#he's caught up in a battle defending the last city and when he gets back his husband is gone. again

[fukiana]

DESTINY 2: LIGHTFALL (2023) dev. Bungie

[commandershepardvasfuckit]

Some shameless fluff and dirty talking with Tav and Halsin as she recovers after the final battle.

The first in what’ll be a series of shorts of them after the game events

Most will end up as shameless horny smut, but I wanted to start with this

2.2k-ish words. No beta readers, we die like assholes typing on a phone

There were no memories of your first week immediately following your battle with the Netherbrain, you spent that time in a rare state for a drow: asleep. Sleep was a rarity in elves of any sort, typically reserved for the very young, very sick, or very injured and you found yourself in the third category after the battle.

While you have no memory of anything directly afterwards, you were told Halsin was the first to rush to your side, pouring every drop of magic he had left into healing you. It had been enough to stabilize you for the time, but you were in incredibly rough shape, lucky to even be alive. He carried you from the battlefield and begged for those from the city who had gathered for help for you. The two of you had ended up being taken in by a minor lordling who had offered a spare room and care from his house staff. Not to be outdone, many other nobles came forward to offer aid to your companions and others who defended the city.

Your first memory after awakening at the lordling’s house was Halsin; he kept vigil over you while you slept and healed, never leaving you side. When you finally awoke everything hurt and you winced as you tried to sit up, which stirred Halsin from his meditation in the chair next to the bed.

He opened his eyes and looked upon you with such softness, a warmth and gentleness you had never seen from another living being before. His lips parted, an unspoken word hung in the air before rushed to your side and pulled you into his arms. “My heart” he murmured in your ear, his voice caught in his throat, a mix of fear and relief, “my heart, I was so scared I had lost you.”

Tears well up in your eyes before you even realize that you are crying. A nightmare banished and a dream realized as melted into his embrace. “I’m here my heart, there is nothing that could keep me from you” you answer.

Halsin placed a firm hand under your chin and lifted your face up to his. He paused, drinking in your every feature with the desperation of someone who feared they would never see you again. A groan escaped his lips as he pulled you into a deep kiss, his tongue parting your lips as he fervently reacquainted himself with your taste. It felt as if he were trying to devour you, a deep hunger permeated his every move as you felt his hands rove your body, determined to claim every inch of you once more.

“May I taste more you you?” He asked, his words a heavy pant. Days of pent up fear of losing you and deep relief of your awakening rippled just under his surface, igniting a flame you felt coursing through him and spreading to you.

“Mmhmm” was the most you could manage as you soaked up his attentions. You loved being the subject of his affections, his desire, his lust.

The desire you felt from him was incredible. You felt his mouth move to your neck and one large hand slip under your shirt to cup your breast, his teeth grazed your neck in between kisses and licks.

His size dwarfed you as he leaned his weight more into you, maneuvering you into your back as he pinned your hips down between his knees.

A bolt of blinding pain shot up your left side where Halsin’s knee bumped your ribs. You let out a yelp of pain that froze him in his tracks.

In a mad scramble to get off of you Halsin nearly fell of the bed and only barely seemed to land on his feet on the floor. Panic wracked his face as he immediately began looking you over, a litany of apologies fell from his lips.

“I’m so sorry my love, I should know better, you’re healing still. I just can’t help myself with you, you’re the first thing I think of in my morning and the last thing I think of at night. I’ve waited a week while you slept and healed, dreaming of the moment you would come back to me. Until the moment I could taste you again, to have you entirely. Until I could just hold you in my arms so I knew it was real”.

“Shhhhhh” you murmured, cupping his face gently. “I’m ok, I’m sore and banged up, but I’m ok”. You press a soft kiss to his cheek.

“Let me see, where does it hurt?” He asked.

You lift you shirt back up and show him the spot of your ribs that hurt.

“You had cracked ribs and a punctured lung on this side. I pulled you from the rubble and held you in my arms, you felt so small and cold. I did what I could to heal you there, but I didn’t have much left in me, and you were bleeding so much” he paused, struggling as he relived those moments, “Others helped too, but between the physical damage and psionic damage your body started rejecting the healing magic, it was too much for you to process”.

Words tumbled from his mouth, a panic jumble of all the thoughts that had been swirling in his head for the past week. “I sent word to the nearest Druid circle as soon as I could to get another healer, someone skilled in practical medicine to work with me. She brought medication for any infections, wound wraps, burn salves, anything she could think of. Words cannot describe the debt of gratitude I have for her and her circle”.

“I would quite like to meet her then”. You ran your fingers through his hair, any touch you could provide to reassure him you were alright. The sharp pain in your ribs had dulled to a slight throb. “Perhaps once I’m well we can travel to her circle and spend some time relaxing there”.

“I think that would be a wonderful idea. I trained with several of their druids when I was younger, it would be nice to see old friends”.

“Lay with me?” you asked and scooted over to accommodate Halsin’s wide frame.

Wordlessly he settled down into the bed next to you, wrapping his arms around you and gently pulling you up against his chest. A sense of warmth and safety settled through your body, making you feel as if there was no where else in the world you belonged more.

Halsin had become your home in the weeks leading up to the final battle. The home you had known previously would never take you back. At one point you had been a beloved daughter of Lloth, a small handful of her chosen favorites, her paladins, but now that seemed eons ago.

Lloth severed your connection to her and withdrew the gift of her powers after you made the mistake of mercy a few too many times on the surface. That loss left a festering pit of darkness at your core, a fundamental loss of your identity, and your home. There would be no one waiting for you in Menzoberranzan, no welcome from you sister paladins, no warm returns to a family who would consider you a traitor.

Your only goal after your abduction and subsequent tadpole-ing had been to rid yourself of your passenger and return home. Now that dream was possibly the only thing out of reach for you.

During long talks late at night you had confided all of this in Halsin. He had been annoyingly easy to talk to and on many occasions you found yourself surrendering much more information about yourself than you had intended.

He never shied away though. You had given him brutal honesty about your life, your relentless pursuit of power in the name of your goddess, your life in Menzoberranzan. He had questions, but never judgement.

It caught you off guard and made you uncomfortable. Most surfacers had a healthy of fear, or at least apprehension, towards you and other Lloth sworn drow, Halsin only had questions. With your imposing veneer not having any effect you felt naked, and unsure how to interact with him.

The uncertainty of him faded with time. As neither of you needed to sleep you spent many long nightly chatting, at first at a distance while keeping watch or stoking the fire. Then working together to patch clothes and armor and pack food for the next day. Over time you learned about lot about him; he liked to whittle, and had a sweet tooth, he had a soft spot for kids and ducks, he was very knowledgeable about practical medicine along with healing magic, and he believed in getting to know the person someone was now, not dwelling on who they used to be.

So much had changed in your life so fast, you lost so much that could never be reclaimed. Halsin comforted you in your loses, listened for hours about your childhood, home, everything about you, asked so many questions no one else had cared about.

As you lay with him now you could not imagine your life without him. You tilted your head back to kiss along his jawline and you could feel the low rumble in his chest as he hummed his approval.

“So,” you began, “in your expert opinion, how long do you think this recovery will take?”

“A while more, your ribs are still pretty tender and I’m sure there’s more. There’s no rush my love, you’ll heal and then we’ll decided our next steps”.

“But what if I want to pick up where we left off?” You pressed your hips back against his for good measure.

“I would tell you that you are incredibly tempting and even now it’s taking much more will power than I’d like to admit to keep myself from pulling off your clothes and continuing”.

“Then have me”.

“No!” he laughed, “We just found out why that’s a bad idea” his laugh rumbled deep in his chest and reverberated through your body. “Your ribs were only barely stuck back together with magic and I might still need to find somehow to splint it, oh no, we’re waiting until you’re sturdy again”.

“You’re no fun” you pouted back.

“My love, I need you in the best health possible because once I can have you we won’t be leaving this room for quite a while” his voice dropped lower and became a growl in your ear, “I’m going to fuck you on every surface here, every way I can think of, until I hear my name on your lips a thousand times. I finally can have all of you without distraction, I want to enjoy you without interruption until I physically give out and until you have known every pleasure I could ever give to you. And then I want to hold you and rest. I want to rub any sore muscles you may have and kiss every inch of you and make sure know that no person in all of recorded history has ever been more loved than how I love you”.

A flood of happiness surged through your body as you released a breath you did not even realize you had been holding. No matter what steps came next you knew you would never face anything alone again. He would always be the tree you could always find refuge under as you would always be the beacon who would guide him home.

“I love you” you said and settled fully down and allowed yourself to get lost in his embrace.

“I love you too. I love you as sure as the sun rises each morning and as strong as the river that parts the mountains. For as long as I have breath in my body you will walk surrounded in love and I will always do my best to make sure you want for nothing”.

“And that’s more than I could have ever hoped for. Experiencing a lifetime at your side now is worth everything that came before”

“I appreciate that, but you were just injured so badly that your body started rejecting healing magic. I don’t think you got as good of a deal as you think if I’m all you have to show for it” he teased.

“I would do it all again if I had to” you smiled.

“And I will make sure you never have to. The first moment I hear anything getting stirred up I am moving you far away in case you decide you haven’t had enough. I will support you in anything else you could ever want and I will never stop you from seeking your desires or pleasures, but Oakfather preserve me we are not doing all that again”.

You drifted off to a pseudo sleep shortly after that, safely wrapped in Halsin’s arms. No matter what you had lost, you had gain so much more in Halsin.

[actress4him]

Empires Rise, Kingdoms Fall - Chapter 1 - Calamity

Attention, everyone who voted for the winning choice on my “what should I write next” poll! It took me a bit longer than I anticipated, but the first chapter of my new series is here!

This will feature a female main whumpee, because it’s me so of course it will, but I do plan on bringing in at least one male whumpee later. So, if you enjoy multi-gender royal whump, this series is for you! Let me know if you’d like to be on a tag list for this series.

Contains: lady whump, dude whump, lots of blood, lots of death, murder, war, royal whump

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The kingdom is falling. 

From her bedroom window, Maela can see thousands of soldiers, crawling like ants over the hillsides. Smoke furls up into the sky from the nearest towns and villages. Her ladies-in-waiting have assured her time and time again that the war will never reach them here, that even if it did, the city walls are too strong, that Highlea cannot possibly fall.

Yet as she stands in enraptured horror, skirts clutched tightly in her fists, the entire castle is in an uproar. Servants are throwing jewels and tapestries into trunks in a desperate attempt to save them. The last of the Highlean army, those who have not already gone out to fight, are swarming along the tops of the walls, finding their positions to defend the keep. Somewhere down the corridor, someone is weeping loudly.

“Princess!” Her chief lady-in-waiting, Semira, appears at her side and grasps her elbow. “Come, we must get you somewhere safe.”

They were supposed to be safe here. 

Semira seems to sense the protest in her gaze, forcing a smile that is meant to be comforting. “It’s alright. This is all just precautions, I’m sure none of it will be necessary in the end. But your mother is already on her way to the great hall, we should join her there.”

Maela allows herself to be led away from the window. Her eyes drag across her room, taking in the canopied bed, the books, the painting of her with her family as if in a dream. There’s a sense of dread weighing down her steps, something telling her that she’ll never see this room again.

“What about Father? And…and Adler and Eiran?”

“The king and princes have gone out to make their stand with the soldiers,” Semira answers gently. “But you shouldn’t worry about them. They’re strong. They’ll want you safe and protected, though.”

She knows they’re strong. They’ve been trained well, and her father has been to war many times. Adler, too, has marched out to battle before, and come back unscathed.

But Eiran, like herself, has never seen war. He’s only seventeen, a year her senior. All they’ve known is the aftermath, when soldiers are brought back on stretchers and draped over the shoulders of their comrades, bleeding and missing limbs and dying.

Will that be her family’s fate before the day is over?

Semira practically drags her through the corridors. They pass multiple servants, but none of them bother to pause and bow or even nod to the princess, too caught up in their urgent tasks. 

The great hall is in the centermost part of the keep, with no windows and great wooden doors that can be barred shut. They’ve never had to do so before. But now, as soon as Maela and Semira are inside, two guards drop the large crossbar into place with a thud that echoes through the cavernous room. 

Queen Haelyn stands in the very center of the hall, her back turned to them. She looks lost, and small. 

Taking a step forward, hands clasped anxiously in front of her, Maela calls out with a slight tremor in her voice. “Mother?”

The queen spins around, smiling with relief. It doesn’t quite cover the worry that’s etched into her face. “Maela. Good, you’re here. Thank you, Semira.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.” Semira curtsies in response. 

Maela lifts her skirts so she can hurry across the floor to where her mother stands. She searches her face, finding lines in her normally perfect brown skin, and strands of black hair that aren’t quite as neatly tucked away as usual. “Mother…I’m afraid for Father and the boys.”

Queen Haelyn’s attention has already been drawn elsewhere, her gaze seeming to pierce through the stone walls and out to where the fighting continues, but she drags it almost reluctantly back to her daughter. “Hm? Oh. I’m…certain they’ll be alright, dear. The city has never been breached before, and certainly they won’t make it here, to the keep. This castle was built to be easily defended.” 

It’s all just repetition of the same things Maela’s ladies-in-waiting have been telling her. As if she’s quoting something from a book, or information that has been passed to her that she has no choice but to believe. 

“If there’s no way for them to breach, then…why are we barricading ourselves here?” She waves a hand toward the locked doors. “Why are all the servants packing away our valuables as if the keep may be looted or burned?”

“It’s just a precaution, dear.” Again, she repeats Semira’s words, in a hazy voice that speaks the opposite of her words. She’s afraid, too. 

Everyone is afraid. The fear permeates the air, and has been growing thicker with each passing day. This army…it’s not like others who have marched against them before. Rumors precede it - of a number of soldiers beyond count, of ruthless followers and a far more ruthless leader, of kingdom after kingdom crumbling in its path.

So many towns and villages of Highlea have already been decimated. Now, it seems, it’s their turn.

Maela isn’t ready to die. Nor is she ready to lose everything she knows and everyone she loves.

But she’s not going to receive comfort from her mother. Giving the expected half-curtsy, despite the fact that no one is paying attention, she backs away and returns to Semira. She’s the only one of her ladies-in-waiting that she’s seen since the chaos began, and she’s afraid to ask where the others are. The only other people in the hall are the two guards by the doors, and a few of the highest officials of the court. 

Everyone else is out there somewhere, left to their own devices and the hands of fate. Inside this room, cut off from the rest of the world, it’s hard to keep her imagination from running wild of what that fate might be. 

Minutes stretch into hours. Semira, always vigilant about her princess’ wellbeing, tries to convince Maela to sit and rest, but she can’t. Anxiety has seized every inch of her body, thrumming through her veins. She can’t even stay still, much less sit down.

The silence from beyond the doors is nearly unbearable, until it’s broken and she finds herself wishing that it would return. At first, it’s thumping and banging. The fight isn’t close enough for them to actually hear the clanging of swords, but it has obviously moved much closer to the keep. Far too close. 

Queen Haelyn, across the room on her throne, goes from staring aimlessly at the walls to squeezing her eyes tightly shut. Maela grasps Semira’s hand so hard that she’s probably crushing it.

When the first scream erupts from somewhere across the castle, Maela jolts, then claps a hand to her mouth. She can feel the blood draining from her face. The screams multiply - some pained, some frightened, some dragging on in agony. Each one is like a knife to her gut. Tears stream down her face.

The army is here. They’re inside the castle. 

She finds herself looking to her mother again, but there’s still nothing to draw from her. The queen’s eyes are still closed, and now her lips are moving. Whispering prayers, most likely. Maela instead glances at Semira, hoping for comfort from the one source she can usually count on it from, but she’s gone just as pale and is staring wide-eyed at the doors.

Any second now, they’ll arrive here, at the great hall. And if towering stone walls and an entire army couldn’t stop them, then what are two wooden doors going to do?

They’re going to die. Highlea has fallen, their people are slaughtered, and they’re next.

Something slams against the doors, and the wood shudders. Maela cries out in fear. She wants desperately to turn and bury her face in Semira’s shoulder, but that’s unbecoming of a princess, even one who’s about to die. 

Another hit, and Semira drags her toward the thrones so that they can stand close to her mother. The other nobles and officials are clustered together on one side of the room, the guards facing the doors with their swords drawn as if the mere two of them can stop what no army has been able to.

The doors splinter on the third hit. 

On the fourth, they fly wide open. Soldiers in foreign armor pour into the hall past the battering ram. Maela stumbles backwards, clinging to the arm of her father’s empty throne.

The two guards are down within seconds, their blood leaking out onto the polished wooden floor. The officials are next, surrounded and murdered without even a chance to fight back. Their strangled gasps and cries imbed into Maela’s chest.

Then everything stops. The soldiers spread out across the room, filling up the corners yet leaving an open pathway down the center, and they simply stand there, facing the three remaining women. No one speaks, no one moves. Maela’s not sure she’s even breathing.

Footsteps click down the corridor, breaking the silence. A moment later, a woman sweeps into the room, her golden crown glinting in the torchlight. Her train, a brilliant red that nearly perfectly matches the blood on the floor, drags across the bodies of the guards as if they’re merely part of the landscape. 

There’s no mistaking who she is, even if Maela has never actually seen her before. She’s heard enough. The woman’s black hair is cropped close to her scalp in the style of the warm southern kingdom of Seland, her golden eyes outlined in kohl. 

There have been many rumors about those eyes, mostly from superstitious townsfolk who whisper that she can burn down entire kingdoms just from the force of her gaze. Standing here right now, watching the way they bore into both her and her mother in turn, Maela almost believes them. 

“Queen Haelyn,” the woman purrs. “A pleasure to finally meet you.”

The queen sits stiff and poised on her throne. “Queen Edrice.”

