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goddammitstacey · 3 years

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Here have a queer retelling of Little Red Riding Hood

The forest is magnificent. Giant yew trees reach for the sky, their leaves sending dappled sunlight down toward the moss-covered floor like a parting gift. Even Shiloh can’t deny the majesty of the place, as much as she might have preferred the wood around her a little more dead, with four legs, and holding up a tankard of beer.

But alas, good things apparently come to those who wait. And wait. Shiloh sighs, pulling her pelt more securely around her as she shifts into a warmer patch of sunlight.

“Are you almost finished?” she asks. “It’s nearing dusk, my love.”

The nearest tree is a monster. As thick around as three broad men standing in a circle, arms outstretched, fingertip to fingertip. It hides Shiloh’s wife from view. Just.

When Kae rounds the trunk of the tree, she makes it look a fraction of its years just by virtue of the contrast.

“Almost,” Kae says, broad hands smoothing over the bark like she’s soothing a spooked horse. “The bairn is sick with heart rot, the poor thing. I need to shore her up before it gets worse.”

Shiloh can’t find it in herself to be annoyed. Kae’s described heart rot enough for her to have some sympathy for the poor tree. And it doesn’t hurt that seeing her wife full of care makes a puddle out of her.

“It’s a good thing I enjoy watching you work,” Shiloh says, unable to help her soft smile. “Because it’s all you do.”

Kae looks to her, sharing the smile for a moment before her eyes snap suddenly back to her charge.

Shiloh tenses on instinct. “What?”

Kae’s alert, but not reaching for her axe. Shiloh relaxes her hold on her pelt but keeps it in hand for swift action anyway.

“There’s a girl in the forest,” Kae says. “Small. Alone. The… the trees are agitated.”

“Over a girl?” Shiloh says, confusion reflected in the look Kae sends her. “That’s a new one.”

Kae turns her attention back to her patient. “I’m almost finished here, then we can-”

“I’ll go on ahead,” Shiloh says, stretching her back out as she stands. “I’ve been sitting too long anyway, I’m going to grow moss.”

Kae doesn’t pick up the thread of the joke, looking as agitated as the trees around her must be. “I don’t…”

“I’ll be okay,” Shiloh says, stepping forward to clasp her wife’s hand between hers. “I have my pelt. I’ll even take my wrap-”

“No,” Kae says quickly, stopping Shiloh with a hand on her wrist as she reaches for their pack. “Don’t wear red.”

Shiloh raises an eyebrow. “That’s not what you said the other night, my love.”

And oh yes, now who’s wearing red? Shiloh grins as she uses her grip to pull Kae within reach, pecking her on one rosey cheek.

“It’s the trees,” Kae says, brushing a strand of Shiloh’s dark hair from her face. “They’re saying, don’t wear red.”

“How judgemental of them,” Shiloh says, but leaves her red wrap safely in their pack anyway.

Tracking the girl isn’t difficult. She smells of hay and woodsmoke, a combination that is as much out of place as her humanity this far into the woods. Shiloh hangs back, employing more caution than she would have otherwise, her wife’s worried frown at the fore of her mind.

The girl is indeed alone. Shiloh closes the distance between them until she can spy the girl’s back through the trees. Her hooded cloak is flapping around her ankles as she walks.

Her hooded red cloak.

Shiloh frowns and ups her pace, circling around the girl on soft feet until she finds a clearing up ahead with a downed tree to serve as a casual perch. The girl comes upon her bare minutes later, startling to a stop despite Shiloh’s deliberate, friendly smile and unassuming posture. Unfortunately there’s little she can do about her state of dress.

The girl can’t be older than seven summers, blonde hair tufting out of her hood as curious eyes look Shiloh over. Shiloh doesn’t blame her. She’s an unusual sight at the best of times.

Finally the girl breaks the silence. “Why are you naked?”

The bluntness of the question stirs a real smile to Shiloh’s features. “I’m not naked,” she says. “I’ve this pelt.”

The girl frowns at Shiloh’s wolf pelt, twisted about her in an approximation of a tunic. “It’s not very big.”

She’s not wrong. But then… Shiloh rises to her feet – carefully, so as not to spook the girl further. “It doesn’t have to be.”

The little girl watches her like one might watch a particularly interesting snake on one’s path. Cautious. Cautious but curious. Shiloh knows the sort. She sees it in the mirror those mornings Kae lets them hire a real room.

“What are you doing in the woods alone, child?” Shiloh says.

The girl rises to her full height, like she’s being inspected by someone with a badge. “I’m visiting The Grandmother,” she says, practically pronouncing the capital ‘T’.

Strange. Usually the trees warn Kae of any human settlements in the woods they travel. Kae’s parentage and Shiloh’s proclivity for travelling skyclad make chance meetings with humans something to be avoided.

“And where does she live?” Shiloh asks.

The little girl points along the direction she’s been travelling, deeper into the woods. “I’m to follow the sun to her cottage,” she says.

Right. Shiloh hums as she thinks. Kae isn’t far off and almost finished her tree-doctoring by her own admittance. She will catch up when she can. “May I walk with you, child?” Shiloh asks. “I’d feel much better knowing you got there safe, is all.”

After a lengthy pause, the girl nods, which is for the best really. It’s much easier to walk by her side than track her from behind.

The girl’s name is Scarlett.

“That’s an interesting name,” Shiloh says, the red of Scarlett’s cloak growing more vivid in Shiloh’s peripheral vision.

Scarlett shrugs. “Not really. There are lots of girls named Scarlett in the village.”

“Is that right?” Shiloh says, feeling more and more like she has a handful of puzzle pieces but no interlocking edges to fit them together.

They come upon the cottage as the sun kisses the distant mountains, sending the woods into an early dusk. Shiloh’s mildly put out when she notices how perfectly normal the place looks. The gardens are well-tended and the stoop swept. There’s even a cheerful glow warming the windows.

“This looks like the place,” Shiloh says, sweeping the clearing for something to explain the slow drip of dread down her spine.

Scarlett huffs a sigh next to her. She’d taken Shiloh’s hand not long into their walk and her little palm is warm and soft in Shiloh’s own.

“I guess so,” Scarlett says.

“You guess so?” Shiloh says, eye catching on a large shadow moving within the cottage. “You’ve never visited your grandmother before?”

“The Grandmother,” Scarlett corrects her. “And no.”

She says it like it’s the most normal thing in the world, but as Shiloh looks down at her, the red of her cloak seeming to glow in the darkness, she can’t help but think the situation is the very furthest from normal they can get.

“Is that visitors I hear?” Comes a voice from within the cottage. Shiloh looks up as the shadow in the cottage window moves toward the door. It gets smaller as it goes which is a funny thing, because Shiloh could swear it’s moving toward the light source…

The shadow is bare steps from the door when Shiloh gives an exaggerated shiver.

“Are you cold?” Scarlett asks.

“Yes,” Shiloh says quickly. “I’m afraid I didn’t think ahead. Might I borrow your cloak, child?”

Scarlett looks torn. “I was told not to-”

“Only for a minute or two,” Shiloh says, over the creak of the door. “I promise.”

“Okay…”

Shiloh whips the cloak from Scarlett’s shoulders and about her own just in time to face the figure in the doorway who-

Is a little, old woman.

Shiloh balks at the sight, eyes warring with every other instinct telling her to run, fight, hide. Shift.

The Grandmother smiles. Her face is like a weathered peach and her hands look frail as spider’s silk. They clasp and unclasp in front of her, the only tell that she too feels the tension that’s fallen on the clearing like a woollen blanket.

“Where are you, my child?” The Grandmother asks, peering across the clearing. “Come closer, I’m afraid my eyes aren’t what they used to be.”

Scarlett is stepping forward before Shiloh can move to stop her, small hand leaving only a warm imprint on Shiloh’s palm as she lets go.

“Ah, there you are,” The Grandmother says, with a smile warm like home. “I see you now.”

Only she doesn’t. As Scarlett walks toward The Grandmother, the old woman’s eyes, suddenly sharp and shrewd, remain fixed on Shiloh. No, she thinks as she steps forward and the cloak flares out. Her eyes are on the cloak.

Don’t wear red.

“Scarlett,” Shiloh calls, pulling the cloak from her shoulders. The Grandmother’s eyes follow it’s rustle like a hawk as the fabric hits the grass.

Scarlett stops and turns back. And The Grandmother’s shadow starts to grow.

“Scarlett, run!”

Shiloh doesn’t wait for the girl to obey, simply grabs for her pelt, reaches down deep and pulls. Scarlett screams and tumbles backward as Shiloh flies at her which makes leaping the girl an easy feat. She’s only half shifted when she hits The Grandmother’s charge but it’ll do. She’s got her teeth at least.

The Grandmother is easily the breadth of Kae’s yew patient and growing, but her skin, turning green and sickly by the minute, is easy enough to tear through. She bleeds. That’s the important thing.

Anything that bleeds can die, in Shiloh’s experience.

She’s fully shifted by the time The Grandmother hauls her back by her scruff and rakes jagged claws across her furred ribs. Lucky, Shiloh thinks as she hits the ground. She doesn’t think she’d have survived it in her human form.

Shiloh rolls to her feet and snarls. Her mouth tastes of copper and she can feel something sticky on her flank but the fight is a singing, beautiful thing in her blood. She might go down but she’ll give Scarlett enough time to put distance between herself and this… whatever this is.

The Grandmother’s skin seems to boil, lending her silhouette against the rising moon an air of gut-churning horror. Which is nothing to the sight of Scarlett behind the monster, branch raised like a club. Like she’s going to fell the beast with a stick.

Scarlett lets out a warrior’s roar as she brings the branch down and-

Nothing. It breaks on The Grandmother’s writhing back like so much driftwood. Scarlett goes from heroic to trembling in a bare moment and then The Grandmother is turning. Shiloh’s paws dig large grooves in the earth as she launches herself forward – she’s never moved so fast.

The axe moves faster.

Likely because it was hurled by a half-giantess.

The Grandmother’s skull cleaves like a ripe melon and Shiloh uses her forward momentum to barrel Scarlett out of the path of the monster’s falling carcass.

And then, silence.

Shiloh uncurls with a wince to find Scarlett unhurt if a bit squished under her bulk. She wasn’t kidding when she said her pelt needn’t be big. She’s a hulking wolf no matter the size of her talisman.

“Damn you, wife! You’d best not be dead!”

Scarlett’s eyes are round as the moon rising over them, flicking panicked from Shiloh’s less-than-reassuring countenance to the giantess bearing down on them. Shiloh can’t help but snort a laugh as she shifts back to her human form, pulling herself off the child as she goes.

“It’s okay, Scarlett,” she says. “This is my wife, Kae.”

“This is your widow more like!” Kae says, picking Shiloh up with one big hand to set about inspecting her wounds. “Because I’m going to kill you for that fright you just gave me!”

Shiloh endures the inspection, mostly because she’s had a lot of practice. “My love, you’re frightening the child.”

Scarlett seems to take that as a challenge, climbing rapidly to her feet. “I ain’t frightened!”

Shiloh kisses Kae’s palm on its way to pawing at her scalp to check for head wounds and sighs. “Yes, I could see that. What part of ‘run’ didn’t you understand?”

“The part where you were in trouble,” Scarlett says, chin jutting out stubbornly.

“Oh I like her,” Kae says, seemingly having satisfied herself that Shiloh isn’t going to keel over dead any time soon.

Shiloh rolls her eyes. “Of course you do.”

Silence falls on the three of them once more as their attention turns to the hulking corpse of The Grandmother.

Scarlett breaks it. “They sent me here to get et, didn’t they?”

Shiloh, who was behind the door when the Gods handed out artifice, says, “Yes, my girl, I think they did.”

Scarlett takes this news with the sort of stoicism that’s likely going to require a lot of crying at some point later. “I’d like to not go back,” she says, finally.

Shiloh doesn’t say anything, simply exchanges a long look with her wife. And then she holds out her hand.

One year later, the village drapes another little girl named Scarlett in red and sends her into the woods. Four hours later, she comes back.

FIN

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#queer #lgbtq #fiction #twisted fairy tales #little red riding hood #my stuff

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succulentsunrise · 3 years

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A Chance of Courage

- Small talks, small actions and small decisions lead to something momentous.

My piece for the YamiChar Week, Day 2! It is both a stand-alone and a continuation to my Day 1 fic 🥰

Edit: I've added a small directory!

Day 1 | All | Day 3

It is funny how sometimes even the smallest things can become an obsession in one’s mind. For Charlotte Roselei, this was the meeting she had had with Yami Sukehiro in the gardens a week prior. A cordial, common meeting - but the substance of it empty. Her mind kept replaying that meeting, her heart aching and leaping into conclusions. She knew that the more she thought about it, the more she was adding things into the scene. More meaningful stares. More subtle hints. The reality was probably something more reasonable.

“Sis?” Sol’s voice woke her up from her thoughts.

Charlotte turned towards the younger woman, straightening her back and trying to concentrate on her surroundings. They were sitting together outside, in the garden. Ah - that was why her thoughts had turned to the meeting again. The thought distracted her once more. She was in some aspect conscious that Sol was talking to her, but she found it difficult to concentrate on that. Sharing a moment like this with Yami would be impossible. He wasn’t the type of man to sit outside and read poetry. Charlotte liked poetry. It was proper and beautiful and oh - so romantic. She blinked, trying to listen to Sol again. What a beautiful morning it was…

“Sis, you’re not listening.”

The accusation wasn’t without reason, causing Charlotte to look slightly embarrassed and apologetic. She spoke gently, her eyes lowering down to the poetry book on her lap.

“My apologies, Sol.”

“What’s on your mind?” Sol asked, her young face painted with curiosity.

It would be too embarrassing to tell. Too difficult to tell to Sol. Charlotte shook her head with a small smile.

“I was wondering what inspired these authors to write so beautifully,” she lied.

“They probably couldn’t say what they wanted out loud, y’know,” Sol laughed with a grin.

Charlotte considered her for a moment. Sol was a vibrant person, full of life and brashness. She didn’t stop to consider things yet. She lived in the moment. Charlotte knew Sol looked up to her. Sol was still easily impressionable. Any opinion Charlotte presented, she echoed louder and coarser. Yes, Sol wasn’t refined, not like a noble. Perhaps it was what endeared her to Charlotte. Perhaps she liked coarse people. People like Sol and Yami. They both disarmed the wall of thorns she had built in her quest for control over her own magic.

They probably couldn’t say what they wanted out loud.

Charlotte found it a rather apt remark. Perhaps she should write one? No. Yami wouldn’t understand anything about poetry, and in any case, it would be rather too embarrassing. It was already embarrassing to try to come to terms with the fact that the ruffian had stolen her heart. With a sigh, Charlotte shook her head.

“You do not admire the ingeniousness of the poets,” she remarked to Sol. “Perhaps because you always have the right words for everything.”

Sol laughed a little more, its gay sound ringing in the air.

“I’ve got the words, alright, but sometimes they come out wrong! Or sometimes I mean to say something, but I say something else instead, something that I wasn’t supposed to say at all!”

“That’s because you speak quicker than you think,” Charlotte suggested, turning back to her poetry book.

Sol didn’t seem to mind her comment, and instead returned to her own project. She had decided to try embroidering on Charlotte’s insistence. So far, she seemed to be somewhat frustrated by the actual process, though delighted by the results.

Later that evening, Charlotte visited the marketplace at the Royal Capital. She never quite liked these trips. There were too many shouts, too many men staring, too many awed sighs. She steeled her face into a cold stare to keep people from approaching her and simply strode towards her destination: an antiquarian bookshop. It was a gold mine for old poetry books, and she had become a regular there by now. Her visit there was simple and sweet. The shopkeeper recommended a new arrival - a rather old poetry book by a rather old poet. Flipping through the pages, Charlotte had approved of its contents and taken it. Then, business concluded, she left. As she glanced around herself on the road, her gaze picked up a familiar figure far in the distance. The combination of dark hair, black cloak and the relaxed style of walking was impossible to not recognize. Yami. Next to him was one of his subordinates - Charlotte couldn’t quite remember his name. She considered for a moment going after them and talking, but her pride won over. She wouldn’t know what to say. In any case, it was too embarrassing, running after a man. Charlotte turned to the opposite direction, deciding to take the long way home. This time she tried specifically not to think of Yami. She avoided the parks of the Royal Capital with the exact purpose of not remembering their meeting. She kept the poetry book she had just bought out of her sight and she stopped herself from wondering about what Yami was doing here. She tried to concentrate on the other people wandering around: a group of young girls giggling and whispering in a group, several workers sitting together on a break, young children running across the street…

It was an impulse that made Charlotte stop at a street food vendor. She wasn’t especially hungry, but it had passed enough time from the last time she had eaten. A sweet smell had caught her attention, and the sight of the first berries of the year had enthralled her. She happily bought a snack and found herself a place nearby to eat it. Then, Charlotte sunk to her thoughts once more. She should’ve taken Sol with, most likely. Sol would’ve liked such a sweet snack. It’d be difficult to take one with, though. Would it stay good - and if she took one, wouldn’t she need to buy the whole squad some? No, it was too much trouble. Charlotte leaned her face to her hand and sighed. She’d just have to bring Sol here some other time. She couldn’t take the whole squad. For now she would just enjoy the atmosphere of the city, eat her little snack and go home. There were still some reports to be written. Charlotte’s thoughts became immediately busy with planning. She’d first write that one, then turn to the mission business - and then there was that case of misconduct from one of the girls. Yes, that would be very important to investigate. She would make sure there was something in that accusation before she’d let it slip through her fingers.

A series of voices caught Charlotte’s attention as she pondered her duties.

“--it’s great for all tastes, Captain!” a warm, insistent tone explained, half-apologetic, half-excited. “You could bring anyone here and they’d find what they’d like!”

The young man speaking was dressed in greens - Charlotte recognized him immediately as that subordinate of Yami’s. Her gaze moved quickly next to the man. Yes, Yami was with him. Scratching the back of his neck as he was squinting at the street vendor’s food, he seemed unimpressed and unwilling to be there.

“Just get what you want, and let’s go,” she heard Yami grunt.

It was clear they were here because of the subordinate. Somehow, while Charlotte had tried to avoid them, they had run to Charlotte. She felt a slight flush come to her face. Yami moved away from the vendor, waiting at the side for the subordinate to pick what he wanted. Charlotte stood up, impulse taking over. Several things jumped in her mind: the meeting, the fact that poets couldn’t say what they wanted, the fact that Yami was right there and that Yami was coarse like Sol, and that Sol spoke quicker than she thought. They didn’t make much sense like that, but they were what drove Charlotte to walk up to Yami.

“Oh, hey.”

Yami’s greeting expressed his surprise well. The eyes that stared at her were shrouded in that dumb gaze. Charlotte spoke fast and breathily, forgetting to draw air while speaking. She didn’t want the subordinate to hear.

“I was wondering if you’d meet me tomorrow evening.”

“Tomorrow?”

Yami’s gaze flickered to the skies. He scratched his cheek.

“Look at you,” he then answered, and Charlotte could swear there was a playful twinkle in his eyes. “Sure.”

“Tomorrow then. Let’s say at six, at the--”

“--at the Grove,” Yami interrupted with a smirk.

Charlotte’s composure faltered, the stream of words sputtering to an end. She felt her face become fully red as she tried to regain her ability to speak. The Grove? It wasn’t the one she had planned to suggest, but it was an alright dining place. Not as fine as she had thought of - but it wasn’t that big of a deal. Perhaps because she hadn’t planned it out properly yet. From the corner of her eye, she saw Yami’s subordinate turn to look for his captain. She didn’t want him to see this.

“Cat got your tongue? The establishment not good enough?” Yami teased.

Yes, it was teasing. Charlotte could recognize it, even when his expression looked hurt and insulted. He had perfected that look.

“It’s fine,” Charlotte muttered, embarrassed and caught off-guard.

Yami smiled.

It was a smug smile.

Charlotte whirled around and went back to where she had been sitting, picking up her things and leaving with her half-eaten snack. She couldn’t bear to stay there any longer. No, she needed to go and work on the reports.

That was - if she could concentrate on them after this.

#Yami Sukehiro #Charlotte Roselei #black clover #yamichar #yamichar week 2021 #yamichar week

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sineala · 2 years

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I think I may be a little late, but if you're still taking these, can I ask for director's commentary on Leaping to Conclusions and Hide Your Love Away? They're two of my favourites of your fics <3

You certainly can! Most people do not seem to be asking for any specific details so I hope I'm being interesting just saying random things about my writing process.

Leaping To Conclusions is a fic I wrote for a BB where I wanted to capitalize on Batroc's obvious crush on Steve in 616 which I then proceeded to set in Marvel Adventures because I wanted a more lighthearted universe. Batroc exists in MA:A and runs a dating site so this isn't entirely unmotivated by canon. I just wanted a universe where everyone was nice to each other and everyone has always been nice to each other and also Batroc would be the first villain Steve has dated, because if this were in 616 Tony would probably be giving Steve shit about having dated Diamondback. It was much fluffier this way.

The thing I remember being most concerned about was depicting Batroc's accent. I wanted to make him sound like Batroc but i didn't think writing out his accent "phonetically" was a good look (since things like that, with non-standard English, are often used to imply things like lack of intelligence), even though that's what the comics do. I know the comics do it to be funny, but, like, I wanted to take him seriously. He's just a native French speaker! He's got a heavy accent! It's not really intrinsically humorous! I just like it when he kicks people in the head!

I kept the massive amount of codeswitching -- I attempted to only stick to words of French that I thought English speakers would know or could pick up from context. And there were a few places where I deliberately had him use more French-influenced syntax in ways that would read as marked in English -- starting a sentence with "me, I..." as an obvious carryover from something like "moi, je..." that still sounds comprehensible in English but not a thing a native speaker will produce.

Possibly no one else thought about this as much as I did.

Hide Your Love Away was a RBB that I snagged as a second RBB the last year I ever did RBB (so far), because Moony drew some beautiful art that was very, very canon-specific -- it was a soulmark AU, where Tony had a head wound and he was showing Steve his soulmark and Steve is very clearly Commander Rogers and this is absolutely meant to be early Avengers v4 so I figured that since I'd read v4 and liked v4 I could take a stab at it.

I'd done a bunch of soulmate AUs but I'd never done a soulmark AU, and in most of the soulmate AUs I've done it's Tony angsting about not being good enough for Steve but here I changed it up and gave Steve that angst.

I feel like fandom makes a big deal of Tony not remembering Civil War -- I mean, of course we do, it's significant -- but it's also the case that Steve actually remembers Civil War, and I feel like that doesn't come up much and I wanted it to come up.

Because Steve remembers the entire war, and Steve has an eidetic memory. Imagine never, ever being able to forget every detail of the worst thing you've ever done, a thing you deeply regret doing, and it's just there in your head in perfect detail. Do you think Steve wakes up dreaming about the precise sound his shield makes as it shears off the faceplate of Tony's armor? Do you think he's going about his day and all of a sudden he remembers that Tony's hands were stretched out above his head, the repulsors dim, while Steve was hitting him, and Tony wasn't even fighting back? Do you think he can stop thinking about the precise way Tony begged him to kill him?

I think Steve remembers all of that. And I can see how, with all of that filling his mind, that he might think he's the one who's not good enough for Tony. Because how can Tony want a soulmate who already tried to kill him?

So that's what that one's about. It's also the last BB/RBB I successfully managed; for the same RBB I also snagged Phoenix's art featuring Madame Masque making Tony drink at gunpoint, wrote 150,000 words, didn't post them, and wrote an alternate fic for the art with the bare minimum wordcount and still haven't posted the original fic. My brain doesn't really do deadlines anymore and it stopped doing them halfway through that RBB.

#ishipallthings #replies

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spasmsofthought · 4 years

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unfinished (zuko x reader)

I altered the events of the ATLA finale unknowingly in the first part of this series, so I guess this could be considered a bit AU, but not really. I imagine the reader to be about the same age as Zuko in the cartoon, but it’s really not that big of a preference; read it however you want!

Read the first part of this series here: Silence

So, the first part was set the night before the big finale battle during Sozin’s Comet. This part is set the morning of that day, so Zuko didn’t wait in his uncle’s tent alllll night - in this piece of fiction he stepped out for a break, which is why what happened with him and the reader happened.

I was listening to Meet Me on the Battlefield by SVRCINA as I wrote this and found it very fitting for the mood I was trying to portray for this piece.

I hope you guys enjoy! Feel free to let me know what you think.

Like, comment, reblog! xo

“I’m a coward,” You sigh to Katara.

There is so little time to prepare for today that everyone is doing what they can to soak in the simplicity of eating breakfast. She looks at you for a moment before setting her bowl and chopsticks down on the low table sitting before you both.

“We’re about to go into battle and you choose now to let everyone know that?” Sokka interrupts, using his chopsticks as a tool to point towards you. It’s not an accusing action, but it still makes the nerves in your stomach fizz around like they’re trying to escape. There’s still some grains of rice that stick to the ends, one grain even falls onto the table. It’s a little gross how much of a slob Sokka can be, but you brush it away for today. There are more important things to worry about.

