#Have To Offer? ; so she can't stop Attacking and also can't stop Taking The Hits -> this building into the scene the maidens glimpse

[brittlebutch]

brennan trend of characters who view their bodies not necessarily as themselves but as a Tool they can use to earn favor from / a place with other people (often as an Apology for who they are) has me thinking about Zelda's Ending of All Things vision again

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

how do you think different tr characters would react to being tickled? like on a scale of "doesn't mind/might start a tickle fight" to "DO NOT UNLESS YOU WANT TO DIE"

I kinda pictured this as being someone their friends with/ very close to being the one doing the tickling so keep that in mind! I've also tried to rank them from easiest to most difficult.

Mitsuya- Doesn't react, he actually isn't ticklish (Luna and Mana have complained about how unfair this is many times)

Mucho- Not ticklish, looks at you with a blank expression and asks what you're doing. 

Emma- Tears slip out when she's tickled, she just can't help it. Will pout after.

Naoto- Is surprisingly very ticklish, will beg you to stop then tells you to never do that again.

Koko- Will offer you money to make you stop

Pah- Thinks tickle fights are unfair and would rather arm wrestle 

Hina- Turns bright red when tickled and pleads with you to stop. Sometimes she'll try to get you back and other times she'll just leave it.

Angry- Laughs, actually smiling while being tickled. He doesn't always try to get you back either. 

Takeomi- Thinks you're being a bit childish, will sometimes attack back depending on how busy he is

Shion- Thinks you're very bold to try tickling him, will then say he will give you the worst tickle attack possible as revenge. It turns out to be pretty mild.

Yuzuha- Likes tickling others but hates it being done to her, half heartily tries to push you off.

Inui- Chuckles lightly when being tickled, it depends on his mood as to whether he tries to get revenge or not

Hakkai- Freezes up when tickled, will attempt to get you back hours later though.

Takemichi- Get's completely surprised by a tickle attack and doesn't see it coming. Ends up laughing uncontrollably then tries to get you back after.

Peh- Grins all throughout, he thinks it's funny, especially when he's tickling you back

Shinichiro- Also loves tickle attacks, any excuse to get to touch you and watch your face as you giggle. He thinks it's cute.

Chifuyu- Actually likes tickle fights, sure he doesn't like being tickled too much but loves that he has an excuse to tickle you back.

Senju- Laughs, you better watch out though because she tends to move her limbs about wildly while being tickled and you could be accidentally hit. 

Wakasa- Hates being tickled and finds it tiring. Will half heartily tickle you back but his main revenge is to cling to you, leaving you trapped in his embrace on the bed or sofa for a few hours. 

Kakucho- Is definitely competitive with this, holds back a little while tickling you back though. He doesn't want to hurt you.

Mochi- Laughs very loudly while being tickled and will try to get you back after, gives you a head start to run and hide before he comes after you.

Benkei- Gives you a bear hug after being tickled, trapping you in the air with one arm and tickling you with the other. Your choices are trying to break free and risk falling or waiting for him to stop.

Mikey- Laughs very loudly then 100% chases you to get you back, will then tickle you with no mercy.

Kazutora- Is very sensitive to tickling, it only takes a little for him to start laughing. Once he catches his breath he doesn't hesitate to run after you to get you back.

Draken- A very bad idea to try it with him, he's not too ticklish and will easily hold you down after to get you back. 

Ran- "oh?" Finds your boldness to be adorable but will attack without mercy. He's had a lot of practice while tickling Rindou.

Rindou- Can easily gain the upper hand in a tickle fight against you, especially if you don't know his moves. Teases you a bit after that, tickling lightly or not at all before going fully in. Likes the sounds of your laughter and screams.

Izana- Freezes up, unsure of how to react at first. He then sees it as a game and wants to win against you so will overpower you and tickle you until you declare him the winner.

Baji- Terrible idea to tickle him! He'll go for revenge immediately after and tickle you until you're begging him to stop.

Kisaki- Blushes when being tickled, then tells Hanma to tickle you back.

Hanma- Isn't ticklish but fakes it to get you to lower your guard. Loves the sudden look of shock on your face when he suddenly pounces on you to tickle you back. 

Sanzu- Hates being tickled, he despises it. His revenge involves tickling you in different places to try and find the most ticklish spot.

Smiley- You will die. He out right threatens you then tickles you non stop without mercy after.

Taiju- Do not tickle this man. Comes up with the worst revenge possible, may even ask Koko and inui to hold you still while he tickles you.

South- Grins like a maniac if you try it because now you've basically given him permission to tickle you back. You better run.

[runningfrom2am]

cold nights // part seventeen

summary: you showed him colours he knows he can't see with anyone else.

pairing: coriolanus snow x fem!reader

wc: 3.8k

masterlists / nav / requests

tags/warnings: tribute!reader and mentor!coriolanus, r is very sweet (too kind for this world. literally.), sunshine x grumpy trope kinda, he falls first, violence typical for the source material, depictions of mental illness (r has a panic attack), she's is very smart (as she should), district twelve!reader.

a/n: this is the tea guys get ready for a LOADED chapter. also,, i apologize.

my asks are also open to talk about this series! (i do have emoji anons open now too!)

send me any and all of your thoughts! here!

series masterlist // playlist

Coryo wants to ask you who that guy was- why he made you so instantly uncomfortable, and he wants to, but he's cut off before he can get a word out by someone shouting your name. You tense under his hold, freezing on the spot. Then your name comes again, and as Coryo turns to see the face of whoever it is, he was met with the very same blonde boy just a few feet away.

"Hey, leavin' already?" He asks, tilting his head at you as you turn. He doesn't even spare a glance in Coryo's direction. "Didn't even say hello."

"Oh, well, I'm just... not feeling well." You reply, dropping Coryo's hand in favour of shielding yourself around your waist.

"Oh, that's a shame. Can I walk you home?" He offers.

"I've got it, actually." Coryo answers stiffly, straightening his shoulders as he takes in the boy's attire. Blue slacks, a white T-shirt, and a buzzcut. He's a peacekeeper.

The boy looks him up and down, a smirk forming on his lips. "This is your mentor. Saw him on TV with you, I didn't realise that was a... permanent arrangement."

"Coriolanus just came to visit. He's a good friend." You say quietly, hardly to be heard over the Covey band playing in the background.

"Oh! A friend. Of course." He laughs, speaking to you, but his eyes are locked with Coryo's; unafraid, taunting. "And here I was thinking you had a type."

"Y/N has never mentioned you." Coryo states, shoving his hands into his pockets to keep himself from throwing a punch. "Who are you, exactly?"

"Right! Sorry, I'm Cole." The blonde boy replies.

Coryo could laugh. Clearly, he was local. "Should I take a blind guess at where your father works, Cole?"

His jaw tenses in response, but then he laughs. "Yeah, yeah. You'd probably be right." He reaches up, running his hand over his jaw. "You know, if Y/N isn't up to giving you a tour, maybe I could take you out in the woods and show you where your father was murdered. How does that sound, Snow?"

You look up at your friend, eyes wide. Coryo doesn't know what to say or do, but he looks pissed. "Cole, enough." You state, trying to steady the shake in your voice. "That was cruel and you know it."

"Oh, was it? Sorry." He apologizes, but he's looking past you at a seething Coriolanus. He can only hear his heartbeat in his ears, and he wants nothing more than to beat this guy to a pulp right where he stands.

"Coryo, let's just go, please..." He can suddenly hear your voice, and feel your hands against his chest, trying to urge him out the door.

"Yeah, you two head out." Cole chuckles, lifting one hand in a wave. "I'll give you some advice though, bud, you're not getting anything from her by walking her home. I've been down that road and jeez- it's really not worth it."

Coryo didn't care anymore if you were trying to get him out; he steps past you and is throwing a fist right into Cole's nose before you could make a move to stop him. Bringing up his father was one thing, saying something so disgusting about you was totally another. Coriolanus would not look past that and be a pacifist right now- even if that's what you wanted.

You stumble back with a gasp, hands flying up to cover your mouth. You stand frozen as Coryo knocks him down, laying punch after punch onto a boy you once thought of as a friend.

Hit. After. Hit.

You couldn't see his eyes. You weren't sure why you were looking. Deep down, you knew you wouldn't like what you saw.

You back up. Back, back, back until your head hits the wall and you can't keep going. You didn't realize you were breathing so fast until you started to get dizzy. People are shouting, a crowd is forming. Too many people, too much screaming- the music has stopped, and you watch from outside your body as Sejanus wraps his arms around Coriolanus's waist and yanks him back so he's standing upright again.

He wipes his bloodied mouth on his wrist, then promptly pushes his hair back out of his eyes as he spits the blood in his mouth down on Cole as he lies on the ground. Time is moving so slowly that you're not even sure he's moving. Is he dead?

Your eyes flit back up to Coriolanus again, and his eyes catch yours. You try to take a step back again, but the wall is still there. Shades of red cloud the edges of your vision, and you're stuck making eye contact with him. Frozen, and terrified.

"No- no, no Y/N, wait-" He starts to speak to you. You wonder if you're dreaming. If this was another nightmare- worse than the others. It was personal. "Y/N- hey, don't look at me like that. Come on, don't look at me like that. Talk to me." He's saying, pleading with you, and you can only read his lips as tears fall quick and heavy from your eyes.

He takes one step with empty but bloodied hands held out in front of him, and you're running. It's the worst kind of deja vu. You don't know where to go- you can't go outside. He knows where you live, where your family lives, and it's too long of a walk to be able to make it. He would catch you if you tried to run home alone.

You're trying to sprint through a crowd of drunk people, many of whom are fighting as well now, and you almost don't even notice when you take a hit to the side of the head with someone's elbow as you try and get to the back room. You don't have time to care. You look back over your shoulder, shoving your way through as quickly as you can. He's following you. You can see his blonde hair in the semi-cleared path you made for yourself.

You can't look back, you have to look forward as you dart down the dark hallway, praying that the Covey's makeshift dressing room has a lock on the door. You didn't even realize you were screaming until you slammed the door behind you, scrambling for the lock and sliding the rusty metal shut as you barricaded the door with your body.

"Y/N! Y/N, wait!" Coryo shouts, shoving his way through the crowd behind you. You can't hear him, even when he catches your eyes. That same fear behind them made his gut twist.

He only just clears the crowd behind you when someone is standing right in his path, grabbing his shoulders and shoving him back. Lucy Gray. She wasn't strong, but she needed to be. "What have you done!" She's shouting right in his face, pushing him back again, but it does little to move him. "Why would you do that in front of her?! Get out of here! Now!"

"No, no, Lucy Gray I need to-"

"Coriolanus Snow if you don't get away from her right now I swear to god I-"

"No, you don't understand I-"

"I understand damn fine, thank you!" She huffs. "Sejanus, go get Lennox."

He didn't even clock that Sejanus was holding onto him, keeping him from getting any closer to you even though you were locked behind that door he could see just feet away. He could hear you screaming, sobbing, and he only wanted to help.

"Okay, yeah. I will." Sejanus says, turning his grip onto Coryo's arm. "Come on, you gotta go."

He had seen Sejanus angry before, but it was never directed at him. "Sejanus, please, I have to help her, I can't go through this again I really-"

"You can help her by leaving."

Coryo's heart sinks in his chest, but he lets Sejanus pull him away, and he stares hopelessly back over his shoulder at the door as Lucy Gray knocks on it, talking to you through the metal barrier protecting you from him.

"Y/N/N, hey, it's me. It's Lucy Gray. You gotta let me in, sweetheart. Come on, open up." She's trying to stay calm as she knocks on the door, repeatedly trying the handle on it. "I'm alone, I promise you're safe, Y/N/N. Open the door, please."

You can hear her, but everything besides your broken sobs sounds distant as you're curled up against the opposite wall. There's not enough air in the world right now to keep you conscious- there must not be a window back here. You force yourself back onto your feet, stumbling as you try to stand up and you can hardly see. It's hot.

You look up, there's no vents. The ceiling is too high. Somehow, that makes you feel more claustrophobic.

You make your way over to the door, your palms against it and feeling soft knocks coming from the other side.

"Lucy Gray?" You sniff, unsure now that it was even her voice that you heard.

"Yes, sweetheart. It's just me, can you let me in, please?"

You take three deep breaths.

"Y/N/N?"

With a shaky hand, you reach up and slide the lock open.

She tries the handle again, looking back over her shoulder when it cracks open this time.

You step back quickly as the door is slowly pushed open, almost falling back with the urge to run. You hardly remember why you would open the door.

"Hey, hey, just me." Your best friend says, quickly closing the door again and locking it behind herself.

She eyes you carefully, and your arms are wrapped tightly around your midsection. You don't look like yourself- eyes wide with nothing more than terror behind them, like you're physically holding yourself together and it's not really working as your chest rises and falls so fast she can almost see your muscles straining to keep up. She wants nothing more than to pull you into her arms and tell you it's okay, but she's not sure touching you would be wise. "You okay, Hun?"

You look at her with tear-filled eyes, shaking your head.

"That's okay." She nods at you, understanding and filled with worry. "Do you want to sit? I'll get you some water and we can talk, okay?"

You nod, swallowing over the dryness you didn't even notice in your throat left over from all the screaming and crying. If you didn't know better, you would have thought you swallowed a full box of cotton.

Lucy Gray nods, double checking the door is locked before going over to her bag in the corner and grabbing a water bottle. You watch her the whole way and her calmness slightly soothes you, just enough to sit down at the bench and table beside you.

Lucy Gray isn't scared. You're safe here. You have to remind yourself over and over that you're safe now.

"Your brother is on his way." She assures you, sitting down across the bench from you and holding out the water she just opened for you.

"Okay." You say quietly, taking it and just holding it in your lap. You try and take a deep breath, your head falling back as you shut your eyes, trying to force the fear to leave your body.

"There you go, good. Keep breathing." You hear her tell you and you swallow again. "Can you talk to me? Tell me what happened. No one can hurt you here, I promise."

"Coryo, go home." Sejanus instructs him, turning him in the opposite direction, as if he couldn't do it himself. He had absolutely zero interest in going back to that cold empty house they had borrowed for the month.

Especially after what he had done to you. Again.

He promptly turns back around in the street. "No, I'm coming with you."

Sejanus sighs, rubbing his hands down his face. "I don't have time for this-"

"I agree. Let's go get him."

"Don't you get it?" Sejanus laughs bitterly, eyes wide with exasperation as he shakes his head. "Don't you know what you've done to her?"

"Of course I get it!" Coryo shouts in response. "I've ruined everything! I know that!"

Sejanus opens his mouth to speak, quickly shutting it again.

"I'm killing her! I'm killing her and I can hardly breathe right now and I need her to know I didn't mean to scare her and the only way I can show her that is helping her now. That's the mistake I made last time, and I won't do it again. I won't." He shakes his head, reaching up and pushing his hair back out of his eyes.

"She talked to me, on the last night I saw her. She screamed, and cried, just like that," He gestures vaguely toward the building you're still trapped inside, "and she asked if that's who I was and I couldn't tell her no. She asked if I regretted it and I do, more than anything, and I'm pretty sure she's the only damn reason why and she doesn't know that!"

"I can't lose her." He adds after a moment of the two boys just staring at each other. "Not again, Sejanus. I'm scared of who I'll be without her."

Sejanus shakes his head slightly, looking up at the stars as he takes a deep breath. He was mad at Coryo for scaring you, but he was his friend, and if this is how he wanted to help, he couldn't bring himself to push him away after he was sure that Coryo had never been so honest in his life.

"Okay. Let's go."

There are still lights on in the house when Sejanus knocks on the door. Coryo is standing at his side, chest tight. Your brother already didn't like him- he knew this wouldn't go well at all, but he couldn't walk away from you now. If it was your brother you needed, he would get him for you.

The door opens and they're lucky to see that it was Lennox who answered.

"Where's my sister?" He asks immediately, noting that you weren't with them.

"Something happened, and Lucy Gray asked us to come get you." Sejanus answers, and Coryo's breath hitches as your brother's eyes lock on him.

