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goldenavenger02 · 10 months

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i'm stuck between my anger and the blame i can't face

“Lloyd doesn’t blame you, none of us blame you. How were you supposed to know that he would get possessed by a teenage ghost with a vengeance?”

“I know that they don’t blame me, but..” Kai swallowed, rubbing his eyes on his red, dirty sleeve to keep the tears at bay, “I just wish I had gotten a really, really good punch in.”

‘Morro is so lucky that he’s already dead,’ Kai thought to himself as he chewed on his already raw lip and the bitter taste of coppery blood coated his taste buds.

He was aware that it was swollen with how many times it had broken open in the last day along with the fact that his hair was falling out of place due to the crusted salt water coating his scalp but compared to Lloyd, Kai had never looked better.

Despite the fact that it had been caused by their Sensei’s former student, the master of fire was painfully aware that there was no one to blame but himself for what had happened at the museum just a few weeks ago.

The misstep the team, especially himself, had made in letting Lloyd go by himself had now led to the youngest of the bunch being admitted into the hospital for an array of injuries and symptoms after collapsing against Nya’s armored chest when they had arrived at the harbors in the small riverboat.

And despite everything, Kai was all but forced to stay put in the tiny waiting room, biting at his fat lip to keep from blowing everything apart with bursts of burning flames from sheer anger and if some of the sinking guilt exited through it, that was fine by him.

But, he knew he had to keep it inside so no one else got hurt because the last thing he wanted was to hurt someone else even if Morro really deserved it right now.

“Hey, Kai?” Nya’s hand was soft on his shoulder as he was brought out of his thoughts to see his little sister with hair in a similar state of disarray that his own was and a water bottle in her hand, “you need to drink this.”

“I don’t want-”

“Take the water, dumbass,” Nya insisted, pushing the water bottle into his hand, “you and Jay are both dehydrated as hell and I do not want someone else getting admitted into the hospital tonight,” Kai couldn’t fight with her on that and screwed off the small plastic lid, washing away the bloody taste in his mouth with the cool, refreshing liquid, “and don’t chug.”

Kai pulled away the water bottle from his lips, wiping the drips off of his chin with his sleeve before feeling exhaustion pull at the genuine smile he offered his little sister, “I’m proud of you, the whole true potential thing.”

“Thanks,” she smiled briefly, her hand going to the back of her neck in a moment of timidness that Kai hadn’t seen in a very long time, “but, we all did great today. I just wish I had actually hit Morro after everything he did to Lloyd.”

Kai couldn’t stop himself from nodding; he knew that as the ninja, they were supposed to take the high road and not stoop down to the level of their enemies, but at the same time, the enemy had gone too far this time.

It felt as though even Lloyd had given up the golden power that the Overlord had coveted, he still had a massive target on his back just by existing.

“Kai, you’re zoning out again,” Nya spoke up, bringing him back to fluorescent lights and the pit of worry deep within his gut, “get another drink.”

He knew better than to fight with his little sister when he could see the worry reflecting in her brown eyes and as he sipped at the water again, he couldn’t stop himself from sending up a quick prayer to The First Spinjitzu Master or whoever else was listening.

‘Please help Lloyd heal.’

…

Lloyd’s cheeks were slightly flushed in the soft glow of the fluorescent lamp illuminating the room just enough for the hourly vital checks that the green ninja was being subjected to until he improved.

Kai could have focused on any number of things when he was finally let in to see Lloyd after Sensei and Misako left to get some much needed sleep and Nya was satisfied with his water intake.

The mild bruising around the IV site he could see just starting to creep out from the bandage that covered the back of his hand, the oxygen mask that looked way too big for his face being held on by two elastic straps going over his ears, the dark purple and reds that made up his under eyes, or even the pale tint to his skin everywhere but his cheeks.

But all he could focus on was the light flush that told him that he was no longer possessed, that he was alive and that he would recover in time.

The reassurance of the pink cheeks along with the steady breathing despite the wheeze when he inhaled was enough for Kai to pull his eyes away from his unmoving body and distract himself with his phone since he knew that there was no possible way he would be getting sleep tonight.

He wasn’t sure how long he was scrolling mindlessly to distract himself but it did mean that he was looking at the screen when the screen dimmed to a black screen and the vibrations started to reveal a phone call from Skylor.

“Hello?” He couldn’t stop the yawn from escaping his lips as he spoke.

“Hey, I was getting ready to close for the night and I saw the news. Is Lloyd okay?”

Kai swallowed as he glanced at Lloyd with the large oxygen mask obscuring most of his view of his face before he managed a response, “we’re at Ninjago General, but he’s been pretty stable for the last few hours.”

“Okay,” Skylor paused for a moment and Kai heard some rustling in the background that he couldn’t place, “is it just you and Lloyd?”

“Yeah, the others needed sleep.” Kai confirmed, keeping the thought of ‘they were actually able to help’ to himself, knowing it would just worry her more.

“Do you want some food? I can be there in ten minutes.”

Now that he thought about it, noodles sounded good to his stomach that hadn’t had anything but water since right before they had made their way to Stiix that afternoon and just the thought of food made his stomach growl.

But he couldn’t leave Lloyd by himself, again. ‘Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.’

“Kai?” Her voice came back and he could hear the concern etched in it even through the distortion of his cell phone, “I said I can bring it to the room if you want me to meet you there instead.”

“Yeah. Yeah, that works,” Kai agreed, the relief filling him quickly as he added, “he’s on the pediatric ward, on the second floor, room eleven.”

“See you in fifteen.”

…

Kai had watched Skylor cook before; keeping customers calm and collected while simultaneously putting ingredients together based on the recipes she had grown up cooking and eating on the island her father had been banished to; for her, it was all she knew but for him, it was the ultimate comfort food.

It tasted like home, it tasted like the first time he and Nya had enough money for more than new materials, power bills and seeds to grow their own food, it tasted like the the two of them ordering off of the one dollar menu for the very first time, it tasted like finding a speck of light in an otherwise suffocating darkness.

That first time they had gone, Kai had ordered the seemingly simple noodle soup but when he had brought the spoon to his lips for the first time, he was overwhelmed with how fantastic the flavors melded together. Bok choy, rice noodles, spicy shreds of chicken, green onion, chili paste and ginger all swimming in a golden, rich, chicken broth; it was the first time he had found comfort in food, and it wouldn’t be the last.

Even now, sitting face to face with Skylor as she tried to coax him into eating some of her puffy potstickers and chocolate-covered shell peas, all he could do was try and breathe in the comforting smell of his soup while simultaneously try to drown out the light hiss of the oxygen mask and the consistent beeping of the various monitors.

“Nya tried to keep me updated on everything, after Garmadon…” Skylor’s voice was quiet even while breaking the silence, “but after telling me that you four had lost your powers, she kind of ghosted me. I know that you two don’t usually check your phones while you’re preoccupied, so I was waiting for her to text me back again.”

Kai nodded, still unable to find his voice which gave Skylor the chance to keep talking, “after all, it’s only been a couple of weeks since she sent me that message,” ‘it had only been a couple of weeks?’, “but when I saw the news coverage, and I saw how sick Lloyd looked, I had to find out-”

“It’s my fault.” He spoke before even fully thinking about what he was saying, stopping Skylor in her sentence; but once the dam burst, he couldn’t stop talking, saying exactly what had been on his mind since that night where he fought the one he swore to protect outside of Steep Wisdom.

“I let him go without backup after I promised him that I would watch out for him. I broke through to him twice and I couldn’t get him back either time. I let him get dragged into the Cursed Realm-”

“Kai,” Skylor’s hand was soft against his glove; while it effectively cut off his rambling, it didn’t stop the tears that had started to build in his eyes and blur his vision, “Lloyd doesn’t blame you, none of us blame you. How were you supposed to know that he would get possessed by a teenage ghost with a vengeance?”

“I know that they don’t blame me, but..” Kai swallowed, rubbing his eyes on his red, dirty sleeve to keep the tears at bay, “I just wish I had gotten a really, really good punch in.”

Skylor squeezed his hand tightly, her familiar smile gracing her face for a moment before morphing into a more empathic expression as she spoke, “I think the only person who blames you is you and the only person who can forgive you is you,” she stopped to hand him a puffy potsticker, the light scent immediately hitting his nose with a wave of comfort, “but you really have to eat more than dollar menu soup so you can get some sleep. Lloyd is going to be asleep for a while.”

Kai never claimed to be an expert on anything, but he did know when it was better to just do as he was told, especially when it was from someone who had a much clearer state of mind, so he ate the potsticker, took a long drink of water and finally let himself relax in the armchair next to Lloyd.

He wasn’t sure when Skylor left, but he did know that at some point he felt a blanket being tossed over his legs and a soft kiss being pressed to his cheek before he succumbed to the mind-numbing darkness.

…

Kai woke up to chaos.

The sun shone in his eyes, the blanket that had been put on him had fallen to the floor at some point while he was sleeping and he could hear rapid, loud beeping.

Rapid, loud beeping. In a hospital. Where Lloyd was hooked up to so many monitors. Where any number of things could go wrong.

He stood up before he fully had a chance to process anything that was happening around him, his hands reaching out in fists to either fight someone or to let go of his palms in order to figure out what had happened while he had stupidly let his guard down and slept.

But when he blinked, he saw Lloyd looking right at him with a tired smile, his oxygen mask now replaced with a nasal cannula, as a doctor continued to fiddle with the monitor with her face pressed into mild frustration.

“Sorry for waking you up like that,” Lloyd muttered quietly, his voice just above a whisper while he continued to smirk, “The monitor got unstuck.”

“When did you wake up?” Kai asked, still trying to shake away the adrenaline that had thoroughly encased his under-caffeinated mind.

“He woke up a few times last night, but only for a few minutes at a time,” the doctor supplied, seemingly content with the monitor now that it was reattached to Lloyd’s body and beeping steadily, “this is the first time he’s really been awake.”

“Finally got caught up on sleep,” Lloyd added, his tired smile widening before turning to the doctor, gesturing to the tubing around his face, “when can this come off?”

“I’d like for your oxygen levels to go up just a bit more before we take you off of supplemental oxygen completely, but that’ll be in a few hours at the most if it stays on this time.”

“Anything to get this itchy thing off of my face,” Lloyd agreed before seemingly remembering some sort of manners and adding a “please” at the end which Kai couldn’t help but smile at given that it had been awhile since he had seen his childish nature.

“Okay, I’ll be back in a couple of hours to check your vitals again.” the doctor told him, disposing of the gloves she had been wearing in the trash can before walking out of the room, leaving Lloyd and Kai by themselves and the guilt slowly started to creep back into Kai’s mind.

‘What are you smiling about when you caused all of this in the first place?’

“You can go get some tea or something,” Lloyd mumbled, his eyes shutting halfway while pulling in a not nearly as wheezey inhale like the ones Kai had fallen asleep to the night before.

“No, I’m okay,” Kai insisted, finally sitting back down in the armchair next to Lloyd and watching as Lloyd reached over and put his hand on top of Kai’s, “are you?”

“Mmhmm, just sleepy,” Lloyd managed a quick nod and a slow blink before asking, “does mom know?”

“I’ll tell the others. You stay awake for a few more minutes,” Kai insisted, pulling out his phone to send a picture of Lloyd to the others, only for Lloyd to stick out his tongue in retaliation right as the photo snapped, “do you really want me to send this,” he stopped to turn the phone screen toward him, “to your mom?”

“They don’t need a picture,” Lloyd huffed, his joking mood completely erased in just one moment that made Kai’s stomach twist with a mix of guilt and worry, “I’m going back to sleep.”

Despite the need to ask and the need to press further, Kai kept his mouth shut; he pocketed his phone and used his free hand to run a hand through Lloyd’s matted hair, feeling him relax into sleep as he did.

After all, he was the one to blame; even if the others didn’t put him at fault, he knew one thing that was true, even if Lloyd only thought it deep within his subconscious.

‘Why would he ever trust me again?’

…

Kai would be lying to himself if he had said that he needed a break from the hospital room.

Even now that Lloyd was awake every few hours and managed to keep conversations going for more than a few sentences with the others, the room still made his stomach turn even before he factored in any of the guilt that hit him whenever Lloyd’s misty, green eyes made contact with his own.

So when Misako, Sensei and Zane had arrived, supplying the fact that Cole and Jay got sidetracked with a robbery, Kai knew that he could safely step out without anything happening to Lloyd.

‘Not that you’re strong enough to stop it regardless.’ His inner voice sneered as he went down to the first floor to find either the cafeteria, fresh air, or the vending machine.

Admittedly, in his search for caffeine so the mild throbbing in his temples would be quelled, he knew he made a wrong turn when he ended up in the waiting room where the hellish nightmare of the last twelve hours had started.

“Anything yet?” Kai couldn’t stop from panting after running straight from The Bounty into the entrance of the hospital, more than likely scaring the receptionist. That or it was the combination of three exhausted ninja, a literal ghost and a Nindroid.

But, if the woman behind the counter was scared, she was fantastic at keeping it to herself as she turned to the computer and asked “name?”

“Lloyd Montgomery-Garmadon.” Nya spoke up, her brother only now realizing how shaky her voice sounded.

“He’s still being treated,” the woman announced as she continued to type away, “immediate family only.”

“We don’t have time for this! His family situation is complicated between the Great Devourer and The First Spinjitzu Master, not even to mention the whole Underworld thing-!”

“Jay!” Cole shouted, effectively cutting off his obviously dehydrated ramblings before giving the woman a polite smile, “what he’s trying to say is that we’re practically his siblings.”

“Take a seat.” The woman responded before turning back to her work, effectively sending the group of six to the chairs that signaled uncertainty.

“I’m gonna go get some water bottles.” Nya announced before she even had a chance to sit down. Zane followed closely behind her to help her carry them, but Kai knew that he was also watching over her to make sure that she also didn’t collapse from the exhaustion of the night.

And while Jay leaned against Cole’s ghostly shoulder, his eyes already shutting with exhaustion, Kai’s stomach turned harshly as he thought about Lloyd and all the unknowns that came along with being unable to see him.

“Kai?”

He should have expected for Nya to find him in the waiting room.

She had always been good at knowing when he was struggling and where he would retreat to when he had the chance, even in an unfamiliar location to the both of them.

“You okay?” She asked, her gloved hand landing on his shoulder.

“Yeah, just looking for some caffeine.” He lied through his teeth, but he should have known better than to try and fool the one who knew him best.

“Vending machine is over there,” she gestured with her hand to the illuminated, refrigerated box in the corner, “what’s really going on?”

“I…I can’t tell you.” Kai stuttered, wincing when he saw Nya’s concern turn into confusion.

“Kai-” she started, seemingly trying to coax him into letting her in, but he cut her off before she could even begin and the fear that had been at the back of his mind for so long that it had become part of his subconscious finally broke free from his lips.

“You won’t see me the same way if I do.”

And with that, he backed away from her, watching as the hand that had rested on his shoulder fell to her side before walking out of the automatic doors and into the streets of New Ninjago City.

He didn’t know where he was going, he didn’t even know where he would end up. All he knew was that he had to get out of that place with its white walls, the stench of rubbing alcohol and the guilt that threatened to swallow him whole.

He made it a street over when he realized that he had left Lloyd again. He made it two before his conscience started screaming at him to ‘go back to the hospital and tell Nya everything.’

When he made it three streets over, the feeling of sterilization left his bones and was replaced with the familiar but loud sounds of the city around him.

It would be comforting if the voice in his mind wasn’t taunting him with thoughts of ‘you left Lloyd again, traitor,’ and ‘if it isn’t Morro, someone else will hurt him. All because you aren’t there. So much for the “Master of Fire”.’

Kai’s feet stopped moving in the middle of the sidewalk; he could feel the citizens of the city shoulder check him or just walk around him, faces moving coming into and disappearing from view in a blur and he was paralyzed, forced to stand on the designated pavement.

His breath hitched and he was suffocating on air. His chest hurt and he couldn’t feel his hands. His back hit the wall of a building as his eyes burned with hot tears and his head wouldn’t stop echoing “your fault, your fault, your fault”-

“Kai? Kai, can you hear me?”

He tried to nod to the distorted voice but his vision wouldn’t focus on the blur of red and orange and his neck felt stiff so he reached a hand out, hoping that the figure would grab onto it; when he had spent weeks with a white bandage covering his right eye and couldn’t find the strength to open the left one, he had found comfort in tight grips around his hands and identifying them based on how hard they squeezed back.

Sure enough, when the person returned his grasp and said something about “try to slow your breathing”, he focused on their hand to see if he could find familiarity in the grooves.

The small piece of callous sticking out of their right thumb was all he needed for his vision to focus and his chest to slow its heaving, but in its wake left a deep seated exhaustion and he had to use all of his strength to keep himself from falling face first into the sidewalk.

“Come on,” Skylor’s voice was soft as she wrapped his arm around her shoulder and wrapped her arm around his side, “let’s get you inside.”

…

After taking a much needed nap on Skylor’s futon and eating two full bowls of ramen, Kai finally had the strength to air out everything he was feeling; it never came this easy when it came to the others, but with her, he had the opposite problem where he couldn’t stop talking.

“-and I know what you said last night, that the only person who can forgive me is myself,” Kai stopped to pull the orange throw tighter around his shoulders before looking back into Skylor’s amber colored eyes, “but I don’t even know how to do that.”

“It’s not easy, and it’s not linear,” the hollowness in her voice nearly matched his own, “it’s easier when you first acknowledge that it’s going to take a while for that to happen, self-forgiveness.”

Kai couldn’t help but wonder what Skylor herself felt guilty for, but he also knew better than to ask; if it was anything like his own situation, he’d much rather she told him when she was ready to.

“Has Wu talked to you six about guilt?” She questioned, moving to sit beside him on the futon and resting her hand on his shoulder, giving him permission to put his head against her, “about how to cope with it?”

“He always says that guilt is a good thing, means that we’re aware of what we’ve done even if it’s a mistake,” Kai sighed, trying to grasp onto the words of his sensei when he had been sick with grief over Zane, “it’s when you start to hate yourself because of your actions that it becomes a problem.”

“Do you?” Skylor asked, her hand running through what would usually be a spike but had fallen down around his scalp.

Kai took a moment to consider it, but ended up shaking his head, “that’s not what this is. I just wish I could have done more. The others had really helpful weapons, Nya’s powers defeated the Preeminent and I…” he swallowed, feeling the stinging tears start to make their appearance, “I had a headband.”

“You felt useless.”

And that’s when it finally hit Kai directly in the chest.

He had always echoed the sentiment that Wu had given them, that they were not just their powers, but after having those powers for a little under two years now, he had let the element take away his sense of self and now that he had it back, he wasn’t sure that he was even worthy of it.

“I wasn’t good at anything before I started training under Sensei,” he let a tiny flame flicker in his hand, a reassurance that Lloyd was okay, “But me and the others, our destiny is to protect Lloyd and when I couldn’t do that…It makes me wonder if I’m good at this at all.”

“You’ve done so much, for Lloyd and for Ninjago,” Skylor insisted, gently pressing a kiss to the top of his head before holding him tighter, “but, self-doubt is a bitch and something I know a thing or two about.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Not as intensive as being one of Ninjago’s sworn protectors or anything, but going from being a pawn in a tournament designed to steal powers to running an entire noodle empire,” Kai could hear her light hearted smirk as she spoke, “let’s just say it’s a massive adjustment.”

“How’d you…you know.” Kai couldn’t find the words as yet another nap threatened to drag him into sleep.

“Learn how to live with it? I brushed myself off, told myself that one angry customer wasn’t going to destroy the entire business and moved on. It wasn’t easy at first, but now? I’m kind of an expert.”

Kai absorbed her words and tried to apply them to his own situation; he knew that the guilt was normal and even expected, but at the same time, he knew that even if he had been at the museum that day, Morro wouldn’t have abandoned his plan when he saw him. He’d either plan a different attack or worse, hurt both of them before taking Lloyd.

Just as an angry customer wouldn’t bring down Mister Chen’s Noodle Emporium, the day at the museum wasn’t going to tear apart his team. ‘So why should it tear me apart?’

“You should go back to sleep, hot shot,” Skylor insisted while maneuvering the comforter so it covered both of them, “I’ll text your sister and let her know you’re safe.”

Kai nodded and shut his eyes, letting the sound of Skylor’s heartbeat lull him into sleep.

