#'This kid is someone people haven't heard from and thought was dead?'

[bountycancelled]

(un)secret admirer

luke castellan x child of aphrodite!reader

tip me on kofi, if you feel so inclined

requested: nope, I'm just currently obsessing over pjo (aren't we all?) and Charlie bushnell is my pookie so luke is also my pookie (what about all the people he murdered– what murdaaaa?!)

warnings: none I believe!

content: probably ooc luke becusse I haven't read the books, I don't know if demigods even nap, I don't remember the movies and he's barely in the show lol, some cuddling, lowercase intended because fuck grammar, also I know demi gods are dyslexic i just dont gaf because i thought this concept was cute, that's all!

a/n: SEND ME PJO REQS! please. also this is short and I'm sorry, I've been having horrid writers block.

"I don't get what the big deal is." Lukes voice could be heard from where he sat on your bed, as you gazed at the piece of paper in your hand, pacing back and forth in your room as you analysed its every minute detail to the best of your abilities. "you get letters from the other campers all the time."

"I already told you Luke. this handwriting isn't the same as any other letter I've gotten, so that means it's from someone who's never sent me a note before, and I need to know who it is."

you had recieved a myriad of letters ranging from 'I think you're pretty' to 'I would sacrifice my right arm just to get a hug from you' during your time here at camp. beyond being drop dead gorgeous, you were kind, always wearing a charming smile on your face, and having the ability to comfort people with your presence alone.

that (coupled with the facts that most kids here had some kind of parental baggage and your kindness definitely filled some kind of void) meant that you recieved many a words from not so secret admirers. you were sure that you knew the identities of the people who had given you sealed envelopes and tightly folded papers, but you were currently stumped.

you were startled out of your staring contest with the scribbled ink by the feeling of Lukes arms around your shoulders as he spoke. "I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually, now can you please come back to bed? you know that I can't nap if you're not with me."

you sighed, letting him lead you back to your bed so that he could rest before you two inevitable of the two of you needing to help around the camp occured. you stared up at the ceiling as he slowly started to dose off beside you, before you gasped and shot up, effectively spooking him out of a peaceful moment.

"it's Percy!" you shushed Luke before he had the chance to complain about your sudden exclamation or the fact that you weren't letting him get a wink of midday sleep. "I mean, he's just met me, and one of my friends probably told him some stuff about me–"

"it's not Percy." Luke deadpanned, pushing you down by the shoulder from the upright postpone you were sat in to make you lay back down, and wrapping his arm around your waist. you were shocked into silence, because although Luke was an affectionate friend, he had never cuddled you while he was still awake. he would always wake up and discovering that he had wrapped around you in his sleeping state, apologising sheepishly while retracting his limbs.

after a few moments of stunned silence, you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion at his statement. "and how do you know it's not him, huh?" he simply blew air from his nose, tightening his grip around your waist.

"because it was me, sweetheart."

now that shut you up fairly quickly, as you bit your lip to try to hinder the giddy smile that wanted to form on your features. you opened your mouth to speak again, only to be interrupted by Luke placing a small kiss on the back of your neck.

"we'll talk when we wake up, alright?" but you weren't having any of that. "okay... but, before you go to bed. how long have you liked me? is this actually the first letter you've sent? why wouldn't you just tell me, you idiot. obviously I like you too. I know you said some stuff that you like about me in the letter, but I want you to tell me about everything you like about me, like every feature, every trait-"

Luke chuckled, sporting a big grin as you spoke. he would tell you all of that and more, he would do anything you asked of him, just as long as he got to hold you in his arms just like this.

[raining-dreams]

Best Underrated Shows

Saving Me 

Saving Me is about a lonely old guy who invents a time machine so he can go back to his child self and fix all his past mistakes. I learned about this show from this video titled Watch THIS instead of Hailey's On It by M!n!mal M!ss Art. Despite this video, I was still very excited to watch Hailey's On It. It seemed like a story with a cool premise and cute art style (and ultimately I do really like the show) But Hailey's On It wasn't gonna be out for weeks when I came across this video and this video really sold me on giving Saving Me a try. I never would have even heard of this show without that youtube video which would have been a real shame because Saving Me is fantastic! I hope this show reaches more people and I'm dying for a season 3!!!!!

House of Anubis

Mystery is my favorite genre and House of Anubis is chuck full of it. I used to be obsessed with this show back in high school. I had so much fun coming up with theories and live-blogging my thoughts and opinions about each new episode. Some of the acting & dialogue could be a little cringe sometimes but the story is just so good that it doesn't matter. I've heard that Het Huis Anubis (the Dutch version of the show that House of Anubis is based on) is even better, though I haven't gotten around to watching it yet.

Over the Garden Wall

Those of us who have seen Over the Garden Wall seem to agree that this show is amazing! Which makes it feel a little weird to call it underrated. But it seems like so few people have actually seen it. Maybe because it was a mini series, it couldn't reach the same level of popularity as other shows of similar quality. If you like Gravity Falls, you'll likely enjoy Over the Garden Wall as well. (Wirt is even voiced by the same guy who voiced Dipper!) I would highly recommend anyone that hasn't seen it already.

Dead End: Paranormal Park

I feel like it's pretty rare for animated series to exist in the horror genre for some reason. It truly is an untapped market. But if you love horror and animation, Dead End is the show for you! (Of course it's kid friendly horror since the target audience is children) The two main characters, Barney and Norma get jobs at a haunted park and work together to fight ghosts and demons. Dead End has a super cute animation style, in my opinion, and a very diverse set of characters. I encourage everyone to watch it!

Just Add Magic

Just Add Magic is based on a children's book by the same name. It's a show about three girls who love to cook and basically discover that they can use cooking to do magic. It's a pretty interesting take on how magic works in their universe. It's very fun to watch. All of the actors are also so talented! And one of those actors is Zach Callison (the voice of Steven Universe)!

The friendship between the trio is awe-inspiring! They have so much chemistry. It's a pretty fun watch.

The Last Kids On Earth

Based on a comic of the same name, this show is about a group of kids who have to survive on their own when a zombie apocalypse breaks out. And other various creatures start to threaten them (or even become their allies) It's basically a cute found family story. The premise is pretty simplistic but that's what I love about it. The animation style of The Last Kids On Earth is so beautiful as well!

I'm still waiting for a season 3!!!!!

Code Lyoko

I remember as a kid being aware of this show and thinking it looked kind of interesting (and I always loved the theme song!!) but I never ended up watching it back then because I let peer pressure get the better of me. I remember I met someone who brought up how much they loved the show. When I heard them express that interest, I was at first excited to ask them more but before I had the chance, everyone else started making fun of him for liking Code Lyoko.

I guess it was like the nerd show or something? I don't really know why it was considered cringe to like Code Lyoko but upon seeing my peers act this way, I decided I can't like Code Lyoko if I want to fit in. So, I avoided watching it. But earlier this year, when I was flipping through channels, they were showing old episodes of Code Lyoko! I was intrigued since I remembered it from childhood and thought I'd actually give it a chance this time. And it's actually a pretty good show! It can be slow at times but overall I enjoy it.

If you're like me and avoided watching this back then due to peer pressure, I highly recommend leaving that in the past and just letting yourself enjoy this show!!

Slugterra

Slugterra is honestly pretty similar to Pokemon, except it's slugs! And the entire series takes place underground. Basically, there's a whole underground world called Slugterra, home to slugs, trolls, moles, etc. And all the slugs have cool powers so the people collect & befriend slugs so they can use them as weapons ("slugslinging"). If you like Pokemon, you're sure to like Slugterra!

Detentionaire

I discovered Detentionaire randomly while I was searching through Amazon's library of cartoons. I was looking for a new show to watch and just stumbled upon this one. It looked pretty interesting and I was surprised to see it was a show from 2011. I don't know how I missed this show back then. Idk if maybe it only aired in Canada or something? (cuz it's a Canadian show) But anyways, Detentionaire is such an intriguing show where the main character, Lee, discovers some grand conspiracy and has to try to expose it to prove his innocence so he can get out of detention. It's such an interesting concept. And, as I mentioned earlier, mystery is my favor genre, so I had a lot of fun with this one.

The only problem though is, of course, it ends on a cliffhanger. The show got canceled before they had the chance to conclude the story in a satisfying way (or any type of way) so watch at your own risk.

Catscratch

I honestly don't even remember what this show was about but I do remember enjoying this show and being excited when I saw a new episode was out. I remember thinking it was so funny. I just don't think enough people know about this show.

[perfectly-imperfect82]

Security part 2

There will also be a part 2 with an alternative ending!

Alex POV

I was sitting, talking to Christen, Tobin, and Megan when I heard the door open and saw Kelley enter. She took one look at me before she turn and went to join the table with the youngsters.

"What's going on between you and Kelley? You guys haven't spoke since practice yesterday" Megan asked looking at me

"We've spoken"

"Like two words" Tobin said

"We just don't agree on something, she'll get over it" I said looking over a Kelley who was glaring at me

That enough, I thought. I don't need Kelley attitude giving it away.

"Let's go talk" I said looking at her as she slowly followed me outside the room and down the hallway.

"What's your problem?"

"You know what my problem is" Kelley said with attitude

"You aren't still talking about (y/n) are you?" I asked causing Kelley to continue to glare at me as she responded "of course I'm still mad at you for that. You should go see her and say sorry. Let her met the real you, not the scared one. You may never get the chance to after this surgery. I mean it fricking heart surgery, she could died for all we know. And that's how you want to leave things with your daughter? You calling security on her?"

I stare at Kelley for a minute and as I felt all the emotions I've felt that I've pushed away reach me.

"She doesn't need me, she has her mom" I said sadly turning to walk away from her

"That's not what it looked like yesterday. She wanted to meet you. That seems like she wanted you in her life"

"Kelley! Don't you get it! I gave her up! I lost any right I had to be her mom or apart of her life that day." I said as tears reached my eyes that I quickly wiped

"You are the kid's mom?" I heard causing me to quickly turn and see Ash and Ali standing their in shock

"You aren't wrong, you did give up your right to be her mom. You didn't however give up your rights to be a part of her life, especially if she reached out to you" ash said

"I have to fix this" I said

"And we will help you" Ali said —————————————————

I ran as fast as I could to through the hospital, looking for (y/n) or her mom. I had to make it to her before her surgery, I had to let her know I was sorry.

I felt my lungs burn as ran, dodging people and things as I went. Ignoring the shouts to slow down or stop running. My only thought was to her reach her.

I round the corner and felt my heart rate increase even more and I felt sick to my stomach at the sight in front of me.

(Y/n) mom was in tears as the doctor held her.

"No, my baby" I hear her cry out repeatedly as the doctor continued to comfortable her.

I felt my throat tighten, as the realization of this means hit me. I'm too late. She already in surgery and she didn't make it. I'll never get to talk to her, build a relationship with her, see her grow up

The first sob ripped through my body as I fell to the ground with tears starting to fall down my face.

"I didn't make" I sobbed out as I felt someone pull me them as I felt there tears fall on to my shoulder

"I'm too late" I continue turning to look at who is holding them. I looked to see Kelley holding me as tears feel down her face as she looked at me.

"Alex" I heard Allie say as she gentle help me to my feet as (y/n) mom made her way to us with tears streaming down her face

She looked at me with a look of disgust.

"Now you decide to show up. Once she dead. You couldn't have figured this out yesterday after you called security on her or this morning before she went into surgery. To think that when I signed her adoption papers and made the amendment that if someday you realized your mistake of giving up a wonderful daughter. That I would give her back. You parents thought for sure that I would have her two years max. That you would come back for your daughter. How wrong we were." She said said causing more tears to come to my eyes as she put reality in to perspective for me.

I had know I could take her back, but I never did. I selfishly put soccer over my daughter. I put my life before my daughters.

"You know, she went into that surgery thinking you didn't love her. That's she was a mistake and should have never been born. I worked years to get those thoughts out of her head when she was younger and it took one conversation with you to pull them all back. I held her as she cried over it last night. A night that should have been calm and maybe full of nerves for her surgery today. You did that Alex and now you have to live with that for the rest of your life" she said as more tears fell down my face as angry rose in me as she walked away with the doctor

Angry at all my decisions, angry for making a young girl feel like a mistake, angry for never realizing what I gave up.

"Alex" Kelley said gently and I knew she was worried for my reaction

"We should go" Tobin said moving slowly to help guide me out but as soon as her and Kelley touched me, all my angry exploded

"DONT" I yelled shoving there hands away

"I fucked up" I said angrily pushing them away I went to move away from them, not sure to where I was heading

"I fucked when I gave her up! I continued to fuck over the years but not getting her back. I fucked up by calling security on her." I said angrily at them as I saw everyone worried faces, most of them having tears coming down there faces

"I managed to fuck up by not getting her in enough time to tell her I've always loved her. That my biggest regret was never getting her back. Now it's to late" I mumbled as all the anger left me and numbing feeling took over my body.

I would never forgive myself for this.

[omglisalithium]

I've noticed that Omega has been getting a lot of hate in TBB fandom after s2e9 was released. My own partner even stated "ugh Omega's such a twat" during his watch of the episode. As someone who's seen season 1 over 50 times and every episode of season 2 at least twice, I want to just remind everyone of a few things:

1. Omega was raised on Kamino as a medical assistant. We have to assume she's seen some shit just from that.

2. She left Kamino (her home) and Nala Se (the closest thing she's had to a parental figure) behind.

3. She lost her brother (Crosshair) to the Empire.

4. She literally had no idea what fun was or how to have it until s1e2 when she met Cut and Suu's kids. This is something she still seems to struggle with as we see in s2e2 when Romar has to explain to her that what he gave her is a toy and that it makes people happy.

5. She has killed. I don't have an official body count but she kills quite a few people during the series. Why the Batch haven't given her a blaster set to stun is beyond me. Sure, the bow is cool but it's fatal because it always uses live rounds.

6. Bounty hunters were after her and she almost got taken once in s1e4 and then actually taken in s1e8. The show doesn't touch on it, but I bet she thought Cad Bane had killed Hunter and she had no way of knowing for sure until she heard his voice on her comm.

7. She saw Wrecker almost kill the Batch and Rex and then almost her. She knew it was the chip but still, shit like that leaves a mark.

8. She was in Tipoca City as it was being bombarded, almost lost Crosshair to drowning, and almost drowned herself while trying to save the last piece she had of her past (AZI)

9. She watched Crosshair willingly leave again, right after she lost Tipoca City forever.

10. She has almost died too many times to count. I still remember watching the scene in s2e1 where she, Tech, and Echo are falling with the container and there's a zoom on her eyes as she screams and I just thought "she's going to have nightmares and flashbacks from this, she's going to break this season."

11. She was brought along to see the mystery clone's body in s2e8. I literally went "What the fuck are you all doing?! Don't show her the dead body!" while watching it. Echo had the most sense in that scene when he tried to gently move her away. The look that she was giving in the scene was heartbreaking.

12. Echo left the team.

13. She lost her home (the Marauder) again. And the show doesn't touch on this but she lost Gonky too.

14. She is a LITERAL CHILD. If she is aging normally, her brain is not developed enough to really process all these traumatic events in a healthy way.

Let me know if I missed anything but yeah that's most of it. Some of these things would make even the most calm and mature adult go insane, let alone a child. Her entire world, everything she has ever known has fallen apart since the Empire took over. She keeps losing more and more things and we have to remember that. Imagine going through all of that and then hearing "what is your issue?" That would be the last straw for you too.

[artist-issues]

Been a while since we've heard, how did your readthrough of the Harry Potter books go?

Hey! Ho! I forgot to update on that didn't I? My bad!