He’s doing his best, but the joke falls a little flat.

Sokka has grown leaps and bounds as a leader, but this morning’s atmosphere is not conducive to running jokes on someone else’s self-admitted flaws or weaknesses.

Katara glares at her brother, “Shut up and finish your breakfast.”

Sokka focuses back on his meal, grumbling words under his breath that you both ignore, and Katara subtly turns towards you. She takes your face in, or at least that’s what you think she’s doing as she stares at you.

“What happened?” Her voice is softer, closer to a whisper. You have to lean in just to make sure the conversation stays between you both.

Your elbows rest on your knees and your face falls into your hands. After you walked away from Zuko, you spent the rest of early morning as the sun rose lying on your pallet trying to reconcile the fact that you could die today and you were always the type of person to save important things for the very last minute.

“It couldn’t have been that bad... whatever it is you did,” Katara says compassionately, her hand smoothing down your hair. She can be such a mother sometimes.

“I kissed him,” You slightly grimace at the words. They’re bittersweet coming from your mouth.

Both Sokka and Katara know who you’re talking about. As oblivious as Zuko is, you wear your heart on your sleeve in the same manner. They knew what you were feeling before you would even admit it to yourself.

Sokka chokes and coughs loudly, ever the eavesdropper. Once he’s recovered, he looks at you with his mouth gaping open making a sound of unbelief. It only makes you want to curl inside yourself.

“Okay...” Katara nods assuredly, like it isn’t that big of a deal. Like she’s not a teenager who’s also trying to figure out romance during war-time. You wish you had her confidence. “Well, how did he react?”

Her curiosity will be the death of you. You can feel the grimace become more pronounced and you push your hair away from your face, eyes focusing on the surrounding scenery. Here it comes.

“Uh...” You don’t know what to do with your hands, or with yourself. “I kind of walked away before he could say anything about it.”

Sokka groans and slaps the palm of his right hand onto his forehead, leaving a red-ish mark (that looks like a blob) on his forehead, and turns his focus back on his meal. Katara only shakes her head and rolls her eyes with a slight smirk on her face as she turns her body to be perpendicular with the low-sitting table, picking up her bowl and chopsticks.

“You two are perfect for each other.”

The entrance of Zuko and his uncle Iroh interrupts any chance you had at a reply to Katara.

Everyone moves away from the solitary table, including yourself, so you can all sit in a circle together. They are greeted warmly and are handed breakfast, but it’s easy to tell the atmosphere has shifted.

The reality of what today is can no longer be ignored.

The group settles as Zuko and his uncle talk. You pay little attention to the words, trying to focus on the moment. Gathered together as a sort-of mismatched family, this may be the last time you are all together.

Your stomach turns.

Iroh makes it evident that Zuko is to become the next Fire Lord, which in no way surprises you. It was his destiny. The group is split up like you thought it would be: Katara and Zuko will travel to the Fire Nation Capital to face Azula, his sister, and challenge her for his birthright. You will travel with Suki, Toph, and Sokka to take down the Fire Nation airships.

“Don’t you want to come with us?” Katara asks, motioning to you and Zuko as the group separates to prepare to leave. You give her a sad sort of smile; the kind that tells her you had already decided.

“I’d only be in your way. I can do much more if I go with your brother.”

Appa and the rest is patiently waiting as you stand with her in what could be your final goodbye.

“Besides, riding a giant eel hound this once will make more more grateful to be on Appa’s back next time.” You give a laugh, but it comes out as a small sob, too.

Katara grips you in a tight hug, like she’s trying to press her strength into you so it’s something you can share with each other. You wrap your arms around her as your eyes water.

It’s hard to be separated from the only family you’ve ever really known with the possibility, tucked in a corner of your heart, that you may never see Katara or Zuko ever again. Even Sokka, Suki, or Toph if you all somehow manage to get separated from each other.

“Be smart. I love you, sister.” Her voice is infused with the kind of steel you need to hear. The term of familial endearment makes her squeeze you tighter for a second. “We’ll see you when this is over,” Katara says as she finally pulls away.

You can only manage to nod as you do your best to discreetly wipe away the tear tracks on your cheeks.

“I’ll see you then.” You give her a barely-there smile.

She makes her way over to Toph, Suki, and Sokka. You know they’ve already said their goodbyes to each other, but it doesn’t hurt to have one more before today actually starts.

Zuko now stands in front of you, silent as ever. You look away for a second, trying to take a deep breath in, but your lungs take in only a shallow one. You’re unsure of what to do or what to say. Despite the fact that you kissed him last night, you both had built up a decent friendship as he traveled with the group.

You meet Zuko’s eyes finally after a few moments, feeling brave enough to do so. The amber color gives you a sort of strange comfort, a bit like the feeling of home (not that you know much about that feeling).

There’s too much to say and no time to say it; to say anything.

I might be in love with you. The truth reverberates in your soul, like it’s going to stay rooted there no matter how much you try to tug it out of the ground.

You’re not sure you should reach out and touch him, but you do anyway. Your hand rests on his left shoulder, gently trying to steady both yourself and him.

Like you’re trying to hold onto him for as long as you can; as long as the spirits will allow.

“Don’t be reckless.” It’s the only thing you can manage, knowing him the way you do. Your eyes stay on his, like you’re both trying to communicate something without wasting the space with a bunch of words and failing.

Zuko’s eyes roam, though you don’t know what they’re exactly looking for on your face. You try to take him in, like last night. You try to do your bet to memorize what he looks like. Like if you can stare hard enough, long enough, he will be burned into your mind forever.

There are too many things to say and no time to say any of them. There are too many things that may remain forever unsaid. You don’t know what to do with that. There is an incompleteness you feel as you stand in front of him.

That’s the funny thing about war: it leaves a lot of things unfinished.

“Don’t lose,” You voice almost breaks, and you think Zuko knows that. You can see Katara climb up to Appa’s saddle out of your peripheral vision. There’s rustling behind you that tells you your group is waiting for you as they adjust themselves on the giant eel hound.

You don’t know if he knows, but it’s too late now. There’s no time.

I might be in love with you.

He’s oblivious, you think.

“I’ll do my best,” Zuko finally says and your eyes can’t help but water. It’s all too much. There’s too much you need to say; too much you need to do. There’s too much to feel. You don’t let the tears escape.

Your hand drifts down his shoulder slowly and he grips your hand in his before it can come back to your side. You don’t know what it means, but you hope you’ll remember this moment for the rest of your life.

I might be in love with you.

“I have to go, and so do you,” You nod your head forward to where Katara and Appa are prepared to leave.

You take a step backwards and so does Zuko. He holds onto your hand until it has to slip out of his. The fingers that had been intertwined together now only hold air. You don’t know what he wants, what he meant. You don’t know how to read him, and now you are heading into a battle you may not even survive.

If only things had been different. If only you had been braver.

You make you way to the eel hound and climb on to the saddle. It’s big enough to fit four people, which would impress you more if you weren’t focused on other things.

There’s a small speech that Iroh gives to you all, and you listen half-heartedly, trying to get your emotions under control. It’s firm and confident, but like everything else today, it doesn’t last long.

The eel hound takes off just as Appa begins his ascent to the sky. You keep your eyes on the sky bison as long as you can, but after a few short seconds you lose their position in the sky. The wind whips your hair into a frenzy and something heavy settles in you.

I might be in love with you.

Indeed, there are things war leaves unfinished.

#Zuko #prince zuko #fire lord zuko #atla zuko #atla #atla katara #atla sokka #avatar: the last airbender #Avatar The Last Airbender #avatar: tla #avatar zuko #zuko x reader #zuko imagine #zuko x oc #avatar the last airbender one shot

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itslieutenanthawkeye · 3 years

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A Knight’s Oath

Day 6 of Jeankasa Week 2021: Royal AU

AO3

Sir Kirstein aids the princess of Hizuru escape a coup d’état organized by the marleyan Jaeger brothers.

There isn’t one inch of my body that isn’t yelling this is wrong, not one bit that isn’t shouting at me to return, to go back to my chambers, cover my ears with both hands and ignore that letter until the signal comes from within the palace. I came here to do a job: become her close guard, infiltrate the institution, take down the royal line.

That one job could have me swimming in silver. One job would be enough to buy myself that lifestyle I can only dream about. One job, and I could leave knighthood behind, buy myself a castle, a royal title and a woo wife to go with it. A pretty young wife with dark hair and big eyes and a whole army of servants to fulfill our every wish.

And yet here I am, walking with more purpose than ever before in my life, heading towards her.

Like most upper class Hizuran structures, the Azumabito royal palace is built atop a tall stone base. It’s an intricate maze of buildings, rooms and sliding doors that I’ve spent two years memorizing. I should know, better than anyone, how hard it’ll be for us to sneak out. Even if we do it without anyone being aware, even if nobody knows what the princess has found out.

“Jean, over here.” her voice calls from behind one of the doors. I follow like a bee searching honey. I enter the place where she’s been waiting for me and encounter her wearing the peasant clothes I procured for her a couple of days ago. She’s as lovely in them as she was the first time I saw her, sitting atop a high throne next to the regent, Kiyomi Azumabito, wearing a wonderful kimono of red fabric and golden threads.

Her mother, a pure-blooded Azumabito royal, fell in love with an eldian man, and in the process of marrying him, she also fell into disgrace and was expelled from the balance years before conceiving the princess. After a wave of plague that caused the death of the shogun and his closest relatives, however, Kiyomi had sent a contingent to bring back the princess’ mother to serve as regent until the princess came of age.

Stories say Kiyomi found a ten-year-old princess orphaned, living of scraps she found in the field near her home. Her parents were also killed by the plague. Some people say they starved, some others that they were murdered. However they died, the princess came back to the ancestral home of the Azumabito alone and Kiyomi took her into her care. Even I am aware of the love the woman has for her adoptive daughter, how much she cares for her safety.

It was her the first to find out about Marley’s plans to overthrow Hizuru’s royal line, of the spies sent by Marley in the shape of knights for Hizuru’s princess. It was Kiyomi who came to me, asking for help for the princess. She knew my involvement in Marley’s plans gave me a lot more intel than any other servant could’ve collected…and because she saw the way I looked at the princess that day our delegation arrived, two days ago, and how I’ve seen her every day since. She figured out quickly how much affection I carry for the princess and knew, barely one year after my arrival, that I would never leave her adoptive daughter behind.

“Are you ready?” I ask, putting on the peasant clothes, hiding the katana Kiyomi left in my room in the folds of my own hizuran clothes. “Your highness, are you ready?”

“I don’t want to leave.” She says; she’s turned away from me, giving me what little privacy she can while I change. “I can’t leave Kiyomi. I can’t leave the people of the palace behind.”

“Many of your servants are traitors, princess,” I remind her, tapping on her shoulder to indicate I’m decent again. A slight tremble travels her back and I curse myself; I’d forgotten how reserved hizuran people are when it comes to physical touch.

She turns around and faces me, resolution clear on her face. “Traitors or not, a ruler owes herself to her people,” she says, more dignified than any other royal I ever saw in Marley. “Traitors or not, I cannot leave them alone. And Kiyomi—”

“You heard their plans, princess,” I say, wondering how many times I’ll have to repeat the same thing to get her to forget that commitment to the people the Azumabito care so much about. “The moment the clock hits twelve, the guards will be at your doors. Zeke plans on executing you at dawn, on the morning of your eighteenth birthday. It’s either that or be forced into marrying his brother.”

“And I must let Kiyomi’s head hang just for the sake of escaping?”

“Mikasa,” I say; using her name feels strange. It’s a lovely name, but also forbidden. No knight is allowed to address the princess by her name, nor try to give her orders, let alone try to convince her to follow a plan she doesn’t agree with. The princess widens her eyes in brief shock, but nods, inviting me to continue. “You’re the last of your line. Kiyomi is willing to sacrifice her life for you.”

The princess lowers her head. “I can’t leave her.”

“If you can’t respect her wishes, at least do it out of pity for me,” I say, in a last attempt to get her moving. Time is slipping away from us, and Eren’s retinue must be making its way across the mountain roads already. “I’ve given up everything by just being here. If you stay, I hang with you, dishonored, tortured first.”

The princess looks up at me, her eyes stone-cold. “You came here under false pretenses, betraying mefirst. And now you’ve betrayed your country by being here. How can I be sure you won’t betray me again?”

Ah, how can I assure her without looking like a lovesick fool?

“I’ve served your palace for two years now, haven’t I?” I say. Mikasa nods, her gaze softening somewhat. In an act of boldness, or perhaps a leap of faith, I take a hold of her hands and fall to my knees. “I’m well acquainted with you now, princess, I cannot bring myself to leave you behind or betray you even if I should wish it.”

“Why, though, Jean?” she asks, and the mention of my name from her lips wraps me up like a warm blanket. Suddenly I remember again why I don’t care about the lost wealth, about that castle and title, about the group of nameless women I could’ve wooed into marriage. It’s her. Just her.

“Because you deserve to live. A great leader deserves to live,” I reply, bringing the back of her hands to my lips. I graze them briefly; a royal courtesy from Marley, never performed hereabouts. Royalty in Hizuru barely touches each other, and I can feel her trembling at the mere touch of lips against her hand. “I mean it when I say I won’t betray you, princess. I’m devoted to you as I haven’t been devoted to anything in my life. All I can hope for is that you believe me.”

“I believe you, Jean,” she says after a moment of quiet introspection. “I’m not sure why, but your face always seemed honest. From day one, even when you were scheming against me.”

I can’t help but to smile. “I’m willing to use my whole life to convince you I’m no longer scheming.” I say, standing to face her, holding her hand still. “Are you ready, princess?”

A sad smile adorns her face as she nods, and I’m forced to not focus too much on her face as we sneak out of the castle. Apart from being well-educated, she’s been trained extensively in martial arts and acrobatics, so sliding across the various rooftops of the palace and jumping from one terrace to another proves an easy task for her. She looks back at me at a point, her pale face illuminated by the moonlight, and I manage to give her a tight, ridiculous smile in encouragement.

I’ve seen plenty of women before, but she is by far the most beautiful sight my eyes have ever witnessed. But her beauty is just one of the things that have drawn me to betray my homeland’s coup d’état against Hizuru. I met her when she was sixteen, and I nineteen; these two years, I’ve seen her grow into a fair, kind ruler, one that cares more about the wellbeing of her subjects than the wealth of the family mines or the expansion of her land.

At seventeen, she convinced the council to abolish arranged marriages for women, recognize divorces requested by wives as legal, increase taxes for royals and establish a free education system for the entire country. I know she had in mind to establish free healthcare within her fifteen-year plan. All in all, she is a great leader.

Then there’s the fact that she’s extremely good at sparring. And I’ve always had a soft spot for women that are good with swords, especially women who can beat me in a fight.

I guess, in a way, spending my days with her, being with her…it all makes me want to be better. Before Hizuru, before the princess, all I thought about was ways of getting a comfortable life. My whole childhood, I’d spent it scamming people. Then knighthood had seemed a good way to find myself a relatively wealthy wife or become rich by taking down a king, or by plundering a town.

Just being by her side makes me a better man.

I want to keep being that better man.

I also want to keep seeing that pretty face of hers. I want to keep hearing her rants. I want to keep sharing my thoughts with her. I just want to be with her.

___________________________

Hizuru’s capital is surrounded by tall mountains. It’s thanks to my military training that I know which rivers the Jaeger brothers will use to invade the city, and which ones will give us safe passage to the sea, where a boat provided by the queen of Paradis Island awaits. Hizuru is a large nation, however, and the possibilities of our escape plan going sour are high. Still, I cannot let any of my insecurities show on my face. I took it upon my shoulders to protect the princess, to take her to her new home to keep her from being executed, forced into marriage, or tortured to death by the royals who had aided the Jaeger brothers conspire against the Azumabito.

By the time the sun begins to climb the mountains, we are miles away from the capital. And yet, we can hear the execution bells ring across the watch towers. Heads are starting to roll in the palace, the bells across the Hizuran Mountain Pass tell us, and one of them must be Kiyomi’s. Mikasa sits next to me on the motorboat, crying into her sleeves, leaning slightly against my arm.

“I’m sorry.” I manage to muster. “I wish I could’ve done more.”

She shakes her head, not looking at me. “Why did your people do this to us?”

I say the first few words that come into my mind. “Greed…I’ve never interacted much with the Jaeger brothers, but I know that the eldest wants power, and the mines in Hizuru are too rich to ignore. And the youngest cannot stand monarchies. He says people in them aren’t free.”

“Why decide to impose a dictatorship instead? What kind of hypocrisy is that?” she asks, although it’s clear she doesn’t expect me to answer her. “Why kill the council members? Kill Kiyomi? Our people are happy, and I wanted to work to make their lives better. I really wanted to. Why invade a foreign land that has rightful rulers with the excuse of freedom?”

“I wish I could explain it all,” I say, and the sight of the tear streaks on her face turns me into a rambling idiot. “I’m sorry, princess. I’m sorry I was with them. I’m sorry I didn’t do more to stop them. I’m sorry I came into your palace with—”

“You’ve already said you’ll spend your whole life making it up to me, won’t you? It is a promise, isn’t it?” the princess replies, and something inside me tells me she might be too tired to hear my apologies. She took the news of my original plan badly and stopped talking to me for a whole week, not being able to just look at me in the eyes, with fair reason. We spent so many days together with me as her guard, we became friends over those long nights of study, our few sneaky expeditions outside the palace, the times when I brought her street food for dinner in our chambers, the times when she’d sung for me and Kiyomi from behind a white canvas…

All those memories of friendship are stained now, covered with the mark of my initial plan to help the Jaeger brothers with their coup d’état. “I mean to fulfill that promise, princess,” I say, more convinced than I thought I would. “I’ll do anything to redeem myself from the initial betrayal.”

“What if I ask you to raise an army for me?” she asks, wiping the tears off her eyes with the back of her hand. “What if I say that you will prove you’ve redeemed yourself once you help me gain my throne back?”

Her face has acquired that solemn expression she uses whenever she addresses the council. And, like the council members, I cannot bring myself to say no to her. “I-I will try my best, princess. I do not have any influence, and I’ve no money to offer. But I will raise you an army, I will do my best.”

“Do you promise?”

“I could swear on my knight’s honor, princess, but you and I know I don’t have any. I’m a traitor to you and to my own homeland, remember?” I admit with an awkward smile, scratching the back of my head. “I’m lucky enough as it is that you trusted me enough to come with me.”

Mikasa smiles, then wraps my hand with both of hers. “There is one way you can assure me.” she says, her eyes not meeting mine. The sunlight is bathing us both; we’ll enter the lowlands soon, and speed will be of essence to avoid getting captured. Perhaps my concern for speed is what keeps me from realizing her face is dangerously near mine for the first couple of moments.

“What way?” I manage to stammer.

“An oath on your soul,” she explains. “It’s not a thing we do often here, though.”

“Is it like a blood oath?”

The princess shakes her head. “It’s something a bit deeper than that.”

I swallow hard, wondering if she’s going to force me to cut my finger off, or something worse. I don’t have any gripes if that’s what it takes to convince her I would fight to gain her trust back, but I can’t help being concerned about the health implications of cutting a finger off in the middle of a river.

“I’m not going to ask you to cut a finger off, Jean,” she half-sobs, half-laughs, guessing my thoughts. “It’s nothing as ghastly as that.”

“From the way you’re talking, it seems like a big deal.”

A soft blush travels her cheeks. “It is,” she says. “It’s a soul promise. We don’t touch each other here, not after you’ve left childhood behind. Let alone if you’re from a royal family. These oaths only happen behind closed doors, or at weddings.”

“What kind of oath is it, princess?”

“Kiss,” she says, closing her eyes. “You close the oath with a kiss, and your soul is bound to that person.”

“A k-kiss?” I manage to say, realizing at last how close she is sitting to me. If I must be honest, for the most part during my first year on the job, I paid little attention to hizuran traditions. It wasn’t until she started talking to me more that I began to care for the country I was hired to take down. And despite paying more attention to the country she loves so much, I have never heard of such an oath. Could it be that she just wants to feel someone else’s skin on hers?

A smirk appears on my face, and she seems to guess what thoughts are going through my head. She withdraws from me, narrowing her eyes dangerously. “It’s not like I want to!” she says, her cheeks burning red, her murderous expression only increasing my smile. “Stop looking at me like that!”

“I’m sorry!” I say, coughing to clear my throat. Her hands are still holding mine. “I didn’t mean to disrespect you, princess. Please, tell me about this oath.”

“No.” Mikasa replies, shaking her head. “You are clearly not mature enough for it.”

“Please, princess.” I say, and she gives me a serious glance before sighing in defeat.

“If you do it, it’ll be important. You cannot back away from this; you must fulfill it even if it takes your life. Your promise will be bound to your soul; and your soul is bound to me.” Mikasa hunches her shoulders and exhales, her eyes set on the mountains we’re leaving behind, her eyes longing for the warmth of the castle, the voice of her caretaker.

Her home crumbled in the lapse of a few hours; all her friends in the palace, her adoptive mother, the members of the council that cared for her…they’re all dead by now, or tortured, perhaps, to get information on her whereabouts. Kiyomi is probably getting the worst of all. And that’s when it hits me: I’m all she’s got left. Me, one of the knights sent to infiltrate her palace, gain their trust, and stab them in the back.

What a grim scenario that is.

“Princess, please look at me,” I say. She turns to face me, and my lips press against hers for a couple of seconds. When we part, her eyes are as wide as plates. “I promise I will not fail you.”

She nods, her hands clutching mine, her cheeks tinted pink. “Thank you.”

I let go of her hands and wrap her face with both of mine. Then, I press my lips against hers. This time, when we part, her eyes are closed. “I promise I am bound to you, blood, bone and soul.” I say, then kiss her again, a little longer this time. “I promise I won’t rest until you get your throne back.”

She smiles at me. “You’re splitting your soul into a lot of little pieces there.”

I kiss her again, and this time her lips move against mine, her arms wrap around my shoulders. Many times these two years I dreamed about kissing her –no, I’ve imagined doing a lot more with her, if I must be honest. But it was all fantasies, half-built while I looked after her during royal events, while I guarded her in her sleep, while we had our quiet dinners.

“I swear, my princess,” I say as we come apart once more, grazing her cheek with the back of my hand. “I swear my soul, heart and body are yours, from now until I the day I’m ripped from you.”

“That sounds a lot like a wedding vow.” She points out, holding my hand in place against her face.

I smile. “I’m sorry, princess.”

“Don’t be, please,” she says, then places a quick kiss on my fingers. “You can call me by my name from now on, you know. I’m not a princess anymore.”

“You’re always a princess, though.”

She shakes her head. “You and I are fugitives,” she says, setting her eyes on the mountains again, a fire burning bright behind the grey curtain of her eyes. She wants revenge; she wants to gain her throne, her homeland, back, and rain fire upon the ones who dared to lift a finger against Hizuru.

And all I want, I realize with a bit of embarrassment, is to keep her safe, stay by her side.

“I’ll raise an army for you, Mikasa.”

“We’ll raise it together. I believe in your oath,” she assures me, leaning forward to press her lips against mine for a long moment. “And I swear to you that when I get my throne back, I will give you all the lands and wealth you desire.”

“I could do without all that.” I say, shrugging, eliciting the first smile I’ve seen from her in a while.

I want to protect that smile, I think as our boat picks up speed. We’ll enter the lowlands in a couple of miles, and it’ll be a race to get to the ocean. The island is the only safe option for the princess now; the only safe place for the both of us. Despite my oath to her, all my mind can think of is a peaceful life with her. No luxuries, no armies, no grand schemes for power. Just the princess and I, sharing our lives in a quiet cottage by a river, hidden away from the world on Paradis Island.

It’s a fool’s dream, I know.

“I’ll keep you safe.” I assure her, giving her hand a little squeeze, hoping this isn’t too much touching for someone like her.

To my surprise, she squeezes my hand in return. “And I’ll keep you safe.”

#Jeankasa #Jean x Mikasa #JeanMika #Jean Kirstein #Mikasa Ackerman #JeankasaWeek2021 #Jeankasa Week 2021 #Royal AU #AU fanfic #fanfic #shingeki no kyojin fanfic

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kittyspring-creates · 3 years

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this is a rant fic mostly. Ship Kit x Larry my oc for sally face. Warning for suicide talk.

Kit sat with her back to the wall, knees to her chest as endless tears fell down her round cheeks. Evidence of her breaking heart, sore and torn. It didn't take long for her to be found. She was at a party after all. Someone else house. Someone else plans. Someone else life in a way. The gathering of people all having a great time as they lose them selves to the bliss of alcohol and drugs. But she had thrown her euphorbia up. Expelled it a while ago, her stomach to weak for what she wanted. It sent her spiraling. Alone in the back of the house where there was no bathroom, no alcohol, no drunk girl to mess with.