The hours passed around him in a blur; he’d wake up, take a drink of water and fall back to sleep. Sometimes Skylor would be there, other times he was all alone. Sometimes the sleep would just be peaceful darkness, but the rest of the time, he was forced to be a fly on the wall as he watched himself go through everything that had happened in the last few weeks.

“Don’t worry, big shot,” pressing his hand into Lloyd’s golden waves, holding onto his arm so he couldn’t escape, “I’ll watch over you from now on.”

That one moment of happiness that was tinged in melancholy grief and the fear of the unknown. After that, all he saw were flashes of himself against the ghost who started all of this.

‘Foolish ninja! Why would you try and take me on all by yourself?!’ rough hands gripped the promotional t-shirt he was wearing, but despite the fear of what would happen to him running through his veins, his fear about Lloyd was stronger.

‘Because I promised to look after Lloyd,’ he maneuvered so his hands were pressing onto his “brother’s” neck, holding him tightly, ‘I know you’re in there, Lloyd. Fight him!’

‘The staff is getting away! Let go of me!’

‘Only when you let go of Lloyd!’

That’s when he heard his voice, raspy and gravely like every word hurt him to say, ‘Kai. Help me!’

The world swirled around him. He was no longer outside of Steep Wisdom, he was on the small boat from Cloud Kingdom, trying to best the sword of sanctuary and destiny at the same time all with just a single aeroblade.

‘I guess both our fates are tested, the only thing is that I already know how mine will end!’ Morro jeered as he engaged in hand to hand combat before stealing the aeroblade with his free hand, leaving Kai backed against the wooden side, ‘now I know how yours will!’

But before he could strike him down, his body stiffened and he nearly fell to his knees as Lloyd’s strained voice broke through, ‘take the sword, Kai! I can’t hold him much longer!’

Once again, the scenery changed. He was no longer in the snow, but rather, in a freezing cold river. Lloyd’s weight was heavy in his right arm as he paddled with his left, desperately trying to avoid going over the waterfall just like the realm crystal.

His cheeks were hot and he could feel a tiny bit of drool on his chin when Skylor finally woke him up for good, pressing a hot mug of tea into his palms once he was sitting up and setting a plate with a couple of pancakes on the coffee table without being asked.

“Thanks, for all of this.” Kai finally said after taking a few sips of the tea, “I really appreciate it.”

Skylor just shrugged in a “it’s nothing” way as she took a bite from her own plate, only speaking after she swallowed, “Nya said that Lloyd got discharged. Do you want me to drop you off at The Bounty after you eat?”

‘You can’t hide from this forever.’

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Kai agreed, savoring the subtle sweetness of the tart blueberries that had been mixed in with the pancake batter, “I’m sure you’re welcome to stick around for a bit afterwards.”

“That’s sweet,” Skylor started, but he could tell by her tone that she was rejecting his offer, “but, I have a lot of reservations at the flagship location today, investors. I’ll drop by for a visit soon though.”

Kai knew that her agreeing to visit soon was the best he was going to get and dropped the topic to finish eating breakfast and run some cold water over his face before they left her apartment.

He was glad that she drove him home, he didn’t feel steady enough to take the wheel and given that Lloyd had just gotten out of the hospital, it would be best if he didn’t get himself admitted in his place.

The drive was silent aside from the sound of the R&B music he seemingly always heard her playing, whether that was in her apartment or in her car; it sounded like everything he loved about her from the small smile that would grace her lips every time she giggled under her breath to the way her hands always knew just how to move in his hair to put out the fiery walls of anger that he more often than not surrounded himself with.

But, the silence was welcome after the chaos of the last few weeks. For Kai, it gave him the chance to breathe and to feel without tears pricking at the corners of his eyes or fire trying to force itself out of his palms.

He could just be, and for that twenty minute drive, that was okay because while the others meant well, she never tried to force the information out of him. She was content to hold his hand and wait for him to be ready and she always knew exactly what to say.

Kai didn’t know if they would last forever, between their busy schedules and his inability to call her when villains arose as everything went to shit, but in these moments where she drove with her left hand and kept her right clasped against his left, he felt like just focusing on the now was enough for both of them.

So when they arrived at The Bounty and he took off his seatbelt, he was fully prepared to just get out of the car until her hand reached out, making him stop.

“You’ve got this. Don’t let them make you talk about it if you don’t want to, okay?”

“I know, Sky.” He nodded, leaning forward to press a kiss to her soft cheek as a good-bye, “I’ll text you in a bit, promise.”

“Okay,” she agreed and let go, waiting until right before he shut the passenger side door to say with a wink, “see you later, Hot Tamale.”

And with that, she drove off; back to the city where her home and her job were, forcing Kai to turn around and board The Bounty, his heart pounding in his chest as he did.

It wasn’t that he was scared of his teammates, his family, but more so that he was worried about the glances that Jay would give Nya, trying to pry information and the questions that would inevitably be asked about why he had left.

He wasn’t surprised to see that the deck was empty. Given the fact that Lloyd had been discharged, he knew that they would all be below deck, probably watching some bad tv show or playing video games.

Sure enough, when he arrived in the living area, he wasn’t shocked to see Cole, Jay and Zane sitting on the floor as they played Fist to Face 2 and he knew that Wu and Misako were more then likely somewhere that was more quiet aboard The Bounty as they finalized the last of the documents from selling Steep Wisdom.

But what he hadn’t expected was to see Nya sitting on the couch, her controller long abandoned as her right hand rested on Lloyd’s shoulder that was under what looked suspiciously like the red and orange blanket that belonged to Kai and was always haphazardly draped over the edge of his bed.

“Hey,” Kai whispered, getting Nya’s attention as he sat down next to Lloyd’s sock covered feet, not wanting to be loud enough that he would open his green eyes, “how is he?”

Nya’s smirk filled her face for a moment as she gently moved her hand up and down the boy’s shoulder, “he’s doing better. He tried to play for a bit but he’s still tired, poor thing,” she looked away from his peaceful face to meet Kai’s eyes, “are you doing better?”

And as Kai around the room for a moment, taking in the familiar glow of the television, the sounds of Jay cheering a bit too loudly only to get shushed by Zane and the pure relaxation that covered Lloyd’s sleeping face despite the signs of exhaustion still being there, he found the strength to meet his sister’s eyes and speak.

“I’m getting there.”

#lego ninjago #ninjago #whump #angst #my writing #fic #kai ninjago #lloyd garmadon #ninjago skylor #ninjago nya #kailor #panic attacks #hospital #hurt lloyd garmadon #sick lloyd garmadon #stressed kai (ninjago)

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grammar-antifascist · 2 months

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In his tell-all book from 2021, former Trump military advisor General Mark Milley repeatedly compared Trump’s tactics and opinions to Nazism.

He called the January 6 insurrection attempt Trump’s “Reichstag” moment, referring to the burning of the Reichstag in 1933, where Hitler used an attack on the German parliament to gain public and political support for the removal of various democratic rights. (Read more about it at the Holocaust Museum)

The Nazis blamed the fire on Communists, Hitler’s biggest political opponents in his early reign, and there has long been speculation that the Reichstag Fire was a false-flag operation by the Nazis themselves to eliminate and discredit those enemies. Hitler used false-flags during the Gleiwitz Incident, so we know he used the tactic. But false-flags are famously hard to prove - it’s the military version of “he said/she said”

Flash forward to the assassination attempt on Trump’s life July 14, 2024

I’m reluctant to call the attack on Trump a false-flag orchestrated by his party to make Trump seem more impressive, because it would be hard to prove one way or another - such a scenario would be covered up, and Trump is well-practiced in cover-ups. But even if it was not a false-flag, and the shooting was indeed a legitimate attempt on his life, Trump and his entourage are known students of Hitler’s rise to power and propaganda techniques. They know that deadly attacks are not just tragedies - they’re opportunities.

I see spin everywhere in the Republican response. Trump’s post-shooting statement that “God alone” saved his life builds himself up as a hero, blessed by Literally God — but it’s also a dig at the Secret Service, who he immediately blamed for not doing more to protect him. The Secret Service is taking a reputation nose-dive right now, with demands about how they could let this happen - but the first voice I heard criticize the Secret Service was Trump. And I’m not quite sure that’s fair.

I don’t like the Secret Service particularly, but I think they are being set up to take the fall for an attack that resulted from Trump’s disregard for his own safety. During COVID, Secret Service agents attached to Trump (who was then-president) expressed their frustrations with Trump for not cooperating with them on pandemic security. In 2022, Trump said that on January 6, he wanted to go down to the riots, into danger, and was stopped by the Secret Service, who openly defied his demands to go down into an active riot zone. Trump has historically repeatedly and deliberately attempted to put himself - and therefore his agents, and followers - in danger, in a country with a gun problem and a temper that he himself exacerbates.

And if it was that hard to keep him secure while he was actually president, it stands to reason he would be harder to secure with fewer agency resources devoted to him.

So, did the Secret Service not do their jobs well, or did they do the best they could with a client who flat out sucks?

I wonder if Trump’s spin doctors developed protocols specifically for assassination attempts. Attempts have happened before. Probably, right? Sorry, got sidetracked

Anyway, the shooter was a registered Republican but his motive and intentions are as yet unknown - and now that he’s dead, we will never really know why he did it. The issue with motive is there’s too many options - was he a disgruntled Republican, a false-flag Republican, a Democrat plant, a troll? Any evidence could be spun any way Trump wants. And the issue with intention is, even with a credible manifesto or evidence, there will be ambiguity in interpretation because the shooter can’t be interrogated to fill in the gaps. So we will never know why.

Regardless of the shooter’s intentions, Trump and his team are going to use this attack to further their political goals. They will use this to pretend he is a hero. He did nothing heroic. He made himself an open target because he knew other people were being paid to jump in front of the bullet for him. He’s a coward; being shot doesn’t change that. Just because someone survived a dangerous situation doesn’t mean they are a worthwhile leader

General Mark Milley said January 6 was Trump’s Reichstag moment - but no one ever said you can’t burn the Reichstag twice

This is a time for leftist resistance to Trump’s narrative propaganda

Trump is myth making and you can prevent it. When someone tries to spin this attempt as Trump being some kind of hero, RESIST.

If they say “Trump is a hero!”

You say: It’s not inherently brave to get shot at. If it was, then every kindergarten who got shot at Sandy Hook was a hero - but they weren’t, were they. They were victims, and so was Trump. Victims of a violence-centric system with no automatic gun regulations that Trump and his supporters built and support

If they say “The Secret Service failed!”

You say: This assassination attempt is not necessarily a sign that the Secret Service agency failed. Trump routinely defies security protocols for his own interests and makes their job harder - maybe he did that here, too. Hell, maybe he orchestrated it - politicians have done so before him - there’s not enough evidence yet to suggest a conspiracy but there’s not enough to suggest anything yet. Maybe Secret Security dropped the ball, maybe they saved his life - but likely it’s both, and until they’re done investigating, it’s premature to form an opinion. Trump already formed one, but we don’t have to

You can stop Trump’s propaganda campaign from spreading by voicing opposition

It’s not much but it’s not nothing. Trump is fighting this hard because he’s lost popularity - don’t let him and his followers control this narrative

#antifascist #antifascism #trump assassination attempt #Reichstag moment #trump #leftism #leftist politics #lefties

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kronoose · 2 years

Text

Finally an entity with more than one oc

Tw cult stuff/ref and arson probably

The desolation🔥🔥🔥 very long post incoming this is going to be two parts (I'm on mobile so im a shit judge of how this will look on desktop so Imma be safe)

To start we've got my X-Men OC and the youngest of all my oc's at the ripe age of 10

Diane trans fem she/her mutant

she is in X-Men canon the sister to pyro which gives her fire powers more geared towards support focusing on healing and being an endless source of fire for her brother after they've been reunited with in the brotherhood of mutants

So it was a natural and kinda cop out choice to put her here and since she's already in a almost cult in her original canon I started questioning if the Lightless Flame would accept a child that had found the flame Early

Then was like fuck it it's my infodump and there's no canon info to prove me wrong

So Diane found her devotion and gift for the flame when she burned down her families home after a Rather heated(excuse the pun) argument with her parents about her brother being sent away to boarding school

The actual set up was a blur to her but next thing she knew she was hoping foster placements until she was found by the cult of the ligthless flame

Next we've got cooky my oldest oc

Cooky she her

She was hard to truly place as she's an old lady who's the sweetest old granny that you could meet but she's also been around long enough to not hesitate to rock your shit I debated putting her with hunt but she doesn't participate in the game (will be explained with Luc) and the others just didn't fit her so it was here or the end the end just didn't feel right so she went here I imagine she found the ligthless flame rather late in life probably after she found her pain in the ass grandkids (Luc, Ben and doc) seeing the choas and destruction they caused feeding their own gods saw her finding her own path of heated destruction while she guided them

Next we've got Damian

Damian he/they/it (fuck/off)/j demon

Damian was summoned by Luc to be a clean up crew during his earlier crime days

Damian is kinda based off the black butler style demons

Finally for this post we've got my pride a joy blacksmith

Azaren he/him mostly but will respond to most demon

Hes my first good omens oc

Azaren came to be because I saw a pretty sword on google and was hyperfixated on forged in fire so I made a blacksmith demon OC in the world of good omens

I debated putting him in the Hunt because he is a killer for hire as his third job

He also restores weapons for museums and private collectors alike. Along with selling blades that he makes .

He found his devotion for the ligthless flame after his first hit seeing the destruction that he'd caused just rejuvenated him

#sortingocstma #tw arson #tw implied murder #xmen oc #original character #the desolation #the lightless flame #tw cult

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geronimo-11 · 2 years

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WIP Thursday

tagged by: @amistrio @redroci @shellibisshe @nightwingshero and so many others but it’s been so long I’ve forgotten by now. I’m sorry!

tagging: @jenchwuq @cobb-vanthss @foofygoldfish For my newest OC Grace, because Moon Knight is all I’ve been able to think about for the past couple weeks lol.

In which: Grace doesn’t know it yet, but she may have made a connection with an ancient Egyptian god.

Featuring: Grace, her ex, and Bastet

----------------

“Grace, please, I can explain—“

“No,” she snapped. “I don’t want to hear anything else you have to say. I’ve heard enough.”

Thomas stared at her, startled by her outburst. They’d had fights in the past, but she had never yelled at him like this before. Grace was shocked at herself, too. She was angry and getting angrier and she couldn’t calm herself down. Part of her didn’t want to. There was a rage bubbling underneath her skin and it burned hotter at the sight of him cowering in front of her. And she liked it.

“You’ve been lying to me from the beginning.” She took a step towards him and Thomas took one step back. He shook his head and his denial only made the fury in her lick white hot up the back of her neck.

“You have lied, and stolen, and you made me a part of it–”

“That was never supposed to happen–”

“But it did!” She screamed at him. Thomas’ eyes widened and his gaze darted to her hand. He looked afraid.

Good, a voice echoed in her mind that Grace wasn’t entirely sure was her own. She didn’t care. He is right to be afraid.

“I was attacked,” she hissed, stalking slowly towards him across the creaking floor of her apartment. “And kidnapped, twice. I was held hostage by some lunatic in a white suit who told me that I was being stalked by a cult—and that I was a thief, who had apparently been stealing from the museum for months. Imagine how surprised I was to hear that about myself.”

The power she felt at seeing Thomas back away from her fueled her fury. But under all the fire she felt a whisper of concern. She knew she had a right to be angry, but maybe this was too much. Her heart was racing in her chest and it felt good. It scared her. She ignored it.

“Grace, I’m so sorry–”

“Sorry you did it or sorry you got caught?” Grace snarled. “No, wait, that’s not quite right. Because you didn’t get caught, did you? I did.”

“Please, love–”

“Stop it,” she demanded. Thomas’ mouth closed with an audible snap. “I don’t want to hear another word. Actually–I can’t even stand to look at you anymore. Get out.”

“Love–” Thomas tried to coax her once more and Grace felt what little resolve she had left crumble into ash. She lifted her hand and pointed it directly at his chest. When had she picked up the sistrum? She couldn’t remember. Her rage had boiled over and all she could think about was how badly she wanted him to leave.

“Get. Out.”

Grace wasn’t entirely sure what happened next. One minute she was looking into Thomas’ wide blue eyes. The next there was a loud ringing sound, like someone had struck a chime, and her apartment door flew open. An unseen force shoved Thomas away from her, pushing him all the way across her apartment and out the door. She only caught a glimpse of Thomas’ surprised face before the door slammed shut and the lock clicked into place.

Grace stared blankly at the faded paint of her closed door. The sudden burst of anger she’d felt so intensely only a moment ago left as quickly as it came, and she felt a wave of panic wash over her in its place. Her breath was coming in shaky gasps as she looked down at the instrument in her hand.

“Holy shit.”

#ocs #oc: grace miller

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noroi1000 · 2 years

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Your matchups are so nice (especially the little character interpretation before the headcanons) may i request a romantic one for jujutsu kaisen too? (I'm okay with nsfw bits but i prefer sfw!!)

Basic info: I’m Bisexual, nocturnal, my pronouns are she/they, and my myers-briggs is intj-t. I’m not rlly quiet but i do overthink 24/7 which makes me go silent a lot (and stare at people accidentally), i'm kinda straightforward and cuss a lot but some people say i talk too gently(?) so it depends on the day ig 💀 and maybe i pull suggestive jokes unrpovoked to see someone choke on a drink or something, i like having conversaions/discussions about anything and love listening to people ramble, and i LOVE animals i have two cats who both sleep next to me, i come off as spontaneous but i actually plan a lot (i forget to say it). I love haunted places and ghosts in general but if i see a spider i will burn down the place.

Likes: reading (mostly) sci-fi, magical realism gothic horror/fiction, tragedy, satire, literary fiction, drama, philosophy & historical fiction but i pick up anything that catches my attention including textbooks- studying and researching (especially when it's about law or social affairs). sleeping anytime & anywhere possible, going to science museums and obstacle courses!! I quitted martial arts competitions due to covid but i still like sparring!! any kind of risk (played with fire inside a church once but shh-)

Hobbies: reading, writing (fiction n academic papers, especially personal book reviews!!), making lists of stuff, watching video essays, collecting knives/swords ( i have one katana and two hunting knives!!) and traditional weapons in my culture like nunchucks (got hit by someone n hit someone by accident the first time i tried 💀).

Other stuff: my love language (receiving) are physical affection & quality time. giving would be acts of service, physical affection (cuddles and hand kisses), and writing them letters with litte knickknacks inside like quotes they remind me of, and wrestling them (affectionately). I have kinda muscular thighs n calves due to the martial arts (taekwondo) thing but have comparatively weak ass arms.

Thank you for writing matchups!! Take your time and i hope you gain more audience for ypur works!!

a/n: I matched two people because I think they both fit you in their own way. The second person is briefly described.

I think your Jujutsu kaisen matchup is

Suguru geto

He can often be silent. Nobody knows why, but sometimes he is. But he himself is crazier and more energetic. He does not often pay attention to the people around him, and when he looks at them calmly and murderously, he makes them not want to approach.

He is direct, sarcastic, and often ignores the vocabulary. It depends on the person he is talking to.

He likes to joke and his days are often filled with laughter. How much you can piss him off with certain behaviors simply has to do with how much he pisses someone off. He sometimes annoys everyone. And he learned it, perhaps because he has such friends…

Seeing someone fall over, choking on laughter or doing prank? He is agreeing. But of course he has to know what the person is. But there are very few people he really respects (But that's at least something). No matter to whom they do it, everyone will know that it is his doing in a duet with his best friend. Even if it wasn't them, they wouldn't get away with it.

He's just in this humor.

He is planning a lot of things. However, his plans are made up spontaneously, and probably only he will know them. Strange as it may seem, he analyzes the situation quickly to find a solution as quickly as possible.

There are no things he will be very afraid of. Everyone is afraid of something, but he is already on such a level that fear has been put aside.

He is sometimes a fear to people. And what he can only fear are the curses over which he has power. He has long ceased to be afraid of this. And other scary things like horror movies and houses of fear are just funny to him. He had seen the worst things in his life. Spilling blood is a normal sight for him. But the fake blood running down the walls is a joke to him. He would never take it seriously.

It can be different with risking… It depends on what he can lose then, or who he can put into danger.

