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master-sass-blast · 3 years

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Children of the Gods: Part Three, Chapter Two.

I had to input every single italic you see in this fic by hand because Tumblr doesn’t hold text format when I paste it innnnnn. *pained smile*

Please give this chapter some love, because that was fucking painful to do.

Summary: The aftermath of capturing Allison proves messy -both in dealing with the teen's evident trauma, and in all the skeletons in various closets that get unleashed soon after.

Pairing(s): Piotr Rasputin x Reader, Nathan Summers x Wade Wilson, Frank Castle x Karen Page, and Alexandra Rasputin x Nikolai Rasputin.

Rating: M for gun violence, depictions of death and injuries, depictions of emotional trauma, and gratuitous use of the word “fuck.”

Word count: 8.9k.

Set after “Children of the Gods: Part Three, Chapter One.”

Taglist: @marvel-is-perfection, @chromecutie, @super-darkcloudstudent, @girl-obsessed-with-things, @leo-writer, @emma-frxst, @sadstone-s

“What the hell were you thinking!”

“Ooh, careful there, Doohan,” Wade snarks, head rolling to indicate he’s rolling his eyes. “Get any more agitated and you’ll be saying all the no-no words.”

Scott scowls at Wade. “Stuff it, Wilson.”

“Every damn night, laser pointer.”

A mixture of grimaces, sighs, and groans go up through the crowd.

You’re all gathered in the medical wing of Xavier’s –the X-Force and nearly all of the X-Men. Allison’s off being examined by Dr. McCoy and Alyssa –to make sure she’s stable enough to be taken out of the handcuffs and the suppression band—and Frank and Karen are sequestered in a separate room until it's clear how everything's going to shake out.

Because, naturally, there’s been a wrench thrown in the situation.

Or maybe the whole damn toolbox, you mentally amend as Wade and Scott resume arguing.

“We cannot harbor a mob criminal here—”

“She’s thirteen, Summers!” Wade snaps. The eyes on his mask narrow into slits. “She’s not a criminal –and her parents’ choice don’t automatically make her guilty!”

“Murder, illegal theft and possession of firearms, assault, stalking, kidnapping,” Scott starts listing, ticking off each of Allison’s misdeeds on his fingers.

“She lost her family,” Nathan interjects, voice going to gravel. “Where the fuck were all of you when she needed support? Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?”

The room goes silent. Many of the X-Men members look away or hang their heads slightly.

“We had no way of knowing that Allison was a mutant,” Ororo speaks up. “Without the proper information, we can’t help. It’s unfortunate, yes, but out of our control all the same.”

“But you know now,” Wade argues. “You knew with Russell. You knew with all the kids at Essex house. You turned your back on him and those kids, just like you’re turning your back on Allison now.” He scoffs, disgusted. “Same shit, different day. You’re all a bunch of cowardly cocksuckers.”

“We do have limits,” Professor Xavier speaks up from his chair. “Russell and the other members of Essex house were considered wards of the state. Legally, that meant Essex house had custody of them until they turned eighteen. We wrote petitions. We did as much as we could to bring attention to the issue. Unfortunately, it got swept under the rug or stonewalled by anti-mutant members of the legal system. As for Allison…” He sighs. “Taking in wards with criminal connections put the school at risk. Not just for fear of retaliation –as would certainly be a risk with Miss Ricci’s connections to the mafia—but also our funding and licensing. As an orphaned mutant, she is certainly deserving of our help—” he pauses to glare sternly at Scott and a few of the more stubborn, self-righteous members present “—but we have to consider the needs of our other residents and students, too.”

“I think we’re overlooking that Allison is here right now,” Jean pipes up. “Whether or not she stays with us is one thing, but we need to decide what to do for at least the next forty-eight hours.”

“She stays here,” you say automatically. “As far as we know, she has no other guardians, potentially even nowhere to go. I don’t think it’s gonna kill us to give her a bed and some food to eat.”

“Absolutely not,” Scott fires back –and, behind him, Angel and Iceman nod. “She’s far too aggressive to possibly put the students at risk.”

“She’s agitated and traumatized,” you reason, “but that doesn’t mean she’s going to lash out at people left and right.”

“Doesn’t she have a guardian of sorts?” Neena pipes up. “Artemis? Has anyone gotten ahold of them?”

“We reached out with the number Miss Ricci gave us,” Xavier explains. “The call picked up, but there wasn’t any verbal response for the duration of the call.”

Well, that bodes well. “What about her attorney?” you ask. “If we can’t keep her here, wouldn’t her attorney be able to arrange some sort of safe place for her to stay.”

“Thus far, we haven’t been able to reach her attorney.”

And that bodes even worse. You fight the urge to sigh or roll your eyes, and instead mentally curse monkey wrenches and whoever thought to invent the damn things.

“For the time being, I’ve contacted some of our external resources” –the glance Xavier shoots at both you and Piotr tells you that it’s your uncle and Alexandra—“to help with matters until the dust settles. They should be arriving soon, so—”

There’s a loud crash from down the hall, the sound of glass shattering, and an angry screech that sounds suspiciously like, “Fuck you, Castle!”

You give into the urge to sigh before booking it towards the sound of chaos and rage. Great. Now it’s an entire toolshed.

***

Subduing Allison this time, at least, is easier for several reasons.

First, she’s still wearing the repression cuff on her wrist. Without her powers –without a way to pop in and out of this existence, specifically—she’s much easier to catch.

Second, she’s tired. It’s not just the bags under her eyes or the sweat glistening at her furrowed brow. She’s stumbling unevenly, panting as she tries to exact her revenge.

Third, Illyana happens to show up at the exact same time with your uncle and Alexandra (and Nikolai as well, though he has less involvement in the “subduing process”).

Alex reacts fastest. She hooks one strong arm around Allison’s waist, then scoops her away from Karen and a hangdog-looking Frank. “Alright, that’s enough.”

Allison, however, doesn’t seem to agree. (Though whether it’s due to general teenage contrariness or trauma-induced rage, the jury’s still out.

…Actually, it’s probably both.)

“You don’t even get it, Castle!” Allison snaps with a manic grin, eyes wide and haunted. “You killed a good man. My dad was getting out! He was going to testify against them—”

Alex clamps a hand over the teen’s mouth, making her cut herself off with a garbled grunt. “I said enough.”

Allison thrashes in the older woman’s iron-clad grasp –to no avail, unsurprisingly. Her face scrunches up, then her jaw starts flexing. There’s a moment where her expression goes slack when Alex doesn’t react, then her nose scrunches up again and her jaw starts working harder.

Alex sighs, then starts carrying Allison back down the hall (she’s astonishingly unfazed by been chomped down on). “Come on. Let’s get you calmed down, malen’kiy.”

At the other end of the hall, Neena pokes her head into the fray. “Someone who calls herself Artemis is at the front door.”

Professor Xavier nods, then says, “Please escort her back to Miss Ricci’s room,” before wheeling after Alex and Artemis.

You look between Neena and the Professor –then, in the interest of going where you’re actually allowed to be (and not being bored out of your mind because you’ll be literally shut out of the room), you head towards the foyer.

…

“Do you think Frank was set up to stop the trial?”

Your uncle shrugs; the two of you have taken up a spot at the back of the room, where you can watch things unfold and gossip like the two old ladies you are in spirit. “It’s possible. It’s also possible that it was retribution for Allison being a mutant. The Ricci syndicate is notoriously… intolerant.��

You grimace. You certainly understand just how far people will go against their own flesh and blood for intolerance’s sake. “Blood and water.”

Your uncle nods, expression equally sour. “You fucking said it, punk.”

There’s not much point in hashing it out any further –both from the standpoint of “forbidden knowledge” and digging up old trauma—so you settle back into watching Artemis go through the mandatory security check.

She’s tall, with broad shoulders. Her hair’s dark, just starting to streak with silver at the temples, and her eyes are deep, intense, borderline black color. Her nose is slightly crooked –comes with the territory in this walk of life—and she’s dressed in black motorcycle wear and combat boots.

She honestly looks so fucking familiar.

You frown, brows pinching together as you try and place her face in your memory. Failing your own abilities at recollection, you lean over and whisper, “Is she one of your team members? I swear I’ve seen her before.”

“Uh –no,” your uncle replies (and it’s too fast and shaky, but you’re too caught up in figuring out whom the fuck you’re looking at to notice). “I mean –everyone has a doppelganger, right?”

“I guess.” You squint at Artemis, as though physically narrowing your eyes will help your brain puzzle things out—

And then Alex strides into the foyer –wiping the hand that Allison bit, and if you look close enough you’re pretty sure you can still see a few bloody teeth marks—and the cloud of confusion lifts from your mind.

“Oh!” you gasp quietly. “That’s why she looks familiar! She looks like Alex.” You look from the Rasputin matriarch, to the other black-leather clad woman, then back again. “She looks… a lot like Alex, actually.” You laugh softly –coincidence is a hell of a thing—then keep rambling when your uncle doesn’t say anything. “Two women who love the color black and carry enough weapons on their person to stock an army. You’d think the universe broke the mold with Alex, huh?”

Your uncle shifts from foot to foot next to you, but says nothing.

“You really weren’t kidding about the whole ‘doppelganger’ thing, huh.” You cock your head to one side, then frown as another epiphany starts growing in your mind. “Actually… she kind of looks like you, too.”

Your uncle makes a quiet, pained choking noise. “Punk—”

“Yeah, she’s got more of your build…”

“Punk.”

“And her lower lip has that weird lopsided curve like yours—”

“Punk—”

You peer closer at Artemis’s face. “Actually, her nose looks like you took yours and Alex’s and mashed them together—”

“Punk.”

You finally look up at him and take in the pale, wide-eyed, tight-lipped expression on his face. “What?” When he doesn’t say anything, you look at Artemis, then Alex, and then back at him—

Oh God.

Holy fucking shit.

You stare up at your uncle, agape. “Wait a second –you and—”

“Okay, shut the fuck up!” he hisses, panicked, before dragging you out of the foyer and into the nearest hallway.

“You and Alex had a baby,” you blurt –albeit in a voice no louder than a harsh whisper. “Artemis is your and her lovechild!”

He winces, then holds up his hands. “I can explain—”

“I don’t think you can!” you hiss. “Why didn’t you tell me that I have a cousin who happens to be my husband’s half fucking sister! Oh God, does Piotr know? Do any of the Rasputins know?”

“I…” He trails off, then cringes. He rubs the back of his neck. “I’m not sure, actually.”

You stare up at him, dumbfounded. “You’re not sure. How are you not sure? Nick knows who you are –what, you think Alex just kept a whole child from his knowledge—”

“I mean, he probably knows that there was a baby at one point—”

“The baby is in this fucking house!” you snap in a quiet growl, arms flailing wildly. “She’s a full grown adult who probably pays taxes and has a 401k going! Why wouldn’t Alex tell her husband—”

“Look,” your uncle interjects, cutting you off. “As far as Alex knows… she thinks she’s… dead?”

You gape. Then, as quietly as you can manage (given the circumstances), you exclaim, “What the fuck!”

“Keep your voice down!” your uncle hisses, gesturing wildly in panic. He looks over his shoulder, then when he’s certain no one overheard you, he sighs and looks back to you. “Look, it’s a long story—”

“I’m sure it fucking is!” You cross your arms over your chest when he winces. “How is it that you know your secret lovechild is alive, but Alex doesn’t? What, did she just abandon her?”

“No, no—”

“Didn’t think so. So what the fuck happened?”

He sighs, shoulder slumping, and runs one hand through his already disheveled hair. “Look –long story short, the people who ‘made’ Alex took the baby—”

“Artemis. Her daughter. Your daughter.”

He purses his lips, but concedes with a nod. “They took her away after she was born and told Alex she was dead –and that’s actually what prompted her to get out, but that’s another story for another day—”

“Okay, hang on a second.” You squeeze your eyes shut and hold up one hand. “Alex thinks her baby is dead –probably one of the most traumatic things in her whole life. You’ve known that she’s alive…” You open your eyes again and fix your uncle with a stern stare. “Okay, how long have you known for?”

He grimaces and shifts uncomfortably. “…well, the US took her, but she didn’t present early, so they turned her loose into the foster system because she didn’t have potential as an ‘asset’—”

“How fucking long?”

He ducks his head, carefully avoiding your gaze. “…tracked her down when she was ten.”

Your eyes widen –and then you slug him in the shoulder. “You fucking colossal asshole!”

He panics again, motioning for you to keep it down while checking over his shoulder. “Shut the fuck up!”

“No! Not only have you lied to Alex for decades—”

“She never asked—”

“A lie by omission is still a fucking lie!” you snap in a gravelly whisper. “So, not only did you lie to her, but you also abandoned your daughter to the mercies of the US foster care system!”

“My life wasn’t safe to keep a kid around!” he hisses back at you. “I couldn’t take care of you, and I couldn’t take care of her! If anything, it was safer for her if the government thought I didn’t know she was alive!”

You sigh, pinch the bridge of your nose, and wave dismissively with your other hand. “Okay –fine. That still doesn’t justify the whole lying thing, but whatever. Does Artemis know that you and Alex are her parents?”

“…Yes. She tracked me down when she was in her twenties and I told her the truth.”

“Well, it sounds like determination runs in the family,” you mutter. “But at least you two have kept in touch…” You look up, see your uncle’s grimace, and sigh. “You didn’t keep in touch with her.”

He shoves his hands in his jacket pockets. “I didn’t know how to handle it.”

“Pretty sure ‘not like that’ is a good answer.” You sigh again, then shrug and put your hands on your hips. “Well, you’ve probably solved your own problem. She’ll probably just tell Alex who she is just to spite you, assuming she got the ‘petty vengeance’ gene too.”

Your uncle’s eyebrows spike to his hairline, and his expression goes through the five stages of grief in a matter of seconds. “She –she can’t—”

“She can and she probably will.”

He hunches over, crouching, and grips the back of his head. “Shitfuckshitfuckshitfuckshitfuck—”

“Myshka?”

You and your uncle both jump, then whirl in unison and give your husband your best convincing, “we’re totally not talking about long lost, hidden family members and other poor life choices” smiles that you can each manage.

(Consider that you don’t look like you just shit your pants, you win.)

Piotr’s forehead wrinkles with concern. “What… is everything alright?”

“Just fine, baby,” you assure him, subtly kicking your uncle so he relaxes. “Just talking about what happens next.”

Piotr nods after a moment, likely picking up on that whatever’s going on right now isn’t life or death and that you’ll fill him in later. “I actually came to find you,” he says, gesturing to your uncle. “Professor Xavier still cannot reach Allison’s lawyer. He has asked for your assistance.”

“Right. Absolutely. On it,” your uncle says with a none-too-convincing smile. He shoots your husband a pair of finger guns, then books it out of the hall and towards the medical wing of the mansion.

Piotr stares after him, then shoots you a confused frown. “Is he okay?”

You shrug. “He’s doing about his usual.” You decide to further sidestep the issue by ambling over to him and giving him a gentle hug. “How are you?” Are doing okay?”

Piotr wraps his arms around you and kisses the top of your head. “I am fine now. Just a little sore.”

“Me too.” You nuzzle your cheek against his burly chest. “We really should invest in that hot tub we keep talking about getting. It’d be great for post-mission recovery.”

“Hot tubs are expensive, myshka,” he chuckles.

“Yes, but we’re not getting any younger. It’d be a good investment in taking care of our bodies.” You tilt your head back and grin up at him. “I thought you were all about that life.”

He sighs and shakes his head, feigning exasperation, but his amused smile is a dead giveaway. “Whatever shall I do with you, myshka?”

You grin wider. “You could kiss me.”

Piotr grins back, then dips his head and presses his lips against yours—

Mikhail appears next to you out of thin air. “Ah. Gross. Big meeting is happening. All hands on deck.”

Piotr rolls his eyes when his elder brother teleports away once more, then looks back down at you and strokes your cheek with his thumb. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine, baby.” You unwind your arms from his massive trunk of a torso, then slide your fingers between his as the two of you walk towards the medical wing.

…

“—I am telling you, Charles, not being able to reach this kid’s lawyer is a bad fucking sign.”

You and Piotr walk into a conference room to find your uncle and Professor Xavier locked in a heated argument.

Wade, Nate, and Neena are leaning against the table to watch, occasionally leaning over to whisper bits of commentary to each other (or, in Wade’s case, speak at normal volume).

In the corner of the room, where a couple of armchairs are positioned, Nikolai sits with his two other children; they’re speaking in hushed Russian, but none of them seem too concerned about everything else going on.

“As I previously stated,” Xavier says, words clipped, “we cannot release Miss Ricci without speaking first to her attorney. The X-Men operate as a special law enforcement service, and failure to comply with criminal and civil statutes will have enormous consequences for the Institute—”

“There’s going to be a bunch of fucking ‘enormous consequences’ for the Institute,” your uncle interrupts, growling through clenched teeth, “if you don’t evacuate this building right fucking now! Fuck’s sake, Charles –you hired me as a security advisor; just listen to me.”

Piotr frowns and curls one hand over your shoulder. “What is happening?”

“What’s happening,” a new, strong, feminine voice interjects from the hall, “is that we’re leaving.” Artemis shoulders past your husband –a feat not easily achieved by many—with Allison in tow, then holds up the teen’s arm that has the repression cuff still attached. She glares at Xavier (and God, she really looks like Alex when she does that), then spits out through gritted, bared teeth, “Get this fucking thing off my kid.”

There’s a longsuffering sigh in the hall, and then Alex steps into the doorway. “She has that cuff on for her own safety –as I already told you—”

Artemis whirls, face contorted by a vicious scowl, and snaps, “I didn’t fucking ask for you input!”

(Boy, if that doesn’t just scream ‘repressed trauma and mommy issues.’)

Your uncle looks like he’s about to pass out again, but Alex seems remarkably nonplussed. She merely raises one eyebrow at Artemis, as if to say ‘that’s all you got?’

There’s no way she knows, you think as you watch the two stare each other down. Not with how much she cares about her kids. There’s no fucking way—

“Actually, we’ve got bigger problems,” your uncle pipes up, voice quavering slightly before he clears his throat. “We can’t reach your kid’s shark.”

“They have other clients,” Artemis retorts, upper lip curling in a derisive sneer. Her dark eyes smolder with barely constrained hatred as she tosses a withering glance in his direction (daddy issues, too, this chick won the whole lottery). “Or maybe they got stuck in traffic.”

Your uncle narrows his eyes at that (and now the two of them look so much alike, overcome by ire as they are). “You cannot possibly be that fucking stupid.”

Artemis sucks a breath through her teeth, eyes widening with rage and hurt. “You fucking dick—”

In the corner of the room, Illyana bolts upright before going stock still. Then, she gasps and reaches out towards her mother. “Mama!”

(The way Artemis’s face mars with a pained grimace makes your heart ache.)

Alex tenses, eyes glowing gold as she starts scanning the horizon (presumably checking for heat signatures). “Gde?”

The room goes quiet –and then you hear it.

The sound of engines rumbling –multiple engines—and car wheels crunching against gravel. Doors thumping open and shut, followed by footsteps. Hushed voices.

You scamper over to the nearest window and float up, just enough to see several men clad in black and Kevlar and carrying rifles stalking towards the front door and around the sides of the house in groups. “Guys with guns. Lots of them.”

“Then get down!” Nate hisses before yanking you back from the window.

“Lights out,” Alex orders before hitting the switch herself. “Get everyone to a reinforced room.”

“There’s a safe room at the end of the hall,” Xavier says before wheeling himself towards the door.

Allison clings to Artemis’s sleeve, much like a baby koala. “What’s going on? What’s going to happen?”

“Go with the Professor,” Artemis says. She quickly –but gently—frees her arm, then clasps the teen’s face with both hands. “Look at me. Listen to the Professor, and stay put until I come get you. Okay?”

Allison’s forehead puckers, and her lower lip starts trembling. “But—”

“Is alright,” Nikolai interjects with a kind, reassuring smile. He gently ushers Allison towards the door, then down the hall before she can protest further.

A few doors down, Karen pokes her head out of the room where she and Frank have holed up. She frowns as she takes in the chaos. “What’s going on?”

“Mafia men with guns!” Wade chirps as he half-skips, half-jogs towards the mansion’s entryway. “Tell your boy to suit up!”

“There’s a safe room at the end of the hall,” Neena adds as she runs after Wade.

Frank squeezes around Karen and kisses her temple before falling in line behind the two assassins.

You step to the side so Karen can run past you, then turn and press a hasty kiss against Piotr’s cheek. “Love you.”

He kisses your cheek in return, equally as brief. “Ya tozhe tebya lyublyu.”

And then the two of you run towards the danger bearing down on your home.

***

In all the firefights you’ve been in, there’s always this moment of silence. A calm before the storm. A moment where everything goes still, while both sides wait for the other to make a move.

You duck behind a wall as the mafia gunmen continue hammering away at the front door, tucking yourself in a shadow. Your stomach tenses, breathing going quick and hard as your mind starts putting a plan together. Don’t want to risk collapsing part of the house by doing a pressure vacuum. Best option is to probably knock them to the ground so the others can jump them.

The door rattles. The wooden portal splits on one side, sending jagged splinters poking out into the air.

You slow your breathing, forcing yourself into a calm, focused state. Wait for them to get past the entryway so you can hit as many of them as possible.

In the back of the house, near the kitchen, you hear glass shatter.

They’re in. You clench your fists at your sides, watching as the front door slowly gives way. Three… two… one…

The door breaks open, swinging inwards as the first gunmen step into the foyer—

And then the door snaps off its hinges and slams into the men, taking them out like bowling pins.

Strike, a small, inane part of your brain giggles.

Shouts go up through the house. You can hear the sounds of rushed footsteps, shattering glass, and what sounds like people being bodyslammed through tables (and, given the type of people fighting for your side, it just might be that). Gunfire pierces the air –and is accompanied by the telltale, metallic plinks of the bullets ricocheting off your husband’s armor.

Angry screams emanate from the front step. Men barge in, firing down the hall, towards some unseen target (likely Alex or Nate, given the door trick).

You wait until as many men are piled into the foyer as possible, then send down a downdraft that blows out the windows on either side of the door.

The gunmen tumble to the floor, swearing in a mixture of English and Italian.

Nate, Wade, and Neena swoop in. They descend upon the mafia men like a pack of wolves, breaking bones, dislocating joints, and cracking skulls as they disarm –and, in some cases “un-alive”—the gunmen.

“It’s raining men!” Wade sings as he runs one of his katanas through the gut of one assailant. “Hallelujah! It’s raining men!” He ramps off a nearby wall, then t-bags another man before stabbing him through the temple. “Amen!”

You crouch, tracking the movement of the scuffle. You tense when you see a couple of the men jump Nathan, then charge towards the railing and dive over when a few more try to break past to run down the hallway. You flip in the air, land in the hallway ahead of them, and unleash a blast of wind right in their faces.

The mafia men fly out through the front door. They sail over half the front drive, then bounce off the gravel surface and roll several times before coming to a stop.

You let out a harsh breath, then dart down the hall towards the kitchen when you hear glass shattering and the sound of Frank bellowing angrily.

