#the only reason i stopped drawing kira a couple years ago

[danothan]

‪everybody give kira a big warm welcome back, it’s been too long‬

edit: new art blog is @toytle

#yoshikage kira #jojo’s bizarre adventure #jojo #jjba #diamond is unbreakable #danart #part4 #💣 #oh how ive missed him #rly proud of myself for making him not look white this time lol #the only reason i stopped drawing kira a couple years ago #and now i’ve improved and he’s back babey!!!

[fauzhee10069]

The Rock-Women, extinct or exist? (JoJolion)

This post is related to these posts:

JJBA Youthful Moms

The Biology of Rock-Humans

With the rise of youthful looking moms in JJBA, has Araki lost his ability in drawing 'old people'?

Araki’s evolving art-style

First, let's review his art-style and art-revolution in previous parts:

Part 1: Phantom Blood

I don’t really remember any significant old people here, so I’ll give it a pass.

Part 2: Battle Tendency

There was grandma Erina and Speedwagon in their 70s, both really looked their age.

There were also Straizo in his 70s and a 50 years old Lisa Lisa, as hamon users, they appeared younger than their age. Initially, Straizo looked like in his 50s and then in his 20s after he turned into vampire. Lisa Lisa looked like in her 20s, her youthful look had a purpose in-story and also got in-world recognition.

Then, there was also Erina in her 50s when she was holding baby Joseph, she really looked her age.

Part 3: Stardust Crusaders

There was this villainous villain named Enya Geil and she really looked old.

Then, a 69 years old grandpa Joseph really looked a granpa, despite being a hamon user. Readers believe that he rarely practices because he was lazy, but there is also wholesome speculation that he wanted to age together with his wife.

And Joseph’s wife, Suzy Q who is also a grandma looked old according to her age.

There was DIO who should be +100 years old, but just like Lisa Lisa and Straizo, as a vampire, he looked much younger than his actual age. Therefore, his youthful look had a purpose in-story.

Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable

In part 4, there was Josuke’s grandpa, Higashikata Ryohei at 55 years old. He did look like a grandpa.

Then, a 79 years old Joseph who looked very old and frail.

There were also Kira’s parents who were in their old age.

Part 5: Vento Aureo/Golden Wind

Just like in part 1, I don’t recall any significant old people in this story, but there was a Stand named 「The Grateful Dead」 with its terrifying ability to forcefully age people over a large area. Araki had drawn the aging too well.

Part 6: Stone Ocean

I don’t really remember significant old character but I know about the user of 「Dragon’s Dream」, a 78 years old elderly prisoner named Kenzo. He looked bizarrely old like Enya Geil. But I think this part could be the beginning of the aging problem for certain parent characters.

First, Jolyne's mom (whom sadly never named) didn't really look like a middle-aged woman. Although her age was never mentioned, I believe that she should be in her 40s or at least late 30s which should be her youngest estimated age.

Then there was Mrs. Bluemarine, left panel is when her son was still a baby then the right panel is around 15 years later when she confessed her sin. Not only her face remained unchanged (with no apparent aging), the hairstyle and dress are hilariously not changed.

And the meme of Jotaro ages backwards is not without reason.

Part 7: Steel Ball Run

This part also has a similar problem with the previous, the main villain of part 7, Funny Valentine (43/48) in his sexy form (late appearance) didn’t look much older than Johnny (19) and Diego (20), when he should have been more than twice their age, old enough to be their dads. Can you see their age difference on these panels?

But interestingly, Araki was also able to draw the differences in age and facial features of the two females (Lucy and Scarlet), as the former (the 14 years old girl) eventually had to impersonate the later. I also believe that the first lady Scarlet was in late 30s or in her 40s.

Then, there was also Stephen Steel who was around 51-53 years old and he looked his age.

Perhaps in this case, Araki just wanted to tell that Funny Valentine was older than he looked.

And now, we reached JoJolion (part 8) that likely suffers from the ‘youthful moms’ syndrome. So how did this begin?

The Middle-Aged Moms and their looks in JoJolion

Kira Holy Joestar

The first middle-aged woman to be introduced in JJL was Kira Holy Joestar, a 52 years old woman. Interestingly, she really looked her age, a middle-aged woman.

This early Holy also has similar facial feature with Scarlet Valentine

In fact, I think Araki did really well when he drew her as we can see the age difference between Holy (52) and Yasuho (19) clearly, a thing I highly praise because Araki did not rely using the frown lines on the sides of the mouth to illustrate the aging.

Hirose Suzuyo

Another woman that we can consider as a middle-aged woman is Yasuho’s mom, Hirose Suzuyo. Even though she is younger than Holy, being 44 years old can already be considered a middle-aged.

But together with Yasuho on the same panel, she doesn't look much older than her daughter. She basically looks like Yasuho’s older sister than her mom.

And if you prefer '43' to be the correct age of Funny Valentine, then it would make Suzuyo a year older than the president (in their respective timeline).

(Higashikata) Caato

Then this infamous gilf who rocked readers in her early debut and still being hyped by her supporters, (Higashikata) Caato:

Being 52 years old, she is the same age as Kira Holy Joestar, but her appearances and the fact that she already had a grandson makes the readers thought that her youthful look must have ‘a reason’:

Is she secretly a rock woman?

Is she a fusion of two people by Rokakaka fruit that caused her stop aging (an outdated theory from redditors due to her strange eyes)?

Will her attractive look signify that she will be the main villain (like Funny Valentine)?

Besides, during her family reunion, it seemed that Araki no longer bothered to make her distinguishable and significantly belong to different generation from her daughter Hato.

Though I think, there was a moment when Caato kinda look her age just like Holy in her early debut:

What is behind their youthful looks?

I think it is kinda unfair to think that only Caato who purposely looks youthful while disregarding the other moms’ look. Holy's first debut with her middle-aged look was in chapter 14, then Yasuho’s mom, Suzuyo even debuted earlier back in chapter 8 and she already looked attractive and youthful there. Only then did Caato made her debut in chapter 55.

Many readers also don't consider Holy's appearance during the Vitamin C arc, flashback where she met Josefumi and her son Yoshikage. The timeline at the time should be around 2010, because a chapter earlier (50), Yoshikage talked about Iwakiri, a baseball player who was taking a year off since 2009 due to an injury. Then Josefumi and Kira Yoshikage took action to steal Locacaca's branch until afterwards headed to a scene with Holy.

JJL chapter 51: Vitamin C and Killer Queen – part 2

In other words, a year ago (2010), Holy was already in her early 50s! And her face here definitely looks younger than her face when she debuted for the first time. We can argue that perhaps her older look in present time (her debut) was caused by her strange illness, as people who are sick often appear older than usual.

But in Holy's most recent appearance in chapter 92, she looks much younger than her age:

Her wiki page also agrees and has described her appearance that she still having her ‘youthful look’:

Holy Joestar-Kira’s wikia page

So, here is the breakdown:

Hirose Suzuyo (Yasuho’s mom)’s debut in chapter 8, aged 44, she is older than she looks.

Kira Holy Joestar’s debut in chapter 14, aged 52, she looked her age.

Kira Holy Joestar’s appearance in chapter 51, aged 51, she is older than she looks.

(Higashikata) Caato’s debut in chapter 55, aged 52, she is older than she looks.

Kira Holy Joestar’s recent appearance in chapter 92, aged 52, she is older than she looks.

The mystery is why Araki changed Holy's appearance from her initial debut? Why does she become younger than before? Did he do this on purpose or is this purely due to his evolving art?

The Hidden Rock Woman and The Red Herrings

What is ‘female rock-human’ in general?

They are indistinguishable from (carbon-based) female humans.

Their life span is ±240 years (just like the males).

They can be older than they look (just like the males).

They need to hibernate (just like the males).

Their gestation period is 6 months and give birth in the spring and summer.

They rarely (if ever) have affection for or a parental relationship with their children.

Their babies have an average body length of 28 mm and weight of 15 grams.

They can procreate with human males.

As Araki has brought up about the existence of rock-human females in chapter 99, coupled with the possibility of reproduction with (carbon-based) human males, readers have created various theories about them.

(Higashikata) Caato

The most popular theory nowadays is about “Caato as the rock-woman”. Since the beginning, this female character is often hyped as the character who will play a major role, mostly in antagonist side, be it as the main villain and (now) as ‘the rock-woman’.

I think there are a lot of made-up theories and far-fetched reasons created by her supporters, problems regarding the theory of "Caato as the rock-woman" have been mostly explained in my previous post:

Is Caato a Rock-Woman?

Even so, I myself have not dared to confirm that Caato can’t be a rock-woman. However, my post there was more to show how forced, flawed and ridiculous the theories made by her supporters. I am worried that this would be 'the case of bad writing' so I also hope that Araki would not make it happen.

But if Araki is going to make Caato a female rock-human in the future, I hope that he can provide a nice explanation with a story that makes sense and is not forced. Still, I think to make Caato a rock-woman will be the most complicated choice.

We never saw the signs of Caato as a rock-human. In her flashback, she had already behaved very different from the rock-woman, she was shown as a doting mom, she really loves Jobin and took care of him, in contrast to rock-woman who abandoned her newborn baby. She didn’t want Jobin to get hurt, she almost cried (see the beginning scene when he climbed a tree), she was very worried about him. Unlike the rock-women, Caato certainly has affection to her children. 

Then we’ve also seen how her children grew up like any normal human in contrast to the bizarre growth of the rock-humans:

We still don’t know what happens to the baby born from reproduction between human males and rock-women? A human babies, rock-babies or crossbreeds?

Then with the four children of Norisuke IV and Caato, we also have to begin questioning again about what Jobin, Hato, Joshu and Daiya truly are? Are they half rock-humans, fully rock-humans or just regular humans? The problem is: we’ve been following their characters and there is absolutely no hint that these four were somewhat different from regular humans.

If the crossbreeds are somewhat different than the normal humans, then Araki will need to further develop not just one, but “four characters!” to show how they slightly differ from normal humans. Then if Jobin is a half rock-human with Mitsuba as regular human female, is it possible for Tsurugi to be born then? This will also be a problem that must be resolved in the story.

As rock-humans need to hibernate, how is he going to show that Caato need it too? Or perhaps she is fighting it off? A Caatofag has theorized that she uses Locacaca to be able to do that, as her son Jobin has access to the fruit, this kinda makes sense. However, there are many plotholes in this theory that need to be explored.

The fact that Caato became a model prisoner and was able to perform the penal hard labor for 15 years should be contradicting the idea of her as a rock-woman, but a Caatofag uses Locacaca as the reason of why she was able to do that, because in chapter 32, Yotsuyu was able to cure the dog Iwasuke of the rock-disease by feeding it a piece of a it. But what about Aishō? The member of Damokan Group did not use Locacaca to fight off his hibernation, he still needed to hibernate and that was the cause of his break up with his (then) girlfriend.

