#and we waited ten thousand tears to see them reunited and then it lasted like 10 mns

[fitzbelovedhangover]

"There was no anger in his voice, only desperation.

- Go, Fitz. But we are going to talk of this, you and I. We are going to untangle it somehow. I promise. I will not lose you again.”

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 296: Ngl, This One Pissed Me Off

Previously on BnHA: Deku was all, “p.s. I actually activated yet another quirk several chapters ago when Kacchan got stabbed.” Compress was all, “[gets captured and passes out].” Spinner was all “[rifles through Tomura’s pockets and slaps a random Charbroiled Hand onto his friend’s unconscious face].” Tomura was all, “SOMEHOW THAT ACTUALLY WORKED” and woke up again, except it wasn’t really him, it was everyone’s favorite Final Villain, AFO. AFO was all, “time to escape finally” and summoned a bunch of Noumu and Absconded with Spinner and the DabiMarble in tow. Skeptic was all, “Horikoshi forgot I existed, but I’m actually Absconding in marble-form as well.” Deku was all, “ATTENTION WORLD, I WOULD LIKE TO ANNOUNCE THAT I OFFICIALLY WANT TO SAVE SHIGARAKI TOMURA.” And then the arc just sort of ended lol.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all, “but when you think about it, do we really need literally any female teachers at U.A. at all?” and for whatever reason doesn’t stop to wait for an answer. Midnight, who absolutely did not need to die, Dies, and I’m pissed about it. Ochako wanders the ruins of Jakku for what feels like hours, rescuing small children while her adult hero compatriots fall to pieces around her, because apparently the U.A. kids really are the only people who have their shit together. The citizens of Japan are all “damn that’s wild, wonder how fucked we are now,” but are actually super casual and chill about it which is oddly realistic. The chapter ends with AFO in Tartarus being all “lol time for the prison break arc,” without giving us so much as a chance to catch our breath, like holy shit. Are we on the clock or something now, goddamn.

lmao it’s like 7pm on a Sunday night and this is out already. this is like the worst possible timing lol. there goes my nice, relaxed evening. unless of course this turns out to be a nice, restful, soothing chapter, as chapters coming on the heels of traumatic, earth-shattering battles so often are. yeah, break out the Pina Colada song and the little drink umbrellas, I got a good feeling about this one

(ETA: I mean, I was obviously being sarcastic here but damn, Horikoshi.)

-- fff why did I laugh

it’s the crumbling city ruins in the background that really does it, I think. JUST LOOK AT THIS MESS THAT YOU HAVE MADE, EVERYONE. FOR SHAME

also, the title is dramatic af and I am so fucking excited you guys, like holy shit. BnHA’s In-Between arcs have always been my favorite part of the series, because it’s when all the character development and angst and/or catharsis happens. just, those little breathing spaces in between the action when everyone gathers to recuperate and compartmentalize their fresh new traumas lmao. bring on that angst!! but also, let’s please have some Comfort to offset all of this Hurt too, please and thanks

blah blah blah so the survivors were evacuated, good good, can you actually show us though?

AHHHHHHH

PIXIE BOB SURVIVED!!!! WASH IS STILL ALIVE LMAO HOW. THIRTEEN’S FACE, OMG SHOULD I LOOK AWAY. IS IT LIKE MANDALORIAN RULES. IDK HOW IT WORKS

HOW THE FUCK ARE THEY ALIVE. LOLS ANYWAY I’M HERE FOR IT. FEEL FREE NOT TO KILL ANYONE ELSE HERE HORIKOSHI, I THINK WE’RE GOOD

(ETA: it’s like talking to a brick wall.)

oh my god do we really need exposition about how the heroes tried to stop TomurAFO from escaping and OF COURSE failed completely because they suck lmao. oh my god I am shocked, that is such shocking news

wow they only managed to defeat three of the Noumus. holy shit. again, all of the Not-Kid Heroes are only slightly more useful than cardboard cutouts of heroes at this point, MORE AT ELEVEN

so Tomura may have lost the PLF, but he still more or less has an army then, huh. I really don’t know how anyone could expect a timeskip with that threat looming over everyone’s heads

oh nvm lol there are only seven Noumus left. wait so you’re telling me there were only ten Nearly High Ends in that last chapter?? felt more like fifty but whatever lol I’ll take your word for it

COMPRESS YAY YOU’RE ALIVE TOO

MAYBE THEY CAN EVEN REATTACH HIS ASS. I’M SERIOUS LOL, BECAUSE HE STILL HAS IT, DOESN’T HE? OR IF NOT, THEY CAN REBUILD HIM WITH A PROSTHETIC ASS. he’ll be more powerful than ever

WHAAAAAAT YEAH BOIIIII

WOOO, EDGESHOT, WOOOOO. THAT’S HIS WAY OF THE NINJA

YEAHHHHH SUCK IT, PLF

(ETA: for the record I don’t think Cementoss is dead here, just badly wounded. if he had died he would have been included in the forthcoming In Memoriam page along with the others.)

GET BENT LOL. TRUMPET I FOR REAL FORGOT YOU EVEN EXISTED. I NEVER WANT TO SEE ANY OF YOU LOSERS AGAIN PLEASE. ONLY INTERESTING CHARACTERS MAY PROCEED PAST THIS POINT

dsflksaldkh;l

that’s... holy shit. that’s a bigass mansion, that’s what that is. also so does this mean there are still eighty thousand PLF members still at large, because that’s a plot line I very much do not care about in any way whatsoever lol. can’t we just retcon to say that Re-Destro was exaggerating? I mean hell, a CEO criminal pulling some Enron-type bullshit is pretty believable, isn’t it? those poor bamboozled shareholders

“makeste, here’s an idea, what if you scrolled down to read the rest of the page” lol gtfo of here with your logic and your sense

well those 132 people have made it onto my enemies list, but at least it sounds like they more or less took care of the rest. good riddance

and Toga escaped, as we knew already, and is now on the lam. hopefully she reunites with the League again at some point. although her doing her own thing could also be very interesting. idk what I want lol

anyway so there’s another big panel showing how fucked up the city is, just in case it hadn’t already been hammered into our skulls yet. there’s a car dangling off a roof somehow. how does that even happen. did Machia pick it up and put it there or

NOOO OMG RANDOM SMALL CHILDREN IN PERIL WHAT IS THIS

OCHAKO PLEASE SAVE THEM OMG

“if it falls on me, I want you to have my Endeavor pouch” OH MY STARS. HIS MOST PRECIOUS POSSESSION. NO MY CHILD YOU CAN’T GIVE UP HOPE YET

LMAO

“FOR THE LAST TIME NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOUR DUSTY-ASS POUCH, KYLE” fffff these children are dying and I am cracking up so hard my eyes are tearing up what is wrong with me

YAY THEY SAVED THEM

but listen. not that I don’t love seeing the girls kick ass, because you know I do. but I also really, REALLY need to know what’s going down with the Musketeers, and I’m not looking forward to waiting three whole weeks for that so please Horikoshi. please hurry this along so we can get to them

goddamn it Tsuyu is saying she’ll take the boy to the shelter to get first aid, and I was all “okay great because that’s probably where Kacchan and the others are too”, but now someone else is shouting for help and Ochako’s all “I’ll go” and it’s like OKAY BUT PLEASE? this chapter is already more than half over omfg. ‘bout to start wringing some hands here

oh my god

is this Toga again??? WHAT THE HELL, THIS CREEPYASS HALF-DEAD DUDE BETTER BE LEADING UP TO SOMETHING INTERESTING, I AM REALLY GETTING IMPATIENT

OR, I GUESS, WE COULD DO THIS INSTEAD

“SO AS IT TURNS OUT, NOT EVERY CHARACTER WHO NEEDS HELP SAVING THEIR SPOUSE FROM FALLEN RUBBLE IS ACTUALLY TOGA IN DISGUISE” HUH, OKAY. DULY NOTED. FILED AWAY FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

but fucking... okay, look. I love Ochako, I do. but I like her a whole lot more when she’s interacting with other characters I actually care about, as opposed to running around in the rubble rescuing random people while the fate of my other children is still up in the air. like okay, I get it, shit’s bad, now if you don’t mind we really don’t have to spend all day here though

...anyways but nope, we’re still staying with her. she’s bouncing around rescuing all of these other people. omg. I literally have no patience here at all and it’s terrible, I know, but oh my god

omg finally something interesting is happening!!

look at that, an adult hero standing around being useless while the kids are busy getting shit done. why is this becoming a recurring theme

MY DUDE, THIS IS SERIOUSLY NOT THE TIME THOUGH

I GET THAT IT’S OVERWHELMING AND THAT YOU’RE TRAUMATIZED AND SHIT, BUT GUESS WHAT, SO IS EVERYONE ELSE. THAT’S WHAT YOU SIGNED UP FOR. JUST LOOK AT OCHAKO! SHE’S SO EXHAUSTED HER HAIR HAS EVEN LOST ITS FLOOF, AND YET SHE’S STILL OUT HERE DOING HER BEST. ONE SAVE AT A TIME MY MAN. GET IT DONE. LITERALLY A SMALL CHILD IN THE BOTTOM RIGHT CALLING FOR THEIR MOMMY AND YOU’RE JUST STANDING THERE ALL “WAHH IT’S TOO MUCH” LIKE COULD YOU PLEASE POSTPONE YOUR CRISIS UNTIL AFTER YOU SAVE THEM PLEASE

OH MY GOD

MAYBE YOU SHOULD!! oh my god I really cannot, like wow. oh no I actually have to save people and do my job, god forbid. jesus christ, at least the other heroes tried. but Moping Hero: Bellyache here is just throwing in the towel and fuck everyone who still needs his help I guess. you are like the anti-Deku my dude

OH MY GOD OH MY GOD NO OH FUCK

THAT’S MIDNIGHT’S HAND OH FU -- SHE BETTER NOT -- HORIKOSHI I SWEAR TO GOD --

I’M GONNA LOSE IT I REALLY AM!!!!

HOLY SHIT HOW INTENSE OF A RAGE DO I NEED TO BRACE MYSELF TO BE FEELING HERE. THIS CHAPTER WAS ALREADY TRENDING TOWARDS DISAPPOINTMENT, DO WE REALLY NEED TO GO AND COMPOUND THAT

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON

you’re telling me Tomura wasn’t brought back by that electric shock, but by his “fuck you” attitude? why are you explaining this to us now, again??

......

HEY, SO UM, FUCK ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS, THOUGH. (: OH MAN. OHHHHHH MAN. I HAVE... I HAVE GOT A LOT OF WORDS FOR THIS AND HERE ARE SOME OF THEM

FUCK

THINGS THAT SHOULD BE IN THE DICTIONARY NEXT TO “SOME BULLSHIT”: THIS

FUCK

GET FUCKED HORIKOSHI

AND ALSO PLEASE FUCK RIGHT OFF!!

AND SERIOUSLY THOUGH FUCK YOU

NO BUT YOU KNOW WHAT THOUGH!! YOU COULD HAVE KILLED OFF ANYONE. LITERALLY ANY CHARACTER. YOU HAD TWELVE FEMALE PROS. TWELVE. YOU COULD HAVE MADE MORE OF THEM. PROBABLY, IF THERE ACTUALLY WERE SUPERHEROES IN REAL LIFE, THERE WOULD BE MORE THAN TWELVE OF THEM IN AN ENTIRE NATION. BUT NO, YOU WERE ALL “TWELVE IS MORE THAN ENOUGH.” AND THEN WHEN IT CAME TIME TO KILL PEOPLE OFF, YOU WERE ALL “WELL ALL RIGHT THEN, LET’S SEE, I PICK... THESE 18 RANDOM SIDE CHARACTERS WITH LITTLE TO NO DIALOGUE, PLUS THE ONE SINGLE FEMALE U.A. STAFF MEMBER WE ACTUALLY HAD. YEAH THAT OUGHTA DO IT”

AND BY THE WAY, HORIKOSHI, I PICKED SOMETHING UP FOR YOU ON MY WAY HOME, HERE IT IS, ┌П┐(・＿・) do you like it it was on sale. I saw it and was like, “Horikoshi would really like that.” so there you go. sorry it wasn’t gift-wrapped

p.s. I hope y’all can tell that that’s supposed to be a middle finger and not... something else lmao. er. anyway

(ETA: so I got a few asks from people who were really put off by this part of the reaction post, and so I’m just adding an extra note here to make it clear that I do not actually wish harm on Horikoshi in any way or even particularly dislike him. I wasn’t happy about Midnight’s death and I wanted to convey that, and so I went with my usual LOUD CAPSLOCK REACTION tone, but looking back on it I can see that it’s kind of a lot, lol. 

so just to be clear, the “fuck you” stuff is almost entirely tongue-in-cheek. that’s on me, I forget sometimes that there are people who share these sentiments unironically and so I didn’t think to make sure my intended meaning here was clear. anyways, killing Midnight was still a really problematic decision for numerous reasons but it is what it is. Horikoshi is not perfect, the story isn’t perfect, and I’m not gonna pretend like it is, but again just to be clear, I don’t harbor any actual ill will toward Horikoshi here.)

shit. and wow this man really went and killed off fucking Mystic too on top of that. have you ever seen a character fail so spectacularly at living up to their hype. r.i.p. Mystic you were like the Star Wars sequel of characters

(ETA: I have no fucking idea why I keep thinking Majestic’s name is Mystic lol. rest in peace you old scarecrowy bastard.)

and poor Momo, though. fuck. lost two mentors in a single day. and do not even get me started on Aizawa holy shit

so now we’re cutting to some random townspeople who are gossiping about the Todoroki drama. this is actually interesting in spite of my newfound determination to hate this chapter lol

ngl I am kind of heartened to see that not everyone fell for Dabi’s bs hook line and sinker though. Jeanist returning from the dead literally two seconds after Dabi was all “I SWEAR ON MY HONOR AS A VILLAIN THAT HAWKS MURDERED HIM” probably helped with that a bit! but there will doubtless be many other people who do believe him, or are at least still inclined to side-eye the heroes in general either way given how much they sucked in this arc. very, very interesting

so it seems though that even more than the whole Endeavor reveal, at the end of the day it’s going to be the heroes failing to live up to their end of the “put your faith in us and let us use our quirks and in return we’ll protect everyone and keep them safe” implied social contract that’s going to have the biggest impact on people’s opinions moving forward. basically this was always going to be a disaster no matter what

OH MY GOD FINALLY AHHHHH

Horikoshi really tapped into some of the real-life political energy of the past few years huh. Fuck Him Still for killing off Midnight, but I will admit that so far this is hella intriguing and I am really, really curious to see where things go from here

OH MY GOD THE LITTLE KIDS FROM THE BABYSITTING ARC

“FIVE PEEPEE MAN WOULDN’T LIE TO US” YES CHILDREN YOU’RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. at least the little ones still have faith

UM

 ( •̀ へ •́  )

that’s great. that’s really keen. all we need right now, amirite

GOOD FOR YOU, YOU PIECE OF SHIT

let’s just wait for him to explain what he feels. you know he likes to drag it out

is that Dabi crouched down there next to Spinner? looks like they got him out of the marble after all. but why has his hair changed colors again lol what

anyways. your turn to what??

:’) excuse me what

hahahaha are you fucking kidding me. and that’s where we’re going to end the chapter then. lol okay

so let’s recap. Midnight died. we spent ten hours watching Ochako dig people out of rubble for no apparent reason and were then introduced to my new least favorite character, and because Ochako is so nice she didn’t even punch him in the face even though she really should have. we did not get any Kacchan or Shouto. we got one panel of Deku, who is Finally Asleep. and the chapter ended with AFO ordering his Noumus to go set free, AND I QUOTE, HIS “MAIN BODY.” and now I gotta wait an entire week for Caleb’s translation to confirm that last part. omg

but it sounds like a prison break is imminent, which is very, very interesting. ...and actually, is it weird that I’m actually rooting for it to be a success? I have no idea what this guy is planning, but I do know that as long as the main part of his soul is still residing in Tomura’s body, Tomura’s chance of surviving the series is close to zero. and villain though he may be, I’m still rooting for his redemption (nice to have Deku on my side now too), and so yeah. so like if AFO feels like using some latent Exorcism Quirk or something that he’s been saving for just such an occasion, be my guest lol

meanwhile this doesn’t bode well for All Might though. or anyone else aside from Tomura, really. shiiiit

anyway. [slaps roof of chapter] this baby can fit so much bullshit in it

[tokoyamisstuff]

Betrothed Ch. 11 - Illumi Zoldyck x Reader

Chapter 11: Broken

Summary: Illumi cannot escape his past - but sometimes that fact isn’t all that bad.

Warnings: Death, Blood, Angst, the usual.

Words: ~2500

A/N: Sorry guys, this chapter probably sucks. When I’m working night-shifts I become erradic and can’t think straight, but I still wanna write, so...

Story Masterlist

No one knows what it’s like to be the bad man To be the sad man behind blue eyes. And no one knows what it’s like to be hated. To be fated to telling only lies. But my dreams they aren’t as empty as my conscience seems to be. I have hours only lonely. My love is vengeance, that’s never free.

- Limp Bizkit: Behind Blue Eyes

“Keep good care of Alluka, okay?”

He only nodded in response. You never doubtet him to protect her, yet also couldn’t help reminding him either after everything he’s been through. 

After all, his fear of Illumi made him forget about his locked away sister for such a long time...

“And you’ll be listening to your brother, right?”

“Aye!” the little girl cheered, pecking the flustered boy on the cheek.

It was actually very adoring to look at those two siblings who were finally reunited, now able to make up for the time they’ve lost.

The only companion you’d take with you was your familiar Luna, and you also didn’t want to rely on Alluka’s powers now that you had a hint to your husband’s whereabouts.

Your sister-in-law had been through enough, and she also was way more than just someone to grant wishes. She had desires, dreams and a future to look out for. Both of them.

Gladly, Killua could tell you about all safehouses in Yorknew City so the Zoldyck family wouldn’t notice about you prying around. That information was more than enough for your search.

“What are you going to do from now on?”

“Getting my husband back, obviously” you shrugged at Killua’s words, clutching the ace of spades you were holding. Hisoka had given it to you - infused with a powerful nen, you could contact him whenever you felt it necessary.

“I know that’s all very much for you...” Yes, Killua had struggled with his brother’s mental illness ever since his birth. And now to act like all of that never happened just because you told him he had a change of heart? It seemed almost impossible. “So take your time processing things. We won’t bother you until you’re ready.”

Rumpling up the boy’s white hair, you grinned widely at your friends before you boarded the airship.

You were already halfway across the ocean when you got a message from Killua, warming your cautious heart:

“I’m glad you’ve joined our family. Save him.”

Days passed by as you searched safehous after safehous, as well as every shady corner of the city. Much to your dissatisfaction, your husband had always been gone as soon as you reached the scene of crime.

“I’ll find him, no matter what!” you thought just before you reached the next safehouse, deep in the mountains surrounding the great city. He had seemingly destroyed the Zoldyck Personal Transmitter, just as you had - both blessing and curse.

The view was breathtaking, yet you didn’t bother yourself with wasting any minute enjoying it. Luna’s cry told you that you were near, and that was all that counted right now.

Because there were only three spots left, and what if you’d search for him in vain and he had already left Yorknew City? Your guts twisted very unpleasantly at the thought, making it a lot harder to climb the last pile of rocks.

And there it was - a small brick house, nothing more than a one-room-apartment with the most needed items to survive a short time.

There were lights on inside, you clearly saw them from afar.

Fearing that he would leave if he noticed you, there was no other option left than to surpress your Nen completely, leaving you defenseless against every possible threat. 

But when you entered, there was no one there - except...

“Oh?” As you stepped into the dim cancle light of the room, a small cat stumbled in between your legs, purring happily. “Who are you, sweetheart?”

Seems like Illumi made a friend, huh?

The thought alone made your heart feel like it’ll burst out of happiness as you pet the animal’s head, noticing that Illumi had treated it’s wounds.

Leaving Luna and the cat get to know each other, you roamed around the room, searching for any possible hint on Illumi’s location.

The house seemed to still be occupied, so should you just wait here for him?

But then, the TV that he seemingly forgot to turn off bursted the local news:

“The auction is only expected to take place in a few weeks, but the preparations are already in full swing. Even though everone is talking about the possibility of the Phantom Troupe blowing up the occasion, rumors about ‘special measurements’ have been spread. The organizers did not want to comment, however they assured us the auction will run safe and peaceful.”

“Organizers my ass” you gritted your teeth. Everyone on the world knew the legendary Ten Dons were secretly holding an Underground Auction, with the ‘legal’ one just being a distraction.

But now you could very well imagine where your lover has headed up to...

It’s the same every year. Many assassins would gather to protect the auction, very well paid by the Dons.

A very good occasion to start wiping out the profession of assassins completely.

Finding the place of action was no problem. A quick research and you knew that the tallest hotel in town was in their possession, where the assassins would probably be allowed to stay until the big occasion.

The hardest part however was what in the world you could do if you arrived there...

“P-Please, have mercy!”

As you broke into the building and entered the conference hall, the blood-bath was already in full swing, the true strenght of your husband unfolding in front of your very eyes.

“Sorry, but I cannot make exceptions” Illumi spoke calmly, hitting his enemy’s head with a needle.

There were twenty-five - no, thirty corpses laying around.

Did he really single-handedly kill all those highly professional assassins? Then again, you had never seen him go all out before...

