#or being unable to take a trip... it's actually a nightmare for me

[satoruxx]

you're sweating when you wake up, skin sticking painfully to your bedsheets as your bleary eyes dart around, attempting to make focus of your surroundings. the room is still dark, barely touched by the slight bit of moonlight that attempts to peak through the closed windows—defiant. it takes a minute to realize that the sounds that are breaking the silence are actually coming from your own throat—breathy, wheezing gasps of terror.

your stomach drops when your fingers grip cold and empty fabric. he's gone he's gone he's go—

"what are you doing up, pretty?"

your head snaps to the doorway. satoru stands there, sweats hanging low on his hips even as his hand remains curled around a glass of water. his hair is tousled with sleep, but his cerulean eyes are sharp and lively.

as soon as he sees the panic lacing your expression, his eyes widen, long legs practically tripping over themselves as he stumbles towards you.

"what happened?" he asks sharply, frantically placing the cup on the bedside table to take your face into his palms. shades of blue dart back and forth across your features as he perches one knee on the mattress and peers down at you. "are you okay?"

his touch sends electricity through your veins—a splash of ice water pulling you away from that painful reverie.

your heart both clenches and soars, the idea of what you saw being terrifying, and yet finding out it wasn't true being that much more relieving.

"i just—" your voice comes out choked, and satoru's fingers twitch against your skin imperceptibly. "had a bad dream."

you think your brain must be cruel for conjuring up a dream in which satoru could suffer to such abhorrent extents.

"oh sweets." satoru's sigh is sympathetically soft, thumb brushing over the apple of your cheek just barely. "it was just a nightmare."

"i know," you swallow, voice shaking. there's an uncharacteristic wetness pooling at your waterline. "i-it just felt so real."

"baby..." satoru immediately pulls you against the steady planes of his chest, thick arms snaking around your waist to eliminate any measly amount of distance between you two. you prop your chin on his shoulder, sighing as you feel his snowy hair tickling at your cheek.

"it wasn't real, sweetheart," he says, pulling back just slightly to push a piece of hair from your face. his thumb then drags under your eyes, wiping away the unshed tears. "see. you're here, i'm here. everything's all good."

"yeah." you're nodding, unable to take your eyes off of him because he's real and alive and so breathtakingly perfect. "yeah, you're right."

he gives you a lopsided smile, eyes bright and glowing. "i don't like to brag, but i usually am."

you snort out a laugh, missing the way his expression turns pleased at the sound. "hilarious. you love to brag."

"you got me there," he shrugs, grinning as you stick your tongue out at him. the lighthearted banter solidifies the fact that satoru is fine and unharmed and completely yours, but you can still feel the apprehension coursing through your veins. chills run up your spine—you try not to show it.

but of course, satoru has always been able to see right through you.

his teasing smile goes soft, and he inhales deeply.

"was it about me?" he asks, climbing into bed next you. you lay back down carefully.

"yeah," you mumble, watching him tug the blankets over your body and tuck you both under a cocoon of warmth.

"hm." something in his tone tells you he's not unfamiliar with the feelings you seem to be experiencing—his body shifts closer to yours. ocean eyes carefully asses you, deep and calculating and so concerned even as he smoothes a warm palm over your shoulder blades. "wanna tell me what happened?"

the truth is you do want to, because satoru has always understood you better than you've ever understood yourself—you have no doubt he'd be able to comfort you just as well as he normally does.

and yet...

"no," you answer, pressing your nose into his neck. a deep breath in, the lively scent that is so inherently your gojo satoru filling your very soul. "it's okay. i think i'll be fine."

when you shut your eyes, images flash behind them—of bloodied bodies and stitches and swapped souls. yet a chaste kiss to your forehead pulls you back to where you're supposed to be, warm and grounding.

"i know you'll be fine," satoru murmurs, lips tickling your brow as he speaks. you think you can hear the gentle smile as he says it, and your grip on him tightens—never letting go. "i'm right here after all."

[milliesaxe]

blitz saying he does NOT want to fuck after ozzie’s might be my favorite blitz moment in the whole show because this is a man whose relationship with sex is… kind of a mess.

he uses it as currency a lot, which could, in theory, be fine, except he’s been shown to be terrible at casual and transactional sex? some of his greatest hits feature him self-destructing at bee’s party, fucking chaz as an emotional replacement for heartfelt communication and closeness to m&m (and he looks frankly terrible and disconnected right after), or agreeing to sleep with stolas for access to the grimoire. and we all know blitz and stolas are idiots who become emotionally compromised by each other almost immediately after a single night of sex.

the most successful of these ventures (trying to get the bouncer at ozzie’s to let him in or playing along with striker’s seduction in the harvest moon festival) never actually move past flirting and into sex.

blitz thinks of sex as a ‘safe’ thing in comparison to emotional vulnerability. it’s something he’s good at the way he’s good at shooting guns. because of this, he turns every single non-familial relationship in his life towards sex. he can hug fizz after they make up but right on the heels of that he’s breaking the moment with ‘can we make out right now?’ it takes a drug induced nightmare trip before he can talk to moxxie about how much he appreciates him… wouldn’t it be so much easier to just be a voyeur of m&m’s sex life?

isn’t that closeness if he pretends hard enough, the kind of closeness that comes without all the awfulness being vulnerable with another person could potentially bring?

reaching his breaking point—which he wouldn’t have without the ghosts of relationships’ past (fizz, verosika) coming out of the woodwork to slam him and this being witnessed by stolas (current non-relationship relationship)—is him being unable to hold the defensive shell he carries around himself one iota longer. Dropping it means being able to look someone he cares about in the eye and saying ‘sex is not enough on its own for me. sex, in this way, might actually be damaging for me.’

not necessarily pertinent to the point of this post, but: the someone he tells this to listens. there is a positive outcome for blitz when he does engage in the act of emotional vulnerability that he’s been so successful in avoiding with, well, sex. it’s also very clear that stolas understands him better after he opens up this way.

[leahsgf]

Lottie/Nat x reader, some hurt comfort, reader has a nightmare while they’re still in the wild and is scared about being the next victim and they just hold and reassure her

let us take care of you

pairings. lottienat x reader

warnings. mentions of blood and knives

not proof read! i’ll read over it tomorrow so i’m sorry if it’s bad..i need to be taken care of by them immediately actually.

-

you felt them more than you saw them, the sound of their howls echoing, bouncing off the trees that surrounded you and breezing past you with a gust of wind.

your legs and chest burned, unable to physically hold your weight as you hurled yourself forwards and across the ice, refusing to let yourself hear the ever so slight cracking underneath you, your movements not letting up even for a second.

it plagued your mind. the card. the feeling of the sheer cold belonging to the blade of shauna’s knife, pressed against the flesh of your neck, blood threatening to trickle in its path. the burn of your tears against your cheeks as they spilled, your eyes flickering to the group around you, each one of them motionless. not one attempt at a fight or a pushback. this was a well rehearsed routine by now, you either chose to run, or accepted your fate. the pit of your stomach held the weight of bricks, as your mind argued with itself, debating what to do.

until there was no time to decide.

you thrashed desperately as a hand held you by the shoulder from behind, stilling you in preparation for your end, as you choked on your sobs, silently pleading that someone, or something would put a stop to this and realise just how crazy this all was.

you broke free of the butcher’s grasp, a hoarsely screamed “no” escaping your lips as you took off out of the cabin, trees enveloping you as you threw yourself further. despite the fact you had always been the fastest on the team, you knew they would catch you. it was your inevitable, the wilderness always got what it wanted.

the taunts of your name caught up with you, startling you, leading you to trip on the ice, plummeting into it, and splitting your knee open in a way that hauntingly reminded you of allie’s leg. your screams became ear-splittingly loud as your once team mates surrounded you, bearing their weapons with almost smirks drawled across their features.

shauna gripped your neck aggressively, crouching down to you with almost a growl, enjoying every second of pressing her knife against your skin once more as the others chanted your name on repeat, like a mantra.

“y/n. y/n. y/n. y/n.”

tears streamed down your cheeks, accepting your fate as the pressure built against your throat.

“y/n!”

you jolted and sat up, finding yourself practically weeping as your surroundings suddenly flashed before your eyes and changed, finding yourself sat up in bed.

you were still stranded, that much was true. but instead you were in the cabin, surrounded by complete darkness and the only eyes on you belonging to your now incredibly concerned girlfriends.

your face pressed into your hands as you let your emotions completely take over.

“hey. hi baby. look at me, okay? look at me. you’re okay. it wasn’t real. we won’t let anything happen to you. come here.” lottie gently pried your hands away from your face, and pulled you down into her arms, whilst caressing your tear stained cheeks, and rocking you ever so slightly.

she held her hand on your heart, encouraging you to follow her breathing, the softness of her fingers grounding you, and bringing you back to reality in the way she always somehow managed to.

you felt nat inch closer to you, pulling the corners of the blanket to surround the three of you, before moving your hair out of your face and pressing her lips to your forehead, letting her lips linger.

guilt began to creep up on you as a quietness settled between the three of you.

this wasn’t the first time that this had happened. it was becoming a regular occurrence, every night since the hunts began.

they didn’t deserve to constantly be disturbed by you, everyone out here had more than enough going on without having to put up with your nightmares.

but they did, every time. even though you all knew the promises made weren’t ones that could be kept forever, they still made them. and you allowed yourself to believe them.

you had to.

“let us take care of you.”

[sparrowrye]

Demi Demon || Alastor x Reader, part 23

Synopsis: soulmate AU where you have the same mark on your body as your soulmate, and if your soulmate dies, you die too. Alastor needs to make sure that his soulmate is safe so he can continue his reign - whatever that takes. Though it looks like we have a couple secrets of our own.

Previous part

Part 23: the starting works

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I lowered my head so the sun didn't blind me through the brush. My nose flared as I drew in my prey's scent. They were completely unaware of my presence, unaware that their life was about to end. My claws punctured the soft earth and I leaned back on my haunches.

I sprang.

My bad leg pinched, causing me to land a hair before my prey. They jumped and zipped through the forest with a squeal. I gave chase on all fours until I was in my full dragon form. I weaved through the trees with ease as I ignored the small pains throughout my body. I wasn't fully recovered but that couldn't stop me.

My prey tripped and rolled several paces. I lunged and landed firmly on its head. I stepped back to look at the dead rabbit. It's energy faded from its body and snaked its way through my nose and into my head. I felt ready to keep running.

I laid down and sank my teeth into the soft, fuzzy flesh. The blood pooled in my mouth and oozed down the back of my throat. It wasn't nearly as good as a Demon's blood. It was thinner and had a bitter taste to it. It was like the comparison of eating bone broth to actual soup. It soothed the hunger pains but wasn't actually filling.

It had been a week after my incident. I would wake up in the middle of night craving the blood. I had dreams and nightmares about the killing, even messing with my memories from the ring fights. The nightmares were horribly gruesome and I couldn't believe that my mind was actually producing these images. I was eating limbs and sucking blood until their skin went pale. I was horrified at myself.

I mostly felt the cravings at night or early in the morning after my gruesome dreams. After the second day I was pulling out my hair and trying to suck on my own blood just to stop it. It actually hurt when I didn't have anything. It felt like my veins were being thinned and my muscles would tense until they were rock solid.

Fortunately, in my fit of furry, I had run into the forest and caught a bat between my fangs. Its blood instantly soothed the tense muscles and I felt like I could breathe again. So I made it a habit to go hunting in the mornings for small creatures like rabbits or squirrels. A single creature could suffice the hunger pains for the day until the following morning.

Husker knew what was happening. When I asked him about it, he told me that he didn't have this issue. It was something he knew Alastor had to deal with as well, hence his broadcasts and constant victims.

Another wonderful thing I get to share with him.

I asked Husker to keep my hunting a secret from Alastor. He was always making comments about my 'desires' and I wasn't about to let him know he was actually right. So Husker sat on the porch and waited for me to return every morning.

I swallowed the last of the rabbit and forced myself to feel satisfied, to no avail. I shifted into my Demon form and wiped my lips of the bitter blood. My eyes blinked back to their normal color.

****

Husker and I sat in the library with a radio on the desk. Outside was wet and cold. A rainstorm had come through from the sea and pelted the side of the house relentlessly. It knocked on the library windows, unable to get in. Husker was changing the radio stations every so often.

The broadcast about Demon-kind had aired only a few days ago. Everyone was in an uproar. Vox had used his broadcast to show them the physical difference between Slight magic, Full magic, and Demon magic. Alastor's had been more informative and gave more finite details.

Humans weren't happy. There were countless radio shows and other tv news where the reporters went back and forth about the topic. Some people were angry that they kept the truth hidden for hundreds of years, while others were angry that Demons were showing their true forms around and acting 'above them'. In my opinion, Demons always did that but people just assumed it was a personality trait.

We always kept the radio nearby to listen in. Some cities tried banning Demons and those with Full magic as a whole. Others formed groups to hunt them down but it didn't last very long. Overlords had enough manpower and magic to stop any hunting party, making others less willing to try that tactic again.

Even so, the death rate in this nation skyrocketed. From hunting parties to riots to territory battle to everything, people and Demons alike were getting killed.

This stirred up a lot of political issues too. On this part of the map, towns and cities operated much in the same way and all followed standard protocols for everything - something created long ago before the Great Collapse. Now, rules were being changed left and right without warning and proper justice wasn't so proper anymore.

According to Alastor everything was going as planned. The disruption and confusion left the Humans divided, meaning most of the Demon population was safe.

Most.

I didn't realize how many were dying, or how exactly, until I received a visit from the princess of Hell herself. She, Vaggie, Husker, and Alastor were chatting in the sitting room when I walked down the stairs. She greeted me with a hug and insisted I call her Charlie instead of princess. Fortunately, she was moving so fast that I didn't have to figure out how to return the hug. It still made me uncomfortable.

"Finally, someone who actually cares about Demon-kind," Vaggie remarked, casting a glare in Alastor's direction. He stood with his arms behind his back, like always, and his smile widened at her comment.

"Did something happen?" I asked. I was in my Human form as were Charlie and Vaggie.

"Hell is getting overrun with Demons," Charlie answered, "It was already overpopulated but now there's more and more Demons running back to escape Humans."

"The humans haven't rioted though. Sure some towns are doing it but nothing big," I said.

"It's been fairly decent from what we've heard on the radio," Husker added.

"Not in other places around the world," Vaggie said.

"Across the ocean Humans are coming together and hunting down anyone with Full magic." She looked so pained as she spoke. "Full magic Humans are being killed left and right, and Demons are running back to Hell and making it way overcrowded."

"What's uh...what's...what's your father doing?" I asked, unsure of how I was supposed to refer to him.

