#treasure hunter‚ and he's having the absolute time of his life. he enters‚ in an incredible dark and stormy night setup‚ giggling. he calls

[mariocki]

Spaghetti Western icon and international film star Frank Wolff inexplicably turns up as the villainous Jim Reston in The Saint: The Old Treasure Story (4.9, ITC, 1965)

[calextheneko]

Mario RPG Post Game Bosses Quick and Dirty Guide

Okay, so I can't promise the tactics I'm going to suggest here are the best effective tactics in the game for defeating each of the bosses in the post game. But I will say they let me roll through all of them pretty fast. Also bosses are pretty much in the order I encountered them. If at any point you're unsure if what boss you should be fighting you can go talk to Frog Sage at tadpole pond to be hinted at where to go.

Before Any Fights

Make sure you've fought and defeated Jinx three times and beaten Culex in Montro town and got the Jinx Belt and Quartz Charm accessories.

Level up as much as possible. You can buy the EXP Booster from the frog coin merchant in Seaside Town which doubles the XP of the person who has it equipped even if they're not in battle. The Lucky Egg bought from the Treasure Hunter in the Moeville Item Shop can be used to double your XP earned a lot for the party if you're good at the shuffle game.

Buy the Earlier Times item from the Frog Coin Merchant in Seaside Time. When RNG just goes bad or you mess up this will let you restart the fight right away rather than having to slowly die and resume from the last save point.

Make sure you have a Feather. If you didn't get won from beating Dodo in the statue mini game you can buy one, or if you want a second buy a second one from the Treasure Hunter in the Moeville Item Shop.

Make sure yo have the Lazy Shell (Weapon and armor) and Safety Ring.

Get as many Kercolas, Red Essences and Rock Candies that you can.

Practice timed hits and perfect blocks because both are required for multiple boss fights and will be the difference between life and death.

Consider getting the Star Egg from Grate Guy's Casino if you can stand the torture that is winning 100 Games of Look the Other Way. It deals a flat 100 damage to all enemies so isn't the best damage but it's reliable and reusable so comes in handy when you need something to damage everyone.

Now to the bosses.

Belome

Fought in Belome temple. Don't be an idiot like me and immediately run through all of Kero Sewer and then have to do Midas River because he's not there. Frog Sage told me he was up to his old tricks. So old tricks made me think the sewers. It was the temple. Travel to Monstro Town and enter the temple from there to get to him instantly.

Belome is frustrating but easy. But you can get rid of most of the frustrating part. Take any party members you want but I recommend including Peach for healing like I will for every fight. You don't need any special preparations to beat him but immunizing your entire party to sleep will save you a lot of grief. I did not, I only had Peach immune to sleep. She had the Safety Ring. Belome spams Sleep attacks so Mario and Geno went to sleep A LOT.

Belome's main gimmick this time is that he can't be injured by any attack as long as he has a clone out. He'll basically bounce back and forth between creating a clone, attacking and attempting to put the party to sleep. If you're prepared (unlike me) and immune to sleep 90% of this fight is solved. Just need two characters who hit hard to rip through the clone as soon as it comes out and beat down Belome. He doesn't really have anything dangerous and aside from not taking damage and so much sleep spam is really not that different from previous fights.

Jinx

Since I was already in Monstro Town decided to go visit Jinx yet since based on the wishes I read on the Pink Stars (You'll see them when you start the post game and follow the story leading to the boss rematches) that he was one of them.

Preparation

Jinx is going to spam mortal blows on your party. Accessories like the Safety Ring and the Quartz Charm are absolutely mandatory unless you have flawless mastery of timed hits to the point you never miss, even so good to have them for safety on the occasion you mess up and they're both really good accessories. Party members, someone, anyone that you're really good with their timed hits and Peach for healing.

Jinx is a bit different in that you're not looking to deplete his HP. All you have to do is use a Team Attack and you instantly win. But before you try to be a smarty pants and go in with a 100% gauge prepped he will set your gauge to 0 when the fight starts. It doesn't matter if the team attack actually deals damage, Jinx wants to duel you to see how to get in synergy with your partners to do a team attack and so you will instantly win as soon as you use any attack. Recommend Lazy Shell and Safety Pin go specifically on Peach.

Jinx hits fast and hard as usual. Anytime you miss a timed hit rather it be attacking or healing Jinx will counter with an instant death attack. This is why you want protection from Mortal Blows. Basically, this entire fight is just a practice of your timed hits and defenses. His attacks can deal massive damage and sometimes one shot characters but all of them can be negated to 0 damage with a properly timed block. There's really no trick to it beyond that. Just used timed hits and blocks to build up your gauge and fire it of as soon as its full. Make sure all party members are up and able to perform the attack. Summoning Toad is not what he needs, you need all three party members. Peach with the Lazy Shell and Safety pin will survive anything he throws at her, so just use her to heal up and revive anyone that goes down while you build up that gauge. Don't lose your cool and keep that timing up and victory will be yours.

Punchinello

Preparation: Not a whole lot you can prepare to do on this fight. Like Jinx this fight is going to revolve entirely around getting your Timed Hits right. And you'll mostly be dealing with attacks that can kill you instantly if you fail to block. But they're not guaranteed 9999 damage like some later bosses they're just really strong attacks, might be survivable with something like Lazy Shell + Ghost Medal. Speed is probably the most important factor here though so the Lazy Shell armor can be a liability. Since Speed is important Geno is naturally one of the best fits for the party. And again I make Peach the third for reviving and healing others.

The Fight Itself

So like I said this game revolves around timed hits. You can't damage Punchinello directly. You can only attack the bombs he throws out. If you do a perfectly timed hit, the bomb will change the direction its facing and face him. Then when the bomb goes off it will explode on Punchinello and damage him instead of you. Be careful to watch the bombs before you attack them some of them will already be pointing at him leave those untouched. This is why speed is important. You only have four party members and he'll drop four bombs. And of course only perfectly timed time attacks will turn them around so if you screw it well hope you can go again before that bomb goes off. The bombs can be killed if enough damage is done but this is kind of a last resort sort of thing and you're more likely to kill one on accident from it taking damage when you damage all enemies with your perfect hits. Mastering the timing for a perfect block against the bombs is mandatory to survival. If you have a hard time feel free to use Earlier Times if you have it to restart the fight until you get it down. Basically hit A right before the bomb hits you. But if a bomb hits you and takes you down you either have to swap that party member out or waste a turn reviving them and lose up to two attacks possibly resulting in more bombs going off on you. Because your timing has to be perfect you they won't spin around loses happen sometimes. Just, best of luck with the perfect blocks and perfect timed hits.

Boster

Preparation

I hate this fight, with all of my hate. This is the first fight to kill me in the entire game. You must bring Geno for this fight, and equip him with a Feather to boost his speed. This fight is just... not a good fight, and is absolutely terrible design in an otherwise wonderful game because there is a very specific solution to the fight and it's just, screw you if you don't know it. Super fast Geno is that solution. Bring Peach for healing, and give Mario the Quartz Charm for damage.

The Fight

So at the start of every round Booster will start building his train. If it gets to his turn he will finish building the train and crash it into your party for 9999 damage. Coincidentally, every turn one of his Sniffets will cast Morale Boost that increases his speed every single turn. See why I hate this fight? The trick is Booster must be attacked before his turn each round to interrupt his building. Which is why you need Geno because the fight will quickly get to the point where no one can out speed him but a speed boosted Geno. Make sure he gets interrupted each round. Then I murdered the Sniffets next, in hind sight it might have been easier to go straight for Booster. Either way just deal as much damage as fast as you can. Rock Candies are useful to deal significant damage to everyone, Geno Flash, Psych Bomb (but only if Peach doesn't have the lazy shell) and of course if you're good at it Super Jump is always amazing. If you're not, kick a lazy shell into them. Just kill the Sniffets or Booster as fast as possible and be aware you might have to restart. If your backline party tags in I recommend immediately restarting the battle with an Earlier Times (You can buy it with Frog Coins in Seaside Town) because Mallow and Bowser will not be fast enough to really do anything unless Booster is low on health and they can finish him off right there. I don't know his HP but you can always have Mallow use Thought Peak once to see his HP if you go for killing Booster first to track the damage on him and know how close you are to killing him. Also, can charge a team attack before coming to the fight and swap Peach out for a turn to Mallow or Bowser to do a damage dealing team attack. I do not reccomend swapping out Geno because you want him there to interrupt Booster from building when the next attack starts. Roselina freaking Luma this fight is easily the hardest in the game for me and just so obnoxious. Best of luck.

Now then whose next... I honestly forget so I had to go google the post game fights. And it turns out it's the freaking cake again in Marrymore. Make your Portal references now.

Bundt Cake

Preparations: Not a ton of prep work here, Quartz Charm and Black Belt are recommended. Peach will put this fight into easy mode so should be included for something other than her healing. Other than her big your favorite damage dealer. Probably put Safety Ring on Peach as usual. She won't be focusing on damage.

The Fight

So the goal is to put out the candles just like last time. The catch this time, the chefs are there and will keep lighting the candles and if they light all the candles bad things happen. Which I never found out what would happen because I never let them get that far. So, you need Peach or as many sleep bombs as you can carry. Peach is better, because you're going to cast Sleepy Time to put both chefs to sleep. I believe if you spin the stick enough to max it out it's 100% chance of putting both of them to sleep but I'm not 100% sure. All I know is I never saw it fail when maxed out in the fight. I also never failed to max it out.

After you put the chefs to sleep, it's just a matter of dealing damage to the cake and healing up as needed. Chefs will wake up every now and then and need to be put back to sleep but as long as you keep them under control this fight is easier than the original fight with the cake. No wonder I forgot this one. I don't know when I actually did it. Just make sure to play it safe and keep yourself healed up and those chefs asleep and you'll be good.

Johnny Jonathan Jones

Preparation

This is going to be a one on one fight between Mario and Jones. Prepare accordingly and equip Mario with your best accessory. Quartz Charm is my preference. Can also do Lazy Shell Armor and Safety Ring if you want to try to turtle your way through the fight. Just a quick warning, there's no way to heal in the fight at all. You can't use items, and only Mario can fight. I guess Jones is a Melee player. Anyway before the fight you'll be asked to choose which party members you want cheering you on. You won't get anyone to fight but you will get buffs from the party. Best way to beat Jones is to take him down as fast as possible so I took Geno and Bowser for damage up and I guess defense up but mostly damage go up.

The Fight

This fight was the second one to kill me. It can be rough. It's going to test your ability to do perfect blocks. Jones will attack with both spells and physical attacks so you need to be ready to block them... And that's really all there is to this fight. Be able to block his attacks and strike back till he's dead. He doesn't have a lot of HP thankfully since the fight is 1 v 1. If you're a master of Super Jump you can probably kill him in one turn. I don't know I'm not good at Super Jump. Though I finally found out it was because unlike what Toad told me it's not hit the button right before the attack lands but actually when it lands. So with that new knowledge I will have to go back and try super jumping things again and get to 100. Right back to Johnny. So, again it might take you a few tries but you just keep practicing his fight until you can block all his attacks with the correct timing and then take him out. There's not really any shortcut or trick to this fight (Besides Super Jump) just gotta learn the timing.

Culex

Preparation: Here's the one we've all been waiting for. Let's get down to it. Culex is the main course and all the other bosses were just an appetizer before him. So first off, Lazy Shell and Safety Ring on Peach. Second, Geno with Quartz Charm and Mario with Black Belt or Safety Badge. Might want to also consider Zoom Shoes or Feather on Geno and give the Quartz Charm to Mario instead depending on how you want to play it. Finally, go into the fight with your Team Gauge already charged to 100%. We're going to be using Mario, Geno and Peach's Team Attack A LOT this fight. Savs-Us-All blocks the next attack each party member takes and will work on anything.

The Fight

Culex is as expected a beast. And the third and final character I have met my end by. Oh wait, no I didn't because every time I was in danger of dying I used Earlier Times. HA! Take that Culex! You technically never sent me to the game over screen, and I technically beat you on my first try. Anyway, his newest jerk move is to use an HP that deals your max HP -1 in damage. This is important. His new spell Meteor is not HP to 1, it is your max HP -1. If you have even a single point of damage on you the spell will kill you. Now, after he opens the fight with that he'll use it every five turns and give you a counter, and responding to that is going to be a large part of our strategy for how to beat him. Finally, make sure you are maxed out in your inventory on Red Essences, Rock Candies, Kercolas, and Pick-Me-Ups.

First off, surviving the first round is the most important and hardest part of the fight. Once you make it past the first round the fight becomes a lot easier. The largest problem is that depending on your set up there is a high chance that Culex will open the fight dropping your party's HP to 1 and then the Wind Crystal will go off and use an AoE killing your entire party. It's that kind of fight. So, you have two choices here, can keep using the Earlier Times item to restart the battle till you have at least two characters alive or can give Geno the Feather pre-fight so he can move faster and have him use a Kercola. Regardless of which method you use Geno will go first and use a Kercola to get the two or if if you're really lucky your entire party up to max health. Peach on her turn if anyone is dead use Come Back unless the living characters are in need of healing because they will get KOed if you don't keep yourself healed up. Basically priority is as follows

Negate or Survive Culex's Meteor Attack > Heal HP > Revive Down Allies > Deal Damage.

Now, on negating Culex's attack. There are a couple ways to do it. Peach should be going last each round while Culex goes first meaning she'll always go off before him. When the first Cooldown hits 1, have Peach use the Team Attack Save-Us-All on her turn and you'll just straight up negate Meteor when Culex uses it on 0. Other options is once you have someone guaranteed to go after Culex is to use Kercolas, but remember you only have three. Another is to throw a Red Essence on Peach and then have her heal everyone and the two others use Max Mushrooms as needed. Try to save Pick Me Ups for reviving Peach if she dies and use Comeback to revive your other allies, but if you need to get everyone up fast use it. Anytime you have your team gauge fully charged use Save-Us-All with Peach right before Culex casts Meteor. Obviously it won't be charged every turn and that's why you'll need to make do with Kercolas and Red Essences. Save the Red Essences for Peach you don't have enough of them to use on your entire party and last till the end of the fight.

Now... As for actually defeating the enemies. I recommend starting with the Wind Crystal it's weak to special attacks, all special attacks so Geno Flash or even just Geno Beam will make quick work of it. If you're good at Super Jump you can probably take out the Wind Crystal right away.

From there I took out the Water Crystal but I think it may have been a better choice to go after the Earth Crystal. One of them can summon Bowyer's button locks and seal one of your commands. I think it's the Earth Crystal that does it but not 100% sure. Fire Crystal felt like the least threatening of them so saved it for last.

While this is going on always be aware of when Meteor is coming and prepare accordingly. Remember that if Meteor goes off any character with damage on them will die unless Save-Us-All is active. Mario and Geno should focus on damage and killing as much as possible. In the rare event the party doesn't need healing on Peach's turn she should use a Rock Candy to damage everyone, or if you run out of those the Star Egg. You can also use the Fire and Ice bombs just be aware the naturally a the fire crystal resists fire and the water crystal resists water.

Once all the Crystals are down the fight becomes much easier to deal with. Culex will replace Meteor with Final Claw, an attack that deals 9999 damage, but it only targets one person, and it can be blocked with a perfect block. Timing is a bit tricky but it can be done. But either way losing one person is a lot better than the entire team and you have a countdown till he uses it just like Meteor so whenever Team Attack is charged can just use Save-Us-All and bam no Final Claw. So like the previous fight when Team Attack is charged always pop it with Peach when Culex's counter is on 1 to just negate his ultimate instant kill attack. At this point it's just a matter of keeping yourself healed and beating Culex down. Keep persisting and use that Team Attack anytime its charged to negate Final Claw and victory is finally yours.

And with that, you get a completely useless key item per Final Fantasy Superboss tradition that just says you beat the hardest boss. Huzzah! Hope that helps. Not a perfect guide by any means but this is what worked for me.

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Cyber Revolution/Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer (Masterlist)

Sonic Cyber Revolution

Sonic the Hedgehog, an Irregular ARNav, usually spends his days racing across Neos City and living his best life. The Blue Blur is always in the search for the next adventure along with his friends, but when trouble calls, be it in the form of aggressive Irregular ARNavs, secret government projects, dangerous rivals, like Metal Sonic and Mephiles, or Dr. Eggman taking advantage of the advanced AR technology present in this universe to expand the Eggman Empire, there is nothing that will stop Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Silver, Shadow and their friends from taking on the challenge and protecting those they care about.

Chapters

Entry 0: Ready, Set, GO!

Entry 1: Team Up

Entry 2: Showdown At Eden

Entry 3: The Awakening

Entry 4: Project Shadow

Entry 5: The Looming Shadow

Entry 6: Chaos Surge

Entry 7: Countdown To Destruction

Entry 8: The Illusion Of Hope

Entry 9: Live and Learn

Entry 10: His World

Entry 11: Believe In Myself

Entry 12: Unknown From M.E.

Entry 13: My Sweet Passion

Entry 14: Dreams of an Absolution

Entry 15: I Am... All Of Me

Entry 16: What I’m Made Of

Entry 17: The Challenge

Entry 18: Escape From The City

Entry 19: Enter The E.G.G.M.A.N.

Entry 20: Catch Me If You Can

Entry 21: Sonic Speed Riders

Entry 22: The Treasure Hunter

Entry 23: Stop & Rewind

Entry 24: Artificial Life

Entry 25: For Your Sake

Entry 26: The Chosen One

Entry 27: Never Turn Back

Entry 28: The Kitsune’s Deception

Entry 29: Amy’s Cursed Day

Entry 30: The Chaotix Detective Agency

Entry 31: The Starfall

Entry 32: The Tricore

Entry 33: The Blazing Guardian

Entry 34: Green Hill Zone

Entry 35: Speeding Through Stardust

Entry 36: A Twinkle of Chaos

Entry 37: Breaking The Fields

Entry 38: Operation ARMS (Part 1)

Entry 39: Operation ARMS (Part 2)

Entry 40: The Spy and The Network

Entry 41: The Irregular Hunt

Entry 42: Mission: Omega

Entry 43: Team Dark

Entry 44: When The Shadow Calls

Entry 45: I Will Fight Like I Always Have

Entry 46: This Machine

Entry 47: The Lost Rabbit

Entry 48: The Seven Mysteries of Nagatsuki Academy

Sonic Cyber Revolution: Night of The Werehog

Sonic is not feeling well. He had been vanishing night after night, returning home the next morning with no memories. To make things worse, there are reports of a strange beast roaming through Neos City, attacking people. As the full moon rises, Sonic and his friends need solve the mystery behind the attacks before they succumb to the beast's bloodthirst.

Entry 0: Night of The Werehog

Sonic Cyber Revolution: Christmas Truce

It is Christmas time in Neos City, and Sonic and his friends have decided to join the festivities, each in their own way. Unfortunately for them, Dr. Eggman has decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to launch an attack and ruin their Christmas spirit.

Entry 0: Christmas Truce

Sonic Cyber Revolution: A Roller-Coaster Date

After learning about the opening of an amusement park in the neighboring Mikado City, Sonic decides to invite Shadow on a date. All is fun and games, until an alert is issued about the amusement park being under siege by a terrorist. Refusing to let anyone get hurt, it is now up to Sonic and Shadow to solve the puzzle their foe left for them.

Entry 0: A Roller-Coaster Date

Sonic Cyber Revolution Analyzer

The Story, Lore & Characters

The Metal Irregular Arc

The Ultimate Life Form Arc (Part 1)

The Ultimate Life Form Arc (Part 2)

The Ultimate Life Form Arc (Part 3)

The Memories of The Past Arc (Part 1) - Sonic the Hedgehog & Lucas Kinomoto

The Memories of The Past Arc (Part 2) - Miles “Tails” Prower & Warren Taylor

The Memories of The Past Arc (Part 3) - Knuckles the Echidna & Lily Crystle

The Memories of The Past Arc (Part 4) - Amy Rose & Minami Kusakabe

The Memories of The Past Arc (Part 5) - Silver the Hedgehog & Makoto Ryle

The Memories of The Past Arc (Part 6) - Shadow the Hedgehog & Touka Kageura

The Memories of The Past Arc (Part 7) - Metal Sonic & Ferra Ahearn

The Enter The E.G.G.M.A.N. Arc - Dr. Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik

The Babylon Rogues Arc - The Babylon Rogues

The Final Haunt Arc (Part 1) - Rouge the Bat

The Final Haunt Arc (Part 2) - Mephiles the Dark & Toshiro Miwa

The Starfall Arc - The Chaotix Detective Agency

The Green Hill Zone Arc (Part 1) - Dr. Starline

The Green Hill Zone Arc (Part 2) - Blaze the Cat & Sana Jai

The Team Dark Arc - E-123 Omega

The Chaos Rising Arc - Cream the Rabbit & Cheese the Chao

The Neo Genesis Arc - Neo Metal Sonic

The Impostor Syndrome Arc - Surge the Tenrec & Kitsunami “Kit” the Fennec

The Black Arms Arc - Eclipse the Darkling

Sonadow Moments in Sonic Cyber Revolution (The Ultimate Lifeform Arc)

Sonadow Moments in Sonic Cyber Revolution (The Memories of The Past Arc)

Sonadow Moments in Sonic Cyber Revolution (The Enter The E.G.G.M.A.N. Arc & The Babylon Rogues Arc)

Sonadow Moments in Sonic Cyber Revolution (The Final Haunt Arc)

Vandalize My Heart

Sonic knew that he shouldn't be feeling like this. They were rivals most of the time, but that didn't mean that they weren't friends when the occasion called for it. It was just their dynamic and he was fine with it. This was how things always were. So, why was he feeling like someone stabbed him in the chest when Shadow accepted that proposal?

Entry 0: Sound The Alarm

Entry 1: Leave Your Mark

Entry 2: Vandalize My Heart

Shatter Me

After the events of the Shatterverse, Sonic finds himself reminiscing of what had happened, especially when it comes to his interactions with Shadow. Even though the two returned to their normal routine of racing and fighting with each other, something has changed in their relationship.

Entry 0: Fight Together

Entry 1: Ambivalent

Entry 2: The Reason I’m Here

Entry 3: Vandalize My Heart

Entry 4: LOVE or HATE?

Entry 5: Shatter Me - Sonic X Shadow Generations

Sonic The Hedgehog Analyzer

Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer is a compilation of my personal analysis of the Sonic the Hedgehog IDW comic regarding the story, characters and whatever else catches my interest.

