#and it's gonna be among us next week!!! oh i am stoked | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

miss-tc-nova · 4 years

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Lambs In Danger - Bragi x Reader

I’ve had this chapter in my pocket for a while now so I think I’m just gonna post it. Still not sure where this series is going, but as mentioned in previous chapters, I’m just having fun with Smarmy Fluffcoat.

~~~~~

“I’m back,” the red-head calls, jingling the bell as he enters the store.

“Welcome back,” I call before addressing the customer. “Sorry about that. Here’s your book.”

The patron is bid goodbye just as my boyfriend sidles up to the counter. “Hey there gorgeous,” he hums with that signature smirk. “How’s your day been?”

“Just fine,” I reply, walking around to re-shelve a few misplaced books. “There’ve been a few customers but it’s been mostly quiet so I’ve been practicing my spatial magic.”

“Yeah? You should just about be an expert by now.”

The drama in my sigh cannot be expressed enough. “I don’t know why I picked spatial magic to be my specialty. The texts are near impossible to find and all of the experts refuse to take an apprentice.”

“Guess I should count my lucky stars there,” he teases, only receiving an eye roll. “Oh come on. You don’t need a master. You’re already a Master Mage and you’ve gotten this far on your own. The pocket dimensions are pretty cool and just last week you shoved me down the stairs from across the room.”

The incident still haunts me: the smarmy bastard had poked the bear just one too many times and a hand waved at him without a thought. “Please stop bringing that up. I said I was sorry.”

If that expression is any indication of his intentions, it’s not going to stop any time soon. “Yeah, but you’re so cute when you’re embarrassed.”

“Ugh…”

The chuckles of Smarmy Fluffcoat still play with my guts every time; there’s no doubt I’m still madly in love with him, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t push buttons.

“Anyway, Master Odin wants to meet with you.”

I look back at the boy. “What does he want me for?”

Shoulders bounce. “I ‘unno. He just asked me to tell you.”

“I swear to the gods, if he tells me you’re causing trouble in class, you’re going to be grounded,” I laugh, final book in its place.

Warm hands capture my face, calloused thumbs brushing over the skin as the perpetrator leans in. The amber in his eyes glow with that sultry mischief he enjoys trapping me with. “Me? Cause trouble? Never.”

“Says the guy who shoved his classmate into my bag.”

“Shh. No one needs to know about that.” His voice drops to a whisper. He’s baiting me; he’s absolutely trying to bait me—and he’ll probably catch a bite.

“I know. You’re entire class knows.” Tongue following the conversation, my thoughts are one hundred percent focused on his lips only a miniscule movement away.

“Shh.”

Needless to say, kisses take over communication as I fall victim to the cinnamon-scented bait.

~~~~~

The next morning is spent wondering just when is the best time to venture to the citadel; worries of what the master would need me for consume the following afternoon. Come two o’clock, the shop closes down early and I wander my way through town.

Droves of students pass by me—all on their way to various after-school activities. It’s on my climb towards the faculty offices that I hear my name. Familiar faces all await me at the top.

“Hey guys,” I greet.

“Hey! What’s up!” the blonde waves back.

“What are you doing here?” asks the second girl.

A simple laugh is offered. “Turns out I’ve been summoned. I think Bragi is in trouble.” There’s a glare at my quip.

A head of silver hair tilts. “The Master summoned you?” I nod. “Ooo, Bragi’s in trouble!”

“Does everyone remember the bag incident?” our victim asks, gesturing towards the satchel at my hip. There are murmurs of agreement.

“I told you they knew.”

“I know they know—it was a threat.”

Replies vary from offence to taunts until I’m forced to intervene, dragging my boyfriend away while he waves his middle fingers at Urd and Xehanort. There’s some apologizing and chastising as we go until we reach Master Odin’s office.

“Want me to go with you?” Bragi offers.

Knuckles rap against the door. “I’ll be alright. I don’t know how long this will take so I’ll just meet you at the shop later.”

“You sure?”

I can hear the resident beckon me inside. “Yeah. I’ll see you later.”

A brief kiss on the cheek bids me goodbye and we part ways. This is when I learn of the reason Master Odin summoned me—it’s kind of upsetting. I question his decision in choosing me, barely holding my tongue long enough to reword the derision bubbling in my brain. None of this sits well with me; the Master seems to understand that and implores me to accept. Seeing as thing could be disastrous if I don’t, I do.

The agitation rolls in my chest as I descend the steps. What the hell are they thinking?! It doesn’t matter if I’m a Master Mage! They-

“Yo, babe, you in there?” Out of reaction, I slap away the hand in front of my face. My thoughts had taken over, leaving my body to autopilot out to the castle grounds.

Hermod—ever the big brother—leans closer. “You okay? You looked upset?”

Eyes scan across the young faces before me. Their light to be put at so much risk stokes the fire boiling my blood. As the ‘master’ in a professional situation among these kids, I wipe the surface clear of turbulence.

“Yeah. I was just thinking about a book order I need to work on.” My decision is just as terrible as Master Odin’s, but at least mine is to preserve peace—leading the blind lambs has never been a desire of mine though.

The rabble of Odin’s pupils manages to distract me for a while, but the content of my disagreement with the master keeps dragging up how much of an outsider I am. Not only am I not a student of the master, but I don’t even wield a keyblade. Mage students aren’t common in Scala Ad Caelum so I was an outcast from the start. My status above them only serves to widen that gap, not to mention the alienation my choice has placed on me. Efforts have always been made to include me in their shenanigans and, while I will likely never be part of the group the same way Bragi is, I always appreciated their kindness. Yet here I am, withholding information that will endanger their very lives because of “grown-up business.” Scum on the bottom of their shoes is what I am.

“We’ll catch you guys later.”

Bragi’s words cut through another stroll through my thoughts. The path that breaks off towards my shop is just to the right. There’s just enough sense left in me to tell the others I’d see them later, receiving some funny looks, before they walk away. That’s when my partner begins prodding at me.

“Alright you. Spill it.” His first few steps start the trek home.

“Huh?”

“You can’t hide it from me. Hell, you can barely hide it from Eraqus. What’s bothering you?” Gods, he’s right. Even at my best, hiding secrets from Bragi is just impossible for me. “What did Master Odin want?” An idiot, Bragi is not.

Suppressing information from the others can barely be excused, but hiding things from my significant other—especially information such as this—feels like a sin. It smolders in my heart and threatens to suffocate me in the smoky guilt. I can fool myself all I want that it’s for the better, but his life is on the line and I would never forgive myself if something happened to him.

Shoving a hand through my hair, I mutter, “He’s going to start preparing you to go off-world. He asked me to accompany you.”

The boy stops in his tracks. “What?”

That guilt billows stronger. “The upperclassmen are missing. He’s sending us to find them.”

The understanding washing over him is visible, turning into fierce objection. “No. Nu uh. You are not coming with us!”

My brows furrow; that’s not the reaction I was expecting from him. Excitement, veiled worry, anger at not being told by his master, maybe even enthusiasm at my presence—those were the things I expected, but his protest is that I’m going with them.

“What?”

“You’re not coming,” he repeats.

I don’t know what it is in me that reacts to this, but it’s insulted. “That’s not really for you to decide.”

Looking ready to fight me over this, he snarls, “No! You’re going back to the castle and telling Master Odin that you refuse.”

“Excuse me?! The last time I checked, I outrank you!” This retaliation further drives home the point that there’s a gap between us. “So I don’t know what silly little delusion you have that makes you think you can boss me around, but you don’t own me! I make my own decisions!”