His sense of justice is quite high.

Therefore, spontaneous and strange things are normal for him. You just have to get used to the crazy side of this man.

And a calm voice can only be a cover for this.

Headcanon:

• If you try to make him laugh or say something suggestive to see him choke, you can expect failure. He himself will make you embarrassed and/or choke on drinking and even spit it out. There is simply no way to embarrass this man. He will laugh and then do the same to you.

• He wants to laugh when you start cursing, especially when you piss off someone. He likes you at ease, and he loves it, but he knows both sides of you. Quiet and impulsive.

• He enjoys talking to you and he really enjoys listening to you. And others too. Even though he really prefers your voice. But it will only survive if the topic of conversation is interesting.

• There is nothing to animals. The important thing is that they will be domesticated enough and nice. He couldn't stand a nasty pet in a house he has to sleep with.

• He's smart, so he knows exactly what you like to do. And the fact that you want to learn is normal. Maybe even help you if you need it. But even if he doesn't know that much, he'll try to help. He would love to be quite dry about other types of books.

• You can sleep on him. Might make a good pillow. It doesn't even bother him.

• Let him enter the obstacle course. Either he'll come it all at breakneck speed, or he'll be pissed off at an obstacle he can't fit.

• He's the perfect sparring partner. Martial arts are close to him. But you have to be careful that he doesn't take it seriously.

• While he may find the knives a little dangerous, he may eventually use them himself as a last resort. Who knows…

• He will watch you as you take the nunchucks in your hand. You can hurt yourself then, and he doesn't want to. And it would also have to be ready for random impacts. But since you have more experiences, he trusts you.

• He will tell you that he loves you, but he will mostly touch you. Sometimes words don't mean much. Therefore, it is better to lie in bed with him, cuddle up, and kiss him. And this man would do anything for the hours so spent.

• Gifts, some cute little things, it's him. When he finds something cute, he'll get it to give it to you. It will be more sweet in your hands.

• The only thing that can embarrass him are the really tender things he didn't expect. (Short-lived embarrassment)

• Legs or arms, he will draw lines on them to know how delicate they are. These are the parts of your body that he loves.

"You prefer to read now or spend time with me? Huh? Do you choose the former? Don't play with me like that. I'm not asking you the obvious, because maybe you have something more important now. Are you hugging me? You missed it, didn't you?"

I think your matchup could also be Maki Zenin

She is composed, but also explosive. She analyzes people quickly and has different opinions about them. She is tough, and at any moment gives the impression that she cannot be moved. And that she will not smile or laugh. On the contrary, she is a humorous person.

She is often busy. Workouts and stuff. But she can take a break to do something else. She certainly likes people who aren't mean. She hates people who put others under themselves and say they don't deserve something. Everything that the human mind has as equal. Unless that someone is mean or has the same last name as hers.

If you spend time with her, she certainly won't consider you a bad person. Maybe even help you. No matter what.

Therefore, be ready for her smile.

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk x you #jujutsu kaisen matchups #geto suguru #anime matchup #jjk headcanons #jjk #request #jujutsu kaisen requests

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mandoalorian · 4 years

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I Believe In Love [Maxwell Lord x F!Reader] — Seven: Humanity

Summary: When you find your calling to leave Themyscira, you venture out to the World of Man with intentions of helping and healing a very specific person's relationship with his son. You've heard his voice before, but only in dreams. You've felt his pain and anguish and you've never been able to relate to anything more. But things don't come easy for you, and they certainly don't come easy for him either. [This series contains spoilers for WW84 and is my interpretation of what happens after the movie ends].

Warnings: 18+ SMUT, unprotected p in v, oral (m and f receiving), fingering, reader is a virgin.

Word count: 6,300>

Masterlist

Previous - Chapter Seven - Next

Max stood outside, his back pressed against his car. He closed his eyes as the morning sun warmed his skin - only it felt more like an unpleasant, burning sensation. He felt a fire of anguish rife within him. He was furious. How had he let all this happen? How had little Maxwell Lorenzano let this happen? He scrunched up his nose in disdain as a single tear slipped from his eye and rolled down his cheek. He had nobody to blame but himself, and that’s what hurt the most. He had come so close to losing everything. He could still lose everything. You had preached to him about how Diana was symbolic of hope and that she’d never judge him, yet, Max couldn’t help but feel like she was judging him. When she told him that the consequences of his actions lay in his fate with Alistair. And in that moment, he felt so undeserving. He was a bad man who had done bad things and maybe he just wasn’t cut out to be a father. Maybe Alistair would be better off with Julianna. Maxwell found himself losing hope.

You were still inside, looking over some documents about Dolos’ dreamstone that Diana had been collecting. She explained to you that most of it had been provided by her old friend, Dr Barbara Minerva. Dr Minerva was a gemologist, according to Diana, who had looked into Romulus’ dreamstone just a few days ago. “Where is she now?” you asked Diana as your finger traced the sketch of the stone. At least you knew what exactly you were looking for. A gorgeous citrine stone with Greek scripture engraved into it.

Diana smiled faintly, but the glaze in her dark eyes were not lost on you. “She’s gone.” Diana whispered, looking into the distance.

“Oh Diana, I’m so sorry,” you frowned, placing a gentle and comforting hand in the small of Diana’s back. “Did Max know her?”

Diana took a sharp breath. “Yes.” she said coldly, before spinning around on her heel and walking over to her desk. You wanted to prod further and find out more but you noticed how stand off-ish Diana had become over your brief mention of Max and his relationship with Barbara. You figured it might not be best to push it. At least not right now.

You hadn’t stopped thinking about Maxwell and you were aware that he had been standing outside for quite a long while. You hoped that he was okay. You sighed, taking Diana and Barbara’s research and composing it into a pile for you to take away. “I should be going then. If we want to catch the flight to Athens.” you shrugged with a caring smile. Diana glanced back at you.

“Did my mother grant you permission to come here?” Diana asked, quirking her eyebrow.

You bit your lip nervously. “No,” you admitted. “Queen Hippolyta believed I was foolish for wanting to come here. I told her I had my calling but she didn’t care. My mother Hestia granted me a secret passage. Queen Hippolyta hasn’t been the same since you left.”

Diana nodded knowingly before saying your name gently, almost cautiously. “My mother didn’t grant you permission to come to the world of man because you’re too powerful.” Diana informed you. Her face hardened and she had become incredibly serious. You knotted your eyebrows in bewilderment and slowly shook your head.

“I- I don’t understand.” you said weakly. Too powerful for the world of man?

“You are the daughter of Zeus and Hestia. You are a goddess,” Diana smiled, cupping your face with her hand. “I’m only a demi-God, I have half the power you have. I can be here. But to have a whole Goddess walking on this earth, utilizing her powers… you’re playing a dangerous game. I’ve read about this in ancient Amazonian mythology. It would lead to the world’s destruction.” Diana explained quietly. “I would never want to harm this world.” you reassured Diana, pulling out of her grip and narrowing your eyes in disbelief.

“I know,” Diana hushed you. “I know you would never want to harm this world. But it’s not about what you want. It’s about the inevitable. Do you think Maxwell wanted to cause all the death and destruction? All the hate and war?”

“No of course not.” you replied.

“But he did. And now he’s… dealing with the aftermath. You might be here to help Maxwell and that’s okay. That is your duty. But you cannot stay. You must return to Themyscira once this is over with. You have to.”

“Yes but Max-” you began to protest but Diana cut you off.

“Once you fulfill your calling and bring him and Alistair together, you will have satisfied your duty as the goddess of home and hearth. You have no reason to stay, right?”

She was right. No reason to stay. But shit- you had become so attached to Max Lord and his son, you never even considered the fact you might have to leave them. It wasn’t even a ‘might’. You were going to have to leave them eventually and you didn’t have long at all. “Right,” you confirmed sadly, but trying to remain as composed as possible. “But I don’t even know how to get back to Themyscira.” you sighed.

Diana grabbed the rope of your lasso and traced the patterned ridges in between her father. “By combining both our lassos, I can create a one-way portal back home. When all this is over, you know where to find me,” Diana promised. Your heart ached. You felt nauseous. And you knew now you had to go outside and face Maxwell. You had to tell him. Your mind was racing as you wondered how he’d react to the news. “I know how you feel...” Diana said softly before looking out the window and into the sky above. “Once you’re back home, you’ll miss him. You’ll think about Max every single day. Just like I think about Steve.”

You didn’t even know how to answer, you were hurting too much. You knew Diana was only looking out for you and what was best for the world of man, but this wasn’t fair. Why couldn’t you stay? Why did you have to leave Maxwell? You picked up the papers and held them close to your chest. “I’ll see you in Athens, Diana.” was all you said, before leaving the Smithsonian.

Maxwell saw you approaching before you set eyes on him. He wiped his eyes and took a deep breath before giving you a small wave so you knew where he had parked his car. As he caught your attention, a bout of relief washed over you. He was beautiful - his hair golden under the sun and the gold rings on his fingers sparkling as the rays of light bounced off them. He made you feel safe and happy. But as you got closer to him, you began to feel afraid. Leaving him was going to be the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do.

The car ride to the airport was difficult. Maxwell hadn’t put the radio on this time, and so the journey was filled with an unwelcome silence. Every few minutes you would take a shaky exhale and try and work up the courage to tell him what Diana had told you. About how you couldn’t stay. You had to leave. But even before you said anything, you could cut the tension with a knife. He wasn’t okay and you knew it.

-----

“Flight RD270401 from Washington D.C. to Athens, Greece, is now boarding from gate 8.” echoed the airport speakers overhead. With your hand pressed against the cold window glass, you looked in awe at the airplane. It was unlike anything you had ever seen before. You looked back at Maxwell, who was pinching the bridge of his nose, talking to one of the airport employees. She was clearly saying something he had no interest in hearing. He shook his head to whatever she had told him, and he wiggled his finger at her. The conversation ended with him signing an autograph for her and then sauntering towards you.

You had managed to swindle your way past passport security thanks to your trusted lasso of Hestia, but Maxwell was still anxious you'd somehow get stuck in Athens without a passport and wouldn't be able to return to D.C. back in time for the court hearing. You tried reassuring him that everything would be alright, but he had a stubborn mind and he was already worked up from what Diana had told him earlier. That the consequence of his actions lied in the fate of his and Alistair's relationship. He knew that couldn't be good.

“She changed our one-way plane tickets to return tickets, so we have two days to get the dreamstone and then we must head back to D.C.” Maxwell informed you with a sigh, running his fingers through his hair. Only two days in Greece, and then it was back home to prepare for court. And then you had to go. He had barely spoken to you since the museum. You understood his stress and you missed hearing his sweet voice, but you didn't want to push him to talk about what happened back there if he wasn't ready.

"What did it cost you?" you asked hesitantly.

"She just wanted an autograph and my number," Maxwell shrugged, narrowing his eyes in the direction of the airplane. He was trying to read the docking gate number. "Come on, that's our flight."

Even though Diana had clearly explained that the world had forgotten about the broadcast, he couldn’t shake his guilty conscience. It felt strange- people still approaching him and asking him for autographs, giving him attention. It only added to his feeling of shame.

Maxwell walked hurriedly and you felt like you were practically chasing after him. There was hardly a rush. The airplane had just landed. "Your number?" you asked curiously.

"So she can call me." Maxwell explained further, his voice stone cold and emotionless. His comment was abrupt and to the point. It wasn’t a big deal. She might have believed she had a chance to go on a date with Maxwell Lord, but she really didn’t, and Maxwell knew that. He had more important things going on, and besides, his mind was already unwillingly preoccupied with you.

"Why would she want to do that?" you asked and Maxwell scoffed. He knew you weren’t accustomed to the nature of exchanging numbers and what that meant, but his frustration was increasing by the second. The thought of getting on a flight made him feel anxious and uneasy. He hadn’t been on a flight since he used the President’s chopper, Marine One, to fly to the bunker. Every little thing was reminding him of the incident and it was traumatic. Maxwell hadn’t even prepared himself for the chance of coming into contact with the dreamstone again.

"Jesus, do you have to question everything?" Maxwell snapped, abruptly halting in his footsteps and turning to you. You froze, your blood running cold as you sensed his anger. You crossed your arms over your chest, feeling timid, and ducked your head down. He shouted at you, and the ferocity in his voice made you feel small and vulnerable. "I'm sorry," Max sighed when he saw the change in your conduct. His heart sank in his chest, knowing that he was to blame for your demeanor. Just like he was to blame for everything else. "Let's just get seated, okay?"

You didn't reply, but followed him to gate 8 in silence as you queued up to get your tickets checked so you could board. Everything about this experience was brand new and awe-inspiring. You had watched many airplanes jet off into the sky and fly into the clouds above. Despite being so far away from home, you found comfort in knowing that both you and the Amazons were underneath the same sky. You had never felt so close to them.

Maxwell was truly more than happy to help you find the dreamstone. He knew it was something you needed to do, and after all, you were helping him with Alistair. You had warned him that if you didn't find the dreamstone, it could cause the world to end. The world had almost ended just a few days ago before Max had renounced his wish. It was serious. But to Max, all that mattered was Alistair. Even if you successfully destroyed the dreamstone, if he lost custody of Alistair then his life would be over. Alistair was his whole world. His only reason. He couldn't lose him. His life depended on it.

Just as you got strapped in, a flight attendant walked by. "Ah, are you two on your honeymoon?" she smiled, her blue eyes glittering. "Two seats in first class have just opened up, if you'd like."

"Yes!" Maxwell exhaled sharply, unclipping his belt and then reaching down to your lap unclip yours and pull you up. He needed the luxury of first class. It brought him a sense of normality.

“What’s a honeymoon?” you hissed, looking around the cabin.

“Just pretend we’re married, okay?” Maxwell hissed back before putting on a fake smile to present his charming exterior.

As the air hostess guided you to first class, she swooned over Maxwell.

“I love your infomercials,” she cooed, placing her hand on his arm and tracing the curve of his bicep. You couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy in your chest. “The part where you’re on a yacht and you say that thing about how you don’t need a business degree to get started is so inspiring. And sexy.” she sighed longingly, fluttering her dark eyelashes.

Before Max could reply, you grabbed his hand and intertwined his fingers with yours. He looked at you, his eyes widening slightly with shock. Maybe he was always going to be taken aback by your touch. You made him feel a way he had never felt before.

“Yes,” you smiled leaning over to take her hand off Maxwell. “My husband is very talented.”

There was no denying the way Max’s heart raced at your words. He swore he’d never remarry after Julianna. He’d also sworn that he’d never fall in love again. But then you came into his life and things changed. For a second, he actually imagined what it would be like to marry you. He imagined a life where he could show you off on his arm. He could treat you, spoil you, kiss you all day and all night. He imagined you looking over Alistair. He had already become familiar with the maternal side of you. As his mind wandered, he imagined the possibility of you giving him some more children. He cursed himself for letting himself get carried away; lost in thoughts that could never happen.

About an hour later, you were finally in the air and looking over Diana’s documents about Dolos’ dreamstone, provided by Dr Minerva. Maxwell was slumped against the blue velveteen chair, his legs spread as he nursed a glass of whiskey and picked at some peanuts. You sighed, feeling defeated. Your mind was overcome by all this new-found knowledge about the stone and you just wanted to relax. If you could do anything, you’d curl into Maxwell’s lap and fall asleep in his strong arms. But there was one thing preying on your mind. One thing you still needed to tell him.

“How are you feeling?” you asked quietly, and Maxwell looked up at you, his chocolate brown eyes meeting yours.

“Better,” he admitted with a small smile. “Athens is very beautiful. I think you’ll like it,” Your heart warmed knowing that he was feeling better. It was probably due to his intake of alcohol but nevertheless, his anxiety had eased and that’s all that mattered. Maxwell took a deep breath and tried to repress the smirk that was threatening to play on his lips. “You’re beautiful. Come here,” he said, patting his thigh. You bit your lip and walked over to Max, sliding down and sitting in his lap. He wrapped his arm around your body and pressed a soft kiss into your neck. Whiskey always gave him a boost of confidence but nothing had ever felt so right. You belonged in his arms. You belonged with him. He dragged his tongue up your skin and pressed a kiss into your jaw, nibbling at you gently with his teeth. You hummed in delight, loving the way his lips felt against you. “I am so glad you’re here,” Maxwell admitted, looking into your eyes. “I’m so glad you came into my life. I don’t know what I’d be doing if you weren’t here. I don’t know how I’d cope.” he confessed before pressing another kiss into you.

Your blood ran cold at his words. He might not know what he’d do without you, but he’d have to learn. You couldn’t stay with him in DC no matter how much you wanted to and he was going to have to learn to accept that. You had to tell him. It was now or never.

You pulled away from his lips and smoothed your hands over his hair. You noticed the way his roots were a dark brown colour and thought about how it faded into a dirty blonde. Did he dye his hair? You remembered your vision of him when he was younger and he had dark brown hair. That was why you hadn’t recognised him as Lorenzano. You still had so many questions to ask him but so little time.

“Max...” you croaked as tears pricked your eyes.

“Hey, what is it?” Maxwell cooed, rubbing circles into your back. You rest your head on his shoulder. You really were in love with him.

But you had to suck up your feelings. You closed your eyes. “I can’t stay,” you revealed, taking a deep breath. When Max didn’t reply, you managed to bring yourself to open your eyes and look at him, trying to judge his reaction. “Diana said I can’t stay.”

Maxwell was perplexed. He looked at you, then looked at his surroundings on the airplane and then looked back at you. “You can’t stay where? D.C.?”

“The world of man,” You sighed, playing with his hair. It was so difficult to read Maxwell’s expression. It felt like he was frozen in time. “She said I’m a goddess and I’m too powerful to stay. I could accidentally cause the world’s destruction.” you scoffed at how ridiculous Diana’s claim sounded, but deep down, you knew it made sense. She was your princess and you had to trust her, no matter what.

“But- what- how- what?” Maxwell exclaimed. He felt sick. He didn’t understand, but his stomach was in knots. There was a chance he was going to lose Alistair, and now you were going to leave him too. Maybe this is what he deserved, but he didn’t like it one bit. You had only just come into his life and you were like a blessing in disguise. Now you were going to leave?

“Max,” you whimpered, letting the tears drip down your face. “I don’t want to go. I don’t want to go back home. I want to stay here with you and Alistair.” you sniffed, pressing your palm flat against his chest. Seeing you cry was pushing him to cry.

“Don’t go,” he begged, shaking his head. “There must be a way you can stay. A loophole or something.”

“I don’t think so,” you shook your head in defeat. “I wasn’t even meant to come here. Our queen denied my request but my mother granted me passage to the world of man. She shouldn’t have, but she just wanted me to complete my calling and fulfil my duty as the goddess of home and hearth.”

“Hey, we’ll figure something out okay?” Max reassured, but his expression showed anything but assurity.

“We can’t,” you sobbed. Your tears were beginning to dampen his shirt but he didn't care. He held you close and tight as if it was going to be the last time. “I have to go.” you confirmed, hating the way the words sounded as they parted your lips.

“How long do we have?” Maxwell asked you, letting a tear slip down his cheek. You gasped and quickly wiped his tear away with your thumb.

“No longer than a week. Five days, maybe. As soon as the court case is over. As soon as you gain custody of Alistair, I must go.” you informed Max, exhaling shakily as you fought for composure. Max shook his head profusely in disbelief.

“I wish we had more time.” he choked out, resting his forehead against yours, his grip around you tightening.

You stayed in Maxwell’s arms for the rest of the journey. You’d both even fallen asleep at one point. When you landed in Athens, everything still felt bittersweet. The sky was dark and it was in the middle of the night. The resort was isolated but Maxwell was right, it was beautiful. Pearly white stars pierced the sky and small waves rippled through the turquoise tranquil waters. You followed your guide group to the hotel in silence.

“I don’t want this to ruin our trip, or ruin our final few days together.” Maxwell whispered as you queued in the lobby for the key to your hotel room.

“Me neither,” you hummed, resting your head on his shoulder and taking his hand. “I love your hands.” you whispered back, tracing his fingers and brushing over his knuckles.

“Yeah?” he asked, his breath hitching as you brought his hand up to your lips.

“Yeah.” you confirmed.

-----

“We only have five days until this is all over.” you purred, tugging on Maxwell’s shirt and falling backwards onto the bed. You giggled when you heard the springs in the mattress go as Maxwell hovered above you. Your hands found Max’s cheeks and you looked him in the eyes.

