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moongreenlight · 9 months

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141 gossiping about Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley for roughly 3,000 words idk titles are hard

Price was the first to notice. Priding himself on being incredibly observant, especially when it came to his boys.

He noticed that whenever they had a break from trainings or meetings, he’d somehow always find the two of you in a room together. Never close enough to give him reason to say anything. You scribbling notes on a patient report at one table, Ghost at another, his chair angled just enough so that he could watch you from the corner of his eye.

Noticed the way Ghost’s hand rested on the small of your back for a heartbeat when you entered a doorway before him. Just a brush of his massive hand on you, quick enough to be mistaken for an accidental touch.

Noticed how Ghost’s eyes seemed to always flick to you from across the mess hall. Not often, but enough for Price to casually turn his head and see that same nurse Ghost seemed to have a preference for.

At first, Price thought he could help by being a wingman of sorts. When Ghost took damage on a mission, Price would escort him to medbay and watch as he dismissed nurse after nurse until you were finally available to treat him. Price lingered as long as he could before you inevitably waved him away, cheekily reminding him you always took good care of his team and that you’d have ‘Lieutenant Riley’ back in no time. The only thing he could catch was the way Ghost’s shoulders relaxed by a hair’s breadth when you drew the curtain shut behind you.

He tried again during a meeting with his boys. Suggesting they bring a medic on a mission with them. Said something about how it would be better to have the option of a patch-up readily available. Keep his team fighting fit in real time instead of having to wait until they came back to base. Price saw the way Ghost tensed slightly in his seat, the muscles in his jaw twitching under his balaclava.

The notion was quickly vetoed. Ghost grumbling something about not wanting to babysit any more than he already does. How it’s ultimately more paperwork he doesn’t want to have to deal with.

He tried once more, going to Ghost’s office one evening. Almost turning tail once he realized how ridiculous it was to be this insistent on figuring out if his Lieutenant had some boyish crush on the sweet nurse he always seemed to be lingering around. But ultimately decided that it was good practice to know more about his team personally. Better bonding meant better interaction on the field, right?

He asked Ghost to redo some paperwork. Add a ‘next of kin’ to his file in the event that something happened and they needed to alert someone. Ghost looked a little suspicious, shrugging off the request.

“Left it off for a reason, Captain.”

He said gruffly, waving a hand. Barely looking up from his desk.

Price pursed his lips, shifting his weight slightly.

“You sure, Simon? Haven’t got anyone that’d be interested to know what happened to you?”

Ghost rubbed the bridge of his nose, like the conversation was more trouble than it was worth, before shrugging once more. Finally looking up from his desk and leaning back slightly in his chair.

“You planning on shipping me off somewhere and not picking me back up?”

A small chuckle from Price. A shake of his head.

“Can’t say I am.”

“Cheers, then. Leave it off.”

This quelled Price’s curiosity for a while, unable to dream up any other reason to try and force Ghost to indulge him. It no doubt hurt his ego a bit, thinking about how his Lieutenant and one of his closest friends was so dead set on keeping his personal life so closely guarded. He’d push the feelings aside, chalk it up to being jaded by his work. Over-involved in the lives of Soap and Gaz. It was probably good for Simon to have something sacred.

Soap wasn’t as easily deterred once he caught on. Not as immediately perceptive as the others, but he knew Ghost well enough to know his tells.

It was after a long mission. Months long. Grueling, shitty, exhausting work. They got back in the early evening, mercifully spared from a debrief until the following day. Soap somehow ended up dragging Ghost to a dive bar a few blocks from base. Trying to sound persuasive when he mentioned that it was a Friday night and they deserved a few drinks and some female attention after all this time going without.

And they did get attention. Two good looking military men sitting at the bar were bound to. Soap knew that Ghost wasn’t one to play the field, but this was a bit frigid even for him. Ignoring girls who came up and tried to strike conversation. Rolling his eyes, or huffing a sigh like it was a chore to even dismiss them, drumming his fingers on the wall of his glass like he’s bored. It was baffling.

What was even more baffling was the way that Ghost’s knee bounced slightly against the stool. An infinitesimally small movement, but the way it caught Johnny’s eye made it seem like Ghost was all but jumping up and down. He looked almost anxious. Itching to get up and leave.

“Fuck’s wrong with you?”

Ghost’s head jerked toward Johnny, cold eyes narrowing in a way that would have been terrifying years ago- before he’d gotten used to it.

“Come again?”

“Got somewhere to be, have you?”

He sounds almost indignant. Like he can’t believe what he’s seeing. Ghost is stand-offish by nature, but this is a caliber he hasn’t yet encountered. Almost enough to be offensive. To make him question the quality of his company.

“Maybe I do. What’s it to you?”

Ghost grumbled, killing the contents of his glass with a final mouthful. Setting it back on the counter and moving to drum his fingers on the bar.

“Been out of the country for months and you expect me to believe you’ve got plans tonight?”

This earned a sigh, low enough to pass as a growl.

“You keeping my social calendar now, then?”

He stood, digging through his wallet for a moment before slapping some cash down on the table next to his empty glass. Not giving Johnny an opportunity to lodge any further complaints against him. Before he nodded his goodnight and slipped out of the bar. Mumbling something about needing to get back to his flat and check on some things.

Soap couldn’t get his mind around it. Ghost was elusive, sure, but again; something seemed off. He was calm, cool, and collected. Wouldn’t be caught dead manifesting his impatience physically. The fidgeting and twitching in his seat. The first place Soap’s mind went was maybe Ghost was dying? That’d be the only reasonable explanation for his behavior. But even then, it seemed a bit extreme.

The next day after the debrief, which was nearly as brutal as the deployment itself, Soap was still so in his head about Ghost’s behavior he almost didn’t notice the pretty nurse who seemed to be waiting for someone at the end of the hall. In fact, he was so stuck in his own mind, he only caught a fleeting glimpse of Ghost’s back rounding the corner with the nurse at his side. Hushed conversation disappearing with them. A softer, much more pleasant voice than Simon’s.

He debated whether or not to follow them, maybe answer the questions that’d been plaguing his mind. Ultimately, he decided in favor of it. Padding down the hall behind the duo who seemed to be headed back to Simon’s office. They weren’t walking closely enough to touch, but Soap immediately picked up on the tension between them. Like the distance was serving some sort of purpose.

Soap lingered in the hallway for a few minutes after the two disappeared into Ghost’s office, trying to sort the pieces of the puzzle he’d barely began collecting. He ultimately decided to go the route he was most comfortable with. Not one for sneaking about, he simply strode up to the office door and swung it open.

You were sat at one of the chairs in front of Simon’s desk, him standing with his arms folded over his chest next to you. Not compromising enough for Johnny’s taste, but he still put on a wide grin and nodded to you.

“Forget how to knock?”

Ghost’s voice was calm enough, but his eyes were shooting daggers straight through Johnny. You looked stiff as a board, chewing the inside of your lip through the tight smile you were giving him.

“Sorry, L.T. Needed to know if you’re still on for trainings this afternoon.”

He didn’t miss the way your eyes flicked to Ghost, communicating something that he couldn’t quite decipher wordlessly before you began studying your nails in your lap.

Ghost cleared his throat, rolling his tongue in his cheek. Growling something obscene under his breath. The agitation rolling off of him in waves.

“No. Got another assignment.”

And with that, Soap was all but thrown from the office. Querying about this ‘new assignment’ the whole way. Simon crowding him to the door until he finally snapped it shut on his nose.

He heard later that day Ghost was seen in medbay with a toolkit swearing at an X-Ray machine that had been giving you trouble for a month. After that, Soap was on the two of you like a fly on shit. Never missing an opportunity to bring you up to Ghost or vise versa. Mock-innocently saying something to Ghost in passing at dinner about you. Asking if he fancied you. When he said no, Johnny shrugged and nodded. Saying he was glad because he had plans to ask you out the next time he was injured.

That comment landed Soap in the bay sooner than expected. Escorting him to a different nurse’s exam area and standing guard the entire time his black eye was being iced. Berating him for not being able to block a few punches when they had sparred after dinner.

And Gaz, sweet boy that he is, was always more emotionally in-tune. Observant about the little things. Able to pick up on queues Soap and Price may have missed over the years. He was keen as he was quiet, keeping all his little discoveries to himself. Over the years, he’d created a small arsenal of moments he wasn’t sure were significant enough to bring up. Things he could have talked himself into imagining if he thought about them hard enough. Not wanting to jump to conclusions about anything.

But he noticed the incredibly subtle tan line on Ghost’s left hand. Noticed the way he tapped his foot impatiently when the debrief after a long deployment ran long. Noticed the way you always seemed to be around the yard when they touched down after a mission. The way your shoulders dropped when you saw all four of them had returned home. Like you had just been relieved the duty of holding up the sky.

He didn’t immediately connect the dots. Initially thinking that you’d just taken a special liking to the task force. They were some of your most frequent visitors, after all. Price had all but claimed you as their own. Specially requesting that you were the only one to patch their wounds, claiming the other nurses couldn’t hold a flame to your skill.

He didn’t mind. Came to enjoy the little chats the two of you had when the curtains around the cot were drawn. The little kikis you had where you chatted about anything and everything. Complaining about your jobs, irritating patients, botched missions, the morsels of gossip from around base.

One day, after a particularly nasty skirmish on a mission, all four of the men had gnarly wounds. You looked a bit more tired than usual. A bit more on-edge. Your answers were a bit more flat than they usually were. So the first part of the assessment was left mostly silent spare for a few soft “thank you’s” on his part.

It was only when you were bandaging a wound on his thigh did he notice the shape of a ring on your left hand under your glove. A thin band that wrapped neatly around your finger.

“Didn’t know you were married, doc.”

It was a passing comment, more just to spare him the agony of trying to hide his soft groans of pain in the thick silence.

You hummed your acknowledgment, focused more on working sutures through his skin neatly than anything else.

“Lucky bloke. Hope he’s good to you.”

It wasn’t flirty or predatory, like so many of the soldiers could be. A genuine thought. He’d always thought you were sweet. Easy to chat with, always offering him a smile and a chirped greeting when the two of you passed in the hall. Thought you deserved someone to share in your kindness.

You smiled, brow still furrowed slightly in your focus while tying off the stitches.

“He does alright.”

You chuckled softly, straightening on your stool and rolling back just slightly so you could meet his eye.

“All these years and you never mentioned. I’m hurt.”

He words came with a practiced ease, slipping back into your usual playful chatter without missing a beat. Flashing a coy grin as he carefully flexed and relaxed his leg. Getting a feel for the newly patched wound.

You rolled the gloves off your hands and tossed them into the bin. Standing from your stool to scribble a few notes on his chart.

“Not something that ever came up.”

“Now it has. He have a name? How long you been together?”

You chuckled once more, looking over your shoulder at him with an arched brow. A little skeptical of his curiosity.

“A good while.”

He noticed the way you evaded his former question, like you’d done it before. It only fueled his curiosity.

“You worried I’ll know him? Or are you embarrassed? Not much of a looker?”

This earned an amused snort from you, turning away from the chart you’d been working on.

“Nothing wrong with wanting to keep my personal life personal, is there?”

You winked at him, pushing open the curtain that divided the small exam area from the rest of the bay.

He made a small sound of protest, making no move to stand from the cot just yet.

“Alright, forget it. Didn’t even want to know anyway.”

He sounded like a child being denied a sweet. Even playing up the act with a small pout on his mouth.

You tutted softly, conjuring up the best mock-sympathetic look you could before motioning for him to stand.

“We’ll talk later. Captain’ll have my hide if I keep you away a moment longer than is necessary.”

Another sound of protest, followed by a throaty groan as he finally pushed up off the bed. Unsure if he was being dramatic or if the aftermath of the mission had truly gotten to him that bad. Always a flare for the dramatics, him.

He muttered his thanks, cupping your shoulder in his hand as he trudged out. Making you promise to have a proper chat with him later.

He lingered in the bay, allowing himself a few moments peace before getting back to work. Just as he finally turned to leave, he saw Ghost moving stiffly- like he was trying to downplay a limp- toward your little exam area. Though for some reason, the scene looked a bit strange to him. He couldn’t help but peek in.

He caught the way you watched him lumber over with big, worried eyes. The way your nails dug into your palms until he was finally within arms reach. The way you quickly glanced around to see if anyone was paying the two of you any attention before your hands flew to his neck, fingers slipping expertly under the hem of his mask and yanking it up over his nose. Not rough or angry, but with the kind of urgency that suggested you may die if you didn’t see a sliver of his skin. Make absolutely certain he was truly there with you.

The most jarring part- Ghost actually allowing you to touch the mask. Allowing your little hands to breach his personal space. Hands that would have easily been dwarfed by his own, swallowed up and twisted or shoved away like he had seen happen so many times in sparring matches with prospect soldiers. But Ghost just let it happen.

It was a flurry of movement, so fast that Gaz was certain he could have blinked and missed it. Frozen watching the two of you from just behind another exam area. Feeling like he was intruding without even meaning to.

And then he saw the way Ghost’s big arms snaked around your waist, drawing you flush to his front. You leaning up onto your toes to bring your face closer to the Lieutenant’s. A fervid kiss. You flinging your arms around his neck. The way your shoulders shook. A small, choked sob that Gaz was all but certain he imagined. Drowned out for everyone else by the sounds of the bay.

He was almost shocked that the world continued to move after that. Shocked that something that seemed so monumental could happen tucked away into your barely private exam area. Shocked that your reunion hadn’t halted time and space for everyone else like it had for the two of you.

He felt dirty. Like he should go up and apologize for lingering and seeing what he saw. But he stayed rooted to the spot, finding it impossible to move.

Truly the most damning part was when he caught the quickest glimpse of your badge just before the curtain was tugged shut. The badge you kept carefully pinned to your uniform face-down for a reason he couldn’t fathom until now. Twisted free for just a moment and finally connecting the snippets of information he’d collected over the years.

(Y/N Riley)

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oharabunny · 8 months

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˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ Say That You Love Me

Warning: soft yandere and caretaker!Miguel; some controlling behavior; shy, fem!afab!, lonely and socially awkward, inexperienced reader; relationship is not established yet; dark content if you squint; also implied chubby reader; fluff (ish); smut; not beta read

⋆✮↪ based on my nonlinear yandere Miguel series ₊˚⊹♡

You always gave people the benefit of the doubt, or rather, no matter how wrong people treated you, you gave them a pass, as long as they were dubious and vague enough with you so that you never questioned their sincerity. You were lonely to say the least and grew up alone, so you accepted whatever came your way, and worked hard to keep your ‘friends’ around since you were socially awkward.

Of course, over time you learned to filter out the good and the bad, but the elephant in the room never went away.

Living with Miguel had its perks. You could do whatever you want, as long as you never try to escape. You once had a reason to leave, but you had no place and no family to go back to. Your universe was also gone for good (or so Miguel says).

For the most part, you generally listen to him and do as he says. It’s for your own good he’d always say.

You were beginning to wonder if he had romantic feelings for you. Aside from his weird obsession of taking care of you, he didn’t make any moves on you, up until recently. Perhaps you always had an innate attraction towards him, like, he was built like a Greek god, for multiverse’s sake. His face card was serving. He could get any girl he wanted, so you had always assumed he had no sexual attraction towards you. Just that, he had this self-proclaimed obligation to be your caretaker.

One day he suggested to sleep together since sleeping on the couch was becoming too uncomfortable for him. It was a one bedroom apartment, so it wasn’t like there was a spare bedroom for him to sleep separately in. (Something you appreciated despite trying to argue with him to take his room back, but he vehemently refused for your sake.)

You didn’t think much of it, at first, since you had experience with sleeping with the opposite gender nonsexually. You were right to think nothing much of it for the first few minutes since he was turned away from you. That is…until he fell asleep. (You tend to take a lot longer to fall asleep than him, so you were able to observe his unconscious form.)

And his first instinct was to cage you in his thick, beefy arms.

Miguel drew you into his chest as if he was snuggling a childhood ragdoll. He rubbed your smaller fingers in between his own, inhaled the scent of your shampoo in your hair, all the while his long and much larger legs than yours locked you into his body. He was completely smothering you.

Your own body was heating up like a kettle on a stove. He was only in his boxers, and you can feel his cock outline through his boxers on your butt. Was he getting hard too?

You didn’t dare move because you wanted to stay like this for as long as he could. If he didn’t have any attraction towards you, this was as close as you were going to get.

Now every night going forth, he cuddled you in his sleep. He got bolder eventually and simply cuddled with you as soon as he got to bed.

You were surprised one night when he asked to kiss you. Up until this point, he had only cuddled with you, but never dared to be even more intimate. He’d usually at most rub and squeeze your tummy while he was asleep which made you self conscious. You never bat his hand away though.

So when he asked you for a kiss, your brain was like a train that braked too quickly and flew off the rails. You hadn’t realized you didn’t react nor answer him until he said, “Nevermind.”

You immediately reached for him to say, “N-No wait! I do, I…do want you to kiss me.” As you finished your sentence, your eye contact left him, in embarrassment. You basically admitted that you were attracted to him by reciprocating, and you didn’t know how to deal with that. Would he laugh at you? Would he play those kinds of games with you?

He could see you overthinking and feeling conflicted. He took your chin and tilted your gaze back up to him. “Then, look at me.”

And you do.

Everything came to a stop when his lips met yours. All your thoughts and worries melted away. His lips were just so perfect. You couldn’t remember the last time you were kissed, especially in this way. He pressed your body into his as he cupped your neck so you couldn’t escape out of his hold. He gently prodded your lips to enter with his tongue, and you had instinctively let him in. His tongue battled with yours and you willfully lost against him. He explored your mouth as if he was burning every inch and corner of your mouth into his mind. A level of desperation that you could feel from his touch growing more and more intensely.

He rolled over on top of you and broke the kiss. You would’ve whined but he quickly satiated by peppering kisses all over your face before finally landing a final one on your nose. From there, he just admired your face while he stroked your hair. You couldn’t maintain eye contact from his face being so up close to yours, and tried to hide your face as your self consciousness crept back in. You hated how your face looked when you laid down.

“Hey hey hey, don’t look away.” Miguel lightly tapped your face. You could barely look back at him as he shifted his weight because you could feel his hard cock on rubbing on your thighs. His handsome face in such close proximity to yours made your mind do flips. “And don’t forget to breathe.”

How could you breathe when the hottest person you’ve ever seen in your life is all over you?

You were taking shallow breaths which isn’t what Miguel wanted so he squeezed your tummy and tickled your sides. “Waitwaitwaitstop!!” You couldn’t help but laugh and push him off.