“Actually, it’s Empress now, haven’t you heard?” Her smile makes Maela’s skin crawl. “Yours is only the latest in the line of kingdoms that are now under my rule.”

Without waiting for a response, she makes a motion with one hand and the soldiers closest to the doors immediately turn and walk back out of the room. A moment later, they return leading yet more soldiers. These, however, are dragging bodies behind them. 

The first is tossed roughly at the empress’ feet, and Maela’s gasp echoes through the room. 

“The king is dead,” Empress Edrice announces without breaking eye contact with Queen Haelyn. She raises one slender eyebrow. “Long live the king?”

The second body is dropped, then the third. 

“No,” Maela whispers. Her eyes dart back and forth between the three, grief seizing her chest until it feels like it will be crushed.  

“Oops.” Edrice gives a brief glance toward Adler, the eldest prince. “The king is dead…again.” 

She turns her head to consider Eiran, the youngest. “Oh. Well, this one is still alive.” 

Hope surges inside of Maela, despite how still and bloody her brother looks, only to falter when the empress speaks again. 

“Can any of you provide a reason that I should keep him that way?”

For an agonizingly long moment, complete silence falls over the crowded room. Maela looks desperately to her mother, afraid that she’s going to just sit there and allow this to happen. 

Her father is dead. Adler is dead. But Eiran is still alive, he can still be saved. Out of all the loss that has happened today, perhaps this one can be prevented. 

She and her brother are a long way from their days of sneaking treats to her father’s dogs and going on long horse rides together and making fun of nobility behind their backs. Their time now is spent in more appropriate pursuits for their titles, and very rarely in each other’s company. 

But she still loves him. 

Queen Haelyn finally speaks up, her voice a shadow of what it was a moment ago. “He’s…he’s just a boy.”

The empress hums in response. “Yes. A boy who is technically now the king. And unfortunately, I really don’t have a need for kings.”

“Please!” The word bursts from Maela before she can stop it, and she almost regrets it once she has Edrice’s full attention on her, shrinking back a little. She has to try, though, foolish as it may be. “Please…Your Majesty. Spare him.”

There’s that smile again, cruel and far too humored by the whole situation. “As pretty as your pleas are, dear, I’m afraid they’re not enough to stay my hand.”

She gives her wrist a flick, and the soldier who’d dragged Eiran in draws his sword, plunging it through the small gap in the prince’s armor. His body flails for only an instant before falling still again, blood spilling out from around the sword and coating his armor in a red sheen. 

With a wail, Maela crumples to her knees. It’s not proper behavior, but she doesn’t care. Her brothers and father are dead. Everything in her world is coming crashing down around her, and she has the horrifying feeling that it’s not about to stop. 

“Well that’s taken care of.” The nonchalance in her voice is maddening. “Now I suppose that leaves the queen.”

“No,” Maela sobs. “No, no, no…”

Another gesture from Empress Edrice, and two soldiers charge forward, seizing Queen Haelyn by both arms and jerking her from her throne. She doesn’t fight them, only stumbles forward as gracefully as possible under the circumstances, her chin lifted high as she’s planted in front of the empress. 

Maela lunges toward her, but is stopped by Semira’s arm thrown around her waist. She falls back to her knees, tears pouring down her cheeks. 

Even facing death in utter defeat, her mother is beautiful. She’s always been beautiful, always perfect, the picture of what a queen should be and what Maela must strive to be. Somehow she always knew that she could never be that perfect, though, and she feels it now more than ever. There’s no possible way that she will stare death in the face with that same poise and grace.

“Any last words, Your Majesty?”

Maela can see her mother’s shoulders rise and fall slightly as she takes in a breath, but the words that follow take her by surprise. “My daughter. She’s a child still, she’s no threat to you.”

Edrice’s lips purse in amusement. “Touching.” 

As much as she doesn’t want to watch, Maela can’t tear her eyes away. Another sword is drawn and thrust through Queen Haelyn’s middle, protruding bright red out her back. When it’s yanked back again, the soldiers let go of her arms, and she collapses to the floor. 

Maela’s whole family is lying dead in front of her. There’s so much blood, the wood underneath is barely visible anymore. 

Time warps, and she somehow spends an eternity staring at those four dead bodies while she weeps until her stomach hurts and her throat is raw. 

Meanwhile, Semira is pulled away from her, fighting desperately to keep hold but ultimately failing. Maela cries even harder at her loss. She wants to turn, to find out if her closest friend’s fate is the same as the others, but she’s trapped in this moment of unending grief, unable to move and too afraid to face yet another bloody death of a loved one. 

For an instant she thinks, a bit hysterically, that this can’t possibly be real. This whole day has been a dream, surely, a nightmare that she’ll wake from at any moment. 

But then the scent of blood hits her all over again, and she’s forced to face the terrifying truth. This is all very, very real. 

Suddenly Empress Edrice is standing directly in front of her. Maela can’t help flinching back. This is it, her time has now come. She wishes, selfishly, that she could have been first, that she wouldn’t have had to endure seeing everyone else’s deaths before her own. 

At least this way, her parents won’t have to witness her cowardice.

“Come now, dear, you’re alright.” The empress reaches out with long, slender fingers and tips Maela’s chin upwards so that she can look into her tear-soaked face. Her mouth twists into an expression that Maela doesn’t quite understand. 

“Such a pretty, pitiful little thing. Your mother was right, you’re no threat to me.” The fingers leave her chin and gracefully swipe some of the tears away before tracing her jawline. Maela shudders involuntarily. The touch is gentle, even kind. But she’s keenly aware that this same hand ordered the murder of her family just minutes ago. 

She’s also keenly aware that she doesn’t seem like she’s about to order hers. 

The expression on Empress Edrice’s face turns back into a smile. “Don’t worry. I’m going to take very good care of you.”

Maela stares up at her with watery, bewildered black eyes. She’s…not going to kill her. Why? She should be glad, should feel at least some form of relief at knowing she doesn’t have to die. 

But somehow, living now seems like the more frightening option. 

[hassedah]

The Moonlight Lovers characters in Pokémon :

Hi! How are you? I hope you are well! ^^

Here's a headcanon that I was asked for but I've lost the request. I haven't played Pokémon for years. The last pokémon I played was pokémon Moon. But I hope you enjoy it.

Take care of yourself and have a nice day! ^^

Vladimir :

If Vladimir were a trainer Pokémon, he wouldn't really leave his house. It looks dangerous outside, and he could be attacked by a pokémon. He would stay safe in his little manor, away from the city with his roommates whom he liked to keep him company. Why go out anyway? Beliath and Ethan fetch him whatever he needs in town, Raphael and Ivan keep him company and Aaron is never far away. Plus, he's got his pokémons with him. He's never alone. In fact, his pokémons functioned as emotional support animals as a result, he rarely leaves them and he is even less likely to leave the manor without them.

Vladimir mainly owns grass-type pokémons, which help him look after his garden. He's owned most of his pokémons since they were little.

He's not a great pokémon collector, in fact, his pokédex is almost empty and apart from the six that live with him and those of his flatmates, he doesn't know many… His pokémons have the widest variety of characters. He's never really worried about that, and after all, he's accepted Ethan into his manor, even though he's got a horrible temper…

Leavanny (Bug/Grass): This was the first pokémon he ever had, when it was just a tiny Sewaddle. He always goes out with Leavanny if he has to go into town on his own. She's his favourite, both because he finds her very pretty and because she defends him so well.

Lilligant (Grass): He finds her adorable, of course, all her pokémons are adorable (much more so than Aaron's, in any case) but Liligant is really beautiful, he looks after her a lot and it's quite common to see her with Vladimir in the garden.

Leafeon (Grass): One day Aaron brought back a whole litter of little Eevees, their parents nowhere to be found, so Aaron gave them all one. Of course, Vladimir's evolved into a Leafeon. Hanging out so often in the garden with Vladimir, it couldn't have been any other way. It's the only pokémon that's allowed to sleep with Vladimir. It sticks to Vladimir's back while he sleeps and Vladimir has far fewer nightmares thanks to its presence.

Ribombee (Bug/Fairy): He got this pokémon when it was just a tiny Cutiefly. At the time, the pokémon hid under his hair at the slightest sign of danger. It's still doing it now that he's evolved, but because he's taller, he messes up Vladimir's hair a lot and isn't so well hidden any more. It doesn't matter, Vladimir still adores him just as much and gives him everything.

Florges (Fairy): He discovered Florges when she was just a tiny Flabébé among the flowers in his garden. Naturally, Vladimir took an instant liking to her. Now that she's a beautiful Florges, he's very happy to have her help look after and protect his garden.

Yamask (Ghost): Yamask isn't normally one of the pokémon he would catch, but the sad look on this pokémon's face made him very sad, especially as it was wandering alone in a graveyard. So he caught it and now it lives in the manor house and scares off unwanted visitors. Vladimir takes very good care of him and makes sure that he is never alone and sad again.

Béliath :

If Beliath were a Pokémon trainer, he'd always be in town. He probably wouldn't have the ambition to become the best Pokémon trainer, but he'd often be hanging around big cities, meeting other trainers and showing off his pretty pokémon. Mind you, he wouldn't come to do battle, no, he's just there so that you'll recognise that his pokémon are the most beautiful. Fights are fun for five minutes, but then you get sweaty, the pokémon are injured and their hair is all dishevelled, and you have to go home to give them a bath - he can't do that all the time.

He's particularly fond of pretty pokémon who take care with their appearance and with whom he could parade around town without the slightest problem. The other members of the manor find this a little exaggerated, perhaps he could favour power over beauty from time to time? But, no. That's not one of Beliath's ambitions.

He doesn't have a great knowledge of the pokédex, he knows the pokémons he finds beautiful, as well as those of his friends, but the others he doesn't study and Like Vladimir, his pokémons don't have any particular character traits, so he doesn't pay much attention to that. However, all his pokémons are spoilt rotten. After all, what could be too expensive or too rare for such magnificent creatures?

Cinccino (Normal): This was the first pokémon he ever had, a gift from his sister. He spends most of his time with it, and if he had to go out with just one pokémon, it would be her. Cinccino follows him everywhere and he hasn't been separated from her once since he was a child.

Lopunny (Normal): He caught Lopunny when he was just a Buneary hiding in Vladimir's garden. He couldn't resist her adorable little face. Buneary eventually developed into a Lopunny thanks to all the care he received.

Milotic (Water): He caught him when he was just a Feebas. He had to work hard to get a magnificent Milotic, but he's very proud of him. He shows it off to everyone he meets in town.

Sylveon (Fairy): It was no surprise to anyone at the manor when his little Eevee became a pretty Sylveon. At the time, it was all he could talk about, so much so that the others almost thought they were going crazy listening to him boasting about his pokémon.

Brionne (Water): He caught Brionne when she was just a young Popplio. He loves watching her dance and sing, and her antics amuse Vladimir and Raphaël. He's only too happy to have a pokémon who can put a smile on his friends' faces.

Spritzee (Fairy): Of course he had to catch Spritzee, she gives off a wonderful scent and isn't she downright cute when she moves around? She's the latest addition to his pokémon team, he adores her and often trains her in the hope that she'll soon evolve into a wonderful Aromatisse.

Ivan :

If Ivan were a Pokémon trainer, he'd be a young trainer who's just left home and… completely lost. He doesn't really know what he wants to do; becoming the best Pokémon trainer seems to be everyone's goal, but… is it his? He doesn't know if he wants to send his pokémon into battle, it sounds mean when you put it like that and he doesn't want to be mean to his pokémon… He likes his quiet life at the manor, of course, sometimes he'd like a bit more adventure, but to go on an adventure, you have to get away from the manor and… it doesn't seem like a good idea at the moment.

His pokémons are all still very young. He hasn't had them long and he's just learning how to train them with Aaron. He still has a lot of trouble understanding all the mechanics of combat, and everything he needs to know about types and specialities seems horribly complicated. He much prefers to play in the garden or the forest with his pokémons rather than trying to train them.

He has a pretty good knowledge of the pokédex, mainly because he listens a lot to the stories Aaron tells him about the adventures he had before coming to live in the manor with Vladimir.

Eevee (Normal): This is his first pokémon and the only one in the litter not to have evolved yet. Admittedly, Ivan isn't the most motivated when it comes to training. For him, Eevee is still just a little baby and he'd hate himself terribly if anything bad happened to him.

Jangmo-o (Dragon): This is another gift from Aaron. Ivan loves him, Vladimir and Raphaël a little less, because this little pokémon is very noisy. Ivan is trying to teach him to make his scales rattle in time with the music.

Igglybuff (Normal/Fairy): It's a gift from Raphaël this time. Ivan loves to hug him whenever he feels sad, and he's made it his mission to teach him to sing. Maybe his pokémon won't be the best in battle, but does it really matter? His Igglybuff only seems interested in singing and he can't see himself forcing it to do something it doesn't like.

Vulpix (Fire) (Shiny): This was the first pokémon he caught on his own and it's also a Shiny pokémon. He had no idea until he brought it back to the manor and his housemates told him.

Pichu (Electric): He's stopped counting the number of electric shocks he's taken because of this pokémon, but it's still one of his favourites. He takes it with him wherever he goes, usually letting it climb on his shoulders.

Tinkatink (Fairy/Steel): She's the latest addition to his team. He finds her adorable and can't help thinking that she looks like a little baby with her rattle. He spends a lot of time bringing her bits of scrap metal to make her happy.

Aaron :

If Aaron were a pokémon trainer, his aim would simply be to protect his manor and his friends. In fact, that's why he trains his pokémon. He never catches his pokémon with a pokéball, in fact he hates it. He finds the idea horribly cruel. There was a time when Aaron was the best trainer in the world, but he stopped everything to go and live a more peaceful life. Sometimes trainers still come to the manor to challenge him, he usually accepts, as long as he doesn't damage Vladimir's garden.

He adopted each of these pokémons when they were just tiny little pokémons. He can't help it, if his housemates didn't stop him, he'd collect every pokémon he could find and take them to the safety of the manor. In fact, it's partly because of him that there are so many young pokémon near the manor, they know they're safe near the human and his Machamp.

Aaron often goes out into the forest to train with his pokémons and to allow them to do a bit more damage than they're allowed to do in the manor. His pokémons are mainly Hardi, Brave and Assured except Riolu, Riolu is sassy, but he's the youngest so he has all the rights.

Machamp (Fighting) : He caught this pokémon when it was just a tiny Machop. It's the pokémon he trusts most, as he uses it to protect the manor when he's away.

Mightyena (Dark): He found Mightyena when she was just a tiny, injured Poochyena. He nursed her back to health and she has lived in the manor with him ever since.

Armarouge (Fire/Psy): If he can't go out on the town with Vladimir, Raphaël or Ivan, he always asks Armarouge to accompany them. He knows that his friends won't risk anything with him and he's very proud to have such a strong, loyal pokémon.

Flareon (Fire): One night when he was walking in the woods to train his pokémons, he came face to face with a litter of Eevee. The parents were nowhere to be found and the pups seemed to be starving and sicking, so he took them home and gave one to each of them. His became a magnificent Flareon, but of course Vladimir doesn't want to see this pokémon in his garden.

Lycanroc (Rock) (Midnight form): His pokémon literally terrifies Vladimir. This tends to provoke a lot of fighting between him and Vladimir's Leavanny. Living together isn't always easy, but Aaron knows how to convince his pokémon to stay calm.

Riolu (fighting) : He's still just a baby, because it's not been long since Aaron found him. Is he his favourite little one? He won't answer the question. Of course he doesn't have a favourite, not at all, Riri is just adorable… (He's totally spoilt rotten and is probably the most temperamental pokémon in the manor).

Raphaël :

If Raphaël were a pokémon trainer, he would probably live at the manor with Vladimir but would often go out into town to meet other trainers, fight them and have fun. He's not a great pokémon trainer, he likes fighting for fun, but he's not particularly interested in being the best. His pokémons function as emotional support animals for him, especially his Togekiss, which he can't keep his hands off.

His pokémon types are mainly Fairy and Psy. Even though he loves a good fight, he's very protective of his pokémon. Listen, if you hurt his pokémon, he's more than willing to challenge you to a duel, a real sword duel between trainers with no pokémon to help you. These pokémon aren't the only ones who know how to fight, after all.

He doesn't know why, but he only attracts pokémon that are Jolly, Naive, Pressed or Shy. Aaron told him it was because he always gave off a sweet scent, but he doesn't think there's any connection.

Togekiss (Fairy/Flying): This was his very first pokémon. He got it when he was just a little Togepi. Raphaël loves it and takes it everywhere with him. He couldn't live without him anyway, and gets very anxious when he's not with him.

Houndstone (Ghost): Of course, no one at the manor is exactly reassured to see Raphaël befriending a pokémon that can suck the life energy out of its trainer. But Raphaël seems so happy with his pokémon that no one dares force him to part with it. What's more, Houndstone takes great care of Raphaël and always protects him.

Indeedee female (Normal/Psychic): This pokémon never leaves Raphaël's side. She's always with him, no matter what, and it will be very difficult to defeat her and force her to move away from her trainer.

Espeon (Psychic): Ethan was certain that the Eevee Aaron gave Raphael would become an Espeon, and he was not mistaken. Most of the time, he walks right next to Raphaël with Houdstone to guide him around the city and prevent him from tripping and hurting himself.

Swirlix (Fairy): One day Raphaël simply came home with this pokémon. No one at the manor was surprised, he looks like candyfloss, he smells like candyfloss and like Raphaël he has a passion for sweets, the only problem is that spending on sweets has doubled since he arrived.

Mimikyu (Fairy/Ghost): This is the most recent pokémon in his team. He met him in an old abandoned manor house and couldn't bring himself to leave him there, sad and alone. So he took him home to look after him. It's lucky for Mimikyu because he couldn't have found a kinder trainer. Raphaël spends an inordinate amount of time telling him what a beautiful and adorable pokémon he is.

