#I have some new stuff coming soon but its been delayed i will get it up soon though. thumbs up

[cryptidclub]

Etsy is having another site wide sale with the code "YES10" ending OCT 11 so it's a good time to get stuff :P

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[azriels-human]

In Your Dreams: II ☁️🌙☁️

Azriel x Reader

A/n: Heyy😖 sorry for the long delay. Lowkey, I don’t like using Y/n but since it’s more Azriel’s POV we just have to put up with it. God gives his strongest battles to his strongest warriors😔✊🏽

Summary: Az isn’t very fond of the newest member of the Night Court so much so that you even plague his dreams.

Warnings: Smut. MDNI.

Part I

Azriel could help but let his mind wander to that dream. To the way you looked at his mercy and how his name sounded coming from your lips. Those lush rosy lips.

THUMP

Azriel hits the ground forcefully, his sword flying out of sight.

Cassian rolls his eyes and extends a hand to his brother. “What the hells is it? You’re distracted this morning.”

Azriel takes his hand, standing to his feet. “Nothing.”

Cassian tugs Azriel’s hand and gives him a knowing look. “Is it the stuff with Elain?”

Azriel’s brow pinches in confusion for just a second before he answers. “No. There is no ‘stuff’ with Elain.”

As Rhysand had made it very clear to him.

For a moment he’d forgotten of the incident he shared with the Archeron sister. Of course, he has thought of her many times since but she is not what plagued his thoughts this morning.

It was you, quite the opposite, in fact.

While Elain is the picture of innocent loveliness and blooming roses, you are the essence of grim allure. The thorns of those roses.

Shit, he even forgot that he promised to take Elain to her favorite bakery as soon as he returned from his mission. He’d been so focused on not focusing on you that he hadn’t even tried to find her at all yesterday.

Another thing he adds to the mental list of reasons not to like you.

“Then what is it?” Cassian asks, readying his blade for more action while Azriel picks up his own.

Though his distaste for you is apparent, he hasn’t spoken of you to anyone but Rhysand. The only reason he ever does is to get him to do something about you. What that something is, he’s not too sure but anything works at this point.

“I have to take…Y/N with me on a mission tomorrow.” Your name feels so foreign on his tongue, chilling, as if speaking it would summon you.

Cassian shrugs, gesturing for Azriel to strike him first in their new round of training and he does. The two begin to spar once more.

“What of it?” Cassian asks dodging Azriel’s attacks.

“Only that I cannot stand the sight or smell or idea of her.” Az grunts.

“Yeah, I kind of got that.” Cass chuckles between blows. “Remind me why? is it because she out sneaked you?”

“She did not out sneak me!” Azriel growls. “Something is just off about her.”

“Like?”

“Like how bleak and foreboding she is.”

Cassian laughs, “I can’t argue with that. She’s definitely intimidating at first.”

“At first?”

“Well once I got to know her, I discovered that’s she’s actually pretty interesting.” Cassian swings his sword.

“Got to know her?” Cassians attack misses.

“Yeah. Shes kind of like you in that sense.”

Az staggers back, not from Cassian’s attacks but from utter shock. The accusation of being anything like you. “What do you mean by that? I’m not like her at all.”

“Just that some people aren’t as scary as they look.” Cassian doesn’t bother to strike Azriel in his baffled state.

Azriel really didn’t know what to make of it all, couldn’t picture you smiling and chatting away with Cassian. You’re all but a stonewall whenever he’s seen you. But Cassian wouldn’t just lie for the fun of it. Unless…

“Did Rhysand tell you to say that?” Azriel runs his hands through his hair, wiping the sweat that drips from his curled tips.

He doesn’t wait for an answer before returning his training sword to its proper area, Cassian in suit.

“Why would he?”

“Well he seems quite adamant on me getting along with her.”

“Maybe you should. She’s-”

“I get it Cass. Shes your new best friend but that certainly does not mean she has to be mine.” Azriel rolls his eyes. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a promise to keep.”

.☁️🌙☁️.

Thankfully, Elain wasn’t upset with Azriel’s forgetfulness, allowing him to escort her to her favorite bakery and even stopping by a jewelry shop for some new earrings.

“What do you think of these?” Elain asks pointing to a pair of small pearls.

Azriel leans forward, inspecting the timeless jewelry. “They’re very nice.”

Elain nods at the shop owner who adds them to the small pile of jewels she’s picked. “Maybe one more pair?” Elain sheepishly smiles.

Azriel nods. “Take your time.”

“How about you pick them?” Elain suggests. “They’re all so beautiful, I can’t choose.”

The idea makes Azriel smile at the middle Archeron sister. That she might like to wear something he chose for her.

Azriel scratched his chin examining the rows of elegant and extravagant jewelry. Gold, silver, diamonds, all kinds of jewelry that he knows she would appreciate but there is one piece that calls to him.

A unique piece for sure, nothing like he’d ever seen before. A silver pair of earrings with a stone so black it’s like looking into a void and the tiniest diamonds scattered across it like stars.

However, Elain is not who came to mind upon seeing them. It’s you.

The earrings would go flawlessly with your usual pure black attire but it’s the way they make him feel like he’s looking right at you.

His chest tightens. Daunting yet fascinating.

He hates himself for letting you distract him from Elain again. You, who could not be anymore different, should be far from his thoughts right now.

You steal his siphon, his thoughts, his dreams and he detests it. He just wants to return to the life he had before he knew of your existence.

“You seem to like those.” Elain’s tranquil voice brings Azriel out of his thoughts. “I’ll take them.”

The shop owner reaches for the unnerving jewels but Azriel stops him. “No, not those. The ones next to it.”

Azriel hadn’t even taken notice in the plain, diamond studs beside them and mentally cursed you for keeping him from finding a beautiful pair for Elain.

Elain nods and the owner rings her up.

The walk back to the house is silent. Azriel’s thoughts consisting of half trying not to replay his dream of you grinding on his cock and half wondering where the tension between he and Elain is coming from.

Did she know he was thinking of you when he saw the earrings? Was she upset that he’d chosen something so boring for her?

Whatever the reason, it’s your fault for being a parasite in his brain.

“You seem distracted lately.” Elain breaks the silence between them.

Distracted. The same thing Cassian had said this morning and what he is trying so hard not to let you do to him.

“It’s nothing. Just thinking about my assignment tomorrow.” It wasn’t a lie. You are the most troubling part of his work now too.

“Right, you’re going to the Hewn City with Y/n.”

Azriel’s eyes almost leave his skull at Elain’s comment. You are not a topic he EVER needs to speak of with Elain.

Elain giggles, “She told me about it.”

“You…talk to her?” Azriel asks incredulously. It’s one thing to hear that Cassian has spoken to her but Elain? Sweet, sunshine Elain?

Elain nods, “Why wouldn’t I?”

Azriel shakes his head. It felt like worlds colliding. World’s he didn’t want to mix at all.

It was foolish of him to believe Elain wouldn’t talk to you though. Despite her months of casting everyone out, Elain is kind hearted.

Even before the cauldron, when she was afraid of him, she still did her best to be polite.

“I just assumed she didn’t speak to anyone.”

Again, Elain laughs. “She gets along quite well with everyone.”

Another piece of shocking information. “Everyone?”

Elain nods. “I won’t lie, she’s a bit scary when she’s quiet, but one day she asked to join me while baking and I got to know her a bit.”

You approached her? Azriel didn’t think he could be anymore shocked but there he was his jaw practically on the floor.

That isn’t at all like what he imagined you to be like. With your cold and strange disposition, he couldn’t even imagine you and Elain in the same room, let alone baking together.

Now, Azriel by no means believes Elain to be a liar but the thought of you actually getting along with his family is so…bizarre. He needs to know for himself to believe it. So he set forth on his own personal mission.

.☁️🌙☁️.

Upon his departure from Elain at the House, Azriel begins the search for his first witness, Mor.

He beelines for her room, knocking on her door a bit too urgently.

She’ll tell me him the truth.

Mor opens her door, brow pinched in slight annoyance. “Want to knock a bit louder?”

“Have you spoken to Y/n?” Azriel wastes no time on formalities or her mood.

“About?” Mor shrugs.

“Anything. Anything at all.” Azriel sighs, growing impatient. He needs answers now, before he’s stuck with you for Gods know how long tomorrow.

“Uh…yes?” Mor’s irritation turning into confusion.

“And?”

She shakes her head, her confusion only furthering. “And what? I don’t know what you’re asking me, Az.”

“What do you think of her? What did you talk about?” Azriel runs a hand through his hair trying to calm his edge as he realizes how frantic he is coming off.

Mor taps her finger against her chin. “She’s great! We talk about clothes, we talk about clubs, we talk about boys.” Mor wiggles her eyebrows.

Boys? He didn’t care about that. He wants to know what she knows about you.

Yet he couldn’t help himself.

“What ‘boys’?” Azriel glances down the hallway, as if you’d appear there, staring him down as you always do. “Anyone I should be concerned about?”

Mor chuckles and rolls her eyes. “None. Unless you’re concerned with who she may share a bed with.”

Something like nausea twist in his gut. He did not need to know that. He will absolutely never need to know that.

“I am most definitely not. I mean, is there anything suspicious about her? Anything I should know?” Azriel shakes the thought from his head.

“Nope. She seems alright to me. Anymore questions that you can find out for yourself?”

Azriel resists the urge to learn every detail she knows and shakes his head, bidding her a good evening and setting off to search for the next subject to his questions. If there’s anyone that will tell him what he wants to hear, it’s Nesta.

.☁️🌙☁️.

Azriel finds Nesta lounging in the den, a book (that she obviously is very concentrated on) in hand.

Nesta isn’t fond of being interrupted while reading but this is important and time sensitive. He needs to know who it is he’s going to be stuck with.

Azriel clears his throat, stepping into the den. Nesta continues to read.

He clears his throat again, a bit louder this time.

“I’m busy.” Her eyes remain in the book.

“What do you think of Y/n.” Azriel decides it’s might be worse to try and ease her into conversation.

To his surprise, she actually looks up. A smirk stretches across her lips as she puts her book down and crosses her arms. “Why the sudden interest? I didn’t think you liked the poor girl.”

Poor girl? Nesta thinks you’re the victim here? He’s the one you stole from.

“That doesn’t matter. Do you like her or do you not?” Azriel asks, doubt begins to fill the hope he held out for anyone else to feel what he feels.

Nesta waves him off. “If you’re not going to tell me, then I’m not going to have answers.”

Azriel’s patience is worn thin at this point. He has a feeling he knows her answer. He just wants to rip the band aid off.

“My only interest is making sure she isn’t going to stab me in my sleep when I take her with me on my assignment tomorrow.” His hands rest on his hips, awaiting Nesta’s response.

Nesta scoffs. “I doubt that. Though it seems you might be the one doing the stabbing. You look like you’re going insane.”

“I feel like I am.” Azriel slumps onto the sofa across from Nesta and burries his face into his palms.

He doesn’t know what to think and he has yet to see any of this ‘great’ personality as Mor had described you. Anytime he has been around you, you’ve always been tucked away in a corner, languishing in your own mysterious presence.

“Stop being so stubborn and talk to her. Maybe then you won’t run away like a scared child when you see her.” Nesta pokes fun at him but he couldn’t deny that he mostly feels the need to flee when you are around.

Speaking to you does not sound appealing, not only because you seem as interesting as watching paint dry, but mostly because of how you make him feel.

Being face to face with you always results in his every nerve being on fire and a gripping ache in his abdomen that won’t go away. He’s on high alert, anxious that you’ll break from your spine chilling stillness and put your cunning skills to use.

You are a source of stress that he does not know how to relieve. Even after learning that you’ve earned his family’s affection, he can’t settle the unease that you stir in him.

But he’s afraid everyone is right. Maybe it’s best for him to grow a pair and face the discomfort to try and alleviate some it at least.

.☁️🌙☁️.

Azriel hesitantly searches for you throughout the rest of the evening and night, occasionally gathering the courage to peak into a room to see if you are there.

He has faced beasts and armies and kings yet facing you is what terrifies him?

The walk to the library felt long in the dead silent house. Not even Cassian’s snores can be heard from here and it only makes Azriel more nervous.

Since he could not find you anywhere else, the library seems to be where you hide at night.

He silently creeps into the library. The illumination of moonlight from the back of the room proves him right as he slips past the row of bookcases until he reaches the now open balcony.

There you were lying on the bench, eyes closed, hands tucked tightly to your chest.

Now he’s sure you are insane. Sleeping on a hard bench in the cold night.

Azriel stalks towards you, unsure if he should wake you or let you freeze the death. Maybe that’ll solve this whole thing.

But once again he just can’t walk away.

Your skin seems to glow in the moonlight and each strand of your hair glitters in the gentle night breeze. Peace replaces your usual stone features.

Heat pulses through his veins and his every nerve begins to vibrate with alarm just as he knew they would. Except there was something more.

It’s not only that he can’t leave but its as if once he gets close enough to smell you, to notice the details of your being and to be able to reach out and touch you, he is lost to an unseen enchantment that only draws him closer.

Azriel looks down over your sleeping form. His eyes roam over your nightgown clad figure. The hem, riding dangerously up your thigh, would do absolutely nothing to cover your center if you move half an inch.

Visions of his degenerate dream flit through his mind, the lewd things he did to you. The sound of your breathless moans and the feeling of your tight pussy contracting around his fingers as you came.

Unwelcomed desire pinches deep in his stomach. Despite his best attempt to push down the carnal feeling, all is for not when his eyes lock onto your lips.

Pink and plump and parted in your slumber, he cannot look away, can’t stop the vulgar thoughts flooding his mind. Hypnotized, his fingers twitch with the need to touch, to feel, to know.

Cauldron, he needs to know.

“Do you enjoy watching people sleep?”

Azriel jumps back as his heartbeat sky rockets. What the hells is wrong with you!?

You look up at him through your lashes. “Well?”

What is he even supposed to say? There is no way to make staring at someone while they sleep sound normal.

Azriel swallows, “I was making sure you weren’t up to anything.” Turning the tables of accusations is one way.

Your brow quirks up. “Oh? And what exactly do you think I’d be up to?”

Azriel shakes his head as if it should be obvious. “Stealing.”

“Stealing? With my eyes closed?” You scratch your chin. “Though I probably could from you.”

Lightning strikes his pride. “You could not. Even the worst of the worst get lucky from time to time.”

The corner of your tempting lips curl into a smirk and a chuckle escapes them. You laughed. He made you laugh. Not at all intentional but still the sound weaves its way into the deepest corner of his mind, engraving its melody for what he knows will be eternity.

He wants to hear it again.

“Okay. So what would I be stealing?” You sit up. Azriel doesn’t miss the way your soft thighs glide against each other as you cross your legs.

“Whatever you can get your little hands on.” Azriel sneers, already regretting letting everyone influence him to speak with you.

“Hm. Well, I can get these ‘little hands’ wrapped around just about anything. Sounds like you’ve got trouble then.” The smirk on your lips turns devious, like a cat toying with a mouse.

Your choice of words incite that thrill in him again. The same one when he retrieved his siphon. The same one he felt fucking you with his fingers in his dream.

“Say I was stealing, what would you do to me?” You blink once, twice.

Azriel couldn’t ignore the thrum of his heart. Just as you had in his dream, you feign innocence. Chin tilted down as you watch him behind long fluttering lashes. “I’d…”

You did not want to know what he’d do to you. What he had done to you.

For stealing he’d send you somewhere as dark and cold as you. For your arrogant attitude, it would involve three fingers in your soaking cunt and your ass grinding on his throbbing cock.

“Rhysand would lock you away.” Azriel keeps himself out of the scenario completely. He’ll be damned if he shows you just how much your provocative choice of words affect him.

“He already didn’t do that.” You pout. His frown must be more apparent than he thought it to be because your vacant eyes fill with a devilish amusement.

It’s blow after blow at his dignity as a spy master. Azriel’s ego was never high to begin with but your words get under his skin. “Yeah, instead he decided to give a very important job to a less than impressive thief.”

You chuckle again.

Azriel scoffs. Why are you laughing at his jabs at you? Why aren’t you as annoyed and desperate to end this conversation as he is?

“I beg to differ. I did impress the High Lord.” You lean forward just an inch. An inch that seems like a mile to Azriel. “And I think I impressed you too.”

“Impressed by a common thief from the slums of the Hewn City?” Azriel wanted to hit where it hurt, to knock you off your high horse.

“Where I’m from you’re either a thief or a whore.” You shrug, brushing your hair over your shoulder. “I chose thief.”

The persistent ache deepens within him as he recalls the noises you made in his dream. The way you begged to feel his fingers and make a mess of you. The way he had made you his whore.

“Maybe you would have been better at the latter.” Azriel steadies his breaths, unsure if he truly meant offense. He wanted to mean it that way but his crude memories begin to blur that line between hate and desire.

You stand from the bench, eyes never leaving his with their crushing weight. “You think I’d make a good whore?”

You take a step towards him only this time he did not step back. You tilt your chin up, a knowing look dances across your expression.

“More than a thief.”

“Why?” You ask.

Why not? Is what he wanted to say. How could you not when you made such tempting noises and felt so fucking good against him.

Upon his lack of response, your sultry smirk returns. “Is it my body? My face?”

Both. Your figure is one thing but your face is a whole other. Your darkened eyes stare into his soul, cheeks tinted pink from the pinch of the cold air and your pretty lips just waiting to be kissed.

Gods, you’re incredibly beautiful. Every time he sees you, he notices something new. More and more beautiful each time.

Azriel can’t help but stare, unable to say the words he wished to say. All he could focus on is how badly he wants your hand on his chest. For it to travel lower and lower until he stops you. For his all consuming dream to become a reality.

“Tell me what would make me a good whore.” You challenge.

He couldn’t think. With you standing so close he can feel the warmth of your skin through his leathers. He could touch you, the real you, only inches apart.

He could know how soft your kiss is in a split second.

His eyes flit to your lips then back to your magnetic eyes.

Suddenly you burst into laughter. Full blown laughter as you clutch your chest from the hysterics.

Azriel steps back in surprise.

“Don’t tell me you want a kiss, spy master?” Your lips curled back in a full grin, perfect teeth gleaming back at him.

A mix of humiliation and awe swirl through his every sense. Cruel splendor you are.

You chuckle once more and wink at him as you make your way out. “In your dreams.”

If only you knew. He doesn’t know if he’s furious or turned on but either way, he’ll make sure you pay for it tomorrow.

.☁️🌙☁️.

Azriel plops down onto his bed, running his hands over his face, a deep sigh following.

What was he to do about you? That conversation went far worse than he anticipated. Instead of finding some kind of relief to his assumptions, he found that he wants to fuck you senseless. The attitude mixed with that silver tongue of yours is a lethal combination, cracking down on his hard exterior.

He only hopes you’ll stay silent so he can focus on the assignment instead of your lips.

His pants tighten at the thought of them. How your lips would look so good around him.

Azriel couldn’t help but squirm, the friction of his pants against his cock making him even harder inside them.

His hands don’t leave his face, embarrassment and desire flood his senses.

His hips move in slow, deep circles. The soft fabric of his briefs caressing him.

“Having fun by yourself, Shadowsinger?” Azriel silently gasps, sitting up to see you stood in the center of his bedroom. Nightgown clinging to your body, loose hair swaying at you tilt your head to the side.

“Get out.” Azriel growls. As much as he tries to avoid you, one conversation has you following him around like a lost puppy?

“That’s no way to talk to a lady.” You pout.

“Leave.” Azriel points to his door. Heart racing, from surprise or lust he doesn’t know.

You shake your head, silky thighs brushing against each other as you move towards him. “You don’t want me to leave.”

“Leave.” Azriel repeats hardly over a whisper, chest visibly rising and falling with each heavy breath.

“You don’t want me to leave.” You match his volume. Your condescending tone mocking his decaying self control as you come to a halt right between his thighs.

You look down at him with those dark eyes. Words, thoughts, air all elude him as you lower yourself.

Azriel’s eyes never leave yours, his lips part slightly in fascination at the sight you kneeled before him.

“Do you?” You ask virtuously.

Azriel subtly shakes his head

Your pouted lips morph into a wicked smirk. “Then tell me I’m better.”

Azriel blinks. Confusion trickling into his intoxicating lust. “What?”

“Tell me that I’m better.”

“A better what? Whore?”

You scoff a laugh. “Spy. Everyone thinks it already, just admit I’m better.”

The haze of infatuation decomposes into disdain. For only a second he forgot about that arrogance, that you aren’t this innocent, amazing person everyone thinks you to be. You’re rotten and he’ll make sure you know it. Tonight he’ll teach you.

Azriel roughly grips your jaw in his hand, jerking you closer to him. An inaudible squeak leaving your puckered lips as your eyes widen at the unexpected movement.

“You will never be a better spy than me. You’re hardly a good thief.” Azriel’s grip tightens, pushing your lips even more together. His index finger brushes over them before he presses it down hard to keep you silent. “I still think you’d make a better whore.”