Besides, if Caato fights off her hibernation to hide her status as a rock-woman, she should have done it since her marriage to Norisuke IV, as her (then) husband just found out about the existence of rock-humans after the death of Yotsuyu.

This meant that Caato should have used Locacaca long before she was incarcerated. Then if she already used it during her marriage to Norisuke IV, it should include the flashback in chapter 64 as well, when she cured Jobin of the rock-disease using equivalent exchange on Higashikata’s land. Why did she use her late mother-in-law’s method instead of Locacaca (which allegedly in her possession)? Isn't Locacaca the fruit believed to be able to heal the rock-disease?

Then supposed that the rock-disease that has befallen the Higashikata family is the result of reproduction between human male and rock-woman, Caato as ‘a rock-woman’ can’t be the cause because the disease has already existed since several generations before and had afflicted the daughter of the first generation of Norisuke (I), Higashikata Rina.

We have seen how Caato handled the family curse in the past (chapter 64) and in that scene we did not see any hint of her as ‘a rock-human’ and her relation with the curse. It will be convoluted and redundant to have Caato reappears as a rock-human and involve her in Higashikata’s family curse once again. In short, Araki will need a lot of build-up to make Caato a rock-woman.

Kira Holy Joestar

Then, there is Kira Holy Joestar. If Caato becomes a candidate for secret rock-woman due to her youthful look (and various wild speculations), then Holy also deserved to be a candidate for the same reason.

Unlike Caato, in which her knowledge regarding Locacaca and her connection to the rock-humans are still pure speculations, Holy is already closer to both of these things (Locacaca & rock-humans). She has done scientific analysis on Locacaca and also knows about the rock-humans organization (Head Doctor gang and Damokan Group).

However, making Holy a rock-woman is probably more impossible than Caato because she is a descendant of Joestar family with very clear lineage too.

Johnny is clearly not a rock-human while Rina, she could be a descended from a rock-human (if that is the reason for the existence of the ‘rock-disease’). Holy can’t be a full blooded rock-human, but she can still be a crossbreed or a descendant of a rock-human.

By looking at Joestar family tree, it is still possible to make Johnny's son or grandson to marry a rock-woman. The rock-woman could be Elizabeth or Suzie Q, but I am more inclined to have Elizabeth as ‘the rock-woman’, she could be a little callback from Lisa Lisa in part 2 with her youthful look and how Lisa Lisa was made to abandon baby Joseph in the past. This can also be a nice parallelism to the rock-women's nature in abandoning their newborn baby.

In addition, Holy as a descendant of rock-human/crossbreed can be served as a nice reason of why the Head Doctor gang used Holy as their test subject.

Unfortunately, unlike the rock-woman, Holy also has affection to her children, even to other children whom she did not give birth to. However, if the speculation is only limited to "Holy as a descendant of rock-human", then this is still possible, because her traits might have been mixed with normal human’s traits.

Another problem is that Araki also has to build up Holy’s children, Yoshikage and Kyo, that they also have to descend from rock-human. However, they are still easier to build-up than Caato's children, as Yoshikage is already dead and Kyo rarely shows up.

If Kira Yoshikage is descended from rock-human, then Yoshikage who has turned into Josuke will make Josuke (the main protagonist) a part of rock-human as well. This can be an astonishing parallel if both Josuke and Tooru (as the main villain) are somewhat rock-humans (suppose that Tooru will be the main villain).

The next problem is about the existence of rock-disease that has befallen to the Higashikata family. If the crossbreeding between a human male and rock-woman was the cause of it, why didn't the curse fall on Johnny's descendants? It only ever struck his wife Rina in the past. Johnny's method in 1901 might have succeeded in protecting his descendants from the curse.

Holy's illness which was initially thought to be a part of family curse is apparently the product of illegal experiment. Therefore, will it be possible if Holy is a descendant of rock-human?

Hirose Suzuyo

Lastly, there is also Hirose Suzuyo who is still attractive at 44 years old, despite being several years younger than Holy and Caato, her youthful look should also be a consideration as well.

I think making Suzuyo the secret rock-woman would be the easiest choice compared to Caato and Holy. Out of the three characters, she has the least development and this instead becomes her advantage.

Caato and Norisuke IV have divorced and this is often used as an excuse by supporters that their failed relationship was caused by one of them (Caato) being a rock-human.

Caato is not the only person who has been divorced, Josefumi’s mother Kiyomi and Yasuho’s mom Suzuyo have also been divorced. Therefore, Suzuyo could have the excuse that her divorce from her husband could be the result of an incompatible relationship between a human and a rock-human.

JJL chapter 71: Hairclip of the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 46 told that “95% of rock-humans are Stand users”, Caato and (allegedly) Holy are Stand users, but what about Suzuyo?

Maybe yes maybe no, but the way she dressed when she debuted for the first time in chapter 8 could be a typical Stand user’s style:

Thanks to her limited appearance, it’s not difficult to suddenly turn her into a Stand user.

The only problem is that Araki (again) has to build-up Yasuho, the main female protagonist as a rock-human descent, but is it possible?

There is one particular incident in chapter 94, as Yasuho has snuck into Higashikata's house, Jobin caught her and flushed 「Paisley Park」 down the toilet, breaking both Yasuho and her Stand’s body in the process.

JJL chapter 94: The Wonder of You (Your Miraculous Love) – part 11

Seeing how her body was in the process of breaking apart, some readers pointed out that there is a resemblance to the rock-humans' body while breaking apart.

JJL chapter 32 & JJL chapter 42

Others simply assumed that Yasuho's breaking body is the effect of her breaking Stand as well.

I am also more inclined towards the second opinion, in which her body is breaking apart simply because of her breaking Stand. But the interpretation of this picture is still free, so it would be easy for Araki if he suddenly wants to decide that the reason of Yasuho's breaking body is due to her being a part of rock-human.

It is also fortunate that we have not seen normal humans and their Stands break apart like Yasuho and her 「Paisley Park」.

Perhaps, making Yasuho a part of rock-human could be the reason why Tooru dated her. I've always felt there must be something behind this. Tooru as the person behind HD gang can't possibly date Yasuho without reason.

Even though they had broken up, Tooru is still eager to to rekindle his relationship with Yasuho, but chapter 97 proves that his reason for that was not simply that he still loved her. There must be something that he wants from her and will take advantage of her.

But back to the issue of the origin of the Higashikata’s family curse, if the crossbreeding is the cause, why doesn't it befall to Yasuho too?

Once again, it is fortunate that we got the flashback of Higashikata Rina as the female affected by rock-disease. She became symptomatic as adult, in her late 20s. Yasuho is a female and she is still 19, it is possible if the rock-disease had not yet befallen her (suppose that she is a crossbreed).

The real problem is that Suzuyo has also shown that she cares to her daughter Yasuho, again, the opposite trait with the rock-women.

JJL chapter 24 & JJL chapter 71

Though she is not on Holy's level… or the level of Caato to Jobin, at least she is trying to show her love to Yasuho.

Then how about her job? Being a single mom should have demanded Suzuyo to have a job to support Yasuho and her life. We've never seen what kind of job Suzuyo has, we've only seen in her debut that she brought a man home from a club. Was this part of her job as a hostess or she simply had fun?

In her flashback of chapter 71, we have seen Suzuyo who was currently receiving a call, was the phone related to her job?

Suppose that it was related to her job, “Oh really? Sounds exciting, I’ll write that down”… an idea? Or was it a new job offer? Freelancing?

It is very fortunate that it is still very hard to determine of Suzuyo's actual career, Araki just has to give her a career that is suitable for rock-human if he wants to make her a rock-human.

Crossbreeding and developing affection in rock-women(?)

Apparently, these three women share the same problems, that they have affection for their children, the opposite trait of rock-women in chapter 99. The mother who had more of a similar nature to rock-women is (actually) Kujo Kiyomi, Josefumi’s mother. She almost left a drowning Josefumi, though the guilt overcame her in the end.

JJL chapter 52: Vitamin C and Killer Queen – part 3

Even so, Josefumi still felt that his mother had abandoned him. Could it be that she abandoned him again after the drowning event and that’s why Josefumi had a lot of respect for Holy as his mother figure? Or maybe it was only to that particular moment, but it was so engraved on Josefumi's memory that he hated his own mother?

And also remember that Kujo Kiyomi has been divorced. Too bad we never saw her again in her middle-aged, but I believe that if she will reappear, she will have that 'youthful look' like any others.

Regarding Caato and Suzuyo, suppose that they are rock-women, it is possible that they may develop affection for their children as a result of their copulation with human males.

To be honest, I think that Caato's role is more of a comparison to the other Higashikata mothers, so it would be too much if she is a rock-woman as I explained in my previous post.

However regarding Suzuyo, I think that her efforts to take care and love Yasuho are like a rock-woman learning to be a 'mother'.

JJL chapter 24: Paper Moon Deception – part 2

Perhaps it is just me, but Suzuyo’s response in that scene is a bit weird. She offered Yasuho to cook for her while playing video games, something that pretty normal in family dynamic. But then, Yasuho declined and said she was just going to go out again. Annoyed by her daughter response, she brought up Yasuho’s annoying attitude and likened her to her ex-husband (Yasuho’s father).

When Yasuho remarked that she was in a rush and didn’t have a time to be lectured her, Suzuyo out-of-nowhere brought up whether she wasn't motherly to Yasuho, something that I think was not quite related in a conflict. Because I have also experienced a similar conflict with my mother, but she wouldn't suddenly bring up of her being motherly and just straightly scolded me.

It was as if she said that “I’m trying to be a good mother for you, because I’m not like the other rock-women out there.”

JJL chapter 71: Hairclip of the Qing Dynasty

Her bad-mouthing her ex-husband (Yasuho’s dad) felt like she was trying to keep Yasuho away from her father. Besides, her words also indicate possessiveness towards her daughter.

Rock-humans in general have little to no relationship with their children, unlike (carbon-based) humans. So maybe Suzuyo is trying hard to get close to her daughter Yasuho while trying to keep her away from her father, because (perhaps) in her perspective, a close relationship between fellow humans will always be easier to achieve compared to the rock-humans.

Conclusion

At first I thought that ‘the youthful moms’ in JoJolion is just a deliberate artistic choice on behalf of Araki to make the characters more attractive, but what if it turns out to have a purpose?

Added with the recent chapter (99) which hinted the existence of rock-women, what if Araki wanted to make us wonder, is it true that currently there is a rock-woman among his characters? Which one?