"He's locked in his room trying to figure out a way to handle it. Buildings are being built way high up to accommodate more people and some Overlords are straight up just killing anyone who walks in their territory."

"I don't see the problem," Alastor interjected, "Hell's Overlords surely sound like they're doing their part. I know Cannibal Town is doing well."

"That's not the point!" Charlie and I said at the same time, in different tones. Hers was more ecstatic and mine was a growl. Everyone looked between the two of us, just as shocked as we were. Niffty broke the silence as she chased a bug through the sitting room.

"What about the ring fights?" I looked to Husker. "Are those still active or are they killing the champions? They tend to be Full mages."

Husker shrugged. "I know as much as you since we threw out my phone." After my incident, Husker immediately threw his phone into the ocean. We weren't about to risk him getting to me again. Apparently, Vox was trying to use me to force Alastor not to broadcast until after Vox had done his. I discovered this was a petty rivalry.

I scratched the back of my neck. "They probably killed any children who showed signs of having Full magic. Or even the police went after some rings and just killed any and all of the fighters. That would be the easy way to go about it."

"There has to be something we can do. Demons and innocent Humans are being killed. All because of us." Charlie put both hands over her chest and looked down. Vaggie put a hand on her shoulder as comfort.

I was surprised to see the princess of Hell acting like this. I was expecting her to be just as bad, if not worse, than the likes of Alastor. Yet here she was worrying over the death of Demons and Humans. It was hard to believe she was heir to throne of Hell.

A thought came to mind. My thought. This could be the perfect opportunity to separate from Alastor, to put my plan into action. It was way earlier than I expected but I wasn't about to pass it up.

"What about...a safe haven? A sanctuary of sorts?" I offered. Everyone's eyes fell on me. Alastor pressed through my shields as his eyes narrowed. "You've already done something similar."

"You mean make another hotel?" she asked.

"More like a city. Take over a city and let the persecuted come to us. There's more space up here to expand."

"And fix the relationship between Humans and Demons since even Full mage Humans are being attacked," Vaggie said.

"Yeah...yeah that could work!" Charlie's eyes lit up and she seemed to radiate sunlight.

"Defending it would be a problem, though," Husker sipped on his alcohol. "It paints a big red target for Humans to team up against."

"That's true." Charlie started to pace.

"Fear is a great tool for controlling people's actions," Alastor said, placing a hand on my shoulder. My fingers fluttered as our energy shot through my body. I plucked his hand off my shoulder as Charlie spoke.

"That's not really what we're trying to do..."

"But it might be necessary at first," Vaggie moved her hand to Charlie's back, "as much as I don't want to agree with him." Alastor's smile widened.

"The Radio and Snake Demon aren't exactly something most people want to piss off," Husker added. My pride swelled a little.

"Would people even want to come if they knew he was involved? Would they be too scared?" I questioned, positioning myself so I could see Alastor fully in view.

"Maybe not if we really push that he won't kill anyone at the Safe Haven," Vaggie crossed her arms as she looked at him.

"I make no such promises," he laughed, "but those in the Safe Haven would be far from the top of my list."

"Where would even have it?" I asked, ignoring him, "What city would we use?"

"We could build it here," Niffty appeared behind me. She twiddled into the middle of the circle and looked up at Charlie. "We have a big ocean behind us and a big forest between here and the closest town. Easily defendable." She spoke so quickly but everyone had managed to catch it.

"She's got a point." Husker took another sip.

"We'd have to actually build it here, though. As opposed to finding a city or even one of the old abandoned ones to use instead. We'd have a framework."

"True, but it might not be nearly as defendable," Vaggie reasoned. "Are those buildings even safe? I've seen all over social media about them collapsing from how old they are. Our buildings would be knew and could stand for much longer."

I opened my mouth to counter it but Charlie beat me to it, "We'll have to work out the logistics later. I need to talk to my dad first."

She and Vaggie went to the cliff and teleported back to Hell, leaving a different scorch mark in the earth. I closed the back door and walked right into Alastor who had been standing behind me.

"What?" I demanded.

"You had a similar plan, already."

My eyes narrowed as I tried to keep my cover. He must've seen my memories when we touched earlier. "And what if I did?" I pushed past him and walked through the library.

His shadow slipped past my feet and he formed in front of me, hands resting on his cane and his body leaning forward. "You still seem to think you belong anywhere but my side."

"I'm not a tool to be used, Alastor." It felt strange using his name like that. "My lifespan just got hundreds of years added onto it. You really think I want to spend all that time with you?" My heart was racing at the confrontation.

"I think you'll find it rather hard to live without me."

I braced for something as I walked past him to the stairs. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

Without turning, he asked, "How are your cravings?"

I stopped in my tracks. His laugh made me grimace for stopping. Now he knew. Of course he would know. How long did I really think I could hide it?

"Those little animals aren't nearly as fulfilling, are they?" My ears twitched as I heard him walk up behind me. I turned to face him and he stretched a sharp claw towards my chin. "They just don't cut it. Wouldn't you agree?"

"No." I carefully pushed his hand away. "They work just fine."

He chuckled again and straightened up. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, darling. It's merely a diet."

"It's more than just that. And it is something to be ashamed of."

"What is the difference between a Human or Demon to a rabbit or squirrel?" he asked.

I fell silent. I didn't have an answer to her than that Humans and Demons were intelligent, that I had my own morals I was wrestling with already. Adding this just made things worse.

I was staring at the ground when he grabbed my chin and tilted it up towards him. The energy bounced between us again and I could tell he was getting a high from it. "You need only ask, darling, and I will provide you with what you need."

I jerked my head away, severing the contact. "I won't need it." I stormed up the stairs to my room.

"We shall see."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note:

Well well well, here ya go. I have nothing to say except I really liked writing that last part :P

[acourtofbooksandshadows]

Alliance Maker - Chapter 7

Summary: After waking up from a nightmare you decide to take a trip to the kitchen. You run into someone unexpected.

Pairing: Slow burn!Azriel x Afab!Reader

Warnings: Torture, poison, rape, swearing, knife's, whips, chains, getting sick, blood, overall men being absolutely disgusting.

Word count: 1522

Masterlist Series Masterlist

“Get off me.” The words left your mouth in a scream. You thrashed against the chains that held you. The laughs from the men surrounding you had bile rising in your throat. You jerked your head forward, snapping your teeth at the man in front of you. His fingers halted in their movement between your breasts momentarily. 

“Shut your fucking mouth before I do it for you.” His breath was atrocious as he spoke, it smelled of something rotten. His hand moved away from your skin for just a moment only for a knife to be placed within it. 

“No, get the fuck away from me.” Your voice was more frantic this time. The chains groaned as you yanked on them. The man's eyes narrowed on you. 

“Give me the lenroot.” fear struck every part of your body at the mention of the paralytic. The thought of not being able to fight against them had the bile from earlier rising again, this time it actually coming up into your mouth. But you quickly swallowed it, knowing if they saw you get sick it would only make what they were going to do to you worse. Lenroot was something they used on you frequently, it left you unable to move but still able to feel everything they did to you.

The root was brought up to your mouth but you clenched your teeth together tightly refusing to open your mouth. He tutted you quietly, before looking to his right. The same man that handed him the knife and the lenroot stepped up to you. Tears started to steadily work their way down your cheeks as he pried your mouth open. 

Then the man in front of you was shoving the root into your mouth. You gagged at the taste of it, trying desperately not to swallow it. Though you knew that just the act of your tongue touching it was enough to paralyze you for a few hours. It had happened so many times before so you knew what to expect. Your body grew slack against the iron chains around your wrists connected to the ceiling above you. 

You watched as they took turns with you. Some dragged knives along your skin, leaving small trails of blood anywhere they desired. Then some of them had their way with you. They had left you naked since they brought you here. Deciding the clothes were just too much of an inconvenience to them. That left you in a constant state of freezing. The man that shoved the lenroot into your mouth came back with a whip in hand and you knew the pain would be too much for you to handle. You were right because with the first lash against your stomach you were losing consciousness. 

You awoke with a sob, a cold sensation was weaving through your hair. A soothing touch was smoothing along your cheeks. As the tears tracked down your skin they were wiped away just as quickly. You let out a shudder at the not yet familiar feeling. Bringing a hand up to your face a black tendril wrapped around your scared skin and down to your wrist. You glanced around the room and didn’t see any more of them or the spymaster they belonged to. 

“Will you come with me to the kitchen?” You didn’t wait for a response, not that you necessarily thought they could respond. There were slippers waiting for you as you dragged your legs out of the warmth of the blankets. You stood and moved out of the room slowly. Deciding to take your time and savor the emptiness of the house. The walk to the kitchen was easy as you remembered the tour Nesta and Emerie gave you earlier. 

The shadows had both worked their way down to your hands at this point, dancing across the skin slowly. The feeling of them soothed you as your mind kept replaying the nightmare from just moments earlier. The memory was one you were desperate to forget. 

As you rounded the kitchen you were slightly startled. It seemed to be your luck to run into males in the room. But this one wasn’t at all like the red haired one before. His hazel eyes pierced through you as he took in your form. His eyes went to your hands and you winced. But as your eyes moved down to them you noticed that the shadows had wrapped around them much like the fingerless gloves you typically adorned. A smile came to rest upon your lips at the action. 

Then your eyes came back up to their owner and you gulped. You didn’t think that he would harm you. But you knew of his reputation as a fierce protector. His court and the people within it came above all else. And to him you were an unknown threat, an anomaly he was struggling to figure out. He had sent shadows out to every corner and crevice of the land and yet they came back with nothing. It worried him immensely, but with the liking his shadows had taken to you he wasn’t sure they were being truthful in their discoveries. 

He moved to the sink with the plate, cup and silverware he was just using. He grabbed a sponge and soap and started to wash them. You took the moment to take him in. He was wearing loose pajama pants much like your own. His hair was wet and you could see the drops of water slowly running down his neck and to his naked chest and torso. You took in the lines and curves and swirls of the tattoos marking his skin. Your body fought against itself. A part of you was desperate to wipe away the trail of water being left on his skin, to feel the scars you could see against your fingertips. The other part was desperate to get away from him, to flee from the doorway you were standing in and never look back. 

You shook the thoughts from your head and moved around the large island placed in the middle of the room. You didn’t miss the way Azriel tensed, readying himself for an attack that wouldn’t come. The black and gray marbled countertop was filled with different fruits and vegetables. You took a moment to decide on what you wanted and started on a cup of tea. As the water boiled you reached for an orange and started to peel it. The shadows started to help you. Pulling on the peel as you worked on the pith. 

The glass that Azriel was drying with a towel smashed in his hold as he took in the way the shadows worked with you. You and the shadows both froze in your actions. You looked from the orange to the shards on the ground then to the male that was standing above the mess. Your eyes widened as you noticed he was already looking at you. You took a hesitant step back, hand unconsciously gripping one of the knives in the knife block beside you. 

The nightmare from before flashed through your mind. Your chest started to ache as anxiety ate away at you rapidly. The angry look of the man with the whip seemed so similar to the look Azriel was giving you now. Your hands started to heat up, your fingertips throbbing as you dropped the orange. One of the shadows however caught it. The other that was against you started to work up your arm under your shirt until it was touching your face. Another one slipped away from the already seething Illyrian and swept across your hand holding the knife calmly. 

You slowly let it go, a single tear worked out of your eye and down your face as you blinked. The shadow that sat along your cheek wiped at it before it could pass your jawline. A shaky breath slipped your lips as you calmed yourself. Your hands stopped throbbing and your chest stopped aching. Azriel was looking at you curiously when you finally met his stare again. But your eyes broke away quickly when the water started to whistle. 

You made fast work of getting out two cups and making two cups of tea. You left one on the counter, looking up at Azriel for a moment. The shadow holding the orange placed it back into your empty hand. The fruit was bare of rind and pith and you gripped it loosely. You whispered a thank you to the shadow and it swept across your hand in response. Then you finally fled the kitchen. 

The three shadows stayed with you and Azriel bristled at the disrespect. But then a few of his other shadows were bringing the tea cup towards him. He waved them away but they insisted on him taking a drink. When he finally brought the peace offering up to his lips he was blown away. The tea was made the exact way he liked it, down to the amount of sugar and the spoonful of honey. He almost choked as the thought settled in his head.

A/N: I hope you guys liked this part! I was so happy to finally write an official interaction between Az and Reader! I'll be posting the next part next week! As always likes, follows, reblogs and comments are much appreciated.

Tags(open): @wolfsbane44 @moonlwghts @maddietheshoe @hyemishii @fanboyluvr @kmc1989 @acourtofinkandpapyrus @luvmoo

[crystalsnow95z]

A sequel to the story above. Unlike my other works i made a sequal to, these must be read in order to fully make sense.

Tw: vomit, fever, anxiety and dream based blood.

A short recap is Yoongi, Jimin, and Taehyung got into a small accident, the worst physical injury being a broken leg on Taehyung. Mentally though, Yoongi was shaken to his core, unable to sleep without being haunted by nightmares, the combination of physical and mental stress making him fall ill. The beginning is the original ending I cut from part 1, so it ties together nicely.

It worked.. Yoongi is asleep in my room.. I'll need some fever reducers..

Taehyung messages the group chat as soon as he sees the slow rise and fall of Yoongi's chest, curled up against his side.

You actually got him to sleep in your room? He actually fell for your acting?

Jimin texts back in surprise.

Hey, I'm not a bad actor! 😤

Taehyung texts back teasingly.

I didn't mean it like that, Tae, I meant Yoongi is usually able to tell the difference.

Jimin defends himself.

I know what you meant, Minnie.

Taehyung quickly puts his phone down when he feels Yoongi squeeze him, breathing in sharply when he feels the pain of his sore abdomen. "Hyung..." He strokes his hair. "It's okay.." Taehyung whispers. "All is well.."

Yoongi relaxes again when he feels Taehyung’s hand running through his hair, reminding him he isn't alone. He doesn't open his eyes despite being woken up by his own dark thoughts, enjoying the comforting touch of the young vocalist.

"We'll figure this out together.." Taehyung continues to whisper encouraging words, running his hand lightly down Yoongi's back, lulling him back to sleep once more.

Jin enters the room as quietly as possible, bringing a tray with him. "Is he asleep?"

Taehyung nods slightly, afraid if he even whispers back Yoongi would wake up, and it took a good hour for him to actually fall in a deep sleep.

"I brought you and Yoongi something to eat and some medicine and tea." Jin informs him but already knows his response. No matter how hungry Taehyung was, he wasn't going to move an inch until Yoongi woke up on his own.

As he predicted, Taehyung shakes his head again, motioning at the deagu rapper laying on his chest.