Ethan :

If Ethan were a pokémon trainer, he'd be a doctor in a pokémon center. No, he doesn't want to be here, yes, you're boring him with your irresponsible trainer problems. Of course he'll treat your pokémons, he has no choice now that you've brought them to him. He's not a pleasant doctor, in his defense, he meets irresponsible trainers every day who hurt the adorable pokémons they swear they adore. He's got a lot to be angry about.

His pokémon are sassy or naughty... there's really nothing he can do about it. he only catches pokémon like that and it's not even on purpose. Vladimir keeps telling him it's because they're so alike and… he'd almost take it the wrong way if it weren't a bit true.

He sleeps with his pokémons around him, even if he denies it. He feels much safer with them close to him when he's asleep, and with good reason, after all: who would dare attack a trainer sleeping in the middle of his faithful pokémons?

Reuniclus (Psychic): This was his first pokémon, a gift from his parents. At the time, his pokémon was just a little Solosis, but he was already taking it everywhere with him (he used to hide it in his schoolbag when he went to school). Today, his pokémon has evolved, but it still never leaves his side.

Alakazam (Psychic): This was the second pokémon he caught at the start, it was just a little Abra, but he evolved it and it became a powerful Alakazam.

Indeedee male (Psychic/Normal): He always goes to work with Indeedee, who is a very efficient pokémon and a great help when he has to look after pokémons. What's more, he can ask her to look after the other members of the manor for him, which always reassures him.

Phantump (Ghost/Grass): He really wishes he hadn't become attached to Phantump, but he feels so guilty that he couldn't part with him even if his life depended on it.

Glaceon (Ice) : He didn't want little Eevee at first, but Aaron dropped him in his arms without giving him a choice. Of course, he's taken care of her and yes, he likes her, he can't deny it Glaceon is adorable.

Cubchoo (Ice): Initially, this was an injured wild pokémon that had been taken to his pokémon centre. He hadn't planned to keep him, but he needed constant care, so he took him to the manor to be able to look after him more easily. He keeps saying he's going to free him one day, but… he's made a place for him in his room and Cubchoo even sleeps with him, so… that's not likely to happen one day.

Neil :

He's the best trainer. Look, he can't help it, it wasn't even his basic aim, but his opponents were all… lousy, horribly lousy. He keeps letting new trainers challenge him, but he always wins. It's almost boring for him, sometimes he'd like a real challenge.

He's got two legendary pokémons and all the others are chromatic pokémons. Does he intend to get all the pokémons in the pokédex in shiny version and all the legendary ones? Yes, of course, he's not here for fun. He needs to show the world that you should fear him.

He knows the pokédex by heart, as well as all the techniques and abilities of the pokémons. He's a veritable encyclopaedia on the subject. He doesn't seem very friendly though, even with his pokémons, but that's just an appearance he gives himself. When he's alone with them he's much more affectionate, after all if they're part of his team it's because he loves and respects them a little.

Zoroark (Dark): This was the first pokémon he got, a gift from his mother, it was just a little Zorua at the time. He lived alone with it for a long time and is therefore very close to his pokémon. It's the only one in his team that isn't a shiny or a legendary. He wouldn't part with it for the world.

Umbreon (Dark) (Chromatic): He adopted him when he was just a little Eevee. He'd be lying if he said it wasn't his adorable little face that won him over. His Eevee quickly evolved into an Umbreon, and like his Zoroark, he's attached to it. This pokémon always walks beside him with a gait as proud and arrogant as its trainer.

Tyrantrum (Dragon) (Shiny): The power this pokémon exudes makes it proud. Admittedly, it's a bit destructive and it's pretty hard to get around town with it, but people are quickly frightened by its appearance and that's all that matters.

Ceruledge (Fire/Ghost) (Chromatic): Not his most impressive pokémon, but as with Umbreon and Zoroark he's very attached to it.

Xerneas (Fairy) (Legendary): This is the first legendary pokémon he's managed to catch, and he's very proud of it, often going out on the town just to parade it around. Given its size, it tends to create chaos around him, but Neil doesn't really care.

Giratina (Ghost/Dragon) (Legendary): He had a lot of trouble finding and catching it. He loves his scary appearance - he loves arriving somewhere with his pokémon right behind him and seeing people's faces slowly become terrified.

Léandra :

She doesn't want to be the best trainer, she just wants to have fun. Fighting is of course fun and she never hesitates to accept it, but she would much rather party and go to parties than spend an entire evening fighting other people.

Like her little brother, Léandra is particularly fond of beauty in her pokémons, so she likes to be able to strut her stuff with them while winning battles. But she especially enjoys helping them win beauty contests.

She's not looking for a particular type of pokémon or character, but her pokémon can all learn the Charm move.

Gardevoir (Psychic/fairy): This was the first pokémon she ever got, a little Ralts at the time. In fact, she wasn't really trying to catch pokémons at the time, just the young pokémon followed her around a bit and she finally decided to keep it with her. She looked after him a lot and he's now a powerful Gardevoir, and what she enjoys most is being able to send him to check on her little brother discreetly.

Tsareena (Grass): This is the second pokémon she's had and the first she caught on her own. She never leaves her team. It started out as a tiny Bounsweet and maybe she caught it because she had the same adorable smile as her little brother. Little by little, she evolved into a beautiful Tsareena.

Gothitelle (Psychic): She thinks she's a perfect match for her little Tsareena. These two pokémons have such an arrogant look in their eyes. In fact, she got them at the same time. She loved watching them play together when she hadn't yet evolved them. Now she almost always travels with these two pokémons beside her.

Aromatisse (Fairy): She caught it after learning that it could give off a very bewitching scent.

Vaporeon (Water) (Shiny): She didn't really expect to fall for this little pokémon, but she realised she absolutely had to have one after seeing her brother's adorable Eevee. Hers has become a Vaporeon, so she might have preferred a Sylveon like her brother, but she consoles herself by saying that at least hers is a Shiny.

Diancie (Rock/Fairy): Diancie is the youngest of her group. She had a lot of trouble getting her, but after several years she finally succeeded. She takes very good care of it, and it has quickly become her favourite.

Farah :

If Farah was a pokémon trainer, her life wouldn't change much. She would roam the forest with a group of friends, living as close as possible to wild pokémon and studying them. Becoming the best trainer wouldn't be her goal at all, but she would have fun challenging the poor innocent trainers who had only planned to go for a walk in the forest.

She knows the pokédex by heart, and even the rarest pokémons hold no secrets for her. She could spend hours telling you all about them without getting tired. Like Aaron, she never uses a pokéball to catch her pokémons and keep them with her. She doesn't like this way of doing things at all, and the mere idea of locking one of these pokémons inside a pokéball makes her anxious.

Serperior (Grass): This was the very first pokémon she ever had, a gift from her big brother after they left home. At the time, it was just a little Snivy. It was her brother who taught her how to look after it and train it. Now that her brother is gone, it's the only memory she has of him, and she'll never part with Serperior.

Lycanroc (Rock) (midday form): This was the first pokémon she ever caught on her own. At the time, it was just a tiny Rockruff and she really couldn't resist its adorable little face. She trained him a lot so that he would become powerful and be able to protect her people, and he became a powerful Lycanroc, the pokémon she trusts most to protect her pack.

Thievul (Dark): She caught this pokémon after watching the food supply disappear for several days. At the time it was just a little Nickit, but she managed to catch it and it eventually stayed to live with its pack.

Houndoom (Dark/Fire): One of the pack members' pokémon had a whole litter of Houndour, so of course Farah took one for herself. As every member of the pack has done the same as her, their camp is always very well protected.

Jolteon (Electric): He arrived at the same time as his little Deerling, the two pokémons never leave each other's side and they seem to be very popular with the older pokémons in the pack.

Deerling (Normal/Grass): People always think it's a bit strange to see a tiny Deerling around a Lycanroc, a Houndoom and a Thievul, but it was her Lycanroc that guided her to this little pokémon. It was injured and her parents were nowhere near, so Farah had originally planned to nurse it back to health and then free it, but the little pokémon hasn't left her side since she nursed it back to health.

[dujour13]

Patching up a wound👀

Thanks for the prompt Romeo 💕 A little Act II moment. Prompts here

---

“Take it easy chief.”

Flat on his back, Siavash opened one eye at that. Woljif was the one panicking. Although, he reflected, maybe he ought to start. Before he passed out.

“Lemme see.”

Siavash removed a bloody hand from the slash wound across his thigh. Damn schir caught him just under the buckler. Keep your shield up, Seelah had told him. Shouldn’t have listened.

“Yeah, that’s bleedin’ a lot. Doesn’t look too good.”

“Ruined my favorite trousers.”

“Uh—” Woljif choked. The green ones with the stripes. The ones the Count had looked at and said “Ah, the brave city defenders leaping into battle without even taking the time to change out of their pajamas.”

“Tell me you have a potion on you.”

Woljif choked again. He’d been hoarding them and selling them off to the foot soldiers. You could get twice what they were worth on the Kenabres market, and he could always talk Ember into looking after his own little scrapes and bruises.

“Drank my last one. Don’t you have a spell?”

Siavash shook his head. He’d squeezed out his last drop of magic when they were ambushed by cultists on the road earlier that day.

“You’re tellin’ me we went scoutin’ without one spell or potion between us?”

“We’re a couple of amateurs, aren’t we?” Siavash chuckled weakly, and then realized what that meant for the Fifth Crusade he was meant to be leading, which wiped the smile off his face almost as quickly.

Woljif mistook this for a grimace of pain and began to panic again. “Hold on, chief—we’ll figure somethin’ out—”

Though the thought flashed through his mind that now might be a really good time to abscond. Sure, they’d taken Vilareth’s Ford but how long would their luck hold out? No—he banished the thought. He wasn’t sure he could find his way back to the camp, let alone the road. City streets had names and landmarks. Trees all looked the bloody same.

Besides, there was more to be milked out of the Fifth Crusade. Not to mention he still owed the chief and it was good to have fr—contacts in high places. He realized his hand was on the chief’s thigh and drew it away.

And then the chief started to unbuckle his belt.

“Um. What—?”

“Help me get my scarf off.”

There was a close-quarters struggle to untie the fringed blue scarf and pull it out from under his waist without budging the wounded leg, during which time some color returned to Woljif’s cheeks.

“Just rip it,” Siavash coughed. Moving had caused a surge of blood and pain.

“Yeah, right. Like in the stories? With my teeth?”

He didn’t have the breath to tell him about the one time Kel Five Knives had taken an arrow to the leg and still managed to lead the Order of the Gate on a merry chase. Later, at camp. That was a good one.

“It don’t work like that.” Woljif stood up and trapped one end of the scarf under his boot so that he could slice through it with his dagger and rip off a long, fringed bandage. This he began wrapping very carefully around the chief’s thigh.

“Tighter. It has to stop the bleeding.”

He grimaced and pulled tighter. Just as he feared, the chief let out a yelp. “S-sorry.”

Between shallow breaths Siavash wheezed, “You’re a man of many talents, Woljif, but I don’t think healing is one of them.”

“Gimme a lock to pick anytime. This ain’t my kinda work.”

Once he was bandaged, or at least as well as could be expected, Woljif gave him a hand up and waited while he bent double, blinking sparks from his vision.

It turned out the chief was just the right height that if Woljif leaned a little he could fit his shoulder into his armpit and help him limp back to camp. It felt strangely intimate. Friendly-like. The chief was in pain but he still laughed when they had to stop and negotiate their way over fallen branches, hopping and clinging to each other. Woljif found he didn’t mind so much that his shoulder was starting to ache, because the chief’s arm around him made him feel a little floaty.

They made it halfway before they stumbled across Lann, who had come looking for them when their absence stretched on longer than was quite normal. He shook his head and sighed.

“Don’t tell me you went scouting without one healing spell or potion between you.”

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Since Donald Trump’s term as President ended and his power to pardon vanished with it in January 2021, he has managed to keep a wide range of former aides, confidantes and associates close to him by dispensing the millions of dollars he’s raised for his political action committee as legal fees for allies who’ve been caught up in investigations into his conduct.

According to a Federal Election Commission disclosure report filed late last month, his Save America political committee spent roughly $20m on legal fees during the first half of this year. And a separate review of FEC filings dating back to when Mr. Trump first reentered life as a private citizen shows the legal costs to be twice that amount dating back to the end of the ex-president’s term.

The commission’s data reveals that Save America’s legal costs since January 2021 were $38m, the largest set of expenditures for the group. According to advisers to the ex-president, that amount represents legal fees not just for Mr. Trump, but for dozens of former aides and associates who have become involved in the criminal investigations that have led to him facing four sets of charges in four separate courts.

That group of aides includes Mr. Trump’s two co-defendants in the criminal case pending against him in the Southern District of Florida, his longtime valet Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, a maintenance supervisor at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.

In a superseding indictment filed against the ex-president, Mr. Nauta and Mr. De Oliveira last month, prosecutors alleged that Mr. Trump personally telephoned Mr. De Oliveira and assured him that he would pay for his legal representation.

The indictment also alleges that prior to that call, Mr. Nauta conferred with another employee of the ex-president’s who vouched for Mr. De Oliveira’s loyalty.

In a statement, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said the ex-president’s political operation pays legal fees for his associates “to protect these innocent people from financial ruin and prevent their lives from being completely destroyed.”

But Mr. Trump’s legal largesse does not appear to extend to a small number of aides who’ve incurred the ex-president’s wrath even though their legal exposure has come as a result of their work for him.

One of the 18 co-defendants who was indicted along with the former president in a sprawling racketeering case brought by the Fulton County, Georgia district attorney’s office is Jenna Ellis, an attorney and commentator who first came to public attention as part of the self-described “elite strike force” that pushed unfounded claims of election fraud after Mr. Trump lost the 2020 presidential race to Joe Biden.

Ms. Ellis, who broke with Mr. Trump and has endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in next year’s election, appears to be getting no help from the ex-president’s political operation.

In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) published on Tuesday, she included a link to a crowdfunding campaign on GiveSendGo, the right-wing competitor to GoFundMe that gained prominence in pro-Trump circles after the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

Her attorney, Mike Melito, said on the campaign’s page: “We will fight for Jenna. If you would like to help support our efforts please consider donating by clicking the link below. America and the profession of law are worth the fight.”

Another of her former “elite strike force” compatriots turned Georgia co-defendants, ex-New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani, also appears to be struggling financially under a crush of legal fees brought on by his work for Mr. Trump — work that has reportedly gone unpaid for nearly three years.

According to CNN, Mr. Giuliani and his longtime counsel, Robert Costello, journeyed to Mar-a-Lago earlier this year to plead for Mr. Trump to turn on the financial spigot and alleviate some of the ex-mayor’s legal bills, which reportedly have reached the seven-figure mark.

The former prosecutor, who now faces criminal charges under the same type of Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law which he used against the Italian-American mob in the 1980s, left only with a promise by Mr. Trump to pay for “a small fee from a data vendor” which hosts the contents of digital devices for discovery in a defamation suit against him by two Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Moss.

Mr. Giuliani, who recently listed his New York City apartment for sale was described in a court filing for that case as “having financial difficulties” that impede his ability to produce discovery.

It’s not known exactly why Mr. Trump has refused to cover his former lawyer and longtime friend’s legal costs, but according to multiple reports, he became disillusioned with Mr. Giuliani’s work after it failed to result in him remaining in the White House despite having lost the 2020 election.

[storylocke]

When Different Paths Lead to the Same Place

[Ash finally shoved the Rare Candy into his bag and heaved a sigh of relief. Who knew such a small thing could block an entire passageway! Or at least, he noticed, the Voices had a weird aversion to stepping over Item Capsules like most did. And to think They cost him a TM for this. As he slings the backpack back over his shoulders though, there's an oddly familiar voice coming from outside his head…]

Blue:

Ash, wait!

Ash:

…? [He looks back to see the kid rounding the last of the gravestones] Um, hi? What are you doing here?

Blue:

I had to go heal, no thanks to you.

Ash:

[Straightens up in dismay] You’re the one who challenged me!

Blue:

[Finger to his lips] Shhhh. There are some baaad people in this tower, and the negative energy has all the ghosts here in a frenzy. You saw what happened to those Channelers? [Ash gives him a bewildered little nod] Yeah, so let's not attract any more than we already do. [Points at the strange looking telescope in Ash’s hand] I saw you had a way to fight these things, so I tailed ya. Where'd ya get that?

Ash:

This? It's a Silph Scope. All it does is show what the shadows really are, but my Pokemon still have to fight them.

Blue:

[Air of suspicion as he eyes his rival] Silph, huh? I thought Saffron City was blocked off.

Ash:

Um…. [Sheepish grin since it's not exactly a lie] Honestly, I sorta won it off a guy in a battle.

Blue:

Tch. Well… [tries to be quick] Give it to me!

Ash:

[Grips it with both hands and moves to pull it further out of reach, but even as he tries to leverage himself against Blue’s arm, there's no denying how physically stronger the boy is.] No! It's mine, and you have no idea what I went through to get it!

Blue:

[Surprised how he's actually struggling, he's never seen Ash put up such a fight before. Even as the little nerd pulls it out of his grip, he’s not giving up that easy] And if you keep going this way, you're gonna get yourself hurt!

Ash:

[Keeps the scope in front of him as he feels Blue wrap both arms around him. Curls forward before the guy can pick him up] Beat you, didn't I?! I can take care of myself!

Blue:

JUST BARELY! You're just lucky I-! [Caught off guard as he's the one being lifted off the ground]

Ge...t ouuut… Get ouuut…..

