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wingsofanillyrian · 3 years

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Lights Over Monaco: Chapter 1

ITS HERE! I plan on updating this weekly/biweekly, based on how busy I am. Let me know if you wanna be added to the tag list!

Special thank you to my new F1 friend for inspiring this fic as well as being my beta reader, @acourtofcouture ! F1 fans out there, her fics are AMAZING

Chapter Masterlist

F1 Glossary

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Nesta Archeron discovered Formula 1 when she was 9 years old. She woke before the sun one Sunday morning, quietly excited to have the television all to herself and watch whatever cartoons she wanted. But she couldn’t remember what channel they were on, instead flipping through the programs. She had almost given up when she stumbled across a race.

The moment she had seen the brightly colored open-wheeled cars flash across the screen, she paused. For whatever reason, the high pitched wasp-like scream of the twelve cylinder engines and the astonishing speed that the drivers were travelling enthralled young Nesta. She didn’t look away once for the rest of the race, or even for the post-race interviews and wrap up that most adults skipped. Something about it had her adrenaline pumping.

Nesta traded her dolls for matchbox cars, and when she grew older, picked up racing magazines instead of teen ones. Ever since that day, Formula 1 consumed her. No matter how the other kids or her two younger sisters teased her for it, her love for the sport never tarnished.

She spent years getting up at 2 am to watch live races that were being held halfway around the world. Instead of going to her senior prom, Nesta stayed home and layed out her predictions for the season’s drivers and constructors championships. She didn’t know how to do anything half-ass. She poured her whole heart into the sport and devoted her life to it.

**********

Nesta spent her 24th birthday working. It wasn’t like she could request the day off, not that it mattered. The racetrack at Monaco was exactly where she would have been anyway, working or not.

A press pass got her through the first security checkpoint. The team tents loomed ahead as she waited for personnel to cross the unstriped asphalt, inching her car carefully through the throngs of people. She rolled her window down, soaking in the sound of air tools and snippets of conversations.

Street tracks like Monaco were her favorite. They required drivers to push themselves with plenty of technical corners and dramatic incidents. There was less room for error, as the tracks themselves were not as wide. Drivers had to know their limits and follow the racing line closely.

Race tracks were Nesta’s comfort zone. She knew each track on the calendar like the back of her hand. Every turn was permanently etched in her mind like words on a tombstone. Race weekends followed a set schedule, something that she could appreciate. Friday: practice laps. Saturday: more practice, followed by qualifying, where each driver got the chance to set the fastest lap and secure a spot in the starting line up for the main event on Sunday.

Before she had graduated college, Nesta had managed to fully entrench herself in the world of Formula 1. Securing an internship at ESPN her sophomore year, she had made herself indispensable to the crusty old man that had been the senior track side reporter for decades. She studied everything he did and the questions he asked each driver, noting what changes she would have made. Somehow, he came to admire her spirit and taught her the tricks of the trade.

When he retired the year after Nesta graduated, he went to the board of directors and personally recommended her to fill his spot. She waited two agonizing days for their decision.

Using whatever means necessary, Nesta had clawed her way to the top and cemented her reputation as the most cutthroat reporter in the industry. Her goal had been for everyone in motorsport to know her name, and in only two years, she had done so. Better yet, she had caught the eye of one of the fastest drivers on the grid.

Her phone rang just as she pulled into the press parking area. She answered, not bothering to check the caller ID. “Hello?”

Tomas’ velvety voice thundered through the speakers of her Civic. “Hey baby. You here yet?”

“Just pulled in,” She replied, touching up her makeup in the rearview.

“Right on time for a quickie. Meet me at my trailer in five.”

Tomas had already hung up before she had the chance to protest. Both their reputations hinged on their relationship staying secret. If the press caught wind that she was fucking a driver, her credibility would go out the window, and Tomas would be the laughing stock of the grid. So sneaking into his trailer wasn’t exactly the type of discreet she was aiming for.

Tomas Mandray had been racing for Red Bull for two years when she had scored her first exclusive interview with him. He had just been awarded pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, and Nesta had sweet talked her way into the paddock. It had taken minutes for his charming blue eyes to enchant her. He had won that race, and taken her to bed straight after.

The sex was great, but that’s all it ever was. Their relationship was purely based on the physical; nothing emotional on either end. They had agreed on that from the start. Just sex.

Unfortunately for Nesta, somewhere along the way it had become something more.

Sighing, she put on her oversized sunglasses and hid her tawny hair under a gauzy scarf. The fashion wouldn’t stand out at all amongst the celebrities that frequented the Monaco Grand Prix. Going over the top here was expected; Monaco was known for its money. Due to the lack of income tax, Monaco was a haven for white collar delinquents and royalty alike. Lamborghini’s and Ferrari’s were commonplace, and women wore rings that could set a jewel thief up for life.

No one bothered her as she strode towards the pit checkpoint, flashing her press badge to get by. She fell into her usual cadence, exuding an air of importance and invincibility. Seemingly without realizing, people moved out of her way when they saw her coming. The navy, red, and yellow of the Redbull tent came into view, and Nesta inserted herself into the crowd of mechanics and VIPs to get past security. Press wasn’t allowed in the area until after the race.

Nesta broke away once inside, heading down a back corridor. She knew the layout by heart, having walked the path many times. The door at the end of the hall led outside to Tomas’ private trailer. She didn’t bother to knock before entering. Tomas would already be waiting for her.

He set down his phone as she entered. “Finally,” He said with a savage grin. “We only have a few minutes.”

****************

Tomas left as soon as he finished, donning his jumpsuit without so much as a kiss goodbye. Utterly used to the behavior, Nesta straightened her clothes and again touched up her makeup before heading back out.

She was scheduled to conduct a pre-race interview with Cassian Valle in the Mercedes tent in twenty minutes. Redbull and Mercedes were at opposite ends of the pit, giving her plenty of time to think.

Truthfully, Nesta was dreading the interaction. Cassian was an arrogant ass. She couldn’t stand interviewing him; all he did was skirt around questions and try to flirt, which made it incredibly difficult to get any headline-worthy tidbits from him.

Azriel Sainz, Cassian’s teammate at Mercedes, was much more amiable. He was mostly forgettable and quiet, but always gave her something to work with and was sometimes downright pleasant to talk to. She could understand why the public loved him, but not why they were so enamored with Cassian. Sure, he was a three time world champion, and that earned him plenty of fans, but he was just so… dreadful.

She made it to the Mercedes pit just minutes before the scheduled time, immediately spotting her tense cameraman, Jacob. Slim built, he was average looking, nothing special. He was sweet though, if not a bit of a pushover.

“Where the hell have you been?” He hissed, chocolate brown eyes wide. “Valle is waiting.”

Nesta rolled her eyes, handing Jacob her sunglasses and the scarf. “I’m here now, aren’t I? Not my fault if he was early.” Nesta accepted her microphone and rolled her shoulders. “Let’s get this over with then.”

“Happy birthday by the way,” Jacob added. Yes, there was the pushover side shining through.

Nesta threw a grin at him over her shoulder. “Thanks.”

Cassian’s back was to her as she approached, his white Mercedes jumpsuit half on, the arms of it cinched around his waist. The crisp gray shirt he wore left little to the imagination, hugging his sculpted form. Good; at least that would capture the attention of any women that might be watching. As would the deep brown curl that fell in his face when he turned to her.

“If it isn’t my very favorite reporter,” He crooned, a grin plastered on his face. “Took you long enough to get here. I also hear it’s your birthday.” Nesta glared at Jacob. He shrank under her steely look, an apology stumbling from his lips.

“I would give you a birthday kiss, but I think you’d knock me out if I offered.”

Nesta pointedly ignored him, “Let’s just get on with it,” She said, motioning to Jacob to start recording. Once he signaled he was ready, Nesta breathed deep, the sweet scent of high octane fuel assaulting her senses. It steadied her, and she slipped into her professional mask before turning to the camera.

“As we all know, the Monaco Grand Prix offers drivers a unique set of challenges. The two-mile street course has 19 technical corners with little room for error. It is in Monaco that we get to see who has what it takes to be a Formula 1 champion.” She turned to Cassian, gave him a professional smile and continued.

“Last year, you had a puncture at turn seven when you ran over some debris. Coupled with the fumble the pit crew had with not having your tires ready when you came into the pit, you finished a disappointing 12th place, winning you no points in the driver’s championship. Do you expect that this year will be better, or will you stick to your usual aggressive driving style?”

Cassian laughed, running a hand through his unbound curls. “Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be changing anything. You can expect to see me on the podium, sweetheart. Most likely in first.”

Nesta grit her teeth. She couldn’t air that, and he knew it. “How about you answer the question without trying to piss me off?”

“It’s too easy,” Cassian said, that devilish grin returning. Nesta cut him a glare that simmered with violence. “Alright fine,” He relented, putting his hands up. “Go again.”

She repeated her question, and this time he answered, “I don’t really see any need to change my driving style, what happened last year was a fluke. I went wide on the turn and didn’t notice Vanserra's front wing until the last second and wasn’t able to change course.” Nesta nodded, encouraging him to go on. “I don't see myself making any mistakes like that this year. You can expect to see me on the podium, most likely in first.”

“Thank you for that Cassian. Good luck on the track today.”

“Thank you,” He said, waving at the camera. He paused before adding, “Though I won’t need luck.”

Nesta rolled her eyes and signaled for Jacob to cut the recording. At least that last bit could be edited out. “You are absolutely insufferable, you know that?”

Cassian shrugged, undoing the arms of his fire suit and slipping into them. “I do my best.” He winked at her before zipping up his suit, opening his mouth to say something else when the Mercedes team principal, Rhysand, barked at him to get his ass in gear. He gave Nesta a wordless salute before jogging off.

“I don’t know how you do it,” Jacob said, packing up his camera. “That guy has balls.”

“He’s a Formula 1 driver,” Nesta said simply, putting her sunglasses back on. “Of course he does.”

**********

Nesta watched the 78 lap race from the press box, silently cheering Tomas on. Each time the pack of cars passed, the windows rattled, doing little to muffle the engine noise. She chatted with the others as necessary, keeping one eye on the tarmac below. Tomas had started from pole position, and held onto first place until the final 10 laps. He had attempted to lap an AlphaTauri driver when the driver had failed to yield, violating FIA regulations. The two had bumped tires in what was ruled a racing incident, but Nesta knew better. Tomas had lost his cool and nudged the other driver on purpose, nearly sending him into the wall.

It was a bad call on Tomas’ part, as the comfortable four second lead he had held over second place shattered. Nesta swore under her breath as Cassian overtook Tomas, her heart dropping when the other Mercedes driver, Azriel, did the same. Tomas would not be happy about that.

When the checkered flag waved, Cassian was first, Azriel second, and Tomas third. The winners parked before the podium, anger radiating from Tomas as he tore his helmet off. Tamlin, the Redbull team principal, said something to Tomas that had his cheeks burning red.

Nesta grabbed Jacob and headed for the press room. They had a half hour tops before the post-race interviews started, and Nesta had to make sure she was front row. Though it didn’t matter where she sat; she always made sure her questions were answered.

It was more so for Tomas. She wanted him to see her, to see the understanding on her face and know she supported him even when he didn't win.

They were first to the press room, and Nesta had ample time to prepare questions. She couldn’t question Tomas, or she risked uncapping his rage. Instead, she jotted down a question she knew would shift the focus from Tomas to the Mercedes drivers.

Reporters began filing in, vying for the perfect spot and debating the race results with one another. Nesta remained in her seat, determined to maintain her composure as her stomach churned. Tomas finally entered, jaw set as he took his place on the stage. Nesta tried to subtly catch his eye, but he pointedly avoided looking at her.

Cassian and Azriel entered, laughing and congratulating each other. Nesta noted the slight change in Tomas’ posture, the only hint of the blood boiling beneath his skin. Cameras flashed, reporters shouted, but still Nesta remained seated. Cassian, at least, sought her out in the crowd, and flashed her an ‘I-told-you-so’ grin when he found her. Once the clamor had died down, Nesta stood. The room quieted further, the others having learned not to talk over her if they valued their jobs. Nesta had a knack for digging up dirt on anyone she pleased.

Her eyes were still locked on Cassian as the moderator indicated she could ask her question.

“Azriel,” She started, turning to the dark haired man, “You were lucky you were able to take second in this race, after the incident in turn twelve on lap 27 when you sustained heavy damage to your front wing, thanks to the actions of your teammate. Does it ever get under your skin that Valle’s overly-aggressive driving threatens your own position in the championship?”

The room was silent. Tomas hid his grin behind a well-manicured hand. Cassian’s eyes narrowed, a muscle in his jaw fluttering. Good; she had hit a nerve. Azriel shrugged, crossing his arms.

“It was a racing incident. Could have happened to anyone. I don’t think the blame lays entirely with Cassian; I could have given him more room on the corner.”

And that was that. Nesta didn’t ask any more questions, but she could feel Cassian glaring at her throughout. At the end of the interview, all three drivers thanked everyone before leaving.

As Nesta made her way back to her car, she texted Tomas.

You okay?

Her heart pounded as she waited for the reply. Her phone buzzed minutes later.

I’ll be home late. Party at the Redbull house.

Oh. Okay. See you later then.

“Happy birthday to me,” She muttered, stuffing the phone in her pocket.

Nesta wasn’t sure why his reply stung, but it cut deep. She had hoped that he would want to see her instead of going to another party and spend time with her on her birthday. Instead, he would probably stick his tongue down another woman’s throat like usual. She couldn’t really blame him. Their relationship had to remain secret and to do so, Tomas had to maintain his playboy aura. It wasn’t really cheating if she had agreed to it.

But if that were true, why did it hurt so fucking bad when he did?

Some of her tension eased when she finally spied her car in the lot. The Blue Bullet, she had nicknamed it, due to the strikingly bright paint. It was the first purchase she had made upon being promoted, and it had since become her pride and joy. She had chosen it because it set lap records left and right when it had hit the market a few years back, and she had craved speed her whole life. On city streets, this car was the closest she could get to experiencing Formula 1 without completely breaking the bank.

“How about you don’t ask stupid fucking questions next time your prettyboy loses?”

Nesta’s breath hitched. Your prettyboy. The accusation was clear. Her hand slipped from the door handle, turning towards the voice. If he knew… If he knew about her and Tomas, they were done for. She willed her voice into solid steel.

“Cassian. I would advise you to choose your next words wisely.”

He placed a hand on her Civic, getting in her face. “Racing means you have racing incidents. I don’t expect you to understand, seeing as you’ve never been behind the wheel of a real race car.” He sneered at her car, the insult striking home.

Fear faded, replaced by a rising wave of scarlett rage. Nesta’s gaze stuck to where his hand lay on the bright blue paint, utterly vexed by the infringement. She bared her teeth at him, rising to the challenge in Cassian’s flaming hazel eyes.

“Get. Off.”

Cassian started at the command in her tone and obeyed. He opened his mouth, but she cut him off. “Understanding the nuances of Formula 1 is my job description. I asked about that incident because I knew it would piss you off. Looks like I was right huh?” Her temper was getting the better of her. “And by the way, would it kill you to give me a decent quote once in a while, instead of always trying to get in my pants?”

“I do not-”

“Oh go fuck yourself,” Nesta scoffed, yanking the door open.

The corners of his mouth twitched upward as she slammed the car door. “I was already planning on it.”

Those parting words haunted her drive home, even as she took the long way in hopes of blowing off steam. She shifted through the gears, throwing the Civic around corners much faster than was probably safe. Nesta didn’t care; her head was a mess. At least he hadn’t mentioned anything more about Tomas. Maybe Cassian had just thought she had a crush, based on the way she had been looking at him during the conference. Gods, she couldn’t get Cassian out of her head.

His grin followed her up the stairs to her apartment, where she snapped the curtains shut. She couldn’t bear to look out over the track any longer today.

Those words echoed in her head as she brushed her teeth and crawled into bed alone. Swam through her thoughts of Tomas, as she struggled to keep her eyes open when the clock showed 1 am. As she finally gave in, they were her last thought.

I was already planning on it.

@aphoeni @planet-faerie @nina-zcnik @linsimin @that-little-red-head @teagoddess99 @enpointe10 @electronicstrawberrystrawberry @awesomelena555 @iptneus @weesablackbeak @wonderland--memories @nessian-trash-heap @magicalwaterfall @perfectlyimpxrfect @cassians-wings @valkyrie-archeron @acourtofcouture @nesemryn @chloepereyra @illyrianshadowhunter

#Lights over monaco #nessian #nessian au #nessian fanfiction #acotar #acomaf #acowar #a court of thorns and roses #a court of mist and fury #a court of war and ruin #a court of frost and starlight #acotar fanfiction #my writing #nesta archeron #cassian #lucien vanserra

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creativeashproductions · 3 years

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Elysium // Luke Patterson

Summary: The boys of Julie and the Phantoms need a hail Mary to dethrone Downslide from opening for Panic! At the Disco. While Willie is done to help his blue eyed crush and his friends there’s one issue: Willie can’t drive the bus. Moving a bench is one thing but driving an entire tour bus? There’s only one person who can and Willie’s not sure where she is after year of no communication

Warnings: Swearing, angst, talk of death (it’s a ghost show, why is this a warning??), mention of assault, violence, and fluff.

Words: 11.5k

A/N: This is why I haven’t posted much in the last week. I’ve been writing this massive fic that I refused to turn into a series. My god, 11k words. I don’t think I’ll be doing this again. Enjoy and comment if you figured out who Rudy is!

Masterlist

There wasn’t much in the afterlife that you enjoyed after time spent in the limbo between the living and dead. Listening to songs before they were released lost its appeal just as much as dancing on stage with the ballet companies around the world, of being an unseen extra in shows and films being filmed.

Then you found a purpose a couple, well it could be more than a couple, years ago when you found a lost soul. William Young, Willie to his friends, had been sitting on the curb staring at the pavement entirely still as he had for two days.

The time from the last breath you took to walking the streets of Los Angeles was a blur in all honesty. The years bled together as you stayed stationary in a world that kept on spinning and changing, growing up. You had watched your friends hit new milestones you could only daydream about. Friends that graduated college and built new lives on the ashes of memories that included you.

Today’s walk was an attempt to escape your friends’ greying versions standing in front of a once vibrant sculpture. It happened every single year, but this one hurt the most. Listening to your friends recall stories of all the adventures you did together.

From being drunken idiots jumping off cliffs into that one lake the summer of freshman year. Or making a bonfire on the school’s roof with all the entryways blocked, rather stupid with the exits being blocked as well. Sneaking into concerts and stealing that one car that came close to sending you to boarding school.

The rebellion that still lived in you had mellowed in the five individuals with the adult responsibilities of family and work. Martha had removed all piercings but her lobes while Chase quit dying his hair colour. Jordan now had three children and a bought house.

Seeing the group no longer young had made your feet swiftly move from the memorial for a walk. The only thing that stopped you in your tracks was tripping over something in front of you.

“Ouch.” You hissed rolling onto your back with a moan of pain that faded with the sniffles.

Curled into his knees, sitting on the curb was a teenage boy about your age. Long hair curtaining his profile you found your eyes grasping the cracked helmet that spoke for itself abandoned by his side.

“Your kinda a hazard there.” You simply spoke sitting down next to the distraught teenager, “Heads up, I suck at comforting people.”

At his silence, you spoke once more, “I’m digging the tie-dye. Did you do it yourself?”

“This is some kind of stupid coma dream right?” The boy’s voice was husky from crying and disuse, “I’m probably in some kind of hospital with a tube down my throat.”

“I’d say yes, but it would be a blatant lie.” You spoke twirling a loose thread on your jeans while the stranger gazed at a spot on the street.

His dark brown eyes bloodshot as he remembered the car honking mere seconds before he heard the sound of a thud. He recalled struggling to breathe with his broken ribs and his screams being illustrated with bloodstains.

He remembered thinking how he had just bought that board a week ago with his allowance.

“Am I really dead?”

“Yes. We’re are a couple ghosts in a lively city.” You informed him with one handheld in the space between your ethereal forms. The teen hesitantly placed his hand in yours with a firm shake.

“William but call me Willie.” He softly told you, catching sight of the patch on your jean jacket—one of many from both when your grandma owned it and then when you did.

“I’m Y/N. Let’s blow this disappointment. I’m gonna teach you everything you need to know.” Brushing off the invisible dust on your jeans, you held your hand out to him, “We’re about to make the afterlife our bitch.”

A stark contrast to his former hesitance he immediately grasped your hand to tug himself off the curb. The forlorn skater didn’t question the board in your hand or how he could possibly even touch his own board. He didn’t wonder how it wasn’t in pieces like it had been when he first got hit.

That rebellion that ended your life flared again in the presence of your best friend with crashing Justin Bieber’s house. Of rearranging items in classrooms to freak teachers out and sitting in the cars turning the radio on and off. Haunting the living until the friendship fractured under the influence of a powerful ghost.

Caleb Covington had bewitched the skater with promises and extravagant gifts until Willie had taken the offer.

“He’s not like you said he was! I think you should give him a chance!” Willie cried following you around the place you had taken to be home.

“Willie he’s a bad guy! He butters you up until you give him what you want! That’s when you see his true colours. All he wants is your soul to power his magic and spread his reach!”

“I got to talk to my sister!”

“Your sister is five years old! It’s not Covington that gave you the opportunity. She won’t remember the experience as anything other than an invisible friend!”

“There are so many people at the Club that we can talk to. Aren’t you tired of the same routine and people we see?”

Willie’s pleading brought your full attention to the skater avoiding your gaze, “William Young…you took his offer.”

Willie tore his gaze from the art on the wall to find yours blatantly glaring at him with a bucket of random colour in your hand.

“The Club is going to France to tour around the country for a while. I’m dead, so I might as well make the best of it. Besides who gets to skate through the Louvre!” Willie beamed, watching as a small smile, found its way on your face at his excitement, “I’m sure Caleb would let you come to the Club tonight!”

“Willie, you are my best friend, but I’ve already seen the Club. It’s not my style, and I want nothing to do with it.”

That interaction was one of the very few speckled through the years when Caleb discovered who you were. No matter his offers, you never took the deal and when he saw how close you and Willie where he kept the skater busy. The Club didn’t appear in Los Angeles for a long time until Willie’s distance seemed too great to bridge.

“So, you need a way for the slot to be empty?” Willie asked the trio of ghosts all spread around the area.

Unfortunately for Luke, the only person they could get help from was from the very guy that placed them in a predicament. While Alex was the one spearheading the conversation with the long-haired skater Luke was glowering in his direction.

“The Orpheum was the thing we never got to do. We spent hours practising and performing with one goal-“

“Play the Orpheum and get distance from our parents. Well, at the time that streetdog and becoming legendary was my main focus.” Reggie recounted the feeling of suffocating in a house filled with fighting. A home he wished still stood, now dead all he wanted was to see his parents.

“We almost did it too.” Luke pouted relaxing his glare at the skater who openly sent apologetic gazes at Alex’s bandmates.

“So, we need to get rid of the opening band.” Willie nodded to himself, thinking about ways before he caught sight of the abject horror on the band. The skater’s eyebrows raised, “I know I deeply fractured the trust, but I’m not suggesting murder.”

“Okay. Good.” Reggie whistled relaxing his tense posture while Luke grumbled under his breath an insult that in turn got Alex’s arm into the guitarist’s ribs.

“Your best bet would be getting the bus out of LA. The band will probably celebrate the upcoming gig.”

“Could you make the bus disappear?” Alex hesitantly questioned shifting in his now vintage sneakers. The blonde-haired drummer flushed slightly under the endearing smile from the skater. The feelings create a confliction within Alex under Willie’s issue, leading them straight into a madman’s hands.

“I can move a bench, turn sirens on, but a bus is outside my paygrade.” Willie openly admitted showing his hands deep in his pockets, “The only person other than Caleb that has enough power-“

“-is he just as evil?” Luke demanded crossing his arms to glare at the male that had unfortunately caught the interest of Alex.

However, Luke couldn’t blame Alex for falling for this guy because well, Luke saw the teenage ghost’s appeal. Willie was attractive, but he wasn’t the type of person Luke would fall for. Plus he had initially made Alex incredibly happy, and Luke would never blame Alex for that.

“She is as different from Caleb as one can be. She uh…she taught me everything about being a ghost. Actually, found me where I died.” Willie cleared his throat as the guilt and sadness reared its head from deep within him. The guilt of leaving his little sister to grow up without him and the sorrow of not growing up with the girl.

It wasn’t often Willie allowed himself to remember the little girl, barely five when he died, who was always dancing. His little sister adored the colour purple and anything shiny and more than once Willie had let her dress him up. Willie’s greatest regret is that he’d never have that interaction with her. God, she’d be around his age now and in high school.

“Okay, so where is she?” Reggie clapped his hands, bringing the skater out of his thoughts and back into the present.

Luke saw the hesitation in Willie, “There’s a catch, isn’t there?”

“Kinda?” Willie trailed off bouncing on the balls of his feet, “I haven’t seen her in years now. Last time I saw her we fought about the whole joining Caleb thing? I’m not even sure if she’s still in LA.”

“Of fucking course,” Luke grunted shoving both hands in his hair taking a few steps away from the other ghosts.

First, he dies, then he gets caught up in some bullshit revenge plot, then makes a deal with the devil without realizing it, and now their one chance is going up in flames. Luke Patterson was livid with the universe and the shitty hand he had been dealt, but at least he had his friends with him.

“It can’t hurt to look for her?” Reggie innocently offered with a shake of his shoulders, “It’s not like we have any other option.”

“Did we ever even have options?” Luke hissed, causing Willie and Alex each to flinch with the different guilt they carried.

Alex was guilty of going to Willie for help when getting back at Bobby was the biggest thing. Willie was guilty of ignoring his instincts on keeping Alex as far from Caleb as he could be he just wanted to impress the drummer. It’s not like Willie had many options for dating, and well, Alex was the first to get his entire focus.

“Dude. Stop. No one saw it coming.” Reggie bumped his hip against the annoyed guitarist, “Let’s find this ghost and get our shot at playing.”

The quartet of dead guys didn’t have high hopes of finding the girl in question, but it seemed the universe took pity on Luke Patterson. Just two hours into their search on the edges of the city limits an individual was walking.

The person’s stature leaned against a smashed concrete wall of the skeleton of where a building once was. The only thing the group could make out was a faded jean jacket with splotches of colour. Her ankles crossed as her back leaned against the cement, oozed laid back confidence. Coming closer, Luke noticed the sunglasses perched on top of her head and the lips painted dark.

“What do you need Willie? I heard you were looking for me.” The husky voice drew Luke in the most. The lead guitarist of Julie and the Phantoms enamoured with the girl.

“How’d-“Willie’s question was cut off as you simply tapped your right index finger against your temple.

“How do you think you managed to get here?” You inquired pushing off the cement to stride over to the group. To Willie’s surprise, he was tugged into your embrace before swiftly pushed away, “Come on. We should head in before someone catches us.”

In the dark as much as the other three ghosts, Willie dutifully followed you past the pieces of cement littered around the area. Gasps of surprise sounded as the once empty space became filled with buildings. It was not as extravagant as the hotel the Club worked out of, but it was hidden from the living and dead eyes.

“Where did this come from?” Reggie gasped astounded by the people once hidden from his view, moving around the area.

“This is Elysium. Don’t judge the name I lost the right in a poker game with Susie and Rudy. I’m Y/N.” You informed the group leading them to the gate where two people stood stoically guarding it, “Rudy was hellbent on calling it Valhalla.”

“This is Luke, Reggie and Alex.” Willie gestured to the awed trio of musicians only lingering on the blonde. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see the attraction between the skater and the blonde; finding a date in the afterlife was a lot harder than the living.

Nodding a greeting to the two ghosts, you lead the group to a building painted a pretty turquoise blue colour. The sign above the double doors a stark white with calligraphy writing simply stating Elysium Management. It was a building set up like an administrative office of three stories, and you led the group right up to the top floor.

“Just a heads up…Rudy is a little suspicious of people.” You admitted standing outside a door with a nameplate the only descriptor, “He’ll come off a little gruff and rude, but when you get passed that he doesn’t shut up.”

“I can hear you through the door dumbass.” The words were called out from the office door opening.

The man standing in the entry wore a crisp white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His honey-brown eyes lit up with a teasing look before it shuttered at the sight of four strangers behind you. Rudy had valid reasons to not fully trust people after the shitshow in his hometown when he was alive.

“And you’ve brought strangers.” Rudy deadpanned with a sigh concluding his sentence as he stepped back into the office. It appeared like the world repositioned itself on the young man’s shoulders once more.

“I should be done within the hour. We can go over everything.” You informed your business partner and friend. Receiving only a nod from Rudy, you closed the door to his office, cutting off the view from your guests.

“He’s..uh.”

“Standoffish? Rudy keeps his past to himself, all he’s ever revealed is that he’s from a town a few hours away.” You spoke, opening the door to your own office decorated differently from Rudy’s more sterile black and white aesthetic.

Your office had splashes of colour with vintage posters of both music and film framed on the walls—a plush couch in the corner with a basket of blankets next to it. Instead of sitting behind the dark desk, you chose the couch instead. As you settled in the corner, you flicked one finger bringing an extra seat over.

The motion shocking the three boys accompanying Willie who had seen the abilities himself.

“Okay so why did you want to search for me?” You questioned the skater leaning back in the seat.

“When did this all happen?” Willie countered gesturing to the office in a building settled in the middle of a ghost town. A literal ghost town.

“There’s an empty lot in LA that used to house an abandoned apartment building that Rudy and I both called home. Of course, it was torn down, and we kinda knew that there’s wasn’t a place that didn’t have the threat of being annihilated at some point.” The memories of those unknown days trickled into your mind among the more positive ones, “We wanted a home. A place to call our own.”

