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raayllum · 9 months ago

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Why is Clauderry together / why is Terry with Claudia?

This is a question I've seen posed more than a few times in the fandom, of people feeling confused with why Claudia is with Terry (despite her dislike of elves) and more so why Terry is with Claudia despite her being a walking collection of red flags. This has, admittedly, always questions I felt the show answered quite well and obviously, but if it's still being probed, then... why not?

Let's talk about it.

Why is Claudia with Terry?

The only prior examples we have with Claudia having any kind of romantic connection is with Callum, which never came to fruition; I've also gone on record saying myself that the show made it clear Callum's feelings for Claudia were a lot stronger than whatever, if any, she held for him. However, in her interactions with Callum even just as a friend, we can see what she appreciates in her free time. For starters, we see that Claudia enjoys being a goofball:

We see that a shared sense of humour is something that Claudia cares about, as one of the only compliments she gives to Callum is "You always make me laugh" and "That was very confident Callum" as he was able to go with the flow while asserting himself.

Words of affirmation is also something she clearly enjoys. Appreciation, acknowledgement, and gratitude are very important to her.

(Side note: This is also part of why she spirals into "I did all THIS FOR YOU" on the beach in a "You owe me your life" kind of way, because she was prepared and sacrificed and saved you, and doesn't that deserve acknowledgement? Doesn't that mean getting what she wants? What she's owed? But I digress.)

We also see early fracturing in Callum not trusting her (1x03, 2x03), a subsequent breakdown in honest communication on both sides, and that Claudia reads Callum as being judgemental of her dark magic use, which is also something that frustrates her about Soren:

(Part of this is because Claudia has gone from seeing dark magic as just an amazing beautiful tool to a terrible but necessary one, so necessary that it overrules any other reservations... because she's attached to seeing herself as a Good Person—"But I'm not evil, it's me"—but again, I digress.)

Conversely, Terry has all of those things in spades. He admires and relies upon her dark magic use, he's someone she can be reciprocally goofy with, he's extremely attentive and loyal (and loyalty/devotion is something that is also extremely important to her), and perhaps most importantly, he's helpful and non-judgemental.

Terry also explains that one of the things Claudia likes about him is his smarts / creative thinking ("Goofy and glorious, just like you" / "You saved the day Ter-Bear") and his thoughtfulness:

Claudia says I think too much about everything, and that makes me weird, and wonderful, so...

This makes sense as Claudia values being prepared in her own day-to-day life curtesy of being a dark mage, and that Soren's tendency to being impatient when they were growing up together (lying about Harrow without consulting her, picking the fight with the dragon, etc) was something that got on her nerves.

As for the Elf 'elephant' in the room... Claudia also doesn't have an issue trusting Aaravos for one simple reason: he's helping her save her dad.

Even while she's warning Soren against trusting or forming friendships with other elves and dragons because they might "take advantage" of him and be fake friends, she can't see that's precisely what Aaravos is doing to her. In a similar vein, Terry also believes in her (as he says directly in 4x09) and is helping her save her father, so why would she have a problem with him even if he's an elf?

That doesn't mean there aren't problems in Claudia's worldview, or that exceptionalizing people is a Good thing to do, particularly to your partner, but it's a clearly defined and realistic cognitive dissonance. Claudia has moved past seeing all elves as Bad™ to "these ones are good" because they're helping her, and not getting in her way, and that's all she really personally cares about.

However, I think most people can understand why Claudia's with Terry, given how sweet and routinely supportive she is. The bigger thornier question then is the opposite. So let's talk about that too.

Why is Terry with Claudia?

One of the most common things people say when it comes to Terry and Claudia is that they wish we could see how they met (and presumably whether that initial attraction was there from the start or how it developed). This usually leans into an underpinning idea (and I could be wrong) that seeing their beginning would help indicate why Terry fell for her (and thereby why he stays). And I would definitely be interested in how they met, and am open to seeing it, whether in a show, graphic novel, or novelization mention.

That said, I think the show has also answered these accordingly. In a lot of ways, there's really only two reasons why Terry is with Claudia as she is in arc 2:

1) He doesn't have an Issue with dark magic.

He admires Claudia's use of it ("And your daughter's amazing, she brought you back from the dead, wow!"), is open and receptive to using it ("Dark magic has a tingly aftertaste, nobody ever tells you that"), and doesn't see anything fundamentally wrong with it ("Should I give up dark magic? Terry, tell me what to do" "Claudia, I can't"). On the one hand, this makes sense; there are spell ingredients of dark magic that aren't that different from hunting and given that Terry grew up near the Drakeriders, I'd find it hard to believe if the Drake riders don't hunt and eat meat, so even if Terry's village didn't, he was at least somewhat close to societies that did.

That doesn't mean he has zero reservations about dark magic ("I've seen you do some awful things, dark magic things" / "Are you mixing the pentapus ink with your own blood?") but that to him, it's not any different from how Claudia thinks about it. She also thinks she's done terrible things in the name of saving her father:

But I'm not evil. It's me. You know me.

I had to do things... [starts crying] I never imagined I would be able to do. (4x01)

This is also how Terry copes with murdering Ibis, citing "I had to, I couldn't let him hurt you," "and he was going to take Claudia's life, I had no choice," and "I'm going to be strong enough to do whatever I need to do and still have feelings." To Terry what matters most is exactly what he says in 4x09: why are you doing these things? Are they actually necessary?

Terry loves Claudia (and Viren by extension) above anything else. Everything he does is for them, good or bad. That devotional loyalty is something that Claudia also lives by, and is arguably her and Terry's biggest shared life value.

Doing terrible things is okay if it's in the name of love, and if it's not, then you shouldn't do them. This is why when he talks about his grief/guilt with Ibis, Terry always scaffolds it alongside the reason why he did it.

This is also why Terry steps in exclusively when what Claudia is doing is unnecessary. She didn't need to trick Rayla in order to get away. She doesn't need to kill the dragon ("It won't follow us anymore, it's trapped") as it's already helpless. They're actions without good reasons, which is also why Terry distrusts Aaravos, because he realizes:

Maybe this story started out as a story of love, but along the way it got twisted. [...] He isn't doing anything for love. He's doing it out of revenge.

So long as Claudia is doing things out of love, Terry will stick by her. And if she stops doing it out of love, then she stops being the Claudia he knows.

Which, I'll also note, is fundamentally different from the Claudia that everyone else knows, because

2) He didn't know Claudia beforehand.

Terry doesn't know Claudia as a semi sheltered girl growing up in the palace who did dark magic solely for fun, nor how most of her close personal relationships (Soren, Callum, Ezran) got destroyed in the span of 3ish weeks. He only knows Claudia who uses dark magic (seemingly) 90% out of complete necessity for flight, safety, and bringing her father back. He seemingly doesn't really know how Soren and Claudia had their falling out, nor does he have any real clue who Callum or Ezran are.

Because Claudia was his only way to know these things rather than knowing multiple people involved, or even living through experiences, Terry would've gotten sparse details or the version that is how Claudia experienced them, and he has no reason to doubt her.

To be clear, I'm not saying that their set up is perfect or that their relationships is perfectly healthy. It's not. Claudia's singular control over how Terry knows the experiences of her life when we as an audience know it's very different is an issue, but is not that dissimilar from when you meet / date new people to begin with (i.e. was their ex really that bad, or were they the problem is sometimes something that can only be known in time). Terry's passivity and mirrored worldview helps enable Claudia's even when she's being destructive to herself and others, and her treating Terry as an exception for his people is also not good in the long run. Clauderry walks this line of being incredibly sweet and uncomfortable, and I think that's one of the things that makes it interesting and with spades of tragedy, particularly going into S7. Terry may not yet have a deep seated issue with dark magic (which enables Claudia but also frees her up to grow on her own terms), but it is the reason they may be torn apart in the future for a time.

I do think they'll find their way back together eventually (even if they'll always be Divorced Eventually in my head). To me, it's clear why they love each other, and while TDP could say that's not enough (and I think that'd be a very interesting valid route to take), I don't think that they will. This scene exists, after all:

#clauderry #tdp #the dragon prince #tdp meta #tdp terry #tdp claudia #analysis series #analysis #arc 2 #s4 #terry #claudia #characterization

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thegremlininyourcloset · 2 months ago

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Hello, I saw you reblogged my post about my AU versions of Steph saying you had your own collection of Steph's and I'm very curious to hear about them

Oh wow hi!!!! okay so I have a lot

very few of them are coherent

even fewer of them have any sort of story

but basically there’s ain’t no easy roads Steph, who I’ve worked teh most on for my fic Step Left For A Better Future (which has the first chapter on ao3 and several other snippets here on Tumblr if you wanna read it!!!)

the plot is that its basically a fix it if Steph’s Robin run—except that isn’t what it is at all because it’s very angsty

basically, Steph is the Robin in Titans Tower, and ends up fighting for her life (he’s not really trying to kill her but Steph doesn’t know that) against one Jason Todd (who she does not know the name of btw)

and then the next fics are going to focus on the aftermath + how the attack (and Steph’s reaction to it) kinda served as a reality check for the other Bats

then there are the other AUs, which are more like ideas than anything else

there’s finders keepers, where Vampire! Dick Grayson ends up found familying Human! (Or is she?) Steph

it gets better, where a Transfem! Steph strikes up an online friendship with a Transmasc! Wally West

prepare for trouble (& make it double) which is a Steph and Tim childhood civilian friends au (where they are also both trans)

then there’s liar, liar, where Steph actually DID die and lied about it to everyone

I have also had thoughts on a Red Hood!Steph, a First Robin! Steph, a Batman! Steph, a Luck Meta! Steph, & Green Lantern! Steph

and one idea where the Batfamily are separated for whatever reason and Steph must rescue/reunite them

and the there’s the AU where Steph is taken form the Bats, and has to fight her way back all while they look for her (which might include a Batfamily with psychic/soulmate bonds and will absolutely include stephcass)

The Steph in Young Justice AU (featuring spoilsecrets!! My favorite rarepair)

Not to mention some passing monster/creature/nonhuman Steph ideas (I wanna make her a dragon)

and also the not-exactly Steph-centric but still heavily featuring her AUs

with

Into The The Robin-Verse

with features all the Robins, and a weird multiversal mishap

Batgirl, Batgirl, Batgirl…Superboy?

where Kon gets yoinked/adopted by the Cryptid! Batgirls

and

a shape all your own

the transfem! Damian AU, with transfem Steph as a mentor/big sister figure

Wow holy shit I really do have a lot—

And @fictfrenzy @themoonwitch-mustspeak y’all might wanna see the whole list

#stephanie brown #batfamily #batfam #dc #stephanie brown au

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thexgrayxlady · 10 days ago

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As much as I love my angsty headcanons, I love the idea of Murtagh reestablishing old friendships and making new ones while in Illeria.

He appreciates that despite all the problems that it will cause for her, Nasuada stands by and supports him. She's given him and Thorn a safe place to recover and figure out what comes next and he's so grateful for her friendship.

She appreciates his council as he becomes more comfortable and less afraid that he'll be thrown out for any misstep. She finds that she likes him best when he's being opinionated and stubborn, even if he doesn't necessarily agree with her.

He helps her learn more formal court dances, despite her claim that she's not much of a dancer. He quickly realizes that it's not so much that she's a bad dancer, it's that she's not good at following. Which is fine by him as he knows both parts and is more than happy to teach her to lead. After all, who's to tell the queen how she should dance?

He and Alin help each other get out of their respective shells. He's patient with her when she finds the outside world overwhelming. His and Thorn's quarters will always be a safe place for her to retreat to. Likewise, she's seen him at his worst and doesn't think any less of him.

They go out into the city often and encourage each other to try things they would have otherwise found frightening. He helps her learn to act her age and have fun. He teaches her to fence and throw a punch in order to defend herself. She teaches him to knit and admires his determination to make a dragon scarf.