[They both freeze at the eerie voice and Ash starts to straighten up as Blue slides off of him. They stare in the direction of the call, making out a hazy shadow by the staircase. Ash gives a wary glance at Blue, seeing him frozen in fear, and slowly lifts the scope up to take a better look. It’s nothing like the numerous Gastly he’d been training against around the graveyard. But even if it wasn’t any normal Ghost Pokemon, the black aura surrounding it made the fiery eyes deep set in it’s skull face all the more distinct.]

Ash:

[The Voices rattled in his brain as They screamed, but his own voice comes out barely above a whisper] It’s the Marowak Ghost…

Blue:

[Glances at him in curiosity] A Marowak…? I can believe that. Just a lot of hurt and anger that’s probably the source of all the negative energy here. [Doesn’t want to take his eyes off of the shadow in case it tries to come any closer] You don’t seem scared.

Ash:

[Shakes his head] Something I’ve heard a lot about. I can’t really explain, but if you’ll just stay back here I’ll-

Blue:

[Hand on his shoulder to stop him] Don’t fight that thing! She’s not here to hurt us! The Channelers say she was murdered defending her baby… And… And now she doesn’t want anyone else getting hurt. I don’t want you getting hurt!

Ash:

[Genuinely confused by the very real concern in his rival’s eyes. A side of him he couldn’t remember ever seeing before. Even when he said it during their struggle before, he had taken it as another way of Blue calling him weak.] I’m not gonna fight her. Okay? I’ve heard this story many times now, I think I know what to do. Just watch my back if I’m wrong.

Blue:

Ash, it’s not about-! [Scoffs as he sees he’s being ignored and the boy cautiously walks towards the apparition with the scope still up. Going through a mix of emotions though as he watches, going from bitter to concerned again, then curious to what exactly Ash was planning]

Ash:

[He tries to keep the scope up where he can keep the Marowak in view, and holds his cowboy hat with his free hand for a little encouragement. Marvin wouldn’t have been scared at a time like this. The Marowak ghost stares at him with suspicion as her hollow eyes seem to narrow in on the whip at his side. His hand moves to remove his pack as she screams at him again]

Marowak:

Be gone… Intruders…

Ash:

[Holds up a hand to assure her he’s got nothing in hand, just gently crouches down as he places his backpack on the ground. He reaches in, so deep it seems to eat his arm, and he can see the bitter Ghost is winding up her club to attack. He flinches as it comes towards him and quickly pulls out the Poke Doll! …Nothing happened. He opens his eyes and looks up to see the mad spirit looks stunned by the harmless object. He holds it out to her] Here. It’s um… I brought it for you. [Her eyes shift from their fiery blaze to a dull flame, and something in the stern skull face softens as she lowers her club. She takes it quickly, but he doesn’t resist. No tricks. Just a soft smile as he tilts his hat back so she can see his face] I know it doesn’t make up for anything, but… We’ll make up for it. Me and my friend, there. You don’t need to fight anymore.

Marowak:

[Looks past him at the other boy who timidly gives the black shadow a wave. There’s a long pause as she watches him, but he doesn’t move any more. Still, as she turns her attention back to the one in front of her, he doesn’t move either. She pulls the doll close her to chest then, and with a sorrowful bow of gratitude, starts to fade away into a gray mist.] Fin…ish…

Blue:

[Deep sigh of relief to see she’s gone] Wow. How did you know that a Doll would calm her down?

Ash:

[Glances back at him with a wry grin] I don't. I have rock [holds up Fossil] and a map [holds up the scroll of Town Map] and somewhere in this pack I have a thing called a “Bicy.” [Blue just laughs, which is nice to hear after the all the wailing of the Tower, and just shakes his head at him] They all mean something. Like… I just know these things. It's not deja vu, because I'VE never done it, but somehow I know all of this has happened before.

Blue:

[The smile fades as his face turns serious again. Not mad really. But he has the strangest feeling as he takes the Helix Fossil, really looking at it now as it fits in the palm of his hand. ……. He hands it back] Yeah… 'Cause you keep messing with things Gramps warned us about. Even if you know a lot, maybe it’s best you start forgetting.

Ash:

Blue…

Blue:

[Crosses his arms and looks back in the direction of the stairs, a twinge of sadness, maybe fear in his soft tone] What do you think she meant by finish?

Ash:

[Rearranging all of the items back into his bag before he stands up. Casually dusting himself off] To finish what we started? Maybe… To finish what she couldn’t? You said you caught a Cubone earlier, didn’t you?

Blue:

[Softens a bit as he remembers telling him that now.] I did. Didn’t have the heart to use it though, after… [Subtle gesture to the empty stairwell] I wasn’t tryin’ to protect you from her. Team Rocket went on up, but she barred them in. I’m sure they’re in a ripe mood by now, looking for the first idiot to cross their path.

Ash:

[Only half joking] Guess I better go first then. I make the BEST decisions lately.

Blue:

I ain’t goin’ up there! Did you not hear what I just said? Those guys will KILL YOU. I don’t care how many fairytales you’ve read, Team Rocket doesn’t mess around. And any monsters willing to murder Pokemon and pile up their corpses like they’re loading up a fruit cart isn’t gonna think twice about taking care of you!

Ash:

Shhhh…! [Oh. He’s starting to realize that Blue was dead serious in trying to take the scope away from him earlier. Careful glance up stairs because if Blue is freaking out now, they definitely didn’t need to draw the men down with the ruckus. Silence. And in that shared silence between them, the whispers in Ash’s mind come as quickly as his thoughts try to piece things together. It HAD been a while since they last fought. Where was his Raticate? Blue had snapped at him downstairs how it didn’t look like he had come to the tower to bury anyone… Had he? The bitterness, the aggression, the vulnerability this time around, and that brief description gave Ash a shock. Just what had Blue been up to before he arrived? Maybe it was all just his imagination, after all a lot of these claims of truth were being pounded into his brain, and yet he finally breaks the silence with his voice barely above a whisper.] I guess we’ve both been through a lot since Vermillion, huh? [Shuddered breath as he tries to steel himself for what hes’s about to say] I won’t make you come. Just make sure the little Cubone is taken care of, okay? I’ll take care of the rest.

Blue:

[Fists clenched, face heating up, but he’s not sure if he’s more mad at Ash, the memory, or his wounded pride to turn back now. Snaps at him as he starts to walk off] This isn’t one of your books, you know. Playing hero, just gonna roll in, clean up the town, and fly off into the sunset. These guys own everything! Even if you win here, the cops won’t help you when their teammates come!

Ash:

[Pauses, looks back at him. Actually, comes back to place a hand on his shoulder in comfort. For all the rattling in his brain, he’s could really use Their help right now. Please… Lord Helix, give him the right words.] I know. I know things seem impossible right now, but I wanna tell you: it will get better. Remember what I said? About everything happening before? Team Rocket is going to fall. And I promise you, Giovanni may be a monster, but he’s still human. He CAN be defeated.

Blue:

…How do you know?

Ash:

Because while you were fighting the Rockets here, I spent hours lost in Team Rocket’s base. [Bit of a cocky grin] Took everything they’ve got, and threw ‘em out of Celadon. It's how I got the Silph Scope. And Boss Rocket? I took him down with just one Pokemon. He may be in charge, but he’s weak. And if you’re still giving me trouble, you’ve got nothing to worry about from them now.

Blue:

[Soft smile, bit of pleading in his voice] I wish I had that kind of confidence. You really have changed since the ship, huh?

Ash:

[Pats him on the shoulder and lets go] I may not always “get” you, but I think I’m starting to understand. [Takes off his hat and holds it between his hands, admiring it in a way as he lets Blue get a better look at it] I wouldn’t be jealous of me though. Sounds like you might have guessed, but I may actually be in over my head this time. [Pause] No going back now.

Blue:

For their sakes… [Straightens up a bit to try to sound more like his old self] Next time we run into each other, you better not hold back on me. I’m gonna get stronger and we’ll crush everyone one of those Rockets in Saffron into the pavement.

Ash:

[Returns his hat to his head and gives a firm nod] That I can do.

=+=

A/N: Just a little something that's been on my mind since I watched it live. I really loved the idea of how even though we had the Scope, we gave Marowak the Doll anyway, so the spirit was calmed without issuing a single attack. And if we say this Ash is the same as Bootleg Yellow, we actually capture the Marowak later on iirc? So that's sweet. It was supposed to just be a short clip, but then I had the idea of Blue (since we didn't fight him until after Rocket Hideout, I remember previous times we'd fight him then head for Celadon) actually being here for Ash to explain about the Doll, but the whole thing just kinda spiraled after that. We all know by now I can't seem to do anything without it turning dramatic on me. Obviously this isn't Anime Ash but we picked the default name. Ash has a whip like the Tamers do because he spent way too long at the Museum early on, then Marvin got cowboy lore before being released, and the idea of Ash being a museum nerd hunting powerful relics from the fallen timeline with a hat and water guns (we got like four over the run) led to the concept of him having some Indiana Jones aesthetics. The whip is not for Pokemon, but a great many other uses as he travels.

Still, even in chat, someone pointed out how it actually has been a while since we last saw Blue. And sure we can (and did) joke about him losing his Raticate, but Ash had also lost partners since we last saw him, and it had been days (in-game months? No telling how long we spent in Celadon) since they last saw each other. And one thing about Gen I I've always loved is how the game actually ages our hero and rival as they carve their own paths. These two have really had to grow up on since they both left home.

Another thing about this particular moment was how we hear about Cubone's mother giving up her life to fight Team Rocket, find out the tower is filled with restless spirits because of the vengeful ghost, actually face said ghost, and then we go after the first Rocket and Pixie destroys him and learns DRAGON RAGE! I wanted to include that, but it felt like getting away from the point of this fic, which was focused on these two, but holy cow Ash and his comrades are maaaaad facing these two pathetic Rockets after already raiding the base. They don't scare him. Heck, after Giovanni, apparently nothing does since it's after this we start wrecking gyms and played with the powers that be to grab a Missingno.

[explodingcelebi]

Last but certainly not least of the Halftime pub employees, a familiar and yet so very different face. She is a what-if character inspired by @sparklingdemon's "Explorers of Death" creepypasta, not appearing directly in the story, and whose design was first drawn by @braindeaddragulj-blog, used and changed with permission into the above. Essentially an OC of a non-OC in a creepypasta.

In a word, and because it's relevant, the past is doomed. And if the past was doomed, so too was the future doomed. Thus...the name, Doom. Original. She might have experienced the loss of her lover and killed a time god, eh, nothing to write home about. Questions, doubts and pain swirl in her mind and the one thing she knows is battling and exploring the world takes the edge off. She's loud, boisterous, and egotistical, but after pounding the drinks her soft inner self comes out. Those tears never stop flowing, by the way. You'd be agitated too if you never stopped crying...

More under the cut.

She waited for her world to be saved from the past. But the past was doomed...and so, she continued to live on the run. Knowing it would never stop. It would have kept going like that, forever and ever; Passages of Time becoming more guarded, Primal Dialga's attempts at ending her life becoming more desperate and harsh. It would have been an entire Celebi's lifetime of running, or getting caught...and she chose to stand and fight. When her loved one eventually could not run anymore, she took it upon herself to defend him as best she could. But it was to no avail...and after his life passed, so too did the lives of his killer. All at her hands.

To say that she was driven mad would be apt, but it was more frustration than frenzy. The past was doomed for reasons beyond her control. She held onto hope as long as she could, believing something would change...but what changed was her. If there were no heroes coming, she would have to become one. It was then that she proved that a simple traveler of time could best the embodiment of time - even if it would cause her world to become unstable, why would she care? She has time running through her veins, and all that she cared about was already taken from her. What did she have to lose by not holding back her rage?

Paths began to open. The frozen world she was used to began morphing, bringing new landscapes, new people. Where once there were wild, unruly, savage Pokemon, there sprung up communities, cities, entire biomes set in their own time and space. Such was the effect of the defeat of Primal Dialga. And yet her loss remained, and got heavier with every passing day. Her tears flowed so much and so freely that her tear ducts ruptured; rivers of tears became rivers of blood. Her body became paler from this, and her eyes took on a near-permanently bloodshot look. Living in the wild cause her hair to become unkempt, and while she never stopped running even after Primal Dialga's defeat, she kept mentally mapping the landscape, thinking she would have to return to these new locales.

It was when she was traveling through one of these newly-created biomes that she happened across a group of Celebi trying to start a business of their own...and she thought to lend them a hand. From what it sounded like of their pasts, and of their looks, they were sent here half-dead, but with enough regrets and experience to want to make something positive of their lives - or however much they had left, anyway. With her mind now warped by her losses and stained by her thirst for battle, she still reached out to help; with her likely being the only one experienced enough in the world they live in to travel the long distances necessary to bring the supplies they needed, she gladly took on the responsibility. Her time in this doomed future could then at least be of use to someone, and especially if it helps others drown out their sorrows in drink rather than turning to battle like she did.

Doom helps out the pub more than any of them give her credit for, despite her overwhelming presence and personality that molds the mood of the pub to what she sees fit, with most seeing that as a negative. It is, after all, her responsibility for ensuring the pub is stocked with everything it might need; while she might not always need to scale mountains or cross great ravines to achieve this, she still treats it like an adventure. Her aptitude for exploration and fighting means she is more than capable of securing supply routes and getting what she wants from those that have it. While sometimes this means going out and picking apples or simply shopping, sometimes it might mean haggling, fighting for a claim, or doing tasks to be rewarded with what she wants. She's always finding excitement whenever she heads out; she might be accosted by a group of still-wild Pokemon, find a new community to do business with...and with her world like a maze, she knows exactly how to exploit it for herself. One might say that with that worn-out bag slung around her shoulder that she evokes the image of an explorer...but she thinks of herself as an opportunist and a deliverer of justice, nothing more.

It was Ellis's plea that struck her the most from their initial meeting. Despite looking the worst of the group of Celebi, he had a certain...sense to him. Something that she felt they shared: the loss of a loved one. She could see it in his eye. A part of her feared what powers he might have to not just live in his current state, but also what thoughts of revenge or pain he might yet have. She treats him the most normal of the group, and tries not to upset him too much. It's his presence that makes her think twice about what she says or does more than any of the other Celebi.

Mute was brought in after progression on the pub gained traction, but like Ellis, the pale Celebi hasn't bothered with antagonizing her too much. It might be her heightened senses, or just that she doesn't trust anything that looks half-dead, but she looks...too innocent. Not that it has any bearing on one's past or experiences, but Doom feels she's hiding something behind that sorrowful look. Mute's optimism falls flat on Doom; it's often she that cleans up after her, including her bloody tears on the countertop. Snowy was among the Celebi that Doom met when the pub was first starting, and they initially had a solid relationship as the two shared their knowledge of the harsh climates they lived in. That soon fell apart when he became a little too social for her, and when, after a few less-than-stellar outings, she was confronted about the lack of product. It was something out of her control, and considering what had happened up until this point, she did not feel like being a scapegoat, and thus came to dislike Snowy for being too pushy and accusing her of things she hasn't done. Still, when she does drink, it's Snowy's ear that she has to tell of her woes, so even she doesn't know if she's just playing hard-to-get or just what their relationship really is. On the opposite spectrum is Anne, another Celebi that was there when the pub began. Their relationship shattered faster than hers and Snowy's, as the green 'bi was quick to show just how untrustworthy she is. Doom has advocated for Anne to be replaced, but that has since fallen on deaf ears, with both Celebi being extra wary of each other whenever they're in each other's presence. On one hand, if she gives Anne what she wants, she's letting her win; on the other hand, if she doesn't, customers suffer. As much as Doom wants to show her up, she hates lying and she hates breaking promises even more, so she still holds up her end of the business bargain. The two's arguments are enough to shape the mood of the whole pub, should it be a quiet night. Max is usually the most forgettable Celebi to her; their day-to-day paperwork is boring, and while he's usually saving her from getting into fights she shouldn't pick, she's also quick to change her mind to complain or vent about something else. Despite not even registering his presence half the time, she still tries not getting on his bad side, but she has seen enough to respect his powers. The two barely share words otherwise, and any inventory disputes between the two are easily taken care of. One might say their relationship is the most positive in the entire pub, but Max begs to differ, and they usually meet outside where no other eyes are. ...On Doom's travels, she's happened upon quite a lot of things. A broken badge of some sort caught her attention, as it reminded her of the Celebi she worked with. Its design reminded her of something, so she kept it with her. It's rumored that this badge inspired the logo for the pub...

[poorlytunedukulele]

Prompt 16 - Missing Moment

The Battle of Twilight Gap, April 21, 2871; The Last City, Earth

Well, this was going to end badly.

Andal eyed the artillery emplacement with concern.  It had fallen silent, a plume of smoke slowly engulfing its location.  It wasn’t an immediate danger to his fireteam (they were nearly two hundred meters away) but it didn’t spell good news for defenders on this section of the Wall.  If the defenses were crippled any further, they may as well paint a giant target on their location.

The Fallen through this battle so far had been scary organized, coordinating attacks in tandem between multiple Houses.  The Guardians and City Militia had been doing their best to spread out the damage, redirecting and repelling offensives as they were launched, but the Fallen were getting desperate.  The City could hold as long as they had ammunition and food reserves, while the Fallen only had so much time before they wore themselves out or were flanked by outside Guardian forces.  Today it had seemed they were gearing up towards another push- and now here was an opportunity, if their leaders were smart enough to see it.

They were.  Only moments after the anti-air gun was hit, Skiffs and Walkers began pounding the Wall with artillery.  The shockwaves sent people sprawling or scrambling for things to hold on to.  The barrage was vicious.  The fire only dwindled once nearby cannons were redirected, the Guardians in the field desperately distracting or forcing back the Walkers where they could. 

As the dust began to settle, Andal was relieved to see the Wall still stood- though showing significant structural damage.  But below, the Fallen were rallying.  The Guardians broke and scattered under the pressure.