Just her and now the slapping of approaching feet. She gasped, snapping her head up to meet the person. He fear calming when she saw the figure. His slight sway in his motion telling his inebriated state. He stopped his walk right in front of her then rested his forehead on the wall. He Looked down at her as his long brown hair flowed over his shoulders. Darkening his hazy expression. She hiccupped as her tears stopped. He raised his limp hand to her head. Rubbing the side of it and petting her droopy ear that laid against her. She leaned into his touch and sniffled. Closing her eyes for a moment until he spoke to her.

"What's the matter" he mumbled, voice hoarse from the burn of the night. She lowered her head back down and began to sob. Her halted tears starting up again. "Everything. This place, my place, my family, my job or lack there of. I'm stuck. Stuck in a house if man babies and a yelling step mom who doesn't believe anyone else can be upset or is allowed to be emotional. Its just like before. Like with my mom. Her abuse and intolerance of me even breathing. Like my ex and his habit of starting fights and putting words in my mouth just to storm of and make me beg for forgiveness. Its never better. Its only ever worse and worse" she rambled. She sat up to wipe her cheeks and try to take in deep breaths. Gasping for air that she needed. Her voice shaking in whines and chokes with her personal waterfall coming down her face. "Its all terrible and no matter how much I prepare for the future rent goes up and food goes up and I need to prepare more so I don't end up on the street. But it keeps going up and I mentally cant handle working full time all the time. But its an excuse, I'm just being lazy, I'm not gonna go anywhere in life like that. I don't matter, my comfort means nothing" she raised her voice. She took in one last big breath and her shoulders sank. Her hiccups subsided and her gasping lessened. She laid her head down on her knees as she loosely held her ankles. She sniffled while she looked at nothing. Taking in none of what she saw before her. "Kitten" the man began again. "Do you want to die" he wondered. Low and raspy. She blinked slowly then mumbled "Yes, more then id like to admit" she confessed.

"You want to leave forever into the abyss where no one can hurt you anymore and you can finally stop existing" he painted a picture with his words. Kit raised her head to look at him, her large eyes dull and red from her crying. "Larry" she whispered. He pushed back from the wall and moved over to the right. He dropped down beside her, his head still swaying a little. "I think about it a lot. Dying. How easy it be. How it would end everything. Sometimes I get angry. They say death doesn't happen to you it happens to the people around you. Sometimes I don't care if their sad about it cause they don't care about me now. Cause I'm not around to help them with their shit so they mourn a therapist that worked without the pay or benefits. And that scares me to. That I don't care. Are you the same Kitten" he turned his head to meet her gaze. She was still holding herself. Hunched to rest in her prompted up legs.

"Yes, I think about that to. No one would really be sad. I would disappear and they'd fake it but really they'd all be happy. After the initial shock and the anger of paying for a funeral. They'd feel lighter with out me. I wouldn't have to fight anymore just to be heard. Or be back handed for having emotions and opinions. In a way id be free from all of it, the manipulation, the trauma, capitalism. Sometimes I don't even care about losing the good things if it means I don't have to suffer the bad anymore" her voice was distant, low and hopeless. Carrying nothing but the shattered remains of her chaotic thoughts.

The man turned his head to look out at the scene in front if them. "Id be sad...though I don't think it matters much. Because id know you'd be at peace. Would you be worse off it I left" he babbled. The woman leaned over to rest herself on his large form. "If you left I would never stop crying. I would cry until my heart cant handle it anymore and I took the leap myself. Its dramatic I know. Selfish even" she moved closer to him. He leaned down and rested his head in top of hers. "Kit, I'm barely surviving. Like you, its all I think about when I'm alone. How much I want to die. How much I know you want to die. How you walked out into traffic and if that car didn't swerve you wouldn't even be here. How everyone forgets and pretends it never happened. Acting like your fine. No one prioritizes you. I think about how easy it be for you to disappear." He reached for her hand and gripped it tightly. She let him, intertwining their fingers. She looked up to see him begin to tear up. "I hate that we're losing, that the assholes of the world have pushed us so far that we want to die. How they keep coming and no one seems to care or wants to do anything about it cause people are just people. I hate watching you suffer, I hate how everyone you met has taken a piece of you, that's not fucking fair. I hate how everyone's taken a piece of me. I don't even know what I'm doing anymore. Or how to make myself happy" the man began to cry. The droplets running down his face as he clenched his jaw in frustration.

"Larry I wanna take you home. But that would mean taking you to the place you hate. Where some man has walked your floors acting like he owns the place. And I can't take you to my place. Not with the constant yelling and temper tantrums going on. The lack of privacy everywhere. Its better to just stay here and fall asleep against this wall. Maybe we wont wake up" the man hiccupped at her ramble. A smile forming on the side of his face. "Your about to say something cute like 'they'll find us here together and know we were best friends'" now she was the one to chuckle and smile. "Are you quoting mew mew power" she wondered. "Yeah" he held her tighter to stop the trembling of his hand. He ran his thumb along her hand. Trying to ground himself. The conversation ended. Both tired now and un able to move from their spot. The over whelming sadness anchoring them like stone to the floor and wall. Not like any of it mattered they concluded. They really could stay there and no one would care, no one would worry about them. They didn't matter to a soul. To the world around them.

#sally face #Larry jonson #sf larry #depression #inadequate #forgotten #not important #broken #unloved #who cares #personal rant #drowning #sallyface

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chaletnz · 3 years

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Haikyo Urbex: Obihiro’s Gluck Kingdom

My alarm was set for 4.30am however I woke up just before it anyway due to the sunrise and heat starting to peak into the car. I had been bitten in the night by bugs that presumably found their way inside via the cracked windows that had been opened to allow some night air inside to cool down the car from it’s extra hot temperature built up during the day. I got dressed, packed my bag, and filled up with as much water as I could drink before taking the remainder with me. As I was brushing my teeth beside the car I heard more rustling but I was able to see this time! I saw a large dark figure leaping from one tree to another and then scrambling down onto the forest floor before disappearing in thick brush. Instantly, I assumed it was a bear, although possibly a small cub. It was too big and clumsy to be a monkey and I didn’t know what other animal that large around Hokkaido could climb trees... I sat in the car silently watching and waiting for it to emerge from the forest but it never did and after a few minutes there was silence.

I had driven all the way to Obihiro, a 2 hour detour solely to try and explore Gluck Kingdom – a German-themed amusement park that had been opened in 1989 and then abandoned in around 2007 and indicted to Japan’s haikyo Hall of Fame thereafter. It’s a popular spot for people like me who like to see how nature reclaims these kinds of places once humans disappear. Haikyo is a Japanese term used to describe abandoned buildings and there are well known ones throughout the country.

Not far from my parking spot, I entered a long gravel path through some farmland towards one notable theme park building towering over the forest in the distance. I noticed a small shed-like building with curtains drawn and a car parked outside so very quietly I snuck past, trying to avoid the gravel and walk on the grass instead. As I approached the forest I could hear the distinct sound of bears growling and grew a little concerned, but the noise was from much further north than I would be going... A fog covered the fields in the distance and I stopped to take some photos before approaching the bridge. In front of me were many warning signs in Japanese, English and even German declaring that entry was strictly forbidden. I checked over my shoulder quickly, but there was nothing to be seen for miles at 5am! After picking up a discarded metal signpost stick (for some protection in case of bears), I carefully climbed over the barbed wire fence and weaved between the signs to get into the forest. After only about 10 cautious steps inside I heard a car pulling along the gravel road. Naturally I assumed there were cameras and I had been seen and security had come to intercept me, I ran inside quickly and found a place to watch my entry point from a distance although no one came through. Once inside the forest, the cool sunrise had disappeared and it was hot and muggy with bugs everywhere trying to eat me alive despite coating myself with repellent earlier. A nearby building had a door left ajar so I carefully had a quick look around, it seemed like a hotel reception area, an elevator, some chairs and tables, everything covered in mould and a ceiling and staircase on the brink of collapse. Outside I wandered around what seemed like a courtyard, although it was almost fully overgrown with trees and bushes so I couldn’t see the concrete tiles anymore. I found a fountain without water, some German-style statues and a rubbish bin that appeared to have been kicked over. It looked like a real German bin with “Bitte halten Sie den Park sauber!” written on the side. I’d found the bin outside a row of buildings that resembled what I remember of Frankfurt’s old town and they had been filled with bakeries, patisseries, sweet shops and so forth. The insides were destroyed, floorboards rotting and buckled, smashed glass and other explorers rubbish everywhere (not adhering to the message on the bin clearly!). I could’ve pushed open a door and gone inside but everything looked like it could crumble instantly with just a minor upset. Next I discovered a Trabant that had once been parked in the middle of the park, I remember seeing many souvenirs dedicated to this iconic East German car when I had visited the capital a few years ago. A mannequin sitting inside had been adjusted so that it was pulling the finger. Not too far from here was a model Lufthansa airplane with its wings ripped off grounded for eternity on the forest floor, and an eerie chapel filled with ants and mosquitoes. There were more old German-house type buildings through the trees but the brush was thick and covered with spider webs so I left them alone. It was difficult to get a sense of direction so I headed back to the entrance to try going the opposite way than I had run initially. I could hear a car idling where I’d come in – possibly they were planning to wait it out for me to come out the same way (not my plan anyway) or it was just some unassuming farmer that was up at the crack of dawn to tend the crops at coincidentally the exact time I’d gone inside the park! Anyway I didn’t want to find out so I went the other way but it was a dead end, possibly the main entrance walkway. I was already in the heart of the park it seemed. There were a few other buildings possibly cafes, restaurants, theatres, a toilet block, a wall painted with an arrow and the words “Zum Ausblick” (to the viewpoint) however the Ausblick was inaccessible, the outside staircase must’ve been destroyed and a rusty ladder leaned into a rotted door frame on the second floor. No thanks! I probably wouldn’t have seen anything through the trees anyway. Due to the heat and bugs, and fear of bears I didn’t want to go any further north in the park and started looking for an exit point a little further up from where I had come in. I managed to sneak out through what seemed like a caretakers office with an abandoned car, truck, and some kind of machine possibly a snowplow, and took another long road through farms back to the main road and then back to the car. As I walked out I saw a huge Ferris wheel further north, the park must’ve actually been huge if I had kept on going. Maybe I would’ve discovered rides and attractions (and bears) up there too if I had more patience, although it was so overgrown that I could barely see the buildings that had looked so impressive to me when I had searched on Google earlier. It had been abandoned almost 15 years ago and I guessed that many of the great urban explorer photos had been taken only a few years since closure.

In summary:

Was it worth the trip? Yes. It was an interesting place to visit although a little difficult and scary to venture into bear territory alone.

Is there security monitoring it? Maybe. I’d read online there was loads of security hence why I decided to go at 5am during the pandemic. That car that pulled up after I entered – who knows!

How accessible is it? Easy to get in from the airport side if you are not seen. From the northern entrance it would be riskier as it’s a main road and the walk is much longer to get into the heavily forested areas. Buildings can be entered if you want to risk it, but they’re covered in mould throughout so take that into account.

How much is still visible? It’s all still there. But in 15 years it really doesn’t resemble the cool urbex photos anymore. The trees have grown taller than most of the buildings, brush is thick and it’s difficult to capture the scale of the overgrowth without a drone.

#Japan #Obihiro

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gueswho · 3 years

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Part 1/2 of my RR rewrite! Full chapter below the cut

Eugene was ecstatic the second they reached Corona’s capital, leaping over the basket of their hot air balloon and opening the door for everyone to leave.

“Finally!” He let out a breathy laugh. “No offense to any of you, but we have been together for way too long and I need a break from all of your faces.”

Rapunzel rolled her eyes and smiled, the first to step out.

He took her hand and kissed it. “Except for you, of course, Blondie.”

“Aw, thank you, Eugene.” She laughed and started looking around. “Oh, I can’t believe how much I’ve missed everything!”

“...And here we go.” Lance slumped over the edge of the balloon’s basket, watching with a tired expression as Rapunzel raced excitedly around the square, pointing and jumping around as though she were on a sugar high.

“Oh! Look! The Sweete Shoppe and Bakery! Oh!! I haven’t had Atilla’s cooking in forever.” Rapunzel gushed over the sign, hitting it and watching it swing.

“You know what I’ve missed?” Lance chimed in, pulling himself from the hot air balloon and onto the cobblestone streets. “Other people.” He paused. “In fact...I’m still missing other people. Where is everyone?”

“Hm...that’s weird.” Rapunzel looked around, her excited demeanor fading into a soft concern. “Hello? Is...anyone here?”

“There could be an event or something? If I know Corona, they love their events.” Eugene shrugged his shoulders, looking around as well.

“Hello? Hellooooo! People! People, are you here?” Lance called out.

Eugene frowned. “Do you honestly think that’s going to--”

Glass shattered nearby, they jumped and ran over to the source of the noise.

“Oh dear! Oh-- oh no--” Feldspar, as they’d finally recognized him, dropped to his knees and gathered the green crystals that had fallen from their container.

“What’s wrong?” Rapunzel asked, kneeling down to help him pick up the last of the mess.

The man jumped, shocked to see another person, let alone the princess. But he relaxed when he’d recognized her. “Oh! Princess, thank goodness you’re back.”

“What happened here?”

“Oh it’s just awful your majesty! Your father started sending ‘unruly’ citizens to mine these pesky minerals in the quarry!”

“My father? Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know! He just...started giving out strange orders a few months ago.”

Rapunzel frowned and helped him up, looking at the other two, each sharing similar looks of confusion.

“Well, I guess we’ll have to get an explanation out of him.”

“Let’s go.” Rapunzel motioned them to follow her, then made her way toward the castle.

“Alright dad! Explanation time!” Rapunzel kicked open the door and walked to her parents, both sitting calmly on their thrones. “I’d like to know why the second I’m gone you decide to go behind my back and make your citizens mine… well, I don’t know what that is or what it’s for, but they sure shouldn’t be mining it for you!”

“Young lady, what on earth are you doing here?” The king exclaimed, as though her being in that room were a crime.

“‘Young Lady’? Oh, so now you’re just going to act like you don’t know me. Ok.” Rapunzel frowned. “What exactly is going on?”

“What’s going on is you need to get out of here before I call the guards.”

The three jumped and turned around at the new voice, shocked at the source.

“Andrew! So nice of you to join us.” The king exclaimed, actually...relieved at the sight of him.

“What?-- Dad! You can’t be serious!”

“Go get reinforcements,” Andrew whispered to one of the people beside him. “And bring the kid.”

The woman nodded and raced off, leaving him alone to deal with the three of them.

“Andrew, whatever game you think you’re playing here you can drop it now.” Rapunzel spoke through gritted teeth, gripping a frying pan with strong intensity.

“Game? I’m not playing any game. You’re the random stranger that decided to walk into the throne room and insult the king to his face. I’m just telling you you need to leave before you end up in the stocks.”

“Stranger? I’m his daughter!”

Andrew whistled. “Bold accusation considering the king and queen never even had a kid.”

“Wow. Awkward.” Lance muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

“You can’t be serious. Dad, please tell me you don’t actually believe him.”

“Of course I would, he’s my most trusted advisor.” The king ignored how Eugene choked at his words and continued. “And you’re not supposed to be here.”

“Lucky for us, we can deal with that.” Andrew smiled, giving an exaggerated bow to the soldiers that entered the room, led by the woman he’d sent to get them.

The guards race over to detain them, friends, faces they recognize, people they don’t want to hurt. That hesitation is taken advantage of, the three of them quickly having their hands held together, pushed toward Andrew and the rest of his men.

“Wow, not even a little bit of a fight in you? Brought the big guns for nothing, huh?”

Rapunzel narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, thought I’d give my former cellmate the chance to get back at you. Sorry kid, guess you missed your chance.”

Andrew patted the back of one of the men, shorter than the rest of them, a pair of goggles and a bandanna covering his face, yet the hairstripe made them recognize him instantly.

“Cell...cellmate.” Lance stopped struggling against the guard’s grip, eyes going wide.

“The one and only!” Andrew patted his back, making the kid jump, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Lance. “Now, I think it’s time we took you lot where you belong.”

“Mom! Dad! Don’t you know who they are?”

“They know exactly who we are! Part of the castle staff. Now, your majesties, if its alright I’d like to deal with these criminals myself.”

“Of course Andrew. See that they’re dealt with.” Frederic smiled and led his wife out of the room, leaving him to deal with the issue at hand.

“Explain yourself.” Rapunzel spat out. “How can they possibly just forget everything you’ve done against them?!”

Andrew laughed. “Because I made them.” He glanced down to the woman standing next to him, flicking the wand in her hand. “You see this little trinket? Thanks to that, they only remember what I want them to. Like how both your friends are wanted felons.”

“You erased their memories?!” Rapunzel exclaimed, tugging and pulling and the man keeping her from moving.

“Sure did! And with the help of my friend over here,” Andrew put a hand on Varian’s shoulder, squeezing it slightly too tight. “We’ll be able to get a wider range, soon everyone in Corona will be thinking we’re in charge.”

“Alright I think I’ve had enough of your voice. Sorry about this!” Eugene kicked behind him, landing a hit on the man’s knees and freeing himself from his grip.

Andrew reacted fast, as well as the other guards, but so did he. Eugene landed a solid punch to the man keeping Rapunzel still, then Rapunzel whacked the third guard across the face.

“So sorry!” She said. “I’ll help you with that later.”

Andrew slammed a sword against her frying pan, almost shocked at how quickly she managed to block him, but pushed further. “You won’t be able to.”

“Oh, because you think you’ll be able to detain me?” She stepped back and moved out of the way, watching as Andrew tripped and about fell over. “We’ll see about that.”

“Stupid little-- Kid! A little help here!”

“Right!” Varian gave a quick salute and threw several small glass balls at her hair. A puff of smoke came up on impact, leaving goo once it had dissipated.

“And just like that, detained.” Andrew smiled. “You won’t be getting out of that for a while, see ya!”

Rapunzel pulled and tugged at her hair, now stuck to the ground, and watched as Andrew ran over to attack Eugene, slamming his sword down with the same attack he used on her. Not one of variety, she supposed.

“Hey er...Varian? Was it? We’ve never met before.” Lance said chipperly, as though they were having a conversation and not a fight. “Blink twice if you’re being forced to do this.”

Varian slipped out of his fighting stance. “What?”

“Wait. I can’t see your eyes through those goggles. Can you take them off? Or is there something going on with that too?”

“We’re fighting. Not having a conversation.” Varian deadpanned. He threw a glass ball at Lance, this time releasing green smoke instead of pink. It barely missed him and left acid behind.

“Huh. Point taken.” Lance took out his sword and slashed at him, though it was clear to the both of them he was holding back. “Do you make weapons for him? Is that it?”

“Why are you asking all these questions?”

“Because I find it strange that they’d stick you with him of all people, and I’m worried something might be up.”

Varian paused, relaxing slightly. “You’re...worried about me?”

Andrew jumped between them, blocking Lance’s attack and sending one of his own. “Focus!”

“Right! Right-- sorry.” Varian shook his head and ran to the back of the room, out of sight.

“Hey asshole! Pleasure to meet you.” Lance said with a smile.

“Now’s not the time for name-calling Lance.” Eugene jumped in as well, shoving Andrew out of the way to take him on.

Andrew motioned for the guards to back him up, several men standing around him with their swords drawn.

“Pascal.” Rapunzel whispered to the chameleon on her shoulder, looking up at the top of one of the walls, where a figure was moving in the space between it and the ceiling. “I need you to get up there and grab a yellow glass ball for me. I think that’s what’ll melt this.”

Pascal nodded and jumped from her shoulder, racing across the floor, diving left and right to avoid the stomping feet of guards fighting around him. He crawled up the wall, reaching the top in less than a minute. He tried to grab one of the glass balls in Varian’s bag, but he was noticed before he could manage it.

Varian jumped back, paused, looked down at Rapunzel, then back to him, and slowly handed him what he was looking for. Pascal squeaked and tilted his head, as if to question the action.

“Just get out of here and give it to her before I change my mind.” He whispered, turning back to the battle and taking out a crossbow with brightly colored arrows.

Pascal nodded and climbed back down. He scrambled towards Rapunzel and dropped the ball on her hair. Sure enough, the goo disappeared.

“Way to go buddy!” Rapunzel said cheerfully, helping him back up to her shoulder and returning to the fight.

“Damnit.” Andrew whispered as Rapunzel ran over to him. He looked up to where Varian had the crossbow aimed. “Kid it’s now or never!”

An arrow shot and hit the ground next to them, a white light blinking several times.

“Ha! You missed.” Eugene said triumphantly.

Andrew didn’t react, taking a few steps back, and shutting his eyes. The blinking quickened, going faster and faster until it could barely even be recognized as blinking. A blinding light shone from it, followed by an explosion.

“Great job kid.” Andrew said with a smile, watching as Varian made his way down to him to look at the remnants from the explosion. “That’s some powerful stuff you got there.”

“Are they…?” He started to say, talking a cautious step forward.

The dust cleared, the crumbled side of the throne room leaving behind what looked to be a mound of yellow glowing hair. It fell, showing the group held inside it relatively unharmed. Varian let out a sigh of relief. He hadn’t known she could do that, but he was glad she did.

“Unfortunately, no.” Andrew gritted his teeth and turned to the men crowded behind him. “Go down there and bring them in!”

A chorus of ‘yes sir-s’ rang out amongst them as the men climbed down to the group and chased after them. Andrew smiled and put a hand on Varian’s shoulder, giving yet another hard squeeze and pulling him away.

Eugene grabbed Rapunzel’s wrist as she stood up and started to walk toward the wall the guards were climbing down. “We need to go.”

“What? Why? We can’t just let them win like that!”

“We can, just for now. Sometimes it’s better to live and fight another day. Let’s go!” Eugene said to Lance, pulling Rapunzel along and racing out of the castle courtyard into the town.

“Over there, the sweete shoppe!” Lance pointed to the store, sharply to their left. They followed him, Rapunzel choosing not to get onto him when he picked the lock of the door and let them in.

They raced behind the desk and hid under it, the wait for the guards to pass by agonizingly long, each second the men spent stomping in front of the store lasting twice their normal length, each pound on a shop’s door sounding like gunshots ringing in their ears. They reached the sweete shoppe, knocking on the door and peering through the glass. They squinted, paused, and kept walking.

“Princess?” A cautious voice asked, opening the door to the back room with a quiet squeak.

“Monty!” Rapunzel found herself glad to see him, a shock to all of them, including her, and raced over to hug him.

“Oh! Um, alright then.” He said nervously, pushing himself out of the hug rather fast. “Come with me.”

Rapuzel nodded and stepped inside, further shocked to see others in the room as well. A few she recognized were Xavier, Attila, Friedborg, and Big Nose, while others were citizens she had run into maybe once or twice. Another figure stepped out from the back of the room, foreboding at first, though she relaxed once she got a good look at him.

“Captain! It’s great to see you.” She said with a smile, pulling him into a strong hug.

“Ah, yes. I would have sent for you myself but, well...you saw the state of the guard.”

She let go of him, her smile falling. “What happened?”

The captain sighed. “Andrew and Varian broke out of jail, with help from one of his allies. He erased the king and queen’s memories, as well as any guard they ran into and took over. I managed to get myself and a few of my men out before they could get to us, but I was not able to do much against them, we were quickly outnumbered.”

“That’s awful...I’m sorry we weren’t here to help.”

“I believe you not being here might be a blessing in disguise. With a member of the royal family with us, we’ll have someone to take over while we fix everyone’s memories.”

“Oh. You mean I’d...be in charge. When all of this is over.” Rapunzel said nervously, her voice shaking slightly.

Eugene held her hand. “I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

Rapunzel smiled. “Thanks, Eugene.” She sighed and let go of his hand. “Captain, I have something important to discuss with you, is there somewhere private we can talk?”

“I’ve got a side room over here.” Monty pointed to a door off to the side.

“Great!” Rapunzel pulled the captain to the room and opened the door, taking a seat on one of the free chairs and motioning over to a second.

“Is this about where Cassandra is? She’s not still in the castle is she?”

“No, no she um...she didn’t come with us.” Rapunzel rubbed the back of her neck. “There was an er...incident with the moonstone and--”

“Is she dead?!”

“No! No she’s fine. Well, sort of. Physically? It’s complicated.” She sighed. “I’m not sure what led up to her actions, but she took the moonstone before I could get it. I don’t know where she is now, or what she’s doing, but she’s not with us.”

“Why would she do that? The moonstone’s incredibly dangerous, we’ve seen the havok it can wreak, even as far as here.”

“She was...pretty vague about it. I know there were things I did to her, personal slights and arguments, I really messed up with her. I’m just...not sure why she’d take the moonstone because of it. I...never really understood her at all, if I’m being honest.”

“She’s hard to understand sometimes, yeah. But she’s also not that good at talking about her feelings, neither of us are.” The captain frowned and looked to the side. “Whatever reason she had to do this, she probably thought it was the most logical option.”

“I promise I’ll try and get through to her, captain.”