Sonic Forces

Sonic Forces: Moment of Truth

Sonic Forces: Stress Test

Sonic Forces: Looming Shadow

Sonic Forces: Rise of Infinite

The Fallout Arc

Issue #1: Fallout (Part 1)

Issue #2: Fallout (Part 2)

Issue #3: Fallout (Part 3)

Issue #4: Fallout (Part 4)

The Fate of Dr. Eggman Arc

Issue #5: The Fate of Dr. Eggman (Part 1)

Issue #6: The Fate of Dr. Eggman (Part 2)

Issue #7: Meet the New Boss

Issue #8: Silent Support

The Battle For Angel Island Arc

Issue #9: The Battle for Angel Island (Part 1)

Issue #10: The Battle for Angel Island (Part 2)

Issue #11: The Battle for Angel Island (Part 3)

Issue #12: The Cost of the Battle for Angel Island

Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2019

The Infection Arc

Issue #13: Calling Card

Issue #14: Misdirection

Issue #15: Patient Zero

Issue #16: Infection

Sonic the Hedgehog: Tangle & Whisper (Miniseries)

Issue #1: Imposter

Issue #2: Ambush

Issue #3: Betrayal

Issue #4: Showdown

The Crisis City Arc

Issue #17: Plague

Issue #18: Victims

Issue #19: Crisis City (Part 1)

Issue #20: Crisis City (Part 2)

The Last Minute Arc

Issue #21: The Last Minute (Part 1)

Issue #22: The Last Minute (Part 2)

Issue #23: The Last Minute (Part 3)

Issue #24: The Last One Out

Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2020

The All or Nothing Arc

Issue #25: A Sudden Shift

Issue #26: All or Nothing (Part 1)

Issue #27: All or Nothing (Part 2)

Issue #28: All or Nothing (Part 3)

Issue #29: All or Nothing (Part 4)

The Out of the Blue Arc

Issue #30: Cured

Issue #31: Recovery (Part 1)

Issue #32: Recovery (Part 2)

Sonic the Hedgehog: Bad Guys (Miniseries)

Issue #1: A Few Bad Men

Issue #2: Smash & Grab

Issue #3: Trust Issues

Issue #4: No Honor Among Thieves

The Chao Races and Badnik Bases Arc

Issue #33: Chao Races and Badnik Bases (Part 1)

Issue #34: Chao Races and Badnik Bases (Part 2)

Issue #35: Chao Races and Badnik Bases (Part 3)

Issue #36: Chao Races and Badnik Bases (Part 4)

The Test Run! Arc

Issue #37: Test Run (Part 1)

Issue #38: Test Run (Part 2)

Issue #39: Test Run (Part 3)

Issue #40: Test Run (Part 4)

The Zeti Hunt! Arc

Issue #41: Zeti Hunt (Part 1)

Issue #42: Zeti Hunt (Part 2)

Issue #43: Zeti Hunt (Part 3)

Issue #44: Zeti Hunt (Part 4)

The Trial by Fire Arc

Issue #45: Trial by Fire (Part 1)

Issue #46: Trial by Fire (Part 2)

Issue #47: Trial by Fire (Part 3)

Issue #48: Hit the Pavement

Issue #49: Wound Up

Sonic the Hedgehog - Free Comic Book Day 2022

Sonic the Hedgehog: Imposter Syndrome (Miniseries)

Issue #1: Imposter Syndrome (Part 1)

Issue #2: Imposter Syndrome (Part 2)

Issue #3: Imposter Syndrome (Part 3)

Issue #4: Imposter Syndrome (Part 4)

The Battle for the Empire Arc

Issue #50: Battle for the Empire

Issue #51: Escaping the Empire

Sonic the Hedgehog Annual 2022

The Overpowered Arc

Issue #52: Overpowered (Part 1)

Issue #53: Overpowered (Part 2)

Issue #54: Overpowered (Part 3)

Issue #55: Overpowered (Part 4)

Issue #56: Overpowered (Part 5)

Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island (Miniseries)

Issue #1: Scrapnik Island (Part 1)

Issue #2: Scrapnik Island (Part 2)

Issue #3: Scrapnik Island (Part 3)

Issue #4: Scrapnik Island (Part 4)

The Urban Warfare Arc

Issue #57: Urban Warfare (Part 1)

Issue #58: Urban Warfare (Part 2)

Issue #59: Urban Warfare (Part 3)

Issue #60: Urban Warfare (Part 4)

Issue #61: Urban Warfare (Part 5)

Sonic the Hedgehog 5th Anniversary Edition

The Misadventures Arc

Issue #62: Misadventures (Part 1)

Issue #63: Misadventures (Part 2)

Issue #64: Misadventures (Part 3)

Issue #65: Misadventures (Part 4)

Issue #66: Misadventures (Part 5)

Issue #67: Second Chances

Issue #68: The Protector

900th Adventure

Endless Summer

A Very Chaotix Halloween

Winter Jam

Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis)

Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis - Part 1)

Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis - Part 2)

Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis - Part 3)

Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis - Part 4)

Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis - Part 5)

Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis - Part 6)

Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis - Part 7)

Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis - Part 8)

Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic Prime, Character Analysis - Final Conclusion)

Misc. Analyzer

Vandalize - Sonadow Prime

Shattered Memories (Sonic Prime)

Sonic Boom Shatterverse (Sonic Prime/Sonic Boom)

Sonic Prime (Thoughts)

Sonic Prime (Timeline Placement)

Sonic Prime (My Interpretation of The Ending)

Locke’s Mistreatment of Shadow & The Shadow Android Theory

King Shadow (The Altered Future & The Altered Character)

King Shadow (The Alternate Story)

Isekai'd As My Past Self (Sonic the Hedgehog AU Story)

The Sonic Adventure (Story Concept)

Not So Different (Sonic and Shadow’s Interactions With Metal Sonic)

Our Last Meeting (Sonic & Shadow... & Knuckles)

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog (My Thoughts)

Knuckles (My Thoughts)

[sandwhichjack]

Thank you all who participated in the poll on whether I should post character notes or the timeline of the fantasy world I made up in lockdowns and it was decided you all like to see that character notes. I’ll be posting them in the order in that actual google doc, so randomly. Have a good day.

Walker:

A buff ranger that lived in the wilderness for a long period of time thanks to the sacrifice of her brother she gained freedom and became a mercenary

Promiscuous with any kind of man

In touch with her more tomboyish side

Is closed off from the other party members

Second in command when Faris is out of commission

Talented in archery and acrobatics

Fan of the fastball special

Is the muscle to back up someone when in a fight

Big sister bond with Arianrhod

Tries to be supportive but kinda sucks at it

Faris and her have a flirty banter going on and Kaine makes a bunch of bets on if they get together, yes they do.

Doesn’t have a favorite color but prefers lighter colors in average settings

Kaine once made her a rifle as a birthday present but she broke her hand and fingers from not handling it correctly and that was the end of her delving into alternative long range fighting.

Is superstitious about the forest and nature

Treasurer of the group as she’s the most trustworthy of it

Punched her father in the face during his wedding renewal and he had no idea who she was

She has gained a reputation of monster hunting, breaking elven laws every day of her life and never giving in to the parts of her that wishes to return to her home

Third oldest person in the group at 34

Sends weapons and guides to her half siblings for when they are old enough to leave

Immune to mental attack

Has a blood pact with Torg to kill him if he ever starts to grow dim in the head

Modified her muscles and spine to help her draw and aim her bow

Does not believe in the gods

Prefers raw meats and veggies

Prefers men to women but is willing to experiment

Writes penny dreadfuls for twelve newspapers under a pen name and Torg edits for her

Plans on teaching creative writing classes after she retires

Would adore fanfic

Would absolutely punch a princess in the face if she was asked by the princess

Once ate her own skin on a bet to enter a hunter’s lodge

Needs glasses for when she’s reading

Had a crush on a famous bard and when Kaine brought it up he was biologically dead for nine days

Is willing to eat anything to prevent starvation

Punched a Person of the Magma so hard it caused their soul to bleed

Once killed a person of every species by lining up their heads and firing an arrow

[faeryarchives]

Yayy, another person that knows twst and genshin impact! Since requests are open, can I request for Pomefiore with a yae miko s/o headcannons? I hope you don't get tired of these kinds of request. If you don't feel comfy with this ask, then feel free to delete it!

hi anon ~ these kind of requests actually makes me happy !! i just finished yae's quest earlier and i really love her she is so funny 😭

edit: im so sorry i didnt read the s/o part dbfjebk in process of editing t_t

pomefiore with a yae miko gender neutral s/o!

kitsunes are known for their intelligence and cunning minds under their beautiful appearance

: ̗̀➛ vil schoenheit

when vil saw you for the first time - he was amazed and immediately notice how you calmly reacted to being summoned to their world like it was normal for you.

"ara? there was a light at the sakura tree and now i am here. can you kindly tell me where am i?"

"sakura tree? i don't know what that is but you are in twisted wonderland right now."

"oh, ok so i am obviously not in inazuma right now. but how could you not know a sakura tre-"

the moment he heard that you were once the head shrine maiden in your world, vil asked if you could somehow help purifying the evil ghosts residing in their dorm in which you agreed - in exchange of asking about his skincare routine.

🤨🤨🤨 what you aren't using any skincare products? how did you maintain such clear skin?!

the pomefiore dorm leader was stunned while watching you perform your purifying ritual, he never seen someone which such grace other than himself!

sometimes the two of you would talk about the light novels your publishing house had published and once you consider him as one of your close friends.

vil noticed that despite your playful demeanor, you really treasure and care those people who enters your life which can be sometimes hidden by playing pranks on ace and deuce causing riddle going after you.

going shopping and make-over with vil is a must because why not? you will get the chance to go on shopping with your boyfriend who is looking a way to spend time with you despite his busy schedule.

overall, vil really enjoy your company despite pulling pranks on his makeup and such.

"sly potato, give me back my makeup brush."

"what if i don't? are you going to kiss me?"

"(name)"

"oooh, you want to kiss me so bad."

spoiler alert, he did which left you standing there with a faint blush on your face. the dorm leader couldn't wipe off the smile he had for the whole day - finally he did something that left you stunned.

: ̗̀➛ rook hunt

rook already has his eyes on you once he learned that you were a kitsune, and he was actually having fun with you! you didn't run away from him like leona or got angry at him like malleus but you entertain him with your mind games.

"how far can grim run into the woods?"

"why of course monsieur hirsute can run up to the botanical garden!"

"my my your first guess is absolutely wrong! he could only go halfway because after that, he is running out of the woods."

"all i wanted was to get back to the dorm, why did i end up in this."

he finds it amusing that you could actually keep your friends in check while having that smile on your face. he rarely see you without your signature smile whenever someone overblots.

what rook really admire about you was your ability to be able to read and influence people

"grim ~ can you get me some fried tofu in the cafeteria? i'll give you a tuna if you do."

moments later when the cat gave you your food, grim demanded to know where is his tuna

"it's right there"

"that is the tuna i was holding earlier!"

"i am giving it to your right now so whats your point?"

cue the angry complains of your cat companion 😾

the hunter once tried to see your tail but just ended up being zapped by your electro vision.

everyone in nrc knows if they put you on the same team during school festival - your team will immediately won with your mischievous plan and rook's actions.

putting you, grim and rook together - the three of you could recreate team rocket ☄️

whenever you feel tired from keeping your friends out of trouble, rook is here to save the day! the hunter will spoil you with praises and cuddles! sometimes he would also have your favorite food ready .

"you are the best rook, i love you so much."

"anything for ma cherie! can you perhaps show me your kitsune form?"

"don't even try."

: ̗̀➛ epel felmier

someone help this boy because you start teasing him when you saw him the first time. he just remind you of a certain eared war general in your world, how could you not resist? 😗

"epel i have a gift for you~"

"what is - no don't ya dare give me that apple pear!"

"just kidding look i just put mini illusion on it its actually normal apples."

"i thought you can only use your electro vision?"

"mmm yeah?"

"... no."

you were always mindful of complimenting epel knowing he doesn't like being mistaken for a girl because of his features in which he is really grateful for.

due to vil's request, you would sometimes give epel training by fighting your kitsune spirits which normally ended up him screaming in frustration

"i thought you were helping me to train, why do the foxes keep dodging my attack?!"

"i didn't know they weren't supposed to move? what's the use of training?"

epel would always remind himself to not let you near any prickled food knowing that you hate them with passion.

shower him with compliments how manly he is whenever he is feeling down or cuddle him! it will boost his mood1 00%

poor boy always fall for your tricks. it wasn't his fault he easily believe you because he can't even distinguish your facial expressions!

needless to say, epel felt like he won the lottery for having the best s/o who dotes on him

epel even roped you and grim eating ramen for midnight snacks at ramshackle dorm but hush don't tell the pomefiore dorm leader and vice leader know it's the secret between the three of you.

[bubblegumbeech]

Haunted Towers and Hidden Truths

Phic Phight prompt by @lexiepiper

Write a more traditional ghost story. How would things change if ghost powers weren’t super powers, but closer to old horror movie tropes?

“We shouldn’t do this Danny,” Sam said, ever the voice of reason. “This place isn’t like our usual haunts.“

But Danny shook his head, “No Sam, I have to do this. I have to know what that dream meant, if it was really a dream or something else.”

He moved to take a step forward when his other friend, Tucker, grabbed his arm, “I don’t know man, I think she’s right. There isn’t a possessed item to destroy, or an overactive ghost to try and calm down, heck even Vlad has a weakness we can exploit, we don’t know anything about this place. What if we don’t make it out of this one?”

“Come on Tucker,” Danny argued, his own confidence nothing but a mask, “It can’t be as bad as the haunted video game right? You die in the game you die in real life!”

Tucker didn’t laugh, “this is serious Danny, I know that dream had you messed up, but what if it was just that? A dream?”

“Or,” Sam cut in, “What if it’s a trap? Remember how Desiree tried to get us with that monkey’s paw when she realized we were getting involved with every scary story and urban legend in town and she didn’t want us to find out about her?”

There was also the time a ghost discovered Danny’s secret and decided to haunt him personally and make his life a living hell until he and Tucker were able to exorcise it. It had involved a gorilla, a lot of research into dead safari hunters, and one of his parent’s inventions that they rigged to do what they needed before destroying it so it couldn’t be used against Danny himself. 

“We made it through all of those things together, remember when we first saw Cujo? And we thought he was to blame for Valerie’s mother?” Danny said.

Sam deflated, “and then we did research and discovered that Cu Sith only foretell death, not cause it… But Danny, we tried to research this place, remember? We found nothing. It’s like it doesn’t exist.”

“Yeah man,” Tucker scratched the back of his neck uncertain, “I couldn’t find so much as a blueprint. No building plans, nothing. The only thing we have to go on are stories from reckless kids trying and failing to spend the night.”

“You don’t have to follow me, the last thing I want is to put you both at risk. Especially after last time.” 

Tucker groaned, “Danny you know we aren’t going to let you do this alone right? Especially not after Walker’s prison. Who knows what would have happened if we didn’t come in and save you?”

Danny smiled, “I probably would have starved to death to be fair, but yeah, I’ll try to avoid getting locked in any metal cages, deal?”

“To be fair,” Sam said, returning his smile with one of her own, strained though it was, “you probably would have died of thirst first.”

Chuckling at his friends' attempts to lighten the mood once they realized his mind wouldn’t be changed, Danny finally let himself look up at the place in question. It was a tall, crooked looking clocktower with old, brittle wood and peeling paint. In the low light of the evening it looked almost purple and with the dust and cobwebs covering it, it was clear no one had been inside for quite some time. 

The Clocktower was a recurrent presence in his dreams, the ones he’d started having since the accident that made him the way he was: different from any person, but not quite anything else. It was always there in the background, but he’d never gone inside. 

Once, during a particularly dull recurring dream where he relived the life and consequent death of a warehouse worker, he’d walked away from the endless piles of boxes and tried to go inside the clocktower instead. But no matter how far he traveled, it was always the same distance away. He just couldn’t get to it. 

Danny couldn’t shake the feeling though, that something inside might have the answers he’s been searching for. So he stepped forward, and knocked on the door.

There was no answer, of course, and  Danny almost felt foolish doing it, but also, ghosts and spiritual beings all had their own rules and perceptions of what is or isn’t polite, most of which Danny had stumbled into learning the hard way, and it really didn’t hurt to check.

“No answer,” Sam said and Danny nodded, turning the handle. It was old and brass and when it turned it made a loud grinding noise that vibrated along his arm. But it did open, and without Danny needing to persuade it, so that had to be a good sign right?

Unless it really was a trap. 

“Maybe we should leave someone outside, in case it really is like Walker’s prison.” He offered, but both of his friends shook their heads and stepped past him. It was dark, musty and smelled in a weird way, like a library. If a library had locked its doors and not let anyone enter for a good century or so. 

Sam took the lead, her flashlight catching on unfamiliar shapes and shadows. “Do you know what we’re looking for?” she asked, her voice uncertain. 

Danny shook his head, “Not really, just… answers.”

They looked around the ground floor at first, but if it held anything particularly supernatural or important, it wasn’t going to be found. “This just looks like my grandma's living room.” Tucker complained, taking the sheet off of one of the couches, “we need to go further in if we want to actually find something.”

He wasn’t wrong, Danny looked over to the spiralling staircase in the back of the room, and then to the other doors that surrounded it on the first floor. “It’s probably better to do this systemically right? Go through every room on each floor and move our way up?”

“You mean like in a video game?” Sam asked, “sure, we can do that.”

They started on the left, but that room wasn’t much better when it came to finding any kind of clues. It held a kitchen, a very old kitchen, with a stove and oven that Danny had only ever seen in period movies. But…

“Why does it smell like cookies?” Danny asked, turning to his friends who both looked at him like he was crazy.

“Cookies? Yo, Danny this place smells like straight up death. Not cookies.” Tucker said, backing away from the oven and starting to open up cabinets. 

Sam rolled her eyes and did the same on the other side of the kitchen, “it doesn’t smell like death you dolt, it smells… like a graveyard.”

Danny walked to the middle of the room, towards the oven- he always made sure to be the one seeking out the more dangerous or suspicious things in the haunts they went to- while the two of them bickered. They tended to start these smaller, petty arguments when they were scared, it took the edge off. 

“Duh?” Tucker said, and Danny heard him slam one of the cabinets shut, “graveyards are death? What does it smell like to you? Your Mom’s perfume?”

“No, it smells like someone dying, you know all hospital chemicals and gross stuff.”

There wasn’t anything in the oven, but oddly, Danny had felt a wave of warmth when he opened it. Almost like it had just been used. But, ghosts didn’t need to eat, right? And there couldn’t have been a person living here, they’d notice that. At least, Danny hopes they would notice that. After being in dozens of life or death scenarios hinging on whether they noticed important but minute details, they’d become pretty good at that kind of thing.

“Ugh! Don’t talk about hospitals, I’m still not over North Mercy, that was horrible,” Tucker turned to Danny, leaning on one of the counters and ignoring the cabinet he opened right behind his head. “What do you think death smells like Danny?”

Danny walked over and closed the cabinet, he didn’t want something to suddenly appear inside of it all twisted limbs and empty eyes or for something to crawl out and scare them, or even have it slam shut on Tuckers head, like some ghosts were known to do. He didn’t have to put much thought into his answer, “It smells like burnt flesh, electricity, and polished wood.”

Tucker paled, “oh… right. Sorry.” 

He shrugged, “anything yet?”

“Not unless you count cobwebs, dust, and deteriorating cooking books,” Sam answered, walking over to both him and Tucker. 

Danny looked around at the kitchen, it looked normal, even some dying light shone in from the one window along the outer wall. The only thing weird was the shape and that was because it was at the bottom of a spiralling clocktower. There was nothing particularly scary about the place, and frankly Danny didn’t know what to do with that.

“Let’s move on, this place is giving me the creeps,” Sam said, crossing the room and going to the next door. 

Danny and Tucker followed, unwilling to be left behind, or to let her go on her own. The next room was the same size as the other two, but it had an extra window and was crammed absolutely full of books. Just books. Stacks and stacks of them where they didn’t fit on the shelves, which were completely packed themselves, and Danny had the thought that this was probably what he was smelling when they first walked in. 

It was a library. A personal one, but without any room to sit or anything to sit on despite the genuinely impressive display of books and Danny found himself gently stroking his hand against the cover of a book on the top of the nearest stack, When Ghosts Speak: Understanding Earthbound Spirits.

“Please tell me we aren’t reading all of this,” Tucker whined. Danny frowned, why wouldn’t he want to read these? It was a treasure trove of information, these books could have countless, researched, answers to questions they’ve been asking since the start of everything! 

What if one of these books could tell them why Amity Park seemed to attract the supernatural, why they seemed to gain power within the city’s boundaries, why Danny wasn’t dead. He wanted nothing more than to grab any one of these books, walk into the next room, with the couches and comfortable chairs, sit down and read and read until he found something, anything he could use. 

These books might even be able to help him deal with the supernatural threats that plagued their town. Mostly they’ve been surviving through luck and half baked internet searches with the occasional trip to the town library. And while it had been enough so far, Danny was practically salivating at the thought of being properly, genuinely prepared for something for once. 

“Of course we aren’t,” Sam said, dragging Danny out of his fantasies of maybe knowing what he was doing, “they’re completely deteriorated. If we even tried to open one it would probably fall apart.”

Danny frowned, and then looked down at the book he’d subconsciously grabbed. It didn’t seem as bad as Sam was describing, but he also didn’t want to risk it either. He’d realized early on there was a difference between what he was seeing and what was actually real. He set it down gently and looked around the rest of the room with his friends. 

“Are we so sure this place is haunted?” Danny asked. By then, the sun had set entirely and the only light left was their flashlights. High powered and with fresh batteries they were still little use against the encroaching dark and Danny wanted to move on to the next floor already if he wasn’t going to be able to open a book. 

Tucker stood up from behind a precariously leaning shelf and dusted himself off, “Dude you’re the one that said there was something here and we needed to investigate. Remember, like an hour ago when the two of us were trying to stop you from going inside?”

Danny scoffed, “that’s not what I mean.”

“What do you mean then?” Sam asked, stepping closer so she could meet his eyes. There was something in her expression, curiosity or suspicion, Danny couldn’t quite parse. 

“I…” Danny stopped to think, what did he mean? Was it just that the place didn’t feel haunted? There wasn’t anything here trying to scare him away, no ominous winds or loud knocking, but they’ve gone into haunts before that took a long time to start actually reacting to them. “There’s no, I don’t know how to explain it. Usually when we go somewhere haunted, that a ghost has a claim to or whatever… there’s this feeling that I’m trespassing? I don’t feel like I’m trespassing here.”

That probably didn’t make any sense, and despite everything they didn’t usually act on Danny’s gut instincts as a group without evidence. The issue with the circus and it’s terrifying owner was a lesson too well learned after all. 

True to expectations neither Sam nor Tucker looked convinced. They shared a quick ‘what now’ look between each other and Danny resisted taking a step back and sinking into the wall. Not that he could do that, as far as he knew he couldn’t do that. Only actual ghosts could do something like that and despite everything Danny was still human- well, still had a physical form. 

Permanently. 

“Let’s move on upstairs,” Sam reasoned, “if Danny’s right there won’t be any harm in it, and if he’s not we’ll find out once whatever’s here starts actually reacting to us, right?”

Perfectly reasonable and logicked as always. Danny nodded and walked to the next door, if he was right it would lead into the room they had first entered with the staircase that twisted and climbed higher and higher into the heart of the tower. That was the next place to go. He knew that.

Tucker gently patted his shoulder as they walked towards the base of the stairs, “yeah, maybe the ghost doesn’t consider this bottom part his haunt? Maybe he just likes the clock on top?”

Danny smiled, “like the hunchback of Notre Dame?”

Smiling back, Tucker nodded, “exactly! Oh man, we gotta find out if that guy is real one of these days.”

“We have our hands a bit tied with Amity Park without going after disney characters,” Sam said, pushing the two of them from behind so they’d actually go up the stairs. “Now let's get a move on, I want to be back home before breakfast so my parents don’t realize I snuck out again.”

There was something Danny could say but he bit back the comment about how at least her parents would notice and quickly walked up the stairs instead. As soon as his feet touched the first step a bubbly feeling lifted in his chest, and it made him want to go higher as fast as he could there was someone up there waiting for him-

“Danny!” Sam called out, grabbing him by the arm, “calm down!”

Her grip on his arm was tight and Danny looked down to see what had her panicked only to find his feet had left the stairs entirely and he’d started floating upwards instead of walking. Like a human. Like his friends. Like what he was supposed to be. 

He swallowed and let himself sink back down, forcing the feeling in his chest back as much as he could. It was like trying to kill the fizz in a shaken soda by screwing a cap back on it and he struggled with it for a moment. He’d never felt like this before- sure, most ghosts and other supernatural entities tended to broadcast emotions to a higher degree than humans, and with them also being natural empaths and Danny’s unfortunate situation it often led to him being overtaken by emotions that weren’t necessarily his own. 

It’s just, they’ve never been this overwhelmingly positive before.

Even with Vlad, as human as he was, his emotions were always tinted with obsession and desperation. His need to have Danny and his mother for his own colored every interaction he’d had with the man and it often left a bitter, strained feeling in his chest. Right now, Danny felt almost giddy. And he wasn’t even sure it wasn’t just his own emotions, reacting to the environment around him. It was a nice environment after all. 

But Danny was good at ignoring things like that. 

