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whitedarkmoonflower · 1 year

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Part 1 – Sihtric x reader

Authors note: while rewatching the Season 2 of TLK and going wild with exploring my newly acquired skill of taking and editing screenshots I became obsessed with the idea of writing my own version of how Sihtric met Uhtred. Please bear with me as I'm working on learning to concentrate on the essentials and leave out unnecessary details, but I also believe that small details can make the characters more vivid.

Summary: reader is Uhtred’s sister and a skilled healer. She travels with her brother’s men and after the unsuccessful attempt on Uhtred’s life gets curious about the young prisoner, the sole Dane from the group of assailants that is left alive.

Warnings: violence and mention of blood

Word Count: 1,129

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Sihtric found you sitting in your favourite spot near the lake, beneath the shade of the ancient oak tree whose sprawling branches provided protection from the scorching sun. He hesitated for a moment, gathering his courage, before taking a seat beside you. In your presence, he still retained an endearing shyness, as if uncertain of how to navigate the depths of his feelings. Sihtric stole glances in your direction, admiring your strength and beauty. His mind raced with the desire to strike up a conversation, but he couldn't find the right words. Finally, he mustered the courage to speak.

"I just wanted to thank you for saving me," Sihtric said, his expression serious as he turned to you.

"Saving you? What did I save you from?" you asked, puzzled.

"From feeling miserable, unwanted, and like I didn't belong anywhere," Sihtric replied, glancing into your eyes for a moment before lowering his gaze, his fingers fidgeting with the Thor's hammer amulet hanging around his neck. Nervousness radiated from him, mingled with a charming blend of insecurity and shyness that made a smile curl on your lips.

"You had every reason to hate me for attempting to kill your brother, but you never did. Instead you showed me kindness that I never truly deserved," Sihtric continued.

He had changed so much since the day you first met. You could still recall that evening as vividly as if it were yesterday, when Kjartan's men had tried to take Uhtred's life. They might have succeeded if not for Halig, who noticed the suspicious absence of the newly arrived Danes and urged the others to search for them. You had been on the verge of sleep after a long and busy day. Being a healer in a warrior's camp meant there was always an abundance of injuries to tend to, even without a battle. Men would hurt themselves during sword training, get kicked by horses, or foolishly engage in fights over trivial matters. Today, you had to fix a dislocated shoulder all because of an argument about the best whore at the White Goose tavern in Lundene. The shouts and clash of swords roused you from your slumber, causing you to hastily dress and rush out of your tent. Expecting yet another drunken brawl, you sought to find Uhtred and put an end to it. However, by the time you arrived, the fighting was already over. You approached the gathering of men, only to discover five lifeless Danes being dragged away from the lawn behind the stables.

"Uhtred!" you called out, fear lacing your voice as you saw him leaning against a stable pillar, breathing heavily. "Are you hurt?"

"All is fine. Don't worry, little sis. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for our Danish guests, but don't fret, they won't be needing your attention," Uhtred grinned, attempting to lighten the atmosphere as he noticed your concerned expression.

"Let me check on you," you insisted, pulling him closer to the torchlight so you could assess his injuries. At first glance, there were some bruises and a swollen eye, but no apparent serious damage. His movements lacked any signs of pain or hesitation, indicating that he likely didn't have any broken ribs. Still, you were reluctant to let him go, but Uhtred firmly took hold of your hands, kissing your palms, and with a determined voice, called out to the men dealing with the corpses behind you: "Secure the prisoner. I'll need answers from him later."

"I'm fine, sis. Truly, I am. Please don't worry," he reassured you, turning to plant a gentle kiss on your forehead. Apart from Ragnar, Uhtred's Danish brother, the two of you were all that remained of your family, and the bond between you had always been remarkably strong. You loved this proud, stubborn, and courageous young man, and he cared deeply for you.

Reluctantly, you turned your head to catch a glimpse of the young, bruised Dane, his hands awkwardly tied before him as Clapa dragged him away. The Dane was in a pitiful state, with fresh cuts and scrapes covering his arms, a split eyebrow, and a bleeding lip and nose. Anxiety radiated from his tense body. In a fleeting moment, his eyes met yours, and you detected a flicker of despair within them. It struck you how young and handsome he appeared, despite his current circumstances.

Uhtred's men returned to their respective fireplaces, the evening just beginning. You knew all too well that this minor incident wouldn't deter them from their usual activities of drinking, gambling, and arguing about the “best whores”, as they did almost every night. You had no desire to be part of that. Tomorrow, there would be more dislocated shoulders and broken fingers to tend to, and since Uhtred seemed fine you eagerly longed to return to your tent and go back to sleep.

As you made your way past an empty wagon, you noticed Clapa and Halig engaged in what seemed like an argument. Initially, you hesitated to involve yourself, suspecting it was another petty quarrel you didn't want to be dragged into. However, as you attempted to quietly pass by, your eyes caught sight of the silhouette seated by the wagon. It was the young prisoner, the sole Dane who had survived today's assault on Uhtred's life. His gaze, as he was being dragged away from the small battlefield by Clapa, his hands bound and his face smeared with blood, lingered in your memory. An unexplainable feeling stirred within you, prompting a change of heart, and you headed straight for Clapa and Halig.

“What are you two arguing about? Aren't you supposed to be guarding the prisoner?" you asked with frustration evident in your voice.

"We are, lady!" Clapa replied defensively. "Uhtred ordered us to decapitate the corpses, but Halig lacks the courage to do it."

“That's not true, lady!" Halig interjected hastily. "I just needed a drink first. You can't deny a man a drink, especially one who's tasked with severing heads from still-warm bodies. Besides, it's better to do it later when the blood has thickened. And there's no need for two men to guard a securely tied-up prisoner”

"Alright, enough quarrelling, lads. Halig, go and fetch your drink, and Clapa, get yourself an axe or do you plan on using your eating knife? I'll keep an eye on the prisoner," you ordered firmly. As Uhtred's sister and a skilled healer, you were accustomed to giving orders, and his men knew better than to argue with you. Both departed without hesitation, not bothering to question your decision, although it must have seemed peculiar to them that you wished to remain alone with the prisoner. Turning your gaze towards him, you approached cautiously, maintaining a safe distance just in case.

“Are you hurt?" you inquired, observing the Dane who sat beside the wagon, his back resting against the wheel. He raised his head, confusion, and distress evident in his eyes. He didn't respond just shook his head.

“Your lip and nose have been bleeding quite profusely. Wait here, I'll fetch my bag," you said with a chuckle. "How foolish of me, as if he had much choice in the matter," you thought to yourself while making your way to your tent to retrieve your medical supplies. You always kept a bag prepared, stocked with clean rags, salves, potions, and other necessities, ensuring you wouldn't waste time searching when urgently needed.

Returning with your bag and a piece of bread in hand, you offered it to the prisoner, but he made no move to accept. Leaning his head back against the wagon wheel, he closed his eyes. Shrugging your shoulders, you placed the bread back in your bag and instead took out some clean rags and a leather flask filled with water. The Dane opened his eyes, watching your every move. Kneeling before him, you dampened the rags and reached out your hand to cleanse his face. Startled, he instinctively flinched and jerked his head back, accidentally striking it against the wheel, eliciting a groan of pain.

"Hey, stay still. I only want to clean your face," you said, perplexed by his sudden reaction. His whole body tensed as you gently touched his forehead and continued to clean his bruised cheekbones.

"The brow will require stitches," you informed him.

“Why are you doing this?" the Dane spoke, his voice husky but soft. "I am a dead man. Why would you bother stitching my brow if your husband will later torture me for information and then kill me anyway.”

Tilting your head to the side, you continued to wipe away the blood from his face, now focusing on his busted lip and chin.

“I don't have a husband. I have a brother whom you sought to kill tonight," you said, finished with cleaning his face you observed his features intently. "And if there's one thing I know for certain about my brother, it's that he has never tortured anyone, nor will he ever," you couldn't help but think about how handsome this young man was and you felt a pang of sympathy for his unfortunate circumstances. He believed his fate was sealed and had resigned himself to it. His gaze remained fixed on the ground, as if he dared not meet your eyes.

“I didn't want to kill him. I just did not have much choice about it," the Dane's voice remained calm, resolute, and tinged with sincerity. "I only wish Lord Uhtred would grant me the honour of dying as a warrior, sword in hand. And I would willingly share everything I know with him.”

“Not that I fear the pain," he hastily added, "I simply owe no allegiance to Kjartan.”

Unexplainably, you found yourself believing this man. Every word he spoke carried weight, and you suddenly felt deeply sorry for him.

“You are very kind to me, lady," the Dane continued, his voice filled with a sense of shame for being here, for being a part of what had happened. "I don't deserve your attention, but I am immensely grateful for it."

"What's your name?" you found yourself asking, driven by an inexplicable curiosity. It was as if fate had brought this unfortunate young warrior across your path, and a growing resolve began to take shape within you. You did not want to let him to the fate he thought inevitable.

“I am called Sihtric, lady,” the Dane answered with no hesitation. “Would you like to live?" you suddenly asked, as a seemingly absurd idea took hold in your mind.

#sihtric #sihtric kjartansson #arnas fedaravicius #the last kingdom #tlk #sihtric x reader #tlk fics #Sihtric fics #sihtric x you #violence

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yanderes-galore · 6 months

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May I possibly have a romantic yandere rivalry between bulgruff (the jarl of Whiterun) and jarl ulfric with last dragonborn nord darling? Also *offers holiday cookies* enjoy ^^

Sure you can! Sorry this was late ^^;

Yandere! Jarl Balgruuf vs Yandere! Jarl Ulfric

(Last Dragonborn! Nord! Darling)

Pairing: Romantic - Rivalry

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Rivalry, Violence, Manipulation, Possessive behavior, Jealousy, Blood mentioned, Murder, War, Kidnapping mentioned once, Marriage mentioned at times, Forced relationship implied.

According to the wiki, these two have some history together.

Balgruuf was originally a neutral party, not wishing to involve Whiterun in the civil war.

Yet Ulfric sees anyone who doesn't side with him as an enemy... forcing Balgruuf to side with the Imperials.

Overall this becomes not only a yandere rivalry... but a fight between Imperials and Stormcloaks.

You being The Last Dragonborn would certainly make the obsession worse.

The two would not only like the Dragonborn to be on their side... but it appears they also wish to court you too.

Which brings up old rivalries between the two Jarls.

You met the two relatively close together.

Ulfric was there when you were to be executed before Alduin crashed the execution.

Then you met Balgruuf later and became an ally.

You most likely didn't involve yourself in the civil war conflict until later, too busy dealing with dragons and Miraak to bother.

Despite this, both Jarls have kept track of your progress.

Balgruuf meets you more often, especially during the Alduin crisis.

He's had a spouse before... but she's never brought up during the events of Skyrim.

So for this... we can assume she's just not in the picture.

Balgruuf is used to you aiding Whiterun.

He's provided you hospitality as you were finding yourself... but now look at you!

A skilled Dragonborn and hero who has visited every city there is in Skyrim.

The Jarl of Whiterun finds himself falling for you each time you enter Whiterun to visit.

Even more so if you happen to have an Amulet of Mara on your person.

Then there's Ulfric who comes across you a few times.

Such as when you trap a dragon in Whiterun and when you visit Windhelm for trade.

Of course Ulfric has heard of you, you're a hero and a well-known Nord.

Part of him no doubt wishes to recruit you since he feels you understand his plight as a fellow Nord.

Another part of him feel his heart speed up when he notices you with an Amulet of Mara around your neck.

All this time and you're not claimed?

Courting you begins to be like some sort of power play between the two.

Unlike a General Tullius vs Ulfric Stormcloak rivalry... Balgruuf and Ulfric are both Nords.

So they'll be settling this the Nord way.

Through honorable battle.

I imagine things only get more complicated if you are not a neutral party.

They'd act differently if you sided with Imperials or Stormcloaks.

Siding with Imperials, Balgruuf goes along with it and follows that side with you.

Siding with Stormcloaks, Ulfric praises you and has you storm Whiterun by his side.

I imagine their rivalry would conclude when Whiterun is attacked or when Windhelm is.

Be you a defender or an attacker... it ends there.

If Ulfric wins the battle of Whiterun, he'd walk right up to Balgruuf and fight him.

Ulfric may just kill the Jarl there, he didn't just send his men there... he wanted to end that Jarl himself due to you....

It feels nice to plunge his blade into Balgruuf's gut... watching the blood spill before Ulfric turns to you.

Afterwards, Ulfric may just take you away by force if you're Imperial.

Then there's an alternate version where you storm Windhelm and have General Tullius end Ulfric.

Ulfric would've died happy by your hands... but you don't give him the satisfaction.

Balgruuf wouldn't loved to slit Ulfric's throat himself....

Afterwards Balgruuf would summon you back to Whiterun... no doubt to propose.

There's many different ways to tackle this, especially with their already established rivalry between one another.

If you're neutral in the war then one of them may just kidnap you (Most likely Ulfric).

I don't doubt they'd kill each other.

Especially if it meant one of them got you.

War or not, the two won't compromise when it comes to you.

Balgruuf thinks you could be a wonderful parent to his children in Whiterun.

While Ulfric thinks you could help him fix Skyrim as his spouse.

Who wins no doubt depends on your choices and the war as a whole...

Hopefully you make the right choices.

#yandere skyrim #yandere the elder scrolls #yandere elder scrolls #yandere ulfric stormcloak #yandere balgruuf the greater #yandere jarl balgruuf #yandere jarl ulfric

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thecarnivorousmuffinmeta · 5 months

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Do you think Tom getting Hagrid expelled was probably the best thing to happen to him? Because, assuming the Chamber of Secrets fiasco never happened, Aragog would have got out of Hagrid's trunk and he would have killed someone eventually.

It was probably pretty clear to everyone that Hagrid didn't open the Chamber and Aragog didn't attack anyone, as why would a Acromantula petrify a bunch of students and kill only one without eating any of them? Hell, Acromantula's can't even petrify people, so Aragog's clearly not the culprit. But, they were just the covenient scapegoat to make it seem like they were doing something.

It must have been pretty easy to justify Hagird remaining on school grounds as gamekeeper since he was just the fall guy and to everyone else the real culprit must have either got cold-feet after Myrtle's death or got killed themself by whatever monster they were using since the attacks stopped after that.

But, without the Chamber opening, Aragog would have no doubt escaped sooner or later and would have made lunch out of some poor little first-year. If that happened, Hagrid would have probably ended up in Azkaban.

There's a lot to unpack here.

What I Think is the Going Theory By People

At first, it looked like a prank, a very terrifying and unsettling prank but a prank. Someone rights blood on the walls that The Chamber of Secrets is Open, Enemies of the Heir Beware. And just. What the fuck.

The prank continues to get worse as several students are petrified. However, there's a key thing there, they are petrified and not killed. Petrification is a terrible but very reversable process with no after effects going by what we see in canon. It's just a pain in the fucking ass and you better hope you have enough mandrakes on hand or else it'll take for fucking ever to order them all.

Because of that, while it is terrifying and harmful, it's not quite the same as say when Katie Bell was cursed by the amulet in HBP where she had to go to an intensive ward in the hospital for months.

It still I imagine for most people falls in the realm of 'really stupid, dangerous, awful, what the fuck prank that some pureblood idiot thinks is funny'.

I imagine there's increasing speeches of "please knock this the fuck off whoever is doing this" at dinner in the Great Hall from Dippet and him only getting blank stares in response as the vast majority of students is not the ones doing it.

I'm sure like in canon people outside Slytherin blamed the most Pureblood Slytherin they could find (like how Harry assumed it was Malfoy at first), Dumbledore blamed Tom because he always does/he knows Tom is the Heir of Slytherin in actuality and that there might very well be a Chamber of Secrets or even if there isn't Tom would sure use the mantle if he ever found out about it, and I have my thoughts for what the Slytherin's thought but that's another post for another day.

Then a girl dies and suddenly this isn't a prank. There's a period of panic when the school is considered being shut down by the board, maybe there really is a Chamber of Secrets, and then they find a likely culprit, Rubeus Hagrid who has an Acromantula wandering around the school and has a history of bringing in extremely dangerous creatures into the school.

The thing is, I think most people at the time, and even later (barring those we see in canon who for their own reasons do not believe this) think it was Hagrid and a no brainer.

He has a creature whose bite causes death wandering about the halls and then shock of all shocks a student dies. True, while Acromantulas don't petrify, it's entirely possible that the petrifications/blood on the walls wasn't Hagrid and an unrelated stupid Pureblood prank. Added to this we don't seem to get much of a sense of forensic investigations/autopsies when it comes to wizarding world crimes (note that crime scene investigations is never really mentioned and there's only Aurors who come up whose job is just to catch dangerous Dark Wizards, not figure out what the hell happened at a place). So, I'm not sure that they could conclusively say what Myrtle had or had not died from/if they did an autopsy. For that matter, I don't know if it's common enough knowledge of what death by Acromantula looks like in a body after X hours have passed.

It's also not clear, I'm sure to most people given that Hagrid seems to be a pioneer of studying creatures, how Acromantula's feed and how they behave. Do we know that Acromantulas under threat don't poison their victims then scamper away? Do they always bite to feed? Since we know the spiders are sapient this has an extra layer of spice as well--humans certainly don't always kill to feed.