I haven't worked out all my feelings about it! The last book was so...odd. I felt frustrated through the whole thing. Most of the books felt like you were waiting to figure stuff out—the main characters would try to get information and solve problems and fail or cause more problems in the process, but there was usually some secondary goal they consistently had hope in. Like, maybe Harry Potter can't figure out who's trying to kill him, and has constant setbacks in that. BUT, their secondary goal, winning the Tri-Wizard Cup, is usually...hopeful. They're usually doing well with one of their two main goals, and then the climax happens, and they lose something important, but ultimately ene on a hopeful note. You know, Harry wins the Tri-Wizard Cup, but Voldemort's back and Cedric is dead, that sort of thing.

But. In the conclusion of the series, it felt like the main characters were getting nowhere, in their primary goals AND their secondary goals, for so long. Then the ending, the pacing of it all, felt rushed. And I didn't love the plot device of the Elder Wand, or how in the climax of the book, when Harry is fighting Voldemort, they stop to have like a twenty-minute conversation about all the exposition the reader needs to know to understand how Harry is about to beat him—and Harry was basically insufferable for the whole book.

that was my initial impression. It might age better if I go back and re-read. I definitely like some of the Messianic notes of Harry dying for everybody—then picking his life back up again to defeat the bad guy once and for all.

and they killed Lupin. Which. He's my favorite I thought he had the most interesting "character arc" of any of the adult characters. It seemed like his biggest fear was inadequacy as a father, heightened by the fact that he's a werewolf, so he thought he'd make his son's life harder and more shameful by even being alive...so as part of that interesting character flaw, Lupin tries to kamikaze by going on the run with Harry. Then he goes back and resolves to live with his wife (who he wrestles with the safety of loving) and child (same wrestling match) because being present as a father and husband is the right thing to do, regardless of how difficult it is for you.

And then he dies anyway.

So it's like. What the heck was the point of that? Makes the lesson he, as a character, was teaching, hollow. Like "Living as a good father is harder than dying a martyr—but I'm dead, so I don't have to worry about that, I guess the thought was what counted."

And people will say to me "nooo he was willing to take risks and sacrifice! He sacrificed his life! To make a better world for his son!"

Yeah okay but we already had self-sacrificial love impacting an orphan's life through the death of parents in the main character. Lily and James Potter did that. Already got that lesson. Now tell a story about how just going on and living your life for someone, say to day, especially when it's hard and they might not thank you for it, is also self-sacrificial. I thought that was the mini-story Lupin's character was telling, on the side of the main plot. But then no, Rowling just repeats herself. She just starts an interesting thing and then finishes it in the least-interesting way.

I feel like one of the basics of storytelling is "create a character that needs to learn something. Then put them through the hardest circumstances so that they're forced to change into what they need to learn." Dying in battle was not Lupin's hardest circumstance. You know what would've been? Killing Tonks, his wife, so that he's forced to raise their son alone and still stay—or keeping them both alive, but Lupin's curse is worse than ever after the battle. Or just simply keeping them both alive, and putting a little nod in the epilogue to how Harry's kids defend Lupin's son from bullies, and it's hinted at that society still doesn't accept werewolves and their lives aren't perfect, but they're all sticking around for each other.

I mean you don't even get to have Tonks react to Lupin's death. And the only Weasley that was killed was one of the twins—don't get me wrong, that's still horrible. But if you're trying to make a point about the losses of war, kill a character who is one-of-a-kind to the audience...not one-of-two.

Also, the thing with Snape and Lily didn't hit. Haven't analyzed why, yet. There's something to be learned about showing and telling there. I mean, what the author showed me for seven books was a mean and nasty man who loved nothing. I experienced it with Harry. I tasted the sting of the insults and the cruel remarks and the unfairness. For seven books. You know what's less powerful? A handful of pages quickly info-dumping the idea that no, he was in love and acting out of unrequited love all along. Like anti-heroic Snape is a compelling idea to be told about, but it's not nearly as strong as the experience of being shown villainous Snape, moment by moment, book by book.

Same thing with Dumbledore's emotional reveal of his own history. Like. Okay. But you only just now told me I should care about Dumbledore's family, in the last half of the last book. I don't feel as badly about him and his family as I would've if you'd slowly shown me who they were, even in memory, for the last seven books—like she did super well with Lily and James and Sirius.

anyway. Those are my half-baked thoughts. I was also...running a super high fever and reading the last few chapters at 1 in the morning, at the time. So they're super underdone thoughts. Thanks for asking!

[honestmagpie]

SOME MORE RAZ THOUGHTS. (Based on my headcanons so don't @ me about things not being confirmed in canon, this is partially about him as an adult anyway so nyeh)

Raz is a perpetual immigrant.

Like, this boy never had a passport, he probably never even had a birth certificate. He's a kid born to a family of "Circus freaks" (a phrase thrown at them that they've adopted with pride, if only to keep the kids from letting it get them down).

Raz's Campster profile set his origin as Lithuania, which was likely just 'where he was born', probably not terribly far from what's left of Grulovia. (I headcanon that Grulovia is little more than a puddle now, but what remained of the land was absorbed by neighboring countries).

Grulovian immigrants scattered after Vallermo, and no-one really wanted to talk about it. It's 'the old country' and 'the dead country'.

After Psychonauts 2, Raz ESPECIALLY doesn't want to talk about it. Not only was his family refugees from Grulovia-- his Nona was the cause of it. (And sure, she's his great-aunt, not actually his grandmother, but that won't make him stop calling her his Nona. Nothing has changed, except that thinking about the home country hurts a little, now. For different reasons.)

Raz was always a wanderer. It comes with the circus background. He travels light, carries just the essentials. A house isn't a home, but it is a place to put stuff for storage, he supposes.

He's spoken English most of his life. Nobody notices the accent unless he's talking about his Nona winning at Gruloky, or how she makes a true Grulovian Herring Bread better than anyone he's ever seen. (nobody he talks to has heard of that, but he swears it's traditional.)

But every now and then, when he goes on missions, his partners hear interesting things.

A language that Lithuanians think is Latvian, Lavtians think is Lithuanian. Raz always claims to be from one or the other when identified as non-American. Otherwise, as far as they're concerned, Raz is just a local from a little hamlet they haven't heard of.

He speaks German in the office with Sasha and Otto. On one memorable occasion he spoke fluent Russian for a mission, and shrugged it off saying it was 'safest that way'. He claimed to be second-generation Russian with family from a nearby country, because he could tell they saw 'foreigner' but wanted to make sure he wasn't seen as 'too foreign'.

He knows a smattering of a bunch of other slavic languages, using several at a time for one sentence, simply because he learned the words but didn't stay in any one place long enough for a whole language to stick, so they got jumbled together.

"How did your Dialect get so strange?"

He spins tall tales that have nothing to do with the truth, of a parent who had a dozen mistresses or a funny anecdote about a language guidebook that had multiple languages without saying which translations went to which language. Anything but the truth.

It's not that he's ashamed of his family, far from it! He loves them, he's proud of them.

But there's nothing quite like admitting to someone that your Nona is a war criminal, or that you come from a family of 'circus freaks' and traveled a lot. He's seen how people treat immigrants. As far as they're concerned, he's a tourist. He's a local. He's from the neighboring region visiting family. he's second-generation.

But when he's at home, in the circus or in Psychonauts HQ, he's Raz. He doesn't have to figure out what accent to put on, or what he has to say to stay safe. He's just a kid (A twenty-something, but a kid nonetheless).

At least the Psychonauts gave him a passport.

[callsign-bunnie]

so we talked about this and I always make true on my threats

Please give us the funny coming out story they all have!! We’re they called out??? Did someone walk in on a heavy make out session???

I'm gonna answer these in character

Soap: "So, I actually came out to Price, once, and he just kind of stood there and for a moment I was solidly worried that he may have been homophobic. So I was sweating, right? This man looks me dead in my eyes and goes 'Goddamnit, Mactavish, I fucking know already. You're a whore! I've heard so many damn stories of you hooking up with half the fucking barracks. If you didn't have the damn tags, I'd call you a tag chaser.' So, yeah. Wasn't homophobic, but did slut shame me. I'm sure it was meant affectionately"

Ghost: "I've never came out. I just mention past male partners and no one is shocked. Wondering if I should be offended or not."

Rodolfo: "I have also never came out. Do I have to? I joined the military for one man, stayed for one man, got well known for being entirely loyal to one man... I sound pathetic. Anyway- Oh, wait, I did have to come out to said man. He told me I should flirt with this woman at a bar and I will admit to just staring at him in shock for a solid minute and just... kind of quietly going, 'but I'm gay' and he looked so confused. I have to admit, it made me feel a lot better because I genuinely thought he was ignoring my feelings towards him until this point. He looked embarrassed, too."

Alejandro: "I came out to the Vaqueros about five years ago. I was incredibly drunk, which is never good for me, and I walked right up to Rodolfo, I threw my arm around him, and said, very loudly, in front of all my men, that I was 'gay as fuck' and that he was the prettiest boy I'd ever seen in my entire life. I'm loud when I'm sober, I was... LOUD this time. I thought Rodolfo was about to strangle me from how embarrassed he looked. It worked out for me, though, because we got together shortly after and hey, look at us. We're married, now. I guess the lesson here is to always go for it?"

Price: "I come out every damn day, kid. I have to consistently reassert that I'm gay. My entire team should fucking know at this rate but I repeatedly will mention partners and it goes kind of like this: Me: So, I went to a bar last night and I met this guy- Gaz: Guy?! Me: ...yes. I met this guy and we went home Gaz: To do what?! Me: ...To eat cereal, Garrick! The fuck do you think?! We went back to my place to fuck! So, anyway."

Gaz: "I got outed to the entire school. It wasn't particularly funny, but hey, saved me a lot of trouble. My school was fairly supportive, save for some assholes, so I never had to worry about homophobia. My foster parents did find out, though, and yeah that was not fun."

Graves: "We're supposed to come out? Damn, I just... mention it in casual conversation. If they have a problem with it, they can take it up with my gun."

Valeria: "Apparently it was obvious. I went and told Rodolfo, because I was really upset and worried about it and he laughed at me. Worst part was, I didn't even know he could laugh. He said 'you make it fairly obvious' and then mentioned that I talk about women way too much to even have had a thought about hiding it."

Farah: "Haha, I still haven't came out. You either pick it up or you don't. I think it's funny to watch people guess what I mean when I say 'girlfriend'."

Alex: "I also frequently come out. The most notable time being when I came out to the 141, we're all gay I don't understand why I had to do that, and Gaz immediately went 'I have a chance?!' and then covered his face and turned a deep deep shade of red. He didn't talk to me for a week, afterwards, I hope because he was embarrassed, not because he changed his mind."

Laswell: "I came out in college. I was kind of crazy, so I went to a party and at this point, I was trying to get by without anyone knowing and I just- this girl sat in front of me and she was gorgeous. Gorgeous body, her hair sort of bubbled around her head and it would shake when she moved, and she would laugh super loud and big and it was so gorgeous. And I remember I was so drunk that I blurted out of nowhere 'fuck, I'm so gay' and she just started laughing. Anyway, a two for one deal because that's how I met my wife, guys."

Roach: I more got told. When I was 12 this guy came up to me and was like 'you're gay by the way' and then just... walked away. Fucker was right, but goddamn.

[grey-gazania]

I'm sorry someone bombarded you with bitchy comments 😭. While my To Read list is lengthy and continually lengthier (actually I think something of yours with her is on it), I'd like to hear more about Ianneth-Fingon-Maedhros if you want to talk about them.

@polutrope

It wasn't really upsetting, just annoying and honestly a little bit funny. This guy left comments on all six chapters of By Love or at Least Free Will, every time I updated the story, just objecting to the entire premise of the story and ranting about how Elves have incorruptible pure souls and are immune to lust. I was sorely tempted to respond with this quote from "Laws & Customs Among the Eldar":

Even when in after days, as the histories reveal, many of the Eldar in Middle-earth became corrupted, and their hearts darkened by the shadow that lies upon Arda, seldom is any tale told of deeds of lust among them.

'Seldom' is not the same thing as 'never', and furthermore, I don't think lust is even a major theme of my story. It's more about conflicting obligations and unruly hearts.

In the end I deleted the comments without responding, because I have a personal policy of not engaging with people who are acting in bad faith. But I have to assume that this guy has no actual hobbies if he spends his time hate-reading entire stories instead of just...closing the window and moving on with his life. Maybe take up crochet, bro? Or volunteer at a soup kitchen? Watch a TV show that you like? Grow some tomatoes? Do something that will be more fulfilling than typing long screeds on AO3. I promise it will make you a happier person.

Anyway. On to the actual topic of your ask! As you've probably noticed, I am very fond of Russingon. However, I am also very fond of Fingon as Gil-galad's father. At first I balanced these two ideas by keeping my Russingon ideas and my Fingon-father-of-Gil-galad ideas in two separate universes, but then I started really fleshing out Gil-galad's mother, and it made me think some thoughts. To repeat something I said to @cuarthol in a comment on AO3:

...half the genesis of Ianneth was seeing so many stories (in multiple fandoms, not just Tolkien) where the woman is written out of a canon or semi-canon couple to make room for a popular M/M ship instead, without the female character being treated with any respect. I decided that the female perspective on that situation would be a nice change of pace and interesting to write.

I'm not trying to point fingers -- I'll readily admit that I have my male faves just like the next gal and that it's fun to make them kiss -- but the wives and girlfriends don't get a lot of love in fandom, do they? And it doesn't help that the legendarium in general tends to be a bit of a sausage fest. So I decided that Fingon would have a wife and be in love with Maedhros. But instead of focusing just on the forbidden love, I was going to focus on the wife's feelings, too.

Ianneth ("bridge-woman") is one of the Northern Sindar, from the community that lives around Lake Mithrim. She's the daughter of Annael (yes, that Annael), whom I've imagined to be one of the more influential leaders among the Northern Sindar, and particularly among the Elves of Mithrim.

Her betrothal to Fingon starts as a political arrangement. Fingolfin loves Fingon dearly, of course, but he's also been hinting for a while now that Fingon really needs to settle down and start having kids so that there will be a strong line of heirs should Fingolfin die. After all, Argon's dead, and Turgon and Aredhel abruptly fucked off to god-knows-where some three hundred years ago and haven't been seen nor heard from since. Your dad needs some grandsons, Fingon, and this also seems like a ripe opportunity to strengthen the Noldor's alliance with the Northern Sindar.

I don't think political marriage is unknown among the Elves of Beleriand. (For one example in the text, see Celegorm trying to marry Luthien to force Doriath into an alliance.) And the quote I drew the title of the aforementioned Fingon/Ianneth story from, also found in "Laws and Customs Among the Eldar," is:

The Eldar wedded only once in life, and for love or at the least by free will upon either part.

Free will could easily mean, "Are we in love? No. But I'll still marry you, for the good of our peoples, and I'll bring some of Dad's soldiers along with me." That sort of thing happened all the time among real-world nobility, so I see no reason why it can't happen among Elven nobility in Beleriand, too.

At any rate, Fingolfin arranges for Fingon to meet the daughters of some of the more powerful leaders of the Northern Sindar, and he's hint-hint-hinting that Fingon really needs to pick one of them to be his wife. Fingon, having been in love with Maedhros since they were young in Valinor, is not exactly keen on this plan. But he goes along with it anyway because he is a dutiful son, he knows that his father is right about needing to strengthen the line of succession, and he also knows that revealing his (quite taboo!) relationship with Maedhros to his father would probably break Fingolfin's heart.

It takes Fingon a while to decide who to court, but he picks Ianneth because he likes her sense of humor; she has the guts to gently tease him at their first meeting, which he finds quite charming. He doesn't think he can love anyone besides Maedhros, but he does look at Ianneth and think, "This is a woman I could grow to care for and whose companionship I think could enjoy."

