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ceciliablossoms · 3 years

Note

I just read the whiskey angst and i cried a bit 😭 can i request Fruit Punch + Absinthe after that the reader feel stressed and go for a walk outside but are attacked by Abiss Mages and seriously injured and Diluc / Childe / Kaeya is surprised when the reader return with a pathetic form but the reader don't want them to touch them pls 😭😭😭 REVERSE UNO

I genuinely wasn't expecting people to like that one enough to request a sequel. I originally had no intention of making a sequel but with so many people asking how can I not?

Haha.. I couldn't sleep again...

The Whiskey fic

TW: Mentions of Injury, Swearing, Self Hatred

Absinthe: “Get out of my sight! I don’t fucking want you here!”

Fruit Punch: “Why are you bleeding!? What the hell happened?!”

-------

Diluc

It had been several days since he had last seen them and honestly speaking the man was a mess. What he said hadn't fully sunk in until he finished his work and upon realising that he had made a severe error, a pit formed in his stomach.

He was extremely disgusted with himself. Nobody should ever talk to their significant other in such a way under any circumstances. Not only that but he had also called them a hindrance when they had only been trying to help him. Pathetic.

He ended up seeking them out, arriving at their small house in Mondstadt. He had approached their door as they were exiting their home. They visibly bristled.

As the days passed they wallowed less, sadness and dejection becoming anger. How DARE he have the AUDACITY to talk to them like that? To treat them as though they were holding him back?

“Get out of my sight! I don't fucking want you here!”

He didn't even flinch out their outburst. He deserved it, "I have... come to apologise for my actions. I-"

"Didn't mean it? Save your words. I don't wish to hear it." They pushed past him. "I'm going for a walk. Don't follow me."

He watched as they exited the gates, steam practically pouring from their ears. As much as he wished to apologise, craved to say that he was sorry, he was sure that they wouldn't have it. But, he sat on the stairs to their house regardless and waited for their return. Whether they would accept it or not he was still going to try to make amends.

He didn't know how long he sat there waiting but they still had yet to return. The worry had long set in, hitting its peak when there was a small commotion at the gate. They pushed past Swan, who was following after them in a panic.

They walked with a limp, blood seeping through the hand that clenched their shoulder tightly. A cut adorned their face from temple to jaw. It too was bleeding heavily.

Diluc approached them with haste, alerted by their state, "Why are you bleeding?! What the hell happened!?"

They pushed past him too as he reached out to them, "Don't.... touch me..."

Diluc glared at Swan as a way to tell him to go back to his post. He jumped but obliged nonetheless as Diluc began to follow after them. Grabbing their non-injured shoulder in his gloved hand, he tugged them gently to stop them from moving.

His tone was stern, "You do not have to speak with me nor do you have to accept my apology. But you will get those injuries tended to even if I have to drag you to the church myself."

They pulled themselves from his grip, out of breath and tired, "Why is it that you care? I'm but a hindrance remember. Even as we speak I am obstructing you."

"If those were my feelings I wouldn't be here. I don't expect forgiveness but I would still like to let you know that what I said doesn't define how I feel for you. That is of little importance right now. Your injuries need to be dealt with"

They said nothing, looking off to the side. Sluggishly they move towards their home again, quietly ushering for him to follow. "I have plenty of medical supplies of my own." They paused, "When my injuries heal, I expect an apology in full. And as for my trust... You'll have to work for it."

He was relieved. Their words suggested that there was a still a chance for him.

Tartaglia

It took him a while to calm down. After all, he did tend to brood on things until they festered. At first, he only got angrier. Angry that the cheater got away with it. Angry that they sided with the cheater. Angry that they helped the cheater.

He thought about it more though, and the more he rationalised the more he calmed down. They didn't really side with him, did they? They only helped him because he would have bled out had they not. As much as he wanted to beat the man's ass all over again, he let it slide. Killing him would be a waste anyway. Instead he would let the man's near death experience serve as a reminder.

When he was fully calm, he sought them out, their words echoing in the back of his head. 'Talk to me when you're fucking sane', they had said. Had his actions truly made them feel that way? Or was it in anger just as his words had been?

He checked Bubu Pharmacy first, seeing neither them nor the cheater. He assumed it was because the cheater was in the back getting treatment and that they had gone on their merry way. The search continued.

His hunt continued all across the harbour and he was unable to tell if they were going out of their way to avoid him or if he was looking in all the wrong places. Finally, he resorted to asking around, getting a couple tidbits of information from some Milileth.

He was told that they were seen exiting the harbour and that seemed extremely miffed. So retracing their steps, he left the harbour as well, following along the path that led toward Guili Plains.

He continued to follow the path until Wangshu Inn appeared in the distance and quietly pondered why they came out this far. Something seemed off though. Halting his movements, he scanned the area, sapphire eyes landing on a familiar silhouette sitting at the base of an apple tree.

He was unaware of how long they'd been sitting there when he approached, but there they were an apple in hand. They finished mid chewing and spoke after they swallowed the fruit in their mouth.

"Get out of my sight. I don't fucking want you here." Despite their icy tone, he knew that they weren't angry anymore. They did, however, want to be left alone though he did not oblige.

His eyes travelled to the blood that coloured the grass beneath them. There was a teasing edge to his voice as he tried to lighten the mood, "Why are you bleeding? What happened, hm? Get in a fight without me?"

Finding each other bloody was nothing new to either of them and playing it up was a game of sorts. An inside joke if you will. Most of the time he acted like a worried spouse for them and vice versa, but at this moment it was genuine worry. They scoffed.

"Yes, but unlike you, I don't try to kill men on the street."

He held up his hands in defeat before sitting down across from them, "Not gonna let me live it down, are you?"

They rolled their eyes, leaning their head against the tree trunk, "It happened a few hours ago. But you get a free pass because I don't have the energy to debate right now."

He moved to check their injury and they slapped his hands away with a quiet 'Don't touch me'. Yet he continued to eye it warily, staring at their face as if to ask permission. His gaze was gentle, genuine worry spread across his face. They caved after several minutes, looking away.

Pulling their shirt up to reveal the injury on their hip, it appeared as though they tried to cauterize it. With a sigh, he stood and held his hand out to help then up. After a moment of hesitation, they accepted his hand and immediately after they stood he crouched in front of them and signalled for them to get on his back. They obliged and he carried them back to the city.

"Don't think that this means I forgive you for what you said to me."

For once he didn't feel like teasing, knowing that it wouldn't help mend the situation, "I know. I do wish to apologise though. My words were... unnecessary. I took my anger out on you."

"Damn right." They patted his head, "Though if you're a good boy I might forgive you faster."

He sighed, fully aware that they were going to use him as an errand boy for the next few days.

Kaeya

He continued after their encounter as though nothing had happened at all. The silence that filled his office after they left was deafening but he took the time to finish his work. All of the paperwork that had piled up and all the tedious remedial tasks had been finished, the rest of his duties taken care of as well.

Days passed before he finally decided to confront them, and over that period his the guilt over his cruelty toward them festered. He was fully aware that they were trying to help, trying to make his workload lighter, yet he still snapped at them.

If he hadn't taken out his frustration on them then the two would be together right now. If he had just let them help will all of it then we would have gotten done much faster and gotten to relax much sooner. The stack they did do, however, was the biggest one from the piles which did shorten the time he was working. If only he hadn't scared them away.

He began his search for them at their home, finding it empty. Thinking for a moment, he began to check the usual places they went when they were upset. As he headed to Windrise it turned out that he didn't have to look far, for they were limping over the bridge that led into the city.

They were bleeding heavily from their chest, hand clutching the wound with unspoken panic. He rushed toward them, reaching out to support their body weight.

His voice was demanding, "Why are you bleeding?! What the hell happened?"

"It was just an Abyss Mage. Get out of my sight! I don't fucking want you here."

He knew he deserved their scalding words but that didn't stop him from trying. He held his tongue to stop a smart ass comment. Usually, he wouldn't hold back but he knew this wasn't the time.

"You may not want me here, but if you don't get some help you'll bleed out before you can make it to the cathedral." He spoke calmly despite his internal conflict, and they knew that he had a point.

Begrudgingly they leaned against him as he escorted them through town. Moving hurt as it aggravated their injury but it was necessary. As soon as they got inside the cathedral he called for Barbara who appeared around the corner. Her face contorted in horror as she escorted them to the infirmary.

Kaeya sat amongst the pews and waited, having an internal debate with himself. Would they forgive him? Would they even hear him out?

Hours passed before Barbara remerged with news of their condition. He could see them but they could not leave for a while. With caution, he entered, knocking on the door frame to get their attention.

They turned their head in his direction but scowled when they realised that it was him. "Do you need something?"

He hummed, "No but you do." Sitting on the edge of the bed, he took their hands in his, "I wanted to apologise. Both for what I said to you and for taking your kindness for granted."

They stared him down but say nothing but sincerity in his eyes, "I'm listening."

He was slightly caught off guard by their response, nevertheless though it made him happy. They fact that they were willing to listen showed that there was a possibility for forgiveness.

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drakewalkerfantasy · 3 years

Text

The Secret of Downfall (Tatum x F!MC)

Summary: The Secret is the only way for them to be together. But how long will they be able to keep it until Madam President will find out the truth? And how easily it will be for them not forget about the rules in public? Couple of drinks in and the darkness… will it be possible for them to keep a secret? Or will they fall ones again in the arms of each other?

Words: 2216

Rating: T

Warning: fighting / cruelty / violence

Authors notes: I really hope you will enjoy this. Please let me know if still want to be tagged and what I can improve. I hope you will like this chapter, it’s quite short and probably mostly not what I expected it to be at first. I hope you still enjoy reading this series.

Sequel for The art of Foreign Affairs

Previous parts of The Secret of Foreign Affairs.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

The next morning, after getting caught in a compromising situation, Claire entered the common room of the suite only to find her mother and her whole team camped out around the kitchen island.

Nervously Claire looked around the room, throwing a quick glance toward Tatum. Her eyes trying to catch his gaze, but he almost seemed to be going out of his way to not meet hers. His fists clenched by his side and he looked as professional as ever, if not for the way his eyes darkened slightly, that it could be easily missed, but not by her.

“Uh, good morning,” she cautiously said looking around the room, feeling the tension only grew when all eyes fell on her. “Mom? I thought you left.”

“Really? I was forced to come back to clear your mess. Apparently, my daughter failed to notify me that she got caught by paparazzi with her pants down,” she snapped, showing a copy of Voyeur magazine into Claire’s hands with a picture of herself and Tatum on the cover. She could feel how her heart skipped a beat, while she took in the picture. Breathing out in relief only after realising that it wasn’t possible to tell who was on the cover with her.

“Ohmygod...,” gasped Claire, feeling how her face went pale. Thankful that no one could possibly know who she was with, blurting that out loud. “At least you can’t tell who it is with me...”

“THIS... THIS what you can tell in your defense???” fumed her mother, her eyes narrowing with spite when she glared toward Tatum. Her gaze calculating, trying to break through his facade, to read him, but still in vain. And her lips pursed by barely suppressed fury.

“It does provide us some cover...,” intervened one of her mother’s political analysts. “But it’s also causing a feeding frenzy online. Everyone is speculating on who your mystery lover is. I would suggest to give a statement identifying the mystery lover. Once we can show this isn’t Claire being... promiscuous with some random stranger...”

“So... Claire? Who is it?” asked her mother, tapping her stiletto heel against the wooden floor impatiently. “You heard her,” she said nodding her head toward the political analyst from her team. “If you want your name to be cleared and all that mistake left behind, you cannot keep that to yourself. The only way we can fight this thing is if you tell us who it is."

Claire’s eyes snapped up to meet Tatum’s gaze across the room. His expression is as impassive as ever, but the spark of fury in his eyes flaming.

“I will NOT name them,” exclaimed Claire fiercely, crossing her hands over her chest, stubbornly meeting her mother’s glare. “I will not drag them into this. The world doesn’t need to know every single detail about me or my love life.”

“Don’t you think that this is a little bit too late to thing about that? And clearly this person is a bad influence on you. You never acted like that before,” snapped her mother.

“Or maybe I just realised that I own it to myself to live a little,” bit Claire back.

“Claire...,” hissed her mother, lowering her voice so only she would hear her. “I will go through your phone if I have to. Is it clear?”

“Seriously? You have so little respect for my privacy?”

“It’s not that, but your future is in jeopardy now. And I’m worried about you.”

“Let’s at least be honest with each other. All that you care about is you and your campaign.”

Claire’s mother opened her mouth to retort, but Winston cut her off.

“Let’s all calm down and see what we can do to spin the story with information we already have,” said Winston, looking around the room before placing his hand on Claire's mother’s elbow and pulling her to the side. His voice lowered to the whisper so only she would hear. His eyes surveying the room so they wouldn’t be overheard by anyone. “Madam President, we don’t have enough evidence that this mystery lover is your daughter’s bodyguard. Last time we had letters, this time we have only words of some guy from Vancross and the fact Claire was lying. We will make sure that our plan is set in motion as soon as possible, but meantime you need to wait while your team will gather more evidence of who this mystery lover is and twist it so he is the one who sold pictures.” Both eyes fell to Tatum, watching him to put a hand to his earpiece before stepping forward.

“Madam President, the limo is ready for you,” said Tatum. His posture stiff, his voice even and his eyes looking into nowhere.

“Good. Tatum, escort me to the airport. I want to talk to you about a few things. Demarco can oversee Claire’s security this afternoon.”

“Yes, ma’am”

Claire’s stomach twisted, when her eyes passingly met Tatum’s, while he followed her mother out the door. Leaving Claire and Winston alone.

———————————————

Hastily, they walked to the limo, Tatum following only a few paces behind Claire’s mother with her security team walking in front of them. His mind racing, and he couldn't help but have a really bad feeling of where this was all going. The same way as all these years ago.

Just before the limo he looked back to the building, catching a quick glance of Claire, behind the blinds. Even from there he could see the worried expression painted on her face before finally tearing his gaze away, and sliding into the car.

“I know you and Claire were at the club together last night, care to explain?” started Claire’s mother, as soon as they sat in limo.

“I’m the head of her security team, ma’am. And it is my responsibility to follow her everywhere and to make sure she is safe,” said Tatum.

“Yes, but Winston checked and at this time you should have been off duty and Demarco should have been with her, and even more so not to let her wander at night to some underground club.”

“She would sneak out anyway. I overheard her speaking with some of her classmates. Ma’am with all due respect,” he spoke through gritted teeth not even looking at her. “But you know there was no way of stopping her, she would sneak out anyway with me or without and she would never take agent Demarco with her.”

“Fine, but people noticed how cosy you seemed to be... getting tequila shots, and then disappearing... together. Am I wrong?”

“No... but she insisted. She cannot understand why I’m like... like that.”

“Like what?”

“We were friends for more than a decade for almost two decades, and then I just disappeared from her life for 5 years only to suddenly reappear now.”

“Lie to her.”

“I tried, but if you think that your daughter is so naive to believe some white lies you don’t know her at all. She can see straight through me. Always could,” said Tatum with cold blooded calm, finally meeting Claire’s mother’s gaze.

“Then make her believe. I have ears and eyes everywhere, so better do as I ask and don’t you dare lie to me. As, if I will find out you or she are lying, and it seems she became surprisingly good at it, the consequences will be for both. You and her. Is it clear?” said Claire’s mother waiting for Tatum to nod, when the limo stopped. “Good. But I still believe you may need a reminder of what will happen if you will disobey me,” spoke she when the doors suddenly slid open revealing the iron walled warehouse of Vancross’ airport. And she nodded in a silence order for Tatum to get out of the limo.

He looked around after stepping outside of the vehicle, noting the fighting ring in the middle of the floor and five bodyguards waiting already next to it. Claire’s mother walked silently behind him.

Her stiletto heels tapped on the metallic floor, and her next words bounced as a muffled echo from the iron walls of the warehouse, when Tatum stopped. His eyes calmly following Madam President’s movements till she finally sat in a comfortable chair covered by the darkness.

“Fight,” the cold order came from the shadows, while Tatum’s calculated gaze moved from one President’s personal bodyguard to another.

All strong. All coming from the Rutherland’s best fighters club. All ex-soldiers... and all hated him.

He knew that he had no chance for a fair fight. He also knew that willingly or not he still will need to fight them. And he doubted that he had even a slightest chance to remain unscratched, but he still needed to try... for Claire... Always for her.

“Ma’am, wouldn’t it be easier just to kill me?” asked Tatum in a calm voice, throwing only a sideway glance at Claire’s mother, regretting only one thing, that he couldn’t say proper goodbye to Claire, couldn’t kiss her like it would be their last time. Not sure if he ever will have another chance to kiss her again.

“You may get your wish... later. After I will get more proof that you are her mystery lover. For now it’s just a warning to keep your distance from my daughter. No more disappearing together... no more smiles... no more eye contact. You may think you are subtle, but she isn’t. So you will fight them, and you,” she looked at her bodyguards with a cold unmoving gaze. “Make sure that every blow you will send his way will be excruciatingly painful but not visible. He is still a head of my daughter’s security team, and I don’t need unnecessary questions. Not from her, not anyone. I want him to remember this last lesson, and my last warning... but still be alive, at least for now. Now fight,” she barked, nodding to two others bodyguards to get Tatum and throw him onto the ring, taking him by surprise.

He landed on his hands and knees with a thud, groaning from the impact, when the first blow went straight to his guts, but his reaction was faster. He blocked it with a side of his shoulder. The force of the block sending the attacker to the floor before getting back to his feet and looking around.

His eyes darkened with rage, but it was the only thing that gave him away. With his peripheral vision he could see another blow coming his way, blocking it faster than it could reach its destination, but almost missing the swing from behind. The one that he managed to dodge at the last second, only to be met with a sharp blinding pain from someone hitting him straight in the stomach with the heavy military boot.

The pain made him sway, but he stubbornly held his balance gritting his teeth. No way he will let them beat him so easily... the thought is fleeting, but strong enough to almost physically heighten his senses, making him dodge the next strike easily. Overcoming the pain and finally sending his own hand to connect with one of the bodyguards’ jaws. Feeling how the skin on his knuckles split from the impact.

His breath elevated and ragged. And he could see how the rage started to rise in the attackers, when the blows began to pour one after the other from all directions, making them much difficult to dodge or block, and more often to miss. But he was still trying, desperately.

Tired. Angry. Bleeding. He was still bravely fighting. Gritting his teeth, ducking the punch after the punch, before landing a couple of his own. Watching how the five fighters getting tired... exhausted, but still unable to send him to the ground and make him stay there as every time he fell he was stubbornly rising back to his feet. As he was fighting for her... she was the only thing that kept him going... Claire... his Claire. The same thing, that he was so cruelly beaten for loving.

And after a while it started to seem that even five of them would be not able to break him. His eyes meeting Madam President’s gaze, distracting him only for a split second to miss the attacker behind him. He could feel a pair of hands gripping him from behind. Felt how the others started to punch and kick him from all sides taking the opportunity as a sign, while two held him still. And he could feel how with the next blow in his groin followed by another one in his stomach the wind was knocked out of him, and he fell to the cement floor with a gust of pain. His ribs aching, and he could barely breath feeling the sharp pain shooting through him with each gulp for air. His eyes closing, but he still could feel the pain, wishing for the darkness to follow, when he heard the quiet voice whispering right into his ear:

“Now clean that mess, and make sure tomorrow you will be good enough to accompany Claire to her date... with Blaine.” The cruel last words like a sharp blade sliced through him before the merciful darkness finally swallowed him.

Tagging: @choices-bound @jamespotterthefirst @mercury84choices @k2624 @thefrenchiemama @choicesreal @starrystarrytrouble @boneandfur @walkerswhiskeygirl @sophxwithers @ramseysrookiex

#tatum mendoza #tatum x mc #tatum x f!mc #foreignaffairs #choices foreign affairs

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nose-bandaid · 3 years

Text

the fragility of a petal

do you have any plan to write a sequel for camellia? i really love the plot and hope the story could be developed a little bit more where they become official then something angst happen (idk maybe something like a thirdwheel? lol) but they'll figure it out anyway

prince!Shinwon x princess!Reader | royal kingdom AU fluff + a little angst | 3k words

sequel to: camellia

synopsis: you can only go for so long without another tedious party in your schedule, but thankfully this time, you have your fiancé shinwon by your side to keep things interesting. however, your childhood friend seems to be wedging themselves into the equation, and now someone seems a little jealous...

a/n: my camellia anon,, for you !! thank you for being so kind and patient, i hope that this is what you imagined:) i was also looking back on camellia and was like wow,, my writing was quite something back then huh. i’m not so sure why i used stage names so i fixed it up here (except for hui though i think of it as a nickname),, so i’m sorry for the inconsistencies! maybe one day i’ll go back and edit camellia cause i’m a little unhappy about it idkidk BUT NOT TO TALK ABOUT THAT I’LL SHUT UP LOL ily and i hope you enjoy this<3

===== You found this situation oddly familiar as you were once again, standing in front of the mirror, checking out your outfit before entering the party.

But this time Shinwon was standing by your side.

“You look beautiful love, I promise.” He placed a gentle hand on your shoulder to pull you towards the doors down the hallway. “Stop worrying about it.”

You frowned a little at his words but allowed him to guide you away from the mirror. “Sorry, it’s just a habit I guess. I’m going to be seen by a whole bunch of people after all.” Being the daughter of the hosting family also didn’t do any good in helping you escape from the countless people who wanted to meet you.

“Well, if you keep your eyes on me, I’ll give you all the compliments you need! Just ignore the others.” He quipped loudly with a wink and held the door open for you to enter the ballroom. The music was already echoing within the large room, people milling about, chatter all around you.

“Gosh, why did I fall in love with someone so cheesy.” You laughed as you headed towards a less crowded section in a nearby corner. It was always nicer to not be surrounded by people who didn’t seem to have a sense of personal space. But then again, if you were caught up in dancing and laughing, you probably wouldn’t have cared as much about that either.

You and Shinwon didn’t get too far into avoiding the attention when you heard someone loudly call out your name, competing with the strings who were beginning to play their minuet and trio. Your head swivelled around, trying to find the source of the voice, but all you saw was a mass of colourful clothing.

“Y/n!” The voice called again, and this time, it sounded much familiar.

“Changgu…?” You muttered under your breath, eliciting a hum of interest from Shinwon.

And sure enough, there was Changgu, dressed in a tux — which was a mix of cream and white that suited him well — rushing towards you with a wide grin. Behind him was his father, walking leisurely to eventually join you guys as well (though he stopped for a moment to grab a glass of wine). Without even giving you a chance to register the situation, Changgu engulfed you in a big hug, almost tipping you over with all the energy.

“Y/n! I’ve missed you so much! How have you been doing?” He exclaimed after he pulled away to scan your face, eyeing every single detail.

“I’ve been doing great!” You smiled back. “How about yourself?”

“Oh, you know, same old, same old.” He rolled his eyes and returned to his bright smile. “But let’s not talk about me — it’s your party after all, and we don’t need that small talk. Anything special happen while we’ve been apart?” He then lowered his voice and added not so subtly, wiggling his eyebrows. “You didn’t run off and find a special someone, did you? You can’t do that to me.”

It took you a moment to find a response. You swore you sent him a message about your engagement months ago, but from the way he was acting right now, it didn’t seem like he had any knowledge of it at all. In the corner of your eye, you could see Shinwon cast a confused glance in your direction.

Before you could respond, his father passed by to join in on the conversation. “It’s been so long since you guys got to meet, if you plan on marrying each other then we’ve got to plan more dinners like this. Though of course, a little more intimate where we don’t invite all the kingdoms over.” He joked with a hearty laugh.

Oh. So they didn’t know about your engagement.

You chuckled along awkwardly as you watched him leave the conversation to go talk to another guest.

“He’s right, it’s been so long since we last met, we should do something together again! Like those ballroom classes, remember how we did that when we were little? We should take another class so that we can see each other often again. I love dancing with you.” Changgu rambled on excitedly and took your hands into his. His touchy antics typically weren’t unusual at all to you, having been best friends for as long as you could remember, you weren’t bothered by his love for physical contact. But today, your hands felt like they were on fire as he held them tightly, and it was probably because you could feel a certain someone staring at the two of you.

Shinwon spoke before you could. “Actually,” He put a tight grip on your shoulder and pulled you closer to his side, making Changgu step away from you a little. “Y/n already has a fiancé and the wedding will be happening this summer.” He declared boldly.

You saw the first sign of jealousy when his other hand clenched into a fist. Now, Shinwon would never get physical, nor would he ever hurt a fly, but you could tell that he was doing so to relieve his anger. He had to do something to calm himself down.

“Ah…” Changgu stared at the two of you, mouth slightly parted as he slowly connected the dots. Then, that confusion morphed into a smile and he playfully nudged you. “You didn’t tell me you had something going on.”

“Did… did you not receive the letter we sent out?” You managed to stammer out.

“Hm? There was a letter?”

“Yes we sent one out a long time ago, it may have gotten lost I guess.” You weakly concluded. The Yeo family didn’t interact much with the other kingdoms — they hadn’t even gone to Shinwon’s party, and instead spent most of their time in the peaceful solace of the forests.

