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rottiens · 2 months

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GONER | GOJŌ SATORU

✮ wc. . 2.3K

✮ tags. . angst, fem reader, major character death, manga spoilers. divider creds: cafekitsune.

✮ about. . a sequence of events that begin with you ending your relationship make you reflect on the effect your decisions have on the future.

How long is "forever"? For a child who is left in line at a supermarket while their mother goes back to get something else to put in the cart probably a long time, for someone who is sick it probably feels like an eternity.

For someone to whom you tell for a whole year that you love them, and that you will always be together probably the phrase ceases to carry the same weight as when it was first said, after a few months, one of you may say the words because they sound nice rather than because you really mean it.

Looking back you're not sure you remember it very well. The scene is a blur in your head, just like those old VHS's where you start in one scene and if it wasn't cautiously recorded it ends up jumping to a totally different one. You're not sure exactly what you said or how it sounded, nor what he responded to hearing you say it, you struggle to remember because it's important now.

You can't quote the exact words that came out of your mouth but you have etched in your memory his flushed cheeks, the way the gentle breeze ruffled his hair naturally. Everything felt like slow motion or at least that's how it's saved in your head, you think the detail of his blush was stored so clearly in your memories because you've never seen him so red before.

His face was just like a painter's canvas that had had a big red stain spilled down the center.

"Come on. Let's go home before it rains," Satoru suggests, ignoring the knife you casually plunge into his chest.

You clutch the black bag hanging from your shoulder tightly to your body and avoid his blue eyes at all costs, after all, the oval sunglasses do little to hide them and you don't know if you'd rather he was wearing the blindfold today. You glance down at his high-soled loafers, as shiny and shimmering as the rest of his outfit. You divert your eyes to his briefly to stall for time and refocus on your shoes.

He calls your name, reaches out his hand breaking the infinite distance between you and you pull back adding more space. You think you hear his heart break.

"You can't be serious." His hand returns to his side in submission, his throat rising and falling swallowing saliva. "Are you serious?"

"I want to focus on other things."

"I'm unfocusing you?" Satoru laughs dryly, briefly bringing a hand to his chest pointing to himself before lowering it.

"I'm not sure if we're compatible, I think we're only together because we're both lonely."

His lower lip trembles because what you said was a low blow, it's not fair for you to mention the things he's secretly told you while you were snuggled under the covers of his bed for a situation like this. Concern flashes fleetingly across his face along with a lightning bolt that breaks the sky. The parking lot is practically empty, there are couple of cars scattered around as if it had been put there specifically as part of the scenery, you lose yourself in satoru's porsche behind him, gray as the cotton clouds that suffocate the sky, the flash of the kisses you have shared, the laughter, the secrets that stay stranded in it stick in your chest like a sharp arrow but you quickly disguise it by blinking fast and pretending to smooth out the non-existent wrinkles in your clothing.

The silence is heavy. Satoru stares at you so intently that you think he has forgotten to blink.

Satoru opens his mouth but the sudden torrent of water that flows over your head startles you. Satoru gets wet in seconds which makes you wonder why he doesn't activate his infinity and take refuge in his technique, why he stands next to you as if made of stone, still contemplating you.

"You're tearing me apart!" he shouts through the sound of the rain collapsing against the pavement, the water making his shirt cling to his chest, his white skin glistening through the fabric.

"I'm so sorry."

You need to run from there, the rain is everywhere just like the pain that covers your body from head to toe. You feel it all over, crushing your bones, squeezing your lungs and stealing your breath. You are ready to run and flee by his side, but his long fingers stop you, catch your wrists and pull you to him.

Leaving you no escape he pulls you into a forced kiss full of hunger and resentment, his fingers squeeze your cheeks tightly almost as if he's forcing you to stay close but it doesn't matter if he hadn't, you wouldn't have pulled away anyway. He brushes your tongue with his, you let him taste you one last time as he tastes the trace of the drink you were given at the event you attended only minutes before.

The perfect couple, he strongest next to the best sorceress, everyone was talking about the children they would have together, about the future of both clans and the great family they would form, all without asking you first about how you felt. You immerse yourself in a lot of expectations that you have to live up to when all you want is to survive at the end of the day, with so much pressure from your family and the higher ups it is only logical that the band that keeps your appearance of the perfect woman stretches and torn.

You hate yourself for doing this to him before he leaves on a week long mission away from you but you think it's the perfect time for him to detox from you.

As you pull away to breathe he still holds your cheeks possessively, gazing at you just like the most valuable object on display. You can't know what those pretty eyes that hide a sea in them are saying, but you wouldn't blame him for hating you.

"Let me take you home," he asks in a raspy voice and you shake your head.

You can't be near him alone again, not in his car, not in your apartment.

Then Satoru releases your cheeks and they immediately burn from the absence of his fingers and embarrassment, he takes the longest backward step he can and lets you run away from him, literally and metaphorically.

That was the last time you saw him, after leaving him soaking wet in the rain.

It's not like you were desperate to see him again but you weren't sure that would be the last time you'd see his face either. With everything that happened after that day you purposely decided to avoid him, you took missions as far away from Tokyo as you could, avoided going to school on the days he would be working as a teacher and ran away from every social activity you know he would be involved in… little by little the big strong couple fell apart until people accepted that it wasn't a rumor and that you two were really over.

Then he was called to Shibuya along with the other sorcerers who were available. Conveniently you were in Latin America, too far from home to do anything more than hope that all your friends made it out alive from the massacre that was happening there while all you could do was wait and find a plane ticket as fast as you could. You had your phone taped to your chest all night at the airport and all day until you got off the plane until Yaga personally called you to tell you the details.

Satoru Gojo was locked up in the prison realm, I have a death sentence on my head… You'd be lying if you said you heard anything else after that. The phone rolled free from your hand to the ground, crashing to the concrete of the street in a muffled sound.

On your way back you found Tokyo in a mess. Shibuya seemed to have been crushed by a large black hole that consumed and destroyed everything in its path, that it had been a phenomenon fallen from space would have been easier to deal with than admitting that the monster that had created that was still there, hiding in Itadori's body lurking like a predator ready to strike at the precise moment and you could do nothing but wait for it. Guilt digs into your chest as deep as a knife, you refuse to cry and swallow the pain like a hard pill, you should have been there.

Since then you did everything you could to rescue Satoru as you know he's the only one who can take on a now free Sukuna, you can't do it without his help or a logical plan. And after everything that happened between you you feel you owe it to him, as a silent pact that you must keep your word to.

So this is the first time you see him after that afternoon. He looks different from the last time you saw him, maybe it's your fuzzy memories that didn't store the information correctly but he looks bigger even, his hair has grown and his shoulders are broader.

"I knew you'd be here," he jokes in his usual tone.

Here, away from the show his students prepared to welcome him as the celebrity he is. Your belly was in knots and you didn't want to see him, you weren't ready.

You want to slap him for being the first thing he says after months of not seeing each other, for treating you like the sweet friend you always were to him because you feel you don't deserve it, but instead and against all odds you pounce on him. Your arms wrap around his waist embracing an infinite cold emptiness that then materializes in the warm body of your partner.

You hadn't realized how much you missed him until now, until his fingers melt into your hair massaging your skull and pulling you further into him, until you hear him unabashedly sniff your hair and say between giggles how much he missed the smell of your shampoo, you soak his black t-shirt in your tears while his chest burns. You feel safe, you feel at home, and you realize that everything you did was a mistake.

As you lift your clouded eyes to him, you see everything blurred by the raindrops threatening to overflow like that day yet at the same time, you have never seen so clearly in your life.

I love you so much, I'm so sorry - It's at least what you would have liked to say before he interrupted you, his lips make you weep when they touch your forehead so soft, so delicate, you want to stay here forever, you want to tell him to quit, you don't have to save anyone else, you want to tell him to run away with you, that you're ready to start a family and grow old together but you know what he's going to say. Instead, his words make you keep silent:

"You can tell me all that when I get back, I have a lot to tell you too."

You hit the cold table hard where half of Satoru's body rests and the whole room shudders as your cursed energy emanates from you in great waves.

"You promised you'd come back so get up off that fucking table," you sniffle through your nose without letting a single tear fall. Shoko next to you says your name as low as if she doesn't want to be heard, her fingers squeezing your shoulder feels like she's doing it with pity, like she's comforting you, why is she doing it? Perhaps it's her way of telling you that that's it . "Tell me you can do something." You look her straight in the eyes but she keeps quiet, like everyone else, no one dares to speak or scream, why is everyone acting like this is part of the plan? Why are you the only one sinking into a deep salty sea? "Shoko, fuck!"

She shakes her head. "I'm sorry."

Your knees fail you and you have to lie down on his legs, hiding your face in the white sheet covering what's left of him, your heart dropping to your stomach as something sour and bitter rises up your esophagus.

"Leave me alone." That's all you ask, you don't get up to see if she's heard you over your voice drowned out by the white cloth.

The smell of the hospital and medication, unused gloves and alcohol makes your gut knot, it's all too much. You can barely breathe, your throat burns and it would be so much easier to feel a curse tearing you from the inside out.

"You promised…" you sob again hugging the corpse of the one you recognize today as the love of your life. "I'm so sorry," you mumble with a mouthful of saliva.

When you broke up with satoru you missed him every day, every hour, everything reminded you of him because you didn't just lose a boyfriend, you lost a friend. You missed him but you knew you were going to see him again someday, when the symptoms of grief would subside for both of you, maybe you could even get back the friend you lost because of your relationship but now, missing Satoru is a feeling of anguish that won't go away, because you can't call him anymore, you can't show him the pictures you took in the day, you won't be able to hear his voice again, you won't be able to hold his hand again….. It is a loop of a feeling of emptiness that cannot be filled with anything because he is now gone forever, a black hole that no matter how hard you try to fill it with things and people it will not fill, because nothing and no one will be able to take his place.

And for a person who has lost a loved one who told them that he would be there with them until they grow old, forever is a long time.

notes. . ngl this is really a catharsis for me. i miss a person who is no longer with me irl and what better than to open my heart and let out some of the pain through one of the characters i adore the most <3

thanks for reading! Reblogs are appreciated. And don't forget to spend time with your loved ones and remind them how much you love them whenever you can.

#wr #gojo drabbles #jjk drabbles #gojo x you #gojo x reader #gojo x y/n #gojo angst #gojo satoru x you #gojo satoru x reader #gojo satoru angst

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wandabear · 3 months

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CHEERFUL OBLIVION - WANDA MAXIMOFF X FEMALE READER (chapter three)

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Summary: Your duty is to watch her 'till Chton comes for her, even if you hate it, but do you really hate it? Especially when you start to get to know Wanda. The bond begins to torment you. But, oh Lord, you've never been so in love. ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

chapter one chapter two chapter three chapter four chapter five chapter six

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masterlist

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tw: angst, violence, blood, mentions of death, fluff, angst with a happy ending.

Jules/Stolas is portrayed by Adelaide Kane. Here.

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ ㅤchapter three

ㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ After two hours of travel by quinjet, everyone arrived in Égerszög, a small town in Hungary. The mission was not easy, they had to enter and disrupt an organization linked to Batroc who remained on the run.

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The bad news was that the place was a very old church, close to the well-known caves of that town. If Georges Batroc became aware of their presence, he could escape through the old basements and secret passageways to the cave with ease, although it was quite dangerous. That’s why as insurance against any attack, the mercenary took hostages who remained inside the cave.

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The groups were divided between two or three agents, surrounding that place, Natasha and Yelena interfered as spies. They would go for Batroc, while the agents would take care of their mercenaries.

Y/N’s mission was to rescue the hostages who remained at the entrance of the cave.

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“I'm going in.” Y/N announced over the earpiece.

Walking cautiously, the demon surrounded the church, taking down every mercenary she saw with agility until she finally could see the door to the cave. It was a rusty iron door, protected by two agents with machine guns and a deadly look. Above them, two snipers stood expectantly in the church bell tower, ready to kill anyone they saw near the door.

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“Kate, Y/N. Be careful, two snipers are in the church bell tower like two birds of prey.” Natasha's voice was heard in the earpiece.

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“Yes, I can see them.” Y/N muttered, hiding behind an old concrete wall. Next to her was Kate, who was clinging tightly to her bow, somewhat nervously. It wasn't her first mission, but this one wasn't easy and Clint wasn't at her side for the first time.

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“Hey.” The demon caught her attention to look into Kate’s blue eyes. “I'll have your back, okay? I will shoot those at the door, you make the birds fly.”

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Kate nodded quickly. The archer took out one of the explosive arrows and took a deep breath, nervous about such a dangerous but necessary move. If they didn't get out of there, they would be surrounded by enemies soon.

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“Don't be afraid, I won't let them shoot you.” Y/N whispered, placing her hand on the girl's shoulder. “I'll go out first, cover your back, shoot the sniper's nest. We will get those hostages out, we will go home and I'll buy you a burger.”

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Being more confident, Kate nodded and steeled herself as Y/N came running and sliding out of hiding to shoot the agents in front of the door. Hiding behind a destroyed concrete wall, she nodded to Kate before firing again, giving confidence for the archer to come out and fire at the snipers.

As soon as the arrow hit the wood, it took a few seconds to explode, getting rid of those agents and leaving a clear path for them to pass. They ran towards the door and after planting a mini bomb to open it, went inside to take the hostages who were chained.

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“Let’s go, let’s go!” Y/N yelled as she led those people towards the safe exit, especially when some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents came to help them. She was about to keep going but Kate stopped, taking her arm and looking at her with concern.

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“Y/N…” Kate stammered looking at the brunette's belly.

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Looking down, Y/N belatedly realized that her uniform was soaked in that crimson liquid. Apparently one of the bullets pierced the demon’s stomach in the confrontation and she had not even noticed it, causing blood loss.

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Oh no.

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“I’m okay.” Y/N nodded, willing to continue. They couldn't stop, no one was supposed to find out what she was. This was only going to make it worse. “We must keep going.”

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“No, but you-” Kate tried to stop her but the demon turned to look her in the eyes.

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“Kate, I’m okay.” Y/N whispered, hoping Kate would believe her and not have to manipulate the girl into forgetting about it. She promised not to. “Look at me, I'm fine. Trust me.”

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Y/N didn't want to have to manipulate Kate to make her forget, didn't want to do that with whoever she loved. Despite Y/N's thousands of attempts to ignore the new 'Hawkeye', the girl became one of her greatest friends. One who always came to Y/N when she needed advice or help. Friends, something she couldn't even begin to think about, was what she had now.

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She did it so many times in her life, manipulating humans to forget, but now the idea of having to get into Kate's mind to alter it was extremely painful.

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‘Please, don’t make me do it,’ Y/N thought.

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Sighing a little thoughtful and worried, the brunette decided to nod. Limping slightly, the demon wasn't going to deny that she was a little bit in pain but it would soon heal. A bullet in the stomach was nothing to her.

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“I can't believe you did that for me.” Kate mumbled as they walked towards the quinjet, the hostages now safely on the ship. Shots could be heard in the distance but S.H.I.E.L.D won the battle that time.

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“Me neither.” Y/N joked as she walked over to sit on the ship, noticing how Natasha approached with concern carrying a first aid kit. She didn't expect one of the 'casualties' to be Y/N.

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“Thank you.” Kate whispered, taking Y/N’s bloody hand as they waited for the quinjet to finally take off.

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Thoughtful, Wanda remained watching through the window, those enormous trees that surrounded the compound. The night arrived and when the lights went out, the stars made that place charming.

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She sighed; couldn't get that kiss out of her mind. The way Y/N grabbed her waist, the way she looked or kissed her. That delicacy and passion at the same time drove Wanda crazy, never thought she could experience something like that.

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When Pietro was alive, he used to scare away every boy who came near her. They had always been so protective of each other. But now her ‘little brother’ was no longer there, and although she felt joy for experiencing love for the first time, she also felt enormous guilt for being happy without him.

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“Are you okay?” Clint asked as he walked closer. The Sokovian turned to look at him surprised, it was assumed that the man was spending a few days of necessary 'vacation' with his family.

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“Yes, I’m just-” She started to say but then stopped, she didn't want to bother with such silly problems. “What are you doing here? I thought you were home with Laura and the kids.”

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“Oh, Stark made me come to see something. I'm free now.” Clint sat next to Wanda. She didn't say anything, just nodded.

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“You know you can talk to me. You’re not alone.” Clint always knew how to approach her without making the girl feel pressure or awkward. And Wanda found in him a father figure that she always needed.

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Hesitantly, she turned to see the blonde. “I think I like someone.”

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Nodding slowly, Clint momentarily cursed himself for asking about it. He felt like a dad talking to his daughter for the first time about love, but after sighing deeply, he smiled understanding what it was about.