“My bad. I’ll try and keep my feet on the ground from now on.”

Sam looked conflicted, “Danny you know we don’t mind you using your powers,” Danny nodded, they’d told him so many times over and over again, “But we don’t want to lose you to them. You promised to stay with us, remember?”

Danny smiled, “I remember. I won’t end up like that, I promised. That’s why we’re here right? To stop it?”

Sam nodded and let him go. 

The second floor was similar to the first, in that it had three rooms leading into each other with the spiral staircase in the center. Danny started with the door on the right. It was a study. There was a desk, paperwork, and a bottle of ink with a quill and Danny found himself wondering just how old this clocktower really was. And how long it had been since its occupant was truly here, alive, if ever. 

They split up and started looking around, eagerness exposed in their movements. This was the most likely place to have something useful, especially if whoever spent their time here was as studious as the lower floor suggested.  Danny went for the desk. 

There was a note on it, in perfect, looped handwriting and the ink was still glistening, fresh from the bottle if the smell had anything to say about it. Danny ran his hand across the words hoping to smudge it, but it had dried already, if barely. 

It’s nice to meet you, little anomaly.

Danny grit his teeth. 

“Guys,” he called out, holding the paper, “It knows we’re here.”

Sam and Tucker rushed over, and Sam grabbed the paper from his hand to read for herself. “Little anomaly? Isn't that kind of insensitive?”

“Yeah,” Tucker agreed, “you just have weird ghost powers right? Vlad’s the same way it’s not like you’re the only person on the planet like you.”

Hesitant to correct him, Danny bit his tongue. It was true that Vlad was a person who had unfortunately gained the abilities of a ghost, things like floating, making objects move with his mind or using his spirit to control people while he slept safe and sound at home. And he’d gained them in a similar way to Danny as well, trusting the wrong people and delving into things he never fully understood and still didn’t. 

It was just … less true for Danny was all. 

But he wasn’t going to tell them that, he wasn’t going to tell anyone that. So how did whoever, or whatever this was, know? Or was it just saying things to get under his skin, that was pretty par for the course when it came to ghosts. So why wasn’t it doing anything else? Trying to get them to leave? Was Sam right? Was it really a trap this entire time? What would happen if they went back downstairs and tried the door, would it open?

He grabbed the paper and shoved it into one of his jackets pockets, there was plenty of time to freak out over it later after all. “Let’s keep looking around, there has to be something here that it’s trying to distract us from.”

Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything more useful than there had been downstairs. Just what one would expect from a normal office. What papers he did find had detailed extensive notes, yes. But they were in a language Danny couldn’t read and neither Sam nor Tucker even recognized. It was infuriating!

Almost like whoever was haunting this place, was telling them it had all the answers they wanted but wouldn’t give them any. He just wanted to know how - Danny shook his head. There had to be something. He wouldn’t have been led all the way here, had all those dreams, if there was nothing he could do at all. 

He threw one more frustrated look around the office before he threw the stack of papers he’d been digging through on the floor and marched over to the next door. It was unlocked, again, just like all of the others and it only served to increase Danny’s frustration. 

“Wait, Danny,” Sam noticed him leaving and quickly followed, the door slammed shut behind them, locking Tucker inside the office.

“No,” he whispered, this was all his fault, he shouldn’t have let this ghost get in his head like this! He never should have let his emotions take him over, he knew better. It led to bad things. Horrible, terrible, things. 

There was a loud bang on the door, someone was pounding against it and Danny flinched. Was the actual haunting finally starting? Was everything really just a way to lure them deeper into the tower and away from each other? 

“Guys?” he heard Tucker call out from the other side of the door, “did you seriously just leave me behind? Don’t we have like, a rule against that?!” 

Danny sighed in relief, it was just Tucker. “Are you okay Tuck? Did anything happen over there when the door shut? Any oozing walls or flying papers-”

There was another thump, probably Tucker banging his head against the door, “I know what to look for Danny I’ve been doing this the exact same amount of time as you.”

“Yeah yeah,” Danny acquessed. “Just get to the stairs and we’ll meet you there.”

He exchanged a glance with Sam, she was glaring a hole into the side of his head and he felt guilty for being the cause of everything going wrong, again. So he apologized and ignored her exaggerated eye roll when she said he should have known better, because well, he did. But what was he going to do, apologize twice?

The room they were in was a simple one, likely some kind of storage space that he and Sam could dig through for hours on end, but it was more important to get to Tucker than to try and make sure they didn’t miss anything. 

Which, in hindsight, was probably exactly why they’d been separated. 

A cold breeze tickled at Danny’s hair and he felt himself relax despite it all. It felt nice, the cold, and Danny liked when the haunts they went to leaned towards the chillier side like this. Sometimes, especially if Vlad was involved, it felt like he was walking into an overwarm swamp when he entered a haunt and it made him itchy and uncomfortable the entire time. Vlad never seemed to notice, and his friends complain equally about both, so Danny had mostly kept it to himself. 

The entire tower felt nice, cold dry air, the smell of books, ink, and cookies, even the playful, excited feeling that seemed to permeate throughout the tower. Like someone had designed it to appeal in every way to both sides of Danny’s instincts. 

It was unnerving. 

He followed Sam out of the room and back into the middle where the stairs were, but Tucker wasn’t there. 

Sam pulled out her phone, and Danny held his breath as it rang, once, twice, and then a click and Tucker’s familiar, annoyed voice came through the speaker and Danny sighed in relief. “Uh guys? I couldn’t get out the door so I tried to climb out a window, and there was uh, a ladder. So I’m outside right now. Come get me?”

Danny met eyes with Sam and nodded, they headed back down, “we’re coming Tuck,” he said.

“Cool, cool, actually rather than coming to get me, can we just go home? Come back later, like in the day time? How come we never do these things in the daytime?”

“You know that’s not how ghosts work Tucker.” Sam said, bored, as they walked to the front door. Danny felt a tug, something like a hand on his shoulder and turned to see what was behind him. There wasn’t anything there. 

He turned back around to see that Sam had already walked outside, and was holding the door open for him, one of her eyebrows raised. Awkwardly, Danny jogged a little, so as to not hold them up too long. But before he could actually walk outside the door slammed shut.

Sam screamed.

“Danny! Are you okay!” Tucker asked, his voice panicked and muffled from the other side of the door.

“I’m fine,” Danny said, gritting his teeth and turning around. The room didn’t look or feel any different. There was nothing screaming at him to get out or anything else malicious. If anything it seemed even cosier than before, and Danny didn’t really know how to react to that. 

He looked back at the door. There was a way, no. He couldn’t do that. Danny pinched at the bridge of his nose, the only thing to do, really, was to see who had invited him in. That’s what it was right? Some kind of weird ghostly invite?

“I’m going to go check upstairs,” he called out to his friends before walking back towards the staircase. 

They pounded on the door, “Danny don’t you dare go up there without us! Just wait, we’ll find a way in! It’s dangerous alone!” 

Ignoring their protests Danny took the stairs two steps at a time, fighting the rising excitement in his chest and firmly planting his feet against the polished wood. There were answers waiting for him, he knew there were. He just had to find them. 

The third floor had a bedroom, it was nice, cozy and the bed even looked inviting. Danny didn’t bother to stay long. Whoever it was that called him here wasn’t in this room, nor were they in the next or the one after that. Just two bedrooms and a bathroom on that floor and Danny quickly made his way to the next. 

This room was different from the rest. For one there were windows, everywhere, that seemed to play different scenes of different people from all over the world. If Danny strained his ears, he could even hear them speaking different languages. On the other side from the windows was an entire wall of clockwork that chimed and churned as the gears moved, keeping the face of the clock on the outside ticking along in sync with the rest of the world. 

When Danny stepped into the room properly the carpet sunk easily underneath his feet and he felt a nice, cold breeze that came from a purple flamed fire housed properly in a fireplace in the middle of the room. He hadn’t even noticed a chimney from outside. 

There was a man in front of the fire. He was tall and hooded and he carried an equally tall and gnarled staff in one of his gloved hands. Danny felt himself freeze, he had never seen a ghost this solid before. There was always a little bit of transparency, no matter how powerful, they didn’t have physical forms afterall. Not like Danny.

“Who are you?” he asked. His voice was dry and soft and Danny was thankful when it didn’t crack on his question. How embarrassing would that have been? 

The man turned around, his face changing as he did from old and aged to a younger one, closer to his parent’s age, a large jagged scar marking it’s way through one of his eyes and down his cheek. He smiled, “I am Clockwork, Master of time. All that was, All that is, and All that will be. I understand you have many questions for me. I hope to answer them.” 

A thousand questions ran rapidly through his mind, why did you call me here? Did you call me here? Why get rid of my friends? What are you and why haven’t I seen anything like you before?

“How do I prevent myself from becoming that.” Danny asked the most pressing question first, desperate. The man-ghost-Clockwork, sighed and gestured for him to sit. There was a comfortable looking couch with an equally comfortable chair across from it and a plate of cookies set on an elegantly carved coffee table between the two.

“That’s easily answered, sit, have a cookie.” Clockwork floated over, crossing his legs and settling into the chair before grabbing a cookie for himself. 

Danny glanced at them, uncertain, before taking a seat. The couch was even more comfortable than it looked and he found himself sinking back into it, confused. The room was a nice, cold, temperature as well, despite the fire clearly burning in the fireplace. 

He grabbed one of the cookies, “can I eat these?” he asked, looking over at his host.

“Of course,” Clockwork smiled, taking a bite of his own before leaning back, “I made them for you. Though your friends would have to be more careful, I’m not sure what food like this would do to a human.”

“I am human,” Danny argued, placing the cookie back on its plate. He had to, denial was all he had left at this point. 

Clockwork frowned, “yes, well, I suppose we’ll get there next. You wanted to know about your dreams.”

Finally, Danny nodded, “they’re different ever since- uh well… ever since the incident.”

“It’s natural to not want to talk about one’s death,” Clockwork said, he leaned forward and tilted his head, “or one’s birth.”

“My dreams,” Danny asked, avoiding that conversation with all the grace of a blind hippo, “why are they different. You know right?”

Sighing, Clockwork nodded and leaned back, “yes, I know everything. They’re different, frankly, because they’re dreams. It’s unsettling to you because it’s new, you’ve never dreamed before.”

Danny scowled, “that doesn’t make any sense, I had plenty of dreams when-”

Clockwork interrupted him, disappointment plain under his hood, “You can lie to your friends Daniel, but I already know the truth. Just as you do.”

“I was astral projecting. Like what Vlad does… but then why-?” Danny bit his tongue. He couldn’t say it, not outloud. It was too difficult, he’d spent too long hiding it, pushing it away and doing everything he could to keep anyone from noticing. 

“Why can’t you do it anymore?” Clockwork answered for him, Danny nodded. “The simple answer is that you aren’t like Vladimir, despite what he believes and would like you to believe as well. But that’s something else you already know. Ask me a question you don’t have the answers for.”

Danny grabbed another cookie, biting into it fiercely just to have an excuse not to speak. It tasted really good, better than anything he’d had in a while and Danny wondered if maybe there was something in it meant to sate his less human cravings. The thought didn’t help his inner turmoil. 

Clockwork smiled softly at him though and sighed, “Fine, in order to answer your question, first I have one of my own.”

“Didn’t you just say you know everything?” Danny mumbled before shoving more cookie in his mouth. 

“What good is a teacher that only lectures?” Clockwork said in retort, “do you remember how you died?”

He did, of course he did. “Kinda hard to forget that. Lab accident, electrocution, nothing fancy.” he said, curling in on himself. Clockwork had been right before, it was painful to talk about. But he wanted, no, needed the answers to his questions. He’d survive this. 

“Well, that’s where your first mistake lies. Yes, that is what stopped your heart, and likely the most memorable part, but you didn’t die from that Daniel. What killed you came after.”

Danny frowned, “that doesn’t make any sense? What happened after?”

“Your spirit was never particularly bound to your body in the first place, likely due to your parents dabbling where they shouldn’t for as long as they did before you were ever born. There was a summoning, I think you remember, that your parents were holding when your accident happened on the floor below them.”

It was frustrating, that he was right. That he knew it. “I remember them recognizing me, my spirit. I remember them finding my body and shoving me back in. I remember the pain, and waking up and seeing-” Danny choked on the realization. It couldn’t be...

“Seeing the world in your dreams?” Clockwork asked, “the way you saw it when you were a spirit, free from the confines of your body, correct?” He floated over the table, sat next to Danny, and placed a hand on his back. Danny realized he had been shaking. 

He grabbed the fabric of his jeans in a tight grip and tried to stop, “It’s all real, right? It isn’t… I’m not still dreaming? Please, I need to know.”

The hand on his back pulled him close, tucked into Clockwork’s side and Danny felt comforted despite himself, he fought to blink away tears that had been building behind his eyes as he tucked himself into Clockwork’s side. He was so solid, unlike any other ghost Danny had ever met and he seemed to radiate comfort where most just gave off fear and hurt. 

“You’re not dreaming Daniel, you never were. The world is different when you see it  through our eyes, that is all. When you woke up, you weren’t human anymore. Of course you wouldn’t be limited by a human’s sight.”

Danny curled into himself tighter, despair clouding around him and likely leeching unpleasantly into the air. It would be a wonder if Clockwork didn’t feel it. “So I’m a ghost.”

“Hardly,” Clockwork said and Danny stopped breathing, “Do you think the world is so simple it is split between what is ghostly and what is not?”

“I…” Danny had actually assumed that. So far everything they’d dealt with so far, short of Vlad, had either been a ghost or spirit of some kind, or a human that used magic or ghostly artifacts. Even Vlad had simply been a person who had learned how to control his own spirit the way a ghost would. If Danny wasn’t a human, and he wasn’t a ghost, then what was he?

Clockwork ruffled his hair, “I suppose you’re young. It is easier, afterall, to think of it that way. But Daniel, ghosts don’t have physical forms. They can possess one, or control one, and sometimes even mimic one, but they are spirits.”

He sighed, “you are something entirely different. You’re something remarkable.”

Danny leaned back, using the sleeves of his hoodie to quickly dry his tears so he could look Clockwork in the eye, “What am I?”

“You’re new.”

Danny shoved him, “Agghh, I knew that you jerk!” It was probably a bad idea to attack or antagonize someone as clearly powerful and knowledgeable as Clockwork, but really he’d been asking for it. And Danny’s patience was only so strong. 

Clockwork didn’t fight him back though, nor did he get offended. Instead he just smiled that soft smile that Danny was starting to realize was affection, and said, “did you? Weren’t you trying to read my books to find out if there was anyone else like you?”

“Well yeah-” Danny stopped, “Oh. There wouldn’t be anything would there? If I’m the first?”

He groaned, that really was just his luck. He’d never figure out anything at this rate. Clockwork, the bastard, just hummed and grabbed another cookie, offering it to him. “No there wouldn’t. But you’re not the only one who was the first or only of their kind. Who had to figure out on their own, who and what they are.”

“You mean Vlad?” Danny asked, the thought left a sour taste in his mouth, wow he really hoped he didn’t mean Vlad.

Clockwork’s smile turned brittle, “I don’t mean Vlad.”

Danny chuckled, his thoughts turning mischievous, “I don’t know, he seems pretty unique, what with all those different abilities he has and the way he can choose to be human or ghost-”

“Oh please,” Clockwork interrupted, “there’s plenty of humans like Vladimir Masters, you were fully capable of astral projecting like that from birth, no black magic necessary. Just because he found a way to twist-”

He stopped, then looked down at Danny who was trying and failing to hold back a shit eating grin. All at once the air seemed to leave him and he deflated, the irritated look on his face replaced with open and honest affection and Danny felt it sing in the air around them.

“You were messing with me.”

“To be fair I didn’t think it would work, all knowing and everything.” Danny said, unable to fight the bubbling feeling in his chest as it rose to meet the affection around them. Usually it sucked having the empathy of a ghost and being near one or at least, something with the same traits. The negative emotions tended to bounce between him and them and amplify and it always made Danny struggle to parse his own emotions from theirs. But right now, in the top of a clock tower with the most powerful entity Danny had ever met, he felt happiness and joy to a degree he’d long forgotten. It was dizzying. He was almost giddy with it.

Clockwork patted him on the head, purposefully messing his hair, “yes well. I think in time, it will be more obvious just how different you truly are, how crucial every small coincidence was that came together that night to create you. But until then, you had another question? I can answer it now.”

Danny frowned as he realized what Clockwork meant, “You! I asked that question first! How did you only answer the one you wanted to!!”

“It was important,” Clockwork said, relaxing into the couch next to Danny, “to answer that question I had to be sure you knew what you were.”

He sputtered, “But I don’t?! I’m just something new! Something different!”

“Something physical that exists with the laws of the spiritual.”

“Yeah!” Danny said, “Wait, what?”

Clockwork nodded his head, “a physical entity that exists within the realms of spiritual possibility. It must be such a struggle, to deal with both sets of instincts like that.”

Danny’s head hurt, it was too much to try and understand the details of all of this. Maybe Tucker was right and he should just have let it be, learn to live with the new normal his life was now. Wasn’t that kind of what Clockwork was suggesting anyways? Then again, unlike Tucker, he did seem to thrive off of all of Danny’s questions, whether he actually answered them or not. 

“Yeah, I have to fight my more ghostly instincts all the time. It’s exhausting.” he said, leaning into Clockwork. It should have been embarrassing, seeking comfort like that, but he’d already cried into his shoulder and there wasn’t really any way to come back from that so Danny did as he pleased. 

He felt Clockwork’s hand return to his back, a solid comforting presence, “Now why would you do that?”

Danny tilted his head in confusion, “what do you mean?”

“Why would you fight against one half of yourself so thoroughly? But embrace the other side entirely?” Clockwork elaborated. “Did you think there wouldn’t be any consequences in fighting against your nature?”

“But,” Danny struggled to speak, pieces of the puzzle he’d thought hopeless putting themselves together in ways he had never expected and didn’t quite understand, “my nature is bad.”

Clockwork frowned and turned to look at Danny properly, “Daniel, it’s your nature. There is nothing good or bad about it. It is only as it is. Everything is as it’s meant to be.”

This was too much, Danny sat up fully and turned entirely towards Clockwork, “are you saying, the way I become that thing from my nightmare, is by… doing what I’ve been doing to avoid becoming that thing?!”

“Yes,” Clockwork answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

He blinked, the answer really couldn’t be that easy. “But in my dream, I, my instincts-”

Clockwork grabbed a cookie and placed it in his hands, “even humans react poorly, when they starve themselves. As you exist now, you simply need a different kind of sustenance. One you’ve been denying.”

Danny felt dread crawl down the length of his spine, “what kind of sustenance?”

“Spirits exist for reasons, and they exist differently from humans. In order to keep existing they need emotions, experiences, something to keep them held together. A spirit that has no reason to exist will simply disappear, you’ve seen such before it is relatively common after all. But you can’t do that, since you are physical in a way that they are not. You can starve yourself endlessly, into madness even if you’re desperate enough.”

“I do it to myself?” Danny asked, flustered and frustrated. It was true then? He really was his own worst enemy? 

Clockwork shook his head, “it is not inevitable Daniel. As you were, it was the most likely path forward. Yes. You would have noticed the symptoms, seen yourself losing control and then, in reaction, suppressed yourself further. Starved yourself further.”

Danny cringed, yeah, that sounded like him. “How do I stop it then? I just embrace what makes me ghostly? What about my parents? If they think they failed the resurrection, that I’m not human anymore, they’ll kill me for real! Or worse!”

“That is indeed troublesome, and the paths of the future where they know your truth are twisted and sharp, every small decision every tiny change causing a greater effect on their reactions as a whole. But you do not need to reveal yourself to your parents to live your truth.”

Relieved, Danny fell back into the couch. He hadn’t even noticed he’d floated off of it, was that good? Bad? He shook his head, this was all too confusing. “How then?” He asked, maybe this time he’d actually get a straight answer. 

Clockwork ruffled his hair and stood up, er, well, floated up and over towards the fire. “You continue doing what you’re doing with your friends, protecting your town and interacting with the truth of the world around you. And…” He turned around, “you can come visit me. It’s quite lonely in the clock tower they trapped me in, and there is much I can teach you about becoming. I had to learn such things about myself once after all.”

“You’ll let me come back? To visit you?” Danny didn’t know what to say. He could come visit, ask more questions, get more answers. It seemed too good to be true, and Danny found himself eager and excited at the prospect. 

For some reason, the entire conversation, he’d thought this would be a one time thing. That the clocktower would disappear behind him and leave any question he didn’t ask unanswered. To find out that wasn’t the case, that he had somehow, against all odds, made some kind of ghostly ally, was beyond expectations. “You’ll help me?”

The answering smile had Danny floating out of his seat, “Of course Daniel. I’ll even bake cookies.” 

[tiffdawg]

The Light of Stars | Chapter Eleven: Disillusionment

Gif: @bestintheparsec​

The Light of Stars

Pairing: Din Djarin/ The Mandalorian x Reader (fem; no y/n)

Word Count: 5.5k

Rating: M | Warnings: the typical angst and a little smooching, mild language. No spoilers for season two!

Story Summary: In pursuit of the Child’s people, the mysterious Jedi, Din Djarin and his foundling find hope in a woman who shares the kid’s strange powers. Newly partnered with the Mandalorian, you are trained in the ways of the Force, but you’re no Jedi. You’re just trying to find your place in the galaxy.

A/N: Hi! It's been a while – much longer than I ever intended and for that I apologize. I want to say thank you to you all for reading my story and sticking with me. And to everyone who left comments on previous chapters, you have all my love for ever. I really do cherish each and everyone. You all inspire me to keep writing! Anyway, I'll stop rambling and let you read the latest installment of Jetii, Din, and Baby's (mis)adventures. This chapter is officially the beginning of the end!

Read on AO3

TLOS Masterlist | My Masterlist

… . …

Chapter Eleven: Disillusionment

The last few days were a blur as you cut across the galaxy at lightspeed. Time ceased to exist even as it passed you by, but it was uneventful in the best possible way as you spent what precious time you had left with the Mandalorian and his foundling quietly existing together.

You passed most of your time in the main cabin conversing with Mando. You always talked about your pasts. Never the future. But you considered yourself lucky to have that time with him. He spoke mostly of his youth with the Mandalorians and his early forays into bounty hunting, but occasionally he’d grace you with a story from his childhood. When he’d confessed that he hadn’t so much as said his parents' names aloud in decades but still found it within himself to share a treasured memory of them, you’d reached across the small space separating you to twine your fingers with his gloved ones as best you could. The words seemed to come a little easier after that. His life had been so full of sadness that you wondered if the last few weeks together had been an anomaly even with the chaos you’d brought into his life.

Down in the hull after tasteless meals of reconstituted food, you’d spent long hours reading texts from the Jedi holocron aloud to Mando while he disassembled, cleaned, and reassembled every blaster in his weapons locker twice-over. Other times he insisted on continuing your flying lessons but there wasn’t much to do as the ship sailed through hyperspace. During the infrequent fuel stops on lonely planets, you’d stretch your legs and find a quiet place to practice with the kid in consolation for long days spent trapped inside the ship.

That day, you’d landed on Mygeeto, a cold, frigid planet a few sectors from your final destination. Mando and the kid seemed unfazed by the icy winds, but you’d had to dig out your old parka just to walk to the closet cantina while the ship refueled. It was also a decently populated planet, big on mining and banking and a hub of trade. You were on the outskirts of a smaller spaceport, but it wasn’t somewhere you wanted to linger.

The docking bay was crowded with a steady rush of people coming and going earlier that morning. Now, when you stepped into the small, outdated docking bay ahead of the Mandalorian but behind the Child’s hovering carrier, it was deserted. Instantly, your eyes went to the fueling gear still hooked up to the Razor Crest. A quick glance around the bay told you the lone mechanic was nowhere to be seen. Most likely off working on one of the other starships. That meant the three of you were stuck on that icy, crystalline planet for at least a little while longer. 