“I’m going to miss you so much.” Maxwell admitted although his tone was low, gravely and almost dark as he planted sloppy kisses along your jaw and down your neck. He never wanted this moment to end - or any moment that he shared with you, for that matter. Nothing had changed. You still revelled in the way he kissed you and the way his touch erupted a frenzy of butterflies in your stomach.

“Me too,” you huffed, bringing your hands down to fiddle with the buttons on his shirt. “But all I know is that I want to make every second that I’m with you count. I never want to forget this, Maxwell Lord.” you smiled, pulling him down to kiss you again. He moaned as your tongues intertwined and he guided his large hands over your frame.

As you made out, you relished the way he touched you and your bodies moved together in sync. It was like they were made for each other. That Zeus had sculpted you to fit with Maxwell Lord; to be with him, guide him, and love him when he didn’t feel loved. Maxwell had always laughed off the concept of ‘soulmates’, seeing himself as nothing more than an independent, stone cold businessman. But maybe, after all this time, he was wrong. In the past week he’d learned so much about himself, and what really mattered. You were teaching him that it was okay to rely on others for comfort and affection.

You reminded yourself of the reason you were in Greece. You had to focus on obtaining the dreamstone. It was important, but with this clash of tongues and teeth and Maxwell Lord on top of you, it was easy to forget about why you had come to Athens in the first place. Sure, destroying the remaining dreamstone was important, but so was Maxwell.

“There’s something I want to know,” you huffed, drawing away from him for just a second to regain your breath. “During my time studying the world of man, I took particular interest in family and babies, probably due to me being the goddess of home and hearth. I spent a lot of time studying babies and… how they’re made. The history books describe it as beautiful. An indescribable pleasure that you know I’ve never experienced before. There are no men on Themyscira. But I want to feel it. I want to feel the pleasure and I want you to show me. Please Max. Show me.” you whispered, bucking your hips upwards and rolling yourself over his crotch. You’d thought about it a lot, maybe even just as much as he’d thought about you in that way. You already knew you trusted him, especially with something like this.

His brown eyes turned a whole shade darker with lust as he slid his hands under your shirt.

“Are you sure?” he questioned, wanting to make absolute sure you certainly wanted this.

“I am,” you confirmed. “But only if you want to too.”

“I do,” Maxwell nodded, his lips curving into a smile. “Believe me, I really do.”

You grinned ecstatically, kissing him again and moaning into his mouth when he squeezed your breast, just like he'd done the previous night when you were both making out in his bed. He knew you liked it. “Let me take this off,” Maxwell groaned and you nodded, stretching your arms in the air so he could pull your shirt off you. “Fuck, you're so perfect.” he whispered to himself, as he stared down at your bare chest. He leaned in and kissed between the valley of your breasts. He peppered kisses along the soft plushness and licked a stripe along your hardening nipple. As he cared for your breast with his lips, he fondled your other breast with his hand, squeezing it lovingly before switching it up again. He was so skilled at this. He knew all the right ways to make you feel good.

Soon, you began to feel that familiar fire heat up in your core. The same fire you had felt when you were kissing him in his own bed. Your new panties felt like they were soaked with your arousal as he peppered kisses down your stomach and to the hem of your pants. “How do you feel?” Max asked you, looking up with concern. He just wanted to make sure you were still okay with this. He cared about you so much.

"Nervous, but excited," you exclaimed. "Will- will it hurt?"

"It might, just a little. Might be slightly uncomfortable at first. But if it gets too much you can tell me, okay?" Maxwell reassured, kissing the lobe of your ear. "I'd never ever want to hurt you honey."

"I know," you smiled, running your fingers through his soft locks of hair. "But first, let me take care of you."

Unsure what you even meant, Maxwell doubled back. You were new to this, inexperienced, and yet he found himself intrigued by what you meant when you said 'take care'. You shuffled out from beneath him and kneeled on the mattress. You unbuttoned Maxwell's shirt and tossed it on the floor, and then unzipped his pants. As you pulled down the silver zipper, you noticed the imprint of his bulge pressed against the tight tailored pants. It was long, thick, and achingly hard, precum already beading at his tip. You subconsciously licked your lips and Maxwell chuckled over your eagerness. It was adorable. But his laughter was cut short into a choked moan as you traced the shape of it through the material, gently with your index finger. "You look so big…" you trailed off, biting your lip nervously.

"Take off my pants and find out." Maxwell urged and you nodded your head. You pulled down his pants and his cock sprung free, bouncing against his tummy. The head was dark pink in colour and already leaking.

“Wow…” you gasped, wiping his precum and letting it wet your hand before wrapping your fingers around his length and starting to pump him. He tossed his head back and moaned wantonly, whispering your name like it was a prayer.

“You really don’t have to-” Maxwell stiffened up as you kitten-licked the tip of his cock. You let your fingers stroke the base and play with his balls as wrapped your lips around his thickness. “-I-fuck. This is your first-first time. I want to make you feel good.”

You pulled your lips off him with a pop and looked at him with doe eyes. “This feels good for me. Tastes good too.” you promised before sinking your mouth back down onto him, deeper this time. He stretched your mouth so wide your jaw began to ache and you gagged around him. You bopped your head up and down, loving the way his fingers tugged on your hair and the way he bucked his hips deeper into your throat.

“Won’t last,” Maxwell warned. “Fuck. Pull off.” he gasped for breath and you followed his instruction, removing your lips from his throbbing length. He wished he could’ve just spilled his seed down your throat but he wanted to make this as memorable as possible for you. It wasn’t just going to be a quick blowjob. You deserved more.

“How was it?” you asked, pouting your swollen lips. Maxwell leaned in and kissed you, tasting his own saltiness on your tongue.

“Perfect,” he sighed lovingly. “You’re perfect.”

Max gently pushed you down amongst the sheets and discarded the rest of your clothes so you were laying in bed completely naked. He pressed his hand on the apex of your thigh and opened up your legs. His cock jumped when he looked down at your glistening folds. You were already so wet for him and he’d hardly even touched you.

Maxwell kissed up the inside of your thighs, revelling in the softness of your skin. He knew he’d never be able to forget this. As he neared your core, your heart began to race with anticipation. Max pressed a soft kiss into your clit and you let out a gasp that you didn’t even realise you were holding back. You felt Max smirk against you and he separated your folds with his two thumbs. Now that you were completely spread open for him, he began to lick you up and down, his cock twitching as he tasted you. He’d eaten the widest variety of expensive desserts in his lifetime, but you were by far the most delicious thing he’d devoured. Everytime his tongue flicked upwards against your clit, your entire body would involuntarily quiver. He loved it. He loved watching you become putty under his touch.

He decided to focus more of his mouth on your clit and began to quickly flick his tongue over your bundle of nerves before sucking on it. His moans sent vibrations straight through you and he noticed how your hole began to clench over nothing. He was desperate to fill you up. To feel you. But he had to prep you first. He didn’t stop with the licking, but he did nudge a finger over your hole. You pushed your hips closer to him, wanting more.

“I’m going to finger you now, is that okay?” Maxwell asked, pulling off you. His lips shone with your slick and you swore he had never looked so beautiful.

“Yes please.” you whimpered.

“If it gets too much, tell me.” Maxwell whispered before reattaching his lips to your pussy and poking his index finger into your entrance. He kissed your clit one last time before pulling away and pushing his finger deep into you. He flushed pink as your soft walls tightened around his finger, and he couldn’t help but imagine how it would feel if he replaced his finger with his cock. He watched you in awe, thrusting his finger in and out of you, experimenting and curling it upwards until he was satisfied that he’d located your g-spot. “Sweet girl,” he moaned, watching you intently as you brought your free hand down to rub your clit as he fingered you. “I wish you could see how pretty you look.”

You moaned something incoherent but Maxwell felt his heart race as he took in your appearance. You were a sight he could never forget - all spread out for him, your back arched in pleasure. He pushed his middle finger inside of you, as well as his index finger, and you squealed with pleasure as he stretched you open.

“Oh Max, oh fuck Max.” you whined as obscene wet noises filled the room. He loved the way you said his name. He always had. This whole experience felt like a dream come true.

“So fucking beautiful.” he growled before ducking his head back in between your thighs and continuing to eat you out. With the combination of his tongue and fingers, it wasn’t long at all until your climax washed over you.

Maxwell pulled off you and reached down to stroke his own cock which was achingly hard, desperate for any kind of relief. “I want you inside of me.” you begged, reaching out to pull Max on top of you.

Maxwell leaned over you, propping himself up on his elbows and you shivered as his cock nudged against your entrance. He rolled his hips up and down, his tip rubbing against your folds. He was teasing. You grabbed onto his shoulders and dug your nails into his skin. “Please Max,” you panted. “Make love to me.”

Maxwell moaned at your words and pressed a quick peck to your soft lips before obliging and pushing himself into you.

"How does that feel?" Maxwell murmured, his breath fanning over your neck as he sat himself deep inside of you. You could feel every vein and ridge of his cock as waves of pleasure jolted through your body. You knew that the tales had described intercourse as pleasurable but you never imagined it could feel so good.

"I feel so full," you gasped, squeezing your eyes shut as your walls adjusted to his length. Max knew the second he started moving he wouldn’t be able to last long. He’d imagined this so much. He’d gone so long without sex. And you were so fucking perfect. "Move, please."

"Ngh— fuck, are you sure?" Maxwell asked, giving your breasts a gentle squeeze. You nodded and Max doubled out slightly before pushing himself back in with a wanton groan. He felt your cunt clench around him. "So fucking tight." he whispered. You bit your lip, wondering what it meant to be ‘tight’ and hoping he was enjoying it as much as you were.

"Is that okay?" You asked, holding onto his bicep for support as he pushed a few shallow thrusts into you.

"More- more than ‘okay’ honey. You’re amazing." He mumbled, his eyes snapping shut. You gasped as you felt every perfect ridge and vein rub against the inside of your walls. "You feel so perfect, sweet girl."

Max brought his hand down to your cunt and began to circle your clit with his thumb, mirroring your own previous actions. The pleasure flooded through your body and you arched your back as he hit your sweet spot. "Mmm," you couldn't even find words. You found your toes curling and your mouth slack as he throbbed inside of you. His fingers worked at you like magic and it wasn't long until your legs began to involuntarily shake. Max could feel your oncoming high too, when your pussy walls squeezed his cock, aching to milk him for all he had.

"Are you close baby girl?" Maxwell asked, his thumb speeding up and his thrusts becoming deeper and harder. “Oh you are, aren’t you?”

"Maaaax," you groaned, feeling your juices drip down his manhood as he fucked you faster, his balls slapping against your cunt.

"I'm close," He warned, gently biting down on your shoulder. "I'm going to count down from three and- and I want you to let go. Relax. Cum with me." Max ordered and you nodded your head against his sticky, sweaty skin.

"O-okay," you gasped.

"Three, two, one- fuck!" Maxwell exclaimed when your body limped in his arms and your pussy contracted around him, twitching as you reached your climax. He spilled his salty seed inside of you, painting your walls just like he'd painted the bathroom tiles when he'd masturbated over the thought of you previously.

“Oh my- Max, Max, Max,” you chanted as he slowly softened inside you before pulling out. You whimpered at the loss of his fullness and Maxwell rolled off you. You both spent a few moments to regain your breath and you felt his cum leak out of you. You curled up into his tan chest and pressed a kiss into his pink lips. “Thank you Max.” you whispered with gratitude, bumping your nose with his.

He was so in love with you, there was no question about it. If he could, he’d spend the rest of his life doing that. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with you. The thought of you leaving him was eating Max alive. Maxwell wrapped his arm around you and held you tight, just like he’d done so on the airplane. He wanted to tell you that he loved you, but if you were leaving, it might just make things worse. He leaned over to the nightstand and switched off the lamp.

“Goodnight honey.” he whispered as the room became enveloped with darkness.

“Goodnight Max.”

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243 notes · View notes

artzychic27 · 3 years

Note

An akuma with reality powers, The Artist Family and the canon Art kids (maybe the other classmates too) meet each other

Their reaction? Chaos?

Another day, another Akuma for the Malevolent Miraculous team

This one is named Alterna, and they’re a scientist who got Akumatized because their alternate universe theory was rejected

They have the power to open portals to other dimensions

While fighting, Alterna grabbed Black Widower’s whip and used it to ensnare the team before flinging them into a portal

Once they land, they find themselves... In Paris? Only, something feels off, very off...

Since there doesn’t seem to be any danger, they detransform

They look around while getting weird looks from people. (Imagine the ‘Going into town’ scene form the Addams Family 2019 movie)

Nathaniel Artist: Everyone’s dressed so... Conformist. *Sees a magazine with Adrien on the cover* And what happened to Adrien’s new look?

Rose Artist: Is this one of the universes where his dad is a jerk?

Alix Artist scares off a few people by throwing a brick through a few car windows.

Marc Artist: Alix, don’t be rude. Let the others have their turns.

Manon approaches Marinette Artist and asks why she’s wearing dark colors

Marinette Artist: Manon, you know I despise all colors.

A few more minutes of walking, and they see Marinette Dupain-Cheng running to school

Marinette Artist: *Checks her watch* School has begun three minutes ago. She’s not very punctual, is she?

The Artist Family follow her to the alternate DuPont to see what’s going on, then they bump into Mme. Bustier, who was making her way to the teachers lounge.

Mme. Bustier: Marinette? But I just... I saw you, all of you in the classroom. And Marc, shouldn’t you also be in class?

The Artists rush to their respective classrooms and find their alternate sleeves, much to their shock

Nathaniel Kurtzberg: ... What the fuck?!

Nathaniel Artist: I could ask the same about your outfit. Must you insult my eyes with such a color combination?

Chloé: Ha! You just got burned by yourself, tomato head!

Marinette Artist: At least he doesn’t go out looking like a clown gave him a makeover.

Chloé: I’m telling daddy!

Marinette Artist: Yes, let your father get involved with petty teenage drama. That will get him more votes in the upcoming election. Now silence.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng: ... Thank you, me?

They explain what happened, (Leaving out the part about them being superheroes because this universe’s Lila will no doubt run her big mouth to Hawkmoth who they’re sure she’s working for), and the art club is not sure how to react

Alix Kudbel: So we’re basically the Addams Family?

Lila: Oh! You know, my great great grandfather actually inspired Chauncey Addams to create the Addams Family!

While the class eats it up, the art club and Artists just glare at her

Marinette Addams: It’s Charles Addams, idiot.

Lila: Oh, you guys hate me too? *Cue bitch crying*

Juleka Artist: *Waves a skull in front of Lila* Luxor, nexor, burst and burn!

Lila: What’s she doing?

Juleka Artist: Just a curse that will make your pants burst into flames every time you lie.

Lili: *Whining* Why are you all trying to hurt me?! I never lie! *Her pants bursts into flames and she runs out of the school before she’s left in only her underwear*

Alya: *To her Marinette* My sincerest apologies.

Suddenly, screams are heard, followed by Mme. Mendelive and her students running past the classroom. Marc Anciel and Artist walk into the classroom while being trailed by a clutter of spiders

Marc Artist: Well that was quite rude, wouldn’t you say?

Marc Anciel: In their defense, spiders are a little... Horripilante.

Nathaniel Artist just stands there, trying very hard not to kiss the alternate version of his boyfriend and wondering why his alternate self isn’t going kissing his Marc madly with passion

The Artists explain to the Art Club during lunch about their situation and tell them that they’re Miraculous holders in their world, much to Marinette’s shock since she’s never heard of the Malevolent Miraculous

The art club let their alternate selves stay with them until they can figure out a way to get back, but Nathaniel and Marc Artist insist that they stay together

Alix Kudbel and Artist volunteer to let them stay with them. (Cuz they ship ‘em!)

Marinette A is stunned to see her alternate parents, and when they welcome her with open arms since her own parents were always so distant.

Even when she shows her dark nature, they still treat her like family. She tries very hard not to show any emotion

When they’re alone, Tikki and Screech reveal themselves. Tikki explains that there are alternate realities with different Kwamis with similar powers to the Kwamis they’ve alternate versions of. Screech is her alternate self

Marinette A questions why Marinette DC’s Ladybug suit is so skintight and insists that she change her suit which Marinette DC doesn’t mind doing

Marinette A tells Marinette DC about her boyfriend, Damian, confusing DC a bit. What about Adrien?

Marinette A: Adrien wasn’t able to satisfy my needs. Yes, he’s quite attractive, but I needed someone who could keep up with me, worship me, be my love servant and follow me into the underworld.

Marinette DC: ... So who’s this Damian?

Nathaniel K insists that Nathaniel A spend some time away from his Marc so they can talk without them making out every five minutes

Nathaniel A: How is it that you have not gouged out your own eyes?! Your Marc is miles away from you, and you believe you have the right to live?!

Nathaniel K: ... We call each other.

Nathaniel K is starting to regret letting his alternate self live with him since he keeps starting fires! He had to hide all of the matches and anything flammable. And if that’s not bad, Chompp keep chewing on his sketchbooks

Once all of the fire causes were hidden, they bonded over their love for painting and sketching

Nathaniel K: So, your paintings are actually cursed?

Nathaniel A: Very much. One caused the mayor to stumble down the stairs and stay in intensive care.

Nathaniel K: *Thinking of all the ways he could torture Chloé and Lila with his art* ... Teach me.

Marc Anciel is trying not to scream every time one of Marc Artist’s spiders crawl on him, not wanting to seem rude

Marc Anciel: *Shudders* Oh, and that’s a black widow in my hair.

Marc Artist: They’re my favorite. It’s why I chose the name Black Widower.

To release some of the tension, Marc Anciel suggests they read each other’s writing... He will not be sleeping for a while after reading Marc’s Artist’s stories. He asks why his alternate self wrote eulogies for his Nathaniel

Marc Artist: I want others to know of the love we shared together before he’s put to rest. And who better to write my love’s eulogy than the one who knows him best? The one who has loved him, tangoed with him, stabbed his heart.

Marc Andiel ignores the last part and actually considers writing Nathaniel’s eulogy.

Alix K and Alix A are having an awesome time together

Alix A and Duuo throw grenades which Alix K dodges while skating until Alim tells them to do this away from the museum

They outrun the police, prank Kim by putting itching powder in the pool, and watch their Marcs and Nathaniels make out

It’s all fun and well until Alix A meets this universe’ Jalil. Her Jalil sold her out since there was a reward to turn her in, forcing her to run from the authorities and she’s never forgiven him

Jalil K assures her that he’d never do that and reminds her that family always comes first. Alix A is resisting the urge to cry and instead lights a firecracker in his jacket

Juleka A CANNOT stop staring at her alternate self’s Luka. She can actually see his face and body. And he can talk!

Luka: Hey, are Marinette and I a... Thing where you’re from?

Juleka A: She has two hands. Soon to be three when she takes Damian’s in marriage when they’re of age.

Juleka C and A bond over their love for the macabre and witch culture. She even teaches her a few spells to use against Chloé and Lila if she ever shows her face again

They work! Chloé broke out into a terrible rash, and all of Lila’s pants are on fire

Rabbid also may or may not have chewed up the rest of Lila’s clothes, forcing her to spend all of her money on new clothes

Rose A tries to get used to her alternate self’s love of bright colors and Disney movies, but it’s a struggle. So, she exposes her to the darker side of Disney.

Rose L is horrified but also a little excited.

They do a dark Disney marathon and watch all of the movies Disney tried to hide from audiences.

Rose A even changes up Rose L’s look so she looks like a badass punk Princess, which gives Juleka C a slight nosebleed

Rose L is still her bubbly self, but now also has a love for the darker things in life

The Artists stay in this universe for three more days, starting another goth trend in the alternate Paris by giving Adrien a makeover, introducing Marinette to Damian via pen pal program, teaching Nathaniel and Juleka how to curse their enemies, setting Lila’s clothes on fire a couple more times, introducing Marc to a more gothic style of or writing & Rose to a punk style of clothing, and teaching Alix all of the stunts she’s never even thought of doing that involve explosives

They also have a little fun with Nino and help him pursue his dream of traumatizing Gabriel Agreste

This involves chloroform, a coffin, and a walkee talkee. Gabriel is forced to listen to Nino’s voice for 12 whole hours, telling him to be a better dad to Adrien, fire Lila, and to give him $1000 dollars

Gabriel gives Adrien more freedom, fires Lila and burns all of the magazines with her face and name in them, and gives Nino $1000 dollars. Then he passes out

Nino: *Hugging the Artists* I... I love you guys so much. I don’t ever want you to leave. You have made me the happiest man alive!