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“That brooding agent who's always frowning.” Of course the man saw them together many times, Wanda tended to avoid everyone except her.

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“Yes.” Wanda cleared her throat, playing with her rings.

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“So what do you think?” Clint sighed as he looked up at the sky, the moon shining overhead.

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“I don't know, I'm worried…” Wanda murmured barely, afraid that if she said it it would become so real. “I'm terrified of holding on to someone and then losing them.”

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The Sokovian sighed, still couldn't fully heal remembering the painful loss of Pietro. How she lost control in Sokovia, and thanks to her friend, Vision, she was safe at that time. If only she had been with Pietro to stop those bullets.

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As soon as the witch arrived at the Compound, she completely avoided socializing with everyone in the place. Locking herself in a bedroom until Y/N came. Changing her life completely.

Y/N wasn't trying to get her out of it, rather sharing the loneliness next to her, slowly mitigating the pain.

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“I feel happy when I see her, but I also feel guilty for not being able to mourn my brother as I should.” Finally the brunette released that deep pain in her chest, which had been hurting her so much those days when she walked away from Y/N. “I feel like I'm being selfish.”

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Clint sighed, thinking carefully about what he wanted to say so as not to cause more harm. He wanted the girl to allow herself to be happy, she and Pietro were so young when they found them. And he'll always be grateful, Pietro gave his life for him, Clint would always be in debt for it. That's why the archer promised to take care of Wanda until the end of his days. ㅤㅤ

“First… She looks like a good girl, and she's a good agent. That's good.” Barton tilted his head, enjoying the silence that surrounded them. “Being happy is not an easy thing for people like us, but we learn to survive the pain and accept the good that comes to us when it does. There is no time for 'grieving'. You just do it, and move forward so you don't die. He is your brother and always will be, but think that he wants the best for you, just as you would want the best for him if it were the other way around.”

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“I will be honest, just be happy, Wanda. Pietro would want that for you, it’s the best way to honor him.” Clint finished by bringing his hand to the girl's shoulder and squeezed it gently. He stood up from her seat, looking at her one more time.

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“Thank you, Clint.” The brunette smiled gratefully. “I'd better try to occupy my mind on something else so I'm not so worried.”

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“Don't worry... Now I think I have to go or Laura is going to kill me. I can't miss movie night.” He joked as always. Wanda stood up to walk towards the kitchen, while Clint slowly walked away towards the parking lot.

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Y/N sighed, lying on that infirmary bed, cursing herself for not having been faster. Well, she couldn't use her powers if Kate was around.

She looked at the IV connected to her arm and just rolled her eyes, happy to be alone for a moment. Of course all this was unnecessary, she didn't need this type of treatment but couldn't say no. After a quick surgery, Helen Cho managed to remove the bullet from her stomach and the demon was now resting.

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“Hello, Y/N. How do you feel?” Helen asked as she walked through the door, holding her stark tablet.

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“I’m good. Ready to go.”

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The doctor remained silent. From her body expression she seemed nervous, and Y/N noticed it quickly. “What's wrong, Doc?” Y/N asked and narrowed her eyes as she watched the woman hesitate.

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“Y/N…” Helen cleared her throat. “I must tell you the truth, as my patient… W-While I was removing the bullet, I noticed how-”

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She stopped, not knowing if she should talk to this woman because maybe Y/N didn't know or if she should talk to one of the avengers first. Or maybe Fury.

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“I noticed how part of your organs were regenerating themselves.” Finally the doctor was brave enough to say it. “Slowly, but much faster than a human. The bullet pierced part of the intestine, hit an artery. You couldn't possibly be alive.”

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Oh.

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“That’s it?” Y/N asked as she took off the covers and got out of bed without much trouble. The wound was still there, but it was nothing the demon couldn't endure. “Does anyone else know?”

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Helen shook her head, backing away. “N-no.”

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“Good.” Y/N smiled slightly then her eyes changed. Her pupils became vertical, fixed on the doctor's eyes. “Helen, you'll look me right in the eye.”

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Even though she tried to refuse the control, Helen could do nothing but nod her head and lose herself in that look.

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“You're going to forget everything you said and what you saw. The surgery went well, you haven't seen anything strange.” Y/N hissed at her, easily manipulating her. “You'll discharge me right now because it wasn't that bad.”

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Lost in the demon’s gaze, Helen just nodded her head slowly in complete obedience.

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“You will forget after my eyes change.”

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When Y/N finished and her eyes returned to their human form, the demon sat on the bed and the doctor woke up from that daydream, blinking rapidly.

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“Sorry, I started to dissociate.” Helen giggled and Y/N just smiled politely. “So, the surgery went well. Nothing strange, you will recover slowly but you were very lucky. ”

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At that moment the door opened, Wanda hurriedly and worriedly approached Y/N to hug her.

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“Are you OK?” Wanda exclaimed, taking Y/N's face carefully, terror could be seen in those green eyes.

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Y/N giggled, taking Wanda's hand. “I’m fine.”

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“How is she?” Ignoring those words, the Sokovian turned to see Helen who smiled tenderly at seeing them together like that. Everyone knew they were 'together'.

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“I'm fine!”

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“I was telling Y/N that I could discharge her, if this woman behaves well. It wasn't that bad.” Dr. Cho walked over to see that everything was fine on her tablet and then nodded. Y/N’s blood pressure was normal, plus nothing was out of the ordinary. “But you will need rest for a few days.”

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“I'll make sure she does.” Wanda nodded, still holding Y/N's hand.

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She turned to look at the demon, truly grateful that nothing bad happened to her. As soon as she found out that Y/N was hurt, her life was in total chaos, unable to do anything but wait.

Y/N didn't say anything, she just listened to Wanda talk to the doctor about how careful she should be, and just stayed thoughtful. At first it felt weird, to feel like someone cared about you, but then she felt such great joy that her ears turned red due to blushing.

It was nice, hopeful until all that turned into suffocating guilt. How could Y/N do this to her? The girl was there, doing the best to take care of her and Y/N was just plotting to hurt her as much as possible.

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“Y/N?”

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Wanda's soft voice made Y/N wake up from that daydream, her gaze lost in that steaming bowl. The sokovian insisted that she should be resting, so Jules gave up her room so that Y/N could sleep peacefully and she would spend the night playing games with Kate, -or possibly with Natasha-.

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“What's going on?” Wanda asked a little worried, sitting next to her in that bed. “Is it cold?”

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The sokovian made some soup for both of them, saying it would 'help her regain strength'. Of course the demon just giggled thinking about how cute that was, she didn't need it but wasn't going to refuse so much affection.

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“No! It's exquisite, it's perfect.” Y/N smiled, taking her hand and leaving a short kiss. “I’m just thinking.”

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“Still thinking about the mission?” Wanda settled next to her, watching as the girl slowly ate the soup. She observed carefully Y/N's injured face, a bruise on her left cheekbone, her eyebrow cut but the worst was that shot in her belly, now covered by a bandage.

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“Not so much.” Y/N licked her lips, enjoying the taste. She lived for so many years but never enjoyed food as much as she did now. “I was more worried about Kate, but she did great.”

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“Kate said you took that bullet for her.” The Sokovian smiled tenderly, despite her concern and fears, she felt very proud of what 'her girl' did to save a friend.

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“She's overreacting.” Y/N rolled her eyes and finished the soup, leaving the bowl on the side of the bed.

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“I was so worried. Terrified.” Wanda whispered, she had to be honest with her. Carefully, the Sokovian tucked a strand of hair behind Y/N's ear. “I don't want anything to happen to you.”

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I don't want anything to happen to you.

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Possibly one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to her. Y/N felt her heart jump, no one had ever cared so much about her like that. Her life has always been about manipulating people and avoiding emotional ties.

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“I’m okay, I swear… Come here.” The demon assured her with a sincere smile, pulling the brunette over so she could lie down next to her. They both settled into that bed, simply holding hands and looking into each other's eyes.

ㅤㅤ

They spent some time that way, sharing some cute looks and kisses. Y/N told her some stuff about the mission and Wanda about what she talked to Clint, opening up about her fears. Even from the suspicions Y/N had about Jules having 'something' with Natasha.

ㅤㅤ

“Would you like to watch something on TV?” Y/N babbled nervously, hoping the brunette wouldn't take it the wrong way or think she was too 'clingy'. After all, it was the first time she liked someone and didn't know how to do this. “Let's watch a tv show, stay with me all day… after all, I have to rest, right?”

ㅤㅤ

Giggling, Wanda rested her head on Y/N's shoulder. “What do you think of sitcoms?”

ㅤㅤ

“I really like them.” Of course the demon was lying, but she wasn't going to deny the opportunity to share time with Wanda. The Sokovian kissed her softly and then took the remote control to look for something good on some streaming.

She decided to go for Abbott Elementary, a new sitcom that always brought a smile to her face.

ㅤㅤ

After some time sharing laughter and caresses, Wanda sighed when she realized her head was on Y/N's chest. Closeness became normal for both of them, without them realizing it.

Biting her lip, she felt enormous joy hearing Y/N's heart beat for her.

Suddenly Y/N started to laugh, but ended up placing a hand on her belly, feeling this sharp pain.

ㅤㅤ

“Are you okay?” Wanda frowned worriedly.

ㅤㅤ

“Of course, yes, it was just… I laughed. I'm fine, really.” Y/N assured, hoping she would actually believe her.

ㅤㅤ

“I'm kind of scared. Not just before, now...” Looking at the wound, the truth came out of Wanda's lips without even thinking about it.

ㅤㅤ

The demon frowned and turned to look at her curiously. “Why?”

ㅤㅤ

“It sounds really stupid.” The brunette sighed and settled back hugging Y/N, avoiding touching the wound. “I was afraid that something would happen to you, but I'm not going to be hypocritical, I’m scared because I don't want you to play with my heart.”

ㅤㅤ

Y/N took a moment to think about what to say. She didn't want to lie to Wanda, nor could she tell her the truth. So, what should she do? Half-truths were as painful as a dagger.

ㅤㅤ

“That's something I will never do.” The demon decided to speak the truth. Y/N didn't want to do it but knew she would do it without wanting to. She didn't want to break Wanda's heart, although she existed for that, Wanda achieved something impossible and that is that the demon felt something for someone other than herself. “I really care about you. I really like you.”

ㅤㅤ

Smiling at those sincere words, Wanda felt like she could finally give herself to her, give destiny a chance, could finally trust that everything would be okay.

Just settled on her girl's chest and let herself be happy for once.

ㅤㅤ

Time passed and Y/N's health had miraculously improved. Of course those wounds healed much faster, so she had to pretend to still be recovering. Natasha allowed her to return to training, and that was a good thing to keep her mind occupied. A mind that didn't stop working, trying to think how to cope with the situation.

ㅤㅤ

Time was running out and Abaddon demanded to see results, and as if that were not enough, fate played a very big trick on Y/N, making her end up falling in love with Wanda.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“I've noticed that you're feeling better.” Jules said as she entered the room they shared, noticing that Y/N was putting some dirty clothes in her bag to take them to wash. She would never have thought that Leviathan, the great devastating demon, would be doing such mundane things like that.

Y/N nodded slowly, thankful that the place was almost empty. She turned around, watching as Jules sat on her bed.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“How you do it? Isn't it hard for you?” Y/N broke their silence, Jules narrowed her eyes not knowing what she meant. “Pretending.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“Oh.” Jules murmured. She couldn't find a good enough answer for that, just looked down, feeling guilty. Y/N hadn't even thought about what Stolas was feeling right now. If she was confused, assumed her 'friend' was too. How could she have been so inconsiderate?

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

That thought of hers only made Y/N laugh; she was a demon. A big one, that was something she had to be. Why did something that she was meant to do by nature make her feel so bad?

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“It's getting so hard, Stolas. I don't know what I'm doing here, but I'm not doing what I should do.” Y/N whispered, moving closer to sit next to Jules, who remained looking at the floor. “You have to leave.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“What?” She looked up, surprised. After a few seconds of silence, the dark-haired woman broke it and said determinedly, like never before. “No. I won't do it.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

Frowning, confused but more offended by Stolas's disobedience, Y/N turned to look at her. “I'm not asking you. You must leave soon, Stolas.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“It’s 'Jules' here.” The brown-eyed girl finally looked into her eyes. “What are you talking about?”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“If Abaddon finds out about this, she's going to kill you too.” Y/N whispered worried, for the first time, for who she considered a friend. “Won't even think, she will do it.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

Jules shook her head. “I’m with you.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“I can't bear your death too!” Finally Y/N exploded, pinching the bridge of her nose to try and calm herself down. Things were getting out of control.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“I don't know how we got here, I told you we shouldn't get involved!” Y/N angrily shook her head and looked around. “When we arrived, the place could have burned down and I wouldn't even care. I would have danced on the ashes! But now… now everything is different. Everything hurts.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“I know.” Jules murmured wistfully.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“No, you don’t know.” The demon interrupted quickly. “I care about them-”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“YES, I DO!” Jules screamed angrily and got out of bed. For the first time she exploded, showing her true nature, showing her true eyes. Those eyes changed to ones quite similar to those of a bird of prey, a bright orange color, pupils as dark as night. But as soon as she realized her mistake, those eyes turned brown again.

Frowning, Y/N said nothing. She understood Stolas' pain, because she was feeling that endless number of contradictory feelings too.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

Sighing, the dark-haired girl looked down, ashamed to shout at a superior. “I know it, Y/N, I care too. Everything around me matters to me, and I hate it… but I also like it.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“I gotta be honest with you.” Jules swallowed nervously, maybe this would change everything but she couldn't take it anymore. “Abaddon did send me to spy on you.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

Maybe she expected Y/N to be surprised or scream at her or rather to end her life for betrayal, but the superior demon only smiled with a certain tenderness, perhaps a little proud.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“I know.” Y/N shrugged. She wasn't stupid and she knew the redhead's intentions very well.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“No, you don't understand! She sent me to spy on you but I never said anything!” Jules approached, horrified by the guilt that was drowning her. “I haven't even been reporting back to her and I think that's making her angry, but if I do, she'll know I'm lying. For a long time she has thought that you will start a rebellion, using Wanda at your convenience.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

Fear could be seen reflected in Jules' eyes and that made Y/N feel some worry.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“She will burn everything to ashes, Leviathan… and I like this place. I like the air I breathe, and I like it when I eat breakfast, and I like it when the birds sing or the crickets make that sound.” The lower rank demon sighed, embarrassed for disappointing Y/N but that was the truth. And she would die accepting it. “I like it when I play video games with Kate, or when Natasha looks at me or asks me if I'm okay. And I don't want to lose it, even if I have been part of their suffering, I like them. ”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

Y/N didn't know what to say. It was one thing to feel confused because of where they were, because of living with humans for so long but Jules seemed really affected by it. But it was a very different thing to bet your life on them. The anguish in those eyes was real.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“And even if you hate it... I've learned these months about friendship, and I will stay by your side until the end. I am loyal to you, even if I die.” The teary eyes of who was Stolas, a powerful demon, made Y/N understand the complex situation they were in.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

Nodding, Y/N placed her hand on Jules' shoulder but the brunette quickly rushed towards her to hug tightly.

Surprised, Y/N just patted her back gently, more confused than ever but trying to provide reassurance to her friend. “We'll find a solution.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

Like flowers blooming thanks to spring, the love between Wanda and Y/N also blossomed in a strong and powerful way.

Wanda was no longer that melancholy girl who lived locked up in her room, learned to open herself up to others freely, and Natasha was grateful for that because she found an amazing friend in her.

And she wasn't going to deny that it helped a lot in managing her powers. Y/N was a great help training alongside her, helping the Witch to focus and handle the magic better. Magic that previously came from pain and chaos was now much less violent and explosive.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

And just as Y/N was a positive development in Wanda's life to work on herself and her powers, Wanda was teaching the demon to let herself be loved little by little. She noticed that Y/N was not used to affection, but she learned by her side, trying to be romantic and affectionate in her own way.

Seeing how the woman tried to understand, how she smiled genuinely or every time Y/N showed her with words or actions how much she loves her. Especially that chaotic night where Y/N finally discovered that she was madly in love with Wanda, and there was nothing that could change it. They were in love, and there was no one in the Compound who didn't notice it.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

But of course, Wanda was also worried that she didn't know much about her either. Y/N never talked about her past life or her family, and that caused a little insecurity in the Sokovian.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ But the good thing was that Abaddon seemed to be perfectly swallowing that Wanda was beginning to decline, perhaps in half a year she would be ready. At least that's what Y/N and Jules told her, feeding her small advances to keep the Knight happy.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“Will you...?”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

The grass tickled against her skin, a feeling so strange and at the same time so nice. The warm sun hit her face, such a pleasant and familiar feeling.