Your muffled response is lost on him as he squeezes even harder. You flinch at the ache forming in your cheeks.

“You’re going to show me just how good of a whore you can be.” Azriel’s thumb caresses your jaw. You glare at him but it only earns you a wry smile. Seeing you start to become irate just as you make him every second of the day is so satisfying.

“Show me.” Azriel releases you with a shove of your face. He leans back slightly on his palm, it’s his turn to wear the arrogant smirk.

And it’s your turn to be speechless. You only sit there, jaw clenched and red with his finger prints, debating your next move. “Not until you give me what I want.”

Azriel’s smirk widens. “I don’t think you understand. You are going to give me everything that I want and you are going to take everything I give you. Every last inch.”

You sneer up at him, eye glaring with animosity. Yet you stay there on your knees for him.

“Come here.” He coos, gesturing you to lean closer. Hesitantly, you come closer. His eyes fixate on your mouth again as he brings his index and pointer finger to rest on your bottom lip. “Open.”

You don’t open. You only glare at him as his fingers play with your lips. Moving them side to side trying to find an entrance into your mouth.

“I said open.” Azriel growls growing impatient with your attitude.

You take a second, another before parting your lips slightly. Letting him slide his long jagged fingers into your mouth. They slide across your tongue, reaching even further until they touch the back of your throat. Knuckles pressed to your lips.

Your eyes squeeze shut holding back a gag, his fingers curling deep in your throat. “This is where I want my cock. All the way back here, baby.”

He pulls his drenched fingers from your throat, sending you into a coughing fit as you try catching your breath.

Azriel chuckles, completely taking pleasure in assaulting your pride. “Good whore. Now show me where it goes.”

Your chest rises and falls with heavy breaths as you glare up at him. “Fuck you.”

Azriel frees himself from the confinement of his pants. His throbbing member eaking with need. You bite the inside of your cheek, contemplation in your stare.

You roll your eyes with a grimace before sticking out your tongue and dragging in from his base to his cum beaded tip.

Azriel takes in a sharp breath.

You roll your eyes again, taking his head into your mouth. Lazily and indifferent you bob your head around his tip.

Azriel scoffs, lacing his fingers through your hair and tugging you off of him. He leers down at you. “Don’t be a fucking brat. Suck my cock.”

He pulls you back down into him. Your soft whimper duly noted.

You wrap your mouth around his shaft, slowly sinking, throat stretching as he guides you further.

A strangled moan leaves Azriel when his head hits the back of your throat. You gag around him, clamping his stiffness.

His stomach tightens at the euphoric feeling. He can’t imagine you anywhere but here with his cock down your throat forever.

You go to pull away but his hand holds you down tightly.

“Not yet. Stay right there.” Azriel moans, grinding his hips into your face, wanting every inch of himself to be covered in your warm saliva. “Stay right fucking there.”

You gag again, reaching up and digging your nails into his thighs as his cock pulses in your throat. He groans pulling off of him again.

Your coughs are replaced by whines as you struggle to regain your breath. “Asshole.”

Azriel laughs at the image before him. Your cheeks pink from the pressure, drool dripping from your lips and eyes glossy. He reaches out, swiping his thumb over your tantalizing lips, spreading your spit across them.

You turn your head away, glaring daggers he knows you wish to impale him with at this very second. “Don’t fucking touch me.”

“Bullshit.” Azriel smirks. You raise a brow in question. “I think you’re bullshitting. You want my cock in your mouth. You want me to stretch that little throat of yours.”

Azriel gently caresses your jaw. Your eyes fluttering shut. “You want me to fuck your face until you’re covered in my cum.”

You open your half lidded eyes, chewing on your bottom lip. Unadulterated lust filling your gaze.

He could cum at this sight alone.

Azriel pushes your loose strands behind your ear and his hand slides to the back of your head, cradling you with affection. “Now suck it and make it yours, angel.”

You waste no time, taking him as far as you can, bobbing your head up and down, sucking and twisting and drooling all over him.

“Oh shit.” Azriel’s eyes roll to the back of his head. He grips your hair, not needing to guide you anymore. You devour him with an insatiable hunger, gagging and choking around him.

Azriel brings both hands to cup your face and hold it still. “F-fuck, look at me.”

You look up at him with wide eyes, tears streaking your cheeks. His hips thrust up into your tight throat, wanting to be impossibly deeper in your warmth. “You look so good choking on my cock.”

Your nose crinkles as you smile and what he assumes is your muffled attempt at giggling vibrates around him. “So fucking beautiful.”

Azriel continues to drive himself into your mouth. Tension begins to build inside him, hips bucking as he starts to lose his pace in the heightening feeling.

“I’m close. Fuck!” Azriel pulls your mouth off of him. You whine at the sudden loss but quickly open wide and stick your tongue out with excitement.

Azriel groans taking his cock in his hand and stroking desperately as he tilts your head back. His tip brushing your tongue earning even more moans from the Shadowsinger.

Azriel lets out a long, breathy moan, feeling himself start to come undone. Shockwaves grip his entire body as hot white ribbons shoot across your tongue and face. A smile graces your lips as you hum in content.

Azriel gawks at his masterpiece in admiration.

You swipe your fingers over your cheek, gathering his seed and toying with it. You chuckle and he can’t help but do the same.

“I do make a good whore.” You smirk before leaning forward. Your eyes closing gently as you slowly tilt your head and come closer.

You were going to kiss him. Azriel’s heart beats even more rapidly. You were going to kiss him and he would finally know.

Azriel closes his own eyes, awaiting your lips.

.☁️🌙☁️.

Azriel opens his eyes to see the ceiling. He sits up finding himself in the same position he had upon returning to his room last night.

Another dream? How? You were right there, making him cum.

Azriel sighs, making his way to the bathroom to clean up the mess he’d made of himself.

This is going to be the longest day ever.

Tag list:

@quinzzelx @mybestfriendmademe @quiettuba @kksbookstuff @bloodicka @lilah-asteria @honk4emoboyz

[batfambrainrotbeloved]

what do the rouges think of cardinal?

OHHHHH What a lovely question <33

Since i've yet to write in Cardinal in a scene beyond his desk work- these might change.

Cardinal acts well- like a cryptic?? It's a complete coin toss how he will behave, if he will turn the creepy to 100% and speak in tounge's (its a mix of latin and greek) But when he DOES respond its through a heavy voice modulater.

However if you want specifics?? (also some extra lore of some rouges no longer active- both due to. Cardinals interference and BECAUSE I SAID SO)

Joker- They are a menace, never once humors his schemes- he knows the moment Cardinal gets involved his fun is ruined. Therefore he hates their guts. (Cardinal is reported 10x more brutal when faced with the Joker)

Scarecrow- Self proclaimed "Arch enemy" of Cardinal since hes never once sucseeded in drugging them, and he longs to know what would make the little bird sing. (Cardinal is said to have an entire pocket dedicated to backup rebreathers, usually lets the bats take over)

Riddler- LOVES Cardinal so so much- they are like best friends (no no they are not) Cardinal seems to enjoy his puzzles and he's able to pull out ones even the Batman would struggle with. Sometimes an informant for a good game. (Cardinal will admit, out of all the rouges? He doesn't mind Riddler- just with less hostages)

Harley- Thinks they are strange, even more strange than the bats. But more than anything concerning- their behaviors raise a ton of red flags but she doubts she can convince them to therapy, though it is her goal. (Cardinal is... unsure about Harley, she's changed- but memories are hard)

Ivy- Theres a mutual respect- Though out of all the vigilantes Cardinal seems to fear her the most, the last time being hit by her pollen they freaked out enough Harley made her give over the antidote. They definently fight, but she does try and hold back some of her more underhanded stuff. (Cardinals suit got several more layers after that incident)

Mr.Freeze- Reformed villain now, as a result of Cardinal. Aka when he first did his villain monologue to them- they had spoke (for the first time to ANY rouge) and asked to see his blue prints. A few years later his suit was fortified to help him live a somewhat normal life, and his wife had been cured. They got their life back. Leaving Gotham soon after, but he still checks in on ocassion (Cardinal never responds though, but they're happy with the updates- that he was able to help)

Catwoman- Annoying, but interesting for sure. It seems no matter how elaborate her scheme they always seem to pop in and just stare or even wave. The most interesting thing though? They never stop her. Certian locations she robs they will return the item (usually museums) but have never once tried to actually take her in. If anything shes half convinced they throw the bats off her trail, its interesting. (She never steals from anyone who cant afford to replace it, and honestly her stuff goes to a good cause-)

Clayface- Never became a villain- After his accident, Dagget had been shut down long before so Matt Hageb he had no accsess to the cream. With the help of his coworker (and future husband) Teddy Lupus he got the help he needed. Drake Industries came out with an amazing prosthesis program that helped construct a whole new face. Now Mr & Mr Lupus live in upper west side of Gotham where they now raise two daughters going to Gotham Academy.

Blackmask- Hates their fucking guts. People think Cardinal comes down on the Joker hard? They're practically suffocating Black Mask movements- buisness is failing and at this rate he's trying to put out a hit on the fucker. (The hates their guts is mutual)

Two face- Instead of going to the Manori trial- Harvey had an emergency call from a very panicky Bruce who suddenly had CPS knocking at his door about Dick. The delay finding a new attorney meant Manori was found with the acid and held for attempted assault while Harvey was scot free. He owns his own law firm now and has continued to be a close confident to Bruce and "Uncle" to the kids. (Cardinal cried when he first found out about Harvey, that he was okay- he thought it had been too late.)

Penguin- Cardinal is a pain in their ass, not as much as Black mask but still just enough that he doesnt hold back when attacking. The ONLY saving grace from absolute hatred is Cardinal outright refuses to fight any of his birds, and will even go as far as to save some of them when the bats are too careless to notice a penguin slipping off a roof. (Cardinal wishes Penguin would stop dragging actual penguins into his shit- even with guns they're just too cute)

[vickyvicarious]

The death alarms must be blaring loud in Mina's ears by now. "God bless and keep him" is as if she wants to manifest him being alive. While getting radio silence from him, coupled with her new friend telling her that he'll soon die (which made her tear up), and then Indeed Dying, her reading about the ship of death, the funerals...

Absolutely, they're blaring nonstop.

She hasn't heard from Jonathan in a long time. Actually, let's take a look at this timeline of Jonathan's letters...

12 May - Sent two letters (one each to Mina and Mr. Hawkins) on Dracula's behest saying he's leaving in a month.

19 May - Made to write three dictated letters.

28 May - Real letters confiscated, shorthand one to Mina burned. One supposedly sent to Mr. Hawkins telling him to talk to Mina (may have just been a taunt from Dracula/may not have actually been sent).

12 June - Expected departure based on 12 May letter. Dictated letter that he'll be leaving in a few more days mailed.

19 June - Dictated letter that he's leaving the next day mailed.

29 June - Dictated letter that he is in Bistritz mailed.

1 July - Mina presumably receives letter from 12 May (see 1 August). Expects him home soon based on the contents.

25 July - Letter to Mr. Hawkins arrives (forwarded to Mina next day). Seems to be the one sent on 19 June based on the contents.

1 August - Mina says she hasn't heard from him in a whole month (probably referencing a letter to her specifically, must be the one from 12 May). "I hope there cannot be anything the matter with Jonathan."

3 August - "Oh, I do hope he is not ill."

8 August - "Somehow I felt glad that Jonathan was not on the sea last night, but on land. But, oh, is he on land or sea? Where is he, and how?"

10 August - "I should be quite happy if I only knew if Jonathan.... God bless and keep him."

So yeah, it seems like she hasn't gotten a letter directly from Jonathan in over a month - and I'm willing to bet that letter wasn't super effusive. It still was nowhere near as alarming as the one she was forwarded from Mr. Hawkins later, though. That one is even more directly dictated by Dracula and she's very clear that it doesn't seem like Jonathan's usual writing style. She even suspects a forgery, but his handwriting convinces her otherwise in the end.

If I'm reading this correctly, it took about 8 weeks for Mina to get the letter Jonathan wrote on 12 May, and about 5 weeks for Mr. Hawkins to get the one sent on 19 June. Assuming the latter timeline is more typical (since who knows how long Dracula took to get around to mailing that first letter; the later three are specifically dated), the letter saying he's in Bistritz is actually already running a week late. (If we split the difference, then it could be expected very soon, though.) Meanwhile, for all Mina knows Jonathan left the castle just about two months ago and hasn't communicated at all since. Setting aside that it should not take him that long to come home (I don't have the time right now to look up how long the journey is supposed to take, but definitely less than this), it's still wildly out of character for him not to let her know if he has been delayed further for some reason.

So yeah, that's all deeply alarming. And then we get on to her pleasantly distracting summer vacation, which so far is anything but. Lucy is sleepwalking, Mrs. Westenra is freaked about it, Mina has to watch over her and thus is getting little sleep herself. This doubtless increases her stress levels on its own, but I suspect also is what leads her to hint at him possibly being ill. She does the same thing later on; after there is a bad storm and a ship crashes ashore with no one alive aboard, she doubts whether he is on sea and wonders where he is. And then today, after attending the funeral/after her friend's death, she comes close to wondering if he is even alive, before trailing off and just praying for him instead.

All the bad stuff happening around her keeps making her think of what might be happening to Jonathan too, and the possibilities are just steadily getting worse... but all could end in death. Maybe he caught some illness and died with no one looking after him (Lucy). Maybe he was traveling on a ship and drowned in a storm (Demeter). Maybe he was attacked and murdered (Mr. Swales - though Mina doesn't say he has been, the nature of his death could easily remind her of such a possibility).

Maybe this all happened weeks ago.

She has no way of knowing, and thus nothing she can do about it. Last she heard he'd left the castle, so even if she wanted to go search for him (and somehow found the money for a sustained search), she wouldn't have any clear destination. It's just "somewhere between Transylvania and England" and that's a big space. So all she can do is worry over him. Try to deny the possibility.

Pray.

[hardcandycigarette]

Long Way Down Final-Part Five

Okay here it is. The Fifth and Final Part of a Long Way Down.

Warning- Language, discussions of suicide and depression.

Those triggers are not a major part of the story as far as the details but I do want you to know ahead of time if those subjects would cause you distress.

And you guys are getting all, the feels, the angst, and dad!rry as well as a few unexpected things

Aside from that I hope it meets your expectations.

Word Count 6.5K

While trying to process the words, Harry chokes back tears and feels his heart race. When the news finally registers that Y/N is safe and the search is over he leaps off the sofa and races down the hall. Relief pumps through every part of him as he runs toward the guest room. He's been so afraid of never seeing Y/N again. But now, she's coming home and his heart overflows with happiness. He knows that nothing could ever replace the love he feels for his Y/N - his prayers have been answered

Harry's shouts startle Liam as he crashes through the door. "They found her. They fuckin' found her." he yells as tears stream down his face.

Liam shakes his head and rubs his eyes as he sits on the edge of the bed. “Wha's that?” Liam asks in confusion, trying to make sense of the news. Suddenly, he realizes that they have found Y/N. He is both surprised and relieved. "They found her? Is she okay? Where is she?" He is happy to abandon his much needed nap when he hears the happy report.

“She’s in some small village in Scotland. They said she’s fine. I think she’s fine. I dunno, but we gotta go. Y/N's mum can stay here with the kids. We gotta go. Up. What ya’ just sitti’ there for? We need to hurry and get her."

"Let's go get out girl." Liam stands and slips on the jeans draped over the end of the bed. He walks over to the corner and picks up a sweatshirt from the floor and puts it on. “Well, what are you standing there for? Let's go. I'm ready."

Just as Harry steps into the hall, the door to the next room opens. "What's the matter, love? What's wrong?" Y/N's mother asks.

“They’ve found ‘er," he says.

“Oh please tell me she’s ok.”

He pauses, taking a deep breath before finally giving her the news. "She's alive," he says with relief. Harry nods and smiles. "She is. Well, that's what the detective told me."

“Thank God,” she says. She releases a long, deep sigh of relief, feeling the weight lifted off her shoulders.

“You’ll need to stay here with the kids. Liam and I are heading to get her.”

“Where is she?” she asks.

“Lil village in Scotland.”

“Scotland? What on earth for?” she asks.

Harry shrugs and dashes toward the stairs. "I've told ya all I know. We'll call you when we get there. Can you please talk to the kids when they get up from their naps? It'll just delay us if I wake them up now."

She nods, wiping away tears. "Yes, of course. Please hurry. Tell her I love her."

"'m callin' Jeff to get a plane ready," Harry calls out as he runs down the hall, and up the stairs. Once on the second floor he darts into the couple's bedroom. He grabs his phone and hits Jeff's contact. He demands they get a plane ready ASAP, so they can fly to Y/N.

As he speaks to Jeff he shoves on his sneakers, clips back his bangs, and brushes his teeth- all in a matter of a few minutes. As he scans the room, he wonders what Y/N might need. It appears from his discussion with the detective that she had all of her belongings with her. He says to himself, "You got me 100% from now on, baby." After emptying his Pleasing tote of its usual 40 tons of stuff he grabs some clothes, his keys, wallet and other essentials tossing it all in the bag as he heads down to the living room.

When he arrives downstairs, Liam is waiting for him. "I've called for a car. They should be here soon. Good thing everyone was on standby, otherwise this could've been a logistical nightmare," Liam says, emphasizing the urgency of the situation.

"No it wouldn't. Would've driven us m'self if I'd had to. Oh, Liam, man I've never felt better in m' life. Y/N's comin' home. 'm gonna love her like no man has ever loved a woman. She's gonna get sick of me I swear it." His anticipation causes him to jump up and down with excitement. His smile is wider than Liam has ever seen it.

###

Harry is so frantic to get to Y/N that he nearly shatters the glass of the sliding doors as he runs into the hospital. He is desperate to find his wife and unable to wait for the elevator to arrive he rushes up the stairs. As sweat dampens his forehead and an intense sense of urgency propels him forward.When he reaches the second floor he pulls the door open with force.

"I'm sorry sir this floor is closed. You'll have to take the elevator to the next floor," a police officer says to him.

"No, it's ok. She's m' wife the woman you all are protecting. Y/N Styles, she's m' wife." He repeats with growing resolution, "Y/N Styles is my wife and Detective Reeves knows I'm here."

Before Harry can proceed, Detective Reeves approaches him. "It's alright, he's the husband."

Harry stands tall and speaks firmly, "Yes, I've come to take her home."

The two officers nod. "Sorry, sir."

"It's alright, thanks for looking after her," Harry says.

"You can come this way, Mr. Styles." Reeves walks down a desolate hallway."Let's step into the waiting area," he says.

"Where is she? Wanna see Y/N. You said she's ok, right?" Harry adds with a hint of irritation in his voice.

In response, the detective motions towards a couch. "Please have a seat, Mr. Styles. I need to speak with you about your wife." Harry sits down, his patience wearing thin. He knows something is wrong and he needs answers.

"Where is she? Wanna see m' wife. What's happen'?" His voice quivers with worry. "Tell me, Detective. What's going on with my wife?" Is she okay?"

As he nods his head Reeves replies, "She is indeed, but I still need to speak with you before you see her."

Harry stands and paces the tiny room. "Tell me, ya worryin' me."

"I know you're anxious," Reeves continues, "but I need you to stay here for a few minutes so we can talk."

He throws his hands in the air and asks, "Why can't I see her?"

"I understand how you feel. I know you're eager," Reeves says calmly, "but I need you to trust me and stay here while we talk things through."

"Spit it out then."

"Sir, it appears your wife wasn't truly missing in the traditional sense. Do you remember when we first spoke, and I told you adults can leave without a trace, and it's perfectly acceptable?"

"Yeah. What do ya mean?" he asks. "What are ya sayin'?"

"I'm referring to a concept called voluntary disappearance. It's when an adult chooses to leave their current life behind and start a completely different one elsewhere. It's not a crime and it's not illegal. It's a personal decision to break ties and start anew."

'I don't understand what you are sayin' when you say start a new life. I am growing more and more impatient with you," Harry says.

"Once the doctors give you the okay, I'll let you talk to your wife about it in depth, but it seems that she really did leave you. It seems she wasn't happy and didn't want to be there anymore. It was determined after lengthy discussions with myself, my partner and the medical staff that she had personal reasons for leaving. As for the details, you'll need to speak with your wife."

 "Details? Details like what? You know what? Fuck you Reeves." He points his finger at the man, then places his hands in the pockets of his sweats as he clinches his jaw. "Lemme see m' wife. 'm not playin' this game with ya', dancin' round the subject, tryin' to be cryptic. Where is she?"

"I am simply trying to let you know what our investigation has uncovered. You are welcome to see your wife, but it might be beneficial for you to understand the full scope of the situation before you enter the room."

"Go on then, tell me how ya know m' wife so much better than me," Harry says.

"You see your wife seems to be very unhappy. She suffers quite a lot. The woman in that room is much different from the wife I suspect you've known all these years."