Then Alterna shows up

Nino: NO! DON’T TAKE THEM! TAKE GABRIEL!

Adrien: Hey!

Nino: I’m just kidding... Not.

The Artists and Marinette transform. The Malevolent Miraculous team are shocked to see Chat Noir but are even more shocked when they immediately recognize him as Adrien

They’re able to defeat the Akuma even though Lila (Who’s being a brat because she got fired) keeps interfering by whining about her broken leg, this time in a skirt. (Loophole) And she keeps trying to snatch their Miraculous whenever she gets close to them

Jaws: *Uses power to make his teeth sharper* Keep crying and I’ll give you a real broken leg. *Lila shuts up and lets them work*

They defeat Alterna, and Ladybug and Nocturna use the Miracle/Malevolent cure to remove all of the portals opened by the Akuma and put people back in their respective dimensions

They start to disappear and head back to their dimension as the Bats and Ladybugs swarm around them

Nino: NO! TAKE ME WITH YOU! *They disappear* DAMNIT!

Alya: You have them. *Points to the Art Club*

Nino: Can they murder Gabriel or frame him for a crime?

Juleka: We can try. There’s six of us, one of him. Nathaniel and I now know how to curse people.

Nino: I’m in!

Alya: And while you go ruin Gabriel’s life, I’m gonna go kill Lila.

Back in the Artist’s Dimension!

Juleka Artist: Are we back? Is this our dimension?

Nino: Oh, thank God you’re back! Gabriel was starting to gain consciousness again and Adrien is becoming suspicious. I think he knows I’m keeping him in my basement.

Marinette Artist: *Sighs* Yep. This is our place.

#miraculous ladybug #marc x nathaniel #nathaniel kurtzberg #miraculous #marc anciel #akuma #au #marinette dupain cheng #alix kudbel #rose lavillant #juleka couffaine #the artist family #the addams family

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swampythesweetsketch · 3 years

Text

Dumb little tidbits about the Elemental God in the Rewrite AU

This post is for the Elemental Gods included with the new lore for the Rewrite AU I'm in the midst of brainstorming. Certain details contain spoilers for the AU's timeline

Jaewhorl, Goddess of Lightning

Her chosens were meticulously picked due to their high energy and charisma. She hated giving her power to broody, quiet people.

Lightning elementals were very easy to pick out based on their personalities.

A common trait she liked to bestow on her chosen were her lightning "pecks" (freckles). She sneaked the freckles on Jay between Season 6 and 7. They didn't show up at first but faded in overtime.

Her power is considered the most dangerous among the gods, and in the past attracted unwanted attention from elemental scalpers. Elemental scalpers were old-time groups that used Vengestone to hunt Elemental chosens. A lot of the time they enslaved them.

As her chosens dwindled, Jaewhorl could only express her anger through an endless storm. Which became the Storm Farms.

She blames herself for what happened to Libby/Libber/Lightning and for how Jay was left in Ed and Edna's care. She was desperate to find a new chosen since the FSM died, but her searching only lead Elemental scalpers in Libby's direction and forced the former Master of Lightning to flee with Jay.

She hates the way Jay chills out during the early seasons. She knows he's full of energy!

Lacks a bit of awareness when her chosen(s) are depressed/unmotivated.

Antizan, God of Ice

His chosens lasted the longest when the FSM came to Ninjago, but they quickly succumbed to their ice powers freezing them to death when the FSM barely got close to their homes. Many angry families basically banished the FSM from Birchwood Forest from then on. Wu and Garmadon were too included in this banishment when they were born.

The last Master of Ice died by pure accident, but unable to find another chosen until the FSM died- Antizan disguised himself as countless false chosens over the years.

His first chosen after the FSM died was Zane.

When Antizan was traversing the dwindling population of Birchwood Forest, he met Dr. Julien. And he fell in love with the inventor. Antizan helped Dr. Julien build Zane and Echo.

Zane and Echo are Antizan's sons, and by that logic- Zane and Echo are demigods.

His last human disguise was the Master of Ice Wu last knew when Krux and Acronix were banished.

When Zane was younger, his soul wasn't big enough to inhabit his current body, so Antizan made him a wooden shell that grew slowly with Zane's soul.

Kaibrai, Goddess of Fire

Ignacia was her homeland, once a portion of the Boiling Sea's islands until the sea went unstable and almost swallowed Ignacia whole. With Colenei's help, she merged Ignacia with the Ninjago mainland and over time it shifted inwards.

She gave her powers out the most but grew depressed as her chosen dwindled to only the Smith family.

Her first chosen lost to the FSM's absorption powers was a young boy named Sol. His fire was too strong, it burned his soul to ashes and he didn't live long past that. This incident is what made Kaibrai stop giving her fire to chosens.

She loves her chosens, as somehow the fire passed down gives them subtle traits that tie them to her. Her fiery locks of hair, her Summer freckles, her near-red irises.

When Kai was born, he was the spitting image of Kaibrai. She loved calling Kai her daughter. Even as Kai became Kai, Kaibrai never complained about Kai transitioning. She always jokes to the other gods that Kai is like her son. Trans rights y'all.

A lot of fires that Kaibrai makes are for destroying things that upset her. She did it to the forest border where Kai's parents died. She did it to the Snake Tribe's former prisons when they allied with Pythor. She did it to the Ninjago Museum when Krux and Acronix were exposed.

Colenei, God of Earth

Funnily enough, originates from the high mountains of Shintaro.

He was the first to gain "wings", they were in actuality the earth's mantel flowing from his veins.

He was named the Heart of Shintaro after he went underground for several months and basically restructured the whole mountain so the Shintaro people, Geckles, and Munce could safely live without their home collapsing on itself.

His chosens were mostly spared of grim deaths when the FSM absorbed their powers since his powers took time to develop in each chosen. The worst that his chosens suffered from losing their power was weakened body states. Which sadly dragged on poor health to the next few generations and thankfully (yet sadly) stopped with Lilly's deteriorating health.

Colenei, like Antizan, had lost his last chosen (during the Serpentine War) and had to step in in order to save his future chosens, also stood in a false one. He fell in love with a widow who was Lilly's mother, who Colenei then went on to train to become his successor.

He hates Lou. He never approved of Lou when the young idiot fell in love with his daughter, hated him more for marrying her. He tolerated him when Lilly got sick and Cole was born.

Colenei nearly took Cole's power away when he was a baby and considered finding a new chosen until the day Cole ran away. Colenei knew Cole needed something to ground him after Lilly died, and chose to keep the young boy as his chosen.

Hated the most pretending to be a frail old man. But quickly "died" when Cole ran away so he could watch over his grandson.

#Ninjago Rewrite AU #Ninjago #Antizan God of Ice #Jaewhorl Goddess of Lightning #Colenei God of Earth #Kaibrai Goddess of Fire

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asagimeta · 3 years

Text

Enhypen Theory- Ruins & Rituals

So I've been watching Given/Taken alot lately for writing purposes and am curious about something....

What's with the weird monument?

The beginning of the video starts with Jungwon standing in a desert with a bleeding nose, but we don't see this scenery again until the third "arc" of the music video, when the rest of the boys join him and immitate firing arrows at this broken monument of some kind- we later see them at night, dressed in their uniforms, dancing in front of it- though before this Jungwon is seen again slowly burning from (presumably) the sunlight

But... what is it? What's the significance and why does the video open there? Why are they firing arrows? There are just so many questions and I, personally, haven't really seen this part of G/T addressed yet so I'm going to take a shot at it for my first HYBE theory! (I actually have been *following* HYBE theories for a few months now but I'm new to K-Pop in general so I've been quiet until now)

First, it's important to note that it stands out as odd from the rest of the video

The beginning and middle of the video have two primary locations with similar but still considerably different vibes-

Old fashioned clothes, indoors, a sense of containment and "other"ness, even though they aren't the same, you can still feel the connection to eachother- but that's completely removed in the desert scenes, wich are outdoors, in modern clothing, and present the boys with more individuality (IE: lacking uniforms)

And it makes me wonder if the ruins they're visiting are of their old testing facility

Let me break it down a bit better-

The two primary locations we see other than these ruins are a mansion-wich I'll, possibly incorrectly, refer to as "the orphanage" henceforth- and a testing/containment/research facility of some sort

At first I wondered if the ruins were simply the orphanage but that's clearly not the case as you can see the exterior of the mansion in one of the snapshots early on, it's very different looking- even the shape is extremely different, and it seems to be in a forest just below a hill, not in the middle of a desert

What about the other place though? The facility- as I'll call it from here on- doesn't have the same deniability

In fact, we see a very similarly shaped building to the ruins during one of the snapshots, but we don't have any clear indication of what it is, why would it just randomly be there? Unless, ofcourse, it isn't random

Initially I assumed the orphanage and the facility were the same place because the boys are wearing the uniforms in both locations, but I'm starting to think that isn't the case, and that the boys were moved to the facility after being experimented on at the orphanage

The thing is that vampires don't always turn when they're given the venom/virus/blood/whatever-it-is-that-turns them, and when this substance is manmade or engineered somehow, it takes even less frequently, this is true of all supernaturals, and again, is emphasized when the people attempting to make the transitions are humans experimenting with forces beyond their understanding, so it's typical of these practioners to have large "sample sizes" of potential experiments, often turning to hospitals, schools, and orphanages (to name a few) seeking the few candidates that can survive and thrive under these new conditions- from there they'll experiment on all of them until they get the desired result, and those select few will move on in the process to the next step

Sound familiar at all? I think this is further representative of the idol industry

We know that a big theme of Enhypen's storyline is going against the toxic nature of the idol industry, with songs like "Not For Sale" and "Mixed Up", and themes like being museum or display peices in "Let Me In", and the process of a large group of young boys being picked through and groomed until there are only a few left standing, who are then taken away from the "orphanage" and brought to a more intense experimentation/testing facility, sounds alot like idol-potentials who are on talent shows, win, and then assigned to a group and agency who put them through intense preperation for their debut

We know Enhypen went through that exact process on I-Land, so it's not a stretch to say this may be what they're referencing

But back to the ruins

You can see a definite difference in the way the orphanage looks vs the facility, wile the orphanage is a western style mansion that looks like it came from the late Victorian era- though, as Laina Sunflower pointed out, it does seem to have some modern conveniences like pen lights and electric fans- (the person conducting the experiments is also wearing a face mask, wich looks more modern from what I can tell)

-the facility is seemingly more modern than that, and has a much less homey feel, resembling instead a more containment type of vibe- large areas of open space, large glass windows dividing one from another, and the boys all seem to have their own rooms to keep separated from eachother, very unlike the mansion where you can probably safely assume that they share rooms, as unlike the sleek, minimal style of the facility, is cluttered with children's toys, furnishings, and accents, and you get the vibe that the boys are allowed around eachother often, the entire feel is more casual, and considering the number of tables in the dining room, you can also safely assume that there are many more inhabitants of the orphanage than just Enhypen themselves, meaning that it's more likely they share rooms

We know what the outside of the mansion looks like, but we don't have as definitive of a space for the facility

Wile the tower in the snapshot is a bit different in shape from the ruins, they're similar enough, and the landscape is notably perfect for a facility containing baby vampires- a barren desert devoid of the one thing they need most (blood) and full of the one thing that can most harm them (sunlight), it would be like keeping Superman in a chamber beneath the red sun surrounded by kryptonite, there's very little chance of them escaping

There's also something particularly strange about the ruins, in that there's a LADDER hanging off of one side leading to the top of the facility

The entire set up reminds me of the vampire facility in True Blood, and I wouldn't be surprised if the facility had this peculiar setup to make it even more difficult on the boys to possibly escape, I wouldn't even be surprised if these ruins are only a small portion of what's been left, maybe the original facility was a little in tune with the building from the snapshots before whatever happened to it... happened

There's also some other things I want to point out with this line of thought-

Sunghoon is kept in a room filled with orange light at one point, sitting on the edge of a bathtub-?- when his hand catches on fire

Some have theorized that this is Sunghoon's power, just like other boys have the power to levitate, hypnotize, and teleport, but what if that isn't it? What if that was the facility testing him in a room full of manufactured sunlight to see if he indeed burns in the sun? True Blood, again, has a similar theme (and it wouldn't be unusual for HYBE to draw influences from other popular media, what with TXT's frequent Harry Potter references)

Additionally, could this be in part about their escape from the facility? We see the boys make a running motion as though they're trying to get away, only to stop

We see something almost exactly the same in "Fever", but this time they succeed in seeming to go through the door to their freedom

I also wonder if the Victorian style clothing vs the French Roccoco style clothing is meant to show that there was a large gap between the time they were originally imprisoned and the time they got out?

This also fits with "Drunk Dazed", we see the mystery woman before the boys, still in their Rococo style clothes, performing a "ritual of blood" by pouring blood into the fountain, could the boys have been rescued, found, or "adopted" by **real** vampires after their, probable, human experiments? If the French Rococo style represents the boys during their escape period, this could make senses, and could also serve to explain, to a degree, their blood festivities in the first place

This doesn't make alot of sense though in terms of timing as the Victorian era is around two hundred years *after* the French Rococo period, so unless it's symbolic....

But I've wondered about the weird contrast between the boys being experimented into vampirism vs being turned naturally, as the mystery woman seems to heavily implicate that she herself is a vampire and that she's showing the boys a "natural" ritual, something that's part of the vampire community/species/way of life, but this is a giant contrast to the more clinical, experimentation vibe of what the boys had been going through in their orphanage/facility days; I'm reminded again of True Blood here, as well as "Bitten", "Servamp" (the manga), and plenty of others where the older, stronger vampires (or werewolves) free the younger ones from human captivity

Things I still haven't figured out or that I find most notable:

-Jungwon seems seperated from the others the most here, he's the one at the beginning with the nosebleed and the one catching on fire- something that doesn't happen to any of the other boys- and in one of the flashbacks he's the one standing outside of the orphanage banging on the window as the others go about their routines, and in “Fever” he’s the one left behind/last in line when everyone is running towards the door, he seems to be the "main" charector in Given/Taken, as he's the last one on screen revealing what everyone suspected: that they're vampires; he's also the one with teleportation, most prominantely seen in Drunk/Dazed, flittering around outside the room where Sunoo is pouring his blood into his glass and coming in between the two groups of three who, according again to Laina Sunflower, seem to be at odds with eachother

-Sunoo is also the one seen to be biting (or attempting to bite) Jungwon, this could be a really interesting nod to their relationship, the two seem to be connected in a special way (is this why Jungwon is outside Sunoo’s room in Drunk/Dazed, flittering around anxiously as though he’s not sure what to do with himself or isn’t sure what to do about something that’s bothering him?) Could Sunoo have been responsible for turning Jungwon, or maybe completing his transformation? Or even just feeding off of him, wich, in some lore, creates a special bond between two vampires?

-Speaking of Drunk/Dazed, we see the mansion reappear during their first "bloody birthday party"- when there was only one candle on the cake- does this mean that they celebrated their life as vampires before being transferred to the facility? Were they vampires for a fair amount of time- several months or maybe even a year or two- before being taken away?

-Why are they immitating firing arrows? They don't seem to be *actually* doing this, just mimicking it, why expose themselves to the sun just for something symbolic? Is it a repetition of something they've done before? Did they originally destroy the facility themselves? Or it it something else..?

If anyone has any ideas definitely let me know, HYBE is my new favorite thing for theorizing!

#enhypen #enhypen theory #hybe #hybe universe #kpop #kpop theory #hybe theory #hybe universe theory #dark moon with enhypen

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nonagesimus · 4 years

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(Fic) if you think it’s love (it is) - Sastiel ~2.5k

(AO3 Link)

Sam decides it’s time Cas finally gets that date. Happy Valentine’s Day, sastielers!

It was three days after the grace-extracting experiment. They had been quiet. Researching, looking for cases. Sam had calmed after the spell failed - for about a day. Since then Castiel had caught him staring in quiet moments, hovering over books with his gaze in middle distance instead of on the pages, chewing his fingernails. When he’d asked was was bothering him, Sam had said nothing. So, he waited. If Sam wanted to tell him something, he would. Eventually. Apparently three days was that eventually.

“I- I’m sorry if this is weird,” was an auspicious start, as he stepped into the library, but Castiel just waited for him to continue. “Dean told me - just mentioned, really - that while you were human you had kind of a… date that wasn’t.”

Which, yes, it probably was a little weird. Castiel was still unsure of what social cues he’d missed or ignored in that particular situation. But none of that was Sam’s fault. “I did,” he confirmed, neutrally.

“So, did you ever get a date?” Sam seemed to be very focused on carefully placing his coffee mug on the table without spilling anything. “A real one?”

“No,” Castiel said. “I think I’m ok without one, though.”

“No!” Sam’s voice came out a little strangled. “No, you- let me take you out.”

Castiel took his attention completely off the book he’d been scanning to fix his gaze to Sam, who at least had looked up at him now. Wide-eyed and a little paler than normal. “You want to take me on a date?”

That made Sam’s gaze skitter back to the table. “I just feel like you should have one.”

Castiel’s instinct was to push. Past the nerves, and the averted eyes, and the skip he could hear in Sam’s heartbeat. If he pushed, he thought, that might make Sam back off. “Ok,” he said, instead.

“Ok?” The word seemed like it rushed out of Sam’s chest involuntarily, breathy and relieved. “Ok. Great. Would- uh. How about the day after tomorrow?”

It wasn’t like Castiel had plans.

If he had, he would’ve cancelled them.

“How do I know you know what you’re talking about?” he asked Sam the next day, while he was watching him eat breakfast. “What’s the best date you’ve ever been on?”

Sam, to his surprise, flushed a little. “Ok, uh. There was this date I went on at Stanford. And- so you gotta understand it’s like a six hour drive from Palo Alto to LA,” he said, smile already curling the corners of his lips. “And Jess said she wanted to make a trip down, and I wasn’t sure. Twelve hours in a car is a long time, unless we wanted to get a motel or somewhere down there, but she was really into the idea, so… We go. We’d been together, like. Six months? I think.” His eyes had softened, looking into his memories. “Turns out she wanted to drag me to this bookstore she’d gone to with her family. They’d visited her Freshman year, taken a trip down to see the sights and…” He trailed off.

“And?” Castiel prompted.

“It’s called The Last Bookstore,” Sam said, focusing in on Castiel again. “It’s this huge place downtown. Bottoms floor is new books, top floor is all secondhand. Themed rooms, art features, the lot.”

“Sounds like your kind of place,” Castiel said.

“It was,” Sam said. His smile went distant again. “It took me an hour to realise that Jess liked it, sure, she thought it was a great bookstore. But it wasn’t six-hour-drive worth it to her. She just knew it would be to me.”

Castiel nodded, considering it. “That does sound nice.”

“We were so tired driving back I almost crashed the car,” Sam said. “But yeah.”

The next day, to Castiel’s surprise, they started early. Sam drove, did not tell Castiel where they were going. He’d packed a backpack, and didn’t protest when Castiel inspected it - it contained food. sandwiches, fruit, and carrot sticks, a thermos of coffee. Enough for Sam for the day.

“I’m guessing we’ll be out for a while,” he said, zipping it back up.

“Yeah,” Sam said. “Unless- if you’re not having a good time just tell me. We can always go back.”

“You’re the one who wanted to take me out, Sam,” Castiel said, calmly. “I’m trusting you to do it.”

But Sam was nervous. Clear in the tension of his hands on the steering wheel, the set of his jaw. That, more than anything else, contributed to a quiet drive. Not uncomfortably - Sam had spent enough of his life on long car rides, and Castiel had certainly learned to bear them since he lost his wings. Sam took occasional sips from the thermos, they listened to local radio stations fade in and out, and watched the Kansas greenery go by. Until, a little before ten in the morning, Sam guided him into a small museum surrounded by short hiking trails.

And it was guided - Sam kept opening doors for him, kept hovering his hand near Castiel’s lower back, watching him out of the corner of his eye. They made it through three rooms - full of life-size dioramas, and informative placards, and really big rocks - before they spoke.