Sighing, Y/N opened her eyes meeting that green gaze that only showed immense tenderness.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

Wanda smiled when she saw her; both were in front of the lake enjoying a delicious lunch. Y/N rested her head on her legs while Wanda looked at the lake, so calm and relaxing.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“What do you mean?” Y/N wrinkled her nose.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“You know what I mean.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ “You know everything about me.” Y/N played dumb.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“You’re adorable.” Wanda confessed, gently pressing her nose with a finger.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“I’m not.” Y/N growled, squinting her eyes so as not to look directly at the sun as she sat next to her again. “But thanks for surprising me with this brunch.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

Smiling flirtatiously, Wanda ended the distance between them and kissed her lover's lips once more. A tender and short kiss, but full of such strong feelings. A girl who overcomes her fears of losing, to let herself be loved. And a demon that didn't know how to love, beginning to be afraid of losing her.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

Just one kiss of those lips was all it took to seal Y/N’s future.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

“Since I met you, you make me feel so much better.” Wanda whispered against her lips, caressing Y/N's face tenderly. “I don't know how you do it.”

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

Moved by those words, Y/N just bit her lower lip trying to quell the enormous urge to smile. “I just like being by your side, the rest is just... because of you.”

ㅤㅤㅤ

Stunned by just looking at that woman, those eyes so attractive and mysterious, those lips so soft, the sokovian kissed Y/N one more time. They stayed like that for an hour, chatting about the Avengers and about how quickly the demon healed from her injury. Wanda was watching over her, taking care, trying to make everything easier. And even though Y/N felt a little guilty for 'pretending' that she was still recovering, she also took advantage of being spoiled by her girlfriend.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“I’ve to go now… Otherwise Natasha will kill me.” Wanda murmured between kisses, unable to move away from the brunette but still had to.

ㅤㅤㅤ

Smiling numbly, Y/N confessed: “I find it very difficult to let you go.”

ㅤㅤㅤ

“How about… you have a date with me tonight?” Wanda looked down to play with her rings, she looked a little shy but also flirtatious. “Maybe we could be alone... all night. Watching a movie or something.”

ㅤㅤㅤ

Raising a curious eyebrow, Y/N felt her heart skip a beat. Was that a date or something else? Maybe Natasha or Kate could help her with this. “That would be lovely.”

ㅤㅤㅤ

“See you later, detka.” The green eyed girl said first and stole the demon’s heart once again.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“I love it when you call me that.” Y/N said without regret, without fear, without doubt. For the first time she allowed herself to feel, and thanks to Wanda she began to discover what love was.

ㅤㅤㅤ

Now she understood all those songs, now she understood all those tears and poems. Now she perfectly understood Alfonsina Storni, Pablo Neruda and Alejandra Pizarnik.

She was always a bit patient with certain humans, but never thought she could love one. Nodding with a smile, Wanda stole a short kiss before walking away.

ㅤㅤㅤ

Y/N watched this amazing woman, her girlfriend, walk away to enter the compound. But that happiness did not last long, especially when that sudden and horrible feeling came to her.

ㅤㅤㅤ

The presence of an evil being became so strong, that her eyes changed to see where such negative energy came from.

In the distance, she could see how a strange old man was watching her among the trees. With a hunched body, his hair was greasy and his smile was macabre, but the worst of all was its nauseating smell.

ㅤㅤㅤ

Bile rushed up her throat, terrified. Y/N quickly got up and walked towards that place, noticing that the man now was walking away playing among the trees. As if it were a game, hide and seek.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“Stolas.” Y/N summoned the demon as she quickly walked. Instantly Jules appeared at her side, walking next to her.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“What is it?” The brunette asked worriedly, if Y/N summoned her just like that it was a big deal. Y/N didn't say anything, just told her to keep quiet. They both chased that man until he took them to a clearing, far enough away from the others. Even though the demon was slippery, Y/N was faster and caught it, slamming it into one of the trees.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“What are you doing here, Furcas?” Y/N growled, showing fangs. Y/N tightened her grip on the demon's neck, making it stir. “Answer me! Is Abaddon here?”

ㅤㅤㅤ

Even though she wanted to rip his head off, Y/N loosened her grip on his neck so he could answer. Furcas was a very different demon. Some demons were fallen angels who ended up in an awful place, but Furcas was born from the very perversion and depravation.

ㅤㅤㅤ

He was renowned for being a low-ranking demon, but above all, he was renowned for being vicious. That demon was the complete opposite of Y/N. Torture wasn't enough for him, he always had a fascination with repulsive perversions. Things that not even Y/N could come to think of.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“She's not here, I-I decided to come and see if everything was okay.” He said with a creepy and squeaky voice. Furcas smiled widely, trying to free himself but it was impossible. “Abaddon thinks she is suffering but I see her very happy there, smiling next to you.”

ㅤㅤㅤ

“Shut up.” Y/N narrowed her eyes.

ㅤㅤㅤ

Stretching out her arm, a sword appeared in her hand. The grip was strong and dark, the blade had a terrifying edge and strange inscriptions on it. Enochian could be read, isomething that the closest thing in English could be 'willbreaker'. “Do you know what this is?”

ㅤㅤㅤ

Of course Furcas knew what it was. Very few demons had one of those, a fallen angel sword. When Y/N placed the blade on the demon's neck, it shifted restlessly.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“The boss is getting tired of waiting.” He hissed trying to get away from the deadly blade. “And I want to make her happy. A great promotion.”

ㅤㅤㅤ

“He's going to fuck it all up.” Jules whispered behind her, shifting into those demonic eyes. “Put that sword through him now.”

ㅤㅤㅤ

“If I do that, there will be chaos. There will be no going back.” Y/N gulped, fixing her gaze on him.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“There won't be any turning back anyway.”

ㅤㅤㅤ

If she finished off Furcas, Abaddon would become suspicious of his absence but if she didn't, he would run to spill everything to her. Of course, the redhead wouldn't take kindly to Y/N's relationship with Wanda.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“Abaddon's been eager to see how Maximoff's doing... but you're here playing with the little witch.” Furcas moved his tongue in a really disgusting and disturbing way. So much so that it made Y/N wrinkle her nose in disgust. “You were just doing nasty wicked things to her… I love those games. Can I play with her too? ”

ㅤㅤㅤ

He was the kind of demon you wanted to keep away. Y/N clenched her jaw and fought the urge to cut off his head all at once. The disgusting way he referred to Wanda simply made her blood boil.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“Shut up, you disgusting creature!” Jules shouted, taking a step forward but Y/N's look made her stop.

ㅤㅤㅤ

But far from stopping, Furcas continued inciting and provoking them, bursting into manic laughter. “Maybe I’ll just gonna hold her down and enjoy it for a few hours, might even live through it. I’ve got some... anatomical incompatibilities that tend to tear up little girls.”

ㅤㅤㅤ

That was all she needed to hear to react.

Y/N felt her hand tremble, her eyes widening due to the anger she felt in those moments. As she was invaded by that violent nature, she ended up exploding, taking a step back but stabbing her sword into the demon's chest with enormous violence and strength.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“No one is going to touch her, I will make sure to destroy anyone who comes near her.” Y/N hissed, baring her fangs.

ㅤㅤㅤ

Furcas opened his mouth to complain but she plunged the sword even deeper, ending up destroying him. Painful, very painful it must be, the demon's eyes turned red due to the pain and then his chest burned. Y/N watched as Furcas slowly faded into black ashes until he disappeared. It was an action that would have serious consequences and she knew it.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“There's the answer you needed. Get ready because things are going to get very messy from now on.” Y/N sighed deeply. Jules nodded, watching as the sword disappeared again from Y/N's hand.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“Go to Abaddon, tell her she's grieving the loss of… I don't know, make something up.” Y/N placed a hand on her forehead, trying to think. Everything happened so damn fast. “Tell her Wanda’s powers are improving a lot, tell her that you think it will be soon but don't say how long. Always remember to show her how weak I feel lately and how powerful she is becoming, make her feel good.”

ㅤㅤㅤ

Jules nodded quickly, knowing that she would have to give her best performance hoping the Knight wouldn't find out. Y/N turned on her heels, facing Jules and praying to the universe that she could do it. “Don't let her find out.”

ㅤㅤㅤ

“I'll do it right, trust me.” Sighing and taking courage, the brunette nodded before disappearing from that place in a blink.

ㅤㅤㅤ

Y/N inhaled deeply and closed her eyes as the breeze moved the leaves of the trees, the scent of sulfur completely disappeared and now she could only smell the linden tree and… there was something else.

Frowning, Y/N's senses caught a familiar scent.

Fuck no.

Y/N turned quickly looking towards the place where that scent came from, exposing her eyes without realizing it.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“W- what was that?” Kate stammered coming out from behind one of the trees. She looked quite fearful, her hands were shaking. “W-What's wrong with your eyes?”

ㅤㅤㅤ

Shifting her eyes to her human form, Y/N took a step forward but Kate instantly backed her away. Kate saw it all. “What are you doing here, Kate?”

ㅤㅤㅤ

“I s-saw you guys walking here a-and I thought you were jog-jogging... I- I wanted to catch up with you-” The archer stammered in fear, backing away so much that she ended up crashing into the nearest tree.

The look of terror in her friend's eyes was like a stab to Y/N's heart in those moments. How could they have been so stupid? They were so focused on Furcas that they hadn't noticed that Kate was after them.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“What happened to your eyes? What are you? Why did that thing turn into ashes?” The brunette repeated desperately trying to search for the truth. “I thought you were my friend.”

ㅤㅤㅤ

Seeing Jules disappear was not something that surprised her so much, but seeing how that creature died at the hands of her 'friends' did.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“Listen to me, Kate.” The demon tried to make the girl calm down, could hear her heart beating desperately. “There are things you don't know... that I will explain to you if you calm down and listen to me. I promise to tell you the whole truth.”

ㅤㅤㅤ

Seeing her retreat only reaffirmed how scared Kate was and that she wasn't going to see reason. “Please, don't run.”

ㅤㅤㅤ That request only upset the girl even more, especially when Y/N approached again. Frightened, the archer decided to run to save her life.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“Saying that never works.” Y/N sighed defeatedly.

ㅤㅤㅤ Kate Bishop ran desperately through the trees, following the 'runners' path that were around the compound. Her heart was beating wildly, fearing being caught, fearing for her life. She couldn't believe it, couldn't believe she saw her friends acting that way, that thing disappear among ashes. What were they? They didn't look good at all.

Those eyes.

ㅤㅤㅤ Y/N shouted after her trying to stop her but it was no use. Desperation played tricks on her, making the archer stumble and fall to the ground in such a way that her knee ended up injured.

Hissing in pain, Kate saw some blood but the pain went away when she saw Y/N suddenly appearing in front of her.

ㅤㅤㅤ Putting her fear aside, Kate stood up ready to fight for her life. She wasn't going to keep running, it seemed pointless anyway.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“Don't be afraid, I just want to talk with you.” Y/N tried to reason with her but Kate threw the first punch, starting a fight she knew she was going to lose. Kate would never be like that, the demon knew that the archer would always listen to her but right now she was scared.

ㅤㅤㅤ

Y/N dodged every one of her punches, the demon didn't want to attack her but had no choice but to take advantage. Catching her fist, Y/N forced the girl to turn around grabbing her from behind to stop it. Fear was not only seen in Kate's eyes but also in the demon.

ㅤㅤㅤ She didn't want to hurt the one she now considered her friend. She didn't want to manipulate her. But there was no choice.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“Kate, please, I don't want to do this.” Y/N whimpered trying to hold her down. Tears formed in Y/N's eyes for the first time, as Kate tried to break free.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“Let me go!”

ㅤㅤㅤ

Knowing there was no other option and that Kate didn't seem to understand due to fear, Y/N quickly turned her around to look at those blue eyes. The demon's eyes changed, that strange and terrifying orange that quickly gained the archer's attention. As if she were being deeply hypnotized.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“Kate, look at me…” Y/N hissed, feeling Kate leave that violent attitude and her body finally let go. Completely stunned, the girl just nodded. “Forget what you saw and go with Yelena. You won't remember any of this.”

ㅤㅤㅤ

The demon felt enormous sadness for having to do this.

For months she avoided doing something like that with them, with the people she was really starting to care, to love, and Kate was one of them. But she had no choice, they couldn't find out about all this in such an aggressive way. They would think Kate was crazy, maybe Wanda would end up exploding.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“When my eyes change, you will wake up.” Y/N finished, her eyes going back to normal and so did her friend, who blinked rapidly somewhat confused.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“Ugh, my head hurts.” Kate complained, feeling that awful migraine but frowned seeing her scraped knee. “Ouch, what happened to my knee?”

ㅤㅤㅤ

Clearing her throat, the demon approached to help her. She took Kate’s arm so the girl could lean on it. “Me and Jules went for a walk and found you here. You fell and blacked out for a moment.” She lied.

ㅤㅤㅤ

Kate frowned, a bit confused as she didn't remember it, but understandable if she passed out. Possibly migraine was to blame for that.

ㅤㅤㅤ

“Thank you, Y/N. I'm glad you were here.” The archer looked into her eyes and smiled tenderly and sincerely grateful, clinging to her arm as they walked together down the path straight to the Compound. “It's the second time you saved me. You're a good friend.”

ㅤㅤㅤ

Those words broke Y/N's heart, who could only smile sadly and melancholy. How could she have done that to her friend? Who blindly trusted her.

There was no other option. “You are a great friend too, Kate.” She said with a thin voice.

ㅤㅤㅤ

Her gaze rested on the handle of that door for about ten minutes, thinking about how to begin, what she was going to say. How was she going to do it? Trying to gain courage to do what she had to do, for so long.

Things got out of control, she needed to face the situation.

Y/N cleared her throat and finally knocked on the door, expecting that woman to be gone or to just have to get out of there but when the door finally opened, she sighed.

That was her punishment for all the bad deeds.

ㅤㅤㅤ

Wanda was in front of her, with a happy smile and an excited look. And all Y/N could say, feeling her heart break, was: “We need to talk.”

here goes some amazing and lovely people tags ✨ : @wandanatfan @get-the-fuck-outta-here @idontknow-llol @marvelogic

Thank you so much for reading me! ✨ I'm working hard so you can havethe next one sooner.

If you want me to tag you in the next chapters, just comment and I will. Thank you very much for reading me, honeybee! It means a lot! 🐝

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ

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#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff x female reader #wanda maximoff imagine #wanda maximoff x you

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cf8wrk4u-us · 4 months

Text

How The Lost Light Canceled The Hunger Games

Summary: To a Cybertronian, 200 years is nothing, barely a foot note in this peaceful time where bot are trying to rebuild their world and society.

But 200 years is a lot to humans though, 200 years is a lot for Earth in general.

Things change, humanity changes.

And as Cybertron will learn, not for the better.

But this is something the members of the Lost Light wouldn't stand for.

(Based on these ask given to @yes-i-write-fanfiction

https://www.tumblr.com/yes-i-write-fanfiction/735322098308890624/in-honor-of-the-ballad-of-songbirds-and-snakes?source=share

We're on a flat, open stretch of ground, a plain of hard packed dirt.

Behind the tributes across from me, | can see nothing, indicating either a steep downward slope or even cliff. To my right lies a lake. To my left and back, spars piney woods. This is where Haymitch would want me to go.

Immediately.

I hear his instructions in my head. “Just clear out, put as much distance as you can between yourselves and the others, and find a source of water”

But it’s tempting, so tempting, when I see the bounty waiting there before me. And I know that if I don’t get it, someone else will. That the Career Tributes who survive the bloodbath will divide up most of these life-sustaining spoils. Something catches my eye. There, resting on a mound of blanket rolls, is a silver sheath of arrows and a bow, already strung, just waiting to be engaged. That’s mine, I think. It’s meant for me.

I’m fast. I can sprint faster than any of the girls in our school although a couple can beat me in distance races. But this forty-yard length, this is what I am built for. I know I can get it, I know I can reach it first, but then the question is how quickly can I get out of there? By the time I’ve scrambled up the packs and grabbed the weapons, others will have reached the horn, and one or two I might be able to pick off, but say there’s a dozen, at that close range, they could take me down with the spears and the clubs. Or their own powerful fists.

Still, I won't be the only target. I’m betting many of the other tributes would pass up a smaller girl, even one who scored an eleven in training, to take out their more fierce adversaries.

Haymitch has never seen me run. Maybe if he had he’d tell me to go for it. Get the weapon. Since that’s the very weapon that might be my salvation. And I only see one bow in that whole pile. I know the minute must be almost up and will have to decide what my strategy will be and I find myself positioning my feet to run, not away into the stir rounding forests but toward the pile, toward the bow.

