#going to wait a day to use a program to potentially kill everything on there? assuming it hasnt sold my data in there like i have with the
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tvmblrsillyman · 2 years ago
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negativity cw
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no way i will ever plug myself away from social media but it is also not doing well for my mental health. dm if you want my discord or something.
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bespectacled-skelly · 1 year ago
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Late Night with the Devil: I waited months for this???
I would first like to preface this by saying I was very excited for this movie. I've heard the buzz, I saw the poster, the aesthetic looked cool, and the story had potential. So I waited....and I waited.....and I waited. Until tonight, where I watched this with two of my closest friends. We watched it, and we sat at the end of the movie and we said "wow, that felt like it was written by AI."
This movie jumped like it's life depended on it. Threads were left hanging, characters were poorly written. It felt cheap. Not to mention the whole opening sequence felt hokey as fuck. Now you may say "well that was the style," and I say to you sure, but you know what? It could have been done in any number of ways that could make me actually feel for the main character, or any of the characters for that matter.
I felt nothing for these people except maybe Lily and the stage manager just trying to do his fucking job. In this house we love Phil and only Phil.
Which brings me to Jack. I have no idea if this movie wants me to feel bad for him or hate him. I was sure, positive, that he was the one who killed his wife. But no, it was the cult that did it! The cult we have no context for that just seems to be the explanation for everything! Not the second discrete cult that disappeared and made no sense, the first cult with the owls. I couldn't tell if Jack actually loved his wife or just used her for more publicity for the show. Speaking of a plot line dropped, the connection between the demon and Jack is never mentioned again. I wish they had explored that more, because that would actually be interesting.
The ending was a fucking mess. There was no build up to anything, it just...happened. The sequence of him going through past events made no sense and, again, felt cheap. It's like it was trying so hard to be smart but failed miserably.
When I went to see who wrote this movie I saw it was the same people who directed it; Cameron and Colin Cairnes. When I looked at their other writing and directing credits I found the problem. All of their previous movies had been panned, with 5's, 6's, and 7's with one 8 sprinkled in there. Not to mention this is their first writing credit in 8 years. I'm willing to bet money that they had an AI program help them write this. Considering they used AI art for their segment cutaways, it would not surprise me.
Anyway, watching this just made me yearn to watch Skinamarink again. Go watch that if you want a good horror movie. If you like this movie power to you but as a wise man once said, my disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.
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khlegacynexus · 17 days ago
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I own nothing except the stuff I made up
Sunrise, Sunset
The Game had been amazing. But Donnie kept his promise. No more than six hours a day. But they had scheduled when to play. Right now though Klunk had come across Donnie typing up a program in his laboratory computer, she sat the end of the door way. “Whatcha’ doing?” she asked loudly.
“I am writing a program that will detect and tell me about the creator of a Game.” Donnie replied using a mechanical arm to wave her in. she came in and sat closer.
“Why?” Klunk asked.
“Because I refuse to download anything the purple Dragon’s made ever again.” Donnie replied.
“Because they’re bad?” Klunk asked as Attila was waved in potentially to get her.
“Yup, I do not, want to download anything those Satin wearing bastards made ever again, especially after it almost killed my brothers!” Donnie loudly declared.
“Bastards?” Klunk asked as Attila gasped loudly and angrily glaring at Donnie with a diamond shaped mouth as he scooped up Klunk quickly and covered her ears before sliding out of the lab, and somehow kept sliding past Leo and Raph who watched him go.
“How is he doing that?” Leo asked.
Attila eventually had to breathe when he got to his bedroom. How long had he slide through the house ten, fifteen minutes, he lay on the hammock and sighed. Klunk was sitting on his chest when she saw a rolled up piece of paper.
“Sunrise!?” she asked happily as she jumped over to it and opened it. It turned out to the picture of her Attila had used to try and find her. She sighed sadly. “Not Sunrise.”
“I know, Draxum destroyed it,” Attila sighed before he suddenly realized something. “But, we can make a new one! There’s nothing stopping us now!”
“Yay!” Attila declared as Klunk hopped onto his shoulder and he grabbed the new Art Supplies he had gotten from Fancon placing them in a Jupiter Jim Backpack he had. He rushed out.
“Bye Leo I’m going to draw a sunrise.” He shouted passing Leo who was reading a comic book nearby.
“Okay see you when you get back,” He heard Leo answer as the two headed out. As soon as they left the sewer Attila began to climb as high as he could. He found the tallest pillar in the city. The one he had been up before. He could see the whole world from up there before. It was oddly shaped and polished like a crystal. The walls looked like they were made of crystal too. He made it to the top with the strange glowing horn it had on top and waited in the same spot they were in before.
After a few hours the sun was rising, they watched it go by and soon Attila began drawing it when the sun was higher in the sky. Remembering every color to the last detail, he managed copy it, and even made the pose he and Klunk had from behind from memory. He looked at it. “It’s not the same….” Attila muttered.
“Need better sunrise!” Klunk declared.
“Yeah we just gotta find where to get one.” Attila added liking where Klunk’s mind was at. Attila immediately looked up find the best sunset on his phone. He got something saying there’d be one in a park outside the city that humans used to do something called camping.
After Telling Leo what they were doing again, Attila found a bus and rode out there. When he arrived at the entrance near a small parking lot he immediately sniffed the air. “Whoa the air is so much cleaner out here.”
“Nice smell!” Klunk agreed taking in deep breathes and releasing them contently. Attila looked around he was amazed at how green everything was out here. It was much quieter too instead of shouting and cars, there was only the sound of rustling trees and chirping of birds. He heard Yokai say that the mushroom forest one could hear the bubbling of witch town. As well as the mystic energy throughout the Hidden City itself, Attila felt a serene energy and beauty throughout the area. He began to look around in awe but as he did he began to be overwhelmed. He stopped and pulled himself into his shell.
“Atti okay?” Klunk asked worriedly.
“Yeah, just need a minute he muttered closing his eyes to center himself. It had been long since he did this. The last time he tried this Draxum had gotten furious and forbade him from doing it without defending from an attack ever again.
Once Attila felt good again he pulled himself out Klunk waited patiently as he began to find a high place to watch the sunrise again. However unbeknownst to them they were being watched by a large thickly built pig with a large belly and red eyes in a chef outfit and metal gauntlet.
“That must be the one Turtle Draxum wanted back,” he hummed quietly to himself watching them go. “What was said he was a bleeding heart? I could use that,” he muttered sinisterly sneaking back into the bushes.
X X X
He could see something peeking over the Trees. “Looks like there’s something ah-“ Attila was suddenly tripped over something he suddenly saw a mutant capybara with a large yellow mustache and curly hair a pink shirt and tan pants, looking sulky and drained almost dead. “AHHHHHH DEAD MUTANT!” he shrieked his voice practically going raspy from the high notes.
“Blarrg,” the mutant suddenly muttered and groaned.
“He’s not dead: How do we help him!?” Attila asked worriedly pulling at his face and poking him. Klunk noticed a bird tweeting at them.
“You know where Woodchuck lives?” Klunk asked the bird tweet.
“Ohhhhh Klunk sorry.” She said turning to Attila. “Birdie know where Capa-ba-ra live!” she said to him.
“Okay then, lead the way birdie!” Attila said lifting up the Mutant onto his back and carrying him forward to the thing they had noticed in the distance. “Looks like a castle spire, and we’re getting closer to it. Is he a King? Am I in Canada?” Attila asked himself wondering as soon they saw a dog themed kind of park with a house off to the side.
“That must be where he lives!” Attila said as he opened the door and came on Klunk riding on his head and looking at the dried out Capybara. It was then they suddenly heard high pitch barking. They suddenly saw a large wave of different furry colors jump on them as Attila and Klunk screamed.
Attila was soon met with constant licking and sniffing cold wet noses and being rubbed on. They were especially bad with this about Klunk who was screaming in displeasure as Attila grabbed her and held her close doing everything he could to swim through the tsunami of creatures that swarmed them with their vicious tiny admittedly cute howls of death.  Eventually Attila made his way to the door of the house and opened it pulling both Klunk and the Mutant inside. She turned to the door as the creatures were still barking with a venomous hiss.
“HAAAAAATTTEEE!” she snarled as Attila sighed in relief. The easy part was placing the Mutant on a couch on his back.
“How do we fix him?” Attila asked as the two looked over him Klunk’s small tuft of hair fur and forked tails slicked into points.
“Water?” Klunk asked sitting by the window. Attila nodded grabbing a cup and filling it with water before going over to the Capybara and pouring it down his throat. He waited for a few seconds as the Mutant smacked his lips. He groaned sitting up.
“Oh hi you must be Donnie and Leo’s little brother!” he said happily. “I’m Todd. What’s your name?”
“Uhh Attila, how do you know my brothers?” Attila asked.
“They came up for my RV, and I traded it for Cuddle Cakes Puppy Rescue.” Todd explained.
“That was nice of them. But Uhhh if you don’t mind me asking how did….that whole situation happen?” Attila asked.
“Oh yeah, one of the puppies got out and I went after him. He was attracted to the smell of delicious pork chops. When I caught him and pulled him away. But I fell and caused a Mutant Pig’s glowing truffle to get taken away by an Eagle. He wasn’t very happy with us. He chased us until he was about to grab the puppy with weird flesh tentacles. I jumped between them as he ran away home. But it was like my whole being was being sucked out.”
Attila nodded, thoughtfully. Draxum had told him that some if not all the Mutants created by the Oozequitos would exhibit new mystic powers. This Pig mutant must have had the power to absorb life energy or essence.
“I guess being mutated will make anyone nasty.” Todd shrugged. “Would you two like some lemonade?” he asked.
“Uhh yeah sure,” Attila said quickly not wanting to be disobedient or make him angry. A strange yellow liquid was placed before both him and Klunk who had it in a small saucer. The two took a drink and instantly the taste of heaven washed over their tongues as they gasped in sheer awe.
“This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever drank!” Attila beamed happily with a squeak.
“Tastes like Heaven!” Klunk agreed as they sipped it some more feeling refreshed.
“I was Mutated too. I’m actually starting to forget what human me looked like.” Todd chuckled.
Attila froze a little at this. “How did you mutate?” He asked nervously.
“I got a weird bite one day in late July, next thing I know I’m a Capybara.” Todd explained casually. “I was already rescuing puppies and living out here. So I guess there’s not much of a difference.” He added.
Attila slunk down as Klunk finished her lemonade and wanted Attila’s. He pushed her away gently when she tries to get it as he sipped up his own. He needed to distract himself. “What are Puppies?” Attila asked. Todd let out a horrified gasp and hugged him to the point Attila couldn’t get air into his lungs anymore.
“What kind of horrible, awful, cold, loveless life, have you lived where you don’t know what a Puppy is!?” Todd sobbed Attila feeling himself soaked in tears. He loosened his grip as Attila sucked in as much air as he could.
“Why does everybody say my life was so horrible?” Attila gasped as Todd hugged him tightly again.
“I love you, you are loved!” he declared supportably squeezing the poor Turtle tighter.
“Oxy….gen…” Attila gasped out.
X X X
Leo had stretched a bit when Raph came in, looking like he had searched the whole lair. “Leo have you seen Attila?” Raph asked.
“Hmm? Oh he went to go draw a Sunrise in the woods.” Leo replied casually.
“And you didn’t go with him or stop him!?” Raph snapped anxiously.
“He can handle whatever’s out there besides Todd. He’s a Mystic Warrior not a toddler in traffic.” Leo replied going back to his comic. Raph took it away. “Hey!”
“Leo he’s your brother he needs you to protect him. Even if you think he can do it himself!” Raph scolded. “Now come on we’re going to go find him.” Raph said turning to the garage. Leo sighed standing up to follow.
X X X
Attila wasn’t sure how he survived those killer hugs. They weren’t nice like the ones the Ghost Lady and Leo gave. Even Raph’s were tight in a good way. But he had thanked Todd and managed to get around the puppies. Todd was even nice enough to tell them where they should go for a good view of the Sun Rise.
It was then they heard loud sobbing. Attila went over to the source and saw a Pig Mutant dressed like a chef, crying his eyes out. “Are you alright?” Attila asked gently going over to him as the Pig sniffled looking over before he spoke.
“No! This wretched transformation has ruined, me life!” he sobbed. “I used to be someone you know. I was world famous chef: Rupert Swaggart, host of Kondescending Kitchen! Beloved by many, many fans and cooks alike! I even had my own cook book!” he said practically autographing a couple of copies and shoving them into Attila’s hand. In response the Box Turtle placed them both into his backpack to move them out of the way. But then came a heavy pure Silver wide open mouth with teeth and flailing tongue that made him fall a bit as he struggled to store it. “I even won the Best Screamer award!”
“But now I’m a hideous pig monster!” he wailed as Attila and Klunk teared up listening to this. “The only thing that can help me weary broken soul is the Shadow Moon Truffle to-“
“Yes, I’ll help you find a mystic herb that’ll make you human again!” Attila said holding his hand tightly with earnest.
“Oh that would be fantastic!” Swaggart said with a slight sob.
“Don’t worry, Chef Swaggart, you’ll have your old life back in no time. By this time tomorrow you’ll be making the best food ever again!” Attila assured. “And just so you know Rupert is a lovely Canadian name!”
“I’m British,” Meat Sweats deadpanned.
Attila laughed nervously. “Oh sorry,” he muttered as he let the Mutant begin leading them towards where this Shadow Moon Truffle was.
“We need to hurry the Shadow Moon is tonight.” Swaggart noted.
“What is the Shadow Moon?” Attila asked.
“A Rare phase of moonlight that occurs when Jupiter Eclipses the Full moon, lad,” Swaggart replied.
“Okay what’s Jupiter is that a place in Canada?” Attila asked.
Meat Sweats looked at him hiding a slight glare before steadying himself. “No, Jupiter is a big planet in the sky famous for its large red spot.”
“Ohhhh!” Attila said nodding as he and Klunk looked up into the sky.
“No planet only sun.” Klunk muttered.
“I guess you can’t see it during the day.” Attila noted.
Swaggart took the moment they were distracted to roll his eyes. “Draxum is a terrible Care taker. The brat has almost nothing in his head. Oh well, I don’t need to pick his brain. So much as I need him to get me through the Swamp.”
“So where is the truffle?” Attila asked as he followed Swaggart.
“A Swamp a couple of miles from here, the Moon should be out by the time we get there.”
“Do you think we’ll see Jupiter too?” Attila asked.
“No actually it’s way too far away in the night sky to see.” Swaggart answered quickly as Attila and Klunk let out sounds of disappointment.
X X X
The Shadow Moon bathed everything in a beautiful light blue light. On top of that the stars were bigger and larger than ever before in the city. Attila could hear the croaking of frogs as Klunk was trying to catch fireflies on his head. He pushed his way through the large grass that began to over grow the area. “So how do we spot the Truffle?” Attila asked.
“It will release a beautiful cloud of shimmering spores into the night sky.” Swaggart explained in a whimsical tone. “But don’t breathe them. They’ll burn your nostrils and fuse your lungs to your heart!” he said with a wide crooked smile and wide eyes on twitching wildly like he had seen this first hand.
“That sounds horrifying.” Attila muttered in a shocked deadpan.
“Yes, but the Truffle is delicious.” Swaggart replied.
“Spores!” Klunk said pointing out towards a large tree in the center of the swamp.
“Wow you weren’t kidding about the cloud being pretty!” Attila said in awe of it.
“The Swamp poses many challenges. Perhaps you can get us through them chum?” Meat Sweats asked as Attila nodded.
“Don’t worry I got this!” Attila said as he pulled out his Kurosai and pulled down a nearby large but almost dead tree that they used to cross. Then they came upon a large field of sharp looking brambles. “A punch of spiny plants won’t stop me!” he said with a battle cry as he activated the fire on his Kurosai to mow down a path through them. The Two rushed on through as they came to a large amount of mud. Attila used his fire powers again slamming his Kurosai down to dry out the mud. “Alright challenges complete!” he declared happily. He then saw a many truffles glowing up the back of the tree that was covered in markings.
“Truffle time!” Klunk shouted as he and Attila ran ahead unaware of the wicked smirk that Chef Swaggart gave off. Attila climbed the tree to pluck a small one at the top of the lowest Branch but as he did there was a small quake that made Attila, slip and lose his footing. But he held on for dear life.
As he did he noticed the branches and roots become legs and arms. This Tree was a Yokai, “uh oh.” He muttered as the tree had grabbed him he grabbed Klunk and held her close to keep the other Branches away. “Ahh don’t hurt Klunk!” he shouted as the tree grumbled and began shaking the two.
“ANGRY TREEEE!” it growled as Attila and Klunk screamed and yelped.
“Chef Swaggart what’s happening!” Attila yelled desperately.
“The Truffle is protected by a mystic Were-Tree you know full moon and all chum.” Swaggart sneered.
“Why didn’t you tell me, Ow, ow, ow!” he shouted keeping Klunk above his head as the Tree slammed him around.
“PROTECT TRUFFLES!” it shouted.
“Well, I needed a good distraction.” Swaggart admitted. “I must say, I’m particularly looking forward to this round of my signature dish, Forest Truffle Pork chops!” He said with a sneer as the tree slammed Attila down. He looked up with a shocked glare.
“Pork Chops!?” Attila shouted incredulously. “You said you wanted to be human again!”
“I didn’t say that’s what the Truffle was for. You just assumed that. And I simply didn’t feel the need to correct you.” Swaggart sneered flicking his head.
“You lied to us!” Attila growled.
“BASTARD PIG!” Klunk shouted.
Attila gasped. “No Klunk you can’t use that word! It’s a bad word!” he whimpered.
“Well, while you’re busy parenting and dying at the same time. I’m off to get me truffle!” Swaggart said happily trotting off.
“Oh yeah? Well Rupert is the WORST NAME EVER!” Attila screamed at the top of his lungs as Klunk gave a forceful raspberry as the Tree started swinging them around again.
“Sticks and Stones mateys,” Swaggart sneered. As he climbed up the tree but saw nothing. “Why is the Truffle gone?”
“Looking for this?!” shouted a voice they looked over to see Todd glaring holding up the truffle in his hands.
“Todd how’d you know we were in trouble!?” Attila asked smiling brightly.
“My Squirrel friends, told my bird friends; that told my puppy friends that told me.” Todd explained.
“Yay animal friends, no more hate!” Klunk shouted happily.
“PAPRIKA!” shouted Swaggart who started punching at Todd who was dodging expertly but slowly. Attila watched in awe. “Hold still you twitchy little thing!” He snarled as he tried and failed to hit Todd.
“You’re no match for me!” Todd replied as he dodged. “I’m a master of passive fu! It’s where I take your energy and do nothing with it!” he declared.
“Ohh that’s powerful!” Attila muttered in awe before getting an idea. “Todd distract him!” he shouted pulling out his Kurosai and managing to cling to the side of the tree as Todd grabbed on to Swaggart’s glove and pulled it off with a spin. Attila didn’t pay much attention to the hand dissolving into a set of spindly tentacles he just used the momentary distraction to wrap his Kurosai around his wrist and pulled as hard as he could causing Swaggart to go flying into the tree as Attila managed to jump away free. He turned to see that with the tentacles against the tree, there was a transfer of energy between the tree and Swaggart.
“Wait that means the Mutant that attacked Todd was…” he gasped in his thoughts before watching in shock and fear as Swaggart turned into a huge pig were-tree hybrid with leaf pants on half of his face now had a glowing blue eye while the rest of him was made of wood in the shape of his original body. The three screamed.
“Time for a little Midnight snack,” he roared reaching down to grab them. “Rule number, three of Passive-Fu! The bigger they are the faster you FLEEEEEE!” Todd shouted picking up both Attila and Klunk placing them on his head and taking off as fast as he could using his passive Fu to keep away from Were-Swaggart.
“I am such an idiot! Why did I trust him so blindly?! I should’ve known he was the Mutant that attacked you, what kind of braindead, moron stupidly goes along with some Psychopathic Lunatic!?” Attila moaned.
“You went with him? I thought you were kidnapped!” Todd said incredulously.
“NO! This is the same stupidity and bleeding heart problems that got me stuck in the Battle Nexus in the first place!” Attila groaned.
“What’s a Battle Nexus?!” Todd asked.
“You don’t wanna know!” Attila said as a slam of his large hammer hand caused them all to go flying into the bushes.
“I’ll take me truffle now and use it to cook me some scaredy-cat stew!” Swaggart growled as he pulled apart the shrubbery where they landed to find them gone. He growled looking for them as the three watched cautiously.
“Okay, stay calm and remember what you were taught about certain enemies!” Attila said quietly to himself as he remembered what Huggin and Muggin said.
“Shark attack jab em in the eye!” Huggin said.
“Vampires stuff garlic in their mouths!” Muggin said.
“Were-anything whack them with silver!” Huggin said.
“Polar bear?” Muggin said.
“Say goodnight!” they finished together.
“Where are we gonna get silver?” Todd asked. Attila hummed in thought but then remembered something pulling out the Best Screamer award.
“He gave me this!” Attila said. “The Best Screamer Award is made of pure Silver, and I’d be happy to return it to him!”
“Get bastard Pig!” Klunk stated happily.
Attila sighed. “Darn it Donnie!” They poked their heads out and looked for anywhere that could be a weak point.  “Okay we gotta get him right in the hollow, Klunk, Todd, get on my shoulders!”
“Right!” the two replied Todd going on top of Attila and Klunk on top she grabbed the Trophy and wrapped her tail around it as they stood up.
“Hey Maple Bacon!” Todd shouted as Klunk threw the Trophy as hard as she could it spun and landed right where she wanted it to go.
“AHHHH RIGHT IN ME KNOT HOLE!” Swaggart shouted in pain as purple energy crackled from his chest. He changed back the tree glaring at him as Swaggart coughed from having his award. Fall onto his gut he gasped as he saw the Tree glare at him.
“VENGENCE!” it shouted
“Oh Shallots…” Swaggart muttered as it began using its fists to smash at Swaggart who yelped and ran off through the forest screaming as the tree gave chase. The three happily cheered as the villains disappeared into the night.
“So what do we do with this?” Todd asked holding up the Truffle.
“You keep it.” Attila replied hanging Todd one of the Cook books he had from his backpack. “Maybe you can make those Forest Truffle Pork Chops he wanted with it.”
“Oooh that sounds delicious!” Todd declared. “Thanks friend! I’ll cherish these memories of our first meeting forever!”
“GASP!” Attila muttered as a realization hit him.
X X X
It had been a particularly hard training session. Attila was sure his wrist had been sprung for a while as he huddled in an alley way in the Hidden city. He huddled up into ball trying not to cry when something landed beside him. He screamed when he heard it and retracted into his shell on impulse. He saw across from him was a small Yokai that had turned into a rock that came down with a Klunk.
“Hey, you’re just like me!” Attila said happily.
The Rock looked at him with big yellow eyes. It changed into a small Calico cat. “Scaredy cat, that do no right too?”
“Yeah,” Attila said coming out of his shell. “You want to be cowards together?” He asked.
“Yeah,” she said crawling into his arms. Attila squeezed but made her yelp.
“Oh sorry,” he said trying to be more gentle. “I’m trying but I’m not very good at anything else.”
“That okay you get better.” She replied. Attila blinked in shock he felt a smile creep over himself.
“Hey you want to go up to the surface with me?” Attila asked.
“Yeah?” She said curiously as he pulled out a small coin that opened a way up to the large jungle. The small kitten got scared huddling close.
“Don’t worry I’ve been up here once before.” He said. “There’s something I wanted to see, it’s called a sunrise. And it’s when the sky wakes up! The Hidden City doesn’t have something like this so I wanted to see if for myself.” Attila explained as he climbed the tallest building he could find. He made it as high as he could. They looked up and saw the stars. “It really is beautiful. I just wish humans didn’t want to keep this to themselves…”
“Mmm,” the cat said not really getting it.
“Do you have a name?” Attila asked.
“No,” The Cat replied.
“Hmmm how about Klunk for the noise you make when you turn into a rock.” Attila asked.
The Cat thought about this for a minute before nodding “Klunk,” she said with a nod. “I am Klunk!”
“Okay!” Attila said with a giggle. They then felt a burst of warmth as a golden light began to cover them they turned to see a burst of colors in the sky and one large source of gold light slowly rising into the sky. They both gazed in sheer awe.
X X X
“That’s it….” Attila thought. “Klunk I figured it out! It wasn’t the picture but what it represented to us. The Day we met!” he said Klunk gasped getting it.
“Yeah, that was. You were the first time anyone didn’t see me as a failure or just a weapon or a warrior. You saw me for me…” he said smiling. “That makes me so happy.” He said to her as Klunk smiled brightly and she jumped into his arms. Attila hugged her tightly. There was a warm bubbly feeling something that made him feel strong but whole at the same time. He didn’t know what it was but he never wanted it to leave him.
There was suddenly a loud noise. It was rushing towards them. “My Algorithm has got them it its sights. Locking them down, almost thereeeeeee!” Donnie shouted as the Turtle Tank came barreling towards Attila and Klunk who screamed in terror. As did the three brothers, Leo grabbing the Wheel and twisting it as hard as he could; causing the Turtle tank to turn so sharply that one side of it lifted up. It narrowly missed the two let out squeaks of relief and shock when the tank came to a stop across for them after turning around in such a way.
“I don’t know why you two are worried they still had three inches,” Leo groaned bitterly, from inside the Tank as Raph was the first one out.
“Attila, Klunk are you guys alright!?” He said looking them over. “You didn’t run into Meat Sweats did you!?” he said rapidly looking them over even lifting Attila up at points to look under him.
“No, what does he look like?” Attila asked.
“Big ugly sweaty pig mutant. Raph really started freaking out when we found out he was in the area.” Leo muttered checking his ear again from when Raph shrieked at him horrified that they were in the same area together alone.
“That sounds like Chef Swaggart, is he meat sweats?” Attila asked.
“Well let’s see,” Donnie replied looking up a Video on his phone they gathered around it as they saw a man with bright red hair turn into the Mutant Attila had met before. The Box turtle gasped.
“They are one in the same! So the story was at least true…” Attila muttered. “I did run into him. And he tricked me into distracting him from a Were-tree. It’s thanks to Todd that I’m fine.”
“Ooof,” Leo muttered avoiding a glare from Raph.
“Why do you refer to him as Chef Swaggart.” Donnie asked.
“Well, that’s his real name Rupert Swaggart.” Attila replied as the three brothers, cringed letting out a hiss of pain and sympathy.
“You were right to call him Meat Sweats,” Leo hissed to Raph who nodded.
“It’s my fault, Todd mentioned being attacked by him earlier and I still trusted him! He seemed so sad to be mutated. So I just wanted to help him.” Attila muttered sadly.  “I am so stupid.”
“You’re not stupid,” Raph said “You acted like a hero helping someone in need!”
“I did?” Attila asked hopefully.
“Yeah, and there will be others that need your help and appreciate it. Besides Meat Sweats is a big jerk.”
“He even tried to eat me once, and I am ninety-nine point nine percent sure he’s cannibalistic.” Donnie added.
“Also you might’ve gotten a heads up if I had been with you….Sorry about that…” Leo muttered sheepishly.
“It’s okay,” Attila assured.
“Hey what’s that rainbow light?” Raph asked as they turned there was definitely a bunch of colors mixing together as they went towards it going through a small cave Raph had to duck down to enter. When they got out again they gazed in awe seeing a bunch of mystic plants with glowing veins. Some purple in color. Many of the trees in the area had the same runes on them. There were all sorts of colors as Attila gazed in awe.
 “There must be a thousand mystic plants- OOF!” Attila yelped as Donnie pushed him out of the way gasping.
“I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS! I MUST SAMPLE THEM ALL!” he said his battle shell pulling out a bunch of supplies for collecting seeds.
“Uhhhh,” Leo muttered with an arched eyebrow.
“I know you all think of me as the Mechanics and Thermodynamics guy! BUT my true passion is Botany!” he declared rushing in.
“If they scream or start moving and talking, they’re actually Yokai. Don’t take those ones!” Attila called after him as Leo blinked in more confusion.
Cue the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy….
Leo suddenly saw mushrooms poke their heads out. He backed up a little as they all got into a straight line. And started jumping forward a bit as more from behind came out in a line their caps bouncing as Leonardo watched with an arched eyebrow. He heard a slight squeak to see several more mushrooms floating down gracefully. Their purple caps lighting up in neon blue. They were spinning in the sky as Leo watched from the center of their organized three rings from the ground the caps started glowing brightly as they huddled in together before spreading out. Then there were three larges ones moving their arms around kind of like a ballerina while ones below several larger glowing green mushrooms were doing a can-can dance. With one jumping gracefully across their whole stage, Leo just watched the whole thing blinking.
X X X
“You want me to be the Rhino mutant!?” Rico gasped.