The combativeness shines in his eyes. “The last time you went on a mission, you disappeared for a month and came back a complete wreck! It took weeks for you to stop having nightmares!”

“So what!”

“So what?! It took me all night to convince myself you’d be okay long enough for me to go to school the next morning! And then I spent all day worrying you were having a meltdown while I wasn’t there!”

“This is part of my job! And I’m not going to let a few bad dreams keep me from protecting the person I care about!” Interrupting his argument, I add on, “Look me in the eye and tell me you wouldn’t do the same thing!” The boy scowls. “Go on! Tell me!”

“It doesn’t matter what I would do! You’re not going!”

“Try and stop me!” His teeth bare. “If you don’t have anything else to say, I’m going home!”

My boyfriend just stands there, glaring at me.

Say something! Say something, you idiot! Yell at me more, grab me, do something! Anything! Don’t let it end like this!

I can’t blame him for not stopping me and I'm ashamed to say that I walked away at that point.

Slamming the door behind me, I lean against it, my weakness finally slipping through my eyelids.

#bragi #khdr bragi #kh bragi #bragi x reader #smarmy fluffcoat #smarmy nonsense #gender neutral reader

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galadrieljones · 5 years

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That he may hold me by the hand - Chapter 9

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x Albert Mason

Rating: Mature (Adult Themes and Situations, Violence, and Sexual Content)

Summary: After saving Albert from stumbling off a cliff in the Heartlands, Arthur invites him to Valentine for a drink. What ensues after that is a quiet love story, in which both men find themselves completely undone.

Masterpost | AO3 | Epigraph

Chapter 9: And then, the tides turned.

That morning, John was sitting in his room upstairs, in Shady Bell, thinking and staring out the window. He was thinking about his conversation with Arthur from the day before, when they had been in the grave yard, pondering the meaning of their existence as men outside the law. Down in the yard, he could see Jack, having woken up maybe half an hour before. He was with the dog, and they were minding their own business. Jack was like that. He minded his own business. He had a stick and he was drawing shapes in the mud leftover from the storm, and the dog was just lying there, with his little face on his paws, watching. Much of the camp was still sleeping, Abigail among them. He’d shared a bed with her that night. They had only slept. They had not touched. He knew it would be a long time coming if she was ever going to touch him again, but he could wait. She was waking up now, pushing the dark hair out of her face, looking around as if she could not remember where she was. When she saw him, she propped up onto her elbows and sighed. She smiled, wearing her night clothes, which she had sewn herself many years before. He remembered her doing it.

“Hey,” he said. He had been whittling a little horn out a piece of wood. He set it down on the windowsill now.

“Where’s Jack?” she said.

“Downstairs,” said John. “Don’t worry. I can see him from here.”

She nodded, reassured, and swung her bare feet over the side of the bed. They dangled a little. She was a short woman. “I ain’t slept like that in…years.”

“Yeah,” said John, smiling. “You was out cold.”

She blushed.

“Abbie,” he said. He turned toward her in his chair, with real conviction.

“What is it?”

“We need to talk,” he said. “Can I—?”

She seemed to read his mind. “Yeah,” she said, looking concerned. “Come on over here, John. It’s fine.”

He got up, joined her on the bed. He gathered her hands up into his, looked down at the shapes their palms made, like a little nest.

“What the hell’s the matter?” she said. “You seem so serious.”

“I am,” he said. He looked at her. “I am, Abbie.”

She waited, her cheeks still flushed from sleep. “What’s going on?”

“We need to get ready,” he said, nodding to himself. “Abbie. We need to be ready.”

“Ready for what?”

"For leaving. You, and me, and Jack.”

“Leaving?” she said. “John, you’re scaring me.”

“No, don’t. Don’t be scared.”

“Where we going to?”

“I don’t know,” said John, shaking his head. “I ain’t—I ain’t thought it that far through yet. I only just got to the realization last night.”

“What realization?”

“That this—this gang. This whole thing. It ain’t good, Abbie. Not no more.”

The sun was getting brighter, poking through the tupelos, coming in through the window now, and lighting her face. “You saying you wanna leave the gang?”

“Yes,” he said. “I am. And I want you and Jack to come with me, for us to be a family.”

She got real quiet now, like she was soaking in something. She glanced toward the window. You could hear Jack now, shouting for the dog to follow him. Sadie was there. She said, Hey Jack. Come help me feed the chickens, okay?

“Is this because of Arthur?” she said. “I mean—is it something he said to you?”

“It is,” said John. “He’s making me realize, it ain’t no picnic here no more, Abbie. Jack got kidnapped. It just ain’t safe.”

“I know,” she said. “I know, and I agree with you.”

“So you’ll be ready. To go. When it’s time.”

“When’s it gonna be time?” she said.

“I don’t know,” said John, still with her hands in his. “I just don’t know. We need some money, probably. We need a place to go.”

“Where is Arthur, John?” she said. “I saw him leave last night, real late. He rode away from the camp. He’s been so…distant. Where is he?”

John cleared his throat, searching her eyes. She was genuinely curious, and she still had not taken her hands back and this was encouraging. It emboldened him. “Arthur is in St. Denis,” he said. “That’s where he’s been.”

“What?”

“Yeah,” he said. “He, uh. He sort of met someone.”

“Met someone?” said Abigail. She got real bright. She looked happy. “You mean like, romantically? A woman?”

“Well, no,” said John, taking a deep breath. “I mean…like, a man. It’s what you’re thinking. It’s romantic, but it’s a man. And I’ve met him. He’s real decent, Abbie. He’s good. He’s rich, like. High society, from Philadelphia. He’s a nature photographer. His name is Albert Mason.”

Abigail was just staring at him, like she didn’t know what to say. She had these eyes that looked sort of like melting ice caps. Her features may have been a little stark to some people, but to him, were like a home. He knew them so well. “Arthur is getting on with a high society nature photographer?” she said.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “They met, maybe a couple months back? He was helping him with a project and I guess it just sort of…evolved.”

She looked down at her bare feet, then to the door. “Sweet Jesus. I had no idea.”

“Me neither,” he said. "Well, I mean, not till recently."

“Does he seem happy?” said Abigail. “Arthur?”

“Yes,” said John, seriously. “He does. And I think—I mean, Albert, he’s got money. They could go anywhere.”

“You think Arthur is gonna leave,” said Abigail, looking back at him. “That’s why you wanna leave.”

“I wanna leave, because it ain’t safe. Not for you, and not for Jack. But yes. I think—I think that Arthur is gonna leave, Abbie. I can’t say where to, but I can say why.”

Outside, you could hear the birds chirping as the camp roused into life. Pearson put the coffee on, and somebody was cooking what smelled like bacon over a spit. Javier was bringing in the day on his wistful guitar, and for a moment, it was almost bucolic.

“It’s sort of romantic,” said Abigail. “Don’t you think?”

“I guess,” said John.

“Big tough guy, Arthur Morgan, outlaw, gunslinger, getting swept off his feet by some rich guy from Philadelphia.” She laughed to herself. “It figures. What’s his name again?”

“Albert Mason,” said John.

“Albert Mason,” said Abigail, looking down in silliness. “Same initials even. What’s he like?”

John shrugged. “He’s real nice,” he said. “I don’t know. Calm, and generous. He cares about Arthur, a lot. You can tell. He likes tea.”

“Is he good-looking?”

John laughed and shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe?”