I don't know why but I feel that possibility may lie in some middle-aged mother characters that look younger than their actual age. I also became suspicious, why Araki changed Holy’s appearance in chapter 92, that she significantly looks younger than when she debuted?

Especially with the reemergence of the theory about Caato as a rock-woman which becomes popular once again.

Of course I am more certain that a rock-woman will appear in the form of a flashback which will explain the origin of Higashikata’s family curse. It would also fit into the plausible theory of ‘reproduction’ that has been created by u/Mamezuku on reddit. But what if a rock-woman would appear in the present time as well? Who is she? Will it be Caato?

Of the three candidates I suspect, Caato will be the most difficult choice and requires a lot of build-up (and possibly retconing here and there). Holy highly unlikely will be a full blooded rock-woman, but it’s possible to make her a descendant of a rock-human and the build-up will be slightly easier. Suzuyo (Yasuho’s mom) will be an unexpected choice but she will be the easiest and least complicated to be built-up, the only big challenge is about the build-up of her daughter Yasuho as a crossbreed.

#jojo's bizarre adventure #jojolion #rock humans jojo #suzuyo hirose #holy joestar #kaato higashikata #jojo meta #jjba part 8 #art evolution #kira holy joestar #kiyomi kujo #jojo's bizarre analysis #rock women #jjba meta #holy joestar kira #caato

[lailannajacobs]

Heart to a Gunfight - Chapter One

Pairing: Bucky X fem!reader

Summary: You didn’t want to help Bucky Barnes make it through the party by pretending to be his fake girlfriend, after all, you had just met him. You also didn’t plan on the charade lasting as long as it did. 

Warnings: All fluff! 

Word Count: 3k 

A/N: Getting really excited about this series! If I wasn’t swamped with school, I’d have the parts out much faster! I’d love to know what you think, tags for this series are always open! <3 

Links are in my masterlist! 

Previously: 

“Can someone tell me who that is?” You interrupted, your voice equally as low as theirs.

“That’s Bucky’s ex-fiancé” Steve tore his attention away form his friend, a somber look in his eyes, “She left him at the alter two years ago and he hasn’t seen her since.”

Heart to a Gunfight | Chapter One

“What?” You demanded, craning your neck to get a better look at Bucky and Kira conversing at the far end of the yard.

“I said she’s his ex-fiancé” Peggy repeated, a sour look on her face.

Although you had to admit that the two of them had probably made a stunning couple when they were together, it was hard to get past the look of pain - or constipation - on Bucky’s face. You had only just met him, but it was clear to everyone around that he was in no way enjoying the conversation he was having.

“I can’t believe it…”

“He wasn’t expecting it either. It completely blindsided him. If she’s here to tell him that she’s made a mistake…” Peggy chewed her bottom lip, brows furrowed, “I know exactly what I would say, but I doubt he’ll make the same call.”

You were about to ask her for more details when Kira stuck out a hand, flashing a massive rock on her finger and knocking all the words from your mouth.

“Is that her left hand?” Steve squinted, practically leaning over Peggy to get a better look.

Peggy nodded and you all watched, unable to say anything else. It was like watching a train wreck knowing everything would only get worse. And it did when a square, clean cut, doctor looking type stepped up beside Kira and wrapped an arm around her waist before extending his hand to greet Bucky. The stranger might not have looked anything like Bucky, but there was no denying that she had found a man equally as handsome. But where Bucky was all dark hair, sharp edges and chaos, the man was light, softness and calm.

“She’s going to crush him all over again.” Steve managed through his clenched jaw.

You looked from your friends to Bucky and then back again. Peggy looked like she was about to murder someone, Steve looked no calmer, and Bucky…well he looked absolutely miserable. Anyone could see it, especially the ex-fiancé and the man she had clearly brought with her to flaunt how much better her life had become.

“I’m going over there.” Steve declared.

He was about to slip away when Peggy stopped him with a hand on his arm, “You’ll only make things worse. The only way she wouldn’t have looked so smug is if he had come with a date. You going over to save him isn’t going to change that.”

Steve didn’t seem to like it, but he stayed put, searching the party around him, and refusing to admit defeat. His man was stranded and there was nothing he wouldn’t do to get him out. Then his eyes zeroed in on you.

“(y/n)”

“Steve?” His name came out tentatively, wary of the crazed look in his eyes.

He raised a brow, waiting for you to catch onto his plan.

It didn’t take long, and you shook your head vigorously, unable to stop, “No. Nope. Nada. Absolutely not. I’m not getting involved!”

“Please!” Steve begged, eyes wide and hopeful, “If not for him then for me.”

You stumbled back a step, “No, I can’t! I only met the guy an hour ago and you want me to pretend to be his fiancé? No. I can’t do it. I don’t even have a ring.”

“You don’t have to be his fiancé, just his steady girlfriend,” Peggy nodded slowly, warming up to the idea, “Nothing more than a year together. It’ll be easy.”

“You too? No Peg I can’t.” You might have momentarily felt bad for the guy, but you weren’t about to get involved in something that messy. The plan was doomed to fail anyways, you could barely tolerate him.

Steve glanced urgently back at his friend, “Please.”

“No.”

He groaned, looking up to the sky in desperation. When he looked at you, the smile on his lips made your heart drop and you began to worry that he had found an answer to his problems.

“I didn’t want to do this (y/n), but I’m calling in my favour.”

You crossed your arms, taking another step back. “No.”

Steve might have been right that you owed him one, but you refused to pay him back with this. When he had gotten you out of your speeding ticket last month and you had told him you owed him one, you hadn’t meant this. This wasn’t even in the realm of possible ways to pay him back.

His lips curled even higher, “I know that speeding ticket didn’t get rid of itself. I think pretending to be his girlfriend for one night is worth the two hundred and fifty dollars you didn’t have to pay.”

With Steve staring at you like he had won this argument and Peggy shooting you her pointed Be-A-Good=Person stare, you knew you had no choice. You definitely should have stayed in the car. Instead, you glanced back to where Bucky was standing, shoulders hunched over, and noticed Kira and her fiancé gazing lovingly into each-other’s eyes. You might not have liked him very much, but even you had to admit that had to suck.

“Fine, one night,” You grumbled, “Then we’re square, Rogers.”

He nodded, practically beaming, “You get over there right now and we’re more than square.”

“Fine.”

You glared at him, making sure he knew just how little you wanted to do this, then stomped across the soft grass, glad you had decided not to wear heels.

“Wait!” Peggy whisper shouted. When you turned, she shoved two beers into your hands, “Your excuse. Now go.”

Thanking her, you took off more delicately this time, trying not to look like you were marching off to your death. You were supposed to look like you were in love. You scoffed. Yeah right. You were tempted to down the two beers to boost your courage, but you knew you weren’t a good enough liar to think of another reason as to why you had suddenly decided to show up.

A million different thoughts crossed your mind, but the one that kept coming back was that you weren’t going to be able to pull this off. How the hell were you going to convince this woman - who had almost married Bucky and therefore probably knew him as well as Peggy or even Steve - that the two of you were madly in love. He had called you a crazy lunatic the moment he had met you. If that wasn’t the furthest from love, then you didn’t know what was. Even if you could somehow convince her that you were in love with him, he had no idea why you were walking over right now. The plan was doomed, and you hadn’t even said a word yet.

When you were close enough that you could no longer back out, you decided that you were going to have to wing it. You had no other choice. It wasn’t like you could plan something this crazy anyways. All you had to do was try your best and then you were off the hook. You did that and you would no longer owe Steve.

All this because of a speeding ticket…You couldn’t help but think that maybe this was a sign from the universe telling you to drive better. Or at least slower, though you refused to ever say that little thought out loud.

Kira was saying something about how pretty summer weddings were when you interrupted, “Hey babe!”

You could barely keep yourself from cringing but somehow you managed it. The three turned around and you couldn’t decide who looked more confused. Your hopes were slim that Bucky would wipe that look off his face and catch on quick. If his snail pace while driving was any indication as to how he lived his life, this plan would tank within seconds.

Closing the remaining steps, you pressed a quick peck to his lips, hoping the speed of it would hide him stiffening under your touch. His eyes darted from to you Steve and then back before he pulled you in close, tucking you into his side. With his strong arm draped across your shoulders insouciantly, you figured whatever he had to have seen on Steve’s face had been enough to let him know to play along.

You handed him his beer and wrapped your arm around his wide waist, gazing up at him with what you hoped looked similar to the look Kira had been giving her fiancé. Really, as long as it didn’t look completely phony, you’d be fine with it.

“There’s my crazy little race car driver,” The smile he shot back seemed to be telling you to tone it down a little, but you ignored it.

Judging from the fact that he had clearly forgotten your name, he was much more of a threat to the whole operation than your exaggerated smiles.

Kira’s fiancé furrowed his brows, “You’re a race car driver?”

Bucky’s laugh exploded, making you want to cringe at how fake it sounded. Thankfully, you seemed to be the only one bothered by it.

“No, I only call her that because I’ve never seen anyone drive so crazily. I swear, every time she gets behind the wheel, I think she’s going to kill that beat-up car of hers she drives so fast.”

Instead of jabbing him in the ribs like you really - really - wanted to, you swatted his hard chest playfully, forcing to keep the smile on your face, “I wouldn’t have to drive like that if you didn’t make us late all the time.”

He looked like he was going to say something along the lines of crazy lunatic but bit his tongue and switched to a lighthearted smirk you found more than a little disarming. Even though you knew it was fake, your heart fluttered annoyingly at the way he looked at you like you were the only person in the world.

“It’s not my fault that every little thing you do seems to distract me when we’re getting ready to go somewhere.” He began to draw lazy little circles on your bicep, reminding you that rolling your eyes at his cheesy line wasn’t the right answer.

You smiled back in mock offence, “Oh, so it’s my fault then?”

“You can’t make me fall in love with you,” He drew you in a little closer, “and not expect me to lose focus sometimes.”

Despite his rocky start, you couldn’t help but be impressed with his acting skills. If you were being honest, he was pulling the team. Actually, judging by the arrogant gleam in his eyes, you weren’t a team -  you were in a contest to see who could fake it best. Well, if that was the case then you refused to let him win. You could be the best fake girlfriend he had ever seen.

Pulling back a little, you tilted your head so that, if it had been real, the position would have made it much easier to kiss him. Instead, you put your hand flat on his chest, much more gently this time, and said, “You know I only distract you so that I have a good reason to drive like a crazy lunatic.”

A chuckle rumbled deep in his chest, the corner of his lips turning up in what felt like a genuine smile this time. You grinned back to let him know that he was falling behind in your little game.

