Barrows. Her brown skin, deep brown eyes, petite rod-set afro, wide nose, and full lips would definitely be cause for doubt against her black haired, pale skin, green eyed, arched nose and somewhat full lips of the Barrows family. Her family didn't treat her or her mother any different except for the times they let a joke or two slip about how her father wasn't even in the room. She was used to it. "St Griffis? St. Griffis? OH! Are you the same St. Griffis as the one from the Ministry of Magic?" She knew she had heard that name from somewhere. His eyes lit up at the recognition.

"Why yes! I wasn't sure-"

"Oh I recognized your name immediately. It's the same name my father complains about at dinner, something about begging for money or constant nuisance with his ridiculous policies, I can never really remember." Millie shrugged whille feigning innocence, knowing she meant to say that last part a little too loudly for anyone who might've been listening.

Wayne grew pink and his furrowed brow went up in embarassment, those green eyes darting around to their peers to see who might've heard thus ruining his chances of avoiding a social shunning. "Keep it down! Apologies for questioning your liniage but you're not exactly what everyone though you would be."

"If I were you, I would think long and hard about the next thing you say to me."

Pink turning to red in a blink of an eye, Wayne wished Millie goodnight and went to a group that was farthest away, lowering their chances of hearing what had just occured.

Ending the night on meeting less offensive peers and catching up with other wizarding world high society youth she hadn't seen since their last "playdate" (Millie was old enough to realize most of her playdates with kids she had had once or twice and then never again were most likely because their parents were working together). Millie went up some stairs where she found her brown leather trunks that had her initials monogramed in silver and her family crest underneath it. She unpacked, got ready for bed, looked through her chest to see what Slytherin gifts awaited her and found a small ivory box on top of sweaters, robes and a scarf inside. Inside was a note and a long silver locket, on the front a pearl and inside a clock. The note was from her father saying "My little pearl, I know you will make us proud (you have no other choice). Love, Ton Père.".

Letting out a small chuckle, she placed the box and it's contents back in her trunk. Millie was excited for what the next day had waiting for her. Thinking of past holidays where her family would share one too many Hogwarts tales of way back when, she let them comfort and amuse her as she fell asleep.

#black fanfic writer #black!oc #black!hp oc #hp fandom #hp au #hp fanfic #60s au #slytherin!oc #black fem slytherin oc #millie barrows #black!mc #black!hp mc #hp #oc #fanfic prologue #black fanfiction #black fem reader #black reader

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semi-imaginary-place · 7 months

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13 sentinels spoilers 3

Yuki chan! Great So aiba eirika has been missing for weeks knew she was sus with tamao's face

In hindsight i should have progressed natsuno sooner a lot of things make more sense now like how miura got to 1985 and the sentinel takamiya's story was just talking about. Two kisaragis... Wait is that android kisaragi that ida lobotomized for having a panic attack and being uncontrollable. robot girl fight. So that is tamao, kinda. "Erika aiba" that was shadowing takamiya yuki is the kurabe tamao AI that ida made. And 426 is android kisaragi that has gone rogue and now has a grudge against ida. 426 won the robot fight and body jacked tamaobot. Poor bj has gone through the most out of the entire cast. Yup second miura confirmation. Android kisarsgi says natsuno is the new kaiju commander and that natsuno will be taking orders from her now and shoots her with nanomachines. Hmm memory loss the magic gun strikes again. Assuming 426 is still in tamaobot they tampered with bj again, and is also the eirika aiba tailing yuki (before the robot fight i assumed it was ida keeping rabs on her). "In the final phase of the [Ark] project humanity will be restarted", the final phase was what og shinonome wanted to sabotage and loop. Og ohata is gouto's son, wow theres a lot of divorce in 2188. Love that. I did remeber from last year that bj was miura but i dont remember which miura he is

It took me a while to figure out maybe 5 or 6 characters but these stories are mostly linear. The charts are misleading in that there isn't really a beaching story the endpoints are usually unlocked sequentially as though clouds are unlocked in previous routes. Most of the character routes even say that this isnt a timeloop (minus ogata who actually is in a timeloop but his story js still sequential) its a new day in the character's routine for each path.

The iori gaslighting lol nah youre crazy it was just a dream. Oh right i learned all her weird dreams are from morimura's or "morimura"s memory transplant experiments. Just the sheer number of morimura running around and the multiple identities and bodies i love this story i hate keeping track of things in this story. Did professor morimura lose her compatibility because of iori? Damn iori cute boy threatens you a gunpoint and grabs you by the shirt and you start spilling your deepest secrets without reservation. Hmm but if all those were the memories of one lifetime why's there an older juro? Or was that someone else dream. Btw i love that shu, juro, and iori a e a weird dream club they'd totally have a group chat about it. The morimura on console with gouto didnt recognize fuyusaka that's more evidence she's a different person than nurse morimura. Im still confused whats new. But hey juro and iori were lovers, this game is more romance heavy than i thought it would be. So the two tried to stop the interstellar project by bombing, failed, morimura died maybe and rhen 16 year younger morinura traveled forward to 2097 to kill juro. Probably not 1v1 but theres 3 of you you totally could have beat up wajima. Starting to think wajima likes taking a pounding, he really is asking for it most of the time, his entire role in the story is to act out of line and then get beat up for that. Well, fuyusaka's not short on bravery. Girl you do not know him you fell in love with the idea of love you've spent 10 min tops with him.

Sekigahara: i dont remember what was going on in your story... Oh yeah that convo about closing the loop, that was before the disaster battle were ei' sentinel got jacked by 426 and morimura emergency ejected the pilots to the different sectors. So there were loops before that, i cant keep this all straight damn my poor memory. Oh so it was ida that made the sentinels go rogue in the battle of 2065 because he bargained ryuko's safety with ei and was trying to undermine morimura. Did he just lie about 426. Ei is clearly the scapegoat. When aegis activates shifting is disabled and all those from other sectors are permanently stuck. Still no clue about the whole time descends into chaos thing. What im assuming is kisaragibot tells sekigahara that he's infected with code dd-426 which is cutting off some of his nanomachines and causing memory related brain damage (shinonome is probably the same). Wonder how nurse morimura ties into this. 20% transplant rate? Was nurse morimura trying to made ida#2 with amiguchi? So the one in ogata's story searching for the d-code key is okino. Okino purposefully infected themself with dd-426 to try and use it to detached the d-code and wiped his own memory. Okino is WILD backed up his memory and personality onto an AI and then ran that AI and overrode his own brain. Okino causes problems on purpose Tsukasa. The cat better not be the universal control system or stomething. Bj miura was the sentinel 17's AI before getting shoved into the little drone. 18 can only be operated by ai ... Who has 18 now man i really need to memorize these. Uh 18 is 3rd gen? Kisaragi? 1944 miura? Hmm so 17 was also one of the previously "automated" sentinels makes me wonder how sentient the others were. Ok ai miura definitely isnt from 2188 then. My memory is failing me has natsuno met sekigahara yet?

Ogata: back to the timeloop mines: found ei and ryoko collapsed and he had dd-426 in his hand. Ida calls the 15 commanders on the d forces, 13 +okino who is the 15th? Tamao? Yeah it is okino on the other end of the line. Lol they kidnapped ogata and tied him to a chair in an abandoned warehouse. Wrong genre! 1 out of the 15 is broadcasting the kaiju signals, wasnt that ogata? One of the scenes earlier said who it was .. was ogata up until 2 months ago.

Yay I finally get to do hijiyama's. I find this route to be one of the most entertaining because okino is just running mental circles around hijiyama. This story is so funny all the jocks are here. okino giving the most fake lackluster bored sounding love confession i've ever heard and ogata falling for it like "damn i'm a stud" and then hijiyama is off to the side have a crisis collapsed on the ground because he's that down bad over okino. Yeah he would be a sub for okino, wants to be bullied. ...the files reveal that tying hijiyama to the chair was literally just to toy with him since okino already knew what was in his brain from previously adjusting code.

Yakushiji: fluffy says 1944 miura has immunity to dd426 because of the component surgically embedded into his forehead that "forces him to use magic". Mr. Kitty controls the tv the one thing that idol had to work around, my wild guess is still kitty cat is universal control. So only she can see fluffy and fluffy is maybe mimicking the appearance of the actual school cat. Gotta say megumi's story is probably my least favorite so far.

Kurabe: shiba not existing to anyone else is not a twist i was expecting. 48q qta_cba those were the nanomachines being administered to kurabe! Its to make shiba the artificial personality. Wait they were trying to reintroduce izumi's memories? That means yakushiji was doing all that for nothing. And shiba is izumi? This part lost me. I get i remembered right the izumi morimura and shiba are trying to resurrect isnt the one from ... Idk Yakushiji's boyfriend, they're trying to resurrect an earlier iteration izumi. The izumi okino and fuyusaka from visitor from another world seem to be from 2104. That 16 year gap has been bothering me for weeks but its sector 0 why are all the other shifts 40 years. But 2104 to 2088. Something oh didnt ida timetravel back and meet morimura on that bridge, two overlapping events.doomed timeline so it is a different iteration! Also terrorist izumi might be 426. Which would explain the statements gouto said about nurse morimura working with them.

Gonna try and finish fuyusaka's story. Oh great there's another one. Now we have nurse morimura, child professor morimura, catsuit morimura, and fuyusaka all in 1984. Oh catsuit is nurse morimura she just changed her clothes. Wait but didnt sekigahara kill her. So there's just been 2 izumis runnin around this whole time 426 and pilot kid. Still not clear on the reset mechanic i thought i understood it but kept getting confused maybe im overthinking it. Nurse morinura is an illusion made by universal control... More evidence for the matrix hypothesis or i suppose with advanced enough production facilities and control there is no difference between the matrix and reality. Going to sector 0 doesnt save you from a reset it scans a person as data and recreates them in the new world. Aegis cuts the world off from universal control. So in the final battle iori is using ei's sentinel, but he's there so where did he get that gen1 guess i'll find out. Im just realizing iori spent all her time chasing ei and didnt actually learn much compared to the other characters.

#13 sentinels: aegis rim #13 sentinels spoilers

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new-old-friend · 8 months

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#4 Lancer & Dragoon

Before starting, I think I should add some spoiler alert and rating, since in the future it will be also some 🔞 content (probably). Obviously all my stories are based on actual facts happened in game, so they contain spoilers about the MSQ.

Rating: T (Slightly profanity here and there)

Spoiler Alert: It mention some characters and facts about the Lancer's Job Quest.

Having said that, I hope you like and enjoy this new chapter 😊

He had the chance to look more closely to that lance, and Kane was almost tempted to ask who was the person who created that weapon. Unfortunately, the man carrying that lance was just a rude human being that bumped into Kane's shoulder without even apologize, and releasing just a grumpy "Humph.".

The Scions of the Seventh Dawn were an Order formed by a numerous group of peculiar people. M’kenzie, Lena, Carina and Kane met some prominent members of the Order in their first assignments: Thancred Waters, Ida Hext, Papalymo Totolymo and Y'shtola Rhul. These people, intrigued by the adventurers personalities and gift, invited the fours to join their Order, or at least, to talk with the Antecedent.

The Antecedent was none other than a young hyur woman by the name of Minfilia Warde. She explained what was the purpose of the Order and almost begged the four adventurers to join their cause. Almost, because the moment Carina recognized the man she saw in Ul'dah a few week searlier -an elezen with the name of Urianger Augerault-, she instantly accepted Minfilia's request for everyone. "Alright, count us in," said Carina smiling at the elezen.

Minfilia looked at the other adventures, who were chuckling at Carina's reaction and nodding in agreement with their friend's answer. "It would be an honor to fight for this cause," said Kane.

Minfilia sighed of relief. "Thank you very much, everyone. I'm sure that with your help our battles will be much easier." The Antecedent smiled. "Now, I suppose the journey from Ul'dah was tiring, and so I have you prepared some chambers. Our receptionist, Tataru, will show you your rooms."

"Thank you, Antecedent," said M'kenzie bowing.

"My friends call me Minfilia."

"Well, then thank you Minfilia," said Carina all excited. And with that, starting right from the Antecedent, she hugged all the Scions to say them goodbye, lingering in particular on Urianger when it was his turn.

“Well, that was unexpected,” said Thancred crossing his arms.

When Carina released the poor, puzzled elezen, she winked at him smirking, and then left the room following her friends and Tataru.

“Urianger, my friend, you are stealing my job,” said Thancred giving a pat on his shoulder.

“Beg thy pardon?” The elezen had his jaws completely opened in shock.

“It's pretty obvious that Carina likes you. A lot.”

“I…”

“What?” said Ida surprised, “Did Urianger just ran out of words?”

“Seems like that,” replied Minfilia chuckling.

After several battles, numerous reports to Minfilia, and the acquisition of a title they didn't feel up to, the four adventurers -now The Warriors of Light- decided it was the moment to take some time to go on with their training and learn something new.

And so they did. M'kenzie concentrated his studies on Black Magic; Carina ran into a guy with a big axe on his shoulders and decided to follow him up to Limsa Lominsa, where, eventually, she joined the Marauder's Guild; Lena followed Carina to Limsa to make sure she didn't get into some big trouble -again- not knowing that trouble would instead follow her and bring her into the Rogue's Guild.

As for Kane, under Urianger's suggestion, he traveled to Gridania to became a Lancer.

Gridania was a city completely different compared to Ul'dah, or Limsa Lominsa: she was surrendered by greenery and filled with music. Sometimes too much greenery and even more music for Kane’s taste, but in the end it didn't matter: Gridania was the home of the Lancer’s Guild, and he swore that nothing could've ever come between him and his fate.

Except he couldn't find the Guild. He toured all Gridania for half a morning before he could finally found it. Unfortunately, neither he nor his friends had much sense of direction, which was a significant problem for a group of adventurers. And if his terrible sense of direction wasn't enough, he got distracted by a fascinating elezen with silver, long hair. He was carrying a magnificent lance on his back, and for a moment Kane didn't know if he was excited for the beautiful elezen or for his lance. But maybe for both.

"Good morning, Madam. I’m looking for Ser Ywain,” said Kane talking with a woman at the reception of the Guild.

A midlander hyur walked outside the door hearing his voice. “Who wants him?”

The viera clear his throat. “My name is Kane Kira, I heard that Ser Ywain could teach me how to hold a spear without impaling myself in the endeavor.”

The man chuckled quietly. “And who told you that?”

“Urianger Augeault.”

He nodded. “I’m Ywain. If it is Urianger the one sending you, then I can help you out.”

It took just a couple of weeks of training to Kane to became quite proficient with the lance. “A natural talent,” said Ywain one day. “One I’ve only seen once before you.”

Those words filled him with pride and curiosity, and he often asked himself who could it be that other person so well versed with the lance.

“Ser Kane?” All of a sudden, his thoughts were interrupted by a maiden called him and knocking at his door.

“Good morning my Lady," he said after opening the door. "What can I do for you?”.

"Good morning to you, Ser Kane. I have a message from master Ywain; he's waiting for you at the Lancer’s Guild."

Having to deal again with his terrible sense of direction, and after wandering around for about ten minutes, Kane somehow managed to get to his destination, not before being distracted by an elezen, who was coming out from the Lancer’s Guild. He was the same elezen he has seen his first day in Gridania. Same demeanor and same lance, and an armor just as impressive as it was his weapon.

"Really?" Shouted the viera, turning towards him. Rain was pouring heavely over his white hair and fluffy ears, but Kane didn’t care; the only thing he wanted was an excuse to punch him in the face or, even better, skewed him with impunity. The man stopped for a moment, turned himself in Kane's direction and stared at him. Or at least it was what Kane thought in that moment because the guy's eyes were entirely covered by his helm.

Kane crossed his arms waiting for a move; the elezen did the same and like this, they stared at eachother for a while.

Both stood still as statues, except for Kane's hair and ears that were moving in the light wind of Gridania. His violet eyes were piercing the elezen's helm, so much that at one point the man finally turned his face and body in another direction.

"Ugly bitch," shouted Kane at the man.

The elezen's back suddenly straightened. "Ugly?” He whispered to himself, pouting and blushing at the same time. Then he left the aerea of the Wailing Barracks swaying his hips, and Kane couldn’t help but notice that, at least, the elezen has a really great ass.

"Master Ywain, who was that walking pile of arrogance?" Said Kane, once entered into the Guild's establishment.

"You mean the elezen? Estinien Wyrmblood, the Azure Dragoon of Ishgard."

"Never heard of him."

"It's one of the best warrior of-"

"Alright, I don't care. Too much pomposity in just one sentence, it can't get better." Said Kane, tapping the bottom of his weapon on the ground. "To me he is just an ass."

The man chuckled "It's a shared opinion. But, you know, both of you have the same elegance in your combat style."

"Are you trying to offend me?"

Ywain smiled. "Perish the thought! You’re getting a little too good with that lance, for my taste. And since I'm attached to my life, I’ve no intention to pester you."

Kane sighed. " I'd like Folques to think the same. Anyway, why did you called me?”

“Folques.”

“AGAIN?" The viera snorted. "Seven hells, can I kill him?”

"No."

#estinien knows he is a bitch #but ugly?#final fantasy 14 #ffxiv #scions of the seventh dawn #report to Minfilia #Lancer job quest #my fanfic #ffxiv fanfic #wolstinien #urianger x wol #new-old-friend

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absolutebl · 2 years

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Hi!

Have you seen Utsukushii kare?

What's your thoughts?

Oh sure, thanks for asking!

I love it so far. It's that emo edgy side I always expect from Japanese BL. (And that only Ida is bringing us in Kieta Hatsukoi. Which is FINE. Delightful even. It's following the Cherry Magic stye. Which means, I don't think we can expect a kiss from Ida & Aoki. Though I'd like to be proved wrong in this.)

Where was I?

Utsukushii Kare

Utsukushii Kare AKA My Beautiful Man (Japan - Gaga)

I signed up for gaga because of this. And i regret to inform you... it was SO WORTH IT. ($6.99 a month and they have a lot of Strongberry’s back catalogue? Now I have stuff to watch during the end of the year slump.)

Ready? Here we go...

I love a sympathetic main character and Japan delivers introvert well (emo is their brand, after all). I get a bit of a Silhouette of Your Voice feel from Hira, although the premise of this show is completely different. This is a pretty classic whipping boy trope (it’s been a while my old friend).

Our POV is that weird kid who takes photos and thinks he wants to be invisible but actually just wants to be seen by one person (and belong to him).

The beautiful boy who starts bossing him around is protective out the gate, having decided that this weirdo is HIS weirdo, no one ELSE can boss him around. This execution of whipping boy is a whole lot gentler than I expected, but I’m LOVING it.

Oh yeah, I also think it's a GREAT foil for Kieta Hatsukoi. They're exploring different kinds of first love, first crush, teen angst, teen personalities, and Japan's own high school BL traditions.

