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highwaytothedangerzone502 · 1 year

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Ghost Story - Chapter 35

Pairing: Rooster x Female OC

Word Count: 1747

Warnings: None

Summary: No one will miss a ghost. It'd been a running joke for as long as anyone could remember, something Ghost herself started, and she always said it with a smile on her face or with mirth in her voice. The untouchable stealth pilot in every sense of the word, no one could've predicted the depth of her turmoil over recent events, nor the extremes she would go to in order to protect the man she loved, not even those closest to her. Now, all that was left of the young aviator for Maverick, Hangman, and Rooster were the memories of the past, which would slowly fade with time. She'd come into their lives and made an unforgettable impression, and then, like a ghost, she was gone... Then again, ghosts can't die a second time.

Notes: The chapters/large parts in italics are flashbacks.

Chapter Songs: You're Where You Belong/Give 'Em Hell Champion

****

Ghost

Maverick's crestfallen, almost downright despairing expression when Ghost announced him as her lead spare nearly broke her and made her recant her decision, but then she reminded herself of why she'd gone that route and held firm. Still, it haunted her dreams, and before her alarm went off, Ghost found herself already dressed for the day and eating a small breakfast, not wanting to aggravate her already upset stomach even further. She couldn't drink enough water either, her mouth constantly feeling dry. Ghost had never felt this way before a mission, nor had any of these symptoms occurred, so why were they happening now?

A sinister voice in the back of her head had the answer: Because you're not planning on making it out of this alive.

The harsh truth nearly made Ghost hurl. She chucked the remaining breakfast in the trash, unable to eat any further, and allowed her feet to lead her to a destination unknown, needing to just move. They inevitably brought her to the main hangar. She could hear the commotion above of the crew ensuring everything on the top deck was ready for launch.

"This is it, Ghost," she whispered, staring out over the empty ocean and oddly calm waves. She took a deep, steadying breath and gripped her dog tags. She ached for the comfort of her mom and the optimism of her sister because Ghost could've used a hefty dose of both right now, but most of all, she missed her dad. Nathan Winchester had always recognized what his daughter needed to hear in order for her to get the job done. She'd found ways around it since he passed, remembering the old adages and advice he used to give, but none of it worked for now. With the critical nature of the mission, this was unlike anything she'd faced before, and Ghost needed him now. "Talk to me, Dad."

"I was wondering where you were," Maverick said, coming to stand beside her. He stared out over the ocean with her, hands clasped behind his back. "How are you feeling?"

"Nervous," she admitted, dropping her hand from her dog tags. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing okay."

A silence fell over them, and the look on Maverick's face when she chose him for her lead spare burst into her mind. Guilt flooded her chest at the sudden epiphany of why he reacted the way he did. She felt the need to clear the air. "Look, it wasn't personal why I chose Rooster over you. On paper, you were the best candidate, and in training, you and I were undefeated. For all intents and purposes, you were the one I should've chosen as my wingman, but I didn't because if something happened to one or both of us up there, I didn't trust Rooster and Hangman to push aside their egos and work together. They listen to you, and I need a spare leader with that ability. And I promise I'll bring Rooster home. Nothing will happen to him as long as I'm up there."

"I'm not worried about that," Maverick said quietly, shaking his head ever so slightly. "I'm worried about you."

Ghost snapped her body to face him, unnerved by his statement. "You don't think I can do this?"

Maverick's eyes widened, and he turned to look at her. "No, no, that's not what I meant. I could've phrased that better," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "There's no doubt in my mind that you'll succeed with the mission-"

"Really? Because your expression says otherwise."

He offered the smallest of smiles, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come. "I do believe in you, but I'm worried about what you'll do to make sure Rooster gets home. He's the last bit of Goose I have left, that's true, but you're the last bit of Charlie I have left, and no matter what happened between your mom and me, no matter how much we fought or how much time passed, I loved her."

"Mav-"

"I need you to come home, Ghost."

She frowned, her nervousness shifting to concern. What had gotten into Maverick? "What brought all this on?"

"Because I see so much of myself in you, the good and the bad, and that scares me, Ghost, more than anything. You and I are phenomenal fighter pilots, the best of the best, but we have self-destructive tendencies, too, that are amplified when we are emotionally invested in the outcome of the mission. Your decision to choose Rooster as your wingman was a logical one, but I know you still love him regardless of the fights you've had with him recently, and you can't push those emotions down when he's in danger, believe me."

Ghost nodded, a weight settling on her shoulders as she realized Maverick was afraid of her perishing on the mission. "I don't plan on dying today. That being said, if something does happen to me up there, I need you to convince Rooster to return to the carrier instead of hanging back to save me because I know he would try. You're the only one he'll listen to about it. You're the only one he'll prioritize over me."

"Ghost-"

"Please, Mav. Promise me you'll get him home if I can't."

Slowly, he nodded. "Fine, but on one condition. You promise me that if you have to eject and land in enemy territory, you will fight your way back to us, do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir," Ghost said, slightly taken aback by the sudden passion in his voice. "I promise."

His shoulders sagged in relief at her words. "Thank you."

"Of course." She looked him up and down. "Hey, are you sure you're all right? You've been acting strangely since we left port."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good." Maverick smiled warmly at her, his green eyes full of adoration. "Come here."

To her utter shock, Maverick opened his arms and pulled her into a tight hug. She willingly returned the embrace, burying her face in his shoulder and thinking it hadn't been words of advice she needed but a simple gesture that screamed, "I love you, I care for you, I've got you."

****

Rooster

Ghost and Maverick were already in the hangar for the training when Rooster and Hangman arrived. They lined up for the briefing, and Cyclone wasted no time getting everything started. The screen visualized the target run and area as Warlock began speaking. "Your mission today is to eliminate a terrorist base deep in Russian territory. With the fragile relationship with the country, we cannot send missiles for assistance to destroy most of the base ahead of time, as they would risk being seen. Therefore, we are having two F-35s fly low through the ravine to avoid detection since you will be shedding your stealth capability for the max ammunition capacity. Once through the ravine, you will arrive at the enemy base nestled in a shallow valley. The buildings are tightly clustered together, so your bombs, when dropped, should eliminate multiple targets at one time. This part of the mission should be relatively easy. However, your biggest threat will be enemy fighters, so we recommend destroying these buildings-" Cyclone pointed to four hangars on the left-hand side of the map- "first to avoid having enemies launch. Be mindful that some may already be in the air. Once all targets are destroyed, you will return to the carrier through the ravine. Any questions?"

Maverick, Hangman, Ghost, and Rooster shook their heads. Cyclone nodded. "Very good. As a reminder, because of the location of the enemy base, if you are shot down, the chances of us being able to conduct a rescue operation will be almost impossible due to the location and nature of the mission, so make sure you come back home."

Rooster hung his head at the admiral's words, unable to shake the sinister sensation creeping up his spine. Judging by Hangman's pained expression, he was experiencing the same. With the briefing done, the four pilots strode to the elevator and took the short ride to the top deck. Their F-35s waited for them. Reaching the first plane, Rooster and Ghost faced Maverick and Hangman, and the latter said, "Take care of each other up there, and you give 'em hell."

He clapped them both on the shoulder, lingering a little longer on Ghost's, then strode off. This left Rooster and Ghost alone with Maverick, who told them, "Whatever happens, make sure you two get back home. Some destruction and having you both return is better than complete decimation and having you both dead."

"Understood," Ghost said. "We'll see you soon. Bye, Mav."

"No, no, no, don't say bye. That's too final."

"It's a temporary goodbye. Ghosts can't be killed a second time." Smiling playfully, Ghost started walking off, Rooster at her side, when Maverick called out their names. They turned around. He wore a proud smile when he said confidently, "You've got this."

Rooster nodded appreciatively at the encouragement, the nervousness settling in, but he reminded himself of the words that had helped so much last time: Don't think. Just do.

Rooster escorted Ghost to her plane and shook her hand, barely refraining from pulling her toward him and crashing his lips onto hers because, for all he knew, this might be the last chance he ever got to kiss her. What if she didn't make it back? Or he didn't? Or-

"Hey," Ghost said, snapping her fingers in front of his face. "You with me?"

Rooster blinked, clearing his downward spiral of thoughts. "Yeah, I'm with you."

"Good. Looked like I was losing you for a second."

"No, no, I'm here. I-" Rooster paused, so much he wanted to say with no time to do so, and saying I love you hardly sufficed for everything he felt for her. Instead, he went with, "I'll see you up there."

Without another word, Rooster stalked off toward his plane, glancing around at the commotion surrounding him. Crew members ran around and shouted in preparation for the launch, the sun shone brightly down on him, and in the distance, Hangman- wearing a pensive expression- watched Ghost climb into her plane.

Rooster slid into his jet and put on his helmet, checking everything was functioning correctly, and then put down the canopy. When it sealed shut, and he could hear only the roar of his engine, the reality settled in. It was time.

****

Tags: @supernaturaldawning @shanimallina87 @polikszena @lgg5989 @callsign-milano @bradshawsandbridgetons @harper1666 @shadeops21 @double-j @copaceticwriter @rotating-obsessions @sharkprestige @thedarkinmansfield @lapilark @mickeyluvs @starshipfantasy @bennypears00 @mandowife221b @the-navistar-carol @getmyprettynameoutofyourmouth @carmellasworld @0hb0llocks @nicangelinee @summ3rlotus @3picklesinajar @magentamistress @the-other-hawkeye @elisha-chloe @emilymarie105 @persephone11110 @luckyladycreator2 @boogdleyboo @k0k3 @bibissparkles @lilmonstrjedi @stinkyrat09 @cocoag19 @suburbzchick @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @goodstuff28 @georgiasimpson95 @horselovers2016 @tanithpriad125 @davidshawnsown @sowolfstudentme @agagafafa @callmemana @sec17 @brxklyn15 @h0ppy0the0sheep @tomanybandstolove @abigailannz @mini-bee-bee

Chapters: Chp 1 Chp 2 Chp 3 Chp 4 Chp 5 Chp 6 Chp 7 Chp 8 Chp 9 Chp 10 Chp 11 Chp 12 Chp 13 Chp 14 Chp 15 Chp 16 Chp 17 Chp 18 Chp 19 Chp 20 Chp 21 Chp 22 Chp 23Chp 24 Chp 25 Chp 26 Chp 27 Chp 28 Chp 29 Chp 30 Chp 31 Chp 32 Chp 33 Chp 34 Chp 35

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stephspurs · 3 years

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A Family Affair | Euro 2020 Football Fanfiction

Life is beautiful and life is cruel. A window into the souls of the victorious and the vanquished. In a way, football did come home during the summer of 2021. Follow along Amelia’s journey, navigating the football world as a tactical analyst for the italian football team, with a brother and father part of the three lions. Will Amelia leave Italy and come back to England? Will she leave the Serie A for the Prem? Will she set aside the bianconeri stripes for new colours, leaving behind friendship for love? Maybe she can have both...

EEEEEEK here's part two!!! Part two sees more of Amelia's beautiful brain, the love she has for her team, and her brother, & her friendship with Kyle Walker. Hope you guys love it as much as i do - please let me know what you think - i'd love to hear from you all!

Love always,

Steph xx

UPDATE as of 31/07: I've made some additional editing changes due to some feedback about the confusion between ben white (her brother) and ben chilwell (not her brother LOL). Nothing has been added to the story, just the addition of either surname has been added where i think it could be more straightforward - for future readers!

Part 2. | seconda parte

warnings; none - just a whole lot of feels.

word count; 1469

writing tools; third person until dashed line, first person thereafter.

next update; Wednesday 28/07 5pm AEST. Updates are twice weekly (Sunday & Wednesday)!

Tags (as requested by users); @footballffbarbiex

link to fic masterlist here

11 July 2021 | The Final Match.

The players for both national teams lined up side by side down the tunnel. Chiellini & Kane, both confident in their teams ability, captaining with great authority and mentorship for the ten men stood behind them. Amelia stood at the back of the tunnel, watching the scene ahead of her. Her dad, walking up the centre aisle between the two teams, shaking the hands of his players, confident in his preparation. A gentle hand to her brother's shoulder, saying everything it needs to say. It was the same hand that rubbed the back of her neck as he walked past, communicating the same thing. Go your hardest, you’re ready for this.

It was her turn, she started at the back of the line, and in true Italian style, a kiss was placed to both cheeks of every player up the line. When she reached Jorginho, a player she came to appreciate for his technical mindset and intellectual approach to the game, she kissed his cheek and turned to the player opposite him - her brother, who was trying his hardest to face forward and pay his little sister no mind. She knew what he was doing, but she wasn’t as heartless as the rest of the England squad probably perceived her to be. Reaching out, she rubbed her hand along the back of his neck, just as her father did to her, leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek, before continuing down the line of her players to the front. Shaking hands with Gareth Southgate, who no doubt had come to realise who the girl was in relation to his team, and a kiss to both cheeks of Mr Mancini, she walked out and took her place on the bench, ready for the game of her life.

120 minutes of football later.

Life is both beautiful and cruel. Whilst she hadn’t anticipated the early goal from Shaw, Amelia had predicted every play by the english and made sure her team was there waiting for them to turn and run. They knew to never let Harry Kane have the space to move the ball, to make sure Mason Mount was marked at all times and to pay attention to the silky smooth skills of Raheem Sterling. They knew that every player on the english side had the talent and skill to shoot and score, no matter if they're a striker or full back. In the end, the endless taunts from the british crowd and constant reminder of “it’s coming home” only fuelled the Italians further and pushed them harder, to their limits. Eventually both sides met with equal force and completed extra time at a draw, leading to penalties. All of Amelia’s preparation with Gianluigi Donnarumma would present itself now. She went over the preferred sides of the penalty takers she presumed would be stepping up for their country, and reminded him of all he has achieved & what there is still left to be done. After all, they are the masters of their own fate.

Donnarumma’s block of Bukayo Saka’s penalty rattled her bones and sent a chill down her spine. They had done it. The boys had finally brought football back to Rome for the first time since 1968, and while she can’t take all of the credit, she knows she single handedly played a part in this victory. As soon as happiness filled her body, guilt and sadness flooded her heart. She had been part of the problem that caused her brother so much pain. Her dad knew how to handle rejection, this wasn't his first rodeo, and could see with an open mind just how they had managed to achieve greatness. But her brother had truly believed they had it, that football was coming home to England.

After being surrounded by her boys, cheering and hugging her, screaming in relief that they had done it, Amelia took a step back and took a deep breath in. Looking over to the players in white consoling each other with looks of understanding and pats on the back, hugging those with the unfortunate fate of missing their penalties, she found her brother.

_____________________________________________________________

Squatting down with his elbows resting on his knees and hands covering part of his face, his eyes showing disbelief that the moment had escaped them. Jordan Henderson, the figurative big brother to my big brother, leaning down whispering what one can only assume is words of encouragement and strength to him. A voice to my right startles me, not because I wasn't used to the noise, but because it was a voice I haven't heard directed at me with anything other than venom in a very long time.

“He wants you to be there for him, don’t ever think for a second that he doesn’t want you around.” Kyle Walker speaks into the open, whilst looking around at the fans still in the stadium. The fans behind us right now would be watching with speculation, wondering why the english player is talking to an italian so soon after defeat.

“I don’t think he doesn’t want me around, i just don’t think he wants me around right now” I spoke back, trying to reason with myself and Kyle as to why i haven't gone up and offered my condolences to my brother.

“I think the only thing that can pull him out of this is you. He was beating himself up last night after your argument, and while he turned it into motivation for today, it's still weighing on his conscience. He’s happy for you, we aren't that mean so as to deny him the pleasure of being proud of his little sister...even if she is working for the enemy”

“You’ve always been one to be the voice of reason, whilst still being the clown I grew up to know and love”

“Does this mean we’re friends again? I’m sorry about last night” Kyle admitted.

“Last night wasn’t what ended our friendship...we stopped being friends the day you left Spurs.” I joked back to Kyle. I turned to look at his over-expressed shocked face and walked backwards a few steps while giggling, before turning and sauntering over to my brother who was now surrounded by some more teammates. Upon seeing me and noticing my solemn expression, finding comfort in the fact that I wasn't there to rub my win in their faces, the boys left my brother to himself.

I stood there, staring into the eyes of my brother, who after a few minutes reached out and pulled me into him as though I was a life raft and he was stranded in the ocean. We stood there, hugging, saying everything we needed to say through the way we were gripping to the backs of each other's team colours.

“I am so proud of you, you put up one hell of a fight Ben. Certainly made my job harder” I spoke into his shirt. He was the taller of the two, but I wasn't that short. Almost immediately after, I felt him push more weight onto me and sink a bit lower so he was in my neck, shedding a few tears he didn't want seen by those around us. Not even 5 seconds later, he stood up straight, wiping his eyes and offering me a smile.

“God, I wish you weren’t better at your job than I am at mine” he joked back to me. I smiled up at him, shaking my head.

“I would say you’re wrong but the medal that's about to be around my neck would say otherwise” i joke back with him. I was not about to dull my sparkle for someone else's sun to shine, whether he is my brother or not.

“We have to talk about everything that went down last night but i’ll let you enjoy your night with your team” Ben says as we turn and begin to walk toward the stage being set up for the ceremony.

“Thanks Ben, family dinner on Sunday? Tell your friends to come, you and i both know mum will have enough food to feed everyone without even trying”

“Of course, I'll put it in the lads chat & see who’s still around. Kyle will see it in our family chat - who even put him in there anyway!?”

“Honestly...I think it was mum. You know she loves her son, Kyle.”

As I walk back to my team, and into the arms of Fede and Jorginho who wrap me up in an Italian flag and start jumping around, I can't help but smile and laugh at my amazing life. Who knows what the future has to hold, but for tonight, the azzurri are the champions of europe and the trophy is coming home, to Rome.

Part 3. | parte terza

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kamilah-the-bloodqueen · 3 years

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Remember Me (3/??)

So it’s been quite some time since I looked at this series, and I apologize for such a long hiatus but it’s back (Someone reached out to me asking when part 3 would be out so I moved it forward in my WIP queue! Basically Amy starts out with Adrian, and it’s perfect but one day Amy gets into a car accident and doesn’t come out the same. Her memories from the past 5 years of her life - and that includes all the events from BB1 (just roll with it). Just a FYI I will NOT be rewriting the first 2 parts, you’ll just have to deal with the shitty writing for the whole series. Honeymoon is the current WIP I’m working on, followed by a f!Blaine x MC angst one-shot, the cafe part 2 and then the first chapter of my university AU. Please be patient with me, I am under a lot of academic stress but I promise these will be finished.

Pairing: Adrian x MC x Kamilah (It’s not romantic - just a description...for now)

Warnings: This series does include a serious injury, amnesia

Word Count: 2753

Tags: (Since it’s been so long if you’d like to be removed just lmk - that being said if you’d like to be added to the tag please let me know) @a-raines @bloodboundstuff f @kamilahtopme

Part One Part Two

Amy’s eyes fluttered open, Adrian slouched in the chair beside her, sound asleep she sighed softly, her side sore and tighter than usual as she watched Adrian shift in his gentle slumber. Amy squinted as she tried to recall her memories, frowning as she attempted to make herself more comfortable in the bed. Adrian slowly moved, rubbing his eyes and smiling at Amy as he stood to make two cups of coffee.

“Good Morning Amy…” He spoke softly, lovingly. It almost felt familiar to Amy, something about the way he said it resonated with her. She flashed a smile at him, her eyes lighting up as he brought her a cup of coffee, perfectly made the way she always liked it.

Adrian is very sweet, I could see how I would have fallen for him. His heart is made of gold, and he is the cinnamon roll that Lily said he was and...and I’m breaking his heart...me...Amy, just a regular girl...I’m breaking his heart because I don’t remember anything...oh...

Amy felt her heart break just a little - she couldn’t force herself to love Adrian and he certainly didn’t deserve this pain, but the spark between them was extinguished in that accident. Amy drew a deep breath, catching the scent of the cooled coffee cup in her hands, she shakily held it to her lips, spilling a small amount on her lap as Adrian rushed to grab napkins. He gently placed them down, patting the sheet dry as Amy felt her heart skip a beat. She let out a breath as Adrian sat down, slowly drinking his own coffee.

“Thank you Adrian, you’re a good friend.” Amy spoke softly, barely a whisper as Adrian grinned, his eyes sparkling in the dimly lit room. He paused before sipping his coffee, his heart dropping as he replayed Amy’s words silently.

Good friend. Good friend. Over and over again. Good friend. She doesn’t love me anymore, is there any chance she’ll come back to me?

“Adrian? Are you alright?” Amy tapped him on the shoulder, a concerned look written on her face as Adrian nodded slowly.

“Yes, my apologies, I just...need a moment. I’ll be right back.” Adrian stood quickly, nearly sprinting out the door as Amy tilted her head in confusion. Adrian shut the door, leaning his whole body against it as he let a tear fall from his eyes. He pulled his phone out, immediately opening his camera roll as he replayed forgotten memories- memories Amy had promised to never forget. He slid down the door, his legs losing strength as he dove deeper into the past she had forgotten. He pulled out a small package of tissues, quickly replacing them with his sleeves as tears flooded his face and the floor. He choked as he stumbled upon a picture of them together in the moonlight, Amy smiling on his back as he had carried her through Central Park that night. He watched videos of Amy dancing, singing and saying ‘I love you’ to him, all recent. He rested his head against the door, looking into the lights as he clenched his jaw, reaching into his pocket to pull out the engagement ring that had lost all of its purpose.

“Amy...goddammit Amy...I should have been with you that night...I should have driven you myself.” He stood back up, adjusting his suit and tie and wiping his face clear, re-entering the room as Amy sat quietly, gazing out the window.

“Is something wrong Adrian?” Amy turned to him with that always curious look in her eyes, he took a quiet seat next to her before smiling.

“No, but I have something to tell you.” Amy pursed her lips as Adrian pulled the velvet box from his pocket, gently handing it to her and letting her open it. She gasped and closed the box before handing it back to Adrian as he smiled, a tear slowly flowing down his face. “I was going to propose to you that night…before the accident happened...”

“Adrian…I...I’m sorry…” Amy interrupted, Adrian holding the box tightly as he forced a smile.

“It’s okay Amy. It’s not your fault…” His voice was calming but Amy could sense the broken in him, she could see the heartbreak in his posture and his face.

“I...I just don’t...I don’t feel that way anymore...I’m sorry…I...those memories...I don’t...” Amy cried softly, Adrian placing a gentle hand over hers as he closed the box, placing it back in his jacket.