At one point, she's invited to go out dancing by some other servants and she doesn't particularly want to go, but she thinks he would enjoy it. And she's heard Thorn complain enough to know that he would not go for himself. But if she asks him to accompany her, he will nobly go into danger. Thorn's a little miffed as he has had to concoct Schemes to get Murtagh even close to ye olde club and all she had to do was ask him to go with her. It only works once.

He has referred to Alin as his sister often enough that for years, Eragon just assumed that she is their blood relative. Straight up, this family is so goddamn weird, this might as well happen. Hello long lost sister.

He and Trianna have an epic bromance on the basis of magic, mage's rights, and being the hottest bitches in any given room. If you are at a ball and see the two of them off in a corner laughing, you should feel judged. She helps him a lot with filling in the gaps in his education and he appreciates that she doesn't dumb anything down for him. She is of the opinion that his spells are either brilliant, about the worst way he could have written it, or an abomination that nobody else should ever know about. Sometimes, all three at once.

She has a pair of apprentices who absolutely adore him in the way you look up to a cool grad student or an older cousin with questionable views on fireworks safety.

He and Orrin get along like a house on fire. People are calling ye olde emergency services to stop them from being science buddies. They scry with each other once, and within ten minutes, Nasuada decides that if the king ever comes for a diplomatic visit, the two of them are never to be left unsupervised. And no, Thorn does not count as adequate supervision. They regularly talk about whatever they're working on and delight in sharing discoveries with each other. He has a standing invitation to just show up in Surda whenever the hell he wants.

While he may have his issues with his brother, Vanir still bullied him until he was strong enough to fight back, so Murtagh neither likes nor respects the elf. Unfortunately, Vanir gets along weirdly well with Alin as they're both unfamiliar with life among human society. The elf is initially only brought along on shenanigans for his diplomatic immunity. Murtagh and Trianna treat dragging him like a competitive sport. Thorn is winning by a mile. They have left him in an Illerian prison overnight. Repeatedly.

Eventually, as he sees that Vanir is making an honest effort to treat humans better, the elf grows on him like e. coli on room temperature meat. At some point, someone from outside the group makes fun of him and as a collective, they decide that it is open season. Vanir is an obnoxious asshole, but he is their obnoxious asshole.

At some point, he's struggling with a bad bout of melancholy. Thorn's grateful that Murtagh's started to lean on him for help rather than block out his worst moods and suffer through it alone. He knows that although it will take some time, he can see his partner through to the other side. Still, this time, he gets their friends. Thorn makes sure that Murtagh knows that they're here just because he asked. Because he needs them. Because they love him.

It doesn't fix things, but they makes it easier to bear. It means a lot to him to see that even though he's difficult and bitter and angry and melancholic, there are people who care about him.

#Murtagh #murtagh morzansson #Depression TW #Man deserves good things okay #That includes friends and a support system #IDK I'm just yapping this got longer messier and angstier than I meant for it to be

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anguishedlurker · 8 months ago

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I've been Isekaied into Paulina's Novel?!

Welcome to the fic for the EctoImposion 2024 event! I was paired with @thebooo-merang for this wonderful fic, and you should go check them out! And check out the ao3 posting HERE

After an incident with Box Ghost solicits a fight with Ghost Writer, Ghost Writers out for revenge. And Paulina has a convenient little fanfiction that Ghost writer could use. Now Danny just has to survive it, with a starstruck Paulina in tow.

The first chapter doesn't especially need warnings, as everything remains cannon typical. It's under the cut!

"Get back here!" Danny shouted, ready to be done with wit for today.

"I, THE BOOOX GHOOOST, WILL-"

"Piss off Ghost Writer!" Do you just break into random lairs in search of weird boxes!?" Danny screeched, trying to dive after a flying notebook.

"I, THE BOX GHOST, WILL-" Box shouted over Danny, waving wildly as he went and sending even more boxes and books flying back and forth.

"RUIN WHAT LITTLE TRUCE I'VE GOT GOING WITH HIM!" Danny cut back, struggling to grab books mid-air with one arm and blast Boxy into submission with the other.

"THE BOX GHOST HAS NO NEED FOR LECTURES ON YOUR INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS! PREPARE TO BE DESTROYED!"

Danny was gonna kill him this time!

Boxes and books rained over the town, causing havoc and mild property damage to the unprepared. Paulina could only huff and puff as she bolted across the open street from shop to shop, trying to find somewhere to camp out while Phantom dealt with the box menace, trying to keep an eye out for whatever storefront Star had managed to find for herself.

Another keeper kept their shoulder into the door as she pushed, and bitterly she cursed them out. She probably didn't get any sympathetic glances through the wood door, but whatever! Rude ass motherfuckers locking out innocents while there was an attack!

It was tempting to keep under the eave, but beyond being mere cloth too much was getting tossed around- plenty enough room for something to slam in sideways and get her then!

God! One good day is all she wanted right now.

Though a few more after wouldn't go amiss...

There! The geek shit shop was probably going to let her in! Maybe!

She didn't care, actually, she'd punch through the glass if she had to! Take that, losers!

First, she needed the mental psyche up to dart across the road again. Three, two, one, go!

The owner, or possible customer, waved behind the glass as she ran.The door opened and closed near instantaneously on her entry.

The sound of Phantom yelling at The Box Ghost dampened as the bell rang, and the store owner gave her an uneasy smile and gestured towards the windowless back.

“Everyone’s in the back. Might be cramped by now, but there’s a lot of shelves to sit behind.” He nervously informed, eyeing the glass windows.

The casual thumbs up sent him away as she bent slightly to wheeze out the adrenaline.

Yeah, cheer takes some stamina, but adrenaline really messes up her rhythm!

Breath caught, it was time to pack in with the other unlucky idiots back here. With care and precision she marched over behind the popular shelf, examined the bodies packed like sardines, and picked a new shelf to hide behind.

This one was packed with books instead of weird anime figures and dungeons and dragons minis, the spines a cold comfort as she sat down and started staring.

The titles on this sort of crap were so weird…

But she supposed Star seemed to enjoy them, Star's rants echoing clearly in her head.

She wouldn’t admit it with a gun to her head, but after enough of those rants… she may or may not be able to pick out a few of the series on display.

Sue her, she's a sucker for some of the romances even if they were trashy a lot of the time. And Star's collection at this rate was pretty impressive, to the point Paulina was convinced she was the only reason a store like this could keep afloat in a town like Amity.

The other nerd shit probably helped it keep alive, though. More screaming outside, this time sounding like it was from The Box Ghost in rage. Good. Phantom could pummel that no good fool to goo for what it mattered.

... Ugh. The fight could easily take a long time; Box Ghost might be weak, but he clearly had a lot of material to use this time. But whatever. Here she is in a castle of weeb books. Maybe some could be a good distraction.

"No! Not you!"

"Yes, me! Did you think you could trash my library and get away with it!?" Ghost Writer roared, trying to come up from behind.

"It wasn't me, it was-"

But Box Ghost was already gone, the leftover boxes of books now floating to the ground in a suspiciously gentle manner.

Coward. The thought wouldn't leave as Danny shifted the books he'd been trying to save around, awkwardly offering the armful to Ghost Writer.

Ghost Writer loomed ominously.

All at once the outside world went quiet, some shouting occasionally coming close enough to hear, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief loud enough to drag Paulina from her pile of books.

Five more minutes would've been great to finish the book she'd had in hand, not that it mattered...

Now she needed to find where Star ran off to without her, the books carefully left behind in a pile.

Phantom and a ghost she couldn’t recognize quipped back and forth, the day still significantly quieter than it had been fifteen minutes before. The area remained strewn with books, the ghost gesturing to some on a roof.

Now, she could walk around the district lost and confused looking for Star... Or just sit back down on a nice ledge and wait for Star to come to her while watching Phantom.

Phantom made an odd twist in the air as he shouted, still a little too distant to make out properly.

Yeah, watching sounded so much safer and calmer. One hop later and she was perched on top of one of the lower walls purporting to be defensive.

Fat lot of good they did...

Phantom and his assailant came closer, lending her a nice view of what was going on.

Maybe she shouldn't be here, but it seemed to be more arguing than fighting, so whatever.

"While I'm sorry my NOT PARTNER didn't have a spine, you can have yours back!" Phantom shouted as they passed overhead, throwing a book at the weird ghost.

She had to huff out a clipped laugh as the ghost was whacked, even as the ghost elected to bolt as it realized its inferiority.

She could just hear the stunned silence from Phantom, right before he cried out "Get back here!"

Truly, a foolish thing to think it could stand up to the town hero.

With a certain lack of ceremony, the book the from the fight fell onto her

"Ouch!" She yelped, one hand raising to rub her scalp as the other fumbled for the offending book.

The whole thing might be a sign it's time to get up and go. Still...

"Raining books is a new one." She muttered, far too late for the comment to be witty but all the same a perfectly serious remark on the latest weird shit Amity came up with.

She cautiously eyed the book in her hands, looking for any oddities. You could never quite trust some of this stuff...

It was just a notebook. Nothing special about it, besides being a trophy for today. The decoration and signature on front was incomprehensible to her, an initial she didn't recognize against the slightly plain front.

Caving to curiosity, the book opened easily. Not that she’d expected anything else.

It revealed... nothing. Nothing at all. None of the pages had any sort of writing in them.

Well she can't be begrudged for snooping- it's her prize right now. An apology for getting assaulted in broad daylight. This G-W could just deal with it, and the spat was already away from her, so it's not like she was going to be in more danger sitting here.

The blank notebook continued to be uninteresting, and she couldn’t help her annoyance as she shut it. There wasn’t a damn thing to pay her back for getting hit.

Or... well...

She could feel her lip work up into a slight smirk.

I have been wanting to write a new Phantom fic...

The thought was clear as day to her, even as she couldn't wait for the night. What better way to celebrate this particular trophy?

Ghost Writer was forced to watch on in abject misery as he realized his collection had been tossed around like a toddler’s toys. No respect whatsoever from the box obsessed lunatic for the actual contents of the boxes.

The nerve! The audacity! To treat his writing like this! The ghost may well need a lesson in manners.

But first, Phantom.

Sure, the boy wasn't the sole force at work- but undeniably the lunatic never would've gotten close to his manuscripts if Phantom hadn't been snooping around in his library.

But don't think he's lost the plot of getting his own books tossed at him! The tactical retreat was nothing more than an admission of lack of home turf!

Nothing to do with not having his typewriter or any notebooks activated!

Ahem... So the child would need an appropriate punishment as well.

Sometime after he collected his books

The whole lot of them, all across town! Lunatics.

It was easy enough to threaten people away from his scripts, but nonetheless annoying and time consuming. Go here, show up there, yell to get their grubby mitts off his stuff.

Ugh.

The annoyance was the cost of getting everything back. though. He pointedly ignored Phantom’s continued patrolling, likely looking for whatever trap Ghost Writer would end up creating.

Easy enough to stay low and out of sight in the meantime. Whatever he was about to do, it wasn't a ‘now’ plan. Such things take planning, and unfortunately it's not the season to stick the boy back into Christmas stories.

So he was collecting his books, and chasing fools away from them. The cost of love, he supposed.

Still, he was being forced to waste hours upon hours taking his books out of the hands of fools. Having such a collection was not currently a point of pride; He’d have to figure out what went where later.

Slowly but surely his boxes filled back up as he found his manuscripts. There was his old horror story from the eighties, there was his attempt at something akin to a superhero comic, there was his dabbling in... well he couldn't remember either, but if he sat to read it right now it'd take hours for him to finish the book. No reading for him.

Finally, it was time to find his blank notebooks again. He'd be forced to admit that he simply cared less if these ones vanished mysteriously, for a blank notebook was nothing more or less than a possibility.

Most were alright, scattered down the streets carelessly. Some had been picked up and put back down to be examined by wretched hands at a later date.

There was an exception though, something swaying as if held at the edge of where he could feel things. Curious, for how late at night it was getting, but that'd just mean he needed to scare another pathetic mortal off his books.

The pull and search brought him to a cracked window in the suburbs. Nothing meaningful crossed his path, though it was good to be wary; The boy was likely still patrolling, and no doubt Ghost Writer's appearance had put him on edge. As it should.

