©sunkissed-poet 2024.
━━━━ we were made to be more than bodies in war. we can do more than survive.

❝ It's one to be a leader, anyone can decide to become a leader. It's another thing to be a symbol. Do you know the difference? ❞ 

❝You're going to tell me anyway. ❞  

❝I was but now that you pointed it out, I'll let you figure it out. ❞ 

The Monarch

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Bellamy Blake x fem!oc
Rivals to Lovers

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The 100 s1-s5

━━━━ 'A symbol will outlast us all...'

'...even in death, her message lingers'

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ The Monarch

Fate is not as complex as humanity enjoys believing. Fate does not dictate your life, nor is it beyond one's control. Fate is, in its simplest form, the gift of life. There was a reason you were chosen of all entities awaiting their turn; a reason you were born the moment you were, to the family your blood is tied to. Fate is the divine blessing of life. Your actions are your own, and that is why you were chosen to be alive today.

Humanity had a recurring theme of believing in things outside of their control. Gods, aliens, angels, demons, ghosts—the list goes on. Humans believed a butterfly's wings could change the wind's course during their time on Earth.

A hyperbole: more accurately known as the beginning of the Monarch's origin—a symbol founded before the bombs laid waste to the Earth.

The Monarch fought for the unity of the last people of the dying planet with a torch in hand. Her flame guided people out of the darkness, budding hope in the palms of their hands. Their fate was theirs alone—not one to be decided by wealth and status. A place underground or within disconnected space stations cost more than the majority had; their lives were meaningless unless they could provide a currency that would become meaningless in the end.

Her relentless battle bore Argo Station, a station of Earth's creations. Her words gifted the Ark its name:

"We are made of the same components—we were fundamentally equal before we began to consider ourselves socially different. Noah did not cherry-pick each animal based on what they had, only what they were and that alone rebuilt the Earth."

But as humans do, they forget where they came from. The Ark reverted to its inequalities, blinded by its small acts of equality. Farm station, Factory station, Mecha station, Orchid station, and Flint station—despite the substance they provided the Ark, they were disadvantaged in comparison to the remaining seven stations. But all could be forgiven if every individual received the same rations, education, and opportunities. Right?

False.

For years as their voices were overpowered by the fatigue from their endless work and inability to seek a better life, people began to find solace in their history, one of wings—perhaps a singular butterfly couldn't change the course of winds, but hundreds?

All they needed was a single spark, a glimmer of hope—or a child to be taught she was destined to save humanity.

Emilia Danaus

For the first sixteen years of her life, Emilia Danaus was taught to believe she was born to take on her ancestor's fiery wings and lead the Ark citizens back to Earth. For the last six years, the Monarch reborn in whispers and coded messages. Flashes in the night. Hidden in history books. Those who knew understood. They taught in segments, in lectures, and in scripture. And those who sought more always did.

Until a flaw was found within the Ark's system. Oh, how quickly the light began to fade.

With humanity's fading light left in her hands, Emilia did what she did best: elicit change. A year to slither her way into the Council's dwindling trust to disrupt it. Blame would be thrown and spat back until they tore at each other's throats. Her hands wouldn't need to get dirty if she triggered the right dominoes.

Her narrow vision blinded her to the spider that spun its silk around her ankles, knocking her into its web of deceit. Emilia became a pawn in a greater game at play—a game for power. Everything she had worked for—everything she was born to do—was stripped from her flesh and used against her by a puppeteer that hid within the Ark. At twenty-two, she was arrested for treason—her actions of sparking a rebellion under the Chancellor's nose did not bide well with the man or his council.

Years of planning and bodies of martyrs turned to nothing more than carrion floating within space. Emilia accepted her fate; she patiently waited in public for fate to take its course.

Seven days after her arrest, Emilia descended to Earth with 99 other prisoners and a guard impersonator. Tasked by the Chancellor to lead the criminals until he came down to Earth. Her life would be granted back to her as long as she relinquished the Monarch's name. In other words,

kneel.

Emilia Danaus was not raised to bend a knee. Death could not make her tremble. If it came, then she would allow it.

Only on the ground did she learn to fear for her own life, to fear death. In death, she would never be able to see him again. She understood the tales of Opherus when her eyes bore into his. The immutable trepidation of separation. She would fight through Hell and take on Death itself to return to the land of the living, to him. She was born with a voice ringing in her head, "From the ashes, we will rise."