The kitchen and rec room are a mess. Glass shards from shattered windows coat the floor, glittering before being crushed underfoot. Doors are cracked from having people slammed into them. The rec room couch is overturned –and is sagging suspiciously on one side, hinting at a cracked frame. The entertainment system is shattered, with smoking bullet holes littering the TV, speakers, and media systems.

Frank has one of the guys pinned down over the sink. He’s snarling as he uses the lip of the sink to choke the guy out. There’s blood smeared his lips and chins, trailing back up to his chin.

Another gunman stalks in through the dining room, gun trained on Frank’s head.

You whip a blast of air at the second man, sending him sailing into the wall so hard the drywall cracks.

He drops to the ground, unconscious.

There’s some terrified shrieking –and then a gunman is punted up and out of the basement stairwell. He sails through the kitchen window headfirst, crumpling in a heap in the hedges outside.

Your husband storms up the staircase, teeth bared in an angry snarl. The waning daylight glints off his metal exterior, almost making him look like some sort of avenging angel. He stops short when he sees you, though; his irate expression vanishes, replaced by concern. “Ty v poryadke?”

You manage a smile and flash him a thumbs up—

And then a truck with a Gatling gun strapped to the roof rolls up to the back door.

“Get down!” Frank hollers before tackling you to the ground behind the kitchen island.

The room explodes into chaos. Bullets plow into the walls, sending up spurts of drywall dust in their wake. Wooden doorframes and floorboards crack, unleashing cascades of splinters in every direction. Glass shatters, raining down upon everything in its reach.

Frank positions himself over you, shielding you as fragmented bullets rain down upon your both. He cups your head with his hands, doing his best to protect you from the hellfire.

Over the din, you can just make out a loud, angry bellow –and then the sound of bullets hitting metal. Heavy, deliberate stomps make the floor shake.

The gunfire cuts off. A shriek pierces the air just before you hear what sounds like a car being tossed into a tree.

(As you’ll discover later, that’s precisely what you heard.)

Frank lifts his head, then carefully rolls off you. He crouches next to you and holds out a hand. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Your ears are ringing, and you’re pretty sure you’ve got glass shards and splinters in your hair, but you’ve been worse. You take his hand, flinching when you hear the sound of more gunfire outside.

Frank peers over the lip of the island. “Reinforcements. At least five more cars headed our way.”

You suck in a breath. “Piotr—”

“Is holding his own for now,” Frank says.

“I’m gonna help him,” you rasp out. “Make sure everyone in the house that’s not on our side… stays down. And that we’ve still got all our people.”

Frank nods, then runs off towards the foyer.

You catch your breath, then creep towards the back door (better safe than sorry). You flatten yourself against the wall next to the doorway, then peer around the broken frame.

Piotr’s facing off against the new influx of cars. He’s got one hand on the hood of one Range Rover, arm extended out like he’s fending off a five-year-old. With his other hand, he flips another SUV over, causing the thing to land on its roof and putting the vehicle squarely out of commission.

Your stomach sinks when five more Range Rovers tear across the lawn, leaving deep, muddy tracks in their wake –and are followed by three more trucks with Gatling guns attached to the roofs. You sprint out the door, take a flying leap over Piotr, then send out a shockwave of air when you land on the ground.

A few of the cars fly backwards, rolling across the lawn like tumbleweeds. A majority of them, however, manage to stay upright or bump into each other and recover.

Your eyes widen when one of the Gatling gun operators aims directly at you. Shit.

Piotr leaps in front of you, whirling so his back is to the gun. He curls his body over yours, shielding you as gunfire rains down on you both.

You grit your teeth, grunting. You can feel the impact of the gunfire resonating through your husband’s metal body. Worry clutches at your heart when Piotr lets out sharp, ragged groans; he’s largely invulnerable in his armor, not to mention his sense of touch is severely dulled, but you know that with shit like this he’s still feeling some sort of pain –and there’s nothing you can do. You’re both pinned down, and as powerful as your shockwaves are, they’re not enough to stop or even skew the trajectory of a bullet—

Blue light washes over both of you. The sound of the gunfire wanes, replaced by warbling, pinging noises instead.

You peer around Piotr’s side to see Illyana standing between the two of you and the oncoming cars. She has her arms outstretched, palms facing the onslaught of adversaries. A shimmering, sky blue shield with various magical incantations floating through it surrounds all of you, stretching into the sky for at least forty feet.

Illyana grunts. She’s being shoved backwards from the force of impact from the bullets. Her feet are digging into the ground, leaving ruts as she tries to hold her stance. “We need new plan!”

“How about ‘stay alive?’” Piotr shouts back as he digs shrapnel out of the grooves on his arms.

Wade, Neena, Nate, and Frank come barreling out the back door, faces streaked with soot and blood. They dive for the ground, covering the backs of their heads and necks with their hands—

An explosion goes off inside the mansion. The shockwave shatters windows on both the first and second floor, blowing out window frames and trim.

Piotr covers your body with his once more. He cups your head with his hand, shielding you from the falling debris and the worst of the shockwave.

You cough and hack as smoke billows out the broken windows and doors. You do your best to make a vortex to suck the smoke away and send it up into the air. Your lungs burn, and your ears are ringing like a bell from all the gunfire and the explosion—

Four more gunmen emerge from the smoke pouring out the back door.

You snarl, then whip blasts of air at them, slamming them into the exterior walls of the house.

One of them goes down, while the other three are merely stunned.

Mikhail comes barreling out next. He lets out a guttural battle cry, then sucker punches one of the men in the back of the head before aiming a blast of rust colored energy at another’s gut.

The man screams as he sails into the air, arcing over the tree line and disappearing somewhere in the canopies.

The third man aims his gun at Mikhail –then staggers and drops to the ground when a beam of golden energy sears through his chest.

Alex storms out of the smoke with Artemis and your uncle trailing close behind her. She glares down the remaining gunmen and cars, teeth bared in a vicious snarl. Blood is flecked across her face and spattered over her leather jacket. “House is clear!”

“Yeah, except now we’re about to be cleared out!” Wade hollers back. “As in, ‘all sales final, no returns, no exchanges!’”

“If we could make plan,” Illyana screams, voice strained with the effort of holding the shield, “would be very great!”

You look over to Alex –and see her eyes widen. You whirl towards the gunmen just in time to see one of them aim a rocket launcher at all of you. “Oh, for the love of—”

The first hit is technically deflected by Illyana’s shield, insomuch that the projectile and the shield both shatter the moment they meet. The force of the magic breaking sends out a shockwave of blue energy that flies backwards into all of you, knocking those who managed to get up back off their feet and stunning the rest of you.

You groan, head reeling. Your vision clears slowly, casting double images when you move too quickly. Shit.

You can make out Piotr, just next to you. He’s lying face down on the lawn, grunting and moving in slow, clumsy movements. He turns his head, brow furrowing when he sees you, and reaches out towards you.

You extend your hand to grab his –but he’s just out of your reach, no matter how far you strain. Your body feels heavy with fatigue and pain; everything inside you is screaming to get up, to fight, to keep moving because death is knocking right on your door, and you’ll be damned if this is how you go out—

Alex recovers first –no surprise there. She shoves herself to her feet, seething and growling like a feral beast. She hurls a blast of energy at one of the cars –and, from the sounds of the carnage, makes a direct hit. She storms towards the sea of mafia men like an avenging angel, hell bound on vengeance and blood.

Audible gasps go up from the amassed assassins.

You lift your head to see several of the gunmen backing away from the mansion and crossing themselves with shaking hands. You chalk it up to Alex being Alex, and make to drop your head back against the ground once more—

And then you see Allison standing in the ruined doorway.

She’s glaring down the gunmen with a viciousness that doesn’t suit the youthful roundness of her face. Her brows are knit together, and her mouth is twisted into an ugly scowl. Her eyes are glowing a brilliant shade of blue and give off little wisps of azure colored smoke. Her skin and hair are smoking as well, creating an aura around her body. Blood drips down from her nose and onto her shirt –which is stained with ash and soot. There are burn marks and indents on her wrists from where the repression cuff and the handcuffs used to be, respectively, but the restraints themselves are gone.

The ground begins to shake. Two patches of cerulean light appear underneath the grass, growing larger until they form swirling vortexes of magical energy. The ground begins to crumble at the edges of the portals, eroding away and growing wider until they make gaping tunnels that channel so deeply into the earth there’s no telling how far they truly go.

You recoil when the smell of sulfur and smoke blenches forth from the tunnels. Shit, did she hit a gas line? Fucking dammit, like this day can get any worse—

Echoing, blood-chilling howls emanate from the tunnels.

Your eyes widen –and then your heart starts working overtime when you see two, then four massive hellhounds (like the ones Allison summoned at the mall) crawl out of the tunnels.

Shrieks of terror sound from the gunmen. Several take off running, while others try to shoot the beasts.

The hounds snap and snarl at the gunmen, then charge at the group. Two of them go off after the runners, while the other two start lunging after the assassins like they’re rabbits.

You stare at the chaos in disbelief –and then a set of strong hands grab you underneath the arms.

“Get up.” You uncle tugs you to your feet, keeping you steady when you stumble. “You can’t be in the flow of traffic for this.”

Behind you, Allison is panting like she’s run a marathon. The aura of blue smoke is growing around her, trailing into the air and floating over the ground. Veins of light spread across her face and arms, glowing the same shade of vibrant blue as her eyes. Her breathing grows louder and more ragged, until she’s growling and shaking with each exhale— and then she screams.

Much like the first confrontation in the cemetery, all those months ago, the scream unleashes a shockwave of blue energy. This time, though, the shockwave is far from a decoy for escape. It washes over you, the X-Force, your uncle, the other Rasputins, Frank, and Artemis harmlessly enough –then slams into the mafia forces and vehicles like the wall of a hurricane.

Alex charges after the shockwave, carefully trailing behind it. She waits until it clears the first line of gunmen, then slams her fist into the face of the man closest to her. She blocks his attempt to strike her, then twists his arm –dislocating the shoulder, which makes him shriek in pain. Then, she wrenches his rifle away from him. She shoots him once in the center of his forehead, then turns the firearm on his fellow men and keeps firing.

Mikhail and Artemis go after the one surviving Gatling gun. Mikhail teleports onto the truck bed; he sweeps the back of one man’s jacket over his head, effectively blinding him, then kicks the other man present in the balls before shoving him over the side of the truck.

Artemis, on the other hand, stops a few feet away from the truck. She uses her telekinesis to rip the Gatling gun off its mount, then yanks the driver out through the windscreen –headfirst, no less—and dumps him on the lawn.

He doesn’t get back up.

“Come on,” your uncle says, pointing towards the further reaches of the property, where some of the gunmen are still trying to outrun the hellhounds. “Let’s give the dogs a helping hand.”

The two of you reach out, creating a wind current that slices through the air and slams into the stragglers.

The men careen into nearby hedges –and the hellhounds have it from there.

The familiar sonic blast of Nathan’s gun rips through the air. The shot slams into the last remaining SUV, rendering the vehicle to little more than glass shards and mangled metal.

The back lawn and gardens fall silent, save for the sounds of groans of pain and the hellhounds chewing on various gunmen.

Mikhail takes a fall off the back of the truck bed. He flops onto the ruined grass below, limbs splaying like a rag doll’s. “Alright. Is time for nap. Wake me… never.”

Illyana scoffs from where she’s sat next to a smoldering bush. She picks up a nearby stone, then chucks it at her eldest brother’s head (and hits her target, no less). “There is still clean up. Bezdel'nik.”

Mikhail flips her off, then groans as he rubs the bridge of his nose.

“She’s right,” Alex lectures her eldest as she picks her way through the carnage. She nudges one body with the toe of her combat boot, then shoots him through the temple when he groans.

“Mama!” Piotr gapes at her, expression scandalized. He sputters, looking between her and the body at her feet.

“Chto? Vy khotite yego zhivym? Chtoby on mog dolozhit' svoim khozyayevam? Chtoby on mog obrushit' adskiy ogon' na etu shkolu i vsekh, kogo vy lyubite? No –no.” She holds up her index finger and stares sternly at Piotr when he tries to argue. “You do not leave enemies on your six o’clock, medvezhonok. First rule of survival.”

Piotr swallows hard, then says softly, “X-Men do not kill.”

Alex shrugs. “And I am not an X-Man.”

“We’ll handle it,” Nathan says. He holds his hand out for Alex’s rifle, nodding when she hands it to him after a moment’s hesitation.

(Wade and Frank are already working their way through the sea of dead and wounded. Frank’s traversing the chaos methodically, sticking to minimal shots to kill the survivors, while Wade’s alternating between singing “Dancing Queen” and getting post-mortem revenge.

“You shot my dick off inside!” Wade gasps as he peers down at a –slightly chewed on—corpse. “Extra bullets for you!” He then shoots the dead body several times before resuming his pitchy serenade.)

“What now?” Allison asks, staring out at the carnage with a slightly shocked expression.

“‘What now?’” Artemis repeats, laughing incredulously. She stomps towards Allison, pulling a pack of tissues out of her inner jacket pocket. “What the hell are you even doing out here? You were supposed to stay in the safe room—”

“They had cameras in there,” Allison says with a roll of her eyes, as if that justifies her decision to join the fracas. “You guys were getting your asses kicked.”

“We would’ve handled it.”

“Yeah, except you weren’t,” Allison fires back. She scrunches up her face when Artemis starts wiping the blood off her face, but otherwise takes the mothering without any complaint.

“It’s not your responsibility to deal with this shit,” Artemis says, voice and expression softening for a moment. She cleans up Allison’s face –then scowls. “And where the fuck are your cuffs? How did you even get out of them?”

Allison shrugs. “I used my powers to short the repression cuff out and ash it off.”

Illyana’s, Alex’s, and your uncle’s heads all snap around to stare at Allison.

“Are you kidding me?” Artemis hisses through clenched teeth. “You could’ve fucking killed yourself!”

“Or caused magical paradox that ripped hole in space-time continuum,” Illyana snaps.

“Ruptured blood vessels in your brain and caused an aneurysm, made the cuff deliver a lethal electrical shock, turned your magic against your own body and rendered yourself to ash,” your uncle continues, ticking off items on his fingers.

“Well, I didn’t do any of that!” Allison snarls, glaring at the others while Artemis keeps cleaning up her face. “And I made sure you losers won the fight –so fuck off!”

“Get her something to eat and drink,” Alex says. “Her blood sugar is bound to be low after pulling a stunt like that.”

Artemis glares at Alex and opens her mouth to respond—

Across the yard, Wade lets out a pained shriek. “My balls are not fetch toys! Bad Fido! Bad!”

Your eyes widen as you watch one of the hellhounds swing Wade around by his legs. You bite down on your lip, holding in a shock-induced laugh.

“Where’s this mutt’s off-switch –hey, hey! No!” Wade wriggles in the hellhound’s mouth, panicking as another beast bounds towards him. “My spine is not a tug toy! Can someone get rid of Fido and Rufus before they rip me in half!”

Allison snorts –then, before anyone can stop her, holds out her hand and flicks her wrist.

All four hellhounds melt back into the ground, disappearing to the depths of hell from whence they came.

Artemis swears under her breath, then catches the teen when she stumbles. She moves frantically, grabbing more tissues as blood starts pouring out of Allison’s nose once more. “You fucking idiot. Why the fuck did you do that? When are you going to fucking learn that you’re not invincible—”

Allison lets out a sharp, hoarse laugh –then passes out.

…

The wreckage inside the mansion is heartbreaking.

You stare at the ruined furniture, the scorched walls, the splintered doors, the ruined rec room and kitchen, and you have to wonder what was the fucking point?

Part of you understands that the mafia came prepared for war; they were going up against powerful mutants, so –naturally—they would want to be prepared. Having the strongest, most powerful weapons available increased their chances of success. Logically –from a strictly tactical standpoint—it makes sense.

Glass crunches under your shoes. You stare down at a litany of fallen picture frames, heart wrenching as you stare at the ruined pictures of graduates, students, and workers inside. We’re just a school. We work with kids. What was the point of trying to wipe us out?

Piotr ambles up behind you. He puts his arms around your shoulders and kisses the top of your head. “Cleaners and repairmen will be here in less than one hour.”

You feel numb. You place your hand on his arm. “That’s good.”

“We have back ups of pictures,” he murmurs. He kisses your cheek. “Insurance to cover replacing damaged items. We will be fine.”

“I know.” You sigh, leaning back against your husband’s chest. “We’re just a school. What… what was the point? Why try to wipe us out?”

“I do not know.” Piotr kisses your other cheek, hugging you reassuringly. “Perhaps they believed we knew information about ‘family business.’ Or that we were protecting Allison for some reason.”

“She’s just a kid,” you argue, voice breaking as your grief and exhaustion wells up and threatens to overtake you. “She’s only thirteen…”

Piotr says nothing, merely holds you closer.

You sigh—

And then a door slams. Hurried stomps echo down the hall. There’s creaking as a door opens again, followed by more footsteps and exasperated shouts.

Allison storms past you and Piotr, heading towards the kitchen. Her jaw is set, fists clenched at her sides.

You and Piotr look at each other –then follow after her, if only to be sure that nothing else is going to explode today.

She slams her hands down on the island counter –and, on the opposite side, Frank and Karen both flinch and stare at her warily.

Allison glares at Frank, jaw working convulsively. Her shoulders heave with each breath she takes. Her eyes shine with unshed tears, making the bags underneath seem darker and deeper by comparison. She trembles, expression flickering wildly between grief, white hot rage, and the neutral mask she’s trying so desperately to hold. She sucks in a breath that sounds more like a pained sob, then stares Frank down and spits out through gritted teeth, “You leave my people alone, I leave yours alone. Deal?”

Frank sighs. He nods, expression heavy with grief and eyes shining with remorse. “Yeah, kid. You got a deal.”

Allison clenches the edge of the island so hard her hands go white. She lets out a strangled, angry laugh as the tears finally start to fall. She ducks her head briefly, then glares back up at Frank. “I fucking hate you.”

Frank grimaces, but nods and says, “I know kid. It’s okay. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

“That ain’t worth shit.”

“I know… believe me, I know.”

Artemis –who’d previously been watching at the kitchen threshold—steps forward and puts her arm around Allison’s shoulders. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s go.”

Allison clenches her teeth together, but still lets out a choked sob. She presses her lips together, looking around the room to try and regain her composure, to stop the flow of tears. She manages a deep breath, then takes one last look at Frank and snarls, “If I have to see your fucking face again, I’m ripping out your guts,” before storming out of the room.

Frank, to his credit, doesn’t respond (though you suspect he feels too guilty to even consider arguing). He merely hangs his head, expression that of a kicked dog.

Karen leans against him. She interlocks her fingers with his, murmuring in his ear (likely about how it isn’t his fault, and while it looks like that may technically be the case, you’re glad you don’t have to walk the spider’s silk of a line those facts lie upon).

What a shitshow.

Piotr puts an arm around your shoulders and gently leads you out of the kitchen. “Come on, myshka. Let’s go find spot to rest.”

…

Frank and Karen leave shortly after “making the deal” with Allison.

Allison and Artemis hang back for a bit to talk to Xavier. You don’t get all the gorey details but from what you can tell, it’s essentially an offer to help train Allison’s powers so she doesn’t hurt herself rolled in with a warning to keep her nose clean, stay on the straight and narrow, etcetera etcetera.

The sun’s just starting its descent from the sky before the two of them walk out of the meeting room.

Allison is wearing Artemis’s jacket and looks downright haggard.

Artemis has her arm around the teen and is gently guiding her while she talks to Xavier (though, perhaps the term “talk” is too generous, considering most of her responses are nods or terse, one-to-two word replies).

The rest of the Rasputin family, you, Piotr, and your uncle are all gathered in the foyer to make sure Allison and Artemis leave without too much trouble (or causing more trouble themselves).

Your uncle is sweating bullets and looks like he just shit his pants; he’s glancing between Alex and their daughter so fast it’s a miracle he hasn’t given himself a headache yet.

Now or never, you think, watching him with pursed lips. Tell your secrets before they’re told for you.

Alex kneels down next to Allison. “Are you okay?”

Allison’s gaze doesn’t leave the floor. “The fuck do you think?”

She quirks her mouth to the side. “Not all that good.” Alex ducks her head lower, trying to catch Allison’s gaze. “You remember what we talked about?”

Allison’s eyes narrow. She moves her gaze away from Alex. “Go to hell. I know what I know.”

“Sometimes… it’s better to not,” Alex says. She stares at Allison for a moment longer, then pats her shoulder before standing and walking away.

Artemis stares after Alex, expression morphing rapidly between fury and shock. She sputters for a moment before snapping, “What –that’s all you have to fucking say?”

Alex pauses, turning slightly so she can see Artemis. She raises one eyebrow, otherwise looking unbothered. “Is there something else I should be saying?”

“You don’t have anything to say to me?” Artemis presses, crossing her arms over her chest. “Nothing at all?”

“Is there something you want me to say to you?” Alex fires back, smirking slightly.

Artemis stares at Alex for a long, hard moment. She shakes her head, eyes welling up with tears, then turns her glare onto your uncle. “You really didn’t fucking tell her.”

“What?” Alex’s expression sobers, going wary as she looks between your uncle and Artemis. “What didn’t you—”

“This really isn’t the time or place—” Your uncle tries.

And here it goes.

“I’ve gotta do all the work, then,” Artemis snarls with a vicious smile. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense, considering I’m not your favorite,” she tacks on with an angry glare towards you. She storms towards Alex, one hand outstretched, with a cruel, angry smile stretched across her face. “Hey, mom. How’s it going?”

Alex’s eyes widen. She stares at Artemis, eyes tracking over the younger woman’s face. “What…”

“You fucking heard me.”

Illyana, Piotr, and Mikhail look at each other, then at Alex, then at Nikolai. They explode into confused Russian, gesturing between their parents, Artemis, and your uncle—

Realization dawns in Alex’s dark eyes. Her expression trembles, tears welling up in her eyes as she stares at Artemis’s face.

And then she uses her telekinesis to yank your uncle over and decks him.

#sass writes #piotr rasputin x reader #colossus x reader #nathan summers x wade wilson #frank castle x karen page #alexandra rasputin x nikolai rasputin #love me some soap opera style drama #and frankly so does marvel #and honestly if marvel can have whatever tf infinity war and endgame were i can have this #probably shouldn't have built alex's whole backstory and have it be outside the scope of this series bUT OH WELL #deadpool fanfiction #x men fanfiction

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thecomfortable · 3 years

Text

Its Just a test!

A tickle-fic with Ler!April, Ler!Donnie and Lee!Leo from my own TMNT au. When Donnie and April get bored of science, what else do they have left to do? Maybe 'Experimenting' with the fearless leader might tickle their fancy.

April and Donnie were bored. They had exhausted their intelligence and were now sitting in the lab discussing ideas for experiments they do could later.

"See how the population of New York City would react if we shut off the electricity? Maybe put some cameras on the streets, some in houses..." Donnie suggested.

"But then what?" April asked lazily. "We'd have to wait around for the generator to slowly reboot and turn back on."

Donnie sighed.

"Turn the heater off and see how long it takes for my brothers to realise?"