“Oh, you’re such a tough guy,” she said, fooling. She pinched his cheek, and shoved him in the shoulder. “John Marston. Well, maybe one day I’ll meet him myself, and I’ll let you know what I think.”

“Maybe you will,” said John.

They watched each other closely, in the warm light pouring through the windows from the late morning sun. “Does anybody else know?” said Abigail. “About Albert?”

“Just Mary Beth,” said John.

“Hmm.”

John knew what she was thinking. “Yeah. I know. It’s a whole…thing, isn’t it.”

“She’s been carrying a torch for that man,” said Abigail, fussing with her hair now, putting it in a braid over her shoulder. “I’ve always known. I told her he’s hopeless, time and time again, but she never heard nothing of it. Anyway, she’s too damn smart for this sort of living. I always thought, if I could read and write like her? I’d be out of here in an instant.”

“You can read just fine,” said John. “You’re getting better.”

She waved him off, embarrassed. “Oh, I read like a moron.”

“I’ll help you,” he said. “We can practice more, if it’s what’ you want.”

This undid her a little and she looked at him like she wasn’t quite sure how to respond. The sunlight made her cheeks look golden. She finished with her braid, laid it flat. She said, “Maybe some night? When there’s time of course.”

“Sounds good,” said John.

The next day, Arthur and Albert had gotten on their horses and rode north to a ridge above the Kamassa River, where they camped in privacy amidst the enchanted forest and the marshy air in the foothills of the eastern Grizzly Range. As had been their plan from may weeks before, they were finally on their hunt for moccasin flowers, which Albert had been wanting to photograph for a long while. For the time being, however, it was sundown and they had already had their dinner. Arthur was deep inside him, their bodies pressed together, making indents in the earth at the foot of a tall and unwieldy White Oak tree. Arthur was a gentle species, but Albert urged him that night. Emboldened by the natural world and the freedom of the woods, he wanted them both to get past the brink and with enough encouragement, Arthur brought them there, jagged and moaning. It was like he didn’t know what hit him. It went on. It took a long time, and Albert felt proud and undone, exhausted once they finished. It was ecstasy. Arthur leaned forward to steady against the tree. He pressed his lips to the back of Albert’s neck, pushing away the hair and the sweat, catching his breath. They kissed, pondering, processing what had just taken place. When they both surfaced from the rubble, Arthur pulled out of him, slowly, and Albert shuddered in the aftermath, collapsed to the earth and they held one another until the sun was all the way down behind the trees and they were too cold to stay undressed any longer.

Back by the fire, they wore their regular clothes again, leaned against a big, hardy rock as they shared a joint of hash and smoking tobacco. Together, they blew the smoke into the air and grew bleary-eyed from the drugs, falling deeper and deeper in love as the night washed over and through them. After a while, they fell asleep. The night was quiet, and their bodies were warm. But Albert woke up at some point when the fire got low. He was thirsty, anxious. He leaned forward to stoke the flame and lit another cigarette and let Arthur continue to lean against him, eyes closed, his breathing long and even. Albert ran one hand through Arthur’s hair, where it curled behind his ears. Even as it looked dingy in the dark of the evening, it would be gold by morning again, almost flaxen, bleached in highlights from the sun. He almost couldn’t take it, the things he was feeling.

He hadn’t told Arthur yet, about California. He knew why, as he sat there by the fire, smoking his cigarette. He just wanted things to stay simple, a little longer. It felt limitless, physical, full of romance and also speed. He had never been taken so quickly by anyone. It messed him up, in a good way, and it made him certain about what he wanted. As he pondered the future now, Albert feared that Arthur would reject him—any suggestion that they move forward, leave this place. Arthur held so much, so tightly within himself. Pain, history. He told Albert little of his life. It’s just who he was, as a man, and Albert accepted him. There was no way to bridge this part of Arthur, not completely. Of course, certain elements of his heart could be coaxed free. He was generous, and loving, full of warmth when they were together, but that was feelings. It wasn’t feelings that Arthur struggled with, strangely enough. It was the choosing. Albert could meet him halfway, and he could wait. He could wait forever, he thought, but he did not want to wait. He would, but he didn’t want to. He put the hair behind Arthur’s ear, finished his cigarette, and waited. He read a little, trying to clear his mind. In the distance, you could hear the coyotes. It was a beautiful place.

About a half hour later, around midnight, Arthur roused, suddenly. He sat straight up off the rock, as if he had been woken by a nightmare. He looked around frantically and placed his hand on the pistol at his side. Albert was startled at first but just clasped one firm hand to Arthur’s shoulder and said, “It’s okay.”

Arthur came to, shook his head out, immediately. He went almost limp, back against that rock and he took a deep breath. His eyes were a little wide, glazed over. He was breathing fast. “Shit,” he said, his chest rising and falling. “I’m sorry.”

“Did you have a bad dream?” said Albert.

“No,” said Arthur, digging the heel of his palm in his eyeball. “I mean, not really. More like, I just don’t normally fall asleep like that, so hard, not out in the wilderness.”

“Yes, I know,” said Albert. “But it’s okay. Everything’s all right, just where you left it.”

Arthur closed his eyes and set his head back, taking deep, even breaths until he settled down. “What time is it?”

“Nearly midnight,” said Albert. “I woke up a little while ago. I couldn’t sleep.”

“What you been up to?” said Arthur. He plucked a cigarette from the brim of his hat. He lit it and smoked, hanging his head between his knees. He seemed all right now, just weary.

“I’m thinking, mostly.”

“What about?”

Albert took a deep breath. “About you,” he said.

Arthur grinned, glanced up at him, smoking that cigarette, looking canny in the firelight. “You’re pretty smooth when you want to be, Mr. Mason.”

This made Albert laugh to himself. “I try.”

Arthur studied him then, his blue eyes washed out to gray, but even still, his focus could rip right through. “Al. What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing,” he said. “I’m just—I’m torn about something.”

“You know you can tell me anything,” said Arthur. He flicked the cigarette.

“I know.”

“Then go ahead,” said Arthur. “I’m listening.”

Albert removed his cigarette case from his pocket. It was silver and very fine. He withdrew one, lit it with a match, then offered the case to Arthur who declined. He just smoked then, absentmindedly as he looked at the fire. He scratched an itch above his eyebrow, listened to the loons, going off in the distance with the coyotes. He looked down at the cigarette case, which he held in one hand. He was running his thumb over its delicate engravings: E.L.M., it read. Elijah Lawrence Mason, his father. “Do you remember how I told you that I got a letter from my mother the other day,” he said.

Arthur nodded. He had his elbows resting on his knees. “Yeah. You said she’s doing well. What’s her name again?”

“Cynthia,” said Albert, flipping the case open and shut, then putting it away in his pocket. He smoked.

“Cynthia Mason,” said Arthur. “What was her maiden name? I’m just curious.”

“Ruffalo.”

“Ruffalo. So she’s Italian?”

“By half. Her mother was French.”

“I see,” said Arthur. “That’s very American of you.”

“What about you?” said Albert.

“I don’t know much,” said Arthur. He plucked a long piece of grass from the earth, began to shred it into ribbons with his fingertips. “My family, they lived here as long as I can remember. I think my grandparents, on my father’s side—they came from England. They was farmers. But my mother’s side, I don’t know.”

“Do you remember her maiden name?”

“No,” said Arthur. “I know I saw her buried. I remember the funeral. It even said it, her maiden name, on the tombstone, but I can’t remember.”

“You were little,” said Albert. “It’s all right.”

“Yeah,” said Arthur. He tossed the grass into the fire.

“Where is she buried?”

