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lovelykhaleesiii · 1 year

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Merhaba!

If you feel uncomfortable, you can delete this request!

Warning: non-con, toxic behavior, baby trapping?

Request here! for a modern dark!aegon, where the reader has been his friend for a long time and aegon has a horrible dependency on her, as well as an obsession and mostly never lets anyone near her, since he sees her as his, anyway, the reader one day tells him she is accepted for a scholarship in another country but he gets mad because she is going to leave him so he forces her to have sex with him and also hopes to get her pregnant so she will never leave him.

you’re so cute nonnie!!!!! this is totally fine, I don’t normally write for non-con, but I’ll let this slide cause it’s kinda hot 🥵 I’m combining it with this ask, and leaning more towards a dub-con, manipulation tactic of dark!Aegon!!! hope you enjoy xx

quote in the link above is - "gentle, slow manipulation - "just a kiss" to "I'll only grind against you" to "only the tip, promise" to "just a little more" to "I won't cum inside" until you're a cum-filled wreck underneath them."

Dilemmas & Dreams.

PAIRING: Dark!Modern!Aegon ii Targaryen x fem!Reader

WORDS: 4,179.

WARNINGS: swearing, angst, co-dependency, somnophilia, dub-con, slight mentions of non-con, mentions of pregnancy, time jumps.

A/N - so this took me forever cause it was a hard concept to plot. tried to make it more dub-con/non-con but still slightly consensual, just because I do not condone using violence for sex. but dark!Aeg is just my intrusive thots. I also did not include my taglists, just cause I did not want to trigger or force anyone to feel the need to read this, if it isn't your thing <3 no pressure. this is for a specific audience.

It was an universal understanding that relationships could get complicated from time to time, to say at the very least... This did not cease with your unique relationship with Aegon.

With every fibre in your heart, you love him dearly, and that [if you were being honest], would never change. He generally was not the ideal type of man you'd pursue [as you had initially assumed] nor did you think it was even a realistic possibility to fall for his type. Likewise, you did no think of yourself as his particular type, although Aegon was less picky than you when it came to finding a mate. Yet he had this almost omnipotent-like power over you. Luring you farther and deep enough, he kept you eagerly lingering for more: for more of his touch, his scent, his love and affections. An urge you attempted countless of times to keep silenced and at bay, and yet you felt the constant, probing need to keep the man sated.

With many of your short, previous relationships, you'd never granted a man the opportunity to bear such a profound effect on you, nor did any of them truly possess the charisma Aegon had naturally wielded. It was all very consuming and perplexing, yet a part of you quite enjoyed the crisp attention Aegon showered you with in return for your loyalty and commitment to him. Your long-time warfare of constantly seeking approval and praise did not help the situation either, only exploiting your vulnerability more, as you vowed to refuse disappointing the man at all costs.

And from what you had learnt and could decipher about Aegon's history, he had never grown this infatuated with another before, let alone actually granted himself the opportunity to have a significant other. His previous flings had been fleeting and meaningless, only to glutton himself off of sex, inflating his subtle ego. However, you, you had caught him off-guard. A fellow colleague and long-time friend of Aemond's, you had met mutually. You knew of each other, though had never truly met, for Aemond was desperate to keep some distance between yourself and his elder brother. He had mentioned many things about Aegon, not all good, yet you knew better than to judge or presume. In theory, you were both quite the opposites, yet something about you, your innocence, warm demeanour drew him to you, like a moth to a flame. From the many family quarrels Aemond had disclosed to you, it seemed Aegon was problematic with some sort of self-conflict from within. He struggled with certain tendencies such as drinking, partying, avoiding responsibilities, yet nonetheless, he was still pretty decent and respectful towards you. Helplessly though, you felt an immense pity for him, even if Aemond argued against it, perhaps it was your nativity: regardless, the more Aegon latched himself closer towards you, the better he became. More present at home, the less he drank and spent his days hungover and pissed, the less hostile he was towards his family.

Although, he remained a pest towards his younger brothers, Aemond and Daeron, occasionally taunting them. Not to mention, he did go against Aemond's urges to leave you alone.

"Aeg, Y/N's off limits. I have never asked of anything from you, nor have I ever really expected anything from you, if I'm being honest. But, I digress, she is off limits. Understood?"

"Why, have you finally grown the balls to actually ask her out? Or you scared she'll actually say yes to the likes of me?"

"OFF LIMITS Aeg! I fucking mean it!"

"No, no- How about I date Y/N instead, and in return I leave you alone? See now that sounds like an even better deal to me, brother."

Not to mention, you were undeniably a sight for sore eyes, beautiful nonetheless, he was determined to have you. The thought that someone else could pluck you from him at any given second, not excluding his younger brother, began to stir something rageful inside of him. The more time he spent around you, the more possessive he could feel himself becoming. A side he did not fathom existed in him, yet you had so ignorantly ignited. Although, he relished in it. Eventually, and much to Aemond's reluctance he inserted himself into your conversations, making his presence known whenever you were around, or forcing his younger brother to exploit your whereabouts with threats only each brother knew about one another. Regardless, his tactics worked and eventually, you became his. His.

Since then all had been bliss, yet, now, you were struck with a dilemma...

****

"What do you mean you could be moving, Y/N? Is this a few weeks kinda thing or you're gone... For good?" Aegon raised, his voice growing audibly louder with such a ferocity, you'd never heard the likes of it before.

"W-Well it's a scholarship, Aeg. One that I honestly never even thought possible to get, I-I just applied off a whim. B-But now that they're offering it, maybe, just maybe, I was hoping you could support me."

The words fell shaky from your quivering lips; Aegon's face was struck with a blatant concoction of confusion, hurt and fury, like a wounded predator that had unforeseen a counter attack.

"Just answer me this, Y/N, how long exactly will you be gone for? How long are you planning to leave me?"

He took a great stride towards you, his hands reaching over, tightly gripping your forearms by the sides, as if in fear you might run at any minute. His voice although stern and unnerving, his lilac eyes glistened tearily.

"It-It's a funded Masters course, Aeg, just for two years I'll be studying abroad. B-But I'll plan to come back to see you whenever I can. Every holiday, every semester's break, you bet I'm coming back to you. A-And you could even come and see me, baby. You know, I-I would never leave you like that, Aeg, you know this, p-please-"

An eerie silence was all that you were met with, as Aegon's grip on you had loosened slowly. His face remained stoic, yet his teary eyes flickered, before he began to dauntingly nod his head, walking away from you towards the closed window of your apartment. You could hear sniffles, before he released a long, exhausted sigh as he looked onwards to the scenery outside.

"So this is how you disregard me, huh, Y/N? Is this how you see me, see us? Just something you can toss to the fucking side, once you find something a little more interesting to chase after?"

His harsh words stung like the venom of a viper. Now turned back towards you, his hardened gaze was chilling, almost even threatening. You felt somewhat fearful of Aegon at this very exact moment, although he would never hurt you, that you were certain of. He was often stubborn and hot-tempered though knew to control himself swiftly. Reassured by this, you simultaneously also felt the desperate urge to coddle and soothe his fears, vouching that you could nor would ever dispose of him like some piece of garbage.

"A-Aeg, never! That's not me, please! You are overthinking this, Aegon, you'-re-you're not thinking straight, my love. I-I know this can be overwhelming but t-try to understand me. Please-"

Taking a small step towards him, you came to a sudden halt, as he took a step back maintaining the distance between. His hand lifting mid way as if to signal you to stop, swatting you away.

"So now my feelings aren't valid? Fuck, Y/N... You really are starting to sound like a real, spoilt little bitch now. Just like the rest of them fucking sluts!"

Seating himself promptly down onto the bed, he ran his fingers through his platinum blonde hair, his head facing towards the ground, as another defeated sigh escaped his lips once more. It was only when he resumed his sole attention back unto your frozen frame, did he stupidly realise that now he had really crossed the line.

"Get out," Your voice although quiet just above a whisper, was crisp.

"Y/N-Baby-I-I didn't mean that-"

"Out, Aegon!"

A tightness in your chest began to intensify, a hand falling over your left, clothed breast, as your breathing began to hasten into loud, hitched sobs. Your eyes darted mindlessly around the room, feeling as though the walls began to close in, a sense of claustrophobia that you'd never feared nor experienced before brewing. Your cheeks turning scarlet by the seconds, as your eyes began to fill with hot tears, streaking down your tender face. Cowering down your other free hand, was poorly attempting to grab at anything solid enough to keep you upright, although Aegon bounding over towards you, reached over, lending you a spare chair, guiding your shaking body over to sit, as he cowered down in front of you.

"Y/N, Y/N, my angel, baby please- I-I didn't mean that, I-I could never mean that. I'm just so-just so upset that you-you didn't tell me about this. You-You always tell me everything. What would I do without you, huh, my sweet girl?-"

Brushing a strand of your hair aside, his other free hand cupping your hot, blushed cheek, his thumb stroking away a freshly fallen tear.

"H-How could I live without you for two years, if I can't even bear an evening without you?"

And yet no response other than earning heart-aching sobs from your behalf. Seeing you in such a distraught, unconsolable state only in turn tormented Aegon, as the tears that he had once so proudly held back, now began to streak across his soft, handsome face.

"B-Baby, please. Please, say something. I-I'm so sorry, don't-don't hate me. I couldn't bear it-"

"Ugh- Just fuck off, Aegon!-" Wailing his arms off you, you shove him off, as you stand hastily, storming aside, creating that deliberate distance in between once again. Aegon slowly rises himself up, that familiar hurt look tinged across his disheartened face, he roughly wipes the tears off his eyes, leaving them puffy and red.

"Sorry? Sorry about what exactly, Aeg? Sorry, that you can't just be an adult for one second, and accept the fact that some of us have priorities in our lives other than being in a fucking relationship? To think that you could be mature about this, how foolish of me..."

"Y/N, I-"

"Don't, Aeg! Don't even bother explaining yourself... I think it's best that you just leave me to decide."

Brazenly interrupting him before he could utter another word, your hand meekly gestures towards the door to your apartment. You couldn't even find the stamina to look Aegon dead in the eyes, fearful that any tender look from his part, you'd crumble once more in a second.

Seeing how riled up and tense you were, Aegon reluctantly began to pace himself towards the door, taking his time before a firm hand reached, gripping the metal knob of the door. The door opening as he unlocked the entry, he came to a sudden stop, turning back momentarily staring at you, tempted to say something. However, just as his attention panned across to you, your focus from him shifted elsewhere, fleeting from a window to the floor, desperate not to look directly at him. Sensing your message, he remained quiet as he left the premises, firmly shutting the door behind.

As the pain-staking silence fell once more, the intensity of the situation felt magnitude that very second Aegon had left. Feeling weak in your knees, your walked back over towards your bed, laying yourself down, burying your tearful face into a pillow, as the sobs returned, only now muffled. Your mind was racing rapidly. Regardless of what had unfolded, you cared deeply for Aegon and knew that it wounded him immensely that you hadn't involved him in your decision, prior to making such a life-changing commitment. It was his life too, that you toyed with, and a deep, integral part of you felt somewhat guilty.

Although, the ugly side of Aegon had showed, and it scarred you bitterly. Would he act and lash out like this at every chance something major would come? Was it a flaw of his, that you were willing to accept and embrace? You had no certainty. The fleeting minutes became hours into the night, as you laid still in bed, empty of tears, eyes stinging, your pillow soaked and face flustered, before you'd gradually began to fall into a deep sleep. Exhausted by the day's mishaps, you were hopeful the new day would offer some consolation...

****

Whether you had been dreaming vividly enough to be stirred awake, you could not say. Although, Aegon was on your mind as you drifted off to sleep, remaining in your dreams and as you slightly woke, too tiresome to remember the details of the events in the long hours prior. You felt something heavy, yet awfully familiar, the musky scent, pressing against your body.

Followed by a soft "shush-ing", you instantly recognised the deep, low tone that belonged to your boyfriend's manly voice.

"It's just me, baby. Go back to sleep. I couldn't leave you all alone like this."

"Hmm, Aeg-" Was all that you could pathetically muster, before returning readjusting your head on the pillow. It wasn't uncommon for Aegon to find himself in your apartment after hours or even whilst you were still out during the day, for you did offer him keys, and came home to find him lounging around as if it was his own home. You trusted him enough to share a copy, and up until now, he had been loyal not to abuse his right, thus, this reoccurrence had never startled you.

"That's right, my sweet girl. It's just me... I'm going to fix everything, okay?"

Unlike how sinister and brooding his tone with you was just hours ago, you now felt comforted and safe, hearing that familiar, saintly tone of his. Like a lullaby it ushered you back to sleep, as you felt a small, wet kiss planted on your forehead, as he brushed the astray strands off your face, taking a few moments to gaze upon you lustfully, before stirring himself up.

Feeling the mattress beneath move, you sensed that he was now positioned on his knees, hovering above you, as each leg pinned to either sides of your upper thighs, faintly hearing a metal clanging, as he unbuckled his belt and zipper. You remained laying comfortably on your stomach, your back facing him, your face turned to the side against the plush pillow, he could see you just faintly nodding against his words in agreement. It earned a soft smile from Aegon, as he pulled his pants down enough, laying over you, as his bare, hard cock began to grind against the thin fabric of your dress, just between your ass cheeks. Just from the sheer action, you could feel some wetness stirring beneath, a visceral reaction Aegon found so easily he could induce from you.

"Only the tip, baby... I promise. I'm going to make it up to you, my sweet, sweet angel."

Sensually lifting your dress up, he lightly lifted you, turning you slightly to the side with one arm, just enough for him to pull your panties down: planting you back gently, as to not startle you completely awake.

"My good, good girl. Always doing so well for me, not like anyone else...I was such a dick to you, wasn't I, baby?"

Earning another simple nod, he resumed with grazing his cock over your sensitive skin, feeling its pulsating throbs against your cheeks.

"But my princess, did do something very naughty... Trying to leave me, without asking. Leaving me all alone, you know how upset that would make me, right baby?"

"Hmm-Aeg-"

"But look at you begging for me...Now what makes you think you could leave me so easily, then? Precious girl, didn't think this through, did she?"

Gradually, his firm, thick cock slowly began to push itself deeper and deeper between your thighs, as one, strong arm stretched over your side to keep him steady, the other manoeuvred your legs, spreading them wide enough for him to position himself right between your centre.

"Don't worry, Princess. I'm here now, I'm going to help you make this decision, like a good boyfriend. Wouldn't want you to overthink anything, now let me take care of you... I promise I won't go in deeper, I won't cum inside."

Feeling your eyes naturally flutter from reality and dream, as you felt a lightening pain course through your body from the sensitive spot below. Aegon had forced himself in, your walls stretching as wide as possible to accomodate for his dense, throbbing mass, you could feel yourself tightly clenching over him, rewarded by deep, growling grunts and moans from him.

"Fuck, baby. Always know how fucking good to make me feel...Now why would you ruin it, and do something so stupid? Have I been so cruel, you wish to leave me?"

"N-No Aeg-" You'd managed to softly whimper, stirring even more awake, although eyes remained firmly shut, as you arched yourself in response to Aegon's slowly paced thrusts.

"Are you bored with Aeg, that you want to leave me?"

"No."

"Have I frightened you so, you wish to run away far from me?"

Within that split second he'd uttered those words, that familiar, daunting tone returned to him, and you felt your heart begin to beat feverishly.

"I-I love you Aeg."

Now his thrusts began to hasten in response to your words, his grunts primal and louder.

"Say it again, I'm struggling to believe you. You tried to deceive me today, angel. That was cruel of you...Say it again."

"I love you, Aegon."

This time more awake and conscious of what was going on, you were too deeply saturated in being sated by Aegon in the moment. You couldn't muster a single ounce of dignity nor sanity at this very moment to stop him in his tracks, knowing what he was capable of, he had all the power in his court.

"P-Pull out, Aeg-"

Your wetness now greatly coating his deep, hefty cock, feeling the mess beginning to ooze and seep from the edges of your entrance down your thighs. As he pulled out slightly and with his help, he turned you over, now both of you facing one another, although this time, managing to maintain complete and utter focus. Resuming to his sloppy, rough thrusts, you could feel the intensity of his cock, determined to push and shove himself as deep as possible, the tip of his cock just striking that sweet, sensitive spot of your cervix.

Aegon's face lowered down towards yours, as his ample, moist lips lingered over yours. Momentarily, just grazing above one another, before plummeting down on yours, as he noticed your lips beginning to stir to speak, desperate to shut you before you could ask once more. His tongue forced it way into yours, swirling and occupying your own: this unexplainable control that he had over you, now once more overtaking you. In the moments that Aegon had left, although maddened by his words, you had missed him. Could his brutal words bear truth, that two years without seeing him, would be impossible?

"Now, why would I do that? I promised you I would help, that's what I'm going to do. I'm doing this all for us."

His lips now trailing along your jawline down to the crook of your neck, where he knew you had a weak, sensitive spot that made you close to thoughtless. You could feel a upturn smirk strewed across his face, against your skin. Regardless, you could not surmise his intention, far too deep in devious, lustful thoughts, you needed Aegon to sate you completely.

"A-Aeg-"

Within a few more long, taunting minutes as Aegon edged you on, he could no longer contain himself. Feeling his warm, dense seed filling you up, it was a feeling unlike the many, intimate times before. You both were often proactive in protection, and yet tonight, although different, it was somewhat sublime.

"That's my good, perfect girl, that's it. Did so fucking well. I need you to stay put like this for me, okay?"

Regardless, that his fill had drenched you inside, Aegon remained buried deeply inside. Somehow, managing to turn you once more to the side, as he laid himself cosily behind you, thick, muscular arms holding you tenderly from behind, as his cock remained sorely stretching yet pleasantly coaxing you inside.

"Hush now baby, my good, sweet princess. How could I ever let you go so easily, huh? What kind of a man would I be to let his girl leave like that?-"

His hot, breathless words felt soothing as he whispered against your ears, his free hand atop, once more fixing the sweat-infused tangled strands away from your heated face. Leaving a few pecks of kisses against your dewy skin.

"Now promise to get some rest for me, angel. I need you strong for my little surprise."

****

Had you known what was to follow in the early months to come, the significance of Aegon's cryptic gesture following the sex that night. How his large, rough hand found it's way over to your lower abdomen, lightly caressing it in a circular motion, something he'd never normally done before, although not unquestionable at the time... Upon awaking early that morning, Aegon explained his surprise visit during the night, grieving over the sheer thought of losing you was enough to make the man cry once more, profusely apologising for the poisonous words he'd spat upon you. He refused to leave your side, and you knew you could not stop him. Nonetheless, he was well-intentioned, and you forgave him, allowing him to spend many more nights and days to come. Too preoccupied with the decision to be made, as Aegon kept pestering you for advice and discussion, you'd forgotten the whole notion of birth control, and only remembered a few days after. Regardless, the love making did not cease, as Aegon persuaded you that he wished to spend as many hours with you, "in case you decide to leave, I need to cherish every moment with you." Poetic of him, although, his agenda was far more conniving.

****

"Aeg- I'm, I'm pregnant."

The words were as sweet as honey to his sly ears: he did not lash out nor did he act upset nor surprised. In fact, unlike the momentous news you'd dropped before regarding the scholarship, this did not seem to phase him, not in the slightest.

You both rarely spoke of the thought of having children together, being both still quite young in age, and knowing that Aegon's youth was not one he favoured, regardless, he remained pleasantly optimistic upon hearing the news.

"Baby, this is good- This is wonderful."

"B-But what about the scholarship, what do I do?"

Cupping your tender, shocked face in his hands, his reassuring smile offered you some ease, though not enough. A child, an actual child. You hadn't really comprehended the notion of motherhood, nor did you completely go against it.

"Y/N, this-" One hand now stroking the same spot on your lower stomach, now a slight swell present, as he did those many nights ago. It all clicked now.

"This happened for a reason, you can't deny us this. Our own little baby, Y/N, we can have our own little family, sweetie. I promise I'll take care of us, all of us. You can't be stressing about some scholarship now..."

"But Aeg, I really did want it."

"So you-you want the scholarship, more than a family? More than making me happy or yourself? I thought you would be okay with this."

"I-Of course Aeg, I would love to have a family with you, only you now that I'm being honest. But I just always thought in due time, I-"

"Now's the time baby... This happened to us for a reason. Maybe the scholarship wasn't meant to be. Maybe something else will come along, they're always giving out scholarships, babe. If they offered it to you before, they'll offer it again. How could they deny you?"

His words sweet, and reaffirming. It was true, there were endless opportunities to apply for degrees and scholarships throughout the years. And it seemed Aegon, was extremely on board with the idea of becoming a father. Knowing how far he'd come from the rebellious boy he'd once been, stammering into the house late at night as Aemond and you remained studying endlessly, to the confident man he was now, was astounding. His dear mother, Alicent, even knew it, and thanked you deeply, for years she had been aimlessly trying to better her eldest.

"You are making all this possible for me, Y/N. Things I never dreamt to be or the person I'd become, you are the sole reason for my happiness. And now with this baby, I feel I could conquer the world."

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wthtorke · 7 months

Text

(Re)Home

Yautja and Human Smol read with some witcher stuff cause I was into it back then lmao, no warnings!

The Earth had a capacity for life. Only so many people it could house and nurture safely.

Humanity hit that threshold long before you were born.

The peace treaty between species made it possible to live among the stars. Some races were willing to share their planets, while others offered space in their ships.

'It's almost like exchange students, but for life- you'd become one of them.'

You didn't feel at home on Earth. Ever since your first breath, you had no place on that planet.

So up you went. 'Above and beyond,' or whatever they told you. Usually, humans who wanted to leave had forms filled out and uploaded to the exchange system.

If you had to call it anything, you'd describe it as 'adoption'. You, specifically, were adopted by yautjas. The deadliest species in the treaty.

You packed your bags, taking your 'goodbye pack' the government provided you with. Laptop, tablet, and other human things 'so the adaptation wouldn't be so harsh'. That's what the flyer said.

"We wish you luck and success in your new life among the stars. It's an honor to have an earthling as brave as you out there."

That's what the video said.

You sling your bag over your shoulder and pick up the government packs off the floor, walking toward the hangar in your papers. You and some others behind you get in line for admission.

Seeing yautjas wasn't new. There were videos and pictures of them plastered everywhere, just like the other species of the treaty. But still, your eyes widened from their bored expression when you saw your admits standing in front of the ship, datapads in hand.

You're first in line, walking up to them and presenting your registration. They repeat your name and information, and you confirm everything, waiting patiently.

"Welcome to the clan." One of them says, nodding at you. You nod back and make your way inside. The ship is a transport shuttle, spacious and high-tech. This was happening. It takes you a second to choose a seat and strap yourself.

The information speech you're given during the trip feels warmer and more welcoming than anything you've heard on Earth.

'Maybe this was a good decision.' You think.

"From today on, you'll be part of our society, which means no special treatment. No special conditions. No buts and ifs." He keeps talking. "Just life as a yautja in a mothership. That's all."

You appreciated the clarity and honesty they had. You expected it to be hard but weren't afraid of working for it. Whatever challenge presented itself for you, you'd beat it. You had survived this far. This wouldn't be different.

Your group gets taken to the housing levels, where each human gets assigned a room. Your eyebrows rise up when you see two grown yautjas in yours.

"Get up, Fang. Our partner is here."

Fang and Claw. Two youngsters from the clan you got accepted into. Written in bold letters at the end of your papers. "Hey," you say as they approach you at the door. "Good trip?" The other one, Fang, asks.

"Yeah, good trip," you answer. You had no idea they'd be so big. "Are you guys really my age?"

"Are you 124?"

"Oh man."

Despite their scary looks, Fang and Claw are what they are. Young. And a little stupid. You somehow felt at home with them. It was nice to be treated like a person and not a number for once.

You get installed in your bunk bed, pull out your laptop, and test the 'fastest internet connection in the galaxy' they had on the ship. A direct link to Earth, in case you want to talk to anyone.

You just wanted access to the shows.

"What's that necklace?" Claw asks. "What's in it?" You look up from your screen, then down to your chest. "It's a wolf necklace."

"Your previous clan?"

"They don't have clans, just families," Fang replies. Claw frowns in confusion, "So your previous family?"

"No, not my family-"

"That's a wolf- so Wolf clan,"

"Claw-"

"I like it," he continues. You smile at the sheer absurdity of it, "Cool to wear your symbol like that."

You laugh softly, "It's not my symbol- it's from a show, a story- the Witcher. In the story, the Witcher comes from a school whose banner is the wolf. Their symbol is the wolf," You play with the pendant between your fingers, "I don't really have a family."

They both stop to listen to you explain. Claw shakes his head, "But you wear it, so it's your symbol. Wolf human from the Witcher school. A Witcher," the word sounds weird when translated from them, clearly adapted.

"Wolf human," Fang repeats, "Nice title, sounds strong. You should keep it," he says. You huff in amusement. "Sure, I'll keep it,"

They barely return to their own unpacking before you look up again. "We should watch it," they look back at you, "- the Witcher-, we should watch it-, sometime." You clear your throat awkwardly.

"It's a filmed story? Like the ones in the human culture lessons?"

"It's called a 'movie'. Idiot."

"Shut up."

You put your hands up before any growling appears, "It's a series- actually. Short episodes that make up for one long thing. Good to watch in between, ah-, training? Missions? Whatever you guys do?"

Claw nods, "Wolf-human story with the wolf-human, I'm in." You smile and look at Fang. "Is there blood?"

"Lots of it."

"I'm in."

You watch the first season during your first night at the ship, only pausing to retrieve your food and for general discussion between the yautjas about how accurate (or stupid) the fighting scenes in the show were.

You have to plug your laptop into the adapted port on the wall so you can keep binging with your roommates, smiling ear to ear whenever they'd say something positive about it. When you finally close your laptop down, you look at them again. "So, thoughts?"

"Don't fuck with magic," Fang says. Claw nods. "Never fuck with magic."

You laugh as they each settle down in their bunks. Fang shuts the lights off as you lay in the dark for a bit more.

"Sleep well, wolf-human." Claw says. Fang mumbles something in return. You smile again, bidding them goodnight before closing your eyes to sleep.

Home, sweet home. Finally.