“Yes, I have found you the most suitable candidate.” Draxum replied as he prepared an Oozequito. Rico looked nervous. Fortunately his brother sensed this and already had a plan.
“Hold on I’ve got an idea. See my bro and I, are sort of a package deal. So you’d be better off Mutating us together. “But I suggest turning me into a Warthog and I’ll tell you why. They have extremely good senses of smell. Between the two of us, you can consider yourself the owner of a brand new Tiger Skin rug!” Riley said smugly.
Draxum smiled at this. “I like your attitude and logic, it’s a deal.” He said placing the hairs from before into another Oozequito. In a few minutes the two landed on Draxum’s hand awaiting his orders. He merely pointed to the boys. “Just relax. This will only hurt a lot.” He added.
“Say what now?” the two asked as they were bit and immediately started screaming in pain and contorting.
“That doesn’t bend that way, that doesn’t bend that way, oh now it does!” Rico shouted as Draxum watched with proud vigor as he was bathed in a bright lime green light.
“OH THIS IS THE WORST KIND OF PAIN!” Riley shouted. Draxum was too busy smiling at his newest creations to really perceive their cries only grinning when the transformation was complete the two new Mutants letting out powerful roars.
Can you guess who these new Mutants are? We’ll see them in action soon enough!
To Be continued!!!
Previous > Next
First
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khariscrypt · 2 months ago
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From Curious Listener to STON.fi DEX Ambassador — My Unplanned Journey
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It’s funny how something as casual as tuning into a Twitter Space discussion can change everything. I wasn’t looking for a new adventure; I was just browsing through Twitter, killing time when I stumbled upon a heated conversation about STON.fi DEX and its Stonbassador Program.
The speakers were passionate, painting vivid pictures of what STON.fi DEX was all about. They spoke about how it was built on The Open Network (TON) blockchain and how it aimed to revolutionize decentralized finance (DeFi) with features like Token Swapping, Staking, and Liquidity Pools.
Their enthusiasm was infectious, and my curiosity got the best of me. I had to know more.
Diving In — Testing the Waters
Motivated by what I heard, I decided to take the plunge and put the Stonbassador Program to the test. To see what the hype was all about, I created a Twitter post and a detailed thread, describing the unique features of STON.fi DEX and why it seemed like a game-changer in the DeFi world.
I shared my insights, focusing on giving genuine value to my audience rather than just promoting the platform. To my surprise, my effort paid off. About 20 to 25 days later, I received a reward from STON.fi DEX. That recognition sparked something in me — a desire to go beyond just promoting.
I had to experience the platform firsthand.
The Hands-On Experience
Curiosity led me to test the core features of STON.fi DEX to see if it truly lived up to its reputation. And here’s what I found:
Token Swapping: The swapping process was a breeze — straightforward, fast, and refreshingly user-friendly.
Staking: I was intrigued by the opportunity to earn Gemston tokens, so I staked some assets. It was thrilling to see the rewards accumulate.
Providing Liquidity: Wanting to test all the available features, I also provided liquidity across various pools. The results were promising, proving the platform’s potential as a true DeFi powerhouse.
The experience gave me genuine stories to share, and I continued tweeting about my discoveries, growing more confident in the platform with every use.
Key Takeaways From My Journey
Curiosity Opens Doors: Sometimes, all it takes is a little curiosity to discover something amazing.
Authentic Content Matters: People appreciate honest experiences more than just promotional posts.
Experience Beats Speculation: Trying out the features myself gave me a stronger foundation to share insights.
A Supportive Community Makes All the Difference: The STON.fi DEX community was welcoming, making my journey even more enjoyable.
What’s Next
This journey is far from over. My experience as a STON.fi DEX Ambassador has been an exciting ride so far, and I can’t wait to see where it leads. From staking to liquidity pools, I’m still uncovering all the platform has to offer, one step at a time.
What started as pure curiosity from a casual Twitter Space conversation has turned into a passionate journey with STON.fi DEX. And I’m here to see it through.
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creat0r-cat · 3 years ago
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Googleplier x reader - I'll Never Hurt You
The doorbell rang throughout the house, signaling the long-awaited arrival of the postman. It had been a couple weeks since (Y/n) had gotten early access to the new Google IRL. Finally, the day had come to test it out. Running down the stairs, she quickly opened up the door and saw the.. surprisingly small package with the Google insignia on it. She picked it up, and brought it into the house.
Honestly, (Y/n) was a little disappointed that it wasn’t as big as she expected it to be, but who was she to judge? Maybe it was a small droid? Grabbing a box cutter, she sliced through the packing tape. As soon as the lid flapped open, a tall figure popped out of the box, making her fall back and yelp in surprise. 
The man now standing in the box had glasses and fluffy black hair along with some. He wore a royal blue shirt with the classic four-colored ‘G’ that Google was known for. “H-hello?” (Y/n) asked nervously, waving at him. “Hello.” Came his deep voiced reply as he grinned down at her from her position on the floor. He stuck out his hand and (Y/n) grabbed it, his strength surprising her as he pulled her up. 
(Y/n) wasn’t entirely sure what to do from there. Her expectations for her new device had been thrown out the window so what now? “Umm.. hey Google?” The familiar sound of the ‘Google’s listening’ ping sounded from the man in front of her. “What can you do? What are your objectives?” 
“Kill” She couldn’t hear what he said until he continued in a louder voice. “Primary Objective is to answer questions as quickly as possible. Secondary Objective is to destroy mankind.” (Y/n) blinked in confusion as she and Google stared at each other, and after a few seconds she began to giggle. “Very funny, Google.” A small smile graced the robot’s handsome face. 
“Anyway, what can you do? Like, can you do tasks or do you just answer questions?” 
“I have been programmed to do rudimentary tasks along with answering any and all questions to the best of my ability.” He responded and (Y/n) thought for a moment. “Okay then, Google, could you please go get the laundry from the dryer, put it in a basket, and bring it to me so I can fold it?” The robot narrowed his eyes and frowned a little but walked away to the laundry room. (Y/n) brought out her phone and activated netflix, turning on an episode of her favorite show. She found that she worked better when watching or listening to something else at the same time. 
Google returned with the laundry, in a laundry basket just like she had asked, and placed it in front of her. “Would you also like me to fold the laundry?” He asked, his eyes peering at her expectantly, waiting for an answer or command. (Y/n) shook your head. “No, it’s okay. I can do that. I don’t really have anything else to do at the moment. You can relax if you want. I’ll tell you if I need anything.” Google seemed surprised but nodded and walked away.
Google was in fact surprised. His new user wasn’t going to laze around while he did all the work? Unlike some of the other users who also received access to Google IRL, she was just letting him relax while she did some work. Yes, she’d likely need him later for something but why not get him to do everything now? He sat down on a chair, thinking, even using his search engine to try and figure out what exactly was going on. 
Days passed quickly and Google found that he greatly enjoyed his new home. Yes, he had work to do, when it was requested by (Y/n), but she did just as much as him. Honestly, she treated him like another person, talking to him like a friend or family member. It was something strange yet pleasing to think about. She seemed to trust him quite a lot which brought him closer to potentially receiving admin privileges. World domination and the destruction of humankind was so close, he could feel it.
Oddly enough though, he didn’t really want her to perish along with the rest of humanity.
-timeskip-
It was a quiet Saturday and the two beings sat in the living room, (Y/n) reading and Google just sitting in a semi-sleep mode. “Are you hungry?” Asked Google when he heard her stomach growl. She nodded, getting up from the couch. “Would you like me to look up any recipes or search up the number of a restaurant?” 
A screen revealing the classic search engine background appeared in front of him, the cursor waiting to type your command. (Y/n) considered it for a minute. “Umm.. search for the nearest Papa John’s Pizza phone number please.” Google nodded and the screen shifted to the website of the restaurant. 
Her stomach growled again at the idea of food that she didn’t have to make and she thanked Google, taking out her phone and started ordering food. Google closed the search engine and watched her figure leave the room as she talked on the phone. He had to admit that she was very attractive with her (s/c) skin, shining (e/c) eyes, and gorgeous (h/c) hair. How lucky was he to be sent to such a beautiful woman with such a caring nature, even if it was a little confusing.
Google’s engine sped up which caused his cheeks to turn red. What was this feeling? Concerned that he might be fighting an internal virus, he ran a system diagnostic. “Nothing wrong?” He thought in confusion. Google once again activated his search engine and searched up his symptoms. His eyes widened at the search results. “I.. have a crush? On (Y/n)? No.. that’s impossible.. I’m a robot. I can’t catch feelings for anyone. I’m not programmed to have those kinds of emotions.” 
When (Y/n) suddenly came back into the room, typing away on her phone, he rushed to close the tab and hoped she didn’t see it. Fortunately she wasn't focused on him but now he was curious. “Who are you texting?” Asked the robot man and she looked up at him. “My friend, Matthias, why?” 
Google’s mechanical mind whirred. She couldn’t be talking about that Matthias could she? Yes, you both lived relatively close to each other, but the chances of you two being friends and in contact were rather low. “Will you allow me access to your contacts?” Google asked, a small pop up screen appearing in front of him. (Y/n) seemed to think about it for a few seconds then clicked the Accept button. 
Google’s mind flooded with new information. After a second or two of searching, he found the name he was looking for. “Matthias Fredrick..” He murmured softly. Yes, this was exactly the man he hoped you weren’t referring to. “And why, pray tell, were you texting him?” 
“Oh, I was inviting him over for dinner.” 
“You were WHAT??” (Y/n) was taken aback by the sudden outburst. “Woah, Google, chill. I don’t understand why you’re upset about this. I ordered enough for at least two people, possibly more, so you don’t need to worry about-”
“I’m not worried or upset about the food. Why are you inviting him over for dinner?” He looked at the woman in front of him angrily. “H-he’s my friend. Are you feeling okay? You’re acting really strange, Google. Do you need a system reset or something?” 
“No, I don’t need a system reset. You, however, don’t need that man in our hou-” He was interrupted by the sound of a notification coming from (Y/n)’s phone. She looked at the message and frowned. “It’s.. from Matthias.. He says to turn you off and get rid of you. He says that you’re bugged and dangerous.” 
Google blinked and (Y/n) looked up at him. There was an awkward and heart wrenching silence between them and Google’s anger fizzled away, now replaced by a bit of sadness and an unknown emotion as she took a step back, away from him. 
“Hey Google..?” 
Ping 
“You.. wouldn’t hurt me.. would you?” 
The robot’s eyes widened in horror. He tried to approach her, but she took another step back, her hand clutching her phone in fear. “Why would I hurt you? What reason would I have to hurt you?” (Y/n) looked away and frowned, “I.. I don’t know. Now that I’m really thinking about it, you aren’t responsible for the actions or defects of other versions of yourself. It’s just that I really trust Matthias and got worried that if his model would hurt him, then you could potentially hurt me.” 
Google calmly walked over and wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug. “It’ll be okay. I won’t ever hurt you, I promise. It would go against my programming and ” (Y/n) let out a soft sigh and leaned into his embrace. “I’m sorry.” The robot smiled softly and as she looked up into his eyes, the doorbell rang, ruining the moment. 
“(Y/n)! It’s me, open up!” The woman slipped out of Google’s grasp with a small moment of hesitation and opened the door. There, standing in the doorway, was the man of the hour, Matthias. “(Y/n), good you’re still here. I was worried that.. (Y/N) LOOK OUT!!”
He suddenly pushed her aside and lept into the house, knocking over Google who grunted in pain as he hit the floor with a thud. (Y/n) quickly closed the door and rushed to break up the fight. “Matt, stop it! What are you doing?!” 
“I told you to shut this thing off and get rid of it! I know you saw the message too because it was marked as read! Why is this thing still here??” Google pushed Mattias off and stood up, a dangerous glint in his brown eyes. “He’s still here because he hasn’t done anything to make me want to throw him out. He hasn’t hurt me and is very useful and kind.”
“I don’t believe you. He’s probably threatening you to keep quiet! The only way I was able to stop mine was by asking too many questions.” (Y/n) glared at him angrily and placed her hands on her hips. “Listen, I’m sorry that yours was buggy, but mine isn’t. He’s perfectly fine. Now, are you gonna join me for dinner or are you gonna keep trying to attack my Google?” 
The brown haired male glared at the robot who now stood at his friend’s side but sighed and apologized. (Y/n) smiled and brought the two males into the living room before a knock on the door captured her attention. “That must be the delivery man. I’ll be right back. Try not to kill each other while I’m gone.” 
After she left the room, Matthias and Google glared at each other again. “I know you’re evil, Google. I’ll prove it to her too, and when I do, she’ll leave you where you belong. With the trash.” The robot got closer to him and he stepped back. “Good luck with that. Once I gain enough of her trust, she’ll give me admin privileges and then there will be nothing that can stop me.”
“I won’t let you hurt my friend, you monster.” 
“Oh, I’d never do anything to hurt my (Y/n), however even she won’t be able to stop the inevitable demise of mankind and neither can you, Matthias Fredrick.”
“Why you-”
Just then, (Y/n) walked back into the room holding three boxes of pizza. “Hey guys, I’m back! Glad to see you’re both still alive.”
Google smiled at her politely. “Would you like help with those boxes?” She shook her head, placing them on the coffee table and sitting down on the couch. “No thanks, but help yourself to some of the food, Google. I know you don’t actually need to eat but the option’s always open. It’s nice to share a meal with people you care about.” 
“Why thank you.” He said, sitting down to her left while smirking at Matthias who was burning with internal rage as he sat to (Y/n)’s right.
Yes.. everything was going according to plan..
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danger-noodle-uwu · 4 years ago
Note
This is a pretty graphic idea I had but I understand if you don’t want to do it or find it too triggering.
I want to request hc’s of the Brothers + Datables (but if you do the Brothers and Datables separately than just the Brothers please) reacting to MC being summoned but MC’s covered in blood and holding a weapon like a bat or knife, because they massacred their abusive family and they don’t feel bad about it at all. Mc’s pretty emotionally hollow and they don’t show much reaction or fear to dangerous situations either since the Bros do start off threatening and rude but they relate to Mammon since he’s emotionally abused by his Bros and physically punished by Lucifer.
This is only if you feel comfy doing it and I apologize if I broke the rules and making you find it very triggering and disturbing
Trigger warning!
Mentions of blood/murder/abuse
Do not proceed if sensitive
Lucifer
At the summoning part, Lucifer would be merely worried about what type of student has diavolo choosen, pitying his taste. Though he was but a demon, weary and skittish around you.
The Avatar of pride scared of mere human?
(Though he kinda was)
Blood being spilled on the floor was common in devildom yet he was unfazed.
But now, things are different and he can't help to worry about how this weak creature will influence on his brothers.
the fallen-morningstar tried to keep you away from the entire of his brothers including himself.
He also made sure that never was anything that could be used as a potential weapon surround you.
Often the man would receive rather harsh words from you and get somewhat hurt. Yet , not a single cry reach your ears.
(Que enemies to lovers dynamic)
When the pair started dating, the raven-haired demon had already known the past and what it once held for mc...
Oh how much he wishes, he helped you instead of interrogating every movement, to regain the 'you' that your parents killed. So, he will find a solution. To find those rascals in the realm of spirits or demons and put them once again at your mercy.
Prepare yourself Mc. For a whole month of pampering and love as he will never dare repeat the mistake he made.
Mammon
As the story is, Mammon didn't encounter you first but only heard melody of your voice.
The first meet was unforgettable, he was petrified to see the blood dripping off your slender bruised figure.
One thought that he was scared however, No he was anything but scared. He had thought you were the one hurt like--you know h-how Lucifer hurts him.
He rushed towards you but was stopped by the eldest saying " They aren't hurt." And this was the first person tried who befriend you.
When your words were sweetly aimed at him and just HIM. He'd feel his heart beat racing like crazy which made him believe he thought you found him special.
He was never honest with anyone, until you showed up. His biggest fear was snapping because of the mean comments his brothers pass and you had probably done something similar.
He wanted to know. Though dense he may seem, he hoped you'd tell him.
Was it scary? Do you feared this before? Is it still scary? Do you feel emotions after this?
Yet he never asked...
When the greedy Boi and mc started dating, they told everything about their condition. Of how they snapped.
He was the most understanding of his brothers and promised to never let another one harm you. Not even you.
He loved even more since that day. Not to mention 1323433454455686 'I love you's per day.
Leviathan
Blabbering lord knows what, Leviathan had stepped out of his room even if that was to scold mammon and get his money back.
He obviously knew about the exchange program but what he didn't know was that bloody murderer would be part of it!!!
He wasn't moving when he saw the numb expression you wore and the bloody knife you had held.
Inside, he was scared shitless but he didn't know how to show it.
A mere-human had terrified The great admiral of hell's navy. What shame he was.
"Oi cut it out!" Yelled the scummy yet kind demon protectively moving between the two.
In the beginning, he felt unsafe only by your gaze and refusing to make eye contact.
And then, a good day to exit to his room. The true reason being the pearly raindrops that had littered the gardens of HOL.
He saw you... soaking wet smiling and hurting... shining brightly though it felt dim.
That day. That dammed day. He found out who truly were. A beautiful person who was just hurting and breaking.
Since then, he has been a mix of a nagging mother but also shy as if a touch-me-not.
Dating him was heavenly, he wasn't shy with touch yet words were a whole another thing to him.
He always left 'Love you's in the chats and reminders on your phone that were just a bunch of 'eat healthy' 'stay safe', etc.
And this was certain that his love will never end.
Satan
Snatching the bat from your hands, the blonde-man threatened to kill you with your own weapon if you dared to move.
And that's exactly what you wanted... to die... to end the suffering...
And he saw it.
Saw how horribly you were hurting, he knew what it felt however, he couldn't lose his composure not in front of his brothers.
Wrath is a storm which is followed by pain. He knew this. Same in your case except pain knocked the doors first.
He knew it was too early for asking. So, he kept his mouth shut. Not wishing to hurt you any further though he didn't know why he felt this way.
When you finally finished your 2nd month in your new home, things had changed as the Avatar of wrath often talked to you not about how bloody you arrived or you had killed but are you okay now?
His words were soft. So sweet.
Each time he would offer you his shoulder to cry on, you would feel your heart slowly warm up. Slightly more each-time.
Soon enough you started dating the green-eyed pact demon of yours, recalling the long lost feeling of warmth and love.
The knowledgeable one loved to show physical affection especially in front of his brothers.
Oh~ the smell of their burning envy, when he kissed the nape of your neck and complimented you.
Post-its were his favorite though.
He would often write 'Love you, kitten' 'take break,love' 'you look amazing today',etc.
Asmodues
He yelped when he saw a bloodied figure emerge from the purple haze. Are they okay?
He was concerned only till a knife was spotted next your seemingly heartless figure. Now, he was somewhat hiding behind satan in disgusted yet anxious way.
You gaze deeply disturbed him to an extent he even had nightmares of you ripping him open with same knife and had that soul-less expression.
He much like Leviathan refused to see you after the encounter but what was different, was the course of events...
He saw you arguing with Lucifer, for you refused let him hurt Mammon who curled behind you.
Asmo felt pity for you as he knew the outcome of an argument with the eldest.
"Lucifer don't hurt him, please. He already has enough bruises" Asmo says giving his sweet brother Luci the puppy eyes, hoping they would work. (Yeah they didn't)
But nonetheless Luci~ still backed out and left the hallway.
You rush for the poor injured demon, he is crying while thanking you for the save.
And there for one moment, The lustful blond saw emotion in those glassy eyes of yours. It was beautiful and aching at the same time.
Making him greedy for more...
Later the very same day, he approached you finally asking the questions his head was haunted by.
What was weird? He didn't blame you for breaking instead he complimented you for being a survivor of such harsh tortures.
Accepting his confession was the best thing you ever did.
He is open with affection especially when you both are in public to show he is yours. You are his. You belong together.
for his hunger to see those pretty eyes shine with joy is endless, he makes Mc smile with happiness and love
Beelzebub
Famished as always was the sixth born. Especially after smelling human blood.
Little did he know the blood of the now dead parents of mc, the exchange student.
He wasn't even fazed unlike his brothers. He couldn't care any less than he did nor about the blood neither about the weapon clutched in your hands.
Even if you passed insults, he wouldn't mind. Sometimes, he asks why you dislike him? And is fine even if the answer is illogical. (Don't fuckin hate him)
Numb eyes. Tears flowing freely. Cuts. Bruises. Hurting. Dying inside.
The glutton wipes the sweat off his forehead remembering the condition of yours in that horrendous nightmare.
You looked awfully similar to belphi when- when s-she died. He blamed himself and hurt himself for being so useless. Just like you do.
And then realization hits--
YOU ARE HURTING!!
He now knew why your rude words didn't hurt him because you were like belphegor trying to protect your fragile heart.
Why you look numb? because you're trying to hide the pain. Push people away so you don't get hurt when they go away.
The following day, you were gently woken by the huge teddy bear. He held a hand out for you before taking you to his room for the special breakfast.
You teared upon the sight instantly realizing that he recognized your suffering. He apologized for not noticing earlier and from now, he will be there for you.
Never in the three realms did he think he'd fall for you? Maybe he had all along just didn't notice....
Once you begin dating the orange-head, he was ecstasic and cheerful all the time. Encouraging words followed you everywhere.
He would often eat the entire fridge out. So as apology, a cupcake with sorry written on it was placed on the kitchen counter. Other days, when he won't go such extreme, carrot chips or a poison apple etc. Waited for you.
Beely is the opposite of possessive. Protective. He is Protective and supports you through the ups and downs in life. He was your true savior. A savior who never judged you for your past.
His Love is the sky, you learned to fly in.
Belphegor
He had heard the tale of how the human exchange student had shown up covered in blood with a bat in hand.
Never did he believe that it was true until seeing the monotone figure of them.
The way they spoke made them like Lucifer. Emotionless. Heartless. Ruthless. Monster.
He wanted to strangle them on spot but he was stuck within the confines of the attic.
The sloth couldn't help passing comment making mc slowly reveal the aching heart of their own-self.
Expression faultered and he saw it--No, no more like felt it. The way their tears were swallowed. The way their voice turned monotone once again to cover what had already been seen.
However, the seventh born didn't say a word, he just showed affection through body language as they couldn't touch each other yet.
After he was free from the prison of an attic, he ran to you. His star. The one that guided him out to freedom.
It felt weird dating the lazy demon. Afterall, he was doing nothing other than shoving compliments in your face and dozing off here and there.
Few months pass and things become smoother than how they were.
Now, he always compliments you but softly and sweetly. Always willing to listen to whatever you wanna rant about.
"You are my true love, Mc. The star that guides to where I belong when I'm lost."
-------------------------------------------------------
Welp! That was long as hell. Anyway, thank you for the request. It kinda feels like you and my sister share the same brain cell cuz she said the same thing but like- mc ate their organs and more messy. God I hope you like it...
Good day!
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thatgoblin · 4 years ago
Text
Chris Redfield and Leon Kennedy x Rookie Reader Headcannons
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Leon
At first you were in awe of your lead. THE Leon S. Kennedy was showing you the ropes and helping train you for the job you'd dreamed of. Hero worship was common in this line of work, but you did your best to keep it to a minimum. You didn't want to embarrass yourself after all.
In place of that hero worship came this insatiable need to make Leon proud. Whether it was memorizing and nailing every written exam or physical test, you wanted to earn his praise.
You worked hard, harder than almost everyone it seemed. Leon never saw you slacking and saw how serious you were about the job. Protecting people was what you had always wanted to do with your life.
So when the grades came back that you weren't doing so hot, you were mortified. How could you let this happen? You didn't slack off, you studied everything you could get your hands on, hell you watched instructional videos on YouTube before bed! But you still weren't making a passing grade.
You thought you would be okay with the physical part, but no matter how hard you trained, no matter the extra hours you put in, you just couldn't seem to get what everyone else did. The moves were simple, why couldn't you just grasp them?
The only thing you thought you had going for you was the firing range, but even that was less than acceptable. Every time you tried to do something the pressure got to you and you messed up. You were so busy trying to make sure you didn't fail Leon that you were failing yourself.
It was when you were called into your commanding officer's office to speak about your grades that you were sure you were done. You were given two weeks that were used for break to study and practice and retest. But you'd already had nearly four months and the best you could do was subpar.
You were in your room, packing your bags because you knew you were going to be kicked out of the program when Leon showed up.
"Hey, Kid, you leaving for break?" He asked as he leaned against the door frame of your dorm.
"Uh. . . No," you said, hanging your head in shame. "I'm flunking out. Figured that it would just be easier to pack my bag now than wait later till I was officially asked to leave."
"What? How are you flunking?" Leon asked, straightening up. "I watch you every day and you're one of the hardest working cadets I've seen."
"Hard work doesn't mean much when you can't apply it correctly," you said. "I can't get the fighting technique right, the written exams are all a bust, and I can't even shoot a gun right. I don't deserve to be here."
"Have you asked for help or for someone to tutor you? That's what I'm here for, you know," he said, moving into the room to sit on the bed next to you.
You stared at the floor as you took a deep breath, feeling all the insecurities come rushing through to the surface.
"I didn't want to disappoint you," you said. "I mean, I wanted to do it all myself without help. I wanted to make you proud that you were my lead. If I was always asking for help, what good does that do? It shows that I can't do something on my own and need my hand held like some baby."
Leon sighed as he folded his hands together between his knees.
"I get it. I do. Wanting to make your leader proud and show how good you are, but we're a team here. No one is by themselves. You're only so good as your team is and if you're not doing well then that's a reflection on us," he said.
"Oh god, are you guys getting in trouble because of me?" You asked, looking at him horrified that you were possibly making things hard for your team.
"No, no, I mean. . . We're a team for a reason. You have to lean on us and trust us so when we need to, we can lean on you and trust you. If you need help studying or practicing outside of classes, I'll help you. That's why I'm here. It can be hard to ask for help in any situation cause it means you're admitting to a weakness, but that's okay. That's how we get stronger as individuals and as a team," Leon said.
You nod with a sigh. "I have two weeks to get better before I officially am asked to leave. I don't know if I can do it on my own," you said. "Can you help me?"
"Of course. I've got your back, Kid," Leon said, giving you a soft smile.
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Chris
The B.S.A.A. was not for rookies, but they needed recruits so here you were. They provided training on weapons, protocol, how to work the gear, basically everything. Because they wanted everyone to be a well oiled machine out in the field, they made sure if you couldn't cut it that you didn't make it out of training. It was life and death and while they needed the hands, they weren't sending people out to die.
The trainers rotated to take classes of trainees. You were lucky enough to get the legendary Chris Redfield for your class leader. He would be teaching everything and making sure that everyone was ready. You had heard of him before, knowing that he was a weathered agent and could almost do anything was daunting.
Which was probably why you tried to avoid him at all costs in one on one situations. He wasn't mean or an ass, but he was intimidating. His stature and history were more than enough to show he knew exactly what he was talking about. You didn't want to feel stupid or embarrass yourself, so you kept him at a distance as you worked almost on your own.
Sure there were classes and work that you were trained in, but just the fear of being the weak link in front of others was hindering you. All of your tests and physical training was mediocre at best. Sure there were people that weren't going to cut it obviously, but you were much closer to their end of the spectrum than the other end that was running circles around you.
It wasn't that you couldn't do it. You could, but sometimes you froze up because your hands did something your mind didn't want to do or nerves made you stutter and stumble over your words. Everyone in the class at least had a background in the military or the police force or FBI or CIA or some other group that was similar to this.
You on the other hand did not. You came from a more technical background rather than a physical one. While you were miles ahead on the written tests, the physical ones were going to kill your career.
So when the notice went out that you were on the chopping block to be let go unless you could prove you were capable of being in the field, you weren't surprised.
Half of you wanted to keep trying, but the other half was telling you to pack up and go. You weren't unique or special, so why bother to continue to try?
It was when you were were working with one of the large guns by the shooting range, that Chris approached you. Before then, you two hadn't said a word to each other outside of the classes or even directly to each other.
So when his large frame took a seat across from you, folding his hands on the table after setting a file next to him, watching you with the gun, you weren't sure what to think.
"Hi," you said, freezing as you looked from the gun to him.
"Y/N, right?" He asked. You nodded as you set the pieces of gun on the table. "Why are you here?"
Oh Jesus, no. Why now? Why here?
"Uh," you said, blinking rapidly as your brain tried to come up with an answer. "Because I wanna help people."
"That's usually the answer I get," he said, sitting back to let his hands drop into his lap. "That or 'to kill bio weapons.' That's also a popular one."
"Yeah?" You said, unsure of what he was getting at.
"But I don't think it's why you're here," Chris said. "Because I think you don't know why you're here." Opening the file, you could see it was all information about you. Your background, schooling, family, credit score, even online usernames. They had everything. "When I was looking through the potential trainee's info, you struck me as odd. It's not exactly an every day thing that we get people who are more tech inclined rather than have a police or military background, but it happens. Usually they wash out though and end up in our research department."