Harry steps toward the door. "Where are the doctors? You aren't telling me shit. And how did she even end up here?"

"Said she took a bus, then rideshare to the old lady's house." The detective shrugs. She can explain where she left the car and all that when you talk to her." Reeves walks to the door and opens it. "I'll get the doctor. Please just wait here."

"Sure, whatever." Harry waves his hand.

The detective steps out, but returns within a minute or two, followed by a small woman in a white jacket.

She enters the room and extends her hand and nods. "Thank you for speaking with me, sir." Harry shakes her hand. "I'm Dr. Thomas. I've been here with your wife since she came in last night. I think there are some things you need to know before you go in, but there are also things you need to hear directly from your wife." She wants to make sure Harry is prepared to support her.

"Are you gonna dance as well? Jesus need to take you two on tour with me for all the dancing around you do."

"Sir, let's have a seat." The doctor motions toward the same sofa.

"'m tired of bein' asked to have a seat." But Harry does as the doctor asks, and sits.

She sits next to him, straightening her coat. "Mr. Styles, your wife overdosed. She said that the depression and anguish, as she described it, had become too much for her to continue. I'm so sorry," the doctor said softly, "but now we must focus on helping her through this difficult time. These maladies affect everyone differently, so what depression might look like for you or for me, looks different for her. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah. Yeah, course I understand everyone's experience is different. But depression? Anguish? Where is all of this comin' from? She never let on. How could I have known she was sufferin'?" Harry stands.

"Your wife is suffering from a major depressive episode. It's not unusual for women in her situation to experience this."

"Her situation?"

"Yes, but that's something you'll need to discuss with your wife."

"This is ridiculous. Say what you've got to say or le' me to speak to 'er." Harry walks to the door and opens it.

The doctor follows him. "Mr. Styles, she's very fragile," the doctor says apologetically, "and I must stress that it is essential that you handle her with care."

"When can I take her home?" he asks.

"My advice would be to transfer her to a psychiatric hospital. I know that you have the choice of any facility you wish, so that should be left up to you. I think the transfer would be appropriate sometime tomorrow if she remains stable through tonight."

"Okay." He steps into the hall. "Thank you, doctor. I appreciate what you've done for my wife. I'll see to it we get her in the right place. I'll have her therapist and doctor coordinate with you once we determine where we are taking her. Can I see her now?"

"Yes." The doctor and detective step into the hall, and walk a few doors down, and Harry follows. "I'll be here the rest of the evening if you have any questions. Just have one of the nurses contact me." She and Harry shake hands before she walks away.

"Mr. Styles, our work here is complete, so we are going to make our way back to London. You know how to reach me. While the circumstances aren't ideal I'm happy we found her, and that she's safe. Don't be too harsh on yourself. These things happen."

Harry has the impulse to hug the man but stops and settles for a handshake. "Thank you. Thank you so very much for all you've done."

"Not at all sir. All in a day's work isn't it?"

"I suppose. Thank you." Harry nods.

"Good luck, Mr. Styles." He walks away.

"Harry, just call me Harry."

"Alright Harry. Goodnight."

Harry is excited, but apprehensive about seeing his wife. He looks down the hall and sees Liam talking with officers guarding the stairwell.

He taps on the door. There is no response, but he pushes the heavy door open.

Y/N lays in the bed staring out of the window.

"Hi, Angel. It's Harry, love." His voice is soft and steady as he slowly walks toward the bed.

As he sits in a chair next to her, he sees in her profile that she is awake. As he takes her hand, he whispers, "Love, it's me.". "Missed you. Had me going crazy wonderin' if I would ever see you again.". He brushes her hair away from her face. "I love you."

She remains silent, moves around, but still won't look at him.

"Y/N I don't know what's wrong baby. I know things are rough at home, but we'll fix them. No, I'll fix them. We don't want you to leave us ever again. I'll do anything you want." He starts to cry. "I'm here for you," he promises, his voice breaking. "We'll get through this together, whatever it takes."

Y/N doesn't respond.

"Tell me what you want, I'll do it. We've built so much together, a beautiful family. I thought we were happy, baby. I'm so sorry."

When she turns to him she avoids eye contact."I don't love you."

"How can you say that?" he asks, his voice trembling with emotion .

"You can go now. I told them not to call you." Her voice is cold and dry.

He stares in disbelief, his world crumbling around him. He shakes his head. She has just spoken words he would've never predicted. He can't believe that she is so callous and that she has given up on them without even trying to work things out. With his free hand he pours a cup of water from a small pink pitcher and offers it to her. "Here, have some water. Your throat is dry."

She doesn't accept the water. Even before he came home from his tour, she realized that the connection they once had was missing. She couldn't pinpoint when she fell out of love, but it had been a while. It was time for them to separate so that she could move on and find true happiness. He deserved happiness too, and she wanted him to find it. He was a very decent man, but he just wasn't the man for her. Not anymore."

He shakes his head. "No, baby, no, that's your depression talking. We're gonna get you some help,yeah?" He rubs her hair.

"Stop it." She swats his hand away.

He removes his hand from her. "Sorry, love. It might take you some time to feel better, but I'm home and I'll look after the kids. You can have all the time you need. We'll find the finest place in the world, anywhere, and you go and take care of yourself." He tries to hand her the cup of water again.

She shakes her head. "No, I'm not thirsty."

"Baby, your voice is dry. You need to drink something."

She pushes the water away. She tries to be polite as possible, and she removes her hand from his while saying, "Please Harry, please don't make me be rude. I'm trying to be decent here. Just leave."

He stands, placing the cup on the tray. "Decent? Is that what this is? Desert your babies? Disappear without a trace knowing we were lookin' for ya? I'm here Y/N. I'm waiting for you to let me help ya', but just like the day ya left I'm lost. I don't know what to do." He sniffles as he tries to stop crying , and focus on her, and what she is saying.

She returns her gaze to the window. "Leave. That's what you can do. I'll get the help I need, but I still don't want to be married to you. As for the kids we'll figure it out, but honestly I just need to be by myself. I don't want to wait for anyone to come home, or change a diaper. I can't take the pressure anymore."

"But ya don't have to baby. I'm home now, got all the help you could want."

"Is that what you've been doing since you've been home? Helping?"

"I know I haven't been perfect, but I swear I'll try. Please at least give me the chance."

"Leave, Harry."

"No."

"Harry there's someone else." She looks down at her lap. "Is that better? Someone who doesn't make me feel like a maid or just a fuck toy."

Harry punches the wall. "No!" He grabs his hand, shaking away the pain. "You brought another man into our home, our bed?"

"No. I didn't have sex with him. But Harry, he makes me feel heard and seen. That's something we haven't had for a long time. I want a divorce. Is he the man I'll be with?" She shrugs. "I don't know, but he made me realize there is someone out there who can appreciate me as a complete woman and not just the parts that serve him."

"No, Y/N. You're not getting off that easy. You don't get to just walk away from nearly a decade at the flick of a wrist. You don't just get to leave and not give it a chance, not talk to me about how you're feelin." He wipes his face, then rubs his hurt hand.

"I'm trapped then, aren't I? Have to just keep my mouth shut and act happy. I can't Harry. I've tried and I just can't do it anymore."

"What are you talking about Y/N?" Harry walks back over and tries to hold her hand again.

"I'm a mum and a wife, your wife of all people and I'm not happy." With a shake of her head, she frees her hand from him.

"We'll work on it. I promise." He looks into her eyes, his voice firm but compassionate as he adds, "I need you to believe that I'm worth the effort."

"No matter how much we work on it, I simply don't get to be me. I'm still only a wife, your wife no less and a mother. That's all I am. It's a bitter reminder that, while I'm capable of so much more, I'm still often defined by my roles within our relationship." She closes her eyes holding back tears as she bites her lip.

"No. No, love, you're everything, that's what you are. You are a beautiful and powerful force in this world. You bring light and hope wherever you go, and nothing can stop that."

She rolls her eyes and sighs, fidgeting in bed until she finally sits up. "Harry please leave. You know I'm fine now. I'll get some help finding a place to transfer to, but please let me be. It's okay to stop loving someone. You don't get to be mad at me because of the way I feel."

He shakes his head and walks back and forth. "You know Y/N you are really a piece of work. I felt sorry for ya when they told me 'bout the shape you were in. I really did, but I see now you're just selfish." He looks at the door to check that no one is coming in. "You're bein' a coward," gritting his teeth he points at her, "not taking responsibility for your actions. You're bein' selfish."

"Oh," she says in a voice louder than she intended. She lowers her volume. "You have to be kidding, Harry. That must be a joke. Me?" She presses her hands to her chest. "I'm selfish?"

"Yeah, Y/N tha's what I said. Selfish."

"That's not true!" she declares, her voice indignant. "I'm not selfish!"

"Then what is Y/N? What are you? Those kids need their mum!" Harry shouts this time.

Y/N drops her voice. "No more than they've needed a father."

A twisted expression appears on Harry's face. "Is that what this is about? Tryin' to teach me a lesson at the expense of the kids?"

"Quit being so fucking narcissistic Harry, everything in the world isn't about you! Don't you get enough attention already? This isn't about teaching you anything."

He steps toward the bed. "Oh really? Well, Lola, you remember her, the littlest one? Big beautiful eyes, chubby cheeks, you remember her don't ya? Been sick since you left. Archer, the oldest one, gorgeous boy, ya remember him? Well he busted his foot. No to mention ya leave the whole of the world lookin' for ya." Harry chuckles as he tugs at his lip. "You can't take it anymore. Bullshit. That's what it is. How about your mum and sisters? All of our friends? You've had lots of people outta their minds Y/N"

"You think I don't know the trouble I've caused?" She asks her voice rising with each word. "You think I don't care about the kids? Well, I do! That's why I left."

"Leavin' 'ems not helpin' 'em is it? Wonderin' where their mum has gone, leavin' me to make up lies, promisin' you'll be back." Harry kicks the bed.

The door opens, a young male nurse interrupts. "Alright in here?"

"Yes," Y/N replies.

"Are you sure?" the nurse asks.

"I'm sure." She nods.

"If your visitor is upsetting you I'm sure we can have the officers remove him." The nurse looks Harry up and down.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you," Y/N says.

"I'll be right outside if you need me." He closes the door.

"It's not about you or the kids, or anyone else. Don't you see that? It's about me. It's about what I want." She stands.

"Marriage doesn't work that way, and building a life together doesn't work that way." Harry reduces the space between them, stepping toward her.

She looks at the floor, then at Harry. "Marriage is about two people and if one person is only focused on themselves, then the marriage is not going to work. This marriage is about you, and I'm not angry anymore. You can't help who you are and I can't help how I feel."

Harry grips her shoulders, leaning down to look her in the eye. "I'm sorry," he whispers. "I don't know how to make it work, but I promise I'll try."

"Harry, you can't fix it. I've fallen out of love with you." Tears fill her eyes. "Do you think it makes me happy to make you upset? Of course not. I love you, but I'm not in love with you." She speaks the words that are the kiss of death to anyone on the receiving end. "That's why I took the pills."

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "What do you mean?"

"Death would be easier than leaving. I'd rather be dead than hurt you or the kids. I wish that old lady had let me be." She sighs heavily, looking away.

Harry kneels, grabs her legs and hides his face in her thighs as he pleads with her. "Don't say that. Never, ever, ever say that again." He sobs at the mere mention of her harming himself. "I know you're in pain," he whispers while rubbing the back of her legs. "But I need you to understand that no matter what, I'm here for you. We can get through this together."

She touches his shoulder. "Don't feel obligated to say what you think I want to hear."

"'m not, swear it love. I'd give up everything just to see you smile again. If that means splitting up, then I'll accept it. Walking away from my career, I'll do it. You hold all the cards love."

"Let's be serious Harry you're never leaving your career."

"But I'm willing to make this sacrifice for us," Harry said, determined to make his point clear. "I would. If that's what you want I won't fight you. I'll post on Instagram or Twitter or whatever, and announce m' retirement." He looks up at her. His eyes are full of dedication, sadness, and desperation.

She shakes her head and looks at the ceiling. "No. I don't know why I can't just let it all go," she whispers. "But it's like my heart won't let me. I don't even know how to love you anymore."

"Go, Harry."

"But would you at least discuss it with a therapist before we make a final decision? Please."

"Harry, please go home. Please tell the children I love them, and I will see them soon." Out of habit she rubs his thick, dark curls, holding him to her for just a moment. Tears roll down her face. "Please go."

He releases himself from her and stands. He takes her face in his hands, scanning her eyes for a glimpse of the old Y/N but she's not there. After placing a kiss on her forehead, he says in a soft, gentle voice. "I love you Y/N. I always will. Nothing you can do will change that. I will never give up on us, never." He's determined to be there for her.

With a trembling lip, she steps back and gives him a final nod of her head, her heart aching as she watches her husband walk away.

At the door he turns to her. "Meant what I said. Anything in the world to make ya stay, to work this out."

She nods. "Sure," she says.

"Speak with your doctors, and once you decide on a place I'll make sure it's paid for, but please let's at least talk about it again when you're feelin' better."

####

It's been two months since Harry rushed to Scotland to see his wife. It has been two months since she left, saying she no longer loved him. For the last month they have worked with their therapist to try and fix what's broken. Y/N lives in an apartment they own on the other side of the city. The kids remain with Harry. For the first few weeks Anne stayed with Harry to help, but since then he's been on his own with the children. They don't fully understand why their Mummy doesn't live with them. When she sees them it is difficult when Harry takes them back home for both Y/N and the children. There are always sobs in the car as Harry drives them home, buying their contentment with ice cream and toys and amusement parks. However, he know that isn't a sustainable way for them to cope.

With the help of a child psychologist they are adjusting a bit. But the transition is difficult for everyone and their wounds remain deep .Each day is a little bit easier. He works his schedule around theirs, and makes certain he is available to them at any time. He leaves Lola with a trusted friend or Gemma when he can't take her with him. That's usually only for therapy appointments with Y/N. During the day the two older children are in school so his only immediate concern is Lola. He has put all his plans on hold. He's even asked Jeff not to call for the time being. Jeff is one of his best friends, but Harry also knows it's all business in the end. He can't let anything distract him. The three shows in Manchester are around the corner. He's decided to stay with his mum so she can help with the kids while he rehearses and puts the final touches on the show.

####

Manchester Night Three

Harry is near the end of his final night in Manchester when he walks to the mic stand.

"Thank you everyone for welcoming me home. As most of you know I grew up not too far from here, and it's always a pleasure coming home. It's been an honor returning to Manchester and getting the chance to perform for all of you these three nights."

The crowd erupts into cheers and barking. Harry gives them a moment before he continues. In spite of the noise of the crowd, he speaks, "Thank you so much for everything, but the evening isn't quite over yet! I have something very special and unexpected for all of you."

Harry and the band have had a tremendous impact on people, as evidenced by the crowd's enthusiasm and appreciation. The cheering and applause are not only a sign of gratitude and admiration, but they also serve as a reminder of the show's success. A clear indication of the joy it has brought to countless people.

"Thank you." Harry chokes back tears, pausing for a moment as he looks at the ground. He clears his throat and continues. "Throughout our show's run, we have had the opportunity to share our message of joy and positivity with people from all walks of life. We are overwhelmed by the amount of support we have received and we are truly thankful for the encouragement and love we have been shown." He stops and looks around, taking it all in, the enormous stadium filled with people who love him, but there is one person missing, the only person that matters. "There should be glow stick necklaces in your seats. I see many of you have them already. Please make sure that you all wear them for the last few songs. Come on then, I want this room to look like a sea of stars. I usually end the show with Kiwi, but tonight we have changed up the setlist. I hope you'll like what I've got in store for you." A cheer breaks out. Harry walks to the other side of the stage.

"But before I do that, I want to share a few things with you." He looks back at the band, giving a half-smile. "I rarely talk about my personal life or business endeavors, but tonight I would like to share a bit of that with you. My contract will end after tonight's last song."

A few in the crowd murmur, mumble, cheer or shout, but most of the fans are quiet as they await his next words. Some are predicting a surprise release of his next album tonight.

"But this time I didn't renew that contract. No one, not even my wife knows that. Instead, I'm taking a break to spend some quality time with my family and reflect on the past as well as consider my next steps, whatever they may be." The stadium falls silent as he continues. However, some decide to boo Harry during such a vulnerable moment.

"I know, and believe me I'm sorry to say that, but it's important you hear it from me, and not the press or social media gossip. As most of you know I have a beautiful family, and I love them more than words, even mine can describe. They are true treasures. A pair of beautiful, sweet, and amazing daughters, as well as a handsome and gifted son. But there's one person who doesn't get the credit they deserve and that's my wife. She truly is a Sweet Creature. Everything that is good and happy in my life stems from that woman. She has been with me for almost 10 years, and that alone makes her a saint." Harry holds back tears as his voice cracks. "While I have been traveling the world doing what I love, she has been at home with our family. However, somewhere along the way I forgot how difficult it must be for her. She always shared me with you without reserve or hesitation. She inspired some of you favorite songs. I also realized just how much I'd missed with my kids. And for those reasons I am embarking on a long hiatus."

The jumbotron catches women and girls sobbing, some holding their hands to their hearts praising him for being such a wonderful husband. His gesture of love and dedication resonates with many, as evidenced by the reactions of the crowd.

"And I hope during that time you don't forget me, and that you love the music I come back with, but I want to take some time to be with my family and hopefully grow as a person as well as an artist. Now, my kids are backstage, and if you're good I might invite them out at the end of the show. " Everyone screams and yells.

"The songs I'm about to play have meant a lot to me recently. After looking through the catalogue of songs I've written or just sang over the years, some really stuck out as very significant right now. So, if you'll be patient for one more moment I'd like to ask some special people to join me on the stage."

As a customized riser comes from beneath the stage, four silhouettes can be seen. The roar and stomping that comes from the crowd can probably be heard in Liverpool.

"I think some of you might recognize these guys, but just in case I'll let them introduce themselves." The crowd begins to quiet down. The stage lights shine down on the four men as they turn toward the crowd.

"I'm Niall." The crowd cheers.

"I'm Zayn." The crowd only grows louder.

"Hey everyone, it's Liam" And the cheers continue to grow.

And finally. "I'm Louis."

The stadium is so loud that the guys can't talk to one another so they just smile and wave at the crowd. The atmosphere is electric, like a thunderstorm that has been brewing for days and is finally ready to unleash its power.

Harry laughs into the mic. "Weren't expecting that were you?" His quip elicits a roar of laughter from the audience, further encouraging their enthusiasm. Everyone seems on the verge of hysteria.

So I'd like to start off with a song that has really hit home for me lately. This one is called "Long Way Down."

Niall begins,

We made a fire Went down in the flames We sailed an ocean And drowned in a wave Built a cathedral But we never prayed We had it all, yeah And we walked away

Harry belts out his iconic, soulful lyrics

Point of no return And now it's just too late to turn around I try to forgive you, But I struggle 'cause I don't know how We built it up so high and now I'm fallin' It's a long way down It's a long way down from here

The voices of the stadium singing along all but drowned out the boys completely. The song continues with all of the boys singing their parts with absolute perfection.

"Now, this next one's even further back in the catalogue, and it's called Infinity," Louis says. Music emanating from the stage even further excites the fans, as the boys grin with joy at being together and sharing a stage with each other. Once again they are in complete harmony as though it had been days and not years since they sang together.

"And I think the fellas got one more left in 'em. Do ya guys?" Harry asks with his signature smile.

They agree.

"This one has been on my mind as I made these recent decisions about my career. Y/N I hope you're listening. "If I could fly". Harry begins.

If I could fly I'd be coming right back home to you I think I might Give up everything, just ask me to

The song is as beautiful as it was the first time the crowd heard it so many years ago. After the final note. Each of the boys nod, and say thank you. The five gather at the center of the stage and engage in a long, tearful embrace. The entire crowd is crying and cheering. Eventually the boys wave and say goodbye one last time before exiting.

"Thank you so much, guys, and to you our fans thank you for loving and supporting us as individual artists since we played as One Direction. I think I speak for all of us, when I say we are immensely grateful for each and everyone of you." The fans cheer and shout.

"Okay. So I promised if you were good I'd let you see my adorable bubs. I think my mum has them backstage. Sarah, would you mind going back and helping bring the babies in?"

Sarah nods, steps away from her drum kit and walks backstage. Harry entertains the crowd by reading signs. Soon everyone is indicating to Harry that there is activity behind him. When he turns around Sarah has Poppy by her hand, and Archer walks ahead of them. "Where's my Lola?" he asks Sarah.

"She's coming."

"What? She can't even walk without help." Harry laughs.

He turns back to the crowd, "Okay baby Styles is somewhere."

He leans down to Poppy. "Can you tell my friends your name?"

"Poppy." She grabs the hem of her lace dress and tucks her face into Harry's chest. The crowd ooh and awws.

Archer pats his dad's leg. "My turn."

"I think he's gonna be the performer in the bunch."