---------

Thanks for reading <3 muah muah

more work like this here

#yautja #predator #alien #the predator #yautja/human #human/yautja #headcanon #alien relationship #predators #yautja boyfriend #alien romance #alien x human #alien boyfriend #alien vs predator #predador #aliens vs predator #yautja x human #reader #gender neutral reader too

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lostcauses-noregrets · 2 months

Note

Why is the answer always "Levi said this Levi did this" whenever one asks about the signs of Eruri in canon? Levi's side is pretty clear, but every time I talk to an Eruri and I ask "but why do you think Erwin loved Levi" the answer is very long but it's mostly empty and just "I am sure he did" or "but Levi loved him so Eruri is canon". Sorry this isn't a "hehehe your ship is one sided it's not canon" type of question. It's more of a writing-wise question, since you are a writer yourself I thought you'd give the best answer to this.

I am wondering, is this because of lack of Erwin's pov in aot manga or anime? I know Erwin is important and plays an important role and story revolves around him in s3 p2 and all that but when you look at the bigger picture he's mostly just there. He's in the story but you don't see his pov. We don't get to see the inside of his head until the end. Is this why "does Erwin love Levi" question is a hot topic in aot fandom always? Or are there any side stories like smartpass aus that suggest Erwin had feelings for Levi? I'm sorry I don't know those very well I only know the manga and the anime.

Lastly, I am sure you answered this before but my question is very specific, do you actually believe it was mutual? After all it's fiction and you don't need their love to be mutual to ship them. People ship characters who barely interact. It's what fandom is and that's totally normal and valid. I guess I am wondering if you ever doubted, th ship or even yourself which I do a lot (in a "oh I love this so much and I read so much fics I made myself believe" way) Thanks I hope this doesn't sound rude or offensive, my English isn't very good so if I sound rude that must be it it's not my intention :)

Ooof there’s a lot of different questions here but I think they boil down to the following:

Are Erwin and Levi’s feelings for each other mutual? / Does Erwin reciprocate Levi’s feelings?

Why do people question Erwin’s relationship to Levi?

Do I personally believe their relationship was mutual, and have ever “doubted the ship”?

I’ve answered the first question many, many times over the years. You can read all my various answers here. In short I do think that Erwin reciprocated Levi’s feelings and I think the evidence is there in the manga, the official guidebooks, the Smartpass stories, and the side content for anyone who cares to see it. I’m not going to list all the side content here, but there’s a very old post by @erbeansandravioli that links to a lot of it: Eruri receipts.

As to why people question Erwin’s relationship to Levi, well that’s an interesting one. Some people clearly just don’t get Erwin’s character (see the previous ask I just answered), they don’t understand his role in the plot or the significance of his relationship to Levi. For example I’ve seen people arguing passionately that Levi’s vow had nothing to do with Erwin, which is just mind boggling to me. It’s certainly true that Erwin is a much harder character to read than Levi who very much wears his heart on his sleeve. Erwin is more reserved, and holds his cards closer to his chest. However the fact that Levi is the only one who he reveals his true self to is significant. Daisuke Ono put it beautifully when he said in an interview that the amplitude of Erwin’s feelings is so great that it can be hard to see.

It could also be that some, perhaps younger, readers just don’t recognise their relationship for what it is. It’s certainly not a typical shounen romance, but it is a deeply believable adult relationship; one that is based on mutual trust, respect and understanding. This is from a previous ask I answered on the subject:

It frustrates me enormously when people deny their canon relationship, despite Yams being at paints to explain it repeatedly in the guidebooks. I want to shake them and ask what the hell they think a relationship looks like when you’re an exhausted 30 + year old war veteran who has spent their entire life fighting for survival. It looks like this; finding someone who you can trust with your life. If you were to ask me what characterizes a successful adult relationship I would say it’s exactly this; mutual trust, respect and understanding, and when push comes to shove, the willingness to do everything in your power to help the person you hold most dear, even if that means letting them go.

And as to whether I’ve ever doubted the ship, the answer to that would be no, never. Sure we’ve never seen them swear undying love in canon (though some would argue with that and point to Erwin’s "Arigatō Levi".) I wrote this in response to an ask about Eruri canonicity:

Do you mean that you don’t believe they’re canon because we never see them kiss? Because they never marry? Because the main focus of the story isn’t romance? All those things are true, but in my opinion, they’re also not the only things that make a relationship canon. Particularly when that relationship is between two war-weary 30 year old men who have been fighting for survival almost their entire lives. The irony is that, in some ways, Erwin and Levi’s relationship is actually quite conventional. They really do behave a bit like an old married couple. They have a long standing relationship that has matured over many years, they have their own weird sense of humour, they’re not afraid to challenge each other, but they care about one another deeply, and they also trust each other unconditionally. That’s all the canon evidence I need tbh.

Having said that, you are absolutely right that you don’t need any canon evidence to ship a couple. Hell, I’ve had great fun written Hanji and Petra as a side ship and I don’t think they ever even interacted in canon. In Erwin and Levi’s case though there is more than enough evidence in canon to attest to the significance of their relationship.

Hope this answers your questions.

#asks #eruri #eruri relationship #erwin smith #erwin meta #snk

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thefirstknife · 8 months

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What are the Tones?

Whomst've asked me this. You're fuelling my unending obsession, thank you.

I posted about the tones before! Most of it is listed in this post! But I'd like to add some stuff now that it's been some time since then.

The tones are noises made by the spires on Mercury (Lighthouses). Whenever someone dies, the spires emit a tone. They basically react to death in various ways, depending on how the death happens; there's different tones to dying to Light as well as different tones to a perma-death. This is peculiar because nobody could hear them except Brother Vance.

He made Trials of Osiris to study them (because it's an endless source of Guardians dying over and over). Mara knew about his research (Trials was accessed in the Reef in D1) and warned him to stop because it's dangerous. It's unclear why. Osiris did the same years later. As a matter of fact, Osiris was super dramatic about it:

"What I have discovered…" "…is dangerous enough to destroy every man, woman, and child in existence. You're meddling with forces outside your grasp," Osiris reprimanded.

The tones are interesting because they're still largely unexplained. Mara implied that they symbolise Guardians being attuned to Darkness and being able to wield it, which is true, but Osiris' reaction implies something more. And it has to be more, because Osiris detected the same tones as coming from the anomalies of the missing planets and from the Pyramids. Long post under:

In my previous post I also connected that to the fact that egregore seems to be emitting some sort of sound/frequency attuned to the same thing: anomalies, Pyramids and, obviously, to the source of it all (the Witness). So there's some sort of frequency in Darkness that is audible and comes from all places connected to the Darkness network (and that network manifests physically as egregore). And in this case, anomalies and Pyramids (and ships infested with egregore like Glykon and Leviathan) are fine; it makes sense that they link to the Witness!

But spires on Mercury? Why them? My bestie made a post recently after we went unhinged (again) because the same lore book that deals with the tones also makes a really strong implication that the Vex were deliberately led to Mercury by the Pyramid Fleet in the Collapse. There, the Vex drained Mercury of Light, hollowed out the planet and used its materials to make the spires (and the Infinite Forest, a simulation engine) and then they waited for the Pyramids to return. Which they did, in Arrivals.

To make things more complex, after Titan came back, it was confirmed that the Witness did not take the planets randomly. There was a purpose to each one being stolen. Mars was taken to search through our Golden Age and Collapse database in order to find where the Veil may have been hidden. This could've been just a random coincidence, but then Titan came back and we learned that the Witness wanted Ahsa dead because Ahsa not only knows the origins of the Witness, but also how to get through the portal (and who knows if she has any other potential powers to helps us get in there or help us otherwise).

Io is unclear, but there are many options; it may have been taken for the Pyramidion and Vex stuff which Asher got ahead of. It may have been taken to study the Tree of Silver Wings (the Witness had another seed it gave Calus in Lightfall), or it may have been taken to study the Traveler's past or the Light in general or maybe something else. The point is, there are options that we can understand.

But Mercury? Zero clue. The only thing that may have been of interest is the Infinite Forest, but Vance sealed it so if the Witness took Mercury for that and couldn't get into the Forest, then Mercury would've been useless and probably released sooner unless the Witness is just keeping it out of spite or thought that maybe it would be able to find a way inside. And of course... there's the spires and the tones. Mercury is somehow linked to Darkness and the Witness, it has to be, and we have no clue what the Witness wants with it.

Not only that, but there's another curious thing about Mercury, or rather, the anomaly of it. It was mentioned in Duality dungeon, by Calus. When Calus tried talking to the Witness on the Glykon, the Witness eventually responded and it told Calus to come to the anomaly of Mercury:

Through the Crown of Sorrow, the Voice in the Darkness called out to me, beckoning me to the absence of Mercury. At first, I feared the Leviathan would not survive the journey, as the Glykon had been rent asunder by a similar journey. By my Leviathan, it is strong. Its heart beats anew, and as it pierced the veil of creation... the Voice greeted me. There were such sights to behold.

So when Calus disappeared off the Glykon, he went back to the Leviathan and bolted straight for the Mercury anomaly in which he was able to communicate with the Witness. Why Mercury? Glykon went into the Mars anomaly. Why couldn't the Witness speak to Calus in there? Or in any of the other anomalies? Why specifically Mercury? This is driving me insane.

But if Mercury is somehow connected to the Darkness network through the spires, is it possible that it serves as some sort of a communications hub? Maybe that's why the Witness is still keeping it? And it still is! We can see it in Root of Nightmares, in the Witness' room. Titan is still obviously there as well because it came out before Titan returned, but Mercury and Io are still trapped. This is also confirmed by the tiny excerpt we can see from the TFS Collector's Edition which I talked about in here.

Or the reason for Mercury is something completely different. We have no clue why Mercury was taken and what's going on there and why the Witness called Calus there and why the tones happened and why are they the same tones that can also be heard from anomalies and Pyramids.

To fuel me even more, they decided to drop two lore pieces in Season of the Deep that relate to Mercury and the tones tangentially. I know literally everyone and their grandma thinks that Targeted Redaction is just there to be funny (and so did I at first), but I genuinely can't accept that as being just a joke. The gist of it is that Osiris has no clue who Vance is and that is, to put it simply, impossible.

Obviously Osiris did not like the Cult and they were annoying to him, but he knew Vance. He spoke to him only once, but Vance is the one who told him to "plant the seed," a message that Mara gave him years before. This literally sets up the entire Season of Arrivals. Not only that, but Vance told Osiris about the tones and Osiris was deeply troubled about them. He's the one who continued the research and went around the solar system after planets disappeared, investigating anomalies and discovering that they emit the same tones. He mentions Vance, by name, twice in Immolant:

"Do you hear that?" Osiris asks, turning to Sagira. He turns the ship's scanning array toward the anomaly. "Like the tones Vance described. From the spires, and then the Pyramids. It was coming from the anomaly that replaced Io as well."

"We could use the Crucible right now. Your trials. This will be very helpful. You mean to stay, yes?" "I will. Long enough to show you how to implement the simulation; but tonight, I must disembark," Osiris says. "So soon?" Osiris tenses his jaw in forced silence. He twiddles with code. "I'm worried about what Vance found."

At the same time, Osiris also sends us the seasonal artifact from Hunt, Fang of Xivu Arath. In it, he mentions:

The zealots that followed me to Mercury have proved themselves useful… twice now, actually. They possessed an artifact in their stores: a Hive fang.

The zealots being useful "twice" refers to Vance telling him about the seed and having this artifact kept safely in the Lighthouse (technically, it's three times: in Curse of Osiris, Vance told us where to find the machine to bring Sagira back and it was being kept by the Cult, but it's unclear if we told Osiris the details). Osiris, again, specifically mentions Vance when he recounts where he got it from, in Immolant:

Sagira had chided him for storming the Lighthouse and ransacking Vance's possessions. "They're my relics," he said to silence her protests.

I know Osiris has been through a lot, but his memories are completely and perfectly intact... Except for Vance. That's bizarre to me, given that there's several important points that tie them together, like planting the seed on Io (something he wouldn't have known to do without Vance relaying Mara's message) and research of the tones, something that Osiris spent a lot of time doing and was explicitly worried about; so worried, in fact, that he was willing to part ways with Saint just to continue that research.

In my old post I also mentioned how Osiris even went to Ana to tell her to ask Rasputin if he heard any tones in the Collapse, but Rasputin wasn't up yet. And when Rasputin was finally up, we had much bigger problems to deal with so I assumed that Osiris never asked because the priority was to find what's on Neptune. But now I think that Osiris didn't ask because he doesn't remember. Because the memory of Vance and tones and whatever they mean was deliberately removed from him while Savathun had him imprisoned. Or, perhaps, the Nezarec tea messed with it. After all, Darkness is memory.

This would obviously imply that the tones are something so important and dangerous that Savathun (or someone else) wanted Osiris' knowledge of it removed so that maybe she could have leverage or to know something we don't or perhaps for some other purpose by some other actor. This was such a big point that the entirety of Immolant part 1 is almost exclusively dedicated to Osiris inquiring into the tones.

Another possibility is also that Osiris' memory of Vance was messed with because of Io and the seed and Tree (and then as a consequence, obviously, he would also forget about the tones).

There's also a possibility that Savathun is literally right now messing with me and she did it for no reason at all just to generate imbaru or mess with Osiris or maybe she even wanted to do one nice thing for him and remove the memory of the weird Cult and the tones aren't important at all.

But I don't know. The fact that they're the same thing that the whole Darkness network uses and that ultimately leads to the Witness seems like something that should be important. However, I don't think Mercury will return before TFS, especially since TFS CE has Eido writing about how Mercury is still in the Witness' grasp. But, consider also that we don't know the timeline of when Eido's writing is set. It has to be set after Ahsa's reveal about the Witness' origins, but before TFS. We don't have enough information to tell more. There's also Vex shenanigans to consider, something that will certainly be a plot point post-TFS and Mercury is a prime location for that.

Either way, there's something going on here, added also with the second lore tab release in Season of the Deep that tangentially ties to Mercury, which is Unexpected Resurgence. In it, Shayura is approached by Sister Faora, an incredibly niche character who was leading the Cult of Osiris before Vance. She's shown still wearing the insignia of the Cult. We never learned why she stopped leading them and why Vance took over; she just kinda disappears from the lore book (Trials and Tribulations, the one about the tones). But apparently she's in the City and she's still wearing the Cult robes and she's back in the story... for some reason??

It honestly feels like some sort of a setup for something in the future, something that might deal with Mercury's return. I need to stress just how small she is as a character: she only actually appears in three lore tabs before Unexpected Resurgence, all in the same lore book. The rest of her stuff is just flavour text on the Kairos Function armour pieces from Curse of Osiris. That's it. Why return her in Season of the Deep? Mind boggling.

This whole thing about the tones and Mercury consumes me every day and night. The fact that Deep mentioned Vance in a way easily dismissed as a joke (but also, note the name of the weapon: targeted redaction) as well as Faora coming back is just too wild to me to be a random throwback or a just a joke. Not when it's beyond clear that Osiris should remember Vance, the Cult, the tones and the rest of it. It's even unclear at this point if he remembers that he planted the seed on Io.

So what are the tones? What are they indeed. They're music from the spires of Mercury that reacts to death and uses the same frequency as the entire Darkness network with the Witness at the top. What is their purpose and what is the purpose of Mercury and why did the Witness take it and what is this plotline and when will it be resolved? Summary:

#destiny 2 #mercury #vance #osiris #darkness #witness #long post #lore vibing #ask #it's going to be funny when this turns out to be nothing at all. just like some noises that darkness makes #but no way. it has to be something. it has to be... bro...#but for real i would love if all missing planets got fully resolved #mars was resolved and ana was resolved #titan was resolved and sloane was resolved #io is.... questionable but asher was resolved #mercury and vance are just ?????????????????#i am the bearer of the curse. i haven't stopped thinking about the tones since season of the worthy when that lore book came out #seeing osiris losing his mind about them in immolant (the most important lore ever) just strengthened that #and then nothing. he got yoinked. and then he returned and apparently doesn't remember. HELP.#insane. kicking and screaming and throwing things. i understand the cult of osiris now #i get it vance. you're so valid.

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deus-ex-mona · 2 months

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when you look at lipxlip...

The Charm Points of LIPxLIP, As Seen From the Eyes of Those Around Them

Film live, anime, new songs, MVs, novels, etc… In the 4 years that have passed since the release of their previous album, the world around LIPxLIP has been portrayed from many angles via all kinds of media developments. Let’s check out the charm of the pair, as seen from the eyes of the people around them!

The People at their Agency

shito: The President is a person who knows what Yujiro and Aizo are like deep down inside, so she is the one who spoils the two of them, even when they selfishly say “No means no!”. I think that she’s able to treat Yujiro and Aizo that way because they trust her wholeheartedly.

Yamako: The President is the only person with whom the two of them can be selfish without having to act cool, isn’t she?

Their Fans

Yamako: Yujiro and Aizo, as seen through the filtered lens of Chuutan, are truly the epitome of “perfect idols”. I tried to be extremely conscious of this when I was drawing her MV in order to portray them as perfectly cool as she sees them.

shito: However, from the perspective of Yujiro and Aizo, Chuutan is just one of their many fans. Aizo doesn’t like women, so if she got too close to him, he would inevitably grow to dislike her. Their relationship will not go anywhere, no matter what she does.

Yamako: Yujiro and Aizo put on an act even when they are at school, despite being off work. They are not truly off work when they’re attending school, having to play the role of “idols during their downtime” so that they do not disappoint the fans around them.

shito: That’s probably why Chuutan views them as “perfect idols”, huh? She doesn’t know what they’re truly like, after all.

Their Family (Brothers)

shito: They don’t pay much attention to their family so they don’t take the initiative to converse with their brothers all that often. However, the two of them do trust their brothers from the bottom of their hearts. I guess it’s something like that sense of distance that can be found between family members in general.

Yamako: They have a realistic sense of distance with their families. They don’t encourage each other with simple words, but I think a bond that can be conveyed through the atmosphere, like the one they have, can only be found in families that trust each other. And I’m sure that there is love at the root of the bonds that the two of them have with their families.

Same-Aged Peers Who Know What They Are Truly Like

Yamako: For Hiyori, oh gosh… (laughs) They don’t express their gratitude nor consolation directly to her, with their intentions peeking out through their not-so-honest sides. For Nagisa, they have shown a tiny glimpse of jealousy with regards to him. For instance, in the anime, when their manager asked Nagisa “Would you like to be an idol?”, this very feeling of theirs surfaced in their response to her of “Why are you scouting a guy like that? You already have us.”. I find them very cute when they’re trying not to show their cheeky and twisted sides in front of others, only to be unable to hide all kinds of things about themselves.

shito: I think Yujiro and Aizo try to play it cool in front of Hiyori and Nagisa. The fact that they get along seems to be the very thing that makes the two act cold and put on airs with them, which may be linked to that feeling of wanting to overachieve, which is distinctive of High School students.

Their Co-Performers in the Entertainment Industry

Yamako: Minami is mainly an entertainer, so he is not a rival to Yujiro and Aizo, who are both idols. As such, I get the impression that they get along as pure boy friends. On the other hand, they do not have good relations with mona… They look down on her with a sense along the lines of “Well, if you’re gonna give it your all, go ahead and try.”.

shito: From the perspective of Yujiro and Aizo, mona is just like any other idol. mona is trying to catch up to them, but it seems like they don’t see her as a worthy opponent yet.

A Unit of Their Seniors

shito: Despite being respectful to FT4 because they are their seniors, the two of them are eagerly awaiting their chance to surpass them, like “One of these days, we’ll really let you have it!”...

Yamako: FT4 and LIPxLIP sing together in Shin Jidai, though that song itself is close to the settings that FT4 are familiar with. I think LIPxLIP were cool when they were desperately trying to break out of their norm to keep up with FT4. It was nice to see a different side from the usual LIPxLIP.

#shady tl as always (what's new?) soooo y e a h #ok that's all for today gn folks~~~~~~~~~~#love how they tried to go out of their way to choose images that featured lxl with the subjects of the headings #to the point of using the manga panel for nagisa's (even though they could've just used sukiuso lol)#and y e t they excluded yujiro from the chizuutan pic and used a mona solo pic from her album cover instead. queens frr #lxl tl things #may rephrase some things again later... i hope gdocs didn't randomly replace my word forms again ahaha...

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brendathedoodler · 1 year

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Ooh I love this concept, can tell me I guess some differences between the journey you thought out so far?

Most of my focus so far has been on the differences in their previous adventures and how it might affect their interactions with each other, rather than any specific plot points on the journey itself. I do have some ideas, though!

First: the meeting. All the links are tossed through a portal all of a sudden and end up in an unfamiliar era with each other. Some handle it better than others.

Wind has seen enough portals in his life to know how this usually goes. Yup, another adventure. He’d been expecting it, since his last adventure had just ended.

Hyrule takes it very well too, especially once he sees Sky and Time. He recognizes them both from a few years prior. For him, anyway. The war across ages was almost 20 years ago for Time, and a mere 3 months for Sky. Poor Sky was just settling down from the war and was in the middle of a much needed nap when the portal yoinked him.

Twilight had a moment of panic when he couldn’t find Midna, but soon she’s back to resting in her spot on his shoulders and he can focus on the situation at hand.

Warriors is cautious and staying back, letting the other links interact with one another first before he joins. He’s used to danger, and doesn’t trust the others at first.

Wild panicked right away, since he couldn’t feel his loftwing anywhere. They’re soul bound, so he knows full well that his loftwing isn’t anywhere near them. His loftwing was his guide since the day he lost his memories, so having that comforting presence taken from him isn’t something he handles well.

The one who takes it the worst is Legend. His adventure took him through many different dimensions (all of which had been put in danger through Zant’s attempt to conquer the Twilight Realm), and his experience with portals is not good at all. He’s quick to lash out at the others, grief stricken and fearing that he’s lost everything all over again.

Beyond the first meeting, there are a few distinct plot points!

The first revolves around Wind. Being the youngest but having the most experience is a tricky thing. Wind is used to people underestimating him. It happens time and time again; every new adventure comes with a new set of people asking him if he’s too young for this. Having his fellow heroes go out of their way to protect him irks him when normally it doesn’t.

Another scene is meeting Marin. By the time this happens, they’ve passed through a few eras that the others recognize, and Legend has stopped showing so much animosity towards the others now that he knows he’ll be able to return home. Legend likes to be a bit mysterious, and hasn’t revealed much about his girlfriend, but he has dropped some hints about her. They arrive at Legend’s place, and he leaps into the pond next to his house. Before he can hit the water, a very large mermaid snatched him out of the air and drags him under (much to everyone’s alarm). He surfaces a moment later, telling them to stop gawking and put their stuff inside, he’ll join them in a minute. Legend doesn’t surface for another half hour, but when he does emerge from the pond, he introduces everyone to Marin! Immediately everyone is teasing him. He’s very easy to get a rise out of.

There’s plenty of other little scenes, but that’s all I have for now.

(Have a pic of Marin and Legend in his mermaid form, taking place sometime during his adventure)

#Marin is based on a lionfish!#linked universe #lu au #lu legend #lu wind #lu marin #lu hyrule #lu wild #lu adventure swap au #There’s a bunch of other scenes I had in mind but it was getting long lmao #Like reuniting with Wild’s loftwing #Legend and Twi’s spiderman meme moment #The introduction of Wind’s Ravio #Groose being sick and tired of Sky getting into time travel shenanigans #That sorta thing #brenda’s art

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yoonia · 2 years

Text

Blood Moon Rising | 30

‘As beings from ancient times, the Vampire Clan has undergone numerous changes to thrive in the Modern Age after surviving the Ancient Blood War. As a part of the traveller family in his clan, Jimin has parted ways from the coven until the day his Lords warned him of the lurking danger from inside the clan. And all so suddenly, he was pulled out of his solitary, only to have given the responsibility he had never wished to have, along with the threats that come as a part of the deal.

Born as youngest yet having lost so much, you have given your family your loyalty, your protection, and had been given their love and support that had become the only thing that keeps you going. But what happens when the only people you have put your trust in only repay you with betrayal?’

➥ Character | Jimin x reader

➥ Genre | Supernatural!au, Vampire! Jimin, Werewolf!reader, Angst

➥ Ratings & Warning | PG-13; mentions of assault and usage of poison, depiction of a battle.

➥ Word count | 13,3k words

➥ Part of The Shifters Series | World Map & Glossary | Characters Guide | ⤎ Previous Chapter | Next Chapter ⇢

➥ Masterlist

➥ Author’s Note | I’m sorry this took forever, and I’m also sorry that I couldn’t get this chapter any shorter when it’s a bit more detail and conversation heavy, but we’re getting closer to some more action, I promise. A quick reminder, that as we progress with the story with more possible crossovers between stories happening in the future chapters, I will start referring to the other female characters with their OC names each time they make any appearance in the scenes. Feel free to follow and get to know more about these characters through the Characters Guide page linked above. Enjoy!

Jimin has lost count of how many times he had travelled through the Resting Forest.

He had gone through the same trail for many years, decades, and most possibly even during the past century that he spent more time being constantly on the move, exploring the continent and travelling across the vast land rather than staying secluded within the home castle. The trail has become so familiar to him that he no longer questions the reason why he had found himself running through this forest during the frenzy state that he was in when he was fighting to survive from the poison, sending him far towards the East side of the continent.

It had sent him falling right into your path, causing an encounter that seemed to have been destined to happen.

Jimin stops himself from going down memory lane just as he begins thinking about the entire event, unwilling to let his mind wander too far as he silently follows behind Kim Junmyeon, the Alpha of the Blue Moon Pack who is leading him and his Vampire brothers towards the werewolf’s home territory. He looks over his shoulders, immediately meeting Jinhwan and Junhoe’s eyes as they both walk closely behind him. Both of them are wearing the look of exhaustion, looking worse for wear but doing their best to keep their heads up to hide it.

The twin sons of Lord Seunghyun are walking right behind them. Why they have chosen to tag along instead of going ahead with Hanbin who had left earlier is something that Jimin cannot understand. It had seemed like they had decided to stay close to Junhoe, the one who they had looked up to as their protector ever since their young age. The messenger that had come with them, Yeosang, has separated from the group right after the battle had ended to continue with his duty, as the twins had asked him to send out a message to the other Lords’ children to let them know that they have met with Jimin and that the Orphans are gathering in the werewolves’ territory. At the far back, the Siren mage, Hyun, follows silently. His eyes keep flashing between black and silver while he walks, a sign that he is using his spells. Perhaps it is his way of tracing any signs of threat coming along the way, and he is doing so while chatting along with the Enforcer who is walking right beside him in his human form as he had injured his shoulders during the fight.