Even though your husband seemed to have granted them a quick death, everything was a mess. Broken furniture, scattered bodyparts and puddles of blood everywhere.

Illumi obviously didn’t need any help, but the moment you saw another enemy try to attack him from behind, you snapped.

Before you could even comprehend what happened, your body had acted before your mind, leaving you only able to watch as the man fell to the ground.

That wasn’t right. Those assassins were mostly hunters, who arrested or killed criminals. They weren’t guilty or worthy of death.

And yet you did it...it was a reflex, your inherent wish to help Illumi being stronger than your rationality.

So you stood stock still as your husband turned around, furrowing his brows at the injured person laying at his feet - and finished him off.

"Oh? Y/N...” Why did his tone have to be so cheerfull, even at times like this? “What are you doing here?”

As if this was a casual chat, he stepped over several corpses until he faced you, while still remaining his distance.

You gulped harshly, even after all this time not prepared for this moment. “I-I was searching for you.”

“What for?” he plainly retorted, stepping harshly on one of the twitching bodies. “I’m glad to see you’re alright, but you shouldn’t be here.”

Folding your hands to keep them from shaking, it made your following words seem only more as if you were praying. “Because I want you to come back to me. Please...”

“I can’t do that, Y/N” he said and his pained smile ripped your heart in thousand pieces. “I’m too dangerous to be with you. I see that now. It’s no wonder you didn’t trust me back then - since I can’t even trust myself.”

Seeing your face stained with tears made him struggle with the wish to cradle you in his arms, soothing you like he always did. But he refrained from doing so.

“Don’t be sad.” He rose his bloodied hands in the air, gesturing across the room. "I found something I want to do. See? I’ll cleanse the world of other monsters like me and make it more safe for you!”

“Lumi...” Hearing this familiar nickname in your most alluring voice made him drop the facade for only a mere second. “...are you crying?”

“Huh? So that’s what it is.” Only now Illumi realized that he had been weeping as well, touching his face in surprise. He had already forgotten that he was able to cry as well."Yeah. It happens a lot lately.”

“Illumi, love-” you now pleaded, breaking out in convulsive sobbing. “You’re sick, you know that. But that’s not the right way...”

“No need to worry” he tried to compromise, pointing to his neck. “I used a needle on myself, in case my parents should get the better off me again. If I ever hurt someone innocent again, it’ll tear my aorta apart and I’ll die.”

You dared to take a few steps in his direction, but he backed off. “There’s no other way, Y/N. You’re the only one allowed to put an end to my life if you wish, but nothing else.”

“If I die, I’ll make up at least for a fraction of my deeds” Illumi thought to himself, his face now contorting to a rather mad smirk. “Y/N will be safe.”

You said nothing - no, you were left unable to speak.

Seeing the love of your life suffering so much was just too hard for you to bear.

“I’m not worthy of your love, Y/N.” God knows when he managed to appear right in front of you, but somehow he did, softly raising your chin. “I’ll never be” he added, wiping away your tears with his thumb.

“Y-You...” Softly sniveling, you embraced your husband, face wetting the fabric of his shirt. “You don’t need to be ‘worthy’. Love doesn’t work that way, Lumi. I’ll always love you! That’s up to me and you can’t just change that fact!”

“I could” he suggested himself, struggling with the temptation to kiss all your pain away. A needle could make you hate him, or even forget it all.

But he had promised himself to never manipulate other people or cut their freedom, even if just for their safety.

It was your own decision how to feel, or how you’d deal with it.

“Do you really still not remember, Lumi?”

“What exactly?” Your husband didn’t move an inch as you grabbed him tight, afraid he’d leave as soon as you let go.

“You spared me back then” you whispered, shivering as you tried to get a hold of him again. "We were still young, but you were already under their influence...”

Illumi clearly began to shake too, making you regret the previous words. Of course they would cause a flashback...

“Do you remember?”

“Vividly.”

Your husband must’ve been sixteen around that time - yet already a completely trained, fearsome assassin.

Who was his target again? He couldn’t remember.

All he knew was that the orders were to “kill the target as well as it’s allies and leave no witnesseses behind”. The job was precize, requiring to act quick to clean up every proof.

And then there was you.

Still in midst of your hunter education, you were assigned by your family to become the bodyguard over that certain politician, following him on his every step.

But now you saw it all in front of you: Illumi, with his hands firmly strangulating your airway.

He hadn’t developed his Nen abilities at the time, therefore having to do the job with his bare hands. And since you were the last one he had to get rid of, there was no need to hurry.

It was a strange feeling to have such a beautiful person writhing underneath him, piercing him with their pleading look.

Somehow it was a shame you had to die so early, and under those circumstances...

Just when you felt yourself passing out from lack of oxygen, you refrained from trying to pull his hands away - and placed one softly on his cheek.

Illumi froze, shocked by your deed. He had taken so many lives, made countless people suffer already...

But you were the only one who looked at him with such kind, sad eyes...absent of any hint of grudge.

You coughed heavily before you were able to corak out the question burning on your tongue: Why did he stopp fulfilling his mission?

"Yes, why...” he asked himself as well, rubbing the cheek you had just stoked. That sensation, the gentleness and affection of your touch was so foreign to him that he completely lost himself for a moment.

“Why didn’t you struggle?” he turned the interrogation around, almost forgetting about the severe situation both of you were in.

“Dunno” you shuddered, just now realizing that you had given in to your fate just seconds ago. “You seemed kind of sad.”

What?!? This must be some kind of trick!

“Does someone force you to do this?” The compassionate expression on your face scared him, making him want to run away from what he did not know. “You don’t seem happy to do this.”

“I don’t feel anything” the teenager scoffed, taken aback by your worry and care. “I am a highfunctioning tool of darkness and nothing more.”

"How sad...” You cracked a weak smile, and it’s brightness was enough to make him flee, your last words still spinning in his head. “I think under different circumstances, I would’ve loved to become your friend!”

You really were something else...flirting with an enemy that tried to kill you?!? Talking about being insane...

“I get now why my family was so much against our marriage...it’s a joke, really...”

It was a mystery how you didn’t recognize him right away, and how you only now remembered. They had to change all the facts, spending a huge amount of money to silence anyone knowing the truth.

Your name got changed, and everyone would have to act like you were their second child - because the one on the mission had died back then.

So the wrath of the Zoldycks wouldn’t caugh up with you to finish their job.

“You liked me...” Illumi let out a shaky breath, “...even back then.”

“Sure!” you now chuckled weakly, trying to brighten the mood. “How could one not fall for those eyes?”

“I tried to kill you.”

“You didn’t.”

Leading his hands to your neck, you wanted to show just how much you trusted him. And immediately, his hands, wandered up to your face, softly suqeezing and stroking it as if he was making sure this wasn’t just a dream or an hallucination. “You’d never hurt me, Lumi. I know that.”

And finally, he cupped your face, hesistantly moving his own closer to yours.

“Is it really okay for me to love you?” he whimpered ever so slightly - but you already pushed your lips onto his until they were inseparable.

“Yes, it is.”

_____

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[fantasyoverreality98]

The Eternal Wanderers

Pairing: Gaius Augustine x MC (Katherine Yeon)

Summary: Over a century after defeating Rheya, the two enemies turned unlikely allies reunite for one night.

Author’s Note: I’m back on my foolishness and this was sitting unfinished in my documents, so I decided to finish it and finally post it. It took me much longer than I want to admit to write this, but anyway! Apologies in advance for any potential typos or grammatical errors, and thank you anyone who takes the time to read it!

Warnings: suggestive content, slightly nsfw

Word Count: 2,640

---

Katherine Yeon may not know much about what life had been like in the time before technology, but she had a feeling it couldn’t have been much more different than this.

As she strolled into the small pub, someone immediately caught her attention. She tensed, the presence all too familiar, even if it had been well over a hundred years.

He was here.

Clearing her throat, Katherine crossed to the bar, mumbling her order under her breath. The bartender slid a mug of ale across the counter to her. He grunted in response when she placed enough money in his hand to cover the drink with a tip included.

Thunder boomed outside, the occasional flash of lightning lighting up the otherwise dim bar. Her overactive imagination almost allowed her to believe that she’d traveled back in time.

“Need a place to stay?” A man sauntered up to her, reaching out to twirl a stand of her hair around his finger.

Katherine grabbed him by the wrist, careful not to apply too much pressure. Human bones were impossibly fragile. It was a fact that had taken her several decades to learn.

“I’m fine,” she said, pulling the hood of her cloak down.

The man’s throat bobbed, and he struggled against her grip. When she refused to let go, a quiet whimper slipped past his lips, and the smell of fear lingered in the air.

After another ten seconds, Katherine decided she’d done enough, and released the man with a smile. “Next time, you should ask permission before you try to touch a woman. Or anyone. We’re not living in the Dark Ages anymore.” She bared her teeth in a menacing grin, exposing the fangs that could tear through his flesh if she were in the mood for violence.

Luckily for the man and everyone else in the pub, she was tired.

“Ye—yes—I—” The man didn’t bother to finish his sentence before he turned and ran out into the night, the sound of his pounding footsteps echoing in her ears for a while.

“It appears you’ve grown more confident since the last time we spoke.” Although he sat across the room, her vampire senses allowed her to hear him speak.

Katherine chewed on her bottom lip as she stared out into the storm, debating whether she should face him, or if she should walk away and pretend as though none of this had ever happened.

“Come now. It would be rather rude for you to leave without saying hello, wouldn’t it, my flower?” The smugness practically dripped from his tone. She didn’t need to see his face to know he was smirking.

The thud of her boots echoed in the pub as she made her way to the table in the corner. Like her, the man wore a cloak. It may not be the same one he’d worn when they parted ways so long ago, but it may as well be. He was in desperate need of updating his wardrobe.

“What are you doing here?” Katherine muttered, sliding onto the bench across the table.

A deep chuckle reverberated deep in his chest. “I could ask the same of you. Tell me, where are Adrian and Kamliah?”

“Answer my question first.”

“Last I heard, you were engaged to be married to Adrian. What happened, Katherine?”

She tucked her hands under her thighs, trying to ignore the sharp stab that went through her at the mention of a life that would never be. “It didn’t work out.”

That was the most she would tell him. The story was too long, too painful, and the past couldn’t be changed now.

Finally, the man sat up straight, hesitating a moment before pulling the hood of his cloak off to reveal a face she’d never thought she would see again.

Gaius Augustine studied her reaction, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

“I’ve been working on redeeming myself. Does that answer satisfy you?”

Nothing had changed since they’d parted ways. He hadn’t aged a day, but then again, neither had she. Katherine didn’t believe in fate, but crossing paths with this man in the vast expanse of the world didn’t seem like mere coincidence.

“And how has that been going?” Rumors of a wanderer had plagued her in the decade she’d been traveling herself, but a small part of her hadn’t wanted to believe that it could be Gaius.

If she were honest, the smallest part of her had wished that he were dead.

And now, he sat across from her in a small European town.

“The progress is slow.” Gaius studied her from across the table, his eyes resting on her lips a moment before he looked away. “But I meant it when I said I wouldn’t let you down.”

Katherine leaned back, remembering the night she’d made the decision to spare his life. For a moment, she’d almost let Kamilah kill him.

But she knew that death was too kind for him. He deserved to live with the weight of his actions, to spend centuries trying to right his wrongs. And, if she were completely honest with herself, it would be a shame to never see the face she’d spent many nights dreaming of again.

“You know, a small part of me always liked you. Evil as you were, you were extremely charismatic. It intrigued me.” She knew that it would be wrong to act on what she was thinking, but over a hundred years had taught her plenty of things.

And one of those things was that it felt fucking great to get what she wanted.

She leaned forward to rest her elbows on the table, reaching out to run a finger along the back of his hand. Gaius raised an eyebrow, maintaining eye contact with her the entire time.

“What is it that you want?” He revealed nothing, stoic as ever. Every muscle in his face remained perfectly still.

It was impossible to fight the grin that desperately wanted to spread across her face. She narrowed her eyes, knowing that he could hear her racing heart. “You.”

One word was all she needed to get the message across. One word had the power to turn this from a boring night into a fascinating one.

“You play a dangerous game, Katherine.” Gaius pulled his hand away from her, still looking into her eyes. “There will be no way to come back from this.”

Her stomach clenched, the idea of spending just one night with this masterpiece of a man too tempting to ignore. “I’m a woman who knows what she wants.”

It had been so long since she’d felt the touch of another. She struggled to remember the last time she’d had sex and god did she ever miss it. Now, an opportunity sat right in front of her. One that wouldn’t break if she wanted to be rough.

“Are you certain?” She could see the surprise in Gaius’s eyes, mixed with eagerness. Finally, she noticed that a muscle twitched in his jaw. His eyes met hers, the pupils dilated more than before.

The world grew quiet for a moment, the only sound her shaky breath before she whispered the answer.

“Yes.”

Thunder boomed immediately after her response, another flash of lightning illuminating his face as her answer sunk in. Neither of them said a word as they stood at the same time. Katherine stepped into the rain and turned to face Gaius. He tilted his head in the direction of the small inn across the dirt road.

While most of the world had grown, the technology so advanced that it still left her mind struggling to comprehend, the rural towns of Europe had failed to catch up. Most places she stayed in would have been outdated even when she was mortal.

Gaius led her to a comfy room in the inn, locking the door once they were both inside. The burst of confidence she’d felt in the pub had dwindled. Katherine fumbled over her words, now painfully aware that it was just the two of them.

This was not a casual one-night stand with a stranger. Whether she liked to admit it or not, they had a history. Maybe not a romantic one, but the past weighed heavily between the two of them.

Here was the man who had killed her. The man who had committed unspeakable crimes for thousands of years. Even being in the same room as him should horrify her.

“I—Tell me about your journeys.” Katherine knew they didn’t come here to talk, but she needed a temporary distraction.

He frowned, but paced the room and started to recount all the times he’d saved innocent people from both the supernatural and regular human cruelty. After a while, she was able to relax, letting her cloak fall to the floor.

Katherine sat in the corner of the room, watching as Gaius paced around the room and continued to talk about his adventures. He stopped talking after a while, their eyes locking from across the room. She chewed on her bottom lip, raking her gaze over his body.

One hundred and thirty years.

For a hundred and thirty years, she had dreamt of a night like this. The rain continued to fall outside, a spattering of raindrops on the window the only sound in the quiet room.

Neither of them said a word as they gravitated toward each other, calculating the other’s movements with each step. Watching, waiting, anticipating.

“Katherine—” Hearing her name on his lips ignited a desire deep inside, and Katherine closed the rest of the distance between them. She hesitated just a moment before closing her eyes and brushing her lips against his.

Gaius was a wonderful kisser, not that it surprised her. Thousands of years of experience tended to produce wonderful results.

He remained still for a second, yielding control. Katherine pulled Gaius closer, running her fingers across his cheek, taking the time to bask in the moment. After centuries, she was finally getting what she wanted. The moment on the boat replayed in her mind as she continued to kiss him.

If we’d met in another life…I think things could’ve been different.

When she reached for his cloak, Gaius took a sharp breath. He remained still as she worked at the fastenings of his clothes, running her fingers over the bare skin that was slowly revealed.

“I’ve spent the past hundred years thinking about you,” she mumbled, heat rising to her face at the confession. “About that night on the boat.” Katherine pulled back to look into his eyes, marveling in the colors reflected inside of them.

Gaius was silent for a moment, studying her face without a word. He remained perfectly still, statuesque in the dark room.

Finally, he spoke. “I must confess, the feeling is mutual.”

Katherine’s heart hammered in her chest when Gaius reached a hand up to her face, tracing the shape of her cheekbone before he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The two of them paused for several breaths, eyes roaming the others face.

It wasn’t clear who moved first, but in the next moment they were stumbling towards the bed, all grace gone. The storm raged on outside, mirroring the way Katherine felt about the entire situation. A small knot of guilt formed in the pit of her stomach when she thought about how her old friends might feel if they ever found out about this. No doubt Adrian would struggle to ever forgive her if he learned about the attraction she’d spent most of her time as a vampire trying to conceal.

Gaius ran his hands through her hair, the slightest smirk tugging at his lips when Katherine pushed him onto his back and straddled his waist, a sigh slipping past her lips as she traced the cuts of muscle on his chest.

Words were a rarity between them as they continued to undress each other, their heavy breaths filling the quiet room. She’d never felt more excited—and yet nervous—in her life.

Rain splashed against the windows of the room, mixing with the sounds of their heavy breathing as they moved against each other. Katherine had a moment where she realized the insanity of her actions, but she quickly pushed the thought deep down and shut her eyes.

This was not an encounter that would blossom into something more. Neither Gaius nor Katherine were naïve enough to believe that for even a moment. Regardless of the attraction between the two, they were still old enemies. Not even a hundred years would be enough to change that.

---

Some time later, the two of them collapsed beside each other on the bed, gasping for breath in the quiet room. Katherine stared up at the ceiling, frowning slightly at the idea of having to leave this moment in the past. She chewed on her bottom lip and listened to the storm outside for several minutes.

“Where will you go next?” she asked, trying to fill in the silence.

Gaius shifted beside her, and she could feel his eyes on her face. “I—I hadn’t considered that. Perhaps I’ll make my way east. Or west.”

Katherine nodded, pressing her lips together as she gathered the courage to meet his eyes. Memories of a night long ago entered her mind, and she fought another frown.

In another life, she would offer to go with him.

In another life, things might have been different between the two of them.

But not in this life.

“Perhaps we’ll meet again,” Katherine said, ignoring the pang that went through her chest.

This night wasn’t meant to mean anything. It was simply an opportunity to resolve decades of unspoken connection. She kept repeating that to herself as she slowly slid out of the bed and got dressed.

Gaius made no attempt to move, watching from the bed with furrowed brows. When Katherine turned back to him, she took a deep breath, trying to think of what to say.

What could she say?

“Maybe someday we’ll meet again,” she said, refusing to look at Gaius.

There were so many words that she wanted to say, but couldn’t find the courage to speak.

I wish I could go with you.

Come find me again when you’ve worked on your redemption.

This doesn’t have to be goodbye.

Instead, she shook her head, turning to head toward the door.

“Katherine.” The sound of her name was enough to make her pause. After standing still for several breaths, she tilted her head to the side, surprised to see Gaius was standing behind her, already half dressed.

“Yes?”

Gaius tucked her hair behind her ear, his eyes on her lips. “You could stay. I—” He sighed, shaking his head instead of finishing the sentence.

The corner of her lips tugged up into a slight smile. “I think we both know that I can’t. You still have a lot of work to do.” Her smile faltered, and Katherine took a step closer, hesitating a moment before leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to his lips.

Before she could change her mind, Katherine turned and walked out of the room, hurrying down the path she’d taken into the town. In mere hours, the sun would rise. She needed to find shelter before then.

Far, far away from Gaius.

With one last glance back down the road, Katherine pulled her cloak tighter around her, shaking her head. It was always going to be this way. She knew that. Still, the smallest part of her heart ached.

If we’d met in another life…I think things could’ve been different.

The words echoed in her thoughts long after she’d left the town behind, once more wandering the world to fill a void that she could never fill.

[sondepoch]

Chapter 4

Written in the Stars (Lucifer x Angel!Reader)

Four thousand years is a long time. In the absence of your most cherished friend, it feels even longer. But when a certain student exchange program in the Devildom reunites you and Lucifer, things aren't the same. Because four thousand years of separation is a long time. And the love you once felt for Lucifer has changed into something different—something forbidden. But that might not even be your biggest problem, because with each passing day, your holy wings are turning blacker and blacker.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | ✔

MASTERLIST

Your D.D.D has an awful battery life.

That, or you're using it too much.

In fact, the latter is much more likely—given that, over this past weekend, you haven't gone over two hours without video calling one of the brothers—but that's hardly your fault.

The entire Devildom is in a frenzy right now, every demon going wild with anticipation.

The time has finally come for people to properly prepare for school, either mentally or physically, and the countdown has officially begun: not even twenty-four full hours remain before the first bell will ring, and everyone you know is buzzing about doing last-minute shopping. Neither the House of Lamentation nor Purgatory Hall are exempt from that, and the only reason you're not out of the dorm right now is because Simeon took pity on you and sent you home ahead of him, agreeing to buy the last of the items on the school supply list himself.

Such an angel, you think with a giggle, entering your room.

You waste no time in flopping onto your bed and plugging your D.D.D into its charger, flitting to Lucifer's number.

You don't even bother to take your Celestial cloak off, too preoccupied with the device's ringing to do anything other than use the garment as a blanket while you roll onto your stomach and place the device on your pillow.

This isn't quite your best angle, but Lucifer won't mind, right?

A smile blossoms on your face when you see the video call go through.

"MC, how many times have I asked you to text me in advance if you need me?" Lucifer sighs, acting stoic as he speaks. You can tell he doesn't mean the words, though.

"Aw, what kind of best friends are we if I need to set up an appointment to see you?" You laugh, biting back the sick feeling you get when you say that. Best friends. You still haven't forgotten how Lucifer almost kissed you two days ago when you came to him, crying. And you're certain you'll always remember how he chose not to.

Perhaps, if you hadn't been so focused on your own sorrow, you might have noticed the way Lucifer's eyebrows furrowed momentarily at the words, the demon disliking the label as much as you.