I notice Peeta, he’s about five tributes to my right, quite a fair distance, still I can tell he’s looking at me and I think he might be shaking his head. But the sun’s in my eyes and-

CRASH!

A symphony of broken glass and metal erupted across the arena, the once sunny and clear blue sky darkens into a mess of pixelated screens and crumpling scaffolding. But that's not what had our attention.

From the growing crack in the forcefield was a large aircraft, far bigger than the Capital hovercraft that had brought us to the arena. It was colored in a bright orange red and yellow with tinted dark glass on its front, so massive was its size that it literally scraped the sides of the entrance it cashed through. Sending more of the broken structure to crash down.

My breath picked up, heart hammering in my chest as I saw the craft get closer and closer to us, I noted absently how its shadow easily shaded over me the rest of the tributes. Practically eclipsing the whole arena.

A part of me screamed to move, to run, I thought of images of a hawk as it swooped over a desperate rodent. But the rational part of myself firmly and calmly reminded me that I needed to stay still on the circle before me or I would end up in pieces from the land mines.

But even that became a physical struggle as the aircraft landed sending a heavy gust of wind that threatened to blow tributes back from their stands. I braced my knees and even as I couldn’t stay on I grasped to stay right on the circle. In fact I noticed how others did the same , but a few weren’t successful. Such as one male tribute, from District 5 I believed, who was sent tumbling off. I gave a quick look from my position, ready to hear and see a mess of explosions…but nothing happened.

Even the District 5 tribute, whose face had paled, was now looking confused at the fact he wasn’t a mess against the grass.

The gong hadn’t gone off, yet the mines were not active, so what had the trigger time run out?

Has the Hunger Games begun?

In my head the passing thought came of how this could just be a scenario made by the Gamemakers.

That perhaps the games already started and here I was just standing like easy prey.

But as I heard another groan of metal from the collapsing field above, even I had to admit that was a stupid idea.

Even so, then what was happening?!

Finally the craft opened and a bridge slid down, then stepping out with a thump of metal and heavy footsteps were what I can only name as giants.

Giants covered, no, made of metal!

Then it barely took me a second to recognize what these beings were.

Transformers.

In our history books it always seemed that throughout Panem past and even before the creation of the country, humans have always been each other's greatest enemies. But as stated in our history books, thousands of years ago, there was another race of beings that almost wiped out the planet and the entire human race with it.

Aliens from another world, giant transforming robots known as Cybertronians.

Beings of metal brutality and cold indifference, a warring species who brought their conflict with one another to Earth and put humans right in the crossfires of it.

Only leaving once almost irreparable damage was done to the planet.

As a child and learning about them in class I sometimes would look to the night sky in terror at the thought that these aliens were still out there. Just hiding among the deceptively beautiful stars.

But after losing my father, struggling to hold what was left of my family together, and the helpless dread that came with the annual Reaping; I learned rather quickly that the monsters in real life were far scarier than that of thousand-year-old metal terrors that hadn’t been seen in ages.

What was there to fear of beings who hadn’t been interested in Earth for centuries?

How ironic that my only fear had been my fellow humans when it came to surviving the arena.

Four stepped out from the ship, taking the lead was a fiery red and orange mech whose colors matched the design of the ship. Next to him came the largest of the group was colored a deep blue and red with white high shoulder guards on each side. Besides them was the shortest of the group of Cybertronians, his dark armored body barely reaching the orange one's waist and who unlike his companions didn’t have a visible face of sorts but a blue visor that fitted their red and white helmet. And finally from behind was an imposing gray and black figure, whose armor may appear more subdued in coloring and design than his group, his helmet a simple flat triangular design, nonetheless was buff and strapping. Power practically screaming from just his image alone, and when his red eyes gazed over to us I couldn't help but shiver under their intensity. Not feeling any better when I noticed a sort of dark blaster on its right arm.

He seemed familiar, his image perhaps one I had seen in my aging textbook?

I didn't have the time to ponder further as they finally stepped away from the ship and made it to the grassy field of the arena.

Like earlier I shifted my legs for a sprint, forgetting all about the food and weapons, my eyes shifting to the large expanse of forest that would be the only way to try to avoid whatever these stalking giants had in stored for us.

It was the only plan I could think of, the safest choice, and I’m sure Haymitch would agree.

Is he seeing this? Is the Capital? The whole country? Do they know where being invaded-

“Hello, there”!

I was taken off guard as the orange and red Transformer, the presumably leader of the group, called out to us. His voice was jovial and the smile that spread across his metal face was friendly.

Nothing that gave me a reason to trust him.

His grin persisted as he marched closer only shifting as several tributes cried out and scrambled to escape.

“Wait! Wait”! The giant robot hurriedly said “It's okay”!

I didn’t stop in my sprint till I made it to Peeta, not complaining as he firmly grasped my wrist and pulled me into a hurried pace.

We needed to leave, put as much distance as we could from these metal monsters.

“We're not here to hurt you”! The Transformer said in a surprisingly desperate tone “We're here to help you! Save you! Too Stop The Hunger Games”!

I nearly fell as Peeta stopped.

“Peeta”! I hissed trying to tug him towards the forest, but he refused to move instead looking dumbfounded at the robot. As if he believed what it was saying.

But as I looked around I could see the other tributes had stopped as well, with the ones who made it to the woods actually peeking from the edge of the treeline.

The red and orange robot's face morphed into a softer expression before he went down on one knee.

I gestured I couldn’t help but recognize from my sister Prim when she approached the small scared animals she nursed back to health or in my mom to the anxious sickly children that were brought to be treated at our home.

This Transformer, this giant of a being, was trying to make himself smaller so that the tiny humans before him wouldn’t be frightened.

That…didn’t sound like the hostile warring species from my history class.

I stopped trying to move Peeta.

Seeing that he had our attention the robot spoke again, his voice soft but clear.

“We're here to save you, you won’t have to die today, not for some game, and especially not for your Capital” he stood up before looking at the smaller Transformer “Rewind, are we ready”?

“Just about” they, Rewind, answered “Though before we start mind stepping a little to the left”?

“Huh, why”? Asked the leader

“Because captain, if we were trying to sell the whole “we don’t mean any harm” image maybe we shouldn’t be showing how we trashed their enclosure”? Rewind said

The apparent captain looked to the shattered entrance they had created before sheepishly smiling “Yeah…better not let them see that yet”

“Doubt it will make much a a difference” said the gray and black Transformer, his voice was sharp and curt “No doubt their Capital already knows about the damage done to their little arena”

“This difference is Megs is that we're making a statement” said the Captain “One that has to be said as soon as possible, ready Rewind”?

“Whenever you are” said the smaller bot, tapping the side of his helmet.

I was confused why he did that till I noticed a redlight shinning on the side of his helmet, a video recorder perhaps?

With that the red and orange giant stood straight ahead, his gaze intense as he looked at Rewind “Citizens of the Capitol and Panem, we come in peace”!

CRACK! CRASH!

At that moment more scaffolding and material decided to come tumbling down into the arena as if to loudly object to the statement.

I winced at the noise and off to the side I could see the largest of the Transformers actually pinch his brow in an exasperated manner. A scene I could almost find funny.

Despite this though the captain gave only a nervous chuckle before speaking again “This is Rodimus Prime, and despite our rather abrupt entrance, we have only the best of intention for our arrival” he face then became more serious “While I understand that as of now most of the citizens of this country recognize us in a hostile light, we Autobots, many members of the Cybertronian race have viewed Earth and its people as sentient like minded beings. Ones who needed protection and safety when our war did unfortunately touch your planet. With some humans even becoming valued allies who fought besides us during such a perilous time” Rodimus stopped then, his blue glass eyes dimming even “After the war we left Earth, both out of a need to protect this planet from any further conflict we may have had and out of respect for humanity who wanted to independently run their society once it was rebuilt, a wish we were determined to honor” his voice then harden as he continued “But recent discoveries and findings have forced us to decide to break this arrangement, this biggest being your so called Hunger Games” Rodimus practically spat that word out “A society whose higher caste who not only feeds greedily on it’s citizens but demands blood tributes out of its children, making a game out of their very lives! It will not continue! Not if I can help it”!

I watched transfixed as he raised a fist to his fiery chassis “I call an end to the Hunger Games! Starting now”! He calmed “Again this isn’t a message made out maliciously, I want more than anything to resolve this peacefully, I hope you can believe me citizens of Panem”

Rewind then made a gesture and Rodimus visibly relaxed, even giving a small laugh.

“So did we get all that”?

“Sent it right to our sources, hopefully it was enough to get it to the other Districts but you can bet those big cogs in the Capitol must have seen it”

“That's good” Rodimus nodded before beginning to walk “All we got to do is wait for now”

“You know Optimus Prime isn’t going to be happy about the stunt we pulled today” the gray and black one, Megs, spoke again.

“Well Optimus shouldn’t have been dragging his pedes over this,” responded Rodimus “But if anything just say you were following the captains orders, I’ll take the fall”

“I highly doubt he believed that” the blue and red Transformer said

Rodimus actually shrugged before looking our direction again, he gave another reassuring smile “Just hang tight” he said “I almost got you all out of this”

No one responded for the longest time, till in a quiet voice spoke out.

“Is this really happening”?

I couldn’t pinpoint who spoke, but that voice echoed a question I was asking myself.

Was this really happening?

I recalled the proclamation made by the Transformer not even a minute ago.

An end to the Hunger Games.

No more Hunger Games.

The games were canceled.

Was this really happening? Barely a few minutes earlier I was ready to run for my life and fight against my fellow tributes in a bloody arena, but now I was being told that we didn’t have to fight by a giant metal alien.

I felt Peeta shudder beside me and when I looked at him I could see how wet his eyes were getting, he covered his mouth trying to muffle a sob. Without thinking I pulled him close and let his weight sag against mine.

I was ready to let our time in the tower be our final goodbye, knowing that the chances of us making it from the Cornucopia was slim at best and remaining allies had an even smaller chance.

But saying I wasn’t relieved would be a lie, I was relieved that the games hadn’t started, relieved that Peeta and I were still together, relieved that we were going to be okay.

And if a few tears and raspy breaths left my mouth I wouldn’t find myself ashamed for it.

When we were calm enough to pull away I looked to the other tributes; most stood with their Districts. Some crying and clinging to one another, a few who decided to look through the packs of supplies littered around the arena, but most just staring at the Transformers that stood by their ship.

Well most of them.

The apparent captain, Rodimus, was actually walking leisurely towards the pond. Then literally popping open his chest cavity pulled out a pole of some kind that had a string at the end of it.

It took me a second to realize what he was doing.

“Is he…”? Peeta started

This Transformer, a giant metal warrior, a captain that led his own crew, and just broke into the Capitals arena and called an end to the Hunger Games; just plopped himself at the end of the water and began to fish!

Peeta actually coughed a laugh besides me “Can robots even eat fish”?

I didn’t know and wasn’t sure to find out.

But surprisingly enough Peeta let go of my hand and actually got towards the robot!

“Peeta”?! I whispered harshly “What are you doing”?

“I want to get a closer look at them” he said

“Peeta, wait”! I said urgently “They’re Transformers, it might not be safe too-”

“They saved our lives Katniss and you heard them, they don’t want to hurt us” Peeta said but before he kept moving he held out a hand to me, encouraging me to take it.

I hesitated though.

Despite what these Transformers had done for us, despite their promises, I still didn’t feel comfortable putting myself in a squishing range of them.

Peeta gave me a disappointed yet understanding look and continued on. Surprisingly even some tributes began to take his lead, forming a small crowd.

The bot, Rodimus, began to notice their approach and gave a large smile at them.

“Hello there,”! he said

None of the tributes worked up the nerve to greet him back verbally but I could see Peeta giving his own smile in return along with an energetic wave of his hand.

A part of me had to keep myself from rolling my eyes, it was just like Peeta to try to get people to like him. The games may have been over and these giants claimed not to mean any harm but Peeta was still trying to play it safe.

He really was clever like that.

But ultimately it wasn’t Peeta who opened up to the metal giant.

��You know how to fish”?

This came from the young 12 year old from District 4.

“Yup” Rodimus said “Back when I was stationed on Earth a good friend of mine taught me, I got really into it after that” He ended that by adjusting his line a little.

The District 4 boy's eyes widened before giving a curious gaze at the pond next to them.

“Do you think there’s anything in there”?

“I hope, in either case I’m just glad to be fishing again”! The robot said “I told myself that if I ever came to Earth again it would be one of the first things I did”! He stopped before asking the Tributes besides him “Do any of you fish”?

Again most stayed silent but the District 4 didn’t hesitate to raise his hand and say “My district is responsible for most of the fishing done, some of my father and uncles are even allowed on the boats to go to sea for the bigger stuff, we even have competitions during the season”

Rodimus' eyes seemed to glow brighter “Oh, so you're a bit of an expert huh”? He asked leaning closer “So what's the biggest fish you’ve caught so far”?

The young boy's face went red, from the freckles of his nose to the bouncy curls on his head.

“Um, just a couple of mackerel with my dads old fishing rod ” he said quietly almost embarrassed “I catch a lot more with nets with my friends”

“Mackerel! Wow that impressive”! The giant robot expressed eagerly “Most of my fishing is done in freshwater, I say the biggest I got was just 5 pound bluegill but boy was he a tough one-hey I didn't catch your name by the way”

“Luca” said the boy “Luca Alberts”

As the red and orange Transformer continued to chatter on about his fishing experiences the group of huns around him seemed to relax more and more, feeling at ease his casual attitude. And it seemed to affect some of the other tributes too who had previously kept their distance.

I moved closer to where Peeta was in the group, catching more of the conversation made by Rodimus to the District 4 tribute.

“So do you really hope to catch anything”? Asked the boy, Luca

“Who knows? Best way to pass the time anyway” Rodimus responded

“You might want to be careful” a voice suddenly said

It was one of the male tributes, I didn’t recognize him initially given he looked like another of the 14 year olds that were taken into the games. Then recalling a yellow suit I realized this must have been the tribute from District 3, his bright yellow dress shirt being the only thing that stood out in his rather dull interview with Cesar.

“You don’t know what might be inside the pond” the District 3 Tribute explained “The arenas are supposed to be set up with all kinds of traps, ones operated by the Gamemakers and ones set loose like the Mutts”

“Mutts” Rodmius said quietly “Right, those lab made animals they make” his happy expression turned into a somber one before his smile returned “Well, it’ll be fine! If there's anything dangerous lurking in these water, just trust your friend Rodimus to help”

He added a thumbs up that honestly felt corny, but seemed to please the younger tributes.

“I’d like to fish too”! Luca announced

Rodimus hummed unsure “Well, I only have one-”

“It’s fine” he stated before going to the nearest pack and rummaging through it “There pretty simple to make if you have the right supplies”

Rodimus nodded “Then I'll trust the expert on this”

The boy gave a proud grin though mad a disappointed sound at not fighting anything before moving onto the next pack.

From where I stood I gave another glance at Rodimus and his robotic teamates.

To be honest it wasn’t enough to say these were robots, the Capital miniature cleaning or delivering drones definitely fit the definition. There movements stiff and uniform, moved with purpose in their singular task.

But these Transformers, they moved as a human would. Maybe not with the same fluidity but unrestricted, like the armor they were wasn't just something attached to their bodies but actually a part of them. Even the metal on their faces, despite how alien they looked, moved so easily. And given Rodimus examples, with so much expression and versatility.

How could metal and gears and inanimate material move and soften so much like flesh, like actual breathing beings.

Because they were alive obviously….

For years I had it in my head that these aliens were nothing but cold hearted machines of war. That's what our history books told us, showed us.

But then again those books were written by the Capital.

And the Capital says a lot of things.

I looked at the large Transformers before me; Rodimus chatting with the other tributes, the smaller one Rewind holding the side of his face as he gazed around so obviously still recording, and finally to the two largest bots who stood rather detached from the rest of the group.

I part of me wondered how different things have been if Rodimus and his people had come sooner.

Would the first Rebellion have been successful, would the Capital still have demanded to Hunger Games, would their even have been a Hunger Games, would-?

My hypothetical thoughts were cut short when a piercing scream went through the air.

Turning I could see some of the tributes scattering away from the Cornucopia as the male District 2 tribute came barreling out of the entrance swinging a large sword.

“Stop! What are you doing”?!! cried Rodimus, quickly getting up and abandoning his fishing pole “Why are you fighting! Your free now! No one is making you kill anyone”!

The brutish tribute, Cato if I member his name, looked at the robot and actually gave a snarky smile.