The Fallen would be focusing all of their attention on his part of the Wall tonight.  If they breached, the Guardians would have to fall back, fighting house-to-house in the City itself.  Casualties would be high.

Andal hadn’t been planning on staying before this.  Two hours ago, they’d finally caught the trail of the Kell of Kings.  The Vanguard had been after her for decades- she was normally so elusive.  The battle had brought her from her usual hidey-holes out into the open.  They’d just come back to restock on ammunition before heading out to hunt her-

But now the Wall had been hit.  Would they do more good here?  Would six hands be worth a Kell’s head in the long run?  Could they honestly look at the state of things now and feel okay about leaving?  If they killed the Kell, House Kings would be thrown into disarray.  It might end this battle early.  If the Wall fell, people would be dying while they were out tracking in the mountains.

Andal looked at each person in his fireteam in turn, asking a silent question.  Do we stay or do we go?

He saw no hesitation in any of them- come Hell or high water, if the Wall fell or not, they’d be hunting a Kell tonight.  They couldn’t let themselves be distracted now.

He nodded assent and the others began putting on helmets and reloading weapons.  Andal finally turned his eyes to the young Hunter standing at the edge of their group.  Azra looked a bit shell-shocked.  Well, she had just watched someone sacrifice their life for her team, and now she was watching the Wall crumble before her eyes.  It must have seemed like the end of the world to her.

For a moment, he had the urge to bring her along.  He knew it was his heart talking.  He didn’t want to leave her alone, not when she looked so lost. 

His logical head prevailed.  She was battered and clearly exhausted- her armor torn, her cloak charred and streaked with dirt.  “Fall back, Azra,” he commanded.  “Get yourself to the rally point.”

She immediately balked at that idea.  “But-“

“You’re too new,” Andal said.  Not even three, she was.  She couldn’t go Kell-hunting.  “Your battles will come,” he assured her, “but you’ll die out there if you go.”

Her face was sill pale in shock, her eyes wild-wide.  “But-“

“Go,” he ordered her.  He left no more room for argument, sliding on his helmet and swinging a leg over his Sparrow.  The others were already waiting- he gave the signal to start off.

Later, he would remember that last glance he cast over his shoulder.  He would remember the young Hunter standing there, scorched and unsteady and now being left alone.  He would remember that she didn’t look scared- she looked worried.

He didn’t see the Ketch, or the explosion- they were far enough away at that point that the sound took several seconds to reach them.  When it did, it had everyone stopping and looking back.  Where the weak spot had been- where Azra had just been, there was now a huge cloud of dust.  It was like part of the Wall had just evaporated.

Someone was holding Andal back.  “Brask,” Tevis snapped in his ear.

“We left Azra there!”  Andal yelled.  Gods, he’d only wanted to keep her safe.  Now wasn’t the time for someone as young as her to be running around outside of the Wall-

There was no outside or inside of the Wall now.  The Fallen were in.  And that blossoming cloud of smoke was right where he’d left her behind.

“Get a hold of yourself,” Tevis growled.  He shoved Andal backwards, south, away from the catastrophe, and stepped between him and it.

“We need to-” Andal started.

“We can’t help her,” Tevis said bluntly.  “If she’s dead, she’s dead, and you throwing yourself at the Fallen ain’t gonna do nothing.  If she’s still living…” Tevis took a second to peer over his own shoulder, at the swarming Fallen, the flashes of gunfire becoming visible in the gathering dark.  “She’s a tough cookie,” he said.  “She’ll make it through.”

“We shouldn’t have left her behind,” Andal lamented.

“Well, we did,” Tevis said.  “Can’t go back.”

They could- they could abandon this whole hunt, fight off the Fallen, and… what?  Run and hide?  Bring her along to get stomped on by a Kell?  What if her Ghost had been damaged and all they could do was recover her body?

“Andal,” Shiro said hesitantly.  “I know…” I know you feel bad, he implied.  I know you care about her and you’re shocked about that.  “You can’t throw away the Kell of Kings for her.”

“You know, I don’t think she’d want you to,” Cayde said.

They were right.  Of course they were right.  And they’d all just agreed to focus on their Kell hunt, Wall be damned.  One more life logically shouldn’t change that decision.

That didn’t make turning back south any less painful. 

“Afterwards,” his Ghost whispered to him.  “After the Kell is dead, we can think about what this means.  When we know how this turned out.”

Andal re-mounted his Sparrow reluctantly, wondering how heavy a burden of regret he’d be carrying tomorrow.

AO3 Linky!

[turtlethon]

“Donatello’s Duplicate”

Season 5, Episode 13 First US Airdate: October 12, 1991

Pinky McFingers teams up with an evil clone of Donatello to generate an army of rats.

The fifth season of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles continues with “Donatello’s Duplicate”. This is the first episode of the series credited to the husband-and-wife duo of Jack and Carole Mendelsohn, who have both contributed to the show individually in the past.

Donatello finds himself burdened with fixing all of the Lair’s electrical equipment, including the faltering TV and the malfunctioning pizza oven (a small call-back to Carole Mendelsohn’s debut episode, “Raphael Versus the Volcano”). Leonardo steps in to defend the team’s genius, pointing out how hard he works, only to turn around and ask for his electric toothbrush to be repaired. This is the final straw for Donnie, who declares himself to officially be “on strike” and storms off.

Later, Splinter finds Donatello tinkering in his workshop, and remarks that he’s “reconditioning [his] old cloning device”, although it’s the first time we as viewers have seen it. Donnie reveals that he plans to create a clone of himself that will perform mundane tasks around the Lair, freeing him up to focus on loftier pursuits. Splinter cautions his student that “it’s not nice to fool mother nature”, and when Donatello points out that he’s referencing a slogan from a TV commercial – a long-running campaign for Chiffon margarine that began in 1971 - he goes on to add that “wisdom can come from many places”. 

Elsewhere in the sewers, the Rat King is seen meeting with Pinky McFingers, returning after his debut last season in “Raphael Knocks ‘em Dead”. Pinky, voiced today by Cam Clarke instead of Peter Renaday, strikes a deal to have the Rat King’s minions descend upon the city, driving out its residents and leaving them free to “take the gold, the jewellery, and the cash”. The emptied-out city will then belong to the Rat King and his rodent army, becoming a “Ratropolis”.

Back in the Lair, Donatello tests out his cloning device on a rat, assuring the small animal that he won’t do it any harm. While firing up the machine, Donnie manages to get his own hand caught in the ray. Things seem to work out as planned regardless, with one rat becoming two, and the two rodents being released back into the sewers.

While wandering around, the cloned rat discovers that he can talk, sounding exactly like Donatello. The clone winds up among the crowd of rats listening in as Rat King continues his negotiations with McFingers, and the two humans are shocked to hear a rat talking in plain English. When the Rat King suggests this must be the work of Donatello, Pinky asks if he’s “one of them Juvenile Karate Lizards”. (I have to say that it feels weird that he doesn’t know who the Turtles are considering he captured one of them last season, though admittedly he had no direct interaction with Donatello in that go-around.) The mobster goes on to suggest that if they could obtain this cloning device, they could generate an even larger army of rats and take over the entire country.

Satisfied with the results of his test run, Donatello generates a clone of himself, immediately putting his double to work. The clone refuses to be pushed around, declaring that thanks to a glitch in his creator’s “algebraic equation” he’s ten times more intelligent. The two Donatellos do battle, with the clone adding that he also has “ten times [original Don’s] ninja skills”. After easily winning the fight, clone Don ties up his predecessor and locks him in a nearby closet.

Donatello’s clone wanders into the living room area of the Lair, his arrogance quickly raising the ire of the other Turtles. After the double points out Raphael’s lack of intellect and declares Michaelangelo to be even more of a dope, Leonardo steps in, announcing Donatello is “way out of line”. All three Turtles get into a fight with Clone Don, winding up piled up against the wall. The new Don makes his exit from the Lair, but soon crosses paths with the Rat King before Pinky McFingers and his men step in. The mobsters carry the captured Turtle away, as Pinky declares that his alliance with the Rat King is called off: “now that I’ve got him, who needs you?”

The gangsters return to their secluded hideout, where the clone Donatello insists that he’s ten times as smart and strong as the original Don. He goes on to demonstrate his power by breaking out of the chains that were restraining him, and when challenged by Pinky to build a cloning machine and generate an army of rats, insists he can do it within the space of two hours. As Pinky and his goons laugh behind his back, duplicate Don almost instantly assembles a new cloning machine, before beginning to generate a wave of rats.

While Mikey, Leo and Raph struggle to fix things up around the Lair, Pinky and the Clone Don unleash their rats upon New York. As predicted, the city’s residents soon begin making their exit. April interviews the mayor – who looks nothing like the one who kept popping up through season four, I guess they’ve had another election since then – and he urges his citizens to stay calm, assuring them that they “have nothing to fear but fear itself”. This all goes out the window as a group of rats gather around his feet, leading him to run away in terror.

April is stunned to see Donatello marching down the street, commanding an army of obedient rats. She alerts the Turtles, who are in the middle of struggling to change a lightbulb. Convinced that Donnie is actually in his workshop, they head off to find him and clear things up. Eventually, the team find and free the real Donatello, who explains that he was overpowered by his clone. Our heroes realise that they’ll need to move quickly to stop the evil duplicate.

Pinky, his henchmen and “Cloney” are seen walking off with their ill-gotten cash as the residents of New York continue to panic. In their limo, Clone Don explains to the crooks that he’s not interested in money, preferring to have recognition for his accomplishments.

The Turtles head out in their van to track down Donatello’s clone, but find their equipment is actually getting a lock on the real Donnie. Meanwhile April travels by news cycle, following Pinky McFingers back to his home. Upon arriving there, she’s accosted by the criminal kingpin’s henchmen, losing her Turtlecom as she’s carried away.

Our heroes begin their journey back to the Lair, and along the way encounter the Rat King. The team are initially hostile, but their old foe assures them he means no harm, providing them with a map to Pinky’s hideout that doesn’t look like it would be particularly helpful. (Given that it’s the same place he was operating out of in his first appearance, and Raphael had already been there, I suppose it doesn’t matter that much.) He goes on to explain that he’s out to get revenge on the mobster for his treachery by “ratting on him”.

April demands that Pinky take her to Donnie. When he complies, she’s mystified by the change in her old friend’s behaviour, and upon finding out that he’s willingly partnering with the crime boss, bemoans that “if Donatello’s gone bad, there’s no hope for the world.” Meanwhile the real Donatello confuses Pinky’s henchmen, arriving outside the hideout with the other Turtles and hurling the underlings into a trash can.

The Turtles make their way into Pinky’s home and confront the clone Donatello, who now has April locked in a cage with a group of cloned rats. “Cloney” announces that he was expecting the original Don and the other Turtles to foolishly make a move, and evens the odds by generating evil versions of Leo, Mikey and Raph. The sinister Turtles easily defeat their good counterparts before the original Donatello goads his double into making a mistake, insisting that he could never have built a cloning machine. The prideful Turtle flies into a rage, insisting that he could easily reverse its effects if he wanted to and having his machine do just that, causing the duplicates of Leo, Mikey and Raph to vanish before disappearing himself.

In a news report, the cloned rats are seen vanishing from the streets of New York one by one. Meanwhile, April reports on the arrests of Pinky McFingers and his underlings. Back in the Lair, Donatello is eager to fix the broken belongings of the Turtles, but soon finds himself face-to-face with another double of himself; this turns out to actually be Raphael, wearing a purple mask over his own. (Please ignore the fact that he briefly somehow also had a “D” belt, as well as purple elbow and kneepads.)

“Donatello’s Duplicate” comes as a welcome change of pace after the drudgery of “Landlord of the Flies”, a compelling exploration of how the worst aspects of Donnie’s personality could prove disastrous if magnified and left unchecked. Helping, too, is the fact that this is a beautiful-looking episode, the polar opposite of the one that preceded it. Donatello (both of them) and Rat King particularly benefit from some great, expressive character work here, although everyone gets at least something of a glow-up out of it, with the possible exception of Pinky McFingers, who’s so boring to look at that even this team of skilled animators can’t do much with him.

Pinky has become something of a Turtlethon running joke, a shorthand for characters that no-one likes that somehow keep coming back, but he’s at least handled well here, having the much more engaging Rat King to bounce off of in the early goings. Regrettably, this is the beginning of a run of More Pinky, with a new episode featuring this underwhelming bad guy popping up roughly every five to ten shows, from now until the end of season six. If it’s any consolation, Shredder and his bunch will be back behind the wheel of villainy next time, as we explore “The Ice Creature Cometh”.

[nerdy-sessions]

Pokémon of the Week! #889: Zamazenta!

Welcome, nerds, to Pokémon of the Week!

Where I, Sesh, generate a random Pokémon to highlight each week! Last week, we covered our first legendary, one of the Swords of Justice, Virizion! You can find that post below:

The generator I use has blessed us with another legendary for this week's highlight! The shielded good boi knight of the Galar Region, Zamazenta!

As much as Sword & Shield received a lot of negative reception, I enjoyed it a lot! The story and lore behind the legendaries in these games is part of what drew me in!

So let's get to it!

~ORIGINS~

Zamazenta debuted in 2019's Sword & Shield versions for the Nintendo Switch. Zamazenta is the box-legendary for Shield version (box legendaries are the legendary Pokémon on the cover of each game box).

I mean...his face a literal shield, so...

When it isn't equipped with the Rusted Shield item, it takes it's "Hero of Many Battles" form; a battle-damaged form that is plain Fighting-type.

When it is equipped with the Rusted Shield, it takes on it's much-more-powerful "Crowned Shield" form that is Fighting and Steel-type.

Together with his younger sister Zacian, the box-legendary for Sword version, they supposed teamed up with a King hundreds of years ago to defend the Galar Region from a phenomenon known as "The Darkest Day", where Dynamax Pokémon ran amok. They then went into hiding to heal from their wounds and, like Arthurian Legend says, will one day return to save their country.

As the Galar Region is based on England, Zamazenta draws heavy inspiration from King Arthur's shield of legend, Wynebgwrthucher...

Um...wow...that name, tho...

It's got a simpler name, so I'll use that: Pridwen.

Zamazenta's appearance could also denote a reference to King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table, who all carried shields with the same insignia.

More simply, there is speculation Zamazenta is a wolf because wolves are native to Great Britain in general, and was used a symbol is many noble families throughout Britain.

In a more "out there" reference to Lithuanian mythology, Zamazenta resembles the Iron Wolf, which was supposedly seen in a vision by a Lithuanian Duke that inspired with to found the capital city of Vilnus.

Other fans speculate the armor plating on Zamazenta's body resembles "barding", which was a form of horse armor in the Middle Ages.

As Zamazenta (in it's Crown Shield form) is said to be able to withstand even the hardest blows from Dynamax Pokémon, he could be inspired as a phenomenon known as "irresistible force paradox."

What is that, you ask?

It's a philosophical question: "What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?"

Most people theorize that...well, nothing would happen. If this were the case with Zamazenta, his ability to withstand otherwise unstoppable Dynamax attack would be a reference to this. Zacian's sword, that is said to be able to cut through everything, upon meeting Zamazenta's shield, could cause this paradox.

Another example of possible mythological inspiration comes from ancient Greece, where a hunting hound named Laelaps could supposedly never be caught. When a deadly fox started hunting it in return, it escaped into the sky and became a constellation.

Speaking of constellations, Zamazenta could also be based on a star coined Sirius B.

Lastly, when using it's trademark attack, Behemoth Bash, it references a wolf from Morse mythology, Sköll, who chases after the sun.

Whew...a lot of lore. But I love it.

What do Sword & Shield's Pokedex entries say about the shield doggo?

Basically everything we've covered so far. That it teamed up with Zacian to save Galar back in the day. That it went into hiding to heal from it's wounds, waiting for another catastrophe to come back. That when it's equipped with it's shield, it can "shrug off" Dynamax attacks. In Galarian legend, it's been given the name "The Fighting Master's Shield."

The works.

~DESIGN~

Here's Zamazenta's official artwork:

Quoted from Zamazenta's biology section on Bulbapedia:

In its Hero of Many Battles form, Zamazenta is a large magenta lupine Pokémon with yellow eyes, a bulky frame, and a ponytail on its head. Its tail and ponytail are a deep blue; it also has deep blue accents on its neck and forelimbs. Its body is covered in battle scars and part of its right ear is missing. Its head and neck have thick fur resembling a shield. The Crowned Shield form causes Zamazenta to generate a set of golden armor covering the front of its body like a shield; while the side portion normally covers its forelimbs, it can slide forward to allow Zamazenta to use Behemoth Bash or protect itself from frontal attacks more effectively. Its ponytail also grows to cover most of its backside.

By absorbing metal particles, Zamazenta can change to its other form in battle. In the past, Zamazenta was feared and respected by people of Galar, and it worked together with a king to save the region. In legends, it was known as the Fighting Master's Shield due to its ability to deflect any attacks. By becoming a statue, it can rest for eons; even while asleep, it can cast illusions including a projection of itself. Zamazenta is capable of flying. It is variously believed to be the younger sibling or the rival of Zacian. When together with Zacian, it cancels out the power of Eternatus, even in its powerful Eternamax form.

Zamazenta's regal and majestic movements enable it to overwhelm opponents who face off against it. Zamazenta uses its golden shield to fend off attacks and as a weapon. The shield has tremendous strength, capable of withstanding scratches from the sharp claws of Dragon-type Pokémon, and attacks from Dynamax Pokémon. Its resolve does not falter in any battlefield, and it will charge at its enemies head on. By bashing with its full might, it is said that Zamazenta's power can cause cracks in the land, and that the resulting shockwaves can knock out hundreds of enemies.