Which makes the defense of Hagrid of "but Acromantulas don't cause petrification!" or "An Acromantula would definitely eat that person it came across and never kill them in any other circumstance" very thin.

I imagine it depends who you ask but there's probably a few prevalent theories on how this all fits together:

Hagrid's spider killed Myrtle, but the blood and the petrifications were an unrelated stupid prank and no one wants to stick their nose into it after a girl died. After Hagrid's arrested/the death, all of it stops anyway so let's not think about it.

Hagrid's spider killed Myrtle and Hagrid had prepared for this eventuality by writing blood on the walls and petrifying students via some other method left and right so that people would think it was a Pureblood Slytherin. Hagrid has notably had run-ins with Slytherins before (see Tom noting the werewolf cubs under the bed/presumably having clashes with Hagrid) and it's possible he already resented them and that this was a ploy to frame someone else for murder/the spider's activities.

Hagrid was innocent! Someone else unrelated used some other monster that then never struck again and was never seen again and was never found in fifty years since to kill Myrtle and petrify those students! Sure, Hagrid has a bad history of bringing in dangerous creatures, doesn't get along great with other students who keep narking on him, and has been quite isolated and admittedly resentful of Slytherins but he's innocent! Because he's a good person who'd never harm a fly! (Except that there's the possibility this was unwitting manslaughter because Hagrid was letting a spider roam the halls)

I don't think anyone thinks Hagrid's actually the Heir of Slytherin or that the Chamber of Secrets even really exists. There might be some, but they'd be considered very stupid.

He has a creature whose bite causes death wandering about the halls and either the petrifications/blood was an unrelated prank from someone who was very unfunny or else Hagrid did it to cover up for himself/out of gleeful preparation for when his spider finally did kill someone. I imagine it depends who you ask, some will think Hagrid only did the death, some will think he did the whole Chamber of Secrets thing as well.

I imagine several don't even believe the Chamber existed or was opened at all but that Hagrid was definitely 100% guilty.

That is, unless you're Dumbledore, in which case it was that fucker Tom Riddle and you know it, you know it in your bones, you can smell it in the air, you just can't fucking prove it. But one day, Tom. One day.

Was Hagrid a Scapegoat/Was it Clear He Didn't Do it?

Honestly, I don't think he was. I think they honestly and truly believed that he was the one responsible because of what's outlined above. Added to the fact that arresting him caused it all to stop when the spider disappeared... it's not a good look.

A scapegoat is one thing, but very important people's children all go to Hogwarts, and people like the Blacks, the Malfoys, so on and so forth don't want a scapegoat they want this stopped. If it was just Dippet appeasing them then I imagine there'd be a lot more pushback for investigation. I think the Board of Governors believes it was Hagrid as well as does the Wizengamot at large.

So, no, not a scapegoat, they 100% thought he did it.

Similarly, I think pretty much everyone except Dumbledore believed Hagrid was responsible. No, it wasn't obvious that Hagrid didn't do it (for much the reason it wasn't obvious to Harry and Ron after Riddle told them. Harry didn't want to believe Riddle, Hagrid's so nice, but it... tracks...)

The them getting killed themselves by the monster is... well... who is missing aside from Myrtle? And why would that stop the monster from rampaging? The spider's gone and we know it's gone so kind of makes sense that everything stopped when the spider's gone.

Was it Hard to Hire Hagrid?

I imagine it was actually quite difficult for Hagrid to be hired on as assistant groundskeeper. I think what saved him there was Dumbledore really going to bat with him for Dippet using the "this poor orphan boy with no prospects and I personally think he isn't responsible for reasons I can't get into because no one will ever believe me" and Dippet feeling sympathy and telling himself "okay, Hagrid had his wand snapped, he is an orphan with no prospects who will starve if we don't employ him here, and his supervisors can keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't do anything".

I imagine a lot of the students and the Board of Governors were very leery of Hagrid being hired/in proximity of the students but some combination of Dippet and Dumbledore brushed that under the rug.

By the time we get to canon enough time has passed, enough has happened, that people have kind of forgotten about this as shown by it not being discussed until the Aurors arrive for Hagrid because "wow Hagrid, this is exactly like fifty years ago, you're still here, and we have you on record saying things like 'all Slytherins are evil at birth', are we doing this again, Hagrid?"

Would Hagrid Have Ended Up in Azkaban if the Spider Had Killed Someone?

Honestly, I don't think anything would have changed from what happened in canon. Because this is what people thought happened.

If there was no Chamber of Secrets debacle and this just randomly happened I think Dumbledore would still go to bat for Hagrid and get him the groundskeeping job (as it seems Dumbledore must have covered for Hagrid in the past). Dumbledore would probably blame Tom Riddle or else quietly admit it was probably Hagrid but Hagrid's just so sweet and it was clearly an accident.

Given that this is exactly what the Wizengamot/greater Wizarding World thought happened, I think Hagrid would be given the same punishment of expulsion and wand snapping, probably because it's manslaughter and he's a minor.

It was only when we went for round 2, fifty years later when Hagrid's an adult and it's looking very purposeful/not like manslaughter, that Hagrid got his stint in Azkaban.

And at this fucking point--

Well, @therealvinelle and I have an @rankheresy episode planned. I'll just leave it there.

#harry potter #harry potter meta #harry potter headcanon #the chamber of secrets #rubeus hagrid #anti rubeus hagrid #meta #headcanon #opinion

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meepispeepis · 9 months

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The Storm Before the Calm

~Ok, I'm finally getting on that MK1 cringe! Got ALOT of inspiration from these lovely creators and their combined arts of "oops, Kung Lao's dead again" works. And the brainworm is demanding that I finally put this into writing so, here we are! Once again, huge shoutout to these lovely artists who gave me the inspiration and please do check them out!~

@helsensm // @novicedraws // @randyzorra // @d3rpydoods

~Before we continue just wanted to put some mild context to ensure this makes sense. This isn't part of some long-winded series, so you might as well think you've flipped open a book and started reading in the middle of the story. Fire God Liu Kang starts getting deja vu as certain coincidences and events start playing out that are too eerily similar to how things played out during the MK9 game (Raiden getting a message from his future self and trying to interpret in time what that message meant to save the future - long story short: nearly everyone died and no one came out alright :D). All roads were seemingly leading to Kung Lao dying in his timeline and Liu Kang struggled on how to cope and deal with this. On one hand, he did not want his friend-…His new teacher…To die, especially since he tried so hard to tailor make this timeline to ensure everyone got a happy ending.

Yet, at the same time, he refused to stoop down to Kronika's level and start altering the timeline until it was his "perfect" utopia. However, his fears and suspicion about the situation become even more realized when Raiden gets gravely injured and the only thing that prevented him from kneeling over was the thunder amulet infused with his person (and some other magical shit, idk). From this, Raiden gains his iconic white hair, and this gives Liu Kang a heart attack. To make a long story short, Kung Lao ends up dying at the hands of the villains (In this short story, it's assumed that Shang Tsung is wholly responsible or had a hand in his death), Raiden is going through the stages of grief, but he's going down the same dark path as the previous Raiden, now becoming Dark Raiden. And Liu Kang has to finally interfere.~

Still confused? Too late, now on to the story! Next Characters: Raiden, Kenshi, Johnny Cage, Liu Kang, Shang Tsung, Mentions Kung Lao, Raiden's Sister (named her Fuji :D)

Word Count - 6,094 Ships: Raiden/Kung Lao - Hints of Kenshi/Johnny Cage

Warnings: Canon Typical Violence (but with less blood), Character Death

It was over.

It was done.

They stopped Shang Tsung and his nefarious plot; it was over. This was the part where everyone patted each other on the back, did a whole hoopla about "the power of friendship saved the day," locked up the villain, and went home. But maybe that time was lost a long time ago. Ever since…

Ever since Kung Lao died.

Aside from Johnny, Kung Lao always knew how to lift everyone's spirits, that didn't involve excessive Hollywood references that most of them didn't get. His self-confidence and pride always seemed to ooze onto everyone else. If Lao says he can do it, then so can we! It hurt everyone when he was unceremoniously slain by General Shao and Shang Tsung, a clean cut to his neck with his own weapon. And you know, it wasn't until that day that Liu Kang was gravely reminded that these men never had to experience death in such a manner. Each of them knew how to fight, added to the additional training they got with the monks at the Wu Shi Academy. But Liu Kang never taught them how to kill, to maim, to perform the one act no ordinary person should ever have to do.

When Kung Lao died, it shocked everyone. The only one seemingly keeping themselves together was Kenshi. Coming from his Yakuza background, he has done plenty of dirty that he wasn't proud of. But Johnny? Liu Kang still remembers the reviving actor's disbelief, trying his damndest to do all he could for Kung Lao, even pleading with Liu Kang on what to do. But perhaps the one person who was hurt the most that day was Raiden. They were friends, childhood friends…lovers, even…Liu Kang can never scrub away the scene of Raiden being the first to notice his friend wasn't getting up (he was the closest to the body) and slowly descending to hold his boyfriend tightly. Raiden blocked out the world at that moment; the rest of the crew had to step in and finish the fight while Raiden grieved over his friend.

And things were never the same after that.

It was over.

It was done.

Kenshi and Johnny already shackled the unconscious Shang Tsung and started tending to their wounds. There was silence between them as they repaired themselves, barely making glances to the other. It wasn't until Kenshi spoke up, pointing out that Johnny was wrapping the bandage wrong and took the reigns in patching the star up. Johnny didn't put up a fuss. In a small way, he's kinda glad Kenshi said something. To break the silence and bring back that camaraderie they once had before. Feeling Kenshi touch him again, a wave of memories started flooding back to Johnny. The days when the 4 of them (Johnny, Kenshi, Kung Lao, Raiden) were always in each other's spaces. Arms thrown over each other's shoulders, whenever they were in a goofy mood; they were always leaning against the one nearest to them. That intimacy, he misses it.

"There," Kenshi softly says, completing the last patch on Johnny to ensure it wouldn't get infected.

Johnny couldn't help but return a sad smile and nod, "Thanks, Kenshi."

Then the silence began again as they both sat in silence, waiting for Raiden and Liu Kang to return once they were done with what Johnny called "the super laser beam like in that one Marvel™ movie." When they heard the sound of roiling thunder, that was their cue that the other pair had returned. Kenshi was the first to look up to see Raiden floating high above them, with black clouds shadowing him. It was a near-terrifying sight. His glowing eyes and hair, the crackles of lightning sparking off him, and the foreign look of godly contempt that was plastered on his face. Doesn't help too, that they each learned some time ago who Raiden was before Liu Kang altered the timeline. With this display of power, Raiden might as well be a god.

"Hey, Raiden, no need to worry! We had this one in the bag." Johnny gestures over to Shang Tsung, still enjoying his dirt nap. "He'll be going away for good once we figure out what our version of Arkham Asylum should be for the bastard."

Kenshi scoffs and shakes his head slightly, but it wasn't one out of annoyance. He knows what Johnny is trying to do, lightening the mood.

Raiden, however, does not reciprocate; remaining still as a statue in the air. Kenshi stares back at Raiden, anxious about what the thunder go-his friend, was thinking.

"…Hey, Raid-bro, we were told there was a chance of blue sunny skies when coming out here. Care to move the dark clouds out the way?" Johnny tries again with being jovial, but Kenshi can hear the hint of anxious tension in his tone.

After another long silence, Raiden finally descends, but where he was going was toward Shang Tsung. Johnny and Kenshi rise from their seated area as they closely watch Raiden slowly meeting the ground. By the time Raiden reached the surface, almost as if on cue, Shang Tsung started to stir awake, perhaps thanks to the constant thunder cracking in the area. Shang Tsung was already a beaten mess, with dried blood and dirt caked on his freckled face. His brown eyes meet with Raiden's glowing white eyes, and he has the gall to smirk at him. The prisoner readjusts himself, sitting straight up as he leaned against a tree.

"Love what you did with your hair, Raiden." Of fucking course, Shang had to go there.

Kenshi and Johnny both do their best to not flinch and cringe upon hearing that, knowing full well that it struck a nerve with Raiden, even if the farm boy wasn't showing it.

And as if Shang was further egg-ing Raiden on, he starts looking around, as if he's expecting someone to be here, but they happened to be missing. "Now, where is that pompous, hat-throwing circus act you often dragged along with you? Called in sick?"

"That's enough, Shang Tsung. Don't let us muffle you too." Johnny was the first to speak on everyone's behalf, his rising anger apparent as he growled.

Shang ignored Johnny, his eyes still trained on Raiden, meeting him eye-to-eye. "Oh~, don't beat yourself up for his departure, Raiden. You can rest easy that he died a prideful fool who didn't know when too much was enough."

"Hey, shut the fuck up!"

There was a one-sided back & forth, Shang Tsung constantly taunting the quiet Raiden while Johnny was trying to get Shang Tsung to stop talking. Eventually, Johnny starts grabbing the sorcerer by his ruffed-up shirt and tries intimidating him into keeping his mouth shut.

There are benefits to being half-blind and wearing a blindfold. Kenshi has been looking head, seemingly staring into nothing and nowhere, but the sight that Sento gave him allowed him to keep his peripherals on Raiden. Watching him closely to ensure that he doesn't do anything stupid. And Kenshi would be right to watch Raiden because the younger man started to approach the arguing pair.

Kenshi steps in front of Raiden, "Whatever you're thinking, don't."

"Get out of my way, Kenshi," Raiden's voice was like a coming storm, eager to wreak havoc on anyone and anything that stood in its way.

Kenshi had to choose his words wisely, one wrong move or phrase and he will erupt. They've seen it happen more than once. "Please, at least let us wait for Liu Kang before-"

"Ha! Still letting that proclaimed Fire God lead you around on a leash, Raiden?"

Kenshi now physically cringes before making a sharp turn toward Johnny, "Shut him up!" Kenshi can see sparks crackling of Raiden and he further obscures his view of Shang Tsung. "Raiden, he's trying to get into your head. Don't let him!"

"He knew, you know? Liu Kang? For someone who altered the timeline to fit his "perfect vision," a lot of strange coincidences have been happening as of late. I mean, I became a sorcerer when I was supposed to be a beggar. And you were a simple farm boy. But look at you now, a master of the storms and the skies," Shang Tsung side-eyes Raiden deviously, "He must've known that Kung Lao was going to die."

"Get out of my way!" the air starts to pick up, his hair and clothes ruffling in the wind, and more lightning static bounces off Raiden.

"Ok, time for your muzzle, dog," Johnny approaches with a mask-like device meant to silence individuals who wear it. As he tries to place the mask on Shang Tsung, the sorcerer hits him square in the dick (a technique he has learned to adopt later down the line thanks to the foolish actor), causing Johnny to have the wind knocked out of him as he backs away a couple steps. "N-not cool, man! Not cool!"

But this landed Shang Tsung a couple more minutes. "He could've prevented it, Raiden. Kung Lao may have died at the General's hands, but you know who truly caused his demise? Liu Kang could've stopped it all from happening. He went through all the effort to neuter you and me. Because of his biases over a timeline that no longer exists! He claims that he "doesn't interfere with affairs" because he wants us to become masters of our own fates, but we were never in control of it to begin with. Liu Kang decided for himself what we should be; all I did was defy his logic and plan."

"JOHNNY!" Kenshi shouts as he tries to hold Raiden back, the young man now struggling to get past the blind swordsman.

"I'm working on it!" Johnny replies as he hurries back to Shang Tsung with the mask.

"I SAID GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!" Raiden screams.

He can feel it. He can feel the amulet infused into his body responding to his anger, his grief, and his drive for vengeance. The condensed storms locked away in that amulet desire to give Raiden that release. Kenshi grunts as he starts feeling shocks ripple through him while holding tight onto Raiden.

"RAIDEN DON'T LISTEN TO HIM; YOU'RE BETTER THAN THIS!"

"Liu Kang could've saved your friend, Raiden. You know this as much as I do. He has the power to do so; he simply didn't use it. All under the idea of restraint. That's what makes you and I so powerful. We're not afraid to take the power we're given and use it to its nigh limits. The one who you should be angry at is the man who calls himself a friend to you."

Finally, Johnny wraps the mask around Shang Tsung, silencing him until it's eventually removed. But the damage was done. It wasn't until now that Johnny noticed that Liu Kang still hadn't arrived.

"Where's Liu? Kenshi, where's Liu!" Johnny says as he anxiously watches the struggle between Raiden and Kenshi.

Kenshi doesn't get a moment to entertain an answer as Raiden yells at the top of his lungs, a bust of electrifying energy emitting from him, from the amulet, knocking both Earthrealm warriors back a considerable distance. The pair lang roughly on the soil in an audible groan as they jerk and hiss at the shocking ripples still assaulting their bodies. Kenshi was the first to slightly recover, but it must've been some time before he regained his senses because when Kenshi frantically looked for where Raiden had gone, he saw the thunder wielder punching Shang Tsung to a bloody pulp.

"Raiden, ugh! Raiden, stop!" It hurts for Kenshi to get up, but he ushers all the strength he still has and rushes over to Raiden.

Kenshi rips Raiden off of Shang Tsung and doesn't bother to look the sorcerer over (that's what he gets for running his mouth), keeping his attention wholly on his friend (and his hand on the hilt of Sento).