“Are you stupid”? he asked “Do you really think you can stop the games? That we'll let you”!

From behind him I can see more of the Career Tributes gather behind him, each brandishing their own weapons.

“We're here for a reason! And I'm not about to let you take that away from us”!

More tributes scattered as the pack of Carriers ready their weapons and stalk forward.

Despite everything, despite all of Rodimus hopeful promises, I'm sure that there's going to be death even if these aliens did call for an end of the games.

Really how stupid was I to believe them, how stupid I was for not grabbing a weapon, or not just running when I had the chance.

“That's enough”! Rodimus ordered taking a step forward, barely restrained anger in his voice “Stop this now or-”

But already Cato was rushing forward sword already at the closest, hapless target.

Luca.

The District 4 tribute quest for fishing line and other supplies had put him just close enough to Cato line of attack, he kneeled by an open bag, to startled or afraid to run.

Rodimus quickly moved , the ground quaking in his hurried step forward. Avoiding get accidentally trampled on I didn't notice when Peeta left my side till I saw him rushing past Rodimus bright orange feet right for Luca.

The instance was too fast and too slow at the same time, Peeta running to the boy, taking him his arms to try and pull him away from the attack, the sword swinging down and blood sprinkling out.

I can feel myself yelling, Peeta name clawing its way out of my mouth as I saw the sword about to swing back down again.

BOOM!

A roaring blast echoed through the air as a bright hot beam of purple shot over the heads of the Carrier tributes.

The arena grew hot, it felt like the very air was singed from that one blast. Leaving A smoking crater in the far off distance that no doubt could have easily sizzled away any puny human in its path.

It felt hard to breath and my stomach threatened to lurch the meager breakfast I stomached back at the tower. But still I turned my head to look at the cause of the blast.

The gray and black mech.

Everyone was silent, afraid too move. Even the Carrier tributes, who had been a savage pack thirsty for our blood were left shaking. The District 1 tribute actually scared off his feet, ass to the ground as he look terrified at the glowering red eyed Transformer.

"You wanna try that again”? the Transformer said, his voice like a rumbling storm, his still smoking cannon leveled at the group of Carriers “I came here because I thought I was saving innocent humans from a cruel game made by a tyrannical society, not a rabid creature who sees fit to attack his own kind"

Cato stupidly tries to argue "Its the Hunger Games-"!

"And as my captain stated, there are no more games from here on out" said the bot, but his face actually looked to soften a bit "Your a Carrier tribute, from what I understand, you were raised for this, all of you" he cast his eyes to the rest of the group "Raised to murder, slaughter, and entertain...but understand that from here on out the games are done….but if you feel so free to continue fighting than do it"

The cannon lights up.

"Come forward and strike, make your District proud, make your owners proud"

Cato seemed to be hyperventilating, he turned to his fellow Carrier tributes but they were all shrinking away under the gaze of the giant robot aiming their weapons at them.

All of these Carrier tributes, made into these roughness killing machines for the benefit of the games, reduced to scared children.

I find it laughable if I wasn't fixed on a moaning Peeta lying on the top of a silent Luca.

But I didn't dare approach till Cato, with an almost wheezy cry, squeezed his blade one more time before throwing it away.

The others following his example.

I rushed forward trying to evaluate the damage, kneeling besides Peeta I carefully tried to move him on his back and off of Luca. The boy looked fine but I startled to see that Peeta had a long slash cutting across his right arm. Cutting deeply by his elbow before becoming shallow by his shoulder. Bleeding very heavily.

I did my best to press on the wound, the warmth stickiness of it pooling between my fingers.

Peeta eyes were open with pain but still he managed a strangled “Katniss…”

“You idiot”! I couldn't help but snap “What were you thinking”?!

He was so close to getting out! Getting out alive at least!

A shadow overtook us and I looked to see both Rodimus and Rewind staring down at us.

Rodimus was clear with horror as he looked at Peeta's wound.

“Scrap” I heard him mutter, I didn’t know what it meant but couldn't help but share his sentiment.

The sleeve of my coat was already soaked with blood. I knew I couldn't continue on like this, then stupidly I member there was a pack besides me.

I grabbed at it hastily looking through, cursing as I only found a few crackers, a empty canteen, and a pair of socks.

Despite this I stretched the socks as far as I could, rembering from my mother and Prims work that no matter what I had to press to keep the blood in! Huh, even with something so obvious I still was failing.

“Here” a voice said and I felt a weight besides me.

It was the young girl from District 11, Rue, and in her hands was a roll of bandages.

Quickly grasping it I thanked her and made to work trying to wrap the wound. Rue wordlessly held up the arm gently to let me encircle it further, though Peeta gave painful gasps still.

“Let's try tying part of the arm” said Rue tapping just above his elbow “It'll help with the bleeding”

I nodded following her instructions, just like I would if it were my sister and mother. I was never a gifted healer like them and I didn't have confidence in the wrappings as I still saw red peaking through the white of the bandages. But I was still too glad that it stopped spilling on the grass.

The shadow above us got bigger and I felt Rue press up to me while Luca fliched.

“Will he survive”? asked the gray and black Transformer

“I-I don't know” Rodimus said “Oh, slag, we really should have brought Ratchet”!

“To be fair he may nor have been as helpful considering this is a human and not a Cybertronian patient”

“Yeah but-will you put that thing away Megatron”! Rodimus suddenly yelled in frustration

Megatron.

I felt my blood run cold as I finally realized why I recognized this specific Transformer.

Images of him, him and his Decepticons, littered the chapter of my history book.

Describing one of the leaders of the two waring Cybertronian factions, this bot name was meantioned as to put a face to the carnage that was the species of Cybertronians. Deemed so evil and callus for his not only his utter disregard of human life but in his delighted in the utter suffering and destruction to the organic life on this planet. Pictures and accounts left no room for nightmarish imagination.

He barely looked any different, I could still recognize him.

This was him.

This was Megatron.

I didn't hesitate to push myself in front of Peeta and the younger two. Despite knowing I was helpless to anything he want to do to us.

“It was just too prove a point” said the metal ravager “Wasn't even looking to maim”

“That's not the point Megs-”! Rodimus would have continued if the whole arena didn't begin to shake causing even the giant robots to become unsteady on their feet.

Suddenly the forest erupted in a burst of flames! And the once tranquil pond bubbled ominously, growing inside till literal waves were sloshing closer to the field the stood.

“I believe the Gamemakers are not too happy with us interrupting there game” said the blue and red bot named Mags as he approached his captain.

Getting a serious face Rodimus loudly ordered “Grab the humans, were getting out of here”!

Rodimus kneeled before us “We got to leave” he said before cupping his metal hand and holding it low “I know your friends hurt but we gotta move you guys”

There's a lot I can distrust Rodimus for, being a Cybertronian for 1. and having Megatron on his crew for 2.

But seeing the earnestness in his blue glass eyes and knowing staying in the arena meant only death, I could only silently shuffle Peeta onto the bright red metal with Rue and Luca following behind us. The metal felt oddly warm beneath me.

“That's it little buddies ” Rodimus said encouragingly “There we go”

His fingers curling as the only warning before Rodimus lifted us up to a dizzying hight, from their I could see the other bots Mags and Rewind collect the rest of the tributes with surprising gentleness.

Something I also noticed is Megatron himself, simply standing there and staring at the Carrier tributes who panicked as the ground around them began to muddy as the tide of the water lapped at their feet.

I guessed that the metal destroyer maybevwanted to finish the job,but to my surprise he leaned down and scooped up the scared tributes.

Soon enough Rodimus and the others rushed us towards their ship

It started dark before opening to a control room full of machinery and screen monitors.

“Magnus, get us ready for lift off” said Rodimus before going towards a large glass tank and gentle settling us inside there. Rewind did the same to the two tributes he held and the bot Mags/Magnus set down the rest.

There was some hesitancy as Rodimus saw Megatron with the Carrier tributes but he only made a clicking noise before jumping into one of the seats, no doubt the Captain chair.

“Are we ready”?

“Thrusters on captain”!

I barely felt the ship move but on the monitors is clearly showed us soaring above the almost decimated arena and lift towards the dome. I shuddered and continued to hold Peeta as once again the ship jolted as it scrapped against the size of the force field.

“Rodimus, I'm detecting several hostile flight carriers coming our way”

“Guess they really didn't appreciate our little peace demonstration” Rodimus said dryly as he gripped the steering device.

The monitors showed what was obviously Capital shuttles coming at the ship.

There was a violent shudder from the side of the ship.

“Rodimus…should we engage” said Magnus quietly

Rodimus voice was determined as he said “No, we agreed we weren't taking any lives today” but then an almost cheerful tone came to his voice “But I got something else in mind”!

The ship gave a jerk and I felt myself bracing against the surface of the tank.

“They want to chase us, then we'll go somewhere they can't follow”!

Despite the optimistic way he spoke it was becoming worryingly hard to breath.

“Rodimus” Megatron said in a stressed tone “Rember the elevation, the humans-”

“I think I know how to transport humans” Rodimus said sarcastically, but I couldn't help but notice that it was getting easier to breath.

I coughed and checked on Peeta, concerned how paled he was though with how alert he looked I was still hopeful.

The jostling stopped and soon it was a smooth ride. Though not a comfortable one as Megatron gazed at all of us within the tank.

I did my best to meet his gaze fearlessly, my eyes flickering to the scared Carrier tributes still in his hands. The squirmed and cried, terrified to be in the hands of a titan who could easily squish them.

The one-sided stare off was broken by Rodimus hysterical laughter “We did it! We did it”! the bot practically leaped from his seat to fist pump the air “We saved the humans and showed those higher cassette up”

“Yes” Magnus said in a tired voice “With 23 anxious young humans and 1 injured tribute in our care”

“Well, we can figure it out” said Rodimus jovially “Doesn't this prove we can do anything”?

“Rodimus-” started Magnus

“Oh, we need to get ready to dock”!

The way Magnus sighed you would think he was a tired parent to a rambunctious child and not the crew member following his captain.

There was another shudder and soon a bright light entered the hall we had come from, soon Rodimus left his seat to the tank we were in.

He was all smiles as he began to roll the very platform our tank was on towards the entrance.

“Your safe now, your safe” he kept murmuring.

I wondered if it was more for his assurance then for our sakes.

The light at the end of the hall was blinding but when we emerged from it a roar of cheers followed.

“WE'RE BACK”! yelled Rodimus

As my eyes adjusted to the light I could see we were in a large hangar of some sort and inside it a group of Transformers stood, bots of versions colors and sizes all whooped and hollered in congratulations to Rodimus and his group.

Once we got closer several of them surged forward.

“You actually got them”? said one with sharp helmet a grey face and red marking around his eyes.

“Ha! I wish I could have seen the faceplate of those Capital jerks when you burst in there” said one bot who only had a single yellow glass eye that made up his greenish blue helm.

“Are these humans”? one small white and blue bot asked as they struggled to look at them from the height of our platform “They're so cute”!

A purple Transformers with a narrow face and red eyes leaned forward “One of thems injured”

“Scrap”! Rodimus said “Ratchet?! Where's Ratchet”?

“I'm here”! called a gruff voice, a red and white mech pushed through the crowd “What happened”?

“Um, we ran into some complications” said Rodimus gesturing to Peeta “Can you help him”?

“A human patient” the robot frowned “I can try, but I can't promise I'll be as much use given how long it's been and what supplies I have ir should I say don't have”

“Haha, he just being modest” Rodimus said nervously looking at Katniss “But he'll be in safe servos”

That obviously didn't assure me and both bots could tell as I held Peeta close to me.

The one called Ratchet came forward before lowering his hand into the tank, tributes did scramble back till it was only me and Peeta before the metal hand that was as big as a storage door.

“I see your worried for your friend, I understand” he said “ But I need to take a look at him, it's the best way to ensure his wound is properly treated”

“Your not a human” I found myself saying “You don't know what your doing”

“This isn’t my first time with an injured human, it's just been some time and I don't exactly have what I need….” He stopped before saying “He looks like aid was administered, was this your work”?

I nodded but admitted “I had some help”

Ratchet hummed and nodded before nudging his hand more instantly towards me “You can come along, perhaps you could help me treat him”

I gulped looking between him, the hand, and a grimacing Peeta. Then finally helped push Peeta onto the outstretched hand before placing myself onto the cold metal of the palm. I braced myself as once again lifted by a metal giant.

Ratchet began to quickly walk away with us, but I could still hear Rodimus speaking.

“Megatron make sure you keep those tributes separated” he instructed curtly, obviously talking about the Carrier group.

His voice became more lighter as he said “As for the rest of you, I want to welcome you all to the Lost Light”!!!!

#transformers #transformers idw #transformers mtmte #hunger games #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark #rodimus #rewind #ultra magnus #megatron #ratchet #crossover #the hunger games

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alwayschasingrainbows · 6 months

Text

My little quest to find the most iconic dresses for Montgomery's girls.

None of the pictures is mine. They are all from Pinterest. They may be historically inaccurate. They are also not ideal :).

Valancy Stirling:

"She got a pretty green crêpe dress with a girdle of crimson beads, at a bargain sale, a pair of silk stockings, to match, and a little crinkled green hat with a crimson rose in it." (The Blue Castle).

"She had a little smoke-blue chiffon which she always put on when they spent the evening at home—smoke-blue with touches of silver about it." (The Blue Castle).

My idea of what Valancy's (borrowed) masquerade dress MIGHT have looked like.

"Once they did go to a masquerade dance in the pavilion at one of the hotels up the lake, and had a glorious evening, but slipped away in their canoe, before unmasking time, back to the Blue Castle." (The Blue Castle).

Emily Byrd Starr

On the left: "It is to be of shot silk, blue in one light, silver in others, like a twilight sky, glimpsed through a frosted window-pane—with a bit of lace-foam here and there, like those little feathers of snow clinging to my window-pane." (Emily Climbs)

On the right: "An arrow of rhinestones in her dark hair—she had hair that wore jewels well—lent the necessary note of brilliance to the new dress of silvery-green lace over a pale-blue slip that became her so well." (Emily's Quest).

On the left: "it was a pretty crepe thing, of a pinkish-grey—the shade, I think, which was then called ashes-of-roses—and was made collarless—a great concession on Elizabeth's part—with the big puffed sleeves that look very absurd to-day, but which, like every other fashion, were pretty and piquant when worn by the youth and beauty of their time." (Emily Climbs).

On the right: "I want you to wear harebell blue gauze over ivory taffeta for your bridesmaid dress, darling" (Emily's Quest).

Anne Shirley:

"Oh, how pretty it was—a lovely soft brown gloria with all the gloss of silk; a skirt with dainty frills and shirrings; a waist elaborately pintucked in the most fashionable way, with a little ruffle of filmy lace at the neck. But the sleeves—they were the crowning glory! Long elbow cuffs, and above them two beautiful puffs divided by rows of shirring and bows of brown-silk ribbon." (Anne of Green Gables).

"In her light dress, with her slender delicacy, she made him think of a white iris." (Anne of Island).

Rilla Blythe

"Miss Oliver, shall I wear my white dress tonight or my new green one? The green one is by far the prettier, of course, but I'm almost afraid to wear it to a shore dance for fear something will happen to it." (Rilla of Ingleside).

Pat Gardiner:

On the right: "Pat slipped into the house and flung a bright-hued scarf over her brown dress with its neck-frill of pleated pink chiffon. She always thought she looked nicer in that dress than any other." (Pat of Silver Bush).

On the left: "Pat had on her blue linen afternoon dress...which, incidentally, was the most becoming thing she owned."(Pat of Silver Bush).

And bonus:

Robin Stuart

"She wore a dress of pale yellow taffeta, with a great rose of deeper yellow velvet at one of her beautiful shoulders. Jane thought she looked like a lovely golden princess, with the slender flame of the diamond bracelet on the creamy satin of her arm."(Jane of Lantern Hill).

"[M]other came in to kiss her good night, cool, slim and fragrant, in a dress of rose crêpe with little wisps of lace over the shoulders. Mother's blue eyes seemed to mist a little."(Jane of Lantern Hill).

"She wore a green dress the first time I saw her...well, if any other girl had worn the dress, it would have been a green dress and nothing more. On Robin it was magic ...mystery...the robe of Titania. I would have kissed the hem of it." (Jane of Lantern Hill).

Another bonus (because her style is so iconic):

Ilse Burnley

"Ilse in a yellow silk gown the colour of her hair and a golden-brown hat the colour of her eyes, giving you the sensation that a gorgeous golden rose was at large in the garden." (Emily's Quest).

"Ilse, a glorified shining creature in torquoise-blue taffeta, looking the queen with a foam of laces on her full bosom and rose-and-silver nosegays at her shoulder." (Emily's Quest).

