βπππΌπΏππ πΌππΏ π½πππβ - ππππππππΏ πππππππ.
hi friends!! basically, i watched the teaser trailer for season 2 of shadow and bone, got excited, began to reread the soc duology, and then these happened! or rather, i found an ancient unpublished fic i wrote after the first time i read the duology, and decided to make that a problem for everyone else! i hope you all enjoy these, you donβt need to have seen the show nor read the books, i actually think many of these are fairly fandomless! i just wanted to explain my inspiration! DONβT ADD TO THIS LIST! iβll make more lists like this one! ily all, bon appetit, go forth and write or read or nap or watch tv or something!
β my goodness, youβre not nearly as stupid as you look! β
β you have all the answers right in front of you. you just need to look at it differently. β
β donβt presume that you know me just because youβve heard a few rumors and read a few articles. β
β thereβs certainly more to you than meets the eye, isnβt there? β
β i urge you to remember exactly who it is youβre talking to. because while others might appreciate your tone, i assure you, i do not. β
β iβm concerned that you mightnβt understand what discreet means. because the path of chaos youβve just created is exactly the opposite of discreet. β
β you owe me a favour. iβm here to collect. β
β i thought it was a good time to pay you a visit. itβs been so long, after all; and we have so much to catch up on. β
β you are not your father/mother/parentβs child. not by anything other than blood, and thatβs not even on the spectrum of importance. β
β i was wrong about you. β
β you know, i was warned not to get involved with you. people insisted it was a foolβs decision. but i held out hope that youβd prove them wrong. nowβs your chance. β
β iβm not the sort of person to fuss over hurt feelings. youβre either of value to me, or youβre worthless. so prove to me that youβre not the latter. β
β you honestly think i donβt know where you go each night? iβm not blind nor an idiot. i just trust your ability to return home unharmed. β
β have you told anyone else about this? β
β there are no children anymore. only survivors. childhood and innocence are luxuries afforded to the privileged. not us. β
β i offered you an opportunity once. to build a better world together. we both know how that turned out. and now, you come crawling back, begging forβ¦ what? mercy? forgiveness? β
β iβm with you. always. no matter what happens, i will be right by your side. do you understand? β
β weβre a team, arenβt we? teams stick together. even when the leader is being a prick. β
β β¦i was really worried about you, you know. you scared me earlier. and iβm not saying it to make you feel bad, itβs justβ¦ promise me youβll tell me if things get bad again? β
β i canβt pretend to understand all this stuff youβve got going on. but i do promise that iβll be here to help you through it all. alright? β
β thereβs a job that needs to be done before we get to work on the big task. thatβs why iβm here. youβll be helping me/us to complete both jobs. payment upon completion. β
β you and i arenβt as different as you want to believe. that must be why youβre so angry. because looking at me, all that iβve doneβ¦ itβs like looking in a mirror. isnβt it? β
β people are scared. they need a leader. and right now, like it or not, theyβre looking to you. so go on. lead us. β
β youβve come up with some really insane plans over the years, but this is just defying any amount of belief. β
β look. i donβt care if people underestimate me. i actually enjoy it. they see me as an idiot, they drop their guard, the end. but i need you to know that iβm not an idiot. okay? β
β people have died. we canβt let that go unpunished. β
β the world is changing. and if we donβt get ahead of it, then theyβll be the ones to decide what it changes into. β
β right! whatβs the plan, then? and god help the lot of us if you donβt have one. β
β not all of us can afford the luxury of a conscience. β
β donβt make the deadly mistake of presuming my actions reflect weakness. too many have made that same presumption. and not a single one of them lived to tell the tale. β
β youβre scared. i can tell. the shaking, the look in your eyeβ¦ you want to run. donβt. youβll waste precious time and energy, and youβll need it all if you want to live. β
β everything is gone. itβs all smoke, ruin, obliterated. is that our legacy now? our reputation? destruction, devastation, death? is that who we are? β
β weβve fought against powerful enemies before, but this is beyond that. if we want to get out of this alive, we need to be smarter, stronger, better than weβve ever been before. β
β donβt forget why weβre here. thereβs far more at stake than our lives if this goes wrong. β
β youβre the only person here i trust. we need to stick together, watch each otherβs backs. just because everythingβs changed, doesnβt mean we have to, too. β
β i canβt think of anyone iβd rather be doing this crazy, ridiculous, nearly definitely lethal mission with. letβs go out with a bang, eh? β
β you people are completely insane. but youβre also insufferably good at this sort of thing. so letβs go save the world, shall we? β
β why are we fighting so hard to save the lives of people who hate us, anyway? β
β youβre the best there is at this sort of thing. iβd hate to see the one who got the better of youβ¦ β
β look at them all. going around, fussing over money, clothes, landβ¦ do they ever realize whatβs going on around them? do they ever see the bigger picture as we do? β
β youβre clever. good. itβs nice to have a challenge. but you should know now, youβll want to be a hell of a lot smarter than that if you want to go up against me. β
β you and i both know the risks. we both know what people like them are capable of. tell me itβs all okay, and i wonβt question you. but if it isnβtβ¦ we need to be ready. β
β itβs lonely and vicious at the top. i can handle that. but youβ¦ you wouldnβt survive five minutes of this life. β
β you canβt survive in this world without growing a thicker skin, and erasing that naive belief that you can trust anyone you meet. least of all me. β
β if youβre knocking on my door, i can only imagine it means youβre here to collect. and by your demeanour, itβs one hell of a favor youβll be asking, too. β
β i understand your anger. iβve lived with that sort of rage for many years of my life. but you need to set it aside, understand? we need you calm if we want to get out of here. β
β oh, donβt get all sentimental. i saved your life because youβre worth more to me alive than dead. it doesnβt signify any degree of care or affection. β
β you have one hell of an inflated ego, you know that? we were told this job was impossible. thatβs not a challenge. thatβs a fact. it is not possible. even for you. β
β iβve heard it all before. one more job. one more mission. one last heist. but thereβs always more. itβs like some sort of obsession for you. searching for another thrill. β
β enough! this is it! donβt you see that?! we almost died! you almost got killed! if the saints are kind enough to save us today, itβs only so we can quit while weβre ahead! β