"Raiden, we've been over this. Please, don-"

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!!"

Kenshi isn't given a moment to calm the man down as bolts of lightning come arcing towards the swordsman. Kenshi dodges out of the way, unsheathing Sento in the process; the line of shocking energy completely decimates a nearby tree. The time for words was over; now it's time to, in Johnny's words, bring out the "Hulk Buster."

Raiden raises his hand to the grey skies above, capturing lightning in his hand before hurling various sparks at Kenshi. The swordsman goes on the defensive, dodging and ducking behind cover, trying to avoid actively harming Raiden. But the more he placed distance between him and Raiden, the more Kenshi was bobbing and weaving past his thunderous attacks. Kenshi would be mildly saved as Johnny surprises Raiden by grabbing him from behind and trying to restrain him.

"Raiden, pull it together, man! We don't want to hurt you!" Johnny struggles to say, the shocks of lightning constantly snapping at him.

Kenshi rushes out of hiding and builds up momentum, hoping to get one good, non-lethal, strike in to knock Raiden out.

"Where the hell are you, Liu Kang..." Kenshi muttered to himself, slightly out of breath as he was exerting all his power into running and reaching Raiden as soon as possible. "Johnny! Hold him down, just a bit longer!"

"I'm-ACK, FUCK!" Johnny shouts as he feels another shock of electricity course through him, "I'M FUCKING TRYING!"

Raiden was howling like an animal, trying to shock Johnny off him. Lightning bolts were falling out of the sky as it struck the grounds around them, destroying everything it touched. It was almost like the lightning strikes were even chasing Kenshi as every bolt of lightning was always some inches away from hitting the swordsman.

He was close, almost there, just a bit more.

Raiden finally throws Johnny off him, elbowing him sharply in his face. Conjuring every bit of power of the storm, Raiden fried Johnny. The pained screams from the actor nearly shake Kenshi to his core.

"JOHNNY!!" Kenshi screams.

Raiden notices the swordsman approaching and disrupts his abuse of his friend to focus on Kenshi, redirecting the powerful blast and hurling it at the blind swordsman. Guided by Sento, Kenshi locks himself in a blocked battle with Raiden's powerful lightning attack, locked in a Harry Potter wand duel as Sento protects Kenshi from the attack. The mystical powers of Sento was able to withstand the ever-present assault, but Raiden was unhinged, not withholding the full potential of the thunder amulet. Then the impossible happens.

Sento cracks.

Kenshi quickly rolls out of the way and tries to get to safety before Raiden completely breaks Sento. But Raiden saw this coming, using his other hand to conjure a whip-like lightning bolt at Kenshi, lassoing him and dragging him to the ground, before giving the swordsman a devastating shock.

"Raiden!"

For once, the farm boy actually stops his assault. Leaving Kenshi and Johnny unconscious after constantly being shocked to near death. Raiden looked behind him, and there he was.

Liu Kang.

The Fire God stares at the scene in utter shock, eyes darting between the sizzling Johnny and equally as cooked Kenshi. Raiden, eyes & hair slowly dimming in brightness, keeps his eyes trained on Liu Kang.

'He could've prevented it, Raiden - Liu Kang could've stopped it all from happening - Liu Kang could've saved your friend, Raiden. You know this as much as I do.'

Shang Tsung's words echo in Raiden's head.

"...Did you know he was going to die?" Raiden, for the first time, speaks coherently. Possessing the soft voice that he's known for.

"What? Raiden, what hap-"

"ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!" In that same instance, Raiden's voice booms like thunder (even the skies above respond, crackling thunder in the distance with his anger), his white hair and eyes glowing brightly. "YOU KNEW KUNG LAO WAS GOING TO DIE, DIDN'T YOU!!" Raiden points his electrifying finger at Liu Kang accusingly.

Liu Kang's mouth opens and shuts before he finally answers Raiden. "...Certain circumstances and events that transpired hinted that Kung Lao could die. But not once did I know for certain that Kung Lao would meet his untimely death."

There's a long, silent pause between the two; only the roaring wind breaks the stillness. Liu Kang dares to break his eyes away from Raiden, looking for the one Kenshi and Johnny were supposed to contain, Shang Tsung. It looked like in the scuffle, he used that opportunity to get away, his hairpin lying on the ground dirtied with blood and dirt. Whatever Shang Tsung said to Raiden, it riled the former thunder god. Liu Kang kicks himself for being unconscious for so long. The device he and Raiden went to disable knocked the wind out of him and rendered Liu Kang out of commission for a moment. When he awakened on the vacant platform the device was on, Raiden was gone.

Liu Kang looks back at Raiden, the man's head now facing the ground, fists balled. The next thing that comes out of Raiden's mouth breaks the Fire Gods' heart.

"Why did you let him die," his voice cracks, and Liu can hear the tears Raiden shed.

"Raiden...I..."

"Even if you didn't know fully that Kung Lao would die, why didn't you tell us! Why didn't you save him? Or let us help you save him!" Raiden sobs, his knees feeling weak.

"...I did all I could, Raiden. I tried to protect him...But I couldn't shelter him. I had to trust that Kung Lao would make the choices necessary to follow his own path. I wasn't going to take that choice from him."

"How would he know what path to take if YOU NEVER TELL HIM WHERE IT WILL LEAD HIM!!!" Another sound of roiling thunder, lighting sparking off Raiden as he snaps his head toward Liu Kang. "You could've told him, us, what could've happened! You could've stopped this!"

"I did not want to burden you with the knowledge I knew and felt!" Liu Kang raises his voice, not to match his anger, but because the winds were picking up and the thunder was practically deafening him. "I didn't want you or him to spend every waking moment; questioning each move you took, each decision you made! I wanted both of you to become masters of your own fate!"

'He claims that he "doesn't interfere with affairs" because he wants us to become masters of our own fates, but we were never in control of it to begin with. Liu Kang decided for himself what we should be.'

"No...NO!!" Raiden shouts as he slings a lightning bolt at Liu Kang. A shot the Fire God effortlessly dodges.

"Raiden, please!"

"YOU CREATED THIS TIMELINE. THIS NEW UNIVERSE! YOU COULD'VE PREVENTED THIS! YOU HAVE THE POWER TO, I KNOW YOU DO!"

Another reckless throw of a lightning bolt, scorching a nearby tree as Liu Kang steps out of the line of fire. "Raiden, please, you have to understa-"

"I LOVED HIM, LIU KANG! WITH ALL MY HEART, I LOVED HIM!!! AND YOU TOOK HIM FROM ME! YOU DID THIS TO ME!!"

Raiden rips open his shirt, revealing the amulet fused with his person, a permanent reminder of the trauma everyone endured...That he endured...

"BRING HIM BACK! BRING HIM BACK TO ME!" Raiden's feet crackle with electrifying power as he lunges towards him, performing a move Liu Kang knows far too well as Raiden flies at him like a speeding torpedo, locking Liu Kang as they both collide into various trees.

Liu Kang grunts as their movement is halted by a large rock, but he's not given a moment of reprieve as Raiden starts socking him in the face multiple times. Screaming phrases that Liu Kang could not focus enough to bear their meaning. He's then thrown about in a large circle, and when Raiden releases his grip, Liu Kang goes flying again.

Liu Kang crash lands into a nearby lake. It takes him some time to gather his strength to swim out of the waters. He coughs and spits out blood, Raiden isn't holding back, the powers of the amulet having provided him with strength and vigor. But he was still mortal. Liu Kang can take a beating, but one wrong move and a bit of force; and Liu could kill Raiden. Liu Kang assesses his surroundings, mainly looking for where Raiden has gone or where Raiden could potentially come from.

Fortunately, Raiden's rageful cries gave him away as he came crashing down like a speeding bullet from the sky toward Liu Kang. Hoping to catch him in a flying kick maneuver. Liu Kang was able to block the attack, the force of the kick skidding them both further from the lake that Kang emerged from. There is a back-and-forth between the skilled fighters as each attack is swiftly blocked by the other. Well, more like Liu Kang was the one being swift. Raiden was filled with hatred and rage, his attacks were more akin to a wild animal attacking and defending itself.

Liu Kang had to hold back. Unlike Kenshi, who somewhat matched his power level, one wrong flaming fist and Raiden could be K.O-ed to his grave.

"Raiden, I am not your enemy. Everything I did for Kung Lao, I've always had you in mind! Whatever Shang Tsung told you-"

"Oh yeah, go ahead!" Raiden opened his palms and bent his fingers, colliding his hands on each opposite side of Liu Kang's head, sending shocks of electricity to his head and disorienting the Fire God as his ears started to ring. "Blame it all on Shang Tsung! Blame every single problem and inconvenience on the fucking sorcerer! Because gods forbid you take any responsibility for yourself and own up to the fuck up THAT YOU MADE!"

Raiden grabs Liu Kang in a crushing hug and sends both of them flying in the sky, high enough for Raiden to send a highly concentrated bolt of lighting onto Liu Kang; Raiden being able to withstand such powerful energies. Liu Kang screams in anguish as he's tased ten times over, and then thrown back to the earth below. Liu Kang leaves a crater where he landed and for a moment, doesn't move from his spot.

It took every fiber of his being and willpower to slowly get himself back on his feet. Liu Kang didn't even have to look to know that Raiden was behind him. Between gasps, coughs, and hacking up blood, Liu Kang tries to plead with Raiden.

"...Raiden...I don't want to hurt you...I know you're...Grieving. He meant everything to you as you did to him...But Kung Lao wouldn't want us to fight. Not like this..."

There was a long pause, yet again.

"Don't you dare tell me what Kung Lao would've wanted. You don't get to speak for him or anyone, like you always do!"

"Raiden-"

"You think you know what Kung Lao would've wanted when you knew nothing about him. Not like I did. Do you want to know what Kung Lao would've wanted? You want to hear it from someone WHO ACTUALLY FUCKING KNOWS HIM!?! Let me tell you!"

Raiden forcefully turns Liu Kang to face him before clocking him in the face.

"Kung Lao would've wanted to know how he was going to die so that he could prevent it!"

Another crack.

"He would've thanked you for trusting him with this knowledge so that he could come back home with me in peace!"

Another crack, blood staining his knuckles.

"HE WOULD'VE WANTED TO LIVE WITH ME. SPEND THE REST OF HIS LIFE WITH ME! HIS FUCKING BOYFRIEND!"

Another crack after Liu Kang weakly tries to block his other fist attack.

"HE WOULD'VE WANTED TO DIE PEACEFULLY. WITH ME BY HIS SIDE! NOT IN A FUCKING REALM THAT HE DOESN'T BELONG TO, FACING DOWN A HORNED-FACED FUCKER AND THAT DAMNABLE SORCERER! TO ONLY DIE BECAUSE THEY USED HIS WEAPON AGAINST HIM! LEAVING HIM TO BLEED ON THE DIRT!"

Another crack, an uppercut that sends Liu Kang stumbling back some feet.

Liu Kang spits out another glob of blood mixed with saliva. "We all can't choose how we die, Raiden."

"Yet, you chose for him to die there."

Something within Liu Kang snaps, anger was boiling. "Kung Lao chose to not listen to me when I asked him to not interfere, Raiden!" Liu Kang tries to hold back the poison he truly wanted to emit.

One too many times has he heard this. How Liu Kang was the reason Tarkat exists. How it's his fault that Kitana and Mileena's mother was dead. How it was his fault that Shang Tsung and Quan Chi were in deplorable working and living conditions. How it's his fault that Reptile and Smoke lost their loved ones. How it's his fault that events and circumstances that did not go in their favor, even if it was out of everyone's hands, was HIS FAULT.

He was tired of it. Tired of explaining his reason for not keeping the position as the Keeper of Time. Tired of defending himself against the actions and motives that others have. Tired of expressing how while he may have remade this timeline and altered events, he never once had it planned to control the lives of mortals; leaving their motives and fates in their own hands and suffering the consequences of doing so.

Red and blue flames start to erupt from his arms where his draconic tattoos were printed, his eyes giving off a godly glow.

"I already told you why I withheld that information from him. I wanted him to have peace. Both of you, to have peace." Liu Kang tries his best to keep his calmly attitude as he picks himself up.

"And how do you know he wouldn't be at peace if he at least knew what was coming!?!" Raiden spits back at him

"And how would you?"

Even with his soothing voice, he definitely struck a cord with Raiden as he goes for a swing at Liu Kang. This time, Liu Kang grabs his fist and twists it, not enough to break the bone, but to cause painful strain.

Raiden shouted in mild pain as he tried to swing his other free hand at Liu Kang. Similarly, Liu blocks the attack, grabbing his wrist and unintentionally burning him slightly.

"Raiden, I'm not going to say this again. Stop this." Liu Kang looks Raiden dead in the eyes. Despite his calm face, there was a silent roaring flame behind his features. The kind of look that screams "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you give me reason to."

Yet, Raiden did not listen. He headbutts Liu Kang successfully, forcing Liu Kang back with a bleeding nose. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. In a fit of rage, Liu Kang yells as he punches Raiden square in the face. He didn't use his full godly strength, but it sent Raiden flying through multiple trees before slamming against one tree trunk. Liu Kang huffs and puffs, the anger slowly dying down and the realization of what he did quickly coming to him.

"Raiden!" Liu cries as he rushes as fast as he can to the former thunder god.

When he found his body, Liu Kang feared the worst. It happened as the old Raiden said. They were always destined to fight, to kill each other, and Liu Kang couldn't avoid it in this timeline. But the moment he heard Raiden's labored breaths, Liu Kang felt an overwhelming relief wash over him.

"Raiden! Raiden, I'm so sorry! I didn't- I didn't mean to," Liu Kang was stumbling over his words as he held Raiden upright, unsure of how serious his wounds were.

Raiden was going through the shock of it, breathing not only labored but in quick succession. Liu Kang tried to help Raiden match his breathing, to calm him down from the pain and shock.

"Are you," Raiden swallows between shaking breaths and stuttering speech, "Are you going to l-let me die? Like you did Lao?"

Liu Kang meets Raiden eye to eye. Raiden was bleeding from his head, streams of red running down his face with twigs and sticks entangled in his white hair. He's never going to let this go. Whatever Shang Tsung told him, it infected him like a parasite. As long as Raiden lived and breathed, Kung Lao's death will always be Liu's fault.

...Unless...

Liu Kang huffs, he never thought he would have to do this again, not since Shujinko. Liu Kang positions Raiden as comfortably as possible as one would be leaning against a tree with multiple broken bones and aching muscles.

"No, I want to grant you peace. I know that you don't want to hear this...But Kung Lao would've wanted you to find peace with his departure."

Liu Kang starts building up flames that run up his arms, performing the many monastic dances he learned from the previous timeline and the current. As the flames roared, they soon floated to Raiden and encompassed him. They never burned him. Raiden tries to crawl away from the dancing flames, believing them to char him to a crisp.

"Kung Lao would've wanted you to look fondly on your friendship and love, and seek to replicate that love with others. He would've wanted you to live happily, even if he wasn't there to provide you with that happiness."

"L-Liu Kang, what are you-wait...No!" Raiden's eyes start to water as he can feel his memories slipping. Not just the ones with Kung Lao, but everything before Liu Kang found him. His previous adventures in Outworld, in the Netherealm, in Chaosrealm, his ventures with his closest friends...The first time Kung Lao told him the three words, "I love you." Everything. "Liu Kang, no! Don't, please don't!"

Liu Kang, almost coldly, ignores Raiden's pleas as he takes it all away. Reverting Raiden back to the simple farm boy from Fengjian who simply wanted to protect and guide his village.

"...You are right, Raiden," Liu Kang says between paused breaths, trying to hold back tears as he committed the deed. "It is my fault. I shouldn't have thought that I could groom you or Kung Lao to become protectors of Earthrealm like you were before. I shouldn't have taken you away from your family, your friends, and your home in hopes of raising you to become grand warriors. I have placed your loved ones and you in so much danger...All because I clung onto a life that no longer exists...I'm sorry."

With that said, Raiden passes out from his injuries as Liu Kang finished the last of the memory wipe. Liu Kang stares at Raiden's slumbering body, and he can't help but scream and cry.

Finally allowing himself to grieve ever since that fateful day.

Fuji finished up the last of the clothes just in time when dinner was ready. She was having a hot pot this night, filled with various greens, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, radishes, and various mushrooms. All placed into a chicken broth seasoned further with a tomato and pork bone soup base. Fuji sits at the table with a bowl full of the soup and she does her best to not look across the table...Where her brother Raiden would be...

Raiden told her a long time ago that he was placed in a very powerful position and hard at work with Mr. Kang. He brings back money and unique souvenirs with questionable origins. And he always makes sure to visit her occasionally when he's coming back to Fengjian.

But this was one of the many occasions where the house felt too big, even with their elderly mother and father sleeping in the other room. She missed having her older brother around, for the longest time, he was her only friend. Her closest friend. I mean, sure, they were siblings, and they had their "sibling moments," but with him gone, she never felt more alone. But her being alone wasn't the main problem for Fuji, it was Raiden's sudden silence.