"But then we'd get cold."

Donnie tapped his foot impatiently.

"Alright then. What ideas have you got?"

April pondered for a while before fixing Donnie with a mischievous smirk.

"Leo's ticklish right?" Donnie looked at her.

"Well yes but why are yo-" something clicked in Donnie's head and he grinned. "Yes he is."

Leo was quietly sitting in his and Raph's room, completely unaware of the plan April and Donnie were carefully placing together. He heard someone knock on his door. He breathed heavily out through his nose and stared the door. 'Don't they know I'm meditating in here.' he thought, hoping that maybe they would suddenly remember and leave him alone.

"Hey Leo are you in there?" April called out, though she was muffled by the door.

'Oh well if it was just Red-'

"If you are, we'd like to talk to you." He heard Donnie's muffled voice chime shortly after another swift knock.

Huh, this could be extremely bad for him. April and Donnie are known for their sudden need to experiment on Leo and his brothers and he wasn't going to fall for it now.

"Is it something Important or is it something that can wait?" Leo called back.

In response, April opened the door and Leo reared back in surprise. He hadn't locked the door.

"It's important!" Said April slowly creeping towards him, followed closely by Donnie.

Leo couldn't help it. He started giggling.

"Dahahammit Red, I'm trying to be professional!" Leo got up and backed away towards the wall, only to fall down half-way there.

"And now we're gonna ruin it for you!" Chimed Donnie.

Leo's smile slowly got bigger as he watched the two tall nerds loom over him.

"So, whahaha-" Leo stopped himself and took in a sharp intake of air. "What experiment do you want me in now?"

Donnie and April looked at each other.

"We don't want to experiment on you just..." April stopped.

"Run a little test." Donnie concluded.

"Oh yeheah?" Leo giggled quietly. April poked his side and watched him flinch.

"Of course. Why didn't I think of that?" Leo grumbled quietly, shoving his hands under his arms, shielding his armpits. But Donnie and April just continued poking his sides, giggling as Leo fought back laughter.

"Ahahaha- this ihihihis the worsssSST!" Leo sat up abruptly as April dug into his lower sides. "Oh my gahahAHAahad! Stop!"

April pulled Leo into a hug and Donnie continued his assault on Leo's sides.

"Plehehease! That's enouhuahaHAHA- SHITSHITSHIHI!" Leo, now stuck in this, uncomfortable, position was no longer able to protect his underarms, much to the amusement of his attackers.

"Alright Donnie! You've known Leo the longest. What's a good way to wreak this poor boy?" April asked in a mock-professional voice.

"Well." Donnie responded in that same mock-voice. "Look here on his sides" He gestured to the holes on Leo's shell. "These holes house very sensitive areas of skin and if you just slide your fingers around in the holes-"

"AHAHAHA NONONO THATS SO BAHAHAHAD-! DONNIEEEE!" Leo shrieked, suddenly aware of how sensitive he actually was.

"Ooo! Interesting. Let me try." April cooed.

This was around the time where Leo completely lost it. He thrashed hard and tried kicking away Donnie's arms.

They stopped, yet April still maintained a firm grip around Leo's midsection.

"Now Donatello, are there any 'weird' spots on this young fellow?" April's mock-professional voice was back.

"Yes, yes!" Leo was starting to get flustered with all of this 'professional' talk going on.

"Guyyyys- Quit teasing me!" Leo whined desperately. "You've had your fun, why don't you go and..." Leo's cheeks went pink. Why was it so hard to say just one word? "...Tickle Raph?"

"But we're not done with you yet!" April said happily. "Donnie was just about to tell me where your weirdest tickle spot was!"

"Yeaaah! Red's right. We're not finished with you!" Donnie chimed. Leo groaned and looked up wearily at Donnie. "I'm pretty sure young Leo here is ticklish on his palms!"

Leo went scarlet.

"No! N-No I'm not!" He said quickly. This made Donnie smirk broadly.

"Really? Then you won't mind me doing this." He grabbed Leo's right with his left and began to drag his fingers up and down Leo's palm. The reaction was immediate. Leo began squirming lightly in April's lap and quietly whispering pleas like 'thats enough!' And 'please, I cahahan't!'.

April and Donnie couldn't help but enjoy Leo's adorable reaction to having just his palm tickled.

"Stoppihihit! Please guys!" Leo giggled, tugging at his hand.

The two attackers ceased their ticklish onslaught but still April didn't let go.

"Two worst spots. Same time. Go!" April yelled and drilled into the holes in Leo's shell leaving to Donnie to drill into his armpits.

"NOHOHAHAHHAHAHA- hic -AHAHAHASTOHOHHAHA-" Leo screamed. But it would seem that, this time, begging would not help him. "AUUHUHUAHUAHGH-"

Well it would seem coughing might. Both April and Donnie stopped their assault on poor Leo as he starting choking and began patting his back and telling him to raise his hands above his head. (When coughing on saliva or other objects/fluids, it is always good to raise your hands above your head as it opens the airways. Well that's what my mum taught me at least. - thecomfortable)

"Sohohorry Leo! A-Are you alrihihight?" April said through a fit of giggles. Leo nodded and leaned against her.

"M' kay." He mumbled quietly. The three were silent for awhile (the exception being the quiet giggles emanating from both April and Donnie.)

"Can you breath now boss?" Donnie asked Leo, poking his side.

"Can you not? And yes, I can breathe fine now."

"That means our job here is done!" April sang, giving Leo a long hug (which made him go red); before getting up with Donnie and leaving the room.

"Maybe you should lock the door next time you meditate!" Donnie called out.

Leo chuckled.

"So those assholes did remember."

Fin.

#tickling #tickle fic #my leo #my april #my donnie #my au #tmnt #donatello tmnt #leonardo tmnt #ticklish leonardo #april o'neil tmnt #fanfic #fanfiction #cute #fluff #fluffy #tmnt fluff #platonic

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skylarmoon71 · 3 years

Text

AU Blind Murdock Reader x Leonardo (TMNT 2014/2016) Chapter 4

"Please someone....help.."

You jolted and Leo's eyes darted forward. He dropped his arms, wondering what it was that broke your focus.

"Are you alright?"

During the beginning, you were quite reluctant to join, and he realized he just needed to be persistent. So after you healed, and tried to get out of working together, you finally gave in. Leo knew if you were going to trust them, he would have to give you a reason to, so there was no doubt about showing you the lair. You'd already been there, and he had the sense that you would be able to find them even without his guidance.

At first, it was difficult, going out together and fighting crime. You still tried to operate like you were solo, and he didn't want to risk a casualty, so he asked Splinter for some advice. He suggested team training exercises. It helped with his brothers, so why not you? That's what you were currently doing, until something distracted you.

"I'm fine."

Fine.

You kept saying that. It was starting to get on his nerves. He knew for a fact you weren't fine. But with your very prominent trust issues, getting that information out would be a challenge.

"I need to go." Leo narrowed his eyes. It was Saturday afternoon. You didn't have school, and he was positive when you agreed to come, you did so because your schedule was clear.

"Where are you going?"

Your fist tightened at your side. "I didn't realize this was an interrogation. I just need to go. Or do I need permission to leave sir." He internally winced at the venom in your voice. He'd stepped on a bomb, he knew that now. "Sorry, I don't mean to be nosy. I was just under the impression that we were going to practice. I'm just a little worried, I want us to work well when we're out there. I can't do that if we aren't familiar with each other. "

"We'll be fine." You spoke flatly. You were already turning before he could say much more. You only made a few steps before his hand grabbed your wrist. Effectively halting your movements.

"Let me help you." you bit down on your lip. Asking for help would take a while, Leo understood that. That just meant he had to pay attention. He supposed you were used to being ignored, so it was easy for people who didn't pay mind to miss the subtle expressions on your face. He was getting better at reading you. "Something is bothering you, it's been that way for a while." He could feel you tense in his hold.

"I'm right." So it wasn't just a hunch on his part. At the start of the session he could tell. You were a bit antsy, and some of your hits were delayed. He'd seen you fight, you were calculated, strong and agile. Today you weren't as quick. Your shoulders slumped, and he loosened his hold, watching as you turned to him slowly.

"There's a girl in my building. She's..in pain. I can't seem to help. Every night she cries out for help and I..I can't do a thing."

"Did you try talking to the police, maybe they can help." you frowned.

"I've called child welfare and they didn't do a thing."

"Child welfare..." The child was being abused.

"(Y/N), are they beating on her?" your jaw clenched, and you turned abruptly.

"Are you going to help me or not."

You didn't answer his question, that wasn't good. Something told him that it was better to just go along with you. If he didn't, he'd be stuck worrying about what could happen. He didn't want you acting rash and getting hurt.

"I'll help."

He wasn't sure what he was getting himself into, but at least this way he was in the loop.

~~~~~

As darkness overtook the sky, you and Leo stood on the roof of your building. You kept flexing your fingers. Leo realized that watching you filter through all the sounds around you was intriguing. You seemed to react like an antenna, picking up signals until you found the right one. Your head would turn at every quick noise you caught. Your outfit really was a clever choice, the black blended nicely for the activities you need to carry out, and your eyes were completely covered, so the chance of someone even catching a glimpse of your eyes was impossible.

"How do you deal with it, all the conflicting sounds. It can't be easy, hearing all that you do."

A pause.

"It wasn't always easy, at first it was chaotic. They weren't sure what to make of me, so they placed me in an orphanage. Some of the nuns thought I was possessed. " you muttered. Leo swallowed. This was dangerous ground. Sometimes you'd give him little pieces of your past.

"This world isn't that pretty anyway, people think this disability is a curse, but it's a gift. My gift. I see everything through my other senses. I try to fix it. But everyone else, they see it all. The death, destruction, yet they are the ones truly disabled. Because they choose to be blind. "

You knew what your purpose in the world was, and this was it.

"Please don't.."

"Be quiet."

Leo straightened, and you turned to him. "Did you hear that?"

He nods. "He isn't sure what it is he just heard. It was an obvious cry for help, but the other voice came from inside the room. So it had to be a family member.

"I don't understand, why would they leave that relative with her if he's hurting her."

"It's because he's her step dad." Now he was even more confused. "She's a kid, what could she be doing that warrants abuse. I know parents are strict with their kids but-"

"He raped her." Leo's eyes widened. He took a step back, disbelief in his eyes. You couldn't see him. But there was no doubt genuine surprise.

"Your father, Splinter, I figured he sheltered you guys from a lot, and you've probably only been dealing with the minor threats. Bank robberies, common assaults. There's a lot more out there. Far more than you guys realize. You have no idea how much restraint it's taken me not to smash that man's face into a wall. It's been going on for weeks. I called the police, left notes for the mother. Even tried to get the girl to talk to me. Nothing. "

You tried getting him alone at night, you'd been studying his routine the moment you knew what was up, but there was rarely an opportunity. The hours he worked clashed with when you attended school, and every other chance he was always surrounded by someone. A friend, coworker, or his family.

"But he's...he's her.." Leo felt sick to his stomach. He couldn't comprehend it.

You just let out a dry chuckle. Dark, emotionless.

"The world isn't that black and white Leonardo. In this line of work, if you can't stomach the sight, you might as well be one of the other blind sheep."

Leo was still trying to gather himself. He finally registered that something was about to go down when he heard the sirens not too far away. "Their on time for once."

"W-Wait what are you.."

"If I can't get him for one crime, I'll just have to make him pay for another." he couldn't even ask what the actual plan was. You jumped over the edge of the building and Leo panicked.

"(Y/N)!!!!!!"

Gripping the ledge, you catapult yourself through the window, crashing into the glass. It broke, startling the man in the bed. He jumped off the girl in shock, and you tucked and rolled, cushioning your fall.

"What the hell!" He barely had a chance to pull up his pants. You drove forward, punching him square in the jaw. He took it, grunting and backpedaling as he crashed into the door.

"H-Honey!! Honey are you okay!!" you could hear the mother frantically yelling on the other side of the door.

"Mommy!!" your head whipped to the side. "I'm not going to hurt you." you said softly. You could hear the rustling of the sheets, she was cowering into the bed. "He hurt you." the girl didn't say anything, and you could hear the labored breathing of the step dad. He was still slightly disoriented from the hit.

"H-He said if I told anyone they wouldn't believe me. I-I was bad. I deserved it." It broke your heart to hear those words come from her mouth. "He's a liar. There's nothing you could have done to deserve any of this. He's a monster, you hear me, there's nothing wrong with you."

"Bitch!!"

That was becoming a frequent title. You just smirked when he picked up a bat from the corner. He raised it, striking in your direction. You dodged, moving in as punched him in the gut. He tried to use the lack of distance to get a hold of you, but you elbowed him in the jaw. He yelled out in pain, dropping the bat. You gripped the back of his scalp, driving his face harshly into the wall. It wasn't enough. You drew back. Clenching your teeth as you smashed his face harder. The crack of his nose was satisfying. Blood gushed down his face, and you released your hold on his hair, letting him face plant. He curled into a ball, wailing.

"Pussy." you sneered.

You shifted from the door, moving back to the shattered window. You could hear the police coming up the staircase. It was then that the mother finally forced her way into the room. She kicked in the door, standing in the doorway partially paralyzed at the sight of her spouse bleeding on the floor. "Mommy!!" the girl raced off the bed, right into her mother's arms. She caught her easily, hugging her protectively to her chest as she watched you wearily. It's then that she seemed to really take in the scene. Her husband's pants were down, and her daughter wasn't wearing any.

"No..." you sighed.

"Protect your daughter, if I see him back here again, I won't be so generous. " You raised your leg, stepping on the edge.

"NYPD OPEN UP!!" She could barely say much, the minute she turned at the call, you were already gone. Police flooded the house, and the little girl just held unto her mother, crying softly in her arms.

~~~~~~

"How did you...what did they take him in for." You and Leo were on the roof. You watched the aftermath of all that went down. Leo felt useless. He'd couldn't do much at that point but stay there and hope you got out before the police got there. The number of officers aware of his existence was pretty small, drawing in a larger audience, especially after his family was almost exposed, it was dangerous. He couldn't take the chance. That wasn't the only reason. Somehow he could still barely process the prospect of what that poor girl went through. From her own family no less.

"I planted some weapons I recovered from a russian mob a few weeks back. My plan was to just dump them at the nearest dock, but I guess there was a reason I held unto them for so long. Didn't think I'd need it, but it came in handy. Those guns have been used in numerous crimes around the city. That doubled with the charges his wife is gonna file, he won't see the light of day anytime soon. "

Your only wish is that you'd been able to do something sooner. Nothing was going to make up for the innocence that was stolen from that girl. Hopefully, with the help of her mother she'd be okay. Leo was quiet.

"You've done this already. "

Until now, Leo felt like he was making a difference, but he wasn't so sure anymore. You dealt with this often, no wonder you were so insistent on being left alone. If he had to deal with people like that regularly, he probably wouldn't trust anyone either.

"Don't doubt yourself. You're a good guy Leo. "

You could deal with the dark, it was a part of you. But Leo, he was pure. He still had hope in humanity. In some weird way, you kind of hoped he'd always be that way. You had no problem dealing with scum. It just meant that someone else wouldn't have to worry about it. You didn't mind suffering, it's all you'd known. You could bear it.

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kazuwhora · 3 years

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hello there! I've seen a few of your matchups pop up in the tags and I was wondering If I could please request one for tokyorev (romantic)?

My pronouns are she/they and I am 5'2, average weight, shoulder length brown wavy hair, blue eyes and my overall style is a shit show but I tend to wear a lot of flared jeans or cords and

I am an infp, 2w1, aries son, cap rising and Leo moon and my love language is physical touch and acts of service. I am very in tune with my emotions though I often struggle to display them outwardly so people sometimes call me a robot (also might be because I have a resting bitch face and I pretty quiet). I am introverted and pretty quiet until you know me. I am also very good at keeping my cool and not reacting to things outwardly even if it really angers me. I'm kind of the 'mum' of my friend group, and I always look out for them no matter what. For example, my friend has really bad anxiety so I used to always have to ask teachers questions for her. People often describe me as 'nice' and 'sweet' but since I grew up with an intj dad, I can be a bit manipulative sometimes without even realising. Like not in a bad way necessarily but I am very good at lying or sculpting situations to make me or my friends feel more at ease.

Some of my hobbies are arguing with people on reddit, baking muffins, studying typology, digital art, making flower posies, going to the beach at winter since it's peaceful, being outside in general and making hats.

Sorry if this is too much, but please take as much time as you need and have an amazing day/night/morning! :)

nothing is too much information! the more you provide the easier it is for me so don't you worry about it! thank you for requesting and being so patient <3 also ur reddit comment made me laugh because as an entp same

im matching you up with my sweet boy kazutora!

god I love him so much. this is an interesting match up but im going to explain why I think this is actually a really sweet pairing so hold your horses on any objections LOL

so kazutora is an extremely emotionally vulnerable person. you two share the same mbti (infp) which essentially means your cognitive functions are all based around emotions and feeling as well as introversion. you both value similar things, but you also both experience a lot of things in life the same way. kazutora, while growing into a more developed and healthier version of his old self, is still extremely emotionally damaged and vulnerable to attacks against him. kaz needs someone who can feel emotions and process the external world the same way as his because he just needs to be understood. he needs someone who can tell him they get it, who mirrors his own emotions and validates them. he needs someone he can see himself in, a role model if you will. as an infp, you're just the one to do that.

kazutora will be the friend that might need you to step up for him and take the lead, though once he's a little more surefooted and stable, he wants nothing more than to have a balance between you as an effort to sort of repay you for any trouble he might have caused. with his emotional trauma, he resorts to feeling guilty at any sign of burden he might be to you, and will retreat as a means of protection and self preservation. in these cases, your ability to manipulate and lie is an asset because sometimes he just needs that reassurance and false sense of security to get by.

he also greatly values your introversion. as an infp and someone with emotional trauma and hurdles to jump, an extravert is fine but he truly thrives with someone that can understand his need to retreat and embrace it without hesitation. together you two find comfort in staying in and just being in each others presence. he'll like to cling to your back and bake with you, handing you ingredients as you do all the work. you'll have to bark at him to do something but he can't help that he just wants to be close to you. he really likes to press his face into the top or back of your head and smell your hair. its a self soothing behaviour that he literally thinks is the best thing in the world. he'll kiss the top of your head while you're busy baking and mixing ingredients, he'll forget what you asked him to do because he was too lost in your scent, and when you finally get frustrated with his uselessness you'll turn around and look at him with stern eyes and like a guilty puppy he'll shamefully grab all the dirty dishes and measuring cups and start washing them like you asked him 20 minutes ago. you wont be able to stay annoyed with him though because he's just so sweet?? and he never stops making it known how much he loves and appreciates you <3

#KAZUTORA MY BABY #pls bake him muffins and tell him hes worthy

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incorrect-ikevamp-quotes · 4 years

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MINNIE SENPAI!! blease do E, I, K, L, N, O, W, Z for Leo? 🥺💖 (i might have gone overboard, so feel free to choose the ones you like the most fhdgk)

Haha, welcome welcome!! I’m honored kouhai, please don’t worry! 💖💖💖 I hope you enjoy this post~

Under a cut for length, yet again LOL

Fluffy ABC headcanons listed here for requests!

E = Emotions (how does he express emotion around her?)

Bold of you to insinuate Leonardo has emotions that aren’t imposed against his will HAHAHA. Just kidding, but he does have a hard time not clowning and hiding what he’s feeling. Say it with me kids, repression. That being said, I think he will always have a hard time expressing himself without hesitation in his relationship. His first instinct is to soothe and protect; he doesn’t really know how to put himself first, very few people have ever cared to put him first in his life. One of the hardest things about being capable with the mental acuity of a blade is that everyone just kinda assumes you'll be fine (compounded by the fact that he feels burdensome asking for help). And while there’s no doubt he can take care of himself, everybody needs a daijoubu from time to time ;-;. I like to hope that his MC will be able to see through to the truth of his feelings over time--even if he doesn’t openly enumerate them--before he can smother his emotional needs into silence. Furthermore, I think he would be a little more open/obvious about the depth of his love over time because, at some point, those feelings would accumulate to the point of overflow.

With Leonardo, vulnerability is a slow burn; he will reveal what he’s thinking someday, but today is not that day. Have patience, be gentle with his absolute clown self-neglect, try to meet him halfway; that trust will inspire him to be everything he thought he never could be for someone else.

In the meantime:

One of the key signals when it comes to Leonardo is to pay attention to when he’s seeking to spoil her. If he’s being extra uwu, that’s a surefire sign he’s Coping™ by channeling those more negative feelings into making her happy. He thinks the best way to handle The Bad Feels and/or concern for her is to redirect that energy into something constructive, and what better outcome could there be than her pouting or giving him that dazzling smile of hers?

Honestly, with Leonardo, he tends to convert emotion into action--she will know the warmth of his love long before he ever says it out loud.

He has a hard time articulating his feelings, so asking him to say them outright might be hard on him--it might not be the best immediate go-to. Spoil him out of the blue, instead. She’ll seek him out and just sit in his lap and cuddle for a nap sessh completely without warning, hold him tight so that he knows she’s here no matter what. She’ll indulge his cute needy moments and lounge in bed all morning together, hold his hand first when they go out, take charge in the bedroom; she’ll show him he’s wanted and needed before he can even think to doubt himself. Murmur compliments to him, make him things he loves to eat, give him a back rub unprompted. It’s the simple awareness of what he enjoys and the execution of it before he can prepare that utterly decimates him into revealing the feelings he keeps under tight control.

He is a lover that thrives on spontaneity and burning, silent consideration for the person he cherishes. The most adorable thing about this is that he is absolutely lost when the same tactic is used against him, he’s utterly defenseless to it!! (look at me. He has zero emotional object permanence. The mere prospect that somebody would worry about him first would send him into shock. And remember: the way people give love can often be the most powerful way they receive it, too.) The sacred texts!! She can use them to make him smile that smile that lets her know he’s an absolute goner for her without the need for words; the smile that says “it will always be you. It can only ever be you.”

When he’s happy, he literally just spoils her with more energy and teasing--expect a lot of wild fun and laughter when he’s in a good mood. He will have exceptionally tender moments now and again (say after a bad nightmare of losing her, for example) where he won’t say anything at all, just holds her close. He needs to know that she’s still here, that she’s okay. It is a rare and huge act of emotional trust; MC’s understanding and her easy proximity in these moments mean the world to him. When he’s distant and evasive, that is the time to give him some space before wedging her way inside. She won’t let him sit and stew in abysmal feelings; he has a bad habit of punishing himself too much or lingering on unhappy moments in his life. Despite how he seems he takes things incredibly seriously--to the point where he exhausts himself.

When he’s jealous and feeling petulant, he will not hesitate bitch and will get surprisingly grumpy. She’ll coo at him and reassure him that he’s the only one for her, and he’ll calm in the circle of her arms. Fun bonus: he’ll be embarrassed/mortified about being out of control later and she has ENDLESS fun teasing him just a little, even better if he punishes her with a good bangarang. Anger and irritation are emotions he tends to leave be, but if someone directs any kind of threat to MC (or an innocent in general) every trace of his jovial nature dissolves in milliseconds. He is swift, decisive, and deadly when he’s belligerent; he is the last person to push too far. He will often regret it later or worry about scaring MC, but it really does only happen once in a great while. She always reassures him that she knows he only did what he felt he had to in the moment.