"What did you do?" He spits, and for a moment Coryo wonders how you could even be related.

He feels himself go pale. "I'm sorry, I really am..."

"Pa!" Your brother shouts back into the house, not giving him the chance to explain further. "We gotta go get Y/N/N, somethin' happened to her."

"What?" Your dad's voice comes next, panicked and frantic as he hurries to the door, not even bothering to grab a coat as he and his son push past the boys on the porch.

Coryo hadn't had the chance to meet him yet, and the fact that this is his first impression makes him feel ill.

"What happened, is she hurt?" He asks, stalking quickly down the front path and they follow hastily after.

"She's not hurt." Sejanus assures him quickly.

"She, uhm, maybe..." Coryo says, embarrassingly non-confident. Everyone looks at him. "She caught an elbow to the head, I couldn't stop it. I'm sorry."

"You're Coriolanus?" Your dad says, turning to look at him only briefly.

"Yes, sir."

"Thank you for coming to get us." He replies, nodding to him. "You did the right thing."

Coryo has to ignore the glares Lennox is shooting into him. He must be the only one who knows.

"We didn't know it would be unsafe for her, but we should have. I apologize." Sejanus says, and your father slightly shakes his head.

"She's got a smart head on her shoulders. She wouldn't've gone if she thought something would happen. Can't blame anyone." He replies. "There's no guidebook on how to live with this stuff."

"I have a good idea of what not to do." Lennox cuts in, and Coryo catches him staring at his bruised knuckles. He quickly tucks his hands into his pockets.

Peacekeepers had cleared out the Hob by the time they got back. Coryo recognizes the other kids in Lucy Gray's band as they stand outside, presumably waiting for her to come out. She was still with you, maybe that was a good thing.

"Tam Amber, is Lucy Gray with her?" Your father asks the boy, who nods in response.

"They won't let you in here, but go try the back door. Goes straight to our room, that's where I saw her go."

"Thanks, Son." Your father nods, lips pursed together as he pats his shoulder and quickly brushes past, rounding the side of the building.

Coryo tries to follow, but Lennox stops him abruptly with a hand on his chest. "You better go."

"Listen, I, I don't know what she told you, but-"

"She told me everything I need to know about you." He says, looking back over his shoulder at his dad knocking on the door, ear pressed to it as he calls out for you and Lucy Gray. "And I know that you being here will just make it worse. So go."

Coryo nods, running a hand down his face. "Listen, I get it, I do, but I can't lose her again. I can't. I have to explain-"

"No, no." Lennox cuts him off. Coryo is sick of people cutting him off. "Can't you just let her be happy? We're doing everything we can to convince her she's still alive- that she's safe and it was hard enough already before you showed up. Literally every night she has nightmares about you, because she trusted you. Completely. You've been here less than a day and you hurt her all over again- I can't just stand by and let that happen."

"I did it because that guy said something horrible about her- I just, I couldn't let him get away with that!" Coryo protests, scared that no one would actually give him a chance. "Last time I didn't get to talk to her and I think that's what she needs."

"Oh, you think that? That's spectacular. She'll be cured!" Lennox laughs dryly, rolling his eyes. "We don't need you to fix her. I really don't have time for this, Coryo."

He practically spits the nickname at him, laced with venom as he turns on his heel to go to the door.

Coryo groans, running his hands down his face again as he watches the door open for your brother and father.

"It's like," You take a deep, shaky breath, squeezing the water bottle you're holding in your lap. "It's like he is a different person, Lucy Gray. Do you get it now? Did you see?"

"I believe you. I always have." She nods, looking into your eyes. "I saw it, but..." She sighs, breaking eye contact with you. "I don't think he's a vicious person, Y/N. And I don't think you think that either."

You chew your lip, shaking your head as your eyes fall to the floor.

"Can I give you my opinion?" Lucy Gray asks after a moment, reaching out to hold your hand.

"Truth is truth to the end of reckoning." You say plainly, nodding and gripping onto her hand.

"There's no reckoning, love, okay? I'm your friend first and foremost. I want to help you, and I will always be honest with you." She assures you before continuing. "But I think... I think he's just a normal boy. Boys get in fights all the time-"

"Lucy Gray you didn't see it."

Your best friend is calm, despite you interrupting her. You never did that, but she knows better than to fault you for it now. "Okay, alright. What didn't I see?"

Your hair falls into your eyes as you shake your head, and you quickly push it back with your free hand to look at her. "His eyes."

"His eyes, okay... What about them?"

"He gets... It's scary. Like he wants to do it. Like he enjoys hurting people and, and-" Just recalling it makes your heart rate increase.

"Okay. I believe you." She nods, placing her other hand on yours. "But I think this is more about you than him, sweetheart."

Lucy Gray can see the confusion that knits itself into your creased brow. "It was a scary, traumatic time for you, and I think you're still recovering and that's okay. You may never be the same and that's okay. But I don't think he'd hurt you. I really don't. I think he's a good person."

"I want to think that..." You sniff, shaking your head. "but just as easily that could have been me in the arena. And just as easily that could have been you out there, or, or..." Your train of thought dissipates. "I just mean it doesn't seem that anything is stopping him."

"I don't think it could have been you. He cares about you. You told me that, remember?" She smiles softly. "I think it was inconsiderate of him to act that way out there, but I think you were just reliving something you shouldn't have to. The games can make anyone do bad things."

"Maybe..." You mutter, second-guessing yourself now. You didn't even see his eyes tonight, not until he was looking at you and begging you to listen when you couldn't. He looked just as scared as you, as soon as he realized what he had done.

"Are you sure you saw that today?" Lucy Gray's question shocks you, but it's exactly what you were thinking. "His eyes, I mean. Did you see it again or did you just expect to after last time?"

You jump at the rapid knocking on the back door. Lucy Gray stands up, making her way over to it. You hear muffled voices for a few moments before Lucy Gray returns. "It's your family, I'm going to let them in, okay?" She pats your leg and you nod, and she smiles at you reassuringly before walking away.

You hear the door creak open and you stand up, brushing off the front of your dress and turning to face them as your father and Lennox rush in.

"Honey, are you okay?" Your father asks, quickly gathering you into a hug and you nod, biting back more tears.

"Fine just fine." You whisper. "I'm sorry you had to come all this way..."

Lucy Gray catches a glimpse of Sejanus and Coryo standing outside as she lets your family in, looking back at them talking to you when she slips out. She gently closes the door behind herself and walks up to them. "I thought I told you to go home."

"I know, I know, but-" Coryo looks between her and the door. He sighs, deciding to give up on defending himself. "Is she okay?"

Lucy Gray looks at him, arms crossed over her chest as his hair falls in his eyes and he doesn't immediately fix it, more concerned about you than anything else. "You need to cut your hair." She states plainly.

He's confused, opening his mouth to argue when she speaks again. "You need to cut your hair so she can see your eyes. She'll feel safer with you then." She turns on her heel, nodding to Sejanus before heading back for the door. "When we get her out of there you better be gone- she can't see either of you tonight." She pauses, hand on the handle. "But yes, she'll be okay."

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okay suddenly tumblr isn't letting me tag more people than this so i just made some cuts unfortunately :') i just left the max amount of people i could whose users i recognized and see in my notifs all the time :) if you're not on here and you should be i'm so sorry!

also this taglist is closed now!! if you’d like to get a notification when i update, turn on my post notifications!! i promise i won’t spam y'all :,)

[g00mbers]

• Chester x Reader (Fluff) 》

On behalf and request of someone!

- - - - - - - - -

You've decided to visit your Jester boyfriend , who fortunately had nothing to do but be funny on most of his shifts , which worked perfectly for him!.

You can't really remember when you fell for him , but in some way he fell for you too , and like hard , slipping on a banana peel type of falling. 

You finally arrived at your destination , You arrived with a basket of sweets of all sorts. It was kind of ironic to bring more sweets to a sweet kingdom but you'd thought it would make a nice touch of detail.

As you arrived the first person to welcome you was Mandy , she opened the door and to be honest , she fortunately seemed a bit more accessible and in a good mood , if you could tell , Chester hasn't played a prank on her ,yet.

"Hey Mandy!" You spoke , grabbing a bit more tightly the basket of sweets you had in hand. 

"Oh , Hey there! , Chester's been waiting for you All day!"

You tilted your head a bit in confusion 

"What do you mean?"

"He hasn't stopped talking about you , which I'm kinda thankful for that , since he has absolutely forgotten to play a prank on me today" She said proudly , placing her hand on her chest.

"Oh no I haven't!" Chester said as he grabbed a rope , and you automatically backed up , As chester pulled it , it motioned a Bucket on the top of the door , full of confetti and glitter , to fall in Mandy's Head 

"UGH! CHESTER how many times- These will be so hard to clean!!!" Mandy said in desperation as she got the bucket out and coughed glitter out

"WOOPS!" Chester giggled smoothly as he slides in the scene

"I'll kill you!" Mandy said glaring at him with pure hate

"Nuh uh! If you get the glitter and confetti fast enough then it'll be easier to get rid of~" He spoke in an "singing" kind of way 

Mandy groaned as she rapidly stormed off the room to clean her clothes

"Woah , it's the first time i have ever seen Mandy let you go so easily" You chuckled before looking back at him

"She doesn't usually attack me in front of customers" Chester shrugged in a cheery way

You could only giggle at his response , before realizing you were still holding your basket , and immediately offering it to him.

"Awww for me? You didn't have t-" Chester said as he Coed mockingly , and reached in for the basket.

 You immediately snapped shut the Picnic Basket before his hand touched it 

"Not now! , it's a surprise , silly!" You smirked 

"Ow you almost cut off my hand!" He said in an exaggerated and pained expression as he held his own hand

You could only laugh as you took his hand and began leading him

 "I hope your hand isn't hurt enough for this then" You said while still holding his hand

"Ready for the date of your life? I'll  make sure to tag you if I take pics!" Chester began to trot in place while slightly pulling you motioning you for a "let's go!" , he was clearly excited to see all the sweets you brought!.

After walking for a bit , you finally made it to a comfy spot , just down the tree where the shade hit perfectly , where you two placed the picnic down in the floor and began accommodating the blankets

 , food and stuff.

"Now we're all settled!" You chirped happily as you sat down , patting a place for him to sit besides you

"Alrighty , coming down!" He tried to sit down but seated in an uncomfortable motion, there were also some noises that sounded like wrapping papers...

"You got something there?" You asked  curiously.

"Well...You thought only my bells made noise? , because!" He said as he lifted up one of his pants leg a bit , dropping tons of candy that were hidden in Chester's pants

"...You had those there the entire time?" You pointed at the fallen candy as you looked confused

"I mean...not the entire day! But I stole a few from Mandy!" Chester picked up some candy from the blanket as he began unwrapping it and throwing them to his mouth

"But if i gotta be honest , we probably don't want to tell her!" He whispered before backing up , still eating the candy with a smug look on his face.

You then continued chuckling as you grabbed the candy and began unwrapping and eating one by one , until you finally spoke again

"Got any more surprises"? You leaned in closer to his face , as he flushed red for a second before looking to the side and playing it off as a laugh.

"Only one" He looked to the floor as he then pointed up , as you lifted your view up , you could see a mistletoe hanging on a tree branch. 

You looked up for some seconds , before realizing what was he talking about and you began speaking

...

"Chester it's nowhere near christma-" before you could continue speaking , Chester planted a soft kiss in your lips , You got completely caught off guard as he did this , but soon enough you warmed up to it and leaned in to kiss him back , but unfortunately , the kiss was soon cut short as he leaned back and smiled to himself proudly , meanwhile you looked absolutely flustered and confused , but happy.

"Oh by the way you got a little something  on your face" He said smugly , before getting up and wiping off the dust of the floor off his pants 

"Sorry for the short time! It's probably best if I come back before Mandy makes confetti out of me... But it was good to see you though!" He blew a kiss at you ,  before trotting off again , still giggling to himself

As you saw him go , you noticed that his lips were tinted in a weird blueish-color ...was he wearing something?. 

You immediately took your phone  and searched for the camera as you remembered the "You got a little something" comment

And then you saw yourself with the same lipstick color smeared in your face , and as you tried to wipe it out...the color didn't even move.

You just continued staring at him as you saw him go , your face still red and thinking about him and the whole situation , before realizing you just got both charmed and pranked on the same day.

Now you guess you'll have to walk all around Starr park looking like a clown... But it was still a part of your wonderfully funny Jester boyfriend. 

[lorahgames]

Collar x Malice: Full Review

Console: Nintendo Switch

Total Play Time: 60 hours

Lorah Game Rating: 9.5/10

--------

I finally did it; I stuck with one single otome game, and finished it up!

Although CxM is my first blog post, I am not new to otome. I like to think I have a fair bit of experience to chalk up a decent review about these games, so this is my go at it!

SYNOPSIS: Collar x Malice takes place in a quarantined Shinjuku, Japan, where citizens live in fear of Adonis, a criminal organization that believes it will revitalize Japan with its own warped sense of justice and judgement. The story begins when Ichika Hoshino, a rookie cop, is attacked and has a poisonous collar placed around her neck by Adonis, who declare they are testing her as they believe she has potential to be one of their sympathizers. Ichika must now work with a group of ex-cops to discover the truth behind the Adonis crimes and to remove her collar.

TIME TO BEGIN THE REVIEW!

I was absolutely blown away by Collar x Malice. Don't get me wrong, I love all the otome games I play, but this one topped the charts for me. I am very, very particular when it comes to what I like and dislike about otome. I absolutely can't stand when the story is boring, but also don't like when the plot takes away from the romances with the love interests. I think CxM has perfected the balance of story-to-romance. I found myself both wanting to solve the mystery of the game while also loving the time I got to spend with each of the LIs. Of course, some routes I found better than others, but that's to be expected! I genuinely enjoyed each of the LIs and what they had to offer. Usually, there will be a LI or two I'm not too fond of, but let me say, all these boys have replay-ability. I will be revisiting this game again.

My first impressions were so-so; they are almost always completely based off of the LIs' designs (lol, a little bit shallow but what can you do). I definitely had preferences towards Yanagi and Okazaki initially. I was indifferent to Sasazuka, and did not feel like I would enjoy Enomoto and Shiraishi all that much. But let me tell you this.

DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER. PLS.

Mineo Enomoto

Honestly, I played this man first to get him over with. LOL. I hate to say it now. Enomoto gave off middle school vibes, and it wasn't for me in the beginning. BUT. He really grew on me! Honestly, for being THAT character, you know, the one with no experience with girls, it ended up being super cute. Once you got past the eyepatch thing, he was truly a really good guy and it was adorable to see his relationship develop with Ichika. Definitely not a story heavy chapter, and was a great light introduction to the game, especially with how the game gets darker later on. Enomoto wasn't my favourite, but I still am excited to play his after-story in CxM unlimited.

Takeru Sasazuka

Oh, Sasazuka. Your route was great.

This man was a tsundere if I've ever seen one. He was curt, he was rude, but he was such a good LI. I actually found Sasazuka's backstory to be really good, especially the role it plays in the plot. He had MEGA character development from the beginning of the route to finish. It was lovely to see him fall so hard for Ichika, who he had been calling stupid cat for half the game. Not to mention, Sasazuka's CGs are FINEEEE. I hit that Switch screenshot button a few times. Funny enough, when I went to go play Yanagi's route it didn't register my completion of Sasazuka's, so I actually had to play his route twice. Of course, I sped through most of the dialogue, but I did find myself stopping to replay and read the cute moments between him and Ichika. I enjoyed them as much as I did the first time. I really enjoyed both LI and plot in this route.