Ever since Kung Lao's passing, Raiden hasn't been returning her calls, answering her letters, or even visiting the family. Doesn't help, too, that none of his friends live in Fengjian, and aside from Kung Lao and Johnny's number (she's never calling that man, btw), she can't even reach them to know what's up with her brother. It's gotten to the point where she has saved up some money to take a week's vacation to the U.S. where her brother is currently working (or so Raiden told her).

Before Fuji knew it, she was already done with her bowl (2 bowls actually) and she saved the leftovers for her parents when they awaken. As she was washing up the dishes, she hears a knock at the door. Hmm? Who could be visiting her at this hour?

…Could it be!

"Give me a moment!" Fuji says hurriedly as she dries her hands; making her way to the front door. A tiny bit of hope fills the young woman. Could this be Raiden? After so long!

She swings open the door, hope and glee plastered on her face, but it quickly turns to confusion and worry. "…Liu Kang…Raiden!?!"

Outside was Liu Kang carrying a bandaged and mostly healed Raiden. "I'm sorry to come at such a late hour, Fuji. May I come in."

"What happened to my brother!?! Did someone mug him? Was he attacked?" Fuji ushers Liu Kang to enter the home and shows him to Raiden's old room, still possessing his old belongings even before he left.

Despite her questions, Liu Kang did not answer her. She asks again and again about her brother's condition, who did this to him, and why, but she is met with silence. She watches Liu Kang gently place Raiden on his old bed, and just as he came unexpectedly, Liu proceeded to walk back outside.

"W-wait! Liu Kang, please, tell me what happened! Who hurt my brother! Why did this happen-" Fuji tries to stop Liu Kang by grabbing at his wrist, but she saw something that shocked him.

Liu Kang's eyes were red as if he was crying not too long ago.

"…What happened…"

There's a long pause between them. All that Liu Kang does is slightly tilt his head toward her, his white eyes meeting hers, before saying, "I'm sorry, Fuji. Your brother has been relieved from his service…And this will be the last time we will see each other."

And just like that, Liu Kang left. Fuji watched Liu Kang leave, fading away in the horizon, with more questions than answers.

"Ugh…My head."

Fuji nearly scares herself when she hears Raiden in the other room and moving about. She rushes back to him and helps support her brother when she sees that he is still unsteady.

"Raiden! Liu Kang, your boss from the States dropped you off, and you're bandaged, and unconscious, and Liu wouldn't tell me why you were like this and-"

"whoa, whoa, Fuji, slow down! Start over, who's Liu Kang again?"

Fuji pauses. "…Liu Kang…Your boss…"

"Fuji, I have no idea who that man is," Raiden hisses in pain as his muscles start to ache again. It's only now that he realizes that he was bandaged badly. "Did he do this?"

"I-I don't know. I thought…I thought you would tell me…"

"Well, I don't know who I angered to get this treatment, but if this Liu Kang fellow helped me back home, I'm surely appreciative. I'll have to lay back down. Can you get me a hot towel, please?"

Fuji helped her brother back to bed and gave him his requested towel, but she found herself staying in his room for the entire night as if she were a child again. She couldn't sleep as she was plagued with questions about what happened to Raiden. Better yet, the line of work that he was in that he got this terrible treatment. And unfortunately, she might never get those answers again. Raiden doesn't remember anything in the past couple of years, even seemingly forgotten about Kung Lao's death and funeral. His memories were missing and he couldn't give a reliable answer to what happened in his life past the day that he went into Madam Bo's restaurant after a bet with Kung Lao.

Even worse, she can't ask Liu Kang. Because just as he promised and foretold, they never saw Liu Kang again. - ~Holy shit this was longer than I anticipated. Also, I do not like Liu Kang's memories loss powers, but will I use it for the sake of angst? You fucking know I will bby! This is my pseudo-first fan work for an official fandom and I hope everyone liked it. Once again, a lot of this was inspired thanks to the lovely artists who contributed to the "oops, Kung Lao dies again" AU and I want to thank them for jumpstarting this silly little AU in this silly little game about beheading people with your bare hands. Sorry if there were some grammatical and spelling errors, was working on this throughout the evening and past midnight (quite literally 4:26 where I'm at lmao). I might make a sequel to this because I'm getting ideas of Kung Lao returning, but not as he used to be (Revenants in MK1, ayo?)~ UPDATE! I have now officially made a writer's blog so that this doesn't get lost in my clustered main blog! Any future installments about this and other writing pieces will go to this blog! @420thewritersroom

#Mortal Kombat #Mortal Kombat 1 #MK1 #Raiden #Liu Kang #Kung Lao

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patataatomica5 · 8 months

Text

Fear and hunger headcanons and possible plot for a future fanfic part 2 :p

AGAIN TW JUST IN CASE GORE, SA, VIOLENCE OR DEATH IS MENTIONED

Life outside the dungeon yayyy :D

If you can't remember or didn't read the last part the people in the group are Ragnvaldr, Cahara, The Girl and Moonless.

(Go on and read PART 1 if you didn't)

+The way our group ran at the speed of light outside

+At first the sun hurt their eyes, their vision had to assimilate again that there is not just darkness and light coming from a torch.

+The way back to Rondon was a bit long, maybe stopping and properly resting was 2-3 days walking. (It was an old prison, so I guess it had to be away from the population, and also look at all the things hidden beneath)

+ One of the first things they did was finding a river and trying to get rid of the horrible smell that the dungeon left on them, not only sweat, but rotting blood and dirt and all kinds of strange liquids the monsters might have stained them with.

+ After that Rag hunted a deer and fed them fresh roasted meat that didn't make them question how long that food has been sitting there or if it was going to make them nauseous.

+ Moonless chewed on the leftover bones and was given raw meat too.

+ On the way they discarded all the items that weren't useful anymore. Why would they want a dirty rag? They can get clean ones in the city now.

+ Once they arrived they rented a couple of rooms in an inn with whatever money they had left and proceeded to find merchants, colleccionists and rich people who would pay a lot of money for all those weird coins, jewelry and amulets.

+ Cahara didn't keep any of the treasures he found, just gave Ragnvaldr the Cube of the Depths as "it was stolen from your homeland", but he declined for the moment, just until he had somewhere stable to stay.

+ When Cahara had the money he needed, he went straight to the Red Light District, to the familiar brothel her wife was trapped in. As usual, some girls from other brothels tried to take him inside to "just rest and drink something".

+ Before entering he remebered all the times he snuck through her window just to spend time with her. One time he had to hide in the closet because the Madame made a surprise visit to talk to Celeste.

+ With his hart pounding on his chest, he entered inside, and demanded to talk with the Madame.

+ He just dropped the bag full of silver and golden coins to her feet and just said "I want to buy the freedom of Celeste".

+All the girls present backed away and started murmuring while a couple of them ran upstairs to ssearch for her. The elder lady that owned the place was in shock, as Celeste was one of the most expensive girls she owned.

+ After counting the money, she could only let her free, and gave her a couple of hours to pick up her things before going.

+ Cahara told her to only take what meant something to her and was necessary, as he would buy her all the expensive dresses she wanted.

+ The mercenary left the dungeon without looking back, and so did Celeste with the brothel.

+ After that he introduced her to the Girl, Rag and Moonless. She was shocked at what the story they lived in the dungeons, but it was too much and too long to explain, some things she will find out with time.

+ In Cahara's absence, Rag tried to brush the little girl's hair, but it was too matted, it looked like a bird's nest. Maybe it was never brushed before.

+ Celeste cut her hair quite short, sadly it was too tangled :(

+ The girl was a bit sad, but the woman promised it would grow back in no time and even prettier than before. She also cut Cahara's hair so "it would grow back healthier" and gave Rag a trim too.

+ It's also a way of ending that short but hard era and the begining of their new lives outside misery ;)

+ The (old) mercenary started constructing a mansion not too far from Rondon and, gave his bestie Ragnvaldr a house (with at least 5 giant bedrooms) nearby his mansion-to-be.

+ The three of them came to the conclusion that the girl would stay with Celeste and Cahara, as Rag wanted to become a monster hunter and kind of a mercenary to help other people live better, with the condition that he will drop by and visit them every few days.

+ Moonless came along Rag and he began to train more people to beat the darkness and what hid behind the shadows forming a group and later a clan. (also some of them are survivors from Oldegard's dissaster)

+ The Girl has a colorful bedroom full of plushies and toys and dolls. She became a bit spoiled (Celeste and the baby too), because Cahara gave his new family everything they wanted on the spot.

+ And the most important, she had the warmth and the love of a father and a mother and a baby brother :")

+ Also a great teacher that taught her how to read, history, math... And how to speak too! Both husband and wife had to be patient with that. She grew up to be a beautyful and clever woman.

+ Sadly not everything is good, the (old) mercenary often had nightmares with the dungeon or with Nilvan telling him that he lied, he tricked her, and he will pay for it. He will pay the price of not having a good night sleep in probably for ever. (Not being able to sleep was kind of beneficial in a way, because he could let Celeste sleep and he would take care of the baby)

Part 3?????

Also don't be afraid to tell me if something it's wrong, English is not my first language.

#fear and hunger #cahara of the south #cahara fear and hunger #ragnvaldr fear and hunger #the girl fear and hunger #celeste fear and hunger #headcanons #fanfiction #f&h #f&h fanfic #f&h headcanon #ml's

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mumms-the-word · 5 months

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so, funny story

when I was trying to get a picture of ascended Gale that I liked for my fic about, well, him ascending, I decided to speedrun the last half of act 3 in my Dani saves. I knew if I just launched from the morphic pool save I had and went to the end, Gale would reject godhood, because Dani was like “I don’t need the stars I love you as you are” AS SHE SHOULD and he was so smitten that even trying to be like “but power?” at the last minute would result in him being like “haha no are you crazy I’m a better man now” AS HE SHOULD

so I had to go with an earlier save

and in that save I decided I would just encourage him to go with godhood and skip very quickly through conversations and skip all the stuff I had to do to run to the morphic pool. we’re talking ZOOMZOOM through act 3 to the epilogue, sorry Wyll, sorry Shadowheart, there will be no Ansur or House of Grief, like bitch we didn't even talk to Raphael or crash his house we had to GO

I didn’t zoomzoom through Gale’s confrontation of Mystra because tbh god-path Gale’s spat with her in the Tabernacle scene is worth a watch, it’s very cathartic (and I think she explains things better when he’s mad at her but I digress)

but essentially the plan was to do the boat scene with Gale, go yell at Mystra, kill Orin, bop over to the brain, give it a good smack, boom epilogue

Problem: I hadn’t encountered Sarevok yet, so I couldn’t make it to Orin

now, Sarevok isn’t a super tough fight but he’s a pain and I was in a rush. so the quickest way to get the amulet of Bhaal was to…well, become an unholy assassin and kill Valeria

(Which I hate Valeria so like on the one hand, cathartic, on the other, Dani would never and Gale was AGHAST)

(Side note #2: he did immediately follow up the mention of him not approving by saying that Dani’s eyes were capable of tenderness while she was still covered in blood from the unholy assassin baptism so…………yeah)

anyways now that we’re unholy assassins (sorry Gale) we bop over to Orin. I’ve got this all planned: we’ll just blow her up.

well, no, we won’t because when Orin jumped over to where Karlach was waiting with 8 barrels of smokepowder and runepowder bomb, Orin still had 2 unstoppables, and I, like a FOOL, didn’t think to use Gale’s turn to cast magic missile to get rid of them, because I’m thinking “these barrels are going to all explode, that’s multiple hits, it’ll be fine”

reader it was not fine

I blew up the barrels and you how much damage Orin had received?

8 smokepowder barrels and a runepowder bomb took one ONE UNSTOPPABLE. BITCH WAS STILL INVINCIBLE.

and then she killed Karlach dead dead and it all went downhill from there and we all died I was out of saves so I had to reload back to the boat scene with Gale

thus began Dani’s villain era

we go yell at Mystra, we go stabbity stab Valeria (Astarion ends up in the baptism because, idk, reasons, but good for him), we bop over to Orin, we fight Orin the old fashioned way (aka with magic missiles and cloud kill and stuff), and then Dani steals her armor and turns it black and puts it on and I’m like “wait a minute she’s looking, like, really hawt”

so I put Gale in Gortash’s fit and then we went and dominated the world

temporarily of course because I did need my epilogue but like look at her

of course I was going to let her dominate the brain for a bit

so we did

and anyway I guess the lesson is let your ocs become villains together for a minute??

anyways thanks for reading please enjoy my two OOC villain babies kissing like ten feet from Orin’s dead body I guess

what if we kissed inside the lord murder’s temple

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #gale #gale dekarios #dani #meridan zavrai #my tav #and her wacky adventures

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420thewritersroom · 9 months

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Thunderstorms in Spring

~Welp, just as fast as I posted that first installment, now we have a second one! I didn't expect everyone to like the first one so much, and I wanna thank you guys for your loving words! And the previous piece honestly gave me so much work to go off on that I decided to continue with a sequel (will this become a possible series, idk, but there's a second one now, so who knows).~

~I, once again, want to thanks the artists in this community who made their pieces of White Haired!Raiden and contributed to the whole "Oops, Kung Lao's Dead Again" AU, you can find them credited in the previous post since I don't want to annoy them with constantly tagging them whenever I make another installment with this series lol.~

~Before we continue just wanted to put some mild context to ensure this makes sense. Fire God Liu Kang starts getting deja vu as certain coincidences and events start playing out that are too eerily similar to how things played out during the MK9 game. All roads were seemingly leading to Kung Lao dying in his timeline, and Liu Kang struggled with how to cope and deal with this. On one hand, he did not want his friend-…His new teacher…To die, especially since he tried so hard to tailor-make this timeline to ensure everyone got a happy ending.

Yet, at the same time, he refused to stoop down to Kronika's level and start altering the timeline until it was his "perfect" utopia. However, his fears and suspicion about the situation become even more realized when Raiden gets gravely injured, and the only thing that prevented him from kneeling over was the thunder amulet infused with his person (and some other magical shit, idk). From this, Raiden gains his iconic white hair, and this gives Liu Kang a heart attack. To make a long story short, Kung Lao ends up dying at the hands of the villains, Raiden is going through the stages of grief, but he's going down the same dark path as the previous Raiden, now becoming Dark Raiden. And Liu Kang has to finally interfere.~

Still confused? Too late, now on to the story!

Previous // Next

Characters: Raiden, Raiden's Sister (Fuji), Johnny Cage, Kenshi, Mentions of Kung Lao, Liu Kang, Madam Bo, and Jax

Word Count - 8,001 (wow!)

Ships: Johnny/Kenshi - Past Raiden/Kung Lao

Warnings: Canon Typical Violence (with less blood), Heavy Talks About Character Death

~The Netherrealms - Undisclosed time and place~

Sulfur, ash, smoke, burning stone, and landscapes; the smell of the Netherrealm. Although Raiden's memories are fuzzy at best and nonexistent at worst, he remembers this in near clarity. His vision presents him looking up at the hellish sky as if he's lying down on the ground. He remembers not moving; it's too painful to move. He remembers breathing heavily. Is it because of the suffocating air of the Netherrealms? Or perhaps because of the blinding pain that Raiden remembers experiencing.

He can remember not just hissing and groaning in pain but screaming and writhing-silently begging for it to end. In this mnemonic dream, everything was selective when it came to what he saw, heard, smelled, and tasted. For taste, he can taste the iron of his own blood mixed in with something foul. Could it be the rancid air or the fact that this mixture almost tasted like poison?

His hearing in this dream is quite literally selective. Some people sounded horribly muffled, requiring Raiden to strain his ears to hear them. Others, he could perceive with great clarity, and then there were those he could not hear at all, their lips moving with no audible sound. Then there was his sight. Like the other senses, Raiden was faced with blurred faces, some only possessing one discernable feature, such as their eyes, nose, mouths, ears, hair, etc. Others were completely faceless to Raiden, with only their speech or smell being the one thing Raiden could cling to.

But what often overrode all these senses was the overwhelming pain he felt at this moment. Three figures stood above him. One was featureless; the only distinguishing aspect of this entity was that they were female-presenting as their speech sounded feminine, but it was horribly dimmed. Another figure was only distinguishable thanks to the glowing eyes they possessed and distinct dragon tattoos that crawled up their arms. If Raiden concentrates, he can maybe recollect what this individual is saying, but this pain prevents him from doing so.

Then there was Kung Lao. Deadass, just his long-time best friend, Kung Lao. Out of all the figures in front of Raiden in this instance, Kung Lao-he could see and hear with such perspicuity. Kung Lao stood beside the lying Raiden, tears in his eyes, slurring his speech, holding tightly to the thunder wielders' shaking hand.

"It's ok, Raiden! It's ok, you're going to be ok!" Kung Lao sobbed, trying, but failing, to smile at Raiden despite his tears actively gracing Raiden's face.

Raiden doesn't remember if he said anything back to him. His sight throughout this scene remained on his friend…At least, he thinks they're friends. There's a foreign feeling that encompasses him whenever he looks at Lao, and it's an overwhelming sense of love. And, I mean, people can definitely love their best friends. He and Kung Lao had known each other since they were children. Lao was a reckless, poor kid, and Raiden was a boy from a well-off family. Despite their class differences, they saw something likable about the other. But this love was more than just having a natural affinity for someone he's known all his life.