"You haven't eaten since the hospital Tae you need to eat.." Jin scolds him softly.

"Later." Taehyung mouths the word, but his stomach doesn't agree with him, letting out a gurgle. Taehyung clasps his hand over it, cursing to himself when he feels Yoongi moving too.

"I'm sorry hyung.." Taehyung bows his head when his eyes meet Yoongi's sleepy gaze

Yoongi looks around the room, noticing Jin standing there, blinking slowly as he processes that there was another person in the room. "Hyung..?"

"Good morning Yoongi, I made everyone breakfast. Are you hungry?" Jin asks, placing his hand on Yoongi's forehead. "You're feeling hot.."

"Not really.. but I'll try." Yoongi knew if he didn't, they'd only worry more. Yoongi sits up, reaching out for the food.

"Don't force yourself if it makes you feel worse, Yoongi." Jin warns, placing the tray down. Taehyung picks up one of the bowls eating quickly. Yoongi, on the other hand, eats slowly trying to keep himself from getting sick.

He only gets a quarter way through before his stomach churns uncomfortably, burping as quietly as possible, lips pierced shut as the rice tries to come back up. "I'm full.." Yoongi mumbles as he pushes the tray as far away as possible.

"That's okay. Do you think you could swallow some medicine for hyung? Oh.. Jungkook" Jin asks, motioning for Jungkook, who's looming in the doorway, seeing the smell of the food was making Yoongi feel worse."Make yourself useful and take this for me."

Jungkook enters the room, feeling embarrassed to be caught, taking the tray. "Okay." He takes the tray, looking over Yoongi quickly before leaving.

I got everyone worried anyway..

Yoongi sighs, taking the medicine Jin gives him, forcing himself not to cough. "Ugh, it tastes awful.."

"I'm sorry, Yoon. I brought some tea. It should help wash out the taste." Jin hands Yoongi the tea.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Vom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoongi's hands were shaky, Jin not letting go of the cup to help him steady it. The warmth felt nice at first, but as soon as it went farther than his throat, he felt it trying to rise up again. "Hyung I-" A wet burp cut him off, his mouth filling up with sick, cheeks puffing out.

Taehyung wraps his arms around Yoongi to hold him up when he sees him doubling over in pain. "Just one second, Hyung will get it.."

Jin quickly finds the waste bin, putting it in Yoongi's lap just in time for the next heave. "It's okay, it's okay.. just let it out, baby.."

Yoongi's small frame trembled as his shoulders tensed up, gripping the bin tightly as more sick came up. "Fu*k..." he swears under his breath, eyes watering. Each heave hurt more than the last, his body not relenting until there was nothing left.

"Breathe Yoon, you have to breathe.." Jin scratches lightly across Yoongi's back.

"I..i..can't..." Yoongi says between dry heaves.

"Yes, you can.. I know you can. Please try for me?" Jin gently encourages him.

Yoongi closes his eyes, taking shaky gasps for air.

"That's it, good.." Seokjin praises him, relaxing when the heaves die down, leaving him just breathing heavily. "Are you finished now?"

Yoongi nods, releasing his grip from the bin. "Sorry.."

"You don't have to be sorry. You can't help it if you're sick. Hyung will take care of it, okay?" Jin takes the bin out of the room to switch the bag.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoongi lays his head on Taehyung's shoulder. "I came..in here to...try to make you...feel better but it..it looks like...I'm just making it..worse.." Yoongi says softly, still trying to catch his breath.

"It's okay, Hyungie. I still feel comforted by you being here with me." Taehyung smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. Yoongi didn't gain his color back..

Yoongi rests his head on the younger, trying to catch his breath and calm his racing heart.

"My poor Hyungie.." Taehyung runs his hand through Yoongi's sweaty hair. "Don't worry about anything right now, just focus on getting better.." he whispers when he realizes the olders' breath slowing as he drifts to sleep.

"I-" Jungkook covers his mouth when he sees Taehyung put his finger to his lips, noticing the deagu rapper was curled up on his side asleep.

"We just wanted to check up on him." Jungkook barely breathes the words out, his heart growing heavy when a cough comes from his hyung. Jimin, who was right behind him, peers over Jungkook's shoulder to get a look.

"He's really not feeling well.."Jimin whispers sympathically.

Taehyung shoos them away with one look, threatening them with his eyes even though he knew he could hardly do anything. Not with only one good leg.

The boys still took his warning seriously, leaving the room to talk to the others.

"That was fast. Did Yoongi not want company?" Namjoon asks when he notices the two boys sit on the couch.

"He's asleep. Taehyungie kicked us out.." Jimin says with a pout. "Do you think we should take him to the doctor?"

"I think he's still pretty traumatized by carrides. I don't want to stress him out if I can help it. We'll try taking care of him ourselves for now." Seokjin replies, feeling both relieved and worried to hear he's already fallen asleep.

"I'll go to the store to get some supplies then." Jimin jumps to his feet.

"I'll go with you. Hyung, what should we get? Some ginger tea, some cooling strips, more medicine, some rice?" Jungkook makes a mental list. "Some tangerines might cheer him up."

"Good idea." Jimin goes to his room to get ready, choosing a plain white long sleeved shirt, a black bucket hat, and face mask. Jungkook chose a similar fashion, quickly wrapping his tattooed hand up to try to conceal his identity.

"Ready, Jiminie-hyung." Jungkook quickly slides on his shoes.

"Be careful not to draw any attention to yourselves." Namjoon warns.

"We won't. With news of the accident out, they won't expect me to be out in public." Jimin takes Jungkook's hand so they won't get separated.

"Hey Hyungie?" Jungkook looks at Jimin from underneath hid bucket hat.

"What is it Koo?"

"Do you think Yoongi-hyungie is just stressed out? He got sick so suddenly without warning.." Jungkook asks softly.

"I don't know.. he could've caught something from the hospital, too. We just have to give it time. I want to talk to Taetae to find out what he knows after Yoongi leaves his room." Jimin walks closer to Jungkook when they leave the neighborhood, not wanting to get separated.

"I'll see if he'll answer my text!" Jungkook quickly takes out his phone.

Taehyungie-hyungie are you able to talk?

"You're being really impatient.." Jimin scolds him playfully.

"I'm just really worried about Yoongi.." Jungkook looks down at his feet.

"I know Gukkie, I am too. But we'll get him feeling better and Taehyungie got him sleeping. That's the most important thing for him right now." Jimin tries to quell the mankae's anxieties, going into the nearest store."Maybe we should buy snacks for everyone to try to lighten the mood."

"Okay." Jungkook brightens up a bit at the idea of cheating on his diet. "I'm going to see if they have the chips I like."

"Don't talk inside the store Koo, we don't want anyone recognizing your voice." Jimin whispered by his ear.