“A week or so later a skittish pixie of a brunette crashed into us full speed. Susie had a certain ability that Caleb desired to have under his thumb. There are so many ghosts he had manipulated into selling him their soul. Rudy and I both wanted to stop Caleb from having that chance for everyone.” You continued, “Can I show you?”

The moon shone through the light clouds as a duo wandered LA’s streets in different mental states. The only home you had known had been unceremoniously ripped down with no future plans in place. Your entire life had been in that apartment in a building you had once thought only you inhabited. You had been unaware that on a separate floor, Rudy had been dwelling.

The two teens in starkly different clothing grew close with each other through the whole being the dead thing they shared. The mission was to find another place too, use but the feeling of home being ripped away tore at their hearts. The apartment was a place Caleb Covington hadn’t been aware of.

Your thoughts threatened to turn darker as a force knocked you onto your bac—aA short brunette groaning in pain to the left of you. The girl was Gwen, who would become very important to both Rudy and you.

I’ve always been a little different than most people. I can move things short distances, but I developed a specific talent. I can get inside people’s minds to plant, remove or alter memories or simply talk and read their thoughts.

The sound of your voice in their heads freaked them out more than they would like to admit. The intrusive tickle of something in their brains unsettling as you made a more present entry so they could feel it.

“What?”

“This is why I can’t be anywhere near Caleb. The whole reason he gives people stamps and takes their souls is because of me.” You fully admitted clasping your fingers in your lap, “He couldn’t cope with the fear of another ghost leaving so added a stipulation to joining his Club.”

“How did you come to create Elysium?” Alex inquired leaning forward in his seat to rest his elbows on his knees. Luke and Reggie followed his posture as the anticipation built.

“Everyone deserves a safe place. A place as far away from Caleb as possible and we do so for free. No fee is required, and ghosts are free to come and go as they please. They are welcome as long as their unfinished business keeps them in this plane.”

It sounded like a sweet deal to the group of teens, but they had other commitments, “You can tell us more, but we need your help.”

The pleading in the messy-haired brunette tore at your heartstrings like the one time Willie brought you to his house. It had been shortly before your friendship fractured, a few years ago. He had brought you to a suburb for low-income families and straight to the backyard where a twelve-year-old year danced.

The dead skater boy and the rebel sat in the patio chair on the tiny porch nestled in the postmark sized backyard. A quintet of pre-pubescent girls danced on the lawn to some bubblegum pop song. The Young girl was submissive to a more confident girl even when the venue was the Young girl’s home.

“The girl to the left is my little sister Kayla. She’s twelve now, it’s been seven years since I died.” Willie’s brown eyes saddened at the dancer who had a spark of maturity in her eyes, “I check in every once in a while. These are Kayla’s friends. The bossy girl is Carrie, and while the band is a group, she is the unofficial leader of the band Carrie’s Constellations.”

“She looks happy.”

“Kayla’s always been bubbly in personality, but she had questionable friends.” Willie outright admitted keeping his eyes pinned to the girl that had grown up in a blink of an eye. Her dark hair concealed by the gaudy purple wig; the colour assigned to the teenager.

“It’s nice that she still enjoys dance.” Willie finished reaching out to grab your hand in his and just like that Willie transitioned back into carefree, “I found this really cool skatepark I think you’d like.”

“We don’t have a lot of time.” Alex winced as the three musicians flinched as a sudden purple spark of colour lit up their midsections.

Like a tentacle, your mind reached into the quiet raven-haired boy with the leather jacket. Beyond the imagery of docile golden retrievers and steaming plates of food, you found the regret and fear in the boy. Stepping into a recent memory, you watched their experience at the Hollywood Ghost Club.

“You’ve met Caleb.” You sighed roughly pushing your index finger between your brows feeling the familiar ache.

“It was a stupid decision,” Luke spoke up, tearing his focus from the mysterious girl that ultimately had the power in her hands. The entire plan was weighing on the decision you would give, “Either we join his house band, or we don’t exist.”

“Hm.” You spoke as the kaleidoscope of colours in Luke’s eyes glittered under the sterile lights of the room. It was difficult to look away from the enthralling teenage ghost, but the emotion wafting off Willie was concerning.

“They died before they could perform at the Orpheum. We’re banking that getting the opening slot with giving them the push into crossing over.” The long-haired skater leaned closer, “I know we haven’t talked in a while, but I can’t do much.”

“So, you want to pull ’09 incident again?” You completely ignored the trio on the couch staring directly at the sheepish skater with raised eyebrows, “Only this time without the train?”

“Train?” Alex whispered, looking between the two long-time friends with interest and then next thing he knew Alex was in the backseat of a van crushed between Reggie and Luke equally confused.

Chicago, Illinois 2009

William Young and Y/N Y/L/N were complete hellions in the ghost world, creating havoc that fascinated the living population. The recent event being the highjacking of a van filled with drunk teenage boys. These boys had been the sole reason a young girl was recovering in a hospital with life-threatening injuries. The scene changed to a hospital room with Willie and Y/N watching a girl with massive bruising laid.

It had hit both Willie and Y/N hard catching the tail end of the new report, Willie thinking of how that could have been his sister. Even if Kayla was only five years old, having a sister set things more in perspective. For you it was a flashback to when you were alive and thus led you to the ICU room for the girl.

Slipping into her unconscious mind was easy but while the injured teen appeared peaceful to the hospital staff, she was anything but. The poor girl’s mind replayed the traumatic incident over and over like a movie; keeping in the shadows, you gently repainted the portrait with lighter and brighter images.

For Willie, he watched as you wavered on your ghostly feet and smoothed out the features of the girl. The heart monitor subtly changing as the injured girl relaxed, and suddenly your interference heightened her chances of survival.

“I got it.” You spoke to Willie with a heated glare on your features and when the ghostly musician trio blinked they were back in the van.

Your hands gripped the van’s steering wheel with Willie turned in the passenger seat to watch a group of living boys scream. To the living eyes in the van, no one was in the front seats but whispered words spoke into their minds.

You’re going to go straight to the police and tell them what you did. You’ll hand over the photographic evidence and demand the worst punishment. You’ll leave the girl alone, or we’ll come back to finish our job. You will pay for the hospital bills if the family agrees.

The boys trembled with the putrid scent of urine permeating the enclosed vehicle. The distant sound of a train echoed in the distance as the van stopped on the tracks. No matter how much the living boys moved the doors refused to open, and the windows remained unbreakable.

“WE promise!” The ringleader cried, slamming his shoulder against the door with the train’s bright lights illuminating the van.

“Let us go!” The other screamed, slamming his bruising hands on the window.

Alex was flinching at each slam of fists on the glass, leaving smears of blood. Knuckles broke from the window. At the very last second, your foot slammed the gas pedal taking the van millimetres from the train screeching on the tracks.

You and Willie stared at the stationary train lit up from the van’s headlights with the rhythmic flashes of the red and blue police lights. The van’s seat arrangement was different with the ringleader in the driver’s seat.

The three ghost musicians standing unseen behind the duo but in the real world out of the dreamlike memory you knew.

Elysium, Present Day

“Holy fucking shit.” Alex cussed out of breath, leaning back on the couch with shaking limbs and fear in his bloodless veins.

Luke’s eyes blinked owlishly at the boy that he had once thought could never do something as terrifying and torturous. He was afraid to even ask the outcome of the life-threatening incident you did on the assailants.

“That is the reason for the train.” You barely glanced at the shaken trio to stare at who had once been your partner in crime, “Willie, I have responsibilities here. We just opened a new division for the children we house here.”

“It would take a few hours.” Willie pleaded, positioning his hands into a pleading position turning on his charm. The puppy eyes you had always struggled to say no to as if you weren’t the type of person easily capable of staying strong.

“We’ll do anything.” Luke pleaded just as much recalling the countless times he had charmed himself out of situations, “Please help us.”

“I’ll have to make arrangements with Rudy and Susie, but I might be able to pull some strings. I’m really sorry Willie, but I’m gonna need to erase your knowledge of this place. There are too many people depending on this setup.”

Outside the Orpheum

Outside the legendary venue, three out of four band members for Julie and the Phantoms walked up to the marquee. Hopefully, the letters for Downslide would be changed into their band name just under the main act. Everything was riding on Willie and Y/N’s capabilities. Trusting the skater was challenging to do and more so someone they didn’t fully know.

“Look, don’t worry, guys. Willie said he’d get us on that marquee.” Alex soothed his friends on each side of him. All three wearing concerned expressions at the place that hopefully was their last stop before crossing over.

“This is gonna work, right?” Reggie questioned with his hand confidently sliding into the pockets of his black jeans. The relaxed posture a juxtaposition to the anxiety and nerves on his flushed face.

“It has to.” Luke’s lips pursed into a pout with his words tinged with a dialect different from his best friends. The faint souvenir from the place he spent a few years growing up before moving to LA.

Luke’s words were highlighted by the groans of pain as that flash of purple courtesy of Caleb’s death stamp appeared. All three hunched over clutched their chests breathing through the pain; Luke was the first to unfurl his form.

“Whoa!” You gasped flashing underneath the marquee beside Willie. Rushing to give Luke support without even a second thought.

When the aftershock faded, the guitarist stood straight up with a thankful smile that boarded on adoration.

“Are you guys, okay?” Willie asked, keeping back with the swell of guilt that happened, seeing the familiar symptoms of post-shock. He had felt them a time or two in the time he had sold his soul to his unfortunate boss.

“Yeah, it’s nothing we haven’t felt before,” Alex replied, rubbing his hand over the baby blue shirt he had chosen today. His blue eyes doing their best to avoid looking into the puppy-like ones of the skater, “How’d it go?”

“Well, when that opening band wakes up, they’re gonna find their bus 200 miles outside of Vegas.” Willie proudly announcing turning on his heel to show off the Downslide jacket he took from the lead singer. His fist extending to bump yours instinctively before he did so with Luke.

“With no chance of getting back in time.” You snickered in response living on the adrenaline and nostalgia of the rebellion. With Elysium, you had turned around your life, “Meaning-“

“-there’s probably a promoter upstairs right about now freakin’ out.”

“Nah. This is Hollywood, man.” Willie scoffed with a wave of his hand matching the one you supplied, “I’m sure he’s being very professional.”

As Willie finished his sentence up in the promotor’s office out of earshot of the ghosts stood a very pissed adult. His finger-wagging his finger with teeth clenched, his flushed skin a juxtaposition to the cheery blue Hawaiian style shirt. Frank Wolfe couldn’t believe how stupid his once opening band was.

“What do you mean the bus drove itself into the middle of the desert?” Frank questioned progressively growing more and more frustrated. His assistant Tasha casting concerned looks to her typically collected boss, “BUSES DON’T DRIVE THEMSELVES!”

Tasha flinched at the sudden loud growl of the sentence but more so as Wolfe starting slamming the phone into the cradle. Her fingers halting on her keyboard, going over the list of frequent acts. Unfortunately, the five acts had other commitments causing Tasha to fear tonight. The blonde lady was worried Wolfe could have a breakdown once more.

While Willie snickered to his own words, your eyes, not your mind, could read that Alex wanted to talk to the skater. With only a teasing jab of your elbow in Willie’s ribs you shuffled around the drummer to join Reggie and Luke away from the ‘will they won’t they’ couple.

“So, can you do me a favour?” Luke hesitantly questioned you with his inquisitive eyes a greener colour in the sunlight. His attractive eyes took your full attention with a simple tilt of your head, “Julie’s family means a lot to us, and could you keep an eye on them?”

“And Carlos,” Reggie interjected rocking on his polished pleather boots he had spent ages on finding for his rocker aesthetic back in the ’90s.

“-Julie’s little brother.” Luke supplied at the confusion painted clearly on your pretty features. His green eyes scoured your face as he always did that flushed both his and your faces red.

“Yeah, of course, I can.” You firmly told the two dead boys each standing tense in front of you.

You could easily see the love they held for the living family that had come to mean so much in such a short amount of time. Since first meeting them you had always gotten the feeling that their living years weren’t the best. For Alex, it was living in the ’90s as a young gay teenager during a terrifying time for the LGBTQ+ community. Reggie flinched at the raised voices, and Luke had longingly stared after the happy families milling around the Elysium.

“Did you ever find out what your unfinished business was?” Reggie inquired fixing a strand of his dark hair that had fallen onto his blemish-free skin. Your smile faltered at his question; nonetheless, you answered.

“I did.” The two words carried a sense of pain with them. Your eyes unfocused recalling the euphoric feeling of seeing the breathtaking white light of the peace exuding from the beyond and the agony of denying crossing over.

“How-“

“Hey! Y/N!” Willie called out to the young denim wearing ghost with his beaming grin, “Don’t go stealing buses without me!”

Luke swore he could see your laughter in the air, just as endearing as the smoky quality your voice carried.

“Don’t go glitter bombing criminals.” You returned as your best friend dropped his board to skate off to wherever he was needed. It was bittersweet to reconnect with him knowing that it could be the last time.

When Caleb found out, not an if but a when Willie had a hand in helping his desired band it was high chance Willie would be gone. Caleb was all too powerful, and when he was betrayed, it never ended well.

“I need to get back to Elysium. Susie’s arrival is tonight. Good luck with tonight.” Your words were accompanied by a hug for each of the boys. The one with Luke lingering the most, “I wish you could play for the kids.”

“Yeah. Me too.” The brunette, messy-haired boy’s words carried a hidden desire simply to be in your space more. The teenage ghost helps those in limbo while wearing a jean jacket with patches from many decades. The jacket creating an unknown time you had lived.

“Goodbye, boys.” You told the trio before you poofed away from the busy streets of Hollywood where the band had come full circle in death.

“Are you guys, okay?” Reggie inquired his best friends, forgoing his casual personality for the layers underneath. His blue-green eyes filled with only concern.

Alex and Luke shared a lingering look, “Yeah. We’re okay.”

The dining hall was filled with long tables and chairs populated by the ghostly forms of everyone currently living at Elysium. It was reminiscent of a British book turned film series of youth with magic abilities. The series had been a favourite of a former resident.

“Incredible.” Susie breathed staring at the joyful people having a place to call home. Making the limbo between life and death more bearable.

“We’ve done well. You smiled, wrapping an arm around her waist, “It’s so nice to have you back.”

Elysium was so much more than you could ever hope for. It kept growing and growing with more ghosts. Since the founding of the haven, new developments continuously happened with one resident’s unique ability.

Harvey had joined the haven a year into the founding bringing the ability to gift the residents with the capacity to eat. During his life, Harvey had been a renowned chef and the dream to make food it carried into his death. As long as Harvey cooked the food with his volunteer staff ghosts were able to eat it.

“Harvey has outdone himself again,” Rudy announced his arrival at your side with his arms crossed, displaying his corded muscles. The constellation of moles on his face standing on his pale creamy skin.

“Rudy!” Susie squealed, throwing herself into his arms with the same glee that came each time. Susie and Rudy since their first meeting had a special bond as chosen siblings who bonded over heartache.

Rudy had died, leaving his best friend and his strawberry blonde girlfriend in the living world back in their dark hometown. It was just one tidbit he had revealed throughout your friendship. The only physical connection to his living friends was the three picture on his desk of a group of people.

The first picture had a lean version of Rudy with his arms thrown over a Hispanic boy with a crooked jaw and glimmering brown eyes. The Hispanic boy had his arm around a pretty brunette girl with deep dimples and wavy brown hair. The two boys wore a sports uniform of some kind holding lacrosse sticks.

The second picture had Rudy and the Hispanic teen again but with a beautiful petite strawberry blonde. Along with them was a brunette with blunt chin-length hair and hardened features besides a shorter blonde male with blue eyes.

The last picture was of Rudy with the same Hispanic boy wearing graduation caps and gowns with two beaming adults. The male adult wore a tan shirt adorned with a star on his left pec and dark brown pants. He had to be Rudy’s father with similar features. The woman was of Hispanic descent with laugh lines, and thick dark curly hair pulled into a half do; obviously the Hispanic teen’s mother.

The pain in Rudy’s face each time he saw the pictures closed off a desire to ask him about the people.

“Hello, Susie.” Rudy chuckled, wrapping his arms around her small stature, “How was Europe?”

“Why don’t you ask the five newcomers I found before Caleb?” Susie teased gesturing to the ragtag of new ghosts immersed in conversations.

“Family?”

“A boarding school had a fire. Those five were in the fire when it happened and the only victims out of seven that didn’t cross over.” Susie’s tone faded into a melancholy tone with her small arms wrapping around her middle. Faded brown eyes staring at the younger of the five seeing herself in them.

“That’s terrible.” You whispered, staring at the table with one finger picking the patch of a band from the ’70s, “I can’t imagine how scary that could have been.”

“Yeah.” Susie softly spoke, pushing a strand of her hair off her temple just as equally sad for the way that death had no qualms of how it took.

The youngest ghost in Elysium had been a three-year-old toddler who passed over quickly when he was found by the deceased mother. The two had been separated at death and luckily shared the same unfinished business of finding each other.

“Miss Reynold’s has twelve spirits that finished their business.” Rudy softly informed his two partners. Soft smiles formed on their faces at the happy news of Elysium’s goal being accomplished again.

“May they find everlasting peace and serenity.” Your words intertwined with Susie in perfect sync of the motto coined after the first crossover, “I suppose the Serenity will begin planning?”

“Have the Serenity ever not performed their duty?” Rudy raised one dark eyebrow with a rhetorical question. E/c and faded brown met recalling the countless times Elysium had hosted a celebration for those who found their unfinished business.

“That is-whoa.” You gasped stumbling at the scream echoing in your mind accessorized with the vintage sound of a band.

Calloused hands grasped your shaking form from collapsing onto the ground from a proverbial psionic shove. Agony slammed your brain flickering into an old fashioned club filled with people in both colour or black and white attire. You caught sight of baby pink, deep royal blue and bright red suits. The pained screams of a skater in a dark room overtaking the music in the Club.

“No.” You whispered clenching your hands on your head, feeling the dread building in the pit of your stomach.

The joyful voices in the hall muted while your body flickered with the deep instinct to leave the haven for the one place that utterly terrified you. It was the familiar touch of Susie and Rudy that kept you from finding the one person that meant the world. Willie’s soul was on the cutting board, and Caleb obsession with performing was the only reason Willie still existed.

“Willie.” You whimpered tears rolling down your flushed cheeks, feeling the panic in the skater’s mind.

“Susie help me.” Rudy stonily spoke ushering the distraught girl from the busy hall into an empty room.

Your shaking body finding purchase on the plush sofa with Susie holding one hand in hers and Rudy brushing the sweaty hair from your forehead. It wasn’t often your psionic abilities left you in such a state, but the distance proved difficult.

“Shit.” Rudy grumbled frowning, “This is bad. Y/N, we need to get you to Willie. You’re flickering, and the distance isn’t helping.”

“You want to take one of Elysium’s strongest ghosts straight into Caleb’s domain? You know how much he wants her in his Club.” Susie hissed to the co-founder of the haven they had to take extraordinary measures to protect, “It won’t work! You’re throwing her to the dogs!”

“Susanne I wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t necessary. Besides, we always have a plan.” Rudy retorted narrowing his whiskey eyes at the younger girl, “I’ll take her to get Willie, but you need to stay here to make sure everything runs smooth.”

“Are you sure you can-“Susie cut herself off with a nod as Rudy displayed the reason he could do it, “Okay, yep, you can do it.”

Rudy came back into her vision in his signature position with one eyebrow raised, and his arms crossed. The reason why Elysium worked so well was Rudy’s ability to erase an object from the view of anyone. He could make himself invisible to anyone and in practice, developed it to hide items and location. With his ability, Elysium was permanently hidden to anyone outside of his power. Illusions were his unique ability.

“You aren’t the first person to doubt my capability.” Rudy informed the other ghost reaching one hand out. With his fingers caressing your temple, he snapped his fingers, transporting you and him away from Elysium.

The empty room of Elysium’s dining hall was exchanged for the business streets of Los Angeles, bringing an improvement in your body. Pushing away from Rudy, your eyes frantically scoured the unfamiliar area for any hint of Willie.

“He’s close.” You exclaimed closing your e/c eyes to focus solely on your sixth sense kicking in. Rudy’s gasp snapped your eyes open to see his eyes pinned on your feet where a glowing neon purple smoke wisped.

“What is that?” Rudy demanded crouching to touch it, but it was like nothing was there. His whiskey brown eyes meeting your confused gaze.

“I have no clue, but I feel like I have to follow it.” Robotically your feet started walking following the smoke through the streets.

Rudy was silent as you came upon a park swallowed by the darkness of the night with the moon barely showing through the clouds. The odd purple smoke the only offering of light so far from the path with street lights.

“Of course we have to go through a park.” Rudy grumbled, “Nothing good ever happens in wooded areas at night.”

Lifting your eyes from the smoke, you looked at a deeply unsettled Rudy lost in the past only he knew. His mind recalling traipsing through the forest with his asthmatic best friend in the middle of the night. The last night before the unknown took over his life. Oddly enough dying and returning as a ghost was the most normal with everything that happened with his friends alive.

“You can go ba-“

“We’re not splitting up,” Rudy growled plainly scowling at your hesitant features. Rudy’s slammed the door closed on his past life.

Sensing unease Rudy’s calloused hand reached over to slide into yours in platonic support. You continued your mission, unaware that three certain ghosts in breathtaking suits were searching for you.

Alex, Reggie, and Luke, affected by the purple jolts, failed to find the one place where their plan B could work. What Julie hadn’t known was that the guys had a plan just in case the Orpheum wasn’t their unfinished business. The three would go to Elysium to accept their fate and ensure Julie believed they crossed over.

With no Elysium in sight, the boys returned to the Molina garage hoping that one thing would go their way: Julie would go straight to bed.

The glow purple smoke trailed through the city park into an older part of Los Angeles before it stopped. Where the smoke stopped was a vast empty space surrounded by trees.

“Well, that’s a little anticlimactic.” You grumbled crossing your arms, “Willie’s somewhere here. Do you think Caleb has an underground lair?”

Rudy cast an unamused expression at you, “From past experience. No, that’s not likely. He probably has an apartment downtown. An underground network of caves in the woods is more shapeshifter style but still not true.”

“One: You’re rambling. Two: What the hell kind of life did you have?” You questioned furrowing your eyebrows at his rather odd piece of information.

“An old one.” Rudy spoke, staring ahead, “Besides, I think we should check out whatever building is hidden from our sight.”

“Hid-“Your mouth halted when Rudy roughly gripped your shoulders to twist you to face the empty space.

“Close your eyes. Trust your senses.” Rudy spoke softly, “Or pay attention to the slab of concrete in the middle of an empty space with well-kempt grass.”

Your palm slammed your forehead with a resounding thump in the night with distance lights from surrounding buildings. Rudy squeezed your shoulders as he stepped to the side once more in turn, closing his eyes.

“Walk in my mind.” Rudy stated for the first time in your friendship, allowing you to look in his mind. Your hesitance was met with another squeeze of comfort in his calloused grip.

Your tired eyes closed as your mind timidly stepped into the rather breathtaking mind of Rudy, who felt guilt the most. While Susie’s mind was like a summer day spent at a lake with brightness and gorgeous field of flowers, Rudy’s mind was different.

It was dark in Rudy’s mind but not as if evil, but as if he had been touched by the darkness and painted permanently. There’s was the odd whisper of childlike laughter intermingled with the full adult laugh of a woman; the laughter overshadowed with the sound of funeral music. You felt the lose near that memory. Rudy’s mind was painful to be in and drowning in the feelings he had.

Your breath caught seeing a door you assumed was of his childhood room with a name you couldn’t pronounce for the life of you.

“My parents named me after my mom’s dad.” Rudy spoke through his mind with a soft smile on his face, “I couldn’t say it, so I called myself Mischief. I stopped using it when my mom died, and I went by a shortened version of my last name.”

Your eyes watched as the door disappeared, and the reason you were in his mind came back to the forefront. Your eyes watched the image forming of a vintage hotel rippling in the air before it solidified. The size reminded you of a castle, and it felt like you were storming it.

Without any more mental interaction, you stepped out of Rudy’s mind back into the real world. The very same hotel in plain sight to both Rudy and your surprised elation.

“Honestly didn’t think that would work.” Rudy breathlessly laughed, staring at the hotel once hidden to them. A dark comparison to Elysium.

“How do we play this, Rudy?” You inquired looking over at him, “This is very different from stealing cars and scaring teens.”

“Easy. We blend in.” Rudy responded, holding one hand out to grasp yours in which you noticed your attire had changed, “Perks of illusion? I can alter our own perception of ourselves.”

“Oh, wow. That looks expensive.” You replied, staring at the diamond bracelet on your wrist matching the necklace you wore.

Rudy’s attire had changed from his normal button-up with the sleeves rolled to be layered under a charcoal grey vest and jacket. Sleek matching pants to his coat and the dark black-tie matching the elegant black dress you wore. He had taken pity on your footwear to fit your ability to walk and for the fancy place.

He even had diamond cufflinks that matched you, but the wedding rings on your fingers took you aback. Your widened eyes staring at him.

“Tonight we’re Mr and Mrs Martin,” Rudy spoke choking on the last name he gave as it was the upscale name toppled from his lips.

“Okay. This is a test of our abilities.”

“This is if our plan A of being invisible doesn’t work. The one thing we know for sure is that Caleb has never seen either one of us.” Rudy soothed your nerves with a half-smile,” Let’s get Willie out.”

Your arm slipped into the crook of his to walk to the front door, “I feel like a spy. I feel like that Naomi Roma-“

“It’s Natasha Romanoff. Have you ever seen one of the marvel movies?” Rudy demanded walking up the entrance with a pained smile, “You’re like my best friend and when he wouldn’t watch Star Wars! Never caught one of my references!”

“Okay! Sorry, we can watch the movies when this over.” You grumbled as your heels clicked in the foyer of the hotel. The inside made you feel like you were sent back in time to the roaring ’20s.

“Oh damn, this is nice,” Rudy whispered, staring at the chandelier in the extravagant lobby of the last place you wanted to be.

While on the outside the two ghosts appeared cool, calm and collected they were anything but. Both a wreck inside from the perilous errand they had done that could very well be the ending of Elysium. Rudy nudged you to begin finding Willie with your mind, but you didn’t need to.

That same glowing mist was on the ground pulling you in the direction of a dark hall away from the route to the Club. Rudy kept his eye out, a characteristic carried into the afterlife from his time with the FBI, as you followed the mist. The hall continued to get more and more dark as the walk continued.

Finally at the end was a blood-red door.

“I swear to god if he kills his Club members, I’ll lose it.” You hissed to your arm candy, “What if he’s really H. H. Holmes disguised as a former magician? His door is blood red!”

“Have you been using your serial killer colouring book again?” Rudy demanded stuttering his steps to place his whiskey brown eyes on you. The sheepish expression on your face was enough of a response to gain the look of disbelief could have sent you into hysterics had the time not been too serious.

With a grin belying the situation, you twisted your wrist to open the door to hopefully where Willie was being held.

“What a cliché. He’s keeping Willie in the basement?”

“Will you shut up!” Rudy hissed right back with a clenched jaw entering the somewhat unfinished basement. It was cold even to your dead standards where the cold didn’t bother that much.

At the bottom in front of a desk with only a small lamp as illumination sat a vacant-eyed Willie painstakingly detailing a fabric. The lush purple velvet fabric was bougie, to say the least, and rather outlandish for the skater.

“Willie.” You softly coaxed the teen to glance up from the fabric you found to be something Caleb would wear. Willie’s brown eyes barely met yours before they returned to the sewing needle in his hand and the tiny beads in the bowl.

“Caleb is actually forcing him to be his personal seamstress?” Rudy scoffed,d stepping right up by your side to look at the work.

Both trying unsuccessfully to coaxed Willie out of the stupor he was engaged in the sudden poofing wasn’t heard.

“Mrs. Young taught both Willie and Kayla how to sew. She’s quite the seamstress, reminds me of my old one.” Caleb wistfully responded with a smarmy smile on his face, “Well if it isn’t little Y/N and whoever she brought. Nice threads.”

“Let him go.”

Caleb’s index finger caressed the corner of his mouth so gently to ensure the stage makeup didn’t budge. His clear ocean blue eyes turning thunderstorm navy as his lips parted in such a bone-chilling sinister grin.

“Let him go? He tried to take my new house band from me. He thinks that those boys not crossing over is his punishment. I think that adorable but so very wrong.” Caleb shrugged, dragging his finger down the bicep of his puppet.

“What can we do to- “

“You see after he’s done fixing the tuxedo jacket I’m going to tie him up on the table and slowly strip away his soul piece by piece. No, Willie won’t get the quick and easy zap erasing him. I’ll personally see it’s the most painful thing he experiences and I’ll do so happily.”

“Willie! Wake up!” Rudy shouted, shaking the skater’s shoulder frantically with his focus never entirely leaving the mad man. The whiskey brown eyes panicking at the odd displaced feeling of reliving his living life.

“That won’t work.” Caleb chuckled crossing his arms, “It’s rather amusing you think you can beat me. I’m Caleb Covington! I’m persuasive enough for hundred of memberships to financially benefit the Club.”

“And I’m Y/N Y/L/N bitch.” You snarled viciously throwing your mind into the nefarious narcissistic mind of the washed-up magician.

Caleb Convington had started to bore his audience with the same tricks at every previous show. The lack of interest depleting the attendance numbers and severely hurting the financials. So Caleb decided to broaden his talent by copying the likes of Harry Houdini.

He had a knack for both the dramatics and swindling his audience to be tricked by the illusions he created. The heightened popularity increased Caleb’s thirst for status and fame, so he overestimated himself.

