#unfortunately embedding doesn’t work anymore (or at least right now)

[realiv0]

[peachy-rambles]

Robin Hood + A/B/O AU pt. 2 (part 1 here):

Philza.

It was Philza.

Phil, the disowned Omega of the noble House Elytrian. The same Phil who all those years ago had seen Prince Dream bullying a defenseless child and stepped in when no one else had ever bothered or dared to.

Phil, who Techno considered his first (maybe only) friend and had never forgotten about, had carried a torch for him all these years.

Phil was the outlaw, the one who had been terrorizing and robbing the upper class and nobleman. He was the "Angel of Death", as they had begun to call him, receiving the nickname after killing the last few generals sent to capture him.

Phil was the Angel of Death, and regardless of his own personal feelings, it was Techno's job to capture him and present him to Dream, so that Phil could be properly punished for his crimes.

Which was exactly the reason why Techno was now attempting to sneak back into his own estate with Phil's unconscious body in his arms, using the hidden (and mostly unknown) back entrance.

He made it past the outer walls that fortified the small estate without being seen just fine, the few servants hired to work there all inside for the day due to the pouring rain. Unfortunately, this also meant that bringing Phil into the manor wasn't an option, not without getting caught anyway. But Techno needed to find a warm, dry place where he could set Phil down and quick.

The only place that came to his mind were the stables. Techno knew they should be empty at that time of day and there were plenty of vacant stalls where he could place Phil and hide him. Not only that, but if anyone did enter the stable, Phil's Omega scent would be easily concealed underneath the smell of the horses.

Right. The stables it was.

Techno quickly made his way to the large building, pushing the heavy door open and walking inside the dimly lit building. He began to relax now that he inside and out of the rain-

-only to internally curse when he saw that the stables weren't as empty like he'd assumed they would be.

Apparently, a certain apprentice of his had decided that day to spend time in the stables.

"Sir!" Ranboo exclaimed with a smile on his face, walking out of one of the occupied stalls, closing it behind him. "You were gone for a long time, so I decided to check in on Carl-"

Ranboo stopped mid-sentence and froze where he stood, his eyes widening as they landed on the body in Techno's arms.

Techno cringed, knowing his cover had been blown.

"Is that them? The-the Angel of Death? You...you finally caught them?" Ranboo stuttered out, his voice barely above a whisper.

For a moment, Techno considered lying before he quickly remembered that he was horrible at lying. Even if Techno was somewhat decent at it, Ranboo was fully aware that Techno's sole task at the moment was the capture the Angel of Death and knew just about everything that Techno knew about them. He would no doubt recognize the clothes Phil was wearing to be the same signature ones the Angel of Death was always seen wearing.

So, lying to Ranboo was out.

Which meant...Techno would have to tell the truth.

Well, in for a penny, in for a pound.

"Yes and no," was all Techno said and walked past Ranboo, heading further into the building. He entered an empty stall towards the back, giving it a quick once over before deeming it acceptable. He crouched down, and with great care, set Phil down onto the soft pile of clean hay that lay inside the stall.

Techno glanced briefly behind him, unsurprised to see that Ranboo had followed him and was standing there in the doorway of the stall, fidgeting nervously and his scent (so light, that it was easy to mistake him for a Beta) beginning to sour with anxiety.

"Sir?" the young Alpha asked, his voice quiet and unsure.

"Ranboo, I need you to go into the manor and gather up the medical supplies in my room - bandages, potions, take all of it. Grab two extra sets of my clothes as well," Techno ordered, and lowered his voice, adding on, "Make sure you aren't seen by anyone."

Ranboo was quiet for a moment before he seemed to properly comprehend Techno's words, his eyes lighting up in understanding and he nodded, "Yes, sir!"

He walked off and out of view, the sound of the stable doors opening and closing echoing throughout the building as Ranboo left.

With Ranboo gone for the moment, Techno turned back around and focused his attention back on Phil.

Phil was a bit damp from being out in the rain, but fortunately wasn't soaked like Techno since he'd done his best to cover Phil with his cloak until they'd reached the stables. Despite that, his face was pale (probably both from blood loss and the cold) and he was beginning to shiver, so it would be best to get him into a dry set of clothes soon.

The arrow embedded in Phil's shoulder was still an issue as well, but at least it wasn't bleeding anymore and it most likely wasn't infected, so it could be easily dealt with (Techno had treated his fair share of arrow wounds back in the days of serving in the King's army).

Techno sat there, lost in his thoughts as he gazed down on Phil's unconscious form, listening to the sound of the rain still pouring outside and hitting the roof of the stables.

A few minutes passed before Techno heard the sound of the stable doors opening, Ranboo appearing a few minutes later with a old leather medical bag in his hands, several items of clothing tucked underneath it.

"Did anyone see you?" Techno asked and was relieved when Ranboo shook his head.

"Ok, good. Now come here, I'm going to need your help."

It took a bit, but together, Techno and Ranboo managed to dislodge the arrow from Phil's shoulder and clean the wound before bandaging it up in haste.

Once that was dealt with, Techno stripped Phil out his damp clothes (kicking Ranboo out for this part) and placed him in some of the dry clothing Ranboo had brought. Techno took his own soaked outfit off as well and changed into the rest of the dry clothes, before he crouched down next to Phil to check over him once more.

Even now, Phil remained unconscious and it almost appeared as though he were simply sleeping. He looked strangely vulnerable laying there, not helped at all by the fact that the clothes he was wearing (Techno's) were massive on him, making him appear smaller than he was.