Kira cleared her throat, snapping you out of your fake love fest and you let out what you hoped sounded like an embarrassed laugh. The confused look on her face as her eyes darted between the two of you only made you lean in and snuggle a little closer. If you kept this up, not only would you no longer owe Steve, but he would owe you. Bucky’s arm slid off your shoulder and down your back until he tightened his grip around your waist in a gesture that might have been possessive if you hadn’t felt him stiffen at the sound of his ex-fiancé. Hopefully, you were the only one who felt all the easiness evaporate from his body.

“I’m sorry,” she pasted on a false smile, “I don’t think we’ve met.”

You extended your hand, jumping in before Bucky could make everything worse by giving you a fake name for the night, “(y/n). It’s nice to meet you both.”

“Brad,” the fiancé grinned and motioned toward his girlfriend, “Kira.”

“So how do you know Bucky?” You asked with fake chipper, waiting to see how she would respond.

The look on Kira’s face was priceless as it flashed from smug to angry and you almost smiled. There was no way she could flaunt the fact that you now had her leftovers, with her fiancé at her side. Brad might not have known what she was doing before you got here, but you doubted he was stupid enough not to realize what was going on if she began bragging about having left Bucky at the altar.

You had managed to make everything extremely awkward for her, extremely quickly and the thought almost made you coming over here worth it if only for that. Steve never said anything about not having fun with it.

Bucky saved her from answering, coming to her rescue like you were sure he had done on multiple occasions back when they were together, “Old friends, right Kira?”

She nodded, her lips drawn in a tight line. You could tell she was bursting with the need to break your own heart by telling you how she really knew him, but she wouldn’t jeopardize her own relationship for a petty victory. Little did she know there wasn’t a bit of your heart that she could break where Bucky was concerned. When the night was over, you intended on never seeing him again if you could help it.

Without sparing her another look, you tucked a loose strand of hair behind Bucky’s ear, “Didn’t you promise me there’d be food when we got here? I’m absolutely starved!”

“The food would have been out when we got here if you hadn’t driven so quickly.” He winked though you could tell his humour was a little more forced than it had been earlier.

You tamped down on the need to glare at him for continuously brining up your driving abilities and smacked him playfully once more - only a little harder than necessary. To his credit, he didn’t even flinch, instead pressed a kiss to the top of your head. When the night was over, you’d give him a real smack upside the head.

“It was so nice meeting you!” You gushed, abruptly deciding it was more than time for the conversation to end.

“Likewise,” Brad said with a smile that appeared genuine, “You guys are doing the three-legged race later, right?”

Kira shook her head, “I doubt they are. James isn’t really one for games.”

Your heart dropped. If you had thought there was a possibility of getting out of engagement party games, Kira had just sealed your fate. But maybe he wasn’t as competitive as you were. Maybe Bucky wouldn’t take the bait.

He began drawing the same little circles on your waist this time and for a moment you were fooled into thinking he wasn’t half as competitive as you were. For a moment, you thought he wouldn’t be goaded into a game you hadn’t played since elementary school. You should have known better.

“With this little racer at my side there’s no way we’d miss the opportunity to play and win.” He flashed them a bright smile, “We’ll see you then.”

Bucky steered you away before you could say anything, and whispered into your hair, “They’re still watching us, so don’t have a fit until we’re far enough away.”

“I come to save your ass and that’s how you thank me?” You growled though gritted teeth.

His arm tightened around you, “My ass didn’t need saving, doll.”

“If that were true then you wouldn’t have looked like a kicked puppy before I showed up,” You stopped yourself from throwing his arm off you, “And you might not have thought your ass needed saving, soldier, but your friend did. So, take it up with him when you see him. I was just paying back a favour.”

He let out a dry laugh, “I should have known Steve would have come up with a plan this stupid. There’s no way you and I made a convincing couple.”

“The least you could say is thank you,” You snapped, “Because of Steve and I, you didn’t look quite as sad or single.”

“I say it makes us even.”

You shoved out of his hold, “Even? I didn’t owe you anything.”

“You cut me off and almost ran me off the road.” He countered, blue eyes icy.

“You’re still on that? I can’t believe you’re-”

“Look at you two, bickering like an old married couple.” Steve grinned, seeming more than a little proud, “Should be we expecting a wedding any time soon.”

“No.” You both snapped in unison.

At least you could agree on something.

“You know you’ll have to keep this up for the rest of the night, right?” Peggy pointed out sympathetically, though you could tell she was biting her cheek, trying not to laugh.

You sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. The night was already going to be a disaster, you had known that going in, so even if it was a little worse it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Right? Plus, it had to be good karma, and you were running low. Somehow, you’d manage to get through the night if you didn’t kill Bucky first.

He glared at you, lips tight, as if he was thinking the same thing.

#Bucky Barnes #james buchanan barnes #james barnes #bucky fanfic #bucky x reader #MCU fic #MCU fanfiction #Steve Rogers #peggy carter #modern au #fanfic #fake dating #fan fiction

[thederailedtrain]

The Mark of Oblivion: Home [Four]

Finding a giant, animate stone statue was, as it turned out, not very difficult. Particularly not when Kira already knew where it was and where it was heading. In that altered state she hadn’t just seen the statue, she’d seen through it, felt how it felt...if it could actually feel.

More importantly, she saw what it saw. There were docks, and shipping containers, and boats. Kira wasn’t familiar with the dockyards themselves, but she was confident it wouldn’t matter.

“Do you know where it is?” Cedric asked. Kira wasn’t keen on the skeptical tone in his voice.

“Sort of?” Kira said slowly. “I used the telluric current to, I dunno, put a tracker on it?”

“You manipulated the telluric currents?” Salazar asked, standing. There was a strange look on his face that Kira couldn’t quite read.

She just shrugged and began leading them towards the back of the warehouse. “I guess. I was kinda making things up as I went along,” Kira explained as they walked. “It’s looking for something. No idea what. Hopefully it won’t be too hard to spot.”

While Kira couldn’t see Salazar and Cedric, she could feel them exchanging looks behind her back. Whatever, she was on a mission. There was a eight-foot tall animated statue on the loose.

Outside, Kira couldn’t help but blink in surprise. She was just here, among the shipping crates and cranes. The only problem was that there weren’t any directional landmarks in the dockyard. Worse; with the rings on she couldn’t sense her way out of a wet paper bag.

“Dammit,” Kira hissed. She tried looking around, but the crates obscured her vision. “Sorry, guys. I thought I’d still be able to sense it, but-”

“No, I can definitely sense it,” Salazar spoke up. Kira turned to him, but his gaze was fixed intently on some point in the distance.

That made sense. Out of the other three, Salazar was the most familiar with telluric currents. He took over the search, leading them through the maze of crates.

After some running, Lix let out a surprised, “Oh! I think I can sense it too.”

So they really were getting closer. Kira tried her hardest, but all she felt were the presences of the Otherworlders beside her. This would be incredibly embarrassing if she wasn’t the one who created the tracking spell in the first place. Good thing she didn’t have to admit that out loud.

Kira heard it before she could sense it. What she first assumed was another part of the soundscape - the sounds of the river on one side and bustling downtown traffic noise on the other - didn’t quite seem to fit.

Several seconds later, Kira realized why she recognized it. This was the same scream she heard from the statue just minutes ago. It almost sounded like a human scream, but there was something off...It never ended. The statue wasn’t living, so it didn’t need to breathe. It just kept letting out one long roar of rage without needing to stop.

“It should be right around this corner-” Salazar said as he took the next turn. Then he stopped short and it didn’t take long to figure out why. Watching a giant stone statue wildly beat at the air was pretty intimidating.

More surprising was the reason. As a neutral mage, Kira was always surprised when her spells took visible form. The telluric currents were wrapped in rings around the thing’s shoulders, just like she pictured. It glowed orange, bands of energy forming loops and peeling off at random intervals, like the surface of the sun, or Kira whenever she had a meltdown.

The statue was so busy thrashing at the magic it didn’t notice the group’s arrival. It just stood there, swatting uselessly at the magic, like watching a cat go after a penlight. Kira couldn’t help but laugh, from both pride and the surprising amount of humor in the situation.

Unfortunately, it was her laugh that finally got the thing’s attention. Its head swiveled in their direction, singular scream suddenly cut short. “Oh, shit,” Kira managed before the thing started heading right for them.

“Watan!” It shouted. Because of course.

Kira took a step back and was fully prepared to pivot when the statue froze mid-step. Cedric and Lix also stopped their sudden retreats. She watched telluric energy around the statue constrict, holding it in place.

When she turned to the side, she found Salazar with an arm outstretched, fingers clenched in a fist. “Just because I’m no longer the Guardian of Mixba’al doesn’t mean I no longer know how to control telluric energy,” he smirked. The smirk wavered as the creature struggled against his bindings. “It would certainly make it easier, though.”

No, shit, Kira thought. She could hear the tension in his voice. If she was going to do something, she needed to do it fast.

The answer was so simple and Kira was embarrassed she didn’t think of it sooner. Wasn’t her specialty neutral magic? She’d seen into the core of the statue’s magical essence when she tracked it down. She knew exactly how it was constructed. Breaking down the enchantment would be a breeze.

Placing her palms together, Kira drew on that magic deep within herself. The part of the magic that was intrinsically her. In the blink of an eye, she had enough there to begin stringing a counterspell together. Her hands moved in swirling patterns as she wove them together.

Before she could complete the spell, a hand on her arm stopped her. “Hold on, I can’t let you destroy this thing,” Cedric said. “It’s not outwardly malicious. We just need to contain it, not destroy it.”

“Wa! Tan!” The statue cried, inching closer to them.

The spell fizzled out between Kira’s hands. “Well, what the hell am I supposed to do?”

“Wait!” Lix shouted, suddenly holding an arm up. She turned to the creature and said...something Kira couldn’t understand. Whatever it was, it made the statue stop struggling immediately.

“Watan?” The statue said again. This time, Kira could hear something almost like sadness in its voice.

“I thought I recognized the way this golem was crafted,” Lix sighed, looking back at the others. There was a frown on her face. “It’s late Nabataean. Watan is the Arabic word for home.”

Lix turned back to the statue, slowly letting her arm down. Salazar still had an arm up to channel the binding spell, but Lix looked back over her shoulder and gestured for him to drop it. There was a quick, nonverbal back-and-forth, but Salazar relented. He still kept a wary eye on the situation.

From this far away, Kira couldn’t make out exactly what Lix was saying, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to understand it anyway. She could only wonder if the words were as pretty as they sounded. Even though it had no discernable facial features, Kira could see the slight tilt of the statue’s head as it listened to what Lix was saying.

Then, in a moment that had Kira blinking out of shock, it said something back. They were slow and stilted syllables, but it was more than Kira had heard out of it in two encounters.