One of the things I like about Japanese BL is that it's not afraid of darkness, but more emo dark than Taiwan (if you I know what I mean?) Especially with their high school stuff.

They're playing with some real old school yaoi tropes with this one, obsession with that stalker-edge and also that aforementioned whipping boy. And man I love me some whipping boy. (I'm warped okay, bring on the service subs.) But I recognize the bullying component might alienate modern watchers.

Anygay, I talked about this trope here, mostly because this show made me think about it again. Honestly I haven't seen it since China stopped actually making BL and I have to say, I kinda missed it.

It does mean I'm not confident we can expect a happy ending from Utsukushii Kare, though.

Would be fun if they gave us one, but I refuse to get my hopes up.

(source)

#jaoanese bl #live action yaoi #adapted from a manga #Kieta Hatsukoi #Utsukushii Kare #Silhouette of Your Voice #seriously tho don't expect a happy ending #bl review #new bl

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waiting4inspiration · 3 years

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Darkness before Dawn Epilogue

Summary: Geralt arrives in Eronia to see you again even though he’s unsure about that. Charlotte finds out where he’s stay and tells you about it. You’re not going to allow him to simply pass through and leave without saying goodbye to you again.

Warnings: end of the series, fluff, angst, strong language, mentions of death, magical elements, mentions of infertility, it’s a happy ending :))

Word Count: 2,094

Darkness before Dawn Masterlist II The Witcher Masterlist

Staring at the towers of the castle of Eronia, Geralt doesn’t know how welcomed he would be if he were to walk in there today. It had been two years since he left and though not much has changed for him, who can say that it has been the same for the royal family? He doesn’t even know if he’s still on your mind just as you are on his. Even though everything has been the same for him, a lot can happen to the heir of Eronia.

He’s stayed at the local inn the past few days, thinking about how he’s going to do this. After he left, he hasn’t been sure that you would want to see him again. And Dominic, knowing that you and he are closer than one should be with a Witcher, probably wouldn’t allow him near the castle. Geralt has to be careful about this.

But, of course, word spreads like wild-fire that the Witcher has returned to Eronia. It’s clear that Geralt has made a name for himself by saving you and people look at him everywhere he goes. In two years, he thought things would have died down and people would have forgotten about him. Obviously, that hasn’t happened.

A woman in a cloak sits down at Geralt’s table as he eats one afternoon and he recognizes the fire-red hair sticking out from the hood of the cloak. “Charlotte,” Geralt grumbles, placing his ale on the table and leaning slightly forward.

“I heard you were back in Eronia and came to see for myself if it was true,” she speaks in a whisper, looking around to see if anyone is sticking their nose where they shouldn’t. “There’s only so many times gossip in the castle is true.”

“Does (Y/n)-”

Charlotte shakes her head, knowing that he was going to ask if you know he’s here. “The King wanted me to keep it from her. He says that she has enough on her mind and that…” she stops, looking up at Geralt, the candle between them lighting her face hidden under the cloak.

“That she shouldn’t waste her time with me.”

“That she probably won’t stand another heartbreak when you leave again,” Charlotte corrects him. “She was devastated when you left the first time, Geralt. She never left her room for weeks. Ida thought that if she went with her and saw the continent like she dreamed, she’d feel better. But she doesn’t even glance at handsome suitors that come around.”

That’s not what Geralt wanted. He thought that if you had forgotten about him and found someone else he would walk right out of Eronia again and forget about you, carry on with the life of a Witcher instead of dreaming of a life with you. But hearing now how you don’t even try changes things.

“You’re not just passing through, are you, Geralt?” Charlotte questions, breaking his thoughts and making his eyes spring back up to her. “You’re here to see her again, right? Please tell me you are.” She practically begging at this point.

Geralt breathes out a deep sigh and drops his gaze to the food on the plate in front of him. “With Dominic knowing I’m here, he probably won’t allow me in the castle to see her,” he mentions, not seeing the way a broad smile grows on Charlotte’s face.

She places her hands on the table and chuckles to herself. “There are ways around that,” she quickly says before pushing herself to her feet and rushing away without Geralt being able to say another word.

He watches her storm out of the tavern, keeping her head low and her hood secured with her hands. When the doors slam shut just as a clap of thunder sounds in the sky, Geralt stares at it for a few more moments as if he’s waiting for you to come walking through them any moment now.

But he knows that a stupid thing to think will happen.

Charlotte pushes the doors of the library open and finds you just where she left you; surrounded by floating books with a blue haze around them. Your head lifts from the open book on the desk in front of you to look at her with a frown on your face as to why she would be out of breath.

She walks up to the desk, smiling brightly at you as she leans forward with her hands on the table. “You won’t believe who’s in town,” she says between breaths, the smile on her face never wavering.

“No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me anyway,” you chuckle, glancing back down at the book of spells in front of you and picking up where you had saved your spot with your finger as a marker.

Charlotte gives a small, excited giggle as she moves around the desk, past the floating books to stand at your side. “Geralt of Rivia.”

The moment the name leaves her lips, the books lose the blue haze around them and they fall to the ground. Your head snaps up to her and you’re no longer interested in the book laid open in front of you.

She nods her head, grabs your hand and pulls you out of your seat. “And he wants to see you.”

You don’t think twice about stepping out of the protective circle you stand in that was made out of caution. You don’t care about that. You don’t even care that it’s raining as you step through the castle doors and into the city. The only thing on your mind is getting to the inn and seeing the man you’ve longed to see for so long.

Seeing the inn in the distance, you stop to catch your breath as thunder rolls through the sky. You have no idea what it will look like for the princess to be storming into the tavern, drenched to the bone and looking for the Witcher. Hell, you don’t even know what it looks like for the princess to be running through the streets in the pouring rain.

But then, you see Geralt leading his horse out the stables. Your heart pounds in your chest at the thought that he could be leaving again. No, this time, you intend to stop him. “You’re not planning on leaving without saying goodbye again, are you?” you shout, stepping forward as Geralt’s head lifts up to you.

Even though you’re soaking wet, you’re still the best image he’s seen in two years. Behind you, Charlotte stands a few feet away with a cloak in her hands, one you seem to have forgotten about putting on. And further behind her and gathering around you and Geralt are people that have decided to take interest in what’s going on.

“I shouldn’t have come back in the first place,” he says, walking forward to meet you halfway, leading Roach with him.

Charlotte notices the gathering crowd and starts to shoo them away. Whatever’s about to happen, they don’t need to see it happening. Though, it is a bit of an inconvenience that you’ve decided to do this in the view of the public. Your mother would never have approved of this. But you don’t care about that. When has anything your mother said been positive?

“But you did. Why didn’t you come to the castle?”

“Because everything’s changed, has it?” he asks back, now standing in front of you. He can now drop his voice so that only you can hear what he says. “You’re almost ready to take your place on the throne and no longer cursed. I don’t have any business in Eronia.”

You shake your head at him and take a small step forward. “Nothing’s changed, Geralt. I still see ghosts and spirits. Tissaia de Vries said that the only curse you ended was the Death curse. I’m no more ready to take the throne as I was when you left because I’ve been traveling the continent with my aunt and only came back a few weeks ago,” you mention, holding your gaze with Geralt through the lighting strike that sounds in the distance. “And you’re still the same Witcher I fell in love with. The same Geralt of Rivia I have dreamed about seeing again, hoping that our paths would have crossed while traveling. The same man I prayed would come back to Eronia. Nothing has changed, Geralt.”

You may have gotten used to seeing ghosts everywhere you go, not knowing if they know you can see them or not, but that hasn’t stopped you from being cautious. Hence the protective circles around the castle created from your own magic. You don’t want the same thing with Kurst happening again.

Geralt hears whispering, looks to the side and grumbles when he sees people still gathering around. He takes your hand and leads you away from the opening and back to the stables where he hopes you two can have some privacy. And so you can get out of the rain.

He closes the doors, leads Roach back to her spot as you run your fingers through your hair. Now, you and Geralt are equally soaked from the rain.

He looks back at you while pulling something out from the pouch on the saddle. Walking back to you, he says nothing and only stares at what he holds in between his fingers. As he nears, you see that it’s a small white flower and you become confused at this. “Ida gave this to me when I left. She told me that it would help me find what I was looking for,” he explains when he sees the confused look on your face.

“Did you find it?” you ask, slowly lifting your hand to touch the flower as Geralt hums. “What was it?”

“An old wizard that knows of very old magic. He gave me this,” Geralt explains in a whisper, as if someone’s outside with their ear pressed to the door to listen to the conversation, and holds up a piece of aged parchment. “This is why I came back,” he whispers, handing you the piece of parchment.

You take it from him and read it. From what you can tell, it’s a spell. But it seems to be very old magic. And as you read on, you realize what the spell is for. Your head snaps up to Geralt again, your eyes wide and your mouth hanging open in shock. “I told myself, if I found this, that I would come back. I wasn’t going to leave. I was just going to take Roach out to stretch her legs.”

A smile grows on your face as Geralt steps closer to you. “And you’re sure it will work?” you ask, dropping your arms to your side and he places the flower he holds behind your ear and into your hair.

“He reassured me it would.”

The spell is to reverse any infertility caused by anything. You remember that Geralt was hesitant to stay the first time because of what he couldn’t give you - a family. He thought that it would ruin your reputation and your family name. And that is why he went looking for a cure for his infertility. He said to himself that if destiny really exists and he’s meant to be with you, then he will find it. And he did.

“So, this means you’re staying?” you ask, leaning into his hand when it cups your cheek.

Geralt leans forward, presses his forehead against yours and hums. “If you’ll have me.” You smile, nod your head, and wrap your arms around his neck. “But I won’t be a King.”

You laugh at his words and step closer to his, pressing your body to his to find a bit of warmth now that the coldness is setting in from the rain. “That’s alright. You can be King Consort. As long as I have you by my side,” you say, making him smile as he leans closer to press his lips to yours.

There’s a loud thunderclap, one that makes you think that if anyone was listening in on your conversation, they would have been startled at the loud clap and might have run away. But nothing can pull you and Geralt away from each other. He kisses you deeply, making up for the past two years as he holds your face close to his.

And he reminds himself to get back to the fact that you can still see ghosts and spirits...

Permanent Tags- @cassindeansass @simsadventures @fandomfic-galore @belovedcherry @a-mess-of-fandoms @what-just-happened-bro @geekandbooknerd @lonewolf471 @rainbowkisses31 @moonie-flower101 @p8tn0lish @rinkashirikitateku @readsalot73 @louisolos @petlaufeyson @bangtan-serendipity @aworldwideapart @mythicalbullshit @ateliefloresdaprimavera @xbuckxnastyx @madithemagicalfangirl @ivarthebloodyking @shannygoatgruff @a--1--1--3 @nerdypinupcrystal @mblaqgi @tephi101 @coconutqueen21 @wonderlandfandomkingdom @babypink224221 @writers-whirlwind

Geralt Tags - @carlya65 @whitewolfandthefox @spideysimpossiblegirl @bitchwhytho @ayamenimthiriel @thefifthmaraud3r @fabiola-betancourt @cookies186 @ntlmundy @tsukikistune @alwayshave-faith @momc95 @shondlenoodle @secretsthathauntus @crazybutconfidentaf @lookinalittleblue @lisinfleur @libbymouse @introvertedmouse @misshale21 @alwayshave-faith

#Geralt #geralt of rivia #witcher geralt #the witcher geralt #geralt fanfic #geralt of rivia imagine #geralt of rivia x reader #geralt x reader #geralt x princess reader #the witcher #Witcher #witcher fanfiction #Darkness Before Dawn

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danceworshipper · 3 years

Text

Ida Sommer - HPHL MC

Info subject to change as more game information is released. All of my HPHL ocs exist in the same universe

[profile template by me]

Personal

Full Name: Ida Marie Sommer

Gender: Female (cis)

Sexuality: Pansexual (closeted)

Birthday: August 20th

Birthstone: Peridot

Zodiac Sign: Leo

Age: 14 (at beginning of game)

Blood Status: Pureblood

3 Positive Traits:

- Charming

- Spiritual (nature oriented)

- Resilient

3 Negative Traits:

- Childish

- Uncommunicative

- Vain

Usual First Impression: When first meeting Ida, people often assume she is immature, ignorant, and easy to take advantage of due to her sheltered nature and cutesy appearance. This impression is highly incorrect

Location

Birthplace: Germany (exact location TBD)

Current Home: Her father's estate in one of the richest areas (Germany)

Future Home: A beautiful cottage secluded from the world, near a mountainside (Germany)

Favorite Place: A cliff overseeing the sea in Japan, close to the little shop where she got her wand

Disliked Place: Her maternal grandparents' home, simply because she doesn't enjoy their company

Appearance

[image created using the Live Portrait Maker app]

Face Shape: Roundish jaw, soft features with a strong brow bone

Eye Color: Yellowish green

Hair Color: Light blonde

Hair Style: Ida wears her hair down or in a single braid. Her hair is mostly straight with side bangs, and is parted in the middle

Skin Tone: Light

Freckles/Spots: A few freckles on her cheeks, more visible when she's been out in the sun

Scars: None during her schooling. After graduation, Ida marks her arms with runes only she and Sebastien can make sense of to strengthen her connection to the world around her

Piercings/Tattoos: Single earlobe piercings.

Final Height: 5'9"

Final Weight: 137lbs

Physique: Thin with long legs, slightly wider than average shoulders

Clothing Style: Ida is a rich kid, so her clothing is always of high quality material and her jewelry is noticeably unflawed. She dresses modestly until she turns seventeen, when she stops caring what her parents think. Her favorite colors to wear are pastels

Carried Items:

- her wand

- a locket with a picture of her and her parents in it - not worn, but kept in her satchel

- a silver pocket watch stuck at 11:18 pm, handed to her by the same Seer who told her where to get her wand

- a handful of candy

- extra quills for her roommate who keeps forgetting hers

- a book from the Restricted Section about Elementals, written by Elementals and charmed so no one other than an Elemental can ever figure out what it says

Magic

Wand: 12 inches of firm Ebony wood with a koi-mer hair core. A pitch black, rounded wand with a pattern of scales carved into the handle. This wand was custom made in a small, almost unknown shop in Japan after a Seer she bumped into on the street told Ida that her perfect wand would be created there. It would seem foolish to go all the way from Germany to Japan on the word of an unknown Seer, but it was Ida's turn to plan the summer trip, so she picked a place in Japan close enough to the mentioned shop

Animagus: Loon

Boggart Form: A headless figure easily recognizable as herself, crumbling away into dust. A failed attempt to merge with nature resulting in her demise

Riddikulus Form: A statue of her like the one in her parents' back garden, over glorifying her features, that has been attacked and is crumbling away. She hates that statue

Amortentia (to others): Someone smelling Ida would smell lime juice, fresh water, and static electricity

Amortentia (to her): TBD

Patronus: Ida has never been able to cast a Patronus. Not for a lack of happy enough memories, but because of her powerful soul. The Patronus can never escape her magical core

Patronus Memory: N/A

Mirror of Erised: A tree so big it grows up an entire mountainside. The tree bark is covered in swirling patterns Ida recognizes as Elemental runes. She doesn't yet know what exactly this tree is, but she feels an undeniable longing for it

Family Spells: The Sommer family has no special family spells

Inherent Magic: Elemental

- Ida has all the magic of a normal witch, but on top of that has a deep connection to the earth and the magic stemming from it, even beyond the earth into the universe. If not properly trained (or if driven to a great enough temptation), an Elemental could vaporize the entire planet, or bend it to their will. They could also leave humanity behind if they so wished and become nature itself

- Elementals are theorized to have fragments of Merlin's soul fused with their own, hence why they feel strong connections to each other and can't ever fatally harm one of their own. Most Elementals also fall in love with each other as well, and the connection is thought to be stronger than a normal human's love could ever be. These connections help ensure no Elemental gives in to whichever temptation has the strongest pull on them. Only one Elemental has ever yet gone evil, and this is how it was discovered that they cannot kill one another

- This special magic is not hereditary. In fact, no one knows what causes someone to be born an Elemental, only that there have been less and less of them in the recent centuries. There are only two known Elementals left: Ida and Sebastien

Family

Mother: Lina is a warm hearted woman who wants the best for her daughter, misguided though she might be. She often has to shout at her husband to trying to hold Ida back, or discourage Ida's dreams. She noticed Ida's growing power long before her husband did, and was the one to finally contact someone for help when Ida grew so strong and uncontrolled she couldn't stop floating

Father: Elias is a business oriented man who, though he loves his daughter, up until her reveal as an Elemental wished she was a son. He's the reason Ida was homeschooled for so long, as he didn't think a girl was worth the tuition money. He refused to believe that Ida was anything other than ordinary until a man in a high position told him otherwise

Sisters: None

Brothers: None

Pets: A screech owl named Goldig, meaning 'cute'

Other Important Family: Ida's paternal aunt, Ingrid, is one of the biggest influences in her life as a child. Ingrid is an independent witch who lives fabulously by herself with her dead husband's fortune. Ida used to yearn for a future where she wasn't tied down by a man and could do as she pleased

Family Values: The Sommer family as a whole is mainly concerned with two things: remaining pureblooded, and growing richer. Most of the Sommers are decently good people, but they have period-appropriate prejudices and are willing to leave someone behind to save themselves, metaphorically and literally

Opinion on Family: Up until entering Hogwarts, Ida really only knew her family, so she loved them and thought very highly of them. As she becomes more socialized and learns more about the world, she starts to notice her parents' many flaws and though she never stopped loving them, she does resent them for homeschooling her and ignoring the signs of her being abnormal, because she used to think she was broken when in reality she's nearly a god

Friendships

Introverted or Extroverted: Extroverted

Best Friend: Sebastien Parr - another mc of mine who is also an Elemental, and an exchange student from Beauxbatons

Worst Friend: TBD

Friend She Didn't Expect: TBD

Who She Wishes Was Her Friend: TBD

List of Casual Friends:

- Sophia Burton @gcldensnitch

- Charlotte Grant @weasleysandwheezes

- canon friends TBD

Romance

Current Crush: None

Current Partner: None

Past Partners: None

Future Partners: TBD - will likely be picked from the game's characters, but could possibly be someone else's mc

Her Type: TBD

Hogwarts

House: Slytherin

Prefect Status: No

Quidditch: Never played, but loves to watch

Clubs: None

Organizations: The fake Headmaster's Apprentices organization that she and Sebastien use to hide what they're really doing

Favorite Class: Herbology

Least Favorite Class: History of Magic

Favorite Professor: TBD

Least Favorite Professor: TBD

Timeline

Young Childhood: Ida is kept at home. She knows no children her age, and spends most of her free time roaming her father's land. No matter how far she wanders, she never seems to get lost. Ida has strange dreams where she watches the world as an outsider. After being told by a Seer that her ideal wand would be created at a small shop in Japan, Ida convinces her father to spend a month there over the summer, and her mother takes her to the shop to get her wand. Ida sneaks out one night and climbs a cliff that looks out over the ocean. In later years she can't remember whether rising up over the waters and hearing the stars call to her by name was a dream or not, but she knows the moon smiled at her.

