The start of a new series that I have been planning for quite a while!! I’m very excited for the whump to come on this one. The inspiration for the story comes from a slightly unusual source - gold star if (you haven’t seen me talk about it on discord and) you figure out what that inspiration is at some point along the way.
This was written for WhumpLovers’ WhumpMonth (an ao3 event), alt prompt “Made to Hurt”.
Taglist: @whumplovers-collaborate
Contains: lady whump, living weapon, war, minor character death, assassination, loss of a parent, implied child abuse (because of fantasy race shenanigans the child is actually quite old, but has the maturity of a young teen)
.
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She’s still a youngling when her world falls apart.
Forty years is plenty old enough to understand some of the whispers in the halls of the manor - the Aelinai king is a tyrant, they say, and even though Nyx isn’t sure what that word means right away, she gathers from the other whispers that he has too much power and chooses bad ways to use it.
According to her father, forty years isn’t old enough to actually be included in any of the conversations on what to do about it, though. Ekan and Nanki are old enough, but no matter how much Nyx begs and tries to weasel the information out of them, they’re immune to their little sister’s wiles and their lips stay sealed. She might be well past her baby years, but she’s still a couple of decades away from being considered an actual adult.
Forty-one years is more than old enough to understand war and death. No one bothers as much to keep the younglings from hearing their chatter when the kingdom is in an uproar. Lord Nyrik killed the king, they say, and Nyx is filled with pride. Her father got rid of the evil king. That’s a wonderful thing, right?
Except Nashanns are being carried into the manor and laid out on the parlor floor, bloody and broken and crying out in pain. Nyx scurries around and does her part, fetching water and bandages for the medics, trying not to let her gaze linger on the grisly wounds and the still, grey faces of the soldiers they didn’t get to in time.
Her father never comes back, nor her oldest brother, Ekan. The news that Lord Nyrik was captured by the Aelinai travels quickly. Immediately executed, most people say, though no one seems to have actually seen it happen.
At forty-one years, her father is dead, her home is ripped away from her, and her life is never the same again.
At forty-two years, she’s old enough to become the key to her mother’s plan for revenge. She doesn’t understand why she’s been chosen when Nanki and even Kiaan are older, but she doesn’t question her mother. They may not be living in a manor anymore, but even in the forest Lady Inaksha is in command, leading the entire Nashann clan in their survival. Nyx admires her strength every day. She wants to be just like her, but her mother tells her that she’s not meant to be a leader.
She is meant to be a weapon.
So she trains with the soldiers, the youngest they’ve ever had among them. She learns to hunt, to wield a knife, to shoot an arrow. She learns to run for miles without faltering, to lift weights that the grown men use.
When she reaches sixty years - finally, officially an adult - she begins her own, personal training under Lady Inaksha’s watchful eye. Here is where she finds the strength that she’s always searched for. She learns to separate herself, to care deeply about her people’s prosperity while understanding that she isn’t truly a part of them. She learns to take pain without bending.
She learns to kill and not care.
Nyx is eighty years when she stands before her mother and siblings, unflinching as Lady Inaksha circles and studies her.
“What are you?”
She stares straight ahead, ignoring the bored looks on Nanki and Kiaan’s faces. “I am a weapon, wielded by your hand.”
“Who is your enemy?”
“King Baelor and all of the Aelinai.”
“What is your purpose?”
“To avenge my father.”
“And how will you do so?”
“I will infiltrate the Aelinai royal family, and I will kill them.”
Lady Inaksha stops in front of her, a smile spreading across her face. “Yes. You are ready.”
I needed I quick pick me up so I was going through your blog, because I love your blog, you see, and I was reminded of your young/de-aged ‘Leon au, and I was thinking: What about that Leon suddenly being very fixated on Illya’s deep voice? The way his accents sounds and tone in which he speaks to him, gives him orders? Good shit
Very good shit.
Also, sobbing at the thought that you needed a pick-me-up so you came to my blog?? I'm so 🥺 That's part of my goals with this blog and I'm honestly so overjoyed you're able to feel happy from it!
I can imagine baby 'Leo being obsessed with basically everything about Illya. Especially in a 'double' AU where thanks to the de-aging, 'Leo's memories are only those he had at that age, so all he knows is he's suddenly under the arm of this incredibly tall, beefy, very handsome Russian guy who insists on never leaving him alone for even a second.
And, of course, 'Leo's a little shit of the epic proportions. The only reason the army didn't kick him out for his misbehavior is because he was so fucking good. So naturally, 90% of Illya's vocabulary toward Napoleon becomes;
Don't do that.
No.
Stop it.
You're not allowed that.
Don't touch that.
That's off-limits.
Shut up.
Sit and stay.