“Don’t worry about it, our relationship is probably one of the last of your worries. I just thought you should know. I am sorry if I crossed a line Amy...I...I love-” Adrian clenched his jaw, Amy brows furrowing as she averted his broken gaze, “I have to go to my office, but...I’ll be back to visit you either tonight or tomorrow. Get some rest Amy.” He stood, his shoulders slumping in defeat as he found the strength to compose himself before he walked out of the hospital room.

Amy stared out the window, her eyes welling with tears as she tried to comprehend the situation, to be empathic to Adrian and to herself. Amy got so lost in the web of thoughts and worries that she didn’t even notice Lily open the door.

“Hey Ames.” Lily slowly shut the door, a cheeky smile on her face as she laid a collection of electronics in front of Amy. Amy’s eyes fell on the nintendo switch as Lily beamed with excitement, Lily setting up her laptop so Amy could see the screen.

“I thought you could use some fun today, I bought movies and some video games.” Amy’s eyes crinkled at Lily, before using her one hand to pick up one of the switch controls. Lily took the other control in her hands as she started mario kart, adjusting the controls so it would be a fair game.

“Thank you Lily...now I’m going to blow smoke up your ass.” The beeping to start the race went off as Amy gassed her bike, Lily gasping as she took off too. Amy laughed, throwing a red shell and taking first place as Lily slowly made her way up from 12th to 2nd.

“I’m right on your ass now Amy.” Lily hit the buttons more aggressively as Amy laughed, leaving a banana and screwing Lily’s position up.

“Fuck!” Lily set the remote down as Amy crossed the finish line, taking first place. “I see you haven’t lost your touch.” Lily laughed as she set up the next race.

“No. Never. Luckily I still reign champion when it comes to Mario Kart.” Amy nodded her head in pride before they played another race, and another. They lost track of time, Lily’s alarm pulling them from their entertainment as Lily looked at Amy, feeling as if she had her best friend back once more. Amy caught Lily’s gaze, both of them happier today than they had both been in the past few days. A soft knock on the door pulled them both out of their moment, Jax’s soothing voice ringing from the other side as he slid the door open slowly.

“Jax!” Amy’s voice squeaked as Jax put a hand over his heart.

“You guys are racing without me….I’m wounded...having a stroke…” The room filled with laughter as Jax took a switch remote and sat next to Amy on the other side. “Now I’ll have to whoop both of you for leaving me out!” Jax smirked as Lily adjusted her glasses.

“Oh it’s on!” Lily cracked her knuckles as Amy laughed, raising a brow at both of them as the countdown began.

“I’m injured, my memory is missing and yet I’m still going to wreck both of you!” Amy tapped her fingers against the controller as the race started, all three of them battling for first place with red shells and bananas.

“I’ve got it! Oh! ....Fuck!” Amy screamed as a NPC threw a red shell and took first place. All three of them gasping and laughing at their loss to a NPC, Lily exiting to the home screen as Jax and Amy handed her the remotes.

“Geeze. Don’t let Kamilah know I got smoked this badly...” Jax rubbed the back of his neck as Lily took the remotes, put them in her bag and plugged the switch in for a charge. Jax fiddled with his hands as Lily sat back down, asking Amy if she needed anything.

“I can’t believe we lost to an NPC...this is the end of my career.” Jax chuckled under his breath as Amy rolled her eyes before laughing too. Jax relaxed back into his chair as Amy shut her eyes gently, Lily brewing the group some tea after all of the excitement.

“Hey Jax...Lily can I ask?” Amy mumbled softly, Lily turning to face her as Jax lifted his head up.

“Of course.” Jax placed a gentle hand on Amy’s shoulder, his soft eyes fixated on hers as she smiled.

“What’s Kamilah like?”

Silence. Jax and Lily gave each other looks before Jax cleared his throat.

“She can be cold if she wants to be, she’s...quite mysterious but she opened up a lot with us, although I don’t know the details of your personal relationship with her. I...I’m not entirely sure how to describe her to you but she wouldn’t refuse your questions Amy, especially given the current circumstances. Why do you ask us?” Jax furrowed his brows as Amy felt a blush creep onto her face, Lily catching the pink cheeks in the corner of her eye.

“Nothing, just curious to know what my friends were like…” Amy stared down at the blanket as Jax’s phone buzzed in his pants.

Friends. Friends. Friends. Of course Lily and Jax were Amy’s friends, but Adrian? Kamilah? She felt something towards both of them. She didn’t carry the same feelings Adrian had for her - and they were far from the intensity he felt for her. He made her feel so safe and secure - and his nurturing nature would make any girl fall in love and Amy could sense something there, even if it was small. And Kamilah? There was something radiant about her to Amy, something about her presence that brings Amy a sense of tranquility that she doesn’t feel with Adrian. She didn’t know her but Amy felt herself infatuated with wanting to know Kamilah, wanting to spend time with her and just talk to her. Jax’s panicked voice brought Amy out of her head as Lily placed a calming hand on her shoulder - having watched Amy go through the whole thought process.

“Nikhil-” His face changed from content to concerned as a muffled voice rang through, “I’m-I’m on my way.” Jax rushed over to Lily, whispering as Lily’s face grew concerned. They exchanged silent whispers as Amy tilted her head, wondering what it could be about.

“Amy...I have to go...it’s a uh...work emergency..., will you be alright?” Jax squeezed her hand before hastily rushing out the door.

“Amy...do you...do you have feelings for Kamilah?” Amy’s heart jumped at Lily’s voice, her face turning pink as Lily slowly took a seat beside her, her face full of curiosity.

“I...I don’t know! I-” Amy reached her hand up to cover her face as Lily gently pulled her hand away, giving Amy a reassuring look. Another knock on the door startled both of them as Lily rushed to open it, Kamilah stepping through the threshold. Amy felt her heart speed up, her palms growing sweaty as Kamilah came closer and closer to her. Her maroon suit perfectly fitted, her hair practically shining as her eye softened upon meeting Amy’s.

“How are you feeling Amy?” Kamilah's voice was like music to Amy’s ears, it was smooth and silky yet firm and commanding, Amy’s heart pounding so loudly she thought Kamilah would hear it. She swallowed the lump in her throat as Kamilah gave a more concerned look to Amy. Amy thought she’d faint as Kamilah placed her palm against her forehead, her fingers rubbing small circles as she asked Lily to get some water.

“Thank you for visiting Kamilah...I really appreciate it…” Amy whispered softly, Kamilah smiled, her usual exterior melting for a moment before Lily returned with the water. Lily paused before setting the water down on the table next to Amy, her eyes scanning between Kamilah and Amy and the odd sexual tension that lingered throughout the room.

“I uh...gotta blast!” Lily squealed and dashed out the door, unsure of how to deal with the situation. Kamilah blinked twice, shocked as Amy furrowed her brows before returning to Kamilah.

“I wonder what that was all about…” Kamilah pursed her lips as Amy shakily reached for the glass, her heart nearly beating out of her chest. She gripped the cup and brought it to her lips, Kamilah watching subtly as Amy spilled some on herself by accident.

“Amy, here...let me help you…” Kamilah rushed to grab a few napkins from the counter as Amy’s face flushed red, when Kamilah placed her delicate hands on her lap where the water was spilled Amy thought she was going to have a heart attack. Kamilah lifted her hand, gesturing towards the water as Amy shook her head. Kamilah picked the glass up and gently placed it against Amy’s lips, tilting it back so she could drink. Kamilah tried not to stare but she couldn’t help herself but to watch Amy’s lips against the rim of the glass.

“Had enough?” Kamilah brought the nearly empty glass back down, perching herself on the chair next to Amy as Amy wiped her mouth.

“Yes...thank you…” Amy mumbled, she shifted her eyes to the floor to avoid Kamilah’s eyes, a gaze that would make Amy question her feelings more than she already was.

Kamilah cleared her throat, her hands slipping into her pockets before she sat forward, placing her hand over Amy’s.

“Amy, everything will be alright. You have all of us at your side and we will get you whatever you need.” Amy smiled at her gesture, Kamilahs stoic expression that Lily had spoken of was nowhere to be found. Amy nodded in silence, enjoying the comforting touch of the older woman. She must’ve dozed off because she awoke later in an empty room, a small letter placed beside her as she rubbed her eyes.

Amy,

Many apologies for running out so soon. An urgent matter needed to be handled and I could not address it from the seat beside you. I’ll return to visit you as soon as this matter is taken care of. Feel free to text or call if you need anything. My number is already saved in your phone.

~Kamilah Sayeed

Amy smiled at the heartwarming note, maybe Kamilah wasn’t as cold and stoic as Lily had previously told her. She took in a deep breath as the doctor opened the door, clipboard in hand as he ran through the tedious checklists to ensure Amy was properly recovering.

---------------------- Adrian’s Office ------------------------------

Kamilah, how late are you working tonight?

Not much longer Adrian, just a few things to finish up here. Do you need something?

I could use some of your advice, and company.

Of course brother. I’m sure the current situation has been exhausting among other things for you.

Thank you Kamilah, I’ll see you shortly?

Yes.

Adrian leaned back in his leather chair as it gently squeaked, his suit wrinkling as he removed his tie from his neck and tossed it to the side. He turned his gaze towards the ceiling, his shoulders falling - a single tear falling from his face. He took a tissue from his desk and uselessly wiped away as his face became flooded with them, the teardrops staining documents and leaving marks on his jacket. He ripped the jacket off, not caring about how much it had cost him as she rested his head in his hands - his composure falling apart in seconds. His white blouse became disheveled as his breathing grew fast and desperate - his heart racing and beating so hard it hurt. He tried to stand, his legs completely failing him as he leaned against the bookshelf, hiding his face in his knees as he let his bottled emotions out. He stayed there for what felt like hours, until the door slowly creaked open...

#kamilah sayeed #kamilah x mc #kamilah the bloodqueen post #so uh this chapter had been sitting in my google drive for months #anyways i revised bits of it and that's that #if you want to be tagged lmk #so my creativity comes and goes so its hard for me to write a specific fic at one time #so ill get motivated to write an angst fic when i need to write smut or something #i'm done rambling please scroll i dont think i like this series but idk yet #hopefully i can keep people engaged

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jujubean90 · 3 years

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I was tagged by @rosenkow to display a WIP

So here's the beginning of the next mind fuck for Warrior/ Champion

Why can’t I see anything? What is this place? Why is it so dark?

A door off to the side opened and a small amount of natural light flooded into what he surmised was a room. Someone was peaking from the outside. He noticed a tuft of white hair. They were only about knee high to him.

A child?

“Addie?” whispered the stranger. Reiner watched as the door opened all the way. “Aaaddie? Are you awake?”

This child, this strange girl had her long, white hair pulled back into a foxtail hold. She had grayish snowy eyes too. She bounded into the room looking all excited. Reiner followed her with his gaze as she climbed up on someone’s bed. She didn’t acknowledge him whatsoever.

“Addie, wake up!” the girl said loudly. “You can’t sleep in today! It’s your birthday!”

“Maru, stop,” groaned a familiar voice beneath a pile of covers.

What…am I seeing? I recognize the name of Adelaide's friend.But where am I? Why don’t they see me?

Maru huffed and climbed off the bed. She hurried across the room and snatched up one of the window curtains. She flung them open, letting light from the outside further brighten the room.

Reiner could see everything now. He was in some lavishly decorated bedroom that looked as though it belonged in a palace. The windows went from the floor to the ceiling. Maru hurriedly skipped around the entire area, opening curtains, and humming while another muffled protest came from a gigantic pile of duvets and blankets on Adelaide’s bed.

“Wakey wakey Addie-lady!” Maru sang.

“Maru!” Adelaide snapped as she finally emerged from her nest of blankets. Reiner gasped. She was so young. No older than he was when he started his Warrior Training. And her hair was so long.

“There you are!” Maru cried out as she raced to Adelaide's bed. “Happy Birthday Addie! If you were human, you’d be a teenager today!”

Adelaide knitted her brows together and flopped back into the mattress. “And I’d probably be sent to marry someone three times my age and expected to be a birthing factory for the remainder of my life.”

“Lucky for us we were born as Aeons!” Maru sighed. “Come on! My dad is waiting. He brought you something and I have an idea I wanted to discuss with you. Please!”

“Damn it…alright, meet me on the north side balcony. You know the one. Where I like to draw.”

Maru clapped her hands together. “Yay! I am so excited. Wait until you hear my awesome full proof plan!”

Reiner was still transfixed on Adelaide while Maru sprinted out the door. She just sighed and stared vacantly up to the ceiling. “I just…wanted to sleep this day away. There’s nothing special about my birthday. It’s just a reminder that I'm a murderer. I tell Maru every year not to make a big deal, but she does it anyway.”

“Are you talking to me?” Reiner asked.

And suddenly she sat up and turned her gaze to him. She was looking at him or through him. He wasn’t sure. “You’re the only one here, aren’t you? But the thing is…I don’t understand why.”

Reiner stepped forward. “Addie… it's me. Reiner.”

“You’re a stranger to me and your name means nothing,” Adelaide said as she climbed off her bed and peered up at him. She was in a nightgown, and he was correct. She was just a kid. She didn’t have that ancient, all-knowing fire in her eyes. They were so dull and lifeless. “But at the same time, you are familiar. I think… you were supposed to see this, so I am not going to chase you out of my memories or kill you.”

“Is that where I am? In your memories.”

“Yeah,” Adelaide said as she gently reached and took his hand. “Come on. This isn’t going to be an easy journey for either of us. You're going to see who I am, and it isn't pretty. The last time someone was here...they tried to change everything. But you don't have that sort of power so I trust you.”

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a-forgotten-spirit · 4 years

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Chained To Him (4)

Pairing: Dad Aizawa x Reader (Platonic), Dad Mic x Reader (Platonic), Bakugou x Reader

Summary: Sports Festival and chilling with the best dads.

Words: +-3200

Warnings: Orphan, villain parents, voices talking to you, sports festival, SLOW BUILD

A/N: Everyone lives on campus except you to make my life a little bit easier. It’s a slow build story, it’s going to be awhile. If you want anything in particular or have questions send me an ask. I look at them. Please leave a comment they make my life.

Tagged: @puppetofyourdreams

I AM TAKING REQUESTS FOR THIS SERIES AND OTHER ONESHOTS.

Masterlist

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

“Target locked, target acquired” the robot sang out, voice croaking and not right, was now the right time to show off my quirk, after-all Todoroki had already shown off his.

“Duck” I did just that. “Left” I skidded to the left, this was how I would get past. No time for thinking, I ran full force straight ahead “Jump” I jumped the robot missing my form. “Skid” falling to my hip I skid beneath the monster of a thing. “Run” throwing myself back up I didn’t have time to slow down. I hadn’t fought these robots, I got in with zero-to-no effort. Though from the cold wind running down my back I knew Todoroki wasn’t far behind. The sounds of ice were loud and then the sound of the robot falling.

“In the lead, we have Aizawa and Todoroki from class 1-A” I smiled at the last name. Pa’s voice loud and proud, that was my last name. I was their daughter, a child born of love and happiness. My eyes narrowed and I sprinted faster. I was going to win this, I was going to show everyone I was the best. I sounded like Bakugou.

I needed to do this, to show not only my class but everyone here I can do this. I was ignoring the commentating. I had to focus. The second obstacle was coming up, it was roped, over long falls. I smirked. Without an ounce of hesitation, I ran across them, just like Dad. He ran across power lines all the time and I had picked up a thing or two, it was his job. I constantly watched him when he was on TV as a kid, I had practised with and without the use of my quirk. I was balanced and running. It was easy to make it to the other side, Todoroki and his ice not far behind. I could also hear explosions, Bakugou. Running up the red stairs I spared a glance, right behind me.

“And now we are finally approaching the last obstacle, everyone better tread carefully. You’re stepping into a minefield” Pa yelled over the speakers, a piece of cake. Pa continued to talk as I ran forward and could hear Todoroki gasp behind me.

“Jump” I jumped. “Left” I stepped to the left, I wasn’t looking down, only letting the voice tell me what to do. They may not be nice all the time but if I died, they disappeared. “Jump left” I jumped left. “Forward” I sprinted, “Right” I stepped. I was missing them all though this was a long run. Stamina was a strong point and I knew my face was plastered on the TV’s this was my time to shine.

Todoroki was close behind and I could hear some going off, but having my little spies watching I smirked “Why don’t you go make life a little difficult for some people” I could hear small laughter and then more explosions. A little foot placement, a little yelling and boom more people were out of the running. “Good work team” I smirked, I was in the lead. “We can win this”

We were going well, I was in the lead, now neck and neck with both Todoroki and Bakugou until there was a yell “Strike that the lead is his” it was Pa, looking up I see Midoriya on a piece of metal flying above me. No, this can’t be happening.

I was sprinting, pushing all of my energy into my legs, I wasn’t going to lose. I was going to show that I will be just like my parents. Ice and explosions behind me, Todoroki and Bakugou. I had to go faster. I had to move faster. Midoriya was now sprinting next to me.

“Eraserhead your students are amazing, what are you teaching them” Pa yelled my chest was heaving and my legs were pushing myself more than ever before. I had to win this, I had to show the world I was meant to be here. “Faster” the voices whispered “Faster” I pushed “Faster”

“It has nothing to do with me, each of them is powered by their drive to succeed” I could see the light through the tunnel, with a new burst of energy and the will of the gods themselves I sped up, I could practically feel their breaths on my neck. My hair bouncing around and then I ran through. “Y/N Aizawa and Izuku Midoriya are our champions” Pa yelled. I was still running and slowly came to a stop. My chest moving quickly, cheers and yelling being heard loud and clear. I turned to Midoriya eyes narrowed and angry.

“He stole the win” “Could have won” “Should have been faster” “He won”

Voice flooded my ears and I glared at him with anger and anger alone. My hands were shaking and I look to him “Good job” I spoke, he looked scared as I stared at him, voices floating around.

“Thank you” he whispered and nodded, determined and green hair bouncing around in a mess of strands. “You did really well” I could see a few people listening in now.

“I’d watch my back, I don’t take losing lightly” with a turn of my heel I walked away, eyes narrowed I heard some people talking and looking around, voices. They weren’t impressed either. We could have won. I came to stand where I was meant too and sighed.

“The first game for the first years is finally over, what a game it was. Now let’s take a look at the status shall we” Midnight called out body tilted and hip out. Looking up to the screen my name was first then Midoriya, I scowled. Todoroki than Bakugou, second and third. I guess we shared first. Others names but I didn’t care, they meant nothing at this moment. “Only the top forty-two will advance to the next round but, don’t be to let down if you didn’t make the cut we prepared other opportunities for you to shine” it was only fair to the people who didn’t make it got more time. I didn’t blame them. “Now the real fun is about to begin the chance to fully move into the limelight. Give it your best. Let’s see what we have in store for you next” again the hologram. “Will your fantasies come to life or will the waiting be torture. Prepare yourselves” I could feel my heart race “For this” the words came up and I let the air from my lungs. “Allow me to explain. The participants will form teams of two to four people as they see fit, in theory, it's seen as a regular playground game but there is one difference. Everyone has been placed on a point value from the obstacle course. She explained the point but then “The points placed on the first is ten million” I felt my heart sink and I was sure so did Midoriya. Everyone would be after us. I felt everyone's eyes on me and all words after that were like nothing.

I had to choose a team but no one would want to be with me knowing I was worth the most points, screw this for everything it was worth. My quirk was good for this sort of thing, I could win this. Maybe not. My heart was beating with rapid-fire. “Calm” I heard a whisper in my ear and I could feel the pressure on my hand like someone was holding it. I looked down no one was, I was never alone. I had my spirits. My heart slowed and I squeezed back. “We are here with you”

The rules were simple and easy but I knew it wouldn’t be easy with the target on my head. Quirks were able to be used and no foul play, fifteen minutes to find a team. No one knew me this was going to be difficult though it didn’t matter my teams' point as I had so many. Everyone seemed to have set places. Maybe Bakugou, maybe Kirishima.

I was walking close to him. “Bakugou” I called out and he looked at me “Team with me” everyone went silent. It seemed he already had Kirishima. People were standing around him. “You can be the top I don’t care, I can deal with all around us. I have eyes and ears everywhere” he knew that he knew my quirk well after all our conversations. “We will be targeted but with my quirk on defence we can win this”

He was listening intently and then looked at my body up and down “Done” there I had my team, well some of the team. I, we could win this. I needed people for this. I smiled and nodded. Kirishima looked confused, it was easy to get into a group with Bakugou, we were friends and my quirk was quite useful for this game. Todoroki already had a team and Midoriya was looking for a team. Bakugou didn’t fear people so it was easy to team with him.

“Bakugou can be the rider, Kirishima on left, Sero on right and I on front. My chains can go anywhere I wish though they come from my back. I have” I paused and swallowed “Other talents to know where every single person on the field is at any one time” they looked around, scared. “I will talk if I need to move and Bakugou you might be thrown around. We will protect your blindspot and if anyone comes close” I smiled eyes wide “I don’t care who I have to destroy in the process” I could see the fear as Kirishima and Sero nodded.

“I’m gonna kill them all” I nodded. We had a good friendship and for this simple game, we could put our rivalry aside and work together. Our group was formidable and no one would break us apart.

“Oh, goodie it’s time to get this party started” Midnight called out, stretching her arms. She did get overly excited in these cases but it was all in good nature, she was just excited for us. I couldn’t blame her.

“After fifteen minutes of strategy, twelve cavalry teams are ready to go head to head” Pa called across the stadium, I wanted to run up and hug my parents. I was having the time of my life here. I wanted to share it with them. “Come on everyone put your hands in the air,” he finished.

“Ready,” I asked my hands holding onto the bottom of Bakugou’s shoes, they all called out. “Bakugou lean on my shoulders, I want to know where your hands are at all times” he nodded and I felt him lean down, hands hot and ready.

“He’s touching us” I flushed and shook my head trying to get the voices to stop. I was well aware he was touching us. It was hard to miss the heat radiating from his palms. I ignored the rest of the words being pressed into my ear. We were worth a lot of points but we could win this. We needed to keep these points or steal more, losing is not an option.

The count down rang and immediately everyone came running at us. “Move” we began to run, I was in the front. “Down” I yelled and we all dropped for a moment. I could see something go over Bakugous’ head making a grab for the headband.”Move” I yelled and we were off.