First Year: N/A

Second Year: N/A

Third Year: Ida's uncontrolled Elemental magic reaches a breaking point, and Ida explodes her little study room as she lifts up in the air, unable to come down. Her mother sends for help: two healers, a historian, and three government officials later, Ida is brought down and informed that she will be enrolled in Hogwarts the following year. She is not informed why, though her parents are

Fourth Year: Ida enters Hogwarts with no social skills. She meets Sebastien and they're both informed of their true nature. As Ida struggles to catch up on her studies as well as train her Elemental magic, she also learns just how wonderful having friends her age is

Fifth Year: TBD

Sixth Year: Ida grows suspicious of Sebastien's "friend" Dorian. Other details TBD

Seventh Year: TBD

Post Graduation: Ida marks herself with ancient Elemental runes and her father gifts her the cottage. She spends a year and a half where almost no one hears from her, before appearing back in her friends' lives as if nothing happened, looking healthier and happier than ever

Career(s): Ida doesn't live long enough to have a career

Marriage and Children: Ida marries (TBD) from school, someone who had always had a crush on her that she eventually returned the feelings for. They spend a beautiful three years together before her end. Ida manages to give her love a son, but only after she's gone

Death: Ida sacrifices herself to stop Sebastien and Dorian from destroying the world. Ida's biggest temptation as an Elemental was always to leave her humanity behind and become nature, so she does. She traps the two men inside of a ridiculously large tree that grows out of the mountainside near her cottage. This tree forms from her body, and has a notch where her favorite necklace can be inserted to be allowed entry to the chamber Sebastien and Dorian are trapped. However, she hid the necklace in Japan, where no one will find it until a century has passed and her friends have passed away. Ida can occasionally gather her spirit into a physical form to communicate with her love and child that she left behind

Notable Facts Not Previously Mentioned

- Ida is the ancestor of my main hphm mcs, Gracie and Tessa Chiva, on their father's side

- The reason Ida is sent to Hogwarts and not Durmstrang is the fear of bad influences. No one wanted to risk her being corrupted

- Ida does feel guilty about leaving her love behind, but since she couldn't kill Sebastien and she still loved him and wanted him to be happy, this was the only way she could think of to stop him

- Her love watched her leave humanity behind. As they wept, Ida's spirit gathered to say her goodbyes, and point them to their son, who had been born from Ida's final breath at exactly 11:18 pm

- Ida thinks very highly of herself. This is both from being praised so much as a child and hearing so much about the good she can do as an Elemental

- She throws a graduation party so extravagant that it's talked about for decades after her death

- No one but her love knows what truly happened to her. All anyone else knows is that she and Sebastien disappeared at the same time

#hphl oc #hogwarts legacy #ida sommer #character profile

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sharraus · 3 years

Text

Tag: Word Find

tagged by @the-finch-address thank you! from Question of Trust because apparently these words are in the drafts already.

hide

Baltasar secretly rejoices that Seif uses his brain at least sometimes. He assumes it’s because magic is involved. Everyone knows how he feels about magic. “Not at all. I would ask you to have someone watch their behaviour while you do, however. Perhaps take one of Ashfar’s assistants along.”

The baron nods, a contemplative look on his face. “I see. I will do that, then,” he agrees too easily. It’s definitely the magic. He spins on his heel, the cloak beating against his ankles, and storms off towards the kennels.

Baltasar watches him go. He stumbles slightly and hides it by cursing the made-up rock that slipped under his foot. He’s planning to go hunting while hungover. It’s none of Baltasar’s business.

play

Ida returns with his two knives. The longer seax of welded Zarcian steel and the smaller obsidian knife. Both sharp and both polished. Both too expensive for a mere Beastmaster. He straps the seax and the sword to his belt and plays around with the knife until Ida brings him his last knife. He raises an eyebrow at her.

“This one was cracked. I had to essentially reforge it.” He takes the knife from her and eyes the blade. It’s deadly sharp, long and narrow. He straps it in his left boot and then straps the obsidian one in his right.

“Does it meet with your standards, my lord?” she asks. It’s said in a teasing voice, but Baltasar recognizes the undertones seeking validation. She’s not much younger than him, a few years at most.

“Baltasar,” he repeats. He can’t afford for her to address him like that in public. “And it does.” He pulls out the knife she reforged. “This is as good as the original.”

window

“This is it,” he tells Cranberry who merely yawns in response. He scratches her behind the ears before pushing open the gate.

A short stone walkway leads to the porch in front of the house – it’s the first stone walkway he’d seen in the village. The herbalist is apparently the only person in Tiangosa who understands not wanting to sludge through ankle-deep mud every time it rains.

He steps on the porch while Cranberry goes off to sniff whatever flower grows under the windows. Baltasar takes a deep breath and raps his knuckles on the door.

back

Baltasar bites his tongue to stop himself from spouting something he’ll regret. He’s not surprised this is how this castle works, not after witnessing Baron Seif’s behaviour in the court. It’s still infuriating, however.

“Be that as it may, it’s your job to know about everything that goes on with the hounds. You are supposed to be informed-”

“That’s not how we do things here,” Ashfar interrupts. He crosses his arms again, not unlike Baltasar’s little brother Amaro back when he was a petulant little brat.

“Well, that’s how you will be doing it from now on. You are responsible for the dogs so you will know everything about them at any given time. Have they been fed yet?”

Ashfar treats him to a truly impressive scowl that tells Baltasar he has no intention of following the order before answering: “Yes. In the morning.”

tagging: @writingonesdreams @happyorogeny @writeblrfantasy @miniandminie @viskafrer and @zmlorenz

your words are: interrupt, lead, box and arm

#tagged #tag game #question of trust

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eldrylva · 3 years

Text

“We will start small; you are not truly dead, and therefore...”

“You may speak freely, Eos. We are delicate and fragile.”

The pair shared in a knowing look, but Astrid was smirking. The Ascended in front of her merely smiled, a brief, tight-lipped expression of apology behind her luminous gaze.

“I look at you, Shield-Maiden, and I see your pain. Your suffering, your guilt... I see and feel it all as if it were my own. Your brother...” Eos began, frowning softly as she peered down to the robed and kneeling Northwoman, postured and poised on her shins as she prepared to meditate.

“.. Fjalar.” Astrid said softly. Rage subtly built beneath her veins; rage and guilt. She could have done more, should have done more to save him, but the Kvaldir was too quick and the axehead bore down--

“-- Yes. Fjalar. Close your eyes. Clear your mind as best as you are able. Your first Trial will be a battle against the guilt you cling to.” Eos explained, and Astrid obliged. Nerves pooled in her belly, and something in the back of her head told her to run, to get up and run and go home. But that wasn’t why she was here. She was here with Lord Sunshield and whomever remained to fight with him.

Incense wafted into her nostrils and immediately her body went lax, her mind cleared and fogged. She felt herself be pulled, tugged away gently by her chest. Suddenly she was ethereal, a transparent blue spirit staring at her hunched body. Her chest still moved, she was still breathing, but she was..

Her chest seized uncomfortably, panic bubbling in her belly as she whirled around to see where she was. She was still in Bastion, in fact, the Temple of Purity is where Eos had taken her for the day. She locked eyes with Eos for a moment but the Ascended Watcher said nothing, simply remained poised and waiting. Could she even see her? Of course she could. .. Right?

Astrid exhaled sharply, side-stepping away from her body. Thick globules of blackened substances wept from her mortal form, seeping from her closed eyes and bled from a gaping hole in her chest. That wasn’t real, was it? ... Was it?

“Systir!!” Came chirped from a boy’s mouth just behind her. Astrid froze. Her incorporeal form spun around faster than her brain could register and.. there he was. Just in front of her, robed in black, skin the color of a moonlit dusk and eyes a soft lavender stared up at her with the biggest of grins, wide and familiar.

The guilt emanating off of the boy stole the breath from her lungs and formed tears in her eyes. It was staggering, deafening, the feeling of this presence and how he was dressed familiar... But he was so real... the feeling was forgotten about, for the moment.

“Systir, you finally came for me! I’ve missed you! I’ve been waiting!” Fjalar giggled, trotting over to her and wrapping his arms tightly around her legs in a hug. He was only a boy... and he was taken so soon... Astrid’s robed form dipped into a crouch, tumultuous storm greys searching as she cupped either side of the boy’s face in disbelief.

“I know you have...” She whispered hoarsely, breathlessly, as she gazed at the boy in front of her. “I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, liten ulv..”(little wolf)

Fjalar giggled, throwing his arms around Astrid’s neck, next, and the woman’s arms curled protectively around his smaller frame, holding him close. Fjalar couldn’t be here.. could he? He was supposed to be in the Eternal Hunting Grounds with Fenryr and their ancestors...

Astrid buried her face in the boy’s neck, inhaling the familiar scent of pack, kin, clan.. home... but he did not carry the scent on him. Suddenly the boy’s arms were tightening around her neck, with a strength she didn’t recognize.

“You abandoned me.”

Astrid was caught off guard by the snarl in the boy’s voice, the guilt and grief anchoring her to her knelt spot. She couldn’t breathe, his arms constricting around her neck like a vice.

“F-Fjalar...” Astrid wheezed, tears spilling down her cheeks in droves. She tried to pry herself off of him with a pathetic whine, but the boy’s grip was unrelenting. She was choking to death on grief and guilt, paralyzed.

“You could have saved me, Systir. But you didn’t. You left me to d i e.”

No... no she didn’t... she fought tooth and nail to try and drag him back but Tyrsten’s grip was too tight on her arms, the sound of shouting and fear from her Clan and family shrill and chaotic in her ears. All she could smell was the seaweed, the brine of the deep sea as the raid from Helya’s minions gutted her clan’s small camp before they were to venture further in the woods and settle.

“You ran away from me and left. Me. To. Die.”

She didn’t. She did all she could. She was just a girl, she hadn’t even gotten her tattoos yet... She was just a girl.

Astrid felt the air leaving her lungs, the guilt tearing a hole in her chest that would never close. She was struggling, fingers grasping weakly at a darkly robed arm.

“Fight, Shield-Maiden!” She heard Eos shouting from where she stood. Astrid canted her head as much as she could, spotting Eos hovering closely to Astrid’s obsidian-bleeding body. She was perfectly still in the outside world, but here? she was losing.

I can’t fight this. I can’t do it. I can’t kill him, my brother--

Fjalar’s stone cold hands gripped either side of Astrid’s face, his own twisted into a sinister snarl, fangs of his own that hadn’t grown in yet bloody and black with rage. Violet magic glimmered around his body.

“DIE. YOU LEFT ME TO DIE.” He shouted. He was Forsworn. Mawsworn. This wasn’t her brother. An all new panic set into her bones, and she had two options; fight or die. Fight or die. Fight, or die. Astrid’s eyes burned a bright gold, feral and wary, like a cornered animal, and suddenly the shackles of guilt and grief were shattered and she shouted, tearing herself away from her brother. Astrid’s incorporeal form snapped back into her body, and the woman jolted awake.

Astrid gasped, a sharp sound, her eyes flying open and her sitting position disrupted by her launching backwards, skidding and scooting. Her trembling hands felt at her chest and the rest of her body; she was in one piece, the ichor from the Trial neither was there or stained her gossamer clothing. Her stare rose to Eos, then, who had a hand on her shoulder, the shadows swirling around her left forearm like a warm cloak, staining the woman’s azure skin a deep, near black violet hue, then it was gone.

“That... is how the Aspirants become Forsworn. We will try again when you have rested properly. I will find you; go clear your mind once again. Rest.”

Astrid swallowed tightly, her breath coming back to her in stages. She was slick with sweat, confusion and panic a lump in her throat and she couldn’t respond, all she could do was scramble to her feet with a groan. Fiery red curls stuck to the back of her neck and face and without another word, Astrid staggered and tromped out of the Temple of Purity.

He was so real...

Astrid snuffled, batting her temple with the heel of her palm with a disappointed snarl. She could have done better... how stupid was she that she couldn’t see through the illusion?

Waiting for her was Ida, the Larion from days previous. She sat atop the hill that the path she walked on crested, poised and purposeful in her stare and the way she sat. Noble arrogance and expectance.

“Come to mock or gloat, have you?” Astrid rumbled to the creature in passing, whose feathered ears fluttered behind her head with a rumble. Ida was.. following her? Why? The large beast tailed ahead of the Shield-Maiden, casting a midnight-colored eye over her shoulder to lead. Water. She needed a shower, she was filthy and smelled of disappointment and disapproval.

Astrid sighed. She was going to be in Bastion for a while, it seemed.

#Bastion: Day Two #ic things

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olivereliott · 3 years

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Singles Party: Two vintage Ducati restomods from Union

I’ll admit, my knowledge of vintage Ducatis is rudimentary at best—so I always feel a little out of my depth when talking to Mike Watanabe. He and Luke Ransom run Union Motorcycle Classics out of a barn in Idaho, where they specialize in charming classics and restomods. And their knowledge runs deep.

Mike put that know-how to good use on his latest two projects: a pair of vintage Ducati singles with two very different vibes. The faired one is a 1971 450 Desmo, and the other is a 1965 250 single—but those designations are only loosely defined, because both were pieced together from parts of varying origins.

“I built both these bikes for myself,” Mike tells us. “The shop is planning an invite-only Italian Singles tour next year, and we’re hoping to get some of our old builds back in town for that event. Maybe we’ll call it the Ida-lian Giro.”

The 250’s a bike that Mike’s had for a while, and was originally pieced together from spare parts that were pulled off the shelf for another project. “The pile of parts left over from that resto was in the shop,” says Mike, “and I recognized that all the patina looked really balanced. I took that pile and assembled it into a running old survivor looking thing.”

Mike ran the 250 like that for a few years, then decided it deserved more attention. He took a wabi-sabi approach on the build—a Japanese design philosophy that finds beauty in imperfection. Anything that was already well worn was left alone, and even the new paint was aged to match.

The first job on the 250 was finding the right ‘jelly mold’ fuel tank to base the design around. “Luke found a misfit tank off an Argentinian two-stroke,” says Mike. “I added receivers for Ducati emblem fasteners, re-shaped the emblems to fit, welded a Ducati filler neck to accept an old Ducati cap, and fabbed up the front and rear mounting tabs.”

Next, Mike shaped a ‘jelly mold’ tail to complement the tank, while Interior Revolutions handled the seat upholstery. The front fender and rear splashguard were shaped using a mold that Union has used on previous 250 builds.

The front wheel uses a Montesa hub, a custom axle and spacers, and an ‘unknown survivor’ rim. The rear rim is a Borrani, and the tires are from Heidenau. The suspension is stock but the wiring is new—Luke re-did it top to bottom, and installed an electronic ignition.

Mike built clip-ons out of old Harley-Davidson spring handlebars, and added Union’s own sandcast rear-sets. The exhaust was welded up from rusty parts, the front brake stop’s been fashioned from a leftover piece of aluminum, and the center stand’s a repurposed Ducati 160 item. The reproduction tachometer is the one gleaming part on the build—but it’s hooked up to a salvaged tacho drive.

The 250 doesn’t have its original motor either. “I traded the first motor for Desmo parts,” says Mike. “The new motor is a bit of a mystery. I bought it from a friend of the shop—he believes it was built by an old desert racer from the 70s.”

“Clearly somebody hot-rodded the heck out of the thing. It has a dual plug head and, judging from the compression and starting difficulties, my guess is that it’s bored to 350 cc and has a performance cam. The bike is virtually impossible to start with a kickstarter. The compression release must be used in conjunction with bump starting.”

“Luke is going to rebuild it this winter and make it little more usable for the street. Bump and run is fun… just not all the time”

The 450 Desmo, on the other hand, is a far more polished build, and more in line with what we’re used to seeing from Union. Mike dates it as a ‘71 because of the motor—but the actual model year of the frame is unknown.

“I traded a box of junky 250 parts for the frame in 2006,” he tells us. “I had a 450 non-Desmo that I sold in the late 90s and immediately missed it. So I started the process of gathering parts for this one at that time.”

“I kind of wanted to build a no-compromise street legal race bike. It’s probably overkill for the street, but having said that, you can’t have too much braking power in modern traffic.”

Mike got the motor in a trade too, by painting a set of signs for a British bike shop in Boise some 20 years ago. Luke rebuilt the motor and a custom wiring harness with an electronic ignition, as per Union’s standard operating procedure. He also had to work some magic to get the Dell’Orto PHF carb to work well.

The parts list includes Ceriani road race forks and yokes, a Ceriani replica 4LS front brake, Morad rims and a double leading shoe rear brake. Custom bits include the upper brake arms for the front brake, the front axle, and the rear brake stay.

Mike also designed the fairing, tank and tail himself, then sent plugs to Glass From The Past to make the final fiberglass pieces.

“I designed the paint scheme first, and built the fairing to match it,” he says. “The upper part of the fairing is based on a Vic Camp Ducati part, and the tank and seat mimic Ducati factory parts, with different proportions to make it all work together.”

The paint was a team effort: Mike prepped the parts, Luke laid down the base, Mike did the stripes, and Luke clear-coated it.

Lurking underneath the exquisite bodywork is a plethora of custom touches. Mike tweaked the frame in places, and fabricated all the fairing mounts, the instrument and headlight brackets, the steering stops, and a new center stand. He also built the exhaust system, a custom intake manifold, and a crankcase breather tank.

Finishing touches include Magura clip-ons and levers, and a Scitsu tachometer. The rear-sets and fenders are Union parts.

Although they’re two very different builds, both Ducatis bear witness to just how well Mike and Luke have mastered their craft. Mike’s planning to ride the Desmo on their upcoming tour, but will probably loan the 250 out. Time to visit Idaho?

Union Motorcycle Classics | Facebook | Instagram

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madllamamomma · 4 years

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Journey Back to the South Part 10~

[Ok I am so sorry this is late! I am currently on vacation with my husband, then my step dad now has the virus and that really stressed me out, because I’m closer to him than my own P.O.S. father... Sooooo yeah... Life is a nightmare. Thats why I write fan fiction to escape it..... Thats healthy.... right......right?.... *crickets....* Anyways, enjoy!]

WARNING: Heavy topics about abuse and rape. NSFW.

Part 10~

“You’re important too.”~

As the crowd is continuously distracted by giving praise to the new Illuminator, Muriel is still gently forcing his way towards the front where you are standing. As he finally comes to your rescue, he is just as shocked as you are to find Shona, the sole Kokhurian in all of the Shining Steppe that claims to despise you and your people, hugging your neck and literally crying on your shoulder. Unsure what to do, your hands hover over her but you are unsure what to do with them. “Uummm…”.