He smiled. “That’s good to hear.”

“Alright!” She stood up and walked toward the door. “Let’s join back with the others.”

The captain nodded and followed her out the door, walking over to Xavier and discussing what she assumed would be a plan of attack. She originally planned to simply be by herself, but Eugene stepped in front of her the moment she walked out of the room.

“Did it go ok? Telling the captain about Cassandra, I mean.” He asked, a worried look on her face.

“Yeah, it went fine. Don’t worry.”

“And are you ok?”

“I’m...I’ll be fine, just as soon as we get the kingdom back.”

“That’s...that’s not what I was talking about.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, of course, I do care about the kingdom, but, well, I-- I think it might be something else that’s bothering you too.”

“No, no I think the terrorists taking over our kingdom just about covers it!”

Eugene winced. “Blondie, I know you’re stressed but if you want to just talk about Cassandra we can--”

“I think I’m good!” Rapunzel responded with a smile so obviously forced it made everyone else cringe. She hadn’t even noticed they’d been listening. “Look, Eugene, I promise I’ll talk about all that when I’m ready, I just...now’s not the time.”

“Ok.” He sighed and smiled. “Just don’t bury your feelings like that, you’re allowed to be unhappy every once and awhile.”

She returned his smile, genuine, this time, and looked over to Monty. “Do you think it would be ok if I went outside for a moment?”

“Um...sure princess. Just be careful.”

“Do you need me too--” Eugene started to say.

Rapunzel took his hand and shook her head. “I’ll just be a minute.” She whispered, before walking out the shop’s door.

She ran outside fast, glancing around to see if anyone was there before making a break for the opposite alleyway, but someone caught her hand just as she managed to make it. She whipped around, aiming her frying pan at the person responsible.

“Eugene? I-- I told you I just needed a minute.”

“You’re sneaking off, aren’t you?”

“What? No…” Rapunzel laughed nervously. “Of course not, I would never--”

“Blondie, come on. I know you.” Eugene stepped closer to her, pulling them both out of sight. “I’m not letting you do this alone.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m doing it alone really.” She pointed to Pascal, happily squeaking on her shoulder.

Eugene raised a brow. “You brought the frog but not me.”

“I um--” She sighed. “Fine, fine ok. I just...I wanted to see the full situation. I know a lot of back entrances into the castle, and I thought-- well I thought I could get us more information to work with, see what all they’re planning.”

“Brilliant as always, Sunshine.” He smiled. “Now, show me that secret entrance.”

Rapunzel smirked, knelt down, and ripped open the bars on a small tunnel against the back of the alley wall. “Actually, we’re right by it.”

“Ok I know I said I wanted to go with you, but--” Eugene yelped and jumped behind her as a spike shot out near his side. “I was not aware there’d be so many traps.”

“Aw, it’s not so bad.” Rapunzel chuckled, leaping over tripwires and ducking under arrows. “You just have to find the pattern.”

“Remind me why they thought it’d be a good idea to fill evacuation tunnels with traps.”

She rolled her eyes and pulled him out of the way of a hole-trap, the ground breaking beneath where his feet used to be. “We should be right under the castle now.”

Eugene let out a sigh of relief as Rapunzel opened a hatch and pulled down a ladder, swiftly following her up and slumping against a wall. “We are never going in that again, you hear me? Never ever--”

“So how’s it going, friend.” A familiar voice no doubt matched with an icy glare echoed down the hall. Rapunzel and Eugene looked to one another, nodded and snuck over to the source of the voice, peeking through the crack in the door and listening in.

“I-- I um--” Varian swallowed thickly, messing with the ends of his gloves. “I don’t think it’ll be ready yet--”

Andrew’s hand slammed against the wall beside Varian’s head, he yelped. “And why’s that?”

“It’s-- the components in it make it extremely volatile--”

“And what does that mean?”

“It um...might explode. I thought you might not want to risk it just yet if it could--”

“Damnit kid we don’t have time for your bullshit!” Andrew’s sudden drastic change in volume made Varian jump, only pissing the man off more. “So what if it blows up? Either way it gets rid of our problems.”

“What?!” Varian shot up. “Killing the entire kingdom won’t solve our problems!”

Andrew paused. “What was that?”

Varian slammed his mouth shut.

A hand reached up to the goggles on his face, another to the bandanna around his neck, pulling them off slowly so they could look him in the eyes, his shaking, tear filled eyes. “Well?”

Rapunzel managed to get a good look at his face, the first time she’d seen him in over a year. Was he always so small? His eyes were so big, his face was so small, he looked so young. But that wasn’t what scared her most, it wasn’t even the terrified look in his eyes. No, what scared her most was the dark purple bruise across his nose, the light one forming below his eye. He was so small.

Eugene held her back, keeping a tight grip on her shoulder to keep her from walking in. When had she started moving, when had she raised her hand to push open the door.

“I think we should leave.” He said quietly, voice shaking.

Rapunzel glanced between them, wanting desperately to run in there and stop him, but...but they didn’t win against them last time, and now they had even less people to fight. She nodded slowly and let him pull her away.

“I-- I just thought--”

“No, you weren’t thinking.” Andrew leaned down, a tight, shaking grip on Varian’s shoulder, slightly too close to his neck. “When I tell you to do something, you do it.”

“You…” Varian sucked in a breath. “You said no one would get hurt.”

“And if you do this right, no one will get hurt.”

Varian bit his lip. “I just...don’t think we should risk it.”

“Then what do you suggest instead, genius? Wait for the princess to show up with an armed revolt at our front door, hand her back the kingdom on a silver platter?”

“No-- that’s not what I--”

“Of course not. You just didn’t want to risk anything! Back in prison, you didn’t want to risk getting caught by the guards when we escaped, so I had to drag you out. You didn’t want to risk the backlash of killing the king and queen, so we erased their memories instead. You don’t want to risk going back again, do you?”

“Wh-- what?”

Andrew let go of his shoulder, reaching down into his pocket and pulling out a knife. “The guards won’t be so easy on you the second time around. You don’t want to risk getting hurt, right?” The knife slammed into his shoulder, jamming it’s way through bone with a loud crack.

Down the hall, deep into the tunnels below the castle, Rapunzel and Eugene heard the echoed screams above them.

They raced up, jumping over traps and cracks in the floor, pushing past guards in the hallway, no regard for the fact they were giving away their position. A move they quickly found to regret when the guards they’d pushed past started to grab them. Soon several men, too many to fight back had managed to get them to stop, just before they’d reached the lab’s entrance.

They fought against those who had restrained them, and tried to peer into the lab as Andrew pushed open the door. They couldn’t see inside, not enough to get a look at Varian, to see if he was ok, and Andrew’s cold, sinister smile didn’t calm the anxiety in their minds. Varian could see them, however, and it brought on a feeling of...confusion.

“Fancy seeing you lot here, where’s your little rebellion?” Andrew’s smile widened as he spoke, teeth bared.

“What did you do to him?” Rapunzel asked instead in a low growl. “What did you do?!”

Concern. They were worried about him. After he attacked them, after he tried to kill them, they were there, asking if he was ok. Why now? An awful question to ask, he should be happy they were thinking of him, grateful even, yet he can’t help but be bitter at how late the concern came. He’d wished it had been sooner, before he’d gone off the deep end, back when it actually meant something, back when it would make a difference. It felt useless to him now, he would just shove it down and ignore it, it would make it easier to pretend that they didn’t care, but...

“Take them down to the dungeons,” Andrew looked up at the guards holding their hands behind their backs. “I’ll deal with them later.”

As they were dragged away kicking and screaming, yelling about him, begging to know if he was alive or dead. Why did they care? He didn’t understand that, he didn’t understand them. He gripped his shoulder, a vain attempt to keep the blood from flooding down his arm. Andrew walked back in, his smile quickly turning to a disgusted scowl.

“Pull yourself together.” He rolled his eyes, picked up a vial and tossed it at him. “You know how to clean off blood, patch up and join me in the dungeons.”

“Why?” Varian asked, a hint of fear in his voice.

“Are you fucking deaf? Your old pals decided to pay a visit, we’re going to deal with them.” Andrew looked down at him for a moment, paused, then walked away.

“Hey bud, think you could go get us some help?” Rapunzel whispered to Pascal, holding him in her hands. He nodded and gave a quick salute, slipping through the bars and scampering away.

He passed by Andrew on the way out, he’d apparently followed them down, as for why he didn’t know, but he ducked and blended in with the wall all the same. After a moment to check if he’d been noticed, the chameleon sprinted down the halls and up the stairs till he’d left the dungeons. He kept running after that, almost making it outside the castle before he heard a soft chirp.

Pascal squeaked in response, looking around to find the source. Another chirp, louder this time answered in response, a large raccoon stepping out from the shadows. Pascal jumped back at first, even after recognizing who it was, but relaxed after a few more chirps. He hopped onto the raccoon, wrapping himself around his neck and letting out one final content squeak before Ruddiger ran back down to the dungeons.

Andrew tapped his foot, arms crossed, watching the two pace around in their cell. His impatience only seemed to grow the longer he waited, the longer the kid took. He let out a long sigh when Varian finally showed up, goggles back on over his face, looking as though he ran the whole way there, which he probably did.

He ripped the goggles off. “You’re not hiding behind those damn things anymore. Come on.”

“Varian!” Rapunzel looks shocked, happy even to see him. “Varian I’m so glad you’re ok I--”

Andrew barked out a laugh. “Oh that’s rich. A little late for all this fake sympathy huh?”

“It’s not fake. Varian I know we’ve had issues in the past but I just wanted to say that I’m sor--”

“Princess if you’re about to go on some heartfelt teary apology I’m going to have to stop you right there.” Andrew leaned down, gripping Varian’s shoulders, one hand on the same spot he’d stabbed. “Goggles over here doesn’t need your apologies, he doesn’t care.”

“Why don’t you let him say that?” Eugene cut in.

“Shoulda gagged you.” The man rolled his eyes. “Besides, why would it matter? You both have no room to talk here. Left this poor little kid all alone for months, then treated him like some rotten criminal before he’d ever done anything wrong. Why would he accept any sort of half-baked apology for that?”

Rapunzel sighed. “You’re right, I shouldn’t have done that, and I do regret it. I just want to make things up to you, Varian, please. I know what I did to you was wrong, and I can’t take it back, but I want to apologize, and I want to make things right, but only if you let me.”

“I…” Varian looked up at her, opening his mouth to say something, but stopped when Andrew gripped his shoulders tighter.

“Gettin real tired of your shit, Blondie.” Andrew spat out, smile slowly dropping from his face. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you, he doesn’t care. He didn’t care then and he doesn’t care now, so why don’t you just give up and move on.”

“I can speak for myself.” Varian muttered, words barely audible.

“Of course you can buddy, but it wouldn’t make much of a difference. You were thinking the same thing, right?”

He paused. “Right, I just-- I just thought maybe I could-- we could hear her out?”

Andrew laughed. “Chickening out already? A few nice words from the princess and you’re ready to switch sides all over again? God, that’s pitiful.”

“That’s not-- That’s not what I’m saying I just--”

“Then what was it?” He waited, if only for a moment before talking again. “After all I’ve done, and a few words are enough to get you to betray me?”

“No! No I wouldn’t--”

Andrew let go of his shoulders, yanked him around and slapped him across the face.

It was silent, a few seconds passing before anyone reacted. Rapunzel banged her hands against the bars. “Andrew the second I get out of here I’ll--”

“Shut it! One more word out of either of you and this whole stupid block will be ash before you can get so much as a word out to beg me to stop!” Andrew glared at her, then looked over to Varian. “And you. You’re just some little kid playing dress up! You were a wimpy fucking mess when I met you. I fought for you, I had your back when no one else did, I dealt with your whining bullshit even when it got the both of us beat to all hell. I did all that for this? I should’ve left you in that jail cell to rot.”

“No!-- no I-- I want this more than anyone! This was my plan. Making everyone forget was--”

“You still think this is just about making people forget? And here I thought you were the smart one.” He laughed. “I don’t care if you get the memory wipe to work. I’d rather turn this whole damned kingdom to dust!”

“What? But you said--”

“Yeah yeah lighten up on the body count. Come on kid, you knew this was going to end this way. Don’t play dumb.”

“I-- I didn’t--”

“Fine, ok. If that’s how you want to play it. Are you going to wimp out now, or are you going to stick with us?”

Varian paused, glancing between the two, he knew the longer he waited the more it would piss Andrew off. He had to pick fast. He already knew the answer. He didn’t want this. He never wanted this. He did all of this to save a life, his father’s life. Taking everyone else away wouldn’t help that, it wouldn’t help anyone. He took in a shaky breath, reached into his pocket and pulled out a shining green ball.

Andrew whistled, holding his hands up. “You know what? I’ll give you props for being brave. Back out now and I might let you get off with a warning.”

“Step inside the cell, Andrew.” Varian tried to level his voice, to quiet the way it shook.

“Hmmmm.” Andrew smiled. “Nope!”

He moved fast, sliding in between the bomb and Varian. A swift punch to the arm and the glass shattered on the ground, burning into the stone. His arm fell out of a fist, grabbing Varian’s neck and slamming him into a wall.

“No! Wait, please!” Rapunzel yelled on reflex, Eugene shouting similar words of protest.

“Why would I? Because you asked me to?” Andrew laughed. “If you want, I could just as easily bash his head in. It’d be quick, more mercy than he deserves, traitor.”

“Please, please don’t kill him!”

“Ha, I gotta admit it’s rather entertaining watching you beg like that. Tell you what. Get on your hands and knees, and beg for his life. Then we’ve got a deal!”

Rapunzel looked one last time at Varian, she could practically see the life draining from his eyes. She slowly got down on her knees and looked up to Andrew. “Please.”

“Damn you actually did it. Alright!” Andrew released his grip, letting Varian drop to the floor and gasp for air. “I am true to my word after all. I won’t kill him, but the explosions will!”

“What--”

A hand grabbed Varian’s jacket collar, dragging him over to the cell across from them, opening the door before tossing him in. “Since he’s chosen to side with you, he gets to die with you. I think it’s only fair.”

Rapunzel banged against the bars one final time as the man left, so hard she might have dented it. Varian yelped, embarrassment only growing the more he humiliated himself like this. Rapunzel frowned, looking over to him with guilt-- no, pity on her face, Eugene’s expression even worse, even more guilty. He hated it, he hated all of it. He hated how they looked at him, he hated how he was left here, how Andrew just threw him away like he never even mattered, he hated it.

And yet, despite how embarrassed he felt already, he couldn’t find it in himself to stop the hot tears that dripped down his face. He didn’t dare look them in the eyes, or look at them at all. He felt so stupid. Why did he trust him? Why did he even do this?

“Varian.” Rapunzel spoke softly, hands pressed against the bars, still kneeling on the ground. “I’m sorry.”

“Why-- why are you apologizing?” He sucked in a breath. “Why do you keep doing that?”

“Because I messed up. We all messed up here. I just want to make things up to you.”

“But why? What-- what could you possibly have to gain from this? Help defeating the Saporians? I won’t be worth much.”

“It’s not about that.” Rapunzel sighed. “Look, I-- we both kind of jumped to conclusions with you. We assumed that just because you were lashing out, it meant that you were some heartless criminal we needed to take down, but now, because of...what happened with Cass…”

“...what happened to her?”

“She and I er...had a falling out. She took the moonstone, declared she was going out on her own with it, I’m not sure exactly what she’s planning to do now, but I doubt it’ll be good. She had her reasons for doing what she did. I’d been unknowingly hurting her for...well I guess since we met, and she’d taken it all without so much as a simple complaint. She finally snapped…and this is what happened.”

“Oh...I’m sorry.”

“What Blondie’s saying is we-- we took your actions at a surface level. We never tried to see past what you were doing, even before you’d done anything like kidnap the queen or try to well-- try to even hurt anyone. If we’d taken the chance then to find the root of the problem instead of just feeding into it even more, maybe then… you wouldn’t have felt the need to go that far.”

Varian looked at the man for a split second, contemplating his words before glancing back to the ground.

“Look, kid. If anyone knows what it’s like to be backed into a corner, it’s me. You messed up, big time, but we didn’t really give you much of a choice. You had one, sure, but, well… my point is I get it. I get why you think, or thought, what you were doing was right, maybe you didn’t even think it was right, but you thought you didn’t have an out. You had no one to support you or tell you what you were doing was wrong, so you just kept going further until you had nothing left. Sound about right?”

Varian stayed silent and fiddled with his hands. He’d take that as a yes.

“I failed you once.” Rapunzel took Eugene’s hand and met Varian’s eyes. “I’m not going to do it again.”

Varian laughed quietly. “I’ll never begin to understand you people.”

There was a chirp, a squeak, and a pair of footsteps sounding down the hall, steadily growing in volume. Each person’s head shot up at the noise. They were hopeful, if slightly wary. The door at the end of the block creaked open, allowed the two animals responsible for the noise, as well as a man to walk through. One chameleon, one raccoon, and Lance.

“Hey guys! Came to break you out, I found your--” Lance stopped in front of the two cells, Eugene and Rapunzel on one side and Varian on the other. “Oh.”

Varian glanced to the side, shutting his eyes and waiting for the inevitable judgement. It never came. Instead, Lance quietly picked the lock to both cells with a smile, letting Ruddiger into his once he finished.

“It seems my hunch was right after all. Glad you’re on our side kiddo!”

“I um…” Varian opened his arms, letting Ruddiger hop into them, and stood up. “Sure. If-- if you really want that.”

Lance laughed and ruffled his hair. “Of course we do!”

Ruddiger crawled up onto Varian’s shoulder’s, freeing his hands and allowing him to fiddle with his gloves. Rapunzel and Eugene stepped out of their own cell and let Lance pick the lock on Eugene’s cuffs, the two of them glancing nervously over to Varian while Lance seemed oblivious to the mood around them.

“So! I just so happened to notice a very ominous looking ship filled with barrels of glowing green liquid on my way in, just thought you should know, and a certain asshole whom I shall not name but will state I want dead was manning said ship. I vote we all take a family road trip out to the courtyard, kick ass, and take names!”

“Crap!” Eugene quickly grabbed Rapunzel’s hand and sprinted to the end of the block before stopping and turning around. “Come on we gotta stop him before he blows up the whole damn kingdom!”

“He’s gonna what--” Lance looked between him and Varian. “Was I just-- out of the loop on this or did you know too?”

“Sorry.” Varian shrugged, following close behind him as the man grumbled about not ever being included.

“I hope you don’t mind, I clued in a few of our friends in on the situation.” Lance whispered as they made their way over to the courtyard. “Told them to meet me out there once I got you out of the trouble I knew you were going to get into.”

“First of all, rude, we don’t always get ourselves into trouble--” Eugene stopped. “Ok we do but-- no I can’t get myself out of this one. Alright, that’s fine. That’s good! That just means we’ve got more people against theirs.”

Rapunzel nodded and motioned for them to follow her down one of the hallways. They stayed quiet for most of the way there, ducking and hiding behind walls and corners. Rapunzel took up the front, Eugene just behind her, while Lance and Varian stayed a few feet behind them. Lance didn’t comment on how Varian was practically holding onto him the whole way there, he knew the boy was bound to be embarrassed by it, but by how tight his grip was he doubted he’d let go anytime soon.

“Look! There they are!” Rapunzel whisper-shouted as they ducked behind a group of wooden boxes. A group of guards, led by Andrew, loaded several barrels onto the ship.

“And there’s backup.” Lance smiled, catching eyes with one of the pub thugs and waving them over.

“Your highness.” The captain whispered and made his way toward them, the others following closely behind him. “Do you know what they’re doing?”

“That ship is filled with explosives. He’s going to try and blow up the kingdom.” She spoke firmly. “Now I think the best course of action would be to have you and the others distract the guards while we--”

“What is he doing here?” One of the men asked, a quiet rage dripping from his voice. She only now noticed how the group seemed to be glaring through her.

Rapunzel followed the direction of their gaze, eyes falling on Varian, who kept a tight grip on Lance’s arm and hid his face. She frowned and turned back to them. “He’s an ally. He’s here to help.”

“With all due respect, he is the one responsible for all this.” The captain spoke with false formality. “I doubt the chemicals they’re using were ones they made themselves.”

Rapunzel’s frown deepened. “This wasn’t their intended use. He didn’t know, now he does, and now he’s going to help us stop them.”

“Do you honestly expect us to believe he didn’t know they were--”

With one swift movement, Eugene grabbed the collar of the captain’s shirt and yanked him forward. “For someone hellbent on following authority, at the expense of basic morality, you’re pretty keen on undermining her’s, huh?”

“That’s not what I--”

“She said he’s on our side, so he’s on our side. Got it?”

The captain glanced between him and Rapunzel before nodding slowly.

Eugene let go of him and smiled. “Good. Glad that’s settled. What’s the plan Blondie?”

She sighed, relaxing and looking over to the Saporians, the last barrel being loaded onto the ship. “I want all of you to go out first, keep the guards occupied while we sneak onto the ship.”

“What then?” Lance whispered.

“Then we take down whoever’s on the ship. Hopefully we can manage to land it safely without anything blowing up.”

“Great, you jinxed us.” Eugene groaned. “Welp, you heard her. Let’s get this show on the road.”

The men nodded and waited for the captain’s command. A few seconds to ready whatever weapons they had on hand, then three counts, followed by the group sprinting into battle. The four waited, watching Andrew, Clementine, and a few guards hop onto the ship and fire up the balloons. Once the hoard of people fighting had moved a bit, they made their way over to the ship. Lance and Eugene grabbed some of the dangling ropes and started to climb, while Rapunzel threw up her hair.

She heard a hiss, a distant, quiet cry of pain from beside her. She turned her head and watched Varian’s failed attempts to move his arms up to climb. Slowly, wordlessly, before he could so much as protest the action, she wrapped her hair around his waist and started pulling them both up.

“What are you--”

“You looked like you needed help.” She said as though it were as simple as that, though he supposed it was. “Remind me to check you for injuries when we’re done, ok?”

“Oh um-- thanks.”

The ship started to rise, both of them lifting off the ground. They heard distant talking, what sounded like a familiar speech from a large ego, manic laughter in response, all of which earned a sizable eye roll from Rapunzel, he could only assume similar ones came from the others.

“With this first barrel, we can begin a new era. An era with this blasted kingdom off the map!” Andrew spoke loudly, showing off the barrel of liquid to the laughing men. He picked it up, shook it, and threw it off the ship.

“Shit!” Varian grabbed a piece of Rapunzel’s hair and threw it at the barrel, catching it before it could fall.

“Nice catch!” Rapunzel smiled, though the smile fell when she noticed Varian’s panicked expression. “Is something--”

“This is about to blow up.”

“What?!” He heard Lance and Eugene say in unison.

Quick, worried yelling and chattering came from the others while Rapunzel and Varian fumbled with the barrel before tossing it up in the air as far as they could manage. It blew up a few seconds after in the air. They sighed.

“That was close.” Varian said nervously.

“Way too close if you ask me, he oughta be more careful with that.” Eugene grumbled as he made his way up the rope.

Rapunzel made a shushing noise and pointed up to the ship. “We’re getting close now, we don’t want to let them know we’re here.”

“Right. Right.” Eugene sighed and kept climbing.

“What is going on?!” Andrew exclaimed, slamming his hands on the edge of the ship. “How the hell did that explode all the way over there?!”

He heard yelling behind him, the sound of fighting. He turned around to see half his men knocked out on the ground.

Eugene smiled. “That would be because of us.”

“I think I’ve had just about enough of all of you.” Andrew growled, racing toward them with his sword drawn he slammed it down to the ground and gasped when it’s blade started to disintegrate to green dust.

Varian smiled, now in front of the group, a strong grip on the sword’s remaining hilt. “I could say the same for you.”

“Yes!” Eugene pumped his fist in the air. “Kid I am so glad you’re on our side now!”

Varian smiled and dodged the slash of a dagger, watching Rapunzel and Eugene slip ahead of them to take on the others while Lance stayed behind. Another slash was sent his way, the attack forming a solid gash on his arm. Lance jumped in front of him and swung at Andrew, his fist hitting the man’s face with a satisfying wack.

“Why you little-- I need backup!” Andrew called out to the remaining men. One of them raced forward, past Eugene and Rapunzel swinging his sword at Lance and taking their fight a few feet away.

Andrew’s sigh of relief was quickly met with a blow to the face, one he managed to block. He threw Varian’s hand to the side, grabbed and lifted him by his bandanna before he could react, and held him over the edge of the ship.

“I thought we’d been over this. Traitors to Saporia pay with their lives, so just shut up and die already.”

Varian reached to hold onto Andrew’s arm, he could feel the fabric start to go undone. Panic rose in him, frantic eyes looking out to the others on the ship. They were fighting their own battles, they couldn’t help him. Slowly, finally, his grip on Andrew’s arm loosened, just as the bandanna went fully undone. He started to fall.

Everything seemed to muffle out, the screaming, the panicked movements toward him. It all happened so slow, yet painfully fast at the same time. He watched Eugene shove Andrew over the edge, just as a hand grabbed his arm.