The conversation didn’t last long. Before she even knew what was happening, the statue inclined its head towards Lix as she produced something from her pocket. A piece of chalk, Kira realized, as Lix began to draw some kind of sigil on the statue’s head. Without turning around, she gestured for everyone to come over and join her.

The trio exchanged various glances and shrugs before acquiescing. They got there just as Lix finished drawing the sigil. Suddenly, the statue stood to attention and froze in place. Everyone but Lix jumped back, only to realize the statue wasn’t going anywhere.

“It’s resting now,” Lix said. She reached a hand out to the statue. “All it wanted was to go home. It was taken by some men not long ago and brought here. It was just retracing its steps.”

That mixture of loneliness and nostalgia Kira felt when she saw into the statue earlier...It was homesickness.

“And where’s home?” Kira asked. She might’ve been weeks away from a master’s degree in history, but she knew woefully little outside of the European Middle Ages.

“A town not far from Petra, Jordan,” Lix explained. “This golem was the guardian of a tomb. It stood there for hundreds of years, but then the tomb was raided and it was stolen.” She turned around, seeking out Cedric. “You have to make sure this golem makes it back so it can fulfill its duty once more.”

Cedric’s nod was solemn. “I intend to.” He paused. “When you say it was taken…?”

“The grave it protected was robbed. And recently,” Lix amended. The frown on Cedric’s face deepened.

“I don’t think it’s the only thing,” Kira spoke up. “When I was tracking this guy down, I could sense hundreds of magical items in the warehouse. I thought, since you knew the guy who owned it, that this was something you oversaw. But…”

“It’s not,” Cedric finished for her, his expression hardening. “Shame. A lot of my revenue came through that auction house. Now I have that to search as well as Sterling International. No rest for the wicked, I suppose.” He let out a particularly tired sigh. “Well, I guess it’s time we headed back to the shop.”

Everyone gathered in a tight circle around the statue. This time, Lix was the one to grab onto Salazar first. Kira, meanwhile, wrapped her free arm around the statue while Cedric grabbed the other side.

Once everyone was secure, Salazar pulled the crystal from his pocket. “Everyone ready?” He asked, waiting for nods. Kira gave hers, then immediately braced for the spell to take effect.

Before Kira knew it, they were in the alleyway behind Vestibulum Venenatis once more. She blinked a couple times to adjust, but the vertigo was already clearing. Cedric really wasn’t kidding when he said this got easier with time. Considering how often they were using the herkimer diamond these days, it probably wouldn’t be long before Kira could just shrug it off the way Cedric always did.

Speaking of, the incubus was currently in the process of inspecting the statue. This was the first time he’d seen it, Kira realized. She wondered what he thought looking at the thing. Kira was still a little nervous around it herself, worrying it would suddenly spring to life again and come after her with stone fists swinging.

“How do you plan to get it back to Jordan?” Lix asked.

“Oh, I have my ways,” Cedric replied. He sent a secretive smile Kira’s way that made her guess she was part of the plan. It didn’t last long enough for her to return, however, and soon he was back to frowning at the statue. “Now the real question is how I bring this inside…” Cedric trailed off, leaning in like he was going to lift it up himself. Halfway there, decided against it. “Actually, one of my employees is a werewolf. This is his problem now.”

Kira couldn’t help but laugh. An actual joke from Cedric. How long had it been? When he looked her way, she waved him off.

“Would you be alright watching this while I grab his attention?” Cedric asked Salazar and Lix. He turned to Kira and nodded towards the shop. Behind them, Salazar and Lix were making quiet conversation in Spanish. “What was it earlier?” Cedric asked. He leaned in, lowered his voice, and raised an eyebrow. “Not checking me out are you?”

All at once, Kira was hit with a feeling almost like the homesickness from the statue. A tidal wave of longing for the times before Layla’s resurrection, before Kira’s nightmares came back, before the grimoire was stolen. Cedric’s joke earlier and his flirtatious comment now both had a glimmer of easier days in them.

For Cedric, those words seemed so natural. Over a thousand years of flirting with people probably made it a pretty ingrained habit. He seemed to realize a second later, drawing back with the shadow of a wince on his face.

Cedric wasn’t the only one fighting off a knee-jerk reaction. After so long of dealing with her boss’s passes at her, Kira’s first instinct was to let out a defensive no! But she held herself back. She wasn’t about to discourage Cedric from getting back to his old, flirty self - particularly if it meant he was happier. And, well, there was no point in denying that she’d been staring at him.

“That smile earlier,” Kira said instead, holding the shop door open for him. “The genuine ones aren’t a bad look on you.”

As Cedric passed by, Kira watched his expression carefully. The smile came back, and Kira nearly congratulated herself. But then his look changed. Maybe she was just being too oversensitive, but Kira swore she saw something in his eyes. It looked like a dawning realization. And he looked horrified.

Before she could spend too much time on it, Gus was calling their names. Kira looked up and found her best friend waving them over to the register. At first she thought he was just excited to have them back. However, she quickly recognized the distress on his face.

“You said it would just be lunch!” Gus cried once they were close enough. “You were gone for over two hours-”

“And we’re really very sorry about that, Gus,” Cedric sighed apologetically. Then, in a quieter tone, “Someone called in about the statue from last night.”

Gus’s eyes widened. “Did you, I dunno, stop it?”

“It’s in the back alley right now,” Kira answered, smiling proudly.

“And I’m sure you did just fine without us,” Cedric assured him. “Nothing’s on fire and I didn’t get any distress calls. I daresay you did an excellent job for your first time.”

“Yeah, you dare,” Gus hissed. He waved his arms at Old Reliable, voice rising in pitch. “This thing nearly broke on me, and then we had a line of customers who wanted to make their purchase now. And I had to...”

Very suddenly, Kira was reminded of the fact that Gus had never had a job in food service. Or retail, for that matter. That was just another thing that happened at the shop once a week, sometimes more. Besides, the customers here were actually a lot nicer here than they were the fast food places Kira used to work. She didn’t doubt he could handle it once he got more comfortable. The upcoming supermoon probably didn’t help, though.

Gus broke off his upcoming rant to roll up his sleeve. Kira watched in confusion as he placed three fingers on the inside of his wrist before clamping down where he placed the lowest finger..

“It’s a pressure point,” Gus explained to Kira and Cedric’s surprised faces. “Supposed to relieve stress. Toni taught it to me.”

The Harbinger, who had been talking with a pair of customers since they’d walked in, was at their side a second later. “Not like that. All you’re gonna do is give yourself a headache,” she sighed.

She held out her hand and Gus dutifully dropped his arm into it. Toni measured out the same three fingers before kneading small circles into the same spot Gus had been working at before. Kira watched in fascination as Gus’s breathing slowed and the tension left his shoulders.

“See? You don’t have to press so hard,” Toni told him, drawing back once she was satisfied with the results. She shot a smirk at Kira. “Men, right?” Kira had to place a hand over her mouth to suppress an ugly snort and she was pretty sure she saw Gus blush.

Cedric cleared his throat - probably to clear his grin, but it had the added benefit of drawing everyone’s attention back to him. “Now that you’re feeling better, what do you say to helping me lug a thousand-pound statue inside?” He asked.

When Gus’s eyes widened this time, it was even more comical. “Uh, sure?” He most certainly did not sound sure, but obligated.

While the two of them disappeared out the back, Kira hopped the counter and took Gus’s place behind the register. Toni watched the whole thing, seemingly fascinated. When Kira asked what she was looking at, Toni just shrugged. “I’ve seen Gus do it a couple times, but I guess I haven’t been here with you much. Does Cedric parkour over the counter too?”

“He started it, actually,” Kira confirmed.

“Just when I think I have the Warden figured out,” Toni shook her head. Then, she hopped up on the counter and swung her legs over. When she was done, Kira was staring at her. “What? Don’t look at me like that. I know I’m short.”

Out the corner of her eye, Kira saw the couple Toni was talking to earlier making their way to the register. Toni stared at her like she was in the way. Kira watched in surprise as Toni rang up their purchases. Gus must’ve taught her how to work Old Reliable, then. Huh.

Since Toni seemed perfectly content behind the register, Kira opened the door to the back rooms. What she found almost made her laugh. Gus was the only one with a hand on the statue, grimacing as he brought it over to the store room. At first, the appearance of fangs and glowing eyes made her nervous, but he probably needed to shift a little to help pick up the giant hunk of rock. He seemed pretty focused on the task at hand anyway. Salazar was spotting for him and holding open doors while Cedric appeared to be nothing more than moral support.

And Lix...Lix was staring at something just over Kira’s shoulder. She turned just in time to catch Toni wave behind her. That seemed to do the trick, but Lix continued to shoot them looks.

“What? Is my fly down or something?” Toni asked.

As if she didn’t already know. Kira moved to stand behind Toni, meeting Lix’s stare. She seemed to get the point after that.

Moments later, the rest of the crew emerged from the back. It was getting a bit crowded behind the counter, but Kira didn’t know how to politely excuse herself to the other side.

“Well, now that everything’s settled,” Cedric was the first to speak, cutting through the awkward tension. “Toni, you’re free to go. You too, Gus, if you’d like to get back to the labs.”

“Sweet,” Toni nodded. “Oh, before I peace out, you’re gonna need to put me on the payroll with the way you keep dragging me down here.”

“That can be arranged,” Cedric shrugged after a moment’s consideration.

Halfway across the counter, Toni hesitated. Looks like Cedric really did never stop running out of ways to surprise her after all, Kira couldn’t help but smile. Toni did too. She didn’t really say anything else after that. Maybe she was still too shocked to come up with a witty goodbye. Or, well, a verbal one at least. She did manage an impressively sarcastic salute. The bells above the door played her out.

“I’m gonna stick around for a bit, but I’m gonna head out on my lunch break now if that’s alright?” Gus asked a moment later.

Once Cedric gave him the okay, he was running out the door too. With no customers left in the lobby, the shop went quiet. “Have you decided what-” Cedric began just as Salazar said, “So I should let you know-” They shared a look before laughing. Cedric stopped first, deferring to his friend.

Salazar took a deep breath before saying, “After weeks of stalling, I have to return to my Ward.”

It was like a punch to the gut, Kira couldn’t help but think. Still, one she saw coming. Hearing him say it hurt, but at least she’d known to brace for impact. It was bound to happen eventually. It needed to happen. Still, that didn’t mean Kira had to like it.

“I’ve left it without a leader for too long and that alone is inexcusable for a Warden,” Salazar went on. “I’ve also neglected the Temple of Mixba’al and...” He stopped to wrap an arm around Lix’s shoulders. She leaned into the embrace with a kind of ease that suggested this was a common position for the two of them. “And I’ve been neglecting the woman I’ve asked to marry me. I need to head back.”