The trouble begins when, over the course of their courtship, Fingon starts falling in love with Ianneth without falling out of love with Maedhros. And he doesn't know what to do about this. He can't call off the marriage, and he doesn't want to break things off with Maedhros, so he decides to just...keep the whole thing with Maedhros a secret and marry Ianneth anyway. It's not a good decision, but really, are there any options here that won't end with someone getting hurt? I don't think so.

So we have Ianneth, blissfully ignorant of her husband's infidelity (for now); Fingon, in love with two people at once and feeling horribly guilty about it, but unwilling to pick one partner over the other; and Maedhros, resigned to the situation but still hurting because Fingon is no longer his alone.

Maedhros' feelings are complicated by the fact that, once he meets her, he finds that likes Ianneth. It would be easier, he thinks, if he could write her off as just a political necessity for Fingon, but it turns out that she's charming and intelligent and kind, and he can understand why Fingon loves her. His feelings soften further once Ereiniel is born, because Fingon is so happy being a father, and he loves Fingon, so how can he begrudge him that? There's a line from "Famous Blue Raincoat" by Leonard Cohen that I always think of when I'm getting into Maedhros' head at this point:

And thanks for the trouble you took from [his] eyes. I thought it was there for good, so I never tried.

Things tick along about as smoothly as they can for thirteen years, until, in the aftermath of Fingolfin's death during the Dagor Bragollach, as Fingon prepares to send Ianneth and Ereiniel to the Falas for their safety, Ianneth learns his secret. This is understandably devastating for her, and leaves her wondering if Fingon ever really loved her as she loved him, or if his marriage to her was simply a politically expedient sham.

Add to that the fact that she leaves for the Falas less than ten hours after this revelation and spends most of that ten hours either crying or asleep, as she's too upset to really talk to Fingon about what she's discovered, and it leaves her with this horrible knowledge and all the worst thoughts that come from it gnawing at her nearly a full year until Fingon next comes to Eglarest -- time that she spends as the sole caregiver for her young daughter, among strangers in a foreign city, without her mother or her sister or any of her friends who might have theoretically been able to offer her some emotional support.

Theoretically is a key word there, though, because even if, say, her sister had come to Eglarest, Ianneth isn't sure she'd even be able to tell her. For one thing, she can't help feeling ashamed, because infidelity is very rare among Elves, and she can't help thinking that maybe she failed as a wife somehow, and if she'd done something different, Fingon wouldn't have strayed. Then there's the fact that he's the High King of the Noldor, and if this gets out it could cause a crisis in the Noldorin government and possibly tank the alliance between the House of Fingolfin and the Northern Sindar. Ianneth is a practical woman, and she's of the Northern Sindar -- the people who have been living practically on Morgoth's doorstep for centuries, with no Maia queen's magic girdle to protect them. Their alliance with the Noldor is vital, and she would never want to jeopardize it.

So Ianneth is just...completely alone with this pain. She has no one to turn to, no one who can comfort her. And that pain is central to her story, and a not insignificant part of Ereiniel's story, too.

[fandomwrightingontheside]

Lovesick

Quan Chi x reader

Request for @theelderhazelnut

Since the tournament, you've received letters of undying devotion and love from someone. They never leave their name, just the words: your devoted disciple. It's creepy. You didn't interact with anyone outside of your fights or Earthrealm Kombatants. You avoided everyone from Outworld like the plague and stayed by Fujin, who brought you as his champion in case Liu Kang failed. Thankfully, Liu hadn't, but that is beyond off-track. You don't know who is sending these letters; there is never a return address, so they are being hand-delivered to your home. But you have a suspicion that it's Quan Chi. He had been staring at you from day one of the tournament. You never gave him the time of day. Why, why was he pestering you with his creepy letters? The letters got worse during the Netherrealm invasion of Earthrealm. While you stayed in your home in fear of the demons that flew overhead, you still were able to collect your mail with no issues. You kept getting letters even after the invasion failed and Shinnok was imprisoned. You and Fujin speak frequently; he's constantly worrying about you having a stalker. Raiden has read over the letters and has said it seems to be Quan Chi's handwriting. That revelation almost made you drop dead.

...

Years...20 fucking years you've been getting these letters. You watched your fellow champions grow as people and have families. You have grown as a person but haven't been able to keep relationships because of these letters. It is depressing, but now you want to use this chance to have some fun while being away. If Raiden had his way, you would stay with the Shaolin Monks for your safety. But Fujin knows you, so he is the peacekeeper between you and Raiden. However, Fujin understands your side. Raiden is just very cautious when it comes to Quan Chi.

You visit the temple once a year and stay there for about a month and a half. Those damned letters still follow you. Even Raiden's strongholds are unsafe for you to go to anymore because he felt Quan Chi's dark magic in some places. It's beyond frustrating that he is playing this long, annoying game. In the grand scheme of things, you have considered using your abilities to attack and fight back...but something doesn't seem right; it's like a trap. The only question is, what is he planning?

While on a trip to Outworld with Cassie and Fujin, Kitana and Jade find you lying on a rock enjoying the sun. You are wearing some shorts and a halter top. Cassie insisted you two go outside because "you need to stop being a hermit and enjoy the fresh air and the sights." A vacation is always great, but you aren't leaving home unless necessary anymore. Still, Kitana is nice enough to come over and have a chat. You get along quite well with the Empress. Not to say you didn't before, but this is an enjoyable experience to catch up. Both Jade and Kitana have read and seen the letters sent to you. You can see it in their faces that they pity you for somehow earning Quan Chi's attention.

"Good to see you again, Empress Kitana," you say, sitting up from your little relaxation. "It's been some time. You are looking more and more radiant with age."

"And I see you haven't aged a bit since the last tournament," she teases as she looks you over with her fan out to cover most of her face. Kitana closes the fan and smiles, "I've heard you and Master Fujin have come to stay and enjoy the day in Outworld. Have you come with someone?" You tilt your head a bit and bite your lip. How she says "with someone" makes your skin crawl.

"No, just Fujin and Cassie, why?" Her smile fades, and Jade comes and stands next to her. Kitana looks over to the jungle in thought. Your guard shoots up a bit at their behaviour. Before you speak, Cassie runs out of the jungle, Fujin close behind her. Both are hollering at each other playfully while waving a bunch of leaves around like crazed kids. You are always glad to see Fujin relax, especially with how he's taken to this new generation of Kombatants.

"Kitana?" You ask, pulling her from her thoughts. You know it's been rough for her since being freed from being a revenant. Her eyes glance back at you, and she gently shakes her head. She is trying her best.

"Excuse me for asking...but are the two of you together?"

Cassie and Fujin look at her once they hear the question. You let out a snort of a laugh. "No, I haven't been able to hold a relationship since the start of the letters 20 years ago," your laughter dies off into a slightly bitter tone. Kitana doesn't respond as she thinks. You look over and notice Fujin looking around like he's searching for something or someone.

"Fujin, what's wrong?" he glances at you for a split second before going back to scan the area.

"I sense a disturbance, (y/n). Like another powerful entity has walked onto the realm." You roll your eyes. He thinks Quan Chi is here. The thought makes you shiver. As a windmaster, Fujin is attuned to the realms, so if he thinks something isn't right, he's probably right. Cassie watches as he grows increasingly wary of the area. "Kitana, can I ask a favour of you," the Empress looks over and nods. He sighs, "Can you watch over (Y/N) while they head to the portal to return to Earthrealm?" Kitana nods again with a puzzled expression. "(Y/N), are you okay with that? I would trust Kitana with you over any other," you take a moment to think. Why does Fujin suddenly feel the need to worry? You sigh, knowing that it's just easier to agree to go home early than to argue with Fujin. "Excellent."

Kitana escorts you to the portal back to the Sky Temple, keeping a respectable distance. You hope Fujin isn't overreacting. But...that man had saved your life before, so you trust his word. "I'm sorry about all of this, Kitana; I wish things were different in my life," you apologize with a sad laugh. The Empress reaches over and pats your shoulder.

"There is no need to apologize," you smile and shake your head.

"No, Kitana, I feel like I should. If it weren't for my problems, I would've enjoyed spending more time with you." Before you are allowed another step, Kitana stops you.

"Aren't you the God of Wind's lover?"

"What? No, Fujin and I are just friends. I've known him too long to see him as anything more than a friend or brother," you laugh again and start heading to the portal again. The silence lingers with the unanswered question until Kitana can reach out and grab your arm. You and the Empress face each other. Kitana looks worried for you.

"I worry for you. If Quan Chi was as invested in me as he is in you, I do not know what I would do," You can't stop the sad smile from coming over.

"I'll be okay, Kitana. He hasn't tried to kill me yet," her grip tightens. You notice her mask is down and hanging against her chest. The soft breeze blows your hair from your face.

"It's not you that I fear dying in this situation," she speaks softly as her free hand reaches up and gently brushes your face, "Quan Chi doesn't care what or who he hurts to get what he wants." Kitana lets your arm go, she reaches over and holds your hands in her own.

"Why do you think I haven't tried to start relationships since the first couple he seemingly ruined," the smile on her face looks strained as she tries not to cry for you. You understand that she hates that she is unable to help you and how she fears he'll make up into a mindless zombie slave like she had been. The Empress doesn't deserve this guilt to bring herself down; you pull your hands away and quickly embrace the Empress tightly. She accepts the embrace, her grip tight. "Don't feel guilty. It's not your burden to bear, Kitana. I have a large support system back in Earthrealm, I don't think I'm taking this on alone. Thank you for caring." Kitana pulls away and looks at you with a tiny, pained smile.

"For your sake and the God's, I hope you will be all right," you let her leave, which she does after saying goodbye. You walk the rest of the way to the portal, hop through, and see Raiden standing near it, arms behind him, waiting. His appearance shocks you; you're used to him just teleporting wherever you're at.

"Raiden?"

"(Y/N)," he pauses to stare at you with his regular neutral expression, "Let us talk."

...

A few minutes after you arrive at Raiden's Sky Temple, he makes hot tea for the two of you and prepares a small place to sit. You sit and wait for Raiden to speak. You were beyond curious about what he seemed to need. He sits across from you with a tray with tea for the both of you. He's tense as he pulls out another letter.

"It was left in the Jensei chamber," he says as he stares at it. A grim expression fills his face. As he reads it, you read the letter, seeing it's more of the same, except he wrote down his name at the end: your devoted disciple Quan Chi.

"We have the answer none of us wanted, and to make it worse, he invaded the Jensei," Raiden's words have a bite to them that is not directed towards you. Your shoulders tense, and a pit fills your stomach. Raiden hasn't stopped looking at the note. The tense silence that follows hurts worse. If anyone deserved a break, it was him.

"Has he not realized you were invited as an extra measure in the tournament? He cannot keep doing this," Raiden hisses. You let out a sharp sigh that doesn't go unnoticed by the god. His hands rest on his lap, and he keeps staring at you. You wonder if his gaze is meant to cause a hole in you.

"I had hoped that one day you would live a full, happy life," his voice sounds upset. Raiden lifts a hand and starts rubbing his head.

"I knew you wouldn't understand," you scoff and stand from the seat to pace, "Raiden, this has been happening for years now; nothing ever changes. And it has only gotten worse now. At this point, I'm going to have to do something stupid to pull him out of hiding," you grumble under your breath. The God of Thunder listens closely, concerned that he won't like your plan. You place your hands on your hips and let your head hang with a dramatic sigh, "And I can't guarantee no one else will get hurt," you pause and add, "Except for me..."

Raiden stands so fast you're almost startled and walks to you quickly to meet you. You almost fear for a split second, he may kill you.

"I must implore you against whatever plan you have in mind, (Y/N)! Quan Chi will use you to get the amulet. We cannot let this happen," his voice is firm as he is angered with your sudden "solution" and potential demise, "You are not a helpless child. There are multiple ways to lure the sorcerer and fight him directly."

The stubborn and irritable tone coming from Raiden doesn't go unheard. It stings like needles when the words sink in. While yes he is correct, the many times that others have tried, Quan Chi has escaped. Not even with magic or anything. He just straight-up ran. After 20 years, the God of Thunder must learn to ease his temper because, otherwise, everyone will pay the price. Raiden doesn't move when he gets close and looks at you directly. His stare is cold and judging. It feels like he is threatening you with just his presence. The only response you have is an angry scowl.

"I'm going to the Netherrealm to flush him out. Trick him into following me to Earthrealm, where he can finally be dealt with. I want it to be over," you raise your hands, clenched in fists and exclaim, "So do you. So do Liu, Hanzo, Kitana, Kuai! If the threats aren't taken seriously, he will get stronger!"

"But sitting around and letting him grow with armies of undead also does nothing for us, Raiden!" You retort loudly. Raiden growls under his breath and glares.

"So we sacrifice you to end this, all of this?"

"If that's what it takes, I'll happily die to protect everyone from him and what he's capable of!" You shout as if getting louder will change his mind. If anything, he doesn't seem the least bit convinced. But honestly, why would he be? Raiden knows how sneaky the sorcerer can be, so you know his words will help you survive.

"I can use his letters against him, use whatever 'feelings' he has for me against him. Raiden, please trust me," you add softer, your voice pleading. You almost seem broken as the anger from arguing dies down. In your heart, you believe this will work.

"Are you certain you will do this, (Y/N)?" Raiden asks as he glances at you. The severe dead expression says everything you need to know. He'll hate what you say, but he's ready.

"Yes," he lowers his head in a quiet prayer and steps back a few feet from you. The next time he looks at you, you can almost swear it will be in a rage. But his face stays blank with the slightest tinge of sadness.

"Very well. We shall give the others a warning of your plans. I beg you to be safe with this plan," Raiden says as he teleports away from you. You take a long swig of your tea and then grab a small bag of supplies for your journey to the Netherrealm. Your mouth is dry, your skin is crawling, and the air is chilled. This has the potential of getting bad quickly.

You wander slowly through the Krypt, seeing the tombstones and statues Raiden and Fujin made to honour their previous champions. You reach the portal to the Netherrealm, feeling the heat coming from the portal gates. The snow around the Krypt is a bluish-white, except around this portal. You can see the grass. It's brown from the heat of the gate itself. Standing just a mere 3 feet away is Fujin. His eyes meet your form before he calls out for you.

"(Y/n)! What are you doing? This plan of yours is ridiculous! Letting him kidnap and possibly kill you?" his voice is raised louder. You huff at his words and shake your head.

"I need to try Fujin! I will not let him hurt Earthrealm to get at me!" You counter loudly. Fujin crosses the distance and stands firmly in front of you, forcing you to halt and stare angrily.

"Raiden does not agree with you either (y/n). Your life is important!"

"I haven't had a life for 20 years, Fujin! I'm taking it back with this choice!" You throw your arms in the air as you argue with him. "I've had to see my friends suffer with the memories they have to carry on, seeing them traumatized while I know nothing of their pain. Now, with me knowing those he will hurt if I don't put myself on the line, there will be less death," the argument continues with a heated fury as both of you hold your stance. "He's destroyed too many lives! He doesn't care for lives as a whole, Fujin. What other solution is there?"

The God of Wind lowers his arms. A sombre, defeated expression on his face. "How can I convince you that this is wrong and not the answer to defeating him?" his voice is soft, defeated.

"There isn't, you can't. Just support me. I will come back with his head on a pike or him alive for everyone to get the justice they deserve," Fujin lifts an arm and gently lays a hand on your cheek.

"Then, please. Come back home when you're finished. I cannot see my best friend become a corpse or an undead slave," his gaze grows sad. You place your hand on his and smile at him.