This felt…Stronger? Louder? Raiden doesn't know how to describe it. If it wasn't for the pain, Raiden would get lost in Kung Lao's chocolate eyes. He would untie his short ponytail and play with his hair before readjusting his look. Raiden notices little details about his friend that others might not have picked up on. Like his dimples when he smiles, even under such stressful circumstances, the way his face piercings adds to his cocky personality, and his undercut brings back fond memories of the pair trying to learn how to cut his hair which ended disastrously. Raiden wanted…To kiss him dearly…

And just like how Raiden held his perspective on Lao, Kung Lao hasn't torn away his gaze on Raiden, spitting out promises of what they will do together once Raiden was right as rain in rapid fire. What ended up redirecting Kung Lao's attention was when the figure with the glowing eyes was mumbling something.

"What?" Kung Lao snaps his head over to the tattooed figure with hopeful confusion on his face.

This tattooed individual, Raiden could not understand fully. However, he was able to catch on to some words: Amulet, Raiden, Entity, and Consequences. The fully faceless being, who was also present, gestures as if they're conversing with the pair - but Raiden cannot hear their input on the matter.

"I don't care how you do it! I…I just want him to survive! Please, Liu! Save him! Save Raiden!" Kung Lao cries, holding onto Raiden's hand like his life depended on it. As if, if he didn't clutch onto Raiden, he would lose him forever.

The tattooed individual holds their gaze toward Kung Lao, their silence and body language hinting that they were…Uneased and uncertain. The tattooed looks at the feminine figure and nods, saying something in the mumbled jargon they spoke. But the three individuals in front of Raiden were all in agreement. They were going to save him. He was going to survive this…Somehow.

Kung Lao focuses back on Raiden, smiling at his downed friend. "Look at me. Look at me, Raiden. You're going to be alright! Liu is gonna help ya. You…" Kung Lao looks Raiden over, primarily where his stomach is. Why was he looking there? "You're going to be alright. I love you. I love you so much, and I'm not going to let you die, ok?"

Raiden feels his heart flutter as if Kung Lao said something that would've usually made the thunder wielder swoon. But what was it? Despite being able to understand everything Kung Lao was telling him, his dream censored him; twice it did. Raiden feels something swell within him, this desire to respond to Kung Lao. Words at the tip of his tongue that he wanted to get out.

But then the pain gets worse. A LOT worse. His body was on fire as if electricity was coursing through his body. Raiden screams, making sounds that one would not think a human could make. He writhes, so much so that he feels someone holding him down. He remembers wanting it to stop; that dying was a better alternative than enduring this much pain.

Raiden jolts awake, sitting upright, sweaty, and breathing heavily. His eyes roam about his room, taking stock of what's around him. It was just a dream. He's in his room, in his bed. Not in…That hellish place…Whatever that was. Yet, he's not calming down. It felt real, too real. The pain, the heat, the people talking to him. It was as if he experienced it before, and there was a part of himself that felt like it was factual. But it was so…Surreal…

"Ugh! Aaah!" Raiden clutches his stomach, where his lower and upper body meet. It's happening again.

He can feel static dancing off his person in painful waves, coursing through his body from his stomach. He doubles over as he clutches his stomach in a hugging position. He can feel it wanting to get out again, this strange, unknown power, as it swells in electric prowess, begging to be let out.

"Raiden? Raiden!" Fuji's voice sounds distant, yet tangible, as she rushes to her brother's side. "Raiden, what's wrong? Is it happening aga-ah!" Fuji feels a jolt of electricity shock her, and she pulls away from touching her brother.

Raiden hisses through the growing pain, "Y-yes, it's happening again! It's stronger this time!"

"Come on, let's get you outside!" Fuji says in a hurried tone as she quickly dresses herself in whatever she can get her hands on in her brother's room.

Raiden groans as he tries to remove himself from his bed (something he kinda doesn't want to do right now) but ends up rolling off the mattress onto the floor with an audible grunt. Fuji is quick to Raiden's side again and helps him up with all her strength. Despite having a sleeper build in terms of muscularity and being leanly built, he was heavy to carry and drag around for someone of her strength and stature.

"Come on, come on, let's go, Raiden! We're almost to the door; let's go!" Fuji tries to encourage her brother.

"I-I'm trying, Ji. It hurts!" Raiden whines.

They both get past the front door and rush to hop onto Fuji's motorbike (she saved up ALOT of money to get this baby). She revs the engine and speeds away down the road, biking to a remote area so that her brother can let out…Whatever the fuck is going on with him.

"We're almost out of here, Raiden! Just give me-HOLY SHIT!"

Suddenly, an arc of lightning strikes the ground, deadly close to them. It's only now that Fuji notices that the night cloudy skies above were crackling with thunder and lightning (fortunately, no rain…Yet…).

"Raiden, control yourself! Just give me 2 minutes! AAH!" Fuji dodges a lightning strike that landed 3 seconds ahead of them.

"I'M TRYING!" Raiden shouts in pain, his hair and eyes glowing intensely as the power of the amulet strengthens. Throughout the trip, Raiden KNOWS that he was unintentionally shocking his sister, the poor farm boy constantly apologizing as he tries to reign in the energies coming off him.

Fuji is able to bob & weave around the constant lightning strikes and endure the shocks her brother kept giving her, just enough to reach not just the outskirts of the village but into the remote parts outside their settlement. Once they were a good 15 minutes away from Fengjian, Fuji slows down to park her bike, but this would nearly cost her. As they were about to stop, another strike of lightning hits them from behind, kicking up dirt, debris, and their bike. The motorbike ends up being tipped forward forcefully, sending the siblings flying.

"AAAAHHH!" Fuji screams as she soars above the ground before crashlanding into the tall grass nearby. Although she didn't gain that much air, thanks to her slowing down not too long ago, she still felt her ears ringing and her head and muscles aching. She makes sharp gasps as she slightly rolls in pain.

"Damnit, Raiden," Fuji hisses. "Fuck, Raiden! Raiden?" Fuji picks herself up, almost losing her footing, as she frantically looks for her older brother.

The sounds of her brother screaming gave her an idea of where he was at. He wasn't too far from her. Fuji could see lighting bouncing off his person as he was in the fetal position. As Fuji was attempting to approach him, Raiden yelled out to her, "DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"

Fuji immediately stops in her tracks, watching her brother uselessly as he suffered. Ever since he came back home a year and a half ago, ever since Liu Kang dropped her brother off at their family home, he's had these strange abilities. But nothing like this. It has never gotten this bad! It's gotten out of control. Whatever's happening to Raiden, it's trying to get out. Fuji anxiously scours through her brain as she considers WHAT she can do to help her brother that she hasn't done before. But…BUT WHAT THE FUCK WOULD ANYONE DO IN THIS SITUATION!?! Her brother is becoming a malfunctioning transmission tower! No amount of guidance from their parents, friends, workmates, or even TikTok inspiration posts could prepare her to handle this!

There is one thing she notices about her brother in this situation. It's almost as if he's trying to hold back whatever this electrifying beast is. This gives her an idea.

"R-Raiden! Raiden, you need to let go! You can't keep holding back…Whatever this is!" Fuji shouts as loud as she can, the raging thunder clouds, cracks of lightning, and howling wind overpowering her voice.

"NO!" Raiden screams in response, fear heavily apparent in his tone. "I-FUCK-I'LL HURT YOU! LIKE LAST TIME, I'LL HURT YOU!"

Oh…

Fuji stares uselessly at Raiden as that incident plays in her head again. It was a couple months since Liu Kang returned her brother home. Raiden was…He was going through alot. What, with his sudden memory loss and having to come to terms with the lost memories, Raiden was silently coping with this alone. It's unnatural for him to bottle up his emotions. Fuji has always known her brother to speak his mind when something troubled him…Then again, his trusted confidant when he didn't want to turn to his family was Kung Lao…Who's dead…Even Madam Bo he couldn't look to for guidance; she died many years ago (peacefully, surrounded by her family). And despite the natural trust, as siblings, they both had for each other; Raiden clearly avoided speaking with her about what he was thinking and feeling.

And it finally came overhead when the siblings had a mild dispute. She doesn't even remember what they were arguing about. Could've been typical brother/sister shit. Maybe she finally confronted him about his silence and reluctance to speak about what had happened to him. Regardless, things got a bit personal, and Raiden, who is usually the patient and calm one, even during their little disagreement bouts; lashed out.

And quite literally did he lashed out. Fuji probably should've seen the telltale signs when his eyes and hair were giving a dim, white glow, but she was too riled up in the conversation to pay attention. Then it happened, Raiden yelled back at her, and suddenly, an arc of lightning erupted from him. Striking Fuji.

With a highly concentrated energy of electricity, it shocked her to the point that her body shut down temporarily…But Raiden didn't see it like that, at the moment. His sister, his closest friend aside from Kung Lao, was lying on the kitchen floor, dead. Their elderly parents arrived home to see Raiden sobbing loudly as he tried to revive his sister while lightning was pulsing off him. They couldn't get close enough to each reach the phone to call for emergency services as arcs of lightning were going everywhere in the house, practically destroying it (the expenses were much, even for their family). And maybe it was the constant shock of electricity that restarted Fuji and kept her from fully kneeling over. Who knows, there was a lot of pandemonium going on at that moment, but she remembered jolting back to life, breathing heavily as she tried to scoot away from her brother.

But there was one thing she regretted that day. Being so scared of Raiden that she had the look of someone seeing a monster, a threat.

Fuji can ascertain that he's been holding it in ever since that day. Because he's scared of hurting her again. And sure, they would both go out of town to a remote area to let Raiden air out and release the energies of the amulet infused to his body. But there was a deafening disconnect since that day. And it pains Fuji that it wasn't until now that she realized she'd shut Raiden out because she was scared of her brother.

Another painful cry emits from Raiden. The storms above were becoming dangerous, Fuji felt like she was going to be swept off her feet by the roaring winds. Although Fuji was scared of the mystical prowess her brother possessed, she loved him more than she feared him.

"Raiden, you're not going to hurt me! I know you won't, I trust that you won't!" Fuji has to now scream over the raging storm as she puts some further distance between her and her brother, readjusting her fallen motorbike. "Whatever you're holding on to, you have to let it go!"

"Fuji, I-"

"Raiden, don't you fucking argue with me!" Fuji shouts, using her "mom voice." Fuji might be just as soft-spoken as her brother, but she knew when to assert herself and take up space when needed. "You're going to harm me far worse the longer you keep holding on to...Well, that! You'll destroy all of Fengjian doing what you're doing RIGHT NOW!"

I mean, Fuji can't say for certain that it will. But storms like this can definitely level villages, and she's not about to wait and find out if this is the case. Fuji yelps loudly as a soaring large tree branch flies by her, the dark-haired sister ducking behind her bike for safety. There's another resounding scream from Raiden, and she looks in his direction with extreme worry. However, there was something different about this scene.

Raiden was howling, sure, but he was releasing the energies of the amulet. The best way one could describe this scene is that it's like watching Raiden raise his power level as if he's a Dragon Ball Z character. The storm around this time worsens, so much so that Fuji ends up holding onto her, albeit skidding, bike while screaming herself.

Then it...Stops...The roiling thunder, the crack of lightning, the raging winds calmed. Fuji opens her eyes and looks to the still-night sky, the dark clouds slowly parting to reveal the gibbous moon above, the sound of thunder now becoming an infrequent presence. When she finally takes a look at her brother...She might as well be looking at an all-powerful being, maybe even a god.

Raiden was levitating, hair and clothes flowing as if he were in water, sparks of electricity visibly coursing through his being as his hair and eyes glowed a godly white. Fuji stared in awe as electric energies sparked off him, unsure of how else to take in this scene in front of her. Her brother would soon gracefully touch the ground again before kneeling over. Fuji cautiously approaches her brother as if she's entering an emperor's throne room unannounced.

"...Raiden?"

"...Yeah?" Raiden, now sounding like his usual, soft-spoken, self, looks up at his sister. His face plastered with the same amazement as she possessed.

"Are you...Ok?"

"I think so," Raiden looks himself over, watching the energies pulse around him. "...Yeah. Yeah, I think I'm alright now."

"What was that? This never happened before." Fuji starts getting more bold as she approaches her brother. She wanted to dust him down but hesitated as the energies continued to encompass Raiden.

Raiden is quiet for a moment. During this silence, the electrical current finally dissipated. "...I'm sorry, Fuji."

"For what?"

"For...For everything."

Fuji's heart nearly breaks the moment she hears Raiden's voice crack. Raiden's eyes become glassy as he begins to cry. "No. No, Raiden," Fuji takes the first step to break the space between them, holding his shaking hand in hers. "I should be the one apologizing. I...I'm not going to pretend that I know what happened to you that caused all this. These strange powers, you're new color," Fuji brushes some stray hair behind Raiden's ear, "Or why you can't remember the past...I don't even know how many years."

"But you clearly needed help. I can't assist with any physical help, but I can help with this," Fuji pokes at his heart, smiling at her elder brother. "I was scared of you, Raiden...Because you became...Unrecognizable to me. But I was wrong to emotionally shut you out. You're still my brother, and I'm going to still be your sister."

Raiden chuckles, smiling through his tears as he fondly looks at Fuji. "Thank you, sis."

"Now come on, we best get home. Mom and Dad, if they're not awake already, are going to be worried about why we were gone during an active storm. Also, you're still in your underwear."

"What?" Raiden looks at himself, finally realizing that he's still in a t-shirt and boxers. "W-why didn't you help me get dressed!?!"

"You were literally screaming and shooting lightning out of your hands, what did you want me to do?" Fuji responds as she gets her motorbike prepped for departure.

"I would've been fine with a hoodie or something," Raiden says, now in a bit of a jesting mood. He does notice that his sister is wearing his clothes and points at her. "Can you at least hand me my hoodie?"

"Can't. Not wearing anything under this."

"I can literally see your PJs under there, Ji."

"Ok, but it's cold. No thanks to you," Fuji sticks her tongue at him teasingly.

The pair continue their sibling banter as they make their way back to Fengjian. The back & forth is interrupted as Raiden grows silent suddenly. Growing increasingly uncomfortable with the silence, Fuji breaks the ice.

"Something on your mind?"

Raiden remains still.

"...Come on, Raiden. If something is troubling you...Listen, I might not have all the answers, but at least let me know what's going on."

~Two Days Later~

Raiden closes the mirrored medicine cabinet, the soft click of the small door indicating it was successfully shut. Raiden is faced with his reflection. White, shoulder-length hair, brown eyes (that occasionally turn white, he has noticed), upside-down heart-shaped face, chubby cheeks, oval brows; these features he has seen time and time again. Yet, this look still feels...Foreign to him. How did he get the white hair? Nothing in his memories can track down the point in time when he dyed his hair (Fuji says that he dyed his hair...But...).

He looked...Older. As if he's experienced many things in his life. What those experiences are though-he cannot tell you. Raiden places a hairband in his mouth as he gathers his strands to recreate the man-bun he fondly prefers to wear. It's the one thing that gives him a sense of familiarity. He can remember precisely how he favors pinning up his hair. Raiden looks at himself in the mirror again, staring into his reflections' brown eyes as if he's searching for something behind them. His gaze then focuses on a small picture. A photo was taken when he, Kung Lao, and Fuji went on a school trip in their elementary years. Their class went fishing that day, and he can distinctly remember his kid self getting frustrated because he couldn't catch a single fish that day. Despite living in a village that was on the water, fishing wasn't a skill Raiden acquired. He remembers Kung Lao always being able to catch a large or small one, bragging about how he was going to take his catches back home to eat.

Perhaps it was Kung Lao's bragging that made his younger self jealous and throw a fit. But in that same instance, Kung Lao actually taught him the tricks he used to capture fish. It was Kung Lao that turned that sour trip into a journey he will always remember.

...

Why can't he remember anything? Past that day, when the pair competed to see who could harvest the most cabbages and pay for the loser's meal at Madam Bo's, everything else is a blur. And maybe this wouldn't bother him much; people can have fuzzy memories, especially if they were beaten so severely they had to be bandaged with extreme care by a stranger. But it's not just a few memories that he can't recollect; it's practically all of them past that day at Madam Bo's. Even more alarming...

...He had forgotten that his best friend, Kung Lao, had died. Now, unless he's getting a grave case of early dementia, who would miss that their own best friend died, their own funeral procession? When his sister and parents came forward about this with him, it was only then that Raiden realized that some years passed as well. That meant that he was missing years-YEARS-of life experiences that were now gone from his mind. Even more confusing, he wasn't in a coma. At least, he doesn't think he was.

Ok, lemme explain. Based on what Fuji and his parents told him, some man named Liu Kang offered him a position of high-paying work. It required him to work in the United States, and both he and Kung Lao were offered the job; both men said yes to this opportunity. Looking back at it, in his family's words, they should've pushed back further as they were suspicious of this Liu Kang fellow and this job he was offering their son. But seeing the joy on Raiden's face and his determination to leave with Liu Kang convinced them that their son could handle themselves and pave his own future. Occasionally, he would visit home and send money & unique souvenirs before promptly leaving back to the States. Apparently, he was a martial arts teacher in the States, but everything else was unknown to them. It was a shock to everyone when they heard that Kung Lao died. It came out of left field. Based on what Liu Kang and Raiden told them, an accident happened where some equipment malfunctioned and blew up in Kung Lao's face, a lacerated throat being the primary cause of death. After that, Raiden was radio silent to his family. It wasn't until Liu Kang came to their house in the dead of night years later with Raiden in tow, bandaged and bruised, and left without another word. They haven't seen Liu Kang since.