“Thank you….” Shona whispers, shakiness in her voice. Just as quickly as she embraced you, she pulls away and scurries off out of the gathering tent without a second glance or thoughts. Everyone else is too focused on showering Ava with much deserved praise, no one else even noticed what had just happened.

You glance up and meet Muriel’s eyes, and he mirrors the same dumbfounded expression that's in your face. As his hand wraps around your waist to pull you close, you both stare out the tent in the direction she fled, and he mutters. “Did…..did she…. just—?”

You nod your head slowly, still completely stunned as well. “I’m…. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who witnessed it. I don’t think I would have believed what happened…… I still don’t believe it actually.”

This is… very shocking. Little did you suspect that she’d thank you let alone hug you.

Soon the crowd makes their way outside around the large fire in the middle of camp. Muriel tugs you both along with everyone else and notice Una standing in front of the fire as she speaks in Ruin. “We thank our Great Mother and Great Father for blessing us with a very fruitful year. We have had many blessings that we have shared. Many victories, and some losses. But we are strong, we will always keep going. Tonight concludes our Winter Solstice! May winter have mercy on us as we continue to honor our Great Mother and Father. May our departed visit us tonight as the spirit realm and the living realm merge tonight....” Una keeps going on, but you start to zone out slightly feeling very tired all of a sudden and you lean into your hermit. Even he looks a bit tired, lusting after a good night sleep.

As soon as the closing ceremony was completed, Muriel, Inanna and you head back to the tent and nearly collapse out of exhaustion. Lazily taking off your clothes and dress into your long shirt and taking off your pants. All the anxiousness you and Muriel had felt for Ava’s trials have all but vanished and left the want to sleep for about a full day or two. Even though the ‘celebration’ was completed, it sounds like others are still up, singing, dancing, and being merry and whatnot… Hmmm… it has to be for Ava. But they deserve to be celebrated over! They worked so hard... You groggily turn over and murmur good night to Muriel and Inanna before you gently drift off to sleep and you feel a feather light kiss on your temple and his warm arm wrap around the small of your back. For some reason you hear Una’s words repeat in your head before slipping out of consciousness.

‘May our departed visit us tonight…… as the spirit realm and the living realm merge tonight…..’

—————————

The feeling of being on all fours and fur all over my body are becoming rather familiar to me now. The dark tundra is frigid and icy and I can see my warm breath cloud in front of my face, yet it never bothers me. The moon is just barely showing any light on the dark plane. I’m alone again…. but not for very long.

I can’t help but feel such joy when I start to sense warm air rush overhead and a large ball of fire lights up the hillside. It’s her…. Rhemi… She flutters her wings over me for a moment and she makes happy little calls and I growl softly back in response. Gracefully, she brings herself down from the sky and perches herself on a nearby bolder. Once comfortable, her flames dissipate showing her dark brown and red feathers, the dark night blankets the vast tundra once again. For a moment I just gaze at her…. Even now, underneath all her magical flames she is so beautiful. She always is…

My body starts to move, and before I realize it I’m sitting next to her by the boulder. Her small beak rests on my snout, and she snuggles up against my thick fur like she always does, even in the real world. I always like how she does that. It makes me feel wanted… loved. After a while the two of us start to stare into the dark night sky, I’m unsure why, but I feel like something is bound to happen soon.

The Aurora’s lights suddenly start to dance across the sky and I can hear that deep humming once again. With bright colorful lights illuminating the tundra, I can see that we are sitting in the middle of Khamgali’s graveyard on a small hill.

One by one I can see what looks like people’s casts burst from the ground and tombstones. Bears, wolves, eagles, hawks, caribou, foxes, and many other animals crawl out. But after they come out, their bodies become physical like mine and Rhemi’s. The bright colors of the cast dissipate giving away to the various furs, feathers and other features. Thousands emerge and stretch their limbs and backs out as if they have been resting for a long time. Soon the creatures start to roam around, seemingly recognizing each other, and greet nearby animals. Some even start to wrestle, chase, or play around on the vast plane. I find myself rather dumbfounded at this sight, unable to take my eyes off the scene. It is even rather entertaining to see.

“...Muriel?..” A very deep male voice calls out from behind us nearly startling Rhemi and I—I…. I feel like I know that voice… The two of us quickly turn around. Two bears are standing side by side; one as big as I am, maybe even slightly bigger, and the other is smaller and silky, beautiful. They both have deep green eyes and have this presence to them that feels…. comforting…. warm… I feel like I know them. Like I used to see them in my dreams before when I was young…

The smaller one starts to approach me warily, apparently attempting to not scare me… She smells sweet like fresh heather and after the morning dew. It finally clicks in my head… Her presence is all too familiar and I step backwards ashamed and I hang my head down low wishing to disappear. I glance my eyes over to Rhemi, still perched on the boulder. She looks a little confused at first, but seems to understand who these bears are as she sees my face. Her ruby eyes light up, and she mutters a low chirp as her eyes glance back to the two bears in wonder.

I shake my head as my eyes shut close tightly and the feeling of dread overwhelms me, tightening my chest and my stomach feels like it's in knots. No…. please no… No, no, no…. I…. I really don’t deserve you or your comfort… all this time I thought you both….. just got rid of me… Because I was a burden… but really you were just protecting me… protecting this land… Now that I stayed here I completely understand why you did….. but for the longest time… I didn’t want to care about you… I didn’t want to even think about you…… No…. I don’t deserve your love.

Suddenly I feel the small bear lifts my head up with hers and starts to softly growl and grunt as she lovingly nuzzles my furry neck with her small silky soft snout. She’s a lot stronger than I expected and she pushes up against me, but she’s comforting non the less…. She has tears in her deep green eyes as she huddles close to me. The other larger one trots over and gently lays his head over top of mine. Why does the feeling of him there so reminiscent of when he would pat me on top of my head? I remember enjoying that when he came back after hunting or trading…. Now that I think about it, I do the same to Ida when I see her.

The two bears both are making very small sad, yet happy, gruff whimpering noises like their hearts are torn in two… I don’t want to… but I feel myself relax as they are around me. I know why you both stayed here and fought—I do now at least… but…… part of me…. wishes we all left the Steppe together—GodDamn it….. that sounds so selfish.…. But…. I wish…. I got to know you both better myself… I wish you got to know... me. Maybe… I’d be more like you two…. maybe I would be braver….. stronger…

The small bear pulls away to look me in the eyes. I can see the corner of lips curl up… she’s smiling at me… she looks… proud? “Our little cub…” She says softly, but somehow does it without moving her mouth at all. Her voice is as silky, calm, and smooth as her fur... Just like I faintly remember when she used to sing home to sleep.

“... Look how you have grown. Our boy, mo ghoul.” The large bear mutters, his voice shaky. His voice minds me of the one in my head. Very similar to my own when I speak, but just slightly different….. it’s strange to hear. “We love you, Son… we always have….”

I don’t open my mouth…. but somehow words flow out like a river before I can stop them. “..... I know….. I know you did…. I’m sorry…. I’m so sorry…” I can feel tears drop down my long nose. Just less than a minute ago, I didn’t want them to come even near me…. but… now…. I don’t want them to leave…. “I wish I was better for you both…..”

“Nothing to be sorry about, my son.” The bigger bear mutters in such a kind and warm tone. “We can never ask for a better son. We are sorry we had to leave so soon.”

The two bears huddle up to me once again. This time they are even tighter… Even though they don't have any arms, I can feel their loving embrace around me. It feels good… Like I have been craving it somehow. “We will always be here with you cub…. Always…. Even if you don’t see us.” The smaller bear says.

….I can feel that pulling once again…. Something is taking me back to my body…..

Please no!..... Why?! Why am I being pulled back now?! Whatever this is—a God? Father Sky? Or Mother Earth?.... or even me…. Please stop this!! Don’t make me leave them!!.... Not again… Please!!! I want to be with them…..just... let me stay…. just a little longer….. wait… —WAIT!

“We love you, little cub.” I can hear them both say as I fade away from this realm….

“..... I love you both too…..”

————————

You can feel as Muriel snaps his trunk up from the bedding with a gasp. For a moment he just sits there panting hard. His movements wake you from your slumber as well. But it takes you a few seconds for you to sit up and get awake. Once you feel like you can move your body, you rub your tired eyes to comfort Muriel… Those bears... they were Glenna and Artturi… his parents. Una mentioned that the solstice was the time when the spirit realm is closest to the living. You glance up towards the hole in the tent. It’s still night, the moon is hardly even out... Probably not even midnight yet.

Carefully you slide your small fingers and lace them with his and he very slowly tightens his grasp. You both sit there for a while in silence listening to the fire crackle and hiss. “...You ok?....” You very quietly ask, leaning your head against his large deltoid and look up to his very emotionally torn face. He presses his lips tightly together and he very sluggishly nods his head, but you can see the tears forming in his eyes. “.... Ya’ know….. It’s ok to miss them….” You whisper.

He opens and closes his mouth a few times, trying so hard to say what’s on his mind. “I didn't…. I didn’t care when I forgot their voices… or their faces…” He stops for a moment and he closes his eyes and furrows his brow, thinking hard. “.... I dunno…. maybe I didn’t think I did…. but… but now… I.... I just…. just…. wish……” Tears flow from his eyes and chokes on his sentence. He covers his eyes with his hands to stop them and shakes his head irritated with himself as his body starts to tremble. “.....S-... Sorry…. Rem.” He murmurs through his tears.

“Please, don’t be sorry, Mur...” Your heart breaks in two anytime you see him cry like this… but it’s to be expected after that dream. Sitting on your knees, you wrap your arms around Muirel’s shoulders from behind him and place a kiss on his temple bone. Those two bears were his parents' spirits…. ghosts?… previous casts?— Well…. whatever you want to call them, and however they got there hardly matters. The fact is that they were there to see him. Perhaps Artturi still can leap into dreams even after death?...Maybe he knows how to bring Glenna with him?...Who really knows?... You take in a large thoughtful breath and place a soft kiss on Muriel’s head again. “... It’s okay to miss them… even if you don’t remember.” You understand how it feels not to remember your parents faces either. It hurts not to know—it’s almost infuriating how much it does.

He shakes his head avoiding looking you in the eye. “.... All my life…. I didn’t… let myself… miss them..... but n-... now…. Do… do I even have the right to?.... Especially after the way I thought of them? That they just... abandoned their only son?”

“Of course you do, Love…” You tenderly guild his head down and turn him so he rests his head on your chest and pet his hair and he clutches the back of your shirt. He seems to feel soothed once he’s there and starts to calm down a bit. “….. You were too young to understand what was really happening…… no one was there to tell you tell you otherwise….. You did what you had to do to survive….. Perhaps thinking that they sent you away was a method of coping with it all… somehow to make sense of it... It’s better than not knowing anything forever… I think guessing about it most of your early life would have been worse.” He huffs a long exhale and shrugs. Your fingers brush through his dark hair pulling it out of his handsome face. “...You really shouldn't beat yourself up about it, Muriel. ”

“.... I wish I could… see—” He slightly flounders in his words, then gives up mid sentence in frustration. “—I…. I don’t know…..”

“Come here…..” You whisper, very tenderly pulling him back down to the bedding. As you rest your head back on the pillows and he buries himself into your neck and shoulder holding you tight while you both lay on your sides. You squeeze him back comfortingly, tears still slowly trickling from his eyes. “... They both were so happy to see you….” You mutter just above a whisper, pushing back his hair out of his face again.

He softly closes his eyes, melting into your touch, but doesn't appear to be convinced. “.... How can I know?.... Know for sure?..”

“They were. I know it…… So do you…. they loved you, Muri. They still do….. I… I think they’re still watching like Khamgalai….. But perhaps the Great Lights really do hold a part of their spirits….. even after a year has passed…. just like Kok… I guess we’ll never really know for sure…. But I know they are proud of you. You could tell on their faces.”

“...... I….. I wish I could have known them…..” His body starts to feel slightly warmer as he looks back into your eyes rather sheepishly. “... I wish…. they could have met… you….”

You smile back at him a little… He doesn’t know. “Well…” He lifts his head up slightly and listens to you intently. “....Before….. I woke up….. And you left…. For some reason I stayed a little longer….”

“...What?” His eyes light up and widen as you say that. “.... What…. what did they…?”

“.....They just…. Kinda hugged me—well first your mother inspecting new all over like Una did our first day here— but then they both nuzzled their faces kindly on me like they did to you….” You can feel as your cheeks glow red as you continue and Muriel still has his eyes locked onto your in astonishment. “...They asked me…. To take care of you…..”

“They….. they did?” Muriel seems to get a hold of his tears now. You scoot into your back and he follows, slightly hovering over you, resting his hand on his propped up arm... “.....and… what did you say?”

You can’t help but give a silly love stricken grin as you open your mouth to tell him the answer. “I told them I would… forever…. until I drew my last breath… and even after that…..” Your hands start to shake a bit, feeling anxious as you continue, and you grab his large hand and caress his palm with your small thumbs. “.... I will always be here by your side, Muriel. I will protect you with all my might….” His eyes seem to sparkle when you utter those words and he looks so adorably smitten. But then your brain decides to ruin the moment as overthinking takes over and you start to expel words. “Well—I know that’s not saying much… I-I’m not very strong physically compared to you—…. but you know I can kick some ass if I need too— I won’t let anyone hurt you that’s for sure! As long as I can—” Suddenly Muriel’s hand cups your right cheek and he presses his parted lips to yours, stopping your silly rant and kisses you like you're the air he needs to breathe. A little surprised muffled squeak escapes from behind your teeth, but then you start to melt into his touch and kiss him back.

As he very slowly pulls away, his forehead meets with yours with a little happy grin on his face as he strokes your bottom lip with his thumb. “.... Sometimes….. you talk too much….” He says with an amused snort.

You slightly pull away, sticking out your bottom lip, feeling a little embarrassed and you avert your gaze to the other side of the tent and sigh, “Yeaaaaah….. I know…” You do have a tendency to rant at the worst of times.

He exhales sharply through his nose and he turns your face back with his thumb and pointer. “....But I love you for it….” He sits up, holds you close and your head rests in his large shoulder as he embraces you tightly, and you kiss his neck a little. “... thanks…. for being here… and…. letting me talk… and understanding me…”

You smile wrapping your arms around his strong torso. “I always will, Muri… I love you… with all my heart.”

“... I love you too….” His whispers back in your ear very sweetly.

He returns laying on his side facing toward your direction and the two of you lay there facing one another, still entangled in each other's arms as you both drift off back to sleep.

—————With feather made of hot embers, you float back to the realm of dreams————

…….But this time Muriel isn’t there with you….

You glance down, and your feathers have faded away and you are in your normal body.

This place…. it looks familiar….. you're not sure where you’ve seen it before. But it feels like you’ve dreamt…. or maybe been there…. but a very long time ago...

—It’s night time again. The buildings look different to you compared to the ones back home. They are mostly made of wood instead of brick or stone, they are delicate looking. Tall mountain peaks are surrounded everywhere, on the very tops are powdered with snow. It looks like whatever city you’re in, lives in the heart of a valley. The sea is nowhere in sight, neither is salt in the air. You’re landlocked. It's rather pretty scenery wise, but a strong sense of foreboding seeps into your chest as you continue to roam this strange place…. Why do I know this place…. it's so pretty here… so why do I feel like I hate it?

Suddenly you stumble upon what looks like a noble’s house… a vast mansion with tall widows and ornate sculptures everywhere… It's rather lovely… almost reminds you almost of Nadia’s palace, the bright lights inside make the stained glass windows shimmer as they cast their colored light on the stone outside. As it appears to be flakes of snow are softy falling down. You peer up and twirl around, even though you hate being cold, you have always liked to watch snow as it fell from the heavens. Cupping your hands, you reach out your palms to catch them. However the white snow turns dark and looks ominous. Once it falls into your hands you then realize it’s not snow at all—It’s soot and embures falling from the sky. Your body makes an about face back to the beautiful home. The entire mansion is now engulfed in flames. You never thought that stone or marble could catch fire…. but it seems that you were wrong….

There isn’t a soul around and you look all over for someone to help put it out. But it’s dead still other than the terrible flames consuming the building. You're still all alone…. or so you think…. Out of nowhere, a lone woman with dark brownish red shoulder length hair, and very familiar looking clothing is suddenly standing in front of you about eight meters away. With her back turned away as she stares at the flames as they quickly eat away at the mansion. “...H-... Hello?” You quietly call out to her, almost afraid to utter a single word.

Eerily the mysterious woman turns her neck around very sluggishly, just enough to reveal a small part of her profile over her shoulder. The whites of her eyes are blood red and sickly looking, you can even see red veins under her eyes and mouth. You take a few steps back instinctively out of fear. I know that look all too well…. The red plague….. those are the end stages…. The visible corner of her lip curls up into a comfortable grin as she stares at you with those cold burgundy eyes that almost have no life in them.

Your feet take a few steps back in fear. “Who….. who are you?”

She still won’t turn herself all the way around to face you, but there isn’t any denying her familiar features.... Is that…. me? Your eyes squint and you tilt your head feeling just completely dumbfounded once again tonight.

Finally she opens her mouth and begins to speak over the loud roaring flames as the mansion’s riff begins to crumble away. “...... You know who…...” it’s rather creepy to hear your own voice answer you, but it sounds so weak… so tired… so strained.

“What do you want?...” You ask not sure if to run or press on.

“.... Truth….” She replies, the loud noises if the inferno dampens as she speaks, you can hear her crystal clearly.

“...Wha—What do you mean ‘truth’?” You shake your head slowly trying to comprehend this strange answer. “Where are we—?”

A loud viscous enraged scream suddenly comes from the fiery mansion making you nearly jump out of your skin. It sounds like a person has been very badly injured…. But a very icy shiver runs down your spine and shakes you to your very core. It sounds like the voice of the creature who killed Ezavior—It frightens you to hear it again so soon. “W-..... What is that?? Is there someone in there? Shouldn’t we save them??”

The wind starts to pick up her hair and flows over her face. “....You know who…..”

You feel as your mouth sneers at that preposterous answer. “What??—No I don’t! That's why I’m asking!”

“You know who it is…..” She repeats sounding almost saddened. “.... You can’t deny it….. You know they survived… You remember seeing them… don’t you?”

“What—? No!!! I don’t!!! Don’t you listen??” You start to become frustrated with all of this strangeness, and just desire answers, not more coded messages.

She shakes her head disappointedly, her grin falls and turns her back to you once more and sighs. “...You're still not ready… one day your going to need to face this…I may not be here to protect you anymore.....”

“What?— What does that even mean?”

“.....Now is not the time…. Not yet.... you should go.”

“What do you mean I’m not ready?!— WOOOH!! HEY!!” Out of nowhere an invisible force wraps around your torso and throws you backwards through an open door frame. It’s so dark inside.