Behind Jimin and his group of entourage, the rest of the werewolf pack follows, mostly remaining in their werewolf forms to provide security for their Alpha and his special guests. Though the security measures do nothing to stop Jimin from staying alert on their journey. Not only because of the possible threat that may still come, knowing that not all of Jiho’s followers have been put down or apprehended from the previous fight, but also for the fact that the Alpha and his pack seem to be leading him down a secret path that Jimin had never once noticed before when he travelled past this region.

Despite knowing everything about the Resting Forest and the territory surrounding the Blue Moon Pack, there was nothing much that Jimin had known about the aforementioned werewolf pack itself. Nothing else other than its various characteristics which had become the reason why the pack had been chosen as the intermediary of the Peace Treaty. Ever since the end of the Blood War, they have been widely known and proven to be the most proficient mediators in maintaining the Peace Treaty between the Shifters community and the Vampires clan, while their territory has become a neutral ground, as they are strategically situated at the part of the continent which allows them to maintain communication with their alliances with ease.

To the East, the Blue Moon Pack is surrounded by other smaller packs of shifters and small human towns, while they also have direct access to the two largest and strongest packs in the continent—the Supreme Wolf Pack and the Wolf Moon Pack—and their human alliance in the Rivermouth Village. Slightly up to the North, they are merely a coast apart from the restricted area which is the home island of the Fairies, though it had never been confirmed if the pack had ever developed any direct association with the latter, as the Fairies have been mostly known to keep to themselves and remain distant from the other communities in the continent. To the West, the pack is connected directly to more human territories as their closest neighbours, while they have the Vampire clan’s homeland as their farthest neighbour, even if they still have easy access to remain in contact with their representatives within the Vampire clan.

The advantage that their strategic location has offered does come with a price, however, as they are also situated within the proximity of one of the most hazardous parts of the land.

Surrounded by the Resting Mountains which acts like a massive wall of shield to protect them from any possible threat, along with the Resting Forest which acts as the perfect barrier and secured border surrounding the pack’s territory, they are still susceptible to the danger coming from the No Man’s Land down South and the Hunters’ colony on their South West side. The barren land serves as a silent threat, with ruthless rogues and halflings residing within its territory, constantly waiting for the right time to move out in search of new lands to raid. Meanwhile, the Hunters could often be seen lurking around the area, using the excuse of watching over the rogue shifters in order to stop them from coming near the human towns. Yet the shifters community has always known that they are simply lying in wait, anticipating for a chance to strike any unsuspecting pack of shifters before infiltrating their territory to seize control.

With these facts in mind, Jimin wonders if this would be the reason behind the peculiar route that the Alpha is taking him and his brothers upon entering their home territory.

For a long time, there is only one open path that Jimin has known to be the main entrance leading to the Blue Moon Pack’s territory. He knows of its existence and where it is originally located, enough to know to stay clear from it whenever he would travel past this region. Enough to notice that this is not the path that he has in mind. The moment he began to follow the Alpha’s lead, he had expected to see the familiar-looking path that he had been avoiding for many years. Yet, instead of finding himself going around or between the Resting Mountains the way he had expected he would, Alpha Junmyeon has been leading him down below, going through the path beneath the mountains.

“Is it safe to assume that this isn’t your public entrance that would have been the main access meant for your regular guests?” Jimin questions the Alpha after a short period of time walking in silence through the cavern underneath the mountains. His voice bounces against the rocky walls around them, followed by an echo that sounds subtle and smooth. It gives him the slightest hint of how deep this cavern seems to be and how far the journey that they still need to take before reaching the end, but also hints at just how well-maintained this secret path has been.

Right beside him, Alpha Junmyeon responds with a soft chuckle as he nods at the Vampire. “No, this is not our public entrance. Blue Moon Pack has multiple entry points for security measures. Our territory is located in one of the most compromising places in the continent, open to threats and challenges. Both the mountains and the forest have been sufficient enough to hide us from our enemy’s sight, making it hard for those who have never once set foot in our territory to find where we truly are, but we still cannot risk jeopardising our safety during moments like this one.”

Hearing the werewolf’s answer, Jimin simply nods, acknowledging the measures that the werewolf pack has taken to protect themselves from the challenges that they must regularly face. A new sense of admiration grows on Jimin as he silently commends them for being resourceful, proving further that they are truly a worthy ally. He now understands precisely well why you and your family had thought of them with high regard, putting aside the fact that you were once mated with one of the previous Alpha’s sons.

“So that means there are more of these secret passages hidden under the mountains?” Jimin asks, both out of curiosity and also for the sake of not letting his mind goes all the way into wondering about the life you had before he met you. To his relief, everyone around him seems to be preoccupied with the need to focus on getting through the passageway safely to notice the emotional turmoil that suddenly overcomes him.

“Beneath, around, and over. Each one is hidden perfectly with only a few selected pack members and ranked wolves would know how to access, and each one is specially guarded against any possible threat from both inside and outside of our territory,” Alpha Junmyeon explains with a proud smile, before slowly adding, “I don’t think even your mate had any knowledge of all the passages that we have despite having spent quite a long time living with us. She only knew a few of the old ones that the immediate family members of the previous Alphas would use, since she had used them to come and go when she needed to, but there had been a couple of new ones that we had created since the pack has been growing rapidly over the years.”

Jimin gives out a soft chuckle. “Seeing that she didn’t even bother mentioning it in the first place, I’m pretty sure that even if she has figured them all out, she would keep it to herself to protect you and your family. Even from me,” he lightly jokes, smiling wider as Alpha Junmyeon laughs at his comment. Jimin waits until their laughter dies down before uttering slowly, “I guess news travels fast around here,” indicating the fact that the werewolf had somehow found out that Jimin had recently mated with you, a fact that wasn’t supposed to have reached them when neither of you had made it public as it had only happened recently.

Alpha Junmyeon falls silent for a brief moment, giving Jimin nothing but a small smile. “We have a mage who resides with us while acting as our counsellor. A member of the Peacekeepers. She has foreseen your mating while maintaining contact with her mentor, the grand mage, Agatha, who had confirmed her vision to be true,” he later says to Jimin, who is not completely surprised to hear Agatha’s name being mentioned as she had always appeared to be someone who was crucial to the Peacekeepers and their purpose. “Even if we haven’t heard the news from our counsellor, I would’ve still recognised the scent you are carrying and the mating mark that she left on you right the moment we met. I surely hope that my sister—” he stops himself briefly with a chuckle and quickly says, “Oh, forgive me. I mean, my former sister-in-mating. I hope that she is doing well.”

Jimin gives the Alpha a warm smile. “She is surviving and thriving regardless of the circumstances. Due to your relations with each other, I do believe that she will remain to regard herself as your sister-in-mating, as my existence could never erase the history that she had with your brother.” Hearing this, the Alpha nearly stumbles. He quickly turns to Jimin, shocked, quite obviously not expecting to hear the Vampire acknowledging his late brother, your fated mate, without any hint of jealousy. Though his eyes grow soft as Jimin later adds, “She still thinks highly of you as well, and she respects you as both the Alpha and the older brother that she never had growing up. She had even asked me personally to find you if I ever need to when she heard that I was travelling through this area to reach home.”

Jimin turns to the Alpha as they both stop walking for a brief moment, nodding with a smile. “Never would have thought that I would find myself in a circumstance where you would find me first and aid me before I had the chance to reach out. I do wonder, however, how it was possible for you to find us in the first place. Or, more specifically, to know that I would be there in need of help, and to think that you are working side by side with Hanbin, the brother that I thought I had lost.”

Alpha Junmyeon locks his gaze with Jimin for a moment before proceeding with the journey. He has tried to hide it, but Jimin can still catch the glint of tears appearing in the corner of his eyes as he looks away. “I highly appreciate that, knowing that she still thinks of me the same way,” the Alpha says with a soft voice. The moment he turns to look at Jimin once more, there is a bit more warmth in his gaze and his smile as he speaks, “I still think of her as my little sister. I don’t think that it will change anytime soon. Regardless of who she is mated with. And it was an honour of mine to assist you when you were in need. Don’t worry, all of your questions will be answered soon, including why and how your brother had come to be with us.”

Despite his curiosity and the questions lingering inside his head, Jimin simply smiles in return, choosing to be patient about getting his answers. “Thank you, Alpha. For being there for me and my brothers, and for bringing aid to us. And, more importantly, I certainly hope that things wouldn’t change between you and my mate, whatever happens in the future.”

At his comment, Alpha Junmyeon gives a brief nod, before his expression changes. Straightening his back and shoulders, the Alpha puts on a more serious look on his face, acting once again as the host Alpha before he gets too emotional about his sister-in-mating who he hasn’t seen for years. “It won’t take us long before we arrive,” he calmly says as he continues to walk ahead of the group, Jimin quickly following close behind. “These caverns were created as quick passageways, not only to help us sneak in, but also for our emergency escape, so the journey would take much shorter compared to the trip that we normally would have needed if we had gotten through the main entryway. This tunnel specifically was created to lead you straight to the safety chamber within our pack house.”

Jimin reacts with a nod. Then his mind wanders back to the conversation that they shared previously, back to when the Alpha invited him and his brother to his pack for the first time. “Is there where these guests of yours are waiting for us at?”

“Yes, they would be waiting for you there. I’m sure that your brother, Hanbin, had already joined them by now,” Alpha Junmyeon says with a secretive smile, as he continues to make Jimin wonder about who these ’guests’ might have been, as the Alpha had never taken the chance to explain further before they departed towards his home pack. “I’m sure that the safe chamber would be more fitting for this reunion, and for the private meeting that we have prepared for you.”

A wave of distrust spreads through the air around Jimin as his brothers overhear the Alpha’s words. An unsettling feeling rises inside him as well at how vague the Alpha has been about whoever it is waiting for Jimin and his brothers to arrive. But Jimin has no other choice but to trust the Alpha, knowing that Hanbin has done the same by reaching the pack first.

Jimin tries his best to tame his curiosity, not wanting to let it take away his focus as he slowly enters a new and unfamiliar territory. “Can’t wait to meet them,” Jimin simply mutters, as he silently sends his thoughts to his brothers and Hyun, warning them to stay alert and be prepared for whatever is waiting for them at the other end of this tunnel.

Jimin breathes in the fresh night air as he steps out of the long cavern, and he is immediately surrounded by the ripples of force that are a part of the Blue Moon Pack’s signature. It isn’t as powerful or as intimidating as the forces that he had felt in the past when he visited the Supreme Wolf Pack during one of his missions, but it is enough to alert him, to remind him that he has stepped foot into a foreign territory that might not always be so welcoming to Vampires, especially under the circumstances that they are in.

His own powers begin to rise in response, forming a protective barrier around him against the forces that seem to be present to identify him as a new threat. He controls himself, however, until he settles down from his need to fight and the ripples of forces around him start to calm down, settling around him in a more welcoming embrace. He looks around, noticing his brothers doing the same while the two mischievous twins seem completely unaffected. Right behind them, almost looking just as unaffected as Lord Seunghyun’s children, Hyun remains calm as he continues conversing with the Enforcer who had been travelling alongside him.

Jimin doesn’t know much about the siren or his powers, but he could sense that the mage has exceptional control of his powers and magic. His calm and quiet nature might be his way of hiding the true nature of his magic, something that Jimin had witnessed during the fight and back when they were still in the Wiccan community’s hideout. And he is seeing it now here, as the shifter walks past the border without so much of a flinch when the forces around him should be pressuring him from various sides the way they do against the Vampires. To have such a powerful being — someone who is supposed to be a part of a community of shifters that has been living far hidden in their sanctuary for centuries — now working with modern white magic and joining hands with the Peacekeepers, is something that has Jimin wondering and questioning about the boy’s true identity.

Deciding to put his curious mind at ease and focus instead on the events happening in the present, Jimin then turns to the Alpha who is already waiting for him. Together with his entourage in tow, Jimin proceeds to follow him across the open ground which spreads from the mouth of the cavern that they had just walked out from, a gravel-covered pathway marking the way that they are supposed to follow to reach their destination.

As they continue their walk, Jimin silently observes his surroundings. The trees here are much smaller than what he had encountered out there in the forest, but they might be just as capable of giving shelter to everyone walking down this very same pathway. It would have given the Vampires the perfect shield against the sunlight, though it is hard to confirm it now as the day is already turning into nightfall once again.

Above him, the sky appears to be tinted in dark grey, with only a hint of burnt tangerine shining on the horizon as the sun takes its final descent for the night. Jimin cannot believe that an entire day had passed, though the moment he is surrounded by solitude and serenity, it seems as if the long battle that he had just gone through has ended a long period of time ago. He can still feel the aftermath of the battle—the exhaustion, the remnants of the wounds that are still in the process of healing, and the feeling of dread that has been following him since he was forced to fight his own kind. Even his entire senses are still vibrating, as if he could still feel the rumbling of the forest while it was burning in flames.

A massive cedar tree appears before him just as he reaches the end of the open pathway, rising tall from the ground just as Jimin slowly walks closer. It takes him a moment to realise that the tree is growing against the side of a building, with its trunk leaning against the stone walls while its branches are giving the perfect shades to partially hide the pair of wooden doors that Jimin can see peeking through the shadows. As if the tree had come alive at one point and simply decided to rest against the structure, protecting it from any possible intruders with its entire body.

“This building—” Hyun wonders loudly as he steps forward and stands beside Jimin, before he starts voicing the very same question that the Vampire is dying to ask, “Would this be the pack house that you mentioned earlier?”

The Alpha smiles knowingly at the siren mage and answers, “Yes, this is a part of our pack house. Or, if you want me to be precise, you are currently looking at the additional sector of the main house which is placed at the rear end of the entire residential complex. This area is often used to accommodate regular guests or shelter families of Enforcers who are on leave for pack’s duty, which is why this access is provided here to give these guests or the families staying on this side of the house more privacy and the security they need.”

“Ah, I see,” Hyun says, laughing softly. “I was wondering why the Blue Moon Pack would hide its main house so deep into the woods or use such an old building to shelter its members. I half expected to hear that you had simply disguised the house for incomers and unfamiliar guests like us.”

Smiling at Hyun’s curiosity, Alpha Junmyeon shakes his head. “As I have mentioned, this passageway is meant for anyone who needs to mobilise in private while also functioning as an escape route from within the pack. This is the safest route that we could choose for you to enter the pack house without drawing unwanted attention from other pack members, something that I am sure you wanted to avoid,” he explains further while pointing out that he knows that Jimin and his group have been moving in secrecy before reaching this area.

Though it is true that the Alpha knows what Jimin and the others truly need, as gaining attention on their movements and presence in the pack would be the last thing that they need, as it would alert others from outside the pack of what they are trying to do. Having caught in an intense battle earlier had certainly ruined their initial plans, as now a fraction of the rebels had revealed that Jimin did survive the poison. And now Jimin can no longer predict what the rebels would do if they should find out that he had made contact with the Blue Moon Pack, who is supposed to be the neutral party in this entire situation.

Alpha Junmyeon gestures to his Enforcers to open the door for them while he continues to explain, “This door leads straight to the safe chamber in the basement, where our guests are currently staying. For the sake of tonight’s meeting, we have arranged for the basement to be left unused by the pack members. It would give you the privacy that you would need to talk without any intrusions from anyone from the pack. Although, as the Alpha of Blue Moon Pack and the one responsible for the pack’s safety, I would still like to request that I, along with my Beta and Third-in-command, could join this meeting as the mediators and your personal witnesses, as what you are discussing may involve the future of our pack and our treaty.”

Jimin nods, finding no grievance about the Alpha and his ranked wolves being there. “I certainly have no objection to your involvement. This is your home, after all, and we are merely your guests. I would hate to appear as if the Vampires are taking over your territory for the sake of our cause,” he lightly comments before adding, “And also because you seem to know better about whoever it is waiting for me to meet.”

The Alpha laughs while Jimin shows his uncertainty as he thinks about what he might be getting into. “I can assure you that there is no threat waiting for you down there. At least, not from us,” Alpha Junmyeon reassures him as he sees the Vampire’s reaction. “As the one who is providing you space for this audience, I shall instead offer you protection, even if just to make sure that I can send you home safely to my sister-in-mating.”

His statement draws a smile from Jimin. “I’ll hold on to your words then. Lead the way for us, Alpha. Let’s see who our mystery guest is and get this over with,” Jimin says, gesturing towards the door just as one of the Enforcers moves to open them.

The massive door creaks as it opens and the Enforcer steps aside, allowing the group of Vampires and the lone mage to enter first. The entrance foyer is kept dark, while the air inside feels a bit musty compared to the outside, though it grows better as they continue to walk through the area until they reach a long hallway leading to the stairwell that would take them to the lower ground.

Alpha Junmyeon takes the lead with the previous Enforcer to show them the way down, and only then does Jimin finally realises that the other pack members and Enforcers who had been with them had parted ways, presumably to return to each of their own quarters as they are done with their roles for the night.

Unlike the entrance foyer that they had seen earlier, the stairwell doesn’t seem too dark nor cramped, as the entire way down is lighted with small sconces hanging on the walls around them. Once they all reach the basement, Jimin is surprised to find that the open area below is much more spacious than he had previously thought it would be. Though it shouldn’t be much of a surprise knowing that it should hold as many pack members as it could if any danger should ever occur in their territory.

There are a few closed doors in every corner of the room which seem to be leading to more personal spaces. Jimin can only guess that they may be bed chambers for guests or pack members who would need some privacy during their stay here.

Much to his surprise, however, even if the basement area is located deep underground, the air around him feels a lot less musty or damp the way it did when he first entered the building. The cool air seems to flow around him more fluidly, suggesting that there is better ventilation on this level compared to the upper ground.

They continue walking, reaching the far edge of the basement that leads to a long hallway where another set of doors appears right at its end. Alpha Junmyeon turns to Jimin and his brothers, calmly stating, “Here we are,” before he knocks on the door gently to announce his arrival.

The door opens right away, with Hanbin appearing on the other side with a bright smile, already expecting to see his brothers coming. “Ah, you’re finally here. We’ve been anxiously waiting for you.”

Before Jimin could question him more about his comment, Hanbin steps aside and ushers Jimin and the rest of the group to enter the room. Walking past the threshold, Jimin takes his time to look around him and asses his surroundings. Unlike the bare-looking open area of the basement where they had landed from the stairs, this room feels a lot warmer and way more comfortable to settle in.

Instead of a bed chamber, the group finds themselves entering what seems to be a seating lounge. The walls around them are painted in dark grey and navy blue tone of colours. While looking slightly dark, it gives a lot more life into the room compared to the barren space outside, where all Jimin could see was the pale stone walls and bare cemented floors. A plush carpet covers the floor, while a few leather-covered loveseats are placed in various corners of the room, giving it a homey atmosphere that helps calm the unsettling feeling inside Jimin’s chest a little. The sound of the cracking flame from the fireplace draws everyone’s attention, as it sparks together with a subtle flow of a familiar force that sends a deep longing into Jimin’s heart.

As he turns toward the fireplace, two young werewolves step closer, greeting their Alpha first with a respectful bow before turning to Jimin and his group. “Lord Jimin, let me introduce you to my second, Beta Chanyeol,” the Alpha says as the taller one bows towards Jimin, before gesturing to the one standing beside him who is wearing a bright smile on his face. “And this is my Third-in-command, Minseok. I have handed them both the responsibility of accompanying our guests and watching over the pack on my leave, and with your permission, they will act as witnesses for tonight’s meeting.”

Jimin greets them in return, and allows the werewolves to chat with the rest of his group while he turns away, intending to study his surroundings more closely. He notices Hanbin walking closer just then, with his two other brothers walking alongside him. His throat feels constricted as he sees Yunhyeong, looking as if he had just come out of the infirmary, with one of his arms hanging on a sling, though his smile is still as bright as it always has been. Jimin recalls Jinhwan’s story about the attack, how Yunhyeong had taken the hardest blow during the ambush before disappearing in the portal during their dramatic escape. Together with them is Donghyuk, who had left Jinhwan in the hands of the Wiccans in order to find their missing brothers. Since he is here with them, it has appeared that his mission had been a success.

Seeing his brothers all back together gives Jimin a sense of relief. He is overcome with glee to see them all standing there, even if their appearances are filled with fresh scars and wounds.

“So—” he says as they all come to surround him, each one of the brothers holding back as much as they could from getting too emotional that neither of them makes a move for a hug. “Were you the special guests that the Alpha has been talking about?”

Hanbin grins at his brother and shakes his head. “I wish I could say that we were the ones getting all the royal treatment. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Someone else is here to see you. And I bet you’ll be happy to see him too,” he says, as he steps aside, allowing Jimin to get a clear view of the rest of the room.

He turns around to look at the center of the room as Hanbin gestures him to, and sees a round table with a few armchairs that have been strategically placed around it, signifying that this place has normally been used for secret meetings or private dialogues which needs to be done away from the other pack members.

But it is not the round table itself which makes Jimin halt and catches his full attention. It is the male Vampire who is sitting right at the head of the table, silently watching him with a smirk while leaning back in his high-back armchair, as if he has been waiting patiently for Jimin to notice his presence.

In his shock, Jimin’s mind wanders back to a recent event in the past, taking him back to the final moments that he shared with his mentor. Lord Xander’s voice echoes inside his head as he sees the older Vampire flashing through his thoughts, as he is taken back to the moment when the healer Lord was handing him a pair of necklaces before bidding his goodbyes,

“If neither of us could recover in time, or if Death comes to us in our sleep, please make sure to give these to our children. To Laila’s daughter and my son.”

‘My son.'

Jimin blinks away the image from his head, almost unable to believe just what he is seeing. For a moment, he had almost thought that he was seeing Lord Xander sitting there, smiling the same way he would have whenever they would meet. But he quickly snaps out of it, just as the past memory fades away from his thoughts, helping him to realise that the Vampire before him looks a lot younger than his mentor, despite looking almost identical, and with much shorter hair.

Before Jimin can react, the twins beat him to it as they walk around him and rush towards the round table together to greet the familiar face waiting for them.

“Jiwon. Should’ve known that it would be you waiting for us here,” Yongguk comments with a deep chuckle as he slides closer to the Vampire, while the other twin curiously tilts his head. “How did you get here? Why are you hiding in a werewolf pack? Have you been here all this time?”

Jiwon softly chuckles at his cousins, keeping his eyes on Jimin when he gives them an answer, ”It’s quite a long story, actually, and it has something to do with the reason why Hanbin and Yunhyeong had ended up here too.”

Surprised, Jimin immediately turns to glance at his brothers, both of them shrugging their shoulders as if telling him that the Vampire’s words are true.

“Why don’t you take your seats and join me?” Jiwon calls out to the Orphans who are still standing a few feet away from the round table, while the twins had swiftly taken the empty seats right beside him, as if they all belong there. “I bet you boys are tired from the long journey and might be a bit confused. We need some catching up to do anyway. I’m not wrong, am I—Lord Jimin?”

Back at Wolf Moon Pack…

There is something magical about the sunset in the Wolf Moon Pack.

The air cools down the moment the sun begins to descend, while the vibrant colours in the sky seem to blend together like a watercolour painting—iridescent, dazzling, enchanting—as if the space around the pack is coming alive at nightfall. You look up to admire the dark shade spreading in the sky that appears almost purple, while the stars begin to pop out, revealing their beautiful glow one sparkle at a time. As the faint shade of the descending sun fades beneath the foliage across the hill before you, the moonlight above is quick to grab your attention. Its radiating light draws you in, but it is the shade faintly appearing on its edges that has you taking a long, deep breath.

The indistinct shade of red.

Its presence serves as a reminder that time is running out. Ever since it had been determined that the events which had been happening for the past few years—the rebellion rising within the Vampires clan and the coup which occurred in your home pack—have a silver lining, that someone—or perhaps, quite undoubtedly, an entire group of them—is intending to give rise to the Blood War, bringing back the nightmare that had haunted the entire continent for centuries, it has marked the rise of the blood moon as your time limit.

There seems to be a clear reason why that specific night has always been chosen for the rise of chaos and why it was possible for the Dark Alliance to unite their powers to take over the continent. And now that it is evident just how close it is already to the night of the blood moon rising, you cannot help but feel as if you are being pushed into a corner, with limited options to choose on how to stop the war from happening.

But will it be possible for any of us to stop it at all?

“It’s a marvellous view from here, isn’t it?”

You turn away from the window just as Mage Kim enters the room. Her arrival snaps you out of your daze, plummeting you back into reality where you are standing in her quaint kitchen, with bright lights illuminating the room in contrast to the dusky sunset out in the woods.

The pretty mage moves with a gentle flow around the counter, carrying a basket full of fresh vegetables in one hand and an old spell book in the other, which she then places on top of the marble top counter with such ease and grace before turning to you once again to speak, “I always enjoy watching the sunset from that very same window myself after a long busy day of work, though it seems to me that it’s not giving you the same calming effect as it does to me.”

Puzzled by her words, you tilt your head, trying to understand what she is trying to say. Seeing this, Mage Kim giggles a little before tilting her chin towards your hands. “Seeing the way you are clutching that mug so tightly, I can only guess that your mind is not as calm as it looks.”

Raising your eyebrows, you follow her gaze and look down at your hands. Sure enough, you find that not only you are clutching the mug in your hand just as tightly as the way she described it, but your claws have also come out, making their appearance and almost digging into the sides of the mug. Hairline cracks are beginning to materialize on what was supposed to be a flawless-looking mug before the tip of your claws made contact with it.

With a gasp, you quickly retract your claws and loosen up your grip on the mug, before gently placing it on top of the kitchen counter.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your mug,” you start to apologise, while the mage only waves her hand at you and laughs.

“Oh, don’t worry about that old thing. I’ve had that mug for as long as I can remember, so it’s due time for it to crack anyway. I’ve gained plenty of new ones since I moved here so I won’t miss it too much,” she calmly says to you with a smile.

“Still—” you murmur, still unable to look away from the damage that you have done. For any mortal eyes, those tiny cracks may not be visible. But it is quite different when you are looking at it with your eyes. “I guess I got lost and carried away with my thoughts there for a moment. But I did enjoy the tea you made. I promise.”