Cedric was the first to speak. “Ah, I figured that’s what this was about.” He nodded solemnly, but there was a smile on his face. “I’ll be sad to see you go, my friend. Don’t be a stranger.”

“Don’t worry, I intend to make plenty of visits,” he replied, throwing his smile in Kira’s direction. “As long as you still want my help, of course.”

“Of course I still want your help!” Kira said immediately.

It wasn’t so much a want as a need. There was still so much about the Mark she had yet to learn and the thought of doing that on her own was terrifying. What she wanted to do was tell Salazar to stay. Stay until she understood just what she’d inherited, stay until she knew him. But after seeing the look in his eyes when he smiled at Lix, Kira knew that was out of the question. Selfish! Her mind screamed at her. She shut her lips tight.

At least Salazar seemed to think her response was funny, or maybe his chuckle was his attempt to lighten the situation. Kira swallowed and tried to stop herself from tearing up.

“Just know you’re welcome here any time. My guest room will be lonely without you,” Cedric told him.

“Don’t tempt me, now,” Salazar chuckled, looking away to shake his head. “But it’s time to stop being so afraid. I may be a coward, but at least I’m honest with myself about that. For a long time, I thought that would be enough. Now I realize that it’s time for me to face my mistakes.” He took a deep breath. “It’s time for me to go home.”

#the mark of oblivion #n: the mark of oblivion #the magic shop #writing #my writing #katie writes sometimes

[braedens]

Okay since you discovered Stalydia, how about a little fic prompt? (only if you're feeling up to it!) Maybe them navigating college or graduation and their very different paths?

friend you have come to the right fucking place

~

“Your scene analysis is wrong.”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“You haven’t done a print detailing. Not to mention you mis-labeled the toxins from the filter test.”

“How do you even know, you have no clue what the scene looked like!”

“So a criminal would just come in barefoot? Is that right?”Stiles tries ever so slightly to glare through his laptop screen, but Lydia is too busy reading over her algorithm with a red pen for, Stiles wants to say, the twelfth time since they started video chatting.

He looks over his Google Drive document he has up of the mock-FBI report — and she’s right. He didn’t write up anything about footprints or shoe specs. And his chemical equation makes no sense when he reads it over. He watches Lydia flip through her pages where she’s laying on her bed. Her feet are up and crossed behind her, and pieces of her hair have fallen from the ponytail to frame her face.

“What would I do without you, Lyds?”

“Fail your internship,” she says, without missing a beat.

Stiles really enjoys Thursday nights. It’s his least busy day of the week, and that’s by his standards. But Lydia agreed that if he would look over her algorithm assignments for the M.I.T Bioengineering program, then she’d help him with his intern assignments. Which includes all his boring as hell scene analysis.

It’s been, well, weird since they graduated two years ago. Weird as in, oddly calm on the supernatural front. Scott rarely calls for support, enjoying his time in vet school and with Kira now that she’s back as much as he can. And then there’s Malia.

It was pretty hard leaving her in Beacon Hills. Don’t get him wrong, he misses both his girls like no fucking other, but he’s been able to see Lydia a couple times here and there when they have off time. Going back to Beacon Hills has been another story.

“What are you thinking about?” Lydia murmurs, and Stiles hadn’t even realized he was spacing out until he’s greeted with soft greens eyes over his monitor.

He leans on his desk, folding his arm and propping his head up. “I miss Malia,” he sighs, knowing that if he’s feeling a bit wistful, so must Lydia. He watches her move the papers around her and stretch her arms, nodding. “Yeah, me too. Like, a lot.”

“It hasn’t even been a month since we saw her last!” he points out. “Plus, we talk to her every other night.”

“Stiles, we’re still allowed to miss our girlfriend.”

He sucks his teeth. It’s quiet for a second, and he’s playing with a frayed end of his flannel cuff before he looks back at the screen.

“I miss you too, you know.” Stiles has a dopey grin on his face, and Lydia of course, is rolling her eyes.

“You are such a dork,” her voice tinged with teasing.

“Say it back!”

“Fine,” she draws out. But her eyes soften, and she has that pout in her smile that lets Stiles know that whatever she’s going to say, she means.

“I miss you.”

They share a fleeting moment, or as much of a moment you can have looking at each other’s pixelated form on a screen, before Lydia is reaching behind her and immediately typing on her phone.

“On a completely related note, what does your schedule look like for tomorrow?” she asks, but Stiles is already drafting a text to Scott to tell him to call him when he’s free. “Way ahead of you, babe. Texting Scott.”“Booking flights,” she adds, and they look up at each other on the screen, a knowing smile between the two of them.

~

The next afternoon, Malia finds herself hanging out with Scott at his apartment, per his request. But all she can really focus on is the text message that’s lit up her phone.

“Are you even listening to me?” Scott asks from where he’s sitting next to Malia.

“I get it, Scott, you had another great day hugging a puppy,” she berates, still looking at her phone.

Scott’s too nice, though, and she notices him shift closer to her on the couch. “What’s up with you?”

And Malia is never one to not say what’s on her mind. She hands her phone to Scott, and shifts farther back into the sofa, arms crossed.

“Raincheck on our call tonight?” Scott reads from the phone, a group text between Malia, Stiles, and Lydia. Scott looks back at her, a confused look on his face. “Why is that so bad?”

“Because,” she snatches the phone from his hand, and stares back at the screen. “We always make time for calls.”

She knows it’s childish- Lydia and Stiles are busy people. Smart people. Busy, smart people. They have a lot going on between school and work, so she absolutely gets that they won’t always have time to talk.

It still sucks. Especially since they’ve always made a point to find time to talk, even when life is pulling them in a million different directions.

Malia already annoyingly knows what Scott’s going to do next when he shifts closer to her and wraps his arms around her, pulling her closer to him in a warm hug and resting his cheek on the top of her head. She doesn’t uncross her arms, and she still has a slight scowl on her face, but she doesn’t protest it. Which, is annoying considering she can smell how content Scott is by the fact that she’s agreed to let him get this close to her.

“I’m sure they had a good reason,” Scott says. “You know they love you.”

Malia exhales, because on one hand, she knows Scott’s right. And she can believe that she may be irrational when it comes to her feelings most of the time. But still…

“Sometimes it just feels like there’s them, and then there’s me.”

Scott doesn’t pry, which she’s pretty grateful for. She’s not even entirely sure she’d even have more to tell him at that point. There’s been plenty of times where she’s thought about how much more in common Lydia and Stiles have, or how much longer they’ve known each other than they’ve known her.

She’s also not daft on the fact that she’s incredibly needier than they are. It’s pretty alarming (and annoying) how long Stiles and Lydia can be on their own for. Quite frankly, it’s offensive to her as their girlfriend.

She’s considering going home, not really in the mood to pretend she’s fine and Scott giving her that look every time she says she’s fine when he knows she’s lying, but before she can get a word in, there’s a knock on Scott’s door.

She turns to look at him, and is surprised to find that he’s just grinning at her.

“Uh, aren’t you going to answer that?” There’s more knocks. “Like, now?”

“Can you get it?”

“Me? Why me?” she looks back at the door. “It’s your apartment.”

Scott rolls his eyes, sitting up from the sofa. “Can you just stop asking questions, and answer the door?”

Malia scoffs, but she gets up anyway. “Yes, sir,” she mumbles out, walking over to his door. Another rap of knocks.

But, when her hand touches the doorknob, Malia can suddenly feel a warmth rush through her body, like the feeling of putting a warm blanket over you on a cold night. She feels lighter, something settling inside of her, and she doesn’t even need to open the door to know who’s on the other side of it.

She swings the door open, and within a second she’s being enveloped in a hug, two sets of hands wrapping around her waist trying to pull her as close as possible. Malia never cries- and she isn’t about to start right now, that’s for damn sure. But there’s something about the way Lydia breathes out on her neck, making the hair rise when she does, or the was Stiles mumbles with his lips pressed to her temple that makes the laugh that comes out of her a bit watery. No one comments on it, though.

“What are you doing here?” her brows furrow as she takes a step back. “Is there some supernatural shit going on again, because I was just getting to enjoy not having my body almost cut into pieces.”

“Uh,” Stiles starts, slowly looking over at Scott, who’s sitting on the sofa. “There isn’t right?”Scott shakes his head. “Not that I’m aware of.”

Lydia slides her hands down Malia’s arms slowly until she’s holding her hands in hers. “We just wanted to see you.”

Malia blinks. “See me?”

“Yeah, you,” Stiles arms snake around her waist again, his wide, goofy grin beaming at her. This close, she can see that he’s left his beard unshaven a bit so scruff peaks through, and she thinks back to when she told him how much she loved the feeling of it when he kissed her. Stiles protested, told her she shouldn’t hold out her breath for him to grow out a beard. And yet, here he is.

When he leans in for the kiss, she notices the way the hairs scrape at her chin and the warmth in his lips when they press in. He smells sweet and calm, like lemon and cotton, and Malia can’t help but melt.

Next to her, Lydia hums in content, still holding Malia’s hand when she pulls apart from Stiles. There’s no pause, though, before she leans in to Lydia’s space, slipping a hand through her hair to rest at her neck. Lydia has a different scent, something more cool and fresh and floral, though it might be the perfume she always seems to wear. Lydia kisses with her whole body- pressing closer and closer until they are almost entwined, and she sighs into the kiss that vibrates Malia’s skin to her core.

“We really missed our girlfriend,” Lydia says when they pull apart, and takes Stiles’ hand in hers as the three of them are still huddled together by the door. “So of course we’re here.”

Malia practically beams at that, looking between the two of them, two people that she loves whole-heartedly, standing in front of her just because they missed her. And she thinks if this is as close to family she’ll come to know, she’ll gladly take it in every heartbeat.

#50-points-for-revenclaw #fic prompt #stalydia #stiles x malia x lydia #stalidia #malia x stiles x lydia #tw #tw rarepair #tw fic #50-points-for-ravenclaw #oh my asks

[eleanor-writes-stuff]

a language that i never knew existed before - Day 15

For @varksvader, who asked for a modern AU “ where Rey and Ben come out of the movie theater, and one of them is highly emotional after watching it”.

This ended up becoming three times Rey and Ben come out of the movie theater and it’s the longest prompt fill so far, but I hope you like it all the same. Thank you for the prompt, and happy holidays!

If anyone else would like a Reylo ficlet of their very own this holiday season, I’m still accepting prompts!

25 Days of Reylo Also available on AO3

It’s her fourth time watching the movie, but Rey finds herself just as overwhelmed as she was the first time around. The last minute of the end credits is still rolling, a slow score pouring out of the speakers as she and Rose get up to join the crowd filing out of the theater in the kind of zombie-like crawl that’s to be expected after a midnight showing.