Aside from the mild inconsistencies (if he was in the States while his family was in China, of course, there would be some muddled details), their story was pretty straightforward based on their point of view...Yet, deep down, Raiden couldn't help but...Feel like there's more to this story. Not that he's distrustful of his family; he truly believes what they said. However, somewhere deep within his conscience, it felt like the story they told him was the tale he WANTED them to believe. As if Raiden knew the truth that explains the holes and contradictions that riddled their recollection of previous events. Yet, the answers to these truths are hidden even from Raiden. Always at the tip of his tongue but forbidden from ever speaking them.

Raiden enters the kitchen; his mother and sister preparing breakfast and lunch for Raiden. Seeing him enter, Fuji smiles from ear to ear. "You slept in, lazy butt."

"Oh?" Raiden looks at the mounted clock, and yep! He's an hour and thirty minutes late to work. "Aw, crap!"

"Calm yourself, boy. I already called the Farm. They were understanding and said to come in when you're ready." His mother says as she sets down a bowl full of steamed Bao Buns. Enough to last until lunch, really.

Looking at the bowl, Raiden knew why they cooked so much. Kung Lao, the gluttonous butt he was, would always visit Raiden so that they could travel to work together. And without fail, he was always raiding their kitchen for any leftovers no one else wanted. It became nearly tradition to cook a bit extra in case Kung Lao decided to pay them a visit.

...Apparently, old habits die hard...Raiden smiles and kisses his mother gingerly on the cheek. "Thank you, mother. I don't want to keep them longer, though. I'll see you guys when I get back." Raiden quickly packs his own lunch, thanks to the assistance of his sister, Fuji, who was already 3 steps ahead of him and grabs a couple Bao Buns before heading out the house.

Walking to the Farm, Raiden couldn't help but feel a sorrowful, almost lonely, acceptance of the village around him. Every building, path, small body of water, old face, new face, everything about Fengjian felt like a ghost to him. It was familiar, yet so dissimilar to Raiden. This village has grown in the past years he was in and out of this settlement. But what disheartens him is the absence of his friend. Raiden only wishes that Kung Lao was here, perhaps he would've helped him make sense of all of this. This...Amnesia mess that he's in. And Raiden would've confided with Madam Bo...You know, if she were still alive. Her death had more consistency; she simply died of old age. It was still a shock; she was his adopted grandmother in Raiden's eyes. So in Raiden's mind, he not only lost a close friend but also a family member and valuable mentor.

Raiden found himself staring at points of interest that held significance to him, especially if it related to Kung Lao. There was a cherry blossom tree up a hill nearby that he and Lao would frequent without fail. Be it to do school work, to see who can climb that tree the fastest and highest, or to chill. It was there that Kung Lao, at the age of 15, expressed his desire to explore their horizons past Fengjian. Raiden still grins to himself, thinking back on the many adventurers Kung Lao wanted to have (although few of them were a bit exaggerated). How they both promised-once they were older-they would travel outside of Fengjian, and experience the world together. Somewhere, deep down, Raiden feels like this has come true if they have gone to the States before...But it feels like more was there than simply hopping over to another country.

There's a convenience store nearby where Kung Lao's house was. It was a favorite, and every time the pair visited it, Kung Lao would rant and rave about all the many meals one could make from just a few store-bought convenience items. Being a child of a middle-class family, Raiden was always baffled by the "dishes" Kung Lao would make, most of them hit or miss due to the cheap ingredients. But Kung Lao loved to cook. He probably would've wanted to become one with the kind of passion he had. But Kung Lao cooked to survive due to...Well, let's just say, he was a poor kid.

Then there was the Farm. They were always getting into some kind of trouble there. Playing daring jokes on each other, helping one another with the back-breaking labor, then the fulfilling trip to Madam Bo's Teahouse. All fond memories.

Before Raiden knew it, the day was already reaching its finale. Raiden worked overtime, something he was often known to do. And, you know, working such late hours without Kung Lao there was...Disheartening. Kung Lao wouldn't assist in the work. In his mind, his shift ended at 5:30 P.M. But he would at least stay with Raiden. To provide him company during the late hours. This time around, the nightlife critters and beasts were his only company. The walk home was seemingly worse. The darkened village felt quiet, with only a few shops open that had loud commotion going on. Friends hanging out and enjoying a good drink together as they drank and ate the rest of the evening away.

The only moment of solace Raiden gained was when he walked back into his house. His mother, father, and sister were loud in conversation as they went over the recent village gossip, village news & politics, and pastime activities they engaged in. It was a breath of fresh air having this personal community that broke the solemn silence that his best friend filled. The night ended with Raiden sitting down with his family and enjoying the dinner they made. It closed with him and his sister, Fuji, cleaning up after their parents as they turned in early for the night.

"Hey."

"Hmm?" Raiden gives Fuji a side glance as he continues to clean up dishes.

"You feeling ok?" Fuji eyes him curiously.

Two days ago, Raiden finally came forward with Fuji about the emptiness he's been feeling. Even though he's in a village that he was born & raised in, filled with familiar faces and family, the fact of the matter is that he dearly missed Kung Lao. But...But it was more than just grieving for a best friend, not that it would make a difference. But Kung Lao filled deeper shoes than just simply being a friend. When he's in bed, he feels like the mattress is too big all of a sudden. He can't eat certain dishes because it will all remind him of Lao. He finds himself crying to himself because he forgot for a moment that Kung Lao would not answer his door or his phone if Raiden were to call. All these things, even as a best friend, would be reasonable to miss and grieve over. But there was something more to their friendship than that.

"Do you think you loved him?" Raiden remembers Fuji asking him when he came forward with this.

"...I don't know...And if I did...Now I have to reconcile with the fact that I'll never get to tell him..."

Raiden smiles at his sister and playfully bumps shoulders with her. "Now that I'm home? I'm feeling good, for now. The rice and pork was really good, Fuji."

"I know right! I used this new spice that my friends were crazy about. It's a Korean spice-"

Fuji rambled on about how she made the dish they had for dinner, and Raiden eagerly listened and conversed with her. Even though Kung Lao was gone, he could try to fill that space with more people who loved him.

Outside the residence where Raiden lived, a shadowed figure rests on the rooftops of the sleeping Fengjian village, watching the building like a predator that has found its prey. Blazing red eyes stare through the open windows, watching closely the two figures who pass it daily, unaware they have an interested third party observing them. The being in question, however, was laser-focused on Raiden, watching his every move, taking them to memory. The show would be over, unfortunately, as they closed the curtains and cut off the lights, slumbering like the rest of the village.

The shadowed individual smiles, "Worry not, Raiden. We'll be reunited soon enough. You'll see. Then not even death will tear us apart."

And in a flash of mystical air and dead cherry blossom petals, the figure is gone.

~Somewhere in California~

Kenshi groans awake as he feels inklings of the sun peering out from the half-closed curtains. Half-naked, Kenshi, through his sight provided by Sento, is greeted with the ceiling of the luxury apartment belonging to Jonathan Carlton, Johnny Cage. Kenshi felt an added weight on the bed he slept on, knowing who was sharing the mattress with him. Despite this, Kenshi twisted his head to drink in the blissfully still-sleeping man beside him, Johnny.

You know, if you asked Kenshi that he would end up in the loving arms of a pompous Hollywood star, he would've had you killed for even thinking about it. Even when their relationship evolved from enemies to friends, Kenshi would've thought that was the final step in their relationship. Just being friends. But it all fell into place when...When Kung Lao died. Funny how shared trauma can bring others together...

You see, Before Kung Lao died, Johnny was good friends with Kung Lao. They both had their similarities. They were both friends with whom some would consider "the straight man" of their other half, they were both hella self-confident and prideful of their capabilities. The only thing that seemingly differentiated them was that one was poor while the other was rich. Oh, and the fact that Kung Lao was more disciplined when it came to his fighting prowess, compared to Johnny, who was more of a "free-form jazz" type of guy. Although Kung Lao expressed mild annoyance at the actor's Hollywood pride (even Kung Lao wasn't that egotistical), the pair worked off each other pretty well to be good friends.

So when Kung Lao died, aside from Raiden, Johnny took his death the hardest. Being perhaps the more foolhardy of the group (even with his years of maturity the more he was asked to help Liu Kang with other realm matters), that moment was when Johnny really "grew up." It's not like he was new to death, the kind of work they did, they have met many instances where they watched people die in front of them or saw corpses in horrendous states. But it was one thing when it was someone who you weren't close to or didn't know in general. It's another thing when it's someone you do know and have history with.

After Kung Lao's death, Johnny's way of coping was trying to fill in the shoes that Kung Lao left behind. Kung Lao always had a way of lightening the mood that was unique compared to what Johnny would do. Where the actor would constantly spill movie references that no one but Johnny understood, Kung Lao knew how to inspire from the heart. And that took skill and experience to pull off, something Johnny wasn't too well versed in. Looking back on it, Kenshi sees them in a more positive light than before. However, he can't say the same for Raiden. When they were still considered the protectors of Earthrealm, Raiden was spiraling into his own self-hatred and grief. With good intentions, Johnny tried to be a friend to Raiden, wanting to reassure Raiden that they had his back...It didn't end well.

Johnny's desire to keep their friend group together, even though they were drifting apart was harming Johnny more than he thought it was. So when Liu Kang suddenly announced that he would no longer be needing their services, Johnny was quick to take his offer. Now, to the untrained ear, one would think:

"Of course, Johnny Cage dipped out after the going got going! He's an actor who never saw any of the cruelties of the real world because of his wealth!"

Which, in some way, could be the reason. But Kenshi saw something else to Johnny's reason for dipping out. As stated before, Johnny put a lot of emotional energy trying to keep their friend group alive. He tried to fill the shoes that Kung Lao left behind, and in the process, he was draining himself as he tried to keep everyone happy while everyone was coping with Lao's death. No longer being obligated to be Earthrealms protector, meant that Johnny no longer had to hold onto the tearing strings since they were all going their separate ways.

Their relationship still wouldn't blossom until nearly a year and a half ago. Granted, looking back at their previous interactions, perhaps it was fate that they would find solace with each other. Kenshi, with the line of work he involved himself in, had to go into hiding but had nowhere to turn to. Hunkering down with Johnny would've been a foolish thought; he was the exact opposite of discreet. But, because he had to cut back on some expenses, Johnny was living in an apartment building that was a perfect "hiding in plain sight" spot. With Kenshi as his new roommate, Johnny got a bit personal with Kenshi as he was helped dress his wounds. The rest was history as Kenshi found himself kissing Johnny in the heat of the moment. A year and a half later, Kenshi is still in disbelief that they're together still.

While Kenshi would love to admire the sleeping person beside him, he knew that he couldn't stay long. He was still in hiding, and he promised Jax that he would meet him at a disclosed location to discuss next steps. He's careful to slip out of bed without disturbing Johnny, swiftly getting cleaned up and dressed before walking into the kitchen to prepare himself a cup of joe.

"Mmhm. Morning sunshine."

Kenshi nearly jumps out of his skin as he feels strong arms wrap around his waist. He smiles as he cranes his head back to look at Johnny. "Did I wake you?"

"Didn't feel your body keeping me warm, honey. You leaving already?" Johnny says in a husky tone as he nuzzles behind the blind swordsman.

"Have to. I have an associate who's waiting for me. I might not be able to stay here for much longer."

"Again?" Johnny complains in an overexaggerated tone. "How long will you be gone?"

"Don't know, depends on the situation."

This isn't the first time Kenshi and Johnny been separated for long periods of time, something they were both well accustomed to. Johnny was an actor/director, which means he was constantly traveling to other states and countries for filming. Working for the OIA (Outworld Investigation Agency) and the FBI, Kenshi was either traveling the world or traveling realms. Perhaps being the only Earthrealmer who didn't hang up the mantle of being Liu Kang's warrior.

Johnny continues to whine about being alone without Kenshi (even though he'll be alright), playing up his desperation for Kenshi to "stay home" with him. And Kenshi will admit, he can definitely see why he was, and still is, a popular star in Hollywood.

"Can you at least leave me a goodbye gift?" Johnny's fingers start to linger towards Kenshi's waistbelt.

"Johnny," Kenshi chuckles as he moves one of his hands away from his waist, kissing the fingers individually. "I can't right now; I'm going to be late."

"Aw, come on! Just a quicky?"

"No, Johnny."

Cage huffs, but there is no anger hinted there. He just kisses Kenshi's neck and sighs. "Fine. Just come back sooner than later, ok? Bed feels empty without ya."

"I bet it does," Kenshi jests.

"I know it does." As Johnny giggles, his eyes glance at the reflection displayed on the microwave mirror, and he sees…Something moving. A tall, humanoid figure attempting to stealth because it assumes it hasn't been seen.

Just as quickly as Johnny notices this, he quickly grabs a kitchen knife from the knife holder and swiftly throws it at the intruder. Even with his fast reflexes, they weren't as fast as the unwanted guest. The Intruder grabs the knife, blade in hand, while their glowing red eyes stay trained on the couple.

Kenshi, already alerted that something is wrong, calls for Sento to his hand. The magic sword unsheathes itself and flies over to their location. Before reaching Kenshi's hand, with his mystical sight and ability to utilize Sento, even if the weapon is not in his hand, he sharply gestures his one hand in multiple directions in slicing motions. Sento redirects its trajectory as it starts to aim for the home invader. Although the sword was able to get a few good slices in, the individual was fast…Too fast…

"What the hell are you doing in my apartment!?!" Johnny growls as he grabs another weapon of his own (it's another knife).

The figure doesn't respond, only growling as it attempts to rush at Johnny and Kenshi. The pair dodge out of the way, both separated on opposite sides of the person.

"Listen, I'm willing to not press charges AND give you the comfiest dirt nap you'll ever experience IF you tell us what you're doing in my place and why you're attacking us!"

"Something tells me they're not here to talk, Johnny," Kenshi replies as he commands Sento to his hand.

"Ok, dirt nap it is then."

The pair rush the intruder, hoping to overwhelm them with their combined might. Johnny's theatrical and dirty fighting tactics with Kenshi's samurai-like skills and roughhousing tricks. Yet, even with their combined might, this individual was swift and able to counter almost all their attacks while also producing devastating blows of their own.

Very quickly, Kenshi caught on that this person possessed some superhuman strength. Every punch sent Kenshi and Johnny flying in some instances during the fight. This intruder also had some cracks in their skin that had a glow to them. Unfortunately, while Sento gave him sight, it didn't provide Kenshi clarity on specific details like colors. Johnny, however, could see that this person had ashen gray skin, much like how a corpse would look, and the supposed "cracks" were actually the outlines of their inner veins, glowing to an unnatural degree.

Another thing too, this guy just would not quit. Their back and forth was eventually tiring Johnny & Kenshi as they missed one too many close calls that would've killed them. But this home invader had stamina for days. Johnny and Kenshi had to resort to going on the defensive as they had to dodge his attacks while waiting for openings.

Johnny is nearly choked out by this creature before grabbing the heated french press on the stove and slamming it against the intruder's head. Granting the actor time to build some distance.

"Kenshi, I'm gonna need you to think of something, and think of it quick because I'm going to be paying for all these expenses that this prick is breaking!" Johnny windily fusses as he lands a one-two punch on the intruder.

"Get him closer to the living room!" Kenshi says as he provides a helpful block for Johnny, using Sento to slash at the intruder before they can land a hit on Johnny.

"What?" Johnny looks at Kenshi confused before taking a punch to the face.

"Just follow my lead!"

Where Johnny's luxurious apartment was located it was built into a tall skyscraper building, and Johnny paid to get a good view of the city he was living in. That meant that his room was exceptionally high up in the building; leading to an estimated 250 ft drop. And Kenshi was getting some sneaking suspicions that this creature could survive all 250 of it.

Kenshi dares to get closer to the intruder, putting all his might into pushing and fighting this man closer to the living room which had an entire glass wall that showcased that good Californian view. Helping him, Johnny also jumped into the fray, along with Sento as they brought him closer to the glass windows. The intruder was able to block their attacks, but he was inching toward the glass, and they finally grabbed at Kenshi's throat in a crushing grip.

"You will join us, Takahashi. Our family will gladly welcome you." The intruder says.

"I'm all for visiting in-laws and relatives, but we're gonna have to decline the invitation to the family barbeque!" Johnny says. And in that same second, he drops it low and hits your man with the most devastating nutcracker they'll ever experience.

The intruder makes an audible moan as they double over, covering their private bits. Seems this was just enough to not only get them winded but grant Kenshi enough time to perform a flying roundhouse kick and send the intruder falling 230 feet back to the lobby.

"Yo, Kenshi! What the hell, man! I didn't think you were going to kill him!?!" Johnny exclaims. "Dude, I live on this floor!?! And it's 10 in the fucking morning! People are going to see, and then the police are going to be called, then what the fuck am I going to do then? I mean, sure, we were fighting in self-defense, I think that guy had the intent to kill us, but I'm a famous star, dickhead! What am I going to tell the press? Fuck, fucking A, I can already see it, 'Johnny Cage: Famous Actor, Director, and Killer?' Fucking fuck, Kenshi!"