“Baker City,” said Arthur. “Oregon. That I do remember. It’s near the Blue Mountain range. Pretty country."

“I’ll bet. Have you been back there, since she died?”

“No,” said Arthur, shaking his head, growing distracted. He didn’t go on any further, and so Albert changed the subject.

“Arthur,” he said after a minute.

“Yes.”

“I’d like to talk to you about something.”

“Go on,” said Arthur. “I told you. I’m listening.”

“A long time ago, when we first had that drink together, in Valentine.” He smoked. “I mentioned that my mother may be moving to California. Do you remember?”

“Yeah, I think so,” said Arthur. He was coming back from a distant place. “Why?”

“Because she is moving to California,” said Albert. “Finally. She said so in her letter. My uncle, he bought a ranch near the Monterey Peninsula, but he’s taken a wife, apparently, and moving to San Francisco. He’s left the ranch to my mother.”

“That sounds amazing,” said Arthur. “When’s she headed out?”

“Soon.” Albert took one last drag, studied his dirty fingertips, the burned out cigarette, flicked the nubbin into the fire. “It’s a big ranch, with water, stables, a couple different homesteads, privately arranged. It’s on a cliff, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, near a town called Carmel-by-the-Sea. She has invited us, Arthur. To come out, to live there. That is what I wanted to talk to you about.”

The sky seemed to stop turning, rotating on a dime. Arthur was giving him a look. He had that wrinkle in his forehead, the one that only popped up when he was totally confused. “Come again?”

“After the gallery opening, this Friday, my purpose in St. Denis is very…up in the air,” said Albert. He removed the cigarette case again, took out another cigarette. “Things can change, if we let them. We have a place to go. Both of us.”

“She knows about me?"

"Yes," said Albert. "She does."

Arthur seemed lost for words. "Al."

“Yes?”

“Why the hell are we talking about this now?” said Arthur. “Midnight, in the enchanted forest. You brought up your mother’s letter yesterday morning. Why didn’t you tell me then?”

“Because,” said Albert, sighing. “I panicked. To be perfectly honest, I was terrified.”

“Terrified?”

“That you would say no,” said Albert. He lit the cigarette. “I just—I know you, Arthur.”

“I know you do.”

“I don’t know a lot about your gang and what you do, but I know you.” He smoked, fanned the smoke out of the air. “You’re a loyal man. You value your relationships—with John, his family, Mary Beth. God knows there must be more.”

“And?"

“And I’m asking you to leave them, and to come with me, to California.” Albert cleared his throat, shook his head over and over again through the smoke. “I love you so much,” he went on. He was lost, in his own idiotic rambling. He closed his eyes to get lost further. “I want you, selfishly, to myself, to be with me, to let me take care of you. But I know there is a chance you’ll say no. And if that is the case, then I want you to know, that is okay. If that is the case, then I’ll stay. We don’t have to go to California. Not now. We can wait, or stay indefinitely. I’d like to get out of that apartment. It’s too small. So maybe we can lease a bigger place, in the city, or we can buy a place, or buy a cabin outside it. If that is what you want, to stay, then I will stay. I can make that work. But I don’t want you getting shot, or getting hurt anymore, Arthur. It worries me sick. Every time you walk out the door, every time you leave. So if it is the case, that you want to stay, then we need to...talk about that, honestly. Figure something out so that I know, rationally, what to expect. Or else, we can leave. I won’t lie. I want to do this with you. I want to go west, and I did before we met, but more than anything now, I just want to be with you. I want you to come with me, as it is a chance at a new life, privacy. A home. I want you to come with me, Arthur. I want you to let me keep you safe. I will stay. I will do whatever you want, whatever it takes, but know that what I want is for you to leave, with me.”

All around them, the wilderness was breaking into pieces. It was atomizing, becoming all of the same things from the distant places they were born. Albert glanced at Arthur who was staring down at his hands. He always seemed to be doing that, looking down at his hands as if they were the source of all his wisdom, and all his strife. The loons and the coyotes cried distantly, and the stars overhead swam around like little fish in a dark sea.

“Okay,” said Arthur, out of nowhere. He nodded his head, as if resolved.

“Okay, what?”

“Okay, I want to go with you.” Arthur was looking at him now like it was no big thing, his hair gold from the casual firelight and falling in his face. “When do we leave?”

Listening for this chapter: “Passenger Seat” by Death Cab for Cutie (youtube | spotify)

#red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 #arthur morgan #albert mason #arthur x albert #arthur morgan x albert mason #albthur #that he may hold #<3

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cerastes · 7 years

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HEY DRIMO it's been a while since you did a big myth post so how about you tell me a cool story about my boi karna

Oh dear me, Hindu mythos, damn, ok, so, first rule of Hindu mythos is that you all have to wear your seat belts while reading this. If you don’t, you are susceptible to immense physical and spiritual damage, enough that it might kick you right out of the cycle of reincarnation, and then the Mythos Retelling Collective (MRC) will revoke my license due to Irresponsible Sharing of Intense Tales (art. 23847). Are you all strapped in? Y’all got your helmets? Alright alright, let’s get this show on the road.

SO, KARNA. I assume most of you are familiar with Karna having Big Strength and being god damn unkillable. Ok, so, it goes beyond that. It goes at least three Milky Ways in width beyond that. Originally known by his other name, Vasusena (and this dude has like 14 different names), Karna is the main protagonist of the Hindu epic, Mahabharata, and–

Oh, right, before I can tell you anything about the Mahabharata, or about Hindu mythos in general, I need to explain power levels. So you know how in Dragon Ball Z Abridged, Vegeta and Nappa use “Raditz” as a unit of measure for power levels and ki? “My power level is 500 Raditz.” “My power level is 23000 Raditz”, the joke being that Raditz was such a weak grunt that his meager total power can be used as a unit as you would with centimeters? Ok, this is actually canon in Hindu mythos. They have a scale of power levels, referred to as “Levels of Warrior Excellence”. The levels are:

Ardha-rathi: The lowest level, meaning literally “Half of a Rathi”. Read the next section for a more elaborate explanation, but this is Yamcha-tier, basically, the weakest of the badasses.

Rathi: It almost sounds like Raditz, doesn’t it? Well, Rathi is the unit by which all the other levels of Warrior Excellence are measured, as well as a rank by itself. A Rathi is an individual so powerful and skilled, that they can do battle with 1000 regular warriors simultaneously. This is the “Dynasty Warriors Playable Character” tier: Strong, but still susceptible to frames per seconds drops and getting stunlocked by arrows.

Atirathi: HERE is where things get spicy. An Atirathi is a warrior that can fight with six Rathi simultaneously. This is the level of strength possessed by Kevin by the time of Home Alone 2.

Ekarathi: You thought six was impressive? TRY EIGHT RATHI SIMULTANEOUSLY. We are entering Popeye-with-spinach levels of world-ending strength now.

Maharathi: The top level, the cream of the crop, the true definition of “Fuckhouse”. Those who reach this level are immensely powerful, and can do battle with 12 or more Rathi simultaneously. That is 12000 asses worth of whoopings. This is where you favorite Touhou is, obviously, and fuck what everyone else says.

Their measure of unit is basically “How many thousands of dudes can this person fight, or how many people that can fight a thousand people at once can this person fight?”, which, in other words, means that India has not fucked around a single day in it history.