Surrounded by adoring fans and journalists, Caleb had his assistant lock him in a safe with no key, to the audience’s knowledge, and push the safe into the river. Unfortunately from the infamous magician and escape artist the safe warped due to the material it as made out of. Caleb Covington died drowning in a safe at the bottom of the river.

You flinched feeling the emotion at the time Caleb had died and the feeling of disappointment at not leaving a legacy. Your continued your trek in the struggling mind of a man who viewed himself as invincible. You caught glimpses of a young Caleb with his family and the moments of tragedy that shaped him.

You saw his first taste of power in death and the content since the first time he erased a ghost from existence. It sickened you more as you reached the point where Willie came into Caleb’s path.

I’m unique, Caleb. Unlike you with the illusions and empty promises, I have real power that you could only dream of. Hearing your thoughts and planting my own words is just the tip of the iceberg.

Caleb screamed in response holding his aching head as you cruelly ripped every memory of Willie from his mind. The screams echoed not only in the basement but through the hotel the Club worked out of.

“Stop!” Caleb pleaded, shaking his head back and forth. The anguish was un-fazing to both the lucid people in the room. Rudy too busy trying to wake your best friend from the trance he had been placed in.

“I can alter memories. Remove them and even plant memories of my own design. You may take from people, but I give to people. I refused to give you anything.” You circled the man seeing double from outside and inside his mind.

I’m everything you wish you could be.

Your last action in his mind was searing a burn that flashed across his entire body from a nerve stroked. With the heat equivalent to magma in his veins, you burrowed to where Caleb controlled the souls. With a smear of your fingers, Willie’s soul was released from Caleb clutches.

“C’mon. Get Willie.” You told Rudy sending Caleb into an empty trance as if he was no more than a wax figure. Rudy eased the skater up from the desk while you exchanged Caleb to sit on the chair holding the needle, “We need to leave. I’ll get rid of any speck of Willie in memories.”

“I didn’t even get to punch the guy.” Rudy pouted, dragging his feet up the stairs away from the magician.

“That’s a good thing. I’m sure Caleb would be more pissed about his nose being damaged than losing Willie.” You scoffed helping the man urge Willie to walk up the stairs and then down the hallway to the entrance.

As you walked you brushed the minds of every individual in the building, all members in attendance, you gently removed all traces of Willie. By the time you reached the edge of the park, you had relaxed.

“We should get him to Alex, they didn’t crossover. I can still feel their imprint.”

“He’d be safer at Elysium to lay low.” Rudy replied, keeping on eye on the skater and on anyone he could see.

With only a nod, you ushered the ghost to teleport both the skater and himself back to the safe walls of Elysium. As he did so, you reached out with your mind to the blonde-haired sweet male in adoration with your best friend.

Clicking his place was easy enough for your draining power after the taxing bond with Willie’s absent presence. Instead of walking as you would generally choose you poofed on the cement pad in the backyard of a home. The surrounding skirt of the backyard encased with plants and flowers.

“Hello?” You called out in the darkness. The soft, mumbled words had your feet moving in the direction.

Standing in a circle mesmerized at the purple tattoos lifting off their skin was the boys of Julie and the Phantoms. The teenage beautiful Puerto Rican girl stood across from Luke with Reggie and Alex on each side.

“Alex?” You called out to the boy wearing a baby pink vintage tuxedo that complimented his skin and hair exquisitely. The outfit definitely screamed that Caleb had something to do with it, especially with the missing fanny pack.

“Y/N?” Luke gasped turning to see you in incredibly fancy attire matching his gorgeous blue suit modified to having no sleeves. The anticipation of eating at you to find Reggie rocking a red suit with butterflies on the fabric.

“I’m sorry you didn’t crossover.” Your words soothed the sad teenagers that had accepted their fate only to have no control again. An introduction was brought between you and Julie when the living girl elbowed Alex.

“Not that we mind but what are you doing here? How did you get here, and why are you dressed up?” Luke inquired, pushing his hands into his suit pockets, engrossed with your gorgeous appearance.

“Well when you crash a fancy Club with a narcissistic founder…any means to blend in is necessary.” You responded, “As for your second question.”

Your finger tapped your temple before continuing to speak, “I’m here because Alex deserves to know. You all do.”

The boy in baby pink frantically stepped forward, “What happened?”

“Maybe it’s best, I just show you?” Your brows furrowed to your own question accompanied by your lower lip being bitten by your teeth. The red lipstick not budging as it was an illusion as well.

“Hu-“Reggie grunted as he spiralled with his two dead bandmates into the scene that had sent you on your determined mission.

The rough action of being drawn into your memories as jarring as the first time and just as scary. The maniacal magician pacing the dark basement simply to heighten his dramatic speech. Alex’s heart clenched at the vacant look in the skater’s eyes with the faintest tinge of purple in the gorgeous brown.

“I feel like I got carsick.” Reggie moaned leaning over to clutch his midsection once you released the ghostly trio. Reggie would often gain a look of disbelief and horror from the blonde drummer, but his entire brain was centred on Willie.

“Rudy took Willie back to Elysium where he’ll be safe. If you want, you can join us.” The words were offered to both the dead and living currently in the room.

Opting out, Julie retired to her bedroom to calm down from the rush of performing at the Orpheum of all places. Besides she felt like going to Elysium was best for the three boys, and maybe they would move there. Julie would miss them, but she knew they’d always come back.

Susie was quick to hug you tightly as you stepped through the gates with the dead members of Julie’s band. The boys changed out of the tuxedos they had dropped off at a donation centre, Reggie had wanted to burn them. After living on the streets for a short while, Luke understood the need for clothing, so the clothing was taken to shelters.

“I’m so glad you’re okay. Rudy told me you overexerted yourself again.” Susie spoke with a deeply furrowed brow oblivious to the puppy dog look from the bassist in red flannel.

“If I didn’t, Willie would be gone.”

“You’re pale yet flushed cheeks. I can see you have a fever. You need to rest.”

“I need to soothe Willie out of the trance that psychotic prick put him in.” You scoffed shaking Susie’s hand off your shoulder to sidestep her, “I’ll rest when he’s fine.”

“I-“

“At least gab something from the cafeteria for energy.” Susie’s brown eyes dimmed at your typical brush off. The same routine of overusing your powers and not recharging correctly, “He’s in Cottage A!”

The boys were on your heels as you power-walked through the streets of the ghost city with one location in mind. The living streets with homes of all style and colours appeared passed the bakery, the school and the clothing stores.

“You can eat?” Reggie whispered as a little ghost girl licked an ice cream cone walked by.

“Harvey adored cooking for people when he living, so he continued in death. Harvey can make food for ghosts, and so can his staff if they work in his kitchen. His pastry chef provides baked goods to Flora’s Bakery and makes the best ice cream.”

“Oh my god.” Reggie practically squealed wholly flabbergasted by the almost perfect place you created, “How do you pay for things?”

“We don’t. What Harvey doesn’t grow in his garden, he can make ingredients out of thin air. We all have some kind of job we do. Everyone has a role in fulfilling to keep Elysium running.” You simply spoke keeping your eyes on the cottage with the robin’s egg blue door.

As if he knew Rudy flung the door open elated to see you standing there. Both of you still wearing the illusioned attire. IN milliseconds he wiped the illusion away, returning you back into your street clothes.

“How is he?”

“No change.” Rudy replied, following your steps in the living room. The skater was staring blankly at the wall.

��Willie!” Alex cried, rushing over to kneel beside the boy that had so swiftly stolen his heart without him realizing. The emotion in his word didn’t get a microscopic flinch from the formerly so-called enemy.

“Everyone be quiet.” You demanded forcibly staring each person in the room down for a mere second. With the desired silence continued, you ignored the headache forming in your head to step into the skater’s mind.

William Young was screaming to be released by the prison of his own mind Caleb had forced him into. He had felt the restriction on his soul lifted and the mist of purple leaving his brain, but he was still stuck.

He could barely breathe with the weight on his chest. Willie didn’t like feeling stuck in one place as he was a wanderer at heart. It was a reason why he had joined the Hollywood Ghost Club with the promise of travel.

Willie come back

In his mind, the sound of your voice firstly grounded the young man as a mirage of your form flickered. Your eyes screamed worry while the smile was one of relief.

Caleb can’t hurt you anymore. Come home.

The spectators watching see your flinching wavering expression and the tensing of Willie’s facial muscles. Everyone sat on the edge of their seat as the two pairs eyes opened in synch of the yells of hurt.

What they didn’t expect was your eyes to roll into the back of your skull and you to collapse onto the floor.

“Y/N!” Willie cried, stumbling off the couch onto the cold floor where your body lay prone, “Wake up!”

It seemed everyone forgot the little detail of being dead.

“She’s fine.” Rudy remarked, shaking your arm with such gentle care matching the four guys’ care in the room.

Your eyelids fluttered open under the bright lights of the unused cottage still waiting for an owner.

“Susie was right.” You grumbled allowing Willie to help you sit up against the blue velvet couch. Your mussed hair adorable in the eyes of the guitarist utterly enamoured with everything about you.

“She usually is.” Rudy mused, thinking of the many times she had proven everyone wrong, “She punched me for not bringing you home.”

“Gotta love her.” You snorted turning to face the four ghosts awkwardly gazing around the room. It was barren of personality with the lack of inhabitants. The yearning quickly found in the boys’ eyes, “You know this isn’t the only cottage in need of people.”

“What do-“

“You’re welcome to live here. I know you three live in that studio, but here you can have a real bed. You can eat and having your own place. You can come and go as you please.” You offered without looking, Rudy.

“I don’-“

“If you don’t want to live here, it’s okay, but the option is always there. Willie, we make plans for a skatepark-“

“Oh, you had me from the start.” Willie beamed tugging you into his arms, “I missed this. I missed you.”

“Me too.” You murmured into his warm embrace equally relaxed at knowing he was safe again. Your eyes clashing with the soft blue had Ideas songwriting already filled with lyrics of a pretty girl wearing a jean jacket with patches.

The lyrics turned into songs both in the studio and the cottage that Luke, Reggie and Alex accepted in Elysium. It had been a spirited discussion with Julie on moving to Elysium, but the boys were always there when she wasn’t in school. Often Elysium hosted a concert for the residents with the visitation of Julie.

Your reciprocated attraction with the messy-haired hazel-eyed guitarist flourished into a serious relationship. Luke took on the role of teaching how to play the guitar and songwriting. Alex took of mediation while Reggie worked with Harvey.

Willie quickly took on designing the skatepark he taught at while also taking a position at the ghost school.

“Morning.” The soft whisper roused your sleep into the golden glow of the morning light and chirping birds.

The growling aspect of his voice coming from only just waking up. The sight of Luke’s bleary eyes was heartwarming.

A year into moving into Elysium, Luke had asked if you’d like to move in as he was the only one in the original house. Alex had moved into the little cottage with Willie three months into the relationship while Reggie was going back and forth between Susie’s room and his own place.

“Morning.” You hummed leaning forward to kiss his cheek.

“You know I thought my life ended when I died. That I could never find someone and have a family. That I couldn’t share my music with the world. I was wrong.” Luke murmured as he cupped your cheek in his hand, “The band is growing more and more each day. I found the love of my life, and we have a family with everyone. I haven’t felt like I had had home for so long, but I get it now. You’re my home. I love you.”

Your cheeks warmed up at the adoration Luke displayed in his expressive hazel green gaze just as it had since day one. The awe fell from his lips before you pressed a kiss to his lips, only one of the many in the eons to come.

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#luke patterson imagines #luke patterson x reader #julie and the phantoms imagines #luke patterson x y/n #julie and the phantoms #luke patterson #alex mercer x willie #jatp fanfic #jatp luke #charlie gillespie imagines #sunset curve #jatp au #caitsy and ash productions

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my-writings-and-musings · 3 years

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Idea, a group of young human liaisons (late teen/young adult) join the lost light crew and the different crew members essentially adopts them (any bots of your choice)

That's adorable so absolutely yes! I chose the bots I thought most likely to adopt in any capacity.

Tailgate

·Being amongst the tiniest bots on the ship, and having loved human culture whilst never meeting a human, compounds his excitement at their arrival to nearly critical levels. They're so tiny! They can answer all his earth questions! They can go on missions together and he can show them around the galaxy! His first step is to learn how to tell humans apart and to memorize all their names, as well as anything they find important about themselves, so that way they'll feel welcome.

·During this introduction it's revealed these humans are on the younger side, and his reaction immediately becomes one of shock. You're all still little ones?! Not done growing even?! The explanations that human development is quite different fall on deaf audials; he knows what it's like to be small and new in the galaxy, and he won't let anything hurt these protoforms!

·The liaison team now has a permanent guardian, and they quickly learn that his size doesn't tell his full story. Of course, it doesn't hurt that he's still twice the height of the average human, so calling him "tiny" doesn't make much sense to any of them. Being so much taller is something he absolutely adores experiencing for a change, and that combined with his super strength leads to a lot of piggy back rides for the whole crew.

·If anyone, bot or con or whatever, says a mean word to even one of them he's on the warpath. Think you're a big tough guy, huh?! Picking on his little buddies?! Well, he's not gonna give you a chance to pick on somebody your own size! Unless you offer a heartfelt apology, and if the human in question accepts that, then everything is just fine! But he will punch you if he hears this is recurring!

·The various liaisons start referring to him as their "big brother" and once the meaning of that is explained he's absolutely touched. Him? A part of their family? Movie nights henceforth involve him being surrounded by a group of young humans, just chilling around their adoptive older sibling who happens to be six million years old, and should anyone glance at his visor they'll find it absolutely shining in the dim light.

Ratchet

·Having worked with and studied humans of this age group in the past, he's far less upset and far more worried by their arrival, but he pretends he's merely the former. The truth is that he knows their species is especially vulnerable at this age, and getting the rest of the crew to understand that will be an impossible task, even if he asks them to imagine a delicate protoform taking nearly two decades to mature instead of a few hours and to try and comprehend how much trouble that would be.

·His first step is to establish that he's their doctor, one fully capable of handling human medicine, and he quickly catches the rest of his team up to speed. Every medic needs to be able to meet the needs of every crewmember, and these juvenile humans are part of the crew now, as well as their responsibility for the sake of diplomatic relations... Somehow that last part doesn't stress him out in the slightest.

·These humans will quickly find his gruff to be little more than a personality trait. When he's with a patient, specifically one who's a little frightened, his demeanor rapidly softens just as his touch becomes gentle even to a being quite soft and tiny by comparison. For a species not necessarily accustomed to medical care just... whenever they need it, the young liaisons can't help but like him. His reaction to the fact that most humans can't afford medical care is... a very long sigh.

·His attention to these new patients extends well beyond appointment hours, though he does try not to be overbearing. But he just needs to be certain; are they exercising enough? Does the atmosphere of the ship upset their respiratory systems in any way? Is there any chance the modification to the lighting system was ineffective and they're not getting enough vitamin D? Are they eating all their vegetables?!

·It's impossible for the group to ignore the gigantic alien robot very obviously fretting over them like a mother hen, and thus he often gets a "Yes, mom" in response to his queries from them, but in a good natured way. He huffs at first but their genuine appreciation for his efforts is... well, he'd be lying if he said his actions weren't driven by something more than medical duty. Maybe he's the first Cybertronian with a kind of maternal instinct, who knows? What matters is that his "children" are all safe and healthy, and he certainly doesn't start smiling when "Dr. Mom" becomes what he's listed as in their communication contact list.

Ultra Magnus/Minimus Ambus

·Rodimus agreed to this diplomatic mission despite all his warnings (and pleadings) to say no and find some other way to encourage a good relationship between the species. He has experience with humans, specifically of this exact age range, and while that relationship is one he treasures he's not looking to put any humans in potential danger again. He is, of course, duly ignored and the group is brought on board.

·For the sake of fostering a welcoming and structured environment, he memorizes their names in advance and has them all come to his office for an abridged two hour orientation on the ship and its rules. Knowing they have to be on the move often for neurological development is the only reason he doesn't keep them for a proper five hour orientation. It goes relatively well, but he's less distressed by their lack of attention than he is by how intimidating they seem to find him.

·For some reason this bothers him, no matter how fine he is with bots finding him to be frightening, seeing humans flinch from his presence actually hurts him. So he endeavors to be... friendly! If he earned the nickname "Uncle Magnus" with one human, he can do it again! The best strategy he can think of isn't actually that off base; he'll try to mentor them in their individual pursuits. Dropping down in height whenever he can, typically by getting on a knee to ensure he doesn't tower over them, also proves to be a big help.

·Initially he's determined to keep his Minimus self hidden from them completely, down to the very existence of his split identity. It's less about size, as even his most base form still stands well above the tallest liason, than it is about respect. He wants to be an inspiration to these little ones, and Ultra Magnus is obviously the more impressive of the two. It's only once one particularly affectionate liaison gives him a hug, or more accurately an attempt at one around his offered hand, that he feels compelled to reconsider.

·It makes him nervous for weeks, contemplating the potential fallout of being honest with them, and how it could ruin everything... In the end he blames his own moral compass for forcing him to be honest. He gathers the liaisons together and explains the entirety of his identity in detail, taking all of their questions and praying he won't see any kind of disappointment, before finally removing his armor and "introducing" them to Minimus. The reaction is far from negative. There are exclamations of "botception" and "nesting dolls" in the wild surprise that follows, but nothing that could even be interpreted as dissapoint, and in fact the young humans are only that much more amazed by their "Uncle Minimags". It takes everything he is not to cry.

Swerve

·He knows enough about human culture to have seen that this particular age group tends to party, and is also way more likely to enjoy pop culture, so he's delighted when they join up. Of course he introduces himself, but he doesn't need to mention much more than his bar before he has their full attention and fascination. The Manhattan sized spaceship run by giant alien robots has a bar?! They're all begging to see it and he's so thrilled he forgets he can transform and runs there with them.

·Their amazement only doubles when night comes and they get to see the place in full swing, but he makes sure they're safely seated on the bar itself, to avoid squishing. As always he's able to chat endlessly to these new arrivals, and his knowledge of human culture quite surprises them. Even if there's a fair amount he doesn't know, the fact that he's aware of anything at all shocks them.

·The rush to get him caught up is a shared effort between the liaisons. Does he know what social media is? Would he like to have an account? For once he's the overwhelmed one and he has to work to keep up with everything they give him, but the attention and genuine interest these little humans have in his thoughts and experiences is... it's a good thing he's got some help around the bar to help him stay caught up. Because these little sort of protoforms have convinced him to get Twitter.

·Movie nights become so massive they actually have to consider expanding the bar. Not only are old movies watched, but all the latest releases as well, some as soon as they're in theaters because look they know it's not technically legal but it's promoting good diplomacy so... However, even when he starts serving and mixing human alcohol, he's quite firm on requiring the humans who drink it to be of age. There's still fun drinks for the younger ones though.

·The humans bond with other bots, but as their first contact on the ship and the most fun he's always got a few of them by his side. Maybe he's just better with other species? He doesn't really know or care, but somehow when there's a little moment and they all take a selfie together he just... he just feels not alone. It's something he keeps a little on the down low, but he's a bit too easy to read for the humans not to notice, and since they're good kids they pretend it's a secret that they mean the world to him. On especially rowdy nights they even help clean up, and each human develops their own little nickname for him, making it less like he adopts them and much more like they adopt him.

Whirl

·Humans come in fun size too? Neat! But he's admittedly a tad curious when their age is explained and he realizes that, in their own super weird alien way, these are still protoforms. Something almost akin to worry flashes in his spark for an instant. Still, he plays it cool when they're brought on board, pretending to be no more interested than any other bot they're introduced to.

·Before he meets them, he's told quite firmly that these humans are to be protected at all costs, and that any behavior seen as antagonizing in the slightest will be punished. He ensures the top bots he's no Decepticon and that squishies aren't on his radar. But he's admittedly a little concerned that they'll notice his... peculiarities. His own species recoils at his appearance, and while he can handle that, getting it from aliens would be unpleasant.

·But there's no such reaction. They ask him his name, share theirs, and react with the same enthusiasm they do to every bot and even ask the same questions. It's pleasantly surprising, until they all get excited upon his description of his alt mode, at which point it's freaking fantastic. It's with pride that he confirms he's the only flying bot on the crew, and when he's immediately corrected by a random passerby, he explains that he meant the only one who could fly worth a damn. He's greeted by a chorus of laughter for his amazing joke and he vows that he'd die for each and every one of these little squishies.

·All it takes is one hint of a request and he's offering to take them all for a lift through the hangar. This is just the beginning of an impossibly interesting friendship. Eventually he just carries them all around in his cockpit whenever they're walking anywhere, or on his shoulders if they won't all fit, and either way there's a row of humans sitting across him. This friendship is why he's so mortified when his identity of an Empurata is accidentally revealed and the questions begin.

·He reluctantly answers and braces for the impending disgust or revulsion to realize he's been mutilated. But it never comes. Instead, there's genuine sympathy and anger on his behalf, and their little hands reach out to comfort him. Initially he can only be awed. How are these little, fragile, and oh so very young protoforms better than so many members of his species?! Does it matter? They shall be called; "The Whirl Scouts", trademark pending. They'll all have to be trained in combat for their own safety, and he will be their mom now, because he won't just die for them he'll kill for them. They're his kids and his family.

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bellaslilpapercut · 3 years

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Eclipse reread part 3 bewr bewr bewrrr! Covering the entire rest of the book in ONE post so buckle on in baybee:

1. Absolutely everything about chapter 15 (wager) is disgusting. To a certain extent I appreciate how successfully meyer captures how frustrating assault is as a woman, how futile it feels to fight against it. But at the same time the way she handles the aftermath is unbelievably disappointing and infuriating. Charlie doesn't get up to help his own daughter, Jake trails after Bella into the house and sticks around, there's just no relief or reflection that feels satisfying. Bella can ask where the justice is when she finds out Jake isn't aging but just ignores Charlie defending her assailant? And to some extent I get it, I've shut down after assault before to the point where it took years to recognize that some of the things that happened even were assault. But when there's a pattern within the series of men being narratively rewarded for assault and abuse and women being punished for reacting to abuse it feels like the narrative is reinforcing the status quo of women<men. I'm not stupid, I understand when a book is trying to make me uncomfortable and I don't need villains to be punished to know that they're villainous. This doesn't come across that way at all. Meyers handling of misogynistic abuse and violence lack the nuance to make me believe that she sees this violence as something to be critical of rather than something that just happens to women. And again, because it's a pattern in her writing, women getting no reprieve from gendered harm, I don't believe she's making a statement. There's just no self awareness and that's the key difference between a story like Brave New World or Lolita and Twilight.

2. Also this quote that precedes the assault is just so so frustrating:

Bella is not mean for setting boundaries! She isn't stringing you along! I would love to hit meyer in the head with a rolled up newspaper. Anyway.

3. Bella keeps saying things like "this would be annoying if it weren't so scary" in regards to having her clothes stolen by vampires that want her dead and having to lie to people around her, again because dozens of vampires want her dead. And y'know after the third time she said she would be annoyed if she weren't scared I'm just left to believe she isn't scared at all. I don't feel rising tension, the newborn army feels like a minor nuisance and even after they connect it to victoria (who still hasn't shown up at all) I'm just like...okay well get on with it then! Meyer makes bella "shudder" (I'm still tempted to make a comp of every time she shudders in this fucking book lol) instead of showing us her actual fear. I don't believe she's scared, I don't care about the "threat," and I don't believe anything bad will happen to Bella. There are Literally No Stakes here. I'm not invested in this story at all.

4. Alice is a bad friend lmfao

Girl, you're psychic you know she wanted to wear red why are you just dressing her up for your brother.

5. Okay returning to point 3 because I read chapter 17 and had an epiphany: Bella says she isn't scared for herself and I get that I do. But smeyer also hasn't shown us that she's selfless- just that she doesn't care if she dies. If bella actually cared for her human friends, in any way, I would believe that the newborn army was a scary threat because the people she loves might get hurt. But I don't believe that she cares about that I only believe that she- like Edward- has a weird martyr complex.

6. The Mirror chapter also reinforces this. I can’t stop thinking about how much more impactful it would have been narratively if it had been Angela in Bree’s position (because she’s the only human friend Bella seems fond of but if Bella showed interest in any of the other humans, honestly any of them would do). Imagine the moment where the newborn vampire first lifts her head to look into Bella’s eyes and it’s someone she knows. Someone she cares for. There should have been consequences for Bella beyond “Jake got some bones broken and now I feel bad :(” which was also a shitty punishment because smeyer is inflicting physical trauma on an indigenous character just to make Bella feel bad. Okay. Anyway, it would have built the tension I was missing for- quite literally- over 300 pages of this book if Bella’s friends and classmates and Fork’s residents had been going missing the whole time. Suddenly, at the end of the battle, there’s Angela. Or Jess. Or Katie fucking Marshall. Someone Bella knew should have been there and maybe I would have cared about this book at all.

7. Going back in time to this quote which comes before the battle:

UGH!!! SHUT UP SMEYER! She literally poisoned Jake’s character from the moment she made him a main character and she has zero self reflection to see the damage that she’s causing here. I’ve said before that I don’t think Jake’s actions were a romantic deal breaker and that stands out now more than ever after reading Eclipse. THIS is the moment that Bella realizes she’s in love with Jake too. Smeyer not only sees abuse and aggression as romantic, she also lacks the braincells and reflection to see that she’s playing directly into racist stereotypes. Edward got to grow up- marginally- but Jake had to remain aggressive. I still don’t think she ever once meant to villify Jake- I think that there was no way in a hell a racist woman could ever successfully portray an indigenous character. His tenderness is tainted by the aggression she forces on his character and in the end he never had a chance because- again- he was being written by a racist woman with fucked up views of indigenous people.

8. Okay, I get it. They’re like Cathy and Heathcliff. Fine. I buy it.

This isn’t even the last time she compares them to Cathy and Heathcliff. Kate Bush isn’t gonna write a song about you, meyer! Give it a rest! (Also lol at “like wuthering heights”)

9. Jumping right to the end here because to be completely honest the only actual event in the entire book was the newborn battle. Jane was a bitch, fine. Edward talked at Victoria and bored her to death (presumably) and the action never felt very action heavy. I knew if from the “best friend (and werewolf)” line that this book was presumably written for idiots given how little is left to the imagination at any given time. I can’t stand when books treat the audience like dummies and I especially can’t handle YA books that do this. Teenagers aren’t stupid!! Young adults can pick up on subtlety in literature!! AND young adults can handle suspense and action. smeyer doesn’t do either well and the editors never once said “hey you know teens aren’t stupid right? like your audience will pick up on hints that you scatter you don’t have to forcefully explain everything?”

10. Smeyer can’t stop interrupting herself even in the very last sentence of the book proper:

What, pray tell, is wrong with “Where it would stay for the rest of eternity.” Why did you have to sow doubt in the sentiment right after Bella made her For Real Final Decision???? And why the em-dash!? Again: the editors of the twilight saga are my nemeses but also my favorite conmen. What were they paid for?

11. Back to the editors real quick: if i was given a draft of eclipse I would instantly say: this story is almost 400 pages of nothing, you need to play with the structure of the story. You need to build suspense and if that means playing with POV like you randomly start doing in the epilogue, then do that. Or you can play with the plot. Nothing happens for 300 pages. It takes 300 pages to get to the newborn battle and nothing that happens before the newborn battle makes me feel worried about it. Again, kill off some humans, raise the stakes, do SOMETHING. This was so painfully slow to read because meyer tried to center this book on a love triangle that I didn’t even believe in myself. And even then, it took 14 chapters for the love triangle to get real action (as in an Event, not necessarily physical action).

12. The epilogue. Oh man. Was the r-slur really so acceptable in 2007 that not one single editor questioned its use? I won’t type the quote in full but Jake refers to his fake arm sling as r-word. Like??? What? And THEN smeyer has him call Leah a “bitter harpy.” Shut up.

In conclusion, nothing felt like a bigger waste of time than Eclipse. Genuinely, to be completely honest. Two (2) important things happened, at least in Bella’s narrative (I agree with Vinelle that the Volturi debacle was important from Carlisle’s perspective, it adds nothing to Bellas and Bella learns nothing important from it.): 1. Bella made a decision, she chose Edward. Who could have seen that coming? Whaaaat? 2. Rosalie told Bella her backstory. Not that Bella even used that to reflect on her decision to become a vampire but hey, at least it felt like an important moment. Jasper’s backstory only mattered for the newborn battle which didn’t matter at all (and it never informed his character and no one ever brings up that the confederacy was a terrible dark stain on US history (along with the rest of US history but that’s a full dissertation or two on its own)). I can’t imagine a way to improve this book as a standalone book. You could split up the plot (using that term loosely) so that New Moon and BD are both a little longer and BD a little more organized. But without completely changing the plot beats in Eclipse, its just pointless.

#eclipse reread #saga reread #long post #very very long sorry lolol

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tehyunqs · 4 years

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𝐎𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐍 𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄 — 𝐶𝐻𝐴𝑃𝑇𝐸𝑅 𝑂𝑁𝐸

OCEAN DRIVE in which a religious girl gets wirled up in a corrupt catholic church’s ties with a dangerous mob. ( a jeon jungkook au )

𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: foul language, mob/mafia(??idk), mentions of hell, murder, etc. . . .

𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲: hello! wtf i literally published a story like 10 minutes ago, and i’m already receiving so many kind messages!! THANK YOU SO SO MUCH!! to celebrate, i’m publishing this jungkook series a little earlier than expected! enjoy :’)))

━ ❝forgive me father, for i have sinned.❞

“do you know your prayers?” i had to fight the urge to roll my eyes when the question slipped through my father’s lips. my eyes focused on the road ahead of me as i nodded my head.