Like this, Phil was such a far cry from the infamous Angel of Death, it was no wonder that no one had found out his true identity until now.

But really, if Techno was being honest with himself, he wasn't surprised.

Of course Phil was the Angel of Death. Who else would have the inside knowledge he did, who else would be clever or capable enough to successfully steal from the rich, who else would be this kind-hearted and give what he stole to the poor, even risking his own life time after time to do so?

Philza, that's who.

Techno didn't even realize that his body had decided to act on his own, so lost in his own thoughts, until his hand reached out to brush some of Phil's long golden locks back from his face. He was about to pull back, when Phil (still unconscious) turned his head and leaned into Techno's touch, a small whine escaping from him.

Techno reacted on instinct, a low pleased rumble rising in his chest as he cupped Phil's face in his hand. He couldn't help but smile when Phil nuzzled into his palm and let out a soft purr before seemingly falling back into blissful sleep.

No, no one would ever suspect that Phil was the Angel of Death.

And Techno would make sure no one would ever find out.

Techno allowed himself to sit there and hold Phil for a few more minutes before he regretfully pulled his hand away. He stood up and walked out of the stall, where Ranboo was waiting for him just outside, concern etched onto his face.

"Go on, ask," Techno said with a sigh, having known this was inevitable as soon as Ranboo had seen Techno carrying Phil into the stables.

"That's the Angel of Death, right?" Ranboo asked, glancing briefly behind Techno where Phil was.

"Yes," Techno answered.

"You're not going to turn him in, are you?"

"I think you already know the answer to that," Techno stated and narrowed his eyes at the younger Alpha. "I suppose the question is now whether you'll turn him in or not."

"I won't!" Ranboo exclaimed, startling both himself and Techno. Ranboo cleared his throat and continued in a much softer voice, "I mean, I'm not going to tell anyone. If you're not going to turn him in, you probably have a good reason and I trust you."

"I'm not sure if my reasons are good per say, but I do have reasons," Techno muttered and sighed, leaning back against the stall door.

"He's an Omega, right?" Ranboo asked. There was no judgement or surprise in his voice, merely simple curiosity.

"Yes, he is. Philza of House Elytrian. They're renowned for producing Omegas, and Phil was one of them. He was engaged to an Alpha from another noble family, but he was disowned a while back for instead bonding with an Alpha beneath his social class," Techno explained with a shrug.

Understanding seemed to dawn on Ranboo's face, "You sound like you know him. Were...were you two-"

"I knew him once, a long time ago, but it doesn't matter now," Techno said, interrupting whatever train of thought Ranboo was about to go on, "Ranboo, I appreciate all you've done to help me so far, but I'm afraid there's one more thing I must ask of you."

Ranboo hesitated for a moment before he nodded, "Whatever it is, sir, I'll try my best!"

---

It was just another day at Church Prime and Jack was doing his nightly rounds, when he heard a knock at the front door. Which wasn't terribly unusual and he thought nothing of it as he went to go open them.

There standing on the front steps was an unusually tall Beta, holding a limp body in their arms.

"I-I just found him and he seems injured and I didn't know where else to go-" the Beta began to explain, panic in their voice.

"Calm down! Come inside and lemme see them," Jack interrupted to Beta and led them inside to one of the back rooms where they kept the spare beds.

The Beta set down the body onto one of the beds and Jack leaned down, beginning to inspect the unconscious figure.

It didn't take him long to realize he recognized them - it was Philza, the Angel of Mercy!

Jack turned around to speak to the Beta and hopefully get more information out of them, but they were already walking away.

"Oi!" Jack yelled and the Beta flinched before bolting, running out the door.

Jack ran after them but by the time he reached the front doors, the Beta was long gone and nowhere to be seen.

---

Techno watched from a distance, safely hidden behind a dense thicket nearby, as Ranboo brought Phil into Church Prime.

A few minutes later, Ranboo ran out of the building and made his way to where Techno was, joining his mentor in his hiding spot.

They both saw as the friar that had greeted Ranboo walked out, glancing around, but when he didn't see Ranboo, headed back inside and closed the front doors.

"What now, sir?" Ranboo asked after a few moments had passed.

"Now, we go back home and pretend this never happened," Techno answered simply and began to walk off in the direction back towards the manor, Ranboo quick to follow him.

Of course, that wasn't completely true. Techno knew that he couldn't just pretend none of this had happened or ignore the Angel of Death's true identity.

Already, he was planning his next move and knew exactly what he needed to do next.

[so-i-dont-forget-again]

So I Don’t Forget Again: A Breath of The Wild fanfiction

Entry 42: Dueling Peaks

 While writing my last entry I was interrupted when I spotted something bright red. I raced to the shore and saw the red thing was actually a person! They managed to cling to the shore, and I helped drag them out of the water. He didn’t look very injured, but just in case I quickly got him into the tunnel. He was mid-way through thanking me when he abruptly stopped and yelled “Bossa Nova!” then scrambled towards the Capybara. After checking the creature, he asked if I had helped his friend. When I said yes, he kept thanking me over and over. He then stopped again and asked if I’m a Hylian. When I nodded he looked relived and introduced himself.