So you might be wondering, “where’s Karna in all of this?”. Well, Chili Con Karna is SO MINDBOGGLINGLY STRONG AND SPICY that he is, literally, a Double Maharathi. Karna is stated to be “in terms of strength and skill, equal to two Maharathi warriors”. These peak jokers made this elaborate power level chart just so they could say “AND KARNA IS DOUBLE AS STRONG AS THE STRONGEST”. He is Two Gokus. Karna could literally look at you, without the laser, and you would just be atomized, restructured, and atomized again in the span of minus three seconds, and you would thank him for it. And damn RIGHT you would thank him for it, because he probably didn’t mean to do that to you. That’s because Karna, despite having more powers than Superman and God combined, is the Ultimate Good Boy. This dude is Puppy Kiss Central, this dude chips in on Pizza Thursday every week, and makes up for those who didn’t chip in. Karna lets you take the last chicken nugget. Karna lets you use Player 1 when you hang out at his place. Karna tells you to text him or call him once you get home after hanging out and he gets worried if you don’t. That dashing guy you saw doing volunteer work at the homeless shelter the other day? Probably Karna. The owner of Old Friends Dog Sanctuary? Definitely Karna.

He’s GOOD.

And that’s why the Mahabharata is so painful: I don’t speak Hindi, but I am pretty sure “mahabharata” translates directly to “Karna Has Bad Day :(”. Today, we’ll be talking about Karna’s Three Curses, with a little bit of his childhood for context on the first one, and because I just want to talk about his dumbass mom. Also that one time he clowned Arjuna and Planet Fucking Earth got mad at him.

SO, there was this lady named Kunti, princess of the Kunti Kingdom (yeah), and this one time she was the host to a sage named Durvasa, who was visiting. She is a most Excellent Host, and provided Durvasa with the best of services, the most delicious food, the most luxurious of drinks, and every volume of Detective Conan, and Durvasa was so stoked at this 10/10 Would Come Again service, that he gave Kunti a special boon: With a mantra he taught her, she now had the amazing power to get knocked up by any deity of her selection. Kunti was really happy with her new pregnancy powers, and couldn’t wait to try them out, so she did to call upon the Sun God Surya, and guess what fucking happened: That’s right, fucking happened. It was a violent and intense cyclone of sex so kinky that the baby was born with armor and earrings (in some versions, Surya “handed” the child to Kunti, but in others, which I opt to believe, Kunti bore his child, and his fat solar load was so powerful that the fetus was armored). And then Kunti was like “oh fuck it worked lol but I am not wed” and since she didn’t want to be an unmarried mother (refer to Hindu tradition for this one), so she did like many other Mothers In Mythology and she put Armor Baby on a basket and set him afloat on the rivER LIKE A REAL KUNT, IT WAS IN HER NAME ALL ALONG, WHY DO YOU ASSHOLES KEEP DOING THIS.

THE REST IS UNDER THE CUT BECAUSE THIS IS TURNING LONG.

Like many other Babies In Mythology, Armor Baby was found by someone, this someone being a charioteer named Adhiratha, but not just ANY charioteer, this was the chief charioteer of King Dhritarashtra, who I hope will forgive me if I wrote his name wrong, and was adopted by the charioteer and his wife, Radha. Armor Baby was given a name, Vasusena, and his pet name was Radheya among the locals. Being born an armored baby, it should come as no surprise Vasusena was interested in the military arts, and so he approached this really cool dude named Dronacharya who taught princes about warfare, BUT Drone told the armor kid to fuck the off because he only taught Kshatriyas (the military social caste in Hindu culture), but he was very impressed by Vasusena’s guts because this shit ass kid more or less just strolled into his house and said “HEY TEACH ME HOW TO BE A BADASS”, so he suggested to his father to change his name to Karna, which means “one who peels his own skin”, as a reference to his guts and totally not any sort of foreshadowing to anything NO SIR WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT.

So ok he got a cool name and whatever, bUT SEE, he still got told to fuck off, which he DIDN’T LIKE, so Cartman, not one to be daunted, sought out Dron’s own teacher instead, because fuck you, that’s why. So Kane finds him, name of Parashurama, and asks him BUT FIRST he disguises himself as a Brahmin, because Futurama only teaches Brahmins, and Karlos was not gonna make THE SAME MISTAKE TWICE. Panasonic agrees, seeing potential in this Double Goku kid and so begins the training arc. Result: Parashurama proudly announces that Karna is his equal in the art of warfare and archery. All this heaving and hoing gets my man Parmesan tired, though, so Karna, ever the good boy, offers his sensei his lap so he can sleep, sensei says fuck yeah and he uses his lap pillow. While he is sleeping, however, a very angry bee goes and stings the hell out of Karna’s thigh, but he’s got his sensei on his lap, which is like when you have a cat or a puppy on your lap and it falls asleep and you do not DARE move. So he didn’t, and this leads to a very important lesson to be learned in the Mahabharata: NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED. When he woke up, Parashurama saw the wound and the blood that flowed from it (and from this, I take bees in India are Cazadores from Fallout New Vegas) and immediately realized that Kane was NOT a Brahmin. This lie meant he had ILLEGALLY STOLEN INFORMATION, and so he cast a curse on Karna that made him forget everything about how to wield the divine weapon Brahmandra-astra, an immensely powerful divine weapon he learned to use, but Karna pleaded to please be reasonable, at which point Par realized, hey, maybe this is kinda excessive and impulsive, so he reduced the curse to make it so Karna would only forget it when he needed it the most against an equally powerful warrior, which IS NOT ANY FUCKING BETTER, and then he felt EVEN WORSE because Karna had basically been his best student ever and is a Good Person, so he gave him his own divine weapon, the Bhagavastra, as well as his bow, Vijaya. I mean, you could’ve just. Undone the curse. But hey. New weapons!

So Karna, a dedicated and excellent archer, was VERY HYPED to try out this new legendary bow he had come to own! There’s a thing in Hindu martial arts called “Shabdavedi Vidhya”, the art of hitting a target by detecting the source of the sound. What Karna didn’t consider is that shooting things by just detecting their sound, you know, means you are not REALLY LOOKING AT WHAT YOU ARE SHOOTING, but hey, like eager-to-try-new-toys mother, like eager-to-try-new-toys son. Three guesses as to what happened. You are RIGHT, HE SHOT A FUCKING COW. And it’s not with a little arrow or a harmless stick, this was with the Vijaya, which means that cow was obliterated off the face of this god damn planet. My dude was practicing “shooting at sounds” with a tactical nuke launcher. What the tits did he expect to happen. SEE, I’m sure you know, but shooting cows in India is not exactly something you just apologize about. But Karna, albeit not the brightest crayon in the box, was still Ultimate Good Boy, so he went to apologize to the owner of the cow, who happened to be an actual Brahmin who had performed the Agnihotra rite daily, which made him extra holy. Brahmin, of course, was pissed, and since apparently people in India just have a full moveset of curses ready to sling at a moment’s noticed, cursed Karna AGAIN, with this curse being “fated to die a helpless and callous death”. Not the best series of days for Karna. He could’ve just walked away, but he’s a Good Boy, so he had to take responsibility. NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED.

So I want to call attention to this bitch of a life for a second: Baby is born because some cunt used her super pregnancy powers to see if they worked without considering the consequences of, you know, getting super pregnant, Baby is chucked into a basket and sent to fuck off on the rapids, is picked up, immediately tries to enroll with a fighting master, instead enrolls with a SUPER fighting master that taught the previous fighting master, and gets double cursed for being a good boy and having bad trigger discipline.