Hope you enjoyed this little compilation:) Feel free to add more ideas!

#lm montgomery #the blue castle #emily of new moon #pat of silver bush #anne of green gables #anne of island #rilla of ingleside #fashion #jane of lantern hill

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vmpiires · 5 months

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hi!! i just read your intro and first can i just say, ayyyyy brooklyn and congrats on graduating!!!

for my request, it’s for our good boi choso. how would he react to falling in love with someone who previously had a bf who died during shibuya? 👀 (like, this first love but y/n’s second)

𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐎 𝐊𝐀𝐌𝐎

„𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐘𝐀𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐘”

: ̗̀➛ SENSITIVE CONTENT!!

: ̗̀➛ afab!reader, no nasty stuff. all fluff or the regular stuff. mature themes (attempted su*cide, depression, etc. if these said topics trigger you, please do not continue reading.) not proofread so i apologize in advance for any mistakes if they’re made.

: ̗̀➛ art creds by;; currently unknown. dividers are not mine, if you own these, you may claim them in comments.

: ̗̀➛ WORD COUNT;; 1.7K

* dark mode recommended

* do not copy this plot. i’m perfectly fine with inspirations but give creds. if this plot his stolen in any way, the post will be taken down and you will be blocked.

𝐃𝐀𝐊𝐎𝐓𝐀𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒 ✉️🖇️;; hii wtw and thank you. and ykw this a good ass plot. reblog to support meeee and if you want more :D

red arrows ripped through the flesh of the non-sorcerers. their blood splattering all over the ground and whatever wall it could touch. it was hell. the average human wouldn’t even be able to process what it was like to be in the midst of the shibuya incident. and the survivors of shibuya…their stories were different.

a traumatic event. tears were shed as much as blood had been. memories flooded back into the mind of the blinded and they were set free from what they feared, vowing to protect what was valuable to them.

feeling like a monster, they stumble away. how could you hurt what you should’ve protected? the answers were impossible to find. they wanted change. they wanted to be released from such shackles that held them down.

dawn. you’re awake early. you glance around to find your partner but you immediately sigh. the sad feelings starting to rush into your head and you burst into tears. during the shibuya incident, your boyfriend had died. he promised that he’d come home after he ran a few errands but he never returned. that’s when you heard about the deaths. your heart sank and you felt sick. you couldn’t even place a finger on who could’ve done something as cruel as this.

you crawl out of bed and stagger into the bathroom, doing your hygiene. showering, cleaning your teeth, brushing your hair and throwing it into a messy bun. you had errands to run yourself so you’d put on something simple. a white shirt with baby blue hoodie on top with some grey cargos and a pair of high top dunks that matched your hoodie.

you make your way back into the bathroom and gave yourself some eye drops to remove the red from your eyes after crying for hours on end. you then put on some eyeliner. you decided to attempt to make yourself look presentable rather than depressed when you left your cozy apartment.

you’d apply lotion to your face so it wasn’t dry and ashy when the gentle winds that blew outside would pick up hit your face. you even put on lip gloss. you force a smile on your face and remind yourself that everything would be okay.

in town, it’s awkward being outside again. though, it looks like some people have recovered from the incident and healed from their emotional scars, you knew that was impossible for you at the moment. and you knew they were all putting on acts for the public. you wanted to grimace but you didn’t have the time to be angry.

you were walking into you bumped into someone. it was an accident, so you immediately apologized. when you looked up at them, you noticed it was a male who might’ve stood at the height of maybe 5’11 or even 6 feet. you quickly examined him.

‘purple eyes. brown hair…tied back into two fluffy ponytails. a black line across his nose. bored expression. is he sleep deprived? what is all that stuff around his eyes?’ you thought. after the two of you exchanged a couple words apologizing, you quickly scurried off. something about him made you suspicious. it was odd.

choso watched as you walked off, having an odd feeling in his chest. ‘what the hell is this?’ he wanted that feeling to die. to go away. but the longer he watched you leave, it just wouldn’t go. he shoved his hands into his pockets, sinking his bottom lip into his mouth and gently biting down.

pathetic.

he didn’t even know you, yet he was taking some kind of interest in you. you were a human. why should he take an interest in the likes of you? he didn’t know why himself. the half cursed spirit would stop his staring and pull himself back into reality, walking away to process what he had been thinking of.

it was becoming odd now. as the days go by, you seemed to keep seeing the spirit everywhere. even in your dreams. you couldn’t say that you were being followed though. you pinned it in the back of your mind as a coincidence. a coincidence that the random male you bumped into accidentally where everywhere you treaded your feet upon.

what was the next move? confrontation? talking to him? him talking to you? what would you even say to him? nothing? good answer. because that’s exactly what you were gonna do.

you were about to return to your lonely but cozy apartment. you’ve done what you had to do for the day and you were tired, eager to get some sleep even if it was only early in the afternoon.

the light turned white, registering that pedestrians could bypass the crosswalk while cars were forced to stop for you. as you began to walk, you weren’t aware of the car that was still speeding down the street. the second you stepped down onto the asphalt, you were immediately pulled back and the metal body zoomed past you. you were sure that it grazed you just a bit.

you turned and looked up to see that same man again. he was holding your wrist a bit tight but soon enough he let go of you. a breath escaped you as your heart pumped rapidly after almost dying.

“i…thanks,” you say after you were to catch your breath. choso was quiet. he’d shove his hands back into his pocket before mumbling something.

“are you hurt?”

his voice was deep. it was a voice that could shake the ground if he spoke any louder. you just looked at him. you didn’t know what to say. but you couldn’t just leave him there in awkward silence.

“i’m okay…” you mutter, “..thank you again.”

you didn’t know why but your heart was racing. you felt like you’d pass out right there if you didn’t calm down. you weren’t scared of the fact that you were almost killed by a car anymore.

it was him. you couldn’t put your finger on it. he had an effect on you and you didn’t even know his name. what were you thinking? you didn’t know.

“behave…” choso mumbled to himself, holding onto a chess piece, which ended up snapping in half after applying too much pressure against it between his thumb and two fingers. the pieces fell onto the floor and his tired eyes lowered.

“shit…”

you were driving him crazy. keeping him up late. throwing him off of his work. what the hell was so special about you that you were messing him up this badly?

he should’ve been asking himself this when he asked for your phone number when you bumped into each other for the umpteenth time now. you should’ve been asking yourself the same question also. he was in your dreams.

a man you didn’t know was in your dreams. in those dreams, you touched him. kissed him. held him. you never imagined that you’d do such a thing with a mystery man. well, you’ve known him long enough now. you could practically say you were acquaintances. those random coincidences turned into something that happened for months.

maybe you missed your boyfriend. there wasn’t anything wrong with that. you lost the man you loved the most above anyone else. the memories you had with him was colliding with the image of choso in his place.

it made him look perfect to you. choso was something you needed…no. not yet. not ever. you can’t do that. your dreams were setting you up for failure. you didn’t want anyone else but your deceased partner…but you knew he couldn’t come back.

you stared at the text from choso, asking you if you were okay with eyes filled with tears. the salty puddles slid from the corners of your eyes and fell onto your screen. you weren’t okay. you weren’t okay at all. the world was overwhelming you. why was this higher power yelling in your ear telling you to let go and feel the pleasure of another? someone that wasn’t yours.

the dreams. that’s what it was. they were causing you so much pain and you hated it. the voices in your head were telling you so many things that you just wanted it all to go quiet.

the bathtub was full and you say there, fully clothed, letting the water that was slowly stained with your blood consume you. your eyes closed and tears were forming in your eyes. you were feeling so much at once that it hurt.

ding.

an interruption.

your eyes flicker open and your irises travel down to the bathroom door, which was open, showing off your hallway. you climbed out of the bathtub, feeling weak and sore.

the doorbell rang again and it made your eye twitch. you quickly dried yourself off and changed into some new clothes then dragged yourself to the front door. you opened it and saw him again. the two of you made eye contact. you were feeling embarrassed, knowing you were just about to remove yourself from the land of the living a few moments ago.

“you’re bleeding,” choso begins, taking your hand gently and lifting your arm to scan for any more injuries. he seemed concerned, despite his facial expression and his deadpanned tone. you were about to snatch your hand away but you needed this. maybe you did need him.

“what happened?”

“nothing-” you answered, choking back on your words, trying not to cry, “nothing happened, i’m okay. i must’ve accidentally cut myself on something.” you add, trying to smile. but choso wasn’t taking that. he’d pull you into a hug. it made you feel like you had to confess everything to him. your emotions were overriding your original intentions. you felt like you were betraying yourself in some way.

“you’re not okay.” choso said. “tell me.”

his gentle but rough voice broke you. you finally put your arms around the 5’11 male and bursted into tears, confessing everything. shibuya, the fact that you lost your boyfriend, what you felt when you met him, the dreams, what happened moments ago. words spilled out of you like water in a shattered glass.

choso pressed your head against his chest, his hand holding the back of your head as he held you close. he comforted you with his words and soothing voice. he made you think everything would truly be okay.

your throat began to get sore with all your crying and your body felt exhausted. the second your eyes closed, you fell asleep in his arms. he was a bit surprised himself but he continued to hold you. he’d carry you to your couch, gently placing you down so you could sleep and adding a kiss on your cheek.

“dream of nothing but paradise and blue skies...”

𝐄𝐍𝐃.

⋆｡࿇ ·࣭࣪̇˖ 𖦹°༅༚

#choso x reader #𝐾𝑂𝑇𝐴 𝑊𝑅𝐼𝑇𝐸𝑆 書く #choso kamo #choso x black!reader #anime #shibuya #jujutsu kaisen choso #jujustsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen #jjk choso #jjk

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runninguplenorahills · 1 year

Text

A couple of things I’ve only just noticed….

During the championship game after Jason misses the basket Lucas takes the ball and wins the game for the team. But just before Lucas throws the ball we get a close up of the digital clock saying 001 and afterwards we get a close up of Lucas lifting off of the ground!!

Either this was simply foreshadowing for Chrissy dying shortly after the game and every other death that followed, or my boy Lucas is in danger in s5……

—

During the basketball/hellfire sequence we get a lot of close up character shots and amongst those close ups we also get Steve and the girl he took to the game who is actually wearing triangle earrings and we know that triangles were used this season to symbolize queerness. Another girl that is standing behind them is also wearing a rainbow heart necklace:

Now, his could of course simply apply to the girl but I think it’s rather interesting that the next character we get a close up of is actually Mike:

There is a dice roll in between those shots though which features cans of Mountain Dew which is a brand by Pepsi and there’s also generally a lot of rainbow lighting stuff going on in the hellfire room:

—

In the airport scene when they’re walking out of the airport and El talks about her plans for the day, there‘s actually a guy wearing a shirt with rainbows on it in the background:

I‘m pretty sure I‘ve found the shirt on the internet though even though it might not be an exact match it is still very obvious that the shirt in the show does feature rainbows.

The guy also stands by the telephones which is…. interesting (phonegate).

—

These scenes are parallels:

It’s their first and their last heart-to-heart of the season.

the scenes have the same color scheme and every color appears almost in the exact same spot [the green dresser and the green curtains on the left, the green chair and the green trees peaking through the hole on the right. The yellow light and the yellow bits of the tapestry in the middle, Will with his yellow shirt on the right. The blue picture on top of the dresser and the blue kit/tank whatever that is on the left, Mike with his blue shirt on the left as well].

In their first heart-to-heart they’re divided by the vertical line on the tapestry and in their last heart-to-heart there’s a big stream of light between them.

In both scenes Mike’s arrow pocket points at Will.

In the bedroom we have the upside down tapestry and in the cabin we have the upside down sofa.

Will is talking about second chances: Mike getting a second chance to tell El what he didn’t tell her and El getting a second chance to win against Vecna [funny enough Mike’s reaction to the former is a fake smile, reluctantly accepting the advice he doesn’t wanna take, and his reaction to the latter is: “let’s hope not”….. interesting].

They’re talking about how it’s up to them to defeat Vecna in both scenes.

In the bedroom scene they’re talking about Owens and in the cabin scene they’re talking about Brenner.

#byler #will byers #mike wheeler #mike wheeler queer coding #phonegate #pepsigate #lucas sinclair #vecna #001 stranger things #stranger things analysis

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brebreluvslove · 1 year

Text

Love us too (neteyam/lo’ak x reader) 🧸 Part 1

notes; this is very rushed but tell me if you guys like this cause it’s gonna me a multiple part story. The characters will be aged up my a year or two for the story 💁🏾‍♀️

warnings; jealousy, some blood

characters; neteyam, lo’ak

𖤍 Love us too 𖤍

Jake Sully had stumbled across (Y/N) when she was only 7 years old. She wasn’t like the other Na’vi children, her skin was a shade of deep blue mixed with violet. The stripes along her body slightly darker than normal. When he brought her to Ney’tiri she immediately sensed this girl was different and convinced Jake to let her stay with them. Practically raised her as their own. (Y/N) was the same age as Lo’ak and Kiri and younger than Neteyam by a year. When Jake had first introduced (Y/N) to his children they were scared of her at first but as the years went by they began to trust her. The Sully brothers took an interest in her not like their sisters. ~ years later ~

The Omatikaya clan was on route to raid and destroy some of the sky people's supplies that were endangering their home somewhere deep in Pandora's forest. When Ney'tiri flew up next to Jake, yelling to the other Na'vis who were following them, Jake was leading the group of them on Banshees up in the air while brandishing a gun. The four of them flew across some of the smaller mountains before arriving at a man-made railway that had a train traveling on it that was painted yellow. Although there were two Aerospatiale SA-2 Samson aircraft flying on either side of the train to provide protection, the Na'vi still attacked.

"Ground team go!" Jake gave orders by pressing on the communication link around his neck as he talked while keeping his eyes on the foe. The train abruptly detonated some train tracks in front of it, causing it to swerve and scrape against the metal, igniting dazzling sparks as the ground group moved forward on their direhorses. The train ended up going off the now-broken tracks, causing it to break apart and flip over, triggering many additional explosions as all the sections were now divided by the explosion, which threw everything out of balance as the aircrafts had flown off course. Jake recognized an opportunity to strike and ordered his Banshee to descend directly onto the tools of the people in the skies. He let out a battle cry before firing his gun at one of the aircraft, causing it to catch fire and crash to the ground. Ney'tiri called out with a yip, pointed her Banshee at the remaining aircraft, prepared her bow and arrow, and then pulled it back to shoot. She yelled, releasing the arrow, which struck the sky guy inside the aircraft and killed him. She flipped the transport over with her Banshee and aimed again before releasing it to hit the pilot of the aircraft. She yipped as the aircraft slammed into the ground. Ney'tiri raised her arms in response to the collective loud yelps of the Na'vi on the direhorses as they cheered the action. All of the Na'vi who were present at this point fell to the ground and began gathering the weapons from the containers that were there. As Jake puts his hand on his communication device to resume speaking, he is standing on some explosion debris "Move along! Two minutes, people!" Three Banshees were hovering and observing the raid close above the scene in the sky.

The first banshee was Neteyam’s, second one Lo’ak’s and the third (Y/N)’s. They watch the raid happen from above as instructed by Jake. “ Guys we should go down there!” Lo’ak stated earning a disapproving look from Neteyam. “No dad told us to spot…” Neteyam paused and looked at (Y/N) and back at Lo’ak.

“…plus we have (Y/N) with us. Dad would skin us!” Neteyam explained. Lo’ak just laughed and looked at (Y/N) cockily. “Come on bro don’t be a wuss!” Lo’ak yipped as he flew down to the action causing (Y/N) to follow. Neteyam let out a sigh of annoyance as he followed as well. The minute they got on the ground Lo’ak called out to them “come on let’s go!”. (Y/N) began to follow causing Neteyam to grab her arm firmly so she wouldn’t end up getting in trouble with his idiotic brother of his. Lo’ak was handed a gun and some ammunition to load it. “ You don’t even know how to use that thing…” Neteyam commented. Lo’ak just clicked in the amo and look at (Y/N) with a proud look. Neteyam saw the act and just rolled his eyes. “Dad taught me!” Lo’ak said with a smirk. (Y/N) just laughed at his antics and then they heard someone yell.

“PULL BACK PULL BACK!!” As they started to move a bomb was dropped cause the all three of them to go flying in different directions. Jake saw this happen and flew down instantly. “It’s okay, you’re okay…” He said to calm Lo’ak down. He then realized he didn’t see (Y/N) or Neteyam. “Where’s your brother and (Y/N)!?” Jake asked shakily as he stared at Lo’ak.