Your laugh was like a song to his ear. Miguel kept tickling you as he buried his face into your neck and nipped on your skin. He kissed and drew up your jawline as he stopped his tickling so he could capture your lips once more.

“Breathe.” He said in between kisses. He squeezes your sides when you still didn’t listen.

Your breath staggered from the laughter and steaminess of the kisses. He smirked at your inexperience and sensitivity. You were just so cute to him when you were overwhelmed and overstimulated.

Miguel licked your lips and planted a final kiss before tightly holding you like a ragdoll again. He laid on his back this time and you were on top of him. The weight of his arms kept you in your place, especially when his hand was placed on top of your head while you lay on his chest. You could hear the sound of his heartbeat.

Now, every night whenever he came home, he kissed you fervently as he cuddled with you to sleep.

“YOU WANT ME TO WHAT-?!”

You had been extremely lonely the past couple weeks since Miguel had gone to another dimension to catch a difficult anomaly. As established, you were not allowed to go outside. You did think to ask him if you could invite some of your Spider friends you befriended during the short period you stayed at HQ, but he refused, and seemed angry at the notion of you hanging out with them.

Instead you begged and begged him to at least let you access Discord or some kind of social media to talk to someone, other than Lyla (no offense to her), especially for your special interests.

At first Miguel was hesitant, but eventually went on board with it when considering your mental wellbeing. You had never done anything to betray his trust.

“I don’t want you spending any more time talking to them anymore. I shouldn’t have to compete for your attention.” Miguel stated flatly as he possessively held you in his arms in bed. He took your phone from your hand and placed it on the nightstand away from you.

“But that shouldn’t be the only reason why you want to impregnate me…” You backed up against him to get away from his hand that was stroking your tummy. A habit he kept up since sleeping in the same bed with you for the first time. If anything, your tummy was treated like a stress ball. (Sometimes he’ll also grab at your love handles, your ass, your thighs, and anywhere that’s fleshy.)

“It’s not.” Miguel’s hand lowered his hand and flicked the elastic of your shorts.

Your heart skipped a beat at his implication. You two hadn’t actually had sex yet despite all the sexual tension. Perhaps he wanted to wait till you were ready, or maybe he saw it as a means to procreate.

He slid his hand under your shorts and panties to your freshly shaven pussy (he shaved it for you 😥) and rubbed circles on your clit. You immediately locked your legs together and grabbed onto his arm to hold on. Your puffy pussy hid your clit, but his middle finger pushed through and found her. Your breath hitched. He didn’t stop when you gripped harder, if anything he rubbed faster and faster. You kept wriggling and squirming back, but his chest was a wall and you had nowhere to escape. Your ass pressed up against his clothed cock that sat neatly between your cheeks.

You screamed. He was directly on your clit applying hard pressure. Not even you would touch it bare. You squirted all over his hand quickly and he slowed his pace, but didn’t stop, to help you ride out your orgasm. You huffed and puffed. His hand rubbed a stripe over your entire pussy to draw out the slick so that he could lick and drink it off of his fingers. You looked back at him as he was savoring your taste, and you couldn’t help quivering at the sight of that.

Wordlessly, he shifted himself so he was on top of you and you reached out to halt him in place. “Wait, can we please talk about this?”

He raised a brow as if you just confused him. “What is there to talk about?”

You sat up with your knees to your chest, nervous for what you were about to ask, “Why do you actually want a baby? Why me? And it’s going to be a huge responsibility, and I’m not sure I’m ready for it. I…I also want to figure out my own life too.”

He moved closed and placed his warm hands on your knees. “It has to be you. We are meant to be together. You have such a kind and gentle soul; you’d make a great mother.” He paused, “And you don’t have to worry about a thing, your husband will take care of you for the rest of your life.”

“Wha-?” You were cut off when he crashed his lips to silence you. He pulled you down from where you sat and swiftly pulled your shorts and panties down in one fell swoop. He gives your clit a good rub before he leaned back to take his boxers off.

You stared at his rock hard cock, finally in full view. His size was never something you ever had before. Hell, you couldn’t even fit a regular sized dildo up inside. “I can’t fit that…”

“We can make it work. Don’t worry, just leave it all to me.” Miguel cooed and stroked his length against your slick brushing your clit along with the way. Your hole tightened from the sensation. “Remember to relax and breathe, bebita.”

Slowly, he pushed inside your fluttering hole. You hissed at the stretch. The pain was quickly replaced with pleasure when his thumb rubbed over your clit. When he saw your face relaxing, he pushed deeper until he bottomed out. You placed your hand over your pelvic region and felt his bulge.

“Mmm, you like that?” He groaned as he began to pull out slowly. You instantly moaned and nodded to that. Something about him pulling out his big hard cock dragging your walls out was tipping you over the edge.

“Keep doing that!” Everything from his pelvis meeting yours, filling you up, and his balls slapping your ass sent sparks into your abdomen and tighten your abs. His languid motion of his hips drew you insane. You didn’t know your eyes were closed until you opened them up and saw his eyes glowing red and predatory. His fangs hung out, his hair a mess, and he too was losing control.

Miguel gripped hard at the bed sheets and ripped them under his nails. He couldn’t take it anymore. He sat back up to his knees, lifted up your hips up to his, and rabbitted hard and fast into you. “God- Your pussy is perfect-!” He groaned and grunted in every push. His head flew back and bucked faster.

“Mig-Miguel- fuck-!” Right there, right there, right there. All of your buttons were hit and signals fired off in every direction. He didn’t dare stop and change course now. Your hands were searching for something to grab on for dear life. He clasped your left hand and held it over your head.

“Say that you love me. Say that you will marry me.” He began to slow by only a little bit. Your eyes flew back to him in desperation for him to speed up again. You didn’t even hear him say anything to you. “D-Don’t slow down!”

He repeated, “Say that you love me. Say that you will marry me.”

“Yes!” You practically shrieked.

“Yes, what?” He slowed down even more.

“I love you! I will marry you! Please-!” You begged and grinded your hips against his in tandem.

Satisfied with your answer, Miguel jolted himself hard into you, and went back into rabbiting. You crumbled. Your legs trembled and your body shuddered in tremors. Every muscle in your body contracted; your pussy tightened around his cock as a result.

He fucked you through your orgasm similarly to when he did so with his fingers earlier. Except, he was chasing his own high now. As your pussy tightened, his breath hitched and crumbled his resolve. He came immediately, and ensured to do so completely sheathed inside. He came at the entrance of your cervix and did not pull out until all of his cum was spilled. He gave you a couple pushes inside to ensure all of his cum was deep inside and not spill out.

Miguel leaned over to the nightstand and opened the drawer to pull out something. Some kind of clothed sticker of sorts. He took off the sticker from the paper and sealed up your pussy with it. You were too fucked out to care what and why he was doing that. You were too focused on his warm cum sloshing inside.

Your eyes fluttered closed and began to drift off to sleep as he cradled you into his arms once more, as he habitually always had. He took your left hand and slid a sparkly ring (a ring you’ve been secretly, not so secretly, been eyeing for the past few months) on your ring finger. He planted a kiss there to seal your fate.

You were finally his, and you were finally never alone.

Tags: @belle-oftheball34, @mrs-oharaxx, @crystalcrynight, @sukunash0e, @juicyprncess Additional tags: @kaoriloveskeiff, @twinklingbeautifulstars, @tayleighuh, @freehentai, @mythologicalgodsblog [I'm aware this is not the part 2 for The Grass is Greener on the Other Side fic, but I thought you might be interested as this is part of a series.]

Graphic credited to @cafekitsune

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✩°｡ ⋆⸜ 🎧✮

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revenantghost · 1 year

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Heyo, let’s talk about my girl Meryl and why she’s so critical to the plot of Trigun Stampede and Vash in particular! (Well, that’s true for any Trigun, but Tristamp theories are rotting my brain atm.) Some spoilers for Tristamp and vague talk/references to the other series ahoy!

Meryl gets way too many accusations thrown at her for doing nothing/not enough in Tristamp. To the point that I started a rewatch to see if I was misremembering, but absolutely not! Those first three episodes alone, she’s critical to how things develop! She’s a foil to Vash, just like Wolfwood is!! She’s essential to his humanity!!!

But it took until I was watching ‘98 for the first time this weekend for it to crash into me like a freight train exactly what Meryl means, just like it took Trimax for the full weight of Wolfwood to click into place for me. Because she’s set up a lot like her older anime counterpart (though no one gets the same amount of character interaction—Tristamp, I adore you, but please slow down and let these poor folks breathe). She doesn’t understand Vash at first, she even goes so far as to call him a coward in a really low blow for what she easily recognizes as his bravery (and sometimes stupidity) later. And while they both (well, pretty much all the Trigun protags, let’s be honest) share their bullheadedness, I see a lot of people say she’s just like Vash... And I disagree, sorta.

She’s just like Rem. Just look at that last episode.

The two women don’t have the same belief systems, they have wildly different paths, and they come into Vash’s life in incredibly different ways. Meryl may keep Vash in check sometimes, but she’s not a mother figure imo. But they still play a similar role.

After over a century of traveling alone, we see (especially in other versions of Trigun) that Vash is often used and abandoned. Even when he makes genuine friends, they let him drift in and out of their life—and to their credit, he’s good at that! He can’t handle any more pain, so he slips away before the hurt catches up. But not Meryl! She ain’t gonna let that happen!!! At first, yeah, she follows him because of her job, but it never takes her long to go from frustrated and fed up to growing fond of Vash. And I especially love the career shift in Tristamp allowing her a complete out, to walk away and abandon Vash when things get rough, and no one would blame her for it.

But she stays. Because she sees that he’s good and worthy of the love that he denies himself. She sees this vile, hopeless world that they live in through his eyes, and sees the beauty in it too. She’s the first person to have faith in Vash not just as a savior, but as a person—unlike anyone has since Rem.

When all hope is gone, when Vash has lost his way, when he stumbles and falls, Meryl—who starts off doubting him!—is the one there to pick him up and remind him that he’s loved, that his love for humanity isn’t for nothing. Throughout the entire series, she has faith in him. She chooses Vash even when he won’t choose himself. She’s tired and done living in this selfish world of awful people, and she becomes the anchor that ties Vash down to what’s good in humanity. She’s just as critical as Wolfwood in taking a distant, disheartened, and broken Vash and reconnecting him to a world that cast him aside. And we’ve already gotten so much of that in Tristamp. It’s most obvious in the ending, but it’s built up so beautifully imo. She’s not as flashy as our fighters YET, but she’s absolutely essential to Vash, and I will die on this hill. I can’t wait to see her come crashing back into the picture with Milly next season.

#Trigun #Tristamp #Trigun Stampede #I didn't write this to be a ship thing but live your dreams fam #I ain't here to be a hater just spread the Trigun love #Though don't follow me for this ship lol you will be disappointed #I sail on a different boat though I salute yours #I just love Meryl man #She's so important to Vash and to Trigun #Trigun Meta #Long post #SO LONG #I DID NOT MEAN FOR THIS TO BE SO LONG #My Trigun Meta

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aetherialpiplup108 · 6 months

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How the Alchemy of Souls Season 1 Ending Perfectly Demonstrates Yeong's Guilt, Uk's Persistence, and the Beauty of their Bond

I should hate the ending of Alchemy of Souls season 1. Jin Mu's random contrived bells showing up and being used as a pivotal series-defining plot-point in the same episode drives me just as insane as it did Mu-deok. And it kills me to watch two characters who are defined by their ability to challenge the world and resist fate succumb to its pressures (note: I don't think this is a flaw in the series since it's simply a fraction of the overarching theme the story is trying to convey but boy did it hurt). I should have been so massively disappointed and yet the climax itself runs rent-free in my head a full year after I saw it for the first time.

First of all, we finally get sword-fighting Yeong again and in the absolute worst way possible. It creates this wonderful cognitive dissonance in your head where you're simultaneously crying in angst while cheering on Jung So-min as she puts on the performance we've been longing for the entire show.

Next, there's the behemoth stabbing scene itself. When Mu-deok regains consciousness in Uk's arms, there's a brief look of confusion in her eyes likely due to the gaps in her memory, the heaving of his voice, the desperate way his arms are wrapped around her, or maybe even the blood seeping between them. But the first thing she says even before processing everything is: "Jang Uk? ...Did I do this?"

Despite embracing the ruthless assassin lifestyle (a hard path she undertook due to the love she felt for her family and the immense grief felt in their loss), Yeong does care about other people. We know this through the way she slyly sneaks in affection towards Uk, helps Yul heal and let go of the guilt he's held onto since running into her as children, and offers Go-won an esoteric companionship they both come to value greatly. In season 2, through amnesiac!Yeong, we're given an even clearer glimpse at her intrinsic compassion through the unhidden empathy she shows to practically everyone she meets.

But the real Cho-Yeong spent years of isolation in Danhyanggok's cruel winters training, breathing, and living for revenge. Knowing only how to kill and draw blood, of course Yeong believed she'd end up hurting anyone stupid enough to come too close. It's why her first instinct is to shear off every potential bond she could make: to protect herself from any more loss and to protect others from her. When it became impossible to deny the love she and Uk shared, Yeong chose to wield it callously to avoid getting attached, to remind him and her that she wasn't round-faced Mu-deok who was free to earn and give affection. She was Naksu. Undeserving, dangerous, poisonous Naksu. We see this thought process and self-denial make a reoccurrence in season 2 when Yeong immediately distances herself from Uk the second she gets her memories back, even if it agonizes her, because she can't bear to hurt him again.

Rather than assigning blame to Jin Mu, she takes her sword through Uk's chest as mere confirmation of what she always believed: how could the ruthless shadow assassin that lives off revenge be allowed to love and be loved?

Yeong's guilt is especially ironic when paired with Jang Uk having no doubt in his mind that she's innocent. He gets stabbed and just pulls her close before he's even able to process what's going on because they'd been there before at Jeojingak when he had her hold a sword to his neck.

Jang Uk is the first and only person, really, to hold complete confidence not in Yeong's prowess as a mage but in her character and ability to care. And it means more because as her pupil, he's the person (aside from herself) that Yeong's been the harshest with. She continually put his life in danger whether through poison or overtraining or by inciting death matches, and hurts him again and again with words and actions (gambling the jade egg) meant to prod right at his insecurities. Yeong had thought this would be enough to keep him at bay, to force him into a transactional relationship where she wasn't afraid he'd run away too soon and yet wouldn't let herself build up hope that he'd actually stay when the terms of their initial agreement were met.

Except.

Uk had already seen glimpses of that lonely girl Yeong buried inside and actually tried to understand her, failing at times but doing his best to make sense of the way she thinks without judgement. In the process, he realized just how much Yeong values the people she loves, how much she wants to protect those who've shown her even the ounce of kindness she doesn't think she deserves. That's how he knows, instinctively, that she couldn't have stabbed him. It's how he knows she wouldn't even fight Dang-gu (although, I'm not sure if he was aware that she killed Cho-yeon's father before arriving in the forest). Because how could someone who's so grateful for the love they deem themselves undeserving of cast it aside so easily?

And finally, because somewhere along the way this post devolved from a loosely structured rant over one scene to a frantic gush over these two ridiculously endearing characters, the beauty of the climax is shown in the way Uk just watches helplessly as Yeong struggles and breaks down in a way so uncharacteristic of the stoic, emotion-swallowing woman who could only say "I like you" under copious amounts of alcohol. It's so unbelievably soft (idk, maybe I'm just a lunatic) when he slowly searches for her hand, using the last pieces of his strength and then some to lace their wounded fingers together, somehow managing to use his entire blood-soaked body in the last 2 minutes to show her that she has his entire heart, whether she deserved it or not, and there wasn't anything she could do that would make him leave.

of course, these are just my interpretations of the characters. Maybe I'm completely off or reading way too much into it.

tl;dr: I have a lot of criticism for certain aspects of Alchemy of Souls, but the relationship Jang Uk and Cho Yeong share is so powerful. Though tragic and shockingly reliant on plot-convenience, the finale of season 1 depicts their relationship beautifully by illustrating the depth of their trust and reliance on the other. Also, UkYeong has rooted itself thoroughly in my head. I've never been so invested in a ship, someone send help!!!!!

#alchemy of souls #jang uk #cho yeong #ukyeong #meta #my rambles #character study #Mu-deok #way too long #lmao thanks for reading my unnecessarily long analysis #2am thoughts

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larissa-the-scribe · 22 days

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Hello, since I am evil and subjected you to this ask game, I will also subject you to asks mwahahaha :))))

May I request: I'm Not Here to Make Friends >:(

*Gasps, faints* How... how dare

Anyways thanks for the ask! (from this ask game)

Info:

This is from Rifters (series 1), where Kathryn is living in a steampunk/superhero world, becoming a part of the younger-hero-training-school-place. Her stint as a superhero has made her some enemies, and her friends from that world also have enemies. One of them is trying to tear down the superhero structure from the inside out, and so, as a first step, has sent his best asset minion adopted son and secret weapon to infiltrate the hero guild place (I really need to define things) as a spy. Part of his mission is also to locate a specific hero who has no traceable identity but has been a thorn in super villain's sides ever since, uh, *checks notes* the out-of-world newcomer came in and stopped the apocalypse.

Benn (currently Eabennor) is an angsty loner teenager who is just here to DO HIS JOB and he doesn't care about anyone ever-- Especially not that Nuisance (Kathryn) who keeps following him around and trying to talk to him--he's Spying and they are his Enemies (aka this is his feral kitten era).

Snippet:

“Anything else you want to say before I slam the door in your face?” He asked—hoping his bitingly sarcastic tone and smile left her little doubt that he meant it. “What about dinner?” she asked. Eabennor stared at her, halfway between exasperated and confused. “I have no idea why you’d think I’d be interested.” Kathryn blinked. “…In eating?” “What?” “Since you just got here you have to sign up for dinner,” Kathryn explained, tilting her head. “Though I suppose you’re probably not keen on interacting with people, or not today at least.” “Oh.” “But you should still eat,” she continued, “even if you’re not interested. The food is very good here.” “Yeah, probably.” Eabennor bit back any other comments that might embarrass him further—though thankfully she seemed dumb enough to not have noticed. “Supper time is usually at 6:30,” she said, tapping her chin thoughtfully, “I’ll talk to someone in the kitchen about setting aside a plate. If you go down at 7:30-ish, it should be pretty clear, at least besides the kitchen crew cleaning up. How long that takes can vary, though, so I can’t give you a solid estimate on how long they’ll be there.” “Good to know,” he said flatly, considering the viability of carrying out his threat from earlier. This whole conversation—no, this whole day—had been a complete trainwreck, and he desperately wanted to be left alone. “Exact details for the future can be figured out later, though,” she said, smiling brightly, as if looking forward to the conversation had given her a new meaning in life—obnoxiously cheery, he thought to himself—“Matthias is the first door coming into the hallway, and I’m in the hall across the way, so if you need anything don’t hesitate to ask.” “Is that all.” “One last thing,” she added, with what he could have sworn was a mischievous glint in her eye, “I hope you have a lovely rest of your day.” Maybe it was petty, but slamming the door did turn out to be quite cathartic.