Mage Kim grins at you as she takes the abused mug out of your sight. “That’s a relief. At least I know that I didn’t really leave you completely idle,” she says, as she continues to unpack the vegetables that she had carried with her while chatting.

“I’m sorry for stepping out while we were having a chat. Yvonne is one of the pack’s elders who had just lost her mate last summer. They’ve been together for 70 years, so it was really hard for her to adjust to living on her own with her kids all spread in different packs. I’ve been helping her deal with her grief, and she would often stop by like this to say hello and chat, and sometimes vent when she has some troubles at home,” she says, not even pausing as she puts some of the fresh goods away and setting aside a couple of them to use later, while you can only watch her closely, admiring how every single thing that she does seems to captivate you.

Even the way she moves enchants you. Sometimes she would appear as if she is gliding above the ground when she walks, while sometimes her moves remind you of flowing water. There is also a familiar sense radiating from her, reminding you of something that you had encountered before even though it is hard for you to point a finger at what it truly was.

“These are all from her, by the way,” she continues to say, waving at the vegetables that she had set up on the counter. “She always leaves a whole basket of fresh produce whenever she comes to visit, as a token of gratitude each time I would spare my time to see her, mostly everything that she had grown and harvested herself from her little garden.”

“That’s so thoughtful of her,” you muse softly, drawing another smile from the mage. “I’m guessing that happens often? Do the other pack members give you offerings like this whenever you help them?”

Mage Kim shrugs as she turns to wash the goods in her sink, refusing your help when you offer, simply telling you to take a seat instead, to which you comply easily just to get out of her way. “I never asked them to, but they always come to drop things in exchange for our help. My mate and I simply try to help out as much as we can for the pack since they have been so welcoming of us since the day we arrived. I figured it was a fair trade, we give and take, and help each other the best we can for the good of the pack.”

For the good of the pack.

It was the same teaching that your father had imprinted in you ever since you were just a pup, growing up under his and your mother’s care. The same teaching that has been passed on within the pack through each generation, shared among the pack members for many years to form a tight bond under your father’s lead. It pains you to think that the very same pack has now been split apart, all because of the coup that began from your sister’s treason.

Pain twists inside your chest when you think about your pack’s fate, and you turn to look at your surroundings just to distract yourself from your own thoughts. It was late in the afternoon when you came to pay the mage a visit, done under Taehyung’s mother’s advice. It wasn’t much of a surprise to find that both the mage and her beta mate had chosen to live in a quiet and secluded area away from the heart of the pack, but it was still a pleasant surprise when you finally found the quaint cottage that they have both been living in. Located on the top of the hill, the cottage has the perfect view of its surroundings—the serene forest, the green hills, and even the riverbed which leads to a nearby waterfall—while it remains a walking distance towards the packhouse, allowing the Beta to travel back and forth so easily each day when he is needed for his duty.

“This is quite a nice place to live, far from the hectic life you would normally find at the heart of the pack. How did you manage to find this cottage?” you find yourself asking the mage when she returns to your side, and you can faintly feel her pride radiating from within her.

“We didn’t. My mate, Seokjin, built this cottage with his own two hands, right after the Alpha gave us this piece of land to work with. We had requested a place where we could find some peace and quiet, to have something different than our daily life, which is almost never peaceful,” the mage answers as she pours some more tea into two different mugs, replacing the one that you had almost ruined and the one that she had left behind in the sink on her rush to see the pack member that had come earlier.

The mage continues her story while sipping on her tea. Her eyes glow fondly as she appears to reminisce about her past. “My mate, Seokjin, wanted to create a place that resembles our old home. Years ago, he and I met during the winter when I was a trainee witch. I was staying in an old cottage that used to belong to one of the mentors in the coven that I was raised in when he came at my door.”

She stops with a giggle, before continuing to tell her story, how she found a sleeping bear on her porch one day, then about the days she spent with that bear before he finally revealed himself in his human form. Mage Kim then tells you a bit more about Beta Seokjin’s past, the history that you had once heard partially from your father but never in full form. You have known before that the beta had once gone feral after losing his home pack and his family during the Rogue War, but you had never heard the story of how he managed to find his way to join the Wolf Moon Pack with his mate until now, as Mage Kim tells you almost in detail of the events that had led them both to this place.

“That old cabin held so many good memories, but what we shared while living there for that short period of time was so precious for both of us that the moment we were given a chance to build something new and create new memories, Seokjin insisted to recreate that same cabin here. Which, as you can see, turned out to be this pretty little cottage that we call home.”

As you look around you, a sight that comes to mind is not an old cabin that would have resembled this one, but another that had been buried deep in your memories. Located deep in the Blue Moon pack’s territory, the old cottage that was built by Jongin’s own two hands, was the home that had held a lot of golden memories of your own with your deceased mate. In the past, your chest would have burned with so much pain whenever you are reminded of those old days, when you pictured the life you had then only to be reminded of Jongin’s passing and how much it had hurt you.

Now, however, the longing that you are feeling for those missing days is accompanied by another kind of yearning. You begin to wonder if you would be able to build a new memory with your second chance mate. Would it be possible for you and Jimin to build your own home, away from the tumultuous lives of an Alpha and a Vampire Lord?

Snapping out of it, you turn to focus on Mage Kim’s gentle voice as she continues talking.

“We would still return to that old cottage in the winter, whenever Alpha Namjoon grants us a break during the cold season and gives permission for us to leave the pack for a while. He knows that my mate still finds the need to hibernate, though it hasn’t been quite as demanding as it was before when his beast counterpart was still dominating him, and it’s always been hard to hibernate completely if we remain in this place throughout the winter. My mate can be extremely grouchy when he doesn’t get the long rest that his bear needs,” she adds with a giggle. “Alpha Namjoon also understands how much Seokjin would have to hold back when he is working alongside him, so he does give us some flexibility to travel and get away whenever we need to.”

Knowing the roles that Beta Seokjin and his mate had to take upon joining the pack, and the sacrifices that had no doubt taken place, you understand why Alpha Namjoon would give them so much freedom. But thinking about two Alphas leading the pack together, with Beta Seokjin stepping back to be the second-in-command, has left you wondering about the pack’s dynamic. Especially now that you have found out that the beta is mated to a white witch, someone who would have been seen as the enemy by the pack had it been under normal circumstances.

“Speaking of which—Mage Kim?” you begin to question her when your curiosity grows stronger. “How are you adjusting to living in a pack, and as a shifter’s mate? I’m sorry, I just can’t help but wonder. It’s not often that a shifter and a mage, someone who has the ability to master witchcraft, would cross paths, much less turn out as mates. I’m sure it wasn’t quite easy.”

“Please, call me Aurora,” she says in return, smiling shyly when she sees you raising your brows. “That’s the name that was given to me at birth. I don’t normally use my given name, for personal reasons, which is why I have requested the Alpha to have the pack call me under the name ‘Mage Kim’, as I have taken my mate’s given name as mine and it would make it easier for me to remain anonymous to any outsider.”

You simply nod, trying to understand even if you have yet to know the full story behind her reasons. A million different questions appear in your head, as you are reminded of the first time you heard Taehyung mentioning Mage Kim when you met him, but you keep your curiosity to yourself as Aurora continues with, “But I do feel like it would be better for anyone who I am personally close with to call me by my real name. Of course, I would appreciate it if you would only call me by my given name when we’re alone.”

“Of course, Mage Kim. I mean, Aurora,” you answer her with a smile, which she returns with a grateful nod.

“To answer your question, it did take quite a while for me to get used to living in a pack of shifters. Before meeting my mate, I had never once encountered any shifter, nor had I ever truly learned a thing about them. I’ve learned so much since then, and then a lot more ever since I joined this pack,” she explains with a soft chuckle. “I’m quite grateful that they welcomed me with open arms. I also had my mentor by my side during the first couple of years I began living here, since it was his place that I was taking over when I first arrived, so that was a huge help as well.”

“How about your mate?” you ask her, when you recall the authority of an Alpha radiating from the werebear when you first met him. “I imagine it wouldn’t have been easy for an Alpha to submit under another leader when he came in.”

Shaking her head, Aurora sighs a little. “Oh, it sure wasn’t. Didn’t help the fact that my mate is quite a hot-headed shifter. Even without his Alpha blood running in his veins, he has already been quite stubborn to deal with,” she says while rolling her eyes, though there is still a sense of fondness and admiration as she talks about Beta Seokjin. “He does have a huge respect for Alpha Namjoon, however, since the Alpha is wise and honourable as a leader. I think sometimes my mate would try to start something with the Alpha just for the fun of it, not because he is trying to challenge Alpha Namjoon’s authority.”

Laughing, you imagine the Alpha and Beta going at each other when they are together. Just like how you had seen them arguing in your vision. “I’m going to guess that there’s been a lot of ‘friendly’ banter between the two over the years?”

Aurora shakes her head again while laughing. “It never stops. And I think Alpha Namjoon enjoys it when my mate would challenge him into some kind of an argument or debate or when he tries to turn the Alpha’s own words against him. He always seems more—alive, when he is with Seokjin,” Aurora carefully says, before she looks at you with deep caution in her eyes and adds, “I’m sure you know what the Alpha is currently dealing with.”

Biting your lips, you briefly nod, knowing what she is insinuating. “Yes, I know very well. I was once in his shoes, quite a few years ago.”

Aurora releases a deep sigh. “That is probably why I was sent here by fate, and why my mate was needed here in this pack. At first, we were merely searching for a way to give my mate a sense of order, for him to be a part of a community once again to give him everything that he had once lost. But then we both realised that we were able to give something more to help the Alpha and his pack,” she begins to speak with a soft voice, as if she feels like someone would be able to listen to her words as she talks about Alpha Namjoon and her mate’s personal business. “My healing powers may not be on par with the best mages in the continent, but I do my best to support the Alpha, and help him through his struggles so he could still do his duty and keep the order in the pack. Meanwhile, my mate would have enough authority to give the Alpha his sound voice and support whenever he is needed, or to take his place when the Alpha is absent.”

“The Mating Sickness—” you start to ask, “How far worse has it been since—”

“I’m afraid I cannot say,” Aurora claims while shaking her head slowly, a hint of sadness appearing in her gaze as she thinks about the Alpha. “But as someone who once battled with the same sickness, I’m sure you know what would happen if he keeps on going like this for a longer period of time. He has been going strong for long enough. But even the strongest being in the realm would still have their limitations.” Aurora looks up, staring deeply into your eyes as she adds, “For Alpha Namjoon, he might as well have gone past that limit quite a long time ago.”

A deep concern flows right through you after what Aurora had just told you. As someone who had once experienced the same sickness and knows damn well what the sickness could do to a shifter, you can imagine the struggles that Alpha Namjoon has to face.

You have met Alpha Namjoon a few times and spent time with him during your stay in the Wolf Moon Pack, and never once had you ever caught any signs of him struggling. Deep down, you cannot help but admire his tenacity, while at the same time, you also know that he would have to endure as much pain as the power that he has to use to hide his suffering, and it worries you even more to think that he had been fighting for so long.

“How are you feeling now, by the way? Does your chest still feel tight? Is it easier to breathe?” Aurora suddenly asks you, and for a brief moment, you have no clue what she is talking about that you instantly fall silent, until you finally remember the reason why you came to visit her this afternoon.

Your heartburn.

Ever since early this morning, you have been getting a series of heartburn bothering you. It started with your heartbeat which continued rising so rapidly, followed by the tightness in your chest that caused you to have trouble breathing. You immediately suspected that Jimin may have been the cause when your mating mark started pulsing, though you had no idea if the pain you felt simply came to you because of the distance and for being so far away from your mate, or if something else was causing it. That it had been a sign that your mate was in terrible danger.

After consulting with Taehyung and his mother, they advised you to see Mage Kim to find answers, which became the reason why you are here, sitting in her kitchen while sharing deep thoughts and stories with a few cups of hot tea.

Immediately, you lean back and start to gently rub your chest, right where you had been feeling pain. You quickly realise that the only thing you can feel now is warmth, while the tightness that had been bothering you is long gone. “Oh! That’s interesting. I didn’t notice it while we were chatting, but it does feel better. Are you telling me that all I had to do was drink warm tea?”

Aurora laughs, looking relieved and amused at the same time. “I wish it was that simple. The tea only helped ease your muscles and calm your nerves. I put a few drops of my remedy in your cup of tea and the snacks I gave you earlier, then I added a calming potion into that one,” she says, pointing at the mug you are still holding. “That’s what did the job.”

Surprised, and absolutely amused, you can only shake your head in wonder. “I guess they weren’t kidding when they said that you give the best remedies. I suppose the wonderful chat we had also helped put my mind at ease that I almost forgot what I was supposed to be doing here.”

Aurora looks out the window from over your shoulder just then, and her eyes immediately widen. “We’ve been talking for so long that I didn’t even notice how much time has passed. I haven’t even started making dinner.”

Turning away from her, you follow her gaze to look out the window, noticing how dark it had gotten out there. “Oh, right. It’s already dinnertime. I’m sorry for taking so much of your time,” you say to her, feeling remorseful for getting lost in the moment. But right as you turn to her and before you even begin to take your leave, the mage stops you right away.

“Surely you can stay for a while longer, can’t you? Seokjin isn’t going to return for dinner tonight, as he is still busy attending Alpha Namjoon’s business at the pack house. He’s probably already combing through the buffet dinner by now. Tammy, the pack’s senior cook, makes excellent meat pies, and he would often go mad for it whenever he is eating with the other pack members.”

“Well—I’m not exactly in a rush to go,” you tell her, which is not entirely a lie.

Ever since you came to the pack, you had spent most of your time staying close to your parents. Oftentimes, Taehyung would have to send either his mother or his mate to drag you away, forcing you to join them during mealtime just so you could get a little break from watching over your parents who remain unconscious. You have no doubt that the moment you return to Taehyung’s property, his family would have you joining them again. While you are grateful for their care, it doesn’t stop you from feeling as if you are intruding on their personal space too much, and you feel guilty about it when they have already done so much to help you and your family.

Besides, you also have another purpose to stay with Mage Kim tonight, and you refuse to leave until you have what you needed.

“On that note, I should probably start making dinner,” Aurora says, turning away to pull out a couple of containers from the freezer standing behind her. She sets them all up on the counter, opening them to reveal the frozen meat contained inside, nearly causing you to drool. “How do you like your meat, Alpha? Medium, or well done? Or perhaps, rare? I know that shifters can have different tastes in the way they enjoy their meal.”

“Medium rare, leaning more towards rare, if that’s not too much of a trouble,” you answer her while holding back from licking your lips. Though you can barely restrain your wolf’s hunger when she softly growls inside your head, drawn completely to the sight of the uncooked meat. “It’s the only way it would be fair for me and my wolf. Obviously, she would prefer her meat raw. But when I’m in my human form, I do enjoy a bit of a roast on my meat for a taste.”

“Understandable. That’s actually how my mate would love his dinner too,” Aurora says, nodding. “Of course, the bear inside him would always fight him over it, as the beast prefers the meat all fresh and bloody. But Seokjin could no longer stomach it ever since he started staying in his human form longer. He always says that fresh meat reminds him of the dark days that he spent as a feral.”

Nodding your head absently, you try to recall a little bit more of what you had once heard about Beta Seokjin. You had never once met any shifter who had gone feral for a long time and managed to regain their sanity to be able to return to society and to hold a highly regarded rank the way Beta Seokjin did, so his story had always intrigued you ever since you first heard of him from your father in the past. You had once wondered if he would still lose control even once he had returned to live and function in his human form, or if he had given up the option to shift at all.

A shudder runs through your body as you imagine yourself living without ever getting a chance to shift right back into your wolf form. The feeling of entrapment suddenly overcomes you, as you have always felt so free and alive whenever you are running in your other form.

“But he still hunts regularly while he is running in his beast form, right?” you question the mage as the thought comes into your mind. “I always give my wolf free reign when I need to go out on my regular run, and she always takes the chance to hunt and eat her game all fresh and bloody when she is in control.”

“Oh, obviously,” Aurora answers with a playful scoff. “He still runs in his bear form, though he rarely does it alone. He would do it either when the pack is doing their regular run together, or he would have one or two Enforcers running with him to keep an eye on him. It’s not that he would lose total control when he shifts, it’s just that the bear would take any given chance to take over his body and he would sometimes run free and wild without care. It’s usually during that time when the bear would find a fresh hunt for himself and enjoy his rare, and extremely bloody, meat.”

“Beta Jin would always argue with the bear about it when that happens, I’m guessing?”

She laughs, knowing that her mate would do such a thing just for the sake of it. “Every single time.”

As Aurora prepares for dinner, you can no longer sit down and do nothing, so you give her no choice but to let you help her through it. Soon enough, you are sitting with the kindhearted mage on her dining table, which is small and comfortable enough for two people, though you still find it hard to imagine Beta Seokjin sitting around it in his bear form. Which, according to Aurora, is something that often happens when the Beta is too exhausted to fight against his bear who always wants to show himself in front of his mate.

“He used to do that in our old home, watch over me while I was cooking our meal or when I was messing around with my potions, filling the room with his massive body. I suppose it became a bit of a habit for him that he still can’t let it go once we’re living here, so I’d just let him instead of arguing about it. No matter how stubborn Seokjin can be, his bear is much worse,” Aurora tells you with a soft chuckle. “Seeing him trying to fit into this tiny space is pretty adorable too, especially when he’s sitting with his legs out like a giant teddy bear.”

Seeing that you have only ever met Beta Seokjin while he is being formal and serious in your previous encounters, imagining him being the cute teddy bear that Aurora is describing him draws a smile to your face. “Forgive me, but it is really hard for me to picture the Beta acting in such a way,” you comment with a laugh. “Although, if I have to compare him with Taehyung, then I guess they’re both aren’t so different, after all, if they can truly act differently when they are in their personal space and with their loved ones and just be themselves.”

Right the moment you say this, your mind wanders to Jimin. Finding a mate is always a blessing for a shifter, and you had been given the gift of finding your second chance mate. Despite feeling blessed and grateful, you resent the fact that it had to happen during the circumstances that you are in, where you are unable to enjoy your first moments with your mate the way Aurora and Beta Jin or how Taehyung and his mate, Rhea, could. You barely had enough time to be with each other before you had to part ways, all because you both had to meet on the rise of an incoming war.

Suddenly feeling envious and disturbed after listening to Aurora’s story, you lean back in your seat to try and distract yourself from your own thoughts. That is when your eyes fall onto the old spell book that has been left right on the corner of the dining table. You remember seeing her carrying it with her all the time, and then you saw it again earlier when she came back from tending to a pack member, but you never had any clear view of it until now.

“This book seems pretty old. It looks like it’s falling apart,” you comment as you lean to look closer. For some odd reason, the spell book seems to draw you in, though seeing its dire state, you hold back from reaching out to touch it.

“That’s because that book has been around for ages,” she comments while laughing. “I’m trying my best to keep it as it was. I’ve had the book since I was little. My mother—the woman who raised me—gave it to me. That’s the only thing that was once hers that I still have left.”

“A.C.,” you murmur softly, reading the initials that have been engraved so clearly on its leather cover. The writings around it seem to be fading, yet the initials are still quite easy to read.

“That’s my mother’s initials. She carved it on the cover because she kept losing her books as a child. She told me once how the other kids who grew up with her knew that she was different, and had constantly tried to cause trouble or get her into trouble in the coven. That includes stealing and hiding her book of spells and grimoires right before her rituals,” Aurora explains, looking down at the book cover with a deep longing in her eyes.

“Her name was Agatha. Agatha Carro. That’s where A.C. came from. She was a healer and a clairvoyant, just like me, though the magic and the blood that ran through her had come from black magic, as we were both born and raised in a Dark Coven.”

Agatha. The name rings inside your head, and you are immediately reminded of the Wiccan. Could it be—

“But let’s not go there. I’m pretty sure that my story isn’t what you needed to hear,” she suddenly says, waving you off before your mind could go any further. She leaves her seat to pick up the steaming teapot and begins to refill the empty mugs on the table with fresh tea before returning to her seat. “At least, I know that it’s not the reason why you came to visit tonight and why you had kept me company for hours. I know that you didn’t come here just for an idle chat or to simply cure your heartburn, even if I haven’t heard you complaining about me keeping you here.”

“Nothing about our conversation was idle. If any, it had been quite—enlightening,” you reassure her while picking up your mug of hot tea. You can smell the scent of fresh herbs through its steam, letting you know that she had once again added the same remedy as the one she had given you earlier.

“I was told that you are the one working on the remedy for my parents. I just—I don’t know, I just figured it would only be right if I paid a visit, to say thank you and see how it’s going, or if you have any trouble with it at all,” you finally admit to her. “It was by chance that I was having trouble breathing and experiencing heartburn at the same time, so I had a good reason to ask Taehyung to show me the way to your home.”

Aurora simply smiles at you. “Coincidences often happen for a reason created by Fate. Yes, I have been working on the remedy ever since Beta Taehyung and his mother reached out to me,” she says, gesturing to the sunroom at the back of the cottage that is visible from the dining room. Seeing the altar and the wooden cabinet filled with glass jars containing various herbs standing in its corner, you safely assume that she is using the sunroom as her little workshop where she is making her remedies. “I took a sample of your father’s blood and the antidote that was said to have been given by your mate. Alpha Namjoon said that your mate had also been poisoned and you believed that it might have been the same one that was used to harm your parents.”

Nodding, you tell her everything that Jimin had told you about what the poison had done to his body. “It had similar symptoms to what my mate had said to have happened to him. Taehyung’s mother told me that if it wasn’t for the fact that my parents had the Alpha blood inside them, then they would have—” you stop talking when your throat feels tight. The thought of losing your parents had been haunting you for quite a long time, and you refuse to let it enter your mind again now that you are starting to feel a glimmer of hope. “Did it work? Did you manage to find a way to use that antidote for them? I know that we couldn’t use them directly since the original antidote was created for Vampires.”

Aurora shakes her head. “No, we couldn’t use it. Even if we had, there is no doubt it would only harm your parents more. It seems that the poison that was used on your mate was also slightly different, as we found a hint of wolfsbane added into it through your parents’ blood.”

This new fact makes you frown. “Are you saying that the poison may be the same, but they had deliberately altered it to weaken werewolves?”

“That seems to be the case, yes,” Aurora hums softly as she deeply considers this thought. “Not to worry, though. We are close to finishing the remedy. I’ll spend the whole night working on it and making sure that it will actually work. Just like you said earlier, we’re in the race against time, so I’ll personally make sure that it would be ready before sunrise.”

As the night continues, it turns out that there is no need for you to wait until sunrise comes to have the remedy that you needed. Right after you finish dinner, Aurora simply decides to get right back to work to finish creating the perfect potion that would help heal your parents.

She welcomes you to join her in the sunroom, where the area is filled with her little trinkets, illuminated with nothing but candles, while the scent of herbs and potions keeps flowing in the air around you. You watch her in awe as she gets to work, as she pulls out the samples of blood and altered antidote that she has been working with to create new samples in smaller vials. You even lend a hand when she needs to crush a few different herbs to mix with each sample, until she finally manages to find the perfect mix to eliminate the toxin and the remaining poison from the blood samples. She even uses a hint of her magic to amplify the remedy once she is done, and for once, the sight of the magic practice doesn’t leave a bad taste or an eerie feeling inside you, knowing that the spells she uses—enchanted from the pages within the old spell book—is only done with good intentions.

Hours before midnight arrives, the mage already has a few portions of the remedy that you had needed from her.

“You are truly amazing,” you muse with wonder as you hold the vials filled with the freshly blended remedy that may help heal your parents. “Thank you so much for this.”

True to her humble character, Aurora only waves her hand at you. “Don’t thank me yet. We’ll see if it’ll work to help your parents gain their strength back and for them to finally recover. It’s going to be a rough process of healing after dealing with such a strong poison, and this will only be the beginning of that healing process. I’ll be here to ask for help from the ancestors to lend their strength. Perhaps I can also find more answers by convening a seance to communicate with them directly to ask for their guidance.”

“Ah, that’s right. You told me earlier that aside from being a healer, you are also a clairvoyant,” you say to her, recalling what she had shared and what Taehyung had once told you.

“That is true,” Aurora says, giving you a shy smile. “My mother was a gifted one with that skill, and she had passed on her gift to me.”

Once again, Agatha’s face comes flashing into your thoughts. “I’ve met another clairvoyant, a Wiccan, on my journey here. She showed me a glimpse of the past. She started with the events that happened years ago regarding my sister, long before her rebellion came to rise, to show me what may have triggered her to finally take action to turn the pack against me and our parents,” you carefully tell her, refraining from saying more about seeing Alpha Namjoon and Beta Jin in that same vision. “Then I was also given the chance to see another Vision, left behind by my mate’s mentor and guardian, which we had managed to unlock with the help of the Wiccan. This one took me back long enough to witness the Ancient war, the Blood War, and to see for myself everything that had actually happened during that time.”

Aurora’s eyes grow wide upon hearing this. You haven’t exactly shared this with anyone else but the Alpha, but knowing that she may have the same ability and more knowledge about this gift, you had figured that perhaps you can find some answers from her.

“Have you ever—” you start by asking. “Since my arrival in this pack wasn’t so much of a surprise to you, have you ever envisioned me coming here for help or have you ever seen any signs about the war coming back?”

Aurora looks a bit unsure for a moment before she finally nods. “The spirits spoke to me during one of my seances. They had given me a warning that something is going to happen in the near future. Something so big that would alter the entire lives of everyone living within this realm, and that I would know when the time will come. The messages they sent me had foreseen a part of a distant past that was coming back to the present, that a cycle of events will take place as soon as the pieces that were linked into that past are reconnected,” she says, recalling everything that she had known. “The moment you arrived at the pack, bearing the mark that was given by your mate, I knew that it had begun.”

A sigh slips right through you just as the dreadful feeling that you felt before returns, the unsettling sensation that always takes over when you recall the sight of the Blood War. “The vision had told me something similar. Through the vision that I entered, I was able to understand everything, to know all about the pieces of the past that had caused the war and the possibility of them coming back in the present and reconnecting—”

As you begin to talk about it, the memory of the vision returns to you. They come flashing into your thoughts like a set of moving pictures. The pale Vampires that reeked of blood, the young and mighty Vampires riding the flying dragons, the army of Rogues and Halflings rushing down the mountains before colliding with an army of Werewolves and Lycans in an intense battle, and the deep, bloody red sky above.