Slowly rising up to look through, invisible to the mortal eye, he could hear a girl rambling slightly.

His look through the window was enlightening, the girl curled onto her bed as she wrote with ink that even from this distance sparkled with glitter.

"And then Princess Paulina lived happily ever after with Prince Phantom, aaannd the end." She whispered, pleased with herself.

Barely pausing, she snapped the book shut and laid it on her nightstand, moving to stand and stretch.

Shouting called her away, which was plenty convenient for him even as she huffed and puffed out of the room.

It was child's play to take the notebook back, even with it defiled by mortal hands. It wasn't a toy to be left with creatures that didn't understand what could be done with such tools.

The cover had already been decorated with a couple of stickers and a flowing cursive he couldn't bother deciphering at this second.

Phasing back out of the room and coming to rest back outside of the window, he flipped the cover open. The inside was decorated similarly.

Oh, yes. That was glitter pen. The pages were coming away bedazzled with runaway glitter.

This book was most certainly going to have to be put in its own container, but for right this second the name on the inside was of modest curiosity.

Paulina Sanchez in bold strokes, fancy flourishes forgone in favor of legibility. If found, return to owner, do not read.

Well now he just had to, didn't he? It wasn't like the rest of the books were going anywhere, the grand total of three he still had to find now could rest safely.

Or well... No, he could spare the time now> What would the boy do, if it blows up on them both? The books shouldn't even be in the town anyways, and it was most certainly his fault thank you very much!

He quickly leafed through the beginning burning through thanks to his superior-ness and a speed reading class he'd attended before.

... hmm.

Hmmmmm.

He'd recently been complaining about what to do with the boy, no?

"This could work." He spoke to no-one, clapping the book shut. For now.

Barely past sunrise, Danny squinted at the sky and grumbled. Damn malicious blob ghosts, eating billboards.

Not that he cares about the billboards, but first it's a billboard and then it's drywall.

"Catch!" Got shouted, an object (presumably) sailing from behind him.

Snapping too and turning, he could see Ghost Writer grin manically in glee as a book opened wide.

All he could do was choke out an "eh?" as he reflexively reached, the book splayed open and glowing. Illustory pages floated up and off, and he had a really bad feeling about what was coming next as the world around him went white.

Coming to under Ghost Writers writing was not a fun thing to experience, see. One did not simply fade into one of his chaotic and weirdly random worlds. You blink and then suddenly you're just there!

Danny was there, wherever there was. Somewhere was currently a bright grass field, with a decorated horse beside him.

Which he would grant was a better entrance than the last time he'd been flung into one of Ghost Writer's many insane stories.

He would never forget that anglerfish...

But almost just as fast as he got here there was another stupidly bright light, and someone was falling into his arms, briefly bundled into his chest before quickly popping back up to look at him.His tongue was stuck in a way that implied Ghost Writer had ideas about what he should or shouldn't be saying at this time, but that didn't stop the extremely strained noise he gave when he realized the person was Paulina, looking VERY enthused.

#danny phantom #danny fenton #paulina sanchez #ghost writer (danny phantom)#fanfiction #long #ectoimplosion2024 #isekai #transported into another world

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bitethedemon · 7 months ago

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Daggers, Poison, and Shiny Things (Lucanis x Reader x Illario): Chapter 4

<-Last Chapter / Next Chapter ->

Link to this fic on AO3

Tags: Slow burn, De Riva Reader, Eventual Smut, Messy Love Triangles

Fic summary: You lost everything in Rivain: your family, your home, and your hopes of ever becoming a seer. Treviso offered you revenge, but you were not prepared for the loneliness you would find amongst the Crows. The busiest assassin in Antiva became your only friend. That is, until he died and left you alone to pick up the pieces of yourself and his devastated cousin.

Imagine then, that your dead old flame shows up after a year, very much alive, with a very loud demon at his side and a hot new boss, while you have to explain that you are now dating his cousin. Don't you just hate it when that happens?

The city had been in complete disarray, and the Cantori Diamond had been much the same when the information came in: a dragon had landed in Treviso. It was all hands on deck. Even you were ordered to go out there and fight, which was saying something about the level of fucked you all were.

Lucanis came too to defend his home. Everything was going completely to shit before Rook swooped in and saved the day.

When she arrived, they miraculously managed to make the dragon retreat. Parts of the city were completely destroyed, but it could have been much worse.

It’s not that you weren’t grateful. You were. Your home had been saved.

You just did not need to see the way Lucanis looked at her once it was over. Now you had to hear from everyone about how great Rook was. Apparently, she had let everything go sideways in Minrathous just to save Treviso.

You could not help wondering: Why?

She was a Mourn Watcher from Nevarra. She had no allegiance to Treviso. There was no other possibility in your mind than she had done it for Lucanis, and that thought was gnawing at your mind.

Between worrying about your partner acting weird and your jealousy towards Rook, there was no more space in your head for any other feelings. You could not let it go. Your mind was constantly buzzing with it.

There really was no sense to any of your worrying. Logically, you knew that worrying about Illario was a lost cause, as it had always been. Logically, you knew that Lucanis wasn’t yours anymore and he should do whatever made him happy. Your mind did not listen to logic though.

It was about two weeks after the attack that you heard a knock on your door.

No one ever visited your home, except Illario and he always used the key you hid in the flowerpot on the windowsill. Viago would not be caught dead in your neighborhood, so he never visited unless someone was dead or dying. No one ever knocked.

You opened the door and were surprised to see Lucanis there. The dark circles around his eyes seemed to only have gotten worse. He looked like he had never slept a day in his life. There was something more than just tiredness too.

“Is…” Lucanis began. “Is Illario here? I don’t want to intrude. Viago said you would be here.”

“No, he’s not,” you answered and opened the door more to let him in. “You’re not intruding. Please, come in.”

He gave a small nod. You led him into the living room and gestured for him to sit down before you went to get a cup of coffee for him. When you handed it to him and he didn’t complain about how thin it was, you knew that something was really wrong.

“What’s going on?”

His eyes flickered to you as if he had almost half-forgotten that you were there while he was seemingly lost in his own mind. Spite was looking around your house, examining the paintings on the walls one by one. He was a complete contradiction to his tired host with the energy he exuded.

“Nothing,” Lucanis said and shook his head. “Rook thought it would be a good idea if I came to see you.”

You forced your facial features not to change. Why would she suggest that?

He was going to tell you that the two of them were together now, or that he couldn’t see you anymore, you were sure of it.

Whatever it was it must have been something horrible.

“Why is that?” you asked a bit too quietly for your own liking.

He sighed and opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak before changing his mind and closing it again.

“Forget it,” he said and got up from his seat. “I shouldn’t be here. It is not fair to Illario, and in this state, with Spite—"

You got up too and stood in his way.

“Wait,” you said. “Please. What is going on?”

He was quiet for a long moment, just looking at you. He looked at you with such a broken expression.

He briefly told you about a mission they had been on in Weisshaupt. You only knew the gist of everything that was going on with the whole ‘elven gods’-situation from pieces of information you had stitched together from Viago and Illario.

“I missed,” he said quietly. “I had a perfect shot at ending a god, and I missed, River. I am no use to anyone, and it is driving me insane. I failed. I cannot even do a simple job.”

“Lucanis…” you said softly. “Killing a god isn’t a simple job.”

He groaned tiredly and ran his hand over his face before sitting down again.

“You sound just like Rook,” he said. “It is simple. I had her. And I still failed.”

“Okay fine,” you said. “But what does beating yourself up over it achieve? It happened. It’s over.”

“He’s not here,” Spite said, now looking directly at you. “Help US!”

You looked from Spite to him. You could not help asking, even though you knew it made Lucanis uncomfortable to talk about it.

“What does he mean by that?”

Lucanis glanced at Spite and then shook his head. He gave you a dismissive wave of his hand. To no surprise, he did not want to talk about it.

“Forgive me for bringing all of this to you, River,” Lucanis said. “I shouldn’t have. Rook insisted it would be good for me to talk to someone from home. I should have told her no.”

You sighed. It was frustrating how he always shut down like that.

“You can talk to me,” you said. “I hope you know that. I might be with Illario, but you and I knew each other first. We’re still friends, aren’t we?”

He looked at you for a moment and gave you a tired smile.

“How are you?” he asked.

You gave a bitter scoff.

“Let’s not.”

“You said the same last time,” he pointed out, his tone slightly lighter now that you were not talking about him. “You always said to me that I should talk more. Now I come here and talk, and you are quiet. You know I am a creature of habit. Don’t do this to me.”

You smiled at his attempt to get you to open up. The world really had gone upside down, because that was usually your job. You couldn’t lie to him. You had never been able to.

“Illario is being impossible,” you admitted. “He is driving me up the wall.”

“I know,” Lucanis said. “He is hard to talk to these days. I’ve tried. How is he?”

“He is losing his mind.”

There was a hint of worry in Lucanis’ eyes.

“How so?”

You couldn’t tell him about the First Talon thing. You had promised Viago. You could tell him about something else, but you really didn’t want to. You shouldn’t have said anything, but now you had to say something.

“He uh…” you said. “He proposed to me.”

His eyebrows raised at your words. He looked at the floor in front of him for a moment before finding your eyes again and giving you a small smile.

“Congratulations,” he said.

Your eyes narrowed slightly at his reaction.

“I didn’t say yes,” you explained. “Because of the obvious political reasons and given who I am. It can’t happen.”

It took him a second to understand what you were saying. He shrugged slightly.

“That shouldn’t hold you back if you love him,” he said, not quite keeping eye contact with you. “My great aunt married a simple tailor, and eventually got the family’s approval too.”

“There is some distance between tailor and ‘Rivaini witch’,” you said. “Besides, you two are the only Dellarmortes left. That changes things too.”

“The other families would oppose it, yes,” he said. “And Viago would kill both of you in your sleep, but you would have my blessing at least. You should do it if you want to do it.”

You couldn’t believe he was actually trying to talk you into this. You found it frustrating for some reason. Your next words flew right out of your mouth:

“He also almost cheated on me after I told him no.”

His eyes narrowed at that. You heard a low growl of irritation from him.

“Illario, you idiot,” he mumbled and shook his head. “I am so sorry. He doesn’t think with his head.”

“Don’t tell him I’ve told you that though,” you quickly added. “I forgave him, and we’re fine now. He has been through a lot. He was drinking, so…”

“I won’t,” he said with a hint of anger still in his tone. “I should not get involved in you and his relationship like this.”

“No, I know,” you said with a sigh. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything either. It’s not fair to him that we talk about this.”

Lucanis shook his head and made a dismissive hand gesture at your apology.

“It’s my fault. I asked,” he said and got up from his seat. “I should get back.”

Spite suddenly jumped up as if someone had set fire to him.

“NO!” Spite hissed loudly. “No leaving. TALK TO RIVER!”

You jumped at the sound.

“What is his problem?” you asked.

“Everything,” Lucanis answered tiredly. “I cannot get a moments peace from him these days. Ignore him.”

Lucanis suddenly groaned in discomfort and put a hand to his head as if in pain.

“Lucanis?” you said and put a hand on his shoulder.

He pushed you away and the discomfort of whatever he was going through seemed to get worse. He was fighting against Spite for control, you realized. You weren’t sure what to do. Suddenly he stopped struggling.

“…Lucanis?”

He opened his eyes, and they were glowing purple. Spite in Lucanis’ body smiled at you.

“Now. We talk,” Spite said, his voice a mix between his own and Lucanis’.

“Get out,” you warned. “Now, Spite.”

“No,” he said. “Help Lucanis. Make him talk. Make him free us.”

“Free you from where?”

“He is not HERE,” Spite said firmly. “Never left. The prison...”

You didn’t understand. Lucanis was here. You vaguely remembered something from your training back in Rivain: spirits are beings of emotions. Mental and emotional states can be interpreted as very literal by them.

“Help US!”

“I…” you said. “I don’t know how.”