"I always come back, don't I?" you tease, stepping away from him and standing at the gateway, ready to jump in. "Tell the others I'll return once I finish." With one more look over, you jump into the hellish gate, the searing heat engulfing you. You hiss as the Netherrealm's warmth burns your skin like a sunburn that's been slapped. It's far hotter than others have told you it was from their own experiences. Once your eyesight adjusts, you look around. Your first thought is about how you get anything done if stepping through the portal has you burning up. A painful cough breaks from your chest, making your body jolt. The air is hot and dry, full of ash, smoke, and screams. You quickly pull out the bandana Erron gave you as a joke to help alleviate the painful struggle to breathe the Netherrealm's air. "Oh fuck..." you choke out as you cover the fabric on the lower half of your face. You hear footsteps approaching your position and see the last person you want to fight alone; Noob Saibot.

"Well, look who found themselves in the wrong dimension," his distorted, dead voice snaps. You decide you may as well give him a run for his money before meeting the actual target of the trip.

"I'm not here for a fight, Bi Han. I'm here for Quan Chi," he groans, crossing his arms as he watches you.

"Why? Surely you're smart enough to know not to show up without an army or a God," a laugh rattles from his throat. His voice is like nails to a chalkboard, grating. Even if your feelings are more toward his younger self, seeing the new form of your old friend makes you want to vomit. You both stare each other down. When he moves, so do you. Both of you clashed against one another, locked in a standstill of strength.

"Unlike the little mortal who dropped in here, you have not yet succumbed to the realm's will," you think he is amused by your struggle to match him.

"We could stand like this all day, Bi Han. Can you tell me where the sorcerer is?" you ask quickly. His grip tightens slightly.

"The sorcerer's attention is currently on an Earthrealmer." You roll your eyes; you're that Earthrealmer. How did you know that before Noob Saibot? Then again, this man could've heard Quan Chi talk vaguely about you.

"I'm that Earthrealmer idiot! Now tell me where he is!" You hiss impatiently, hoping he hasn't just teleported out of here. A burst of smokey green energy throws Noob Saibot at a wall as the spell's power knocks you back as well. Your body goes limp when you hit the wall, but your mind is spinning like a top. A few seconds later, you hear your name shouted. A shadow casts over you. Then, someone grabs your body. You can only groan and curl your body into the arm of whoever is holding you. You cough as the heat of the air hits your throat again.

"(Y/n), What are you doing here!?" Quan Chi asks worriedly. You can look up just as you realize Quan Chi was carrying you. You step from his hold, gaining your balance with another pained cough. You glare harshly at the sorcerer, who keeps his grip on you so you don't fall. His eyes watch you in quick flicks, looking for injuries.

"Came here looking for you," you gasp, trying to catch your breath, but the atmosphere isn't cooperating. You are more than thankful for Erron's idea for a mask. God, the air here burns your throat even after you've readjusted your bandana. Quan Chi watches as your form settles; you're less wheezy, which immediately relieves your lungs.

"While I appreciate the effort and bravery to come to the Netherrealm and look for me, are you all right?" He places his hand back on your arm, lightly gripping it so you do not run. Quan Chi's face has fallen to a very concerned grimace. You didn't expect to see such emotion considering everything he's done and said to Earthrealm's champions, along with what happened with the tournament. It was strange that he could be so calm about ruining and breaking people, and yet his demeanour shifted to one of concern and a peculiar hint of care for your person. Quan Chi gently squeezes your shoulder with a second glance.

You continue watching him. Seeing the darkness in his eyes isn't wholly malicious. It's softer now, his eyes appearing warmer. You weren't a fool, though. This could be a trick. It was likely a trap of some sort.

"God, how does anyone deal with the heat here?" you ask rhetorically as you look for somewhere that could be shady to hide from the heat. He chuckles softly, but his worry for your condition still sticks.

"Come, let's get you into an area with less heat. You're unused to the Netherrealm," Quan Chi comments and offers his arm for support. He is genuinely concerned with the impact the Netherrealm is having on you. Your tired mind doesn't allow you to process this, and you take his arm. You feel so dizzy and warm from the heat. You think you're on the verge of heatstroke because your brain power has evaporated into the heat around you. Everything feels so heavy, and there is no sound anymore. You fall out of consciousness, not before you feel like someone is lifting you.

...

With a groan, you sit up and look around. From the look of it, Quan Chi brought you to his fortress. The last thing you remember was seeing it. And not for very long, to boot. You remove the bandana and brush a hand over your face as if that would wipe away the strange experience of fainting from the heat. Getting off the cot, you notice that the room is cool, like when you forgot to turn the A/C off before falling asleep drunk on the couch. That sounds exactly like what has happened. As you stand, your skin that had been exposed to the heat stings and looks angry and red, much like a sunburn.

It took a few minutes to wake fully, but the knock at the door alerted you that Quan Chi was behind the sudden noise. He slowly walked in, his eyes locked on you. When he spoke, he sounded soft and careful. "Ah, you're awake," his hands clasp together in front of him, and he smiles warmly. It's an eerie warmth from the same Sorcerer who would easily murder and then use his enemies' corpses to make revenants. That doesn't stop a warmth of your own from flooding your cheeks. You assume it must still be the remnants of the intense heat lingering on your body from outside.

"Yeah..." You say as your throat is scratchy and dry. You cough a few times as it's a new sensation that doesn't sit well in your chest. "Ugh, I could kill for a drink," your voice has gotten a lot more hoarse as if you had just come down with a sickness of some kind. Your mind feels a bit fuzzy, but the air is cooler and easier to breathe now. Quan Chi lifts a finger, silently commanding you to wait momentarily before exiting. A minute later, you hear his footsteps in the hall, followed by your name from his mouth. Quan Chi hands you a glass of ice water when he enters the room. He's breathing slightly heavily as if he ran to bring you water.

"Are you feeling ill at all?" he asks, concerned as he sits across from you. His presence isn't menacing or unsettling. The Sorcerer's entire personality seems to have shifted since the last time you'd seen him when Shinnok was imprisoned in his amulet. Before, all you'd experienced was an arrogant and dismissive man. Seeing Quan Chi now is like speaking to a new person, yet it isn't at the same time. He holds the cup out to you, watching your every movement. His eyes don't hold the ordinarily dark and menacing look; they tend to have such softness and something else hidden. You look at the cup and then at him. You don't fully trust him; he understands why, considering everything he's done, but...You have captivated him in ways he can't even begin to describe. Quan Chi almost loses his concentration on your eyes as they gaze into him. Your hand takes the glass, and he follows it.

Your lips wrap around the edge of the glass, tipping back and tilting until the contents of the glass are gone. "Thanks," you croak as you keep your distance from him. He had killed so many people with and for Shinnok that you wanted to have him at least an arm's length away. You weren't looking to die on this mission. He nods and studies you while his elbows rest on the arms of the chair. A sigh escapes Quan Chi as he watches you. It's clear he's off in his thoughts. But the look he gives you is that of a man intoxicated by his partner. At that moment, your memories of what you've read from the Sorcerer's letter flood your mind.

Quan Chi was deeply fond of you. He'd write several pages in one letter about how words cannot describe how drawn to you he is, how you've bewitched him in impossible ways. Even years since he's seen you, he is mesmerized and enamoured by your beauty and grace plaguing his mind. Every moment, his head is filled with only you and only his love for you, despite not knowing how the two of you could cross paths. He, believing to earn your favour, released his revenants, your friends. It was a strange move, especially with the havoc and pain you and those you cared about suffered because of it. He wrote about how he'd give up anything and everything you spoke negatively about if it meant you'd give him a single glance. You'd be lying if some of the things he wrote made you feel like a protagonist out of a romance novel with how poetically he wrote about his adoration for you. Sometimes, the things he wrote did bring a light colour to your cheeks. You'd also be lying if you said you didn't find him physically attractive.

At this point, you don't think he deserves your compassion, affection, or mercy. His letters are filled with almost an obsessive yearning for you. "Quan Chi...Do I mean as much to you as it says in the letters you wrote me over the years?" Your throat scratches, even speaking barely above a whisper.

His crimson eyes gaze directly into you as you await his answer. "I...Yes. After spending the time thinking on it, yes, my beloved," his gaze holds sincerity, and he lets out a dreamy sigh as he looks at you. "You are all I've ever known to exist in my mind. All that drives me is seeing your sweet smile and your acceptance and adoration," he shifts in the chair and tilts his head slightly, a hint of confusion filling his eyes and voice.

"So why did you invade Earthrealm's Jensei? That is something you know I'd disapprove of," your brows are drawn into a stern look of judgment at his actions, and Quan Chi's once confident demeanour drops, as does his gaze.

"A poor decision from a desperate attempt at wooing," your mouth hangs open, your eyes almost bulging from the surprise at the confession. The silence following it is deafening as you think of a counter.

"Why me, though? There are plenty of far better Kombatants to fawn over," you counter, feeling your gut twist.

"There was nothing any of them could do to gain my adoration," Quan Chi said gently, cautiously so as not to upset you. "But when we fought, I was captivated and had hoped we'd have met on friendlier terms...And now here you are, on a mission to slay me, no doubt," you nod at him. The acknowledgement that he's right stings your heart. He could do something horrible right now to punish you for coming to the Netherrealm to kill him. Your plan is fucked if he already knew what option A was.

"Of all my calculations and strategies for that outcome, this is the one I hadn't prepared for. Having you here is..." Quan Chi pauses as his mind tries formulating an exact sentence describing his feelings.

"Just tell me how you feel, Quan Chi," his face heats at your voice, calling his name in such a way. In a calm tone, he starts speaking.

"You are an impossibly gorgeous specimen. I can't begin to properly describe why you have seized my soul and captivated me with just a glance," Quan Chi pauses and sighs. "To have my beloved within the Netherrealm makes me wish I could have visited your realm to visit you myself." His smile is dopey and lopsided as his eyes gaze at you with a lovesick expression. It's the kind of look that if you attacked him, he'd thank you for it. He would thank you for hitting him, hurting him, or killing him. Just as you have come to this revelation, your heart drops. Here is this man who could make the darkness darker and the cold icer; all that stands between him and having control over the realms is you. Yet all it took was seeing the longing in his eyes and watching how his features relaxed. There, hidden deep in his eyes, was love. Pure, genuine love. It was the same way Liu Kang looked at Kitana or Sub-Zero looked at Sareena.

He, a powerful and dangerous man, sits before you, willing to lay his pride down if it meant even a look of pity from you. If it told you thought twice about attacking him, even for a moment, he would never show any hostility. Instead, he would lay his life down and relinquish his control, all because of an unrequited love. Never would he force you to reciprocate, not if you said no. Your plan was pointless as he offered it on a silver platter. "If you'll have me," his hands clasped each other, "My entire soul is yours," his right-hand rests over his chest, holding the heart that beats for only you.

As you listened to him, his eyes turned to a pained longing and even fear. If you attacked, he knew he'd lose the only thing he felt worth letting his walls down for. However, you felt like this man could easily capture your affections. He's known to be charming and manipulating. Now, watching him melt, it appears his charm may be real rather than fabricated. His charm, combined with the love-struck gaze of someone enamoured, has won over a fraction of your heart. Damn, you and your soft spot for men who look like kicked puppies when they gaze longingly. You suppose he fits that description. His eyes hold a gaze full of tenderness and adoration. He looks pathetic with how soft he looks at this moment. Damnit, why does he fit the type of man you like when he looks at you like this?

With his following sentence, the mask cracked utterly, and the walls fell. Only the man inside sat before you, praying to win his love over and prove he wasn't a danger anymore. He offers himself and his heart to you, without question, to show that his words are trustworthy and pure.

"Please, my beloved, even a single word of confirmation could lift me to the highest heavens above."

All the bad in him vanishes; you've seen it disappear right before your eyes. Your mouth opens to respond but hesitates. Quan Chi senses the unease that flickers in you. The sorcerer takes your silence in stride and gets closer. His warmth fills the space, and despite his reputation, the sorcerer does seem gentle. He is careful with you, a fact he had always been, not that you realized or would have paid attention. His crimson eyes examine every inch of your exposed skin. Quan Chi doesn't want to think of you getting harmed if anyone dared hurt you. They'd suffer unimaginable torments. The silence ends.

"All right..." you whisper; it's enough to break him from his reverie. He falls to his knees before you, holding your hands as he thanks you for everything and vows loyalty and anything you wish, promising his heart is solely yours and no other. Tears prick his eyes as he places your hand on his cheek. His skin is smooth under your hand, contrasting with his words, which are adoring, sincere, and flattering. The sheer amount of gratitude makes your face blush as the words settle in and the emotions threaten to spill over. You felt somewhat wrong for doubting him after all he's doing for you now. But why would someone so terrifying turn into such a lovesick puppy in front of you? It didn't add up until he leaned into your hand and kept his gaze on you. Oh, so that's what did it...

Quan Chi lays himself before you. His vulnerabilities are on display. In truth, he could slay you instantly and hide away in the darkest pits of the realm. Instead, he is unravelling his life and what could be a soul for you. Damnit, he's a sappy, pathetic man who'll probably put you on a pedestal and worship everything you say and do.

Quan Chi remains close to you, seemingly overwhelmed as if you'd been lovers for ages rather than him secretly admiring you for so long. And no matter what the logical part of your brain was saying, it still made the same warm and fuzzy feelings flutter inside your stomach. It has been years since you've allowed someone to be close and offer you affection; hell, it has been years since you even gave or accepted the same from another person. But this man is pledging the darkest realms, power, riches, whatever he could offer if you'd have him. It's cute, and his doe eyes and tender demeanour are undeniable. His warm hands on top of yours rest peacefully, enjoying the softness and contact with the person who has entranced him. While the logical part of your brain wants to throttle him and strangle the breath from his lungs, you know he'd still look at you with devotion, love, and compassion, and it makes that part cringe. The emotional side of you wins in this. You know that it would leave some trauma in your brain to hurt the man who had given you so much devotion, especially if the emotional part was attached, even if slightly.

The silence has stretched since his declaration, and his face gives a slightly panicked but still hopeless expression. The man looks ready to say goodbye but will follow the command until his dying breath. He is the epitome of an obsessive, smitten character out of a terrible romance movie. Yet as his warm palms gently graze and squeeze the tops of your hands, you can't bring yourself to not admit to finding the Sorcerer's gentleness, devotion, and protectiveness attractive. The feelings in your heart bubble over, and Quan Chi freezes, waiting. He swallows a lump of fear and anxiety. When your eyes meet him, he still maintains the soft look of a lost puppy.

Your heart overpowers your logical thinking, and you lean your forehead against him, making direct eye contact. "Do not make me regret giving you this one opportunity, Quan Chi," you say in a low voice, catching a hitch in his throat and how his pupils widen, showing more of his red irises. The breath of relief is heard and felt as the warmth from his breath hits your cheeks, turning them a delicate pink. The look he wears shows he is ecstatic to have this chance. His smile warms your heart, making it flutter even if you know you shouldn't let him make you feel so wanted. But then again, would it be so bad to allow the attention? Just this once? You've been starved of both physical and emotional affection for what 20 years now? Who would deny an offer to meet their emotional needs from a powerful yet loyal companion, especially when they appear as obsessed as this? The heat is intoxicating and enthralling as he is, making the inner struggle with your feelings more arduous than it was an hour ago. You are desperately clinging onto the part of you that argues not to show mercy or trust this man. However, his charm is overwhelming. His attention is making it difficult to resist and choose the former.

...

Oh no. You're in love. Head over heels in love with Quan Chi.

"This could work," you think aloud.

The smile remains, but now it stretches wider as Quan Chi chuckles warmly and nods at you. He removes a strand of hair and places a soft, adoring kiss on the crown of your head, holding your head delicately. His fingers hold onto your head as his thumbs rub circles. In the heat of it all, you subconsciously let his actions become instinct as you don't object to him resting his head in the crook of your neck. You're not sure how, in a few months, you could let your guard down around him. Yet here you are, basking in the affection and care from a man many wouldn't believe possible for his tenderness towards others.