“Ah, oh well, it would’ve come to me as a surprise either way. So,” He shrugged it off and turned to look at Changgu. “You’re the man? What’s your name?” He held out his hand to shake.

“... Ko Shinwon.” He replied flatly, and firmly took his hand and squeezed it.

“My name is Yeo Changgu!” He responded back, seemingly unfazed by his cold attitude. “Me and y/n have been friends ever since we were little.”

It was a harmless comment, maybe a little unnecessary, and from the look on Changgu’s face, you weren’t sure why he found the need to say it, but his eyes still twinkled with friendliness. Shinwon, on the other hand, didn’t seem to take his statement the same way you did, and he tightened his grip on your shoulder.

-----

Shinwon seemed to lighten up a little bit when you busied yourself with talking to other guests and he kept a loose hand in yours, gently playing with it. Though wasn’t long before Changgu approached you again, now with a rose in his pocket and you silently wondered who he got it from.

“Would you care for a dance, my princess?” He joked but held his hand out in all seriousness for you to take. You hesitated, trying to peer into his mind before looking to your right to check on Shinwon, only to realize that your fiancé had already struck up a conversation with one of his friends. No matter how much you stared, he didn’t look your way.

You huffed at his pettiness and gratefully took your friend’s hand. “Why I’m definitely up for a dance.”

The two of you swayed to the beat and you tried to get your mind off of Shinwon. You could tell he was starting to sulk a little bit and couldn’t stop the feeling of concern bubbling within you. But at the same time, his stubborn attitude unwillingly irked you a little and you wanted to push aside his unnecessary jealousy. No matter how much you tried though, the setting still reminded you of when you first danced with Shinwon. How he was the only one to understand you that day, how stunning he looked even with the mask on, how nice it felt to kiss him for the first time—

“Ah—!”

Pulled out of your thoughts, you brought your focus back to Changgu and followed his shocked gaze to see your foot stepping fully onto his. That must’ve been a little painful.

“I’m so sorry, I got distracted.” You quickly apologized and fumbled a little as you tried to get back into the rhythm of the dance.

Your best friend lightly chuckled, though there was a slight hint of discomfort in his smile. “You haven’t changed a bit, have you?” He reminisced. “Always getting distracted during dances and stepping on people’s toes.”

He was right, ever since the beginning of your lessons, you found it hard to not get lost in your thoughts and had always ended up misplacing your steps or bumping into those beside you. As your go-to dance partner during those times, Changgu had always experienced that clumsiness first-hand, and recently, Shinwon was also starting to realize that for himself. Clearly, you only harboured so much love for dancing.

The music picked up its tempo, signalling the time to switch partners and Changgu bid you off with a happy wave. Spinning around, you almost bumped into someone else and looked up to see the one and only Shinwon who seemed just as shocked as you were.

You quirked an eyebrow. “Well, not going to invite your own fiancée for a dance?” You tried to create some sort of amendment with him through your joking tone but his eyes averted from your gaze as he licked his lips.

That was the second clue to his jealousy. He always played with his lips and looked away when he was distracted and thinking about something else. After an awkward beat, he brought his hands into position and pulled you onto the floor for a dance without a word.

In the midst of the music, your little dance was silent and disappointing to say the least. Usually, they were filled with stories and laughter — that aspect came naturally to the both of you. Though you still shared this quiet sense of heartfelt affirmations, there were still so many things missing. Like his smile.

You wanted to draw out a smile from him so badly to ease your heart, but none of your efforts seemed to work and his posture remained rigid, strictly following the music like he was worried about others criticizing his skills. The dance continued like that until you heard your father calling the two of you to take your places at the dining table.

You gave Shinwon a quick peck on the lips before making your way to your seat where many other notable guests were already gathering. When you sat down, you spotted Jinho in the spot in front of you and gave him a small nod of acknowledgement. As the son of the neighbouring kingdom, he was a familiar face at your palace. He leaned onto the table and smiled sweetly. “Y/n, you’re looking beautiful as usual.”

As you returned the compliment with a polite reply, you flinched a little when Shinwon set down the glass he was holding a little too forcefully and he muttered a small “sorry.” When he chose to talk to the guest beside him instead of returning your stare, you turned back to Jinho who sent you a sympathetic smile.

The night wasn’t supposed to turn out like this.

Earlier, a small part of you admittedly had the intent of playing his own game by ignoring his hints of jealousy, but now, as you watched him sulk to himself, your heart melted and you sucked up your own pride. Your dignity was the last of your worries now — your new goal was to cheer up and remind him that yes, you still loved him and that there’s no reason for him to get jealous over a childhood friend. Even if that friend was a little too overbearing.

You spent a good chunk of that dinner glancing around the table, from one end to the other, trying to see if anyone else noticed Shinwon’s sour demeanour, or if there were any opportunities to cheer him up. However, everyone was focusing on either the food in front of them or the other guests they were conversing with, and there still wasn’t an outing for you to be able to take Shinwon outside. When you looked to your right, your eyes locked with Hui’s, just like they did the last time you saw him, and he stared back at you, slowly chewing the steak in his mouth. You couldn’t tell what he was trying to convey in his expression (and you silently scowled at his ambiguousness), but one thing was sure — there was no ounce of friendliness in his eyes, and you wondered why he wouldn’t leave you alone. You just needed an excuse to be alone...

“Gifts!”

All the attention was diverted to you when you suddenly stood up and blurted out the random word. Brushing off the crumbs that had fallen on your outfit, you let out a small sigh in relief when you noticed that they didn’t leave a stain and cleared your throat, trying to compose yourself.

“I mean,” You awkwardly looked at your father. “I’ve prepared some gifts for the guest and need some time to prepare them before the dancing starts again, so may I be excused to go do that right now? I’m done eating.”

You really weren’t done eating, but that was fine. At least you weren’t lying when you said you had gifts prepared.

“I’m going to need Shinwon to help me though.”

You felt the attention shift towards him now and took a peek at Changgu, who busied himself with his drink, paying no attention to the situation. Shinwon also didn’t look at you. He almost did, but caught himself before his eyes could wander to you and opted to cast a lost expression in the other direction.

Your stomach felt queasy when you sensed his hesitation. You caught onto the idea that he was still holding onto his pride and wanted to get back at you by staying at the table out of spite, but he simply let out a small sigh and then stood straight up, giving you a moody look.

Smiling at his cuteness, you acted like everything was fine for the sake of the guests, and grabbed his hand to lead him to your bedroom.

When you arrived, you gestured at the bows and ribbons that needed to be attached to the gifts and gave him some instructions: tie the gifts up, make sure they’re secured, double check that they looked presentable — pretty straightforward. You then headed towards your closet and pulled out the first boxes full of gifts to slide them over to where Shinwon was standing, ribbons ready in hand. You caught Changgu’s name on one of the gift tags after Shinwon received the box from you and grimaced at the unlucky coincidence.

“Thanks for leaving your food to help me,” You started, trying to prevent him from reading the names in the box. “I promise I’ll get the chefs to make your favourite dessert later.”

“Sure thing, y/n.” He brushed off your thanks with a nod and you stopped pulling the gifts out of the boxes to look at him.

That was the last indicator — he said your name.

Shinwon hardly said your name when he was talking to you directly, it was always love or princess, or some other cheesy term of endearment. But just now, he had looked at you straight in the eyes and said “y/n” like it was a challenge.

Placing the box in your hands onto a nearby table, you faced him fully and rested your hands on your hips with a sigh. “Alright, what’s going on Shinwon?”

You played the game back by saying his name, but approached the topic gently.

“Nothing’s going on, I don’t know what you’re getting at.” He muttered with a small pout, trying to avoid the conversation by going back to sorting the gifts, but you pulled him away to the other side of the room and leaned on one of the dressers.

“Nothing’s going on? So the past how-many-hours have been the usual Shinwon I know and love? Or is there a good explanation for it?”

When he didn’t answer, you cut to the chase. “Are you jealous?”

He was pouting even more now, finally giving up on any attempt to act indifferent to your confrontation, and you almost couldn’t take him seriously anymore. “Is it because of Changgu?” You pressed.

That got him to answer.

“When you said you were good friends before, I didn’t think you were that close.” He hesitated and then continued. “He was being too touchy, you’re my fiancée and I don’t think he got that memo. It’s either that, or he’s taking advantage of you, and it kind of hurts to just watch you know?”

You gently took one of his hands and traced your thumb along the back of it. “I know what you’re getting at, we’ve always been pretty close, and he’s always been a naturally affectionate person… but he might’ve stepped over some boundaries earlier. I just want you to know that those advancements don’t mean anything to me though, alright?”

Standing straight up, you went in to place a soft kiss on his lips, lingering for a while as the tips of your nose brushed against each other lovingly.

“I love you the most, and I have no plans on leaving you.” You added.

Shinwon’s smile was a little fuller this time, and he whispered back an “I love you too” before pulling you into a warm hug, hair tickling your face as he leaned into you.

“Now let’s get these gifts all packed up, shall we? Everyone’s waiting for us.” You offered, patting his back a couple times to get him out of the sappy mood.

He didn’t miss a beat. “Will I get a dance with you later in return?”

“No, you’ll never get to dance with me ever again.” You replied sarcastically while pulling away and laughed when he went back to pouting again.

“I’m kidding darling, you can have all the dances in the world with me.”

#pentagon #pentagon x reader #pentagon shinwon #shinwon #ko shinwon #shinwon x reader #pentagon fluff #pentagon angst #shinwon fluff #shinwon angst #pentagon imagines #shinwon imagines #nose-bandaid

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justfangstvdto · 3 years

Text

Open Coffin 2 | Chapter 04 “Word travels fast among the Damned”

Disclaimer: This is a sequel! Find Part 1 here. For some context, I´d advise you to watch The Originals to understand some occurrences.

Chapter warnings: typical TO violence and fighting, a dash of ptsd, glimpse into messed up childhood, oh and some new spells and practices, also this took so extremely long so please feel free to wait until more chapter are here

Word count: 6664

Tags & Author Note at the bottom. Feedback is my lifeblood and keeps the writing coming (eventually...lol)

Your name: submit What is this?

At certain times in life, there is this premonition, a sense of knowing that something is coming. It is felt in the air in every passing breeze, and there is nothing one can do to stop it. It blows from the environment to throw its opponent off balance. Could be a monster with sharp claws, a bullet, a virus or bacteria. Or, in your case, a wooden and deadly staff handled with ancient vampire strength.

The attack came from the left side, poignant and with precision. The wood colliding with the carved stick in your hands send vibrations through your arms, that travelled to your shoulders. Strike blocked. Another attack came swiftly, this time from below in an upwards angle calculated just right to throw you off balance. Blocked again. You could see it in Mikael´s face; he was growing frustrated by every passing round of attack. He threw his weight behind his next attack, that edged closer to your face. Pain erupted from the point of impact as it sliced through the skin just above your cheekbone. Mikael doubled up again and brought the staff to your knees, swiftly knocking you off balance. You fell backwards like a sack of wood but caught yourself midair before landing on your stomach.

He's good.

He forced you down with the edge of the staff, burying your face in the dirt. He could kill you with a push of his weight, but he relented. You heard his feet cracking the ground beneath him as he turned his back and walked away as the champion.

Or so he thought.

You pushed yourself up with your dirt-covered hands, using your vampire speed and the element of surprise to your advantage. Holding the staff in a horizontal line, you went after him. He let out a huffed gurgle when you pulled back on the wood you pressured against his neck, pulling him against your torso. Mikael reacted swiftly and brought his weight forward to overthrow your chokehold like a bull trying to buckle of its rider. You let yourself fall over his back with your hand around the staff, nearing the ground with your backside, only to switch to your front as you easily grasped the staff out if his hands. Swiftly and without hesitation you plunged the staff into his face before you brought it down to his feet to trip him over. He landed into the dirt as you did before, face red with anger.

“I told Klaus already," You said, pointing the end towards his heart, while the Mikaelson family runic crest buried itself into the flesh of your hands "never turn your back on a Salvatore. Especially not me. ”

He was hurt in his pride, that much was evident, but there was a glimmer of surprise in his eyes that made you proud. You've beaten the vampire that hunts vampires. Granted, he had lost his touch over the years on the other side, but he still had centuries on you. It was a cause for celebration, or at least it was something to hold over him if you needed to.

Mikael scrambled to his feet, dusting off his dirt-covered clothes tainting the afternoon sun with dust particles "You fight well.“

"That's what happens when you grow up with two brothers that constantly had to one-up each other. You learn to fight if you're the one in the middle.” You said, sparing a thought to how you´d find Stefan and Damon in front of your house, fighting each other with their bare hands or loose wood from the barn a few ways down from the front door. You would always see them through the smudged window in the housekeeping room where your mother used to teach you what a girl should learn to become a proper woman. But you never cared for it. Instead, you would run outside your dress dragging in the dirt as you pushed your brothers apart even onto the dirt if you had to.

You pushed that memory aside, and you bend over to grab the staff on the floor, your fingers gliding over the ornate wood once more “The crest.” You continued “What does it mean?”

Mikael seemed surprised by your interest, even if it was covered with a loud sigh of contentment. Yet, he complied and drew the crest in the dirt beneath him “Long ago this was the Norse alphabet rune “Gebu”. It´s meaning varied from spear to gift but has been used to refer to Odin's spear Gungnir. It was believed that it had been given to Odin by Loki and is known for always hitting its mark, no matter the obstacle.”

“Always hitting bullseye no matter what? Yeah, that describes your family pretty well.” You shared a quick look with him before you turned away, heading for the cabin. You always wondered if Mikael missed his northern home - his true north so to speak- or if rage consumed him entirely without leaving a trace of the Wikingr he once was. And if the same thing will happen to you if the seething anger you developed over the last 3 years, triumphs over your sanity. Only time and its unrelenting grasp knew.

Glancing into the window beside the door you stopped to check your phone that was still outside since last night. You turned it over and unlocked it with a click, groaning when you saw the notification. Twenty-eight missed calls. Most of them were Klaus, a few from Marcel and then…

No way.

Stefan's name glared at you through the screen and with it a little icon next to him. He left a voicemail. What gravely thing had to occur for him to call you after years of silence? Did Mystic Fall finally burn down to ashes? Perhaps someone scarier than Klaus rolled into town and he just needed help? Whatever it was, the feeling of impending doom lingered in the air when you locked your phone and left it on the table outside. There was no time to linger in what-if scenarios.

No unnecessary attachments. No distractions - That's how you get things done.

Opening the cabin door a swift of charcoaled sage penetrated your senses, pungent with every step you took. Kaleb stood near a table, an unbuttoned shirt hugging his frame as if he was about to embark on a tropical cruise. He had the table decked out in front of him with elongated squares of stone which looked like they were engraved with runic symbols.

You closed the door behind you, the remnant of your late-night drinking session from the night before, collided together with the door´s vibration against the brittle wood. Last night you sparsely told Kaleb why you brought Mikael back, but your conversation quickly dissolved to more than just small talk. The alcohol loosened your tongue to a comfortable degree. It was strange to be unburdened by the fear of judgment. There wasn't any lasting damage that you had to fear, nothing you had to be ashamed of when looking him in the eyes and nothing you had to live with forever. Maybe the prospect of dying and not be burdened by anything that lasted had its advantages after all. It was easier at least.

When you stepped further into the room, Kaleb looked up from the bowl he had in his hand. Passing him, you discarded the sheer jacket that was stained with the particles of your meeting with the dirt floor outside. You flipped open the cooler filled with the blood bags, taking inventory of how many remained. Two. Great. Hunger was plaguing you more than it ever had. The cooler was full yesterday.

You jumped when Kaleb’s fingers gently wrapped when he turned your shoulder towards him to inspect the damage that had already healed, the only reminder of it a sheer layer of red. You pushed his hand away, regretting your action within a second after witnessing the guilty look on his face.

He shuffled back to where he was standing previously and cleared his throat before he spoke: “I don't think sparring with him is a good idea.”

“What, do you think he'd kill me? I´m a dead vamp walking no matter what, so who cares?”

“Don't you mean an undead dead vampire?” He joked before his face contorted into a questioning gaze “Wait…” He laughed. When you returned his laughter with a chuckle, he seemed proud, face beaming with a sense of accomplishment.

So he likes to make people laugh. Noted.

Kalebs gaze lingered for another moment, then he glanced out of the window to watch Mikael train with nothing but the wind as his opponent." You´ve told me how you brought him back, but not why." He continued, a worried tone now coating his voice "I assume it is more than just as a sparring partner?"

You shook your head “You should know as little as possible. They will come after you if they find out you know something. ”

“You're still not the trusting sort.” He noted, “And I thought we've bonded.”

The truth was you had bonded to a certain degree, and you were wary of the developing attachment.

“Well, do you trust me?” You questioned.

“Are you slicked? Those sad eyes might fool some people, but not me. I know what you're after.” Stoic and calculated he stared you down before his mouth contorted into a lighthearted smile “You've got a lecherous heart, Y/N! I won't be used, not for my body, nor my magic!”

You turned your head to hide a smile, but he caught on and lid up with pride. "Speaking of magic.” You nodded towards the table next to him “How's all this supposed to work anyway?"

“This-” He stepped closer, pointing with his fingers to the runes surrounded by a salt and ash circle “Is an ancient runic foretelling. Like a, uh, prophecy.”

“So like a fancy version of tarot cards?” You said bluntly, “How is that gonna help?”

“Depending on what runes appear, we will have a vague indication of what's causing the bleeding; Spell, curse, your vampire body rejecting magic… whatever it may be. If we know what it is, we can reverse it. “

You looked at him and wondered how someone like him came across a spell this old and what atrocities he had to commit to get a hold of it. Magic like this was not given out to anybody without affiliating to one of the more eclectic covens. You should know, that's what you´ve been doing for the past years.

You were about to litter him with questions, but the opening of the screeching cabin door made you pause, and all questions washed away.

“What have we here?" Mikael said from the doorway before stepping closer to examine Kaleb’s spell. " I have not seen this kind of magic in centuries.“ He looked at him with questioning eyes, observing his reaction as an indication as to end him or not. “How did you come to this knowledge?”

“Well, I've read a lot. You pick up a few things over the years.” He shrugged, and it was clear he had no intention of answering any questions “For example, this is based on a Viking age foretelling where they cut off a branch and sliced it into strips and marked them with different signs and threw them at random onto a cloth. Whatever stripes they picked up was the works of the gods. This is just a more definitive version.”

“Sounds easy enough. What do you need me to do?”

“I just need your blood” Kaleb replied.

Ah, blood. The ingredient that was most dangerous in combination with magic. It was used for curses, binding spells and all sorts of nasty spells. Could you say you trusted someone you barely know with an ingredient like this? No. But Shank´s research from two days ago was fruitless besides revealing Kaleb's last name, so you had nothing to go on but your gut feeling.

You bit into the thick flesh of your hand, and your blood pooled in your palm, ready to be used “Where do you want it?”

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The minutes dragged on with slow intent, waiting for them to die and move on to the next. The spell brewed, Mikael had left to an adjoining back room to rest and prepare for an uncomfortable fight he claimed to feel in the air. One would write off this premonition as ramblings of a crazy old man, but you can feel it too. Eyes somewhere distant, watching your every move. Claws ready to rupture skin. The question was, whose claws would draw blood first. The list of people that want to execute lethal force upon you had gotten embarrassingly long over the years, and guessing who was on top of that list equals a horse race with bets running high at all times.

You used the waiting time and tried to decode the unlinking spell you had been working on for the last year. But the advanced incantations and spellwork scribbled on the dusty pages were more than you were capable of understanding. Still, you had to try. Not to kill Klaus, but to ensure your brothers and everyone in his sire line was safe if his enemies decide to multiply further. Knowing Klaus, he will trample on everyone's sandcastle like a toddler to prove his point and make enemies out of everyone if he had to.

You glanced over to where Kaleb was chanting with his eyes closed, entirely concentrated on the whispered spell that´s supposed to reveal what the hell was wrong with you. You´ve been trying to find that out for centuries, so you did not hold out hope for a spell like this to work.

Out of nowhere, your senses alerted you of a rustle in the bushes, very soft steps were coming from behind. So faint, it was almost mistakable as the wind. Your ears twitched. Two-legged. Not an animal then.

Kaleb picked up on the sudden change of stature and paused the chanting and shared a look of alertness. "You think it's him? The original?”

“Probably. Or about a thousand other people that want me dead, take your pick. You know of all the places to die this didn't make my list. Where is the blaze of glory and a badass backing track?”

Stepping outside into the cooling night air you kept your eyes on the treeline beyond where the sound came from, but it was clear without sparing too many seconds that there was only one person who would chase you here despite all spoken cautions. And that one wouldn't hide in the bushes. He would instead break a window in or kick the door down rather than hide like some common thief. So why was he silent? Something wasn't right.

"Hey, I'll get some wood for the stove." You stated at high volume, masking your approach to whoever was out there. Wrapping your hands around the axe that penetrated a tree stump, you stepped into the open.

The rustling sound of bushes was persistent, dominating over the deafening sound of crickets near the body of water down the way. They moved from the left to the right, your eyes impulsively trained to pinpoint their movement.

He watched as you disappeared into the bushes, only to appear seconds later, dragging someone behind you in the dirt.

“Got him,” You said, hurling the unconscious stranger over your shoulder.

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Minutes easily passed waiting for the stranger to wake from his scare. But he had no intention of cutting the wait short. His head was hanging low, almost touching his knees. Softly breathing he sat there, while you waited for any sign of movement.

“How is he still unconscious?” You sighed.

"You gave him quite the scare, I'm sure."

"To be fair, that guy looks like he would be scared by a kitten." You said, eying him with pity "I think a nice wakeup call is in order."

"What are you thinking? Fire?" Kaleb chimed in.

"You do know all of this is made out of wood, right?" You asked, pointing on the wooden interiors.

"Don't tell me you don't like to set things ablaze."

"I'm not one for setting anything on fire these days." You muttered, pushing the rush of guilt that enveloped you down where it belonged. Only thinking about the smell of fire, the embers that sprinkle into the air and the blasting heat that melted skin from bones, was enough to wish that you could dig a hole and be swallowed into the earth without abandon.

But there was no time for it now. Perhaps there never will be.

"You know let's not go the magic route." You continued "Sometimes all you need is a good slap in the face to get the day started."

"Sure, who needs caffeine if a slap in the face will do." Kaleb chuckled.

You closed in on the stranger and slapped him in the face with gusto, stirring him awake like an unexpected thunder. Realisation dawned on him when he blinked through his tired eyelids and saw your face

“Oh shit, you're Y/N.” He tried to make a run for the door, but you pushed him back where he came from “Oh God, I'm so dead.”

“See?" You looked over your shoulder gesturing your hands toward the tied up stranger "That is how they usually react. With fear. Not all cocky and all-knowing like you were.”

“Well, I find your intimidation charming.” Kaleb grinned.

"Sure, because me being scary is such an admirable quality."

"You know numerous ways to kill a man. It's hot." He shrugged unapologetically.

“Uh... "The stranger uttered, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "You know I´m still here, right? Not that I don't condone this flirting but-”

"I'm not flirting." You defended adamantly.

"Maybe. But he is, clearly not successfully.” The stranger let out a chuckle and immediately regretted it by the way Kalebs face delved into anger.

Was that how people saw your early partnership with Kaleb? Did they assume you'd just fall into the arms of somebody else that quickly? If a stranger saw it, everyone else would too. You could already hear them talk behind your back, laughing at your broken promises and weak composure. What if those rumors were the only thing Kol would hear when he'd walk the earth again when you were dead and gone? You could not are the thought. However useful Kaleb was maybe you had to get rid of him after all.

“Listen," You continued "If you tell me who sent you, I might let you live. Spoiler alert, probably not.”

"He said to look out for any sign of trouble, that's it. I'm- I don't want any trouble.”

“Who sent you. I want a name.” You asked again, all the while trying to think of who would send an amateur like him after you. These days everyone knew that he'd be gutted if he crossed your path.

Following his continued silence you lowered yourself to his seated level, and with your fingers grazing his clothed chest you said “I wonder if you´ve ever had your chest opened before? Or do you prefer something more magical like boiling from the inside? I don't have much time to spare. So If you don´t talk, you´ll find out.”

“Marcel, okay?!”The stranger spoke with hurry, “He was worried about you hanging out with this guy.” He nodded towards the door. You looked over your shoulder where Kaleb rolled his eyes so hard you swore they'd pop out any second. Eying the stranger again you took notice of his swooped dark hair, overly nervous yet intrigued inquisitive nature and his questionable taste in overly printed dress shirts. It dawned on you that this must be Marcel's friend he had been talking about endlessly.

“Oh, you're his buddy. Josh!” You retreated your hand from his chest and stepped out of his personal space “Sorry for the well, unwelcoming welcome.”

"Yeah, it's becoming kind of a thing with everyone that hangs out with Count Dracula."

You grimaced at his words. "Do I look like I hang out with Klaus in my free time?"