#Early Days Benn is so funny to me #I love them your honor #Kathryn is living her best life and it is definitely at Benn's expense rn #asks #scribe answers #salt and light #rifters series 1 #kathryn carvalho #eabennor bethaz

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jungle321jungle · 2 years

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All Kittens Are Black In The Dark: Two

Parenting is hard in general, but Janus and Logan learn it can be even harder, especially when your baby isn't entirely human. But that doesn’t mean they love him any less.

aka Lociet adopts a baby werecat!Virgil

Ao3 - Masterlist - Other Chapters

~~~~

Two

All things considered, they managed to get through the next few full moons reasonably well. They ensured that the dates of each full moon were written clearly on the calendar, and about a week before each they would triple check they had all the things a kitten would need. So when their fifth full moon came around Logan thought they were prepared. That was until Janus had gone to the bathroom and he had looked away from his adorable kitten long enough to reply to a few (unfortunately) immediate work emails.

Logan set his phone down with a sigh, already dreading the morning to come. And he had already agreed to be the one to wake up in the middle of the night to check on Virgil. While Virgil wasn’t a difficult baby, he didn’t exactly like the idea of following less sleep with idiocy at work. He gave a sigh as he pushed thoughts from the morning aside, and turned back to where he had set Virgil on the rug- immediately he knew he wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight.

“Virgil?” He asked quietly, but he knew he was stupid to expect a response. He could feel his heart rate slowly increasing as he looked about the room to find it was void of the kitten he was looking for. He quickly flattened his face to the ground scanning underneath everything in the living room for any sign of dark fur or those purple eyes. He wasn’t under the couch, or next to the TV, or under the tables so where? He hadn’t even looked away for that long? How had Virgil gotten so far? And since when could he even walk!?

“Hey Logan I-”

“He’s gone!” Logan cut in, getting up and moving to look behind the TV. “Help me look!”

“Logan,” Janus called again, his voice far too calm for the situation of a missing child. And perhaps that’s what drew Logan’s gaze up to his husband’s face. Janus gave him a slight smile as he held up the kitten in his hands. “I found him in the hall. He walked right up to me. He must’ve been looking for me, isn’t that cute?” As if agreeing, Virgil gave a small meow for emphasis.

Logan gave a sigh of relief as he sat back down on the floor, “Cute very nearly scared me to death.”

Janus gave a slight laugh as he sat on the couch and placed Virgil in his lap, “I wonder how he’s even walking. I mean as a human he can barely roll over.”

“We’re gonna need to kitten proof the house,” Logan realized. “Baby gates in every doorway. And we should probably find a way to ensure he doesn’t get stuck under any furniture.”

“Maybe it’s not a one to one thing?” Janus suggested, his mind clearly on his own train of thoughts. “Maybe it starts slow then ramps up? So he progresses faster as a cat? I wonder how big he’ll get?”

“Did you hear what I said?”

“Yes, yes. But we have a month to get to that. I don’t think he can scale things yet, so the crib should be just fine.”

Logan gave a sigh as he tried to absorb this new development, but he also watched as Virgil squirmed out of Janus’ arms and took to unsteadily walking on the couch itself. Neither of them spoke as they watched the little furball meow at nothing, and move closer to the couch’s edge (and then give a hiss as Janus pulled him away from it).

“Well I’m sorry I don’t want you to fall!” Janus said, with a stunned expression. “Did you see that? He hissed at me!”

“I doubt it will be the last time. He’s a cat.”

“Well as he gets older he’s going to have to realize he can’t hiss at his parents. Especially when we’re trying to help.”

“...I wish there was a guide to this.”

“Are you trying to ruin our chance of getting a documentary about us in the future?”

Logan rolled his eyes, this night would truly be longer than he had anticipated.

~~~~

“Virgil! Come here love! I got kitty treats! And I’ve got your toys.”

Logan stepped over the baby gate and paused to watch his husband lying on the floor with an arm under the couch. “This is why I told you that we should block that off.”

Janus gave a groan as he sat up, “If I say that you were right, will you help me get him out?”

Logan gave a sigh as he moved around Janus and lowered himself to the floor. It wasn’t hard to locate the small form of Virgil given the eyes that stared back at him. The kitten didn’t seem bothered at all by the notion of sitting under the couch but then again, did he even understand that come morning he’d be stuck there? Logan doubted it. He made a show of reaching forward towards Virgil, but not moving to grab him. Hoping the kitten would begin to inch towards him. But if Virgil would do so, he wasn’t sure, because that’s when the sound of the doorbell shocked Logan to his core.

Solicitors were gone by now, they hadn’t ordered anything and even if they had, Amazon just left things on the porch so… so who was at their door? On a full moon?

“Did you get take out?” Janus asked slowly.

“We already ate.”

“Did you get more take out?”

Logan pulled himself to a sitting position as he shook his head, “I’ll go see who it is and stall, you get him out of there.”

“What? How!?”

“I don’t know! Figure it out, move the couch!”

Janus looked ready to argue but the sound of the doorbell ringing for a second time made them hurriedly part and Logan made his way to the front door. He lingered for a moment before opening it, to fuss over his appearance (mainly to check for cat hair), before he opened the door to find Patton.

Patton didn’t give him a chance to speak before he was pulled into a big hug. “Logan! I missed you!”

Logan gave an awkward laugh as he patted the other man on the back. “Me as well. But, what are you doing here?”

“Hm? It’s Thursday! You and Jan said I could come over and we could hang out and catch up! And I could hold the precious bean some more.”

Logan blinked once, “Next Thursday.”

“No? I triple checked because I thought I double booked myself.”

“I see…” Logan trailed off unsure what else to say that would fix the situation. This was Janus’ speciality not his, why did he volunteer to stall again? He wasn’t sure of the answer, but he could feel as Patton’s knowing gaze scanned him.

“Is…is everything okay? Bad timing?”

Horrific timing, the worst timing possible. But what could he possibly say about Virgil that would make sense? Nothing. Nothing at all. What would Janus say? Janus would lie. He’d come up with a lie that sounded semi close to the truth, something that was too hard to be disputed. But what?

“Well you see, Virgil isn’t feeling well!” Logan said quickly. “We didn’t exactly want to bring in more factors. No offense of course, but children are petri dishes and you are a kindergarten teacher…”

Patton's eyes widened in understanding (thankfully). “No no, don’t worry, I just hope he’s alright. So we can definitely reschedule, but can I at least borrow your bathroom before I go?”

“Um-”

Logan's less than perfectly constructed response was interrupted before it started as the sound of a loud thud and a shout of pain came from within the house. Logan hurriedly went back to the living room just in time to find Janus on the floor and hissing at the small kitten who sat innocently in the center of the room. “You okay?” He asked slowly.

“I fell and he just hisses at me!” Janus complained before he gave another hiss back. So he was fine.

Virgil didn’t seem to care however as he meowed and walked towards Logan.

“It’s precious!”

Right. Patton.

Before Logan could even give a sigh of regret, Patton was on all fours petting Virgil and cooing over his cuteness.

“We messed up the dates didn’t we?” Janus whispered to him.

Logan gave a slight nod, before he spoke at a louder volume. “Yeah, but I explained to Patton that V’s not feeling great.”

Thankfully Janus didn’t even need half a second to process the lie (he was really too good at this), “Do you think he’s maybe allergic to Oreo? I mean this started right after…”

“When did you guys get a cat anyways?” Patton asked, scratching Virgil behind the ears.

“We’re cat sitting,” Janus corrected. “My coworker had a family emergency, so we’re watching her new kitten. But she should be back tomorrow. We’ll just have to keep him and Virgil separated.”

“That makes sense, well I’ll get out of both of your hair, and this one’s fur. I’ll borrow your bathroom and then I’ll head out.”

“Sorry to kick you out Patt.”

The moment the door was closed behind Patton, Logan gave a sigh of relief and melted into the couch. “I’m tired already.”

Janus gave a laugh as he scooped up Virgil and settled beside Logan. And moments later he felt a hand run through his hair. “You did well thinking on your feet, love.”

“Thanks… Are you just going to pet us both?”

“Is there any reason I can’t?”