“I got you kid! Just hold on!” Lance yelled down to him, his voice suddenly coming into focus.

Varian looked down and watched Andrew plummet, he reached into his pocket with this free hand and threw a glass ball at the man’s face, putting him in a protective bubble. Lance sighed and pulled him up.

“Should’ve just let him fall.” Lance muttered under his breath, though no one caught it.

“Are you guys just going to--” Rapunzel panted and wheezed, taking on three guards at once. “Are you guys just going to let me do all the work around here?!”

“We just took down the leader! Is that not good enough?!” Lance exclaimed though the three of them quickly joined to help her, each taking on one guard. They were out cold in seconds. “Happy now?”

“Yes! Now we just have to figure out how to--”

Laughter, manic laughter sounded nearby. They look over to see Andrew throw a small bomb toward the ship. It hit just above the cluster of barrels, setting fire to the balloon and travelling down toward the other explosives.

“Scratch that. We’re dead.” Lance deadpanned.

“No, we’re not.” Varian grabbed one of the ropes on the opposite side of the ship and cut off the balloon holding it up. With one balloon’s ties severed the ship dropped so that it hanged vertically, those conscious and able to hold on staying on the ship while the rest fell. Varian, who had latched himself onto Lance while the other three held onto various parts of the ship, threw down several glass balls to trap all the men that fell, as well as Clementine, in several large bubbles.

“What kind of genius plan was that?!” Eugene yelled, pulling himself and Rapunzel up while Lance helped Varian.

“If--” Varian hissed in pain when he pushed himself up, the hot searing pain on his shoulder steadily growing worse the more he aggravated it. “If I get the ship high enough, it won’t effect anything when it blows up. I didn’t want them to be on the ship when it did.”

“Sure, fine, ok. Sounds like a plan, let’s just--”

“You all need to get off the ship too.”

“Wh-- no!” Rapunzel grabbed his shoulders and turned him to face her. “No we’re not doing that! Varian there’s no way you’d be able to survive an explosion like that!”

“I know! It-- it’s fine. You guys can go, and I’ll...I’ll clean up the mess I’ve made.”

“No.” She frowned. “Out of all the messes you’ve caused, this certainly isn’t the one to die for. The fact that you even think that’s how you can-- Nevermind! We’ll talk about that later. For now, let’s just work on fixing this.”

“Rapunzel you can’t--”

“You don’t have seventy feet of magic hair that will make sure you make it out alive! Now shut up and let us help you!”

“I-- ok.”

“Alright kid, tell us what to do.” Eugene smiled warily, fear that was already high spiking up further when he heard quiet booms start to sound.

“It’s pretty simple. We just have to heat this up enough to get us above the castle.”

“Sounds good to me.” Eugene nodded, him as well as the others following Varian to heat up the balloon.

They moved fast, as did the balloon, rising the more they turned up the heat, using the chemicals as a fuel source. Some of the acid started to splash and catch fire, shooting out in different directions. Varian jumped back and winced, some of it hitting his hand.

“Could you go maybe five seconds without getting yourself seriously injured?!” Lance exclaimed, pulling him back further before more of it could hit him.

“It’s not like I’m trying to--”

“Guys!” Rapunzel yelled to get their attention. “We need to get out of the way of this.”

Lance nodded and picked Varian up, much to the boy’s protest, and followed Rapunzel and Eugene up the balloon, ignoring the occasional shake from the explosions below. There was a loud boom, one that knocked Rapunzel over the edge. Eugene managed to catch her just before she caught herself in one of the explosions, then pulled her closer to the rest of them.

“Alright. Everyone just stay near me,” She took a breath. “And we should be fine!”

Varian watched as she shut her eyes and slowed her breathing. Her hair floated and glowed a bright shimmering yellow, closing itself around them, walls of indestructible hair. It was truly a marvel to witness, especially from the inside, even if it hurt his eyes a little. He knew they had to be falling, he could feel it. He could feel them hit the ground as well, the violent jostling that occured every so often clueing him into their current position. The bouncing slowed to a stop, and her hair fell.

“You did it Sunshine!” Eugene hugged Rapunzel tight before letting her go.

“I think I’m finally starting to get the hang of this whole magic hair thing!” She smiled nervously. “Of course, constantly being in life threatening situations probably helps with practicing it.”

“If I had hair it would be grey by now…” Lance lamented. “Speaking of stressors, kid we need to get you--”

He looked over just as Varian fell over, eyes rolling back and slipping shut before he could get so much as a word of warning. Lance jumped in front of him and caught him before he hit the ground, then looked up at the other two.

“Hairs. Grey. All of them.”

“Should we take him to a doctor or…” Eugene’s words trailed off, though the rest of the sentence was implied.

Lance sighed and shifted his arms, moving them under Varian’s legs and neck to lift him. “Probably should deal with this ourselves. We don’t know who’s on our side right now.”

Eugene nodded and took Rapunzel’s hand, the two nervously following Lance into the castle. Rapunzel stepped away for a moment once she caught sight of the Captain, they were all glad to see he had won as well, then she quickly ran back to catch up to them, as though she was scared to leave for too long.

The group made their way to a small room in the castle, close enough to the medical wing they could pull supplies from it, and watched as Lance slowly set Varian down on one of the chairs. They didn’t comment on the blood staining his hands.

“I’ll go get supplies.” Eugene offered. “How bad is it?”

Lance shrugged and took off Varian’s coat, revealing a hastily bandaged wound on his shoulder, the bandages themselves long since stained through, a large gash on his other arm, blood dripping down to meet the burns on his hand, ones they found after removing his gloves as well. There were smaller, older injuries as well, scars littered across each arm, some looked recent, some far from it. The three stood there and stared at it all, before Eugene quietly left the room.

They stayed silent waiting for him to come back, and continued to stay silent when he did, Eugene and Lance calmly patching him up while Rapunzel sat in between and fiddled with her hands. The silence fell at the sound of Varian stirring, blinking open his eyes and looking around.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, kid.” Eugene joked, though his expression stayed a quiet concern, a frown present instead of a smile.

He groaned. “Did I pass out?”

“Yep.” Lance responded, popping the ‘p’ at the end. “And with the look of you, I can see why. Those were some pretty nasty injuries you were hiding.”

“Didn’t have time to deal with them.” Varian shrugged.

“We would have made time.” Rapunzel whispered. “If we knew.”

Varian glanced to the side, not meeting her in the eyes. “Sorry.”

“No, no you’re fine! I get why you didn’t tell us. We were just...well none of this looks good, really, and we were just worried.” Rapunzel sighed, took note of how Lance and Eugene had finished patching him up and spoke again. “Um, do you think you could give us a second alone? Me and Varian, I mean.”

“Oh! Uh, sure Blondie. Have at it. I’ll go talk things out with the Captain.” Eugene stood up and kissed Rapunzel’s forehead before leaving, Lance following behind. They both looked back, looked to each other, and walked out.

“So um...what exactly do you want to talk about?” Varian shifted around in his chair, pressing his back into as much as he could manage, as though he wanted to form a bigger distance between the two of them.

“Did my father… what sentence did he give you?”

“He…” Varian glanced to the side. “He didn’t really give me one.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well he-- he just kind of said ‘take this brat somewhere I’ll never have to see him again!’” Varian faked a deeper voice and laughed nervously. “And he uh-- he let the guards deal with me.”

“Oh and...what did they do?”

“I mean, you know most of it, high security in a dingy old cell with Andrew, which from what I’ve heard isn’t much different from your typical prison sentence, just more guards watching your every move, so, um-- not that bad really, heh.”

“What about the scars? We-- we saw a few, when we were patching you up. Did Andrew cause it or--”

“No!” Varian said a bit too loud “No, he-- he didn’t do that.”

“I don’t think you stabbed yourself in the shoulder.” She paused. “Well I don’t think you did but if you did we need to have a completely different conversation--”

“No! What-- what even is this conversation?”

“I’m just compiling a list of everyone I need to execute.”

“What?!”

“Joking! Joking.” Rapunzel smiled and whispered under her breath. “Slightly.” Her smile fell. “So it was the guards then?”

“No-- no it wasn’t--” He sighed. “It might have been part of the sentence they gave me.”

“What? Mandatory weekly beatings?”

“More like bi-weekly, really, and uh-- yeah it sounds pretty stupid. Honestly I think it was just because I was an easy outlet. I did severely injure a good half of the guard, I’d get it if there was a little resentment.”

“Just because you hurt them doesn’t mean they get to keep hurting you.”

Varian looked to the ground and messed with his hands, wincing when he remembered one was injured.

“Varian I know you feel guilty about all this but that doesn’t mean you deserve to--”

“Would you just stop already?!” His eyes went wide, shocked at his own outburst before quickly shaking it off. “I messed up! I-- I committed treason, I kidnapped your mother, I tried to kill her multiple times! I tried to kill you and-- and Cassandra and who knows how many people were hurt with those automatons!”

“We led the entire kingdom against you, I’d call that self defense more than anything.”

“So what if it was?! Yes, I lashed out because of what everyone did to me, and yes most of it was self defense but-- but I still took it way too far! And-- and if letting people take out their anger on me makes up for what I’ve done in any way then I’m willing to take it! I doubt I could ever make it up to you or-- or your mother but…”

“Varian I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t think she does either.”

“She should. I’ve probably hurt her the most, even if she didn’t deserve it.” He sighed. “And you, I-- I don’t know where to begin.”

“I hurt you too, we all hurt you, even my mother. The both of us sat by while my father did what he pleased. And maybe it wasn’t hurting you directly, but it still wasn’t right.” She took his hands, a loose grip on the injured one. “Letting people hurt you isn’t how you make it up to them, it only fuels their anger against you.”

Varian pulled away from her grip and refused to meet her in the eyes.

“Did they ever stop? Did it ever get better?”

“...no.”

“Hmph, that’s what I thought.” She gave a slight smile. “Do you want to know how you can really make it up to everyone?”

He laughed. “I think that goes unsaid.”

“You just have to show that you want to. Do little things! Help clean up the damage around the castle, help figure out how to bring everyone’s memories back. You and I both have a lot of work to do in Old Corona. I think the mess there was a joint effort.”

“That was a little more you than me.”

She scoffed. “That’s!... actually wait I think you’re right.”

“Of course I am.”

“Well now I don’t want you to be.” She frowned, a rather exaggerated look of displeasure on her face that quickly turned back to a wide smile. “So, how about it? You help me bring my parent’s memories back, I help you bring back your father, and we tag team rebuilding Corona. We both make amends with the people we’ve hurt, little by little.”

“I think I could do that.”

#tangled the series #tts #varian #rapunzel #eugene #lance #andrew #cassandra #the captain of the guards #king frederic #queen arianna #fanfic

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citrussdance · 3 years

Text

Cardfight!! Vanguard overDress Unit Lore: 002 “Chakravarthi Divine Dragon, Nirvana”

original jpn found here: https://story.cf-vanguard.com/unit/story002/

The entire world, from every corner of the planet Cray, arrives to wait in great joy and anticipation.

The holy dragon is awakening. It is the beginning of a new era, and the birth of a great many hopes for the future. Now, the sun shines down warmly on us from directly overhead, and a long-lost divinity comes to be on this earth.

O, that magnificent, divine form, soaring through the heavens! The beauty of the ring of light at its back! At long last, our prayers have borne fruit. Behold, the arrival of the “Chakravarthi Divine Dragon” of the shining future--

“Rino! Rino, watch out!” Rona yells.

Rino stumbles as her arm is yanked forcefully back. Missing her by an inch, a horse-drawn cart, loaded to the brim with luggage, gallops by. Today, the town of To Lisn is buzzing happily with excitement for the spring festival. The road is busy with people and carts.

“It’s not like you to be so unsteady on your feet.” Zonne straightens out Rino’s men’s clothing. The hand on Rino’s arm doesn’t let go- out of caution, perhaps.

“We’re not walking in open hills and plains like yesterday, so remember to pay more attention to your surroundings, Rino.”

“I’m sorry, I. . .” At Reiyu’s words, Rino realizes that she must have been daydreaming. The sun is directly overhead. At the turn of the hour, it will be noon.

To Lisn is a village in the midwest of the Dragon Empire. For a village along the highway, it is fairly large. Running through the center of the town is a busy road stretching from the imperial capital in the east to Keter Sanctuary in the west. The harbor faces a deep bay that leads to the sea, ideal for the shipping and fishing industries. To the north is the great Dragonia Mountain Range, where the Red Temple of Dawn lies; to the west, a dense forest; and to the east, a mountain range called the “Dragon’s Jaw”. Beyond that is a desert called the “Dangerous Zone” and other diverse lands. At the center of it all, To Lisn is a hub through which many peoples and goods flow.

“I got everyone’s clothes! They’re secondhand, but the quality is good, so don’t worry. Oh, and Egg-kun, wear this canvas.” So saying, Trickstar had handed the girls heavy bags, just that morning.

Rona asks, “You paid for everything properly, right?”

“Of course! I got it a li~ttle discounted, though. Here, I’ll return the change.”

Rino peers at the money. “Wait- it’s just by a bit, but that’s more change than I expected. . . are you sure you didn’t do something weird?”

“Mhmm! I just played ‘four people and one spirit who got separated from its friends’ pretend!”

“So the store owner took pity on you and- ? . . . Good grief.” Reiyu takes the change. She can easily see Trickstar’s eyes filling with tears as it appeals miserably to the store owners.

“Ehe. The man at the store is a really good person, you know.”

“Are you even a spirit, in the first place? Are spirits the kind of beings who casually pop over to the general store to run errands for a human?” Zonne asks. Her tone is suspicious.

“I’ve only just been born onto this planet, you know? There’s no way I could know what kind of creature I am. The only thing I really know is that I wanted to fulfill your wishes, so I manifested. Isn’t that enough?”

The prankster companion who joined Rino, Reiyu, Zonne, and Rona’s party brings smiles to the sighing girls. Trailing behind them, looking like a second Trickstar draped in its white cloth, the Sunrise Egg skips happily.

“By the way, why are we dressed in boys’ clothes?” Rona asked. Like the other girls, her arms are sagging with a bag full of supplies purchased at the town marketplace.

The girls are wearing cloaks that they prepared for their journey, but currently, beneath those are the men’s clothes that Trickstar got for them. If they remove their hairpins, they can be easily taken for four young men.

“This is a lively port city, so I thought that boys’ clothes would be best to help fit in with all the rough sailor men!”

Its words backfire.

Rino, whose smile can lift the spirits of anyone who sees her; Zonne, who looks better than anyone in boys’ clothes; Rona, with her gentle demeanor; and Reiyu, with her cool appearance all possess outstanding beauty that a mere clothing change can’t hide. That, along with their otherworldly airs- a given, considering they are priestesses of the Red Dawn Temple, said to be the oldest temple on planet Cray- and their two small, white-hooded companions (the Sunrise Egg and Trickstar), make them the talk of the town, no matter how subtle they are.

“Sorry, everyone,” Trickstar says. It seems to be particularly dejected at the fact that it could not help fulfill the Blaze Maidens’ wish- that is, to discover the truth of the world while drawing the least attention possible.

“It’s fine. We’re probably still going to be traveling for a long time, so we’ll do good to have as many fitting clothes as we can find,” Rino comforts. The Sunrise Egg at her feet hops, as if in agreement.

“Thanks, Rino.” A pause. “This is the town square. We’re staying to watch the festival, right?”

Spring festivals can be found anywhere this time of year, and To Lisn is no exception. When the vendors vying for the attention of all the people who gather from the outskirts open shop, the grand scale of the festival can be felt.

“? . . . Hmm?” Suddenly, Rino feels a tug on the hem of her cloak. Looking down, she sees a young girl, about three or four years old, and crouches down to gently say hello. The girl, who seems to be wearing her best dress clothes, remains silent, refusing to let go of Rino.

“Are you alone? Where are your mother and father?” Rona asks.

“She looks like she’s lost. Up you go- do you want some candy?” Zonne casually picks up the girl, who clings tightly to her neck.

Reiyu hums. “With this crowd, there’s no use in trying to call out for her parents- there’s no way they could hear. Let’s wait here.”

The festival seems to have begun with no warning. Already, groups of people have gathered to sing and dance around the square. The girls exchange smiling looks; after all, festivals are the Blaze Maidens’ specialty. Of course, the familiarity would lift their spirits.

Just then--

Above the swelling clamor of the festival, a distinctly different sound could be heard.

“?! . . . What could that be. . . ?” At Rino’s voice, the entire crowd turns to look at the southern tip of the square. There seems to be an argument over stolen luggage.

“A fight. . . ?” Rona wonders.

No, not a fight, the Blaze Maidens soon realize. A tall man wearing a blue cloak is ordering his servants to forcefully seize the belongings of a married couple. Already, a fight is brewing around them.

“Papa! Mama!” The little girl calls out from Zonne’s shoulder.

“Eh- ?! Those are your parents?” Zonne asks.

Seeing the girl’s teary face, Rino suddenly heard the voice of her unspoken wish- “please, save them!”- echoing in her head.

The thieves are using brute force to beat and kick the girl’s parents. Sparkling gems spill from the stolen bags. Perhaps the girl’s family deals in precious gems? Either way, there is no excuse for mugging someone like that.

An unstoppable hot feeling rises from the pit of Rino’s stomach- not quite anger, but a different, inexplicable impulse.

Suddenly, Rino is running into the crowd. All at once, a huge roar sweeps the crowd. The girls hear the faint sound of screaming from somewhere behind them.

“. . . Rino! Rino! Listen, Rino!”

Ignoring them, Rino steadily crosses the far distance between her and the girl’s parents.

There is someone screaming close by her ear.

“C’mon, listen to me! It’s me! It’s Trickstar!”

Rino abruptly pauses, her hands that had been desperately pushing through the crowd stilling. For her, who had always been the most conscious of others out of the maidens, her actions are clearly out of character.

Right above her head, Trickstar floats, its white hooded cloak cutting a clear silhouette. On its back is the Sunrise Egg. Its covering cloth, which Trickstar took pains to find, has already been blown off somewhere.

“Here, I’ll lend you my power. Try praying for what you want to do.”

“A prayer?”

“Mhmm. You’re a priestess, right? Haven’t you always been listening to others’ wishes, and praying for them to come true?”

“Yes. . . but if I don’t hurry. . . !”

“Rino, trust me!” The girl looks up in surprise at hearing such a strong and serious voice from Trickstar for the first time.

She understands. Even while jostled around by the sea of people, on the verge of being crushed, she joins her hands in prayer.

I want to protect that girl’s mother and father. I want to make that girl smile.

She wished for them to be saved, after all. . . please, I beg- !

The next moment, Rino’s body suddenly becomes as light as the wind. The crowd around her gasps in surprise as she flies up, carried high by extremely strong and solid arms.

“Hey, Rino. That was a good prayer. Let me grant your wish.”

The voice, coming from above her head, sounds both like Trickstar, and completely different at the same time.

Looking up, Rino sees a large humanoid figure with winglike equipment. “Are you Trickstar. . . ?”

“I’m Vairina- that’s the name that just came to mind. But I can explain later- here we go!”

Vairina crosses the entire town square in one leap and sends the thieving servants flying with one hand, the other holding Rino securely. Once she has secured the Sunrise Egg that had been carried on Vairina’s back, Rino approaches the blue-cloaked man. The man is standing on top of a blue tent-like structure that juts out jarringly from the ground. Behind Rino, Vairina crosses its arms, a sign that it is protecting her- a comforting sight indeed.

“Taking someone else’s things without a proper reason is a crime. Return those to their proper owners immediately!”

“It’s not a big deal, I’m just borrowing them. Of course, I’m not gonna return them. . . wait, you’re a girl, aren’t you?”

Rino flushes and straightens her clothes. After being jostled around by the crowd and then taking off into the sky with Vairina, the neckline of her shirt has fallen a little loose. Bitter anger rises from deep within her as the man waves the bag of gems in her face, laughing at her disarray.

Enveloping her hands, her feet, her hair, and even her slim body, the flames of emotion within her flicker to life before her eyes.

“Flame magic. . . ?! Some poor little village girl like you. . . ?!”

“That’s right! With these flames, I will purify your wicked heart. . . !”

The dance of the Blaze Maidens is meant to glorify the sun and offer praise to the holy dragon, but is also a difficult art designed to manifest the flames of life burning within the maidens’ bodies, polished through strict training. The Blaze Maiden Rino, using her entire body to conduct the flames, releases all of her power in the form of great flames at the man in the blue cloak.

“I won’t let you!” The man leaps nimbly back behind a large “thing” that rises to stand between him and Rino. The tentlike thing behind the man is actually a dragon. “Shield me, Recusal Hate Dragon!”

Rino’s flames collide with the dragon and are extinguished.

Recusal Hate Dragon roars, and the festivalgoers scream in terror.

“Ugh. . . !”

“Come, did you not say you would purify my wicked heart? What’s wrong?” The man laughs again. However, Rino is not bitter out of shame- rather, she curses herself for her carelessness.

Recusal Hate Dragon is immune to magic. In order to defeat it, one must use overwhelming force beyond its own, or use some other power to sneak past its defenses.

With the others here, perhaps. . . no, it’s impossible. I’m far away from the other maidens. . . I’m the one who left them to rush here all by myself, aren’t I?

Rino is weak- for now.

Even though she is weak, she has drawn the anger of the man who commands the dragon. As one of the Blaze Maidens, who are supposed to protect the holy dragon’s egg, this predicament is her first failure- and a big one, at that.

“You see- those measly flames cannot defeat me.” Rino knows she has lost- the man is only rubbing salt into the wound.

“No, she can do it. The Blaze Maiden Rino will change everyone’s hopes into power- I know she can.” Vairina’s words are comforting.

“How insolent. I’ll take care of you all at once. . . hmph!” At the blue-cloaked man’s signal, his underlings stand back up, at the ready.

Leave!

A voice that can’t possibly belong to any of the crowd stuffed into the area rings out.

Don’t ruin our festival! Go back to where you came from, you villain! You can do it, miss Maiden! The feelings of all the people gathered at the square lift Rino’s spirits.

And before Rino’s very eyes, the Sunrise Egg stands- as if saying that it is its turn to protect her, instead.

“Sunrise Egg. . . Lord Holy Dragon. . . ?”

As if to reassure Rino’s unsure mumbling, Vairina’s voice thunders through the square.

“Now, pray, Rino! That’s what a priestess does- right?”

Trickstar’s- Vairina’s- voice reaches Rino, and she prays- this time, not in anger, but in a plea to transform the feelings of everyone gathered into the strength to fulfill their wishes.

Once again, flames flicker to life, swirling in a great maelstrom around Rino’s body.

“And I will grant that wish!”

Behind Rino, Vairina, wrapped in a whirlwind, launches itself at Recusal Hate Dragon. With the dragon’s roaring jaw seized in its hand, Vairina twists nimbly in midair, throwing it up and then immediately down in the blink of an eye. Recusal Hate is slammed into the dirt, facing the sky, the mighty impact shaking the very earth and cobblestones it lies on. At the slightest sign of resistance, Vairina presses its knee into its stomach and the edge of its palm to its throat. For some reason, it knows that the dragon’s weak points are its particularly soft stomach and throat. Recusal Hate Dragon lets out an empty, weak growl and falls unconscious, its strength drained.

“I won’t stand for this! Who are you? With what power have you dared to defeat me?!”

“Didn’t I already say? The power of righteous prayers and everyone’s wishes will defeat evil- like this.” With one sweep of Vairina’s large hand, the blue-cloaked man and his subordinates- both already losing the will to fight- are pushed to the ground and bound securely using the ropes from various festival booths. The crowd, who had been holding its breath watching the fight, now begins to cheer in relief and joy.

“Thank you, Vairina.” Still dazed, Rino thanks her new friend. At her words, pop- ! Vairina reverts back to the form of Trickstar.

“You’re welcome. That’s all solved for now- !”

The Sunrise Egg stands in front of a still-kneeling Rino. “You’ve worked hard, too.”

Rino stretches out a hand, as if to thank it. The action must please the egg, for it almost seems to sparkle, faintly. Then--

Just once, Rino sees it, and feels it-

the cheering crowd; the little girl, reunited with her parents; the other Maidens, running over with luggage in their arms; and-

the being before her, no longer an egg.

“Rino. . . ! Come on, you’re staring into space again. . .” Rona whines.

Rino is still on her knees, her eyes closed. Her body trembles uncontrollably with emotion, and her hands, folded in prayer, stretch out-

-only to bump into the head of the Sunrise Egg.

“Eh? Huh. . . ?” Rino shakes herself back to the present. Was what she saw an illusion? It seems only she was able to see it. . .

“Here, your things. Oh, and we took the little girl back to her parents, so don’t worry.”

Rino already knows this.

Reiyu sighs gently. “We can’t stay here for much longer, Rino. Our journey to find the truth of the world without standing out too much has already been derailed enough.”