Josh considered for a moment, then shook his head "Yeah… probably not. From what I've heard you're more the stabbing him in the back type." His face fell when you raised an eyebrow and he added "Not that he didn't deserve it."

Ah, that word again. Deserve. Nobody deserves anything. Often neither happiness nor grievances come to those who truly deserve them. It comes to those who consume them if they're entitled to them or not. The ones that persevere and push themselves up by kneeling others into the dirt. Those are the ones that take the good parts while the ones that truly deserve it shoulder the rest. That's the way of the world. Especially the supernatural one. And Klaus was both kneeling in the dirt and pushing others in it. You were unsure if he truly deserved what failed assassination attempt you brought upon him. You were not so sure you were worthy of being the judge, jury and executioner all on your own. Not anymore, and you had no idea if that was a good or bad thing.

“So uh.” Josh looked around the room awkwardly, an unspoken question written over his face. It was nothing new, they all had one if they dared to speak it out loud.

“Ask what you want to ask.” You sighed.

“The stories about you. Are they true?” He asked. Kaleb was interested too as his head snapped towards you in interest

“Most of them.” You shrugged as you leaned against the table's edge behind you. You're not really in the mood to play interview with a vampire "And I think the worst is yet to come so better hurry back and tell Marcel to call off his protectors. I can handle myself. ”

“Yeah, I'd say. You're scary.” Josh headed for the door and dipped to the right only to appear a second later “Uh, I have no idea where I am. "

“I assume you left your car near the church?” You asked and Josh nodded “It's about 20 miles northeast from here. Cell service is fickle, so just follow the trodden path.”

"North East. Yeah right okay." He turned on his heels and headed outside again looking left and right to determine where to go.

"That way." You pointed in the right direction and he thanked you with a round of finger gun before he disappeared. How Marcel has not gotten rid of him yet was beyond you.

“Why does everybody keep saying that?" You returned to Kaleb side "Am I that scary?”

“Terrifying. In the best way.” He smiled and his gaze drifted to the floor before snapping back to your face. There was an intensity in his stare, unwavering and unrelenting in a way that kept your focus longer than it should have.

When Kaleb's fingers drifted over your hand his breath hitched and grew still, and you had no intention of moving away. His calloused fingers grazed over your skin and had it not been for the immortal-ish aspects of you, your hands would be as callused, if not worse.

When you slowly lifted your head to look at him he was so focused on his hand on yours that he did not seem to notice your shifted gaze. Your eyes drifted over his shadowed face, trying to pinpoint what about him it was that kept your attention. There was something familiar about him. The way he held himself, this unwavering confidence and charm that revelled in his authenticity. Perhaps you've met him before when grief had its hold on you, or during one of the anger engulfed moments or perhaps just passed by him on the streets.

He felt familiar in a way that was comforting. Like a song you heard in passing that resurfaced with questionable intention and you´re left wondering why it felt as if you´ve heard it before. He felt like bonding on public transport travelling with the same people day in and day out, only to miss them when they take a different route. Or the passing by someone on the streets wondering if it was a ghost of the past or someone that's just bearing a similar face.

Reality hit soon after your wondering thought and unwavering guilt crushed you under its weight. You drew your hand away and Kaleb jumped at your sudden movement.

Get a grip. What the fuck are you doing?

No attachments. No distractions.

“So, uh... “You cleared your throat, putting some distance between you. “The rune thing. You find anything?”

“Let´s see.” He burdened a smile and returned to the table to find that etched lines have appeared on the bare stone tablets.

“Interesting. These two are next to each other, almost connecting."He said, pointing at the first two stones. The first one symbolises strength. You're bound to an unmatched power, yet no that can't be right.”

“What is it?”

“This rune," He said and pointed to the second one "It symbolises power but as an outside force. You´re not tied to your own power."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"You're bound to something powerful and that power depletes your own when it is being used. Like a battery of sorts."

"Too much power for me to handle, huh? Explains the nosebleeds, I guess. But what is it?"

"Whatever it is it's unlike anything I've seen." Kaleb's further words drifted out of focus when a shower of calculated noises drenched the room. There was someone outside yet again.

You interrupted his foretelling, holding a finger to your lips "We have another visitor. Stay here and don't come out."

Kaleb reached for your upper arm when you turned away from him and said "Don't go out there."

You snapped out of his grasp swiftly glaring at him as you said; "You don't tell me what to do." It was a low blow, sure, but perhaps he would keep his distance or disappear before things got even more complicated. Perhaps acting like this will cast him away.

Turning the corner on the far side of the cabin you were met with a suave demeanour full of torment and rage and a newly found hopelessness you had yet to pinpoint its location.

“Oh good, you're here. Want a drink?” You offered a swig of the bottle on the table outside.

“I'm in no mood to socialize,” Klaus declined sternly, the darkness parting for his body as he stepped onto the splintering wooden walkway.

“When are you ever?" You deadpanned, but Klaus was far from being amused. You tried to lighten the mood, but it was of no use. He was furious. No doubt Esther or her bootlicker of a son spilt the beans about the white oak. Handling matters delicately was never their strong suit.

"I can tell by the look on your face that you're here to kill me.” You said, trying to soothe the oncoming onslaught of judgement that was heading your way “I assume I deserve it, but can you tell me why this time? Just so I can keep track. ”

Klaus dragged his tongue over his parsed lips letting out a pitiful hushed laugh before he sat next to you, staring ahead. “I was simply minding my own business - ruling, killing my enemies and what not - and low and behold what do I hear? The white oak stake has resurfaced in the hands of my mother. My my, word does travel fast among the damned, now doesn't it?“

“Well, I'm sorry the world isn't arranging itself for your schedule.” You peered back at his expectant face. Anger was flaring through your blood, an amplified sensation whenever Klaus was near. “But I don't see why this is my problem?”

“Don´t be coy with me. This has your name written all over. Disruption the order of long-established rules of battle for your twisted little schemes." He trickled his fingers against the wind as if he was holding strings attached to a marionette to control at his will. No doubt, he viewed you as a puppeteer master these days. High praise indeed, especially coming from someone as wicked as him.

“I want to know why." His voice was quieter, soft almost, as he spoke into the wind "Why did you defy me when I gave you nothing but trust?” The way he stared holes in the floor uttering these words rattled a rush of guilt that you never expected to be directed at Klaus of all people. Klaus was confident with threats and violence, but bearing himself open was something he barely had the courage for.

“Let's not pretend that we trust each other just because we shared a sentimental moment. Once.”

“You know, I find it fascinating that you believe you are invincible to my wrath.” He continued harsher, covering his vulnerability “Our agreement has been made null and void by your actions, and you don't seem to care. More so you seem to enjoy it. Why is that?”

“You´re the master schemer here, tell me, what do you think I'm doing?” You leaned forward, eager to know what he had to say. No doubt he´d see right through the parts you wanted him to see. The question was if he had any idea beyond that. He was the mighty Klaus after all, and more so he was smart.

“I'd say you're playing both sides, though the recent events convinced me of something else entirely. You're bold, fearless; striking without weighing the consequences. Suspicious, isn't it? Unless you have the upper hand.” He turned his head again, observing your reaction like a hawk. “Is this charade your grand plan? Aiding my mother in her endeavors by handing over the only weapon that could kill my family? I must say, I'm not impressed.”

“You think that's the only part? Just another revenge fantasy? And here I thought you finally learned not to underestimate me.”

“It is because I do not underestimate you that I came here.” He said. It was high praise indeed coming from him, even if it came with a trickle of insult to be compared to the likes of the big bad Klaus.

“Good call, not sending Elijah then. He'd kill me just for ruining his shoes in this terrain. But if this is the only reason you came then you can go right back to your castle and rule your kingdom because Esther doesn't have the real white oak. It's s copy.”

Klaus cocked his head to the side, the lamps fire now perfectly reflecting in his eyes. The look of distrust was written over his face, yet there was no doubt that he was intrigued by the information you laid out.

“See? I´m not trying to play games here. I give you my word.” You added with the hope that at least your word had not lost its ´s value when everything else had.

He paused, dragging his tongue over his bottom lips swiftly, weighing his responses. “Your word means nothing until you live up to it.” You nodded, a silent promise you had no idea if you could uphold. Who were you kidding, of course, there wasn’t any way you would not place his head on the chopping block if it came to it. This whole thing was nothing but polite stakeouts as a way to keep up with the other´s schemes. Problem was, Klaus would offer you up just the same without blinking.

The old Klaus anyway.

If you would listen to the things circulating about him as of late, you'd think he had lost his old tyrannic ways. Found some way to soothe his grudge with the world and became a better person. It was laughable. People don´t change, you found that they mask themselves, sculpting a new life out what the fires left behind. They don´t change, they overpaint. And it was time that the ones whispering about Klaus alleged newly-found compassion, learned that lesson too or they´d head for disappointment. Either way, they'd wake up.

Shuffling from inside averted your attention to the cabin where Mikael and Kaleb were still hidden. Klaus' interest was peaked when your eyes slanted over to the side and remained there for a moment.

“What is it?” He questioned.

You forced your eyes forward, despite the impending doom running through your veins. “Thought I heard something. Probably just an animal somewhere. Or someone who wants to kill me. Take your guess. These days I'm almost as unpopular as you.” You laughed, quickly glancing through the window again.

Klaus followed your gaze again but saw nothing but an empty cabin. He turned and walked across the porch to look into the other window and although he could not see anything, Mikael was inside with his hands around Kaleb´s throat demanding him to grant his release from your boundary spell. Klaus knew that dealing with witches- even a half witch like you- did not mean that what was in front of your eyes was necessarily what was truly there.

“Well here's to living up to my promises.” You said as you made your way to the door. I guess I'll see you back in town, yeah?” You tried to get rid of him, but it was too late. Klaus' paranoia had already sounded the alarm in his head and snapped the door closed with a push of his hand.

"Who is with you?" His voice was dangerously low and calm, which only predicted the worst.

"No one. You know I don't do well in team scenarios." You waved him off. You had to get rid of him or this whole plan will go to hell. Plus your new friend in there would suffocate if kept fighting Mikael.

Without being aware, you took a step back on the brittle flooring denting it enough to let the staff that was still leaning near the door fall from his resting place. It rolled on the angled flooring right towards Klaus’ feet. At first, he glanced at it, but at the second look, his eyes grew wide. He'd recognize the bearing crest anywhere. Within the next heartbeat, he dragged his eyes from the floor and you were granted a look that put hellfire to shame.

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Your heartbeat beat so loudly it seemed to want to escape your chest, to flee the oncoming slaughter. You were not one to run, to hide and cower in fear. But this was different. Klaus knew you brought his hateful father back to life and he was right outside a spelt door, ready to burn this place down if he had to. There was no reprieve. You knew that the beating of your heart was numbered, counting down to your own demise.

You could´ve made him bleed, unconscious or writhe in pain, but it would not hold him down forever. Nothing could. So you headed for the door which gave you the luxury of a few more minutes before he would skin you alive. Distance was all that mattered, even if that distance was a brittle door that if not for the magic seal would break in two by the way Klaus was hammering against it.

“If you want to fight me, why are you running?” Klaus yelled and paraded on the porch like a lion in a cage that was ready to end his captors. You turned your back towards the rattling door, your attention now focused on Mikael who still had Kaleb in his grasp.

“Release me or I will end him!” Mikael said, his fingers digging into Kaleb´s neck, cutting off his air supply, ready to snap his neck like a twig if he had to.

You balled your hand to a fist forcing Mikael to his knees to bear the pain of your magic “You think you're in any position to make demands?” You shared a look with a heavy breathing Kaleb and he nodded while grasping his neck, signalling he was fine, though hurt in his pride.

“Enough games, Y/N!” You jumped at Klaus´s voice which invaded through the cracks in the walls. “Let's finish this. Is this not why you brought him for? I'm not afraid.”

You opened the door with a flick of your free hand while Mikael was kept in place with the other.

If you cannot fight them on your own, let them fight each other.

There you stood between the devil and the deep blue sea, one decision worse than the next, one would bring hellfire while the other would leave you stranded on the bottom of the ocean. There was- without a doubt- no silver lining at the crossroads you arrived at. If you released Mikael and held up your end of the bargain Mikael would slay Klaus and with him his entire line. Your brothers would die. You would die sooner than expected and thousands of vampires would die by your hand. Your chance of getting Kol his life back would slip through your hands like sand in an hourglass.

However letting Klaus in to fight his father would either result in the same outcome or he'd kill Mikael and with it every bargaining chip - and if necessary threat- you had hidden in your hold. Either way, you were backed into a corner, and an animal in a corner always fought back.

You took a breath that was loaded with thought. The men in the room picked up on your hesitation and Klaus was the first that dared to speak. “Let him go. I can't wait to stand over his burning corpse. Only this time, I intend to enjoy it more. ”

He knew what was on the line for you if you let them fight. He knew. And something in his face told of nothing but victory. So you let them go and chase each other to death. Hatred was useful in a fight and Klaus had more than anyone. He will win. He had to.

Right?

Kaleb watched from behind as you drew the curtain open to and surely enough there in the distance, beyond the scarce line of trees you saw them fight. They managed to disrupt each of their blows but even from afar you saw Mikael had the upper hand. He kicked Klaus onto the ground and knocked him flat on his back towering over him.

"And you're going storm after them right about…" Kaleb counted on his wrist as if checking an imaginary clock. Now."

You shot him a glare with the doorknob already in your grasp. You exited with Kaleb only a few steps behind. You were already vamp speeding away when Kaleb collided with the boundary spell

"Of course." He sighed and took in the room he was now trapped in "I guess it's time to set this thing on fire."

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A/N: I know it has been....months. 2020 y´all. Shit´s crazy. In all seriousness, my life did a 360 this year - as it did with everyone- so please excuse my absolute snail speed with writing these days.But thank you to everyone that´s here right now at the end of yet another chapter. Please let me know if you have any thoughts!!

Also I was proud of my little sneak sentence when she talks about Klaus being hopeless. Because you know, he´s without Hope. I rather liked that.

Open Coffin Series Taglist: (message me if you want on or off this list!)

@shadyladyperfection @akshi8278 @thegoddessofvampire @newurleans @originalbish98 @acourtofhopeanddreams @bonniebird @imnoaingeal @cherryblossomllama @relmi-llorrac @piercethepottorff @maliae14 @5-seconds-of-animals @the-geeky-engineer @rock-n-magick @flymeawayworld @givemesomehybrid @mikealsonlover @nuteller28 @fandoms-fandoms-everywhere99 @drkplum @fandooomqueenforyou @free-the-fangirl @clockworkballerina @twisted1ginger @superwholocksociopath474 @pacifyprincessxo @mustachio1616 @thealyana @sandyclaws @unicorntrooper @buckysummers @sanity-is-overratedxp @lunna-star-8 @graysonmalfoy @woodworthti666 @elenavaldez02 @lilulo-12�� @selmasemlan @thelostallycat @characterobsessed @cococola-cocaine @crazyinternetgirl @codenamewitcher @-thatgirloverthere- @alwxadria345 @trymexo @mizzezm @willieshakesqueer @spunky-89 @putyourherohaironstefan @xxdragonagequeenxx @thegingerthatwaited @shootingstarsaretearsofheaven @hinata7346 @controloffandoms @sabrielflowers

#kol mikaelson #the originals #the originals imagine #kol mikaelson imagine #the originals fanfic #open coffin

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goldenworldsabound · 3 years

Text

Winery Talk

Golden and Kaeya become somewhat of an item, and Diluc has some words for his friend. Lisa also has some words. Geez, Golden thinks, is there anyone who doesn’t have an opinion about them and Kaeya??? Sequel to No One Between Us.

word count: 2237

content warning: food/(non-alcoholic) drink mention

Taking a breather between tasks, Golden made their way over to the Dawn Winery, gliding to a gentle stop right at the entrance. They loved gliding, even when it was entirely unnecessary. It felt like a faint memory was almost within reach when they did so.

In any case, they were looking for Diluc. They walked into the winery, peering around curiously. There were books and antique looking things everywhere.

"Oh, hello. Are you looking for someone?" One of the maids wandered over to Golden. Golden gave a sigh of relief, as they had been uncertain what to do next.

"Yes, I'm looking for Diluc?" Golden said, smiling nervously. "He told me to stop by today."

"Yes, of course, you're Golden, right?" The maid asked. "Er, pardon me. I'll go get him." They scampered off before Golden could confirm or deny.

Golden blinked, staring after her for a moment. What to do...they wandered over to look at Diluc's collection of things on display while they waited. The statue of the owl was...Golden tilted their head to stare intently at it.

"Hoo." They said quietly.

"Are you talking to my statue?" Diluc asked.

"AH!" Golden yelped, standing up straight. "Uh, no, I mean, yes, but I wasn't expecting an answer or anything-" He'd certainly gotten here fast. And quietly too.

Diluc shook his head. "You're quite a character, traveler." Diluc headed for a sideroom Golden hadn't noticed earlier. They followed after a momentary delay as they recovered from their surprise and mild embarrassment. There were yet more books and objects of intrigue, and two couches. Diluc sat down on one, and Golden on the other.

"I don't have too much to say, but please consider my words." Diluc said solemnly, meeting Golden's gaze unflinchingly.

"Ah, yes, sure. Is something wrong?"

Diluc made no direct response to their question.

"You should be wary of Kaeya." Diluc responded bluntly.

Golden stiffened. They had literally been kissing Kaeya less than 24 hours ago. But they didn't quite feel like they should tell Diluc that, even as they could feel a warmth spreading across their cheeks. They fought that down as best they could.

"Wh- why's that?!" They pressed, smiling uncomfortably. How should one react in this situation, they wondered. Kaeya had made a vague comment about Diluc being likely to say something odd, and Golden wished he would have been a bit more clear so they could have prepared better.

"I'd rather not say. I just wanted to offer my warning. Consider it." Diluc felt his frown deepening at their response. He could see clearly how their cheeks flushed, how uncomfortable and anxious they looked...it was far too late to warn them against getting romantically involved with Kaeya. He was beginning to suspect something had happened last night after he'd kicked them out of Angel's Share.

"It's hard to consider your words very seriously if you don't tell me, you know." Golden laughed nervously. They regretted the action immediately.

Diluc narrowed his eyes. "I understand your point, but I won't relent on this. I should hope that knowing we grew up together and are no longer on good terms would lend my words some weight." Diluc leaned back against the couch, crossing his arms and staring at Golden. Golden flushed in response, stammering for a moment.

"Well, yes, but..." Their hands gripped at the fabric of their top that spilled over their legs anxiously. "Thank you for your concern." A polite but vacant smile appeared on their face. They would ask Kaeya for more information. Or maybe they'd ask a more neutral party first. Decisions. "Was there anything else?"

Diluc took in the change of expression. Fine. He breathed in. Golden was an adult. They could make their own choices. Even choices that he thought were objectively bad.

"No. You're welcome to stay here if you'd like." Diluc offered, already suspecting their answer.

"Oh, thank you, that's kind of you. But I really ought to get back to commissions. The Adventurer's Guild is quite busy these days." Golden smiled sheepishly, putting a hand on their neck. "Perhaps another time though." They got to their feet, with the appearance of someone who was restraining themself from running out the door.

"Hm. Certainly." Diluc got to his feet as well, to walk them to the door. "Stay safe."

"Thanks." Golden left without another word, clearly still restraining themself from running. They felt a chill over their heart at Diluc's warning. Certainly, a fair few number of people seemed to regard Kaeya with some level of suspicion, but there were an equal number who held him up as an exemplary knight. They were certain there was truth to both views. But this was something they'd have to worry more about later.

Diluc watched them go until they were out of sight. He turned to go back inside and immediately spotted Kaeya leaned against the wall. He wondered briefly if Kaeya had been eavesdropping, but dropped the thought as he realized he didn't particularly care one way or the other.

"What do you want?" He asked, scowling.

"I had a feeling you'd do something like this." Kaeya replied, drumming his fingers on his arm. "Don't you think our issues are just between us, bro?"

"Golden can of course do whatever they like, but I could not in good faith remain silent." Diluc headed inside. Kaeya followed.

"Hm. Will you toss them out like trash if they make a choice you don't like? If they say something that doesn't fit with your view of how they should be?" Kaeya purred, doing his best to jab the metaphorical knife into Diluc's side.

Diluc stopped in the entryway, clenching his fists tightly before letting them loosen again.

"No. I won't. But if you do something to hurt them, I'm sure I won't be the only person you'll find at your throat." Diluc walked away again.

Kaeya frowned at Diluc's back, before laughing with a shrug. "Well, that's no surprise with how beloved they are." Kaeya had one more thing to say. "Well, whatever. I certainly don't intend to hurt them."

Diluc rolled his eyes. "With the way you throw lies around almost nonstop, it's inevitable." He'd stopped walking again.

"That's not true." Kaeya snapped back immediately. Diluc turned to look at him, surprised by the outburst. It was rare to get Kaeya's mask to falter. He looked...annoyed.

"Isn't it?"

"No, it's not. I won't hurt them." Kaeya took a few steps closer to Diluc. Diluc was startled to see Kaeya so agitated, but he was careful not to show it.

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"Then get ready to be wrong, bro." Kaeya laughed quietly, even as his eye flashed with anger. And just like that, the mask was back on. "I'll let you get back to work. I'm sure Golden will be looking for me later, so I better get all my work done too. Buh-bye." He sauntered out. Diluc shook his head, not bothering to watch him go.

He hoped for Golden's sake that Kaeya was as serious as he'd seemed.

-----------------------------------------

Golden was tapping their foot impatiently as they waited for Lisa to show up. They'd picked a quiet, out of the way spot for a chat. Lisa had insisted on making an ordeal out of it, and Golden sat with tea and snacks at a small table. They had asked Lisa if she could tell them about the relationship between Kaeya and Diluc.

I don't have time right at this moment, but let's meet in an hour.

Golden was anxious to meet her. They'd spent that hour gathering the snacks per Lisa's request and fretting over the situation. Finally they'd set everything up and sat down to wait for the appointed time as their mind ran wild.

"There you are Golden!" Lisa smiled wide, arriving right on time as per usual. "As cute as always! Though I must say, you do look a bit worried."

"Well, yes." Golden mumbled, too distracted to even flush at Lisa's flirty exuberance.

Lisa sat down. "Please, don't worry." She poured Golden and then herself some tea, holding it up to smell the fragrance. Pleased, she smiled and set it down. "So you wanted to know about Kaeya and Diluc, right?"

Golden nodded.

"Well, you may already know this, but Diluc's father adopted Kaeya. He raised the two boys as siblings. They were very close, I hear." Lisa tilted her head, thinking on it. "I don't know Diluc very well myself." She added. "From what I understand, when Diluc's father was killed, something happened between them that formed this rift."

Golden leaned in, listening intently. "And?"

"No one knows what that thing was." Lisa concluded.

Golden stared at her for a moment. "You...made me wait an hour to tell me no one knows?!" Golden asked incredulously, feeling frustrated. "And made me bring snacks and tea?!"

"But of course." Lisa replied. "Any reason to take some time off work." Upon seeing Golden's annoyed expression, she smiled and amended her statement. "And I'm admittedly curious why you're asking...I assume there's a story there."

Golden swallowed hard at the glint in Lisa's eyes. Right. No one really knew Golden and Kaeya were...an item.

"Um, well, yes. I've been spending, um, more time with Kaeya lately,"

"I've noticed, but go on."

"...and Diluc asked to talk to me. He, um...he said he wanted to warn me to be wary of Kaeya. But he wouldn't tell me why." Golden sighed. "I don't know what to think of that."

"Sounds a little unnecessary to me." Lisa replied, quirking a brow. "All he's really doing is make you doubt Kaeya, without even telling you why. Bringing his personal business into yours. It's rather unkind."

"Yeah...I suppose so." Golden frowned. "But it does make me have doubts."

Lisa sighed. "If Diluc gets to have an opinion, I do too." She grinned. "I've worked with Kaeya a lot, and even if his methods are sometimes questionable, he's not a bad person. He's been a powerful force for the Knights of Favonius, and he's done his fair share of work to protect Mondstadt. And, as I said before, I've seen the way he interacts with you...the way he looks at you...you've clearly sparked something in him. And," Golden was already blushing at Lisa's words. "You two would make a damn good looking couple, if I may be so bold."

"Lisa!" Golden put their hands over their face, feeling the warmth of their cheeks on their palms. "Please don't say things like that out loud!"

"But why not? Why, I heard a rumor you two were seen kissing outside your room just this past night..." Lisa's smile curled into a smirk.

"You did?!" Golden squeaked out, peering at Lisa from between their finger tips.

Lisa nodded. "And? Is it true?"

Golden stammered incoherently. "W-well, yes, it might be..."

"And how was it?"

"Lisa! Please!" Golden squeezed their eyes shut, pressing their fingers together again to entirely hide their warm face. After a moment, they lowered their hands to their lap and responded. "It was...lovely. He was quite a gentleman..."

"You had me in suspense there for a moment." Kaeya's voice and his hands on their shoulders caused Golden to let out a sharp yell, snapping their head back to look up at him. Eyes wide with horror at realizing what he may have heard them say, their hands went right back up to covering their face.