Kageyuki Shiraishi

I played Shiraishi's route fourth. At this point, I had a good gist of how the story was flowing, but I did NOT expect the plot twist of Shiraishi's route! I was hesistant to even play Shiraishi at all, because long-haired men (not to mention the cat aesthetic he has going on) aren't usually my thing. Personally, I loved the route's plot more than I did the romance with Shiraishi. This isn't me saying he was bad, but his story was so well done, it's hard to not like it more. I found with Shiraishi, he was slightly overhyped in online reviews. A lot of people say Shiraishi is their favourite from the game, but he wasn't mine. I think I went in with my expectations a bit too high, especially after how much I loved Okazaki's route. At the climax of his route, I felt things were a bit rushed because I was confused as to what was going on, but it was such a minor confusion that I figured things out pretty quickly. Again, I'm really looking forward to playing his after-story!

Aigi Yanagi

It took forever to finally get to Yanagi's route. Honestly at the point I finally got to play his route, he has been a side character for so long that it was hard not to see him that way (LOL, sorry Yanagi!). One thing I was surprised about was that Yanagi's route really put romance on the back-burner and put the story in the front. I get it, since Yanagi's route was the big reveal and finale, and honestly it really worked for the overall story. It's not like Yanagi's route wasn't romantic, but it was a little hard to focus on him when you could feel the Adonis leader's identity reveal just around the corner. Yanagi also had the longest route, with seven chapters instead of six. I would say he got some of the best CGs of the game, probably since he is the poster child of CxM. The whole Yanagi backstory is absolutely fantastic as well, and they did a really good job diving deep into his character.

Kei Okazaki

Of course, I had to leave Okazaki for last. Okazaki is by far my favourite Collar x Malice LI and may quite literally be overtaking Toma (Amnesia) for the top spot of them all. I knew I would love Okazaki from the start and I was right. I love his character design, the voice acting, aloof personality, route story, EVERYTHING. While I would not classify Okazaki as any sort of yandere (my favourite trope), he checked all the boxes I usually look for in my LIs (self-sacrificing, obsessive, etc). His entire life outlook changed after getting close with Ichika, and was it ever emotional seeing him go though all that inner turmoil. Let me tell you, this man had me RUNNING to Collar x Malice Unlimited for more. The amount of times he popped up in Yanagi's route made me want to just go replay his route again. Not to mention, his tragic love ending has to be the best in the game. I accidently got it by misclicking, but holy crap?? The CG was crazy! And once you get the tragic love end, you get the bonus CG, which also happens to be my favourite from the game. Anyway, this game has left me an Okazaki fan through-and-through, as well as clogged up my Switch library with screenshots of his face. I could say A LOT more, but trying to leave this spoiler-free for friends who potentially want to play.

Kei best boy <3

Do I recommend Collar x Malice? Of course!

The game really hits both the story component and romance component, and I definitely got my money's worth with over 60 hours of gameplay. Of course, there are some minor bugs (looking at you, Sasasuka route) where dialogue seems to be misplaced or the self-inserted name still comes up as Ichika, but believe me, this was so minor and infrequent that I don't think it affected the overall quality of the game.

I am actually sad that the game is over! I'm scared to finish Unlimited too, because what will I do then?!

Overall, Collar x Malice definitely left a lasting impression on me and has become one of my favourite otome. I had a blast playing it and will definitely be back to do it all again. I hope I can break free of my habit of comparing every LI to my favourite, because Okazaki will be hard as hell to beat.

Thanks for reading my review !

LORAH

[ask-obt]

How do you think Dielle's life would have changed if she was born as a Zeraora, would Damini have been a good parent?

// yesssss, damini stays AU! this one is especially fun for me to think about.

I think I can split this one up between "what if dielle was born a zeraora" and "what if dielle was still a hybrid meowth but her mom stayed anyway" (which includes some other asks in the box!)

If Dielle was born a Zeraora, Damini would've gotten exactly what she wanted, and definitely stayed. Or rather, she'd stay for Dielle. I think she and Mateo would still be fundamentally incompatible based on their parenting preferences, Mateo likely feeling alienated about Zeraora!Dielle and getting pushed away by Damini who says he just "doesn't get it". In the end I think Damini would end up leaving Mateo in this hypothetical after trying for a few months/years, with the key difference being she takes Dielle with her. Damini's idea of teaching Dielle Zeraora culture is noble in theory, but likely difficult in practice, because she doesn't really have a community to base it off of. Dielle has a hard time seeing the point in learning these things if she only performs them for herself. To make matters more upsetting, Damini likely would want Dielle to get together with another Zeraora, and push a sort of "repopulation" agenda onto her. The Zeraora dating pool is very small, and Dielle is Not A Fan Of This (I imagine one immediate hangup could be Damini only finding one other suitor who happens to be a boy- which Dielle really can't vibe with since she's gay. I think homophobia isn't really a thing in OBT so Damini wouldn't care if Zeraora!Dielle hooked up with a girl, as long as she's a Zeraora also). Maybe she and Damini migrate back to Treasure Town at some point, or maybe she meets Rune while Team Maelstrom is exploring an area she and Damini are camped out in. Dielle leaves Damini (it definitely does not go well) so that she can explore the world with her new gal pal... on her own terms.

If Dielle was still a Meowth but Damini stayed anyway for whatever reason, she probably would have been stubborn enough to try teaching Dielle about Zeraora culture. As Damini hinted at in the story though, a lot of it is based in inherent biology. Dielle is powerful for a Meowth, but she just doesn't have the capacity for the firepower of a Zeraora. She can't stimulate her muscles with electricity to reach high speeds, she can't aim her attacks very well, and she just all around doesn't have the demeanor to be what Damini wants her to be. I also feel like Damini would be a lot more outright abusive compared to Mateo's neglect- Mateo hinted that he tried to discipline Dielle once (with the implication that it was physical discipline, based on where his scar is located) and gave up immediately when Dielle zapped him... But Damini can shrug off those electrical hits. There'd be nothing stopping her from using whatever force she'd deem necessary to shape Dielle into her ideals. Mateo meanwhile would be a very passive parent- letting Damini take the reigns on raising this kid he can't control, and only being there to weakly offer support. Both parents I think are very social at the bar, and Damini would probably insist on toting Dielle around. Since Mateo's hangup with taking Dielle places in Dielle's Wish was based on her reminding him of Damini, he's fine with her tagging along in this AU. Dielle probably would grow up with unhealthy ideas of strength, having a personality cocktail of pride and insecurity as she desperately tries pleasing Damini. I could see her taking on a waitressing job at the bar, and later meeting Team Maelstrom during one of their cafe visits. She and Inigo wouldn't know each other in this AU.

[nerd-at-sea5]

alright this is pt 2 to 'i spent my teens in rage, spiralin' in silence' AKA the long ass yellowjackets fic i'm writing AKA the sam fender fic

pt 1 is here, pt 3 is here, ao3 link here

and uh yeah. lets go pt 2

also, during any wilderness scene this takes place in-between s1e7 and s1e10, laura lee is alive, taivan came out slightly earlier (during/around the wolf attack)

it feels weird, she thinks, to be this focused on a girl when one of the greatest albums in nat's collection is playing-and for once, for once-no one on the team is complaining.

but natalie's sitting in one of taissa's chairs, nirvana's 'bleach' halfway over from her record player-and nat can barley focus on the lyrics.

they don't need to, they know it by heart, but there's something about the way lottie's lips move to the lyrics of 'paper cuts' that make nat's stomach feel fuzzy.

van flops down next to-practically on top of her, and after one glance at their pink cheeks, nat twists around to see taissa walking out of the hallway that leads to the bathroom. she smirks at van, raising an eyebrow, how'd that go? and gets a smile and a thumbs up in response, pretty damn good.

'and they cock and-' "WOAH."

natalie's jolted out of her wordless conversation with van, as well as their increasingly more concerning lottie thoughts (now that's she's taken the time to unpack with van and realized what they actually mean) by laura lee's shocked yell, quickly scrambling to stop the record.

"laura lee, the fuck?"

"that's not-i don't get-why would that be in a song?" her face is getting redder by the second, and nat feels a small twinge of remorse, "kurt cobain-"

"it's actually an abuse metaphor," lottie interjects, and natalie's jaw almost hits the floor. the taller girl’s words are soft, her hand resting on laura lee’s knee to calm them, and nat feels a pang of jealousy. “the lyrics before 'the lady whom i feel maternal love for / cannot look me in the eyes / but i see hers and they are blue' is about how the mom who's abusing her kid can't look him in the face, but the kid can-"

"and the kid sees her true self." natalie interjects, and lottie gives her a soft smile that sends a jolt down their throat, her brown eyes flickering in the light of the lighter van is playing with-who snorts and lets nat continue. "and that true self is a monster."

she twists their hands in her lap, laura lee's eyes flicking around while she processes it, maybe they shouldn't have jumped in to explain those lyrics. van notices, and a hand closes around natalie's as tai turns to lottie, "how do you know that?"

the other girl shrugs, "i knew nat liked them, i figured it'd be a fun thing to check out and research."

the fuzzy feeling returns, racing to nat's heart as she spots a little blush on lottie's cheeks.

"i...thanks, lot."

van audibly groans, "alright, um...nat can you grab me some water, dude?”

"why the fu-oh. yeah, anyone else want some?"

laura lee holds out her cup, “me please.” while lottie raises a hand, "i'll go with you?"

natalie nods as van shoves her out of the chair, flashing a thankful look at the redhead, whos already moved on to show laura lee how to make a paper airplane out of taissa's homework.

the two end up in tai's kitchen, and when nat remembers that van loves chewing on ice in their water, lottie offers to hold open the freezer door while nat grabs some.

they do so, thankful for the burst of cold air that can be used to excuse the pink tinge on her cheeks.

it's only when natalie straightens, turning around and placing the glass on the counter next to them-she realizes that with lottie's arm stretched to prop open the door, when they turn, natlie is not only standing semi-inside the freezer-she's also chest-to-chest with lottie, who clearly wasn't expecting being this close either, and who is looking down at nat with those goddamn brown eyes.

"i-sorry, i can move-" lottie reaches to pull her arm back, and without thinking, natalie's hand lands on top of her wrist, holding it in place on the door, they can feel lottie's pulse racing-mimicking the quick thudding in nat's chest.

"....don't."

they've somehow ended up even closer now, and it's a single look; lottie's already been looking slightly down at nat-but now, her eyes drop impossibly lower for a split second-right to her lips, and directly back up to their face.

it's the 'go ahead' that she needs.

nat's hand leaves her wrist, moving to grab and pull lottie by the collar of her blue flannel while lottie's hand simultaneously cups the back of natalie's head, pulling her up ever so slightly.

it feels so different from all other kisses they've had, from all the boys when they were drunk or high or both, the boys who she'd kiss so she could ignore who she really wanted to kiss, all the times when they've been fully in control.

lottie doesn't feel like she's kissing natalie to do anything else. not to go any further or to get something out of it. it feels like she's kissing nat simply to feel their lips pressed against hers. it's a breath of fresh air-a joyous laugh in the face of everyone who made nat think you had to go further.

lottie isn't kissing natalie to go further. natalie's never wanted to go further. lottie is kissing natalie's just to kiss her.

and natalie's heart is cheering.

there's no control, everything is sliding in their brain, landing perfectly in it's place-it feels so, so right.

lottie tastes like strawberries and chocolate and for some reason natalie loves it. she wants to bottle it up and drink it when they're having a shit day, or just hold in this moment and never let go.

she feels like she's on the step to the edge of the diving board, right before you jump in, the first breathe of summer air when the school bell rings, the way biting into buttered challah feels.

there's a glowing heat spreading to their chest, their lips, their fingertips as lottie's other hand rests on her hip, she's leaning forward and natalie steps back, intending to let her back hit whatever wall was behind them-forgetting it's an open fridge-and nearly headbutts the pickle jar.

they break apart, and for one terrifying moment, natalie thinks lottie's going to run, back upstairs, back, back and away from her.

but insted, lottie smiles, tracing her hand down nat's arm and intertwining their fingers together.

---------

natalie really thought that after seeing coach's crushed leg, maggots inside a deer, her girlfriends possession and her dad's half missing head every night in their dreams for the past few weeks-nothing gory related could shake her much any more.

clearly, based on how the moment tai's legs gave out and van crumbled in front of them, natalie caught one look at the soaked blood through the clothes on van's face, down their side, down taissa's side and froze-they were very wrong.

she could hear everyone else screaming around her, maibly coach ben’s voice-trying to give off some futile attempt to show authority-but everything tunneled down to van's hand, gripping nat's leg like a lifeline, and the repeated tapping becoming more and more urgent until-

'hug?' morse code.

"yes. yeah, god fuck. van-" natalie wraps her arms around van from the non-injured side, tai still holding tightly onto van's hand.

a vivid memory of both van and nat flinching away from needles during the flu shots given, van bursting into tears only seconds after natalie, comes surging back as nat watches akilah angles the needle to van's cheek, taissa’s fear stricken face, gently rubbing van’s forehead, nat feels van's legs shaking.

nat can barley even watch without feeling her whole body go into panic mode, instead forcing themself to look at laura lee's soft hands holding down van's arm, a carefully crafted mask over the blonde girl's face, whispering silent prayers. she nods at nat, then at akilah. coach ben is at van's head, terror clear as day in his eyes, “carful. please.”

nat holds down van's legs while holding back tears. why van? why happy, funny, kind van? why her best friend? the sudden stillness of van's movements letting nat know that they've passed out does nothing to ease her anxiety, in fact it might make it worse.

she refuses to leave, mirroring tai as the two sit and silently watch over van's sleeping figure. it's only when shauna and lottie come in, shauna sitting next to tai and slowly coaxing her out of the room (not without many protests on tai's part, and one minor attempt from ben-that does not work) and to sleep for the first time in what nat thinks is around 36 hours.

"if you're going to tell me to sleep-"

"never."

lottie's voice is calm and caring, as she takes tai's former seat, gently taking natalie's hand, breaking the grip that the blond had been holding her other wrist in, leaving small, crescent shaped marks.

lottie ran her fingers over nat's hand, tracing the lines and keeping it in place when nat subconsciously jerks back to indenting their own skin.

nat dosen't realize she's begun to cry until lottie's hand cups their head as they fall into her, shaking silently.

something about lottie and holding her head always made nat feel safe. maybe it was the way lottie's hands were always soft, despite the manual labor they'd been in for the past weeks, or maybe it was because she always held nat close and tight. maybe it was that natalie could just exist around lottie, she didn't have to say anything or do anything, just existing was good enough.

the brunette said nothing, just held natalie as close as possible, that same soft, caring way she always did, gently running her hand through their hair.

"they'll be alright."

"what if they're not, lot? what if they'll never be alright? what if-"

"nat." lottie interrupts before natalie can send herself into a spiral, "breathe, baby. ok? can you do that for me?" nat shakes her head, worse case scenarios popping up each time they try to inhale, fists clenched tightly in their lap.

they feel their body move, vaguely aware of her back pressed to lottie's front, lottie's hands worming their way into nat's fists.

lottie's good at this, diffusing natalie's anxiety-not as good as van, she thinks as a fresh wave of anxiety hits.

they don't know how long they sit there, but natalie can feel their breathing go back to normal, can feel lottie press a soft kiss to her temple, "feeling better?" "mhm."

van whimpers, lottie and nat instantly on their feet as van's face twitches.

lottie squeezes nat's hand, another soft smile that has natalie feeling warmer even after lottie's hand leaves, quickly leaving the room to go retrieve taissa.

"nat?"

van gets an answer, non-verbal, but physical, with natalie throwing herself onto van (avoiding all of the wounds) and squeezes them so tight she can feel her own arms straining, "if you ever" nat manages to breathe out, "scare me like that again and i swear on laura lee's bible i will fucking kill you."

van's chest shakes slightly, they wince, slowly forming words, "good to know you love me."

"so fucking much."