“This festival turned out to be pretty fun, hm?” Trickstar grins.

“You got far too carried away, Trickstar.”

“Sorryyyy. . .” Trickstar pouts.

“-Well, we should at least thank Trickstar for saving Rino.” At Reiyu’s rare praise, Trickstar and- for some reason- the Sunrise Egg jump up and down in excitement.

“Ehe. Let’s go on, then- on our journey of adventure and prayers!” Trickstar takes the lead, running towards the gates of the town. “Come on, follow me! Hurry!”

Rino, hefting her things, runs after it with the other Maidens following close behind.

The townspeople they are leaving behind will pass down the legend of four nameless priestesses in boys’ clothing, the Sunrise Egg, and Trickstar-turned-Vairina for generations to come.

The sun finally sets, bathing the town of To Lisn in the gentle rays of the spring afternoon.

#vanguard #cardfight!! vanguard #cardfight vanguard #dragon empire #nirvana #english translation #japanese translation #trickstar #vairina #overdress #カードファイトヴァンガード #カードファイトヴァンガードオーバードレス

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mystical-flute · 3 years

Text

Changing Fate (Part 1 of The Road Not Taken)

In another lifetime, Kozuki Oden asks for help.

Or, a series of one-shots about what the world might be like if the Kozuki clan reclaimed power in Wano.

AO3 || Buy me a Ko-fi

Kozuki Oden was troubled.

He stared out at the calm, dark ocean, the breeze gently tickling his hair and skin as he forced himself not to pace along the deck of the Oro Jackson.

He had said he wouldn’t need help opening Wano’s borders to the rest of the world. He had said that he and his samurai would be able to handle it.

And yet…

Something hadn’t felt right on Wano when he had dropped Toki, Momo and Hiyori off. His retainers’ pleas had fallen on deaf ears, Oden hadn’t been able to bear to look at his country, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling that something had been going terribly, horribly wrong on Wano.

Maybe to the point where he would need outside help.

Who better than the King of the Pirates and his crew?

Roger was dying. They all knew that. But still, Roger and the rest of the crew… they were powerful. They had defied every odd that had been thrown their way.

And if Oden’s sense of dread was wrong, if his mind was simply playing tricks on him, then at the very least, Roger would be able to see Toki, Momo and Hiyori one last time before his death.

Oden would be able to make peace with that.

He wouldn’t be able to make peace with Wano falling apart.

Despite his resistance to it in his youth, Oden knew what he had to do. He knew what his fate was.

He had to become the shogun of Wano Kuni.

Turning on his heels, Oden made his way to Roger’s cabin and knocked on the door.

There was a violent coughing fit before Roger allowed him entry.

“Oden! What’s on your mind at this hour?” Roger’s eyes were twinkling with curiosity, of an itch for adventure, but Oden could see the heaviness in them, the strain the disease was taking.

“I have been thinking long and hard about this, Roger,” Oden started slowly. “I think I will need your help opening Wano’s borders. Is it too late to accept your offer?”

Roger didn’t hesitate, grabbing the den den he kept next to his bed. “Gabban! Set course for Wano! We’re going to open it with Oden!”

A part of Oden’s dread dissipated.

Everything would be okay.

Oden grasped the railing of the Oro Jackson, his face set in a firm, yet grim line as the ship was pulled up the waterfall. Buggy was screaming in terror, Shanks yelling out in excitement, but Oden paid no mind to it.

The sense of dread had gotten worse the closer they’d gotten to Wano, and he knew with each leap of the koi fish, he had made the right choice in asking the Roger Pirates for help.

“Oden,” Roger’s gruff voice said, cutting him from his thoughts. “What is your plan?”

Roger, despite his wild and expressive personality, had been unusually serious during this mission, and Oden couldn’t have been more grateful.

“Figure out how bad it is. Then go from there. I figure we can all handle any enemies that might cross our path,” Oden mused, stroking his chin. “My first priority is making sure Toki and the kids are safe.”

“Of course.”

“Lord Oden!” a panicked female voice said. Shinobu appeared with a pop on the deck before the Oro Jackson even hit the top of the falls.

“A kunoichi!” Roger exclaimed, his eyes lit up with curiosity.

On the other hand, Oden felt dread in his bones. “Shinobu, what’s wrong?” She was holding something in her hands that was making noise and moving around, and he frowned. “What is that?”

Slowly, carefully, Shinobu moved her top hand to reveal a bird.

“Oden is coming! Oden is coming!” the bird squawked.

“I - I’m afraid we have a traitor in our midst, Lord Oden,” she said quietly, her eyes wet with tears.

“Who - who would do such a thing? What is this bird?” Oden asked.

Shinobu blinked back the tears, reaching onto her belt with her free hand and withdrawing one of her kunais and slicing the bird along the spine, only instead of blood, Shinobu’s hands were stained with…

“Ink,” Oden gasped, before his eyes narrowed. “Kanjuro! But why?”

“I don’t know, Lord Oden,” Shinobu said. “He has given us no reason to believe he would ever betray you… but this bird is not the first that has been intercepted by me.”

“What else has been said?”

“Intelligence, mostly, about the status of your family. But strangely enough… Kanjuro always protected Lady Toki, Lady Hiyori, and Lord Momonoskue. Orochi is shogun now… your father apparently named him successor while you were gone. He made a deal with a pirate called Kaido. They’ve built factories all over Wano. Weapons factories!”

Oden sucked in a breath as the ship reached the top of the falls, and even Roger appeared shocked.

“Do you know this ‘Kaido’?” Shinobu asked, looking at Roger skeptically.

“Aye. he was an apprentice on a dangerous crew. The Rocks Pirates. Whitebeard and Big Mom were members of it as well,” Roger explained. “Garp and I took down their crew together. They say he isn’t a human, but no one knows what he really is.”

Oden recalled Whitebeard mentioning being on another crew prior to starting his own, but hadn’t said anything else about it.

“He’s a dragon,” Shinobu explained, shuddering. “Big and blue. Like a deity.”

Roger stroked his beard thoughtfully. “That… is a new update. But we’ve beaten plenty of Devil Fruit users in the past. I’m sure one more won’t kill us.”

“‘Devil Fruits’?” Shinobu questioned.

Oden waved his hand. “Another time, Shinobu, I promise. Wash that ink off your hands and get back to land before someone notices you’ve disappeared.”

“Yes, Lord Oden,” Shinobu said, vanishing.

He didn’t miss that her hands were clean by the time she’d disappeared. Damn kunoichi.

Oden wanted to pass out. Kanjuro. His loyal retainer for decades, someone he had trusted his wife and children’s lives with… was a traitor. But why? He didn’t understand.

He especially didn’t understand why Kanjuro didn’t want to strike down Toki or his children while Oden was gone.

“We have to be rational about this,” Crocus said. “I know that’s not usually your strong suit, Oden - ”

“No. You’re right,” Oden finally said. “I want to speak to Kanjuro alone after I’ve spoken with Toki. Make sure no one else interrupts us.” He grimaced, looking at Roger. “If… that’s okay, captain.”

“This is your fight, Oden,” Roger replied. “We’re merely extra hands for you.”

“Lord Oden!” he heard from the shore. There stood his wife and children, and his nine loyal retainers.

Or maybe it was only eight. He hated that it needed to be a question.

Still, Oden gave them a confident smile, leaping off the ship and onto the shore, scooping Momonoskue and Hiyori into his arms. “I’ve missed you all so terribly! Look how big you two are now! And Toki, my beautiful wife… I’m sorry it took so long to get home.”

Toki hummed. “It’s okay Oden, what you had to do was important.” She glanced at Roger and smiled. “I see Buggy and Shanks have grown quite a lot as well! I imagine they’ll leave long shadows in the future.”

“You think so, Lady Toki?!” Buggy gasped, before composing himself. “I mean, of course I will!”

“Come inside, you all must be tired from the journey. I’m sure you have stories for the children, don’t you?”

Shanks raised his arms into the air. “Do we ever. I’ll go first!”

“You always go first, Shanks!” Buggy whined as the group moved toward the castle.

“Kanjuro, a word?” Oden asked, guiding his retainer toward his office. He could feel the sea stone in his pocket, and hoped it wouldn’t be needed.

He wanted this all to be a misunderstanding, so they could guide Wano into a new age together.

He sensed Gabban outside the room as he as Kanjuro settled down.

“Is there something wrong, Lord Oden?” Kanjuro asked with a small frown.

“A misunderstanding, I’m hoping. I received some troubling news that you were a spy, and that you had passed information about my wife and children to Orochi and Kaido,” Oden said slowly.

Kanjuro spluttered. “I don’t know why someone would say such a horrible thing about me! I am your loyal retainer, you saved me, and I kept your family safe while you were gone!”

Oden nodded. “I know, which is why I would like to resolve this matter. I want Wano to be free, you know that. But I don’t feel safe doing that if someone is out to get my retainers.”

“Of course, Lord Oden.”

“What I’m curious, is why someone would want to blame you, Kanjuro. Of all my retainers, why would they paint you as a traitor?” Oden leaned back. “I mean, it isn’t like someone is trying to attack your family name, right?”

Something shifted in the air, and Kanjuro looked away. “Kakaka… no, Lord Oden. I have no family name anymore.”

“'Anymore'? What do you mean?”

“Your family destroyed them, Lord Oden.”

Dread turned to horror as he stared at Kanjuro. He couldn’t possibly mean -

“I am Kurozumi Kanjuro. Ka. Ka. Ka . I suppose you’ll have to kill me now, right? And then you’ll rush off to the Flower Capital and finish Orochi and the others there. After all, that’s what you Kozukis are known for.” The name was spat with a venom Oden didn’t realize Kanjuro had.

Oden should kill him. He knew that.

But there’s a voice inside him that tells him no.

“I will not kill you, Kanjuro.”

“Y-you won’t?”

“No. Despite being a traitor, you have served and protected my family, even when it would have suited you better to kill them,” Oden said. “I know I cannot undo what has been done to the Kurozumi clan, but I will clear the names of the innocent ones. I will make sure you are seen as a hero. But I cannot do that without defeating Kaido and Orochi. You understand this, yes?”

Kanjuro appeared to be overwhelmed, but nodded in agreement. “Yes, Lord Oden. You… will really clear my name?”

“You will live a long, safe life. You will have a chance to rebuild your clan. Evening Shower Kurozumi Kanjuro, a hero of Wano,” Oden said.

Kanjuro prostrated himself on the ground, sobbing. “All I have ever wanted to do was die, but now - now I want to live. Thank you, Lord Oden. I have a reason to live .”

A plan was devised that night. For extra security, Kanjuro’s devil fruit was nullified with sea stone Roger had stolen from the Marines.

Toki, Momo and Hiyori were smuggled onto the Oro Jackson with Crocus, Shanks, and Buggy, making it appear that the Roger Pirates were leaving Wano. Oden wasn’t a fool, he knew word likely would have spread of their being in Wano, with or without Kanjuro.

Meanwhile, Rayleigh, Gabban and a handful of others went in a smaller boat to the island now named Onigashima to ambush the Beast Pirates. While they did that, Roger, Oden, the scabbards, and the rest of Roger’s crew made their way to the Flower Capital.

Oden barely gave it a glance as he heard the joyful exclamations of his people cheering him on, heading straight for the palace with nothing but fury in his gaze.

People were counting on him to vanquish this evil. They were counting on him to set Wano back on the right path.

And he would win.

“OROCHI!” he roared, barging into the palace. He felt a burst of haki, and knew Roger must have subdued some of the guards.

“O-Oden! Y-you’re back from your travels!” Orochi exclaimed. “I - I hadn’t received any news of that!”

Oden’s eyes narrowed. “I understand you were shogun until I returned. I appreciate you taking on the responsibility, but the position is mine now.”

Orochi let out the worst sounding laugh Oden had ever heard. “You think so, Oden? Well, you’re wrong. The Kurozumi clan has now finally taken its rightful place at the top, and we will ensure you and the other Kozuki clan members, and this whole damned country, suffer like we had to. You want the throne? Take it by force. And even if you manage to beat me, and my guards, there’s no way to stop Kaido.”

Calmly, Oden withdrew his swords, the sounds of battle beginning to rage outside.

“Very well, Orochi."

He didn’t see the old man or the old woman until they began shouting, the old man raising his hands -

And he was ambushed by Kanjuro, who snapped his own seas tone cuffs on his wrists.

The word “traitor!” was shouted, but Oden paid no mind as he rushed Orochi.

Kiku restrained the woman with another pair of cuffs.

Oden slammed Orochi through the window and into a freefall.

Orochi laughed again. “I will kill you, Oden, and if I don’t, Kaido will!” His face became distorted, more heads growing from his body.

A Devil Fruit. Of course. But at least it was one that gave him more of a target. He didn’t know what sort of animal it was, and he didn’t know which head he was supposed to slice…

So he sliced off every single one.

“EVERYONE GET TO SAFETY!” he heard Hyogoro shout as the heads began to rain down upon the Capital.

Oden landed with a heavy breath as he faced the yakuza boss.

“Oden… you’ve done it. You’ve defeated Orochi!” Hyogoro breathed. “What now?”

He glanced around as Roger stepped up. “Aye, Orochi may no longer be an issue, but there is a bigger threat on Wano, is there not? And two of my strongest men are there, Oden.”

“Indeed, Roger. Boss Hyogoro, can I count on you to subdue any of Orochi’s loyalists?”

Hyogoro squinted suspiciously at Roger, but nodded. “Of course, Lord Oden. Defeat Kaido and drive those pirates out of our country!”

“Samurai! With me!” Oden yelled, before he and Roger charged off in the direction of Onigashima.

They had to do it. They had to win. Oden would not allow any more damage to be wrought on his country or his people. Wano’s borders needed to be open, his people needed to taste the same freedom he had.

And, perhaps more importantly, he needed to make good on his promise to Kanjuro.

“Worororo. That was a dirty trick, Roger.”

Roger merely grinned, gazing up at the azure dragon flying toward them. “We’re all pirates here, aren’t we, Kaido? What’s life without playing dirty once in a while? Isn’t that why you took over this country?”

Kaido gave them a rueful grin, showing his large teeth. “I was welcomed here by the shogun.”

“The shogun is requesting you leave,” Oden spat. “If you and your crew leave this nation peacefully, we won’t alert the Marines what you’ve done here.”

“And why should Orochi want to kick me out now?”

“Orochi is no longer the shogun. I am.”

Kaido appeared to be confused for a moment, but burst into laughter. “Oh are you now? Where’s Orochi then?”

“Dead. Strewn about the Flower Capital.”

Kaido’s head reared back, more laughter escaping him. “Is that so? I can’t say I’m surprised. He never seemed to be much of a leader. That’s where I came in.”

Oden had never heard a less-surprising thing. “Then your services are no longer required. Get out of Wano and never return.”

“No. I quite like Wano and its isolation. It keeps the World Government off my back. I think I’ll stay.”

Oden gripped his swords tighter, Orochi’s blood dripping on the grass. “You’ll have to kill me if you wish to stay in this country.”

“That can be arranged. Boro Breath!”

“Fox-Fire Style!”

Kinemon jumped into the fray, splitting Kaido’s attack with one slice of his sword. For a moment, the battlefield was awash in the glowing flames.

With a glance at Roger and then at his scabbards, Oden jumped into action.

“Paradise Waterfall!”

“Divine Departure!”

“Ukiyo Portrait: Evening Shower!”

“Fallen Snow Scythes!”

All around him, Oden heard his allies attacking Kaido with everything they had. The battle was long, and as it continued, onlookers began to appear from every direction. He hated it, wanted his people to get to safety, but he also wanted them to have hope for the first time in years, so he let them watch.

Kaido felt invincible, the damage that had been inflicted would have killed lesser men, and just when Oden thought he had nothing more to give, Toki, Momo, and Hiyori flashed through his mind, and he rose to his feet as Nekomamushi sailed by him, a large gash over his face.

“Oden two sword style,” he huffed, readying himself before leaping at the dragon. “Paradise Waterfall!”

He put everything into the attack, pushing further into a wound that had already been started by Kiku and Ashura.

He cut straight through.

Witnesses to the final attack would call it reminiscent of the Mountain God incident when Oden had only been a teenager.

Kaido fell back into the water.

There were a few moments of tense, stunned silence, but Kaido did not resurface.

“Wano is free!” someone shouted, and the crowd erupted into cheers as his men pulled themselves to their feet and looked around.

“Well done, Oden,” Roger said, clapping him on the shoulder. “I’m going to that island to make sure Rayleigh, Gabban, and the rest are safe.”

Oden nodded, giving Roger a grateful smile. “Of course. Do you want me to send some of my men with you?”

“No. This is a pirate’s battle, and you need to be with your men and your family.”

“You’re just itching for another fight, aren’t you?”

Roger grinned. “It’s not like I’ll have many more left in me!”

Before Oden could respond, Roger was gone, leaving a small dirt cloud in his wake.

“Lord Oden, what did he mean by that?” Denjiro asked.

“The world will be entering a new age soon, Denjiro,” Oden said, glancing at his retainers as they gathered around him. “And we will need to be prepared for when it does. For now, let’s head back to the Flower Capital. See to it that our audience makes it back too.”

“Yes, Lord Oden.”

“Kanjuro,” Oden said. “A word?”

Kanjuro stepped back from the other scabbards, swallowing.

“We put sea stone on you so you couldn’t use your Devil Fruit. What happened?”

“Semimaru blocked the first attempt at restraining him. I had Denjiro unlock me and put my cuffs on him instead.”

That explained why someone had yelled out ‘traitor’, and Oden nodded. “Very well. Come, let’s clear your name.”

Orochi’s corpse had been cleared away, but blood was still splattered along the streets and buildings. He didn’t want to think about how long it would take to get the Flower Capital repaired, not to mention dismantle the factors that were still destroying Wano’s beauty.

“Oden!”

Toki rushed forward, Momo and Hiyori in her arms. Buggy and Shanks followed, and Crocus was a few paces behind them, his harpoon still drawn, just in case.

“Toki! My children! You’re safe?” he asked.

“We kept ‘em safe just like we promised!” Shanks said.

“Yeah! And we watched you take down Kaido! That was so cool Oden!” Buggy added. Oden could almost see the stars in his eyes.

Oden laughed, patting each of them on the head. “Thank you both, it’s much appreciated. Roger went to the island to take care of the rest of Kaido’s crew. You’re welcome to join him, or you can stay here with us.”

“We better go help Captain Roger!” Shanks said.

Crocus shrugged. “Then I suppose we’ll make sure Roger hasn’t gotten into something he shouldn’t.”

Oden laughed, watching them go. After so long with the Roger Pirates, it felt strange not having any of them around him. But perhaps it was for the best, for now. The people of Wano were - understandably - wary of pirates, and it was pirates that were still the major issue in the country. It should be up to the Roger Pirates to negate the threat.

“Lord Oden, would you like to address the country?” Kinemon asked as he approached. He was bandaged up, as were the rest of his retainers. “Hyogoro and his men have set up a platform for you, and a broadcast signal.”

Damn, Hyogoro worked fast, but Oden nodded. “All of you, with me, please.”

It felt wrong, in a way, standing before his nation like his father had before him. His nine retainers fanned out behind him, with Toki, Momo, and Hiyori at his side. It didn’t feel like it should be his responsibility.

If he had never left Wano, this would never have happened.

He took a deep breath and began to speak. “People of Wano… I apologize for how long it took me to return home. You all have suffered so terribly under Orochi and Kaido’s reign. I cannot take away that pain, but I hope you will forgive me.” He paused, letting the words hang in the air. “Orochi and Kaido are dead. They will no longer harm us.”

Cheers erupted from the Flower Capital. He could only imagine it was the same in the other regions.

“But there is something else I must repent for. Yesterday, a reliable source confirmed that Orochi was a member of the Kurozumi clan, as were his two associates,” Oden began, murmurs spiking through the crowd. Hyogoro’s hand immediately went to the hilt of his sword. “I know what the fate of the clan members has been for decades, but I ask that this stop! The persecution of the Kurozumi clan, due to the actions of one man, is reprehensible. Rest assured, Semimaru and Higuarashi will be tried for their crimes, but no one else, and not for the crime of what family they were born into.” Oden paused, taking a deep breath. “It was due to a Kurozumi clan member, risking everything to bring me the news, that we were able to overpower Orochi and his men. My loyal retainer, Kurozumi Kanjuro, renounced what his clan members were doing, and instead protected my wife and children in my absence.”

There was a stunned silence from the crowd, and from his retainers, but then -

“Thank you Kanjuro!” Shinobu shouted. “You saved Wano!”

Cheers and applause erupted again, a chant of Kanjuro’s name starting from the younger crowd members.

“The persecution of the Kurozumi clan is over !” Oden shouted over the crowd. “Wano is entering a new era. A better one!”

More cheers from the crowd, and Oden raised his fists.

“We will rebuild, and we will show this world just what Wano is made of!”

That night, as the Flower Capital continued the wild celebrations, Oden took stock of where the country was when it came to taking out the Beast Pirates. It turned out, aside from a handful of devoted higher ranks, most of the Beast Pirates surrendered easily once Roger’s crew arrived on the scene.

Many had been strong-armed into allying with Kaido, due to his sheer strength and brutality. Many no longer had a place to go, which was leaving Oden with quite a conundrum.

“They could be useful in teaching our people about the outside world,” Oden said to Nekomamushi and Inuarashi. “The three of us cannot do it alone.”

Inuarashi was frowning. “Indeed, Lord Oden, but are you certain we can trust them? After everything the country has already gone through… they are still pirates.”

“Can we call them pirates though? It seemed like most of them were relieved to be free from Kaido, according to Roger,” Nekomamushi pointed out with a frown. “If some of them start to cause trouble, we can always do to them what Lord Oden did to Kaido and Orochi.”

“Let’s not go that far, Nekomamushi,” Oden replied. “Very well. If they would like to stay, they can stay in Wano. We can put them to work and see how it goes. If they want to leave, they must leave tomorrow with the Oro Jackson.”

“What about Kaido’s executives?” Inuarashi asked.

“Roger said he got in touch with a Marine Vice-Admiral. He’ll be coming to Wano to collect them and take them to Impel Down. Until then, they’re still chained up on the island?”

“The Yakuza bosses are taking shifts guarding them,” Nekomamushi confirmed.

“Good. Get some rest, you two. We’ll start the reconstruction in the morning.”

It was early, but the Kozuki family was wide awake, standing at the coast of the Flower Capital as the Roger Pirates loaded up their ship for what would be the last time.

“Oden,” Roger said, grinning. “I can’t thank you enough for coming with me on that last voyage. For helping me solve all those riddles that plagued this world.”

“It was an honor, Roger. I just wish you could be around to see it all come true,” Oden said.

Roger’s eyes sparkled with that trademark mischief. “Who says I won’t be around?”

Oden could only chuckle before turning to Buggy and Shanks, who were making faces at Hiyori and Momonoskue. “Oi, you two!”

The two started, slowly turning to him. “Yeah?”

Oden grinned. “You two are welcome back here anytime. Just make sure you become great pirates first!”

“Even if it hasn’t been twenty years?”

“Of course,” Toki replied with a smile. “That goes for the rest of the crew as well. Wano will always be open to the Roger Pirates, and the Whitebeard crew.”

“Speaking of old Whitebeard, I plan to meet up with him. Should I tell Izo to come back here, Oden?” Roger asked.

Oden shook his head. “If he comes back, we’ll welcome him with open arms. But I want it to be his choice.”

“Understood.”

“Look, children,” Toki’s soft voice said, the sun rising just as the ship disappeared over the waterfall. “A new dawn has risen on Wano.”

#one piece #fanfiction #kozuki oden #gol d roger

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miastideclock · 4 years

Text

The One Where The Dogs Gets Away (Bang Chan)

broooo, so I love this friends thing, but why not start off in smaller sections? Like maybe you could rewrite the part where Rachel lost Marcel(the monkey) and she and Ross fights?? But you're really good at angsty stuff, so throw some of that in there?? And could you do it w Chan??? I'm trash sorry

This is from when I asked if I should do Stray Kids as F.R.I.E.N.D.S. lmao its been a wHILE- SORRY

Word count: a lot 3,527

She could hear talking, but her mind was so utterly focused on the ticking of the clock that struck eight, that she didn't make out a single one of the words that were said.

"Corey?" Was what pulled her out of her train of thought. She snapped her head towards the speaker, and instantly apologized for not paying attention.

"Chan, sorry. This is so stupid!" She burst, referring to the incident they had talked about just previously. One of her colleagues was getting married, and that meant the entire project laid on Corey's shoulder. It was quite a massive one too. Corey didn't mind that her coworker was getting married, well maybe a little, but what really irked her was the fact that he coworker knew she was getting married that date, a year ago- and still said she could work the project, but the project would be in motion during her honeymoon.

"I should just be happy for them right? I can do some extra work. I am, I'm happy for them." She lied through her teeth, Chan instantly catching on, placing a hand on her back, questioning her truthfulness.