Logan closed his eyes as he relaxed into the touch as he heard Virgil give a purr enough for them both, “I suppose not.”

~~~~

Other Chapters

#Janus Sanders #logan sanders #virgil sanders #werecat #cat!virgil #loceit #lociet #baby!virgil #patton sanders

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thequietmanno1 · 9 months

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Thelreads, MHA 278, Replies Part 2

1) "oh ouch, I think that Midnight definitely broke something on that fall”- She not only fell two stories through some solid tree branches, I think those rubble chunks crushed her underneath on the way down.

2) “Alright Midnight, I believe at you, you definitely has a plan ready right now, don’t you? There’s no way we gonna let that thing reach Shigaraki, oh no, you will solve this problem, for sure”- She can’t solve the problem, but she’s got a direct line to the smartest student in 1A for some aid in getting it fixed.

3) “Or maybe she’ll just synthesize a copy of Midnight’s gas- wait, can she even do that? I mean, if she knew the formula she could, I suppose? Can she create a gas? I feel like we already talked about this before but I don’t remember which consensus we reached”- It doesn’t have to be Midnight’s gas specifically, just a very strong aesthetic. And if you evaporated it, I guess it would become a gaseous form, but as it stands it’s actually more effective for it to be a liquid, so they can directly inject it into Machia’s body without it getting blown away or dispersed otherwise. I don’t know how midnight’s gas would have worked up against Dabi’s fires and the hot updrafts they create, but I bet it wouldn’t have been that good.

4) “oh no Midnight, she has no idea, it’s not like they couldn’t see a woman flying through the skies and then crashing down”- Well, most of them actually didn’t. it’s a little hard to tell, but Machia is blitzing across the forest landscape, so he tossed Mt lady aside several miles back and has nearly reached the kids by the time she catches back up. His size and his speed mean he’s like a mountain moving at the speed of a bullet train, and just as unstoppable.

5) “MIDNIGHT PLEASE STOP RAISING FLAGS THERE WE KINDA CAN’T SPARE THE TIME FOR THAT”- In her defence, she doesn’t tell the kids to fight Machia themselves, she tells them to make the sedatives, pass them onto any adult heroes around and then get out of the danger zone. Choosing to engage with Machia and cut out the middle man is Momo’s decision, but Midnight was only expecting the kids to try and inject Machia if there wasn’t anybody else who could do it for them, and even then, only because of the loss of life he’d bring otherwise. Sadly, the kids having all been evacuated from the front lines means that there really aren’t any adults around to aid them, so they’ve got to be the heroes who’ll save the day themselves this time.

6) “MOMO PLEASE DON’T DOUBT YOURSELF

WE ALL DEPEND ON YOU NOW”- Had it not been for the confidence-boosting chat she and Shoto had against Aizawa and Shoto reaffirming how amazing she is, I actually think Momo would have cracked under the pressure here. It’s a lot to ask of her, making a call that could decide whether or not her friends will live to see tomorrow, or do nothing and take the risk of the damage that Machia will unleash. Obviously, he’s gotta be stopped, but she’s being asked to weigh the likelihood of their success and survival in a split second. It’s just neat seeing how the small events like that come back to have an impact on the kids later on when the situation truly becomes serious for them.

7) “ALRIGHT, SO I ASSUME SHE WANTS TO KNOW HOW LONG SHE HAS TO SYNTHESIZE THE GAS, AND HOW MUCH OF IT SHE’LL NEED BASED ON HIS SIZE. MUDMAN IS PROBABLY MEANT TO SLOW HIM DOWN SO THEY CAN HIT HIM WITH IT”- More like how long they can afford to get into position for the most optimal plan of attack, since Momo made that serum in a second and made enough for everybody to have an chance at injecting it into Machia

8) “MT LADY IS STILL KICKING

UNLIKE KAMUI AND MIDNIGHT, YOU AINT GONNA PUT THIS MOUNTAIN DOWN”- Well, Kamui’s helping too, but even with them both getting beaten up the villains, nether one is breaking down…which bodes poorly for their chance of surviving this, or how damaged they’ll be in the aftermath. Machia isn’t even really fighting them right now, he’s just pushing past them and ignoring their attempts, and they’ve still gotten this banged up because of how unstoppable he is.

9) “HELL FUCKING YEAH MOMO! THAT’S THE SPIRIT!

TIME TO PUT THE GIANT TO SLEEP”- Time to beat Jack’s record for Giant-slaying…

@thelreads

#my hero academia #bnha #chapter replies #thelreads #mha278

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midnightcreator12 · 10 months

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The Portal Home is Built with Roadblocks - Chapter 22

Leo finally takes off the blinders and gives Chula a chance and we get to meet April and Casey's baby girl.

AO3 Link

“Can we talk for a second?”

Leo nodded, patting the couch cushion next to him, “What’s up Don?”

“Well, we’ve been working on the dimensional gateway,” Don explained as he took a seat. “We’ve got most of the work done aside from a few additions which are…a bit tricky to do with the current setup.”

Leo frowned but nodded along, “Tricky how?”

“For one, we have to take equipment back and forth, and as helpful as Leon’s portals are for that he tends to land…inside the ship more than outside when he can’t see it. There isn’t space or proper storage at the old Lair so that is also forcing us to suttle equipment. Test flying it fully in the city is also difficult without attracting attention and we don’t have enough space at the old Lair to add the gateway generators to the hull, not to mention testing the portals will be next to impossible to do discreetly.”

Leo nodded, understanding dawning, “You want to move the ship to the farmhouse?”

Don nodded, “Yeah, I think we could make better progress if we just load up everything and work out there…plus, April wants us to meet her baby.”

Ah yes, April and Casey’s new little girl was over a month old at this point and April had refused to tell them her name until they met her in person.

Which was not something done easily when they lived in a sewer. Even if they did their best to stay clean, a sewer was a sewer and the cleanest they got was when they went to the farmhouse for a few days.

“So, two birds, one stone?” Leo asked. “It makes sense, I’m just not sure why you wanted to ask me.”

“Eh,” Don shrugged. “I mostly wanted to give you a heads up that I’m going to be putting a lot of equipment on Chula’s ship and flying it up there with her.”

Leo paused, frown returning, “Why do you need to fly with her?”

Don sighed, “One, I doubt any of us want her landing at the wrong farm. And two, I thought you were going to talk to her.”

“I…I am,” Leo defended. “It’s just…been busy. And she’s been helping you a lot.”

It wasn’t a complete lie. Wrangling everyone for training had been tricky lately, especially since the counterparts didn’t seem to have a strict training schedule. Raphie had something of a regime but he was wary of actually sparing with anyone that wasn’t a tire he’d dragged in from…somewhere. The rest just seemed to pick random times to spar with each other or with Chula or one of Leo’s brothers.

And when Chula wasn’t entertaining Leon with sparring matches, or swapping Mandalorian recipes with Michel, or spotting Raphie while he lifted, she was working with Don and Donnie on the dimensional gateway, a task that had them out of the Lair more often than not.

He definitely wasn’t taking advantage of her being all over the place as an excuse to not talk with her much.

Don still looked very unimpressed, but he sighed, long and defeated, reaching over to pat Leo’s shoulder, “Well, it will take time to get everything loaded up, and the Jones-O’Neil’s said they’re not driving down until Friday.”

“So you’ll want to get there Thursday.”

Don shrugged, “Let’s face it, once the baby gets there, no one is going to be doing anything for a few hours.”

Leo huffed in agreement. Not every day that they got to play with a baby after all, “I’ll tell the guys and Splinter. Go get your lab packed up.”

Don smiled and gave Leo’s shoulder another quick pat before jogging off.

Leo sighed, letting himself sink into the couch for a few moments.

A trip out to the farmhouse would be nice…but having excuses to not sit and get to know Chula would be harder.

Then again, it had been getting harder anyway.

He’d assumed, probably foolishly, that the portal wouldn’t take too long. Quick fixes were something that happened a lot with them. But they had reached a month and, while the Donnie’s were progressing, it sounded like they had a ways to go. Which meant more time for Leo trying to dodge the inevitable.

…he shouldn’t be dodging it anyway. Like Master Splinter said, her code of honor wasn’t the same as his. He shouldn’t be avoiding her anymore, she’d more than proven she wasn’t…what he’d thought she was.

Leo sighed again and stood.

He could put any talks off for a bit longer. For now, he had to make sure everyone knew they were headed to the farm.

—-----------------------------

Day of departure was always chaotic when they went to Hampton. Mostly because they left at two in the morning.

Even with the Hauler, going out during the day was a risk. That, and they had a very large spaceship to account for as well. Leo knew it had cloaking but he’d rather keep risks to a minimum.

Because Don was going to be on the Tortuga, Leo was designated the driver of the Hauler. And since Chula had offered an open invitation to anyone who wanted to ride with her, the only people with Leo were Raph, Master Splinter and Lou.

It was a bit odd, having the Hauler so quiet, free of Mikey chattering away or Don playing music. The only sound being Raph and Lou snoring away while Master Splinter meditated to pass the time.

Leo enjoyed the quiet for as long as it lasted.

Which was about halfway through Cunneticut before Raph snorted and sat up, rubbing his neck and wincing, “Geez, Mike usually wakes me up before I get a crick.”

“Mikey is on the Tortuga, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah, I ‘member,” Raph yawned. “Where we at now?”

“Little over halfway there.”

“Nice.”

They lapsed into silence again, watching the scenery zip by.

Leo broke the hush first, “You’ve talked to Chula a few times.”

Raph shugged, “Yeah, a few. Mostly when she’s spottin’ for Raphie.”

“Right, right,” Leo paused. “And after…everything…what do you think of her?”

Raph snorted, “You can just ask if I think she’s crazy or somethin’.”

Leo winced, “I wouldn’t say crazy-”

“Oh, she’s a lil nutty upstairs, ain’t no denyin’ that,” Raph interrupted. “But, ya know, she’s even older than April and Case and she’s a merc. Doubt you can get to that age with that kinda job and not be a little crazy.”

Leo frowned, glancing at Raph, “How do you know how old she is?”

“She kinda told me. Mikey was bein’ Mikey, makin’ jokes and tryin’ to get her to wrestle without just askin’ and she said ‘I am forty-four years old and you will respect me as your elder’. And then she kicked his shell.”

Leo couldn’t help but huff a little laugh, “...forty-four, huh?”

“Yup…,” Raph sighed. “I still think she went too far with…the entire turtle-napping and rescue situation. But she’s not like…like the guys we fight sometimes. I mean, she hasn’t worn her armor or weapons since they all had that sleepover in her ship.”

Leo had noticed that as well. It was kind of hard not to notice that, “So, what, do you think she’s trying to look less threatening?”

“I mean, yeah?” Raph said. “We…didn’t think about it at the time but I’m pretty sure those big ol’ ears ain’t for show.”

“...ah shell,” she had absolutely heard them talking on the drive back from the river.

“Yeah,” Raph sighed. “Kinda figured that out when Leon banged his arm and she heard him yelp from across the Lair and behind two doors…tried to loosen up around her a bit after that.”

“...did it help?”

“Yeah, helped me see she’s not all, ‘grrr, fighting, killing and shooting are my love languages’... she’s also, like, really touch-y. Like she's always starving for some kinda physical contact.”

…Leo had noticed that. She gave affection very freely, letting Leon, Michel, Donnie and even Mikey climb all over her. Leo had assumed she was just letting them mess around but…she did seem to have a habit of dragging Leon in for hugs.

“Final verdict then?” he asked.

“She’s nuts but so’s Casey and we keep him around.”

Leo did laugh at that, a short burst of a sound that he smothered behind a hand, “Right, got it.”

“You gonna try and bond with her when we all get out there?”

Leo shrugged, “Maybe.”

He’d see when they actually got there.

—-------------------------------

“Think they found the place?” Raph asked as he climbed out of the Hauler.

Leo shrugged, looking around. The sun was starting to rise over the barn, casting everything in soft shades of gold, but there didn’t seem to be a turtle-shaped spaceship.

“How do ya get lost when you can fly?” Raph gestured to the large, grassy patch by the windmill where a ship could be parked. “They should have beat us by a few hours.”

“Hmm,” Splinter stepped out of the Hauler, ears flicking this way and that. “I would not jump to conclusions, Raphael.”

“But they ain’t-”

Raph was interrupted by the roar of an engine. Leo did not jump physically…but it was very close. He looked up in time to see the Tortuga, appearing out of thin air as the cloaking deactivated. Wind buffeted them as the ship slowly touched down, the thrusters giving one last growl before winding down.

Mikey was off the ship and barreling towards the Hauler before the ramp fully descended, “Oh my god, you guys have got to go for a spin before they start working on her again! That was awesome!”

Raph stuck his arm out, catching Mikey by the face before he got tackled, “Glad you had fun knuckle-head. Now you get to help us unload.”

“Booooo!” Mikey groaned. “We’re at the farm dude, this is our vaca spot!”

“We did technically come up a day early to get everything prepped for April and Casey,” Don pointed out as he walked over. “If we do the unloading and get the house aired out, we can play with the baby quicker.”

Mikey frowned, as if he was very deeply considering Don’s words, “Yes, very true, very true. That’s why you’re the smart one Dee!”

Don rolled his eyes, “Thanks Mikey.”

Leo shook his head but found himself looking back at the Tortuga ramp.

Chula had stepped down…and she had changed into a loose brown shirt and black pants that went about halfway down her leg. It was…odd, not to see her in the green flight suit. Even the vembraces she had been wearing around the Lair were missing.

And he couldn’t help but notice how much…tamer she looked, more at ease, almost soft. The scene became even softer when Leon and Michel came pelting down the ramp and both tried to climb her like a tree. Her face brightened in a laugh as she reached and grabbed at them, managing to snag Michel and bring him in for a bear hug.

…okay, after April and Casey got here, he’d hang out with her. He nodded to himself before spinning and grabbing some luggage from the Hauler.

—---------------------------

The air was almost buzzing as they waited for April and Casey to arrive.

Leo sat on the porch, watching as most of the family burned off their nervous energy with a free-for-all sparring session.

One that Chula had happily joined in on.

So Leo took the opportunity to watch her.

It was kind of funny, how she was obviously playing more than sparing. She was on the defensive, slipping in between all the turtle shells and batting away anyone who tried to jump her or just picking them up and letting them dangle before dropping them again and moving to the next teen.

Leo tipped his head as he observed. He hadn’t watched her sparring much at the Lair, seeing how she usually took it outside, citing that she liked having free reign to use an entire room for mock fights.

Personally, he thought it was because Leon and his brothers tended to get carried away.

But this wasn’t a proper spar for her. Her ears and shoulders were relaxed, her posture slightly stooped, eyes bright and joyful as she snatched up Michel and crushed him to her chest with a playful growl. Michel cackled in excitement, worming a hand out to bat at her arm and dramatically yell, “Help! I’m being turtle napped!.”

Leon spun, leaped onto Chula’s back with a snarl and wrapping his arms around her neck, “Release my baby brother!”

“No,” Chula replied, crushing Michel even closer. “My baby now. I’m gonna take him to space with me.”

“Betrayal!” Leon wailed through laughter.

Watching them, seeing Chula giggle and playfully wrestle with everyone was making it more difficult for Leo to still see the snarling, bloody, rage fueled warrior from a month ago. And he felt like such a jerk for only seeing that person.

Don had been right, Falco’s facility had been a one off incident. Not a great incident but an isolated one, nonetheless.

Leo was pulled out of his thoughts by Splinter raising his head, ears flicking towards the road, “My sons, they are here.”

“Wait, for real?” Mikey paused in pestering Raph, leap-froging over his shell to run to a better vantage point from the porch steps. A grin spread over his face and he started to wave his arms, “Oh my shell, they’re here!”

Leo smiled, standing to greet the car that was slowly coming up the drive.

…much, much too slowly to be Casey driving.

But as they got closer, Leo could see that Casey was, in fact, driving like a grandmother. He heard Raph laugh loudly and looked to see him elbowing Raphie, “Man, I knew Casey was gonna be that kinda parent.”

“He’s just being safe,” Raphie defended, even if it sounded weak.

Leo chuckled, leaning on the porch railing as the car slowly stopped in front of the group. Mikey tried to break ranks instantly, Michel, Apes and Raphie moving to follow, but Casey leaped out of the car, hand out as if to shield his kid, “Hey, hey, hey, no crowding my kid! Baby’s are delicate ya know, you can’t all jump on her at once!”

The back car door opened and April's voice drifted out, “Casey, they know that.”

“Yeah, Casey, we know that!” Mikey parroted, even as he stopped and settled for making grabbing motions towards April. “Now where’s that lil ninja? And better question, are we finally gonna find out her name?”

“Hold your horses, will ya?” Casey grumbled as he tugged the door open all the way for April.

Leo leaned forward, eyes fixed on the bulky car seat April was taking out. The moment it faced forward, everyone erupted into coo’s and aww’s. The baby was certainly chunky, chubby cheeked and limbed, a mop of dark curls poked out from a yellow beanie and big blue eyes scanned over all the new people leaning closer.

“Say hi to your uncle's sweetie,” April cooed, carefully taking one of the baby's hands and helping her wave.

Splinter’s claws lightly scraped the ground as he walked past the entire group, smiling down at the baby, “She is truly a beautiful child.”

“Very, very cute,” Raph agreed. “Now you gonna give us her name or are we gonna keep callin’ her ‘lil ninja’.”

Casey beamed, moving to stand next to April like they were presenting the kid, “Guys, Meet Cassandra Fede O’Neil-Jones!”

Leo smiled. The name was certainly a mouthful but it suited the little girl perfect-

“Oh my god!”

All eyes snapped to Leon, who was laughing, slapping at CJ’s back as the teen stared at Cassandra, face slowly turning red.

Leon’s laugh turned into a manic cackle as he leaned on CJ, “Dude, dude, bro, her name’s Cassandra.”

“It’s not that surprising,” Donnie sighed. “Name’s are likely to repeat, especially with pre-existing dimensional connections! It’s not that odd that this is the Cassandra of this universe.”

“You guys know a Cassandra related to CJ?” April asked.

“Know her?!” Leon was almost howling now. “Dude, our Cassandra is CJ’s mom!”

Ah. Leo could see the humor now.

CJ turned even redder as he reached up and pulled his mask down, “It’s not funny. Like Donnie said, dimensional consistency or whatever.”

“We found your mom in this dimension!” Leon giggled.

“Okay verd’ika, be nice,” Chula lightly cuffed Leon on his shell but she was smiling as well. “Leave CJ alone and help get the transport unloaded.”

Leo nodded, moving to the trunk and popping it open, “Everyone get a bag, we can visit once April and Casey are settled.”

“And Cassandra!” Mikey added. “When can we hold her? I call first dibs! I wanna hold her first!”

“You have to wash your hands,” April said as she started walking towards the house.

“And help get their stuff inside,” Leo added.

Mikey blew a raspberry, “You’re no fun.”

—-------------------------

Mikey did end up getting the first turn. He scrubbed his hands more thoroughly then Leo had even seen and then eagerly cuddled Cass to his plastron, “She’s so tiny.”

“She's a month old dude, of course she’s tiny,” Casey ws hovering, hands out Like Mikey would drop her at any second. “Make sure you support her head.”

“I got her, I got her,” Mikey babbled, voice pitched high and gaze fixed on Cass. “I would never, ever drop this lil lady. No, I would never.”

Cass giggled and grab Mikey’s mask tails, tugging one towards her mouth, much to Casey’s dismay.

Leo couldn’t deny his heart was melting a little.

Almost everyone had gathered in the living room, some waiting their turn to cuddle Cass and others happy to just watch.

Mikey held Cass for a few minutes before looking up, grinning at the circle, “Who wants next turn? No way I can hog all this cuteness.”

“Give her to Chula,” Leon said.

“Leon-,” Chula chided.

But he cut her protest off breezily, “Trust me guys, you want to give Chula a turn.”

Mikey grinned, apparently catching on to whatever Leon was saying. Because he was definitely saying something but Leo wasn’t sure what.

Mikey moved over, grin getting wider as he deposited Cass into Chula’s arms. She was small but she looked almost miniscule in Chula’s arms, which tucked neatly around Cass to suppose her head and spine.

Everyone watched as Chula looked at the baby in her arms. Cass reached up, babbling and grabbing for a lock of red hair.

And Leo watched in mild fascination as Chula’s pupils dilated, her ears flicked forward and all of her attention zeroed in on Cass.

And then she chirped.

Well, chitter would be a better word, a long sound that bubbled out of her throat, almost like a monkey. The sound made Cass squeal with laughter, hands beating the air in excitement.

“No way,” Raph whispered next to Leo as Chula chittered again, the sound morphing into a purr-like growl.

Leon looked around at the group, grinning smugly. Mikey nodded at him, clearly very happy with the current display.

And Leo kept watching as Chula ducked her head, letting Cass grab her hair as she chirped and chittered and purred away.

…now Leo really felt like a jerk…and he really needed to have a talk with Chula.

—------------------------------------

It was hours later, after some of the baby fever had ebbed and most people in the house were getting ready for bed, before Leo made his move.

He had been waiting for a chance to get Chula alone. An arguably difficult task, as it turned out, between all the different people wanting her time and attention.

Luckily, she wasn’t the type to head to bed early.

Leo found her on the porch, a tablet in hand with a picture of what looked like a very large fan blade on it.

He cleared his throat to get her attention and gestured to the front lawn, “Would you like to spar?”

She blinked, mouth pulling into a confused frown, “Weapons or hand-to-hand?”

Right, she’d stopped carrying her weapons. Leo removed his katanas, leaning them just inside the door, “Hand-to-hand.”

Chula nodded, stowing her tablet away and gestured for Leo to lead.

They faced off on the grass, both slowly circling and waiting for the other to make the first move. Leo was surprised she didn’t just charge at him but he didn’t let that throw him off, the point of this wasn’t to improve his fighting anyway.

Chula did end up moving first, suddenly switching directions and moving to jab at Leo’s side. He blocked the hit, responding with a quick jab of his own. Chula spun, avoiding the attack and ducking low to grapple.

They traded blows like that for a bit, each ducking in and out, getting in quick jabs, maybe grappling for a few seconds, then jumping apart again.

Leo found comfort in the repetitive action, and he clung to that comfort when he finally spoke, “I owe you an apology.”