People going after Midoriya as well, dark shadow as a defence was a smart move but not smart enough. We weren’t going for them, that would be like a lamb going for a bull. Too many groups, not enough space. “Left” I gripped Bakugous’ shoes and we turned quick and fast. “Bakugou” we were running to the side.

“Got it” I heard and smirked, another headband, we were off running again. As long as I kept Bakugou entertained he wouldn’t try anything overly dumb. Even small groups would be enough to sedate him for now. He wanted a challenge but he also wanted to win. I felt his hands back on my shoulders.

I ducked bringing him forward into my back as I saw another hit. I stood straight and ran. “Sorry that was close” my shoulders were squeezed. It was reassuring. “Right” quick turning was our strength. We were talking and that’s all we needed. Four groups. And then Bakugou was gone, his weight leaving. I looked up seeing him, at least the headbands were safe. “Bakugou” I called out. “Stupid idiot. Sero” I turned.

“Got it” he had been blocked by a dark shadow, he was a strong opponent, I clearly wasn’t entertaining him enough. As he was falling Sero grabbed his arm pulling his body back to us at an awkward angle but we caught him nonetheless.

“Please don’t do that again,” I asked and he rolled his eyes and spoke in cursive. We had him back on his feet quickly. “You have a lot of points I don’t want you flying through the air” another squeeze to my shoulders, a sorry?

“Bakugou has been separated from his horses, is that even allowed” Did Pa really need to say that. A quick glare to him in the tower and a dodge from a team we were off again.

“He didn’t touch the ground so technically its ok” good at least we hadn’t been disqualified. I hadn’t even thought of losing Bakugou. I had to be on high alert, higher than I already was.

We were running but we came to the end of the field. We didn’t have room to move. Groups from all directions. “What do we do” Kirishima called out. We couldn’t let Bakugou leave not with so many points right now. We had taken two more teams on the way.

“Midoriyas’ team was allowed to leave the ground and Bakugou isn’t allowed to touch the ground” I yelled over everyone, chains springing from my back, I needed us all together, time to show off my quirk. I grabbed everyone and threw us into the air, I heard the gasps and yells. We were all together but we were still in the air. We were high, almost over the stadium. “Hold on” I felt Kirishima hold the chain. “Kirishima how hard can you be thrown”

“As hard as you want” we were just falling through the air as I looked around. If I threw him it would create a big enough impact that no one would be able to see us for a while and we could steal more headbands and get Bakugou to safety.

“Well harden up” I yelled and threw him towards the ground I brought in Sero and Bakugou as I pushed chains into the ground so I could lower us at a safe level, I could hear Kirishima yelling as he hardened and then hit the ground, the wind pushing dust and dirt into the air. I lowered us, picked him up and then we were off. “To your right” a headband. “Right again” another one. “Left” another one. Kirishima wasn’t hurt and had a wide smile as did Sero. We were coming to the final minutes as we left the dust storm. I could hear the yelling as people realised they did not have their headbands. “How you doing up there” I called out.

“We're going to fucking win” Bakugou called out and everyone laughed, this was fun. This was teamwork. This showed the Pros that we couldn’t only work together but work well and in time, thinking faster and winning. Fifteen minutes were going fast.

“Oh look at 1-A being so high and mighty” it was that blonde boy from 1-B. “You’re kinda famous aren’t you for getting attacked by that sludge villain” no, no, no. Bakugou was getting mad and I could tell his palms heating and body shaking. “You’ll have to tell me about it sometime, it must be strange to see yourself in the role of the victim”

“Y/N we have a change of plans” his voice was raspy and angry, the blonde seemed to have quite a few headbands as well. I looked back and I swear I could see red around his form, anger and revenge for the other words ringing through him. This wasn’t good. “Before we win, we’re gonna kill every last one of these B list idiots” I shook my head, He was now sitting on our arms not standing. Bakugou was screaming in anger. I didn’t have time for his revenge.

I held Kirishimas’ hand tighter as well as Seros’ “Bakugou stay calm please” I begged, we had so many points we could win this. We still had our original band. We were in the lead. We could stay here. “Bakugou I swear to god” I grit my teeth and wrapped a chain around him “Move” we were running as he screamed. “We have too many points for you to have a vendetta against someone we have no interest in” I turned my head “Besides we don’t associate with the lower class” I knew people had heard me but Bakugou was laughing now and nodded, agreeing. I needed to keep him entertained even if it meant hurting a few peoples’ feelings. I saw electricity and threw us in the air with zero thought.

We were in the air as we got rid of not only the electricity attack but the ice stopping people from moving. This was a lot to deal with. I couldn’t even see the ice attack. I was looking around we had strayed quite close to them, though I did notice Todoroki had only gone for Midoriya, he had something against him. I stilled, it was only the three of our groups in this little ice wall.

“I'm going to kill them” Bakugou yelled and pushed us forward with the power of an explosion. I ground my chains into the ground and then stopped us at least to just try and stop Bakugou from killing someone.

“Bakugou I swear to the lord above I will kill you myself” I growled and tried desperately to not get Bakugou to move. I was watching the two teams. Iida was fast far too fast right now. Midoriya doesn’t have his headband. In the heat of the moment and smoke clouding my vision I felt a weight leave my arms, I looked back “Where the fuck is Bakugou” I screamed, he was gone. Where the fuck is he. I looked up and could see him in the air. I was going to actually kill him. Midoriya had gotten some points. Ten seconds.

I was trying to find Bakugou, he was moving so fast if he hit the ground we lost. My chain rushed forward “Times up” I grabbed him just before he hit the ground. As everyone stilled I let go of the other boys and held Bakugou in the air by his leg.

“What were you doing” I yelled and tilted my head “Well” the points still around his head as I let out a breath and calm down “Sorry Sorry” I sighed and smiled “If you ever try and do something like that again” I let all the air from my lungs and nodded.

That was enough for him to get the message.

________________________________________________________________

Chapter 5 in making - will be posted if in demand

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dhufflebee · 3 years

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when I see you like that (a Glee fanfiction)

One-shot Fandom: Glee Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Jesse St. James & Andrea Cohen; Jesse St. James/Rachel Berry - mentioned (and at this point very much one-sided) Characters: Jesse St. James; Andrea Cohen Additional Tags: rambling phone calls; basically just Jesse moping a lot; Friendship; Pining; Self-Worth Issues; rated T for some swearing

Read on: AO3 | ff.net Summary: After the loss at Nationals, Jesse can’t face his Vocal Adrenaline students, and calls his friend Andrea instead. Talking with her, though, painfully reveals his well-concealed sense of inadequacy—and his unquenchable feelings for one Rachel Berry

This fic is basically 3k words of Jesse moping, in a weird half-dialogue half-rant format. I’ve felt the need to write this since I’ve rewatched ‘Nationals’: that three-second shot of Jesse on the verge of tears has been haunting me, and I had to get the story out of my system. Most of all, I needed him to get some of the love and validation that the show deprived him of.

In my mind, it isn’t at all out of character for Jesse to be this miserable in private. He is crazy talented and he knows it, but he also has deep self-worth issues (due to his demanding and not very loving upbringing), for which he compensates with pride and overconfidence. He also has his (in)famous showface that rarely goes away, and he doesn’t feel comfortable being emotionally vulnerable. Except with Andrea—and, well, with Rachel.

By the way, I know Jesse and Andrea's friendship is mostly fanon, but I like it very much nonetheless.

Jesse had never felt so upset in his life. His heart, his mind, his guts were telling him conflicting things, and his knees were starting to give way under him as the adrenaline of the competition slowly went away. He barely managed to close the door to his room before he had to sit on the bed. He was feeling lightheaded, with black pushing at the edge of his vision—the way he would feel after a long training when he hadn’t eaten enough. But it wasn’t low blood pressure, Jesse knew that. It was the same dreadful mix of emotions and thoughts as that damn day two years before, but somehow a hundred times worse. Then it had been divided loyalties, two shattered hearts, and the gut punch of feeling like an utter bastard, but now… damn, he’d added so many failures in the past two years that he had no idea how his showface was still so good. He was starting to feel like a hollow husk at times. Something had definitely broken back then, and the constant, cyclical reminders of what he’d stupidly lost weren’t doing him any favors—that evening after Nationals, the castle of cards that had been Jesse St. James’s so-called adult life was a breath away from collapsing, once and for all.

Jesse kicked off his shoes, threw the suit jacket haphazardly on a chair, and lay down on the bed, trying to steady his breath against his inner turmoil. After a while, he felt blindly around his legs for his phone, until he found it lying precariously near the edge of the bed. He then flung the duvet up over his head and snuggled under it, shirt and nice slacks be damned. He unblocked his phone and opened his recent calls, dialing his best (only?) friend’s number.

“Victory boy! Hey!” a chipper voice answered.

“Andrea…”

“Ah. You didn’t win, then.”

Jesse sighed. Andrea’s reaction made him realize he sounded as dejected as he felt—something he’d long learned how to conceal, but the Chicago air must have jinxed him or something. Or maybe he was simply beginning to crumble under the pressure of his feelings. Whatever.

“I feel like crap, Andy. I should be with the guys, drowning our disappointment in ginger ale or what-have-you, but I don’t even have the energy for that. I barely managed to tell them I was proud of them—and I am—before I had to get out of there. They were crying, Andy, and the looks on the seniors’ faces… I just—I couldn’t stay.”

Jesse knew he was rambling, but a big part of his and Andrea’s friendship had always been taking turns in unloading while the other listened and then offered some honest advice. No one else in his life had ever made him feel safe enough to be so open and vulnerable—except for Rachel, but he’d thrown away his chance to have her at the other end of the line again, hadn’t he?

“I’m sure they understand, Jesse. You told them you were proud, and that’s what matters. Remember how nice it felt when they would tell us? Eased the disappointment of losing somewhat, no?” Andrea asked, a tinge of wistfulness in her voice.

“Yeah, well… god, they worked so hard for this. I really thought we’d win, you know? I honestly miss the high of victory—as I’m sure you do, too,” Jesse said with a smirk, getting a chuckle from Andrea in response. “Nevertheless, Carmel High is going to kick me out the minute I get back to Akron, as they so candidly told me they would when I got the job. And I guess they have all the rights to do it—what kind of failure am I, four-time champion and I can't even coach fucking Vocal Adrenaline to victory? I wouldn't want to keep me around either."

Jesse heard himself getting whinier by the minute, and he hated it, hated how earnest he ended up being while talking with Andrea (and with Rachel, too—he never quite managed to keep his walls up for long with her either… Stop! Stop thinking about that!). Andrea hesitated and exhaled, and Jesse could imagine her shaking her head as well.

"Why didn't you win, though?" she asked at last. "I've seen those videos you sent me: the choreo was incredible! What happened?"

"A ragtag bunch of misfits, that's what happened," Jesse answered, trying to sound mean but only managing desolate. Figures. "The New Directions really busted their asses this year, apparently. You should have seen them, everyone performed at a level they'd never reached before—and you know how they've always been so endearingly energetic. I loathe to admit it, but they were great, and I guess they did deserve to win. Probably. Couldn't tell that to my guys, though," he chuckled, gloomily.

"I'm glad to hear that," Andrea said, with a careful, knowing tone that Jesse instantly dreaded. "Is that it, though? This whole call just because the New Directions finally snatched first place after years of trying?"

Jesse didn't answer. He couldn't, he wouldn't tell Andrea the real reason of his moping—besides, he knew she could easily guess it.

"Unless..." (There it is.) "What about Rachel, Jesse? Did she sing?"

Jesse was thankful the conversation was happening on the phone, Andrea at one end of the nation and himself buried under a duvet in a hotel room in Chicago. He wouldn't have been able to sustain her gaze, otherwise. At least on the phone he didn't need his showface, and his instinct to flee from emotional vulnerability was somewhat tamed (but not much).

"Jesse?"

He squeezed his eyes shut and gripped the phone more tightly, hoping to keep at bay the flood of emotions that he could sense coming. At last, he whispered: "Yeah, she did. It's All Coming Back to Me Now".

"Oh."

And that was it. Andrea’s understanding tone was all it took for the floodgates to open and for Jesse’s rambling, vulnerable side to come out in full force. Tears threatened to escape his eyes, but he them firmly shut—he would not cry.

“God, Andy, when she sung that song—it felt like she was saying all those things to me!” Jesse’s voice traitorously cracked at that last word.

“I don’t think that’s—”

“I know!” Good lord, he was whining again. “I know that it’s ridiculous! that I’m reading too much into it, that they chose the song way beforehand and Rachel has much better things to think about than me… But what if she was singing about us after all? The words are rather fitting, and she knows that—same as she knew we were bound to meet here tonight. It’s there, Andy, the whole story! Me being an idiot, all my mistakes and the hurt I inflicted her—she was reproaching me, and I cannot blame her because I deserve it. And I especially deserve to hear it from her magnificent voice, even if god knows I don’t need to be reminded of what I did to her.” Jesse was breathing heavily, almost unable to articulate his feelings, his words spilling out at an alarming speed.

Andrea remained silent for a few seconds, then answered with a deliberate yet soothing tone—the one she reserved for Jesse’s rare mopey moments. “I don’t think your history with Rachel had anything to do with the song, Jesse.” He scoffed lightly, but she ignored him. “Besides, you were a teenager back then, and you were forced between a rock and a hard place. Shelby was a bitch that manipulated you and treated both Rachel and the parents of that baby like dirt. Sure, you were a bit of a dick, but you’ve got to cut yourself some slack. You were not stupider than the average teen in love, all things considered.”

Jesse tried to scoff again, but what escaped his throat sounded more like a sob than anything else. “Andy, you don’t understand,” he pleaded, pressing the heel of his free hand on his eyes. “I threw away the one truly warm thing in my life because Shelby threatened to take away my scholarship to UCLA, and look how well that went,” Jesse laughed bitterly. Ah, the familiar taste of self-deprecation. Saying all that out loud felt better than just mulling over it constantly, though. “I’m such an imbecile—I got college handed to me on a silver platter, and I couldn’t even manage to float just above the pass grade? Or, I don’t know, use my fucking brain for a change? And to think I would be so conceited about it, as if I could ever hope to accomplish anything intelligence-related…”

“Jesse, stop!” Andrea interjected vehemently. “You’re spiraling and you’re starting to sound like your father. You’re not stupid, you’re not brainless—you’re smart, and the most brilliant guy I know as far as musical theater is concerned. And don’t start with how acting or singing or whatever is bullshit, because I’ll come down there, slap you, and then find your dad and punch him on his ugly mug.” At that, Jesse felt a sharp surge of affection for his friend, regardless of her proclivity for mild physical threats. “We all sweated blood in Vocal Adrenaline, but we were happy and good—you above all, because performing is your passion and your talent. Who cares if you didn’t pass gen eds? You’re wonderful, and you will take Broadway by storm soon.”

“Ms. Tibideaux didn’t seem to think so,” Jesse replied, dejectedly.

“Who?”

“Carmen Tibideaux. NYADA?”

“What does she have to do with anything now?” Andrea asked, confused. “That was years ago.”

“Yeah, right—the first of my many failures.” Jesse’s tone was more bitter than he expected. He intentionally hadn’t thought much about his audition since, but he guessed disappointments never actually stopped stinging, did they?

“Come on, Jesse…”

“I didn’t get in, okay? No point in sweetening the pill. I was good but apparently not enough—and I always knew that, but now I have confirmation from the woman’s own voice that I ‘showed promise’ but couldn’t overcome the obstacles to be the best. So really, I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing with my life.” Was he being overdramatic and overly self-critical? Absolutely. At that moment, though, Jesse had no idea how to stop.

“Enough!” Andrea exclaimed. Deep down, the rational part of Jesse’s brain had realized he was being maddening, but he also had to admit he didn’t mind Andy’s forceful tone. It felt strangely soothing, being told to get a grip from someone who cared about him.

“I can’t believe you are saying this,” she pressed on. “I’ve already told you: you are incredible, and I won’t let you wallow in this kind of negativity. The audition was years ago, and believe me, I’ve seen you get absurdly better in the meantime. Ms. Tibideaux said you showed promise, and that’s good! You did and you do, and you will reach even higher that she could ever imagine.”

Jesse hummed, not entirely convinced but certainly relieved that someone else was eager to vouch for his talent. He knew he was good (okay, very good), but that didn’t mean he wasn’t, from time to time, afraid he’d been deluding himself due to his own arrogance.

“When did you speak with the woman?” Andrea asked.

“She was here to see Rachel perform. And when I went and told her she shouldn’t let Rachel slip through her fingers, she remembered me and made a list of all the flaws in my audition. Lovely experience, really,” Jesse said, with a bitter chuckle.

“Aw, you put in a good word for Rachel—that’s so sweet! Did you tell her?”

“I can’t! Are you crazy? She cannot know ever. I don’t deserve her knowing, if anything I owe her.” Jesse replied, his voice half-strangled. (Pathetic.) “Rachel and I bantered for a couple of minutes before the competition, and it almost got me punched by Finn, in addition to giving me some serious doubts about my ability to function properly.” He smiled at the memory. Rachel’s red dress was still incredibly vivid in his mind. “God, Andrea, you should have seen her—she was radiant. I’d ever seen her inhabit the stage so perfectly. She is the one who deserves to take Broadway by storm and who will. She’s a powerhouse, and she’s absurdly talented, and tonight she looked so beautiful with that smile of hers, and then she sang Céline and I couldn’t—”

Jesse heard Andrea exhale, as if ready to answer, but he rambled on, unable—unwilling—to stop now that someone was there to listen to him for once.

“I just—I miss Rachel so much. She earnestly thought I was worth all the fuss. Even with Shelby, it’d always seem like my work was barely acceptable, and that all the trophies were just due to luck and the power of a good routine or something. Which yeah, I guess is true, but—honestly, Andy, except for you, Rachel’s the only person who’d always tell me how much she liked when I performed, and how good I was. I was starved—I am starved for that, Andy. D’you know my grades improved while I was in Lima with her? I actually had to study, and I wasn’t half bad at it. All thanks to her. God knows why she stayed with me after the initial razzle-dazzle, because she was way better that I could ever deserve. And she definitely deserved more than yours fucking truly,” Jesse spat out.

“And I guess she will have it,” he continued, barely taking time to breathe, “since she’s getting married soon to Finn. And sure, I hate him and he hates me, but I can see how Rachel looks at him, and he looks at her the same way. I mean, he’s a rhythmically-challenged dumbass, but I can’t deny he makes her happy—that’s the truly important thing. I ruined everything, and I know I’d never be able to make her feel that way. I think Rachel could really be the one, you know? I feel it in my bones, I’ll never be as happy with anyone else as I was with her… But it doesn’t matter. All that matters is Rachel won’t have a fuckup like me beside her, who’d just end up wiping her wonderful smile away.”

Jesse had to stop—his throat was aching due to the strain of putting one coherent word after another, of trying to talk as fast as his inner turmoil demanded. Tears were escaping his eyes and running down his cheeks and in his hair. He didn’t care that he was crying, though: he already felt like an utter failure, another embarrassing thing wouldn’t change anything. Besides, it was nice, having a friend listen to him while he moped and pined. Crying is good, right? It helps get the toxins and the sadness out, doesn’t it? A good cry and I’ll stop feeling like shit—

“Oh, Jesse…” Andrea whispered after a beat, and that shattered Jesse’s attempts at regaining his composure—he started sobbing uncontrollably, burying himself more and more under the duvet.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me that?” Andrea asked, softly. “God, Jesse, I wish I was there to hug you. Believe me, though, Rachel is right—everything she told you and everything she thinks about you is true. You’ve had a lot of shitty people in your life, but never for a second doubt that Rachel was sincere and saying things as they are. You’re brilliant and very talented, whether you believe it or not,” Andrea added, in a decisive tone that drew a wet smile from Jesse, “and no amount of Shelby or Ms. Tibideaux or your asshole of a father can claim otherwise. All that hard work and dedication… you do deserve the world, Jesse.”

Calming his breath enough to answer took Jesse a moment—his gratefulness to Andrea and his longing for Rachel were a killer combination, and he didn’t want to start bawling again.

“Thank you, Andy,” he finally managed to say. “I just wish I’d made fewer mistakes, you know? Maybe then I wouldn’t always feel like such a failure, maybe I wouldn’t be so lonely all the time and it wouldn’t hurt this much… I know things between me and Rachel probably won’t ever be mended, but gosh what I wouldn’t give to sing with her on a real stage, to have a partner that inspires me to be better and lets me share the spotlight with her.” Jesse exhaled shakily, willing himself to not cry until he had finished talking. “It’s too late now, though, and it’s all my fault, no point in denying that. I just wish for her to be as wonderful and captivating as she was tonight, forever—she lit up the whole place. I really hope I didn’t make an ass of myself with Ms. Tibideaux, and that Rachel’s dreams will come true. No, scratch that: I know they will. I just pray I’ll be able to get a glimpse of her happy as can be.”

Andrea’s silence at the other end of the line was almost deafening, but Jesse pressed on, feeling that he’d never have another chance (nor the nerve) to admit to it all out loud.

“Sorry for the rant, Andy. We lost Nationals and it hurts like hell, but it will pass—it’s going to be a nifty addition to the You’re A Failure pile, though,” Jesse mused, with a self-deprecating chuckle. “I have no idea what my plans for the future are going to be, after Carmel High parts ways with me. I guess I could finally try and go to New York for real. It’s just that, you know, seeing Rachel again really threw me for a loop, even after all this time, and I’m not sure why—”

“It’s love, Jesse,” Andrea interjected. “The way you talk about Rachel—you love her.”

Jesse inhaled sharply. Repeating that to himself was one thing, but hearing someone else say it so matter-of-factly felt real, definitive. (Scary.) “Hurray for me, then,” he muttered, at a loss for words to describe how his heart was ablaze, dismayed, and longing at the same time.

“I really hope you and Rachel will put your cracked pieces back together, Jesse,” Andrea said, sounding softer than she did at any other point in the phone call. “You both deserve a great life, and to have your talents shine—you and her alongside each other? Musical theater won’t ever be prepared, let me tell you.”

“Thank you, Andy.” Jesse’s eyes had filled with tears once again, and he’d once again buried himself under the duvet, in hopes of preventing the onslaught of painful memories he was sure would come. But it was no use—he thought back to Rachel singing, and a loud sob escaped his lips. Tears started falling freely down his cheeks and neck, reaching his hair and the collar of his shirt. “I wish. I’m not sure I believe that, but god, I wish.”