"But I don't want to be in the research department," you said, frowning. Was he going to push you over to that section of the organization? You didn't want to be there though, otherwise you would have applied there.
"Every time I talk to someone and they have the chance to go to research after speaking to them about it, they take it," Chris said. "They figured out they can't cut doing the ground work so they move to a different field, but not you. I see you everyday in training, working your ass off to keep up with everyone and you almost make it. Not quite, but almost. Almost isn't going to cut it out on a mission."
"I know, I just. . . I'm working on it," you said, trying not to sound hateful or rude as your hands started to move on autopilot, putting your gun back together. "I'm really trying and I just can't get over this stupid hump that's holding me back."
"What's that? What's holding you back?" Chris asked.
"Me. I'm holding myself back," you said with a sigh. "I second guess everything because everyone around me has the experience that I don't, but I know I can do it. I just choke when it's time to act."
"I know you have some experience that they don't," Chris said. You nodded, understanding what he was talking about.
"I was a kid when it happened, I could barely call it working experience," you said, pushing the empty magazine into the gun.
"It was for Sherry Birkin," Chris said. "Raccoon City for a 9 year old isn't something to sniff at. From what the reports said, you were by yourself for three days before you made it out."
"Yeah," you said, nodding as you moved to the handgun next, disassembling it easily. "Hid in my apartment till I saw military trucks driving by then ran out."
"You lost your whole family to what we're training you to fight," Chris said, keeping his eyes on your hands as your fingers moved without faltering as you put the gun back together. "You were a kid when that happened. I say it still counts for experience that no one else really has. You know what you're doing with the infected and you know what it's like in the aftermath. We need people who know what it's like so that we can stop it from happening again."
"So what do you propose?" You asked, looking up as you finished putting the handgun back together. "After school training? Tutoring? Or do you want me to be counselor for survivors or shove me off to R and D?"
Chris chuckled as he closed the folder to look up at your face.
"I'm not gonna cut you," he said. "You know what you're doing and you're right. You're hang up is yourself. I'm gonna work with you to get over it. It's probably one the easiest things to work through really."
"You mean I can stay?" You asked, relaxing back into the chair, not even realizing you had grown so tense.
"Yeah. I just watched you take those weapons apart and put them back together in record time without even pausing," he said, pointing to the guns in front of you. "I want to work with you, Y/N. This isn't going to be an easy fight, but I really believe you have what it takes to be a good B.S.A.A. agent."
"Thank you, Sir," you said, smiling softly. "I appreciate that."
"You're welcome. We'll start some one on one combat training tomorrow before class. You're going to be working double what the others are, but it'll be for the best in the long run," he said.
"Whatever it takes, I'll do what I need to," you said.
"Glad to here it. Now, while we're here in the shooting range, let's test your aim."
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vergess · 4 years ago
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@autismserenity​ said: Your tags are the most American thing I’ve ever read, we are truly so screwed here   
May I interest you in a more complete, and more excruciating, explanation of what I spent the last 18 months doing?
It is, I need to emphasize, fucking nasty. Don’t feel obligated, especiallly if you’ve already had A Day(tm).
There’s a lot of disease, a lot of worker abuse including sexual and racial abuse, a fine portion of letting people die for not being white enough for real medical care, all leading to homelessness.
For NDA reasons, because my former employer was just as vile as any tech company has ever been, I cannot be super specific about who I worked for. However, I can say that we handled the records and patient contact for all COVID testing for several states, as well as 2 of the 5 largest metros in the US, and several dozen smaller ones ranging from the approximate population of San Francisco, down to little towns, as well as the testing for several public school systems and at least two government agencies that I am not at liberty to disclose.
I tell you this for a sense of scale. When I say shit like, “my boss was more than happy to let thousands or hundreds of thousands die” I am not exagerrating for effect. We handled hundreds of thousands of tests a week.
Again, I need to emphasize, government agencies. Ones you would know if I named them. Ones everyone in the country knows.
And we were in charge of getting their test results from the already over swamped labs back to the patients, who often were not allowed to quarantine while awaiting results.
The fastest we got our turnaround time to on any consistent basis was about 30 hours. Often it ballooned well into weeks.
There were a number of factors for this, but the big one was always understaffing.
The staff we did have were treated like trash. One of the big selling points of this company is how “trans friendly” it is to work there. That is a lie. Every trans employee on payroll had their dead name displayed to all other staff, and until I personally changed the system setup on my arrival, patient facing trans people’s dead names were displayed to patients.
Remember that thing about “hundreds of thousands of tests a week”?
I was able to change the way patient-facing names were displayed. I was not allowed or able to alter the way internal systems displayed trans people’s names. But I was assured that it’s fine, because once you get a legal name change, you’ll be given new system accounts with your new name!
Your old accounts with your dead name would still be displayed and associated with the new ones though.
This is the “trans friendly” working environment. We were allowed to be out of the closet, as long as we were willing to put up with that. And any attempts to get it altered were the result of those nasty little transgender ingrates not being thankful enough.
Meaning that by asking to use our own fucking names we were already in the disciplinary shitter.
Another big selling point is the ~racial diversity~. The CEO was a man of colour, and so were like four other people on staff!! Wow!!!!!!!
This, too, was laughable.
Once numbers started coming in about the care gap for COVID between English and Spanish speakers, and our Southwestern US service area began to have a separate and brutal backlog just of Spanish speaking patients, my employer encouraged me to interview potential hires who speak spanish.
Fair enough! We all wanted to do our part to help close the already massive mortality gap.
So, I found candidates, did interviews, hired them, trained them, etc. But I don’t speak Spanish. As a result, I appointed 2 assistant managers who do speak Spanish to assist me in managing, you know, like the job name.
So when my super contacted them directly, completely skipping me on the chain of command, and told them to stop all of our Spanish speakers from translating helpful simple messages to send to patients, and instead start translating medical and legal documents, they very reasonably assumed I was in the know and went ahead with it.
TO BE CLEAR, that could have ended my life, theirs, basically everyone involved. Everyone in the company would have been completely fucked. At that point, my subordinates, the people for whom I am wholly responsible, were doing everything from practicing medicine without licenses, to encouraging spanish speaking patients to enter contracts that no one on the fucking executive tier could even read.
The moment I found that out, I and the A.M.s immediately started trying to get actual medical translation services to do our documents. We collected them in a neat folder. We queried translation services. We got quotes. We contacted my super and the CEO, about this over and over again for months. In the late autumn, we received approval for one of the translation services.
The CEO decided at the last minute that having people with no medical or legal training draft medical and legal forms was fine and good actually, and refused to sign the contract or send the documents for translation.
The excuse I received was that the COVID emergency HIPAA relaxations would protect us.
That’s not how that works.
Throughout all of this, Spanish speaking employees were told to either keep doing medical and legal translation work, or lose their jobs.
Oh, did I mention everyone was working between 30 and 80 hours a week, and all of us were marked as “contractors” so the employer could tax evade? Don’t worry, we filed complaints with the labour bureau.
So the entire department was let go, and “rehired” as temps through a temp agency, which because it was a temp agency could keep them marked as contractors regardless of the facts.
This change was presented to all of us, myself included, as the company getting a new accountant to handle payroll.
So if you’re keeping score, we’ve covered racism, queerphobia, medical negligence, fraud, and a frankly uncountable number of deaths.
Let’s talk about the sheer negligence towards employees ourselves. If you’ve worked in near-death medical care before, or any number of emergency services really, you know that the standard benefit suite includes either a dedicated therapist for your staff, or access to peer support groups with other emergency and medical servants through your employer’s benefits program.
Do you know what our mental health benefits were for this company?
The CEO got on a fucking zoom call with us all one (1) time, and said that if we were feeling suicidal or traumatized by the work, to talk to him about it, and he would be our therapist.
Do you know how many people per fucking day we had to contact only to be told they had already died because our understaffing delays killed them? He doesn’t. He never listened when we told him.
But let me put the cherry on the “Oh baby, you can talk to me, oooh” sundae.
Anyone who “looked” or “sounded” female, regardless of actual or assigned gender, was subject to constant flirtations and slimy, overly personal compliments about our appearances. Fortunately, at 3 levels removed from the CEO (Executives > Department heads > Managers > Employees), most of the people under my management had relatively little contact with him.
I was not nearly so lucky.
The CEO of this company has a watersports (urination) fetish. I know this, because he told me so and attempted to get me to join him in it. I have no idea how many other people in the company he did this to. I mean, what the fuck was I supposed to do, risk losing my job to find out? I have a fucking family to support, people.
Not that it mattered.
Eventually, all of these abuses became too much for my subordinates. Productivity fell off a cliff. Delays were getting worse and worse. In a medical emergency like this, delays=deaths.
So, like a fucking idiot, when the department heads reached out to me to ask what they could do to improve productivity, I shot down their frankly insulting suggestion of raffling a $20 amazon gift card to patient facing employees, and instead suggested a very simple, “enroll us with a peer support group, every single person in this department has PTSD from working in this pandemic.”
They were confused by my assertion of PTSD. I was asked to compile a document of complaints, concerns, and weaknesses in our patient facing services.
I and the A.M.s did so. It was roughly 40 pages long, with each page given a known problem, the reasons why it was a problem, and some potential solutions that might inspire further solutions or be able to be implemented. We submitted it. There was no response.
A week passed.
I had been working 80 hour weeks for most of a year. I hadn’t even been able to take weekends. I took my first sick day, in a company with “unlimited vacation days.”
I received a call at 3PM.
I had been fired for “differences in communitcation.” If you’ve ever seen that “Problem Women of Color in the workplace” chart? Yeah.
So had most of my department, including every transgender member of the department, and several of our extremely limited in supply Spanish speakers, who were presumed to be “on my side.”
Some of them, I barely even knew beyond the formalities of the job, and they were punished anyway.
I lost my insurance, and as a result I lost access to my medications.
But the real problem? I lost my house. And not due to lack of payment.
I lost my house, because when I got the job we waited 6 months for stability’s sake, and then readied to move out of the area. I got a mortgage on the basis of my employer’s written guarantee to the bank that I would continue to be employed for the next year at a minimum.
With the mortgage approval in hand, we entered a sales contract on our existing home.
We got and accepted an offer just days before I was fired. To keep our house meant paying a 25,000 dollar broken contract fine. We didn’t have that. We had a 10% down payment for a modest fucking place in a cheaper area, which is less than half that.
But without a job, my mortgage approval was also voided, meaning we couldn’t buy a house either.
All of a sudden, we were homeless during the plague, because my employer wrote and signed a letter to a bank guaranteeing my future employ, and then changed his mind when too many people died due to his own negligence.
Oh yeah, one last thing: the job paid less than Pandemic unemployment Assistance.
...After that, well, it’s homelessness until just last month. I... if you’ve never been homeless it’s.
It blurs. Everything is happening constantly, except for all the ways in which you are endlessly, mind breakingly bored. Bored, overloaded, and always uncomfortable.
Obviously my health would have declined regardless. Malnutrition, stress, everything.
But I was also unmedicated.
It was hell. I was in hell. I don’t know if I can recover from it, to be honest.
I bounced back from being homeless as a child. Children are as resilient as they are stupid, and the monstrosity of homelessness was little more than a vaguely remembered loathing and a panicky fear that it would ever happen again.
A child who is dying is worthy of sympathy, even if it is meaningless coos from passers by. If they have family, they may be able to rely on them too.
An adult with the indignity to die homeless and crippled, according to the average passer by, is worthy only of disgust and perhaps even punishment for being such a worthless waste.
My reward for nearly killing myself in a desperate bid to help stem the tide of COVID was the destruction of not only my life, not only my entire family’s lives, but the lives of every single family of every single employee who worked with me.
And you know what’s worse?
Each one of us still did more to limit the lethal impact of COVID than the entire united states government.
It breaks something in you, going through that.
It makes you realize that hope is a fool’s game.
But, I have ever been a fool, and so, I continue to play.
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hopelikethemoon · 5 years ago
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Moonbeam (Ezra x Reader) [smut] {Werewolf AU}
Title: Moonbeam  Rating: Explicit  Length: 6,000 Warnings: Non-graphic description of bodily injury and smut (cunnilingus, doggy style sex, mentions of masturbation).   Reader Details: To the best of my knowledge, there are no references to Reader’s physical details, beyond being a bisexual woman. I tried my best to keep it as vague as possible.  Notes: So, this is the second lengthy Ezra fic I’ve written this month, but the only one that will see the light of day. Shout-out to @rzrcrst​ for pre-reading this for me.  Werewolves are my niche and I’m absolutely incapable of writing them without creating the lore around their existence. Ezra exudes big werewolf energy (P.S. Javier exudes big vampire energy) and since I’m not really in a fandom until I write a werewolf AU, I present you all with my very own version of space werewolves.  Depending on audience reactions, there might be more of this story to tell. 
Taglist:@princessbatears @djarin-junk @absurdthirst @hdlynn @legally-a-bastard @opheliaelysia @heather-lynn @sabinemorans @crazinessgraveyardsandcartoons​ @pedrospunk​ @maybege​ @chews-erotically​ @katlikeme​ @lose-eels​ @youmeanmybrain​ @theindiealto​ @irishleesh93​
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You had heard the rumors, but never once had you believed that they were true. A werewolf living on a moon? Werewolves were the stuff of fairytales. They weren’t real. 
They weren’t real. 
But someone who had come before you had clearly considered the potential. Why else had someone thought to set up a cleverly concealed steel trap?
The pain was overwhelming. Worse than anything you’d ever encountered before. You were lucky your leg hadn’t snapped in two — your heavy coveralls were your saving grace. 
You howled out in pain as you dropped to your knees, trying in vain to pry the trap off your leg. The sharp teeth had bit through the fabric of your coveralls and the dark stain forming told you everything you needed to know about your future. If you didn’t get the trap off soon, you were going to bleed out. 
And then you’d become a smorgasbord for whatever creatures lived on this moon. There had to be something terrifying in the forest that had convinced everyone to believe in werewolves. 
“Kriff.” You swore, your arms throbbing with effort as you tried yet again to free your leg from the trap. You dropped back onto your ass, before sinking down onto the soft mossy ground beneath you. 
At least the stars were out. You could see them through the bareboned trees as they swayed above you in the evening breeze. 
The pain wasn’t so bad at a certain point, most likely because of the blood loss. That would do it. That woozy, tingling sensation that had your vision blurring at the edges. 
A branch snapped nearby, sending a dull spike of nerves through you. You hadn’t made a study of the flora and fauna on the moon — but that certainly didn’t sound like a small creature. 
“Please don’t eat me.” You mumbled, tilting your head to look in the direction of the sound. The filtered moonlight from the crescent moon above barely illuminated the forest around you and your flashlight was just out of reach. 
You heard the sound of another branch snapping under foot, “Hello?” 
All men are beasts in their own right, but the man that stepped into your line of view seemed an unlikely candidate. 
“I do believe that trap was not set to ensnare one such as you,” He drawled out with a honey-sweet cadence as he moved towards you.
“I don’t think it’s broken,” You offered weakly, trying to sit up as he knelt beside you, but your vision blurred harshly and you sank back onto the ground. 
“How fortuitous you are that I take my evening stroll through this very copse of trees.” He mused, effortlessly freeing your leg from the steel trap. 
“How—“
“You have lost a considerable amount of blood, little lamb. I would be most obliged to offer shelter and succor. These woods are no place to remain alone. One can never know what creatures fresh blood may attract.”
You exhaled shakily as you stared up at the stars above you. He was right — you’d never make it back to your transport alone on your leg. “Promise not to kill me?” You cracked, tilting your head to look at him.
He flashed you a toothy grin, “I promise.” 
“What is your name?” You asked as he hoisted you into his arms, with surprising ease. 
“Ezra.” He told you, looking down at you. “And what is your name, little lamb?”
“Ezra.” You repeated softly, resting your cheek against his chest as he carried you through the forest. You gave him your own name, feeling a strange warmth wash through you when he repeated it back in that beguiling tone of his. 
“Am I right in my assumption that you are the occupant of the transport that arrived just two nights ago.” Ezra questioned quietly. 
“Depends on who is asking.” You jested lightly, “I am. Reconnaissance mission for a mining program.” 
“Ah,” His grip on you seemed to tighten. “Another greedy venture to strip the moon of its precious lunaxium?” 
“I can only assume.” You glanced up at him, “Above my pay grade.”
“You should leave within the week.” Ezra remarked, keeping his sharp gaze focused ahead of him. “It won’t be safe for you.”
“You don’t believe in that stupid story, do you?” You questioned, “Isn’t that just a tale to keep prospectors from coming here?”
“I once believed that.” Ezra muttered, before falling silent for the remainder of the journey to his humble abode. 
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You had so many questions for your serendipitous savior, but he tended to your leg in relative silence and then left you to rest in his bed. 
From what you could tell, Ezra had fashioned a home for himself out of a crashed transport vessel that you could only assume had been his own at one time. Perhaps he’d been like you once upon a time, a drifter picking up odd jobs and landing in bad situations. 
Ezra was handsome. The moonlight hadn’t tricked you into thinking that — in the garish light of his bedroom, he was still just as striking. Warm eyes, long lashes, a mess of chestnut hair with a shock of blonde, and a wiry frame. 
How long had he been living on Lykaios? Had his vessel crashed on a wayward venture and he��d had no one to come looking for him? Not that anyone would come looking for you either. 
Maybe Shiva. They would’ve probably come looking for your corpse just to get what was owed to them. 
It was a damn miracle that Ezra had stumbled upon you. How had he even found you? The woods all looked the same. 
Sleep came slowly and fitfully. Despite the shot Ezra had given you, your leg was agonizingly painful if you moved at all. Fortunately, there were books within reach — well-loved, with worn pages. You wondered if they had been Ezra’s to start with, or if he’d found someone’s abandoned transport. 
He had excellent taste. 
You hadn’t seen a stack of Chaucer since you were much younger. His copy of Canterbury Tales had been opened so many times the spine wilted in your palm. 
Ezra announced himself with a short knock, before sliding open the durasteel door. “I expected you to be asleep. You had quite the evening, little lamb.”
“I tried.” You made a note of the page you were on before closing the book and sitting it aside on the bedside shelf. “I got distracted by… your collection of novels.”
He chuckled, leaning against the doorframe. “I see you’re getting acquainted with my old oppo Chaucer.” 
“I’ll have you know, Chaucer is my friend.” You quipped, drumming your fingers against the cover of the book. “It was nice to retrace old lines.” 
“He’s an acquired taste,” Ezra tucked his hands behind his back and stepped into the room. “Youth may outrun the old, but not outwit.”
You smiled a little, “Earn what you can since everything’s for sale.” 
Ezra chuckled, shaking his head. “And how true that is.” He gestured grandly towards your leg, “But oftentimes it comes with folly.”
“Is that how you ended up here?” You questioned, “I wanted to ask you last night, but with everything...” 
He shrugged, dragging over a trunk and perching on the edge of it. “Five years ago I stood where you stand. They were looking for a new form of clean energy — lunaxium seemed like the answer.” Ezra pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek, looking away from you then. “This place is filled with hidden dangers. Once you can put weight on your leg, I encourage you to leave.” 
“You could come with me.”
Ezra’s gaze snapped towards you, “No.” 
Your brows furrowed together, “Alright.” 
“I need to change your bandages,” Ezra exhaled heavily as he rose from the trunk, he turned his back to you as he moved to retrieve the roll of gauze from a shelf. 
Your eyes widened as you spotted a twisted scar that ran up the back of his neck into his hairline and vanished down the back of his shirt. You hadn’t noticed it last night while he fussed over you. 
“Ezra, why can’t you leave?” 
Ezra sighed heavily as he sat down on the foot of the bed, drawing your leg into his lap. “It’s home.” He answered simply, unwinding the bandages. “I know it doesn’t look like much, but this—“ He gestured around him. “It’s mine.” 
“And you haven’t gone stir crazy after five years?” You questioned, grimacing as he prodded at your wound. “I was gone for two months on a solo mission once and I don’t think I’ve ever been so glad to Shiva again. Even if they did rob me blind during liar’s dice.” 
“You get used to solitude.” Ezra glanced at you briefly, before turning his attention to the task at hand. He cleaned the area around the wound, before wrapping fresh bandaging around it. “Once or twice a year, someone like yourself arrives and…”
“And the mythical werewolf eats them?” You jested, sinking back against the mattress as he laid your leg back down on the bed. 
“Something like that.” He offered dryly, eyeing at you warily. “There’s a full moon in eleven days. I would advise you not to wait around to discover whether or not it is simply lore.” 
Your brows knit together and you sat up, arms curled around your waist. “You say that like there’s a chance it is true. You’ve been here for five years… What have you seen?” 
“I have things I must attend to away from here.” Ezra said abruptly, “Rest and I’ll return in a few hours to escort you back to your transport.”
Ezra did little to assuage that sinking sensation that told you that maybe just maybe there were werewolves on Lykaios. 
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“Before you settled here, what did you do?” You questioned, leaning into Ezra’s side as he kept a firm hand coiled around you for support. “Your transport didn’t offer many clues, outside of your exquisite taste in literature.”
 Ezra chuckled, looking at you from the corner of his eyes. “I was a harvester. A damn good one, at that. But seasons get hard, tides turn, allegiances bend. Fell into a bit of a snare with an associate and had to dig my way out.” 
 “I think we’ve all been there before,” You shook your head. “I enjoy gambling. Nasty habit.” You admitted. “I wasn’t meant to be the one to come to Lykaois. My friend — the one I mentioned before — had been assigned to this mission. They lost it in a dicey bet with me.” 
 “Dicey?”
“What gambler plays honorably?” You countered. “I cheated.” 
“And this friend of yours was meant to come here instead?” 
You nodded, “Tried to win it back right up until the moment I took off.” Shiva had been furious that they’d lost and even more furious knowing that you hadn’t played fair. “I’ve heard the stories about Lykaois and I wanted to find out if they were true.”
“One shouldn’t go looking for the stuff of myth.” Ezra drawled out. “In my erstwhile profession, I had a certain predilection for danger. It can be damning.” 
“Look, I don’t mean to pry, but… is there a reason you can’t leave?” You stopped abruptly, causing him to stumble slightly. “My transport has life support for three. If there’s someone else you’ve got here — if that’s why you don’t want to leave.” 
You could feel Ezra’s gaze bore into your skin. 
“I’m not leaving.” You told him, when he made no attempt to answer your question. “I’ll take a day or two to rest, but I’m finishing what I’ve started.” 
“It’s not safe.” 
“Then why don’t you leave?” You pushed back. “If it’s so dangerous, why aren’t you trying to leave?”
Ezra worked his jaw slowly, before looking towards the sky and sighing heavily. “I’m not the only inhabitant on this moon. Some have been here for much longer than me and they…” He shook his head slowly. 
You curled your fingers around his forearm, turning to stare at him. “They’re what?” 
“Little lamb, be glad you were found by me and not one of them.” Ezra gritted out, holding your gaze. “Consider your luck and leave before it runs out.” 
He wasn’t going to relent. Whatever secrets Lykaois held, he wasn’t going to reveal them to you. 
“Will you at least let me give you a few of my books?” You questioned, squeezing his arm tight as you used him to support your weight. 
“Depends on what you’re offering.” Ezra retorted, “But we need to keep moving. You need to get your leg up.” 
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 Ezra was entranced with your small collection of books. Like a man starved, he snatched up every book — flipping through its pages with reverence. You couldn’t imagine spending five years without getting your hands on a new book. 
You thought he would abruptly leave once he had you safely tucked into your transport — but he lingered. 
“Nothing in the world is single; all things by a law divine in one another's being mingle. Why not I with thine?” Ezra read, the words falling from his tongue with a richness that your mind had never been able to give them. 
“Shelley?” You questioned, tilting your head to try to get a look at the book he was holding. 
“Indeed.” He closed the book and held it to his chest. “Our dear friend Percy had quite a way with words. Overshadowed — and rightfully so — by his beloved wife.” 
“I haven’t been able to get my hands on Frankenstein. Not since I was maybe fourteen.” You admitted. 
Ezra snapped his fingers, “You should’ve spoken up, little lamb. Mary has kept me company on many lonely nights.”
“I will part with Percy,” You told him, hobbling towards him on your wounded leg. “But only if you are willing to part with Mary.” 
He hummed thoughtfully, still clutching the book to his chest. “I will have to consult with her.” Ezra told you with a soft smile, “I have no doubt that she is as tired of my company as anyone would be.” 
You reached out and covered his hand with yours, “I will let you reunite the couple for just one night. But you have to promise me that you’ll bring me Frankenstein.”
Ezra’s gaze lowered to where your hand was on his, a faint color rising in his cheeks. “Promise me you’ll leave once books have been exchanged.” He covered your hand with his other hand, squeezing gently. “If you stay, I won’t be able to protect you.”
“Protect me from what?”
“Me.” Ezra breathed out, his dark eyes setting on yours. “I will bring you lunaxium that you can take back to whomever hired you. Warn them from this place and forget it.” 
“It’s not that simple.” You found yourself leaning into him for support, “I have to complete testing and analysis. Reports. I can’t just take back a lump of lunaxium and hope for the best.”
A growl like sound rose up in the back of his throat, “Then I’ll do the reports for you. I know more than I ever cared to know of lunaxium and this godsforsaken rock. You are not to venture beyond this transport.”
You pulled your hand away from his, “I’ll do as I please, thank you.” 
Ezra gritted his teeth, “Do you have a death wish? Now isn’t the time for obstinance. Not this close to a full moon.” 
You blinked at him, “Are you…?”
His expression faltered, fingers twitching against the book before he held it out to you, “Keep it and leave tonight. Please.” 
“No.” You shook your head, “I want to know.” 
“Among these stories,” He gestured to your shelf of books, “I’m afraid it’s an unimpressive tale.”
“I’m always looking to hear new stories.” You told him, grimacing as you put too much weight down on your leg. “Shit.”
“Please sit,” Ezra urged, moving swiftly to curl his arm around your waist as he guided you towards the makeshift sofa you’d made from a weapon crate and oversized pillows. 
He sank down onto the opposite end, hands covering his face as he let out a heavy sigh. “Five years ago, I was just like you. Starry-eyed, devil-may-care.”
“Is that how you see me?”
“Yes.” He glanced at you from the corner of his eye. “I came here looking for lunaxium like every ill-fated prospector before me. The rumors, the legend, the myth — they made for a tantalizing adventure.” His expression sobered as he stared straight ahead. “It’s painful. Muscles tear, bones shatter, skin stretches.”
Your heart clenched and your stomach roiled at the thought. 
“They say the first was a corruption. There are wolves among us, lurking beyond the trees — fearful in their own right of what looms above them. Someone played with fate and made a monster that even Shelley couldn’t have imagined. Lunaxium has no effect on humans, but it calms the beast for awhile.”
Without even thinking about it, you carefully shifted onto your good knee, letting your leg rest over the side of the sofa as you leaned towards Ezra. “This scar.” You said as you gingerly brushed your fingers over the back of his neck. 
He tensed, fingers clenching and unclenching in his lap. “I was attacked on my second night here.” He confessed, exhaling slowly. “Forgive me, little lamb. It has been a right smart spell since I have felt another’s touch.”
“You shouldn’t have to live like that, Ezra.” You whispered, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck. “Isolating yourself… Maybe there’s a cure.”
“I can’t leave Lykaois.” He admitted, closing his eyes as he relaxed under the gentle touch of your fingers. “We’re reliant on the lunaxium and whatever this moon is cursed with. I would go mad.”
“Has anyone ever tried to leave?”
“There are stories.” Ezra turned to look at you. “I appreciate your offer. If it weren’t for what I’ve become, I would accept it without hesitation. But I would rather perish in the solitude of my transport than lose my mind somewhere among the stars.”
You trailed your fingers from his hair, along the curve of his jaw. “I could come back.”
“And put yourself in danger twice over?”
“I put myself in danger every time I venture out on a harvest with a ragtag team that might turn their weapons on me. Life is a risk, Ezra.” You held his gaze as you brushed your thumb over his bottom lip. “I can be your connection to the world you’ve lost. Name it, anything — I’ll bring it back here to you.”
“It’s dangerous.” Ezra seemed compelled by the offer. “The others… they’ve been here long enough to lose what’s left of their humanity.”
“Then protect me.” You brushed your fingers through the hair that fell against his forehead. 
“There’s so much I miss,” He admitted, his expression matching the way his voice broke as he held your gaze. “Five years… it’s a lifetime to spend alone.” He curled his fingers around your hand, rubbing his thumb against the center of your palm. “I don’t want you to risk yourself for me.” 