You have travelled between Earthrealm and Netherrealm. Even when explaining what happened between you and Quan Chi, you recognize the looks of abject horror, realizing that you and Quan Chi are equally wrapped around each other's fingers. The explanation goes off without much conflict from others, aside from the initial surprise and unease that you have tied yourself to a being responsible for untold atrocities. Raiden and your other allies have somewhat adjusted. Kitana and the others were unable to wrap their heads around this fact. Yet when they see how Quan Chi worships the ground you walk on and how quickly he crumbles to your word or how when you enter a room he's about to start a fight in, the other Kombatants quickly learn he is like a loyal guard dog ready to heel when you speak, prepared to listen and obey even the most mundane and idiotic orders from its master.

Even those who don't see eye to eye with the dark Sorcerer are still horrified at how Quan Chi put all of himself aside to get approval. They were sure at one moment, the Sorcerer would snap and kill you. Yet, he openly let you throttle him when he tried to kill Cassie. How he allowed your hands to grip his throat as you yelled at him for trying that move. He relented, admitted you were correct, and apologised to Cassie begrudgingly. Even after you stopped shaking him by the throat, placing a chaste but loving kiss on his forehead and letting go of him, he still followed behind you like a lovesick dog. He would deny that the punishment, or so he'd call it, didn't turn him on, and he'd spend some personal time in the night thinking about it.

Back in the present time, sit in Johnny Cage's mansion with Kombatants and Quan Chi while they enjoy a party for some movie release Johnny made about the tournament. He hasn't appeared yet to make his speech and get everyone settled. So, for now, you enjoy the ambience and company. The warmth from having a cocktail helps your mood as well. You feel arms around your waist as Quan Chi nuzzles the back of your head, taking in your scent. You freeze for a split second, trying not to spill your drink, and breathe out as the cocktails flush your cheeks with a delicate pink shade. You hold onto his hand. You still don't know how you convinced him to ditch the leather-clad outfit when he came to gatherings like this for Earthrealm attire that was appropriate for the weather, depending on the season. In winter, he wore a plain black turtleneck sweater and black dress pants to the viewing party at Johnny's. To your surprise, Quan Chi has embraced the change, and the chilly winter weather in the United States suited the colour of his attire and his cold personality. You did learn he has a soft spot for fall and Halloween. He enjoys the decorations that people use. He wanted to use actual corpses on your Halloween display, which you said no to unless they were skeletons only.

"You should come back inside, or you'll catch a cold, my soul," he says between gentle kisses to your neck and behind your ears. The action causes you to giggle lightly as he squeezes you gently. Even his soft voice sends goosebumps across your skin and has butterflies in your stomach. He's aware his voice affects you, so the sorcerer tries to tease you while out in public. His nose nuzzles behind the earring you wear and gives soft nips on your neck.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming. Don't go getting frisky while we are here. I don't need to have that talk with Johnny," you smirked, pecking Quan Chi on his cheek, which was burning. His soft giggle fills your body with euphoria, and you feel proud you've melted this hardened man. You let him walk you back inside the mansion, seeing everyone talking and laughing or just catching up with one another. Quan Chi leaves you with Fujin as he wanders for a drink. The conversation you hold with Fujin is mostly about things regarding Shinnok, who, no matter how much he treats you like his own child, refuses to accompany you and Quan Chi to events, even the ones in Outworld. You also discuss how you can travel freely from Earthrealm to the Netherrealm. You also catch up in general with Fujin while others enjoy themselves around the home. You hadn't realized that for a while, Quan Chi hadn't come back quickly. It wasn't until a stressed Johnny interrupted your conversation with Fujin.

"Hey, so Quan Chi is about to start a fight in my-"

"Where," you cut him off, ready to keep things peaceful. He points towards his in-home bar. You groan as you see Quan Chi arguing with Bo' Rai Cho over something in a slurred voice. The two stand far too close with how aggressive they both sound. They are both sloshed. You can smell the alcohol coming off of them.

"What are you two doing?"

"(y/n)," Bo' Rai Cho's voice dripped with pity. "There's nothing between us. Tell Quan Chi I said that I have no romantic interest," the older Kombatant explained in his best attempt at clarity in an inebriated state.

Quan Chi growled in disgust and raised his voice as he swayed slightly and spoke in a slurred, unintelligible sentence with several hiccups and slight burps. You rubbed your temples. If Quan Chi is drunk, he is almost a guaranteed argumentative and childish asshole, and it means someone might end up dead because Quan Chi may take things too far. If Bo' Rai Cho had anything more to add, you were willing to stop that train of thought instantly as the man stared at you, shaking his head. Your attention focused back on the drunk sorcerer, who hadn't recognised you in his mind yet. He looked at you with a confused, scrunched-up face as he tried to pinpoint who you were.

"Hun, did you get into the strong stuff with Bo' Rai Cho? You know you have a low tolerance for high-proof," the fact he didn't recognise you spoke volumes and annoyed you more as the tone became clipped, which told him this wouldn't go well. The confusion remained, though Quan Chi's mouth gaped open when the name registered.

"My partner is better than you," he slurred as he pointed an accusing finger at you. Yep, he's shitfaced and doesn't realize it's you yet. His face scrunched up before the realization clicked. It's you! The change in his attitude did a complete one-eighty and backflip. His demeanour and his expression softened as his cheeks burned.

"And no one on Earth or in Netherrealm is good enough. Because none are you, and I'm an absolute lucky asshole to get to share a life with someone as wonderful and perfect as you (y/n)," the rambling was surprisingly smooth. Except when the words trailed off and got into a slurred mess, he hiccupped and leaned heavily against you for support and affection.

"You know better than to drink with Bo' Rai Cho. You can't handle things like moonshine. Please stop acting like a jealous, insecure teenager," you groaned loudly and grabbed Quan Chi's glass, sniffing and feeling nausea as the stench burned your nostrils, and the realization hit you hard. This wasn't even regular alcohol, and judging by Bo' Rai Cho, this was some more substantial proof than he usually drank.

Bo' Rai Cho winced, understanding the reaction. He hadn't expected anyone else to smell it, and if they did, they wouldn't inhale it as the scent alone burned their nostrils and brought tears to their eyes, much less consumed it. You pushed the glass towards the large man in a silent 'Don't give Quan Chi anymore of this" look. Quan Chi proceeded to curl his arms tighter around your middle and grumble against your skin as you went to soothe him, attempting to remove his hands, but he clamped down and kept holding onto you tightly. It would be an issue that the strength he used to squeeze was getting more prominent. "Ow. Okay, please don't crush me in a drunken, possessive mood. I love you," you reassured as he let up enough and lifted his head to make eye contact, pouting before he started crying. There it is, the drunken tears, thinking he somehow upset you or hurt you. You began rubbing his back, hoping to calm the Sorcerer, burying his face in your chest and muffling an apology for crying.

When Quan Chi relaxed, Bo' Rai Cho sat behind the bar and handed you a cup of water. "Hey, it's okay. I'm okay, look. I'm not mad or hurt. Here, drink some water," you coo softly, treating him like a child throwing a tantrum, which, in a way, wasn't too far off the mark. His moods, behaviour, and actions were similar to that, but the drunken shenanigans and meltdowns were entertaining. You coax the man into drinking his glass of water and are finally able to step away long enough to sit him on a bar stool and place yourself between his legs, hands around his waist to prevent him from going anywhere and to console him. At first, he was eager to hold you as you hugged and calmed him down. You wipe his tears away with your thumbs as Quan Chi buries his face into your hair and holds you tighter, like if he doesn't have a solid enough grip, he will lose you to Bo' Rai Cho.

"Bo' Rai Cho is more of an uncle to me than anything else, Quan Chi," the calm cooing and holding him tight to ground the dark sorcerer didn't fail as he let up and gave a happy, breathy chuckle. His eyes had dark, exhausted circles under them, and he kept rubbing them and whining that everything was a bit blurry.

"Well, you're very drunk," you chuckle as the sorcerer rests his forehead on the crown of your head again, nosing against you and grabbing the hem of your blouse, fingers splayed over the side of your stomach. Fujin joins you at the bar along with Johnny. Both are surprised to see how easily you calmed down the drunken sorcerer. This isn't the first time this has happened either; it's probably the second.

The first incident was at a gathering in a forest near the Sky temple. He and Bo' Rai Cho didn't listen when you warned him about overconsumption since he only drinks wine, not harder liquors or high-proof drinks like this. Within an hour, he was a crying, blubbering mess in your lap, apologising for something you weren't aware was his fault. Cassie and Johnny took advantage of the situation and got a few good pictures of the pair of you as a drunk, clingy and sad sorcerer curled in your lap. Of course, the comments about how he's an insecure child only aggravated him and made him pout further. Then came the full tantrum when Cassie joked the photos were cute and called the drunk sorcerer the equivalent of a petulant toddler. He ugly sobbed when you said 'I love you' after he sat down and didn't fight Cassie over the photos.

...

It's a lot to handle a drunk, possessive and emotional Quan Chi, who looks at you like a treasure worth a billion souls, or maybe it's something worth even more than that, more than gold. And in his eyes, no one is worthy enough of such a prize and treasure to share your love. So, despite having his attention for only a few weeks and now a year, you had become comfortable with the attention. If this attention came at the price of a stubborn, possessive sorcerer, then you knew a way of subduing the man to more amicable, milder temperaments. If the one controlling his emotions is you, it is only a matter of what your whim will have Quan Chi.

"So, uh, are you two leaving soon or hanging around longer?" the question posed Johnny, but it had more questions hidden underneath as his fingers danced on the wood. He doesn't like Quan Chi in his home, let alone sloshed like this, but he's trying to involve him for your sake. You glance back and see a drunk, wobbly Quan Chi holding onto you for support. In the back of his mind, there was still a drunken drive to impress you. A little voice whispered in his head. It told him it wasn't enough to be the better choice of all people, in your eyes, and the better choice of all creatures, even gods.

"I think I should get him home to the Netherrealm, have him sleep off the moonshine. Sorry, we can't stay longer, Johnny," you smile apologetically. Despite his expression dropping and sighing in relief, the filmmaker was more grateful you'd have the dark sorcerer out of his mansion. And as his final words before the portal closed with you and Quan Chi disappearing within the swirl of purple magic, Johnny asked you to be careful and not let Quan Chi throw a hissy fit or another temper tantrum over your time and affection being stolen from him.

Quan Chi basically has you carry-half drag him back into the fortress and towards your shared bedroom. Quan Chi insisted that it was too quiet in there and kept whispering in your ear as you pulled his turtle neck's collar, telling him the quicker he walked, the sooner he would be in bed. However, in the back of your head was a deep need and desire to give in to the sorcerer's wishes when he pawed and grasped for your shirt hem. When you finally pushed Quan Chi on his bed, the Sorcerer laid back and smirked, sitting up and using his elbows and hands to hold his frame steady as the hem of his sweater rode up enough to tease a hint of muscle. His eyes watch you hungrily as he fights his shoes and pants.

"Quan Chi, you're to drink. I'm going to read. Stay in bed," you say with a shake of your head, and without missing a beat, Quan Chi responds, "Why?" His slurred speech made his attempt to keep eye contact with you fail since he kept losing it or not making it and giggled to himself as his eyes glazed over.

"Because you're going to feel sick in an hour, and I'm not looking to be vomited on. So, get some rest for me, yes?" He tries to argue with his intoxicated, addled brain that his tolerance isn't as low as others but admits defeat and scoffs.

"Very well, my beloved," his drunk, drawling voice has your body flushing with heat. It sends a shiver up your spine and a tingle in your abdomen. You grab a book off the nightstand and crack it open, keeping an eye on him. The sorcerer gives you a drunken grin, making your heart hammer. The loud groan he gives draws your attention. You blush, staring at the man you love. How he lays sprawled in bed, stares at you lazily, and admires you with an intense hunger.

You clear your throat and adjust your seat slightly, ignoring Quan Chi's look of annoyance and amused grin. His features turn sour as you ignore his wants and focus on the words in the book. Quan Chi grumbled to himself, rolling onto his stomach and giving a frustrated grunt, breathing heavily against his pillow before looking back at you with a hurt expression.

You slightly rolled your eyes, biting the inside of your cheek. He must still be insecure because you've denied him. No, Quan Chi won't take the attention as the hurt you're ignoring him. You continue to read and try to enjoy your reading, ignoring the noise of distress. Quan Chi releases the longest-exaggerated whine.

"Don't ignore me! It isn't fair," his drawl-stained voice is whiny, needy and thick. But you close your eyes and keep your gaze on the words away from him, knowing that once you see him and make eye contact, you will immediately fold and go to him. Quan Chi has worked up to the point that his groaning and whining are genuine concerns as he lets out a strained sound that causes you to snap and book slam closed, earning a light flinch from Quan Chi.

He expects to have earned your attention since you aren't reading and look upset by something. Instead, he can't hold back the light purring in his throat as you stare with an arched eyebrow and frown, mostly confused and annoyed, but something in those eyes spoke volumes that made his gut flip, and his lips curled in an appreciative yet excited manner. You know this look because he is going to beg.

"Why the noises? And I can't tell if it's because you're frustrated at being denied, in pain or some other manner, so why are you so whiny and making so much noise?" you can tell your annoyed tone puts the Sorcerer on edge for only a second. Still, that little moment has him suddenly turning his body to face you and drawing a deep breath.

"Come closer," he drawls lazily, flicking his fingers to emphasise his desire. His smirk and the darkened, predatory look had your body fluttering and growing warm as you sat in your armchair. You blink slowly as the Sorcerer has turned on his charm. But if that wasn't enough, he released another purring hum, the smirk disappearing to give you a slight, soft pout as he shuffled to sit up against the headboard.

"No," the way you shut him down and go back to your book sends an annoyed growl up Quan Chi's throat as the hurt feeling resurfaces. It was probably best the Sorcerer wasn't angry. Besides, as much as he has changed and tried to be different and learn about healthy relationships, it's also best not to stir the pot since the sorcerer still has to unlearn jealousy's influence and how it plays a part.

Your boyfriend slouches his back, pulls up his shirt, and lightly brushes his abdomen and hipbones as his bottom lip juts slightly. "Why?" You blink in response before looking back up from your book, opening your mouth but then closing it when no words leave you, and instead, a heavy sigh falls past your lips as he pouts with sad puppy dog eyes.

"Because I love you, and you won't enjoy drunk sex as much as you think. Also, I want to take my time loving you without the cloud of a hangover and needy pants making you aggressive." Quan Chi looked offended as you stared, face neutral. The silence lingered between you until a smug smile spread across his face. He had a way out and a way for him to have control without letting it slip through his fingers.

"Fine, I'll deal with my needs alone then," he whined as he caressed and scratched his hip and his happy trail, eyes challenging you to break and indulge his sexual desires, despite him not realising those needs were the exact opposite of what he wanted.

"You need to have control over everything, huh? Fine, have fun blue-balling yourself tonight and tomorrow," you say and adjust to lay back and pull a cushion to prop the book open, and you go back to reading and enjoying the quiet, soft silence in the air. Quan Chi looked stunned, bewildered, and at a loss, not expecting you to pass on the chance. A mischievous smirk made its way on his lips, though his head panged dully, and he paused to remove his gloves as his brain began fogging and making the room swim. Seeing your beautiful smile and hearing you say, 'I love you,' has the sorcerer pulling the blankets and quilt up to cover his legs. You know he is agitated because he hides behind the black sheets and sulks quietly.

As the minutes ticked by, you looked up and heard soft, tired grumbles and muffled whines as Quan Chi stayed hidden away, buried in the darkest shadow his blanket gave. There it is, the exhaustion from the alcohol hitting his system. When it had the man fighting to stay awake, he snored gently until your weight made the mattress dip, and a muffled sound escaped him. He never raised his face and looked at you. No, you carefully wrapped yourself around him, arms hooking through his own and around his stomach as your front was pressed to his back.