That meant trouble.

“Mando–”

“I know,” he sighed. “I made them back at the cantina. They aren’t with the guild, but they’re definitely hunters.”

“Were you just hoping they wouldn’t follow us back to the ship?”

“I wanted to get you two back to the Crest.” He entered a code on his vambrace and canceled the ship’s security protocols. After the ramp lowered, he closed the baby’s carrier and sent it into the hull of the ship.

“There are six of them,” you said, raising a brow at him, “and they’re right behind us.”

“Not a problem, sweetheart.” He placed a hand on the blaster holstered at his hip. 

“Gods, you're cocky sometimes,” you retorted. Still, you extracted your lightsaber from your satchel before tossing the bag into the ship. It pained you to think that neither the baby nor Mando would be safe until that ex-Imp was taken care of for good. And even then, you worried about who else might know about the baby. You could only wish that wasn’t fated to be their only existence together. With his visor trained on you, his helmet tilted to the side. You shrugged as you took your place beside him.

“Don’t think I can handle it on my own?”

“I know you could, but you don’t have to,” you assured him. You glanced at him out of the corner of your eyes and found him watching you.

“I–”

Whatever he was going to say next was cut off by a noise coming from just beyond the entrance. Both of your heads snapped in that direction, alert and ready for a fight. 

When the first blaster shot rang out, Mando returned it with one of his own.

. 

“How many of them are there?” you shouted over the blast that rocked the Razor Crest. You’d mistakenly assumed you’d escaped after you’d fended off the six bounty hunters at the docking bay. The gunship fired back at Mando’s command.

“Down to two,” he answered as he hit a series of switches in rapid fire. He pulled the yoke and the ship took a nosedive through empty space. “Told you that spaceport was too big.”

“You didn’t say that.”

“I thought it.

Another hit set off one of the alarms. “Mando!” 

“We’re almost to the hyperlane. Once we hit lightspeed, they can’t track us. Just hold on!”

You sighed in relief at the familiar streaks of blue light of hyperspace. Mando’s seat swiveled to face you and the Child. “You alright?” he asked the kid. He chirped happily in response. “I figured.” He turned to you, elbows resting on his knees as he leaned forward in his chair. “How about you?” 

“I’m fine,” you assured him. You might’ve been a little rattled, but you’d seen worse. “We’re those the Moff’s men? How’d they track us to Mygeeto?”

“They didn’t.” A beat passed as you waited for him to explain. “They were already here. They’re amateurs. Gideon probably distributed fobs throughout the galaxy.” 

While you’d gotten a decent glimpse of it on Vrogas Vas, you were beginning to see the severity of his situation. The Empire might’ve fallen years ago, but this former Imp had not. He had the resources and the reach to find the Mandalorian and the Child. And you didn’t like the thought of him taking on the Moff alone. “Mando, can you do something for me?” 

“Anything,” he responded quickly.  

You hesitated, doubting he would think that in a moment. “Will you send a holo to your tribe before you leave for Nevarro.” He straightened up at that, ready to protest. “You’re going to need all of the help you can get.”

“I can’t ask them to put the covert at risk for me. Not again.”

“So you know they would come for you?”

“Yes,” he answered, voice straining around the word. 

“Do you think they hold what happened against you? Do you truly believe that any one of them regrets their choice?” He didn’t say anything, but you knew your assumption was right. And you knew his guilt was misplaced. They wouldn’t have welcomed him back, called him their brother, if that was the case. “You have to forgive yourself, Mando.” You unbuckled your safety restraints and kneeled before him. With a hand on the either curved cheek of his helmet, you forced him to look at you. You leveled him with a serious look, but he was unflinching, as still as ever. “Do you want to know what I think?”

“What?”

“They’re Mandalorians. They would want to fight with you. For you. How do you not see that?”

Wrapping his hands around your wrists, he pulled your hands away from his helmet. “I can’t do that for you.” 

“Can’t or won’t?” you snapped before you stood and left the cabin.

… . …

Drawing his eyes away from the streaks of light bending around the Razor Crest, Din found you still in your seat next to him and the Child carefully cradled to your chest. With matching expressions – eyes closed and lips slightly parted – you both slept peacefully. Din had half a mind to wake you and send you both to your room. Even that makeshift bunk had to be more comfortable than the contorted position you’d maneuvered yourself into in your chair. But as the baby moved in your grasp to snuggle further into you, tiny clawed hands gripping the front of your tunic even as he drooled on it, he hesitated to disturb the scene before him.

Somehow, in the span of a few weeks, Din’s entire universe had narrowed to the two of you. His foundling, of course, was already his primary focus in life. And then you showed up and without even meaning to, the three of you had become a family.

Din had a family.  

The realization struck him hard and fast, but quickly faded into something familiar. Something some part of him already knew because of course you were his family.

A soft smile pulled at the corner of Din’s mouth as the two of you dozed, bathed in blue starlight, until he realized that he wasn’t the only one who was going to miss you. The kid had grown fond of you, to say the absolute least. When he wasn’t toddling after Din or causing trouble, he was attached to your hip. But your days together were numbered.

He didn’t have time to dwell on that reality. He was suddenly pulled from deep within his own mind by the quiet beep of an incoming holo. With the flick of a single switch, Greef Karga’s figure, in miniature and cast in static blue light, appeared on the console.

Karga’s booming voice filled the silent cabin. “I’ve been trying to reach you for days, Mando.”

“I’ve been out of range.”

“While I’m sure your new quest has taken you to the furthest reaches of this galaxy, there are more pressing matters at hand here on Nevarro. Would you care to tell me why Moff Gideon, the man you supposedly killed, is amassing stormtroopers outside my city?” he asked pointedly. “Word is he’s looking for you.”

“I’m aware,” Din sighed. “I’ll be there in a few days. I have something I need to take care of first.”

“Something or someone?” Karga mused lowly with a deep chuckle. Din followed his line of sight. Next to him, you’d woken and leaned forward in your seat just enough for the holocam to pick up your image. You watched the guild leader with interest. “Who might this stunning creature be?”

“End of the week,” Din said curtly before switching off the holo.

“Who was that?” you asked. You spoke softly, mindful of the baby in your hold. Your tired gaze lingered on the spot where Karga’s figure stood a moment ago before drifting to Din. 

“No one.”

“Right,” you said with a gentle roll of your eyes. “I heard you mention Nevarro.”

“He’s an old associate.”

“A friend?” you supplied, brows lifting with the question.

“Sometimes.”

“Well, I imagine that means something coming from you.” There was a glint of humor in your eyes but faded into something more serious as you leveled him with a stern look. “Are you sure we shouldn’t go there first?” you asked, not for the first time. “You know I’m good in a fight.”

A small huff of a laugh escaped him. You could hold your own, of that he had no doubt. And the thought of having you with him for a few extra days was nothing short of tempting. Still, something told him that was how things were meant to happen. That was the original deal the two of you struck up, after all, and the course was already set. The Crest was less than a day out from the Lah’mu sector. It would be easier on his own heart to stick to it. Surprisingly, your argument from the day before had faded into the background. He’d come to expect more of a fight from you, but you’d rejoined him in the cockpit that morning as if nothing had happened.

He decided it was best not to prompt another argument. He stood and held out a hand to you. “It’s been a long day. You should go to bed.”

You placed your hand in his and let him pull you to your feet before you gently handed the still-sleeping baby to him. “You should too.”

 .

The kid didn’t so much as stir as Din placed him in his makeshift hammock above his cot. He started to remove his armor, stowing the Beskar for a few hours of much needed reprieve. Lost deep in his own tired mind, he didn’t hear you emerge from the ship’s small refresher.

“What’s that?”

 “What?”

“That.” He glanced over his shoulder at you just in time to see you gesturing toward the compartment.

“Exactly what it looks like.” That time he heard you move closer to him as you peered around his form.

“You’ve been sleeping here?” you asked incredulously. “I thought there was another bunkroom.”

“No,” Din answered flatly. He couldn’t see why that was an issue – especially at the late hour but the scowl on your face as you moved between him and the compartment told him that you expected a better explanation. “Technically there aren’t any bunkrooms on the Crest. Yours was extra carbonite storage for backlog. I converted it recently because the kid kept trying to crawl in here with me and there’s not exactly enough space for two. I wasn’t taking on any quarries so I figured it would work temporarily.”

“And you gave it to me?” 

“Yes.” 

“Why would you do that?” 

“It’s nothing,” he said, hoping to brush it off.

“Mando,” you sighed, sounding stuck somewhere between exasperation and gratitude. You pursed your lips as you looked back at the cot. “This the sorriest excuse for a bed I’ve ever seen. I’m not letting you sleep here.” 

“Where would you have me sleep?” he asked, not bothering to hide the amusement in his voice.

“In your bed,” you replied, crossing your arms over your chest. You could be so stubborn when you wanted. Almost as stubborn as him. 

“And you?” he asked.

“I’ll be there too.” There was a hint of a mischievous smile playing on your lips. 

“Last time–” 

Your voice dropped to a whisper, but it was enough to make him forget the rest of his sentence. “I miss having you in my bed.” 

A chill shot down his spine and settled low inside him as he watched you scale the ladder that led to your room and left him to follow. Just before you disappeared, you threw a playful insult back at him. “Di’kut.”

His chest deflated as a deep sigh fell from his lips. “Let me guess who taught you that,” he called after you, rolling his eyes at your receding figure. He sealed the small compartment and followed you up.

“You had your chance to teach me nice things in Mando’a,” you retorted. “Now I can insult you seven ways to Scarif!”

 “Great,” he muttered with a light laugh.

“To be fair,” you offered when he finally walked into your small bunkroom, “Paz called me an idiot too.”

Din froze at the threshold as a cold fear rushed over him. “He told you his name?” he hissed. 

“Yeah.” You said it almost lightly, but Din heard the slight edge undercutting your words. He knew you understood the significance of the act. He could see it in the way you teased your bottom lip between your teeth. “I didn’t ask. He just told me. He said it was okay,” you tried to clarify. “It’s not like I expect you–”

“Do you want to know?” he replied quickly despite not knowing if he was prepared to give it if you said yes. While there were a few select people who knew his name now, he had never shared it with anyone himself. If Vizsla could share his name with someone outside the covert, then so could he. Right?

“Of course I do. I want to know all of you,” you started slowly. You stepped closer to him, gently resting your hands on his last piece of armor. Your eyes followed the path of your fingers as you traced the mended edge of his cuirass. “But I only want what pieces of yourself you want to share with me. I would never ask.” 

“I know you wouldn’t. You never ask for anything.” 

“I asked you to come to bed with me,” you teased, trying to divert the conversation.

“No. You told me.” You smiled almost shyly and made to move away, but Din reached for your hands and held you in place. “Ask me for something. I’ll give it to you.” You eyed him for a long moment as you considered his request. He could see the thoughts racing in your mind. “Ask me for anything,” he repeated. 

“Anything?” 

“Yes.”

“I want you to promise me something.”

“A promise?” His brows furrowed behind the visor.

“Do you remember our last conversation that morning at the covert? Because I haven’t forgotten it.” Neither had Din. He nodded once and you squeezed his hands. “No matter what answers we find on Lah’mu, no matter where your journey takes you and your son next, no matter how many years or decades it’s been since we parted,” you took a deep breath as your voice wavered, “I want you to promise me that you will pursue a life that makes you happy. The both of you. Whatever that may be.” 

Din had no response to that. He’d given you permission to ask him for anything and for some godsforsaken reason you asked for his happiness. He was struck, hardly for the first time, by just how much good there was in you. That you could possibly care about him that way even amidst your own turmoil. He would’ve preferred you ask him to call his tribe members for help. “Sweetheart–” he tried to admonish.

“Promise me, you stubborn Mandalorian,” you demanded with a new fire in your eyes. “You said you would give me anything. That’s what I want. If I can’t— If I can’t be there with you, I at least want to know in my heart that wherever you are, you are happy.” When he didn’t say anything, you pleaded. “Please, Mando.” 

Lifting a hand to the back of your head, he drew you closer to him and gently pressed his helmet to your forehead, kissing you in the only way he could in that moment. “I promise,” Din swore even though that didn’t change the fact that there was only one way he ended up happy.

“Thank you,” you sighed as if he’d given you something you needed. Without parting, your fingers dipped beneath the edge of his cuirass. “May I?” He nodded against you and you pulled just enough to deactivate the magnetic hold. Others had tried to take his armor off in the past, usually by force, but with you it felt like a barrier. Something keeping him from what he really wanted. 

As Din laid in the too-small bunk with you, your words echoed in his mind. If I can’t be there with you, I at least want to know in my heart that wherever you are, you are happy. With every quiet moment that passed, each one somehow longer than the next, he seemed to move closer to you, and you to him, until you met somewhere in the middle. His forehead knocked against yours again and as your breath ghosted across his face, he fought his overwhelming desire to kiss you. Really kiss you. To show you just how much your care for him affected him. But he remembered what happened the last time you’d tried something like that. It ended with you crying into his chest as he held you through the long night. 

He asked anyway. “Can I kiss you?” he rasped.

“I thought you just did, Mandalorian,” you teased.

He rolled you over onto your back, caging you in as he leaned on his elbows to hover above you. “You’re going to be the death of me,” he rasped. 

Before you could offer some smart retort, he slotted his mouth over yours. Despite his eagerness, he felt clumsy and unpracticed. Considering he’d never kissed anyone before you, he absolutely was. You were the only one he’d ever wanted like this. Based on the breathy little noises you made for him, you didn’t seem to mind his inexperience.

He pressed the weight of his body into yours, pinning you beneath him, until there was no space between you. You were molded to him and him to you in a way that felt natural. It felt right. He was growing accustomed to it even as he knew he shouldn’t. But those moments with you, unmasked and exposed, were too enticing.

Din never said he was a good man.

… . …

In the light of an early morning, you ran through an open field surrounded by a forest of tall evergreens. Soft wild grass cushioned each stride as you sprinted toward the tree line, chasing the fresh, spicy scent. Behind you, someone pursued you at full speed. 

No. That wasn’t right.

You glanced over your shoulder only to find not one but two young children sprinting after you, squealing and smiling. Your heart practically burst at the sight of their unbridled joy and a laugh of your own bubbled past your lips. You slowed your pace, giving in to them easily, and two sets of arms wrapped around your legs. You knelt in the dewy grass, rewarding them with snug hugs and kisses on their chubby cheeks, and earning yourself another jubilant round of laughter from them both. 

Together, they begged you to chase them next, and unable to deny them anything, you readily agreed. You stood, shooing them off to get a head start. But they wouldn’t run away just yet. Not when they were too distracted by something behind you. Another pair of arms, only much stronger, wrapped around you.

The kids ran off, shouting catch us, dad! A low rumble reverberated through your back as the man behind you laughed at the children’s wild antics. Your eyes fell closed as you leaned into him, deciding you’d follow the children in a moment. Right then all you wanted was to savor his embrace. It felt like the closest thing to home you’d ever known.

You turned your head as if to look over your shoulder and a pair of lips met yours. Even after the kiss ended, you didn’t part. The feel of his smile hovering against your lips was almost as intoxicating as his kiss.

 “Good morning, Din,” you sighed.

.

You startled awake with a sharp inhale.

Disoriented and scared, you tried to make sense of what you’d just seen. That dream felt real. Too real. Considering the turn your life had taken in the past few weeks, you had no idea what it was. A remnant of your vision. An offering from the Force. Or just your imagination playing tricks on you. It seems like the closer you get to Lah’mu, the more the Force saw fit to taunt you with that other future.

Your eyes searched the pitch-black room for some sort of sign as to where you were, but you couldn’t see anything. Instead, you felt an arm around your waist, holding you securely.

Mando’s arm.

You were still on the Razor Crest, tucked away in your shared bunk that was too small for the both of you, and he was fast asleep behind you, warm and solid. You felt him shift behind you, lifting his head from his pillow to look down at you in the dark.

“Are you okay?” he asked hoarsely. Even in sleep that man missed nothing. Mando’s hold on you tightened, pulling you back against his chest.

“Yeah,” you assured him. “Just a dream.”

“Another nightmare?” 

“No. Not quite. Just...” You screwed your eyes shut and tried to banish the lingering images, or rather sensations, of that other man from your mind. Mando’s voice cut through your daze as he called your name, drawing you back into the present. “Just strange. It almost felt like another vision.”     

“Of your future on Lah’mu?” 

“I don’t think so.”

Din shifted closer. “Your other future?”

“Yes,” you offered meekly.

“What do you dream of? With him?” The question hurt and you said nothing for a long time. The more time you spent with Mando and the baby, the more certain you were that you’d made the right choice. A life on Lah’mu as a lonely Jedi master was more appealing than a future with a stranger you could never love. Not when your heart belonged to the man lying next to you. Seeing him amongst his people had only reinforced your conclusion that Mando was not the man in your vision. It was not the way. His way. But you supposed that didn’t matter and you were only making yourself upset for no reason by reminding yourself of the fact. You’d chosen your path. “You can tell me,” he prompted again.

You shook your head and craned your neck to face him even though he couldn’t see you. You were so close your noses brushed, but he made no move to part. “No, I don’t think I can.” 

A tension hung between you as you waited for his response. “The offer stands,” he finally replied.

“And I appreciate that.” But all you really wanted was to put that dream out of your mind and forget about it entirely. The man next to you provided the perfect distraction. 

You closed that last bit of space between you, letting your mouths meet in a slow, lingering kiss. His soft, slightly chapped lips matched with yours with aching tenderness. Just like that, with him, you felt safe from all the uncertainties your future held. You decided you could indulge in it just a little while longer. Continue what he’d started the night before.

“Good morning, Mando,” you sighed around a lazy smile when you finally parted.

“Good morning, cyar’ika.”

He sounded happier, and your grin pulled taut and you turned in his arms. Holding his face with your hands, your lips melded with his again. He didn’t start at your touch anymore. He sought it out. With a hand gripping your hip, he pressed you closer.

“I could stay right here,” you murmured your confession against his lips in between hungry kisses, “forever.”

“Fuck, so could I,” he admitted. You slipped your tongue into his mouth as his lips parted around his words, earning a broken, desperate moan from him. 

He let you roll him into his back, and you moved so that you were on top of him, a knee pressing into the thin mattress on either side of him. Your hungry mouths slotted together once more.

You longed to feel his skin against yours again and as his hands slid lower, you thought he was going to free you from your tunic. But then his hands traveled further, past the hemline, over your hips and just kept going until he squeezed the swell of your backside, fingers digging into your fabric covered flesh, and ground your hips down against him. Against something hard.

“Oh fuck,” you gasped into his mouth. He chuckled darkly against your cheek as he did it again. That had no right to feel that good. You’d had your suspicions, but knowing he wanted you like that was a whole new thrill. “Eager this morning?” you asked as you searched for breath.

“You started it,” he said low and teasing while nipping at your bottom lip.

“Let me kiss you while I can.” He stilled his movements beneath you. You’d meant it as a joke, but it hurt. You pulled away and rested your head against his chest, letting out a long, slow exhalation as that all-consuming melancholy that seeped into the stolen moment. “I shouldn’t have said anything.” 

“It’s fine,” he ground out. It wasn’t fine. You could hear it in his voice. Even as he moved you off of him with the gentlest touch, you felt the distance growing between you once more. He slipped out of the bunk and you listened to him search for his helmet in the dark, but you sensed him hesitate and he turned back to you, cupping your face between his hands and pressing his lips to yours. There was something about this kiss that felt different. There was a desperate sort of passion that sends adrenaline coursing through your veins. You return it with equal fervor, pouring all your love for him into that kiss. 

“What was that for?” you asked when he finally parted from you.

“I never know.”

“Know what?”

When he spoke next, his voice came to you filtered through the modulator. “I never know when it will be our last.”

The truth of his words tore through you, leaving you feeling cold as you packed your things and emptied the converted bunkroom of all traces of you.

.

After descending the Razor Crest’s ramp, your boots hit the soft grass first, sinking slightly into the black soil that covered the planet. A cool, misty air kissed your skin as you stepped away from the safety of the ship. Your eyes scanned the green valley, landing on the small settlement that dotted the landscape.

You felt Mando approach. He stopped a half step behind you, but his presence felt heavy, almost overwhelming, as you tried to focus. Still, you knew he’d wait for your call.

“She’s here,” you announced quietly, voice barely audible over the crashing waves. You peered back at him over your shoulder, finding his dark visor already trained on you. His helmet tilted slightly. Your heart swelled with affection at the familiar, inquisitive movement. You were well beyond chastising yourself for the sentiment, even if it hurt. “And I think she’s close.” You tore your eyes away from him, ignoring the way the words seemed to get stuck in your throat. Finding your former master had been your goal for years. Now, for the first time in nearly a decade, the two of you were on the same planet. Yet you felt no joy at that momentous fact.

You felt a steady hand rest between your shoulder blades. “I’m right behind you, cyar’ika. Lead the way.”

.

After a few hours of trekking along the base of the rolling hills at the direction of one talkative settler, you found a lone woman meditating in a grassy field. She faced away from you, but the lavender hair styled in a low chignon and dark flowing robes told you exactly who she was.

“Wait here,” you directed without ever taking your eyes off of her. A familiar hand wrapped around yours, stalling you. “It’ll be okay, Mando, but you have to let go.”

You took another step forward and your hand slipped out of his. When you stopped a few paces away, you hesitated. Even after all the years you’d spent searching for your former master, you never figured out what you wanted to say. 

Before you could so much as open your mouth, a flash of violet light cut across your vision. Reacting on instinct, you reached for your lightsaber, blocking the attack at the last moment.

Falling back a step, you grounded yourself before meeting her next strike. A clash of blue and purple plasma sputtered before you. Over the cross of your sabers, you saw her calculating amber eyes flick to the side as she lifted a hand. Daring a glance back, you saw Mando frozen in place, blaster drawn and ready to fire. 

The force behind your next attack sent Zarichi reeling. 

“You hurt them,” you said through gritted teeth in between parries, “and I’ll strike you down where you stand.”

“You don’t have it in you,” she scoffed.

“You don’t know what I’m capable of.”

“I taught you everything.” Her next drive, three strong blows you narrowly managed to counter, landed you flat on your back with her saber at your neck. The slightest move would’ve singed your skin. “And you’re out of practice, padawan.” 

Before she could so much disengage her lightsaber, she was thrown across the field by some unseen force. You watched her tumble to the ground in a heap before snapping your head to the kid. He stood next to his father, hand outstretched and eyes closed. “Damn,” you breathed.

Zarichi stood and dusted herself off, eyes locked on the baby at Mando’s side. “How curious,” she assed, with a hint of a laugh. Without another word, she set off back toward the settlement. Sighing, you fell back against the grass.

With the baby clutched to his chest and a hand on his hip, Mando appeared above you. “That’s your master?” He didn’t sound amused.

“What’d you expect?” you asked with a shrug. “She’s a Jedi.”

... . ...

Thank you for reading!

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[mimsylovesloki]

Episode 2-Play by Play Reactions (Spoilers)

Ooooooh mysterious...

Oh so this variant can (at least briefly) cont people with a simple touch? No need for a scepter?

I NEED A HEROOO!

Oh this variant is taking that lady away? I wonder why

Miss Minutes is gonna move me to violence

Loki is me studying

Hahahahaha get her Loki!

Loki, leave Mobius’ magazines alone

Wow he got into the work force rather fast huh? Bit of a whiplash type scenario considering the end of episode one

No, YOU’RE a cosmic mistake! 😤 my boy looks hot regardless

Sooooo Loki is the most common variant? Why does this not surprise me?

Is... is he a football cup champion??? Omg 😂

Smart boy. Illusion projecting is different than duplication casting. Neato. LISTEN TO MY SMART BOY. RESPECT HIM.

Dude loves wheeling

Yea Loki. Work on getting to the time keepers. Overthrow the government.

Dude is smart with these questions.

Propaganda is INDEED exhausting so that’s fair

Fist hostage... maybe he’s (or she?) gonna use her as a body transfer like Loki in the comics with Sif?