“A vision that was left behind by someone who no longer exists in the upper world,” Aurora suddenly murmurs while looking like she is a deep thought. “This Wiccan that you met must have been quite powerful to be able to assist you with one.”

You tilt your head, suddenly feeling curious. “Are you not capable of doing the same?”

Aurora gives you a sad smile. “Not quite yet. I haven’t had that much experience with it to try it with another person, but I have been training myself to create a Vision for myself so I could go back into the past and look into some of the Elders’ memories,” she says as she looks up at you. “Is that what you needed help with? Do you have another vision that you would like to visit?”

You quickly shake your head. “No, not quite. I’m not sure, really. I’m just still quite at a loss, I guess,” you answer her with a defeated sigh. “It’s just—there are so many things that are still bothering me. How much do you know about the Ancient Blood War?”

At the mention of the Blood War, Aurora’s face immediately turns grim, and the unsettling shudder begins to run down your spine even before you hear her answer. “Enough to know that if it should occur once more in the present, the entire realm would succumb to darkness, because the forces that had once stopped the War may no longer exist.”

➥ Special Appearance: Jiwon (Bobby) as Lord Xander’s son

#jimin scenarios #jimin scenario #jimin fanfic #jimin smut #jimin fluff #jimin angst #jimin x reader #bts jimin #park jimin #bts scenario #bts fanfic #kpop scenario #kpop writing #kpop fanfic #bts smut #bts fluff #bts angst #bts x reader

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andrigyn · 11 months

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Chapter Seven

Nesta shows Drustan who's boss, and makes a new friend. (This is a shorter chapter, but I wanted to update. I've been in a major writing slump lately... nothing I write had been turning out the way I want it to. Thanks everyone for bearing with me!)

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Link to AO3

Weeks had gone by since the Illyrians embarked on their tour, and they continued on, even though their efforts had proven fruitless. Orders were meant to be followed after all. This was far from the first time Cassian slogged through an unpleasant assignment, and it certainly would not be the last. He reminded himself of this fact repeatedly. Although with each passing day, he felt his temper become shorter. He wasn’t sleeping soundly. He took rejections from each camp leader harder than the last. Was it the unfulfilled bond slowly driving him mad, or the difficulty of the situation he was thrust into? He stood between his High Lord, his brother even, and his country. It was a country that had not treated him kindly, but it was home regardless.

So after a long day of flying, the two males retreated to their tents. Cassian was content to stay inside even if that meant being alone. He was used to being alone, it was only recently that he was so spoiled for company that he shared a home with both Azriel and Nesta full time. Plus on his visits to Illyria, whether there was a rebellion forming or not, he expected to be othered. He was a bastard who worked for the male they viewed as the tyrant who sought to erase their way of life. They weren’t wrong, but explaining why he trusted in Rhys’s leadership to anyone here would have been pointless. Velaris was so far out of reach, and visitors were seldom granted access to the city, so it was impossible to show them what this court had achieved. Cassian imagined that such progress was possible in the north if they would only follow their High Lord’s lead. What a shame that they were not interested in building a brighter future.

Balthazar poked his head in to ask whether he had permission to move freely about the camp. He asked this every damned time, so the words ‘why the hell would I care’ rolled off his tongue before he had the chance to consider his tone. Regardless, the younger male looked sprightly as he walked away. No doubt he was used to being talked down to, screamed at, and pushed around. Cauldron knows Cassian had his fair share of abuse before completing the Rite, and nothing would have spared him of it, not even if he were not cursed with the existence of a bastard.

Balthazar asked Cassian to come along, but he declined the well intentioned invitation. This place sickened him in many ways. He didn’t want to look at the females, battered and overworked, knowing he had failed them. That he would fail again during tomorrow’s meeting. In the morning he would have to brave the horde of males who despised him as well as his High Lord to plead for their loyalty.

Cassian may have decided against socializing, but he was not one to sit still either, especially not when his head was full of doubts. The physical work of flying for hours on end wasn’t enough to quiet the thoughts, and he felt the bond pulsing more fiercely now that he was resting. So he left the tent, and walked until he found a welcoming cliff. There was a thick branch beside the rock he deigned to use as his chair, so after pulling the knife from his belt he began to whittle. After five hundred years of practice, he was still lousy at it. He wasn’t capable of doing it with the same patience or care as Azriel, who had tried several times to teach him. As the wood diminished into nothing, he sighed and threw it over the edge.

The soft glow of moonlight bathed the camp below, but it was empty enough that anyone who walked through cast a long shadow. He watched as a group of drunk males stumbled down the dirt road and out of view. Balthazar was likely among the group drinking around the fire, and part of Cassian did wish to join them. Even on a pleasant summer night, with his wings spread wide to catch the balmy breeze, the loneliness lingered.

He wondered if Nesta was faring in Autumn. There were some days that he could sense her through the bond more intensely, and he savored those moments when he could feel exactly what she was feeling. Sometimes he could tell she was laughing at a really funny joke, the kind of laughter that comes from deep within and might make her snort. One morning, he felt pain. Not enough to seriously maim her, but enough to make ripples through the bond and cause him to jolt upright.

Cassian wanted nothing more than to turn and see that his mate had appeared spontaneously beside him. Maybe then the longing he felt would finally subside. It had been weeks now since he’d last seen Nesta, and the ache in his chest confirmed what he knew before she had even left. He had failed her too. As her mate, it was Cassian’s divinely ordained duty to protect her, and always keep her close. Nothing was more sacred than the bond he was ignoring for the time being, but Cassian supposed he might as well add her to the list of people who would suffer for his own inadequacy.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

As that damned horse raced through the forest, Nesta gritted her teeth and bared the pain that shot through her with every gallop. The crisp breeze that felt so refreshing earlier now stung her cheeks, and tangled her hair into a disheveled bird’s nest. She clung tightly to Drustan, with her arms wrapped around his waist in an effort to maintain balance. The journey seemed to last ages, which hardly added up when Nesta could’ve sworn she wasn’t walking for that long before being intercepted.

Finally, the horse slowed as they approached the Forest House. Drustan dismounted gracefully, extending a hand to aid Nesta in getting down. She hesitated for a moment, contemplating whether or not to accept his help, but ultimately decided it was best to get off the horse as quickly as possible, so Nesta allowed him to support her weight as she descended. She could feel the warmth of blood seeping through the fabric of her dress, but mustered the strength to remain calm anyways. A male like Drustan would surely take pleasure in her discomfort, so she’d starve him of it.

“You owe me an apology, and a healer.” Nesta’s arms were folded across her chest as she glared at him. It was darkly humorous how little males seemed to change, whether they were human or fae. She would not play these foolish games, or allow herself to be pushed around.

Drustan scoffed. “I don’t owe you a thing, be grateful I was considerate enough to bring you back after you stood in my way.”

“I don’t recall ever asking for your help, and it was certainly not a pleasant ride back. Bring me to the healer.” Nesta spoke sharply as she looked up at him, meeting his eyes with a cold stare. Drustan looked unsettled to say the least. Perhaps he was weighing his options, because as it stood, he could either take her to a healer or risk confrontation with Eris. Nesta couldn’t be certain if he saw the licks of silver flame that emerged from her fingers, but if he had, he might have even been afraid of her.

“Fine, follow me,” he muttered.

“I’m still waiting for my apology.”

His eyes narrowed. The male ignored her, and just led the way into the house. Nesta followed, hoping that he would stay true to his word. It was silent inside save for the echo of their footsteps. Her leg throbbed with each step, and it was difficult to keep up with the male who seemed to be in quite a hurry.

Drustan turned back to see that he had left her too far behind, and walked towards her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her forward at his pace.

“Don’t touch me,” Nesta snapped. She took her spare hand and clamped down on his arm, digging her nails into his sleeve. A cold anger washed over her. Those flames that she had never managed to control burst from her palms and fingers stronger than they ever had before. It didn’t stop either after a few moments, they raged until Drustan’s sleeve was burned completely in the shape of her hand. When the fire hit his flesh, that’s when he cried out in pain.

Nesta cracked a smile as he released her. “Better keep moving, looks like you’ll need the healer too,” she said.

“You- What did you do to my arm?” It was a valid question, because those flames of hers did not burn like ordinary embers. Nesta was in awe of it herself, but she would have plenty of time to consider the nature of her power once she wasn’t in the presence of a pissed off and unstable Vanserra. He raised his good arm and formed a ball of fire in his palm, poised to strike. But before he could, the sound of an extra pair of footsteps reverberated through the foyer.

It was Eris, presumably on his way to pick Nesta up for breakfast. He must’ve been shocked to see the scene playing out before him. Nesta and Drustan stood face to face, he with a neat red ball of fire in his hand, and her with a mess of silver flame engulfing hers. His arm was thoroughly scorched. Nesta’s clothes were still bloody and her face was scratched up.

Eris however, didn’t miss a beat. He stepped in front of Nesta and glared at his brother. “What have you done? Can no one have a moment of peace in this house when you’re here?”

“Me? Look at what she did to my arm.” he pleaded.

“Don’t try me, Drustan.” Eris’s hand warmed with a fire of his own, and she noticed the fear in his brother’s eyes. After a moment of consideration Eris changed his mind and put it out. “I’ll deal with you later.”

He turned to Nesta and offered his arm. She took it, and he led her into the hall.

“You’re welcome,” he said.

“I didn’t need your help,” Nesta snarled, “I could’ve gotten one more burn in for good measure if it weren’t for you.”

“You know, if you wanted to take me up on my offer to train I’m sure you could.”

Nesta squinted ever so slightly. She wanted to snap back at him, but more than that she wanted to see a healer. There was no point in bickering when she felt as if she would collapse at any moment, and the adrenaline that shot through her was faded. “Just bring me to a healer.”

“I thought you’d never ask.” Eris offered his arm, and she took it. At this point, it felt as if he was bound by some code of honor to help her, and it was in her best interest then to accept that help. They walked slowly, so as not to strain her leg any further.

They came to a room that was overwhelmed by shelves, well stocked with tiny bottles of what Nesta could only assume to be medicinal herbs and concoctions. She was reminded instantly of Madja’s workspace in Velaris, and also the village doctor’s house. There were times before the money ran out completely that Nesta or Elain would bring their father there in hopes that his legs might heal. They didn’t. In fact, his condition only worsened over the years.

There was a female seated in the far corner, all Nesta could see of her was a mop of dark brown hair. Whatever she was doing, she maintained a laser focus, because she did not even acknowledge their presence until Eris called to her. “Colette?”

Colette turned to study the pair standing at her doorway. “What have you done now?”

Eris opened his mouth to speak, but Nesta beat him to it. “Riding accident.”

“Yes,” Eris said, “My betrothed has been in a terrible riding accident and requires your assistance right now.”

“Sit down then.” Colette gestured to the chair adjacent to hers. Short, and to the point. She could respect that.

Nesta first turned to Eris, who leaned closer to whisper in her ear. “I’ll come see you later, we’ll talk then.” She nodded in reply, but it was difficult to not feel flustered by his breath lingering on her neck. It was wrong to let her thoughts wander from the male who was waiting for her in the Night Court, and she chalked it up to the fact she had not slept with anyone in weeks. She pushed the thoughts away and sat down before Colette, kicking her feet up onto the footrest so the healer could lift her skirt and study her injuries. The Autumn male left after helping her to her seat. All that was left were Colette’s hazel eyes which darted back and forth. .

“Feyre Cursebreaker is your sister,” Colette said before reaching for a bottle and some cloth.

Nesta tensed at the mere mention of her family. “What about it?”

“I don’t know, just trying to make conversation,” she said, her tone defensive. The healer poured burning liquid over one of Nesta’s scrapes and she winced.

“I’m sorry, it’s just- I’ve had a rough start to the day.” Nesta forced the words out, even though she wasn’t feeling very apologetic. Getting on the healer’s bad side would have been an extraordinarily stupid move. Colette offered a slight smile in reply.

“How long have you lived here?” Nesta decided that it was her turn to make conversation.

“Two hundred years ago, I came when I turned twenty as an apprentice to the previous healer of this house,” she explained.

Nesta nodded. It must have been a coveted position, to do such important work for the royal family. She thought that when she was young she would have liked the idea of traveling to a faraway castle, and becoming a doctor. It would have been out of the question completely, but still a girl could dream. “Where are you from?”

“My village is close to the Spring border.”

Nesta laughed. “So is mine.”

“Small world.”

She watched Colette in admiration as she worked. Her fingers were so nimble, and the healer was quick to retrieve whatever substances she needed from the shelf. Surely she had some system of organizing, one that Nesta would never understand. Even though her mind raced with a million questions about how medicine worked in Prythian, she remained silent.

She continued until she finished wrapping Nesta with bandages. “There, good as new.”

“Thank you,” Nesta said, with genuine gratitude.

“And if you ever want company on your rides, do let me know,” she said with a smile, “It can be risky to venture through these woods alone.”

She nodded. Although Colette seemed kind, and had no reason to mislead her, there was something off about her tone. But instead of pressing the issue she let it go, and accepted the healer’s help in retiring to her bedroom. On the way, Colette explained that it would be a few days before she felt like herself again. Walking, for now, would be a challenge but by tomorrow she would at least be able to do it on her own.

Once Nesta was safely in her room, she picked up her book to keep herself entertained while she waited for Eris. Whatever his true intentions were, the male was nothing if not considerate when he wanted to be, even if Nesta knew that his kindness came with a price. Once he had gotten what he needed out of her, she would return to Velaris and they might have sparse interactions here and there, but no true friendship. Eris could not have been interested in her as a person, not beyond what she could do to aid in his bid for power.

Tag List: @tuzna-pesma-snova @majestythewraith @acotardeservesbetter @joonsbratz @unlikelypersonalknight1 @looseleaflettuce @maristaera

#neris #nesta x eris #nesta archeron #eris vanserra #acotar #andy's writing #a swing in the dark

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originalwinnercheesecake · 7 months

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What if the 2003 Teen Titans were pokemon trainers Part II Titans East and other characters

When I made part one I acknowledged that the show was 20 years old and some laptop problems on my end resulted in it being posted months after my previous posts and about 2 months after the aniversary of the shows pilot so I understood if it did not get many views. I said I still wanted to make it because these lists are a lot of fun to make, and 2003 Teen Titans was one of my favorite shows growing up. I guess I am not the only one who still remmberes it fondly, because I got multiple likes and a couple reblogs in just a couple weeks (Thank you!). So here is my promised part 2. If you haven't seen Pat I (which has the main titans and Terra's teams) then I will link it at the end of this post.

A few things to go over before you see my lists. I am not giving any character more than three pokemon. These teens all have super powers (or in some of them's case, gadgets and martial arts abilities that rival super powers) and they go on missions and handle all bad guys/foes as a group, So I do not think any of them would have a need for six pokemon. Secondly I am basing my lists off pokemon that I think would work best for the 2003 version, since that is the version I grew up with. But the pokemon I chose could also work for the Teen titans go versions too, if anyone who see this perfers that version. Lastly I like to gove characters that have particularly significant/close relationships I like to give them both paralle or similar pokemon to show that. The titans are a pretty close knit team, so I wanted for them I decided to do a team mascot pokemon. the main/core titans all got a shiny pokemon. For titans East I wound up giving each of them a fairy type (for half of them it just happened, and once I saw that I rolled with it for the othet half). Okay that should be everything, so moving on to my teams below

BumbleBee

The Leader of the Titans East

Beedrill & Ribombee: Bee pokemon for the Bee themed superhero. One is ficesty with a sharp sting, and one is cute and sweet honey bee. Bumblebee could be both, depending on what angle she was working or how good of friends you and her were. Ribombee also takes the role of being her fairy type. On final thing, when I showed this list to friends before typing it out I was asked by two of them why I did not give Bumblee a vespaqueen instead of a beedrill. Well the answer to that is quit simple my dear Watsons: There can only ever be one queen bee per hive. Titans East's tower already has a queen bee, and that's Bumblebee

Pikachu: I was out of Bee pokemon. Bumble Bee is skilled election so I thought she should also have an electric type. I also deduced that it needed to be a small because Bumblebee always operated under the philosophy that smaller meant harder to hit. After that it was a no brainer to give her the pokemon franchises electric icon and round out her team.

Speedy

Robin's look-alike, and the second titan to prove you do not have to have powers to be able to keep up with other Super hero's

Dedenne: This is Speedy's fairy type. I picked it because both its color scheem and its electric/fairy type. Due to its small size and scrappy nature I like to picture Speedy's dedenne riding on top of his arrow and giving them an extra extra boost of electric charge.

Hitmonlee: Goes with Robin's Hitmonchan. as both Robin and Speedy are powerless hero's who rely on their own battle, so I am giving them both fighting pokemon that they can spar and train with. Speedy knows how to fight close range, but as an archer is more skilled at fighting from a distance. So off the field he and Hitmonlee can spar together and practice close range. On the field it stands in front of Speedy and keeps villains inside Speedy's archary range

Decidueye: I had to use this one, since its the only archery based pokemon. Speedy could probably learn to shoot its shed feathers, and it could maybe...maybe shoot a couple of his arrows (???). It has a rivialry/broship with one of Aqualad's pokemon; their relationship mirroring that of their trainers.

Aqualad

The telepath, hydro-kinetic, and pretty face of the Titans East

Squirtle: It's a tough water pokemon, can easily battle on land or in water, and is exceedingly brave. An all around good pokemon for Aqualad who's team would be made up of water pokemon.

Vaporeon: Vaporeon is another powerful watertype that can fight on lad or in the water. It also posses the power to turn its body into water and move through bodies of water while invincible. So its a perfect pokemon for stealth missions that are by the water.

Primaeina: Aqualad's fairy type and his ace. This is the pokemon that has the the rivalry/broship with Speedy's Decidueye. I like the idea of these two both having fully evolved Alolan starters

Mas y Menos

Twin speedsters who speak 2 languages

Okay so I gave them complimentary teams, since back when the show came out twins were often written to be the same character (Glad that has changed). SO I am going to list their pokemon together and use there individual symbols (+) (-) to show which one belongs to which.

Plusle (+) & Minun (-): I had to give them these two. They are basically the same duo in two different universes.

Ninjask (+) & Accelgor (-): Two bug types that are some of the fastest pokemon for these speedsters.

Galarian Rapidash (+/-): This one does not have a pokeball, it is instead close friends with both of them (similar to Meowth's relationship with Jessie and James). IT is still their fairy type.

Red-X

Robin's Anti hero Alter.

Murkrow: I said on Raven's list that I could not give her one even if it looked like her favorite bird, because its a thieving bird that either steals independently or to because it works for a higher crook (a Honchkrow). A dark thieving bird is something I could see Red-X really taking a liking to. He is the metaphorical Honchkrow for whom his Murkrow steals for.

Frogadier: Red X's ace. A strong, quick, and agil pokemon. It can use its tounge and cotton to take out servaliance cameras, and the ninja like way it moves is similar to Rex-X

Regular Absol: Robin has a shiney absol on his team. I wanted to give him and Red-X one pokemon that was the same and picked Absol since they both at times walk the line between good and evil. Robin's is a shiny though; to show how his friends help him keep his eye on the light. Red-X unlike Robin is a loner, without friends, because he prefers to in his words "look out for number 1". He is not a bad guy at root of it all. He is what Robin probably would have become had he stayed a solo act after leaving Batman. So its fitting then that Red-X would have a regular Absol as opposed to the Robin's Shiny one, because he has less light in his life and a less shining career.

Jinx

Villian turned to good in the finale season.

So Jinx did not have a lot of character. She was the girl hive member, had "Bad luck Hex powers"??? Basically she was like a punk witch. In her second to finale episode a hero flirts with her and she says something about "Wanting a chance" (Not necessarily a chance to be good or bad, just a chance) and that because of her powers "Good was never an option for me". Well from her finale appearance it looked like Kid Flash gave her a chance and she switched to good. This could arguably place her in the "Anti-Hero" category so I felt like I should put her on this list. I had a friend give me some help with her. They suggested picking "Witchy pokemon". Here are the ones we picked

Sableye: goes with Jinx whole spooky punk esthetic, and has types she would like

Mismagius: A mischeivous and powerful ghost. It was a Misdreavus for most for the series. Jinx evolved it with a stone after meeting Kid Flash, being given her chance, and switching sides.

Phantump: My friend suggested Pumpkaboo, but I have already used that one quite a few times on other lists so I decided to give a bit more love to Phantump. It is still "witchy" and might actually suit jinx more since I believe a comic once hinted to her being a fan of "The Wizard of Oz".

#Teen titans 2003 #pokemon #Original teen titans #Titans east #Original Titans East #Bumble Bee #Aqualad #Speedy #Mas y menos #Jinx #Roy Williams Harper Jr #GARTH #Karen Beecher #Red X #teen titans Red X #Original teen titans Red X

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mydisenchantedeulogy · 2 months

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Love Me Bitterly [Chapter Two] Dumb Luck [Adam]

Warning(s): family drama, hazbin lore, oc, redemption fic, Adam being Adam, hobbies, accidents.

Tag list: @lala-1516

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No Minors Allowed!!

Marcella woke with the sun. She was an early riser; had been since she was a child. Her mother was strict about certain beliefs. Early to bed, early to rise, she would say. No matter how often she tried to break these rules, Marcella could not. It was hardwired into her brain. Much like her routine.

Like every morning, despite her protests, she eased out of bed feeling relaxed yet worn out and made herself a smoothie - this morning's flavor was pineapple - then she rested on the cushion in front of her bay window and peered out at Halo City as it came to life with the light. In the distance, beyond the glistening crystal buildings, the cumulus clouds stood out, painted light orange and rose gold in the sun's rays. It was a marvelous sight, such pleasures that were everywhere in Heaven.

As she sat there, Marcella tried to look for inspiration as to what hobby she wanted to take up. Photography, perhaps knitting. There was never a shortage of things to do. She reckoned she would know when she saw it.

Finishing off her smoothie, the tired blonde stood and stretched her wings. She then washed out her cup and put on a baby blue sundress before she left her apartment.

Seraphim Square was around the corner. It was an open space used for festivities with a gorgeous crystal fountain in the center. A plethora of Virtuous and Heaven-born crowded the area, enjoying the venues and stores that bordered the square.

Marcella did not have to wander around long before she spotted what she was looking for; Heavenly Crafts, a hobby shop. She sauntered inside and took a curious look around, hoping that something would catch her eyes. There were so many materials, each clustered in distinct categories lined along shelves like a grocery store. Where would she start?

“Can I help you find something in particular?” A feminine voice asked. An anthropomorphic capybara with reddish-brown fur greeted her. The tag on her apron read Cappy.

“I'm…not certain what I'm looking for - aside from knowing I want to start a new hobby,” Marcella answered with a frown.

Cappy smiled.

“That's no problem. I can show you around, perhaps something will spark your interest.”

Marcella was grateful. She nodded, then followed the helpful capybara to the first aisle, listening to her talk adamantly about the hobbies that each material was linked to. Overwhelming was an understatement.

At the end of the third aisle, containing sketchbooks and a wide variety of drawing pens, a stand of flowers wrapped in newspaper caught Marcella's attention. The vivid colors reminded her of the sunset. She gently traced her finger around the pink petal of Magic Star Lily and hummed.

“This might be it,” Cappy stated with an excited chirp.

Marcella raised a brow.

“You can use flowers for a variety of different hobbies. Perhaps you would like to make your own Potpourri or make a beautiful arrangement to display on your dining room table. I like to press flowers and make art from them,” she explained.

“That sounds lovely,” Marcella uttered.

She had heard of flower pressing before. Her aunt liked to hang her finished arrangements on the walls in her homes like a picture. She claimed that it was a type of stress relief for her.

“I think I might give it a try.”

Cappy smiled.

“Say no more. I have you covered.”

The excited woman hurried down the next aisle, leaving Marcella to look through the bouquets. When she returned, some ten minutes later, she had several items tucked beneath her arms; newspapers, untreated facial tissues, and a variety of other items Marcella had no idea what to do with.

“Let's pick a bouquet,” she suggested.

Marcella felt dizzy. She was in the dark about this sort of thing.

“What do you suggest?”

“The simplest most humble flowers to press, in my opinion, are buttercups, clovers, and stitchwort.” She paused a moment to look over the bouquets, then motioned toward one. “The pink buttercups should do nicely.”

Marcella gathered them, then followed Cappy to the front where she had set several more items. The worried look on Marcella's face made her laugh.

“No worries, the instructions are easy to follow. I made sure to include them.”

Marcella hoped so. She watched her place the materials into an eco-friendly bag.

“Besides this, did you find everything that you were looking for?” Cappy asked with a smile.

Of course, she did. And even if Heavenly Craft did not have everything in stock, there was no scarcity of resources in Heaven, everything was attainable.

It was also the reason money no longer existed. There was no reason for it.

“Be careful with this bag,” Cappy mentioned while pointing to the bag closest to her. “There are some glass frames in there, for you to get started with.”

Marcella was grateful.

“Thank you for the help.”

“It was my pleasure,” Cappy retorted. “Please come again.”

With a brief nod, Marcella left the hobby shop and hurried back to her apartment. She still had an hour before she needed to be at the library so she wanted to at least press some of the flowers before she had to leave.

As she rushed around the corner, someone side-swept her shoulder and knocked her off her feet. Marcella fell with a squeak and landed on her rear, dropping her bags. At least one of them made a sharp cracking noise when it struck the ground, the glass in the frames was no doubt broken. And to make matters worse, something cold that smelled distinctly like coffee poured down onto her head. A shiver went down her spine and her feathers stood on end.

“Watch where the fu–”

Adam paused when the angel that knocked into him tossed him a glare. He recognized her; Marcella. His lecherous eyes trailed down her body, noticing that her dress had slid up, revealing her white and blue panties to him.

He was spellbound until a nudge against his side brought him back to reality. Adam tossed his lieutenant an irritated look.

“Stop fucking cockblocking, Lute.”

The stoic woman slid her arms behind her back and gestured toward the blonde with her head as if to tell him to focus. He understood.

To his dismay, however, Marcella had straightened her dress and was checking her bags. Adam cleared his voice and spread his gold wings.

“Hey, bitch.”

Lute turned up her slitted eyes.

Bitch. Was he talking to her? Marcella raised a brow and peered up at him. While not acquainted with Adam, she knew of him…and his antics.