It’s that one precious moment between fantasy and reality, that small window of time after two hours of escapism and before real life returns with a vengeance, and Rey is content to savor it in silence until–

“A total and utter waste of time,” a man boldly proclaims in a sharp accent as he and his friend join the line, exiting from the aisle just above her and Rose. “At least the originals had a proper villain instead of this wannabe–”

Before Rey can lunge forward and correct the shallow idiot, a hand wraps around her forearm and holds her back with surprising strength. “Don’t,” Rose mutters as her blunt fingernails dig into Rey’s skin. “Just… let it go, okay? They’re probably just casual viewers who don’t know what they’re talking about anyway–”

“I can’t believe they threw away decades of expanded universe lore for this bullshit,” the man’s companion agrees, his voice heavy with disdain. “Kylo Ren is probably just based off one of the writer’s Sith personas from when they were thirteen or something,” he scoffs dismissively just as the group of them step into the blinding lights of the outside world, and Rose wisely lets go of Rey’s arm with nothing more than a defeated sigh.

“Just don’t get us banned,” is her final request as Rey steps forward to tap the second man on his shoulder. He turns around without her having to speak up to get his attention, and regards her with a look that’s part wary, part weary as he crosses his arms over his surprisingly broad chest.

Rey should’ve seen that coming when she had to reach all the way up to tap his shoulder.

“Can I help you?” the man asks, and the hint of a smirk tugging at his lips is enough to snap Rey out of her observation of his dark locks and thick lips. She offers him a sickeningly sweet smile instead, one meant to unsettle rather than charm.

“Well, first of all, they didn’t throw away the whole EU,” Rey informs him, keeping her customer service smile on, “which you might’ve known if you had bothered to read the full announcement when it was released rather than skim the headlines and immediately head over to Reddit to whine with your fellow purists.”

The man’s hands fall to his side as his flame-haired friend with the grating, carefully affected accent continues to walk away, either not realizing that he’s leaving his companion behind or not caring.

“Second, Kylo Ren is nothing like Darth Vader because he’s not a Sith,” she points out a little smugly even as a part of her realizes she’s gaining steam a little too fast. “In fact, he’s not even fully Dark, which might be why he doesn’t check off all of your traditional, basic boxes of what a villain should look like. And by the way, hating Kylo Ren doesn’t make you a better fan than the rest of us; it just makes you one of the literal dozens of whiny gatekeeper fans I’ve had this conversation with in the last two weeks–”

“I don’t hate him,” the man cuts in quite unexpectedly. If anything, Rey had been prepared for a sneered dismissal of her as a fake fan; the explanation that follows instead is unlike any reaction she’s gotten over the past two weeks. “I think he’s an emotional mess and he makes for a weak villain, but as a character there’s obviously layers to uncover and room for him to grow so…” he trails off with a shrug that disturbs the hair resting on his shoulder and causes a thick lock of hair to flop into his face.

It’s… surprisingly adorable.

“Oh,” Rey mouths to herself, still trying to catch up to the fact that she’s no longer in attack mode. “Oh,” she repeats audibly, and then tentatively adds, “Actually, if you are interested in him, they released a pre-movie novel that covers his early childhood and some of the factors–”

“Solo!” the ginger friend snaps from down the hall, near the counter. “Please don’t tell me you’ve gotten into a debate with your fellow nerds, I simply don’t have the patience for this childishness–”

“Fuck off for one minute, Hux,” her unexpected stranger calls back with a dismissive wave of his hand before turning back to Rey. “So I, um, I’ve got to go but… would you maybe want to talk about this some other time? You seem like you actually know your shit, and believe it or not, the Reddit purist crowd gets kind of annoying after a while,” he grins, as if she hadn’t lumped him in with them just minutes ago.

Rey doesn’t usually like surprises – a childhood filled with instability and unexpected changes will do that to you – but something in her gut tells her that this man might just change that.

Gut feelings – now those she likes and trusts. So against all reason, Rey holds out her hand and says, “Give me your phone, I’ll give myself a call and we’ll see how I feel about this in the morning.”

She texts him a list of pre-movie reading material as soon as she gets home.

“I’m just saying,” Rey shrugs as they walk out of the second movie two years later, hand-in-hand like the touchy-feely couple they’ve been for the past eighteen months, “I called it right from the start. Rendemption, here we come!” she declares a little too loudly for the rest of the midnight crowd, judging by their glares.

Or maybe they’re just the kind of haters she would’ve gotten into a fight with two years ago, and it’s only her giant hulk of a boyfriend that’s keeping them from debating her now.

“Okay, so maybe he’s not as hopeless as I thought he was,” Ben concedes with a soft smile that doesn’t belong on the face of someone who’s just lost a long-standing disagreement with his gloating girlfriend. But then again, Rey’s always gotten the feeling that Ben has been rooting for Kylo to turn his life around just as much as she has; maybe even more, given the parallels he sees between them that he’d once confided in her about.

She stops short just outside of the doors, much to the displeasure of the other grumbling moviegoers, and pulls Ben aside. “Hey,” Rey says gently, reaches up with her free hand to cup Ben’s jaw. “No one’s hopeless. Not Kylo Ren,” she whispers, lets it linger for a beat before she works up the nerve to add, “and definitely not you.”

There’s a terrible beat of silence, a moment suspended in time as their lives fork out into two paths, and Rey has no way of knowing which one they’re taking until–

Ben smiles, turns to press his lips to her palm. “You’re my own personal Kira, aren’t you?” he murmurs gently, bringing his other hand to rest over hers. “The only one who believes in me no matter what.”

Rey nods and stretches up on her tiptoes to give him a quick peck on the lips. “Does that mean you’ll leave the past behind for me?” she paraphrases the movie, hiding her nerves behind a teasing note.

It’s been two months since he left Snoke’s company, two months of him trying to decide if he wants to keep going down the dark road he was on when they first met or if it’s time for him to reclaim old noble intentions which have been gathering dust ever since Snoke hired him right out of law school.

“It means I’d give you the whole galaxy if I could,” Ben promises her with that boyish smile of his that lights up her world and warms her from the inside.

“I don’t need the galaxy,” Rey tells him as she draws the hand still in hers around her waist instead and tucks herself against his side as they begin to walk again. “Just you.”

Ben laughs quietly, his warm breath tickling the shell of her ear before he presses a kiss to her temple. “Sweetheart, you’ve had me since the very first moment.”

They linger in their seats long after the music ends and the screen goes dark, taking some time to process the end of the trilogy that’s come to mean so much to them.

“Ready?” Rey eventually asks when she notices that they’re the last ones left, and Ben merely replies with a nod and a squeeze of her hand as he helps her up and they begin to leave the darkened hall behind.

“God, that was perfect,” she sighs as they leave the theater, disposing of her empty extra-large popcorn bucket before she turns to Ben to see if he’s smiling as hard as she is now.

He’s not.

In fact, Ben’s the farthest thing from smiling right now, what with his bloodshot eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

“Baby!” Rey gasps in concern, doing her best to reach up and cup his face with both hands. “What is it, is something wrong–”

Ben turns into her touch, nuzzles her palm before he reaches up to take her hands in his and lower them back to their sides. “It’s okay,” he assures her after a beat, and Rey watches with slow-dawning relief as his lips curve into a smile. “It’s okay, I’m okay,” Ben says with a little laugh, a confusing note of wonder in his voice.

“Then why…?”

“I just… you were right, it was perfect,” Ben agrees with a sigh of his own. “And seeing Kylo at the end there, with Kira by his side and their whole lives ahead of them… I guess it just reminded me of how far we’ve come and how lucky I am,” he shrugs, still wearing that beatific smile that reminds her of the one he’d worn as he watched her walk down the aisle towards him.

“Oh, Ben,” Rey says softly, shakes her head with a fond smile before she tips her chin at him in a gesture he’s grown all too familiar with in the last few months of her pregnancy. At eight months, it’s gotten significantly harder for her to reach up on her tiptoes; any vertical kissing is only made possible by Ben bending all the way down to meet her.

It seems like a waste for all that effort on his part to result in a chaste peck, but they are still in public.

“Let’s get you home, Mrs. Solo,” Ben murmurs against her lips before he stands upright and wraps a protective arm around her.

Rey leans into him with a sigh, rests her head on his shoulder as Ben shuffles them forward. “I say this with all the love in my heart,” she prefaces as they step out into the chilly December night, “but I can’t believe I’m the pregnant one yet you’re the one who cried over a movie.”

Ben huffs as he pulls the keys out of his back pocket and unlocks the car parked just a few feet down the street; he’d waited nearly half an hour to get a spot right outside for her sake. “Hey now, you know better than anyone else that Star Wars isn’t just a movie to us.”

It really, really isn’t. They’d met because of these movies, bonded and fallen in love over them, used their understanding of these fictional characters as a shorthand to communicate their deepest fears and wildest dreams with each other. Every fiery defense of Kylo Ren that Rey has ever delivered was in part inspired by and meant for Ben, and it was his chance at redemption that helped Rey finally convince Ben that there’s no such thing as the point of return.

In a way, Star Wars is as real to them as anything they’ve actually lived through, as fundamental to their relationship and their life together as any other experience they’ve shared.

Hell, if it weren’t for these movies, they might never even have met.

Rey places a hand over her stomach, thinks of everything she’s been blessed with ever since a chance meeting at a midnight showing of a sci-fi movie about space and lasers and hope.

“Yeah,” she tells her husband as he helps her into the passenger seat and carefully secures the seat belt over their daughter. “Yeah, it’s definitely more than just a movie.”

This is more than two thousand words. I don’t even know what happened, you guys; I sat down to write two ficlets and ended up spending all my time on just one. This isn’t even a ficlet anymore, technically.

But... I’m kinda happy with it? It’s not perfect, far from my best work, but it ended up closer to my original outline than anything else I’ve written recently, so I’m okay with it. I hope you are too. Thanks for reading, and please don’t hesitate to like/reblog/comment!

#reylo #reyben #kylo ren/rey #rey/kylo ren #rey/ben solo #star wars #rey #ben solo #kylo ren #ficlet: language that i never knew #my fics

[hard-satin]

Fill the void (Pt. 4)

Masterlist

@dumbass-stilinski

Stiles POV

  I watched in horror as (Y/N) launched herself into voids waiting arms, pulling his lips down onto hers in a fierce kiss. I let out a strangled gasp at the brashness. This could not be (Y/N). They seemed to hear me. I watch as (Y/N) turned to me, hope sparked inside as a look of recognition washed over her face. The spark of hope grew into a flame as she walked closer, pausing just across from me. The hope died as she smirked and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Well thanks for saving my life but your jobs done here.”  (Y/N) dismissed me with a wave before turning back into voids arms.