“if you don’t pass this year, i’m going to be very disappointed, valentina.” i hummed in response, not caring for anything religious at the moment. don’t get me wrong, i enjoy learning the word of God, and everything i need to follow to be able to walk into heaven. but it’s just blatantly boring to me sometimes.

my life consists of these two things; school and church. my father was a priest after all. he decided to convert when he almost lost his life to his addiction to heroin. he said God have him a second chance, and he was devoted to him ever since.

but i always got a weird vibe off of this church. the priests looked and sounded like hypocrites when they flaunted their thousand dollar watches and jewelry, and drove into the church’s parking lot in expensive cars.

hypocrites because they always talked about needing to be humble to have eternal paradise and yet they want all the riches on the earth.

we were currently on our way to the church for my oh-so-fun-and-interesting weekly class. i am so dying to be there for three straight hours.

we passed by the beat up apartment building we always did. i always knew it was a hangout for those up-to-no-good folks, so i never paid any attention to it. until this very day, when i spotted a rather handsome boy. he looked no older than 25 and wore a black leather jacket accompanied with worn out jeans and black leather boots. he had a cigarette in between his lips and i never thought i’d say this, but he made smoking look very attractive. (but overall it’s not a good thing; people die).

before his eyes met mine, i leaned up in my seat to get a better look at him, and when they did, i quickly turned back to look at the road ahead with crimson red cheeks.

gosh, i must’ve looked like such a creep just staring.

my father caught where i was looking and shook his head. “i don’t understand why those lowlifes don’t put out their cigarettes and start going to church.” my father began to complain about the teens and young adults we had just passed. all i did was remain silent. for a priest, he sure loved criticizing the people out here.

“the word of God can get them out of this mess! help them cope with their addictions!”

“dad, we’re not at the altar.” i bluntly reminded him with a drip of sarcasm, referring to his loud voice and how i knew he was going to unknowingly start preaching.

he turned to look over at my annoyed expression before stopping the car at a red light. “do you not enjoy talking about God?”

i knew he was waiting for me to make eye contact by the way he wouldn’t dare turn back to check the light. all i did was keep my stare straight away, causing him to give up and sigh.

“the light turned green.” i dryly ignored his question.

he stepped on the accelerator once more after he pursed his lips at my reaction. “answer me, val.”

i gave him a light shrug as my fingers played with the hem of my skirt. “i do.”

“then why the long face?”

“i don’t know what you’re talking about. this is my everyday face.”

“try to be a little more excited about where you’re going, valentina.” that was all that was said before we finally arrived at the place i most dreaded at the moment. i had my days when i was actually looking forward to come here. but today was just one of those days.

i got out of the car and before i could slam the door shut, my father leaned over to look at me one last time, “you pay attention okay?”

“mhm.” i responded and finally shut the door. i turned back around as i heard him drive out the church’s exit.

as i stared at the front door, my eyes diverted back to the exit. i began to contemplate on wether or not to become weak and skip the class. i’ve only ever done such a thing once; at school when i had no intentions of hearing ms. curtis’ annoying, squeaky voice for an hour and a half.

after a few more seconds of bitter hesitation, i reluctantly reached out to grab the door and stepped inside the well-kept church.

just two more months and i finish my confirmation. almost there.

the walls were decorated with luxurious religious paintings; from the great annunciation to the death of the savior. each testament of the Bible was painted in its own unique way. expensive crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling in every room as well as crosses made out of gold and silver. this church practically screamed and exploded in riches.

my feet took me to where they always did when i was dropped off for my weekly class. my head hung low and my shoes walking across the tile floors were all that my eyes focused on.

that is, until i heard a voice call out my name.

“ah, valentina!” i looked up and met eyes with one of the priests of the church. “so glad to see you here! going to your confirmation class, i assume.”

i stopped walking once he was a few feet from me. i sent him a small smile as i nodded. “yes, father, i am.”

“tell me, how’s everything going? anything you need to confess?”

the question caught me off guard but i shook it off. “um… . no.” this priest always gave me an odd feeling.

confession?

i always told myself to be careful with him. my eyes began to search everywhere else but his.

he began to inch towards me a bit more and stopped the moment i stepped backwards. “make sure you make a confession once a year. God won’t let dirty girls inside his paradise.”

with that, he sent me another creepy smile and left. he didn’t seem to be bothered by my furrowed brows and disgusted expressions.

all i did was shake my head in disappointment before looking down at the ground and mumbling, “damn creep.”

not long after, i entered my classroom and was immediately greeted by my catechist.

“valentina, how are you?”

i gave her an uneasy smile—which completely went over her head—and sat down in my usual seat. “good, thanks.”

class began ten minutes later. and for some reason i couldn’t get that boy out of my head.

i wonder if he’ll be there tomorrow.

i asked myself why that thought even appeared in my head. there was no way in hell i was going to walk myself to those apartments just to steal a little glance at him.

going there would be the same as walking right into death’s arms.

little did i know that meeting him would be worse.

masterlist

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astoria00 · 3 years

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Caged

Summary:

“What...are you?”

She hadn’t meant to ask, but the question just tumbled out of her mouth. She could only hope it wouldn’t have bad consequences for her afterwards.The woman however seemed more amused than upset at her words, a gentle smile adorning her features, as she let one of her hands rest on the sturdy door of the golden gate in front of her, inspecting the three locks with mild curiosity.

“You could call me...a like minded soul.”

[Part of the Fractures series]

Characters: Salem & Cinder

Genre: Angst; kinda dark;

Word Count: 5.4K

Rating: Teen

Warnings: mentions of torture; emotional manipulation; Child abuse

Then we got about seven years.

For what?

To train you for the Huntsmen exam.

That’s what he...what Rhodes said he would do.

Train her.

Cinder hadn’t known if she should believe him at first. Adults were a tricky bunch, always making empty promises...just like the woman who had first taken her to the orphanage claiming she was going to get a better life there.

All lies.

For all she knew Rhodes could have gone to Madame the very next morning selling her out...but he didn’t. He kept his word and started to train her.

At night though...only at night.

It made her lose sleep, but she wouldn't dare to complain.

This was her chance.

Her way out.

That’s what Cinder told herself over and over again to pull through...

When Rhodes left the first time without even acknowledging her.

When her adoptive sisters decided to torment her again.

When Madame made her scrub the floor for a whole day straight, without a break or food, to correct her work etiquette, only to punish her in the end anyway…

It would all be worth it.

She just needed to be strong enough to endure it until it was time.

In her rare free time...which basically only consisted of the time she was allowed to sleep, she began to practice on her own, going through the stances Rhodes had taught her diligently, cutting her nighttime short.

She didn’t need sleep, she needed to get stronger...better…

The first time she passed out from exhaustion she hadn’t even realized it, but then she started to dream.

It was a recurring dream, nothing Cinder wasn’t used to.

She was running from disfigured shadows that kept chasing her wherever she went. No matter what she did they always ended up capturing her, throwing her into a fancy bird cage made of gold with three locks on the front gate to make sure she couldn’t escape. They would point and laugh at her, calling her names, sometimes even throwing rocks at her and Madame’s voice would cut through the dark menacingly.

Without me you are nothing!

She would curl up into a ball on the cold floor and try to make herself as small as possible until she woke up again.

But of course this took its toll.

A week after Rhodes’ departure, Cinder got punished for passing out while darning her adoptive sisters’ socks. She hadn’t meant for it to happen, but when they both mocked her and threatened to tell their mother she lost control over her semblance and set the socks in her hand on fire.

Something she would come to regret afterwards, but seeing the girls’ terrified faces, filled her with...some sort of satisfaction.

Although a rather brief one.

When she was finally released by Madame after receiving her due justice, her face was tear stained and her voice coarse and rough from all the screaming. She felt hot and her head kept pounding painfully with each beat of her heart.

There wasn’t a day where she wasn’t hurting all over.

Collapsing onto her mattress, Cinder didn’t have the energy to fight sleep any longer, falling into a restless slumber.

Unsurprisingly she winded back up in the golden cage once more, the usual grotesque shadows gathering around it, ready to torment her for yet another night. Squeezing her eyes shut, she huddled down in the middle and tried to block them all out.

She wanted them gone.

Why did no one care?

She just…

‘I want to be free!‘

“Is that truly what you desire?”

Cinder looked up startled, peering through the darkness behind the bars, not daring to move or make a sound. The shadows had all disappeared, along with the Madame’s mocking voice. It was...silent? No...there was something...a soft buzz surrounding her.

This felt...different than usual.

And then she noticed it!

A slight movement, a figure, approaching her and her little cage. Gleaming crimson orbs shone through the darkness, pinned only on her as they drew nearer and nearer. With each step she could feel the air around her grow thicker.

A sudden fear sized the young girl, as she scrambled onto her feet, desperately searching for a way to escape...to hide...but of course no such thing existed. There never was.

‘Fighting it is then!’

She wouldn’t let a monster take her, not even in her dream.

In sheer desperation, she raised her fists like her mentor had taught her and tried to look as threatening as possible.

“Stay where you are!”, she yelled, baring her teeth, almost growling like a cornered animal.

Sadly the figure didn’t seem to care one bit, not paying her words any mind, as they slowly stepped into the dim lit area at the outside of the cage, stopping right at its closed entrance. The pale light finally illuminated their features.

It was a woman.

A woman unlike any Cinder had ever laid eyes on. Her skin appeared almost ashen, if it weren’t for those strange, red, angry veins spreading from her hands and crimson eyes. The long black dress she wore obscured her feet from her view, but it wasn’t like the girl cared too much about that fact at the moment...even if the thought of the woman floating instead of walking towards her caused her lips to twitch a little.

“What...are you?”

She hadn’t meant to ask, but the question just tumbled out of her mouth. She could only hope it wouldn’t have bad consequences for her afterwards.

The woman however seemed more amused than upset at her words, a gentle smile adorning her features, as she let one of her hands rest on the sturdy door of the golden gate in front of her, inspecting the three locks with mild curiosity.

“You could call me...a like minded soul.”

‘...a what?’

The confusion must have shown on her face because the strange woman began to laugh. It wasn’t an entirely unpleasant sound. It certainly didn’t sound as grating as Madame’s, nor as cruel. It was almost...nice? Inviting?

Whatever it was, it made her even more curious about the woman, her defensive posture all but forgotten, as curiosity got the better of her.

“Do...you have a name?”

The woman cocked her head to the side, appearing thoughtful before answering pleasantly:

“I have been called many names, Witch, your Grace, my Queen, my Goddess…”

She trailed off, circling the cage soundlessly, forcing Cinder to turn in tandem with her movements.

“You can refer to me as Salem...for now”, she continued amicably, before letting her hand run over the golden bars of the cage.

Cinder’s mind was reeling.

Witch? Queen? Goddess?

She couldn’t help but scoff at that. This dream of hers was certainly going into a very strange direction.

“Magic isn’t real though”, she retorted. There was a challenging note to her tone. Maybe...she wanted to be proven otherwise.

To her frustration her words only earned her a mysterious smile.

“Perhaps, perhaps not. In any case, you appear to be trapped, Cinder.”

Cinder froze at the mention of her name.

How did she know?

‘A dream!’

Right, of course this was a dream.

She tried to calm down the panic that was threatening to rise inside her, focusing her attention on that ‘Salem’ and how she tapped lightly against the bars, as she continued to circle the cage nonchalantly. It helped, but her guard had gone up again...dream or not.

“How do you-?”

“What is your favorite fairy tale?”

‘My...what?’

Fairy tale?

Why…?

Her face fell. She… she didn’t…

“I...don’t know any…”

The adults didn’t care about fairy tales in the orphanage and Cinder couldn’t even remember her birth parents. She just knew they gave her up. The unlovable child.

No one ever bothered to tell her any kind of story.

Salem’s eyes softened almost unnoticeably.

“Then I shall tell you mine. It is called ‘The Girl in the Tower’. I imagine it could help you in ways you can’t even understand yet.”

“What’s it about?”

Somehow the idea of getting told a story appealed to the dark haired girl. Something she had always wanted if she was being honest to herself.

“It’s about a girl who got trapped into a tower by her vengeful and cruel father, all alone and with no control over her own future.”

That peaked Cinder’s interest. She hadn’t realized how she had stepped closer to the woman at the bars.

“Is...is she getting out?”

Her voice sounded unusually small, but she really...really needed to know all of a sudden.

Salem motioned for her to sit down, looking at her in a way that made Cinder wonder if that was what having a mother felt like. It was...comforting.

Huddling against the bars of the cage she dropped down, hugging her legs close to her body.

Salem’s voice was something else.

She made her tale come to live, talking about magic, about heroes and freedom, kings and castles...and about the girl who managed to escape her prison through sheer wit and initiative.

“You see, she fought for her freedom. She destroyed the locks that kept the gate closed and drained the cage of its power, never to look back.”

‘Destroyed...the locks…’

Cinder’s gaze flitted to the three locks on her cage.

Oh how she wanted that. She could destroy them and run. Make them pay for what they did to her…

But…

‘Rhodes!’

/Hurting them isn’t going to make your life any better./

He was risking so much to help her. To give her a way out. She just needed to be patient...to wait…

‘Seven more years…’

No, she would endure this. Rhodes trained her to become a Huntress. Then she could go wherever she wanted...even help other people like herself...people in need. She wouldn’t disappoint the hopes he placed in her.

/Without me you are nothing!/

The girl flinched at the sudden scream, whirling around in terror.

Salem was gone...and with her with her the peace and quiet she had enjoyed in her dream for once.

xxxxxxxxxx

“The hearts of men are easily swayed. Duty is their utmost priority. I would be careful who you put your trust into.”

Since that night Cinder had some more dreams of Salem. She found that she looked forward to them. Most of the time the older woman told her fairy tales in that pleasant voice of hers that made her want to rest and relax.

It was certainly strange having an imaginary dream person to converse with, but she didn’t complain. It was better than being tormented...even if most of Salem’s words and topics confused her.

She peered up at Salem from her sitting position, visibly pouting.

“Rhodes promised to come back.

And he is the only one who even wants to help me.”

The older woman wasn’t deterred, though, giving her one of these affectionate smiles that filled her with a strange, foreign warmth.

“Sometimes actual help is found in rather unexpected places.”

Cinder grinned at her playfully.

“Like you, you mean?”

The only answer she got was a mysterious hum from Salem and a weird twinkle in her eyes.

xxxxxxxxxx

“I told you he would be back!”

The eleven year old couldn’t stop smiling from ear to ear, grabbing Salem’s hands through the bars with obvious joy. She wished she could jump around her to further let her happiness be known. At first she hadn’t wanted to believe her eyes when Rhodes had entered the hotel this year. Yes, he didn’t acknowledge her there, but he came to the cellar in the night. He had brought wooden staffs for them to practice with. It was simply amazing.

Not even her adoptive sisters and Madame had been able to quell her good mood today.

Her excitement got even Salem to chuckle in the end, squeezing Cinder’s hands gently.

“I never said he wouldn’t be back, Cinder.”

There was a...weird undertone to her words, but she was too happy to care about this now. It wasn’t important. Salem would tell her another tale later on and Rhodes was back to train her. Right now...life was good.

“I’ll show you what he taught me today”, she said energetically, jumping back to fall into one of the stances she had been shown today.

Interestingly the older woman agreed and even corrected her here and there, all while regarding her with that gentle smile of hers.

xxxxxxxxxx

“Is magic real?”

Cinder knew the answer to that question. It was a dream after all. Nothing of it was real...not Salem or her tales. Everything was just made up by her somehow.

The older woman seemed quieter than usual. It made her uneasy...and sad in a weird way. She had grown to like their talks...the fairy tales…

“Every tale I told you is real, girl.”

Her tone was different, more on edge. The usual warmth that accompanied it was lacking. It made Cinder shudder inwardly.

The silence between them stretched on, making her nervous.

Why did Salem seem to be...angry at her? Disappointed?

“Salem?”

“Yes, child?”

“Why did you come here when you don’t want to talk to me?”

There was a loud sigh that caused Cinder to cringe. There was only so much silent disappointment she could take...especially from someone that wasn’t real. It was enough when Madame gave her those looks.

She subconsciously rubbed her neck, lying on her back, staring at the dark ceiling, as she waited for the woman’s answer, not sure if she was dreading it or not.

“Why you ask...call it an experiment that hasn’t yielded results as of yet.”

‘Experiment?’

How come her dream constantly threw stuff at her she didn’t understand in the slightest?

“What do you mean?”

‘What did I do wrong?’

This time however she didn’t receive an answer. Salem kept quiet.

xxxxxxxxxx

“You have golden eyes.”

“Yeah, what about them?”

“You realize he is keeping you trapped here, do you not?

That he is the reason you are still suffering?”

Salem’s voice sounded almost cold, indifferent and not for the first time Cinder cursed herself for caring far too much. It was hard enough getting through the days as it was. She didn’t need the older woman to give her deepest fears and doubts a voice of their own. Also her change of topics always confused her. First it was eyes now it was Rhodes.

“It’s only four more years...I can do this.”

She didn’t know if she tried to convince Salem or herself...maybe both.

It didn’t do anything to lift the older woman’s mood though.

“If you do not act soon you will never amount to anything and ‘that woman’s’ words will become your reality. Is that truly what you want?”

/Without me you are nothing!/

Cinder had enough. A hot wave of rage surged through her, as she glared at Salem.

“I don’t have to defend myself to you!

You are just a stupid dream I have!

You’re not even real, stop wasting my time with your crazy fairy tales!”

She immediately regretted her words. Crimson eyes flashed dangerously in the dark and the temperature around them seemed to drop. A cold shudder ran down Cinder’s spine, as her expression morphed into one of fear.

“You are right...I am wasting my time with you.

You are of no use to me!”

Before the thirteen year old could react, before the words had even registered with her, she found herself alone, safe for the returning shadows thicker and closer than ever before.

Salem was gone.

xxxxxxxxxx

“Say it!”

“Without you...I am nothing…”

Cinder was in agony. There was no escape anymore. The pain was everywhere. She could feel it in her bones, the burning that made her want to scream, to rip her skin open, to make it stop.

She had tried of course, oh how she had tried. Reopening her old scars on her right wrist. It had helped at first, but then her adoptive sisters had found out about it and Madame had made sure it would never happen again.

Salem hadn’t come back for months now.

It was weird and not for the first time she had asked herself if Salem had been real after all...but that was just ridiculous. Still...she was alone again and the shadows in her dream had gotten even crueller, not shying away from outright burning her with glowing embers they would throw at her, heating the bars, making her feel as if she was going to burst into flames at any moment.

To make matters even worse...Rhodes was late as well.

Curling herself down on the floor of the cage, she tried desperately to stop the tears from falling.

“Tell me a fairy tale”, she whimpered to no one in particular.

She just...wanted someone...to care...to be there.

/And the truth is that no one ever loved you!/

She winced, hugging her legs even closer to her body, as the tears finally escaped her eyes, trailing down her cheeks.

‘I’m sorry Rhodes…

I want to be strong…

But…’

“Once upon a time there was a despicable wizard living as a hermit far far away from any civilization.”

Cinder’s eyes shot open. Wide eyed she turned her head...and there she was...circling the cage, as if she had never left in the first place.

‘Salem.’

Any other day she might have questioned where she had gone and why she came back, but she was so tired. Closing her eyes she let the older woman’s soothing voice wash over her instead, dispelling the nightmares around them and granting her a little bit of peace.

xxxxxxxxxx

Cinder felt truly happy for the first time in literal years.

Rhodes had gifted her a sword. Her very first weapon!

In only three years she had proven herself to him enough to earn that privilege. It was surreal. Her future felt so close now.

Yes, she still had to endure four more years of her family’s treatment, but it would be worth it…

It had to be.

She had finished her chores earlier than expected today. Rhodes wanted to train with her at midnight, as usual, and she really couldn’t wait.

Last night she had asked him about fairy tales. Although he had been rather confused at the time he had told her one: The story of the Seasons…

The story Salem had told her. A tale she shouldn’t have been able to know.

How could Salem know so much when she didn’t?

‘Salem...doesn’t exist...right?’

But what if she did?

...ridiculous.

Shaking her head, Cinder made her way to the cellar. It was almost 15 before midnight. She should probably get ready. Stretching her aching limbs and muscles, she searched for her sword. She wanted to fight Rhodes with her own weapon tonight.

Her cheerful smile quickly vanished though, when she came up empty handed.

‘Where…?’

Where did it go?

“Are you perhaps searching for this?”

‘No!’

Cinder felt as if she got just dunked into ice cold water, fear gripping her heart. Slowly...very slowly she turned around, her eyes finding the source of her nightmares. Madame, head held high, holding her precious weapon in her grasp, not even bothering to hide the disgust spreading over her face as she inspected it with clear distaste.

“It seems we finally found our little thief after all”, she all but sneered, causing her daughters behind her to laugh.

The dark haired girl hadn’t even realized they were present as well. Lowering her head, she tried to make herself as small as possible.

She had to endure this.

Only a few more years…

Madame didn’t seem to like her silence, drawing nearer, that damned device ready in hand.

“Now, who did you steal it from, girl?”

“I didn’t-”

‘Wrong answer.’

The electric sparks she had come to know oh so well run through her throat, her skin hot and angry, as they sliced every nerve they could reach with ferocity, leaving only destruction and numbness in its wake.

Screaming always made it worse, but she couldn’t help it.

Even though she should be used to it by now…

Why was she so weak?

‘I want to be strong…’

Madame finally stopped, giving Cinder a few seconds to breathe again, the air burning in her lung with each gasp.

“Let’s try that again, shall we?

“It...it was a g-gift-”

“Stop lying!”

And her torture continued. Her hand flew towards her neck, but it was so futile. She couldn’t alleviate the pain.

She wasn’t lying.

What was she supposed to do?

Everything hurt…

‘Make it stop!’

[Destroy the locks.]

...the...locks?

[I will make you everything.]

The pain stopped again and had Cinder gasping for air, fighting the desperate urge to curl herself into a ball...or worse…

She had to endure this.

‘Only a few more years…’

Madame turned away from her, handing her weapon to one of her daughters.

“Here, find the owner and let them know we are terribly sorry, but we won’t be serving them any longer.”

‘...no!’

Wide eyed, Cinder raised her head, watching helplessly as her sword was passed between her adoptive sisters tauntingly.

Her weapon…

Her freedom…

Rhodes…

She would lose it all.

Her chest tightened anxiously.

No...no, no, nononononononono!

Without thinking about the consequences the dark haired girl jumped to her feet in sheer desperation.

“No please...I-I want to become a Huntress!”

Her voice almost cracked under the strain she put it under, but the panic was clearly audible enough for them to hear.

This time even Madame laughed.

Compared to Salem’s it was a rather cruel sound.

“A Huntress? You?”, she mocked, clearly amused at the prospect.

Soon enough her daughters joined into her laughter as well.

She hated them...oh how she hated them…

“You won’t go anywhere, my dear.”

She didn’t even see Madame press the button this time.

It was so fast and the pain never waited.

‘Hurts...hurtshurtshurtshurts’

There were muffled sounds, steps that drew farther away.

The girls were leaving.

Leaving with her weapon…

Her freedom…

Her...key…

[Destroy-]

‘The locks!’

Something inside Cinder ripped, exploded with an icy ferocity. She couldn’t breathe. Her vision shifted.

Red...everything was red, crimson...like those eyes she knew so well. The eyes that haunted her dreams. She was cold...numb, like the fire within her. She sank deeper and deeper into the cold embrace that cursed through her veins.

Shadows took form, surrounding her adoptive sisters, tearing into them without leaving traces, slowly suffocating them from the inside out.

There was horror in their gazes...honest, naked fear...and Cinder relished in it.

She didn’t know when she had made her way towards them, but she suddenly had her sword back, safe and sound in her left hand, while they lied motionless on the cold ground.

Only the biting buzz around her neck made the dark haired girl come back to reality, her golden eyes landing on Madame, who appeared to shrink away from her in terror.

Her normally cruel smirk had been replaced with a mask of utter panic, pressing the button of the remote repeatedly to yield results.

‘Drain...the cage!’

Cinder bridged the distance between them slowly, each step sending a wave of painful electricity through her sensitive flesh, dully echoing inside her.

But for some reason...it wasn’t enough to stop her.

Something was coursing through her veins.

Rage? Desperation? Aura?

She couldn’t say, but it was enough to finally make her endure it.

The way Madame flinched when she wrapped her right hand around her neck felt...exhilarating.

Fear… there was so much fear in her eyes...and she was the cause of it.

‘I want...to be feared.’

“You’re right. Without you I am nothing”, she practically spat the words out, a weird laugh ripping itself from her throat, raising her hand higher, as she let Madame scramble for air, “but because of you I am everything!”

‘Make me...everything!’

The light finally diminished in Madame’s eyes, her whole posture going limp in her grip. Dropping her to the ground unceremoniously, she was about to reach for her necklace when…

“Cinder…?”

Rhodes!

Relief flooded her.

He was here.

He would help her.

He would understand

She turned to him with a relieved, teary smile.

“I won’t have to run now.”

“That’s all you’ll ever do.”

‘...huh?’

There was no understanding in his gaze, only tired resignation.

What was he…?

Rhodes drew his weapons and any remaining hope Cinder had left shattered…

And with it came the burning rage that had been absent before.

‘Destroy the locks!’

xxxxxxxxxx

The following night Cinder dreamed of the golden cage bursting into flames, but it felt hollow. She had trusted Rhodes. He had been the only one who believed in her...and the first one giving up on her as well. She was torn between rage and sadness and all its pointlessness. She still wasn’t free. Atlas in itself was a prison. There was no way for her to run from the authorities for too long. She couldn’t stow away on an airship with how tight controls were right now.

Hugging her legs for comfort, she tucked herself closer behind the thin wall of cardboard she used as her makeshift shelter. The alleyway was dark and cold...but oddly enough it was better than what she was used to. No one would torture her...no one was able to…

‘But for how long?’

The thought caused her to shiver. Even thinking about it made her sick, but the people of Atlas had already taught her what to expect from them.

The dull noises of the nightly traffic made it hard for her to find any rest, so she tried to count the sounds she was hearing.

5 times a dog howled…

10 times brakes screeched…

15 times a crow screamed in the distance…

20 times her heart pounded in tandem with falling raindrop water…

25 times soft, muffled footsteps could be heard echoing through the alleyway, getting closer…

30 times-

‘Wait...what?!’

Cinder held her breath and listened as intensely as she could.

Tap...tap tap...tap…

Someone was coming down here...maybe even more than one. Instinctively, Cinder gripped the handles of her weapons tighter.

“Here?

Are you sure?

I am risking a lot just by being back in Atlas!”

A man...his voice sounded similar to all those elite people she had to cater to in the hotel. Full of superiority and arrogance.

“Salem said she is. She is probably hiding somewhere.”

Another, more deeper and gruff voice joined the conversation, but she could only focus on one thing.

‘Salem!’

They said Salem!

Could it be just a coincidence? Another person named Salem? After all Salem was just a figure she made up in her dreams...right?

There was no way someone like her could actually exist.

Magic wasn’t real…

And yet she had been telling her fairy tales that Cinder couldn’t possibly know. In the end she had to know, had to make sure. Crawling out of her hiding spot, she dashed through the darkness, precise and swift, jumping on the tall man’s back, holding one of her swords against his neck.

This one was clearly Atlesian with how he dressed.

“Who is Salem?”, she snarled at them, fixing her eyes on the other, more muscular man.

The tall man scoffed at that, rolling his eyes at his companion.

“Really? Her?

Couldn’t she have gone for someone a bit more refined?”

Oh yes, he was definitely an Atlas elite with how pretentious and bored he sounded. They were all the same.

‘Such arrogance!’

She pressed her weapon closer to her hostage’s jugular.

“Watts!”, his companion seemed to chide him, before holding up his hands, maybe to show the girl that he was unarmed.

“You are Cinder, correct?”, he asked after she failed to respond to his actions, “I am Hazel and this”, he motioned to the tall man, “is Dr. Watts. We are tasked to escort you to...our queen...Salem.”

“Salem...is real?”

There was no doubt in her mind that they meant her Salem. She did mention that her people called her their queen...but that also meant…

Everything she told her was real as well?

I’ll make you everything.

Should she really follow these strange men?

You have golden eyes.

Lowering her weapon, she shoved Watts away from her, ignoring the death glares she received in return and the silent curses he muttered under his breath, focusing on Hazel instead.

If she ended up throwing her life away for a fairy tale so be it. She had nothing more to lose anyways.

“I am ready.”

xxxxxxxxxx

The flight had been...mildly uncomfortable. Cinder had so many questions, but didn’t dare to ask her strange companions any of them. If the hotel had taught her anything it was keeping her mouth shut. Hazel had his eyes closed for the whole flight. She couldn’t quite tell if he was actually sleeping or just resting. Watts, to her dismay, wasn’t sleeping. He sat in his chair, sipping some dark red wine, pointedly ignoring her entire existence. The dark haired girl didn’t mind. She would probably despise every word that came out of his mouth anyways.

It had taken them a couple of days, but finally the terrain around them seemed to change.

Cinder was the first one to notice. The sky had begun to darken...to redden even, and the land beneath them...was dead. Lifeless and dark it spread across the continent, being parted by pitch black pools and lakes that seemed to birth...grimm?

The sight was terrifying...and oddly fascinating as well. She had never really seen a grimm in her life, only listened to the stories people would tell about them.

‘Humanity's worst enemy.’

Funnily enough no grimm had ever harmed her...only humans.

They landed near a...castle of sorts. It was a mesmerizing sight. One that sent chills down Cinder’s spine, but mesmerizing nonetheless. The purple, reddish glow reminded her of something...someone, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

Hazel and Watts lead her through empty halls, lit by thousands of candles, which adorned most of the decor.

She felt more and more restless, the closer they got towards the massive wooden door they were heading to.