It wasn’t that it wasn’t interesting. A level of information the hovered in-between the levels that Castiel did know - the macro of heaven and the extreme micro of the world he now lived in with the Winchesters. As well as the displays, he watched Sam out of the corner of his eye. He had wondered if he’d linger close the whole time, that hand near the small of his back, a steady presence at his side. But, no, Sam orbits. Sometimes looking at the same displays as Castiel, sometimes across the room. Always aware of him, it seemed.

“So,” Castiel said the next time they felt themselves side by side, looking at a series of miniature log cabins, each in different stages of completion. “If this is supposed to be a bookshop moment, like Jess gave you, why here?”

Sam worried at his lip, cheeks a little flushed. “I don’t know if this is that special, but - and do correct me if I’m wrong, but I hope I’m not - you’ve experienced so much of history from the outside. Just through heaven’s point of view. And then you came down, and you fought with us, and you stayed with us. It made me think you might be a little interested in seeing more things from our perspective.”

“Oh.” Because of course models and dioramas were not just models and dioramas.

“Besides,” Sam said, with a little more confidence. “After the whole molecules discussion it was pretty obvious dinner was a bad idea.” He flashed a quick grin.

Castiel wished he’d brought a flower, like he had when he’d been wrong about it. For some reason it felt like it might’ve jinxed it. Was that a holdover from being human or just from spending so much time with the humans he was with? The same result either way.

Two hours had gone by, spent in equal contemplation of the exhibits and the man who had brought him to see them, when Sam suggested they head back to the car.

“The museum is open until five,” Castiel pointed out.

“We’ve got a location two,” Sam said, “And they close at five as well. We leave now we’ll have a couple of hours once we get there.”

Another three-ish hour drive then. “Using all your ideas on one day?” Castiel asked, moving with Sam towards the exit regardless. “There’s time.”

Sam laughed. “When have you known us to have this many days off in a row?”

It was true. Not just in the always-an-impending-catastrophe way, either. Castiel had been able to tell there was energy building up in Sam when they were in the bunker. That he was healing, but that also meant that a growing part of him was yearning to work again. Maybe planning this had partially been a way to burn off some of that.

Sam pulled open the passenger side door for him.

The set out again. Sam ate some of the food he’d packed for himself one handed - Castiel busied himself helping open and close containers, pouring from the thermos. Watching Sam drive. A shorter drive, but only slightly.

“This is,” Sam said, guiding Castiel towards the entrance, “The Cosmosphere.”

This one - this one Castiel liked better. There was something endearing, something comforting, something familiar about how hard humans strived for flight. And he understood, now, the lack of it. This was something that was too often missed, in heaven. They’d watched humanity grow, obviously, but they ignored how much of it had been under their own power. That the ‘hairless apes’ had taken stone, and steel, and fire, and built themselves wings.

He was staring up an a model of Saturn V when he noticed how closely Sam was watching him.

There was anxiety in his eyes, but also a fondness. A warmth.

Castiel’s chest was warm, too.

They lingered right up until closing time, walking so close as they left that it was easy for Castiel to brush their shoulders together, watch Sam duck his head and smile.

And he’d known. He’d known, as soon as he heard the way Sam’s heart skipped when he’d asked if he could take him out, at every door he’d opened, how he’d been watching Castiel closer than any of the exhibits. Sam opened the door of the car for him again, and Castiel stopped to grip his arm, feel it solid and warm under his palm.

“Thank you for this, Sam,” he said.

Sam’s answering smile was bright, and open, and felt a little like sunshine. “There’s, uh. There’s one more thing. If you want to do it.”

Castiel tilted his head. “Oh?”

“Suns gonna be down in about an hour,” Sam said. “I thought… If you wanted to I thought we could stop and stargaze for a while.”

It sounded romantic.

It was cold, in the December air, but Sam had managed to stow blankets in the car without Castiel noticing. He draped one over the hood, and piled the others on top of them. He didn’t feel the cold, not like Sam did, but the blankets were an excuse to sit closer that completely necessary. Shoulders pressed in together. One ankle thrown over one of Sam’s. They talked, a little. Mostly they stared up at the sky. Sam finished the lukewarm coffee left in the thermos. Castiel listened to him breath, to the beat of his heart.

After a long time, Sam made a slightly apologetic noise, sliding off the hood of the car. “This isn’t great date talk, he said, “but we should get going, and I really need to take a leak before we drive home.” Then he tramped off into the undergrowth off the side of the road.

There weren’t any roses nearby, but Castiel could smell wildflowers still somehow hanging on in the cold. Quietly, he made his way into the dark to pick one, carefully selecting a bloom that had no crushed petals, wasn’t too close to wilting. A brief thought to Dean’s advice, and he removed his tie, opened an extra button on his shirt.

It felt a little ridiculous but when they got inside the car, and the interior light turned on, Sam’s eyes flickered down to the newly exposed skin.

Castiel held out the flower towards him.

Sam took it, hand soft and reverant, grin blooming on his face. “What’s this?”

“For you,” Castiel said. “You took me out, the least I could do is get flowers.”

Sam flushed, gently tucked the flower into one of the buttonholes in his shirt. “Thanks,” he said, so soft it was almost whispered.

They drove.

Sam was clearly exhausted by the time they got back to the bunker, yawning so wide his jaw cracked and then looking shame-faced. “Sorry,” he said.

“Hm,” Castiel said. “Maybe next time it could be one trip out per date, not a marathon.”

He cracked a grin at that. And, after all this time, it was nice to see an exhaustion that felt pleased. Satisfied, not just harrowed. “I’ll keep that in mind, Cas.”

“So.” Castiel paused at the corridor that lead towards the bedrooms, turned to face Sam. Wondered if he should be pushing this far. “There’s a proper way to end a good date, correct?”

Sam’s eyes flickered instantly to Castiel’s lips, which made him feel unaccountably pleased. “That’s ok, Cas,” he said, instead of leaning in. “That’s- that’s more for proper dates, not. This.”

So there was the line. Driving a total of nine hours across Kansas, carefully selected locations that he’d thought Cas would like, sitting shoulders pressed together on the hood of the car. Standing right up against it, but Sam had drawn a line, and this was it.

“This meant something to you,” Castiel said, stepping one foot over. “More than just doing something nice for me.”

“Cas,” Sam said, shaking his head, gaze down, self-deprecating smile. “You don’t have to-“

“I would like it,” Castiel interrupted, stepping closer, second foot over the line, and taking Sam’s hand, “If you let it mean something to me too.”

Sam’s eyes met his, expression disbelieving, almost scared. But he didn’t pull away, didn’t shift as Cas leaned closer. Not all the way. He was sure, he was so sure but- but if he was wrong.

He wasn’t wrong. Sam, breath unsteady, hand tightening around Castiel’s, closed the last of the distance. As kisses went it was gentle. Chaste. All too brief. As Sam drew back a noise of protest slipped out of Castiel’s throat involuntarily; he shifted with him. Sam’s free hand moved to his jaw, guided him into a second kiss, slower and deeper, and that, that was what Castiel wanted. He let his hand splay at Sam’s lower back, drew him in closer, opened his mouth so they could taste each other.

They broke apart eventually, Sam’s thumb stroking up and down the side of Castiel’s hand.

“So,” Castiel said, “Next time, I’m taking you out. Give me some time to plan it.”

Sam ducked his head, but not far enough Castiel couldn’t see his smile. “Ok.”

“I’m going to kiss you again,” he said. “If that’s alright.”

Sam’s smile brightened, and leaned in to meet him.

#supernatual #sastiel #samcas #sam winchester #castiel #sastiel fic #samcas fic #my fic

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dialovers-translations · 4 years

Text

Diabolik Lovers Zero Vol. 12 Azusa Mukami [Track 4]

Original title: ただ、一緒に

Source: Diabolik Lovers Zero Vol. 12 Azusa Mukami [CD not owned by me]

Audio: Here

Seiyuu: Kishio Daisuke

Translator’s note: ーー And once again, the power of true love prevails!! The plot of the Zero CDs is a perfect combination between angst, suspense and fluff, which is why it is one of my favorites. I felt like the ‘enemy’ they were fighting this time was not as extreme compared to some of the other CDs and I genuinely got some ~~feels~~ in the end. ;w;

Track 1 ll Track 2 ll Track 3 ll Track 4 ll Track 5

→ LIKE MY TRANSLATIONS? SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI!

Track 4: Simply, Together

The two of you walk through the hallway of the museum.

“Oh...The hallway is...different from earlier...It used to be full of twists and turns, but now it’s just...one straight path...If this building is alive...I suppose it would easily be able to...change its interior...?”

You ask how much longer you’ll have to walk.

“Mmh...I wonder how much longer this path goes on for...? I’m pretty sure...the museum is guiding us towards a place though...”

Azusa comes to a halt.

“Ah. ...A door. ...Let’s go! We have no...other choice.”

*Creaaaaak*

“...H-Huh...? We’ve returned here again...? The room filled with...art supplies...”

You seem confused.

“Mmh...I wonder why? Is there something...important here? ...Oh! Wait.”

He looks around, suddenly spotting his doppelganger.

( Say, what’s wrong? Ah...You’re hungry, aren’ you? I’m sorry! I’ll prepare your meal in no time! )

“It’s his...voice...I can hear it from right up ahead...We should probably turn around, huh?”

You shake your head.

“Ah...Right...It’s a one-way path...So we can’t go anywhere else...Ugh...In that case...Let’s quietly...sneak closer. There might be something in the back after all...”

You slowly step closer.

( Hey...Cheer up? Do you hate me now? )

*Ba-dump*

“Eh...? W-What’s...that!?”

( ...Oh? Ah...You’ve come here. )

“...!”

( Haah...How troublesome. I went through so much trouble to tie you both up too. )

“...!! Stay by my side...!”

Azusa protects you.

“We can’t die here...! We have to go back...no matter what!”

( Can’t do~ Just look at how grumpy she is. I’m sure it’s because she’s hungry. Therefore, I need you two to become her food. ...Say, you want to hurry up and eat too, right? )

*Rumble*

( Oh...What’s wrong...Why won’t you rejoice...? )

“Ah...S-Say! The thing you’re...talking to...it’s shaped like a person but is it...a work of art?”

( ...Right. I made this. It’s the heart of the museum. )

“Oh...! Of the museum...?”

( Fufu~ Isn’t it pretty? I attached these tubes as well. All of the nutrients absorbed through the food come flowing in here. Because of this system, she can stay alive, even when reduced to just her heart. )

“What do you...mean...?”

( My precious someone...was killed a long time ago. Even though she was...so very, very important to me... )

“Are you perhaps talking...about the woman on those sketches?”

( ...Exactly. The one person who accepted me. Without her, I would lose even my reason to exist! Yet...! She almost took her last breath right in front of my own eyes! If she were to pass away I just...I wouldn’t know what to do! ...But you know, I realized! That I could simply move her still-beating heart... )

“Oh...Don’t tell me...That heart is inside...?”

*Ba-dump*

“You transplanted the heart and...turned the person you loved into that thing? Is that why this museum is alive?”

( Yes. Right now...She is this building. )

“Say...Who are you? You’re not an ordinary painting...”

( I’m a Vampire just like you. I just so happened to be well-versed in this department. (1) ...I was simply living a happy life painting pictures, accompanied by the person I loved. )

“Together with...the person you loved?”

( However, as you can see, I died too, staying by her side as a spirit to ensure she would not grow lonely. As a painting who hunts for her prey. ...To make sure she stays alive. )

*Cling*

“...!! What are you...going to do...?”

( What do you mean? I have to restrain you two with pins to make sure the food doesn’t run away? )

The fake Azusa uses his magic to make the pins float in the air.

( Hm~ I’m glad I brought a bunch of these large pins with me. ...I’ll turn you both in skewers, okay? )

*CLANG*

“...!! Step back!! ...Ugh!”

*CLANG*

“Aaargh...!! Uu...Ugh...”

( Ahaha~ My live specimen is complete~ We’ll do this in order, so you’ll have to wait till later. ...First up, we’ll start with the more delicious-looking one~ )

He approaches you.

( Woah there...~ Struggle all you want, but you can’t run. ...The sheer white canvas over there, that’s the museum’s mouth. Once you get thrown inside, you will melt away and become nutrients. ...You seem to have a thing for pain, so I’ll make sure you dissolve slowly, okay? Fufu~ )

The painting demon starts dragging you towards the canvas.

*Rustle rustle*

“You...can’t...Let...go of her...!”

*Rumble*

( Ah...! )

“...The museum is...crying...again...Perhaps...S-Say...! Couldn’t your...girlfriend be weeping because...she wants you to...stop this already...?”

( ...Hah? )

“When you...fed off her or...even when I did it...Every time...there was the scent of blood...the museum cried...Even when you tried to get her eaten...as if she’s...begging you not to do this...”

( ...You’re wrong. That can’t be. )

“But...!”

( She would never disagree with what I do...! I love her this much! It’d definitely make her happy! ...Ugh. She has simply grown impatient because I’m such a slowpoke. Come on! Get inside the painting...!! )

He pushes you against the canvas.

“...Eve!”

( It’ll be all over once she sinks into the canvas. I’m sure she’ll feel better once she has had her meal~ )

“...Eve...Kuh...You can’t...I won’t let you go...!! I definitely...won’t let you go all by yourself...!”

*Cling*

( Eh...!? There’s just no way he could stand up right now!? )

“Ugh...Kuh...To me...She is my special someone...She is the only one I have...! I definitely don’t want her...to go...!!!!”

Azusa frees himself.

*Cling clang*

“...Eve!!”

He rushes over to you, trying to pull you out of the canvas.

“I won’t let you go...Never...! Argh...!!”

The two of you get absorbed by the painting.

“...Aaah!”

*Thud*

“...Where are we...? I can’t see...anything...? Haah, haah...Am I...inside the painting?”

You call out for Azusa.

“...! Eve...!? Are you there...!?”

You call for him again and Azusa runs to you.

“Ugh...Haah, haah...! You’re here...”

He grabs hold of your hand.

“...Why are you apologizing...? I didn’t want to leave your side...so that’s why I followed you. I don’t want us to be separated...”

You ask if you will get eaten now.

“Mmh...It’s all over once you...get absorbed by the painting...We might get...consumed. But you know, this is way better...than losing just you...Neither of us...should have to be lonely. We always have to be together...Right?”

You nod.

“Yeah. ...That’s why...I don’t regret anything. Let’s be together in life and death.”

*Rumble rumble*

“Oh...Eh!? It’s...shaking?”

*Rumble rumble*

“...Ah! I’m being...pulled in...! ...Eve! ...Hang on tight...! Don’t...leave me...!! Aaaaah...!!!”

The two of you get sucked out of the canvas again.

*THUD*

“Ugh...Ow...A-Are you...okay?”

You nod.

“Thank god...Give me your hand. Can you stand?”

Azusa helps you get up.

“...Where are we...?”

*Rustle*

“...We made it...out of the canvas...!?”

( ...Why!? How come!? How did you get out!? This has never happened before...!? )

“Oh...I see. She let us out...The museum let us...go...”

( ...!! N-No way...No...I don’t believe this. She is always happy with my work! There is no way she would get in my way! )

“That might be true...I’m sure she really does love you...But couldn’t that be...why she’s sad now?”

( ...Eh? )

“You see...I saddened the person important to me in the past as well. Time after time...”

You frown.

“That girl was a...kind person so...she was worried about me and hurt herself too...That’s why I sort of understand...I’m sure your girlfriend is worried about you...Since you’ve taken many lives for her sake. ...I’m sure she doesn’t want you...to continue this...So don’t you think that could be why...she’s crying?”

( ...! ...Say...Is he right...? Are you crying because of me...? )

*Rumble rumble*

( ...!! I-I see...I was wrong... )

He drops to his knees.

( I’m sorry...I...I’m so sorry...! I never meant to make you suffer...! I just...I didn’t want to let you die! I thought that...You’d be happy if I did this...! But...I was wrong, huh? I had forgotten. That you were always the type of person who would worry about me, instead of about yourself. I made you worry a lot, didn’t I? ...I’ll no longer repeat the same mistake. I’ll stop doing this. So please...! Will you stay by my side? )

*Rumble*

( Aah...I see...Mmh. Thank you. )

He stands up again.

( I have a...request to make. Could you please...burn me down together with this museum. )

You seem shocked.

“W-Why...!?”

( She wants things to end. Because she can’t become happy, even if she were to remain alive. However, I can’t let her go alone, so I will perish alongside her. No matter where it takes us, I don’t want to leave her side. )

“I...see. ...Mmh. Understood.”

You tell Azusa not to do it.

“I...can’t stop them. The two of them...seem happy after all. That’s why...Eve...”

You nod.

“Mmh. Let’s go...outside. If we stay here...We’ll get swallowed by the flames...after all...”

( ...Hey! Can I ask one last thing? )

“...Eh?”

( What would you do...If she were to die on you? )

“I would...”

You look up at Azusa.

“i cannot...fantom that...But! However...I might have just done...the exact same thing you did...”

*TIMESKIP*

“...Oh. It has stopped raining. The nearby greenery is still wet, so the fire probably won’t spread...”

You ask him if this is truly the right thing to do.

“Mmh. They wished for this themselves...So I think this was for the best. Besides...I’m sure that nobody can decide...whether this is good or bad...This is the path they have chosen for themselves after all...Nobody should interfere with that...”

He turns his head towards you.

“It’s the same for us, right...? No matter what happens...We don’t want anyone to get in our way...We’d want to be together forever...Don’t we?”

You agree.

“Mmh...I pray (2) that as they meet their end, and even after that...they will never be torn apart...Farewell.”

Azusa sets the museum on fire.

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー

Translation notes

(1) This sentence is quite vague, but I suppose he refers to having the necessary knowledge to know that if he preserved his lover’s heart and put it into something else, he could keep her alive that way.

(2) He ends his sentence with ように or ‘you ni’ which implies that he is making some sort of wish.

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #azusa mukami #diabolik lovers translation #diabolik lovers zero #diabolik lovers drama cd #drama cd

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jadienjaystoriesandart · 4 years

Text

Legit the recent Tales of the SMP gave me Clue Vibes that I just had to write this out. You're welcome. So I decided to take the characters, give them backgrounds and motives for murder. Same campy fun that the Clue Movie has.

Sir Billium Blade the Third: A man of many words that include mostly making fun of commoners and poor people. Having come into his wealth when the Nether Portal closed for a while, his family used the gold they had to become rich rather quickly. He travels in his spare time, never staying in one place for a while. He's made enough enemies on his travels and possibly enough to kill to get rid of another.

His houses are filled with many objects he comes across in his travels, many of which some people love to get their hands on. Many that should belong in museums but sit ideal as objects of his wealth. it is also stated that there might be proof that he has ultra motives for his occasional get-together, covering up past murders in his home?

Traits include - Smart, Wealthy, and Charming. Cunning? Devious? and Silver-tongued?

Mister Boo (The Butler): This boy grew up only knowing servitude, his life was to the Blade Family. And still, yet he has to pay off his family's debt to the Blade Family for passage to this part of the world. Basically, an indentured servant. So long as he follows the rules, life isn't so hard, and Sir Billium rarely comes to this mansion. He's a man of few words if he is even allowed the speak. And has enough of a grudge to the Blade Family to kill for a taste of freedom. But, would he even have time to plan for murder with all the things that need to be done?

He knows this house like the back of his hand, all the passages, hidden rooms, and knows how to get from one end to the other without being seen. His main job is to make sure that the house is spotless and always ready for guests, along with serving Sir Billium.

Traits include - Quiet, Reserved, and Shy. Undetectable? Calculative? and Unforgiving?

Lord Sebastian Halo: To this man, fine wine is just one of many luxuries that only the rich can understand. Having gotten his wealth through means of deceit and trickery of those lesser than him, the Halo Family name is one that is both feared and praised. Having made the majority of the magical inventions still used to this day, Sebastian enjoys the high life of his family name through drinking and partying to his heart's content. However, he's also a man who knows all to well the people his family has stepped on to get where they are. And of the secrets that could kill to tear down his family's prestigious name.

The Halo Family is not a clean name, it's one bathed in the crushing of dreams and blood to get at its high standing. One being that Lord Halo, the founder of the family, made deals with darker beings to get the best deals. Also that he sacrificed people to this god for power as well. Proof of this is hard to come by, but it's very true. And one might also question the sanity of this family.