Spite let out a growl of frustration. You saw his body twitch and his eyes turned brown again. He looked at you with so much concern. He looked you over as if he might have hurt you in some way.

“I’m so sorry, River,” he said. “I should never have come here.”

He rushed out the door before you could even react.

Viago came and got you from your laboratory. He explained briefly that someone wanted to talk to you, but he was unsure about what. He led you into a room with Rook and two strangers. You froze a bit. One of the strangers was a Qunari. You frowned slightly when you saw them.

“You’re River, right?” Rook asked in that sugary sweet voice of hers.

“I am,” you answered coldly, still looking at the Qunari.

The Qunari were all over Rivain to the point that some of the societies there took to the Qun as well. Your village had not been one of them. Your village had stuck to the old pantheistic beliefs and shunned the Qunari and their faith. Needless to say, Antaam or not, you were not a fan.

The Qunari smiled at you.

“You’re a seer, right?” the Qunari spoke with genuine excitement. “I’m Rivaini too. Not a seer though, but I like the whole talking-with-spirits-thing. Are you the only Rivaini Crow or are there others? Do you think—"

“Taash…” Rook interrupted.

“Sorry,” they answered.

You blinked at them in slight confusion. It was difficult to maintain your frown with just how eager and interested they seemed.

“It’s…complicated, and yes, currently…” you answered them briefly and then looked at Rook. “What is this about? Is Lucanis alright?”

“That’s what we wanted to talk to you about,” Rook said. “Lucanis has briefly mentioned that you are able to communicate with Spite. Is that true?

You looked at the others and then back to Rook.

“Yes,” you answered curtly.

“Lucanis is…struggling right now,” she began explaining. “I’m not sure what to make of the whole thing and it’s not as if he is eager to share the burden with anyone. If you—”

You put a hand up to stop her.

“I won’t abuse Lucanis’ trust,” you said. “If he wants you to know something, he’ll tell you. I won’t go behind his back.”

Rook sighed softly.

“And I understand that,” Rook continued. “But I’m getting worried. We all are. We can’t help him unless we know what is going on.”

“Then talk to him,” you said a bit more harshly. “Look, I worry about him too and it is hard to get him to talk, but if he learns you went behind his back like this, it’ll only make him shut off more.”

Another sigh from Rook.

“I can’t talk to Spite, except for when he takes over Lucanis,” she said and then pointed to the other stranger behind her: an older man. “Emmrich can hear Spite, but he doesn’t know Lucanis as well as you do, so it’s difficult to make head and tails about what is going on.”

The older man stepped forward. He was a Mourn Watcher too, you guessed from his outfit.

“Spite says that he wants ‘out’,” Emmrich explained in a gentle tone. “He speaks about being trapped, but he claims that Lucanis is trapped too. This makes me believe that it is not actually a splitting of spirit and host that is Spite’s wish. We thought that perhaps you might have a theory to what is then?”

You looked from Emmrich to Rook’s pleading face. You hated this. Of course you wanted to help Lucanis, but you hated that it had to be this way.

“He trusts you,” Rook said. “Please help us help him...”

You groaned.

“Fine…” you said quietly.

You turned to look at Emmrich.

“Spite uses ‘we’ when he speaks about getting out,” you began explaining. “He has mentioned a prison. He says that Lucanis never left, and that they are stuck there, but I don’t think it’s a literal prison. That’s just how Spite sees it because he’s a spirit. He has asked me to help but…I’m not sure how.”

“Never left…” Rook mused. “He’s still stuck in the Ossuary but in his…mind?”

“Something like that,” you said and shrugged.

“Ah,” Emmrich said with a thoughtful expression. “So, Lucanis is stuck in the past, and Spite perceives the past as a literal prison that they need to be freed from. Without solving whatever unfinished business Lucanis has in the past, he will not be able to free both of them.”

Rook looked between you and Emmrich.

“So…killing Zara?” Rook said. “Would that do it?”

“Revenge could certainly be a start, I would imagine,” Emmrich said.

You nodded.

“Then that’s what’s first on the agenda from now on,” Rook said and made a gesture for them to leave.

The others went out of the room. Rook stayed behind for a moment to talk to you in private.

“And thank you for this,” she said. “I care about him.”

You sighed and nodded. You had figured as much…

“Me too,” you said quietly.

Rook gave you a small smile and started heading towards the door. You grabbed her wrist before she could leave. She looked from your grip on her to your face with a puzzled expression.

You weren’t even sure what you wanted to say to her, but something made you do it. Your breath hitched and you felt tears prick at your eyes before you looked up at her.

“I can’t lose him again, Rook,” you said. “Please take care of him for me.”

Rook’s expression softened. She turned around to face you fully and put her hand over yours. She gave you a gentle smile.

“I will. I promise,” she said and squeezed your hand. “Can I ask…? What were you to him? Before the Ossuary and all of that, I mean…”

You bit the inside of your cheek, trying to stop the tears, but one rolled down your cheek anyway. You looked at the floor in front of you. No answer came out, but Rook knew anyway. She smiled.

“I thought so,” she said quietly. “With the way he speaks about you.”

Another tear rolled down before you could stop it. Gods, you hated crying in front of strangers. Especially her. You looked up at her.

“Things change,” you simply said.

She gave you a lighter smile.

“Things do change, yes. People and their feelings? Less so,” she said and squeezed your hand one last time before letting you go. “Thank you for this, River.”

It did not take long before Rook’s plans were set in action. You were in the laboratory when Illario came in. He came over and kissed your cheek.

“I’m leaving,” he said. “I will see you tonight after we are done.”

Your brow furrowed in confusion before setting down the equipment in your hands.

“It’s early,” you noted. “After you’re done with what? I thought you were finishing things up here like you said you would.”

He leaned in with a smile and placed a kiss on your lips.

“Rook and Lucanis are going after Zara Renata,” he explained and looked you in the eyes. “I want to be there.”

You pulled your head back from his close proximity a bit. You did not like the sound of that. Especially if this was Lucanis’ only chance at making peace with whatever was going on with him.

“Why? Why do you want to be there for that?”

Illario pulled his head back in turn, looking as if offended at the ridiculousness of your question.

“Venatori killed my grandmother and imprisoned my cousin,” he said. “Of course, I want to be there.”

You let out a small breath. It took everything to not roll your eyes. It took everything to not say ‘Illario, this isn’t about you.’. In fact, he was the only Dellamorte that the Venatori hadn’t touched. If the revenge of what happened belonged to anyone, it was Lucanis who had been imprisoned and tortured for a year.

You shook your head slightly. There was no talking him out of it, you knew that much. You hoped that Lucanis would ask him to stay behind. You were worried that Illario might make a bigger mess of things than necessary.

“Just…” you began. “Be careful, yeah?”

“I always am.”

Joke of the century, you thought. He kissed you goodbye and left. The feeling that Illario would fuck something up haunted you after he left the room.

#lucanis #lucanis dellamorte #lucanis x reader #illario dellamorte x reader #illario dellamorte #lucanis x rook

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renatogpadilla · 6 months ago

Text

Lux, On The Clock.

Ever seen a horse do a double-take?

Starfire certainly did.

It was good to know, Jinx thought, that even the horse realized how radical the change had been. Impressions were important!

That said, she was still unsure of her, regardless of how much more she fit the setting now.

"Alright, Star, darling, Jinx is coming with us today, so be a lady and behave, alright?" Lux was trying to be cute. Jinx didn't know if that worked with horses, but she appreciated the effort.

"I'm not gonna eat you, I promise." Jinx replied, putting a hand on the horse's side. She didn't kick her, so she must've been getting used to her. Or maybe Lux being cute did work. Or maybe this was just a badass warrior horse who simply got bad vibes from her calling herself a witch rather than being scared at all. But whatever the case, Lux got on the horse no problem and extended a hand to her.

"Alright, up you get!"

"Full disclosure: I've never ridden a horse before." Jinx wondered if it would be like a rollercoaster. "She's not gonna bump me off halfway through the ride or something, right?"

"Nah, she's harmless!" Lux mused. She thought she was, at least. Never really been put in a situation where her horse had to fight... She honestly hoped she never did. "Just hold on to me and you'll be fine."

"Well, you're the expert". Jinx handed Lux a small rucksack she'd brought with her and climbed on Starfire. She immediately felt weirded out by riding a living being. Gods know the last time she'd done it had been a little rushed, but this was waaaay different... Just the thought of being rummaged around like luggage made her slightly queasy. She put her hands around Lux and waited for the ride to start.

As soon as Starfire took off and Jinx pressed against her, Lux had a thought. She remembered those old story books she used to read as a kid, about knights and princesses and dragons... And here she was, with her own rogue-turned-witch-turned-princess on a white steed and everything!

This felt nice.

It might not just be Jinx that got to pretend for a day. Wouldn't that be something! Being able to just relax... Today was going to be great!

She probably didn't notice how fast she was going... Or that Jinx was holding on for dear life.

Probably.

******

Jinx had to admit, for a nation full of xenophobic prudes, Demacia itself was exceedingly pretty.

The shining city itself looked straight out of a fairytale book: Curved roofs, broad, stocky houses, white and blue everywhere and a few fountains here and there to liven the mood.

She could not have hoped for views like these growing up...

The place Lux had taken her to eat was the quaintest little hole-in-the-wall. A little bakery with a wooden interior, a few tables littered about and a cozy hearth that only made the smell of the baked goods behind the glass showcase inside the counter that much more powerful. This right here is the life!

They took a table in a corner and sat opposite each other. Lux went off to order and Jinx couldn't help but notice the lady behind the counter jump a little when she saw her. 'Right.' she thought. She was so worried with how people would see her that she forgot her friend was a big deal here. 'Big name.'

"Not on watch today, Ellie. Don't worry." Lux told the baker lady, and she looked over her shoulder at her friend with the cherry hair. Made a face like 'nice catch, kid!', (or at least that's what Lux thought it meant. She didn't let it get to her. It wasn't like that!) and got to serving.

Lux returned to Jinx and sat down with a big smile on her face.

"So, first time out in public in a while! How does it feel?"

"I thought it'd be louder, honestly... I'm glad for the peace and quiet, tho. The city's nice and the vibe is cozy, so I'm doing great!" Lux saw her physically relax, putting her arms on the table and plopping her head on top of them.

"Glad you like it! And hey, maybe if we ever end up at your old neighborhood, you can show me around!"

Lux meant that genuinely, but Jinx would NOT have this girl within visual range of Zaun if it was up to her...

"I appreciate that you'd want to, but reconsider."

"Oh, so your criminal underworld is too much for a trained soldier?"

"We clobbered an army of Noxians." She lowered her voice and the catscratch returned. "Sparkles or no, the Undercity would eat you alive, Flashlight."

"Don't threaten me with a good time, Firework!" Lux chuckled. Like threats were gonna work on her! That was half the adventure!

"Lady Luxanna!" Jinx answered with exaggerated outrage. "I did not take you for such a prude!"

She was laughing again...

"There's a lot you don't know about me, my witch. And I, for one, am glad to tell you if you ever ask! Not a lot of it is going to be prim and proper..."

"I would HOPE not!" Jinx had to ask now. "Okay, before everything turned rebellious, what was your biggest adventure?"

Lux actually had to think about it. When was the last adventure she'd had before embracing her powers...?

There had been one time, she thought. If she could even consider it...

"I wouldn't call it an adventure." she said, and she genuinely realized how boring her life had been before the glow. At least Garen got to go places in his campaigns with the Dauntless Vanguard! "More like... the promise of one. One I didn't take."

For once, it was Jinx's turn to perk up.

"It was a few years back. I had just started wearing these." She tugged at her gloves. "I was out in a small garden with a view of all High Silvermere, my home city, when I got this unexpected visitor."

She remembered the boy now. Scrappy, with a mat of brown hair and the look of someone who hadn't stayed in a single place for a long time. Bit of a twink, but hey, she was nobody to judge!

"He called himself 'Jarro Lightfeather', but we both knew that was a lie. I got him to tell me his name in about 2 minutes."

"Ooh, an alias and everything? I'm starting to sense a theme with you, Lux..."