"Very well, then. What need have you of me this time, MC?" Lucifer leans back in his chair, angling his own D.D.D on his desk such that he doesn't need to hold it up.

"Um, just wanted to chat?"

Lucifer groans. "You said the same thing this morning, MC. And at four in the morning, when you called me saying you couldn't sleep—"

"Hey!" You protest. "It's not my fault that the Celestial Realm and the Devildom are in different time zones—"

"And the night before that," Lucifer continues, ignoring you entirely. "And in the afternoon before that, when you called me asking if I thought chairs had feelings."

"It's just such a tragic life, you know?" You ask, heart heavy at the thoughts that had run through your head yesterday afternoon. "They spend their entire lives serving, and people just sit on them. No one even says thank you!"

Lucifer massages his temple with one hand, closing his eyes in frustration. "We are not getting into this again."

"Fine, fine," You agree, pouting. "I just wanted to talk. What's up, Luci? Has Mammon caused any trouble for you since we last spoke?"

"Surprisingly, it's been Levi who's been an issue. Apparently, he ordered all his school supplies online, and they've still yet to come, so he's dragged the entire household out with him to buy the required goods in-person."

You laugh lightly. Even in the Celestial Realm, Levi had always preferred the indoors; imagining him braving the demon crowds of last-minute shoppers is quite the picture.

"Moreover, no one has seen Belphie awake since the last time you came over, so we're not sure if he even has everything he needs, but…"

"They'll manage," You say, interrupting Lucifer with a smile. "Don't stress—your brothers can handle themselves better than you think."

"Maybe so," Lucifer murmurs. "But what about you? How are you faring in all of this?"

You sigh.

Every single time you've called Lucifer these past two days, that's been the one question he's never failed to ask. He does it out of love, you know. He cares, and he simply wants to make sure that things haven't gotten worse.

But in truth…

"I haven't even looked at my wings, Luci." You laugh drily, staring at your pillow instead of Lucifer. You can already see the crestfallen look on his face. "I've been bathing in the dark and switching to my human form as often as I can so that I don't need to see them."

"MC…" He murmurs. You know that if he were here right now, he wouldn't hesitate to wrap you in a warm embrace and kiss your forehead between soft whispers that everything is going to be alright.

"No, you don't need to tell me. I know it's not the right thing to do." You put a hand up, halting him from starting whatever lecture is flitting around through his mind. "It's just...easier, this way."

Lucifer sighs.

"Let me see them," He murmurs. "We have to know if it's gotten worse."

"That's…" That's the reason why you don't want to look at them.

You swallow, suddenly acutely aware of how readily your tears had sprung forth the last time you stared at your reflection. The sight of your wings turning black at the root was too much to bear, and you doubt it's gotten any easier. At the same time, though, you don't want to cry to Lucifer. Not again.

"MC," The demon begins, voice gentle. "You don't have to look. But I need to know if it's gotten worse. Satan had some...theories, but I can't be sure about any of them until I look at the pattern of the growth."

It's a moment before you respond, but his words finally win you over in the end. You release some of your magical power, shifting back into the form you were born in. Burying your head face-down into the bed, you don't watch as your wings spread on your back, so great and majestic that they even push your Celestial cloak away as they rise to their full form.

You feel them flap once, then twice, as they stretch.

Staying silent yourself, you wait for Lucifer to make a comment, for him to say something about them. You just want him to look at them, take whatever notes he needs to, and then tell you you're good to shift back into your human form. You don't even care what they look like at this point; you just don't want to see them.

But when the demon continues to remain quiet, you can't deny that your curiosity is piqued.

"Lucifer?" You ask, peeking up with one eye. You avoid looking at the bottom left circle where your own reflection is, opting instead to stare at the shell-shocked expression on Lucifer's face. "What's wrong, Lucifer? Luci?"

You shift, moving your face up so that you can stare at him entirely, fear beginning to set in as you wonder what your wings could look like to have shocked him into such silence. "Are they…" Your voice trembles as you speak, terrified that you might have the truth of it. "Are they completely black?"

Your question startles Lucifer into alertness, and he blinks before a bewildered smile appears on his face. "No!" He responds, almost too quickly. He double taps on the screen, zooming in on your image. "MC, your…" He hesitates, as if he himself doesn't believe what he's seeing. "Your wings are completely white."

Your eyes widen, darting down to the small bubble where your own camera mirrors yourself back at you and, sure enough, the feathers on your back have turned snowy once more—all the places that were once pitch-black now looking as fluffy and pristine as the clouds of your homeland's sky.

"Let me…Let me check," You murmur to Lucifer, stumbling out of bed to your full-length mirror. It's uncomfortable, because your Celestial cloak is still awkwardly bunched around your shoulders, but there's no doubting it: your wings are white.

You hear a relieved sound come from your phone, bordering on laughter as a wide smile spreads across Lucifer's face. And that same smile comes to your own lips as you twist your body around, even the feathers closest to your back turned whiter than the pearls of your teeth: divine, holy, and angelic.

"We have to celebrate," You say, turning to Lucifer with a beaming grin. "I'm coming over, and don't tell me not to! This is amazing!"

Lucifer chuckles, folding his arms in contentment. "I wouldn't dream of it. My brothers will be delighted to hear this news," He taps on the screen, checking the time. "Meet you in ten minutes?"

"Perfect! I'll see you soon!" You exclaim, practically pouncing on the bed to end the call so that you can run over to the House of Lamentation.

Instantly, you revert to your human form, knowing that it'll offend the demons passing by if you leave the house with your holy wings on display, but you don't waste a moment in yanking your D.D.D from its charger and darting out of the doors, giddy with excitement.

All the pain you felt at learning your wings had turned black is converted to excitement, and you feel like you're floating on the clouds as you skip to where you know Lucifer is. You feel like this is what it must be like to be high, to be so unabashedly happy that nothing feels like it can ever compare—as if nothing can turn your mood sour.

But the universe has never been kind, has it?

Rather, the world loves to give you happiness and then steal it; just like it gave you the Morningstar and then banished him, casting your one source of joy out of reach.

You should have known when your D.D.D began ringing that it wouldn't be good news. Heck, if the fact that someone is calling isn't enough to let you know something is up, you should be doubly on edge when you realize that it's Lucifer's contact who's lighting up your screen.

But in the end, it's the utterly defeated voice of Lucifer that brings you down from your high, halting you in your tracks as he tells you to stop.

"What?" You ask, suddenly concerned.

"Stop, MC." His words come out slow, as if it brings him pain each time he speaks. "Don't come over."

"W-why?" You stammer out, not understanding. The House of Lamentation is within eyesight, you can literally see it in the distance. "Lucifer, what's wrong?"

"You can't come over," He mumbles, and you hear a light clanging over the phone—as if the demon kicked something and it came crashing down. "Just…" He almost chokes, voice thick with emotion. With anger. With sadness. And with something else you can't quite place. "Just don't come."

With that, he hangs up the phone, probably expecting that you'll heed his words and return to Purgatory Hall. But when have you been one to mindlessly follow the orders of others, when your heart is screaming to disobey?

Your footsteps as they bring you to the House of Lamentation are a lot of things: slow, concerned, distressed. But they're not hesitant. There's not a single flicker of indecision in your feet as they move forward, growing faster and faster as Lucifer's drained voice replays in your head.

Never have you heard the demon sound so miserable, so upset, so frustrated.

And you're not going to leave him alone.

It takes nearly a minute of banging on the front door before he finally opens it, trying his hardest to maintain a frown as he looks down at you.

"I told you not to come," He mutters, stepping back. It's not an invitation inside, though. You can't help but feel like it's a strange attempt to create distance between the two of you, but enter regardless.

"Well?"

You remain silent, your lack of words a very question in itself. Rather, it's an inquiry that demands a response, and you won't say a thing until Lucifer explains what has caused his sudden mood shift.

It must be an entire minute before he finally speaks, voice low as he stares at the ground.

"It's me."

You gaze at Lucifer in confusion, not quite understanding. "What?"

"It's me," He repeats, crossing his arms. "I'm…" He hesitates, dark red eyes flitting up to yours, two rubies that never fail to leave you entranced. "I'm the reason your wings are turning black."

"What are you talking about, Lucifer? That's nonsense." The words leave your mouth as soon as you process his words, not even waiting a second to contemplate the truth of them. At your blatant denial, Lucifer chuckles, but it's a sad sound.

"MC." He says your name slowly, as if he's holding onto it. "Your wings turned black for the first time when you came to me, and they've returned to being white after a weekend of separation."

You scoff at his words. "That's so circumstantial, Lucifer. You, of all people, should know that—"

"No." Lucifer's voice is firm. Dejected, despondent, and melancholic, but firm. "MC, this is how it's always been. You're the only angel in all the realms who absorbs light instead of giving it off. You're...you're the child of light. Light nurtures you."

Lucifer pauses, waiting for you to say something, but he continues when you're silent. "My light used to be positive. I could always feel you pulling at it in the Celestial Realm—absorbing it, equalizing it. I forgot what it felt like, but you've been doing it here as well. But I'm…" He clenches his fist. "I'm a demon, now. The light I give off is dark, and it's been corrupting you."

"No," You murmur, the same pain painted on Lucifer's face spreading across your own. "You're wrong, Lucifer. You're wrong!"

With a trembling lip, you let your angel form manifest, trying to show him that your wings are white, but he won't even look at you.

"Leave," He whispers, gesturing to the door that's still open. "Leave now, MC. Before I turn your wings black a second time."

"No!" You exclaim, slamming the door with your foot, moving forward. "It's not true. It's not!"

"Stop," Lucifer warns, a flicker of anger lighting in his dark red eyes. Every footstep you take forward is met by himself retreating, desperate to maintain the distance between you two. "Do not come closer," He cautions you, and you can feel the rage building up as you blatantly ignore his words, dead set on marching forward until he's forced to acknowledge you. "This is for your own good—leave me!"

But you keep walking forward, trying to get closer to him, drawing nearer and nearer to his figure until the deep red eyes are lit aflame with wrath and the man has turned into his own true form, wings and horns sprouting in an attempt to intimidate you.

"Get out," He seethes, hands clenched into fists.

But all you do is reach forward for his hand.

"Stop!" He shouts, angling his body away in a desperate attempt to stop you from touching. "Don't you see?" He roars. "Your wings—they're already turning black!"

But you don't care about that anymore. With that single comment, you remember—you have wings—and all it takes is one flap for them to send you flying forward, wrapping your arms tightly around Lucifer as he breaks your fall.

The two of you collapse on the ground on in a tangle of limbs and feathers, Lucifer continuing to try to push you off of him when all your efforts are directed towards holding onto the demon as tight as you can.

"Your wings," He chokes out, watching as the feathers change colors before his very eyes. It was different before, when one of you were always masking your true appearance with your human form. But now that you're both in your natural states?

There's nothing to obstruct the flow of magic as it flows through your bodies, out of your bodies and into each other. You can feel Lucifer's darkness pumping through your veins, tainting everything from your wings to your halo black with his aura.

"I'm ruining you," He hisses, still trying to shrink away.

"I don't care," You whisper, burying your neck in his shoulder. You hold him tighter when he finally gives up on pushing you off, allowing you to cling to him as closely as you want. "I...I thought my wings were turning black because I was turning into a monster. But if I'm not changing, if this is just my body absorbing your light—then I don't care, Lucifer. I don't want to leave you."

"You're a fool," He spits, ignoring the way you laugh his words off. "You're an angel. You—you don't belong here. Go back to Simeon and Luke. Their light is still pure."

"And then what?" You ask, pulling back so that you can look Lucifer in the eye. You hate the troubled gaze, the raw anguish that spreads across his face as he glances behind you to stare at your wings. From your peripheral vision, you can already see the blackness spreading, but you're true to your words.

You don't care.

"I'm surrounded by demons. If I don't absorb your light, then my wings will turn black because of them, all the same."

"MC," Lucifer chuckles mirthlessly. "None of these other demons were born to be harbingers of light. You forget, I'm the Morningstar. The energy I give off is enough to throw an entire realm out of balance. Other demons can't sully your purity, but I...I defile you with my mere presence."

You're quiet, still holding Lucifer tightly as you remain collapsed on top of him. His hands still rest on the floor, unwilling to taint you with his touch any more than is necessary, but you can see the way his fingers twitch.

He wants to hold you the way you're holding him.

"What if I'm okay with that?" You whisper, gazing hesitantly into Lucifer's eyes. They widen briefly before he masks the surprise.

"You're too much of an angel, MC." He glances away, and this time, you notice the way his throat bobs as he swallows thickly. "You do not understand the meaning of your words. A demon hears them differently."

"What if I do?" You repeat, gently cupping Lucifer's cheek and bringing his gaze back to you. "What if I do understand what I'm saying?"

"You do not." You cannot, he means. Lucifer hasn't been in the Celestial Realm for four thousand years. He doesn't know that angels are no longer the sort of beings to innocently go about, unaware of the effect they have on others. Eons ago, you may not have understood the loaded connotation behind everything you're telling the man. But now?

You know exactly what your words mean.

"You're wrong, Lucifer. I know what I'm saying." You let your head lower, bowing low until your lips are mere inches away from Lucifer. You gaze at his lips, making sure he can see the way you're looking at them before you finally lift your eyes to his own. "I'm okay with being corrupted, Lucifer. As long as it's you."

"You…" His voice shifts, the demonic urges he's been trying so long to resist finally surfacing at your words. You can't be any clearer than that, and the demon finally understands that his feelings aren't one-sided. That you don't look at him as a mere brother. That you want this as much as he does. "You don't know what you're asking for," He whispers, but now his own eyes are locked onto the plumpness of your lips, unable to look away.

"Then show me," You whisper.

That's all it takes for the last of his restraint to vanish, the palms that were once pressed against the floor lifting to hold you close as he captures your lips with his own, connecting your bodies in the most intimate way either of you have ever known.

You can feel everything in him, as your lips meet.

The beating of his heart, growing faster when you wrap your arms around his neck.

The tensing of his shoulders as he shifts upward, sitting up and pulling you onto his lap, ever closer to him.

The rhythmic pulse of his light as it floods into you—and despite having your eyes closed, you know that the edges of your wings have turned fully black, filled to the brim with the essence of the Lucifer.

As your body continues to absorb the waves of light and power radiating off his body, you feel your back burst with power, the Celestial cloak you had on breaking and being ripped off your shoulders as your wings spread even wider, shining the richest shade of black you've ever seen.

"Your wings," He mutters against your lips, leaning his forehead against yours as he slides a hand onto your cheek, rubbing soft circles into the skin. "I've corrupted them."

"No," You murmur, smiling softly. For the first time, you don't hate the ebony color of the feathers, smiling as you gaze upon them. "They're beautiful." You let them flap, entranced. Your eyes dart between your wings and his, pulling his body closer until your wings are touching. "They match with yours."

They match with yours.

Those had been your first words of surprise when Lucifer showed you your reflection in a mirror, on your second day alive in the Celestial Realm. You'd spent nearly every waking moment gazing at the six glorious wings on Lucifer's back, vaguely aware that you had feathers to match but never realizing that yours were just as beautiful.

You slide your hand down to Lucifer's, beaming at him as you intertwine your fingers in his. At last, the two of you are matching once more—no longer separated by the visual differences of angel and demon.

"Are you certain you want this, MC?" He asks. He brings a hand to your hair, a gesture of comfort that he doesn't forget even in the heat of this passion. "I don't want you to feel pressured to do anything with me. It's not too late to take back what you've said."

But you shake your head, an assured smile appearing on your lips.

"I told you, didn't I?" You ask, a light giggle slipping out. "I'm okay with being corrupted, as long as it's you."

And this time, you don't just mean your wings. You're truly okay with every demonic thought flitting through Lucifer's mind as he stares at you, mouth agape in awe of your sweet confidence. 

He chuckles, wrapping his arms around your waist, pressing a kiss to your jaw.

For the moment, he doesn't even need any of that. You've given him permission, but all he wants is to continue locking your lips with his own, kissing you over and over again until you're both lost in the sensation of each other.

He can feel you pulling on his light, reveling in it the way he's basking in your affection. It's a feeling so blissful only an angel as perfect as you could ever give him such a sensation, and Lucifer feels that there's nothing he needs from the world but you.

Perfection.

For the first time, you're both perfectly in sync, giving in to the emotions that have been hidden in your heart for millennia. It matters not that your wings are black, that your halo is shrouded in shadow, that you're both making out on the floor, of all places.

If anything, it feels like all those little things are what has made this moment so infinitely perfect: like the stars have finally aligned, and nothing can pull you apart now.

MASTERLIST

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | ✔

Word count: 4.0k

Notes: I was on my run this morning and i saw a deer and i just casually glanced behind me and it was just like. really ominously walking in my direction >.> i screamed and began sprinting away (like holy SHIT i did not know i still had that energy in me, i had already run like 2 miles and i was p tired but that was wild). anyway, looking back, i dont think the deer was actually walking toward me i think it just happened to be vaguely coming in my direction, but still that gave me heart palpitations wow im still a mess over it

Comment & Like

Next Update: 6/02/20

I do not own the rights to Obey Me! or any of the characters within it.

[winchestersingerautorepair]

A Rift Between

A Brief(-ish) History of Dean, Cas, & Rifts

Let’s talk about rifts for a moment. And when I say rifts, I don’t mean their personal disagreements -- if I were to be discussing that, this post would be less of a brief history and more of a thesis paper. 

No, I’m talking about rift rifts. As in, actual, literal tears in the spacetime continuum. They are littered across the whole run of this show, and we’ve recently had two whole seasons devoted to them. So, the sudden reappearance of rift-adjacent plotlines carries with it a weighty load of textual relevance.

Dean and Castiel’s relationship arc, a fan favorite, began when Leviathans, the notorious fan-unfavorite, came into the picture. 

No, Maeve! Dean and Castiel’s relationship arc began in season 4, not 7! Cas was barely even in season 7! 

Well, let me explain. Season 7, the age of Sera Gamble, was a total show reset. Was it uncomfortable? Yes. Did we all hate it? Yes. But like with muscle, you’ve got to tear through the old before you can develop something new, and Season 7 did this job quite effectively. An identity crisis at that scale means either a massive change of pace or a creative death, and as the show is still on, number one it is. 

So, while we can most reliably chart the beginning of an intentional, substantive romantic undercurrent to Season 8, it is the waiting that allowed it to come to fruition-- Season 7 was a void, an unsustainable period of creative drought, a long cold winter in which seeds fell and laid dormant. And like the winter, it was necessary for rebirth.

This brings me to the first DeanCas rift: 

~~

The Purgatory Spell

Episode: 7x01

This tear in spacetime was the culmination of Castiel’s Season 6 character arc. It was the final, greatest betrayal, the irredeemable course of action which struck his relationship with the Winchesters a fatal blow-- and though his last act was to attempt to right his wrongs, the emergence of this rift meant estrangement and death for the relationship (and for Castiel.)

This incident is established as far more significant for Dean than it is for Sam, so I won’t spend much time justifying my classification of this rift as primarily DeanCas. It’s made pretty damn clear through Dean’s behavior throughout Season 7.

Castiel’s departure catalyzed the emergence of Leviathans. As the lore promised, they brought death and destruction to the whole ecosystem, purging the show and readying it for reincarnation; but I’ve already made this point.

As Destiel 1.0 dies, Destiel 2.0 is born.

~~~

The Purgatory Portal

Episode: 8x07

Let us journey back to "A Little Slice of Kevin"-- the gayest thing to happen to Supernatural up to that point. Suddenly, Dean and Cas’s ambiguity is no longer a joke. It’s no longer flippantly referenced, but Built Into The Narrative In A Noticeable Way. After Season 7, Season 8 shocked the system, earning Purgatory celebrity status as the Destiel fandom exploded back to life. 

But, more important things. The events surrounding this portal not only codified romantic subtext, but reshaped their relationship by putting it in grave peril. Lovers trapped in separate worlds. There’s only like ten thousand examples of this in other fictional, romantic(-ally coded) relationships. Sigh.

As Destiel 2.0 dies, Destiel 3.0 is born.

~~~

Seasons 9, 10, and 11 are filled with near misses. Divisions between worlds/fates test and change their bond -- Heaven and Hell exert tremendous force on both, and the gates of Heaven and the Darkness’s breach of barriers flirt pretty openly with the rift theme -- but there isn’t anything that fits the profile cut and dry, so let us leap to Season 12. Five long years of glacial shifts, five long years of a slow, steady amping up of queer subtext. An argument can be made that it had graduated from subtext in some places, but both fandom and GA were frog-boiled enough in their interpretations for this argument to be an aside.

Destiel 3.0 reaches a transitional stage, and becomes Destiel 3.0+.

Now, It’s season 12. And like goddamned CLOCKWORK, six years after Season 6, another unstable tear in spacetime appears, and terminates Castiel’s character arc.