---------

only jackie taylor would find a way to have a team bonding moment while trapped in the middle of nowhere.

travis, javi and coach are off having a ‘boys night’ or whatever the fuck that means (lottie thinks they just wanted some alone time) so all the team members are outside around the shitty fire they managed to make with a lot of swearing, minor shoving, and nat’s lighter.

in all honesty, lottie didn’t even want to be here. it’s been getting harder and harder to block out the thoughts that aren’t in her own voice, or to not flinch when she looks at one of her friends and spots a bug on their face. it always starts small.

she’s been falling back in on herself, regressing to behaviors she hasn’t shown since middle school. laura lee notices, laura lee was there when she freaked out in seventh grade, laura lee was there when she got diagnosed, laura lee’s always been there, she always knows.

nat notices, but natalie dosent know, lottie doesn’t want them to know. she’s heard natalie waking up every night, breathe tight and fast, whispers of dead men who haunt them when they’re asleep and even more when they’re awake. natalie dosent need to know. she won’t, if lottie can do anything about it.

lottie smiles to herself at the sight of natalie's face, pushing back her mind and focusing on the shorter girl.

mouth slightly open, pulled into a slight smirk at the left side, brow furrowed with one eyebrow raised, freckles across her nose shining out bright as day in the firelight, she's scoffing at jackie, van snorting next to her, a tight lipped smile doing little to hide the humor on their face while tai watches, a lovesick expression clear as day on her face.

jackie's expression doesn't shift, and laura lee flashes lottie a look from across the circle, "what about never have i ever?"

natalie looks down, mindlessly drawing in the dirt with her fingers, shrugs, "what the hell else are we gonna do?"

"i can recite-"

"van, dude, babe, sweetheart, love of my love-i love you, i truly do, but if you recite the plot of 'dead poets society' again i do not think laura lee will recover from her tears."

"it's really sad, ok?!"

lottie grins again, "ok, next time how about 'heathers'?” van flashes her a grin and a thumbs up as they slump against taissa, the latter kissing them on the forehead as they do, “but for now, we don't need to drink, just hold up five fin-ok we all know how to play."

nat knocks her elbow into lottie, only to drum on her sleeves with her fingers while rolling their eyes at the taller-but it's accompanied with the same smile that lottie only ever sees aimed at her.

mari goes first, 'never have i ever thrown up in school', lottie's finger goes down-a side effect of the first meds her parents tried, so does van's-that one time their mom made them go to school with the flu, and right after seeing van vomit at practice-yep, there goes shauna.

gen next, 'never have i ever gone surfing' where, to lottie's surprise, taissa and melissa are the only ones to put a finger down.

it goes like that for a bit, natalie and lottie both go out for being high at school, jackie for accidentally hitting someone's mailbox more than once in the same car (lottie had to question laura lee's specificities), lottie goes out again with taissa, jackie and shauna for traveling out of the country before, and then it's misty's turn.

"uh..never have i ever had my first kiss?"

van snickers, but around the circle-jackie, shauna, nat, tai, van, lottie, akilah, and laura lee's fingers all go down.

taissa's eyebrows shoot up and lottie can almost predict what she's going to say before she does, "wait-laura lee, who did you kiss?"

the blonde grins shyly, "that wasn't the question."

jackie holds up her hand to laura lee, "nicely done, laura lee."

nat leans forward "ill give you a really cool lookin' pine cone if you tell me." but shauna interrupts before laura lee can respond, “we could go in a circle and say who our first kiss was?"

no one opposes, so she glances at jackie before at the rest of the group, lottie can see most people look calm, jackie looks slightly more on edge, but she's hiding it well.

"so..who's first?"

out of the corner of her eye, lottie sees van and nat glance at each other, then burst out laughing, through gasps of air, they each choke out the others name.

"what?!" taissa's starring at van in shock, and lottie can only imagine that her face holds the same expression as she looks at natalie.

van holds up their hands, giggling at jackie's startled expression and misty's wide eyes, "look. look-we were like 14, and-"

"it was so fuckin’ bad."

"nat!"

"i'm not sorry! it was, it was like kissing your sibling! hated it."

van pauses for a moment, composing themself,"yeah i hated it as well."

lottie sighs, scooting closer to nat, "jealous?" the blonde whispers at her, slight anxiety coating her words, lottie shakes her head, "i think it's funny." nat nods slowly, smiling up at her "ok, thanks."

van giggles, "hey, i mean-remember that spin-the-bottle a while ago when tai and nat kissed?"

taissa scoots away, van almost falling over, "dude!" "i thought we agreed never to mention that."

the four of them laugh again, and misty raises her hand, "wait-ok. who did laura lee kiss, and...how many people here have kissed natalie?"

laura lee catches lottie's eye from across the circle, tilting her head to the side, a silent 'is it ok?'. lottie nods.

"i kissed lottie."

"i beg your fucking pardon?" nat is staring at lottie with the same face she was just staring at them with.

"LOTTIE?!" jackie's mouth is hanging open so wide that shauna lifts up her hand to put jackie's chin back.

"hey! welcome to the gays, man." van is grinning madly when they say it, a double thumbs up in laura lee's direction.

shauna turns to face lottie, who can feel herself going red from how hard she's trying to hold back her laugher, "i was trying to figure out if i liked girls.....what are friends for?"

laura lee giggles, "it was a fun experience, it's not like it was anything bad."

mari shrugs, "i feel a little slighted by the fact that you've kissed someone before me, but going back to the other one-nat. how many team members have you kissed?"

lottie turns to natalie, who glances up at her with a sly grin, "van and tai we've already covered, lottie, shauna-that time at a temple trip on a dare, and ja-"

"it didn't count."

shauna's head snaps to jackie so fast that for a split second lottie thinks she whiplashed herself. "you've kissed natalie?!"

"it didn't count!" jackie repeats, "my first kiss was jeff. besides it wasn't even a real kiss, i'm not a lesbo, anyway."

instinctivly, lottie's hand gripped nat's, who's had already curled into a fist, laura lee and tai had both flinched slightly, while van was glaring daggers at jackie, “what the fuck, man?” -shauna looked hurt.

lottie watched natalie's gaze harden, "yeah, didn't seem to count-what with you pushing me into the locker and-"

jackie lunged forward, clapping a hand over natalie's mouth, knocking them flat on their back while jealously lottie didn't know she possessed spread out through her stomach.

"shut the fuck up." jackie nearly growled, she removed her hand from natalie's mouth, only for the blonde to flash a wicked smirk, "make me."

there was more venom packing the words than any other time lottie had heard nat speak them, and yet while jackie's face flushed red, lottie felt the urge to shove jackie off nat and kiss the latter seneless.

she caught nat's eye, the blonde flashing her a familiar look, 'i can stop if you want.' but as much as she was tempted to nod, some part of lottie enjoyed what she was watching. she shook her head, and natalie grinned.

"what's your problem anyway, taylor? i never said you were gay."

"i'm not!"

van's laugh was stifled by tai's elbow-but she was also giggling.

nat's grin only grew, "then how'd you like to stop straddling me, 'cause this looks pretty fuckin' gay to me."

"i wouldn't know if it was gay or not. i'm not gay." but she still flew off natalie like they were suddenly on fire.

now lottie was trying to refrain from giggling, even shauna-who had looked a little like a kicked puppy up to this point-had shaking shoulders and a hand over her mouth. laura lee looked as if she was about to cover her eyes, but also didn’t seem to want to stop watching.

jackie, on the other hand, was bright red and a mix of angry and embarrassed, "seriously just fuck off, scatorccio-i'm not a fucking dyke, i don't like any of that shit."

van flew to their knees before lottie even had a chance to react, "jackie taylor i swear to fucking god-" but the combined hands of taissa and natalie-both of whom looked like they were about to slap jackie to hell and back, pulled van back down.

looking back on it, it was not the smartest choice, or even the best-and god knows lottie could have come up with a better line-but she thought it was clever in the moment, and so with a glance at natalie, then to jackie, "well, maybe your not watching the right shit, here-let me help with that.”

and with that, she pulled natalie back up to their feet and kissed them as hard as they could.

she could feel natalie's hands digging into her t-shirt, always moving, the warmth radiating off of them, and when nat leaned back into a tree, pulling lottie with her, lottie couldn't help but smile into the kiss, nat grinning right back at her.

they broke apart at van's wolf whistle, that was quickly shut off by laura lee's stage whisper of 'van! let them have their moment!'

later that night, curled up under blankets, listening to mari and gen's soft snoring, lottie pulled natalie closer to her.

the blonde was already half asleep, so lottie faced no sarcastic, half-assed protests that would only really lead to nat cuddling closer like she did every night. she only felt the rhythmic rise and fall of nat's chest and their hands wound tightly in lottie's shirt.

"hey nat?"

"hm?"

"i love you."

nat's eyes shot open, bright blue in the moonlight, staring directly into lottie's.

"......"

"you don't have to say it back-"

"do you really mean that?"

it was only her tone that made lottie hesitate. for the first time that night-even after jackie's comments, they understood but it was still out of line, even after it all-this was the first time natalie's voice was anything aside from sure of themself.

to lottie, they sounded scared, terrified that she didn't mean it and that it would all go up in flames.

lottie didn't want to hear that tone from natalie ever again, not if she could help it.

"yeah. yes. of course i do."

relief washed over the blonde, and lottie felt herself smile, grinning like she was in a cheesy romcom.

"i love you, lottie."

[toku-explained]

Cosmic Spring

Hagane wo Tsugu Mono: As the Gate of Destruction opens, the first thing to emerge is a pair of giant hands, but there appears to be a maw between them, and each digit appears to have a mouth. GARO and HAGANE stand against the evil. The memorial stone glows and an earthquake shakes CREACITY, Ron and Obi knowing what it must mean. GARO and HAGANE fight the Horror Mutsugi, but she is even more able to avoid their attacks than Mutsugi was, and traps the two in a void. Koyori finds the resolve to stan, and takes up Mutsugi's Madou Brush. The two Makai Knights are trapped in a Makai Realm, where they are quickly restrained, the Horror Mutsugi pouring Jaki onto both of them, which starts rapidly mirroring their armours throughout. Rocks are launched at them which Souma breaks free and destroys so they can't hit Ryuga, then as more fly throws his sword to stop, leading both of them to fall as the Jaki becomes immobilising, the Horror Mutsugi gloating that the light of hope will be snuggled out by the darkness, even Zaruba warning Ryuga he will fall to darkness. Ryuga remembers Goudo's words, of the Senkokenbu's sister technique, the Seneikenbu, and resolves to turn all of Garo's light into darkness. The light radiating off is so intense it undoes the corruption to HAGANE, freeing Souma from it's grip, and GARO Yami uses the Seneikenbu to slice the Horror, releasing Mutsugi and destroying the Seducer. Koyori sees the tear in space vanish as Ryuga and Souma appear, and thanks Ryuga for releasing Mutsugi from darkness, he gives a moments comfort, before turning their attention to sealing the Gate of Destruction. IRUVA awakens to inform that the Dragon Head of the Gate of Destruction is an ancient Horror their ancestors used to seal the Gate of Destruction, now awakened and seeking to consume human souls, they cannot hope to get close. Ryuga tells Souma they can use Senkokenbu, but Souma is afraid, having never mastered it, but Ryuga knows Godou had faith in him, and IRUVA relates how on that fateful day, Godou told Mutsugi that Souma snapped out of the darkness on his own from hearing his voice, so he knows one day he will manage it, as the next ZANGO. With his father's words, and encouragement from Koyori and Ryuga, Souma is encouraged. Ryuga attempts to summon GARO unsuccessfully, it will need purifying before he can use it, Souma offers a solution, Igusu's Makaiken, having take it from his grave, seeking to fight with him again. (As an aside, it is canon according to Yoseki no Wana that HAGANE has in fact been worn by most titled Knights before receiving their title, Ryuga may be the exception given his circumstances.) Ryuga summons HAGANE, and alongside Souma, with encouragement from Godou's will, the two HAGANE, and the image of GARO and ZANGO, together use Senkokenbu to cut down the Horror, ending the threat. Ryuga helps Souma up, praising him. The Gate of Destruction now appears to be permanently sealed by ZANGO, the spirits of Godou, Mutsugi and Igusu look on at the next generation. 3 proper graves are made for the mentors, Ryuga noting the ancestors must have realised it was impossible to destroy the Gate of Destruction, and chosen to live with it as best they could, after great sacrifice, and Souma now recognising just fighting Horrors isn't the answer, they also need to pass down the will of HAGANE. Ryuga goes to leave CREACITY to Koyori, Souma, Ron and Obi, needing to purify GARO asap. On his journey Ryuga stops to look at a certain har ornament on his person, and smile before continuing.

New Generation Stars: Yuka and the robot look confused at the new Hyper Keys, Ignis arriving and being informed. The robot offers a possible solution, that she unwittingly picked up data from another universe while in sleep mode, something Ignis didn't know she could do, having picked her up in space. The Robot introduces itself properly as Ediom, and AI that once committed a grave sin. Launched millennia ago from Ialim to record history, Ediom came to feel the loneliness of civilisations as they died, and that it was the loneliest of all, leading to it's warped decision to erase the Land of Light's database to see how the Ultras would react, only to see them not only restore the data, but save it in the process. Realising the error of it's ways, it created a body which Ignis then took. Yuka needs to process, and they decide to show more data, of the Ten Heisei Ultras against Etelgar and his Eteldummies. Yuka is overwhelmed by more Ultras she hasn't seen, so they show someone she is more familiar with, Ignis as Dark Trigger and Trigger against Aboras and Banila, then Trigger and Decker on the moon against Spheres. Yuka is a little calmer, but Ediom cannot explain what drew it to Yuka. Ignis takes the Earth Garon and Blazar keys, as Yuka and Ediom resolve to keep working together.

Gotchard:

Bunboomger: On his first formal day, Jou asks to join the Bunboomgers, to even Chassiro's surprise, Taiya turns him down. The Hashiliens are annoyed to find they still aren't getting media attention, and create a Darts Kurumajin. Taiya doesn't clearly explain to the others his reasoning. Jou wonders what he lacks, and is alerted to the Kurumajin, forcing people to play darts and subjecting them to punishment games if they miss the bullseye, he calls the team, and then volunteers to play to protect a potential victim, and instead of aiming for the bullseye deliberately hits the eye, creating a distraction so the victims can escape, but getting a beating for his trouble. The Bunboomgers arrive, but Mira is quickly goaded into playing and subjected to Pan rain, Chassiro to explosive treats, and while Taiya hits the bullseye, his prize is the electric chair. To protect the Bunboomgers, Jou charges in, doing whatever he can to interfere with the Kurumajin, and Taiya, satisfied now about his reasons, has Genba deliver the Bun Change Axe to him. Jou becomes BunBlack, and together the 4 Bunboomgers fight, with Jou defeating the Kurumajin on his own, though Yarucar immediately consumes the Gyasoline and rampages. The chase is on, Taiya gives Jou use on Bunboom Patocar 1, and Chassiro, accompanied by Mira, drives Bunboom Patocar 2, which together have the skills to force Yarucar off the road, and form Bunboomger Robo Police, which uses gunplay to stop every dart, and defeat the Kurumaju. Saibu is told of Jou being made a Bunboomger, as Bunboom offers another round of curry.

[silvervrost]

I'm trying to chat with Luz(ai). And this is how it goes.

Luz: You work for the emperor, you work for the man who wants to hurt Eda, you work for the enemy. So why couldn't Luz see anything but a scared teenager?

"Put the staff down," She said in a steady voice, glaring and raising a glyph.

After everything you two had been through how were you still loyal to the emperor? She'd seen how he treated you, it was awful. "Put the staff down... and come with me," She lowered the glyph and offered her hand instead.

She wasn't stupid, if you didn't take her offer you'd be knocked off your feet in seconds. But maybe all you needed was a chance, an offer. Someone to understand. "Forget Belos."

Hunter: Hunter looks at her full of hatred. "More like i want to forget you, human."

Luz: "Don't call me that." Her face twisted in mild disgust at the insult, it was insulting on many levels.

Her hand tightened around the glyph, it began to hum. "But you know what? Maybe I should forget you, you're just a pawn, a little sheep doing everything Belos wants you to do."

Hunter: "you're right!" He used a flash step to attack her.