He is Sidon, the Prince of the Zora. He’s like Kass in that he’s mostly two colors. He’s bright red but his underside, like his face, chest, stomach, and inside of his hands are white. He’s at least twice as tall as me. Height wise I reach the top of his stomach. Like Bossa Nova he wears mostly silver trinkets with those glowing gemstones embedded in them. All intricately designed. A belt like thing, arm cuffs, leg cuffs, shoulder armor pad things, necklace and a head thing with a dark purple feather attached. The necklace also had a fluttery white thing. Two yellow ropes, one shorter, one longer connects from his right shoulder thing to under the white fluttery thing. He also wears a dark blue sash with silver threaded embroidery. It reminds me of my Champion tunic. He doesn’t appear to wear anything else, aside from the beautiful silver sword attached to the belt thing. He’s very fish like. Has a fish tail protruding out from the back of his head and a blue and yellow fin on each arm. He also has sharp teeth and a bright infectious smile.

After introducing himself he asked for my name. I think that’s the first time anyone’s asked for that. He said that Link is a fantastic name, but he couldn’t help but feel that he’s heard it somewhere before. He spotted my equipment and asked if I’m a warrior. He was ecstatic when he heard my reply. He said that as the Zora prince he has an eye for talent and that he had a really good feeling about me. He said that he hated to ask more of me since I had helped him and saved Bossa Nova, but he needed help from a Hylian warrior. He explained that the endless rain was coming from the Divine Beast Vah Ruta, which is located in the Zora’s domain. The only way to stop it is to take control of it, but to enter the Divine Beast one would need shock arrows. As an aquatic people the Zora get seriously injured from electricity and can’t go near them which is why they needed someone who could wield them without getting hurt, a Hylian. He added that if Vah Ruta isn’t stopped soon, all of Hyrule would be trapped in an endlessly expanding storm and everything will get flooded and destroyed.

I agreed but asked how we were going to get there. Traveling through a thunderstorm would be too dangerous for a Zora; despite his size even he couldn’t swim against the raging rapids while carrying everyone so we could get there quicker. There weren’t too many options. Prince Sidon declared that our only option was to brave the storm. I had the Prince and Bossa Nova remove their metal things and place them in the leather saddle bags so they wouldn’t attract unwanted electricity. I also lent a thick blanket to the Prince. I don’t know if it’ll do much, but I hoped it’d provide as some sort of deterrent for lightning.

After that we set off. It was getting darker so I knew it’d be night soon, and when that would happen it’d be pitch black. We hurried as quickly as we could, but we were only able to get to the Dueling Peaks. Unfortunately, a horde of Bokoblins, and Lizalfols were camping out in the only place that provided any decent protection from the storm. I told the others to stay back as I went ahead. I snuck up as closely as I could before they noticed me, then I swiftly took a wooden sword and shield they had laying around and jumped into battle. The Lizalfols made the battle a bit of a challenge. They have multiple ranged attacks and I could only deal with so many opponents at a time. The only light there was came from a small campfire. What’s worse of all is that they had a few metal weapons. The battle somehow got into the storm. I got distracted when that blinding lightning struck one of the metal carrying Bokoblins and a Lizalfols managed to stab my right arm. As I was fighting off the Lizalfols Prince Sidon rushed in and began to fight with one of the wooden weapons that was not being used. Once the battle was over the Prince spoke of how impressed he was with my sword skills, but he was quite troubled about my injured arm though.

I think my healing capabilities work differently than I had thought up till now. My entire arm hurts, and it feels almost as if it’s being crushed by boulders again. Prince Sidon insisted on bandaging it, but I kept telling him it’d be a waste and that’d I’d be fine. This went on for a while. I told him about my healing ability, but he made the point that since we currently have no food my arm needed to be bandaged so it wouldn’t get infected or bleed out. At that comment I gave in. I think I rely too much on my healing ability. If I didn’t have it, I’d surely be dead by now. I ought to be more careful.

There’s grass here for Friend and Bossa Nova so at least they can have a good meal.

Currently everyone’s asleep, well, except me. Maybe I should sleep too, after all, I’m not sure about how my healing works anymore so maybe the same goes for sleep. Yet at the same time, I can’t help but worry there being a sudden attack, or lightning, or something else that could put us in danger, so I’ll at least stay awake tonight to keep a watch out...

Truth be told that’s only one reason. The other is my arm. It feels so hot and like it’s throbbing. I don’t think I can carry a shield or anything else with it. At least I can still feel it this time, and it’s not numb like the last.

I’m also not sure where we’re going, beyond here is just valleys and hills as far as the eye can see. There’ll be almost no shelter beyond this point. I’m not even sure where the domain is, I sure hope the Prince knows, because I don’t have a clue

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[wordsfromthesol]

Aren't You the Bad Guy? (1/3)

Author: @wordsfromthesol Pairing: Dick Grayson x Reader Summary: You are Lex Luthor’s secret daughter. Why does he keep you so hidden? Warnings: Language, suicidal thoughts, violence, blood Word Count:  1.8k A/N: I was inspired by events that happened in Titans and their approach to Jericho. I don’t think there are really spoilers, just a similar origin story. Enjoy!

Part Two   Part Three

Growing up was no picnic, especially having Lex Luthor for a father. His public image was just that, an image, his true self was only shown to a choice few. You, unfortunately, were one of those few. Your mother had left you with the receptionist at LCORP twenty-four years ago and Lex had made sure that no one knew he had a daughter…after all he didn’t want all his enemies to use you against him.