You moved the neckline of the Sorcerer's clothing and rubbed at his neck gently. The nape of his neck is sensitive, and the circles you rubbed helped relax him as the sounds returned but became a relaxed humming as he enjoyed your affections. "Goodnight, Quan Chi. Love you," his breathing grew slow and quiet, and your words were answered.

"Night. Love...you..." and it was there in the silence that made you chuckle and nuzzle his cheek that your beloved dark sorcerer passed out to dream away and rest his drunkenness and fatigue. There will be some hell to pay when he's more aware of what has been going on and is less drunk. But you don't care; you'll make up for everything by bringing him the comfort and love he deserves.

...

Quan Chi awoke with a groan, his headache pounding and spinning his head. It was worse since he drank that liquid fire disguised as liquor. The man pressed a hand to the side of his temple as his body ached, and he couldn't remember the night. At least the last memory he can recall was you sitting down to read and the smell of liquor invading his sense of smell. "Hngh," Quan Chi moaned softly into his hand.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" You cooed, and the sorcerer looked over with a narrow, almost annoyed glare. Still, it quickly softened, and the apology went unsaid. He sighed gently and rolled towards you, shuffling back and rolling towards you, slipping back into his cuddle spot, pressing himself close and wrapping an arm around your torso. Your palm slides over the back of his skull, rubbing his crown and working lower.

"If you let me up, I'll go get you some water and something for that splitting migraine you've got," you whisper to him as his mouth presses to the crown of your head. His slow nod shows how the light makes his head swim, and your body shifts as Quan Chi rolls back and gives space to do just that. He moans again more disappointedly, making it known he regrets moving and prefers your body heat.

"I'll only be a minute," you say as you move out of bed and towards the door.

"Better," his throat is dry, his mouth dry and scratchy as he closes his eyes and lets his head swim a little, trying to recall last night. Still, he isn't too bothered, not enough to press any further and seek the memory. His focus is on how his mind can barely formulate sentences, and every thought worsens his head.

"How are you feeling otherwise, baby?" the question of concern is appreciated when you offer a cup of water to him, and he chugs the entire thing down, holding the glass out for a refill.

"Like hell. Tired and hurting all over," he gives a snarky response, which earns him a smile, a gentle rub against his cheek and a cheek pinch, which he groans at.

"Aren't you glad I kept turning you down last night?" you tease the groaning, barely thinking Sorcerer as he stares blearily at the glass with a frown, unable to pinpoint anything he may or may not have done. You place it beside the bottle on the nightstand before settling beside the Sorcerer, rubbing his neck before gliding your fingertips to the side of his temple and beginning gentle circular motions to help alleviate his aches.

"The hell do you mean?" is Quan Chi's groan of curiosity, blinking the bleariness out and opening and closing his mouth.

"Last night, after I got us home from the get-together at Johnny's, you kept trying to seduce me despite my rejections. Of course, a drunk version of yourself kept moaning and groaning, whining, pouting," Quan Chi opened his eyes and rolled them to meet your gaze. His head pangs, but he gives an acknowledging sound. "So, you turned me down and still took care of me after," Quan Chi gave an appreciative hum as the smile grew larger.

"Of course, love. No harm, no foul. You'll feel better later today after sleeping this off. Are you okay? Do you need another glass of water before going back to bed?" a smile and the gesture were appreciative as the man snuggled into you.

"Please," Quan Chi snuggled into your warmth, and you returned to the kitchen to grab a bottle, to his grateful moan. As he settled for some long and needed sleep, his appreciation was a tender kiss on your lips, a muttered "Love you", and a possessive arm and grip as the sleep claimed him. Quan Chi buried his face in the crook of your neck as you soothed the pain, stroked and stroked his head until your beloved Dark Sorcerer of Netherrealm could feel better later.

...

You woke up before him, seeing him curled up beside you. He is sprawled on the sheets. His right hand holds onto yours in your grasp. Your palm had the back of his knuckles. You lean up, stretching. "Ah," Quan Chi turns and watches you through one open eye. He looks away, grunting a bit before speaking.

"How are you feeling?" You ask, giving him space to roll onto his back. Your fingers begin massaging him. Your fingers apply pressure against the base of his skull before sliding up to where they cradle and soothe the ache. You oversee him before touching his cheek again. His eyes closed once more when they looked back at you again. He's grateful to see you've forgiven him and his behaviour yesterday, the soft look of concern and how you caressed his forehead. His headache dulled now, thankfully, since he's been up long enough and suffered the lingering symptoms and effects, drinking lots of fluids as well, especially his bottle of water.

"Well, enough. Head is a little dizzy, but..." you kissed him profoundly and cupped both cheeks. "I should be fine." Quan Chi rasped a husky, raspy morning voice, still low with sleep, rumbled in his chest and neck as Quan Chi drew in his lover, who was chuckling and peppering his shoulder and neck with little kisses.

"Happy hangover recovery, my love," you chuckled and laughed harder when the Sorcerer lifted one hand off the ground to rub his temple.

"I'd hardly call this a recovery, but I will make it work if you are around, my Beloved," the man responded while leaning back to glance at your grinning, joyous face, chuckling as he felt relief.

"Do you want me to bring you breakfast? Keep the sunlight from obliterating you while you recover?" You joke softly and let the Sorcerer run his hand over your cheek. Your palms took either cheek in his hands as your gaze focused on him. Quan Chi gives a slight grin. "That might work," the man answers with a nod.

"Okay. Give me a few minutes and get cleaned up, and I'll be back." You release his chin and give him a chaste kiss as you puttered around your room, getting dressed before wandering towards the kitchen. As soon as your foot left the bedroom threshold and turned the corner, Quan Chi rolled out of bed and sluggishly went to take a shower. By the time his shower finished and you returned, his headache was more manageable, and the world a bit less blurry.

When you returned to the room, Quan Chi had also gotten himself changed, sitting at the edge of the bed waiting. He stands quickly and looks a bit dizzy momentarily, his face pale before returning its colour, and he huffs. You shake your head and let him come over, pinching and pulling his cheek.

"Here, I brought you something for that headache and something to eat. Eat first, take medicine later, got it?" you demand the Sorcerer with a huff and frown. You weren't truly mad; the act amused the Sorcerer's face.

"Alright," he agrees quietly while accepting the food tray, pausing and looking worried at the strange sensation of something stirring inside him. But he sits on the bed with you, resting his cheek on your shoulder blade and closing his eyes, listening to your pulse while munching on scrambled eggs.

He sets the tray on the table near your side. Quan Chi stays leaning on your back for a moment until he goes to retrieve the plate again but ends up hugging you again instead. His lips leave a trail along your bare neck and collar.

His breathing picks up again when you turn around, looking directly into your eyes and allowing Quan Chi's mouth to graze along the column of your neck, where it lingers on one spot.

"Can't seem to get enough of you," his low voice whispers with an unexpected smile. The expression itself draws a warm feeling through him. Something deep in him aches for affection, especially when they're rare, unique, and often fleeting. The last one occurred not even two minutes ago. "Never would," he mutters before leaving more trails up and down the sensitive skin and drawing breathy, husky laughs from your mouth.

Small update: I've been MIA due to medical issues with my mother and I have been really into DBZ and playing Borderlands and Paleopines lately. I'll definitely be righting for DBZ villains soon

:readmore:

[cabinofimagines]

Chapter IV; convincing

So it took a while, but at some point I realised I wanted to finish writing at least arc one before posting the rest so oops.

Word Count: 1.2k

<- prev - mlist - next ->

-Asnyox

You both re-entered the clearing, followed closely by an overly excited Mrs. O’Leary. 

"No problem, I've got worse enemies than overweight satyrs." You overheard Percy saying. Nico was the first of you two to speak up, letting your presence be known to the demigod and tree nymph. 

"Good job, Percy. Judging from the trail of goat pellets, I'd say you shook him up pretty well." You could see clearly that Percy was nervous as he tried to smile. You were aware that Nico had made it pretty clear to Percy what his plan was, and if you were in this kid’s shoes you would have been nervous too. Luckily, you were just an idiot tagging along in the plan.

"Welcome back. Did you come by just to see Juniper? And who is your friend?" Nico blushed and you wondered whether it was about the friend thing, or about Juniper.

"This is (Y/n), and um, no. That was an accident. I kind of . . . dropped into the middle of their conversation." Blushing out of embarrassment then, you inwardly cheered. He also did not deny the friend comment you happily noted.

"He scared us to death!" Juniper said. "Right out of the shadows. But, Nico, you are the son of Hades and all. Are you sure you haven't heard anything about Grover?" Nico shifted his weight. Ah, she must have been crying worried over her lover. You had caught some of the stories around camp, however you did not know any of these people personally, so you tended to mind your own business. 

"Juniper, like I tried to tell you . . . even if Grover died, he would reincarnate into something else in nature. I can't sense things like that, only mortal souls." "But if you do hear anything?" she pleaded, putting her hand on his arm. "Anything at all?" Nico's cheeks got even brighter red. "Uh, you bet. I'll keep my ears open." 

"We'll find him, Juniper," Percy promised. "Grover's alive, I'm sure. There must be a simple reason why he hasn't contacted us." She nodded glumly. "I hate not being able to leave the forest. He could be anywhere, and I'm stuck here waiting. Oh, if that silly goat has gotten himself hurt—" Mrs. O'Leary bounded back over and took an interest in Juniper's dress. Juniper yelped. "Oh, no you don't! I know about dogs and trees. I'm gone!" She went poof into green mist. You gaped at her disappearance, never having gotten close to a tree nymph before. 

Mrs. O'Leary looked disappointed, but she lumbered off to find another target, leaving Nico, Percy and me alone. Nico tapped his sword on the ground. A tiny mound of animal bones erupted from the dirt. They knit themselves together into a skeletal field mouse and scampered off. You were impressed by his control, but truly you felt as if this shouldn’t have come as a surprise. 

"I was sorry to hear about Beckendorf." Nico said and you downcast your gaze, having heard the news quiet recently. This was one of the first people from camp that you knew who died, and the news had taken a toll on camp. 

"How did you—" Percy started, and you were reminded that he was there with Beckendorf on the ship. "I talked to his ghost." So the rumours about Nico’s powers were true – he could actually converse with the dead. "Oh . . . right." "Did he say anything?" 

"He doesn't blame you. He figured you'd be beating yourself up, and he said you shouldn't." "Is he going to try for rebirth?" Nico shook his head. 

"He's staying in Elysium. Said he's waiting for someone. Not sure what he meant, but he seems okay with death." You weren’t sure how to feel about these developments, but before you could give it much thought Percy started talking again.

"I had a vision you were on Mount Tarn," he told Nico. "Was that—" 

"Real," Nico said. "I didn't mean to be spying on the Titans, but I was in the neighbourhood." "Doing what?" 

Nico tugged at his sword belt. "Following a lead on . . . you know, my family." Percy nodded. You side eyed your friend, wanting the ask for an elaboration. However, you had felt him close the moment Percy started asking questions to him. You had heard a whisper about a sister, but there was nothing you could go off from. Nico was a mystery to you and you wished you could unravel it. 

"So how did it go?" Percy asked. "Any luck?" 

"No," he murmured. "But I may have a new lead soon." 

"What's the lead?" 

Nico chewed his lip. "That's not important right now. You know why I'm here." You saw Percy’s face fall. You knew Nico wanted you to help convince Percy, but you had barely exchanged a word with the son of Poseidon before. What were you supposed to do? Tell him you would safe him from being stabbed? 

"Nico, I don't know," Percy said. "It seems pretty extreme." 

"You've got Typhon coming in, what . . . a week? Most of the other Titans are unleashed now and on Kronos's side. Maybe it's time to think extreme." Nico looked towards you as to urge you to help him. You stepped forward. 

“If I may, Percy, “ you looked the son of Poseidon in the eye, surprised by the distrust in them, “I’ve been at camp since April – if Nico hadn’t brought me here I would have been dead and I know that even with how hard I – we – camp has been working,” you heard sounds of fighting in the distance, “I fear we are hardly a match for the Titan army.” Nico nodded in agreement. 

“This comes down to you and Luke. And there's only one way you can beat Luke We can give you the same power," Nico urged. "You heard the Great Prophecy. Unless you want to have your soul reaped by a cursed blade . . ." You hadn’t heard the prophecy fully yourself – around camp it was deemed a kind off taboo to mention or talk about.

“You can't prevent a prophecy," Percy said. 

"But you can fight it." Nico had a strange, hungry light m his eyes. "You can become invincible." 

"Maybe we should wait. Try to fight without—" 

"No!" Nico snarled. "It has to be now!" You were startled at his outburst – but you did agree with him. 

"Urn, you sure you're okay?" Percy asked and you threw him a wary look. 

“Percy, look,” you started as you noticed Nico taking a deep breath, “It will be significantly harder, maybe even impossible to take this journey when the fighting starts. Maybe even too late- if you want to prevent any more losses, deaths on our side you must go now.”

“I'm sorry if I'm being too pushy,” Nico’s gaze was strict towards Percy, “but two years ago my sister gave her life to protect you. I want you to honour that. Do whatever it takes to stay alive and defeat Kronos”

"All right," Percy decided. "What do we do first?"

[pinkhairedlily]

tadaima

sharing my piece for @sasusakubpzine which i'm so grateful to have been selected for. we are holding leftover sales so get a copy now if you haven't yet! 🛒-> https://t.co/DM3t6gqkDo

“Tadaima!”

Sasuke heard this greeting many times when they were kids. After classes, after missions, after errands. Everyone had families to come home to. Only Sakura had this privilege in their team, her parents still alive, but never once did he catch her uttering it.

He envied her regardless. However casual and mundane the word was to her, he craved to use it. Maybe letters strung together could bring back his dead.

But it was Sakura, his anchor after the war, who made it possible again. “Tadaima.”

And today, he’ll hear her say it to her family.

Only that, she isn’t herself. He sees her plant a longer kiss on Sarada’s forehead and feels her squeeze his arm a little tighter, signs of her anxiety bursting to the brim.

“We can go another time.”

Sakura shakes her head and grins her way out of his silent prodding. “Let’s take advantage of this while we can. A complete family. I can show them that.”

A complete family. Sasuke always thought Sakura had it easy, but not all families mean home.

x x x

Sasuke hears the Harunos before he sees them. Their noise is as loud as their eclectic hair styles and colors, but they quiet down when they register their arrival. The grand entrance ends on a neutral note when Sakura beckons him to the empty seats beside her parents at the center table. Hot seats. 

Kizashi and Mebuki manage lukewarm nods towards the three of them. Not so much as a kiss or hug for Sakura or an awed expression for Sarada inside her baby wrap. Sasuke doesn’t know which of the two irks him more.

The luncheon goes well for the first half. Everyone keeps to their little conversations. The meat is a little too hard and the broth a little too rich, but nothing out of ordinary. Perhaps it’s the food coma that makes some cousins plant their attention on them.

“Did you learn love potions at that ninja academy?” Eyeliner Guy asks. “Couldn’t think of any other way.”

Sakura smiles. “No, but I'm an expert with poisons.”

The death threat flies over their heads. 

“You probably baby-trapped him, no?” Thick Lipstick side-eyes him. “What a catch.”

Sasuke tries to smile, if only for his wife’s sake, but his annoyance seeps through his reply. “Great theories, but we actually met at the academy, fell in love later on, and got married. Contrary to what you think, Sakura is quite the catch.” He takes a sip of his now-cold tea. “I’m sure you’ll find someone in your forties. Don’t lose hope.”

Sakura almost chokes on her dango. “She’s in her twenties, Sasuke,” she chastises under her breath.

“Such a shame we didn’t see your marriage registry. We tried to find it, you know,” Green Mohawk smacks his lips, “for fun.”

“We got married outside the village, but we appreciate your effort.” He hopes his cold tone diffuses their burning curiosity, bordering on assault.