“Oh?” Chula jumped away, bringing her arms up to block. “For what?”

“I was unfair to you. I judged you based on an isolated incident and let that form my option of you.”

Chula snorted, sticking a leg out to block Leo’s kick, “You had every right to be wary. I know my way of doin’ things puts a lot of people off.”

“It was still unfair to you,” Leo jumped out of range before quickly diving back in for a punch. “You were saving me and Donnie and you haven’t done anything since then to warrant me avoiding you.”

Chula hummed, moving back a few paces, “You’re empathetic and have a hero complex, makes sense that you’d be big on the ‘no killing’ rule.”

Leo paused, “You sound confident.”

Chula smiled, shifting her weight for a kick, “I know someone back home, Astra Ader. She’s like you. Strong, but humble. Fearless and compassionate. When I met her, I was…not in a good place.” Leo managed to land a hit on her arm, she countered with an open palm to his chest. “...honestly, when we first met? I was jealous that she still had so much empathy.”

Leo grabbed Chula’s arm but didn’t move it away, simply held it firm, “Why?”

Chula’s smile turned sad, her ears drooping, “I lost that, a long time ago… Mandalore is infamous for fighting amongst themselves, our wars have made the planet almost uninhabitable…very few make it far before they’re caught in the middle of a war.”

Leo let go, stepping back, Chula doing the same, “...how old were you?”

“...thirteen.”

Leo felt like someone had punched him in the gut. He and his brothers hadn’t started getting into serious trouble with the Foot or aliens until they were fifteen. Thirteen felt so far, far away.

Chula heaved a heavy sigh, crossing her arms, eyes moving towards the sunset, “It was a war against people who have been trained to win every fight they're thrown into. My compassion, empathy…it died quickly. Had to if I wanted to make it out. It messed me up pretty bad…I’m tryin’ to be better…I got people I want to be better for but…they were planning to hurt you. All of you. You’re all kids who haven’t done a thing but help people. You shouldn’t have been caged up and poked at like common beasts.”

She turned back to Leo, eyes suddenly hardening, “I’m sorry I scared you, I’m sorry what I did affected you so much. But I will not apologize for taking down a bunch of demagolka.”

Leo nodded, slowly, “I still don’t agree…but thank you for coming for us.”

Chula smiled, almost shyly as she tilted her head, “We okay?”

“Yeah,” Leo agreed. “Yeah, I think we are.”

“Good, good.”

They stood in silence for a moment, just letting the air settle.

Then Leo had to ask, “What does that mean? Demagolka?”

Chula huffed, “The Basic translation doesn’t do the word justice but the most direct translation is ‘monster’...for Mandalorians, being called a demagolka is worse than a death sentence.”

“Your people don’t go half-way, do thay?”

“Nope,” Chula’s smile morphed into a smirk, eyes glinting with mischief. “For example…”

Leo yelped when she suddenly moved, much faster than she had been before, and grabbed Leo by the middle.

He responded on reflex, hooking his arms around her neck and twisting, sending both of them to the ground. Chula laughed, squirming out of his hold before going to grab him again.

Leo grinned as he moved away. The air felt a bit clearer now, clear enough that he let himself indulge in wrestling with Chula until long after the sun went down.

#tmnt #rottmnt #tmnt 2003 #lone hunter and turtle #tmnt au #fanfic #star wars

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needfantasticstories · 8 months

Text

A Snippet from my WIP

TW: abduction

other warnings: probably way too much exposition…lol.

(Okay, I’ve not written in a long time, so please forgive my sloppy/wordy sentences and feel free to leave constructive criticism below. I’ll try and get the chapters cleaned up, then post the five chapters I’ve drafter so far. This is a small part, and where the Whump begins.)

WIP Premise:

Cia’s War of Ages has far-reaching consequences for residents of Skyloft as they face invasion from a distant time. But when the battle comes, where are Hylia’s vessel and her Chosen Hero?

Chapter TBD: The Walk and The Dorm

Dim lamps lit the hallway to his room. He walked toward it heavy with thought.

If only he’d followed Zelda, explained what he and Groose meant. He knew she had the strength and speed to fight, but Groose and Gaepora had a point: the people need her too. She represented hope, the future, and wisdom. Few knew about her divine identity, but they never needed to. She radiated light, and strength, and determination. She gave them courage, made them feel strong. What would happen if she fell in battle? What would happen to him?

Still, he understood her desire to fight alongside the knights. He and Zelda both grew up among them, and they’d become family. She’d trained under captain Eagus along with him, and she could take on every monster they faced on the surface with incredible technical prowess. No one doubted she could hold her own one-on-one. But a battle? He sighed.

In the end, she’d find a way to join. She let nothing come between her and her goal, and as exhausting as that was, he admired her for it. He smiled at the realization. He would fight at her side if she joined the fight.

If only his dream had revealed who would meet the end of their blades in the days to come. What did this mysterious enemy want?

Demise and Ghirahim were dead, their remaining essences locked within three chests Zelda had hidden across time and not even he was allowed to know anything else about it. The demon hordes were dying out or rendered harmless, and not a single of the small political factions in Skyloft had enough hate or strength to declare war on the entire archipelago.

“Those like you, and those like me…”

The memory rankled him. Lies from a demon, not to be trusted. He buried them deep and chose courage.

Who, then, was coming for Skyloft? The laughter and grasping hands from his dream, he didn’t recognize. The monsters up here were nearly extinct. And why had Fi asked him to turn her back into the Goddess blade, and raise Hylia’s statue back to the sky? Why did she switch from calling him Chosen Hero to Hero of Ages when his dream showed nothing about going through those portals? How would any of this fix a break in time? And who would want to engulf such a small island chain in flames?

his head ached from all the questions. He needed sleep. Perhaps he’d get another dream.

Link opened his door and stepped into the dark. He could not wait to sleep.

Having lived in this same room at the Knight’s Academy for nearly a decade, Link knew every inch of it, and didn’t waste time lighting lamps or feeling around for his chair. He knew every creaking board and bump in the rug by muscle memory.

He pulled off his tunic and chain mail and draped them on the chair by the door, ready to be cleaned tomorrow.

They had drills first thing, and he’d already be tired, and then he’d help Groose with materials for his flying machines to bring materials to the temporary camps, and hopefully he’d get a meal or two in before building the forts again.

He slipped his feet free quickly as he thought about the coming day, and set his boots aside. He’d have to polish them tomorrow or Gaepora would chide him for not living up to the knights’ dress code. The surface had not been kind to them.

A gleam of moonlight on something red near the window caught his eye.

His mind flashed in fear: Ghirahim? Goddesses, I must be tired. No, he’s gone.

It disappeared quickly, if it was even there in the first place. The academy clocked chimed the second hour past midnight, startling him.

It’s just nerves. No sense fretting until the fight comes.

Still, this felt wrong. He held his breath, listening. He took a step back to light his lamp, but something caught his wrist as he turned. Three fingers, scale-skinned, and hot.

A lizalfos? How?

As his brain fired the thought, yet before it fully registered, three more claws grasped his arms while another pair slid around his throat and mouth, pinning him in place just inside the door. He wished he hadn’t closed it.

He bucked and writhed, but they seemed to anticipate his strength, and held him firmly in place. They maneuvered to hold him steady and muffle him, huge leather wings snapping as he fought the free himself.

Since when do lizalfos have wings?

It doesn’t matter! He thought, trying to bring his fists together so he could add momentum to his elbows, Just get free, then worry about it!

(what do y’all think? Should I post the rest or edit more to clean it up?)

#whumptober 2023 #loz skyward sword #lu sky #lu sun

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mondscheinprinzessin · 2 years

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More I'm caught beneath BTS? Plz? 🥺

Of course lovely anon!

Lauri drove them to his home, a big penthouse in the wealthy part of the city where Aleksi had never been to before, noting the long way home he had to make while he watched outside the tainted window of an expensive car.

Some good comparison to what Aleksi doesn’t have and how big the contrast between them and their lives is. It’s nothing Aleksi thinks he could ever achieve and of course he’s impressed by it.

He had even ordered dinner from a fancy restaurant, Aleksi could tell because it was nothing like the stuff he got for takeout. He hadn’t expected any food or more care than necessary, merely a quick shag and go but over dinner Lauri had said he could pay for a whole night if Aleksi wanted, and Aleksi didn’t doubt that Lauri was able to. Everything in his home looked fancy and there should be enough money to pay a cheap prostitute.

Ah yes, Aleksi and his believe that he doesn’t deserve anything more than the necessary, he’s nothing special or worth spending money on. And it’s always lovely to talk down on yourself, Aleksi really doesn’t see himself as more than other people let him believe he is.

And it had sounded too tempting as to refuse. Especially when he was promised a nice breakfast as good as their dinner and the option of using the bathtub.

The bed was as big as everything else in the apartment and while Lauri may not have been as careful with him as the last guy it was by no way unpleasant. Or Aleksi just got used to getting treated like that, but he forbade himself thinking in that way. What he wanted and needed was not important.

Aleksi may only see it as ‘not as careful’ but I would say he’s rather rough and probably has no conscience in bed either and would disregard any safeword too because hey he’s paying for it so he should get what he wants. It’s definitely also important what Aleksi wants but I think even if he had voiced it Lauri wouldn’t have given it to him because he doesn’t care for other people at all. (I hope Joel had a good talk with Aleksi and his needs and that he isn’t just there to please Joel but should enjoy it too).

In the end Lauri gave him more money than agreed. “For your good behaviour.” He had said. “For being even prettier than in the videos.”

Needless to say Aleksi met up with him again. And again. Lauri gave him more than his cam shows ever could.

How lovely of Lauri to give Aleksi all this money, right? He’s not only doing that as a gift because Aleksi was so good you say? You’re so right! How best to train someone to put their own needs aside and think they’ve done good by ignoring essentially red flags and making sure they will come back to you than by giving them the money they so desperately need and sweet words they otherwise never get to hear. A+ behaviour, first night Aleksi is with Lauri, and we already know he’s an asshole.

Even though Lauri tended to him well Aleksi couldn’t miss the cold stare he mustered him with. But Aleksi had by no means expected any love from this, it was just unsettling at times. Lauri had seen everything of him, touched him everywhere, but for some reason he pierced Aleksi with this gaze and let him feel more naked than when he was without clothes in his bed.

But Aleksi didn’t let it be noticed that he was feeling nervous or wary around him. Money was money and if Lauri liked to look at him then he was free to do so.

I wish I could have given Aleksi one good thing but no, instead he gets to meet this sorry excuse of a human being who has no idea what loving and caring for a person is or even how to treat someone and just sees an object in Aleksi that he can make do what he wants. And Aleksi thinks Lauri is tending well to him but that just means he’s covering the basics. Again Aleksi: YOU DESERVE BETTER!

To Aleksi’s delight there was a piano in his apartment and when Aleksi stayed over Lauri allowed him to play on it. He had learned on the piano in school, staying after school hours were over, not having any place to be, not one person waiting for him.

He wanted to think that he impressed Lauri with his talent. At least one thing since he couldn’t maintain any talk about politics or demonstrate any knowledge about the paintings and books that were found in the penthouse. What did he know about authors or artists, painters or designers? Easy: nothing.

Therefore they didn’t have much to talk about, Lauri wasn’t exactly asking him about his life so far or what he did in his free time besides acting as a camboy. They weren’t a couple or having an affair, so Aleksi didn’t expect him to, but despite their strict work relationship Aleksi enjoyed the company. He didn’t have anyone else he was meeting, the only person he was seeing was Lauri and even though he wasn’t the most kindhearted person Aleksi was happy about every rendezvous.

How to make that person you already want to feel small feel even dumber? Only talk about topics that don’t touch any education or interests of Aleksi and make him think it’s his fault for not knowing anything about it or like it’s a character flaw that he’s more interested in cooking and videogames than the latest political scandals. But maybe praise him a bit for his piano playing so he thinks you’re proud of him and will hold that emotional bond with you even tighter.

Lauri is just the first person who fakes interest in Aleksi, and he latches on to it because he’s lonely and would take everyone who pays him attention and besides Robin he never had any real friends or another healthy relationship, so he doesn’t know what to look out for, so him thinking that Lauri is alright just shows how twisted his world view is and his opinion of himself.

At one of their meetings - Lauri had ordered dinner again as he apparently never cooked himself, at least the kitchen was always spotless, but then again so was the whole apartment as Lauri’s appearance on its own - Lauri offered him a position at his company. As his secretary.

Chapter number too many of Aleksi’s miserable life begins. But honestly if he had said no to the position and went back to his usual cam shows and occasional meeting people for sex, I bet something else would have happened to him because no one is there to protect him and he’s very vulnerable with this job and as he doesn’t know what an abuser looks like people would have it very easy to exploit him. So maybe saying yes to Lauri was a bad decision, maybe not because at least it leads to him meeting Joel, we really can’t tell.

#answered #sometimes I think I didn't put too much thought into my fics and then I read them again and realize ohhh this is actually very good

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eishtmo · 2 months

Text

Sledge and the Demon

A story involving one of the characters I created to play Champions Online.

The door opened with the ding of a shop bell. Fitting as the it was basically a shop. One of those junk and antique shops, and no real way to know which was what until carefully examined.

Sledge observed the room as the door closed behind him. He noted the collection of things scattered on shelves, desks and tables. Glass figurines sat behind glass doors, old wooden bowls overflowed with coins and old watches, and lamps had varieties of fabric and knitted babbles hanging from their shades. To him, it was mostly junk, but he could see why someone might want some of it. In another decade even he might.

There was some doubt there. If he didn't want this while he was in his 70s, by official time keeping anyway, he didn't figure he'd want it in his 80s. Still, he knew better than to discount that, too many years told him otherwise.

In any case, he made an effort not to smack anything with the large hammer that he had propped on his shoulder. It's had was wrapped in burlap, tied with heavy twine, but the handle was wood and the weight was amongst his heaviest. Only the training hammer at home was heavier. He quick checked to make sure his cape, the only remnant from his old super hero costume, didn't get caught in the door. Not that it would hurt, just come off the attachments to his suspenders, but he'd rather not fight the door to get it back.

He crossed through the room to a large desk at the far end. Behind it was the back of a high backed, leather chair. The very middle of the desk was empty aside from a green felt pad, while the sides were just as stuffed with knick knacks as the rest of the shop. It was clear, though, these were the most valuable, after all, why would they be on the desk.

"Welcome," a voice from behind the chair announced. "If anything catches your eye, let me know. Be aware that I typically don't take cash, check or card, but I'm sure we can come to some kind of arrangement."

Sledge stopped and swung the hammer off his shoulders, flipping it around so the head faced down and planting it on the floor without even a sound. As he put his hands on the hand end to wait, the chair turned around.

It was a demon, red skin, black hair, black horns, black business suit, exactly what Sledge had expected to find. Sledge's blue jeans, white t-shirt, grey hair and stubble contrasted perfectly.

"Still, I'm sure you're here for something, quite specific." The demon smiled, his voice slick and smooth, his teeth sharp and white.

"I reckin'" Sledge responded, his southern drawl tempered only by decades living in the far north coming through even with so few words.

The demon chuckled briefly. "Of course, of course. Surely this is about dear Miss Lockhart, though I am only guessing."

"Your lil fairies didn't get give you a heads up, eh?"

"No, but then, I do have eyes and ears beyond them and up to the surface." The shop wasn't on the surface, no sunlight shined through it's windows. It was deep below the Earth, at the end of a long staircase hundreds of feet from the entrance, surrounded by a pit of nothing. Sledge had spent the best part of the morning climbing down those stairs, not answering the many questions of the fairies that followed him down. "But really, I just needed your name, and I knew why you were here." The demon reached below the collar of his shirt, right where the tie was, and pulled out a chain with a black claw. At it's end was a small, bright, orange crystal. It seemed to shine from some internal source, and was just bright enough to highlight the hairs of the demon's beard.

Sledge beheld it almost stone faced. "Could be anythin'" he dismissed the gem. "Unless'en you can confirm it."

The demon openly laughed. "You don't trust me?" Sledge shook his head slowly. "Ah, of course not. Still, if we are to deal, there should be some honesty between us. If I told you how I acquired this and what it is, then perhaps we can make a deal."

"It helps that you'd be up for boastin' about it."

"Indeed," the demon said his smile somehow getting bigger. "Priscilla Lockhart. lovely girl. So wanted to help others in anyway should could, often at the end of a gun. What is the phrase, shoot the wings off a fly at 100 yards? Not sure what a yard is, but it sounds quite impressive.

"Still, time takes it's toll. Decades of being a hero, much like yourself, meant she was exposed to a wide variety mystical and biological diseases and one managed to take root, degrading her ability to aim. She sought cures from all walks of life, but couldn't find one. The scientists offered to cut off her arms and replace them with mechanical ones! Can you imagine? The sorcerers had nothing they could offer, and it looked she might have to, as they say, hang up the cape. Not that she wore one, I'm led to believe, unlike yourself.

"Finally she found the one being on all of the Earth that could help her, me." He gestured toward himself and stood pushing the chair back. The demon began to move around the desk to speak directly the Sledge. "She told me her story, and I was quite sympathetic. I determined that I could cure her disease, it wasn't beyond my powers at all, but why stop there? Perhaps I could heal away any number of lagging injuries and future ones as well. And of course, while I'm at it, why not get her back to her peak form, shave off 20 some years and get her back into top fighting form? She'd be young, perhaps forever, and practically immortal! All I needed was something she had in spades, the one thing that drove her to seek me out in the first place, the one thing that was stronger in her than anything else." The demon now stood before Sledge, holding up the little orange crystal, smiling the most evil, vile smile anyone had ever smiled before. "Her empathy."

Sledge nodded with understanding. "She figgered she could handle it, sounds like Prissy."

"Indeed," the demon said, leaning back. His smile didn't go away, but did turn off from it's more extreme edges. "Sadly, she could not. Too see such a great hero lose her way and turn into such a terrible villain, a tragedy worth of a great novel. Or perhaps a comic book. A pity, but she got what she wanted, and so did I. This is perhaps the greatest thing I have ever claimed in all my centuries of trading. It would take quite the offer for me to give it up, wouldn't you agree?"

"I would," Sledge replied.

The demon now leaned against the desk. "I'm glad we agree. Now, what do you have that I would be willing to trade this, my greatest prize, for. Let me see," he trailed off, but only briefly, clearly he knew what he wanted. "You're quite the hero, I have heard tales of your exploits even way down here. Never one of the all time greats, but few who encounter you forget and they all mention how strong you are, swinging those massive hammers of yours. Where does it come from, your parents, I assume. Mother? Father? Both? I suppose it doesn't matter.

"You've been out of the game for sometime now, only just coming back in the fight, but clearly you seemed to be fine sitting it out. Perhaps a return to that life would be worth your time. There are much younger heroes out there, just as strong as you in your prime, let alone now. In reality, your wisdom and experience are why other heroes listen to you, not how hard you hit. Even if you never really retired, you could sit behind a desk, or a monitor and advise from the safety of the home front and the training center. Yes, it would be a transition, but something that might be worth it, after all, how many decades have you lived? Longer than many suspect.

"I will give you Miss Lockhart's empathy, in exchange for your super strength. I think that would be a fair trade, don't you?

Sledge flexed his jaw in thought. "You ain't wrong. It's been a long time wearin' the cape. I wouldn't mind not havin' to go out on the front lines myself. I think I could handle that if I wanted." The demon smiled, but Sledge remained rather stone faced. "Still, I also know my strength is what got me here. That's an awful long set of stairs back there, and while I could bounce up them quite readily now, me being as old as I am, without that strength, well, it would make for a hell of a climb back up. I might not even make it. Would be a shame if I fell, or had a heart attack, or simply stopped being able to walk another step on the way out. Of course, I'm sure you could do somethin' about that, for a fair trade, ain't that right?"

The demon was no longer smiling, but not frowning either. "I am about fair trades, yes. I have stated what I want, and I am quite firm on this." Sledge nodded. "Oh I understand, would you mind if I made a counter offer?" The demon nodded. "Very well then." Sledge lifted the hammer up and held it both hands, the massive, burlap wrapped head near his right hand. "You give me Prissy's empathy and I," he now shifted the weight of the hammer to his right hand more and more. "I don't beat the ever livin' hell out of you with this here hammer."