And she did not plan to fail.

cast!

adria arjona as emilia danaus 'the monarch'

"If you have a problem with it, stop me, Blake. Punch me, push me, shoot me, kill me. I won't let these kids starve because you want to boost your ego."

ʚɞ

bob morley as bellamy blake

"There's a balance to life, Monarch. You can't have the good without the bad. Peace without chaos. And you can't play God to fix it."

ʚɞ

lulu antariksa as minerva 

"He called me, Minnie, then pipsqueak. What has he done besides being Bellamy's bitch!"

ʚɞ

staz nair as erik

"Names are earned."

━━warning!

mentions of politics, classism, death, sexual assault/harassment, war, gore, PTSD, substance abuse, etc. 

extra trigger warnings will be added for chapters that need them. feel free to ask for trigger warnings for specific triggers here.

━━reminder!

like most of my fics, the story will not revolve around the relationship and the other partner. this story is about Emilia as well as her relationship with Bellamy. please keep that in mind. 

i will be changing canon information such as how long it's been from the bombs--i'm making it 149 years because this allows for roughly 6 generations to have happened, removing any unrealistic aspects of the grounders' culture. like there for sure would have been more people speaking english and more nightbloods in 97 years because that's only 3 generations as seen with the Wallace family. this also means Dante doesn't remember before, however, everything else is roughly the same.

the second major change is the realism around nightbloods. these people would look basically dead. everywhere that is red/blue for indications of blood, would be black. that means bloodshot eyes will look crazy demonic, same with the mouth's being entirely black. i prefer this change because it puts the nightbloods on a pedestal, these are people who are basically seen as greater than the rest for the grounders. 

last slightly major change is lincoln's age, he is 17/18, rather than a 25-year-old. as i rewatched, i realized how weird it was that he was basically 10 years older than octavia. plus i feel like two star-crossed teenaged lovers would make more sense for them. 

any other changes are finding themselves in spoiler territories, but when the time comes due expect a long ass author's note for that chapter. i love talking about my headcanons and ideas (very tempted to start using tumblr more for that purpose, but time will tell.)

━━disclaimer!

i do not own the 100 or any of its characters. all credit goes to the creators and everyone else who helped create the show. i only own Emilia Danaus and any other original characters in this along with their storylines.

━━additional!

please do not steal/plagiarize from this story or any of my others. gaining inspiration is perfectly fine, as well as wanting to use a specific scene. if you do this, know you do not have to get credit but feel free to tag me, I love to see your creations.

━━Dedications!

thank you to these amazing people. thank you for introducing me to your life-altering writing. thank you for the endless conversations. thank you for your inspiration and motivation. thank you for our friendship. thank you for your support and love. 

 peachpick BlueMoonlight1924 crierayla kugimakis sweetvinyls

━━a/n!

This story has been evolving for years and only after watching Arcane and being a participant in America's shitshow, I decided it needs to come out. I often feel like I cannot do enough as a creative but then I realize art moves people. While this is just a fanfic, it is art and it holds themes of finding community, internal and external motivations of one's self and purpose, and the human need to preserve. All of these themes are some of the reasons why I gravitate towards the 100 and apocalyptic media so much. These are 14-22-year-olds who are forced to figure their shit out to survive for the greater good of humanity. And as the "younger" generation, we are seen as the solution. I want to explore that as well as the effects of being put on a pedestal for being a savior. Especially the contrast between Bellamy, who becomes a savior out of necessity to survive, Clarke, who becomes a savior to preserve humanity, and Emilia, who becomes a savior for the people. 

I love Emilia with all my heart despite her character probably being so newly created. I typically hold on to an idea for a long time before considering publishing to understand the characters and the stories more but I've decided I need to just do it instead of waiting for perfection. I already love her character and how she works within the world, and most importantly, I love her and Bellamy. There's something about differing people meeting and expanding their narrow view on life--more so in the situation they're in. Much like my other fics, Emilia and Bellamy are sort of a fast-burn in terms of their feelings but due to their circumstances, it'll take some time before they become anything official. 

I can't promise a perfectly accurate representation of the canon characters as we all interpret and understand them differently, but I hope you find them similar to what they are in the show. 

And with all of my yapping out of the way, I hope you enjoy this book. I appreciate all my readers, silent or loud, so feel free to comment on your thoughts, feelings, ideas, desires, theories, or anything. Thank you for taking this chance on The Monarch.

start: 12/10/24
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