Hazel was the one pushing the two heavy wings open for her, stepping aside and motioning for her to enter, giving no indication of following after her. Neither did Watts, even though he seemed somewhat delighted at her nervous expression, twirling his mustache between his fingers.

Clenching her hands into fists, Cinder ventured into the room alone. It was similarly structured to one of the offices she had cleaned at the hotel...with some exceptions of course. The biggest probably being the throne right behind the long meeting table...and the person sitting on it.

A woman, she had only ever seen in her dreams before.

“Salem...you are real…”

It wasn’t a question any longer, it was a statement. How long had it been since she had last heard Salem’s gentle voice?

“What is your favorite fairy tale?”

Cinder blinked owlishly. That was...the same question she had asked before. It was confusing, but so had been a lot of things Salem had talked about in her dreams. Thinking back, she tried to remember the tales she had been told.

Tales of magic…

Of freedom…

“The Girl in the Tower”, she answered hesitantly, not missing the spark of interest and amusement that shone behind those crimson eyes, holding her gaze steadily.

“An unusual choice.

Are you certain?”

“Yes.”

No more cages.

No more locks,

A fable of magic and freedom…

Salem’s tale.

I won’t have to run now.

That’s all you’ll ever do.

She would prove him wrong!

She would prove everyone wrong!

“I want...to be powerful!”

An affectionate smile spread over Salem’s regal features at her words and oh how she had missed those smiles. Standing from her throne, the older woman made her way towards her, extending her pale hand. Hesitantly Cinder laid hers atop of it. The touch wasn’t cold like she had expected it to be, instead she felt warmth.

This...this was real.

Smiling weakly she squeezed the palm beneath hers softly, not daring to hope.

Salem’s eyes softened, her fingers closing around the girl’s hand gently.

“Welcome home, Cinder.”

#cinder fall #salem rwby #rwby #fanfiction #rwby fanfiction #just my writing

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jasonbrennerold · 3 years

Note

how would you describe jason's overall vibes and key aesthetics? do they change a lot over the course of his timeline? [ and if so, how? ]

theres definitely a Lot of changes over time but also a Lot of overlap

Lab vibes/aesthetics are v self explanatory I think? Hospitals vibes and white tiles, blood stains against pure white and the awful stench of chemicals, water dripping from everything and flames that reach the ceiling, cages and bars and locked doors, an overwhelming feeling of being small

Stranger things timeline generally has general 80s vibes, bright colors and weird patterns, messy hair and chewing gum, turtlenecks and suspenders (both copied from his sister's wardrobe), scraped knees and being covered in dirt, the feeling of being an outcast, a look in his eye thats hauntingly sad, never being quite enough, calling for help and never getting it, hours spent at school and nothing ever making sense, mashed potatoes for almost every meal, footsteps so quiet that no one knows hes there, a childhood thats not quite right, like liminal spaces

modern teen jason is a much happier vibe. bright colors and excited noises, cue cards with animals and letters, fridge magnets in the shapes of letters and numbers that are big and bulky and rainbow colored, messy bedroom where everything is somehow in a specific place, lots of soft toys, giant legos that dont require much fine motor skills, a house that looks like a teenager and a toddler share a room, excitedly showing off what he's learning, hours and hours spent in silence at school but with promising grades, feeling younger and older than everyone else, a fear of anything resembling the lab, flanking science because the class gives him a panic attack, minecraft music on repeat, kids shows in the middle of the night, buying things from infomercials, texts made up of emojis, multiple kinds of therapy multiple times a week, parents with money to burn, sunshine in human form, stealing stiles's clothes

late teen/early young adult arc moves darker again, parties and drinking to feel a little warmth, constantly chasing the next dopamine hit, feeling like hes fitting in but at what cost, pushing away the people he loves, not going to therapy, a strangers house, public bathrooms where the lights barely work, feeling like hes not a real person, failing a few classes even though hes trying, texts with actual words, the realization that sex makes things hurt a little less, at least for a while, a lack of shame one day and an abundance of it the next, so afraid to disappoint that he sabotages any chances of success, frustration beneath the surface, an inability to deal with emotions, anger turning to violence, hurting people because hes hurting, scaring the people who care about him, punching holes in the walls, broken bottles that hadn't been empty

adult jason is nicer. the vibes of recovery, struggling but trying his best, a mirror of his younger self — trying to change his life and his internal processes in a world he struggles to fit into, learning what love is, trying to be better, using his powers for good, aggressively optimistic, back in therapy, helping others, protecting and teaching kids that remind him of himself, desperate to save them from turning into him

battle royale jason is violence, reds and blacks and whites. the vibe of the lab is a comfort rather than a fear, emotions locked away behind glazed over eyes, a boy / a weapon, blind obedience, unaware of anything else. the potential to be a monster but refusal to allow it.

jason in his au with @spiriitum / jonas is consistent softness. gentle touches and tremoring hands, the comfort found only in love, escaping together, helping each other move on, not needing words because they know each other so well, being surrounded by books he can't read, growing into an adult, dependency to a potentially dangerous degree, blood and tied hands and a knight in shining armor, finally getting revenge only to realize you didnt want it, sex that lasts for hours, shameless intimacy, sitting on your lovers lap because you just HAVE to be with them, adjusting to a normal life, becoming the person you needed when you were younger, healing old wounds and trying not to rip them open again, fixing yourself so you can help the love of your life get better, destructive tendencies, long showers, the kind of desperation that only comes from limitless love

in his au with @loverslanetm / travis: feeling small but feeling safe, always running, comparing hand sizes, being the little spoon, the trust to just go along with what happens, being protective but powerless, being carried when walking becomes too much, loving someone so much that you dont care if its dangerous, being the big spoon even though he's the smaller man, diners in the middle of nowhere, driving so long that it feels like you'll never stay still again, watching when you think they don't notice, both too scared to make the first move even though its obvious how they feel

in his au with @shinedied / danny: the feeling of finally having someone who understands you, a dad when you thought you'd never know what thats like, softness when you expect violence, danger around every corner, a small house that looks just like the rest of them, walking through the town center when its empty, always learning, helping each other without knowing it, growing attached immediately, a mental connection thats unmatched, just trying your best when the worlds against you, the fear of failure and the softness of reassurance

#lovetoretm #i really went off here huh #this isnt even coherent i just vibed out thinkin ab the verses #answered.#aesthetic.#headcanons.#dyn: travis meijer / loverslanetm.#dyn: danny torrance / shinedied.#dyn: jonas wilder / spiriitum.

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secret-engima · 4 years

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OH BUT as long as we've got the whole canon-meets-au thing fresh in mind, imagine Regis meeting Regina. Or Regina!Noctis casually breaking everyone's minds when he tells them his mom is Queen Regina and it's really weird seeing her counterpart as a man -

*screeches in* YOOOOOO DID NOT MEAN TO FOGRET I HADN’T ANSWERED THIS BECAUSE IT’S AN AWESOME IDEA. BUT I’M HERE NOW SO LETS RAMBLE (note that I shall refer to the canon counterparts of everyone but Regis as C!Name to differentiate from Regina’s crew):

-It’s C!Cid that encounters them first. Because of course he is. They trickled into Hammerhead after an Encounter with Solheim magic, and C!Cid gets this ... feeling of confused doom when he sees the Regalia plus like- two motorcycles trundle into Hammerhead.

-The feeling of doom multiplies when out of the Regalia climbs a lot of familiar faces, plus three not-so-familiar faces and one face that should be familiar except its FEMALE.

-Regina gets off her motorcycle (that Cor is perched on the back of btw) looks around this larger, busier Hammerhead with fascinated eyes, then turns and grins at her Sun, “Found civilization!”

-Cid and C!Cid are already staring at each other, and Cid just- SIGHS heavily at Regina’s chipper mood, “Ah blame ya for everything about this, ‘Gina.”

-Regina just laughs and C!Cid can feel a headache coming on.

-C!Cid, after hearing their jumbled story and learning why the group is both bigger and younger than it was in his timeline (TIMELINES. FRAGGIT REGGIE THIS IS YOUR FAULT SOMEHOW HE KNOWS IT), grumbles and herds them all off to Insomnia. Because this is Reggie’s problem and he’s going to deal with it. Not C!Cid thank you.

-Needless to say, this was NOT how Regis expected his afternoon to go. A servant comes to inform him that Cid Sophiar is waiting in one of the guest lounges with a sizable group of young adults and teens, Regis and C!Clarus exchanged baffled looks before rounding up C!Cor and trundling down to greet their old friend and his apparent gaggle of strange young ones.

-They walk in right as Cor tries, yet again, to best Regina in combat as per their deal for his coming along with them on this trip. Regina doesn’t even blink as she disarms the feral Bby Cloud and pins him to the floor with her boot on his neck, still casually chatting with Ardyn and Titus the entire time.

-Regis and the C!Co all stare. Because What.

-Seeing the goggle eyed king, C!Cid greets his old friends, then immediately yeets them under the bus by calling over Clarus and saying, “Clarus, this is Clarus. His Reggie did something stupid in them old Solheim ruins and now they’re here. Ah figured they’d have a better chance getting home here than in Hammerhead.”

-While C!Clarus gapes and younger Clarus eyes his older counterpart with some wariness, C!Cid takes possibly too much glee in introducing the rest of Regina’s motley cast of misfits (Cor is still struggling under Regina’s shoe, turning slightly blue in the face because of his refusal to yield). Weskham is all polite manners and mischievous smirks as he greets the C!cast and ... admittedly stares in worried fascination at Regis (a MALE Regina, that must have been an interesting change to their childhoods, he’s so ... off balance too, Regina hadn’t even blinked at the dimensional travel problem, yet this counterpart looks like he needs a good sit down and a glass of water, and is that a CANE he’s using? Whatever for? He’s not that old-).

-C!Cid, because he is a troll at heart, introduces Regina LAST. Admittedly, Regis and C!Co should have been expecting it by the time they were introduced to the counterpart of Sylva and C!Cid had pointed out the wheezing, snarling Corling on the floor, and YET-.

-Regina looks up with perfect timing from where she’d been trying to talk Cor into just yielding already before he passed out, smiles a smile that is positively Fae and introduces herself, “Regina Lucis Caelum, Crown Princess of Lucis, daughter of King Mors and current runaway fugitive from said father.” She tilts her head as Regis makes a faint dying whale noise, her grin still in place as she muses, “Somehow I thought I’d be ... taller if I was male. But we’re about the same height actually.”

-C!Clarus manages to stay upright himself long enough to help Regis to a chair. Then they both sit down hard. Weskham calmly begins pulling a tea set out of armiger out of sympathy while Titus just- sighs and Ardyn shyly points out to Regina that she could have broken the news a little more gently and also Corling is eighty percent passed out so she might want to let him up now.

-”Not until he yields,” Regina retorts cheerfully, then looks down at the twitching Cor and comments, “You know that if you pass out, I’m going to do something embarrassing to you. So pick your poison, Murder Child, the embarrassment of yielding? Or letting me do whatever I want while you’re unconscious?”

-Glaring pure murder and hate, Corling slaps the floor three times with a hand. Regina takes her boot off his neck and lets his wheeze curses into the floor as she turns and examines the C!cast with a critical eye. She spots adult C!Cor, who has been drifting steadily closer with a feral fascination in his gaze, and smiles like the sun, “Murder Child! You grow up into such a lovely Murder Adult!”

-Cor wheezes something profane from the floor while C!Cor raises an eyebrow and Cid sighs heavily as he helps Cor up from the floor and gives him a canteen of water to help his throat.

-In the midst of watching this ... entire Thing play out, something finally clicks into place in Regis’s brain and he manages a strangled, “Runaway fugitive?”

-Regina casually flops onto the arm of the chair Regis is sitting in, kicking her legs almost like a child as she chirps, “Yep! Ran away at fourteen because Prophecies, but Daddy Dearest,” there is a definite sneer when she says that and a flash of almost murderous magic in her eyes, “didn’t believe me. So I’m a fugitive from his Crownsguard. Have been for a few years now. Murder Child over there was the latest attempt to bring me back to the Citadel, but it didn’t work and now he’s my Cloudy Murder Child.”

-”Stop calling me Murder Child!”

-”It’s that or Baby Cloud, Murder Child, take your pick.”

-Cor snarls at her while Titus snickers and Clarus looks to the heavens in exasperation. Regina continues her story to an increasingly horrified Regis, “Anyway, ran away at fourteen, was not believed that I was on a Holy Quest, or that I had good reasons for asking the Oracle Princess to come with me on my quest.”

-Sylva, from where she is loyally lurking next to Ardyn and sipping on Weskham’s tea, points out, “You broke into my room in the middle of the night and we left before dawn. I’m fairly certain the world thinks you kidnapped me, ‘Gina, my mother’s proclamations to the contrary or no.”

-”Kidnapped, asked, semantics,” retorts Regina, blatantly not caring when C!Clarus makes a garbled noise of protest at that (and HOW is Regis’s counterpart this ... blasé and insane? Seriously being a different gender should NOT make this much a difference right? RIGHT?)

-C!Cor who is the only canon member coping with this well (C!Cid is already drinking the whiskey Cid passed him in sympathy), asks, “And the Chancellor of Niflheim is with you because....?”

-Regina tilts her head at C!Cor with genuine confusion, “Who? Ardyn? He’s not Niflheim’s anything. I broke him out of Angelgard.”

-In the horrified silence that follows that proclamation, C!Cid dryly comments, “Does yer pa think yer planning a coup or something, cause it sure sounds like ya are.”

-He Regrets™ opening his mouth an instant later when Regina spaces out at the wall with a LOOK in her violet-tinted eyes. Clarus’s head snaps around from where he was holding a staring contest with C!Cor and goes very pale, “Regina no.”

-Regina curls her lips into something too inhuman and cruel to be a smile as she whines, “But my Storm-Shield....”

-Clarus stomps over to physically collar her, as if that will stop the idea from taking root, “No. We’re in enough trouble as it is.” He narrows his eyes at her and growls, “If you plot a coup against Mors so help me I am NEVER doing paperwork for you again. Ever. You’ll have to deal with every scrap of paper your mess generates from now until the end of time. Besides,” he adds with a hint of hysteria in his tone that indicates he is well and truly trying to talk Regina out of an idea (that indicates that Regina is taking C!Cid’s sarcastic comment SERIOUSLY), “Ardyn’s already lived through one royal coup, you’re not going to make him live through one again are you?”

-Regina’s expression falls into a pout as she glances at the suddenly very subdued Ardyn, “....Fine. No royal coups.”

-Cor makes a noise of vague disappointment that makes C!Cor stare at his younger self in alarm, and in the various strangled noises from the C!Cast, Weskham calmly begins passing out cups of tea to soothe the nerves. Weskham sees Regis’s wide-eyed look and smiles a little ruefully, “I would like to say, Your Majesty, that she isn’t usually like this, but I’m afraid I would be lying.” Weskham looks innocently over at C!Clarus, who looks a half-step away from having some kind of heart attack, and asks, “Your Regis wasn’t like this as a teenager?”

-The resounding, scandalized NO from C!Cid, C!Clarus, and Regis himself makes Regina cackle.

#SE asks #hamelin-born asks #Forged in Fury verse #Melodies and Manuscripts #Secret Engima Rambles #Regina meets Regis #Regis is not prepared #no one is prepared #all of the canon cast are two steps from a heart attack #except Cor #because Cor #and yes #Regina calls her Cor 'Murder Child'#because it fits and she finds it funny #Cor tolerates only because the alternative #is Baby Cloud #and his ego cannot deal with that

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zestycompress · 4 years

Text

Ultimate Duo! Ch. 3

sorry for forgetting to post </3 i dont do it on purpose

AO3 Link

Giorno has never gotten his face licked before. Surprisingly, Bruno was right. He was lying about Luca’s death. But now that he thought about it, how did he realize that he had little talent? Did he practice? How many people has he licked before? When did he realize it was sweat that revealed the truth? Actually, maybe it was best that he didn’t know. Some questions are better left unanswered.

If only he was given the chance to wipe the now-dry trail of saliva off his face. Bruno summoned his Stand, it was blue and white with golden spikes and zippers. Its ability was to create zippers, which was not that much of a surprise. However, it had proven to be quite useful. Having a part of your body unzipped was a bizarre feeling. The unzipped area felt a bit numb. When Giorno stuck his hand into the opening, it felt strange. Words could not properly describe what the inside of the zipper felt like. (Would it be considered the inside of his body or the inside of the zipper?) It wasn’t entirely unpleasant, but his current situation didn’t make it nice either.

Despite it being Giorno’s first time using his Stand to fight another human being, it didn’t go so bad.

But things started going downhill once Bruno escaped the funicular by using his Stand to create an opening. If he told his associates that Giorno was the one who killed Leaky-Eye Luca, he’d be in deep trouble, perhaps Kars would become a target as well. It would be unnecessary for them to go after him since he wasn’t involved with Luca’s death, but that doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t try keeping him hostage in order to bring out Giorno.

If Bruno was a Stand user, chances are that he knows others who are Stand users as well. Giorno didn’t know much about Kars, but he hoped he had some kind of way to defend himself from something he can’t see. The only ability Giorno’s aware of is that Kars can transform a part of his body into a plant, possibly other things as well, he wasn’t sure. Maybe if Giorno actually asked about Kars’s abilities, he would know what he’s capable of. Instead, he just gave him all that he knows about Gold Experience. Not a smart move.

Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about Kars, Giorno should be focusing on the present. He couldn’t let Bruno get away. If he catches him, he wouldn’t have to worry about any gangsters trying to avenge Luca by killing him.

...Too bad he managed to disappear in one of the civilians he crashed into.

Creating zippers is an unique ability, Bruno was lucky to have a Stand able to do that. There were plenty of things he could do with the power. However, Giorno didn’t want to know what kinds of things he’d do, especially to an enemy.

Giorno held a small tooth between his fingers as the civilians scattered. Using Gold Experience, he turned it into a common house fly. The little insect should lead him straight to Bruno Bucciarati.

And that it did.

The small fly landed on a civilian's shoulder. They swatted it, but the small insect seemed to refuse to leave them alone. The person smacked it with the back of their hand, soon feeling the pain reflected right back at him. Bruno was forced to reveal himself, coughing up blood as the fly transformed back into its original form, a tooth.

Giorno walked towards him, more than ready to end the fight. He was a bit disappointed to have involved innocent people in his fight, but he did what had to be done.

~~~

“It’s because you have a good soul.” Bruno stared dumbly at the blond teenager. “You’re in the mafia, but you’re decent.”

Giorno had noticed his hesitation when he saw the arm covered in scars, no doubt caused by drug use. Bruno was clearly disturbed by it, maybe even disgusted. He couldn’t blame him. There were people in this world willing to sell drugs to children without any sort of guilt. They’re causing people so young to become addicted to drugs and it sickens him. They don’t care because they’re only interested in making money. What a terrible world. Even worse, nobody makes an effort to stop it, but Giorno is going to change that.

He was going to become a mafioso, climb to the top, and overthrow the boss. He’ll take back Italy and change everything for the best, and Bruno will be joining him.

A nearby group of children played football, accidentally kicking the ball over to Bruno and hitting him with it. He turned around, not upset in the slightest, and returned their ball by kicking it back. The kids shouted thanks and resumed their game.

“Fine, I’ll report that I was unable to locate Luca’s attacker, then I’ll introduce you to begin the initiation process, but you should know,” Bruno walked closer. “If it ever gets out that you’re attempting to take down the boss, I’ll be forced to cut ties with you. A traitor stands alone on an island of isolation. Your failure will be yours and yours alone.”

Giorno thought about Kars, then turned to face Bruno. “What if I want to bring someone along? For the initiation process, I mean.”

“I suppose you could,” He responded. “I’m assuming that they have the same goals as you, right?”

He was silent, allowing a certain memory to come back to him.

“Signore Kars.”

“Hmm?”

“I want to become a Gang-Star.”

“...Don’t let anybody get in your way.”

Even if it was a small interaction, Kars seemed to be supportive - well, based on his tone of voice, it was more like he was saying “just do it already.” Closest thing to supportive - but that’s besides the point, Kars didn’t seem to care at all. He was most likely going to say no if Giorno asked if he wanted to join the mafia with him. However, if Giorno mentions how there might be other Stand users, he’d agree to it.

“...Not exactly,” The blond teen finally answered. “By the way, could we make a quick stop?”

“If you need to go pick up your friend, go. I have a few things I need to attend to. There’s this place we’re going to meet up at, don’t be late.”

~~~

Giorno could recognize Kars from anywhere, his height and long hair makes him stick out like a sore thumb. The Pillar Man turned around when he heard the young boy call out his name, quickly jogging up to him.

“Signore Kars, I must ask you something very important!” Giorno said.

He seemed a bit disinterested, but that’s just his usual expression.

“What is it?” He replied, silently taking note of how much shorter the teen is compared to him.

“I am going to be joining Passione, it’s uh, it’s a gang, basically,” It felt a bit weird speaking to Kars. Perhaps it’s the amount of pressure he feels just by making eye contact with him. His bright crimson eyes made Giorno feel weak, afraid almost. He hated staring into them, but he wasn’t going to let Kars know about his opinion on his eyes. “I just wanted to know if you’d like to join me. I believe there’ll be other Stand users there.”

The mention of Stand users sparked interest, a grin appeared on Kars’s face. “Stand users, you say? I suppose I could…”

“Well, I’ll be leading the way.”

~~~

Bruno had to use all his strength to not gawk at Kars. To be honest, he was expecting another teen, not a whole adult! Was this someone Giorno was related to? He couldn’t see any sort of similarities so it was unlikely. Maybe he was his step-father? No, Giorno would’ve probably mentioned that already.

Whether they were family or not, it wasn’t any of Bruno’s business. He cleared his throat before speaking.

“The capo who will decide both of your futures in the famiglia is a man named Polpo. By the way,” His gaze turned to Kars. “What’s your name?”

The Pillar Man glanced at Giorno, then returned his focus to Bruno. “Kars,” He said then added. “The ultimate lifeform.”

“Right…” Bruno eyed Kars as if he didn’t believe him. He pointed at the building with his thumb. “Go on now. He resides here in this building.”

“But.. but this is…” Giorno murmured. “It’s a prison.”

“That’s right, Polpo was convicted and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. He still issues orders and manages the famiglia, but he does it all within those walls. He can leave his confinement whenever the desire strikes him, but he chooses not to.” Bruno explained. He pointed at the duo. “Listen, in a matter of minutes, he’ll conduct both of your interviews. It’s imperative you pass. It’s no different from an ordinary interview. His mood will dictate its content, and remember… he cannot find out.”:

Kars had a puzzled expression, Giorno never told him about his reason for joining.

“I understand.” The blond teen replied. He gave Kars a “follow me” gesture and walked inside the prison.

~~~

“Before you head in, I’m going to need your watch and everything in your pockets on this tray. After that, you can move onto the pat-down.”

Giorno placed his bag on the tray and checked his pockets. Kars did the same, but had nothing in them. The young Stand user noticed the guards weapons, staring at them for a moment then returned to what he was doing. The gates opened and the two were allowed to pass. Kars awkwardly ducked underneath the entrance to avoid hitting his head.

“Please stand over there, hands above your head,” A guard told Giorno before turning to Kars. “It’ll be your turn in a moment, signore.”

As he goes through the body check, she gives them both directions to Polpo’s cell. The guard repeats the process with Kars and allows the two to pass. The corridor was dark and when the lights in the cell flickered on, it revealed that it was empty. Kars frowned, expecting to see a person inside. Sighing, he turned to Giorno, about to complain that he wasted his time until a voice echoed in the cell.

“It’s injured, isn’t it? Your left arm.”

What was believed to be a bed was actually a man. Not so surprisingly, it caught the duo off guard.

“I spy a faint yet distinct red marking on the fingers of your right hand that signifies you were gripping something. I’d say to the markings left behind by a bag and based on that fact, you’ve been carrying the bag exclusively in your right hand.” Polpo sat up, examining Giorno’s hand. Kars hummed, now focused on the teenager’s fingers as well. The capo had a good eye. “Now why would that be?”

“Well first of all, you’re correct. I carried my bag with my right hand, also I did injure my left arm earlier.” He replied.

Polpo laughed and opened a refrigerator next to him. “Oh, I envy your youthful body and reckless spirit. And you there,” He turned to Kars. “Your eyes, they reveal a lot about you. Despite your young appearance, it seems like you’ve been around for a long time. I wonder, do you travel?” The man grabbed a wine bottle and a glass as he spoke. Curiously, Giorno glanced up at Kars. He was tense and his eyebrows were furrowed.

“By the by, do either of you drink wine? This chianti classico is molto buono,” He popped the cork off. “And when paired with a few crackers, scamorza, and the right amount of caviar, it’s perfection.”

“We’re not allowed to give you anything,” Giorno said as Polpo poured himself a glass of wine.

“Nor can we accept things from you.” Kars finished, almost sounding harsh.

“Puh! That’s just a silly formality. What people say when watched and what they do when no one’s around,” He clicked a button on a remote which revealed his hidden items. “Are two entirely different things! Therein lies the beauty and ugliness of this fickle thing we call humanity.”

A quiet laugh almost escaped Kars when the capo mentioned “humanity.”

“I suppose the only real tragedy to being holed up in this cell is, well,” He continued to speak as Giorno began to ponder the reason why he stays in his cell.

“Bucciarati already told me all about you,” Polpo said. “So you two desire to be a part of our famiglia, do you? It was Giorno Giovanna, wasn’t it? And he never gave me a name for you…”

“I am Kars,” He responded, the man cocked an eyebrow.

“...Just Kars? Hmm, alright. Well then, if you two are ready to begin, let’s commence with the interview,” He began to bite the tips of his fingers which disturbed Giorno. He got distracted by a cuckoo clock and once he turned back, Polpo was holding a lighter.

“When you're separating the wheat from the chaff, what do you think the most important factor for one to consider? Think carefully Kars & Giovanna,”

“What a person can do, correct?” Giorno answered.

“Oh, well what can you ragazzi do?”

The teen dropped the wallet and cash he stole from one of the guards, the one who patted him down to be exact.

Polpo laughed. “Is that all you brought to impress me, Giovanna?”

“Well besides that, I have this other little trick I can do.” Giorno folded his ear into his head, making the man laugh once more. The two turned to Kars, waiting for him to do something.

He raised his arm, a blade suddenly appeared, it gleamed brightly. Giorno squinted, the light hurt his eyes a bit, but he still admired it. The blade shone beautifully. Though, it didn’t seem that impressive to Polpo.

“Hmm, but you see, there’s something very important we haven’t discussed yet…” Polpo said. “...and that is the delicate subject of trust!”

Giorno mentally sighed, expecting to go through the same conversation Leaky-Eye Luca gave him. Kars didn’t bother listening. He was a little grossed out by the fact that the man was using his pinky finger to remove some food in between his teeth. He even flicked it at Giorno who surprisingly didn’t flinch. Not even a little.

“My test will tell me exactly how trustworthy you two are,” Polpo lifted a lighter in front of them. “Concerning flame of this lighter reveals all!” Giorno moved to grab the lighter from a small opening. “Now take it in hand and go, you both are not to let the flame expire. This could be a little teamwork practice for you two.”

The flame wavered, causing Giorno to move his hand back. “Aspetta! I warn you, exercise extreme caution. The 17th century theologian Fuller once said he’s my friend that speaks well of me behind my back, you’d do well to remember those words.”

Kars rolled his eyes, not caring about a word the capo said. He walked towards the lighter as he spoke. Carefully, he grabbed the lighter, holding it as if it was a delicate flower. The Pillar Man allowed Giorno to hold onto it. The expression on his face clearly said “Don’t you dare mess this up!”

“You have twenty-four hours, I look forward to our second meeting tomorrow, 3:00 PM. Don’t be late.”

Giorno could feel himself sweating a bit. He was starting to get rather anxious. This was the only chance he has and he couldn’t mess it up.

“ALL VISITORS MUST PROCEED THROUGH THE GATE FOR A FINAL PAT-DOWN.”