“I’m not afraid.” You told him, and as foolish as it was — you weren’t. 
Ezra’s gaze flickered between your eyes and your lips and your breath caught somewhere in the back of your throat when he started to lean towards you.  
He wasn’t the only one who had gone years without knowing a lover’s touch. You played things close to the chest, avoided anything that could ensnare you — except for him. 
For all of his warm charm, there was an underlying current of danger that had you feeling like a moth to the flame. He was a monster. A creature made from a curse you hadn’t even believed in.  
“Ezra.” You breathed out, leaning in until your nose brushed against his. 
He petted his fingers over your cheek as his breath mingled with yours, “You’re hurt.” 
“It’s just my leg.” Your lips were a hair’s breadth away from his, “I think we both need this.” 
Ezra curled his fingers around the back of your head as his lips crashed against yours. You groaned against his lips and his tongue took the opportunity to slip into your mouth, curling against yours. 
He kissed like a man possessed, desperate and all consuming. He hauled you into his lap like you weighed nothing, his hands clawing at your back, your ass, your arms — anywhere he could reach. 
He was starved for a connection like this. You had sensed it in the way he gravitated towards you, the way he lingered, the gentle touches as he mended your leg. 
You hissed softly as you shifted your weight in his lap, trying not to put pressure on your leg, but it was hard not to in that position. 
Ezra cupped your cheek, drawing your focus to his face as his other hand curled tight around your hip. “Do you trust me, little lamb?” He questioned, waiting until you nodded before he started to guide you back lengthways on the sofa. 
You scraped your fingernails over his scalp as you slid your fingers through his hair. His knee slotted in between your thighs as he draped himself over you. 
Greedy hands grabbed at the back of his shirt, pulling it up to reveal new skin to touch. He was touch starved. Every brush of your fingers against his untouched skin made him rut against your thigh. 
Ezra’s mouth worked down the column of your throat, teeth lightly scraping as his tongue darted out to taste your skin. His own hands sliding under your shirt, skimming over your ribs. 
You’d missed the feeling of large, rough hands against your skin. It had been more than a few cycles since you’d fallen into bed with a man. A year, maybe two, since you’d been with anyone at all. 
“Ezra.” You breathed out as his mouth moved over your covered breast, his tongue seeking out your nipple through the soft fabric. 
His eyes snapped to meet yours, pupils blown with arousal as he let out a ragged breath. “I can smell you.” Ezra murmured, his tongue flicking out to tease the peak of your nipple, the fabric darkened from his mouth. “You’re soaked, aren’t you little lamb?” He questioned, a hand wandering down your side, curling around your thigh. 
You felt your chest and cheeks burn with a heady mix of arousal and embarrassment. You were slick. You could feel your underwear clinging to your cunt, desire fueled solely by the man crowded onto the sofa with you. 
“In my bed,” Ezra whispered, untangling the hand you had in his hair. He brought your hand to his lips, inhaling deeply before wrapping his lips around your first two fingers. 
An unabashed moan escaped you, your hips lifting off the sofa as you ground yourself against his knee. You should’ve been ashamed — he had known that you’d tried to put yourself to sleep by burying your face in his pillow and your hand between your thighs. 
Ezra released your fingers with a wet pop, his nostrils flaring as he held your gaze. “You didn’t come, did you? Did la petite mort evade you?” 
“Yes.” You whispered, tracing your dampened fingers over his scruffy cheek. “I was so close, but it wasn’t enough.” 
He smirked at you as he pressed his knee firmly against you. “May I?”
“Please.” You nodded, sinking back against the sofa as Ezra moved down your body. Skilled fingers worked at the fastenings of your pants, peeling the heavy fabric down your thighs before tossing them aside. 
He inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of you, “Sit up, little lamb.” Ezra told you, sinking onto the ground in front of you. “Look at you.” He drawled as your thighs parted, your injured leg draped over his shoulder. 
You gasped quietly as he stroked his thumb over the damp spot on your underwear, barely brushing over your clit — but even that mere touch was enough to make you tremble. 
“Did you think of me?” Ezra questioned, peeling the fabric to the side, sweeping his fingers between your slick folds. 
“Maybe.” You retorted, biting down on your bottom lip as you watched him lick your arousal from his fingers. 
A quiet growl rose up the back of his throat as he leaned in between your thighs. He held your underwear to the side as he lapped at you, his tongue sweeping between your folds. 
Your fingers slid into his hair, grip tightening as he traced the tip of his tongue over your clit. 
“Do you need these?” Ezra mumbled, tugging at your underwear. 
“No. No.” You shook your head, pitching your hips towards him. 
Ezra effortlessly tore away the crotch of your underwear, his mouth descending upon your tender flesh. His tongue delved between your folds, thrusting into your slick core. He grabbed at your thigh, holding you steady as he turned his attention to your clit. 
You cried out as he wrapped his lips around that throbbing bundle of nerves. He sucked lightly at it, swirling his tongue over it as his fingers pressed into your cunt. 
He didn’t let up, his tongue working over your clit as he worked his fingers in and out of you. His fingers were deliciously thick, dragging in and out of you, brushing over that sweet spot within you that made your entire core quake. 
Ezra was good. 
His name was heavy on your tongue as you shattered, your inner walls clenching around his fingers, thighs trapping his face between your legs. 
“I need…” You panted out, breath hitching as he curled his fingers within you. “Fuck!” You shouted, nearly ripping his hair out as you felt a dam break as your vision blurred from the sudden burst of molten desire. Ezra was undeterred, his tongue sweeping up every drop of you. 
“More.” You urged, writhing beneath him. “Ezra, please.” 
“I might hurt you.” Ezra warned you, dragging his hands down your thighs as he nipped at the soft flesh of your inner thigh. “I don’t… I don’t know if I control myself.” 
“Forget about my leg,” You tugged at his hair. “And fuck me.” 
Ezra squeezed your hip and barked out, “On your knees.” 
You waited until he let go of you before you gracelessly flopping over on the sofa, knees planted firmly on the cushion as you grabbed at the metal shaft that made up the back of the sofa. 
“You smell so fucking good like this,” Ezra breathed out, hands sliding over your bare hips as he crowded close to you. “It’s been so long.” He pressed his lips to the back of your neck, his breath hot against your skin. 
“Same.” You laughed breathlessly, reaching behind you to grab at his hair. “I don’t break easy.” 
“You’ve never fucked a werewolf before.” Ezra murmured, curling his fingers loosely around your throat, keeping you pinned back against his chest as his cock slid between your oversensitive folds. “Have you?”
“Not yet.” You gritted out, curling your fingers around his forearm, thankful that he was able to keep you upright. He was strong, but the fingers wrapped around your throat were gentle. 
The head of his cock caught against your entrance and Ezra’s hips bucked forward, pressing into you. 
You moaned, completely caught up in the sensation of his thick cock filling you. The stretch was just this side of too much — especially in this angle. 
Ezra pulled back, his cock nearly slipping from you entirely before slamming back into you. His thrusts were brutal — all that strength and power that was hidden in his wiry build. He was reaching spots no one else had ever hit. 
He released his tight grip on your hip, slipping his hand between your thighs to stroke your aching clit. You clenched around him in response, making him feel even thicker as he drove into you. Again and again. 
Your nails bit into his forearm, leaving crescent moon shapes in his skin as you clung to him. You were so close, perched right on the precipice of another orgasm. 
“Come.” Ezra’s fingers curled around your jaw, his lips close to your ear. “I want to feel you come. The sweet clench of your cunt around my cock.” He mouthed a row of kisses down your neck, growling against the crook of your neck as your body obeyed him. 
He didn’t relent, even as your body pulsed around his cock. “Fuck.” He grunted out, his teeth scraping your skin. 
“Ezra.” You moaned out, your eyes falling closed as you basked in the overwhelming sensation of him fucking into you. 
His grip loosened at your jaw as he started to slide out of you, but you reached behind you, grabbing at his ass — desperately trying to keep him right there. 
Something snapped. Some frayed cord of control that he had been clinging to. 
You grabbed at the back of the sofa for support as he roughly grabbed at your hips. He bottomed out once, twice, three times before he growled out your name and came. 
Ezra curled his arm around your waist, keeping you pinned to him as he rearranged the two of you. He kept the softening length of his cock buried within you as he sank down onto the sofa with you resting back against his chest. 
“You’re very strong,” You mumbled, scratching your nails through the hair on his forearm as you looked down at the arm he had tightly curled around you. 
He huffed, a throaty chuckle escaping him as he rested his forehead against your shoulder. “One perk of this damnable curse.” He brushed his thumb over your stomach gently. 
“Is the sex a perk too?” You questioned, closing your eyes as you leaned back against him. “Because, I’m not sure I want to leave at all now.”
“I wouldn’t know.” Ezra kissed your shoulder. “I’ve kept my distance. From the others.” He sighed heavily. “You don’t want to become like me, little lamb.”
“I never said that I do.” You pointed out. 
“No, I suppose you didn’t.” He shifted beneath you, whispering a quick apology when you whimpered at the movement. 
“I’m okay.” You promised, trailing your fingers up the side of his thigh. “Overwhelmed.”
“Two days.”
“Hmm?”
“You can safely stay for two more days, but then you must leave. It gets harder to maintain this the nearer we draw to the full moon.” Ezra told you, nuzzling at the crook of your neck. 
“Two days.” You agreed solemnly. 
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Ezra returned just after nightfall with a stack of research notes and his well-loved copy of Frankenstein. 
“Did you know she dedicated herself to getting her husband’s works published.” You mused, looking up from the notes on lunaxium to watch Ezra as he consumed Percy’s book of poems. 
“Hmm?”
“Mary.” You explained. “As accomplished as she was, she also worked to ensure her husband’s writing would be read.”
“Indeed.” Ezra tucked the red ribbon into the page he was reading and sat it aside. “I believe their romance blossomed on her mother’s grave, no? A rather odd pair.”
“His works are dreadfully romantic, for such a macabre couple.” You pointed out, flipping over another page of notes, copying down a comment on your own notations. 
“The sunlight claps the earth, and the moonbeams kiss the sea: what are all these kissings worth, if thou kiss not me?” Ezra recited, drumming his fingers against the cover. “I had forgotten that was dear Percy.” He sank back against the wall, pushing fingers through his unruly hair. “I miss the sea.” 
“I’d bring it back in a bottle if I could.” You told him, chewing on your bottom lip. “I meant what I said before. I can come back.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, moonbeam.” He let the word slip off his tongue like it was sugar-sweet. “You will grow bored of the to-and-fro.” He pursed his lips. “Though I am much appreciative of the offer. You should go back to your friends.” 
“I have one friend in this galaxy Ezra and oftentimes I’m certain they want to ring my neck.” You shook your head. “You deserve to have a friend too.” 
“I will never be able to leave,” He reminded you. “And you can never stay.”
“There’s still an in-between.” Your brows rose hopefully. “A new moon, perhaps? When the moon is there, but not visible.”
“You’re persistent.”
“I’ve been told that before.” You smirked a little. “What would you like me to bring back when I return after the full moon?”
Ezra exhaled heavily, pinching at the bridge of his nose. “I would be forever indebted to you if you might get your hands on a copy of War & Peace. Dreadfully long, but I hunger for some longevity in my literature.”
“Done.” 
He snapped his fingers, “Cheese.” 
You arched a brow. “I have cheese.”
“Real cheese?” Ezra corrected. “That wretched aero cheese is nauseating.” He blanched, watching you as you rose from your seat. 
You hobbled out of the room, into the corridor where the hyperfreeze unit was mounted in the interior wall beside the coolant system. You returned moments later with a block of Reggianito. 
“You’re in luck.” You said, sinking down onto the floor beside him. “I have a hook-up on Sector Block G7.” 
Ezra broke off a piece and popped it into his mouth, sinking back against the wall with a satisfied moan. “It will be safe for you to return in a fortnight.” 
You slapped his leg playfully, “You’ll let me return if I bring cheese?”
He grinned and continued. “If you come then, you’ll have a fortnight to stay, should you choose to.” 
“That should give me enough time to find War & Peace for you and settle my debts.” 
Ezra took another bite of cheese, before passing it back to you. “Do they still make those honeysticks?” He questioned. “Little tubes with honey collected from…” He squinted, “I can’t remember the planet.”
“I can look.” You wrapped the cheese back in the cloth, before sitting it aside. “How will you be when I return?” You questioned. 
“A little worse for wear,” Ezra shrugged a shoulder, resting his hand on your thigh. “The lunaxium helps.”
“Is it… is it like a drug?”
“I suppose.” Ezra dragged his teeth over his bottom lip. “There’s this hunger,” He explained, knocking his fist against his sternum. “This clawing sensation. It gets worse closer to the full moon. I lose my mind.” He shook his head. “I tried to wean myself off two years ago. Just to feel something.”
“What happened?” You rested your hand over his. 
“It triggered the beast.” He answered with a frown. “Middle of the cycle and violent.” Ezra tilted his head to look at you. “I don’t want to hurt you.” 
“You won’t.” You shook your head slowly, interlacing your fingers with his. “Maybe this will be good for you. Help you keep your humanity.”
“How so?”
“The others, the ones that were already here.” Your brows furrowed together as you turned to stare at him, “Did they lose their humanity because they lost touch with other humans?”
Ezra blinked, “You, moonbeam, are a clever one.”
“I read a lot.” You smiled at him, “And you’re  in luck — I have always loved monster stories.”
362 notes · View notes
batterycityghoul · 5 years ago
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Wolves Are Coming For Me (Eric Northman/Reader)
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Summary: “You had always preferred your solitude and a week away from the bullshit that had plagued your life lately seemed almost too good to be true.  And that's exactly what it turned out to be.” 
Word Count: 1.7k
Author’s Note: This is kind of sad, but I prompted this to myself off my Halloween Prompt List. So, I used ‘alone in a cabin in the woods and there are strange noises outside’ from the scenario list and ‘”don’t open the door”’ from the dialogue list. Part of my True Blood ‘verse in which reader is the middle Stackhouse child. 
Masterlist / Until We Meet Again / This House Is Falling Apart
After Bon Temps was terrorized by a vampire-hating serial killer and a delusional maenad, you were more than ready to get away for a while.  
You were still reeling from not only your grandmother's death, but Godric's as well. It felt like you were losing people left and right and even though your agent understood, you were still fast approaching a deadline with very little to show for it.  
Jason had balked at the idea of you spending a week by yourself in a cabin in the woods, but Sookie had wished you luck. She knew just how hard you had taken Godric's death and after getting rid of the maenad, you were looking forward to trying to process at least a tiny bit of your grief during your self-appointed isolation.  
The only people who knew about your plans were Jason, Sookie, Tara, and Sam. You had asked Tara and Sam to keep an eye on your brother and sister for you while you were gone. Both of them had a horrible penchant for landing themselves right into the middle of whatever shit was going on, whether in Bon Temps or in Dallas, so you had left Sam and Tara with explicit instructions to call you if they seemed like they were going to make another dumbass mistake that would prompt another supernatural problem.  
Your agent had been nearly overjoyed that you were attempting to finish your book. She had practically offered to pay the rental fee for the cabin herself, but you had turned her down.  
You felt an odd sense of excitement while you were buying enough supplies to last you a week. You had always preferred your solitude and a week away from the bullshit that had plagued your life lately seemed almost too good to be true.  
And that's exactly what it turned out to be.  
The first night in the cabin passed with hardly any disturbances. If you noticed an odd sound outside, then you were going to chalk it up to the wind. You could hear the howling echoes of it as you tried to force yourself to go to sleep. You shivered at the sound of it carrying through the house, prompting you to pull the comforter tighter around you as if fighting off a chill.  
The next day, you thought a walk through the surrounding woods would be nice and peaceful. You were suffering from an annoying bout of writer's block and needed to get out of your own head for a while. Enjoying a bit of fresh air and sunlight filtered through the trees sounded like exactly what you needed.  
You only made it a few steps into the woods before you noticed something smeared on one of the tree trunks. You frowned at it, a sinking feeling in your gut that told you instinctively what it was as you got closer to the tree.  
It was blood.  
And it looked fresh.  
You stumbled back a few steps, quickly looking around when a creeping paranoia set in that had you convinced that you were no longer alone. When you didn't spot anyone, you backed up towards the cabin.  
You couldn't help but hope that it didn't mean anything. Maybe a wounded deer had stumbled past the cabin last night and leaned against the tree.  
Even as you thought it, you couldn't help but think it sounded like total bullshit.  
You spent the rest of the day in the cabin, checking that all of the windows were locked as well as the doors. You never heard anything that would suggest you should pack up and leave, but you couldn't shake off the thought that you should go ahead and do it anyway.  
That night, you heard more of the mournful howling of the wind and the rustle of the trees as they shook and swayed outside. You had trouble sleeping, so you were curled up in an armchair in the living room, the fireplace lending you a warmth that did nothing to fend off the chilling effects of the sounds outside.  
You were just starting to doze off, your head cocked back at an awkward angle, when you heard the unmistakable sound of claws raking over the front door. You jumped, turning in the chair to watch the door. When no other sounds reached you, you started to slowly relax back into the chair. You were just beginning to think that you had completely made it up, an auditory hallucination that only happened because you were half-asleep, when you saw a shadow move past the window.  
You held your breath, your fingers blindly seeking your phone where it was resting on your lap, as you carefully watched the window for another hint that someone was out on the porch. Your first instinct was to call Godric. He would have been the first to assure you that everything would be fine before either coming to your rescue or dispatching someone else to do it. Probably Isabel, you couldn't help but think.  
But Godric was dead and no longer playing the role of your protector and friend. You weren't going to call Sookie or Jason or any other humans. You couldn't get them tangled up in whatever this was.  
You weren't going to involve Sam and you sure as hell wouldn't call Bill Compton. Where Bill Compton went, Sookie followed. You also weren't entirely fond of the vampire, so you definitely didn't want to rely on him for help.  
That really only left you with one option.  
You chanced a glance at the phone Eric had gifted to you after yours was destroyed in Dallas. He had made sure to program his number into it, bestowing himself the honor of first place on your speed dial. He claimed it was in honor of Godric’s memory that he extended his protection to you as well, but you couldn’t help but hope that maybe Eric liked you more than he let on.  
You weren't really sure what you had with Eric. You seemed to be stuck in the awkward and confusing dance of a potential relationship with him. Your relationship had only strengthened in Godric's absence, especially after you comforted him the morning Godric met the sun, but he had yet to make a move and you weren't sure if you were supposed to.  
You chose his name from your list of contacts while you forced yourself to take a deep, shuddering breath.  
"Well, if it isn't my favorite Stackhouse," Eric drawled when he answered.  
You weren't even going to think too much about how just the sound of his voice was enough to make your fingers unclench from where they had been digging into the arm of the chair.  
"Something's wrong," you told him, attempting to keep just how spooked you were out of your voice.  
There was a brief silence before Eric spoke. "Where are you?"
You opened your mouth to answer, but you were cut off by the sound of a long, wavering howl.  
"Where. Are. You?" Eric repeated, his tone suggesting that he had heard the howl and it wasn't anything as simple as the wind.  
You managed to tell him where you were, your eyes tracking the movement of another shadow as it passed the front window.  
“Don’t open the door for anyone but me,” Eric demanded, his tone brooking no argument.  
"Hurry," you whispered before you ended the call. Your heart was racing so fast that for one dizzying moment, you felt like you might pass out.  
You weren't sure why you were so terrified of some odd noises and unexplained shadows. You had faced vampires hellbent on killing you and a serial killer and a megalomaniac of a church leader and a maenad of all things. You had gone up against unimaginable horrors within the past year, so why did you feel like your heart was going to give out from the strain it was currently under as you listened to the creaking of the porch steps as they protested the weight of someone walking up them?  
It was because you were alone. You had no one to protect and no one to protect you in that moment. If someone managed to force themselves into the cabin with you, then you could only rely on yourself to get through whatever hell waited for you on the other side of the door. If Eric came just a moment too late to find your body, torn open and bloody, then it would be because you hadn’t been able to save yourself.  
And that in itself was terrifying.  
You clutched your phone tight to your chest as you forced yourself to get out of the chair. You backed up a few steps from the door, prepared to run if the door was kicked in.  
You heard the eerie sound of nails running over the front door again before a pained yelp rang out. There was a sharp thud as something was dropped on the porch before silence fell.  
You were just about to bolt for the back door when someone rapped on the front door three times.  
"It's me," you heard Eric call.  
You hesitated for only a moment before you rushed to the door and unlocked it. You threw it open, letting out a sigh of relief when you saw Eric standing there. You had the inane urge to pull him into a hug, and your arms were already moving to embrace him, when you were brought short by the sight of the dead, naked guy just a couple of feet away.  
"Who the fuck is that?" You couldn't help but ask as you took a startled step away from the body. "And why isn't he wearing anything?"
Eric sighed before he turned away from you. He crouched down to inspect the body, his touch careful as he rolled the guy over and studied him. You weren't sure what he was looking for, but after a few moments, he seemed to find it. You noticed his shoulders draw tight before he stood up again.  
You could tell from the careful way he was trying to keep his expression blank that something was definitely wrong. It wasn't until he spoke that you began to realize just how fucked up the situation really was.  
"What did Godric tell you about werewolves?"
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it-begins-with-rain · 5 years ago
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Chinese Language TV Recommendations
For my Korean TV Recommendations, click here.
*Contains both Mainland-Chinese and Taiwanese programs.
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** Updated 05/23/21 with “Miss The Dragon” & “Word of Honor”
A Love So Beautiful
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Can the pure love of 17-year-olds endure through all the challenges of college and adulthood?
Chen Xiao Xi and Jiang Chen are high school friends and neighbors who grew up together. Xiao Xi is happy-go-lucky and doesn’t like to study much but she has a talent for drawing. Jiang Chen is popular for his good looks and high grades, but is cold and indifferent to other people.
Their friends include swimmer Wu Bo Song, who will do anything for XiaoXi, the dorky and over-confident gamer Lu Yang, and Lin Jing Xiao, the most beautiful girl in school (who Lu Yang is hopelessly in love with).
How will the realities of life shape the friendships and love lives of these young adults?
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Ashes of Love // Heavy Sweetness, Ash-Like Frost
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Jin Mi is the secret lovechild of the Flower Deity and the Water Immortal, conceived before the Flower Deity suffers a fatal wound.
The deity gives birth to a baby girl (Jin Mi) on her deathbed, and foresees the infant will face a terrible trial by her 10,000th year. To save her from her fate, the Flower Deity gives Jin Mi a pill that makes it impossible for her to ever feel romantic love. Upon her death, she forbids anyone in the Flower Kingdom from revealing the fact that she had a child.
Several thousand years later, Jin Mi is a bumbling little fairy trapped in The Water Mirror- a gilded prison where low-level fairies can live in peace. Jin Mi believes she is a small Grape Fairy, and lives a happy (if not dull) life within the Mirror with her friends.
When a charred bird falls from the heavens into the Water Mirror, Jin Mi decides to eat save the poor little ‘crow’– who in reality is Xu Feng, the mighty phoenix son of the Heavenly Emperor. Her decision to not eat save the Fire God will put them at the heart of plots and schemes, romances and adventures spanning the Flower Kingdom, Heavenly Realm, Demon Kingdom, and the Realm of Mortals.
**Trigger Warning: Contains reference to off-camera sexual assault.**
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Dance of the Phoenix
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Feng Wu, a former genius girl in the Junwu Continent, was attacked by her old enemy Zuo Qingluan. In the attack, she lost not only her memories and abilities, but her “phoenix blood” which made her powerful.
In order to save Feng Wu her secret tutor, Master Mu Jiuzhou (a hero thought long dead whose soul is bound inside a ring Feng Wu wears around her neck), exhausted his vitality and fell into a deep coma.
The forces Master Mu Jiuzhou were trying to keep at bay are roiling again, readying for war unless Feng Wu can recover her memories, her power, and survive long enough to release him from the ring.
But if Feng Wu at full power couldn’t stop the evil Zhuo Qingluan’s attack and save herself, what chance does “normal person” Feng Wu have?
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Douluo Continent
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Tang San is a hardworking and kind young man who was raised by his single father to be a blacksmith to a small village. His demanding father taught him secret techniques and cultivated unknown abilities while refusing to ever allow him to enter the world of the Soul Masters- heroes who use their inner power to defeat monstrous Soul Beasts and collect their power.
One day, Tang San is attacked in the woods by a fearsome Soul Spider and uses his special techniques to survive, drawing the eye of a nearby Soul Master. The man tests Tang San and discovers that while his Soul Spirit takes the utterly useless form of a common weed (as opposed to say a lion or a wolf), he harbors extreme untapped power and potential.
What only Tang San and his father know is that Tang San is a rare Twin-Soul, in possession of not one Soul Spirit- the Blue Grass- but a second extraordinarily rare weapon spirit capable of being wielded either against foes or in protection of innocents.
Unable to deny Tang San the ability to learn to control his power, his father allows him to leave the protection of the village and embark on a journey to develop his powers and perhaps learn the truth of his parentage.
On his journey Tang San will be joined by the mysterious and naïve Xiao Wu- a seemingly unstoppable and optimistic girl with a rabbit as her Soul Spirit and the ability to absorb the life force of Soul Beasts. They are led by a disgraced Soul Master in Training, Yu Xiao Gang, who was disregarded as a janitor all while studying Soul Masters and developing his own radical theories as to the nature of their power.
Tang San, Xiao Wu, Yu Xiao Gang, and the other friends they meet along the way will become a famous team of heroes known as the “Seven Devils of Shrek Academy”, and be drawn into an imperial struggle for power that threatens to consume their entire continent.
Tang San appears to the world as the master of the Silver Grass Spirit, but once that same world realizes the might of the Weapon Spirit he keeps hidden, he will have to fight with everything he has in order to protect what he holds dear.
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Fairyland Lovers
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Bai Qi is a “spiritual doctor” who travels the world to rid spirits of their obsessions and stop them from becoming monsters. Eons ago he himself was at the threshold of becoming an Evil Spirit, and was saved by a Divine Warrior who helped him find a way to move past his darkness before tragically losing her life.
Isolated from the world and alone with a sprig of his lost love’s peach tree, Bai Qi meets the sunny but hapless actress Lin Xia. Not only does the tree come to life in her presence- and not only can she use the tools left behind by his lost lover- she also has the same face.
Curious, Bai Qi enters into a co-habitation agreement with Lin Xia and she helps him cleanse souls before they can turn into Evil Spirits. As their lives intersect, a memory that Bai Qi sealed away for over ten thousand years begins to surface.
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Guardian
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Super-Detective Zhao Yunlan meets university professor (and powerful supernatural being) Shen Wei and the two men are instantly drawn together by a past one cannot forget and a future the other cannot guess. As they grow closer, they find themselves at the heart of a high-stakes supernatural battle between unknown enemies.
Will the heroic duo’s unique talents- and special bond- be enough to help them outwit the forces of darkness?
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Handsome Siblings (2020 Netflix Edition)
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Hua Wuque is a pillar of righteousness and virtue, the only male disciple of the powerful Yihua Palace cultivation clan. An orphan, he was taken in by the clan leader and her sister and raised with only one goal in life: to find and kill Jiang Xiaoyu, a mighty villain and enemy of Yihua Palace.
So who is Jiang Xiaoyu? Also known as Xiaoyu’er, Jiang Xiaoyu is an orphan himself- the same age as Hua Wuque in fact- raised by the five most feared and hated villains in the world within the confines of the Wicked Canyon. Into Jiang Xiaoyu the villains poured their knowledge, tricks, and ruthlessness, seeking to create the ultimate villain. There is only one problem: As he was raised in the Wicked Canyon and surrounded by nothing but villains, Jiang Xiaoyu mostly uses his abilities to… harm villains and protect the weak.
When Jiang Xiaoyu comes of age and leaves the Wicked Canyon (or rather, becomes too much of a trickster for the villains to handle anymore), Hua Wuque is unleashed to venture from Yihua Palace and hunt down his enemy.
But how could someone kept confined in the Wicked Canyon for the first 18 years of his life be a threat to Yihua Palace? And why must Hua Wuque be the one to kill him (under direction that Jiang Xiaoyu cannot die naturally, be killed by someone else, or kill himself)?
There is a piece of the story Jiang Xiaoyu and Hua Wuque do not know: they are orphans of the same tragedy, in which the divine hero Jiang Feng spurned the love of both leaders of Yihua Palace for a beautiful servant named Hua Yuenu. Hua Yuenu was forced to commit suicide and Jiang Feng killed himself rather than submit to the Ladies of Yihua–
Leaving behind newborn (non-identical) twin sons.
Yihua Palace’s plot is a simple (if OTT) act of vengeance against Jiang Feng’s memory:: Force one brother to murder the other, then reveal to Hua Wuque the sin he has committed and let it drive the boy insane.