She finally turns all the ways around, but the flames cast too dark of a shadow for you to see her sick face. “Go…. be with him… enjoy the time you share spending together.” She says warily.

“What do you mean?? What’s going on?! Wait just a moment!!! Why aren’t fucking answer me??”

She brings up her left hand and waves it. “I suppose you’ll see in time….” She utters lastly as the door shut in front of your face before you can dash out of it.

“Wait!!!” You scream right before the door completely slam closed. It then starts to feel farther and farther out of reach then it completely disappears into oblivion and you find you yourself running towards it. “WAIIT!!!!!”

—————

“Mmmmmmm…. W-Wait......” Your body sits straight up and you wake with a start fluttering your eyes open….. Did I just say.. something… just now? What was I even doing?

“Rem—You ok?” Muriel and Inanna quickly come to your side from the middle of the tent by the fire, both look rather worried. “—Was it another bad dream?”

You squint your eyes and look all around, slowly becoming oriented with where you exactly are. “Hmmmm? Wha-.....What now?”

Muriel brushes his knuckles against your sleepy cheek and huffs a bit grumpily. “.... Did you just have a bad dream?”

You realize that you were just dreaming and it was a strange one too. You tilt your head looking at the covers, squinting your eyes in attempts to recall it… but there is just nothing…nothing you can remember about what you just dreamt. Inanna nudges her snout under your right elbow and you start to lift your arm up to pet her still pondering hard. Your lips click, and you shake your head a little. “...I….. I don’t really know….. it was definitely a weird one….. But I…. I can’t really tell you what happened in it….” He looks at you pointedly, brow slightly furrowed, looking for any signs of fibbing. You stifle and yawn and drowsily smirk taking his wrist and place it over your cheek, cuing him to hold your face. “I told you I would talk to you. I promised, Mur. This time I really don’t remember. I would tell you if I did.”

He sighs and he slightly relaxes as you lean into his touch and he strokes your cheek with his thumb, looking more convinced. “Alright….” He leans down and kisses your forehead sweety and you do a little happy tired wiggle. “Come on, I made some breakfast for us.”

“Alrighty~” You get yourself out of bed, quickly donning your tight pants for warmth. It may be warmer from the fire in this tent, but the temperature has most definitely gotten colder since you both arrived nearly two weeks ago. As you get on your socks, you see that Muriel was kind enough to make you some fish and eggs for breakfast. And you start to boil the kettle for tea. “Whatcha think, Love? Earl grey, or cinnamon chai this morning?”

“Hmmmm….” He looks thoughtfully glancing between the tea tins, then closes his eyes. “..I like them both... But Chai always goes good with fish… I think so anyway...”

“Oooo!! That’s true. Good call, my sweet~” You say with a toothy yawn and start to prep the tea cups. While the tea steeping, you take the time to stretch like you do every morning when you can, making your spine and hips pop satisfyingly. Muriel just shakes his head with a small grin as he watches you. He may attempt to hide it, but you are pretty sure he likes to watch when you do a stretch called ‘the pigeon’, it shows off how flexible you are.

Soon all three of you start to chow down breakfast that your hermit so kindly made for you in comfortable silence. Slowly you start to wake up, the food and the chai tea slowly bring you back to life this early morning. As Muriel swallows his last piece of fish, then stares very thoughtfully into the fire, a somber expression washing over him. “.....Should be leaving soon.” He faintly breaks the silence and you stop mid bite to listen to him. “.... Gilbert says the snow will be falling any day… don’t want to get stuck…. Asra would be sad….and so will his idiot.” Muriel's face looks almost sad when he says that. You can only imagine how hard it is to leave his new found family. But you both have obligations back in Vesuvia… you with the shop and him with the forest.

You lean into his arm and snuggle up to him and he leans back. “We’ll come back next year.”

He blows out sharply through his nose and brings his tea cup to his lips. “....Yeah, I know.”

You both lapse back into silence for a moment and you think about the middle of last night during the dream in the graveyard and Muriel’s parents. He said he didn’t remember their faces or voices….. but Una has a way of tapping into distant memories. “Hey…. Muriel?”

“Hmmm?”

“Do you remember when we first met Una in the graveyard?”

He nods firmly, unsure where you're getting at. “...What of it?”

“...Well .... I was thinking… about last night…. What you said…. about your parents….”

“Oh…..” He averts his eyes over to the other side of the tent and still looks a bit ashamed for some reason. “What does that have to do with the first day we met everyone?” He asks with a raised eyebrow, curiosity now in his gaze.

You look back at your warm tea and run your pointer finger over the rim. “... Well…. before we leave… maybe…. you can ask Una…. to show you…. your par—”

“--M-Madainn mhath!” Just as you were about to finish your thought, you hear a familiar little child’s voice outside the tent. “....Cousin!..... Not Cousin!!” It’s Ida. And by the second pair of feet stepping behind her, it sounds like she isn’t alone. Inanna's tail starts to wag as she hears her little voice and quietly whimpers in excitement. Who is gonna miss Ida more when we leave? Muriel or Inanna? You smile and chuckle to yourself. “....Are you both awake?” Ida calls out again, but a little quieter in fear that she may be disturbing you two.

Muriel and you exchange surprised glances, it’s still early in the morning. You shrug and you and Muriel stand up. “....Uhhh…. H-hang on, Ida.” Muriel replies, grabbing his shirt and throwing it on while you make yourself decent. He shoots you a quick glance before opening the tent and you nod once you fasten your corset belt over your long shirt.

Once the entrance is untied and opened, Ida steps in and Inanna goes straight for her, licking her little face and she giggles adorably. “Nana!! Tha thu a ’fàileadh mar èisg!! Hee-hee!” She hasn’t been wearing her hood lately, perhaps she’s becoming more comfortable in her own skin. Not very much to your surprise, Ava comes into the tent behind her, they look a little tired, evident with the small bags under their eyes. They were probably up all night celebrating after getting the approval from the elders, but they look so happy like a five ton weight was lifted off their shoulders. It looks good on them.

“Ida…. Ava.” Muriel says stepping aside to welcome them in with a nod. “Morning.”

Ava smiles up at him with a toothy grin, this is the happiest you have even seen them other than last night. You are actually excited to see them again. The last you saw of them they were being paraded around camp the night before and you didn’t get to say good night. You lunge forward and wrap your arms around them giving them a large hug, almost startling them (but they have almost gotten used to your mannerisms). “AVA!!!! How’s my favorite Master Illuminator doing today~?” You ask cheekily, moving them slightly side-to-side in excitement.

Ava’s face quickly flushes, yet they can’t help but keep a large humble smile on their lips as you call them that. You pull away so you can watch as they communicate with their hands. “... Not a master yet, Rhemi….. but I am officially an Illuminator now… that is thanks to you and Cousin Muriel of course.”

“We were very happy to help! Right, Love?” You turn your face towards him with a giddy looking grin.

Muriel smiles over to Ava and gives a solid nod, then reaches down and pats Ida’s head and she giggles again. She turns around, grabbing his wrist and starts to inspect it. He snorts, knowing what she is looking for. “Don’t worry.” He says showing her the bracelet she made him. “... I haven’t taken it off…. I promised you I wouldn't.” Her little cheeks are painted bright pink as she lifts up her arm and shows hers as well.

Ava makes a little muffled laugh at the two of them then turns their attention back to you. “Sorry to interrupt you both this early in the morning. Didn’t want to wake you.”

“That’s alright. We were just having some breakfast.—We have some tea left if you’d like some.”

Ava politely shakes their head. “We are here on business…”

“Business?” You repeat with your head tilted slightly a little surprised.

Ava scratches their neck and looks slightly sheepish. “.... The elders are all in the gathering tent this morning. They asked me to come and get you two. They want you and Cousin to join us.”

Muriel looks rather confused, still not understanding Ava’s hand language as you start to look uneasy. Ida tugs on his large wrist to get his attention. “Momma, Papa and the other old people—” Ava shoots their sister a particular scolding look and Ida tries to recover herself. “.... I-I mean e-elders—wanna see you and Newcomer in the big tent where we eat.”

You look over towards Muriel then back to Ava. “Wait…… the elders?…. Are…. Are we in trouble, Ava??”

Ava shrugs and scratches the back of their head, honestly, not really knowing what the deal is. “Elder Evander said to try not to keep them waitin’--.” Ava gently smacks the back of their sister's head to scold them. She apparently wasn’t supposed to say that part. Ida rubs where she was struck and blows a raspberry at Ava and they just sigh irritatedly.

“Sorry…. Take your time, but they are all waiting for you two.” Ava communicates sheepishly, noticing that you aren't fully dressed with your plum colored overshirt and blue skirt.

Muriel huffs slightly grumpily, from Ava’ expression, he could tell what they were saying. “Tell them we’ll be there in a moment.”

Ava nods and opens their hand up for Ida to grab hold. She takes it and they both walk out the door and Muriel closes it so you can get dressed.

Feeling nervous, you try to get dressed quickly, but fearing the worst. “What do you think that they want us for?”

Muriel shrugs, taking off his shirt to fasten his belts to his torso. “Maybe it’s about leaving. They may want us to get going before the snow starts to fall…”

“I doubt that… If we decided to stay, I think they’d be more than overjoyed.” Muriel pauses for a moment, and hides a little smile, he won’t admit it, but you know he agrees. “Uggh….. I hate that we have no idea why they are calling for us…… You know…. I get a feeling like I used to get into trouble a lot…. Maybe that's why I am so anxious.”

Muriel stifles a chuckle sounding a bit too amused. “Why doesn't that surprise me?”

“What does that mean?? I’m a goddamn angel~” You smile fakely innocently and bat your eyelashes.

“Pffttt!!! You’re a goddamn mess is what you are.” He throws his head back and cutely laughs with a large smile. “... Come on. Let’s not make them wait anymore.” He leans down and quickly steals a kiss and it makes you feel a little more calm.

“Well if we are in trouble, at least we're in trouble together.” You say with a smile, throwing your traveling cloak over your shoulders.

You follow your hermit out the tent, through camp and to the gathering tend, trying your best to not feel so anxious about all of this. As the two of you make your way inside the gathering tent, you notice that not only are Una, Gilbert and the other elders that you expected to be there; But Ronin, Tad, Ava, and Shona are also there. They are all sitting in a semi-circle on the blankets and pillows a new feet away from the fire. Una is holding her boy baby in her arms as he sleeps away peacefully.

“Muriel! Rhemi! Madainn mhath!!” Gilbert cheerily greets with a warm hearty chuckle like he normally does. He points to the front of the semi-circle. “Come, come, come! Have a seat!”

You take Muriel’s hand, feeling him starting to get a bit anxious as well and you both take a seat. He hates being front and center of everything. “We…. we aren’t in trouble…. are we?” You warily ask sporting a nervous smile.

Una jolts and sputters at the thought, waving her hand dismissively. “Oh heavens!——No!! We just have something we would like to discuss, that's all! Something good!” She then smiles reassuringly at you. “Sorry if we worried ya!”

You exhale a long relieved sigh and relax your shoulders and lean into Muriel’s side. “Pfffew!! Ohhh!!! Thank goodness…..” You mumble under your breath and Muriel quietly snorts at you.

Gilbert chuckles a little at your apparent relief. “OH! Before I forget…” Gilbert pulls out the journal from his fur cloak. “I read it all, Rhemi. Three times, in fact. It’s fantastic. I couldn’t ask for a better representation of the stories of old and of our history. It was very well written.”

“Thank you…. Can’t take all the credit, though! I had some help from Ava of course..” You nod towards Ava and they blush a little, seemingly at this point out of habit. Gilbert smiles over to his child, their face heats up even more and scowls as if to say, ‘please don’t look at me like that!!!’

He stifles a chuckle, shaking his large shoulders as he sets the journal down next to him and looks back to you and Muriel. “Well, I’m sure you want to know why we asked you both here this morning… We have something to ask of you both….” He pauses for a moment, what you could only guess is for effect. “...Since you two have been here, you have helped in so many ways…. Muriel helped us catch fish, fixed some things here and there, learned to grow plants with Una like your mother did, you even took care of the chickens and other animals during the mornings, you spared my young little warriors cubs to help them better defend themselves. Ha!! You even did patrol a few times when no one asked—you didn’t have to do that. Any of those things… But we greatly appreciate it....” Gilbert then reaches out his hand, gesturing to you and you stiffen. “....Then you, our Newcomer! You helped preserve our history and documented it accurately…. You’ve helped revive an old tradition of the Illuminators, and help my eldest child so they could pursue their dreams of becoming a storyteller. We just can't thank you enough. We are just glad that little cub has someone like you.”

You can feel Muriel’s body start to heat up and his heart pound, but he still holds your hand and doesn't show signs of letting go. Una chuckles softly at Muriel, lifts up her head and starts to speak.“.... Berty and I know you both have plans to get married when you go back to Vesuvia….. My husband, the other elders and myself have been discussing… and we have one more request before you both leave…. Many years ago, we had a tradition called the

Gabhail Ris Ceremony.”

You tilt your head, squinting your eyes thoughtfully. “.... ‘Accept…. it’…. ceremony?” You mutter the translation slightly perplexed.

The old woman that passes out the ale every night barks a quick amused laugh. “... Sometimes words have many meanings in the language of old, little one. Sometimes they can be lost in direct translation…. gabhail ris also means ‘acceptance’.” Her voice is shaky and has age to it, like the little old woman that you make a reumatizam potion for. She’s also very sweet and cute, but rather strong for her old age...

Gilbert nod then continues on after the older woman explains. “...Yes! Many many years ago, when a Kokhurian married someone from outside of our tribe, they would conduct a little ceremony. It was a way the betrothal’s family, mostly the parents, showed their child’s betrothal acceptance into the tribe—Not just as their spouse, but as an individual of the Kokhuri. Traditionally the ceremony was conducted the day or two before the actual wedding, but we know that you two are planning on becoming wed once you're back to your home in the north… we can’t be there when that happens, but… Well…. we wanted to ask if we could at least conduct this ceremony as a sigh of our gratitude—” Gilbert pauses and drops his gaze, a somber expression washes over his usually cheery face as a thought crosses his mind. Una notices his silence, peers over and places her hand on top of Gilbert’s and squeezes it. Her touch seems to snap him out of it. His eyes glance back up and he grins back at his wife and he clears his throat before pressing on. “..... Moonlight and I know we could never replace your parents, Muriel—We would never want to either…. But we care about you like you were one our own cubs….. That day we saw you at Aunt Khamgalai’s hut, well…. it felt like you were a missing piece in our hearts.... now that you're here, it’s like you’ve never left…. ” Muriel doesn’t seem to know what to do with that statement and his face turns a little pink. But you can tell, he feels the same way. “.... We also know that Glenna and Artturi would have loved Rhemi to death. And if they were still here——well…. they would have wanted this….. So…..” Gilbert trails off and peers back to Una, they suddenly place their right hands over their hearts and half bow while still sitting on their knees and Muriel starts to stiffen at the gesture, holding his breath. “..... Una and I want to host a Gabhail Ris ceremony in your parents honor.” Gilbert lifts his head up slightly to look at the two of you. “...That is, if it is alright with you, Muriel… It’s your decision afterall.”

Muriel quietly sits there next to you and flutters his eyes. He is completely baffled by this request. Honestly so are you. As you both sit there you can’t help but think to yourself,….They want to accept…. me? An outsider as their own??..... Muriel finally looks down at you and you both have no idea what to say. He flounders for a moment trying to understand everything. “.... You both want to make Rhemi….. an honorary… Kokhurian?”

Una and Gilbert straighten their torsos back up and she rocks her baby a little, shaking her head. “Rhemi wouldn’t be just honorary, she would be part of us. It’s more like… an adoption so to speak.”

Muriel’s eyes become a bit watery and squeezes your hand tight as he looks at you again for what to say. With one quick soggy eyed smile, he nods to himself and exhales sharply through his nostrils glancing back to Una and Gilbert. “I—…..we—….” He stutters a bit, still shaken at this beautiful gesture and he takes a deep breath. “.... It would be an honor if you accepted my br- br-....” His face quickly becomes red and panicked at that word, and he scowls grumpily at himself, drapes his arm over your shoulder and proudly hugs you in front of the elders. “—R-Rhemi….” He then picks up his eyes and glances back at every elder with such gratitude. “Thank you….. both of you…. I mean all of you...” Your heart feels so fluttery and overjoyed as he utters those words. But then you smile uncontrollably at yourself a bit. Bride…. he was going to call you his bride. He still can’t say those words. Jeez, he’s too cute. Everyone’s faces light up and are so exactic and they all start to speak amongst themselves. Tad and Ronin are giddily huddled together trying not to cry sappily. They did say they loved weddings. Ava looks so happy and has this sweet looking emotion on their face as they look at you and Muriel, almost like a sense of longing. But Shona looks pointedly at her knees, she doesn’t look upset or angry like you expected. Instead she looks like she’s full of regret, she still won’t even look at you or Muriel or anyone else at all. Ava notices and places their hand on her shoulder and pats them comfortingly, but she still shrinks into herself.

Una hands the baby to her husband and takes the small bundle gently and starts to make silly faces at him, and he coos sweetly. Once her hands are free she makes a single clap, making a loud smack getting everyone’s attention once again. “Alrighty then!!! Now— there is one other thing…” The elders stop their chatting and listen to her carefully. “... Traditionally, Muriel’s siblings, usually with femine understands, would be assisting Rhemi to get ready for the ceremony….. However, Muriel doesn’t have any siblings. The other option is that a Kokhurian would volunteer to keep taking her into their care. So we need a person, of age, mind you, married or unmarried that would represent Rhemi. They will act as your Neach-Cùraim, or caregiver and will help you prepare for the ceremony, and teach you what to do.”

With a determined look in their face, Ava makes their way to stand up to volunteer. But suddenly Shona grabs their wrist before they get to their feet. The twin’s eyes meet and she tugs them back down, quickly whispering something in their ear. Ava's jolts and their face becomes rather red and they return to their seat looking complexly embarrassed hanging their head down low. Then, the tent goes dead quiet as Shona stands up to her feet. Everyone stares at her as she takes a large breath before moving her feet toward you and Muriel in front of the semi-circle. She still won't look you in the eye, keeping her gaze glued to the ground, but she suddenly places her right hand over her heart, and bows slightly, making her long braid fall off her shoulder. “... I’ll represent the Newc— I.. I mean….. Rhemi.” Ava and Gilbert’s mouths drop to the floor in utter shock and quickly exchange perplexed looks. Una eyes seem to gleam with pride as her lips sprout into a large smile, just beaming at her daughter.