Rift? Check. Cas dead? Check. We’ve seen this pattern. Time for shit to CHANGE. And boy, did it.

~~~

The Rift

Episode: 12x23

Oh, boy. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. Castiel’s death in the Season 12 finale was a magnum opus of SPN’s romantically coded imagery. I could elaborate, but if you’ve read this far into this post you likely already know what I’m talking about. My point is, a hall of mirrors is the chosen space in which Destiel 3.0+ is killed. 

The relationship death lasts only a short while; their estrangement in separate realms is a five episode-long period of detachment and review. Our characters, as well as the viewers, stride through a hall of mirrors. In solitude, this DeanCas winter becomes a chance to reflect, because there is no better way to get a feel for the importance of something than to eliminate it. The crucial elements of Dean and Cas’s relationship, what they mean to each other, becomes clearer than ever before because, look! This is Dean without Cas! This is the show without Cas! Don’t you hate it?

I mean, guys. Mirrors. Cas spoke to a reflection of himself in the Empty. Literally. He addressed his greatest fears about relationships with himself. He was forced to rewatch his greatest mistakes, and what gets featured? Our first two DeanCas rifts. F*ck this show.

DreamHunter parallel! 13x10 reenacted this scene for us with Claire and Kaia. 

Then, 13x05 changes the whole game once more. You know, the episode titled Thanatology. The study of Death. Fuck this show.

As Destiel 3.0+ dies, Destiel 4.0 is born.

~~~

The intensity of the queer narrative amps up continually. Things are getting harder to write off.

Rifts between worlds, crossover and confinement, and estrangement, and the blurring of lines, and the breaking of old taboos/breach of old barriers dominates the remainder of Season 13 and Season 14. We hold this broad focus for a long time, and Dean and Castiel become the emotional equivalent of the plot arc, always there, brewing, but taking a backseat to the Big Stuff. A wall rises, and solidifies. Silver Pole of Communication Barriers, anyone?

Then? Season 15 kicks us in the Destiel balls.

Full disclosure: I didn’t see this next part coming. I dared not ask season 15 for anything this significant, so the last scene of 15x08 just about took my life. 

~~~

The Purgatory Rift

Episode(s): 15x08, 15x09

Dun dun DUN!!

This twist was my favorite Christmas present, because it communicated to me that the writers have an understanding of Dean and Cas’s history to match our own. Not only are they actively writing them utilizing the Destiel playbook, they obviously care immensely about the destiny of their relationship. I am speaking too soon to say this definitively, but this mission has all the hallmarks of a plot device designed to serve many purposes in respect to Dean and Castiel. They’ve got ALL the ingredients. There are so many things tied in here that it gets pretty damn near fanfiction territory.

Please read my reaction to the purgatory twist if you need context, as I don’t feel much like regurgitating it. This post is long enough, lol. (A bloom that grows only in one place? Fuck you, writers. You’re going to KILL me.)

~~~

So, to recap: In a universe defined by barriers and guidelines, a relationship that refuses to be defined will be under constant siege. Dean and Castiel suffer from the sheer reality of walking lines between two designated states of being-- friends and lovers, angel and human, take your pick. The current order isn’t friendly to beings who don’t fit a category. Until the barriers are stripped away, they cannot exist as they are, and rifts will continue to rip them apart. 

The Purgatory Rift of 15x08 is such a big deal because it fuses themes. The rifts of the Dabb era have merged with the gateways of the Carver era. Not only are our long-standing almost-lovers returning to their relationship’s place of origin, they are doing so by breaching physical barriers designed to keep them apart; and all the while, the most dangerous, important rift is not the one in the fabric of reality, but the one in their relationship. 

I expect this major rift to end no differently than it has in the past. Dean and Cas will be separated, and Cas will be out of reach. And then, they’ll be reunited. But, where will that take us? What will the next reincarnation look like? 

As Destiel 4.0 dies, something will be born.

[onedoesnotsimplywriteafanfic]

Reunited at last (3/6)

Part: 1,  2

After an escape gone wrong they, Sam, Nate and Rafe, never quit there plan. As they kept running, the guards started to close them in. Jumping from on building to the next, gun shots filled the air. Rafe was the first to jump, Nate follow suit and Sam barely made it over. Hanging from the wall with dear life Nate offered him a hand to pull him up.

Holding on his brothers hand the guards took this as an opportunity and opened fire once more. Nate almost got Sam on the wall when they started firing, most of the bullets hit the wall but a couple ended in Sams torso.

Sam started coughing and blood dripped from his lips. ‘’Sam, no.’’ said Nate softly and scared.  ‘’No, you hold on.’’ He said as Sam started to slip. Now hanging from the wall, Nate holding onto his arm with all his might. Little by little Sam started to loose concussions and slips further from his brothers grasp. ‘’Give me your other hand.’’ Nate said hasty, knowing he didn’t had much time left. But Sam could not bring him self to it and slipped out of his brothers grasp and fell down. Hitting a steal roof on his way and fell right trough it into the dark layers below.

Nate didn’t want to leave his brothers body behind but Rafe told him he was gone and that they needed to move. ‘’We have to go, now.’’ he said as he tried to help Nate up from the ground. ‘’No, I can’t, I can’t leave him behind.’’ It was a difficult decisions but he soon followed Rafe to the boat and leaving his brothers body behind.

A lump in my throat prevented me from speaking. ‘’But it is normal to think you saw him.’’  I nodded slowly. He hugged me tight and stroked my back. ‘’Take the time you need, but I do need to go back, the auction is about to start any minute now.’’ I wiped away some tears that had made there way out. ‘’I will be there in a minute.’’ I said softly, once I cleared my head I joined Rafe back in the hall.

As Rafe walked back inside he stumbled upon an old friend. ‘’Victor Sullivan, how the hell are you?’’ Rafe said with a honeyed voice. Victor, my dad, looked up from the women he was speaking with, Nadine, Rafe’s business partner. ‘’Rafe, why am I not surprised to see you here.’’ He said while shaking his hand. ‘’How long has it been?’’ Rafe asked mocking, knowing perfectly well how long it has been. ‘’Ten years, twelve?’’ he continued. ‘’Fifteen.’’ Said Victor annoyed and slightly irritated.

They spoke some more about work and business. Feeling a little bit better I decided to go back and look for Rafe. He wasn’t hard to find. Walking closer to him I could not see the man’s face he was talking to. ‘’Feeling better?’’ he asked soon as I came in his few. ‘’Yes.’’ The smile I carried soon faded as the man turned around. ‘’Dad?’’ I asked shocked. ‘’Are you here with him?’’ he pointed to Rafe. ‘’Yes. She is, Victor.’’ Answered Rafe for me as I couldn’t find the words.

With a glare Victor looked at him. ‘’She can speak for herself, son.’’ Rafe held his hands up in a backing away manor. ‘’You said you were in Yemen.’’ with my arms crossed I looked at him, waiting for his respond. ‘’Why did you lie?’’ I knew I had lied too, but this was different. ‘’I uhm, we, oh boy.’’ He mumbled. ‘’We? Nate is here too?’’ he sighed and scratched his head. ‘’Well yeah and,’’ he stopped himself from talking. ‘’I never said whit whom I was because I knew you were still pissed at Rafe for leaving but this,’’ I was angry at my dad. How and why would he lie about this.

Before he could answer the auction was about to start. ‘’And in a moment we will start bidding on our next item an inlaid wooden crucifix from the Trott Estate.’’ the lady spoke. ‘’Should have know the two of you went after the crucifix as well. You could have just told me, you know.’’ I said angry and walked away from my dad.

Without saying anything further Rafe followed me and left Victor alone. ‘’Guys, we have a problem, not only is Rafe here but also my daughter.’’ It was silenced for a second on the communicators they used. ‘’She is?’’ someone asked both hurt and hopeful. ‘’Yes, she is, but she is here with Rafe.’’ Victor said. ‘’Sam, I am so sorry.’’ Nate said, not exactly knowing what to say or feel. ‘’Let’s just focus on the task boys. We need that cross.’’ Victor said in his fatherly tone.

Looking for a place in the crowd, I admired the cross. For something so old it was in perfect condition. Preserved in its original state, finding something like this was rare. Just being here, able to see it from so close was a privilege.

The bidding had started. Rafe waited till a higher bid before he started to bid on it as well. At almost one hundred thousand euro, no one els was bidding any more, until my dad had the audacity to made the bid of the one thousand euro’s. “What is he doing?’’ I muttered under my breath. Rafe placed another bid. Thousand euro’s higher than the last.

It went on like this between the two for a good two to three minutes. After my dad had bid two hundred thousand euro Rafe got so irritated that he bid five hundred thousand euro. ‘’Get this show on the road, shall we.’’ Rafe said eager to win the bid. ‘’Does the gentleman wish to bid again?’’ The auctioneer asked. All eyes were on Victor.  ‘’Its all yours.’’ he said, making a waving hand gesture. I let out a sigh of relive, if he had won this bid we would be bankrupt. We didn’t have that much money, let alone the opening bid.

A smirked formed around Rafe’s lips. ‘’We are going once,’’ the women started. ‘’Going twice.’’ the  room kept quiet, Rafe could feel the victory. ‘’Then I shall sell it for five hundred thousand,’’ before she could finish the lights fell out and the hall was left in complete darkness. ‘’Ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm. The backup power will come on shortly.’’ the women spoke in order to keep everyone calm.

In the room whispers arose, some panicky and some calm. I had a bad feeling by this. Just a second later the backup power came on and someone stated. ‘’It’s gone!’’ meaning the cross. I should have know it. It could have only meant one thing why my dad and Nate where here, to steal the cross.

I lost Rafe in all the commotion, looking for a way out in the hope to find Nate. He couldn't have gotten far. Opening every door in the corridor I was in, I came face to face with Nate. ‘’I think you have something that doesn’t belong to you.’’  I said pushing him back in the room. ‘’Well, technically it’s neither yours.’’ he joked, but I was not laughing. ‘’Just give it back Nate, you gave up this hunt years ago.’’ He was holding back something, I could see it in his eyes. ‘’Why are you here with Rafe.’’ trying to distract me he changed the subject. ‘’Hand me the cross Nate.’’ I held out my hand. ‘’No.’’ he said stern.

With pain in my eyes I looked at my best friend. ‘’Don’t make me fight you for it Nathan.’’ he was shocked to hear me say that. ‘’You don’t mean that.’’ Somewhere I did, but hoped it would not come to it. He took some steps back while I took them forward. Slow and steady I approached Nate. ‘’There are a million other treasures to be found, can’t you just for once let one slip?’’ he shook his head. ‘’I am sorry, but I can’t not this time.’’ And with that he ran towards me.

In shock I covered my face not knowing what would come, but at the very last moment he dodged me and jumped out of the window. ‘’NATHAN!’’ I screamed and ran to the window, looking outside in the hope to see him hanging onto something, but nothing. After a couple of seconds of looking down I could hear a faint grunt. It belonged to Nate, who was probably hanging onto something underneath the window just outside of my point of view.

I let out an angry sigh before I headed back to the main hall to find Rafe. On my way there I could hear the gunshots from outside. My head was spinning, I just hoped Nate would make it out alive. Somewhere outside I found Rafe. ‘’Rafe!’’ I ran towards him and looked him up and down. ‘’You are oke. I heard the shots and.’’ my voice was cracked and my hands were shaking. ‘’Im oke.’’ he said pulling my into his arms. ‘’I was worried about you.’’ he admitted.

Back at the hotel I told him what happened. ‘’Nate stole the cross.’’ I said defeated. ‘’I should have known, that could have been the only reason why my father would be there and why he would bid such ridiculous prices he never could afford.’’ I rented without pausing. Rafe sat at the kitchen table with a glass of scotch in his hand, listening. ‘’We will find out what was so important to that cross the hard way.’’ With a big gulp he emptied his glass.

Because of my tiredness I couldn’t think logically, I needed sleep and in the morning I would look at ways to unravel this mystery. I said goodnight to Rafe and went to my room.

The next morning we talked about ways to find clues. ‘’I can go to the library, maybe find some books about Avery.’’ I suggested. A spark in his eyes ignited. ‘’Yes, If there is anyone who can find that out it’s you.’’ with a broad smile he looked at me. ‘’I can talk to some other people and drop you off at the library.’’ I nodded. ‘’Thanks. I appreciate that.’’ Out of my suitcase I grabbed my notebook and my favorite fountain pen. I never left without the two.

The drive to the library was short, he dropped me off at the Ambrosiana Library. Founded it 1609 and holds some of the oldest manuscripts of the world. I just hoped they would also have something on Avery, how small it might be, any lead could help.

Walking in without a plan, I started looking for books. Henry Avery was an English pirate in the 1600. I took books about Pirates, the Founders, some of Avery’s companions and even a scroll about Libertalia. It didn’t say much but every bit of information was critical.

Hours on end I sat in the library doing research. Once I was in my zone I easily forget to eat, drink or take breaks in general. It was getting later and later but I wasn’t going anywhere, staying in my spot until I found that piece of information that would lead us further.

After two days of searching I finally found something. A resting place that allegedly may or may not have been Avery’s. Located in Scotland. Hyped about my findings I rushed cleaning up and may have misplaced some books. With my notebook clutched in my hands I walked outside and called Rafe. ‘’I found something. Im heading to the hotel now.’’ I said before leaving the building.

Stepping outside in the cold morning air. It was in the dusk of time, I checked my phone and saw that it was five thirty in the morning. The sun was about to set and the stars where still visible in the sky. ‘’I will be there in five, just stay put.’’ I heard Rafe say with a sleepy voice. I completely lost sense of time while I was in the library.

Part 4 

Masterlist

[just-dreaming-marvel]

ONE HUNDRED THIRTY FOUR - THE MEMORIAL (3)

LEGACY: A Tony Stark Daughter Story

FULL STORY MASTERLIST

ENDING THREE MASTERLIST

< previous

Word Count: 1,515ish

Summary: Everybody gathers to mourn the loss of Tony Stark. Avenger, Friend, Husband, Father.

~~~

The memorial was two days later. Everyone had respected our much needed space until the day of the memorial. Before I was even up, May, Peter, Wanda, the Bartons, Thor, Bruce, Rhodey, and Happy were all at my house getting everything ready. I walked downstairs in my pjs after waking up to a perfectly clean house, prepared food on the counters, the fridge and pantry stocked, and vases of flowers littered the house. I walked straight into the kitchen, following the smell of fresh coffee. May, Pepper, and Peter were chatting there, well more like May and Pepper were chatting while Peter was standing there awkwardly. 

“Morning B,” Pepper greeted with a somber smile. The other two smiled somberly as well.

“Morning,” I mumbled as I poured myself a cup of coffee. 

The three warily eyed each other. They didn’t expect me to be myself, but I hadn’t seen Peter since Tony died. They were hoping that he would help cheer me up. I took my cup and left, going back upstairs to prepare myself for the day. I locked my door and went straight to the windows to let some light in. I pulled the blinds in time to see Steve pull up with Bucky and Sam. He got out of the car and looked up at my window. His eyes saddened when they met my eyes. I quickly closed my blinds. I didn’t know how I was going to make it through today. Between the memorial, Steve being here, and everyone surrounding me, it was going to be a long day.

After getting dressed in the black dress Pepper bought me for occasions like this, I stared at myself in the mirror. 

I could clearly see that my eyes didn’t hold the same life in them anymore, and I also looked exhausted. I was smoothing out my dress for about the a hundredth time when a gentle knock sounded at my door. I didn’t say anything.

“Bailey?” Wanda’s gentle voice sounded through the wood. “I know you’re in there. Do you mind letting me in?”

I took a deep breath before slowly going to the door and unlocking. I walked back to the mirror while Wanda slipped into the room. 

“I’m not going to ask how you’re doing,” she started, “it’s obvious and I can feel you.” I simply nodded. She sighed before she took a few steps closer. “It wasn’t right what Steve did.” I closed my eyes. “I know how badly you feel like you need him right now.”

“I do…” I whispered. I looked at Wanda as a few tears slipped down my face. 

She quickly embraced me, allowing me to cry as she held me. Once all the tears were gone, at least for that moment, she pulled back a bit and wiped off my tear stained face.

“I missed you,” I whispered.

She gave me a soft smile. “I missed you too.”

Another knock sounded at the door before it opened, Happy slipping his head in.

“We’re just about to get started,” he said.

“Thanks Hap,” I said.

He gave me a sad smile before slipping away, leaving the door open. I turned and faced the mirror one last time, smoothing my dress and brushing off my face one last time. I took another deep breath before turning to Wanda.

“I think I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” I stated, trying to sound stronger than I felt. It was pointless though, Wanda could see right through me. 

“I’ll be close by if you need me.” 

“Thanks Wanda.”

We walked downstairs together. Wanda gave me a small smile and my arm a gentle squeeze before heading outside. Morgan, Pepper, Rhodey, Happy, Peter and the original Avengers were waiting in the living room for me. The rest of them were outside. Tony had left a hologram video for us to watch and Pepper chose who she felt should see it. Pepper was on one end of the couch with Morgan curled into her, an empty spot next to her clearly for me, Happy was on the other side of the couch with Rhodey in the chair besides the couch and everyone else stood behind it. I took my seat in between Morgan and Happy. Then Pepper stood up and went to the front of the room.

“Thank you all for coming,” Pepper stated. “Tony requested that this video be shown if he were to—“ She took a deep breath, trying to keep the tears at bay. “If he were to not make it. So let’s just get this over with. FRIDAY? Play the hologram.”

Pepper sat back down right before the hologram began playing from an Iron Man helmet set on the coffee table. 

He was seated in a wooden chair from the compound, his arms resting over the back of it. He was clearly deep in thought.

“Everybody wants a happy ending, right? But it doesn’t always roll that way. Maybe this time. I’m hoping if you play this back, it’s in celebration,” the hologram began. “I hope families are reunited, I hope we get it back, and something like a normal version of the planet has been restored. If there ever was such a thing. God, what a world. Universe, now. If you told me ten years ago that we weren’t alone, let alone, you know, to this extent, I mean, I wouldn’t have been surprised. But come on, you know? That epic forces of darkness and light that have come into play. And, for better or worse, that’s the reality Morgan’s gonna have to find a way to grow up in. So I thought I’d probably better record a little greeting… In the case of an untimely death on my part.” 

“I mean, not that death at any time isn’t untimely.” 

“This time travel thing that we’re gonna try and pull off tomorrow, it’s…” 

“it’s got me scratching my head about the survivability of it all. But then again, that’s the hero gig. Part of the journey is the end.” 

Tony suddenly got up and walked towards were his camera was. “Uh, what am I even trippin’ for?” 

“Everything’s gonna work out exactly the way it’s supposed to.” 

He leaned down and smiled, looking straight at Morgan. 

“I love you three thousand.” 

I sat there, tears trickling down my face, with my eyes closed. I shouldn’t be feeling like he loved Morgan more, like he only did everything for her, because I knew that wasn’t the case. But why do I feel that way? I felt a hand on my arm, but as quickly as it was set it was pulled back. I opened my eyes and turned to see Happy looking sadly at me. He had felt my emotions and knew that I was sad, angry, and guilt ridden. Before he could do anything though, Pepper tapped on my shoulder. I turned to see her standing in front of me holding a bouquet of flowers with Tony’s first arc reactor in one hand and Morgan’s hand in the another.

“It’s time,” she whispered.

I nodded before standing up and smoothing out my dress. I closed my eyes and focused on keeping my emotions at bay. I let out a deep breath and opened my eyes. Looking down at Morgan, she held her hand up, patiently waiting for me to take it. I gently took her small hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Pepper nodded and lightly smiled to the guests who had waited outside as we walked down the stairs. 

We walked across the lawn and down the dock. Once we reached the end, Pepper and I bent down and together, laid the flowers on the lake. We stayed bent down, clutching onto each other with Morgan in the middle as the flowers floated away. 

The arc reactor that was nestled in the flowers had “proof that Tony Stark has a heart” engraved around it. Pepper had given it to him as a gift when he first became Iron Man. 

I gasped as the images of him opening the gift flashed before my eyes. I didn’t even try to stop the tears that fell from my eyes. He looked so young, and his eyes had more life and hope in them. He had seen horrors, but not as many as he was going to.

I don’t know how long we were crouched down like that before Pepper guided me up. I set my eyes on the flowers on the lake and didn’t take them off of it. Pepper and Morgan looked at me. Pepper knew that I wasn’t ready to come in just yet, I wasn’t ready for all the people that would be trying to comfort me. So she guided Morgan inside with others slowly following. I could feel Steve’s gaze and his want to come and comfort me. I hugged myself as the sobs racked my body. Wanda knew that I just needed my space for a bit, so she made sure that everyone gave it to me. And I was truly grateful for that.

next >

[fuckallthegood0nesweretaken]

The Dove and Her Hound - CH. Ten

Title: Taken but Reunited

Words: 1,402

Warnings: (Very) slight language, some angst

Previous Chapter - Next Chapter

Sandor Masterlist

Game of Thrones Masterlist

Masterlist

~~~~~~~

When you came to, Arya and Sandor were nowhere to be seen. You were lying on a bedroll and when you tried to sit up, a pair of hands stopped you.

“Lay back down, milady. You need to rest.” The voice was soft and you fell back into the darkness.

---

You woke up briefly a few more times and when you woke for good, it was morning. You could feel yourself swaying back and forth on a horse and there was a solid body next to you. Unconsciously you curled into it, but immediately noticed something was wrong. The armor was different. You panicked and almost fell off the horse.

“Careful, Lady [y/n],” Brienne said. “Your head is still injured.”

“Let. Me. Go,” you said coldly. Brienne was taken aback by your tone and you looked at her with icy eyes.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, milady.”

“Where is Arya?”

“She ran away before I could get her.”

“Good.” You turned away from her and was silent for the rest of the day. You could feel her eyes on you but you didn’t care. She had killed the love of your life and had taken you hostage.