  “What do you mean? Aren't you coming with me?” I couldn’t help but hope she would tear herself from voids grasp and come with me.

  “No, I think this is exactly where I want to be.” She turned away from me and gave void another kiss before they disappeared into the dark.

 -

  “What do you mean she’s gone darkside? How did she even end up with void?” Scott was practically yelling at me and I couldn’t blame him.

  “Darkside like Anakin Skywalker in the crappy Star Wars prequels. I might have taken her to him to save her life.” I admitted miraculously keeping my calm.

  “I’ll go get her back and bring her to Deaton's. Hopefully he can fix this, and I have no idea what you’re saying when you talk Star Wars, only (Y/N) understood that.” Scott scolded me as he walked out.

  I sat unmoving in my bedroom for hours as it grew dark, wishing (Y/N) was here to understand my Star Wars references, or just sit in silence. I just wish she was with me.

 -

 Voids POV

  “Well if you’re not going to go to the school until tonight then we have a couple hours to kill.” (Y/N) said pulling me away from the blueprints of Beacon Hills High, and between her legs.

  “Oh yeah, what did you have in mind?” I asked running my hands up the outside of her thighs.

  “This.” Like lightning she had me across the room pressed into the wall. I smirked as concrete durst rained down around us. She swallowed it with a bruising kiss that had me tasting blood. I moaned at the feeling.

  I ripped her clothes from her body as she did the same to me. An animalistic growl ripping from her throat as she jump into me. I pulled her legs around my waist as I slammed into her. The screams that exploded from her were delicious as I thrust into her. Her arms wrapped around me and one hand tore painfully at my hair. I didn’t last long and soon I was releasing inside her. I dropped her as I slid down the wall spent. I looked at (Y/N) as she caught her breath beside me, watching with pride as the marks I had made on her neck and chest faded from sight.

 -

  (Y/N)’s POV

  I stood on shaky legs looking down at void as he watched me. HIs eyes were focused on the disappearing marks on my chest. He had certainly improved the frail mortal body I had before, but as I looked at the boy with the dark circles under his eyes I couldn’t help but feel a cold feeling crawling up in my body. I started to walk away confused and unsatisfied.

  “Where are you going?” There was a small part inside me that wanted to flinch at his voice, it was more than unnerving. He saved me, he remade me. I loved him. Didn’t I?

  “Just to get you a washcloth my love.” The lie rolled off my lips effortlessly as I continued my march in the direction of the barley working bathroom.

  “God I remade you perfect didn’t I?” He spoke as if just voicing his thoughts so I didn’t answer. I wasn’t quite sure he was right.

  I made it to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. I was naked and could care less, before I had always been self concious about my body but now I had confidence. Real confidence, not the facade that I had been putting on since the supernatural invaded my life. I could take care of myself now. I was strong, stronger than even a werewolf, and faster than one too. I could heal, I could fight, and better than all that void had set me free. Scott always had these moral codes that got in the way of making things happen. Now I was free from that burden, and causing problems was so much more fun than solving them.

  My mind was suddenly pulled to a day not long ago. I was with Stiles in my bedroom playing a game of  chess and talking about our latest case. This  warm feeling was blooming in my chest and I wasn’t quite sure what it was. I knew it was a memory but the feeling felt foreign, like someone had erased it from me. I thought to void, I loved him. He saved me, he made me better than I was before. I thought again of that day in my room, Stiles hands flying around wildly as he explained his asinine theories, occasionally knocking over a chess piece, the warm feeling grew. Suddenly I felt wrong, being here with void instead of with Stiles, trying to create the problems I used to help solve. It was like paint chipping away revealing what had been underneath. I didn’t want that burden. Always needing to save the world, never getting what I wanted. Void was the next best thing. I struggled to reason with myself, the internal conflict bubbling into rage as I crashed my fist down into the sink, shards of it flying all around the room. I felt a piece bite into my cheek but I didn’t even blink. I knew it would heal in a matter of seconds anyway. Void came crashing through the bathroom door a second later.

  “What the hell happened?” He looked angry.

  “I’m still getting used to my strength.” I lied again looking at the ruin I had caused, part of me proud the other part, horrified.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll learn soon enough.” Void reassured me stiffly, like a misbehaving dog.

  “Or you won’t, I don’t mind. I’ve always been a fan of chaos and destruction.” He looked up at me with a dark smile before leaving me to admire the ruin I had caused, and to wonder what I would destroy next.

 -

  I walked behind void as we entered the school. Void easily knocked Scott and Kira to the side. I watched as Stiles and Lydia stumbled away from us in fear. It made me sad to see them running from me, but I couldn’t understand why. I had no attachments to these people I shouldn’t be feeling anything, but I was.

  “Divine move? Divine move? You think you have any moves at all? You can kill the Oni, but me? Me? I’m a thousand years old! You can’t kill me!” Void was screaming at them.

  “But we can change you!” Lydia and Stiles stopped backing away something was wrong. I turned and watched Scott run at void. I stepped in between them, Scott sent me flying back into a wall the force of it knocking me to the ground clinging to consciousness. It was enough to warn void.

  “Change the host. Well it’s a good thing I brought back up.” Void taunted as their plan failed.

  “What did you do to her?”  Stiles voice was weak but I could tell he was angry. Why did he care, we were nothing to each other. Then I thought back to the memory of us playing chess. I thought it had been a figment of my imagination, but what if I was wrong. What if void did more then just bring me back and make me stronger.

  “I made her better. I took away her memories of you all. Her morals are gone and I instilled in her the same thirst for destruction and power that I have. That’s how I saved her life, by giving her some of mine. She’s just as strong as I am and completely obedient to me. The perfect soldier.” The ringing in my head did nothing to drown out voids words. He had taken things from me. These people were my friends, and they were still trying to save me. As I lay prone on the tile floor I couldn’t quite figure out if I wanted them too.

  “Well we will just have to get rid of you to save her.” Kira said as the pack formed a semicircle around void and I.

  “I’m afraid her life force draws it’s power from my own. Kill me and you kill her. Not that I wouldn’t mind her death, she dosen’t mean that much to me anymore. Stiles thought I loved her, and I did when I was bound to him, his emotions would infect me but once I was free they left me.” Void mocked them.

  “Then why did you save her life?” Scott asked.

  “Who better to cause you all this much pain then someone you all love.” Void spoke, my vision changing from black spots to a weird glow.

  Suddenly I wasn’t in the school hallway. I was laughing at a lunch table with Scott and Stiles. I was shopping with Lydia for a formal dress. I was studying with kira for our econ test, but mostly talking about her crush on Scott. I was standing with Stiles our hands wrapped around a lit flare that a soaking Scott was holding in a motel parking lot. I was researching werewolves with Stiles after Scott was bit. I was out in the woods getting escorted back to Stiles jeep by his dad after he, Scott, and I had gone out looking for a body.

  These images kept flashing through my mind, one after the other. Memories returning to me.

  I was holding a young Stiles hands as we stood over his mother's grave. His tears falling onto my shoulder as I did my best to be there for him.

  Scott running into my small arms crying that his dad had left.

  One after another these images came to me and all the darkness I had been holding onto was suddenly pushed away. Void was not my friend.

  I stood as one final image flashed through my mind. Stiles and Scott and I meeting for the first time in the sand box. These people weren’t just my friends, they were my home. And Void had tried to take that from me.

  “You are no match for the both of us, so why don’t you just stand aside.” Void taunted them as he watched me stand.

  “Yup, I’ve gone darkside. I’m just like Anakin Skywalker at the end of return of the jedi.” I told them standing up at voids side. I watched Stiles eyes widen with realisation. I sent him the smallest of smiles hoping he would understand that I was doing this for him.

  I turned on void then, slamming him back into the lockers before throwing him to the ground. I pounced on him, letting out all the darkness and rage he had put inside me as I tore him apart. As he died I felt myself growing stronger, I felt the darkness try to control me, but I wouldn’t let it. I didn’t know if I would survive but I had to save my friends.

-

  I was lying on something cool. My body felt strange, and my head hurt. I could make out voices that were coming from very far away.

  “What happened back there, she said she was Anakin, but isn’t he the bad guy?” The familiar voice of Scott pulled me from unconsciousness. I opened my eyes and sat up on the examination table from the clinic. Scott was nowhere to be found.

  “Anakin is the bad guy, he’s darth vader but at the end of return of the Jedi he turns back to the light side and fights against the emperor to save Luke. She must have broken free of his influence to save us.” Stiles explained. I wandered through the clinic searching for the boys as their words played clearly in my head.

  “Deaton thinks she absorbed all of voids power when she killed him. Do you think she has his darkness too?” Scott seemed afraid of what I might become.

  “There might be a darkness inside of her, but there’s light too. Just like a jedi, it matters which one she chooses and I think you can remember as well as I can that she chose the light.” Stiles explained, the confidence in his voice filling me with a warm feeling as I walked outside to where the boys were leaning against the jeep.

  “Dude, what are you saying?” Scott asked, confused by Stiles reference.

  “Scott don’t you think it's about time you watched Star Wars.” I said drawing the boys attention to me. Scott just looked at me in shock, Stiles however wasted no time running to me and consuming me in a bone crushing hug.

  “Wait, it’s really you.” Scott was still wary.

  “I think so, yeah.” I said as Stiles pulled back, one of his arms remained wrapped around me.

  “No desire to feed of pain and misery?” Scott persisted.

  “Nope, but I could go for some pizza.” I told him realising how hungry I was. Finally a smile spread over Scotts face and he crossed to Stiles and I and pulled us both into a hug.

  “I’m going to wake up the girls, they’re going to want to come too.” Scott said pulling away from us and heading back inside the clinic leaving me and Stiles alone.

  I turned to look at Stiles as he fiddled with the end of his shirt.

  “Look (Y/N), I…” He began, but I cut him off by pressing my lips to his. Pulling him down into a kiss that was finally right, only when I was about to pass out did I come up for air.

  “I know, I do too.” I told him resting my forehead against his a smile spreading across my face.

  Suddenly a whistle pulled us apart. I looked over at Scott, Kira, and Lydia all standing with stupid smiles on their face.

  “It’s about damn time.” Lydia smirked at us. The rest of the group laughed.

  I wanted to blush but Stiles didn’t give me the chance, he pulled me back to him and crashed his lips down onto my own. Our friends laughter soon turned to cheers as I lost myself in Stiles.

  I could feel it inside me, I wasn’t the same anymore, but it was okay. I thought of Scott and Lydia and Kira, and now me and Stiles. I could feel a darkness inside me, but I could feel a strength too. If there was one thing I’d learned over the last year is that change doesn't have to be bad, it doesn't have to be an end. Sometimes it can be a beginning.

Fin

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