Muriel’s eyes meet yours and the both of you are mirroring the same astonished expression as Gilbert and Ava. She…. wants to… help...me?... ME?! You flutter your lashes and look back to Shona with your confused big burgundy eyes. Her demeanor has completely flipped, normally incredibly confident, short, and snooty, she’s now very sheepish and humble. It is almost alarming. “You….you want to represent…. me?.... A-A Traveler?” You ask, tilting your head a little bit, not knowing if you are comprehending completely at this moment. Maybe…. is she misunderstanding?

She straightens back up and starts to play with her braid, opening and closing her mouth a few times, seeming to be struggling to form words. “I....I would be honored to represent you, Rhemi.” At last she answers. “...No one is more worthy of becoming a Kokhurian than you….I see that now……. And yes…. I would be happy if you let me…. If... If that's alright with—OOF!!”

Your body moves before you can stop yourself as you quickly stand to your feet and embrace her without a second thought. “I will be happy if you would, Shona.” Her cheeks light up a bright pink and for a moment; her face looks just like Ava’s has in the past; she continues to avert her eyes away from yours and her trunk is a little tense in your arms.

You realize that you may be making her uncomfortable and let go and awkwardly scratch the back of your head and everyone in the tent is rather quiet. Una looks to her husband and nudges with her elbow and he snaps out of the stupor. “Hmmm?—AH, Yes!!! Right, right, right!—Alrighty then!! Shona will be in charge of getting Rhemi ready! Good, good, good! That solves that problem!”

Una practically jumps to her feet, looking so completely thrilled with all of this. “Well, best be off then!! Let’s get you to my tent, eh? This ceremony won’t start itself, now will it??” Una and another woman around her age who is very heavily pregnant stands up and follows her. They then come on each side of you and loop their arms around yours and start to drag you out of the tent.

“Wait— you mean this is gonna happen now?!” Muriel interjects with a bit of alert in his voice, you both were not exactly prepared for this to happen right at this very moment.

Una turns to Muriel but keeps tugging you right along out of the large gathering tent. “Why yes, of course!!! The snow should be a-comin’ any day now! And you both said you wanted to head back north unless you plan on staying all winter here!”

“Wait— w-what’s happening now? Una?! What are we doing?” You mutter as you are being let out of the tent. Just as you turn back around to catch a glimpse of Muriel before exiting the tent, he looks a bit confused and rather uncomfortable making you feel concerned for him. “W-waits gonna happen to Muri while I’m getting ready??”

“Oh, don’t you fret ‘bout him, my dear! Gilbert, Shawn, Ronin, and probably Ava will be with him. They will be helping him get ready and keep him company while we get you all prepared.”

“Oh… wait, it’s morning, how long is this gonna take??”

“Well…. we have to bath you, do your hair, then get you dressed— we also need to get you fitted for a headdress and earring—Ohhh!! I’m so very excited! I haven’t seen one of these since I was a young girl! Glenna had a cousin that got married to a newcomer. Those two were so cute together!”

“.... So this is like a wedding?”

The pregnant woman giggles a little and speaks up. “No—Not quite. It’s more like Una said as an adoption into the tribe…. But in a way it's like a marriage to the tribe. Now don’t you fret, Muriel will be by your side. But we’ll be dressing you in traditional Kokhurian clothing during the ceremony.” You aren't sure what to expect at this point, but now that Muriel and you have agreed, there isn't any going back, so you decide to roll with it.

Ida comes running out of the tent with Inanna, both carrying a bucket of water. “Com’on, Nana!! We gotta fill the tub up in the other tent now!”

You can’t believe your ears for a moment and Ida and Inanna run toward the outside of camp. “... Did she say what I think she said?” You quickly open the entrance of the tent and see a wonderful looking sight of an extra large wooden Kokhurian sized tub. You can feel your left eyebrow slightly twitch. “..... You-... You had a tub this entire time, Una?!”

She chuckles a bit standing at your side. “Of course I do! Can’t bathe in ice water during the winter on this tundra, can we??”

For some reason you feel a little irritated at this discovery. “.... So…. your tellin’ me… I could have had an actual bath this entire time down here??” You ask, trying to hide your frustration.

Her arm drapes over your shoulder and she starts to laugh a bit more as you just stare at the tub with a rather disappointing look on your face. “Well—You should have just asked!” You can’t help but just groan semi painfully remembering how you were forced to use a bucket to wash your hair for the past couple of weeks. All you’ve been doing is dream of a nice tub to soak in. “Ha-Ha! Oh you poor sweet thing! Oi!! Don’t just stare at the damn thing! Get yourself undressed and get it!” Una says patting your shoulder as she leaves the divider.

The tub clearly has some years to it, it’s no royal tub like at Nadia’s palace. But it’s large enough to fit even the tallest Kokhurian, and it’s a sight for sore eyes. The water is steaming and you just can’t wait to get into it. You take your clothes and fold them to the side next to the divider and carefully step into the bath. The hot water feels so nice on your cool skin, you can feel your muscles unwind as you soak into it. It’s large enough that you can get your shoulders down into it. A happy sigh escapes your lips as you relax the back of your head on the side. This is so nice…… nothing can ruin my relaxation….

“Hey—” Shona's voice suddenly calls out to you behind the divider, making your eyes fly open and you shudder a bit. “... NewC—I mean, Rhemi?”

You drop yourself into the water and cover your naked body with your arms and legs….. Spoke to fucking soon….. You lift your chin up slightly so you can be heard and shyly answer. “Ye-yeah?”

“It’s me, Shona… do you mind if I come in? I have some flowers and soaps for the bath.”

“Uhhhhh…. oh??” The thought of her coming in actually makes you feel uneasy. You don’t really show your skin off to people normally. Muriel is the only one who has seen you naked… that is that you know about… But Shona did volunteer to help you after all. It may be incredibly rude if you deny her assistance. Besides….flower petals and soap would be nice. “Ummm…. o-ok I guess….. I’m naked though!”

You hear her snort a little. “Yeah I know you are, that's why I’m asking if I can come in.”

You feel a little stupid stating the obvious and you shrunk into your shoulders. “O-okay. Come in.”

She comes through the divider completely unperturbed by your nakedness. She isn’t wearing her long parka for the first time. Instead she’s wearing a pinkish-plum colored wrap around dress, with orange designs and yellow flowers embroidered on the collar. You’ve seen part of it when she pulled one arm out of her sleeve for the archery game, but you didn’t see the full dress until now. Hiding underneath the thick furs, she is rather stout and fit, but not as thick as you had thought, and she has an excellent and elegant figure.

Feeling rather embarrassed, you keep yourself covered tightly as she makes herself busy preparing the flowers amen soaps. She may not be bothered by your nude presents, but you curl into yourself trying to hide your body, hoping she doesn't think any less of you.

As she turns her attention to you noticing your tightly bounded self, she raises an eyebrow as she sprinkles the flower petals into the hot bath water and softly grins. “Please, don’t be shy, it’s just skin… All of Great Mother’s children have it one way or another.” She then sits next to the tub and places the bottles of soap and shampoos to the side on the floor. “... Kokhurians may hide our bodies under thick furs, but we are not afraid of it. Besides, we're both women.” Thhhhaat really doesn’t mean anything… You quietly snort, thinking to yourself, but you feel a little more comfortable and you unravel yourself. I guess it’s fine if she is with it. She sticks her hand into the water to swirl the petals around a bit and immediately pulls it out, her fingers a bit red. “Ssssshit!—Tha an t-uisge seo uamhasach teth!!” Her eyes finally meet yours and she looks very concerned, then realizes that your skin isn’t at all red or burning. She tilts her head and sneers out of habit. “—How… how are you sitting in that?! It’s scalding hot!”

You smile awkwardly and scratch your neck. “Yeah….. I apparently have a high tolerance to heat…. a very high tolerance...”

She flutters her eyes and her sneer falls making her face soften looking impressed. “.... You are just… full of surprises. Huh?” She grins a little more.

“Yeah…. I’m told that a lot…..” You mutter bashfully. A bit of awkward silence takes over the tent while Shona starts to wash your hair. She really is taking her time and carefully washes your locks. Her longer nails feel very relaxing as she exfoliates your scalp and you start to understand why Muriel loves it so much when you do it for him. He even asks if you’d do it for him from time to time, you never mind either.

“Let this set for a few minutes.” Shoa says while getting comfortable sitting next to the tub, her arms draped over the side.

“Oh ok….” You reply with a half forced smile and you both lapse into very uncomfortable silence once again. You kind of want to start a conversation, but you have no idea how to do that with her… You don’t really know anything about her, other than she likes archery, making clothes, and taking care of her younger siblings.

Before you open your mouth attempting to ask a vague question, she surprisingly breaks the silence. “Can I say something without sounding weird?” She utters, finally glancing briefly into yours eyes.

You grin and shrug, relieved she broke the silence instead of you. “Ummm....Yeah, sure.”

Her eyes verse vertically and she stares uncomfortably down at your naked body as she rests her cheek on her knuckles. “... You have really nice boobs.” —HUH- What?!?! You start a bit when she utters that, but she looks like she’s very sincerely complimenting you. “... They’re a lot bigger than I thought they were. And they have a really great shape.” You shrink a bit into the water feeling a bit embarrassed again. “... I… I’m sorry if that was a bit too personal—”

You shake your head and try to relax. “N-..... No… it’s fine— it’s just—Uuuggghhhh. My friend, her name is Portia… She told me that too when we went shopping for swimwear this summer. It’s actually a really nice thing for someone to say…. but It's just very shocking when someone says it outloud… I never had a sister to tell me otherwise… Or at least I don’t think I did…..’”

Shona just snickers a little and leans her head into her arm resting on the side of the tub. “No wonder my cousin is crazy about you…” Her smile then falls and she averts her eyes toward the divider looking a bit ashamed. “..... Well that and you’re…. really patient….. and kind… and…. a better person that I am…”

Your heart drops when she says that, her tone filled with such regret and pain. “You’re not a bad person, Shona… I get why you didn’t like me. I remind you of someone that hurt you and your sister. And then Ava and I were keeping a secret from you…”

“It… It still doesn't excuse myself. You were right, the other day…. you didn’t hurt me or Ava… All you’ve done is help my family...” She pauses for a moment as she starts to rinse your hair with a bucket. “Here, close your eyes.” You do it obediently and she carefully pours the water on her head making your hair cover your eyes. You shake your soppy wet air and push it back out of your eyes. Once all the shampoo is rinsed out, Shona uses her fingers to comb through your hair to make sure there aren't any tangles, “.... It’s strange…. A Traveler took my sister’s voice. But another one gave them another….. For a long time, I thought I was the death of her happiness. But we just were looking at it from the wrong angle.”

“Ya’ know….” You look at her very kindly as she returns to lean on the side of the tub. “... I never hated you for not liking me, Shona… I'm just glad you're actually speaking to me like this.”

She looks away very ashamed grabbing another bottle of nice scented conditioner and starts to pour some in her palm. “I don’t know how or why you’re…. You're so understanding, I would have punched me in the face by now. I was a real bitch to you…”

You shrug a little, thinking it over. In normal circumstances, you would have done just that now that you think about it. But you never did feel hostility when it came to the twins, especially Shona. “....Maybe it’s because I get how you felt….. I mean…. in a way… People can be awful.” Shona stops washing your hair for a moment and just listens to your words. “....I didn’t like textile merchants for a long time… I made my friend buy me new clothes for over a year.”

“What do you mean?....” She mutters.

“... A few years ago, I woke up and didn’t have any memories…. the person I was living with was my only friend and he took care of me. He taught me how to be a normal person again….. but he would always leave town for awhile and I would be sad… really sad…. This one time when he left, for some reason I decided to go to a tavern… it got late, and this…. this guy I met there offered to walk me home.” You stop for a second, fiddling with a flower petal before you start again, Shona listening intently to every word. “.... I’m not proud of it…. but I was lonely and a bit drunk. He kept complimenting me, made me feel like I was wanted…. So… we started to kiss—this is before Muriel and I really knew each other, by the way….” She nods a little and you continue. “—But then he wanted to take it further, and it…. it just didn’t feel right. When I said no, he suddenly became so angry….. he overpowered me and pinned me against my own shop door.”

A look of horror washes over Shona’s face and she nearly stumbles on her words. “.... What did you…how- how did you— what did you do?”

Thinking back, you snort a little and lightly rub your forehead. “I head-butted the shit out of him and somehow broke his nose—hurt like hell too! Then I threatened him with a spell, but it didn’t work. Luckily Muriel was there and… and he saved me. Since I woke up five years ago he had always looked out for me. I just didn’t know it until just over a year ago. Then we got to know each other more… and… well you get the idea….” You feel your cheeks heat up at the thought.

Shona looks down at her dress for a moment, her hands slightly trembling. “How… How are you ok with…. just talking about it like that? Like it was nothing?”

You sink your shoulders into the warm water and fiddle with another flower petal pondering rather hard about it. “I…. I wasn’t. Not for a long time. I tried to forget that day even happened… but then, somehow the jackass wandered in my shop. He didn’t recognize me at first… he was looking for a sleeping potion but I knew he had other intentions…. Muriel was there again. Good thing too. I may have done more than just hurt the bastard.” You look back over to Shona and she’s just trembling all over, looking so terrified for some reason, tightly gripping her dress. Eerily, you know that look on her face. Very slowly you reach out for her shoulder. “... Shona…?” She jumps at your touch, but doesn’t pull away nor is she disgusted with it. “....Those Highwaymen... You said that Ava was protecting you from them?” Shona eyes become watery like a dam about to burst. “They….. did more than beat you up… didn’t they?”

Tears overwhelm her eyes and she can longer hold them back as they roll down her face. “M-Momma and Papa don't even know. Only Ava does…. Please don’t tell any—”

Bursting your top half out of the tub, without thinking you throw your wet arms around her, unable to stop yourself. “.... It wasn’t your fault what they did, Shona.”

She is a bit shocked at the sudden embrace at first, but doesn’t pull away. “Y-Yes it was. I was the one that insisted on going near the Great Gate…. I— I even flirted with that highwayman—the leader! He posed as a merchant when we were trading…. he-... he saw all that we had. That’s why he and his gang raided our tents!! But…. They’re all dead now... Papa and the other fighters killed them. So why does it hurt so much still?”

“It doesn’t just go away, Shona. It fucking sucks what they did! It was wrong! It’s sickening!” A single tear drips down from your cheek.

“Yeah. It.. It does. I fought them off as much as I could but…. They still…” She shakes her head, unable to say it. But she doesn’t have to, you know. If she doesn’t want to talk about the details, she doesn’t have to.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone about it? You’re mother especially? How has she not seen it?”

“I… I don’t know… She asked if anything happened… and I denied it—and why would she want to relive that?”

“... Why would you lie?”

She shakes her head a little, seeming unsure herself. “....I dunno….. They-they almost killed Ava. That was enough for my parents to deal with. I didn’t want to make things worse… Maybe… Maybe I thought if I didn’t talk about it… It would just go away. Like it didn’t happen. As if it was just a bad dream. I… I don’t know. It didn’t seem important.”

You hug her even tighter. “...You’re important too, Shona.”

Shona shakes uncontrollably, but she places her hands over your arms, excepting the comforting embrace. “It’s been so long…. it shouldn’t matter anymore.”

“But it bothers you still. Doesn’t it? That should be reason enough to talk to someone...... Get it off your chest. This is too much to beat. Even for you! You are very strong, all of the Kokhuri are… but you don’t have to be alone with this, Shona.”

“.... How do I even ask for help for something that happened years ago? Besides what can talking do?”

“....It's not just the talking, Shona… it's the listening part too….”

Shona leans into your arms and softly weeps, it seems like she needed to talk about this. A few minutes go by and she finally gets a hold of herself, gently pulling away from your arms. “....Thanks for listening, Rhemi…..”

“Any time....” You lean over the edge of the tub and kindly smile, then see her dress is half soaked now. “I’m sorry I got water all over you.”

She wipes her stray tears away with her forearm. “It’s… It’s fine. Th.. thank you… I.... I really don’t deserve you being so nice to me. Especially the way I treated you since we met.”

You smile a little wider, conjure your magic and wave your hand instantly drying her dress. She glances down in astonishment. You can’t help but be empathetic towards her. “... Yes you do. I knew you had a reason. Just because you disliked me didn’t mean I didn't like you. Believe it or not, I’m bad at talking about things that bother me too. So is Muri.”

She snorts a bit, at last giving a small grin again. “Cousin Muriel- I can see, but... you? You seem so open. You bearly know me and you spoke about a horrific thing that happened to you.”

“Yeah. You would think that, huh?... I think I kept a lot of secrets when I was younger. I don’t really know why I know. But I think I remember that I had to hide a lot. Especially the person who I really was…. But with Muriel. I never feel like that. I can alway be myself… I can be honest with him. And he loves me anyway. But sometimes I forget about that. He made me realize that I needed to be more truthful too.”

Shona just gives you a knowing look and smiles a bit wider. “Cousin Muriel is lucky to have someone like you, Rhemi.”

You shift your legs a little to make sure they don’t go to sleep and mirror her smile. “..Ya’ know…. you can call me ‘Rem’ for short if you like. My friends call me that.”

Shona flutters her eyes and makes a very happy sounding huff out of her mouth. “Thanks, Rem.” At last, you can call Shona your friend. It feels good. Like Ava, she seemed to be secretly lonely, even both of their energy seems to be lighter like a huge weight has been lifted.

Shona stifles a soft giggle as you start to shiver because of your cold wet hair. “I think we need to rinse your hair again, you don’t want to catch a cold.”

You tilt your head and gently close your eyes. “That’s actually a myth—”

Suddenly Keavy comes into the divider with something in her hands. “Oi, Shona! Have you seen—” Quickly you sink even deeper into the tub with a surprised squeak and tightly cover your breasts.

“—Keavy!! Privacy! Ever hear of it?!” Shona snaps looking rather grumpy and stirn again.

Poor Keavy shudders and quickly darts back behind the divider. She also doesn’t have her parka on and is wearing a wrap around dress very similar to Shona’s. “—Ooooh! I am so sorry, Rhemi! I didn’t mean too—…. Wait—Shona?! You're her neach-curaim???”

“Y-yes…” Shona‘s cheeks start to heat up very slightly, but as a matter of fact face washes over her. “.... What about it??”

“N—nothing!!! I-I…. just didn’t think… that…… Know what, n-... nevermind. I guess I’ll come back later.”

“I-It’s just you…. right, Keavy??” You whimper.

“Yeah it's just me. I promise! No one else!”

“You can come in then. B-But I’m naked.”

“Yeah…. I got that part.” She softly chuckles as she comes back behind the divider and you feel a little silly at your obvious statement. “I have the clothes you made for her, Shona. Momma just put the final touches on them.”

You whip your head to look at Shona in astonishment. “Y-You made me a parka??”