Which, frankly, is poor planning on Illya's part because 'Leo's libido is even stronger in his early twenties and he's obsessed with the way certain things sound in that thick, rumbling voice of Illya's. Especially when he's angry.
Sometimes the only way 'Leo will behave (for a period of time, at least) is if Illya reads to him. Or just... Talks. 'Leo will sit there, chin in his hands or on his arm, gazing with heart eyes as Illya reads books or talks to him about anything from their life together to the way to bake perfect honeycake. Of course, because this is 'Leo, it never stays innocent for long.
(Illya only catches on when 'Leo starts giving him books to read out that get pretty... Graphic.)
Summary: ROMY. Rogue is captured by Trask & is experimented on extensively. Remy's a prisoner too; they escape. Xmen think she's dead, she thinks they abandoned her. Craziness ensues. Not HC, it really has a plot! Not as angsty as Ch 1 might lead you to believe.
Rate: T
Fanfiction ID: 2269225
Universe: X-Men Evolution, Evo-verse
Characters: Rogue/Anna Marie, Gambit/Remy L.
Genre: Romance/Drama [Adventure]
Status: Complete
Published: Between Feb 18, 2005 and Updated: Jul 17, 2010
Word Count: 160,926 in 36 chapters.
Content/Author Notes: I'm back! …After a several-year hiatus of posting. I KNOW, I'm horrible. I have been writing, but since some was actually published locally, I cannot put it online. And look at it this way—this way you (hopefully) won't have to wait months in between updates. :)
Anyway, this is a ROMY, hopefully an interesting, new take on the pairing. Some angst, some humour, action-adventure, lots of romance.
Info You Need To Know: Rogue and Remy have not met before; but this IS after Self-Posessed (where Rogue's absorbed powers go… well, rogue…), Rogue's only been back "in the field" for a short while at the beginning of the story. Also, in this A/U story, Rogue deals with the first use of her powers alone; when she is chased by Mystique, picked up by the X-men in the graveyard, and convinced to come to Xaviers', it is the SECOND time she has used her powers.
Rogue is 18 when the story begins, Remy is 21.
Thoughts are in italics, and while I will put in some of Rogue and Remy's accents, I am not going through the headache of writing, for instance, all of Rogue's "I"s as "Ah"s. You all know she speaks with a Southern accent, and spellcheck goes nuts trying to deal with that sort of thing.
Hopefully that gives you some frame of reference to set this in. I'll take suggestions for titles; "Xanadu" is a place-holder I'm not sure I entirely like. Here we go-!
6 April 2005—Added Prologue—so do read!
Update on March 25, 2019
I have a LOT (a lot a lot a lot) of cleaning up in Xanadu that really ought to be done, one tiny subplot that just needs to be replaced with something healthier, and assorted odds and ends that need to be cleaned up. So if there's a favorite scene in there... let me know and if it's something that does get deleted from the main text, I might include a deleted scenes at the end. Unless it's that one subplot.
I recommend this because I love all the setting of the fic, the Thieves Guild setting, the fun I always have while reading the fic. I always wanted that the author or another writer used the same setting and I’m still waiting because is totally awesome.
(I can't remember the picrew I used, if someone knows it please share)
She was a youngling when the Nashann's world changed forever. Since then, she's been trained as her mother's weapon, waiting for the day that she can enact their revenge against the royal family.
______________________
Caretaker/Whumpee -
Kallias
(picrew unknown)
Raised in the shadows of so many great leaders before him, Kallias only wants to make his parents and people proud and be the best king that he can be when his time comes. But the Aelinai's dark past with the Nashann haunts them all, and he can't help but wonder if there's more to the story than what he's been told.
______________________
Caretakers? -
King Baelor
(picrew unknown)
As the ruler of the Aelinai, Baelor does his best to be a fair and generous leader, taking lessons from both the good and bad deeds of his ancestors.
__
Queen Evren
(picrew unknown)
A devoted wife and mother, Evren enjoys doting on her only son while standing firm by her husband's side, helping him make the tough decisions required of royalty.
_______________________
Whumpers -
Lady Inaksha
(picrew unknown)
The Aelinai took her husband and son from her. They need to pay, and she has the vision and the determination to make it happen, no matter what it takes.
__
Nanki
(picrew unknown)
As Nyx's older sister, Nanki doesn't understand why she wasn't chosen to carry out their mother's plan of revenge. She was already a soldier in the war, she could have done a much better job. She's always seen her little sister as just a pest, and that will never change.
_______________________
Neutral -
Lord Nyrik
Nyx's father, who was killed after taking out the Aelinai king.
Summary: When Gambit goes missing, Jean-Luc looks to Rogue for help, pulling her into a dark and dangerous world that threatens everything she holds dear. Romy, along with something else.