You still weren’t sure that was the only reason, but there wasn’t much you could do about it. You were his number one test subject, in fact you had lost count of the number of experiments you had been a part of. Not that you ever really remembered what he was trying to achieve…only the pain. You only ever remembered the pain. You quickly learned how to file that information away, push it far back into the recesses of your memory. Sometimes you just wanted it to be all over, you wanted one of his experiments to go too far so you could be done, but you were pretty sure your father would find some way to bring you back to life. In fact, you weren’t entirely sure that he hadn’t already done so.

At least he let you live somewhat a normal life, in-between the experimentation. You worked at a local bakery and lived in a modest apartment just outside of Metropolis…after all he needed you close-by.

***

“I’m tired of this bullshit!” Dick punched the wall of the batcave. “We still have no idea what Luthor’s plans are with this drug! Hell, we aren’t even sure what the fuck it does!”

Tim let out a long sigh and finally broke the silence, “I may have something that could help.” He typed into the batcomputer and pulled up your file, “This is Lex Luthor’s hidden daughter. Y/N.”

“Dick…we can’t.” It was unusual for Jason to be the voice of reason, but this was taking it too far. “She may not even know anything.”

“But what if she does?! We have to know…this is the only way.”

***

A familiar face walks in the front door of the bakery. Familiar in that your father made you memorize all the civilian identities of known vigilantes. Dick Grayson, what could the boy wonder be here for. More like what nonsense has my father done now.

“Hey,” Dick flashed that signature flirty smile your way, “I’m interested in a cake. For my youngest brother’s birthday.”

Well at least he’s not drilling you right away, let’s see where this goes. “Alright, what flavor were you thinking?”

“Well, I’m not sure. He can be a bit difficult.”

“Okay…well we can make cakes in all the flavors you see here.” You pointed to a row of cupcakes in the display case. “You can always get the cupcakes now, and see what kind he likes best?” This was often your go-to suggestion for those tricky customers.

“Hmm…good idea. I’ll take one of everything then.”

You nodded and prepared the box, just as you felt a headache come on. Ignoring it, you ran the customer up, and – to your surprise – he actually turned to leave. Maybe it actually was a coincidence he came into your shop. Dick had just opened the door when he heard you scream. Quickly, he turned around – dropping the box of cupcakes – and raced to your side, catching your collapsing body before it reached the ground.

“Guys, I may need your help in here.” Within seconds Jason, Tim, and Damian enter the shop.

“What the fuck Dick –” Jason began as he watched your body writhe in pain.

“She just collapsed! I didn’t do anything, I was leaving, I swear!” Dick tried to recall the events in his head, just as two very large men entered the shop.

“We will be taking that one.” One of them scoffed and pointed towards you.

“Yeah, I don’t think so” Tim called out as he charged the men, Jason and Damian following in his lead.

“We got this Grayson.” Damian called back, as Dick picked you up and raced to the batmobile, placing you inside and giving you a sedative for good measure. Even in the supercharged car, it would take over an hour to get you back to the Manor.

Dick had just got you situated in the med-bay when his brothers entered the cave.

“Want to enlighten us on today’s events Grayson?” Damian questioned his older brother.

Dick just shook his head, unsure of what actually happened himself.

***

It took days for you to awake. This is not the bakery…but also not Lex’s lab. At least, it wasn’t one you were familiar with. Carefully you pulled the tubes from your arm and face, and swung your legs over the edge of the bed. You tested your legs before fully standing, but soon you heard footsteps. Quickly, you laid back down and shut your eyes, focusing in on the voices.

“Maybe we should call M’gann. Seems like a mental issue” Tim reasoned, as physically, you seemed fine.

“How are we going to explain the fact that we have Lex’s daughter? Think before you speak, replacement.” Jason scoffed at his younger brother.

“Well, we don’t have many options. It’s been nearly 72 hours since she’s been awake.”

Suddenly their voices stopped, and you heard the door to your room open. Finally, you heard Dick break the silence.

“Y/N, we know you’re awake.”

You sighed and opened your eyes, realizing the tubes lying on the floor had given you away.

“So, this M’gann person. She’s the Martian right?”

The boys exchanged confused looks, there was no way you should have been able to hear them, nonetheless know who M’gann was, but Tim spoke up anyways.

“Yeah…we think she can help, uhm, see into your mind.”

“As much fun as that doesn’t sound.  I agree with Tim here. Don’t worry, Jason, you don’t need to give her the full story on my…familial ties.”

Jason scoffed, “Yeah, she can get into your mind, so I don’t think there’s any hiding that.”

You just smiled and shrugged at him.

M’gann was at the cave mere minutes after Tim contacted her. No words were said, but you knew a conversation was happening. She walked into your room, and you just nodded, not wanting to reveal any information the batboys had left out.

You felt her invading presence in your mind and quickly closed off sections unrelated to your current predicament before joining her consciousness.

“You must be M’gann…so I think this is the issue.” You pointed towards your memories of Dick Grayson.

“Yes, it seems someone has tampered with…” you could tell she began to feel all the people who had previously raided your mind, “your memories. It seems a pain response is initiated when in contact with certain people.”

“Can you get rid of it?”

“I can try, but I’m afraid that I can only dull the pain,” she closed her eyes, seeming to find the source. “The implanted pain response goes back much too far. How long have people been manipulating –”

“Look,” you cut her off, not wanting to provide any answers, “just do what you can. I’m sure I can handle whatever pain is left.”

Both you and M’gann resurfaced from your mind. M’gann started to immediately inform her friends of the failures, “I was able –” However, you immediately cut her off, they didn’t need to know.