You can just hear the Leonardo stan in me, lord jesus

I = Injury (how would he react if she got hurt?)

OH GOD KILL ME FUCKING SOFTLY AUGHGHGHGHGGH

I think it would depend on the injury. If it’s something like a papercut or a scratch, he’ll just be like “yare yare cara mia, be a little more careful next time, yeah?” Will bandage her up and disinfect because he knows enough about medicine to be cautious. Plenty attentive, will probably tease her about being a klutz and/or tell her to ask for help next time. Everything you would expect from Leonardo, essentially; equal parts light-hearted and responsible.

NOW WE GONNA GET SPOICY

If the injury is much more intense--say a broken limb, or deep gashes, so on and so forth--I see Leonardo being very, very grim. His lips would be pursed into a firm line, blanched white from the pressure, and his first step would be to get her out of the danger at any cost to himself. Following his ability to get her to a safe place, he would begin to tend the wound as gently as possible, asking questions to gauge the severity with single-minded concentration. “Where does it hurt? Rate the pain, describe what it feels like. Can you move the injured limb?” He will use whatever he has at his disposal to minimize her suffering if he can’t get her to a doctor immediately. If she requires treatment from someone else, he will be beside himself the entire time; chain-smoking, pacing, running his hands through his hair nonstop. He has ants in his pants until he sees her with color in her face, eyes bright again.

May I offer: They are 100% that couple (in which Leonardo is the one that falls asleep at her bedside) that’s like “you look like shit.” “look who’s talking, stupid.” and they just start laughing, mutually relieved.

During her recovery, he will be incredibly gentle but also subliminally alert. Anything she needs, she gets. If she tries to return to a normal pace of life too fast, he is straight up just picking her up and putting her back in that recovery bed. He ain’t playin’--don’t test him on this. He’s usually pretty easygoing, but he will snap at anyone who isn’t careful with her in this state. He will not take any further risk to her life. (He’s not usually brittle, but under severe conditions he can be.) He’ll tease her from time to time, but it’s much more mild than usual; he’s too consumed with concern to let her get worked up. He’s never really had to deal with a prolonged state of physical helplessness personally, but he’s seen enough in his life to know it can be really taxing on a person’s mind. There will be a thin veneer of calm, only there to keep her relaxed and to ensure the stability of her mental health. He knows that if he shows too much distress, he’s only going to worry her further--and that’s the last thing he wants. He will spend the majority of his time acquiring as many distractions as humanly possible, even if he has to be the distraction; anything to get her mind off of darker things.

When she’s back to normal, he’ll still be on alert for a short while before he goes back to his usual clowning self; might be a little more protective and cautious than usual, or be a little paranoid about the specific thing that caused her harm. (No Leonardo, we need kitchen knives--how else are we going to cut the carrots?? Please relax.) He doesn’t want that kind of heart attack again anytime soon;;;;

Honestly, it’s very likely that MC will have to be the one to remind him that she’s fully recovered--and not quite so fragile--well after she’s returned to the normal pace of life.

K = Kisses (how does he like to kiss her?)

Mah heart, mah soul

When it comes to kisses, Leonardo will vary extensively. Will give her teasing pecks intended to make her grab hold of him and force him to linger, smirking into the kiss as she’s instigated to deepen it. When he’s feeling particularly overwhelmed with feeling--say when he’s jealous or frustrated--his kisses will be dizzying; sucking on her tongue and nipping at her lips, caging her against him as he unleashes all of the desire that was building inside him. The intent will be to drown her in passion. Lazy kisses before/after a nap, where he just wants to revel in the heat of her for a moment--express his affection on a whim--before dozing off. And last, but certainly not least, he will kiss her with the express intent of marking her. Due to his inability refusal to bite her, he seeks to relieve that instinct with hickeys all over her body (most frequently around the chest and neck, sometimes along her thighs and hips when he has fun downtown).

L = Love (how does he show her that he loves her?)

This man is Acts of Service through and through when it comes to showing his love. He is exceptionally observant and sensitive to the feelings of others, so the second he sees her in need he is already seeking an externalized solution. His usual modus operandi is to enact his love as covertly as possible; he doesn’t want her feeling guilty for troubling him. That being said, if he has to be direct--he will be. He won’t ever force her, but he will remind her that he is here and that he wants to help more than anything else. If she needs time on her own he’s happy to give it (even if he pouts and fidgets restlessly the whole time). His most acute expression of love is his reliability: taking care of people is the first way he knows how to express affection.

While that tends to be his primary method, it by no means insinuates that he won’t show affection in other ways. If he teases her, it’s because he wants her attention more than anything but is far too shy to say it directly (is he a middle schooler of a lover? Yes). More to the point, asking for her time and her attention is a way that he expresses love because it means he trusts her enough to know the signs, fulfill those needs, and realize that he meant no harm with his nonsense. Though it may sound odd, his desire to rely on her a little (insert is for me? meme) is his way of showing her he’s letting her in, and that’s a very real form of love considering how Herculean an effort it is for him to rely on someone else. It’s the same reason he will sometimes make his room an even bigger disaster zone than usual. He has every intention of cleaning up after himself, he just wants her to bust in and start fussing over him LMAO (MC: WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS LEONARDO?! Meanwhile Leonardo, an idiot full of uwus at the sight of his beloved exasperated, sitting in a pile of trash: Just according to keikaku)

As odd as it may sound, it’s almost like a weird reverse damsel in distress sort of dynamic? He carefully constructs situations where she can offer him help with the express purpose (and hope) that she will care enough to bust past his enfeebled defenses. It’s so oddly demure for this enormous punk of a man, but I find it adorable ;-;

Other ways he loves to show how he feels is to take her on trips or on little adventures. One of his favorite things to do is to watch her take in places he knows like the back of his hand--or even places new to him--with all the gleeful excitement of a little kid. It just warms him down to the marrow, and makes him have so much more fun than he ever could alone to see her buzz around nonstop. If he can encourage her to relax and take some time for herself in the process, to live for herself a little (she’s all too giving) then he considers the entire endeavor a success. All the effort is worth it if she can remember their time together with a smile Must You Hurt Me Like This, Leonardo.

One form of love that he will behead me for revealing is that he also sketches her all the time in his notebook, and will look to those little moments he’s captured whenever he’s feeling down or she’s not around.

He will have times where, if he can’t convey something properly with his actions or through making love, he will level with her. He will take the time to try to explain his feelings with accuracy, and in these moments he is both sincere and heartfelt. While it is a more rare expression of love for him, it is earth shattering when he does. Not only because his feelings run so deep, but also because these moments are unmistakably raw. Leonardo knows that vulnerability is a simultaneous boon and bane; it can inspire so much mutual joy, but it can also mean the exposure of lifelong wounds. It means acknowledging that these feelings are real. Even if she never takes advantage of the truth, he is aware of how precarious that position can be the more intense this love gets. It means facing how hollow he will feel when she's gone--something he works very, very hard to look away from.

(A related addendum because I have brainworms: The reason that people love and trust Leonardo is not primarily based in his intellect, fairly natural charisma, or good looks (though they are very compelling elements of his person). I think what people really see is how--though Leonardo sees through to the truth of peoples’ hearts in seconds--he keeps their secrets and treats them with so much respect/gentleness. It’s this odd capacity to be seen without feeling exposed that makes him such a remarkable and interesting man, and why he grows so close to everyone’s hearts. People feel understood without the need for words, feel cared for without a second thought. That being said, I think he needs someone who is similar. A person who sees all that he is on the surface, but barring that forges deeper still to find and cradle those parts of him that still need so much healing/care.

There’s a reason one of the greatest hits to his heart in his MS--one of the moments MC most powerfully gets through to him--is when she essentially says “Don’t give me that. Nobody ever gets used to loss. When something hurts, it hurts.” Whether she realized it or not, she penetrated straight to his heart with those few words. The truth is often much simpler than we might assume, and no matter how much experience one has with certain emotions--particularly grief and loneliness--no amount of experience makes them hurt any less. We only grow better at concealing or coping with age...)

N = Nightmare (what is his worst fear?)

I have a list (from Comte). I keep them alphabetized.

Jkjk, but if I’m honest I think this man has a good amount of fear inside him. I’d say the highest ones up there would absolutely be losing MC very suddenly, or being the reason--whether directly or indirectly--she gets hurt (like if his familia came after her to get back at him? he would be devastated).

If it is a timeline where he does choose to turn her, he’s beside himself at the prospect of the turning process going horribly wrong. It’s an unpredictable transition, and if she were to come back mentally broken or in constant pain (immortal wounds/aberrant) I think it would really fuck him up emotionally. He would blame himself without a doubt ;-; and that’s assuming she doesn’t hate his ass for the rest of eternity if it does go well (Leonardo I am begging you to use one brain cell)

O = Oddity (what is one quirk he has?) This one’s just a crack hc so if you were taking me seriously for any amt of this post, this is my suggestion that you stop

Leonardo is a man of many idiosyncrasies; among them an incapacity to dance and writing in a mirrored hand.

Another one is his absolute hatred for mint. One of Comte’s favorite things to do to mess with Leonardo is to stuff the drawers in his desk with peppermint candies to ward off his old friend and make him stop sleeping under his desk (like how people will use salt for demons!). He will also drink mint tea if he’s feeling particularly irritated with Leonardo’s antics, like if he’s received a ton of letters from Leonardo’s familia. Tells him to come to his office and the place is SUFFUSED in the scent of mint. Comte is just sitting at his desk with the stack, wearing that incorrigible look like “If I must suffer, so must you.”

One time--before MC was aware of this quirk--she had some chocolate that had mint in it after dinner. Leonardo kissed her without knowing (he came in late) and literally died where he was standing; he was biting his tongue to keep from gagging. MC just o: ???? because she’s never seen him make that grimace, especially after sharing a kiss. Comte was in fucking tears laughing at the head of the dining table while Napoleon and Sebastian were both fighting a smile--Arthur was outright wheezing. Isaac, blushing and coughing lightly into his fist, offers the explanation that Leonardo hates mint-flavored things and the scent of it makes him queasy.

W = Warrior (how does he feel about her fighting? Would he fight for her, beside her, etc?)

Man, this one’s tough, but if I’m honest I think he would be conflicted. On the one hand, he thinks it’s badass and hot as all fuck that she knows how to hold her own in a brawl; he can’t deny it’s sexy and reassuring (he has to resist the urge to gaud her into punching him). But. That knowledge also comes with a lot of concern. Was she in a place or around people that never once looked after her? Or was it a safety precaution? He will think deeply about the implications of her capabilities, and ask about it openly if he can’t deduce the reasons from afar. He will see it as very important information in regards to how to look after her properly.

That being said, I don’t think he would let his MC fight unless there was literally no other conceivable choice (say she was attacked while he wasn’t there or before he could intercept the blow). He would literally rather fall on a sword than see her get hurt. He’s durable and used to pain; he’d rather suffer and heal fast than see her sustain a single scar or bruise. Even if it makes her angry, he’ll take a hit and ask her to stay behind him every single time without fail. He’ll accept her frustration about it and will feel that it is perfectly valid to be annoyed with him. It still won’t make him budge, though.

Z = Zen (what makes him feel calm?)

Naps and lingering in bed well after morning with MC make this man happier and calmer than anything this world has ever seen. He loves that in those moments they aren’t thinking about anything else but each other, and he can indulge in the certainty of her presence in his life and so close to his heart. He can use the excuse of drowsiness to be tender, making love with a slow, devastating build to pleasure--hand entwined with hers against the sheets.

Failing that, he goes to things that stimulate his senses to find calm--he can’t really relax if his hands and/or mind aren’t occupied (i.e. cigarillos lmao). It’s why he’s often in the library; he’s always seeking new information and conundrums to sort out mentally if he doesn’t have the energy to go out and about. If he’s in his room he’ll be drafting diagrams, coming up with new concepts and architectural schematics, even making trinkets for MC or fixing something in the mansion. If he needs a change of scene or has the spoons, he’ll make a trip to town to help people with any problems that need solving, or find some excuse to go looking for and tease MC HAHA (he’s a little shit, but he’s our little shit úwù)

#asks #ikevamp #ikemen vampire #ikevamp leonardo #ikevamp leo #ikevamp headcanons #ikevamp hcs #ikevamp comte #ikevamp fluff #fluff headcanons #so like ik this is unhinged but also i hope you enjoy my nonsense?#tysm for sending in an ask it was a delight to do these for leonardo!#got carried away as usual but how does one not for this excellent bastard i salute him o7 #leonardo is just a roller coaster of a lover HAHAHA but that's not a bad thing~#here's to another day wishing i could hold him and tell him it will be okay **sighs**#rambles

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senotsuri · 3 years

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Way back when, I posted an image of an OC, who fairly recently got a full name (she only had a surname back then.) So, with Eliza’s name finally figured out, I realised I hadn’t actually given my overview of the game that spawned her; Champions of Vestroia.

Time to lose my mind, I guess.

Some fore-knowledge before we get into this.

I am, by all means, a legacy bakugan fan, not a reboot fan. I’ve only seen one double episode (the become-smaller-child episode, which was cute, and Outer Demons, which has a super good premise, but the execution is. something.) By all accounts, CoV is essentially my introduction to the world of the reboot, and I’ll come to this later.

I played both the first game (Bakugan Battle Brawlers, specifically the Wii edition), and the... third game (Defenders of the Core, shortened to DOTC, also for the Wii. The second game, for anyone curious, is Battle Trainer, a DS exclusive.) This will come up later, of course, but I want to point out these two as they’re basically my control group for the quality here (not for the battles though; different battle system and all.)

I am incredibly stay-at-home. A lot of people I know irl I don’t have contact with, and most of them don’t live in my city. This is only important when it comes to the protagonist and literally no one else in the game, but I thought I’d mention it anyway.

So the game begins with the character creator. This is pretty standard stuff, honestly. My one issue with it is just-- this is probably my fashion sense speaking, but the fashion in the game is very... for lack of a better term, naff. There aren’t many options that look good, personally speaking. This is ignoring the issues where the protagonist loses their name, mid conversation, or is referred to as if I chose the male option instead of the female option. These issues are likely just oversights, by all accounts, but talk about jarring.

The first time you see your character is where 3. comes in. The protagonist, no matter what you chose (I have two save files, in case there was a difference. There isn’t), will always be a football/soccer player. Are you one of many, many people who isn’t sporty, who is trying to play as themselves? Sorry, your character is sporty, and you can’t do anything about it.

In the legacy games, this was never really a problem; your character was never seen doing anything other than brawling and interacting with other characters. Whether they played sports, or stayed indoors and wrote fanfic, the game let you decide on that for your character, by not having them do either of those things: your character only battled, or snuck around in DOTC’s case.

Once you stop playing football, you get to run to your best friends, and I guarantee you, you won’t immediately guess who they are unless you somehow already knew.

I mentioned BBB and DOTC being my control group on quality. Bringing the character creator back into this, the NPCs are laughable in quality. Any character who has the same model as you (older child. There are only two other model types: adult, and younger child) will look like a remixed version of your character. Had it not been for some characters having special eye shapes, you could practically cosplay any character in the game, because they were made the same way you made your character.

This includes your two best friends.

You could easily make the same character (minus clothes) as one of your best friend characters, without knowing it until you saw them.

While, yes, BBB and DOTC had the characters from the legacy anime in them, the fact that your best friends are nigh indistinguishable from any other character in the area, because you could easily make any of them in the character creator, isn’t... great.

Speaking of that. Characterisation is questionable, to say the least. Whatever bakugan you have in your first slot will answer to you the same as any other bakugan you have in your first slot. If you started off with Howlkor in the front of your party, and you replaced him with, say, Barbetra, Barbetra will act the exact same as Howlkor did, and it’s really something.

There’s only (?) Armoured Alliance bakugan in the game, other than Dragonoid, Pegatrix, Trox, Hydorous, Nillious, and the afforementioned Howlkor. That’s a small roster, by all accounts, so having varied dialogue depending on the bakugan would make sense.

The characterisation of the other characters is also a little funky in places. Your best friends don’t brawl, and I honestly forgot about them for a portion of the game. The tournament brawlers are practically as faceless as the villain minions, and the villains- oh the villains...

Preston. I don’t like Preston, at all. He’s a villain from the moment you see him, and the whole “try to find Preston” section in Helena Heights makes me want to punch someone. When you fight him in the Parasol HQ, his dad being the CEO, it’s fairly clear that Preston is little more than a tool for him. Sometime later, you fight Preston again, this time as the final tournament’s final battle, and he’s laughably weak compared to the other challengers. Remember, this kid fights you with Leonidas.

You’d think Leo would be good, but I’ll get into the butchering that happened to my death dragon later.

Anyhow, he fights you, assuming his dad will enjoy him defeating you. With the power of you’re the player character, you beat him, he hands all of his bakugan to you, and gives up on brawling for good. Kinda.

The next time you see him... hoo boy. In Old Town, on the way to defeat dear detestable dad, you come across Preston. He offers you help, and when player character is understandably suspicious, Preston complains that... one of his toys was taken away because you beat him, and now he wants Revenge On Dad.

I wish I was joking. His revenge, by helping you defeat his dad, isn’t because he’s obviously neglected by his dad (company taking priority over him, the CEO’s son), and then is used as a minion to try and get rid of you. It’s not out of bitter feelings because his dad doesn’t care about him, no, it’s because his dad took his ball away.

What’s worse is how player character reacts: “Oh! :) You’ve learned that bakugan aren’t just tools! :) Yes you can help me, despite the fact that you learning this sounds less than genuine and definitely not last minute! :)”

This is a level of stupidity I’ve only seen in DOTC Mira when Spectra tricks her into giving him Drago. He’s literally sulking and moping about over his ball, and then he sees the player character, immediately being manipulative so that player character can take down his dad for him.

Leonidas also forgives him, and has the same reaction as the player character.

Speaking of Leonidas! I think everyone’s been excited for Leonidas in general - we all love a shark headed death dragon, and we wanted one in the reboot for ages.

I refuse to call reboot Leonidas Leonidas. This is like the Shun Kazami debacle, but one I’m substantially more angry about.

Leonidas, in BBB, was untrusting of everything, wanted to throw down with everything in sight, had no fear of anything because “I don’t fear weak [humans]”, and literally came from hell. He eventually grew to trust you and others, to calm down and enjoy himself at his own pace, and was willing to have help from others, showing anyone around him that his origins aren’t the be all and end all about him.

Leonidas, in CoV, is immediately trusting of the first human who showed a hint of kindness, has a weakness to all attacks in the game, comes from Vestroia (not the Doom Dimension), and forgives the human who threw him away when he didn’t win the battle against you for him.

Ignoring the fact that Leonidas just doesn’t look good in CoV, I’d say he got bastardised. That’s not Leonidas, it’s just a dragon with the same name.

The main villain is the CEO of Parasol, an energy company that, assumedly, used to use solar power. Upon finding out that bakugan battles give off incredible levels of power, they turned to using bakugan, forced to battle, to generate power. These guys literally dug into someone’s house to try and get Leonidas. They’re evil.

On the topic of the battling for power generation; this has a decay effect on Vestroia, as it happens, as battling energy would usually go back into Vestroia, which would be recycled and reused.

The CEO doesn’t bend the knee to you until you break him, which is undoubtedly nice for a villain; I was honestly expecting him to give up, but he doesn’t. You beat him into a corner.

But as my introduction to the world of BP, through CoV, is lackluster at best. Obviously the game is meant for those who have seen the reboot, and don’t mind being completely disconnected from the story, because CoV is self contained, and Dan only shows up to be the tutorial giver (as a jpg, no less).

From what the game tells me about the setting; bakugan are often exploited by adults, bakugan do not like adults because of this, but can’t tell when a human child is manipulating them, unless another child removes them from that situation (the lack of agency here is somehow worse than in the legacy series, who knew).

Despite bakugan being around for 18 years in the setting, no one seems to be aware that they’re living beings, other than the main charcter, as if BP humans are equivalent to Legacy’s Vestals. I was already aware of Vestroia and Earth sharing a location in space, but the fact that drilling deep enough causes bakugan to appear on Earth seems... really weird? Schrödinger’s Bakugan Summoning Pit, but they exist on every digging site possible. Bonus points to all bakugan being able to speak, and they do speak a lot, but only to the player and whoever is around the player in a cutscene.

I’m missing a lot of things, such as battle items being the worst sometimes, I’m aware, but at this point I’m tired of rambling, so let me end off in a comparison.

CoV has, in my opinion, the same replayability levels as Pokemon Shield; I couldn’t replay either game to the end, and I wouldn’t recommend either to anyone unless they were desperate for a new game to play, and had nothing else to chose.

#Bakugan #CoV #Bakugan Champions of vestroia #I had Feelings today #I give CoV a 4/10. personally #I think me being a legacy fan doesn't help it. but I don't think any of those biases actually held the game back?#Shoutout to the one kid in Oldtown who says something about the state of the economy. and makes the player character enter a mild panic #the kid is like. 6. the player character is maybe twice their age #The kid says it with a smug face too I wish I was making this up #I think his name is Rusty? I could be wrong #Bonus: I don't think Player Character has a house #There isn't a single house you can enter. not even one labelled as yours. all you have is your hideout. which has a clothes rack??#I'm almost convinced that's exactly where they live and that's it #Extra bonus to the ventus centipod you find when picking a flower. a flower that gets a guy to quit his job on the spot without a care.#sir. sir where is your sense of responsibility. sir--#Also it's like. half one in the morning--

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songsofacagedbird · 3 years

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Self Para 003: But Don't You Waste the Suffering You've Faced, It Will Serve You in Due Time Word Count: 4,530 words Notes: I’ll probably reblog this onto Zander later too considering this is a duel POV one and he has his own section, although it is mostly Balo. Also this is pure angst, I’m sorry. I do feel like it is important to note that this self para did end up giving me second hand anxiety, so if you’re prone to anxiety right now or if you’re highly empathetic, please tread with caution. Thank you! TWs: Disownment, (Child) Abuse (mentioned, not actually occurring), Anxiety & Anxiety Attacks, Dysfunctional Family Dynamics, Suffocation (mentioned, not actually occurring), Blood Transfusions (mentioned, not actually occurring), murder / death (mentioned in threats)

Graduation was supposed to be exciting, a moment where she was bouncing off the walls as she eagerly said goodbye to this chapter of her life. So, why wasn’t Balo happy about it? It was almost as if she started to dread it more and more as the time passed, sure, she was relieved that it was almost summer vacation. She was still playing a certain phone call in the back of her head, how easy it could have been to- no, it didn’t matter. It didn’t do her any good to think about it, and so she shifts her attention back to packing up her room.

“They’re hosting a father's day's brunch, and I don’t want to go.” She tells the teddy bears on her shelf, knowing full well they can’t respond. But, that was what made telling them easy, they couldn’t react poorly to any secrets she whispered to them, they couldn’t worry about her, or say something that made her feel guilty for coming to them at all.