"No. Oh, I guess it would just be different if I were- with somebody. Like maybe I would understand her thinking more?" Corey sat back in her chair and picked at a noodle with her chopsticks. This caught Chans attention.

Ever since he first met Corey, he had been elbow deep in love with her. It was almost as if his whole life revolved around her, that everything he did was for her.

"Whoah, uh, what happened to 'Forget relationships! I'm done with men!' the whole penis embargo?" Chan mentioned, hinting to the thing she had sworn off after her last boyfriend, Hyunjin.

They hadn't been a good couple at all. Corey and Hyunjin didn't even speak the same language, so it was hard for them to do anything else than makeout and have unnecessarily loud sex when they thought they were alone. Corey's roommate Changbin, didn't find that very fun.

In fact, everyone in their group was grossed out by it. Especially Chan, as he was the one most affected by it.

"Oh, I don't know. I guess it's not about no guys, it's about the right guy, y'know? I mean, with Seungmin, it was safe and it was easy, but there was no heat. With Hyunjin, that's all there was, was heat! And it was just this raw, animal, sexual-" Corey explained, but soon to be cut off by a severely uncomfortable Chan.

"Wait-wait. I got it. I was there." He smiled to hide the fact that he wanted to absolutely kill Hyunjin. Corey then grabbed Chans hands out of happit as they continued to chat. Chan had to admit to himself that there had never been a second in his life where he had to concentrate this bad to not kiss someone. Because there she was, the girl of his dreams, holding his hands, her face ten inches from his. Her brown eyes seemed soft and gentle as they looked into his, him getting lost in them.

"Well, I mean, do you think you can ever have both? Y'know? Someone who's like, who's like your best friend, but then also can make your toes curl?" She breathed as she continued to stare into his eyes. This made Chan's heart leap as she spoke. It was everything he had ever wished she would tell him, and more.

"Yes. Yes. Yes! Yes, I really do! In fact, it's funny, very often, someone who you wouldn't think could-could curl your toes, might just be the one who-" He started, building up the courage to confess and maybe even kiss her- but the moment was ruined when the owner of the apartment, Changbin, came home with friends.

"Hi." He greeted them and placed the groceries on the kitchen counter right behind Chan. Corey soon let go of Chan's hands and asked the group how the movie was. Jisung and Felix hated it, while Changbin and Woojin had been quite large fans of the film.

They discussed it for a few eternities according to Chan, all before he realized he had to leave. He had to take his dog, Berry, home.

"Alright, I've gotta go. C'mon, Berry! We're gonna take a bath. Yes we are, aren't we? Yes, we are!" Chan baby talked his dog as he got the leash on him. The King Charles Spaniel had been sleeping on the couch while Chan and Corey had been having dinner.

"They are still just friends, right?" Felix asked in a joking manner, implying that Chan and his puppy had a weird relationship. Most of them ignored him, and Corey walked over to the dog, petting him. "And I will see you tomorrow!" She grinned as Berry wagged his tail at her.

"That's right, you're gonna spend tomorrow at Aunt Corey's, aren't you?" Chan continued to baby talk, this however perked Changbin's attention. After all it was his apartment.

"Oh, hang on, hang on. Does Uncle Changbin get a say in this?" He asked, a brow raised as he was suspicious to the idea. Everyone knew how weird Changbin was about his apartment.

"Pwease, Uncle Changbin, pwease?" Chan picked up the dog and hid behind him, pretending it was Berry talking. He didn't seem even a tad bit interested, making Chan give up. "Oh, unclench. You're not even gonna be here." He added as he walked out the door with the dog.

Not long after, Corey went to bed, and before she knew it, she was dog-sitting Berry.

"Now, now the one in the feather boa, that's Dr. Francis. Now, she used to be a man. Okay, now look, see, there's Raven. We hate her. We're glad she's dying. Okay- " Corey explained to the dog as they watched the television displaying a Spanish soap. As she was speaking, Berry knocked over a pillow revealing Changbins left yeezy.

"Berry, are you playing with Changbin's shoes? You know you're not supposed to pl-whoah. Berry, did you pee in Changbin's shoe? Berry, bad dog!" Corey continued to talk to the dog as she picked up the smelly shoe and held it at arm's length. She used some paper towels to clean out the pee as good as she can, then carried the paper towels over to the trash chute in the hallway, accidentally leaving the door open.

While throwing it down the metal drain, she heard a gunshot come from the television, making her rush back in. "Who died? Who died? Roll him over! Oh, c'mon, roll him over! Oh..! Well, we know it wasn't Vanessa, right Berry? Because-" But as she looked down to continue talking to him, he was gone.

"Berry?" That was when she turned around and noticed the door was left open. Panic struck.

By now, she had called everyone to the apartment, all except for Chan. "Okay, it's his first time out, so he's probably gonna wanna do some of the touristy things. I'll go to Seoul Tower, and you go to The Blue House." Felix said sarcastically as they all tried to figure out where the dog was.

"Oh, my, God! C'mon, you guys! He's gonna be home any minute! He's gonna kill me!" Corey panicked, starting to bite her nails in stress.

"Okay, we'll start with the building. You guys take the first and second floor, Woojin and I'll take third and fourth. Corey, you stay here, and just wait by the phone. Spray Lysol in my shoe, and wait for Chan to kill you." Changbin instructed and chased everyone out of the apartment, Corey softly asking if anyone wanted to trade, but no one replied.

Corey looked around in every room in the apartment, just in case he was still in there, but to no use. After maybe thirty minutes, she decided to call in for the big guns. Unlucky for her, she was on the phone with animal control when Chan entered the door. "Okay, he's a, he's a brown and white King Charles Spaniel, with a-" Her heart dropped to the bottom of her stomach when she saw Chan coming in with a smile on his face.

"with, with Russian dressing, and pickles on the side. Okay. Thanks." She covered and hung up, turning to Chan as if nothing was wrong. They greeted each other. Corey immediately noticed the bottle of wine in his hand and asked him about it. He confirmed her theory of its contents, then proceeding to ask if she wanted some.

"Oh, I would love some. But y'know what? Y'know what? Let's not drink it here. I'm feeling kind of crazy. You wanna go to Jakarta?" Corey tried persuading, desperate to postpone the inevitable truth, that she had lost his dog.

"Uh, okay, yeah, we could do that. But before we head off to the robbery capital of Southeast Asia, I was, uh, kinda wanting to run something by you. You know how we were talking before, about relationships and stuff? Well-" Chan started, obviously nervous as he was about to confess his feelings for her. He unscrewed the cork of the wine bottle, but Corey cut him off. Not because she knew he was going to confess, cause she didn't. She was beyond stressed about his dog.

"Oh God, Chan, I can't do this." She said as she paced back and forth in the kitchen, Chan's face falling. "Okay, Chan. Please don't hate me." She continued as Chan intensely tried getting the cork back on the wine. He looked at her first with concern, then confusion- because she was way more stressed out than what was normal when turning someone down.

"Y'know Berry? Well, I kind of.. I kind of lost him." She admitted, Chans arms falling to his sides as he looked at her in disbelief, almost as if she was waiting for her to tell him it was a prank.

"I-I-I ca- I can't believe this! I mean, all I asked you to do was keep him in the apartment. No, y'know what, I guess it's partially my fault. Y'know, I shouldn't have asked you to start off with a dog. I should have started you off with like a pen or a pencil." He yelled, pacing around, furious out of his mind.

Corey found herself in tears as she tried to explain herself. "Chan, I'm doing everything I can, I've got everybody looking for him, and I-" She was cut off as the intercom buzzed. She rushed over and asked who it was, pleased as she heard it was Animal Control.

"You called Animal Control?" Chan spoke in a low voice. Corey looking at him with a worried expression, asking if he didn't like them.

"Berry is a loose dog. If they find him, they are going to take him away from me, as I am not fit for a owner if I manage to lose him." Chan explained.

There was a knock on the door, Corey swiftly opening it. "Hi thank you for coming." She greeted, a man clad in a brown Animal Control uniform, and a huge butterfly net stood there, looking miserable as he probably didn't like his job very much.

Corey and Chan soon pretended they had no idea what he was talking about when he mentioned a dog, but Woojin soon came and accidentally revealed that there was in fact a dog on the loose.

"Look, I'm sure there's some friendly way to reconcile this! Um, have a seat. First of all, we haven't been introduced, I'm Seo Changbin." Changbin stated, pulling out a chair for the man and sat down in a chair himself. The man's eyes widened as Changbin mentioned his name.

"Oh my God, you are! And you're Corey Lee!" He said as he pointed to Corey. "Lee Minho! Cheongdam High? I sat behind you guys in home room!" Minho lit up as he introduced himself to his old classmates.

This pitched the fakes most annoying play ever produced, Changbin and Corey pretending they remembered Minho. "Minho? Oh my God, Changbin! It's Minho!" Corey started with a voice absolutely drenched in enthusiasm.

"The Minho from home room!" Changbin threw himself on, making a fool out of himself with his horrid lying.

"You have no idea who I am, do you?" Minho asked as he called out the two actors. They quickly admitted that it was the truth, something that hurt Minho. "Well, maybe that's because you spent four years ignoring me. I mean, would it have been so hard to say 'Morning, Minho'? Or 'Nice dancing'?" He spat back, the two embarrassed that they had behaved so poorly to someone when they were younger.

Changbin started to apologize for everything, but Minho cut him off. "Ah, it's not so much about you, you were a fucking loser, you had your own problems." He started, Changbin being dumbfounded by the entire thing as Minho turned to Corey. "But you? What a bitch!"

Everyone was taken aback by his statement, especially Corey. Fair enough, back in high school she was popular, cheer captain and all- but Minho was being a bit harsh if you asked her.

"Be that as it may, d'you think you could just help us out here on that dog thing? Y'know, just for old times' sake?" Changbin spoke softly, trying to persuade the man, but to no avail.

"I could.. but I won't. If I find that dog, he's mine." And with that he was out the door.

The group immediately split up as they had to find the dog before Minho did. Woojin and Changbin ran after Minho, Felix and Jisung was still in the building looking, so Corey and Chan decided to go out to the street and look.

"Berry!" They called every now and then as they walked the block for what felt like hours. "Ber- oh this is ridiculous! We've been all over the neighborhood. He's gone." Chan sighed as he stopped and sat down on a staircase that lead to the front door of an apartment complex. Corey felt her heart drop as she saw the state he was in. She walked over to grab his hand, like she always did.

"Chan, you don't know that." She spoke softly, rubbing the soft skin of his palm. Chan let it go on for only a split second before he snapped back to reality and pulled his hand out of Coreys.

"No, this is just classic Corey! I mean, things just sort of happen around you. I mean you're off in Corey-land, doing your Corey-thing, totally oblivious to people's dogs, or to people's feelings.." He trailed off his angry rant, his words sending a ache in the back of Corey' s throat as it closed up.

"Chan, that is not fair-" She tried, but was instantly cut off.

"No it isn't fair that the fact that you're useless hurts me! I asked you to do something that is literally the easiest thing ever, second after breathing. Had you not been such a bratty bitch in high school, maybe you could actually have paid attention in class and gained a few brain cells. But no! You have kissed more boys than you have IQ points, so it's my fault that I trusted you to keep Berry in a room! No wonder you feel stupid around your family, you’re the biggest idiot I’ve ever met." He snapped, this sending tears over the brim of Corey's eyes.

She had always known she wasn't the smartest person out there, and she was more insecure about that than Chan could even begin to imagine. But she had always had the safety of knowing that her best friends never judged her for that- but to hear that one of the most important people in her life viewed her as a dumb slut, that hurt.

"Chan. We're now going to find Berry, and after that- I want you to never speak to me again." Corey spoke in a surprisingly steady voice, as it was low and almost dangerous. They then continued to walk up and down the neighbourhood until they eventually gave up and walked back to the apartment.

When they got back, they got to hear the greatest story of all time, as Minho had accidentally shot a dart at Woojin instead of Berry. After hearing a yelp from the floor below them, they decided story time was over and that they had to check it out in case it was Berry.

On bottom of the stairs, they could see Minho holding a cage with a white and brown dog inside, yelping as it was scared. Berry.

"Alright, we want our dog!" Corey demanded as she rushed down the stairs, the rest of the group hot on her heels. "No, prom queen!" Minho simply replied.

"Oh, c'mon Minho! Alright. In high school I was the prom queen, and I was the homecoming queen and you.. were also there! But if you take this dog, you are going to hurt one of the most important people in my life. You can hate me all you want, but please do not punish him. C'mon, Minho, you have the chance to be the bigger person here! Take it!" Corey spoke, begging in fact. For a second, it looked like they had persuaded him, but once he refused yet again, Corey decided to pull out a trick she had saved for emergency only.

"Alright, well then how about I call your supervisor, and tell her you shot my friend in the ass with a dart?"

The room grew deathly quiet, no one dared to even move. Minho had a look in his eyes that was hard to place, but it didn't matter because after a few more seconds, he gently placed the cage on the floor and turned on his heel. The group cheered among themselves as Chan almost fell to the floor to let Berry out of the cage.

Corey let out a sigh as she saw him hug the dog. She had done what they agreed, now it was his turn to keep up the deal. It was almost as if Chan thought about it too, because after a few minutes, he asked everyone but Corey to leave.

"Corey, I feel so bad, I am so sorry for what I said earlier, you know I didn't mean it-" He started apologizing, but Corey didn't feel as if it was enough.

"No. I don't know that you didn't mean it. It obviously had to come from somewhere. And we have known each others since we were in kindergarten, you know me inside and out, which is why I know you wouldn't have said that unless it was to severely hurt and damage me. You know how insecure I am about those things, and yet. Sorry just doesn't cut it." Corey spoke softly. She thought she would be more angry than she was, but she was too exhausted. Her voice spoke almost as if she had given up.

"But you're my best friend." Chan's voice cracked when he spoke. He grabbed her hand and held it close to his chest, scared that if he let go of her hand, she would vanish. He didn't realize how bad what he had said was, but thinking back on it now, he wanted to knock himself out.

If there was one thing he knew about Corey, it was that she was very insecure about her intelligence. She was the youngest in a family of doctors and lawyers and professors, so of course she felt dumb when she never understood what it was they talked about at the dinner table. But she wasn't. She was one of the smartest people Chan had ever met, but in non-traditional ways. Maybe she couldn't solve a math problem in a second, but she knew how to take care of plants, and how to perfectly fold her clothes so they wouldn't crease. She knew how to put together an outfit with the help of color theory and knowing which patterns not to mix. But none of that mattered, Chan had hit her where it hurt and he had no idea how to fix it.

"If I was your best friend, you wouldn't use that against me- no matter what." Corey spoke softly, almost as if she was comforting him- but as you listened to what she said, you quickly realized that was not the case. She then pulled her hand towards herself, Chan letting out a small yelp as she did so- and turned on her heel and went home.

That was a lot sory..

I hope you like it, feel free to request!

-bentley

#stray kids #stray kids drabbles #stray kids reactions #stray kids scenarios #stray kids requests #stray kids one shots #stray kids bang chan #bang chan #christopher bang #minho #changbin #hyunjin #jisung #felix #seungmin #jeongin #kpop

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valeriethepussycats · 4 years

Text

I’m Only Human

Chapter 1

Pairing- Loki x Mutant Reader, Thor x Mutant Reader(Best friends)

Warning- cursing

H/c- hair color

Puente Antiguo,New Mexico

The Suv sits parked in the desert. Suddenly, the roof panel of the Suv FoldOpen. The underside of the panels house a variety of hand-built Astronomical Devices, which now point at the sky. Jane Foster pops her head through the roof. She positions a Magnetometer, so its monitor calibrates with the constellations above. It appears to be cobbled together from spare parts of other devices. “Hurry!” Jane Insisted. Hearing a loud Bang followed by muffled cursing from below. Jane offers a hand down to Erik Selvig who emerges as well, rubbing his head.”Oh-- watch your head.”

“Thanks. So what's this "anomaly" of yours supposed to look like?” Erik wondered.

“Hopefully you only get a headache from how hard you hit your head” Y/n Munroe giggled as she opens the back door of the suv and jump out.

“ Explain to me why you’re here again” Erik murmured.

“ If I remember correctly you found me and asked if I could be your assistant.” Y/n proclaimed flipping her white and h/c out her face.

“It’s a little different each time. Once it looked like, I don't know,melted stars, pooling in a corner of the sky. But last week it was a rolling rainbow ribbon--"Racing "˜round Orion?" I've always said you should have been a poet.” Erik joked.

Jane reigns in her excitement. She tries for dignity. “Hey, Darcy. Pass up the bubbly and my gloves, will you?.” Jane asked. The Intern Darcy Lewis hands Jane a bottle of Champagne and a pair of gloves through the window. Jane passes it to Selvig to hold while she pulls on the old gloves -- too large and masculine for her small hands. He starts to unwrap the foil, and she stops his hand with an excited grin.”Not until you see it!”

“I recognize those. Think how proud he'd be to see you now.”Erik shared.

Jane's grin fades to a sad smile.”Thank you.”

“For what?”

“The benefit of the doubt.”The three stare out at the sky expectantly. A long beat while they scan the skies. Nothing. Jane's worried. “It's never taken this long before.”

Darcy calls up from the front seat. “Can I turn on the radio?”

“Sure, if you like rocking out to KFRM,All agriculture, all the time. Worried, Jane heads back down into the vehicle.

Y/n walks up to Suv window “Don’t worry everything will work out”Y/n told Jane with a small smile.

The SUV is bathed in the glow of high-tech monitorin equipment and laptops, some looking like they're held together with duct tape. Jane opens a well-worn notebook of handwritten notes and calculations. Selvig watches the frustrated Jane with sympathy.

“The anomalies are always precipitated by geomagnetic storms.”Jane began. She shows Erik and Y/n a complicated chart she's drawn in the book, tracking occurrences and patterns.”The last seventeen occurrences have been predictable to the minute... I just don't understand.”she pondered.

Something catches Darcy's eye out the driver's side mirror. She adjusts it. In the distance, Odd Glowing cloud form in the skies over the Northeastern end of the desert. “Jane?” Darcy calls small panicky voiceJane shushes her, leafs through her notes. The bottle of champagne begins to vibrate.

“There's got to be some new variable... Or an equipment malfunction.” Jane wonders.The lights and equipment in the Suv begin to Flickr around them. The computer monitors squelch with static.

“I don't think there's anything wrong with your equipment...” Darcy stated.

The champagne bottle starts to Rattles noisily now as it shakes more violently. Jane,Y/n and Selvig notice.They watch it curiously, pressure building up inside it, when the cork explodes out of it. Champagne goes spewing everywhere -- over equipment, over Jane. “Jane?”

“What?!”Jane snapped.

“I think you want to see this.”Darcy points out the window. Jane,Y/n and Selvig look out. Over the desert Massive rainbow cloud Churn in the sky. The three stare, dumbfounded.

“Holy Shit” Y/n swore.

“Holy. Shatner.” Jane blurted.

“That's your "subtle" aurora?!” Erik teased.

“No-- yes! Let's go!” Jane noted.

“See patience is a virtue” Y/n called out as she is standing in the middle of it all.

The roof panels still open, the Suv races towards the strange event, Jane, amazed by the sight, stands with half her body out the roof, taking video of the light storm before them.

The SUV hits a bump. Jane nearly flies out but Selvig grabs her, yanks her back in.

“Y/n gets to be out there and I can’t” Jane grins, thrilled, pumped with adrenaline

“ Well Y/n is not like us” Erik replied.

.”Isn’t this great?!”Jane started with excitement in her voice. A thought strikes her.”You’re seeing it too, right? I'm not crazy?

“That's debateable. Put your seat belt on!” Erik encouraged Jane. Winds howls around the SUV now. Up ahead, spiraling down from out of the clouds comes -- an Enormous tornadoSuffuse with the strange rainbow light, roaring like a thousand freight trains as it touches down.

“Are you doing this!” Erik yelled at Y/n .

“Erik I can change the weather not make a Rainbow tornados.” Y/n yells at in a dry tone.

Selvig looks up through the still-open sunroof at the enormous glowing funnel cloud with wonder. Jane clambers into the front seat, beside Darcy. She leans way out the window, Taping the storm.

“You've gotta get us closer so I can take a magnetic reading.” Jane Announced.

Darcy laughs.”Yeah, right! Good one.”Pauses.“Oh God, you're serious...”

“You want those college credits or not?” Jena noted.

Erik yells out to Y/n” we’re going to get closer!”

” OK I’ll catch up!” Y/n yells back at Erik as she stands in the middle of the desert watching this mystical tornado.

The SUV tears across a field towards the tornado, Jane leaning out the window, taping the event. The Suv disturbs two ravens perched on a cactus as they race past. The birds take flight, when -- KRAKABOOM! A huge bolt of lightningstrikes down through the center of the funnel cloud before them with a terrifying intensity. The Suv rocks from the blast. Darcy's had enough. She turns the wheel, starts to head away”Keep the credits. I'll intern at Burger King.”Darcy voiced.

“What are you doing?!” Jane yelped.

“Saving our lives!”

Jane grabs the wheel, jerks it hard the other way. They struggle for control, when the headlights fall on a man.Directly in their path, stumbling through the winds. Darcy slams on the brakes, Jane turns the wheel hard to avoid him.The SUV swerves but too late. The side of the SUV slams into the man with a Thud, sending him flying. The car skids to a stop.

Y/n flies over to see what all the commotion is about. “What’s going on” Y/n wondered but sees a man unconscious on the groundA paralyzed moment, then they all leap out of the car. Jane, Darcy, and Selvig trade shocked looks, breathing hard.They peer through the dust clouds, unable to see through The four of them race from the SUV with flashlights. Jane spots the man lying on the ground. He's dressed in tattered clothing,charred and blackened.

“I think that was legally your fault.”Darcy claimed to Y/n in a very convincing voice.

“Get the first aid kit.” Jane urged anyone who was listening.

Darcy heads back inside the SUV as Jane, concerned, kneels next to the man. Selvig and Y/n hovers, protectively. She gently turns his head to the light, and we see him clearly for the first time. He is magnificently handsome,long blonde hair flowing around his classically sculpted Features. She cups her hands around his face, as if willing the life back into him.

“Come on, big guy. Do me a favor and don't be dead, okay? Open your eyes and look at me.”Jane wheedled.

Suddenly, he groans, and she's startled, then relieved, as his eyes flutter open. She looks deep into his confused, azure eyes, which at last focus on her own. Locking onto them.For a moment, they each forget to breathe. The connection is broken as Darcy returns with the kit. She freezes when she sees how gorgeous the man is.

“Wow. Does he need CPR? Because I know CPR.” Darcy Chimed in.

A flustered Jane smooths her hair and sits back on her heels. She looks up at Selvig. Back to being a scientist.

“His eyes-“Jane started.

“Are beautiful-.” Darcy in a voice soft with affection.

“ -Are dilating. That's a good praised sign. Jane said with a note of relief.

“We still have to get him to a hospital.” Erik disclosed.

“After we get a reading on the storm?”Jane answered.

“Immediately Jane” Erik insisted.

“Guys this is my forte I’ll stop the storm then we can take this guy hospital” Y/n put forth as she holds out her hands eyes turning white. Jane,Darcy and Erik watching the storm evaporate above their heads.

“Where did he come from? “They exchange puzzled looks, as we move up through the last glowing remnants of the storm. Earth spins slowly before us as we hear a voice, deep and resonant -- the voice of Heimdall Gatekeeper of Asgard. “Questions, they've always asked questions -- this race called man, on this planet they call earth.Passionately longing to know how they are connected to the heavens. We pull away from the planet, widening, past other worlds, cosmic debris -- leaving first our solar system, then out . In ages past, they looked to us as gods, for indeed so many times we saved them from calamity. We tried to show them how their world was but one of the Nine realms and in the Nine realms is a planet called a Asgard.” Beautiful beyond imagination. We fly over the magnificent

landscape of the Realm, through the gleaming capital city, modern yet timeless. The palace rises countless stories tall, gleaming with an other-worldly majesty, towering high above the Realm sprawled out before it. We move towards a large window of the palace, where a Figure stands. Odin Stares out at his kingdom. The ravens fly up to the balcony,land at his side.

Odin turns away from the window. His wife Frigga sits at a vanity and tries different earrings before the mirror.

“Do you think he's ready?” Odin wonder.

“He thinks he is. He has his father's confidence.”Frigga replies.

“He'll need his father's wisdom.” Odin told Frigga.”And his humility?” She remarked

Odin makes a face at this wife. “Thor won't be alone. Loki will be at his side to give him counsel.Have faith in your sons.” Frigga pointed out.

“Yes, but Thor's still a boy. He could be a great King...” Odin stops, notices his hand shaking. It seems to be out of synch temporally with the rest of the world, leaving a trail as it moves. He stares at it determinedly, concentrating,trying to stop the strange event through the force of his sheer will.Finally, the occurrence subsides, his hand normal once more. A worried Frigga covers his hand with her own.

“...if we only had more time.” He whispered.