“Thanks, M’gann. I already feel so much better.” You then warned her using your thoughts, if they know anymore, they could be in danger. Let me handle this. She simply nodded and left through the same Zeta-tube she arrived in hours before.

You took a few days to gather some of your strength back before you decided it was time to leave. You couldn’t give your father more ammo to hurt you, that’s why you had avoided any kind of relationship in the past. Gathering your things, you made your way to the front. You watched as Dick spotted you and proceeded to run towards you. All you could do was sigh before you opened the door, however you quickly shut it. Shit. No. They found me. You raced past Dick to the back of the house and into the backyard. You jumped and pulled yourself just above the fence when you spotted even more of Lex’s goons. You collapsed to the ground just as Dick approached. You held your finger to your lips and took him by the wrist, leading him inside.

“Where’s the rest of you?”

“Uhm, they are in the cave…Y/N what’s wrong? Why are you trying to leave?”

Ignoring his questions you continued on to the cave, the three boys looked up at you as you entered. “Alright, whose got something to locate a tracker? Like one embedded in you?”

Once again, the boys exchanged confused looks. You were getting real tired of those faces, it was Lex Luthor, you didn’t understand why anything surprised them when it came to your father.

Jason stalked over and pulled out a device. “This will find it, but we will have to come up with a way of getting it out.”

You snatched the device from his hand and found the tracker just below your collarbone on the left side of your chest. You scoffed, of course he would put it near the heart.

“That’s going to be a difficult place –” Dick’s face contorted into confusion, then shock as you grabbed the knife you stowed away in your boot and cut deep into your chest. You dug your fingers into the gash and felt the tracker, but your fingers were too big.

“Tweezers, anyone?” You called out, but everyone seemed frozen in shock, until Damian made a move to the nearby med-bay and walked out tweezers in hand. “Thank you, Damian.” You chimed, as you took them in hand and pulled the tracker out. Fuck you dad. You walked over to the sink and threw the tracker down the drain.

“Alright, guess I have to wait for those idiots to follow the new signal.” You directed your comment to the boys, but you really said it out loud for your own reassurance. It did seem to snap them out their fog.

“Y/N, what the hell.” Dick grabbed the medical kit and approached you, forcing you to sit on the edge of the hospital bed.

“What? You guys would’ve talked about the easiest way to get the damn thing out for hours. It needed to be done, so I did it.”

Dick glared at you as he disinfected and sewed up the fresh wound.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball GT Retrospective (7/7)

[Note: I wrote this on January 16, 2013.  Originally, I had embedded a video of Goku Junior slapping his bare ass for like ten hours, but it’s down now :(   Such is life.)

Well, I know I said I finished watching Dragon Ball GT, but there's one last thing in the box set: Dragon Ball GT: The Movie