Jungkook nods, separating from Jimin so they can get shopping done quickly.

~~~~~~~~~~~tw bloody dream~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yoongi.. help..me..."

Yoongi was stuck in the passenger seat, pinned in place by the airbag that didn't deflate. Jungkook was in the driver's seat, the car completely smashed in on his side, shards of glass from the wind shield covering his face. His neck was bent at an unnatural angle, his face twisting in pain every time he tried to move it.

Yoongi unbuckled his seat belt, forcing himself to slide sideways out of the seat, desperately trying to reach the crying mankae. "I'm here Jungguk, I'll..call..call for help." Yoongi reaches for his phone in his pocket, but the screen was completely destroyed, getting glass in his fingers trying to make it work. "Sh*t..f*ck...Fu*k!!"

I have to calm down, I need to calm down..I need to do what I can.. someone else will call..it's fine.

Yoongi takes deep breaths ignoring the pain in his ribs as looks over Jungkook,noticing the blood soaking his jeans, his blood running cold. "I'll stop the bleeding..okay Kook..its okay"

I have no idea where the blood is coming from..

Yoongi felt tears swelling up, feeling utterly helpless unable to even believe his own words. Why should Jungkook? I have to do something or he won't make it..

"Jungkook... where does it hurt...?" Yoongi forces his breath to keep steady, but his words made his breath catch in his throat, choking him from his own sorrow.

"Hyungie.. i..I can..can't feel my..my..l..legs.." Jungkook sobs, gripping his thigh as tightly as possible. "I can't..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Junggukkie, no!!" Yoongi bolts upright, waking himself up with his own scream. He coughs, fighting to fill his breath with lungs as his body trembles.

"Yoongi, Hyungie its okay, it's okay. It's only a dream.." Taehyung pulls him close, stroking Yoongi's long black hair. "Breathe.. please?"

Yoongi tries to catch his breath, but the memory of Jungkook's words still rang in his ears, along with the despair that overtook him.

"J..Ju..jungk.." Yoongi couldn't even get his name out, his breath coming out in hiccupy gasps as tears streaked down his cheeks.

"It's okay, it's okay.. he's fine Hyungie, he's fine. I'll get him for you." Taehyung reaches for his phone, calling the mankae.

Jungkook picks up right away whispering into the phone. "Hyung? I'm out in public right-" He stops talking when he hears Yoongi's gasping breaths. "Is that Yoongi?"

"Come here now. Hyung needs to see you." Taehyung tells him urgently. "Please hurry."

Jungkook starts to run, pulling Jimin along with him making the older boy trip on his own foot.

"Jungkook-Ah what's wrong?" Jimin whines struggling to keep up with Jungkook's pace.

"Yoongi needs me home, we have to get there!" Jungkook says already feeling his lungs burning pushing his body past his limitations. "It's just another few blocks..'

Jimin nods, enduring the fast pace, not slowing down until they make it inside, collapsing in the doorway while Jungkook continues his journey into Taehyung’s bedroom, crawling into the bed next to Yoongi.

"Hyung I'm..I'm..here.." Jungkook panted. "Its..its okay.."

"Jungkook-ah.." Yoongi sniffles, wrapping his body around the Mankae. "Ar..are..y..yo..you okay?"

"I..I had to run...run here because we..we were out..my legs hurt and..and my..." Jungkook pants, unable to catch his breath.

"Your..your legs h..h..hurt?" Yoongi grabs onto Jungkooks thigh, pinching it.

"Ah! Hyung wh..what was that for?" Jungkook takes Yoongi's hand.

Yoongi takes a deep breath. "N..nothing..don't w..Worry.." he buries his face in Jungkook's chest finding comfort in his accelerated heart beat.

Jungkook runs his hand down Yoongi's back, holding him close. "I'm worried..about..you Hyung.. what happened?"

"I'm sorry..." Yoongi mumbles into his chest. "It's nothing..just a dream.."

"A dream? About me? What kind of dream?" Jungkook pushes for answers, but Yoongi only clings harder, his breathe hitching up again.

"Jungkook, quiet please." Taehyung begs softly.

"I'm sorry..I'm sorry.." Jungkook hugs Yoongi close, his heart twinging with guilt for letting his curiosity get to him. "You don't have to talk about it."

Jungkook and Taehyung speak sweet nothings to Yoongi until his breath slows and his shaking stops. Feeling the gentle shaking of Jungkook's leg helping to ease the clinging nightmare.

He's fine..

"Hyungie do you think you can drink something?" Jungkook asks gently when he feels Yoongi pick up his head.

Yoongi nods, letting go of Jungkook so he could leave the room to get the mineral water he bought.

"I..I need help.."Yoongi whispers to Taehyung.

"Help? Help with what Hyung? I can ask the others."

Yoongi shakes his head. "No..No I need..professional help.. I can't stop having nightmares.."

"I'll call the company. We can figure this out together." Taehyung brushes Yoongi's hair out of his face, sending a text to the group chat.

Yoongi wants to see a psychiatrist..

[letters-from-the-4077]

2x06: Kim

Dear Dad,

There are very few things in Korea that I could ever consider missing. Ironically, those few things are probably the only ones that aren’t going to come back to haunt me in nightmares for the rest of my life. 

We see bloodshed and dying kids and shrapnel on the good days, and send off boys with white sheets over their heads on the bad days. Or we would, if the army could afford to lose a few sheets. More often than not, the deceased go away on the same buses filled with the guys that managed to make it out.

Thousands of Korean civilians are getting caught up in this war. This Police Action. Which you’d think would make sense seeing as how it’s taking place in Korea, but nobody’s fooled by that. This isn’t a Korean War so much as it is a war taking place in Korea by chance. Sorry, Police Action. It gets me every time, you know that?

My point is, there’s very little to look forward to. Your letters are one of them, and the supply closet with rotating guests after an OR session is another. Especially now that I’ve managed to consistently sleep again. Consistent is a strong word, actually, but that’s neither here nor there.

I write to you today with almost good news! What a first, right? I can bet you that you weren’t expecting that one. So rarely is there a day that the sun actually feels like it’s shining down in a way that isn’t gunning to give us all horrendous sunburns. Even less so when children are involved, but for once, someone seemed to have taken pity on us for more than a single minute.

A kid came in, no older than eight years old, orphaned, ill, and unable to speak a lick of English. Now now, stick with me, I assure you this isn’t going to be as grim as it sounds. At first we tried to get Henry to track down his parents, and then Radar because we all know that kid’s got some uncanny power to find these things out, but nada. We came out blank.

Again, stick with me.

First of all, this kid was probably the most spoiled one in all of Korea for as long as we had him. The nurses adored him, and hell, even Margaret cooled down that fiery breath of her and showed her maternal side. Frank wasn’t quite as much of an imbecile as he always manages to be, and it’s like every single person in this whole damn camp knew that this kid was the most important thing in the world.

Kim, by the way. I realize I haven’t actually told you his name. A kid named Kim. But it’s not like we’re set up for keeping a kid at the 4077th, and we certainly aren’t authorized for it, so after we couldn't find his parents, the orphanage was the next on the list.

Which is just plain shit. It’s shit, dad. 

And clearly I was not the only one who felt that way, ’cause Trap barely hesitated a second before admitting that he’d like nothing more than to take Kim home and raise him with his daughters. As much as that guy hates being sincere—almost as much as I do—you could just tell he meant it.

Trapper’s a good dad. Not as good as you, don’t start getting insecure on me, but he’s a good dad. Stuck in a place about 9000 miles away from his girls, and yet he still manages to be paternalistic like he never left. It’s the kind of guy that a girl would love to settle down with, you know? 

Anyway, it all went by so fast. Confirmation from Louise (that’s his wife, I’m fairly sure I’ve told you about her before), excitement all around. 

For just a couple of moments, it actually seemed like something good could’ve come out of this war. No no, police action. I’ll get myself there, yet.

Of course, this damn place turns everything rotten in some way or another. Optimism, I’ve found it, is more of an enemy than the guys shooting at us. At least we always know what to expect from the North Koreans. 

That’s not to say it was all fun and dandy. There was a certain trip to a minefield that I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to forget, and if the past two nights have been any indication, I’m sure the nightmares of Trap’s limbs landing on my table aren’t going away any time soon either.

But things were supposed to work out.

Trap and Kim were safe in the end, and everything was supposed to fucking work out. It all was. It actually seemed like it was going to, and I think that’s the worst fucking part about it all.

It’s crazy just how quickly something good can be taken away from you. For a lot of people out here it’s their lives, their brothers, their sons. In this unit specifically, it’d take both of my hands to list the number of daughters that fathers have had to leave behind.

You could snap your fingers and in a fraction of the time for the sound to reach your ears, you could lose everything. Korea keeps humbling us, dad.

And even though I know it could’ve ended so much worse, it still feels like a punch in the gut for Kim to not be on a plane to Trap’s family. Finding Kim’s mother was nothing short of a miracle. It’s a goddamn happy ending if there’s ever been one, and yet I still find myself, selfishly, thinking about the McIntyre’s having a third kiddo running around.

How could such a crummy place give us so much hope? More importantly, how come we keep falling for it? Sometimes I think that’s the most cruel part of it of all.

I’m sorry if I was ever a difficult kid to raise. I’ve always known I got lucky, even with the whole dead mom thing, but seeing the shit out here really makes me wish I could go back in time and slap myself and tell me to appreciate every last thing in Crabapple Cove. Especially you.

I love you. I don’t think I say it enough. I love you, dad.

Hawk

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[the12thnightproject]

Chapter 50: Radiance -While waiting for the next wormhole, Shingen and Katsuko enjoy domestic fluff, birthday cake, and snowboarding… but an old video leads to an unsettling discovery.

Shingen x OC; Kenshin x MC (Mai)

Previous Chapter: Here

Logline - Disguised as a boy, Katsuko finds herself working for Shingen, but her dangerous masquerade becomes difficult to sustain when she falls for the man with a fatal secret.

With ten weeks until the next wormhole opened, modern Japan ended up being kind of a vacation for Shingen and I. Rather than join Sasuke in Kyoto, we elected to stay in Nagano since it was more or less home turf for both of us. Thanks to Aki’s generosity (I considered it an employee bonus and figured I had earned every penny – especially since he hadn’t ever paid me an actual salary), I had more than enough money to rent a decent furnished apartment for a few months.

Before the winter kicked in, we rented a motorcycle several times and toured through the countryside, riding down to the Yamanashi Prefecture, formerly Kai. After some discussion, we elected not to visit the Tsutsujigasaki historic site – it would be too strange and jarring. “When we go to Tsutusjigasaki Castle,” he told me, “it will be as it was, so I can introduce you to its people.”

In return, I showed him all of my old kid haunts – not that there were that many – and my favorite places to hike and climb. And of course, Shingen being Shingen, we created our own tour of Teahouses and bakeries around the city.

Sasuke came up from Kyoto every other week, mostly to hang out, but also to report what was going on with the wormhole and his investigation into the mystery of Aki. The latter was unfortunately stalled due to his parents having taken a sabbatical trip through China – they’d rented their house out to a businessman from India.

On my own, I was doing similar research on my old mentor, but to no one’s surprise, he kept an extremely low internet footprint. Nothing like putting your primary residence 450 years in the past to help you stay off the grid. Similarly, though I haunted the library and archive sites, I was unable to find a lead on “Hikosane.” If he had done something important during his lifetime, it wasn’t in the historical record.

The first weekend in December, Sasuke came up and took Shingen out for a man-bonding afternoon. That was how Sasuke described it. I described it as “get him out of the house so I can bake him a birthday cake.” The birthday meal itself, I would trust to delivery, but I wanted to at least make him something sweet.

Cooking and baking were not activities I had done a much of after my mother died, but prior to that, I’d been the primary cook, not just for meals but also desserts. I had gone through a phase where I baked the most decadent things I could find, hoping to tempt her to – Ah… maybe that was why I wasn’t a huge fan of sweets now? I jotted that down in a notebook my therapist was having me keep. I had decided to see a therapist for my claustrophobia and nightmares. They were never as bad when I was with Shingen, but I felt it wasn’t his job to deal with my mental health – I needed to take responsibility for that. Obviously, there wasn’t a lot I could accomplish before we headed back through the wormhole in the Spring (I told my therapist I was moving to Vancouver) but I hoped to at least have the tools I needed to keep moving forward.

I checked the temperature of the cake layers that were cooling on wire racks. Online, I’d found what looked like (per the number of stars the recipe had) an extremely decadent recipe for chocolate and strawberry cake. While I might never win any cake decorating contests, I was confident the cake would at least taste good. Just as I finished mixing up the buttercream frosting, Shingen and Sasuke came through the door, stomping snow off their boots.

“Sorry to bring him back early – the snow’s getting fairly deep.” Sasuke hates driving in snow. For that matter, Shingen’s not terribly fond of being a passenger when Sasuke is driving, so I ought to have expected an early return.

“No worries.” I’d been listening to the weather reports. Deep snow tonight meant this weekend I could finally take them snowboarding – an excursion that we’d planned for as soon as the weather cooperated.

“What’s all this?” Shingen eyed the cake and the bowl of frosting with the intent interest of a sugar fiend who’d been held hostage in a health spa for a decade. “If it tastes as good as it smells, then I’d say we’ve gotten back right on time.”

“I hope that wasn’t supposed to be a surprise.” Sasuke headed to the coffee machine that we kept out just for him, as neither Shingen nor I had ever developed a taste for it (though Shingen did have a fondness for those fancy caramel mocha lattes they sold at the chain coffee shop – go figure).

“No, it was to prevent… that.” Shingen had grabbed the bowl of frosting and a spoon. I took the bowl away. “That goes on the cake,” I said. He gave me an adorable little boy frown. I leaned closer and said to him quietly. “If there’s any leftover after that, we can have it later… I’ll take the role of the cake.”

Shingen had been stealthily reaching the spoon for a raid on the frosting, but upon hearing that hastily aborted the mission. I ran my finger along the edge of the bowl, scooping up a small amount of frosting on it, and held it out to him. “Will this hold you for a while?”

He sucked my finger into his mouth and licked away the frosting. “For dessert, yes. For you, my sweet Devil, not even close.” He backed me into the counter and dipped me into a kiss. He tasted of chocolate and snow and promises.

“Not a full wall, so I suppose that’s a half-kabedon,” Sasuke toasted us with his mug of coffee.

“Only the Russian judge will care.” I scooted out from under Shingen’s arms, then handed him my phone. “This cake will not frost itself. Why don’t you guys pick a place and order dinner. In this weather it could take a while to get here.”

Shingen opened up the restaurant delivery app. “Any preferences?”

“Your birthday, you pick. Just order something vegetarian for me.” I began putting the crumb coat of frosting onto the cake and pretended not to notice when Shingen stole another taste.

Sasuke rescued the cake from becoming a “naked cake” by taking Shingen into the other room to watch TV – they were working their way through the original Star Trek. I’m not sure Shingen was all that into the show, but it was fun to watch Sasuke watch it. Apparently, he and Gene Rodenberry had incompatible views on the science of space travel. Already I could hear him grumbling that spaceships didn’t need to ‘bank’ in zero gravity.

While I lost myself in the soothing rhythm of cake frosting (given the number of tiktok and youtube videos of people frosting cakes, I wasn’t the only person to appreciate the ASMR quality of cake decorating), I let my gaze wander from where I could see Shingen and Sasuke joking around in front of the tv set, to the window, where the late afternoon snow was lightly brushing against the window.

Respite.

There was that word again. Away from the stress and danger of the Sengoku, Shingen and I were cocooning in this little apartment, learning how to be together without distraction. Once we got back, we’d both have our battles to fight. I was determined to find Aki and demand an explanation, while Shingen was making plans to try to wrest Kai from Nobunaga. But until then, it was nice to have this comfort of daily living together, in order to strengthen what we’d need to face these challenges, both as individuals, and as ‘us.’

Later, after we’d finished dinner and a good portion of the birthday cake, the sugar crash hit, and we all sprawled lazily on the couch, good naturedly debating what to watch, without making any real effort to actually make a decision.

“Are you going to finish that?” Shingen indicated the remainder of the slice of cake that I hadn’t managed to eat.

Oof. Even if I thought I could move (too full), or wanted to move (too comfortable under Shingen’s arm) I didn’t want it. I’d made the cake to his tastes, not mine. “It’s about eighty percent frosting – go ahead. I’ve never liked that much sugar.”

He reached for it, then paused. “Except for the sweets from the Teahouse in Kasugayama – you liked those.”

I made a show of looking innocently at the ceiling and folding my hands penitently while Sasuke snickered quietly from his end of the couch.

Here came the forehead flick. “Really, Devil?”

“I never actually said I liked them. I simply didn’t correct your assumption that I did.” I resisted the urge to rub spot he’d just flicked. No need to encourage him.

“What am I going to do with her?” Shingen addressed Sasuke, who looked like he wanted to yeet out of the conversation completely. “She happily lies to me, steals my clothes” (oh yeah, I was wearing his shirt again), “-falls out of trees-”   