Harry squats as he asks, "And what's your name?"

"Archer, and I busted my foot, but it's better."

The audience laughs hysterically. Suddenly, they scream almost as loudly as they did for the One Direction guys. Harry turns around to see Y/N carrying Lola.

He mouths "What are you doing here?"

She smiles and shrugs. He extends his arms to take Lola. "And this little bit is Lola." He kisses the baby, then gives Y/N a peck on the cheek, not wanting to step across the boundaries they've set for the time being. He puts his arm around Y/N's waist. "And this is Y/N. She's everything I could ever ask for in a wife. She's the only reason I'm still doing this for you, but now it's her turn." He points to the kids. "And their turn. Like I said I hope you don't forget me and are still here when I come back. I don't know how long that will be, but no matter how long it is I'll never forget any of you, or any of this. I love you all. Thank you so much. And with that I'd like to ask the band to join me for a wave and bow."

The band walks forward and in a line they put their arms around one another, some smiling, some crying as they take the final bow.

###

Backstage.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asks Y/N.

"Your mum told me there was something I really needed to be here for."

"Does this mean?"

She shakes her head. "Not yet Harry, and I don't know if or when it will be, but tonight was a start."

She hugs him and kisses him on the cheek.

"That's all I need, some hope, at least a start."

"Okay." She nods and takes his hand. "A start."

[c0smiccom3t]

AND NOW.... FOR A SPECIAL 3RD ANNIVERSARY UPDATE. (6/1/2024)

Hello friends, hello mutuals, hello dimension dyfenders fans and hello people who like indie cartoon/comic stuff in general! Comet here. Once Again. and this time i've got something ig this year. This was supposed to release on May 29th, but due to Ren not coming back for a long time because they needed to prioritize irl stuff, of course, we had to delay it.

But, but, BUT! thankfully I had a few things ready after all, however as for some other things else, we'll get to it much later, when the moment calls. Now, let's get off with the first one.

(warning, in case this update gets too long, i'll make a part two where i'll be able to link it through here.)

You Kinda... Look Different.

You may have noticed that Dislexo looks a bit different than usual (darker skin, a bit of shorter hair, etc.), in case you're wondering why... Yeah, you're about to find out.

So, while I was thinking and drawing up some D.D related stuff, I was brainstorming a little by my lonesome. All of the sudden, as I was making a new render for a character, I was like... "Wait a minute... What if I give Dislexo a new look which is a mix between a secretary and a butler but keep it's elements from what made their design unique?" and So, the new and improved Dislexo was born!

Honestly i'm proud of what they look like now. I just hope i won't (or will) get to redesign ALL of the cast again so suddenly lol! Anyways, thats just a small change I made, nothing too big. Now, let's get on something else... which is...

Pocket Adventures' current status + how's minisode 1 coming along

You might be asking inside your minds, "i wonder when more of minisode 1 will drop", "where are the new parts?"- Well, i got the answer. It'll only come only when im completely finished. However i havent been working much on it aside from making a few pages a few months ago, but hopefully this summer i may get back to it and finish it all up if i can. The final script is 73% percent complete, as for the comic itself, let's just say its 58%. I promise you i'm taking my time with delivering everything i can for this minisode. However i might republish the minisode with the series' current artstyle if it ever comes out physically (or either when I'll have the time or energy to do it.) So, now, you may be wondering: "But Comet, what do we do while we wait." Well you're not gonna believe this.

No, it's not an extremely late april fools post! We got new stuff coming soon, recently i've been brainstorming some ideas for brand new content, and you know what? It came to me, HERE'S WHAT'S COMING!

MORE TOONIES COMING YOUR WAY!

THAT'S RIGHT, after months of hiatus, Toonies is coming back with more strips! This time, since summer's coming around, i'll try to post and make more of them and even schedule the finished ones! We got even more covers for it coming, but for now, here's one of them!

More comics are not only gonna explore more of the Dyfenders' and the Dajo Crew's everyday lives in-and-out of their superhero/Villain occupations, we are also going to focus on much more on other characters (at least some of them), and some will last for a few more pages longer! No arcs though, sorry. But hey, you're getting more wackiness as a treat! Now, i know i said this year is not gonna be big like the other two years we had, but...

NEW SPECIAL CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT!

THAT'S RIGHT! We're working on a new special to commemorate our three years! Thought it'd be a nice adiction to this year, we may not reveal the logo and it's title yet, but we can tell you what the sypnosis is about!

You're all invited to the biggest night in the Omniverse, right across it's stars, cosmos, galaxies and portals! Both the Dimension Dyfenders and the Dajo-Crew are crossing the red (or should we say, blue) carpet in this brand new 3-part special! Prince Dajo-Voo has a new plan on how to take over the gala, all while he tries to self-control himself from doing the same explosive incident he did back then. The Dyfenders may be having a great time at the gala, but rest assured, they'll be sure to keep a close eye on him. Here's to a Rift-errific and (hopefully) trouble-free gala!

As a bonus, when the production on all three parts are done, we'll be posting Toonies comics related to the special, which may feature a new character who will debut later on in Pocket Adventures! We don't know when it'll exactly be out, my guesses would be either summer, september or next May 2025. But rest assured, we'll be working on it, but we won't rush it out.

So... What's next?

Honestly, i can't really tell. But I can assure you i still have so may plans for this series, plans that will be put in action in the far-off future. What i really hope to do is to make animated shorts as well, not just Toonies strips, pocket adventures minisodes and comic dubs of it. Maybe if we'll ever make a backerkit or a kickstarter for it and get a budget, it might happen (along with more VAs joining in.) Speaking of VAs, in case you're a VA and you haven't auditioned yet, anytime is the right time! (this is still a test leap, but if it succeeds it may go further.)

but for now, we're sticking to comics, and then, if possible we'll get to comic dubs and so on.

That's all for now! I hope you're all looking forward to what's coming for this series. I'm sorry that it wasnt as big as the last years, but we promise that things will arrive when they can.

Happy (LATE) third anniversary, everybody!! Thanks for reading!

By the way, HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!!

[unwisemagi]

Parent Au: Introductions

im not done with this au yet! I have a ton of ideas and head canons... This one is a different format from the other stuff and maybe isn't the greatest? But I'm still proud of it so here you go lol

PO3

It was time. It couldn't delay this any further or risk problems in the future. It couldn't keep this hidden, even if the idea was tempting. It was finally time for the scrybe of technology to introduce you to its colleagues and dare it say friends. But first, it needed a plan. The scrybes were not all the same, they had varying ideals, thoughts, and personalities. It needed to do this right if it wanted to avoid any fights arguments or possibly something worse.

PO3 decided Grimora would be the first it told. Besides the fact she liked children, machine or not, she was very trustworthy. She could keep a secret if requested. It also got along the best with her, though the scrybe of the dead was able to get along with everyone. Funny how that ended up. Anyways, it knew Grimora would be very happy and supportive of it.

Magnificus would be the second one. The old coot wasn't very fond of children. It figured he would be indifferent to you at most. So long as you were not left in his lands (PO3 would never), he wouldn't care. So it would be fairly quick and easy to introduce you two.

As for Leshy, that was a bit more complicated. Everyone knew the beast scrybe adored children. PO3 had even caught him in town entertaining them a few times. The problem was that the two were rivals and got along the least of the scrybes. Not only that, but you were a machine. He didn't like machines and it didn't think it would change just because you happened to be a child. It would definitely talk to him last…

PO3'S careful planning was very quickly ruined.

When it had gone to Grimora (it had set a date before hand) it discovered that she was not alone. Sitting with her was Magnificus and Leshy, each with a cup of tea and serious looks. It felt itself start to heat up in panic. Those two were not supposed to be here. She had agreed to a private meeting. It had been staring for a bit too long, as Grimora noticed it and gave a soft smile.

“Welcome Dear. I apologize, something came up. I sent a letter but, I don't think you were in when it arrived.”

PO3 was able to calm itself down as she spoke. Of course she hadn't lied to it. Things come up and unfortunately, something had happened the day the two were to meet. It nodded to show it was not mad. “Hmph. I'll have to check when I get back. I suppose I can return later then”

Magnificus turned a weary eye to it. “Before you leave, you might want to check on your denizens bot.” He grumbled. He wouldn't question why the two had planned to meet. It wasn't his business and they all had private meetings with each other. It's how they bounced around ideas and improved their games. “Our own citizens got mixed up again.”

“Again? Didn't that happen last month?” 

“4 times.” Leshy responds.

It clicks in annoyance. Getting mixed up wasn't serious but it was irritating. It slowed down production. “Great. More interpretations.” PO3 mumbles under its breath.

The entire time, you were behind your parent, listening carefully as they talked about something you didn't understand. It was important, you could tell from the tone of your parent’s voice but at the end of the day you were a child. You couldn't stay in the same spot for hours on end (yet) and needed things to keep your servos active. This was not that. You whirl (an equivalent of a whine) and glance around the room. It was not very interesting, except for some of the symbols you spotted on the walls. Your screen lights up and soon displays question marks. Information was always wanted by you. You wanted to learn new things and advance. So you float away from PO3 and stare at the symbols, studying them. You just had to know what it was.

“Did you bring a scanner again Dear? You know you could just ask if you are so curious.” 

“What?” PO3 asks, confused. It definitely hadn't. The only other machine with it was . . . It's screen flashed multiple colors in alarm before it turned around. “Bitty bot!” He exclaimed, getting your attention. You beep and look back at it, before shrinking closer to the ground. You know that look and tone. It meant you did something you shouldn't have.

“Bitty Bot?” Leshy mumbles. That was a weird name, even for PO3.

Its screen starts to heat up and its fans whirl faster. It hadn't been planning to introduce you to them all like this. It hadn't wanted to introduce you to them all yet. But it had made the critical error of not leaving you something to engage with. It was panicking more, until Grimora gently tapped it's hand. It didn't like touch very much, but made an exception for Grimora.

“Calm yourself. Your screen is flickering.”

It made a distressed sound, but found itself starting to calm down. It helped that you returned to its side and grabbed its hand. You beeped and clicked at it, worried for your parent. It simply gave you a smile. “I'm fine bitty bot. But you can't wonder like that.” It scolded you. This made you sad of course. You didn't like being scolded or getting in trouble.

It eventually calmed down enough to face the other scrybes, including Leshy. This was not at all plan, but it knew it couldn't just write this off and pretend nothing had happened. “Thank you Grimora. I wasn't expecting that to happen. I suppose I should explain.” It cleared its throat and squeezed your smaller hand. “This, is not a scanner. This is my bitty bot, Y/N. They are very new and can only speak to other machines. They can understand us though.”

It took a moment for the scrybes to understand what this meant. When they did, they each had different reactions. Grimora's eyes brightened and she covered her mouth to hid her smile. Magnificus stared at it in disbelief and confusion. Leshy. . . The damn beast was smirking. It felt a rush of dread seeing that look and the twinkle in his eye. . . Turns out, that chill was a warning. The sheer amount of teasing and dad jokes from Leshy  had to be some sort of retribution for past actions, it was sure. At least you were received well and had trustworthy babysitters now…

Well maybe not Magnificus. He really didn't know how to act around a child and was horribly awkward. He tried though and that's what mattered the most.

[sasukimimochi]

hey guys! had a nap so I'm back to update u guys properly. I'm going to try to summarize the post I made a bit better, as well as posting the picture I shared with the previews (as little as it is)

*TWPT extra image. Translation: ”Come back soon! - Lan Sizhui”

As always, check out my masterpost in order to get more content! ❤

So onto what I mentioned earlier today, I'm delaying Ch 27 of Ghost of Mine by at least one more week due to life continuing to throw shit my way. However I'm sharing some previews on ao3 (they will be removed when I upload 27, just like the aftercare ficlet). A longer explanation will be under the cut!

This is in addition to stuff that is still happening from my previous life update.

as you guys know the past tenants aren't really paying their dues, so I've been waiting on that & I got a large charge from an insurance company I wasn't expecting on top of that. Then I got a second charge from the same company, in the same month, for the usual amount. So we lost as much as 900+ dollars this month. As you can probably expect, that is a lot of money to lose at once unless you are reasonably wealthy and comfortable.

We only just today got our check for next month- early, which is great because we were worried that we would have to stretch things until the 3rd with no new groceries other than what my mom might be able to throw our way. Before we got the check as well my cats decided they absolutely did not like the food I got them- My cats aren't picky when they're hungry, so this was a bizarre and unexpected thing and I couldn't spare the money to buy a new bag of food (my mom helped us by buying a new bag of their previous food and essentially doing a trade with us, so she has the food they don't like) Just, in general a lot of stress is happening at the same time.

Onto GOM: I was writing recently (I can't remember the exact day, it was probably up to two weeks ago) as I did rewrite the entire beginning of Ch 27 and planned to cut out a lot more, which is why it's taking me much longer than expected to complete this chapter- it's my first show of proper investigation and intrigue that is a bit dangerous for the present time and not just, you know, only revealing information- I really want this chapter to be good and not rushed through like my initial first pass. It was a short-lived lapse in my stress when I wrote the first fourth of the rewrite, and I've hit a spot in the chapter that's difficult when my mind is so distracted by the stress.

SO, as to make up for this lack of update (again) I'm gonna give you guys three exclusive previews, one for the beginning of Ghost of Mine Ch 27 (just the first bit, not everything I've written so far bc its still prone to change and I want to give u guys the best version), the beginning of Rose Hips and Flushed Fingertips - The Story of Mo Xuanyu (GOM extra), and the beginning of The Wild Plum Tree (JC & LXC's story - GOM extra) so I hope you enjoy these exclusive previews, as they are all directly connected with the story and are canon to the GOM universe.

TLDR; struggling still, this is another delay. will check back in in about a week- I'm going to show you guys some exclusive previews for GOM related content that isn't yet released to make up for it right now! GOM CH 27, RH&FF (Ch.1/Part1), and TWPT (Ch.1).

PLEASE, KEEP IN MIND: the previews are still very prone to change. RH&FF/TWPT especially, since I am always struggling on how I write JC to make him feel canon to me (and he doesn't here, in my opinion, just bc I haven't described him well enough there) so just keep that in mind when you read!

So I hope you guys enjoy the previews and come back next Sunday!

[coraliix]

North Wind | Lloyd x OC

Chapter 6: Respite

9.64k words

Summary: Mari starts school and grows closer with her new friends. She later meets the green ninja.

A/N: Hey all, so sorry for the delay in posting this chapter — I couldn't get some parts of it right, and even now I still don't like how a few scenes turned out.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy!

(Side note: there is a bit of swearing in this chapter, more so than in the previous ones. It'll probably stay at this level the rest of the fic, with nothing too vulgar.)

——————————

The door bell chimed as someone came into the tea shop. “Welcome,” I greeted as they stepped further into the store. They gave me a polite smile and passed where I stood at the counter, striding over to look at the shelves displaying bags of tea.

Idly, I set about reorganizing the cash register, sorting through the bills and coins my last customer had given me.

It had been almost four weeks since I’d come to Ninjago City, and life was going well. I was settling in with Skylor nicely. I’d even gotten a job — with Skylor’s help.

Apparently, Skylor had an acquaintance that owned Steeper Wisdom, the tea shop I’d entered that first day I came to the city. (With my own bit of research, I learned that it belonged to Ronin — a “former” thief whose work I’d sort of admired, at least in my more naive beginnings of crime.) Somehow, she’d convinced him to offer me a job.

“Skylor, that’s incredible! I mean— how did you do this?” I asked. “I haven’t— I’m probably not the best choice for a new hire.” It was true. I’d never been hired anywhere else and didn’t have much of any work experience as a result.

She smiled at me, crossing her arms with a nonchalant shrug. She simply responded saying, “I have good connections.”

“Connections? You’re not involved with any gangs, are you?” I joked with a wry smile, nudging her with an elbow. When the words slipped out, I paused, unsure why I’d made a joke like that.

Skylor seemed to share the same surprise, red eyebrows raising slightly, but she smiled and laughed a bit. “No. My friends just have trust in me, and by extension, you,” she replied, giving me a warm smile.

I smiled a little at the recent memory, gratitude for my friend rushing through me like warmth emanating from a fireplace.

Once the customer had finished perusing the aisles and paid, I went back to sorting the money. Idly, I wondered if I’d ever meet Ronin. Despite owning this business, I hadn't ever seen the man around the shop. Since Skylor had pulled strings to get me hired, I hadn't seen him for any kind of interview before working, though I doubted he did that kind of stuff anyway.

Then again, people said not to meet your heroes (though I hardly considered him a “hero.”)

The shop didn't have much activity, but I surmised that it usually didn't. Its traditional look left it looking slightly out of place in the growing modern city that surrounded it, even with its bright neon lights.

It didn't seem like the type of place a thief would own. Another hour passed with little to do, but I wasn’t complaining. Soon after I closed the shop, I made my way to Skylor’s apartment.

She wasn’t there when I unlocked the door and slipped inside, but a text she’d sent me a few minutes ago explained that she’d get home a bit later than usual. My reply had been a simple text acknowledging hers.

Skylor had also told me she was bringing back some food from the restaurant for our dinner, so I set out to look over my things for school one last time, taking advantage of the time to change into comfortable loungewear as well.

Anxiety and apprehension pooled in my stomach at the thought of my first day tomorrow, but I comforted myself with the fact that no one here would know who I was. Over a few weeks of chatting with him, I’d learned Lloyd also went to Ninjago High School, along with his friend Nya. His other friends had graduated either last year or the year before, he’d told me.

A small smile rose on my face at the thought of having at least one friend at school. Not that I would’ve minded being on my own again, but it would be nice to know at least one person — someone who didn't know who my uncle was.

The soft patter of rain against the windows brought my attention to the sky, which had darkened slightly. This day was cooler than it’d been this past week, and the rain would no doubt stave off the evening’s lingering heat.

Unbidden and unwanted, the sound of Skylor’s footsteps down the hall drifted into my ears, carried along by the whispers that trailed after me more often as of late. I wasn’t sure why.

It was similar to when the whispers had first awakened all those years ago. When I hadn't been able to control them.

Choosing to ignore what that could mean, I stepped out of my room and grabbed a few blankets from a closet, setting them on the couch and turning the TV on with a flick of the remote. Me and Skylor decided to have one last relaxed evening together before I’d start school — and in her words, “Start getting stressed and burnt out.”

I flopped onto the couch, looking behind me at the click of the door unlocking and meeting Skylor’s slightly surprised face with a smile. “Good timing,” I remarked.

She huffed in amusement, kicking off her shoes and striding over to lay the boxes on the coffee table. “You have a knack for that,” she said, walking away to quickly slip into more comfortable clothes. She didn’t know the half of it.

Once she joined me on the couch, we settled on a comedy and started digging into our food. The movie was good enough, earning a few chuckles from us and coaxing out a laugh here and there.

An hour into the second movie we put on, I felt my eyelids droop. The soft patter of rain hitting the windows and the quiet scene currently playing wasn’t helping me stay awake, but I wasn’t falling asleep just yet. A glance over at Skylor revealed that she was half-asleep, draped over the couch arm and snoring lightly. I nudged her with my foot. “Wanna turn in?”

Skylor rubbed at her eyes, squinting at the screen. “Sure.” She yawned, sitting up and grasping around for the remote. Once she found it, she flicked off the TV, reclining with an exhale as her eyes drifted shut.

I flung the blanket off of my legs before I could be lured into sleep and sat up, joints popping in my spine and neck when I stretched my arms out. I looked back at Skylor, who was starting to doze off again. With a small chuckle, I gently shook her arm.

“Your back will regret sleeping on the couch in the morning,” I warned her, voice groggy with fatigue. “Especially in that position.”

A low grumble was all I got in response. But after a moment, Skylor sat up with a groan, rubbing at her eyes again. “Yeah, yeah,” she muttered to me, wrapping the blanket around herself burrito-style even as she got up. “Night, Mar,” she called over her shoulder, stalking to her room.

The nickname jolted me awake, its familiarity sending a shock to my core.

Hideo had called me that. The abbreviation of an already short name had made me laugh to myself whenever he’d said it.

Pathetic, that small, hateful voice inside my head said. You’re still shaken up by him?

“Night,” I heard myself say in a small voice, though it was too late for Skylor to hear, judging by her closed door. I stood in the living room for a while, jaw clenched and eyes burning. Eventually, I trudged into my room, pulled back the sheets and got into bed. My limbs were stiff as I did so.

Why can’t you just forget it happened? Are you so weak that it still affects you, weeks later?

I forced those thoughts out of my head, along with the ones about him. It wasn’t worth dwelling on. Nothing could change what he did or the fact that I was alone now. The sooner I accepted it and moved on, the better off I’d be.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and forced my tense muscles to relax. Seconds passed, then minutes, then what felt like hours. I blinked, eyes open and sleepless.

Sleep evaded me. I chased it to no avail; the luring lull of rest escaped my grasp.