Some old people gravitate towards their seats upon hearing this. “We heard you came from traveling.”

“Ah, yes, the Land of Flowers was so beautiful.” Sakura tries to turn the conversation light, but no one takes her bait.

“Wasn’t that too dangerous during your pregnancy?” Paper Fan Grandma asks.

“You should’ve been more careful, Sakura,” Mebuki chastises, “And you should’ve known better, boy.”

“It’s Sasuke,” Sakura butts in, “And Mom, I’m a doctor. I can take care of myself.”

Mebuki not remembering his name doesn’t bother him as much as her occupation escaping them.

“So what’s your work, Sasuke?” Cigarette Smoking Uncle asks.

Sasuke has half a mind to use amaterasu on the nicotine stick. “I have duties beyond the borders of the village.”

“Ah, you’re always traveling then?” Paper Fan Grandma loves to gasp a lot.

“You could put it like that.”

“And you leave her? With a baby?”

“Sakura is very important in the village. She’s the hospital director.”

The three cousins sneer loudly at this while the older group does not feign their disappointment and tut-tuts. Sakura’s grip on his thigh tightens.

“This is why I keep telling her to focus on being a housewife,” Mebuki tells her husband as if Sakura is not in front of them. “The horrors of being a single mom! Did you hear what happened to Ayako? In debt and cheated on!”

Sakura is a strong woman. 

She never backs out from a fight or cowers in fear. She faces all her battles head-on. She has grown out of the shells of her childhood and adolescence and into these beautiful myriad of forms: a healer, a soldier, a mother, a wife.

“I can balance my work —” 

But this Sakura’s voice wavers and he sees how one of Konoha’s pillars regresses into an insecure girl who only wants her family to see her, know her, and accept her. 

Kizashi scoffs. “Sakura, do you know how hard it was to raise you? Your mother and I lost count of the sleepless nights we had because you wanted to become a ninja.”

Green Mohawk adds, “Bad decision. You’re lucky you came back in one piece.” He throws an apologetic look at Sasuke’s lost arm. 

Arthritic Grandpa points his cane at Sarada. “A child with two nin parents? Preposterous. Ninjas don’t grow well. They become orphans.”

Sakura stiffens beside Sasuke. He offers her his hand which she clasps in support, but really, it was just to stop her from springing when he says his piece, “Then I’m glad Sakura grew up okay despite being related to you. Clearly, you didn’t know her capabilities– or you only pretended to.”

A look of shock passes through their faces. Sarada takes the momentary silence to wiggle out of her baby wrap and onto Sakura’s lap. She squeezes her Mama’s cheeks, a gentle gesture of, Don’t worry Mama. I love you.

The manager of the restaurant also swoops into the awkward exchange by bringing the bill and a blank paper. “It’s a pleasure to have you dine with us, Dr. Uchiha. You saved my sister in an invasion once, but you probably don’t remember it anymore.”

Sasuke silently thanks the man for reminding Sakura what she is, what she has become. 

Sakura smiles. Finding her footing, she quickly gives her autograph “for display” and nods to Sasuke. At this cue, he gives the manager a wad of cash and ushers his family out of the restaurant without so much of a goodbye to anyone else.

x x x

"I think I made a good impression." Sasuke breaks the silence as they enter their home. 

Sakura's shoulders — broad, strong, dependable — tremble. But it's only laughter she can't contain. 

"You sure did." A soft grumble passes between them and she erupts in louder chuckles. "Can't believe I paid for food I haven't eaten. I'm so hungry."

As they enter the kitchen, his shoulders rub hers, another language meant to hold her hand. "Great timing then." 

“Okaerinasai!” Kakashi, Iruka, and Yamato, caliber soldiers, rightfully feared, don brightly-patterned aprons as they rambunctiously navigate a foreign space. Clutter decorates the countertops, and different, appetizing smells permeate the corners. 

It smells like home.

Sasuke watches Sakura’s face light up at the chaotic sight. 

Sarada is quickly lifted off Sasuke's embrace into the cradle made by three pairs of arms, and her greeting involves biting the cheeks of her uncles — her attempt at a kiss.

"No fair, Yamato. Don't turn your cheeks into wood!" Iruka bursts out. "It's painful for Sara— ow!" 

"You forget she's Sakura's daughter." Yamato massages the flushed red side of his cheek where thick gums and milk teeth had clamped down hard.

Kakashi heeds fair warnings. "Now Sara-chan, why don't I kiss you instead?" But the toddler has other plans as stubby fingers pull down his mask.

“Now don’t hog my goddaughter like that.” The three house-nins part for Tsunade whose arms are already open for Sakura. “How’s my best student?”

Where no one touched her earlier, here she is received. In laughter, in pats, in hugs. Casual, mundane things that tell of love.  

It feels like home.

“I didn’t invite you.” Sasuke notices the two empty sake bottles on the sink. “But I see you’ve already made yourself welcome.” 

“Kakashi said this is my homecoming. Besides, you rarely play host.” Tsunade shrugs, her  innocence quickly morphing into slyness. “Why don’t we play cards?”

Another bottle to the mix and a relocation to the patio later, the fifth hokage finds herself losing with an expectant audience.

"Sakura, sit next to your shishou.”

"Sakura, no." 

A student still obeys her master, and like clockwork, a gust of wind loosens her top. Sasuke grimaces at the distraction.

"Aha. I win!" Tsunade puts down her hand. "See, Sakura, you're always my lucky charm."

“Don’t tell me you didn’t see that coming?” Iruka jests.

“I recommend Icha-Icha’s Education Against Seduction.” Kakashi pulls a book out of his apron to give to his former student, but Yamato’s the first one to flip through the pages.

Annoyed, Sasuke turns to a half-flustered, half-laughing Sakura. “She cheated. Again. How did she even become your teacher?”

“How did you even become her husband?” Tsunade rolls her eyes. “I bet Orochimaru taught you love potions. Why would the most beautiful kunoichi even marry you?”

“She has the best chakra control,” Kakashi pipes, “I bet Sakura can beat your genjutsu now.”

“Monstrous strength for a doctor.” A specific memory sends shivers to Yamato’s spine. “Don’t let her fix your bones while conscious.”

A consensus runs through the group which stops Sakura’s laughter. “Are these supposed to be compliments? Why do I feel offended?” 

Inside her crib, Sarada giggles. Iruka leans down to her and whispers in acquiescence, “I know. She’s a loving mother too. You’re gonna grow up fine, Sara-chan.” 

Sasuke trains his sight on Sakura whose face is painted in happiness. There is nothing to prove, nothing to say, nothing to do. She is seen for what she is, all the sides and parts of her that make her her: a student, a doctor, a wife, a mother.

A loud bang interrupts the scene, followed by a powerful rush of chakra. 

"Good evening, constituents!" Clad in his hokage robes, Naruto commits to his ceremonious entrance. Only Sarada spares him attention with a delighted cooo-caaa. 

"Did you bring it?" Tsunade drawls over her words. Already too drunk to balance, she is leaning against Yamato, who looks like a still painting in front of the fire. 

Naruto presents another bottle of sake to the group with a flourish. "Of course, old woman!" Despite his desire to hold off on additional liquor, Sasuke accepts the gift.

x x x

The bottle, emptied after making several rounds in the group, now lies under Sakura's feet. The crowded bench trickled down to the three of them, the rest having already found abode on living room futons, limbs all splayed out and tangled like close friends under the warmth of the covers, with Sarada at the center of them all.

In the dark, Sakura's shoulders are hunched, free of the tension that hounded her this morning. The fading embers dance in her jade eyes.

"It had been a long time since we gathered like this." Her words trail smoke in the wintry air. "Too bad Sai had Yamanaka duties."

Naruto chuckles. "He missed a rare sighting of dancer Yamato."

"With deadpan expressions to boot."

Both of them turn to Sasuke at the same time and laughter spills out.

"No, I’m not drunk." Sasuke holds up his sole hand at the wordless prompting, but he puts it down quickly when his world starts spinning out of orbit. Yep, he’s drunk.

"You're no fun." Naruto sticks out his chin in defiance. "Why don't we play a game?" 

Sakura claps in agreement. She somehow salvaged a third of the wine's content from their teachers for their drinking game.

"Take a shot if you did this," Sakura grins too widely. "Never have I ever failed a subject in the academy."

The boys clink their glasses and drink. Alcohol tastes like water when you get used to it.

"What? Sasuke failed?" Sakura's pitch climbs a bit higher. 

It's an embarrassing admission, "I hated History." Sasuke wonders if his path of revenge would have taken a different trajectory if he had paid more attention. "Never have I ever failed a practical."

"What are these non-controversial questions?" Naruto snorts and empties his glass. Sakura smugly follows suit. "The know-it-all shows himself."

Sasuke shrugs, grateful to be spared from this round, because my god, I can't feel my legs. To be fair, he's doing a good job pretending he's fine. How is Naruto holding up so well? 

"Okay, last question, and I have to go home to Hinata." Naruto swirls the remaining contents of the bottle. Probably good for only two shots. 

"Hmm," Sasuke sees him rack his brain for more scandalous questions, but it's the one he picks that sears his insides. "Never have I ever fallen in love with a teammate while we were genin!"

“I hate you! That’s not how it works!”

“I’m too drunk to think of anything else!”

Sasuke swipes the bottle away from their reaching hands and swigs it into his mouth. He hopes it numbs down these butterflies and palpitations and somersaults that time traveled when he tried to touch her rosette strands as she scribbled furiously during History class.

"Sasuke-kun? You switched up the rules. You’re supposed to drink when it’s true.”

Sakura turns to Naruto, usually competitive, but has no protestations on this development.

“But it’s true.” The bottle goes round and round in his hand. “I liked Sakura back then,” he sighs his confession into the open, this secret no longer his own.

“No way.” 

“I wasn’t just as loud about it.” Sasuke takes another swig, forgetting it’s empty, and the bottle comes loose in his fingers. “It actually faded you know,” he adds a dash of nonchalance, but Sakura, as she always does, sees through him.

“It’s true, Sakura-chan,” Naruto echoes, “Or maybe his definition of like is ‘the only girl he can tolerate’.” That earns him a good old slap on the back of the head. 

They’re twelve again, struggling to be teammates, bickering at every conversation, and building bonds Sasuke thought he could fray.

This is family.

“Stop smiling.”

“I can’t stop.”

“You’re as annoying as you were then.”

x x x x

“What was the occasion?” The question hangs in the silence of midnight as she settles on her side of the bed. Sasuke adjusts his body to her presence, accommodating her curling limbs, like fitting two puzzle pieces.

“Nothing. I told them I missed them,” he lies. 

Sakura needs her family, that was the message. She needs her home.

His fingers intertwine with the strands he liked, strands he loves. Underneath his skin, he feels her let go of wakefulness, dreams already waiting to claim her.

A murmur, a prayer, as she leaves the day, “Tadaima.” 

FIN.

Thanks for reading!

AO3 | Twitter

[archivalofsins]

Lope:Ah, yeah- our recording devices still seem to be picking up noise from all facilities properly, our temporary one included. So, the prisoners are being recorded as they should be. I heard one facility had sprinkler issues? We're lucky that didn't damage any equipment but- Huh, management really should stop sending cottontails to do a hare’s job. Well at least everything’s still good- Oh, they've been up for a minute now haven't they? I'm late and the profiles weren't up in time. Stop the complaining. I did say I'd be testing things on top of running this Milgram. The transcripts of what has transpired will be up later.

Lope's Commencement

Daniel Prisoner 001

Mirelle Prisoner 002

Zareth Prisoner 003

Afra Prisoner 004

005 - Nell Newell

Place of Birth: Winona, Minnesota

Date of Birth: 11/11/2011

Age: 12

Ethnicity: African American/Caucasian

This one’s a bit of a strange case. He’s very relaxed in these circumstances and walks around as if this place were his own house. I haven’t really figured out what gets to them yet. He mentioned something about some time offline doing him some good. A decent cook for someone that age. His mannerisms make him come off like an old man. Maybe he was raised by older people. That sometimes happens, doesn’t it? Might have picked up the mannerisms from them.

Prisoner Color: #757D42

Permanent Record

Nell has perfect grades with 4.0 GPA. However, his attitude is rather perplexing for a child of his age. He complains about leg pain, the school chairs being uncomfortable on his back and the teacher writing too small on the board. His vision and physical health are good. We don’t understand why he’s behaving this way. We thought he was joking at the beginning of the year, but it’s persisted.

We assumed he had grandparents he was imitating but his mother says his grandparents passed away before he was born. It’s not as though it’s a large issue but it certainly isolates him from his peers. It is recommended that communication counseling continue for the rest of his middle school years until we’re able to help him out of this period he seems set in.

Nell: …

Worker: Hm? Are you- Perhaps interested in volunteering?

Nell: Yes. I would like to if that’s okay.

Worker: Oh, that’s perfect I’m sure they’ll love you! I never thought a kid your age would be interested in things like this.

Nell: …

To the Newells,

Nell has been a great help! He seems to be enjoying his time volunteering greatly. Thank you for giving him your permission to volunteer his time after school.

Sincerely,

XXXXX

Ms.Newell: Where have you been all this time.

Nell: Library. I walk over to it after school closes.

Ms.Newell: You know when you answer so quickly and in depth like that it comes off like a practiced response.

Nell: . . .

Ms.Newell: They still haven’t taught you how to speak in natural way at that school… What point is there in me having you go there then?

Nell: Education is important. You said so.

Ms.Newell: Education can only get you so far being a decent communicator is important to. People need workers that seem personable.

Nell: I’ll work on it more.

Ms.Newell: Well if you’re good looking enough when you’re older you’ll just have to stand around and saying nothing. If you can’t be personable the next best thing to be is attractive! It’s not a full dead end so chin up.

Nell: . . . Thanks for the encouraging words.

Ms.Newell: What do we do when we thank someone?

Nell: Smile…

Ms.Newell: . . .

Nell: Thanks.

Ms.Newell: That’s better! That’s my baby boy, great job!

Missing child found sleeping in woods ten miles south of the local senior citizens center. The child was found with-

[ryker-writes]

Lost

Jaxon Crowley's masterlist

Jaxon Crowley, the son of the headmage, and a feared delinquent of Night Raven College, didn't know what to do. He overblotted, is basically an outcast at NRC, and just found out that his mom is most likely already dead. She wasn't happy and deep down Jaxon knows he would've wanted her to be happy even back then, but he wishes things had gone differently. Maybe if she had told him he could've done things differently. He could've tried to fix things.

Before, he had planned to leave NRC to go find his mom so it could be like old times. It was the only goal or sense of direction he had to go on. Now that that's gone he's...lost. What was he supposed to do now? Where does he go from here? What does he even do with his life aside from linger around? He never had much motivations or plans before, and he had even less now.

He's empty. Maybe that's why he found himself in the courtyard just staring up at the clouds. He glared up at them. Even they knew where they were going, or at least, they were moving in a direction. He's just sitting still.

As he started to get annoyed with clouds just floating by, he heard footsteps approach him quickly. He didn't pay much attention to the footsteps at all even when they stopped nearby. It was probably just someone contemplating if they want to fight or bother him. It wasn't anything worth his attention right now anyway.

"Uhm...Crowley-senpai?"

Looks like they came to bother him. Letting out a deep sigh, Jaxon lazily looked up to see who it was. One of those Heartslabyul brats was standing there looking slightly nervous. Upon seeing the red Heartslabyul vest peeking out from his uniform, Jaxon look away completely uninterested.

"Get lost."

"I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"I don't want to talk to you."

"Why not?"

"You're bothering me. On top of that, you're part of Heartslabyul."

"Why does that matter?"

Sighing once again, Jaxon fully rolled over to face the student.