Luz: She jumped to the side but it still connected, she was launched back and landed on the wall. It hurt, quite a bit, but she refused to show that pain.

She looked at him with a mixture of sadness and anger, if he wanted to keep doing this she wasn't going to hold back either. She charged a lightning bolt.

Hunter: Hunter can't keep up with lighting bolt so he got hit hard as he skin burn a little. He falls down slowly on the ground as he grunts.

Hunter look at her with dead eyes impression. "You're dead!! Human!!"

Luz: She winced at the sight of his injuries, she wasn't trying to hurt him, not really. She just wanted to get the stupid staff. But he wouldn't give it up easily.

The glyph flashed red as she held it, another bolt came from it and shot at Hunter.

Hunter: He scream. "AAAAAHHHHH!!!!"

The impact of lighting hits make hunter thrown far and hit the against the wall hard.

Luz: "Stop it!" She screamed, "Just put the staff down!" Another lightning bolt shot out, a third one. She wasn't holding back anymore, she really wasn't.

Hunter: He screams again. "AAAAHHHH!!!" as he got another hit another lightning.

Luz: She paused for a moment. "Hunter, stop fighting." Her next lightning bolt was weaker than the rest, she was trying not to kill him, just to hurt him enough so that he would stop for a second.

The bolt flew off targeting him.

Hunter: Hunter laying on the ground not moving at all.

Luz: Luz looked at him in horror as he lay there, was he... was he dead? She quickly ran over to him, her eyes widening as she checked for a pulse.

Hunter: As she tried to check Hunter pulse, he quickly smacked her hand away from him while he was still laying down.

Luz: She yanked her hand back in surprise, shocked at how much power he still had even though he was hurt. She was scared, he was going to die if she didn't do something quick.

She tried to pick him up, but he slapped her hand away again.

Hunter: "STOP HELPING ME, HUMAN!!" He cried a little as he was facing on the ground.

Luz: "I'M TRYING TO HELP YOU!" She yelled back, angry and also terrified. She didn't want to see him hurt, she cared so much about Hunter. "JUST LET ME HELP YOU!" She grabbed his arm and tried to get him up again, she had a feeling he would hit her away again.

Hunter: He forcefully swings his arm away from her as he falls down again. " I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP, HUMAN!!" he tried to stand up. " YOU ARE MY ENEMY!! NOTHING MORE BUT AND ONLY ENEMY!!"

Luz: She groaned, why did he have to be like this? It was like he was trying to make her as mad as possible.

"You know what?" She raised the lightning bolt again, this time it was full power. "You want me to be the enemy? Then I'll play the role." She said as she launched the bolt out at him.

Hunter: he yelled out loud because of the pain. "AAAHHHH!!!"

Luz: Luz watched the bolt strike him, she was felt incredibly guilty for what she'd done but another part felt right, this was what he deserved. He was an enemy after all.

Hunter: He lay down as he hardly breathed and the sound of his breathing getting lower.

Luz: This is what he deserved for everything he'd done, for being on the enemy's side.

But a part of her still felt wrong, he was barely breathing, maybe she should help him?

But no, she would stay and watch. This was his fault.

???: Then there was someone clapping their hands as they impressed on Luz for what she did.

Luz: She felt her head snap in the direction of the clapping, she was so focused on the sight of Hunter suffering she didn't think about anything else.

She looked around to see who had clapped.

Belos: "well done, Luz" Belos shows himself out. "I know the killer side is inside of you, I'm proud of you." He laughed.

Luz: Luz felt a wave of disgust wash over her as her face twisted into a scowl. "Of course it's you."

She looked back at Hunter just to see if he was still breathing, he was but he was barely breathing. If he didn't get help soon he would die and he would have himself to blame.

Belos: "We humans... Always hate witches and kill them. They have no right to live, don't you think so Luz?" He smirks.

Luz: Her face twisted even further at his comment.

Luz glowered back, even more disgusted by his presence. "I almost killed him because he was the enemy, I'm not like you."

Belos: "you're right..." Belos smiles. "He almost died. If you want to kill him, let me help you." He commanded Hunter. "Hunter... Get up." The boy stands up as he doesn't care if he hurts.

Luz: "What? How- ?" She couldn't believe it, that he could still stand after getting hit with bolt many times.

She looked from Hunter to Belos, then back again, he'd done something. "What did you do to him?" she asked with a frown.

Belos: He laughed. "Nothing... Just simply control him." He shook his head. "He tried to reason with me not to capture or kill you, eda and that little titan of your... King, isn't it?" He laughed again. "So... I did something to him." He smiles.

Luz: "Hunter tried to protect me?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing, he wanted to protect her? Was she hearing this right? But... if Belos was controlling him like he said...

She glared at Belos, "What did you do? What do you mean you did something to him?" She asked again her voice rising.

Belos: He chuckled. "Not much... Just controlling his mind... because he's already a puppet... A grimwalker." He laughed.

Luz: "A grimwalker?" She furrowed her brow, what was Belos talking about?

She took a step towards Belos, her expression a mix of confusion and anger. "Explain what that is now."

Belos: He giggles. " Can you believe... Hunter... Was it a human before?"

Luz: She felt her heart skip a beat, Belos was telling the truth? Hunter was a human before?

"Hunter... was a human?" She said as she stepped forward again, getting right up into Belos face.

Belos: He chuckled and commanded Hunter to attack her. " Hunter... attack her." The golden boy advances on attacking her.

Luz: She was taken a moment of surprise at Hunter's sudden advance. But she quickly recovered from the unexpected attack.

She raised a shield quickly and it blocked the attack, then an angry look came across her face as she yelled out at Belos. "THAT'S WHAT YOU DID TO HIM? YOU TURNED HIM INTO THIS?"

Belos: "Yes." He walks around and observes Hunter and Luz fighting. " And yes, he was a human before the name is Caleb."

Luz: Her face paled as Belos confirmed what he said before, Hunter was a human named Caleb? She'd never expected something like that.

Hunter swung his arm once more at her, she blocked it easily but when he swung again, she countered with a quick lightning bolt.

"And what happened to him? The human Caleb?" She asked, she was starting to get the feeling that it was a tragedy.

Belos: "What happened to him?" He laughed. " I killed him. That's what happened."

Luz: She felt her heart drop when she heard his answer, Belos had killed Caleb... and he turned him into a grimwalker...

"You killed Caleb.." She said in disbelief, it was disgusting, Belos was disgusting.

Hunter struck her with another attack but that one hit and sent her flying to the side, she quickly scrambled back to her feet.

Belos: "Yes~... I killed him... because he fell in love with a witch..." He face gets angry. "That witch tricked him and controlled him, disgusting."

Luz: "He fell in love?" She felt a wave of sadness wash over her at the news, poor Caleb... this was horrible, Belos was even worse than she thought.

"He fell in love with a witch, and you killed him for that?" She looked at him in confusion, he had to be joking right?

Belos: "No. I'm not joking." He looks sad. "He was my brother... Caleb Wittebane."

Luz: "Your brother? So all this time... he was your brother?" She felt her lips curl in disgust when she said that, so Caleb was Belos' brother?

Her eyes quickly moved to Hunter, now she knew why he looked so familiar to her.

"And you killed your own brother just for falling in love with a witch?" She said incredulously.

Belos: "Yes... He's broken... So, i fix him by killing him and making a new one... Skin to skin, blood to blood... bone to bone... and Hunter is the closest one to look like him... Not like the previous."

Luz: "So you killed your own brother... and then made a copy of him." The disgust was radiating from her now, she felt like she was going to throw up.

Hunter continued to attack her while she talked, his attacks were becoming more powerful, her shield had cracked in a couple of places.

"You're disgusting." Her voice was laced with disgust when she said those words to him.

Hunter continued to attack her, she tried to block the attacks but with each blow that connected to the shield he was getting stronger.

"Just how many copies of him have you done this too? How many times have you killed your own damn brother?"

Belos: He looks sad. "Too many... every each one of them tries to reason with me or betrayed me."

Luz: "And so you keep on replacing him." She was furious, she knew there was something evil about Belos but he actually was way worse than she originally thought, she was shaking with anger.

Hunter continued to attack, his attacks were becoming more powerful and they were harder to block, he was getting stronger when he landed attacks with each one.

Belos: "oh~ Luz... You need to fight back or he will kill you... Or you kill him." He smiles.

Luz: She let out a deep breath, she couldn't help but to hate it that Belos was right.

She needed to fight back, she couldn't just keep on blocking and letting Hunter get stronger. She needed to be the one to get stronger.

Her lightning bolt changed from yellow to red as she pointed it at Hunter, it's power was much higher and it had no intention of stopping or being blocked.

Hunter: Hunter got hit by red lightning hard and powerful. He screams on top of his lungs. "AAAAHHHH!!!"

Luz: "Hunter..." Her guilt instantly flooded back as she realized she'd gone too far and attacked him.

She felt ashamed as she watched him scream in pain, he was just doing what he was told to do and now she'd went too far.

She lowered the red lightning bolt and took a step closer to him, she didn't know what to do. She didn't want him to suffer any more than he already had.

Belos: Hunter unconscious on the floor. "Why did you stop? Kill him before he kills you."

Luz: She ignored Belos, she didn't care what he had to say. All she cared about was Hunter, he was laying on the ground hurt and she was just standing there watching him.

"Hunter..." She took another step and crouched down next to him, she looked at him with a worried look on her face, as if she was checking to see if he was still alive.

Belos: "... disappointment..." Belos transforms his arm into a blade.

Luz: She heard the noise of his arm changing but she didn't look back at Belos. She didn't want to look away from Hunter.

She started to look around for any sign of life, and there was. His breathing was still steady even if it was a bit heavy, the pulse in his neck was still beating even after the blast.

She let out a slow breath, it wasn't over yet, he was still alive, she just needed to keep him that way.

Belos: Belos extends his arm to kill Luz from behind. In the flash, Hunter was so close to Luz, he pushed her away to save her life. In exchange, the sword of Belos blade got through Hunter's body.

Luz: She was about to look back at him in surprise when he pushed her away, that action saved her from getting slashed by Belos. But it also cost Hunter, his body was pierced by a sword now. He was... he was hurt, badly.

"HUNTER!!..." It was a yell mixed with panic, his blood was now seeping onto the floor, the wound was very serious.

Belos: Belos just silently watches Hunter bleeding. It's not new to Belos at all.

Luz: She rushed to Hunter's side, he was bleeding out, he couldn't die... he couldn't...

"Stay with me... stay with me.." She said, she refused to let him go, she was going to save him.. or die trying at least.

She put her hands over the spot Hunter's blood was coming out of, he was still alive, his breathing was not yet labored. If she could just stop the bleeding he'd be okay, she just didn't know if she was doing it right.

Belos: "....you disappointed me. Hunter." Belos looks at Hunter.

Luz: She paid no attention to Belos, she just looked back at Hunter as tears filled her eyes. She didn't know how she would save him... but she would figure it out.

"Don't die... please don't die..." She was pleading, he couldn't die here, she couldn't lose him like this.

Belos: Belos transform his arm again into a blade to kill Luz.

Luz: She had just raised her arms to apply pressure to the wound, her hands covered the blood that was coming out to try and stop it from flowing.

She didn't hear Belos behind her at all, all she could hear was the sound of Hunter's breathing.

So she was caught completely off guard when he came down with the sword towards her, it was so fast that she couldn't even dodge out of the way.

???: At the same time, there is a tremendous sound of speed coming closer and punch Belos face as his body was thrown away from the impact of the punch before he can hurt Luz.

Luz: She heard someone coming to intervene, her eyes widened when she saw someone had stopped him.

Belos: "What the hell?" Belos grunted, as he turned in the direction of the sound of the punch, looking away from her and to whoever did it.

Luz: Luz stayed still, waiting to see who intervened and saved her.

???: "...kid... are you alright?" The familiar woman voice makes Luz fall off her tears as she screams her name.

Luz: "EDA!!" Luz was shocked to see her, she had thought she was a goner.

She hadn't realized that Eda would show up at a moment like this, she couldn't believe that she was actually saved by her.

She wanted to jump up and hug Eda but she was too busy trying to stop the bleeding on Hunter, her hands stayed glued to Hunter's wound.

"He got stabbed because of me..." Luz mumbled, her voice breaking slightly.

Eda: Eda looks at Hunter with wide eyes. "...brat..." Then she looks at Luz. " What happened?"

Luz: "He got in my way, Belos told him to attack me so I attacked back... and I think I hit him too hard." Luz said, her words were shaking a bit as blood began to flow from her cheeks.

She looked back down at Hunter, he was still unconscious, the blood was still coming out of him but not as heavily as it was before.

"He's hurt..." she added, hoping that Eda would be able to help him.

Eda: Noise of the crumbles take eda attention. She looks at Belos. "YOU!" Her face was furious.

Belos: Belos turned to look back at her with a grim smile, he wasn't expecting to see her, he had planned to kill Luz without any interruptions.

"Eda..." he said calmly, she clearly did not return the calmness he displayed. "You've showed up at a rather inconvenient time."

Eda: Eda's voice changes a little. "What did you do to Hunter!?"

Belos: Belos smirked, she wouldn't like the answer. "I only did what was within my rights as Emperor."

He took a small step forward, looking towards Hunter with a smirk.

"I tried to kill Luz but he got in the way by protecting her..." He sighs. "Now... He is just waiting to be dead... Again." He looked back at the unconscious Hunter with a bit of disgust, this was not Caleb, this was just a mockery of him.

Eda: She rushed at Belos, clearly determined to destroy him for what he'd done.

She threw a punch, which Belos swiftly dodged the hit and stepped away. He swung his sword in her direction, she was on the defensive now, she swung her staff to block it and then they engaged in combat like this.

The two were very close in terms of power and neither of them seemed to have an advantage.... yet. " This ends now!!"

Belos : "This ends when I make it end." Belos countered with a grim smile, he was still planning to kill Luz so he couldn't let Eda get in the way of that.

Belos prepared for her attack, he was ready, there was no way he was going to allow her to get away with this.

He swung his sword at her again, she was forced to block it which meant that he took a step closer again. They went back and forth like this, with neither of them gaining an upper hand.

She was starting to tire, the fight was very intense and despite her skill, Belos was pushing her to her limit.

She swung her staff again, but he dodged again, there seemed to be no opening that he was presenting to her.

"This is getting tiring, isn't it?" Belos said, his tone was mocking and insulting, a smile remained on his face, he seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Eda: "you're not wrong there!" She punched the ground floor. "I need to save them first." The whole floor is crumbling down below. She spread her wings and caught Luz and Hunter out of there.

Belos: Belos's eyes went wide at the sudden collapse as the ground came crumbling down.

He was left there stranded as Eda carried both Luz and Hunter away, he could do nothing now but watch as she escaped with them.

He let out a growl of frustration, now he couldn't even continue his mission, he had failed to kill both of them... and now they had escaped.

_____________________________________________

It's already been a month and Hunter is slowly waking up gaining strength within a couple of weeks, with eda helping him by supporting him. And Luz, she just stayed in her room for a long time now...

_____________________________________________

[jayalaw]

Vlad Masters in Brighton (Ghost and Molly McGee and Danny Phantom Season 2 Spoilers)

@hcsp1, thank you for helping me brainstorm!

For chronology, assume that season three of Danny Phantom hasn't happened, but the Halloween episode of Ghost and Molly McGee, "Frightmare on Main Street" has.

Brighton seems to have become less safe for ghosts. The Chens stream nonstop, showing off their canister. Having Ollie on Molly and Scratch's side makes a difference, though. When he stops seeing Scratch as evil, he takes notes when asking questions. 

Molly starts another en-happifying campaign. She starts building treehouses and temporary shelters in the park. Sure, Brighton doesn't exactly have a homeless population, but a person can never be too careful. It also gives her an excuse to find the cameras on a map that Ollie has marked, so that she can mark safe paths for the ghosts. June doesn't have to know about the counter-campaign, and none of the ghosts will be destroyed. 

When she sees the girl in the hat and sweatshirt sneaking around the encampments.