"Hey, it's not my fault that mystery's just naturally drawn to me!"

Jinx wasn't so sure about that.

"So anyways, there I was, freaking out at this stranger on my balcony garden-"

"Humble, by the way."

"-and he starts telling me all about how he's this daring treasure hunter that's traveling the world in search of glory and adventure... We got to talking and he eventually told me a bit about his home. That's how I first heard of Piltover, actually!" She hadn't thought about Ez in years! She wondered now, if at no other moment, if the dashing and daring boy she'd met in the garden that day had found the glory he so eagerly sought... She'd have to seek him out and catch up after the rebellion was over.

"Eventually, he offered to take me with him." Lux realized, now that she'd said it out loud, that that's not the kind of opportunity that just drops on your head every day. She also noticed how taking him up on that deal would have undoubtedly ended with her dead in a ditch somewhere, but she still had appreciated the gesture. "Maybe he could see that I wasn't happy being stuck in the house all day, or maybe he just wanted to have someone to travel with and figured a princess from a mansion in the middle of Knight's Rock would be the perfect company... But either way, I turned him down. He was a bit hurt, but understood. I remember he jumped out of the balcony and just... vanished. His laughter was all that remained. Some days I thought I'd imagined the whole thing... But there was something about him that felt so... Fantastical. Like a fairytale character comes to life. I hope he's doing okay, wherever he is."

"The full 'Thief-Meets-Princess' Routine, huh?" Jinx mused. She wondered if that's what it had been like with Vi and Caitlyn for a moment, before being disgusted at the thought of taking interest in her sister's love life. "What is it with Pilties and unceremonious adventuring? Bet you must've been swooning!"

"Well, he was pretty, I'll give him that... But ultimately, I'm glad I said 'no'. After all, if I hadn't, we probably wouldn't have met!"

"Daaaaawwww!" Jinx meant it jokingly, but hearing that did warm her heart. "You big, bright softie, you."

They were in the middle of feeling warm and fuzzy when their order came up.

"Oh! Speaking of happy surprises!" Said Lux, promptly getting up and bringing over their food.

She put the tray on the table and Jinx could feel her stomach grumble.

"This one's for you! I honestly didn't know what to get for you, probably should have asked, sorry about that, but you did mention coffee, so here you go!" She passed her a steaming hot mug and a glass full of sugar cubes. Jinx could not have been more excited.

"Hello, my love! Oh, I've missed you so much..." She said, practically lunging at the mug. "Come to mama!"

"You two need a room?" Lux jested. My, that's an awful lot of sugar...

"Oh, we'll behave, beautiful, don't you worry..." She mused, taking her sweet time slurping up that hot cup of goodness she'd missed so terribly. Had she called Lux 'beautiful' or the coffee...? Eh, either way, she felt appreciated.

"Well, if you're sure..." She put her hand in a bag on the tray. "I also brought these, if you want."

She produced a muffin. A big muffin with cream on top. Jinx's eyes twinkled.

"Oh, Flashlight, I could kiss you!" She scarfed down the muffin.

"Do it, coward. You won't." She nibbled on her own muffin as she said it.

Jinx bit her muffin slower. "Heh, now who needs a room?"

They found themselves giggling. This was a moment Lux wouldn't have minded staying in for a while...

So when they heard the screams from outside the building, she was doubly pissed.

"What's going on?" Jinx finished her muffin and pulled up her dress. Oh, she's still wearing the other outfit under that! Okay! For a second Lux had been worried she would have had to explain how that had taken all her attention. She was just looking at the holster on her thigh, she swears! Wait a minute... Zapper was strapped to her thigh.

"You've had that on you all day?" Lux said, like it wasn't taking all her willpower to just stare at the gun. A gun! She'd taken a gun to lunch! "Do you take weapons everywhere you go?!"

"You don't?" She said, and she pulled the rest of her dress over her head and stuffed it in her rucksack.

On the Spirits, she was about to burn through those gloves.

"N-no! It was supposed to be a cozy dinner! I'm off duty, I wasn't gonna-"

Another scream. Banter would have to wait.

Lux got up first. She scarfed her muffin and was halfway across the room before Jinx could finish getting up. After shotgunning her coffee mug, of course. Wasn't wasting that!

When they hit the street, they saw smoke coming from a few blocks down. People running in their direction, screaming like a monster was chasing them.

A guard started running towards the commotion. Lux stopped him.

"Knight!" She said, and there was a steel in her voice Jinx hadn't heard before. "What's going on? Do we know what's attacking?"

"Ma'am, go inside-"

"I am Illuminator Luxanna Crownguard." She flashed the family crest. "My brother is Lord Commander Garen Crownguard of the Dauntless Vanguard. Sit-rep, now!"

"Of course, my lady! My apologies. Reports of flying lights around the south of town hit about 10 minutes ago. There was an investigation ongoing when... THAT started." He pointed at the fire that was now visible from the the rooftops.

"Mages...?"

"Seems to be sir! Sorry! Ma'am!"

"Then you have a new mission, soldier." There was authority in Lux's words. Jinx had seen her fight before, but this was the first time it had sunk in that she'd been trained as a soldier. "Go to the Vanguard and ask for Garen. Tell him his sister calls for him. Tell him she's buying him time. He'll bring his men and end the threat. Now go!"

"But my lady-"

"THAT'S AN ORDER. GO!"

Jinx didn't think anyone could bolt that fast in full plate, but the guard made it work. She was trying to process how she felt about seeing Lux like this when she turned to face her. She caught herself sweating. What the hell had been in that coffee?!

"Jinx, find Star and ride home. I'll help deal with that!"

This was not the same girl who was laughing with her a mere moment ago. This was Lux on the clock, and she was not to be argued with...

Good thing Jinx had spent a lifetime undermining authority!

"Haha, you're hilarious." She answered dryly. "You can't light up, remember? I'm helping too!"

"Yeah? And when they see lightning come out of Zapper? What then? They won't ask if it's magic or not!"

"You are not going alone! I won't shoot if you don't want me to, fine. But at least let me help out! I'm no civvie either and you know it!"

Lux didn't show it due to the nerves, but she was grateful she wasn't going into whatever that was alone. They'd fought a demon scarecrow together! They could handle a few mages, surely!

"Alright." She nodded her head and they both took off running. "You're fast as hell, so I distract the mages and you get anyone you find out of there. Once there's nobody else, come back for me. I am NOT going to deal with THAT on my own!"

"That an order, Illuminator?" She enjoyed ribbing her a bit too much...

"Not the time to get cute, Jinx! Move!"

'Yes, ma'am!' She thought to herself, and the two bolted into the flames.

********

The fire wasn't the main problem. Lux could see just fine, and Jinx seemed to not mind the smell of rising smoke. One perk of growing up in Zaun, Lux guessed.

The moment they heard the scream of somebody trapped under a house, Jinx was off like lightning. The people would be safe, at least, she thought.

Now came the hard part. Who was causing this?

She snuck (as much as she could sneak through burning debris) to the source of the flames. She'd been making the light bounce of her eyes a little less, changing the saturation of the smoke so she, and only she, could see through it better. She was really proud of how her powers had evolved! She wondered just how far she could push that if the need arose...

Focus, Lux. Lives are at stake!

She had gotten to the rubble near the center of the street when she heard the voices.

"You think this is big enough?" A husky voice reverberated.

"It'll get their attention, that's for sure. Sylas worries too much! He knows how easy it was to take the city the first time!"

Hearing that name almost made Lux choke. Two men, down in the street, mages, the both of them. One was lean and had fire for powers, the other was big and buff and seemed to have a metal chain on him as a weapon. Real original. Even his minions had to steal someone else's whole shtick to make anything work.

"Can you imagine his face when we finish what he started?" The lean one lit a fire under a door he'd seemingly missed. Immediately, a scream ripped through the street. And another. A woman who hadn't been able to get out... Maybe a daughter too. She didn't sound very old... Time to move.

She wished she'd taken a crossbow from the guards before coming here, but hey, hindsight was 20/20... And besides, she had something much more powerful than a crossbow, if it really got that bad.

"If we get that far. The boss will kill us himself if he finds out what we're doing and it doesn't pay off." The tall husky one with the chain replied.

So they're not working on his orders. Good. Sylas was a cunning bastard. He'd make much more of a ruckus than one burnt neighborhood... and if he wasn't here, then maybe she wasn't as defenseless as she thought!

Lux circled around them. Pick off the lean one first. Contain the fire.

Then they noticed it. The screaming woman was quiet. The daughter too. In fact the only sound other than them was that of the flames burning around them...

"That's odd." Said the lean one. "Usually they scream louder before they burn."

Then a knee hit him in the face, faster than the eye could track.

Jinx had taken absolutely everyone out as fast as she could. A couple of kids, a wife and her daughter, a man and his father stuck under some beams of what was left of a once beautiful family home... But everyone was out now, so all that remained was to go back for Lux. She tied her cherry red hair into a ponytail (not her thing, but not the time either!) and she charged at the first mage she saw.

She really did love hitting those knees! There was something SO satisfying about feeling the 'crunch!' of a bitch's face at mach-whatever!

The guy hit the floor like a sack of potatoes and didn't move again. Lux hoped Jinx hadn't killed him. If Garen could get him to talk, they might find out where Sylas was hiding...

She didn't have time to finish that thought before the other Mage took initiative. A swing of his massive chain would have taken her head off, but Jinx limbo'd under it with ease. She weaved another swing and got ready to rush the guy when Lux jumped him from behind and put her arm around his neck. Maybe with all the smoke he'd suffocate quicker!

No, that would have been too easy. He rammed his back into a building and Lux was forced off by the impact.

Jinx's turn. She rushed again, before he could swing, but she didn't expect him to just clock her in the face. Those junkie powers came in clutch. She managed to grab a hold of his arm while she reeled back and pulled him towards her. A dash upward and she felt her knee connect with his jaw. Something something 'if it ain't broke'...!

Lux caught what breath she could. Jinx was holding her own pretty well!

She got up and caught sight of the big guy getting absolutely assaulted from every possible angle by Jinx. A rib, cracked, a knee, buckled... If he hadn't been so bulky, he'd be unconscious. What he was at the moment, though, was lucky.

He managed to block a kick and Lux thought she saw something move along the edge of his chain... Like a shimmer of light. His own brand of magic.

When Jinx hit the chain, she yelled. A sharp pain shot through her leg as she was sent reeling back. Lux did NOT like that one bit. Jinx caught herself by rolling into a re-stance and started playing defensive, dashing away from everything chain swing, dodging by mere inches. Lux noticed that she could actually track her dashes now...

She looked around and grabbed a dislodged brick from one of the burning buildings and ran at the big bastard.

He swung wide at her and Lux had to slide under the chain in order to keep her head. She slammed the brick against the knee Jinx had buckled earlier and allowed herself to feel some satisfaction as the bastard howled in pain.

Jinx was never one to miss an opening, and she immediately reached into her rucksack, pushed the dress aside and threw one of her Chompers at the mage as she saw Lux roll away from another swing. The little grenade bit him in the arm and got another scream from their enemy.

But the bastard was more metal than Jinx would have liked to give him credit for... He saw the little grenade stuck to his arm and immediately ripped it off with his other hand, tearing off a chunk of flesh from it, and threw the Chomper away.

It blew up over a rooftop in a cloud of pink and blue, sending the tiles and the brick tumbling down onto the street, and some over them.

Lux appreciated the distraction. Hey! More bricks! Don't mind if I do! She grabbed another one and threw it at the mage, who blocked it with his chain, that shimmering light crackling back and making the brick explode on contact.

That chain was starting to get on her nerves... And she was getting on his. He swung at her hard. The first swing, she rolled no problem. The second was a fake-out: He swung just high enough that Lux could duck it, and then in the same move turned around and went to swing at the lunging Jinx.

Once again, the Chemhead reflexes saved her life. Dodging mid-air was always a bitch. She put her hand on the chain, felt a shock again, and pushed off of it before the rest of it could crack her across the face.