Oh please let this be a genuine smart Loki moment and not just setting him up as a joke and embarrassment...

“Where there are wolf’s ears, wolf’s teeth are near.” Good to know basic mammalian anatomy is still applicable to Asgardian wolves...

Cmon Loki do something cool. Please. Please Loki. Please.

Preach my man, but please, do something cool. My anxiety that you’ll be turned into a joke is spiking.

Is he actually waiting outside or is Loki really just trying to mess with them and throw them off? Or is he just being too cocky for his own good and it’s gonna mess him up? Please please please don’t disappoint me. I have merch for this show already that I can’t return

Bargain baby, bar again. Do it.

Is he actually concerned for the time keepers orrrrrr

Dangit Mobius

Does... being reset... hurt?

Bye C-20 I guess... for now? We’ll see

Of course it’s a friggin theremin that’s playing

Mobius x Judge Renslayer? Oooooooh. Tsundere Renslayer.

Use a coaster my man

Oh her first name is Ravonna

Controversy is the best thing though

You can never understand this Loki. As soon as you begin to understand, he changes. He’s unpredictable.

“I know you have a soft spot for broken things.” Ah, so this entire fandom then?

“But Loki is an evil, lying scourge.” YOU TAKE THAT BACK YOU WENCH!

“That is the part he plays in the sacred timeline.” Well you clearly haven’t been paying enough attention to the files then, hm? Here, let me redirect you to one of the many character analyses I’ve written. Now if you read here........

He doesn’t need to change. He’s already not evil

I don’t trust Renslayer or the time keepers... or Renslayer WITH the time keepers... I think she plays a bigger, antagonistic role than I thought.

You just TRY and delete him Mobius... just... TRY... I will find a way to break the fourth wall and no time keepers can keep you safe from the rage of a million fan girls. Nothing... we don’t need magic...

Omg Loki just sitting there in a chair outside the office like a kid while their parent is talking with the teacher about their “recent behavior”.

Cmon Loki, you don’t need to make excuses or impress him.

My poor boy is SOOO out of his zone.

Tbf mobius, you ASKED. You asked what makes him tick.

Hey hey hey, let’s not gaslight my boy...

The Loki is... uhhh something... gotta keep my hopes up. Trust in Tom Hiddleston...

Mobius showing his true colors...

Please Loki... be badass... not just a joke... please please please... PLEASE!

Mobius, play nice.

I hope this “superior” Loki thing, if it is a female, isn’t a desperate attempt at feminism pandering, chocking up her “superiority” to being female. Please give the characters real stories. Flesh them out.

Juice box time?

No?

More homework?

Bugger...

The sass is off the charts

Librarian lady gonna get killed

Oh boy

Pffffft—

I miss Casey.

Hey don’t ignore Loki. That’s rude.

Bell is the answer?

Poor Loki. Stop trying to fit in. You are best when you are genuinely yourself.

What’s to stop Loki from grabbing the other files?

Homework... I thought I escaped this when I graduated...

Whatcha seeing there?

Oh...

Bye bye Asgard...

Cmon... not more feels.

AGGHHHHHHHH

Please allow him confirmation of Thor’s survival and beating of Thanos!!! He needs that confirmation! He needs that reassurance.

Hear him out Mobius.

“He’s hiding in apocalypses.” Sooooo is that why they go to presumably Mount Vesuvius? I assume?

Mobius, let Loki have your salad.

Rip salad

CASEY

Casey’s juice box

Poor Casey and mobius salad...

Loki, your logic astounds me.

Well, pushing Hulk off of the bridge WOULD have an effect...

VESUVIUS HERE WE COME

He hasn’t really stabbed anyone in the back... except Thor... but not 50 times

Pompeii, here we come!

Ooooooh we gonna see Loki dance with a lady? 😏 get ittttt

Well, if you do cause a branch, can’t you just reset the timeline?

CAUSE SOME CHAOS MY LOVELY MAN

OMG IM HEARING THE LOVE OF MY LIFE SPEAK ITALIAN

I can die happy now

Loki... you look insane.

Uhhh run

Okay you’re good

Sleepy Loki

Let him sleep!

Soooo, I mean, technically, Loki’s actions would still cause the timeline to change, but said change wouldn’t have an impact on the future, just the current moment... so shouldn’t it still be detected by the TVA? At least as a little fleck?

Jet skis?

Omg I just snorted at Loki begrudgingly agreeing with Mobius that jet skis are awesome

Mobius offending my History Teachers for 50 minutes straight... that’s it. That’s the episode.

Mobius really in love with jet skis for some reason

We better get to see Mobius on a jet ski

Fighting for jet skis?

Lol mobius has a point about the magical Asgardians and Jötunns

Glorious purpose

Cmon Loki, destroy this man’s beliefs.

OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT

DO IT

TEAM UP AND THROW THE TIMELINE INTO CHAOS

How would you know what the time keepers are doing when you’ve never met them?

How can you meet in peace at the end of time with no chaos?

“You see, I know something children don’t. That no one bad is ever truly bad. And no one good is ever truly good.”

Mobius, don’t patronize my boy. Go jet skiing.

“I know.” Oh good, that point in the trailer was edited.

No candy on Asgard? Poor Loki.

May the best man win? Well that automatically means Loki.

Getting National Treasure vibes

Love you

Alabama will still exist in 2050? That’s disappointing.

Roxxcart.

Loki is very smart. Thank you show.

Renslayer, if you claim Mobius is your friend, trust him.

Kachow!

“For all time.” “Always.” TVA is definitely a cult.

Weapon?

WEAPON!

...weapon???

no weapon...

Meanie...

Are we gonna see what this Loki variant looks like?

I have a feeling this variant is gonna be the female, blonde (I’m so sorry, at the moment I forget her name) in those pictures we saw. Guessing because 1) she was wearing a Loki outfit. 2) her and tom Hiddleston were wet in that picture as if rained on 3) the scene when they enter Roxxcart occurs when it starts to rain due to the upcoming massive storm. So I’m placing all of my money on the table the Loki variant is Lady Loki. Blonde, for some reason. (Or maybe she just didn’t have a wig on in the picture of her we saw?)

Yea please don’t prune this Loki.

Storms a brewing

Good to know Alabama, at some point, does get destroyed. That’s comforting. (Btw this is a joke. I have nothing against Alabama lol. Idk why my brain thought this was funny lol.)

All wet and rainy.

HAHAHAHA USE THAT MAGIC BABY

LET MOBIUS STICK WITH LOKI

Ooh ooh! Is Loki gonna use powers to yoink the roomba here?

Uh oh. Forgot to take into consideration that most big businesses, especially stores, have security cameras, huh?

Times ticking...

Wait was that a reset charge?

Awkward silence

Spookyyyy

Poor dude lol

Or not

Hmmm

Oh???

I RECOGNIZE THAT MAGIC!!! ITS HER!!!

HUNTER (forget her number) IS THE LOKI VARIANT!!! When was she replaced? Or was she always the variant?

That or the other Loki is projecting herself into the hunter? Maybe used the shopping dude as a conduit?

Moment of realization

Smiling contest

No no, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is superior. I don’t care who else tries to play Loki, Tom IS Loki.

Oh no

Baby crying?

These poor people...

No need to be rough

Is Mobius genuinely caring

Oh... poor C-20

Team up please? Please?

Ah so they really can just send themself into any body they wish, huh? Just by touch?

Loki, learn that trick please.

Sooo, is the other variant Loki’s body tangible? Do they project their conscience into other bodies via touch, or do they not have a corporeal body and rely on others to exist?

Doctor Who vibes

TEAM UP PLEASE

YES

Please

Please?

Offended by Loki name?

Haha sympathy for Thor

Go randy.

Soooo what are you interested in if not ruling the TVA?

Who’s that planting charges? The real body of the other variant Loki?

You okay C-20? (Off topic her actress reminds me of the actress who played Ava Star aka Ghost in Ant-Man and the Wasp) what is real and what about it is so mind capturing for you?

Oh no

Poor girl

Cmon B-15

Hello?

Reset charge

Oh? Bye bye?

HEY!

That’s rude

I miss Randy too

Cmon Loki fight like the badass I know you are

Please

HAHA! TELEKINESIS

Cartwheel WEEEEE

Oooh he swore

Lokis have a pattern of swearing only while taking other peoples forms

Cmon Loki. Go back to mobius. Help them. Prove your goodness. Please.

Poor trucker man

Hello?

Hello!

Fave reveal?

I KNEW IT

Oh????

Flashlights?

RUN!

Is this actually a Loki variant or just sylvie? Or Amora?

Uh oh...

What’s happening

Is she absolutely destroying the timeline?

Poor Doctor Strange. I wonder if he knows about the TVA?

Loki is all alone? Why is he standing still?

Where is she going?

Cmon Loki... help them please...

Loki...

CLIFF HANGER

NOOOOO I CANT WAIT ANOTHER WEEK AGHHHHHHHH

Are they gonna be okay?

How is the variant traveling?

What is her goal?

Why is Loki going after her?

Why is Loki leaning towards the apparent evil side?

Is this actually lady Loki or sylvie or amora since her hair is blonde?

WHAT IS HAPPENING???

So much just happened in so little time. It’s like Marvel wants to slowly spoon feed us with the first 3/4 of the episode and then in the last 1/4, they waterboard us.

Why is this female Loki variant so much more powerful?

So Loki DID know what was going on at the Renaissance fair and was intentionally stalling for her... why?

Her horned helmet is similar to the one kid(?) Loki wears in the comics. One horn broken. How did that happen? Why does she still wear it, especially if she doesn’t want to be called Loki?

No end credit scene yet.

[ziezie13]

So I watched The Mummy for the first time last night and I am appalled that there is only one Drarry Mummy AU. The thing practically writes itself. Rick O'Connell = Harry Potter, Evelyn Carnahan = Draco Malfoy.

After the war, Draco was exiled either officially or socially and has taken up residence in Alexandria, Egypt where he works as a librarian, restocking the ancient library that had been lost. Over the years he has also become the foremost experts in dead languages. But he never wins any grants for his research because of the bias around his ex-death eater status. One day an artifact comes across his desk, a strange puzzle box. Draco solves the thing over evening tea, of course (also he has reading glasses now because that is hot). Inside is a map to Hamunaptra, the ancient Egyptian city of the dead that has become no more than legend and most people believe never existed. Draco is ecstatic because the last recorded location of the Book of Amun-Ra and most myth is founded in reality as he knows. He takes the map to his boss who laughs in his face and accidentally burns off a piece of the map with a badly placed candle. Draco asks where the puzzle box came from and someone tells him it was confiscated from some treasure hunter at the local prison. Draco goes to the prison only to find Harry bloody Potter in chains and looking very disheveled.

Potter's hair is long and greasy, he had a matted beard, covered in dirt and grim, and wearing rags. But Draco would recognize those bright green eyes anywhere. Potter does not seem to be as surprised to see Draco as Draco is to see him which frustrates him to no end. Turns out Potter dropped out of the Auror program years ago and has been working as a freelance curse breaker in the Egyptian desert ever since. He landed his ass in prison after a drunken bar fight where he was arrested with multiple legal magical artifacts. After composing himself, Draco asks Potter about the puzzle box.

"You want to know about Hamunaptra." A statement not a question.

"How did you know the box was connected to Hamunaptra?"

"Because that is where I found it."

"You've been to Hamunaptra."

"Yes."

"Why should I believe you?"

Potter's smile fades immediately at those words. "I don't lie, Malfoy. Besides, you have the proof in your hands."

Draco weighs Potter’s words and shows him the damaged map. "Could you complete this?"

Harry studies the map for a few seconds. "No."

Draco wilts.

"But I could take you there. If you can get me out."

The next day after a few well placed bribes Draco picks Potter up from the prison. "So what first?"

"First I need a shower and a shave."

They go to Draco’s flat where Potter cleans himself up. He emerges from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and fuck Potter has absolutely no right to look like that. His skin has a bronze hue, golden from the sun, and there are just so many muscles. His facial hair has been trimmed to a sexy scruff and his long hair is now clean and dripping wet. Draco follows the path of a drop as it drips down Potter’s chest and disappears into the towel.

"I don't suppose you have any clothes that might fit?"

Draco gives Potter a shirt and trousers. Potter pulls his hair into a messy bun. The trousers are too long, so Potter rolls them up a bit. Both the trousers and shirt fit snugly in more that a few places. Draco knows a charm that would fix that but decides to keep it to himself.

"Why are you so set on getting to Hamunaptra? Need some more dark artifacts to round out your collection?"

Draco frowned. "If you must know I am searching for the Book of Amun-Ra so that I can return it to the Library."

"And this has nothing to do with the fact that the book is made of solid gold."

"You know your history, Potter?"

"I know my treasure."

They then go into town to get supplies and transport. Turns out there is a group of Americans also headed for Hamunaptra and they have a guide who also claims to have been there before. And so the race is on. The city is magicaly protected so they can't apperate or use a portkey. They will get as close as they can using the river then ride camels the rest of the way. What they don't know is that there is a secret society that has protected Hamunaptra from outsiders for centuries. On their first night on the boat they are attacked. A masked figure tries to steal the map and the puzzle box. Draco and Potter jump overboard and escape but they lose the map. Doesn't matter though, because Potter assures Draco he knows the way. Their clothes and supplies are still on the ship though and Draco is in pajamas. They find a local market and Potter pays for some new clothes for Draco and a couple of camels. They set off for Hamunaptra and arrive at the exact same time as the Americans. They wait for the sunrise to reveal the ancient city and ride in. They set up separate camps and dig sites. Draco uses his expert knowledge to find them a prime location. That night the masked riders return and attack both camps. They warn both parties that they have one day to leave or they will die. Draco gets drunk and has a heart to heart with Potter.

"Can I kiss you Potter?"

"Only if you call me Harry."

Draco moves in close but passes out on Potter’s chest before they can kiss.

The next day it is back to business because they are on a clock now. The American's find the Book of the Dead and an ancient magic settles over them as they pull it out. They read from the book and accidentally activate an ancient curse that awakes the Mummy.

The mummy sucks the life/magic from one of the Americans becoming more alive looking.

Some other people die. Harry and Draco manage to escape but not before Draco is marked by the mummy.

They regroup at a hotel in a nearby town and devise a plan. One of the Americans decides to peace out and tells the others to have a nice life. The leader of the masked men shows up and chastises them for activating the curse. He tells them about the mummy, Neferkarê. Neferkarê was an ancient priest, i.e. wizard, sentenced to death along with his lover after breaking his vows. He placed a curse as he died that would ensure that one day he would awaken and resurrect his lover. The mark that he placed on Draco signifies that Draco will be the sacrifice to bring Neferkarê's lover back. Draco reads from the Book of the Dead and they learn that Neferkarê is weakened still and will need to suck the life/magic out of the Americans who unearthed the book before he can do the ritual to resurrect his love. Draco also figures that there must be a spell that can stop Neferkarê written in the Book of Amun-Ra. He goes over the layout of the city in his head as well as everything he has read about it and deduces where the book must be. Potter then locks Draco in the bedroom.

"This is for your own safety. The Mummy marked you, not me. I will rescue the American, get the book, bring it back, and then you can fix it."

Potter and the masked man go after the American who left, to warn him. Meanwhile Draco dies of boredom. He paces in the room trying to find a way out. Neferkarê shows up and drains the two Americans that Harry left behind to guard Draco. He then becomes sand and enters Draco’s room reforming. Draco fights him but Neferkarê has drained all four Americans at this point and kidnaps Draco.

Potter arrives just as Neferkarê grabs Draco and dissolves into a dust storm.

Potter chases after them across the desert on a broom.

Seeing Potter following them he stops and sends a sandstorm right for Potter. Draco attacks Neferkarê again and breaks his concentration so that Potter can get away. Potter crashes his broom but Draco is hopeful that he is still alive after all Potter has survived much worse.

Neferkarê finishes taking Draco back to Hamunaptra and ties him down to the ritual alter. He begins to prep the ritual and Draco can only hope that Potter shows up with the Book of Amun-Ra. Things look pretty grim for a moment but Potter shows up at the last minute and severs Draco’s bonds. Neferkarê resurrects other mummies that begin fighting Potter and turns his attention back to Draco. Draco meanwhile is trying to get the book open but it requires a key i.e. the puzzle box which is now in the possession of Neferkarê. Draco and Neferkarê battle a third time. Draco knows he is no match for Neferkarê, Harry might be - maybe, but he is otherwise occupied at the moment. So Draco outwits Neferkarê and gets the key. He reads from the book but before he can finish the spell Neferkarê recovers and turns on Draco again knocking the book away. Harry finished up with the undead army but he doesn't know if he should go for Draco or the book. Draco makes the decision for him.

"The book, Harry! Get the book."

Harry obeys and flips the book open to the right spot.

"I can't read this Draco."

"Just describe the last symbol to me."

At this point Neferkarê has begun to choke Draco to death.

"It’s some kind of bird. A stork!"

"Ahmenophus." Draco chokes out.

Draco manages to say the entire incantation and Neferkarê drops him and staggers back. But after a beat he seems fine and goes after Draco again.

Harry steps in and fires off a spell. "I thought that was supposed to kill him."

Draco shakes his head. "It made him mortal."

The structure begins to shake and threatens to collapse in on itself. Draco and Harry share a look and head towards the exit. Neferkarê refuses to leave his lover and ends up buried alive.

Draco and Harry emerge from the sand unscathed and share a passionate kiss before riding off into the sunset.

[kriffingunlucky]

Any chance I could get some platonic bad batch with a padawan reader, the padawan was assigned to work with them for a mission, and the badbatch think that they have to babysit, but the padawan ends up being super helpful and cheerful and the badbatch doesn't want the reader to leave at the end of the mission...

Soo,, this isn’t what exactly I meant to do, but?? Sorry it’s not much. I like the baby padawan as a friend of the bad batch idea though! :’)

----------

"Really? How old are they even?"

"I don't know. However old a Jedi Padawan is." Tech shrugs to Crosshair's inquiry, tapping away at his datapad, never looking up to meet the snipers pissed gaze. The smaller clone just ignored his brothers loud sigh as their sergeant walked in.

“We’ve arrived. And they should be sitting outside. Waiting in the hangar for us. After we get them we’re taking off again.” Hunter says smoothly, running a hand through his hair. He wasn’t super excited to gain another passenger. “This is only for today, boys. Keep them alive for one day. And we’re good.”

He finished his sentence as they touched down, the ship causing lots of wind and dust to kick up, but as the ramp slowly lowered he saw the padawan standing there. Holding their arms over their face to keep the dust from blinding them. The offer a smile once everything calms though, a very soft, gentle smile.

Hunter was concerned about the childs safety. But he can’t exactly just leave them here. Not only was it against direct orders, it would humiliate them.

So he stepped to the side, half handing off of the steps as he gestures inside. “Come on, kid. We haven’t got all day.”

The padawan smiles, excitedly nodding and making quick work of the stairs. Their eyes held this untapped emotion that the clone commando treasured. They held curiosity and life in those (e/c) orbs.

Hunter followed closely behind them, as they entered, closing the ramp behind him. “Boarded, ready for takeoff!” He called out and heard Tech make his way to the front of the ship again, to pilot their way out of here.

Hunter stood in the middle of the room with the human, motioning towards them and then his men. “Care for introductions, hm?“

The padawan smiled, clapping their hands together. “Ah, yeah! Sorry! The name’s (Y/n).” They push some of their tousled hair behind their ear. “It’s an honor to meet you guys.”

Crosshair just kept an eyebrow lifted, skeptical. But Wrecker was all for having a new friend onboard. He threw a wide smile out there and placed his hands on his hips, laughing.

“(Y/n), y’sure you can handle yourself?” He sizes them up. “Ya kinda small, if you haven’t noticed.”

(Y/n) grins widely, accepting that as a challenge. They match his stance, radiating energy and confidence. It was surprising, coming from that small of a person. Comparatively, really. “Absolutely. I can kick ass any day!”

Wrecker cheers, pumping his fist into the air. “Love to hear that.”

“Can’t wait to see it.” Crosshair snides from his seated position, he was too busy cleaning his rifle to look up. But he was obviously entertained by his tone of voice.

This miniature Jedi’s energy was contagious.

-----

After the ride there, in which the conversation consisted of Wrecker exaggerating on the danger of the animals that they’ll be encountering, they landed on a grassy, forest planet. Moon, actually. But that didn’t matter much.

Hunter handed (Y/n) a filtering mask, a smile on his lips as he pulled his helmet over his face. “You’re gonna need this, kid.”

As soon as they all stepped onto the soil Tech began blabbering about the people who used to inhabit this moon, the plants, and how the animals are more scared of them then they are of the animals.

In which, (Y/n) listened carefully. Absorbing every word the smaller man said. Even asking questions every so often when something particularly sparked their interest. But mostly kept quiet. A look of awe in their eyes.

Tech was smitten with the attention.

But as they walked, a large, rabid creature came charging towards them. The boys split and took flanks on both side of it, taking proper cover.

But the padawan stood stock still in the middle, spreading their legs slightly they took on a firm stance. And pulled their saber off of their belt. Staring down the drooling animal as it charged. They closed their eyes and took a deep breath, opening them with a fiery intensity, they ignited the (blade color) saber and turned to the side, beheading the creature and dodging it’s attack with one swift strike.

Some of it’s blood splattered on their face and body, but they seemed unmoved. They just cut their saber and wiped their cheek with their sleeve.

“It’s dead.” They called, awkwardly stepping over the sprawled out legs of the dead animal, stumbling slightly. Approaching where Hunter is stepping back out into the lightly worn path.

He wore a brilliant look in his eyes, a small smirk on his lips. But that was hidden away behind the helmet.

“Nice work, (Y/n).” He ruffles their hair, making them laugh in return,

“Yeah!” Wrecker cheers, playfully nudging their shoulder, making them stumble more then he expected, But what else did he expect to happen? He’s a giant. “Nice kill, tiny jedi!”

Tech agrees with a nod of his head and Crosshair only gave them a respectful bow of his head, but it was better then before. So they considered that progress.

“Thanks, guys.” They smiled widely at the attention. “Come on, lets keep going.”

And that they did, they kept venturing through the thick brush of the planet until they came to the base they were supposed to be looking for. It had been abandoned due to the lack of breathable air on this planet. They went in and extracted the old files successfully, no trouble after that large animal jumped them, but when they made it back to the ship they were all thinking the same thing.

They had too good of a time to let the Jedi go.

But they had to.

Sadly they flew back to the original base the padawan came from. The ship was quiet, much unlike how they were earlier, laughing and joking as Wrecker tripped on the large tree roots of the planet. Landing and opening the ramp, they all nodded, and kept their mouths shut as (Y/n) waved goodbye.

Walking down the stairs, a frown stuck to their face, they turned when Hunter called to them. Raising an eyebrow.

“Hey kid?”

“Yes, sir?”

“You’re always welcome to join this squad on any mission you feel like.” He threw a smile their way, leaning on the framework of the ship. The rest of the crew could be seen behind him. Watching them leave.

The padawan threw a sloppy salute, a smile on their face. “Sir, yes sir.”

[wellthatjusthappend]

Rainbowfish merjay just kinda wishing people would respect things like consent and boundaries regarding his scales.

Gah, rainbow fish always made me super upset. There’s sharing, and then there’s other demanding you harm yourself for other’s benefit. What a thing to put in a kid’s book. 

Here you go!

****

Slade was on a hunt for the young Mer with the diamond scales.

They weren’t actually diamond of course- they’d probably be less valuable if they were- but instead made from some sort of mutation that particular Mer had which caused some of its scales to crystallize. One merchant had described it like being able to hold every rainbow that would ever exist in your hand. 

Slade wasn’t quite that romantic, but he had gotten so see a small one up close and he could see how they could mesmerize someone. 

“I’ll give you half a million for every scale you bring me,” the merchant told him, “More, if you can get bigger ones than these.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Slade said.