Traits include - Mysterious, Adventurous, and Witty. Ambitious? Delinquent? and Obsessive?

Oliver Arecaeshire Smichalist Cumbucket: Growing up in the land of Britain, a miserable island one might say if they don't live in it, Oliver has seen plenty going on in his small world. From wars, to family functions, and even betrayal. One might dare say he's well adverse in the arts of manipulation and conning. His family wealth comes from the Casino and the business *cough*Monopoly*Cough* they have on the gambling of people. He's lived long and seen many things come and go to have become jaded to life, but still eager to prove his families name to all, even if it is a silly name.

This family, though silly in name, has many secrets to hide. From bribes to the government to keep their hold on the gambling of people. To making sure alcohol was not outlawed so they could continue to drive up sales on the small island. Laugh if you will, but this family holds an iron grip on their area. Though not near as wealthy as the Blade Family, they are still high class. Oliver no doubt is aware of what might happen should his family's secrets get told. And it's has been thought he has killed once before.

Traits include - Discreet, Intrepid, and Eccentric. Liar? Paranoid? and Manipulative?

Lady Lyaria Chu: A beautiful and seductive women in her own prime, and heiress to the Chu name that hails from the west. She is well aware of her statue and well aware of how many suitors would fall at her feet for a taste of such wealth. It might seem odd that she has married three times and each of her husbands have mysteriously vanished. And that each of her husbands leaves everything of their name to her. Having no children, and being only in her late 20's Lady Lyaria has much to look forward to her in her youth and beyond. Her family name goes far back in the western area, having started as simple tailors that now make dresses for the wealthy everywhere.

Lady Lyaria had met Sir Billium when he visited her family's area and got to know him very well. Finding her seductive methods worked little on the cold man. But indeed they struck a chord with each other in their shrewd way of thinking about how the lower class is. It's a wonder to many about her ever-increasing wealth and expansion of her company could be due to the fact she murders her own husbands. But if word of that ever got out, she might have to silence a few people herself.

Traits include - Beautiful, Seductive, and Flirtatious. Ruthless? Greedy? and Narcissist?

James Napity: Coming from a lower wealthy family who only know of the Blade Family due to contracts with them through the Assassins Guild. James fought tooth and nail to make sure he and his family were safe from harm that could come to them. But in the end, it truly was all for not. Peasants revolted, and though James's family had done nothing to these wretched commoners they still sought to burn down his house. His family died as a result, and his wife blamed him for the fire, leaving him. His bitters grew to the lower class after that, the only kind-hearted man grew cold and hateful.

Before this though, he had met Billium as a childhood friend, though they rarely, if ever, got along. James found the other to be rather mean spirited and violent for his taste, but now he can see why. Though his family only has connections to the Assassins Guild as their dirty little secret, they haven't really used this since the time his great great great grandfather was head of the family. Since then, they sought better ways to grow their wealth and look where that got them.

Traits include - Calming, Perspective, and Philosophical. Wrathful? Jealous? and Cold-hearted?

Sir Karl Jacobs: What a strange man, no? His name hasn't ever been heard, yet this streamer is said to be rather wealthy. Not much is known about him which makes him even more enticing to the guests. He seems to just be here at this party for fun and nothing more, getting to know each of the guests. But isn't that just the thing? A strange man shows up from nowhere and seems to suddenly start murders at a party? Who's to say he's not here just to gain wealth through their deaths?

Karl is just a happy go lucky man and portrays as such. But have no idea how even he ended up here and just hoping to understand why he's here. Karl sets about to solve this murder while knowing he's a suspect himself.

Traits include - Funny, Happy-go-lucky, and sweet. Strange? Sly? and Thoughtful?

(Did include Drew as he’s pretty straight forward, unless you guys can think of something.)

#tales of the smp #the masquerade #dream smp #technoblade #sapnap #karl jacobs #niachu #badboyhalo #ranboo #clue au #Tales of the SMP AU #Dream SMP AU

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knchins · 4 years

Text

Sex Tapes - Todoroki Shouto

Summary: Billionaire playboy Todoroki Shouto has a secret collection of personal sex tapes and tonight he plans on adding to his stash.

Pairing: Celebrity!Shouto x Idol!Reader

Rating: E+

Word Count: 4k

Bingo Prompt: Sex Tapes

Warnings: Vaginal sex, hair pulling, unprotected sex, hidden cameras, filming without permission, mild dirty talk, pull-out method

Notes: I was supposed to finish this last Saturday but life just has to get in the way sometimes. Well, here it is and I hope it was worth the wait. This was for @bnhabookclub NSFW weekly prompt "celebrity x celebrity". In this reader is a rising idol star that had just gotten her big break while Shouto is a young billionaire. I hope he's not too OOC! I may make this into a short series but haven’t decided.

Todoroki Shouto adjusted his Windsor knot while looking at his reflection in the mirror. In just half an hour he’d be making his grand entrance at one of Japan’s largest charity balls that beckoned only the most famous of the country to attend. It was always considered one of the highest honors to be invited, a decree of one's success during the previous year.

This was his sixth one, having become Japan’s youngest billionaire at the age of eighteen through risky business decisions and investments that all paid off in the end. Being a man of money and status had its perks. Women fell at his feet, he always got the best service in restaurants, and he could afford anything in the entire world that his mother may dream of having. Not that she ever asked for much, but he spoiled her all the same.

A smirk pulled across his lips as he looked over his reflection. He never went home empty handed after one of these things. Young celebrities wanted nothing more than to climb the social ladder by riding his dick. He thought that his taste was impeccable when it came to...well, everything. Dates, food, cars, houses, he only wanted the best of the best and he was sure to get it.

Every year Shouto had a tradition that none of his late night partners knew about. Hidden in the lavish bedroom in his penthouse were three small cameras and one well placed microphone. He quite enjoyed the secret tape collection he had. They were ordered by year and last name in a locked down file folder on his computer. Hard copies were kept in a secret safe. You never knew when you needed to cause a good scandal to take the eyes off of something that was maybe more sinister.

He checked his ruby and diamond watch, the bejeweled face matching his iconic two-toned hair. Right on time, he mused as he checked himself over one last time before departing for the penthouse’s elevator. He made it down to the valet where a white limo had been waiting for him.

The driver opened the door as Shouto said nothing. He entered, not even bothering to marvel at the red interior. The first few times he had ridden in his custom limo, it had amazed him at how well the designers were able to make his wishes come to life. Now it just seemed all the same to him. If you’ve ridden in one, you’ve ridden in them all. Painting it a different color only made it interesting for a short amount of time.

When he arrived, there was a sea of expensive cars and limousines as far as he could see. He was silently thankful that large crowds like this didn’t bother him. While being with a big group of people wasn’t what he preferred, it also didn’t give him any kind of negative feeling such as anxiety or nervousness. It probably helped that he was great at working a room no matter how many were inside of it.

The valet opened the door for him and he stepped out onto the long red carpet. Cameras were flashing as paparazzi stormed the limo, wanting to get a glimpse of his sharp white tux with bright red accents. His hair in perfect placement, having just gotten his undercut touched up that morning just for the event. He gave the cameras a sinful smirk that had all of the ladies sighing dreamily. If he were into small fry then maybe he’d take a few home and make them into stars. But no, he was after a much bigger fish tonight.

He took his time walking to the building, enjoying the attention from the photographers and journalists. He entertained a few by doing some quick interviews about the event and his outfit. He praised his designers and stylists that worked hard to make him look the best, and that was probably the only honest thing he said to them.

After nearly an hour, he ascended the stone staircase into the science museum where the ball was held. More people had arrived by this point and the place was filling nicely. He figured he was almost to capacity by the time he finally went inside.

His mismatched eyes ran over the crowd, looking for one guest in particular. He knew from her social media that she would be here tonight and he was more than eager to start baiting her to get her to go home with him. He didn’t think it would be particularly difficult. It never was for him.

Shouto’s gaze fell onto a beautiful young woman dressed in a tight dark blue dress with a long slit up the left side, exposing a fair amount of leg. He grabbed two glasses of champagne as he strode towards her at an even pace, not wanting to risk showing any sort of excitement.

“Miss Y/L/N, how nice to finally meet you in person.” He said to the idol star in front of him. Her cheeks dusted pink in a light blush as she took one of the glasses from him. Everyone who was anyone knew who Todoroki Shouto was.

She had just recently broken into the scene of stardom, having formerly been a member of a popular idol group. She started her solo career about a year ago and was finally a big name all on her own. The attention from other powerful people was still relatively new to her, her inexperience served as a kind of amusement for Shouto. If she really wanted to be a star, then he’d make her a star.

“Mr. Todoroki, it’s nice to meet you.” She said, trying to hide her nerves. If she somehow spurned the young billionaire then she could ruin her own career. The mere thought had her walking on eggshells.

He gave her one of his famous, dazzling smiles. “Please, call me Shouto. Mr. Todoroki is my father.” He teased and she chuckled lightly at the joke that admittedly wasn’t very original. “You look very lovely tonight, perhaps you’d like to dance with me later?”

She looked up at him, blinking slowly as she processed the request. An excited smile crossed her soft lips, “I would love to Mr-” She stopped, “Shouto. Perhaps after I finish my drink?”

Shouto nodded, sipping at his glass. They continued to make small talk, mostly about business and her rise to fame. When she asked him about his personal life he deflected, turning the conversation back to her. She didn’t seem to notice that he was doing this, which worked out better for him.

As the night went on, he noticed her face flushing more and more, giggles spilling from her any time he teased her. They danced, ate hors d'oeuvres , and drank more of the bubbly alcohol than either of them probably should have. Shouto found himself becoming increasingly handsy as the time passed, first her upper back, then down to the gentle curve of her spine, her hips, and finally as they were slowly dancing he chanced to grab a handful of her ass.

The idol star leaned into his toned chest, resting her head on his shoulder so that her breath fanned against his neck. She didn’t protest his touch, sighing softly instead of pulling away. The champagne had put her nerves around him at ease, and by now she was feeling as if she’d known him for years. In a way she had, always reading about him in magazines and seeing him on TV talking about his latest business ventures. He always found a way to stay in the spotlight.

“Would you like to see how the rich live?” He asked, keeping his tone light in a way to show her that there was no pressure if she didn’t feel comfortable. Despite being such a playboy, Shouto never forced a woman to come home with him. That included heavy persuasion to get them into his bed. He had too much respect for the opposite sex to coerce them into doing anything they didn’t want to do.

She looked up at him, blinking in time with the downbeat of the music playing. “Your place?” She asked, not bothering to be coy about it. She just wanted clarification for what he was asking of her before she agreed to anything.

He simply nodded his head, a few red hairs daring to dip in front of his eyes. She reached up and brushed them back into place without much thought, “I’d love to.” She responded, suddenly feeling breathless by how close they were. Typically she didn’t do things like this, however they had such a profound connection that she decided to cave in to her wants for once.

Typically she lived a very rigid lifestyle, adhering herself to strict rules to stay on top of her game. She had already broken several rules of her diet tonight and would more than likely regret it in the morning. However, Shouto’s presence seemed to make her forget about all of that. All she wanted was to spend more time with him, and thoroughly enjoy herself in the process. Maybe the calories burned through some extracurricular activities would help equal out all of the champagne she drank and pastries she ate. One could only hope.

As the night wound down, and after Shouto did a grand display of his wealth by buying a few very expensive art pieces at the charity auction, the two wound up in his custom limo. The young star was not above throwing herself at him, his light touches across intimate areas throughout the night had her wanting him more and more. It was obvious what his intentions with her were, and she was completely on board.

After marveling the beautiful interior of the luxury car, she turned to the side so she could face him. A gentle hand found his face, cupping his cheek as his two-toned eyes stared her down. Behind them was a lustful fire burning brightly, ready to explode. He stopped hesitating for the first time that night as he leaned in and brought their lips together at last.

A needy whine left her, passing through her resolve with ease as her lips parted for his eager tongue. The kiss was sensual and greedy, hands aimlessly pawing through each other’s clothes as they wanted nothing more than to be closer.

Shouto pulled away, knowing he had to wait for the main action. He didn’t have any recording devices within the limo, which in hindsight felt like a huge mistake. The night started as a simple conquest, but after talking to her and getting to know his little idol, the desire blossomed into something much more intense. This was no longer a simple catch for him. He wasn’t just going through the motions, he was actually putting in effort and if he hadn’t been inebriated then it probably would have frightened him.

She looked at him with enlarged pupils, wondering why he pulled away. The playboy chuckled at the expression and a blush lit up her entire face. “I can either be a gentleman or we can do this here, I don’t believe I can do both.” He admitted, only adding fuel to her embarrassment. It clearly wasn’t rejection, however it did somehow feel that way just the tiniest bit.

As they rode back to the building that housed his penthouse, he put an arm around her shoulder, tips of his fingers brushing the bare skin there. Even though it was light, it still seemed to set her ablaze. She shifted so that their sides and legs were touching, needing the closeness as she squeezed her thighs together. Something about him just made her so incredibly turned on that it was hard to keep her hands to herself (or off herself?) while they waited.

When they finally parked out front, her hand darted for the door handle. Shouto let out another laugh as he reeled her back to him. “Hold on, sweetheart, I pay someone for that.” He couldn’t stop the amused look from crossing his features as a pout made its way onto her soft lips.

A moment later the door opened. She took the hand that was outstretched to her and let it guide her out of the vehicle. A bright flash of light caused her to wince, though she was temporarily blinded she could hear the shudder of a camera. They just never give up, she thought bitterly as they called out to her, asking what she was doing with Todoroki Shouto at this time of night.

Shouto appeared beside her, obviously unaffected by the paparazzi. He’d dealt with them for most of his life now, his father also being quite famous. They were just little insects that didn’t deserve his attention.

He put an arm around his prize, his palm on the small of her back as he took her inside. The building security kept the onlookers at bay, not allowing them to come too close to the doorway. “Just ignore them.” He murmured into her ear, “they thrive on attention.”

She nodded her head as they went through the glass doors. They went far back into the building, through a maze of corridors to a private elevator that could only be called when activated by his key. She tried not to marvel at the grandiose decor of the bottom floor. So far she couldn’t imagine what his penthouse would look like.

Shouto inserted a silver key into the lock, turning it before pressing the call button.He removed his key and a few seconds later there was a high pitched chime before the gold doors opened. They went inside and he pressed the button for the top floor.

They stood in a comfortable if not pleasurable silence as Shouto’s hand drifted downwards to her ass again. She acted as if she didn’t notice, though there was a tinge of pink on her cheeks as he gave her ass a small pat when the doors opened to reveal his lavish penthouse.

She walked inside, awestruck at the expensive decor and beautiful open layout. It was even more magnificent then what she had expected, though in all honesty she wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. Despite her celeb status, she wasn’t nearly wealthy enough to have anything bigger than an upper class apartment. It was a comfortable living, but it was nothing like this.

Shouto wasted no time in guiding her into the large master bedroom. The king sized bed was adorned with silk sheets and a plush duvet. “Strip for me, sweetheart.” He murmured into her ear in a low voice, “dance for me like you do on stage.”

He moved away from her, loosening his tie and shedding his jacket and vest as he sat on the edge of the bed. The singer stared at him before slowly starting to dance to an inner beat, unzipping her dress in the process and letting it fall to the floor.

She expertly stepped out of it before smoothly taking off her heels. Keeping her pace slow and deliberate, she removed her stockings, only stopping when she was reduced to nothing but a pair of bra and panties.

The billionaire was captivated by everything about her. Her rhythmic dance, the soft and bare skin, and the sensual expression that graced her face. He was slowly unbuttoning his shirt, leaving it open for her to take in his sculpted chest and abs.

Her tongue came out to wet her lips, moving to straddle his lap. She rolled her hips against him, grinding her sex against his thighs. Shouto grabbed her upper legs, forcing her even closer as he captured her mouth with his own in a kiss that was a whirlwind of lips, tongue, and teeth.

Shouto changed their positions so that he was on top of her, devouring her with his mouth as he moved his hips against hers. He quickly finished taking off his shirt. The only thing separating them now was their underwear and his pants. This didn’t stop her from feeling his hard shaft press against her pussy, his movements stimulating her clit slightly. It was enough of a sensation to make her whine needily for him, taking a fistful of his multicolored hair into her hand to force the kiss to go even deeper.

He growled, tearing off her bra in order to fondle her breasts, tweaking the soft nipples until they were hardened peaks. His mouth ripped from hers and left a trail of smoldering kisses down the small expanse of her neck, nipping the flesh at the most sensitive points that had her gasping for some kind of release.

Her hands moved to his pants, managing somehow to get them off without being able to see them. He kicked them out from around his ankles, enjoying the smaller amount of resistance against his straining erection.

His fingers caught the elastic of her thong, sliding it downwards off her legs, making her untangle them from around his waist. Once she was completely nude he pressed a thumb against her engorged clit, eliciting a whimper from his conquest. He moved the digit in slow, agonizing circles that had her panting and keening for more. She had never felt so untouched in her entire life.

“S-Shouto,” She rasped, “P-please!” She wasn’t sure how much more of his taunts she could take. His mouth had found the swell of her breasts, leaving purpling hickies across both of them. His eyes flickered up to look at her face, seeing the desperation infiltrating her features. He felt like he had hardly even touched her yet. He chalked it up to inexperience, she wasn’t known to go on many dates or have a steady partner.

“Do you need my cock that badly, Y/N?” He asked quizzically, pulling his face from between her breasts. “Your body hasn’t stopped begging for me since the limo.” At the end of his statement, he pinched the delicate bundle of nerves to get his point across. The action caused her to buck her hips in a feeble attempt to try to get out of his grip, but Shouto merely laughed in response.

He stood away from her and slid down his thin boxers. Instantly her teeth sunk into her lower lip as the sight of his hardened member, the tip nearly touching his belly button. There was a thin trail of multicolored hair connecting the small divot in his stomach to his groin, the colors split perfectly down the middle the same way as they were on the top of his head.

“I’m going to need you to do something for me first, doll.” He said as he climbed onto the bed and settled back. There was a smirk plastered on his face now, “Before I fuck you, I want you to give me a little taste.”

He watched as she sat up, her entire body flushed as she crawled to sit between his legs. One tentative hand reached out to stroke his shaft as her soft tongue lapped at the pre-cum glistening on his head. Shouto bit back a moan as he watched her, his eyes flicking to one of the several hidden cameras and giving it a wink.

The singer didn’t notice him, too busy concentrating on the task at hand. Her tongue swirled as she slowly led him into her mouth, hollowing out her cheeks in an attempt to elicit some kind of sound from him. “That’s it,” He cooed, his hand finding its way into her tresses, “suck my dick like a good little idol.”

She kept her eyes closed, too embarrassed to look up at him as she moved her head faster, hand still giving attention to the part of his length that wouldn’t fit within her mouth. After a few minutes, Shouto let out a small sigh of content before wrenching her off of him by tugging on her hair.

He was smiling as she caught her breath, maneuvering them so she was on all fours in front of him. He aligned himself up to her soaking cunt, running his tip along her folds. “Wow, you’re really dripping for me, aren’t you?” He asked, voice sinfully deep. Before she could give him any kind of coherent answer, he slammed into her.

Keeping his grip on her locks, he pulled her head back so that she had to arch her spine. A gasp rattled her throat as she was forced to quickly acclimate to his large size, walls stretching painfully at first before relaxing once more. She was so small compared to him that he felt like he was being suctioned inward, the feeling so powerful and overwhelming that he couldn’t stop the moan that came out of him.

He continued to thrust his hips at an intense speed, the sound of his scrotum hitting against her skin bounced off the walls it was so loud. The up and coming music star was nearly screaming for him, her moans so loud that he wondered if the whole building could hear her. He imagined someone who always looked so innocent on stage sounding so positively lewd. Shouto felt so incredibly powerful for reducing her to nothing but a fuck toy.

Shouto tilted his head back, groaning at how amazing his dick felt wrapped inside of her pussy. It was like she was made for him, perfect in every conceivable way. After all, no one had the level of dirt on her that he now had. It was such an addictive feeling, knowing he could do anything with the video. He had the power to ruin her career if he wanted to, though of course he really had no reason to.