---

It had taken you three weeks to get to the North. Winterfell was under Ramsay Bolton’s control so you gave it a wide berth, not wanting to deal with any of that. You had just gotten into the woods north of your home when you heard dogs. Your head whipped wildly behind you and the three of you ran right into Theon and Sansa being cornered by Bolton guards. You jumped off of the horse Brienne had given you and ran your sword through one of the men. Brienne and Podrick followed you and after a brief fight, all the men were killed.

“Sansa,” you breathed, grabbing her and smothering her in your arms.

“[Y/n]?” She said quietly, not quite believing it was you.

“I’m here love. I’m here.” You began to cry and you pulled Theon close to you as well. While Sansa was putting Brienne under a vow, you looked on with hard eyes. You didn’t think Sansa should do that, but you were not in charge of her decision. Brienne had wanted you to make one as well, but you refused every time. You still didn’t trust her.

“We’re going to go to the Wall to see your brother Jon,” Brienne told Sansa.

“Come with us,” you said. Sansa nodded and you gathered her up in your arms again.

“Theon?” You asked. He stood there and shook his head.

“I’m going to go back to the Iron Islands. You’re safe with them. I need to see Yara.” His voice was shaking and he kept looking at the ground.

“If that is what you choose, then that’s what you’ll do,” you said. “I wish you would come with us, but I can’t force you.”

“Thank you, Lady [y/n],” he said.

“How many times have I told you to stop calling me that? You’re my brother and always will be.” He looked at you and you pulled him into a hug.

“Be safe, Theon,” you whispered. He held onto you tightly and you kissed his cheek. He said goodbye to Sansa, got onto a horse and rode away. Sansa clutched your hand and the four of you rode to the Wall.

---

It had taken a week to get there, and you felt your chest tightening in anticipation. What if Jon was dead? What if he was gone? What would you do then? You shook your head of these thoughts and looked straight ahead when the gates to Castle Black opened. There were more people than you thought there would be, and some of them looked like Wildlings. All of your questions and confusion went out the window when you saw Jon.

You had just slid off of your horse and had walked over to Sansa when you saw him. Your heart stopped and your hand squeezed Sansa’s. He slowly walked over to the two of you and all you could do was stare at him. After a moment, you and Sansa both threw yourselves into his arms. You started to cry again and he held your face in his hands, wiping away your tears.

“I thought I’d never see you again,” you hiccupped.

“Me too.” Jon kissed your forehead, then Sansa’s.

“Let’s get you inside before you freeze,” he said. He took your hand and led you inside the Castle.

---

The three of you sat down in his room, bowls of soup brought to you. You accepted it eagerly, and began to eat. It warmed your belly and you felt content for the first time in a while.

“It’s good soup,” Sansa said, breaking the silence.

“Do you remember those kidney pies old Nan used to make?” You asked.

“The ones with the peas and onions?” Jon said. “We never should have left Winterfell.”

“Don’t you wish we could go back to that day. The day we left?” You looked at your siblings.

“I would scream at myself, ‘Don’t go you idiot!’,” Sansa said.

“How could we have known?”

“I spent a lot of time thinking about how much of an ass I was to you,” she said to Jon. “I wish we could change everything.”

“We were children.”

“I was awful just admit it.”

You let out a small laugh. “You were a bit of an ass,” you said.

“I don’t think it was too hard when I was sulking in the corner while the rest of you played,” Jon said.

“Will you forgive me?”

“There’s nothing to forgive.”

“Forgive me,” Sansa pushed. You smiled fondly at your sister. She had grown so much in the time since you last saw her.

“Alright. I forgive you,” Jon said.

You saw the relief in her eyes and held your hand out to her. She took it and you grabbed Jon’s hand as well. Sansa held out her hand to Jon and with her eyes asked for the cup of ale. With a look of surprise, Jon handed her the glass. Sansa took a gulp and almost immediately spat it out. She coughed while both you and Jon laughed. You took a drink of your own ale and Sansa looked at you like you were crazy.

“You’d think that after a thousand years the Night’s Watch would learn to make a good ale,” Jon said.

“It’s not that bad. I’ve had worse.” They both looked at you.

“What?” You said. “I’ve been to The Lazy Eel before. I would not recommend ever going there. Everything was awful.”

“You’ve been on some adventure, haven’t you?” Jon asked. With a sad frown, you looked into your cup.

“I have. I wish that none of this happened and yet if I could change some things and keep others, I would do it all over again.” Your voice was sad and if you had been looking at your siblings, you would have seen the worried glances.

“What would you change?” Sansa inquired, gently.

“I would change what happened to all of my family. I would make sure that Arya did not see the aftermath of the Red Wedding. That father did not die. Everything that happened to you did not happen. That we never left for King’s Landing in the first place.”

“Wait, you and Arya were at the Twins when mother and Robb were murdered?” Sansa said.

“We were. Sandor was bringing us there to be with them,” you said quietly. “But Walder Frey slaughtered them minutes after we had arrived and were turned from the gates.”

“You were with The Hound?” Jon asked. You glanced at him with hard eyes.

“Don’t call him that.”

“[Y/n],” Sansa paused. “Is it true that the two of you were, together?”

Your grip on your cup tightened and you fought back tears. You sniffled lightly and raised your head. With a small nod you stood up and put your hand on her cheek.

“We were. I loved him. And he loved me, up until the moment he died by Brienne’s hand.” Your thumb brushed her cheekbone. “If the two of you would excuse me, I am exhausted.”

“I’ll show you to your room,” Jon said, getting up.

“No need. I can find my way around.” You kissed his cheek and left the room, head held high.

[damn-stark]

Lost dragon finale

A/N- I know it’s long But i didn’t want to write another chapter... this is the final chapter I hoped you guys enjoyed this series as much as I enjoyed writing it!! :)

Warning- none really

Episode- 8x06

Pairing- Podrick Payne

-

We waited months to see Jon and Tyrion after they were inprisoned. All the lords and Lady’s of the great houses were gathered to discuss the fate of the inprisoned and the fate of Kingslanding. I loved reuniting with my cousin Arianne after not seeing her for years.

Greyworm came out and I noticed that only Tyrion was with him.

“Where’s Jon?” Sansa asked Greyworm also noticing that Jon was not brought like he was supposed to.

“He’s our prisoner.” Greyworm responded.

“So is lord Tyrion they were both to be brought to this gathering.”

“We will decide what to do with our prisoners. This is our city now.” Greyworm told Sansa bluntly. I just rolled my eyes.

“If you look outside the walls of your city you’ll see thousands of north man who will explain why harming Jon Snow is not in your interest.” Sansa threatened him but that didn’t cause him to react.

“Along with the golden company and dornish army.” Even If I didn’t see her I knew Sansa had a smirk on her face when I pitched in. Jon was also my brother even If I haven’t known him as long as they have he’s still my brother.

“And you will find a thousand of unsullied who believe that it is.” Greyworm said giving Sansa and me a glare.

“Some of you may be quick to forgive the ironborn are not. I swore to follow Daenerys Targaryen.”

“You swore to follow a tyrant.” Sansa said inturrpeting Yara. That comment that Sansa made did make me slightly mad. I knew what she did was a bad thing I know but she was still my family.

“She freed us from a tyrant. Cersei is gone because of her and Jon snow put a knife in her heart! Let the unsullied give him what he deserves.” Yara snapped.

“Say another word about killing my brother and I’ll cut your throat.” Arya threantend Yara finally shutting her up. Finally. Ser Davos tried to reason with Greyworm but it went how I expected. I knew Greyworm and the unsullied weren’t just get a piece of land and call it even, no. They want justice for Daenerys.

“Jon committed his crime here, his fate is for our king to decide... or our Queen.” Tyrion spoke out.

“We don’t have a king or queen.” One of the lords said.

“You’re the most powerful people in Westeros....choose one.” Tyrion told all of us.

“Make your choice then.” Greyworm said to us. I rested my hands on my very pregnant belly and looked around at all the us of gathered to see who was going to speak up first. It was quiet at first until a lord from riverrun spoke up but he was later told to sit down by Sansa. I wanted to laugh at the way she did that but I held it in not finding it quite appropriate for me to do so. I always did like the Starks and this was one of the reasons. Sam tried to tell us that we should let the people decide but that idea didn’t go well everyone didn’t take it seriously and we all laughed at it like it was some funny joke.

“Who then?” Ser Davos asked Tyrion after he had said that him being king was the worst idea because of who supported.

“I have had nothing to do but think these past few weeks about our bloody history. About the mistakes we’vemade.” Tyrion paused for a moment and slowly walked closer to all us. “What unites people, armies, gold, flags, stories there’s nothing in the world more powerful then a good story, nothing can stop it, no enemy can defeat it and who had a better story than Visenya the Beloved.” All eyes were on me now. I shifted in my seat. I was about to say something but I decided to let Tyrion finish.

“The girl who survived the sacking of kings landing. Went into hiding in Dorne because people wanted her dead. And that’s what everyone thought for so many years. She crossed the narrow sea, not to gain armies or to take over cities but to find the only family she thought she had left. And in that short time she accomplished a lot. She was loved by the people of Meereen not because of her name but because of her self. She helped those in need just like she did here. She fought for the north when she had no reason too. She could’ve taken a dragon and came here first but she wanted to fight by for what was right.....she’s saved me from people who have wanted to kill me when she had every reason to let them and or kill me herself..... she fought and fought... and she saved people because she didn’t want the people to suffer the same fate as her family once did. The people here think of her as a savior. The dragon princess who saved them from the dragon queen... she’s the very few of the Targaryens that people love.....who better to lead us to the future.” Tyrion explained.

I was lost for words I couldn’t speak. I looked over at Podrick who was right next to me. He only smiled and squeezed my hand.

“That is the wheel our Queen wanted to break.....from now on rulers will not be born they will be chosen on this spot by the lords and ladies of Westeros to serve the realm.....I know you don’t want it, i know you don’t care about power but I ask you now if we choose you will you wear the crown. Will you lead the seven kingdoms to the best of your abilities from this day until your last day.”

“I will.” I told Tyrion with a warm smile and tears in my eyes. I may not want the crown but it’s never about what we want is it.

“To Visenya of house Targaryen and Martell I say I.” Tyrion said. Arianne was the first one to say “I” followed by Gendry and sam and then the rest followed except for Sansa. She turned and looked over at me.

“I know we may not know eachother well but I do respect you not because we’re friends but because of what you’ve done you’ll be a great Queen but ten of thousand of north men fell in the Great War defending all of Westeros and those who survived have seen so much and fought to hard ever to kneel again. The north will remain an independent kingdom as it was for thousands of years.” Sansa told me. I nodded in agreement. Only because I heard how hard they have fought especially how hard she has fought for her home.

“All hail Visenya the Beloved first of her name, Queen of the Andals and first men, Lady of the six Kingdoms and protector of the realm.” Tyrion announced.

“All hail Visenya the Beloved!” The others then stood up and said at the same time. Tyrion bowed his head and then started to leave but before he did I stopped him.

“Lord Tyrion.” At the sound of his name he stopped and looked over at me. “You will be my hand.” I told him. I trust no one else beside him to be my hand.

“No your grace I don’t want it.”

“And I don’t want to be queen.”

“I don’t deserve it, i thought I was wise but I wasn’t I thought I knew was right but I didn’t. Chose Ser Davos choose anyone.”

“You cannot.” Greyworm said to me. I only furrowed my eyebrows.

“But I can.” I stated to him with a glare.

“This man is a criminal he deserves justice.”

“He just got it, he’s made many terrible mistakes, he’s going to spend the rest of life fixing them.”

“It is not enough.”

-

I stood further away from the docks where the stark siblings were both of us waiting for Jon to come out. I didn’t want to stand by them because it was going to be there own moment with their brother and I didn’t want to be in the way of that. When Jon finally came out he walked over to me he looked a little suprised on seeing me because last time we saw one another I didn’t even show and because he didn’t even know I was with child and now I was about to explode.

“Your grace.” He said while he took knee in front of me.

“Please Jon there’s no need for that.” I told him while I extended my hand to help him up. He took it and stood up.

“I’m sorry for what I did please forgive me.” He said with a deep frown. Even if he didn’t exactly say her name I knew he was talking about her.

“There’s nothing to forgive Jon.... I was going to do the same thing.” I told him with a frown. I looked over at the sea and then back to him. “You know that Greyworm and the rest of unsullied are leaving right? They’re never going to come back So that means you don’t really have to go.” I told him with a small smile. He chuckled slightly.

“It’s what’s right and plus I don’t want you to go into war if he found out.” He said sincerely. Even if I tried to argue with him to stay and not go to the wall I knew I wouldn’t win he was too stubborn.

“Well if you ever get tired of being up there then you’re welcome to come back anytime you want or even go to the north it is an independent kingdom after all.” I said. It got quiet for a couple seconds between the both of us.

“I know we didn’t know eachother long both as siblings or as friends but I’m glad I got to meet you.” He said to me with a small smile.

“I’m glad I know you too Jon... thank you for everything.” We then gave one another hug and when we broke apart he looked down at my belly.

“Take care of yourself and of your little one...write to me after it’s born.”

“I will.. bye Jon.”

“Bye Visenya.”

-

After being crowned I named Ser Brienne as the First Lady commander of the Queen’s guard in the six kingdoms. And she knighted Podrick after. I also named Bran stark master of whisperers. Some of the golden company stayed in Kingslanding but a lot of them stayed. And Harry Strickland became part of the queens guard.

Podrick and I also got married after I was crowned because we didn’t find it apprioate to get married before with everything going on. So that made him a Ser and a King which his friend Bronn teases him for. Before I was crowned though the baby was born. A girl. Rhae Targaryen . She had the prettiest brown eyes and dark hair. Podrick wanted to take my name instead of me have his, he said something about, after me hiding my name for so long that he didn’t want me to hide it no more.

My sigil instead of being three dragon heads is now a dragon around a sun with a spear in between it. Signifying my two houses.

-

“Your grace.” The members of the small council said as I entered the room. I still find it weird that they call me that. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.

“We seem to be missing a master of law.” I told them as I took seat on the far end of the table.

“Yes your grace a suitable prosepect will be brought to you for an audience in the coming weeks.” Tyrion responded.

“And drogon any word?” I asked.

“He was last spotted flying east towards vola—”

“The farther away the better.” Bronn inturrpted Sam.

“Perhaps I can find him due carry on.” Bran said and then he was taken out of the room.

“Ser Bronn of Blackwater, Lord of high garden, lord paramount of the reach and master of coin would you say that crowns debt to you has been payed?” Tyrion asked Bronn. I raised my eyebrow waiting for a response.

“At full my lord hand and your grace.”

“Good time to start incurring a new one. We have hungry people to feed can we expect some assitance in this regard?” I asked Bronn.

“Indeed we can.”

“Lord Davos we have an armada to rebuild ports to repair.” Tyrion said.

“ we have these projects will begin as soon as the master of coin and lofty titles provides funding.” Ser Davos said directing his comment to Bronn.

“The master of coin looks forward to helping the master of ships but first he has to ensure we’re not wasting coin or soon there won’t be no more coin.”

“Anymore.” Lord Davos corrected Bronn.

“You master of grammar now too.” Bronn responded causing me to laugh a bit.

“Grand maester it is my theory that on my years of work on Castrly rock sewers that clean water takes lead healthier population.” Tyrion told Sam.

“The archmaester has done some research on this subject and it turns out—.”

“The strong live and the weak don’t.” Bronn said not letting sam finish.

“Find the best builders and set them to the task.” Tyrion said.

“Master of war how are we doing on rebuilding our army?” I asked looking over at Daario. I didn’t trust anyone else beside Daario to be master of war. He was commander of the second sons and he’s a great fighter. He was loyal to Daenerys and even if he was devastated by the news he still thought it would be honor to serve by my side.

“We’re getting there I brought some of the second sons here so that means that they’re joining and some of the golden company have joined too we’re still working to add more soilders. We will train them hard so they can be the best army.”

“Good.”

“Speaking of builders all the best brothels burned down the master of coin is willing to fund reconstruction.” Bronn said.

“The arch maester is less than enthusiastic about the salutary affect of brothels.”

“I imagine he isn’t using them properly.”

“I think we can all take agree ships take precedence over brothels.”

“I think that’s a very presumptions statement.”

“I once brought a jackass and a honeycomb into a brothel.”

“Oo you never did finish that joke.”

—

Visenya ruled gracefully and well over the span of ten years until she stepped down from the throne and went back to Sunspear with her husband Podrick. Where they enjoyed their time in the water gardens and everything Dorne had to offer. They ended up having five more kids over the span of those ten years. They both lived very happy lives togther the knight and the princess. She got what she always wanted. A family of her own filled with love. She got what her parents didn’t have. She got love. In her life she thought she was lost with nowhere to go. If she wanted to seek revenge or if she wanted fire and blood. She didn’t know what she wanted or where to go.... but she later figured out that she didn’t want revenge or a fight no. She was never lost she was always where she needed to be.

.

.

.

.

.

[cxptained-archived]

10 Year Anniversary of the Death of Ianto Jones Drabble;

                           It’s been ten years to the day since Jack lost Ianto Jones. For a while Jack tried to push the date out of his mind. He didn’t want any part of it. He didn’t want to remember it. It hurt too much. But every time his mind drifts back to conversations with the young Welshman. Phrases float up and it hits him with the strongest sense of guilt.                                                   Blip in time.                                                                              Don’t forget me.

If Jack doesn’t remember the date, if he doesn’t burn that painful number deep down in his mind, then that’s what Ianto will become. Nothing more than a speck in his memory. Nothing to ground him to what he was. Jack can’t let that happen. He refuses.

When Ianto Jones first died, Jack lost himself. You see, there’s a lot of Ianto-Glue that holds together Jack Harkness. It’s invisible but it’s the strongest glue in the universe. It fills in the cracks left by two thousand years of torture, heart-break and wrong doings. Make no mistake there’s Jack-Glue holding together Ianto too but that now lays to rest six feet under the ground. Jack won’t ask for it back. Even if death that piece of him still belongs to Ianto.

Jack left Earth after Ianto died. There was nothing for him here. Jack lost a man he loved harder than anyone else. He arrived at Torchwood Three for the Doctor. He stayed for Ianto Jones. And why stay now? When the Doctor no longer needed him and his one true reason for remaining here was never coming back? So, Jack ran.                                          He could run forever if you let him.

Jack never slowed down - not for years.  He ran to every corner of the universe, every second of time. He screamed Ianto Jones’ name into the ether, letting it resonate with every colony, every species that he found. Ianto Jones would never be forgotten. Even if Jack himself grew old and feeble. Even if he lived so long everything was a blur. There would be an echo of Ianto’s name around the universe for everyone alike to hear. Perhaps as Jack grew old he would hear those echoes. Perhaps he wouldn’t remember a face or feel his touch but he’d hear a name in a voice so familiar. And he would know to remember it for the rest of his life.

After his voice was hoarse and there was no breath left in his lungs Jack found himself a quiet corner of the universe if there was such a thing. He stands in an open field, looks out onto the horizon and raises his Webley. Jack seems to linger, a little nervous perhaps, before pressing the barrel to his head.

                         He pulls the trigger.

                                                                             BANG.

                                                                                                       Jack drops dead.

Seconds later he gasps for air, flailing where he lays, hands grabbing out for someone that will never be there again. He raises his weapon again in shaking hands.

                         BANG.

Jack dies once more.

The cycle repeats over and over and over.

                         BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG.

Reload.

                         BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG. BANG.

What part of him drives this? What is his brain thinking?

Well, and perhaps this is the heart-breaking part, he hopes that one of these deaths may be his last. Maybe his number will run out. Maybe his body can only regenerate so many times in a short space of time. Maybe he’ll stay dead long enough that he gets a glimpse of that beautiful face that left him behind. Maybe he’ll stay long enough to receive a kiss.

                                                                             It never works of course.

After that Jack just keeps running. It’s years in the end. Years of mindless running head first into danger. Years of pain that didn’t need to be caused. Years of recklnessness.

Eventually he comes home.

                         The Hub is rebuilt.

                                                       He reunites with Gwen.

                                                                                                       Normality.

Except it never can be. There are ghosts in this Hub. It doesn’t matter that it was re-built. It doesn’t matter that technically these ghosts have never seen these surroundings. There’s an Owen in the med-bay, a Tosh babbling at her desk, and a Ianto in the tourism office. They won’t let themselves be forgotten, will they?

And now, ten years on from the day he lost Ianto Jones, he finds himself sitting by a certain grave with a bunch of flowers in his lap. The first time he’s been able to bring himself to do so.

                         “It’s been a while.” Jack says from where he sits cross legged by the headstone. He’s been sitting there for a while now but this is the first time he can bring himself to speak. “I’m about to do a lot of talking and I know we didn’t actually do a lot of that when you were around. Which means there are a lot of words to catch up on so I’m going to need you to stay quiet, alright? Shouldn’t be hard to do.” He forces out a chuckle. The tears are already springing forward into his eyes.

                         “Ianto Jones you were special.” Jack nods. “I… refused to let anyone into my life over the years. The pain of losing people didn’t seem worth getting close to them. I vowed to myself, Ianto I really did, I vowed I would never let myself love someone ever again. I didn’t exactly bargain for you.”

There’s a long pause after that. Jack looks down at his lap.