Resigning myself to not getting any sleep tonight, I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling. I didn’t know how long I spent like that, eyes blank while I fought to keep my mind from drifting to earlier thoughts.

In the end, I did fall asleep, but I wished I hadn’t.

Waves lapped gently at our ankles, feet wading back and forth in the water and sending ripples through the lake. We sat on the edge of a small dock, pants rolled up to our shins so we wouldn’t get wet. It was a silly precaution, seeing as our hair and shirts were already soaked from splashing each other a few minutes ago.

The moment was quiet. Silent, but comfortable. We didn’t say anything. We didn’t have to.

This day had been a quiet excursion on our own, away from our uncle’s watchful eye. He’d been busy finalizing some sort of deal in Ignacia — it didn’t matter to us. Whatever time we could get away from him, we took.

The small lake near our house had been our favorite spot to go together when me and Hideo wanted to escape reality in the three years after our parents’ deaths. We hadn’t been back here for months.

I could feel that Hideo wanted to say something. Although comfortable, the air was thick with apprehension and unspoken understanding.

By this point, it’d been a month since my uncle started my training. I turned fourteen a few months ago, but my young age didn’t matter to him — I would still be subjected to following his orders and enduring his harsh preparation.

Hideo knew this, of course, but the specific details were kept from him.

I didn’t mind that aspect of this ordeal. I’d rather my brother didn’t know about what I’d have to do under our uncle’s tutelage.

“Mar,” Hideo started saying. “I don’t want to go back.”

I knew what where he meant. Back to the house in the city. Back to our uncle. I felt the same, but I knew we didn’t have much choice. That didn’t stop me from feeling bitter about it, though.

“I know, Deo,” I said. There wasn’t much else I could say.

“Can’t we do something?” His voice was small and quiet.

I turned to look at him, noting the worried crease in his brow. A frown settled on my face at the sight. My brother didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve to feel scared, or guilty about what our uncle was doing or the plans he had for me.

Not for the first time, I cursed the universe for taking our parents from us, for condemning us to a life controlled by a man who wanted nothing more than power.

In that moment, I made a promise — not just to myself, but to my brother, too. “Hideo, look at me,” I said, turning my body to face him fully. Once he lifted his head to meet my eyes, I continued. “He can force me to train and work for him, but I’ll never let him hurt you. I’ll take care of us.”

My tone was firm and unwavering as I made the vow. Hideo’s eyes shined with dampness, a singular tear sliding down his cheek. Silently, I reached out to wrap him in an embrace. He sunk into my arms, pressing his face into the crook of my neck.

A fierce sense of protectiveness came over me then, and I resolved that I’d do anything — everything — to get us out of my uncle’s grasp.

With a gasp, I jolted awake. My muscles were tense, breaths coming in hard and body damp with sweat. It felt like I’d just finished running a marathon with the way my heart raced.

It was silent in the room; the only sound filling the space was my labored breathing and a muffled noise through the wall that told me Skylor was waking too. I bit back the choked gasps that made their way through my throat, forcing deep breaths through my nose.

Distantly, I noticed the stiffness of my cheeks and the bit of water that leaked from the corners of my eyes.

Getting up was difficult, to say the least. I concentrated on getting my breaths back to normal and trying to keep my thoughts from going back and dwelling on the memory I dreamt. Burying the dream away into the back of my mind seemed a good solution. After a few minutes, I slowly rose out of bed. Checking the time on my phone revealed it was 7:23 a.m.

Any bit of exhaustion evaporated — at least for now — as I bolted into movement. Great. First day and I’m already running late.

Even with all my preparation from the past few days, I rushed to get dressed, brush my teeth, and eat. Skylor was already eating in the kitchen when I came barrelling in, her pace considerably calmer than mine.

“Wake up late?” She raised a quizzical brow, taking another sip of her coffee.

A grunt was all I said in response, too busy stuffing food into my mouth to answer her properly. “Can’t believe it,” I huffed through mouthfuls.

Skylor chuckled, no doubt amused by the sight of me rushing around like a maniac. She glanced out the window, looking down with raised eyebrows. “Bus is coming.”

I cursed under my breath, downing the rest of the coffee I’d poured myself. Striding over to where Skylor sat at the small table, I gave her a quick side-hug and slung my bag over my shoulder. “See you later,” I said over a shoulder.

“Have a good first day!” she called out to me. I sent her a quick wave in thanks and I closed the door.

Hearing the screech of tires pull to a stop, I had to rush down the steps to get to the bus, which was already starting to pull away from the apartment entrance. An apologetic glance to the driver and I hastily slid into an empty seat.

My cheeks burned at the exertion and the slight embarrassment, and I sank further into the seat, turning to look out the window as we pulled away from the apartment.

——————————

The ride to school was short — around 10 minutes. It didn’t take long to get there, and once we did, students poured out of the bus. I hesitated near the steps to go inside.

A while ago, I met with the principal to get myself scheduled in time before classes began. He’d told me a student would show me around on the first day a few minutes before classes started, but what if I was too late? How long was “a few minutes”? What if they weren't here —

“Hey, you’re Mari, right?” A voice pulled me out of my brief panic, and I turned around to see a girl with short black hair pulled up into a ponytail.

I took a calming breath before I spoke, offering a polite smile. “Yeah, I am. Are you the guide?”

She nodded. “That’s me. I’m Nya,” she introduced herself, extending her hand with a friendly grin.

The name stuck out to me for a reason I couldn’t understand before I remembered that she must’ve been Lloyd’s friend, the Nya he’d mentioned. I took her hand and shook it. “Nya Smith?” I asked in clarification.

She raised an eyebrow at my question, but nodded. Glancing over at the entrance before looking back at me, Nya angled her head and scanned my face with scrutinizing eyes. I felt like an ant under her stare. It was strange.

“Do you know Lloyd Garmadon?” Her question was bluntly asked, the suddenness of it catching me off guard.

“Uh, yeah,” I said. “We’re friends. You’re friends with him too, right? He mentioned you,” I explained at her bemused stare.

Her eyes seemed to light up with realization at my words. “You met him in Jamanakai, didn't you? You’re that Mari?” she asked again, a devious grin creeping up on her face — though I suspected it was aimed at a certain blonde boy rather than me.

Nevertheless, my smile shifted into a slightly bewildered expression. “Yeah, I did. Does he talk about me a lot?” I joked. A small laugh left me at the thought.

Nya returned my laugh, though hers was notably more hearty, clearly knowing the extent of which her friend discussed me. (I wasn't sure how to feel about that, but I decided it was nice to know a friend liked me.)

“He sure does,” Nya replied with a chuckle, wiping a stray tear from the corner of her eye. “It’s nice that he made another friend.” She sobered at that, a sudden sadness and frustration mixing bitterly in her dark eyes.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she turned back to me, stormy eyes settling back to normal. She cleared her throat. “I guess we should probably start the tour,” Nya stated, motioning me to follow her into the school. I trailed after her, not wanting to lose my way.

The school wasn't as large as I thought it had been, and with Nya’s assistance, it wasn't very difficult to get a general grasp on the building's layout. She led me down the halls to my first hour, which had started a few minutes ago.

Before I went in, she grabbed a pencil and circled the physics class on my schedule. “We have it at the same time,” she explained with a smile. “Sit by me if you want.”

A grateful smile adorned my face at the offer. “Thanks, Nya. I’ll see you then.” She nodded, tossing me a wave before making her way to her own class. With a breath, I entered the classroom, my stomach doing flips as I stepped further inside.

Thankfully, the class passed without any issues. I relished in the anonymity I had now, aside from students’ mild interest in me at being new to the school. My next two classes went by smoothly as well.

Now at my fourth hour, I entered the physics classroom, seeing Nya sitting at a desk near the door. The seat next to her was empty. I glanced around the rest of the room, taking note of the way the other students had subtly spread themselves away from her — not enough to be glaringly obvious, but I still noticed.

A frown settled on my face, but I walked over to sit down next to her.

Nya looked up from her phone, a smile lighting up her features when she greeted me saying, “Hey Mari! How’ve your classes gone so far?”

I returned her smile and gave her a small shrug. “End of the world hasn't happened yet,” I told her, earning an amused smile. Class began shortly and ended as quickly as it started. (At least, it felt that way.) Now it was time for lunch, and I found myself hesitating to leave the room, unsure of where I should go, where I should sit.

Nya saved me from my brief moment of anguish by inviting me to eat with her and Lloyd. Another grateful smile passed over my face and I accepted, starting to follow her out the door.

“You get food from outside?” I asked her curiously. She turned to look at me, her steps unfaltering as she brought us over to the student parking lot.

“Usually,” she answered. “The food here isn't bad, but we prefer to just eat what we want.” She paused suddenly, her foot resting atop the curb when we reached the edge of the parking. “Have you ever ridden a motorcycle?” Her voice was a little hesitant.

I blinked. What was it with everyone and their mother having motorcycles lately? A snort huffed out of me at the thought. She seemed confused by my reaction, and I hurried to say, “Yeah, I have.”

“Oh,” she said. Then her face cracked into a grin. “Great! Let's go. We’ll meet Lloyd there.” She hooked her arm through my elbow and steered me toward her motorcycle — another beautiful vehicle, with its white exterior and elegant print.

The print stood out to me. It depicted Lady Iron Dragon, a woman of legend whose book I’d read countless times. “You’re a fan of Lady Iron Dragon?” I asked, taking the helmet she passed me.

Once again, her eyes lit up. “You know her?”

I smiled at her display of childlike excitement. “I’ve only poured over her book a hundred times,” I joked. “She’s really cool. I’ve loved reading her legend since I was little.”

Nya’s laughter rang out like a bell, her gleeful grin growing. “I’m liking you more by the second, Mari,” she teased, mounting the bike.

After I got on behind her, we headed down the city streets to stop at a small restaurant which was simultaneously connected to a dojo. A green motorcycle was propped up against a sign near the entrance. It instantly caught my attention.

Damn, it really does feel like everyone has motorcycles these days, I thought to myself. “Don’t tell me that’s Lloyd’s,” I scoffed playfully as we passed by it to enter the small store.

Nya snickered. “We all have bikes.” She paused before asking, “Wait, who have you met so far? Out of our circle?”

The question had me thinking a little, trying to remember each of Lloyd’s friends and matching names to faces. I let Nya guide me to a table, noting that she’d spotted someone and beelined a specific way. “I’ve met Lloyd, Zane, Cole, you,” I counted on my fingers, saying that last word pointedly, “And Jay and Kai.”

She nodded, setting her bag down on a chair. “Then you’ve met everyone. Well, almost everyone,” Nya corrected. “Come on, let’s order some food.”

I quirked a brow. There were more people in (what I thought was) their group of six? Following her, I spotted a certain blonde boy standing in line. We walked over to him. Nya tapped his shoulder, and he turned around.

“Nya, good timing. Do you usually get—” he started to say, but cut off when he saw me standing next to her.

“Oh yeah, I forgot to mention,” Nya said, a sly smile on her face. “I invited Mari to join us. That’s cool, right?” Her last words were a question, but she said them like she was daring him to challenge her — or like she knew something he didn't. I didn’t question it.

Instead, I waved — a little awkwardly, I admitted — at Lloyd, offering him a smile. “Hi, Lloyd. Nice to see you again,” I said.

He coughed a bit, an endearing pink dusting his cheeks as he returned my smile. “Yeah, same here,” he agreed, rubbing the back of his neck. “So, uh, are you guys going to order? I just put mine in,” he explained, gesturing to the waiting cashier.

“Yep,” Nya said. She strode up to the counter and told the cashier her order.

I held back, eyes scanning the menu hesitantly. “I’m not sure what to get,” I admitted with a slight frown.

Lloyd gave me a small smile. “Well, do you like sushi? Or maybe soup? The dumplings here are pretty good, too,” he suggested, listing off recommendations. “Not as good as Skylor’s, though,” he added, sending me a wink.

His casual kindness — and that little wink — caught me off guard, but it was far from unwelcome. An appreciative smile crossed my face, and I nodded. “Dumplings sound good. Let’s just hope Skylor doesn’t find out about our betrayal,” I joked back.

He chuckled a little, the pleasing sound making me smile.

After I stepped up to the counter and ordered, we got our food, quickly sitting back down at our table and starting to eat. Lunch period wasn’t long enough that we could be outside for long.

“So, Mari,” Nya started to say. “What’s your next class?”

I swallowed and wiped my mouth with a napkin. “History.”

Lloyd sat up straighter at that. “Who’s your teacher?” he asked. I tilted my head in curious confusion, but answered him anyway. “Mr. Ek.” His eyebrows rose. He glanced at Nya, who was carefully hiding a smile behind her drink.

“I have that class too,” he explained, pulling at the sleeve of his green hoodie.

“Oh, that's cool!” I said, smiling at his nervous mannerisms. “You better hope you’re not sat next to me,” I told him with a chuckle. “I can go overboard with history sometimes.”

He scoffed skeptically. “I know lots of history nerds. You can't be that bad.”

“I prefer the term 'history buff’.”

He snorted at my quip, watching me with an amused smile and relaxed expression. My smile matched his, lips around my straw as I idly sipped from my drink.

Nya clapped her hands together. “Alright lovebirds, we should get going. Lunch is almost over.” Suddenly, our laid back demeanors shifted into something not quite as relaxed. I felt my face heat up at her words, embarrassment — and something else I was not going to acknowledge — staining my face red. A glance at Lloyd revealed he was having the same reaction.

“Nya.” Lloyd muttered under his breath, an exasperated (or flustered?) tone to his voice.

Nya pretended not to hear him. “Ready to head back?” she asked me, rising from her seat.

My mouth flapped open for a few seconds before I cleared my throat. “Uh yeah, yep. Let’s go,” I told her, standing up and gathering my dishes together on the table. I looked back to Lloyd, offering him an awkward smile. “See you later, Lloyd.”

He nodded, pulling at the front of his hood. “Yeah, I’ll see you later, Mari,” he responded, waving goodbye as I followed Nya out the door.

Once we were out of earshot, I caught up to Nya. “What was that about?” I asked her, brows furrowing in bewilderment.

Her lips were curved in an amused smile, but when she glanced at me, she winced apologetically. “Sorry. I just like to tease him sometimes. I didn’t mean anything by it,” she said. She hooked a leg over the bike, handing me a helmet. “Though, it was cute seeing how you two talked with each other.” Mirth filled her eyes as they slid back to me.

I understood Lloyd’s exasperated tone from just now. “Nya, we only met a few weeks ago,” I pointed out. She shrugged, making a promise to drop it. Letting out a little snort, I hopped on behind her. Soon enough, we made our way back to the school and headed inside.

“Do you remember where your next class is?” Nya asked.

Quickly pulling out my schedule, I checked the room number, recalling where it had been. “I think so,” I said.

She squinted in doubt. “I can take you there, if you want,” Nya offered.

But I shook my head. “No, I think I can get there. Besides, you need to get to class on time, you delinquent,” I teased, nudging her with an elbow.

Her brow rose in mild amusement. “Ha-ha. They don’t even count tardies on the first day,” she said, waving at me as she turned to go to her class. I waved back, a small smile on my face. This day had been going well, so far. I hoped it’d stay that way.

Finding my next class wasn’t hard; soon enough I found it and walked inside. Desks were in neat rows, and students were looking at the board to see where their assigned seats were.

Mine was far from Lloyd’s, all the way on the other side of the room. In fact, I noticed that his desk was all the way in the back corner. Only one desk near him had someone assigned to it. A frown dotted my face.

I guess I wouldn’t be able to sit by him, after all. Nevertheless, I walked to my own spot, finding Lloyd’s gaze on me. When our eyes met, I sent him a sad smile. He gave a resigned shrug in return.

However, when the girl who was assigned next to him came into the room and saw where she was seated, there were immediate complaints. “I can’t sit next to him,” she pouted. “This is endangerment. He’ll feed me to his dad’s shark army!”

The teacher didn’t look too pleased with her complaining, but he nodded with a sigh. “I still need someone to sit over there,” he said. “Will someone switch?” His hand hovered over the clipboard, ready to make changes — but his face told me he was skeptical someone would volunteer.

Glancing around, I noticed everyone’s faces were wrinkled in distaste as they stared at Lloyd. It grated on my nerves a bit, reminding me of school back in Jamanakai.

“I will,” I said, grabbing my bag and standing up.

A confused look from the teacher told me he didn’t know who I was. He glanced at my name on the sheet, looking back up with a frown. “You’re the new student?” he asked. I nodded yes. His frown twisted in disbelief, but he nodded and scribbled something down. “Okay then.”

I slung my bag over my shoulder, walking over to where Lloyd sat. I could feel the pairs of eyes watching me as I did so, but I paid no attention to them.

“Hey, Lloyd,” I said to the boy when I set my things down.

His expression was one of surprise. Clearly, he hadn’t expected anyone to sit next to him. “Hi,” he said in reply.

I was consciously aware that people were still watching us with bated breath. An annoyed snort left me as I glanced back at the rest of the students. Turning back to Lloyd, I said, “Looks like now we both have easy choices for project partners.”

A small smile adorned his face, then. It made me smile, too. Once we started talking more, the silence hanging over the classroom dissipated, with people starting to chat with each other again. Distantly, I knew they were still watching us warily, but I never once turned my head back to spare them a glance.

The rest of the class period passed similarly, the two spheres of activity in the room holding their own conversations and atmosphere: me and Lloyd, and everyone else.

When the class was packing up, I quickly took a glance at Lloyd’s schedule, noting that we shared the same last hour, which was also our next class. “Hey, we have literature together,” I told him.

Lloyd glanced down at his piece of paper, eyes flitting over to mine as well. “Oh yeah, we do,” he replied, lips curving up into a smile. “That’ll be nice.”

I nodded in agreement. “We can walk there together,” I suggested, sling my bag over a shoulder.

“Are you sure?” Lloyd asked, hesitance seeping into his face. “I mean, you already— er, people will—” he stuttered. “People will start to think you’re… my friend,” he finished lamely.

A frown pulled my lips downward. “I am your friend,” I pointed out to him. “And I’m not bothered if people take offense to that. God knows I’ve already had to deal with my fair share of crap like this, but I don’t mind doing it again for a friend.”

Thankfully, he smiled at my words, though there was still a hint of something like guilt present in his expression. “Alright,” he yielded. “Let’s go.”

I smiled back at him. Before our first class together, I hadn’t really noticed how people seemed to part their way for him — and not in respect. Now, I was acutely aware that everyone was keeping their distance. Once again, a quiet, angry part of me began to simmer with ire. It was too familiar, the way people stared at Lloyd, with sneers and grimaces on their faces.

Lloyd, for his own part, acted like he didn’t even notice.

(Strangely enough, I thought I could tell that it did get to him. It was in the way he clipped forward, in his tense shoulders, in how he kept his eyes trained away from the crowd. I didn’t know how I knew — I just felt it, and could relate to it, on some level.)

An uncomfortable tension was brewing between us when we entered our last class together. But I didn’t want him to think my foul mood was because of him, so I quickly wiped my face free of any bitter expression. Instead, I flashed him a reassuring smile, and gestured to the array of tables open to sit at with an unspoken offer to sit together again.

Lloyd returned my smile, though his was a bit more reserved. Once he chose a table, I wrote our names down on the clipboard displaying the open seating chart.

It seemed gossip about a new student being friendly with the school’s outcast had spread quickly since our fifth period. People walked into the room and their eyes immediately darted to where me and Lloyd sat next to each other. Some whispered, while others didn’t bother hiding their glares.

I rolled my eyes. Would I have to deal with this everyday? “People are so judgmental,” I muttered under my breath, glaring right back at a particularly mean-looking guy who was sneering at Lloyd.

Next to me, Lloyd let out a sad chuckle. “I know, right?” he agreed, crossing his arms and looking forward.

“I mean, everyone knows your dad doesn’t terrorize Ninjago anymore,” I scoffed. “And it's ridiculous that people are shunning you specifically — as if his actions have any sort of bearing on your own.” My words finished with a bitter tinge to them. Taking a glance at Lloyd revealed he was sitting with tight shoulders and a clenched jaw. I frowned.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to bring the mood down,” I apologized quietly, eyes falling down to the desk. I silently traced the patterns in the wood, wishing I hadn’t said anything at all. Great going, Mari.

Lloyd peeked at me from the corner of his eye, shaking his head. “Don’t apologize. I can’t expect you to just ignore it. I just…” he trailed off, something unreadable seeping into his eyes. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, the golden locks falling back from his face as he leaned back. “I just wish things were different.”

Lips pressing in a thin line, I nodded in agreement. Honestly, it sucked. Seeing him so resigned and accepting of this, of being shunned and cast out purely because of who he was related to.

Not knowing what else to say, I sighed too, leaning backward until my back pressed into the chair.

The rest of the hour passed that way, with both of us silent and unease crawling under our skin. When the bell rang, Lloyd started packing his things, preparing to head out already. I gently reached out a hand to stop him.

I wanted to clarify that I wasn't second-guessing our friendship after today.