#glee #jesse st james #andrea cohen #fanfiction #pining #glee (tv)#my fics #i've finally written this after obsessing over the episode and this whole plot bunny for more than a week #the format is wwird and it's rambly but i like how it turned out #i needed to get it out of my system and to give jesse some much needed love #me

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rdmfavcpls · 5 years

Text

Title: Reversal

Category: Pokemon

Rating: T

Pairing: Soulsilvershipping (Lyra/Kotone x Silver)

Summary: Silver doesn’t care for Valentine's Day. He just goes by like the day is a regular day. He doesn’t understand the importance it has to young ladies like Kotone who are too scared to confess their feelings. He is confused over why Kotone rushed towards him, shoved a wrapped box in his chest, and then run away. Now, he can’t seem to find her.

Disclaimer: I don’t own any rights to Pokemon.

~~Story Begins~~

Silver ignored the sidewalk sides that told about special deals for those last minute Valentine’s Day presents. He paid no attention to men that glared at him because he was used to it from his father and from his father’s beloved organization high ranked members. He sneered at the girls who giggled or blushed as he passed by them.

He’s been mocked and downgraded by his father for too long to understand that the men were jealous of him because he was the Champion’s, right-hand man. The thought that the females were blushing and giggling because he looked at them would never enter his mind. He didn’t know that most of the young female population around his age (and some of the older population) thought he was handsome.

He was glad that he finally got to the Dragon’s Den and breathed in the stale watery cave air. He felt more at ease in a place that was isolated or not as populated. If he wasn’t at the Dragon’s Den. He was in New Bark Town which he found out to be surprised about that as well.

His time in New Bark Town was spent mostly in Prof. Elm’s labor at Kotone’s house much to his displeasure. It was mostly due to Kotone and Hibiki (mostly Hibiki with a red-faced Kotone) insisting that he should stay over and enjoy some warm dinner.

Silver wasn’t going to lie that he started to come over to Kotone’s house for the warm and delicious food. He did see where Kotone got her over affectional spirit from and it annoyed him to no end over their stupidity.

He walked down the first set of stairs when his name was echoed within the cave. He turned around towards the entrance and stared at the girl who called his name.

“Idiot,” Silver said. “You didn’t have to yell. You woke up all the wild Zubats.”

“I don’t think your Crobat will mind,” Kotone said. She ran up to him and stopped just an arm's length away. “I’m also not here to battle!”

“Please explain as to why you are here then,” Silver said with a glare. Within a blink, that glare was replaced with a look of surprise as the Champion and his rival shoved a box wrapped in red towards his chest. “What the?”

“Happy Valentine’s Day. IreallyhopeyoulikethemandIwillseeyouinaweek. Haha. WhoamIkiddingbecauseitisgoingtobelikeamonth. Iloveyou. Bye,” Kotone said so fast that Silver felt like he was at one of those auctions that her mother liked to watch.

The only problem is that Silver could never understand the auctioneer with how fast they talked so he had no idea over what Kotone just said.

He took a second to look at the box before he looked back up with intentions of returning the box only to see the tail end of her double pigtails leave the guarded cave. He looked back down at the box and examined it.

The box didn’t seem to be very big and it looked like someone had professionally wrapped the box in a red wrapping paper that matched the shade of his long hair. The ribbon on the box was simple, but it was of a silver color.

Wataru should know what this present is and why Kotone just ran away.

~~Pokemon~~

Kotone needed a place to hide. That was easier said than done with the status of her being a Champion but also she was a very sociable person and needed to talk to someone. She also had her pokemon to worry about.

Her first thought over a place to hide was the Ice Cave, but she would freeze there. Her Typhlosion could keep her warm and enjoy sliding on the ice, but she wasn’t going to freeze her most trusted companion.

She couldn’t hide at home because Silver was a constant visitor and Hibiki would not let her hide for a month. He would either trick her into going out if Silver is nearby or would tell Silver where her hiding spot was.

She has learned her lesson over not to tell Hibiki over any of her crushes again.

She had only two places left to choose from. Slowpoke Well and the old Team Rocket hideout where they kept the Director.

Thieves still lingered around the old Team Rocket hideout and the Slowpoke Well would be wet and chilly. There was also a storm that they believed was on its way and she really didn’t want to stay in the well in case it floods.

“Team Rocket hideout it is,” Kotone said as she brushed her hair out. She was going in disguise and that meant she would need to lose the pigtails that everyone recognizes her with along with not wearing her poofy hat or usual outfit.

“Okay,” she said. “I think I am ready to hide for a month.”

~~Pokemon~~

“It’s a Valentine’s Day gift,” Wataru said as he took a two-second look at the box that Silver held. “Have you never received a Valentine’s Day gift before?”

“So, this is just some store-bought chocolate,” Silver said with disgust in his voice.

Wataru laughed. “Kid, those aren’t just store-bought chocolates,” he said. “The wrapping of the present proves that. Kotone really did put some effort into the present. Wouldn’t that one boy with the Marill be the best person to ask about it?”

“Hibiki? She could have given this to me by mistake,” Silver said.

“Doubt it. The black heart-shaped tag clearly says Silver in silver marker. She wanted you to have this present. Maybe you should open it to see what she gave you first. This way you can start preparing for White Day.”

“What the heck is White Day?”

Wataru placed his hand over his face. “Kid, you have a lot to learn.”

~~Pokemon~~

It’s been a week since Kotone decided to hide before she was forced to come back out to the public because of a challenger who apparently couldn’t read the sign that said the Champion would be away for a month.

She was furious because the challenger couldn’t wait for her to get back in her usual attire so here she was with her hair down and wearing an outfit she got in Kanto when she visited last year.

Her anger vanished like an Abra when she saw who the challenger was.

“Silver?” Kotone said. “What are you doing here? There was a sign that was posted that stated I wouldn’t be back until the 16th of March.”

“Where is your hat? Why isn’t your hair in your stupid pigtails?” Silver said.

“I was on vacation,” Kotone said with her arms crossed. “And I would really like to go back to being on vacation so let us get this battle over with.”

“Absolutely not! You cannot just give me a box of delicious chocolates and then just vanish for a month!” Silver said. “This was the only one I could find you and I demand answers!”

“You can ask and I may not answer,” Kotone said and crossed her arms. She blinked a couple of times and soon found grey eyes staring straight down into her own in such a close proximately. “Silver what are -”

She was cut off aggressively by his mouth sealing hers. She had pressed her hands against his chest, but that he stopped that too as he grabbed her wrists. She didn’t care at that point as her mind finally processed that yes, the boy she has had a crush on since she saw him peering into Prof. Elm’s laboratory is indeed kissing her.

She wasn’t as experienced as Silver, but it didn’t seem like he was too concerned about it. Then again, she wasn’t so concerned about it with the way he seemed to manipulate her mouth against his.

Kotone pulled back to get some much-needed air and Silver seemed to be perfectly fine while she was a mess.

“What was that about?” Kotone asked.

“You need to explain more about this Valentine’s Day, White Day thing,” Silver said. “You also can’t vanish like that.”

“Huh?”

“Ya heard me,” Silver said. He looked away from her as his red hair matched the red on his face. “I’m from Kanto. We only have Valentine’s Day.”

“Kanto celebrates both,” Kotone said in confusion.

“Shut up,” Silver said.

Kotone smiled. “Okay, fine. I will explain both over dinner at your place.”

“My place? Why?” Silver said.

“Because then it will be considered a date,” Kotone said. “Now, if you don’t mind. I would very much like to go back to my vacation.”

“What vacation? Hiding in the old hideout?” Silver said which caused Kotone to freeze in her steps. “Those thieves that hang out around here are my friends. You honestly didn’t think I wouldn’t know.”

“I hate you,” Kotone said with an Ekans hiss.

“That’s not what you said a couple of days ago,” Silver said with a smirk.

~~The End~~

#pokemon #pokemon soulsilver #pokemon heartgold #Silver #Kotone/Lyra #Soulsilvershipping #Valentine's Day Special #only uploading two stories this year

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thegreymoon · 5 years

Note

Sorry, You didn't really say or do anything to make me think that you are Asian. I thought that I read sth in your lj where u said that you were and just run with it. It was a long time ago and I must have misread. Also, you don't really post a lot political stuff, it is more like I notice it more because when I visit your page I skip all Merlin related stuff and am interested in the rest so again my fault. As for my ise of imaginary- yeah, it was passive agressive, altough not intentionally so

… my bad. I rarely engage in political conversations online because it never ends well, especially when my views clash with 90% of tumblr users so I am used to combative tone and it was unnecessary.. As for SJW I am not sure if that is dissmissive term as it discribes the “movement” well? I am not native speaker and am aware that it can be used as derogative term, but was also convinced that it is used by people on the left if political spectrum. I asked you why you are mainy interesetd in USA because I was working under the assumption that u are Asian it seemed to me weird that a person coming from China/Japan etc would be championing social justice in USA when it not that big of a problem(or at all IMO) whie ignoring very real problems in their own country. But since you are not Asian and you post political stuff rarely you are right it is a silly discussion. The fault is completely on my side. I am allergic to these kind of stuff and you are one of my favourite writers so I exaggerated. Once again sorry.

As for the rest of your response: I also come from relatively poor country that was screwed over by both Britain and USA and many other countries, and I don’t agree with many of their policies (or most) but I don’t hate them and believe that as much as people like to say they start wars for the oil etc it is not really true. There are many political and global players and everyone single country is motivated by greed it is only that not every country can exercise their power.

Relatively they are not the worst, it is just that since USA tries to paint themselves as heroes they are held to different, much higher standards than other countries. To sum it up, I am not defending their foreign policies, they have done a lot of wrong and are shortseighted but I still think that are better than other superpowers that will soon take over like China or maybe India. Also, I don;t understand why would you include global warming in your answer?why do you believe it is their fault

I am trying to leave as “green” as I can, I am a vegetarian and I believe we should do everything to preserve environment, but I wouldnt want my country to sign any deals concerning CO2 emission as long as other countries do not do the same. Otherwise, they would just cripple their economy and not help the world? As for Trump(if you are still interested) I find him the epitome of self-important, conceited stereotypical american but still so much better than alternative and despite distaste. would still vote for him. Because he at least apppears to be anti globalist and has a much higher moral ground than Hillary. what are his SPECIFIC actions that you find so abhorrent? Anyway, what I alluded to in my message was not politics of USA but the social justcie issues, like support BLM or me to movement(I am not sure if you posted enything regarding that, so srry if I presume wrongly) which I find are absolutely not based on facts and despite that people still perpetuate that, and if u don’t agree you are racist and sexist. No arguments whatsoever. It is also silly to me when I see the posts about the West being this cesspool of sexism while honour killings or FGM is nearly a non issue on social media or racism when considering the West is still the least racist place in the world when you compare it to China/India/SA or any other place. So, I find the social media effort to be misdirected and controlled by emotions. Even the indigineous people issued you mentioned. Americans get so much shit for their history, while pretty much every single country that exist was created by conquering or displacement of the previous population(u just have to go far enough down the history). So, yeah wht happend to Indigenous people and dissappearance of their whole civilization is a great tragedy but not the first and unfortunately not the last in human history. Why are we hearing about it but not about Anuit people or Persian or Byzantians? it is so imbalanced. Ok, anyway, sorry for the rant it shouldn’t be directed at you and tumblr is definitely not the place for it. Sorry if I offended to you. As I said I love your writing, “DC” is my all time favourite fic, and because I creepely once read through all of your lj(including asks and responses) I(like an internet creep and stalker)liked you and thought you seemed smart, well balanced and knowledgeable so I guess I felt entitled to to make the ask. Wish you all the best in life.

No worries, I’m sorry I came off so aggressive in my answer. I did actually live and work in China for a while during my LJ days and it’s entirely possible I may have tagged myself as being there on my fandom profiles at the time. It was a happy period for me and I talked about it a lot to anyone who had the patience to listen, so it’s very plausible that you have read something about it on my LJ! I’m very sorry if it was misleading, but I was only ever an expat there!

I used to be a lot more open about my real name and real-life dealings in fandom communities, but that almost backfired spectacularly, so I locked down a lot of stuff because it could do me quite a bit of damage.

OK, I concede your point that if you remove the Merlin stuff, a lot of what is left on my Tumblr is going to be either me reblogging cats or raging about social injustices (oops) 😅

I’d just like to make it clear that I absolutely do not hate either the USA, the UK or any other country in the world. Like I said, people are people, and disgusting policies are disgusting policies and every single country is guilty of them. It’s just that some have a bigger impact and are more visible. My own country is a source of so much shame and anger for me, it far outweighs anything the UK and the USA could have ever done because it’s personal, but our nonsense is just not something that I come across when casually scrolling through Tumblr, so I don’t reblog it. It’s possible to love a nation and its people and still be critical of the evil they have done.

Also, let me just clarify that I’m bothered by all injustices and human rights violations everywhere, but usually there isn’t a post about them when I’m scrolling at 2 am at night that I can reblog. The USA is just… low hanging fruit, and let’s face it, from where I stand, hating on their president, the white supremacists, the Nazis, fundamental Christians, racists and the Republicans in general after what they have turned into is not hating on the USA, but rather cheering on the sane part of the country to get rid of this toxic waste ASAP. The same goes for Brexiteers in the UK and I am so, so sad for all the people that are going to suffer because of it.

Of course, I’m aware that China and Japan have issues and human rights violations that are mind-boggling, but again, they just don’t appear on my dash very often, or at least not in English or from a source I can easily fact-check. The Japanese and Chinese stuff I follow is mostly art, nature and pictures of pretty clothes. My knowledge of either of these countries is very superficial compared to Western countries, which impact me directly, so it really isn’t my place to appoint myself as a champion of human rights in the Far East when my own country and continent are a growing dumpster fire that cannot be contained.

On the subject of global warming, I’m not blaming the USA (entirely, because they, of course, played their part, but so did the rest of humanity). I’m enraged by their governing body’s rhetoric as of late, the denial of climate change, every single action that Trump took since taking office (such as withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement), him making ignorant, snide remarks in the middle of the polar vortex just days ago while people were suffering, deliberately sabotaging scientists and spreading dangerous, false information when each and every single country should be all-hands-on-deck if we want to avert a disaster of global proportions (especially with all the signs pointing to us being too late already). Nobody is suggesting that the USA should unilaterally reduce carbon emissions, all countries in the world must do it and develop the technology to make it feasible to convert to clean energy. And yes, the USA, China and other giants have to lead the way because they are the ones with the power! My poor, tiny country is not the one that can impact anything, so yes, the USA is absolutely more responsible to lead the way forward, but instead of at least moving in the right direction, Trump is deliberately lying and sabotaging all effort because he likes the money he gets from Big Oil companies, and he’s giving a platform to religious nutcases for votes, who think that there won’t be a global disaster of epic proportions in the near future because God promised Noah he would never again flood the entire Earth in the Old Testament. It’s not even the outright evil that is bothering me the most right now, but the mind-numbing stupidity.

I have nothing but loathing for both of the Clintons. They have caused so much destruction in my country and I do not want good things for either of them, ever. I will never pretend that Hillary Clinton is anything even resembling a good person because you do not reach that level of power by having a conscience, but at the very least, she is not a rapist and paedophile that the general public knows of (which is more than we can say for her husband, btw). Trump has no moral high ground whatsoever, IMO. He has done everything imaginable, from scamming charities (this was proven in court) to raping minors (see Epstein). He has no redeemable human characteristics and is not even intelligent enough to pretend that he does, which is at least one thing that Hillary has going for her. I’m not going to sit here and list all the reasons why Trump is abhorrent because a) it cannot fit in a Tumblr post b) I would be sitting here for years.

I will also not engage in discussion about whether or not BLM is a valid movement, ever. I don’t understand what you mean when you say it isn’t based on ‘facts’. Which, facts are in doubt, exactly? It’s based on multigenerational, still ongoing trauma and persecution of an entire race of people! I’m neither black nor an American, but I believe African-American people when they talk about the terror they experience on a daily basis in their own country. I have eyes and I have ears, I know plenty of white people and have insight into how they think because I too am white and have been raised with similar bullshit. I have lived in Africa for years and seen things with my own eyes. I will never not take the side of black people when they protest racism anywhere and I will never not believe them when they talk about police brutality, race-based violence and systemic racism in countries built on slavery.

Of course, I’m not saying racism doesn’t exist in other places and in other forms, but talking about one does not negate the other.

Also, I don’t understand the point you’re trying to make about the West not being sexist because other places have it worse? I’m sure I misunderstood this, so forgive me if that is the case. FGM is terrible, yes, but that in no way invalidates other types of gender violence that still ruins the lives of countless women. Just because the women in, say, Saudi Arabia have it worse, that doesn’t mean that the women here or in the USA should not talk about issues that directly affect them (and, btw, I have absolutely been outraged about Saudi Arabia and FGM and shared posts about both). All are bad! This is not a competition.

On the topic of you saying that America gets so much shit for its history, which you think is unjust, I have to mention that European settlers killed up to 95% of Native Americans in some areas in relatively recent history. Just days ago, I was reading an article about how they killed so many people, it actually changed the global climate! This is genocide on such a massive scale, my brain can’t even comprehend it, and yet here we are today, with Columbus Day and Thanksgiving as holidays while the surviving Native Americans suffer all kinds of indignity and discrimination, so no, I don’t think we are talking about it enough and I feel that America deserves all the shit it gets for its history. IMO, it is not getting enough shit! The fact that there are other issues out there that need to be talked about too and are being silenced does not in any way take away from any of this.

Anyway, let’s not argue about which country is The Worst™ and which human rights issues are more worthwhile than others because that is pointless. We already agree that all governments are corrupt, that evil happened and is still happening all over the world and that all human rights issues are important. I firmly believe that if they were to be evaluated by a psychiatrist, 99% of all high-ranking politicians would be diagnosed with serious clusters of antisocial personality disorders. Most of them would do anything and the only thing stopping them is whether or not they can get away with it. The remaining 1% cannot really do much and keep both their conscience and political power intact.

In any case, the last thing I want in life is to get into Tumblr discourse with LJ people, so how about we just put this behind us? Let’s agree to disagree on who is worse, Trump or Hillary, because that is a pointless disagreement, especially since neither of us is an American and this is getting out of hand. I feel like we are actually miscommunicating and talking about different things. We seem to be arguing different points, so all of it is coming off worse for both of us than it really should be. Also, I wish you hadn’t sent me this ask anonymously, because I now have no way of responding to you except publically, and Tumblr is seriously not a good place for this.

On a happier note, I’m very glad that you enjoyed DC! I’m very sorry for the extremely long hiatus! Unfortunately, I’ve been going through things that stopped me from writing for a long time. I hope that one day I can still come back and finish that story, in spite of everything! Have a good day/night! :)

*hugs*

#social issues #Anonymous #tl;dr

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perditaalottachocolate-blog · 6 years

Text

Akuma Fashion

Summary: Gabriel catches Adrien in an extremely peculiar outfit. Hawkmoth decides to investigate. April Fools crackfic. You’re welcome.

[EDIT: Sorry for the strange characters and no apostrophes but it’s tumblr playing a trick on me. This looks okay on my blog]

AO3 / Fanfiction.net

Gabriel found out only because he caught Adrien sneaking up the cavernous hall of the mansion. Despite Gabriel’s requests he was hunching and walking the crab walk of someone who wishes to become invisible.

‘Adrien!’ he called immediately, catching wind of something fishy.

His son shuddered and slumped even further. He stopped but didn’t turn around.

‘Yes, father?’ the boy asked looking at him over his shoulder.

‘Keep your back straight, I’ve asked you so many times,’ Gabriel scolded.

Adrien straightened up immediately. ‘Yes, father,’ he replied, his back now straight but still in Gabriel’s vision.

‘Turn around, son. It’s extremely impolite to talk to someone with your back to them,’ the designer pointed out, now looking for the reason his son was sneaking to his room.

‘I, um, I’m in a hurry, father,’ the boy’s face contorted in a lopsided smile. ‘I have a lot of homework!’ he squeaked.

Gabriel’s silver brow shot up high above his glasses in reply to this strange behavior. His son was really a poor actor. ‘Turn around,’ the man ordered, mentally slapping himself for wanting to follow it with “slowly”.

It was at that moment he noticed that Adrien’s overshirt bulged in strange ways and even if he stood straight, it still seemed a bit… well… hunchy. A random pun about having a hunch about the hunch crossed his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. Puns were now exclusive for his alter ego and he only donned the purple pants in the mornings, when Adrien was at school.

Adrien completed his turn and was trying to combine the impossible - standing straight as per request, and clutching the overshirt close to his chest in a clear attempt to hide whatever it was underneath. It seemed that not only his back was bulgy, but his biceps looked extremely weird and puffy. The boy cast him a quick look and averted his gaze to his feet.

‘I’m sorry, father,’ he mumbled. ‘Can I go now?’

‘What are you wearing?’ Gabriel barked.

Adrien’s eyes got bigger. ‘My usual shirt?’ he whispered.

Gabriel sighed. His son could be oblivious sometimes, he was well aware of that streak. It ran in the family. But he felt personally offended that despite the evidence Adrien still decided to play stupid.

‘And underneath?’ he pressed on. Really, what was the boy thinking?

‘My usual t-shirt?’ Adrien forgot himself for a moment. His hand went to his neck to rub it, like he always did when uncomfortable, and that was all it took for Gabriel to catch the glimpse of the real garment under the white shirt.

The designer cringed and gasped, for the first time in years rendered speechless by an article of clothing. And not in a good way.

At that point Adrien had realized his mistake. ‘I guess the cat is out of the bag,’ he offered a sheepish smile and pushed the overshirt to sides to reveal…

Well damn, Gabriel was a designer for years, participated in a ton of haute couture ridiculous weeks, but he still had difficulty with putting a label onto what his son was actually wearing.

It started as a huge bubble of red, covering his neck and chest, then turned into a smaller bubble of yellow at his stomach and another one, blue, at his waist. From what Gabriel could see, the same pattern was repeated on the sleeves. There was a large eye-like print in front and some dark tube like embroidery going to the back of the garment.

He couldn’t help but to stare until Adrien broke the silence clearing his throat.

Gabriel started. ‘Take the overshirt off, please?’

The boy did as he was asked and bashfully demonstrated another print at the back of the… thing… looking similar to a yellow bubble container. Finally it dawned on the designer what he was actually seeing.

‘Is it… a costume?’ he queried.

Adrien went back to rubbing his neck. ‘Sort of, but not really?’ he hesitated. ‘It’s just like a normal t-shirt just a bit… extra?’