...That voice didn’t help.

~~~

A guard pointed his gun at Giorno as the young boy racked his brain for ideas that could get him out of this situation. Kars leaned down and whispered, “We could kill them and leave, can’t we? You just got the damn lighter, there’s no way that we’re failing this early…”

Giorno shook his head. “No, I think I got this.”

He lifted his arms above his head, feeling the flame burn his skin. Kars could see and smell the smoke, it wasn’t pleasant. The female guard patted him down, telling him he was free to go before grabbing his wrist. She reminded him that accepting anything from Polpo was prohibited. Kars frowned, preparing himself to slice her head off with his brilliant bone blade once she found the lighter.

A flower.

Instead of a lighter, it was a flower.

It caught Kars a bit off guard, but that’s something he wouldn’t admit out loud. The guard wasn’t expecting that either, but she allowed Giorno to keep it. The blond teen looked back at the Pillar Man. He could’ve sworn he saw a small smile on his lips. The woman urged him to keep moving. Giorno collected all his things and left, waiting for Kars outside the prison. The flower transformed back into a lighter.

Walking back to his room with Kars following behind him was… sort of weird. It was clear he was an adult and students stared at him. With just one glare, they turn away and move faster. Kars could be so effortlessly intimidating. A gust of wind almost blew the flame out. The Pillar Man transformed his right arm into a wing, using it to shield the flame.

“Here, give it to me,” Giorno handed the lighter over to Kars, making it easier for the man to protect the flame. The two ignored a group of students who called out to them to take some photo for them. Soon, Kars’s arm returned to normal as they entered the building.

The blond teen carefully held the lighter once Kars returned it to him. He grabbed a piece of bread, took a bite out of it, and shoved the object into it. He felt the Pillar Man’s eyes boring into him, definitely judging him for his action. Giorno rearranged the objects on his desk to protect the flame.

“I think it should be fine, a little draft shouldn’t be enough to blow it out,” He moved to lock the window. “By the way, signore Kars-”

Before he could finish speaking, he noticed someone opening his door, he quickly mouths “hide” to Kars. Giorno hides outside his window as Kars shapeshifts his body to hide in the cupboards. It was pretty bizarre to watch.

The Japanese tourist, Koichi Hirose, entered the room. He was searching for his passport. Giorno watched helplessly as he looked through his closet and opened his drawers. Using Gold Experience, Giorno transforms a lamp cord into a snake. The animal bit the bread, moving it up and out of Koichi’s reach. Unfortunately, the flame burned its skin and forced it to drop the bread. Now it's been noticed.

Luckily, Koichi was focused on his passport which gave Giorno time to get back the lighter. The distraction also gave Kars time to get out of the cabinets.

To be honest, Giorno wanted to question Kars ability. He has the ability to shapeshift. He could turn his arm into a bird’s wing and flatten his body to get through the small spaces in his cabinet.

“Just missed you there, sorry about that!” The old janitor began rambling about something silly. Giorno stared down at his wet hands… and the wet lighter. The flame was extinguished.

Despite being behind him, the teen could feel the ungodly amount of rage radiating off of Kars. The Pillar Man was making low, almost demonic growling. He muttered curses and glared at the old man. It took a whole lot of willpower not to kill him right then and there.The janitor reignites the lighter and hands it back to Giorno.

Both Giorno and Kars could tell something was off, but neither of them knew what it was.

Suddenly, the blond teen sees something walking by and disappearing behind a column.

“Kars… I think I saw…”

“YOU’RE THE ONE WHO REIGNITED THE FLAME!”

Giorno was able to hear the voice, but Kars couldn’t.

“I OFFER TWO PATHS, BUT YOU MUST PICK THE ONE THAT WILL LEAD TO SALVATION!” Turning around, Giorno sees the Stand grabbing onto the poor janitor’s soul. “TIME TO CHOOSE, DO YOU LIVE ON AND BECOME ONE OF THE CHOSEN OR DO YOU PROCEED ALONG THE PATH OF DEATH?”

An arrow appeared from its mouth which Kars was able to see. Giorno felt pain when he saw the man's soul, his expression showed how terrified he was. He wanted to do something, but there wasn’t a thing he could do. The arrow went through his head. When nothing happened, the Stand threw his body back and Giorno caught it.

The first thing noticed is how there was no wound, yet he was only a corpse. He moved back while Kars stayed in place. The Pillar Man glanced at Giorno, silently asking if the Stand had moved yet.

Before he could make any response, the Stand dashed towards him, probably to pull out his soul and pierce him with the arrow as well.

Looks like someone has gotten into another unwanted Stand battle.

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viovivii · 4 years

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Why having a strong dad is IMPORTANT. Every girl needs a strong daddy in their life ❤️ good book. p.s DONT FUCKING BE A DEAD BEAT

this was a good read:

Chapter 1 – You Are the Most Important Man in Her Life

I’ve said this before, but scary. I am also the most important man in my wife’s life, but she was able to make a conscious decision to choose me. Not my girls, they are simply stuck with me!

Meg states that in her practice she has seen many young girls doing terribly unhealthy things to see if their fathers will notice. Young girls crave a father’s attention and love.

Dad’s don’t need to change who they are to be great dads. They need to invest in the relationship and understand what the world is telling your daughters through TV, the internet and their friends. Your job is to protect them from the ugliness that is out there and they naturally look to you to do that.

Next, Meg shares some scary statistics. Here are a few:

What is taught in sex ed. It is ridiculous. Make sure you understand what your school teaches.

One in five Americans over age twelve tests positive for genital herpes.

9% of girls fourteen to seventeen years old experience unwanted sex, primarily because they fear their boyfriends will get angry.

5% of high school girls have had sad, hopeless feelings for longer than 2 weeks. Many physicians call this clinical depression.

6% of Caucasian, 20.7% of Hispanic and 12.4% of African American females have made suicide plans in the last year.

8% of high school students drank alcohol before the age of thirteen.

7% of high school students have used some form of cocaine.

Kids spend 6.5 hours per day watching media of some form.

Kids with TVs in their bedrooms watch 1.5 hours more TV than kids who do not have TVs in their bedrooms. I’m sure this stat would hold true for smartphones.

Meg goes on to cite numerous statistics about how families can win the war against media through strong relationships with their kids. We can win this fight!

Chapter 2 – She Needs a Hero

Despite whatever outward impression she gives, your daughter’ life is centered on discovering what you like about her and what you want from her. She cannot feel good about herself until she knows you feel good about her. She does not want to see you as her equal. She wants you to be her hero. Someone stronger, steadier and smarter than she is.

The only way you will alienate your daughter is by losing her respect by failing to lead or failing to protect her. If you fail to meet her needs, she will find someone who will. That is where all the trouble can begin.

One of the best things you can do as a father is to raise your daughters’ expectations about life. Let her know that she is God’s masterpiece and that she will do great things in this life.

Deep down, we all want authority and rules in our life. We may instinctively want to buck authority, but when our world starts to fall apart, we run to the person who is that authority in our life.

Meg also suggests putting your expectations for your children in writing, now – while they are young. Teenagers are excellent at tangling your thinking. Write down your rules now. Laminate them, carve then into stone

Chapter 3 – You are Her First Love

You are her first love. You have other loves in your life, but she does not. Every man who enters into her life will be compared to you. If you have a good relationship with her and her mom, she will choose boyfriends who will treat her well.

Always be positive. Admire her deep, intrinsic qualities. Always keep the bar high. She will live up to the standards you set.

As she grows older, don’t assume she is capable of making good decisions. Protect her so she is in a safe place to make poor decisions – kids always will make bad decisions. It is how they learn. Enforce curfew. Girls with a curfew know that someone cares and is waiting up for them at home.

Pay attention. Listen closely. It takes time and patience, but it will build bonds that will last a lifetime. Start daddy-daughter times when they are young and stick with it. Teenagers need you more than at any other time in their life.

If you stay with her, look at her and keep listening to her she will always come back for more. She will feel more attractive and rightfully assume that boys that don’t want to be with her have a problem (because you are smarter and wiser than they are). This is a very good thing.

Chapter 4 – Teach Her Humility

“Humility is not thinking less of ourselves, it is thinking of ourselves less.” – C.S. Lewis

“It is not about you.” – the first sentence of The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.

Humility is hard and it must be modeled. It is the starting point for every other virtue. Humility means having a proper perspective on ourselves, of seeing ourselves as we really are. It also means knowing that every person has equal worth.

Take pride in her accomplishments, but don’t go overboard. Always recognize the accomplishments of her peers as well.

Make sure that she knows that her accomplishments do not define her. Her maker already did that. Trying to define ourselves with accomplishments and stuff is a never ending trap. Give her a firm foundation of who she is in God and it will serve her well forever.

Don’t let the world revolve around her.

Chapter 5 – Protect Her, Defend Her (and use a shotgun if necessary)

Let her know that she is beautiful.

Hug her. It is that important to her. Tell her you love her and how precious she is.

Every boy that dates your daughter needs to know he is responsible to you.

Be aware of the mixed messages she will receive about sex from school. Make sure that your message is the final word on the subject.

She might hate you for this in the short term, but she will thank you for protecting her and she will tell you that sooner than you might expect.

Chapter 6 – Pragmatism and Grit: Two of Your Greatest Assets

It’s OK.

Men are pragmatists. They look for solutions – often when our wives and daughters only want to be heard. Don’t negate listening, but your family needs your pragmatism, your realism, your solutions.

Daughters can become only one of two types of women; princesses or pioneer women. Praise the Lord he brought me a pioneer woman to marry. That gives our girls a much greater chance at becoming pioneers themselves.

Princesses believe they deserve a better life and expect others to serve them. Pioneers know that their hard work is how they achieve improvement in their lives. They are in charge of their own happiness.

You must teach your daughter to be a pioneer. The other option is not good and can lead to a host of bad decisions later – like marrying for money and stability.

Grit – Your family needs and deserves your best. As men, we often use up the best of us at work and have little left for home. That is not acceptable. We must get our heads right and game faces on for the job (the most important job) that waits for us when we walk in the door to our homes.

Divorce – It is the central problem that has created a generation of young adults who are at higher risk for chaotic relationships, sexually transmitted diseases and confusion about life’s purpose.

Don’t get confused and believe that going to church will keep your family together. Turns out the divorce rate in the church is about equal to that of the non-church going world. You must live out your faith at home and fight to keep your family together.

When your life nears its end your family will be your greatest accomplishment, not any businesses or buildings you may have built.

Chapter 7 – Be the Man You Want Her to Marry

Think about the standards you’d like your daughter’s future husband to meet. Pretty high, right? Do you live up to those same high standards?

It’s tough medicine to swallow, but we likely have higher standards for our daughter’s future husbands than we maintain for ourselves as husbands to their mothers. We’ve got a ton of great excuses. Work is so hard, I have so little time for me, blah, blah…

Are you always patient and kind? Are you an encourager? One day you will be walking her down the aisle to marry a man that will be very much like you. It is the way women are made. They are drawn to what they know.

Show your daughter that your relationship with your family is more important than possessions and expensive vacations. Make the family your priority.

It is a great strength to live knowing that if you lost every material possession, you would still have a life worth living!

Let her know that you will disappoint her. You’ll try very hard not to, but you will. You are human.

Chapter 9 – Teach Her to Fight

Women are emotional. This is truer for teenagers. They have emotions and impulses that must be kept in check or bad decisions will be made. As the Dad, you can help her make good decisions and make bad decisions safely through your direction and authority.

You understand how to battle impulses. You’ve won some battles and probably lost plenty. Your daughter does not know how to battle her impulses yet. That is why she needs you to make her life a safe place to learn these hard lessons.

Choose your battles carefully. Never budge on honesty, integrity, courage and humility. You can let a lot of the other stuff go.

Your daughter’s brain and her capacity for rational thought will not be fully developed until her late teens or early twenties. This is when she needs you most. Don’t get her to 16 years old and assume she is fully qualified to make great decisions.

Chapter 10 – Keep Her Connected

You, Dad, are the most important person in your daughter’s life. Keeping your family together and spending time together as a family is what will help your children avoid the traps in life (sex, drugs, alcohol, gangs). It has been proven time after time. Families that stay together have more successful kids.

Give your kids experiences. Hang out with them, have fun and be a great example. Get away from all the screens, get outdoors, have adventures, have conversations.

Hopefully, this book will help. Maybe this quick summary will encourage more dads to read the actual book (you really must – it is that good).

To all you Dads, fight the good fight.

#personal #me #myself #dads #daughters

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gtgrandom · 5 years

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Where Young Justice: Outsiders went wrong

(And before you tell me to just stop watching if I don’t like it - I’ve been supporting the show since 2011 by creating a significant amount of content and giving back monetarily. I have every right to critique the writing, thank you).

Honestly, I think they pulled their act together in the finale, and this season left me much more satisfied than I anticipated. That being said, there are some issues I want to address.

Major flaws:

Overabundance of characters

Undeveloped Relationships

Lack of Continuity

Problematic Representation (getting better)

Weak Dialogue

Lower Quality Animation

The Message

Overabundance of characters

I think we can all agree on this one. There were far too many characters in season 2, but season 3 is laughable. It’s hardly a story anymore. Instead it’s an episodic series featuring new heroes each episode to appease niche comic fans.

There’s a formula for a superhero show (and any group-oriented tale in general), and that’s having a central team of five or less. Then you can introduce one or two new characters max per episode as side characters or villains. But you always circle back to your main team. YJ did a nice job of this in season one. So did most CW superhero shows before they made the same mistake of expanding their cast to make their writing task easier. (Yes, easier - new characters means you can stop developing old ones, especially with time jumps). YJ started to narrow down the team by the end of the season, but it still left many mains as side characters / aesthetics.

It’s great seeing these characters brought to life - I won’t deny it. But you can’t delve deep if you have this many. You can’t focus on character development or meaningful relationship development (hence why nearly every ship was established off screen). Furthermore, you frustrate fans when you focus on one group more than another. With a smaller cast you can always count on appealing to your audience because their "fave” is always present in some way. In many ways, fans feel like they’re being dragged along simply waiting for their character to pop up because of a one time cameo. It’s not fair to the audience.

The relationships

I think the only romantic relationships we’ve seen develop on screen are:

Violet/Brion

Spitfire

SuperMartian

Robin/Zatanna

sort of Roy/Jade

- and all but one were introduced in season 1.

The others were simply introduced as a couple with little to no previous interaction. Like:

Tim/Cassie

Dick/Babs

Jaime/Traci

Bart/Ed

Kaldur/Wyynde

Gardita

M’gann/La’gaan

Mal/Karen

That is not how you write romance. You don’t stick it in there for the sake of it. You have to show us why they work, how they got there, and why we should care. I’m not saying there HAS to be romance, but if there is, it still has to be written well.

Continuity

This begins to overlap into the next issue, which is continuity. I understand that Outsiders is not necessarily a new chapter to Young Justice, but if you are going to call it Young Justice Season 3, then I expect story lines to bleed over beyond just villainous deeds.

Let’s look at Dick Grayson, for instance. He’s one of the only mains who has had a very consistent, though shallow, character arc throughout the series. First he wants to lead, then fears it because of the sacrifices he would have to make - because he didn’t want to be Batman. In season 2 though, he becomes his worst nightmare. He risks the lives of his friends, lies to his team, and ends up losing his best friend anyway. And in season 3, we actually get a little bit of continuity here with Dick mourning Wally and being afraid to take on another team after season 2. It could have been expanded upon, but it was still present, and I applaud the writers for that. Especially for driving home his leadership qualities at the end there.

Now, what about the other characters, specifically those introduced in season 2? This season is called “Outsiders,” and yet, it seems to only focus on the original team and Violet’s new group.

What about Bart’s entire arc of coming back, stopping the apocalypse, and then losing Wally, his mentor? What about Jaime’s home life and the lasting effects of being turned into a villain who nearly killed all his friends? What about TIM and his role as the new leader?? Where did that plotline go?? Why is the unfamiliar Beast Boy now the leader of this Outsiders group? How did Ed overcome his anger issues and repair his relationship with his dad? How did Jade go from being a supportive wife and mother into the opposite?

The writers tried to avoid all these problems by giving us a time jump. But that’s just lazy writing if you don’t take the time to answer how things have changed!

Also, I’ve said this before, but continuity isn’t simply having characters mourn a dead character. You can’t keep using that plot device to give heart to the narrative. If that’s your only source of true pathos...and that character is dead...then you’ve got a problem.

The representation

Okay, I’ll admit they saved their asses with Kaldur. I love my wholesome pansexual rep. Would I have preferred to see his relationship occur with a character we’d already been introduced to outside the comics? Yes. But I’ll take it.

Disappointed with Ed/Bart and Bluepulse. They could have shown us more, but they didn’t. They could have given us a story, but they didn’t. And don’t hit me with “this is a children’s show - we’re lucky to get what we get” BS. Because it’s not anymore. This show is literally written by adults for adults.

I really don’t want to talk about the whole Halo/Harper kiss because it was just so wrong in so many ways, but it needs to be addressed. So, first of all, if you excuse cheating in any capacity, shame on you. I don’t care what the characters are going through or how old they are. You don’t both recognize that you have significant others and then proceed to make out!! Second, what the hell?? You’re going to have the first lgbt content be a bisexual stereotype of two girls cheating on their boyfriends (and two characters who have only interacted in one episode before??) Not to mention, underage drinking and gun use? That sends the wrong message to the audience, even if the teens were reprimanded.

Also, Halo is supposedly non-binary, and yet they explained it away by technology, so idk, I’m hesitant to count it as legitimate rep. I still think it was a good discussion to have. But yeah...

Finally, Halo is not Muslim rep after all. She’s a hijab wearing character, but she does not identify with her faith or her culture. She outright rejects it in her scene with Harper. So...what? Is she diversity points that you can continue to violently kill off over and over? Not a fantastic way to treat POC. I don’t think the creators meant any harm by it, but it’s something they need to consider going forward.

(I do appreciate the number of POC characters that have been introduced however. Especially the Latinx and black characters. This show has improved its diversity. But without proper characterization, they’re sort of just...there).

Dialogue

I can’t be the only one who cringed through entire episodes this season? Some episodes had stellar writing. But the bad ones were very, very bad. Obviously, not every joke is going to stick the landing, but if you’re going to kill off your beloved comic relief character, you have to have a better backup plan.

Like, do you guys remember how witty some of the lines from the pilot were? The whole “Speedy” vs. “Kid Flash” debate in the opening sequence? You can tell how much effort went into those scenes. How much love was given to those characters. Because they knew that was their only chance to hook the audience, to get a green light for a full season. So they put everything into character development and plot - and now they’ve lost so much of what made the show precious in the first place. (It’s still precious, but it’s tainted in many ways for me now).

Animation

It’s gone downhill. That’s really all I can say without being mean. Some episodes seem slightly better than others, but if you compare the animation from 3x01 to an episode like Failsafe...there’s just no comparison. I could hardly watch Wally’s scene without frowning at the frame rate.

Message

I don’t understand what the show is telling us anymore (or I didn’t, before Black Lightning gave a very “on the nose” speech about what it is that we were supposed to take away from this season).

I mean this has always been an issue with the show, but at least it was a little clearer in season 1. Then, we had several themes:

Found family (+ Actions speak louder than heritage)

Don’t call us sidekicks (AKA the kids can make a difference)

Secrets are poison (They can tear a team apart. Trust in friends)

Season 2 was a little convoluted...and sort of just recycled material.

Secrets are poison (dammit, Dick)

You are in charge of your own destiny (Jaime/Connor)

Sacrifice (Kaldur, Artemis, Wally, Bart...they all gave something up for the greater good).

But what is the message of season 3?

Secrets are still poison (Tara, Violet, Batman v. Wonder Woman team)

I suppose it’s about healing and letting others in? Like how Brion and Victor have both worked through their anger? Artemis and Jefferson and Dick and Gar sorting through their grief...somehow...off-screen...(except for the episode devoted to Artemis saying goodbye to Wally.)

Perhaps...accepting yourself? (Victor, Violet, Brion, Connor?)

Do you see my issue here? How much harder it is to see what I’m supposed to take away from the show now? I’m not saying there aren’t any good messages being told, but they’re difficult to interpret. Sometimes that can be good. But this time I’m on the fence.

Conclusion

I love many of the characters from this show, but the fandom acts as if the writing is impeccable, and that’s just not true. Not everything is bad. Some of it is still miles beyond other animated television (looking at you vld). And I genuinely enjoyed about half of the episodes this season. But I think it’s important to recognize the flaws in media, as a writer myself, and as a consumer of these shows.

Plz be civil in the comments, and understand that this is only my opinion.

#young justice outsiders #yj outsiders #yj review #yj spoilers #dick grayson #artemis #connor kent

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unicorns-bookshelf · 4 years

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Disclaimer: I have voluntarily reviewed this book after receiving a free copy from Edelweiss+, thank you!

Title: The House in the Cerulean Sea

Author: TJ Klune

Genre: fiction, fantasy, romance, lgbt

Rating: 5/5

Goodreads / Amazon / My Instagram / My blog

Turns out there was no need for that because The House in the Cerulean Sea was exactly what I hoped it would be - my first five stars read of the year.

I haven't read a book filled with this much magic, love, and kindness for ages. It's a perfect comfort read and yet it isn't 100% tooth-rotting fluff. It has it's sad and serious moments, it talks about discrimination and abuse but it still somehow manages to keep its hopeful and optimistic tone. I will tell you a secret - I don't like books with young kids in it. More often than not they're treated more like a plot device than actual characters. It could have very easily happened here as well but instead, we have a group of colorful, fun individuals, each with their own unique personality and quirk. And they're all so cute. And their relationship with each other and Arthur is solid and believable just as their relationship with Linus of whom they're quite wary at the beginning. There's wonderful growth of both Linus and Arthur and it's absolutely amazing. The romance is absolutely not the central point of the book but it's still very important, slow and sweet. Both Artur and Linus are in their forties and it makes me so happy to see some relationship between adult men, as most of the LGBT rep I see are usually in YA books between people in their teens or their twenties. There's so much softness between those two but there's also some witty banter about philosophy and it's absolutely everything I've ever wished for. The book has a ton of great and important quotes. It deals with nature vs nurture trope, learning to accept yourself, stepping out of your comfort zone but also presents children that need to grow up into a world that doesn't accept them for who they are. If you think about it there's a lot of bitterness in those topics and yet they're handled with so much sweetness and hope. I need to say that if you're looking for a story full of action and drama you won't find it here. This is a heavily character-driven story with a big focus on relationships and dealing with prejudice and growing up. You need to be aware of that before you pick this up and decide it's boring for you because I know there will be people out there who may think that. And it's okay, books like this aren't for everybody. But if you're looking for a sweet hopeful read in those stressful times please give The House in the Cerulean Sea a chance.

#my reviews #my review #arc review #arc #fantasy #fantasy review #lgbt #books #book #book review #book reviews

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imastrangeone98 · 4 years

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Lost and Found - Chapter 10: Adam and Eve

(A/N: hello my non-existent fans! I think my writing quality is getting better so hopefully I can feel more confident in my writing. how was the last chapter you definitely didn’t read?)

The mountain seemed much bigger in person. It didn’t help to ease their worries, which had only grown stronger with Dante’s theory.

As they stared up at the peak, Dante began to shiver.

“What’s wrong?”

“It stinks,” he replied, rubbing his nose. “It already did, but it smells worse up close.” He gazed at the mountain, searching for any sign for a source of the smell. The faint scent of lotuses hung in the air, giving him a brief moment of respite.

“Do you think we’ll have to climb it?” Lady asked as she studied their surroundings. “If so, I don’t have much hope that we’ll make it to her in time.”

“We will. And besides, I don’t think we’ll be climbing.” He pointed to a small crack just at the base, which pulsated with light.

Lady stood next to him to look. “Well, would you look at that. A free ticket.”

“Yeah.” His eyes narrowed, and he placed a hand on Rebellion’s hilt. “You can’t have a party without some crashers.”

And with that, they slinked in.

Dante’s nose immediately scrunched up; he sneezed.

“God, it smells like death in here.” The only thing that made it better was that the familiar lotus scent grew just a tad stronger.

Lady stared down the dark, humid tunnel. “What do you think’s at the end of this?”

“Faith,” he responded immediately. “And, uh, other stuff.”

She rolled her eyes, but the tiniest of smiles emerged from the corner of her lip.

The tunnel twisted and turned at every corner, and the ground became slick with humidity, forcing them to watch their every step.

“Why does it feel like we snuck in too easily?” Lady wondered. “There was hardly any defense when we got in.”

“Probably because they didn’t anticipate anything,” Dante replied. “Our attacks did nothing, so why would they be afraid of us? And besides, I don’t think any old human would be able to find this place so easily.”

“And maybe because this is their defense system?”

He looked up and almost got blinded by the powerful light.

The inside had, somehow, been completely hollowed out. A lush garden took its place, filled with meadows of grass cut through with rivers of clear water, blooming flowers of varying colors, and trees laden with fragrant fruit. The roof of the cavern had all but disappeared, replaced with a bright blue sky, complete with fluffy white clouds and a shining sun.

But all of that dulled in comparison to the two massive trees that stood in the center. They grew tall and proud, with strong, sturdy branches and fruit in multiple colors. Dante almost got a creak in his neck from gazing at it.

“Beautiful, is it not?”

Two figures emerged from the foliage of the trees; a boy and a girl, seemingly around their early teens. Vines and branches curled around their bodies, and flowers bloomed in their hair. Aside from the girl having longer hair, they would’ve easily been mistaken as twins.

“Welcome,” the girl said, a gentle smile on her face, “to the garden of Eden.”

Dante’s fingers brushed against Ebony. “And who are you?”

“The very first in existence,” the boy replied. “The founders of all creation. I am Adam.”

“I am Eve,” his partner added. “We would be more than happy to give you a proper welcome, but I am afraid that we are currently undergoing... renovations.”

Their bodies began to twitch, then violently spasm. The vines that covered them pierced through their skin, pumping golden liquid into them. They screeched in unison, sending chills down Dante’s spine.

And he watched as they began to grow- from preteens to young adults. And with them, the garden seemed to pop even more in color.

Lady shuddered next to him. “Talk about puberty hitting hard.”

After a few seconds, the twitching stopped. Adam and Eve straightened, their brown eyes shining with a golden glow.

“Our evolution has begun,” Eve murmured in a dreamlike daze.

In an identical voice, Adam continued, “We must now ask you to leave at once. Humans are no longer welcome in our garden.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” Dante grumbled, shipping out his pistols, “but we got an appointment with your higher-ups; wouldn’t want to keep them waiting, now, would we?”

“Besides,” Lady muttered, “we’re on a tight schedule.”

Eve lifted her hand, and a flaming sword roared to life from it. “I am afraid we cannot let you pass.”

Adam raised his palms, and vines erupted from the ground. “We cannot afford mere humans interrupting our most holiest ceremony-“

A rocket blast disrupted his speech.

Lady readjusted the Kalina Ann. “I said,” she hissed, “we’re on a tight schedule!”

She fired again. A vine deflected it into a nearby meadow where it exploded, sending bits and pieces of dirt and flowers into the air.”

“My garden!” Eve wailed. “You will pay for your destruction!” She lunged forward, flaming sword raised high in the air.

Dante intercepted it with Rebellion, and for a split second, the two were face-to-face. The smell of smoke, turned earth, and corpses clogged his nose.

“Get out of the way!” he growled, swinging his sword. It met the other with a sharp clang.

She swung again. He dodged.

He parried. She blocked.

When he swung just a tad too low, he sliced off a rosebud.

“YOU MONSTER!” Eve lunged forward and sliced wildly. Dante managed to keep up with blocks and jabs of his own.

She gets pissed when her garden gets damaged, he realized. That’s when she gets sloppy.

Turning sharply on his heel, he sprinted further into the meadow, firing bullets at any form of life he saw. A howl from behind him; the snapping of branches, and light footsteps came from behind him.

That tree’s probably her source. Keep her away from it, and I might stand a chance.

He turned around with Rebellion at the ready-

And found a flaming sword piercing his chest.

Ignoring the pain was easy. Swinging a sword at the angel wasn’t. The blade slipped through her head.

Crap.

“Angels fight with their hearts on their sleeves,” Faith had explained. “We don’t always need to use swords and guns like you do; we use our emotions. Our joy. Our pain.”

His eyes widened.

Faith.

He focused on the pounding in his heart. The ache in his chest. The burns on his skin.

He focused on how much it hurt.

“BEGONE-“

SLASH!

Eve didn’t speak again. Her head toppled to the ground, golden blood seeping into a nearby river.

“EVE!” A voice cried from across the green. Adam.

Dante removed the sharp blade from his chest, now devoid of flames, and tossed it aside.

Flying towards him at breakneck speed was the other angel. More vines burst through the ground, wrapping themselves around his wrists and ankles.

“MURDERER!” the angel screamed, a hardened spear-like vine raised high in the air.

Dante glanced behind him. He smirked.

The vine came down-

BOOM!

Adam’s face twisted in pain. He fell. Lady strode over, lightly nudging the angel with her foot.

“Sorry,” she said with a smug grin, “but you were seriously starting to piss me off.”

Adam gurgled, his mouth filled with golden blood.

“Come on, Lady,” Dante grumbled, snapping off the vines on his body with ease. “You missed. He’s still alive; look at him!”

They crouched over the dying angel. Dante turned him over on his back and they watched as he spit out more blood.

“We... are not... the only ones,” Adam croaked.

“I don’t care about the rest,” Dante said. “I wanna know where Faith is. You’d better tell me now, or I’ll start breaking your arms.”

“Faith...?”

“The nephilim,” Lady suggested. “Your ‘buddies’ brought her here a few hours ago. Where is she?”

“Oh... Her. She is... being prepared for- for the ceremony.” He erupted into hacking coughs. Blood stained his chest.