And despite how safe it was to talk to inanimate objects about everything, she’d much rather talk to Leo. He understood, probably more than anyone expected him too. Maybe they’d be able to find their own corner of the brunch on Sunday, say Zander was their father so they wouldn’t be excluded or something. Although, she was probably expected to sit with George and Jack, which, considering she’d heard through the grapevine he’d dumped Juliet, well, Balo wasn’t exactly excited to sit at a table with Jack and their adoptive parents in general after everything that had occurred the past several months, but especially now.

Maybe that made her a bad daughter, but, it was far from the first time she’d been one, and she’d doubted it’d be the last. After all there was a reason her own parents hadn’t wanted her, and she supposed that only made it worse. She wasn’t going to see her mom, she doubted Will could afford to fly in again, and Grace probably was going to try to protect herself. What was there to be excited about? She survived her last year at Luxor, but she’d survived plenty of bad situations before, it wasn’t worthy of celebration.

The shirt in her hands falls to the floor. Wait, what was that? Her head whips in the direction of the noise. Who was knocking on her door? She hadn’t been expecting anyone. Still, she picks up the article of clothing, quickly trying to fold it to pack before she forgot it.

“Balo, open up, we have a surprise for you!” Ches, but, what did she mean by a surprise? What had she roped Zander or Collen into this time? Balo sets the shirt onto the pile before she walks over to her bedroom door to open it.

Wait. Was that Grace and Will?

“Ohmygosh!” Balo throws herself at Will before reaching out to try Grace into a group hug, clinging to them closely. “When you guys hadn’t said anything, I thought that you weren’t- because mom and dad-” She can’t help the tears rolling down her cheeks, the way she holds onto them even tighter.

“There, there.” Grace pats her back awkwardly, “we’re here. That’s what matters.” She’d never been the best with these kinds of emotions, Balo knew that, but she appreciated the effort, the attempt to comfort her. “But you might not-”

“What Gracie is trying to say is, we’re not the only surprise.” Will interrupts, “and they’re not all good. Lance is not happy I came.” Wait, why would Lance care? Unless…

Balo let’s go of her siblings immediately, turning to look at Zander and Ches. “What did you two do?” She hisses at them, but neither of them seemed keen either. Okay, so Ches hadn’t decided to do something like trying to repair family relationships, and while she feels guilty for even considering, for a moment, that Ches was capable of being so dumb. She knew that Ches didn’t always think through her plans to help, but she wouldn’t, not if she thought it’d hurt Balo.

“There’s a Father’s Day brunch, Balo. I didn’t do shit. Luxor sent out the invitation for me.” Zander groans, “but it’s going to be fine, because that means mom is coming too, which means he can’t really hurt her for talking to you right? There’s too many eyes. You can ask her all the questions you’ve been meaning to-”

“Yeah, Sherlock, until they go home.” Grace huffs, glancing over to Zander with a perplexed expression. “Did you even think before you opened your mouth?”

“She’s talking about leaving him, in case you didn’t get the memo, Grace. I know California is so great you can’t be bothered to pick up a phone call-”

“Enough.” Will interrupts the two, giving both Grace and Zander a look. “Mom has always done what she’s wanted to. If she’s decided to take a risk, it’s because she felt it was safe enough for all of us to take. She wouldn’t have helped Ches with my plane ticket if she didn’t want me here, I’m pretty certain Lance coming is the only thing she wasn’t counting on.” Wait, their mother had helped with getting Will here?

“The father day brunch invitations were already sent out, and Lance had told Zander he was coming, in my defense. This was all Mrs. Driskelll, I only provided the capital.” Ches defends herself before Balo can even glance at her. The redhead’s expression was too guilty, but Balo doesn’t have it in her to reassure her friend right now. It wasn’t like she could blame her for Lance showing up, not even if she had reached out to her mother before that point. He was like a ghost, he’d always come back to haunt her. She was the fool for thinking that she’d be free after he'd disowned her.

“How bad is it going to be if dad sees us together?” Balo questions, shifting awkwardly. Suddenly the bad gut feeling was only even more intensified. What were people going to say with Lance Driskell here after her secret reveal? Everyone knew her father was abusive now, no, she couldn’t-

She turns quickly, darting into her bathroom and closing the door behind her. Her knees sting as they hit the tile, desperately trying to find a quiet corner to tuck in onto herself and hide. She can hear them discussing who’s going to come in and check on her, whispering among themselves. A door opens, but much to her surprise it’s not the one to the bathroom. Although it opens a few minutes later, and the person who sits down beside her is the one person she’d never expect to see now.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be here sooner, bambi.”

The tears start to fall even harder as she hears that voice, as delicate fingers tuck her blonde hair behind her ears. She can’t even bring herself to look, she wants this to be a bad dream, because that’d be easier to face than the reality of the situation. “Why didn’t you want me?” She sobs, even though she certainly didn’t want to know the answer.

“I have wanted you since the moment I knew I was pregnant with you, and that has never changed.” Cassandra Driskell reassures her daughter, continuing to stroke her hair. “Everything I have ever done was to protect you, but, I’m starting to realize I didn’t go about this the right way.”

“You think?” Zander shouts from the doorway, okay, he definitely hadn’t been the one to go grab her mother. Wait if Cass was here?

“Is he already here too?” Where was Grace? Did Will wander off? Ches- immediately, Balo has the motivation to move despite the fact she’s only getting more panicked by the second.

“I can see everyone, they’re safe, little one.” Her mother reassures her, reaching out to pull her into her arms. Immediately, Balo relaxes into the embrace, continuing to sob as her mother tries to comfort her. “I can handle Lance, you don’t have to worry about anything. I’m sorry I had to cut contact, I was trying to do what was safest for you, with how angry he was... it was better directed towards me, and only me.”

Wait, Lance had gone after her because of Balo? This was her fault, it was all her fault, again she’d failed at being a good daughter. But before she can apologize, Zander’s right there. “It was safer for you. That’s what it’s always been, an attempt to protect yourself.” He hisses, “you never loved her, or me, or Will, or Grace. We were just convenient for you.”

“That’s not true-” “Then why the fuck didn’t you leave him?”

Was Zander crying? Balo glances over to her brother, reaching out for his hand as he tries to wipe the tears from his eyes. She knew better than to draw attention to it, that pointing it out would only make things worse.

“I was scared he’d come after you, that he'd kill us for leaving him.” Cassandra’s voice shakes, for the first time her mother doesn’t seem nearly as composed as she always did. “I did try to leave once, when you and Gracie were babies. But, I couldn’t- not after I found out about Balo. There was no way I could take care of the three of you on my own. I could barely afford to take care of the two of you, and Lance- he’d promised... and I was stupid enough to believe him.”

“Is it awkward if I leave and let you guys discuss this as a family?” Ches calls to them awkwardly, “because I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to be here for this.” For a moment, Balo laughs, but before she can say anything. Zander is answering.

“Stay, I need you to stay. Don’t fucking leave me, Chessie, please.” He sounds so broken, and immediately Ches is coming to join them on the bathroom floor. How long would it be until Will and Grace tried to crowd in here with them? Was there even enough room?

As if Grace can read her mind, she’s calling to them from the doorway. “Well, we can’t all crowd into Balo’s bathroom, so if we could move this to the living room, that’d be great. Especially if she has to stay.” Despite the snide comment geared towards Ches, Grace had a point. Balo forces herself to get up off her bathroom floor - trying to shove the fact she would rather hide in a bathroom than face the first genuine family discussion they’d ever had in her life aside.

This was for the best though, right? Finally getting everything off of their chests, working through at least part of the past 20-or-so-years of trauma. Sure, there was no chance to fix things, but perhaps trying to talk would bring some sense of closure, answer the questions that’d been eating at her for months.

Her mother owed her, all of them, that much.

—

It seemed like the more Zander talked to his mother, the more conflicted about her he’d become. Even hours after their chat, getting dressed for the convocation dinner, he wasn’t sure what he thought. On one hand, he was glad that he was wrong about so many things with her - that she'd been willing to admit to her many, many faults as a mother. That she acknowledged how much she’d hurt them, and she was sorry, and she was going to try to be a better mother going forward. That she’d only signed those papers to ensure Balo was provided with a life she could never give her, that she knew about Grace’s girlfriend and that she supported them full heartedly - despite the fact their father certainly wouldn’t. That it wasn’t her choice to send away Will, and she’d been sneaking him money because he was her son - a fact Zander had never known until William had brought it to the table himself.

His mother wasn’t evil, she had good intentions, he could see that now, but that didn’t erase the damage she’d done unintentionally to her children. She could have gotten them out there, she should have gotten them out of there.

So why was he willing to forgive her?

He throws the tie down in frustration, before he forces himself to lean down and pick it back up. Where the fuck was Ches when he needed her? Elliot’s, probably, actually, knowing her she’d gone right back to his room as soon as she dropped Clover off at the lake house for a couple hours. Drew and Clarissa were watching the dogs this weekend during the dinners and ceremonies, something about using the time to socialize Clover with other dogs while she had them around, and he supposed that made sense. Treadwell was certainly not a bad dog to socialize with, and while he didn’t know much about Ester, it was Effie’s - so it likely wasn’t demonic.

He doesn’t even question if he should interrupt Ches and Elliot before knocking on the door. “Elswood, help! I can’t get my fucking tie.” He calls out, “I keep suffocating myself.”

“One of these days you need to learn how to tie your own tie.” Ches calls back. Well, at least he knew her well enough to guess where she was. She comes out into the hall to take the fabric from him, shaking her head a little. Wait, was she wearing yellow? That was new. “You’re going to talk to your brother this time, right?” He had been supposed to during Thanksgiving, he’d told Ches he was going to. Hell, she’d even dragged him to William in an attempt to get them to talk, and he’d gotten cold feet.

“Will he even want to talk to me?”

“You’ll never know unless you try. He’s your brother, and from the way he talks about you... yeah, in my professional opinion, yes. He does.” She informs him as she ties his tie for him.

“Your professional opinion?” “I really should start charging you for all these therapy sessions.” “That’s cute, Elswood, real funny.” “Thanks, I’ll be here all day!”

In all seriousness though, Ches had a point - even though it was obvious she was joking from her demeanor. “I’ll talk to him. So, about Elliot’s dad... should I be wishing you luck or...?”

“No luck needed, now go talk to your brother.”

As soon as the tie is finished, she’s heading back inside, not giving him much of a choice in the matter. Whatever she was up to inside was clearly more important- no, him going to talk to his brother was more important. Why did she always have to have a point? He huffs a little as he goes off to try to figure out where William was. “Will, can we talk?” He asks the moment he spots the man in the grand hall, chattering with Cassandra and Balo. “Alone. It’s important.”

“Of course.” Concern crosses the older boy's features as he lets Zander lead him off. “What’s up?”

“I’ve been a horrible brother-” He doesn’t get to finish the statement, the apology before the shock on William’s face takes him aback. Had he grown another head? He might as well have if the look his brother was currently giving him was any indicator.

“What?”

“I’ve been giving you shit for years, and it hasn’t been fair. I don’t call nearly often enough, and when I do it’s to tattle on Balo or because I’m having a crisis of some sort.” Zander points out, “and I can barely call you my brother some days after...”

“That doesn’t make you a horrible brother, it’s okay, Zander.” Will goes to pull him in for a hug, squeezing him tightly. “I know these things are hard for you.”

“I was jealous of you.” “I know.” “You aren’t mad?” “Not in the slightest. I understand why. Taking care of Balo was always your thing, and then suddenly there’s someone else stepping in and doing that too. If the roles were reversed, I’m not sure I would have taken kindly to my adoption either.”

It’s almost as if a weight is lifted from his shoulders at the genuine assurance that William didn’t hate him for what he’d put the man through, and not only that, but he understood. “I’ve done a lot of fucked up shit, Will. There were posters...”

“I know. That wasn’t your best moment, and in that moment you were acting like a horrible brother, but that doesn’t make you one.”

“It hurt, when you got sent away, didn’t it?” Of course it did, why was Zander asking this as if he didn’t already lay in bed at night and imagine how much he’d hurt William by growing even more distant after he was shipped off, and it’d only gotten worse when he’d seen how badly Balo had taken everything. No matter what Will was telling him, he was a horrible brother. A good brother wouldn’t have left him alone through that, a good brother would have...

“It did, but you needed to protect yourself too. We didn’t exactly have a normal upbringing.” Will points out, “again - I understand. Lance stabbed you, Zan. That’s more than enough reason to not upset him more.” Was he going to be okay with Lance here? Zander rubs the back of his neck as he starts to question how safe having Will here actually was. While he was actually glad to see him, he couldn’t imagine how hard of a decision this was for him. To stay safe, or walk back into the lion's den.

“Are you worried about... you know?” “Scared shitless. But it’s worth it. If I’d thought you’d be okay with it, I would have come last year. But I didn’t want to overstep...”

“I’ve regretted not inviting you.” Another regret that kept him awake, not just because he thought that Will was better at protecting Balo - they’d already talked about that. The only thing he’d been able to get out during Thanksgiving, come think of it. “I’m sorry, for how I’ve treated you Will. I love you, you’re my brother, and I’m sorry I wasn't better at expressing that sooner.” Again, Wiliam hugs him, and this time Zander hugs him back - a bit awkwardly.

“I forgave you years ago, just stop being a stranger. I want us to be mates.” Friends? He could do that.

“Mates, or mateys?” He jokes without thinking. For a moment, he worries that he’ll offend Will, but the boy chuckles, pulling away and patting him on the back.

“Why not both? I am the captain of the Flying Dutchman.” “Don’t let Ches hear you say that.” “Trust me, I know. Now come on, let’s go find Gracie. She’s terrorizing the other one you and Balo hang out with, the boy... Collen?”

Well, he couldn’t leave her to do that now, could he? And Zander has no issue following after William, feeling like for the first time - things with him and his brother were actually good. That there was no ill-blood lingering, that moving forward they actually would be friends.

If only he’d talked to him during Thanksgiving, it would have saved him a lot of sleepless nights.

—

“There’s one more thing I want to talk to you about, Balo. Now that your siblings aren’t here...”

Balo blinks, turning her attention from walking Will and Zander walk off to her mother at the words. What was there to discuss that they couldn’t say in front of her siblings? Surely she didn’t mean- for a moment she starts to panic, glancing over her shoulder for Lance but there’s no sight of the man. “It’d be better if we discussed this someplace a bit more privately.” Her mother adds, as if she wasn’t already panicked enough.

Still, she follows her mother when she leads her to someplace quieter, only breathing when she realizes Lance is nowhere in sight. Safe, they were safe. “Is everything okay, mom?”

“No, not really.” Cassandra confesses, “there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you, about your father.” Wait, was her mother going to tell her who it was? For a moment, she feels a bit of excitement at the chance of finally finding out who it was, while it’d been eating at her since she’d put two and two together in Japan. “I haven’t been completely honest about who your biological father was. I was seeing someone when I was separated, that part isn't a secret, your father is completely aware I was. But I was trying to protect you...”

“Why would you have to protect me, if Lance knew he wasn’t my father?” Wait, Lance knew, right? Wasn’t that why he treated her even worse than the other Driskell children?

“I... might have not mentioned that fact.” Well, that made things interesting. Was he aware now? He had to have figured it out at some point down the line, right? “You don’t seem surprised. How did you figure it out?” She seemed concerned, almost confirming her suspicions that Lance knew.

“I needed a blood transfusion when we were in Japan, Zander couldn’t donate. My blood type isn’t a match to either of you....” She explains, tucking some blonde hair behind her ear. “I wasn’t sure if I could ask, when we were all together, and I just got you back, I didn’t want to- I don’t want you to leave again, so I thought if I just didn’t- you know?” She can’t help the tears rolling down her cheeks again, or the guilt she feels when her mother moves to try to wipe them away again, pulling her in for a hug and stroking her hair, whispering reassuring words she couldn’t quite make out completely over her own sobbing.

“I’m not going anywhere ever again, I promise.” Cassandra whispers, continuing to stroke her hair. “I’m so sorry you had to find out like that, bambi.” And she seemed genuinely apologetic, a bit too focused on reassuring Balo to continue on about what she wanted to say. And Balo clings to her mother even tighter at the promise she wasn’t leaving, how was she supposed to know that? She wasn’t supposed to leave her in the first place.

How was she supposed to trust something wouldn’t tear them apart again?

“Did he ever-” Could Balo even ask that, if her biological father ever wanted anything to do with her? Cassandra sighs, pulling away to look her in the eyes.

“It was safer for everyone involved if there was no contact. But, bambi, I’m not sure you’re ready for the answers to your questions.” She wants to protest, tell her mother if she was old enough to tell, surely she was old enough to know why he wasn’t involved, or who her biological father even was, but she relents, deflating as she realizes she wasn’t going to find out who it was from her mother anytime soon. “I’m sorry, I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but baby steps. He was a good man...” She trails off, and when Balo glances over her shoulder, she immediately understands why.

Was she supposed to say hello? What was the best way to handle Lance Driskell at the moment? “Balian.” He greets her, “how about I walk you and your mother back to dinner? It’s about to start, isn’t it?” Wait, was he being nice? Confusion fills her features immediately, but she doesn’t protest when he offers her an arm. This was too private, if she upset him... “You wouldn’t happen to know why your classmates are giving me strange looks, would you, lass?” He whispers in her ear as soon as she’s close enough to, his voice sending a shiver down her spine.

“Someone dug up old court records, tried to use them against Zander and I. We’ve been trying to do damage control ever since, but not everyone believes us it was a one off.” Balo whispers back, hoping the lie isn’t too obvious. Where was Zander and Will? Even Jack right now would be better than being alone with Lance and Cass. “I swear I didn’t tell anyone anything, dad.” He seems calm, but, when it came to her father, sometimes she wouldn’t know she was in trouble until he striked, and the inability to tell if she was safe, or in extreme danger, only made her even more frightened. Where was Leo? She wanted Leo, right now.

“Don’t let it happen again.” He believed her, and it suddenly feels easier to breathe. “Oh, and Balian?” As soon as the relief came across her, it was gone as it became apparent he wasn’t finished with her quite yet. “If you ever step out of line again, I’ll personally ensure you will never speak to your mother again. Do I make myself clear?” There’s a threat there, she knows it, and she’s immediately nodding along.

“Yes sir! I won’t, I promise.” She couldn’t, and once they reach the grand hall, she drops his arm.

“Good, it was nice to see you again. Come along, Cassie.” Lance doesn’t give her much room to say much else, not that Balo wanted to, and as soon as they’re gone, she can feel the tears welling up in her eyes again. Leo, where was Leo? She scans the grand hall, trying to see if she can find him but before she can get very far, there’s another person coming up to her.

“Hey there, buttercup!” Emmett greets her, although his expression quickly shifts when he notices her crying, the mirth that seemed to sparkle in his eyes getting replaced with someone much more serious. “You can come hang out with Cam and me, if you’d like.” And while she’d much rather hide behind Leo, the offer to have someone with her until more people arrived, and it wasn’t just a handful of them in the grand hall, wasn’t something she could bring herself to deny.

“Please?”

“Always. If you want to stay with us in the city this summer or anything, really. I know my father offered you an internship.” He had missed the memo; she didn’t want to discuss that, didn’t he? Still, she nods. She had been offered a design internship with The Elswoods, and she still couldn’t bring herself to say yes. After all, how much of it was them actually being impressed by her talents, and how much of it was nepotism? She wasn’t sure how much Ches had whispered in his ear.

“Can we discuss this later?” “Of course, come on. Camellia has more animal pics for you.” Now, that was a subject she was more than happy to discuss. She follows Emmett quietly, hoping that he wouldn’t be too offended; she wasn’t her usual excitable self at the moment. She had way too much on her mind to wear that mask at the moment.

Now all she needed to do was hope that somehow, she’d be able to find the energy to put it on before everyone arrived.

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marinerofthestars · 4 years

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the zodai tag

bit of a late arrival to this fandom, but better late than never, i suppose!

1. How did you hear about the books? about a year ago, i was doing research on the zodiac for an urban fantasy project i’m working on, tales from omphalos, when i found the house ophiuchus info page on the zodiac website. unfortunately life got in the way and i forgot the series for a while, but a little while ago i remembered zodiac’s worldbuilding and got sucked right back in!

2. What is your favorite moment from the series so far? it’s hard to choose just one moment, but i’d have to say skarlet and rho’s first meeting in black moon for how atypical it is. we know skarlet is the hypotenuse in rho and hysan’s love triangle, but she doesn’t act like the stereotypical petty Other Woman at all. she’s charismatic, she’s genuinely fun to be around, and she has sympathetic motives and ambitions. above all, she’s actually super nice towards rho, and doesn’t let her feelings get in the way of their political collaboration. (and then thirteen rising assassinated her character. yes i am still bitter about it why do you ask)

3. Which House are you from? house leo!

4. What do you like about your House? artistry pride is something i’d really love to be a part of as an aspiring author, i have blaze and trax (both criminally underrated characters imo) as my housemates, and our zodai wield FLAMING SWORDS in battle. what’s not to love?

5. If you had to change Houses, which House would you pick? since leo really vibes with my passion for art, this is definitely a tricky question! probably either libra (police brutality is a thing of the past with bind, and their government seems like they have their act together), scorpio (much waterworld. much ambition. much cool tech. wow), or sagittarius (diversity, democracies where the voices of the young and non-complacent can be heard, and really vibrant cities are all things i appreciate)

6. Which system would you most like to visit? capricorn, no question. the zodiax is THE single most location in the entire zodiac bar none to me - an ancient complex the size of a planet, its oldest curators having access to transportation systems most inhabitants don’t even know about? an archive of humanity’s collective knowledge, so massive it has hotels and restaurants within it because leaving to sleep or eat is just so impractical? LET ME TOUR IT. LET ME UNCOVER ITS MYSTERIES I KNOW THEY EXIST (i think history is rad okay)

7. If you got to choose, which Zodiac technology would you like to have? probably...the tattoo? i don’t have anywhere enough knowledge about neuroscience/engineering to design my own, but assuming that i did, i’d love to design a tattoo that can interface with my brain and with digital art software, so that i can turn whatever ideas i have in my head into artwork!

8. Which character would you want as a best friend? skarlet. she’s six feet tall, buff as all hell, super attractive, prefers diplomacy to violence but still perfectly capable of kicking ass, and an outspoken risers’ rights activist. what’s not to love? (though knowing the type of people i usually hang out with, i’d probably end up with like. twain or gyzer as my best friend. one can dream though)

9. Which sign would you like to date? aries, because as previously stated skarlet is awesome. (a sentiment i will continue to reiterate) failing that, either libra for their sense of justice, scorpio for their ambition and passion, or aquarius for their innovative mindset.