“Over there!!” Lo’ak screamed as he got up and started to run towards them. Neteyam was supporting (Y/N) on one side because her leg was injured. Guilt covered Lo’ak’s face as he helped his brother support her.

~ at the camp ~ Neteyam got off his banshee and carefully pulled you off of yours as well as he saw his father approaching him. Lo’ak was next to him as well, they share a looking knowing they’re gonna get their asses handed to them in a couple seconds. “I let you go to raid and you disobey direct orders!” Jake bellows at the two boys. He glances at you still leaning on your banshee.

“And you put the one person in danger I told you to protect…” Jake continued. “Sir I take full responsibility…” Neteyam started before he gets interrupted by his dad.

“Yeah you should your the older brother you need to start acting like it…” Jake states firmly.

“Make sure she gets fixed up…” Jake orders looking at (Y/N). “…yes sir.” Neteyam obeys taking you to Mo’at for some healing remedies. Lo’ak and Jake are still there. Lo’ak having hundreds of thoughts rushing through his head.

“You could have gotten (Y/N) killed you know that?” Jake questions knowing his son already knows the answer. A guilty look takes over Lo’ak’s face as he realizes the danger he put his best friend in. “Your grounded and no flying for a month…” Jake stated as he began to walk away.

Lo’ak felt terrible for putting the girl he cared so much about in danger. It was still running in his kind the risk he put her in. At that moment he started to realize that he didn’t just care for her he loved her with all his heart. She always was in his mind but he never truly looked at his feelings before. But the one thing Lo’ak didn’t know was the exact same thoughts were running through Neteyam’s head as well…

notes; this took me way too long but the next part should be coming in the next to days and it will be longer don’t worry 😌

#avatar the way of water #avatar #neteyam #neteyam x reader #lo'ak x reader #loak x reader #lo’ak sully

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felassan · 8 months

Text

Red lyrium idol detail from the Dreadwolf dice set.

The angular, geometric style of the wolf head makes it all pointy and triangular. Less furry wolf, more the suggestion of scales or of a reptilian-type aspect (especially with the way the head is half bisected down the middle). The ears look less like ears and more like horns, especially with the dividing line separating them from the head itself. this reminds me of the half dragon/half wolf or dragon-wolf design on these dev t-shirts -

and the creature as described in Tevinter Nights -

But here, unfinished, was the outline of a beast that stood over both dragon and sword. This was not the battle, or the victory. This was after. And the beast was not a dragon. The outline alone might have allowed that assumption, but now, filling with black and red, it was something other. The creature was reptilian, but also canine. The snout was blunted and toothy, but edges came to a point in houndlike ears. As the mass of plaster filled the shape, it began to rise, revealing scales and tail, and paws with talons. It looked like two figures painted on either side of a pane of glass, then viewed together, their forms confused. A wolf that had absorbed a dragon, and now stood crooked over all.

in relation to this Skyhold rotunda mural -

The Dread Wolf is depicted with red eyes this time. Sometimes he's shown with red eyes (below), other times with blue.

Some other by-now very familiar imagery and motifs also return, like the figure with the staff from the Dread Wolf Rises Teaser trailer (Solas), the arrow/arrowhead-shape & outward rayed lines depicting the moment of Impact when he Did The Thing, those triangles that crop up when something Veily/Fadey/magicky is happening in a mural, the general gold and black color scheme (Golden City/Black City), and the alternating gold and black 'dotted line'-pattern that probably represents the Veil as a barrier between the Fade and the mundane world:

(👀 Shoutout to the 'arrow' shape, that depiction of the Dread Wolf always reminds me of the story of the Slow Arrow, that Felassan told Briala -)

"The god Fen'Harel was asked by a village to kill a great beast. He came to the beast at dawn, and saw its strength, and knew it would slay him if he fought it. So instead, he shot an arrow up into the sky. The villagers asked Fen'Harel how he would save them, and he said to them, 'When did I say that I would save you?' And he left, and the great beast came into the village that night and killed the warriors, and the women, and the elders. It came to the children and opened its great maw, but then the arrow that Fen'Harel had loosed fell from the sky into the great beast's mouth, and killed it. The children of the village wept for their parents and elders, but still they made an offering to Fen'Harel of thanks, for he had done what the villagers had asked. He had killed the beast, with his cunning, and a slow arrow that the beast never noticed."

#dragon age: dreadwolf #dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #da4 #dragon age #bioware #solas #video games #long post #longpost #Felassan #Best Elf

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revenant-coining · 2 months

Text

Loathenzh

[pt: Loathenzh /end pt]

[ids: 3 rectangular flags with 7 equally-sized horizontal lines. colors in this order from top to bottom: dark purple, purple, lightish purple, pale purple, lightish purple, purple, dark purple. in the center of the first and third flag is a dark purple diamond outlined in purple. inside the diamond of the first flag is a lightish purple symbol of 2 revolving arrows. /end ids]

Loathenzh; a xenzh gender connected to time loops, repetition, needless death, & desperation.

etymology; lo(op), (de)ath, (x)enzh

don’t tag as xenogender!

for cam!

tagging; @radiomogai , @thecoffeecrew404

[id: a dark blue line divider. /end id]

#🪼 creations #loathenzh #gender #neogender #xenzh #liom #mogai #category: genders #category: xenzh

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evan-collins90 · 1 year

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Subterranean Discotheque ‘Olimpo’ - Rome, IT (1987)

“Mt. Olympus, so legend tells us, was the lofty habitat of the Greek gods, from which the deities ruled over the earthlings. Olimpo, by contrast, is a subterranean complex situated deep in the heart of Rome: a combined discotheque and piano bar, and the current favorite among the nocturnal haunts of the jeuness dorée. As for the reality, the site on which Olimpo stands (or, more explicitly, was sunk into) near the Pantheon was, in the days of Imperial Rome, the site of a complex of Roman baths, a fact whose authenticity was proved during excavations in that area. The boundary walls of the disco area are actually those of the baths. So much for history.

Pino Piantanida, the architect who envisioned and designed Olimpo, found his inspiration in both the myths of antiquity and the historic facts that were revealed to him. Giving his imagination free rein, he has created a dream-like atmosphere: one in which the gods and goddesses appear amid the evanescent clouds of a sky that is sometimes blue, sometimes flame-colored—an effect he has achieved through lighting and mirrors. Should the ancient Romans return to their old haunt, they would doubtless find the whole picture confusing. The young Romans of today. however, take it all in stride, and evidently feel completely at home with it.

For starters, the existing interior divisions of the area (3,800 sq. ft.) were demolished, and all traces of its former incarnations were erased. The space was then divided into three main rooms and one small bar. all interconnected by a labyrinthine system of corridors designed to effect a transition from one room to another and back again, returning by a different route, all of which may mystify the first-time visitor, as the designer doubtless intended it should.

Piantanida likes to think of the descent from the sidewalk into the depths of the disco as a descent into the Roman baths, and so he has used deep turquoise as the basic color here. Distant skies are painted in tempera by Piantanida and Leonardo Tonioni, his assistant, in varying pinks deepening into flame. Thus the three basic elements, earth, fire and water, are portrayed.

The floor of the disco room is made of structural glass and is lighted from beneath with blue, pink and flame-colored tubes that give to the floor a sensation of movement. The upper reaches are lighted only with spots at rare intervals, preserving the mysterious atmosphere. The ceilings and walls, above the "water line," are pure white, except for a simulated black crack, and for the finely drawn greater-than-life-size heads and figures of mythological figures. In the first room the head of Laocoon floats in clouds above the dancers; on another wall Diana fixes a victim with her arrow. Above the bar, Bacchus (after Bronzino) hovers, and in yet another room, the horses of Castor and Pollux assume the same pose as that in which they are seen in the famous sculpture group in the Piazza Quirinale. Structural glass, illuminated from beneath, in the same color combination as that used in the dance floor, is also used for the center paths of the corridors leading from room to room, leaving the walls and ceilings in near-darkness. The piano bar is simply furnished with comfortable chairs, sofas and small tables, and is dimly lit, except for the farthest wall, which has a trompe l'oeil mural of a fiery sunset. Piantanida has achieved his dramatic effects with contrasting lights and darks, and with brilliant hues against black and white. His original injection of mythological figures, finely drawn and of heroic proportions, adds wit to the whole harmonious scheme.”

See Neoclassical PoMo, Pomo Faux Ruins, and Pacific Punk Wave

Scanned from an April 1987 issue of Interior Design Magazine

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thefinalcinderella · 4 months

Text

Tsurune Book 3 Chapter 5 - Declaration (Part 2)

Some juicy Masa-san lore drops

Glossary here

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

A pun. The original is "denwa shite mo dare mo den wa"

A yorishiro is an object capable of attracting spirits and giving them a space to occupy

Previous | Next

At the long-distance range, Kazemai and Kirisaki were doing a joint practice.

Kyudo competitions were divided into short distance and long distance. For short distance, the distance between the archer and target was twenty-eight meters, and for long distance, it was sixty meters.

They were scored on this day, using scoring targets with a diameter of one-hundred centimeters. From the center, yellow was ten points, red was nine points, blue was seven points, black was five points, and white was three points. There were also large targets with the same pattern as the kasumi-mato. They used arrows normally used for long distance shooting. The shaft was thinner than that used for short distance, and the feathers had shorter widths and lengths. That was because the lighter the feathers, the better the arrow’s flight.

After entering the shajo, the three Kazemai second-year girls advanced to stand before the targets.

“Wow, that’s a long distance. I feel like a heavier bow would have an advantage here,” Hanazawa said.

“My bow weighs ten kilograms, but will my arrow reach the target?” Shiragiku said.

“I heard that you need to score at least thirty points on four shots to place at the National Athletic Meet,” Seo said.

It was then that Motomura and Sase, alumni of Kirisaki High School, appeared. They had been invited here as today’s special coaches. Those who met the two for the first time exclaimed, “It’s the legendary Saserin!”

Motomura had achieved eighth place at the National Athletic Meet. There was a gentle smile on his face.

“Even with a light bow, you’ll be able to hit the target if you learn the tricks. The purpose of this lesson is ‘hanare’. Since the first-years have just started holding a bow, their hanare tends to be small, so practice using your entire body to make a big hanare. The shooting method is the same Eight Stages of Shooting as usual, but the key point is ‘douzukuri.’ There is something called the ‘Five Torsos’ when it comes to douzukuri.”

Sase stood in front of everyone, holding an illustrated document. The illustrations depicted the idol Noririn, and there were detailed illustrated explanations of the Eight Stages of Shooting.

He opened the douzukuri page and showed it to everyone. Soru-dou, where the torso bent backwards. Kagamu-dou, where the torso bent forward. Kakaru-dou, where the torso was leaning towards the target. Noku-dou, where the torso was leaning to the right. Chuu-dou, where the torso’s center of gravity was the most stable with an upright douzukuri.

The Kazemai first-year Keyaki asked a question.

“I’ve heard that chuu-dou is better for short distance, but does that mean it’s different for long distance?”

“That’s right. Even if a slender princess like Noririn drew her bow like usual, her arrows won’t be able to fly far. First off, ashibumi should be almost the same as for short distance, or just a little bit narrower. And that’s where noku-dou comes in. Tilt your torso to the right. For hikiwake, the bow should be pointed slightly upward, and the arrow tip should be aimed slightly higher and at a fixed point. The arrow isn’t as horizontal as it is in front of the target!”

Sase, perhaps more enthusiastic than usual with Noririn in front of him, was speaking differently than usual. Kanabayshi’s eyes sparkled as he spoke vigorously, and Himuro was his usual Maitreya.

Motomura hid his mouth with a closed fist, brought the talk to an end while stifling laughter.

“I want you to focus on nobiai. In long distance, you should have a low trajectory, fast speed, and stretch yourself forward.”

Using Motomura’s voice as a signal, they stood in front of the targets with their bow and arrows.

First, Kanbayashi faced the target. Standing before a target that was farther and larger than usual, it was difficult to get a sense of distance. He wasn’t sure which direction to bend his body, so he swayed like a seesaw.

“Ah, I guess I raised the tip too high. It hit way too high up.”

He followed the arrow in a pose similar to a salute.

Keyaki went next. At kai, he leaned his body to the right, stretched left and right, and released his arrow. It missed the target.

“It’s surprisingly difficult to stretch out on the arrow line.”

Himuro shot in his usual form and hit the outermost white ring.

Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo went after him. At daisan, they tried to bend backwards. They usually practiced to keep their douzukuri upright, so they had to do it a few times to get used to it. They had Motomura and Sase observe them from behind, and visually memorized which part of the yazuridou overlapped with the center of the target. After about twenty shots, they seemed to get the hang of it, and their hit rate skyrocketed.

At break time, they opened their lunch boxes. Minato passed around a large Tupperware to everyone.

“A former member of the bad pun association lives nearby, and he gave me some vegetables he grew himself. Have them if you like.”

Ryouhei immediately dug in.

“It’s eggplant and pork grilled with ginger. It really makes the rice taste better!”

“Recently, I’ve been trying my hand at home gardening. I was surprised to learn that there are so many varieties of vegetables.”

“Is there such a thing as a vegetable sommelier?” Nanao said.

Honeyed lemons were being passed around among the Kirisaki members. It was a staple snack of the Kirisaki kyudo club, which had been around for more than thirty years. Senichi put one in his mouth and another into Manji’s.

“I think I’ll learn how to cook too. I want to treat the person I like to a homecooked meal.”

“Sen-nii, you love me that much?”

“It’s obviously so that he’ll be popular with girls,” The third-year, Kabashima, hung his head. “Stop it. What happened to kickboxing? You guys are doing too many things.”

Next to him, Yushima nodded.

Kuon was also given a honeyed lemon. However, he said, “I don’t eat food made by amateurs,” and wiped his chin without even touching the container. The people around him either said “What’s with that attitude?” and “As expected of Kuon-sama.”

After the lunch break, the competition began.

Members of the Kazemai and Kirisaki kyudo clubs lined up with four arrows in their hands. The oldest students were going first.

Kirisaki’s Kabashima and Yushima were rolling their shoulders in preparation.

“Just you watch. I’m gonna land my arrow in the center in the name of Kirisaki. The Kazemai girls are paying attention. Yushima, why don’t you wear a wig? That’ll make you popular with the girls.”

“I wouldn’t mind going along with that if you put on a hippo’s tail, Kabashima.”

“…Did the twins’ foul mouth rub off on you?”

“Our club has a Young Prince, twins, and an antique doll, doesn’t it? If you keep staying in such an extraordinary place for a long time, hair will grow in your heart, even if it doesn’t on your head.”

“You’re quite right.”

As declared, the two hit the yellow and red rings and achieved the high scores of 35 and 31 points.

Among the second-year students, Shuu, Senichi, and Manji shot in a three-person team. The twins looked smug.

“Pupupupu, we’re the strongest trio.”

“Sen-nii, shoot right in the middle.”

Shuu’s arrows all landed in yellow, the highest point, and Senichi and Manji both got thirty-three points. When it was the first-years’ turn, Kuon also got a high score.

As for Kazemai, Hanazawa got eighteen points, Shiragiku got twenty, and Seo got thirty. Kaito got thirty-four, Ryouhei got twenty-three, Seiya got thirty, Nanao got twenty-seven, Minato got thirty-three, Kanbayashi got twenty-five, Himuro got twenty-eight, and Keyaki got sixteen.

After everyone finished shooting, Shuu had forty points and Kuon had thirty-nine, giving Kirisaki a one-two finish.

Unable to hide his delight, Kuon walked past Senichi and Manji and approached Shuu.

“Fujiwara-senpai, did you see?”

“Yes, congratulations.”

That was all Shuu said before he left. There were flames in Kuon’s chest.

That’s all? That’s all? He should have more praise for me.

Why can’t he give me the smile he gives to the lowly?

He watched Shuu talking to the twins with a smile.

After the competition, Minato stayed in the entrance hall with Keyaki, Kanbayashi, and Himuro.

“Narumiya-senpai, thank you for the delicious lunch. It’s sad that Masa-san is absent today. Is his urgent business related to the shrine?” Kanbayashi said.

“Maybe. I don’t know either.”

In actuality, since Masa-san said that he didn’t like eggplant, Minato made “eggplant and pork grilled with ginger” for him to try. Maybe Masa-san realized that he was going to make him eat eggplant and ran away.

Next to him, Keyaki frowned.

“I texted him in the afternoon, but it was left unread. It’s exactly ‘I tried calling, but no one answered.’ (1) Hah, the flexible thinking training paid off, didn’t it?”

“Hahaha…it’s like there are two Seiyas,” Minato said.