Her arm was numb, but at least it was still there. She tried a kick as she landed and got her leg caught, lifted and found herself being thrown at Lux like a flail.

Lux braced and caught her witch as the force of the impact dragged them both back against another wall. Too much force this time. Her head hit the brick and for once it was Lux who was blinded by the lights. When she realized what was happening: The chain was flying towards her already. No time to dodge! Get Jinx out of-!

But she was in danger too, and Jinx was done losing people.

A flash of purple. Lux knew it all too well by now, but she didn't realize what had happened until she heard the aftermath. Until she heard Jinx scream in pain at the top of her lungs, holding her... She'd flipped herself at the last second. She'd saved her life. She took the hit for her... If not for her enhanced endurance, she would have been torn in half, nevermind Lux!

She crumpled in her arms, moving, barely, shallow breaths and moans of agony reached Lux's ears and she had to hold back tears... Her friend... Her witch... Battered to shit to keep her safe!

"How is this bitch still alive?!" Said the mage, rearing back for another whipping. Lux didn't grace that with an answer.

Fuck subtle.

She grabbed at Jinx's thigh holster, pulled out Zapper and shot the mage immediately. His body started to convulse when the bolt hit him. His chain reacted too. It must have dispelled some of the lightning, because he was immobilized but his chain was also absorbing the shock... He wouldn't stay still for long. His eyes were shut from the pain.

Good.

Her left glove came off. She'd never shot anyone before. She'd never wanted to kill with her magic. She'd never wanted to kill at all! But right now, seeing Jinx struggling to get up, hurting the way she was? She didn't think about that... No, that was a lie. She did think about it.

She simply didn't care.

She didn't do full-blast out of respect for the local architecture. Yes, it was on fire, but there was still a house to build back up after the fire was gone behind this fucker.

She sent a single, targeted beam at his chest and the mage was sent flying so hard he got put through a wall. Good. Let him feel what it's like.

"Jinx?" She shook her friend as gently as she could. "Jinx you didn't have- why would you-?!"

"You... would have..." She wasn't wrong. Spirits, her voice was so small...

"Can you walk?"

"Yes..." She said, getting up slowly. Very slowly. The smoke was starting to become a problem.

"Gotta go. We can't be here when Garen gets here." Lux said, and she started carrying her friend by the shoulder, using herself as a support until they were out of the frying pan...

*****

They were out of the fire in a few moments, and to Jinx it felt like forever. Everything hurt. Whatever that big bastard's chain did was still keeping her weak. She actually tried to dash forward at one point, just to see if she could.

Nothing.

There had been a few times where she wished a healing factor had been included in the powers package... This sure was one of them.

They made it to a narrow alleyway a little farther from the site of the battle. They needed to stop to catch their breath. They leaned on a building and let the sounds of the footsteps of the Dauntless Vanguard's arrival soothe some of their worries for a moment.

"Are you okay?" Lux asked. She knew the answer, but she wanted to show concern. Like her face didn't do that enough...

"I'll live... Believe it or not, I've walked away from worse." Her voice was still ragged, but some of her spunk was back. That's good.

"That is not as reassuring as you think it is, Jinx."

"Yeah, sorry. Still reeling a bit..." She said, and her eyes softened. "Oh, Lux, for me? You shouldn't have."

She put a sooted finger to Lux's face and wiped away a tear the Illuminator didn't know she'd shed.

"Well, can't say you didn't earn it." She tried to play it off but she was too tired to pretend. "Let me see that."

She turned around and Lux felt the tears well up again.

"Is it as bad as it feels...?"

"Well, it's not exactly pretty..." Lux placed her hand on the wound and felt Jinx flinch. A gross, crude, almost cauterized wound, like she'd been struck by lightning, running the length of her back. "Bright side is it'll leave a great scar, at least."

"There we go... Positives." She was almost smiling. She felt Lux slowly press herself against her, hugging her from behind.

"I'm supposed to be the knight. I'm supposed to save you. Thank you." She could feel the tears on her back.

"Well, see the difference is I got it wrong. Saving the girl? That's the job of a knight in shining armor." Said Jinx, squeezing her friend's hand. "You're a shining knight in armor, so really I just put that expectation there for nothing. Honest mistake, my bad!"

Lux turned her around and wiped the tears of her own face... Oh, her hair is blue again. When had she dropped that?

"Here. This has a nasty sting." She gave her back Zapper and Jinx tucked it in it's holster.

"Not the only one, though, is it?" She'd noticed her glove was gone.

"Oh, yeah. Kinda had to impro-"

The sound of a chain hitting the corner of the alleyway cut her off. And what she did next was more out of panic than any plan.

He hadn't seen them yet, and Lux would make sure he didn't. She pushed Jinx against the wall, and when she winced in pain Lux put her bare hand over her mouth.

She had thought it was possible in theory, but this was pure instinct. She pressed herself close to her witch and asked... begged the light around her to listen. She could see in the dark by changing the way light bounced off her eyes. She could change the color of things, and the opacity of the smoke... But that had just been her changing the way people saw things, not the things themselves... This took so much out of her she nearly passed out from the strain, but she still begged... And the light answered.

And it avoided them completely.

Save for two tiny specs of light in their eyes, smaller than grains of sand so the two wouldn't go blind, Jinx and Lux were completely invisible.

Nobody but them could see them, and when the mage stumbled in the alleyway, hurt, bleeding and with a burn mark in his chest, looking like he was hunting something to take with him to the grave, the two stayed still as death.

It really was a narrow alleyway...

Lux felt her friend's hot breath on the palm of her hand. It was taking all she had to concentrate on the spell... She looked into Jinx's eyes and her witch looked back. Such gentle eyes they were right now. They were the ones who were invisible, but to Lux it was like nothing else existed in the world but them. She saw her gaze soften. She noticed the strain... This way of using her power was the polar opposite of everything she'd ever done. Ever been. And Jinx could see it. Just with her look she tried to tell her. 'It's okay. I get it. Don't hurt yourself. I'm proud of you.'

She hoped Lux got the message.

The mage came closer, lumbering in their direction. He got dangerously close...

Jinx took initiative here. Lux felt her hand around her waist as she got pulled closer to her friend. She took a sharp breath, and Jinx lifted two fingers and pressed them to her lips.

And it wasn't the time. It really wasn't! But Lux just... Was. Not thinking of how she was going to maintain her spell, not thinking of how she was going to explain this to her brother. Not thinking of who she was becoming as her powers grew, in this very second.

She just lived in the moment, pressed against Jinx's torso... Toned, hurt. Hurt for her. She could feel her breathing steady a bit... And then she felt... She must have imagined the kiss on the palm of her hand, but it was enough to keep her grounded in the now... Now, pressed against her abs... Her chest... Her eyes. Gods, her eyes. Violet and beautiful. And... and... so... Soft.

And ironically, she first saw her witch in a new light. And her eyes said 'I trust you.' And Lux could have lived in hiding if it meant living like this... Her arm moved before Lux knew where it was going, caressing the wound on her back, just softly enough not to hurt. That shirt was screwed... Guess she'd have to go without it for a while...

Oh. There's those unholy thoughts.

She wondered if Jinx noticed her kissing her fingers back...

And then, pain. Sharp and sudden. Too much. Held the spell too long. She barely suppressed a whimper, but from her face, Jinx could tell that Lux was at her limit. Her eyes said 'I'm sorry'. Jinx thought she didn't have to be. She nodded her head, and Lux saw her eyes start to glow. She wondered how that looked from the outside...

Jinx made her intentions clear. She turned to look at the mage with venom in her eyes.

Oh, look, more unholy thoughts! Lux knew she was at her limit. Usually she could keep a pretty tight lid on those!

She rearranged herself to face the mage and crouched. Everything hurt, but she only needed one blink to get him down while Lux got her strength back. Then they'd just jump him. Simple!

Her legs felt like they were on fire but it worked. Just one dash and she grabbed the bastard's head and smashed it into the alley wall. That rang his bell! How he wasn't dead was beyond her.

Lux fell to her knees and both her and Jinx blinked back into existence. The mage was alone, and he looked at them with rage in his bloodshot eyes. The Vanguard would be here soon. He knew he wasn't walking free at this point. He was gonna try to take them down with him...

Lux ran at him as Jinx tried to tackle one of his stocky legs. Gods, that knee was cooked! And just as she'd hoped, it buckled under the pressure. He took a knee and now it was Lux's turn to land her own knee to the face. In her head, Jinx was running out of 'attagirl's today.

Bastard still had some fight left in him though, little though it was, and he grabbed Lux by the hair and backhanded Jinx into the floor. He barely got up, carrying the Illuminator like a doll that was about to learn the meaning of "rough-housing" the hard way... She yelled in pain.

"He always said... You'd be trouble... Entirely too much." Whimpered the mage. Lifting a hand with a chain on it, crackling with magic, ready to turn this girl that had bested him to a bloody stain on the floor. "I can see why he likes you."

Lux heard the massive boots before she saw them. Only one person in the whole Vanguard wore plate boots that large!

"Hope you liked the view!" She snarled, and she raised her hand to his eyes and burned as bright as she possibly could.

It was a disgusting thing, seeing a pair of eyes melt due to heat exposure like that, let alone so quickly and so painfully, but the fucker had it coming. He howled in pain, blind and disfigured as he took a few steps back to the mouth of the alleyway.

Lux hit the ground and immediately went to check on Jinx. She was clinging to consciousness, barely. Super-endurance doesn't mean super-stamina, I guess... The two slowly got up, leaning on each other, and faced the blind mage, who held his own face in excruciating agony.

He tried one more swing. There really wasn't much room to miss, and these two couldn't dodge anymore. This was it. He raised his chain high...

And then Garden's giant broadsword, Judgement, was protruding from his chest.

"You've done enough." Said the Lord Commander, and with a spin he split the blind bastard clean in half.

(Well, 'clean' metaphorically. The whole alley was red now, but you get the point!)

As both halves of the mage dropped on the floor, Garen immediately focused on his sister.

"Glove!" He whispered, looking back at, presumably his men, coming to join them.

She'd almost forgotten about that. She put it on immediately and as soon as it was on her hand Jinx's knees gave out.

"Goddesses, sister. Are you alright?!" The military mask was gone. He was fully her big brother right now, as he came to help her friend stand up.

"I'm not going to lie, brother. I've had worse. But not often..." She was panting those words. The exhaustion was kicking in.

Garen held her face in his huge hand. He'd almost lost his sister! He'd almost... Almost...

But he hadn't. Because she hadn't been alone.

He looked at the strange, raggedy woman next to his sister. She had a nasty wound on her back that Lux wouldn't stop holding a hand against. Had she done that for her? "Blue hair... You must be Isha." He gave his sister a look and she instantly faced away.

"And you must be the Lord Commander... Nice entrance! She wasn't kidding..." Jinx breathed out. "Those shoulderpads ARE huge..."

"You saved my sister's life. Just Garen is fine." And Lux saw her brother really meant that. Bless his heart, he was actually getting emotional.

"Garen then... That's nice..." She looked at Lux. Bright, radiant Lux, battered as she was, and alive, holding her upright. There was a light in her eyes that hadn't been there before... Jinx found it weird. A good weird. Something else to figure out together. "You were amazing."

And with that, her strength was gone, and her world went black...

#How Lux Met Jinx #LightCanon #LightCannon #Lux LoL #Lux #Luxanna Crownguard #lux league of legends #jinx league of legends #jinx arcane #jinx #jinx lol #league of legends #LoL #Ezreal #(mentioned)#And a Garen cameo again!#I really hope you guys enjoy it! That invisible 'hug' has been in my mind for WEEKS!#Anyhow #lemme know what you think! Am I doing the girls justice?

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waterfire1848 · 7 months ago

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Au where azula and zuko are turned into kids and the gaang finds them

Hello, anon!!!