“What ceremony?”

“The ceremony... of purification. Soon, this- this unclean world... will be clean... once more.”

“How?”

He backed out more blood, and bared his teeth in a gruesome smile. “See... for yourself. The girl... You will fail... in saving her. You... have already failed.”

His body glowed, and he dissolved into gold dust. For a while, they just stared at the pile of gold in silence.

Dante stood. “Let’s go. We’re running out of time.”

“What do you think he meant-?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he snapped as he made way towards the large doorway materializing into existence. Lady rushed to keep up. “We won’t fail this time.”

...I won’t fail you again...

———————————————————————

A/N: I finally updated! Yaaaaaaaaaay sorry it’s such shit tho

Edit: read chapter 11! :D

#devil may cry 3 #dmc dante #dmc lady #dmc oc #lost and found

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emeraldwaves · 5 years

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Title: A Dragon’s Magic Chapter 11 Pairing: Kacchako (this chapter is mostly Miritama) Rating: M Word Count: 5,835 Summary: Uraraka Ochako has always believed in dragons, though she was constantly told they were long since extinct. Now an adult and professional mage, she’s ready to help her parents as a healer for their village. The last thing she expects is for her beliefs to become a reality, but when a dragon attacks her village, she learns there’s more to magic than she ever could’ve realized. Read on AO3 Thanks to @its-love-u-asshole for reading this over.

"Neji! W-wait up!"

"You're too slow Miri!" Nejire dashed through the forest, while Mirio continued to call out for her. He was, admittedly, slower than her. Someday he hoped to be faster and stronger. Ready to face all sort of evil with his magic, go on grand adventures and see the world! As a young boy, he had many dreams and he wasn’t about to let them not come true.

"Okay, okay," she said when she made it to the forest clearing, hopping around to face him. "Did you bring it?"

"Of course I did," he panted, pulling the long folded cloak out of his bag.

"Great! We can practice then," Nejire said, twirling around on her foot.

"Yeah!" he cheered.

It was their little secret; practicing magic in the forest together. Nejire would bring her small staff, and Mirio would bring his cloak. Though he wasn't very skilled at using it, he wanted to be better. He wanted to be amazing.

He wrapped the cloak around himself and felt the magical energy flowing through his small body.

Nejire blinked. "Can you feel the energy?" Her eyes darted about, waiting for his body to completely disappear.

"Mhm... I can..." he whispered.

"Is it... doing anything?" she asked, her eyes glistening with impatience.

Mirio shut his eyes, willing the magic to take over his body. He wanted to be invisible, he wanted to show Nejire he could do this. She had always been gifted in magic, a talent that came very easy to her. She could use any magical object she wanted with plenty of ease, and Mirio was admittedly jealous.

"No..." he said finally, turning his eyes down to the ground. If only he was bigger, maybe he could channel the magic properly through his body, but right now it felt like nothing would work.

"Well," Nejire sighed, flopping back down onto the grass. Her long blue hair splayed out behind her as she rolled excitedly onto her stomach, staring up at him. "At least you can feel the magic."

"Yeah," he sighed. "I just wish I could do it."

"Maybe when you start taking classes at school!" she said.

"Yeah but... we're already 10 and you can do so much!" he pouted, folding his arms over his chest.

"You'll get there too!" she said, but both of them froze, hearing a stick snap against the ground. "What was that?" Nejire gasped, sitting up quickly as she glanced around the forest.

Mirio clutched his cloak to his chest. The object was rare, and one he wasn't supposed to take out of the house in fear of others stealing it from him. "I-I dunno..." he mumbled, narrowing his eyes as he looked around.

From the far edge of the clearing, he could see a smattering of dark hair duck into the bush, the plant rustling around. Who... was that?

"H-Hey!" he called out, dropping the cloak near Nejire.

"Mirio! Wait!" she cried out, reaching her hand for him but he dove into the bush, tackling the small creature to the ground.

The other boy whimpered and covered his face with his hands, desperate to not be attacked by Mirio.

"Who are you?!" he accused. "Why were you spying!"

The boy kept his face covered and shook his head back and forth quickly. "I... I..." His voice was so tiny, small enough that Mirio could barely hear him.

"You...?" he asked, slowly sitting back. The boy was trembling and he looked to be about the same age. Maybe he was lost in the forest and was excited to see others like him?

Slowly he lowered his hands, his dark eyes trembling as though he were about to cry. Dark scales littered his cheeks, his ears pointed and long. "I-I... I'm sorry."

"Hey..." Mirio said, softening. Obviously the boy hadn't really done anything wrong. "It's okay!" he smiled. "Are you lost? My friend and I can help maybe!"

The dark-haired boy whimpered, tears falling down his face. He couldn't even bring himself to nod or speak, obviously terrified of something Mirio couldn't place.

"What's your name?" he asked. Placing his hand over his chest, he smiled the widest smile he could muster. "I'm Mirio!"

"T-Tamaki..." he stammered, keeping his fingers wrapped around his cheeks

That was the day he met Amajiki Tamaki, and his life was never the same.

"Are you... really a dragon?" Mirio asked, sitting in the middle of the clearing with Tamaki alone. A few months later and he was still not convinced, probably because Tamaki usually refused to speak about it or show him anything.

Tamaki glanced around and then quickly nodded.

"COOL!" Mirio boomed, his voice loud and echoing through the trees. "That's so amazing! What can you do as a dragon!?" he asked.

Tamaki shrugged.

"Okay..." Mirio muttered, tapping his chin. "Can you fly?"

Tamaki nodded.

"Can you breathe fire?"

He nodded again.

"Can you show me?"

Tamaki shut his eyes and took a deep breath. "Just you..."

His small body began to morph, his neck curling back as claws shot from his fingertips. His hands smacked against the ground as tiny wings sprouted from his back, his tail elongating behind him. Scales trailed up his neck and cheeks, covering his face as his nose pulled into a snout.

It was only a brief moment, Tamaki roaring loudly... and then... before him stood a small purple dragon, glistening in the light which broke through the trees in the clearing.

"Wow..." Mirio said. He slowly stepped forward but Tamaki lurched back, curling in on himself. "Ah!" Mirio gasped. "I-I promise I won't hurt you!"

He was really hoping Tamaki would know that by now, after spending months sharing their bedroom together.

His mother was quick to take the small boy in, and though she had a sneaking suspicion he wasn't human, she chose to keep her mouth shut. Although he was quiet, he became fast friends with Mirio and Nejire... following them wherever they went, practicing magic with the two whenever he was given the chance.

At first Mirio was jealous. Tamaki could use magic without an object, and he honestly had no idea how the boy did so. Mirio would constantly ask and Tamaki would give him his signature silent shrug.

However, Tamaki confessed to being a dragon when he used too much magic one day and scales appeared on his cheeks and arms. He was terrified, screaming in terror when they showed up on his skin, and he tried to cover his arms, but it was next to impossible with the summer clothes he wore. Mirio immediately took him home and Mirio's mother urged him to keep it a secret.

But Mirio had to know. He had to see and witness Tamaki with his own eyes. He took him to the clearing, hoping for some sort of privacy; hoping it would convince Tamaki to change, just for him.

And now that he was seeing him, he couldn't believe how beautiful he was.

Mirio held out his hand, allowing Tamaki to slowly move forward and press his scaled snout against his hand.

"Amazing..." he breathed, brushing his hand over Tamaki's nose. "You're incredible Tamaki!"

He was convinced that was the first time he saw Tamaki smile.

"I can't do it!" Mirio scoffed, angrily tossing the cloak onto the ground.

"M-Mirio..." Tamaki said, nervously, holding his hands towards him, while he glanced around. "I-I uhm..."

Mirio huffed, letting himself sit on the rock. His blue eyes were filled with disappointment as he focused his gaze on the cloak in front of him.

Tamaki hated when Mirio got like this. Mirio was his light, the one who made him smile more than Tamaki could've ever expected. He helped Tamaki speak when he was far too nervous, he gave Tamaki far more love than he ever would've thought he deserved.

After spending their childhood together, they were slowly, but awkwardly, heading into adulthood, and it seemed like of all of them, Mirio was the most positive and ready. He looked after Tamaki and Nejire, and he kept them in check.

However, when it came to magic, the teen... wasn't the best at it. Tamaki only wished he could help.

Slowly, he made his way to his side, taking a seat next to him on the small rock. "You'll get it."

Mirio sighed, letting his head rest in his hands. "That's easy for you to say," he sighed. "You're incredible at magic!"

"It's just... easier for dragons..." he muttered, rubbing his fingers together. "Plus... invisibility magic is hard. But... if anyone can do it, I know you can Mirio."

Tamaki didn't speak much, but when he did, he always meant every word. Someday, he hoped he could say the three words he wanted to most, but for now... maybe he could just help.

"I just wish it came easier. I kept telling myself that I would be able to use this cloak when I was older and here I am, only a few years away from coming of age and I can stay invisible for what? A snap of my fingers?" he sighed.

Under his skin, Tamaki could feel his blood boil. He couldn't stand watching the most positive person he knew be so down on himself. Mirio was an incredibly talented mage. It took a great deal of energy to utilize the invisibility cloak... maybe he just needed a boost.

"Mirio," he whispered and wrapped his hands around Mirio's, helping him stand up.

"Tamaki?" he asked, perplexed as to why he was pulling him into the middle of the field.

There were legends which Tamaki remembered from the few days he recalled of his mother. She would tell him stories before bed, stories of humans and dragons, working and living together, using magically freely.

His mother always believed humans and dragons would work together again. It was why she fled from the dragon world with her son, wishing to live normally among the humans instead of exiled on a single island.

However, she had been killed by dragon guard, not wanting their secret to escape into the world. They never found Tamaki though... Mirio had, in the woods.

And Mirio's body had the capacity for magic... After everything his mother told him, maybe Mirio just needed a little boost.

And maybe Tamaki could give it to him.

"I don't know if this will work..." he muttered. He slid his hand over Mirio's chest, pressing his palm against his shirt. He let his eyes flutter shut, and focused his magical energy into his palm.

"You don't know if what will- O-Oh!" Mirio gasped, and wrapped his hand over Tamaki's wrist, brushing his thumb up and down over her skin. The rush of magical energy hit him in the chest and he gasped again, squeezing Tamaki's hand. "What are you-"

There was a purple glow coming from his hand, and the aura trailed up his arm, scales slowly appearing as they crawled up his neck and cheeks. His magic was draining, escaping into Mirio's body. Once the glow stopped, Tamaki began to pant, but he smiled at Mirio. "Now... try it..." he breathed.

"Tamaki!" Mirio gasped, wrapping his fingers around his hand. "What did you do!?"

"I gave you more magic," he said.

"Are you okay?! Why would you do that?" he asked, panicking. His thick fingers stroked over Tamaki's cheek, brushing at the now visible scales.

"Because I wanted to help you," he whispered, leaning into the touch.

"I-I didn't want you to get hurt!" Mirio urged, panic dancing across his small blue eyes.

"Trust me... I just need some rest, I'll be fine. I want you to try it."

"What if people see-"

"Mirio. Try," Tamaki said softly. He pulled back from the touch and slowly moved to pick up his cloak, handing it to the blond. "Please."

"...Alright..." Mirio sighed. "I don't like this though. I don't like you sacrificing yourself for me."

"I'm not dying," he snorted softly, watching as Mirio wrapped the cloak around himself.

"I don't know what I would do if you did," Mirio said.

"Does it feel different?" Tamaki asked softly.

"...I... you... gave me a lot of magic," he muttered. "I think this is the most magical energy I've ever felt."

Mirio closed his eyes, the cloak disappearing from the bottom up until he was just a floating head, the entire thing gone. "Amazing!" he laughed. "You... did it!"

Tamaki shook his head. "You did, Mirio."

A large laugh boomed from Mirio's lips. "Are you kidding me?! I didn't do anything," he laughed. "I couldn't do this without all the magic you gave me!"

He pranced around the field, only his head bobbing up and down, none of his body visible. The sight was, admittedly, quite foolish and Tamaki couldn't help the small laugh that slipped from his lips.

"What do you think?!" he said, twirling around, his head moving as though it belonged to no body. "Pretty spooky right!"

"Not at all," Tamaki laughed.

"I guess it was worth it to take some of your magic if it was going to make you laugh so hard," Mirio said, laughing with him. He glanced down at his invisible body. It was highly entertaining. "Look Ma! No legs! Or hands! Or anything!"

Tamaki snorted again. What a fool his best friend was; but Tamaki loved him nonetheless. He would've given up all of his magic to make him this happy all the time.

"Gods I love your laugh," Mirio sighed, stopping directly in front of the dragon.

"W-What?" Tamaki said. Mirio was so casual about everything he did, never caring how his words might be weighted and heavy for Tamaki.

"I love... your laugh. I love when you actually smile and your dark eyes light up. I love when I can tell that you're having fun! I love... you, Tamaki!" Mirio chuckled and slipped the cloak off, his body slowly reappearing. Over the years, Mirio had filled into his body, his strong muscles toned and defined. He was more than handsome could possibly describe.

And he just told Tamaki he loved him.

He swallowed, unsure of how to respond. Mirio was his light, a giant sun which lit up a world that had seemed so bleak and lonely...

Of course Tamaki loved him too.

"I..."

Tamaki always chose his words carefully, each one meaning something very special. They shouldn't be taken lightly, and he didn't want Mirio to think he wasn't serious.

"I love you too," he whispered.

Before Tamaki could even finish speaking, Mirio's lips were on his, kissing him. They crashed together, kissing desperately as though they'd been waiting lifetimes to be this close to each other.

"Thank you for doing this for me," Mirio whispered softly, caressing Tamaki's cheeks. "And... thanks for not getting freaked out when I kissed you."

"Mirio..."

"I.. uh... " He stepped back, rubbing the back of his neck. "I've wanted to for a long time."

Tamaki smiled. "Me too..."

"Does this mean... I can do it again?"

As far as Tamaki was concerned, Mirio could do it as much as he liked.

"What if we made a show?!" Mirio cheered one day while the three of them sat in the woods.

"That sounds like a horrible idea! I'm in!" Nejire laughed, a small snort slipping through her nose.

"A... show?" Tamaki asked, immediately recoiling. He didn't like the idea of performing, especially in front of other people. He was supposed to stay hidden; the last thing he needed was to be a spectacle.

"Yeah, you know, performed in front of people! We all have such cool styles of magic, I'm sure people would love to see us. I just... I want to make people laugh!" Mirio said. "I want to be amazing!"

"The Amazing Mirio!" Nejire said, trailing her hand across the sky. "I can see it now!"

"Or maybe... you can't!" Mirio laughed, covering himself with the invisibility cloak.

"What!? Tamaki, did you give him magic again!?" Nejire pouted, folding her arms across her chest. "That's so not fair! It never works when he tries to give it to me."

"Sorry..." Tamaki muttered.

"It's not your fault, Mirio is just too much sometimes!" Nejire sighed.

Flipping the cloak off of himself, Mirio laughed. "But together we could be an amazing team."

"And what is Tamaki going to do when he gets on stage? You won't get embarrassed?" Nejire smirked, leaning over to poke Tamaki's cheek.

"E-Eh?!" he gasped and quickly turned away from her completely facing the other direction. "I... don't... know."

"You can't turn away from a crowd if you're scared!" Nejire teased in her singsong voice.

Tamaki shuttered and shook his head back and forth.

"And really Miri, do you think Tamaki should be using magic in front of other people? What if they realize he's... y'know?" she said, placing her hands on her hips.

"Are you kidding?!" Mirio said. "It's going to be a show about illusions and magic! No one will think he's actually a dragon!" he said.

"Mmm..." Tamaki hummed softly and shook his head back and forth again.

"See! He doesn't want to."

"I'll... try..." he muttered.

"Tama... if you really don't want to, we don't have to. I just thought it was something fun we could all try together," Mirio insisted.

Tamaki scraped his teeth over his lower lip and pressed his hand close to his chest. For Mirio, he would've done anything, even if it was the most terrifying thing he could think of. Of course, a lot of things terrified him, so to hold Mirio back from this seemed... wrong.

What was the worst that could happen?

"I want to try."

Their first show was a disaster.

Nejire introduced Mirio, her long blue hair twirling around her body as she danced across the stage, pumping up the excitement. The audience wasn't very big, but still people were watching.

How terrifying.

Tamaki tried to quell the thoughts swirling around in his brain. What if they discovered he was a dragon? What if he didn't give Mirio enough magic? What if he made a total and complete fool of himself and then Mirio never wanted to speak to him again because he was the soul reason his show was ruined and no one would ever want to come see him again?

"-Tamaki!" Nejire said, calling his name. It was his cue to walk on stage and bow for the audience, but his legs were frozen in place.

Move! He had to. He wanted to. And yet...

"His assistant, Tamaki!" Nejire spoke the words again and he saw her outstretched hand, Mirio waving for him to come out.

He slammed his eyes shut, picturing their hands. He wanted to make it to their hands, wanted to hold them and grasp them tight. They'd been practicing this for weeks and not once had he messed this up. But now, there were people watching and people were terrifying.

He slowly willed his feet to move. He scuffled onto the stage, standing almost directly behind Mirio. The small crowd clapped for him, their hands loud and the sounds of their skin slapping together was sharp and annoying, giving Tamaki a slight headache.

He glanced over Mirio's shoulder and it felt as if he caught all their eyes. Their pupils bore into him, staring at him with so much intensity, Tamaki thought he was naked or he had a target locked onto his chest. Their eyes felt hot, as if they were all slowly melting his skin.

He couldn't do this.

He dashed off the stage far faster than he walked onto it.

Curling himself into a ball, Tamaki knelt down against the grass, covering his ears with his hands. Why did they all have to stare?! Did they notice the small scales on his cheeks, glistening in the awkward stage lighting? They always talked about him oddly, knowing he was a strange boy who never spoke. Perhaps they all came to laugh at him for even trying something like this-

"Tamaki." Mirio's pleasant voice trickled into his ear, interrupting his spiraling train of thought.

"M-Mirio..." he trembled, slowly peeking over his own shoulder to look back at the blond. "W-What are you-"

"I'm not going on that stage without you!" Mirio smiled. Somehow Mirio exuded a confidence Tamaki would never know or be able to find as well as Mirio had.

"But I... I can't..."

"If that's really how you feel, we can wait and try again a different night," Mirio smiled, kneeling down with him. "I want you to know you can do this though. I really believe in you."

He always had. Even when Mirio's own mother had looked at Tamaki like a strange being, Mirio protected him and kept him safe. It was why he was so willing to share magic with him.

Mirio's hands came up to cup his cheeks. They were much stronger now, holding Tamaki's face so he could meet Mirio's cheerful gaze.

"I love you, and I don't want to force you to do anything you don't wanna do. But I know you Tamaki... I know how amazing your magic is and I want to share this with you." He leaned forward, brushing their lips together.

Mirio always looked after him, and Tamaki had made him this promise. He clenched his fists against the ground and pressed back against Mirio's lips.

"I love you too," he mumbled.

He had to try, for Mirio.

So maybe their first show wasn't a disaster. It wasn't perfect. Tamaki barely spoke, and when he did he stammered through his words. His magic seemed far less flashy compared to Nejire and Mirio, but he did it and he supposed that was something.

When the show ended, the three celebrated together, Nejire and Mirio laughing and drinking, complimenting each other for their grand success, even if it felt like a rocky start.

And Nejire, like always, fell asleep early, so Mirio and Tamaki snuck away, just the two of them, like they usually did later in the evenings.

He moved together with Mirio for the first time that night, the two of them naked, pressed up against each other. There was pain and pressure, but Mirio held him through the entire night. Their hips moved together and Tamaki's soft voice spoke Mirio's name over and over.

He gave everything to Mirio, his magic, his body, his heart.

"This isn't sustainable, Miri. You're going to kill Tama!" Nejire said, folding her arms.

"I just need to rest..." Tamaki muttered.

"You say that every time, but every night you look more and more like you're slowly fading away. It takes longer and longer for you to recover from giving Mirio magic!"

"Seriously, Tamaki, maybe we should stop. I can use my regular magic-"

"No!" Tamaki yelled, the loudest his voice ever was. Both Mirio and Nejire froze, staring at their normally quiet best friend. "I can handle it..." he whispered.

He stepped forward and gently placed his hand over Mirio's chest. "Tamaki..." he said, wrapping his fingers around his. "Maybe we should take a break tonight," he suggested.

Lately, the show had been gaining momentum. Everyone was talking about 'The Amazing Mirio' and it seemed every night more and more people flocked to watch them perform. Sometimes people came back to see how things changed.

How could they take a break now?

"No, I'm fine," Tamaki insisted, flattening his hand over Mirio's chest. He shut his eyes, the purple hue covering his hand. He could feel his magic leaving his body, draining slowly from him. It did seem like every night they did this he got weaker and weaker. He needed to train harder and replenish his energy so he could provide Mirio with what he needed.

"Thank you..." Mirio whispered and leaned forward to kiss him. "But please... if you feel tired, I need you to tell me."

"I will," Tamaki lied. The last thing he needed was Mirio feeling guilty for taking the magic Tamaki wished to provide.

When they made their way to the stage, Tamaki tried to focus on Mirio and Mirio alone, even with the strange hum he felt underneath his skin.

Tamaki loved seeing him perform. He laughed with the audience when Mirio used the invisibility cloak, just as he had on the day of their first kiss. His head bobbed about, bouncing through the air. Mirio smiled when he used fire with ease, letting it dance around his body.

His head was throbbing while he watched, waiting patiently for his turn to shoot fireballs into the air.

"And witness, Tamaki's fire power!" Mirio cheered, and the audience turned to him in anticipation. He still wasn't used to the feeling of their eyes on him, but he always tried; for Mirio. He turned his head towards the sky however and he felt his magical energy pulsing at his fingertips, almost completely depleted.

No matter how hard he tried, fire wouldn't manifest itself from anywhere on his body. "M-Mirio..." he gasped, as a sharp pain shot through his chest and the world fell around him, going completely dark.

When Tamaki fell on stage, Mirio was convinced it happened in slow motion. His tiny body collapsing to the ground, convulsing. Mirio immediately recognized what was happening, and as he rushed to his boyfriend's side, the dragon's wings sprouted from his back, laying limply on the ground.

Mirio dashed towards him and scooped him up, carrying him off the stage, praying no one caught a good look of the wings.

He fell to the ground behind the stage, leaving Nejire to make an announcement stopping the show.

"Tamaki... Tamaki!" he gasped and brushed his bangs aside. His face was almost entirely covered in scales, his body slowly going through the change. "No..." Mirio whispered, holding Tamaki in his lap.

Rushing to his side, Nejire knelt down beside him. "I-I don't think he can hold his human form!"

"Me neither," Mirio said and immediately placed his hand on Tamaki's chest, covering up his heart. "I need to give him magic back!"

"Can you do that?" Nejire exclaimed, looking between her two best friends.

"I have... no idea. But I'm going to try."

He stared down at his lover and took a deep breath, shutting his eyes. He could feel the rush of immense magical energy running through his body... it was magic Tamaki had chosen to give him and right now... he didn't deserve It. He should've fought harder against him; Tamaki had been looking weak for days and Mirio knew he couldn't keep giving up his energy over and over.

And yet... Tamaki kept insisting.

"Please..." he begged. "Please work..."

He'd never been as good at magic as Nejire... nor was he as good as Tamaki quite frankly. Yet everyone knew his name and everyone watched him. He had worked his ass off to get to this point... but all would be useless if Tamaki wasn't by his side.

He needed to focus.

Closing his eyes he took a few deep breaths.

"I promised to never leave your side. I vowed we could spend forever together and I need you Tamaki... I need you by my side." He knelt his head down, pushing his forehead against his. "I love you."

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Wincing, he kept his hand over Tamaki's chest, watching as it began to glow yellow.

"Are you okay-" Nejire began to ask, but the golden light flowed around Mirio and Tamaki, the magic rushing out of Mirio's body, though... it felt oddly balanced... and normal? It was strange... he didn't feel the same as he did without Tamaki's magic, he wasn't completely drained... but he felt as if he could feel Tamaki, their magic energy interspersed and flowing through both of their bodies.

It was a rush that almost made Mirio want to cry. The light enveloped his body and Tamaki's familiar purple hue flowed with his golden, the two colors mixing together beautifullyl. Mirio kept his hand pressed against Tamaki's chest, but he couldn't help but stare while it happened.

The lights slowly faded and the pangs in his chest were subtle now, full of far less pain and more a gentle annoyance.

"M-Mirio..." Tamaki groaned, his dark eyes fluttering open. His wings folded down into his back, his scales disappearing completely. Good, he had enough magic. "What happened?"

"Thank the gods," Mirio sighed, pressing his head to Tamaki's chest. "I was so worried. You collapsed."

"I think I... used too much magic..." he whispered, his hand coming up to his chest. "I... feel replenished though."

"Yeah," Mirio said, a smile pulling across his lips. "You definitely gave me too much," he snorted.

"Guess so..." he said, his brow furrowing. "Are you okay? Please tell me..."

"Nope! I'm totally fine!" he smiled. "I was able to transfer some magic back."

"Oh..." Tamaki muttered, glancing up at him. "I dunno how-"

"Me neither!" he laughed and pressed his forehead to Tamaki's. He could feel the way Tamaki's body hummed with the sensation of his magic, their energy still seemingly connected.

"Mirio..." Tamaki whispered, stroking his hand through his hair. "Can you... feel that?"

"Yeah..." Mirio smirked, and leaned down to kiss him. "I think it's probably got something to do with how much I love you."

Tamaki sighed, a small smile pulling across his lips. "It probably does."

"So... after that you were just... bonded," Uraraka asked, completely enthralled by the story Mirio told.

"Yup!" Mirio smiled, wrapping his hand around Tamaki's.

"But how did you know?" she asked. He pulled down his shirt and Uraraka gasped, noting the small purple moon which sat over his chest. "I see..."

"We've... done a bit more research on it now... and we found out it was actually pretty dangerous," he chuckled, rubbing his neck.

"Dangerous?" Bakugou snorted, raising his eyebrow. "Because you gotta be in peril or some shit?"

"No, no!" Mirio said, waving his hand. "That was just in our case. People can bond normally... but if two people try and bond and they're not... close enough then... the ritual will drain the human of all their magic energy and the dragon will be forced to live their life in dragon form."

Uraraka's eyes widened. "W-What?" she gasped.

Tamaki bit his lip and turned his eyes to the floor, nodding. "I could've ruined everything."

"What?" Mirio laughed loudly. "What do you mean?! We both would have!"

"I don't understand how you both... accidentally bonded," Uraraka muttered.

"Well, it's actually kinda simple," Mirio said. "The ritual really only requires the two parties to share magic back and forth. Tamaki and I were already doing that. It then requires you to say a vow and when I was trying to save him, I vowed I would never leave his side. It must have been enough because it worked! I mean it helps that I love him with all my heart!" Mirio smiled widely, kissing the side of Tamaki's head. "It, uh, helps... if you're more... physically close."

"R-Right!" Uraraka stammered, her cheeks turning bright red. She bit down on her lip. Her and Bakugou weren't... in love were they? They certainly done nothing like that. They had grown closer over the course of this journey and she didn't want to leave him or be without him... but there was no way he would be able to make a vow like that to her. She couldn't imagine this ritual ending in anything but utter and complete disaster.

Then he would be trapped in dragon form and she would have no magic.

"Can you break the bond?" Uraraka asked, the question popping into her mind.

"We never thought about it..." Mirio admitted, shrugging.

"I do remember reading something about it being very difficult to break... painful too. I think it drains you of magic," Tamaki muttered, his eyes shifting back and forth.

More loss of magic. Uraraka's heart thumped loudly in her chest. She could barely hold her focus, her vision blurring. The idea of never having magic again terrified her. She loved her magic more than anything else in the entire world. But... she hated knowing that if she didn't at least try, the dragons could be even worse off...

It was a huge decision.

"But you two can use magic freely?" Bakugou asked, looking at the two boys.

"Yup! The magical current flows between us," Mirio explained. "We replenish each other and it's impossible to get tired or feel drained! I don't have to use an object and Tamaki doesn't have to take from a universal magic source."

"Is it true... that it's draining?" Tamaki whispered. "Are other dragons suffering?"

"Yeah!" Bakugou snapped. "While you've been performing your little show, all the dragons have been fucking suffering!"

"I-I..." Tamaki looked down, guilt apparent on his features.

Mirio frowned. "That's not Tamaki's fault."

"Katsuki, please," Uraraka said, gently placing her hand on his chest. "I'm sorry. It's just... a lot of information," she whispered.

"I know," Mirio said. "It took us a long time to realize why we could use magic as we wanted. It was kind of lucky that it worked out like this," he said. "If we had known, maybe we would've been more hesitant to do the ritual."

"Well we gotta fuckin' try, Cheeks!" Bakugou said. "If we have endless magic we could transfer magic back to the dragons... or teach them this shit!"

Uraraka gasped, shocked Bakugou was still so on board with trying this out. "You... want to?" she asked, blinking at him.

"Of course I fucking do!" he snarled, grabbing her hands. "And you're the only goddamn human worth trying it with."

She looked at their hands and then stared at Mirio and Tamaki. They were lovers... Bakugou had kissed her, but they hadn't done anything remotely physical and Uraraka had no idea if they were even ready for something like that.

"Excuse me..." she whispered, her chest feeling heavy. Her hands slipped from Bakugou's, the room spinning. She needed air... to breathe and know that she didn't need to make a decision to possibly lose all her magic forever.

"The hell?" Bakugou frowned, watching as she pulled her hands back.

She made a promise. She knew she made a promise; to help him no matter what...

But what good would she be if she lost all her magic and trapped Bakugou forever in his dragon form?

Uraraka's chest heaved. "I-I think I need some air."

And with that, she pulled away, dashing out of the hut. She tried to ignore the look of pure hurt on Bakugou's face, the image ingrained in her mind as she ran into the cold winter air.

#miritama #kacchako #tamaki amajiki #mirio togata #boku no hero academia #nejire hadou #big 3 #fantasy AU #dragon au #katsuki bakugou #uraraka ochako #backstory

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simplyplain42 · 5 years

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MERRY CHRISTMAS! @heterocosmica I was your Naruto Secret Santa this year. This was the first time for me to participate in this kind of event and honestly it was so fun. I was thrilled to get to write about sasuhina as that’s my top ship, so without further ado I hope you like this fanfiction I wrote you. Hopefully its angsty enough :). Also this is like an alternative timeline from the show where the Uchiha clan never got slaughtered.

Title: The Promise of Rebranding Category: Naruto Pairing: Sasuke x Hinata Rated: Teen. Summary: Sasuke and Hinata are arranged to be married. Neither one knowing each other very well and can only recall each other from the academy. Once they are wed, they not only have to learn to love each other but put up with the pressure from their clans.

The Promise of Rebranding

Sasuke had always known that when he was older, he would be expected to have a wife and kids. He dreamed of being a successful shinobi when he was a kid and for the most part he had succeed. He was a Jonin and the Captain of the Uchiha Police Force with an 89% success rate.

He was an adult now, yet the idea of wife and kids was a dream he hadn’t pursued on his own. The thought was on the back burner in his mind. His occupation had been his focus. Kids were a time for later, until his father broke the news to him one morning.

He was to be wed. The arrangement was already set and done by his father.

“You have a duty to your clan and your family. If you are to see this through, it’ll will be the first step of recognition to the Uchiha’s legacy. The Leaf won’t be able to ignore this pact between the Uchiha and Hyuga. If they slight us, they will also dishonor one of their most prestigious and oldest clans in Konoha. They will have to treat us with the same respect as the Hyuga,” his father, Fugaku, explained with a deep tone. He was already sensing his son’s disapproval.

“You expect me to do this for political gain?” Sasuke remarked with an edge of bitterness to his voice.

“Precisely.”