“ For once, our son needs something we cannot provide.”She voiced.

“I can fight it a little longer...” he murmured

“No. You've put it off too long! I worry for you.” She said with a fond look.

Odin touches her cheek.”I've destroyed demons and monsters,devastated whole worlds, laid waste to mighty kingdoms, and still you worry for me?”Odin said in a voice soft with affection.

“Always.”

“Not today. Now come kiss your king... while I'm still king.” He pulls her close, and they kiss.

Directly under the throne room, a gloomily lit hall. Banners hang on either side to form a corridor down the middle of the fire lit room. Giant doors open at one end. A huge figure silhouetted against the bright light beyond walks forward. In slo-mo, we recognize the unmistakable shape of the God of Thunder. Hammer in hand, he reaches the end of a raised platform. An attendant hands the figure a goblet of wine. He downs it quickly, hurls it towards the fire directly below.

“Another!” The cup smashes, the alcohol causes the fire to glow intensely -- and, for a moment, brightly lit, and seen full length, like a King to be, is The mighty Thor. He proceeds down stops, past camera, and down the center of the Hall.

We follow from behind and see at the other end, massively shadowed on one of the great banners, the shape of two great horns. As Thor approaches, the horn shapes move, and then, from the shadows at the side, emerges Loki, wearing his horned headpiece. Like Thor, he is dressed for a great ceremony. They stand by a brazier at the foot of steps that lead up to the crowded throne room.

“Nervous, brother?” Loki asked Thor.

“Have you ever known me to be nervous?” Thor grinned.

“There was the time in Nornheim...”Loki Trailed off.

“That wasn't nerves, brother. I was the rage of battle. How else could I have fought my way through a hundred warriors and pulled us out alive?” Thor replied to Loki as The Attendant approaches with another goblet of wine for Thor.

“As I recall, I was the one who veiled us in smoke to ease our escape.”Loki put forth.

“Some do battle, others just do tricks.

The Attendant stifles a laugh. Loki notices, doesn't like it. He gestures towards the goblet in the Attendant's hand. Eeels pour over the sides of the goblet, slithering out and across the terrified Attendant's hand. He scream, hurls the goblet to the ground. Loki chuckles.

“Loki...” Thor warned Loki. Loki gestures to the writhing eels on the ground. They turn back to spilled wine, the illusion shattered. “Now that was just a waste of good wine.”

“Just a bit of fun.” Loki said to the Attendant.” Right, my friend?”The Attendant isn't so sure. Thor dons his Eagle winged helmet.

“Nice feathers.” Loki told Thor about his helmet.

“You don't really want to start this again, do you, Cow?” Thor teased Loki.

“I was being sincere!” Loki Announced.

“You're incapable of sincerity.” Thor proclaimed to Loki.

“Am I?” Loki replied. He looks his brother in the eye, all pretense lost.”I've looked forward to this day as long as you have. You're my brother and my friend. Sometimes I'm envious, but never doubt that I love you.”

Thor searches his brother's face, sees no trace of irony. He's either speaking from his heart or he's a very, very good liar. Maybe both. Thor puts an appreciative hand on his brother's shoulder.

“Thank you.” The two brothers take in the moment a beat, then.

“Give us a kiss.” Loki teased Thor.

“Stop.” Thor makes the final adjustments to his ceremonial wear. “How do I look?” Thor questioned Loki.

“Like a king.” Loki shared as They hear the blast of a ceremonial Horn.”It's time.”

“You go ahead.” Loki casts him a wary look.”I'll be along. Go on.” Thor disclosed in a casual tone. Loki heads inside the palace without his brother.

Volstagg combs his great beard in preparation for the big event. As he does, he's surprised to find a stray grape stuck in the beard. He pulls it out, looks around, then eagerly pops it into his mouth and gobbles it down. Fandral checks his reflection in a mirror, smooths out his moustache, gives himself a dashing smile. A Pretty Maiden holds the mirror before him, as other Maidens look on dreamily.

“Thank you, love.” Fandral said in a flirtatious way the Maidens. ”Now who'd like to polish my sword for me?” Fandral Announced and the giddy Maidens eagerly raise their hands.

Hogun stands staring ahead grimly, his hands folded in front of him, amidst the hustle and bustle of the attendants and the ceremony preparations going on around him. A Helpful attendants approaches him and starts to polish his armor. Hogun turns his head, gives him a look. Intimidated, the Attendant quickly backs away. From behind, we see a Woman In ceremonial Armor take off her Sword and set it on a table, then her Shield, then several Hidden Daggers and small, yet intimidating Weapons . We reveal that it's Sif, looking radiant. She eyes the weapons on the table.

“I'll miss you.” Sif whimpered to her weapons.

Colorful ceremonial Banners of the Nine Realms adorn the room, crowded with Aesir and representatives from across Yggdrasil, all Buzzing with excitement. Thor's Comrades enter and stride to their place of honor at the front of the hall. They are... The Warriors Three.

Volstagg has the girth and strength of a Sumo wrestler, with oversized passions to match. Fandral, the consummate swashbuckler, is agile, charismatic, and nattily dressed. Hogun-- dark, sullen, brooding -- a large mace slung at his side. With them walks the warrior maiden Sif. She's clad in armor,a shield and sword at her side -- a beauty not to be trifled with.

“I hope this goes quickly. I'm famished.” Volstagg grinned.

“Noooo!” Fandral squeaked.

Are you attached to that pretty face of yours? Because one more word, and you won't be. Volstagg commented.

“My, we are hungry, aren't we?” everyone laughs except Hogun.

Fandral turns to him.”Go on, Hogun. Smile. You can do it. Even you, Hogun the Grim. Just one smile.” Fandral urged Hogun who just stares at him grimly. “All right, half a smile. Look,forget the smile, just show some teeth.” Fandral made public.

“Fandral, is it true the famous Warriors Three are ready to meet any challenge?” Sif asked.

“Name it, Lady Sif.”Fandral insisted.

“Keep your mouth shut.” Sif teased.

Imposing Einherjar Guards clad in armor, swords at the ready,stand watch inside the massive underground structure beneath the palace. A cold Breeze blows past them. Thor stands, his fingers nervously drumming the handle of his hammer. Frigga approaches behind him, sees his anxiety.

“It's all right to be nervous.” Frigga chimed in.

Why does everyone keep saying that? I'm not nervous!” Thor proclaimed in a Casual tone.

“You may be able to fool the rest of Asgard-

“...But never you. I know.”

“Thor, just remember that you have something even the great Allfather never had.”

“And what is that?”

“Me for a mother.” She smiles.”Now don't keep your father waiting.” Frigga told Thor then leaves.

Sif and the Warriors Three still wait before the crowd. Loki and Frigga enter.

“ There’s something I have to tell you after the ceremony it is very important” Frigga shared with Loki.

“I will mother” Loki agreed as he takes his place at the front of the Phall alongside the others. With another blast of the horn,the crowd goes silent as the Einherjar honor Guards moves into formation. They part to reveal Odin sitting atop his throne, clad in full ceremonial armor. He holds his spear Gungnir before him. Any trace of weakness in him is gone now. He exudes all the power and majesty of a Ruler of Asgard. Frigga joins him at his side. He looks around the hall, casts a glance over to the Warriors. Thor is nowhere to be seen. Odin looks to Loki. Loki shrugs. Odin isn't pleased.A murmur spreads through the crowd.

“Where is he?.” Volstagg asked Loki.

“He said he'd be along.” Loki replied. Sif realizes the truth, shakes her head in disapproval.

“What?” Volstagg questioned Sif.

“He wants to make an entrance.” Sif told Volstagg.

“Well, if he doesn't show up soon,he shouldn't bother. Odin looks like he's ready to feed him to his ravens.” Fandral commented.

“I wouldn't worry. Father will forgive him. He always does.” Loki replied.

Just then, at the back of the hall, up the steps from the lower level Mjolnir Roars up into the hall, Thor strides cockily into the hall behind it, catching it behind his back. The Crowd erupts in Cheers. Thor spins his hammer with a flourish, holds it up before the crowd, basking in the moment, relishing the adoration, whipping his audience up into a frenzy.

“Oh, please.” Sif murmured.

Odin watches from the front, not liking this showy display. As the sound of the cheers echo from above, the odd, cold breeze picks up in the Vault. The Guards rub their limbs to warm themselves. They grow increasingly uneasy, sensing something's not right. They exchange a look, then walk the length of the Vault's hallway to its end, where a Casket sits undisturbed upon a pedestal. Large shadows suddenly loom over them. They look up and Shout in terror as they raise their weapons.Thor finishes stirring up the crowd, then reaches the front of the room, kneels on one knee before his mother and father. Frigga casts him an admonishing glance. Thor winks up at her. She can't help but smile. Odin strikes Gungnir upon the ground with a deafening Boom.

The crowd falls silent. Odin speaks with quiet, effortless authority. He raises Gungnir before him.

“Gungnir. Its aim is true, its power strong. With it I have defended Asgard and the lives of the innocent across the Nine Realms since the time of the Great Beginning. And though the day has come for a new King to wield his own weapon - that duty remains the same. Thor Odinson, my heir, my first-born.”Pauses.” So long entrusted with this mighty hammer, Mjolnir. Forged in the heart of a dying star, from the sacred metal of Uru. Only one may lift it. Only one is worthy. Who wields this hammer commands the lightning and the storm. Its power has no equal -- as a weapon, to destroy, or as a tool, to build. It is a fit companion for a King.” Odin proclaimed.

The bodies of the Guards are flung to the Vault's floor, now strewn with ice. We don't see their attackers clearly, just catch glimpses of them in the shadows -- but they are large and blue-skinned. One of the creatures lifts the Casket off its stand and turns to go. But, as they do, the intricate latticework behind the Casket starts to separate and retract, revealing something standing in the shadows behind it. As the creatures walk away, a fiery glow rises behind them. They turn back around. Now it's their turn to Scream.

The Ceremony continues.

“Today I entrust you with thegreatest honor in all the Nine Realms. The sacred throne of Asgard. I have sacrificed much to achieve peace. So, too, must a new generation sacrifice to maintain that peace. Responsibility, duty, honor. These are not merely virtues to which we must aspire. They are essential to every soldier and to every King.” Odin declared.

The Crowd and the Warriors Three start to shiver and rub their limbs for warmth in the increasingly cold air of the hall. Thor turns back to face his father. Odin looks upon his son with pride.

“Thor Odinson, do you swear to guard the Nine Realms?”Odin questioned Thor

“I swear.” Thor replied.

“Do you swear to preserve the peace?”

“I swear.”

“Do you swear to cast aside all selfish ambition and pledge yourself only to the good of all the Realms?”

“I swear!” Thor yells in excitement.

“Then on this day, I, Odin Allfather, proclaim you--“Odin hesitates, noticing a strange sight before him. Ice creeps across the surface of the large banners around the hall, making an eerie CRACKING sound. Thor, his comrades, and the crowd see it too.

“Frost giants...” Odin commented.

Part 2

A/n- Reader was born 1986 of your birth day and month.

I don’t own nothing all rights go to Marvel for this story.

#thor x reader #loki x reader #marvel x reader #loki x black!reader

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forged-through-trials · 3 years

Photo

Everything was in place to take down Audens Avidius. All that was left was to wait out until the morning, while keeping a look out to make sure nothing happened to Lorunk and Ruslan. That out of the way, it was time to rest and wait until morning.

On the trip back to the Market District, we passed through the Arboretum, and who should we run into on the way, but Thoronir; our mark for the scheming price-gougers Society of Concerned Merchants’ job. Well, I’m not exactly happy with Jensine right now, given the stunt she pulled, but hey, I figure it’s still worth looking into his operation. Trials: “Ho, you’re ‘Thoronir’, right? I hear you’re cleaning up right now. Might I ask about your inventory?” Thoronir: “What about my inventory?” Trials: “Where’s it come from?” Thoronir: “Well, that would be a trade secret. I can’t divulge how I pass the great savings on to you, now can I? “Just like a baker not revealing his best recipes, or a clothier guarding his best designs, or a butcher not revealing where he gets his meat from--” Trials: “I’m not sure about that last one. I feel like I’d be more comfortable knowing where my meat comes from.” Thoronir: “Suffice to say, my sources are quite reliable and low cost. That way, you walk out with a full coinpurse.” Trials: “...you’re a really happy businessman.” Thoronir: “Why shouldn’t I be happy? I’m making a killing. And it’s the kind of ‘killing’ where I don’t have to eat anyone.” Trials: “...wat?” Thoronir: “IDidn’tSayNuffin’.” Thoronir rushed off after that, vanishing into the dark of the night. But I gave chase, sneaking after him. He made for the Market District, and I followed him through, tailing him carefully.

It was close to midnight as Thoronir approached a garden somewhere behind Rindir’s Staffs and Edgar’s Discount Spells, and I followed after, hiding against a corner, as a blond Nord approached, and spoke with him. I leaned in as close as I could, and listened in. Thoronir: “That you, Agarmir?” Agarmir: “Shhhh! Not so loud. How many times have I told you that?” Thoronir: “Sorry, I am not used to this kind of meeting. It always makes me nervous.” Agarmir: “Well, just shut up and listen to me. The next shipment will be sooner than I expected. Just have the money ready.” Thoronir: “Same assortment of things? I mean, I have enough clothing for now.” Agarmir: “You take what I get! I get notice at the last second, and I have to jump on it. No time to be picky about it.” Thoronir: “Well, that Society is putting more pressure on me. So maybe we better cut back for now.” Agarmir: “You cut back now, and I’m going to take my business elsewhere. Or maybe pay a visit to that Jensine and tell her about your little scheme.” Thoronir: “Fine, you made your point. Contact me when you have the items, and we’ll meet again.” Agarmir: “Don’t worry, it will be very soon. Now get outta here.” Jeez, that was about the rudest transaction I’ve ever heard that didn’t involve me. We have some literal back-alley deals going on. Something shady is definitely going on here, or else why would Thoronir need to meet his contact in the middle oft he night? Agarmir was our next lead. As the source of Thoronir’s ultra-cheap wares, he’s the one to tail to discover what the nature of this shady business is. We gave chase after him, and followed him over toward the Talos Plaza District. There, he entered a house, presumably, his. Now, breaking into a place while the owner was there is a pretty dangerous move, so I gave him an hour to, hopefully, go to bed... only to find that he’d barred the door. Who the hell barricades their door when they’re at home? Is he expecting a zombie horde or something? So that was a bust. As long as Agarmir was home, there was no getting into his house. Out of options for the moment, Ruin and I retreated back to the Market District, renting our familiar room at the Merchant’s Inn and turning in for the night. The morning came, and it was time to check on Lorunk and Ruslan. Ruin and I rushed on over to the Temple District, and met up with the pair once they’d exited their houses. I explained my intentions to escort them, and followed to duo over into the Elven Gardens District, where they sought out Captain Hayn.

Ruslan: “We’d like to report a crime. Watch Captain Avidius stole all of our money while we were shopping in Jensine’s Merchandise.” Lorunk: “That’s right!” Itius Hayn: “I see. These are very serious charges. I’ll need you both to provide two witnesses to the crime.” Ruslan: “...but we are the witnesses.” Itius Hayn: “You can’t expect me to just take your word for it. If I did, something might actually get done in this city!” Trials: I leaped out from a corner and screamed. “Just do your job, jackass!” Itius Hayn: “Ugh, great. Internal Affairs will be on me like kitty-litter on a Khajiit. I’ll be filing paperwork for a week after this, but, fine!” Our two witnesses rushed home after that, but I tailed Hayn for the moment. I really wanted to see the moment when Avidius got what was coming to him.

Back in the Market District, that is exactly what went down. Itius Hayn: “Audens Avidius, you are under arrest for extortion and petty theft. Surrender peacefully and keep what little dignity you have left.” Avidius: “I’m surprised, Ititus. I didn’t think even you would stoop to arresting a fellow Captain.” Itius Hayn: “Only those who break the law.” Avidius: “Damn, and I would’ve gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for those meddling lizards!” Trials: “Have fun in the dungeons, jerk-face!” Avidius: Increasingly unhinged. “Someday, I’ll get out, and when I do, you’ll pay! You’ll both pay!” Trials: I crossed my arms and smirked knowingly. “Take him away, boys.” Itius Hayn: “Hey! I give the orders here!” He turned to two generic guards. “Bake him away, toys.” Generic Guards: “...huh, what?” Itius Hayn: He flushed awkwardly. “...just do what the lizard says.”

It was late afternoon by then, so, feeling good about a day’s work well done, Ruin and I swaggered back on toward the Talos Plaza District, where we tried Agarmir’s door again. Success! This time it was unbarred. We gave a quick look around to make sure the coast was clear, and then broke in. Ruin: “Where did you learn to pick locks and break-and-enter this way?” Trials: “Ruin, Ruin, buddy, we’re not ‘breaking-and-entering’. We’re... investigating.” Ruin: “Without a warrant or probable cause?” Trials: I rolled my eyes at him. “Well, you can feel free to hang out here and find me two witnesses. I’ll just be in here, doing my job.” Ruin: “You know what? You’re right, that system is stupidly obtuse.” In, we went, and I zeroed in on the basement right away. I figured, it was more likely he was keeping shady stuff down there, than it was likely he was keeping stuff in his bedroom. Down in the basement, the place looked a sight; blood stains, clothes strewn about, and piles and piles of a mysterious powder, as well as muddied shoes and shovels all over the place. On a corner table lined with candles, I found a book labeled as “Macabre Manifest.” ...really strange name for a book. Points for the alliteration, but that’s pretty on-the-nose considering that I presume Agarmir is looking to hide his dirty-dealings.

The contents of the book confirmed what the title implied. Again, not sure why Agarmir wanted to advertise this. Was he worried he might forget what his business was all about? And indeed, the contents of the book revealed the ghoulish details of Agarmir’s business. If the big header at the beginning of the book that read “Recently Deceased” was anything to go by, it seemed the stock he was selling to Thoronir was obtain via grave-robbing! Huh, if he’s stealing from the dead, maybe he is worried about zombie hordes coming to exact their revenge after all. Ruin: He snorted, gritting his teeth. “Grave-robbing? How repulsive!” Trials: “...Ruin, we nick stuff off of dead people all the time.” Ruin: “There’s a vast difference between slaying a bandit in combat, looting the spoils, and robbing from the honored-dead.” Trials: “Really? Because the only difference I see is that robbing the ‘honored-dead’ means you’re messing with people who had money and/or connections.” Ruin: “I think it’s a bit more complicated than just that.” Trials: “I don’t think it is.” Ruin: “Well... we’ve been hired to prove Thoronir’s stock was ill-gotten, and even if this system doesn’t make a lot of sense, by their clown-shoes logic, Thoronir’s stock is indeed ill-gotten. We have what we need to get paid.” Trials: “...hmm, true enough, BUT, I don’t feel good about selling Thoronir up the river like that.” Ruin: “Why?” Trials: “Because Jensine’s a bint and I don’t like her face. “Besides, I have a hunch that Thoronir doesn’t know what’s going on. Let’s confront him and see how he reacts to this evidence.”

We jogged back over toward the Market District, burst into the Copious Coinpurse, and slammed the book down on Thoronir’s desk. Trials: “Hey, chief. We pinched this from Agarmir. It’s proof that the stock he’s been selling you is obtained via grave-robbing.” Thoronir: “Oh! A little ghoulish... but I do buy things from adventurers who take things from fallen enemies all the time!” Trials: I shrugged and rolled my eyes. “That’s what I said!” Ruin: He sighed and shook his head. “Sir, whether or not it makes sense, it is the law here in Cyrodiil, and is a capital offense here.” Trials: “...Ruin, why does grave-robbing carry the death-penalty, but necrophilia is only a five-hundred gold fine? I feel like that’s backwards!” Ruin: “...” He paled visibly. “How do you know that?” Trials: “I know a very strange Dark Elf over in Skingrad.” Ruin: “...” He sighed and groaned. “This place is weird.” Thoronir: He paled a little. “Well, if it’s so disreputable that I could get into serious hot-water for it, then you’ll have to put a stop to it at once. I’ll fully cooperate with your investigation, of course, provided you put in a good word for me.” Trials: I gave a friendly salute. “Absolutely. Now, can you tell us what Agarmir might be doing right now?” Thoronir: “He mentioned having ‘something important to do’ today. You don’t think he would dig up another... oh no, he wouldn’t. But I guess he has been! Oh my, what have I gotten myself into??” Trials: “Calm down. We’ll get him. We just need to know where to look.” Thoronir: “Well, assuming he’s still in the city, you’ll want to try Green Emperor Way. It’s the largest graveyard inside the city walls and the likeliest place for him to... uh... ‘do business’.” Trials: “...grave-robbing right under the Emperor’s nose? By the Nine, that sounds really dumb! How has it taken this long for anyone to figure out what he does??” Thoronir: “His beard emits pheromones. It’s the only logical answer.”

Ruin and I raced over to Green Emperor Way, and as we ran the circuit, looking for signs of Agarmir, we noticed the door to the “Trentius Family Mausoleum” was left ajar. Well, if Agarmir was going to roll out the red carpet for me, I was going to take it. We rushed in, and immediately found the Nord himself, and an armored accomplice, within. Agarmir: “I had a feeling you’d catch on sooner or later.” Trials: “We’ve literally never spoken before.” Ruin: “Maybe he also prepared this speech in advance?” Agarmir: “Oh, shut up, both of you! The door locked behind you as you entered, and I’m going to murder you both and chuck you into this unmarked grave.” Trials: “But, it is marked. It says ‘Trentius Family’ on it.” Ruin: “Do you think that, after he buries us alive, he’s going to dig us up and rob our things?” Trials: “See, if he were smart, he’d kill us first, then take our stuff, so that way it’s actually legal.” Agarmir: Increasingly Irate. “Are you two even paying attention?? I’m threatening to murder you!” Trials: “...since we’re in a mausoleum, is it still legal to loot him and his friend when we defeat them? Or would that be grave-robbing?” Ruin: “I do not know. Cyrodiil’s legal code makes no sense to me.” Trials: “Well, as long as there aren’t two witnesses, I think we’ll get off with a warning.” Agarmir: Grinding his teeth. “Stop ignoring me!” Trials: “Wanna go eat at the Feedbag after we’re done here?” Ruin: “You always choose the cheapest places. Why can’t we eat at the Tiber Septim Hotel?” Trials: I offered Ruin the Stink-Eye. “Well, well, lookit Mister Moneybags over here! Do I look like I’m made of Septims?” Ruin: “All I’m saying is; we’re going to be paid for this job, and we’ll only be in the city for a few more days. Let’s try somewhere new.” Agarmir: Deadpan. “You both are horse’s asses.” Trials: “Okay, okay, we’ll compromise and hit up Luther Broad’s Boarding House, deal?” Ruin: “Deal.” The fight was on... and over rather quickly. Turns out, when you show up to a sword-fight wearing your working clothes, you tend not to last very long. His backup lasted a little longer, but with two-on-one odds, we took him down quickly, too. Then, legal or not, I pinched their stuff, and left them for the guards to find and clean up. On the way out, I picked up the soil-stained shovel Agarmir had been using to dig up the Trentius Family plot. Given the... strained legality of all of this, the more evidence I had to prove Agarmir’s guilt, the better. We reported in to Thoronir once we were done, and presented him with Agarmir’ shovel as proof of his defeat. Thoronir: “Then we can at last rest. I feared had he somehow bested you, I’d be next. It’s fortunate that your skills exceeded his. “I’ve come to some decisions. I intend to donate all of the money I have made, as well as what is left of the stolen items, to the temple.” Trials: “That might square you with Arkay, but otherwise, you’re just lucky the guards in this town are super-duper lazy.” Thoronir: “I also want you to know that I had a long discussion with Jensine, and I have decided to join the Society.” Trials: “Bottom text.” Thoronir: “...” He rolled his eyes. “No, I mean, Jensine’s Society for Concerned Merchants.” Trials: I frowned and scowled at him. “Oh, so you’re selling out, huh?” Thoronir: “That’s capitalism, baby. The biggest sellout always wins! “But I realize you risked your life to give me a chance, and Thoronir never forgets things like that. Please, accept this ring... and store credit.” Trials: “...friggin’ smart-alleck.”

Hoping to get some kind of real payment out of this, we made for Jensine’s to offer my final report. Trials: “And that’s the whole story.” Jensine: “Oh yes, Thoronir spoke with me while you were out. He explained his intentions to donate to the local temple, and to join our Society, and fix prices with us buy and sell at a ‘fair’ price. “In return, the Society has decided not to press charges. His name will be absconded from the records of this crime.” Trials: “...” I set my hands on my hips. “Lady, you wouldn’t press charges against Audens Avidius, but you considered pressing them against Thoronir?” Jensine: “That was different. The first one was out of spite! While the second one--” Trials: “--Would have also been out of spite.” Jensine: “...” She scowled. “Just, shut up and take your gold!”

#the elder scrolls #oblivion #modded #let's play #roleplay #ask blog

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