“I…” Suddenly, the words disappeared from my tongue. Instead, what spilled out was, “You don’t deserve it, you know.”

His eyes darted back to me, surprise filling them — most likely matching my own perplexed expression. “Thanks,” he replied softly. Lloyd stood there for another few seconds, my hand still on his elbow.

I retracted it after a second. “I mean it. And just to be clear, this doesn’t change anything. We’re still friends,” I told him assuredly.

A smile — true and bright and genuine — lit his features then. “I’m glad,” he said, eyes crinkling with a softness that (strangely) sent a jolt through my stomach. It was then I noticed how green Lloyd’s eyes were, a beautiful hue of rich emerald.

“I gotta go now. I’ll see you tomorrow, Mari, he said with a grin, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

A matching grin crept up my face, and I nodded with a wave. “See you tomorrow, Lloyd.”

Once he stepped through the door, I realized I should probably be going too. I didn’t want to miss the bus back home.

That thought made me pause, too. Home. When had I started referring to Skylor’s apartment as home? I thought about it while walking through the halls, sitting on the bus, and while climbing the steps up to the apartment.

Steam filled the air, floating from the kitchen all the way to the entrance. Skylor noticed me standing at the door, and started laughing, saying something about how she hadn’t expected her new recipe of soup to produce so much evaporation.

I just stood there, eyes round and glassy.

Home had been with Skylor ever since she got me settled into her own home, since she had brought that plate of potstickers for me when we’d reunited, since that first day we met, when she’d started a friendship with me free of expectations or suspicion.

Skylor’s laughs died down a bit when she realized I was still standing completely still. “You okay, Mar?” she asked, concern dotting her brow even with her lips curved in a smile that held back her laughter.

The sight made me smile, tears springing to my eyes. “Yeah, sorry, I just… Thank you, Sky. For everything,” I said, wiping my eye with a finger.

Her eyes softened, and though seeming a little confused, she smiled too. “You’re worth it, Mari. I’m glad we’re together now. No matter what happened to lead you here.” She stepped away from the kitchen, striding over to me and opening her arms.

I fell into them gladly, eyes squeezing shut as I buried my face into the crook of her neck. Skylor’s arms wrapped around me, hands rubbing gentle circles into my back, the soothing motion releasing that part of me that felt like a weight had been burdening me. Silent tears trailed down my face, but I let them.

For the first time in a while, I let myself relax from the crushing pressure of holding back my fears and emotions.

For the first time in a while, I let myself be free.

——————————

If Lloyd was going to be honest, he truly was thankful for his friendship with Mari. That first day of school, when she’d sat next to him and basically announced herself as his friend to their class — their whole school, honestly — had shocked him, to say the least.

And then she’d surprised him further with her kind words at the end of their last class. It had comforted a part of him he hadn’t realized still ached.

Lloyd smiled behind his mask as he thought back to that moment from a few days ago. It was different from how his friends reassured him — how he reassured himself. He always told himself that it was expected to receive that sort of treatment, but that he did enough as the green ninja that it made up for his father’s past actions.

But here was this girl, who didn’t know that Lloyd was one of the many saviors of Ninjago, and she told him that no matter what others said, it was unfair.

He and the ninja never assumed that everyone in Ninjago would thank (or even appreciate) them for their work in keeping the world safe — hell if Lloyd didn’t know how the government viewed them — but to know that someone ordinary didn’t fear or hate him was a breath of fresh air in a room full of poisonous gas.

Sounds of a conflict dragged his attention away from his previous thoughts to the streets below him. With his enhanced hearing and vision, he skimmed the streets for trouble. He could clearly hear three voices. Two of them belonged to men, while the other was female and —

“I said, leave me alone,” the lady said, and with a punch to his gut, Lloyd recognized the voice. It was Mari.

He flew over the rooftops as fast as he could, sprinting from one building to another. The voices sounded closer, and Lloyd scowled when he saw what the men were. A couple of muggers with pathetic morals and a sense of cocky arrogance.

Landing on the edge of a rooftop, Lloyd looked down, spotting the three of them. The two men were trying to corner Mari into an alley, but she faced them directly, holding her ground and taking a defensive stance. “Hang on, Mari,” Lloyd mumbled under his breath.

Leaping off the edge, he silently landed on the sidewalk across the street and started making his way over, keeping his sword sheathed. Even with his silent approach, one of the muggers spotted him. Not surprising, since Lloyd’s green gi didn't exactly blend in with the urban cityscape.

Regardless, he stalked closer, sizing up the two men. They didn't seem too dangerous — the only threats posed were the knives in their hands. Behind them stood Mari, whose hands were fisted defensively.

“You heard the lady. Leave her alone,” Lloyd warned the two thugs.

They snorted. “And go to jail now? No thanks,” one of them snarked, and then lunged at Lloyd with his knife.

Lloyd dodged it effortlessly, reaching out to pull the blade away and disarm him. A swift blow to his head and the guy was out cold. The other one scowled and glanced toward Mari. In a split second, Lloyd knew what was going to happen. “Get back,” he shouted at her, but it was too late by that point.

The mugger had grabbed her and was pressing his knife to her throat. Mari had tried to escape his grip but once she felt the cool metal on her skin, she stilled.

“Go away. And leave your sword here,” the thug demanded, “or I’ll kill her.”

A glare formed under Lloyd’s mask, and he didn't bother hiding the anger building in his eyes. Slowly, he reached back to pull his sword out of its scabbard, setting it on the ground and kicking it away. His eyes remained trained on the thug’s hand holding the knife, and on Mari as she took shallow breaths.

The man smiled smugly, glancing at Lloyd’s discarded weapon. “Now leave,” he repeated.

Lloyd huffed out a breath. Obviously, he wasn't going to leave. But he needed the mugger to think he was, so he could come back from behind and catch him off guard.

He tried to catch Mari’s eye, and once their eyes met, he sent her a look promising that he’d be back soon.

The criminal pressed the knife tighter to Mari’s neck, and she cried out as blood started to seep down the metal. “Stop,” Lloyd ordered, backing away with his hands up. “I’m going.” With a sigh, he reluctantly left the alley, crossing the street, though he kept his eye on the two of them.

Once he was out of sight — which also meant he was unable to see them, unfortunately — Lloyd hurried to the side of the street out of the man’s view and quickly scaled up the side of a building.

He cursed under his breath when he peeked over the edge and saw that the guy was still holding Mari with the knife to her throat.

“He’s gone, you can let go of me now,” he heard her say. He pleaded in his head for her to stop talking; Lloyd didn't want her to aggravate the man further.

“Shut up.” The man was apparently done scanning the surroundings and believed that the green ninja had left the area, so he released Mari. “Now give me everything you have, and quickly. I’m not stupid enough to believe that green freak won’t show up again,” the mugger barked out. He yelled at his accomplice to get up, but the guy was still out cold.

“Seriously, leave me alone,” Mari said again, looking far too calm for the situation she was in. She even went so far as to cross her arms and glare at the man in distaste. If Lloyd hadn't been so busy thinking of a new plan, he’d yell at her to stop escalating the situation.

“Just do what I say, bitch,” the man spat, his knife dangerously close to her.

Lloyd’s heart started racing, but he took a few, quick deep breaths to calm himself. Panicking would not help the situation.

“Do not call me that,” Mari snapped, growing visibly irritated, arms dropping to curl her fists at her sides. The action made the criminal sneer, stepping closer. For a brief second, Mari looked away from the man to look up at where Lloyd was perched up on the roof.

It was then he realized what she was doing: distracting him so Lloyd could ambush him. He stealthily slid down the wall and reached for his abandoned sword. Doing so let out a sound that announced his arrival as it scraped against the ground, but by that point, Lloyd had already pointed the tip of his sword in the criminal's back.

Mari quickly backed out of the thug’s range and stepped back to let Lloyd do his thing. (His thing being smacking the thug with the flat of his sword.)

It wasn't hard to disarm and restrain the assailant now that a civilian wasn't actively in harm’s way, and Lloyd soon had him kneeling on the ground next to his buddy, who was still lying unconscious on the floor.

Turning away from the two apprehended criminals, Lloyd looked back at Mari. Blood dotted the shallow cut on her throat. Lloyd grimaced. “Are you alright?” he asked her, taking a slight step closer.

She gingerly touched the wound, bringing her fingers away to stare at the blood that came away from the cut. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Her voice was steady, but Lloyd feared she could be in shock.

“Do you need any help getting home?” he offered, glancing over his shoulder to check on the two muggers.

Mari shook her head. “No, it’s okay,” she answered. She cleared her throat, tilting her head toward her assailants. “You probably need to get those guys arrested or something.”

Lloyd frowned. “Keeping a civilian safe is more important to me than doing the police’s job for them,” he scoffed. “They’re already on their way. Really, it’s no trouble,” he reassured, hoping she’d accept his offer. She’d told Lloyd that she lived with Skylor, which admittedly wasn’t that far, but he still wanted to make sure she got home safely.

“I’m good,” she told him again, eyes narrowing. Great, now she thinks you’re being weird. “I can get home fine.”

His fingers twitched at his sides. Blowing out a breath, Lloyd crossed his arms. “I insist, miss. It’s not the safest out here,” he reasoned. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted red and blue lights approaching.

The two muggers had been securely restrained, so he should get moving. He didn’t have anything to stick around for.

Except for her. For some reason, he was reluctant to leave Mari to head home alone.

She still didn’t look convinced with his offer, so Lloyd added, “Besides, I need to get away from this scene anyway.” Mari scoffed, preparing to retort back, and Lloyd gave her a sigh, growing tired with her careless refusal. “I won’t force you to let me drop you off, but I’d rest easier knowing you got home safe,” he admitted with a grumble.

Whatever protest Mari had been about to make seemed to die on her tongue. She glanced back at where police cars approached. “Alright,” she conceded with a huff. “Let’s go. Quickly. I don’t want to deal with the police.”

Lloyd quirked a brow at that, but didn’t say anything. He’d be a hypocrite to say he felt differently.

“Are you alright?” Lloyd asked again after a while of walking. The streets were quiet as they did so, but Lloyd kept a vigilant eye on the streets and up on the roofs. Mari sent him a look, raising a brow. “Your neck. You were bleeding, but it looks like it’s stopped now,” he explained.

She blinked. “Oh yeah,” she said simply. “Forgot about that. It doesn’t hurt too much anymore,” Mari told him, running a gentle finger across the shallow wound.

His eyes tracked the movement. A frown crossed Lloyd's face at the cut, lips pulling down tightly. “You need to be more careful,” he chided firmly. “Especially around these parts, and especially at night. This city isn’t always safe, you know.”

Mari gave him a sideways glance, looking none too happy about being scolded. “I am careful. I just got out of work late. And isn’t it your job to keep the city safe?” she volleyed, stuffing her hands into her pocket.

“We can’t always be everywhere all the time to stop crime from happening at all,” Lloyd countered. Distantly, he wondered why Mari was being so thorny with him.

“That doesn't mean it’s my fault some thugs decided to mug me,” she scoffed, shaking her head.

Lloyd said nothing in return. She was right, but that didn't mean it couldn't have been prevented if she’d been more careful. Nevertheless, he stayed quiet. For some reason, Mari appeared to be growing irritated, and Lloyd didn't want to anger her further.

They continued the walk in silence, with Lloyd scanning the surroundings every so often and ensuring nothing was lurking around the corner.

Eventually, they reached what Lloyd recognized as Skylor’s apartment complex.

“Well,” he said, “good night, miss.” She walked further ahead, not stopping for a second. Lloyd huffed out a breath and shook his head, turning to leave.

“Thank you.”

He looked over his shoulder to see Mari now facing him with hesitance in her eyes.

“For walking me home,” she said. “And for helping me earlier.”

Lloyd raised his eyebrows, a small chuckle escaping him at the sudden change of attitude. “It’s no problem, miss,” he replied smoothly, eyes filling with amusement. “Stay safe out there.” He watched Mari go through the glass door, and once she was inside, gave her a small finger salute before turning away.

His thoughts remained on her as he hopped over buildings and leapt onto the roof of a train, getting a ride closer to the monastery.

The interaction was strange, to say the least. She definitely acted differently with the Green Ninja than with Lloyd Garmadon. Funny, he thought to himself with an amused huff. She’s more prickly with the city's savior than its scourge.

——————————

It was the weekend, and me and Skylor had decided to take a little break from work and school to spend a day hanging out. There were loads of places to go in the bustling modern city of Ninjago, but I was aching for a chance to escape the metropolitan cityscape and relax somewhere more open, so when Skylor suggested a hike, I immediately agreed.

(However, a slight problem arose when I had to wear loose clothes for the hike, exposing the cut on my neck. Convincing Skylor that it was from falling onto the kitchen counter was a struggle.)

Even though we were already halfway into September now, the air was still humid in this area, up atop the mountainous hills far from the city.

The winding path we hiked on provided a good challenge for us. We were a little out of breath from the steep inclines, and I could feel my legs burning from the exertion. (Had it been so long since I’d worked out that I was already getting tired? I’d have to start again sometime.)

We were both fit and in good shape, I deduced — Skylor went to the gym, after all. Still, both of us decided to rest and take a breather after a while.

Taking a sip of my water, I glanced around the area, scanning the surroundings before allowing myself to drink in the beautiful sight we were making our way through. We sat on a couple of boulders that faced the edge of a miniature cliff, a small creek in the glen below providing a calm trickling sound.

“This place is beautiful,” I commented to Skylor after a minute. “I’m glad we came here.”

She smiled, capping off her own water bottle. “I used to come here a lot, before I owned the restaurant. I haven't been here in a while — I’m glad you like it,” Skylor told me, fanning herself with a hand.

I smiled and mimicked the action, feeling sweat sticking my clothes to my body.

At that moment, a breeze drifted lazily through the canopy of trees, providing a cool respite from the humidity. My eyes closed as I breathed in the gust of crisp air.

“That's strange,” Skylor remarked.

“Hm?” I hummed, not opening my eyes yet.

“That breeze. We’re under a canopy of trees,” she explained. “It’s weird that there's wind running through here.”

Opening my eyes, I noticed that her eyes were narrowed a bit, brow scrunched in thought. My head tilted to the side. “Yeah, I guess that's kinda weird,” I agreed absentmindedly. My gaze went back to take in the nice view around us, but I could feel Skylor’s eyes on me. After a while, I stretched my legs out and stood up. “Ready to get moving again?” I offered her a hand.

Skylor didn't move for a second, but then nodded and said, “Yeah. Let's go.” She clasped my hand and rose from her seat on the rock.

The rest of the hike was quite nice. We reached the peak of the small mountain and spent some time relaxing atop it before making the trek back down. By the time we reached the bottom, my legs burned and I was sweating all over, but any stress had been washed away.

All too quickly, our hike was over and we headed back home, washing off the day’s sweat. The remaining few hours before we’d tuck in for bed were surprisingly quiet — since we’d gotten back, Skylor had been in a pensive state.

I didn’t mind the quiet too much. It was a nice way to finish the day.

Once the sun set and the sky had faded into its inky black color, I decided to put on a show. Skylor was still in her room, so I sent her a text from where I sat on the couch letting her know in case she wanted to join.

She didn’t reply, but I shrugged it off, figuring she probably went to bed early. However, an uneasy feeling was twisting its way through my gut, so I quickly sent my whispers to check in on her.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, and I could feel from the wisps that she was perfectly still and motionless, probably still stuck in that reflective state. I heard her breaths and her heart beating, and relaxed.

Just as I retracted the tendrils of air, I felt her stiffen, and her demeanor changed. My brow creased in thought — and concern — but before I could listen for more, she’d gotten up and walked out of her room. I let the whispers fade into nothing, sending her a perplexed smile.

“You alright, Sky?” I asked, muting the show. “You’ve been quiet.”

“Yep. I’m fine,” Skylor answered smoothly. Her face and tone were relaxed, but I felt that there was something stirring in her thoughts.

I raised a skeptical eyebrow, but turned back to the show. “Gonna join me?” I flicked the remote back to the TV, unmuting it and going back to where I’d left off.

Behind me, Skylor hummed in thought. “Not tonight. But I did want to talk to you about something,” she replied. I paused the show again, turning back to her. She was inspecting her nails, her casual attitude making me think she was anything but.

“What’s up?” I asked. My eyes flickered between the show and her, but I decided watching both wasn’t working, so I turned the screen off completely.

Skylor glanced at me. Her mouth opened, but then closed. Whatever words she’d been wanting to say seemingly disappeared. Instead, what she said surprised me.

“What do you think of the Secret Ninja Force?”

I blinked. “What do you mean?”

She shrugged, striding over to the couch and resting her arms on the back of it. “What’s your opinion of them?” she rephrased, watching me with a careful eye.

My face twisted in confusion for a second, but I humored her question anyway. “I don’t really have an opinion on them, actually,” I told her. “I mean, it’s nice they do stuff for the world and all that. They’re still vigilantes, though.”

Skylor stared at me, her eyes searching me. I shifted uncomfortably under her scrutinizing gaze. “Do you know anything about their powers? Or how they’re able to do what they do?”

Where was this conversation going? I couldn’t read what Skylor’s intentions were with these questions, and that unsettled me.

“Not really.”

That was a lie. But admittedly, what I knew was very little, and I doubted that telling her the truth would lead to anything besides trouble. I trusted that Skylor wouldn’t sell me out to the cops if I revealed I knew something about the ninja — anything that could help the police build their case on them — but I couldn’t afford not to be cautious. Especially because of what happened with Hideo.

My answer seemed to be different than what Skylor was expecting. Disappointment briefly flickered in her eyes. She frowned, but kept her features collected and (mostly) neutral. “You know, Mari,” she said, “I think that the sooner you open yourself up, the sooner you’ll feel truly free.”

With that, she retreated to her room again, leaving me sitting stunned on the sofa.

——————————

A/N: Whew, that was the longest chapter so far (and it definitely felt like it while writing, haha).

Dipped a toe into Mari's knowledge of the elemental powers in this chap, can't wait to dive deeper!

Thanks for reading!

——————————

Previous | Next

[alyjojo]

April 🤯 2024 Monthly - Sagittarius

Preshuffle: You’re moving away from any drama or stress, towards something you want, and you don’t care who or what has something to say about it. Or you’re traveling somewhere you’re excited about & you’re happy to go.

Meditation: An outdoor scene, it looked like a park with black moldy gunk all over it, skeletons, like some kind of nuclear accident. The Sun started burning up all of the gunk and in its place, flowers & trees started to grow very quickly, all of the greenery came back. You could be waking up to some gunk in your life/environment even, that needs to go, it’s being illuminated for you with The Sun ☀️ Possibly the eclipse.

Main energy: King of Wands

I assume this is your energy, you’re confident in a leadership role and taking action towards the things you want - with support even, this King is very popular with the people, no matter which lane this is regarding - love is being highlighted with the Romance card for some, but I’m feeling a brand new beginning in some way for all of you in some way, love or not. Because Mercury is retrograding Aries and you’re also fire, you can expect delays and some general irritation. I see a lot of defensive energy here, it’s trying to hide or control itself, you’re trying not to act impulsively, speak too soon, or fk up your chances on something - that may be harder some days than others because you’re easily triggered this month. This King is clarified by 7 Wands rev & Ace of Swords, showing that whatever caused you to feel like you need to speak your mind and tell other people to have a seat - isn’t necessary, or helpful here. That could be something that needs release, like whatever this is, there’s no reason to be defensive. So why are you? 6 Pentacles at the bottom shows equal give and take, generosity, reciprocity, working with people - it’s not you vs. them.

What’s going on in April:

3 Swords rev:

You’re seeing light in a situation similar to the sun in your meditation, though it’s not out here (yet/maybe). You’ve gone through something very difficult, it broke your heart at the time, and you’ve since healed from this and let it go. I do see you having taken the necessary time to process your emotions, or this healing could’ve been literal and had to do with an illness of some kind - you or someone else. You might have had to release something, a person, pet, something close to your heart, in whatever way you had to - it left you hurt. Now you’re in a place where the muck is seeing the daylight and it’s drying up, time for a new beginning.

The Magician:

There’s a lot of new energy here, Ace of Swords is like waking up and seeing the light, you’ve got The Fool, The Magician, and Origin. Your future is whatever you make it out to be, everything here is fluff and stuff except for these two majors - it’s a new start no matter what you do or don’t do, you’re supposed to have that. If you don’t like the fluff (minor arcanas), change it 🤷 You can appreciate the newness of everything, being a sign that loves to explore and experiment, and you could be meeting up with friends, coworkers, people you haven’t seen in a long time even. Wheel of Fortune shows good fortune, you’re creating the next best thing with the opportunities you see before you, and you’re jumping in head first, Victory at the bottom. You’re being celebrated in some way, or celebrating someone else, it’s a happy gathering of like minds 🎉

The Fool:

You’re offered up some kind of new opportunity that you’re very excited about but I do get a pause for some of you…more information is needed. You can start something yes, and The World clarifies showing you’re not sure you want to take the risk because of whatever would have to be closed out or left behind in order to do that. You go back and forth. This could be due to another person involved, there’s a Queen of Wands at the bottom that’s connected with shock, heavy & overflowing emotions, they won’t see it coming. Like say your boss offers to move you to idk…Utah. You may be willing to dive right in but your person is like WHAT??? And gets very emotional, their whole life is here. There. Wherever.