Now, let’s skip a couple of chapters, and we arrive at the moment where the Pandava princes, all demi-gods, hosted a “tournament” of sorts to show off their skills to the people and to their guru, Drona. They were all having a good time, being badass and superpowered WHEN SUDDENLY Karna shows up and arrogantly challenges them because he knows he can do better, from what he has seen. One of the princes, Arjuna (kept you waiting, huh?), who was regarded by Drona to be the most powerful and skilled on the Pandava, told him to maybe fuck off, and that they couldn’t compete because they were above him, as his caste was no doubt lower than theirs. A certain pair of ears DID NOT LIKE THIS and jumped to Karna’s defense: Duryodhana is the name of the owner of said ears, and he’s got Authority. How much of it? Well, he just up and named Karna King of Anga then and there, just so he could compete. Holy SHIT. Now, see, Duryo hates the Pandava. Duryo REALLY, REALLY HATES the Pandava, and he was 100% behind supporting this random stranger if it meant he could possibly maybe humiliate these ugly sumbitches. Maybe. Ok, see, here’s where it gets a bit weird, but depending on who tells the tale, Duryo and Karna actually already knew each other and were childhood friends, but most tellings make this their first meeting, and I am absolutely on board with that, because it only goes on to show how much Duryo hated the Pandava, and divine people in general. He just fucking HATED gods, man. Can relate. So Karna goes and UTTERLY OUTDOES AND UPSTAGES the Pandava princes. Outright beats all their highscores and writes “ASS” in the 1st Place billboard on each entry as his name. They are all FURIOUS at him, especially Arjuna, who had aced every single event, and now had to wear a nice 2nd place on all of them because this absolutely nobody (no one knew Karna was the sun’s son yet) showed up and utterly pulverized them. This also starts his relationship with Duryo, with whom he’d become fast, and eventually, best friends.

BUT, SEE, HE KINDA GOT MADE A KING, SO HEY, HE HAD TO GO, UH, TEND TO THAT. He was checking his brand new sudden kingdom, when he came across a WEEPING CHILD. If there is one thing Ultimate Good Boy can’t stand, that’s the tears of children, so he approached the girl and asked what’s wrong. See, the girl had accidentally dropped her ghee (kinda like butter but less dense) and she was going to get her ass whooped by her step mother. Karna kindly offered to buy her new ghee, but she said it had to be THAT SPECIFIC ghee with the dirt on it, and that she didn’t want any other. Karna, in his infinite kindness, said “oh, sure, lol”, so he grabbed the dirt and squeezed it with all of his extremely godly might, extracting the ghee back into the jar as if squeezing water out of a sponge, because that’s just the kind of solution you come up with when you are the strongest person in Ever.

hey

you guys remember what I said a while ago?

WHY YES

NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED.

Guess what happened. Guess whose anger he incurred. He got Bhumi Devi/Mother Earth herself pissed at him. And what was her beef, you ask? Well, see, Karna squeezed that soil SO DAMN HARD that she took offense. Yes. Really. And guess whSHE FUCKING CURSED HIM TOO, OH MY GOD, CEASE THIS, YOU CAN’T JUST HEX A DUDE FOR SQUEEZING DIRTY, COME ON. The curse this time was that she would one day trap his chariot’s wheel during a crucial moment in his life. All because that little girl wouldn’t make do with a new jar of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter.

WORST. WORLD. EVER.

And guess how Karna dies.

Yes.

His chariot’s wheel gets trapped on the earth (third curse) during a crucial confrontation with Arjuna, he attempts to defend himself with his astral weapon, but forgets how to conjure it (first curse), and is decapitated by a shot of Arjuna’s Gandiva as he helplessly leans against the chariot’s wheel, unable to free it (second curse).

The moral of the story is don’t fucking help anyone, ever, and don’t own up to your mistakes, because if you do, you’ll be triple cursed.

Karna deserved better.

#tainbocuailnge #chili con karna

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doomfisthero · 7 years

Text

Initial Contact

Another RP between me and @grampa-lion, one with some self-insert elements to it. With Matty’s permission, I’m planning on writing some more occasional forays into the Nebula Nine universe as myself and not merely through Keaton; I’m working on one now, so I figured I’d upload this as a prologue of sorts. Edited slightly for narrative consistency, and to indicate direct communication between me and Matty.

Keaton takes a deep breath next to me, grinning ear to ear, as the elevator descends from the front deck of the Asclepius into her inner quarters. From what I’ve seen of the ship so far (Keaton promised me a full tour after we’ve met the others), she’s a beautiful and majestic vessel. I can only imagine standing on the surface of a planet ravaged by chaos and disarray, and looking up to see salvation coming in the form of a graceful ship, filled with heroes of justice and light.

What’s it like, soaring through the universe on a craft like this? I can watch Star Wars and Kyuranger all I want, but I can only hope that the Rangers will let me experience it for myself. Maybe if I get along with them…

I forcefully set it aside. It’s a thought for later. I have a more pressing matter waiting for me at the bottom of this elevator.

As if by magic (but probably not), the door opens at that moment into a short hallway with a door at the end. I’ve read and written enough stories in this universe to know that door opens onto the bridge of the ship, where Keaton claims that everyone awaits us. My stomach does a few more turns.

“You ready, Jake?” Keaton asks, walking out of the elevator with me shortly in tow.

“Uh, yeah, I think so,” I say, failing to keep the tremble out of my voice.

Keaton turns back to me. “Hey, it’s gonna be okay, buddy,” he says, giving me a look of gentle concern. “Trust me, everyone’s overjoyed to finally meet you – the Rangers and Matty both. You’re a great guy, Jacob, and I know they’re going to love you as much as you love them. By the end of today, you’ll all be amazing friends.”

We stop right in front of the bridge door. Keaton puts his hand on my shoulder – normally that would bother me, but Keaton gives me a sense of comfort that few people do. “This doesn’t have to go like any of your fantasies, no matter how much time you’ve spent on them. It can go better. It will.”

“They don’t all go that badly, Keaton,” I say, but I have to concede his point. Angst is one of those things that always comes easily to me. It permeates a great deal of what I write, especially for Nebula Nine, even if a happy ending is rarely far behind. “I wouldn’t mind skipping past the rough stuff this time, though,” I admit.

Keaton pats my shoulder. “And you will.” His face lights up, and he brings his fists to his chest. “This is going to be great, Jacob. I’m so, so happy you’re finally here. I can’t wait for you to meet my family.”

Looking into the eyes of my creation, those joyous, gleaming gems, I can’t help but get excited too. A warm smile creeps across my face, and a warm feeling settle into my stomach, vanquishing the evil butterflies. I’m going to meet the Rangers – not only that, I’m going to meet Matty. Has it really been only seven months since our friendship begun? It feels like I’ve known him for so much longer. Seven months have created a brother, someone I love like my own blood relatives. And finally, we’re going to meet in flesh and blood! (Or paper and ink, rather, but we’re meeting.)

I’ve been waiting quite a while for this – how can I not be stoked? “I’m happy to be here too, Keaton. Let’s do this.”

Keaton pumps his fists and reaches for the door access panel, then pulls back. “Uh, sorry, one last thing,” he begins, looking sheepish. “The rest of the Rangers are really excited to meet you, and I’m sure you know they can be…affectionate. I’m pretty sure a few of them will be eager to hug you. I’m certain Matty will be. I know you aren’t crazy about touching…is that okay?”

Weirdly, it feels just fine. It’s true that physical contact is something I shy away from even among those I love, but the thought about getting and giving an embrace from the people on the other side of the door feels…right. How can I not want a hug from any of them?