This actually isn't what it sounds like.  I'm pretty sure the "movie" was actually a TV special, and it didn't really have much at all to do with the characters or plotlines of GT.   Really, it's more of an epilogue tale of the future, set one hundred years after the events in Dragon Ball GT.   Of course, GT was set some forty years after the beginning of the first Dragon Ball storyline, so it seems like a jump too far.   From what I understand, the original plan was to wrap up the GT series with the end of the Baby Saga, but something happened and they ended up making another twenty-odd episodes.  In between all that, they had this GT special set up, probably as a final sendoff to all things Dragon Ball.   This was somewhat undermined by flashing a hundred years back for Super 17 and Shadow Dragon Sagas, but in the final episode of GT, they flashed forward yet again to tie the series finale with the special.   So, the premise of the special is pretty straightforward.  One hundred years after Baby's defeat, Goku and everyone else from Dragon Ball is dead.  The only one left is Pan, who's looking pretty spry for a a centenarian.  Actually, I'm not sure 100 years was the best time frame to use.   Goku's master, Master Roshi, was already three hundred years old when Dragon Ball started, and he survived all the way to the end of GT, never really aging much.  The implication was that his lifetime of martial arts training somehow allowed him to unnaturally extend his lifespan, but it was never actually explained.   Further, we never really found out what the lifespan of a Saiyan is.  Goku and Vegeta aged very little across the timeline of DBZ/DBGT, and Vegeta explained that Saiyans have a much longer physical prime than humans do.   Humans like.... Master Roshi?   I don't think anyone really put a lot of thought into this, probably because no one ever seriously planned to cover the world of DragonBall that far into the future.   Even if we knew how long Saiyans and humans can normally live in that universe, the Saiyan-human hybrid characters would still be an x-factor.   I guess what I'm trying to say here is that we really can't tell what keeps Granma Pan so fit.  Is it because she's one-quarter Saiyan?  Is it because of advances in that Earth's medical technology?  Is it because any human in that world could live past 100 with proper diet and exercise?   Or is she tapping into the same ki techniques that preserved Master Roshi for so long?   What I kind of dig about the special is that no one really knows, and we may never know.  The world of Goku and his friends is gone, lost forever like a forgotten dream.  Pan seems to be a minor celebrity in her own right, but it's because she's Pan, not so much because she was related to the mysterious Son Goku, daughter of the brilliant scientist Son Gohan, or the heir of the legendary world champion Mister Satan.  If she married, her husband is never seen or mentioned.   We have no idea if she had brothers or sisters.   She must have had at least one son or daughter, but the only reason we know this is because of her grandson, Goku Jr.  There's a melancholy to that.  Maybe some of these missing figures are still alive, but they're clearly not part of Pan's life anymore.   It's just her and her grandson living in Satan City.   Goku Jr. probaly knows the city was named to honor his ancestor's heroism at the Cell Games, but the information is meaningless to him.   It's ancient history, especially to a small boy.  Goku Jr. is the spitting image of his namesake, but this doesn't mean that much to him either.   He knows Goku was a great warrior, someone whom Pan respects tremendously, but he might as well be Abraham Lincoln.  He looks in the mirror and sees himself, not a cartoon character who could blow up entire planets with his fingers.   Pan tries to train Goku Jr, but he's kind of a klutz.  More to the point, he's timid and doesn't want to fight.   A bully named Puck takes a cool-looking novelty pen from him, and he just lets him keep it.   Pan gives him shit for not standing up for himself, but he doesn't see the big deal.   During this conversation she has a heart attack or something like that, and we cut to the hospital, where Pan is apparently in bad shape.  Goku desperately promises to train harder and fight anyone he has to if it means she'll pull through.   This is where Pan realizes she's been too hard on the boy.   I like this scene because it would have been too easy to forget that Pan was kind of a pushy jerk when she was a kid.   The adult Pan is still demanding and refuses to take crap from anyone, but she's been wanting Goku Jr. to be like her grandfather, and he has been all along. Son Goku wouldn't start a fight over a pen, no matter how many cool floaty things are inside it.  But he would go through anything to save Pan, and that's what Goku Jr. is determined to do, too.   When Pan takes a turn for the worse, Junior heads home, and notices a photo of Pan as a child, holding a Dragon Ball.  He flashes back to a time when Pan tried to tell him the story of the photo, but he was too preoccupied playing video games.   PAN: Hey, check this out.  It's a picture of me and my robot friend Giru.   And I had a dopey orange bandana, and I whined all the time, and Vegeta never got to do anything cool, and-- GOKU JR.: That sounds really boring, granma.  I'm gonna play more Super Mario World.   It's hard not to like Goku, Jr., is what I'm trying to say.   Anyway, Goku Jr. doesn't know the whole mythology of the Dragon Balls, but he does vaguely understand that they grant wishes, and the four-star ball was sort of a family heirloom, so he devises an ill-conceived plan to travel to Mount Paozu and search his ancestor's home for it.  A truck driver offers him a lift, but this is just a trick to get all the stuff in his giant backpack.   Evil Truck Driver is perhaps my new favorite GT character. GOKU JR.: So what's in this truck?   ETD: It's full of hamburgers, kid.  It's pretty awesome.   GOKU, JR.: Wow, you sure have a lot of food in the cab.   ETD: Yep.   I've got even more food in this bag here, too.   You want some?   GOKU JR.: Nah, I've got my own food in my backpack.   ETD: ... Really?    Uh... say, you want to hop out and take a whiz?   It's a long way to go.   GOKU JR.: Yeah, I guess I'd better.   I'll just leave my backpack stuffed with food in your truck filled with even more food.     ETD: Delicious.  Uh... I mean, scrumptious!  I mean!  I'm driving away and taking your food with me!  Ha ha ha! I feel really bad for whoever's expecting those hamburgers to arrive.   Actually, maybe he's not even a real truck driver.  He just stole the truck one day and he's been living off its cargo ever since.   Ironically, this turns into a lucky break for Goku, because he meets Puck while he walks to Mt.  Paozu on foot.  Puck had heard about Goku's plans before he left, and he was so impressed with his daring that he wants to tag along and watch when Goku is eaten by wild animals or bandits.  The thing is, Puck's a pretty fair outdoorsman, so as they get closer to their destination he's able to help Goku live off the land.  Along the way, Puck begins to bond with Goku Jr., and they have a few minor adventures.   Wolves attack them, but they're rescued by a woman with a shotgun who takes them to her home for the night.   Unfortunately, she turns out to be a witch or a demon or something.   Whatever she is, she eats people.  Goku Jr. is suspicious from the start (due to his past experience with Evil Truck Driver), so he and Puck manage to escape.   Their partnership comes to an end on a rickety bridge.   Goku Jr is afraid to cross until Puck proves it's sturdy enough.   Even so, the bridge nearly collapses, and Puck falls off in a failed attempt to rescue Goku.  Goku manages to climb back up on his own, and then he rescues a bearcub from one of the same demon bandits he escaped earlier.  In gratitude, the bear’s mother escorts Goku to his ancestor's home, but they're once again attacked by the bandits.   This time, they're joined by Lord Yao, their leader.   The mommy bear tries to fight him off so Goku can take her cub to safety, but she's hopelessly outmatched.   Worse, the baby bear slips away and tries to help, so Goku can't even save him.  Frustrated with his powerlessness, Goku Jr finally loses his shit and transforms into a Super Saiyan.  He clobbers Lord Yao and frightens his henchmen away.  When he reverts to normal, he has no memory of the battle, and believes the bears did all the work.   With all that out of the way, Goku Jr. locates the Four-Star Dragon Ball in the ruins of what was once his ancestor's childhood home.   This is really a melancholy scene.  The house belonged to Son Gohan, the kindly old man who adopted the elder Goku when his spaceship crashed on Earth.  When Dragon Ball begins, Goku leaves that home to begin his adventures, and aside from a couple of trips to pick up his things, he never really returns.   Now, some 140 years later, it's still standing, but derelict.  No one remembers the kindly old man who lived there, or how his compassion changed the universe for the better.  Someone must have left the four-star Dragon Ball there to honor his memory, but even the significance of that gesture is lost in the sands of time.   Goku Jr. doesn't understand how the Dragon Balls work, so he starts praying to the four-star ball, asking the Dragon to restore his grandmother's health and bring Puck back to life if at all possible.  When he gets no answer, he becomes upset, and then he notices the original Goku standing beside him.   He introduces himself as Goku Jr.'s great-great-grandfather, and explains that the Dragon Balls only work when you have all seven of them.   Nevertheless, he congratulates his descendant for his courage and strength, and then Pan and Puck arrive on the scene in an aircraft.   Apparently they didn't die after all.   The elder Goku disappears without a trace, and Goku Jr. is left with the lesson that his inner strength was what saved the day.     I'm not crazy about the ending of the story, since it's never explained how Puck survived his fall.   Pan's recovery is no big deal.   No one knew for sure whether she would live or die, so it's entirely plausible that she got better, went home, and realized where Goku Jr. must have gone.   But Puck fell off a bridge into a deep canyon.  Unless Pan swooped in and saved him in the nick of time, I don't see how else he would have survived.   Of course, some other superhuman resident of Mount Paozu might have stepped in, but the special seems to be built on the idea that the superheroics of old are no more.   Of course, based on the finale of Dragon Ball GT we might infer that Goku Jr.'s wish really was granted after all.   In the final episode of the series, Goku merges with the Dragon Balls as Shenron exiles himself from the earth.   So if the Four-Star Ball was sitting in his old house, it must have been Goku himself who put it there, because no one else would have had it.  And it's reasonable to assume he had the other six with him, so when Goku Jr. made his wish, he really did get it to work after all.   The implication is that Goku is the Dragon, and he's not too picky about the rules.  I think this is what Toei was going for, but they wanted to keep it ambiguous.  Maybe Goku did come back from death to grant his descendant's wish, or maybe Goku Jr. imagined the encounter, and Puck and Pan's survival was just a fortunate coincidence.   The next time we see these characters is in Episode 64 of the regular GT television series.  Goku Jr. has learned to harness and control his powers to become a talented martial artist.  He enters the World Tournament and faces one of Vegeta's descendants in the final round of the Junior Devision.  Pan is still in good health, and she meets Vegeta Jr.'s mother, indicating a friendly, if not close, relationship still exists between the two families.  The elder Goku reappears once again to watch the tournament finals, but Pan only glimpses him for a moment before he vanishes again. There's a bittersweetness to the special that really makes it worthwhile.   Beyond that, it's actually kind of boilerplate.  It reminds me a lot of the "Episode of Bardock" special that was recently produced.   In that, Goku's biological father Bardock miraculously survives the destruction of his home planet by getting thrown back in time, where he becomes the hero of the pre-Saiyan Planet Plant and turns Super Saiyan at the climactic moment.  It's not a bad story, it just doesn't have a whole lot else going for it other than being a callback/tribute to the main Dragon Ball storyline.   A lot of fun was had with these future scenarios, depicting heroes who would carry on after Goku: Future Trunks in his alternate timeline, Uub at the end of DBZ, Pan as the heir apparent in GT, and Goku Jr. in this special.  But none of these characters ever really goes anywhere new.  At best, they follow a path similar to the one charted by Goku and his contemporaries.  The moral is that the story is the same no matter who the main character is.  Goku Jr. barely knows the legend of his famous ancestor, but he carries on the tradition nevertheless.   That's the "hero's legacy".  Goku might be forgotten after a few generations, but the things he stood for, the causes he fought for, the example he set, those things are timeless.   And that brings us full circle, because I think the chief mistake of Dragon Ball GT was in trying to de-age Goku to artificially loop his character arc.   Toei wanted to make Goku his own successor, when they probably would have been better off making Pan the main character, having her own goofy adventures with Goku and Vegeta chilling out in the superhero retirement home.  Or they could have skipped ahead and made the series about this Goku Jr. kid, since he has the look they wanted without all the baggage.  GT ended with a ham-fisted morality play about how the Dragon Balls had been overused, which is humorous coming from a studio that couldn't let the Dragon Ball franchise end with dignity.  With the special, they kind of got it right, but only for a moment.