Some research had shown that that the scales might be worth possibly even more than that. The longer they were on the market, the more the demand grew. 

Slade had to find the Mer.

It was a lot more difficult than he’d anticipated, the little fish had gone into hiding. However, Slade wasn’t discouraged. He was a seasoned hunter, he knew he’d fine him eventually. 

It was the scales that gave him away in the end. 

Mer frequently lost scales when they rubbed up against rocks and coral. It didn’t hurt them anymore than human losing a few strands of hair in a brush. Slade notices that some of the scales were sticking weirdly to the rocks and found them covered in tar. Rubbing them off revealed that tell tale shimmer he’d been searching for. 

“Clever fish,” Slade hummed, tucking the scales into his pocket.

When he found the Mer, he was fighting for his life from a band of hunters.

That wouldn’t do. 

Slade dove into the fray and helped the Mer dispatch his would-be killers. Slade could see the logic: kill the Mer, take the tail and you would be the richest person on the planet. But it was short-sighted and wasteful, and Slade had no qualms about relieving the fools of their lives. 

“You alright, kid?” Slade asked.

“Like you care,” snarled the Mer, “Don’t lie, you’re after me just like the rest of those scum.”

It was hard to tell how much of the Mer’s scales had the mutation with the tar covering his tail, but Slade’s estimate was ‘enough’. There was also a streak of that shimmering silver in the boy’s black hair that suggested that the mutation wasn’t restricted to his scales. 

What bothered Slade was the scars. Now, it wasn’t unusual for a Mer to have plenty of scars, but this poor kid was covered in them, especially on his tail. Slade could tell there were whole patches where scales had been forcibly ripped off and never grew back. The boy’s color was weak, and his hair and tail gone slightly dull from the stress of prolonged hunting.

Wasteful, Slade thought angrily at his fellow hunters. The utter fools were ruining what could otherwise be a rich- and self renewing- treasure.

“I’m fucking done with the whole lopt of you,” growled the Mer, “I’m tired of assholes thinking they can just come up and take shit without asking. I’m tired of people thinking they can destroy my homes looking for scales I’ve shed. I’m fucking tired of having to look over my shoulder and finding fuckers like you looking to take a piece of me.”

“Understandable,” Slade nodded, backing off just far enough to let the Mer have his space.

“Here, just,” Slade held back a wince as the boy ripped off one of his scales without looking and extending it to Slade, “just take this and get the fuck away from me.”

The scale was twice the size of the one the Merchant had. Slade bet it was worth 2 million at least. 

He made no move to take it.

“What’s you name, little rainbow fish?” Slade asked.

“What’s it to you?” the Mer sneered. When Slade just held his gaze, the boy looked away and muttered, “...Jason.”

“My name is Slade Wilson,” he said, “And though it’s true I was contracted to get a few of your scales, I see no reason to hurt you by doing so.”

“What are you talking about?” Jason said wearily. Slade noted the way he’d tensed when he’d heard his name; so he wasn’t unaware of Slade’s reputation. Good.

“Let’s make a deal,” Slade said, a slow smile beginning to spread across his face, “If you let me have some of your scales when they naturally fall out, then I will provide you with absolute protection.” 

“You’re just greedy like the rest of them,” Jason wrinkled his nose in distaste. 

“I am greedy,” acknowledged Slade, “But perhaps not quite ‘like the rest of them’; If you came to live with me, your space would be your own, and I would never enter it unless you invited me there. I would never ‘harvest’ from you, and the only scales I would take would be the ones you freely give. If you decide to keep the scales you shed to yourself, then I won’t take them from you or allow anyone else to do so.”

A flicker of longing crossed the Mer’s face for one moment before it was hidden behind suspicion again. 

“Why would you do that? That doesn’t sound like a profitable situation. What’s really in it for you,” Jason asked, glaring at him.

“On the contrary, if you kept your scales to yourself it would only drive the price and value of them up because of their scarcity,” Slade said, shrugging, “And as the only supplier, that could only benefit me. In exchange, I would do everything in my power to ensure your happiness and safety.”

Jason shifted, his tail swirling around him testily as he thought it over, fingers absentmindedly tracing a scar on his flank where several scales had been ripped off by force. What wasteful fools. 

“Say I agree, what happens if I change my mind and want to leave later on?” Jason finally said.

Slade had to stop a triumphant smile from spreading across his face.

“You would be free to leave at any time,” he assured him. It might even be beneficial if Jason did decide to leave him for a brief time- just long enough to come swimming back into Slade’s arms at a taste of the brutality of life without his protection.

“Alright,” Jason said, raising his head and meeting his eyes, “You have a deal.”

[lu-undy]

A lil sad request: spy gets hurt on the battlefield like really hurt and he’s rushed to medic bay afterwards. And sniper not allowed to see him so he gets really worried and starts venting to demo that he might not ever see him again and he that blaming himself for lu getting injured. Only to have Interrupted by spy in cast who is very disappointed that mundy thinks he could killed so easily-

Here we go, a worried lil’ Aussie bloke :) Hope you like it!

"They've been in there for hours, can't I see him? I just want to see him!" 

"Nyet." 

Heavy was standing in front of the door to Medic's lab. His German friend had instructed him not to let anyone in, especially not Sniper.

"Ugh, mate, please…"

"Nyet." 

Sniper sighed and his shoulders sank. Heavy stood like a wall between him and Medic's lab.

"Is there anything I can do for you to let me in?" 

Heavy shook his head.

"Wanker…" Sniper turned his back and went away. 

Spy had been quite severely injured right at the end of the round so respawn did not fix it. All Sniper knew about it was what he saw of the incident. Spy was escaping the enemy Soldier and wanted to jump to a lower level of the map. However, Soldier had shot a rocket, making Spy jump higher than he had anticipated and he landed unconscious right at Sniper's feet as the Administrator announced their victory. 

Well, what is a victory when Spy's body was unconscious and covered in blood in Sniper's arms? 

Nothing is what it was, nothing, and certainly not a victory. 

Sniper went back to the base. He thought that a bit of time with his colleagues might manage to distract him from his worries about his lover. He sat on the couch in the living-room next to Demo and Soldier who were watching some American football on TV. 

"Hey, lad, fancy a beer?" Demo handed him a bottle but Sniper shook his head. "Is it Spy?" Demo asked, seeing his friend's distraught blue eyes behind the aviator glasses. 

"Yeah…" 

"No! He missed it!" Soldier shouted at the screen and both Sniper and Demo got startled. 

"C'mere, lad. You need a good chat." Demo stood up and pulled Sniper to follow him. He dragged him outside and they sat on the edge of the van, at the back, on the small step there. "So, what's wrong?" 

"He's still with Medic and I'm… I'm worried, ok?" 

"Yeah, I can see that. But don't you worry, I'm sure the doc' will fix him!" 

"Yeah, well…"

Demo squinted at Sniper. 

"The doc' always fixes us, why d'you still worry?" 

"I don't know… When he crashed next to me, I - it was terrible. His face was pale, more pale than usual but he was covered in blood and worst of all, he was completely unconscious. But what scares me now is that the doc' never spends that long with anyone, even when we break our bones… I can't help thinkin' something seriously bad has happened." 

Demo put a hand on Sniper's shoulder but the Aussie kept his head lowered, staring at his boots and the orange, dusty ground of the desert.

"Have you tried to ask Medic?" Demo asked. 

"I tried, but Heavy's at the door and he won't let me in…"

"Ah, yeah, well… D'you want me to go and ask? Maybe he'll let me go in?" 

Sniper's face brightened. 

"Y-yeah, please, ask him how Spy's doing and uh, how much longer before I see him, and ask him if-"

"Wow, wow, lad, calm down, eh?" Demo chuckled. "I'll do it all. Now, you stay here and," Demo stood up. "Ye don't move, alright?" 

Sniper nodded excitedly and he rested his chin on his palms, waiting for Demo to come back. The poor Aussie couldn't help taking a look at his watch every so often. He was naturally patient, but Spy had changed him a bit in that regard. 

Well, Spy had changed him a lot. First, he loved him back, and that was the biggest change in Sniper's life for a few decades at least. He wasn't one to go around wooing ladies or gents. He didn't like the whole process of dating. Having ideas where to take the person, getting ready for it, preparing everything and half of the time, ending up being stood up. Nah… He didn't like it. The way Sniper usually did it was in pubs. After a couple of drinks, no one is shy anymore and sheilas are easier to get and less picky. He'd play the solitary hunter who lives in a van and boom, as easy as a headshot, he'd find himself someone to spend the night with.

But that was about it. The next morning, they would be gone and wouldn't want more of him. Hell, to be honest, neither did he. How could you want more from someone that you just know the body of? 

Spy had broken that habit - or that curse. Sniper couldn't exactly recall how it happened but they got to know each other and spend more and more time with each other without it feeling like dates per se. They would show up in their Mann Co. uniforms and decide what to do on the spur of the moment. Spy showed him a few good movies, not always the kind that Sniper had expected him to like. He would reciprocate by showing him the stars at night and commenting at length on the godly night blanket under which Sniper slept. 

Not anymore, eh. They had started sleeping together and as curious as it had seemed for both of them, they had started by just sleeping. Sniper found it odd that Spy wouldn't be more forward but on his side of things, Spy just wanted that: some company. Sniper eventually understood it and they spent the sweetest nights with the most pleasant of dreams. They were living the dream, sleeping in each other's arms, one spooning the other, or one using the other's shoulder as a pillow, their limbs entangled. And they would wake up to hums, kisses and happy moans.

Sniper sighed and he grinned without realising it. He was in love with the Frenchman in a way that was so different, so pure, that it almost seemed childish. 

Of course, they had their needs and as such, they would indulge each other when they weren't too tired. Sniper had learnt a lot throughout the torrid nights with Spy. He had learnt about it as a general concept but also about himself. Spy showed him a lot without maybe knowing it. But now Sniper knew. He was lovable, his scars, bites and claw marks weren't a problem, his lack of Australia-shaped chest hair wasn't an issue at all and none of it made him less of a man. No, as it turned out, Spy showed extensively how much he loved them all, how he treasured every bit of his lover's body. And in his turn, Sniper had reciprocated.

"Sniper?" 

Demo's voice broke Sniper's daydreaming. 

"So, you saw him?" 

"Nah, Heavy didn't let me in but he went to ask and Medic said you could go and see for yerself."

"Oh, I'll go then, thanks, mate." 

"No problem, lad."

Sniper almost ran to Medic's quarters. Heavy had disappeared from the front door. He gave a knock and Medic answered. 

"Yes, Sniper, come in." 

"Hey, uh, can I see him?" 

Medic nodded. 

"Yes, you may. But-"

Sniper didn't wait for the end of the sentence and opened the door to the room Spy was in. 

"Spook?" 

Distress flashed across Sniper's face as he realised that the room was empty. 

"Where is he?" He entered. 

"Right behind you." The suave voice with the French accent answered and when Sniper turned and saw him, he threw himself at the injured man, squeezing him in a tight hug. 

"Oh my God, you got me worried so much!" 

"B-Bushman! Too strong, too strong!"

"Ah, sorry…" Sniper relaxed his hug and took a second to take in the view of Spy in his suit and - oh, a cast on his leg?

"I have to keep it for a few days." Spy said, seeing that Sniper had noticed. "But I have to go and see Medic everyday for it until I remove it." 

"Oh, ok… Does it still hurt?" 

"A bit, but much less than a few hours ago." 

"Gosh, I missed you so much, love…" 

Spy softened and let go of the crutches he was holding. They fell on the floor. He cupped Sniper's face with a tender smile. 

"I can see that on your face. But did you really think something that bad had happened?"

"Yeah, I mean, you were there for hours…"

"Because I argued with Medic."

"What?" 

"Can we sit down please? Resting on one leg is quite painful."

"S-sure." 

They took a seat on the chairs in the room. 

"Oui, I argued with him because he wanted me to stay here day and night."

"Why didn't you accept? If he thinks it's best for you then do it."

"And be nailed to this room without you for days? Non, I refused. And it took us a bit of quarrelling before we agreed on this solution." Spy pointed at the cast. 

"Oh… I see."

"Demoman came and told me you were worried to the bone." 

"Y-yeah, a bit." Sniper blushed and averted his gaze. Spy bent forward and took his lover's hand. 

"Do you think me that weak? After all we have been through already in this God forsaken company?"

"N-no, nah, I mean…"

Medic opened the door and interrupted them. 

"Now that the princess is rescued from her castle, do you mind leaving so that I can disinfect the place? Or maybe you changed your mind Spy, and you want to stay after all?" He taunted. 

"My leg is in a cast, but my hands are not and I can still use a knife or a gun, Medic." Spy stood up and caught the crutches that Medic threw at him. He walked to the man in the labcoat. "If I were you, I would watch my tongue." He added threateningly.

"Uh, thanks doc'." Sniper said to ease the atmosphere. 

"My absolute pleasure and delight…" Medic sarcastically added. "Always a pleasure to tend to a rotten spoilt child's wounds…" 

Spy turned and was about to answer but Sniper dragged him out and in a few minutes, they were back in Spy's smoking-room. 

"D'you want something? You hungry? Maybe a glass of water?" 

Spy smiled. 

"I may be injured but I am not crippled yet, so if I need anything, I am still capable of fetching it myself." 

Sniper blushed. 

"Sorry, I didn't want to offend you…"

"You didn't. Come next to me, please." 

They sat side by side on the sofa. 

"Please put the show that you like on TV."

"You want to watch it?" Sniper grabbed the remote and turned the TV screen on. 

"Oui." Spy leaned his head on Sniper's shoulder and threw away his gloves and his balaclava. 

"Thought you hated it." 

"Not more than being away from you for hours." Spy's hand found Sniper's and he held it dearly. "I… I missed you too, Sniper."

Sniper's blush went to his ears and he looked down at Spy. He looked gorgeous… The Aussie wrapped his arm around him and pulled him close. 

"Love you, Spook."

"So do I." 

Sniper's eyes were back on the screen when he felt a peck land shyly on his cheek before Spy's head settled on his shoulder.

[ruthoakenshield]

Worthless Little Shadow (chapter 3)

Worthless Little Shadow (Chapter 2)

Worthless Little Shadow (Chapter 1)

Fili sees you are entertained by the man in the square and decides now is the time. He moves behind you and whispers to his brother, "Keep her entertained. I'm going to go through her pack and see what she needs for life in the mountain. I'll meet you back at the pony when it's time to leave. Keep her safe, Kee. She is my One." Kee grins and nods.

Fli goes off to dump out your pack and had just made a mental note of what all you needed when Dwalin comes up to him. "Just what do you think you're doing, Laddie?" He says as he squats down. "I'm looking to see what Little Shadow needs for living in the mountain. Dwal, she has next to nothing! Her clothes are so threadbare and you saw her boot, how it tore open! She has no coin to buy anything!" Fili exclaims quietly as he puts your stuff back into your pack like you had it. 

Dwalin nods. "Does she know yer doing this?" he asks. "No." Fili replies. 

Dwalin chuckles. "Why don't you just tell her she is your One and get to courtin' her?!?" Dwalin asks with an impish grin. 

Fili sighs. "Dwalin, you know Uncle expects me to marry some princess I've never met. When we were halfway there, we got a raven bringing us word that the princess just disappeared. No trace of her could be found and no one knows her whereabouts. Her father sent his apologies and told me I was free to pursue other options. So we turned back and decided to join you in protecting this caravan.' Fili told him.

When we first found her by the water barrel, I realized she was my One. I just don't understand why she is shying away from making friends with the other dwarrow and why she doesn't talk. She obviously can, as she cried out when Oin set her shoulder." Fili said puzzled.

Dwalin shook his head and stood. "I don't know what to tell ya, Laddie. Are ya worried about what Thorin will say? Is that why yer not pursuing her in the open?" he asks with a raised eyebrow and arms crossed across his broad chest.

Fili nods. "Uncle would not understand. He would just remind me I'm the crown prince and am supposed to marry a princess not some peasant." he says dejectedly.

Dwalin huffs, "If she is yer one, Lad, don't let your uncle stand in your way. It's rare a dwarf finds his one. Most, like me, Balin and Your Uncle, never find one because dwarrowdams are so rare." He will get used to it and she will win him over in the end. She is quiet, but helpful. Just keep providing for her and showing her kindness." Dwalin says and pats his back.

"Now, what all does she need?" he asks. Fili tells him, and he offers to help buy stuff for you. Fili thanks him and the two head off to the markets to get you clothing, dresses, jewelry, ribbons, new shoes and boots, a warm cloak and other things that strike their fancy for you.

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When the entertainer finishes you look around and don't see Fili. You look at Kili with a puzzled look and he chuckles. "He's probably still shopping. Come with me and let's look around. I heard there's some new vendors and there is to be a celebration in a couple days to welcome everyone from the caravan." he tells you with a cheeky grin.

He leads you over to some fabric and clothes vendors and lets you look around. He notices you feeling a dark blue crushed velvet fabric and watches as you move on and spot a hunter green satin. The merchant comes up to you and talks with you and then leads you over to a beautiful royal purple gown. Kili sees your eyes get huge and you get a little curl of your lips at the corners. He grins huge when he sees the vendor take the gown and usher you to a fitting room. His wife helps you into the gown and then ushers you back out to the mirror so you can see what you look like in it.

Kili's eyes about pop out of his head when he sees you come out in the beautiful gown. The wife had chosen a black underbust corset to put on you that accentuated your curves and clevage. He comes up to you and smiles broadly. "Oh, Little Shadow, you look absolutely stunning in that gown! It's a pity my brother isn't here to see you in it!" he says mischievously. Then he gets an idea.

"Little Shadow, will you be our date to the welcoming celebration?" he asks. "I'll buy this gown for you to wear and we can surprise Fee with it!" he giggles. You look at him unsure. Then look back at yourself in the mirror.  It's been so long since you had anything beautiful. You love the feel of the gown on you and you sigh. You look back at Kili and see his hopeful smile and the twinkle of mischief in his eyes. You chuckle and cave in. You nod and he lets out a little shout of glee. He urges you to hurry and get out of the dress so Fili doesn't see you in it. He hands the merchant the coin for the dress and the corset and asks him to wrap them both in paper so his brother doesn't see what was bought.

The merchant's wife helps you out of the gown and tells you that you looked wonderful in it and she hopes you enjoy it. She tells you her name and that you can find them here in the markets each week if you decide to get other dresses or clothing. She thanks you for picking out this dress and takes it to fold and wrap up for you. You redress in your traveling clothes and come back out. Kili has the wrapped dress and corset in his arms and is waiting excitedly for you.

He holds out his elbow for you to take and the two of you continue to wander through the markets. He stops at a jewlery booth and looks over the offerings. He watches you to see what you like. He notices you tend to gravitate to Sapphires, Emeralds, and Purple gemstones like Amethyst and diamonds. He grins and holds up a pretty necklace that would look lovely with your dress. It has purple amethyst and black Onyx stones in silver settings.

He is holding it up and looking at it when you turn and see it. You gasp at how pretty it is and come over to look at it. He holds it up to you and hums. "I thought this might look pretty with your new dress. What do you think?" he asks. You nod. He spots matching earrings then notices your ears are not pierced. "Hmmmm. Have you never pierced your ears, Little Shadow?" he asks. You look down and shake your head. He chuckles, "No worries, maybe Amad will help you with that, or we can have Oin do it for you." he says and tells the vendor he wants the set that goes with this necklace. The vendor nods and takes out a wood box and places the necklace, earrings and bracelet into it. He ties the box shut with a ribbon and hands it to Kili, who hands you the coin to pay for it. You give the vendor the coin and he thanks you for your purchase.

Kili tucks the box in with the wrapped dress and corset in his arms. Then he holds out his elbow again and you take it and continue to explore the market with him.

Eventually he glances up at the sun and says, "We should be heading back to the ponies, Little Shadow. Dwalin will be cross with us if we are late." You nod and the two of you begin to head back. Along the way, you spot a book seller and pull Kili over to it. He chuckles and lets you look for a few minutes. You pick out a book and he buys it for you. "You know how to read?" he asks. You nod and hold the book like it's a precious treasure. He chuckles and the two of you head back to the ponies.

When you arrive, you find Fili's pony loaded with packages and he is grinning like a Cheshire cat. Kili grins at him and nods. Fili lifts you back up onto the pony and climbs on behind you. Kili hands you the packages with the dress and jewelry in it. "Hang on to these, Little Shadow, don't set them down until you get to your room, ok?" he tells you. You nod. He grins and gives you a wink.

Dwalin makes sure everyone is back and then hollers to head out. He leads the caravan out of the gates of Dale and off to Erebor you go. Fili brings up the end of the caravan with Kili and they talk about the upcoming celebrations to welcome everyone. They explain to you what has been done to celebrate the first caravan and you chuckle at their excitement. Kili is excited to see Tauriel again as she always comes to the celebrations.

Kili tells Fili he invited you to be their date at the celebrations. Fili looks at him confused. "You're bringing Tauriel though, Kee." Kili winks, "Yeah, but YOU'LL need someone to spend the evening with!" he teases with another wink. You giggle." Fili looks down at you and says, "I think that's the first time I've heard you giggle, Little Shadow!" he says with a grin. You duck your head and blush. He chuckles and pulls you to lean against him as you ride the stretch to Erebor. 

When you get closer, he tells you to sit up and look. You do so and a small gasp escapes your lips. The whole host of Erebor have gathered to see the incoming caravan. "Look! There's Uncle and Amad on the Ramparts!" Kili says excitedly and waves to them. Fili swallows hard and you feel his hand wrap around your waist tighter and his body tense suddenly. You look up at his face and he looks worried. "Stay with me until they send you all into the celebration hall. Try to work your way to the center. They will begin along the edges and work their way in to the middle of the group. Try to make it so you're one of the last ones, Little Shadow." he says quietly to you. You nod and pull your hood further over your face. 

You watch as the caravan slows as the dwarrow enter and begin to dismount their wagons and ponies and rams and greet loved ones and friends before moving to the celebration hall. Thorin, Dis, Balin and Bofur come over to the boys and greet them.

Thorin is frowning when he sees Fili with you on his pony. "What is this?" he asks pointing to you. Fili squeezes you. 

"We found her on the road, unconscious and injured from a fall down an embankment. We have been nursing her injuries and have been helping her to survive the trip. No one knows who she is, and she hasn't spoken a word since we found her. I promised her we'd take care of her and see that she lacks for nothing. Oin examined her when we found her and said she was severely malnourished at the time." he explains.

"What happened with the arranged marriage we had sent you off to do?" Thorin growled. 

Fili felt you flinch and held you a little tighter.

"I got word from a raven they sent, that the princess had run off and disappeared. They searched for her and could not find her. Her father apologized profusely and begged our pardon. He told me he was sorry and encouraged me to pursue other options since no one knew what became of his daughter." Fili explains. 

When you heard his explanation, you let out a little whimper, which only he heard. He gave you a gentle squeeze. "Amad, Little Shadow is still recovering and regaining her strength. Can she stay with us since she knows no one else here?" he asks. 

Dis thinks for a minute and walks around to look up at you. You glance down at her with frightened eyes and she looks at you with a smile. "You are a little thing, aren't you!" she exclaims. She reaches up to help you down off the pony. You hand your packages to Fili and he holds them until his Amad has helped you to the ground, then he hands your packages back to you. 

You are shorter than his Amad. And despite the heavy cloak of her son's that you are wearing, she can see how thin you are. "Have you boys not been feeding her?" she exclaims as Dwalin comes walking over. He chuckles, "Dis she has been getting the biggest portions out of everyone in the caravan!" he teases. "Oin told Bombur to give her double what everyone else got to help her regain her strength. It took her all evening to eat it all, but her bowl was always empty by the time she slept." he said with a wink to you. "If you think she's tiny now, you should've seen her when we first found her!"

You ducked your head and blushed. Balin came over and greeted you. "You appear to have discovered my brother's softspot." he teases with a wink. "Welcome to Erebor, Miss?" he pauses waiting for you to fill in the name.