“Yeah,” I say. “Yeah, that sounds pretty good.”

A joyful laugh bubbles up from Keaton’s throat as he taps the panel and the door slides open, giving me my first glimpse at the bridge of the Asclepius. Almost immediately, my eyes are drawn to the large round booth surrounded by soft, squishy-looking seats – the one the Rangers sat around whilst talking to Thuban about his nightmares quite a while ago.

I’ve seen the people seated around that table many times before, through ink on paper or words on a page, but seeing them in person is a sight to behold. As I peer through the door at them, the Rangers peer back at me, and their eyes shine like stars as they placed me.

And there’s one more with them, who I recognize from his pictures. His eyes shine brightest of all.

Keaton leaps through the door and bounds down the steps. “Hey, everybody! I brought him! He’s here! Jacob, get down here and say hi! We’re dying to meet you!”

I laugh and step down the stairs myself. What to say? “Hey, how’s it going?” It’s my usual, and a versatile greeting, but they deserve better, more. I reach the bottom in a heartbeat, and I just talk.

“Hey, everyone,” I say, giving the Rangers and Matty a small wave. I’m beaming – I can feel it on my face. “I’m…I’m so happy to be here. I—you don’t know how long I’ve wanted to meet you all. This…this is gonna be great.”

Upon seeing you my eyes practically go supernova with glee, and I suck in a small gasp of delighted surprise. Seven months in the making and finally, I get to meet my brother! Even if it's only virtual rather than in person, I couldn't be happier! The more talkative among the Rangers all break out into excited chatter ("It's Jacob! He's finally here! Wow his glasses look cool!" -that last one was Lizbeth), and I stand up, approaching with glee and the biggest smile I can possibly muster. A brief whirl of anxiety over my appearance breaks out- being self-conscious about your personal attributes is no fun- but I suppress it with the knowledge that I've prepared for this, that I've wanted this for sweet holy moly who knows how long.

"Jacob- Jake!" I manage to get out, barely able to speak at first. "I... Howdy, big bro! You have no idea how glad I am to see you! Did you get here okay? How do you like the Asclepius? Everyone's been so hyped to meet you, especially me!"

"JACOOOOOOB!" Champ practically roars, opening his arms wide. "THERE'S the guy who gave me the sweetest zarkin' baby bro in the universe! C'mere and gimme a hug once you're done with Matty!"

The sound of the Rangers' chatter hits my ears, and I try to move it into the background and focus on my little brother. He looks good, hair slicked back, a small beard, and glasses of his own. It's different seeing him in full - he's so much taller than I realized, taller than me by a few inches. 'Little' brother may be a bit of a misnomer. That thought makes me laugh, clears away some of my doubt. I walk forward and give my little bro a hug. I worry myself that I'm a little awkward at it, but if he notices, he doesn't say anything.

"Hey, Matty. It's great to meet you," I say, my own voice brimming with joy. "Keaton picked me up in his Voyager - I'm so happy to finally see this place with my own eyes. It's already amazing, and I've barely seen any of it yet." I look up at him a bit. "I didn't expect to see you so soon. I kinda figured I'd be flying out to California or something after I graduate. I think I like this better - doesn't cost me anything either."

"You should have seen him while we were flying here," Keaton chimes in from behind. "I thought he was gonna faint when he saw the ship. He couldn't put two words together." He's smiling, despite his words.

"I'm just happy to be here, Keaton." I pull back from Matty after a brief period and turn first to Champ. He's even bigger-than-life in person than he is on a page, and he towers over even Matty with arms outstretched. I don't even consider not rushing over to him and giving him a hug of his own, and before I know it, I'm doing just that. "Champ, I've waited a while to see you, too," I say, laughing. "It's great to finally see you in person, you big cowpuncher. You were always one of my favorites."

As I wipe a few stray tears of joy from my eyes, cherishing your embrace, Champ hugs you back firmly, laughing. "Gahahahaha! Cowpuncher- you took that from Keaton, didn't ya!?" he accuses lightheartedly. "Oh Taurus, I'm happy to meet you, buddy. Everyone has been."

"I can verify that," adds Rasalhague, bowing to you gently in the tradition of Ophiuchus Gamma and extending a hand for a handshake once Champ lets you go. Up close, his eyes- silvery pupils with black irises- don't look as eerie as they did in the early stages of his character arc, because of how much quiet kindness fills them now.

"Matty's been in a bit of a writing block on Nebula Nine lately, to be honest." Seph shrugs and reclines in their space in the booth, making the water in their oxygenation collar swish. "But he's been really excited to finally get the story out thanks to all the support you've been giving him. His main problem right now is making a suitable character arc for me, something to do with my issues regarding trust and loyalty- but I'll spare you that for now, heh." The Exelcian youth chuckles easily. "I've read some of your works in my downtime, by the way- dunno what all that Five Nights At Freddy's stuff is about, never played it, but I liked the Bonnie character. I feel like he'd get along famously with me."

I wrestle an arm from Champ's iron (in more ways than one) embrace and shake Rasalhague's hand firmly, greeting him. He does have fascinating eyes.

"Yeah, Five Nights at Freddy's, survive a week with killer animatronics in a pizza place," I tell Seph. "I was big on it a while back, and couldn't find any really good fics for it, so I thought I'd roll up my sleeves and make one. I'm really proud of how it turned out." I chuckle. "And yeah, I had fun with Bonnie too. And Matty, I can help you out sometime. I've already got an idea or two that might work."

"Involving me and my big reveal?" Keaton asks, non-judgmentally.

"Maybe a bit."

I nod and smile at the offer of assistance. "Geez, bro, thanks!" I say gratefully. "I've been tearing my hair out over it- uh, figuratively, I assure you, don't worry. So knowing you'd offer to help is really great!"

Quiet Felipe chooses this moment to pipe up. "Hey, uh... Jacob?" he asks in a tone stilted by nerves, averting his eyes in shyness. Lizbeth puts a comforting hand on his back, and it bolsters him to continue. "Um... Thanks," the healer manages. "For. Y'know. Sending in all those asks and stuff about us all. And for allowing Keaton to be my little brother too."

I smile - it's reassuring to know that they didn't mind my occasional barrage of questions. "Hey, it was nothing, Felipe. Thank you for being so open to talking every now and then," I say. "You're a cool guy, Felipe. No matter what you may think."

"...thanks again..." Felipe's face darkens with a flattered blush, and he buries his face in his hands, letting out a low noise that can only be described as a fanboy's squee. Lizbeth chuckles and pats him again.

"Felipe's a big fan of you," she says with a wink. "Really, though, it's great to meet you, especially because you're autistic too! I was so happy you thought it was great that Felipe and I are autie. That aside you wrote with me and Keaton talking about "libra" was hilarious!" She chuckles a little. "I hope you'll really like the story itself once it releases, I've got a big role in the first chapter!"

"Don't forget about me or Seph, we're the other two Rangers who appear before Felipe gets his Power Sphere!" Raptor scolds lightly. "Anyway, Jacob, can I say one thing? You're an amazing writer, and... we've all honestly admired your work a lot. When I heard from Keaton that you'd ended up with Nebula Nine as a special interest of sorts, it... filled me with pride, really, because I'm the team leader. I hope we all can continue to meet and surpass your expectations."

"I know you will. I've never thought anything else," I tell her. "And I'm...really happy you guys enjoy my work, too. I'm not...really working on any of my big projects right now, so it's nice to hear that - that people, uh, enjoy my work anyway. Makes me feel good." Indeed, I feel warm inside, knowing that the freaking Nebula Nine enjoy what I've done, and hopefully what I one day do.