[byunicide]

Soulmates? Friends?

MASTERLIST

Soulmate! Byun Baekhyun AU

ANGST

“The moment you both knew you were soulmates, you didn’t know what you both were supposed to be. Were you going to fall in love with each other like most soulmates end up to be? Were you both meant to be enemies? Or were you and Baekhyun just meant to be friends?”

  _     

 They said finding your soulmate would change your life entirely. They said, finding your soulmate is like finding a missing piece of yourself. Meeting them would make you feel complete. They didn’t mention that not all soulmates are bound to become lovers. They didn’t mention that not all soulmates fall in love, marry each other, have kids, and then live happily ever after. Some soulmates tend to be just friends, some even enemies. But the thing is, no mater what kind of connection you have with your soulmate, it’s impossible to leave them behind. It’s impossible to forget about them, to not have them in your life. Your soulmate must always be there, no matter what type of relationship you both have.

Although it was said to be rare, during this time, it wasn’t anymore. You knew a handful of people in your life who had a different approach to the whole soulmate thing other than the romantic kind of love. You knew someone who has quite the problematic relationship with his own soulmate, and also someone who’s platonically just friends with her soulmate. That was exactly your case, but it wasn’t any of the kinds mentioned. You didn’t even know what to call your relationship with your soulmate. You weren’t friends, but you weren’t enemies either.