10. Who do you hope Rho “ends up with?” (If anyone at all!) firstly, thank you for acknowledging that rho might not be interested in romance after everything she’s been through. (aromantic rho? arho?) secondly: skarlet.

this might be a little controversial, but i feel like in some regards, rho has far more chemistry with skarlet than she has with hysan. (ms. russell. i am sorry but. i have. Issues. with ‘centaur smile’ and the context surrounding it doesn’t make it any better) all of their interactions are marked by a noted admiration on rho’s part, and it’s not just merely admiration of her frankly enviable body (there’s more than enough of that, but it feels respectful somehow, there’s no five-page purple prosey ramblings on how the sweat glints on skar’s brow as she lifts weights, unlike with some people - sorry, mathias), but admiration of skar’s personality.

her charisma. her ambitions. her drive to fight for people who’ve been beaten down for millennia, to give a voice to the voiceless. to use violence as a last resort, not a first strike.

even at their absolute worst in thirteen rising, even when they’re butting heads, they don’t let it get in the way of doing what needs to be done. hell, skarlet even points out that she wouldn’t be giving rho such a hard time if she didn’t respect the hell out of rho, if she didn’t think she was tough enough to take it. there’s a sort of unspoken bond between them, a slow orbit that they’re both caught in. at the end of the series, they part way on relatively good terms, and with the hope that maybe, just maybe, that orbit might become something more than just professional acquaintance.

also their oppositional dichotomy of cardinal fire/water signs is an awesome aesthetic that i really wish was brought up more than it was in canon :(

11. If you could record a Snow Globe, what would you put in it? only A snow globe? you’re not exactly giving me a lot of slack here in all seriousness, if i had to choose one moment to record in a snow globe, probably the moment i first came up with the idea for the urban fantasy project i mentioned above, tales from omphalos. i’ve never been devoted as much time to or invested as much energy in a project as i have with tfo, and i’d like to keep an easily accessible record of my original vision on hand. and hey, if by some chance i manage to follow in romina’s footsteps, get tales from omphalos professionally published, have it become a big success with a respectable fandom, i’d like to look back every once in a while, and remember how it all began.

12. If you had the chance to tell Rho anything, what advice/encouragement would you give her? - lies, especially lies of omission, are necessary a lot of the time to get ahead in politics and life in general use that being ahead to help out the people and groups you care about - don't trust the immortal child-aristocrats or expect them to behave in a way that won't inevitably screw you over - if you must play nice with them, figure out how to decrease gemini’s horrific income inequality, and see what you can do about exporting cell rejuvenation therapy to the wider zodiac - ferez is right, risers are the future and you need to acknowledge that going forward - skarlet is excellent at garnering support and bridging generational gaps, and while fernanda purecell is a bougie running dog, she’s got her head screwed on the right way regarding politics and institutional riserphobia; together, the three of you should be able to make some headway towards making amends for past wrongs - i don’t care if family heads have suffrage, matriarchal aristocracy (aristocratic matriarchy?) is NOT a democracy or a form of government that looks out for the rights of men/NB people/agender people/multigender people/intersex people/you get the idea - romance is by no means an exclusively two-player game, and skarlet has said she would be open to an arrangement; however, if you MUST insist on ignoring that polyamory is a thing, go for the six-foot risers' rights activist - i’m sorry about all the bullshit with your mom. whatever the end result was, whatever her intentions, it does not excuse the way she treated you and your dad and stanton. it’s okay to feel like shit because of what she did to you, and not being able to wall it off doesn’t make you weak or anything dumb like that - you’re already far stronger than she ever was. i know how much it sucks - i was in the same situation as you once - but believe me when i say that things do get better. you’re not alone here, rho. - please you gotta fight the gender binary you live in the FUTURE you gotta do it you gotta-

BONUS QUESTION 13. How would you react if your friend became a Riser? let them know that I love and support them no matter what their house, that being the way that they are is totally valid, and that anyone who says otherwise will have to answer to my fist in their face. if they’re unbalanced, make sure they have access to any resources they need (possibly including memory recap vlogs, definitely including medication and therapy to help out with any health issues they may develop).

#zodiac #zodiac books #wandering star #black moon #thirteen rising #romina russell #romina garber #the zodai tag #skarho #rhoses and thornes #look i stan skarlet okay

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blackmaylovesfries · 4 years

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“I know I’m not perfect, but, please, love me anyway.” - Taking him in

Asked: No

Words: 1768

Sinopse: Seventeen Hybrid AU - Lee Seokmin is just a Golden Retriever puppy, he wants to be happy with any owner that could want him. Even if he’s not the only one, it won’t change.

Notices: In italic is your narration of the scene.

Masterpost

Previous / Next

Dokyeom started his new life at the rehab center quite okay. There weren’t any one that wanted to touch him like his old owner, also he was able to make friends that didn’t care about him being super loud. They were even louder sometimes! He was really happy now.

In the center, he learned that he didn’t actually needed to be the good boy his life had teach him, he just needed to be respectful and every other thing would work out someway. But even this happy, Dokyeom, now called DK by his friend Hoshi, didn’t forget that the human Y/n had promised to tell what happened with his mother.

He had planned to ask her when they have a solo moment but it was soon find out that, in the center, a solo moment with Y/n simply didn’t exist! She was always surrounded either by humans, hybrids, or even doctors! He couldn’t even find any gap between her hybrid escorts. Being friend of Hoshi means you can be with them, not that you can be alone with her.

It took more than a month for DK being able to talk with Y/n. The group had even adopted two new members already to hang out while they are in the center. Some days after Seungkwan, a hybrid as expressive as him in his natural, arrived, Dokyeom finally was able to find a time when everyone was busy on the pool with Mingyu and just Y/n was in her office.

“Y/n? Can we talk?” He was hesitant on the door, seeing that Mark and Jackson were there too.

“Sure. Do you mind if we just finish this report first?” She smiled sweetly looking at him and he nodded. “You can sit here while we are working” The small human make a gesture in the direction of a red sofa in the room. Dokyeom sat there and studied everything around him while the humans talked quietly.

---

“So, they really don’t know that they are here?” Jackson still couldn’t believe that you not only kinda knew Seungkwan’s family but also neither Park Choong-Min nor that family made the connection. “You know Jonghyun will ask about it, that guy won’t believe that those guys were just stupid.” You and Mark laughed.

“I know but it’s not that they are dumb, it’s just that my alibi is really good. Also, the family don’t really know about me, I just knew the old man and the little companion.” You shrugged. “Also, I’m more worried about Leo and Ravi’s visit than Jonghyun’s.” You turned to steal a look to the hybrid satted on the sofa.

“Oh, that’s true, they are definitely bring you some hell.” Mark wasn’t nice sometimes. “Anyway, are we done? That pup seems ready to scream if we take any longer.” You three looked at him and he smiled to you. You sighed.

“Yeah, we’re done. You guys can go back to your chores, I’ll be going home right after I finish here probably.” You smiled and hesitated. The guys rolled their eyes, kinda of knowing what was going to happen in the end of the conversation you would have with the dog hybrid. They left and you called Dokyeom to your desk. He sat right in front of you.

---

After the males left, Y/n called Dokyeom to sit in front of her so they could start the talk. The boy couldn’t wait any longer. Not after he listened a little about what she actually do for live and that she is an acquaintance of his old master. Also, he needed to be honest and admit that he was curious to know if she and human Mark were a thing, they seemed oddly close.

“So… How can I help you?” Y/n smiled to him, she was a little nervous, he could tell that much.

“You know why I came here, you promised to tell me about my mother and how you got this” DK took his mother’s collar out the pocket and shown her. She took a deep breath. “I want to know everything, I can take it.” The Golden Retriever hybrid put a brave expression on his face and waited for her to started.

“Well… If you really want to know…”

---

You were in a solo case. There was a civilian couple who had been killing and mistreating hybrids for more than a decade already. As it wasn’t exactly the kind of problem your team deals with, you went alone to help the local police. Not that they could use the proves you collected but at least they could say they had a complaint and go straight to the right places to find their own proves.

That case was your first all alone, you were 15 years old and not even your parents were going with you in this one. All the other boys from the third generation had already have their debut, you were the last one.

It seemed pretty easy, you just had to enter the house, collect info about what was going on there and get out without being noticed. You have done it before with Mark and Jaebum.

Everything was going as expected. You were able to break in the house while the family of four were out to the movies. It was simple to find the traces of some hybrids living there. Two, apparently, one not being an adult yet. You didn’t had to search much to find where the hybrids slept. You enter the room and were soon thrown to the floor.

“What the!?”

“Who are you?” A young voice growled on your ear.

“I’m here to investigate about hybrids being mistreated here.” Even in the dark, you were able to see a tail dancing behind the boy and feel his claws. He took a deep breath.

“I don’t need to be helped by you!”

“Maybe, but what about the other hybrid?” He hesitated “I saw some small blood splashes around the door in front of this.”

“If I let you go, will you really help her?” His whole posture changed. You nodded. “I will release you. I don’t know how to open that door.” You nodded again. The boy took of the arms around you and guided you towards the door with blood splashes. He didn’t let you take a good look at him, so you just know that he was really slim.

Somehow you were faced with the type of lock that Youngjae had just teached you how to pick. Well, lucky you. You found stairs on the other side of the door. Stairs and pure darkness. The boy gave you a little push and waited by the door while you went down the steps. At the end, you were able to turn on the lights of the room and the vision shocked the young you.

There were a hybrid body. A woman was lying on the floor, she didn’t react when the lights went on but you could see that she was breathing. You approached her and really slowly put your hand over hers. She jumped.

“Master?!” She started to hyperventilate.

“No, no, I’m here to help you.” You were in shock “Please, tell me what happened, what can I do?” Most of your missions were light, just picking hybrids up, taking care of them at the center, punching bad humans. So it’s understandable that you were on the verge of crying.

“Your voice is really different…” The hybrid smiled. You just noticed that she was blind. Not naturally, they blinded her. “Oh, I get it. You’re Death, right? You came to finally take me with you, right?” She didn’t let you answer her. “But you can’t yet! I have to find my boy, he’s waiting for me in the shelter, he’s waiting for me!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, breath” You tried to calm her down, your time was running, you needed to be quicker. “I promise that I’ll find your boy, I’ll take care of him, I promise.”

“Really? You promise? Oh how wonderful, you’re such a good Death, you’re going to take care of my boy for me? Don’t make him follow me too soon, okay?” The woman let out a laugh

“But he needs to trust you, so when you find him, give him this and call him as I called: My puppy, he will understand! My boy is a really good boy!” She handed you her collar and you made sure to engrave her words on your memory.

“Now, please, take me away from here, please, take me to my dear husband so we can watch over my boy together again…”

Her voice disappeared. Her hand dropped and the steady but weak movement of her chest stopped. You were in panic and tried to do everything you knew about first aid but nothing worked out.

If there wasn’t a noise upstairs, you would have cried. But looking at your timer, it’s really the time for you to leave. Putting her body in a respectful position and covering her with a blanked, you sprinted to the first floor.

The boy from before were there, looking as if he knew what happened downstairs. he indicated a bag at his feets and you understood that he would flee from that house the moment you’re out there too. You also knew that he wouldn’t come with you, so you both got out and parted ways.

---

Dokyeom was crying. He imagined that his mother wasn’t alive but he still had some hope to be wrong. Also, he didn’t expected this to happen two years after he was gone from the house. He was definitely lost in his sorrow so he didn’t even noticed when Y/n hugged him.

“I’m really sorry, Dokyeom… I wish I could do more at that time, I’m sorry…” The girl repeated and repeated until he was calm enough to respond the hug.

“It’s not your fault… Actually, thank you, Y/n, for not leaving her alone in her last moments. Thank you so much for telling me and for finding me.” His grip on her was strong but she still could look at his face.

“To be fair, I still haven’t completed the promise I did to her.” The hybrid looked to her, confused and emocional. “Dokyeom, I wish you to come live with me and the boys. I wish you’d let me watch over you like I said I’d do.” He couldn’t answer and snuggled closer to her. “Dokyeom?”

“... Seokmin…”

“Ahn?”

“Call me Seokmin.” He smiled to her while crying.

Tag: @hopsiclesposts ; @woohoney ; @warm-smiles-and-blue-skies ; @childfmoonn ; @moonmin-miya

#Seventeen #seventeen scenarios #seventeen x reader #seventeen hybrid au #seventeen au #seventeen dk #dk #dokyeom #seokmin #dog dk #dog #hybrid dk #hybrid au #kpop hybrid au #kpop #kpop imagines #kpop x reader #kpop au

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shannen-writes · 4 years

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Ranking the Halliwell sisters from least to most favourite

Charmed is one of my all time favourite shows and the sisters 4 of my favourite characters. Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Paige are so complex and dynamic. They’re written as real women that are flawed and relatable and that’s why the show continues to have so many loyal fans to this day. Since I’ve grown up watching the show, my ranking of the sisters has changed a lot over the years. As I’ve gone through various stages of my life I’ve related to different aspects of the sisters’ lives and personalities, and even today I’m constantly finding a new appreciation and admiration for the sisters. However, my ranking has stayed pretty much the same now for the last few years, so I wanted to share it with you all. So without further ado here is my ranking of the Halliwell sisters starting with my least favourite and ending with my most favourite.

Warning: There’s no hate featured in this post towards any of the sisters, but it is a critical analysis, so be warned that you may dislike some parts, particularly if you’re deeply attached to any of the characters.

4. Piper

I love Piper’s strength and compassion. Her transformation into the Goddness of Earth in Oh My Goddess perfectly embodied Piper’s character for me; how down to earth she was and how her power came from her motherhood and care-giving spirit. In the early seasons, Piper was driven by a desire to please others and was conflict adverse. I deeply related to Piper as someone that struggled to be heard and to strike a balance between her desire to avoid conflict and being assertive, which we saw in Coyote Piper. Piper knew what she wanted but didn’t always know how to get it. Piper’s place as the middle sister in seasons 1-3 was a defining aspect of her character and shaped her passive nature in the early seasons. She was the mediator between Prue and Phoebe, and this meant that she was often more open-minded and less stubborn than her sisters. She was able to see both sides of a story and approach situations with empathy and understanding. Piper felt stifled by the big, bold personalities of her sisters and compared herself to them. She felt that she wasn’t as brave, pretty, charismatic, smart, powerful or talented as Prue and Phoebe; that she was ordinary. This lack of confidence she had in herself and her abilities led her to subconsciously become passive in a lot of situations and to also resent her powers throughout the series. Her ordinary-ness made her feel like she belonged in an ordinary world and therefore, she struggled to accept her magic and the extraordinary-ness that went with it.

However, Piper developed over the series and changed a lot. Her love life was a significant aspect of her development. In seasons 1 and 2, Leo and Dan choosing Piper over her sisters boosted Piper’s confidence and made her realise that she wasn’t inferior to her sisters. Whilst she was generally passive in seasons 1 and 2, when she finally made the choice to be with Leo, it was the first step of her finding her true voice and not being afraid to use it. Despite it being a forbidden love, she loved Leo so much that she believed he was worth fighting for. Losing him at the start of season 3, altered her passive nature signficantly. She became angry and bitter and was determined to fight for the man she loved. Piper reacted to this loss in a much different way than she would’ve in season 1, and even after getting Leo back, she was forever changed by it. It was a turning point for her through which she learned that being a nice, good little girl and playing by the rules didn’t always bring rewards. Generally, Piper’s relationship with Leo also helped Piper to become more determined and confident. Leo had a deep understanding of Piper and knew how to support and nurture her so that she continued to grow in confidence and see her strengths.

After season 3, Piper went through a string of life-changing events which took her character down an entirely new path. She lost Prue, became the eldest sister, lost Phoebe to evil, became a mother and lost Leo (again!). These 5 events impacted Piper’s character significantly transforming her from the Piper of seasons 1-3 into a very different Piper. Whilst the core of Piper’s character remained, the trauma associated with these events and the huge changes she underwent led her to become more hardened, cynical, untrusting, callous and bitter. Her perception of the world and of right and wrong became much more black and white, she became more stubborn, less sensitive and more determined. Her passiveness with traded for assertiveness, her aversion to conflict for combativeness, her lack of confidence for arrogance, her open-mindedness for closed-mindedness and her apparent lack of power to ultimate power.

Piper is a brilliant character with organic and authentic development. The trauma she endured was marked by the signifiant changes in her character and personality in the later seasons, but the core of her character was maintained no matter how much she changed. The reason Piper is at the bottom of this ranking is because I have a few small issues with her character. Firstly, I feel like she was sometimes pushed too much into Prue territory. As the eldest sister, the writers forced Piper to adopt similar characteristics to Prue and it didn’t always fit. It was to be expected that she’d change, and that her insecurity about her ability to take on the role as the eldest sister would lead her to behave more like Prue. But ultimately, Piper was her own person and there was a way for her to become the eldest sister without becoming Prue 2.0. Secondly, Piper’s character was over-shadowed by Leo, Wyatt and Chris. Whilst I liked her relationship with Leo and appreciated the exploration of motherhood that we got in seasons 4-8, it sometimes stifled Piper’s character and the focus on Leo, Wyatt and Chris forced Piper to be a supporting character in her own story. Thirdly, her arc in the later seasons became repetitive with the same issues with parenting, Leo and her desire to “be normal” arising time and time again, despite them having already been resolved in previous episodes and seasons. Finally, certain traits were amplified at her detriment. I’m as much a fan of Piper’s sarcasm and wit as anybody, but after a while it became spiteful and mean. Repeatedly blowing up Leo, telling Billie she’d vanquish her and straight up disrespecting the Elders because she wasn’t “not a fan” of their rules are just few examples that come to mind.

Overall, I love Piper and appreciate how much she developed across the series, but I love the other sisters so much, that these few issues that I have with her character are enough to place her at the bottom of my ranking. I think that serves as a testament to how much love I have for the Halliwell sisters!

____________

3. Phoebe

I absolutely adore Phoebe and the amount of hate that she seems to get from the fandom feels like such a huge injustice to the incredible woman that she is. I love Phoebe’s passionate, free-spirit; the way she wore her heart on her sleeve, was always true to herself, fiercely loyal, devoted and passionate. She had a wild side, but was also deeply grounded and I believe, was the heart of the show (despite Piper being commonly regarded as such). Of all the sisters she undoubtedly underwent the most growth and Phoebe’s story was by far the most inspiring to me. She faced a lot of judgement and doubt in the early seasons (particularly from Prue), but she never let that dampen her spirit. She found the courage and strength to go back to college and find her path in life, she lost herself to one of the darkest loves that existed and found a way back from it and generally endured a lot of trauma, but somehow always found the strength to go on. What’s even more incredible about that, is that she always maintained her core self. Even when she was at her lowest, she had a strong sense of who she was and was true to herself. That’s not to say that she didn’t change because she did, but considering how dark a path she trod at certain points in the series, the fact that she remained the optimistic, big-hearted and compassionate soul that she’d always been was a huge testament to her character.

It’d be impossible to talk about Phoebe without touching upon her relationship with Cole and her arc in seasons 3-5. Falling in love with Cole was a huge turning point for Phoebe’s character, and over the years I’ve repeatedly seen her get slammed for it by fans. However, Phoebe’s relationship with Cole encompassed everything that Phoebe was and made sense for her character. It showed her recklessness, impulsivity and naivety when it came to love, but also allowed her to develop a maturity and fresh perspective that she perhaps wouldn’t have if she hadn’t met Cole. She threw herself unreservedly into her relationship with Cole because Phoebe was a romantic and she believed wholeheartedly in love. The relationship was far from perfect; Phoebe developed blinkers and was often too wrapped in Cole at the detriment of other aspects of her life, but the relationship was pivotal for Phoebe. As the youngest sister, she started the series as much more naive and immature than her sisters, but her relationship with Cole and the life experience it gave her set her on a new path. She learned to guard her heart and be more cautious when it came to love, she also took the time after her break-up with Cole to focus on herself and her career and to find new loves that weren’t necessarily romantic. Her job as an advice columnist allowed her to find an outlet and expression for her love of love by helping others to find love. And despite the hurt she endured at Cole’s hands, she never truly gave up on finding love herself and her pursuit of love remained at the center of Phoebe’s arc throughout the series. This is why Coop being Phoebe’s final love interest made so much sense - they were both driven by finding love, whether for themselves or others.

In addition to her pursuit of love, a desire for a family and children was also central to Phoebe’s arc, particularly in the later seasons. On a personal level, I disliked this development because I couldn’t relate to it as someone that doesn’t want to marry or have children. However, appreciate that for Phoebe it made sense. From the start of the series, she was depicted as someone that was good with children and had a maternal instinct, which we saw in episodes such as Reckless Abandon and Awakened. Furthermore, the loss of her child at the end of season 4 undoubtedly left behind a pain that was the catalyst for Phoebe’s fixation on having children in the later seasons. In season 5, we saw her fawn over Wyatt and act as a motherly figure, which was likely a projection of her grief from the loss of her own child. After seeing a premonition of her future child, Phoebe became obsessed with finding the father of her future child to ensure her child would be born. I strongly disliked this arc, but it was understandable given the fact that Phoebe had lost a child previously. Just as Piper went on a journey to becoming a mother in seasons 4 and 5, Phoebe went on her own journey. It wasn’t a well-written or developed journey, but a journey nonetheless, and I appreciated it as part of Phoebe’s story.

The reason Phoebe is only third in this ranking, is because as much as I can objectively appreciate her arc and development, I didn’t like it and I think that it was an injustice to the incredible things that could’ve been done with her character. Many would claim that Cole destroyed Phoebe, and I disagree with that, because it’s much more complex. It’s an oxymoron of sorts; the relationship developed her growth but also hindered it. Whilst the experiences she had provided her with perspective and wisdom, Phoebe’s inability to deal with the aftermath of the events in season 4 hindered her from truly moving forward from Cole or the trauma of becoming Queen of the Underworld and her miscarriage. Phoebe never faced up to what had happened or tried to get closure, choosing instead to runaway, as we saw in A Witch’s Tail. This meant that her relationship with Cole in season 5 became even more dysfunctional and added further to her existing trauma from season 4. Outwardly, during this time Phoebe was building herself back up and developing her career, but ultimately, Cole was always hanging over her head and by the time it was finished with she was exhausted and just wanted to shut it away and pretend it never happened. This is understandable, but as I said at the start of this paragraph, it prevented her from healing. Consequently, every part of Phoebe’s journey post season 5 was still dictated by her history with Cole. In seasons 6-8 everything Phoebe went into became an obsession - whether it was finding love, her romantic relationships, having children or her career - and those obsessions can all be explained by her experiences in season 4 and 5.

Overall, Phoebe’s external development was more significant than her internal development. Externally, her development across the seasons was the most tangible - she started the series as an unemployed “wild child” with only a bicycle and backpack of clothes and ended with a highly successful career, loving partner and the family that she longed for. However, internally, she never truly developed because of the poor way the aftermath of her relationship with Cole was handled in season 5. Despite this, I appreciated that as a modern woman, Phoebe was portrayed as wanting a husband and children whilst still being a powerful, independent woman with a successful career. I also love Phoebe for who she was as a person. I love her vibrancy, charisma, passion and energy. She was a colourful character and anybody that met her couldn’t do anything but adore her.