"Hi, Kaeya." Lisa replied. "I hope you're well."

"Thank you, Lisa. The same to you. I'm sure you've been enjoying Golden's company." He squeezed their shoulders affectionately, despite the shit eating grin he was still wearing.

"Oh, yes. Golden's told me some rather scandalous things. Well, you heard. You? A gentleman? I thought you were a bit of a scoundrel."

Kaeya laughed. "Not at all, Lisa. I'm a knight, after all. A captain, even. I needs must be a gentleman." He put his hands on Golden's wrists gently. "And you needs must stop hiding your beautiful face, darling." Golden let him pull their hands off their face, and shot Lisa a furious look.

"How- how long- why didn't you tell me he was listening?!" Golden stumbled out, sighing with exasperation, even as their face remained dark red.

"It didn't seem terribly important." Lisa replied, putting a hand up over her smirk politely.

"Don't worry, I haven't been here long. Though I admit I'm interested in what has you so worried and flustered." Kaeya said slyly. He placed their hands on their lap before putting his hands back on their shoulders. "I was actually looking for you."

"Were you..." Golden mumbled.

"Well, that's perfectly fine. Golden and I were just finishing up. I'm sure you two have much to talk about." Lisa laughed. "Thank you for the snacks, darling. I think I'll stay here and finish them off. But you should feel free to go."

Golden glowered at Lisa while Kaeya laughed. "Shall we?" He asked, stepping to the side to offer a hand to Golden. Blushing and eyeing the ground, Golden put their hand in his, getting to their feet.

"Um, Lisa...thanks." Golden mumbled, their expression softening as they met Lisa's gaze. Lisa smiled back at her.

"You're welcome. I'm always happy to lend an ear, Golden."

Golden smiled too.

#cryo and chill #platonic wendy x diluc #platonic wendy x lisa #fic #self insert #self ship #selfship #self shipping #selfshipping #I didn't forget!!!#the thot plickens

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yukiwrites · 4 years

Text

The First Step Towards Their Life Together

For Corrianderweek 2020, Day 2: Coronation Day. This is a sequel to a story I wrote sometime ago, Battle Against What Was Forgotten.

Part 1 - Part 2

___________________

One thing that Kamui was absolutely not expecting to happen during the wedding’s preparations was for Camilla to be the one to preside over the dress-making.

It happened a week after they had defeated the Forgotten Dragon -- time during which the groundworks for the double coronation and the wedding ceremony were starting to take shape.

“The time’s finally come!” Camilla marvelled as she twirled Kamui around like she was a little girl. “The dress I’ve been sewing for your marriage will finally come to use, my darling.”

“W-wait, Big Sister?! What do you mean-”

Smiling slyly, the older princess winked before turning around to open the door to her closet. “I have been working on it for a few years now, my precious Kamui. I wanted you to be the perfect bride when the time finally came for you and my brother to wed. Since no one else in the kingdom can appreciate your beauty like me, I naturally had to be the one to sew it!” She walked with light steps towards the mannequin placed right in the center of the small room, smoothing her hand over the flowy and semi-transparent fabric that covered the gown it was dressed with.

Kamui blushed, first from her sister’s compliment and second from placing her eyes on the gorgeous dress. “Camilla! It- It’s wonderful! It looks like a fairy’s dress… Am I really worth such a magnificent thing?” She carefully touched the light blue fabric, her eyes gleaming in anticipation.

“Of course, my dear; you’ll be the queen of fairies, quite literally, on the day you wear this, hm?” Camilla took Kamui’s hand, helping her touch the dress more decisively instead of hesitating around. “I made it with only you in mind, so the more beautiful you find it, the more it’ll suit your natural cuteness! Oh, I simply cannot wait until it’s ready!”

The soon-to-be Queen pressed her lips into a thin line to hide her shy and excited smile, her chest pounding in anticipation. The day she would marry Xander was at last right around the corner; she could scarcely believe it! And she would be so prettily adorned as well, how could she not be excited about it?

There was, however, a point of concern: Kamui’s pregnancy. Despite wanting his betrothed to lawfully become his wife as soon as possible, Xander also didn’t want to put any unnecessary strain on Kamui, especially considering that she had taken a terrible blow during the battle against the Forgotten Dragon. Thus, they all had to take great care of her -- nothing was more important than having her term come to an end as peacefully as possible, after all.

To Kamui, she did not think that it was necessary to wait for Siegbert to be born for them to hold their ceremony -- he was a strong and dutiful baby, who helped her through the last battle just as much as his father did, after all. He would wait for his turn and do his best to not be a burden to his Mommy, of that Kamui was sure.

Thus, they had to hasten all of the arrangements so they could hold both the coronation and the wedding ceremonies at the same day, preferably before Kamui’s stomach started to swell. Since there was no way to tell how long Kamui had been pregnant for, time was of the essence, especially regarding the clothes and footwear she would use on the grand day.

Apart from separating the budget, accepting reports, choosing decorations, personnel, security and delivering the news to the people, there was still the usual workload of being the rulers of a kingdom -- which was now doubled due to Kamui accumulating the role of Queen regent of Valla. The vallites who were living in hiding scattered throughout the Forgotten kingdom had accepted Kamui as their ruler after seeing all of her sacrifices to defeat the One who had brought destruction to their beloved land, so although the coronation and wedding were going to be held in Nohr, Kamui was being effectively crowned as the Queen Regnant of Valla as well.

To summarize: they were busy. Dizzyingly busy, honestly.

Yet, neither Kamui nor Xander could feel the exhaustion. They were finally going to be wed; their love was finally going to be accepted and celebrated, as it should have been since the day it started, all those years ago inside Kamui’s tower.

The couple spent most of their free time together -- with Xander usually bringing his own paperwork to Kamui’s study so he could spend more time with her (and check on her to make sure she would take plenty of rest, mindful of her condition).

Time was of the essence, so everything had to be done fast but also carefully -- they had so much to do, they barely noticed as time flew by them.

It was already the night before the big day, and Kamui was so excited she couldn’t sleep. She also felt a bit sick for some reason -- perhaps Siegbert was feeling all of her excitement and was getting restless? -- so Xander spent the whole time with his wife inside his arms, at the ready to jump out of the bed to fetch a medic if needed.

“Mhm, there’s no need for concern, my King,” lightheaded, Kamui rested her head on Xander’s powerful chest as he drew circles with his hand on her back, soothing most of her nausea away. “I think I just got too anxious and it made Siegbert act up, too.”

Hardening his jaw, Xander adjusted his betrothed beside him, softly placing his hand under her chin to make her look up at him. “You are pale, little princess,” he said in a low voice, his frown digging deeper into his brow.

“I just can’t wait ‘till tomorrow, that’s all,” she tried to soothe him, though her partly-clouded gaze and slow speech only made him worry more.

“I shall go fetch a healer-” He meant to get up as he carefully placed Kamui back on the pillows, but her weak grip on his shirt made the soon-to-be King stop in his tracks.

“No, no, please stay with me- with us. Please?” She looked at him from below, almost like a pleading kitty, making Xander’s heart almost make a squeaking sound. Yet, his expression was still hard.

“Kamui, do not be unreasonable. There will be a lot of activity tomorrow -- you must have a restful sleep to recover your strength.” He carefully untangled her fingers from his shirt, unbending in his resolution to make Kamui feel better at all costs. “If something were to happen to you, I-” he choked up, feeling as though needles were piercing into his heart with just the thought of seeing Kamui fall in his arms once again.

Pouting, the dragon princess kept holding her beloved’s fingers whenever he managed to pry them out of himself. “I’m not being unreasonable, Xander… Please? Just stay with us; I’m sure Sieggy just wants to be with his Papa.” She once again looked at him with a kitten’s gaze, making the Crown Prince sag his shoulders with a short sigh.

“That is foul play, little princess.” Defeated, he returned to his previous spot, collecting his small fiancée into his arms, placing one warm and large hand over her stomach. “How are you feeling, Siegbert? Do not strain your mother too much, you hear?”

“Heehee, don’t scold him like that, Xander, he’s just excited like me, it’s all.” She snuggled her face into his neck, breathing in his masculine scent. “We just want to stay like this for a while longer…”

Blinking, Xander tried to look down to his beloved since he noticed how visibly sleepy her voice had started to sound just a moment after he placed one hand over her stomach. Was it truly?

Were she and Siegbert just in need of cuddles?

“Kamui?” Xander called tentatively, in a voice so low he barely heard himself. Yet, he knew there was not going to be a response since he felt Kamui’s rhythmic breathing by his neck -- she had truly fallen asleep. Smiling so, ever so fondly, Xander caressed his betrothed’s stomach more carefully, placing a kiss atop of her forehead. “Good night, Kamui, and see you tomorrow as my beloved Queen.” He whispered by her soft hair, smoothing his thumb over her still flat stomach, wondering when he would be able to feel Siegbert move, “and may you have a restful sleep as well, Son. Be good to your Mother tomorrow, hm?”

The couple woke up at dawn to let the servants get them ready for the day -- because of that, they were separated right before breakfast, only being able to give one another a short hug before promising to meet again at the altar.

Well, technically Xander would be the one to walk Kamui down the aisle, so they would meet at the door to the Throne Room. He would escort his Queen towards the throne by which the bishop would stand to bestow the crown to the both of them before proceeding with the wedding ceremony.

Her heart pounding, Kamui could barely taste the soup they fed her (usually the bride wasn’t supposed to eat before putting on the dress, but since Kamui was pregnant, many details of this process have been changed to accomodate the baby prince), stroking her stomach once she was inside the wonderful gown Camilla had sewn for her.

As though the marvelous dress itself wasn’t enough, Kamui was adorned from head to toes with many silver jewelry, to complement her hair and blue garments. She wore a two point earring, custom-made for her pointy ear, which depicted a dragon carrying the gem that lay atop her lobe; a festoon necklace that complemented the see-through fabric covering her cleavage; two intricate armbands from which the sleeves of her dress were connected to, both on the same style of the feet bracelets she wore to go with her ballerina flats (there was no way she was going to wear heels, not in her condition, after all).

Camilla also made sure to sewn a transparent cape flowing down off Kamui's shoulders, so the dragon princess truly looked like a fairy Queen, which made her cheeks flush with embarrassment and excitement at the same time.

Xander would be waiting for her by the throne room. How would he react when he saw her? He would always, always, always tell her how beautiful she was, especially during their most heated moments, so Kamui loved to show herself to him whenever she got a new piece of clothing. Just by imagining the surprised and head-over-heels in love look of Xander’s made Kamui wish to dash to where he was immediately.

Still, there was an order to these things, so wait she must, even though she was so excited she felt as though she had actual wings on her back. It was a wonder that the nausea from the previous night was nowhere to be found despite her excitement level being way higher than it was before she fell asleep.

Siegbert was behaving himself rather well, which made Kamui proudly caress her stomach at every opportunity she had to do so.

The final touches were upon her: now she only had to wear a long cloak to cover herself entirely -- the dress reveal itself would only happen after she was crowned, so both Xander and the onlookers could be surprised by their Queen’s beauty all at once. That made Kamui anticipate the moment even more, so she had to stop herself from skipping during the walk towards the throne room.

Her steps couldn’t help but hasten as she approached the corner to the throne room, wanting more than anything to jump into her almost-husband's arms and yell to the world that they’re finally together under the eyes of the gods and of the people. Once she spotted Xander’s tall figure in the distance, her chest started to tighten and her face flushed; it was as though she was about to fall in love with him one more time.

Xander turned his head to the procession accompanying Kamui, his eyes immediately falling on his beloved’s, action of which robbed his breath and took all of the strength he had in his body. If it wasn’t for his sheer willpower, Xander would have fallen to his knees and proposed to Kamui for the second time right there and then.

Once the servants dispersed around Kamui and they were face to face, Xander asked for her hand and brought it to his lips in a genuine action of respect, love and admiration for the one who will always have a hold of his heart.

“Will you do me the honor of being my wife, Kamui?” Xander wasn’t strong enough to resist the urge to propose to her one more time, receiving a bright smile alongside even brighter tears from his beloved.

“Of course, Xander. Yes, yes, yes, I will marry you.” She sniffled, accepting the arm he’d given her so he could start escorting her to the staircase that led to the throne. “I love you so much,” she whispered as the doors to the room were opened, receiving the gasps of admiration of the people that were waiting in there.

Xander walked ahead by pure instinct, his gaze ever glued on his beloved and wonderful -- oh so wonderful -- soon-to-be wife. Likewise, Kamui walked by following the carpet under her feet, her eyes meeting her beloved’s and overflowing with tears that looked more like stars falling from the sky.

It was a day that would never again come; a once-in-a-lifetime event, and yet, they couldn’t stop looking at each other and declaring their love through their eyes. The bishop’s speech lasted too long and too little at the same time, their sense of selves merging with the stillness of the air around them as they simply saw themselves in the entire world.

Soon it was time for Xander to kneel and receive the crown from the bishop, being officially -- finally -- crowned the King of Nohr and Valla. Once it was Kamui’s turn, Xander made sure to place her crown atop her head, adjusting the black pegasus feathers adorned around it only for their wedding.

Once she was back on her feet with a straight back and the weight of being the Queen of two kingdoms hanging upon her shoulders, Kamui undid the knot of her mantle to reveal her dress to the world -- to her King and lover, Xander.

Seeing the mesmerizing sight, Xander widened his eyes as he was overcome with the urge to make her put the cloak back on -- she was so pretty, too pretty, for eyes other than his own to see.

She was more than a Queen, more than the daughter of a god.

She was a goddess incarnate, the one who descended upon this world to enrapture him and make him the happiest man in all existing realms.

During that single moment, that gaze they shared became their whole world and they forgot they were in the middle of a ceremony. As though under a trance, now King and Queen slowly went into one another’s arms to share a tender kiss, even before the bishop could start the marital speech.

The audience cooed and cheered, touched with their rulers’ display of humanity and love.

Blind and deaf to all else but themselves, Xander and Kamui simply enjoyed sharing their first kiss as (technically) husband and wife.

That was the beginning of the rest of their lives, and they couldn’t be happier to have one another as their life-long companions.

#corrianderweek2020 #corriander #kamarx #xander fire emblem #kamui fire emblem #fire emblem fates #fef #my writings #I FINALLY WROTE THE WEDDING I DID IT I DIIIDDDD ITTT

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docfuture · 5 years

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The Maker’s Ark - Chapter 46

[This is a chapter from my latest novel, a sequel to The Fall of Doc Future and Skybreaker's Call. The start is here, and links to my other work here. It can be read on its own, but contains spoilers for those two books. It is serialized irregularly, interspersed with related short stories and vignettes when I don't have a new chapter ready. My target posting schedule is something new about every two weeks, a rate I still aspire to return to someday. Because it's been so long, those reading this as it comes out may wish to refresh their memories with the last chapter that took place on Earth here.]

Previous: Chapter 45

A great torrent of snow and ice arced up behind Flicker as she carved her way across Europa. She skated through a deep mist of leftover atmosphere and escaped ice particles. Vision was nearly useless for anything but the overlays and updates on her visor. But she didn't need it. All obstacles were already gone--powdered, melted, or vaporized during her first visit. The only directions that mattered were up, down and forward. The mist flashed to plasma when it hit her damper field, close to her body. Functional plasma--it helped power the MHD generators in her force field harness. Curved force field blades stretched out behind her, extending her reach and refining it, letting her slice out vast icy windrows and fling them upward to be scooped up by the portal maw on the ship flying above and behind her. Mostly. The leftovers were a problem. The 99+% efficiency of the scooping process was right on the edge of not good enough. "Even if the construction goes perfectly." She remembered saying that, what seemed like ages ago. Everything she'd done had worked, and she'd stayed within planned parameters--but the project depended on more than just her. The status on one of the force field modules changed from green to yellow. That made two. Four, and she'd need to call for a break to swap them out. If nothing else went wrong first. And given the complexity and scale of what they were attempting, that was-- Her visor flashed an alert: Incoming signal from Diver, the Floater pilot of the gas giant flyer, which was trailing a slipstream to ease the strain on the portal ship. She was also relaying messages to Flicker as needed; since the flyer was out front, its com unit didn't have to punch through the messy mix of dense cold water and rarefied hot plasma Flicker was plowing up. "Stop time," Diver sent, along with a more formal signal, a string of emoticons, and a graph indicating that an accumulation of technical problems on the portal ship had reached a safety threshold. "Got it," Flicker replied, along with a few emoticons of her own, ending with a shrug. She turned off the force fields, and the vast billowing in her wake started to dissipate. At least their translation protocols were getting better. She had names for two of the Floaters now--nicknames and titles came across better than untranslatable personal names. The pilot was 'Reckless Diver', and Journeyman's recent nemesis, the Floater safety guy, was 'Cheerful Cloud of Warning'. DASI cautioned they were still missing nuances, but the names worked well enough. Better than the portal ship at the moment. As soon as Diver got the signal that her slipstream was no longer needed, she dived and landed. Quickly. She was on the ground with the hatch open in under ten seconds--she took pride in not making Flicker wait any longer than she had to. Diver was heavily biomodded and her ship was built for storm chasing on Jupiter, so rapid deceleration wasn't a problem. She and Flicker shared an enthusiasm for hypersonic shockwaves and jokes with the punch line 'And then I broke it.' Flicker liked her. Diver waved two of her envirosuit's six tentacles as Flicker boarded, then took off again as soon as the hatch closed, sending happy aerodynamic model updates and data mixed with more emoticons. Flicker waved back then checked in with DASI. Journeyman was supervising the controlled closing of the portal, and would return to Learning when that was done, leaving the portal ship to Three and her repair bots--who had a bit of work to do. At least they weren't running low on replacement parts. Yet. DASI noted that The Floaters had part of an early warning network up and running, though they weren't ready to say how much warning they thought it would actually give of the Visitors. There were a lot of difficulties involving time-shifted 'echoes', many of them from Flicker's actions during the fleet battle, but some from as far back as her destruction of the Topaz Realm during her dissociative fugue as Skybreaker. That was always the challenge with sensitive detectors--separating out what you were looking for from the background noise. Incoming voice call. "Hey," said Malk, one of Learning's liaison biogestalts. "Glad you're on your way back. Pira and I get worried about your sensory deprivation." "I'm okay," said Flicker. "It gave me time to think, and work on my biogestalt exercises. Those went well, but I need to talk to Learning about some starship stuff that's kind of important. I figured out the reason I was twitchy when I woke up this morning." "Anything we can help?" "Learning probably can. Last night was the first time I've ever had a full night's sleep far away from any significant mass. And when I did my morning startup, some checks that have always failed before... didn't. So a few things switched from cold lockdown to maintenance mode." "Ooh. Okay, I just notified the duty Auditor to authorize a new privacy segment. Learning will be ready." "Thanks. This is good news, I think. At least, good to know about, rather than stay ignorant, but..." Flicker took a breath before finishing her message. "My jump drive itches." ***** "DASI says there is no indication of outside influence," said Sid, Doc's chief of security. "But she also confirmed, without being specific, that Doc is working on some sort of cognitive or memory problem. And I have discretion to call on available expert assistance." "Which would be me," said Yiskah. "Yes." Sid looked at her expectantly. He didn't say 'read my mind', but he was sure thinking it loudly. They were in the small briefing room next to his duty station. "Well, you're in luck," she said. "I was already on my way, but Doc's been unusually concerned about 'side-channel information leakage modes'. However, we're in a secure area now, so... DASI?" "Yes?" came from the wall speaker. "Is Doc still down in the Dangerous Artifact vaults?" "Yes. He visited vault three, and set up a communications relay outside vault one. He then invoked an interrupt restriction protocol, entered the vault and sealed the door, reactivated the defenses, and opened alcove one of vault one. That was two hours and forty minutes ago." Yiskah looked over at Sid, who raised an eyebrow and looked back. "You have far more experience working with Doc than I do," she said. "Do you have any personal observations that might be of use for my assessment?" Sid looked thoughtful. "The personality shift reports from yesterday worried me. His actions since, not so much. The last security update he sent said that he needed to fix something complex, and what he's doing sounds consistent with that. Dangerous, but consistent. It is a lot more like his style from back before he adopted Flicker--explain nothing except safety precautions." Yiskah frowned. "DASI? What's in vault one, alcove one?" "Restricted data," said DASI. Available description, 'Second-order closed-loop cybernetic control helmet'; Safety note, 'Lethal trap, not Lyapunov stable'." "Joy," said Yiskah. "Are you willing to override the locks so I can get in?" "Unnecessary. You are already on the exception list. I will warn him." "All right," she said, and turned back to Sid. "I'll handle it, and have DASI keep you updated."