During the Chase, the Gaang is fighting Azula in the abandoned town when she and Zuko are thrown into a nearby building by one of Toph’s earthbending moves. (Iroh decides to hang back and is not with them during this battle). The group waits for them to get back up and attack and to continue the fight but nothing happens. Curious, Aang goes over and finds a three and five year old in the abandoned building under the planks. He, of course, helps them and the Gaang realize that they can’t just leave them there so they decide to take the kids with them. (It’s a good kidnapping). Both Azula and Zuko don’t remember them so they’re just really scared and upset and they want to go home. Everyone is really just doing whatever they can to keep them calm because they’re freaking out a little too. Neither of them can really firebend yet so they just have to deal with the two trying to run away or kicking them. (Katara: We’ll take you both home later. We promise. Azula: Home! Now! I want dad! Katara: I know and you’ll go home soon but you can't run off the sky bison. Azula: *Pouts* Sokka: Aren’t you two tired? You could try sleeping? Zuko: Nope! Sokka: Of course you won't sleep.)

With no other plan in mind, the Gaang decide to keep them until Aang can find a way to turn them back or they can give them to someone more qualified. While they have them, Toph still trains Aang and Zuko follows Sokka on his adventure to get food. (Sokka: Zuko! Great! Go get Aang or Toph or Katara and tell them I’m stuck. Zuko: No. You wanted to eat Fluffy. Sokka: Fluffy? Zuko, pointing to the saber tooth moose lion cub: Fluffy is safe. Sokka: I promise not to eat Fluffy. Now will you please help me out. Zuko: No! Sokka: Wha-No??? Zuko: No! *Sits down in front of him* I’m gonna make sure you don’t hurt Fluffy. Sokka: Gonna be a long day for both of us, kid.) The two are also with them when they lose Appa. Since Sokka is a bit drunk on cactus juice, Katara is now responsible for the entire group and two little kids. Azula is young enough that Katara can carry her but Zuko quickly starts to grow tired too and can’t keep up with everyone. (Toph: I got him. Katara: Toph, you can’t carry- Toph, throwing Zuko on her back: Don't fall off, kid! Katara: I guess that works.). During this time, they also get to see a bit of what Azula and Zuko were like when they were young, before Ozai forced them to compete with one another. Granted, they didn't know much about the two before this but seeing them play tag, play with each other in the sand or talk about how this reminds them of trips to Ember Island is both incredibly adorable and weird.

Getting into Ba Sing Se is not as difficult this time around since, while the drill is there, Team Azula is not. Sokka remains behind on the wall to watch Azula and Zuko while the others go down and stop the drill. While they're on the wall, they get really excited and a little scared to know that the giant city in front of them is Ba Sing Se. They think that they'll definitely see their uncle since he's been talking about eventually launching an attack on it soon (Sokka is very quick to tell them that they probably shouldn't go around saying their uncle is the Dragon of the West). In Ba Sing Se, Azula and Zuko get to sneak off for a little bit and sneak into a play because they actually recognize the theater. Aang ends up finding them right before the last act. (Aang: Everyone is worried sick about you two. Zuko & Azula: We're sorry. Aang: Come on. Azula: No! Please! Zuko: It's almost over! We want to see the ending! Aang:.....Katara's gonna kill me.) (Curse adorable baby eyes). Again, this is really when the group sees Azula and Zuko as actual kids. Not soldiers, not firebenders, not the Fire Lord's children, just kids. Azula loves dragons, reading, messing around with rich people with Toph, and will sit and listen to Sokka talk about battle plans for hours. Zuko, shocking Katara, tries to help out when she's making dinner and will happily agree to go with Aang whenever he and Katara go into town for food. Aang still doesn't know how to turn them back but the Gaang isn't exactly hating that it's taking him longer than expected. (They do hate that the two flinch a lot when they think they've made someone mad and will cry because the lighting sounds like someone shouting).

Of course Long Feng is still around being himself so the Gaang has to deal with him as well. They make sure to keep the three and five year old close to them since they don't really trust Jet around them but they trust Long Feng and the Dai Li even less. During the fight in Lake Laogai, Sokka is hurt while protecting Zuko and Azula but they decide to continue going forward and telling the Earth King about Long Feng. However, after Long Feng is revealed and imprisoned, Sokka is sent to the palace healer and forced to rest there until Katara says he's all healed. Since Azula clearly isn't taking over Ba Sing Se at any point in the near future, the Gaang doesn't have to worry about that. Instead, Aang gets to go to the Eastern Air Temple to visit the guru, Toph gets to try and see her mom (emphasis on try) and Katara and Sokka remain behind in Ba Sing Se but send a letter to their dad telling him they're in the city. Despite being technically on bedrest, Sokka still tries to go to the war meetings to plan for the invasion. (Sokka, opens the door and sees Zuko and Azula standing outside: Hey, guys. I need to pass. Azula: Kat told us to keep you inside. Zuko: You can't leave. Sokka: This is adorable but I really do have to go and talk to- Zuko: NO! Back to bed! Sokka: Zuko, you need to move so that I can get- Azula: TARA! TARA! Sokka's trying to leave! Sokka: Okay, okay, okay. I'll go back to bed. Happy? Azula: Yup! 😁).

While at the Eastern Air Temple, Aang discovers a way to fix Zuko and Azula. Since he doesn't have to run off to save Katara this time around, Aang is able to finish the guru's teaching and then returns to Ba Sing Se. When he gets there, he tells Katara and Sokka about the cure he found and the three agree to turn Zuko and Azula back as soon as they can. (Sokka: I'm gonna miss them. Katara: Yeah. They're cute when they're not trying to actively capture and/or murder us.). However, before Aang can do this, Long Feng escapes from prison thanks to the Dai Li and captures both of the siblings, threatening to kill them unless the Gaang stand down which they agree to do and get themselves captured. Long Feng then captures the King but has him remain as a figurehead while he resumes doing all the work behind the scenes. Captured, the Gaang decide to break out of the city because they desperately need the Earth Kingdom's support for the invasion. However, when they do eventually escape (thanks to Toph and her gifts of metalbending and arriving when I say she is) they discover that Long Feng has been talking with Ozai and the Fire Nation army is on their way. This leaves the Gaang with a difficult decision. They know Ba Sing Se can stand against the Fire Nation but if Long Feng is working to help them get inside the city then the city doesn’t stand a chance. Their options are to either stay and fight and hope that they can defeat Long Feng and all the Dai Li in time to prevent the Fire Nation from coming or flee and avoid capture but let the Fire Nation take the city. (Katara: Aang- Aang: We’re not abandoning the city! We can’t! Sokka: Aang, they’re too close. We don’t have a choice. The Fire Nation will be here in less than a day and if we’re here we’ll be captured. You’ll be captured. Aang: We can stop the Dai Li and Long Feng before then. I know we can. Sokka: And what if we can’t. Remember Omashu? Living to fight another day is our best option.) With no other choice, the Gaang flee the city with the king and young kids and go to Hakoda’s ships with the promise to come back and defeat the Fire Nation during the solar eclipse.

#AU #azula #zuko #katara #sokka #Aang #toph beifong #avatar the last airbender #atla #long Feng #send me an au and I’ll write five headcanons for it #de aged Azula #de aged Zuko

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tobiasdrake · 7 months ago

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Dragon Ball Daima S01E10 - Ocean

The titles for Daima episodes crack me up. Like. We've been making jokes at Toei's expense for how spoiler-filled Dragon Ball episode titles are for forty years. Now they're just like, "Fine! You know what? Every title is just a context-free noun and NOTHING ELSE."

Lightning. Thieves. Ocean.

Good luck gleaning any major plot reveals from that!

Honestly, I'm kinda rooting for the Tamagami.

They had two Saibaman seeds left and only used one, which leaves the other one hanging as a plot point whose function remains to be determined. The probable purpose for the other seed is so they'll have resources to create another Majin.

Kuu isn't literally the prototype for a bigger, nastier villain. But he might end up being exactly that.

So with the possibility that Kuu gets defeated and has to be replaced at some point in mind, I just think it'd be so funny if it happened right now. Following his dramatic reveal last episode, Kuu mouths off to Tamagami One and just gets fucking splattered, and Dr. Arinsu has to go back to the drawing board. XD

I mean. Yeah. There are benefits to being magically cursed to become a child again. I certainly wouldn't mind a dramatically increased lifespan, personally.

There are drawbacks too but you'd be surprised what you can circumvent when you're a billionaire.

This conversation took a really weird turn. And also, there are other reasons that Vegeta might not be comfortable with returning to adulthood while his wife remains a child.

Very. Very good reasons.

I have no idea what Kuu is doing in this fight and I'm not sure he does either. One is handing him his golden Saiba-ass.

It's like they're trying to channel Pure Buu's unpredictable and frantic fighting style. But Buu was an eldritch creature that no longer communicated in words and fought like a feral blob of gum. Kuu's intelligence and... non-goopiness... just makes him look like a weird doof.

I wonder if Kuu can absorb the Tamagami and gain their power?

Which should also mean that we can get out and fly for long periods of time without requiring the aid of a vehicle. Planes are now optional.

Kaioshin: (thinking) I hope we can get in and out without encountering one. Goku: (thinking) I wonder how they taste....

Goku: (thinking) Not bad for a first course....

Yeah, flying is no longer nerfed. This attack squadron made mistakes. The guy who beat the Tamagami is in even more top form now, and these idiots couldn't handle him when he was holding back.

Daimakai is basically a fun vacation for Goku.

XD There is no way a creature that size is sustaining itself on the occasional plane that inadvisably flies too low to the ocean. They're definitely hunting planes out of spite, not hunger.

Ahhh. Goku can teleport, so it doesn't actually matter that the plane is now in the creature's gullet. This is a good setup. Gives the others enough time to look shocked before Goku and Panzy suddenly pop into existe--

...or I guess the gap between its teeth is wide enough that anyone capable of Bukujutsu can just leave, no problem. Being crushed in the plane was the only danger that being eaten by the kraken posed.

Mm. I'm disappointed, but this still works fine.

And now the kraken's done. Yeah, it does not care one bit about the flying people. It just wanted the plane.

Krakens just... hate planes for some reason. I wonder if the Gendarmerie are poaching them?

Bit of a mixed bag here. I said early on after we met her that I really don't want Panzy to turn into the new GT Pan. GT Pan is worse-case scenario for how she could end up being utilized by the show.

I was nervous when they all evacuated the plane, but then Panzy put herself in peril anyway so we could have a scene of Goku dramatically rescuing her. I was like, "Okay, whatever they made her go back for, it better be something good."

It was the Dragon Ball. All of these fuckers forgot the Dragon Ball when they were bailing out of the plane.

...

Yeah! Okay, fair enough. Panzy MVP and these boys better appreciate her.

Oh, the Namekians had their own world within Makai #2. I bet it's more Namek-like than this region.

Yep, I'd know those Ajissa anywhere.

You know, this does actually make sense, now that I think about it. It's a retcon, but not one that breaks continuity.

The main job that the Namekians have is to cultivate Ajissa. It's what they spend their days farming. Their crop fields are full of the Ajissa they're growing.

When we first meet the Namekians, it's in the aftermath of a climate crisis that ravaged their ecosystem and left them near extinction. They're cultivating Ajissa to try and restore Namek to the beauty it once had.

But it's just a hop, skip, and a jump from there to "Namekians terraform planets they occupy to resemble their ancestral home, and filling those planets with Ajissa is part of that terraforming."

Did Piccolo just indicate that Katattsu came from Makai #2? All we know about him was that he was among the Namekians killed in Namek's climate catastrophe. How would Piccolo even know this? We've been given no timeframe on when Namekians left Makai #2.

Well, would it surprise you to know that he didn't actually say that? Yeah, at no point did he say it was his "father" who lived here.

...

Because the word he used is 親 oya, which gender-neutrally just means "parent". It's the root kanji used in such words as 母親 hahaoya for mother and 父親 chichioya for father.

...

My "Were Namekians supposed to be gender-neutral this whole time? Should we be using they/them for Namekians?" pondering intensifies.

But yeah, he did indicate that Katattsu used to live here.

Three, actually. But Hybis is not ready for that conversation. Even other Earthlings find it weird.