“Hn…” Sasuke shook his head at the audacity of his father. “And why do you think the Hyuga agreed to marry into a clan the Village neglects? What do they get out of it?”

“Our sharingan.” Fugaku mentioned as if it was not the clan’s most precious heirloom. “If it even does pass onto your offspring. The child, of course, will be safeguarded regardless. It will be raised and nurtured here in the compound and out of the Hyuga’s hands.”

“This marriage sounds like a disadvantage for Hyuga.” Sasuke quipped, unamused.

“They’ll see it as a gain,” his father enlightened. “The Hyuga is losing their weakest member in hopes of having a claim to the sharingan while their second heiress takes on the role of clan leadership. “

“I will be marrying their heir.” Sasuke stated, eyeing his father. He was looking for confirmation although he did not ask the question.

“Correct. You’re being wed to Hinata Hyuga, eldest daughter of Hiashi Hyuga and the rightful heir to the Hyuga Clan.”

“Don’t make her sound more prestigious than she is,” Sasuke retorted with heavy disdain. “You did not witness how graciously she fought in the chunin exams.”

“You should be more courteous to your new bride. Arrangements have already been made. You’ll wed the Hyuga girl by the end of next week.” His father mentioned before signaling Sasuke’s dismissal.

Sasuke had to bite back his tongue, out of respect for his father, even if he was not happy about the arrangement. He knew he did not have a choice as he grumbled inwardly about it.

He became increasingly unhappier the longer he dwelled on the impending situation. His mind entertaining thoughts on his new wife to be. The woman he was to share his life with. He didn’t know her much and could only recall her from back when they were genin. All he remembered of her was her shy and timid demeanor. She was soft-spoken and had lacked confidence in the academy. He wondered if she had matured and was self-assured now.

He was sitting outside on the patio while he was thinking things over when his older brother, Itachi, joined him.

“You don’t look so happy,” Itachi stated. His tone was calm and his voice smooth.

“Hn.”

“I felt similarly when father first told me I was to wed Izumi.” The tips of Itachi’s lips pointed up in a knowing smile.

“So what?!” Sasuke snipped at him. “Are you going to tell me I should be jumping for joy at this wedding?”

“No. But I did come to offer some advice.” Itachi responded coolly, taking a breath in before continuing. “Do your duty and marry the girl, but this marriage is yours to choose to love. You can choose to disdain your marriage, or you can choose to find happiness in it. I didn’t think Izumi would be the one for me, but she surprised me. All I’m saying is keep an open heart.”

With that Itachi stood up and left his little brother alone to his thoughts.

Sasuke Uchiha.

The name ran through her head so many times within the last week.

She was to wed Sasuke Uchiha and she would become Hinata Uchiha.

His name did not sit well on her tongue at first. She remembered the cool, stoic boy that sat near her old crush, Naruto. A boy filled with dreams and determination. What was Sasuke filled with? She wasn’t sure.

She did not disapprove of the match her father had made and she had come to accept her fate in the week that followed. Her father had made it clear to her that she will not be the heir to the Hyuga clan. That her birthright had been won by her sister when she was thirteen and her sister eight.

Hinata knew she was not as strong or as gifted as her sister in the gentle fist. She was a disappointment to the clan. The weakest member born of the strongest branch. Her father blamed her gentle character. He had tried to strength her. He tried to train her, and she failed him.

Now she was to be wed for a set of ruby eyes.

The hot water of her bath could not calm her sense of nerves. She would be given to Sasuke Uchiha in two days and on the morrow her fate will be sealed.

“Will it hurt?” Hinata spoke softly into the steamy air.

Her handmaiden from the branch family paused in her action at her heiress’s question. It did not take her long to figure out what the young woman was referring to.

“No, Hinata-san. You’ll be asleep when it is done.”

Hinata nodded briefly. “Thank you”.

The handmaiden continued lathering her hair as Hinata dreaded what was to come.

The day of the wedding, guests from the Hyuga and Uchiha clan attended the ceremony to see the heiress of the Hyuga be married off to the second heir of the Uchiha. Elders of the village also came to bear witness to this day of integration between the two oldest clans in Konoha.

Both bride and groom were nervous but hid their nerves in different ways. Sasuke looked grim and irritated even though his stomach was tight with obligations while Hinata wore a tight smile and vacant expression. Underneath her façade was a quicken heart with nerves dancing under her skin.

She could hardly recall anything that morning. All she knew was she had been prepped and beautified to fit into her elegant white gown. Her bouquet was of pink lilies but even her sense of smell was gone.

Quick enough, she found herself walking down the aisle to her husband to be. He looked devilishly handsome in his black fitting tux, but his sharp gaze left an apathetic impression in the air. When she reached him at the end of the aisle, her father gave her away and her hand was swept into Sasuke’s cool one.

“We have gathered here to bear witness to this new union of this man and this woman. To become of one soul and of one voice as husband and wife. Through rich or poor and in sickness and in health. Now if you will repeat after me,” the pastor spoke to Sasuke and then Hinata as they each took their vows in front of God and men.

The good pastor lightly bounded their hands together as he breathed life into their union, pronouncing them husband and wife. He stepped back as he gave permission to the husband to now kiss his wife. Hinata turned towards Sasuke on cue almost robotically. Her eyes hesitantly trialing up his form to find his stony expression.

In one efficient move, Sasuke took the edge of Hinata’s veil and flipped it over her head to have access to her face. He could easily see the heavy white powered foundation she wore and the light pink lipstick she bared on her lips. Without a second to waste, he swooped down to peck her lips to seal the ceremony.

His lips were warm and smooth against hers in that fainted touch. She was dazed when he pulled away before she even had a chance to respond. The audience began to clap at the success of their union, reminding Hinata that they were not alone in the room.

With tinted cheeks, she stood facing their guests, turned away from the alter, with her new husband’s hand loosely held within her grasp. The room was praising their union as they stood before their witnesses until the music cued their exit.

Hinata was eager to let her husband lead her from the alter, away from all the prying eyes but she knew she wouldn’t get any peace anytime soon as they went to their next event, the reception.

The reception was as a blur to Hinata as well. She had received many hugs and many gifts after the ceremony. She hardly tasted the food as her senses were still shot. Her stomach twisting for the night to come. She knew she would have to give herself to her new husband. It was expected of her. Her father expected her too and she had been officially bought and paid for in some respect.

She snuck a shy glance at her husband that was seated beside her at their wedding table. She had been doing so for most of the night. She was trying to get a read on his mood. At the ceremony, he seemed irritably resigned. Now it seemed he was no longer as annoyed as before, but he wasn’t content either.

While observing him, Sasuke never seemed to smile and that concerned Hinata heavily. She tried to recall ever seeing the dark-haired boy smiling or happy, but she could not. She wondered how could she make her new husband happy if he never smiled? She even wonder could she ever be happy with him.

She stopped her depressing train of thoughts before they got worse. She couldn’t perceive her new marriage as negative yet. It had just begun and she wasn’t going to perceive it as doomed from the start. She was going to try. She wanted to be a good wife. She wanted a proper life and maybe, she will get to be happy if she tried.

Her head perked up as she made herself positive and made her nerves dissipated.

Sasuke caught her gazing at him and he pretended not to notice. She was studying him, much like he was study her during the night. He felt she was even more quiet than she was at the academy. He was very pleased to hear her stutter had subsided somewhat when he heard her engage with their guests. Her voice was soft to the point she was hard to hear, but her voice had an airy quality to it that he could get used to. Her voice was not like his previous teammate’s pitchy voice.

He hated loud and obnoxious voices as the sound of them could make him irritable. He had already suffered on a team with the two loudest ninjas in Konoha. Both were big mouths that were constantly arguing with each other ever since the academy. He was glad that his team had disbanded ever since they made the rank of Jonin and their sensei, Kakashi, was honored with the promotion of Hokage. His blond teammate, Naruto, was still preparing and training on becoming the next Hokage and his female teammate had taken on a large shift at the Hospital.

His team was parted, but they manage to see each other on occasion. Like for this instance, they had come to see him wed. Naruto was stoked for him. He was happy to see his teammate begin a family of his own. When Naruto offered his best wishes and was talking Sasuke’s ear off, Sasuke was closely watching for Hinata’s reaction.

He knew she used to have a crush on the blond. Everyone knew in the academy. It was plain to anyone that could see. He was mildly appreciative to see that she had no obvious reaction to his teammate’s words. She had accepted his best wishes with a tiny smile and thanks. Rose colored cheeks did not consume her face, leaving Sasuke to believe that she had gotten over her silly little crush.

The white made-up bed looked daunting to Hinata. She bit her cheek, wondering who was going to break the ice first. Was her husband going to make the first move? Should she? They both knew what their clans expected, but before Hinata could further dwell on the impending action, Sasuke had already made their decision.

“We don’t have to tonight,” he stated nonchalantly.

Surprised from his statement, she turned her wide eyes from the bed to him. He did not return her gaze as his own stayed lock on the bed. There was a short pause before he reiterated himself.

“We’ll do so when you��re ready and comfortable,” he mentioned.

Hinata felt her heart clench. She felt relieved and her heart filled with gratitude. She was smiling at the news as she watched him begin to untie his tie and remove his coat. After realizing he was starting to undress, she turned away. Her cheeks dusted red despite him being still fully clothed. Plus, he was her husband, she should not feel ashamed to see him.

Fighting with herself, she made her escape to the bathroom to similarly undress and get out of her wedding gown. She closed the door for some privacy. Looking in the mirror, she saw piles of makeup caked on her face from what her stylist had done early this morning.

She quickly found a towel and let the water run warm from the sink as she took off her veil. She undid her long indigo hair, relieved to no longer have it pinned up. She wet the towel when the water was warm and wiped at her face to clear the makeup away.

She had it nearly off, but the sight of her forehead under her bangs made her pause. She shook her head a moment later, looking sternly at herself in the mirror. She wasn’t going to pity herself. She was going to make the best out of her life from now on she decided, before moving on to take care of her dress. She tried reaching her hands behind herself to undo the buttons of her dress and unzip the rest, but she found difficulty doing so.

After a minute or two of struggling to get out of her wedding gown, she reluctantly knew she had to ask for help. Quietly, she opened the bathroom door to peer into the bedroom. She spotted Sasuke on the bed. He had already unbuttoned his dress shirt and was now taking off his shoes and socks.

His dark eyes had glanced at her when he heard the door opened.

“Would you mind… helping me unzip? I can’t… do it” She asked timidly while stepping into the bedroom.

He nodded after a brief pause as he went to stand. She turned around, giving him access, as he approached her.

Skillfully, Sasuke managed to unbutton the five buttons that ran down from Hinata’s neck to below her shoulders. Then he unzipped her steadily from her shoulders to the small of her back, spying her creamy white skin and white undies as her gown grew slack around her form.

She was blushing greatly from what Sasuke could tell from the redness on her neck. When he was done, she looked over her shoulder to thank him while holding the dress to her form.

“Thank you.” She squeaked out softly.

His dark eyes caught her own, ready to let her retreat into the bathroom, but a glimpse of green caught his eyes.

“Wait,” he directed, holding her there.

Hinata’s eyes grew wide as her husband’s hand came up to her cheek, turning her to look at him. She grew weary to what he might want but saw that his eyes were narrowed in on her forehead. She froze when his hand deftly lifted up her bangs, spying her forehead. His fingers were combed through her hair as his thumb rubbed at the left-over makeup on her forehead. She held her breath as she witness the pensive look that came over his face.

“What is that?”

She gulped. She was apprehensive in that instance. “A seal given to branch members of the Hyuga clan.” She spoke shakily, she reverted her eyes from his when they met hers.

“You’re the heir to the main branch,” he spoke, stating it as a fact although the question was implied.

“I… I was,” she admitted shamefully. “My sister, Hanabi, is the heir now.”

“What’s the seal for?”

“To protect the secrets of the byakugan,” she answered truthfully, but she refused to look her husband in the eye. She was afraid to see his judgement. Afraid for him to finally see what he had bought.

Sasuke studied the seal while the back of his teeth were clenched together. He knew this was not part of the deal when his father made arrangements with the Hyuga. Otherwise, his father would have forewarned him.

He was sure his father did not know of this. Personally, he had mixed emotions seeing a branding seal on his new wife. He took his eyes off the seal to search her face.

“Hn.”

His hands fell away from her head, making Hinata look up. He was letting her go she realized and she watched him move back to their shared bed. Swiftly, she retreated to the bathroom to continue to undress and slip on a light night gown that reached her knees.

When she was done composing herself and undressing, she reentered the bedroom to find Sasuke already laying on his side of the bed. His bare back was to her and in the dim light she could only make out some of his physique.

She assumed he was resting already and quietly made her way to the bed to slip under the covers. She tried to strictly stay to her side of the bed to give her husband some space. It felt odd sleeping in a bed with someone when all her years she’s always slept alone.

It was hard for her to fall asleep, leaving her to wonder what Sasuke could possibly might feel for her. Or how he might possibly feel for her in the future.

When morning came, he felt incredibly warm. He tossed back the blankets, hoping to rid the heat, but the lack of blankets didn’t help. There was a long pillow snuggled into his side. His foggy brain knew that was incorrect as he slowly cracked open his eyes.

He soon found out that the source of heat was emanating from his wife that was huddled beside him. His eyes trailed over her in the soft morning light. The blankets were kicked down to their feet and half tossed over his side of the bed when he got too hot. He noticed that she was cold and had buried her head into his side while cocooning herself with her arms and her legs entangled with his.

He stayed still for a few moments longer, to soak in the image of her before carefully getting up out of bed. When he did so, he heard her whine ever so softly, before he tossed the blanket that had fallen to the floor back on her.

He then made his way to the bathroom to take a cold shower so that he could start his day. Unbeknownst to him, he had started the routine for their daily life.

Hinata woke up to an empty space that was still warm, but she was no longer cold, thanks to the blankets draped over her. Groggily, she heard the hum of the shower and knew that’s where her husband disappeared to.

Her husband. She was still getting use to that phrase and knew it will take some time before she felt it was natural on her tongue. Every day the phrase came a little easier.

Each morning seemed to go the same way. Hinata would wake up curled on the wrong side of the bed with blankets covering her as her husband got ready for the day. She would do the same and help her husband out by preparing his coffee in the morning and on some mornings offer him breakfast too. He would either decline or accept, but Hinata learned he hardly had an appetite in the mornings. He would survive on black coffee until he was free in the afternoon.

When she learned of his schedule, she packed him a lunch, quickly learning the foods he enjoyed and the ones he didn’t. He was always vague with his responses of gratitude and Hinata figured if he didn’t tell her to stop, then she was okay to continue doing so.

She would then see her husband on his way out the door to his high important job at the Uchiha Police Station. He was gone from eight in the morning to five at night. She couldn’t say she missed him when he left for work, but the house often felt bare without his presence. She was still getting used to living in the Uchiha compound and often reflected back to her old home. She didn’t miss it but learning the Uchiha customs were coming slowly to her and getting acquainted with her husband was even harder.

They only had a brief two days to spend together on their honeymoon. It had been short and sweet but not long enough for them to fully understand each other. They were both given passes to a massage and bath house parlor. The massages were received separately and Hinata had never felt so pampered in her ninja life. The masseuse’s hands rubbed all the knots out of her body and her skin felt silky smooth from the spa treatments she received. The bathing portion was an awkward setting for the two of them as they had a tub of hot water to share.

The Lovers Soak was what the establishment called it.

So as husband and wife, they got to join each other in the hot pools.

They didn’t do anything beneath the water, but it was the first time that she got a full view of her husband, literally all of him. He didn’t stand there to let her gawk but entered the pools casually. She only managed to sneak a handful of peaks, feeling bashful while doing so but he seemed unaffected by her gaze.

She tried to look as confident as he was when she stepped into the tub. Her body had been on display for him and she tried not to feel bashful. Her cheeks were bright red as they soaked in the tub in comfortable silence for the majority of it.

Besides seeing each other naked, their physical relationship only made minimal progress. Every morning before she would see him off to work, she would receive a peck on her lips. The routine had come about when she first offered him a packed lunch. She had to reached on her tippy toes to brush her lips to his cheek. The next time, he made the move to peck her lips before leaving the door as he mentioned his thanks.

The gesture was not romantic yet, but each morning she looked forward to his lips a little bit more. Their relationship was growing with the small kisses, hand holding, and dinner discussions. She was learning to understand him. Like how he was often closed off to people, his emotions were heavily guarded, his opinions hardly wavered as he was stubborn, and he was assertive. He didn’t just talk about what he was going to do, he always seem to do it. She could learn to appreciate that aspect of him and respect him for keeping his word. He wasn’t a liar that she knew of.

When he was gone during the day, Hinata kept the house tidy. She wanted to be a dutiful wife, but that’s not all she was. She was a chunin still, but missions were scarce, and her team had disbanded ever since Kurenai became pregnant. Her other two teammates were rather busy too. Shino was studying and preparing to become a teacher at the academy. Kiba was working on becoming a ninken trainer and breeder. Both were too busy for missions unless it was of dire importance.

Hinata kept up with her ninja training however, and bid as the Hokage asked of her. Whenever she was training or had to be in uniform, she wore her forehead protector around her head to cover her seal on her forehead. Outside of work, she wore a bandana when shopping for household items or when outside in the Uchiha compound. She only let her seal show at home with her husband, but even then, her bangs covered it as best they could.

Their first intimate kiss was shared on the training grounds.

Sasuke happened to stumble upon Hinata at the fields. She was busy working on her gentle fist, practicing each move in repetition to make her attacks more fluid. He knew his wife trained, but he had never thought to train with her until that day.

He was mildly curious. He had not seen her fight since the chunin exams when they were young. He had heard of her defeat from Naruto firsthand as the blond idiot had vowed to beat her opponent in the next rounds. He remembered he had not been impressed at the time, learning that she was struck down by her own family.

He thought it was downright pathetic when he was younger. That the girl couldn’t even land a blow on her kin. She was weak in comparison to her cousin, Neji, but now, something rang true in his head. She had fought tooth and nail against her own blood, making her windup in the hospital for it.

She didn’t give up even when she was clearly out matched. She so desperately wanted to prove herself and it partially remind him of himself. He had always wanted to prove himself too. He sought recognition from his father by trying to be better than his older brother, Itachi. He had given his all every day just so that he could be in the same league as him. Now, here he was. Captain of the Uchiha Police Force while his brother was retired from Anbu Black OPs with a family of his own and was becoming ingrained into the clan’s responsibilities.

A lot had changed for Sasuke since he was in the chunin exams and a lot has happened to make him the shinobi he was today. So, he looked upon his wife with fresh eyes. He was intrigued to see the ninja she was and assess her skill level.

He appeared to her on the field. She was not startled by his presence but was more than curious to see if he was of need of something. When the offer came, Hinata was willing to spar with her husband. He was quiet and analytical as he took on the defensive to test her strengths, he did not move to strike or counter strike until he felt he had seen all her offense moves.

When he flipped the script and took on the assault, Hinata braced herself. She pivoted and dodged as much as she could. For the most part, she could avoid his attacks, although he was not trying to outwit her but merely understand her fighting style. She was graceful and swift. Her attacks were few when on the defensive, but they surged with power that could take a person’s breath away.

During their training sessions, he would give small pieces of advice and she do her best to follow them. She was greatly appreciative of his words that were meant to make her thrive than cut her down. His voice was cool and level, but she did not experience a bite to his words the way her father’s words did when he trained her. Her husband may not have been gentle, but he was certainly not harsh and cruel.

On one late afternoon, after weeks of training together, Hinata was charging at Sasuke about to strike. He was going to make a hasty sweep to the right to avoid her palm when he noted in mid-attack she lost her footing. She was off balance and was about to fall.

He reached out to steady her. She was panting, and her cheeks were red from exertion. Her lavender doe eyes were looking up at him in surprise.

She was trying to catch her breath, so she could thank him and was oblivious to the fact that he had been fixating on her lips. They were full and pink. He thought they had looked kissable, so that’s what he decided to do.

His lips connected to hers, stealing her breath away once more. He kissed her longer than he ever had before, and he heard her faint hum of approval before he felt her kissing him back.

He couldn’t recall when they had moved under the shade of a tree and when he had her back against it. All he was focused on was the feeling on her lips on his. One of his hands tangle in her long locks and his other hand holding her steady at the hip. Her hands were placed at his chest and face. She seemed to be enjoying the kiss as much as he was. Their kiss only ending when they felt small drops of water falling through the tree leaves as the clouds began to sprinkle.

They were puffing when they parted from each other. Their breathes heating the air. Neither one knew what to say or how to proceed. It took a minute for Sasuke’s thoughts to recollect themselves as he suggested they go home before the down pour.

When they got home, they were soaked to the bone. Hinata offered to let Sasuke steal a shower first but he refused and told her she should go.

Hinata nodded about to step away but turned back to her husband. Her face was beat red as she looked to the floor.

“We can share the warm water if you like,” she mentioned timidly, feeling embarrassed.

Sasuke understood her offer and slowly nodded his head. His eyes skimmed over her. Her wet clothes roughly sticking to her body and he couldn’t help shying away at his thoughts as he looked away to.

They had been legally wed for only four months, but their relationship was only now starting to bloom.

A few more months had passed with nearly the same routine.

Sasuke would wake up for work in the morning and his wife would kiss him bye. She would take care of the household chores and run to the market from time to time. When Sasuke had days off, he would join her. Sometimes he even tagged along if she only wanted to window shop. Other days when he could spare time in the afternoon, he would find her training and they would spar with each other.

Rarely, Sasuke would be called out on a two-day mission. However, that occasion only came once in a blue moon, due to the fact he was needed at the station. Hinata had similar missions from time to time but much more frequent and less duration. Her missions were typically C or B rank whereas Sasuke had A-rank or higher.

On nights, when Sasuke came home from work, they would sit down to a homemade meal Hinata had prepared. Occasionally they would receive a visitor or two, so Hinata learned to make extra helpings. Naruto was apparently notorious for stopping by unannounced just to fill Sasuke in on the loop around town, to talk about his missions, or complain about their sensei.

Other times, Hinata had to receive her mother and father-in-law. Both of Sasuke’s parents were often curious how their marriage was going. Itachi had stopped by a few times too. He usually warned them if he was going to come over. Hinata found Sasuke’s family pleasant enough, but she enjoyed Itachi’s visits the most, since he was courtesy and had a soothing aura about him.

When the two of them were not receiving visitors, Sasuke would treated his wife out on a date over the weekends. He made sure to give his full attention to her to help make his marriage stronger. He was deeply taking Itachi’s advice to heart by trying not to be closed off to Hinata.

Every day was progress to breaking down the shield around his heart to let his wife in. He wanted this to work and he believed he was even growing fond of being with her. She was quiet, but she was considerate and thoughtful. There was nothing about her so far that he had immediately disliked except for her seal on her head.

He had nearly forgotten that bitter seal until they were having an evening out with Hinata’s family and the high elders from the clan.

It was right around the holidays and they were over to celebrate Hinata’s birthday with a family dinner.

They were received at the door with custom pleasantries. Sasuke and Hinata had spruce up for the occasion, holding hands when one of the branch members had greeted them at the door.

The first look upon Hiashi’s face was disappointment after examining them, but his face did not look any grimmer than before. He welcomed them with fake warmth and wish his daughter a blessed birthday.

The food had been decent, but Sasuke felt Hinata could cook better as the dinner table fell into light small talk. When sake was being poured that’s when the pleasantries ended.

“Would you care for some, daughter?” Hiashi offered, ready to have Hinata’s glass poured.

“No thank you, father,” Hinata declined politely.

His face was pensive before he took a sip of his cup of sake. “Do you not care for the taste? Or are you with child at the moment?” He quipped.

Hinata squeaked in embarrassment. All eyes were on her and she could tell the elders of her clan were waiting in anticipation for her reply.

“No, father… I’m not with child. I simply wish not to drink,” Hinata answered softly, looking abashed.

“Hm,” her father hummed his disapproving thoughts before he spoke. “After nearly half a year of marriage, one would think you would be heavy with child. I hope there haven’t been any medical complications,” he subtly pried while looking pointedly at Sasuke.

Hinata shook her head mortified. She couldn’t believe her sex life was being brought up at the dinner table. She even felt her husband tense at the line of questioning from her father. She sneaked a glance at him to read how he was feeling and saw irritation in his eyes.

“Perhaps these two adults haven’t had enough experience in the bedroom. A marriage is not real until it is consummated. Maybe one of them hasn’t figured out where to put it,” one of the eldest seniors of her clan added. He was a raspy old man who had a tendency to speak without much filter in his old age.

Hinata hurriedly stepped in. Her voice shaky as she tried to take the blame. “No, no, no. The fault lies…with me. I haven’t been ready… and Sasuke has been more than lenient with me.”

She felt Sasuke’s eyes upon her and she was too nervous to look as see if he was displeased with her answer. Her father on the other hand seemed to weigh her answer before responding carefully.

“I’m glad to see some chivalry left in this world and as much as I like to hear that you are respectful of my daughter, Sasuke, I have to say that the two of you won’t be young forever. Age only further increases complications and I’m sure both our clans would like to see the next generation come into this world.” Hiashi voice was smooth and his speech was delivered solemnly.

“Children pave the way to the clan’s future. Hanabi’s own children will need protectors much as Neji has spent his life for yours,” the elder added.

Hinata felt the sting with Neji’s name and was left speechless, although Sasuke was quick to respond.

“You mean for our children to be your slaves?” Sasuke snapped heatedly.

“Slaves?!” The elder mocked, preposterously. “Your offspring have the honor and the duty to protect the main branch. The Hyuga’s lineage only passes on through their pure blood which your children must protect!”

“Tch. Never mind about our children. They’ll be of no concern of yours.” Sasuke spoke firmly, glaring heavily at the old man.

Before the elder could further respond, Hiashi held up his hand to stop him.

“I’m sure my son-in-law did not mean to give offense with the term slave. He has merely misconceived the importance of our branch family. They are not branded and sealed to be our slaves. They are branded to keep the byakugan within the family and to keep its secrets safe. Branding is a cautionary measure, surely the Uchiha have some devices they use to—”

“No, we don’t.”

Hiashi’s mouth formed a hard line in contempt. The table grew quiet and the air was thick with tension. Hiashi’s stare matched Sasuke’s glare.

“Well we should expect the sharingan trait to be passed down without a problem since there is no protection in the matter,” the elder mocked once again.

“My children will not be branded. They will not be enslaved. You have plenty of branch members to keep your family’s traditions going,” Sasuke stated firmly.

The elder was fuming as he began to counter. “Hinata is of Hyuga blood. She has obligations to protect the main-“

“She was Hyuga.” Sasuke curtly cut in with an icy tone, “She is an Uchiha now. Her obligations are to me. To bear my children. To carry on my family name and traditions. Not to be branded like cattle.”

Another elder stood up from his seat, enraged. “Insolent boy! Your family name is being carried on by your eldest brother. He is heir to the Uchiha. You are nothing but a –“

Hiashi commanded silence when he stood up from his seat nosily. The two bitter elder sank back down in their seat as Hiashi’s eyes leveled with Sasuke’s. His voice was like steel. “If I were you, I would watch my tongue.” He advised. “Hinata might grow weary during such passionate discussions.”

The threat hung heavy in the air.

Sasuke clenched the back of his teeth shut, nearly grinding them with the force he was using not to spit something back at the old man. He only kept a cool head for Hinata’s sake. The thought of her even potentially getting hurt was enough to make him hesitate. He couldn’t tell them how he really felt even though he already done as much, but he couldn’t escalate it farther. Not while Hinata was vulnerable. Plus, it was her birthday.

“You’re right.” He breathed out coolly. His eyes were like daggers piercing into the man’s throat. He eyed them all making a mental note of all the ones in attendance. “Hinata has grown tired. I’m sure you won’t mind if we take our leave.”

“Not at all.” Hiashi smiled accordingly. The tension in the room slowly dwindling. “It was a pleasure to have you. I’m sure will see you soon. Rest up my daughter.”

Hinata nodded numbly. She was still too shocked to coherently speak after everything that had happened. “Yes, father.”

Within minutes, Sasuke and her were out the door and swiftly making their escape out of the Hyuga compound. Hinata could feel Sasuke was stewing. She felt an immense dark arura about him. She knew he was not pleased and she could hardly blame him. Dinner had not gone well, and she struggled to keep up with her husband’s long strides.

He was pacing fast down the quiet street. There were other people along the roads but Hinata paid them no mind, focusing on staying by his side.

It wasn’t until they were half way to their house when Sasuke had stopped and took her by the waist. He kissed her sharply with fiery hot passion, leaving her breathless. His eyes were fierce when he looked upon her, deep with devotion and resolve. His mouth was set in a hard line. His hands brushing at her bangs to spy her seal. His eyes narrowed at it.

When his dark orbs finally drifted back down to meet her own again, she felt speechless at their intensity.

“As my wife you’re an Uchiha. I won’t let them have power over you or our children. So, on this day, I swear, I’ll do whatever it takes to find a way to get that seal removed.” He promised as he kissed her fiercely once more.

His voice was softer when he came up for air.

“I won’t let them harm you,” he promised.

She couldn’t help but smile as she reached up to kiss him softly back. She couldn’t have asked for a better birthday gift from him. To regain her freedom from her clan would be wonderful and to know that their children wouldn’t have to share the same fate.

She was filled with warmth as her heart was skipping with joy.

She knew she couldn’t have gotten luckier to marry the man that she did.

The End

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