“Excuse me.”

She was a bit sore about her frame - one of them had cracked - and the iced coffee in her hair.

“I said, hey bi–”

Lute nudged him again, shaking her head.

“Erm…what's up?”

Was he an– no that was not fair. He was a Virtuous, the first man of Earth. Of course, he was terrible at talking to women. He did not know better, though perhaps he did.

“Shopping,” she uttered, gathering her things.

Adam snorted. Women. He ogled Marcella as she stood. Despite her dress being stained with coffee, the light reflecting through the crystal buildings cast a vivid array of colors on her. She looked divine…and delicious.

“Cold?” He asked with a toothy grin.

Marcella raised a brow. What was he talking about? It wasn't cold. The weather was perfect, as far as Heaven went.

“Um…I don't–”

Adam pointed a finger at her chest. Upon realizing that her nipples were showing beneath her dress, she squeaked and covered herself the best she could. Marcella was mortified. The iced coffee that had run down her dress paired with the breeze was not doing her any favors.

“Relax, babe,” Adam stated, tucking his wings beneath his arms like a resting bird. “I've seen plenty of nipples…like a lot.”

Right. Well, this was awkward. Marcella frowned.

“I need to go. It was an honor - I guess - to meet you.”

As she tried to walk around him, he extended a wing.

“So, you like flowers?” He asked quickly.

“I guess,” Marcella answered. “These are for flower pressing though.”

Adam raised a brow.

“Lame.”

This guy was hard to be around. How is it that the Seraphim allowed him to command? He was judgemental and a bit rude.

“Not to me,” Marcella pointed out. She took an uneasy breath to control her annoyance. “I need to–”

“Look, sir,” Lute interrupted. She reached forward and plucked something from the bouquet. “A four-leaf clover.”

What dumb luck. Cappy must have bundled a few with the buttercups for her. She would have loved to display a rare four-leaf clover on her wall.

Adam snatched the clover from Lute's hand.

“Fuck yeah! All mine.”

“Lucky you,” Marcella uttered.

Sliding under Adam's wing, she shivered as his soft feathers slid over her bare arm, then once she was clear, she walked toward her apartment. Unfortunately, she was again stopped, referred to as ‘babe’ rather than her name. Marcella peeked at Adam over her shoulder and raised a brow. Her wings rose in annoyance. Patience was not her virtue.

“You got a little something on your head.”

No shit. The coffee that he dropped on her after he knocked her down.

“Thanks for that,” Marcella grumbled.

She turned her back to Adam and walked away, unaware of the lecherous gaze on her rear. She would have to wait to try out her new hobby; she needed a shower first.

Adam grinned and balled up his fist.

“Crushed it.”

Lute bumped his fist. She had nothing to say in regard. This - whatever it was - was never going to work.

#hazbin hotel fanfiction #adam x oc #hazbin hotel fandom #adam hazbin hotel #oc

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cha0ticspacebi · 1 year

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The King of the Hellfire Club: Chapter 11

Your dad promised this was the last move until after you graduate. You see Eddie Munson outside Nancy's house shortly after your arrival in Hawkins. Everyone tells you to stay away but you're sure there's more to him than he lets on. Now it's the day before spring break and you just have to work up the nerve to actually talk to him before you lose your chance.

Tags: 18+ MDNI,falling in love, full of cheesy cliche high school romance tropes, dungeon master Eddie, dom Eddie, rockstar Eddie, hurt/comfort, getting together, fluff/smut

dividers by firefly-graphics

Chapter 11/13 ☆ Previous chapter → Next chapter

☆ You can find me over on A03 as Cha0ticBi ☆ Master list link! ☆

You woke up early that Friday. The butterflies in your stomach forbid you from sleeping. Tomorrow was graduation. Today was your last day of high school. You took your time getting ready. Taking a refreshing shower and putting a little extra care into your makeup and outfit, savoring the moment. A devious look crossed your face as you dressed. Since you started dating Eddie your wardrobe has become much more adventurous and of course you want Eddie’s last hellfire session to be memorable right?

As much as you disliked the idea of thinking about Eddie with other women, you were well aware of your boyfriend's enjoyment of a cute girl in a cheerleader outfit. You tucked his hellfire shirt into a black pleated skirt with white strips running along the edge. Eddie’s guitar pick necklace lies perfectly in between your breasts as you pull it out from under the shirt. You pulled your hair back into a high ponytail and secured it with a scrunchy. White sneakers and white socks with frilly lace tops on your feet. You tossed on your school cardigan sweater and headed towards Hawkins High.

Little to no learning occurs on the last day of school. As soon as you pull into the parking lot the energy is different. Many people are still outside in the parking lot, seniors crying as they sign each other’s yearbooks promising to meet up during the summer. Juniors talking about how excited they are for their upcoming year. You lock your car and look for Robin. She and Nancy are outside talking as you approach.

“Damn girl! You tryna kill Eddie one day before he graduates? You’re killing me with that skirt!” Robin lowers her sunglasses, playfully teasing you.

“Don’t let Eddie hear you checking out his girl,” Nancy shakes her head, “I hear he’s the jealous type.”

You do a little twirl, skirt flying up just a little in the wind, “You think it’ll distract him? Because that was the goal.”

“It’s distracting me!” Robin exclaims.

Nancy looks bewildered, “Wouldn’t Vickie also not appreciate this conversation?”

Robin shakes her head, “Nah! When she comes up to Family Video, that's all the three of us do. What can I say? We’re weak to a cute girl.”

“I expect that behavior from Steve. You have no excuse,” Nancy scolds.

They continue bickering as you make your way inside looking for Eddie. You stop and have several goodbye conversations but still no Eddie. Before you know it the bell is ringing and you're about to be late for your first class ever.

Being 3 minutes late for your first class was very exhilarating! Maybe Eddie was on to something with this whole skipping thing . Then again he did have to repeat…twice. You are lost in thought all morning. The teachers are just as excited for a break and you haven’t done anything productive at all by the time lunch rolls around. A warm smile on your face as you retrace the same steps you made back in March. You want to surprise Eddie so you sneak through the excited crowd. Dustin and Mike notice you before Eddie does.

Dustin must have read your mind as he started talking, “So Eddie!” he wiggled his eyebrows up and down, “Do you and our queen of hellfire ever get freaky?”

You hear him laugh loudly as he still hasn’t noticed you, “Henderson I know you aren’t asking me about my sex life.”

“Of course not! I don’t need all the horny details. I’m just asking for scientific research because,” he points to you, ”that girl looks like she’s into some kinky shit!”

He finally notices you and drops the pretzel in his hand. His hand muscles flex as he rubs his jawline and you can’t help but wonder if he’s imagining it to be your neck.

“Hi guys!” you sit right in his lap and begin a totally normal conversation you might have on any other day. Enjoying this moment of leaving him completely speechless as you talk to the rest of the party about how excited everyone is for the final session of hellfire tonight. You feel his hand digging into your hips as you’re talking. The lunch bell rings and before getting up you whisper in his ear, “Meet me in the forest during last hour.” You give Eddie a kiss on the cheek and walk to your next class.

You’ve never skipped a class before. Hey, might as well have every possible high school experience while you can right? Your heart races as instead of heading to English you sneak out of the building and make your way towards that old abandoned picnic table. Once again you are here first. You take a seat at the bench and pull out Eddie’s well worn copy of Lord of the Rings: Return of the King that you stole. You're enjoying the peacefulness of reading outside that you don’t even hear the twigs breaking behind you. You scream! Something grabs your waist.

Eddie laughs, “Sorry I couldn’t resist. You were so into that book that you didn’t even notice me walk up. Are you liking it? That one’s my favorite.”

Your heart is still trying to regulate after Eddie’s scare, “You are evil. I can’t believe you’d scare a poor defenseless maiden.”

He laughed even harder, “Defenseless? Sweetheart they call me the satanist but you are the devil.” His voice lowered as he sat down, “Teasing me like this when you know I can’t take you here? What a bad girl.”

You shrug your shoulders, innocence dripping from your mouth as you pretend to keep reading, “Why Eddie, I have no idea what you are talking about.”

He smirks, “Have your fun sweet thing. It’s your ass that will be paying later.”

You close the book and address him very seriously, “Well? Are we doing this or not? I believed I requested an audience with Hawkins High’s most infamous drug dealer. You got the stuff Munson?”

His eyes widened, mouth agape, “Are you serious sweetheart?”

“Incredibly. I’m about to graduate high school and I want to have every experience. I skipped a class and now all that’s left is to smoke with the cute drug dealer.”

“I hate to disappoint a loyal customer but I didn’t bring my merchandise today,” He digs in his pocket and pulls out a small joint, “If you don’t mind sharing I can still teach you though.”

You nod. He puts it to his lips and lights it. You watch as Eddie inhales deeply. He takes the joint from his lips and looks up to the sky, exhaling.

“You’re so fucking hot when you smoke, I love watching you,” you blurt out.

He passes it to you with a smile, “Now fair warning you're probably gonna cough. It takes a few hits to get used to.”

You take it from him and put it to your lips. You try to inhale like you’ve seen him do countless times but he wasn’t wrong. As soon as the small amount of smoke enters your lungs it burns and you hold your chest as you cough it back out.

He laughs and takes it back from you, taking another hit himself, “Did that satisfy your need to be the high school delinquent?”

“No! I want to do it right. Let me try again,” this time you are able to make it a little longer before your chest is burning and you start coughing again, “Ok maybe now I’m done.” You laugh and keep coughing as you pass it back to him.

You sit in a comfortable silence as Eddie finishes the joint and you pull the book back out. He is quiet but this isn’t unusual, you’ve noticed he gets very contemplative when he smokes. From the distance you know the final bell must have rang because you hear cheers and commotion coming from just beyond the trees.You look into his eyes. He’s looking back at you. You're pretty sure both of you are thinking about the first day you spoke at this very bench. That day feels like it was so long ago. You have trouble remembering a time where you weren’t with him everyday. You reach out and grab his hand from across the old picnic table.

“Eddie, I just wanted to say I’m so glad you tried to sell me drugs.”

He laughed so hard he fell off the bench. You shoot up to see if he’s alright. He looks at you from the ground, “I’m glad you took a chance and talked to the freak. You fair maiden have made this king feel things I never thought I’d ever feel,” he stood up and looked at the sky, then back at you, “Evening approaches my lady, are you ready to venture into hellfire one final time?”

You grab your bag and wrap your arms around his waist. Lustful eyes look up at him, “Yes Dungeon Master.”

You hear talking from the other side of the door as you enter. Everyone is already here. On the table sat a small cake with the words “Congrats Eddie!” written on it, a green graduation hat with an orange and green ‘86 tassel hanging from it. For once this surprise had nothing to do with you. You feel your eyes start to water as you hug Eddie’s waist tighter. He matches your feelings by pulling your shoulders closer to him and kisses the top of your head. You sneak a glance up at him and see his eyes watering. He tries to hide it and wipes the tears away quickly.

Clearing his throat, he smiles at everyone, “Damn guys, you’re gonna jinx me. I still gotta make it across that stage.”

“Nothing can take this from you Eddie,” Dustin reassures him. “This is a time of celebration!” He falls to his knees, “Oh Eddie the Banished!” He pleads, “Will you accept the honor of leading us into battle one last time before you are set loose on the world?”

The sexiest grin slides across his face, his arms outstretched with a bow, “It would be my pleasure.”

Empty frosting covered plates scatter the edges of the table. Eddie sets the next scene as you continue playing. You hear chanting as you enter the city. A large crowd is gathered in the town square. You can’t quite see their faces but you can very clearly hear what they are saying. The hooded cultists chant, “Hail Lord Vecna! Hail Lord Vecna!” The crowd breaks. They turn to you. Remove their hoods. You immediately recognize most of them from Makbar, thought there is one you do not recognize. His skin shriveled, desiccated and there’s one more thing. He’s not only missing his left arm but his left eye!

The entire table screams, “No! No! No!”

“Vecna’s dead - He was killed! We banished him and his cultists to the upside down?”

Eddie shook his head, “So It was thought my friends so it was thought…but Venca lives!” The civilians scatter. You are face to face with your greatest enemy and an army of his followers. You’ve been traveling for days. You are tired, you are scared, you are bloodied. “Do you run or do you stand your ground and fight?”

You and your fellow players all shared a knowing look, you looked at Eddie with fire in your eyes, “We fight! To the death!” Everyone begins chanting and pounding the weak table. Eddie’s face lights up! He looks like he might burst from excitement.

Vecna’s arms raise in the air. His cultists scream. The scenery surrounding you transforms right before your eyes. The sky darkens and a dusty haze lingers in the air. You feel you haven’t moved but you're definitely in a different place…except it looks the same. You know this to be the place you hoped to banish Vecna during your last encounter with him. The upside down! Vecna’s body slowly rises into the air. Lightening cracks across the sky illuminating a swarm of demabats flying right towards you. Eddie shouts, “Roll initiative!”

The battle is brutal. Unable to fight Vecna, his followers, and these fucking bats all at once, you find yourself overwhelmed and low on spell slots trying to keep everyone alive. Despite your best efforts though, soon only yourself and Dustin’s character are all that’s left as the imaginary bodies of your friends lay to waste around you. You need a timeout!

“Uh, Dustin, I don't know about this. Maybe we should retreat.”

“He only has 15 hit points left, don't be a pussy!”

“Hey,” Eddie interrupts, “If I may interject. First, don’t call my girlfriend a pussy! Second, she has a point and you’d be wise to take her concerns into consideration. There is no shame in running.”

“How many hit points do both of you have left?” Mike asks.

“12” you say in unison.

Dustin argues, “But she’s a healer! If we can beat him she can bring all of us back!”

You shake your head, “I’m almost out of spells Dustin, but if one of us can hit him this turn I might be able to help.”

The others nod, “You two are the ones out there! Whatever you decide.”

“Alright, let’s do this!”

Dustin turns back to Eddie, “Let’s kill this son of a bitch! Give me the D20.”

Eddie tosses Dustin the die. All Dustin has to do is break his armor and you could win! Dustin rolls. The die bounces several times across the table before landing. 11.

Eddie gets up from his throne and shakes his wild head of hair around, “THAT’S. A. MISS!” The dungeon master looks at you. He tosses you the die, “It’s all up to you now sweetheart.”

You took a deep breath and tossed the die in your cupped hands before releasing it to fate. It bounced. Following the same path as Dustin’s. Everyone yelled in anticipation. It stopped. 20!

Cheers and screams filled the room! Eddie looked stunned. You describe how your character launches a ray of bright white radiance from her fingertips and calls upon the power of her god to vanquish this evil for good.

Eddie is so excited he can’t sit down! The sky turns a bright white. The remaining demabats fall from the air to the ground. The cultists disintegrate in an explosion of bright light. Finally. Vecna is struck with your blast. He screams out as he refuses to admit defeat. But your power is too great for him to overcome and with a blinding burst of heavenly light, Vecna is destroyed. For good. The eerie darkness of the upside down fades. You’re back in town. Cheers for your victory echo throughout the realm!

Everyone sits back down and releases their tense muscles. Savoring the sweet victory. You listen as they share stories from campaigns past. You start to clean up the plates, still listening to Eddie share the story of how hellfire was formed.

Dustin yells at you for cleaning, “Sit down girl! Damn I see why you get along with Nancy.”

“Just because I hang out with nerds and I’m dating their king doesn't mean we have to leave garbage everywhere,” you point out, “Also Nancy would’ve picked these up a long time ago.” You finished tossing everything and wiped your hands together, “Alright gentleman, Lady Applejack, Eddie and I have a very important date in the morning! We must bring this final meeting of hellfire to a close.” Everyone gave Eddie a hug and said they’d see him at the ceremony tomorrow. Now it was just the two of you in the empty club room. Eddie’s fingers lingering over his throne.

“This place has been a second home to me for so long. I started this club my freshman year. It was right around that time I earned the reputation of being Eddie “The Freak” Munson. For the past 6 years it's been such a big part of my life. It’s going to be so weird without it.” His expression fell as he reminisced.

You came up behind him and hugged his waist, “Just because you're graduating doesn't mean you have to stop being a dungeon master Eddie. You’re still going to be you. Nothing about you is changing. We could find somewhere else to hold hellfire sessions.”

He turned and kissed your lips as he held your chin in his hand. He kept kissing you. His hands wandering, he whispered in your ear, “You’ve been a very bad girl ya know? I know you wore this outfit just to tease me today. Well princess, it worked and you’ve got me quite worked up you know.” He grabbed your hand and placed it on his hard cock, moving your hand up and down, “You wanted to smoke weed before graduation right? Well you know, there’s something I’ve always wanted to do before leaving this place too.” His hand slipped under your skirt toying with your panty line, “I’m going to fuck you in my throne.”

Your face flushed at the idea, you walked over to the door and locked it, “That sounds like fun master.” you speak dangerously low. Eddie’s silhouette looks absolutely haunting in the red glow of the room. He slowly walks towards you, emphasizing each step with a hard press of his boots into the ground. You back up as he gets closer. Your back hit the door. His arms trap you there.

“You remember our safe word fair maiden?”

“Ye-yes master,” you swallow hard, you’ve been saying it all night, your cunt getting wetter and wetter remembering the other night, “It’s Vecna. And if I can’t speak,” you hold up two middle fingers, “Use the hand signal.”

“Very good sweetheart. You are usually my good girl, but today you’ve been very naughty with your teasing,‘ he pressed his knee in between your legs. His chest pressing against yours as he bites your neck, “Did you think I’d forget how you sat in my lap at lunch making my cock hard? You knew full well I couldn’t touch you like I wanted in that lunchroom. Yet that didn’t stop you from wiggling that ass all over my lap. And the skirt?” He bit your neck again, “You know I have a soft spot for cheerleader outfits. I might have to make a rule that you don’t wear those in public anymore, those are for my eyes only.”

You bite your lip, speaking playfully to him, “But I thought you’d like it master. Did you not like how I looked today?”

Eddie yanked the hellfire shirt up and reached under. He found his way inside your bra, he pinched your nipple. Moans escaping your throat, “You know I did sweetheart and that’s the problem. You wanna know what I think? I think you deliberately wore something that you knew would drive me wild and you had all kinds of fun teasing me today. Now it’s my turn. Go sit on my throne. Quickly!”

He didn’t move so you ducked your head under his arm and ran to the other side of the room to sit down. He took off his jacket and removed his shirt. Eddie’s eyes are locked on you as he brings one foot up on the base of his throne and presses his boot against your thigh. His right hand rests casually on his hips, while the left leans into his leg, bringing his face inches from yours.

You reach up to touch his leg and he pins your wrist against the back of the throne, “I don’t think so sweet thing. I couldn’t touch you all day so now you're not going to touch me. Can you control yourself or do you need to be restrained?”

“I can control myself master,” you look up at him enjoying the view.

He pulled back and went to the cassette player in the corner, “You better or you're going to be in big trouble, do you understand?”

“I understand master.”

“Good girl,” he hit play.

Eddie walked back over to you and straddled your hips. He held the back of the throne for support and brought his hips up towards you, hidden cock nearly in your face. His chest glistened with sweat, you wanted so badly to reach out and touch him. The rhythm of the music perfectly matches his movements, words cutting deeper than they should as you listen to them to distract yourself.

I wanna love you but I better not touch (don't touch)

I wanna hold you, but my senses tell me to stop

I wanna kiss you but I want it too much (too much)

I wanna taste you but your lips are venomous poison

Your hand twitches and you almost disobey him, “Master please let me touch you. I’m sorry for teasing you.” He grinned and shook his head slowly side to side. He continued to hover above your lap. His hands rubbed his chest and moved slowly up to his shoulders, landing on his upper back, giving you an incredible view of his muscles and tattoos. Playing guitar did wonders for this man’s arms and you silently thanked every deity that may or may not exist for his forearms.

“Take your shirt off.” Eddie ordered. Your eyes lit up thinking maybe this torture was over. He tossed it to the floor, “Now the bra.” You flushed but reached behind yourself undoing the strap. Discarding it to join the shirt, “Good girl. I’m going to stand up and you’re going to ride my cock. Your legs can touch me but not your hands do you understand?”

“Yes master,” You stood up and admired him as he sat shirtless. He reached down and released his cock, pumping it in his hands a few times before putting a condom on.

“Take your panties off. Leave the skirt.”

You stripped off your panties for him and climbed in his lap. He guided your cunt down onto his cock, eliciting loud moans from your mouth as he pressed his entire length deep inside you. You moved up and down bouncing on his cock. He held your hips and helped you reach all the right places. His lips came to your chest, taking a nipple into his mouth, he sucked. Your arms awkwardly trying to find relief as you struggled with the urge to hold him. You wanted to reach out to rub his chest, hold his face and kiss him.

“You’re doing such a good job sweetheart. There’s my good girl,” you come with a scream at his words, “You like being a good girl for me?”

“Yes! Yes master, I love being your good girl.”

Eddie’s fingers buried themselves in your hips as he lifted you up, “Good girls get rewards. I’m going to reward you and punish you at the same time. Lay in my lap and show me that pretty ass.”

Your face flushed as you realized what he wanted. He was going to spank you.

Eddie pats his thigh, “Bend over sweetheart.” He brings you over his knee and begins slowly caressing your bare ass beneath the skirt. Without warning he flips up the fabric and smacks your soft skin. Feeling his still hard cock on your stomach. His expert hands truly edged the line between pain and pleasure. He was right. This was a punishment for teasing him all day but you were definitely not regretting the decisions that led to this.

“Give me those noises love. Let anyone still here know how good it feels.” Eddie's voice flooded your mind as you came again.

“Please give me your cock again Eddie! I need more,” you beg, digging your hands in your hair still trying not to touch him.

He pondered, rubbing the red spot on your ass, “You did such a good job listening, I’ll give you what you need sweetheart. Get back up here.”

You push yourself up and easily slip back onto his cock. Using all your leg strength you bounce and scream until he yells out in pleasure. You collapse against his chest, finally getting the relief of kissing him and feeling his skin. He kisses you back, running his fingers through your messy, sex tousled, ponytail that is barely holding on.

Eddie rubs your back gently, “I love you sitting on my cock like this but we should probably get out of here.”

You agree as you get dressed again and grab your stuff. Eddie grabs a bag and begins packing up some of the things he wants to keep.

He sees you watching, “Dustin will pick up where I left off but I’m not letting that butthead keep all my shit.” You both laugh softly. You unlock the door and peek your head out to a dark empty hallway. Eddie takes a long last look as he flicks the lightswitch off and closes the door to the hellfire club room one last time.

He walks you to your car and presses you against the cold red metal. He kisses your lips, “I’ll see you tomorrow fair maiden.”

You kiss him once more, “I’ll meet you on stage my king.”

#eddie munson x reader #eddie x fem!reader #eddie munson #eddie munson fanfic #stranger things fic #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #stranger things fanfic #stranger things smut #18+ content #high school sweetheart eddie munson #dungeon master eddie munson

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tealenko · 1 year

Text

Didn't Have the Heart (Chapter 7)

Chapter 7: In the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

Hey there, sorry it took me two months to write anything... Most of you already know, but if you don't, and you want to, you can check the notes of this in AO3.

Hope you like this btw XDDDD

Summary: Traynor and Kaidan play chess and discuss their respective love lifes, not knowing that they both share the center of the latter... But not for too long. And of course, James Vega is in there too, because everyone knows that an awkward conversation is always improved by the presence of someone that isn't afraid to make fun of it.

Words: 7897 Rating: Teens and up Warnings: language, of course

Read in AO3 -> [link] Previous Chapter -> [link] Next Chapter -> [link]

Through Hell and Back series -> [link]

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Samantha hops, just a little every few steps, while she leads a straight path to the crew quarters, keeping her portable chess board folded under her arm.

All the sadness she felt a few seconds ago, when Shepard told her she wouldn’t be able to join her, has now been dissipated by the possibility of meeting her at the Citadel the next time they’re on leave.

A whole evening with Shepard…

A big smile grows on her face as she thinks about it.

Maybe, if the mood is right, I’ll tell her everything… She says inside her head, fantasizing with many fictional scenarios where she lets her win a game and Shepard is so happy that she falls for her head over heels. Yeah… Maybe I will.

She’s tried to tell her before, without any success, despite all the hints the young comm specialist keeps throwing in her direction at any given chance.

She is extremely busy. Traynor usually tells herself. Way too many responsibilities on her shoulders to be even bothered with something as mundane as a love life.

Samantha's pace starts to fasten, almost like her feet are instinctively trying to keep up with the speed of her train of thoughts.

Or maybe… Maybe she isn’t interested in me…

She enters the room with all this looping endlessly on her mind, counting and reliving every single occasion where she’s been more than direct about her feelings.

No, no… I even hit on her while I was in her shower, for crying out loud. She continues while taking a seat at one of the free tables. She would’ve said something if she knew… So she surely doesn’t.

Traynor stays like that for a while, with all her inner monologue taking all of her energies, completely forgetting why she went there in the first place. So, when Kaidan sits in front of her and asks about her chess set, that she is still storing under her arm, it takes her a little while before she’s able to understand what’s really happening.

“...at it?” She hears him say as she comes back slowly to reality.

“What!?”

Kaidan stares at her for a second and smiles, amused by her reaction.

“Sorry…” She apologizes, touching the back of her neck, a bit ashamed of her own reply. “I was… Distracted.”

“I can tell that much.”

The general confusion in Samantha’s head deepens even more.

They haven’t talked too much to each other since the major joined, or better said, re-joined the crew of the Normandy. So having him choose to sit along with her it’s a novelty she wasn’t expecting.

Nevertheless, it feels nice to have someone to talk to right now, despite their difference in rank, and his chuckles seem to be contagious enough to make her smile too, allowing her to relax a little bit.

“I asked: Are you any good at it?” He repeats, pointing at the chess set.

“I… Yeah… Yes I am.” She says without a hint of hesitation about her statement, happy by the prospect of meeting someone else willing to talk about the game. “Do you play, Major?”

“I used to, before I went to… Yes.” He quickly censors himself. “My mum taught me the rules back when I was a kid… We used to play a game every night after dinner. I kept the habit… When I had the time, of course.”

She looks at him as he talks, not expecting Kaidan to be this grounded nor open after comparing him with all the majors she’s crossed paths through her short life in the Alliance.

“Haven’t played in a few years, though.”