“Hey!” Molly holds out a picnic basket. “Are you hungry?”

The girl turns to leave, but her stomach rumbles. Molly offers the food that she and her dad have made, and Scratch even tossed in some of Grandma Nin's recipes because he had started cooking as well, so that he could feed himself more. 

Her name is Dani, and she is camping. Molly expresses worry about being out here as the weather is getting colder. When snow falls in Brighton, it can get freezing. Even though Dani looks dressed for the winter, her parents should pick her up before winter hits. Maybe she can get back before Thanksgiving. 

“I’m going to be fine,” Dani says. “Don’t worry.”

Molly doesn't start worrying until seeing signs that Dani hasn't left the treehouses. On the news, the weather warns of snowfall and a snow day soon. Anyone who stays out in that temperature will freeze to death.  

“Hey!” Molly greets Dani with hot chocolate in a thermos. “I have an idea!”

She invites Dani for a spontaneous slumber party at her house. Absolutely nothing suspicious about that and Dani can't refuse an invitation. Dani says that Daddy will be worried, but Molly lures her with a promise of space movies. 

“The Mars Rover movie just came out! And I know you were looking forward to it!” 

“You know me too well.” Dani lets her guard down and smiles. “Fine, I’ll be there.” 

Dani for the first time ever sees a family that loves each other. Peter McGee offers her more dumplings. He asks Molly in a whisper if the attic is safe. Molly assures him yes. Because after all, Scratch can choose who sees him. He's going to sneak snacks from the sleepover and still.

They didn't expect Dani to drop the spare set of pajamas that Molly had lent her. She stares at Scratch, who had been helping himself to some fresh popcorn. Scratch also points at her. He says that he can sense she's a ghost. Dani panics and transforms. Silver hair and black pants. She even floats! Scratch prepares to go full Chairman.

“Oh, no! You’re not haunting this attack!” He dons the cloak. “Eh, give me a minute, the sleeves are tight-”

Molly gets between them, saying how cool it is that Dani has powers. She says it's perfectly fine if Dani is a ghost, because her best friend is one! And ghost aren't evil, the snacks are going to get cold, and it's movie night. The space movie isn't going to watch itself. It's supposed to recreate the last moments of the Mars Rover, before it inexplicably comes back to life and returns to Earth. 

Dani settles for a truce because of the movies. Scratch settles because of the snacks. And once Dani is snuggled in the sleeping bag -- borrowed, obviously-- Molly tells her she can stay as long as she needs. Her secret is safe within the attic. Just in time, as they watch the snow fall. Means that no one in Brighton will be sleeping tonight. 

After breakfast, Molly has dozens of questions. Did Dani step through a portal? Is she a wraith? Can she do stage magic? If so, can she not because Molly hates it with every depth of her soul? 

Dani isn't ready to answer everything. No, she isn't a wrath; she is half-ghost. Dani doesn't like stage magic either. She does request no selfies, because someone is chasing her. He can spy through cameras, even those on phones. Molly respects that. Dani does say that there is a person she can call, her third cousin once-removed, but he may not want to talk to her. She's not ready. 

They have a plan. Hide Dani in the attic for a few days. Molly keeps it clean, so Sharon doesn't bother her. Then before Thanksgiving, motivate Dani to call her cousin. She doesn't want to talk about her dad, although occasionally she turns her head away when Peter kisses Molly on the forehead. Peter also offers her hugs and says it is nice to see another new face in Brighton.  

Just as well, because the Chens are on the prowl. They share with their other ghost hunters that their canister works. June messages the Fentons, asking about their thermos. Something is not right. It shouldn't have caught the evil ghosts on Halloween. June also checks the cameras. Something is shimmering in the cameras, but then vanished. She makes note of it on the vlog, saying that the ghosts must have hunkered down for the winter. 

Next thing you know, a familiar van has pulled up next door. Dani spots it and hides in the attic. She would love to go outside and feel the winter breeze in her hair, but Danny Fenton is probably in that van. So is his family. 

The kids aren't thrilled about another spontaneous road trip, especially right before Thanksgiving. Their grandmother is going to kill Jack. It's freezing in Brighton, too cold for ghostly investigations. Danny, however, sees his ghost powers activate. But no ghosts are causing trouble. At some point, there would be screaming. Something is suspicious in this town.

He spots someone who looks familiar in the neighbor's attic, and gasps. After blinking, he confirms it is who he thinks it is. Danny asks to excuse himself. Jazz distracts the Fentons by asking the Chens about their tech and winter garden, since it's too cold for chili peppers. June's sensors go off, but Ollie asks if she can help design him snowshoes that would allow him to chase ghosts in the snow. He says that he saw some in the park. 

Meanwhile, Dani had her first good night's sleep in weeks. Yet when she spots a translucent head poking through the wood, Dani's about to run. But as she transforms, she starts to ooze. Right, because Vlad never figured out that kink. 

Danny powers down. He tells her she doesn't have to fear him. They're family, Vlad or no Vlad. And he has been worried sick about her since she flew away from Amity Park. 

Dani stops oozing. She regains control. Then she sits on Molly's bed. Danny joins her. And they talk. 

Molly isn't there, shoveling snow for people at the Senior Center. Scratch, however, runs a bubble bath so he won't hear a dozen apologies from a girl who says that she thought the man who created her was a good person. He lied to her and used her. Danny tells her there's nothing to forgive. Vlad Masters lies to everyone. He uses people.  

Danny wants his cousin to come live with the Fentons. If he can keep his ghost side a secret, so can she. And he can use the lab to help with her disintegration, to stop it from getting worse. He and Jazz can make up a story at Thanksgiving about a forgotten cousin. Vlad is far away from Wisconsin, far from here. She's safe now. 

Neither of them knows that Vlad Masters is one of the Chens' biggest sponsors online. He has taken advantage of the Internet and has a network of ghost hunters, connected in the country. When June's feed shows the image, he can't resist the formulation of a plan. 

It seems that the Fentons will pass through town, and Dani will go with them. Molly is relieved and saddened since she always wanted a little sister, and Scratch admits that he'll miss the little kid. Even Darryl complains that he won't have someone who is good at hustling as his other partner-in-crime. 

Then a limo pulls up in Brighton. The most expensive mansion there goes up for rent. 

“I would know that limo anywhere!” Jack Fenton jumps into the van. “Don’t wait up, for me honey!” 

Jack only dings the limo a little when it brakes before he can respond. He goes to shake his best friend's hand and what are the odds they're in the same Midwestern town? 

Vlad Masters, eye twitching from the dent, is interested in relocating. He has seen that the town is filled with ghosts. And the mayor is an incumbent. 

“Maybe it's time for new blood, especially since November is an election month.” He looks at the town. “And a person like me could make some changes.” 

Molly and Danny both freak out as Jack Fenton returns and announces loudly outside the McGee house that the Fentons will stay for as long as Vlad needs to run his campaign. Maddy tries to remind Jack about Grandma and Thanksgiving, while Jazz rolls her eyes. To Molly, it's threatening a mayor who has always tried his best, and none of the treehouses she built are meant to help a family survive the winter. 

But to Danny? He knows that any Vlad plan is not a good plan. They can get Dani out of the town and back to Amity Park, but that doesn't solve the problem of how to foil whatever scheme that Vlad has. The Guys in White won't answer any more calls from the Fentons. 

Dani is adamant about one thing: they have to update Molly and Scratch. Danny asks who they are, just as Molly returns from shoveling driveways. Scratch freaks out about more ghosts in his space and asks when did the attic become a reception area. This time, Dani calms things down, saying that she can explain. Everyone gets up to date, and Molly's expression changes when she learns who Dani's father is, and how he created Dani.

"Surely... he's not that bad?" she ventures. 

"He tortured a teenager- me!" Danny rolled up his sleeve. "Yes, he is that bad." 

"I can't believe I’m agreeing with a broody teenager, but that guy sounds really evil!" Scratch adds. "Let me handle him; I can curse him in his sleep to leave Brighton and never return." 

"Or I can talk to him," Molly says. "Maybe I can explain that Brighton is very happy with our mayor and he doesn't have to bother with the ghosts around here."

"My plan is better," Scratch grouses. The fact is that Vlad hurt a girl younger than Molly, and he remembers what happened with the Chairman. He doesn't want to take any chances, especially when Frightmares are nearby. 

They try going with Molly's plan, with Dani staying in the attic but Danny coming along as backup. When Jazz spots them, she knows when glancing at Danny, and tosses the Ghost Catcher to her little brother. 

“So what is that?” Molly asks casually.

“Oh, this split me in two a few times,” Danny replies. “Literally! My ghost half and human half. But I guess Jazz doesn’t want me to trap Vlad in a thermos.” 

Molly’s eyes widen. She touches the net part of the Ghost Catcher.

“Eh, I’m not buying it.” Scratch pokes the rod. “Looks like a fancy butterfly net to me.”  

They soon make it to the mansion, bundled up and ready to face Vlad. Danny has the Ghost Catcher ready, while Molly prepares to put on the charm. 

Neither of them can stop Scratch from going inside the rental mansion, cloak and all.

The cloak flies in the air. Scratch flees from Vlad Plasmius, screaming for the whole while. People point at them. 

"Scratch!" Molly looks around. "What do we do?"

"You stay here!" Danny says. "I'm going ghost!" 

As he transforms, Molly grabs the Ghost Catcher. It has an on and off-switch. She presses it on, and sets it up on the ground. Then she takes a leap. 

The next thing you know, Andrea Davenport is broadcasting a screeching Vlad Plasmius as a yellow wraith chases him down, trying to boop him on the nose. The wraith leaves flowers in her wake while yelling at him to stay away from her best friend. Everyone picks up a dandelion or a daisy. 

"Okay, that girl is officially the scariest non-ghost I have met, and I have a gym teacher that made us climb up a rope twenty times," Danny says, watching the trail of destructions and native flowers. 

"You have no idea," Scratch agrees. "Donut?" 

Danny takes a chocolate frosted one. It's nice having someone on the team fighting by his side. 

Molly finally boops Vlad on the nose, sending him crashing to Earth in a mound of flowers and snow well beyond the borders of Brighton. She warns him to never come back to the town or hurt Scratch, or he will have to deal with her. Then she leaves him, and advises him that this is a common highway for ride-shares, so he'll be fine. 

Vlad doesn't know who the yellow ghost is, only that she managed to depower him in mid-air, with one touch. But he does like a challenge. After he regains his dignity and manages to find his phone, he sheepishly calls his limo driver to ask for a ride. After all, a future mayor of Brighton can't freeze under a bed of flowers. It's not dignifying for a man like him.

[alternis]

another third eye au future evil titans thought

I do not have Details or Plot Outline but I do have a Scene and setup

so probably evil future titans is lead by evil future cass since she never had an evil arc in this au.rhey take over titans tower and Tim gets taken out of the equation and shoved in a relatively nice holding cell with one of the future titans checking up on him, and via the power of Deduction realises that the reason they're not trying to convince him to join their murder cult thinking or treating him as a potential future threat is that. he isnt involved in their future.

and bc of the psychological problems he is very quickly able to be like "ah its bc I am dead in their future. ah well, sucks but i knew it was coming"

he strikes up conversation with his captor (not sure who exactly but likely a meta) and gets them to open the cell door to talk with him (while standing in it to give them a false sense that he's still super trapped) by laying out that he knows he's dead in their future and would like details.

they're like wow forgot how creepy it was when you did that. Well I cant give you details because you just vanished one day and when we tried to figure out what was going on we realised you'd given most of your stuff away to different people. and then months later we hear that lady shiva says she killed you! what the hell

and Tim gets to be like, well if your future selves also went back and met you qs you said and this is all one big closed loop then this conversation between your future you and your timeline's me probably happened as well which means I already knew what was going to happen. and since you seem upset by me dying I'm gonna be compassionate and reassure you that I'm not entirely surprised and have been ready for this for a While. so in your timeline I probably didn't tell you bc I knew it would upset all of you, but tbh I've been living on a countdown timer for years and my time just ran out.

and the evil future titan is like wow. you have psychological problems 👍

and he's like yeah BUT let me divulge my traumatic backstory. so when i was 13 I killed a person. somebody with a grudge against my family paid a serial killer to make me his next victim. he attacked me with a knife and I panicked, picked up something heavy, and hit him in the side of the head with it. most people would say that was justified. self defence, right but? but I didn't just save my own life. that man had killed over a hundred people. by killing him, I prevented the creation of any future victims. and I'd already crossed the line by killing somebody. when Shiva offered to train me, i accepted. i knew that eventually she'd kill me, and with what she taught me i could have kept killing until then. i already had blood on my hands.

but I didn't. I never killed another person. not even when I knew it was justified, that they deserved it, that the world would be better without them. killing is a line you can't uncross. every time you kill somebody you take another step forward, until the line is so far behind you that you forgot it was ever there. ive seen a lot of people who live their life that way. I was trained by one.

you can't undo what you did. you can't escape the consequences. I can't un-kill that man, or escape the bargain I made afterwards. but you don't have to keep going forwards, either. no matter how far gone you think you are--you always, always can choose to stop. I don't think me telling you this will convince you, but you should think it over at least.

the future titans realise they've been leaning into the doorframe as they talked and tries to straighten up only for their vision to swim and their legs to give out.

surprise, the cell has been pumping out nerve gas (that he already had an immunity built up against), something he'd suggested be built into the cells as an Extra Restraint, but secretly as a contingency plan in case the other titans ever turned on him or somebody took over their base and tried to lock him up. he just had to trigger it and get them in the cell (or the doorway of the cell) long enough for it take effect. paranoia saves the day!

[elnavegador]

My favorite Umbrella Academy WIPS ❤️

Lygerside Daydream

(Or the one about hallucinations and a life that never was)

Delores kisses his check. “I missed you.” 

Five smiles, taking her smooth hand between his calloused ones. “I never left.” 

The conversation dies around them and she laughs, melodic sound surrounding him, echoing like it shouldn’t.

“You always do.” 

—--------------------------------------

“Cinque, amore.” She says, wearing her favorite sunhat; the one she almost never uses in fear of wearing it out, the one with a mirriad of flowers that don’t match, the one with flowers he doesn’t remember the name of anymore.    

It’s only Delores and him, as it has been for a long time. It feels like forever, sometimes. 

Or: there’s something wrong, Five knows, he also knows he would do anything to keep Delores looking at him like that. 

—----------------------------------------

There’s this story he heard a long time ago; so long that details twist and shape into something new. There’s this story that changes in every iteration, but the end remains the same.  

“Do I know you?” She asks, tilting her head like a bird. “I feel like I know you.” 

There’s an answer trapped in his throat, between the larynx and the trachea. She keeps staring, eyes so dark he can't see the pupil and a smile pulling at the corners of her lips. The clock on the wall stops at seven.  

The scarf around her head is a nice shade of blue, it reminds Five of–of something; there’s a series of numbers written in chalk on the board, displacement equations she had been working on before he arrived, there’s a wrong decimal. The clock on the wall is stuck at seven.  

“I don’t think so.” He finally says. 

The smile widens and it should feel mocking, a threat, but instead it’s like coming home. Five smiles back.  

“Delores.” She says. He says. The clock ticks again and the room turns black. 

.

There’s something that is not quite a man at the bottom of the hill. Man-shaped, earth-teetered, unmoving with its gaze fixed in the gravel sky. Up, up, up where it can never reach, up where time is the same as it has always been. 

Its fingers twitch, once, two and thrice, its neck is sore, bruised in a way it doesn’t notice anymore. The gray shifts and time doesn’t forgive, so it takes one step after the other, feet rising from the broken concrete, heavy, breaking the vines threaded into its broken boots, life that clings, uncaring.

It keeps walking. 

Capgras Delusion

(or the one where Five returns earlier and tries to find a way to take his siblings from Reginald)

It's a hit or miss if the smoke will offer him comfort or send him into a panic attack, today it seems it's the first one and he exhales. 