Zamazenta is the only known Pokémon capable of learning the move Behemoth Bash. By using Behemoth Bash, it is said to be able to bore holes through mountains.

~ADVANTAGES~

LEGENDARY. FETCHIN'. POKEMON. 'nuff said. Amazingly high base stats.

It's best stats, obviously, are Defense and Special Defense. Both are tied at the insanely high number of 145. Field against Dynamax Pokémon and Pokémon with hard-hitting attacks.

Due to it's Fighting/Steel typing, it is highly resistant to 8 types of attacks: Normal, Rock, Bug, Steel, Grass, Ice, Dragon, and Dark.

It is completely immune to Poison-type attacks due to it's Steel-typing.

Despite it being a mainly defense-based Pokémon, it's base Attack stat is also very high at 130. It is also quite fast by default as well.

It's signature ability, Dauntless Shield, raises Zamazenta's Defense by 1 upon entry into battle.

It is the only known Pokémon capable of learning Behemoth Bash, a devastating Steel-type move. It never misses, and has 100 power.

~DISADVANTAGES~

The main disadvantage of any legendary Pokémon is how hard they are to capture (ya know...if you don't have a Master Ball) and how difficult they are to befriend and level up.

Despite it's high Defense and Special Defense, it's HP stat is surprisingly low. Avoid Pokémon with Defense-lowering moves. If it's Defense falls, it doesn't have the HP to back it up.

It's lowest base stat is it's Special Attack. Don't teach Zamazenta special attack moves. They won't have much effect.

DO NOT field against Fighting, Ground, or Fire-types.

~HOW TO OBTAIN~

As stated above, Zamazenta has only appeared and is obtainable in Sword & Shield versions. Both Zamazenta and Zacian are available for capture after completion of the main story.

It is a version-exclusive Pokémon for Shield (obviously). If you have Sword version, you'll have to obtain it by trade. Your rival Hop will obtain Zamazenta if you have Sword version.

In Shield version, after entering the Slumbering Weald post-game, you and Hop will encounter some of the stupidest looking villains the Pokemon Company have ever dreamed up, Sordward and Shielbert.

#dathairtho #ugh

They'll go off on some dumb exposition about how they are descended from Galar's royalty and have a right to control Zacian and Zamazenta...I guess...?

This will kick off a post-game quest will you will obtain the Rusted Shield item required to transform Zamazenta into it's Crowned Shield form. You will end up at the top of Rose Tower again, where you will have to battle and capture Zamazenta.

Again, make sure to save before the battle because, as with most legendaries, there is only one in the game.

~COOL ZAMAZENTA FANART~

As it is the box legendary for Shield version, there is plenty of epic fanart of this good boi shield doggo.

Gettin' ready to shield smash ya!

Taking a Dynamax-slaying break with Galar's non-legendary token good boi, Yamper!

Backing you up for an intense battle!

A more realistic take...?

Gearing up for a fight with his sister, Zacian!

~CONCLUSION~

WHAT A METAL FRIGGIN' POKEMON

BOTH LITERALLY AND FIGURATIVELY

He's really cool. Even though I'm one of the people who purchased Sword version, Zamazenta and his sister have some really cool medieval lore behind them. And as someone who made Medieval History as one of the emphases of his degree in college, nothing would make me happier.

Thoughts of this shield pupper? Let me know!

Join me next week for a really BEEG BUG.

[doodl3]

The Shattered Obelisk Part 1, Edititation 1/2

Psst, this is a rewrite- err edit or my friend @dungeonmastertyrant 's peice! Read the origional here!

Over 500 hundred years ago, Dwarves and Gnomes came together and made an agreement- known today as the Phandelver's Pact. In this pact, it was stated that they would share a rich mine in a wondrous cavern named Wave Echo Cave. In addition to its mineral wealth, the mine contained great magical power. In addition, Pokemon Hybrid spellcasters allied themselves with Dwarves and Gnomes to channel and bind that energy into a forge they called the Forge of Spells, where magical items were crafted. It was a prosperous time for the nearby town of Phandalin!

One day, though, her golden days were brought to an end when a powerful group of bandits swept the town. Together with evil wizard mercenaries, they laid waste to all in their path and seized the riches and magical wonders of Wave Echo Cave. The trio of allies fought to defend the Forge of Spells.. but the ensuing battle caused most of the cavern to collapse. 

Few survived the catastrophe, and the knowledge of Wave Echo Cave's location was lost. For centuries, rumors of buried riches had attracted treasure seekers and opportunists to Phandalin, yet no one has uncovered her sister's mine.

Recently, settlers hunkered back down in the town of Phandalin, bringing her back from the brink to what's now a rough and tumble town. 3 of these lads included a trio of Dwarven brothers, the Rockseekers, who were blessed with the discovery of Wave Echo Cave. They had intentions of opening the mine back up,  but uncovering such a wonder brings in interest from the outside world.

A bad man known as Spider controls a network of bandit gangs and Goblin bands in the area. His agents had followed the Rockseeker brothers to the opening of Wave Echo Cave. Since then, Spider has been taking measures to make sure no one but him gets to touch the treasures of the mine.

.  .  .

Journal Entry 1

We have begun our adventuring career in the city of Neverwinter. Recently, a dwarf named Gundren Rockseeker hired my party to escort his supplies into a trading post called Barthen's Provisions in Phandalin. Specifically in my sister and I's hometown, so we would be familiar with the place. The dwarf seemed very giddy and, when prodded, refused to let on more than “My brothers amd I found something Big.” Once we took the job, he left with a Skuntank Hybrid Warrior, I caught his name- Sildar Hallwinter, claiming he needed to arrive early to “Take care of business.” . 

Journal Entry 2

We've spent the last few days following the High Road, South from Neverwinter, and just turned Eastward down Triboar Trail. So far, so good, theres been no trouble… yet. We, being my party and I, we all know this territory is dangerous. Bandits and outlaws have been known to lurk along this road.

“Gerald, dude, you ok? You've been writing for, like, half an hour.”

Gerald looks up from his small book, realizing he had been staring into it blankly for… a while. Jesse, a Machop Hybrid Fighter, continues staring at him, waiting for a reply.

Gerald shifts, putting the book in his pocket.

“Yeah, I'm fine. Just been.. preoccupied with thoughts, is all.” He grins. Jesse seems to be sold, grinning back.

The carriage they are sitting in jerks up as a wheel hits a stone. One of the Oxen groan, but the wagon smoothes out quickly. Sasha, a Spritzee Hybrid, stablizes herself, nearly completely affected.

“Well, don't get too busy with your thoughts there, sugar. We've just strolled into a hotspot for muggings. Stay on your guard, we've got at most 20 miles left toll Phandalin…” Sasha gets up after rooting around in her bag, “Anyone know where the map is?”

“Didnt you put it in your bag?” Gerald says, watching her loot her jacket.  Sasha shoots a mocking smile at him. “I'm pretty sure I just checked that, thanks.”

“Don’t tell me you lost our map, Sasha!” Zoey, the Hatterene Hybrid, cries out from where she's sitting, steering the oxen. They all stop to hear a little someone snickering in the very back of the carriage.

“I think Mimi knows where it is.” Zoey says, still sitting up front.

Gerald approaches Mimi, a Mimikyu Hybrid with a Rattata coat design. “Hey sis, I need you to be honest with me, where did you put the map?” he says, getting down to her level. The snickering stops. “The lantern oil.”

In the carriage, there are dozen sacks of flour, several casks of salted pork, 2 kegs of strong ale, a dozen each of shovels, picks, and crowbars, 5 lanterns and- a small barrel of oil for them, along with the map they were looking for rolled up behind it.

[3xm-draconic]

Honnor & Glory (A Werebat Cyris and Astarion Story)

Summary: It's time to kill the nether brain.

“You sure it’s a good idea to get married when the apocalypse could start any minute?” Gale turned to Wyll, “any day is a good day for a wedding when the world is about to end!” he grinned. 

Karlack and Wyll’s wedding was wonderful, it was held in the garden at the manor, Cyris being a cleric officiated the whole thing. Karlack, knowing that they would be in battle at any moment, opted for white wedding armor instead of a dress…she did have a cute flower vail made by Cyris though, it was white daisies and orange tiger-lilies.

“You may now kiss the bride” Cyris smiled, Karlach and Wyll kissed and everyone showered them in birdseed as they ran through an archway of raised swords to the other end of the garden.

“Well, Wylly-Billy to our new life!” Karlach toasted as she raised her champagne…

BOOM.

The city descended into madness and chaos, the nether brain had finally made it’s arrival (fucking took a while) and was wrecking havock. 

“Everyone ready?”, Cyris turned to his team: Wyll, Karlach and Astarion (Lucy the owlbear now all grown up, leggy and scratch), “Minsc, Jaja, Lae’zel and Halsin I want you to get survivors out of the city as fast as possible. Gale, Shads you Roger and Allegra will help guard the path for civilians. As for the rest of you…” 

He turned to Zevlor, the Ironbreaker Gnomes, the Fist, Wyll’s dad, Shadowheart’s parents and all their friends who they helped along the way…

“Together on this day we stand united, brothers and sisters of all creeds and backgrounds. We stand together to defend our home, our lands and our city. We fight and move as one…now…let's bash some brains in!” he roared.

They charged out into the city, slaying mind flayers left and right, They climbed to the top of the old fort where they would board the nether brain.

“Surrender…” it’s warbly voice commanded, “only in your dreams!” Cyris snarled back as he hurled himself at the brain, his new longswords, gifts from Yondalla, burning with holy moon-fire from Entumbru’s blessing.

They had to fight mutants and a mind controlled dragon…

“You will be part of the grand design…” the brain warbled, “you talk too much…” Cyris growld as he partially transformed.   

The brain tried to force them to submit but Cyris blocked it with the stones, tethering the brain with his own will…there was a 99% chance that could have ended badly…but Cyris thank the gods it didn’t!

There was a boom from behind him and the Emperor and Orpheus arrived just in time “the fuck took you so long Charlie?” Cyris grumbled at the Emperor, “we…had a prior engagement” the emperor looked to Orpheus with a tentacled grin, “...you two were having sex again and lost track of time weren’t you?” Cyris mumbled.

The Emperor gawked, “yes but we are here now so let’s finish this fight” Orpheus laughed. 

The brain self-deleted and came crashing down from the sky where it landed in the bay…then exploded.

Cyris fully transformed and caught Karlach and Wyll while Astarion turned into a little bat and flew next to him, they saw throughout the city people were fighting against the mind flayers together and winning!, they landed safely on the docks where everyone was waiting for them.

 “Well this is a bigger mess than ever we made in the old days, my congratulations!” Jaheira smiled, “I finally feel the last of my warlock powers are draining” Wyll sighed contently “all thanks to you”. “We did it…the brain is dead!” Shadowheart cheered, “the parasite is withered…I am free” Lae’zel turned and kissed Halsin. “I’am ready for a meal, rest and a nightcap to round it all off” Gale yawned, “ah and Boo wins the bet, Wizard is not entirely boring” Minsc grinned. “I'm glad I’m never going back to the hells” Karlach smiled as she kissed Wyll.

“I’ll celebrate once I’ve helped clean this place up a bit, I can hear and smell the wounded…I, we need to go help them…then we can party” Cyris smiled.

“Yes, once that’s done we should see if the Elfsong is still standing. I won't imbibe, but I’ll be happy to be away from here and in your company” Astarion happily turned to his friends “I honestly don’t mind what we do once we-OW!” he shrieked. He then ran off into the shadows “I’am sorry, I’ve got to go now, it was fun while it lasted!” he lamented.

As Cyris dug through the rubble, helping bring the wounded to healers and medics, he saw someone…

Her long ebony hair was tied up in a bun so it would not get in the way of her work as she used her skills as a seamstress to sew up the wounds of the injured, her seafoam green eyes framed by large box spectacles never losing focus on her craft, ever diligent, fast-paced and careful in her work meany men and women's lives were saved by this kind a sweet Halfling who jumped into action. 

Astarion, who was helping as much as he could from the safety of the shadows, watched as Cyris ran up to the little halfling woman. At first they just…stared at each other, then Cyris dropped to his knees and hugged her.

They were both sobbing happy tears uncontrollably and laughing.

Then Cyris said something that warmed Astarion’s undead heart so much he swore he felt it beat again…

“Hey…mom”.

That night at the Elfsong tavern Cyris introduced his mother to everyone.

“Ma these are my friends: Gale, Wyll, Karlach, Shadowheart, Lae’zel, Roger and Allegra” he then turned to Astarion “and Ma…this man is someone special I’d like you to met”, Hanna turned to Astarion with a smile, “Ma” Cyris smiled as he held Astarion’s hand “this is Astarion…my betrothed”, Hanna when nuts.

She tackled Astarion in a hug and laughed and cried with joy “oh my big sweet boy is getting married AND TO SUCH A HANDSOME MAN!” she hugged Cyris “Oh I can’t wait to tell your father oh the whole village is going to be excited!”

Astarion wheezed, being tackled by a halfling at full speed could REALLY knock the wind out of somebody…

As they settled down for the night Astarion and Cyris talked about where they went from here...

“So what happens next?” Astarion sighed, he missed being out in the sun, “first I find you a way to walk in daylight again, then…we plan our wedding”.

Astarion perked up “you really think there is a chance for me to walk in the daylight again?”, “sugarfangs…I WILL make it happen” he smirked and hugged him tightly.

Back at the manor, officially fully refurbished and renamed from Szarr Palace to Sunstar Manor, Cyris and Astarion were about to sleep when a knock at the door came…

Cyris answered it and found Yondalla and…SEVERAL other gods with her.

“Um…hey…other mom..er..Yondalla…” Cyris awkwardly said “what are you guys…doing…here?”, Yondalla smiled “well son…er…kid…it’s time”

Cyris cocked his head confused “time for what?”, “for you to become a god silly”Sheela Peryroyl giggled, Cyris gawked “I…I AIN'T READY FOR THAT…not, not until I’ve lived a full life…I wanna be mortal frist”, Moradin stepped forth “if that’s what ye want laddy we won’t force ye” he nodded.

Yondalla sighed…then smiled “but there is one thing I want you to have from your Godly powers son” She touched his chest and his tattoos began to glow “the ability to perform a miracle…basically an UBER powerful wish spell” she said “call it an early wedding present” she smiled.

Cyris grinned.

Astarion awoke the next morning to see Cyris had opened the windows…and sunlight was pouring inside…

However…it…it did not burn him.

“Am…am I dreaming?” Astarion pondered, “nope, you aint Darlin” Cyris smiled from the doorway with a tray of breakfast in hand, “Cyris…HOW!?” Astarion gasped, “remember how I’am part god?...well darlin” Cyris leaned in and kissed Astarion “I told you I would make it happen”.

6 months later Withers invited them to a party back at the grove where everything started, they met back up with their friends and invited them all to their wedding.

And now…

Now it’s time for their wedding to get started…

[mayhemproduces]

Sister Abigail (c) vs Bryan Danielson - MPW World Championship

Two months into her reign, Abigail has been a fighting champion. A cheating one, relying on underhanded tactics and flat out turning some into handicap matches - but nonetheless. Abigail has defended and retained against some of the biggest names in MPW and the wrestling business alike. Kenny Omega, Darby Allin, VENY Keith Lee, just to name a few, before burying Josh Bishop six feet under last night. That match became an all out war between The Fallen and the Rip City Shooters, but only one team was left standing. Only one champion left standing, and she’s barreling straight ahead towards State of Emergency.

But first, the Reaper meets a Dragon.

This marks the first time Danielson and Abigail share a ring together, and there’s no love lost here. Abigail has to be carrying bruises and deep aches and pains after last week, and she’s looking to make this as quick as possible, but that’s going to be much easier said than done when you’re in the ring with Bryan Danielson. Bryan is the epitome of resilience in wrestling, as most have had to choke Bryan out just to keep him down. Abigail may have to do the same here if she wants to walk out with the gold.

The bell rings, kicking this one off, and the wrestlers disperse, circling, feeling one another out. Proficient strikers, but Bryan has the edge when it comes down to catch as catch can wrestling. Abigail could carry her own long enough to get in a few good hits, but she’ll have to be careful not to get caught in Bryan’s web as they finally lock up. Jockeying for position as Bryan tries to slip in a multitude of holds, none of which he can find a good grip for, as Abigail goes low for a waistlock. Bryan grabs her head but she uses it to topple them over, trying to lock Danielson in some type of choke, but the challenger finds the ropes. They break, circling, Abigail going low but Bryan picks the arm and forces Abigail to the mat. Sitting on Abigail’s back, he quickly pulls on the face before going to a crossface. Abigail gets out of it with a hold on the leg but Bryan reverses again, going back to that front chancery. Pinning them against the ropes, Bryan releases, and gets slapped across the face! Abigail’s eyes are wide with mischievous as she steps back, beckoning Bryan forth.

Locking up, fingers locked together as they battle for dominance. They get nowhere with it, so Bryan lets one hand go and smacks Abigail back! Snapmare puts the champion on the mat, and Bryan launches a shoot kick right on the spine! That has to hurt! Abigail rolls her neck, rolling the shoulders out as she gets back to her feet, shaking off the kick. Bryan had hoped for a better result, but Abigail’s silently asking for more, a wide smirk on her face as Bryan keeps his distance. There’s a reason why Bryan Danielson has been regarded as one of the best in the world for decades now - he knows better than to step into her trap. Bryan will continue to take his time. He has 60 minutes to put her down, and he’ll use every second if he has to.

Abigail points to her chin, requesting Bryan’s best shot, and actually letting him have it. Surviving Grave Consequences has boosted Abigail’s confidence even higher. Such a thing we didn’t think, or maybe hoped, was possible, but Abigail’s been smug ever since she walked through the door, and thinks this will be a cake walk. But if you’re walking into a fight with Bryan Danielson and think it’s going to be easy… it’s that type of ignorance that has paved the way to many successful moments of Bryan’s career. Abigail’s a fool, and she’ll be a title-less fool, if she makes that mistake tonight.