You only nod and look over to Kili. He clears his throat. "Balin, we don't know what her name actually is, we just decided to call her "Little Shadow" since all her clothes in her pack were dark colors.

Dis looks at him sternly, "And why were you digging in her pack, Young Dwarf?"she scolds.

Fili chuckles. "Amad, Oin asked us to look and see if we could find some different clothes for her. The clothing we found her in was in bad shape and he had to cut them off of her to take care of her injuries." he explained. 

"Oh, well if Oin told you to, then I guess I can't be too upset." Dis huffed. Everyone chuckled. 

"Come, Sweetheart, let me take you to a chamber you can stay in and lets get you settled." she says and takes your hand. You look back at Fili and he gives you a smile and nods. 

"Boys, bring her pack and belongings to the royal wing. Thorin, which room can I put her into?" Thorin frowns and looks at Balin. Balin looks at the room assignments and says, "Dis, put her in the Amethyst room for now. Most of the others are filled with guests. It is the closest one to your chambers." he informs her. 

Dis nods and pulls you off to follow her into the mountain. Balin and Thorin head off to see to the new dwarrow who arrived in the caravan. Bofur wanders off and leaves the two boys to unload.

Kili comes over to his brother and whispers, "Well at least Amad likes her. You stand a chance of courting her if she can get Amad on her side!" Kili teases.

Fili nods and still looks nervous. He moves to start unloading the pony. "What are all these packages for, Fee?" Kili asks.

Fili smirks and Dwalin chuckles as he comes over to help. "They are for the Lass, Kili." he says quietly so Thorin doesn't overhear.

Kili looks at them both dumbfounded. "ALL of them?" he asks.

Dwalin nods. "Don't worry, Kili. We split the list and each bought her stuff she was going to need. It will be a welcoming gift from us to her since she had so little and what she did have was nearly threadbare." he explains quietly. 

Dwalin sees Ori walking by and calls him over to help carry stuff to your room. "Ori, lad, come help us bring Little Shadow's stuff to her room." he tells the young dwarf. Ori looks up surprised but comes over and helps. They get all the packages and boxes and bring them up to your room.

Dis had just finished showing you around your room and was chuckling at your expression of bewilderment when there was a knock at the door. She went to answer it and you turn when you hear her chuckling at all the dwarves carrying armloads of packages into the room for you. You stand there mouth agape and don't know what to say.

Fili comes over with Dwalin and tells you. "These are for you, Gehyith, to welcome you to Erebor. You will need them to help you be comfortable here. Amad can help you unwrap them. Make sure you try them all on and any that need to be altered to fit you, she will know what to do with them. If you find there is something you need or want, tell her or me or Kee or Dwalin and we will see you get it. Okay?" he says as he gently holds your hands and grins at your reaction. 

You cover your mouth and can feel tears well up in your eyes. You nod and he gives you a hug. Dwalin chuckles. "Aye lass, we hope you enjoy it here and stay with us." he grins and gives you and Fili a wink. You nod and give him a hug too. He is surprised at first and looks at Fili, who just smiles and nods. Dwalin pats your back and chuckles again. 

"Come on now, Lads, let your mother and Little Shadow get her unpacked. I'm sure your uncle wants to hear about the trip." he says as he ushers the brothers to the door. They groan and you chuckle and wave.

You turn and look at all the packages and shake your head. Dis comes over and smiles at you. "It appears Dwalin and my boys have taking a liking to you." she says. You shrug and nod a little. "Did they treat you well after they found you?" she asks. You nod. 

"Good." she says. "Now, let's see what Dwalin and the Boys bought for you!" she says excitedly. You are ushered over to the sofa and one by one, she hands you a package to open. There are a lot of dresses, traveling clothes, some jewelry, hair pins, ribbons, toiletries, shoes, boots, a couple small daggers, a new traveling pack and water skin, a brush and hair comb made out of ivory, and a new winter cloak.

Dis sees the packages you came in carrying and asks, "What's in these?" you grin and open the one with the purple dress and the black corset. You hold them up to you and Dis' eyes light up. "oooohhh! Let's go put it on you!!! I want to see how it looks!" she says. You grab the jewelry box and your hair comb and brush and the hairpins and the two of you go into your room. 

Dis helps you into the dress and corset and then you show her the jewelry. She smiles and claps her hands. "Oh! those will be lovely on you!!!" she helps you out of the dress and corset and hangs them in your closet. Then she runs out into the sitting room and gathers all the clothing. She brings them into your room and has you try on each one. The ones that need altering, she marks and pins where it needs to be taken in and then sets those aside. 

She squeals with glee when a dark Durin blue velvet dress fits you perfectly and tells you that you should wear it tonight for supper. You smile and shrug. She chuckles and helps you out of the dress. She hangs up all the clothing that fits you now and then shows you to the bathroom.

Your jaw drops at the in ground stone tub. She giggles and goes to show you how to fill it and empty it. She runs hot water in it and tells you to go to the cabinet and pick out some bath oil, soap and shampoo. You do and come back with peppermint and lavender oils and soaps and shampoos. 

She helps you wash your hair. "My dear, why is your hair so short?" she asks, concerned. You shrug. "Did someone else cut it?" she asks. You shake your head, no. "You cut it?!?" she asks taken aback that a dwarrowdam would hack her own hair so short. You nod sadly. "Why???" you don't answer. She looks down at you and sees tears running down your cheek. "Oh, dear! I'm sorry! It's just that hair is such  an important part of our culture. Most dwarrow would rather die than have their long hair shorn so short!" she tells you. You nod.

She helps you finish rinsing your hair and then leaves you to finish bathing. When you are done, you drain the tub and wrap yourself in a fluffy bathrobe. Dis helps you oil your hair so it doesn't get all snarly and staticky. 

She helps you dry your hair and styles it in a pretty updo. Then she helps you into your blue velvet dress and wraps your black corset around the outside of it. She cinches it for you and makes sure it is not too tight. Then she helps pick out a simple sapphire and diamond necklace and some black flats for shoes. "There!" she says. "Now all we need is earrings." she goes to put on a pair of earrings in your ears, when she realizes your ears are unpierced. "Oh! Well, we can skip that for tonight. Tomorrow we'll have Oin do that for you if you wish." she tells you. You nod.

Suddenly there's a knock on the sitting room door. She gets up to go answer it and you follow. Balin comes in and greets her. He stops dead in his tracks when he looks up and sees you. "Well, now, don't you shine up nice like a new penny!" he says with a grin. "Thorin has invited you to join us for dinner, at his nephew's insistence." he said. You blush and nod. He chuckles and holds out an arm to each of you and you three walk out the doors and down the hallway. 

You look back to see a guard pulling your doors shut. He nods and goes back to his post along the wall. You turn back and Balin is chuckling. "They were assigned to guard your door, miss. Apparently someone wants to make sure youre safe and can easily find your way around. If you decide to wander with out the boys to chaperone you, ask one of the guards and he will escort you to where you want to go." Balin informs you. 

You look at him surprised and then nod. Dis just chuckles. When you get to the dining hall, Dis lets go of Balin's arm and opens the doors. Balin ushers you in and you quickly look down when you hear all conversations stop as you walk in. He chuckles and pats your hand. "It's ok lass. You're doing just fine." he tells you quietly. 

You look up at him from under your lashes. He is grinning and gives you a wink.

Kili grins a huge grin and elbows Fili, snapping him out of his trance as he stares at you. He clears his throat and slowly walks over to you. 

"Wow! You look wonderful in that dress!" He whispers.

You blush and Balin lets go of your arm. He pats Fili on the arm and goes to walk over and talk with Dwalin, who is grinning like a Cheshire cat at the scene.

"You picked that dress out didn't you, little brother!" Balin said to Dwalin. Dwalin gives him a half grin, but his twinkling eyes betrays him. "The lad needed a nudge to ask her if he can court her." he said quietly. 

Balin sighs, "She is not noble or royalty, Dwalin. How can Fili expect to be able to court her??? We don't even know who she really is!!!"

Dwalin chuckles. "It doesn't matter, Balin, she is his One. Either Thorin agrees to the marriage, or Fili said he will step down and marry her anyway." Dwalin says with a smirk. 

"Aaah, I see." Balin says. "Thorin's not going to like that. What does Kili have to say about it?" Balin asks. 

"Kili said he will refuse the throne as well." Dwalin says with an even bigger smirk. Balin's eyes get huge.

"Thorin would rather see his nephews happy and ruling before he would ever allow the throne to be handed over to Dain." Dwalin says. "This way, Thorin doesn't have much of a choice. If both boys refuse the throne because Thorin won't allow the marriage of Fili and Little Shadow, then he will have no choice but to turn it over to Dain's line, which he will refuse to do. He would rather cave to his nephew's demands than see Dain's line rule. Besides if Dis likes Little Shadow, then Thorin won't get his way. He never stands up to Dis. What Dis wants, Dis gets when it comes to her brother." 

Balin thinks for a moment then grins, "Very clever." he says and leaves it at that.

"She will grow on Thorin, Brother, don't worry. Just give her a chance. She is quiet as a mouse, but she sees more than she lets on." Dwalin says to Balin. 

They watch as Fili ushers Little Shadow over to the table. He sits next to Thorin and looks at Kili. Kili nods and leaves a chair between him and Fili for Little Shadow to sit in. Thorin's eyes narrow and he scowls. But, not wanting to cause a scene, he says nothing. Little Shadow sees he is not happy about where they placed her and goes to move, but Kili grabs her hand and whispers, "Don't. Stay here. Fee is testing the waters to see how his uncle will react." She looks at Kili with a puzzled expression. He just grins. "Just enjoy the meal, Little Shadow." he says and pats her hand.

Supper is served and she sits quietly and observes the conversations. She replies with a shake of her head to any yes/no questions asked of her, but otherwise observes, keenly aware of the unhappy King glaring at her during the whole meal.

After everyone is done eating, Dis suggests they have some music and dancing. Thorin sighs and nods. They move to the music room and the musicians begin to play some songs. Thorin sits by the fireplace scowling and watches.

Fili and Kili look at each other and nod. They grab your hands and pull you out onto the dance floor and whirl you around first with one and then the other. Balin and Dwalin laugh as the two boys share the dance with you. Your face is glowing a lovely shade of pink and your eyes are twinkling at the fun you're having. Dis and Bofur dance and Bombur comes and joins the dance with his wife. Gloin and his wife arrive and they too join in. 

Dwalin chuckles. "That's the first time I've seen her smiling and laughing since we first found her. Normally she is quiet and mousy and avoids interacting with other dwarrow." he chuckles. Balin nods. "I think she needs some rescuing though. Otherwise those two will wear her out before the evening is through." he nudges his brother. Dwalin smirks and nods. 

The next time Kili comes close to them, Dwalin steps out and whisks you out of Kili's arms, leaving him standing there surprised. Balin chuckles and calls him over. "You two are going to wear her out before the night is done. Let some of the others get to know her, lad." he says grinning. Kili smiles and nods. 

"What is your brother's intentions with her, laddie?" Balin asks, careful that Thorin is not in earshot.

"He wants to ask her if he can court her, but wanted to see how Amad and uncle reacted to her first. So far Uncle is the only one who isn't too happy she is here." Kili says quietly. "Do you think he will come around, Balin. She really is very sweet and kind." Kili says. "Fee just adores her. I haven't ever seen him so happy before." he says. 

Balin nods and rubs his beard, watching his brother dancing with you and chuckles when Bofur cuts in and starts to dance with you. "She seems to be charming most of the company." Balin tells Kili. "If Fili wants to make sure no one else asks to court her, he better get a move on, though. Otherwise he may lose her." Balin comments. Kili nods. 

Balin watches as Dwalin walks back to him and chuckles. "The lass tire you out already?" he teases his younger brother. "Naah, Bofur cut me off and took over." Dwalin says grinning. "She dances really well, Balin. I don't know where she learned to dance, but she dances as well as any royal or noble I've ever danced with." Dwalin said happily.

Balin frowned. Something wasn't adding up suddenly with Little Shadow. Balin walked over to the fireplace and lit his pipe and sat down. He started going over all the info he had heard the lads and his brother say about her. Suddenly he began to wonder if she was the missing princess that Fili was supposed to marry. He decided not to say anything yet. He made a mental note to send a raven to the kingdom where she disappeared to ask for a description of her.

@thetherianthropydaily​ @tschrist1​ @demoniccheese83​ @deepestfirefun​ @queenofmankind​ @thorinthehottotty​ @fizzyxcustard​ @midnight-reader-morning-sleeper​ @artemis-pendragon​

[kumeko]

A/N: Written for the @dragonkirizine. I wanted to do an adventure story, though it’s been ages since I wrote one of those so this was a little challenging.

Summary: Eijiro and Mina stared at the hieroglyphics on the wall, not certain if those were clues to some ancient treasure or just some dead dude’s homework. Maybe they should have asked Izuku to tag along after all.

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“I don’t get it.” Eijiro raised his torch higher, squinting at the hieroglyphics on the wall in front of him. At least, he was pretty sure they were hieroglyphics. Carved figures on crumbling walls inside an ancient ruin? Really faded paintings that didn’t make sense? They had to be hieroglyphics.

 Or maybe it was some ancient dude’s homework. Eijiro chuckled at the idea. “Hey, Mina?”

 Standing on the opposite of the ruin, his partner looked over her shoulder. As usual, she was dressed for adventure: canvas shorts with plenty of pockets, a sporty t-shirt, and a backpack full of tools. It made him feel a little less prepared, but then again, Eijiro was dragon-kin.

 He was always prepared.

 A lollipop hung loosely on her lips and Mina cocked her head. “Yeah?”

“What if everyone’s wrong about this place? Like, if this was actually just some guy’s outhouse?” Eijiro’s shoulders shook as he laughed, his tail swaying slowly behind him.

 Her lollipop almost fell out of her mouth as she considered it. Almost immediately, she recoiled closer to the wall, disgust on her face as she quickly scanned the ground. “Ewwww.”

 “I’m not…” Wait, now that he thought about it, that was pretty disgusting. Quickly, he stepped back, taking a deep breath as he tried to catch a whiff of…actually, he didn’t want to smell it. Luckily, there was nothing in the air but scent of old. Which was definitely a scent, no matter how many times Mina stared at him incredulously. It was a mix of dust, mold, and something Eijiro couldn’t quite describe.

 It was just old.

 “I don’t see anything,” Mina whispered as she peered into the ruin. She moved the torch from side to side, the light revealing and hiding broken tablets and patches of grass. Gingerly, she stepped forward once, twice, before looking up at him. “I think we’re safe.”

 “Yeah, I don’t smell anything either.” Relaxing, his shoulders slumped and he snorted. “I mean, who’d make something this big just to shit in?”

 “Yeah, that was stupid.” Mina giggled, stretching an arm above her. “Man, though, if you were right and this was just someone’s toilet or barn or whatever, could you imagine Deku’s face?”

 Eijiro burst into laughter, already picturing their bookworm friend and the exact shade of red he’d turn. “And Iida? He’d faint.”

 “He’d die!” Mina crowed and it was too much. All it took was a single glance at each other and they were both in tears, their laughter the only sound in this abandoned ruin. It echoed in the cavernous chamber, bouncing off the walls and through the broken ceiling.

 Wiping his tears with a clawed hand, Eijiro sighed. “I wish he was here.”

 “Yeah.” Mina pouted, crossing her arms and leaning against a stone pillar. “I can’t make heads or tails of this place.” She frowned, a thought coming to her. “You don’t think we’re in the wrong business?”

 “Maybbeee?” Eijiro rubbed his neck awkwardly. They weren’t exactly the brainiest of their friends. The most enthusiastic, sure. The most adventurous, definitely. But searching ruins needed some level of smarts and they’d both failed every history class they’d ever been in. Still, this was what they wanted to do. This was what they did. There was no time to doubt it now. Slapping his cheeks, he declared, “It’s not manly to look back!”

 Mina stared at him for a long moment. His cheeks reddened, slightly embarrassed, until she nodded eagerly and stepped forward. “Yeah! We’re going to find treasure!”

 “And we’re gonna—” As Eijiro took a step forward himself, he tripped over a rock and sprawled face first on the floor. Luckily, even in his half-human form, his skin was as hard as dragon scales and all he had was an aching nose. “Ouch.”

 “Are you okay?” Mina hurried toward him but froze as they heard a slow grinding noise. Turning toward it, she gasped in surprise as a wall slide open, revealing a secret passageway. She blinked once, twice, and then pumped her fist in the air. “We’re totally great treasure hunters!”

 -x-

 “Do you think this goes on forever?” Mina whispered, holding her torch in front of her to light the way. As usual, she was leading. Despite her fears, she always did that. There was something comforting about the shape of her back, in how the flickering light gave her hair a reddish hue.

 Brave was what he had called her.

 She had always laughed it off, declaring herself more foolish than anything else.

 It was the only thing they really fought over, the only time their disagreements had any bite. Well, that and the fact that he wanted to lead more often. It just made sense—he was almost injury-proof and she was decidedly not. Saving the argument for later, he peered out into the near-darkness. It was easier for him to see than her, to make out the shapes in the dark.

 Unfortunately, this was a tunnel and the shapes were just more wall, more of the path sloping downward and away. The walls weren’t even interesting, just smoothened dirt. “It has to lead somewhere.”

 “I don’t want to be a skeleton when we get there,” Mina hissed, her voice low. Their shadows danced on the wall.

 “Why are you whispering?” Eijiro asked, raising his voice an octave when he realized he was doing the same.

 “It just…” Mina cleared her throat and continued, her voice now at normal speaking levels. “It just felt like I should whisper.”

 That he could understand. Their footsteps were muffled in the tunnel, which was kinda impressive considering Eijiro couldn’t walk quietly to save his life. “I just hope we get somewhere more open soon—my wings are cramping.”

 “They look uncomfortable, folded like that.” Mina nodded sympathetically. Her torch blew out and he watched as she jumped. “Whaaat was that?” she squeaked, trying not to scream.

 Eijiro blinked in the absolute darkness. Without any light, he was now as blind as Mina and a shiver ran up his spine. Actually, now that he thought about it, he could feel a slight breeze, the real cause for his shiver. Might even be the reason the fire went out. Too bad he couldn’t breath fire as a human, or this wouldn’t have been a problem. “Think we’re near the end of the tunnel.”

 He took a step forward, his tail dragging behind him as he did. A soft click echoed through the tunnel.

 “Click?” Mina repeated slowly, dragging the word out.

 Before he could say anything, he heard a heavy thud behind him, followed by a rolling sound. Something was coming. Something big. And it was picking up speed. Groping blindly in front of him, his hand managed to brush Mina’s back. “Hold on!” he shouted, sweeping her off her feet before sprinting forward.

 “What are you do—” Hearing the sound too, Mina shut up quickly and wrapped her arms around his neck as she clung for dear life. “It’s getting closer!”

 “Fuck!” Eijiro powered on, pushing his legs harder than he’d down before. Breathing heavily, he sprinted through the dark tunnel. His sides bumped into the tunnel walls. Mina squeezed her arms tighter around him. He took a deep breath and picked up the pace.

 There, just ahead of him, he could make out a faint light. “There’s a light!”

 “Maybe it’s a cavern!” Mina shouted, a vein of nervousness in her voice. “I think it’s almost caught up!”

 “We’re almost there!” Eijiro grunted as he forced his legs to move faster, further. If only he could have used his wings. The light ahead grew brighter and bigger, taking up the entire exit. Squinting, he could barely make out crystal walls and a pool of water. Speeding through the exit, he relaxed his shoulders slightly as he entered the large cavern. “We can—”

 His feet weren’t on the ground anymore. Eijiro blinked, barely registering the fact before gravity kicked in and they plummeted to the ground. “WHAT THE FUCK?”

 The air stole his words. Above, he could hear a crashing sound as their chaser appeared above: a giant boulder, which shot over the gap and crashed onto the ground on the opposite side. The crevasse they were in was starting to narrow and he wondered what would come first: they’d get squished or they’d splatter on the ground.

 Clinging tightly, Mina screamed, “YOUR WINGS!”

 “WHAT?” The words ran through his head twice before he understood. Right. He had wings. He could fly. Unfurling them, he furiously flapped them, trying to gain enough lift that they wouldn’t splat on the ground. His shoulders strained as he managed both of their weights.

 Mina whispered something, her voice too soft for him to hear. He could only feel her hot breath on his neck, her lips brushing his pulse once. Like a bolt of lightning, energy shot through him and suddenly everything felt light. He soared up through the narrow crevasse, shooting up until he finally reached the ledge they’d fallen off. Landing safely on the other side, he almost collapsed as the energy left him.

 “That…was close,” he panted, crouching.

 “Way too close.” Mina slipped out of his arms, but her hands stayed on his shoulders. “You okay?”

 “Yeah.” Taking a deep breath, he calmed his breathing and stood up straight. He frowned as he wiped his brow. “Did you give me your energy?”

 Mina nodded. Before he could say anything, she defended herself, “Hey, it was an emergency. Either I pony up or we become pancakes.”

 “But…” Eijiro puffed his cheeks, not liking this at all. Which was worse, that she was right or that he needed the help in the first place? “How’re you feeling?”

 “Not bad.” As though to prove it, Mina pumped a fist in the air. However, her energetic response did little to hide the weariness in her eyes. “I got plenty of juice to spare. If you need it.”

 “Mina,” Eijiro growled, grabbing her arm. “Don’t lie.”

 “I’m not.” Mina frowned, glaring back at him. “What about you?” She gestured at his shoulder with her free hand. “Don’t think I can’t feel it! You hurt yourself!”

 He blanched and looked away. This was maybe the worst part about their connection; he could never hide an injury from her. “That’s different.”

 “How?” Mina yanked her hand free and crossed her arms. “You weren’t going to tell me, were you?”

 “…sorry.” Eijiro sighed, folding his wings. It ached slightly as he did so and he winced. “I might have pulled a muscle. Or two.”

 “It was a huge fall.” Content now, she walked behind him and pressed her hands against his shoulder blades, at the connection between wing and flesh. Her fingers prodded and smoothened his muscles and she gently chided him. “You know you can’t lie about this. My shoulder hurts too.”

 “Thanks.” He closed his eyes, relaxing into her touch. “But you can’t lie either.”

 Her hands stilled for a moment, and she sighed. “Okay, okay. I’m a little tired,” she admitted. She pinched her fingers together, waving it in front of his face. “Just a little, okay?”

 A little meant a lot. They’d been partners long enough that he could see the signs, read between the lines. Eijiro glanced around. The cavern they were in was a huge one, as big as forest almost. The walls were lined with crystals, faintly glowing in the dark, and a stream bubbled out of one side of the area. It criss-crossed merrily through the room before exiting on the other side. Just ahead, he could see where the boulder had crashed.

 There were no signs of any animals, any visitors, anything. They might have been the first people to visit here in centuries.

 All of which made it a safe spot to rest. “Let’s take a break.”

 “It’s not that bad,” Mina insisted, proudly. She took a wobbly step forward and he rushed to her side to keep her steady. “Uh…okay.” She tried to take another step, but her body was starting to shut down fast. “Maybe…maybe I do need a nap.” She wrapped an arm around his shoulder, leaning on him for support. “Sorry.”

 “It’s not your fault.” Scooping her up, Eijiro grinned brightly. “We’re partners, right? You can rely on me.”

 “Yeah.” She nodded, her eyes slowly fluttering shut. “Thanks.”

 -x-

 Eijiro.

 Lying on the ground, stunned, Eijiro couldn’t place the familiar voice. All he could feel was pain, his entire body burning like every inch of his skin was on fire. His chest felt wet as he stared up at the sky. Raising a hand, his eyes widened as he realized it was blood.

 His blood.

 He was hurt.

 Eijiro!