“Alright, enough about that.” I gestured to Sasuke’s tablet, which was currently wirelessly connected to our TV. “Sasuke, go to youtube.” I gave him the address of the old youtube page that Toshiie and I had put up when we were still teenagers. Hopefully after so many years, it was still there. “We’re going to settle this tree thing once and for all.”

Sasuke did that ninja typing thing again. “Password?”

“Tony_Stark1610.”

“Ironman? Really Katsuko, you need better privacy settings than that.” He brought up the page. The freerunning videos were at the top, but we were going to go further back than that.

“Shut it, Spidey I was fourteen when I created this page.” No one would have been looking for it in any case.

He sighed. “At least you didn’t use your pets’ name or your birthday.”

“Sixteen ten is her birthday,” Shingen offered.

Also, Tony Stark had been the name of my cat, but I was not going to bring that up to Sasuke. “I’ll change the password later.” I directed him to the oldest video on the page.

It had been the last time I’d ever competed in artistic gymnastics – a small local competition. My mother, who normally was my biggest supporter had been having a bad week and that morning hadn’t left her bed. Toshiie had filmed the event so she could see it later. As far as I knew, she’d never watched. I’d quit soon after that – I’d only been doing it for her to begin with, and I didn’t have the funds -or the talent - to move up to an elite level. Not that that mattered now. What was on the video would likely look more impressive than it actually was.

Shingen and Sasuke watched my fourteen-year-old self tumble and flip across the balance beam. “There will be no more talk of me falling out of trees.”

“Can you teach me some of that? It would come in handy for a moderately awesome ninja.” Sasuke had a faraway look in his eyes. Likely imagining surprising Yuki or Kenshin with new tricks.

“Ah, now I understand what you meant about training as a performer from a young age.” Shingen watched teen Katsuko slide into a full split then dismount the beam with a flourish. “Are you still that flexible, Devil?”

Nobody with breasts and hips is that flexible. I was about to reply to that one with a forehead flick of my own, when the next video began. “I had no idea he posted this – Sasuke click stop.”

It was the freerunning video from the day of the wormhole – just seeing the view of the building that I was about to ascend brought back the feelings of restlessness and anxiety from that year.

“What’s wrong?” As usual, Shingen was tuned into my emotions and he picked up my hand and held it comfortingly.

“The day we got swept into the Sengoku, Toshiie filmed this. I was just surprised that he’d had time to put it on the page.” Discovering this was like time-traveling to my younger self in an archival wormhole.

“May I watch? I’d like to get a sense of the weather conditions that day – it’s a rare opportunity to have this type of data for analysis.” Sasuke had instantly become alert, ready to flip into Weird Science Mode.

“Um, if we play this, I need to warn you in advance – I was a lot more of a daredevil back then, and my brother and I fought about what I did here.” Which was why I was surprised he’d uploaded it. Maybe to try to talk me out of taking risks.

“So noted.” Shingen didn’t actually promise not to get upset, but Sasuke had already pressed start. I resisted the urge to watch Shingen, especially when I almost fell off a three-story building, but I could feel his tension at that point, and… what was that? “Wait, Sasuke, can you play that back?”

“I really don’t want to see you almost die again.” Yeah, Shingen sounded upset and his hand was almost squeezing mine too hard.

“Don’t watch me – look beyond that… left side of the roof.” Something had distracted me that day – that was why I had nearly fallen to begin with. “There.”

“I see it!” Sasuke paused the video and pinch zoomed. “What the hell is that?”

There had been someone else on the roof – a blurry, foggy figure who then vanished into the horizon almost as if they’d unzipped the sky and climbed in. “Now I am creeped out.” There wasn’t any way to tell who – or what – that had been. “Sasuke..?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like it.” He zoomed in some more, but that just added to the blur. “Permission to send a copy of this to myself?”

It might have been Aki.

It might have been Iekane.

It might have been someone completely unknown to us.

Who the hell were these people?

In any case, tracking down and confronting Aki suddenly became a lot more important.

The snowboarding expedition was a mixed success. Sasuke’s Ninja training had come in handy, and after a few basic pointers, he had left to try out his skills on an intermediate course… or more accurately, he’d wanted to further bond with a cute tourist he’d met on the ski lift.

Shingen was athletic, but this was one of the places his height was a disadvantage. With his higher center of gravity, he’d had some trouble getting into his knees. Eventually though, he’d picked it up, and soon was swooping down the training hill. He did fall a couple more times after that, but since both times he’d managed to take me down with him, I figured those had been on purpose.

After a couple hours, he noticed I was eyeing one of the half-pipes. “If you want to do that, I’m ready for a break.”

Hm. It had been seven (or, was it eight – I was never sure how to count the unknown amount of time I’d been stuck in the wormhole) years. Could I still manage it? But with Shingen voluntarily encouraging my daredevil tendencies – why not? I gave him a quick kiss. “See you at the bottom of the hill.

In no time at all, I’d dropped in and traversed the pipe. I’d kept it simple, without trying any of the tricks I used to do, aside from simple 180 turns at the top of each wall. But the rush was still there, and I zipped to the bottom with a whoop. Flying. Me and the sky. But the bigger rush? Seeing Shingen waiting for me at the base of the hill, smiling as he watched me skid to a stop.

“I once called you a moon goddess,” he said as I disengaged from the board. “I was wrong. You’re pure sunshine – made for daylight – the most radiant being I’ve ever seen.”

I smiled up at him and took his hand. “You keep that up and you’re going to melt all the snow.”

“What time are we meeting Sasuke?” he asked, while we were waiting to return our rented equipment.

“We’re not.” I pulled a hotel key card out of my pocket. I’d already packed some luggage for both of us in order to keep this a surprise. “Sasuke took an uber back to the apartment.” Or possibly he was furthering his acquaintance with the tourist he’d met earlier. “You and I are going to that hotel over there,” I pointed to the resort attached to the snow park. “Where we can celebrate your birthday by soaking in a private hot spring.”

Later, under the clear star filled sky, Shingen lowered himself with a sigh into steaming hot water. He leaned back against the natural rock formation and gazed out on the view of Mount Kosha. “This was a good idea you had.”

“I do have them, occasionally.” The combination of the snow kissed air and the hot water felt wonderful on my skin and ok- slightly – aching muscles. “I am a little sore after that… are you?”

“Given that I am close to five hundred years old, yes. These bones aren’t what they used to be.” In opposition to his statement, he swiftly pulled me onto his lap.

“I think you’re in great shape… for your age.” I ran my hands over his chest muscles.

“I fell a little bit in love with you the moment you said that. You had this challenging glint in your eyes.” He put his finger under my chin and drew my face up to his. “Yes, just like now. You hung onto that basket of pastry and acted like an insubordinate recruit.”

“In my defense, you had just set me up to be killed – hey!” Shingen removed my wet tankini top and tossed it aside. My nipples immediately tightened in the cold air. “That is not a place I want to have icicles dripping from.”

“Can’t have that.” He fastened his lips to my breast and warmed it with his mouth and tongue. “Hold still, Devil. I want to see if I can put the same look on your face that you had when you were zipping across the half-pipe.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him closer to me. “You do, Shingen. You might not always be looking my way when it’s there, but… you do.”

@bestbryn

[rags-writes]

My Master List

Ao3 : Rags_Writes

Tik tok : Rags_Writes

Please follow to show you support.

Request status: Open go here for the rules.

Arcane (League Of Legends):

Holidays Special:

2022 -

Arcane's Valentine’s Day - Valentine’s day with you and your Arcane lover.

Series:

The Crime Lord's Secretary

Part One - Let Me Be Yours - Being the secretary to the biggest crime lord in the Undercity had plenty of perks. Like being able to wear and look how ever Alice wanted to. None of that topside shit of having to look a certain way to be professional. The hours where long but the pay makes up for it. Even if she was to run late, she didn’t live far, just one floor above the office. Not to mention a boss with a voice that seem to caress her body every time he spoke, he was even finer to look at.

Of course with the perks came cons. The likelihood of being murdered increases with each step she takes deeper in the crime world. Even by her own boss but that was nothing compared to the situation Alice finds herself in this moment.

Call of Duty:

Requests -

Untitled (Konig x Reader) - Rated M - Requested by @apollodarling-writes - After a mission, you find yourself unable to sleep, so a quick trip to steal Ghost's tea should help you fall asleep unless you run into another masked giant who had been plaguing your mind.

Lean on Me (Ghost & Reader) - Rated T - You're the youngest on the 141 squad, yet you've been with them for two years and they still treat you like a rookie. Hell, they still call you the rookie callsign but you don't let that bring you down. Then you go home and when you come back, you're different. That spark you had disappeared and Ghost is determent to get it back even if it means he actually has to talk.

Headcanons -

When you accidentally bump into them - Ghost and Soap

141 helps you move headcanons - Price, Ghost, Soap and Gaz

Cyberpunk 2077:

Headcanons -

What would they impulse buy at the grocery store?

One-shot -

Voice in my head, Gun in my hand - Life can go all sorts of ways. One minute I'm having the time of my life. Next, my best friend is dead. I get a brain parasite. Said parasite is killing me. I fall in love with him. Then he leaves and I'm still dying. I still see him, taunting me but I can't let go. I can't take it anymore, I'm at the end of my rope.

Play it on Repeat - V's mourning her best friend on a rainy day and Johnny is surprisingly comforting.

FanFic -

When Two Seconds Chances Collide - Johnny wasn't the only victim of Soulkiller. A girl with red eyes haunts his past. When he wakes up in 2077 stuck in the head of a thief who has secrets that she doesn't even know. He can help him think of their similar traits as he think of could have be. Will he be able to change or will he down down in flames again?

V is just a thief, or that what she tells everyone. A nobody but with hidden talent and no memory from a young age she left to wonder if she really is a nobody. when a heist goes wrong she is left with a dead best friend and a terrorist stuck in her head. on a timer she race to find a way to save herself before the engram kills her. Unfortunately for her the engram also stir up an emotion in her that she didn't even know was possible. Not mentioning her recurring nightmares are getting worst of flash of event that she never live through or could ever live through. Will she be able to put together the puzzle before her time runs out?

Dragon Age Inquisition:

Headcanons -

^Nothing here for now^

One-shot -

The Path You Cannot Follow - Rated T - Waking in a place full of shadows, Solas sees only his mistake. On the path of redemption that leads to just one destination: Death. He accepts his fate and goes on his path but when one shadow appears to be too radiant, Solas struggles to turn away from her.

Marauders Era

Remember everyone Fuck JK Rowling, this shit is mine.(Legally it's not but you know what I mean)

Series:

Drowning Fate

Part 1 - Drowning Change - Regulus had accepted his fate, drowning alone in his cave in the hope that others would destroy the dark lord, but someone changed his fate, and he now has hope of living till the end of the war.

Headcanons :

Starchaser -My Collections of headcanons and drabbles of James Fleamont Potter. These will be the backstory for James in any of my fanfic of him unless stated otherwise in any of the fanfic.

Sunseeker - My collections of headcanons and drabbles of Regulus Arcturus Black. These will be the backstory for Regulus in any of my fanfic of him unless stated otherwise in any of the fanfic.

Collaborations With Hale_Grey

Series:

Marauders Era -

Stars Realign

Book One - The Flies in the Spider's Web - After a prank gone wrong, Sirius and Regulus reunite on the Quidditch pitch and an unexpected wish sends the brothers back in time. Now they have a chance of changing the future, ending the war, and saving everyone. But will they be able to heal years of pain and regret to do so, or will they repeat the same mistakes that tore them apart in the first place?

Remember to heart, leave kudos and comments to show you're support.

[zhoras-bitch]

My Playchoices MCs #4

It Lives is an amazing book and the MC is an absolute legend. I haven’t changes much about their looks, only removed the bangs and gave them a piercing. I have a ton of headcanons about them though so see the notes under the cut.

First | Previous | Next | All

I really hope I didn’t mess up with the name. From what I gathered, De is usually masculine, but I think it could work as a unisex name too. It’s supposed to be pronounced like Deh, but their non-Vietnamese friends call them Dee. 

Her parents moved to the US from Vietnam when De was a baby. They work for some big humanitarian non-profit, and their job entails a lot of lengthy trips around the world. They are good people, but they kind of have their heads in the clouds a little. Like yeah, let's leave our underage kid alone in the country for weeks, she'll be fine. 

Lucky for them, De is actually very well adjusted, although it might not seem like that from the outside. Best way to describe their routine is controlled chaos. You won’t catch them dead following any kind of daily schedules, and their friends give them shit for never eating 3 meals a day. But they not at all irresponsible, they just know what works for them, and they never cross the line. 

Neurodivergent, it just makes so much sense in my head that they have ASD.

Loves really long hikes, would often just grab a tent and a sleeping bag and leave for the weekends. Bonus points if there is a cliff she can climb because she’s kind of an adrenaline junkie when it comes to sports. Her parents have no idea about these little adventures and they’d probably loose their mind if they did.

In school, they were the kind of student who mostly gets Cs, but then there are a few subjects they actually like, and they completely dominate those. In De’s case, those subjects were math and physics. Despite their shitty grades, they managed to brute force her way into a decent college. Plans to go into quantum physics. They actually have theories about how the power fits into it, but once they starts rambling about those, only Tom has any idea about wtf De’s saying. The two of them kind of geek out about it a little sometimes.

Came out as nonbinary after the events of the ILITW book (yeah, this is my explanation as to why she uses she/her pronouns in book 1). In their case, they don't really feel like any gender in particular, so they go by any pronouns. Mostly they/them among friends, except Andy who leans towards he/him and uses every chance to call De his bro/dude etc. (he's just really excited to have a trans friend, and De thinks it's cute). 

They’re a very physical person. They like making stuff with their hands and they often show affection through touch.

De’s very protective of her friends. Her worst nightmare is being unable to help them. She’d rather spend 4 years trying to literally bring Noah back from the dead than admit that she can’t help him.

In my original playthrough, De’s love interest was Lucas and I still love him a lot, but ILW converted me into a Dan stan. So in my ‘canon’ ILITW playthrough De is single, and they only start dating Dan during the events of ILW. This pairing just makes so much sense to me, they are both sensitive, reliable and protective. Even the fact that it takes them years to get together seems very in character, they are both always too busy taking care of other people to fix their own lives.

[spicler-man]

fostered/adopted peter parker

masterlist here Don't Give Up On Me (Please) by id_rather_be_reading_3

Since the death of his aunt and uncle a year ago, Peter Parker has bounced around foster homes faster than a pinball at full speed. Why? He blames Spiderman. His constant secret keeping, lying, and sneaking out because of his alter ego has kept him from staying in a home for too long, but he refuses to give up the vigilanteism (that's a word, right?) At this point, he's given up hope on ever finding a forever home.

Tony Stark never expected to get so attached to his young new intern, Peter Parker. But when he finds out that the kid is moving foster homes too far away for him to keep up the internship, he takes matters into his own hands. He soon finds out, though, that housing Peter Parker is a lot harder than mentoring him.

(eventual adoption, because how else would this end?)

ALSO--this story has officially been nominated for the Irondad Creator Awards 2022! If you enjoyed this fic, please consider voting for it on their tumblr blog! (and to whoever nominated it--I love you forever and think you're awesome, thank you 3000)

5 Times Tony Acted Like Peter’s Dad by for_the_night for LittleMissAgrafina

And the one time he actually was.

*Featuring an award evening, nightmares, a father-son field trip, appendicitis, and a very special gift - oh, and SO many forehead kisses.*

Welcome Home My Boy (Welcome Home My Son) by sdottkrames for Skeeter_110

Tony's life has never been more full of family...but something is still missing.

Peter Parker lives in an orphanage in severe disrepair.

And Pepper Potts has an idea that will bring them both together.

Be Your Protector by waitingondaisies

After so long of being bounced around from placement to placement in the foster system, Peter is on his last chance to stay in Queens and stay at Midtown. He’s desperate to keep this placement, even if it means not getting enough food and getting locked in the closet sometimes. The problem arises when he’s unable to let Happy know he won’t be able to make it to the compound, leading to Mr Stark getting involved. And as a mechanic, once he’s made aware of a problem, he just has to fix it.

If there are no other foster homes in Queens, then Tony will just have to make one.

From Fraud to Father by TonyStarkissist

“Tony,” she placated, “all you have to do is read a couple children's books to them and answer a few of their questions. You’ll be fine.”