Nonetheless, Bryan isn’t backing down from the challenge, and cracks a forearm against her jaw! Abigail almost looks staggered from the shot, but responds with a forearm in kind. Quick forearms are fired back and forth trading brutal shots before Bryan hits an uppercut. Abigail responds with a forearm, battering the jaw of Danielson as she succeeds with more before throwing Danielson into the corner behind her and stomping him down. Using Bryan’s crook as a stepping stool, Abigail puts all of her weight down onto the shoulder and neck, utilizing the five count before backing off and whipping Bryan across the ring. Bryan climbs the turnbuckles to flip over Abigail, landing on his feet, Bryan runs the ropes. A swing and a miss by Abigail but she gets Bryan on the rebound, dropping him with a roundhouse kick! The kick lands flush on Bryan’s temple, and his eyes are glossed over for a moment as he looks into the void. Abigail’s legs are a sore spot for the right opponent, but they’re also where she gets most of her power from. That kick puts Bryan on his ass, and Abigail uses more, taking a page out of Danielson’s play boot as she smacks her thick leg against his chest. Repeating the action over and over again, causing Bryan to rock back with each brutal hit. She sets up for the buzzsaw - but Bryan catches the leg! To his feet, Bryan hits a dragon screw!

Abigail tweaked that knee hard on the way down, and opens herself up for Bryan to show her how those shoot kicks are really done. Expert, precise kicks from Bryan, crushing Abigail’s chest, before going for the buzzsaw, Abigail tries to block it but Bryan kicks her on the other side of the head instead! Abigail slumps to the mat as the referee checks on her. Bryan extends his arms, circling, before asking if she was okay to continue. With no response, Bryan starts to do jumping jacks. Normally it’s Abigail on the other side of these mindgames, but what Bryan’s doing is mere light work. Getting her riled up, even while she’s on the defensive, Abigail leaves herself open for Danielson to drive a vicious knee into her side. Driving in multiple knees before Danielson decides to simply stand on her ribcage, crushing Abigail beneath him, much to the delight of our fans here. Danielson breaks at three and a half, waving his hands at the referee, very much the cocky little shit we’ve come to know and love. The cocky little shit that has all the skills and all the smarts to do the unthinkable now has Abigail backed into the corner with an uppercut. Bryan laying in body shots, working Abigail down. A hard forearm has Abigail clinging to the ropes, and Bryan measures before delivering a stiff shoot kick. Wearing Abigail down like a heavy bag as Bryan comes from the left or the right, precisely measuring as he delivers another shoot kick, this one on the ribs. Danielson lands a chop, and it ignites something in Abigail! She’s grinning wide, a sadistic grin spread from ear to ear, as she gets in Bryan’s face. Bryan hits another chop and Abigail wraps her hands around his throat, choking Danielson, before stumbling him with a headbutt. Bryan falls back into the corner and Abigail lands body shots all across his torso, softening up the muscles, but Danielson turns it back around and lands another HARD shoot kick. Abigail’s doubled over and Bryan’s able to hook one arm and switch, delivering a front chancery suplex into the turnbuckles!

With Abigail out in the middle of the ring, Bryan decides to go up high. Taking risks to win the MPW World Championship here, Bryan goes for the diving headbutt… but nobody’s home! Took a little too long setting up, and Abigail had enough time to move out of harm’s way. Danielson lands square on his forehead, but he’s able to recover and get pulled to his feet, where Abigail lights him up with forearms, landing right hands and forearms before going to the ropes, but Danielson catches her with a kitchen sink! The knee is driven into Abigail’s gut, causing her to flip onto her back before hitting the ground. She winds up in the corner from there, and Danielson lines her up, Abigail putting herself in one of his favorite places. Sprinting across the ring, Danielson hits a high dropkick before running back, hitting a second consecutive dropkick! “How do you like that, champ?” Danielson asks before unloading a shoot kick, “Huh?” But Abigail only grins as those heavy shots have her sliding to the mat. Grinning up at Danielson, softly chuckling to herself. One has to wonder if Abigail actually believes she’s in any danger of losing her title here, or if she just thinks it’s all too funny. If she’s been in control since the getgo and Bryan is only playing his part in the sick, manipulative game she’s orchestrated. Is Danielson lost in her web of deceit, or is Abigail lost in the sauce? We’re not certified to answer those types of questions, but Danielson narrowly avoids getting his head taken off by a big boot, but he can’t avoid Psychosis, as Abigail rips her signature knee up the underside of the jaw! Bryan’s stunned but keeps swinging, misses, and Abigail’s able to plant him with a spinning Uranage! Bryan’s feet nearly touched the roof!

Bringing Danielson towards the center, Abigail sets up a back suplex, but Bryan lands on his feet. Turning around, Bryan lands a SICK roundhouse kick, catching Abigail flush on the temple! Abigail on rollerskates before Bryan jumps on her neck, locking in a Guillotine! He’s got it locked in tight, legs wrapped around Abigail’s waist with all of his weight hanging on her neck. While they’re basically neck and neck in size, Abigail is slightly taller, and Bryan weighs slightly more, and uses both of those facts against her as he hangs from her torso. Bent over like this causes more blood to rush to the head, the carotid artery on the side of the neck being restrained, putting Abigail closer to a blackout. And that’s all it will take for Bryan to leave Pittsburgh with another World title in his repertoire. That would be the best case scenario for Syn, and the rest of MPW as a whole, but Abigail’s scorn would be so much worse when she’s so close to the very match she’s been waiting for since Mayhem opened its doors two years ago. There would be hell to pay, but Danielson won’t hear the bell just yet. Abigail unhooks his feet and throws Bryan up, before bringing him back down with a Gourdbuster GTS, cracking a knee under Bryan’s jaw! Bryan’s out, and Abigail has to take a rest!

Abigail’s face was red by the end of that Guillotine, and she had to break it out of desperation, both wrestlers taking a rest before Bryan pulled himself up in the corner. Abigail runs around the curvature of the ring, going coast to coast before nearly taking Bryan’s head off with a running boot. She lays Bryan up across the top rope and drives several brutal knees into his midsection before rolling backwards. Back on her feet, Abigail charges, but Bryan slips down and cuts her off with a STIFF shoot kick! Bryan hits Abigail hard, and she hits the mat just as hard! Gasping for breath after that brutal shot, but Abigail sits back up, chuckling to herself, and asking for more. Bryan doesn’t hesitate in delivering, landing kick after kick. Abigail shoves him by the side of the head, not satisfied with his work, and tries to egg Bryan on to hit her even harder. Eventually Abigail decides to simply rake the eyes instead, dumping a blinded Bryan on the outside. Running the ropes, Abigail dives for a suicide tornado DDT, but Bryan slides into the ring under her! A misstep has Abigail stumbling, trying to regain her footing, allowing Bryan to run the ropes and attempt a suicide dive - but he’s caught! Abigail catches him mid-flight and tosses Bryan into the guardrail! Abigail takes a moment to extend her arms and taunt the lively Pittsburgh crowd, before picking Danielson up, who lands an uppercut on the champion! Abigail with a big right hand to stun Bryan, but Bryan comes back with one in return. What starts as a simple exchange of forearms turns into an all out hockey fight, as Abigail and Bryan swing on one another, swinging hard and fast, before they both deliver elbows, knocking each other out! This is about as back and forth as it gets!

Moments pass before either wrestler makes it to their feet, and we can see that Bryan has opened up one of several of Abigail’s wounds, inflicted by Josh Bishop last week, and she’s leaking. A nasty gash has Abigail’s face practically covered in moments as they crawl into the ring, Bryan bleeding from the mouth, but Abigail covers Bryan and nails several knee lifts on the chest. Eventually she grabs wrist control, slinging Bryan out, attempting the Famemaker but Bryan hits a rolling elbow instead! It lands flush on the jaw, and between the shot and the blood loss, Abigail falls back to the ropes - just to bounce off! Bryan’s nearly DECAPITATED by a clothesline! Bryan goes inside out and upside down before hitting the mat, and Abigail falls from the force of delivering that wild shot. Donning a crimson mask now, the blood already painting the white canvas, Abigail sits up, a sadistic, violent look in the eyes. The open wound has awoken something in Abigail, and Bryan’s about to be in for a bad, bad time as he’s set up on the top rope. Abigail climbs up with him, thinking something gnarly… but Bryan slips out and crotches her! Bryan just saved himself, keeping his championship aspirations alive, and looks to end Abigail’s reign as he climbs up behind her. Those sharp elbows driven into the crook of the neck before Bryan scoops under her arm… Avalanche back suplex! What a crash! Bryan makes the cover!

1… 2… Kickout!

There’s been an unbelievable amount of physicality in this match so far, but that has been our only cover, and Bryan couldn’t get the three count. He has a vast repertoire and many, many moves that can put Abigail away, it’s just a matter of softening her up so he can. Abigail was riding a high of confidence from last week, but Bryan came to Pittsburgh with a more realistic expectation, and that could make all the difference as Bryan remains on the offensive. Hammer and anvil elbows unleashes rapid fire on the jaw, the referee staying close to Abigail to ensure she doesn’t go out as Bryan is relentless. When the elbows aren’t doing their job, Bryan wraps an arm around the throat and leans back, locking in a Dragon sleeper! He’s got the left arm trapped, the body scissors locked in, and Abigail could be going to sleep very soon! The damage done to the ribs and the chest from all those kicks make it that much harder to breathe. Mixed in with Danielson’s expert application of the move, leaving Abigail little to no wiggle room. She’s all tied up, quickly losing consciousness, but Abigail has enough wherewithal to keep scooching down… before getting a foot on the ropes! It’s broken!

A pair of brutal kicks to the ribs before Bryan sets up for a shoulder breaker - but Abigail turns it into a Sleeper! Danielson reaches for the ropes but Abigail brings them to the mat, looking for the bodyscissors, but Bryan floats back, trying to get the Dragon Sleeper back in. But Abigail slips right out and DRIVES Danielson’s head into the mat! Danielson’s dropped by Starfall, but Abigail doesn’t have it in her to cover. Instead she sinks down into Danielson, and locks in a cross armbar! Trying to soften up the arm to prevent that LeBelle lock. But in the end, it doesn’t matter as Bryan is able to roll Abigail onto her stomach… and lock in the LeBelle Lock! It’s locked in tight! With Abigail so bloody, it’s hard for Bryan to keep the fingers locked together, but he wrenches back with everything he has as Abigail crawls to the ropes… and forces the break! Bryan releases, but the damage has been done! Abigail was able to weather the storm, but Bryan is looking to finish this. Wrist clutch, Bryan looking for the stomps, but Abigail throws him off. Scrambling to her feet, Abigail strikes first, knocking Bryan down with a big boot! Wrist clutch in by Abigail but she takes a more sarcastic approach, barely snubbing the side of Bryan’s head with her boot. She ups the ante, getting more aggressive, before shooting down and clocking Bryan on the side of the head with a forearm. Abigail rests on the palms of her hands for a moment, a sinister look on the face before rolling over and locking in Hail the Reaper!

This move has brought Abigail to the pay window many times before, and could bring her there again, Danielson’s fading! Danielson’s fading and fading fast, practically convulsing - but he floats back! Shoulders down!

1… 2… Kickout!

Abigail has to release the hold in order to kick out, and Danielson captures her by the shoulder, before delivering a suplex! Basically dumping Abigail on the back of her head but Abigail jumps to her feet! If it wasn’t for the blood everywhere, she’d look unscathed as she charges towards Bryan - WHO HITS THE BUSAIKU KNEE! IT’S OVER! SHE’S STACKED UP!

1… 2… KICKOUT!

Bryan’s got the wrist clutch in, and now, he gets the stomps! Stomping away on Abigail’s chest before he kneels, tucking Abigail’s head in and rolling over into a Triangle Choke. Combining the blood loss with a sudden lack of oxygen, Bryan wants to ensure his win is in the bag as he drives elbows into the dome. Cutting open her wound even more with those sharp elbows, before he resorts to simply punching Abigail in the face. She gets weaker and weaker with every strike until suddenly finding a second wind, and she’s on her feet. Scooping Bryan up, she gets him on her shoulders and hits the Last Hour! Sitout!

1… 2… Kickout!

Picking Bryan up, Bryan stuns her with an uppercut. Following through with a rolling elbow, and finally hitting another roundhouse kick! A brutal shot to the dome, but Abigail’s able to stay on her feet and swing her arm back, nearly taking Bryan’s head off with a sick clothesline! Picking on the right leg, Abigail stomps on the back of the knee before running the ropes, driving him down with another Starfall! Bryan’s time is nigh as Abigail sets up for Baptism by Fire, the move that’s secured most of her defenses thus far… but Bryan doesn’t let her rotate! Back body drop, and Bryan’s safe! He quickly climbs to the middle turnbuckle and leaps at Abigail - but he’s caught! Abigail catches him and twists, before delivering the Wrath of the Gods! This could be it!

1… 2… KICKOUT!

Abigail gets in the referee’s face, arguing with him, but he holds up the two. Abigail scowls as she turns back to Bryan. Dragging him to his feet, she lands a forearm on the jaw, and Bryan returns it! She clearly didn’t expect that, and Abigail retaliates. Another hard hitting slugfest breaks down as they go shot for shot, elbow for elbow, until Bryan gets a one legged Monkey flip, rolling back into the LeBelle Lock! Bryan’s got it locked in tight! Abigail’s hand is waving, thinking about tapping… but she pulls the other arm free and turns around, dropping hammers on Bryan’s throat! Abigail’s beating him senseless! Abigail drops to the mat and grabs Bryan by the wrist, pulling him out to the apron. Bryan’s turned upside down, practically lifeless…. And Abigail hits a TOMBSTONE ON THE APRON! Bryan’s done! He has to be! Abigail shoves him in the ring and cradle covers!

1… 2… KICKOUT!

WHAT. THE. HELL?!

Abigail can’t BELIEVE IT! She’s screaming in the referee’s face, Pittsburgh is screaming in excitement! Bryan Danielson lives! Somehow, someway, and Abigail is pissed! She thought this one was finally over, but she should know by now to never count the American Dragon out. With a disgusted shake of her head, Abigail turns around - INTO A BUSAIKU KNEE! OUT OF NOWHERE, BRYAN JUST STOLE THIS! COVER!

1… 2… KICKOUT!

Rolling through, Bryan scoops her up, and locks in the Guillotine! Hanging from Abigail’s neck again, this time it doesn’t last very long before Abigail throws him off, dumping Bryan on his face! He bounces up, sitting on his ankles, and Abigail RIPS a Psychosis knee strike upside the head! Bryan looks out as Abigail gets wrist control, flips him out, and hits the Famemaker! But after everything they’ve done tonight, Abigail isn’t done there as she holds onto the wrist. Bringing Bryan up once more, the man dead on his feet, before sending him back through the ripcord, hitting a second Famemaker! Abigail cradles him, and this is it…

1… 2… 3!

“Here is your winner, and still MPW World Champion, Sister Abigail!”

[fckwritersblock]

Protection Forever - William Lennox

Lennox x Reader

Description: Running into an old flame at the worst possible time.

Warning: nah. Bad writing? Kinda. Unedited because I was excited. I’ll not when it’s been fixed. Somethings may not be fully aligned with the movie but I tried 😩

Word count: 2500+

Dedicated to @merakiaes hey fren!

All gifs from @meragifs too!

You were an EMT.

The two of you pulled up to meet with the other Autobots, you exiting the vehicle before he transformed. You were in awe as he and the rest of the cars all changed.

The biggest one, their leader, gave a rundown of everything that was happening once he confirmed Sam’s identity. This was just a recap for you as Ratchet had already explained. The teenage boy just stood there stuttering not really knowing how to process everything and you frowned again. That was when you really took notice of two teens just standing there. Having known what was expected of Sam Witwicky you frowned slightly.

“I don’t know about this Ratchet, he’s just kid.” You commented to the alien you had formed a quick bond with.

“And who might you be?” The one called Optimus inquired.

You gave him your name before the other yellow autobot, who you’d later learned was Bumble Bee, uttered something through his radio. It was hard for you to hear but the other robots seemed to be use to it as Ratchet responded immediately.

“The human. I like her.” Ratchet sounding irritated.

Bumblebee made another comment and right before Ratchet could respond one of the others chimed in.

“Wait why do they get humans?” Jazz asked incredulously. “I want one too!”

“Enough! Humans are not pets.” The one call Optimus Prime stated sternly, clearly tired of their bickering. You held your laugh, highly amused.

They were like siblings. A family.

“Exactly I’m just here to help and be a better tour guide than these kids can be.” You confirmed practically forcing your services on them. “Besides they need adult supervision. From the looks of it, you all do.” You grinned at everyone around you. Optimus gave a nod, agreeing.

“She stays. Let’s move.”

In that short amount of time things moved rather quickly. You watched the Autobots accidentally destroy Sam’s backyard when attempting to retrieve the glasses, you were all arrested, you escaped thanks to the Autobots, only to be arrested again.

Fail.

Finally you ended it some secret base. How get you weren’t alone. The government had apparently been on a roll with kidnapping civilians who “knew too much “.

Things weren’t going great but quickly went left when the Decepticons, the Autobot rivals, came to retrieve Megatron.

A war from another planet had officially made Earth its battleground.

You were nervous, trying to figure out how to calm everything down before things started to escalate. Nobody was going to get anywhere with all the bickering. That’s when you saw him.

It had been what? Two years?

Still, without even knowing it, without even knowing you were present, he was still able to make your heart be slow and fast at the same time. The army had aged him, but for the better making him all the more attractive but you couldn’t focus on that right now. Especially when you heard:

“The cryogenic system is failing! We're losing NBE One!”