She shrugs with a hint of blush on her cheeks. “Well, I can't take all the credit. Momma and a few of the other people helped. Great-Auntie Khamagalai taught Momma how to sew very quickly and she taught me the same. And it’s custom that your new family make you a traditional parka, headdress and earrings. Since you're not getting married I’m afraid it’s not as fancy, we didn’t have as much time to prepare anyways. It was a parka I was already working on.” You look back towards Keavy and she gives you a huge smile and opens up the parka. Suddenly you feel breathless at the sight of it. It’s the same one you saw that she was working on the other day when you peeked into Shona’s tent. It’s so beautiful, she even made it short enough for you to wear. Your eyes suddenly get watery and Shona jolts. “—It really was last minute… I’m sorry if its not to your liking—”

“No! That's not it!…. I…. I love it, Shona. It’s— it's perfect.”

Keavy eyes dart between you and Shona, looking very surprised at how you both are getting along all of a sudden, not really sure what to make of it. Shona notices, then glances over to her sister a little irritation fresh on her face. “What??”

Keavy blinks a few times and shakes her head. “N-… nothing…. It's just good to see you…. look like that, Sis.”

Shona blushes a little more and plays with the end of her braid. “Whatever…. you weirdo. So are you gonna help us or just stand there staring??” She mutters as she stands to her feet.

Keavy looks rather surprised. “You…. you want me to…. to help you?”

Shona sighs, sounding a little annoyed to grab a towel passing by her. “Well you might as well make yourself useful…. right?” She utters grumpily flicking Keavy’s forehead at her older sibling-like as she passes by her. “I’ve still gonna get her the dress I had to make the other day and I still need to finish the earrings and the headdress…. Could you help her rinse her hair?”

Keavy is stunned at her sister's actions, but actually doesn't need to mind at all. A large ginger smile washes over her lips “Yeah!—I’ll be happy to help.” She carefully folds the parka back up and places it on a small stool by the dividers and picks up the small bucket and stands knees over where Shona was sitting before. Keavy seems so happy at this moment. Shawn mentioned that Keavy and her were close at one point when they were younger. He also mentioned that she never let anyone help her either when it came to her duties and took on way more than she needed to. Maybe Keavy hasn’t seen this side of her in a long time. It must feel good to be trusted to help.

Keavy helps you rinse your hair out then hold your hands as you step out of the large tub and blankets you with the towel. Once dry, Shona comes back with the dress she was talking about. It’s not a wrap around dress like theirs, she seemed to have taken another dress and sown it together to make it fit you. Her skills just amaze you, she made it look like it was purposely made that way. As you donn it over your head, it fits perfectly, and hangs off of you very well. Shona and Keavy then lead you out of the divider after you're dressed and you sit next to the fire.

“Awwww!! You look nice in mauve.” Keavy says cupping her cheeks in girlish excitement and Una comes into the tent with her newborn tightly in her arms. Una stops for a second as she sees you and a happy smile takes over her lips. “Look Momma! Oooo I am so excited! I haven't been to one of our weddings before!—Well I guess this isn’t really one. But…. it’s close enough for me! I can't wait to see Cousin’s face when he gets a load of you after we get you all ready~.”

Your cheeks light up, feeling so nervous all of a sudden. “You—You think he’ll like me dressed up?”

Una tuts at your statement and kneels down to your level and gently tilts your chin up. “Of course he will!! You are a very gorgeous girl, Rhemi! I’ve seen the way he looks at you. I’d bet ya he would think you're beautiful dressed in a potato sack!”

Shona fetches a comb and starts to brush your hair, patting your shoulder comfortingly. “You’re gonna blow his mind.” She adds while Una stands back to her feet, taking the sleeping baby to a small crib to sleep.

“Thanks… Both of you…” You say with a little happy grin.

Suddenly without any warning, Tad comes bursting into the tent, heaving heavily like he ran as fast as he could from the other side of the camp. “RHEMI!!!” He cries out with such urgency in his voice, making everyone in the tent just jump in shock.

“—YES!! What?! What’s goin’ on??? WHERE’S MURIEL?!” You half shout as your heart drops into your stomach fearing the worst.

He suddenly doubles over completely out of breath. “Wha—?..... Oh! He’s—he’s fine.” He utters exhaustively waving his hand. “Ronin,…. Gilbert,...A….Ava and…. Shawn are…. with him… Pffew—”

“Then what is going on? Spit it out, man!!” Una chims in, looking just as shocked and worried.

Tad huffs out his sentence, but only a single word at a time. “Rhemi,.....Can… Can I… Please….. Do… Your…” He takes in a large inhale attempting to slow down his breathing. “....HAIR!!!!!!”

You flutter your eyes and start to relax and slap your forehead with your palm. What the hell Tad…

To be continued…..

Again, I am so sorry this is late. These last few chapters are gonna be hella fluffy. So, be prepared! Hope you all are staying safe and staying healthy! Mother Llama loves you babies! Enjoy my hot trash!!

#the arcana #muriel fanfic #journey back to the south #madllamamomma #ava of the kokhuri #una of the kokhuri #gilbert of the kokhuri #shona of the kokhuri #ida of the kokhuri #muriel of the kokhuri #part 10~#my hot trash #for my hungry trash pandas #eat up my children #sorry its been so long #i am a terrible person

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thomaslightwood · 4 years

Text

A Kind of Magic

Chapter four: Who wants to live forever

But touch my tears with your lips,

Touch my world with your fingertips,

And we can have forever,

And we can love forever.

Forever is our today.

• • • •

Alastair tried to read the article for the third time. The words just couldn't reach his brain. With a sigh Alastair turned the page of the newspaper. In the last week he couldn't concentrate on anything actually. He had work to do but he mostly trained because that was the only thing that seems to calm his mind.

“I'm ready,” Layla appeared at the door at his room. “Should we go?”

“Finally,” he closed the newspaper and put it aside. “It took you forever.”

His sister frowned at him.

“It's not true. Only thirty minutes. Besides,” she added, “I could go alone.”

Alastair raised from his seat and left his room, following Cordelia to the front door.

“You know pretty well this isn't my idea.” It was their mother's. Layla and Lucie had to train together and there was an Enclave meeting at the Institute today which Alastair wanted to attend. So his mother said they should go together. Nether Cordelia nor Alastair were very excited about it but they had no choice.

“I know,” she sighed while they were getting in the carriage. With a little bit of worry, Alastair noticed. He couldn't blame her for worrying about their mother. He did too. Alastair wished Sona to finally tell Cordelia about her pregnancy. Maybe this way his sister would be a little bit calmer.

When they arrived at the Institute it was surprising to see that many people were already there for the meeting.

No one paid Alastair and Cordelia much attention when they entered. Though Alastair saw many familiar faces. Young faces. Many Nephilims were injured, disappeared or killed, leaving their children to deal with this situation.

Cordelia found Lucie in the crowd and Alastair, without much choice, followed her. But then he detected that Thomas stood right beside her. His heart went up his throat.

“Darling Cordelia,” Lucie hugged his future parabatai.

“Lucie,” Layla said, smiling. “I thought the meeting starts later. Why there are so many people so early?”

“Well,” Lucie said, looking around. “I think most of them are just very worried about their close ones and want more information. Though there is none.”

“Excuse me,” Thomas said quietly and went in the crowd, looking tense. He doesn't like crowds, Alastair thought absentmindedly, looking after him. He wanted to stop him, to say he wanted to talk with him, to apologize. But it wasn't the right place or time. And as much as Alastair hated it, he didn't have the courage.

Thomas came to two people who Alastair recognized as Anna and Gabriel Lightwood. Thomas' cousin and uncle. He was a little surprised to see Anna Lightwood. He knew that she had never has interest in politics. But she was probably here because her mother, Cecily Lightwood, was injured by these new demons. Though Gabriel himself looked ill. Like the wound of his wife had an effect on him too.

Alastair envied their close relationship. His only cousin was a Silent Brother who he didn't meet at all. His father would never be someone Alastair could rely on. He had to keep secrets from his mother and sister.

Though none of the Lightwoods seemed happy in the moment. Rather serious and even worried. Like Sona, Layla and Alastair were since Elias was arrested. Maybe every family had their own problems after all.

To look at them, especially Thomas, was painful so he turned his gaze to Cordelia and Lucie. They were deep in a conversation so Alastair left them alone.

“Alastair?” He turned to the familiar voice. Ariadne Bridgestock. She smiled at him. “Do you have a minute?”

“Of course,” Alastair said. Actually, he had plenty of minutes until the start of the meeting which would be spent thinking about Thomas so he didn't mind some distraction. “What's the matter?”

She stepped closer and said “Is it true that your relationship with Charles is over?”

This caught him off guard. He quickly looked around to see if anyone was listening to them.

“Yes, that's correct,” Alastair answered quietly. “Why are you asking?”

Alastair doubted Charles shared anything from his private business with Ariadne. They weren't that close.

“Just... Lately he seems more edgy I think. I thought it might have something to do with you.”

Alastair frowned. Before two or three days they talked and then Alastair made himself absolutely clear: he didn't want to be with him anymore. Charles couldn't believe it at first but eventually he said he understands. Alastair wished him happiness but he didn't want to get involved with Charles anymore.

“Well, I hope he gets better,” he said only.

Ariadne nodded. After a few seconds she asked “Sorry if this is too personal to ask but am I the reason for your separation? Because I wouldn't want to be.”

“By the Angel, Ariadne,” Alastair looked at her surprised. “It's not your fault by any means. It's just...” Alastair found himself unable to stop the words from his mouth but at the same time they hardly came out of it. “It's Charles. And mostly me. I wasn't... comfortable in our current state. I... I didn't want to hide and lie about us. I couldn't stand it anymore. I even don't know how I did it for so long.”

Some sort of a pain flashed in Ariadne's eyes. “So you... didn't want to be his secret?”

“Yes, something like that,” Alastair said.

Ariadne's eyes were on someone in the crowd. He followed her gaze to there. It was Anna Lightwood. Alastair was startled for a moment. He didn't know they had any relationships. Was it possible to have something between them?

Alastair looked at Ariadne again. Her face didn't say much but her eyes spook enough. Did Anna broke Ariadne's heart? Anna was a famous heartbreaker.

Ariadne turned her attention back to him and smiled with an effort. “However. I just wanted to let you know that if you need you can always talk with me. I assume not many people know about... your situation with Charles.”

“Thank you,” Alastair answered, surprised. He thought about the pain in her eyes looking at Anna Lightwood. “You can tell me if something is bothering you too,” she looked him in the eyes. “I mean it.”

Ariadne cast one more glance at Anna. “Thank you,” she said quietly. “I appreciate it.”

They stayed this way for a while. Without talking, every one of them looking at the person they desired the most.

• • • •

Alastair shut the door after himself as quiet as possible. His mother, Cordelia and Risa were probably asleep already and he didn't want to make noise. Though they were in the other part of the building but Alastair didn't want to risk it.

He patrolled for hours by now. With Ida Rosewain and Martin Wentworth, around Lambeth. Although they didn't meet any new demons. Only a few Iblis and Hellhound. Nothing new in other words.

Alastair began to count the spears he had to clean while going to his room. After thirty minutes everything was in the right place and Alastair was in his nightwear. He was checking if all the windows and doors were closed and turned off almost all the lights when someone knocked at the door.

Alastair astonished. In the name of Raziel, he just wanted to sleep. With seraph dagger in his hand, ready to fight if there was threat, Alastair approached the door slowly. He opened the door fast, raised the blade high.

But there was no need. Even in the dark he could recognize Thomas' figure.

“Good Raziel,” Alastair gasped. “What are you doing here?”

“Can... Can I come in?” his voice was husky.

“Yes,” Alastair said, faster then he wanted to admit. He moved from the door so Thomas could come in and closed it after him. “The kitchen is the next door, you can sit there. Wait for a minute.”

Alastair went fast to his room to leave the dagger and to take one candle. He didn't want to wake up the rest. Also took his witchlight just in case.

When he came back into the kitchen Thomas was sitting on one of the chairs. His head in his hand, elbows on the table.

“Thomas? What's wrong with you?”

He didn't respond. Alastair frowned and came near him. He had a bad feeling.

“Thomas,” Alastair said quietly. “Show me your face.”

He heard how Thomas let out a trembling sigh.

“Thomas,” Alastair repeated his name again. But he didn't move. Alastair pushed his hand away from his face and tilted Thomas' chin up to get a better look.

The sight stopped his breath. There was a bruising around the left eye. A small trickle of blood trickled beside the other. Big blue mark on his jaw. This weren't wounds from a demon. But human hand.

Alastair looked him dead in the eyes. “Who did this to you?”

Thomas lowered his eyes and moved his hand away from his chin.

“It was just a silly fight with the boy I was patrolling. The other Shadowhunter was older, it was a shame to be so childish in front of him...”

“Thomas,” Alastair growled. “Who?”

Thomas closed eyes for a moment and let out, “Piers Wentworth.”

Alastair clenched his hands into fists. He was gonna kill him. He would make him regret that we was even born.

“Alastair,” Thomas breathed. “Calm down, please. It was really stupid. His father is on his deathbed. He was upset, I wasn't in the mood and we just lost it. Gerald Highsmith was very angry and told us to go home.”

Alastair didn't want to hear excuses for Wentworth but to break his neck. He was so angry. How dared this scum to touch Thomas.

Alastair looked at his face. Now wasn't the time. But later he would make Piers Wentworth sorry.

“Do you have stele?” he questioned.

“What?” Thomas asked confused.

“In Raziel's name,” Alastair groaned. “For your wounds. You need iratze.”

“Oh,” Thomas said embarrassed. “Yes, you're right.” He gave Alastair his stele from his pocket.

Alastair tilted his head back, exposing his throat. “Don't move,” Alastair muttered as he leaned down. He put his hand on the other side of Thomas neck to keep him steady. His pulse was beating fast under Alastair's fingers while he draw the rune.

“Why you came in my house though?” Alastair murmured.

“I was close and I didn't want my family to see me like this. And I... I hoped to see you.”

Thomas was so painfully honest that it took away Alastair's breath. When he was done with the rune Thomas shifted his head a little bit forward so he could look Alastair in the eyes. Alastair didn't move. He could feel Thomas' breath on his face.

“Alastair, I...” Thomas' word was barely a whisper. “That day in the park... I...”

Alastair still could feel his rapidly heartbeat. His lips parted a little bit.

“I didn't mean. It was... it was a misunderstanding. Can we still be...” he was panting.

Alastair senses were swallowed up by him. He couldn't see anything but his hazel eyes. He couldn't hear anything but Thomas' heavy breathing. He couldn't feel anything but his skin.

Alastair knew it was a bad idea but it was somehow inevitably. Before he knew what is happening Alastair tilted Thomas' head back and pressed his mouth against his lips. He was kissing Thomas Lightwood.

Thomas made a soft sound, a little surprised. Like he couldn't believe what was happening. Alastair couldn't too.

He felt how Thomas' hands slid on his arms, to the elbows. Fire was running through his veins. There was a sound but Alastair couldn't tell who made it. Maybe both of them.

After a few seconds he broke off the kiss and pulled his hands away. “I'm sorry, I shouldn't have...”

But he couldn't draw away because Thomas grabbed his face and crushed his lips into his. Alastair groaned. If the first kiss was gentle this one was nothing but desperation and hunger. Oh Raziel, Thomas' fingers were buried in his hair. They kept him in place like Thomas was afraid Alastair was going to run away from him. Alastair had no such intention. His own hands were on Thomas' wrists.

He had no idea how much time they spent on kissing but the need of air forced them to stop. They parted only a few inches, breathing insteady. Thomas eyes were still closed like he dreaming.

“By the Angel, Lightwood,” he murmured, pressing his forehead at Thomas'. His heart was beating crazy. On Thomas' face was no trace of the brushes, he noticed.

He slowly opened his hazel eyes. They shined with strange light. “Does that mean you...”

“Yes,” Alastair said. He breathed out shakily. “Yes.”

Thomas smiled and Alastair's heart just missed a beat. As much as he didn't want to, Alastair pulled away from Thomas. He had to think and Thomas made him dizzy. He pulled a chair and sat on him. His knee almost touched Thomas'.

“I...” Alastair began. He swallowed. “I'm sorry. For that day in the park. I shouldn't have left like that. It wasn't right.” He couldn't look Thomas in the face. “This is not excuse but in the same day I ended a long relationship between me and... my lover.”

Alastair heard how Thomas took a sharp breath. “Was it... a man?”

“Yes,” Alastair answered. “It was a man.”

For a few seconds there was a hush. Alastair waited for Thomas' judgment. Then he felt how Thomas was taking his hand and said softly. “If you want to talk about it, I'm here for you.”

Alastair said automatically “I'm fine.”

But then he looked away form their hands to his face. Thomas expression was solicitous, his eyes full of concern. Alastair realized that Thomas... cared a lot. Indeed.

“Actually, I'm not,” Alastair released. “I... I don't think I am.”

Thomas squeezed his hand. He asked quietly, “Do you want to tell me?”

Looking at his face, Alastair thought that Thomas was the most kind hearted person he has ever met.

“It will take long,” Alastair whispered.

“Well,” Thomas held Alastair's hand with both of his and said, “Imagine that the world has one sweet moment set aside for us,” he whispered, “And this is tonight.”

Alastair closed his eyes for a moment. He didn't deserve Thomas' kindness. Alastair took a deep breath. Let it out.

And started talking about Charles.

• • • •

“How was the patrolling last night?” Sona asked.

All three of them were on the table, having breakfast. Alastair drank from his tea before answering.

“It wasn't bad. Though nothing happened. We met only common demons, nothing unusual.”

“You seem in good mood today,” Cordelia mentioned with a smile before taking a bite of her eggs.

“If you say so,” he answered neutral.

“Layla is right, Alastair joon,” Sona added with a smile.

Alastair rolled his eyes. “You are imagining it.”

But he secretly smiled, thinking about last night.

Getting off the carriage, Alastair and Cordelia saw that there were too much people in front the Institute.

Alastair notice Inquisitor Bridgestock, Will Herondale and Gideon and Gabriel Lightwood, even Charles. Not far from them he saw two figures who he didn't know. One pale girl and a black haired boy. He spotted James Herondale near them but he was looking for Thomas. Maybe he wasn't here.

“What's happening?” Cordelia wondered beside him. He wanted to know the same.

“Cordelia!” Lucie appeared and hugged his sister. “You're here, thank the Angel.”

“Lucie,” Cordelia embraced her future parabatai. “What is this? What is the Inquisitor doing here?”

Lucie squeezed her arm. “Because aunt Charlotte hasn't come yet. I believe she will be here soon.”

“But what is happening? Why the Blackthorns are here?” Layla frowned.

Lucie gave the girl and the boy a sad look.

“Because Tatiana Blackthorn is dead.”

• • • •

A/N: Part of the kitchen scene is inspired by this prompt by @whumpster-dumpster. Also, you can look at the London's map to get a better idea of the mentioned places.