“Will you come with me? You’re so good with kids,” he pleaded as she finished up with his collar and awkwardly patted the lapels of his suit down, forcing a smile onto her face when she looked up at him.

“No. I’ve got a lot of work to do. Phil’s going with you, though, and so is Happy. You shouldn’t have a problem. They'll make sure you don't do anything stupid.”

Theres a long pause before Tony finally voices his true concern.

“But what if one of them sneezes on me?"

Take it easy, take it easy by sturionic

“Tony," Rhodes groans, "I am begging you. Please just explain your thought process to me, man. I want to understand where you’re at.”

“Well, honey bear, it’s simple. Kid needs a home. I have a home. I need another pair of hands to help take care of this baby. The kid has hands.”

“Yeah, okay.” Rhodes rolls his eyes. “You didn’t answer my first question. What makes you think he’ll even want to live with you?”

Tony raises an eyebrow. “I told you,” he says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world, “Morgan likes him, and he likes Morgan. Plus, we bonded. In space.”

“Okay!” Rhodes throws up his hands in resignation. “Okay. I give up. Whatever. Adopt Spider-Man. Jesus Christ."

-

Peter survives the Snap only to find he's alone once again, and Tony Stark steps off the Benatar to find James Rhodes holding his month-old daughter with Pepper nowhere in sight. At first it's an arrangement of convenience and mutual grief. Someday, God willing, it might become a family.

The 1 Time Some Avengers Didn't Believe Tony Was Father Material And The 5 Times They Were Proven Wrong by thisisnotourlasthunt for Mrs_Potts_Stark

“Wait. So you're telling me Tony adopted a toddler, just because? Will he even pay attention to the kid? Are you sure this isn’t to boost his reputation after Miami?”

“Well that’s unexpected, I never thought I’d see Tony as a father.”

“In summary, Tony brought a toddler to the tower where literally two spies, a super soldier, occasionally a God, and a Hulk constantly visit and house? What was he thinking?”

“Sure. So what? Is your new job being a nanny or what? Cause I can’t see Tony taking care of a child by himself.”

-*-*-

It didn’t matter what the others said about him, he was going to be the best fucking father to his son.

And I'm Nothing Like You by Chara426

“I say I’m not good with kids But only half of that is true See, I’m just not good No, I’m nothing like you"

Once a month, a random child in the foster care system is selected to spend the day with Tony Stark. It just so happens one month, Peter Parker is the lucky kid.

No Ulterior Motive (REUPLOAD) by ob_liv_ious_writer

When Peter saw a spelling mistake on the Stark Industries website, he decided that he had to fix it, no matter what the consequences could be.

When Tony saw that the hacker that managed to evade him was a reckless, too-skinny foster kid, he decided that he was going to offer him an internship.

No ulterior motives.

Not at all.

(reuploaded because the author is a dumbass - explanation in notes)

The Kid Behind The Mask by inkinmyheartandonthepage

Peter Parker never wanted the Avenger’s to find out his identity – especially Tony Stark and Stephen Strange who had become his mentors/father figures. When a cold snap hit’s New York, Peter finds himself in trouble.

Family Means Nobody Gets Left Behind by punkybunny

"Tony was about to brush it off again, say something about how it was the least he could do. But before he could speak, he heard a small voice timidly asking, "I-Iron man?"

Peering downward, the man spotted who the voice belonged to. A young boy with unruly brown curls and wide eyes stared back at him from a couple feet away. The kid looked very tiny, maybe only four or five years old. "

Aka Tony fosters a young boy named Peter who happens to be a little genius. This is just gonna be a ton of family fluff, maybe a little angst!

[lilyblackdrawside]

I really like timeout spellcards. They're often some of the hardest parts of any given fight simply because you're forced to endure. My big example of this is Shinmyoumaru. Overall not the hardest final boss. Her Shining Needle Sword is a bit of a handful, but other than that it's all very managable. And then there's the timeout spell where she fucks with your hitbox. To be fair, it'd be difficult if it was set up as a regular spellcard too, because you're thrown into such cold water. Your hitbox is an eternal constant and now it's changed. I have a firm feeling for it and even if its relative size is still the same, it still messes with me really badly.

Any normal spellcard is unlikely to take more than thirty seconds if you're not driven to the sidelines and unable to deal damage. It might feel longer, but it's usually a brief affair. But it's not just that you can't simply burst timeout spellcards down by dealing damage. It's also not just having to hold out for such an unusually long time, it's that they're usually designed in a way that regular spellcards aren't. Since you're not able to attack the boss anyway (short of very few exceptions (I can name two)), it doesn't have to be laid out in a way to allow you to line yourself up with the target. The boss will often be positioned in the center of the screen instead of at the top, move all over the place or just be gone entirely and you're then forced to also move all over the place. Stream targeted stuff all around the area, handle projectiles from every direction and such. Attacks that come from above or diagonally above are the easiest to dodge. It's the most common angle of attack and you're the most used to it. As soon as bullets come from behind or even from the sides, it shakes me up. It's unfamiliar. But that's what's so good about them. In being allowed to chase you across the entire playing field, timeout spells can have a lot more different patterns. Often very thematic ones too.

Just think of Koishi's Youkai Lie Detector, where she scans a line around the screen that generates bullets relative to your position and to pass through it you have to make sudden, jerking motions to create a gap. You have to trip up the lie detector.

Or Nue's Nightmare of Heiankyou. The way she traps you in a grid and then chases you around with a big laser slug is really nice. It's also terrifying, because you're on her second to last spellcard and UFO isn't one of the games that has Spellcard practice (it only came back with Ten Desires after its one-time appearance in Imperishable Night) and this innately high tension rounds it out quite nicely.

The way you're surprised with the Saigyou Ayakashi Reflowering timeout was great after fighting Yuyuko, who already has more spellcards than the average final boss. Mountain of Faith has one as early as Stage 4, on Aya, who steadily ramps up the pressure and forces you to the bottom of the screen, which is always scary.

The way timeout spells gradually up the pressure over time is also something that's usually limited to Stage 6 or Ex Boss final spellcards, which up the challenge at specific health thresholds and it's really nice. They start out pretty manageable. You get a feel for what it's going for and then it gets harder. More density, extra layers, already used aspects combined but as the timer ticks down you also see the spell circle shrink. It's a much more easy to see timer than the actual timer in the corner of the screen and it always gets so tense when the spell is about to expire and you're at the height of focus, especially if you managed to not make a mistake yet and then it ends and you breathe a sigh of relief. This is especially potent when the timeout spell is the final one like with Reflowering or Danmaku Bounded Field.

Of course there can also be a lot of bad feelings with these. If you just don't vibe with a timeout spell, it's bound to seriously drain your resources or be a total roadblock for you. If it goes on for a minute, you're going to have to sink an unreasonable amount of bombs and/or extends into it and I think that might be a reason why there haven't been any timeouts outside of Extra Stages in recent games. It's understandable, but I think having some on earlier bosses could be nice. That way they wouldn't have to be too taxing or last too long but we'd still get them. Aya's Illusionary Dominance is pretty threatening, but even if you're not that good at handling it, as "just" a Stage 4 spellcard, it's not the worst.

Timeout spells can show their user's personality and style in a way that regular ones can't and I'd like it if there were more of them sprinkled here and there again. Could even do what IN does and have them as stakeless attacks after the fight is over that are unlocked by fulfilling certain conditions. If it's like that it lacks the tension that I like so much in them, but there won't be any bad feelings.

[lightningandfireinmybones]

okay but valaena agreeing to marry dalton because it would bring her mom an advantage as the CEO. and her whole family doesn’t want her to do it because they know she’s doing it out of duty and not love. she hears that aemond is coming back from his 4 year long business trip and insists on getting married before he arrives because she knows one look at him and she’ll be ready to marry him instead. so when aemond comes he finds valaena as a wife and he’s ready to strangle dalton for touching his woman with such boldness. he doesn’t care if they’re legally wed she still belongs to him. but alicent tells aemond that he has no choice but to wed cassandra baratheon. his immediate response is no that he would never do that but then his mother tells him it’s vital to secure her, helaena and daeron’s life because with the support of the baratheons daemon won’t harm them much. and aemond thinks it’s the perfect way to make valaena jealous too so he’s like “okay i’ll do it.” during their reception party aemond and valaena look at each other with so much jealousy. both wed to people who are not each other. and dalton and valaena are actually good friends unlike cassandra and aemond because let’s face it aemond doesn’t do friends. valaena so desperate to stop thinking about aemond that she drags dalton to a bathroom and let’s him fuck her and it’s good because at least he has his hand on her throat though not choking her like she loves, he’s whispering things into her hear but not as filthy as she likes, he’s giving her scars but it’s not as good and all she can think about is her uncle. she even says “please kepus mark me” in valyrian. finally they come out of the bathroom and it’s obvious that dalton’s fucked her and she doesn’t want people to know that because only with aemond can she show people she’s been well fucked. only with aemond she doesn’t care if people see her sex hair, ripped clothes and tear tracks with anyone else she needs to hide it. and she goes to the room next the bathroom to fix her appearance and as she switches on the light she sees aemond. sitting on a chair looking majestic and like a predator. she knows he’s been waiting for her. he doesn’t move just looks at her up and down and says, “enjoy that did you? calling out for me while your husband was still in you? asking him to mark you while calling him uncle?.” and as he comes closer she puts her hands up to stop him and says, “you have a wife & i have a husband aemond. we can’t. this is madness” and he doesn’t care that they are married to other people it doesn’t stop him from fucking her in the most violent way possible that would leave her sore for days. ensure that dalton can’t touch her while he arranges for divorce papers because he is not allowing his rightful wife to be anyone else’s.

Excuse me hello I’m stuck on the image of aemond waiting in the room next listening to them fuck, lounging like a predator

And he would know that Valaena would be left wanting, he could hear her moaning for him, just getting angrier and angrier as he hears her fake it while desperately calling out for kepus to hurt her in Valyrian

He would be so casual, both arms on the armrests, one foot casually resting on his knee, looking like a creature from both her nightmares and her dreams, tapping his fingers and staring at her like he can see through her

She really doesn’t want to cheat on Dalton but aemond is on her and it’s so good and exactly what she remembers as being what she need

It’s violent and animalistic and after he makes her cum in his fingers he makes her lick them clean, around the wedding ring to another woman

And she’s marked head to toe and dizzy and unable to think outside of him by the end, so aemond just takes care of her, tucking her in and pressing a kiss to her forehead and promising he’ll take care of it

Jury is out on whether taking care of it means killing Dalton or not but she’s too cockdrunk to do anything but go to sleep and hope aemond isn’t in jail by the end

[jacobbellaendgame]

Rewatching New Moon with new eyes is one heck of an experience. I'm taking notice of things I never bothered to notice before (while giving me even more respect for Chris Weitz and a little more for Melissa Rosenberg) and it is a trip.

The Cullens are so worried about their secret but Bella yells out loud about Jasper’s mood control while people are walking around and they’re cool with it?

Edward’s monologue about different suicide options is really discomfiting; while it leads into Edward telling Bella about the Volturi and sets up for what happens later, the fact that he envies Romeo the ability to choose what death he wants when Juliet is gone is just unbelievably tragic and horrific all at the same time - The Romeo/Juliet symbolism = EDWARD/VAMPIRISM IS DEATH (not a good message)

No coincidence that Alice is taking pictures at Bella’s party that Bella doesn't even want (but Alice wants - Alice trying to live through Bella)

Rosalie and everyone leaves due to blood from Bella (but in BD2, Rosalie and Emmett are fine around the blood of Garrett’s victim? make it make sense)

Bella almost uses the knowledge Carlisle gives her to try to manipulate Edward to change her in the truck scene; her true motive is revealed for the rush on the change when it comes to Edward's involvement: “You’re not gonna want me when I look like a grandmother”

Most awkward kiss ever between Edward and Bella in that scene - actually, all of their kisses in this movie are supremely awkward

The bending of the picture of herself with Edward: once again, she’s seeking perfection - her putting the photo in her “senior year” aka last year of human life book: she’s intent on being changed (and Edward removes it, after seeing how she’s bent it aka he doesn’t want her to be changed)

Lovely metaphor - Bella follows Edward and gets lost

No coincidence that Sam found Bella in the woods (when she's "lost") since Bella and Sam are basically in the same type of position with different circumstances: Leah -> Sam -> Emily; Jacob -> Bella -> Edward (and the werewolves don't represent death/fantasy, they represent life/reality)

Bella keeps sending emails to an email account for Alice that no longer exists - here she mentions the Cullens last after mentioning Edward - her goal: vampirism (this is what she’s missing)

Bella’s depression is literally like a withdrawal - the depressed state would be one thing but the nightmares are the giveaway

“The Dead Come Back” - telling of the ending as well as being a tongue-in-cheek nod to vampires

Bella puts herself at risk to get Edward to appear - she is totally uncaring of the dangerous circumstances even after what Edward saved her from in the first movie (and don't even get me started on her not thinking about Charlie and Renee)

The meadow is dried up, looking dead compared to the greenery surrounding it, and here is where Laurent finds her → not only is it imagery that indicates how Bella feels with Edward/the Cullens gone but also for the state of her relationship and for death (which is why Laurent is there and the wolves/life save her from Laurent/death)

“I mean, how much could you mean to him if he left you here, unprotected?” - that's a good point, Edward really didn't think Victoria would use someone else to attack Bella if need be, boy does she teach him that lesson in Eclipse

Bella always attempts to protect those she loves; her mom in Twilight; Jacob in NM, her dad in BD - completely jives with the deer/mountain lion scene later in BD2; she’s unable to protect Edward or the Cullens, which also helps to explain the desire for vampirism outside of the aging and forever-bound-to-her-and-her-to-them factors

Cool effect shot with Paul and Jake knocking down the camera in the woods

Bella sees Sam loves Emily as she is (she may be the imprint/perfect love but she’s still not perfect per se) - Bella should be learning from this moment since she sees her humanity as such a blemish but she takes away the exact opposite from this moment

“What, I’m not the right kind kind of monster for you?” → Jacob wasn’t a vampire, if he was Bella would have been all over him like white on rice; she has a problem with werewolves allegedly killing people but not vampires, more specifically the Cullens who have, especially Edward?

Jake is gone hunting Victoria who is after Bella and she knows it, but hey let’s go cliff diving so we can see Edward again (if this isn’t an unhealthy addiction mixed in with such self-absorpancy, I don’t know what is)

“You’re not gonna lose yourself. I wouldn’t let that happen.” - more Bella protecting

Out of the past few months, the only vision Alice had was of Bella jumping off of a cliff? What about when Jake left?

Bella gives up Jake’s secret right off the bat but was protecting the Cullens’? - more of this unhealthy version of Bella/OOCness that happens when she's around the Cullens/Edward

Let's be real, a little bit of Bella’s anger is when Jake asks how long the Cullens are staying. And if they’re coming back = sore point aka abandonment issues

Edward will think Alice is lying and rush headfirst into death? Really? Even though he’ll also see that Bella traveled with her, what she’s wearing, what their plan is, and that she’s not lying? 

Edward didn’t smell Bella when she hugged him? And for that matter he didn't detect a bit of her scent as she's running towards him?

“I’m human, nothing” - this is the crux of Bella’s problem - even Edward said he envied humans’ mortality

Bella: “She wants to be…” Demetri: “So she will be” Jane: “Or dessert” - important quotes and important scene for Bella - this choice can have one of two consequences

Why didn’t Aro just take Edward and Alice right there? Specifically Alice since he has been wanting to acquire her for years? Edward and Bella can't stop them so...

The fact that Bella still wants to become a vampire after seeing the human children being led to their deaths just makes it that much more unhealthy and tragic and even slightly horrifying - there was nothing Edward, Bella, or Alice could do but this is literally the monster you're becoming, no matter what the Cullens' diet might be

Bella wakes up from a nightmare (which means she’s still having them even after reconciling with Edward) - it’s only when she chooses to be changed that her nightmares disappear until BD1

We get Charlie’s reaction that we should have gotten in Twilight, before and after Phoenix/James

A picture of a wolf next to the door - a certain wolf is there to stay and has taken up residence hehe

Of course Bella doesn’t like it when Edward says they can fool the Volturi and not change her; has Edward not been paying attention? This girl is going to become a vampire come hell or fire