All the soldiers begin to pack everything that they could to prepare in a fight the way they always did. It was an mirable the way Linux game orders in his men took them without a second thought. The trust there.

“That’s good. Get all the ammo you got.”

“Everything you can carry. Bring it.”

Tearing your eyes away from your former lover you grab Sam.

“Come on, we need Bee.” You reminded him, nodding in Simmons direction

“You got to take me to my car.” Sam said, then repeated when he was ignored. “You have to take me to my car. He’s gonna know what to do with the Cube.”

“Your car? It's confiscated.”

“Then unconfiscate it.” You stared blankly.

“We do not know what will happen if we let it near this thing! -“

“You don't know.”

“Maybe you know, but I don't know.”

You rolled your eyes at the insufferable mans rambling.

This was really was more about ego who was in control more than anything. The guy running the ship, clearly was on a power trip. Unfortunately for him he was facing off against soldiers . The Captain who’s eyes you could feel staring at the side of your face.

A Captain and his soldiers. Ones that really dont like to lose and take serving their country seriously.

The guy who arrested you earlier continue to argue with Sam about getting him back to bumblebee when Lennox finally pulled out his gun sick of the back-and-forth.

“Take him to his car!”

As soon as he did so all hell broke loose and everyone from both parties pulled out a weapon.

“Drop it!”

It wasn’t until One of the sector seven agents pointed a gun at the back of Will’s head that you disable to another agent and took his gun and pointed it directly and held it directly at the one pointing the gun at your ex.

“I really wouldn’t.” You warned.

You were no soldier, but Will have taught you plenty before you broke up. So did your brother, before he passed away. He actually served alongside Will but died in combat. Biking. That’s part of why you were so hurt when Will re-enlisted. When he got promoted to Captain and chose the army over you. You were terrified of losing him the way you lost your brother. The break up wasn’t that messy but you both said things you didn’t mean. In attempts to mask your own pain and hurt one another.

You know. Hurt people, hurt people.

It’s still came to no surprise that you put a bullet in someone to protect him. Together or not you’d never let anything happen to him.

“I'm ordering you under S-Seven executive jurisdiction-“ Simmons ranted.

“S-Seven don't exist.” You interjected, earning a quick appreciative glance from Will.

“Right. And we don’t take orders from people that don’t exist.”

“I’m gonna count to 5. Okay-“ Simmons attempted to threat yet again.

“Well, I’m gonna count to three.” Will deadpanned.

You knew that look. God did you know that look and it was so wrong that you were so turned on.

Finally the Secretary of defense interfered telling Simmons to do what was being asked of him. Everyone relaxed slight, weapons lowering.

“Y/n,”

“Captain.”

The Captain and couldn’t help but watch you how do you get up and prepare to go.

“So that’s her huh?” Epps commented as Will watched you run off with Sam.

“Yeah..” Will answered, mind racing.

While he knew he’d eventually see you again, he didn’t think it would be like this. You looked breath taking.

“Damn. Shorty had your back that entire time.”

“Gear up,”

“What I’m just saying I thought she was gonna put a cap in his.” Epps shouted after his Captain receiving no response.

Will knew you had his back, you always would, the same way he would always have yours. He thought of you often, the break up between two inescapable, never feeling like he did the right thing. You were always not too far from the front of his mind. Him wondering how you were doing. If you were happy. If you found somebody else. There was no doubt he regretted what had transpired between the two of you. It was his fault. He knew that. You knew that. He had ample opportunity to fight for you and he didn’t. When he was promoted Captain he felt he had to choose between you and the army. He didn’t choose you the way he should’ve. In reality he could’ve had both. However hr so caught up proven himself to his deadbeat dad that he possibly let the best thing that ever happened to him go.

Not to mention trying to atone for your brothers death. It wasn’t his fault, but he still couldn’t shake it. So without talking to you he reenlisted. Needless to say where that got him.

Now hear the both of you were in the middle of an alien war. Yeah. This is the last place he thought he’d see you.

You were numb. The battle on the highway enough to freak you out. For mommy, just a moment you thought this might be a dream but no. This is all very real. One minute you guys were just entering the city trying to lay low, next thing you know - BOOM! The explosion knocked all of you over, injuring some, killing a few. Bumblebee’s legs were partially blown off.

Getting up off the pavement you waited for the ringing in your ear to subside as you stood up, trying to study yourself when you felt a pair of arms hold you still.

You knew it was Will just by the way he touched you, you blinked hard trying not to go down memory lane.

“Are you okay?” The concern in his voice was enough to make your heart skip a bear.

“Yeah,” you nodded slowly. “Yeah I’m fine.”

Slowly you removed yourself from his grip and went to check on Sam and Mikaela. Ratchet on the other hand -

“Hmm. His pheromone levels are-“ you quickly turned on him and glared.

“Ratchet I’ll turn you into a can opener if you don’t shut the hell up.”

The robot nearly held his hands up in the surrendering position as he followed you. Will had arranged an aircraft to pick up Sam and the cube while everyone else defended themselves against the deceptive cons in a hurry to get the cube far far away before Megatron arrived. Sam was in a panic and so Michaela, you could see Will’s short fuse getting ready to exploded. It was then you decided to be an escort.

“Sam, you can’t do this alone.” Michaela fussed.

“He won’t be alone.” You commented, causing all parties involved to look at you.

“I’m going with you.” You declared.

“No.” Will didn’t even hesitated as he stepped closer to you.

“Captain Lennox-“

“No!” You grabbed him by the front of his beer and pushed him back.

“Do you see what going on out there?!” You continued to hold on to him and you yelled at him over there chose. “We’re at a war. One we are extremely ill prepared for. So get your shit together! Sam is my responsibility. I have to get this kid to safety.”

This time your hands slid up the side of his face forcing him to look at you.

“Y/n..” he breathed out leaning down toward you, and for the first time during all this madness you could visibly see he was afraid.

“I’ll be back, Will.” You assured him, briefly resting your forehead against his.

Gathering himself he pulled away, looking toward Sam then back at you.

“Go. Go!”

And then we were running.. With nothing but an M16 strapped to your back and the pistol in your hand, you ran faster than you ever have before.

The four of you were under attack once more, you and Sam doing what you had to, to avoid getting snatched up as a fight Ironhide and Ratchet defended you. Unfortunately you were too close to one of the cars that went up in flames and you were thrown into another car from the blast.

“Y/n!” You could feel the blood on your forehead as you slowly pushed yourself up. As you tried to stand you immediately stopped feeling the pain in your thigh. Looking down could see the damage that had been done. The blood surrounding the afflicted area.

“Wha- what, what do i do?!” Sam asked frantically once he took notice of your injury.

“You gotta keep going Sam. I’ll be fine.”

He stood fo his feet, unsure of what to do. When Ironhide told him the same thing.

“Go!” You screamed once more.

Sam left and continued to run without you as you, as quickly as possible, as you tore your focus away from him to pull the shard of glass in your leg out. Ripping a piece of your shirt off you tightly tied it around your thigh in order to stop the bleeding. There was no point in going forward now but the return back to everyone else and help them fight.

You just had to avoid getting killed in the process.

You seen a car steering wheel, a Mountain Dew vending machine and and Xbox all turn into one of those freaky ass robots right before your eyes. All of which you helped others fight off. It was so surreal. In fact, if it wasn’t for the constant ringing in your ear from all the explosions you definitely think you were dreaming. You almost made it back to Lennox and his men when another Decepticon stood between between you and your destinations. They were definitely taking a beating. You saw Epps shooting a green laser indicating the robot that doubled as a helicopter wasn’t a friendly and decided to do what you could to keep the Decepticon from getting any closer to them and hurting any more civilians. In an attempt to draw it away from everyone else, you begin to fire your weapon giving it everything you had.

Unfortunately, the side effective taking its attention off the others meant putting the attention on you.

You ran trying to duck and dodge a bullets now directed your way.

But Will. Will’s heart dropped. Seeing you there defending yourself alone. His pause was brief, the air forces plan already in motion, before he started the motorcycle and was speeding in your direction.

“William!” You screamed for him fearfully as he drove straight toward the robot.

The only thing you could hear was your heartbeat pounding in your ears. You almost couldn’t breathe, you don’t remember the last time you ever felt so scared in your life. But it wasn’t your life you feared for was it?

He rushed forward and slid under the robot continuing to firing the launcher. All you could do was watch as he drove toward you. Toward the danger your mind wondering if he did that on a regular basis. Was this the life of a soldier? What he went through day after day when he was deployed?

Standing up he only spared the parts of the dismembered robot a glance before shouting and turning looking for you. In a matter of seconds he was standing directly in front of you and pulling you into his arms.

Relief.

There was nothing like physically being about to touch someone, hold someone to really know they were okay.

“So…” you began, suddenly feeling nervous. “...That was hot-“

Before you were able to get another word in, he captured your lips with his kissing you roughly and bringing you closer, hands on the small of your back. You couldn’t help it kiss him back just as fiercely put in every emotion you had into that kiss.

Every ounce of passion he had in body, put into this kiss, your lips just as soft, kiss just as pure as he remembered. When you kissed, he knew he was a goner and could never let you go again.

It has been two years since the last time you guys have been this close. This intimate. Reconnected. The feeling it gave you, the indescribable feeling, was one neither one of you ever wanted to forgo again. Pulling back slowly, you both had smiles on your faces, Will pulling you closer to plant a kiss on your forehead.

“Excuse me,” Epps interrupted.

The both of you turning your attention on him.

“As cute as this shit is it’s highly inappropriate in the middle of the battle. I’m just saying we are trying to stay alive and shit.”

———————————————

Oh my fu- I don’t even know what this isssss

Couldn’t tell you what my original ideas was or nothing. I believed this was going to short-

I enjoyed writing it though! Shoutout again to @merakiaes for being on this lennox train with me lol

I’m just....I’m just gonna leave this mess here.

Bye

- Mo

—————————-

Tags: @merakiaes @lilythemadqueen

[demonsandmischief]

You Saved My Life

Marvel - Captain America Imagine

Steve Rogers x Female Reader, 1.7k Words

-You Saved My Life-

Imagine you save Captain America's life while he is trying to save yours.

A/N: I dunno when this would take place in the Marvel world. I guess you could say it's my own AU. It's a long one but I like it. I hope you do too.

----

There are a lot of things life prepares you for, but the end of the world is not one of them.

You were covering your best friend's shift at a cafe that she owned. You had a full time job as a teacher, but the school was on a holiday, and you were always willing to help your friend. Normally, she'd have managers do the day to day runnings, but there was a scheduling conflict that lined up perfectly with your free day.

You did love the little place. It was small and home-y, nestled between some larger buildings of the city.

It was after the lunch rush when it happened. You were wiping down menus when a large blast that felt like an earthquake rattled the whole shop. The glass door shattered with the impact.

That's when the screaming started. It was loud and chaotic, as throngs of people ran away from whatever had just exploded.

The customers that were in the cafe rushed out in a panic. They could see something out of the large windows that you couldn't from behind the counter.

You moved closer, hesitantly, not sure what to expect, and you were definitely not prepared.

There were large, robotic creatures wreaking havoc in every direction. You could hear their banshee like screeches that echoed in your ears, but it couldn't be louder than the intense blood rushing as your adrenaline began to flow.

Your protective, teacher instincts kicked in when you saw the young group of kids huddled in the alleyway. They were almost out of view, but you noticed. You always noticed the children. They attracted your energy naturally.

You took notice of the daycare bus still running. It looked like the driver had just abandoned them. Intense anger only fueled the instincts.

You saw the way one of the creatures eyed the group and you scrambled to grab something to defend them.

You didn't have much. You decided on a chair, thankful for your nimble frame that was able to get outside unnoticed.

The kids caught sight of you immediately, but you held a shaky finger to your lips, telling them to be quiet.

You swung the chair with all your might, hitting the thing with a sickening crunch. It faltered for a moment, stumbling forward. You were left with pieces of broken wood, the splintered edges digging into your skin.

"Get inside," you yelled to the group, watching them scramble. At least the robot thing was focused on you, and you prayed that each little boy and each little girl made it home tonight.

You knew you were the only person standing between the cafe and the monster, and you wouldn't go with them to safety for risk of this thing following you into the shop.

Your heart thudded painfully in your chest as your eyes searched for any kind of defense. Instead, you found more creatures and no help.

This thing was ugly up close. It was metallic like a robot, but had blood red eyes, eyes that were staring right at you.

It opened it's mouth to screech into the sky, a snake like tongue curling out. It was cut off by a flash of color in the haze of dirt and debris, but you recognized it immediately. Captain America's shield.

The man himself appeared, standing tall and proud, but you could tell he was winded. You had never been so relieved, as you relaxed a bit, just wanting to melt into the ground with exhaustion.

Steve yanked out his shield, giving it an expert throw, destroying the other visible creatures.

His blue eyes stood out beneath his cowl.

"Ma'am," he nodded. "Are you hurt?" he asked.

"No," you whispered with a shake of your head, wiping your sweaty, bloody hands on your jeans. "But there's kids in there "

He nodded, repeating the information into his com device.

"We'll get them to safety, and you, too. This is no place you want to be. Every civilian has taken shelter in the metro underground. Do you know how to get there from here?"

"Yes, but it's like two blocks," you said. There was no way you could get the kids there without being noticed.

"I'll go with you then, but we need to move quickly. Let's go." He left no room for argument, so you entered the cafe to gather the huddled group.

Their fear struck you, wide eyes and silent sobs. There were probably twenty of them, all different ages. The youngest was probably about six.

"Captain America is going to get you guys somewhere safe," you told them, as reassuring as possible, even though you didn't feel that way.

You led the group as the captain guarded the back. The pace was quick, and eerily quiet. You imagined the tall man had warned the other Avengers to keep the area as clear as possible. You had caught a brief glimmer of Iron Man's metallic suit in the sky.

You had just ushered the kids down the stalled escalator and into safety when you heard a grunt of pain.

You turned to find six more of the robotic creatures surrounding Cap. You could tell he was wearing down as one of them pulled his arms back, rendering him powerless and unable to grab his shield. He kicked the things with all his might, but there were too many of them.

You didn't know what to do. You were exhausted and there was no way you could help. You couldn't even take out one by yourself with a chair.

It wasn't until one of the creatures pulled out a long dagger looking thing, already dripping with someone else's blood that you moved.

Your instincts didn't let you hesitate as you ran to tackle the thing, the knife in turn digging painfully in your upper shoulder, dangerously close to your neck.

You felt the cry leave your dry, cracked lips as you crumbled to the ground, squeezing your eyes shut.

You heard the creature snarl at you before you felt a jolt of hot pain in your ribs. It felt like a boot, but who knows.

Your vision doubled as you saw the metallic shield take out the group once more. You sagged in the rubble as the adrenaline left your body. It felt like buckets of blood were running from your shoulder down the curve of your breast, mixing with the pain in your ribs. You were certain death couldn't be much worse then this.

Steve couldn't believe you saved his life. He was foolish to let his guard down, but you were a distraction. You protected those kids with a fearlessness that reminded him of himself.

He heard over coms that Tony had found the source for these creatures and the fight was coming to a close. He wished he could have been there for his team, but the people came first, especially those kids.

He pressed a hand to your shoulder, cursing when he saw how much blood you were losing. He searched aimlessly for something to stop the blood.

"Your six, Captain," you manage to mutter throught the pain, not failing to notice the final of the robotic things sneaking up on the distracted man.

He kicked a stray car door effortlessly, squashing the creature against the brick building.

"We're going to get you help. You're going to be okay."

That was the last thing you heard before you passed out.

----

There was a pesky beeping that was disturbing your rest. You assumed it was your alarm, until the pain hit you full force, and you remembered the events that took place. Were you dead?

Your eyes opened, and you groaned at the harsh light, blinking rapidly to adjust. Your mouth felt like it was full of sand.

The sterile smell and blinding white walls immediately told you it was a hospital, but what stood out was the dozing man still dirty from battle. His blue suit stood out against the white.

His eyes opened when you stirred, and you noticed the blue eyes that you were beginning to like. His blonde hair was matted from the cowl, and he looked terribly uncomfortable in the small chair.

"How are you feeling?" he asked gently, his deep voice much softer than the commanding tone he used as captain.

You struggled to sit up. The pain in your shoulder not allowed you to use your hand as leverage, and your ribs didn't like the jostle.

"Don't do that," he said, lightly using his hand to keep you from moving. He pushed the button on the side that allowed the bed to lift without you having to change position.

He helped you drink some water before you were finally able to respond.

"How long have I been out?" you ask.

"Just a few hours," Steve responded. "You saved my life, and those kids, too." He shook his head in disbelief.

You felt your face grow hot at his words, not knowing how to respond. "I'm sure you are exhausted. You didn't have to stay."

"I had to make sure you were okay," he admitted. "I'm Steve."

"Y/N." You tried to smile at his cute pleasantries, but winced at the persistent throbbing in your shoulder. "Is it bad?"

"I'm sure a tough girl like you can handle it. The doctor should be in here in a minute to tell you details," he answered.

The doctor told you that your ribs were broken and your stab wound was deep but no longer life threatening after they stopped the blood. It was going to take a while to recover.

You dozed off, and it must have been a long time because when you awoke the second time, the room was covered in flowers. A stack of cards sat on your table, and you rose the bed again to reach for them.

A swell of happy emotions built up inside of you as you read the sweet words of the kids you saved. It was so relieving to know they were okay.

"You're a hero," Steve said from the door, this time in jeans and a blue jacket. He was handsome.

You wiped the fallen tears off of your cheek. "I'm nothing but a teacher."

"You're a hero to me," he smiled slightly, and a warm feeling bloomed in your chest.

----

Here's Pt. 2