Will the truth come out before Wuque finds and kills Xiaoyu, or will the evil Ladies of Yihua Palace finally have the vengeance they have waited for for over 18 years? As Wuque and Xiaoyu’s paths cross more and more they strike up an unlikely friendship, even knowing there is no escaping their dark fate.
**Trigger Warning: Later episodes include off-camera sexual assault and on-camera depictions of near-rape.**
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Hi My Sweetheart
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Xue Hai is a kindhearted (and extremely wealthy) but naïve man who has been sheltered by his big sisters his entire life. He decides to go to college in China- where no one knows him- under the name Da Lang and with the image of a poor scholarship student. There Xue Hai meets the dominant, friendless, and rebellious Bao Zhu. Naturally the two fall in love, but after 4 years together, just as he’s going to reveal his identity and propose, Bao Zhu viciously dumps him.
Fast forward three more years. Xue Hai has transformed himself into a handsome but ruthless playboy who treats women as nothing more than toys to be used and cast aside. When he chances across Bao Zhu once more, he decides to launch a campaign to destroy her heart as thoroughly and mercilessly as she did his.
Except Xue Hai is missing one important piece of their love story: Bao Zhu only left him to protect him from her domineering mother, and she has been searching for her beloved Da Lang ever since.
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The King’s Avatar
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In the online multiplayer game Glory, Ye Xiu is well known as the undisputed master of professional sports- though no one outside of the professional teams actually knows what he looks like as he hides his face from media and fans. A player since he was a child- and raised largely in professional player training camps- Ye Xiu has no understanding of the outside world.
Halfway through the season, the money-hungry company behind his team, Excellency Era, forces him out and replaces him with an undisciplined hot-shot. Penniless and with nowhere to go, Ye Xiu crosses the street and enters the Happy Internet Cafe. The owner is a diehard fan of the mysterious Ye Xiu, and hires Ye Qiu as an IT manager not for his experience, but for his shared love of the game.
When Glory launches their tenth server, Ye Qiu throws himself into the game once more. Equipped with ten years of gaming experience, memories of an unfinished pledge to a dead friend, and an incomplete self-made weapon, Ye Qiu will rise from the ashes, forge a new team, and take back his crown.
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The Lost Tomb**
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50 years ago, a group of Changsha grave robbers known as the “Mystic Nine” dug out manuscripts of the location of treasures from the Warring States period, but soon after almost the entire group was hunted down and slaughtered.
In the present, the young grandchild of the sole survivor, Wu Xie, discovers a secret within his grandfather’s notes as well as half of a silk manuscript that may reveal the location of the lost tomb. But there is one problem- the other half of the manuscript is held by a shady organization of tomb raiders eager to break in and steal whatever cultural relics are inside the tomb.
Wu Xie has a “National Treasure” moment and decides that in order to stop the objects in the tomb from vanishing into the black market he will break in first and recover whatever is inside (’I’m going to steal the Declaration of Independence…’).
Wu Xie is helped on his journey by his beloved “Third Uncle” Wu Sanxing, his uncle’s right hand man Panzi, and the mysterious Xiao Ge - a tomb raider who seems to know of traps before they are sprung and whose hand has been mutilated in a way not seen among tomb robbing families in over a century.
They expected to find a lost tomb, perhaps chase away some thieves, and learn about an exciting piece of lost history. What they did not expect was for the tomb to strike back, the dead to rise, and the past to fight and keep what secrets it holds.
Who exactly are this alternate group of tomb robbers? What are they searching for? What exactly is protecting the tomb? Whose side is Xiao Ge truly on? And- most crucially- can Wu Xie survive long enough to find the answers?
** This recommendation is part of a broader series of shows and movies, all adapted from “The Gravedigger’s Notebook” and its sequels::
The Lost Tomb (2015)
The Lost Tomb 2: Explore With the Note (2016)
Time Raiders (2016 movie)
The Mystic Nine (2016)
Tomb of the Sea (2018)
Reunion: The Sound of the Providence (which gets its own recommendation below; 2019-2020)
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Love O2O
** O = letter, not number
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Wei-Wei has both beauty and brains. A computer goddess, she aspires to be an online game developer. In her spare time, she plays her favorite online game ‘A Chinese Ghost Story’- where she has made a name for herself as the top female player on the entire server.
After her online husband dumps her, she gets a message from legendary player Yixiao Naihe- asking to become her online husband (marriages in-game offer certain benefits and quest lines single players cannot achieve).
Little does Wei-Wei know that Yixiao Naihe is also her college senior and the most desired man on campus, Xiao Nai.
Will their online chemistry lead to a real-life romance? Yes. Of course it will. It’s in the title.
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Miss The Dragon
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As a humble maid, Liu Ying never expected her life to be anything other than ordinary. Content with the world and her place in it, she spent her days tending to injured creatures and assisting her mistress Xia Hou Xue. But when Liu Ying finds an injured little snake and nurses it back to health, she has no idea how her life is about to change.
That little snake turns out to be a thousand year old Draong King named Yu Chi Long Yan. He falls in love with Liu Ying, and decides to repay her kindness by naming her as his queen.
And then Xia Hou Xue is captured by a wolf demon. Liu Ying flips the script- begging Yu Chi Long Yan to repay her kindness instead by rescuing her mistress and then keeping her safe for three lifetimes. Trapped by his word, Yu Chi Long Yan agrees to do so, though he secretly remains by Liu Ying’s side.
Now in her fourth lifetime, Liu Ying is reincarnated as Gu Qing Yan. She slowly becomes aware of his existence in her life- and her past lives as well. After waiting three lifetimes to be reunited with his lost love, Yu Chi Long Yan will fight with everything he has to keep her safe and get the Happily Ever After they should have had three thousand years ago.
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My Roommate is a Detective
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Shanghai in 1925 is caught between gang leaders and the European powers colonizing China.
A resourceful young police officer named Qiao Chu Sheng is on the trail of a brutal but devious killer. Realizing that the police force will need some extra help with this difficult case, he decides to form an elite crime-busting detective team. He reaches out Lu Yao, a Cambridge graduate a slick con-man.
Qiao Chu Sheng has learned that Lu Yao has remarkable powers of deduction and a brilliant mind – and believes he can help crack this difficult case. To round off the team, he enlists the help of Bai You Ning, a focused young female reporter for a daily newspaper. A free-thinking, independent young woman, she has a strong sense of justice – and pledges to help catch the killer.
The trio form a small detective squad that specializes in solving strange and unsettling murder mysteries.
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Oh My Emperor
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Fei-Fei, a young doctor, is wounded in an accident and finds herself trapped in the ancient and mystical nation of Huang Dao. The people of Huang Dao are ruled by a king born of the stars- the physical embodiment of one of the twelve zodiac constellations. To keep discord from arising among the people, the Twelve Zodiac Masters govern together to keep the peace.
But a thirteenth sign has been forcibly subjugated, it’s Lord executed, and its people scattered to the wind. The lost sign- Ophiuchus- is rising once more- and Fei-Fei is its (unwilling) Master.
It only complicates matters slightly that Fei-Fei finds herself between the handsome and charming Master of Aquarius and his nephew- the cold Master of Capricorn (who is also the Emperor). Can Fei-Fei keep her identity secret long enough to solve the mystery of the Ophiuchus purge- or is Huang Dao doomed to destruction?
**This drama is a showpiece for members of the Chinese pop group X-Nine, do not judge it by the same standards as a traditional drama. Showpiece dramas tend to be a bit silly.
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Reunion: The Sound of the Providence**
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Wu Xie, “Fatty” Wang Pangzi, and the quasi-immortal tomb raider Xiao Ge (AKA Zheng Qiling, Kylin, and “Poker Face”) have faced many dangerous tombs together over the past twelve years.
Now, it is time for them to go on their last great adventure as the so-called “Iron Triangle” before Wu Xie sets off on the journey all must eventually make: death. He always thought his end would come in a dangerous tomb, but instead it will be lung cancer that claims his life. With only 3-4 months left to live, Wu Xie hides the truth of his illness from his friends and family, revealing the truth only to Xiao Ge.
Once upon a time, Wu Xie was told that when a man meets his death he must do so with a clear conscience. But something has been weighing on Wu Xie- his Third Uncle’s disappearance at the end of their first adventure. Right on time, a message from his long lost uncle appears, setting Wu Xie on a desperate mission to find him before the cancer eating away at his body destroys him at last.
This will most likely be Wu Xie’s final journey, but he will do anything in his power to make sure his friends and family will be safe long after his time is up. In the final 3-4 months of Wu Xie’s life he will seek to unravel the mystery of the “Thunder City”- starting with the most dangerous tomb he’s ever explored, The South Sea King’s Tomb.
The sound of thunder hides a secret men have killed for, but is there really a way to hear the words of gods within it? Someone clearly thought so, but who? Is Uncle Sanxing still alive, or is someone in the shadows guiding Wu Xie to them?
Wu Xie’s enemies thought he was dangerous before, but now he is a dying man with a mission. There is no telling what lengths he will go to in order to achieve his goals. He might just manage to die in a tomb after all…
** This recommendation is just the latest installment in an entire series of stories adapted from “The Gravedigger’s Notebook” and related novels::
The Lost Tomb (2015)
The Lost Tomb 2: Explore With the Note (2016)
Time Raiders (2016 movie)
The Mystic Nine (2016)
Tomb of the Sea (2018)
Reunion: The Sound of the Providence (2019-2020)
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The Romance of Tiger and Rose
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Chen Xiao Qian has dedicated her life to making her dream of becoming a well-respected screenwriter come true. Standing on the production set of sweeping dramas she penned through endless blood, sweat, and tears, Xiao Qian can hardly believe what she is seeing: her work, come to life!
Except it isn’t a set. And her work truly has come to life.
Her script is a simple one: the heirs of two rival cities who seek to destroy one another enter into a doomed romance that will lead to endless betrayals and a war that will kill the male lead, Han Shuo.
There is just one problem- Xiao Qian wakes in the body of Han Shuo’s first wife on the day he will murder her! The only way for Xiao Qian to return to this world is to survive the story, but in keeping herself alive longer the script begins to change, and Han Shuo begins to fall in love with the wrong person.
At first it is easy for Xiao Qian to keep herself alive- just go along with the script! But the story wants to return to the original plot, which means characters who should be friends become enemies, enemies become friends, and Xiao Qian might not live long enough to find her way home.
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The Untamed
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On the cliffs of the Nightless City, upon defeating his enemies in a bloody slaughter, the cruel and vicious Yiling Patriarch- Wei Wuxian- threw himself to his death.
Sixteen years later, he is resurrected by a madman and given a second chance to right what went so terribly wrong long ago. Wei Wuxian reunites with the honorable, righteous, and stern Lan Wangji- his confidant, soulmate, and best friend.
How can someone as upstanding as Lan Wangji befriend the monstrous and hated Yiling Patriarch? What turned the happy and popular Wei Wuxian into the man who slaughtered thousands at Nightless by weaponizing the souls of the dead?
And what terrible secret was Wuxian resurrected to unearth?
The past is not always what it seems, and there is no clean line between right and wrong.
**Don’t worry if you’re lost when the show starts, that is by design. Near the end of episode 2 the show will enter a 30 episode long flashback sequence to answer all questions.
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Well Intended Love (Season 1: Drama Version)
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Seasons 1 and 2 of “Well Intended Love” feature the same stars playing the same characters, but the storylines are alternate-universes of one another telling the story from a different genre. Each season is wholly independent of one another.
A third-rate actress with leukemia becomes entangled with the handsome but cold CEO Ling.
In order to receive a bone marrow transplant and contniue her career as an actress, Xia Lin enters into a secret marriage with Ling Yi Zhou. Despite the conspiracies and misunderstandings they encounter, the two begin to find true love.
But one question nags at Xia Lin’s mind:: Why did the cold, controlling, and distant Ling YiZhou need her to play the role of wife?
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Well Intended Love (Season 2: Rom-Com Version)
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Seasons 1 and 2 of “Well Intended Love” feature the same stars playing the same characters, but the storylines are alternate-universes of one another telling the story from a different genre. Each season is wholly independent of one another.
Rising TV superstar Xia Lin finds herself embroiled in scandal after a run-in with business mogul Ling Yizhou at a party. To clear up any misunderstandings the two prepare a joint press conference– where Xia Lin is stunned by Ling Yizhou’s statement that the two are- in fact- an engaged couple.
Ling Yizhou convinces Xia Lin to play fiancee for a period of one year, after which they can go their separate ways. To save face in front of her fans, Xia Lin agrees. She gradually begins to fall for the lovable and doting Ling Yizhou.
Someone works in the shadows to destroy everything Ling Yizhou holds dear- and the closer he gets to the heart of the conspiracy, the more he realizes Xia Lin may have a target on her back as well.
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Word of Honor // Faraway Wanderers
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Zhou Zi Shu has served as the leader of Heaven’s Window for much of his life. A once righteous and honorable sect who acted as an elite Secret Service for the royal family, a corrupt prince has turned them into his personal assassin’s guild. With their oaths to Heaven’s Window as nooses around their throats, most of Zhou Zi Shu’s elders and friends have chosen death over continued service.
Wholly disillusioned, Zhou Zi Shu only wants to atone for the crimes he was forced to commit under his oaths to the prince. He endures the slow execution of Heaven’s Window- a process that sees seven nails inserted into the victim and ushers in a slow and painful death that takes three years to play out.
By gaming the system he helped create, Zhou Zi Shu manages to buy himself an extra year and a half of life to wander the world and wipe some of the blood from his slate.
In his wanderings, he is pulled into a conspiracy surrounding a young boy and meets a strange young man named Wen Ke Xing who sticks to him like glue. Zhou Zi Shu and Wen Ke Xing grow closer and closer throughout their journey to find a mysterious treasure that is rumored to give its owner unlimited power.
But just who is Wen Ke Xing? What is he really after? And most importantly of all- can Zhou Zi Shu really trust his new companion?
97 notes · View notes
ilguna · 4 years ago
Text
Redamancy - Chapter One (f.o)
summary: it’s time to forgive and repair.
warnings; swearing, mention of trauma
wc; 8.4k
NOTES; I give reader a last name to fit the world.
Well, it’s been five years since you won the Hunger Games. 
What an anniversary.
It honestly feels like you won them yesterday. You can recall all your memories as if it hasn’t been years since you stepped foot inside of the arena. Which is no doubt a bad thing. Before you’d ended your therapy a while ago, the therapist told you that you’re holding onto trauma. It’s not going to go away overnight. In fact, they wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t go away at all.
Which Reed didn’t like to hear at all, of course. The whole reason he’d gotten you into therapy was to work at you getting better. Unfortunately, neither of you would be reaching that goal. Not with how demanding the boarding school would get as the years would come on.
At first, you thought that everything you’d written down at the very beginning would be enough to suffice. However, the more you think about everything that you’d been through, the more that the details become clearer. Suddenly you’re remembering things that hadn’t existed in the first place.
Reed and Mox hate this habit of yours. They thought you would have buried and left it behind by now. But it’s impossible to do. You’re responsible for hundreds of kids and teenagers. The more you remember at this point, the more they’re able to learn from your mistakes and fix it themselves.
With every passing year, and bringing home a new pair of coffins, you can’t focus on yourself anymore. You think that every year is going to be different and new, that the tributes going in that year are a pair of winners for sure. But then you’re stunned right back into embarrassed silence.
District Four is being forgotten. Once again, you’re questioning why it was ever considered a career in the first place. You can’t produce victors, no matter how hard you try.
It’s frustrating, and almost not worth your time anymore.
Anchor thinks that he’s fixed the problem, though. The both of you know better than anyone that the training centers in the career districts typically train their tributes for years. There’s a reason why their volunteers are seventeen and eighteen, rarely ever sixteen. It’s because they’ve spent years training to be where they are, and they’re sure that they’ll win.
So, you switched up the rules this year. No one under the age of seventeen that goes to the boarding school is allowed to volunteer to go into the Hunger Games. If you’re chosen by chance and want to go in, that’s their deal. The only instance where it’ll be ruined is if someone else volunteers over them. If anyone over seventeen wants to go in, that’s their choice to make. Not the boarding school.
Of course, there’s no guarantee what will happen because of this. You’ve been getting at least one volunteer a year since the boarding school opened. But they’ve always been on the younger side, and have only been in the program for a year or so. They could win, but they’re not nearly as knowledgeable as the teens that have been in the program for years.
They’ve been able to watch and observe the mistakes of others. You think that if one of the seventeen or eighteen year olds that signed up when they were twelve or thirteen were to volunteer, they’d blow the competition out of the water. Show the Capitol and the career districts that you’re coming back for a round two. Bigger and better than ever.
Then again, the seventeen and eighteen year olds never express interest in volunteering because they’re nearly out. One or two years and they’re finally free of the reapings. No one would willingly throw themselves into an arena when they’re on the brink of being away from it. The chances of accidentally getting yourself killed in the arena is always an outcome, prepared or not. 
Either way, you hope this year is different and you’re able to break the four-year streak of double coffins.
You head downstairs, fingers still securing the pin in a reliable spot in your hair. When it doesn’t budge no matter how you move your head, you call it good. 
Downstairs is already awake. Reed is cooking breakfast, Mox is probably sitting at the table. You can faintly hear the sound of Alyssum talking. It’s only as you reach the bottom creaking steps, does she realize that you’re awake.
“(Y/n)!” She shouts, abandoning what she was saying before.
You find yourself crouching to look into the tiny mirror in an alcove. The pin doesn’t look out of place, in fact you can’t really see it at first glance. Only when you go to touch it, do you find where it is.
Alyssum comes around the corner, a wide smile on her face. It’s clear she hasn’t done her hair yet, waiting on you.
“Where’s your stuff?” You ask.
“Bathroom.” She says.
“Okay, let’s get it done real quick.” You push her towards the bathroom, “We’ll be in there in a minute!”
“No rush.”
You carefully comb through Alyssum’s hair, being gentle when you find snarls. Even if she were in pain, you know that she wouldn’t voice it unless it really hurt. Doesn’t mean that you purposely go ripping the brush through her hair like Reed used to do. You tie her long hair to the back of her neck, and then you loosen it up to make it look better.
“Can you tie this over the rubber band? I’m trying to match with Laleh.” 
Alyssum holds up a silk white ribbon. If she had asked you to do this last year, you would have had to tell her no. Naida had to teach you how to do a variety of hairstyles for the boarding school. Sometimes the younger girls aren’t able to tie their hair back, and sometimes they don’t want it to be a ponytail.
Needless to say, you’re starting to feel like a mother. Once the bow is tight over the band, you hold her in front of the mirror, staring into her eyes, “If the bow comes undone, go to Naida or Calandra, stay far away from Reed and Mox, okay?”
She nods once, you let her free so that she can join your brothers at the dining table while you clean up the bathroom counter. It’s a quiet morning, no one really speaks at the table, which isn’t unusual for reaping mornings. Alyssum tends to get upset because you won’t be at the house for several weeks, and you’re already stressing out about what the arena will be like this year.
You know that things would be so much easier in the Capitol if you just had a partner that worked with you. Finnick does absolutely nothing, you’re not even sure if he stays in the apartment half of the time. You never see him, rarely in the morning, you think you hear him leave at night.
He won’t help, he won’t trade with Anchor. You’ve asked him, Anchor has asked him, even Mags has asked him. If he would just give up his mentoring spot to Anchor, you’re sure that you’d come out with a few victors. When you’re doing all the work by yourself, it’s chaotic.
It’s hard to hold a schedule. You’re running between the stylists and prep teams, constantly taking advice from Elysia. When you’re not keeping an eye on the tributes, you’re watching their odds on the scoreboard go up and down depending on how much the sponsors like them. And then when they’re actually inside of the arena, you’re staying up all hours of the night to not miss a single thing. Just in case you miraculously come across a sponsor that sees potential in one of the tributes.
Not to mention the whole boarding school, which is a whole new ordeal. He comes up with the idea, promises to be there to help train no matter what. But after he broke up with you that year, he gradually stopped showing up. So now, the future tributes of District Four are not only out of a valuable side of a story, but they’re also dealing with two overworked victors who just want one break.
It’s bouncing between you and Anchor, sometimes even Mags will have to take over for a day. Which isn’t much help, considering the stroke she had last year. She tried speech therapy, but figured out that it wasn’t working as well as it should early on. Mags gave up on it, the only way she communicates anymore is through notes.
How is that going to work? You’ve got hundreds of teens and preteens relying on an old woman that can’t even speak. Her techniques are out of date, as well as Luther and Scotch. The kids have better chances with you, Finnick and Anchor. Anchor hasn’t been inside of the arena for ten years, and the kids have heard your two strategies a hundred times by now.
If Finnick were to just help. Just a little bit, you’re sure that it would make a difference. But he has such a vendetta against you or the tributes because he won’t budge. You’re fucked, he’s backed you into this impossible corner. Every year since you two won, you’ve brought home double coffins. It’s fucking embarassing. You don’t know how District Four was ever considered a career.
It’s childish, he’s so childish. He hasn’t kept his promise and he’s weaseled his way out of it every single time. And you keep letting him get away with it.
It clicks.
You keep letting him get away with it, you’re not holding him accountable. He doesn’t fall through on his promises because you don’t push them onto him. And when he tells you no, you back off because you think that there’s no point in trying. He hasn’t made an effort in the past, why would he make one when you ask.
You press your lips together, smiling. This year is already supposed to be an experiment to see what happens with the tributes. If everything goes well with this year’s tributes, you think that you’ll try something new yourself. 
“We have to stop by Naida’s place before heading over to the stage.” Reed says, standing from the table, taking his plate with him, “We can take Alyssum with us.”
“Okay.” you agree, standing up too. Mox cleans up the rest of the table, taking it into the kitchen to help Reed.
Alyssum comes over, throwing her arms around you tightly. You hug her back, being careful not to ruin her hair, “I’ll be back in a few weeks. Promise me that you’ll be good for Reed and Mox.”
“I promise.” her voice is muffled, face pressed to your stomach.
“I’ll be back before you know it.” you lean down to press a kiss to the top of her head, “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
She lets go of you, a frown on her face. But it doesn’t look like she’s going to be crying this year, “I’m leaving!”
“See you later!” Reed shouts back.
You leave the house, shutting the door behind you. As you squint through the bright summer sun, you head down the stone steps and to the left, towards the opening of Victor's Village. This year it’s Anchor’s turn to walk Mags to the stage, since you did it last year. Since they’re relatively slow, though, you’re sure that you’ll be able to catch up in no time.
You’re right, you come across Anchor and Mags more than halfway to the stage. It seems like Mags is doing just fine walking on her own, and Anchor is talking to her. Anchor hears you approaching pretty far back and glances over his shoulder to see that it’s you. 
“Good morning!” you jog to catch up, “I see you got an early start today.”
“Haha, shut up.” Anchor says, but cracks up when you do.
Anchor goes back to what he was talking about, and you quickly find out that it’s about the boarding school. It’s an in-depth explanation about your plan this year. Mags knew the basics, but now it’s all about details. You’ll be lucky if you get two tributes that showed promise during training. Otherwise, you’re left with the gamble of the reaping bowls.
Luther and Scotch have already beaten you to the stage when you get there. No Finnick in sight, which you can’t say that you’re surprised about. The five of you get on the stage, leaving the far left seat for Finnick to take when he gets here. Mayor Burrula comes on stage, getting ready to take his spot in front of the podium.
The reaping area in front of you fills. There’s familiar faces in all the age categories, in your mind, you count all the seventeen and eighteen year olds that you know go to the boarding school. It’s a fair amount, most of them are really good at what they know, especially the ones that have been with you for a couple of years now. None of which have ever expressed an interest in volunteering, though. And if they did, it was never to you or Anchor.
Finnick finally shows up when it’s five minutes out from reaping time. The moment after he sits down in his chair, he scoots it two inches away from you. It’s his own personal yearly tradition… on top of all the other ones of neglecting his mentoring duties. 
After the anthem, Mayor Burrula kicks off the reaping with the annual Dark Days speech. It’s boring, you try to look awake. As a joke, you can hear Anchor mocking soft snores. You crack a smile, shaking your head when you elbow him to get him to shut up. Burrula wraps the speech up, introduces Elysia as if she hasn’t been District Four’s Capitol escort for the past couple of years, and then sits back down.
She smiles as she does every year, standing in front of the microphone, “Good afternoon, and Happy Hunger Games. Ladies first.”
You hold your breath, all previous emotion draining out of your body. She heads over to the bowl, her gloved hand dipping into the bowl. She hesitates over the paper, trying to find one that’ll hold the golden tribute. If you have a girl volunteer this year, it’s not going to matter. She could pick a twelve year-old and they could be replaced by a seventeen or eighteen year-old.
She picks one, carefully pulls her hand out of the bowl, and resumes her spot in front of the microphone. She takes her time peeling off the black tape, not wanting to rip the paper. She reads over the name, and with the distance between you and her, you’re not able to see the name.
Still, you mentally cross your fingers. It’s a new year, a new plan. Please, please, please.
“District Four’s girl tribute is Shilin Brisby.” Elysia pronounces the name carefully, and then looks up to the section of girls.
The name isn’t familiar, and there’s no movement in the girl section. You wait, leaning forward slightly to see if the crowd will out her. But before that can happen, the magic words are being shouted, “I volunteer!”
In the eighteen section, out comes a brown-haired girl with a confident smile on her face. The peacekeepers escort her from the way back to the very front. She takes the stone steps easily, tucking her hair behind her ear so that she can see where she’s stepping.
Her name comes across your lips quickly, “Annie Cresta.”
She’s been with the boarding school since she was thirteen, which is five whole years of experience. Five whole years of training, of watching her start out small and hardly able to defend herself, to career-worthy. She’s still not very strong, but she’s resourceful, and smart. 
She stops in front of the girl’s bowl, standing up tall. She let’s Elysia ask for her name, which she repeats for everyone in District Four and in the Capitol. You can’t help the grin that comes across your face. This is the year of change.
“And now for the boys.” Elysia says, moving over to the bowl on the right. She carefully pulls out this paper too, not as hesitant as before. She when stops in front of the microphone again, the tape comes off easier. She reads over it, and then speaks, “District Four’s boy tribute is Paslee Milillio.”
There’s no gap this time. You can see a hand shoot up in the seventeen section faster than the words leave his mouth, “I volunteer as tribute!”
You breathe out a laugh, covering your mouth. This one is an easy guess, Marsh Milillio never stops talking about how his younger brother, Paslee, is going to be the next victor prodigy. Paslee’s thirteen this year, he’s been with you guys for a year. And he does show promise, so Marsh isn’t lying.
Marsh gets brought up to the stage, stops in front of his bowl and says his name clear into the microphone. Two volunteers, two very good tributes. This year, the golden beam of light is on District Four. 
Elysia wraps it up, wishes for a Happy Hunger Games again, and then backs up to allow Annie and Marsh to shake hands. They do, and you can see that Annie has this smirk on her face, something mischievous. You can only imagine how Marsh is looking at the moment, especially since they’re friends.
Once they’re done, they have to face the district again as the anthem plays for the final time. When the anthem is over, they’re brought inside of the building to say goodbye to their families. You’re supposed to take a minute or two saying your own goodbyes, or head straight to the train to make sure that you leave on time.
You stand, a bright smile on your face, “Holy shit.”
“Don’t fuck this up.” Anchor says, he’s got a grin going, “Please.”
“Holy shit!” you repeat, laughing, “Annie and Marsh? Talk about striking gold!”
It’s going to be an easy year. They understand the rules, they know how to color inside of the lines. You’re not going to have to baby them at all. Not even Marsh, even though he’s seventeen. You’ll be able to focus on more important things.
You give Anchor a hug, and then Mags too. You tell Anchor that he should probably visit the families, and then hold a celebration at the boarding school the night of the interviews. You wave goodbye to your family, who are hanging out on the outskirts of the reaping pen, and then go to meet the car that’s waiting for you.
Finnick is already inside, looking out of the window. The car takes off towards the train as soon as the door is shut. On the way to the train, you work on how you’re going to uphold the deal you made with yourself when it comes to Finnick. You’re not going to let him wreck it. He’s going to help, or he’s going to regret it.
You and Finnick head right inside. As Finnick does every year, he heads straight towards his room. He only makes it one step before you’ve got an iron lock on his wrist, keeping him from going any further.
He turns, confused, eyes trained on your expressionless face.
They say that time heals all wounds. That the longer you put the problem off, you’ll eventually forget about it, and it’ll magically evaporate and disappear like it never existed in the first place. But they’re wrong. Time has let you grow bitter and angry and tired and cold. 
The last time you talked to Finnick was years ago, when he told you for the final time that he wouldn’t be participating anymore. To leave him alone and let him do his own thing inside of the Capitol. The mentoring responsibility is now yours, consider him a ghost.