Gabriel could only glare, but the boy soldiered on. ‘Everyone is wearing them,’ he said proudly. ‘This is all the rage now.’

Well it definitely was outrageous, if anyone would bother to ask Gabe. ‘Couldn’t agree more,’ the man muttered under his breath and then a nagging thought kicked him in the brain. ‘What do you mean “everyone is wearing them”?’

‘Oh, it’s this new thing,’ Adrien smiled, apparently taking Gabriel’s startled expression as a sign of interest. ‘It’s not only the Bubbler. There’s plenty of other akuma,’ he enthused. ‘I have Antibug too. And Pharaoh, and Lady Wifi, RogerCop and the Mime. Guitar Villain of course and…’ he paused suddenly, biting his lip.

‘And?’ Gabriel urged him to continue. ‘And who?’

‘... the Collector,’ Adrien mumbled shuffling his feet and once again effectively shutting all the designer’s systems down.

Gabriel’s brain was sizzling at that point. Someone was making akuma clothes? And not just prints on t-shirts, but actual costume-like clothes, as evidenced in the bulges on Adrien’s arms and chest. Someone was selling them? It was a new young fashion trend? Was it only young fashion? Why didn’t he see that coming? And so on, and so on, his mind was flooded with questions. The fact that his son out of fascination or loyalty or whatever else the reason was, bought a shirt based on his akuma was the proverbial cherry on top, which he decided to put away for further consideration.

‘I know it’s silly,’ now Adrien caught on his state and automatically started explaining himself, ‘and that I should wear our brand. But it’s so much fun I couldn’t stop myself,’ he reverted to rubbing his neck again.

Gabriel’s brain finally rebooted. He waved his hand dismissively. ‘I don’t mind,’ he stated gravely. ‘But I’d like to know, where did you buy them.’

The boy shrugged and evidently stopped himself mid eye-roll, ‘The internet,’ he said. ‘But they are sometimes available at local fairs and events. That’s where I got this one,’ he pointed to the black-eyed red bubble covering his chest.

‘Hmmm,’ Gabriel pursed his lips. ‘Thank you for this information. Now I believe you’ve mentioned a lot of homework. Don’t let me detain you.’

Adrien smirked and nodded, probably grateful that the interrogation was over, and rushed to his room, while Gabriel headed to his own study drowned in thoughts.

Someone was using akuma designs to create clothes and it irked him to no end. Haven’t people heard of copyrights, for heaven’s sake?!

Oh, right. Those weren’t Gabriel’s designs. Those were Hawkmoth’s. He couldn’t exactly use them in any of his collections. It would not only be risky, stupidly drawing attention to his brand and associating it with the akumas, especially with the whole deal with the book, but if he was honest with himself it would be also a tad unethical.

‘Nathalie,’ he paused his musing only to summon his assistant. ‘Please find out, who is selling the akuma clothes Adrien’s bought and get me all of them right away,’ he ordered and closed the door in her face.

He started pacing impatiently in his study, mulling over the whole affair.

But those are my designs, something at the back of his brain screamed.

Awful designs, his designer ego replied, wincing.

On purpose, to cover your tracks, the backbrain argued.

Really awful designs, the ego hissed. Cringeworthy, including the Collector.

That’s beside the point, the hindbrain replied. Someone is making money out of it, so they must be good.

Well, the ego stroked his chin, those are my designs after all.

And you don’t mind someone is using them without permission?! the back of his brain screamed.

It’s not like I can just go to them and ask them to stop! the ego now was doubly vexed, at the situation and at that hindbrain of his.

Why not? the backbrain droned.

‘That’s enough,’ Gabriel bellowed, slamming his fists into the wall with enough force to leave a dent. He earned a gasp in reply, as Nathalie dropped a pile of clothes she was just taking inside.

‘Sorry, Sir,’ she apologized automatically and started picking up the weird collection from the floor. She spread the garments over the miniature runway and left, casting him a worried look.

First thing Gabriel did was inspecting the materials. Decent quality, but not over the top. Of course, things like that should be affordable. The stitching was neat. The cut reasonable. Close enough to the akumas’ real look, but comfortable to wear. He was surprised at the variety of the items - there were t-shirts, tunics, shirts and even a Horrificator themed hoodie, with purple tentacles sewn to the hood above the embroidered three eyes.

He clenched his fists. A closer inspection of the hoodie revealed a tag with a trademark - a white and purple akuma outline, similar to what appeared when Hawkmoth talked to his champions. Apparently not only his ideas were borrowed, but also Nooroo’s. The little kwami wouldn’t get any recognition for his logo either, he thought and it somehow made him feel better that he wasn’t alone in his misery.

His rage cooled a bit. These clothes were not only decently done, but also inventive in design. True, it was inspired by his akumas, but neatly implemented into everyday clothing. And in a very creative way. Gabriel whistled in appreciation. He had to admit this wasn’t really a case of design theft, but an adaptation of the idea. Inspiration was a very accurate word here and as a fellow designer he couldn’t help but to admire the concepts.

An acronym “AF” caught his eye. Underneath he found the phrase “Akuma Fashion” printed in small font. He typed it into his phone and a quick search returned an address in another part of the city. Gabriel considered it for a moment. He was curious. He had been even before he got his paws on the clothes and now that he analysed them, he was itching to learn who was behind all this. But he couldn’t exactly pay them an inconspicuous visit as Gabriel Agreste without causing unwanted gossip.

He chuckled. That’s where having a masked alter ego came in handy. A quick transformation and a few leaps later, he was already nearing the arrondissement where the label was registered.

Hawkmoth sneaked through the backdoor to something he hoped was a workshop. A dark corridor stretched to the front of the building, and from the rooms on either side of it he could hear a familiar hum of sewing machines. He risked a peek inside one of them only to discover a few men and women in Ladybug aprons working on various items of clothing. Some designs he had already seen, but some were new. Curious, he glimpsed into some other rooms, careful to stay hidden in the darkness of the corridor. In every room he found similar set of machines and ladybug-apronned sewers.

He got to a stairwell and then caught voices from the upper level of the building. Silently he climbed the stairs, as the conversation on the first floor unravelled.

‘Well, it was Chat’s idea,’ someone giggled.

‘Oh, Bugaboo, it was just a joke that you turned into this miraculous enterprise,’ another voice replied smugly.

‘So both of you were behind this idea, I see,’ a third, professional but amused voice interrupted. ‘How does it work?’

This sounded like an interview. Intrigued, Hawkmoth halted in front of the door to the room that was the source of the voices. He listened, his curiosity finally getting the feast it craved.

‘It’s a social economy venture, we do not do this for profit,’ the first, feminine voice explained.

‘Everything we earn goes to the employees or is donated to public utility foundations of our choice,’ the second, manly voice supplied.

‘And the designs?’ the interviewer prompted.

‘Oh, those are all Ladybug’s input,’ the second voice stated proudly. ‘Turns out that the embodiment of creation has quite a creative streak in her,’ he murmured and there was a slight thwack sound, as if someone hit another someone in the arm.

‘Stop with the praise, Kitty,’ the first voice replied happily. ‘Some of those are your ideas.’

‘But it’s you who provides the detailed designs, my Lady,’ the second voice replied in mock offence.

‘Well, Ladybug, I must congratulate you,’ the interviewer was clearly pleased with their interviewees’ trademark banter. ‘I’ve spoken with a few people of Parisian fashion world and they all complimented the designs as being neat, modern, and well... ahem… cut to consumers’ needs.’ There was a pause and a male snicker was heard before the journalist continued. ‘They were all surprised you don’t want to take credit for them as your civilian self. It would definitely open many doors for you.’

Oh, Hawkmoth would most definitely open quite a few himself, including one trapdoor, Gabriel thought bitterly.

‘Thank you,’ the first voice - clearly Ladybug - replied. ‘But I’m not doing this for fame or portfolio or whatever other reasons. We just wanted to do something substantial for the public and at the same time lessen the stigma that comes from akumatization.’

‘So by making akuma clothes trendy you’re helping the victims?’ the interviewer sounded astonished.

‘We wanted to bring attention to the fact that the victims are innocent and shouldn’t be rejected or bullied, like we know has happened in a few cases,’ the second voice - Chat’s - explained solemnly.

‘And by redistributing the profits we make sure something good comes to us even from such disastrous things like akuma attacks,’ Ladybug concluded.

Well, that was quite a lot of information for Hawkmoth to digest. The idea was brilliant, the motivation noble. It figured the heroes would come up with something like that, he mentally spat. He resisted the urge to stomp and grumble something villainy under his breath, when he felt someone catching his arms and pushing him inside the room where the interview took place.

‘I found one, Nadja,’ his captor called from behind his back. ‘Is he any good?’ they asked pointing a finger to his suit.

‘Ah, this must be your newest design!’ the journalist, who now despite his horror Hawkmoth identified as Nadja Chamack exclaimed in surprise. ‘I think it’s your first suit? How unique!’ she delighted. ‘I thought you aimed at youngsters, but this… I could totally see a gentleman in a suit like that.’

Hawkmoth decided he liked this woman already. She babbled happily about his super-costume completely oblivious that her interviewees raised from their seats and reached for their weapons.

He wanted to draw his sword in reply, but discovered that nasty woman took it away to inspect “the craftsmanship”.

Well fuck, he thought, as the yoyo string wrapped around his arms and shoulders. He squinted at the end of Chat’s baton that stopped millimeters from his face, This is going to be an interesting afternoon.

In his hands, bound behind his back, a white butterfly flickered and turned purple, charged with magic.

#ml fic #perdita writes #akuma fashion #humor #crack #gabriel agreste #adrien agreste #ladybug #chat noir #hawkmoth #le papillon #akuma design #copyright

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clefaiiiry · 6 years

Text

Thanks to @tumblunni for beta reading :p

Companion to this.

Title: Clarity

Fandom: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl & Platinum | Pokemon Diamond Pearl Platinum Versions

Word Count: 5,265

Additional Tags: Friendship, Sign Language, Selectively Mute Dawn, Recovery Process, Implied Twinleafshipping, Japanese Names as Surnames

AO3 Version

“Only an idiot would go after him,” Barry had said.

It was unfortunate for them that Dawn had never thought highly of her own intelligence.

The pocket dimension (or the Distortion World as Cynthia had called it) was unlike anything Dawn could compare to. It was cold, colder than she was used to even after living her entire life in Sinnoh, but she felt no desire to bundle herself deeper into her coat. Even so, she lingered closer to Infernape than usual.

Gravity appeared to be inconsistent. Dawn had taken to using the tall grey trees that sprung up at seeming random angles. Some walls would pull her down while others would crumble if even the slightly pressure was applied. The swirling blue vortex seemed to be impossibly close and terrifyingly distant at the same time. She tried not to think about it too hard.

The air was heavy with dread, the faint cries of the Pokémon that inhabited this lonely place echoed through the empty space.

Infernape chirped as he clambered up a rock for better vantage of the area. The sprawling floating islands stretched for as far as Dawn could see. But she still couldn’t spot the Galactic leader.

[How hard is it to find one anti-social weirdo?] Dawn signed. Infernape shrugged.

The ground shook violently, a long shadow rose up across the two. While the tremors finally calmed, the shadows took shape. The huge creature that had torn open a rift as Dialga and Palkia were summoned. It took all her self-control to make sure she didn’t start shaking.

Why are you here, dear sweet child? It didn’t speak directly, it’s voice floated in the empty space from no discernible direction.

[I’m here to bring Cyrus back to our world,] she signed. The creature sagged.

A man like that has no interest in returning to the complete world. Why bother?

[Everyone deserves redemption.]

The creature’s body shook, as if laughing, though it remained audibly silent. Ah, that’s it? How utterly hopeless. Before she could argue, it swooped over her, curving around the floating islands with the grace of a Milotic.

He is closer than you think, dear sweet child.

The TV set in Rowan’s lab was about a decade too old to be in such a high-tech environment, but the staff had grown to appreciate the background noise. It was often left on the news, but anyone was free to switch channels with permission.

Barry had long since abandoned the samples he was pretending to look over as he gave his full attention to the slightly fuzzy image. A fake talk show host sat across the desk from Champion Cynthia Shirona.

“Thanks again for coming on, I’m sure you must be awfully busy these days,” the host said, his grin so wide that it almost split his face. Cynthia offered a pleasant smile in return and Barry almost believed it.

“It’s not a problem, we don’t get many challengers these days.”

“Why do you think that is, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Cynthia’s smile wavered for a moment. “I believe it is out of respect for the previous Champion. Miss Hikari only reigned for a few months and never lost a battle in her time as Champion. I feel as though I am not a suitable substitute, and many hope to battle her when she returns.”

The host leaned back in his chair. “Do you have any idea when that may be?”

After a moment of silence, she said, “I can’t say for certain, we don’t know enough about what happened to her to properly predict the outcome. But it’s been a year already and some are beginning to doubt that she may ever come back.”

The host tutted in pity. “We can only hope that Miss Hikari returns home safely.”

Static overtook the screen and Barry groaned, sitting up to tinker with the antenna.

“Need a hand?”

Barry glanced up at the voice. Lucas dropped to a crouch beside him and gave the TV a good whack. Barry snorted.

“You know that doesn’t actually work, right?”

But the image onscreen fizzled back to life. Lucas smirked. “Don’t argue with results.”

His expression faltered when he saw Cynthia.

“Miss Hikari’s family and friends are still grieving for their loss even after all this time,” she said, turning her attention towards the camera, “I ask for only respect from the people of Sinnoh.”

Lucas took off his hat and rubbed the back of his head. “Jeez, it feels like yesterday.”

“She was gonna be eighteen today,” Barry grumbled, though didn’t look up from the screen, “we always said we would go on a trip around Unova or Kalos or something...”

With a sigh, Lucas pushed to his feet and went to open a window. Sandgem Town was only just warming up after a particularly harsh winter, but Lucas had always insisted that the fresh air was good for them.

“I asked the Professor for a field assignment,” he said, lifting a box marked ‘For Oreburgh’ and passing it off to Kadabra, “he’s sending us off to Lake Valor for a week to look at how the Pokémon in the surrounding areas are adapting-”

“After Team Galactic blew it up,” Barry interjected.

Lucas shuffled awkwardly. “Well, yeah, basically.”

“Great...” Barry huffed as he pushed to his feet. When he noticed how Lucas was playing with his coat, he sighed. “I do appreciate the effort, but couldn’t you have gotten anywhere else?”

“It was the only one still open,” Lucas offered meekly, “And I thought it might be good for you to try and face some of this stuff. You can’t exactly avoid it forever...”

As much as Barry hated to admit it, Lucas was right. He’d already put off revisiting the lakes since Dawn disappeared; it brought up too many emotions he wasn’t ready to face. He hadn’t set foot in Veilstone City either, not wanting anything to do with the ‘reformed’ Team Galactic. He knew they were up to something, there was no way they would suddenly shift into a genuine energy company overnight.

“If that’s too much,” Lucas began, “we can start off in Sendoff Spring and work our way up.”

After a long moment, Barry finally nodded.

“So long as we don’t stay in Veilstone.”

Barry had only ever seen Sendoff Spring in photos. They really didn’t do the place justice. It had the clearest water he had ever seen. Goldeen and Magikarp gathered in small clumps, a rare Seaking or even rarer Gyarados poking their heads above the surface to make sure these humans wouldn’t cause any trouble.

Lucas was perched on Torterra’s back as he set up the time lapse camera, muttering to himself as he worked.

“We left a few gauges in Turnback Cave last time we were here,” he said as he rummaged through he duffle bag, “if you wanna go check on them.”

Barry glanced over to the Golduck who were sizing them up from behind the treeline. “Will you be okay by yourself? What about the buddy system?”

Lucas laughed. “It’s fine, I’ll be with you in, like, five minutes.”

Even with Lucas’ assurances, he left Empoleon to keep watch. He found himself regretting his choice of footwear as his trainers struggled to keep grip on the rocky slopes. He ended stumbling and landing on his ass. A pair of Bibarel snickered at him but a quick glare sent them scurrying back into the tall grass.

Everything Barry knew about Sinnoh’s mythology came from Dawn or Cynthia. He certainly wouldn’t go out of his way to study it himself; most of it was pretty dull to him anyway.

Flood lights illuminated the first room, the signs of archaeological excavation everywhere. Cynthia had recently given the go ahead for a dig so long as the local Pokémon populations weren’t disturbed. Barry clambered over the tools and pits, finding the gauges Lucas had been talking about along the back wall.

He had started jotting down the numbers when he heard a heavy, dull sound. Almost as if something was being dragged. Barry reached for his belt, fingers gracing his Poké Balls.

Carefully sliding one foot in front of the other, he creeped along the wall. The sound grew louder as he moved closer to a sprawling painting of the Lake Spirits until another sound made him jump to action.

“Help... Anyone...?”

Someone was behind the wall. Barry threw out Snorlax and yelled through the wall as loud as his lungs could manage,

“Stand back, I’ll get you out!” He whipped around to face his Pokémon. “Body Slam!”

Snorlax roared as he threw himself into the wall with all the force he could muster. The wall cracked and groaned. A weak yelp came from the other side.

“Again!” Barry yelled. Snorlax obeyed. The section of wall shuddered and collapsed, dust billowing up into the air and catching in Barry’s throat and eyes. He choked and spluttered for a few seconds, fanning his face in a meek attempt to clear the air.

When it finally settled, Barry climbed through the hole and squinted through the darkness.

“Hello?” He called, doing a full three-sixty-turn before he caught sight of bright eyes in the dark.

Luxray eyes.

He fumbled for his torch. His heart almost stopped.

Before him stood a girl, who hadn’t changed in the year she’d been gone. Not physically at least. Her eyes were wild, her stance weaker, leaning on her Luxray for support. Her scarf was hanging untied from her neck, her coat tied around her waist, but her trusty hat remained in place.

Luxray stood strong, her frame wary, weighed down by an unconscious man draped over her back. But Barry couldn’t find it in him to care about that.

“Dawn?” he asked slowly, easing forward.

Dawn’s tired face eased into a relieved smile. “Barry...” she sighed, her voice scratchy from lack of use.

And then she fainted.

The closest hospital was Veilstone, so despite Barry’s preferences, they found themselves sat in the hallway of Veilstone Memorial, twiddling their thumbs and trying not to panic.

Cynthia arrived about an hour after they had first check in, flustered and closely followed by Looker from Interpol.

“Somehow the press already knows that they’re back,” Cynthia said as she paused to catch her breath, “there’s a crowd of reporters outside wanting to know what the deal is.”

“Holy shit,” was all Barry could say.

After the third hour, Professor Rowan appeared, his expression unreadable. Looker finally let out a regretful sigh.

“I know emotions are still high, but I need to take a statement,” he said, looking to Barry and Lucas.

Barry explained what had happened, conveniently leaving out how he’d destroyed a potentially priceless wall painting when Cynthia was still present.

“Wait, I thought she was mute?” Looker asked with a frown.

“Selectively,” Barry explained, “it’s her anxiety.”

“Ah, I see...” Looker muttered as he scribbled down notes in his pad.

Cynthia cleared her throat. “What about Cy- Akagi? Was he... awake when you found them?”

With a shake of his head, Barry said, “No, he was out. Luxray was carrying him.”

“Their Pokémon are at the nearby Centre to make sure they haven’t suffered any ill effects from their time in the other world,” Lucas added.

She seemed a little disappointed with the answer, but said nothing.

Rowan seemed to notice. “Miss Shirona, would you mind accompanying me for a short walk?”

Cynthia exchanged a glance with Looker before she nodded. The two strolled away, speaking in hushed tones.

When Barry frowned, Looker said, “They used to be close. Miss Shirona and Mr Akagi. Grew up together I believe.”

“Cynthia was friends with him?” Barry’s voice dripped with disgust.

Lucas narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms across his chest. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly silenced himself.

It was the seventh hour when a doctor came by to confirm that Dawn was stable but still unconscious. She encouraged the boys to head to bed and get some rest. It was only then that Barry realised it was past eleven o’clock and his body sagged with sudden exhaustion. Looker held back to question the doctor, but Barry and Lucas headed for the Pokémon Centre.

As Cynthia had mentioned, there were a few reporters outside. Most of them had headed off when they figured out that they weren’t going to get any of the juicy stuff from staking out the joint. That or the hospital staff had forced them to move along. Only the truly dedicated or clueless remained and they tried to pounce on the boys for an interview only to be totally ignored.

The nurses at the Pokémon Centre handed over a set of Poké Balls once Barry and Lucas could prove their identities. Dawn’s Poké Balls.

“What about Akagi’s?” Lucas asked.

“Miss Shirona already came by a while ago and picked them up.”

Their room was basic, but they didn’t need anything fancy. Lucas was asleep in seconds, snoring like a freight train as soon as his head hit the pillow. Barry lay awake staring at the ceiling. He barely slept a wink.

It was about a week before Dawn was awake and lucid enough to accept visitors. Before they headed in, the doctor pulled them aside to explain the rules.

“Don’t make any sudden moves or loud noises, don’t mention anything about Mt Coronet, and do not tell her anything about Mr Akagi’s condition outside of ‘he’s fine.’ She is still experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety. If she goes into a panic attack, call the nurse.”

Lucas went in first, insisting it was better for Barry to calm himself down before he raced in shouting and freaked her out any more. He begrudgingly accepted.

While he waited, Looker appeared and sat beside him.

“I’ll have to head in after you,” he said.

“Doctor said you can’t ask her about what happened,” Barry warned. Looker sighed.

“I expected as much... But at the very least I want to see how she’s doing with my own eyes.” He reached down to pet Croagunk. “Akagi is still totally out of it. If he does wake up he’s completely hysterical.”

“Honestly? I don’t care if he gets any better,” Barry said. Looker stared at him with an expression he couldn’t figure out.

“Why do you say that?”

“You gotta forgive me for not having much sympathy for the guy who tried to destroy the universe and dragged my best friend through a wormhole.”

“My understanding was that Miss Hikari followed from her own will?”

“You get what I mean!” Barry snapped. “Dawn was always too nice for her own good! She thought that even something like... that can be forgiven. He doesn’t deserve her sympathy.”

Looker sighed, pushing a hand through his hair. “I don’t think she thought he deserved her help, but she thought he needed it.” He tapped his temple. “That’s the working theory, at least.”

“I’m doubting your ‘working theory,’ Mister Looker.”

“If you think that is questionable, don’t read any of the newspaper articles that came out over the last week.”