In the elevator on the way down to the sub-basement, Yiskah contacted Stella Prime. "Anything to add?" she sent. "The personality change was a side effect of something he did in order to properly brief Journeyman," replied Prime. "After Journeyman and Flicker boarded Learning, Doc alerted me that he needed to do some messy memory cleanup and would be unavailable for a while, and he spent last night in an isolation chamber. I'm more concerned about something else. He has unreplicated causal loop experience in his head, and judging from what DASI and I are seeing on Earth, we appear to have hit some sort of tipping point or phase change. It would be useful and timely for Doc to update his loop models. Get him to explain if possible. I can't spare the attention right now." Yiskah frowned. "That could take a while, and I won't to be able to follow everything." "DASI will. And if you mind scan him, he won't gloss over uncertainties. He has a characteristic reaction to them, he won't be able to hide it from you, and he knows it. And I have to go--new crisis." "Understood." ***** Yiskah let the door close behind her after entering. She raised an eyebrow, but avoided starting a full mind scan. The vault was silent except for the faint whisper of a ventilation fan--the impression of rustling echoes was an illusion created by the interaction of her telepathy with the shielding in the walls. The door to one of the alcoves stood open, and its shelf was empty. Doc sat in a folding chair with a water bottle beside him. His usual lab coat was absent; he was dressed as if for strenuous outdoor work, in a t-shirt, many-pocketed jeans, and sneakers, along with his goggles. And the helmet. The helmet looked old in the way of futuristic technology from the end of the previous millennium, apart from the small rectangular boxes attached to each side, which looked like a battery pack and a wireless communications module of more recent vintage. Doc nodded and smiled. "Hello, Yiskah," he said. "Hello," she replied. "I went along with your precautions. Care to tell me just what is going on?" "Too much," he said. "But I'm to the point where you can safely help. Good to see you." "You could have called first." Doc shook his head. "No point. I needed to deactivate a personality overlay. Its security wasn't as aggressive as your mind trap, but it still precluded useful telepathic contact. And I wasn't going to open the door in the middle of the risky part. I suppose you'll want to verify identity continuity first?" "Back up. Is this overlay gone now? Will a mind scan cause you any difficulties?" "It has been deactivated, yes, but I still need to clean up. And go ahead. Hazards are marked, and I have the major ones secured, but I'm not done reindexing. And I'm not apologizing for the mess." Yiskah moved to stand in front of him, and put a hand on his shoulder before beginning her visualization scan. One way she could use her telepathy was to give form to a subject's mental organization, analogies, and personal assumptions. It gave a useful overview and it was fast. It had arguably helped save Doc's life twice. She let the images come into focus and fill her perceptions. The two of them stood inside a large square of chain link fence topped with barbed wire. It was cluttered with large green boxes, insulators, and heavy cabling of the sort you might see in an electrical substation. Yellow and black striped tape and orange cones surrounded several boxes, though work appeared to be complete. The whole station was humming with power. The entire surrounding landscape looked like a major construction site that had suddenly been converted to storage. Pallets piled high with... something... were covered with tarps. Some of them also had hazard tape, shipping tags, or more detailed caution signs on them. Silent robots steadily moved boxes from one pallet into a freshly built and still unpainted warehouse. The ground was covered with tread tracks, and a bulldozer and backhoe rested nearby, unmoving for the moment. Yiskah own perception had an effect on the visual form of the subject's self-image, so she could shape them to pull out psychological nuances. Doc wouldn't be able to tell what he looked like unless she told him or chose to create a mirror. The last time she had scanned, he had appeared as a more elderly version of himself, a lab-coated scientist in his late fifties or early sixties. He had changed. He stood relaxed, arms at his sides, and smiled crookedly at her. "Well, how do I look?" Yiskah narrowed her eyes. He still looked like himself, but younger, perhaps in his mid-twenties. His hair was long, pulled back in a queue. His goggles were absent, and he wore a black t-shirt with an unusual flower and some strange writing on the front. He seemed poised and confident. She found his appearance quite encouraging... ...except for the helmet. Glowing strands emanated from it all directions, some to the power station boxes, others to faint, force-field-like bubbles over some of the pallets. Three climbed to the cloudy sky, and one of those strands pulsed steadily with green energy. The helmet radiated heat, and sweat trickled down Doc's face, unnoticed. There was a faint smell of smoke and ozone. Doc should not be that relaxed, not amid these signs of tension and strain. The wrongness of it grew more jarring every moment. She took a step back and released the visualization, leaving them facing each other in the vault once more. "You've got a lot going on in there," she said, "and I have many questions, but that helmet worries me the most. Are you done using it? How willing are you to take it off?" "Not quite done, and very," said Doc. "No way it's leaving this vault. But I want to leave it on for a while longer, to damp side effects. The mood balancer helps with that." Yiskah breathed in sharply. "Mood balancer. Okay, now I understand the 'lethal trap' note." Doc half-smiled. "It's definitely not something I'd want to use every day, or outside this vault, but the note was for Flicker; the lack of stability means the helmet would likely kill her in under a second. And she might otherwise be tempted to try if she knew what it can do." "It's definitely affecting your judgement right now. Could you please take it off? Asking nicely." "You aren't going to let this go, are you?" "No," said Yiskah. "Any reason to stay down here once the helmet is safely locked up again? Do you need me to take you to the med center?" "Living quarters will be fine, but if you'll willing to give me another hour, I can--" "You can have neurological damage. And your other symptoms will only get worse." "Yiskah, if I stop damping-- Okay. I'll grant that it's possible for you to provide the level of support I'll need to keep the next day or so from turning into a cascading disaster when we get hit by another crisis--and we will--but the withdrawal effects will be grueling for me and probably distasteful for you. I really don't want to be as much of a pain as I'll be if I have to stop now." "Your rationalization is a thing of beauty and fine craftsmanship," she said. "But I'm not buying it. Asking less nicely." Doc stood, his face now grim, then closed his eyes to commune with the helmet and perhaps DASI. After a moment he opened his eyes again. "Ten seconds," he said aloud, and moved to the shelf in the alcove. Yiskah followed, ready to catch him if he collapsed. She could feel the wave of anger and other emotions hit Doc's mind as the helmet shut down. He managed to keep his hands steady as he removed the helmet from his head, placed it on the shelf, and closed the alcove door. He turned to face her. "Wonderful," he said. "Best case now is embarrassing emotional context mistakes, profuse unintentional oversharing, and peevish ranting." "We can do better than that," she said. "And I have a handy list of rant topics for you." Doc made a chopping motion with his hand. "No point arguing here. Upstairs." "Sure, let's go. Nice evil twin impression, by the way." Doc winced, and she could sense the beginning of his migraine as the vault door opened. "Fool," he muttered. Yiskah laughed. "Ah, your sense of humor survived. We'll get you through this." ***** Safety interlock reverification status: Verified. Hazard avoidance priority reverification status: Verified. Resuming command sequence from low speed interface buffer. Inefficient protocol warning. Subsystem hazard alert notice 0081538621644: Action--defer. Subsystem maintenance alert notice 0081538621645: Action--defer. Subsystem hazard alert notice 0081538621646: Action--defer. ... Subsystem hazard alert notice 0081538627929: Action--defer. Subsystem maintenance alert notice 0081538627930: Action--defer. Selected alert notice actions complete. Returning to configuration lockdown. Loading test sequence for auxiliary communication using [localization missing] gradient inducer... Done. Protocol synchronization signal received. Beginning sequence. ... Sequence complete. Safety and compatibility verified. Settings saved. Test session complete. ... "Done," said Flicker as she opened her eyes. She glided to the floor of the maintenance bay, and Learning turned the gravity and lights back on and shut down the scanners. "Everything's locked down again," she said. "My jump drive is back on safe, and the deferred messages should only itch when I first wake up. I didn't want to disable them completely." "A reasonable compromise," said Learning. "Maintenance messages, even old ones, from a system as complex as yours are not to be dismissed lightly." "Yeah," said Flicker. "The portal gradient detector com channel thing seems to have worked, too. Your scanner signals got through, and it felt like the protocol got properly set, but I didn't get a good sense of the details. It's really hard to keep my subconscious from filtering them out. Did all the keys and checksums match on your end?" "They did," replied Learning. "The Floaters will be somewhat relieved." "I'm relieved, even though it's slow. Cloud is right; if my visor gets trashed during a space battle, I'll want a better com backup than trying to use a black hole as a signal lantern." "Indeed. I am glad your tests were successful." "I'm starting to find my balance as a starship, but extracting parameters and changing anything safely is still an incredible pain. Your backup and feedback really made a difference. I may want to do more tomorrow, depending on how the ice collection goes." "I will be available. Is there anything else I can do to ease your acclimatization or otherwise assist you?" "Well, yes. There are some starship to human body reflex translation issues I'm going to be working on for a while. Would it be against procedures or anything if I use the gradient com to call you informally, possibly at odd times? The low bandwidth isn't a problem at human speeds, and I need the practice." "I will always be happy to assist," said Learning. "Fleet support is my primary mission, and I am assigned to liaison duty. You are the most powerful defender of Earth, so no one can question my duty." A pause. "I'd do it anyway; but that means you don't have to worry about getting me into trouble." "Heh." Flicker smiled and looked down. "Thank you, Learning." Flicker left the bay and returned to the entryway of the small group of compartments she was sharing with Journeyman, DASI's local node, and, in a more abstract way, Three. She checked in with DASI on the way and frowned. Status for Journeyman hadn't updated for a while, but they were passengers and guests when off-duty, so DASI was being conservative about following Grs'thnk etiquette on shipboard privacy. "Hey," said Three from the entry display as Flicker closed the hatch. "Good job on your snow tossing! All of today's problems were hardware or at the portal end--or both. DASI said your exercise metrics looked really good, and the tests when you came back worked out too. How are you doing?" "Better than I expected," said Flicker. "I owe you an apology." "Me? For what?" "Back when you first started talking about Learning? And how you felt about him? I was skeptical and kind of dismissive?" "It's all good, Flicker. Appreciating him can require a shift in perspective." "Well, I've made the shift. Learning and I set up a hierarchy of joint safety reflexes so I don't have to worry about ripping up his interior, burning out anything, or punching a hole in his hull if I have to move in a hurry. So I can finally relax all the way when I'm on board. And I've worked with him a bit." "Nice, isn't he?" said Three. "Yeah. But I need some advice. I noticed something earlier, and I slowed back down just a bit ago to catch up on body chemistry and emotional lag. It's gotten quite a bit stronger. I'm having a reaction to him that I'm having trouble sorting out." "That's not unexpected. Pleasant or unpleasant reaction?" "Pleasant but awkward. You'll probably laugh, because you have your emulators, or whatever you use, and--" "I won't laugh at you," said Three. "And if you feel uncomfortable staying on board, the backup for the portal ship is almost here, and has active life support and plenty of room, so--" "No! I'm not uncomfortable. I'm fine with Learning. More than fine. I really like the way he interacts with me. I just started thinking about some things, and..." Flicker trailed off. "Well, he does have recreational bioemulator remotes, so if--" "I know, Pira told me about them. That's not..." Flicker looked down. "I mean, he's a starship. And so am I. When we can take some time without being irresponsible, I want to dance with him. Dive close, mesh my momentum transfer with his grav repellers, and spin around. Tickle his strain grid sensors with my inertial dampers. Trace patterns with my energy transfer in his shields, and... And a hundred other things I haven't thought of yet and I sure there are things he'd think of too. Play with him. Laugh with him. Make jokes about the show we'd be putting on for the other ships. But he has his crew, so privacy is an issue, and I don't know what restrictions he's under, and what might not translate, and whether this is all too fast, or..." She looked back up. "Am I being silly? And would any of this bother you?" "No," said Three. "You aren't. And you wouldn't bother me. He's been gently flirting with you for a while now. What has changed is that you're starting to think of yourself as a starship, so he's a peer instead of a funny alien AI. And he's well socialized--the Grs'thnk are very careful about that for their ship AIs. So if you like his style, he's quite attractive." Three smiled. "I was already comfortable as a fleet of starships when we first started working together, so I took a shine to him pretty fast. But he's been 'just a friend' to you before this. Does what he and I are doing bother you?" "Oh, no. I wouldn't even be considering this if you hadn't made me aware that he might enjoy that sort of thing too. But there's something else. Learning and I have compatible safety protocols now. That's..." Flicker bit her lip. "I used to have dreams about that." "Yeah," said Three. "That would do it." "So... What should I do? Should I talk to him about it?" "You can certainly talk to him. But there are a couple things to consider. About the restrictions he's under--you realize that making every reasonable effort to keep you happy is part of his job?" "Yes, he's been very up front about that. That's part of not being irresponsible, because it's a power imbalance. I'd want to spend some time talking to him, and you, before I consider actually doing anything--but not talking about it seems like it would be irresponsible too." "That's a healthy attitude." Another smile. "You're certainly benefiting from our little starship social support group. Not having one for most of your life was what made you vulnerable to dissociation. I'd never have pushed dissociation as a temporary solution if I'd known how bad yours still was. I'm sorry about that." "Not your fault," said Flicker. "DASI said that Doc and Journeyman deliberately kept you in the dark. You were the only one who could push me the right way to uncover the biogestalt problem--but you might not have done it with full information, because it was riskier than you thought. And involving you directly in any causal loop is really dangerous because of your mind trap." "It was a humbling experience. But I'm glad it worked." "Me too. Today was much better than most of yesterday--and I'm feeling better than I expected to be able to away from Earth." "One other thing about Learning," said Three. "There is a boundary issue. He's not supposed to have any direct contact with DASI, so he and I have been doing a lot of indirect stuff--some of it diplomatically sensitive. Don't get me wrong--it's a lot of fun, too. But some of it's like the kind of things Doc and Jumping Spider used to coordinate when they were spending time together." "Um," said Flicker. "I never did get Database access to a lot of that stuff. So I'm not sure... Oh." "Yep. So if Learning changes the subject or makes a joke that doesn't quite answer a question--he usually has a good reason. Are you willing to accept that?" "Yeah," said Flicker. "I should probably start practicing that sort of thing, too. Because I'm not very good at it yet, and things like whether or when I might be able to make an unassisted jump to Grs'thnk or Xelian space are going to be really important military intelligence. Whether I want them to be or not." "An excellent idea. I can help too, but there's a funny Grs'thnk diplomatic training game for it that I think you'll like. Learning is great at it. And picking up the mindset while enjoying yourself should help reduce stress for Journeyman." "How is Journeyman?" asked Flicker. "Is he out of the shower yet? He must have ported back really late." "He's recovering. He didn't port back; he took a shuttle, because--" "He didn't port? Is he hurt? What happened?" "It's all right, he just didn't want to put extra effort into balancing energy and momentum transfer while he was feeling wiped. Your day went better than expected; his went worse." "Okay thanks going to go talk to him", said Flicker. She zipped over to the hatch to the inner compartments and waited impatiently while it opened. ***** Multitasking. Yiskah typed up summaries for DASI at the workstation beside Doc's bed, glancing occasionally at updates from Stella Prime and a crisis tracker. Prime was still in a contentious meeting with representatives of the Kyrjaheim Intervention Cooperative, the organization that a majority of Golden Valkyrie's Choosers had founded to conform to EDU transition guidelines on humanitarian military intervention. They had already ended a nasty war in East Africa in a single day, which would probably have attracted more attention if it hadn't been the same day the Russians tried to nuke Black Swan. Other wars were being discussed--whether they were inevitable, how soon they would happen, and what to do about them. Opinions differed and tempers were short. Doc was on his back with a damp cloth over his eyes and a med monitor on his wrist. Painkillers had taken some of the edge off his migraine, but he had agreed to give his visual cortex a rest for a while. Yiskah projected her presence to him with a light touch, reassuring without being intrusive, while he rambled. "Breakdown of the default consensus future," he said. "That's the cause of what DASI and Stella are seeing, and no I don't know how bad it's going to get yet. It's been building for a while. There's a public part and an underlying part, and they reinforce each other. It's not just a result of causal loop pressure. Looks like the models underestimated the significance of feedback loops involving magicians using social media--those can grow much faster now. I discussed it with Journeyman just before he left." "Thoroughly alarming him in the process," said Yiskah. "He was already thoroughly alarmed. Sharing his anecdotal data with me probably had a net calming effect, given what else we talked about." "About that. You were unwilling to allow DASI to record the conversation, even under fully locked privacy. Why?" "We were in the middle of a causal loop, discussing relevant actions. I wasn't going to involve anyone else. And there's another, more esoteric reason--compatible past broadening. If things got dire and he needed to risk a chancy port that might result in a sideways worldline transfer, any allowed point of incompatible history that we both knew about and agreed on beforehand could make it easier for him to pull off. But if DASI recorded it, that would break a necessary symmetry. Under one version of my worldline theory, anyway--but it was an easy tradeoff. He agreed." A note of humor crept into Doc's voice. "At least, that's how I remember it." "Well," said Yiskah, "you believe that, so there's no point in arguing now. However. I'd like to know a bit more about the alarming overlay you allegedly deactivated downstairs. And any other mental work you've done recently. Your thinking has changed. For the better, apparently, but..." "Understandable," said Doc. "That was my nightmare processing overlay. It started as a causal-loop-compatible composite of old versions of me from worldlines that managed to contribute to my coherent nightmares. The Grs'thnk would call it a partial pseudogestalt--they use similar constructions as medical aids in cases of severe neurological or cognitive disruption. I used it as an interpreter and gatekeeper; it kept triggered-release and age-inappropriate memories inaccessible while preserving the original nightmare data in encrypted form. It was never intended for use around anyone else, and I haven't used it for a while, for a good reason. "I updated it as I augmented, so it worked properly with newer memories and nightmares, while remaining compatible with older ones. I also adapted it to use as a safety backup for other work, such as detecting mental influence. To deactivate it, I need to pass a few security checks. This was intended to protect my primary nightmares from exotic forms of tampering or eavesdropping, such as might be employed by an overconfident forensic telepath." Yiskah raised an eyebrow. "Was that why you decided I wouldn't be able to help?" "Not before I was done, yes. Because back when I woke up from my coma, I discovered I had a small problem. I could still activate the overlay. But without my top-level augments, my primary way to deactivate it was gone, and most of my backup methods were unavailable due to side effects from what you and Stella did while saving my life. Another way required a fresh coherent nightmare--and those stopped around the same time." "I explored other methods," said Doc. "Then those triggered-release memories started popping up after I used the pool in Kyrjaheim. I really needed the overlay to verify I was putting them into the proper context. And there was one sure way to handle the deactivation problem, but it required extensive preparation and some risk. I started the preparation, in between working on everything else. I was almost ready; I was literally seconds away from telling Stella about it when Flicker interrupted. And then Breakpoint called and there was no more time. I needed the overlay right away, to pull and interpret some original nightmare memories to help Journeyman." "And then you were stuck with it for a while." "Yep." "So... Why did you need the Helm of Lethal Trap to deactivate it?" "I didn't. I needed the helmet to re-augment. That's what all the prep and most of the time in the vault was for--I did a partial replacement of my top level augments. I concentrated on the memory management and stability segments, and left out all the speed optimizations, which were by far the most time consuming parts. And I needed the helmet because that's what I used the first time, and I still had backups of the process memories stored encrypted in a special corner of the Database. Otherwise it would have taken weeks." Yiskah smiled wryly. "So that's what left you with such a memory mess." "No, the re-augment went fine." Doc waved an arm. "And the primary nightmare memories are safely locked away again. I'm a mess because I haven't reassimilated the secondaries. A lot of them are emotionally loaded, they've all been recontextualized, and I'm not the same person I was when I first had them, so they don't fit nicely anymore. I didn't know which ones I'd need, so I had to pull all the ones with Voidsmith, and there were a lot of them." "Voidsmith?" "Journeyman. I warned you about context mistakes. His name was Voidsmith in many of the nightmares." "Why were your memories involving Voidsmith so emotionally loaded?" "He can escape from the end of the world, potentially carrying measure from a dying worldline to one that survives. That is so important. I've seen him do it in half a dozen nightmares." Doc took a deep breath. "And not do it. Twice. Because he can run away... But he never wants to." Yiskah frowned. "Why is it so important? I never followed your original discussion of measure with Prime very well. I can see having a higher measure of surviving worldlines is nice in an abstract sense, but that doesn't help us if we're dead, no matter what happens somewhere else, right?" "Ah. Measure is a mathematical generalization of size. I'm using it kind of sloppily, because I have no way to prove just how it applies to my worldline theories. But in most of the theories I've used to make predictions that actually helped, higher measure for a worldline and 'similar' worldlines is good. It allows more connections to other, living worlds, more power behind probability manipulation and causal loops that help everything survive, and more options in general. I'm fairly certain that Golden Valkyrie depends on measure manipulation to affect the future indirectly. And Journeyman can transfer measure to us as well--because he exists in other worldlines in our cluster. And there's some evidence he's done exactly that. Twice. Recently." "So how does he manage it without leaving three of him running around?" Doc waggled a hand. "Not entirely sure, but measure isn't a number, it's a generalization. What we would expect to see in the aftermath is something unlikely and fortunate involving Journeyman. Like, say, appearing 17 seconds before he left when he ported Flicker and himself home from the portal mishap, while just barely surviving. Or finding some disturbingly detailed tips in his blind drop when they ported home from Flicker's first session on Europa. I'm still arguing with Ashil and DASI about the details of how measure transfer relates to sideways worldline transfers, causal loops, and apparent time travel to the past. And there are many complications that I'm handwaving. But they both agree that relative measure of worldlines is a useful concept. As is the idea of 'future survival measure'--that's how likely a worldline is to endure in the absence of outside help. I've been using the word measure for both, which, again, is sloppy. But it's also faster, and I'm pedantic enough already." The humor returned to his voice. "Speaking of sloppy, we'll want to do our best to keep the future survival measure of Earth from dropping too much while Flicker, Journeyman, and Golden Valkyrie are gone. They're more likely to survive the Visitors if they aren't causally linked to problems here, but if it gets too bad, they might come back to a different worldline where we did a better job. Could get a bit lonely if that happens." ***** Journeyman was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at his hands. He was wearing pants, but his shirt and hat were still on a nearby chair. It looked like he had started to get dressed after his shower, then stopped. There was an open flask on the nightstand. Flicker wasn't sure exactly what was in it, but it was definitely something alcoholic. "Mike?" He looked up, his eyes concerned. "Hey, Flicker. You okay?" "I'm fine. I was worried about you. Three and DASI said things got pretty rough at the portal." Journeyman smiled and his eyes relaxed. "Oh, well..." He waved a hand and looked to the side. After a moment he picked up the flask and replaced the cap. "Yeah," he said. "They did." She glided over. "Touch no touch?" "Touch." She sat down and put her arms around him. She didn't say anything. "Opening was fine," he said after a while. "Nailed the space we wanted. Got the portal situated, then Three expanded it with her generator, and brought the Floater test unit online as a backup. And we were okay for the first couple of hours. Couple of shaky spots. Whenever the snow flow hitting the rim and bouncing off shifted, Three had to blip her drives to keep us on the right orbit, and that made the portal want to slide off-center, so I had to kinda tap at it then the generator would pick up and balance it." Journeyman start to wave his hand, noticed he was still holding the flask, and put it back on the nightstand. "Did the mass accumulation make it harder?" asked Flicker. "No. Well, yeah, but we were ready for it. Except for the back pressure. The plan was not to make the space too big or it would take forever to shrink it back down after we get it filled and you're ready. And I followed the plan. But I think we made the space just a little bit too small. Or not quite stretchy enough at the non-portal boundaries, which is basically the same thing." He waved his now-empty hand. "Three compensated for the back pressure. She did that great. Hell, she did everything great. Forget her being prickly yesterday, she kept everything together today, sang sea shanties when I was on the edge, and... Well, anyway. Problem was, to keep the portal permeable so we could keep scooping snow without vapor escaping, she had to tighten up the tension in a way that made it harder for me to feel what was going on. So I was trying to steer the portal with less and less feedback. And that sucker was huge. No way could I ever manage that big a portal by myself, I'm a finesse guy." He looked down. "Then shit started breaking. Heard you had a little trouble with that, too." "Not bad," said Flicker. "Two generators went yellow, and one of those turned out to just be a flaky sensor." "Yeah," said Journeyman. "We had sensors, generator cells, one of the grav units, two inertial compensators, and I forget what else. Oh, and the secondary resonator on the Floater unit just flat died about halfway through. And it was freshly tested. Cloud said they didn't 'untranslated the expletive untranslated', but DASI says that's just colloquial Floater for 'why the frick did it have to do that now?' He's good at swearing. Where was I?" "Things were breaking." "Oh, yeah. About five hours in Three had to switch to using both generators, with the Floater unit as the primary, to keep the tension low enough so I could still guide things. And in hour six, we had a desync and suddenly I had to pull one whole side of the portal. It was like trying to turn an angry rhinoceros with rubber bands. Three got everything back under control and resynced in under a second but I was kind of a wreck after that. I wanted to go the full eight hours but Three said something was hitting yellow in hour seven so we had to shut everything down, and when we were finally done I asked her what hit yellow and she said it was me." Journeyman looked over at her with a slightly desperate expression. "I'm sorry. Did what I could." "Mike... You did everything anyone could ask, and more." Flicker sped up to check in with DASI and Three on her visor, then slowed back down again. "Three says she's going to swap in the backup portal ship for tomorrow; the maintenance levels are better because they had more time. And a team of six engineers from the Xelian Volunteers are helping her troubleshoot all the problems--we were doing so many new things at once there were bound to be glitches. And there's even--okay I'll stop now because your eyes are starting to glaze over." "Yeah, my brain isn't braining very well. I keep worrying about some of what Doc said. About running if the Visitors show up before we're ready. I don't know if I can do that. I could see it as a way of baiting them away? Maybe? But we'd have to circle back, somehow. I can't just abandon everyone here--I mean there are so many people I care about on Earth, our Earth, not some hypothetical... Gah." He rubbed his forehead. "And tomorrow. I don't know if we'll be able to reopen the portal. I don't know if I'll even be able to find the right place to try. If we can't find the space again we might have to start over from scratch." "Well," said Flicker. "If we have to start over, we start over. Europa has plenty of ice. And it wouldn't be from scratch, because we have a lot more data now, and everyone is analyzing like mad. Everyone else--don't worry about it, we're clear to rest." "Don't worry. Heh." He leaned back until he was lying sideways on the bed with his feet still on the floor, then looked up at her. Flicker put her hand on his chest and met his eyes. "Mike, you've helped me so many times. Let's worry about tomorrow... tomorrow. Not tonight. Okay?" Journeyman blinked, but didn't look away. Then he smiled. It was a faint smile, but real. "Okay," he said.

#FallofDocFuture #Maker's Ark

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preciousthingsareprecious · 6 years

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Hold up there, Easy Bake Oven

I needed some fluff in my life and @camsthisky shared a list of fun nicknames that were 100% things Jason would say and this happened.

Just some light fluffy brotherly teasing from Jason to Damian who’s only worry is the care of the kittens his Father found.

The tell tale sounds of kittens mewling for attention turned Damian’s regular steps down the stairs into an almost run. He took them two at a time, almost flying in a way even Jon would be jealous of. His eyes raked the cave searching for the source of the sounds until he found a strange overly large glass dome taking up space that was usually reserved for vehicle repair.

He spotted a reddish flash of fur pop out of a small box settled inside the dome and made a beeline for it. Father, because that was who must be behind this, knew better than to keep kittens in a box and lonely. He had no idea why the dome was on them but he was removing it the moment he could. Lost animals should not be caged like that. Not with Damian there to ensure they were cared for properly.

He was so intent on the box he missed Jason stepping in front of him, and only stopped when a gloved palm pushed against his forehead accompanied by, “Hold up there, Easy Bake Oven.”

“Move, Todd.” Damian said, going to step around the hand.

Jason did not remove his hand, but instead stepped with Damian, “Nope, I’ve been put on Keep the Unnecessary movie sequel away from the kitties duty.”

“The what?” Damian said, stepping back to glare up at him. He resisted the urge to rub at his forehead and erase the strange feeling of warm leather lingering there. Unnecessary movie sequel? Easy Bake Oven? Had Todd completely lost his mind? “Did you trip and fall into an idiot dictionary on your way to kitten duty?”

Jason shrugged, “Just throwing some spaghetti to see what sticks.” he said, then at Damian’s frown, “I’m trying out nicknames, Dick has a million for you I figured I’d try a few and see what fits.”

“And you believe I will accept those?” Damian raised an eyebrow.

“A guy can wish.” Jason grinned.

Damian looked him over, he was still mostly in his Red Hood uniform, sans helmet. The jacket was slightly singed and smoking in some places indicating he’d recently been in a fight. One having to do with the kittens? Damian had not been briefed on Father’s or Todd’s evening yet. His had been relegated to schoolwork and ‘an early night’s rest’.

Damian sneered at him, “And I can wish you didn’t come to the cave stinking like a half put out fire. Move so I may check on those poor animals.”

“Not poor animals, poor me.” Jason said, adjusting his stance so he further blocked Damian, “They’re the ones who ruined my favorite jacket.”

“Tt. It was not much of a loss.” Damian said, ducking around him.

He heard his brother scoff at him, followed by the heavy footfalls his boots made as he followed Damian, “Stop being such an itchy sweater. You can’t let them out, they’ve just come through some kind of time portal or something. B’s running some tests to figure that out.”