Or if you’re single, there could be someone you find really attractive, they match you energetically, and maybe they’re revealing these deep emotions to you that you never saw coming, acting out emotionally even. It may not come off in the best way but this person isn’t against you, like there’s nothing to defend with this. Someone like this is why you don’t just act immediately, or for someone this is switched, your person could be getting some kind of opportunity you never saw coming and it’s making you feel a way or affecting you, like it’s a panicky feeling 🙀 bringing up all sorts of emotions.

8 Wands rev:

You’re not taking action, not this month anyway, it’s like you’re putting something on pause, whether you have to offer up an excuse or some kind of “I’ll get back to you”, that’s possible. Some may get ghosted 👻 You’re giving in to whoever is emotional around you, or they are if this is you, and in the meantime making any sort of Judgement call is halted. It’s possible you’re trying to manipulate this person into doing what you want them to do, or that’s switched. If someone’s upset, you’ll just wait until they’re not so upset, or try to find a middle ground with 6 Pentacles beneath this person. Now for some you’re just ghosting someone that has deep emotions for you, in order to do something/someone else, 2 Pentacles can show that too. I don’t really get player energy, more like sudden changes not everyone is on board with - but for you, most of you are running your own show.

Knight of Swords rev:

Yeesh. Clarified by Strength rev, this person, King of Cups rev. One of these cards isn’t the worst but altogether it’s just bleh. You could be dealing with someone whose words cut like knives, very aggressive, emotionally manipulative, immature, cries a lot or for the sake of getting what they want, and yet there’s a strong dominant energy with that. Or that may be you putting this person in their place, maybe they’re doing that to you. If not that, you may just not know enough about something to move forward with it, because you’re not confident about the thing itself…or your partner’s reaction more likely. Or that’s why they’re halted & that’s the goal. Don’t let another person stop you from your goals, manipulation definitely shouldn’t be the thing showing up in order to get what you want - or them, whoever. Ace of Swords is used to cut through the bs and it’s being shown that’s needed, crystal clear communication and the rest of the fluff and stuff can go. Ick tar, dry it all up it doesn’t belong here, you know what’s best for you 🙏 Feels like you, having the Intuition card and Merit Making, whatever decision you’re being led to feels positive for you. You could be deciding a relationship, someone you’re dating, or anyone else that is not good for you based on some kind of bs tactics they try to use on you - you know better. For someone it’s possible you DO head off in another direction and someone is being left behind - and biting your head off about that, in that case there is no reconciliation it’s just a “nope” from you.

Signs you may be dealing with:

Heavy Libra & Gemini, Leo, Capricorn, Sagittarius & Cancer

Oracle: ✨

37 Emotional Release 🌧

We all want to be strong. As humans we value strength and independence. But also as humans we need the support of our family, our friends, our tribe. Trying so hard to be strong, pushing down emotions such as fear, anger, betrayal, sadness, only forced them to grow and become stronger. The bubbling up and release that eventually comes takes everyone involved by surprise, and sometimes does harm in terms of hurt feelings and words that cannot be taken back. Get into the practice of voicing your feelings - even if it’s just acknowledging them to yourself. Journal, create, dance. Find a way that you can safely feel your most feared emotions. Feel them and then let them go. This is a potentially deep healing for you.

38 Growth 🪴

This situation or time is one of rapid growth. The seeds that have been planted have germinated and taken root. Go with the flow of this growing time. You may find people and situations falling away from your life, as now they do not serve who and what you are becoming. It may be that your vibration no longer resonates with theirs. It’s okay, wish them well, be grateful for what they brought to you and you to them, and send them on their way. Room has now been made for new experiences, people, and situations to help you to your next level. If you are not feeling this shift right now, be prepared because it will soon come to pass.

Merit Making 🙏

Goodness - Humanness - Morality

Origin 🌱

Initiation - Creativity - Vitality

Romance 🥰 - Venus Taurus

Intuition 🤔 - Mercury Cancer

We enter into April as:

Charmaine Chartreuse 🗣

“I never met a person I didn’t like.”

Charmaine Chartreuse suggests you begin finding the good in others. So much is lost when we do not appreciate those around us, for we lose the wonderful gifts of who they are. Appreciating differences will enrich your present situation. This can be a warning that you’ll lose a valued relationship if you do not appreciate what you have. Thinking the best of another person is more powerful than putting them down. Do not attempt to choose sides. Getting others to agree with you that someone else is wrong will also backfire, you may find yourself alone if you are not thoughtful. Wasting energy focusing on something you shouldn’t is also denoted here. Gossip is an indication you’re not focusing on your own life. What we think may not be the truth of the matter. Be aware now of how you speak of another, for the things you say will come back to you at this time. “Doing your own thing” may leave you lonely, and an aloof attitude may lead others to believe you don’t like them, when that isn’t true. If you’re feeling cut-off, consider that others may be waiting for you, and take a cue from Charmaine, being kind is called for from you, even if others are behaving in an inappropriate way.

What is to be learned in April:

She Shaman 🧝🏾‍��️

“I will guide you to your muse.”

She Shaman whispers to you “Do not be like the old birch and wait for anyone else to tell you of your muse. Connect with it!” This is your destiny calling. The path you have chosen is an artistic one. The universe is waiting for you to begin your dance and express your love in a tangible art form. The time is now, the moment has arrived, it is a time for decisions to be made. Dance! Rejoice! Do not seek council outside of yourself to confirm what you know to be true inside. Do not wait for permission to act. You must trust your instinct and act from the voice within. Let go of any need for approval, your answers are within. You will not be alone, Spirit is with you.

Wine may be a lucky color ❤️💜

[sylvies-chen]

I agree about chenford getting together but do we really need to wait until the season finale they have 23 episodes I'm hoping it's more like the mid season finale when Rosalind kidnaps Tim and forces them to reveal their feelings ala clois I see what they're setting up but I don't think it can sustain 22 episodes to me from a storytelling pov also I don't think the show is getting past a sixth season, a seventh one if they're very lucky and I need a full season of them in love and then getting engaged/married. I need so see a wedding and by some miracle maybe a few episodes when they're actually married. There's also always the fear of one of the actors leaving like we're one Chicago people WE KNOW the turnover on those shows is genuinely insane but it's a lot of other shows too. This last year so many shows lost half of their ships and it's not like this show didn't have two of its main characters leave already.

I actually think letting them take the full 23 episodes of the season before getting together in the finale isn’t so bad. If it were Tim and Lucy’s show then yes, it would probably happen by the mid season finale or even sooner, but there are other characters to consider who have storylines coming up. What with Nyla’s baby on the way, Lopez needing some detective storylines, Nolan and Bailey being a couple, Wesley becoming a prosecutor, and Nolan’s first rookie coming into the show (yay to Lisseth Chavez!!) there’s going to be A LOT going on this season. That’s not even including the stuff with Rosalind, and Lucy and Tim’s individuals storylines (i.e. we know Genny is coming back for an episode this season). Alexi himself even said there would be a delay in the consequences of Chenford’s kiss, because there’s just a lot going on and so they take a beat to focus on other things too while Ashley comes into play and the kiss really starts doing damage.

And y’know what? I’m kind of here for that! I like the idea of their relationship taking the full season. As long as we’ve been waiting for this as fans, this is still a very new thing to Lucy and Tim. They have a lot of things to deal with first: her trauma from Rosalind, her relationship with Chris, his with Ashley, accepting the fact that they almost did something that morally would not have made sense for either of them, and their true feelings. They were going to give way to this impulse they had, but I think they really need to recognize the permanence of these feelings they have for each other. Once they see that it’s real love and it’s something that’s not going away, and once they’re both single, THAT’S when they are going to get together. And that might take a while given everything they have to sift through emotionally and logistically, but it’s still going to happen. And damn if I don’t love a good angsty slowburn!!

So I can’t really say anything about the number of seasons they’ll have. I honestly have no idea, but I’m assuming they could do at least 2 more if they’re doing well enough with the network now to merit a spinoff. Whether they will, I don’t know. But I think they’ll milk this show for all it’s worth and I also think if they’re willing to write in Alyssa Diaz’s AND Mekia Cox’s pregnancies just to keep them on, it fosters a positive environment which means the actors probably won’t be leaving anytime soon. Titus only left because he wasn’t comfortable, morally, playing a cop anymore after the BLM movement reached its peak. That’s an extenuating circumstance, and a unicorn in this show’s otherwise relatively stable cast. Melissa and Eric also ADORE the fans, I really don’t see them leaving anytime soon. They’re Chenford nuts like us, they would want to do it justice. I know One Chicago has left me and so many others in the fandom heartbroken from completely unexpected character/actor exits, but this show has shown itself to be very different from OC so I’m going to try and keep the two separate.

[bearpillowmonster]

D23 Haul

Eh. No Kingdom Hearts. No Big Hero 6, that would've made everything worth it but I feel like lately companies have been showing too much too early. Here's Incredibles 3...it's happening, dunno what it's going to be, when or anything else but it's coming! Frozen 3, concept art, 3 years from now...which is so far away that I wouldn't even plan on getting people's hopes up, look at Beyond the Spiderverse, where is that? I don't mind waiting for it but they set that original date too soon, it wasn't just the strike, it was that they weren't even ready for it to begin with, it was a pipe dream and only makes people more wary when something gets delayed. I thought we learned this from CP2077 but apparently nobody learns anything.

On a positive note, I'll allow the Lilo and Stitch one even though Detective Pikachu set the standard for those designs but it had a cool intro. Tron at least had a cool laser and Nine Inch Nails (though no actual music reveal) Zootopia and Moana did great. Snow White actually got a trailer. Toy Story told us what it was about (even though it sounds tacky and seems in part with the og TS2 concept)

The parks. Yeah, we're gonna have a Lion King Land and an Encanto Land and a Frozen Land and a Villain Land- "Well, when is that?" Uh, yeah, left on read, so we have pictures! "That's concept art. That's not going to be how it'll look." Come back to me when you have models or animatronics and did you really just tell us that LK Land was based on the 1994 movie and show us concept art for the 2019 one? AND it's just Splash Mountain but with Pride Rock? You've had since 1994 to think something up and that's it?

Look at all the hotel concept arts to what they ended up being. So you're telling me that you won't (not 'can't', 'won't') spring for a new dragon for Fantasmic (which is literally on the poster for it) but you'll make a whole side-park for villains and add a dragon. And the walking mat...yeah, that's cool technology but that's all you're showing. You didn't incorporate it into anything. "Yeah, we're going to use this in the future...for something!" It's all tentative.

Well, what about the games? They had a big presentation set out after announcing that they wanted to get back into games. The stream actually taking place within Fortnite. They had an Epic Mickey panel celebrating its remaster and original release. They have all these Marvel games in the works, Kingdom Hearts (of course) and rumors that the Disney Afternoon cast will join in Fortnite, a vague Epic Games collaboration announced earlier in the year. So what did we get? I'll start a bingo card...Oh...it started a half hour later than scheduled. Ok? Oh, it has the leaders with Dave Filoni, Pete Docter, Kevin Feige and Jennifer Lee and they each have something to announce. Ok, Disney Villains in Fortnite. More concept art. Ok? The Incredibles in Fortnite. Ok, a picture. IG-11 with Baby Yoda backpack and Moff Gideon coming next week. Ok, this is all Fortnite, maybe they'll get that out of the way first. A bunch of Marvel cast which was inevitable as they have most in there already, ok. Black. Huh? Black? Oh, it's over, they didn't say bye, they didn't say anything else, just DONE, mic drop. You needed a whole event and panel that was delayed...for some skins?

I thought they were holding back throughout the year to save stuff for the game event but no, they were actually just trying to scrape the barrel to make stuff for it, maybe that's why they delayed it, they realized that they didn't have anything and had to try to get everybody that got applause on stage. They didn't seem to know what they were doing, like these people were thrown in, quickly briefed to add a quick word before grab the wheel and show it. It reminded me of trying to stretch out my powerpoint in college to meet the 5 minute runtime.

Show me stuff, sure, there was no shortage overall but I feel like concept -> production -> marketing -> release should be how it goes but lately it's all been combined with production taking a backseat and release still on the GPS. Show me earlier stuff at an event like D23 but make it past the concept stage first, show me production!

They design it to generate hype so much before the fact that by the time it actually releases, you feel like you've seen everything and nothing is no longer a surprise. "Oh yeah, Incredibles 3 is coming out. I could've expected that but now it's real and I heard about it 20 years ago." It's not just Disney, it's every corporation, I see it with game shows. Oh...a title card...oh...CONCEPT ART. I love concept art but it's more something I like to see AFTER THE FACT as bonus of seeing 'we went from here to where we are now!' but I see the whole journey now, I don't need the after the fact, you're not investing in your future, you're investing in your now so that investors will see this, it's no secret, it's not about the mainstream fans anymore that actually do most of the promoting for you and give it the returns. It's a bunch of rich people buying into other rich people and the audience just happens to be outside fueling it.

[magpiejay1234]

I missed this, but apparently according to leak KH4 will be in 2025.

This seems to be consistent with a leak year prior:

****

Couple of points here:

**Neither leak explicitly states the release window, since 2025 can mean Japanese fiscal Q4 2025, which would be early 2026 (January-March 2026).

***Since the Reddit leak claims early 2025, though, this is likely referring to Q1 2025, so April-June 2025. This would be the same as FF 7 Remake (ie. the first game), but a bit later than usual for KH games, which have always been in Q3, or Q4. However, tentatively you can expect a January release like KH3, and KH2.8.

**As suggested by the leak, the game will be incredibly rushed, due to delays with Missing Link. So I would heavily advise against of you buying it at the release date, unless you want the pre-order merch (in which case, you may want to wait for a month before opening the case, as there will be lots of patches).

***Much like KH3, there will be a DLC obviously after a year, so there will be DLC era patches that will buff the game to a Final Mix-esque level. So again, at day one, you will be playing the inferior version of the product.

**This release window likely has to do with next Xbox coming in 2026. They would want to get this game out in the wild before that happens, so they can release next KH for both it, and PS6.

***Since this game's, and Missing Link's releases will be too close to each other, most of the important lore from Missing Link won't matter until DLC, and even then, won't really matter until the next game (which will likely be title for the next Nintendo console, not a main numbered title).

**Both leaks suggest you shouldn't expect much Disney stuff here. This game will be a smaller experience than usual, basically serving as the launching pad for KH5, where they will probably try to use new machine-learning techniques of the upcoming consoles. This game will just have really pretty lighting due to ray tracing.

***Also, don't expect really eye-popping textures, this will be Nomura's KH team's first Unreal Engine 5 game, so textures will look comparatively bad like first FF7R game. I'm not too optimistic about the model quality either, so don't be surprised if some enemy redesigns look a bit off (kind of inevitable due to different styles each KH game use for each world).

****

Either way, I'm glad we starting this new arc as soon as possible. KH5 now won't come about until 2031 earliest (especially since Missing Link's story will need to be completed, and Nintendo console, and new upcoming handhelds by Microsoft, and Sony will likely have their own games), and fans will complain about the handheld games as usual, so this will somewhat pacify them.

[xb-squaredx]

B-Squared's Belated Top 10 Games of 2023

Well, this has come out…a lot later than I wanted to but life gets in the way. 2023 had a lot of fantastic games in it…but sadly I didn’t get to very many of them. So many great games, from the indies to the AAAs and everything in between. As of now I’ve had to be a bit more careful with money and still haven’t gotten my hands on either a beefy PC to play all the new games or a next-gen console, so my options are somewhat limited…which will be reflected in this list. So for anyone asking why Baldur’s Gate 3 or Alan Wake 2 or Spider-Man 2 or anything else isn’t on this list…I had no real means to play it. That said, I still enjoyed the bulk of what I played in 2023, so I figure it’s better late than never to celebrate those games.

#10: F-ZERO 99

F-Zero is a franchise I have limited experience with; I’ve played far more of Captain Falcon in the Smash Bros. series than any other F-Zero game combined. Regardless, the release of a new game after a near 20 year hiatus certainly had my attention. F-Zero 99 is a new take on the original game, after the popularity of Tetris 99 on the Switch. Up to 99 players race together in a battle-royale fashion, aiming to take first place…or at least survive to the finish line. I’ll be up front that I’m terrible at this game and didn’t play that much of it, but I can recognize that it was a fun spin on an old idea, giving players ample ways to try to play catch up in the chaotic, high-speed races, and for those that are more well-versed in F-Zero it served as a way to scratch an itch that has been bugging them for a good long while. Its unclear what the series’ future will be but I’m hopeful that the overall positive reception to this free-to-play title means there might be more to come for F-Zero sometime soon.

#9: ADVANCE WARS 1+2 RE-BOOT CAMP

As long as we’re talking about older, revived Nintendo franchises, we may as well talk about Advance Wars. After Fire Emblem really took off worldwide, this series has been rather dormant over at Intelligence Systems. Due to real world events, this release was delayed by about a year, but I’m glad that the remake of the first two Advance Wars games helmed by Wayforward was able to finally release. Overall, these are very faithful remakes with some great new bits of animation, voice acting and music, with players able to compete in the campaigns or wage war locally or online in the multiplayer modes. Some people weren’t a huge fan of the visual style in this remake, or felt that it could have done more, but ultimately I’m just happy to see this series come back again and I think Wayforward did a great job. The endless horrors of war have never been so fun!

#8: HOLOLIVE FAN GAMES: (HOLOCURE: SAVE THE FANS AND IDOL SHOWDOWN)

You might remember from a while back that I’m a VTuber fan, especially the ones over at Hololive. There’s been a number of really fun fan games that have released over the years but this year we got two of them released that were right up my alley…well, kinda. First off we have Holocure, a “bullet-heaven” game in the same vein as Vampire Survivors starring the Hololive girls. It’s technically still in early-access and has been out for a while…but the STEAM release was in 2023 and that’s when I first played it so it counts. It’s a very fun game with cute pixel art, great remixes of Hololive songs and is filled to bursting with tons of interesting references to these streamers…which makes it almost completely incomprehensible to non-fans, but that’s beside the point.

We also received a Hololive fighting game in Idol Showdown this year, which I also enjoyed for the most part. The character movesets are filled with just as many references, with some very expressive sprite work on both the playable cast and the backgrounds. A rogue like Digital Frontier mode adds to the stuff to do in the game if pure fighting isn’t for you, and it’s even received some free DLC characters as time has gone on. I do wish the game was a bit more optimized in some regards, but it’s otherwise a really fun game that managed to combine two of my interests together into one package. So I’m counting both of these games together under the umbrella of being Hololive fan games. Give them a try….and fall down the rabbit hole.

#7: NICKELODEON ALL STAR BRAWL 2

Speaking of fighting games, I was pleasantly surprised by the reveal and subsequent release of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2. Despite being excited by the prospect of the first game, I wasn’t all that fond of it by the time it released. It was a barebones experience, devoid of any voice work for these iconic characters (often with iconic voices), looked bad, ran worse at times and most of the cast had very same-y, uninspired movesets. So I’m very happy to say that the sequel is everything the original game should have been.

NASB 2 is a gigantic improvement in every way; it looks a lot better, the voices are here from the get-go now, there’s a huge single player campaign and the cast this time around all feel FAR more fleshed out and distinct. I still have some qualms with the roster overall, but I’m glad the team at Fair Play Labs (and the few members of Ludocity on this project) managed to create something that can appeal to both hardcore platform fighter fans and fans of the Nick characters. Sadly, I think a lot of people felt burned by the last game and didn’t even give this one a try, but trust me…this really is one of the more inventive platform fighters out there. The Slime mechanic itself is kind of worth the price of admission, being able to augment your moves, burst out of combos, or spend on a huge super move to send foes flying. The single player is also filled with fun references and a fair bit of things to do as you fight various minor enemies and bosses from across the various Nick shows. While a bit bug-riddled at launch and my potato PC can barely handle it at times, I had a blast with it, and I hope that people can eventually give this game a chance.

#6: BAYONETTA ORIGINS: CEREZA AND THE LOST DEMON

Oh hey and speaking of burning fans with the last installment and giving things a chance…yeah Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon was always going to be a tough sell. Even if Bayonetta 3 had been well-received by fans, taking a series known for its over-the-top arcade action and extremely sexual heroine and pivoting to a fairy-tale aesthetic and relatively simple puzzle solving and exploration wasn’t ever going to have a wide appeal. If you don’t like the other Bayonetta games you might end up enjoying this, but then why would you even be looking in this game’s direction? And conversely, if you love the other games, this one is so completely different there’s no guarantee you’d enjoy it. Truly, Bayonetta Origins is a game for an extremely small niche of players, but I was willing to give it a shot and ended up quite enjoying it. In fact, I think it’s one of the best games Platinum has put out in years.