Bella shuts Edward up when it comes to voting time = because her desire to change really has nothing to do with him

“You’ve chosen not to live without her which leaves me no choice. I won’t lose my son.” → I think this particular wording means Carlisle would have voted no if that wasn’t the case

Decision wheel: Rosalie → no (because she knows this shouldn't be a life goal); Emmett → yes (will pick fight with Volturi some other time = he just thinks it's a grand ol' time); Alice → yes (already a sister = you're becoming one of us bitch); Esme → yes (already a part of the family = Edward's not giving you up and surprise or not really, but you're his mate); Jasper → yes (so he doesn’t want to kill her all the time = so her fragile human state that smells way too good is no longer a burden); also it's no coincidence this happens in the same room as the party scene from the beginning of the film

Jake being in the road to stop the car after “Edward, I want you to be the one to do it” → he’s going to be a roadblock to her plan and she's not changing, not if he has something to say about it (which we see he does)

Jake has no problem telling Bella what’s going on vs Edward (we even see this play out again in Eclipse)

Selfish and idiotic Bella: “I love you. So don’t make me choose. Because it’ll be him. It’s always been him.”

And last but not least, like in Twilight, Edward tries to give her more time, will live her life with her, but of course Bella can't have that. Apparently, 23 is the new grandma age. She can't bear to be a year older than Edward, never mind two, even though this guy is basically a walking, talking, crystallized corpse that's been doing that for over 100 years but yes, 18, 19, or even 23 is a problem. My eyes cannot roll anymore than they already have.

And Bella giving in to Edward’s condition that she doesn’t want: marriage. Edward manipulates this, thinking she won’t give in or if she does, then he’ll get what he wants.

It's insane. But man does Chris (and Melissa grumble, grumble) deserve a lot of credit for showing us these things.

[charcherry-weekly]

Charcherry Weekly - Issue 169

Hello everyone. This is Mage of Light Nick Card and it is getting chilly out there! Better get the chili ready!

Arrivals to the sandy paths

Early this week, your dear newsletter writer finally got out of the hospital,. after at least a week of recovery. I am taking it easy, though getting used to the different workflow, now working on regular left beef updates again, is a bit much for me. In other news, a winged figure with a computer monitor for a head has arrived in Desertia, from a place unknown. Faer name is VIC-II and fey happen to be a stand user.

500 dungeons too many

On monday, a group of dungeon crashers entered dungeon500 to establish a route to the other side of dungeon500, located in the Land of Copper and Lasers (and Steam and Crossroads), located in the sbargv2 insipisphere. On this mission included Rogue of Heart Charles, Heir of Time Rise Emit, Stand user VIC-II, Maid of Void Skitis, KAZ, and Dodomon, who later digivolved into Dorimon. The standard rules of dungeon500 applied, but with more leeway than usual, and with an Absolute sense of probability at hand. Reportedly, the obstacles faced were largely physically demanding more than anything, almost to the point that it may have been more like a training sequence than anything. However, there was one peculiar section that was reportedly not apart of the intended route, involving a personalized mario 64 castle hallway sequence, which may or may not have had a wario head chase scene. After navigating a ball pit, dire dire docks, aforementioned nightmare situation, and then finally a tower climb+paraglide while being aimed at by guardians, the party arrived at the other end. Being tired out by the obstacle course-like dungeon route, the party went home via transportalizer, to return another day.

On thursday, the party regrouped to take on the next leg of the adventure, which would take the form of an actual war zone located on The Grid of the Land of Copper and Lasers (and Steam and Crossroads). The group was comprised of CaFAI, Enker, Splashwoman, Charles, Rise, Dorimon (who later digivolved into Monodramon), and eventually Veemon. Upon showing up to the dungeon500 lobby, the party was given the batons for the voltron mech lions. Rise, and Charles used them in standard combat and travel (yellow and red, respectively), while others used their light cycles. The grid they arrived to was one bearing the weight of profound destruction. Apparently, there were remains of programs strewn all over, unable to even de-rez for some unknown reason, making for a heavy atmosphere with the stark reminders of death. The party fought their way across the battlefield, and soon began to cross a great rail bridge over the digital sea. During their crossing, they encountered a voidco-affiliated prog known as NeedleDatabaseMaintence. Rise was able to recruit xem with surprising ease, though reportedly NDM was in a scared state, likely the last of xer group still surviving. The party eventually arrived upon land once more and faced an eldritch entity known only as StockholderDatabaseConnection. The party joined their lion mechs to form voltron to do battle with SDC. It was reportedly an epic sight to behold. The party exited voltron at the last minute and all worked together to deliver a final attack. Between monodramon's fragmenting bite, Splashwoman's Gigacannon3, *CaFAI's identity disc barrage, Rise's overclock doubleslash, and Enker's WideBrn2, there was nothing left of SDC to even hit the ground. The party briefly celebrated and then entered the fortress city before them. Survivors, including NDM, claimed a number of buildings for personal use. The dungeoin crashers, satisfied with a day's work, left the place via mushroom circle. There will likely be future trips to the local grid, as the conflict is far from resolved. Further developments to be reported on.

Upcoming Celebrations

With the end of the month and the beginning of another, there are a lot of more benign events coming up. Most recent one on the list is a costume party at Gene's Garden on the 30th, starting at 5pm DZT. Make sure to wear a costume! The next day of course is Halloween, which will likely involve trick-or-treating in the greater charcherry area, ghost sightings in gene's garden, and a higher rate of ghost type pokemon out in the dark hours. Also, Shard's birthday will be that night, location to be determined. Slipping into November, Witch of Time Katyleen Kitten and Heir of Hope Hazel Careon share a birthday on November 3rd. November 5th is Rise, Brae's, and possibly Flux's birthdays. On the 16th is the shared birthday of Prince of Time Aeons Edgeworth and your dear newsletter writer.

This week’s known market stands in Desertia Town:

Katie’s potion stand (Not available to plitlanders due to regulations, available to all others however)

shinyjiggly pokesnacks stand (ran by Rufus)

candy stand

halloween costume stand

Spice shop (only stocks fennel and garlic)

Okay, that does it. I'm wondering what I should dress up as for the costume party. Maybe a literal traffic cone? Either way, I need an excuse to get out of the house. Maybe I might get lucky and find my secret admirer there? Who knows. https://letssosl.boards.net/thread/403/charcherry-weekly-issue-169

[amessageonthewind]

September Selfship Prompts Challenge

6. Dancing together

Pairing: Zinnia/Rachel at the end of Delta Emerald (potential mild spoiler warning for the rest of the fic)

Author's note: Clue is an OC that belongs to my buddy @kammyclues

          Everything she had ever done, everything she had worked towards, and everything she had accomplished…it all came down to this. It was a celebration towards a brighter future for Hoenn, and everyone wanted to come to Sootopolis City to attend, knowing Rachel was there.

          She wasn’t used to all this attention. She was the Champion, now, but she had been so busy wrangling every problem that cropped up between Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon, Rayquaza, that damn meteor, Deoxys, the infection, and Aarman and his team trying to capture and take Jirachi for himself…it left Rachel not very much in the public eye. She didn’t really get much of a chance to actually enjoy the status.

          Though, even now that she was being heaped a lot of praise and congratulations, she still wasn’t sure she…enjoyed it. It was nice to be appreciated, certainly, but the reputation felt odd and strange. She wasn’t used to being so noticed and so popular. She was thankful that it wasn’t her dominant arm that was injured during the fight with Deoxys, otherwise she would have a lot more problems.

          She flexed her hand that held most of the bandaging together on it. Though she didn’t have much in the way of physical scarring in her left arm, the bandaging helped with the pain management and movement. It would take a long time for the injury to heal completely.

          “Don’t worry, you’re doing great!” Cedric whispered quietly from her shoulder. The rest of Rachel’s Pokémon were kept in their balls, for now, as to not crowd the room and cause any hazardous tripping hazards for anyone else. “This is a cakewalk compared to everything else you’ve faced.”

          She appreciated the Zorua’s encouragement, but she knew that he was the most worried when she came back from her space journey. Rayquaza had brought her back and Rachel didn’t wake up for eight hours once she’d returned.

          The grim reality that still didn’t feel real to her was that she didn’t survive the battle with Deoxys. She found his weakness and exploited it, she caught him, she succeeded…but she didn’t survive.

          She died…Rayquaza brought her corpse back to Hoenn, barely conscious and unable to move or speak.

          The only thing she remembered before she had blacked out…was Zinnia’s voice. It was the only thing she remembered before she died. “Please come back to me…I need you…”

          Something brought her back to life. A being so strange and alien that it was beyond description. A being made of light, yet solid. Almost mechanical, yet moving as though it were made of liquid, almost non-Euclidian. Adorned with halos and plates at each prong of each halo.

          The memory of what it had said to her rang in her head. “We will meet again. In a time before birth.” She had only ever heard it once, before, so long ago that Rachel had since forgotten it until this strange being brought breath back into her cold body.

          When she was a child, locked in a nightmare like her parents so long ago. When a shadowy Pokémon recognized her from somewhere she had no recollection. It had spoken that exact phrase. She still had no idea what it meant, and now she was determined to decipher it, somehow. In a time before birth…why can’t anyone stop speaking in riddles?

          “I know.” She said to her loyal Pokémon, reaching up to pet him for comfort. “But that’s not what I’m worried about.”

          Because truth be told, this celebration wasn’t necessarily for her. She had made it clear to Wallace that she didn’t want to be the subject of this celebration. There was something far more important to celebrate, something that was meant to be a mark towards building a better future by making amends to the past.

          Reparation. Preserving a culture that was on the brink of extinction so that it could live on long into the future. So that it could never be forgotten.

          And the person it was for had not arrived, yet. Rachel was anxiously waiting for her arrival. She knew Zinnia was a bit of a flight risk, especially after the meteor, but after Rachel laid her feelings bare, made it clear that even if Zinnia’s role was done and her duty was fulfilled, her story wasn’t over. That Rachel was losing her mind at the thought of never seeing Zinnia again, and her only comfort was knowing that Aster was with her.

          Because as long as that was true, it meant Zinnia was alive.

          The Draconid was nervous, uncertain, and Rachel had never seen her so unsteady in her resolve, before. Without a prescribed purpose, she was listless and it broke the Champion’s heart. Zinnia was a force of change despite how earnestly, dutifully, and closely she held her culture’s traditions. Rachel saw a future for Zinnia, and the only thing she wanted was to show her that.

          She begged Zinnia to keep her company, to stay with her while she recovered from her injuries, to help her get back onto her feet and get back to being a trainer. There were many mysteries that had to yet be uncovered, things to discover and legends to demystify.

          Giving Zinnia a goal and a task convinced her, but what Rachel didn’t realize was that she had touched the woman in a way no one else ever did. She didn’t even know the effect her words had on the Draconid, but they reached into a place so deep she didn’t even know it was there.

          She remembered that night clearly, when Rachel was finally discharged from the hospital in Lilycove City and was cleared to go, under a strictly prescribed physical therapy routine and painkiller prescriptions and rest. No more Pokémon battles until she was well (though, good luck getting Rachel to adhere to that).

          And there Zinnia was, outside of the city on Route 121, standing there alongside Aster and waiting there. The moment they made eye contact, the Draconid turned around and Rachel had to run beyond her prescribed limits just to catch up to her and prevent her from running away.

          The anguish in Rachel’s voice would not be forgotten anytime soon. Zinnia just wanted to make sure she would be okay, and then she would finally know peace. After all, she did everything that Zinnia thought she was destined for. What did someone like Rachel need from her, anymore? Zinnia did her duty as Lorekeeper, passing on her people’s stories to her.

          How could Rachel care so much about Zinnia when they barely knew each other? They knew so little about each other, and yet Zinnia’s heart broke at the thought of seeing Rachel so upset. She had never felt such fear as she felt when Rachel was facing off against Deoxys.

          She had never known anguish like when Rayquaza brought back her limp body. She didn’t even care about showing respect or formalities to the deity her people revered so much, all she cared about was making sure Rachel was okay.

          Zinnia never had anything to lose before she met Rachel, and now that she did, it left her terrified and unsure.

          What Rachel said in response? Zinnia would never forget.

          “Isn’t it kind of surface level to only care about the things that you know intimately?” She said, Zinnia’s back turned to her. Rachel’s hand loosely held onto the Draconid woman’s wrist to keep her in place. She didn’t pull away, letting the Champion keep her here. “It’s…superficial. Empty, in a way, to only love things you can know. There’s beauty in the unknown. People don’t love the moon any less just because it has a dark side it never shows us. People don’t love it any less just because it’s always changing and showing different sides of itself, even disappearing from view sometimes.

          “And…I don’t love the ocean any less just because it’s so unknown.” Zinnia risked glancing back at Rachel and met her passionate dark eyes. Moving earth met blazing heat, forces of change that held onto each other to keep each other from leaving. “It’s impossible for us to know its depths, its strength and storms are terrifying and awestriking. What we know is beautiful, but what’s unknown draws us to it. Don’t you want to be cared about like that…?

          “Don’t you want to be loved as deeply and truly as people love the sea?”

          That woman really did have a way with words. Because truthfully…Zinnia did want to be loved like that. She did want to be loved unconditionally, for everything she did and didn’t say, everything she did and didn’t show. She wanted to be loved whole.

          If she wasn’t convinced before, Rachel’s quiet voice, just pleading for her to stay was enough to make her stay.

          So, throughout everything that came after, Zinnia stayed. Through the terrifying and harrowing and the joyful and happy. Even when her mettle was tested, she stayed true to what she promised.

          And it all led up to this. This celebration was being held in the Cave of Origin, and Zinnia knew everyone was going to be there. Including Rachel. She didn’t really know what to expect, all she told her was that this was about something special.

          Aster gently pushed her by the legs, urging her to go in. Sighing at the little Whismur, Zinnia nodded and walked inside. The Pokémon always seemed to know best. She taught her well.

          Inside, Rachel had managed to extricate herself from curious fans and fellow League representatives to just get some time to herself. She needed a break to think, and she wanted to keep her eye on the entrance to the Cave of Origin in case Zinnia showed up.

          She still hadn’t arrived yet, so she sighed heavily. What if she doesn’t come…? “Needed to step away from it all as well?”

          The familiar voice grounded Rachel and she looked beside to see a friendly face. “I could say the same for you, Ex-Champion Steven.” The steel-haired man laughed a little bit, fiddling a bit at his metal sleeve cuffs idly. “Is it ready?”

          “It is.” Steven said, proudly as he stood beside Rachel. This project between Rachel and Steven was one that was sorely needed after the meteor. He would never forget the blazing fire in the Champion’s eyes when she confronted him about what his father’s company had done to the Draconids that lived by Meteor Falls. Every venomous word that left her mouth was one he could not disagree with. It was why he was so averse and uncomfortable with the idea of inheriting his father’s company.

          But she was right. It was his responsibility to set things right, so they came up with this. Rachel wanted it kept secret from Zinnia so that they could surprise her later, so while the Champion was running things behind the scenes and helping people, Steven was working on this project alongside her friend, Clue. A Bug trainer from overseas who had expressed a vested interest in this subject.

          Steven handled the financing and building and organizational aspects of this project while Clue handled the gathering of information and the sensitivity part of it. They were both determined to see this through.

          He was just as much looking forward to Zinnia’s reaction as Rachel was. “You seem tense.” Steven said, noticing how withdrawn the woman was.

          She shrugged. “I’ve got a lot going on in my mind.”

          He raised an eyebrow at her. Idle conversation could do her some good. “Such as?”

          Where to even begin? There was so much she had to say. “Everything.” Rachel said before composing herself. Glancing at Cedric for a moment, she took a moment to figure out what to say, templating her words before speaking them. “None of this is what I thought it’d be.”

          Steven nodded sympathetically. “To be fair, not every trainer starts their journey on the turn of a millennium.” He said to her, hoping to help ease her worries. “Quelling super ancient Pokémon isn’t an expectation of taking on the League Challenge, and it’s not part of being a Champion. It just happened to be you.”