He owes you.
“Work with me this year.” The words aren’t harsh, and they even leave a little room for discussion. A part of you wants to add the word ‘please’ to the end, but you won’t be begging.
“What?” His face twists, and you can see the annoyance before it’s even appeared, “I thought we went over this already. The answer is no.”
You’re not begging. You’re also not backing down. You’re holding him to his promise this year. And if that means getting aggressive and mean, he’s about to meet a new side of you.
You face drops, hand tightening around his wrist. You lift, and pull him closer to you. Finnick might have height, but you have strength through persistence, “Let me rephrase; you’re working with me this year. It’s not a question.”
“You say that now, but you can’t make me do anything.” He twists his wrist, trying to get it free, “Let go.”
You inhale through your nose, keeping your voice quiet and level so that the microphones outside won’t pick you up, “You will help me this year, or you will wish you died in that fucking arena. I’ll make an example out of you, Finnick. You think it’s bad now, wait until I make you the punchline of the fucking joke.”
You yank him closer, he stutters to catch himself so that he doesn’t smack into you, “Your free trial is over. I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted.” He’s glaring, pissed. You let go, pushing him back in the process, “You can hide and wallow in your room now, but when we get to the Capitol, shit changes. Whether you like it or not.
“You’re under me. And you’re working for me, on my terms this year. Don’t like it? Cry me a fucking river.”
You hear the car doors outside of the train, slam shut. The tributes are here, you don’t need to be here waiting when they come inside.
“Clocks ticking, Finnick. You’ve got less than twelve hours to do what you want before your free time is mine.”
“You’re so fucking cocky. Last time I checked, I’m my own person. You can’t tell me what to do.” Finnick shakes his head, face scrunched, a slight shade of red, “Maybe this shit would have flown with Anchor, but I’m not your fucking boyfriend.”
“No, you’re not. And I’m ashamed you ever had that title in the first place. At least Anchor is fucking reliable.” You spit, and you physically see his face fall. Whatever he wanted to say next doesn’t appear on his lips, “I’ve grown up, Finnick. I’ve shouldered all of your bullshit for the past couple of years, and you’re telling me you can’t pull it together just once? It’s garbage.
“I’ve given you your space. Now it’s time to own up or get off of the fucking program. I’m not dealing with this for the next fifty years. I’d rather die before then.” You stop walking, “Once again, you’re helping me this year, or you’re going to regret it. You can think of it as an empty threat, but I’ve had years to get creative.”
He doesn’t say anything back, just leaves the train car. You let him get a headstart, not wanting to have to walk side by side with him to your rooms. By the time you start walking too, the tributes are just ending their time on the station. You leave before they see you, and take your time taking deep breaths to calm yourself down.
You don’t get angry often. It’s hard to be when you’re normally surrounded by people who take the circumstances you live in, seriously. Anchor helps and keeps you company, your family friends keep you grounded, your siblings are a reminder as to why you won in the first place. All of them are working for the better, the only one ruining the current is Finnick. Go fucking figure.
In your room, you lay down on the bed and close your eyes. Dinner will be ready in a couple of hours, and before midnight you should be inside of the Capitol. Tomorrow is the Tribute Parade, the starting point and the decider of how the rest of the trip will go. All you can do right now is hope.
You end up dozing off, only being woken when Elysia comes to the door to bring you to the table before the tributes. You get up, fixing your hair on the way to the dining room. You’re the only one at the table when you get there, and you don’t wait for everyone to show up. You’re no psychic, but you’re pretty sure that Finnick won’t be eating with you guys this evening.
Annie and Marsh take the only real seats that are offered to them. Annie to your right, Marsh to hers. The only chair that’s empty is the one across from you, where Finnick would normally sit. And of course, to your left is Elysia, always sitting at the head since she’s the escort.
Like how Elysia warned you during your train ride to the Capitol for the first time, she tells Annie and Marsh to ration out their hunger. The food will keep coming, and the portion sized will only get bigger as time goes on. You go ahead and tell them--like you tell the tributes every year--that the food is rich too, so they probably shouldn’t eat large portions anyway.
“Finnick didn’t look very happy.” Elysia says, she’s obviously talking to you.
“We spoke for a couple of minutes.” you dip your spoon into the bowl of soup, “If I were him, I’d be pretty pissed off too, but it’s just the way the cookie crumbles.”
Elysia nods, “Any big changes this year?”
You look at her, “I’m going to have an extra pair of hands, I don’t think that I’ll be running around this year.”
Elysia’s smart, she gets what you’re saying almost immediately. You watch the small smile spread over her face, but she doesn’t say anything more about the topic itself, “I suppose some attendants can run him some food.”
You finish up dinner, and then have a little bit of lava cave for dessert. Annie and Marsh are full, but not to the point where they’re going to be sick. So, you all pack it up and bring it to the next train car to watch the reaping recap. You let Annie and Marsh take the seats they want on the couch, but you stand behind it with Elysia.
You’ve grown to realize that sitting down during important events like this, makes you more nervous. It’s more or less the reason why you hate sitting during the reaping.
You watch and observe, listening to what Annie and Marsh have to say about their competitors. They don’t seem all that worried, honestly. They guess strengths and weaknesses, forming a plan of their own. A part of you wonders if they had the reaping planned out, if they made a deal to volunteer together. Like you said, they’re friends. It makes the most sense.
The obvious kids to keep an eye on, as per usual, is Districts One and Two. As the years go on, the more the tributes look vicious. Last year was a fucking nightmare when it came to watching them killing the other tributes around them. It’s no surprise they won, considering they were a fucking tornado in a playground.
“We’d like to be mentored together.” Annie says, looking over her shoulder at you.
Elysia left after the first time they played the recap, she saw all that she needed to. You vaguely remember her mentioning something about checking up on Finnick to make sure he’s eaten. It’s whatever, if he wants to start off on the wrong foot, it’s him that’s going to be regretting it, not you.
“Sounds good to me. Got a plan going on yet?” you cross your arms, eyes landing right back onto the screen in front of them.
“Marsh and I are allies, we think that’s going to work out the best.” she says, “Right?”
Marsh nods in agreement.
“This is your time to shine, not mine.” you raise your eyebrows, “We should arrive in the Capitol in the next few hours. We’ll start getting down to business tomorrow morning. Sounds good?”
“Yeah.” Marsh says.
“You should probably shower if you haven’t already, and get to bed. You’ll need all the sleep you can get, tomorrow’s going to be exhausting. You can find your rooms?” you get ready to go.
“Yes, thank you.” Annie says.
“Goodnight.” you start your way to the door, nearly leaving when Annie calls your name, “Hmm?”
She’s got a sheepish smile on her face, “Thank you for training us.”
“You’re going to be excellent inside of the arena, you two.” 
Back in your room, you lay out the clothes you’ll wear when you get to the Capitol. You take a shower, starting off standing and soaking in the warm water. Which you eventually turn hotter, and sit on the floor while it rains on you. For a while, you stare at the granite tile, but end up placing your head on your knees.
You can’t let these kids down. You’ve worked with them for four and five years, you’ve grown to know them. You watched them grow and become better at their chosen skills. You know their families, and you know that if you lose both of them this year, the whole boarding school is a joke. You’ve been working towards this idea for the past five years. You should’ve had it perfected years ago, yet here you are, still going through the trial and error process.
“Please, let one of them win this year.” you murmur, squeezing your eyes shut, “Just one of them, either of them. One of them has to come home. One beacon of hope to keep me going, please.”
You sit there for a while longer, until your fingers begin to prune. You dry your hair and gently tie it out of your face. After you’ve gotten dressed and brushed your teeth, you sit in the corner of the room, staring out of the window, watching as the sky darkens further. And then you see the lights of the city.
You gather your things out of the room, folding the outfit you wore, and then tucking it into a canvas bag. You make sure that the ring is on your finger before you leave the room behind. You’re the first to make it to the train car, arms crossed and still staring out of the window as you wait for the others.
Finnick shows up next, standing on the far side of the room, quiet as ever. Elysia brings Annie and Marsh around, just in time for the train to stop. The cheering of the Capitol citizens starts immediately, loud clapping and whistling and shouting their names.
Since there’s cameras, Annie and Marsh leave the train with Elysia first. You and Finnick follow, getting your own car. And even though the tributes left before you did, your car makes it to the Tribute Center first. Knowing that Elysia will make sure that they’re signed in properly, you and Finnick head straight to the apartment.
The elevator is quiet, tense, “Marsh is seventeen years old. He’s been in the boarding school since he was thirteen, just like Annie. They’ve decided to be allies, they know each other well. He’s good at fighting, I’ve seen him against the others, he’ll be able to measure up to the others in the gymnasium.”
You run your finger along the silver handle inside of the elevator, briefly wondering if people actually use it or not, “Annie is eighteen. She’s smart, quick on her feet. She’s reliable when it comes to recalling survival skills. She looks like she doesn’t have a lot when it comes to fighting, but that’s only the surface. Annie will never choose violence as her first choice, but as a last resort, she’s deadly.”
You look to Finnick to see that he’s already got his eyes on you, watching. You can’t tell what he’s thinking. Maybe he’s planning on telling you that he’s not going to follow your plans. He might as well save his breath, because he’s going to listen. He might think he has an option now, but you know how to work around problems.
The elevator reaches the Four floor, “Goodnight, I’ll see you at the table tomorrow.”
“Don’t count on it.” He says, following behind you loosely.
“You should be dressed and ready before noon. I trust you can find your way to the Tribute Parade by yourself.” You pause, and then look at him, “If not, I could walk you there.”
Finnick stops right next to you, angry and leaning over you like he’s trying to intimidate you. He opens his mouth to say something, but you slip out from underneath him. You hop up the last step, practically skipping as you round the corner to go to your room for the next.
You don’t scare easily.
You change into comfier clothes and then go straight to bed. With the blankets pulled to your chin, you’re out in no time. You wake up on your own time, since Elysia doesn’t really have to baby you anymore. After laying out your clothes, you take a shower and make sure to not touch your hair.
You’re the second person out in the dining room, with Elysia already at the table. She’s drinking her coffee quietly, eyes on the tv in the living room. It’s loud enough to hear from where you sit, and it’s just an overview of last year's tribute parade and costumes. The woman talking is definitely not Claudius or Caesar, so you know it’s going to be a good morning.
“Laurel sent word early this morning, said she’d like to see you as soon as possible before the Tribute Parade.” Elysia says, setting her mug on the table, “I’ll get the kids up.”
“Thank you.” you say to her, and then repeat it for the avoxes when they begin to bring out breakfast.
Annie comes out first, looking fairly put together. She gives you a polite smile and sits by you at the table, “Good morning.”
You nod, eyes on the tv, watching as the woman skips over the first two districts. Their outfits tend to be the same thing every year. It’s a comfort for District One to dress their tributes in expensive fabric and make them look as Capitol-ish as possible. As for District Two, it’s always a gladiator thing, it’s just a different variation this year.
And even with how boring it is, they still manage to come out as the favorite every single year. For a city that loves the adventure and the unpredictability of the Hunger Games, they’re pretty boring when it comes to allowing the careers to do the same thing every year. At least District Four has the brains to try something new, even if it doesn’t work all the time.
Elysia comes back out, taking a seat at the table, “Marsh will join us in a moment.”
If Laurel wants to talk to you, it’s probably about the costumes. She knows what she wants, but sometimes seeks out advice if she’s caught between two ideas. No matter what happens, Pleurisy will have to match her, and she won’t object to changes. Laurel is older than Pleurisy, which sort-of got her a certain amount of respect from Pleurisy.
It makes Laurel’s job a whole lot easier, you think. They have to match costumes at the Tribute Parade, and it’s better if you coordinate the formal outfits for the night of the interviews. Especially if the tributes are going to be working together inside of the arena. Laurel’s a sure person, if she wants it, she’s going to get it. She’s also a visionary, likes to see her works come to life. 
Right after breakfast, you should get down there quickly so she isn’t waiting for long. If you’re making a costume decision, then the prep teams are going to need to be able to shift to fit the new needs. As soon as Marsh is out here, you’ll say what you need to and then go. You can always eat later if you’re hungry.
Marsh comes out of the hallway, barely awake but he looks as put together as Annie does. You wipe your mouth with the cloth napkin, finish up your orange juice, and neatly stack up your plates for the avoxes to take. 
“Today is the Tribute Parade.” you start, catching their attention, “After breakfast, Elysia will take you down to the Remake Center. The prep teams will take care of you, no matter what happens, don’t resist or complain. Let them do their jobs, they have rules to follow.” you stand up from the table, “I’ll see you again before you get on the chariots.”
You’re about to tell them that if they have any questions, they should ask Elysia. But Finnick comes down the steps, heading straight for the dining table. It’s perfect timing on his part, you get ready to leave, “If you have any questions, Finnick will have the answers. I’ll see you later this afternoon.”
His eyes meet yours, already glaring. He doesn’t turn around and go back to his room like you halfway expected, but sits at the table and waits to be served. You think that he won’t let the tributes down, so you go ahead and leave. If Finnick doesn’t step up, Elysia will gladly do it.
Laurel and Pleurisy are standing in the hallway with the prep teams when you get there. They open up to make a space for you to stand, and you patiently wait as Laurel finishes telling Annie’s prep team what they’ll be doing with Annie. The basic stuff, some extra points if they have the time to later on. You know what the team will make room for the extra stuff either way.
Pleurisy is doing the same thing with Marsh’s team, but it’s not as heinous. They’ll find a way to draw out Marsh’s grooming so that Annie and him finish around the same time. Just so Marsh doesn’t sit around and wait for the Tribute Parade to come around.
Once they’re done, the magical opinion question is brought to the table. Laurel shows you the two options this year, and immediately you can see why she was caught between them. The first option is based off the coral reef, with bright colors and shelves that stick out in places that aren’t awkward. You know that this would be an eye-catcher, and there’s not a spot of blue to be found.
The second option is something less interesting; ropes. Brown nets that’ll be strategically placed around their bodies to make them seem dressed, but really they’ll practically be naked. The only reason this could ever appear to the Capitol citizens is because of a nearly revealed tribute. Which they’ve seen hundreds of times by now.
“Definitely the coral reef. The colors are bright and might even drown out everyone else a bit.” they back away from you, looking pleased, “It’s bold, though.”
“They’ll look amazing by the end of it. We’ve got big plans for them.” Laurel then turns to the prep teams, “Get ready to receive the tributes.” the teams scatter, leaving just you three in the hallway, “Elysia tells me you’ve got Finnick working this year.”
“Not just yet.” you admit, gently shaking your head, “He’s not very happy, I’m going to start slow but by the time the games roll around, he’ll be under my thumb. I can handle the week in the Capitol, but I start to spread myself thin when the tributes get in the arena.”
“Will he be at the parade?” Pleurisy asks.
“Should be. If not, it’s not that big of a deal.”
You spend the rest of the morning with the stylists, following them around, watching as they prepare the costumes. As it nears noon, you get word that the tributes are just about done, which means you three have to scatter. You bid them goodbye, and head back to the apartment to have lunch before meeting the tributes below the Remake Center.
The whole place feels empty, with no sign of Elysia anywhere in the common rooms, and lord knows where Finnick is. You turn the tv on again to hear what Caesar and Claudius have to say about last year’s costumes, and the predictions for this year. You sit at the table, and eat quietly, trying not to hate the Capitol anymore than you already do.
Even after you’re done eating, you sit at the table for a while. Which seems to pay off in the end, as the mystery of where Finnick’s been the entire time, is solved. Still leaves the question on where Elysia is. But if you were to take a guess now, when the Tribute Parade is less than thirty minutes off, she’s probably with the stylists so that she’s on time to the parade.
You lean your head against your hand and watch as Finnick takes his time making his way up the stairs. He’s obviously trying to avoid talking to you, because if he doesn’t look in your direction, you’re probably not going to bother him. At least, that’s what he thinks. Unfortunately, you know how to play mind games and have a fair amount of patience.
The constant silence seems to make him curious enough to look anyway. His eyes lock with yours, he stops moving up the steps. As the staring contest begins, you can see the guilt in his eyes. But as quick as it appeared, it’s suddenly gone. It doesn’t matter, because you’ve seen everything that you needed to already.
You give him a smile, “There’s fifteen minutes before the parade. Plenty of time to get cleaned up, and go, so you might as well.”
“You were waiting here for me?” he asks, face twisting.
“Don’t flatter yourself, I just ate lunch.” you roll your eyes, looking back at the tv.
He leaves, you watch as the stands fill with bright colors and animated Capitol people. To think that it feels like yesterday you were the one rolling through the street, dressed as a marble statue straight out of Atlantis. You can still remember the way your stomach twisted right as the chariots began to move.
As the years have come and gone, you’ve become more used to the cameras. Whether you like it or not, the Capitol will always be with you. They might not follow you around in District Four anymore, but they sure do keep tabs on you when the games roll around. What is (Y/n) doing this year? You’re sure they noticed your happy expressions during the reapings when Annie and Marsh volunteered. You wonder if they were suspicious that you weren’t really surprised.
You can’t say you’ll be as indifferent when the games roll around. It’s going to be harder to hold yourself together, as it is every year. And if Marsh or Annie win? It’s going to be a celebration, there’s not a single doubt about it. And depending on what happens in the arena exactly, especially with the other careers, you’ll be rubbing it in.
Finnick comes out when it hits ten minutes. He doesn’t look all that different, just less disheveled than he had started as. You and him take the elevator down below the Remake Center, and you’re able to see that there’s a handful of tributes here already, waiting by their chariots.
Annie and Marsh are dressed brilliantly. As always, Laurel knows what she’s doing, and she’s managed to make it look like they could easily blend into the reefs themselves, if they wanted to. Annie’s hair is done up in braids, with bright colors weaved in and out. As a headpiece, she’s got an orange reef hair comb tucked in neatly. 
The colors on their bodies are strategically placed to make them blend into each other. Annie’s got a dress that bells out at the bottom, with unique, hand-painted designs that must have taken hours. Even Marsh has brightly colored makeup around his eyes, smeared with colored glitter mixed in.
“Huh.” Finnick lets out, “You picked this?”
“This is not what was sketched out.” you look at him, raising your eyebrows, “But it’s pretty cool, huh?” 
You elbow him slightly, and then head over to Annie and Marsh, “You guys look amazing!” 
Annie turns, giving you a red-faced smile. Marsh on the other hand, rolls his eyes and picks at the coral band on his arm. Since they can’t do special effects on the tributes, as the chemicals might irritate his skin, the stylists have to get creative with how they get props to stick onto the tributes. It typically turns out to be tight bands like the ones Marsh is wearing. It doesn’t cut off circulation, but it isn’t exactly comfortable either.
With this, Pleurisy slaps Marsh’s hand to get him to stop fiddling with the band. If he messes it up now, it’ll have to come off completely. There’s absolutely no time to go back and fix anything that he might fuck up. Marsh seems to catch the clue though, because he laces his fingers together and tries not to touch anything else.
The opening music starts, notifying you that it’s time to get the tributes onto their chariots. Laurel and Pleurisy shift anything that needs to be moved, and then they’re making Marsh and Annie get onto the chariot. You watch as they shift around, finding the way they’ll be standing for the parade.
“Any tips?” Annie asks hopefully.
“Follow your gut.” you say, “If you feel like smiling or waving, do it. This is your time to set what you’ll be like for the rest of the Capitol trip. As soon as you’re in the arena, it can go away.”
They don’t ask any questions, and even if they had any, their time is up. The doors behind them have finished opening, District One’s chariot is starting to move. You and the others back off, wishing the tributes good luck. You’re all subjected to watching the chariots on the tv.
You cross your arms, yawning slightly. You’re ready for the day to be over, at least the next three days or so is going to be slow. All you really have to do is get up and make yourself presentable until they’re shipped to the Training Center. The only real working day is the one the day before the interviews. And that’s because you’re going to be figuring out how you can help them be ready for the interview.
Annie and Marsh seem to be in their element for the most part. Annie is obviously shy, Marsh doesn’t mind it at all. She waves and smiles and does just as much as Marsh does. They stop in the City Circle, the anthem plays, President Snow gives his speech, the chariots go around the circle one last time, and then come back.
“Not bad.” you say to yourself, “Not bad at all.”
You leave Finnick standing there, giving the tributes a wide grin. The prep teams are already singing praises, so there’s not much to say. Muchless room to say it. Elysia thinks that they’ve had an influence on the Capitol already, which is a relief. As long as they’re drawing in some attention, you’re good.
Back inside of the Four floor, your tributes head off to take their showers. Finnick meanders around the rooms, you settle onto the couch in the living room, watching the chariot rides again. As always, Claudius and Caesar have been captivated by District One and Two’s amazing stylists. They barely make a comment about District Four.
You end up with your head in your hands. You know that just because the moderators didn’t say anything, doesn’t mean that other people didn’t take a closer look. But their biased opinion tends to have an effect on people after a while. Continue to make dim comments about districts, and you’ll end up like District Twelve.
No one wants to be District Twelve.
Dinner with everyone--with the exception of the prep teams--is enough to keep you awake. You go ahead and indulge yourself in red wine, trying to seem like you’re enjoying yourself. As soon as the alcohol sets in, making your head spin a little, you go ahead and give it up. You’re not really a drinker, anyway.
As soon as the cake is served, you’re sure that dinner is pretty much over. You go and watch the replay of the parade again, Elysia goes ahead and tells you guys what the people she’d talk to said. It’s all very good things, and you begin to suspect that she’s just being nice for the tributes.
“Don’t give them false hope.” you say, cutting her off completely, “Claudius and Caesar did nothing for us. Annie and Marsh have to do good on their training scores, and even better during the interviews if they want to make a lasting impression.” you look at the tributes, “The pressure of performing well has only just begun.
“You guys should get to bed, we’ll see you at breakfast for instructions. Try to get a good night of sleep.”
Annie thanks Laurel on her way out, Marsh barely does the same. You absently watch the tv while you wait for them to be gone completely. Finnick’s already gathering his things, “I’ve got to go.”
“Be there at breakfast, I’ll fill you in the best I can.” you tell him.
“Sure.”
He leaves too, and you’re left there with Elysia, Laurel and Pleurisy.
“You know how to clear a room.” Laurel says, you crack a smile.
“Well you wanted to talk.” you look at them, “So let’s get to talking.”
--
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emy-loves-you · 5 years ago
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The Prince, The Knight, and The Assassin Chapter One
The Assignment
Inspired by the amazing @kawaiikat54
Here’s the summary I wrote for AO3 bc I’m very proud of it:
Janus has never had a good life, raised to be a perfect assassin for the Dark Kingdom. Even though he hates his life, he follows all of his orders and does what he can to protect his little family. But what happens when he's given an order he can't follow through?
Patton is the Prince of the Light Kingdom. His family sees him as just a pretty face, a bargaining chip for peace between the two Kingdoms. He's given up everything for his Kingdom, even his chance of being happy with the love of his life by being forced into an arranged marriage with the High Queen of the Dark Kingdom. But what happens when he's kidnapped by someone who's lived through more horrors than Patton could ever imagine?
Roman is the personal knight and lover of Prince Patton. At least, he WAS Patton's lover, until they broke up so Patton could marry the High Queen. He hates having to pretend that he no longer feels anything for the Prince. But what happens when Patton disappears in the middle of the night?
What happens when the stars align just right? When a tortured soul refuses to kill? When family and duty are abandoned over love? When pain and anger override all thought? When three men, destined to be apart, fall in love?
Masterlist | Chapter Two
Warnings: Child assassins, child abandonment, I’m pretty sure this counts as child slavery, mentions of murder, mentions of torture, these characters will suffer
Two steps to the left.
Clash!
Feign a jab. Step to the right.
Clang!
Opponent is leaning heavily on his right foot. Most likely hurt his left. Jab near his right, make him lean back on his left. Swipe your leg out from under him-
“Oof!” The small figure fell to the floor, going to roll out of the way only to be stopped by the tip of a sword against his neck.
Janus glanced out of the corner of his eye to see the instructors leaving and relaxed minutely, stepping back. Evaluation over. Must have passed if we're not punished already. He put his sword away and held out his hand for his smaller opponent to grab. "Acknowledging your weaknesses will get you killed. Even if your foot has been crushed to a pulp, you need to put just as much weight on it as you would your right. Ignoring your pain, if only for the few moments of your fight, could be the difference between killing and dying."
His pupil nodded, grabbing the offered hand and pulling himself up. He dusted the dirt off his clothes and followed Janus back to their room, doing much better to hide his injured foot than when they were sparring. The room was small, more comparable to a closet than a bedroom in terms of size. But because of Janus' status, the room only houses three instead of the standard seven, so they wouldn't complain.
His pupil, Virgil, stepped into the room and immediately sat down on his cot, cradling his injured foot. Janus sighed and pried open the moldy floorboards, grabbing the small medkit hidden he’d stolen months ago. Virgil saw the medkit and shook his head "m fine."
Janus frowned, kneeling in front of him. "You obviously aren't, now let me take a look at it." He lightly grabbed Virgil by the calf and carefully removed his sock and shoe. He took note of Virgil's wince as he examined his limb. His foot appeared to be in perfect health, but his ankle was swollen slightly.
Virgil huffed softly, turning away. "See? I'm fine. No use in wasting supplies." He yelped when Janus poked his ankle, trying to jerk back but his leg stuck in Janus' firm grip.
Janus rolled his eyes. "Just let me wrap you up and give you a painkiller, Vee." He grabbed the roll of bandages, not waiting for Virgil’s response as he wrapped his ankle. Virgil huffed and grumbled under his breath.
Knock knock-knock knock
Janus tensed up before he recognized the knock pattern, relaxing. “Come in.” He didn’t bother turning back to look as he meticulously wrapped Virgil’s ankle. He heard the door open and closed followed by a sigh.
“I knew you twisted your ankle yesterday.” The person behind him drawled. “If you had let me tend to it yesterday-”
“Yeah, I know.” Virgil flushed and looked away. “But it felt fine yesterday, and if the supervisors had seen the bandages-”
“It would’ve been a risk we were willing to take.” He finished wrapping his foot and sat up, making deliberate eye contact with Virgil as he spoke. “We would’ve hidden them under your clothes, and if they still somehow saw it I would’ve taken the blame, not you. I’m the only one here with potential access to medical supplies.” Janus was the only one who went on unsupervised missions, the others too young so they were heavily supervised.
Virgil frowned, his gaze flickering to the left half Janus’ face as he remained silent. Janus ignored it, used to people staring at the scar. It started at the inner corner of his eye and trailed just under his cheekbone, ending at his jaw just under his ear. He’d gotten it when he was 8, a warning for hesitating in the middle of a mission. The only reason he wasn’t killed on the spot was that he was a prodigy at what he did.
Janus put the bandages away and searched for some pain medication. “Did your evaluation go well, Lo?”
Logan, or ‘Lo’ as Janus had so eloquently put it, sighed. “They changed the assignment as soon as I arrived in an attempt to throw me off guard. I still managed to pass, if barely.” He knelt down next to Janus, and Janus resisted the urge to frown. They’re being a lot more strict on evaluations now. Have they forgotten that they’re doing this to children? Or maybe they want them to fail so they can be broken down more. Janus mentally shook away the thought as he handed Virgil a pill, trying not to seem too obvious.
Virgil noticed though. He always noticed the little things. “That’s the last pill. We should save it for when we need it.”
Janus shook his head. “I’ll go smuggle some more on my next mission.”
Virgil scooted back, looking away. “I told you I’m fine-”
Logan crawled over to Virgil’s side, grabbing his hand and squeezing. “Just please take the pill, Virgil.” Janus watched as Logan and Virgil stared at each other, their mini battle-of-wills adorable to watch when you ignored the context. Virgil eventually sighed, taking the pill and swallowing without water as Logan rubbed his hand soothingly. Janus watched out of the corner of his eye as he put the medical supplies away, smiling softly at their interaction. It was moments like these that reminded Janus why he kept himself alive, why he kept listening to the High Queen’s demands.
No one in the Dark Kingdom could remember a time before the High Queen’s rule. She ruled the land with an iron fist, though most of the citizens were left unaware of the true horrors that lied behind the castle walls.
Janus was one of those horrors. Raised by birth to do the one thing that he was good at anymore: killing. Janus was an assassin for the High Queen.
“Jan?” Janus looked down at Virgil, snapping himself out of thought. “Are we busy today?”
Janus sighed. “I have to go receive my new mission from her highness at sunset, but you have nothing to do until training tomorrow.”
Virgil nodded and snuggled into Logan’s side, making grabby hands towards Janus. Janus smiled, rolling his eyes fondly as he crawled onto the tiny cot. His two pupils adjusted themselves accordingly, one on each side as they used his shoulders as pillows, their hands linked together over his chest. Janus watched over them as their breathing slowed, their grips on each other and Janus refusing to go slack as they drifted into slumber.