“Oh.” She starts saying, extremely excited. “We need to fix that, then.”

“You sure? I wouldn’t like to impose.”

“Please… You just made my day!” Samantha says euphorically, placing the set on top of the table and starting to set the pieces. “Do you know how difficult it is to find someone to play with aboard an Alliance ship?”

She finishes preparing everything and, when she raises her head to look back at him, she finds him smiling once again.

“Of course, of course you know… You've been doing this for lots of years.” She takes a second to reflect on her last sentence. “I mean, many years… Well… Not many…”

Traynor’s words crash ungracefully against one another, sinking her quickly into a pit of embarrassment and despair.

“I meant that you are old… I mean er.” She corrects herself again. “Old-er… Older than me, so you obviously know what… What…”

Kaidan, who has been observing the train wreck live while it happened, can’t avoid laughing at the whole situation, unable to keep it together any longer.

“At ease, Traynor…” He says between chuckles. “You don't need to go on… I know what you were trying to say.”

“Okay…” She says, completely defeated by her own inability to engage in a normal conversation. “Sorry about…”

“Ah, it’s okay.” Kaidan interrupts her while casting a reassuring smile. “Besides, you’re right. I must be… What? More than ten years older than you?”

“Well…”

“And we can’t deny that I’ve been doing this for a long time.” He gives a soft pat on her arm. “Come on, I have time for a game… Let’s play some chess.”

That’s all he needs to say.

By the time they choose which piece each one of them is gonna use, she’s already forgotten about how awkward the situation was just a few seconds ago.

She’s still not completely relaxed but, as the minutes pass, she gets more comfortable with their conversation and starts to share more about herself and inquire more about the men that’s seated now in front of her.

The game goes ahead slowly but surely, for almost half an hour, but suddenly stops dry a few seconds after they pass that mark.

Half of the white pieces have been eliminated by Kaidan, and half of the black ones by the younger soldier, who now, with a subtle smile crossing though her face, foresees her victory as she looks at how the major is staring at the board with a thoughtful demeanor.

“Well… You said you were good at it…” He recalls, after readjusting his posture and letting out a big sigh. “You weren’t lying.”

Samantha's smile deepens right away, feeling proud of her skills.

She didn’t know what to expect when they started the game but, now that she’s seen him in action, she’s finding in him a worthy opponent she wasn’t expecting to find in a regular Alliance soldier. So hearing him say that is more moving than she could’ve ever expected at the beginning or their match.

“No, I wasn’t.” She adds while crossing her fingers and resting her head on top of them, waiting patiently as she watches him struggling to find a good getaway.

Or at least that’s what she thinks, until he exceeds all expectations with his next movement.

After what seems the longest minute in his life, Kaidan, which has seen himself forced to find a new tactic in order to survive in the game, finally finds a new way to approach his strategy and, with a smile now where not so long ago there was only focus, takes the black bishop and makes his move.

“Oh my…” Samantha says, with her smile completely vanished as she reevaluates the new state of the board. “That was brilliant.”

“Thanks.”

He sits back a little and relaxes, and it’s now his turn to feel proud after getting a compliment of this significance from such a skilled player.

“I see you weren’t kidding either when you said you played quite a lot as a child.”

“Ah yeah… And as a teen too… It is really a great practice for biot… It’s good to have something else to focus on…”

Traynor nods, not knowing what else to do.

If she isn’t usually good at normal chatter, even when she talks to her friends, she is definitely not prepared to engage in such a serious topic with a superior officer that is more than ten years older and whose number of ranks above her is almost equal to said age gap.

So she decides to focus on the game, which she definitely needs to do if she doesn't want to lose now that odds are no longer in her favor.

They keep playing for ten more minutes, both of them choosing their movements with way more care than before after that significant switch in their play dynamics.

With each decision they make the situation of the pieces gets more convoluted, to the point where both players are no longer sure of which side the scale will tend to balance to.

After five more minutes of well thought out moves, the board becomes unplayable, which doesn’t surprise either of them, after being struggling for many minutes now to defend both their position and their pieces.

What does amaze Kaidan is the sigh of relief made by his opponent, who suddenly extends her hand and offers it to him.

“Stalemate.” She indicates, with a hint of contentment, excited to be able to survive the outcome of their little chess battle.

He nods, smiles, and takes her hand, spending a moment there before sighing and leaning back on his chair, pinning his eyes to the board in the meantime, still not believing he’s managed to recover from a certain doom.

“What the fuck is st… Stal… Well, whatever she just said.”

James Vega makes his entrance on scene, loud and unannounced, as he always is, while chewing a protein bar and pulling up a chair from another table to sit along with them.

“Stalemate…” Samantha repeats, a bit shocked by the sudden appearance of the leftenant.

“Come on, guys…” James shakes his head a couple of times giving them a disapproving look. “I know the basics… Like move the horsies in Ls and the pointy guys in diagonal… But really? Stalemate?”

He says with a half faked surprised tone of voice.

“And then you go and wonder where you geeks get your reputation to begin with.” He adds while laughing, taking a second to calm down before repeating the term one more time in disbelief. “Stalemate… The things you hear.”

Astonished feels short to describe the impact of his comment on Traynor. Kaidan, on the other hand, already too used to the way James operates, breaks into laughter right away, giving him a couple of pats on the back to welcome him to the table.

“You’re still in time to get up and search for a better party, James…” He says before shrugging his shoulders. “No one is forcing you to sit here.”

“Ha!” Vega replies right away, hitting the top of the table a couple times as the other two witness how some of the pieces fall to the ground because of it. “You’re not getting rid of me so easily, Jefe…” After a few seconds he catches up on the consequence of his sudden movement. “Uy… Sorry.”

“Heavens, Vega… You’re like a loose bull in a china shop.” Kaidan replies, half amused by his own comment, while leaning a bit to recover the lost pieces. “We still love you, though.”

“Oh gee… Thanks boss.” He replies with a big smile on his face, faking to be enraptured by his sentence. “Should we ermm… Find a free cot or something?”

Samantha's jaw drops just a little for a moment, not truly believing the level of informality that James is displaying, but all the wall down to the groung once she hears Kaidan’s reply to it.

“Ahhhhrggg… Shut the fuck up, Jimmy.”

The sudden and straightforward reply takes Vega by surprise, who instantly explodes in a burst of laughter that only needs to resound through the entire room for a few seconds before Kaidan joins in.

Traynor, despite her general shock after seeing the whole exchange flashing in front of her, starts laughing too, once the fear of overstepping a line she shouldn’t cross starts to fade away with the chuckles of the two friends, that sit now in front of her, trying their best to breath and laugh at the same time.

“It’s a tie, by the way…” Kaidan says once he’s able, having to clean a rogue tear in the process.

“What?”

“Stalemate…” He clarifies. “It’s a type of draw…”

“Of course, of course…” Vega replies, faking to have known the answer since the beginning. “Everyone knows that.”

He smiles at them before he continues talking.

“So… None of you loses? That sounds easy.”

“Quite the contrary…” Samantha finally says, after mustering some courage to intervene, but not enough to be able to finish her statement. Gratefully for her, Kaidan takes a step forward to do it on her behalf.

“A draw means that we’ve played at a similar level… Which after seeing her in action,” he adds while pointing at Traynor “believe me, cannot be described as anything that comes remotely close to easy.”

She blushes a little and smiles, doing her best to receive the compliment, while both of them look at her reaction.

“Oh, you must be great then, Sam. Our boss here wouldn’t say so if it wasn’t true.”

“Thanks…”

“It is true.” Kaidan replies right away. “Had to try my best, and even then…”

“So she’s better?” Vega tries to tease him once again but, unfortunately for him, his friend instantly agrees with his statement.

“Yeah, I’d say so…”

“Well, I won’t.” She says now, getting more comfortable with them as the conversation moves forward. “It was a draw.”

“Only because I took you by surprise mid game. I don’t think that strategy would work again.” He argues back, pretty convinced that he isn’t the better player. “The only reason I didn’t lose is because you didn’t know what to expect… Now you do.”

“Do I? I think you have more aces up your sleeve that I haven’t seen yet… Plus, you were playing black.”

“Well, that is true…” He smiles, granting that point to her. “But that doesn’t contradict my initial argument though… You were amazing.”

“Well… Thanks again, Major… ”

“In fact, I take it that you’re the one that won against Shepard… Am I right?”

Samantha’s expression collapses for just one second, shocked by the conclusion that the major has reached on his own after spending so little time with her.

“How on Earth do you know that?”

Kaidan tries to hold his smile at the beginning, fixing his focus in rearranging the pieces of the board back into their places, but after a few seconds of general silence, he can’t avoid letting out a few chuckles.

“I just knew something of sorts happened.” He finally adds, giving his words a mysterious tone, amused by the accuracy of his deduction.

“But how..? Well… I mean, you’re completely right.” She replies, half amazed, half confused. “In fact, I really crushed her in more than one game.”

“I imagined that much…” He says now with a sweet but somehow cheeky smile on his face, now that he's processed all the gathered data and joined it all together. “Hope you enjoyed it though… Cause I don’t think it won’t happen again.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nevermind…”

“Oh no…” Vega enters the conversation once again after his brief recess, ready to resume his strike against his friend. “You cannot say something like that and then keep it to yourself…” He takes a small pause, dedicating a moment to analyze all he’s said. “Although… I think I may know which way the wind is blowing…”

“I do not.”

Traynor intervenes, with way more determination than before, getting both more comfortable and more interested with the topic at hand.

“Please?” She adds in a begging tone that manages to deepen Kaidan’s smile, who spends a few moments considering if he should explain himself.

After a short wait, and analyzing all there is to say, he decides in favor.

“Well…” Kaidan finally says, directing his sentence to Samantha. “I’m surprised you haven’t noticed this yet… But Shepard doesn’t like to lose.”

“Except with Scars, right?” Vega interrupts with a smile, after seeing that he did know indeed which way the wind was blowing. “Our Lola has a soft heart behind all that muscle.”

“What?” Traynor asks, completely out of the loop.

“She let Garrus win a shooting competition they had back on the citadel…” Kaidan translates for her.

Samantha smiles for a second, finding it heartwarming that, besides her supposed love for winning, she let her friend win in a direct competition.

“I see…”

Nevertheless, once the whole story has sat in her mind for a few moments, she freezes in place, quickly coming to the obvious conclusion.

“Wait a second, are you telling me she could’ve lost on purpose when she played with me? Just out of sympathy?”

“She could’ve…” Kaidan smiles one more time. “But believe me, she didn’t.”

“How’d you know?”

“Well…” He laughs again. “Same reason I knew you beat her.”

Samantha looks at him with pleading eyes, still extremely confused, silently begging him to tell the whole story, which has the intended outcome, making him smile even more before finally telling the rest of the tale.

“Found her training a week ago… She spent hours going around the same game. Asked if I could teach her too… Now I can see why.” He starts laughing, very amused by the whole story, by the fact that Shepard wanted to win so much that she asked for his help, and by the change in Traynor’s expression after hearing his statement. “And sooner or later she’s gonna find a way to defeat you… That’s for sure.”

She analyzes this data with care, replaying old conversations and moments of the past inside of her head.

“I mean… It’s a given that she has to be competitive to do what she does, and be where she is… But I just don’t see it.” She declares, after considering all the facts she knows. “There’s simply no way… No one gets that invested after losing only a few games of chess.”

James smiles, and Kaidan laughs, and even if that wasn’t enough for her to understand how mistaken she is, she gets a clear confirmation right after that.

“We are talking about Shepard.”

Kaidan states, like is as clear for anyone else as it is for him.

“Shepard… Who is, up to this day, the record to beat on the Alliance training academy and the the youngest soldier to survive the N7 program. Commander Shepard, first human specter… Who still mocks me because it took me three years more than her to become the second one… That Shepard.”

Vega starts laughing but doesn’t add anything, too invested in Kaidan’s improvised speech.

“The one that committed mutiny just to beat Saren, the one that joined Ceberus just to beat the collectors… And the one who’s literally pacifying the entire universe in order to beat the reapers.”

Samantha doesn’t say anything either, too entranced by all he’s saying.

“And sure, she did all of that for a bigger cause than her…” Kaidan adds, lowering the tone of his voice a little. “Always ready to sacrifice everything about herself if that means she can save someone else, of course. But winning, though… Winning will always be a part of the whole equation for her.”

Everything said makes a lot of sense now that she has a clearer narrative of her personality, and Traynor starts to wonder why she hasn't seen this about her on her own.

“So… She needs to win against anyone?” She asks, accepting all this new information.

“No, worse… And way more difficult.” He replies right away. “She needs to win against herself.”

What seems fairly obvious to Kaidan, it isn’t for his two friends. For him it is as easy to see as it is to notice that she’s blonde or that her eyes sparkle like emeralds when the ambient light of a room reflects on them.

So he talks about it with a calm tone, explaining her will to fight as if he was describing her clothes or her armor. He just tells it as he sees it.

“It’s the main reason she’s leading this shitshow…” Kaidan says to begin his final argument, still not aware that he’s the only one who is able to see it. “We have no possibility of winning and she doesn’t really know the rules of the game… But she’s just gonna play it until she wins. Because that’s how she’s wired.”

There’s no one left in the crew quarters aside from them at this point so, now that neither of them is talking, there’s a heavy silence that spreads through the whole room for what seems like an eternity.

Or at least there is, until James decides to break it.

“You seem to know the commander pretty well, Jefe…”

Kaidan sighs and covers it up with great skill, not showing any sign of worry or anger on his face or in the tone of his voice.

“Well… Yeah…” He just admits. “Been friends with her for almost five years now… It’s a lot of time to get to know someone.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right…” Vega adds, marveled by the stoic reaction his friend had to his teasing.

Kaidan switches up his omni-tool for a few seconds to look at the time.

“Great… Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

He stands up, ready to say goodbye and carry on with his day, but Traynor interrupts him before he has the chance to do so.

“You have to leave?” She asks in a pleading tone. “Don’t you wanna play another one?”

He smiles in an apologetic way, moving one of his hands to touch the back of his neck.

“No, sorry… I should’ve left already. I have like an hour left before I go back on duty… And I should discuss a few things with the commander before going back to work.”

Luckily for him Traynor is too focused in finding something to convince him to stay, being the only person she’s found aboard the ship that has any idea of how to play, that she doesn’t see Vega’s expression, grinning from ear to ear, understanding the deeper meaning of Kaidan’s words. Nor the reaction of this one, sending the leftenant a frozen gaze.

“The commander seemed busy…” She finally says, after searching for almost a minute for an excuse to make him stay, feeling now more grateful that Shepard couldn’t join them after all. “We crossed paths on her way to the bridge… Apparently she had something she wanted to discuss with Joker, Major.”

Kaidan sighs, drops his shoulders and, after a few moments of hesitation, decides to sit again on his chair, taking Samantha’s offer.

James laughs, understanding the hidden truth behind Kaidan’s reaction, which quickly wins him a strong kick under the table, that stops him from taking the whole thing even further.

Traynor smiles, happy to be able to play another game, rotating the board so that she is the one playing with black pieces this time around.

“Well, I guess I’m free for a couple games then… And you don’t have to call me by my rank Traynor, especially when we’re off duty.” He tells her, while making sure every piece is facing the correct way.

“Oh… I see.” She’s taken aback by his comment, hesitating a bit before being able to give a reply. “I’ll try my best, but it may be a bit weird for me at the beginning.”

“If you want any help with…” Vega starts saying, but it’s quickly interrupted, once again, by Kaidan.

“No thanks… You’re far too gone on the other end, Jimmy.”

They all break into laughter one by one. First James, then Kaidan, and finally Samantha, who is now feeling like she’s just one more of the crew.

“Wanna see how it’s done, Sam?” Vega tells her, already prepared to resume his strike against his friend. “Anything new in your life, Jefe? Something worth telling?”

“You shouldn’t tease the major, James…” Traynor says, worried Vega is crossing a line he shouldn’t, completely unaware that he has already crossed it a thousand times, to the point where making fun of Kaidan’s love life is one of the few sources of amusement left for him.

“Ah… He’s used to worse than that, right Jefe?”

He laughs as his poor friend shakes his head, wondering for a second how his life has come to this.

“What about you, Traynor?” Kaidan asks, trying his best to change the topic of the conversation. “You seemed to be in another world when I sat here… Anything eating you up?”

“I’m okay.”

“Hey Sam... You can feel free to share any of your worries with us if you need to.”

“Sure… Like the whole ship isn’t gonna find out about my personal stuff in record time if I tell it to you.”

“Oh, I thought I was trustworthy…” Kaidan replies in a mocking tone, faking to be offended.

“No, sir… Not you!” Samantha panics for a second and tries her best to explain herself, not understanding that he is joking. “Vega is the one I’m worried about.”

The two men break into laughter as she stares at them deeply confused.

“Don’t mind him, Traynor… He's messing up with you.” James pats Kaidan on the shoulder and turns a little to talk to him. “Oh my, Lola really is a bad influence on you, isn’t she? You need to make more friends, Jefe.”

“You guys complain when I’m serious… Complain when I joke… There’s no way to keep you happy.” Alenko smiles as he says this, looking at how Traynor starts to calm down after understanding everything.

“I see…” She starts saying. “Well then…”

“Now seriously, you can tell us anything you wish to, right leftenant?”

“Ohhh, yeah… Trust me, I am amazing at keeping secrets, right major?”

Kaidan nearly chokes after hearing this last comment, and Vega nearly chokes after seeing his reaction to it. Nevertheless, and luckily for both of them, whatever is worrying Samantha, is strong enough to keep her attention from this idiotic picture.

She is in fact so deep into her own mind that, by the time the two friends are able to compose themselves, she’s still sinking deep into her worries.

“Ey, Traynor, sure you’re okay?” Kaidan inquiries, starting to realize the true gravity of the situation.

“Yeah…” She forces an awkward smile that doesn’t succeed in convincing anyone that she isn’t preoccupied.

“Yo, Sam.” James tells her, getting a little closer. “I know we joke a lot, and we, or at least I, cannot promise to be completely serious if you decide to tell us anything… But one thing we can assure you, that I’m sure the boss here will agree with me, it’s that, whatever it is you want to get off your chest, we’ll keep it to ourselves.”

“I…” She hesitates, tempted by the offer. “Well… It’s not the kind of thing one discusses out loud… And even less with superior officers.”

“Come on, Traynor.” Kaidan smiles at her, which she softly replies. “If you follow that rule you won’t be able to talk to most of the ship about anything… And besides, I see you talking to Shepard all the time… So don’t use rank as an excuse.”

“I guess you’re right…”

“Of course I’m right.” He adds, winning a bigger smile from her on this try. “Come on, Vega, back me up.”

“Erm?” He shakes his head a couple of times before rejoining the conversation. “Ah, yeah… Sorry. My rank has never been intimidating enough to scare anyone, so I was enjoying the moment while it lasted.”

He laughs at his own comment while Kaidan pushes him away a little.

“God you’re an idiot.”

“And you need to stop spending so much time with the commander, her phrases are starting to stick on you.”

This time around all of them laugh for a few seconds, lightening the mood enough for Traynor to feel comfortable with, at least, considering the idea of opening up to them.

“Well… The thing is…”

She struggles to talk and, while Kaidan does his best to be patient and give her all the time she needs until she’s ready, like he’s used to with Shepard, James, on the other hand, decides to intervene with a decisive strike.

“This is about your love life, isn’t it?”

“Arrrrmmm…”

Traynor states, with all her thoughts collapsing as her brain tries its best to find something to deny that statement but, after a few seconds of general shock, her mind gives up on the whole situation and surrenders to the truth.

“Humm.” She coughs right before she sighs, shaking her head a couple of times before finally answering. “There may be some… Yes.” She admits, assuming her defeat. “You’re, indeed, right. ”

Vega laughs a little but not as much as she expects him to and, also to her surprise, Kaidan just gives her a sympathetic smile and a nod, letting her know that whatever she’s feeling right now is as valid as anything else that’s happening around them.

“Feels wrong, doesn’t it?” He tells her, hitting right on target without even aiming. “To harbor this kind of feeling while the universe is crumbling.”

She nods while staring at him, in awe of his words, to the verge of crying because of them.

Kaidan leans back a little on his seat, taking a moment to breathe.

“You aren’t the first one to fall in love in the middle of a crossfire Samantha… Nor the last… And…” He looks up for a second, to save his words from choking on his throat. “And this… This is the kind of thing that no one will be able to take away from us… Not even the war.”

He smiles at her once again although, this time around, he’s the one with teary eyes.

“Wow, Jefe.” James says, breaking the spell a little, despite the good intention behind his interruption. “I’m starting to see why she…”

Vega stops just a second before Kaidan stops him, raising his hands a bit as an apology to the mayor.

“I mean…” He coughs a little, trying to win time to think of something else to say. “I’ve never seen this side of you.”

As expected, it’s too late, and he’s said too much to make it impossible for her not to notice.

“Speaking from personal experience, I’m guessing?”

“Is there any chance that you’d believe me if I said no?” Samantha laughs at his comments as she shakes her head as an answer to his question. Kaidan, in the meantime, sighs and turns a little to talk directly to James.“Thanks a lot, Vega.”

His friend looks at him with a remorseful look on his eyes, a view of the lieutenant that Kaidan has never seen before since they’ve known each other.

“Sorry boss, I didn’t mean to…”

“Ah, it’s okay…” He instantly replies, shrugging his shoulders a little. “At least this time there wasn’t ill intentions or alcohol involved in the whole situation.”

“Sorry what…?”

That’s all they hear her ask before the couple of friends break into laughter in perfect unison, with Samantha looking at them like they're crazy, which doesn’t help their situation either.

“Context, please?” She asks with her sweetest voice, trying her best to get a reply to a question she knows will remain unanswered.

But she is wrong once again.

James puts his thumb and his index finger together while crossing them across his mouth, indicating his lips are sealed, and he even imitates the sound of a zipper while doing the action. But Kaidan, who has already come to terms with the fact that he’s gonna have to endure this kind of experience as long as he is friends with Vega, decides to put it all out in the open and tell a sum up of the whole story as raw as it gets.

“Ah, it’s really nothing. Just that the other day this knucklehead here and his turian bestie decided to get me as drunk as possible in order to interrogate me about my love life.”

Traynor is so shocked by that statement that she half snorts half chokes after hearing it, a direct consequence of her body not knowing if she should gasp or laugh, which finally displays a mix of the two of them accompanied with a sound of surprise.

“Oh no…” She immediately feels bad for the poor Kaidan, and is almost capable of picturing the whole evening inside her head, only ignoring the identity of the person that became the main topic of their teasing in said scenario.

“Oh yes.” He replies right away.

They all laugh now for the fiftieth time this evening, but each one has their own personal reason to do so.

Samantha is just in awe at the whole story, not fully understanding how the major keeps putting up with his friends’ shenanigans.

James is feeling extremely proud of his teasing skills and extremely grateful of how gracefully his victim is enduring them so far.

Kaidan, who has already come to terms with everything, is now able to see the fun and laugh about all the good that come along with the bad of having a man-child as one of his closest friends.

“Do we know the lucky lady?” She asks, feeling confident enough to let her curiosity get the best of her, after succeeding on getting an answer the first time around. “Or the lucky gentleman?”

Before anything else is said, Kaidan, as fast as a lightning, moves his hand on top of Vega’s chest, knowing him too well by now, while keeping his eyes on Traynor, who can’t avoid but smiling after seeing this happening in front of her eyes.

“I think we… “He says, with his arm still locking James to his seat. “Already know more than enough.” He turns, with his hand frozen in place, and looks directly at him. “Don’t we, Vega?”

“Yep.” He replies along with a smile. “Yes, we do.”

They both laugh, and Kaidan relaxes and returns to his previous posture now that he’s managed to keep his private life somewhat still private, at least for the time being.

“Sorry, Traynor.” He says right after, acknowledging the truth behind his words. “But I’d like to keep this bit for myself, at least for now.”

“Of course, of course.” She replies, almost feeling bad after hearing him say that out loud. “It’s your personal life… I was just curious…” She struggles a little and laughs, trying her best to come up with the proper words to express herself.

After a second of hesitation, and a deep breathing, she tries again.

“I won’t deny that I’m kinda dying to know who you’re talking about…” She says, taking a moment before she continues. “But what I was really going to ask you, no pressure to answer me if you don’t want to, is if what you are feeling, for this person, is indeed corresponded.”

The two men listen to her with care, taking in all she’s saying, while she continues with her explanation.

“What you said earlier… About being caught in a crossfire… Really helped me more than I could’ve ever imagined. It’s almost like you saw a weight on my back, that I didn't even know I was carrying and took it away without me even asking for help.”

Another pause, another deep breath.

“And after all that… After spending what’s left of your little free time here, just to try and see if I’m okay… Well… I guess I just wanted to do the same for you.”

“Oh gee… Thanks Traynor, I don’t know what to say…”

“Well, you are welcome…”A flicker of hesitation. “...Alenko.”

“Weeeeeehhh!” Kaidan and James celebrate at the same time, glad to see her getting more comfortable and familiar with them, and that she’s finally managed to call him something different than his rank or sir.

Samantha gives them a full smile, thanking her past self for her decision of coming to the crew quarters to rest, extremely happy to have, not only found an equal match to play against, but also two new friends to share her worries with.

“And thanks to you too, guys… Really. I needed to spend an evening like this one more than I thought.”

“Happy to help, Sam.”

“Same here, Traynor...” Kaidan adds, taking a moment to analyze everything said. “And… In regards to my love life, if you really wanna know, there’s nothing to worry about… In fact, seems to be the only thing going well in the universe right now.”

“I’m happy to hear that…”

She says, thinking they’ll wrap up the conversation here and will go back to play chess.

Nevertheless, after everything said and asked, every question and answer and comment in between, Samantha’s mood starts to make a lot more sense to Kaidan, who, after taking a necessary couple of seconds to wrap together his whole theory, decides to prove his thesis.

“Wait a minute…” He starts the process slowly, with few loose ends still untied in his head. “You said before you were having love issues, didn’t you?”

Strike one.

Traynor is about to deflect the whole thing, but Kaidan gets ahead before she’s able to do so.

“Do yours have anything to do with what you asked me?” He thinks out loud, discovering the truth while he exposes it. “Is this an unrequited love thing?”

Strike two.

Her eyelids open as wide as they can and she freezes in place, not knowing what else to do.