Barry had made a point of avoiding any news stations after Lucas noted that he would probably just get angry at whatever he saw.

There was a distinct click of the door reopening and Lucas poked his head out. He glanced between Barry and Looker with a frown.

“Is now a bad time?”

Barry pushed to his feet and made his way to the door without looking back. “Now is great,” he said as he shouldered past Lucas into the room. Lucas tensed, ready to bite back but he thought better of it and slipped out, closing the door behind him.

It was like a dream, from the way the light filtered through the window to how utterly defeated the girl in the bed looked.

In all the years he had known her, Barry had rarely seen Dawn looking so broken. The only other time he could think of was after her mother had locked her out one night in their early teenaged years. She had turned up on his doorstep in tears but refused to speak of it the following morning.

Dawn glanced over as he entered and gave him a fragile smile.

“I know, I look super weird without my hat,” she said, her voice straining as she spoke.

The only people she spoke aloud to were Barry, Lucas, and Cynthia but even then she preferred to sign when possible. Barry frowned.

“You don’t have to talk.”

She shrugged. “My arms are tired from talking to the doctors.”

There was a chair next to the bed, dragged over from the corner and battered from excessive wear and tear. Barry slowly lowered himself into it and offered a hand to Dawn. She took it and rubbed a thumb over his knuckles.

“I missed you,” she said. Those words broke something within Barry. His chest felt tight and his eyes stung as tears sprung up in the corners of his eyes. He reached up to wipe them with his free hand.

“I missed you so much,” he sobbed, clutching her hand like a lifeline.

With a soft tug, he found himself bundled into a tight hug. Dawn lightly stroked his back as he wheezed and bawled. His words stopped making sense as he rambled for what felt like hours. She never said a word, just let him cry and kept stroking his back.

Once he’d finally calmed down enough to speak properly, he pulled back to wipe his face. “Why... Why did you leave?”

Dawn blinked in confusion for a moment before the words finally settled and she looked to the window. She squeezed Barry’s hand.

“Giratina would’ve destroyed him if I let him go in there alone.”

White hot rage shot through him. “Who cares about him?! You could’ve died!”

Dawn jumped at his volume. He immediately recoiled with apologies.

“I’m sorry I just... I was so scared that I’d never see you again. That you’d just thrown everything away from some asshole who wanted to destroy everything.”

The air was heavy and cold, making him shudder. Dawn’s eyes were hard.

“You don’t know anything about what happened,” she said, her free hand tightening in the sheets, “you weren’t there. So don’t you dare try to paint this like some black and white issue because this isn’t like one of those dumb cartoons we used to watch.”

Her voice started to quiver in her throat, as if it were about to give out. “Why would I throw away my life for someone I didn’t think deserved a second chance? If he was as evil as you think then why...” She coughed and gasped around the words. “Why did Cynthia cry when she found out he was still alive? Why did Rowan look so relieved? Why would anyone care about a man if he were pure evil?”

“I...” Barry couldn’t form anything, his response dying before it could escape, “I didn’t think...”

“No... you didn’t think with your head. You just went with your heart...” She smiled fondly. “Like you always do.” It was her turn to cry. “It’s why you’re my best friend. But...” Her voice almost gave out with a croak. “I need you to trust me on this... Please, Barry...”

They were quiet for a long moment, only the foggy sounds of the city outside and the nurses roaming the halls punctuating their moment.

“Okay...” Barry hugged her once more. “I trust you.”

Over the next month, Barry dropped in to visit every opportunity he had. Between the short visitor hours and his job at Rowan’s Lab he could rarely spend more than an hour with her, but Dawn appreciated the effort.

“It’s not like there’s anything else to do around here,” she had said, “the doctors won’t tell me anything.”

The time spent in the hospital was either in her room or the rehabilitation centre. Her time in the other world had weakened her muscles and left her easily disorientated and her Chatot was left with her at all times to alert staff of impending panic attacks.

Occasionally her perception of reality slipped and she was back in the other world, clawing at the sheets and crying out for anything to cling to. Barry soon learnt that the worse thing he could do was the call the doctors. She seemed to settle faster if a familiar face was there instead of a looming stranger in a white coat. Not to say that they didn’t work hard to make sure her recovery was as smooth as possible, but there were a few areas in which Barry didn’t trust them as much as he trusted himself.

Whenever they met up, he tried to keep her updated on the situation outside but she could only deal with so much before she wanted to talk about something else.

Dawn tried not to talk about Team Galactic around Barry. Anything about them came from Cynthia or Rowan.

One day, about three weeks after she’d checked in, Barry noticed flowers on her bedside table.

“Apparently they’re from Saturn,” Dawn said as she reached over to readjust the arrangement, “or whatever it is he goes by these days.”

It took far too much self-control not to make a point of knocking them down.

Before he could comment, she had asked about how Lucas was doing and they didn’t mention Team Galactic again for the rest of the exchange.

With Dawn still under the watchful eye of the hospital staff, Cynthia had been turning down interviews from all angles. Interpol was hanging around, trying their best to be covert but everyone knew of their presence. It was enough to scare off most of the reporters, so Barry didn’t mind too much.

It was week four before Dawn finally got sick of not being told anything by the doctors and asked Barry to bring in outside goods. He started sneaking in snacks and newspapers, something Lucas didn’t have the heart to discourage.

“If anyone finds out, I don’t know you,” Lucas joked, but from the look on his face he’d been totally serious.

Dawn always accepted the papers with a mix of excitement and dread. Barry had purposely avoided sensationalist papers and she wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“What’s the worst one you’ve seen?” she asked, glancing up from the headline ‘Champion Hikari is expected to make full recovery.’

“Some folks from Kalos are trying to push the secret love affair angle.”

Dawn retched. “Ew! That’s so gross! Are you serious?” When Barry nodded, she groaned. “People are the worst...”

Barry shuffled his feet awkwardly. “How much do you know about...”

“About Cyrus’ condition?” Dawn sighed and folded her hands in her lap. “Only what Cynthia told me. That he’s awake more often but he’s always hysterical unless Cynthia or one of his Pokémon is there.” She looked down, brushing some loose hair behind her ear. “He asks about me a lot. He thought I was dead for the first week until Cynthia could get him to calm down.”

When Barry said nothing in response, she trailed off.

“Sorry, I know you don’t care about him.”

With a shrug, Barry said, “I’m trying this ‘empathy’ thing, but it’s kinda hard.”

Dawn laughed. “You’re trying your best and that’s what matters.”

Week five rolled around and Barry felt oddly apprehensive as he entered the hospital. Cynthia was trying to convince the doctors to let her move Cyrus to the medical centre at the Pokémon League, though hadn’t had much luck so far.

She was in a Holo Caster call when Barry spotted her in the lobby, foot tapping rapidly as she let out a huff. She hung up on the person mid-sentence.

“Jeez, what did that guy ever do to you?” Barry joked. Cynthia rolled her eyes.

“Another station wanting an interview. I’m gonna need a secretary at this rate.”

They made their way to the ward, exchanging tips on Roserade care when they noticed a familiar face.

“I thought you said you didn’t want to come by,” Cynthia said softly, reaching out to shake Saturn’s hand.

The young man was awfully stiff, his frame holding no strength. It was hard to believe he was now the head of the leading energy provider for Sinnoh. He took the offered hand through obligation rather than comradery.

“I feel as though I owe him a visit at the very least,” he muttered, “blame Mabel.”

Cynthia chuckled. “Fair enough, I’ll show you to his room if you wish.”

Saturn just nodded and trailed closely behind her, like a child making sure they wouldn’t lose their mother while out shopping.

“I’ll meet up with you later, okay Barry?”

Barry just nodded, watching until the two disappeared around a corner. He headed off to Dawn’s room.

“What do you mean I can’t see her? She’s my daughter!”

The doctor looked exhausted, the effects of this morning’s coffee having not yet kicked in. “She has explicitly requested that you are not allowed in to see her.”

“This is ridiculous!” Johanna threw up her hands in dismay. “You can’t stop me from going in!”

“Ma’am, we keep telling you that we can’t let you in.”

Barry hoped to sneak past without being noticed but the woman whirled round as soon as she heard movement, eyes focusing on him like a Mandibuzz.

“And you! How dare you ignore my calls! I have a right to know what’s going on here!”

“Please, Mrs Hikari, you’re making a scene-”

“Not until this little brat-”

Barry looked straight past her to the doctor. “Am I alright to go in?”

The doctor nodded. Johanna sounded about she was about to start sobbing. He paid her no mind as he pushed into Dawn’s room.

Soft music came from the radio set on her bedside table. She had managed to convince the doctors to let her keep it, even if it did have access to news stations. They couldn’t protect her from the outside world forever

Dawn didn’t look away from the window as Barry walked in, humming softly to herself. “Morning,” she said, stretching a hand out for him to take.

“Did you know your mom’s here?”

She scoffed. “How could I not? She’s gonna scream the place down. I can’t tell if she’s genuinely worried or just mad that all the effort she put into her precious protégé is gonna be for nothing.”

Dawn’s words held venom unlike anything he had ever heard from her. She had never been one to outwardly bad-mouth how her mother had raised her, that was Barry’s job. Dawn always found herself trying to excuse her mother’s behaviour, no matter the seriousness.

What had happened to her in the other world?

“Dawn...”

“I’m fine,” she insisted, waving her hand, “I’ll be fine, just...” She took a deep breath. “Give me a minute.”

The music from the radio drifted into soft piano, an old Kalosian piece that had been growing in popularity recently. Barry pushed up to his feet and extended his hand to Dawn.

“What...?”

“Come on, I don’t think we’ve danced since we were twelve.”

Dawn blinked once, twice, and reached up to wipe her face. She took his hand and slid her legs over the side of the bed. Physical rehabilitation had been going well but she was still shaky on her legs. After some careful manoeuvring, she perched her bare feet on stop of his heavy boots and let him guide her around the small room, swaying out of tempo with the music.

They didn’t care, both simply content to be together without having to worry about the outside world.

Dawn was released after two months, but only under the agreement that she would inform the doctors immediately if she experienced any issues and would continue to attend therapy sessions once a week.

Meanwhile Cynthia had somehow convinced the doctors that Cyrus was ready to be discharged alongside her. Either the doctors were just sick of her asking or just didn’t want to deal with him anymore. Barry was willing to believe both.

It was only after he and Cynthia went to pick them up that he realised he hadn’t seen Cyrus since the initial discovery in Turnback Cave. He wasn’t exactly on the edge of his seat to see the man again but accepted that it was going to happen whether he wanted it or not.

The lobby was strangely quiet, though Barry assumed it had something to do with Interpol. Looker hovered besides the two, Dawn excitedly signing as Cyrus struggled to keep up.

The agreement was for Cyrus to stay with Dawn on Route 229, but Cynthia would be arranging for a psychiatrist if necessary.

Barry had offered to take her back to Twinleaf Town, but Dawn had made herself very clear that she had no intention of going back.

[Besides, there aren’t enough bedrooms even if I did want to stay there,] she signed.

The Villa on Route 229 had barely been touched since the incident at the Spear Pillar. Barry and Lucas would drop by every month or so to make sure everything was in working order, but it otherwise stayed empty. It was far enough away to give them space, but close enough to society that they could seek out assistance if necessary.

Tension leaked from Dawn’s form when she opened the door. She and Cynthia went to pack away her things, leaving Barry with Looker and Cyrus.

“Interpol will be dropping by throughout the next few weeks to make sure you’re settling,” Looker said as he glanced to Cyrus, “and to make sure you don’t start anything. Nothing personal, just a cautionary action.”

Cyrus just nodded.

“Right then,” Looker fixed his poor posture and glanced to Barry, “are you sticking around as well?”

“For as long as Dawn wants me here, yeah.”

Looker smiled and opened his mouth to respond, but thought better of it and shook his head.

“Then, gentlemen, I wish you well,” Looker bowed his head, turned on his heel and headed out into the cool spring air.

Cynthia left shortly after she was certain everything was secure. Duty called.

“We’ll have another battle at some point to see who gets to keep the title,” she said as she summoned Garchomp.

[We both know I’ll win,] Dawn signed smugly. Cynthia threw back her head as she laughed.

“We’ll see about that.”

She turned her attention to Cyrus, who had been silent since they arrived.

“Are you gonna be okay? I can stick around if you want?”

Cyrus was still looking at his feet. He shook his head.

[If anything happens, I’ll give you a call,] Dawn signed.

With a sigh, Cynthia reached over to pat his shoulder. Cyrus finally met her eyes. “Don’t be afraid to ask for help. It’s why you’re here.”

Cyrus stared at her for a long moment, shoulders tensed like a cornered Pokémon. He remained strung high even as Cynthia took her hand away, turning to climb up onto Garchomp’s back.

“Have a good night. I’m not too far away if you need any help, okay?”

[I think we’ll be okay, thanks Cynthia.] Dawn smiled wide. [Have a safe trip.]

With one last look, Cynthia gave her partner a pat. “Come on, let’s get going,” she said. Garchomp chirped and took a running start before taking off, propelling herself upwards into the clear sky.

They watched until the dragon disappeared from sight.

#fanfiction #pokemon #pokemon dppt #team galactic #barry (pokemon)#dawn (pokemon)#team galactic leader cyrus #champion cynthia #ria.txt #my writing

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real-life-pine-tree · 6 years

Text

Seed of Darkness: A Cry for Help (5/?)

All it takes it one bad seed to spoil the whole bunch. An AU collab with @violetganache42.

With the Battle Royale just beginning, Yuya dashed through the streets and materialized Action Fields while keeping his distance away from the other Duelists. He was too afraid of losing control and becoming a demon again. Too afraid to even try to duel again. His fears were flooding his head as he continued to run and it got to a point where he started staggering a little and had to take a short break to think straight. He turned his head around to see if LID was far behind him, but all he saw was one big Action Field: Quartet of Quandry and it was provided with four distinct Zones: Volcano, Iceberg, Ancient, and Jungle. Yuya found himself deep within the Volcano Zone and not a single neighborhood street or Duelist in sight. He was all alone in what felt like a place where he can’t be bothered at all. Not sure what to do anymore, he ultimately sat down on the ground to think and vent about what happened.

Yuya took off his Duel Disk and looked at it. With tears seeping from beneath his goggles, he tossed it aside in a huff. He didn't want to see his deck again, not even if-

"Well, what do we have here?"

Yuya looked up, only to see two Duelists standing next to him. "Do you mind?" he asked. "I need some time alone."

"No need," one of the Duelists said. "This is easy pickings for the Bandit Warrior Academy."

Those three words sent shivers down Yuya’s spine and almost made his heart skip a beat. Just when he thought today couldn’t get any worse for him, more students that go to the same school as Iggy decided to show up and cause trouble for him. Because of that, his concerns weren’t eased at the slightest bit. Standing before him were a fair-skinned young teen dressed in yellow martial arts clothes named Taka and a taller, slightly tan-skinned teen dressed in blue martial arts clothes named Nagi.

"Stay away from me!" Yuya cried out as he got back on his feet.

"Not a chance," Nagi said. "We saw what you did to Iggy. After your duel with him, he hasn't been the same. Always going on and on about this thing called the Void... This is payback for apparently brainwashing him!"

"Now wager your Pendulum cards," Taka said. "We're challenging you to a duel!"

Realizing there was no other option, Yuya picked up his Duel Disk and took out Performapals Turn Toad and Cheermole. However, that only confused the two martial arts Duelists. "Not those Pendulum cards!" Taka said. "Didn't you pay attention to the Battle Royale rules?"

Yuya was too busy moping about his duel with Iggy and how he was too afraid to try to duel anyone that it must have sidetracked him from listening to the rules. One of the rules was the infamous ante rule where Duelists have to find at least two LID-manufactured Pendulum cards somewhere within the four Zones and must wager them in a duel. The winner then takes said Pendulum cards from the loser and repeats this process with the other Duelists. The remaining 8 Duelists that manage to snag the most Pendulum cards before the 24-hour time limit is up will move on to the next round to further determine the Junior Youth champion. But since Yuya wasn't in the mood to duel, he just wanted to sit out.

"I don't think he has any Pendulum cards to wager," Nagi realized.

Yuya let out a breath of relief. "In that case, we'll just take those two Pendulum cards you're holding," Taka decided. "They're still Pendulum cards, so it must count!"

"Fine," Yuya said as he activated his Duel Disk. "Let's get this over with."

Taka and Nagi responded by activating their Duel Disks and they all shouted, “Let’s duel!” …Well, Yuya was the only one who didn’t shout it since he was still saddened—as seen by the goggles still covering his eyes—and wished he would spend some alone time.

"Uh... I summon Performapal Hip Hippo in defense mode," Yuya said, speaking in an unexcited tone. "I end my turn."

Hip Hippo grew stunned from the statement and it made him confused on why Yuya would end his turn this early. He turned around to see the young teen standing still after he made his move with the goggles masking his eyes to hide the tears. Hip Hippo then wondered on why his ringmaster was so gloomy in the beginning of the Battle Royale.

"You call that a turn?" Taka asked. "How pathetic! You may have caught Iggy off-guard..."

"But we've seen how cruel you duel," Nagi added. "We know you don't show mercy to anyone."

"So we won't show any either!" Taka said.

"No!" Yuya cried out. "When I battled Iggy, something...took over...and caused me to lose consciousness! That... That wasn't me! Whatever happened during the final round, it made me too scared to duel again! Call this off before it happens again!"

"Not a chance!" Taka said. He drew a card. "You're not the only one who's got Pendulum skills anymore. I set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 5 Pendulumstatue - Purple Shield and Scale 11 Purple Sword!"

Pendulumstatues Purple Shield and Sword are both DARK, Rock-Type Pendulum monsters; Purple Shield is a Scale 5, Level 8 monster with 800 ATK and DEF while Purple Sword is a Scale 11, Level 2 monster with 200 ATK and DEF. Purple Shield’s Pendulum effect gives all Warrior-Type monsters that Taka controls 200 DEF while Purple Sword gives them 200 ATK. They also share the same monster effect: if one of them was Pendulum Summoned from the Extra Deck, a Pendulumstatue monster is added from Taka’s deck to his hand.

With his Purple Shield and Sword loaded on the Pendulum Scale, Taka is allowed to summon up to five monsters ranging from Level 6 to 10. "I Pendulum Summon Tsumuji the Earthwind Star and Arashi the Skywind Star!" he declared.

Tsumuji and Arashi landed on two of the monster zones and struck their battle poses. They are Level 6 and 7 Warrior-Type monsters with 2200 and 2300 ATK respectively and 0 DEF. Their attributes and effects are currently unknown.

"Purple Sword's Pendulum ability now activates," Taka continued. "So my two warriors gain 200 attack points each. Now Tsumuji, take aim and wipe out that hippo!"

BZZT!

Taka’s declaration for an attack set off an ERROR alarm on his Duel Disk that startled him. One of the rules to Battle Royale and tag-team duels states that no Duelist may attack until everyone in the duel has summoned at least one monster. Since this was Taka’s first turn, he won’t attack until his second turn, which would be the duel's fifth overall turn.

"Not to worry," Nagi said. "I activate the Action Spell Flame Ball! And just like that, 200 of your life points go up in flames."

The Flame Ball card materialized onto the field and, like the title suggests, shot out balls of flame towards Yuya that slightly lowered his Life Points to 3800. An average person would have felt this like it was just a scratch, but even so, it didn’t faze his mopey attitude at all.

"Nice one, Nagi," Taka said.

"Thank you, Taka," Nagi replied.

"Ready for more, Yuya?" Taka asked. "I'm activating the Spell Polymerization! I fuse Tsumuji and Arashi. Together, these two titans combine into one furious warrior! I Fusion Summon Fujin the Breakstorm Star! And Fujin's got an interesting special ability. At the end of a turn, for every Warrior-Type monster on the field, you'll take 500 points of damage! Now I think I'll turn it over to my partner, but not before he does some damage!"

Since Fujin is a Warrior-Type monster, he brought Yuya’s Life Points down to 3300, spelling bad news for him. Both Nagi and Taka have Warrior-Type monsters in their archetypes, and since he was going up against more students from Bandit Warrior Academy, he needed to get his head in the game and retaliate as fast as possible.

"Bad news, Yuya," Nagi said as he drew a card. "It's Pendulum time! I set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 5 Purple Shield and Scale 11 Purple Sword. I may have the same two Pendulum cards as Taka, but I'm bringing out different monsters to suit my style. I Pendulum Summon Todoroki the Earthbolt Star and Senko the Skybolt Star!"

Todoroki and Senko are Level 6 and Level 7 Warrior-Type monsters with 2100 and 2400 ATK accordingly. Their attributes, DEF, and effects are currently unknown.

"I activate my Purple Sword's Pendulum ability," Nagi continued. "Now my monsters get 200 attack points. Todoroki, get rid of that pesky hippo!"

With all three Duelists having monsters on the field, initiating the Battle Phase was now in effect. Todoroki bolted towards Hip Hippo and used his spiked bat to destroy it from the field. Since he was in defense position, Yuya didn’t end up losing Life Points.

Meanwhile, back at the optometry clinic, Yuto had finished his eye exam. The doctor said the same thing Zuzu and Yoko suggested: he clearly needed glasses. He had just picked out a pair with some help from his potential aunt based on what frames and color would look best on him and agreed on the light gray, rectangular ones because they match his eye color. As they waited for the doctor to give him the new glasses, they continued watching the Arc League Championship broadcast to see how Yuya was fairing.

But upon seeing the tomato-haired teen struggle, Yuto was deeply alarmed. "I have to get to him," he decided.

"You can't," Yoko explained. "Because the Arc League Championship finals take place all over the city, any passerby is ordered to stay indoors until further notice."

"But they're holograms," Yuto pointed out.

"That could still hurt people," Yoko added. "It's too risky to go out there."

"What about Yuya?" Yuto asked. "He's clearly upset about what happened during his last duel. I don't know who told him to repress his feelings, but it's not working. He's clearly going to crack."

Yuto wished he could go out and help Yuya, but with the Battle Royale safety guidelines in place, they have to wait until tomorrow to leave the clinic. He doesn’t want to sit and wait until it was over because what if he arrives too late? What if this demon takes over again like it did last time? What can he do without going outside? Just then, Yoko started to recall on what Yusho told his son when he was younger; when it came to difficult situations like this, they never forgot those words of advice.

"When Yuya was younger, his father told him that if he ever feels sad, he should just keep smiling and hope for the best," Yoko said. "And he should use that attitude to keep the world entertained and smiling."