Despite Johnny's angry rambles, Kenshi paid him no mind as he carefully leaned out the side of the broken window, trying to get a good view of the intruder and seeing if his prediction was correct.

…The motherfucker got up.

"Johnny, get dressed, we gotta go," Kenshi says in a hurry as he picks up Sento and the sheath it belongs to.

"Wait, what? Were you even hearing me-"

"We don't have time, get dressed!"

"Ok, ok, I am!" Johnny windily says as he rushes to his bedroom. "Fucking hell, what a goddamn mess."

As the pair are leaving the apartment, Johnny is just getting his best shoes tied, hopping on one leg as he tries to follow the hurried Kenshi. "Wait, Kenshi, what the hell is going on. You're doing that 'I know way more than I let on' schtick that you often do. Did you know that guy?"

"I'll explain once we're far from here. Right now, you're about to meet a good friend of mine."

~Wow, this was even longer lmao! I made a second installment! Very excited to keep working on this because we're about to get to the part where Kung Lao returns >:). Had a lot of fun writing Amnesia!Raiden trying to cope with Kung Lao's sudden departure in his life and writing his sister Fuji. BTW, you can check out this post I made of my picrew interpretation of what Raiden's Sister looks like (Fuji - Raiden's Sister). Not too happy with the Johnny & Kenshi scene, but I've been, once again, working all evening and well into the night with this one, so I'm gonna make my peace with it. Hope you guys enjoy it. Can't wait to start writing up the next installment! Pray that I make this one shorter ;A;~

#Mortal Kombat #Mortal Kombat 1 #MK1 #oops kung lao's dead again au #MK1 Raiden #Raiden's Sister #Fuji #MK1 Kung Lao #MK1 Johnny Cage #MK1 Kenshi #Raiden #Kung Lao #Johnny Cage #Kenshi #Wilted Cherry Blossoms Dark Thunderstorms Burning Hopes

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motherstone · 11 months

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can I just say. I just genuinely dislike Amulet's lack of agency and tension in the plot

I'm writing this out here in a super rambling way bc I can't organize my thoughts and I may forget if I don't get it out now,

but like,

it really was a terrible idea to introduce the plot point that Trellis's and Luger's memories were erased. That just straight up obliterated any chances to give us a reason to be invested in their motivations when it's clear there are no experiences backing those motivations, considering they don't, y'know. EXIST.

I'd be able to swallow it better if Trellis has like, trauma-related memory issues. Like that's my to go in my head.

Another is that I deeply dislike that these two are blood related, bc that like, implies Trellis's compassion towards Luger was bc of their subconscious "filial" bond, instead of Trellis's choice. Not to mention, it just confuses too many people on how tf the line of succession work, and also it never made any sense anyways, and rereading it?? The way kazu revealed it was TERRIBLE. It's not just unnecessary, it was revealed in the most excruciatingly incompetent way of writing possible. I'm shocked that didn't end up getting edited to be better or a the very least removed that dialogue

another is that Emily's actions have no bearings on the plot. Or at the very least, a lot that seemed crucial?? DOESN'T HAVE ANY FUCKING CONSEQUENCES PERIOD. Be it on her, on her way of thinking or how other people perceive her!! It never evolves, if it does, it's baseless!!! Are you telling me she just lost the most powerful magical artifact to enemy hands bc she was tricked and bc she prioritized her family over like, the countless of lives she stands for as a member of the Resistance, and all she gets is a SLAP ON THE WRIST??? No fear or lack of self confidence or paranoia or self-blame? No reprimand or anger or blame from any ally, just complete understanding and support from everyone?? And somehow she gains even more determination and confidence???? Based on what?? "because I have to be" GIRL WHAT?????

another is Emily's main motivation being her family but like. GIRL where is the protectiveness? the worry?? Navin got separated in book 6 and just bc he's with Aly THAT'S FINE WITH YOU?? the faith is touching yes but based on what grounds?? My older sister is the most competent and responsible person I know and I still worry myself sick if she takes too long to come home from school and that's all you have to say, about your brother who went missing in an underground city infested w body stealing spirits in the MIDDLE OF WAY/BATTLEFIELD??? And it's not like Karen was any better about her kids wellbeing like UGH, the series suffers from the sheer lack of buildup to back up all this.

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pk-freezer-burnt · 1 year

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Epic Yume Nikki - Dream Diary - Review

Five years ago a reboot of the cult classique video game Yume Nikki was released into the world at the tender age of zero. I have recently completed the game in its entirety, and today....... I share my thoughts.

I remember shatting myself when this game got announced on Steam. I got it on release day! However.... my laptop back then was not strong enough to run it - like I couldn't even move Madotsuki at all and my laptop was torching up. So, super duper sadly, I had to refund it......

And then.... I felt even more disappointed when the initial reviews came rolling in for the game on Steam and they were "Mixed" - and if you are familiar with Steam game reviews, if a game manages to have a mixed reception, it's p much synonymous to shit. I was shocked bro. So since then I was under the impression it was a failed reboot that didn't get the same feel as the original game, or just too new to be seen as Yume Nikki.

Fast forward to recently, when I figured I'd pick the game up again (and now able to play it since I've gotten a new laptop within the past 5 years) and.... I SERIOUSLY wish I didn't listen to those reviews, because now I get that they were probably the crowd that gets too repulsed by reboots/remakes that are too different from the original (Pokemon fans know what Im talking about). Like cmon guys it was made under the supervision of the dude who made the original Yume Nikki themselves

Anyways. HOLY shmoley. I'm serious. This game was SO GOOD!! The art... it was just BEAUTIFUL! In the reboot, you actually get to see Madotsuki's diary (which is full of sketches and concept art as you progress thru the game) and I went ahead and collected ALL the drawings because I love them so much.

I do remember being a little sad that there were less doors (I think?) compared to the original. Number World in the og was my favorite place because somehow seeing a really really long number on the floor was somewhat unsettling. Sadly it wasn't there, but the way the worlds were intertwined and different areas were referenced were SO genius.

Shout out to le new creature made by the original creator, thanks for throwing up blood everywhere when I played hot cross buns on my recorder I mean flute

Ok so I figured out his name is Wrapi :]

Likewise with the worlds, there were only a few effects present in the game instead of 20+. Although I do like the Eye with Hand effect being remade into a Hamsa ^___^ I don't usually see that amulet in media which is awesomesauce. And it's fitting.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Fisherman, cup boy at the mall filled with blood or juice who tripped and spilled everywhere, AND.....

Also, ironically, the scariest part of the game for me was after you make Mado stab the monster on the highway. and she wakes up. And your controls stop working and she stares at you. Yeah I shat myself bro not even gonna sugarcoat it.

Second scariest part was when the last achievement I had to get was to score 5000 POINTS ON SUPER NASU ARRGHH!! (i did it tho).

Ok so now IT'S ENDGAME TIME.

The game actually has two endings and neither of them are the same as the original. And I think I like that. The main ending... it gave Madotsuki more hope, i think - Like escaping those nightmares and getting back to living life happily. Even though the majority of the game is in the dreamworld, the further you progress, the messier Mado's room got and the more she woke up upset. Seeing the main ending made me happy for her :] I also liked the secret ending (had to look up how to do that one), I think this one implied more of an escapism ending. So not as much closure but yeah.

Overall, I really liked this game. It was a great homage to the original, had engaging puzzles, beautiful arts, and lovely OST remixes.

IN CONCLUSION:

#yume nikki #yume nikki dream diary #the ice cubes speak #my epic game reviews

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firesofdainix · 2 years

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So who was the first em of wind and what did they use their powers for? 👀

@kassycreations @mochinoodle @leesbian42 because I think you'd like being tagged over things like this<3

Also under read more since it's so damn long <33333

Okay so first, Long Before Time Had A Name, there was a great sea serpent named Wojira who harnessed the power to control the storm and the waves by the power of the amulets on her head. She has the power of Wind and Water, and uses it haphazardly to create fear and distrust over the first inhabitants of this Realm.

During one of her particularly stormy and destructive moments, she created the Merlopians and Keepers from the essence of Water and Wind. Meaning, that while they all have elemental blood inside of them, they can only have one elemental master per generation. Thus, the Merlopians attained the Element of Water while the Keepers with the Element of Wind.

I actually have a Headcannon over how bodily limits affect the way Elemental Masters control their element. To make it short, Merlopians and Keepers have different bodily make ups so that they can control the native elements in a different manner than what is known and limited to the humans. Here's the link below to learn more about the hc: https://at.tumblr.com/manjirian/i-think-we-should-talk-about-how-kalmaar-called/19auso7h9nny

ANYWAYS you already know about Nyad, FSM, the battle to become independent from Wojira and just make her stop doing BS like this, and the creation of Ninjago. The whole Nyad merging with the sea thing kind of kick-started the FSM's fear to see people extend the limitations of their body and convinced the next elemental masters of water and Wind to marry into his new creations, the humans.

A few decades after Nyad merges with the sea, the FSM creating Ninjago, he created the First Generation if the Elemental Alliance, choosing the first users of the elements passed down to him. Fire, Ice, Earth, Lightning, even meeting a few more elements he doesn’t control that weren't derived from him such as Time, Seasons and Weather. That is when he meets what people consider to be the First Elemental Master of Wind, since this one also blends in with he Ancient tradition of the Keepers.

The Keepers were secretive, obscure people, who was given the task of guarding the storm amulet for the next thousand of years by the FSM. While there is no denying they have the element of wind for a while, all of their inscriptions, like Merlopians, had mentions and legends of wind and water users, Ninjago and by extension, the FSM, haven't seen them. Thus, Nyad was considered to be the First Master of Water.

Anyways yes, the First 'recorded' Elemental Master of Wind is a Keeper, and according to FSM he washed upon the shores of his lands wounded, found by one of his Elemental Masters. Because he was compassionate and caring, he nurses the stranger back to health, only to find out that he was what he was looking for: the Elemental Master of Wind.

They told FSM their name was Morro, and that they had been banished from the Keepers for committing a terrible crime. He expressed guilt over what they did, and FSM, sympathizing with him, comforted their conscience. He didn't know that Morro wasn't guilty over THAT particular crime, however. While no one knows what he'd been banished of, FSM has assumed it was something like petty thievery. Yet, if only he saw the signs sooner...

Morro I is a very formidable and skilled fighter, even without his powers upon the creation of Vengestone. He's always battle-ready, dressing up with elaborate armor derived to remember their Keeper heritage yet managed to still have nimble and agile feet, like the wind. They can never be controlled or put in cramped situations, they were quite flexible and resourceful as a person. Because of their craftiness and contrast to FSM's more reserved, shier attitude, they managed to be closer to him than others were.

As a person, they were kind of like the Morro we all know and love: ambitious, prideful, impulsive, temperamental, but they exude an air of charisma and stoicism that made them so popular amongst their peers. His personality is immensely popular, as he is also not quite emotionally attached to things such as missions that concern family members put in jeopardy, thinking only with his mind. Various Elemental Masters say that while they are fun and approachable as a friend, you shouldn't become a thorn on their side when they're busy completing a task. They are also quite cryptic and vague when talking, but purposefully, which puts them at odds with the others.

His most famed weapon are these beautiful, intricate fans that have been recreated a lot of times and his actual fan put in museums. They use the martial arts of Tessenjutsu, which uses the iron fan. Because of their strong power against wind and their general impressive combative moves, they were able to subdue the enemy and make him yield.

While they were a formidable, strategic fighter, they occasionally alienated himself from the other Elemental Masters. Either because of his own choice, or rather, his peers started to figure out there was something wrong with them. Their only friends in this instance would have been FSM, the EM of Seasons and Weather (which I'll make a post about I swear).

While they weren't interested in marriage or romance, they decided to do FSM a favor by marrying a nice girl upon his recommendation to continue the Elemental bloodline. They had one child at the age of 20, and returned to the Elemental Alliance shortly after to be close to FSM again. Generally a dick move and an asshole, yeah.

Why did people think he was a little nuts? Well, it started out innocent- a couple of jokes and a few weird behavior, but they weren't THAT concerned over Morro's quirkiness. Everyone is different from each other after all. But it started getting worse: Morro seemed to have developed an unhealthy attachment to the FSM, waiting for him, having a certain clinginess, and just preaching about his teachings to others when they have ears open. The way they speak about FSM was quite obsessive and strange, as if they love him but not really. They also have a strong sense of 'worthy' and 'unworthy' people, deeming all of them unworthy of their elements.

He's pretty much a fanatic over elements, and firmly believes that the FSM has the right to all of those elements once more. They usually just lock themselves in their own private house, trying to take note of the history of the elements and is just so obsessed. There's a reason why they become a cautionary tale about obsession and how friendships like those suck like balls.

Anyways a few years later, when he was 24, he started acting on his obsession and it went too far. This is all of his crimes accumulating into one consequence. One day, while he was out patrolling his designated area, he runs into a group of naysayers who were disagreeing with the FSM and his teachings. And Morro I FINALLY let the intrusive thoughts win. They were a Keeper, and they are proud of their heritage, for his body doesn't have limitations. He can conjure up wind from people's lungs without the soul complaining.

They did a forbidden Wind technique- when one of their friends figured out what was happening, all the naysayers who disagreed with the FSM were on the ground, breathless, literally. Morro I admitted that they murdered them all, but without any remorse. They firmly believe that these bunch of haters deserve what happened to them, and refused to plead guilty. Thus, once FSM hears all the BS Morro I said and did, he called for a trial.

Of course, Morro I was noted as guilty, which, for some reason, SHOCKED him. Like, my brother in the FSM, you firmly went against your own friend's condition because you have the weirdest praise kink for him EVER. They pleaded to the FSM, stated that they were only doing what had to be done, oppressing people and never letting them fulfill his own opinion. But FSM tells Morro I that their complaints can help further the way he can help teach better. FSM wonders how far Morro I would dedicate himself and how his unwavering, unhealthy loyalty would go. He just HAD to ask.

The Elemental Alliance decided that he will spend his lifetime in banishment, but before he was banished off the known Ninjago lands, into the unclaimed, uninhabited territories that were filled with Grundles and various predators that run amock, he says his final vow, his last words to the Elemental Alliance that turned their backs on him. It's well-known as the Curse of the Masters of Wind.

In a bid for sympathy, or to show how they've truly went too far gone with their obsessive love for FSM, he curses his entire line. While the lines of which he said were unclear and even something the masters have tried to forget, it's said that they give their descendants' lifespan to the FSM. They tell him that all of his descendants after him will die before the age of 30; either having an accident or sudden death before their thirtieth birthday, or just having a shitty life and dying. Just anything before thirty.

After the curse settled on the Elemental Masters, they released him into the unclaimed lands, never looking back to their face, mad and filled with injustice over simply 'saving his friend from the negativity of the people. They lurk near the line between claimed and unclaimed lands, wandering from every border, trying to talk to FSM, before vanishing completely after their 25th year alive. Many say they died, their remains dispersed through the wind, but all of them are too scared to cross into the wilderness.

The curse took its hold on Morro I's son immediately: he died a brutal death in his 29th year, and his daughter died at the age of 19, then her sister died at the age of 28. The Elemental Masters were baffled at this series of incidents, wondering if there truly WAS a curse within the Ehecatl family. Needless to say, it made the entire family erupt in paranoia, fear, and anxiety. Their breaths could be their last. They couldn’t even have multiple sons, all of them dying until only one remains.

Because of this Curse, people, especially the Elemental Masters started to look at every single Masters of Wind differently. They fear that their brevity and shortness in life would rub off on them and started to alienate the Masters of Wind from the Alliance more. The FSM, compassionate as ever, tried to undo the curse, but only found himself at odds with the circumstances of this curse, forsaking those who are victims of the curse.

Oh, also! Since the Masters of Wind slowly but surely become more and more full-blood human, they are unable to do the feats that Morro I had done. Morro’s power he showcased in S5, no matter how much of an actual prodigy he is, pales in comparison to Morro I’s and Nyad’s power. Like I said in one of my posts, Wojira is a step above the rest when it comes to Water and Wind.

Because of the curse, not only do they try to vilify and erase Morro I out from records or use them as an allegory for obsession and how it can doom the person, ‘Morro’ was generally a terrible name and was almost written out of naming suggestions, saying that the person who name their infant as Morro curses their child into misery. Morro’s bio family actually was debating whether to call him Morro or just leave him blank, so...

They were turned into a scary campfire story, like the Overlord, the Great Devourer, Wojira, by the FSM, even bringing down one of Morro I’s old friends to his level. Wu and Garmadon were not comfortable by these stories, and Wu only tells Morro I’s story to children who were quite obsessive, to learn their lesson. However, he did not think that one of his students would idolize Morro I, to the point of naming himself after him...