                         “I love you. There I said it.” Jack nods determinedly, nostrils flaring as tears start their journey down his cheeks. “Sorry it took ten years to say. Doesn’t mean I didn’t back then though. I did love you. I just wasn’t ready to let myself. Guess I shouldn’t have waited so long, huh?”

Another pause and Jack doesn’t know what to say. They never talked about this kind of thing before, it’s even harder now when one half can’t talk back. Jack lets his head tip forward into his hands, his palms dragged down his face as he mentally kicks himself for not having prepared something beforehand.

                         “You probably just want me to spit it out right? Or by now you would have told me to shut up and you would have kissed me just a bit harder than necessary—not that I’d complain.” It’s a laugh now, as he raises his head again and focuses his eyes on the gravestone with a sigh.

                         “I wanted to thank you Ianto Jones, that’s really all. A lot of rambling to get there I realised but it’s hard to turn on the charm when I can’t see your face.” Jack smiles sadly. “Thank you. For everything. For being you. I didn’t want anyone knowing about me you see Ianto. I… used to be afraid. Horribly afraid. That maybe if people knew I couldn’t die that they wouldn’t care about me. Got proved once or twice in the past and after that I kept it secret. You were one hell of an exception to that rule Ianto Jones. I am immortal-- and you’d still throw yourself in front of me. You’d still be there when I died. You were so… incredibly caring Ianto. I couldn’t quite believe my luck.                          “So I told you more. I told you about my life, about the Time Agency, about every trip with the Doctor. I told you stories that will never see the light of day again. They will die with you Ianto, and that’s okay. That’s the way it should be.” Tears are streaming down his face now. Jack doesn’t bother to wipe them away.

                         “I was afraid of love. I was scared to let myself get close to someone but with you I couldn’t help myself. It was like something pulled me towards you. Something that wouldn’t let go until I could call you mine. Being immortal isn’t easy—though you could argue being dead is probably harder. I won’t fight you on that. But I know that everyone I get close to will leave. One way or another.” A sob. It chokes him. His voice from now one is broken and tired. He breathes heavily through sniffs but doesn’t once wipe those tears away. Ianto deserves these emotions.

                         “But you were so worth it, Ianto. You were worth every pain in this universe. And we should have had so long together. A good fifty years to go.” Jack cries. “I was going to watch you grow old. I was going to tease you about going grey. I was going to be there, Ianto, and you were going to be the first one in thousands of years that I let myself do that with. I promise you that.”

Jack’s face is streaked. His eyes bright red and puffy. Finally, he gets to his feet. The flowers are taken from his lap and placed by the headstone of the grave. He allows himself some time to stare at the inscription before taking a step backwards.

A shaky breath is taken as his mouth moves to form words. None of them are right so he fumbles silence for a moment before he sobs loudly and finally speaks.

           “I want you come home, Ianto Jones.”                                                                              He begs.

                                                                                                       “Please…”

[fanwarriorfictions]

One-

A Stranger Things Fanfic

Chapter Eight- Part Three

Phina didn't know exactly what happened, all she remembered was the smoke, the pain, and then the darkness. Her head throbbed, like she had gotten punched in the temple ten times in a row.

She sat up, holding her head in her hands. She let out a low groan, the pain getting worse from the movement. Phina tried to shift her body, so she could look at her surroundings, which sent a burning sensation throughout her right leg and up her side. She let out a shriek, looking down at her blood covered body.

Four deep claw marks adorned her leg, starting from her upper thigh and ending at her calf.

She looked around her, trying to place where she was. She was laying in the parking lot of the middle school, but, not really. No, she was in the upside down. The scene looked familiar, like, like, well, she didn't know. All she knew was that she had seen it before, and she was willing to bet her reoccurring nightmares had something to do with it.

The Demogorgan must have grabbed her, before bringing her to this place. Why she wasn't dead yet, she didn't know. Clearly, she was bleeding enough to attact it, but if it wasn't interested in her, that meant, their was more blood, more food for it to eat.

"The kids," Phina realizes, involuntarily jumping, which caused her to groan in pain.

She needed to get to her kids, she needs to save them. Phina tries to bend her leg, but endes up screaming out instead, there was no way she would be able to do anything like this, she has to stop the bleeding.

Phina grabbes the shredded material of her jeans, tearing away the pieces until her right leg was completely bare. She places her hands on her leg, where the bleeding was the worst, concentrating on the fire within her.

Normally, flame or heat would not affect her, so she had to make this hot, very hot. Her eyes began to glow golden, her palms heating up. Within seconds, her skin began to burn, the wound cauterizing. She bit her lip, hard, to keep from screaming, blood now pooling in her mouth.

   The smell of her own burning flesh made her want to puke, she bit down on her lip harder to prevent it. The blood begins to slow down in that area, almost completely cauterized. Phina pauses for a breath and then she is sending even more heat into the wound.

It stops bleeding completely, and Phina spits out the blood in her mouth, breathing deeply. She gritted her teeth and stood up, screaming out as many curses as she could. In answer, she heard the shriek of the Demogorgan. It was inside the school, screeching as it slammed itself into a wall, over and over again. Phina limped towards the noise, trying her best to block out the pain, but she could feel every agonizing step of it.

Phina turned the corner, into the hall of which the Demogorgan's shrieks came from. A portal, like the one her and Nancy had crawled through in the forest, opened on the wall, and the Demogorgan forces its way through it.

Phina sees her chance, and she boltes, the adrenaline keeping the pain of her leg at bay for the moment. She hears gun shots being fired from the other side as she neares the portal. As she dives through it, they go quiet, the only sound she can hear is the Demogorgan's shriek.

Phina falls to the ground, watching as the Demogorgan jumps on top of a man. Phina gets to her knees, watching the monster, waiting for it to see her. Then, she freezes, not because of the Demogorgan that was feasting away upon its dinner, but because of the man who was the feast, Dr Brenner.

Memories that have been locked away for 11 years slammed into her, and she felt no need to save that man, none whatsoever. No, not with the things he put her through, not with what he put Eleven through.

Her eyes fill with tears, a low, aching sob passing her lips, Brenner lookes up at her, the pain in his face as the monster ripped into his stomach turning into agonizing confusion.

"One," he whispers, "One, help me."

Phina let out another quiet sob, "papa," then she was running.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she didn't turn back, she just ran. Every memory her brain had suppressed flashed through her mind like a movie. Going backwards through the painful memories, until it landed on her earliest one, Dr Brenner, the man she had once known as, papa.

   He had raised her for the first five years of her life, and she lived in pure agony. She was tested on, experimented on, cut open and analyzed. She was a specimen of which they had never seen before, the birth of their crazed obsession with gifted individuals. Then she got away, killed her way out as at only five years of age, yet not a child, not even close.

When the gunfire starts up again, Phina followes the noise, pushing her past back into the corner it had been hiding in for all of these years. She runs faster, turning down a hallway, seeing the kids running towards her almost instantly, Dustin carrying El in his arms.

"Phina," Mike shoutes, confused, but relieved to see his sister, with her here, that meant they had a protector, and he knew Phina, she would make sure they were safe.

She cries out to him, "Mike!"

She runs towards them, towards their shared goal of a classroom to hide in. The kids ran into the room, Mike waiting for his sister to get in before slamming the door behind her. They didn't stop to reunite, just followed Dustin to the back of the room, where he and Lucas lifted El onto a table.

Phina almost sobbed when she saw how weak the girl looked, she looked near death. El clung to Mike, like he was her life line, which might of very well been true.

"Just hold on a little longer ok," Mike pleaded with El, "he's gone. The bad man's gone. We'll be home soon. My mom, she'll get you your own bed. You can eat as many eggos as you want.

"And, we can go to the Snow Ball," Mike smiles.

"Promise," El shakily asks, her voice breaking.

Mike looks at her, "promise."

They smile at each other, and Phina smiles at them. Phina feels weak in that moment, the adrenaline coming down from its high. She places her hand on Dustin's shoulder to keep from falling over. He looks up at her, seeing her incredibly pale face, then down at her leg, his own face paling.

"Holy shit Phina," Dustin yelled, "what happened to your leg!"

"I'm fine," she says, but almost falls right after she says it.

Lucas and Dustin support her, letting her lean on them.

She lets out a breath, "just a little dizz..."

Shrieks and gunfire sound from just outside the door, the lights flickering worse than before. Dustin yells out a little and Phina pulls him and Lucas into her sides, ready to protect them. They all watch the door, Phina pushing the boys behind her. The gunfire stops, and everyone glances at each other.

"I-is it dead," Dustin stutters.

After a few moments of silence, Dustin gets his answer. The Demogorgan slams through the door, breaking it from its hinges. The boys freak out, Phina pushing them backwards.

"Get the wrist rocket! Get the wrist rocket," Dustin screams.

Phina shares a look with El, one that speaks a thousand words. As the boys freak out, firing rocks at the monster, Phina and El silently say a million words to each other, each a different variation of I Love You Sister.

Phina helps El from the table and takes her hand. Lucas fires a large rock at the monster, hitting it in the chest as El uses her power to make it fly back into the front of the room. The boys stare at it, shocked, as Phina and El push their way in front of them. They walk forward, towards the monster.

"Eleven, Phina, stop," Mike shouts, running after them, only to be thrown backwards by El.

Phina, with her new found memories, uses her power to grow a cage of green vines around Mike. Her power, was more than just the fire she knew she had, it was all the elements.

The girls continue towards the Demogorgan, it's painful whimpering the only noise. As the wall cracks behind it, dark purple vines from the upside down crawl outwards, wrapping around the monster, adding to the crushing weight of El's power.

As the girls came to a stop in front of the monster, they turned back to the boys. Phina's heart broke as she saw her crying brother, and the distraught boys standing on either side of him.

"Goodbye Mike," El says, then looks to Phina, "you don't have to."

Phina looks at the girl, confused, before realizing what she was saying. Phina started to rapidly shake her head.

"No. You are not doing this alone," Phina says assertively, "do you understand me!"

Before El can even answer, Phina is turning back to the monster, raising her hand towards it. El follows her lead.

"No more," El tells it.

   Phina hesitates one more moment, looking back at her boys, "I love you boys. I always will, don't worry, all will be well."

Phina turns forward, and she releases a stream of fire from the palm of her right hand, her left reaching out to grab El's. The monster lets out the loudest roar she'd ever heard, she ignores the pain that eruptes in her head.

Phina vaguely hears El begin to scream, and her own scream begin in answer. Her senses slowly begin to fade, her hearing, smelling, tasting, and then her sight. She is left with just feeling, the heat of her fire at her palm, the tight hold El had on her hand, and the shaking of the Earth beneath them as the sister's release themselves upon it.

And then she's completely in the dark, no longer feeling El's hand. Phina falls, El screams louder, and the world takes a shuttering breath.

-1736 words-

Probably on of my favorite parts to this story. And finally, Phina gets her memories back, and along comes new powers. I know the whole "controlling the elements" thing is a little over done and is used basically everywhere, but hey, I'm cliche and I don't give a damn, it's cool. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, this is about the last of the intense action so I hope you aren't disappointed.

-Morgan

[sinnhelmingrmoved]

@destinysthralls said: 📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜📜 ravioli ravioli give me the formuoli

:)))

Hel and Fang are both polearm fighters. Why not have some sparring with a bet riding on it? A lil fun a lil flirty mostly getting a good sweat going. Get up close and personal trying to take your opponent down and get your way.

One more day until Vanille has to go out and find her new purpose. Time to spend it doing everything they can together until she has to go. Hel not wanting tears, but a happy memory to bookend Vanille’s time with her.

Hel doesn’t know shit about men and here comes Snow crashing in on the squad and giving her a crash course on the human male. Odd friendship ensues once they learn to get along with each other.

The chocobros gain something of a guardian angel, a false friend and ally who merely ensures parts are played and that Noctis is poised to do what her lover requires of him. During all of the subterfuge, two devoted servants to a royal start to bond.

‘I’m being held hostage by this small child and I don’t even mind please introduce me to Chocolina because I hear she is the best thing in the world next to you’ ; or, how Dajh is really good at this friend making thing.

Gladio got his ass beat by the divine once and is not over it, why won’t you face me in battle again you coward? And quoth the Messenger, boy, you would literally die if I came at you again.

Hel has been a part of Aerith’s life, never constant but coming and going as she can. She knew a daughter imprisoned, a girl in a church, and only at the end does Aerith come to realize what was truly hanging over her head -- and how it pains higher powers.

Everyone is on high alert that someone broke into a base and stole Ardyn’s car because it cannot be located. Hel rolls up two hours later in custody with smoothies and a lot of explaining to do because she just wanted to drive the car you monsters.

Cloud and Hel are both traveling worlds looking for people who are important to them in some ways. Hel could use his strength if he could use her connections as they move between KH worlds seeking the lost.

Axel and Saix are itching for a throne to throw as Hel struggles to run her own games behind the scenes. They soon become players in a cat and mouse scenario to obscure their exact motivations while forced to play along with Xehanort’s own ideas.

Hel becomes very intrigued by Barrett’s goals and ultimate success. What do you even do with weird goth chicks that know too much and are a little too happy to see you? What does she mean by she has a message from a friend?

She promises Zack will live on, but he’s not too pleased with the reality of that statement back on Earth. If Aerith is bad about bartering to go back I just imagine Zack is that but on crack. And now Hel is Suffering.

Hel becomes a north star to Xemnas across whatever time he finds himself in, always ready to welcome him back, always ready to listen. So what happens in a time when she cannot be found?

Even gets ‘adopted’ because Hel is just in love with him and his brain. Featuring Even actually having to answer to someone older than him and them talking lore and science for hours as their schedules allow.

Get your contract buddy ATW doesn’t deserve you and I’m taking all of you back to my realm where y’all will get some RESPECT. Yes, Aeleus, you are included in this staff breakout. No she won’t explain herself.

What better way to protect the future than gaining some divine backup? Hel would be happy to help Hope with his goals if she can stop asking who let a child run an organization on his own. No ma’am he is in fact an adult--

‘I don’t know if I kidnapped your moogle or if your moogle kidnapped me but apparently you needed something and I’m sorry for distracting the creature, how can I possibly make it up to you Serah?’

Rude is supposed to be keeping tabs on some kind of creature sighted in certain regions. Hel is less than thrilled with the surveillance, and starts playing games with Rude that leave him questioning if he has been compromised or not.

A Queen of Darkness and a Princess of Light come together in a sort of mentor-student arrangement where Hel can help Kairi grow stronger if Kairi will help get her up to speed on what the fuck the plot outside of the Organization even is to her.

Two immortals spot each other from across the castle despite the bodies they wear, recognize each other’s hearts, and start to roast the shit out of each other: A Hel and Xigbar story.

Local Guado Wants To Crack The Code Of How Lulu ‘Does That’ With Her Puppets, Starts Staying Almost Up Her Ass, Romance Ensues as They Discuss The Journey, Craft, and General Gayness.

A young Guado smells something Hinky on a not so local Guardian. No, Jecht, she will not be so easily put aside. She has the good booze and she will get answers, even if they are all fake.

Hel reunites with a Guardian she met in passing some years ago, and He Reeks of the Farplane. Not that it’s her place to judge. She’s just as curious as ever and willing to listen if he ever wants to talk about what he is.

Two outsiders to the Human majority of Spira band together and will not be separated. Hel is willing to share her spiritualism with Rikku if she will repay in kind with talk of Machina and her native tongue.

Hel actually hearing Dona out and seeing past her antagonism to the fact she’s still willing to undertake a Pilgrimage to try and save the world. Someone actually treats Dona politely. That means the world to me.

SHIPPING! (not necessarily our muses shipping together just shipping as a component of our muses interacting)

Hel discovers that Fang’s breaking point is softness and non-sexual PDA in public. So she continues to press this killswitch for her own amusement on a date night, letting Fang be both loved and mortified the entire evening.

Hel and Vanille get a pet, and then run through conversations they can have to convince Fang this is clearly the best idea ever and not trouble waiting to happen. Just a small domestic fluff about adding to their little family.

When your wives are very important and busy so you get to stay in all night and brag about how much you love them to another work widow(er), or how Snow and Hel don’t worry and just accept they are bonded to actual goddesses.

Hel tries to discern the exact relationship dynamics of the Chocobros and is chided for having ‘shipping goggles’ on. So she goes to Ignis to clear up any confusion. Shenanigans ensue as she either holds the crew dead to rights or is hilariously off the mark.

‘What does ‘If I Had To Pick a Dude’ even mean?’ ‘That you are overthinking a party game and making it weirder than it has to be.’ Or, did she actually mean anything by that or was Sazh just the most tolerable man present?

‘STOP LOOKING AT MY BONER WHEN WE FIGHT’ Or, does Gladio actually mean anything by that or is getting the blood pumping simply messing with his body in ways he cannot control?

Hel calls it Aerith’s Girlhood, a place set aside, a bed in a field of flowers, a sky sheltering and painted with false stars. She makes it soft for her. This is the way of courtship, isn’t it? I read a lot of Gluck and I need a ‘Myth of Devotion’ plot for them.

For ten years, she is the Night’s Queen, though he will not call her that. She is a consort, wearing the crown of an ancient queen, wandering broken hallways, watching him slowly come undone. And she loves him still. Ten years is nothing next to two thousand.

‘So what does Aerith mean to you?’ ‘A lot.’ ‘Oh. What does Zack mean to you?’ And she understands perfectly what his exhaustion with questions means. Road trips and the inevitable embarrassing romantic questions.

Axel and Hel both understanding what it is to watch the one you love battle with themselves, to become a stranger at their cruelest. Share a smoke. Waste the night playing ‘Yes, But’ with someone that understands.

Barrett’s very handsome, and she is very lonely, and she thinks he is a wonderful person. Does he have any plans, now that the Apocalypse is over? Or, she keeps getting weirder and keeps haunting his door.

‘So, you and Aerith, is that going to make things awkward?’ Hel thought she was tired before she started a relationship with both her Persephone and her Knight. Hel is, of course, entitled to be wrong. And exhausted. So very exhausted.

Hel presents Xemnas with an offering that must mean something to him, in what he knows of the old man’s life. She will have him always, if permitted. The question is, will he agree to sharing the Paopu to seal the deal?

‘Isn’t it slightly unethical to date your boss?’ Even is a grown man but Hel cannot help but tease his long term ‘thing’ with aforementioned Boss. But it’s also nice to hear of another side of the Sage King.

‘I will give you many munnies if you will escort me to this fancy dinner because your partner in crime is already spoken for. No, Aeleus, I did not say as my body guard. I said as my escort.’

‘You know, people really like that vulnerable, sensitive thing you have going on.’ ‘This is the last conversation I ever want to be having.’ Or words to that effect. Hel ribs The Baby for being a bit of A Babe when grown.

Please explain to Hel how your relationship works because she is fascinated by the fact someone looks at Snow and said yes, this is where I have chosen to lay my affections for life.

Surveillance Creeper happens to crash an anniversary dinner Rude arranged by sitting a few tables away, observing but never interfering, apparently minding her own business but she’s just THERE SHE’S RIGHT THERE.

Mombie talks to baby about relationships and girls and boys and just has a nice heart to heart about it all. Based on that one Kairi-As-Ansem’s-Daughter idea that I’m still so pumped about.

.Hel and Xigbar make a bet about the relationship status of two of the Foretellers. Both try to doctor the narrative to suit their own take on the pair, obscuring fact, fiction, history, and near fanfiction.

The morning after a ‘There Is Only One Bed’ trope, and how both actually feel comfortable and at ease after so long alone. Can be before relationship or their first night alone together in the same bed, but consider it, won’t you?

Hel has a discussion with someone that Summoners getting involved with their Guardians is completely natural. She talks like she has experience. Well, yeah, not personal experience but -- and someone’s brain breaks at what she is implying.

Hel feels sad about Auron being the only one left, having lost two people he loved. Two people who have lost a lot in different contexts just have a comforting moment together to not be alone. Not romo but more based on lost romo.

‘So tell me about this Paine I’ve heard so much about :))))’ or, Rikku comes to realize she has been adopted and her Guado Mom wants to meet the GF. Chaos can completely ensue coming off of this.

Dona’s pretty and Hel is gay, that’s all I got. Literally anything could happen up to and including Hel making a complete ass of herself trying to either avoid Dona or interact with her without throwing off pheromones.

AUS!

Hel is some kind of figure in the spotlight -- a socialite, a performer, someone of note. Fang is her bodyguard here to keep her safe. No one would ever guess at what happens behind closed doors, the tension that runs between the two of them in spite of contracts and official relationships.

Breakfast club college AU. Just a couple of girls trying to get their shit together and honest to God looking like a modern take on the eponymous movie. They love each other and are here to do kegstands.

Hel is snow’s weirdo neighbor in their apartment complex but damn if he doesn’t know ho to bring the community together. Sometimes in the worst ways, but hey, anything to kick goth chick out of her shell.

Ignis and Hel are rival spies. They play long games and pursue the same leads, each trying to end the stalemate between their respective countries. Both are also far closer to the ruling class than they allow the other to believe.

Hel is just a simple pediatrician. Dajh is a very adventurous boy with a very invested father. At this point Sazh is on her Yule card list, and the two strike up a sort of friendship after hours.

Gym bro/personal trainer Gladio gets a knew client that is too tiny too delicate for this world. That is exactly what she is here to work on. Time to get swole little chronically ill stick woman.