 The voice again. Painfully, he turned his head slightly. Mina raced toward him, worry etched on her face. Her left arm dangled awkwardly as she moved and he realized with a start it was broken. How? He had been in his dragon form and she’d been on his back and…

 And he wasn’t in his dragon form now, he realized. He had skin instead of scales. Whatever had hurt him had shocked him back into his human form. They must have plummeted from the sky, Mina falling off him as they spiraled through the ground.

 Sorry, he croaked, his voice a wet rasp. He could taste metal in his mouth, blood dribbling down his lips. Fuck he hurt. Around him, he could make out the signs of battle, hear Bakugou’s angry roar and Kaminari’s lightning strikes.

 They were in a fight. For something. For someone. His head ached, making it hard for him to focus. Sorry.

 Stop apologizing! Mina snapped, suddenly by his side. Her hands cradled his head, her eyes full of tears. Shit. Shit. Shit.

 He must have looked as bad as he felt. Eijiro winced as he breathed, his broken ribs constricting as he tried to breath in. I…

 Don’t talk, just… Mina trailed off, not sure what to say. What to do. You…you’ll make it. I know you will. She cradled her head. There’s gotta be something. Think. Think.

 He was dying. Oh god, he was dying. Eijiro wanted to move, to run from it all, but he could barely feel his arms, let alone his legs. A droplet of water landed on his face, then another, and he could only stare as tears streamed down Mina’s face. Forcing his hand to move, he clumsily wiped her cheek, leaving a bloody streak. It’s okay.

 It’s not. Mina bit her lip before gasping. A pact. We have to make a pact.

 A pac—no. Realizing what she meant, he shook his head. Or at least tried to. You can’t—Mina, that’d mean—

 That’d mean you live, Mina stated firmly, pulling out a knife from her pouch. Taking a deep breath, she braced herself before cutting her palm.

 Don’t, he repeated weakly. It was harder to see now, the edges of his sight filled with black.

 It’ll be okay, she reassured, pressing her hand against his wound. It’ll be like an adventure.

 Ignoring his protests, she started to chant.

 -x-

 Eijiro woke up with a start, a ‘Don’t’ still on his lips. He’d passed out after she’d recited the spell, the blood loss too much. By the time he’d woken up, it’d been too late.

 Mina had created a blood pact with him, connecting her life with his.

 Calming his breathing, Eijiro glanced down at his partner, still asleep in his arms. It was hard to tell the time in here, this underground cavern didn’t have any convenient holes to check the sun. They could have slept for an hour or entire day for all he knew. Either way, Mina had lied earlier—he’d taken too much of her energy.

 As usual. Keeping an arm still wrapped around her shoulders, Eijiro brushed her pink bangs out of her face. His fingers hovered over her horns, the most visible sign of their bond. Her hair had always been pink, but there was more of a reddish-hue to it these days. Maybe it was a sign of his energy flowing back into her. He hoped it was the case. He’d heard enough stories of bonded partners dying young, of reckless dragons taking too much energy and sucking their lovers dry.

 Treasure hunting was supposed to be safe. Away from Bakugou’s endless wars, from Deku’s constant crusades. It was supposed to be safe and yet here they were again. It wasn’t manly to keep regretting something, to keep lingering on the past, but somehow he couldn’t move forward from that one action.

 If only he’d been more careful. If only he’d been less brash. If only, if only.

 Leaning forward, he kissed her forehead gently. “I’m sorry.”

 -x-

 “Eijiro?” Blearily, Mina opened her eyes with a yawn. She curled up into his chest, pressing a sleepy kiss against his skin. “You okay?”

 “Of course.” Eijiro forced a chuckle, pulling back to better see her face. Good. Her complexion was much better now. “You?”

 “Yeah.” Stretching, she slowly rolled out of his arms with a shudder and landed on the hard ground. “Yeowch.” She stared up at the ceiling. “We’re not home.”

 “Nope,” Eijiro confirmed, resting his cheek on his hand. He watched her worriedly, but she didn’t show any signs of sluggishness either.

 “Where—oh! The treasure.” Immediately, Mina sat up, her eyes bright and awake. She shook her head once, twice, and then bounced to her feet. “We’re out of the tunnel now.”

 “Yeah but I’m not sure where to go next.” Standing up, he gestured around them. They had an unobstructed view of the whole cavern. Crystals lined the walls, giving him just enough light to make out the general shape of the area. Borrowing his abilities, Mina would be able to see just what he did: unbroken walls, not a single tunnel leading out. It was effectively a dead end. “Maybe there isn’t any treasure here.”

 Mina looked around thoughtfully before shaking her head. “No, there is. My gut says so. And we also did not spend all that time for nothing!” She grabbed his hand, leading the way. “Come on, we have to start searching.”

 -x-

 “Are you still sure?” Eijiro frowned as he patted the wall for the 100th time. No, maybe the 1000th time. All he found was more rocks, more crystals, more nothing. He was a fairly optimistic man, but even he had his limits.

 “Not so much…” Mina sighed, tapping a pink gem. “Though, you know.” She smiled sweetly. “This is kinda romantic.”

 Eijiro stared at her blankly. “Huh?”

 “Kinda like a candlight dinner, those kinda vibes.” She bumped shoulders with him. “You know, mood lighting. And it’s just you, and me here.” Mina batted her eyes, her lips curved into a sexy smile. Lowering her lids, she added, “No one to see us.”

 His face burned red. “I—”

 “Oh!” Mina dashed forward, forgetting him entirely as she squinted at a part of the wall. “I think I found it.”

 He was never sure if she was teasing or serious. Both. Probably both. Biting back his frustration, Eijiro rushed to her side. Next to a row of crystals, almost hidden in the shadow they made, was a smaller tunnel than the one they’d entered before. It was more a crevice than anything else, barely big enough to fit one person at a time. “You sure?”

 “Yeah, squint a little. Deeper in, don’t you see a bit of light?” Mina moved over slightly, offering him a better view.

 Poking his head in reluctantly, Eijiro squinted. There was darkness, more darkness, and—well, maybe if he turned his head slightly and opened his eyes a crack, he saw a tiny speck of light. Though that could just be his eyes playing tricks on him. “Kinda.”

 “Let’s find out what it is!”

 Before Mina could march inside, Eijiro quickly stepped in front of her. “I’ll go first.”

 “Whaaaat?” Mina puffed her cheeks grumpily, giving him a baleful glare. “Come on, it’s my discovery!”

 “It’s still yours! But I can fight off traps.” He shot her confident grin as he persuaded her. “Come on, you gotta let me do my part. That’s what I’m here for, right?”

 “…just remember to lift your tail this time,” she grumbled, letting him go.

 He made it a point to lift his tail, waving it directly in her face until she batted it away with a laugh. Fortunately, this tunnel was much shorter than the other one, the speck of light growing bigger and bigger until it revealed another, smaller cavern. This one looked almost man made, the crystals brighter in here. In the center of the room, on a pedestal, was a glowing orb.

 A bright, green, floating orb.

 “Is that magic?” Eijiro muttered, transfixed.

 Before he could take a step forward, Mina wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tight. “Wait!” she hissed, freezing him in place. She poked her head around his body, her eyes darting around the room. “There’s probably a trap here. Something deadly, I bet.”

 Remembering the giant ball earlier and spiky pit, Eijiro swallowed. Right. Dangerous place full of dangerous traps. He scanned the walls, squinting at the crystals and cracks that laced the walls, damaging the carvings on them. The whole room felt abandoned, forgotten from time. “See anything?”

 “Not really.” She bit her cheek, frowning as she examined the floor. “It’s really old.”

 “Yeah. I feel like we’re gonna fall through the floor anytime.” Eijiro shuddered as he stared at the small crevasses on the floor. Just how stable was this whole thing in the first place? It felt like they were one hard jump away from everything breaking underneath their feet.

 “Just don’t turn into a dragon, okay?” Mina requested shakily, gulping audibly at the thought. “You’ll wreck the whole place.”

 “A cave-in…” Rocks on his back, dirt weighing him down, unable to escape, unable to breathe. Eijiro swallowed. He wasn’t entirely claustrophobic, but he much preferred the wide, open spaces of the sky. To die like that, to die underground—nope, he wasn’t going to let that happen. “Definitely not.”

 “Oh!” Mina exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly. She tugged on his sleeve, pointing at the ceiling. “There’re tiny holes up there!”

 Eijiro stared at the rock ceiling. The solid rock ceiling. “Huh?”

 “Squint, you dummy. It’s really tiny holes.” She pinched two fingers together. “Like, this tiny.”

 He narrowed his eyes, eyes straining as he tried to make out the tiny holes. Or at least, discern what was a tiny hole and what was just a small dip in the ceiling or a natural crevasse or—“Oh.” Now that he’d spotted one, he could see them all, tiny holes littering the ceiling. The holes continued down the side of the wall. “Arrows?”

 “Probably. Don’t know what else is that small.” Mina picked up a pebble off the ground and threw it through the air. It landed on the ground with a soft thud.

 Nothing happened.

 “Maybe it’s not heavy enough?” Eijiro suggested, picking up a bigger rock. Throwing it, he repeated the experiment.

 Again, nothing happened.

 “That’s so weird.” Mina fumed, stamping her foot indignantly. “Why aren’t they triggering?”

 “Maybe we have to grab the orb?” Eijiro wondered if he could withstand an array of arrows. Maybe? If they weren’t metal-tipped, at least. “Like, I can sprint in, grab it, and then cover myself with my wings?”

 “You’ll just hurt yourself some more. Your skin’s tough, but not that tough.” Mina shook her head, vetoing the whole thing. “Maybe…” She frowned, biting her lip. “Maybe…” Her eyes widened as inspiration struck and without another word, she whirled around and dashed back to the bigger cavern.

 “Mina?” Eijiro stood stock still, not sure if he should follow or wait.

 As quickly as she left, she returned, dashing right up to the threshold to the small room. In her hand was a small, glowing crystal, and she wound up her arm and hurled it forward before Eijiro could utter a word. The rock flew through the air, a straight line that hurtled straight toward the glowing orb and knocked it off the pedestal. As it fell to the ground, a loud click echoed through the air and dozens of arrows flew out of the walls and ceiling, embedding on the ground.

 It looked like a porcupine sneezed. Eijiro stared in disbelief. That would have hurt. That would have hurt badly. “Holy shit.”

 “How did they even get that many arrows?” Mina gaped, her jaw slack. Amazed, she stared at the holes the arrows came out of. “Like, that’s gotta be a hundred. That’s must have been tiring to set up.”

 “What if it’s like dominos and you accidentally trigger it?” he mused aloud, still processing what he’d witnessed. It felt so impossible. A chilling thought ran up his spine. “Are there more?”

 “I hope not.” Mina tossed a rock in. Nothing happened.

 “Looks safe?” Eijiro tossed another rock in. Still, nothing happened. Then again, nothing had happened the first two times they’d tossed rocks in either. He studied the room once more, not sure what else to expect. Blades jutting out of the walls, a pit of tigers, who knows what ancient trap could be here.

 “Might as well go.” Before he could stop her, Mina darted in the room, quickly picking up the orb and dashing back out before any other traps considered springing. Wiping the sweat off her brow, she sighed. “That was close.”

 Eijiro dragged her further away from the trap door, before a stray arrow could hit her. He turned to her in a panic. “What if there were more traps?”

 “Then you’d rescue me,” Mina stated, squeezing his hand.

 He turned red but didn’t drop the argument. “That’s not the point, the point is—” Before he could reply, they heard a rumble. The earth started to shake. “What is that?”

 “…Eijiro, is it just me or is the floor collapsing?” Mina stared at the room behind them. Following her gaze, his eyes widened as he saw bits and pieces of the floor disappear, revealing a yawning black void. Turning back to the path they came from, he realized the same was happening in front of him.

 The whole place was going to collapse.

 “Shit. Grab on to me!” Without waiting for a reply, he carried her in his arms once more, his wings spreading behind him. Mina whooped excitedly as she wrapped one arm around him, the other holding onto the orb tightly.

 He shot forward, dodging pieces of the ceiling as it started to collapse. Tilting left and right, he weaved through the cavern toward the tunnel they came in from. All around him, he could hear rocks crashing, crystals cracking from the force. Luckily the tunnel was a straight line and he folded his wings in as he landed at the entrance. Without even pausing to catch his breath, he kept the momentum up and hit the ground running. It felt like the ground would collapse beneath his feet. Maybe it would. Mina shrieked as they sped through the pitch-black shaft, her head pressed against his shoulder.

 “You can do it!” she yelled. Probably. He couldn’t hear her very well, the wind stealing her words as they raced through the passageway.

 Up ahead, he could see a light. The other end of the tunnel. He picked up the pace, a burst of energy running through his veins. As they burst through the exit, he extended his wings and flew up through the cracks in the temple ceiling.

 Suddenly, above them was a bright blue sky and Eijiro stared at it for a long second, processing what had happened. “We did it.”

 “Yeah,” Mina repeated, dumbfounded. “We did it.”

 She pulled back and they stared at each other before breaking into identical grins. “We did it!” they shouted together.

 As relief coursed through his veins, the adrenaline receded and Eijiro wearily drifted to the ground. He stumbled as he landed on the ground, unable to support himself, and Mina tumbled out of his arms. She sprung to her feet quickly, catching him before he fell. “You ok?”

 “Yeah,” he grunted. He tried to grunt. His mouth wasn’t moving like he wanted it to, his tongue too heavy, and he slumped into her arms. “S’ok.”

 “You did great!” Mina cheered him, her voice at half its usual strength. Wrapping her arms around him, she slowly guided him to the ground until they were both sitting on the grass. “You were amazing.” As she praised him, she pulled his head to her lap. “Take a break, I’ll keep watch.”

 “I…” Eijiro tried to protest, but already his vision was fading. His body refused to move and he couldn’t roll off her lap.

 “Just rest a little. We’re partners, right?” she added, using his words against him. Before he completely blacked out, he felt lips press against his cheek. Her hand tousled his hair gently. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

 With the last of his strength, he forced his arms around her waist, holding Mina secure.

 I’ll be here when you wake up.

 That sounded good. He smiled as he drifted off.

[sentofight]

@pieman1112​ submitted :

When Lucina came of age, Rebecca knew that it would be time to talk to her daughter about marriage and how she would pass on her mother’s ring to Lucina so that she may give it to the one she wants to marry if she so chooses to. With her royal duties completed for the day, the Ylissian queen made her way to her eldest daughter’s room. She gave a light knock on the wooden door before entering her room.

“Lucina? Dear? It’s me. I hope I’m not interrupting anything. I wanted to talk with you about something.” Rebecca said as she entered. When Lucina allowed her in, she ushered her daughter to sit on the bed with her.

“It’s hard to imagine that you’re already coming of age. It seems just like yesterday when you were knee height and were running around pretending to be your father or grandfather.” She said giving a somber smile. “I knew this day was coming but I didn’t want to believe it was coming so soon. My little girl is all grown up.”

Rebecca took a second to take a deep breath to calm herself. She was getting very emotional.

“I wanted to give you something. I don’t know if my parents, your grandparents, had the same plans for me as I’m doing currently. I want you to have my mother’s ring.”

She began to undo the necklace that was around her neck and let it fall into the palm of her right hand. Her mother’s ring barely shone in the light of the room. It had seen a lot with scratches adorning the metal but it didn’t seem like it wasn’t cared for. It seemed as well cared for as an antique would be. The sapphire gemstone had some scratches but it gleamed when light was shone on it surface. With her left hand, she grabbed one of Lucina’s hands and placed the ring necklace into Lucina’s palm then cupped her hand with both of her hands, squeezing gently.

“This ring was my mother’s wedding ring from when she and my father married. I don’t know if she planned on giving it to me for when I got married but I’m giving it to you so that if you find that special someone that you want to spend the rest of your life with, you can propose with this ring if you want to. I’m so proud about how much you’ve grown. I love you my little princess.”

Rebecca would then embrace her daughter like she always did and then give her a kiss on the forehead. No matter how old Lucina was, she was always Rebecca’s little girl.

Years has passed by quickly. A drastic contrast to the grim future the land was promised with years ago. To think this peace that people are enjoying now was not possible in a different future. All thanks to everyone who fought years ago. Lucina has grown into a fine young woman, bearing resemblance to her future self, of course, but to each their own differences. It is something that people have picked up on who knew both of the girls.   

With coming of age comes great responsibilities upon the princess. As much as her father hated it, but she will be soon ready to take over the crown from him, his duties, his throne and most of all, Falchion. Honestly, she had her doubts and concerns but she knows she has time to figure out everything. Chrom had made it absolutely clear that she got all the time in the world to figure out everything. She does not have to know everything right away but eventually by practicing and experience, as well good counsel.   

Lucina was in her room brushing her hair when the door was knocked. “Mother? Please, come in,” she wonders why her mother came instead of calling for her.  Following her mother to the bedside, she sat down feeling a little bit worried. “Mother, you could have called for me, I’d have came to you.” but a blush dusted her cheeks when her mother mentioned that she have grown. “M-mother...” a whimper. Aww... does she have to bring that up? Technically, she still...do...pretend sometimes. Shh. “Heh, you can’t expect me to be a child forever, mother.” though she knows her father does wish that, seeing how he sulk around whenever she decides to leave the castle for a trip or training outside. 

Hm? Her mother look...strange--odd? What is she thinking about? “Mother?” her eyebrows knitted in concern. “What do you mean? What is it?” her grandparents...she barely know that much about them. It is such a sad thing that she could not meet them. Well, she does not know any grandparent beside Hunter, for her father’s parents are both dead before she is born. It was something she felt sad about but not enough to dwell on it. Hunter is everything a grandfather could ever be in her eyes. Her one and only favorite Grandpapa.

She was waiting in anticipation now. Lucina’s eyes followed her mother’s movement and was surprised to see her remove her necklace. Her mother cared for this more than anything! She remember her wearing it almost everyday without taking it off--it is her treasure! “N-no, mo-mother!” she resisted when her mother placed the necklace into her hand. “No, mother! this is yours--please--” but rebecca’s hold was tight.

Tears willed in her eyes before they trickled down her cheeks. Her grandparents would have definitely gave the ring to her mother. She can feel it. “Mother..-- ... I... But this is... This is your treasure..I can’t just take it ...” opening her hands slightly to see the ring resting in her palms. It’s so beautiful...it is so beautiful it makes her cry knowing how important is it. But her mother’s reasoning is fair--it’s her ring, she can do whatever she wants and passing it to her is her choice. Embracing her mother back, Lucina sobbed softly in her mother’s embrace before she was pulled away for a kiss.

“I--*sniffle* I promise to keep it safe...” finding someone huh... It’s not a possibility she dismiss but she knows it takes more than ‘wishing’ for a good partner. “Mother, for all it’s worth, I am sure my grandparents would have done the same...”

[vaindumbass]

[[here’s a drabble for @hazplupin mainly based on this post! It’s meant to take place in their amazing au (masterpost). See it as my way to celebrate/mourn the end of the series (and to thank the incredible creator of course)]]

He couldn’t help but smile as he petted their cat. Harry was really looking forward to the party, and to seeing all his friends again.  

Unfortunately, he couldn’t sit and pet cats all day. He tried to get up (he really tried), but Laura looked at him with those big eyes, and it was a lost cause.  

Even his dads weren’t there to tell him to get up, seeing as they were having a date.

The only reason that he still got up (one hour later) was Ron’s reaction if he would hear that Harry hadn’t drunk water for a whole midday again. The last time Ron had called Molly, his mother, and it hadn’t been pretty.

When he walked into the kitchen, however, there was someone already standing there.

“Hi Harry!”, Luna said brightly, handing him a mug filled with some muddy brown liquid, “Are you excited for the party?”

Harry took the mug (he didn’t want to be rude), and said: “How in the world did you get in? And not that I’m not happy to see you, but why are you here? Did something happen?”

“I was bored, and I saw your snap, so I thought I should bring over Mouse for a play-date.”

Only then did Harry see the cat that was sunbathing on their windowsill. The very small amount of irritation he’d harboured for Luna because she’d barged in unannounced dissipated instantly.

“You were bored?”, He asked with a smile. He’d already heard from Ginny that she wanted Luna to help with the preparations for the party, “Isn’t Ginny keeping you busy?”

Luna suddenly got a little bit too close for comfort, her big eyes entirely focused on him.

“Harry James Potter-Lupin", she started, scrutinising him closely, “Was that an euphemism?”  

“Wha-”, Harry felt a blush creep up his cheeks, and stepped back to create some space between them, “No! Although... Maybe it was? I just meant that I’m surprised you’re here! In a good way!”

Luna laughed at him. Seeing his betrayed expression, she said: “I’m sorry Harry, It’s just nice to not be the one who says ridiculous things for a change.”

He really wanted to switch to a different topic. “So, why did you name your cat Mouse?”

“As a reminder that our perceptions of hunter and prey can be easily shifted, and that a name can be deceptive. It shows the intricate-”

Luna hadn’t stopped talking, but Harry had stopped listening. He knew Luna didn’t mind, and she had a pretty calming voice.

He studied the mug. It seemed to be some princess merchandise, and it looked old. It didn’t belong to him, and he was pretty sure Draco had never owned any cheap merchandise in his whole life.

He interrupted Luna: “Is this your mug?”

“Yes! Do you like it? You can keep it, I’ve got more at home!”

“Oh...”, Harry studied the mug again, and said tentatively: “Thanks?”

Luna reached out to him, “I can take it back if you don’t want it.”

He immediately clutched the mug close to his chest. “What? No! It will come in handy for the party later.”

“Oh, yes, the party.” Luna replied dreamily, but also like she knew that he’d treasure the mug forever. (Harry still wasn’t used to receiving gifts)

“Anyway”, he coughed, turning around in the direction of the bedroom, “You said something about a play-date?”

“I did!”

~~~

Harry was in heaven. The two cats got along with each other, and also with him! He was just lying there, in a puddle of fluffy cats, sweet feelings, and good company, when he heard someone enter.

“Oh”, Luna said from where she was sitting on the edge of the bed, “that must be Draco.” She got up. “I’ll make him some tea too!”

Harry, remembering the weird drabby drink he had thrown down the drain, thought: that was supposed to be tea?

~~~

Draco walked in on the cutest sight ever. There was his boyfriend, with truly atrocious bed hair, and the most adorable smile, cuddling two (since when were there two?) incredibly soft-looking cats.

He absolutely had to snap a picture. (It would make an amazing wallpaper), but after he had stopped to take it, he gave in to temptation and lay down beside his boyfriend. (Was he calling Harry his boyfriend too often? Was that even possible?)

“Hey”, Harry said, his voice slightly hoarse.

“Hey”, Draco said, with a soft smile, one hand coming up to play with a lock of Harry’s hair. “Where did you get the second cat?”

“Luna.” Harry replied, as if that answered the whole question; And to be honest, it did.

Harry opened his arms, then, allowing the cats to leave, and of course Draco couldn’t pass out on the opportunity to snuggle even closer to him.

“We should really leave for the party.” Draco said, without even moving an inch.

Harry’s face was really close now, and wow, Draco had forgotten how long his boyfriend's eyelashes were. “In a bit”, Harry said.  

Draco nodded, and then finally did what he’d been wanting to do since he’d seen Harry lying there (who was he kidding, he’d wanted since this the moment he’d left), and kissed him.

Harry kissed him back (remember when Harry had said he was in heaven before? He took that back, this was heaven)

Harry had missed this- had missed him. It was absurd, they hadn’t even been apart that long.

Draco chose that moment to move back a little bit, and to say against Harry’s lips (he didn’t want to move any further than necessary): “I missed you.”

Harry, who’d been thinking the exact same thing, said: “That’s ridiculous. You weren’t even gone for more than three hours.”

Draco grinned. “Three hours longer than I’d wanted to.”

Suddenly the door opened, and Luna walked in with a steaming mug, nothing indicating that she was surprised at their position.

“Draco, I made your tea, but we really have to get going now!”

Reluctantly, they got up. Harry quickly picked up his princess mug, and Luna took Mouse with her, and off they went.

Harry couldn’t help but smile. After all this shit with Cedric, he felt like he deserved a party.