Now time for some cute trivia about the first EM of Wind <333333:

uses he/they pronouns, if that wasn’t clear

the reason why I chose the name Morro is because it’s cute Nya was named after Nyad, first Elemental Master of Water. except, when she landed fame he gained notoriety.

either uses Feng or Ehecatl as a last name. Feng’s bloodline ended two thousand years ago after the main branch didn’t have any heirs left, so the Ehecatl line had to take over.

he is into music!!! he loves playing guitars or any other stringed instruments. they’re the reason why all Masters of Sound to this day continue to play with stringed instruments

he sucks at teaching, nor is he a good companion. they joke a lot and almost get themselves and their partner in trouble.

cryptic. they’re a little shit that is also quite flexible, their personality changing everyday to accommodate the masters.

they have the texture and skin of Keepers, but they have ebony dark hair that reaches to the floor. they look like a purple Sadako if you want to imagine him. except they’re buff. and they have a fuck ton of armor.

didn’t end up in the Cursed Realm?! that honor is bestowed upon their friend who got fucked over <3333

all of Morro I’s descendants have different pigmented hair stripes, and they’re all dark-haired. wow, the phenotype continues to haunt the family after 5000 years. anyways the stripe is either to signify his curse still quite prevalent, or just a genetic thing.

what if I told you Nelson is descended from a descendant of Wind. that’s why his dad never showed up. that’s why his mom is so worried about him. that’s why he always breaks bones. what if i told you he’s going to die someday.

probably would have laughed at all the costumes made of him, and the stories told of their ‘deviousness’ and ‘evil’

also works as a medium. Wind is the element of spirits after all, and Morro I has a better grasp over the element.

he was created for angst and comparison for Morro in my magnum opus, my Morro redemption fic TAGOMJTR. he was mentioned through chapter 1, and showed up in chapter 3.

too bad he’s the main antagonist for this new fanseason i’m making.

#ninjago #lego ninjago #chel answers #oc ninjago #ninjago oc #fsm ninjago #ninjago nyad #god how do i tag this #ninjago rewrite #???#ninjago headcanon #ninjago headcanons #guess which anime curse i took inspiration off when it comes to the age limit and the children #two curses actually but you know #anyways if you're asking what forbidden wind technique he used #think zaheer killing the earth queen in tlok

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lordofthestrix · 2 years

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house rules for tristan and freya too 😂

Send me a URL and I’ll post 10 house rules their muse and mine would have if they lived together This one was more challenging than the one with Leah (Don't tell her. I'm pretty sure she might get offended if we let her know she wasn't the difficult one this time) I was going to go with an alternative third season that sees Tristan around when Lucien goes all red-eyed and annoying but the trouble is even if they are sharing a place as part of some unlikely alliance I can see both of them hyperfocusing so much on the task at hand that their interactions remain pretty superficial beyond the occasional glare and quip. So instead...I'm going to jump through quite a number of hoops. I'm going to start with the question you once raised to me about what could have happened if they had met before the events of the series. Let's say Freya's awakening this century arrives a couple of years sooner. Let's say that Tristan takes notice of a duo of immensely powerful witches that appear to arrive into existence out of nowhere. Let's say that after the uncertainty of some tense initial exchanges he offers Freya a collaboration. And let's say that with a mixture of old and new magical knowledge and inventiveness they succeed in not killing but messing with the internal mechanisms of the sleeping circle of Dahlia's spell, forcing her to take a sudden, premature nap just as she is not very peacefully inquiring what exactly is her niece doing with a group of vampires. Next, let's say that Tristan offers her to stay around for as long as she wishes. Pointing out that his coven represents a collection of magical talent in diverse branches of witchcraft ideal for any sorceress who might be hoping to expand and upgrade her skill in all sorts of new directions she missed during her sleeping years. Varied spells and ways they would be delighted to exchange for Freya's expertise in old magic forgotten to time. Pointing out they are her best bet for a more permanent solution regarding her slumbering aunt. Pointing out she might even find something in common with them, considering the members of The Sisters often carried a past of misfortune caused by the scale and potential of their power. Let's say Freya says yes? And there we have it. That's the best I could come up with for this situation. Does that work? Oh and for extra fun and future drama Tristan would have no idea she is a Mikaelson. Because honestly you can hear her whole story with Dahlia without reason to make any association to them and as good as Tristan can be knowing about you, I can see this situation as one that would take him entirely by surprise if just as they are advancing in trusting each other suddenly Freya casually mentions Esther or Mikael by name. Okay. Unnecessarily long prologue over. The rules: 1) Even if the culinary masters of the Strix immediately love Freya because she gives them the perfect excuse to revisit the most delicious foods from each period she didn't get the chance to experience, from breakfast to dinner, they should never forget the occasional undertone of blood is always a no for her. She isn't that kind of immortal. 2) The sisters wearing capes during the execution of some spells and hexes is part of an aesthetic and not at all a sign that the leader of the organization might have a flair for the dramatic. There is no need to overly question the level of current relevance connected to the garment. 3) Just because one of the other witches might be a prodigy and artful expert in all sorts of magical relics, dark objects and charmed trinquets doesn't mean Freya is in any way inviting her to touch her amulet without her permission. 4) Just because the antiquity of the volume may not inspire her a natural reverence, Freya should be careful not to treat and go over unique, 700 years old grimoires as if they were magazines. 5) If at any point it just so happens that she starts feeling as part of the group, Freya is entitled to her own cape. She can be certain the quality and cut of the fabric is next to none and past magical voices assure that there is a certain ineffable theatrical satisfaction in spellcrafting in it. 6) It is perfectly okay for Freya to command a scene she liked to repeat itself as many times as she wishes in any electronic device of her choosing but that doesn't imply that it is suddenly socially acceptable to tell legendary actresses and actors to start again in the middle of a performance. 7) Freya is encouraged to enjoy any fun she can have from what she might perceive as unexpected popularity among a certain section of vampires just as eager for the occasion to revisit their decades of origin in some grand event or activity after hearing of her strange tale but highly discouraged to pick favorites, no matter how craftily they may ask for comparisons in her perspective. Courts of vampires are complicated settings to navigate. 8) Freya will do her best to avoid assuming that any open curiosity about her form of immortality suggest the other person wants to break her neck to see it in action. 9) It doesn't matter if she perceives any form of intended treachery in a member of the Strix, it isn't her place to act in accordance. Proposed by Aya. Overruled by an impressed Tristan who instead offered his approving gratitude after hearing of the happening. 10) This rare state of ambiguous association, with her collaborating or not just as little or as much as she wishes, is transparently offered since a certain degree of paranoia is rightfully expected given her circumstances but Tristan remains just as transparent in letting her know he very much intends for her to find a place to belong there. He believes they should talk, whenever she is ready. @viikingwitch

#viikingwitch #You were expecting more comedy.#Instead I worked way too hard trying to make the premise of the meme work for them.#I'm not even sure if I succeeded.#But now you get to suffer my nonsensical rambling!

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dimplecki · 1 year

Text

Tides are turning - Chapter 2

Masterlist

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Fem!hunter, Sam winchester X Fem!hunter

Rating: R (tagging angst, violence, death, language, light smut, mentions of substance abuse)

Summary: When Sam died the first time, Dean brought him back to life. He didn't tell me about the deal he made with that demon until Sam forced him to tell me. We all knew that Dean only had one year left to live, and we all tried to prevent that from happening. The second time he died, Sam was attacked by a demon close to Lilith and fought against it. he lost. one year after his mysterious death odd things start to happen, and I realized things are not quite as they seem.

Authors Note: this story takes place post season 3(with the exceptional flashbacks to the past), difference being Sam died and Dean never went to hell. we experience the story through the eyes a female hunter who went to Stanford with Sam and joined Sam and Dean in their revenge quest after jess’s death. she is Deans girlfriend but there are things happening with Sam as well.

Chapter 2

When I opened my eyes, Dean's face was no longer in front of mine.

I turned and looked at the time. half past six in the morning. It wasn't strange for Dean to wake up before me, but it was strange today.

The fifteenth of December. Today.

I took a deep breath and sat up. My skin shivered and crawled. It was extremely cold, even for winter, but maybe that's just me.

I went downstairs to find Dean in the kitchen, his face buried in a cup of coffee with his back hunched forward. I approached him and laid my hands on his shoulders, leaning him back into a hug.

"Hey," I said in his ear. Dean put his free hand on mine, and held it. I could smell his breath, and it smelled strongly of whiskey. I guessed Dean added a spike to his coffee.

We stayed like that for a few moments and then I let go of him to go and make my own coffee. Without whiskey.

"Why are you up so early?" I asked. Although I guessed why. Dean was silent for a few seconds.

"He's dead." he said huskily. "He's been dead for a year."

I did my best to ignore the suffocating lump that settled in my throat and refused to let me breathe, and I didn't let the tears come out. I need to be strong for Dean. I finished making the coffee and sat in the chair next to him. He was still looking at the bottom of his glass, as if he would find solace there.

"And that fucking demon's still walking around, Dee." he added, burying his head in his hands.

"Which means it's time to call it quits." I said and I was right. Dean has been obsessed with finding this demon for a year now and he hasn't even come across a clue.

"Never." He said and finally looked at me with a stern look. His eyes were full of tears but none of them escaped. "I'd rather die."

"Maybe that's really what will happen in the end."

He started to raise his voice. "My brother is dead! That fucking demon killed him! And I'm supposed to just do nothing?"

I lowered my gaze to avoid his angry eyes, biting on the inside of my cheek. I would usually glare at him until he realized he needed to lower his voice. Not this time.

"I will avenge my brother's blood, my blood..." he said in a quiet voice, with a dark glint in his eyes. "Even if it's the last thing I do."

"It's bad for you, Dean. Look at yourself. You talk like—"

"I don't care. If you do, then live with it."

I leaned forward and kissed his head. He was surprised but not deterred."I live with it every day." I said in a whisper.

Bobby, Dean and I gathered together around Sam's grave at noon. The green field was gray now, and a cold wind blew across our faces as we raised a glass of whiskey to Sam's memory. There wasn't exactly a tombstone, but there was a large stone with the initials S.W engraved on it, Dean's handiwork.

Dean's necklace, the amulet Sam had given him when they were kids, was hanging there from a large screw Dean had drilled into the stone.

To be honest, I thought it was a bit humiliating. Sam was a hunter, and he deserved to be buried like one. But Dean by no means agreed to cremate his body, as if fantasizing about the day when Sam would come back to life, and need a body to return to.

"To Sam," Dean said hoarsely and a single tear fell from his glistening eyes. He raised his glass in the air.

"To Sam," Bobby and I repeated his words, the three of our cups making a 'click' noise as they touched each other.

Dean ducked down towards the grave and held the amulet between his fingers. "Don't worry, Sammy. I'm taking care of Diana. Or she's taking care of me, I don't know anymore..." He let out a sad chuckle. "All of us here miss you, man…" His voice broke as he sniffled. It was hard to watch. I tried as much as possible to detach myself from my feelings, to be present and strong for Dean, but even I couldn't stop the tears from coming. I quickly wiped them off. Sam was the glue that made us a family, united our destinies, and now he's gone.

"I will avenge you, brother." he whispered. I bent down and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. We remained silent for a few moments.

"Sam was a good hunter, and an even better man." Bobby said quietly. "He was wise, a kind soul, he cared about people, more than anyone standing here. He was our heart, our moral compass, our humanity. We miss you, son." He finished and drank all the whiskey in one big gulp.

I didn't say anything. I was not good with words, and frankly, I felt that my grief was somehow more intimate, and belonged only to me. If Sam is still up there somewhere in heaven, watching us, he knows how much I love him, and how much it hurts to live without him.

Tonight is Monday. After a hard and busy day of investigating after suspicious cases and spending too many hours in the office; I was on the bar stool in the kitchen, eating Chinese food and watching with amusement as Dean barked at someone on the phone. Bobby, I would say.

After Saturday he acted as usual, as if nothing had happened. It's always been that way. Dean is the king of repressed emotions, and I'm the queen. Really a couple of cuties, to my opinion.

My cellphone started vibrating on the table, I looked at the screen. blocked number.

I wiped my hands on my jeans and picked up my phone.

"Hello?" I said, swallowing the last bite of food. Dean spoke loudly, but I could vaguely hear breathing of the person on the other line. They didn't say a word.

"Hello?" I repeated myself again, louder and more slowly this time. Dean finally hung up, and now I could clearly hear someone breathing. But no one spoke yet. After a few seconds the person hung up.

I put the cell phone on the table and resumed eating. It didn't particularly intrigue me.

"Who was that?" Dean asked. I shrugged.

“No one.” Dean raised his eyebrow but didn't ask any further questions. He knew that if I had something to say I would say it.

"Right... anyway, I talked to Bobby. I have to go to Washington, there are complaints of interference with phone lines, and a suspicious murder case of a married couple, they both died in their bed for no apparent reason, at the same time. Could be something."

"Washington is far," I said, allowing myself a slightly whiny tone to my words.

"Yeah, and I'll probably stay there until the day after tomorrow if I don't kill something today. Try not to go crazy without me, okay?"

"I know it’s hard to believe believe I'll find a way to go two days without pizza leftovers on the couch and stinky socks on the floor, Dean Baby. But I'll try and survive." Dean chuckled and walked up to me, clinging to me from behind and kissing my neck. I closed my eyes and purred in pleasure.

"Maybe something can be done to make you feel better," he whispered into my ear.

"I've had a long day, Dean…I'm tired." I said and I knew that there was not a trace of truth in my voice.

"Well, and what better way is there to end it?" he asked, his hands traveling teasingly slow up my body and lightly squeezing my breasts. I smiled to myself and knew I couldn't stop even if I wanted to. And I didn't want to.

Dean grabbed my face with one hand and turned it towards him, trailing his kisses from my neck all the way to my lips. His lips were delicious and juicy against mine. I couldn't resist and bit his lower lip, running my tongue over it, tasting him.

I shivered as he slid his hand under my bra. His hands were cold and my nipples hardened under his touch. He caught one of them between two fingers and pinched. I let out a small, high-pitched moan of surprise. I felt him smile against my lips, and then without warning he picked me up and carried me all the way upstairs to the bed with no effort.

When we got upstairs he threw me on the bed and took off his shirt. He got on his knees on the bed and paused for a moment. I looked at his body with admiration, at the big shoulders, covered with freckles, at all the scars that adorned him and told his story. Dean was beautiful.

He gave me a dazzling, loving smile, and I felt my heart fill with warmth that spread all over me. He lifted my legs and leaned his body over mine. Our lips met again. His breathing became heavy as he pressed his hips against my core and I could feel his bulge through his jeans. My nails dug into his skin and I pushed my hips up, increasing the friction. He slipped his hand under my back and arched it towards him, I could feel the heat radiating from his chest, and his heartbeat which started to speed up. His hands worked quickly and before I noticed my bra was already on the floor, and my shirt was next to it shortly after. Dean lowered himself towards my chest with sloppy, wet kisses. He grabbed one nipple in his mouth and gently licked and sucked it, while his other hand grabbed my second breast, massaging it. I let out a deep, long moan and ran my hand over his hair, grabbing where it was long enough to tug. I felt hot surges of arousal from all the spots on my body that Dean touched and I wanted more, thrusting my hips up in his direction in hunger.

Dean laughed in a low voice, the bass of his voice vibrating around my nipple. He positioned himself between my thighs again and looked into my eyes with a drunken, dominating look. "You want more?" he asked, moving his body over mine at a slow, maddening pace; running his fingers over my lips, letting me taste them. I nodded pleadingly. He leaned down and whispered in my ear, running his tongue all over it. I gasped. "What do you want? Say it."

"I want you to fuck me," I panted, my voice trembling with desire.

Dean growled in an animal-like sound and continued to quickly unbutton my jeans, while I unbuckled his belt. When we were both only in our underwear, and our bodies were rubbed against each other with growing hunger, I gave myself into the intoxicating feeling and let Dean have sweet, sweet control over my body.

Dean slumped off from me onto the bed, panting heavily. Apparently making me experience multiple orgasms is really an effort.

"Wow," I said, gasping for breath That's the only word I managed to get out after I was completely drained of energy. in a good way.

I turned my gaze to him and looked at him, he smiled his satisfied and tired smile, his chest rising up and down along with the rapid rate of his breathing.

I turned to him, running his fingertips back and forth on his arm, looking at him closing his eyes and smiling his goofy smile that I couldn't stop looking at.

I felt sensitive, exposed and vulnerable. Like I always feel after sex. But it was okay, because I was with Dean, and I was safe.

"I wonder what Sam would say about me being with you for so long, relatively," Dean said suddenly after long minutes of peaceful silence, looking at the white ceiling. "He always knew, me and long-term relationships don't work together."

I kept silent. Dean bringing Sam up for a conversation was a very rare occurrence. He smiled a little sadly. "He would probably ask how is it that put up with me for so long."

I hoped that wasn't a question Dean was asking himself. But I knew there was such a possibility.

"You're not that bad," I replied with a smile. He chuckled briefly and fell back into his thoughts. I turned his face to mine with my hand. I wanted so badly to get into his head for five minutes and know what was going on there.But more than that, I wanted to wipe that tormented expression off his face.

"Dean, I love you. So much."

He smiled warmly, small crinkles appeared at the sides of his eyes "Thank goodness for that." He caressed my cheek, and I melted into his touch, closing my eyes. "I love you too Dee. You’re my girl."

He kissed me one last time, then got up to take a shower, get dressed and drive to Washington.

#spn fanfic #dean x reader #supernatural fanfiction #winchester fic #female hunter #sam x reader #longshot

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