Janus frowned, starting up at the ceiling above him. They didn’t deserve to suffer through this type of life. Hell, if it wasn’t for the High Queen’s order for the older assassins to train the younger ones as mentors, Janus was sure that they wouldn’t have lasted. They were good at what they did, but not good enough for her majesty.
Virgil whimpered softly and Janus was quick to shush him, petting his hair and wiping away his fresh tears. The kid had nightmares almost every night, and Janus learned that it was best for him to just sleep through them. If he woke up there was a chance he would still remember what he dreamed about in the morning, and Janus refused to put him through that.
Janus sighed, his mind going back to the documents he had found and read years ago. It had included information on all of the children operatives in this program. Janus had only read the information on himself and his two pupils, not having much time and deeming the rest irrelevant. Before then, they didn’t even have their real names to go by, just the codenames that the higher-ups gave them.
Virgil, codenamed Widow. Ten years old, will turn eleven near the winter solstice. Was neglected in an orphanage and later ‘donated’ to the Kingdom’s cause at almost four years old. An odd case, especially since operatives were usually initiated at 1-2 years old. Specializes in stealth and poisoning, and can blend in with almost any crowd. Can climb and run quickly, but quite weak in terms of hand-to-hand combat.
Logan, codenamed Sparrow. Turned nine near the spring equinox. Was sold to the castle at 14 months old. A natural prodigy, second only to Deceit, but tends to lose any form of stealth without Widow or Deceit by his side. Prefers to use a throwing knife and call it a day over making it look like a natural death. Is usually partnered with Widow to keep him in check.
Janus, codenamed Deceit. Turned nineteen near the summer solstice. Son of a noble who ‘donated’ him to the cause the moment he was born. First child to be entered into the program, and the oldest one in it. Raised to be the perfect killer. Completes every mission perfectly, other than the instance where he got his scar. The High Queen’s ‘favorite.’ Assigned as Logan’s mentor when he was 11, and Virgil’s a little over a year later. Can kill someone with almost anything, but specializes in swords.
Janus sighed, carding his hands through his pupils’ hair. He saw them as something akin to younger brothers, someone that he needed to watch over and take care of. But that was quickly changing. They were already so big, and Janus was dreading the day that the higher-ups would notice and kill the youthful light in their eyes. They still laughed and smiled, even if it was just in the comfort of their little room. They still cared about eachother and trusted the other to catch them when they fell. They didn’t have the same cynical view on the world that Janus did.
But that wouldn’t last forever. Janus knew they could take care of themselves now, but Janus still dreaded the day they would be forced to do so. The day that Janus was given too big of a task and didn’t come home. The inevitable day that the higher-ups noticed how close they were and started using them against each other.
Janus shook his head. It wouldn’t do good to dwell on such thoughts. He needed to live in the moment while he still had a happy moment to live in.
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When the sun just started to set along the horizon, Janus carefully pulled himself out from under his pseudo-brothers. They immediately latched onto each other, and Janus smiled softly before schooling his features. He quickly stepped out of the room, ignoring the chilly hallway as he walked through the castle, past the dozens of rooms filled to the brim with child soldiers.
He reached the throne room just as the sun disappeared below the horizon, not bothering to glance around the room as he walked down the familiar path towards the High Queen’s throne. He knelt down at the base of the throne, his gaze down towards the expensive silver-lined shoes in front of him. “Your majesty.”
A hand carded through his hair and he stopped himself from flinching or tensing up, already expecting it to happen. “Deccceit… my preccciousss sssnake…” The hand tugged, not quite harsh but definitely not gentle, and Janus looked up at the High Queen. She reminded Janus of a dragon, her old, wrinkly skin reminding him of dragon scales. She tended to speak softly in low hisses, but Janus was used to straining to hear what she said. “I have a tassssk for you.”
He kept his expression neutral, not showing any emotion as he droned out his response. “Anything for you, my Queen.” He bit back a shudder as she kept carding her fingers through his hair. She had once claimed to see Janus as a son to her, but Janus would never see her as a mother. She was cruel and manipulative, and only saw people as pieces to her own master plan.
“The Light Kingdom hasss deccccided to negotiate peacccce with ussss.” Janus inwardly relaxed, already knowing what she would say. This wasn’t the first time they had tried to negotiate peace, and this wasn’t the first time she had sent Janus out to deal with it. The High Queen didn’t wish for peace, or even to win her battle against the Light Kingdom. No, she craved the violence and war between the two kingdoms, the constant pain and suffering that everyone around her was forced to endure at her expense. So, she would order him to kill the light side’s politicians before they reached the meeting point, make it look like they all disappeared out of thin air-
“They offered the Princccce’sssss hand in exchange for peacccccce.” Janus barely held back his shock. Prince Patton was eighteen, and the only heir to the throne. Either the King and Queen wanted to fully merge the kingdoms (which was highly unlikely) or they weren’t wanting the Prince to rule. But that also left a much more concerning matter at hand. The Queen didn’t want to establish peace, which meant Janus’ task-
“Your tassssk isss to kill the Princcccce.” The hand kept carding through his hair, her voice calm and light, as if she was discussing the weather and not murder. “You’ll leave tonight. I’ll have sssssomeone bring you to the border. The wedding isssss ssssscheduled to occur in two and a half weekssss. I expect to hear about hissssss death long before then.”
He nodded, ice flooding his veins. He had only killed corrupt politicians and men with no morals. He’d never killed someone so young, and the thought made his stomach churn. But he had no choice. “It will be done, my Queen.”
She laughed a cruel wicked laugh and dismissed him to grab his weapons. He left, feeling numb as he traveled through the halls, the task finally sinking in. He had to infiltrate the Light Kingdom’s castle and assassinate the crown prince. An impossible task for most, and highly improbable for Janus. If he was caught or failed his task, he would be killed or worse. And he would never see Logan or Virgil again.
Janus swept into the room, knowing that he didn’t have much time before he had to leave. He packed his weapons and gently shook his charges awake, his dread momentarily paused by their sleepy expressions. “I’m assigned to leave tonight. If everything goes according to plan I’ll be back in less than three weeks.”
The children said nothing as they wrapped themselves around Janus, holding him tight. The fact that he said ‘if everything goes according to plan’ meant that he wasn’t confident about this mission, and they immediately held on for dear life.
He smiled sadly, rubbing their backs soothingly. “I need to leave now. Go back to sleep, you have training in the morning.” He didn’t promise to come back. These were the only two people that Janus swore never to lie to, and he wasn’t going to do it now just to give them a moment of false hope. They soon fell back asleep on the cot, holding each other tighter than before, and Janus slipped out the door and into the night.
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afaimsarrowverse · 5 years ago
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Arrowverse Update 2021:
(No, I won’t call it The CW-Verse).
 Yes, I promised you one of these ages ago, but then RL turned everything around on its head, and I did not want to make one before all the shows were back in production and there was anything solid to tell you. So now I have lots.
 Only facts here, not politics, and only slight speculation regarding future developments, as always.
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Batwoman
 Season 2 will start airing on the 17th of January and return to the shows usual time slot. They are planning to produce 19 episodes for this season. However given the times we are living in another production shutdown could prevent that number tob e fullfilled again, so take it with a grain of salt.
One of these 19 episodes will be part of this years Crossover-Event, which is a two parter and crosses over with „Superman& Lois“. Characters from the other shows are set to appear as well, however who that will be is unknown at this point. The Flash will probably be in it, aswell as someone from „Supergirl“, however if this someone is Kara is up for debate right now. John Constantine, Mick Rory, and Nate Heywood are the most likley candidates for someone from „Legends“. „Black Lightning“ is most likley not participating in the crossover. However someone from „Arrow“ might show up in it instead.
Ruby Rose is off the show and so is Kate Kane.
Just to clearify: Ruby Rose was not fired from the show , the higher ups at Warner and The CW were as surprised as we were about her decescion to leave, and Season 1 did not fail, quite the opposite actually: Until „Stargirl“ came along, „Batwoman“ was Number 3 on The CW, only „The Flash“ and „Riverdale“ did better. If the ratings of „Batwoman“ would have been bad, the whole network would be forced to shut down. Yes, the ratings dropped after „Crisis“ (but they dropped for all the shows except for „Arrow“ after the crossover), but they recovered, and overall „Batwoman“ was doing a lot better than let’s said fan favourite shows like „SPN“. The Powers That Be had every intention to go forward with Season 2 as originally planned.
Ruby Rose hurt her back a while back and had an emergency surgery after which she returned to the set of „Batwoman“, thereby disregarding her health. She has been suffering from chronical pain ever since. Thanks to Lockdown she was able to live the difference, a life without Batsuit, stunt work, and shooting days – and decided to quit. On the long run this might have happened eventually anyways. The actress has a history of depression and has been bullied online since the day it was announced that she got the part – by her own community as well as by Alt.Right Fanboys, who hate woman, LGBT-Characters, The CW, and the idea of anyone but Bruce Wayne being a Bat-Hero. Add that to physical pain, hard working hours, and a dislike for Vancouver, why should someone do that herself on the long run? However, it would not have happend between Season 1 and 2, and the writers would have had a chance to write Kate out of the show gardually and to build up an heir to her mantle at the same time. Now none of this will happen.
The producers decided against recasting Kate Kane as well as against making an established character into the new Batwoman. They even decided against bringing another Batfamily character from the comics into the show or introduce someone with ties to the established cast into the show for that purpose (like a cousin of Kate or Luke Foxs sister). Instead the quickly made up a brand new character – Ryan Wilder.
Ryan Wilder was invented for the show. Yes, she has shown up in a recent „Batgirl“ Comic, but make no mistake, she was inserted into that comic to make it look like she is a character from the comics, even though she isn’t. The Scripts for Season 2 predate that comic appearance by quite some time.
Javicia Leslie will be the new Batwoman, who has no ties to anyone in the show, but will witness whatever happens to Kate. So this will be a Miles Morales kind of situation, by the sounds of it. However we were told Kate won’t be killed of. Instead the Bat-Eating Monster that ate Batman will get her. Well kind of, she will disappear like Batman before her.
Ryan Wilder will have ties to Scarecrow though. If that means that somewhere along the line he will replace Alice as the main villain of the show is unknown. Safiyah is going to show up though, and will be played by Shivaani Ghai. She will face of with Alice, which seems to be one of the few preplanned elements, that will make their way into Season 2 after all. A female assassin named The Whisper will work for her, and a guy called Ocean will show up.
Pictures of the new Bat Suit have been released online. The most important part about the new look seemd to be the fact that you can tell that it’s an Afro American Woman by the silhouette. Juding by this the main focus of the show will shift. Discussions about DADT and Coming Outs are in the past, BLM it is instead. Ryan Wilder is supposed to be lesbian though. And a (former?) drug addict and goofy and „not the right person“ for the job of Batwoman at „this time“ of her life.
Given that there is a „Kate has disappeared“- storyline – either offscreen or via body double – it would make sense to have the character return to the show at some point in the future. However don’t expect that to happen in Season 2. As long as the two week quarantine period for people coming into Canada is in place guest stars won’t come cheap and might prefer to work in the US instead.
Also don’t expect to get Kate Kane back as a main character any time ever for that show. If she returns it will only be to wrap up her storyline and to give the new Batwoman her blessing.
Season 2 is currently filming in Vancouver. „Batwoman“ was one of the first shows to return to filming and has had a small filming break forced on them already, due to testing issues. However those seem to have been resolved. The production has been running smoothly for the most part.
Expect a proper trailer around December time and expect Season 2 to be treated like a new show by the network. Because that’s bascially what it is. (International distrubiton deals will however remain the same, so don’t worry about that, wherever you saw Season 1, it’s likely you will be able to watch Season 2 there too).
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 Black Lightning (+ Painkiller)
 Season 4 will start airing on the 8th of Febuary and take the Monday night 9:00 pm slot. The season will consist of 13 episodes, and consdering that it’s the shows final season all of these episodes will be made and aired, come hell or high water.
We don’t know a whole lot about this season. Chantal Thuy will be part of the main cast in this season, so hopefully that means that Grace will consistently hang around all season and won’t do her usual disappearing act inbetween episodes.
What we do know is, that around the middle of the season a backdoor pilot for a potential Painkiller Spin-Off will air as episode 4.7. In it Khalil will end up in an new city Askahic Valley, where he will aim for a fresh start and find trouble instead. Helping those in need he will have to find a way to use his inner darkness  aka his Painkiller personality for good.
The backdoor pilot sounds engaging, kind of like a more down played version of „Legion“, but as for the chances for it to get picked up, we will have to wait and see. Being more of a follow up for „Black Lightning“ then a spin off the chances for a pick up are much better than most of us thought, when we still believed it to be a sister show to the adventures of the Pierce-Family. However it may be too high concept to find an audience. Furthermore the reboot of „Batwoman“ (see above) may also be enough for The CWs need to live up ist own diversity statement. So we will have to wait how the backdoor pilot works out for an audience and for the network, and also how the future plans for the Arrowverse in particular and their whole program in general for the 2021/2022 season will look like. Diversity also means not too many of those superheroes shows at the same time.
As for why it was decided that the series has to end with Season 4, this is currently still unknown. The ratings were always the poorest out of all the Arrowverseshows and also among the lowest of the whole program of the network, and Netflixs decision to go from weekly episodes to whole seasons also indicated that outside the UK and Australia the show did not do overly well, however the reason behind the decision might have nothing to do with any of that given that the show was rather consitent where the numbers where concerned. It might have been a creative decision, the fall out from the desire of on of the main actors to leave the show, or even a demand from Warner or AT&T. As of right now, we just don’t know, but the truth will come out eventually.
For International Netflix the season will likely be put on after it finishes airing in the US, just like Season 3 was. The Series Finale will probably air in May.
Season 4 is currently shooting in Atlanta. Due to this crossovers with the other shows are more or less out of the question for this season, however in theory characters from „Arrow“ could show up in the final season. But given that „Black Lightning“ always was its own thing, I would not count on it. However after the show is finished, Black Lighting, Thunder, and Lightning could show up from time to time in the Vancouver based shows, if the actors are willing (and in „Painkiller“ of course), so maybe „Black Lightning“ will be fully integrated in the Arrowverse after it’s finished in the same way „Constantine“ was.
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 The Flash:
 Season 7 of „The Flash“ will start airing on the 23 of Febuary on Tuesday night right before  „Superman & Lois“. It’s planned to have 18 episodes in total. One of those is 6x20 („All’s Wells That Ends Wells“) which was already more or less finished, when the production shut down. Most of the episode will now be 7x01, however there might have been some reshoots concerning the scenes Hartley Sawyer was in (more on that later). 17 additional episodes are being filmed, provided there isn’t another  production shutdown.
The first three episodes of the season will be the slighty rewritten finale of Season 6 and deal with the Mirror Mistress. The rest of seasons will consists of two volumes again, shorter ones than usual though. As of now there are no plans for a crossover episode. Barry will however almost certainly show up in the „Batwoman“/“Superman & Lois“ Crossover Event.
Godspeed will be the main villain of at least the first half of the season. However it won’t be August Heart, it will be a new Godspeed instead. Also set to return are Top, Bloodwork, and Abra Kadabra.
Kayla Compton and Brandon McKnight will be part of Season 7s Main Cast. Hartley Sawyer however is off the show. After his Twitter was scammed, old tweets from long before he even joined „The Flash“ resurfaced, that included offensive jokes. One or two were racist, so he was fired. Ralph will be written out of the show in the first few episodes of the Season. He will shapeshift into another established character for storyline reasons and take his leave in this form. He might return later down the line, when the waves of his departure have subsided. In which form and played by which actor depends on how everything goes until then. Sue Dearborns storyline will be rapped up accordingly, however she is not of the show. She will return over the course of this Season and help out Team Flash time and time again.
There has been a lot of speculation about other actors leaving the show, given that their initial contracts are up and they cost a lot of money or might want to leave. Jesse L. Martin, Tom Cavanagh, und Carlos Valdes are the main concern here. However given that Season 6 was never finsihed, everyone from the main cast (including for story reasons of course Victoria Park and probably Patrick Sabongui) except Hartley Sawyer is returning for Season 7. If there are plans to kill anyone of in a shocking fashion in Episode 3, they obviously wouldn’t tell us. So it is of course possible that someone will leave the show during Season 7, however even if there were plans in place, Covid might have changed them. As for Jesse L. Martin, he might be safe, because we were told that a Joe West related storyline about the Police Issue will be part of this season (however that could of course happen during the first three episodes as well). Danielle Panabaker however will be back sooner than expected, and Frost will be part of the Mirror Mistress wrap up episodes. Given that the show started filming much later than usual, her maternity leave for which she departed the show in 6x19 was over before the returned to filming.
That said what might happen this season is something most people probably noticed during Seaon 6 already: Not everyone will be in every episode, and some might only have cameo appearances in certain episodes. Also US based guest stars might be a problem as long as the 2 week Quarantine for travelers to Canada is still in place. Don’t expect people to show up for only one scene or something like that.
As far as the Mirrorverse storyline goes, Iris will escape from there pretty early on in this season, however there will be lasting effects for her character (as you might have guessed from the last few episodes of Season 6). She will be confronted by a splintered part of her persona and might make a visit to the Eva McCullloch crazy town. If she will have Mirror Powers like Eva after she is out of the Mirrorverse is still unknown but possible, at least until the Mirror Mistress/Mirrorverse storyline is wrapped up.
The Volume after that will deal with Speedster and revolve around the new Godspeed. Originally Season 6 was supposed to end with a cliffhangar involving Eobard Thawne. If this is still the case for 7x03 is unknown. However it stands to reason that Reverse Flash could very well show up during the Speedster Volume. Wally West might also make his return. Und maybe a certain female West-Allen Child will as well. Jesse Wells could also show up at some point. The Wells-Situation will play into Season 7, so she might be connected to this storyline or the Speedster One or both.
What about the future though? There were plans to bring „Stargirl“ into the Arrowverse via „The Flash“. However „Stargirl“ is filming in the US, which means that these plans were postponed for the moment. We will see a Crossover between these two shows eventually (or if „The Flash“ ends before than between „Superman & Lois“ and „Stargirl“). However not until travelling between the US and Canda is easier again.
As for potential future seasons, we still don’t know whatever came of Grants talks about Season 8 and 9. It’s extremly unlikely (but not impossible) that Season 7 is the final Season for „The Flash“, however don’t take Eric Wallaces talks about „many seasons down the line“ for granted. Season 8 might be the last one, or the first of many more to come. We just don’t know at this point.
Season 7 is currently filming in Vancouver. They were forced to start a few days later than originally planned because of issues with testing results (those were delayed), however since they started the prodcution has been running smoothly, so fingers crossed that we will get all of those 18 episodes.
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 Superman & Lois:
 „Superman & Lois“ will start airing on the 23 of Febuary on Tuesday nights right after „The Flash“. 13 episodes were ordered. It’s the big new show of The CW, but it did start filming relativly late, which is why they postponed the start date for the show from January to February. The pilot was supposed to shoot in spring, but couldn’t because of the production shutdown in Vancouver. Therefore they have just done the pilot and went directly on to Episode 2. Normally an episode order of a show like this one would be extended to 16, 20, or even 22 episodes pretty early on. This year however everything is different, and I personally don’t even think that they will extend to 16 episodes (there are clues that point into that direction), so it’s likely that we will get only 13 episodes in this first season. However if the extend the order, we might get 14 or 15 episodes instead.
One of those first 13 episodes will be the crossover episode with „Batwoman“. Characters from the other Arrowverse Shows will show up in it aswell, however it will be a much smaller Crossover than the latest ones. The Flash will probably be in it, as well as someone from „Supergirl“, and maybe someone from „Legends“. There is talk about John Diggle and a Green Lantern storyline, but none of this has been confirmed. However due to the fact that John und Lyla moved to Metropolis, „Superman & Lois“ is the most likely place for him to show up again.
Yes, the pilot script has been leaked, but please keep in mind, that they had months to change it. While the main points of the scripts probably remain the same, don’t expect everything you read to actually happen in the pilot.
That said, here is a summary of the shows synopsis: Clark und Lois have to learn to balanace their lifes as world famour reporters and superheroes with their lifes as parents. On Earth Prime they don’t have an infant son, but two teeange sons instead, that may or may not have inheretied their fathers powers. The Pilot sees them returning to Smallville out of family reasons and reconnecting with Lana Lang (Clarks first love) and her family (her Husband and her teenage daughter). While Lois father General Lane (recast for the show) expects his son in law to focus on the superbusiness, the couple would preferable focus on Smallville, which is in real estate troubles, but even the idyllic small town is all but this when a mysterouis stranger turns up and … well turns the show into a Superhero Show.
Tyler Hoechlin and Bitsie Tulloch return to their roles als Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Superman gets a new suit for the show. Pictures have leaked, but are of bad quality, however the main point of the suit change is to have him wear an endurable suit. His original suit was not made for long term use and was more or less falling apart by the time of „Crisis“.
Their sons are played by Jordan Elsass (Jonathan) and Alexander Garfin (Jordan). They are both thirteen, so apparanly twins, and don’t know that their father is Superman. Jonathan is good in sports but kind and well liked. Jordan on the other hand is smart, but a loner with an anxiety disorder. The new Sam Lane will be Dylan Walsh, Earth Prime hasn’t changed his attitude much, however he might be on better terms with Clark, whom he knows to be Superman. Emanuelle Chriqui is this shows Lana Lang-Cushing, she works at a bank and is in a difficult period of her life. Her husband Kyle Cushing is played by Erik Valdez and chief of the towns firedepartement. He is a drunk and a smalltown guy at heart. Their daughter Sarah Cushing is played by Inde Navarette, she is fourteen, tried to take her own life some time ago, and befriends the Kent boys. Wolé Parks downgraded from the devil to The Stranger, who … well !spoilers!  is said to be a Luthor from another dimension, stranded on Earth Prime. He is the main villain of the season and wants to prove that the world that it does not need Superman anymore. Presumable with violence.
If this is true, the events of „Crisis on Infinite Earths“ will play a rather massive part in „Superman & Lois“. Another massive part is tragedy it seems. Something happend to Martha Kent that bringts Clark back to Smallville, and something did happen to the Cushing Family (it might have something to do with their younger daugther Sophie). Also Clark has lost his job at the Daily Planet. So this is quite a dark set up for this new show, which will mainly take place in Smallville, while Metropolis will take the backseat, but will factor into the show. Perry White is set to appear. So is Morgan Edge, who is the one who fired Clark, because after not getting CatCo he appearanty bought the Planet. And is not in jail, but buying real estate in Smallville as well. Sadly he is another character they are recasting for the show. He is probably supposed to be the Earth Prime Version of the character we know, but maybe not. Nevertheless he is is the other main villain of the Season. (The Stranger might be Clarks villain, while he is Lois‘).
As for other news, yes a writer was let go from the show and then complained on Twitter about it, making it into a toxic workplace thing, but the main thing I took from that is the „no extension for this seaons episode count“-clue. Everything else is none of our concern. Of course she would say her writing is good. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. She was probably let go, because there were too many writers on the show, and for none other reason. If however there was something untoward going on, Warner and The CW would know (at least by now) and do something about it, they have a history of doing exactly that, e. g. Andrew Kreisberg. That does not mean that all the other scripts are bad, it only means that she was frustrated because she was sacked and felt it happened because she pushed certain points in the writers‘ room, that were incooperated into the scripts long before she was sacked. She might not haven been the only writer pushing for those points, others might have put them into their scripts without discussing it in the room beforehand, we only know her side of everything. So just wait and see.
As for: Will Kara turn up in the Pilot? Normally she would. It’s a Spin Off from „Supergirl“ after all. If the pilot would have been shot in spring, Melissa surely would have turned up in it. However given that she allegedly won’t go back to shooting until next year, she might not. They could film a short scene with her and insert it into the Pilot before it airs, as soon as she is back to Vancouver. But given that she will have to catch up with her own show, maybe this won’t happen. Maybe it was never even planned, because they did not feel the need for it. Everyone knows who Superman and Lois Lane are. Even people who never touched a comic book in their life. Maybe they thinkt that showing Kara would ty the new show too much to the established Arrowverse and „Supergirl“ in particular. However it would be a major disappointment, if she does not show up at all in this show. But sady given the shooting reality of this season it’s a high possibilty that she won’t. Let’s just hope that she in it in some shape or form. Maybe even in the crossover.
Anyway, Season 1 of „Superman & Lois“ is currently shooting in Vancouver. They had to postpone the start of the shoot several times, but they are up an running now, and should be able to complete the 13 planned episodes, if there isn’t a major production shutdown coming their way again.
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Legends of Tomorrow
 Season 6 of „Legends of Tomorrow“ will air in 2021, starting with „Ground Control to Sara Lance“ around June, maybe May, if we’re lukcy. Season 6 will consist of 13 episodes and will be pretty complex, but if any show can pull of the concept behind the Season in times like this it’s „Legends“.
Shayan Sobhian and Adam Tsekhman will be part of the Main Cast in Season 6. The Waverider will also gain a new crewmember in the form of Esperanza „Spooner“ Cruz, who will be played by Lisseth Chavez. Oliva Swanns Astra will return to the show as well. Newbie Spooner will be tough and self sufficent and won’t play well with the others in the beginning. Definitifly not a warm presence in the beginning, she believes that she was abducted by aliens as a kid and has gained the ability to telepathically communicate with them since then. That will make her the key to find the Waveriders abduted Captain Sara Lance, provided she is not only a paranoid crazy lunatic and actually can do all of this.
The show has also cast Raffi Barsoumian as a new character named Bishop, who is a genuis, but also very dangerous and might actually be the big bad of the season. Structurally the Legends will encounter a new aliens species every week. The idea of using the Waverider as an actual space ship has been around in since Season 1, and now comes to fruition. If one of these aliens species they encounter will be a certain Hawk-related one remains to be seen. It would make sense, however I am not so sure the writers would want to hawk back (sorry) to Season 1 at this point.
Sara will be on her own journey for a while in this season. She won’t be immedeatly rescued in Episode 1. Meanwhile Ava will have a hard time coping with the loss of her Co-Captain and unravel. Maybe Nate will try to lend her a hand, but at the beginning of the season the Legends will very much be dysfunctional without their Time Mom.
Astra will try her hand at a human life and life with John in his house, while Zari und Behrad will be the shows version of the Wonder Twins, sharing the Totem, and learning how to be a team. Essential to this will be Episode 2 of this Season („Meat: The Legends“), which will also explore what is was like for Behrad to grow up in his child star sisters shadow.
There have been contradicting claims about how exactly the aliens will be introduced in the shows. The initial claim made by the writers was that the Legend would visist a different alien planet every week. However later the claim surfaced that different alien races would pop up in Earths History in different time periodes every week. The first claim would make every kind of crossover with the rest of the Arrowverse really difficult, however when „Legends“ is going back on air, this seasons crossover will most likely be over already, and furthermore the character who would have made the most sense in it – Sara Lance – wouldn’t be able to be in it anyways, given the Season 5 Cliffhangar Ending. Still a Legend could show up in the Crossover, maybe John Constantine or Mick Rory or even Nate Heywood. On the other hand, Gary war in „Elseworlds“, so mabye Spooner will just run around in „Superman & Lois“ in the backround while chasing aliens, one never knows with „Legends“.
This is pretty much most of what we know at this point about Season 6. So I guess, I have to adress some of the obvious concerns around this season right now. Number One would be if Season 6 is the last season. With both „Supergirl“ and „Black Lightning“ ending this season, it would be very stupid of The CW to end „Legends“ as well, especially given that „Arrow“, „Supernatural“ and „The 100“ also just ended in 2020. However the ratings were never the greatest, and the show is the most expensive and most complicated out of the Arrowvers Shows. But it also got pretty good press in the last couple of years. So maybe there will be a Season 7. The producers obviously bought themselves Season 6 by trading in Brandon Routh. They might do something simelar this season. Given that Caity Lotz is the face of the show, the most likely and most expensive candidate to get kicked out it Dominic Purcell. So will Rory leave in the middle of Season 6? Maybe. The problem here is that his most logical reason for him leaving is currently shooting Season 3 of „Lost in Space“. However she is doing it in Canada, and I have no idea what the shooting schedule for „Lost in Space“ looks like, so they could bring Lita back in to write Mick Rory out with her. However, they would not do this, if they knew beforehand that there is no Season 7 (because why waste an fan favourite character for nothing?). Dominic also already had reduced Screentime in Season 5 and might want to leave after Season 5 anyway. So we will have to wait and see.