The demon openly laughed, as if he had heard the funniest joke he had ever been told. "That is your offer? Truly you astound me! I thought you might have done at least SOME research before coming here, but clearly you did not." "I had a friend do some research, book learnin' ain't my strong suit."

"Then your friend must have left out the most important part. You see my friend, I made a deal with the heavens to be able to set up shop here, and that deal stated very clearly that nothing made by a mortal can harm me. It won't hurt, at all, if anything, that hammer of yours would be destroyed as soon as it came into contact with me. Such a joke! Here I thought you were serious about negotiations, and clearly you are not."

"That is a bit of clever wordin' of that deal Makes it so I can't even beat ya with my fists, as those were made by a mortal in a different sort of way. And yet still, my offer here is quite firm."

The demon frowned. "You're serious?" He sighed. "Very well, if you feel so strongly, go right ahead," the demon stuck out his chin. "Then when you fail, we can go back to my proposal."

"You sure bout this?" The demon nodded. "Well alright," Sledge said as he pulled the hammer back with one hand, it's great weight straining even his massive harms. "Now then, this might hurt just a bit." "I doubt it."

Sledge swung his hammer. It connected with the demon's head, square along the side, and the demon flung across the room. One of the nearby tables exploded in a pile of destroyed trinkets as the demon's whole body slammed into it. Glass and pieces of wood fell from the top, covering the demon who didn't move for a moment.

"Oh dear," Sledge said insincerely. "Looks like you broke some of your stuff. I think that might of hurt, but then, I'm willing to try again, just to be sure."

Sledge took a couple steps toward the demon, when a massive fire balls suddenly leapt up out of the pile of debris. The hero blocked the bulk of the fire with the hammer, and the burlap caught fire immediately. As it burned away, the demon got up, his face bloodied and clearly quite angry. He got even more angry as the burlap finally burned away and revealed a hammer head covered in glowing runes, which Sledge promptly gave him a much closer look at as he smashed it into the demon's face again, smashing through another table of chotchkies.

"Made a lot of friends over my many years," Sledge said as he stalked toward the demon. "One is quite the fan of hammers himself, though his was quite a bit smaller than what I use. That is still the second heaviest hammer I ever did lift."

The demon managed to stand, just in time for Sledge to drive the hammer into his arm, driving it into his side and the sickening crack of bones in both the arms and ribs echoed through the room. The demon remained standing, until Sledge swung again coming across the opposite way and sending the demon flying across the room again.

"He ended up being my best man at my weddin," Sledge continued. "And as weddin' gift, he gave me this here hammer. Don't know if he planned for things like this, but it certainly came in handy, doncha think?" He leaned over the demon, still crumpled amongst debris. "Now then, did that hurt? Shall we try another round, I'm up for it."

"TAKE IT!" The demon yelled. He grabbed at the crystal and broke the chain with a pull. "TAKE IT AND LEAVE," the demon spit black blood as he held out the gem in the air before him.

Sledge opened his hand underneath, and the demon dropped it. "Well now, glad we could come to an agreement," Sledge said. "I think I'll make myself scarce, have a good day."

Sledge walked to the door and opened it triggering the little bell, and the demon began to laugh again, interrupting it with coughs of blood. The old hero stopped and looked back. "You're still a fool," the demon spit as he slowly stood up. "Once you return that, my contract with her will be broken. All the years and pain she's accumulated over the decades will come back and she will all but die in your arms. You've gotten nothing!"

Sledge looked at his hand, the crystal still clasped tightly inside, then back to the demon. "You say that as iffen I didn't already know that."

The door closed behind him with a final chime.

#superhero #champions online #story

1 note · View note

j0kers-light · 8 months

Note

Hello ! I have a ledger joker request It’s probably very stupid and not really your style but ah,,,it’s a scenario where the reader has enough of his bs like he probably pissed her off in some way (either from what he said, what he did or maybe she got tired of his dangerous lifestyle??)and the reader wants to break up,,,,how would he react and how would the story escalate lol,,, it could be angsty leading to fluff or even smut 🫣 or everything and anything I mean I really don’t mind haha,,,I hope it’s not too much

His Lighthouse: Goodbye (LedgerJoker x f!reader)

Goodbye - Oneshot

KEEP IN MIND THIS IS NOT A STORY UPDATE!

Hey hi anon! 🖤✨

This ask is soooooo old forgive me senpai! I found it buried deep in the August section! I held onto it because I loved the synopsis. I will say that your ask is NOT STUPID! It was out of my style (its rare I'll let Joker and Y/n break up) but I filled it anyway!

I still don't like the ending but practice makes perfect! Expect another break up fic in the future!

YALL NEED SOME MUTEMATH IN YA LIVES!

tag list:

@blackreaderatrisk @twinkledinkle @clemdango04 @l3ejm @tears-of-amber @what-an-angel @darthjokerisyourfather @thatsnoteii @dollster @cheetahspy @kaidennnnn @urdariingdoll @motivation-idontknowher @ins0mniac-whack @spaghettificationandpretzels @reneisance @alittlesmartcookie @ninacutebee16 @carydorse

Shoot me a request if you wanna be added to the HL taglist!

Joker really thought you were different. He assumed that you could stomach through the highs and lows of his fast paced lifestyle and remain by his side. You made it this far, why couldn't you last until forever?

Joker should have known his Light would crack under pressure.

If he wasn't so blinded by work, he would've noticed the signs. Your brilliant smile failed to reach your eyes, you stopped waiting up for him after his long nights out, and the unquestionable love that you held for him was no longer there. He was too busy destroying a city to notice; he didn't have time to worry about you or anything else.

And that proved to be his downfall.

It was the fourth night this week that Joker came home late and exhausted.

He would come in as loud as can be, shower off, raid your fridge, all before crashing in bed. Not one hello or a welcome home kiss was sent your way. You used to be his main focus, now you were grateful for any semblance of acknowledgement.

You eventually trained yourself not to be bothered by it, no matter how depressing it was to be cast aside.

A news broadcast explained that Joker was having a stressful few months evading police while still managing to wreak havoc on the city. The fact that you learned this information from a GCN segment and not from Joker himself, was a slap in the face.

The old Joker used to talk to you about these things. Sure he omitted majority of the details to keep you safe, but still, he used to keep you informed! You knew next to nothing now. You were completely in the dark.

You couldn't remember the last time you talked to Joker let alone touched him. You missed the long late night conversations and the passion that would eventually follow. You missed your partner in so many ways. How many nights have you gone without his love, desperate and lonely?

Things between you and J were more than strained and there was no light at the end of the tunnel. You could understand a few days of this distance, it was going on three months.

You doubted if you could stomach any longer.

In the beginning it was like a dream being with Joker. You were his Light, his Goddess, his reason for existing. He would do anything for you and he showered you with love and affection to prove his devotion. You were happy and totally blinded by his affection.

But by the time you noticed it was gone, reality settled in and stung like a bee. You were addicted to Joker and he was cruel to take away your fix.

He knew you had separation anxiety and it only worsened by the day. Your thoughts were plenty. Did he not love you anymore? Was there someone else? Was there anything you could do to repair this strained relationship?

You had so many questions and Joker was never around to answer them. So you spiraled into self doubt.

Joker didn't notice your change in demeanor since he was hardly at the apartment anymore. He only came home to eat, sleep, shower, and go back to work. He was so busy he couldn't spare you a second.

You tried to get his attention multiple times but he was always in a rush.

You tried cornering him while he was in the bathroom but still no dice. He would lock the door and you couldn't talk to him before bed due to the clash in sleep schedules. You slept while he was up and vice versa.

At times you thought Joker was creating distance on purpose. No man could be that busy! He wasn't in the past. Joker always made time for you. You wondered why he stopped.

Regardless, you vowed that things would be different. You were going to earn Joker's attention whether he liked it or not.

This was his last chance to acknowledge you. You knew your worth; you didn't deserve this cold treatment without just cause. And if Joker wouldn't cherish what he had, then you would move on and find someone who would.

You didn't need Joker and his toxic energy weighing you down. If he didn't fix his attitude then you were done.

You decided to confront J and give him a chance to correct his behavior as a common courtesy.

Joker usually got ready around seven pm so if you caught him before eight, you could talk to him before he left for the night.

You felt neglected and unloved by a man who swore to treat you like a goddess down to his dying breath. It was high time you put your foot down and held him accountable.

Everything was going according to plan until Joker deviated from his normal schedule.

He was already dressed and heading towards the door around six in the afternoon. The time threw you off and you almost missed him as he passed by.

You were cleaning the dishes in the kitchen but grabbed a towel to wipe your hands and run after J.

"Wait J! I need to talk to you!"

Much to your surprise he kept walking. Okay....? Was he flat out ignoring you now? You wouldn't be surprised.

You were still clinging onto the hope that this funk of his was a result of a stressful work situation. He wouldn't be busy forever and soon enough, he'd have all the time in the world for you but in the meantime, he didn't have to take his frustrations from work out on you.

You caught up to him in the living room and halted his movements with a smile. "Didn't you hear me? I wanna talk—"

"I don'T have time for this." Joker said under his breath. You heard it loud and clear. He arched an eyebrow at your stunned face. "What. Whaddya want?"

He never spoke to you like that before. You were at loss for words. He clicked his tongue in anger for wasting his time.

"Exactly. Nothing. Now... move." He shoved you away and you barely caught your balance from falling over.

Did he just?

You laughed to yourself and blinked in disbelief. "I know this white man didn't just push me." You mumbled to yourself.

You looked straight into an imaginary camera and laughed again. That didn't happen. If you acted a fool and went off on Joker, then somehow you'd be in the wrong.

For months you felt lesser than and suffered through his silent treatment but not any more. You were sick and tired of being neglected and in that moment, you reached your breaking point.

Only seconds had passed since Joker pushed you but it seemed like time slowed as he neared the door. You couldn't let him leave.

Joker was about to turn the doorknob when he heard you.

"I just wanted a few minutes of your time but then you had the audacity to push me?! Boy... have you done lost your mind cuz I'll help you find it!" You stomped to stand in front of Joker. He just arched an eyebrow at you.

Was he supposed to be frightened by you or something? You barely came up to his chest.

"I've had it with you! You don't talk to me anymore, you're never here! It's clear you're done with this relationship! It's like I'm dating a ghost and I do not have it to do! So! Here's an ultimatum. Either stay and we work this out or walk out that door and see what happens! The choice is yours."

You meant business this time. You were fed up with Joker not meeting you halfway in this relationship. You wanted things to go back to normal... back to when he proved he cared about you and meant it. Was that too much to ask for?

Apparently so. Joker simply rolled his eyes at your little performance, "Are ya done?"

Angry hot tears welled up in your eyes and you felt as if you were going to explode. You smiled through the pain and poked Joker's chest. He made his choice, now it was your turn.

"Am I done? Nah, I haven't even started." You waved him off. "Just go."

Your heart pleaded with him to do the exact opposite yet it broke into two when Joker scoffed and left your apartment without a word.

It would be the last time he did.

The next twenty four hours was the worst in Joker's life. He was leaving your apartment building when Frost called and explained that the planned mission for the night had already gone south.

Joker wasn't having the best of luck these days. Nothing was going right. It would take the rest of night and probably tomorrow to square things away so they could reattempt the mission at a later date.

The last thing he needed was something else to screw up after a day full of dumb mistakes.

Joker was bone tired by the time he boarded the elevator up to your apartment. He mashed the top floor button and sagged his weight on the walls with a sigh.

Joker didn't forget that he left on a bitter note and he hoped you were in a better mood now. You did have an entire day to calm down without him around.

He knew how stressful these past few months were and not just for him, but for you as well.

He foolishly put his work over you and the consequences were coming back to bite. His Bunny was rowdy and at her breaking point.

All he needed was another week or so and then he'd have ample amount of time to spoil you with the attention you deserved.

He walked off the elevator and down the short hallway to your front door. Nothing seemed amiss until he tried opening the door with his key.

It didn't fit.

He tried again and then he noticed it wasn't his key that was messed up, it was the door itself. You changed the f__king locks.

Joker tipped his head back and laughed.

How naïve you must be to think this would stop him. It only took two hard shoves with his shoulder and the door broke open. He barged in with inertia but stopped in his tracks at the sight of your apartment.

What was once a bright and eclectic space was now devoid of life. White dust sheets covered every available surface like an abandoned house and the whimsical air that usually flowed throughout the place was gone.

He tried turning the lights on but they didn't work. He ventured over to the fridge and jerked it open, only to find it completely empty. Even the faucet in the kitchen ran dry. It was as if you vanished and preserved the apartment for safekeeping.

All the doors in the apartment were locked and your precious houseplants in the sunroom were gone.

You were gone.

Joker didn't panic at first. Shock was clouding his judgment. There was no way you just up and left in a day.

His eyes darted around looking for any kind of clue but nothing remained. However, Joker was smart. He nodded to himself as he took the stairs back down to the front lobby, three at a time.

He rarely came down here and he hardly paid the workers any attention but today they would be his saving grace.

It was the crack of dawn yet an employee was already stationed at the front desk, typing on the computer.

Joker hit the counter before fixing the employee with a glare.

"O-Oh h-hello sir, you startled me! Good morning. May I help you with something?" She took in Joker's tight green eyes and his frantic demeanor but kept quiet.

She also wondered why he wore a face mask but she kept those thoughts to herself too.

"Y/n L/n. Top floor. Where did she go?" He demanded.

She wasn't at liberty to disclose any information about tenants but if she didn't say anything to his man, she knew he wouldn't be too thrilled. It went against protocol but just this once, she'd share what she knew.

Joker was glad she made the right choice. A few taps to her keyboard brought up your profile.

"Miss. L/n, let's see. She left.. yesterday afternoon! I don't know when she's returning since she didn't include a return date on the Tenant Leave paperwork. Would you like to.. um sir? Sir?"

Joker left the front desk as soon as he heard the word left. He glanced at his pocket watch and grimaced.

It was seven in the morning. Joker left a little before seven pm the day before which meant you had a full day to disappear anywhere in the world. His panic finally kicked in. You actually picked up and left him.

He couldn't believe it until your words from the night before echoed in his head and stopped him in his tracks.

"Either stay and we work this out or walk out that door and see what happens! The choice is yours!"

You asked Joker to stay and talk and he would wager it was about his attitude over the past months and about not giving you any attention. He put work above his Light and this was the consequence.

He never expected you to leave and change the locks. This was bad. Real bad.

You had a full day to travel anywhere and your royalties did not limit you on how far you could go. It was concerning that your security detail didn't report anything awry this entire time. They should've been the first to know if you decided to pick up and leave and Joker's immediate thought was the worst outcome.

Perhaps you didn't leave willingly. Joker had to see this with his own eyes. Good thing he installed security cameras all over your apartment, they came in handy at a time like this.

Joker arrived at this main hideout like a man on a mission.

The first thing he did was check with your security detail and drill them on your whereabouts for the past twenty four hours.

Much to his shock, they had absolutely no clue you were gone. That was just unacceptable so he got rid of them, permanently.

Joker's theory of you being kidnapped was proving to be a possibility until he locked himself in the control room and reviewed the camera feed.

He re-winded it back to ten minutes after he left your apartment and sighed once he saw you break down into tears. His heart ached seeing you in so much pain but after a while, you picked yourself up and disappeared into your private room. All was quiet until bright and early that morning, multiple movers and the apartment building's preservation committee stormed into your penthouse.

There were a dozen people moving in and out of your apartment from seven in the morning to late in the day.

They worked to remove the essentials you wanted out and set about spreading dust sheets over everything else that remained.

Two workers cleaned out your fridge and pantry while another team moved your plants from the sunroom with the utmost care. You stood watch through it all, pointing at what could stay or go, sporting a frown on your face and puffy eyes.

It was evident that you were crying all night and they worked twice as fast to remove you from this situation.

The apartment building manager came around noon with some paperwork and Joker turned up the audio so he could hear the conversation better.

"Alright Miss. L/n you're already aware of your ten year contract with us but I have to reiterate. You are obligated to pay rent during your extended leave of absence and you must return to full residency status before your contract expires. Do you have any questions?"

He set down the legal work on your kitchen counter and waited for you to respond. You didn't spare him or the agreement a glance.

The bookshelf team gave you a thumbs up when all your books were accounted for. They were the last to leave the apartment since no one was allowed in your room. You watched them haul out the boxes you pre-packed last night out the door.

"Will the water and power be turned off or will that be included in LOA rent?" You asked.

"Oh, that's excluded! Your normal rent is what? A high six here or there, so rent will be reduced to three thousand in your absence per month."

Joker always wondered how much your rent was. He was shocked to say the least. By no means was he a cheapskate but he wasn't so flippant with money either.

You nodded offhandedly at the property manager.

"Fax the agreement to my manager's office and they'll review it before I sign. Thank you all so much!" You shouted to the workers doing their final sweep of the place.

They nodded and waved back in thanks before leaving.

The preservation team was placing the final sheet on your custom dining table before they also waved goodbye. You returned your focus back to the apartment employee.

Now it was just you and him in the entire penthouse.

"I'm sorry. You were saying?"

He shook his head but returned to his previous thought. "Uh yes.. Might I ask your expected return date? Will it be longer than six months?"

You sighed. This was a spontaneous decision.

You honestly did not know how long you were going to be mad at Joker. He abandoned you for months and your heart just couldn't take the neglect anymore. How long was long enough to forgive such a betrayal?

This decision might be extreme from an outsider's perspective, but you saw no other alternative. Joker was not a man one could reason with. If his dreams of mass destruction were more important than your love, then you'd leave and let him have at it.

Things were not supposed to be permanent between the two of you anyway. Joker had long since overstayed his welcome and you were a fool to let him stay pro bono.

It could take the rest of your life for Joker to see what he lost. You had the patience; didn't mean it wouldn't hurt.

You heaved a sigh. "Undecided. I have another residence I'll be staying at until my return."

The locksmith gave you the thumbs up and stood outside the door. Everything was ready for your departure. All that was left to do was perform a last sweep of the place before the power and water were cut.

Your manager spoke up. "Of course. I'll leave it blank." He gathered the paperwork and sent a nod your way before boarding the elevator with the locksmith. Then you were left alone.

Joker couldn't believe his eyes as you walked around, running your hands over the covered furniture with a bittersweet smile. Your penthouse held so many memories and you were leaving it all behind.

"I know you'll watch this later. Whenever you're not busy enough to notice me gone." You said out loud.

Joker bristled in his seat. Much to his surprise, you locked eyes with one of his hidden cameras and spoke candidly.

"Is killing the bat more important than me, your precious Light? If it is.. then don't bother trying to find me. I'll be far away from your reign of terror soon enough. G-Goodbye Joker."

He watched you turn off the lights for the final time and close the door on your way out. Joker was speechless as you rode the elevator down to the main lobby and hopped into a SUV before it turned the corner out of camera range. He couldn't read the license plate it moved to fast.

Silence fell over the apartment's remaining camera feed before it went dark as the building manager cut the power. You were gone and you took the light with you.

He felt numb.

Joker sat for the longest trying to get his bearings straight. Was his work more important than you? Joker wasn't so sure anymore. His hands were shaking and there was a buzzing in his ear that wouldn't go away.

Shock. He was going through shock.

Remembering your tears were what brought him back. Leaving was hard on you too. You didn't want to go and that gave him the strength to take action.

Joker had to win you back at any cost. He jumped out of his seat so fast it spun and fell over. He brought his phone up to his ear to start issuing out orders.

"Check flights out of Gotham to errr.. Martha's Vineyard. She went to the beach house n' I want the.. jet ready when I get to the airporT."

Joker was calculating how long it would take him to fly full speed when, twenty minutes later, his phone buzzed with a text.

Beach house empty boss.