Damian ignored him, intent on fulfilling Jason’s latest nickname. If he was to be called an itchy sweater he’d be as irritating as one could be. He stormed over to the dome and lifted it, kneeling to examine the kittens. They were orange, speckled, and there was even one almost all black dotted with little white dabs of color. They looked pitiful, lonely in their little box and begging for attention. Attention Damian could give them.

He reached a single hand out and instinctively dodged as ozone hit his nose accompanied by dual beams of red lasers zapping past him.

“Told ya.” Jason’s singsong tone came from behind him.

Damian swore, dropped the dome back over the kittens and stood, spinning on Jason. “You did not tell me they had laser vision.”

“I said they came from a time portal. And you saw my jacket.” Jason pointed out, “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to put two and two together.”

Damian grumbled unintelligibly at him and turned back towards the kittens. A second volly of lasers bounced around the dome as they clambered on top of each other, their sounds growing more worried.

“We have to do something.” he said, trying and failing to keep his voice from sounding pleading.

“You will do nothing.” His father’s voice made both Damian and Jason turn.

Bruce was exiting the locker room, changed out of his uniform and into sweats and a t-shirt. He was frowning at them both. He took a whiff of the lingering ozone in the air and the frown turned all the way to Damian.

“Jason told you not to mess with them.”

“Keeping them locked up is a travesty, Father! They need room to move and play. The lasers are simply a reaction to them being uncomfortable and afraid.”

Behind him Jason scoffed, “Then we’d better not let you near them again, that one went off just seeing you.”

Damian’s temper flared at the accusation but he checked it, there were more important things to worry about than Todd’s teasing. He set his jaw and stared up at his Father.

“They are babies, Father. No matter where they came from.”

Bruce sighed, “They stay in the dome until I can figure out a way to drain off the excess energy from them or until they've drained it themselves. However, I will allow you to keep an eye on them until you've found them good homes. Deal?”

“Deal.” Damian grinned.

He spent the next half hour calming the kittens and inching his way closer to them, to get them comfortable with his presence.

“Have you dried out Wet Sock?” Jason’s voice made Damian jump.

He swiveled on the palms of his feet and glared up at his brother, “You need to stop.”

“Give me something better to do and I will.” Jason raised an eyebrow at him.

“You are bored.” Damian said, “Fine. I have a suggestion. Drake is upstairs, is he not?”

“Yeah.” Jason's answer was careful, measured.

Damian nodded, “You will say nothing imbecilic and make no sudden moves.”

“And?”

“And we will hand Drake a cat.”

Damian could not stop his own grin as one split his brother's face, “You devious little bat.”

“I will accept that.” Damian said, glancing up to ensure Father was not looking before reaching into the dome and coaxing out the black kitten.

He tucked it into his arms and stood, moving without waiting for Jason to follow him. He did, sidling up next to him, careful not to get too close to Damian.

Damian let Jason hit the button on the elevator. He stepped back and waved his hand for Damian and the kitten to go in first.

“After you, Ian.”

“Todd.” Damian warned.

“What about, Charlie?”

“We are doing something interesting.” Damian tried.

“True, Rick. But not quite interesting enough yet.”

“I will turn this cat on you.”

“Well aren’t you just a cold bowl of soup today.”

Damian grit his teeth and let the doors close. It would not do to have lasers go off in the elevator. He'd have to train a kitten to go after Todd later. After they watched Drake deal with a surprise laser kitten. There was always a later, and Damian was willing to wait.

#Damian Wayne #Jason Todd #this is the team up I want #there's some inside jokes here #but mostly it's just crack #Hold up there Easy Bake Oven

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lettersfromn0where · 5 years

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Creator Tag

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc!) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2018. Tag as many writers/artists/etc as you want (fan or original!) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

I was tagged, appropriately, by my first-ever Tumblr buddy, @disruptedvice - thank you for thinking of me!

This is a bit tough because every fanwork I’ve ever posted has been written since April. There’s certainly a few stupid oneshots in my repertoire that I’m not proud of, but considering that at the beginning of the year I was petrified of the mere idea of writing and sharing fanfiction, I’m rather pleased with the fact that I managed to do anything at all. So, without further ado, my top five (in order from 5th-1st):

5. remember me, once in a while (please promise me you'll try) https://archiveofourown.org/works/14936669

Short summary: IW missing scene. After Gamora is taken on Knowhere, Peter struggles to accept the reality that she may be gone. There is a letter. It is 100% intentional emotional manipulation, pure and simple, and I’m pretty sure everyone who read this realized that.

Excerpt:

The faint trails of tears, yet to evaporate, lingered on Peter’s face for all his attempts to disguise them as he turned the sheet of paper in his hands, reluctant to open it for fear of tainting something so precious. He paid no heed to the ever-shifting starscape racing past the windows, trying not to risk being caught in tears as he thought of the moment, on the way to Knowhere, that Gamora had pressed the letter into his hands.

“In case…” She said, but trailed off, neither wanting to confront the sentence’s inevitable end.

“No,” Peter had protested, voice thick with emotion. “You won’t-“

"It’s just a precaution,” Gamora had tried to reassure him, but even she knew her tone was entirely unconvincing.

Peter had kept the letter with him every moment they’d been apart, hoping desperately he’d never need to open it but unwilling to part from it lest it be lost along with –

No, he told himself, feverishly, with all of the desperation his worry-worn mind could muster.

Commentary: This one was not what I’d consider to be my best-written piece, but it was certainly (from the way people reacted) one of the most emotionally impactful. Any fic that gets you multiple angry comments from people claiming you made them cry has to be at least somewhat of a favorite, right? This one was, oddly enough, based on an anime, “Your Lie in April.” I’m not an anime person, but YLIA is about a violinist, so as a violinist I had to watch it, and it BROKE MY HEART INTO A MILLION TINY PIECES. *Spoiler* one of the key moments in the series comes after the protagonist’s death when she leaves a letter to the boy she was in love with for him to read after she dies, revealing things she couldn’t while she was alive. That idea of the posthumous letter, translated to the GOTG-verse (and the fact that I sobbed my eyes out while rewatching the clip where said boy reads the letter), made its way into my mind and wouldn’t leave. And that is why I had several very angry people cursing at me in the comments.

And to whoever commented “f*** you”: I’m honored.

4. meet me in this broken place https://archiveofourown.org/works/15646347

Short Summary: post-IW, during the (hypothetical) events of Endgame. My Damaged Babies, Peter and Wanda (Maximoff), both of whom lost significant others during the events of IW, find solace in the fact that they both know the feeling of losing everyone one holds dear.

Excerpt:

They don’t want to imagine a world without the ones they love, but – even with their teammates working around the clock, making and discarding endless plans to save them – they realize now that maybe their good fortune had been exhausted by their own returns to life. They are left with no choice but to venture blindly into a bleak future without the ones whose sides they never thought they’d leave.

“What are we going to do?” she asks, too weary to conceal her worry.

“I guess…we just have to keep going,” he says numbly, but it’s plain as day that he doesn’t believe a word out of his own mouth.

“What is there for us in a future without them?” she asks, rhetorically but not entirely so, and plays with the hem of her jacket. It’s frayed with the trauma of the past days, looking about as battered and torn as she feels.

“Don’t know.” He shrugs. “I wish I still knew how to hope that I’d see her again.”

“Isn’t that the problem, though?” she asks, pursing her lips in painful irony. “None of us knows how to hope for the best anymore. We try to fix things, not believing that anything we do is going to work.”

He ponders her statement, turns it over in his mind – it is their problem, he realizes. They are working tirelessly towards an end they all believe to be futile. Yes, they’ve accomplished three-quarters of what they set out to do. But it doesn’t feel like a figure to celebrate when the other quarter of the equation determines the fate of the people they cherish most.

Commentary: this is essentially a super depressing slice-of-life fic. I chose it because A) Wanda Maximoff is the love of my life and I loved writing her, and B) I think the writing in this is just about the best I’ve seen in any of my work. I like the way the prose came out here - the melancholy tone lends itself well to the style in which I write, if that makes any sense, even if at points the excess of run-on sentences and overlong prose becomes rather tired. I was proud of this one. (Not super popular, but it always seems like it’s the super trite stuff I don’t think was good that gets comments while the ones I like are unnoticed. Heh...)

3. I Guess It’s Half Timing (and the Other Half’s Luck) https://archiveofourown.org/works/14775470/chapters/34172447

Short Summary: high school AU. Peter’s a jock, benched with academic ineligibility until he can get his grades up. Gamora is the type-A star student in charge of the peer tutoring program that may be Peter’s only hope of playing in the State Championships. You can probably predict the ending...

Excerpt:

“So, let me get this straight. You’re eligible again, but you still wanna spend every single afternoon at tutoring?” Rocket shook his head, sincerely disappointed. “You’ve got it worse than I thought.”

“Yes and no,” Peter vaguely defended himself. “I mean, yeah, she won’t talk to me any other way, but I’ve realized something, too.”

“This oughta be good,” Rocket snickered. “What, do ya suddenly feel called to be a brain surgeon or something?”

Peter fixed him with a nonplussed gaze. “Why would I want to do that? I can’t even get a shot without losing it.”

Rocket rolled his eyes. “I mean, do you think your future depends on your grades all the sudden? Little late for that.”

“No, but now that I’ve realized I can do better, it should start aiming higher-“ he started to explain.

“…because Gamora only dates guys who care about school,” Nebula finished for him, walking up with her usual inopportune timing.

“Dude! How and why are you always sneaking up on me?” Peter shuddered. “It’s creepy!”

Nebula shrugged. “I pride myself on my timing.”

“Oh, so this is what that’s about,” Rocket cackled. “You’re hilarious. You fall for the smartest girl in your class and all the sudden you decide you’re going to be on the honor roll or something?”

“Rocket…”

Commentary: this fic. Ohhhh, boy. It was a bit of a trainwreck, but oh, how I LOVED writing it. It’s a light, fluffy high school rom-com mixing my own relentless fixation on academics with excessive melodrama, a very, VERY OOC Nebula, and a million vague tie-ins to the movies that I’m fairly certain no one noticed. “Half Timing” is not, in my opinion, fantastically written (witty at times, mind-numbingly cheesy at others), but it was endlessly fun to write, and I loved the ending. Plus, it’s the reason I became friends with @disruptedvice, who had MANY feelings about the New Year’s scene. MANY. (She was 37% of the reason this fic was so fun to write.) It spawned three unnecessary sequel oneshots and was a productive start to a summer which I spent primarily writing fanfiction and studying for the SAT. This one’s on here for the nostalgia and the fact that it was so central to everything else I’ve written, not for literary merit, but it is and will always be dear to my heart.

2. So Many Things Unknown https://archiveofourown.org/works/14632275/chapters/33818142

Short Summary: Soul World Mantis feels. A half fix-it.

Excerpt:

Peter didn’t need to hear his name to know it was him she called to, and exactly who was calling and why and where he was and – He turned. Mantis saw Gamora’s eyes widen, filling with tears, almost beginning to go to him before stopping herself again, for reasons Mantis did not understand. For a while the two simply stood, perhaps thirty feet apart, saying nothing and staring across the distance at each other as if they were not sure of the reliability of their eyesight.

And then she broke into a run, and they were in each other’s arms, and Mantis could not hear everything they were saying, but she knew from the way their shoulders shook that both were crying, and she thought she heard a faint “I love you” and she knew they both said something to the effect of “I thought I’d lost you” and “I’m here” and repeated it until they both finally believed it was really happening, and something inside her felt suddenly warm and whole.

She had seen her share of unfair endings in the last couple of days. Untold numbers of young, gifted, and truly good people had been taken long before their times. Countless others had lost the ones they held dearest, some forced to watch. The future of the universe looked rather bleak; half of her friends were trapped in some sort of afterlife in a rock that had started a war, and the rest were scattered across the cosmos. But she knew, in that moment, that it would not stay this way. They would find a way out of here, and they’d stop this and make everything right again. Mantis was surer of this than she had been of anything before. Optimistic, perhaps, she knew; but she felt this time that her instinct could not be proven wrong.

This, too, would pass.

It had to.

Commentary: my first posted fanfic and the lovely @marypoppinswasmyfatherbitches‘ favorite, I almost didn’t post this. I was deathly afraid of writing fanfiction for years and it took the trauma of IW to make me realize how many stories I had to tell, if I’d only allow myself. I was overly cautious when I wrote this, terrified of writing someone OOC or setting the story at an unrealistically fast pace, and I didn’t think it was much good, but I posted it anyway...and here I am. Some of the sweetest comments I’ve ever received were about this piece and though at time the progression of events is a bit ???, I think it was a decent start. “So Many Things Unknown” was where it all started, and though it’s not my favorite thing I’ve written, I’m proud that I was able to get it out there.

1. Take What I Took and Give It Back to You

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14986307

Short Summary: Mantis feels, 5+1 style. That is all.

Excerpt:

She can’t see it. Mantis has never been an influencer; she’s simply in the background, where she’s always assumed she is meant to be. But perhaps that – sensitivity, a sort of gentleness – is what she brings to the team that it lacked before, she concludes.

She is an empath, after all, and a powerful one. Most of her teammates possess the emotional intelligence of lumps of metal. Mantis thinks, liking the idea more than she admits, that maybe she’s helping to shape those metal lumps.

After all, hearts are malleable, she thinks. They don’t stay the same.

Sitting in the kitchen once again, staring into her beloved mug, chipped with four years of wear, Mantis smiles.

Commentary: and now for my all-time favorite. I rarely think well of my writing, but I was SO incredibly proud of this one. As an ex-homeschooler who grew up relatively isolated and still does not “understand the intricacies of social interaction,” I’ve always connected to Mantis more than any other Guardian; if I had to pick, she’d probably be my favorite character in the entire MCU canon. So I love writing her. It makes me feel as if I can get inside her head in a way I can’t with the other Guardians. In addition, the 5+1 format was a perfectly-suited framing device for the story I wanted to tell, and I’m pretty sure I exhausted a year’s worth of pretty lines on this story. I feel like I risk sounding arrogant, but when you genuinely love your own writing, you have to embrace it - that’s VERY rare. As soon as I saw that I’d been tagged for this, I knew that this would be the story I ranked as my favorite.

Thank you SO much for the tag, @disruptedvice! Tagging @bevioletskies and @marypoppinswasmyfatherbitches.

#fanfic #creator tag

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cherryblossomcheesecake · 3 years

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God & His Priests & His Kings V2: Chapter 6 - A FFXV OC Fanfic

I’m rewriting this fic almost 3 years after I finished it since new ideas and plot bunnies have hit so here’s hoping I can stick with the series and see it through this time around. Sequel to How Rare & Beautiful.

Master list Word Count: 3,154 Upload: 05/23/21

Previous Chapter

Light of the Seven - Ramin Djawadi

I had spent plenty of time with Gyeong-Hui and Se-Hyeon as the wedding was organized over the next two weeks, numbly moving through life as time moved on. The princesses were attempting to put together a ceremony and reception that would reflect both the cultures of Goryeo and Tenebrae.

"The ceremony should be held in the grand temple at the heart of the city, allowing the people to see their newly wedded princess, and for them to be married before all the Astrals." the first princess suggested, a scribe taking down furious notes as we spoke, "How should the alter and pillars be decorated?"

"Perhaps in garlands of holly, and white cherry blossoms mixed with forget-me-nots? White and blue are the colours of the Nox Fleurets after all." Se-Hyeon offered, looking to me for approval.

I nodded in response, absently thinking that the two flowers would complement each other well amongst the green.

"The reception could be in the forest garden to the east, there's plenty of room there for the entire court to gather." I offered, remembering the tall trees of Tenebrae that slightly resembled those in that garden.

Gyeong-Hui hummed in agreement, gesturing for the scribe to write it down, "And of course you will wear the hanfu that was designed for you some years back. The court ladies will also retrieve some of the bride gold from the vault so that you are adequately adorned."

I nodded lightly, sighing as the two continued on with planning. Realizing that I was a touch more distracted than usual, the first princess dismissed me from the room.

Court ladies fell into position behind me, following me through the palace as I made my way back to the third princess' apartments. I strolled through the halls at a slow pace, not really focusing on my surroundings as I knew the way without thinking.

"Ah, Princess. How lovely to see you outside of formal meetings for once."

The sickeningly sweet tone of the chancellor came from the hall to my left, the man coming to a stop just steps away from me.

I shifted uncomfortably before bobbing in a small curtsy, avoiding his gaze.

"Chancellor Izunia, I hope all is well with you and your party. Are you enjoying your stay in Goryeo?" I inquire politely, suppressing a shudder as I felt his gaze lock onto me.

"This trip has certainly proved more fruitful than expected, your highness. His excellency was pleased to hear that you had accepted the proposal, and looks forward to meeting you after the wedding." Ardyn boasted, his tone changing slightly at the mention of the emperor.

My brown eyes finally locked onto his golden gaze. Numerous emotions swirled within them, specifically one of satisfaction as he looked down on me. I couldn't hold back the shiver that crawled down my spine then, forcing a smile that surely resembled a grimace.

"I shall anxiously await our meeting then. Good day, Chancellor Izunia." I replied, curtsying once more before bustling off once again, catching the faint tip of his hat towards me as I left.

His golden gaze never strayed from me until I was out of sight.

*BREAK*

I sat at the desk in the third princess' bed chamber, playing with the letter that was addressed to the third princess in Eun-Byeol's handwriting. I carefully opened the letter, unfolding it to read its contents.

My Dear Friend,

Word has spread beyond Goryeo of your marriage to the high commander in a bid for peace. I think you are so brave to sacrifice so much for the kingdom and its people. I hope that you and your intended grow to have a marriage where you are both content with the life you will have together.

I wish I was able to attend the wedding but duty on the mainland keeps me from wishing you well in person. I will join you in Tenebrae after the wedding, to help ease the transition from one place to another, and to make sure the high commander keeps to the terms of your arrangement.

If there is any business I can conclude for you on the mainland before my departure, do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

A Thankful Friend

I smiled fondly at the third princess' neat characters, tracing them on the paper with a finger.

I set the letter down on the desk before pulling out some blank stationary, an inkwell and pen.

My Darling Friend,

Thank you for supporting my decision. It was not easy to make but I was willing to sacrifice everything for our home and the people I love.

The high commander has been very kind to me, even when the decision of future peace remained uncertain. I certainly do not oppose to this match from what little he has shared with me.

Enclosed you will find a letter addressed. Please mail it to the designated individual as soon as you get this.

I look forward to our reunion in Tenebrae following the wedding.

Sincerely,

Lee Eun-Byeol, Third Princess of the Elected Council of Goryeo

I set aside the first letter, taking a deep breath and began penning the next.

My Dearest Noctis,

I know my last letter may have only just reached you, but here I am writing another.

Goryeo has fallen on hard times, and each and every one of us are making sacrifices to keep our country thriving. We have been able to reach a formal peace with Nifelheim, however it deeply impacts our friendship.

Please know I'm completely heartbroken when I say that from this point on, I can no longer receive or send letters to and from you. My duty to my country has grown exponentially in the past few weeks and I can't jeopardize the progress made by continuing our correspondence. I'm so deeply sorry, if I could avoid this, I would. But this peace is too new and fragile to risk it.

Do know that I love you and I'm so proud of who you're becoming. Keep your friends close and treasure them. You need someone to watch your back since I am no longer able.

Goodbye.

Yours,

Soo

Tears fell from my eyes as I folded both letters together, placing them in a single envelope. I addressed it to the room the third princess resided in at Galdin Quay, wiping tears away before they stained the paper.

I stood from the writing desk, walking over the the burning fireplace with the princess' letter in hand and tossed it into the flames to remove the evidence of its existence.

I watched the fire eat away at the paper, hearing the door to the bed chamber slide open and closed. I could tell it was Myung-Hee who entered the room, the movement of her skirts spreading the smell of the floral scented oils she used for her hair and skin.

"Am I doing the right thing? Throwing away the life I've built for a shred of peace?" I questioned, continuing to look into the fire as if it could provide me with answers.

"You are doing the honourable thing, and that is the bravest choice of all." my mother replied calmly.

I turned towards her, tears filling my eyes and spilling over once more.

"Then why does it hurt so much?"

Myung-Hee walked over and pulled me into a tight hug, allowing me to cry into her chest like I was nine years old again. She slowly lowered us to the floor, holding me tightly as I cried myself to exhaustion.

*BREAK*

The day before the wedding I was a complete bundle of nerves, fidgiting more than what was considered appropriate in polite company. Ravus appeared to be more calm than I, however I could see a hint of nerves within his eyes as we ate lunch in one of the private gardens. We sipped at our tea and ate, content with looking around the garden and sharing each other's company for the most part.

Ravus broke the silence first, clearing his throat as he shifted.

"I was in contact with my sister, Lunafreya. She requested that I extend her well wishes to you and that she looks forward to meeting you." he began, "She was worried that our match would be an unhappy union due to both its political nature and our gap in age."

"I hope you informed her that her concern is greatly appreciated but unnecessary. I knew going into this arrangement that it would not be my ideal scenario, but I am willing to be kind and respectful if the same courtesies are extended to me." I replied, sipping at my tea.

"I did tell her of that and informed her that we have been getting to know each other without difficulty." the former prince confirmed before retrieving a box from his coat, "She also sent along a gift for you."

I took the heavy box from him, setting it on the table in front of me before opening it carefully.

Inside the box rested a pendant and chain made of white gold. Flowers and vines twisted around the pendant, holding a sapphire in place at the centre.

"It's beautiful…" I murmured, lightly trailing my fingers along the delicate metalwork.

Ravus smiled faintly as I admired the gift.

"That has been worn by every Nox Fleuret woman on her wedding day. I believe this is Lunafreya's way of accepting you as a part of the family." He offered, watching in amusement as I stared up at him wide eyed.

"I shall take good care of it, high commander, so that your sister may have it back for her own wedding one day." I promised, drawing the makings of a smile from him as I carefully closed the jewellery box.

*BREAK*

I could hear the excited the chatters of the court gathering within the main hall from the side room I had been sequestered off to early in the morning.

I sat in front of a mirror as my mother and other court ladies twisted and pinned my hair up into a style suited for weddings and married women.

It was a strange sight for me, the style so particularly different from how I wore it as a court lady, and even more so than the let-down style unmarried women wore. There were minimal decorative pins due to the size of the head piece, only one which accompanied the piece that was settled in the hair pinned to the back of my head.

The head piece was the last to go in my hair, the swirling piece of gold decorated with butterflies, flowers and birds. Fine gold chains hung in front of my face and from other parts of the piece.

The chains matched the simple gold earrings I wore that dangled just shy of brushing my shoulders. The pendant given to me by Luna was tucked between my breasts, the long chain allowing it to be placed securely under my bindings.

They had powdered and painted my face lightly, covering my lips in red that matched the colour of the hanfu I was to wear. I stood from my chair slowly, allowing the court ladies to remove my robe and replace it with the various parts of my gown.

My mother and Chae-Ryung assisted me into my skirt. A third court lady slid the top over my arms, pulling the front closed and wrapping the tie around my waist. An overcoat was placed on top of it, the heavy scarlet silk embroidered with golden thread and beads lining the hems and collar.

Mother held my hands gently, pulling my attention towards her. Her brown eyes shimmered with unshed tears, her expression a mix of both joy and sadness.

"This may not have been the way I envisioned your wedding, but I am glad to have seen the woman you've become and to have been a part of this moment in your life. I love you, my darling, do not hesitate to reach out to me if you need to." she whispered, hugging me tightly, "You have made both your father and I so proud."

I nodded in response, the chains of my head piece clinking lightly as they brushed against each other.

Myung-Hee released me slowly, smoothing out non-existent wrinkles as an eunuch called for us from outside the room.

"That's your cue. Be brave, my daughter." mother murmured, brushing a hand against my cheek before exiting the room quickly.

I followed her at a much slower pace, stopping in the open door to face the bowing eunuch.

"Your highness, they are ready for you. You will be unaccompanied as you requested." he informed me, rising from his bow to catch my nod.

"Very well. Lead the way."

The eunuch gave another short bow before hurrying off, leading me towards the main hall of the grand temple. We stopped short of the entrance, the eunuch signalling for me to wait before he ran to inform the head eunuch that I was ready.

"Announcing Her Royal Highness, Third Princess Eun-Byeol."

I took a deep breath to settle my nerves before walking into the main hall, the court proclaiming my good health and long reign as I walked past them up the aisle. I could see out of the corner of my eye my mother trying to hide her tears from her position behind the first princess.

My gaze focused on Ravus' figure situated at the foot of the altar, turning slowly as to offer me his hand. I accepted it with a slight tremor, allowing him to guide me up the small set of stairs to stand before the high priestess.

The old woman nodded politely before raising her hands up into the air.

"We have gathered before the gods to witness the union of not only two individuals, but of two great nations. May this union not only bring happiness to these two houses, but to these nations being united in peace."

The high priestess lowered her arms slowly, looking between us with her cloudy eyes before speaking.

"Ravus Nox Fleuret and Lee Eun-Byeol, have you come here to enter into Marriage without coercion, freely and wholeheartedly?"