“That’s why you were sitting here all sad on your own?”

Strike three, eliminated.

Samantha gives up and lets her body fall forward, elbows on top of the table. Using her hands to support all her weight as her head rests on them.

“I don’t know if it’s unrequired…” She says in a regretful tone of voice, unable to keep the truth to herself any longer. “No matter how many times I tried, I’ve never asked directly… I mean how could I?”

She raises her head a little to look at them.

“And despite how many times I think I’ve left my intentions clear… Nothing, she doesn’t get it.”

James and Kaidan remain silent, not wanting to interrupt her now that she’s finally opening up to them.

“I’ve tried with double meanings, and praises, and flirting… Holy shit, I even managed to get into her shower with a perfect valid excuse, and I still don’t have any idea of what the fuck is Shepard thin…”

Her speech stops dry the second her name tumbles its way out of her mouth, while the realization that she’s made a huge mistake crushes against her, cursing now her past self for all the prior decisions in her life.

“Shit… Shitshitshitshit…” She keeps repeating while strengthening the hold on her head, pushing from her hair almost as an involuntary punishment for not being able to keep this piece of the puzzle to herself. “Shit.”

The room is in complete silence for what seems like an eternity, but once again, Vega is the one to break it.

“So…” He says in the most casual tone he’s able to find. “Shepard, then.”

Kaidan looks away, not wanting to see Traynor’s reaction to that comment, feeling bad enough for the role he is going to have to play next.

Earth, eat me whole! He says to himself, never imagining he would find himself in this kind of situation.

“Well…” Samantha says, more calmed now, resting her back on her chair once again. “No way I can deny it now, no? So yeah… Shepard.”

A sigh escapes Kaidan’s body and James has to try his best not to break into laughter right in front of them, biting his bottom lip and counting to ten in his head in order to keep it together.

Despite his efforts, there’s a blatant smile there that he’s not able to contain, and it doesn’t take too long for Samantha to notice it.

“I’m not surprised that you think it’s funny… I must be crazy…”

“No, no… Of course not.” He denies instantly before she’s able to finish her sentence. “It’s just that… Well…”

He turns to look at Kaidan, which quickly proves to be a big mistake.

The sight of his friend, wanting to disappear as quickly as he’s able from this scenario, is way too funny for him to be able to suppress his feelings and, even though he only looks at him for a second, it’s enough for a combined snort and chuckle to come out of his body before he redirects his focus of attention somewhere else.

“It’s just that what?” She asks him with a soft tone of voice, with her residual embarrassment being slowly replaced by curiosity.

“Ermmmmm I don’t know how to tell you this, Sam… Emm… But I don’t think Lola is not into chicks.”

“I cannot believe we’re talking about this…” Kaidan says to himself while shaking his head, gathering all his will to be able to return to the conversation, redirecting his eyes back to look at his friends.

“Are you sure about that, James?” Traynor asks Vega.

“Are we sure about that, Jefe?” James asks Kaidan.

That does it for him. Kaidan starts to choke on his own words after hearing James’ question, and spends a long minute trying to recover his breathing and avoid dying from both lack of air and embarrassment.

Vega, in the meantime, is also struggling to survive, but the cause of his problems couldn’t be more far than the one affecting his friend, for if laughter is indeed the key to living a long time, James will surely be immortal by the time this conversation is over. As long as he remembers how to keep breathing.

Samantha just waits patiently, extremely confused, while her two friends try to recover, and her mind tries with all its power to make sense of what just happened in front of her.

Almost as it was scripted, everything develops right at the same time and, as both of them calm down, she starts to put two and two together inside her head.

One.

Kaidan’s speech about love starts to play now inside her head with a way more different light than before, uncovering hidden meaning she missed the first time around.

Two.

His knowledge about Shepard, the way she talked of her, showing that no one else was able to see through her as clearly as him.

And three.

He only stayed for a second game once he knew he couldn’t be with her, opposing no further hindrance the moment he realized she was busy somewhere else.

All these moments, and many more, click inside of Traynor’s mind and suddenly the whole evening starts to make more sense than she could’ve ever imagined.

And once Kaidan is able to calm down, and gather all the courage he needs for his next sentence, he instantly confirms her suspicions.

“I am sure…” He says, with the sweetest and softest voice he’s able to summon. “Sorry Traynor.”

“No, no… I’m sorry, I’m…”

She suddenly feels as awful as he does, both of them regretting everything they said during their conversation, and dreading the thought of speaking again and making the situation even worse.

Unfortunately for them, this long and uncomfortable silence gives James a lot of room to enter the conversation.

“Did you really get into Shepard’s show…?” That’s all he’s able to ask before Kaidan slaps him, hand wide open, on the back of his neck.

Despite the loud sound the hit doesn’t hurt Vega the slightest, but it’s more than enough to make him stop talking, ending up with the same expression that a kid makes when they know they’ve done something wrong.

That’s when the other two start laughing.

James’s reaction to the hit, the sudden silence after it, and the combined tension left in the air, mixes all into one big and unified chuckle that derives into many more.

After a few seconds of reflection, Vega joins the fun, acknowledging the ridiculousness of the whole situation.

And this way, with the three friends laughing it all out, they allow their new found joy to replace the nervousness that conquered the room not too long ago.

“Are we good then, Traynor?” Kaidan asks her once the situation has calmed a little.

“We’re good, Alenko.” She replies right away, dedicating him a new found smile. “May I ask you something, though?”

“Sure ‘bout that?” Vega says, still laughing. “Wanna go back there?”

“I’ll try to keep the uncomfortable levels as low as possible, I promise.” She says in between giggles.

“Sure…” He replies with a smile too. “Shoot.”

“Errmm… Do you think Shepard knows…”

“No, she doesn’t.” Kaidan reassures Traynor without hesitation. “I’m sure she has no idea… Believe me, she is really that oblivious when it comes to this… I’ve seen it before.”

“Good to know…”

“Plus, she would’ve never let you inside of her shower if she knew.”

“Oh God…” Is the only answer she gives to his comment, but the way she says it, laughing a bit at herself, quickly gets a positive reaction from her two friends, who quickly join her on her glee.

With this, both the conversation and the meeting come to their rightful ending, or so it seems until it doesn’t because, just as the laughs start to fade away, someone new it’s introduced into the small group.

“You guys seem to be having a very fun time…”

With the doors of the room now wide open, Garrus enters the crew quarters with a fastened pace, stopping right in front of their table.

“Sorry to interrupt the party, but I need to borrow you, Alenko… I mean if you're free. There’s something I’d like your advice on.”

“I have twenty minutes aprox before going back on duty… Is that enough?”

“I certainly hope so.”

Garrus giggles a bit, trying to downplay the situation, but the seriousness of his request doesn’t escape Kaidan, who quickly understands the importance of acting like he didn’t know about it.

“Well, there’s no time to waste then…” He stands slowly while looking at his friends. “And I think it’s a good move to retire now that we’re all good here.”

His two friends smile and Kaidan turns a little to face Samantha directly before resuming his goodbye.

“Because we are good, right?”

“Right.” She replies, deepening her smile.

“Cool… Just wanted to be sure.” He clarifies, taking a second to go back and replay the whole evening inside his head. “Ey, with all that’s happened and everything, we never got to that second game, Traynor.”

“True.” She adds before shrugging her shoulders a little. “Well, don’t worry Alenko. We’ll leave it for next time… Plus, that way you’ll have the opportunity to train more, you definitely need it.”

“Ohhhhhhhh…” James adds as he laughs, mocking him because of her response.

“Ey, she’s right…” Kaidan says, letting out a chuckle before nodding his head as a goodbye to both of them, ready to leave the room along with Garrus. “I could definitely use the practice.”

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

Yaaaaassss, next we have an Alenkarian fic!! Well not really... There's only bromance here... But you know what I mean. Also Javik will be back... Oh yeah, and Shepard. Believe it or not I do remember that this is a shenko fic... And yeah, there will be smut too eventually *shhhhhssss* don't tell anyone (although you'll have to wait till chapter nine for that) ehehehehee

I promise that, at least, that they’ll meet in the next chapter (you have my word).

By the way... Was this nice? Are you enjoying it?? Are you enjoying how much I'm dragging the story before the two main characters meet? Are you up for the slow burn? I mean, this whole fanfiction is supposed to be focussed on the reaction of the different members of the crew to their relationship... But of course, maybe it ‘s not to your liking... I mean, there's even the possibility that no one ever gets to read this. Are you? Are you reading this? Can… Can you even read this? Can I? Can you even tell that I've been recently playing the Stanley Parable way more than any sane human ever should?

No?

Well...

Maybe it's just me then.

#mass effect #commander shepard #kaidan alenko #shenko #shepard x kaidan #fshenko #mass effect 3 #femshep x kaidan #fanfic #yep... i'm totally making traynor jabber about her crash on shepard while completely oblivious that this is in fact a shenko fic!!!#Sorry... but I really needed to use that tag one more time XDDDDDDD

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snappedsky · 2 years

Text

Fanatics 97

Olivia is building an army. The Battalion must do the same.

*Links to previous and next chapters in reblog*

The Vengeance-Driven, Battalion-Hatin’ Super Team

“There has been a breakout from Dark Side Penitentiary. Celio Mussolini, who was once the richest man in the city and CEO of Mussolini Banks, was imprisoned two years ago on multiple charges of fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering. Only two hours ago, he broke out of his cell, seemingly by blowing up the wall from the inside. Police are baffled as to how and with what. If anyone spots Mussolini, civilians are encouraged to call this hotline-.”

Zim turns off his TV, interrupting the news broadcast. Dib, Gaz, Tak, Pepito, and Squee stand nearby, feeling agitated. Skoodge, Gir, Minimoose, and Mimi watch them from the adjacent kitchen.

“I don’t think we have to investigate the prison to know Mussolini broke himself out with demonic powers,” Pepito says.

“Seems like a fair guess,” Dib agrees.

“This just further proves my theory,” Squee declares, “Olivia is assembling our old enemies, attempting to form some kind of…super team.”

“A vengeance-driven…” Tak remarks.

“Battalion-hating…” Zim adds.

“Super team,” Gaz breathes.

“Well, then!” Zim booms, clapping his hands together. “If we’re gonna fight back, we need to know exactly who she’s recruited. There was Carcas, but he was taken care of.”

“That’s a nice way of saying we dropped a building on him,” Pepito grins and high fives Squee.

“She also took the Spirit Notebook and freed Reggie the Ripper, Ava the Man-hater, and Drey the Woman-killer,” Dib adds, “she must’ve imbued them with her demonic powers, making them even more powerful.”

“And now she has Mussolini,” Squee concludes.

“Right. So, who else could she recruit?” Zim asks.

“Well, let’s see,” Dib muses, “who have we battled in the past?”

“There’s been so many,” Gaz comments.

“The Nightmare,” Squee lists.

“The Von vampires,” Pepito adds.

“Bianca the witch,” Tak adds.

“The SDA,” Dib adds.

“And the Irken Armada,” Zim concludes.

“We can cross off the Nightmare, since it’s been destroyed,” Squee says, “and the zombies better not fight against us again, after everything we did for them.”

“I don’t think the Director would join Olivia, her being an Antichrist and all,” Dib adds, “goes against his ‘superior moral code’.”

“The Irken Armada wouldn’t join her either…probably,” Zim says with uncertainty, “maybe. Know what, I’ll look into it. And while I’m doing that, Squee, Pepito, I want you to check on the Vons and Bianca. Make sure Olivia hasn’t approached them and if she has, convince them not to join her. You can take the Epic.”

“Sweet,” Pepito nods and he and Squee head out. They get into the Epic and Pepito drives it down the street.

“We’ll check on Bianca first,” he decides, “her house is closer, I think.”

Squee nods agreeably.

They drive through suburbs until they reach her house and park on the street. They knock on the door and an older woman- they guess her mother- answers.

“Hello,” Pepito smiles politely, “is Bianca here?”

“One second,” the woman smiles back and shouts into the house. “Bianca! Two boys are here to see you.”

“Boys?” they hear Bianca question before she comes to the door. “Oh, it’s you two. What do you want?”

“Sorry to bug you, we just wanted to ask you a quick question,” Pepito replies, “have you been approached by a girl named Olivia?”

Bianca is clearly surprised by the question. She glances back into the house at her mother, who has walked away, before closing it behind her.

“Not here. Come to the back,” she orders and starts to go around the house. Pepito and Squee glance at each other suspiciously before following.

Behind the house is a lovely garden of flowers and a big tree. They sit on the grass in its shade and Bianca removes her wand from under her best.

“You know, I get my powers from my dad,” she says, “my mom doesn’t approve. She thinks witchcraft is the ‘work of the devil’.”

“Could not be more wrong,” Pepito argues, “your witch magic is very different from my demon magic.”

Bianca sighs. “Olivia came to me yesterday. She asked if I wanted more power in exchange for helping destroy the Battalion.”

Pepito and Squee tense up.

“I was like, ‘who?’ And she said, ‘the Battalion. You fought them before.’ And I was like, ‘oh, you mean those weird kids who like fighting monsters.’”

“Hey, you’re no weirder than us,” Squee retorts.

“I turned her down,” Bianca says, “told her I was perfectly happy with the power I have and that I have no interest in destroying you guys.”

“She wasn’t happy about that.” She pulls up the hem of her skirt, revealing a black burn mark on her thigh. “She blasted me. Told me that was just a taste of what would happen if I crossed her. Then she disappeared.”

“Well…thanks for turning her down,” Pepito says.

Bianca shrugs.

Pepito and Squee sit there awkwardly, then Squee leans forward. “Do you wanna get her back?”

“What?” Pepito and Bianca gasp with surprise.

“She’s raising an army against us and we could use all the help we can get,” he explains.

Bianca rubs her burn, looking away. “You remember when I tried to get you and Dib to tutor me a couple years back?”

“Yes,” Squee replies drily.

“I used my powers to intimidate you into agreeing and we almost got into that big fight.”

“Yes, yes, I remember.”

“My mom was super mad at me for it,” Bianca explains, “between her disappointment and you…getting me a tutor despite all the bad things I tried to do to you…it made me really rethink myself and how I use my powers. I promised I wouldn’t use them for useless fights.” “That sure didn’t stop you during that scholarship race,” Squee points out.

Bianca chuckles. “I said ‘useless’ fights. I need all the help I can get to get into a good school.”

“And this won’t be a useless fight either,” Pepito insists, “Olivia wants to destroy the world and if she beats us, there’ll be nothing standing in her way.”

Bianca stares at the ground pensively. Then she takes a deep breath and looks at them. “Okay.”

“Really?” Squee questions.

“Yeah. I might as well try using my powers for good at least once.”

Pepito and Squee smile and she smiles back.

“Mom, I’m going out!” Bianca calls into the house.

“With those boys? Who are they?” she calls back.

“Just…old classmates. I’ll be back later.”

Before her mom can say anymore, Bianca closes the door and follows Pepito and Squee into the car.

“Nice car,” she comments as she gets into the backseat.

“Thanks,” Pepito replies.

“We should go to the Von mansion next,” Squee declares, “we can talk to Jeff, and Serena might still be there.”

“Will you be alright talking to her?” Pepito asks.

He sighs. “I don’t know. It’s only been a couple days since the Night Terrors…you know…died or whatever. I don’t know how she’ll feel.”

“Wow,” Bianca remarks, “I don’t know what the hell you two are talking about.”

They quickly arrive to the Von manor to find that Serena and Aron’s van is indeed still parked outside. Pepito parks the Epic just behind it.

“Okay, how about I talk to Serena and you see if Jeff’s home,” Pepito suggests.

“Both situations make me equally anxious,” Squee replies, “but alright.”

He nods and looks back at Bianca. “And what do you wanna do?”

“Eh, I’ll just stay here,” she shrugs and grabs her phone.

Pepito and Squee leave her in the car and while Squee goes through the front gates and up to the manor, Pepito knocks on the van’s side door.

Serena answers right away and leans against the doorway, glaring at him curiously. “What do you want?”

As Pepito explains the situation to her, Squee knocks on the manor door. A smartly dressed man- Squee figures a butler- answers. “Yes?”

“Um…is Jeff home?” Squee asks.

The butler invites Squee to wait in the foyer as he goes to find Jeff. Squee keeps his hands in his pockets, worried about touching or breaking any of the nice, shiny décor.

The butler returns after a few minutes. “Forgive me. It seems Jeff already has a guest over.”

“Ah, sorry,” Squee replies, “um…may I ask who?” “A young girl with long black hair-.”

“And horns?” “Yes, she does have horns. How did you-?” Before the butler can finish, Squee slips on his sunglasses and uses his rocket wheelies to zoom further into the manor. It doesn’t take him long to go through the bottom floor and find it mostly empty, except for a poor group of women sharing tea in a sitting room, who are positively baffled when a darkened blur flies through.

Squee jumps onto the handrail of a stairwell and slides up to the second floor. He again finds it empty and heads up to the third floor.

The first door he bursts through must be Jeff’s bedroom. He’s sitting at a computer desk, and in another chair across from him is Olivia. They both look up with surprise.

“Well, now that is just rude,” Olivia remarks.

Wasting no time, Squee draws his knife and charges. Olivia blocks with her javelin and they glare at each other.

Squee grabs his other knife and swings at her, and she leaps back to dodge.

“What-where did-?” Jeff babbles, dumbfounded.

“Jeff!” Squee exclaims, “you can’t work with her! Whatever power she offered you, it’s not worth it!”

“How did…I wasn’t going to work with her.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah,” Jeff scoffs, “my dad’s mayor of the city and I just got into university. Plus my family’s rich and I’m maintaining a steady enough allowance to not be considered leeching. Shit’s really going my way. You think I wanna destroy the world?”

“Oh. Well…good then,” Squee replies, slightly taken aback.

Jeff glares at him incredulously before flinching. “Look out!”

Squee turns in time to see Olivia firing a blast at them.

Back outside, Serena and Aron have listened to Pepito explain what’s going on, and she’s told him she hasn’t met Olivia.

“Wonder if she wants to meet you,” he muses, “well, if she does, you have to turn her down. You don’t really wanna kill us right?”

“Eh.” Serena shrugs noncommittally. “I guess not.”

“Good enough for me,” Pepito nods and starts to turn away when he remembers Bianca in the car. “Um…actually, would you-?”

Before he can finish, an explosion from the manor grabs everyone’s attention. They run around the van and see smoke billowing out from the left side of the third floor. Out of the smoke fall the ruined remains of a desk and computer, and two figures.

“What the-!” Serena gasps.

“Squee!” Pepito exclaims and unleashes his wings. He quickly flies over while Serena, Aron, and Bianca follow on foot.

Pepito lands on the ground beside the manor. Lying amongst the rubble of the destroyed wall is Jeff with Squee on top of him.

“Squee!” Pepito gasps and kneels beside him. “Are you okay?”

Squee groans as he rolls over and sits up, rubbing his head. “Yeah, I…” He trails off as he looks up at the smoking hole in the wall and then down at Jeff beside him. “You…broke my fall…”

“Yeah, well,” Jeff grunts as he sits up, rubbing his shoulder. “My body’s sturdier than any human’s.”

Squee stares at him, stunned. “You wanna join our team in stopping Olivia?” Jeff looks at him, equally surprise. “…sure, why not.”

“Tch.” They all look at the annoyed scoff to see Olivia standing in the destroyed wall, glaring down at them. “Whatever. I got an entire army at my disposal. One vampire won’t make a difference.” “Olivia!” Pepito barks and fires an energy wave at her. Her wings unleash and she takes off, dodging the blast and flying away. He considers chasing her, but instead he dismisses his wings and helps Squee to his feet.

“Oh my god, what the hell happened?” Serena exclaims as she, Aron, and Bianca finally catch up, along with her mother and the butler.

“Nothing much,” Jeff replies as he dusts himself off. “Just a scorned demon chick is all.”

“Oh, Jeffrey,” his mom sighs, “another messy break up? The last cost so much to fix.”

“You have a lot of exes who blast holes through walls?” Squee questions.

Jeff shrugs, grinning. “What can I say? Power attracts power.” As Mrs. Von and the butler examine the mess left behind, Squee, Pepito, Jeff, Serena, Bianca, and Aron walk back to the road, talking about what just happened.

“You’re going to fight her?” Serena questions.

“She deserves it,” Jeff replies.

“Then I’m helping,” she declares.

“Nobody asked you.”

“Too bad.”

“We can use all the help we can get,” Pepito says, “if what Olivia said is true, then we’re gonna be very outnumbered.”

“We should get back to Zim’s house and tell the others,” Squee states, “you guys coming?”

“Yeah,” Bianca nods while Jeff and Serena shrug.

“Wait,” Aron says before everyone can get into the Epic. “What about me?” Serena motions for the others to wait as she approaches him. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a key. “This is a key to the manor’s cellar. It’s comfortable and there’s plenty of emergency food and water. Lock yourself in and stay there.”

“But…” His hand twitches hesitantly, like he wants to hold her. “I don’t wanna lose you…”

She smiles warmly and grabs his shoulders. “You won’t. I’ll come get you when it’s all over.”

Aron tentatively agrees and takes the key. Serena nods approvingly and gets into the Epic with the others. He stares after them as they drive away.

“Didn’t know you were into nerds, Serena,” Jeff remarks.

“Shut it, troll,” she retorts.

As they drive through the streets, Squee wistfully watches the city pass by, and he sighs.

“Whatchu thinking about?” Pepito asks.

“Uh…” he replies hesitantly, “something I’ve been thinking about for a while. There’s…something I need to tell you guys when we’re back.” Pepito looks at Squee curiously. “Alright.”

They arrive back at Zim’s house and everyone leaves the car and goes inside. The first floor is empty so they head down into Zim’s lab. Everyone is gathered around the main computer, which is displaying Kio and Rory.

“You’re back,” Dib observes.

“What are they doing here?” Gaz asks, motioning to Bianca, Jeff, and Serena.

“They’re gonna help us,” Squee replies.

“Them?” Tak questions sceptically.

“We’ll explain more later,” Pepito insists, “what’s going on?”

“Big trouble,” Zim replies and motions to his video call. “You remember Rory.”

“Of course,” Squee nods.

“Sup, prince.” Pepito does finger-guns.

“Nice to see you all again,” Rory smiles, “wish these were better circumstances.”

“Quite,” Kio agrees.

“I called Rory to find out if the Tallest had been in contact with Olivia,” Zim explains, “and…they were.”

“Not long ago, the Tallest had received a call from someone on Earth,” Rory adds, “I don’t know the specifics, but after hearing from Zim, I do believe they were asked to join some kind of army to destroy you guys.”

“And they agreed?” Squee asks fearfully.

“No,” Rory replies.

Squee and Pepito sigh with relief.

“They decided their army is sufficient enough and are coming to destroy you themselves.” They flinch with shock.

“Bu-but, Irk is a six months trip away,” Pepito points out, “so we can just worry about it later, right?”

“Unfortunately, no, again,” Rory replies, “the Armada has been within your galaxy since recovering from their last bout with you.”

“What? Then why are they waiting until now to do anything?” Squee asks.

“The Tallest are notoriously lazy. Likely they were waiting for a chance to present itself, like this one.” “So how long do we have?” Pepito asks.

“Approximately…8 of your Earth hours.” “You’re kidding…” Squee whimpers.

“First Olivia’s hell army…and now the Irken Armada,” Pepito groans, “this has escalated so fast. Rory, you can’t do anything to slow them down?”

“I’m afraid I’m still on Irk and powerless to your situation,” Rory replies, “sorry.”

“The Resisty is on its way,” Kio announces, “we should arrive before the Armada and will do all we can to help.”

“It won’t be enough,” Dib growls, “we got two armies against us and the Resisty is cannon fodder at best…sorry, Kio.”

“No, you’re…not wrong,” she admits.

“We need capable soldiers with battle experience,” he declares.

“You have someone in mind?” Tak asks.

“I do…but none of you are going to like it.”

Dib approaches the computer and says, “call the Director.”

“What!” everyone exclaims.

“We cannot ask that blowhard for help!” Gaz snaps.

“He’ll never let us live it down,” Squee adds.

“Zim refuses his help!” Zim barks.

“We have no other choice,” Dib retorts, “the SDA has the numbers we don’t. We need their help.” Everyone grumbles angrily, unable to argue, and the Computer makes the call.

The Director of the Supernatural Destruction Agency answers. The robotic side of his face is operational again, having replaced the cybernetic eye that the Night Terrors destroyed when they fought. Whether he’s gotten a new robot arm or if it’s just a simple prosthetic is hard to tell with the suit he’s wearing.

“Well, this is a surprise,” he says.

“Hello, Director,” Dib says, “or should I say, Murdoc Sigmund.”

He seems mildly shocked. “You’ve been looking into me.”

“Well, seeing as how you learned almost everything about us, I thought I should do the same to you.”

“Fair enough,” the Director- Murdoc- shrugs, “and to what do I owe this unexpected…nuisance?”

“We need your help.”

He is immediately piqued, smiling as he leans forward. “I see. Continue.”

“The Earth is in danger by two powerful armies and we are outnumbered and outmatched,” Dib explains, “we need the SDA to fight with us.” “Ah,” Murdoc sighs as he leans back. “Let’s take a minute to relish the irony in this. The group that your little team ruined months ago is now necessary for the protection of the world. Wow, if only I had tried to tell you this before you destroyed my facility.”

“Your facility deserved to be destroyed,” Pepito scoffs.

“I do not condone your methods,” Dib says, “but I will admit you have access to weapons and soldiers that we do not. If you truly want to protect the world, you will join us.”

Murdoc stares at him for a second before breathing deeply. “Very well. I will assemble my troops and we can be at your city within-.”

“6 hours,” Dib states.

“Short notice. Fine. See you then.” He cuts the call and everyone sighs.

“Kio, when will the Resisty arrive?” Zim asks.

“ETA, 5 hours,” Kio replies.

“Call me when you’re close,” he says, “and, Rory, thanks for your assistance.”

“Stay strong, Battalion,” Rory says before Zim closes their calls. Everyone stares at the now darkened screen as the weight of the situation really sinks in.

Zim turns to face them. “It’s official, team. We…are at war.”

#invader zim #invader zim fanfiction #johnny the homicidal maniac #johnny the homicidal maniac fanfiction #iz jthm crossover #myocs #myart

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