"He's hurting them," Five says, relying on the script. It’s been two years, they always have this conversation and it always goes the same way. 

“Teaching them, Mister Five, powers like yours 

"You read the book." Vanya's book, he let him read it under Five's supervision. It's the only reason he hasn't tattled to Reginald. 

"I did, Mister Five and I still think that if we offer it to your father--" 

"No," he says and this is an usual argument, too "it's alright if you admire him, but don't be blind to the kind of man he is. He will push them harder and this time Ben won't be the only one to die." 

He wishes, not for the first time, that he had Allison's power. These inane conversations would be over, then. 

"How many of us have to die for you to realize?" Five says, getting off script. But he's tired "How much more suffering will be enough for you?" 

Pogo is frustrated, too and Five had been careful of pushing him too far all this time, but he can't sit idle anymore. Not when his siblings are crying every damn night for a man that doesn't give a fuck about them. 

He has plans already in case Pogo tattles. In case Reginald knows he's here. 

It would be easier if Pogo was on his side, yes, but he can work even if he doesn't.  Five can do it. He has to. 

"There's nothing I can do about it, I take care of the children, but--" 

"He already made Be–Six kill the rabbits, didn't he?"  

Pogo’s face falls and something twists inside Five. 

"I have a plan," Five says carefully.

Maggot Pie (heh)

The fucker left them a note in the fridge, which is more than he would’ve left a few months ago, but still–A. Fucking. Note.

If I don’t return at 9, assume I’m dead. (Or look for me, which amounts for the same with the kind of organization this family is capable of) — 5

And then a direction below.

It’s nine and a half already. There’s nobody else at the academy and Diego is only here because there wasn’t any orange juice left in his apartment and he was craving some. That he hasn’t been at the Academy in over a week and seen some of his siblings for longer is unrelated.

He pats his pockets and lets out a sigh of relief when he feels the little portatil phone, --smartphone, according to Luther’s lectures, who took with shiny eyes and disgusting ease the new technology of this timeline– it’s usually a roll of the dice if Diego will remember to take it with him, useful as it is, it’s matter entirely if it’s going to remain unbroken.

He calls Luther first, who the most likely to come back running at the first hint of danger, with the rest of them is a hit or miss. He answers after two rings.

“Return to the Academy now, there’s an emergency.”

He hangs up before Luther can respond.

The thing is–Five is usually good at knowing the kind of danger he will face when he goes out like this; sometimes he takes one of them, one or two times Luther or Viktor, usually Diego, because he’s out kicking ass anyway while the rest want to live peacefully, or as peaceful as a Hargreeves can get. And if he deemed his mission dangerous enough to leave them a direction and an hour–

When Diego finds him, he’s going to fucking kill him. He’s going to make him wish he died in his little errand.

He shakes his head, not useful right now. He’s certain Luther called Allison as soon as Diego hung* up, if he’s not with her already. He calls Viktor next.

“Come to the Academy. Five is missing.”

Then Klaus and it’s actually a miracle when he actually responds.

“Return to the Academy or I will burn your clothes.”

He hangs up before his shierk can leave him deaf. Sometimes different measures must be taken to make them do shit. It’s like herding cats. It’s not that they wouldn’t come for Five, but they do overestimate his capabilities.

Diego, as the one that goes the most with him on these missions to thwart the Commission’s efforts to ‘correct’ the timeline, is intimately aware that he’s far from indestructible, as much as he likes to pretend otherwise.

And, boy, how he likes to pretend.

In between maps of probabilities that make sense to nobody but him and single-minded [...] to razor to the ground his former employers, they’ve been worried about him, or rather, they’ve been worried about how his new obsession could come back to bite them in the ass.

It’s an uncharitable thought, but it’s an uncharitable world and all the Hargreeves are selfish at heart.

For what is worth, Five tried to relax the first days, weeks even, after they arrived to the new 2019, Diego knows, he went out to do who knows what in hilarious grandpa clothes nobody dared to make fun of in fear of him going back to the uniform; he hung out with Klaus, the two of them disappearing for days at time, returning suspiciously giggly, but there was no way Diego was poking at that within a ten foot pole*; he stayed sometimes in Viktor’s apartment and the two little [rascals] were actually getting along again.

And then he holed himself up in his room for three days straight and when he came out it was with the intense look he had when he first arrived at the funeral talking about the future.

He even put on a suit and everything.

There is no way Diego is telling him this, but he misses his little grandpa outfits and his easier smiles and the way he actually talked to them.

Now there’s a note Diego stumbled across on pure chance and him going alone on a mission he was clearly reluctant to go when he could have taken Diego with him. The fucker didn’t even bother

He glances at the clock. Nine and forty.

His leg is bouncing and he considers for a second going to the address alone–but that is the kind of shit that got them in this situation, if Five had just called him, then maybe–

Diego glares at the note with Five’s stupid neat handwriting.

Infections of a different kind

(Which is already posted, but I'm having trouble with) (In this one Five returns earlier too, but commits the mistake of telling his siblings and Reginald about the apocalypse)

Diego wasn’t close to Five, most of them weren’t, not really, that doesn’t mean that his absence didn’t hit them all. It was in the holes in their    and plates of food Mom kept putting for him before Pogo told (programed) her not to. 

But he returned and they haven't been allowed to see him for a week. 

It’s bullshit, it’s what it is. 

“Mom,” he says when she’s putting the covers over him. 

Some of his siblings don’t want Mom to tuck them goodnight anymore, but fuck them. 

“Yes, dear?” 

“Why can’t we see Five?” 

She stops for a few seconds, before smiling in “He’s in a very delicate state, it’s important that he gets to rest undisturbed.” 

Diego thinks about that for a second, “we can be quiet.” 

“I know you can, sweetheart, but your Father prefers that he heals alone. You know he likes to be cautious.” 

He scowls, that’s a way to put it, but something about this smells bad. 

Diego doesn't know why he pictured him drinking with his father and talking about how bothersome kids are. 

He looked rather pathetic the last time they saw him. Really fucked up, he wasn’t even aware a person could be that thin and sickly and still resemble his smug brother, that is less smug and more sad. 

And that’s it: Five looks really sad. 

Mom cut some of his beard and washed him, so he looks less like a homeless person, but he’s still hard to look at.    and he will never be able to forget his scream, even if he was several rooms apart. 

He wants to hit and rip apart something, what the fuck happened to him? He said something about the end of the world and called out for someone called Delores, did someone have him captive or something? 

And what are they supposed to do about it when it all happens in the future? 

Five isn’t supposed to look like that, he’s supposed to be smug and insufferable. He was his asshol-ish self that first day and okay, the crying and laughing were creepy, but he was getting there again the more time he spended in the infirmary. 

But now they moved him out and they haven’t been allowed to see him. Which is utter bull-shit and if Dad thinks he’s going to obey that, he’s got another thing coming for him.    

He’s in a room nobody uses, which doesn’t tell him much, considering they use just about a third of them, that’s his intel from the spyed conversations between Pogo and Mom. 

“Where are we going?” 

Diego doesn’t jump, but he hits his shoulder on the wall anyway.  

He glares at Klaus, “you are not going anywhere.” 

[guiraguira]

hi! i love your writings theyre soo cute… can i req ichiro x reader x nemu threesome? perhaps nsfw… i love those two so much

Three Little Lambs!✨

Thank you so much, honey ❤️!

Ah, your request is very cute too, I was thinking about how to do it and I think the best thing is that it be a fluffy fic! With some hc Nsfw. You can always re-order for this trio ❤️

Ichiro x fem reader x nemu!

° You spend a lot of time together, the three of you are so comfortable that you can hardly go more than a day without seeing each other. Both Ichiro's brothers and Samatoki know that the three of them usually spend their afternoons comfortable enjoying any hobby or in silence, just being in company that's enough for the three of you.

° Today was no different, spending the afternoon outdoors they had organized a picnic in a nearby stream. They left early in the morning, to make the most of the day. Sharing breakfast at his house and rejecting the jealousy of his brothers.

° Near the shore with a nice breeze that could barely cool them. They wade into the water knee-deep in water, playfully splashing each other, they're wearing bathing suits so they don't care how drenched they might get. Suddenly they hit the deep end and their easygoing game turns wild when they sync up for a competitive swim to a prominent rock. They are both much more athletic than you and must stop the race when they notice that you have difficulty following them.

° "ahh, y/o sorry!" Nemu tucks under your arm to help you float to shore. "I think I drink the two liters of water a day…" you cough at the end of the sentence and Ichiro also apologizes "come on, I'll carry you on my back" when you get on he changes his mind "And you too" Nemu laughs because he knows that this isn't It was going to be good, but he ignores her.

°against all odds he could with you. Instead of congratulating him, they begin to bother him by trying to tickle him and make him fall into the water. Something quite difficult because he is used to these types of attacks, you know well how to make him nervous, leaning on his shoulder, you pull him to kiss him on the cheek. Before he can even react Nemu pushes him into the water and he falls.

° he Sits, stunned for a second before trying to catch them. Running from him laughing, you stumble and drag Nemu down in your fall. Ichiro kisses each other's cheeks even though they twist so that I can't and cover his lips. Fulfilling his goal, he does the same with her.

° "Let's make a truce to eat ice cream" he extends his hands to help them lift and they take the opportunity to intertwine their fingers, the three of them walking hand in hand, they search the car for the portable refrigerator discovering that there are only two ice creams. In a quick exchange of glances, he offers the sundaes to you.

° "oh don't be an idiot, we can all eat" you say giving him one and sharing yours with Nemu. "It's not fair! I want to share too" exchanging ice creams, the sticks rotate in his hands several times.

° "it's falling!" Grabbing Ichiro's hand, you eat the last piece that was about to fall, biting down on the chopstick. "Hey! That was my favorite taste" the white-haired girl groans, kissing you trying to recover some of the remaining taste. You blush covering your face but that doesn't stop them from laughing at you.

° slowly the afternoon light is darkening and it is getting time to return. Lying in the shade of a tree, you and Ichiro have their heads in Nemu's lap. She gently strokes both of their hair, making them almost fall asleep. Your eyelids open less and less frequently, but you wake up when you feel another hand on your cheek, it is he who kisses you delicately in silence and then her.

° Breaking the harmony of Nemu's caresses, to throw himself on his back and accommodate the two of you in his arms, firmly pressed against him. His rhythmic heartbeat and his rhythmic breathing indicate that he too was about to fall asleep.

° The heat is no longer an impediment to this nap. Now the weak cold breeze invites you to enjoy this moment without problems and despite the fact that darkness is already practically present, you cannot break this peace. Giving in to the warmth and comfort, they sleep peacefully in his affectionate arms.

Nsfw

° In general, your interactions are quite smooth, the one who has control of you is the white haired one. Teasing them until they can't take it anymore, with kisses that become more and more heated.

° The easiest to arouse is Ichiro, with just a few caresses on his abdomen and a few kisses on his neck, you can feel his growing erection asking for attention.

° When you two get daring, mounting your thighs in search of pleasure, touching his glans between the two of you and alternating kisses with each other. He easily gets carried away, becomes totally vocal, whimpering into you and rocking his hips into his hands.

° Likewise, you and Ichiro enjoy pleasuring her, licking her entrance at the same time, joining their tongues in kisses full of fluids under her watchful eye, struggling to keep her legs in place as they threaten to close on you several times. times, pulling them closer as she contracts her walls, shivering at the sensation.

° With you they are the same, maintaining your position on all fours over Nemu she concentrates on your breasts, forcing you to get closer to her, while he works on your entrance occasionally using his fingers looking for your point. Forget about keeping your sanity.

° Most of the time Ichiro takes each one separately, giving them the attention they deserve before all three go into action at the same time. With one of you bouncing on his dick while the other rides her face. Just moans and gasps and wet slaps.

° So much time shared by you already know that the other likes it, so you can spend a lot of time playing teasing each other, but without reaching orgasm. Until one breaks, unable to take it anymore and is dominated by the other two.

° Very rarely do they get Ichiro to be Dominant, but when he is, he usually leaves you shaking until the other day, with they throat sore from panting, allowing him to do whatever it takes with you. They become totally submissive, enjoying the change of roles.

° You two are more insatiable than him, so when he can't take it anymore, he makes himself comfortable to see how his girls continue with each other, touching and pampering each other until they are satisfied. They love to do this just for him to see.

° After all the action, they simply enjoy cuddling, mixing their bodies looking for the comfort and comfort of the other. Giving each other compassionate caresses and kisses, they don't care how sticky they are. They need to be like this, cleaning can wait.

° They just need to share this moment for a longer time, being in this way makes them feel so comfortable and united that they have no problem falling asleep if they are neglected .

[sullina]

nnt swap curse. Vaizel episode?

I think Meliodas would be absolutely ecstatic to take part in the fight festival, which makes it a shame that Elizabeth and King (and Diane probably too) think it's a terrible, since he's the prince and all. And unlike the case with canon Elizabeth, who I think mostly just stayed in the capital, Meliodas in this au was eager to travel and did, with the Troublesome Trio, and I can definitely picture him having participated in the fight festival before, or if he was too young to (we don't know if there's a cut off age for participants, but in canon, Meliodas was thought to be a child and he was still allowed to participate).

If he was too young, he still would've watched, probably. In canon, we hear Howzer say that he had wanted to participate in the fight festival for years, but never could, because of work, so in this au, I think he might've been Meliodas' escort, maybe even along with the other two. Gilthunder might've entered solely to show off a little to Meliodas.

Back to present day though, I think Meliodas would've gotten stuck with gathering ingredients or something, anyway away from the arena. I think Diane would enter with the others to get her hammer back instead of staying behind with Meliodas, but since he can't stay behind alone, I think King would stay and keep an eye on him, since Ban can't exactly be trusted to be responsible (plus, he would never pass up a chance to fight with Elizabeth, who is his captain in this au), and the reason why Diane stayed behind was to spend time with Elizabeth. (This is me after writing a whole bunch more and then realizing that Diane still kinda needs to get shrunken down, so let's say Diane also went with them since she can't attend the Fight Festival in her big form anyway, but separates herself from King and Meliodas and encounters the Chicken Matango like that.)

So King and Meliodas go into the forest to gather ingredients. Meliodas obv still wants to participate in the fight festival. At first, he tries sneaking off without King noticing, which doesn't work due to King keeping a very close eye on him, despite appearing to be half asleep. And for the next part, we could go the canon route of Meliodas manipulating King into entering the fight festival anyway for Diane, or another idea would be Meliodas trying to sneak attack King from behind, failing, and King tying him up and hiding him as a result, while he goes off to check on the others at the festival. It doesn't really matter too much where he hides him, because he would find a way to get free anyway. He wouldn't be able to untie himself completely, but he would be able to walk around.

After getting out, he would be found either by Gowther and the demonified Dale (since they were in Vaizel too at the time), or by Veronica and Griamor. If he met Gowther and Dale first, I think Dale would lash out and try to hit him, only to be stopped by Gowther, who calms him down. Meliodas would then make up some fake story about like bandits or something kidnapping him and tying him up, but he escaped. Gowther would untie him then and offer to have Meliodas travel with them, but I think Meliodas would decline in favor of going to the festival anyway, but he would disguise himself first so that no one, including the Sins would regonize him.

If he met Veronica and Griamor first, Veronica would immediately assume that the Sins had tied him up and left him (which to be fair isn't entirely untrue in this situation) and drag him back with her with the help of Griamor and his wall, after untying him. Meliodas doesn't want to, obviously, and I think he would be able to break Griamors wall with a bit of panic-induced demon strength, followed by him running to the Sins for help. Or maybe he dodges Griamor and just runs with the two going after him, either way, they end up chasing after him. If he couldn't break it though, then it would probably go something like Veronica and Griamor staying in the next town over and Elizabeth and the Sins getting him back (after Elizabeth gave King quite the scolding about leaving Meliodas alone).