"Look, I'm confident you've heard about what I did to that Heartslabyul student years ago. You guys were told to avoid me, and I avoid you. I'm already in a bad mood today so if you keep talking, it might not end well."

"I don't care what you did years ago. I'm here to talk to you now."

Jaxon thought this might be the only kid that doesn't care about what he did. Maybe he's wanting to get on Jaxon's good side, or maybe he was just an idiot. Either way, Jaxon didn't have the energy to even fight right now and fighting would only mean he'd have to deal with his dad again.

"Whatever you want better be good."

The student smiled slightly before walking closer to Jaxon and crouching down next to him. Jaxon rolled his eyes and turned to look up at the sky once again. This kid would surely be gone soon.

"How do you manage your temper?"

"What?"

"Your temper. Like when people insult you or push your buttons, how do you not get fired up and the urge to just fight them?"

"You're kidding right? You must be stupid if you think I'm able to manage my temper."

"I was told you used to fight everyone when you were a first year even if they just looked at you. Then you come back from expulsion and people talk about you and you walk past them like you don't even care. You haven't gotten into a serious fight with anyone since you've been back. How?"

"If I fought every person who saw me in any negative light, I'd have to fight the entire school. My temper isn't gone at all. I've wanted to fight people here even now. Fighting them would mean I'd be stuck here longer though. I'd rather just deal with whatever they say or do to me than have to be stuck here longer."

"So you're controlling it better so you can get out of school? You must have something you want outside of here then...but I thought you weren't doing much in classes."

"What does it matter to you?"

There was a moment of silence as he tried to process Jaxon's question and figure out how to word it. Jaxon was as uninterested as ever and still not even looking at him.

"I have a bit of a temper and past with fighting too. I'm trying to get away from that...for my mom. I want to be an honor student but I tend to get angry and lose my temper when people say something about me or my friends."

Jaxon stayed quiet for a moment. Maybe it was because he mentioned trying to stop for his mom or maybe his past with fighting, but Jaxon felt strangely connected to it. This guy couldn't know about Jaxon's connection with his mom. He looked like a freshman and just going off what he's heard about Jaxon. After what he said though, Jaxon didn't want to just brush it off. Sighing once again, he realized he was caught in a vulnerable moment.

"Listen. Night Raven College is a school where it's impossible to avoid having something said about you. Doesn't matter who you are, everyone has something someone hates them for. Most of the time they want a reaction out of you. If you can't figure out how to get it handled then you'll probably end up getting into a serious fight."

"What am I supposed to do then?"

"Don't say anything. I walk past them without even looking in their direction and they get more upset than I do. You're still in control and winning the battle without fighting. You're trying to get away from it for your mom, but she'd probably want you to not do anything anyway. Try to think about how she would feel about it."

"I see. Is that what you do?"

"No."

"What? Why give advice that you don't even follow?"

"You're not supposed to do what I do. That's how you end up like me and everyone hates you."

"You mean you don't think about how your parents feel about what you do at all?"

He used to. He used to be in shame of what he did because he could've been the one that caused his mom to leave. Now he knows he was part of the reason, and it's too late to fix anything. His dad's already given up on him too. The only parent that cared is gone. Just thinking about it again hurt. It made him realize just how alone and hated he is.

"No. There's no one left that cares about me, and I have no reason to care about them. That's all. I do everything for myself."

"That...sounds lonely."

"Doesn't matter to me. Besides, it's not like I have any other choice."

The student didn't say anything in response. They sat there quietly for a few minutes as they thought about the conversation.

"What's your name?"

"Deuce Spade."

[mephyyy]

So I was trying to find some random Sonic OCs off Google to draw today because, man, art block killing me. I would like to prefece that I, myself, have Sonic OCs.

(This is all old art, except for my sonic.exe oc, but alas)

I think they're fun and a good way to express your creativity, whether that's writing them to date a character that you like or to be the most popular/powerfulest person EVER.

But with my not very deep dive into the 3 page of Google, I realized that even the really well draw or intriguing OCs are "cringe" and "Mary Sues".

With this, the notion comes that OCs are inherently cringe and not worth making unless you make them the most boring and unspecial person ever. Like: "This is my Sonic oc, Joe the cat. He works at a desk job, and he likes coffee." Making just your average Joe can be fun, but the thought that ALL OCs have to be fucking boring is dumb.

This thought is everywhere. You scroll through Google for 30 seconds, and you see articles about sonic OCs being a sickness, like this article from the medium. Like the drawing that a 10 y/o posted on deviant art about their green sonic will irreparably damage art.

This mindset actually hurts art in the long run. If you get told over and over again that the self insert you make is cringe and you should never draw again then, inevitably, you're going to stop drawing.

I was someone actually who thought for a very long time that my OCs shouldn't be special, or have super cool powers, or even have heterocromia. A good lot of my original characters were boring because I was worried about making a Mary Sue (Thanks CyberSans). It's actually a very deliberate choice that my self-insert/persona, Mephy, cringe.

Yes, I took things from jjba and Sonic to make this weird combo of Mephiles, Diego, jouta, and myself. I did this to push myself to make something "cringe," and anytime I think about removing his tail, I remember why I gave him one.

After I disregarded being seen as cringe, did I start to like designing characters. Just the want to make something I like without being worried if it's cringe or not. I think the freedom to make things like this is very important for young artists (or just artists in general). It's very liberating.

I took the making things purposefully cringe into my TF2 OCs. I gave them on the noise names, and I gave them back stories that were edgy. I enjoyed it. It made me happy.

With the acceptance of being seen as weird, I almost forgot what things were "cringe." I've just been seeing so many people happily making sonadow fan kids that I forgot people think that's cringe. I forgot that edgy OCs is cringe. I forgot that just being into something odd is cringe, and that makes me sad. I honestly thought that we got past thinking that darkspine the evil hedgehog (original character, do not steal) is cringe.

It's just sad. These OCs are cool. And yes, there are sonic OCs that aren't seen as cringe, like Ian Jr, S.N.T., or Trevor the hedgehog, but those are the exceptions. When was the last time you heard something say that Rosechu was their favorite OC? That's right, you haven't because sonichu is very much "cringe" (and don't bring up that Chris-chan did some fucked up shit, y'all didn't like she before she went to jail or did any of that fucked up stuff.) Why can't someone just make someone weird?

Concussion: Stop seeing things as cringe, and cringe culture is NOT dead until we kill it ourselves.

Anyway, I think I have written enough, and my English teacher would say that this is an emotional rant and that I need to rewrite like half of this. I think one of her exact words on a paper I wrote was "zack, this sentence makes me want to smear poop in my hair."

Here is some old art is some of my favorite little guys I found off Google (:

[hum--hallelujah]

ok @caffeineecold Suitehearts thoughts (with only a small helping of Kobra bc I'm still kinda thinking all those dynamics out... soz)

ok so in my mind palace (kskfjsfk) the Suitehearts as a group are both known for 1) racing, bc of Sandman ( and on rare occasion Crab also I think) and 2) being the closest thing the Zones have to like... an ambulance. bc in my headcanon I kinda strayed away from the TV show thing (sorry) EXCEPT that that's where Benzedrine took his name from. bc he was a final-year med resident in the City and got mixed up in an experimental thing that went wrong and kinda just... really really messed up his head for a long time. like even years after he still has affects of it (brain fog, really bad dissociation, stuff like that) but when he first ran for the Zones it was like. REALLY BAD. he was really effed up. luckily for him (and eventually, jokingly, maybe unluckily too lol) he was found by this weird loner kid who called himself Mr. Sandman. Benzedrine thought of him as "the boy with two mouths" for A While after they met even though he Knew Sandman's name, it just... wouldn't quite click at first

(and actually as a matter of fact my version of Benzedrine has a lot of issues regarding names in general, especially his own bc he still feels connected to his City name and who he was before and feels weirdly disassociated with his Killjoy/chosen name sometimes, even though he specifically chose that name bc it's still similar to his City name. it's weird. his brain is weird about names, let's leave it at that)

Sandman kinda showed Benzedrine the ropes and how Zone life works, which was great for both of them because 1) Benze woulda frickin died on his own, and 2) Sandman at this point didn't really have any close friends. I'm thinking he knew Kobra and the Four at this point from the crashtrack but that's always been a little bit different, Sandman chose to be a lone wolf but racetrack friendships/truce/whatever that whole thing is are still different than having a crew to call your own, yknow?

so at this point, Sandman basically is his own mechanic. he thinks all his friends are dead. last he heard, his best friend growing up had been caught and Drac'd. this makes him EXTRA pissy at the track and leads to some escalating tensions with Kobra in particular in that Sandman's response to grief is uh... basically he gets mad at the first person he can, which when Kobra beats him in a race is... yeah. you get what I'm saying. cue "freckle, freckle, what makes you so special?" and the thematic resonance of "I'm gonna leave you," because Sandman! has this massive issue! of blaming other people! for crap that's not their (or anyone's) fault! he's mad at Donnie for leaving him in the worst way possible. he's mad at the people he knew for dying. he's mad at Kobra for being effing better than him at his favorite thing in the world that he's put all of his heart into. and that turns into a heightened level of resentment and a whole lot of other issues

(which is also a whole thing bc it means the Rest of the Four AND Benzedrine have to witness/put up with this crap and ngl they're all deeply annoyed by it. this is how Benze and Jet become friends, in a loose sense of the term, because they both need someone to bitch to about their weird friends skfkdkgmsk)

anyway so. spoiler alert: Donnie isn't frickin dead. and his distant cousin, one H. Shoe Crab, nearly died saving him from BLI. Crab is mute bc of this, Donnie, once he's back in his right mind, will never forgive himself. even though it was, yknow, out of his control (idk how it works in "canon" but I'm pretending you can save people who've been Drac'd ok? ok).

there's a whole... series of events I haven't figured out yet that lead to a reunion. Sandman is over the moon about having his best friend back (and he also knew Crab, way back when, but not as well) so they very naturally and also very chaotically end up becoming a crew — which is great, bc Dr Benze has this wild idea to use his medical knowledge to help anyone in the Zones who needs it. it's kind of a space that needs filled bc most organized crews have A Medic, but usually they're just... doing their best with very limited learning and recources. an actual doctor? with training? who knows how to do the hard things like amputate a limb Properly or fight a viral infection? that's like... insane and incredible. and also a little bit puzzling to the others, but they're all 100% in after a bit of convincing. it's uh... pretty chaotic and there's definitely some crap that could be considered medical malpractice but like they're saving lives however they can and it's not like they have general anesthesia in the Zones so... yeah.

and Donnie absolutely is Sandman's mechanic once they reunite. like they used to fix old stuff up like that for funsies as little kids there's no way you're keeping them from teaming up on the track when they have the chance to. it's a large hand in Donnie's healing process honestly.

(Crab ends up as basically lowkey the nurse to Benzedrine's doctor btw. those two have an insane dynamic going on. guy with language issues + guy who speaks really sloppy Zone sign language bc he's still learning it? oh it's a mess. they're so sweet. I'm rotating them in my head)

they're also kinda the reversal of my version of the Fab Four bc in my universe Ghoul is the only one of them born in the Zones meanwhile with the Suitehearts Benze is the only one of them NOT born there. it's fun

[thebeeswon-butatwhatcost]

I wasn't gonna post this but I saw a lot of people saying Weiss is going to be the one to talk to Ruby sooo..

Why Yang needs to be the one to talk to Ruby, a thesis(kind of).

Note: this is just my opinion. I will not say I'm good at analysis and some of the points could be wishful thinking.

Spoilers Below!!

Starting out with the obvious: No, no one should be running after Ruby to talk to her right this second. Ruby needs time to herself to figure some things out before she can accept any kind of help. Otherwise they'll probably make it worse.

And why only one character at first? Because it can get overwhelming telling your problems to everyone at once. It would be easier to have one person to talk to at first, then when she's calmed down and in a better headspace, she can talk to everyone else.

Jaune is definitely out of the question. His outburst towards Ruby, how long he's been alone, his not quite there mind, all these things need to be addressed before he should be allowed to talk to her.

Blake could be good to talk to her. She's been the calmest and has taken the lead for a big part of the season. But when she did try to help, Ruby immediately shut her down. And during the blow up when Ruby was talking about the bees getting together, she wasn't looking at Yang, she was staring at Blake. I saw someone say that she's afraid that Blake is taking Yang away from her, and I can't help but agree with that. (More on that later)

Now, I can see the argument for Weiss being the one to talk to Ruby. She's her partner, they've been through a lot together, ect. But, So far this season, Weiss has been leaning against Ruby heavily since Atlas was destroyed, and because of that pressure on Ruby feeling like she needed to be strong for Weiss was one of the reasons for her outburst. Weiss needs to apologize, and she knows that. But with Ruby most likely still angry, an apology could have the opposite affect. They need to have their own private talk, definitely, but not until things have calmed down a bit.

And then there's Yang. Starting with the obvious, She's Ruby's older sister. She raised Ruby since she was a kid. Yang has been there her entire life and when Ruby was sad Yang has been there to make things better, even having a whole song about it(and ive even heard people say it's time for a Gold II). Even when Ruby became leader and started leaning against herself, she still leaned on Yang, tough not as often or as much. And Yang was always there when she needed her, even when they were fighting.

When Yang fell and Ruby thought she was dead, she lost that pillar of support, even if it was only for a while. Ruby though Yang died trying to protect her, and they haven't talked about that yet. So even if it's not at the forefront, that is something that's probably weighing on Ruby's mind.

Then there's the whole "Blake taking away her sister" thing I mentioned earlier. If that's true, Ruby is again afraid of losing her most constant pillar of support. Blake saying that she's not taking Yang away from her is one thing, Yang saying it is another. Yang needs to assure Ruby that's she's still always going to be there when she needs her, girlfriend or not.

Another thing is Ruby stepping away from her old self and her association to Summer Rose. Ruby has been compared to the great Summer Rose her whole life, and is crumbling under those expectations. Yang has memories of Summer, and could possibly provide the help Ruby needs to distance herself from her mother. Yang will also be the best one to listen to Ruby talking about Summer, she was her mom too, she grew up on the same stories. She'll be the best to see where Ruby's coming from.

And then there's the parallels between Yang and Ruby. First there's the obvious Ruby getting Crescent Rose and Yang getting a new arm that is almost frame for frame the same. Yang has been through it before, it doesn't feel like a part of her and she's not ready to use it. She can help work Ruby work through what's making her so hesitant and afraid to use it, or at least get her started. And second, all through volume four she mostly had to heal on her own. Her team was either gone or she pushed them away, like she did Ruby. And all she had left was her dad, who did help her but only after she finally let him. Ruby is trying to work through it, and she's been pushing everyone away who's been trying to help. Yang can do for Ruby wham Tai did for her, or some variation of it.

And finally, there's Yang's character growth too. Her whole life she's always been focused on Ruby, and the moment she focused on herself, Ruby blew up about how no one was helping her. It must have been a punch in the gut for Yang, and might make her think twice about putting herself first again. And her entire purpose, or what she believes is her purpose, it protecting the people she loves(see: Yang's self sacrificing tendencies). She even gave up on her goal of talking to her mom to protect Ruby. But she failed with Ruby twice, first with her falling in after she jumped Infront of Neo to save her, and then when Ruby really needed someone to lean on, Yang never got the chance to be that person for her this volume. When Ruby talks to her about all the things she's going through, Yang can relate to a lot of what's been going on with her. The need to always be strong and be the one who can be leaned on being the big one. Together they can both grow past that and begin healing, which will also help patch up the divide they started to feel during volume 8. And as a side note, Neo was the first one Yang was defeated, and almost killed, by. Having a rematch without Raven interfering will be a nice call back to that fight.

In conclusion, Yang talking to Ruby alone before the whole group talks to her for both Ruby's growth and Yang's own growth.

Thanks for listening to my TED talk that no one asked for, lol.