Rate: M
Fanfiction ID: 11744221
Universe: Comics, 616
Characters: Remy Lebeau/Gambit, Anna Marie/Rogue
Genre: Romance, Drama [Angst and Hurt/Comfort]. The author didn’t put the info so I thing this tags can do it
Status: Complete
Published: Between Jan 20, 2016 and Mar 15, 2016
Word Count: 31,012 in 10 chapters.
Content/Author Notes: All characters owned by Marvel Comics
Author's notes: This story came from an awesome idea by reader SDiablo, and I thank them very, very much for their suggestion! Normally I don't do requests, but this was too good not to be written.
This is ultimately a Romy story, but takes some dark, twisted turns to get there. More angry than angsty, you may end up hating me for a while as we go along, but I promise the end will be worth it. Definitely for mature audiences only thanks to some good old fashioned sex and violence.
Takes place after the end of the last Gambit series, and during the first few issues of Uncanny Avengers (vol. 1). Rogue has control of her absorption abilities, no Wonderman in her head, and Logan is still alive. Having read the Gambit arc with Joelle and the Zero Compound (#9-11) would be helpful for following the story, but hopefully not necessary.
As always I write with very minimal accents, lay it on as thick as you need to in your own head.
Happy reading!
I recommend this because is a must to read in the Romy fandom and if you read MMX 10 (out today) you will understand once you read the fic, if you didn’t already.
I’ll put a image of MMX 10 below the cut just to no spoil anyone.
With special dedication to @lifeseverchanging because she despise this piece of fanfiction. I can’t really blame her, is well written and you can see everything about the fic on your head.
Content/Author Notes: NOTE 6/13/11: So I didn't realize that the chapters were soooo incredibly messed up on here - I've replaced all of them! They should be more readable now. Kudos to all of you who waded through the mess to read my story!
I recommend this because is written before the pairing fucked up, got “together” broke up again and…blablablah the old tell in Romy pairing. Is another fic part of the old Romy fic History, surely all the old Romy fans had read this one but what about the new ones? They deserve it ♥.
Summary: Rogue travels to New Orleans on personal business and runs into a few old friends. Romy. Set shortly after the end of the last Gambit solo series.
Rate: M
Fanfiction ID: 11336183
Universe: Comicverse, 616
Characters: Remy Lebeau/Gambit, Anna Marie/Rogue
Genre: Mystery/Romance
Status: Complete
Published: Between Jun 24, 2015 and Aug 11, 2015
Word Count: 23,045 in 8 chapters
Content/Author Notes: All characters owned by Marvel Comics - with the exception of a few I created to help move the story along.
Author's note: Very nearly a Rogue solo story, but when New Orleans is involved, you can bet Remy will show up eventually. As always, I write my character's with minimal accents. Mature audiences all the way through for violence, language, and some steamier scenes, but I will flag any especially smutty chapters for your protection. This takes place shortly after the end of the last Gambit solo series, pre-Uncanny Avengers' 'Apocalypse Twins' storyline. Hope you like it!
I recommend this because I read this fic a long while ago and is part of Romy Fiction History, you just have to read it. If you want references about her, she is the author who wrote Treading Water, the most hate/loved fic on Romy fandom (I will review it in future entries.)
Author: Chellerbelle, find her here too @chellerbelles and she also has a Facebook page where she ocassionally posts updates of what she is writing, or writing projects.
Summary: Rogue and Gambit meet in a bar in Mississippi and decide to take a road trip together to New York. Set after the events of X3 and Wolverine.
Rate: T
Fanfiction ID: 5210680
Universe: Movieverse
Characters: Anna Marie/Rogue, Remy Lebeau/Gambit
Genre: Adventure/Humor
Status: Complete
Published: Jul 12, 2009
Word Count: 20,249 in 11 chapters.
Content/Author Notes: Once this story popped into my head, I had to write it. No ifs, whats or buts about it. Hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing.
Disclaimer: Not associated with Marvel whatsoever.
I recommend this because is one of Chellerbelle’s and she is totally awesome. And about the fic, the reading is clever, well written, and I would say easy to read. So if you want a clever well written and light fic this is for you. You will never get bored, she writes Rogue and Gambit really well.
She will never let you hanging with an update. She first writes all the fic and then starts posting scheduled updates of said fic, so you’ll never suffer for waiting an updated.
This fic is part of the Don't Ruin The Upholstery Series that I will review through the upcoming weeks, if you want to read them all, or reread them here you have them all.
1. But What a Way to Go
2. This is a Battle not a Tango
3. I Mock Your Shiny Toothpicks
4. We Probably Should Have Locked the Door
5. I Was Unconscious Most of the Time