Taking place when young Cereza was still a witch in training, players have to guide Cereza and her first demonic summon, Cheshire, through a maze-like forest infested with dangerous fairies. The game itself feels inspired by something like Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, alongside Platinum’s own Astral Chain. Players control Cereza and Cheshire simultaneously, using each control stick to guide them through puzzles and the occasional combat encounter. Cereza uses her magic to hold enemies in place or manipulate the environment while Cheshire is in charge of tearing enemies apart. The cel-shaded storybook aesthetic is very charming, making for a game that I think is a lot easier on the eyes than Bayonetta 3, and the coming-of-age element of Cereza learning to stick up for herself and get stronger gave us a fairly well-told story (which is kind of a rarity for this franchise). Outside of a map that isn’t all that helpful, and the fact that it’s still connected to Bayonetta 3 in some strange, confusing ways, this is far and away the best Bayonetta game developed for the Switch, and yeah, I’m just as surprised as you are.

#5: STREET FIGHTER 6

Once upon a time Capcom was considered to be the kings of fighting games, but everything changed when Street Fighter V came out in such a barebones, awful state that the FGC at large moved onto other things. But 2023 was the year Capcom returned to take their crown back, and MAN is Street Fighter 6 a massive return to form. Now, I should stress my time with this game has been limited; I’ve played with a friend with their own copy of the game as well as poured over the PS4 demo, but I don’t actually own this game myself yet. If I DID, this would probably be a bit higher on this list honestly.

SF6 took a long hard look at the complaints levied at the previous game and did everything they could to turn things around here. Rather than launching with no arcade mode and later adding a lackluster story mode, 6 launches with a massive World Tour campaign, giving players the ability to create their own character and dive into the world of Street Fighter in what is ostensibly an action RPG hidden within the greater game. Rather than give us the divisive V-System that encouraged passive play and largely locked away each character’s strongest tools, the Drive System in SF6 gives players tons of way to engage with the game right from round start and encourages both aggression and proper resource management. At high-level, SF6 becomes a tug-of-war between players doing everything they can to whittle down their opponent’s Drive Gauge, while holding onto their own, and then place them into checkmate when they go into Burnout. The game’s new, more realistic artstyle took some time to grow on me personally, but I think they ended up making it work, though admittedly I’m with everyone else in stating that the OST for the game is a bit lacking. Thankfully, they nailed it where it really matters: the roster is filled with some awesome new faces (Marisa my beloved) and manages to make the veteran fighters feel fresh, and the cherry on top is an almost impeccable online experience. I’m glad Capcom learned from their mistakes, and the result is one of the best fighting games around.

#4: FIRE EMBLEM: ENGAGE

Releasing right at the start of the year, I’m sure a lot of people forgot about Fire Emblem Engage, though really I think they’re missing out. I’ve been a fan of the series since Awakening, so the gaps in knowledge with the series is vast, but I could still recognize this as a love letter to the entire series. Clearly intended as a celebration of the franchise’s 30th anniversary before a certain pandemic got in the way, Engage is filled to the brim with fanservice…and not just the sexy kind! Truthfully I do feel aspects of this game are at odds with each other; while the overall presentation is great, being the most colorful and flashy game in the series yet, its story is…let’s say lacking. The characters are all fairly one-note and at times lean way more into stock anime archetypes than fully-fleshed out cast members, especially in comparison to the best parts of Three Houses, and there is the odd….otaku-bait stuff for lack of a better term, especially regarding the romance options, but the actual core gameplay is the best in the series.

Fights are fast, ferocious and give players a ton of great new mechanics to sink their teeth into. The star of the show is obviously the various rings characters can equip, which can summon a ghost of a past Fire Emblem hero to help out, giving you a neat little Stand of sorts to augment your abilities for a short time. Adding to that, players can push enemies away, or even break their guard, preventing them from attacking during your turn. I really enjoyed some of the changes to the core weapon triangles of the series, including a new one with archers, mages and bare-handed fighters. Being able to have my healers lay waste to those units with some fisticuffs never got old. Engage might not be the most ambitious game in the series, but at the same time it was a fantastic celebration of how far this series has come and how much more life it still has in it yet. Alear’s hair is still kinda dumb though…

#3: THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TEARS OF THE KINGDOM

Years ago Breath of the Wild not only launched the Switch into immediate sales success, but also started a conversation about how to craft an interesting open world game after years of the genre feeling overdone. And now in the twilight years of the Switch, Tears of the Kingdom returns to that same world with some new tricks. Link’s new abilities give players even more options for engaging in that world, and many of them are true technical marvels. I’ve gone over a lot of this game in a separate blog post, so I won’t try to reiterate what I said there too much, but ultimately I just enjoyed getting to bounce around a familiar world with even more freedom and opportunities to mess around and see how things worked.

I’d argue that TOTK has more in common with a big old box of random Lego pieces than a game at times. Half the fun is reaching inside and seeing what I can create when mixing and matching things together. Using Link’s Ultrahand and Fusion abilities I can craft vehicles and weapons that are often very goofy and don’t always work right…but when you land on something that’s just crazy enough to work it’s magical. In addition to the massive world from BOTW we also have islands in the sky to investigate, alongside the mysterious Depths, so there was always something to poke at and do. You get into a pretty solid gameplay loop of using the sky islands to look for areas of interest down below, then messing around on the ground during quests and visiting towns, before traveling into the Depths to harvest ore that goes towards making a variety of vehicles that can help me get around elsewhere, especially when it comes to getting back into the sky. Your options start out limited, but as you play you get more and more tools to work with and your various mechanisms become that much more complex. This even gets reflected in some of the dungeons you investigate, with one in the Depths in particular being such a programming flex, tons of game developers on Twitter were losing it, just wondering how Nintendo made it happen. For as much as we tout graphical upgrades as true progress in games, Nintendo is doing more interesting things with the very innards of a game using a console that was already out of date when it launched, and that needs to be championed.

For as much time as I poured into this game (probably somewhere close to 200 hours), I’d be lying if I said I enjoyed all of it. With that amount of playtime, you’re bound to notice some cracks. While this game definitely amplified everything I loved about BOTW, it also failed to really address many of the concerns people had with the previous game. Fusion as a mechanic makes ALL weapons feel usable to a degree, but the constant breaking is even MORE frequent. While there IS a way to stop slipping on wet surfaces, it requires a TON of time investment and the potions that give you slip resistance feel like a bandage over the whole annoyance. And then there’s the story being…very repetitive and a bit too much like the previous game in ways. I can see why talk of this game kind of dried up faster compared to BOTW; there was both a lot more competition this year, but also a lot of this game felt too derivative and lost that novelty of the original game. I wouldn’t have poured over 200 hours into the game if I didn’t love it, but there was definitely enough there to hold it back from being my favorite experience of the year.

#2: XENOBLADE CHRONICLES 3: FUTURE REDEEMED

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was my GOTY last year, and I knew that a beefy DLC campaign was still in the chamber. I was looking forward to Future Redeemed, but it exceeded about all of my expectations. While the core Xenoblade games have their connections, they’ve all been relatively standalone experiences on the whole until now. I had remembered going into Xenoblade 3, curious to see how all of these elements from the first two games would come together, but that game’s story leaned far more on the brand new cast rather than touching on the older characters in the series and I was left with a lack of closure. I should have had more faith in Monolith Soft, as Future Redeemed serves as not just a prequel to the story in Xenoblade 3, but as the glue that ties the entire Xenoblade series together.

Similar to Xenoblade 2’s Torna: The Golden Country DLC campaign, Future Redeemed is about the size of a medium-sized RPG in its own right, even if it never got a standalone release like Torna did. It keeps a lot of the same core systems of the base game here, but with some interesting twists. Whereas base game Xenoblade 3 made use of a class system and the ability for allies to fuse together, Future Redeemed emphasized pairing up different characters so they could cover for each other’s weaknesses or add to their strengths, on top of having some flashy combination attacks. There was a ton of things to do on the world map at any moment, with Monolith Soft making great use of a more limited map compared to the base game. Seriously, grind rails that can go up AND down were about the one thing Xenoblade 3 really needed! There was also just…so much fanservice and real love for this series found throughout. Seeing Shulk and Rex, the protagonists of the past entries, interacting with each other was fantastic, and newcomer Matthew was a great lead in his own right.

Longtime fans of Monolith Soft CEO and overall creator of the Xenoblade series, Tetsuya Takahashi, will know that his vision of a complete story has been a difficult one to see to completion. Starting back with Xenogears and later Xenosaga, it’s here that Xenoblade finally managed to have a satisfying multi-game arc and conclusion that finally answered some burning questions I had from the ending of 3. Somehow Future Redeemed managed to bring it all together in ways that longtime fans had always hoped for, and all in a neat 30-ish hour package. While I had greatly enjoyed Xenoblade 3, it was still missing something and Future Redeemed was that final piece, making me feel really valued as a longtime fan in the series, and also seems to have some nods to fans of the overarching “Xeno metaseries” that makes me extremely interested in seeing just where Takahashi’s Wild Ride takes us. If this DLC was an indication, the future is indeed bright.

#1: SUPER MARIO BROS. WONDER

As long as we’re talking of bright futures…boy is it good to be a Mario fan right now. From a billion dollar box office hit, to remakes of two beloved RPG spinoffs, that alone would have satisfied fans of the plumber, but then we got hit with the first wholly original 2D Mario in almost two decades. While the New Super Mario Bros. games were all mostly well-regarded critically and commercially, they were just as often considered kind of stale. Inoffensive, but not very interesting, and with so many pumped out in such a short time, it was felt that Mario’s 2D outings had lost something. With the Super Mario Maker games, many had felt that Nintendo had done all that they could with the formula and left it in the hands of fans…but boy were we wrong.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is oozing creativity out of every pore. From the stylish art direction that calls back to the older 2D art from the NES and SNES days, to the focus on music found throughout the game, it’s a rare game that made me smile about the whole way through. So much here feels fresh and different, from the litany of brand new enemies and power ups, to the various Wonder effects that often cap off levels and take them off the rails. I’ve gushed about this game enough in a separate blog post, which you can read here, but ultimately it has to be said that Wonder is a fantastic experience from moment to moment.

Not every game needs to be revolutionary or create a whole new industry standard to be recognized as great. Sometimes it just needs to be really fun. But even so, the amount of care that went into Wonder deserves praise. The developers weren’t given a deadline at first and got to really explore ideas before nailing things down. To see so much of the original Mario crew still involved on this project after so many years in the industry also showcases Nintendo’s iterative design that is continually polished to a fine sheen. The simple act of moving around is so smooth and responsive, the level design constantly plays with your expectations and makes hunting for secrets such a blast, and many of the new mechanics are slotted in seamlessly, like they were always there. Why yes, giving Mario a grappling hook makes perfect sense! Of COURSE he can turn into an elephant and put out fires with water shot out of the trunk! Some dislike the changes to multiplayer, no longer having any collision or ways to really screw with other players, but that results in seamless online play that lets players experience the levels together, yet apart, in a way I haven’t seen many other games implement. Being able to guide newer players through levels by giving them hints, or even a power up if they need it, and throwing down a standee sign that can revive them even if I’m not there…it’s really something special, akin to how players of Journey felt back in the day. The one blemish on what is otherwise a perfect experience are the boss fights that are both too few and too same-y, but honestly that’s a nitpick in the grand scheme of things. So yeah, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is the game that probably gave me the most joy this year. Not the longest game or the most technically impressive, but a masterclass in design that deserves every bit of praise.

CONCLUSION

There are tons of games I wish I got to this year. I’m sure this list would look a LOT different if I had a beefier PC to check out certain games with, or a fancy new PS5, but that wasn’t in the cards this year. If anything though that just goes to show how many talented people are in this industry that there are so many finely-crafted experiences, so many ambitious titles that keep pushing the medium forward. It was admittedly a lighter year for Nintendo, which has always been my bias, but I’m glad to see the folks over at Remedy and Larian and so many others pushing the boundaries of what we can expect to see in games. Having a virtual D&D campaign filled with moments where you have to adapt to things on the fly is nothing short of a magical experience, and seeing how Alan Wake 2 fuses together film and video game to create something so unique deserves its roses as well. Ultimately though, this was a year filled with some developers running on all cylinders, truly excelling at their craft. We’re getting fighting games with honest-to-God single player content! Strategy games are alive and well and continue to tease and torment players with tough decisions. All the while smaller developers pump passion into their projects, resulting in some fantastic experiences all their own. It was a good year for games and I look forward to seeing what will make my list next year. Until next time.

-B

[vampirevalentineblog]

October 25 2023

ok! hello! back to regular blogging. if you weren't aware i'm now hosting the old blog on tumblr so this should be easier for me to update than manually adding to the html and dealing with archiving past posts. best part is you can barely tell save for the photos are handled a bit odd now o_<;;

so i'd like to catch up on errrrr Feb to October LOL a whole year practically. lets see what i've been up to...

did wondercon in Anaheim, uh then KawaiiKon in Hawaii. spent some extra time there afterwards as well, I always enjoy snorkeling ^_^ you regularly see many turtles but i even saw a pufferfish! honolulu is nice and walkable if you've got sun protection! plus lots of other people also walk around with a parasol so nobody heckles you for it (like where I live :|||) their bus service is decent as well. i had a pretty greasy plate lunch the first day i was there so it had my stomach upset like, the whole time ;_; did an escape room with friends for the first time that was pretty fun! unfortunately kawaiikon's moved to being juried and apps are not even open yet ??? so no guarantees i'll be back next year :/

also did another Las Vegas con, it was meh. i don't care for the organizers of this one they steal art for their advertising, overcharge for tables, and then put us next to a loud ass stage. don't like that! i'd already done Omegamart the year before but i was staying in Freemont which i've never visited. i'll be back very soon and hopefully get to Nevada early enough in the day to visit Goodsprings bc you know I am a New Vegas girlie ehehe. also did an Anime Impulse back in Anaheim. I usually don't care for them for the same reasons as those other organizers but at least the crowd is better! this past january one they stuck us in a leaky barn ;_; for the table price its pretty ridiculous but i always come back despite it all because the attendees treat me well lmao

left off with pins last time, but since then got shirts made! there's two designs, my "fallen angel" girlie and my cherubim design.

you can see them off to the side there, this is my booth Colossalcon East in Pennsylvania this September. super fun! great con, lovely weeby people in PA! along the top you can also see some of my new big prints i made in like 3 weeks. just drawing drawing drawing -w-!! this con i also got to meet Grey DeLise/Griffin and she signed my Azula print for me hehe <3

my plane ride home got delayed for thunder which was stressful bc immediately after i had a flight to Japan! eek! this was my second time going this year. i had been in 2022 right when it reopened to tourists so it was a much different experience this time, wayy more tourists about. ended up arriving right at the peak of a heat wave i took it easy though just doing some figure shopping and enjoying the food. i love family restaurants there so much lmfao they're so good and cheap. also met up with a friend from all the way back in middle school who also happened to be in shibuya the same night ??? made her and her partner go to Denny's with us later on lol! also visited Odaiba and Hakone this time on my birthday! Hakone is where Evangelion's Tokyo-3 is meant to be based in so they've got their own EVA store. I got a Unit 02 strawberry drink thing, should have got the matcha-taro swirl Unit 01 soft serve icecream >:)

got back and did some house keeping up until i found out there's a halloween party! i made a very quick costume out of stuff i had lying around. only spent like 5$ for some plastic fake chains. here's my alice (sans chains ofc) i made that apron in like a day out of an old pillowcase -w-;;; i don't sew much!! maybe i would be good at it if i bought plenty of fabric and followed instructions but we'll never know because i only try it out to make something silly with no pattern using scraps all in 1 day and then i get fed up and start using hot glue and hem tape. as one does! its got a little bow in the back too but i had no interfacing so its just a piece of printer paper giving it shape. this is what halloween is about!!

please ignore the background i'm in the middle of painting my bathroom lol

up next i've got Sin City Anime in Las Vegas and Kumoricon in Portland. i like these two, completely different vibe and size but Sin City was cozy last year (they've since moved soo well see ??) and Kumori has some interesting people lmfao. i will see you guys at the swap meet +w+!! for sin city they asked if i'd be interested in an extra free booth for the 18+ lounge event and i was like ok sure why not and come to find i'm like one of 5 tables??? i don't know how it'll go over but whatever its something to do! i will have my tres leches cows and some new ones...here's a preview!

whole milk is soOoO popular i'm so happy lmfao he is for the girls and the gays <3 i've got to do some more boys....its what the people want. maaybe a whipped cream to go with whipping ? ^_^ <3!

alright that's all for now! ttyl!

[harryhandstan]

HIIII happy (late) 4th of july!!

you are literally the sweet person to ever exist i can’t believe its been like 2 years since we last spoke. its crazy how time flies

oh noooo im sorry that happened to you :(( im glad ur doing better and taking good care of yourself 💓💓 wishing u a speedy recovery!

alsoooo good luck with house hunting! that must be so exciting!!looking for a new place to call home and making new memories in it! i just know youll find the most beautiful homey and perfect place!! im manifesting for u

im doing well!! not much happened except for school stuff but i just went to my first ever pit concert a few months ago! i saw the driver era (only because i thought ross lynch was hot lol) i didnt know what to expect for pit but i didn’t expect to stand for 8 hours straight 😭😭 AHHHH ALSO im seeing taylor swift in a few weeks and i literally cannot wait!!!!

im always thinking about u! talk to u soon!! good luck 🍀 love youuuuuuu!!! 💗💓💓💞💕

-🧸

happy late 4th of july to you too bestie!! I hope you had a great day!!

I'm sorry for the delay in answering this btw it's been storming here so my wi-fi has been in and out all day!

omg stop you're so kind to me I genuinely love talking to everyone and I consider you and many others here my friends so y'all make it easy to just repay the love I've been given!!

it's actually only been a year bub! I only know because I looked it up to refresh my memory about what we talked about before cause like I said a lot had happened and I couldn't remember if we'd talked since my accident. it was last year after my birthday and after harry's house came out. but really it's alright I don't want you to feel bad!

thank you so much for the well wishes ❤ I realized after that I left some detail out of what happened to me and didn't explain it very well, but if I ramble on too much just feel free to skip over it! basically not only was I kicked but I went flying about 8 feet across my yard too, which caused me to have a compression fracture on T11 of my spine. I also had a contusion on my right hip (which is just a really, really deep and bad bruise), which is where the point of impact was. I will (hopefully) continue to improve, but having arthritis still causes me to have a ton of pain if I do too much physical activity. that part of my spine is also partly collapsed and always will be, but my neurosurgeon said that as long as my arms and legs are still okay that I should just slowly start to get back to "normal" life and listen to my body as I go along! I asked if I needed to keep up with x-rays or anything over the years but he said my symptoms would get much, much worse if the collapse got any worse and I would know I need to come back to see him. he also said IF I would've had to have surgery that it would take like 12 pins and a huge rod to correct things so I'm so SO lucky that things weren't any worse!

thank you so much for helping us manifest!!! it means more than you'll ever know because it hasn't been easy so far trying to find a place 😔 we live in such a rural area in GA and we originally wanted to stay in the same town because I was supposed to start a new job in january and we wanted to be close to my work. I probably won't get to take that job now (which is a whole other long story), and since there are very limited options we're probably gonna have to broaden our search to surrounding towns that are slightly bigger! we ultimately want a house together, but I think we're gonna have to settle for an apartment for now until we can find the perfect place for us. anything would be better than here rn though!!!

idk if I've ever talked much about my dad to you but we have as no contact of a relationship as possible even though we live in the same house. he's the reason for my accident and so the day it happened and we were waiting for the ambulance to come my mom told him that we wouldn't be coming back to this house. but then we had no choice we didn't have the money or resources needed to go elsewhere. I was worried as I got better she would forget about that and slip out of that mindset, but thankfully she hasn't! she just told me tonight we'd probably go look at apartments next week and that she can't wait to get out of here. I could truly cry at the thought of having a safe, clean, and comfortable space away from him. it's what my mom, my siblings, and our dogs all deserve!

how is school going? how much longer do you have to go? and oohh I'm so happy you got to experience a concert in pit!! it's amazing but it is soooo exhausting I hope you got lots of rest afterward 😊 when I saw harry I wore my ankle support thing to my pit concert to because I knew my feet would be swollen the next day probably. and taylor swift that's so cool!! I'm very excited for you!! I hope you have the best time!!! where are your seats for that show?

I'm always thinking about you too!! seriously sometimes I'll just think about you or how you're doing so just know you're always getting any spare good vibes I have sent your way ✨ thank you thank you for the good luck!!! love you moreeeee 🤍

I was gonna tell you about getting to see stevie nicks and my road trip to see my little brother but I talked so much this time we'll save those stories for next time if you wanna hear about them!!