An attachment was sent over with a message thread from the gang's Boston division leader. J read it over while raking a hand through his greasy hair. There was no movement detected at the beachfront property and no flights out suggested that you headed there.

If you weren't in Massachusetts then where on Earth were you? Joker didn't have much time to mull it over.

The more time he wasted was another minute separated from you. You didn't have any other pins on the map to flee to except....

J made another call. "Blüdhaven. She went home." He growled into the receiver. Why didn't he think of it sooner?

Frost copied loud and clear and quickly called in an old favor to validate the claim but much to his surprise, his informant came up short.

It was a tough message to deliver but Frost was the right man for the job. He had to deliver this news in person. Joker was still at the main hideout packing an overnight bag when he felt a presence behind him.

There was only one person brave enough to walk up on Joker.

Frost shifted his weight standing in the doorway. There wasn't a nice way to put this so he just came out with it. "She's not in Blüdhaven."

He watched Joker stop packing and drag out a deep sigh. It came straight from the soul and carried the frustration of the situation.

Frost knew his boss better than anyone and knew this was hurting the clown in more ways than one. "We got face recognition software running through all the states, boss. We'll find her."

"She uh.. dared me to walk out and I did like a fool. Now she's gone. I... I lost my light." Joker tipped his head back laughing. It was bitter on the wind. "'t's not so funny now."

Frost had never seen his boss look so defeated before. It was truly a dark day indeed.

Everyone noticed the sudden change in Joker. He was far more irritable and bitter. One mistake and it would cost someone their life— no questions asked.

The original stress that was weighing on the entire gang was gone and replaced with the unknown variable that vexed Joker. It was literally like walking on eggshells around him.

Joker's patience was non-existent and only Frost could speak to him for longer than two minutes and survive afterwards.

Joker was back to his old, more unhinged self. He couldn't sleep a full eight hours anymore and used copious amounts of sweets to stay awake. As a result, his alertness wasn't the same and regrettably, Joker let the voices you silenced long ago return to haunt his every thought.

Mac, Neo, and Frost took it amongst themselves to help the gang stay afloat.

They could not afford to appear weak to the rival gangs or to the GCPD during this moment of uncertainty. The top three could run the illegal business, no sweat.

Joker was too busy trying to find his Light to care.

The face recognition software was a dead end. It was as if you fell off the face of the Earth which was impossible for someone as high profile as you.

You still posted online to your fans (bouncing your IP address off of servers from overseas; Joker always said you were a smart bunny) and kept an active social media profile. But off the screen? You were a ghost.

Joker had no clue where you were and neither did the countless goons scattered across the country who were secretly looking for you.

You were somehow doing the impossible— alluding Joker and his wide stretch of power. He used his assets across the US to try and track you down with no success.

At one point he feared the worst and assumed you were dead and that some imposter kept your socials active until he got the best lead he had in months.

These days Joker kept to himself in the underground hideout, the same one that he kissed you in for the first time. When he closed his eyes, he could picture it as if it were happening all over again.

He couldn't bring himself to step foot in your apartment when you weren't there to brighten its cold interior.

That place was dead to him if you weren't there.

A pile of return to residency letters from the apartment office were scattered in the corner of his room along with the other assorted mail he intercepted. He told himself that you would want to see them when— not if, but when you returned. That was the thin thread of hope that Joker clung to.

You had to come back and he'd wait for you.

He was mindlessly staring at the walls when Frost and Mac burst into the room. They shared a look at Joker's obvious depression but decided to deliver the good news anyhow.

"We found her! She's hosting an art event!" They both saw the glimmer of hope enter Joker's sad eyes.

"It'll be held in Dallas, TX two days from now. We already contacted the Dallas division and they'll be expecting our arrival." Mac's joy was evident in his tone. "We found her boss!"

Joker tried to be optimistic but he needed solid proof.

Over the span of five months, you hinted and failed to make due on any in-person meet and greets. He knew you were keeping a low profile to elude him but your fans weren't happy by the fact. They wanted to see you and so did Joker.

J was still a big fan of yours.. And if it was one thing you loved in this world, it was your fans. You could never let them down.

You were coming out of hiding for them. Frost handed Joker a printed copy of the announcement.

It was an aesthetically pleasing invitation depicting the time, date, and location of a local artist's exhibit. Joker knew what was going on. One of your fans was having an exhibit and you agreed to bring in publicity while earning some money on the side. You were listed as a special guest who would sign books to match every purchase made at the show.

It was an incentive for people to buy and it gave you good PR.

It was a good business deal and Joker smirked knowing that you were the brains behind the idea. You loved giving back whenever you could.

Joker nodded at his men for a job well done. They would be on the move to touch down in Texas and get a feel of the area before the event.

After five long months, Joker would finally see the light.

Everything was going to plan as Joker and his team held up in a hotel a couple blocks from the event.

The chips were all set and the only thing standing in the way was the rain.

"What if it's cancelled?" Mac whispered to his comrade.

He wasn't the only one thinking the same thought. The day started out clear with some stray clouds in the sky but nothing concerning. But as the event start time drew closer, the sky split open and a downpour fell with no end in sight. There were sporadic times where it let up, bringing hope of a dry afternoon, only to darken and rain again.

Neo fixed the blond with a deadpan stare. They did not travel all this way for some rain to stop them.

"Then we follow her back to where she's staying and corner her there. Simple. We ain't leaving til the Boss sees B. Look at him man.." Neo nodded in Joker's direction and they both turned to look at their boss.

Joker was pacing the hotel suite already dressed in disguise for the event.

He was mumbling to himself (louder than normal) and they could hear your name and jumbled up apologizes mixed in between lighthearted threats to never leave him again. He would pause, nodding sagely, before breaking out into a laugh at something you said.

Joker was having a conversation with you to himself.

Mac nodded at Neo, still watching the horrific sight. "Yeah... he's lost it."

Frost came into the suite and spared Joker a fleeting, concerning, glance. "It's a go. Let's head out."

They walked down to the back entrance and into cars to make it to the popup building in the heart of the art district.

It wasn't an overly formal event but they each blended in with their dress attire. It was to be expected once they stepped into the glass enclosed building.

Despite the rain, the place was crowded. The sun was setting over the horizon and live music was playing off in the corner as people mingled and socialized amongst themselves.

Tasteful art ranging from contemporary artwork to mixed media sculptures decorated the all white area. It was dimly lit and still, the place shined, all thanks to the event's special guest.

You were walking arm in arm with a fan of yours, who was also an up-and coming artist on the Dallas stage. She was responsible for the framed art hanging over your fireplace in Joker's bedroom.

She was dressed in all black whereas you were the pop of color. There was an aura surrounding you and Joker truly believed the sky cleared because you smiled and told it to.

Someone handed you a mic as the last raindrops hit against the glass ceiling overhead.

"Well would you look at that?!" The crowd chuckled in unison and gave you their undivided attention.

"Good afternoon day! Thank you all for braving the rain to attend this special event! I am honored to announce a good friend of mine's first art exhibit! She has worked tirelessly to make today possible so please, I will literally hold each person who leaves empty handed accountable. And may Hunter use you for archery practice."

The crowd laughed at the inside joke to your book and you continued with a smile, "But seriously! I present.. (insert favorite artist)."

You began the round of applause as your dearest reader and online friend hugged and took the mic (and attention) from you.

She went on about the inspiration for her debut collection and reminded everyone that with each purchase they would receive a signed copy of your latest trilogy.

Joker cancelled out the rest of her chatter; he couldn't take his eyes off of you. He was hypnotized.

He thought you would be depressed and miserable these past five months but you looked perfectly fine, thriving even. You had a glow about yourself and your smile was as bright as ever yet he couldn't ignore the obvious.

It didn't reach your eyes.

It took a person who knew you well to notice. Your smiles were wide and expressive but there was a ghost of sadness haunting your eyes. It broke Joker's heart to bear witness to it.

If Frost didn't grab his arm, Joker would've knocked down the throng of people to get to you. Joker growled at Frost for touching him but the henchman knew it was an empty threat.

"Patience. Wait until she's alone." Frost whispered.

It would've been nice to know that would be next to impossible!

For the next hour and a half, you mingled with people and thanked others for their purchases. Joker knew you weren't a people person, and definitely not an extrovert to handle all this attention. You were gonna drop like a drained bunny tonight. He hoped you'd be back in his arms by then; however, there was no open window for him to swoop in to make that happen.

Joker had Frost and the others fan out as he circled the showroom floor, pretending to take in the art pieces. J was admiring a picture that he thought you would like when his eyes caught movement.

A man dressed in black came and whispered in your ear once you finished talking with a customer.

Joker was instantly jealous and wanted to brutally murder the man until he noticed his role. You hired security. How cute.

He'd deal with that later. He was more focused on what was being reported.

Whatever was spoken wasn't good. You failed at hiding your frown as your e/c eyes darted around the room. Your eyes missed Joker by a hair.

"S__t, I think we've been spotted." Mac sighed into the group's earpieces.

Neo seconded that statement when you tapped your artist friend on the shoulder. You excused yourself for a few minutes and she bid you well before focusing back on making a big dollar sale.

You waved and smiled sweetly at others as you made your way through the crowd. "She's moving, now's your chance, Boss."

It didn't matter who said it, Joker heard it loud and clear.

He nodded and walked away from the painting to where you disappeared to. You were standing in a back hallway arguing with your head of security.

"What do you mean he's here?! You promised me it was safe and now you're telling me the complete opposite?!"

He grabbed your hands to calm you down, "Y/n, I know what I said, but things can change. This is The Joker we're talking about. What matters is getting you to safety okay? Lemme do my job." He was leaning in to caress your face when he gasped in pain.

"Miles? What's wrong?" You looked on wide eyed as Joker pulled a knife out the poor man's back and stepped into view.

Miles took his last breath and fell to the floor in front of you. You took one look at Joker and froze.

"J... Y-You just.."

Joker scratched his head with the bloody knife, "What? He was about to... touch.. you. I can'T have that. Can't. Have. That.. Now! Hi." He saw you were about to scream and he rushed over to cover your mouth.

Your back hit the wall and Joker shushed you sweetly when you struggled. He hated how you were looking at him in fear.

"Don't do that Bunny. No.. no no no this is not how I planned our lit-le uh, reunion. Mkay? Shhh. Let's... let's start over... I missed ya Bunny, where ya been?" Joker asked.

He leaned in closer and rubbed his scarred cheek against yours. You flinched and tried to avoid his touch altogether. He hardly noticed and enjoyed his first dose of contact with you in months.

You knew that time could change a person but the Joker holding you was vastly different from the one you loved. He terrified you and not in a good way.

He let his hand slip from your mouth so you could talk. "Away f-from you!" You hissed.

"Don't be like that Bunny. I just.. I just wanted to see ya." He mumbled way too close to your lips. His breath fanned over them and you shoved him back in a panic.

"G-Great! You saw me, now leave me alone!" You glanced at the dead body near your feet and whimpered. You knew what kind of man Joker was but physical reminders were a bitter pill to swallow.

"Why are you here?"

He didn't respond. Since you pushed him away, he turned his attention to your beautiful hair. You had it down for the event and he buried his nose into the luscious curls before breathing in deeply. His eyes rolled back at the familiar scent reentering his nostrils. He missed you so much.

You on the other hand were freaked out. "Joker!"

He sighed at your tone but leaned back to stare straight into your eyes. "Come home."

"Excuse me?"

He curled a strand of your hair around his finger. "It's not the same. I'm not the same." He stressed.

"Sounds like a personal problem." You gritted out.

You tried to slip away from Joker's imposing figure but he had you blocked in. You did well to erase Joker from your life these past few months and you weren't about to let him sweet talk his way back into your good graces. And especially not since he just killed another man for simply trying to do his job.

You didn't know what had changed Joker but you weren't going to stick around and find out. You didn't care if he wasn't the same; you weren't either, but day by day the pain he caused was healing. His appearance today was just lemon juice on a fresh cut.

Joker pouted and pretended that your words didn't affect him. On the inside, he was tearing at the seams. All this time and you were still upset with him?

What on Earth did he do?!

"You neglected me, that's what! For three months I tried to get your attention and you iced me out! Work was more important! You didn't have time for me! You stopped making time for us! I ached for you and you weren't there Joker! And you don't even care!"

He didn't know he asked you aloud but he was finally getting the answers he sought after all these months in the dark.

Joker knew exactly what you were referring to. There was a gang turf war going on and he couldn't afford to be distracted. He was extremely busy at work but he didn't mean to push you away.

You began to cry as you confessed to J.

"I was alone and miserable! I-I thought you hated me or didn't l-love me anymo–"

Joker snarled and quickly wiped your tears away. He then grabbed your face and forced you to stare into his pleading green eyes.

"Listen to me, I could never hate ya Bunny. I thoughT I told you to never think that. I cannot... function.. without you. These.. uh, months apart have been hell. You think I could hate you? No. No, another moment away from you is enough penance but I know you, Bunny. My Light, my sweet girl.."

He rested his forehead against yours and you hiccupped as tears ran down your face. Joker and his way with words were getting to you.

"My Light would not let me suffer in vain. I made a promise, Y/n. I'd never hurt you– I didn't mean to, I was working to protect you. Everything I do is to keep you safe. Never doubt that. I don't hate you, I need you. I can't stannnnd the dark, doll."

You were listening but it wasn't enough to sway your heart. "You pushed me away.. I felt so alone." You cried.

Joker shushed you again and wrapped you up in his arms. His exhale shook your frame and made you crumble. You couldn't run away from Joker.

He was forever bound to your heart and soul, that no distance or margin of time could unravel him. You felt so stupid for running away and you broke down into helpless tears.

Joker hummed and began rocking you in his arms. His warm hands rubbed crazy figure eights on your back as he reacquainted himself with holding your body.

You still fit like a puzzle piece in his arms with your head resting perfectly against his chest. He had to lean down a bit to rest his head atop yours but in this position, he could protect you in all aspects.

He missed being a savior. He missed having a purpose. He hoped you gave him a second chance.

"I need my Light. P-Please come back to me. I'll do the any-thing to have the uhh, honor, of callin' you mine again. Please Y/n."

He squeezed you tighter after saying please. Such a rare word in Joker's vocabulary, you knew he was serious. Your head shot up to stare at him. The sight that greeted you almost made you faint.

He couldn't be... You cupped Joker's face and nodded.

"I need you too. I'm so sorry for running away, please forgive me, Joker." You kissed him and he followed your lips when you pulled back. "I'll come back, heck I'll come home tonight! London is way too dreary for my tastes."

Joker stiffened up hearing the locale. "What?"

You didn't hear him since your eyes connected with your dead head of security. "Joker, you killed someone!!"

"So?" He grabbed your chin to face him again. "I got my Light back. That's.. that's all I care 'bout." He kissed you again and he rejoiced when you wrapped your arms around his neck to deepen it.

He ignored Neo and Mac in his ear arguing back and forth on who was cleaning up the dead body or Frost interrupting them both with a, 'Would the two of you please shut up? The boss is having a moment!'

Everything was back to normal.

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asoulofatlantis · 1 year

Text

I hate this temple so much, but I am finally done with this thing. Thanks be to Yevon. It is truly a blessing, because Zanarkand and that stupid cave aside, this was the last temple for me. I am not doing the other ones.

Hui. He carrys her bridal style, which is basically many girls dream. You go Tidus! That aside... I like how Auron just left him to do this, even tho technically speaking Auran is physically stronger or at least could have given Tiuds a hand or something. But, Auron is a shipper and true shippers never take the chance of a shipping-moment away from a ship XD

Now imagine that our world would be ruled by the same freaking people for half an eternity. Nothing would ever change - then again, this is what Yevon wants, after all.

As you can see. The Spiral of death that rules Spira, as Auron later mentions, is really strong here and this is simply because of Yevons way to rule. Normal people would try to break free from that spiral of death and find a way to end this tragedy. However, Yevon never seemed to have searched for a way out and obviously never wanted to anyway. For Yevon, this way of living is fine. They are almost all dead, meaning that they do not have to fear Sin. Their city is one ruled by the forbidden machina, so they can live in comfort, while people in places like Besaid and Killika live in simple huts that get blow away if Sin only so much as sneezes and have no comfort at all as they have been told that Machina are dangerous and thus forbidden. The fact that Yevon actually makes official exceptions has never been doubted by anyone. NOTHING ever gets doubted by anyone. The Masters have a great live with lots of power and thus, of course they do not care for any possible chance of change.

I found it funny that everyone conveniently got thrown into a place they could survive in. The ones who can Swim and dive for a long time got thrown into the water and the ones who can’t swim but are quiet well trained in walking, because of the pilgrimage, are thrown into an underground hallway. And both have exits that can be found and opened. Its almost like someone wanted them to survive.

When I played this for the first time Yuna could do nothing but heal and summon and it took me quite a while to find Auron - I had just bad luck - so I almost died there XD I kept calling Bahamut, as my Yuna wasn’t very well trained and he was the only strong Aeon I had ^^’ What a nightmare that was...

I think this is the first time ever that I found Lulu down there XD

I get that you want to get it out Tidus, but let the girl take a breather first. You just all barely escaped death - more or less.

I am sure all the Sins so far have, just like Jekkt, not enjoyed the killing very much, so I am sure they tried to restrain themselves as much as possible. I am sure that is also the reason why a Guardian is supposed to become the final Summoning, because these are usually good and faithfull people who love Spira and would not try to destroy it entirely, like Seymore does. But it makes you wonder why Mika supports Seymour if his goal is to destroy and kill them all? I mean, what purpose would the masters have in such a world?

I love the fact that the only reason for Auron to force them to run, was so the game can offer you a chance to train, get supplies and heal. Poor Auron, had to be the bad guy once again, just for this. But they redeemed him quickly enough with allowing him to follow the others with a grin on his face.

I tell you guys, this man... if you get one like him... you better get him back out from the fareplane and protect him from exploding mines so you can marry him, because this man is husband-goals XD

I... have gotten really slow. I feel like I barely have managed to get through half of this game so far and while I still have enough time to finish it, I feel like this could go a lot faster. However... I had a long day and I am exhausted and tired. So this will be it for today, because I want to enjoy this kisscene that is coming my way XD

#FFX Mona Version

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prof-peach · 2 years

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I recently got a job as a mailman, mostly doing inter-city routes (which I'm very excited about, to be honest)! Because most of the work is being in the wilderness, it can become a sort of "ranger" role...the local mailman is expected to at the very least report on or defend themselves from any unusual Pokemon activity on their daily mail run.

That's all to say...they're providing me a ride Pokemon, a Gogoat, for work, but I'm expected to bond with and battle with it like any proper Pokemon trainer would. I just don't know how I feel about it--can anyone really bond with a Pokemon who they may have to leave one day? I don't plan for mailman to be my permanent career, and even if it was, the higher in the ranks you climb, the more you're focused on administrative tasks than physically delivering mail (and then there goes the need for your Pokemon).

I know this is pretty common practice where I live, anyway--Pokemon provided as a "tool of the job", so to speak, but it's always rubbed me the wrong way. What are your thoughts on it?

Let's put this in another format.

Jim the human man works with you every day. You two laugh together, you work together, you discuss your lives, your wants and ambitions, you become friends if your personalities click. Maybe Jim wants to do the same thing as you, climb to a different position within the company, maybe Jim just likes the daily grind and wants to focus on his family life more, maybe find a partner, settle down. Jim could really enjoy socialising, and may go see other people outside of work, aside from you, Jim may have a social life, drinking buddies, people he enjoys the company of elsewhere.