"That's not a good method," Yuto said. "My girlfriend has a similar belief, but I grew up with a different method." He reached up to his chest to grab something, only to realize he only grabbed air, causing him to briefly look saddened. "My mom told me that you should never force a smile. If you feel sad, let it all out until you finally calm down. Real happiness come from within, so only you can unlock your heart and let your true smile shine."

In other words, he was taught to smile when you want to, not when you have to. He has treasured those words from Lono for a long time, including this was something that used to be around his neck. Much like Yuya, Yuto used to have a necklace with him ever since he was a child; it represented the memories that once belonged to his past self. From his fond relationship with his mother to the two days he first met Shay and Lulu, he kept that necklace with him at all times. Now that it wasn’t with him anymore, he felt like he lost his past connections at the hands of Duel Academy. They severed his life-changing journey with his friends and family; it has also been challenging to cope with the fact that his mom was dead, his girlfriend was kidnapped, and the Resistance might be crippling and barely hanging on as seconds tick by.

"That's why I have to go out there," Yuto said. "Yuya needs to learn when is the right time to smile and when is the right time to grieve."

Yoko was touched by the eggplant-haired teen's words. "Yuto..."

"Mr. Osaku, your glasses are ready."

Yuto and Yoko got up from their seats and walked over to the doctor, who led them back into his office where the glasses were its case sitting on the desk. He handed the case to Yuto, who opened it up before handing it to Yoko so that he could put the glasses on. Once they were on his face, he was surprised by how he could see everything so clearly again. He wasn’t a big fan of glasses because he felt like they look weird on him, which was why he avoided wearing them, including his old dark purple pair. But now that he has one on again, he was beginning to see that he overlooked them and was becoming convinced that they may not be as bad as he initially thought.

"How do I look?" Yuto asked.

"Amazing," Yoko answered. "I can see your pretty eyes much better."

Yuto felt a tug on his heart due to his mom once telling him a similar line. "Is there a mirror I can use?" he asked the doctor.

"Certainly," the doctor answered, giving Yuto a handheld mirror.

Yuto looked into the mirror to see the reflection of himself with his new glasses; sure enough, he could see just fine and had no problem with squinting. What bothered him, however, was the thought of Yoko bearing yet another similarity to Lono and could still remember that memory to this day.

”Yuto, I noticed you have been squinting a lot. Maybe you should get glasses.”

“Mom, I really don’t want glasses. They’ll make me look weird.”

“Oh, don’t be silly! Don’t you want the world to see your pretty eyes?”

Pretty eyes… Those two words kept ringing in his head as he continued to look into the mirror, noticing a small scar from behind his right ear at the same time. He knew it was when a piece of debris scratched him when Heartland Duel School was bombed. There were also dark shadows under his eyes, indicating all those nights of restless sleep during the Invasion. It was clear that Duel Academy attacking his home changed him, but what about now? With his new clothes and glasses, he no longer looked like a soldier. But he could worry about that later. Right now, he had a potential cousin to help.

"Yuto?" Yoko asked. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Yuto said. He gave the mirror back to the doctor. "But I made up my mind. I have to help Yuya."

"But you might get hurt," Yoko said, voicing concern.

Yuto took out his Duel Disk and strapped it to his left wrist. "I'll be fine," he said. "I have Dark Rebellion."

As Yuto readied himself to assist Yuya, the latter wasn’t doing so well. After Hip Hippo was destroyed, Nagi snatched another Flame Ball Action Spell to deal 200 damage and had Senko deal 2600 direct damage. With only 500 Life Points left, Yuya watched on as Nagi activated his Frontline Fusion Quick-Play Spell to Fusion Summon Raijin the Breakbolt Star, a Level 10, Warrior-Type Fusion monster with 3000 ATK, 2200 DEF, and an unknown attribute. His effect allows him to deal piercing damage to his opponent if it destroys an opposing monster in defense position, but Nagi had other plans. He chose to end his turn so that Fujin’s effect would deal a total of 1000 damage to Yuya, securing the win for him and Taka. Right as Fujin unleashed his effect damage, another blast of light deflected the attack, negating it in the process. A confused Yuya turned around to see Dennis and a lit-up display of his Performage Damage Juggler card.

Yuya was surprised. "What the...?"

"It's alright," Dennis said. "You can trust me. I'm a friend of Sora's."

"Sora?" Yuya repeated. "Then you're..."

"Shhh..." Dennis said, putting a finger to his lips and giving Yuya a friendly wink. "I'll explain later. Right now, you need to calm down."

"I'm fine," Yuya lied. "I appreciate the help, but I really need some time alone."

Dennis approached Yuya. "Oh, don't be so sad," he said, lifting Yuya's goggles away from his eyes. "Turn that frown upside- Oh..."

He saw two small puddles of tear-water splash onto the ground and Yuya’s eyes wet from those same tears. Worse, from a single look of the young teen’s face, Dennis could also tell that there was a strong mix of horrified and heartbroken emotions, surprising him. The duel against Iggy had left Yuya scared of this demon that might be possessing him and depressed from how something this bad would happen to the defeated Bandit Warrior student. This was going to be a real obstacle to cheer him up, but how was he going to do that?

Intrusion penalty. 2000 Life Points.

Suddenly, Dennis’ Duel Disk electrocuted him as half of his 4000 Life Points was deducted and he collapsed onto the ground, baffling everyone in the duel. Apparently because he was intruding on a duel without taking part in a separate duel himself, his Life Points were automatically halved.

"I wasn't expecting a jolt like that," Dennis remarked. "But I must call for a time out."

"What for?" Taka asked, annoyed with the interruption.

"Yuya is clearly not in the mood to duel," Dennis explained. He looked back at Yuya. "Now how about you snap out of that funk and get back to the duel?"

"That won't work."

All four Duelists looked up to the sky to see Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon flying towards the Volcano Zone where the duel was taking place. As it got closer, they all saw a figure sitting on his back, which Yuya immediately recognized him as Yuto thanks to his eggplant hairstyle.

When the XYZ dragon landed on the ground, Yuto walked over to Yuya. "Calm down," he instructed, placing his hand on the Performapal user's back. "I saw how you were behaving during this duel. You're clearly upset about what happened with Iggy. Just take a deep breath and let it all out."

Yuya was surprised. "B-But-"

"But nothing," Yuto interrupted. "You can't force a smile on your face all the time. Right now your thoughts have created a lock on your heart. I can tell how you're trying to force that lock open. You have to know when is the right time to smile. You're the only one who can unlock your heart and let your true smile shine." He proceeded to give Yuya a comforting hug.

Yuya was surprised by the hug. "Yuto?" he asked.

"Shh..." Yuto said. He gently patted Yuya on the back. "It's okay to cry."

Yuya was at a loss for words at this point. He wasn’t trying to force himself to smile, but simply wanting some alone time to get himself back together. Was what he was attempting to do an example of him smiling when he wants to and he never knew about it until now? If so, then how did Yuto even knew what he was doing in the first place by just watching him? Was he taught some kind of differing advice about smiling at a young age? Yuya wasn’t sure what to make of this, but…he felt something in his heart unlock as if it was now free. Free from all the built up sorrow and can finally let loose and escape.

Streams of tears started to pour down from his eyes again, faster than before. Choked sobs easily slipped out of his mouth after being held back in for what felt like forever. He threw his arms around Yuto and clutched his hands onto him as tight as he could; with the two counterparts being the exact same height, Yuya’s head rested on top of his XYZ counterpart’s right shoulder as he bawled all of his tormented, sorrowful emotions.

However, given how that scene was being broadcasted, everyone in the Center Duel Field was surprised. "What's this?" Nico asked. He quickly checked Yuya's dueling bio. "I didn't know Yuya Sakaki has a secret twin!"

Sylvio, on the other hand, was more suspicious. "Are you alright?" Julia asked him.

"It can't be..." Sylvio said. "I recognize that hair and dragon! That's who attacked me!"

Julia looked at the monitor screen and was shocked to see him again. Repressed memories were instantly unlocked as she remembered seeing him arriving just in time to prevent Shay from turning him into a card like the other LID members, including Professor Marco. At the same time, Sylvio was suddenly feeling these strange, raw, genuine emotions running through his body. He had a feeling that it was linked to the evening the lookalike showed up and felt completely guilty of accusing Yuya for attacking him; he truly was innocent all along.

"That does it!" Sylvio decided as he stood up from his seat. "I'm going to track down Yuya Sakaki and apologize to him for wrongfully accusing him of attacking me."

"You can't," Julia pointed out. "We're not allowed to leave due to the tournament's safety guidelines."

"Nonsense," Sylvio said. He strapped on his Duel Disk. "Besides, I have been meaning to test out this new deck I received from Leo Corporation." He fanned out his deck, revealing his new cards.

"What are those?" Julia asked.

"These are the Abyss Actors," Sylvio explained. "They were custom-made just for me, making them rare and powerful: a perfect fit." He proceeded to put his deck into his Duel Disk. "And this would be a perfect opportunity to give them a test run."

Julia let out a huff. "If you're that insistent, I'm coming with you," she said. "Someone needs to be your bodyguard."

"I really don't need to be protected," Sylvio said. "But if you really want to come, I won't stop you."

As Julia got up from her seat, she put her Duel Disk on her wrist as well and the two took off from the audience to head out into the citywide Battle Royale. At the same time, a few minutes had passed since Yuto’s arrival and he was able to successfully calm Yuya down. The latter’s crying had subsided and there were a couple of teardrops lingering from his eyelids. Surprisingly Yuto's advice actually worked. He was feeling a lot better. Smiling softly, he gave the Phantom Knights user a hug.

"Yuto..." Yuya said. "Thank you."

Yuto circled his arms around Yuya in another warm embrace while having a content smile on his face. He was glad that the advice he grew up with was capable of helping someone feel better. A few seconds later, two circles of light began flashing around the Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon cards as if they were doing some sort of communicating method. The two counterparts noticed this, so they separated from the hug and looked at the circles of light flashing from their dragons.

"Will you hurry it up?!" Nagi asked, sounding impatient.

"Oh, right," Yuya said. "Sorry. I draw!" He drew a card, which he decided to play. "I activate the Spell card Pendulum Call! Now I can call on two Magicians from my deck!" Two Pendulum Magicians emerged from the deck and he added them to his hand. "It's showtime! I use-"

He immediately stopped speaking once his eyes made contact with two rather unfamiliar cards: two Spellcaster-Type Pendulum monsters known as Xiangke and Xiangsheng Magicians. Xiangke is a Scale 3 Level 8 DARK monster with 2500 ATK and 500 DEF; his Pendulum effect enables Yuya to target an XYZ monster he controls and use it as XYZ Material by treating its Rank like a Level while his monster effect can target a LIGHT monster on either side of the field to negate its effects until the End Phase. Xiangsheng is a Scale 8 Level 4 LIGHT monster with 500 ATK and 1500 DEF; her monster effect can reduce the opponent’s battle damage from her attacks to 0 and can make a face-up monster on Yuya’s side of the field have the same ATK as her until the End Phase once per turn. Her two Pendulum effects can have her become a Scale 4 if the opponent controls less cards than Yuya and allows him to target an XYZ monster and a Level 5 or higher monster he controls in order to have the XYZ monster share the same Rank number as the Level 5 or higher monster.

Yuya has never heard of Xiangke and Xiangsheng Magicians yet there was something about their Pendulum effects that made him wonder about something. Was this in response to Odd-Eyes and Dark Rebellion lighting up? Upon closer inspection, he noticed how both effects involve XYZ monsters, meaning they must be XYZ support cards; to put it simply, it must be connected to the lights surrounding the two dragons. These effects were most likely labeled specifically as Pendulum because it must be showing some kind of hidden connection between the two counterparts; he wasn’t certain on what that connection is, but he was amazed to know how Yuto’s assistance was paying off.

"As I was saying..." Yuya resumed. "I use Xiangke Magician and Xiangsheng Magician to set the Pendulum Scale! I'm taking control of this duel starting now!"

With his two new Magicians loaded onto the Pendulum Zones, Yuya can summon any monsters between Levels 4 and 7; because Taka and Nagi control more cards than Yuya, one of Xiangsheng’s Pendulum effects doesn’t activate and she remains a Scale 8.

"I'm allowed to summon monsters from Levels 4 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuya continued. "Swing far, pendulum! Carve the arc of victory! My monsters are ready...to SWING INTO ACTIOOOOOON!"

A large replica of Yuya’s pendant swung back and forth in a pendulum motion past Xiangke and Xiangsheng as the “Pendulum portal” opened up and three trails of orange, purple, and red aura zipped out of it and landed on the field.

"Skim and skip, Performapal Skeeter Skimmer!" Yuya announced. "Flash a smile, Performapal Helpprincess! And last, but certainly not least: turn up the heat, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

He has been meaning to try out his new Performapal monster for a while and he wasn’t missing out on that opportunity. Helpprincess is a Level 4 DARK Warrior-Type monster with 1200 ATK and DEF. Her effect allows her to be special summoned onto the field whenever at least one Performapal is normal or special summoned except her and except during the damage step.

With Helpprincess making her debut, there was something about her appearance that made Yuto remind him of a certain special someone. He couldn’t stop staring at her long dark purple pigtails and adorable magenta eyes; additionally, when she saw him, she blew a kiss at him, causing him to madly blush.

"My god..." Yuto muttered, somewhat alarmed. "Why does that monster look just like Lulu?"

"But I'm not done!" Yuya continued. "Skeeter Skimmer and Helpprincess won't be around for long, 'cause I'm using them to build the Overlay Network! Flames burning bright, reveal her majesty in all her glory! Bow before the lovely supreme queen of all dragons! I XYZ Summon Queen Dragun Djinn!"

Trails of orange and purple lights from Skeeter Skimmer and Helpprincess had flown into the Overlay Network, which led to a burst of energy exploding from within it. This, in turn, led to the XYZ Summon of Queen Dragun Djinn being summoned right next to Odd-Eyes; surely, she will be of great use like she was previously, but hopefully utilizing her will have much better results when compared to earlier in the second round’s end.

"But wait, there's more!" Yuya cheerfully said. "Now, I wish to perform a new trick with Odd-Eyes and his fiery queen, but it seems she's not in the right attire. Luckily I have the right assistants. Xiangke Magician and Xiangsheng Magician, combine your magical powers and use your Pendulum abilities to give Queen Dragun Djinn the same level as Odd-Eyes!"

Xiangke raised his weapon-like wand and aimed it towards Queen Dragun Djinn, releasing a light blue circle containing a decagram and hovered it towards the target to turn her to a Level 4 XYZ Material monster. Xiangsheng followed suit by firing her arrow at Djinn and Odd-Eyes so that they will both be Level 7. Everyone knew exactly what Yuya was about to do.

"Now watch as I use both Odd-Eyes and his queen to rebuild the Overlay Unit!" Yuya continued. "Give rise to the ultimate combination of queen and subject: Flame-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

Fire encircled around the Overlay Network as it manifested itself into the body of a dragon. Different patches of flames dispersed to chronologically reveal the wings, claws, glowing scarlet eyes, and the entire body. With his mighty roar, Flame-Eyes Pendulum Dragon appeared onto the field; one might say that he shared some physical traits to Odd-Eyes and Djinn and they would be right. He is also a Rank 7 DARK Dragon-Type XYZ monster with 3000 ATK and 2500 DEF. His primary effects prevent himself from being destroyed from battle if one of the XYZ Materials is an XYZ monster. Also, if he was destroyed by battle or card effect from the monster zone, Yuya can target a card in the Pendulum Zone and special summon it. Third of all, by detaching an XYZ Material, a Level 5 or higher Dragon-Type monster or a Level 5 or higher Dragon-Type Pendulum monster can be targeted from either the Graveyard or Extra Deck respectively and special summon onto the field.

"Unbelievable!" Nico announced. "Yuya Sakaki is the first person to try such a trick! Not even the strongest XYZ Duelists have used XYZ monsters for an XYZ Summon!"

Taka and Nagi were surprised. "Hey, wait a minute!" Nagi realized. "This is nothing like how you defeated Iggy! Where's that Joker monster of yours?"

"Sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about," Yuya cheerfully admitted with a shrug. "I don't have any Joker monsters. Now I hate to do this, but Flame-Eyes is going to have to get rid of Fujin before I lose any more life points. Inferno Spiral Strike!"

Taka smiled. "Nice try!" he said. "But both of our monsters have the same attack points. You'll only destroy your monster as well!"

"That's not true at all," Yuya said. "Since I used Queen Dragun Djinn to XYZ Summon Flame-Eyes, he won't get destroyed."

Taka was shocked at the counter Yuya used; this new XYZ monster really has that ability? He looked up to see the two monsters duking it out and they were quite evenly matched. They landed their final blows, but thanks to Queen Dragun Djinn, she used her energy to protect Flame-Eyes. Although Fujin was destroyed, Taka didn’t lose any Life Points because both monsters’ ATK were 3000.

"That ought to take care of that pest," Yuya said. "And I do believe it's your turn, Dennis."

"Gladly," Dennis said. He drew a card. "I'll start things off by setting my Pendulum Scale with the two Performages Mirror Conductor and Plushfire! Time to begin my own brand of entertainment!"

Both Performages are Level 4 Spellcaster-Type Pendulum monsters, but Mirror Conductor is a Scale 3 with a LIGHT Attribute, 600 ATK, and 1400 DEF while Plushfire is a Scale 5 with a FIRE Attribute and 1000 ATK and DEF. Mirror Conductor’s effects both occur once per turn; its Pendulum effect allows Dennis to target a face-up special summoned monster and have its ATK and DEF equal to its current ATK and DEF (whichever is lower) until the End Phase—even if this card leaves the field—while its monster effect can target a face-up monster to switch its ATK and DEF until the end of the turn it was activated, but Dennis has to pay 500 Life Points if this effect was activated. Plushfire’s effects involve the destruction of Performages through battle or card effects; once per turn, its Pendulum effect allows itself to be special summoned from the Pendulum Zone at the cost of 500 Life Points if at least one Performage Dennis controls is destroyed while its monster effect involves a Performage monster excpet this card to be special summoned from the hand or deck.

"Now I add a little Spell card to the mix," Dennis said. "Pendulum Fusion! It lets me commence a Fusion Summon with my two Pendulum cards. Mirror Conductor and Plushfire, combine your powers together and reveal the true strength of Performages! I Fusion Summon Performage Gear Peace Giant!"

Performage Gear Peace Giant is a Level 10 LIGHT Machine-Type Fusion monster with 4500 ATK and 3000 DEF and looks like his Trapeze Magician if it was an Ancient Gear monster. It requires two or more Performage monster to Fusion Summon it and cannot be special summoned by any other way. It is also unaffected by Spells and Traps, but its third effect doubles battle damage if it attacks and destroys a special summoned monster. Dennis knew this card would be perfect to seal his and Yuya’s victory and he also doesn’t need to hide his true colors because of his new motives. It was practically a win-win scenario for him. Unfortunately, that monster drew in a bit of panic for Yuto.

"Wait a minute..." Yuto said. His eyes widened behind his new glasses. "You're-"

"I used to be," Dennis interrupted, knowing what Yuto was going to say. "But because of a tragic murder, I have a new goal in mind. Peace Giant represents my new image. Even if you don't trust me yet, you have my word that I will use my dueling skills for good."

"But you were still responsible for kidnapping my girlfriend!" Yuto pointed out.

"Not exactly," Dennis admitted. "But I'll leave you with this: beware the demon cat from Hell."

The demon cat from Hell? Yuya and Yuto looked at each other with confused expressions on their faces. Was it an actual demonic cat…or a dreaded Duel Monster? Whatever the case is, they decided to take Dennis’ advice and try to avoid it by any means necessary. Yuto was still a bit suspicious about what was going on, but there was nothing he could do about it except watch this duel conclude.

"Performage Gear Peace Giant, attack Raijin!" Dennis declared. "Ancient Magic Blast!"

While that was going on, a familiar ponytailed figure was standing somewhere in the Jungle Zone and watching a hologram screen projected in the air. Her soulless eyes were simply glaring at the screen with utter suspicion; there was something about Yuya and Dennis that got her thinking. Why did Yuya say he didn’t have Joker monsters in such an innocent tone as if he had no idea what their opponents were talking about? And how does Dennis know about her Cat Dancer - Reverse, or her 'demon cat from Hell' as he just referred to it? They clearly go to the same school…at least before it went “under new management”. Did he saw, heard, or learned what she did to the Professor? She scowled at Dennis, knowing she found herself a new enemy, and shifted her glance towards Yuya. Despite the different color scheme, his face was exactly like the mysterious boy she met when she was younger.

A lookalike with rather dubious claims about Joker monsters and a lingering Duel Academy student? She smirked as she took out her Cat Dancer - Reverse card. “My mission just got more interesting,” Celina stated as she stared at her ace before turning her attention back up at the screen. It had just changed to a broadcast of the Ancient Zone where Shay was dueling against three members of the Knights of the Duel Disk. She then walked away from the screen and deeper into the Jungle Zone, searching for more victims to give the gift of the Reverse, deal with Dennis, and see what this tomato-haired lookalike’s deal is.

"It won't be long now, my master," Celina said, referring to the Void. "Now is the time to strike." She pressed a button on her altered Duel Disk. "Hopefully that Truesdale Duelist will be perfect to launch the initial attack."