          “It’s not exactly something that just happened to me, though.” She said, grabbing a drink for herself to have something to sip while she glanced at the entrance to the Cave of Origin. “I chose it because no one else wanted to step up to the task. I couldn’t just sit by and do nothing, in every instance. It was something that needed to be done, so I acted. That’s that.”

          The former Champion couldn’t disagree. “For what it’s worth, you did well handling everything as well as you did.” He said in an effort to reassure and perhaps even empower her. “Not a lot of trainers have the resolve that you have, and you’ve so far done a commendable job as Champion. You’ve certainly earned your place in the Hall of Fame.”

          She found it hard to accept his praise when there was a niggling feeling of doubt wriggling in her stomach that she simply couldn’t shake. “Being Champion isn’t what I expected, either.”

          That caught Steven’s interest. “How so?”

          “It’s a lot more responsibility than I thought it would be.” Rachel said, thinking about Cynthia idly as she spoke. It was hard to think of herself anywhere near her league as a Champion. Even calling herself Champion felt wrong when Cynthia was the ideal Champion in her eyes. She didn’t feel like she’d earned the right to stand as her equal and carry the title she wore. “When I started my journey, this isn’t where I thought it would go. I didn’t expect any of this. And when I became Champion…I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t think it would be such a huge responsibility.”

          Steven could certainly empathize with her. He wouldn’t admit to it, but he felt a huge wave of relief wash over him when Rachel defeated him and took her place as Hoenn’s Champion. Like a heavy burden was lifted from him that he was finally free from. “I think the assumption is that whoever has the strength and resolve to pursue that path has just as much to change the future for the whole region.”

          “And I’m not against that. I’m honestly proud of what I’ve accomplished.” Rachel replied, holding her hands together around her drink cup, sipping nervously. “But…I don’t want to be…trapped here.”

          The former Champion felt that sentiment deeply when she shared it with him. If she chose to give it up, he didn’t want to retake that seat himself. “Why would you feel trapped?”

          Sighing, Rachel thought for a moment how to phrase the complicated feelings she had about the role of Champion. “I don’t feel complete, yet.” She admitted, tightening her grip on her cup. “There’s so much I have yet to do, so much I have yet to see. This world is full of so many mysteries, and I didn’t start my Pokémon journey just to have it end here. My life has barely begun and it feels like it ends here, and I don’t want it to. But because there’s an expectation from me as Champion to be responsible for Hoenn’s affairs, I don’t feel like I can just…quit. It feels selfish, so I just feel…stuck. There are places I want to see, things I want to do, and Pokémon I want to meet.”

          Clue had talked so much about Kalos, where he grew up. It made Rachel want to see it for herself. He mentioned Geosenge Town had a great deal of history behind it, so she wanted to see it for herself. Maybe it connected somehow to Hoenn’s history in a way.

          If she weren’t Champion, she would want to go as soon as possible to see it for herself.

          Steven understood her folly. A sliver of guilt began to stick in his chest at the thought that he had passed his burden onto someone else who would have to carry it just as he did. Someone who didn’t want to be tethered to it. And honestly, he didn’t want her to be, either. She was an incredibly remarkable person and he agreed with her. There was a great deal she had yet to do, and her life had only just begun.

          Why should it end here?

          Hearing a bright laughter echoing in his direction, Steven saw Wallace, talking with some fans of his niece, Lisia. He recalled a conversation he had with his partner about his role as Champion and realized something important, something crucial.

          Rachel wasn’t bound to this role if she didn’t want to be. “You know, if you want to give up being Champion, Wallace has expressed his willingness to take the position if I ever gave it up.” Steven proposed to Hoenn’s current Champion. “I’m sure he’d be willing to do the same for you.”

          Widening her eyes, she shook her head in disbelief. “I could never ask you to do that. It wouldn’t be fair, would it? I won fair and square and I’ve already done so much for these people…I can’t just quit.”

          “Rachel.” Steven said sternly, putting a hand on her shoulder to keep her from spiraling into a panic circle and keeping her calm. “You have a life to live. An option is available to you if you wish to take it. You’re still young, you should get to enjoy it. If you want to spend that time traveling, you deserve to do so unencumbered.” He shook his head. “Besides, even if you hadn’t beaten me, I would’ve given up my position to Wallace anyway. You’re not being an inconvenience for wanting to further discover who you are by traveling and learning as much as you can.”

          She felt relieved that Steven was offering her a way out. She didn’t even realize how trapped she felt by it until it was offered to her, but having it felt like she was able to release the breath she felt like she was holding. And yet…there was still something else that weighed heavy in her. “Thank you…I really appreciate it. And I’m very tempted to take you up on that, but…”

          Rachel glanced at the entrance again, even exchanging a look with Clue who, as per usual, kept his face mask up as he shook his head to confirm Zinnia had not yet arrived, the two pieces of hair that stuck out of his cap like antennae swaying with the movement. “That’s not the only thing that’s holding me back.”

          “Then what is?” Steven asked, catching the way she kept looking at the cave entrance again and again and putting the pieces together very quickly. “It’s Zinnia, isn’t it…? You’ve been rather close ever since the meteor.”

          Looking away, she nodded, refusing to make eye contact with Steven, but wanting very much to talk to someone about this. “This whole thing…wasn’t just about justice and reparations. I mean – it was – but not just that.” Her deepest hope was going to be laid bare. She felt so silly for thinking it, but it was a sincere hope she had. “I know she no longer has obligations as a Lorekeeper, now that Rayquaza destroyed the meteor…but she’s still the last of her people. All of her customs, her culture, everything is on her shoulders. That’s a lot of weight that she shouldn’t have to bear. This was…” The words caught in her throat as she spoke. “I hoped…this would be a way to free her from that responsibility. To show her that her culture doesn’t have to die and be forgotten with her. That it, and her people, can live on indefinitely without relying on her to carry it.”

          He knew what this would accomplish as a long-term solution to fix what his father’s company had done to the Draconid people, but Steven didn’t realize the impact Rachel intended for this to have on Zinnia herself. Her choice of words was telling. “It’s kind of you to want to relieve her of her burdens. But I have to ask…why do her responsibilities and her tethering to them matter so much to you?”

          “Because she deserves to have a choice in her future! She deserves to have a say in where her path leads and she doesn’t deserve to have all this weight on her shoulders!” Rachel suddenly exploded, her outburst surprising even herself as she continued to speak, pure and raw emotion driving her as she continued. “Her culture is so important to her, and I want to show her how important it is to me, but I don’t want it to be something that holds her back! I don’t want it to be a burden to her! She shouldn’t have to be responsible for all this, she deserves the freedom to do and go wherever she wants! She deserves to make her own destiny and forge her own path, she deserves to have a choice in what she wants!

          “But a part of me wants her to have the freedom to come with me to discover the world and see it for herself!” Her deepest wishes were coming out without realizing it and before she knew it, she was pouring her heart out to Steven without restraint. “I want her to not be weighed down by everything here so that I can show her the things that I love most! I want to show her the parts of the world that are most dear to me, that made me who I am. I want to show her where I grew up, where I spent my time as a child, I want to share my culture and legends with her! I want to discover new things alongside her!

          “Damn it, I want to have Zinnia with me! I don’t want to be without her, I need her, because I…I…!” Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes before she realized it, and she was rendered speechless, afraid to say the quiet part out loud out of fear of leaving this celebration a broken heart.

          But Steven was not so inclined to do the same, and he spelled it out immediately when he realized what was really going on. “Because you love her.”

          The realization had never been spoken aloud, but she knew that Steven was telling the truth. When did it start? When did it progress? When did she realize it? These questions didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. It didn’t change the fact.

          Zinnia had become someone that Rachel had gravitated towards like no one else ever had before, and after the woman gave her the chance for them to grow closer after the meteor’s destruction, that gravity only grew stronger. She had grown so used to the Draconid woman’s constant presence that she felt naked and uncomfortable without it.

          And being separated from her now made her realize just how much she ached when they were apart. Rachel wanted Zinnia. She had grown to love her, and she wanted Zinnia to really understand what that meant.

          She didn’t even care if Zinnia returned her feelings, all Rachel wanted was for Zinnia to know that she was loved. That her absence meant something. That she was important and that she had a place in the world.

          That she mattered.

          “Hey, heads up, Rachel.” Clue’s voice pulled Rachel out of the mental spiral she had found herself caught in and she turned around to meet her dear friend who was gesturing towards the entrance to the cave. Though he still wore his cap and his facemask, he took the liberty of putting on a nicer jacket for the occasion. “Zinnia’s here.”

          Snapping her head immediately in the direction of the entrance to the cave, Rachel’s heart leapt out of her chest at the sight. She was here! She came!

          Politely excusing herself from Steven, Rachel wove her way through the people at the party to meet her. Clue and Steven exchanged a look between each other and they both knew what was going on. “You think they’re finally gonna get it?”

          “Who’s to say?” Steven said with warm laughter to his tone of voice as he watched the woman’s frantic rush to meet the Draconid. “But if I know Rachel, she’s not one to just sit idly by once she’s made aware of something.”

          Giving the former Champion a mischievous side-eye, Clue gently tapped Steven on the arm. “A hundred Pokédollars says they bone tonight.”

          Nearly choking on his drink, Steven struggles to compose himself, laughing while coughing up juice. “I am not taking you up on that!”

          Chuckling quietly, maintaining his outward aloofness, Clue tugged his violet facemask down to take a sip of his own drink, smirking smugly into his cup. “Your loss.” He teased, earning him a thwack from one of his Sylveon’s ribbons. Baby teetered on his trainer’s shoulders, reaching over to make sure Steven was okay before quietly observing Rachel as she walked away.

          He and Cedric exchanged a polite nod from afar whilst the Zorua’s trainer met Zinnia at the entrance to the Cave of Origin.

          Stepping inside with Aster by her side, Zinnia nervously looked about before she quickly spotted Rachel excusing herself when people tried to talk to her and squeezing her way through them. The frantic way she was doing so just to get to her made her chest flutter like no one else ever made it. She had spent her life feeling as though she were important, but she never felt like she was ever a priority for anyone.

          It was different, and it was new. She liked that feeling a lot.

          As Rachel approached, Cedric firmly on her shoulder as usual, Zinnia paused to stare at how she was dressed. She wore a dark burgundy petticoat overtop a long black silken skirt that hung down to her ankles, wearing a pair of elegant black shoes with short heels.

          But what stood out most of all was the long flowing cape she was wearing. It was held in place by a sort of collar around her neck that extended up almost like a crown around her head, sitting on her shoulders.

          It made the woman look indescribably regal despite being a couple inches shorter than Zinnia and it took her breath away how beautiful and elegant she looked. She even curled her hair to make it look wavier and it framed her face perfectly.

          Put simply, Zinnia was utterly entranced by Hoenn’s Champion. “You look beautiful.” She said, wide-eyed and awestruck by her.

          Rachel could certainly say the same. Zinnia was wearing something different, though she still wore her Lorekeeper’s cape. Underneath her cape was what looked like a kimono, but it wasn’t quite the same. It was a slightly different style, the sleeves being much bigger to allow for more airflow. It looked to be a two-piece, with the cross-collar upper body garment on top and a pileated skirt on the bottom stretched to her feet.

          The black garment had red repeating crescent shapes much like the shirt she typically wore, and the repeated cascading pattern made it look very similar to dragon scales going down.

          Zinnia also had her hair pinned back behind her ears with pins, so Rachel could get a better look at her face. And what she saw, especially with the feelings she had that had previously never been spoken out loud now out in the open, made her heart race at the sight. “Y-you too.”

          Cedric observed the pair and glanced back at Clue and Baby with a smug grin before he hopped off of Rachel’s shoulder, approaching Aster to guide her away from the middle of the cave so that they wouldn’t get stepped on. The Zorua and Whismur walked away together, leaving their trainers to simply bask in each other’s presence.

          Rachel caught the way people looked at Zinnia, with suspicion and distrust. It was true that her involvement with Primal Groudon and Kyogre and her involvement with Rayquaza in her attempt to awaken him made it to the public eye. She had heard a lot of scrutiny thrown the woman’s way just in passing, some people even questioning why any of this was necessary or why this needed to be done for someone like her.

          She was quick to remind anyone that uttered a sour word about any of this that this was a long time coming and it wasn’t about Zinnia herself, but the injustice done to her people and her culture. No matter who was a part of that culture, it didn’t deserve to die and disappear into the footnotes of history.

          Just as quickly, Rachel reminded them of how much help Zinnia had been after the fact with everything else. With the infection that threatened to spread through Hoenn had it not been for her willingness to work with Deoxys to contain the spread and use his DNA to help Hoenn further. With Aarman and his team’s threats to take Jirachi and wish himself into power to control the power of Mega Evolution and control Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza and make himself supreme ruler.

          If it weren’t for Zinnia, Rachel wasn’t sure she would have succeeded at all. The woman was integral to protecting Hoenn, and she was integral to Rachel’s life at this point. She didn’t want to imagine it without her.

          It was one of the good things about being Champion. Her influence could change things.

          Deciding to stick it to the naysayers in the cave at this moment, Rachel gave a bow to Zinnia, reaching for her hand in a fanciful flair to bring it to her lips and place a kiss on her knuckles. A bold move, for certain (and it was a good thing no one could hear the thoughts behind her head as she did this), but she wanted to prove a point.

          As Rachel looked up at Zinnia through dark lidded eyes, the Draconid felt her breath hitch when her lips met her hand. Normally she was the one who often flustered the Champion, but for this moment, those roles reversed. “May I have this dance?” She asked, her voice like rich honey.

          With a light dusting on her cheeks, Zinnia took a step forward and pulled Rachel close, snaking her arm around the other woman’s waist. “Thought you’d never ask.”

          Satisfied with the blush on Rachel’s face, Zinnia smirked. They could take turns.

          Smiling, Rachel pulled Zinnia towards the middle of the lit cave, closer to where the live performers were playing their music. As they idly waltzed close to the centre, Rachel leaned in to whisper to the Draconid. “Full disclosure: I’m a terrible dancer!” She admitted a bit sheepishly, laughing a bit once she pulled back. “I’ve got two left feet, so uh…sorry if I step on your toes.”

          By the Dragon Lord, she was just too cute. “Oh, don’t worry.” With the swift grace of her people’s sky god, she guided Rachel into a dip. The distance between them was barely any at all, and Zinnia’s signature fangs poked out of her playful smile. In a voice with a texture like royal silk, she practically purred at the Champion on her arm. “I’ll lead.”

          Pulling her back up, Rachel allowed Zinnia to do just that, carefully following her as she moved with deliberate grace in her steps. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the Draconid woman, once again swallowed by the crimson depths of her eyes. For once, she allowed herself to sink in and be drawn into their depths. She relaxed in her arms.

          For the first time, there was no trepidation. No hesitation. She simply belonged. As though they were made to hold each other, to dance together, to fit together.

          Maybe, Alpha allowing, they could find a way to sneak away. Give Zinnia a sneak peek at the location in Falarbor Town that had been erected before it was publically announced, so that she could properly appreciate it without being weighed down by public appearances or pressure.

          So she could properly appreciate all the effort put into all of this for her.

          But, she did also want an excuse to be completely alone with her. There was no doubt in her mind, there were things she wanted to say that were for Zinnia’s ears only. She didn’t want an audience for what she wanted to confess.

          It had to be this. Now that she knew without a doubt what her feelings were towards Zinnia, Rachel couldn’t afford to wait to tell her.

          After their dance, they’d sneak away and she’d do it then. As soon as possible.