Would you feel so bad following your goals and ambitions if it meant leaving Jim behind? Jim the human would no doubt want you to do whats best for you long term, and i'm sure through your bonding, you would want whats best for Jim too. An additional thought, would you not bond with Jim if you knew you were going one day? Isn't it kind and polite to get to know your colleagues enough to sustain a happy relationship while on the job?

We often look at pokemon as beings incapable of independent wants and thoughts once they're caught and bonded with, as if they become unable to adapt or grow past that connection. They are in fact not as sentimental in some cases as humans can be. Many species come and go as they please in the wild, and while making friends happens, they don't dwell on it, and do what they want and need to do firstly. If this gogoat is in a job role, it's no doubt been vetted by higher ups to have a personality suited for the style of work too, plenty of laws prevent unfit employments from happening.

Don't view them as a tool, view them as a co-worker, a being that you clock in with, tackle issues with, share lunches whenever travels may take you. Sure some pokemon want a life partner, they want to stick with one trainer and never change, but not every species is like this, and that notion excludes a pokemon's personality too.

They are an independent being, treat them with respect and kindness, have fun while it lasts, and one day maybe you two will cross paths again, have a jolly reunion, but continue on your paths after. Not all relationships are built for the long haul, that doesn't mean they have to be strained or unpleasant. Whats stopping you two hanging out after work too? Say you shift job role, and the pokemon stays where its at to help the next delivery person, why cant you go hang out once you've clocked out? Just because jobs change doesn't mean you have to give up relationships.

IDK man, we assign a lot of human feelings to non-humans, but also, they're very capable, maybe its ok to just enjoy things while they last? I train a lot of pokemon to be sent off to work with others, we bond, we work and play together, they are beloved, each one, but they still have to go off and get on with their own lives and jobs. Doesn't stop some of them coming back to check in, doesn't stop me popping in to catch up when i'm in their area either.

maybe not the most convenient answer, but maybe loosen up a bit over it, it's ok to have temporary connections, doesn't have to be negative every time y'know?

#pokemon #prof.peach #maybe im numb to it a bit #but let them live #and dont feel bad for doing the same #just enjoy it while you can #and be a good partner

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robininthelabyrinth · 3 years

Note

For a prompt, what if Wen Xu arrives to burn down the Cloud Recesses while everyone is studying there

Home Alone - ao3

“All right,” Wei Wuxian said, when Lan Qiren announced that the Cloud Recesses would be imminently under attack by Wen Xu and the Wen sect armies, the calm in his monotone voice belied by the wrinkle of concern in his forehead. “We’re going to make that bastard wish he’d never been born, right?”

He was speaking lightly, as he always did, trying to make those around him feel more comfortable, braver, less afraid – his was the language of confidence and arrogance, of never backing down, and he didn’t know how else to speak.

He didn’t mean anything in particular by it, or at least not more than he usually did.

He wasn’t expecting Lan Qiren to look at him and say, “If you have any ideas, now is the time to contribute them.”

“So what exactly do you do again?” Wei Wuxian asked, following the older Lan sect disciple around – at least, the man was dressed like a Lan sect disciple, and with a forehead ribbon suggesting that he shared blood with the main clan, too, but Wei Wuxian wasn’t so sure he really was one.

“I blow stuff up, usually,” Lan Yueheng said cheerfully.

That was why Wei Wuxian had doubts.

The man was practically skipping. There was no way he was a Lan.

“Shishu is an alchemist,” Lan Wangji said. His hands were folded behind his back, as always, and he looked tense as might be expected, what with an imminent attack on his home by a colossal army intent on ravaging and destroying everything in its path – but the way he looked at Lan Yueheng was unaccountably fond, as if he were someone he was close to. Wei Wuxian hadn’t known there was anyone other than Lan Qiren or Lan Xichen that Lan Wangji was close to. He was oddly jealous. “Not always successfully.”

“Hey, at blowing things up, I am the most successful!” Lan Yueheng grinned. A moment later, though, the grin faded, and he looked anxious. “Wangji, are you sure you won’t go with your brother?”

“Brother will protect the sect books,” Lan Wangji said solemnly. “I will stay here to defend the sect and the guest disciples.”

Wei Wuxian appreciated that, being one of said guest disciples.

Anyway, it made sense. Lan Qiren had seriously considered trying to send them away with Lan Xichen, saying that their lives were more important than some extra books – other Lan elders hadn’t necessarily agreed, judging by their expressions – but regretfully concluded that adding more people to Lan Xichen’s escape route would do nothing but reveal its existence, dooming all of them.

So they’d split up: Lan Xichen, heading out virtually alone with the most precious Lan sect books, and all the rest of them here to try to resist as much as they could – even Lan Wangji.

Lan Yueheng didn’t try to argue with Lan Wangji, only sighed, sounding as though he’d expected nothing less from him and had only felt the need to make a token protest before accepting it as inevitable. It seemed he really was close to Lan Wangji.

Yeah, Wei Wuxian was definitely jealous.

“All right, then,” Lan Yueheng said, shaking his head and resuming his cheer. “Blowing things up in self-defense plan it is! You’re both talented in music, right?”

“What does music have to do with explosions?” Wei Wuxian asked.

The answer, apparently, was a lot – at least when you were an experimental alchemist in a musically inclined sect and you’d developed a way to trigger explosions via certain combinations of musical notes.

“So, did you know that Teacher Lan was scary?” Wei Wuxian asked Jiang Cheng, who’d finally returned from helping get all the elderly and children and civilians to evacuate – and refusing to join them, of course, even though he was entitled to go in order to preserve his life, being the heir of a sect and all that, completely typical Jiang Cheng – and was now pacing around, eager for a fight.

“Just because he punished you a few times doesn’t make him scary,” Jiang Cheng said.

“No, it doesn’t,” Wei Wuxian agreed. “You know what does make him scary? Playing music that makes his opponents try to cut their own necks.”

“…what?”

“Apparently he gets really upset when you mess with his students,” Wei Wuxian said wisely.

Unlike Jiang Cheng, he’d had time to adjust to the concept of Lan Qiren being terrifying: they were on the fifth wave of scouts, and this set wasn’t doing any better than the first four, not even when they’d realized it would be better if they stopped their ears with wax before approaching.

That’d only made Lan Qiren shift tactics – and songs.

Some of which had an even wider area of impact.

“Wei Wuxian,” Jiang Cheng said, looking at him suspiciously. “What did you do?”

“I convinced Teacher Lan that guerrilla warfare that destroyed as much of the enemy as possible would be more effective than just trying to defend the sect’s territory, since that was clearly a lost cause,” Wei Wuxian said promptly. “He agreed, but said that he could only do so much since he wasn’t a very good sword fighter. And then I asked him if he knew anything else that could be used as an attack and he said ‘no’ and then he said ‘well, I suppose’ and then he listed off a few things that – according to him – aren’t meant to be used in warfare but, and this is a direct quote, ‘could be put to a destructive use if one so wished it’.”

“And we now ‘so wish it’?”

“Yup. Oh, and watch out for anything that has a Lan sect cloud with a three-looped circle carved into the side of it, and I do mean anything– those explode.”

“Of course they do.”

“Hey! For once it has nothing to do with me!”

“I thought you said he said he was bad at swordfighting,” Jiang Cheng said suspiciously.

Wei Wuxian held out his hands helplessly in a ‘don’t look at me’ gesture, trying to defend himself from a sharp and pointy elbow to the side while also not pulling his eyes away from the ongoing battlefield for even a single moment.

“Shufu considers himself to be of average skill at the sword,” Lan Wangji said in the peaceable tone of someone who had been taught the basics of swordfighting by the person in question. The basics of really awesome swordfighting. “His real strength is in music, as you’ve seen.”

“I get that, really, I do, his music is terrifying,” Wei Wuxian said, and meant it completely. Between the two, he’d rather go up against Lan Qiren with a sword, where he’d at least be able to make a decent showing of himself before getting chopped to bits by the man’s fluid and almost seemingly delicate style that was nevertheless highly effective at skewering Wen sect disciples left and right; it would be better than with music, where he might as well just cut his own throat or strangle himself with guqin strings now to save Lan Qiren’s fingers the trouble. “But Jiang Cheng’s still right, okay – why in the world does he consider that to be ‘average’? Who is he comparing himself to?”

Lan Wangji considered the question for a long moment, then finally said: “A statistical outlier.”

“I wish we had aerial attacks we could use against the Wen sect’s swords,” Wei Wuxian said wistfully, and next to him Jiang Cheng nodded with a sight of longing – it was so frustrating seeing more and more Wen sect soldiers arriving in groups, like flocks of birds that started to fill the skies because they couldn’t be so easily shot down. “But if we try anything, they’ll just shield against us.”

“Teacher Lan said we can’t use spiritual energy against them, since we’d lose,” Jiang Cheng said, and as much as they all regretted it, Lan Qiren was probably right: they might be better trained than the Wen sect soldiers, might be better cultivators and stronger in spiritual energy individually, but they were young and immature, and at a serious numerical disadvantage.

It would be far too easy for the flying cultivators to stop their flying just long enough to set up a defensive array, block whatever spiritual attack they sent out, and then keep going to find and stab them before they’d even recovered from the energy expenditure.

“I didn’t mean spiritual energy,” Wei Wuxian grumbled. “I just meant, you know, like the explosives we’ve laid in all over the ground – something like that. If we could attach those to something…”

“I don’t think we have anything that flies anyway,” Lan Yueheng said regretfully.

“You have lanterns, don’t you?” Nie Huaisang said, and everyone turned to look at him. “Fill them with something that explodes when disturbed and send them floating into the air. Better yet, write ‘peace’ on the side of them to make it look like you’re making some sort of meaningful gesture designed to shame them. The Wen sect won’t be able to resist kicking them aside as an insult, and that’ll trigger them.”

They all stared at him.

He shrugged.

“We have a lot of defenses set up against invasion, at home,” he said. “And not always the budget to pay for anything fancy, so we’ve come up with some slightly more unorthodox ideas, too.”

“It’s a really good idea,” Wei Wuxian said, suddenly focused on the hitherto ignored Nie Huaisang. Clearly he’d made a tactical error, thinking of himself as the only person who knew how to get up to tricks. “Do you have any other ideas like that?”

Nie Huaisang smiled.

“Teacher Lan, I have an idea,” Wei Wuxian said, inserting himself briefly into the clearing near the Lan sect gate where Lan Qiren was sitting to rest in preparation for the Wen sect’s next attack. “But you’re going to hate it.”

“You may proceed,” Lan Qiren said, not looking up.

“Wait,” Wei Wuxian said, blinking. “Really? You’re not even going to ask what it is? Or why you’d hate it so much?”

“There is no time for that,” Lan Qiren said, and finally spared him a glance. He looked tired. “Things will get worse very soon.”

“But we’re winning!”

“No,” Lan Qiren said, shaking out his fingers – even despite occasionally alternating to using the sword when necessary, he’d played his guqin to the point of drawing blood and breaking nails, and was continuing despite everyone pleading with him to stop and swap out for someone else for a while. He’d said that there was no one else on his level, and he was probably right, but still, surely, just for a little… “We are surviving. Do not mistake the two.”

“Okay, so,” Wei Wuxian said, rubbing his hands together. “Resentful energy –”

“No,” Lan Wangji said.

“Thanks,” Wei Wuxian said to Jin Zixuan, who’d probably just saved his life by stabbing a Wen sect cultivator in the back right before the man had been able to stop Wei Wuxian from activating another series of explosions. “I guess I owe you one?”

“Don’t mention it,” Jin Zixuan said. “How else can I help?”

“I don’t know,” Wei Wuxian said, scratching his head and thinking about Nie Huaisang as precedent. There wasn’t time for schoolyard rivalries right now. “Do you have anything really unexpected that could be used to hurt people? Be creative – they’re guarded against all the usual defenses, so the weirder the better, anything goes. I won’t judge.”

Jin Zixuan thought about it. “I’m pretty sure I have a drug that puts people to sleep?”

“…why do you have something like that?”

Jin Zixuna grimaced. “My father gave it to me along with another one that he said not to use in excess, though I don’t actually know what that one does because that was about when my mom ran in and started throwing things at him. I can’t throw it away because it was a gift from my father, but I put it as deep into my bags as I could so that I’d never have to see or touch it. Ever.”

Wei Wuxian’s nose wrinkled. He’d never before felt pity for Jin Zixuan, but having to put up with Jin Guangshan on a regular basis was pretty bad – much less owing him filial piety.

No wonder Jin Zixuan was so twitchy all the time.

“Okay, so one sleep drug and one…uh…”

“Enhancement. Presumably. Can we throw it at the other side? Maybe turn it into incense and make smoke-bombs or something?”

“You know what,” Wei Wuxian said. “Why not? If nothing else, it’d be distracting, right?”

“This doesn’t feel honorable,” Jiang Cheng said, watching the fun. They’d raided the Lan sect’s medicine cabinets and kitchens for other noxious and irritating substances that might make for good smoke-bombs – Jiang Cheng himself had even located a whole patch of something not unlike poison ivy that had been quickly repurposed for the cause. “Strictly speaking.”

“Honor’s overrated,” Wei Wuxian said. “Making the Wen bastards pay for attacking Lan Zhan’s home is what’s important.”

Lan Wangji didn’t smile, exactly, but Wei Wuxian took his expression as a win regardless.

It turned out that music could also make plants grow really fast.

According to Lan Qiren, the spell ruined the plants’ nutritional value and made them basically useless.

Well.

Useless if your goal was eating them, anyway.

(First they could grow under their enemies’ feet and attack them, roots and vines twining around them to strangle them, and then they could be used up in the smoke-bombs – two for the price of one!)

“Are you sure about not doing the whole resentful energy thing?”

“Wei Wuxian,” Jiang Cheng said. “No.”

“Hey, Wei-xiong, do you have or can you create any more papermen?” Jin Zixuan asked.

“Yes, sure, plenty,” Wei Wuxian said. He’d like to say that he’d known he’d one day need such a skill, and that that was why he’d learned the trick so thoroughly, but that was a complete lie. “Why?”

“Nie-xiong, Jiang-xiong and I are going to use them to make a shadow-play to lure a bunch of Wen sect cultivators into another plant-and-explosives trap.”

“…that’s amazing, Jin-xiong,” Wei Wuxian said, marveling. “How do you even think of that?”

“Even I get into trouble sometimes,” Jin Zixuan said, and was startled into an unexpected smile when Jiang Cheng punched his shoulder approvingly.

Wei Wuxian was actually having a pretty good time with it all right up until the main force of the Wen sect decided to ignore all their traps and charge straight towards the classroom they’d fallen back to using as a headquarters, and then suddenly he wasn’t having a good time at all.

“Run,” Lan Qiren said, and put down his guqin, drawing his sword once more.

“But we can fight!” Jiang Cheng argued.

“Run.”

“Shufu –”

“Run.”

They ran.

“If you don’t come out, I’m going to make him pay,” Wen Xu called.

His fingers were knotted in Lan Qiren’s hair, pulling their teacher’s head back to show how his face was covered in blood, how it was seeping out through his mouth and nose, how one of his eyes was badly bruised and swollen from having been beaten down by sheer force of numbers.

Lan Qiren had made them pay dearly for their efforts to bring him down –

But there were just so many of them.

“How dare he,” Jiang Cheng hissed. “He was once one of Teacher Lan’s students, too!”

Wei Wuxian was holding Lan Wangji back, but only barely; his fingers were starting to go numb from the sheer effort of it. If Jin Zixuan and Jiang Cheng weren’t there to help him hold him down, Lan Wangji would have already given away their position, rushing out to make some futile gesture in his overwhelming rage. Wei Wuxian was focusing with all his being on how much he had to stop Lan Wangji from doing something like that, because if he wasn’t, if he let himself think about anything else for even a single moment, he’d have also run out there, sword drawn, without so much as a care – he hadn’t realized he’d be so angry over it, so furious, so betrayed and horrified by Wen Xu’s cruelty.

Prior to today, he wouldn’t have said he even liked Lan Qiren!

“My students are not so foolish as to fall for so obvious a scheme as that,” Lan Qiren said, his tone as monotonous as it ever was during his lectures – for the briefest moment, Wei Wuxian felt that he was dreaming, that he had merely dreamt everything that had happened: surely it was still yesterday, with Lan Qiren standing tall, safe and healthy, at the front of the classroom, lecturing about one of the Lan sect rules…which one had it been? Shoulder the weight of morality? Have a strong will and anything can be achieved? Be mighty, and others will die for you?

Do not break faith?

Somehow, despite everything that had happened, Lan Qiren’s eyes curved ever so slightly.

“Present company excluded, of course.”

Wen Xu threw him down to the ground, mouth twisting and teeth gnashing with offended anger.

“Beat him,” he ordered his men. “Make it hurt. I want him screaming – let’s see how his precious students like that. Or maybe it’s just that they don’t care?”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji said, eyes red with unshed tears and barely swallowed rage. “Tell me your idea about resentful energy.”

“Perhaps,” Lan Qiren said, then paused briefly to cough up some blood. His voice, when he resumed speaking, was hoarse. “Perhaps I should have reviewed your idea more closely when you first proposed it.”

“Possibly,” Wei Wuxian said, offering up some cloth to help wipe away the blood. Lan Wangji was busy bandaging his uncle’s injuries up, while Jiang Cheng, Jin Zixuan, and Nie Huaisang hovered by the door, only barely pretending to be keeping a lookout the way they were supposed to. “In my defense, I didn’t quite expect…that.”

Everyone politely did not ask him to elaborate.

The effects had been…well, it turned out using resentful energy the way Wei Wuxian had thought was possible, to say the least, and also that they’d taken down an awful lot of Wen sect soldiers in their defensive efforts.

“You will all have been affected by the resentful energy you used to summon the corpses,” Lan Qiren said. “Although the method you devised appears to avoid the most immediate consequences, which – let me remind you – include qi deviation and death in some instances, there is always the possibility that it has left traces of resentful energy within your meridians. If it is allowed to build up, it will escalate into a backlash that would rip your body and soul to pieces. There are spells and songs that can help clear your spirits and ease the effects.”

“Nie Huaisang has been playing some of them for us, since he can’t fight,” Lan Wangji said. “Nie sect ones – they’re…uh, not especially calming, more of a cleanse-by-force thing, but they seem to be working.”

Jiang Cheng nodded. “We’ll listen to any others that you’d like, Teacher Lan,” he said, anxious, and the rest of them nodded. “Just say which ones. If there’s any array or anything – or if you want us to write an essay about why using resentful energy is dangerous and wrong –”

Even Wei Wuxian nodded at that – even Nie Huaisang nodded, and he hated essays more than anything.

Lan Qiren huffed lightly. “Now you’re all so obedient.”

They all bowed their heads.

“…you did a good job,” Lan Qiren finally said, and they all looked up to stare at him. “You rescued me and repelled the Wen sect, however temporarily. Even though you used demonic cultivation, which is forbidden, you did not purposefully disturb graves, and you can make recompense to the spirits later. It was well done, and I thank you for it.”

He noticed that they were gaping and frowned at them.

“What have I taught you?” he scolded, and he sounded enough like he normally did that Wei Wuxian had the sudden urge to burst into totally inexplicable tears. “The preservation of human life is the priority, always. Why is this a surprise?”

“Shufu is right,” Lan Wangji said, and there was something of peace and calm in his eyes, the foundation of his world steady and unfaltering – he was almost glowing with it, satisfied and happy, and he was so utterly beautiful in Wei Wuxian’s eyes that it was almost blinding. “We acknowledge Teacher’s words.”

“We acknowledge Teacher’s words,” everyone else quickly agreed.

Lan Qiren shook his head, nodding in appreciation. “What is your next step now?” he asked. “The Wen sect was only repulsed, not defeated. They will not be gone long – they are already regrouping outside our gate, and this time they will be prepared for the effects of your demonic cultivation. In the end, they still have the advantage of numbers.”

“I don’t think we got as far as that in our plan,” Wei Wuxian said, rubbing the back of his head.

His thinking had mostly stopped at get Teacher Lan back and make them pay. He was pretty sure the same was true for Lan Wangji, and probably all the rest of the, too.

“Maybe you didn’t,” Nie Huaisang said with a sniff, and damnit, Wei Wuxian really needed to stop underestimating him just because he was a bad cultivator and a bit empty-headed. “I, on the other hand, sent a message back to my da-ge way back when this first started, and he should be here very soon with an army of his own.”

There were those in the Jiang sect that liked to mock the Nie sect as being unduly paranoid, always preparing for war and speaking grimly of its inevitability, always training their disciples and soldiers as if each one of them would need to fight five or ten of the enemy at once.

If Wei Wuxian ever met any of those people ever again, he was going to punch them in the face.

“Just be sure to get your sect ready when you get back,” Nie Mingjue advised them all grimly when it was all done and Wen Xu’s head was stuck on a pike at the entrance to the Cloud Recesses as a warning. The Nie sect’s forces were smaller than the Wen sect’s invasion force, but their people were better trained; even after flying all the way from Qinghe, they’d come down on the remaining invasion force like a hammer. “This isn’t over, not by a long shot.”

“We understand. There is still war to come.”

“Not just war, but uneven and unbalanced war, and not in our favor,” Nie Mingjue said heavily. “Understand that even with this loss, the forces of all the cultivation world put together can’t match up to the armies under Wen Ruohan’s command.”

“Actually,�� Lan Qiren said, and gave all of his students a pointed look, probably on account of the fact that they all still owed him the essay they'd promised to write, “I think you’ll find that there’s something more that we can add…”

#mdzs #wei wuxian #lan qiren #lan wangji #jiang cheng #nie huaisang #jin zixuan #my fic #my fics #home alone

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