I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. But at least for right now, I like him. Kuu is adorable and I want good things for him.

I've been back and forth on whether this is supposed to be in-continuity with Super but I think this backstory, despite sort of contradicting what we know about Zenou, confirms it.

The reason I say that is because that's Gowasu in the top left corner. He was the mentor that tried to teach Zamasu.

How exactly Rymus is supposed to coexist as a concept with Zenou, I have no idea. But I wouldn't be surprised if they're, like, Zenou's parent or something.

I mean. I thought the plan was that you guys were going to go handle things with Gomah while Team Goku faces the Tamagami.

I guess we really did ditch Team Bulma in Makai #3 just to be rude. Oh well. Gang's all together now.

#dragon ball daima #dragon ball #drake watches dragon ball daima

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kittygamesda · 7 months ago

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A tier list based on how helpful various Slay the princess characters would be in a retail setting

UPDATE: I had some people ask me for my reasonings. I will put them under the read more tab for all to see

Also, to be clear, the order of the characters in each tier doesn't matter because I hate doing tier lists like that. Just assume they are all equally helpful/unhelpful based on the actual tier that they're in.

Helpful in Retail:

Damsel: Bro just tell her it would make you happy if she becomes the best minimum wage worker ever and she'll do it. I love her.

Shifty: If you are ever understaffed just ask shifty for some spare minis it would be great

Gentle Princess: She is a team player frfr. She is willing to bite her own arm off like just imagine her as a stocker

Hunted: He'll be a good worker because he understands that we need money to survive so he is a good worker to make sure we get that bag so we can survive

Witch: Only if the Opportunist is working with her. As long as the Opportunist is with her she'll work hard that way she can always be one step ahead of him. He'll never get the jump on her and if she becomes a manager she'll fire him herself. Also she is great with dealing with Karens (biting them)

Average Employee/pos

Adverary: Girl needs her gym membership. She will do whatever she needs to do to get a good fight and if that includes working minimum wage that's what she'll do. She isn't really that much as a team player but she's great at lifting heavy stuff

Happily Ever After: She's happy to help but doesn't really know what to do a lot of times. She tries her hardest though and that's appreciated.

Specter: She works in security and scares off any potential thieves. Her only qualm if that she can't really do much else because she can't grab stuff. Great conversationist tho

Narrator: He's the one guy at the office who does a lot of work but you have no idea what he even does outside of work. You sometimes hear him mumble to himself about making the world so much better but he's unnotable otherwise. A bit weird but he does his job so you don't mind.

Hero: He helps anyone who needs it and overall is great to work with. It's just that he's a bit dumb at times but that's okay.

Cheated: Works really hard but also complains about everything. Could be in the Helpful in retail tier if he just didn't complain so damn much.

Depends:

Long Quiet: Well that depends. Are YOU helpful in retail or not. The choice is yours.

Fury: On one hand I can see her doing what she told and not talking to anyone else besides that but I can see her deconstructing and reconstructing a Karen if she gets too snappy with her which would be cool to watch but would also probably get her arrested and fired so 🤷

Harsh Princess: I'm going to be honest I don't know about her specifically. She's probably just a depressed cashier tho if I had to pin on her a role but she's going so there's that

Princess and the Dragon: Maybe you guys can use your fusion thing like a walkie-talkie and do things while always be able to know if the other one needs your help I think that could be very helpful if our brains still work that way but there is no evidence that is the case. She would probably be in average employee/pos if that is the case tho.

Stubborn: Basically he's like Adversary he needs that gym membership. Though if they work together they'll start fights in the back/breakroom. He is more likely to snap at a costumer and start fights them so be careful.

Smitten: He will do anything to spoil his beloved. As much as it pains him to leave her 9 hours a day he will make every penny he makes from it worth it and spoil her to high heaven. He might get distracted if she visits him at work and while he is at work he constantly coos over her which I could imagine getting annoying very fast.

Average Employee/neg

Cage: Very depressed all the time. Barely gets her stuff done. Has to move her head everywhere so she can see what's she's doing.

Nightmare: That really creepy coworker that is just scary all the time. Probably gets her stuff done but no one wants to go near her (including customers which would probably get her fired)

Prisoner: Same as Cage but without moving her head to see bit

Thorn: She does what she needs to and nothing else but hey she can get stuff off from the high shelf if you need her too. Would probably cry in front of the customers

Wairth: She's like Specter but less social. She's probably not even considered your coworker. The store is just haunted at that point.

Contrarian: Does jackshit but he is so bubbly and friendly. Funny as hell guy but doesn't do anything. He'll probably get fired in 4 months but you always look forward to him at work so 🤷

Moment of Clarity: Would just straight up torture you/customers so like she is getting fired probably in a week. But in the meantime she is stocking stuff so quickly with all eight of those arms

Unhelpful

Stranger: She is constantly trying to do every job but she's only one body and ends up getting nothing done. Poor thang

Wounded/Network Wild: I love them but they are just roots how the hell can they get anything done.

Eye of the Needle: Very short temper. Doesn't even care about the gym membership anymore someone insults her she throws hands (and gets fired)

Paranoid: Overthinks every task and doesn't trust a single person who works here. He would try to convince you of his theories while on the clock.

Skeptic: Kinda like paranoid but would leave for hours on end to try to get to the bottom of things.

The Literal Worse

Apotheosis: Too big, would destroy the store by stepping ontop of it (could be a good thing tho.)

Beast: That's an animal. She wouldn't do anything you tell her too and she bites people.

Burned Grey: Stop setting the inventory on fire you're so sexy haha

Drowned Grey: Stop drowning the customers you're so sexy haha

Den: Same as Beast but worse. Girl can't even talk anymore.

Razor: Has no desires besides stabbing people she would suck even if she is incredibly funny

Tower: I feel like she could get in if the store is big enough but only like in a crawl. would destroy the building if she stood up. I can't imagine that being helpful.

Broken: He would find a corner that nobody knows about and sleep the entire shift. Probably would also cry in front of the customers.

Cold: would get bored and leave within the first 2 hours (and that's being incredibly generous.) He would disappear off from the radar.

Opportunist: Unlike everyone else in this tier he'll somehow convince upper management to not fire him but he'll try to convince you to do his work for him which is why he sucks.

#slay the princess

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avatar4life · 10 months ago

Text

As always credits to @crimson-cherry for this beautiful art.

Reader was walking around the city when she and her friends noticed the ninjas in weird uniforms "uhhh, why are they dressed like that?" Namir asked confused and a bit amused by their looks as reader sighed in embarrassment "it's... Wu's tea shops uniforms" she said sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her neck "you mean the one he's trying to make a business out of?" Phytios said as he took a bite of his candy"yup" she confirmed it as they all looked at the ninjas showcasing their powers"... where's your brother? Isn't he always with them?" Strymyr asked as he looked at each of the ninjas but didn't find Lloyd"I don't know, all I heard from his conversation with the ninjas is him going to the museum to help" she shrugged her shoulders, she never knows where her brother is unless she eavesdrops the conversations between him and his 'family'. After a while they got bored and it was time to go back to their respective homes so she walked back into the tea shop on the mountain "hi reader, welcome back..I didn't know you were out" Misako said with caring visible in her voice. Reader just nodded at her and went behind the counter to the cash register as the first two clients came, a mother and a daughter, clearly close to one another, making reader feel bitter as she only saw that happen between Lloyd and Misako. Just as she was about to give them the bill for the teas they chose, the ninjas barged in in a clear state of panic, all talking over one another "ninjas, calm down. Can't you see? We have our first clients" Wu said as he pointed at the mother and daughter. The little girl, who looked around reader's age, which is 10, stared at the ninjas in awe and admiration 'ugh, great another fan of the oafs' she thought in bitterness. She looked at Wu and to her surprise she saw a look of worry in his eyes "ninjas, you four weren't my first pupils" he said but gets interrupted by the little girl pointing outside. Reader follows her line of sight and sees Lloyd "Look, it's Lloyd!" The little girl said in excitement, but reader has a feeling in her chest, like a heavy stone is there as she looked closer 'that is not Lloyd' she thought.

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

One thing led to another and now she was hiding behind the counter as whatever took Lloyd's body was fighting with master Wu and Nya after the ninjas got defeated by him. She peeked her head from the counter before seeing some symbols coming out of the old staff that Wu always carries with him. Fortunately before the possessed Lloyd could ran away with the staff Nya let a shelf fall and stop him, making reader gasp out of worry for Lloyd but then remembering that that thing was not her brother. She soon ran out of the shop with Nya and to the Bounty, along with the others ninjas.

She looked around worried as she counted the people on the ship "where's Kai?" She said because even though she didn't like him or Nya, she didn't want for them to be separated like she and Lloyd now are, and for a while have been after the tomorrow's tea incident. The ninjas looked at her before noticing Kai fighting with Lloyd, or whatever took his place. Soon Nya brought down the Bounty's anchor and grabbed Kai as they flew away. Reader sighed in relief for a brief moment before noticing something "he's following!" She yelled loud enough to be heard . The others look outside as they noticed the possesed Lloyd flying on a dragon "quick use your powers!" She yelled at the ninjas "we can't! We lost them!" Jay tells out of panic "what?!" She yelled back, now panicking too. Soon Wu interjected before the panic could escalate "I need to deciph the symbol on the staff before he can!" And then Zain added "me and Kai will protect you while Jay and Cole fight off that guy!" He explained the plan as he, Wu and Kai already run inside "what?! Why do we have to do that?!" Jay said, still in a stage of panic "cause I'm the smart one" Zain added with a hint of cockyness in hus tone, making reader roll her eyes before running to hide in her room. As soon as she got there she sighed in relief before yelling surprised and shocked and scared as she sees a spirit in front of her "who are you?! Are you with whatever took my brother's place?!" She tells before the spirit kneld down in front of her "I'm not here to cause you arm. I know you feel useless, unable to do anything to help except hide and hope for the best. You want to help save your brother from Morro right?" It said as it voice was neutral and calm despite the situation "... Morro?..yes, I want to help. But I'm useless, my powers cause destruction. I inherited all my father's bad things and obviously Lloyd had to inherit all his good traits." She said bitterly as she felt the heavy feeling on her chest again "I can help you change it all. But this must require focus, determination and the understanding that it will come to a cost" it said to her, looking at her as it sat down in front of her by the door "...will this helping me save my brother from Morro? Whoever that it" she asked "you care for him, Why? He abandoned you for his new family with the ninjas and your uncle Wu? Why do you want to save him?" It asked curious "I'm not doing it for myself, I know me and him will never be close again. But Ninjago needs it green ninja and the ninjas need their brother. I will do anything, even sacrifice myself if I have to, just so Ninjago could have their precious hero back" she explained determined to the spirit "so can you help me or not?" She added with a glare, as menacing as it can be coming from a 10 year old as if to warn the spirit to choose wisely "you're determined, focused on your goal and ready for whatever the cost may be. I will train you, little lighthouse, to transform your darkness.." it took her hand and showed a black and purple flame on her hand "..into to light" it finished his sentence as it maked the previous dark and cold flame into a bright and warm one. She looked at the flame on her hand in awe before the Bounty crashed again something "I have to go now, but do not worry, I will be back" it said before disappearing in thin air.

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

Soon the night came and they all looked at Wu for an explanation on what actually happened and so he explained the story of his first pupil, who he previously in the past thought was going to be he green ninja and was named Morro, making reader look at him in surprise as she reckoned the name from the spirit 'so he was his first pupil? Uh' she thought as they continued to listen before the ninjas asked their own questions and the falling asleep, soon getting followed by Nya and Wu. Reader stayed awake as she looked at the sky 'wherever you are spirit, I hope you are right and can teach me how to save Lloyd' she thought before falling asleep on the floor, nor having noticed said spirit looking at her from on top of tree branch with one thought in mind

"may the lesson begging, little lighthouse"

WOOOO I FINALLY DID THE FOURTH CHAPTER!! Have a good reading

#lloyd garmadon x reader #ninjago lloyd #ninjago #ninjago x reader #Spotify #pure light

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