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2. Paige

What I love most about Paige is that she feels like the most unique of the sisters, which was most likely because she was adopted and wasn’t raised with the other sisters. Paige was so quirky, individual, stylish, independent, witty, intelligent, talented, driven and conscientious. I’ve always felt that out of all the sisters she’s the most underrated and was given less opportunity to shine throughout the series. Paige underwent genuine growth that’s understated but beautiful. Every flaw or issue that Paige had was explored, addressed and resolved. Some examples of her growth include:

Her fear of magic and reluctance to become a witch transformed into a genuine passion and flair for witchcraft which she perceived to be a blessing

Her resistance to her biological family members (e.g. Penny and Sam) because she felt it was a betrayal to her adopted family eventually softened to give way to open-mindedness and acceptance

Her denial of her whitelighter half grew to become her greatest calling and a core part of her identity and heritage which she took pride in

Her struggle to fit into the Halliwell clan ended with her becoming an integral part of the family and the reason that they were able to survive after Prue’s death

Paige consistently confronted her issues head on and grew as a consequence. She embraced every aspect of herself, her life and her past, and saw them as opportunities to grow. This quote from Paige in Sam I Am (which is one of my favourites), really shows this:

“When you gave me up, you made a choice that gave me the most amazing gift. See, I got to have these tremendous parents and we loved each other fiercely. And now I have this whole new life with my sisters. I choose to be a witch. I could’ve walked away but I didn’t. And now I’m a Whitelighter to boot.”

In comparison to the other sisters, I found the nuances of Paige’s character so interesting. When she was introduced in season 4 there was so much to learn about her, and episodes like A Paige from the Past showed how much potential Paige had in those early days. She brought a fresh perspective and dynamic to the show which stemmed from the fact that she was raised in a completely different environment from her sisters. She wasn’t afraid to challenge the sisters pre-conceived notions or to propose new ways of doing things - a Haiku spell is one of many instances that show Paige’s innovative mind and creative flair - and strongly believed in her ideas and judgement. She was self-assured and confident in a way that enabled her to be efficient and which motivated her in everything that she did. Despite her differences from the sisters that stemmed from being raised with the Matthews, she still had incredible instincts as a witch and had an innate Halliwell-ness which solidified her as a Charmed One. This too added to the nuances of Paige’s character because she was always straddling a duality - Halliwell and Matthews, witch and whitelighter. At various points throughout the series she felt like she had to choose between these aspects of her personality and commit to just one - Halliwell or Matthews; witch or whitelighter - but over time, she realised that this duality was part of her and was a blessing rather than a curse.

All of the sisters were dedicated, but Paige stood out to me as always being wholly dedicated to everything she did. She didn’t always know her path but whatever she tried, she threw herself into completely. Her dedication to her witchcraft, in particular, was inspiring. Paige went further than any of the other sisters (except Prue) in perfecting her craft and trying to be the best witch she could possibly be. She studied the craft, wrote new spells, practised perfecting spells that she couldn’t do (e.g. the conjuring spell), devoted herself to innocents and took her role as a witch very serious. Paige was resistant to her magic in the first few episodes of season 4, but fully embraced it later on. She was the only sister that genuinely loved being a witch consistently. Even when things got tough, she never wished away her powers, because she found purpose and joy in them. Perhaps this stemmed from the fact that Paige had a more challenging life than the sisters. Although Prue, Piper and Phoebe weren’t raised by their parents, they had a strong parental figure in Grams into their 20s and always had each other. In comparison, Paige lost her parents when she was still a teenager and seemed to have nobody else to support her. She also blamed herself for her parents death, which means that emotionally she was not only dealing with grief and loneliness when they died but also blame, regret and self-loathing. I believe that this is why Paige viewed her magic as a gift rather than a burden, and why she continued to flourish as a witch throughout the seasons.

Paige’s arc and development, overall, was not necessarily the best of the sisters, but in terms of her development in particular episodes or seasons, it was brilliant. Her centric episodes are some of my favourites from the series - A Knight to Remember, A Paige from the Past, Sam I Am and Centennial Charmed - and each execute fantastic plots and character development for Paige. Her arc in season 5 was incredible. In my opinion, there is no other character arc across the eight seasons that was executed as well as this one. Giving up her job and devoting herself to being a full-time witch was the beginning of a new chapter of her journey. Not only did she grow as a witch in her abilities, skills and instincts, but she solidified herself within the Halliwell fold and showed how integral she was, particularly in Centennial Charmed and Y Tu Mummy Tabien. She supported her sisters - Piper in becoming a mother and Phoebe in her separation from Cole - and various aspects of her character were explored such as her inferiority complex with Prue, her relationship with Sam, her whitelighter half, her difficulty in overcoming her natural independence to work together with her sisters and finding her place in the world. Season 5 did an excellent job at building on what we’d learned about Paige in season 4 whilst also developing her organically. She was the new sister in season 4, but in season 5 it felt like it’d be impossible to imagine Charmed without her.

Despite this great development Paige underwent in seasons 4 and 5, she was unfortunate enough that half of her time on the show was during the weakest seasons, and she suffered for that. After season 5 there was no further exploration of her past which massively disappointed me (I’ll still never get over the fact that in Charmed Again she mentioned that she had a problem with alcoholism that was never explored), and she got trapped in a cycle of the same arcs. Whilst Piper got stuck with “I want a normal life” arc and Phoebe got stuck with the “I want to find love” arc, Paige got stuck with the “I don’t know what to do with my life” arc. In season 6, it made sense that she’d resort to working temp jobs. After having spent season 5 as a full-time witch, she realised that she needed more in her life and temp jobs were a way for her to explore that and get a variety of experiences outside of magic. However, it seemed that Paige didn’t ever break out of that cycle and continued stumbling through life trying to find the right path. She was thrust into Magic School, which wasn’t particularly the best choice for her character and then her whitelighter arc was haphazardly thrown in towards the end of the series. It always frustrated me, because Paige dedicating more of her time to being a whitelighter made perfect sense for her character, but it wasn’t developed properly and felt like a disservice to her. I also felt that Paige had already found a great career in season 4 as a social worker, so it didn’t make sense to me that she never returned to that. Furthermore, I didn’t like how Paige’s journey ended in season 8 with her being married and having children. Paige was great with kids - we saw proof of this with Wyatt and Chris - but having kids was something that Paige never particularly wanted from her life. She was the one sister that didn’t express any desire to have children and didn’t seem particularly maternal. Also on a personal level, it would’ve been nice if at least one of the sisters’ happy ending hadn’t been the usual cliche of being married with kids. That aside, it didn’t necessarily feel true to Paige’s character for her to be a mother. I felt that she would’ve been contented to be married to Henry, dedicated to her duties as a witch and whitelighter and babysitting her nieces and nephews as their cool Aunt Paige.

Although I don’t like the way Paige’s story ended and feel that her character was let down, I still think she’s an incredible character that underwent immense growth. Despite being the sister that got the least amount of focus throughout the series, she always stood out to me in terms of her characterisation and development. It was so strong in seasons 4 and 5 that it’s almost irrelevant that I dislike the path she went down in seasons 6-8. Her season 5 arc alone is enough to give her the second spot in this ranking. But the reason I love Paige is so much more than that. I relate to her in terms of her independence, search for purpose in her life and desire to help others, and I admire her dedication and motivation in everything she did. Paige is the sort of character that I not only relate to, but also find inspirational.

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1. Prue

Now we come to my favourite sister (and one of my favourite characters of all time period): Prue Halliwell. Anybody that follows my main will know that I’m in love with Prue, so it’s going to be hard to analyse her character properly and not just gush about how much I love her. I think Prue is a phenomenal character with a well-executed arc which comes full circle, despite ending prematurely. I love Prue’s strength, determination, confidence, drive, ambition and courage. Her characterisation was consistent and strong throughout seasons 1-3 and she was lucky enough to have lots of great centric episodes which explored her character in-depth. In the pilot I felt that Prue was established as the most unlikeable sister - the older, domineering, bossy, cold, hardened sister that always took charge and berated her younger sisters for their mistakes. That legacy remains today and I still see fans often discussing how much they dislike Prue or how they were glad she died. But Prue was so. much. more. than. that. Every flaw that Prue had was explored to provide a full understanding of why she was the way she was. She was traumatised by the death of her mother (From Fear to Eternity, P3 H2O and Death Takes a Halliwell), had severe abandonment issues because of her father (Thank You for Not Morphing and We All Scream for Ice Cream) and was forced to adopt a parental role as the eldest sister in the absence of her parents. Her seriousness, critical nature and stiff-upper lip mentality all stemmed from this and was not a natural part of who she was, as we saw in Which Prue is it Anyway? and Just Harried. It was what she had to become to deal with her trauma and fulfil the role that was thrust on her shoulders at such a young age. Prue’s journey was about breaking free from that role that she’d become trapped in and discovering her true self outside of being the eldest sister and protector.

In season 1, the nuances of Prue’s character were immediately explored. In Thank You For Not Morphing, her resentment towards Victor for abandoning her and her sisters was explored, and the armour she wore as a protective shield became clear. Prue was naturally guarded because she felt that was what was necessary to protect herself and her sisters. Later on in the season, Prue’s experience with Barbas in From Fear to Eternity tapped into Prue’s trauma about Patty’s death which caused her to emotionally distance herself from her sisters and prevented here from being able to say “I love you”. Throughout season 1, Prue’s strained relationship with Phoebe addressed the aspects of Prue’s personality that could be regarded as unlikeable. Phoebe acted as the direct voice of many viewers, perceiving Prue to be over-bearing, judgemental, critical and rigid. By repeatedly confronting and challenging Prue on her behaviours, certain barriers were broken down and by The Power of Two, Prue and Phoebe’s relationship finally became one of sisters rather than mother and daughter. Her relationship with Andy was the polar of her relationship with Phoebe and showed her more vulnerable side and capacity to love. Although the relationship wasn’t plain sailing, her vulnerability was clear and showed a new side to Prue. Andy’s death at the end of the season was a huge turning point for her character. Losing the man she loved, particularly when she still carried the trauma of Patty’s death, was significant for Prue and once again shattered the stereotype that Prue was cold and unfeeling.

By the time season 2 rolled around, Prue was still reeling from Andy’s death and struggling to continue her duties as a witch, believing that their magic only brought death to their loved ones. It would’ve been easy for Prue to give up, but she found the courage and strength to continue on. Not only that, but she devoted herself heart and soul to being a witch, despite feeling that it was what had killed Andy. This was the season where the lighter, fun side of Prue began to show more. When she decided to quit her job at Bucklands and pursue a career in photography, an entirely new part of Prue’s journey began. Prue decided it was time to let go of her old life - the life she’d been living when she was forced to be the big sister - and live a life for herself. Despite her desire to live more freely and indulge herself more, the core of Prue’s character remained and she was in constant battle between her head and heart (or id and ego, as Just Harried showed). This innate battle between who she felt she should be and who she truly was, was central to Prue’s character. She wanted to let go of the past and the person she had been forced to become after Patty’s death and Victor’s abandonment, but she didn’t know how. Prue had been defined for so long by her role as the eldest sister that she didn’t know who she was outside of that. Some intrinsic part of her also believed that it was her solemn duty to protect Piper and Phoebe, and that to ensure their safety she had to sacrifice her happiness. Prue was essentially trapped in a self-inflicted prison of sorts as a result of her trauma, and seasons 2 and 3 were about her trying to break free from that prison.

One of the things I love most about Prue was her dedication to being a witch. Prue was by far the most devoted and talented witch out of the sisters. Whilst Paige’s inferiority complex towards her wasn’t necessary, it wasn’t unfounded. It made sense for Paige to feel inferior considering how much Prue was able to accomplish as a witch whilst also holding down a full-time job at Bucklands and later launching a new career in photography. Prue was fiercely hard-working and devoted in everything she did, and being a witch was no different. Like Paige, she never questioned being a witch, the exception being when Andy died. Prue didn’t agonise over the reasons why, she accepted being a witch and embraced it. She took her duty to protect the innocent very seriously and never strayed from that core principle. Prue set the precedence for her sisters when it came to being a witch and was committed to ensuring that they never strayed from the correct path. This is why it was very fitting that she died protecting an innocent. It was the only way for Prue to die, since that was her ultimate calling in life, even above her dream to be a photographer or position as the eldest sister.

This doesn’t even cover half of Prue’s development or arcs across the three seasons she was on the show, but to cover it in full would take a lifetime. The overall message here is that Prue’s development was by far the most superior and consistent of all the sisters. Prue had the luxury of having more focus in seasons 1-3 than Piper or Phoebe and this resulted in her being the most fleshed out and complex character, not only in terms of her characterisation and arcs, but also her powers and magical abilities. Although Piper and Phoebe were the longest standing sisters, Prue’s character still out-shines them for the three seasons that she was on the show. Furthermore, whilst I can pick fault with the direction Piper, Phoebe and Paige went in or elements of their story or power development that I disliked, I can’t with Prue. I’m fully onboard with everything that was done with her character and how she was written. She was flawed but every single flaw was justified and understandable, and every aspect of her characterisation was beautifully explored and provided absolute clarity on who Prue was. Even her death, although shocking and sudden, made perfect sense and encompassed the tragedy of Prue’s life, which was that she was always destined to follow in her mother’s footsteps.

“Every single day, I feel like I'm becoming more and more like her and everyday it terrifies me. I mean, don't you guys see it? Look at what happened to her and then look what's happening to me. No successful relationship with guys, being responsible for a family, now because of being this charmed thing, the very real possibility of dying young. It's like history is repeating itself.”

Overall, I love Prue with every fibre of my being. I acknowledge that she was a flawed character, but in regards to her development, I can’t fault it. It was wonderfully written and her characterisation was consistent and authentic. I love Prue because I relate to how she’s emotionally closed and struggles to overcome that, her responsibility as the eldest sister, the abandonment of her father, her struggle to let go and have fun and the way she finds comfort and security in responsibility and sensibleness. Of all the sisters, she’s the one that feels the most real to me. Since I was a little girl, I have been inspired by Prue and have looked up to her. She’s the only sister whose story was never about love - even when she was with Andy - it was always about her journey. I appreciate the ways in which the traumas she endured shaped who she became as an adult, how she struggled to accept that and tried to heal from it to become a better, happier and healthier version of herself. I admire her determination, devotion, courage and absolute fierceness. I also admire how she always strived to protect her family and strived to do better and be better. All in all I love pretty much everything about Prue.

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That concludes my ranking of the Halliwell sisters. I could’ve wrote more about each of the sisters because they’re all such well-written and complex characters, but the purpose of this post was to explore the facets of their characterisation and development that I like and dislike to explain the reasoning for my ranking. In the end, regardless of which sister is ranked first or last, I love each of them and they will forever hold a place in my heart as the first inspirational female role models I saw on TV.

Thank you for reading!

If you enjoyed reading this, I’d love to know how you’d rank the Halliwell sisters and why?

#charmed #prue halliwell #piper halliwell #phoebe halliwell #paige matthews #charmed meta #meta #tv #tv meta #mine #mine: charmed #mine: meta #mine: tv

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afterspark-podcast · 3 years

Text

(Extra!) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Transcript

Episode

[This can also be found on AO3!]

[Into Music]

O: Hi folks, we're back! Thanks for joining us.

S: So, if we were going to make Revenge of the Fallen better, what would we do (aside from definitely not killing off Jetfire)?

O: Well, first, uh, let's establish some general rules for this thought exercise: The same basic skeleton of the movie must stay intact, since we are trying to fix it not redo it entirely, um, generally, the same characters should be involved but characters could return from the first one instead. Um, I know in the previous movie review we talked about doing it as a tv show or something but for right now let's pretend that the first movie happened as is.

S: Aside from Jazz surviving.

O: Yeah, because killing him off was really dumb and it happened at the end of the movie anyway, so it doesn't really change anything in the first movie.

S: Yep. So, first off: cast change!

O: Uh, we're gonna remove Devastator, Grindor, Volt, Skids and Mudflap and add returning characters from the first movie, which would be Maggie, Glenn, John Keller, and Blackout by way of- they maybe resurrected him at the same time as Megatron, and Jazz.

S: Yep. Since we've removed Volt, Skids, and Mudflap, we're going to add in Sunstreaker this way we can still exploit the brotherly dynamic that people who are used to G1 would be used to and, you know, using an existing character and relationship dynamic.

O: Right, and Bee's voice box is still intact. He and Sam are actually friends. Sam does not treat him like a fucking dog or some weird possession.

S: Mm-hmm. He comes with Sam to college because at this point Sam kind of does have a target on his back.

O: Yeah, which I think is fair. The Decepticons are still around, we established that pretty early so, yeah, why not?

S: Yeah, and at this point, I don't know, maybe treat it like Sam’s in, effectively, robot witness protection.

O: Yeah. Optimus does not die at any point in this because it would be completely pointless to the story we're trying to tell.

S: Yeah. Sector Seven has been folded into N.E.S.T. and some major retraining on, uh, how to treat the giant robots, maybe, has happened. Simmons has become significantly less of an asshole after getting to know the Autobots.

O: Or at least we would hope-

S: Yeah.

O: You know, because some mutual respect would probably have been earned since, you know, this movie started. Sector 7 did effectively imprison Megatron for decades successfully. They clearly have knowledge and skills that could be useful for, you know, both finding and capturing the remaining Decepticons.

S: Yeah, I feel like the Autobots would still be a bit skeeved out about some of the things Sector 7 did but-

O: They probably would and I think it would have to be handled really well and hence why Simmons needs to be less of a dick.

S: Yeah, though at this point probably all of the Autobot- let's just go with the whole “war criminals” thing.

O: Yeah.

S: Everyone's done things that they regretted in the war.

O: Mikaela is now training under Ratchet. She knows a lot about machines and showed promise at the end of the first movie so let's actually do something with that.

S: And make it so Sam isn't her only friend because that's sad. Like she has Maggie and Glenn-

O: And the Arcees.

S: Yeah.

O: Uh, Maggie and Glenn are now our two tech oriented people on the team.

S: Yup. Lennox and Epps are functionally in the same roles as the movie-

O: But now John Keller is the head of N.E.S.T. operations instead of some random guy.

S: Yep. Then Simmons is their information guy and, I mean, actually John Keller- this could be his job after he retires from whatever the hell he was doing.

O: Right, because it was very much they said Obama in this movie, so it's clear Obama is now the president. He definitely wasn't in the first movie.

S: Yeah.

O: So, similar to Prime you could also pair our main human characters up with their partners. We had a whole breakdown on this but it wasn't really important to kind of everything else but, you know, aside from just Sam and Bumblebee, you could have the characters paired up, too.

S: Ratchet and Optimus would not have partners and would live on base. Optimus runs Autobot operations and Ratchet is in charge of the med bay.

O: But the biggest and most important change is that everyone has friends, hobbies, relationships with each other, and they are an actual team. Yes, catching the Decepticons is important but they have to live, too.

S: It's heavily implied Optimus considers Earth their new home in the movies and that they should be trying to make it home. So Sam still goes to college on the east coast but perhaps somewhere closer to D.C.

O: The where isn't really important just as long as it works out geographically for some of the stuff we mention later and is reasonably prestigious.

S: I mean, considering that we don't even know what the hell Sam is even going for I'm not sure what prestige even matters.

O: I don't even know either but I'm just sort of operating under the assumption of he seems to want to go to a prestigious school.

S: Yeah, so Leo's the only roommate as the others are hardly in the movie at all and don't add anything to it.

O: Now that Simmons is involved in N.E.S.T. there is no reason for Leo to be running the website but if we do really want to drag him along in all this he could be a big conspiracy buff.

S: Yeah, he may be wrong about a lot of things but damn if he's right about those giant robots. This is probably super awkward for Sam and Bee. The bit with the AllSpark still happens at the beginning. Sam still downloads a bunch of junk into his brain but now he hands the fragment off to Mikaela to give to the Autobots.

O: The Wheelie bit is mostly intact, as well, but less horny and more Mikaela's a warrior goddess.

S: Yep, considering that she can kick his ass, she can kick anyone's ass. Sam has his freakout in class but now his professor or someone sitting in nabs him for an internship at the air and space museum because he's- I don't know! Sam- he somehow manages to solve some sort of impossible equation or something.

O: Yeah, uh, Leo maybe can already be an intern by doing something more marketing or advertising based.

S: This will allow them access to the museum without the whole underpants bit.

O: Which was completely pointless.

S: Yup.

S: Alice is now also another intern. She attempts to flirt with Sam but gets nowhere cause Sam is in a committed fucking relationship.

S: Yeah. Alice can now copy other people's appearances and does so with Mikaela based on, uh, seeing her or hearing her and Sam on a video call to each other.

O: Now the movie really splits between the A-plot and the B-plot.

S: The A-plot remains functionally similar to the main movie: The Misadventures of Sam and Co.

O: The B-plot is now the Decepticons are wreaking havoc and the Autobots are spread very thin trying to mitigate as much damage as possible.

S: We're told in the movie that several thousand people have been killed but it doesn't really affect the plot in a meaningful way. Like, it mostly seems like these are just the people who, like, military people.

O: Yeah, not that they don't matter but, again, it just doesn't affect the plot.

S: Yeah.

O: Like, it doesn't change how the Autobots are behaving.

S: Yeah, because the stuff that happens on a ship. That's very contained, that's one ship where as stuff happening in a city center-

O: Several cities. Yeah-

S: Yes, this is a bit wide- bit more widespread and, you know, you're not able to hush that up.

O: But now that's the main reason the group is split up and why Sam doesn't have backup in Egypt initially.

S: Yep, out of the remaining team members Mikaela, Simmons, and Wheelie are the ones who head to D.C. because everyone else is headed somewhere else.

O: But now instead of walking in on Sam kissing another woman, he's kissing “Mikaela” [disguised Alice].

S: Naturally, we get the Mikaela versus Alice showdown that we deserve.

O: The Con's actions during all this stay relatively the same except now it's Soundwave who's in charge of the mission to revive Megatron, still in space, still a satellite.

S: They're still searching for Sam to get the information out of his head.

O: But the Fallen is now the thing they're trying to activate instead of the Star Harvester.

S: To beat a Prime they need a Prime after all.

O: And the Fallen's locked in stasis or sort of, kind of dead or something,

S: Yeah, whatever it is they need the Matrix of Leadership to revive him and they also still need Sam to find both the Fallen's location and the Matrix's location.

O: Same thing happens where Sam's group realizes they need to talk to a very old Cybertronian because neither Bee nor Wheelie can read the text that is stuck in his head.

S: The equivalent of asking someone who speaks French or, I don't know, Esperanto to speak Latin. French would be too close. Wheelie points out Jetfire in a picture. Sam realizes that Jetfire is in the museum and he's, like, walked by this five dozen times-

O: [Laughter]

S: And they all go to revive him.

O: The AllSpark fragment reacts before they see the now very well hidden Decepticon badge.

S: Jetfire's bit is still pretty much the same: they're all teleported to Egypt, the tomb is made out of the Prime bodies possibly in Petra again, still.

O: Yeah the location of it doesn't necessarily- isn't necessarily important.

S: Yeah.

O: Only now the Primes have sealed the Fallen way somewhere else before sealing the Matrix away with themselves to keep him from being reactivated.

S: The race is on for Sam's group to try and find the Matrix while the rest of the Autobots are attempting to deal with the Decepticon attacks and still somehow support Sam's group who only has Bumblebee with them for defense.