#Seed of Darkness #yugioh arc v #Yuya Sakaki #cardfight!! vanguard #Link Joker

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omgnsfwisnsfw-blog · 5 years

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Game #2: Gold Dust Woman

“We shut ‘em up, Church.We shut ‘em all up good. Let’s see anybody fuckin’ doubt us now. Because that was awesome. WE are awesome.” “And this is just the beginning, partner.” “Those belts’re good as ours.”   They were. Mike McGuire was absolutely certain of it. She was certain of more things lately than she had been in some time, to be honest. Certain that the woman she’d been seeing was going to pan out, maybe continue to blossom into a full fledged romance. Certain in the different sort of relationship that she was building with her partner, an absolute trust and faith that let her allow him to use her as a glorified cannonball without fear or even an ounce of hesitation. And, of course, certain that sooner or later, hopefully sooner, the seemingly mismatched and yet perfectly synchronized NSFW would be rocking some sweet gold around their waists.   Mike McGuire and John Bishop Church were, in fact, awesome. And so was everything else. High on adrenaline and victory, nobody could have told her otherwise. How quick things changed, though. It didn’t take long at all, and suddenly it all went from everything being awesome to hardly anything. In fact, through the course of a single evening, at least one of the things that she’d felt so certain of before was completely bust. The girl who’d seemed so lovely and charming the month they’d been together, with her glossy brown hair and teasing lips and body that was no less than ‘fuckin’ va-VOOM’… well, she’d turned out to have a whole ugly dimension to her that Mike simply couldn’t tolerate.   She hadn’t seen it coming, though. Not at the beginning. Maybe she should have, but she’d tell anyone that she didn’t have much in the way of scrutiny sometimes. Or maybe she was just thinking with her dick, so to speak. Either way, everything seemed absolutely lovely, right up to when they got home, her partner taking his leave and letting the two women have their alone time.   “Sorry the place is such a mess, Mel.”   “Oh, I don’t mind. It’s very, you know. You. Wouldn’t have your mark on it without the clutter and the eyesore in the backyard.”   She laughed. It was a sweet, melodic chuckle that totally drove Mike wild.   “‘Ay. I’ll have you know that eyesore is… alright, it’s a fuckin’ eyesore. But it’s great for what it is, and thanks to that ugly-ass ring, ya’ boy here is gonna be half’a the tag team champions one day. Then I’ll be rakin’ in the big bucks, get a ring that’s not ready to fall apart any fuckin’ second now, an’ hey, maybe I’ll even indulge a bit. Take your fine ass to Acapulco.”   She reached over, coiling a strand of Melissa’s hair around two fingers. The girl blushed.   “There’s easier ways to see me in a bikini, you know. But I wouldn’t say no to that.” She leaned into her girlfriend’s touch, her eyes flicking through the sliding glass door to the backyard. “But hey. About your partner…”  “Church? What about him?”   “Nothing, it’s just… doesn’t having that guy around make you nervous at all? Given his… you know. Reputation?” Mike pulled her hand away, her guts twisting a bit. It came out of nowhere, at least she thought it did. She didn’t like it at all. Whether she admitted it to herself or not, she was rather protective of her quiet, gentle-natured partner and this sort of thinly veiled accusation didn’t sit well. But perhaps it wasn’t intentional. Maybe Melissa was just protective in her own right. So Mike gave her a pass.   “Not at all. He’s been crashin' with me more’er less as long as you’n me have been seeing each other, y’know. If he was gonna do something t’ me he’s had more’n enough opportunity. Don’t worry about it, okay? I trust him. But right now, I’d rather focus on you.” And have you focus on me, if you don’t mind. Scooting her chair closer, Mike planted a kiss on Melissa’s lips- mmm, vanilla lip gloss- and gave it a signature with a light nip. “So. We got all night. What do you wanna do? Besides me.”   “Well, aren’t we presumptuous?” There was that laugh again, and again Mike melted a bit. Here we go. Just a hiccup. We’re good.“Hmmm. Netflix and chill sounds good. I haven’t seen you in way too long. I hope you can get a lighter schedule or something. I mean, I’d love to see you more than once a week or more. Talking to you is great, I just…”   “Knew th’ job was dangerous when y’ took it, I’m afraid. That’s the life of a wrestler. Travel all over and get home when we can. I know that ain’t ideal, but…”   “No, it’s okay. We’ll figure it out. I want to figure it out, because I want this to work, and- wait a minute. Did you say a bit ago that he’s been here for a month? This whole time?”   The irritation was really starting to bleed into Mike’s face now, her dark green eyes becoming slightly less soft. “Yes. I just said that, babe. What about it? Don’t start getting all jealous Janey on me.”   “I’m not. It’s just… you’re letting him stay here? Like, you know what he, I’m sorry, what he was accused of doing, right?”   “Mel.” Mike pulled back again, folding her arms. “For the love’a fuck, let it go. Okay? Please? Yes, I am aware. I have a TV an’ I read the goddamn internet. I know. And I told you, I trust him. Period. Can we drop it?”   She should’ve stopped then. It was becoming more and more difficult to excuse her girlfriend’s behavior. Protectiveness maybe, but why didn’t Mel just take her word for it? Why did she keep digging in? One more chance. Just one more. She really shouldn’t, but… yeah. Thinking with her dick. She glanced outside. The sunset was glorious, in its late stages. She could already see stars beginning to peep out. It was bound to be a romantic night. Mike forced the irritation out of her eyes, shoved it away like brussels sprouts on the dinner plate of her consciousness.“Hey. Netflix can wait. It’s gonna be a fuckin’ gorgeous night, you wanna go for a walk instead? Park not far from here, and this ain’t really a bad neighborhood for walkin’ after dark. Not that any fuckbucket’d want to test us with me around.” She smacked a fist into her opposite open hand with a dashing sort of grin.   “How heroic!” Melissa gave that laugh once more, and for the third time, it smoothed things over like bondo in a car dent. She had to be some kind of sorceress to be this bewitching. She set her hand on the table, open, and Mike took it, all but purring as Melissa slid her delicate thumb over Mike’s rougher one. “That sounds amazing. Perfect. Just the two of us, the moon, the stars, potential muggers waiting to have their teeth knocked out of their mouths by you…”   “Heh. I aim to please, babe. You like that though, don’t ya? When I rough people up.”   “Maybe just a little. I mean, I want to be with someone who doesn’t mind protecting a lady, and I’m more than positive you fit. I even like watching you wrestle. I’ll admit, it kinda turns me on.”   “You’re not careful, Mel, we ain’t even gonna make it out the damn door.” Melissa laughed her sweet laugh one more time, but then her gaze shifted toward the ring and its current occupant and something tinged into it. Something almost cruel. Mike’s heart sunk and she had a feeling as to what was coming. No. Please. Whatever you’re going to say, don’t. Just keep your mouth shut and let’s go on a walk. Let’s do the Netflix thing. Hell, let’s get naked and bonk like rabbits right now, let’s do anything, just don’t…   “He’s kind of slow, isn’t he?”   And the mood shattered. Or maybe exploded. All the benefit of the doubt, all the looking the other way that she felt sick that she did now, all the slack she’d given… Melissa just hung herself with it. It was almost was if a glamour had lifted and Mike was seeing the beautiful brunette for what she really was- something that wasn’t so beautiful at all. Her next words came out in a biting snarl.   “Oh, that is fucking IT.”   “What?” The girl looked absolutely incredulous, as if she had no idea what was going on. As if the grossness that had just bubbled out of her mouth had been said by someone else entirely and she was completely ignorant to it. The lack of accountability only made Mike angrier.   “You can’t fucking take a goddamn hint. I gave you two fucking free passes I probably shouldn’t have, and I told you to lay off my friend, and you wouldn’t fucking do it. Get out.”   Mike felt like she was going to vomit, and Melissa’s eyes went all wide and doe-like, flooding with tears, but she must’ve known there was no arguing with the enraged fireball before her. She got up and moved through the living room to the front door, Mike right at her heels. She reached for the handle of her car door- and then paused, whirling around and meeting Mike’s furious emerald gaze with her own.   “Why don’t you just fuck HIM then? You like him so much better than me, huh?” “Oh, fuck you. That ain’t what this is fucking about and you know it. You’re damn ugly, Mel. Maybe you always were this whole goddamn time and I just didn’t see it. Who TALKS about people like that? Really, what the fuck? I mean, you talk about me when I’m not around? Maybe tell your friends what a meathead I am, but shit, at least I’m a good lay? Broads like you make me sick, and I FEEL sick that you blinded me to it so long.”  “Oh, you’re so high and mighty. A regular foul-mouthed saint. Taking in the infamous ex-con. Bet you think you can fix him like one of your ca—“   “GET. OUT. I never want to fucking see you again. Go. Fucking NOW!”   “I HOPE HE STRANGLES YOU IN YOUR SLEEP, YOU BITCH!”   Melissa slithered into the car and slammed the door, peeling out of Mike’s life in the roar of an overtaxed gas pedal, her tires squealing so loud that the mechanic in Mike winced- not for the noise, but for the unnecessary wear on perfectly good tires. Standing in the driveway, all she could do was stare at the burnt-smelling rubber trail on the concrete, the whiff of exhaust hanging in the air for a brief moment before dissipating on the evening breeze. She sunk down, dazed, her knees landing heavily onto the grass of her front lawn. It hurt. It hurt so much. But a deal breaker was a deal breaker. Melissa had said such ugly things about Mike’s housemate, partner, and friend that no amount of charm, lip gloss, or bedroom skills could make Mike overlook it. She scolded herself for even letting it get to that point. But it was over now. Melissa was gone, and the illusion of Melissa that Mike had been so taken with had been gone even before the pretty girl had careened off. She really wanted to cry about it. But Mike being Mike, she didn’t. Instead the hurt blossomed into a white hot ball of fury, one that had grown bigger and hotter until she found herself wishing bloody razor wire dismemberment and eyeball thumbtacks unto her enemies. She channeled heartache into rage and rage into promises of utter insane mayhem- all things that Mike would be more than willing to dispense in her match if need be.   Still, she wished she could talk to somebody. But the only friend she had in close proximity- and maybe, she thought with a humorless chuckle, the only friend she had at all- was someone who probably wouldn’t understand such things. Not because he was stupid- Mike was absolutely sure that he was a million times smarter than her- but simply due to lack of exposure outside of, perhaps, written fictional medium. Twenty years is a very long time, after all.    Church was worried about her, though. She could tell. But Mike still didn’t divulge everything that was on her mind- why weigh him down with it? He had enough on his mind without her problems adding on to it. She just re-iterated that she was fine, it was nothing a good night’s sleep couldn’t fix. And so, wishing each other good night, they retired to their rooms.    At least, he did. Shortly after, in the dark, near the shed in the backyard, a small flicker of light could briefly be seen, followed by an even smaller ember staying aglow for about ten minutes until it too went out. “You ready for this?”   It was NSFW’s first official public appearance. Nothing major, really, just a spot at a local auto show. Honestly, more people were there for the hot rods than to see them. Still, there was a fair number of people beginning to gather around the table where they’d be doing meet and greets very soon. Everything seemed ready- neat stacks of 8x10s, sharpies at the ready by each of their chairs, security standing near their little curtained-off green room area, just in case. “I’m not sure. There is usually, you know a disconnect out there in the ring. This is face to face. One on one. I mean, you know what I mean.”   “I do.” She was keeping her tone low and quiet for a change- they both were. A curtain wasn’t exactly privacy-safe soundproofing, after all. But yes, dealing with their public at this close of a proximity was a whole different beast than having them separated by a barrier at least. Whooping and hollering at their exploits was way different than having them speaking directly to you. “Have you thought about what you’re gonna do about the rat situation?” John’s right hand fidgeted with one of the markers. “I haven’t seen one since the first week I moved in. The exterminator did a good job.” “Yeah, yeah, I know, I could be a better housekeeper.” She waved a hand. “What I mean is, the girls. The lay-deez. Let’s be honest here. You’re not exactly a bad looking guy. Far from it. The chicks are gonna be diggin’ on that. Plus, there’s the whole… mystique. Involving… stuff. They might be curious. People in general might be curious. About stuff you don’t want ‘em to be curious about. You’ve been doing good, Church, but I know there’s some shit you might not be ready for yet. So.” She breathes in, and exhales. “I want you to know, the second you don’t want to do this no more, let me know, and we’ll be done. I’ll be right beside you the whole time. I’m your right hand man, remember- I got your back. Okay?” He nodded and then looked over at the security guard standing in front of the entry point to them. “Let’s do this.” The signing went almost like a blur, person after excited person popping up for a picture, an autographed photo or hat, a handshake. There were far fewer questions than Mike feared, but she was as steadfast as promised, the occasional subtle squeeze to her partner’s shoulder offered for reassurance. She also was pretty tickled about how much of their adoring public was clad in their brand new merch. Hopefully they’d be getting a cut of that sweet sweet shirt money. What seemed to be almost as soon as it all started, it was over.   “Phew! Well, that wasn’t so bad. That’s awesome, actually. The fact nobody really asked about… y’know… means they didn’t come for that, they showed up ‘cuz they really dig us. Holy fuck. We have actual fans. This is fuckin’ SWEET. What’d you think?” “It’s a l-little overwhelming to be honest. They all seemed nice. Makes me think of when I started.”   “It oughta get easier with time. The more they get t’ see what we’re about, where we came from ain’t gonna matter. It’s what we do now, right in front of their eyes, is what they’re gonna love us for. I mean, how could you not love us? We’re fuckin’ awesome.” She gave him a big, reassuring grin. “And no matter what happens, I’ll be right here with you, cuz we ain’t like the rest of them. We ain’t one-and-one, we’re fuckin’ us. … Hey. Speakin’ of, why don’t we just do our thing here? Might’s well.” He nodded, and Mike fished her recording gear out of the small backpack she’d brought with her.  The camera turned on. In the background were a good number of shiny, souped up hot rods of all makes and models, along with people shuffling among them and admiring the slick paint and shiny chrome. But in the foreground? EWC’s hottest new tag team, a week off their first upset as well as just off their first official autograph signing.   “Say hey, EWC faithful! It’s ya boys, NSFW. And a special hello and yoo-hoo to fuckin’ Rob Garcia- just a reminder, we’re here and we’re coming for your ass. And your title. But first, we still have the two outta the Trinity to deal with. Hey, Church, I think you actually mighta been on to something before. I mean, don’t you think these guys have a weird dictionotomy goin’ on?” John’s eyebrows shoot up in confusion. “What?” “Dictionotomy! How they relate to each other. It’s freakin’ weird.” “Dicho…” John shrugged. “You’re right, Mike.” “Consider the following. You got Luke Wolfe, the Father. Xavier Reid, the Son. And Annabelle, the evil whatever. But she’s ALSO Wolfe’s freakin’ wife. So does that make Anna Reid’s mother? Does he gotta fuckin, y’know, eat all his veggies ‘fore she gives him dessert? Does he gotta ask her permission first if he wants t’ go outside?”   Clearing her throat, Mike does her best Little Lord Fauntleroy impersonation.   “Mummmyyyyyy, may I go out to play, Mummyyyyyy? Might I go out and wrestle with the other children, oh please, Mummyyyyyy, may I? Oh, Mummyyy, it was so lovely of you to pick me up from practice!”   At this point, for whatever reason, perhaps corpsing, John covered his mouth and turned his head away from the camera. Mike considered that a small personal victory, and could barely stifle her own grin at her partner’s muffled laughter. She cleared her throat, though, and a more serious look crossed over her face. “Kiddin’ aside, though, don’t think we don’t know what everyone’s sayin’. That last week was a fluke victory against a team with more restraining orders than wins to their name, and that folks with Anna and Reid’s pedigree are gonna crush us like the cockroaches we are. An’ it would sure seem that way, wouldn’t it? Thing is, my partner here has more brains than Lazarus has venereal diseases. He’s done his homework, an’ so have I, and we found out somethin’ mighty interestin’.” John looked at his partner with admiration and then nodded. “That’s right.”   “The juggernaut ain’t quite as jugger as everybody’d like t’ think.” “You see, first, on November 25th, 1989, the Son was born on a sunny day in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. And then in 2008, he became a pro wrestler. His first match was …” “Hold up, buddy. We go through these guys’ match histories, we’ll be here all fuckin’ day.” “But how, how are going to fill up air time?” Mike shrugged, and gave a glance to the variety of souped up automobiles in the background. “I dunno. I mean, we got extra time to kill I can always explain the full specs on every single car on the floor out here. None of which, might I add, are quite as fuckin’ sweet as my Alundra. But anyway, back on topic. You guys, as I mentioned before, got a pedigree. A nice record. But when it comes to tagging? You kinda suck, don’t you?” “And trust me, we aren’t about to give you folks a dissertation but I wanted to touch on something. He said something very peculiar. He said the previous tag tag champions, that they you know, ran off the division. Which is a funny thing to say to about his tag partner.” “Yeah, I mean, ain’t you big scary super talented guys got any accountability in that? Like, oooh, I ain’t gonna fuck with the big bad Legion, I’m outie? No? Nothin’ like that?” “Well, to be fair, they are the Trinity now. Same guys, minus a few. They are here to make their mark. But as Mike and myself can attest to, it comes down to what have you done lately. The Father is out making these grandiose sweeping statements. The ‘evil’ spirit is playing boogeyman in catering. And the Son, for all of the puffery he exhibits, he looked rather vulnerable when spent that whole night in New Orleans acting like he’s big league as the brand’s champion, bantering it up with special guests, and then losing to a kid nobody took seriously - well, until now.”   “So it seems you guys got a serious issue- ‘specially you, Reid- with maybe thinkin’ a little too lightly of the fuckers across the ring from you. Not to mention the fact that- heh. You got us all wrong. We ain’t no human interest story. We ain’t anything a fuckin’ crumb as shallow’s that. Hey, if somebody out there happens to like what we do, get somethin’ more out of it than just entertainment? Great, fantastic. More power to ‘em. But that ain’t what we’re about and it ain’t what we’re here for. We’re here for us. This ain’t no human interest story, this is a fuckin’ HUMAN story. We’re here and we’re fuckin’ real. No Spirits, Facepaint, or Wigs required.”   She bent down a bit, her glare direct, cutting, and dangerous.   “And by the way. Either of you fucks call me ‘Michelle’ again? You ain’t comin’ out of this match with all the digits you came in with.” John nodded in approval. “I mean for all you seem to ‘know’ about us, you can’t even get her name right.” The death glare suddenly became almost comically awkward. “Yeeeeah. What he said.” “But Mike here, she’s correct. Our opponent, well, we got something in common. We like stories. We liked to imagine different ways it could have all turned out. The thing is, a Wes Craven horror movie is a work of fiction. Just like the Trinity. The game that you all play is as old as time. Theater of the mind. But we see through that. You’re two human beings. Two talented athletes. Two professional wrestlers so lost in the fog that you can’t seem differentiate what is reality and what is … fiction. Mike, what I see is one man trying to run down a duo dedicated to the art of tag team wrestling. And later on, we’re gonna see what is intended to make our skin crawl.” “Yup. They’re gonna put some bass in their voices- y’know, if Mummy dearest even lets her Son get a word in, cue up the mood lighting and special effects, whip up some pyro, some lightning maybe. Be as fantastically creeptacular as possible, an’ it’ll look fuckin’ GREAT! Very scary, very convincing. But it’s just a horror show, that’s all. An’ Church and me, we’re a little old to be creeped out by scary movies.” “And you strip all of that fluff away, and what do you get? Something decidedly schizophrenic. No offense. One week, they’re out there waving the banner for the future. The next they’re all evil and gloomy. And then they are the bastions of good sportsmanship. Just who are these folks? Our opponent like to make assumptions on who we are. He likes to presume what I thought about, what I think about now.” John stepped forward and his voice raised. “Xavier Reid, you don’t know a thing about me. To dismiss NSFW as a little redemption story is your greatest mistake in scouting us. Mike hit it right on. We aren’t a Lifetime movie come to life. We aren’t here for redemption. We are here to take what is ours and you’re in our goddamn way.” There is a hidden but still fairly visible mouthing of ‘Nice’ before the redhead speaks again in earnest.   “So yeah. Come get us. Bring your accolades, your fuckin’ assumptions. Come up on us like you’re Nightmare on Elm Street. We’ll send you out looking like Troll 2.” One more devilish grin, and the camera feed cut out.  She’d asked to borrow the notebook on Annabelle. There wasn’t much to it yet- it seemed even her partner’s keen powers of observation were having trouble cracking the balls-out insane enigma that was the Undisputed Champion’s wife. Still, even a small whetstone served better than none at all, and Mike was armed with it, along with her tablet and a pot of black coffee. It was still daylight (despite being thickly overcast) but this study session could wind up going late. This was a big challenge. They both knew it. They were outmatched in experience and, perhaps, skill- what they had to their advantage, among other things, was their synchrony. When they were in that ring together, something hummed between them like a vibrating wire, a something that made everything they did work in harmony. They were true partners, not just two people in a tandem. They’d use that, and the complete lack of any sort of rules, to crush their oppo—   PLIT.   Mike looked up. A fat raindrop had smacked against the sliding glass doorway to the backyard, followed soon by another, and several more at a quicker pace. The sky was darkening quickly, not due to the incoming evening but by blackening clouds, and her tablet buzzed out an immediate thunderstorm warning. To be expected this time of year, she supposed- she was frankly surprised it’d been a dry week until now. Letting out a huff, she was about to go back to her studying, storm be damned, when something outside caught her eye.   “Shit!” There was a book laying in the ring, not unlike the one she had open in front of her. One of Church’s notebooks, likely full of hours or more worth of meticulous research. He must’ve been studying out there the night she and Melissa… nevermind. That part wasn’t important. If she didn’t hurry, the rain was going to get harder and even the leaves of the maple weren’t going to be enough to save it from a waterlogged demise.    She slid the door open, closing it again behind her, and jogged out to the ring as the rain grew more insistent, jumping up and grabbing the top rope, performing a rather impressive vault and landing in a roll, finishing with what could only be called a body slam on top of the notebook. Dramatic? Possibly, but when one is trying to save a mostly paper object from an oncoming storm, time is of the essence. She would’ve been rather impressed with herself if her focus hadn’t been singular at the moment- she was just relieved that she’d successfully retrieved Church’s notebook.   And then the heavens opened up. What had been a drizzle giving way to harder rain became a monsoon out of nowhere, drenching the woman to the skin all but instantly. She stuffed the notebook under her shirt and scrambled out of the wet ring, running in a strange hunched position. A bolt of lightning struck, what seemed all too close, accompanied by a huge clap of sudden thunder that made her shriek (something she would deny doing to the high heavens if asked about it). Mike could feel the electricity in the air, making the hairs on the back of her sopping wet neck stand on end. The house, along with the rest of the neighborhood, went dark, even as she whipped the door open, skidded inside, and sat back down at the table, panting and dripping. The notebook on Annabelle is pushed aside, the rescued one plopped on the table in its place. The cover was quite damp.   “Oh, fuck… fuck fuck fuck…”   What if the writing inside was ruined, despite her best efforts? What if all her partner’s hard work had been wrecked and she’d been too slow to save it? Shaking her hands dry and using her tablet for light, she opened the notebook to a random page, hoping she wouldn’t find a runny, water-spotted mess.   She didn’t. But she didn’t find wrestling related notes, either. What Mike found, instead, was something too fascinating to stop reading, even though she knew she probably should.   “I recommend you not take me through this, John…”

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humanintereststory · 6 years

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Game #2: Gold Dust Woman

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