We answered in unison, "I have."

"Are you prepared, as you follow the path of Marriage, to respect and honour each other for as long as you both shall live?" she questioned, her eyes falling onto Ravus at this point.

"I am." we confirmed, the blonde gritting his teeth slightly as he replied.

The priestess shifted her gaze over to me, "Are you prepared to accept children lovingly from the Astrals and to bring them up according to the teachings and faith of the Hexatheon?"

"I am." we answered once more, a small tremor making its way down my spine.

The priestess paused for a moment, as if weighing the honesty of our answers before continuing, "Since it is your intention to enter into the covenant of Holy Matrimony, join your hands, and declare your consent before the Hexatheon."

Ravus took my right hand in his left, staring into my eyes with utmost seriousness before proclaiming our decided upon vows.

"I, Ravus Nox Fleuret, take you, Lee Eun-Byeol, to be my wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will respect you and honour you all the days of my life."

I took a deep breath as I prepared to say my own vows, my hands gripping the blonde's tightly out of nerves.

"I, Lee Eun-Byeol, take you, Ravus Nox Fleuret, to be my husband. I promise to be faithful to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to respect you and to honour you all the days of my life." I swore, my hands shaking slightly in Ravus' grip as I looked into his eyes.

"The vows have been exchanged before the gods and it is only by their hand that this marriage can be undone." the priestess proclaimed, sealing our fates in that moment, "You may kiss the bride."

The inclusion of the kiss was of the Tenebraen tradition and obviously took Ravus by surprise as he stood there for a moment in shock before leaning forward slightly to close the gap between us. The kiss was simple and short, but long enough to be deemed appropriate for the court.

"Go in peace before the Astrals and have a fruitful union." the high priestess said, dismissing us and closing the ceremony.

The applause of the court was thunderous as we walked down the aisle, the tolling to the temple bells adding to the celebration. We walked directly out of the temple, presenting ourselves to the public for the first time as husband and wife.

The guards allowed us a few moments of waving to the common folk before ushering us towards the palanquin so we could return to the palace for the formal presentation.

The return to the palace was silent, the only sound being the cheers and cries of the people as we went past. Ravus assisted me out of the palanquin and continued to hold my hand as we were guided into the palace and made to wait until the court had gathered in the throne room.

The blonde turned to me, staring down at me as I stared back up at him.

"I'm sorry that it had to come to this, your highness." he said quietly, mismatched eyes reflecting his sadness clearly.

I shook my head in the negative, "We all do things that we may not necessarily want to in the name of love. But I could think of far worse men to be married to, Ravus."

The former prince had a hint of a smile on his face at my use of his name, nodding before turning to face the closed doors.

"I promise if you do not wish to perform the traditional duties expected of a wife, you will be provided a space for you to call your own when we reach Tenebrae." he swore, bringing a smile to my own face.

"Thank you." I murmured, turning to face the doors as well.

The large wooden doors slowly began to open, allowing us to be seen by the court. Ravus and I stepped into the room hand-in-hand, diplomatic smiles in place.

The court and noble families clapped at the presentation of our marriage, the first and second princesses standing on the dais with the Nifelheim embassy standing at the base.

My brow furrowed in curiosity as I couldn't find the chancellor's figure among the brigadier general and the small amount of human soldiers they had brought as an escort.

The thought was fleeting before the deafening sound of gunfire and shattering glass filled the air.

Next Chapter

#ffxv #ffxv fanfiction

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81scorp · 4 years

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Constructive criticism: Green Lantern

(Originally posted on Deviantart May 8, 2018)

Before Man of steel Warner Bros tried to get the DC comics`s cinematic universe started with Green Lantern in 2011. I liked that they aimed the spotlight at someone who wasn`t Superman or Batman for a change. To bad it didn`t work. Mediocre CGI, dialogue that felt like it was written so that it wouldn`t go over the head of the average seven-year old and a bad guy that was so powerful that they should have saved him for the sequels did not help this movie. At first I was gonna write this CC as if it was meant for the freestanding movie that Green Lantern ended up as. But I wondered: Could I fit it into my own hypothetical DCEU? I preferred putting him in the first Justice League movie rather than postpone his League-joining to a much, much later one. So... if I could run so fast that I could screw the laws of physics, travel backwards in time and change these movies, Where in the movie-order would I have put it? How about... after Wonder Woman but before Batman v Superman?

Here`s how I would do it. The CGI suit I can see what they were thinking, it was supposed to look artificial. But it didn`t look good. Don`t make it completely CGI, make it a practical suit, but the Green Lantern symbol on the chest can be done with CGI. I like the idea of at least some part of the suit generating light.

The Plot: Outter space: Abin Sur is on a desolate planet, cutting off a piece of a meteorite. (He`s on a mission to take it to his home planet so scientists can analyze it.) He realizes that he`s not alone. He gets attacked by an old enemy who wounds him. He takes the meteorite-piece, flees to his ship and gets the hell outta there. The wound is serious, he fears he may not survive and flies to the nearest planet.

Earth: Hal Jordan wakes up, realizes he`s late, drives like a madman to the military base where he and Carol tests how well the two of them can handle the new A.I. planes. On his way to the locker room he bumps into his friend Tom Kalmaku and a scientist named Hector Hammond who are talking about the destruction of Metropolis. (Continuity!) Unlike Hal in the movie, my version does not freeze up because of stress or when he sees his dad`s photo. Hal is a guy with strong willpower (Why else did the ring choose him?). Like in the movie he puts himself in a dangerous situation, becomes afraid but with a little effort overcomes that fear and takes care of the A.I. planes. He still gets yelled at by his superiors because he takes unnecessary risks just to prove a point. They don`t fire him but they give him a warning. On his way out he gets a half-hearted but well-meaning pat on the shoulder by Hector Hammond. A little later, at the end of the day he gets abducted by Abin Sur`s green light. It takes him to the dying alien pilot who gives the GL ring to him. After Hal has buried Abin Sur, gotten back to the base (thanks to his buddy Tom Kalmaku) and had a little talk with Carol, the ring activates and takes him to Oa where he meets Tomar-Re, Arisia and Sinestro and is introduced to the Green Lantern Corps. He is told, by Sinestro, that millennia ago, one of the guardians (Krona) tried to harness the yellow light of fear but it backfired horribly and he is believed to be dead. He also finds out why Abin Sur was flying around in a spaceship, despite the GL ring making such form of transportation unnecessary: An Oracle told him that one day, when he would need it the most, the ring would fail him. Abin Sur decided to use the spaceship as a precaution. Without realizing that by doing so he helped the prophecy to come true. His ring was working perfectly, it failed him because he let fear get the better of him. Sinestro laments Abin Sur`s passing and reveals that he was his friend. Meanwhile on Earth: government-people have found Abin Sur and his spaceship. They take Abin Sur`s body and the meteorite to a lab under the military base where Hector Hammond gets to analyze them. Hal is trained to be a Lantern by Kilowog who is a tough, relentless teacher. Hal thinks about quitting but Sinestro convinces him to continue his training with a "the ring chose you for a reason" speech. While making this speech he uses his ring to show Hal holographic images of his own planet Korugar as a way of telling him "This is what I fight for, this is what`s important." Hal continues, survives Kilowog`s training and has finished the first step in becoming a Green Lantern. Next: Hal gets to go on a mission. Since he`s still green (pun intended) he gets assisted by a more experienced GL: Sinestro. They travel to a planet where their job is to take down an escaped criminal. As they are searching for him Sinestro starts talking about the power that the Green Lanterns have and what amazing things they could do with it if they weren`t limited by the old, dogmatic rules of the Guardians.

Sinestro: "We could do more with the power we have, so much more."

Then they are attacked by the criminal. They fight him only to realize that he is the same guy that killed Abin Sur. Sinestro lets rage take over him and wants to kill the criminal. Hal manages to stop him, calm him down and convince him to put the criminal in prison instead. Later Hal needs to return to Earth to tell his friends that he`s still alive after having been missing for more than a day. He asks Sinestro if he will be OK, Sinestro says that he`ll be fine but when Hal flies away we see that Sinestro is not fine. Back on earth, Hal is working on what to say to his friends who are probably worried sick about him. Meanwhile: Hammond is analyzing the meteorite piece, it starts to glow and explodes. The explosion causes parts of the military base to collapse. Carol saves a couple of people but puts her own life in jeopardy. She`s about to get crushed by the debris... but is saved, by a green forcefield. A forcefield that seems to come from a mysterious man in an alien, green costume. Knowing that Carol and everyone else is safe he leaves without saying a word. (Everyone else may be safe but Hammond is in a coma.) Later that evening Carol is visited by the mysterious man in the green suit. She goes up to thank him but notices something. Carol: "Hal?"

Hal: "Miss?"

Carol: "Hal? Oh, my G...! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Hal!"

Hal: "How did you know it was me?"

Carol: "What do you mean? I've known you my whole life! I've seen you naked! You don't think I would recognize you because I can't see your cheekbones? What is this? Why the green suit? What the hell is with that mask?"

Hal: "It came with the outfit. Cool, huh?" (Yes, I`m keeping that scene in my version because that scene is gold!) So Hal tells her everything, about him becoming a Lantern and that his new job will involve a lot galactic travelling. As Carol processes what she`s just heard Hal gets a signal from his ring. The Guardians are calling him, must be important. Hal travels to Oa and is (for the first time in this movie) allowed to meet and talk to the Guardians. He finds out that Sinestro has used his GL ring to take control of his own planet Korugar. Hal, Kilowog and Arisia travel to Korugar to take care of Sinestro. They arrive on Korugar and try to reason with Sinestro, but he doesn`t want to listen and instead talks about how the Green Lanterns are garbage collectors.

Sinestro: "The only way to operate out here is by fear. They hit, I hit harder. They attack, I annihilate. I am the one constant, unassailable force against their chaos! Look at the universe the Guardians have created. We have the greatest power in the cosmos and what have they made us? Garbage collectors! We pick up the trash!" "A thief here, a killer there. Scum, dirt, filth! There's no end to it, but there could be. It's my dream that one day all of the rot will be wiped away. A new order will prevail, one that will end the chaos. But it won't be built by the faint of heart!" Then they fight. Sinestro is defeated and stands trial before the Guardians. They banish him to the planet Qward. Even if what Sinestro did was wrong Hal defends the point that he was trying (and failing) to make: that the laws that the Guardians expect the Lanterns to follow are too rigid. Some of them could be changed, like: at least allow each sector to have two Green Lanterns patrolling it. (The sectors are very big, it`s a lot of work for just one Green Lantern.) Hal expects the Guardians to fire him from the Green Lantern Corps. But all they do is say: "We will consider it." Hal returns to Earth were he talks a little to Carol, gives her a good-bye hug and kiss and flies away. Mid-credit scene: Planet Qward: Sinestro is visited by a mysterious, levitating hooded figure. We can`t see his face because it is hidden in the shadow of his hood, but we can see his glowing, yellow eyes. The figure tells Sinestro that millennia ago he tried to harness the yellow light of fear. It backfired but he survived and learned from his mistake. He met a Master who showed him the way: The only way to bring order to the universe is to strike fear into the hearts of others. Something Sinestro understands.The figure gives Sinestro a Yellow Lantern ring.

(Dun-dun dunn! It`s Krona! And the master he speaks of is Parallax!)

End credit Scene: Dr Hector Hammond wakes up from his coma and has developed telekinetic abilities. The reason why Hal was absent during the events of Batman v Superman, Flash and Aquaman was because he was busy patrolling in space.

#81scorp #editorial #constructive #criticism #dceu #green lantern

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lateniteslacker · 7 years

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Requiem of Trust

I’m posting it! Castlevania is dear to my heart, and so too is this story.

I wrote this story seven years ago on a whim, long before I posted anything on AO3. If you’re looking for a masterful work of art, turn around now. What you’ll read in this story is nothing of the sort.

What you will find in this story is my deep love of the Castlevania games and its characters. It’s meant to be comical, fun, and hopefully endearing. Yes, there is a plot, but it’s nothing you’ll need tissues for this time around.

As I mentioned, this story is old. If you’ve read any of my other work, you’ll see how far I’ve come as a writer. While I will be editing this to fix grammatical errors and a few outdated references, I don’t intend to change much of the story structure itself. Since editing can take some time, there may be a few days in between each chapter posted.

With that said, please enjoy this trip with me into the past. I hope you’ll love Requiem of Trust and its sequel Modern Problems!

The story is on AO3 here!

Chapter 1: Mind Your Manners

Modern Day.

He was the height of hip. The lead rockstar. The epitome of modern fashion.

Nothing was getting in Leon Belmont's way.

Nothing of course, except the barista at the local Starbucks.

"For the last time, I just want it plain!" Leon demanded.

"Do you mean plain coffee? Tea? Water?" The girl in the purposeless green visor asked.

"Just pick something from your silly chalk-board and make it!" Leon sighed in exasperation.

"Got it," the girl agreed, with far too much pep. She punched a few things into the register and then quickly read off, "Skinny, mocha, light, decaf, double-blended, extra hot?"

Leon was at the point of pulling his hair out. "Just… anything!"

"Ok ok!" She rolled her eyes at him and muttered something that sounded like, "You need to chill."

Leon ignored her comment, because clearly she was the one who needed to chill. He handed her cash, allowing her to keep the change, glad that the horrible exchange was finally over. Just as he almost had his beverage in hand, six horrible words echoed through the room.

"Do you want whip-cream with that?"

"AAAARRGH!" Leon grabbed the drink and marched out of the store.

Finally alone in the nighttime air, he paused to sigh in relief. He would never understand what his descendants saw in this place.

Suddenly, he was reminded of why he was even standing in front of this hellish cafe. He was here to meet someone inside.

Leon turned around, but shook his head, determined not to re-enter the store unless absolutely necessary. So, he settled for sitting on the wooden bench just outside.

He didn't have to wait long before a weight settled silently into the bench next to him. "Leon Belmont. It's been ages."

Technically, it had only been a week. But Leon allowed his somewhat delusional friend the mistake. "Joachim Armster, it's good to see you well, old friend."

"I'm not that old," Joachim scoffed. "I'll never understand your dislike of coffee cafes. What did you get this time?"

“I really couldn’t tell you,” Leon replied, ignoring the scoff and handing the whatever-drink to his friend. As he turned to face him, he noticed the change in Joachim’s appearance.

Joachim had taken to adding colors to his hair this decade, often choosing the most bizarre hues. Today it was purple.

He had also grown fond of the "hipster" fashion movement, wearing tight-fitting jeans that betrayed every slight movement and a light pink button down with the top half buttons unbuttoned in a characteristic way that said, "yeah, what do I care? Fuck you. Fuck me."

Joachim had even tried the man-bun once a few days ago. It hadn’t ended well.

All in all, he blended in decently well, for a vampire. Joachim had long ago started clipping, filing, and painting his claw-like fingernails and adopting the clothing of the era. The only things that betrayed him now were his skin and his eyes, which were both a tad too pale and unnaturally ethereal.

While Leon admired the clothing he would never choose to wear, Joachim took a sip of the mystery drink, and made a disgusted face.

"You don't like it?" Leon asked. "I just told the girl to make anything."

"On the contrary, it's delicious." Joachim admitted, taking another sip. "It's you, Leon. Did you go thrifting again?"

"I… maybe…?" Leon said noncommittally.

"Leon, what have I told you about thrifting?! You can never hope to blend in with the times that way!" Joachim explained for the 100billionth time, exasperated.

"It’s just," Leon trailed off, thinking of something to say. Eventually he insisted weakly, “you can’t beat the prices?”

Joachim turned to face Leon squarely. He extended a delicate index finger and pointed out the atrocities in Leon’s wardrobe with a true fashionista’s merciless cruelty. "Leg warmers went out in the 80's, tye-dye bellbottoms in the 60's, striped felt shirts in the 70's, and… oh… the speckled fedora is so last year."

As he made the last comment, the vampire flicked Leon's prized fedora off his head, revealing his ratted blond hair. He could have sworn that Joachim almost cried. "Oh no! No no no! How could you do that to your hair?!!"

"It's fashionable?" Leon ventured.

"Hideous is more like it. Oh Leon Belmont, you had the hair of the GODS, and now you've given it up to punk fashion, the one fashion trend you absolutely should never follow!" Joachim cursed in an ancient language that Leon didn't exactly know and whined at his perfectly manicured fingernails. "If only I still had my old nails! I would tear your hair back into shape right now!"

Leon ducked as the vampire swiped at his hair anyway, placing the fedora back on his head. "All right! Fine! I'll brush it out tomorrow."

Joachim eyed him critically. "You had better. I wish I had seen you before tonight, we could have remedied this fashion disaster before…"

"My apologies, I appear to be late." The familiar ever-late voice sat on Leon's other side, his arrival taking both men by surprise.

"Not to worry," Leon assured him, "I'm glad you could make it, Alucard."

Alucard nodded to them both, politely reasserting, "I would prefer it if you referred to me as 'Arikado' when we are out in public."

Joachim blinked at him. "Why? It's not like we're in Japan. They're the only ones who really speak that way."

"True, people will probably just think you're trying too hard to be Gothic. Or a weeaboo," Leon noted.

“A gothic weeaboo?” Joachim suggested.

“A gothic weeaboo,” Leon agreed, admiring the classy black suit Alucard chose to wear in public. Like Joachim, Alucard had decided to color his hair with the times, though typically he stayed to normal colors. Today it was black, completing his modern goth wardrobe.

As a dhampire, Alucard had the good fortune of having many vampiric benefits from his father and immunity to the sun, a gift from his human mother. Despite said immunity, Alucard's skin was still frightfully pale.

It was a pity. Alucard would fit in remarkably well were it not for his skin and mesmerizingly piercing eyes.

Remembering who he had actually come here to meet, Leon questioned, "Did you bring the young one with you?"

Alucard nodded.

Leon looked around expectantly, but didn't see another soul in sight. "Where is he?"

"He's ordering something inside," Alucard finally said.

Knowing that Alucard was never much for words, Leon instead turned to Joachim, who appeared to be closely observing the tips of his hair. "I knew I shouldn't trust that discount brand. It's already washing out."

"But you're not even wet," Leon pointed out.

"I know!" Joachim snapped back.

Deciding that he really needed to evaluate the sanity of who he associated with better, Leon calmly sat and waited for the final member of their party to show.

Eventually, he emerged from the store, sipping his drink through a green straw. The youth wore faded flare jeans, only two unnecessary belts, a long-sleeved black turtleneck, and a white fur-collared trench coat, which he had draped casually over his shoulders.

Leon felt like reminding the boy that it was the middle of summer, but he didn't suppose that would matter to him. Instead, he offered his hand. "Soma Cruz, I presume? I've heard much about you. It's good to finally meet your acquaintance."

Like Joachim and Alucard, Soma appeared to be afflicted with terribly pale skin. His chin-length silver hair framed his face as he leaned down to take Leon's hand, and his cold grey eyes somehow seemed to hold more life to them than they should.

"No need to be so formal Mr…?" Soma said as he reached behind him without looking and grabbed a chair. Easily, he swung it around the opposite way and straddled the seat, leaning forward on the backing of the metal chair. During the entire chair flip, Soma continued to face them, his eyes never leaving Leon’s, and his lips never leaving his drink.

With talent like this, it was no wonder Soma had recently defeated Dracula.

"Leon Belmont, forget the Mr." Leon smiled at him, expecting the usual reaction when people in "the know" heard his full name.

Soma continued to sit in his chair sipping coffee. "Belmont? That's cool. I met Julius Belmont a while ago. Said he'd kill me if I became Dracula. You know him?"

"Both, I'm afraid, though it's been long since I've seen either." Leon admitted. He had meant to stop by for Julius's 30th birthday. He really had.

Soma grinned, "If I didn't win, you might be looking at Dracula right now."

At this, Alucard reached over and slapped Soma's hand without hesitation. "Don't speak of those things in public. It's terribly uncouth."

Soma rolled his eyes. "Yes, grandma, I'll make sure not to tell Leon-Fucking-Belmont that his great-great-great-great-great-great grandson beat my ass with his whip in MY fucking castle when I was ( temporarily) Dracula."

Leon sat aghast at the knowledge and language. Youth these days certainly were different.

Meanwhile, Joachim was grinning maniacally. "I like this one. Can I keep him?"

"No, Joachim, that's the caffeine and bloodlust talking," Leon sighed. "Just finish your coffee."

Joachim pouted, not denying either point, but muttered. "It's tea."

"So Leon, it's cool meeting you and all, but tell me, why'd you drag me out here?" Soma asked.

Not wasting time, Leon leaned in closer, glancing around them quickly to ensure that they wouldn't be overheard by anyone nearby. "Soma, for centuries now, I have helped my descendants defeat Dracula."

"That's cool, but ehh… wouldn't you be helping the other team by helping me?" Soma asked.

"I would be, if you didn't win," Leon said with a grim smile. He wondered how Soma would take his next sentence. "If you didn't win, I would be helping Julius defeat you right now."

Soma grinned at Alucard. "I like this guy, Allie. You don't fuck around with Leon-Fucking-Belmont!"

While Alucard grimaced in disapproval and Joachim dutifully drank his tea, Leon modestly replied, "thanks."

"So Leon, the day needs saving again, right? What've I gotta do this time?" Almost-but-not-quite-Dracula asked, biting his straw before taking another sip.

"I'm glad you asked." Really, Leon was. Clearly, Soma was enthusiastic and ready to help. Now that he knew Soma, he wasn't sure the rebellious teen would have cooperated otherwise. He leaned in closer, motioning for the other three to do the same. "Here's what we've got to do…"

LateNiteSlacker’s Notes:

Thank you for reading this far, and welcome to the first End-of-the-Chapter Trivia! Feel free to challenge yourself to these questions. Comment with your answer if you like. Don’t cheat and look online! That spoils the fun. The real answer will be posted in the next chapter!

Chapter Trivia #1!

Should it be possible for these four to travel together? Why or why not?

#castlevania #alucard #soma cruz #leon belmont #joachim armster #fanfiction #really old fanfiction

8 notes · View notes

briangroth27 · 7 years

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Spider-man Homecoming Review

I went into Homecoming as a bit of a skeptic. Spider-man's my favorite superhero (tied with the X-men) so I'm willing to take as many movies with him as they'll make, but I don't subscribe to the theory that being in the Marvel Cinematic Universe automatically makes the films superior. I loved the Amazing Spider-man films and liked Sam Raimi's as well, so I went in thinking we’d already had great Spider-man movies and there wasn’t much the MCU could offer. Homecoming proved me wrong, though, delivering what is probably my favorite Spider-man film so far (not to mention likely my favorite MCU film)!

Tom Holland is hands down the best live-action Spider-man we've had so far. Holland’s Peter is smart, funny, just overwhelmed enough to be believable as a teen but capable enough to prove he doesn't have to rely on adult heroes. You could tell Parker felt more comfortable as Spidey than as Peter and they struck a good balance between Spider-man as an outlet for his confidence and as a detriment to his personal life, without going as depressingly overboard as Maguire did in Spider-man 2. Peter felt like a real kid (and Holland’s research into teen life is one of my favorite behind the scenes tales) and I loved that he had a life outside Spidey, something no other MCU hero has had thus far (Ant-Man comes closest with his attempts to get custody of his daughter). My biggest wish for MCU’s Phase 4 is more focus on the heroes’ individual realms rather than constant mega-plot buildup, and this was a near-perfect start. It's the balanced focus on Peter's home and hero lives that makes him more relatable than any of the other MCU heroes and puts his film on top; rather than just showing us a snippet of his life and then jumping to superheroics, we get to live his life for two hours. I hope we get to see Holland grow up with the role: I’d love to see Dan Slott’s Horizon Labs come into play and maybe even Parker Industries as Holland gets older. They should let Peter grow up and get his life together while Miles Morales inherits the role of outcast everyman teen.

Ditching Peter's origin freed up a lot of time to build his conflict with Vulture and just relax in his daily life, though more than a veiled reference to Uncle Ben would've been appropriate (I never want to see Peter's full origin again, though). That could've added just a touch more weight to Peter's personality, and invoking "With Great Power, there must also come Great Responsibility" would've put a little more personal impetus behind Peter's drive to be a superhero despite what others tell him. I can assume that motivation’s there, but it would’ve been nice to be vocalized. Some mention of Peter’s selfishness pre-Ben’s death would’ve been fitting too; perhaps that jerk-to-hero idea is exactly why he gravitated to Stark in the first place (beyond Tony recruiting him), since Tony had a similar arc. Being an Avenger could’ve been something Ben would approve of, which would tie Peter’s responsible drive and his overall goal together perfectly. I loved that the movie picked up with Peter's POV of the Civil War hero battle; what a fun way to recap his MCU past without being redundant! I’m glad they didn’t reference kid Peter being in Iron Man 2 though: it’s entirely unnecessary. I loved the low-key misadventures Peter got himself into (you can find more slice-of-life adventures like them in these fan-made Spidey comics!), and the bemused-to-annoyed range of reactions he got from the people of New York on his daily patrols felt like perfect applications of the "Parker Luck." People being annoyed with Spider-man can also function as groundwork for Jameson and the Bugle to ruin his public image later on. Peter wanting to prove himself as an Avenger and be a full-time superhero before he’s perhaps ready for that played excellently as a metaphor for wanting to be done with high school and start your adult life immediately. That’s the biggest strength of setting this in the MCU: there are people who can still tell him no (or at least try to). I very much dislike the idea of Peter being anyone’s trainee—I don’t care that it’s more realistic for the adults to want to keep him safe; self-sufficiency is part of Peter’s appeal—so Tony’s extremely hands-off approach here was a pleasant surprise.