Ze'ev catches on and chuckles a little. "Starstruck?" he asks with the slightest hint of a mischievous giggle. "We are too!" Coming over to you, he gives you a big, soft hug of his own, his tail wagging just like a normal dog's, and his ears splay back. "You probably already know how I feel about you, big guy, but... I'm so grateful for you coming into Matty's life! You've helped him develop us all way beyond our initial character concepts, and he always tells us how much he cares about you and loves you. You make him so happy!" He looks up into your eyes, his eyes big and loving.

"Easy, don't smother 'im!" Solomon jokes. "Seriously, yer gonna drown him in all that fluff of yours!"

"I'm five feet tall, you shush!" Ze'ev replies, shooting Solomon a quick glare. "Ignore Jerk Cobain over there, Jacob, he's as happy to see you as the rest of us."

"Darn right! I swear I'll compose a song in your name!" Solomon holds up his lute and strums a bright-sounding chord.

"Ah, fluff sounds pretty good right now," I reply, giving Ze'ev a hug of my own. His fur is soft and fluffy, and the temptation to revel in it is strong, but that feels a little too much like making a move on him. I rub him softly, just a bit. "You make Keaton really happy, you know?" I tell Ze'ev. "Even I can tell. He gushes about you every chance he gets when we talk. It's honestly a little overwhelming."

"No regrets," Keaton declares from behind me. People chuckle, and I'm one of them.

"My point is, I was really looking forward to meeting you, Ze'ev. See a little bit of what Keaton sees. I'm really happy you two are so happy together." I shoot Matty a grateful look.

"Wheee~" he coos a little bit at your rub, before breaking from the hug. "That's so nice to hear- C'mere, honeybear!" He embraces Keaton next, kissing his cheek and giggling, and while the Forever Blue duo are occupied, I smile softly at my big brother.

"I'm happy too," I say, holding my hands behind my back and sighing in contentment.

Finally, Shaula and Thuban make their presence known. Shaula has been sizing you up this whole time, looking you up and down, and she rewards you with a confident smile. "You are just as Matty says," the warrior princess declares, her own tail bobbing slightly. "A capable and kind young man who is worthy of admiration! Were you a member of the Scorpian court I have it on good authority that you would be treated with honor and many accolades."

Thuban strokes his beard, looking deep in concentration. "Ahh... There's much I wish to say myself," he admits. "How to condense it... Jacob, you are a wonderful young man. You've brightened the lives of my charges immeasurably, both through your work and you being yourself. And I cannot thank you enough for inspiring Matthew to declare that my family will grow beyond myself and Raptor." He puts a hand on Raptor's shoulder, and the two of them smile at one another, then at you. "It is my fond hope that you will always shine bright, good sir."

As I'm not much of a fighter, I'm not sure how I'd actually fare in the Scorpian court, but I take Shaula's words for what they are and thank her graciously. I turn to Thuban, the ever admirable dragon, and take a breath. "Thank you, Thuban. I, um, hope you're right about me. There's...stuff I want to do, and well, it doesn't always seem surmountable. But I hope I can do it, too. I think I can, if I try. I'm really grateful that you believe in me." The butterflies in my belly start to flutter again, even though I'm certain that I've nothing to fear. "Uh, I don't usually...ask this, but...Thuban, I really want to hug you...can I, please?"

Shaula nods and crosses her arms, evidently approving of you, and Thuban's whiskers twitch, his gentle red eyes widening at the request.

"My, my," he says softly. "You truly desire an embrace from this old man? If you wish it, then of course you can have it, Jacob." Stretching out his arms, the dragon takes a step closer to you, greatcoat swishing at his feet, and pulls you into a firm, warm hug, one that can't be called anything less than paternal. "I do believe in you, Jacob, as do we all. Know this: that even in the depths of your darkest fears and worries, you may look to us, and know that we all support you- that we love you, I dare say."

I embrace Thuban as he embraces me, wrapping my arms as far around his greatcoat as I can and pressing my face into his chest. "Thank you," I say. My voice twists on the words, and I can feel nascent tears in my eyes, but I don't cry; I don't think they'd mind, but I don't feel comfortable crying about this in front of them. Maybe someday.

"I...I love you guys, too. All of you. I've wanted to meet you guys for a long time," I admit. "I'm so, so happy that you guys like me. It usually takes a while in my fantasies to get to this point, but we just skipped right to it. Thank you, for caring about me, for supporting me, loving me, even. I love you all too, so much."

Not a Dark Matter or Antimatter Power Sphere in sight, and yet we reached this point so quickly, all on our own. It feels wonderful.

I approach once more, embracing gently from the side. "I don't think any of them could ever bear a grudge towards you for anything. We talk about you a lot," I remind, tilting my head a little. "I'm really glad I got to do this for you- I love your characters like you love mine, and... this feels amazing, being able to introduce you to them after all this time..." My own voice chokes up slightly, and before I know it, I'm blinking back tears of my own. "Gah, zarkit... there I go, being a crybaby..." I wipe my tears away and offer a big, wobbly grin. "Jake, I'm so happy right now..."

I gently pull away from Thuban and wrap my arms around you, Matty. "Yeah, I get that. And I'm sure we'll feel this way plenty more in the future. I certainly hope so. I love you, little bro."

"I love you too, big bro." I hug you back, breaking down into open tears of joy that I got to do something like this for someone I cherish so dearly.

"Hey, hey, it's alright," I murmur. "I'm just glad you're glad, Matty."

"Eheh..." I look into your eyes and nod, still overwhelmed with happiness. "So... Let's have some fun, eh? Maybe sit down, have a meal, play some video games, talk about writing a little more? Whatever you wanna do, bro, you're the guest of honor!"

"Ah..." I pinch a lock of hair between my fingers and twist it around. "I...kinda want to see more of the ship right now, to start. It's just...incredible, really."

"Oh yeah!" Keaton exclaims. "I promised you a tour of the place! There's plenty to see, and I'm sure you'll love it!"

"Yeah, yeah!" I nod. "Can we start with that and then...go from there? I'd love to do more with you guys when we're done!"

"Hey, that's perfect!" Lizbeth says, standing. "You've gotta check out the library, it's filled with all the classics!"

"Library nothing, the training gym's where it's at," Seph replies with a grin. "It's great that the Asclepius is so darn big, we can fit a lot of stuff in here! Come on, Jacob, it's gonna be amazing!"

"I don't doubt it!" I laugh. "Lead on, and I'll faithfully follow!"

"Sir yes sir!" all of the Rangers chorus, getting up and striding towards the elevator, all cheerfully bickering about where to show him first. The deciding vote seems to be Thuban, and I take your hand in mine as we follow the colorful crew we've created.

"Matty?" I say quietly, drawing your attention. I look your way. "Thanks for bringing me here. I love you."

And then I walk into the doorframe and hit the side of my head, stumbling back. "I'm okay! I'm fine!" I shake my head. "Let's go, everyone!"

"Ack!" Ze'ev yelps, shocked.

"He's okay, peeps!" I shout, looking at you with worry, but I can't help a quick laugh because I know exactly what that kind of mishap is like. Everyone clamors around you briefly, but their worries are assuaged when they see that you're okay, and they sigh in relief, Champ patting your back and trailing behind you to make sure it doesn't happen again.

#power rangers nebula nine #story time with me and my buddy #metafictional #everyone #self-insert #long post #role play #unbelievaball #nebula nine spoilers

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