Local witch swears that Aerith’s is the best place to get ritual plants and flowers despite ribbing claiming that she has a crush on the owner, but that crush theory really starts to hold water when the plant Hel really really really needs once is a... succulent.

Ardyn’s the beautiful but chronically ill next best thing in art, fashion, or film. Hel is his nurse and constant companion, the only one that gets to see the man behind the glamour when he is at his worst. Romance ensues.

There’s only one thing above an Angel, and she has come to offer herself to Cloud in his world-saving pursuits. If a covenant can be forged, then who knows what he will become, but at least this ghost will be real.

Yeah it’s awkward for our partners that we moved in next door to each other, but that’s really Isa and Xemnas’ baggage. I, on the other hand, like you and want to be friends. Or, Lea and Hel are goblins.

Hel as the relative to one of ShinRa’s high rollers, selling out her uncle’s secrets and business dealings to AVALANCHE without a second’s hesitation. She’s the inside woman, and one of Barrett’s biggest supporters, even if only in silence.

The feather that fell on the Colosseum did not belong to a certain Angel. What happens when Hel interferes in the life of one mortal who wants only to be a hero, one willing to work hard to get there?

Xemnas is the new literary hotness trying his hand at a play. Hel is the actress that fought tooth and nail for the lead roll. Problem: She has more chemistry with the creator than her fellow lead.

Hel is what was dragged into the lab twelve years ago. For freedom from this castle, she can whisper eldritch knowledge in Even’s ear, slippery as poison. What, precisely, have they pulled from the Darkness, and what threat does she present?

Similar to the above, but Hel knows not how to reason with this guard. He is meant to protect, to defend. All she can do is study him with those cold, sad eyes, try to stir his heart while he still has it.

We Are All Just God’s Abandoned Children. That’s one way to welcome a young foster kid to the house, but Hel is going to look out for this younger kid Hope anyway. Found family ensues.

Mog the Dog is in love with Garmr the Dog. We have to stop meeting like this. People will talk. They’re on texting terms just to say ‘Your dog’s here, he’s fine. Either he’ll find his way home or you can come get him whenever.’

Why would ShinRa have her trailed by the TURKS if they didn’t suspect her of her involvement with AVALANCHE? Tiem for Hel to pull out all the stops to try and throw Rude off her scent.

Reuniting with your family is hard. Harder when you have no memory of said family and Dad has a new love interest. Despite all of that, Hel comes to dote on Kairi, giving them a chance to bond and Kairi get a mom.

A Hel and Xigbar idea: Politician’s daughter and Assassin. MB he’s assigned to keep an eye on her when shit gets real in some of her father’s business dealings. Whether he’s for or against her family would be fun to plot.

Local Goth Summons The Goddess of the Dead, Intentionally or Otherwise ; Death Thinks She’s Kind of Cute. Lulu gains a patron and Hel gains a crush.  Everyone goes home happy.

Hel’s the nerdy shy kid in gym class and Jecht is the zealous coach that she despises. Except then she needs an athletic extracurricular to round out her college application. Teeth clenched teamwork for personal and team success.

High fantasy AU where Auron is the black knight who presses on, with a rider all in black hounding his every step. She appears every night to share his company, a little wine, and remind him of their bargain. She’s not reaped him yet, but once his business on earth is settled... He will return to her embrace.

Hel finds a new community once kicked out of Guado society. Or, in which Hel follows after the Al-Bhed and becomes a part of Rikku’s life from a young age, thus securing Momability.

Hel becomes one of Dona’s guardians along the way, and the two fight viciously over who gets to use the brain cell while being harmonious in most other aspects of traveling together. Romance may or may not ensue.

Other muses!

Eraqus: Please stop wrecking shit this is getting out of hand-- Fang: FcuK YUO-- And then they gotta fight and cause further property damage.

I don’t know whose verse we base it in but I need Vanille and Gwynevere to team up, maximize slay, and generally be absolute icons with soft spots for their legendary badass partners.

Kokoro and Snow interacting would be amazing and you know it. I don’t know who would crack first. Kokoro’s realism or Snow’s optimism.

Aqua, Ignis, and discussing how you have to be the strong one holding up the ones you love, no matter the cost. I feel like we could really break our hearts with this one.

Eraqus and Sazh could get frustrated at the kids for having gone a little nuts while they were out on a date, but y’know what? They’re in a good mood. Just cuddle and let the kids sleep and deal with it in the morning.

Eraqus, formerly of the Kingsguard before he got too old to serve, and the esteem of one young Amacitia mb. That or Gladio befriends Eraqus just to piss Kokoro off if we wanna play it that way.

Kokoro being uselessly gay for Aerith FOR TEN YEARS in Traverse Town and having no brain cells to actually convey that to her, then they meet again in Radiant Garden and well fuck she’s still crushing hard.

Every night, the Kingsguard’s daughter storms the city, makes her way towards the Citadel, and means to slay the Dragon. He has not killed her yet. Ardyn and Kokoro have a particular dance, and they cannot say why.

Aerith and Cloud getting soft comrade moments because they have both been through so much please. Please let them catch one break and get to act their actual ages and have a moment for life before it’s all gone for one of them.

Aria and Axel would be fantastic because they’re both a very controlled flame, they both just sort of are casually dangerous. I just want to play them off of each other and see if they end up allies or rivals.

Eraqus and Barrett working together in the field in our FF7 AU. Looking out for each other. Timing their attacks perfectly for the opportunity to fuck ShinRa up as much as possible.

Eraqus has to deal with this kid that is infatuated with his student. Does that kid have a boombox. What the fuck. This shit keeps happening.

Roleswap Xemkoro. Eraqus having become too zealous and thrown off the balance of light and darkness, seeking Kingdom Hearts to wash the world in light and begin again. Xemnas as the echo of an old friend who will see this ended before it goes that far. Kokoro the dutiful daughter who runs things in her father’s absence, who is drawn to this familiar stranger even as they oppose one another at every turn.

Even’s adopting Kokoro. Your father forbid you from pursuing certain knowledge? Terrible, he doesn’t deserve to be a father. I am your father now. We’re going to the opera. You have so much to learn. Meet your brother Ienzo.

We don’t know why Mads has imprinted on this guard in particular, she just has and she will not leave him alone.

I just want Aerith and hope to interact and her to try and cheer him up please. please.

Just throw Serah at anyone via time travel and all of that I can just imagine her falling into anyone’s life tbh. Try and dance around who you are and where in the hell you came from.

Aria is a TURK in training and guess who she gets to shadow for a day? Teach Her Rude!

Aqua and Kairi need to bond! Aqua and Kairi need to have a mentor-student dynamic! They need to catch up! They need to be friends! I will not be silenced!

Eraqus as a descendant of Brain, who fought to oppose MoM and Luxu, meeting with Luxu in some body before Braig. Can you even imagine the tension and sins of the father in that room? Sweet Jesus.

Braska mb interacting with Lulu once or twice because he wants to know about the other children his daughter is so fond of, the ones who... will be there for her, when he is not. Let’s all have a cry about it.

Long Dad Talk ‘Come To Yevon’ meetings between Braska and Jecht where Braska offers no judgment, only support for Jecht to get better. BC growth is important. And so is being a good dad, Braska knows.

Auron’s Bi Awakening for this church pretty boy.

Flower girl meets machine girl. IDK how. Aerith and Rikku rights.

Kokoro and Dona are implicitly to the public confirmed behind closed doors sapphic summoners. cuteness ensues.

Other Muse AUs!

I still want the Xemkoro Penny Dreadful AU. Our haunted and hell-touched protagonist with the werefox lady lead far from home. With Kokoro still trying to figure out how the hell Satan thought appearing as ATW was going to make Xem drop his pants. And then gets baffled that it worked.

Younger Eraqus ends up in Radiant Gardens and runs into Even. Has to play it cool about not being from this world. This world he knows nothing about. Even smells a rat.

Ok hear me out AU where ATW cannot and does not return. Mads goes from heiress apparent to a girl-queen to a world she cannot remember. Kokoro stays on as her regent, arguing that though she is an outsider, she is a blue blood, a noble, the descendant of royalty in her own homeland. But both she and the young queen will need a defender. And for that, she turns to a certain guard...

The Xemrith Hades and Persephone AU. Let’s do it. Let’s go all out. I wanna see it come to fruition.

Also, Xemqua Deathless AU. A deathless king spirits away a clever young fairytale maiden, and all the tears and horror that comes with such a story.

Braska is not the one to defeat Sin. He and his party have to go home and face themselves and figure out ‘What Now?’ as we go fully AU.

Single Dad muses in a modern AU forming a friend group. They all hang out once or twice a month and do fun things together. It’s great. It’s soothing. Nobody goes it alone.

Aerith and Zack getting a happily ever after??? In an AU???

Modern AU Braska, Jecht, and Auron navigating a relationship like the Fooles they are. Braska’s a simple youth pastor with a lot of love to give and incalculable migraines from his babes.

Mads and Rikku as friends burning the whole ass world to the ground. Because come on. Come on.

Anything with my Eraqus and your Aqua please I am dying here. I need some good family interactions.

Kokoro and Fang as sparring partners in some form or fashion. I need to see my queens just battle for dominance. I am very gay please have mercy.

KH AU Gwynevere as a pinnacle of a land of light having to come face to face with Xemnas and all the darkness that follows him.

Kokoro continues to bully Gladio no matter the verse. Because we know she does. Gladio has no rights.

AU where Kairi and Mads are like roommates or neighbors or online pals and get to be sunshine girls and nobody is hurt and no one has any loss of worlds to forget.

Aria as an AVALANCHE agent who infiltrated the TURKs and all that implies for your muses. Good for any of the rebels or even for Rude as far as plotting goes.

A whole ass pantheon AU. Get all our muses in it. Go absolutely balls to the wall nuts.

Mads playing matchmaker to Kokoro and Xemnas in some modern verse. Maybe playing Cyrano and leaving them little clues and letters allegedly from each other.

Sami we are simple gays. And we need DnD AUs. And we can divide our muses into parties and just have at it in some setting. Pwease.

Braska being a supportive dad to pop star Yuna and Rikku is along for the ride and so now he has a whole other kid to be taking care of.

AUs where ships were just a moment off of canon. Where someone walked away, where they just missed each other, where love did not conquer, where love did not last, where someone died, where someone lived, just. The what if of a life without each other.

Fuck me sideways can you imagine Braska Auron and Jecht in a college AU because I don’t think Jecht’s liver will survive.

Kokoro actually embraces her adolescent feelings for a childhood friend and pursues Aqua, only for RP canon to still happen as outlined.

Kokoro mainverse where she is a high born lady of Scala and Aqua arrives to explain what has been going down in the last twelve years and ‘oh no I’m gay.’

And, of course, that one Xemkoro idea we have involving the story never truly ending ;)

And because I still owe you two, here are two generals:

A time traveler’s wife au, any ship u want bb.

Family stuff. Found families, adoption, siblings, parent and child, ship babies, the pet is basically our kid, we have each other and that makes our family, anything I just need some familial relationships to water my crops.

[master-sass-blast]

Strong as Stone --Part Fifty.

I never know what to say in these bits. Like, I follow the same format for everything, but I never know what to say, and then my anxiety gets the better of me, and then I start rambling, and--

Hi.

Last time: We got to see the celebration for Okoye and M’Baku’s pregnancy announcement.

This time: We get to see Okoye officially reunite with her bio-family.

Rating: T for adult language and feels. So many feels.

Pairings: Okoye x M’Baku.

@the-last-hair-bender, @skysynclair19

There will be many people in your lifetime that will tell you that your blood is family. That the legacy of your genetics matters more than anything else.

Family is more than a bloodline or shared genes. Family is a bond that transcends any other. It’s understanding. It’s mutual trust.

Family is the people who have walked through the trenches of life with you, and the people you have walked with in return.

However, my dears, don’t push people away just because you don’t know them. You have to give them a chance for them to become your family.

The grasslands of the Border tribe territory stretched on for miles and miles, an endless sea of green-gold grass that rippled in the wind.

It beckoned to anyone who saw it: come to me. Come and rest here.

Okoye had half a mind to turn about face and sprint the other direction. This is a bad idea. This is a really bad idea.

She could see the cluster of buildings that constituted her biological family’s lodgings from where she’d landed her ship. The circular wooden huts nearly blended into the endless stretches of grass, only distinguishable by the dark voids of the windows and doorways on each building.

M’Baku put a hand on her shoulder, warm and solid. “‘Koye.”

She sighed. “What if this all goes wrong?”

Granted, she wasn’t exactly sure how a family reunion would go wrong, but a lifetime of assuming her bio-family wanted nothing to do with her didn’t exactly inspire confidence in the moment.

“Then we leave with the knowledge that we tried,” M’Baku said calmly. “We don’t have to stay if they’re mean –or just crazy. But we won’t know any of that until we meet them.”

Okoye let out a huff as she eyed the cluster of wooden houses warily. “I don’t know. We could’ve stayed at my apartment and eaten take out.”

M’Baku chuckled and nudged her towards the landing ramp. “Come on, ‘koye. Let’s go meet everyone.”

Nyarai greeted them at the door of the largest building. “Okoye. I’m glad you could make it. Chief M’Baku, it’s good to see you again.”

M’Baku’s hand was a steady presence on her lower back as they stepped inside. “It’s good to see you as well, Nyarai. We’ve been looking forward to everyone.”

“And they’ve all been looking forward to meeting you.” Nyarai paused once the door closed and leaned towards Okoye. “I’ve got everyone ‘chunked out’ so you don’t get overwhelmed by it all.”

Not for the first time, Okoye was struck by the depths of intelligence and observational skills her aunt possessed.

She smiled at Nyarai. “Thank you.”

She met the relatives closest to her age first; Baako was among them talking to the other cousins, nieces, and nephews with an easy smile.

Okoye felt a whisper of envy flicker through her at the ease with which her cousin moved from group to group and chatted with everyone; she knew it was out of her control –both of their control—but she envied her nonetheless.

Baako and Nyarai took turns introducing her to everyone, giving out names and jobs and family connections…

It was a sea of faces. As much as Okoye tried to keep up with everyone, she couldn’t.

“Take a breath,” M’Baku murmured in her ear during the process. “It’s not all going to happen at once. You’re going to need time to get it all.”

Okoye did her best to take a deep breath without alerting everyone that she was two short steps away from shutting down—

And then the back door opened and a group of kids came flooding in.

Nyarai let out a disgruntled sigh. “I thought I asked you all to wait.”

“You said Okoye was coming!” a young girl that looked to be about twelve, maybe thirteen. “We want to meet the General.” Two seconds later, they saw Okoye and realized who she was, and then they all pooled around her at once.

Okoye blinked, then grinned.

Adults were difficult. There was so much second-guessing and mental footwork involved in getting to know adults.

Kids, on the other hand, were easy. They were little open books with shining eyes and infectious smiled. They were, at their core, curious about life and everything it had to offer.

For all Okoye didn’t know how to connect to the relatives her age, she knew exactly what to do with her younger cousins.

The children of the family, unsurprisingly, had about ten thousand questions.

“What’s the rest of the world like?”

“Can we see your spear?”

“Do you live in the palace?”

“Are pumpkin spice lattes actually real?”

“Do Oreos taste good?”

She –carefully—showed them her spear, told them about some of the best places she’d ever seen, confirmed that pumpkin spice lattes did actually exist, and explained that Oreos were an acquired taste –not one that she’d acquired though, thank you very much.

She got about halfway through the list of questions they’d asked before one of the kids brought up that one of their rhinos had recently given birth, and then she and M’Baku were being ushered out the back so they could see the latest addition to the family.

Nyarai shot her a long glance and a half smile as they walked out to the enclosures where the rhinos were kept. “You’re good with kids.”

“I meet a lot of them,” Okoye explained. “I usually travel with the King as a guard when he goes to different places in Wakanda, so I meet a lot of kids who look up to the Dora. A lot of young girls.”

Nyarai nodded, smile widening. “That makes sense.” Then: “You’re going to be a good mom.”

Okoye blinked, startled by the sudden turn in conversation. “I…”

“I mean it,” Nyarai said earnestly. “You’re patient with kids. You’re good at handling them. You’ll be a good mother.”

“I agree,” M’Baku said with a grin.

M’Baku, for all he looked the part of a stern, forbidding warrior, absolutely melted when he saw the rhinoceros calf.

“It’s so tiny!” he gushed as he fawned over the dog-sized calf. “I didn’t think they could be this tiny!”

Okoye grinned as she watched him dole affection out on the baby rhino. She’d seen rhino calves before when she’d dated W’Kabi; seeing the calves was always entertaining, but watching M’Baku turn into an incomprehensible puddle of joy was doubly so. “They won’t stay that way for long; they hit their full size in three years.”

Nyarai sidled up next to her, smiling as she watched M’Baku. “He seems a good man.”

“He is,” Okoye agreed. “The best one I know.”

“He’ll be a good father.” She smirked when Okoye shot her a long glance. “You disagree?”

“No. He’s good with kids and he had to raise his half-sister after their uncle abused her. He’s got it in him… he’s a natural, really.”

“I heard about that.” Nyarai shook her head. “I almost got brought on as a crisis counselor for her.”

Okoye blinked. “Really?”

“She’s half-Mining tribe. The elder wanted someone to make sure that she was alright. I suspect the uncle had the idea pushed out at the last minute so he could keep control of the situation.”

Okoye let out a huff. “That wouldn’t surprise me. He was a real piece of work.”

“So I gathered.” Nyarai watched M’Baku for a moment longer before speaking again. “How’s his sister doing?”

“Better now that everything’s over,” Okoye said. She paused for a moment, then added, “He’s been good for her. You wouldn’t think she went through everything she did unless she told you –or you knew what you were looking for.”

Nyarai let out a quiet, impressed whistle. “That’s a lot of dedication.”

Okoye smiled softly as she gazed after her partner. “That’s M’Baku.”

Eventually, Nyarai ushered them back inside, stating that “there were some family members” that she “absolutely needed to meet” before they headed back to her apartment in Birnin Zana.

The “family members” in question turned out to be the elders of the family: great aunts and uncles, older cousins that had grown up with her parents, and so on.

The eldest aunt practically beamed at Okoye as soon as she walked through the door. “Nyarai tells me you’re a Dora.” Her eyes sparkled when Okoye nodded. “Your mother was a Dora, too.”

And then she pulled out picture after picture of Okoye’s own mother, dressed in the tell-tale red and gold armor Okoye knew so well.

“She’d be so proud of you,” the eldest aunt commented as Okoye stared down at the pictures like they held all the answers to life. “Of you and everything you’ve made of yourself.”

Okoye did her best to nod in understanding, even though tears were streaming down her cheeks of their own accord.

M’Baku put an arm around her shoulders. “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

“Fucking pregnancy hormones.”

“I know.” He kissed her temple. “I know.”

“How’d everything go?”

“Fine.” Okoye sighed as she changed into a more comfortable shirt. “Emotional, but good.”

She and M’Baku had headed back to her apartment after meeting the rest of her family, only to have M’Baku head right back out to the Jabari lands for some sort of impromptu council meeting that he wouldn’t be back from until close to bedtime.

Fortunately, Okoye had already planned to do some apartment hunting with Djabi’s assistance, so she wouldn’t be alone.

“That sounds like a ‘wine’ sort of day to me,” Djabi commented from the living area of Okoye’s apartment.

“You know I can’t have wine,” Okoye grumbled as she walked into the living area.

Djabi smirked and held out a cardboard box to her. “Which is why I brought the next best thing.”

Okoye snatched the box of pastries out of her friend’s hand, practically ripped it open, and shoved half of one into her mouth. “You’re my new favorite friend.”

Djabi threw her head back and laughed. “You’re forgetting that my sister’s on her fourth kid. I know that the fastest way to a pregnant woman’s good side is to play to her cravings. Speaking of which, I need to requisition some vacation time…”

“Done.” Okoye let out a groan as she swallowed another bite of pastry. “You have no idea just how bad I’ve been craving these.”

Djabi chuckled as she sat down on the couch. “So, tell me what you’re looking for in this new apartment. I’ve got three cousins and a nephew-in-law in real estate and renting, so if there’s anyone who can hook you up, it’s me.”

“Well, I appreciate your help.” Okoye rubbed her abdomen, where the barely there baby bump was starting to show through her shirts and uniform. “Growing this one’s taking a lot of energy. I thought going off coffee would be easy.”

“Going off coffee is never easy; eviscerate anyone who tells you otherwise,” Djabi said sagely.

Before she could reply, Okoye’s kimoyo beads started buzzing and chirping out the tune that she’d set for priority work calls.

She answered it, and Ayo and Aneka appeared in shimmering holographic form. “Commander. Captain. I hope everything went well?”

Ayo nodded. “The South Korea base is secured. It’s going to take… some serious time to get everything dismantled. I’ll send in a mission report as a soon as I can, but…” She sighed. “They had a lot stored here. We’ve been working for over two hours and we’ve barely scratched the surface.”

“Do what you have to do,” Okoye said. “Keep me posted if anything urgent comes up.”

“How did your family reunion go?” Aneka inquired.

“Well enough. Emotional.” Okoye stepped to the side so the camera would pick up more of the apartment space. “Djabi’s here with me. We’re working on finding a new apartment.”

“Sounds like fun,” Ayo said drily. “Just don’t gouge your eyes out when you can’t find anything.”

“Excuse you!” Djabi shouted, faux-outraged. “I’ll have you know I’m a miracle worker with these sort of things.”