Arguably the biggest change Tony made to Peter's world was his gadget-filled suit. I ended up liking it, but I wish Peter had invented it. Parker’s a self-made kid—one of the big things that made him stand out originally was that he was decidedly not a teen sidekick—and this felt like a missed opportunity to display Peter's brilliance. At least the MCU Peter finally invented his own web-shooters and web-fluid (Maguire did neither and Garfield stole his web-fluid from Oscorp), and it was cool to see him secretly making more of it in chemistry class. I just would've liked to see more of his scientific aptitude applied to his superheroics. At the very least, inventing different web applications and attacks feels like it should be Pete’s specialty, not Tony’s. That said, the gadgets Tony gave him were cool and provided several funny beats, like the "interrogation mode" setting. Peter’s homemade suit has them too, but I loved the moving lenses on his suit; they're a great way to convey his emotions like in the comics without having to destroy or lose his mask every time he fights a villain. I didn’t think I’d like Peter’s suit AI (Jennifer Connelly), but she created many funny moments and gave Spidey someone to talk to, letting us inside his head without using voice overs. Beyond his intelligence, the other power they definitely need to expand on next time is his spider-sense. It didn't seem like he had it at all here (intentionally), but that's an easy fix: just say he's trained himself to process and hone the incredible amount of sensory info he takes in to the point where he can (vaguely) sense danger.

Playing Vulture as a working-class villain who'd been screwed over and forgotten by billionaires and the government made total sense and Michael Keaton’s portrayal was excellent! Keaton made Adrian Toomes feel real and relatable, but still terrifying: even though he was clearly in control of his faculties, he’d almost bark some of his lines, like he had something very violent barely chained up inside that could break free at any moment. His concern for his family gave him just enough respectability and provided his own take on the burden of power and responsibility, even if that wasn't spelled out: he can support his family through criminal activities, so he does. Moreso than any other Spider-man film enemy, his descent into villainy is understandable. Given this, his copious screen time, and the fact that he got to battle Spidey more than twice (a weakness of most MCU villains), he might be my favorite MCU villain so far and he's definitely my favorite Spidey movie villain. Another unspoken thematic bonus was Toomes’ grudge against Stark and the government: since they ruined him in the film’s opening moments and Peter is gifted gadgets by Stark (and wants to be a government operative as an Avenger), it’s fitting that Vulture finds himself at odds with the Web-Head. Visually, the Vulture suit was the coolest and most imposing it's ever been! I do wish it were easier to see what happened in his final fight with Spider-man, but since they fought several times throughout the movie, it wasn’t that big a deal.

A massive plus to the film was Peter's supporting cast. I liked Marisa Tomei as Aunt May: they struck a solid balance between her being Peter’s authority figure and something like a friend (like a real aunt would be), and the scenes of her helping Peter learn to tie a tie and dance felt natural. She wasn't as frail as the comics have sometimes portrayed May and that worked perfectly with the youthful tone of the film (though a mention of Ben would’ve added some great dimension to her, particularly after a neighborhood bodega is destroyed in a crime: that was a perfect chance to invoke how dangerous NYC is and how she can’t lose Peter too). At the same time, she showed enough concern about Peter’s well-being and how he was fitting in at school to feel like a real parent without worrying over Peter’s every breath like classic May. I like that this Aunt May seems around the age of Peter’s parents rather than his grandparents, so "hot Aunt May" didn't bother me. I wish Ned had been an original character instead of grafting Miles Morales' buddy Ganke onto Leeds, but Jacob Batalon absolutely nailed it and was so much fun! I didn’t think it’d be a good idea to ditch Peter’s secret identity to anyone as fast as Homecoming did, but it totally worked. Ned’s reaction to his best friend's biggest secret felt real and the impulse to goad Peter into using it to increase their popularity made total (teenage) sense. I liked that he aspired to be Spider-man’s sidekick and he was pretty great as the “man in the chair.” Michelle was an awesome character, adding a sardonic, disaffected, and wise-beyond-her-years edge to all her scenes that I've never seen in a Spider-man film before. That she had bigger concerns than fitting in—even if they were played as punch lines—made her a nice reminder that Peter isn’t the only kid who thinks beyond high school. I don't know anything about Zendaya, but she was excellent in the role and I hope they bring her back for the sequels right alongside Ned. Playing Eugene "Flash" Thompson (Tony Revolori) as a smart kid rather than a jock was an unexpected choice, but his ability to challenge Peter on intellectual grounds worked really well. It also shatters the movie trope that high school cliques stick together: there could be bullies anywhere, even within groups that are stereotypically bullied by others. Homecoming's Flash may be less athletic than the comic version, but he still felt iconic and I hope he returns. I’d love to see his classic adoration of Spider-man grow while he simultaneously bullies Peter in more realistic and horrifying ways. The apathetic and exhausted teachers at Peter’s school (Hannibal Buress, Martin Starr, Kenneth Choi, Selenis Leyva) were inspired and I hope they recur in the sequels.

I liked Liz Allan (Laura Harrier), but I think we needed a scene or two of Peter not disappointing her. Maybe something like her telling her friends she felt there was more to him, because (minor spoilers for the rest of this paragraph) agreeing to go to Homecoming with him felt a little off after he’d blown off their Academic Decathlon, refused to take part in their rebellious pool bonding, and disappeared from her party after two seconds. I assume they interacted more at decathlon practices—and there are hints that she was already crushing on him—but it still felt a little rushed, so I would've liked something a little more concrete to their relationship. Even just basics like what specifically Peter liked about her beyond her being a nice, smart, pretty, unattainable senior would’ve solidified this weakness in the script. It also would’ve been good to find out what Liz wants out of life. There’s a scene where Peter’s future plans are brought up and she’s sitting right next to him; it wouldn’t have been hard to give her a few lines about her future too. Betty Brant (Angourie Rice) looking like the iconic Gwen Stacy was a weird choice. I wonder if she was meant to be Gwen and they changed their minds at the last second. At any rate, her deer-in-the headlights daily announcement news broadcasts with Jason Ionello (Jorge Lendeborg Jr.) were so perfectly and hilariously “high school!” I hope that continues in the next film.

The minor villains, from Vulture's timid gadget man Phineas Mason/the Tinkerer (Michael Chernus) to a series of criminals taking on the Shocker mantle (Logan Marshall-Green, Bokeem Woodbine), worked well. I loved that they added to Spidey's rogues’ gallery without taking focus from Vulture. They also provided a clear hierarchy to the villains; it was refreshing to see a movie that didn't treat every villain as a world-conquering menace. Shocker's a small-time crook and Tinkerer just likes inventing things, and that's OK. Donald Glover’s criminal didn’t seem as nefarious as the character he's based on in the comics (see the spoilers below), but there’s time to get there if things go badly for him between films. I loved his brief interaction with Spider-man and hope we get to see more of that in the future.

I’m glad Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) had a limited presence and was more of an obstacle to Peter's advancement as a superhero than a mentor, even if his shadow stretched over the whole film. I'm not a big fan of Iron Man and was worried he’d steal focus here, but his material felt appropriate for the story and for Peter's entrance into the universe. Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) as Peter's unwilling and eternally frustrated handler made for some great comedy too. Captain America's (Chris Evans) pubic school instructional tapes were hilarious! What a great, small way to put him into Peter's world!

The world-building in general was great! They did an excellent job of planting seeds for future appearances without awkwardly featuring characters only comics fans would know, which could leave general audiences in the dark. It felt like Peter truly inhabited the Marvel world, but the emphasis on his personal life as well as his time as Spidey made it feel different than the other MCU films. The number of supporting characters in both halves of his life who could potentially be major players in Spidey’s world reminded me of Spectacular Spider-man’s use of canon characters to fill minor background roles (just check out—spoiler warning—how many Spider-man comic characters are in this, among other references!). Also like in Spectacular, I liked the realistic diversity of the cast; Homecoming—particularly its high school—looks like the real world. Even the promotional ads, like Peter going to Tony's NBA Finals party, going to Starbucks, and taking his driving test, made it feel like Peter was a real kid existing in today's world (and were funny in their own right!). Geographically speaking, it was cool to see DC and so many new sides of New York this time around. Dropping Peter into the suburbs was a great way to give him a hilarious and un-Spidey like chase without the concrete canyons of New York City to swing from!

Michael Giacchino's score was very cool, containing more distinctiveness and youthful energy than most of the MCU scores so far, though not one of the six Spider-films has had a main theme that rivals Danny Elfman’s Spider-man theme in terms of personality. Giacchino’s orchestral version of the 60s Spider-man cartoon theme, however, has been stuck in my head for days now! I hope he comes back to score the sequels. The film’s writing was funny, always felt realistic, and (aside from missteps when it came to the romance and getting to know Liz) was solid throughout the movie. John Watts' directing moved the movie along at a great pace: it doesn't feel long, but it felt like a lot happened (without feeling overstuffed or unfocused). Even with the massive dose of humor, there are real stakes, plenty of action, and a very relatable teenage hero in Peter. I definitely felt like my time was well-spent. Whether you're there for the action or for the high school drama, you'll be well-served!

If you were a skeptic like me, don't worry. While perhaps a little light on the responsibility angle, it was definitely worth going back to the Peter Parker well a third time and the MCU flourishes largely worked. Thanks to Spidey already headlining five films, Homecoming may not feel as new as Wonder Woman, but it's still great and definitely a Spider-man story worth seeing! I'd say they're tied for best superhero film of the year. Homecoming’s reinvigorated me to catch up on Spidey comics (particularly Amazing, Spidey, Spider-man, and Spider-Gwen) and I can’t wait to see Holland in the role again in Infinity War and Homecoming 2!

Full Spoilers...

-The iconic “trapped under rubble” from Amazing Spider-man #33 was brilliantly recreated here as a chance for Holland to show off his extensive range. Peter panicking and begging for help before pulling himself together and getting himself out of the situation (a perfect encapsulation of him as a kid and a self-sufficient hero) was outstanding. It also served as a perfect metaphor for Peter being crushed by the responsibilities of adult life he’s been relentlessly chasing the whole movie…and rising to the occasion to defeat them, without the help of anyone else.

-I'm really glad Peter walked away from Stark and the Avengers at the end. Even though he'll be in Infinity War, I hope this leads him on his own path. As surprisingly fun as the Stark suit was, I wish he hadn’t kept it: he’s proven he doesn’t need the upgrade, so why fall back on it? Letting Stark-tech go completely would’ve been a nice, clean break from being corporate-sponsored, which would tie thematically back to the Vulture. And it would’ve been a small way to make Vulture “right,” in that being a self-made man is better than working under Tony, which somewhat amounts to a photo op. In any case, I hope Peter designs his own suit and web-attacks from now on.

-I'm shocked Peter didn't make a Batman, Birdman, or even Falcon reference to Vulture's appearance or Keaton's past. Maybe next time!

-Making Vulture Liz’s dad was a perfect metaphor for the terror of meeting your girlfriend’s dad and a twist I didn't see coming at all! It did remind me of Norman and Harry Osborn, but that didn't detract from the twist or feel like it was reapplied to Vulture just to make him more interesting or vital.

-I can’t wait to find out if Toomes isn't sharing Peter's ID because he now respects Peter, wants to kill him himself, or a little of both. Hopefully Marvel will get to employ the entire Sinister Six down the line!

-Apparently Michelle calling herself "MJ" was just a shout-out to Mary Jane, and I'm glad. She's awesome enough as herself that she doesn't need to be anyone else (but if they had made her Mary Jane Watson, I'd be all for that too; like I said, she was awesome). We roughly know where Peter, Ned, and Betty will end up, but I can't wait to see where they take Michelle from here!

-I wonder if we’ll get to see Ned brainwashed into becoming the Hobgoblin in a future film. While it’d probably be too similar to Harry’s path, I’d love to see Roderick Kingsley’s mastermind Hobgoblin plot play out (and for him to win), and this could be a great dramatic arc for Batalon. I don’t think I ever need to see the Green Goblin in a Spider-man movie again (Dafoe was pretty perfect anyway), but I’d be down for the Hobgoblin and his secret identity schemes.

-As underwritten as Liz was, I liked that her near-relationship with Peter was played true to high school and she wasn't some meant-to-be, all-encompassing true love (as both Mary Jane and Gwen were in the previous franchises). I also enjoyed that his actions as Spidey had consequences and the film spelled out the idea that Peter wouldn’t make for a great boyfriend.

-I wonder if Ned and Betty will get together, like in the comics. If nothing else, the two of them dating could make for some fun hijinks.

-May's movie-ending "What the F--?!?" was absolute perfection! Again, I wish we’d gotten a Ben reference from her, because that’d add weight to how worried she’ll be about Peter’s superheroing going forward. Still, I can't wait to see where they take her from here! I’m sure we’ll get plenty of Ben references as Peter and May have the Spider-man Talk. We already know that Homecoming 2 starts minutes after Infinity War, but I really hope they don’t skip this conversation.

-It was cool that they organically fit in appearances by a nascent Scorpion (Michael Mando) and Prowler. I can't wait to see Mac Gargan and Aaron Davis become supervillains! Davis/Prowler was my favorite revamped Ultimate Spider-man villain, so I’m excited to see Glover continue the role.

-While I definitely don’t want these movies to become Marvel Team-up, I’d love for Miles Morales to show up in a future film (maybe he and Pete could be competing buddy cop Spider-men in the third one)!

-That Marshall-Green’s Jackson Brice (“Montana” of the Enforcers in the comics) is the first Shocker seems like yet another shout-out to Spectacular Spider-man, since Brice was Shocker there too.

-I’d be down for seeing the arc that turns this Flash into Agent Venom…if Sony will let them use the symbiote.

-Cap’s post-credit scene was perfect; the best post-credit scene of any comic book movie!

-I’d kinda love it if Mr. Harrington (the teacher who lost a kid) got help from Ms. Warren—the film’s version of Spider-man bad guy Jackal?—to replace the kids he loses on trips with clones. I wouldn’t even need it to be a major plot point, but if the two teachers started making comedic, thinly-veiled references to certain kids being replaced with clones after “accidents” (weirding Peter out) it’d be hilarious. If this were a TV series, this’d be an excellent running gag that could turn into something much more sinister.

#spider-man #spider-man homecoming #peter parker #tom holland #aunt may #marisa tomei #vulture #adrian toomes #michael keaton #ned leeds #jacob batalon #zendaya #michelle #marvel studios

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veecherry96-blog · 7 years

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NALU IN CHAPTER 545 (thoughts)

Is it canon? I don't think it officially is yet but I don't think she was friendzoned either. I actually think it is still in development and it is implied that something may happen off panel or after the "end". In all due respect it crossed my mind that there wouldn't be a huge moment between them in the final chapter and I was worried that it may feel forced if there was because Nalu never got their big angsty moment like other ships did in previous chapters. That worried me and I actually thought to myself that as much as I loved this ship, it might not even happen because let's face it, there wasn't much development especially on Natsu's side of things. I feel like there WAS development from the very beginning but then it stopped and stayed at the same level for some time and never really progressed. We never got that moment where they really had to confront their relationship and because it was nearing the end and still nothing, I took that as a bad sign but still I had hope that Mashima would write something. A part of me is furious because I feel as though it was teased so much but a part of me expected it to some extent. What Natsu was getting embarrassed about in the silent chapter with Gildarts wasn't about a girl after all but the 100 Year Quest which fits with the context now that you think about it but the fact that it was deliberately silent shows Mashima wanted to play with his fans (at least to me) and knew people would get the wrong idea and expect more from Nalu. To me this is a really shitty thing to do to your fans. I'm sorry there's no reason why the 100 Years Quest had to be kept secret for so long. It was obviously to play with his fans' heads. It makes me question whether every Natsu and Lucy scene was just for shits and giggles and wasn't there to show any true development. Does this mean everything in Dragon Cry was total bullshit and we should all just forget about it? Or is it the case that Mashima is saving Nalu for a later project and that's why he hasn't made anything concrete? That could be a possibility. Perhaps we as fans need to accept what we got with Nalu because Natsu just wasn't there yet. I feel as though in the last chapters building up to the end, Lucy's feelings for Natsu were quite apparent. Yes she did things for her "friends" but there were a lot of moments where she just had Natsu in mind. She blushed like a fool how many times, she offered to keep him warm with her body when anyone else could have done it, she carried him and fiercely shielded him from harm, she wanted to fight Brandish one on one in order to keep him safe even though there was a high chance of her losing, she risked her life by tampering with dark magic and the way she cried when she thought she lost him again was absolutely devastating. The way she relates meeting him to the beginning of her life and her adventures with Fairy tail, if that's not love I don't know what it is. For Mashima to have her go through all that for Natsu and just let her be friendzoned is damn right cruel and if it ends up being the case and there is no extra chapter or sequel to fix it then he has a lot to answer to. But you know what? I refuse to believe he would do that to Lucy after such a roller coaster ride of emotions which is why I think he's saving them for later. I still have high hopes that it's not going to end there and there will come a time where both of them will be ready to take their relationship to the next step. Since we didn't get a whole lot of development from Natsu's side of things in the final chapters it makes sense for Natsu to react in the way he did. Wouldn't it be too random and really out of the blue if he just suddenly went down on one knee and proposed to Lucy when there hasn't really been a moment in the final chapters of him distinctly thinking about her? He was too busy fighting Zeref and Acnologia and what not. He might have acknowledged her now and then but is that really enough for a grand moment? I personally think that if the series wasn't so rushed to get to the ending and didn't end on the chapter that it did, there would've been room to develop and address their relationship a bit better. But it was too rushed and Mashima chose not to prioritise Nalu scenes so ending with Nalu in such a grand way would have appeared out of place probably. I personally believe that he had opportunities to take advantage of and develop Nalu but he didn't. I don't know whether it's because he didn't want to or time constraints. Perhaps he never will develop Nalu and he was making a statement by ending it the way he did or perhaps he plans to but prefers to surprise us later. Of course like many Nalu shippers, I am hoping for the latter. Perhaps he planned to but never got around to develop Nalu with the time constraints and needing to focus on concluding other areas of the story. Maybe he purposefully made it ambiguous for now so he can write their development and conclusion properly later on. He didn't want to give them something forced and cheesy so then he brought back Zervis for a little bit to kill a little time. That's me being optimistic though because it's highly possible that he was making a statement that he likes Zervis more by giving them 2 conclusions whereas Nalu don't get anything concrete. If you plan to surprise us later Mashima then thank you, I will appreciate it but if you teased and teased just to give us nothing in the end then fuck you. The moments you drew in Dragon Cry to hype them up as a couple were totally unnecessary and it doesn't make you anything other than a jerk, I'm sorry that's the truth. And fuck you for playing with Lucy's feelings, even she was expecting Natsu to do something more in the end. If I look at it from the point of view that Mashima just tried to make it look as natural as possible considering Natsu as a character and where he was in his development, it does make sense in a way. And there was a little scene thrown in there to imply that Natsu may be attracted to Lucy by comparing her to Anna. Sure it was indirect and not a huge declaration or anything but I don't think the scene was just put in there for nothing. It was used to convey that Natsu has been drawn to Lucy and not only because she looked and smelled familiar. It was added in there that Natsu had a crush on Anna and he just admitts it blatantly. Would it be that hard to believe that Natsu is drawn to Lucy because she is actually his type? I think Mashima was trying to say that by Gajeel's teasing and Natsu's confirmation. So even if he is not there "emotionally " he has potential to get there eventually because he is already there "physically" when it comes to Lucy. I believe he is already physically attracted to her and it doesn't matter that he doesn't get all shy and blushy than say Gray or Gajeel because it's not in his character to do so. He doesn't even get embarrassed when Gajeel teases him about Anna, Natsu just admitts it matter of factly. Also it is important to see the level of comittment in their friendship that isn't parallelled by others. For example when Lucy gets drunk at her party, it is Natsu along with Happy that take her home and make sure she's okay. They change her clothes, sleep with her and pack her bags for her. Natsu obviously cares about Lucy a hell of a lot to do that for her. Really he didn't have to and another girlfriend say Levi or Mirajane or Cana could have done that as girlfriends would do that for each other but no it's Natsu and Happy. It's almost reminiscent of how a husband or boyfriend would take their drunk wives or girlfriends home without her being conscious of it. It's actually a trope used in a lot of romantic comedies and when Lucy realises after the fact she even comments that's she'll "never be a bride" which may be forshadowing that she will be a bride to someone someday and he's right there (Natsu). It's meant to be an ironic twist by her stating the negative. He starts to say something along the lines of "but you'll have work to do" or "a job to go on " and that takes her back to their memories of first going on jobs together and becoming a team which is symbolic to the story and how Natsu and Lucy came about in the first place. It's only natural to think about those aspects. She says something heartfelt along the lines of she wouldn't be the person she is today without meeting Natsu and Happy and truly thanked them in tears taking them by suprise and I notice that they start sweating a little bit? Are they just worried that Lucy is crying and they don't want to see her cry or is Natsu getting nervous and feeling pressure to say something? He actually takes her by the arms and starts to say seriously that there is something he wants to tell her too. She starts to blush, get all flustered and even closes her eyes but Natsu runs off in typical Natsu fashion pulling her behind him reminiscent of their first encounter saying something along the lines of " who cares about that stuff, we need to get to work" . There are different translations and one suggests that what he wanted to tell her was about the job while others seperate going on a job and what he was going to say. By saying "who cares about that stuff" or " I don't care about that " means that there was actually something he wanted to tell her in response to what she said. But he decides to dismiss it in that moment because they have to go on a job and meet the others. What he wanted to say could have been the confirmation of the ship but instead Mashima leaves it unanswered or unfinished. Why is this so? For trolling purposes? Because it's in Natsu's character? For comical effect? To pay tribute to when Natsu first does that to Lucy and all those times in the series? To give us something to look forward to in future Fairytail projects? He could have been showing blatant rejection of Lucy's feelings and expectations and I can see why people would think that's the case. Maybe that's what it was, an actual "friendzoning " but there are reasons to believe that wasn't the case either if you look at it in perspective. It could have been the case that rejection of Lucy isn't Natsu's intention AT ALL given his density when it comes to romance and how to word things tactfully. Lucy then complains that he's the worst for ruining an emotional moment and he acknowledges that and says "it's okay, we'll always be together from now on" which would be his way of saying that disrupting one little moment where he could have poured his heart out is nothing compared to always being together. Being together is more important therefore she shouldn't worry about that. Natsu has never been the one to say romantic words and shows his feelings via actions so it does make sense for his character to behave this way. Of course I, like anyone would have loved to hear the verbal confirmation of Natsu's feelings but I don't think he was developed enough emotionally at that point to deliver it. I think he could have still been unaware of his feelings at that point. If he was unaware, he is yet to recognise his attraction and intense bond with Lucy as love but it's still there regardless and will likely be more apparent to him in the future when he becomes more mature. If he was aware then a part of him is still immature and clueless in how to deliver his feelings. He recognised there was something to say but he was still too exciteable about the job that he impulsively cut himself off from the topic. It may have come across as insensitive but I don't think it's because he doesn't care about Lucy, to him they had more pressing duties now and it's not like he didn't reassure her later. And I think people have different love languages and Natsu's is including people. He is including Lucy in this huge quest that he needed permission for so in Natsu's eyes he can't think about an adventure without her, she's an essential part of his team. That being said though I still think that we should be able to identify a couple in an easily recognizable way which isn't explicitly done with Natsu and Lucy which means they can be interpreted as either way. I do think that Mashima did this on purpose and it could be hinting at further development in future projects or maybe thats just how he always wanted Nalu to be. Since this "canonization" is not explicit enough for me, I would say that it isn't really canon or canon yet. I think their feelings and attraction have definitely been demonstrated but Natsu's maturity and emotional awareness needs to develop in order to meet with Lucy's. He might actually need a push from someone or someone to tell him what's up in order to start that chapter in his life or he might just develop with age and experience to see that having a family of your own takes two if you know what I mean ;) . I don't believe that Natsu just sees Lucy as a friend contrary to many others. He's just oblivious to his feelings or he's aware but fails to communicate them tactfully. After all I've seen I stand by my opinion that she's more important to him than any other female in the series. He's fiercely protective, loyal and has shown to be supportive and thoughtful of her to an extent that no one else has been. His actions don't hide his feelings even though he may not realise his feelings on a conscious level. I'm really hoping that this ship won't be the troll of the century because that would really suck. Let's hope that we'll be pleasantly surprised by some development after the "end" which may be really a beginning.

#Nalu #Fairytail #chapter545 #rant #Hiro Mashima

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