He was pulled from his thoughts at the sensation of her walls fluttering around him as she came so hard that she was silent for a full thirty seconds. When she finally started to descend from her high, she gasped out for air as if trying to mentally grab any oxygen she could find. He pulled her back by her hair, making her stand up on her knees. A muscular arm wrapped around her body and a strong hand captured her throat.

She was silent again as he deprived her brain of blood and oxygen. Shouto found himself toeing the line between orgasm and not, holding himself back as much as he could for the time being. His other hand also snaked around, releasing her hair finally so he could stimulate her clit. Another few seconds he released the hold on her neck and she came a second time with the rushing sensation of blood racing through her brain once more, drinking in air in loud gulps.

Shouto quickly pulled out and released his seed across her lower back and ass, easing her down onto her stomach as he caught his breath. She lay in a puddle on the massive bed, unable to form any sort of coherent thought as her mind was a tornado of emotions.

After catching his breath, the playboy retrieved a warm wet cloth and dry towel. He cleaned up the mess he had made gently, careful not to touch any place that may be overstimulated. There was a sincere smile on his lips and a warmth within him that he hadn’t recalled ever feeling before.

Once he was done cleaning her up, he tossed the towels into a laundry chute and pulled the sheets back. He climbed in next to her after turning out the light and covered them with the silk threads. His hand lightly moved up and down her back until she was fast asleep. As he listened to the light sounds of her breathing, regret began to sweep over him.

He stood, frowning at the small whine she gave when he left. When he was sure that she hadn’t actually awoken, he padded to his laptop and unlocked it. He cut the feed to the video and promptly deleted the file before crawling back into bed and holding her once more in his arms.

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themonkeycabal · 4 years

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The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Episode 1 SPOILERS

If you need to blacklist, I will be tagging all things as #tfatws and/or #tfatws spoilers

My roommate keeps calling this The Falcon and the Snowman. I'm not entirely sure it's accidental.

I was going to watch at midnight and then fell asleep. Betrayal. I will not forgive this, brain.

Bucky Barnes character development. Sam Wilson character development. Six full episodes of Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson. When we watched Civil War, did we think we'd actually be lucky enough to get a buddy idiot cop movie? Let alone six hours of it? #blessed

What are we expecting here? I have no idea, honestly. I think all the clips we've been seeing are from the first couple episodes, so they've hidden any sort of plot from us. We know Baron Zemo's around with his stupid purple ski mask and burning hatred for superheroes and probably specifically for Bucky who he tried (and honestly kind of succeeded, before then ultimately failing dramatically) to set up. And Sharon Carter will turn up at some point. OMG guys, Sharon Carter character development!

I'm just here for the buddy bickering and badassery.

SPOILERS BELOW

New World Order: Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes realize that their futures are anything but normal. *Realize*? lol

Also, it's tagged as "science fiction, action-adventure, buddy" Awww.

Aww, Sam looks sad as he gazes at The Shield.

"How's it feel?" "Like it's someone else's." "It isn't."

That's right, Sam! Listen to that voice. That's yours now, baby.

We're just going to roll right into a mission. Rescuing a Captain Vassant, whose plane fell out of contact shortly after take off, from the ridiculously named group LAF, somewhere over Tunisia. Sam's got to keep LAF from doing bad things and the US Military can't be seen doing anything blah blah blah, violation of treaties, yada yada. And Sam's all "blah blah got it". We're on the same page, Sam and me. Nobody wants to hear it, Briefing Exposition Guy.

We will have a Lt. Torres on the ground following along and offering helpful commentary as they go.

Sam is warned to be subtle as he falls backwards out of the cargo plane in very dramatic fashion and then swoops off on his brightly colored wings. lol

Sam gets to the captain's plane but the pilot is dead and a shady LAF guy is piloting. Oh no. Hey, it's Batroc. Last seen getting his ass kicked by Captain America in "CA: The Winter Soldier". He makes some jokes about their prisoner - presumably Captain Vassant. Awful cocky for a guy with a history of getting stomped on, you know.

Anyway, he's about to get his ass kicked by a Captain America again as Sam breaks into the plane. You might just be using wing shields now, Sam, but you're Captain America in my heart. Also, hey, dumb bad guys, don't open fire with an automatic weapon inside a plane or the ricochets might kill your pilot. And his body will slump forward and put the plane into a steep dive.

Batroc distracts Sam while the bad guys gather up Vassant and jump out of the plane with him. They have wingsuits, but Sam has, you know, wings. And like a jet pack. Don't hit the canyon walls, Sam!

Somehow the bad guys have waiting gunships. Did they expect to jump out of the plane over this canyon? I can only assume. Red Wing takes care of one of the helicopters. Man these guys are a pain in the ass. They wing suit into one of the many many helicopters that just happen to be right in the right spot. They're racing for the Libyan border. Then Sam shows up, they throw Vassant out the copter again — this guy is having the worst day — and glide into another chopper.

Man ANOTHER gunship? The hell? They're causing serious ecological damage to this canyon, what with all the zillionty missiles they're firing at Sam. How strapped is this thing?

LT Torres is trying to keep up, and you know, trying to get Sam to not fly into Libyan territory and cause an international incident or some such. Sam is struck by inspiration and not by a missile. But, the missiles are following Sam and Sam is following Batroc's chopper. Sam zooms through the open doors of the chopper, knocks poor Vassant out of the chopper AGAIN (but then catches him), and LAF blows up their own helicopter. Alas, Batroc escaped.

Sam saves the day and LT Torres is like super excited. Don't break your humvee, Torres.

Torres and Sam stop by a tea shop in Tunis, or somewhere. Sam's trying to fix his tech that got a little shot up and Torres buys the tea. A man comes up and thanks Sam for saving his wife. It's sweet. And then Torres gets up and wanders about a bit with his phone as he exposits about LAF. Is Torres about to become a pin cushion? Only instead of pins it'll be bullets? I'm not feeling good about his continued health. He's too cute and earnest.

Oh, he's looking for some sort of hidden, augmented reality tag on the walls. A red handprint, id'ing some group that calls themselves the Flag Smashers. Bad guys are really scraping the bottom of the evil name barrel. Anyway, they think the world was better during the blip. Nothing says better like mass failure of infrastructure and probably world wide famine. They want a unified world without borders. I have big doubts the world would be a borderless utopia during a blip-like event. Power vacuums invite trouble, seldom unity.

Anyhoo. Sam kind of agrees with me, "every time something gets better for one group, it gets worse for another".

Torres will track the 'online chatter'. But he's also heard some wacky things about Steve Rogers, conspiracy theory stuff, "they think that he's in a secret base on the moon, looking down over us". LOL. What? Is Steve a moon angel now? or Santa Claus? "You didn't like fly him to the moon?" Sam assures him that's all very much silly foolishness. Steve's in Boca working on his tan.

Sam's back in D.C. giving a talk about Steve at the Smithsonian's National Air & Space museum. "And he mastered posing stoically". Hey, I have that picture. Also, RHODEY! Hi Rhodey!

"A few months ago, billions of people reappeared after 5 years away. Sending the world into turmoil." Again. I know this was meant to come out before WandaVision, but timeline-wise this works better.

"We need new heroes. Ones suited for the times we're in. Symbols are nothing without the women and men that give them meaning." Sam holds up The Shield. "I don't know if there's been a greater symbol." Aww, he's retiring the shield. He hands it off to museum people and they put it in a display case. I think Rhodey has some thoughts about this. I suspect Rhodey maybe doesn't agree.

Sam and Rhodey wander through the Cap exhibit and Sam's talking about how when he left (or got snapped, it's not like you had a choice about that, Sam), his nephews were babies and now they're little men. Awww. Rhodey says Sam should bring them to D.C., he'll teach them how to fly, "the right way". lol.

Rhodey says it's crazy to think nobody will be carrying the shield. Sam points out they went 70 years without, so like …

Rhodey wants to know why Sam didn't take up the mantle. BTW, this is a cool exhibit, marvel peeps. Sam says it feels like it belongs to someone else … Steve. Rhodey says everything's broken. Allies are enemies, things are torn apart. People are looking for somebody to make it better. Having made his pitch, Rhodey leaves Sam to stare mournfully at the shield. I think you're afraid to pick up the shield, Sam. Afraid you won't measure up. But, you can do it. I have faith. Also, Steve was kind of a disaster in his own way. He wasn't perfect, which was the point of Steve as a hero. Pick up the shield, Sam.

A fancy hotel, chatting people in the lobby, up to a mezzanine, a group of very Russian oligarch looking dudes and their security. And lo! A metal arm punches through a wall and the Winter Soldier, looking very Winter Soldiery appears and stabs some dudes in the neck. This has a sepia, dream/nightmareness to it. Oh yeah, it's his old shiny silver arm. Totally a nightmare/very bad memory. "Hail Hydra" and he kills the head Russian guy. The poor dude who was just chatting in the lobby is caught trying to get into his door. He swears he didn't see anything, begs for his life and the Winter Soldier shoots him. Bucky wakes up, breathing heavily. Poor Bucky.

Glad he's in therapy. I'm sure goat herding in Wakanda was good and peaceful and all, but, goats will only get you so far. Also glad we've skipped the "wanted terrorist" part and gone on to traumatized hero.

I get the feeling he's not the best patient. He lies to his therapist straight off. Twice. lol. "You're a civilian now. With your history the government needs to know, you're not gonna … [therapist makes stabby motion]." lol (I love this actress by the way. She's been in everything for ages. She's great). "It's a condition of your pardon. So tell me about your most recent nightmare." "I didn't have a nightmare." She starts writing, Bucky objects and tells her she's being passive-aggressive, but he gives in.

He has a list of amends to make and three rules to follow. He crossed a name off. There's a Hydra pawn who's a senator, he helped her get into office. "After Hydra disbanded, she continued to use the power I gave her." Hmm. He tracks her car and listens in on her plotting to have a congressman killed.

* Rule number one: Can't do anything illegal.

He's hijacked the Senator's car and is remote controlling it, making it drive all out of control and freaking her out. He says he was collecting intel to give to an aide to convict her. Absolutely only did that. Not one illegal thing about that at all, no ma'am.

"Rule number two?" "Hmm. What was rule number two?" "Nobody gets hurt. It's a big one." "Then why isn't it rule number one?" Oh, Bucky, you're a jackass.

* Rule number two: Nobody gets hurt.

"I didn't hurt anybody. Promise." He totally broke a dude's hand and then punched him in the face, knocking him out. I mean, there's levels of 'hurt' I suppose.

"The whole point of making amends is to fulfill rule number three." "Of course I completed rule number three."

* Rule number three: "I am no longer the Winter Soldier. I am James 'Bucky' Barnes. And you're part of my efforts to make amends." He says to the corrupt senator he's just been terrifying. And then he walks away as a tac team pulls up. lol.

What I'm getting from this therapy session is that Bucky is a big fat fibber.

Also he's got a little black book full of names. Including, I see, H. Zemo. That's not going to go as smoothly as taking down a shady government fatcat, I think.

"So you did it all right, but it didn't help with the nightmares?" "Well, like I said, I didn't have any." Fibber.

People wanna help you Bucky and you can trust them. "I trust people," he mutters grumpily. She asks for his phone and he hands it over. Look, lady! Trust! Probably government mandated trust, but still!

"You don't have ten phone numbers on this thing." … I don't have ten phone numbers on my phone. :( "Oh, and you've been ignoring texts from Sam." Well …

"I am the only person you have called all week. That is so sad." lol. Tough love from the therapist. I'm feeling a little judged myself, though. "You're alone." ALRIGHT DON'T RUB IT IN!

"You're a hundred years old. You have no history. No family—" "Are you lashing out at me, doc? Because that's really unprofessional." I love you Bucky, but you are a disaster patient.

Bucky relents. "I'm trying. This is new for me. I didn't have a moment to deal with anything. I had a little calm in Wakanda. And other than that, I just went from one fight to another for 90 years." Get this man a goat farm!

"So now that you've stopped fighting, what do you want?" "Peace." A goat farm. "That is utter bullshit." lol "You're a terrible shrink." "I was an excellent soldier, so I saw a lot of dead bodies and I know how that can shut you down. And if you are alone, that is the quietest, most personal hell." Get some friends, Bucky. "I know you've been through a lot. But, you've got your mind back. You're being pardoned. These are good things. You're free." "To do what?"

On the streets of Brooklyn. Bucky breaks up an argument between neighbors about trashcans. Hey, Bucky has a friend! Yori Nakajima who's probably like 80+. Did you babysit him back in the day, Buck? har har. They were going to meet for lunch, but some punk named Unique was putting his trash into Mr. Nakajima's trash can and just derailed the whole day. The horror. No joke, though, people get so nutted up about that. It's weird to me. Of course, I did also have a neighbor who never put out his trash for pickup and just snuck out at night before trash day and distributed his garbage into in other people's bins. Cheapass.

"Hey man, I'm Unique. Like Monique but it's got a 'u' in there for uniqueness." Yeah, you should have let Yori smack him, Buck.

Well now Yori is just not in the mood for lunch. Bucky tries to persuade him, but one grumpy old man out grumps the other. "But Izzy. We always go to Izzy on Wednesday. What if I buy?" "Fine. But no talking." lol. BFFs!

Yori is looking at the obituaries. "Look, nobody made it past 90 this week." Bucky tsks "So young, such a shame."

Bucky kind of smiles at the girl behind the counter at the sushi joint, Yori tells him he should ask her out. Bucky makes a "are you nuts, shut up" face. That doesn't stop Yori. "He would like to take you out on a date. Maybe to bingo or a night of pinochle." You're a wild man, Yori!

She's down by it, though, and she and Yori hammer out the details while Bucky's like uh, okay, so wow, that's happening. "There's a dance to these things. You can't … you gotta warm up and I haven't danced since 1943."

Yori sees something and suddenly gets sad. His son loves red bean mochi. His son was a consultant, working abroad and he was killed. Oh. Oh Bucky, why you gotta … Yori's son was the innocent witness he killed at the hotel in his nightmare/memory. "I will never know what really happened to him." Brutal.

Delacroix, Louisana

Sam's on his way home. Wilson Family Seafood. Aww. His nephews are helping mom with the catch. "Blue for the snapper, orange for the white fish," Sam calls out. The boys run over to him. They do look like fine gentlemen. It's weird, Sam, I get it. I recently realized my oldest nephew will be 13 in May and it's like "no, he's only in kindergarten, what are you talking about?"

His sister greets him then tells him he's looking all sneaky. Sam deflects. Their boat has seen better days. The Paul & Darlene. Aww. Is that his parents names? "Baby being held together by duct tape and prayers." Just needs to float long enough for his sister to sell it. But Sam's all, uh I thought we were going to *discuss* that. Uh oh, family drama. "We did, and then you were off fighting Dr Space Cape or whatever (lol), while I was holding it together for five long years." Ouch.

Sam is not down by this selling the boat thing. His sister doesn't seem to think they're in a position to hold on to it. Also, she'd really like to not hash this out on the pier with like twenty other people around, Sam.

They get into more of an argument on the boat. The family biz is not doing well financially. Sarah won't let Sam help for some reason, and he makes some comment about the house and loans and she punches him in the chest. lol "I forgot how hard you hit."

Sam insists they can turn it around, consolidate loans. And she's all, been there done that, I've come to terms with this. He's a persistent little jerk. This is such a perfectly sibling argument. Notably he has moved himself out of punching range.

Aww, she wants to believe he can save the boat, but she has DOUBTS.

Back in Brooklyn. Bucky attempts his date. He turns up at the end of the sushi girl's shift and gives her flowers. "Well, if that's not the most adorably old-fashioned thing anyone's ever done."

They chat while she tidies. He tried online dating oh lol. It didn't take. She tells him "You sound like my dad. Wait how old are you?" "Hundred and six." Oh yeah, what a funny joke. Next she wants to know why he's wearing gloves. "I have … um … poor circulation." He grimaces at himself and glances out the window. Smooth as silk, Bucky. Smoooooth.

"Let's play a game." Now, I'm thinking like some weird dating word/get-to-know-each-other game or something. I don't know. But, nope, she means Battleship. lol. I like her.

The drinking game version of battleship. Bucky sucks at it. "You sure can drink." "Yeah, well." Super assassin, unfair advantage.

We're just going to rub in this whole The Winter Soldier killed Yori's son thing, as she says it's nice that he's spending time with the old man. Since he was all messed up after his son was murdered and how it was extra hard because he didn't know what happened. I'm not sure this is healthy, Bucky.

"There's no word for someone whose kids die." Okay, ouch, lady, jeez. Bucky looks like he wants to puke. Or crawl into a deep dark hole. Or something. "Because it's the worst thing that can happen." Bucky nopes right out the front door. So, maybe they should have played pinochle instead.

Bucky goes to Yori. Are you really going to tell this man you murdered his son when you were a brain-washed Hydra assassin? Yori asks how the date was, and Bucky sees a shrine to the man's son in the apartment. Poor Bucky. He makes some excuse about owing Yori for lunch and leaves. Yori's name is in his book of amends. :(

Back in Louisiana. Sam and the kids are packing up meals. His sister maybe wants to sell meals in addition to fish. Sam says they've got to get going to their appointment at the bank. She's says it's in an hour. Sam must be just the worst brother to live with "There's no such thing as on time. You're either early or late. Pick one." Man, no wonder he gets punched.

Switzerland

Lt Torres is walking down a street with an unusually large number of people just sort of milling around in the middle of the street looking at their phones. He's got his kind of hidden, recording. He stops a guy and asks if he knows what they're supposed to be doing. Oh it's the flag munchers, or whatever. There's a weird phony bird whistle and then people gather around a person handing out masks with red handprints on them. His decoy bad guy phone chirps and gives the order to run. A guy jumps out of a nearby building with two huge duffle bags (of money it seems) and walks off while the previously milling people become a seemingly panicked mob, distracting police and whatnot.

Torres tries to arrest the jumper guy, who appears to have some super strength as he kicks a policeman halfway across the street. Torres, you're cute, but not super bright. Torres gets body slammed and then stomped. He survives again, however, defying the odds.

At the bank. The account manager keeps giving Sam the side-eye as he goes through their paperwork. "Do I know you from somewhere." Sam's all modest, "I don't know. Do you?" And then he makes a little wing flappy move with his hands. lol. What a nerd. "Falcon!" Then he takes a selfie with Sam. Sarah is very done with all this. She tries to get them back on track. Account guy wants to know how Avengers make a living. Probably not looking good for your loan, Sam.

"Is there some kind of fund for heroes? Or did Stark pay you when he was around? My condolences, by the way."

Yeah, financially this is looking bad, my dude. "You have no income over the last five years." Well, but, he was blipped. I mean …

Alas, shot down for the loan.

Sam and Sarah argue on the street. Ah, Sam ran off to the Air Force and didn't deal with what was going on at home. Oh my, this is getting ugly. Speaking as someone who got disowned on account of a family business, let me just say, they're not easy. Nuh-uh.

"Half the boat's mine and so is the house. We're not selling our family's legacy." "You gonna do me like what when you know I'm right?"

I get it might be awkward to ask, but I bet you could have asked Pepper for a loan, Sam, and she would have given it to you gladly. Come on, man.

Later. Sam's working on the boat's engine, and it's not cooperating. In the cabin he looks at the family pictures on all the walls. He's having a rough day. About as rough as Torres who texts him to find a secure line and call him along with a selfie of his bruised and battered face. #important (lol, really?)

Sam watches the footage Torres caught and they chat about how Torres was supposed to be doing that stuff online and not getting his face kicked in in Switzerland.

Sarah interrupts and turns on the TV. Some guy is giving a speech about how everybody needs a hero. "We need someone who can inspire us again. Someone who can be a symbol for all of us. So on behalf of the Department of Defense and our Commander-in-Chief, it is with great honor that we announce here today that the United States of America has a new hero." hmm, no comment. Except, you should have taken up the shield, Sam. Now it's Sam's turn to look like he's going to puke. What did I say about power vacuums? Somebody will fill them, whether you want them to or not.

This new guy looks like a goober. There, I said it.

credits

So … lots of setup. And very clear on the two guys trying to figure out where they fit in this world post blip and big wars. Both of them trying to fix broken families.

Plus a goober in a Cap suit.

So far so good.

#tfatws #tfatws spoilers #the falcon and the winter soldier #the falcon and the winter soldier spoilers

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