Okoye snorted and shook her head. “I’ll be sure to restrain myself. Don’t hesitate to contact me if something comes up.”

Ayo nodded. “Yes, General.”

Djabi let out a huff as Okoye ended the call. “Honestly. Who does she think I am?”

Okoye smirked as she sat down next to her friend. “Well, now’s your time to prove her wrong. Let’s see what you’ve got, ‘miracle worker.’”

M’Baku chuckled as she recounted her afternoon with Djabi, hands never ceasing to work on soothing the sore muscles in her legs, ankles, and feet. “Well, it sounds like you have a good time.”

“I did. We did,” Okoye said around a yawn. “Bast, I’m tired.”

“You’re pregnant,” M’Baku pointed out as he gently massaged her calves. “You had a full day.”

“I’m aware of that. Don’t rain on my complaint parade.”

He smirked. “Forgive me, my love. Please, don’t let me stop you.” They both laughed, and he shifted his hands to her ankles. “Did you find any apartments you liked the looks of?”

“A few. I thought we could go check them out? I don’t want to pick something out without your input; you’ll be living there, too.”

“That sounds fine.”

Okoye settled back against the pillows she’d stacked up to support her body –then lurched forward when she felt the baby shift. “Oh!”

M’Baku put his hands on her shoulder to support her. “What? Are you alright? Is everything okay?”

“No, I’m fine, I just –I felt the baby move.” She moved one of his hands to her swelling stomach. “They’re moving.”

M’Baku’s eyes lit up as he felt the baby –their baby—wriggle around. He shifted down the bed so his face was positioned over her stomach and pressed a gentle kiss to the swell of her belly. “Hello, little one.”

Okoye chuckled as she felt the baby lurch excitedly. “They like that.” She sighed. “We need to pick a name. Two, actually, since we’re not doing a gender reveal before the birth.”

“I’m open to suggestions,” M’Baku said with a smile.

“I was thinking… maybe Mbali for a girl?”

“You know we don’t have to stay within the ‘first two letters’ naming convention, right?”

“I like the sound of it –plus, it means ‘like a flower,’ which I thought was fitting.”

M’Baku cocked his head to the side. “It could work. What about a boy’s name?”

Okoye let out a sigh as she settled back against her pillows once more. “Maybe something like… Khari? Or M’Bosi, if we want to stick to the naming convention.”

“I like the sound of M’Bosi.”

She snorted. “You just said we didn’t have to stick to the naming convention.”

“You picked it out. Besides, if it works, it works.” He leaned forward and kissed her before she could argue further. “We’ll figure it out.”

“We will. I love you.”

M’Baku pressed her forehead against hers. “I love you, too.”

[gaylotusthatexists]

The Same Four Notes

Chapter Nine - Virgil

Trigger Warnings: Panic Attacks, Implied/Referenced Homophobia

Logan was already standing under the tree when Virgil arrived. He paused in his tracks upon seeing the blue-haired boy, stunned that he had actually shown up. Shown up early, as well. That was commitment.

Virgil took several deep breaths in attempt to compose himself. He was going to introduce Logan to Roman and Patton - even though Logan already knew them both. Now that he thought about it, he realised how much of a terrible idea it was. These three clearly had some history, and Virgil didn't think it was exactly... good. In fact, Logan has sounded kinda angry the night before - or, more accurately, bitter. He didn't seem impressed that Roman and Patton were apparently dating. Virgil wasn't keen to see the reactions of the others upon reuniting.

Still, Virgil walked up to Logan, and nodded in greeting. "You're early," he pointed out.

"You requested for me to meet you at the beginning of lunch. Lunch period started-" He looked down at his watch. "-two minutes and thirty six seconds ago."

Virgil shook his head. "Dude. You know that the other two probably won't even show up for, like, ten minutes."

"I disagree."

Virgil frowned. "What-"

Logan pointed behind Virgil. "There is a boy walking up the hill right now, short, brown hair, glasses. I assume that is Patton. However, I do not see Roman approaching."

Virgil stared blankly at Logan. "How could you possibly know-"

"I used to be friends with him, remember?" Logan reminded in.

Virgil felt something weigh down on his shoulder, causing him to duck and jump away a couple inches. He turned around, and saw the boy who had arrived. Brown hair, glasses, freckles. Patton. It was just Patton. Exactly as Logan had said. Virgil took several deep breaths to calm himself down. Patton must have just, like, swung his arms around Virgil shoulders, or something. Not exactly something he was used to. Also kind of surprising, since Patton was at least a couple feet shorter than him. 

Patton looked concerned. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you-"

Virgil shook his head. "I-It's fine, Pat." He gave him a weak smile.

Patton breathed a sigh of relief, and grinned at Virgil. He then looked over to Logan. "Who's this?"

Logan raised an eyebrow. "Do you not remember, Morality?"

His eyes opened wide in shock. "Wait, are you-"

"Logic. We were friends, remember?"

Virgil frowned. "Morality? Logic?" That made no sense.

"Nicknames," Patton quickly explained. "But... Logan! It's so good to see you!" He smiled, his tone suddenly excited.

"As with you," Logan said. "Where is Roman?"

Patton's face fell. "Oh... yeah, that. He's, um, kind of being held hostage?"

All of a sudden, Virgil's heart rate increased until all he could hear was the pounding in his chest. He was what?! Why was he being held hostage? And by who? Was he ok? Virgil looked over at Patton, desperately hoping for reassurance. Surely he had been joking? There was no way that Patton could be so calm about this. Oh God, what had happened, would they be ok, how would Roman-

"Don't worry, Virgil, it's nothing serious," Patton claimed, speaking in a soft voice. "Roman will be alright. We'll be alright. We just... we can't rehearse at Roman's place anymore. And we'll have to go and, like, break Roman out of his house."

He's trapped in his own house? No words could come out of Virgil's mouth. He tried to speak, he really did, but he just couldn't. They... They had to go get Roman. They had to make sure he was ok. That was their top priority.

Why did he even care so much about this kid? He barely knew him. Why was he more worried than Patton, Roman's actual boyfriend? Surely Patton should be freaking out the most right now, but no. Virgil, this idiot, was almost on the verge of a panic attack. This was stupid, he was stupid, this entire situation with Roman was stupid, and it was all his fault for actually caring when nobody else was.

"Virgil, breath," he heard Patton say. "Breath in for four second, hold for seven seconds, breath out for eight seconds."

Virgil attempted to do so. Patton knew what he was talking about. Patton knew exactly how to fix this. Virgil just had to listen, and do what he was told. Everything would be fine.

Nothing would be fine! Not when Roman was in danger.

"Roman isn't in danger," Patton promised. That was exactly what Virgil needed to hear - it was almost as if Patton could read his thoughts. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing. "We can get him out, ok?"

There was a few minutes of silence. Virgil's heart had slowed back down to a semi-normal pace. His mind was no longer screaming a thousand different things. A tiny sense of logic had come back. Roman was at home, right? So there was nothing to be afraid of. They knew exactly where Roman was, and it shouldn't be too hard to get him back. Roman would be fine.

"What ha-" Virgil stopped, a lump forming in his throat. He still couldn't speak. He suddenly became aware of the tears staining his face. That was gonna smudge his make-up. Great.

"Sit down," Patton requested.

Virgil did so. Soon after, Patton and Logan said down with him, the group sitting in a triangle.

"Patton," Logan began, speaking for the first time in what seemed like forever, "do you mind telling us what has happened with Roman?"

"He..." Patton sighed. "It was my fault, really. I stayed with him last night, 'cause his guardians were out and stuff. We weren't expecting them to be back in the morning, but there they were. They, uh, found out about me and Roman, and... they weren't impressed, to say the least."

"Did they not know-"

Patton shook his head. "Roman knew that they would kick him out if he told them. I don't know what will happen now that they do know."

"We..." Virgil took a deep breath. He had calmed down enough to speak, he thought. His voice was still quiet, though. "We need... to get him."

"I agree with Virgil," Logan stated. "Even though I haven't seen him in years, I can't help but worry after hearing that story. One of us should at least visit his house to see if he is alright."

"Well, I can't go," Patton said.

Logan nodded. "That is understandable. However, I believe that I am also not the right person to go. He probably doesn't even remember me. Besides, he never particularly... We never really liked each other. I don't think."

Patton gasped. "You didn't like each other?"

"We did," Logan replied, completely contradicting himself. "However, there was always tension between us, considering your relationship with him and your friendship with me."

"I... I mean, I guess that makes sense..."

"Whatever the case, I think that Roman would be too surprised upon seeing me. Meaning-"

"I'll go," Virgil said, knowing that that is what it would come too.

Patton turned his head towards him, looking him straight in the eye. "Are you sure, Virgil? I wouldn't want you doing anything that you're uncomfortable with."

Virgil nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. I feel more uncomfortable leaving Roman there."

He smiled. "Ok. I'll come with you, though."

"As will I," Logan added. "Patton and I could wait a couple streets away, at least. Or even just outside the house, in case of emergencies."

Virgil stood up, and turned around, starting to walk away from their tree. He couldn't wait any longer.

He heard Logan call his name. "Where are going?"

Virgil's head shot around. "I'm going to get Roman. Like we planned."

"We still have the rest of the school day," Logan reminded him.

"And? This is more important!"

"Nothing is more important than a person's education, Virgil." He pushed his glasses up his nose. Virgil couldn't tell whether that was intentional or not.

"Does it look like I care?" Virgil shook his head, turning away. "I'm not gonna be able to concentrate knowing Roman could be in danger. I'm going now."

He walked away, leaving the other two behind.

Virgil paused outside of the gate to the Prince family mansion. He took out a wipe, and washed of his eyeshadow - half because it was ruined at this point, and half because he was afraid of what Roman's guardians would think of it. Although, he did keep on his foundation. There was no way he was going to get rid of that. No matter what these assholes thought about it. It suddenly dawned on him that he was actually about to do this. He was going to knock on the door, which would most likely be answered by a stranger, and then ask about Roman, and said stranger would most likely respond in the negative. Because why would they let Roman go if they were the people who trapped him in the first place?

This was a terrible idea. Why had Virgil ever thought that this could work.

A hand landed on his shoulder. He jumped forward, and turned around, clenching his fist just in case.

"Virgil." It was Patton.

Virgil sighed. "Patton." He gave him a nod in greeting.

"Logan stayed at school," Patton explained, "but I figured that somebody should come with you. Logan said that he'd tell the teachers that we went home sick."

"But, we didn't-"

"You had a panic attack," Patton stated.

"Ugh." Virgil groaned. "Please... don't talk about that."

Patton nodded. "Ok. But even so, we couldn't just leave without an excuse. Logan promised he'd sort it out."

Virgil smiled slightly, before turning back to the gate. He took a deep breath. Was he actually going to do this? He didn't really have a choice. Besides, he had come this far.

"Wish me luck," he whispered, before walking through the gates and down the driveway. He didn't stop to look around until he reached the door - he just kept walking at the same pace, head straight forward.

Once he reached the front door, Virgil paused, again. His finger hovered over the doorbell. His hand was shaking. What was he even going to say? Hey, you kidnapped my friend's boyfriend, please let him go. No. That was stupid. He was stupid, stupid Virgil, what was he think-

The door opened. For a moment, he forgot how to breath. An older woman was standing in the doorway, looking annoyed and... almost angry. Virgil took a step backwards.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" the woman said, impatiently.

"I-I-" Virgil took a deep breath, regaining his ability to absorb and let out air like a normal person. "I'm Virgil. Virgil Andrews."

"And you are here, because?"

He bit his lip. "Um, does... does Roman Prince live here?"

"I know no such person," the woman said, her face completely deadpanned.

"B-But, I-"

"Virgil?" Virgil looked up, seeing a person appear behind the woman. Roman. He smiled. "Virgil, you're here."

The woman shot around, glaring at Roman. "Go back to your room! You heard what your uncle told you!"

"Yeah, well, he's not here right now."

"Roman!"

"I'm going with Virgil," Roman stated.

The woman - presumably Roman's aunt, Virgil had come to believe - gasped in surprise. "What has gotten into you, Roman? First that... that boy, and now just leaving whenever you please? This is not how we raised you."

"I never asked to be raised by you," Roman retorted, "and I'm not moving until I can go with Virgil. This is important, Aunt."

"Who even is this... Virgil kid?" his aunt asked.

"He's my tutor," Roman lied, convincingly. Virgil could see what he was doing - they needed an excuse to get out of there. An excuse that preferably did not include anything about Patton, or the band.

His aunt hummed in thought.

"Please," Roman begged, "let me go with him."

She turned to Virgil. "And where exactly shall you be taking him?"

"Oh, well, uh-" Oh God why did she ask that why would I know what do I do-

His phone buzzed. Muttering a slight apology to Roman's aunt, Virgil took out his phone, and turned around, his eyes glancing over the message. It was from Logan. He sighed in relief - that was his chance to name a place.

"Berry Café," Virgil replied. "The other member of our... uh, our study group, just arrived there." He hoped that she brought it.

"And this other member is?"

"Logan Berry," Virgil quickly said. "His parents own the café."

Roman's aunt sighed. "Fine. Roman, I'll be there to collect you at eight. I'll also provide transport to take Virgil home. Don't do anything stupid. And don't meet up with that... boy."

"Yes, Aunt. Thank you." She left him pass, and the two boys walked down the driveway, away from the house. Straight towards Patton, the very boy that they had been told to avoid.

[brightlighttm]

FULL NAME: caroline elizabeth forbes ALIAS: care, blondie, prisoner 307, caroline kom skaikru, caroline kom spacekru AGE/D.O.B: 17 - 149; october 10th, 2131 PARENTS: elizabeth 'liz’ forbes (deceased) & william ‘bill’ forbes (deceased) CRIME: caught with painkillers during a room sweep SKILLS: distraction, guns, knives & bow and arrow  POSITIVE TRAITS: optimistic, hard-working & loyal NEGATIVE TRAITS: neurotic, controlling & insecure

BACKGROUND INFO;;

liz was a guard and bill was a council member up until his drinking habits got out of hand and jaha forced him to step down. after this happened, liz took his spot and stayed there until the council ended.

growing up, caroline wasn’t around her parents a lot. both were extremely busy with their positions, but whenever she was lucky enough to be in the same room as her mom and dad, caroline would always be by her dad’s side. the two got along a lot better than she and liz did.

having a guard for her mother and a council member for a father, it was safe to say caroline grew up thinking she was better than most people her age and took pride in saying nothing bad would ever happen to her. however, it did.

at seventeen years old, during one of the many room sweeps, a guard found a bottle of painkillers hidden under caroline’s pillow. she denied stealing it and claimed that she’d never seen it before, but it didn’t matter. the guards took her away as she pleaded for her parents to help her. 

she was put in confinement and had no choice but to wait for six months to pass; when she’d turn eighteen and get floated for her crime. which she had not commited. little did caroline know that the pills were stolen by her father, who had started taking them after being kicked out of the council. he’d always gotten away with it, but on that particular day he wasn’t so lucky. so he had no choice but to hide his little orange plastic flask as quickly as possible. the hiding spot? under his daughter’s pillow. too afraid to say anything and get killed because of his crime, bill let the guards take caroline away, knowing she’d be safe for a few months while he’d try to change jaha’s mind.

he tried and tried, but instead of getting his daughter out of confinement, bill - not really knowing about any of it - managed to secure caroline’s spot as one of the hundred young prisoners who would be sent to the ground within a few days. 

SEASON ONE;;

she is shocked to find out about what happened to jasper and starts fearing the grounders and what they might do to her and everyone else if they attack their camp;

she only takes off her wristband when bellamy uses food as a way to get everyone to do as he says;

her dad sacrifices himself in the culling to guarantee liz’s and the other’s survival and make up for what he did to caroline;

caroline fights the grounders alongside the other delinquents and is inside the drop ship when the button that blasts the ship’s rockets is pushed and incinerates the grounders outside. which means she’s there when the mountain men throw gas grenades at their camp to make everyone - herself included - pass out.

SEASON TWO;;

she likes mount weather (mostly because her spoiled ass missed good food and a proper shower) but at the same time is extra suspcious of literally everything and everyone;

when she finds out clarke managed to escape, caroline feels a bit hurt but doesn’t really blame her for leaving everyone behind;

she decides to try and enjoy being in mount weather instead of overthinking everything 24/7, but then harper goes missing and she knows there’s something shady going on;

she doesn’t get drilled, but has to watch a lot of her friends being strapped down and having a thing thrusted into their backs. it’s not fun and it gives her nightmares for months; 

after everything is over and she - and everyone else - makes back to arkadia, caroline reunites with her mom. their happiness, however, doesn’t last long. liz tells her daughter that bill was the reason why she was put in confinement - and later got sent to the ground - and that he chose to sacrifice himself in the culling. caroline breaks down in tears while repeating, ‘i forgive you, daddy’.

SEASON THREE;;

caroline and liz work on improving their relationship. of course, they still butt heads every now and then, but that’s completely normal when you have caroline forbes for a daughter;

she doesn’t buy jaha’s city of light crap. at all. she thinks he ate one too many jobi nuts and is high as fuck;

but then other people start acting as weird as jaha - raven being one of them - and caroline knows, again, that there’s something shady going on;

in the end, caroline doesn’t take the chip, but liz does when jaha threatens her daughter. 

SEASON FOUR;;

‘radiation, seriously?!’ is the first thing that comes out of caroline’s mouth when she finds out about what a.l.i.e told clarke. but then again, should she even be surprised? ever since they came down, they barely had time to breathe before another bad thing happened;

when she hears through the grapevine that jaha might’ve found a bunker that will be able to save them all, she begs clarke to let her go with them. she mumbles something about ‘four people cover more ground then three’ until clarke gives up and lets her join;

her hopes are crushed when they make it into the bunker and find thousands of toasted skeletons, but, of course, she tries to hide it. puts on her best smile and goes back to the camp where she knows her friends and mom will be waiting;

when they finally find the right bunker, her hopes are renewed and she just knows they’ll make through yet another terrible thing tossed their way;

she asks - or rather, demands - clarke and bellamy to let her come with them to rescue raven. caroline had grown to love and admire the mechanic and there was no way she’d leave her behind. john and emori show up not long after and, together and with hazmat suits, the five of them leave to find their friend;

back in the bunker, much like david miller, liz writes caroline’s name in the lottery to make sure her daughter will have two chances of getting her name drawn. however, when unconscious arkadians start to be removed from the bunker by grounders and caroline still hasn’t returned, kane decides to give her spot to liz;

when clarke says they’re going back to the ark, caroline is shocked. she didn’t think she’d ever go back there, but if that was her only shot at surviving then so be it;

she says goodbye to her mom and tries to sound confident and happy even though she’s secretly afraid. she mumbles a heartfelt, ‘i love you, mom. may we meet again’ to liz before passing the radio to bellamy so he can say goodbye to octavia; 

caroline stays in becca’s lab to help raven, harper, emori and echo set everything up for their launch; 

she gets into the rocket with her heart racing and palms sweating. as the rocket launches, without clarke inside, caroline is in deep silence just like everyone else. expecting something bad to happen with the rocket or the death wave to get them. when nothing happens and they’re somewhat safe in space, tears start streaming down caroline’s face as it dawns on her: clarke is dead. 

SEASON FIVE;;

caroline spends 6 years in the ring with raven, bellamy, echo, emori, murphy, harper & monty. in the meantime, she grows closer to echo, who trains with her pretty much every day and teaches her how to use a bow and arrow - a really shitty one they put together with random scrapes they found laying around -;

when they finally manage to get down and reunite with the others, caroline get some devastating news: her mom has died. during the dark year, liz forbes refused to obey octavia and ended up with a bullet in her forehead. she blames octavia for her mom’s death and can’t stand being around her after she finds out;

at first, caroline finds the whole mom!clarke and madi thing really weird - not to mention clarke had been alive the whole time -, but comes around eventually. she gets a bit attached to madi, even if they don’t really spend that much time around each other; 

so when bellamy decides to put the flame on madi, caroline is extremely against it. no matter what the girl has witnessed or how strong she seems to be, she’s still just a child;

caroline marches with everyone else, not because she forgave the octavia but because she knows that’s her only shot at surviving and she wants to keep on living to make her mother proud;

when hell breaks loose at the valley, caroline manages to escape with some of the wonkru members and return to the dead zone. she tries helping niylah tend to the wounded, but she’s no doctor and fears that she might kill them faster than a gunshot. still, she keeps on trying because they’ve all come so far to die now; 

caroline almost doesn’t make it into the ship. she’s trying to support someone who’s injured pretty badly, which means running isn’t really happening for the two of them. however, when she sees everyone rushing inside the ginormous ship, hope blossoms within herself for the millionth time and that’s what fuels her to all but carry the woman she’s helping and lead both of them to safety;

she attends the meeting where they decide the fate of human race. like everyone else, caroline doesn’t like monty’s plan of using algae. she’s has enough of that thing to last a lifetime. so when raven and shaw suggest cryosleep, she’s quickly agrees. but, of course she knows that, ultimately, it’s up to madi. thankfully, the new heda also agrees and everyone starts getting ready to go to sleep;

before going into her chamber, caroline jokes with bellamy that, when she wakes up, she will be ‘the hottest 34-year-old in the ship’. she then proceeds to give him a quick hug before hopping on what’s going to be her bed for the next ten years. or so she thinks.