O: All without drawing the Cons attention to what they're actually doing.

S: Sam retrieves the Matrix from Petra but it doesn't crumble away into sweaty sock dust this time.

O: Uh, the Autobots and Sam's group converge on the Fallen's tomb planning on destroying him before the Decepticons can revive him, somehow. Maybe it's that Optimus could destroy him. I don't know.

S: But surprise! Soundwave's been monitoring communications and they've been followed so before the rest of the Autobots can get there Megatron gets his hands on the Matrix and resurrects the Fallen.

O: And we discussed going a couple of different ways with this but ultimately we thought it would be interesting if combiners were still important to the final battle, kind of like how Optimus and Jetfire combined. Sort of.

S: It could also be used to differentiate toys from the previous movie and this one.

O: The Autobots arrive! A fight ensues.

S: In order to defeat Optimus, Megatron is willing to make a somewhat literal deal with the devil and combines with the Fallen, so Optimus can be defeated by his or their own hand.

O: Optimus is losing until Jetfire shows up.

S: Seekers, as we mentioned, are absolutely ancient Cybertronians, younger only than the original Primes.

O: And in the novels Jetfire and the Fallen had previously worked together.

S: So to fight the Fallen/Megatron combiner Jetfire and Optimus must- must combine, as well, so now we can still have nifty air fights and, god, I keep wanting to make a joke about plane pants or something.

O: [Laughter] Uh, this all plays out about how you'd expect.

S: Yup. Optimus and Jetfire are better at working together and relying on each other's strengths and knowledge of their opponents. Megatron and the Fallen begin trying to wrestle control back and forth from each other.

O: In the end, Optimus and Jetfire are willing to risk everything to stop the Fallen and Megatron from destroying earth but Megatron is not willing to get himself killed because of the Fallen's mistakes and abandons him.

S: Yep, fleeing with himself, Starscream, and any remaining Decepticons.

O: And the Fallen is killed by, frankly, any other method than having his fucking face ripped off.

S: Yep, the heroes are victorious, the earth is saved, and with a renewed vow protecting the planet from the Decepticons the credits roll.

O: And, yes, I know we didn't really develop the B-plot very much but, again, working with what happened in the movie proper and seeing how we'd improve it. Ideally somebody who actually writes scripts would be able to kind of think of an interesting b plot and tie all of this together. That would be both interesting and a way to further the characters or- and/or the relationships with each other.

S: Yeah, like it would be kind of hilarious if they ended up all being like inter- if the humans all ended up being internet buddies and not actually realizing it.

O: But, yeah, that's our summary of how we would try to fix this movie. Take it as you will we're not even saying we're amazing, we just really did not like the original film.

S: Yep, I mean would this be an improvement? It's a “your mileage would vary” thing.

O: And it also kind of depends on what you like. If you like giant action scenes you probably would like Revenge of the Fallen, I don't know.

S: Yeah.

O: But, uh, join us next time when we kind of get back to our normal G1 shtick otherwise, you know, hopefully we'll see you, like, a year from now and do Dark of the Moon and, uh, uh oh. Wow, I have feelings.

S: Mm-hm. Toodles.

[Outro Music]

#transcript #revenge of the fallen #afterspark podcast #podcast #afterspark

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msjr0119 · 4 years

Text

The Greatest Show

“I wish for happiness like this forever.”

In this series all chapters are based on each song and quotes from ‘The Greatest Showman’

Characters belong to Pixelberry except MC - Amber Smith-Beaumont and Brett Parker

Warnings: Swearing, smut 🍋, gambling

Tags - using combined tagged list, if you want to be removed please let me know 👍🏼

@pedudley @kacie-0156 @loveellamae @annekebbphotography @burnsoslow @ladyangel70 @kingliam2019 @bbrandy2002 @butindeed @bascmve01 @drakewalker04 @captain-kingliamsqueen @duchessemersynwalker @insideamirage @of-course-i-went-to-hartfeld @kozabaji @texaskitten30 @ibldw-main @kimmiedoo5 @nikkis1983 @cmestrella @gnatbrain @walker7519 @lodberg @hopefulmoonobject @addictedtodrakefanfic @angi15h @liamxs-world @rafasgirl23415 @notoriouscs @yukinagato2012 @dcbbw @qammh-blog @nz1091 @cordonianroyalty @custaroonie @seriouslybadchoices @rainbowsinthestorm @princess-geek @jared2612 @desiree-0816 @gardeningourmet @twinkle-320

******

“What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas huh?” She said, barely able to keep her eyes open.

“It doesn’t have to? Where are you from? We could meet up again. I wish for happiness like this forever. You gave me the chance to be free, let loose.” Looking at him, she was unsure about what he meant by being free, but she didn’t have the time to question it. It wasn’t important.

“John, I have just started seeing someone back home, you know this. This was just a stupid one night stand. I drank too much.”

“We were both drunk. But you remembered everything right? Is your boyfriend as sexy as me though?” He winked at her, whilst flexing his pecs.

“Of course I remember! Some bits were blurry. But I remember. Don’t flatter yourself.” Standing up, he held her close to him- sharing one last lingering kiss.

“I hope our paths cross again Pocahontas.”

“Keep dreaming Prince Charming.” If only she knew.

“What’s your full name. I’ll find you on social media, we can keep in touch.” Quickly thinking of a surname, she knew they would never cross paths again.

“Marie Walker.”

*****

The night before

Everyone was on a high, ready to celebrate their friends twenty first birthday- deciding to go to Vegas they dread to think what mischief that they would get up to, but you’re only twenty one once.

Arriving at Caesar’s palace, they checked into their villa that they were sharing- the villa that nearly made them all bankrupt. Hoping to be successful with their gambling later on in the night, this would help them retrieve some of their money back.

“Okay, so we need fake names.” The friends all looked at each other confused as to why they would need a fake identity. “We are now known as; Marie, Mel, Kim, Elsie and Mitchell.”

“Okay, so I understand Elsie and Marie - family members names. I’m using my surname. But Mel and Kim?”

“Takin' chances, bold advance-e-es, Don't care if you think we're out of line.’ We sung Respectable at the karaoke bar the other night. Besides Mel and Kim were sisters like we are. We need fake names, in case there are any creeps or we get arrested or something.”

“Or married!” Mitchell said winking at the girls.

“Come on its my birthday! I need to get hammered!” Playing a few drinking games in the room, they were all instantly becoming gradually tipsy. Walking to the elevator, they all put their hands together- What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, they all reminded each other in unison.

*****

Leo wandered around the slot area, throwing money away as quickly as he was he may as well of flushed it down the toilet. Every time he won, he placed it back into the machine. It became busier as the night drew in, the playboy prince kept declining incoming calls from Bastien- knowing it would only be a matter of time before he would catch up to him. Leo was gradually becoming more intoxicated- people watching whilst leaning against a machine- his focus lingered on all the women around him.

Nice ass.

Nice tits.

Nice lips.

Blonde- no avoid blondes, especially if they are like Madeleine- my future wife. Eurghh.

She’s curvy, but still okay looking.

Too tall.

Too small.

Too drunk.

Too boring.

Bride to be- what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas though.

Too young.

Too old. Way too old- cougar though.

Leo shook his head, even considered giving himself into Bastien- that was until a group of people walked closer towards him. His eyes lingered on towards the brunette, the red dress that she was wearing flaunted all of her assets. Plucking up some courage- not that he needed it, he decided to walk over to the group of friends.

“Hello beautiful. Do you want a drink?” She looked at him, their eyes locking- before she focused her gaze to her drink before back to him.

“I’m good thanks. Save your dollars, it’s my birthday so I’m sure I could get a few drinks free.”

“Happy birthday!” He said enthusiastically, ignoring the fact that she had rejected his offer.

“Thanks. See ya.”

“Wait!” She looked at him, knowing he was probably just a ‘creep’- undeniably he was a handsome man but she wouldn’t admit that to anyone.

“Hey.... Marie.... we are going to head to the tables... you coming?” Kim shouted from a distance.

“Yeah, I’m coming. See ya around.” Pulling her closer towards him, he wanted to get to know the stranger.

“I’ll tag along, Marie.. beautiful name.” Shrugging her shoulders she released herself from his presence- she followed her friends- Leo soon became their shadow. Smirking at her, stealing glances every so often she shook her head- this awkward situation would soon disappear as the drinks flowed she believed.

“So you know my name, what’s yours?” She asked, to be polite- now knowing that he was like super glue- insisting on sticking with them.

“John Smith.” Rolling her eyes, she let out a slight giggle.

“I bet it is.”

“Are you calling me a liar?”

“Maybe? It’s just a generic human name that is used- like John Doe. I suppose that makes me Pocahontas then.”

“Well you can be my princess for tonight then?” Placing his arm around her waist, she felt his warm breath linger around her ear and neck.

“This isn’t some fairytale. This is Vegas baby. I’m celebrating my birthday with friends and you’re intruding.”

“Don’t you believe in fairytales?”

“No.”

“Ill tell you what, why don’t we both go over to the roulette table. If you win more I’ll leave you alone....”

“And if you win more?”

“Then you’re stuck with me all night.” Great. I don’t know how to play. It’s just fluke on the roulette. Right?

“Fine deal, I’ll let my friends know.”

Walking over to her friends, they knew exactly what was about to happen- all smirking at her then at the mysterious man.

“What?” Marie snapped at them.

“You’re going to ditch us... it’s written all over your face.”

“I need to win more on the roulette, he said he would leave us alone if I did.” Maybe she was being naive, or maybe he would genuinely leave them if she did win the bet- her friends all laughed in unison, the could already predict exactly how her birthday was going to end. It wasn’t going to end with them, like they originally planned.

“Of course he did. He isn’t leaving you at all- he’s providing you with ‘fuck me eyes’.... a certain man back home won’t be happy.”

“No he’s not- his flirting skills are atrocious. And regarding a certain man, we aren’t together officially yet. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. But nothing is going to happen. I’ll ring you once I’ve got rid of him.”

*****

“Fuck!” Marie muttered to herself after an hour on the roulette table, knowing that she had now lost the bet- dramatically.

“So babe, I assume I won the bet then...” Sighing she knew this was a bad idea to begin with, now knowing that he would be acting all smug.

“You’d assume correct, stop smirking at me like that...”

“Like what? This?” He asked in a seductive tone of voice whilst placing his hands around her waist again. He continued smirking- her heart began fluttering, not knowing if it was due to the alcohol. Brushing a stray strand of her brunette hair behind her ear, she froze not knowing how to react- her breathing rapidly increased due to the handsome strangers touch. He leaned down claiming her lips taking the plunge. Wrapping her arms around his neck, one hand tangled through his hair as she pulled him closer- as if they were a magnet, attracted to each other immediately. His hands hovered at the sides of her tiny frame before gripping her hips, pulling them flush to him. Moaning into the kiss, she felt as if she was hypnotised- in some type of spell. In the back of her mind, she felt guilty as she had just started a relationship back home, but in this moment in time she felt lust and desire towards the stranger. Breaking the kiss, she looked at him feeling breathless- feeling his hardening length pressing on to her, she didn’t know what to expect for the rest of the night.

“You could carry on throwing your money down the drain, or there’s another option...”

“Oh... what would that be?”

“Ditch your friends and spend the night with me..” The angel on one shoulder was trying to convince her to not stray from her loyal friends, however the devil demanded that she gave in to temptation.

“What would you say if I ditch you instead?”

“That you’re a let down, I mean you’ve already kissed me... wouldn’t you like to experience the whole package?”

Guys I’m really sorry but have a good night, I’ll see you in the morning - please don’t respond. I’m fine. I’m okay. I’ll send an SOS if I need you. Love you all x

“Lead the way then John Smith... but....”

“But what?”

“I Erm... I’ve just sort of started seeing someone back home...” Grabbing her hand, he led her up to his room ignoring the information she had just provided him with- hoping that she wouldn’t back out due to this. In the elevator, they were alone- pressing the button, he then turned to her. Pushing her against the wall, his hands frantically roamed her body as he crashed his lips onto her- opening her mouth gasping for air he took the opportunity to place his tongue next to hers. Their tongues were dancing along with each other until the doors opened and other people entered, immediately letting go of her- he smirked at her- feeling frustrated as he would have carried on if they hadn’t been abruptly disturbed.

Opening the door, he welcomed her into his penthouse- her eyes widened at how a single man could afford this on his own.

“Help yourself to the mini bar, I’ll just get ready.” Nodding her head, she headed towards it- bending down scrutinising the options Leo became immediately distracted gawking at the view in front of him. Fuck she’s got a nice ass, why do I need to get ready? I’ve got a beautiful girl in my room. These thoughts kept roaming through his mind, usually he would open his bedroom door and immediately demand that for his date to get into bed, straight to business- he was known as the playboy prince after all.

“Hey, what did you choose to drink?” Turning to face him, she admired his toned muscled body and sparkly baby blues now that he had removed his shirt and glasses. “Erm... I’m ... undecided. Maybe you could help me?”

Walking over towards her, deep down he wanted her - not a drink. Caressing her cheek, she felt weak at the knees immediately. “Or we could decide to avoid the drink?” She barely whispered, into his ear. Leo’s hands gently roamed up and down her body, whilst placing gentle kisses on her bare skin that was on show- as she stood frozen hypnotised by his good looks. “You are beautiful, how about we take this over to the bed?” He asked confidently, knowing his charm had never failed him before. Gulping she agreed, carrying her over bridal style- he gently placed her onto the bed - feeling his erection against her immediately again as he hovered over her, she wanted him - there was no doubt about that. “I think you’re a bit overdressed Marie...”

“Maybe you could sort that out for me?” Standing her up at the edge of the bed, he unzipped her red dress- the material effortlessly fell to the ground, she was standing in front of him in her matching red lacy bra and thong which turned him on, not that he wasn’t already. Unclasping her bra, he cupped both breasts- before pushing her back on to the bed.

Marie arched her back, moaning quietly but loud enough for him to hear as his thumbs rubbed her nipples in gentle circles, whilst kissing her neck. His lips began to wander down from her neck, along her shoulders before taking one nipple into his mouth- flicking his tongue around it, before swapping to the other one. Once he had finished, his hands wanted to explore the rest of her body. Sliding down her petite body- reaching her inner thighs- he spread them open taking full control. Pushing her lace thong to the side- his fingers teased her at the entrance, even with a brief touch she was immediately damp. “So wet already baby. It must be my good looks.” He winked at her. “Of course it is, your ego could explode if you carry on talking like that.”

“Do you want me or not Marie? Because I could always back out if you carry on with this sarcasm...”

“Don’t you dare stop John, I’ve ditched my friends for you- so you better carry on....” Forcing a demanding kiss on to her lips, he tugged at her bottom lip with his teeth. Moving his thumb over her clit, she couldn’t contain her moans- these light touches soon changed as he plunged his fingers deep inside.

“You like that baby?” Ignoring him, she just nodded, removing his newly coated fingers- he licked them seductively in front of her, this gesture aroused her at once. Leo smirked knowing he was showing how to treat a girl with fantastic oral sex. Seeing her breathless already, he removed his fingers. Removing her lacy thong, he threw it- not really noticing which direction it landed in- kissing her inner thighs, he now replaced where his fingers previously were with his tongue instead.

“You taste so good.” He said before plunging his tongue deeper inside. “Fuck! Don’t stop please.” She screamed, as she dug her nails into his back leaving a slight mark. Removing his tongue, he placed his fingers there again giving her that bit more pleasure- smiling at her, her whole body was now trembling. Her fingers brushed over his chest, before arriving at the waistband of his jeans. Seeing the bulge- she bit her lip- their eyes focused on each other, showing his infamous smirk he stood up removing his jeans and boxers knowing that they were both thinking the same thing. Whilst he did this she sat up- watching him releasing his growing manhood. Fuck he’s going to break me in half with that. “Like what you see?” He asked noticing her gaze was down below, before giving him full eye contact. “I like what I see, but I’d prefer to touch and feel you...” Leo let out a sigh, as she wrapped her hand around his length- even though he loved her hand expertly stroking him, he didn’t know how much longer he would last. Licking her lips, she stroked his length, before taking it fully in her mouth.

“This feels amazing, but I believe you said you wanted to feel me as well...” Looking up at him fluttering her eyelashes, she did want him- but wanted to finish what she had started. Feeling his cock pulsate at every move- knowing she was pleasing him as he did her, she picked up her pace, before removing his cock. Laying her backwards he forcefully placed another passionate kiss on her lips. His firm muscled chest, was now pressed against her bare skin- separating her legs as if she was an expert gymnast, he thrust against her- teasing her at her wet entrance. Lining himself up, he didn’t think about the consequences- he was hoping that she was on contraception, as she didn’t stop him. Slowly pushing in, he heard her moan- pausing for a brief second allowing her walls to get used to him, he began with slow gentle thrusts. This slow yet steady pace soon turned powerful, every thrust hitting that specific spot. “Fuck.” She kept whimpering, was it worth ditching her friends- yes. In her mind this was the best sex she had received, but she wouldn’t admit that to the already confident stranger, if he asked she knew she would play it down. Her hands remained on his back, every thrust she would unknowingly scratch her nails deeper into his skin.

Arching her back, her legs felt like jelly- her whole body fluttered, hoping that this night would never end. Kissing her on the lips, he was ready to finish- not wanting to, he felt slightly embarrassed at how quickly this was occurring. Slowing his movements down, he gripped her hips tightly as he felt that sudden rush of semen, his warm seed soon exploded in her. Staying in that position, he rest his forehead against hers- sweat was now dripping from his forehead and down his body. Slipping his cock out of her, he gave one last thrust against her wet folds- the remainder of his cum was now mixed along with hers. Laying next to her, they were both breathless and remained silent, both fixating their eyes towards the ceiling. “Could your friends provide you with a fantastic birthday present like that?” He asked before turning to face her.

“Would be slightly weird if they could...” She laughed at him, before snuggling into his embrace still trying to catch their breath. “Four girls and one man- you never know... he could share you all.”

“I don’t think his girlfriend Lo- Kim would agree with Mitchell sharing us all...”

“Fair enough, so you’ve already technically cheated on your new boyfriend.... we could make the most of the night?” The cheeky grin that appeared on his face was too hard to ignore, not knowing if he was being sincere or just having a joke. Rolling onto to him, she straddled him- gripping on to her hips, she leaned down for another kiss- it was her new addiction- an addiction that she would never taste again. Why not? She thought. “I’ll take control this time.”

*****

Coming out of her trance, Maxwell noticed Amber wasn’t her usual self. Drake had left them with Leo to get some drinks.

“Ambs? What’s up?” Placing his hand around her, he knew her the best out of everyone- he could see she was worrying and over thinking.

“I’m Marie.” She responded looking out towards the horizon, not making eye contact with her brother but instead resting her head on his shoulder.

“Yeah I know you are, Amber Marie Smith-Beaumont. My baby sister.”

“No... I’m that Marie. Leo’s Marie. Leo’s Vegas one night stand. If Drake finds out, he’s gonna leave me.” Finally looking him, he believed she was pulling some practical joke- until he felt her take a long breath.

“What? Rewind... you went to Vegas... slept with Leo... neither of you have recognised each other?”

“I was twenty one, I’m sure I’ve got a few more wrinkles due to stress in those four years. He was wearing glasses, I was drunk. He was drunk. I remember it though. I went with Riley, Lola, Beth and Daniel. Lola insisted that we had fake names... he did a bet with me, then I ended up in his bed. Fuck.”

“Shit, you just need to sleep with Liam, Rashad, Neville, Connie and Godfrey- then you’ve done them all. Id say you’ve done a full house, but obviously it would be wrong if you slept with me and Bertrand. But it’s as close as a full house.” Cheekily grinning, he was having a joke until he felt her punch him in the shoulder.

“MAXWELL!”

“Sorry, Sorry.” Holding his hands up- he wished he had a white flag to surrender- he didn’t want a replay of what she did to Madeleines nose. Drake and Leo, joined the pair- Drake kissed Amber making her heart flutter instantly.

“Drake? Can I have a word in private?” Maxwell asked, seeing Drake become frustrated before eventually agreeing. I’ll be back soon beautiful. Leo laid next to Amber, admiring the beautiful view in front of them- remaining in silence, she knew she had to tell him the truth.

“So John Smith, had anymore Vegas flings?” Leo looked at her confused, before his eyes widened.

“Pocahontas?”

“Leo, please don’t tell Drake.”

“This is so fucking funny!” Hysterically laughing, she provided him with looks that could kill.

“It’s not funny Leo! I never thought I’d see you or should I say John, again.”

“No the whole situation isn’t funny, but you have to admit it was a good shag. The funny thing is you called yourself Marie Walker. Marie I assume after your mother. But now it’s funny because you used Walker as your surname. One of these days you could actually be a Walker.”

“How do you remember that?”

“I tried to find you, why did you use Walker? I thought that kiss you gave me in Lythikos was slightly familiar.”

“Because if I said Smith- Beaumont you’d find me straight away as my middle name is Marie. So technically I wasn’t lying unlike you. My mom always spoke about Jackson Walker, I panicked. A kiss is a kiss surely?”

“I had to lie, I was on the run from Bastien. Listen, as you said before what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Our secrets safe, although you do know where to find me if you want round three though.”

“If you wasn’t a Prince even though you’ve abdicated, I’d be tempted to punch you right now. Thank you for keeping this between us. Still friends Zimmer?”

“Of course suture. But the offer is still there- ya know if you get bored of Walker.” Hugging her, they both had closure and both eventually laughed at the awkward situation. She now realised why Olivia kept running to him- Leo was great in the sac, she couldn’t deny that and she would never admit that to anyone. But he wasn’t Drake. Her boyfriend.

“Hey baby.”

“Hey you. What did Maxwell want?”

“He gave me the protective brother lecture. Begging me to not hurt you or leave you- I wouldn’t do that anyway. I’d rather have this ‘lecture’ from him than Bertrand. Are you ready to go back to the palace?”

“Im ready for you.” One of these days you could actually be a Walker. Leo’s words kept repeating in her mind, placing a kiss on his lips, she melted into his embrace.

“C’mon then m’lady.”

*****

Arriving back at the palace, Amber wanted to go to her room first to collect some ‘sleepover essentials’. Opening her door, there was a box surrounded with holes and a ribbon in the middle of her bed. Peering in her mouth was agape believing this wasn’t reality- more like an hallucination, tears began pouring down her face.

“Jackson!” Opening the box eagerly, the puppy jumped out of the box- excited to see his mom.

“You have a pup? Called Jackson?”

“When I got him I couldn’t think of a name, my mom suggested Jackson. I think she had a crush on your father, the name kind of stuck with him.”

“Well who wouldn’t have a crush on a Walker? But how has he got here?” They both looked concerned at each other, in the back of her mind she just assumed that one of her friends sent him. Scrutinising the box, Drake found a note- passing it to Amber she read it out loud.

I think he’s missed his Mom, meet me in the ballroom. I’ll be waiting for you. Come alone X

#trr #trr choices #trr fanfic #drake x mc #leo x mc #drake x amber #leo x amber #drake walker #leo rhys #amber smith beaumont #maxwell beaumont #trr the greatest show

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