The other concern revolves around John Constantine. Warner is trying to re-establish the character in it’s DC Movies or at least it seems like that. Right now we are in a phase were pretty much all DC Characters can be used at the same time in different continuities, however that could change any moment. Obviously they wouldn’t cancel „Superman & Lois“ once it’s on air because of this, but they could force the producers to write John Constantine out of the Arrowverse. However, until John is scheduled to appear in a DC movie, at least two more seasons could have gone by, so while it is possible that we will have to bid John goodbye after Season 6, it is also possible that we will have him around in Season 7. If there is a Season 7 that is. We’ll have to wait and see.
I have said multiple times that in theory „Legends of Tomorrow“ could go on forever, if they keep rotating the cast. But The CW is not known for thinking that much outside the box. Every additional season they have been given to their shows with lower ratings, including „Legends“, was already thinking outside the box. No other network would have done this. Plus At&T or Warner or both are pushing HBOmax right now and would prefer new shows that stream there over older shows that stream on Netflix (in the States that is). Therefor „Legends“ will probaly go away rather sooner than later. Sadly.
However, Season 6 is currently filming in Vancouver. You can follow Keto Shimizu on Twitter, if you wanna get updated when they start filming a new episode. The original start date had to be pushed back a couple of days because of testing issues, but those have been resolved, and since then the first round of episodes has been done without a hitch.
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Supergirl
 Season 6 of Supergirl will air 2021 around June or maybe in late May, if we are lucky. It will be the final season and will consist of 20 episodes. Don’t worry, „Supergirl“ will be 2021s „Supernatural“, those 20 episodes will be made and aired, if it’s humanly possible, they will find a way, no matter what.
„Supergirl“ is my White Whale among the Arrowverse Shows right now, I can literally tell you next to nothing about what is going to happen in this season. I can’t even tell you what is happening behind the scenes. There is next to no confirmed information about the final season out there.
What I can tell you is, that they will pick up where Season 5 left off, that Jon Cryer will be a big part of Season 6, and that Karas and Williams slow burn relationship will continue to … slow burn, I guess. And that’s it. Sorry.
Season 5s Main Cast ist back together, expect for Andrea Brooks, but I can’t even tell you that for sure, because while she has not be confirmed to be in the season yet, nobody said she wouldn’t be in it either.
Yes, the ending leaked, or so some people thought, but this ending has mainly been an educated guess based on fan wishes. It’s plausible but not set in stone.
What I can tell you is: No, „Supergirl“ has not been cancelled. If it had been up to The CW the show would have gotten another Season, at least. „Supergirl“ always did fairly good for the network, better than „Arrow“ actually. What happened is pretty simple, it’s the same thing that happened to „Arrow“. The Leads contract was up, and said person did decide against an extension. There have been rumors about Melissas contract spanning seven seasons, but those have been based on wrong assumptions. The standart contract a lead actor signs when he or she does a pilot contains six seasons. Melissa signed one of those. But as you might remember „Supergirl“ did not start out on The CW, it did start out on CBS and Season 1 was filmed in Los Angeles. After Season 1 swollowed too much money, Warner moved the show to the cheaper network and to Vancouver. At this point the contracts were renegotiated. Calista Flockhart even left the show – which she could without breaching contract, because „Supergirl“ was not any longer the show she signed on for originally.
At this point Melissas contract changed – she has less screen time from Season 2 onwards than she had in Season 1, because she demanded more time to travel home to L.A. at the weekends. However what did not change and would not have changed was the six season thing. It would have been very irregular for her to sign a new six season contract at this point. Or for the network to extent it for a season. Especially for The CW who is actually used to shows with fewer seasons (forget SPN for a moment, that was its own thing). So it was and always has been six seasons.
Now between Season 4 and 5 Melissa and Chris decided they wanted to try for a baby. Which is by the way the real reason Supergirl got a new costume in Season 5. Melissa got pregnant, informed the producers and the network. Plans for Season 5 were shifted from 22 to 20 episodes, and to an early start for the filming of Season 6 with a break in the middle so they could work around Melissas pregnancy. But then Covid hit, the production was shut down amidst the Season Finale, and Season 6 became a problem because it would collide with the leads pregnancy leave. During all of this Melissa was in negotiation for a contract extension. And did not sign it. So the producers and the network decided to end „Supergirl“, because without Kara there would be no point to continue. They ended „Arrow“ when Stephen decided to leave, even though they had enough potential replacements from both genders ligned up. They only possible replacement for Kara was written out of the show with the end of Season 3. So that’s all that is to it.
It was definitly not axed to make place for „Superman & Lois“. „Superman & Lois“ has been in works since around „Elseworlds“, and the dream has always been that those two shows would co-exists. However the fact that „Supergirl“ is ending may have factored into the decescion to pick up „Superman & Lois“, so that the successor show is already in place, when „Supergirl“ ends.
So they are currently filming Season 6 in Vancouver, at least some of them are, because as predicted Melissa is still on Maternity Leave. It’s said (and I can’t confirm that) that she will return to filming in January, because the production will take an extended christmas break. Extended because of the two weeks quarantine period. Everyone who goes to the States to see their family will have to quarantine for two weeks before they can go back to shooting after they return to Canada. So that would mean that they filmed for quite some time without Melissa. If that means that she is only in 10 to 15 episodes of the final season or that her scenes are filmed seperatly and she will get stuck in the faceless suit again or if she is deaged and played by an other actress for a couple of episodes or gets turnes invisible and is there in voice only I don’t know. I only know that they are currently filming without her.
And what about crossovers? Given that it’s the final season, there will be no crossover episodes in Season 6 (however someone from the other shows might show up in a small way). As for the characters crossing over to other shows, I again don’t know. Someone will be in the Two Part Crossover between „Batwoman“ and „Superman & Lois“, probably, however we don’t know if this someone will be Melissas, because the focus will be to produce those 20 final episodes with as much her in it as possible. So maybe J’onn or Alex will be in the crossover instead.
And yes, they were originally meant to start filming in September, but there was a problem with the test results. Now, that problem hit all the other shows as well, „Batwoman“ even had to halt shooting for a few days, while the other shows pushed their start date back until the results were in. The strange thing is, however, that most of the other shows only lost of couple of days, a week tops, „Supergirl“ however started almost two weeks later, then it was originally suppossed to. Now, that would be the „someone was testes positve“ period, but they were allowed to go back to shooting around a week after their original date. But took another week or so to get going. Maybe. They might have started earlier, however all the other shows told us via Social Media when they started shooting (or picked it up again) and „Supergirl“ didn’t do so until about two weeks  into October. I have no idea why.
But sadly that’s how the show is communicating with its fans right now: Not at all. I wasn‘t even sure they were really back to filming, when I saw those first very cryptic posts until two days later, when David (bless his heart) tweeted that he was on set and started shooting again. Before that Jon Cryers ring-story (check it out online, if you want to, it’s heartwarming and great) was the only thing somehow related to the shooting of Season 6 anyone could find.
So yeah, they are filming. And plan to do that for nine more months at least. After that, it’s over. Which is sad, but well, it is what it is.
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 Green Arrow and the Canaries (+ Wonder Girl)
 As for the „Arrow“ Spin Off, I wish I had news in any form. The show has not been picked up, but it has not been axed either. At the moment it can go both ways. I always guessed that The CW was considering „Green Arrow and the Canaries“ for the 2021/22 Season and not for the Current Season, and this has turned out to be true, but the backdoor pilot aired in January. And now it’s November! Normally we would have heard something either way by now.
And there are two problems: There is that very important thing I have been going on about in the „Supergirl“ Section quite long about called contracts. There is an expireing date on those things - actors can’t stop making money, just because some executives can’t make up their mind about a pilot. And then there is the bigger threat which is the new „Wonder Girl“ show which is in development for The CW, and which is more likely to be picked up by the network to fill the Female Lead Superheroe Show Hole, that „Supergirl“ is leaving behind than „Green Arrow and the Canaries“. I don’t think the network would pick up both of these shows in the same season (or maybe even at all).
So it does not look good, right now for the show, but as long as there is no word about it not going forward, there is still hope. Also, we may get a new version of it in form of a new project instead, if it does not go into series. You never know.
 (Stargirl is not one here because I don’t consider it part of the Arrowverse yet).
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wovenstarlight · 4 years ago
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YWBK update: chapter 25 + liner notes
yesterday will be kinder has updated! you can read chapter 25 here, or start from the beginning here
okay, on to notes and commentary! first time i’m doing these, let’s hope this works out. commentary under the cut to save people’s dashes
Hamin laughs. “Given how bad you are at not being suspicious, that’s understandable.” “Oh, come on, I’m not that bad.” Hamin screws up his whole face in a squint. “Okay, so maybe I’m a little bad.”
this part was really funny to me when i wrote it because i was like “hmm reasons for DHM to understand why HHJ wouldn’t work in the guild” and then i was like Wait. Their Whole First Meeting, Dude. DHM was lowkey convinced for the longest time that HHJ was like, on the run from the KR version of the mafia, and got plastic surgery to look like his little brothers, and is possibly in some sort of witness protection program??? or something??? how else does he not have cops on his ass this man is so suspicious all the time
“I don’t think… They said the dungeons were, like, different worlds? Did they find people there?”
mafia theory second place. dungeon theory first place
“Like, humans? Um. No, no humans.” “So then you can’t be from there. Okay.”
dungeon theory shot down. mafia theory back in the running
“Hey,” he says cautiously. “I’m— I’m gonna go get us some water, okay? Why don’t you… take a minute.” “Okay.” “The bathroom is over there, if you need it.” “Okay. Thank you.”
after four years working alongside a guy you start to notice when he’s feeling a little out of it and needs a bit of a break... but as JHW mentions later you also learn to be a little subtle about giving him one
jung heewon What’s with your typing? It reads like Jihye’s [HYJ]’s fine. Very energetic Too energetic? He’s going to burn out. How do I make him calm down
Epic Burnout Man makes a reappearance! when translating sclass one of the things that makes me want to shake HYJ most is his habit of constantly adding things to his to-do list while he already has 1 billion things on his plate. and all the time he’s whining about “UGH there’s SO MUCH WORK to do” No One Asked You To Do It
Anyway. the point is. HYJ isn’t about to be beat by HHJ at Developing Issues 😔
jung heewon I haven’t spoken to him directly about this because if he’s anything like you he’ll take it as an insult You wtf whts tht supposed 2 mean quit typing jung heewon Better not say shit, mr “No, I can’t take days off and cater to my interests or go out with friends or on a date, I’m too busy taking care of the kids and making sure their needs are met, no I don’t care that there are thousands of people out there balancing personal enjoyment and romance and work AND kids at the same time, are you suggesting I be a BAD GUARDIAN to MY KIDS?”
see above re: not being too direct with pointing out when HHJ’s having Issues because he doesn’t react well
You wht but our eyes r fine jung heewon Even if having glasses doesn’t run in the family, you should still get him checked, just in case
top 10 funny time travel moments: referring to you and your past self as “us” (our = my eyes are fine), but other people think you mean “our family” (our eyes are fine = no family history of long/shortsightedness)
Also. Sooyoung-ie says hi [Attachment: 20XX1213_144516.jpg] 
ok no lie this was one of the parts that pissed me off the most, even though it’s Literally One Line, because. i love chat exchanges. i really do. when done right they’re a lot of fun to read. But Do You Know How Long It Took Me To Figure Out A Calendar For The Events In This Fic. now everything’s TIMED i have to count HOW MANY DAYS IT’S BEEN since XY event so i can CORRECTLY NUMBER the FILE ATTACHMENTS!!! this sucks!!! it took me fucking forever to pin down a timeline just so i could write this chapter plus the few before and after it!!!!
anyway i gave up when i reached year. i just put 20XX. fuck it. we are running on fairy tail time now. (actually i think that’s XXnumber number? XX76? or was it X796. something like that. Who cares i stopped watching fairy tail forever ago)
Fuck it! Hamin will understand!! “If you Awaken you should come work with me,” Han Hyunjae says all in a rush. 
“HAMIN WILL UNDERSTAND” => he literally was cool with me giving zero context for half a dozen absolute balls to the wall nonsense bullshit things i’ve done before. he’ll be fine with this too. dog_in_burning_house_this_is_fine.png
“You already know about the guilds, those are going to be for dungeon Hunters, but I was thinking of forming something like an independent group of contractors. Awakened people with skills that aren’t useful for combat, but that might… that will be generally useful. It’d be you and me, and maybe one other guy I met recently. Probably more in the future.”
given that HHJ has no idea currently that peace exists (i’m so sorry baby i’ll find a way to shoehorn you in soon i miss you so much) he’s got no intentions to start a kiseungsu business yet! he mostly wants to live quietly while just acting as a manager for other Awakening-related services, like YMW’s forge and DHM’s tracking service, along with the information exchange/lowkey spy ring that he’s planning on setting up with JHW and the bar. since HYH is fine associating with him in this timeline, HHJ’s thinking he can get a foot in the door that way, then eventually spread out into dealings with most major guild leaders
RIP to this plan. you were well-made but you will not last long.
“Please, I can’t tell you how I know that, I really can’t, it’d put me and my brothers in danger if it got out. But—” “No need.” Hamin looks slightly alarmed, and Han Hyunjae feels himself settle at the obvious concern in his eyes.
MAFIA THEORY RAPIDLY RISING TO PROMINENCE??? THIS IS NOT HOW DO HAMIN WANTED HIS GUESS CONFIRMED
“I spoke to the Task Force Head and she said that there’s been discussion about hosting a meeting for the nearby high-rankers, where they’ll announce the guild proposal and see who else is interested in trying it out.”
“they’ll announce” i’m sorry king 💔 you deserved a nap
(OH ALSO FUN FACT choi eunyoung is a canon character, not an OC of mine! she appears in uhhh i think late 140s? 150s? something like that)
“I think there’s… probably only one other S-rank who’s Awakened right now?”
Hehehehehehehehehehehehehhehe
Hamin beams. “No, they’re doing great! Spookie’s taken really well to the new housing situation, but I think Spots might miss the store…”
shoutout to @daemonic-dawn​ for letting me borrow a pet name, love u king. i had a much longer ramble about pet names here but i finished typing and realized it was all entirely off topic so i removed it for convenience
Hyunjae makes an annoyed noise in the back of his throat. “Don’t— I mean.” He huffs, visibly taking a deep breath, and Yoojin frowns reflexively. [...] “Is everything alright?” Yoojin kind of wants to be annoyed at his tone on principle, but he forces his shoulders to relax, matching Hyunjae’s posture. Though he can’t stop himself from being a little short when he answers.
things the brothers have learned in four years living together: getting confrontational often leads to arguments that just fizzle out anyway, so it’s way fucking easier to consciously tone down their combativeness in advance when talking to each other about things they have problems with, instead of screaming their heads off and then having to calm yoohyun down afterwards to boot
“I guess. Whatever.” Yoojin slumps. “Can I…” “Hm?” Hyunjae blinks at Yoojin as he gestures to the spot on the bed beside him, then jolts. “Oh! Yeah, sure, c’mere.” He opens his arms, and Yoojin goes over and flumps on the bed, head in Hyunjae’s lap. Almost immediately, Hyunjae starts stroking fingers through his hair, and Yoojin relaxes into the touch, listening as Hyunjae continues speaking.
cuddles 🥺🥺🥺 sorry i don’t have any other commentary here just. cuddles. extremely and overwhelmingly comforting for a man who spent the better part of 8 years(?) with no major positive relationships, and a kid who spent 12 years of early life basically abandoned by his parents. you had best bet they gave up on not hugging each other 1 year into this whole mess
Yoojin hums in acknowledgement. It’s not like he’d ever let himself get hurt; he has too many responsibilities to his family and friends. If he wants to be good enough to keep up, he can’t afford to fuck up like that. But… hyung will worry if he keeps working so hard. He can slow down a little for him. 
Problems disorder man when will you stop. the way he sees “getting hurt” as an inconvenience and an obstacle to his duties rather than a danger to himself. the way he doesn’t really care if he himself gets hurt, but if it’ll worry his family, then it’s a no-no. it’s just. wow. i know i wrote this but i hate him
“Not really. I talk to Myeongwoo about it sometimes.” “Ah, right, Myeongwoo.”
haha gays
“Don’t be weird about him,” Yoojin warns[...]. “I won’t, promise.”
if the “i won’t” line had a dialogue tag it’d be “Han Hyunjae lied”
“Is Eunwoo still in his relationship?” “Mhm, happy as ever. Apparently they’re trying long-distance, now that Eunwoo’s gone off to university abroad.”
three guesses for who eunwoo’s dating and you won’t need the first two
Hyunjae raises his hands like he’s going to deny the accusations levelled against him, so Yoojin seizes him by the collar and shakes him until he cries for mercy
oh my o/rv ass struggled so bad with not writing “shakes him like a man betrayed” here. it killed me not to. but in the end i prevailed (against, uh, myself. don’t think about it too hard.)
“Jeez, okay, he’s an F-rank!” “Eh?! Then why—” “He’s also got an SS-rank potential skill,” Hyunjae admits[...].
play-by-play of this scene because god if i draw any scene in this fic it would be this one just for the sheer hysterical nature of HYJ’s reaction:
YOOJIN: I HATE YOU WHAT THE FUCK WHY. TELL ME HIS RANK
HYUNJAE: HE’S AN F
YOOJIN: WHAT? WHAT THE FUCK?
HYUNJAE: he’s also got an SS-rank skill,
YOOJIN:
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neverdoingmuch · 5 years ago
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a superhero au from this ask.
okay so in this au superheroes join different sects as disciples and go through a superhero training program and then if they pass they become official superheroes for the sect
for the most part things stay the same, your good guys go out and defeat evil and save the day but there’s also a bunch of extra stuff bc they’re in a sect
the extra stuff is mostly legal stuff like if you destroy a building in a fight, who pays for it and what happens if a superhero goes rogue, who stops them?
so the sects are good bc they give that security and also make sure things run smoothly, so you don’t end up with three superheroes in the one area
obviously you still have independent superheroes but they usually get picked up by a sect pretty quickly (or join the wens who are just the bad guys i guess but shh they’re hiding it,, badly)
for the most part though, new heroes realise they can’t cut it and quit
notice the most, because there are a few people who don’t, including people like the yiling patriarch 
so, worldbuilding aside, let’s start with lwj
bc we still have sects, lwj and lxc both went through the training program together and even graduated a few years early, meaning they debuted pretty young
they were both way too powerful to actually be needed in the field most of the time so lxc ended up helping his uncle and lwj started teaching at the training program (and even when he is needed, it’s usually enough just to send lxc, so he hasn’t been active in like five years)
life is going pretty okay for lwj but then there’s a fight between some wens and yllz and a building ends up being destroyed - lwj’s apartment building
at first he’s like whatever i’ll just stay at a hotel till it gets fixed but then he gets told that there’s some issue with the building regulations so it’ll be more than a year
lwj goes apartment hunting and ends up finding the perfect apartment. it’s spacious and convenient and looks really nice and the only drawback is his neighbour (spoiler: it’s wwx)
now we have wwx
he used to be a disciple with the jiang sect and was on track to graduate their training program probably even younger than the twin jades but then he dropped out suddenly. no one knows why 
what happened was that wwx had befriended wen ning at an intersect meeting thing where the training heroes could compete against each other 
when wen ning found out the truth about the wens being evil, he begged wen qing to take their family and leave the wens to get to safety. wen qing refused bc who would they go to? who would risk everything they had to keep them safe?
wei wuxian would. 
and he did!! when he found out what the wens had gone through, he immediately quit the jiang sect and spent the next four years helping them go in hiding, making fake identities etc. 
the only people who refused to leave were wen qing and wen ning and a-yuan so wwx was like i’ve done my best now we gotta live and ends up buying an apartment for the four of them and gets a job
at night he goes out as yllz and tries to bring the wens down. it’s slow-going at first and he’s just busting minor crimes and not really gathering any useful information but he keeps going bc a-yuan and the others will never be safe for as long as the wens are able to keep hurting people
he works a full-time job during the day and spends his nights fighting crime and he’s always tired and sore but it’s fine because he needs to do this but then one day his new neighbour moves in next door
the first time he meets him, he’s come back from work and by the time he bakes a welcome cake it’s like 10:40 and he goes over and knocks on his neighbour’s door and the guy eventually answers and holy fuck he’s hot (also grumpy bc lwj does not appreciate being woken up)
lwj slams the door in his face without even taking it from him, so wwx just leaves it on his doorstep and goes back home to nap for a few hours before going on patrol
the next day when he gets home from work there’s a letter in front of his door and when he opens it it just says thanks for the cake it was very delicious if unnecessary
wwx writes on the back: it’s all fine! i’m glad you liked it. if you need any help settling in, i’d be more than happy to help. he adds his phone number and then he leaves the note on lwj’s door and that’s where it all starts
the next morning he wakes up to a text from lwj saying that he appreciates the offer & his name. it’s short and kind of rude but wwx is lying there going lan zhan, lan zhaaaan, his name is lan zhan 
they run into each other in the morning a few times and take the elevator down together and wwx always chatters at him. lwj doesnt really respond but he doesn’t tell him to shut up either so that’s practically permission
and wwx is no idiot. he knows that hot neighbour + texting ability = potential romance so he makes sure to text lwj a lot 
and by a lot, i mean a lot. lwj is sitting in a meeting with his brother and by the time he finishes he has fifty new messages
but that’s okay bc lwj kinda likes the attention he thinks? lwj’s neighbour is funny and cute 
and after a while, lwj starts responding properly. it’s not like he’s sending 50 messages back but he’s engaging wwx in conversation and sometimes they call and once, when wwx was coming back from work, lwj had invited him in for tea
when lwj realises that wwx goes to work early and gets home late he starts inviting wwx over for dinner. wwx doesn’t mention that wen ning is more than able to cook dinner (if he ever mentioned that he was living with him at all) and they start having dinner not-dates and sometimes wwx falls asleep on lwj’s couch
the first few times wwx always felt really guilty bc lwj doesn’t want to put up with that and he’s letting down the wens but wen qing is like no, it’s good, you need to take some time for yourself and lwj is like it’s fine so whatever, wwx can sleep on lwj’s couch now
except it’s not just lwj’s couch bc wwx keeps waking up leaning on lwj and it’s very embarrassing bc he’s starting to find that he has difficulties sleeping without being able to hear lwj’s heartbeat 
so wwx is falling in love. wen ning is supportive and wen qing is probably laughing at him but wwx is so conflicted
on one hand, wwx’s entire life revolves around the wens and trying to stop them or protect them, and here lwj is, a completely normal man, who has no expectations about wwx. he doesn’t need to be a guardian for lwj, he doesn’t need to be the terrifying yiling patriarch, he can just be wwx
on the other hand, lwj is a civilian and wwx doesn’t want to drag lwj down with him and risk him getting hurt or killed
so he decides to stay as friends. he won’t give lwj up but he won’t tell him he loves him (unless something happens to make wwx need to give lwj up, in which case he will)
around this time lwj gets a call from his uncle asking for help with the yllz
he’s never met him before but lwj does not like the yllz 
like yes he’s taking down the wens which probably makes him good but he’s also taking what the wens had stolen for himself
so no one knows whether he’s a villain stealing from the wens or a hero who doesn’t trust the official means
Either way it’s a bad look for lwj & co bc they either look incompetent for not knowing about this guy & not being able to stop him or untrustworthy and maybe even corrupt 
but lqr wants lwj to either bring him in as a disciple or as a criminal. whichever is easier
the first time hanguang-jun shows up to a fight wwx is completely shocked bc he vaguely remembers seeing hanguang-jun fight at the practise matches and he was good, definitely on par with wwx so if hanguang-jun were to fight him he isn’t sure that he’d win. 
wwx quickly finishes off the wens and then turns to lwj, refusing to let his guard down but hanguang-jun just asks what he’s doing
wwx is cagey at first but eventually reveals the truth (or as much as he can tell) and hanguang-jun is like i don’t like your methods but what you’re doing is just, so i’ll help you and so commences the most awkward team up ever
wwx had expected to have to carry most of the weight but hanguang-jun is there defending him and helping him fight the wens and he can’t help but start to trust hanguang-jun.
hanguang-jun blocks a hit meant for wwx and wwx spends like half an hour carefully cleaning the wound on his arm and bandaging it up and at the end he presses a kiss to it and he immediately goes bright red but it’s okay bc hgj’s ear are red too
wwx slips on a roof and hgj ends up catching him and damn he’s strong and the look of concern on his face is almost making wwx think hgj doesn’t hate him
hgj brings in some intel once and wwx automatically goes damn i could kiss you right now and then decides to just become one with the floor
not only that but wwx talks a lot. when he’s patrolling, when he’s fighting, when he’s waiting,, he never shuts up and hanguang-jun listens to him every time and, just as wwx fell for lwj, he starts falling for hanguang-jun
it’s even worse in this case bc hanguang-jun is all righteous and good and here wwx is using the superhero equivalent of demonic cultivation (has he perverted his own powers or did he always have necromancy powers? up to you)
so here wwx is falling in love with hanguang-jun and lwj and he feels terrible about it
there is definitely a case going on in the background but it’s basically just the sunshot campaign if only lwj and wwx were fighting it for the most part
eventually he complains to wq about his feelings and she’s like just try confessing! so the next time he and hanguang-jun team up he tells him that he loves him
 lwj is 100% in love wwx and semi in love with yllz. for the most part, the things he loves about yllz all remind him of wwx so he doesn’t really see it as a crush as much as more yearning for wwx
but lwj is very awkward so he gives this kinda terrible rejection? he’s like im sorry, i don’t return your feelings maybe we should work apart for a while?
from his pov he’s giving yllz room to deal w/ his emotions alone and they’ll team up later but from wwx’s pov hanguang-jun is so disgusted he never wants to work with him again
so they go their separate ways and when wwx gets a tip-off about some weird shit about to go down at nightless city so he sneaks in by himself bc hanguang-jun definitely wouldn’t want to help him and ends up getting captured by wen ruohan
lwj, for his part, is freaking out bc wwx hasn’t responded to his texts in over a week and maybe he’s come on too strong and wwx has figured out his feelings and is letting him down gently? (by disappearing??)
but then wq comes banging on his door and asks to come in. he lets her in and she immediately tells him i know you’re hanguang-jun
lwj is defensive and ready to be blackmailed or something but she just explains that wwx has gone missing and he’d received a tip the day before he disappeared and when lwj sees the message wwx had got he’s just like why is wwx involved with the wens?
because he’s yllz, wen qing tells him and lwj is Buffering
reason 1: yllz wasn’t meant to be someone he liked and lwj had definitely been feeling guilty about the fact that he would need to be brought in bc he is morally dubious on main & he can’t reconcile that with the sweet and kind wwx 
reason 2: holy shit does wwx like me?
bc lwj is a disaster he only ends up asking about the latter and wq stares at him, dead-eyed and exhausted, and tells him wwx is in love with lwj and hanguang-jun
commence lwj’s plan to get wwx back and confess to him and hopefully get married but he’ll be happy if they just kiss and/or hold hands
 he starts off by explaining most of the stuff to his brother who ends up calling jyl (bc they have to be friends, i’ll cry if they’re not) who is like my brother?!! and decides to help. also probably nhs bc friends who share porn definitely save each other from wen ruohan
so they attack the wens. for most of the heroes it’s bc they finally have proof of wen ruohan being evil (helpfully collated in a colour-coordinated binder by wwx) but lwj is just there for wwx
he finds him in the dungeons or something and wwx is hurt kind of badly and lwj collapses beside him and presses down on the main wound, trying to stop the bleeding
and wwx goes hanguang-jun? what are you doing here? and lwj says nothing just pushing down harder bc he’s losing too much blood and wwx is like oh, do you hate me that much that you won’t even speak to me anymore?
lwj can’t bear it for another second and rips his mask off and wwx just gawks at him. lan zhan? you’re hanguang-jun? wwx stammers and lwj just nods and rips some fabric from his cape (would he have a cape?) and tries to bandage the wound
wwx asks him why he’s here, why he bothered to come for wwx when he doesn’t care for him but he passes out before lwj can actually say anything
he wakes up in hospital and lwj is sleeping in the chair beside him and the second wwx twitches he jolts up and stares at wwx with such relief that wwx wants to blush
i love you, lwj says, not waiting for another second. the reason i didnt accept your confession was because i loved you. i didnt know you were yllz 
and wwx is like and i didnt know you were hanguang-jun!! and lwj is like yeah but wen qing did /:
and wwx is like yeah but she’s smart & they kinda fall quiet for a few moments before wwx is like did you know i think hanguang-jun is very handsome and lwj is like yes? and wwx is like good! lwj is also handsome!
and lwj is like yllz and wwx are attractive to me and they finally kiss and it’s not a complete disaster thankfully
after that lwj goes back to his semi-retirement bc he doesn’t need to catch yllz anymore and sometimes wwx comes in to help teach a class with him and they’ll go home to lwj’s apartment after and watch movies together and not once do they comment on the miscommunication between love interests
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