Meanwhile, King had checked with the other sins and is now in the way back, not without a quiet earful from Elizabeth, who knows Meliodas more than well and what kind of trouble he often gets into. Luckily, he finds him just as Griamor is about to trap him again, and Meliodas and King both fall to the ground. Meliodas is crying because his sister and one of his life long friends are trying to capture him and he doesn't notice King at all and just keeps trying to climb over him to escape. Fortunately, King is keeping a cool head and hits Veronica and Griamor back without seriously injuring them, gathers Meliodas onto Chastifol, perhaps using its Guardian form to get a good grip on him and calm him down, and hurries to get away and to safety.

Meanwhile at the fight festival, the finale has been reached and it's Elizabeth vs Diane when Vaizel gets attacked with Guilas explosions. The one aimed at the ring is deflected by Elizabeth shooting it with her own attack before the people around them can be hurt. I don't know if Elizabeth would pull the same move as Meliodas did in canon with his whole "the Seven Deadly Sins are taking over Vaizel" spiel, but she comes up with something to get the people out of there.

Right after, they all split up to defend the town and Elizabeth goes to search for Meliodas, whom he finds with King. Meliodas has had a moment to calm down and wipe his tears away when they stop. King tells Elizabeth what happened with Veronica and decide to go back to the Boar Hat and gather the others, but are met with Guila before they can move. Jericho is already fighting Ban elsewhere.

Elizabeth engages Guila first, tasking King with protecting Meliodas. After she's defeated, King takes her on instead while telling Meliodas to run, which, for once, he does. He's good in a fight and he knows it, but without a weapon against an opponent like Guila, he knows he can't win.

While he runs, Helbram arrives and takes over fighting King, Guila and Jericho meet up to chase after Meliodas while carrying Elizabeth (Hendrickson wanted her as well, for what they don't know, but Hendrickson needs her blood to open the coffin of darkness, not Meliodas') and Veronica and Griamor also catch up with him. Hendrickson had told Guila and Jericho that Meliodas would pose a risk to their plan and that he is to be neutralized. He also told Veronica that Meliodas had "turned to the dark side" or that the Sins have manipulated him into doing it or something and that the only way for him to be cured is the goddess amber he gave her. Veronica didn't believe her brother to have turned evil, but took the amber anyway just in case.

So Guila and Jericho attack Meliodas, are stopped by Griamor, Elizabeth falling to the ground next to them outside of the bubble, and Veronica tries, unsuccessfully, to convince Meliodas to come back with her. Veronica figures that Hendrickson was, unfortunately, right and he really was corrupted by the Sins, so she uses the goddess amber on him. He gets sucked in just in time for Elizabeth, who was unconscious to see it happening.

Now, what happens next in canon is Meliodas going berserk. In this au, Elizabeth takes over his role (more or less), but I don't know if she even can go berserk like canon Mel did, since that was in direct response to being sucked into the goddess amber and freeing himself by using his demonic powers, which ended up being more than he could control. Meliodas is still at least part demon in this au, but he probably doesn't have the power to break out of the goddess amber, so I guess Elizabeth would have to break him out after Diane comes to the rescue?

I'm honestly not sure how to proceed. Sure, we could have Meliodas going berserk again, but I don't want the Sins to know too much about him already. Although, I guess one could make the guess that it's not demon powers, but actually Meliodas' original magic ability.

Okay, so, I just re-read some of the older posts of this au, because I finally found them again (I used two different tags for this au and was wondering why tf there were only so few^^") and yeah, Meliodas can totally break Griamors wall with a bit of effort and honestly, I do believe that he could also break out of the goddess amber on his own and go berserk. Maybe not as extreme as in canon, but it could happen, especially with him not knowing what's happening and paniking, leading to his demon powers overflowing.

And Elizabeth couldn't defeat the holy knights on her own, because not only does she not have a weapon, but also because she's been weakened 10 years ago. Her weakning could have been Merlin stealing her power, but I have an alternative: Meliodas got gravely hurt and his demon magic went out of control, in order to heal him and stop his magic from causing even more destruction, Elizabeth had to sacrifice a good portion of her goddess magic, making her significantly weaker and she's been unable to gain her power back for all those years, maybe because she even planted some inside Meliodas to help him control his demon magic.

Anyway, so Meliodas goes berserk with Elizabeth unable to stop him, Hendrickson almost kidnaps them both, but is ultimately stopped by Diane coming to the rescue.

Meliodas is questioned afterwards, but he pretends to know about as much as they do, which is nothing (except for Elizabeth, who isn't exactly eager to reveal anything), so for the moment, they guess that it must've been an effect of the goddess amber. Meliodas knows it isn't true, since he's always had this kind of power, but he'd rather not tell them. The Sins likely know he knows more, but they don't want to pressure him, especially since he only just started opening up to them a little bit.

[james5-doe]

Chapter 28

I've posted Chapter 28 here, in case it doesn't appear on Fanfiction.net.

"I Know"

Earth B

"Duffy got a reading from Dimension P. She felt great distress in the Gordons there." Mandrake quivered, taking a breath. He hoped that nobody was terribly hurt — especially since it was all his fault.

"Dimension P..." Amy stated. "Isn't that the place where you banished Mom?"

He'd dreaded this discussion for most of the day, knowing how his daughter was going to react. "I thought I had managed to remove her power." He stroked his brow. "Now it appears I was wrong about that."

She glanced to the side, clearly distraught. "What is she doing?" she asked with a scowl.

"She's trying to conquer Earth P, it seems." He felt a deep shame. "I should have known to handle things differently."

"By that you mean that you should've killed her."

He flinched a little. What triggered that? "No," he muttered, clearing his throat. "I meant that I shouldn't have left her there." He paused to study the lovely girl, a child on the cusp of womanhood. Most people found her adorable, and there was no question of that right now. She wore a tank top over thin black pants, her hair bundled into a small half-up. She was the picture of cuteness and beauty — but there was something grimmer lurking deep within.

He had been searching for the cause of that. Most signs pointed to childhood. Amy was brought up without Cathleen. It seemed this salvation was also a vice. Her mother's absence was good for her, but it had created resentment too, an anger that Amy still fought to control.

Was she still resenting her father as well?

"I have to make it into Dimension P," Mandrake declared. "The portal will open in around two hours."

"That's kind of convenient," she said with suspicion.

"It actually isn't. Not at all. I'm afraid I know Cathleen quite well. She's hoping that I'll learn about what she's done, so she can try luring me there for revenge."

--------

Two Hours Later

Just as he was heading toward a small spacecraft, Amy caught up and grabbed ahold of his arm.

"Remember your rule," she said with a grin. "Never take off before a drink of tea."

He chuckled a little, still feeling unhinged, then downed the small cup that she'd offered him.

Amy stared — quietly.

A few seconds later, he started to quiver. "What was in that?" he asked as he shook. The cup hit the floor. He did too.

"I can't let you go and confront that woman, not with the grudge that she has against you." Amy started moving toward the jet herself. "I'll do this."

He reached for her, too far away. Everything around him began to grow dark.

------

Earth P

Amy made her landing in a shady canyon. The area was fully devoid of life.

She felt her lips parting as she looked about. It was hard to fathom what had just occurred. She had made the journey to an alternate world, in a whole different reality.

There was little time to be stunned, however. She could sense now that she wasn't alone.

She opened the cockpit, and stepped outside.

"I noticed your presence several minutes ago."

Amy turned around toward the sound of the voice.

Her mother was there, covered in gold, her outfit not unlike Damian Dark's. "If Mandrake had come, I'd drag this out. With you, dear child, I'll make it quick. Then I'll rear you as you should have been reared." She launched a gold beam straight out of her hand.

Feeling no level of fear at all, Amy raised a palm, halting the shot, blocking it telekinetically. She whisked the projectile behind her back.

Gritting her teeth, Cathleen unleashed an assault with both hands.

Amy responded with each hand too, using twin shields to stop the attack.

The energy burrowed continuously, threatening to break her defenses down.

Amy started shaking. Her heels slid back.

Finally, the assault got through, knocking her down as it struck her waist. The blast sent a jolt all throughout her frame, maybe the hardest she'd ever felt.

Amy twitched a little, struggling to rise. It was clear her mom had increased her strength. She couldn't stand another impact like that.

Cathleen fired, wasting no time, shooting with both of her hands again.

Lifting her palms, Amy summoned all of the might she had, whipping the beams in an upward arch, and hurling them directly behind Cathleen. The shots hit a mountain. Boulders fell.

Cathleen managed to rush aside, dodging the rubble as it struck the ground. She looked surprised as the boulders��rose, hanging in the air for a couple of seconds, before they went following after her.

She stared in shock.

The rubble hit, flooring Cathleen as it fell aside.

Amy rushed up, mounting her, pinning her arms to the ground as she spoke. "Look into my eyes," Amy said, summoning a spell as their gazes met. "Look into my eyes, and listen to me."

------

Earth B

Amy brought the jet down in Monitor.

"I was just about to come after you!" Mandrake uttered as he neared the craft. "What happened over there?"

She studied her father, taking a breath, relieved to see that he'd recovered well. It wasn't a particularly powerful drug. "That world is saved, for now anyway," Amy replied upon leaving the plane.

"...What did you do?" He looked unsettled.

"I made my birth mother forget who she is. She'll start a new life, meet new people..." She shook her head. "Maybe she'll even have another kid. Maybe she'll get things right next time."

Mandrake stared, absorbing that. It took a little while for him to find his voice. "Amy," he muttered, "if I had known about you when you were a child...I would've done my very best to get things right."

She held his gaze. "I know," she uttered, pulling him close.

He began wrapping his arms around her.

"I know," she said.

[fruit-salad-ship]

I am loving the BotW AU. And I can’t help but wonder how the events of the game would affect them. I suppose it depends on if the Yiga collapse after the loss of Master Kohga and the defeat of Calamity Ganon. But I also can’t help thinking of the group beset by Yiga soldiers and Link stumbling on them and lending a hand, or maybe wanting to lend a hand but quickly seeing he’s not needed. Or maybe the other way around, they find *him* under attack and help him out. The image in my head the most, though, is them seeing from afar a lone figure enter enter the ruins of Hyrule Castle and the battle that occurs there. They watch in shock as the restored Divine Beasts unleash their fury on the Castle, and minutes later, a massive beast of shadow and Malice takes shape in Hyrule Field. How do they react, seeing the creature that Peach and Grey have served for most of their lives? The terrifying power and destruction it wreaks? How do they feel when a silent young man, who they maybe crossed paths with once before, single-handedly takes it down? How do they all feel when the threat to all of Hyrule is finally gone?

I never really involve whatever i'm brewing up AU wise with protag characters, but in Links case, he's pretty core to the whole thing that goes on there, guess I have to this one time haha

IDK if Peach would give two hoots about him, he's some small quiet kid who doesn't really stand out to her. If she's travelling on the road early on, she'd only have hints of her old gear on her person, so they'd have no reason to immediately fight each other. Much like before with the giant horse, if Link was getting mobbed by any villains, she'd be more inclined to leave him well alone, its not her fight, she's always been pushed to put her life on the line for her clan, for others, so she likes to opt out when possible. Plus, the countless humans she's slain, she tends to be a little void of feeling about one more being added to the pile. Theres plenty of them, it's not something that bothers her. Plum however would give her a look, and you'd see her shoulders slump a little before she gets her weapons out and goes over to assist in some way. He would notice the hilt on her blade, or the tell tale battle tactics, but mostly, her disappearing and reappearing in flashes of smoke and dust around the battle field.

When the clatter of swords stops and the bodies hit the floor, Plum is the one to rush to the young boys side, offering a hand, making sure they're ok. She is sweet and gives them a chance to rest by a fire, suggesting they all stick together for the night and go their separate ways at dawn.

It is possibly one of the most awkward camps they've ever had, Plum unable to find common ground for her companion and this young boy, they sit in the silence, fire crackling, Links on edge because 'that is a huge woman and she's not put her sword down once.' and Peach is very cautious, because this newcomer has an unusual air about him, something makes her really jittery about him and she can't place why.

Theres a moment in the night where Grey could easily sneak up and cause trouble, start a fight. Link will see nothing but a Yiga blademaster approaching, perhaps Link even gets a solid hit on him. Peach would step in and protect Grey without question, even though he's trying to hunt her down still, causing more tension between the group and Link. She tells both boys to leave, and tries to end this calmly for once. Getting stuck between Grey and his brutal fighting style, and this agile little human boys blade feels dangerous, she can't fight them both at the same time, plus Plum could still be targeted. She can only do so much.

A very confusing battle will ensue. Her gut was to protect Grey from this human, but every so often both the boys take swings at her too. She sustains plenty of damage. Her desperate attempts to stop the fight is lost, every block she makes to protect one of them, the other gets a hit in. It's total stale mate, neither of them are backing down. She's forced to whistle for her horse who comes thundering by at break neck speed, able to flip up onto its back and bolt off with her life. She watches the pair still fighting in the dark, too preoccupied with each other to give chase, getting further away. Plum leads the way and the pair escape. Peach is certain one of the boys will die there and then, and hopes its not Grey.

neither die, but she does not know this for a while, until Grey causes some more trouble, and she assumes the young boy died instead.

Once the duo becomes a trio, and Grey joins them, they most certainly would notice the pull of Ganon's power. Less informed yiga clan members may be fooled into believing Grey is still part of their ranks, at least for a short while after he defects, and he could gain information about the hero, leading the group to the castle. I think based on the pairs wants, they'd try to stay out of it as much as possible, but who wouldn't be curious right? They'd been told to aid the restoration and expansion of this powerful being across the lands, trying to stop anyone getting in its way, especially the hero of old. Perhaps, if they wanted to live a free life, this all had to end, something Plum would say for sure, that helping end it could let them live a happy life one day. Maybe helping the hero is a better bet for freedom. And it hits them all, when they see a familiar face in the distance enter that castle, the boy from the camp striding into the heart of it all.

What a whiplash of feelings that must be, they heard the stories, they were told the rules and all the jobs needed to make sure this thing, this nightmare was freed to do its worst on the lands. But to actually lay your own eyes on it? All three of them would feel their blood run cold, a sweat break, a weakness in their hands that grip weapons and a shake in the legs that want to run so far in the other direction.

The chaos occurs, they see the whole thing go down and it is beyond anything they expected. A number of times they nearly get struck by rogue bits of rock blasted so far from the battle field, nearly crushing them. Thank god two of them can teleport. It kept them alive. On a few occasions an active Guardian spots them, swiftly being flipped by pillars of rock that jut from the earth, Peach and Grey keeping them at bay while the battle rages on, plum pinging arrows into them to stop their powerful lasers.

And then, finally the fighting stops. they look around and things seem to be calm, theres no menacing energy, no great form of their former master, the calamity...subsides? The guardians who spot them are free of their malice, they no longer attack on sight, simply roam around, you can walk right up to them and they don't retaliate, simply look at you.

They see the boy exit the castle, battered, but alive.

It feels like its over. For a few weeks they travel around, waiting for more trouble, but Hyrule is healing, people are no longer afraid. It takes three weeks of shifting around before they realise none of their yiga clan members are chasing them, usually they'd have had several attempts at their life by now, but after the great fight, none have occurred. They spend time in a sleepy village and realise theres no threat anymore, at least not immediate.

The trio find a place out in the woods, not far from Plum's home town, but distant enough to have some peace, and begin to build a home. With the fighting gone, they're finally free to just live. Theres space for joy and learning. They get the occasional call to help train some adept Sheikah guards in Kakariko village. On rare occasion they'll be given tasks and travel away from home, usually to deliver something precious or fight someone who's threatening the calm, but always return to their cabin in the woods, back to their peaceful lives.

Perhaps one day the Yiga clan will enact some form of revenge, but until that day, their numbers seem scattered and they lack a clear goal or leader.

Though I do wonder if they may blame Grey for his inability to kill the hero that one night, in their eyes he could very well be the reason their plan failed. Peach actively didn't kill Link, in fact she tried to stop the fight all together, and then ran from it. Theres no way there wasn't another member watching that whole thing go down.

Theres room for revenge there, should anyone discover where they all settled out in their woodland home.