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semi-imaginary-place · 7 months

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More 13 sentinels spoilers

Welp taking a break to do battle. Started on casual because im a coward but i did really well like 1% sentinel and city damage and no terminal damage so i bumped it up to normal and i'm doing pretty good 7 chain battle with no terminal damage and like 4% city and sentinel damage, getting all the side objectives and S***** and everything too first try so i probably could play on the harder difficulty. I guess im better than i expected or this game is easy cant tell.

Went and unlocked a bunch of files and oooh okino made anyone who touches miura force summon a sentinel. Why??

Back to remembrance. Ogata: wow your communication skills suck, you could have said i think that train is going to crash why not be on the safe side and just wait for the next one. Instead of ordering around the girl that hates being ordered around. omg of all the people to get stuck in a time loop. Now if i could only place that voice... juro? My second guess would be okino but okino usually sounds more... feminine? D-Code key... Where have i heard that before... Uggg this is what i get for putting this game down for a few days. Gee fuyusaka how come mom let you have FOUR sprites so she's a super agent, nurse, high schooler, and miura's kid sister who's also in 1985 i dont know whats going on. And ogata originally carried the d-code key whatever that is. Oh he met catsuit as a kid and she says he's the one that calls the deimos to 1985 and then she implants him with nanomachines im assuming its the same "magic gun" megumi was shooting people with that turns them into pilots?

Shinonome: 2064, i was wondering what time she was from. I haven't seen this time period yet. Ah yes the cringe crush on her highschool teacher who's also her boss in a spy agency who's using that crush to manipulate her. Morimura and fuyusaka are different people clearly but their demeanors are at least in the same ballpark, ida and amiguchi tho could not be more different and its so funny i cant wait to get to a certain scene later. Sekigahara is also here as are morimura and gouto hmm i wonder if this is the section they are all from and their operations in 1985 are a continuation of what is happening here. They all seem to be working together and just recruited sekigahara and shinonome. 17, 14, 15 i really should memorize sentinel numbers. Oh was this the battle that almost killed izumi. A system attack originating from sekigahara's sentinel... Does this have anything to do with okino? Sekigahara did go to 1944. Oh is this why sekigahara lost his memory and was being hunted? 13, 16, 12, 19, 14 were transmitted. That means 17 15 and one other were unresponsive and then there's gouto and idk if morimura and ida count but wow they got a lot of the pilots. 8 is autonomous i was wondering about the low numbers. Ok so that ida is dead why does 1984 ida look exactly the same. A lot of the factions seem to overlap but im not convinced their goals are exactly the same, either way shinonome is convinced prisoner 426 is her enemy who is sekigahara. Wow i knew her's was going to be intense.

Damn we're playing migraine simulator over here. "Your memories will quickly return" uh yeah bout that i can see from the other routes shinonome's lost most of her memories. Very interesting, in the prologue shinonome's hatred of 426 was driven by her crush on ida but now when gouto ask's she responds that 426 is an AI that destroyed the future and I cant tell if she's lying to gouto or has forgotten her motives. Also sekigahara might be following the instructions of an evil(?) AI or is one himself who knows. How the hell does she recognize ida in amiguchi they act wildly different. so the ida in the 2064 battle didn't die, they are rhe same person. Oh wow there's like no locks on shinonome's story but idk how to get back to nurse 1. Huh so sekigahara says he isnt 426 and didn't infect the sentinel which could still man the AI did th one he might be taking instructions from. And shininome's story leads into kisaragi's in 2025. Morimuro gives iori namomachines every time she takes a nap in her office soo sketchy. Confirmation that morimura is tryin to erase shinonone:s memories and personality like izumi. And fuyusaka's weird dreams are memory transplants

Well that all the unlocked stuff back to fighting going to clear out area 1 before more story. And i am now playing on intense. I'm doing fine on intense bove 90% on everything which is amazing considering i have no idea how to use gen 1s like they get deployed and most of the time do nothing (except ei so i guess its mostly the two punk boys who stand around and do nothing). Aw i got capped at 10 consecutive battles, i havent done any non consecutive battles. Baby chihiro showed up and knows how to shift 1.2 mil ppl. Oh hey the idol is here still dont know what her deal is because i havent done shu's story but she's going to the mainframe (ufo) and that will stop things? She's fixing it? Okino's last resort? Why do i get the feeling she's an AI.

Time to finally unlock stuff. Amiguchi first. I wonder if ida actually is from 2024 i cant remember the dates he's popped up in. The lab dream bro what. Is this og ida? And he turned tamao into an AI that's like turning nicola tesla into an AI. So this is where all the androids came from. Assuming og this is something after the sectors were completed nd sector 0 destroyed? Which places this way after all the og miura scenes. Horrible thought then that all then wandering androids were once sapient like tamao and kisaragi here but are now malfunctioning. Hmm no i dont think this is og if this is the iteration juro gunned them down (maybe). That idol def only exists in the tv and is connected to the sentinels stuff somehow.. universal controller heard that somewhere before. The brain is retained so cyborgs technically. And year 2100 so yeh thi is one of the iterations probably.

Miura. I love him. Precious. Him, natsuno, and bj talking is really funny as sad. As lot of miura is heartbreaking like he's haunted by so much of his past searching for any hint of his last remaining family member. What. Og takamiya is natsuno's mom. And there was maybe an actual alien invasion? Ok straight up child abduction, that was miura's sister chihiro in 1985 like actual same person for once. Still dont know what was up with the chihiro/morimura/fuyusaka in ogata's story. Anyways gouto sees baby chihiro as the same as the nurse. Actually. if miura knows gouto why didnt he recognize him in the park? I was also wondering about the multiple apocalypses until i remembered its not so much time travel so much as different spaces that are in different eras. When tamao dies she disappears this better not be we're all actually in a computer simulation. "Universal control has shifted her" but its not like sentinel shifts, shifted where. They're totally in virtual reality aaaaaaaaaa i hate it. "She is mot truly dead. Instead she remains under life support inside her pod, waiting for the end." ... Its a computer simulation.... I think its interesting that 2188 miura liked history and 1944 miura likes scifi. Wow this game just wont stop hurting miura i vaguely remember some of this. Wonder how morimura ended up baby and miura's little sister. I guess there's now 2? Maybe 3 morimuras running around. Oh is this 2188 morinura? Which miura is in bj? 2188 og miura? One of the past iterations?

On to gouto finally. Thought he'd be unlocked by shininome. So he's from 2064 too... Morimura and ida were from there too i think? The bridge? Hmm so the lab of 2104 is in space and earth has been lost. Okino, morimura, ida, and gouto all know that the surface of 1.2 billion automated factories just produce kaiju. I was questioning if it was purposeful or not, there's also how professor takamiya the og im assuming said the front line would soon be lost and i was wondering why she was fleeing to the space colony. But maybe the something similar happened in the og world where the automated factories went haywire. When og shinonome talked about sabotaging project ark i thought they were in deep space like closed system the kaiju are produced on the ship, but if they are still in orbit then they could be getting attacked from there which would explain why ida's calculations were off in... 2064's? battle, oooor this could all be virtual reality. Gouto's prologue is a lot to unpack. Morimira is the real body (just how many rests have there been? None yet? The more i learn the less i know. Im totally going to have to read a story summary after all this) and there's clones running around. Oh right i forgot what side nurse morimura was on i remember there was something. So og morimura suspects 426 is involved and maybe body jacked her original body. Wait i misunderstood something. The morimura-sensei gouto is referring too and the one in the small body who regained her memories isnt the og. Oh everything makes so much more sense now. Why morimura was working with ida but now has a different agenda and why we havent been talking about morimura in 2188. This is dream morimura who is different from nurse morimura. Which begs the question why is gouto and co letting nurse morimura do memory alterations on shinonome and kurabe unless they dont want her to know that they're on to her wow things are getting interesting fast. Juicy so child morimura is the clone with implanted memories. Or maybe she in the og. I cant remember the conflict about operation aegis need ro go rewatch that. Oooh so og gouto was an old man that was ceo of shikishina that bought the nanomachine memory company and he calls a hit on morimura chihiro because her "project" (ark?) threatens shikishima. Last to unlock and now a lock for all 12 at 80% damn ok gouto's the final boss.

#13 sentinels: aegis rim #13 sentinels spoilers

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corinthbayrpg · 3 years

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NAME. Paris Ašhar AGE & BIRTH DATE. 3,000+ and Unknown GENDER & PRONOUNS. Male & He/Him SPECIES. Manticore OCCUPATION. Pirate FACE CLAIM. Alperen Duymaz

BIOGRAPHY

Paris was born in the city of Troy, nameless and with a future that would spell disaster for his family. His mother did not bother to give him a name; he would be dead from exposure by the next day. At least, that was the plan. A seer had told his parents that he would one day be the ruin of his homeland. To protect themselves, Priam and Hecuba decided that he would no longer be their child, and they would pay someone else to do the deed of ridding them of their son. The chief herdsman, Agelaus, took Paris himself, but he, too, could not bring himself to kill the child. Instead, he raised him as his own. He named him after the bag he carried him in, and was raised as a shepherd instead of the prince he had been born as.

As a young man, Paris found his own desires and destiny on the hills of Mount Ida. He had no idea it was the mountain he was intended to die on as a child, but his past never once darkened the future he saw for himself. He was no stranger to the gods, either. In fact, it was the dryads whom he found fast friendships with – and the very first love that he knew. The dryads were around in the beginning; in the Golden Age that Paris had heard so much about. They knew his heart, and he knew theirs. Loving them was easy, and it was natural. When the Dryads would return to their trees, Paris would spend night beneath them, whispering about the tales he’d been told – no matter how far from the original the others had said they were. This was his life, and it was all he needed.

But the fates would not be circumvented, and the moment Hermes came for him, he was unable to say no. The gods promised to give him the life he wanted with the dryads he loved, if only he could solve a dispute between the goddesses. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite – who was the most beautiful? A golden apple of discord thrown by Eris herself; all Paris could think of was how they should’ve just invited her to the wedding in the first place. Perhaps it spoke volumes that Zeus could not make a decision even with his wife in the discussion, but the deed fell to Paris. His heart belonged to others, but even he could not decide. He was only human, and therefore he was far from perfect. The goddesses instead attempted bribery – from Hera, ownership of all the known land. From Athena, the greatest war abilities known. And from Aphrodite, the love of the most beautiful woman. To Paris, there was no choice in this, either. Not until Aphrodite changed her bribe – where he could know the purest form of love. In his mind, it would only be knowledge shared among the two that held his heart. Not the promise of the other half of his soul – the one Zeus tore from all humans when they were born.

Helen of Sparta was that other half, and there was no denying the connection when they met. This was in secret, of course. Aphrodite had teleported him to her kingdom in Sparta – trapped to a marriage with Menelaus. They planned an escape from the city, hightailing it back to the land of Troy. But it was then that everything started to fall apart. Priam had learned from Agelaus that his son had not died after birth like it was intended, and now he needed protection. Arguably, Paris insisted that they would be fine away from the city, in the hills of Troy’s kingdom, where they would not be found. The dryads would protect them – Paris had told them of his plans. Helen was the other part of him, therefore, they would have the solution.

That never came to pass, however, as the invading army from Greece trapped them within the walls of Troy. Menelaus on a mission to bring home his wife, and Agamemnon with the strength of Achilles and the Myrmidons behind them. Paris knew what he had to do – to cause less bloodshed, he challenged Menelaus to single combat. His skills lied with the bow and arrow he’d used his whole life, so he was no match for the strength and wisdom of Menelaus with a sword and shield. In fact, Paris was more than willing to die – but only if it meant that Helen would have a chance to escape in the aftermath of his death. Maybe then he’d be able to go with the dryads to Elysium, or wherever they were able to visit with Gaia’s help.

It was Aphrodite who saved him, though she only pushed back the inevitable. Full scale war broke out, the clashing armies of Greece and Troy now fighting to bring Helen home – or to let her stay. All attempts to flee were blocked; death was at their gates. Though he was always just a pawn in the mind of the gods; Apollo guided his hand as he took his last stand. His arrow brought down Achilles, and it was an arrow from Philoctetes that would spell his own death. There was no time for him to say goodbye. No goodbye to Helen, and no goodbye to Gael and Aster, just a mountain top where he would be left to die.

Oenone, a river-nymph and daughter of Oceanus, had the ability to heal all wounds. It was Aphrodite who promised his love to the nymph if she would save him. Oenone did – but Paris held no love for her, either. It was her father who cursed him for the break of a promise he’d never made. Oceanus turned him into an incubus, forever cursed to feed on the souls of the living. But that wasn’t enough for the titan. He knew that Paris’ love was for the dryads, the land dwelling children of Gaia. Paris would live as long as he lived upon Oceanus’ or his descendant’s domain. The rivers or the oceans, of course. The longer he spent on land, the more likely he was to die. Whether that be by the shapeshifters of the world, or the Titan himself, it was yet to be decided.

So Paris took to the sea. He would sail to be as close as he could be to the dryads, who had moved back to the mainland of Greece. Paris would visit them as much as he could, until the titans faded from existence, taking Gael and Aster as well. The incubus’ mistake was thinking that with the fall of the Titans, he, too, was free from his curse. However, Poseidon inherited the seas – and so he inherited Paris’ curse and immortality. Paris mourned the dormant nature of the dryads that held his heart, and he spent far too long on land besides their tree. It was his bow and arrow that saved him, though the more shifters he killed, the more he was hunted.

The only place Paris found safety was upon a ship. For years, he would swap between vessels. Nothing could harm him, and as captains came and went, Paris found himself no longer a young man, but a weathered old soldier who’d known love and loss, and once Aphrodite could no longer reach him, he was utterly alone. The centuries passed, and the more naval warfare that he entered, the more lost Paris felt. He was jaded, treated the humans he would steal souls from as nothing but a body to pass the time. Witches who no longer had magic because of him would only recognize it too late, and he remained impervious on the ocean.

It wasn’t until he became captain of his own ship that he began to spread more terror than he thought was possible. Paris had never fit in, anywhere he’d gone, so he decided to make a life for himself as a pirate captain. Mutiny was easy thanks to his charm; the cubi easily became captain of a ship where a crew loved him. The only issue was the fact that he would have to dock every few weeks to replenish the crew – downside of being an Incubus. He would ensure to stop by Corinthia every few months, telling tales of his adventures to Gael and Aster as they slept. Anyone who came too close to the dryad’s resting place would meet their death with an arrow to the heart.

As the Golden Age of piracy spread, so did the ship’s crew. Immortals who needed a place to call home found his ship, and quickly it became all of theirs. Paris had never truly had a family outside of the ones he’d left behind in Troy all those centuries ago, but these reapers, furies – they became his family. Paris would stop at nothing to defend them, pillaging throughout the world as piracy became their main agenda. It was yet again another time that Paris had pushed his luck upon land – close to the docks, waiting too long for another of their crew. A snake, hidden among belongs, and a bite that poisoned his blood instantly. Paris should have known, perhaps he should’ve been far more careful, as well. It took him slowly, long enough to where he felt the rock of the waves hit the ship, and the gaze of his friend before his own vision went dark.

The pit of Tartarus welcomed him. Typhon, with all his rage, and the eternal torment and despair that awaited him gave him nothing but hell to witness. Countless times he was torn apart, his soul shattered piece by piece. Crudely he was put back together, for centuries and centuries, until his soul was no longer recognizable. Paris held on to the memories of Gael, of Aster, and when he was young – when he wasn’t cursed, or used by the gods. It seemed like a dream when he was suddenly free. No longer an incubus, but a manticore. His freedom was met with the awakening of the dryads, and now Paris has to find his way yet again in a world he does not know.

PERSONALITY

+ imaginative, reliable, courageous - blunt, anxious, impatient

PLAYED BY LAUREN. PST. She/Her.

#alperen duymaz #manticore #paris ashar #male #taken

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absolutebl · 3 years

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This Week in BL

Oct 2021 Wk 4

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series - Thai

My Mate Match (Line) Ep 3 - what a ridiculous show, they just did poly versions of crash into me, lie on the floor, AND carry baby to bed tropes with a completely straight face (rhetorical straight of course). I’m kinda glad it’s only 6 eps. Certainly, I couldn’t take a full run of this utter nonsense. On the flip side, we got actual kissing which I honestly was not expecting and I felt oddly embarrassed about, and then a confession which I definitely felt embarrassed about. Partly, I guess that’s because the conceit of the show means all these things always occur in front of a third person. Now if it were going to go genuinely poly I wouldn’t mind but I just don’t think Thailand is brave enough for that yet. On the other hand. What if they are? What if poly is where this show is headed? Wouldn’t that be AMAZING? Also, anyone want to take bets on one of the semes being the owner of the house?

Bite Me Ep 9 (Viki) - apparently the hets staged a hostile plot takeover (does the actress playing Eve look like Plustor Pronpiphat’s sister to you too?) Back to the BL: look I don’t get what’s going on, either. If they were going to throw in the rich guy faen fatal, why didn’t they bring him in a LOT earlier instead of the Eve character? Why is Aek so against Aue? It is just that he thought they were friends? And honestly at this juncture why does any character like Aek? He’s cute and all but does he have a personality apart from being a great cook? The audience is generally feeling betrayed and that’s fair. Aek has to have a damn good reason for acting the way he’s acting and SOON or this show won’t be able to redeem itself. Pity.

NilunDon Ep 0 - is supposed to drop Sunday but I’m not sure where. Hopefully I’ll be able to report on it next week.

Bad Buddy (YouTube) Ep 1 - oh it’s really flipping good. Much better than I was hoping and about what I expected. Trust Ohm and Nanon. The pacing is good too, I’m live blogging this one here. Watch it ‘cause it’s gonna sweep tumblr.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

My Sweet Dear (Korea - Viki) Ep 3-4 - waiting on subs is HARD with this one. Korea is being strategically tropey again with sing feelings (sigh), piggyback, carry baby to bed, and cooking for him (of course) all deployed in ep 3. I like a cocky/tsundere pairing plus the professional rivals thing, but the tsundere has to soften now as we’re at the halfway point. So far, no one has been given a reason to soften yet but fingers crossed they can redeem Mr Cocky with broken backstory, and our tsundere with a gooey center, even in such a short time frame.

Vanishing My First Love AKA Kieta Hatsukoi (Japan - indie subbed) Ep 3 - MY BABIES! OMG another plot twist. Eeee so good. From love rivals to besties! How is this show so warm and fuzzy and cute? I’m getting the same vibe I got from Cherry Magic or Seven Days and this makes me very happy. Japan can turn on a yen though, so VMFL could go rotten fast but right now, it’s beyond adorable. (Did you notice Aida is played by Suzuki Jin? He’s the lead, Uenoyama, from Given! Completely different character, I almost didn’t recognize him.) Also the dog cuts = truly hilarious. ALSO they’re writing Ida as kind of ace/grey/demi and I really like that. Reminds me of Ae in Love By Chance.