“Me reaching Takehaya-senpai’s level? How unthinkable. Anyways, this is the first time that something like this happened, isn’t it? We could try sending something like, ‘What are you doing right now?’ but I don’t feel comfortable with club members prying into the coach’s private life while he’s away.”

“You have a point.”

Just when the four were about to step forward, they ran into Kuon, who was acting alone.

Kuon had a blatantly disgusted look on his face.

“Is this a commoners’ gathering? How vulgar, standing around and talking near the doorway. Narumiya-kun, you seem to be going around talking about target panic like it’s a disease, but target panic is just an excuse for the unskilled.”

“Narumiya-senpai has never gone around telling people that he had target panic,” Keyaki objected.

“Really? Target panic is just the result of a bad instructor or bad practice method. It isn’t a disease at all.”

“Are you saying that you have follow-up studies on people who had target panic? It’s valuable that you’re doing your own research on yips. I’d like to take a look at that research.”

“Well, even without something like that, the best proof is that my middle school was a strong kyudo school, and there was no one with target panic around me.”

Just when it seemed like Keyaki was going to continue arguing, Himuro spoke up.

“That’s like saying, ‘No one around me has died from the flu or the new strain of virus, so you just have a cold…’”

Minato, Kanbayashi, and Keyaki’s mouths dropped open when Himura, who they had hardly ever heard before, spoke. Meanwhile, Kuon’s face turned bright crimson.

“You dare to speak to me, you lowly commoner!? Who do you think you are?”

Behind Kuon, who was engaged in a war of words, the twins stood with their arms crossed.

“You’re the one who should be answering that question, Kuon,” Senichi said.

“There’s nothing great about people who act self-important. Our kickboxing instructor is a former champion, and his motto is ‘Stay high in ambition, low in stature,” Manji said.

Just as Senichi and Manji struck a fighting pose, the Young Prince appeared. Ryouhei was with him.

“Kuon, the first-years have been summoned.”

Kuon gave Minato and the others a sharp look and left immediately. Keyaki and the others followed.

Shuu saw them off, then stood on Minato’s right side.

“Minato, there’s something I want to ask you. I talked to Ryouhei about it earlier.”

“Okay, what is it? You’re acting so formal.”

“I’m building my own dojo. I’m planning to invite famous archers from all around the country. Minato, will you help me?”

Minato looked into Shuu’s eyes.

“…Of course.”

Senichi and Manji also pounced on it.

“Fujiwara Dojo!? Wow! Let us join too!”

“Yeah, Sen and Man can also join.”

“Woohoo!” Contrary to the enthusiastic twins, Minato was looking at his palm.

When the people around them talked about their dreams for the future, Minato felt lonely, like he had been left behind. Shuu, his brother disciple and bow friend. He was going further and further ahead. Minato was busy with kyudo, housework, and schoolwork, and had no interest in anything else.

What did he want to do in the future? What kind of job did he want to have?

He couldn’t find anyone he wanted to talk to.

During that time, Masa-san was walking along a gravel road filled with the scent of the sea.

His stepbrother, Ren, was next to him.

“It’s nice to be able to go on a trip with my cute little brother.”

“Why did you follow me?”

“I helped you when you got injured, didn’t I? The nurses found out about that and got mad at me.”

“I was an idiot for making myself owe you a favor. We’re not sharing a room at the inn.”

“This is what they call ‘in for a penny, in for a pound.’ I guess this can’t be avoided once we became family.”

Masa-san had no choice but to remain silent.

The loud chirping of birds descended from above. Since the trees were covered in leaves, it was difficult to find the source of the voice. The slopes of the mountain were dotted with beehives.

The two walked around the island and looked around the wharf. Perhaps because Ren was holding a single lens reflex camera, he was often approached by locals who thought he was a birdwatcher. Everyone was friendly here. They got into the rental car and headed to their next destination.

Primitive Shintoism still remained on this island. The object of worship was a rock, which was the deity’s yorishiro. (2) The torii gates were built later with the introduction of Buddhism, and were not originally present. It was a land of strong taboos, and because it had resisted human intervention, the beautiful, untouched forests and creatures were still visible in their ancient form.

They stopped by a certain shrine. They climbed the stone steps that stretched through the thick forest. There was no one around the shrine, and the front shrine was locked.

Ren peeked inside.

“There’s a huge kasumi-mato on the side.”

“That’s an oomato used for long distance shooting.”

“Now, where does the chief priest live?”

There was an unnatural vacant lot. Weeds were overgrown, and there was no house at the place indicated by the address.

As they descended the stone steps, a local called out to Masa-san.

“The shrine up there is wonderful. It’s said to have a sealing power.”

“Yes. There’s an oomato inside.”

“The chief priest shoots the target every year. It’s the town’s biggest festival that goes on all night long. In addition to the object of worship, human ashes are also enshrined at the shrine. They are the remains of an ascetic who’s said to seal every conceivable thing and returned them to nothingness. Someone claiming to be his descendant appeared, wanting his ashes to be buried somewhere else, but of course the parishioners refused. However, one of the townspeople secretly sold them. Three days later, they were struck by lightning. They reaped what they sow. The gods were watching.”

“Is this person the buyer?”

Masa-san showed the local a picture on his phone.

“…Yes, they look very similar. Let me go check it with the others.”

Masa-san looked up at the trees.

That night, the innkeeper spoke to them.

“We’ve been waiting for you two to come. Would you like to join our morning tour tomorrow at six? Let us take you to places tourists normally don’t go to.”

The club members were changing clothes in the Kazemai kyudojo’s changing room.

Outside the window, there were three tits perched on the fence. In the rain, they puffed out their fluffy feathers and huddled together.

After Ryouhei finished changing, he took out a book from his bag.

“Nanao, look, look. The First English Phrases Learned by Negatives.”

“Don’t you mean ‘natives’?”

“Huh? Yeah, that’s right. The store on the cover is retort.”

“You mean retro?”

“Huh?”

“Everyone’s been so out of it lately. Maybe the pun training was too effective. Is it because Masa-san’s away this week? Prefecturals is just around the corner, so we need to get our spirits back up.”

“You’re right. By the way, where’s Minato and Seiya?”

Speak of the devil, the door to the changing room swung open, and Minato appeared. He didn’t look good.

Nanao approached him.

“What’s wrong, Minato? Did you go back to get something you forgot in the classroom?”

“I’m going to be late for club activities today. My yugake’s missing.”

“What!?”

Ryouhei, Nanao, and even Kaito ran out of the changing room. They pinched their hakamas between their fingers like princess’s dresses and ran up the stairs, trying not to step on their hems. When they went to Minato’s classroom, they saw a crowd of people there. Seiya was among them.

The ends of Seiya’s eyebrows were lowered.

“It’s highly possible that it was stolen. There are several other students who are missing their wallets and phones.”

“At school? That’s crazy,” Kaito said.

“The teachers are checking the security camera footage right now. There’s no point in us staying here. Let’s go back to the kyudojo.”

Afterwards, all of Minato’s classmates were gathered together. They answered individual questions such as who was the last to leave the classroom, whether anyone from other classes had entered, and whether they had seen anyone suspicious.

Minato was also questioned.

“You’re the only one who had kyudo equipment stolen. Did you leave it at home?”

“No, I had it with me when I went to school in the morning.”

“Maybe the thief thought that there was a wallet in the drawstring bag. What time did you leave the classroom?”

“It was right after homeroom ended, so around four o’clock.”

“Is there anyone who can prove that?”

“A student from my club came to get me, so I think he can prove it.”

Even though they were victims, they were being treated like suspects. When everyone left the classroom after what felt like an interrogation, there was an air of exhaustion surrounding them. Now that they knew that the culprit might be one of them, all of Minato’s classmates suspected each other. The after-school interview lasted several hours.

Once released, Minato hurried to the kyudojo. With prefecturals coming up, he became impatient when his routine was disrupted and his practice time cut short.

Tommy-sensei and Seiya came out to greet him, and the three took deep breaths together.

“The staff contacted me earlier and said that a suspicious person was captured on the school gate’s camera. For the yugake, how about you borrow a beginner’s glove for the time being?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Wouldn’t a great detective solve this case? Like an elementary school kid with glasses, or a university student with bushy hair,” Kaito said.

“Add a man who likes black tea to that. I hope the yugake is found,” Nanao said.

“I’ll lend you my underglove. How about a Java sparrow pattern?” Ryouhei said.

The other club members also gathered around, and Minato’s cheeks slackened at everyone’s concern.

Minato quickly borrowed the club’s yugake, but it was too big for him. The thumb was so long that he couldn’t flick it at hanare. However, if he put his thumb in a different spot than usual, it wouldn’t fit, and the position of the tsurumakura also became slightly off. He learned unexpectedly that there was a sense of discomfort when the yugake craftsman was different.

He wanted to talk to Masa-san. But it also pained him to add to his errands when he was already so busy that he couldn’t even show up. Minato was restless that night, unable to sleep even when he went to bed.

The thief was arrested the next day. It was a man in his thirties, who confessed that he did it after he got annoyed at seeing high schoolers enjoying themselves. Minato’s yugake returned to him, warped by water absorption after the thief threw it in a river. Apparently, he got rid of it because it had Minato’s name written on it.

It was something truly irreplaceable. He hugged his yugake tightly.

His replacement strings and giriko powder were also ruined, but the dragonfly-patterned pouch was miraculously unscathed.

Masa-san, who was contacted by Tommy-sensei, finished his business and rushed over.

“Minato, I’m so sorry I couldn’t be with you as your coach during this critical time.”

“It’s fine. This yugake I borrowed seems to be a little big.”

“There are also yugake at the Yata no Mori kyudojo, so let’s try them out and think about whether you should buy a new one.”

“Okay.”

Minato breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his master’s smile for the first time in a long while.

He tried using the borrowed yugake for a few days, but it never felt right. His yugake was something he met when he was in his first year of middle school and used for more than four years. His hand had become so accustomed to it that it rejected other yugake. Normally, one should avoid changing gloves so close to a match, but it couldn’t be helped. After consulting with his father, he decided to buy a new one.

Minato was at the Yata no Mori kyudojo.

The moon spread ripples of light that pulsated. An owl hooted from somewhere, and the trees rustled. The night sky and the forest seemed to be singing.

Masa-san, dressed in a kimono, picked up his bow.

“The only way to get a new yugake to adapt to your hand is to shoot many times. Let’s do that.”

“I only need a place to shoot, you don’t need to accompany me. You seem busy.”

“I also feel calm here. Can I shoot with you?”

“Of course.”

Masa-san raised his bow up high at the target behind Minato.

Hikiwake, kai, hanare—. There was a sound of something piercing the azuchi. Masa-san also missed his next shot. For him to miss twice was very rare.

When Minato returned from retrieving the arrows, Masa-san had put his arm back into his sleeve.

“Even you have off days sometimes, Masa-san?”

“I haven’t held a bow for almost a week, so this is the consequence. Gramps would explode from anger if he saw me. He’d say that archers need a strong presence of mind and ask me what was I doing.”

Minato mentioned something that was bothering him ever since he visited Masa-san’s apartment the other day.

“Sorry for the rude question. I saw a bag of medicine in the corner of your kitchen. Are you going to the doctor?”

“Oh no, no. That’s for hornet stings. I was stung by a hornet in the past, so it’s just in case. I just bought a new one because the warranty had expired.”

Minato was relieved now that he knew that Masa-san wasn’t feeling unwell.

“I’m glad to hear that. By the way, when I came here, I ran into Ren-san and received souvenirs for the club. They are island specialty sweets. He said that he went on a secret trip.”

“It’s not a secret trip anymore, then, is it? That Ren, what is he planning?”

“Planning?”

Masa-san put his hand between his brows and took a deep breath. He had an “Oh crap” look on his face. He reached his hand out for the moon, and something with wings descended upon him.

“Oh, we’re high school students, so don’t worry, we won’t investigate who Ren-san went on a trip with,” Minato added.

“Ren went on the secret trip with me.”

“We were looking for someone. My birth father, and my deceased younger brother.”

“…What?”

Fuu the owl nibbled on Masa-san’s long fingers, then started to groom its feathers. Masa-san put Fuu on Minato’s shoulder and went to the archery range.

“Cutting things short, this time was also in vain. I had a younger brother who was three years younger than me, and we were related by blood. Even though I was young, I was proud of the fact that I became an older brother. I really loved him. But when he was three, he was kidnapped by my birth father.”

“Your dad and your little brother?”

“Yeah. He was in the photo Nanao gave me. I asked the parishioners to confirm it, so I’m pretty sure. Who is in the picture next to him? I couldn’t tell if he was my little brother grown up or someone else. In my memories, my brother was curled up sleeping in my lap.”

“W-What did Ren-san say?”

“Ren said ‘in for a penny, in for a pound.’ It looks like he’ll be going along with me. Ren’s father and my mother are childhood friends, and they’re helping me find my brother. When they found out that my birth father was planning to take me away as well, they hurriedly entered the family registry because it would be easier to move in case of an emergency. We’ve also consulted with the police, but it’s just an endless cycle of getting hints of them before they disappear again.”

“Why is your birth dad so obsessed with your little brother and you?”

“He said something nonsensical like, ‘Those who have the same special genes as me should be raised in the proper place.’ Even if I can see paranormal things, why does it matter? He was disliked for being shady but worshipped by others at the same time. Either way, he was treated as a heretic. Since Yata Shrine isn’t affiliated with any organization, there is no rule for inheriting surnames, and he’s a distant relation of the Yasaka family. He never did his duties as a priest and spent all his time in the shrine’s archives, and he never acted like a father even once. It happened the year after my mother remarried, when I was in my first year at university. He sent me the death certificate for my brother. And what’s more, it was on my birthday… Ever since that day, my birthday no longer existed.”

“That’s awful…”

“Give my brother back, give him back, give him back. I’ve chanted those words tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of times. It’s no longer a prayer. It’s a curse.”

“Masa-san!”

Minato reached for Masa-san’s hand, but was deflected. Fuu took off in surprise.

“Minato, don’t touch me right now. No one believes that my brother is dead, but there was a doctor who assisted my birth father in his evil deeds. He has supporters. I’m glad I didn’t find him this time. I don’t know what I’ll do if I see him and the people who helped him.”

Masa-san looked up at the sky. The full moon was shining.

When people looked up, it could mean a statement of declaration.

A declaration—a contract with the gods.

“My birthday has become the anniversary of my brother’s death. I will never forgive those people who rewrote the story of me and my brother. No matter how many times we’re reborn, I’ll always find them and end their lives with my own hands—”

Every day, he put his hands together in prayer.

I want to see you, I want to see you.

Why aren’t you in this picture?

Would his soul be reincarnated with this hatred that rose up within him? Memories engraved even in undifferentiated cells transcended dimensions. A flame that wouldn’t be extinguished for a thousand or ten thousand years.

Was it possible to live with such a heavy burden? Living was hell, dying was hell, there was no heaven or earth in the looping spiral staircase. Wandering forever, never getting anywhere. Unable to put down roots in the earth or soar through the sky. Days when he cut his own body with a knife. He knew it wasn’t something to be said aloud, so he kept quiet.

I wasn’t born to hate anyone.

That was what Minato heard.

A heartbreaking cry. A soundless voice.

He didn’t know whose voice it was, but this was Masa-san’s real voice.

“Correction! I’m correcting you. What you said earlier wasn’t true. Masa-san is just a dirty old man. That’s all!” Minato shouted.

“Mi, Minato?”

“If a priest said something like that and his wish was granted, wouldn’t it be a problem? I’m going to learn professional wrestling. I’ll put you in a chokehold and stop you!”

Masa-san blinked a few times, then burst into laughter.

“It’s too much, Minato.”

“What is?”

“Everything. My disciple really is cute.”

“Huh? Don’t call me cute! In the first place, everyone celebrated your birthday for you, and then you say that you don’t have a birthday? What a selfish thing to say. My mom used to say that your birthday is a day to say thank you for being born.”

“Yes, I’m sorry. I’ll keep it in mind. I take back what I said earlier.”

“Masa-san, you’re acting like a middle schooler.”

“I don’t want to be told that by a kid.”

“I’m not a kid! I’m sixteen, a second year in high school!”

Masa-san was clutching his stomach as he laughed. How rude. I’m being serious.

The bright red something that had shrouded Masa-san disappeared.

Guren, meaning “crimson lotus,” was originally a Buddhist term, and the seventh of the Eight Cold Hells, the Padma hell, was also called the “hell of the crimson lotus.” Those who fell into this hell were said to suffer from severe pain as their skin and flesh were torn off due to the severe cold. They were said to look like red lotus flowers.

Please, don’t go to the farthest reaches of the north.

Don’t disappear from my sight.

A second time.

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#tsurune #tsurune translation

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