It was sometime before spring break when you knew who he was.

By the time people turned eighteen, their wrists would be embedded with a soul mark, each different from the others, but all designed intricately minimal that you found it almost pretty. Yours was a single, long line running down your wrist for almost five inches, and a single circle intercepting in the middle, looking like a loop in a hole. The line was a simple black, while the circle was a beautiful, metallic gold. It was simple, but it looked beautiful enough for you.

Now, you weren’t one to believe in all the falling-in-love-after-finding-your-soulmate bullshit, since you never liked to force love upon anyone. You always minded others before yourself it could hurt you. To say that you didn’t expect it to be him was an understatement. You were beyond shocked that it was him. It seemed very unlikely, since you have seen him many times in the three years you have been studying in university yet your mark never heated up, never told you that it was him. It was then you learned that you were both supposed to touch, to feel each other. By then, you would be able to know it.

Byun Baekhyun liked wearing sweaters and hoodies most of the time, allowing the clothing to cover up his mark. For all the times he didn’t— well, you just weren’t close enough with him to know. You majored in architecture while he was majoring in psychology. He was going to become a doctor, and relishing over this fact made you even more embarrassed to approach him. Not to mention that he used to play for the university’s football team, but ended up quitting to focus more on his studies. He was still part of their group, though, so he was basically unreachable. You only had one math class with him once, but you didn’t have enough chances or didn’t care enough to talk to him before you changed your schedule because you were more of a morning person, while he wasn’t.

It was during Park Chanyeol, the music major’s party, when you and him touched for the first time. He was good friends with Chanyeol, while Oh Sehun was your brother, someone pretty much close to them too because he’s a swimming athlete. You’re close with your brother, who majored in Engineering (which confused you as to how he became friends with a music major but it all came down to the the fact that they were both athletes), but then, you didn’t care much about who he hung out with. It was one of the rare occassions when you would attend a frat party, because Sehun forced you to go since you both wouldn’t be able to come home this break, and truth to be told, you needed the fun. Working on that last project made you exhausted to hell and back, and the party would be the next best thing to sleeping the whole break away. And how else would you ever be able to meet your soulmate if you just lied in bed all day, right? You were already past twenty, you figured you must start looking for your significant other now.

When you met him, he wasn’t wearing his usual hoodies but was dressed in a silky blouse tucked into some jeans. Back then you didn’t know why you were always drawn to him and his presence, and only thought that maybe it was because he has that kind of captivating aura around him. Not the kind of intimidating aura your brother has, or the seductive aura your best friend Kim Jongin has, but the kind of mischievous but cool aura around him which made everyone want to become friends with him. He was funny, friendly, and charming. He flirted with everyone who flirted with him first, but never went too far to let them assume they had a chance with him. You didn’t really think he’s been with someone else lately, though, which made you a little happy inside. He was just a happy crush, you guessed. But when Sehun introduced you to Chanyeol and then to Baekhyun, you weren’t so sure anymore. By the time your calloused hands left Chanyeol’s and held his own soft ones in turn, you felt his hand immediately tighten, and then suddenly you broke free of his hold and winced at the slight pain at your wrist. You were both wide-eyed, as well as the two tall spectators at your side, and then one moment you were stunned, and then the next you found yourself being dragged to a locked bedroom, the sound of the party muffled outside. You learned that it was Baekhyun who led you inside, his eyes a little confused, unsure if he was supposed to be happy or disappointed. You were sure your own expression mirrored his. You held your wrist firmly as you stood awkwardly by the door, while he was seated at the edge of the bed, looking down at the reddened skin of his arm.

You thought about what’s happening too quickly, you surprised yourself. You had a plan, for when you met your soulmate and didn’t know what to do. “I— um, you know, we don’t have to—" But you were suddenly cut off when he stood abruptly from the bed, the sheets rustling as he approached you and you gulped. He was too near, you saw the entirety of his face for the first time and felt his breath hitting your trembling lips. You were nervous, and so was he. It wasn’t intentional, but you just knew how he felt, somehow. “I’m Baekhyun. Byun Baekhyun.” He introduced, a close-lipped smile gracing his lips. “I know,” you replied breathily, “Sehun introduced us downstairs.” You had no idea if you sounded a little harsh or not, but he didn’t seem to care. “Right,” he replied, “That’s why we’re here, in the first place.” This time, you wanted to know if he meant that in a bad, I-don’t-have-time-for-this-kind-of-shit way. You smiled, anyway, and decided to pick up from where he cut you off. “We don’t have to try and be together. You know, romantically.” You started, and you knew he didn’t expect you would say that. “Most people always think that soulmates are supposed to fall in love and make things work, but that doesn’t have to happen.” you continued.

This time, he sat back down, and you followed him, the bed dipping with your weight. He was bouncing his legs up and down nervously, and although he refused to meet your eyes, he was listening. “I would hate to force love upon anyone. We could be soulmates in a friendship sense, if you want, we could—" You stopped talking when he whipped his head to look at you, finally, and you took notice of how boyishly handsome he looked, with the bedside lampshade lighting up his face perfectly. He grinned. “ You know, I never expected you to be the type of person who didn’t believe that all soulmates should fall in love.” he spoke, and you nodded shyly. “Well, just so you know, as your soulmate, from now on, I’m always gonna be here for you, as a friend, as an advisor, as a lover— or whatever the fuck soulmates could be.” He laughed, a marvellous sound, and you couldn’t help but laugh with him. “It’s nice to finally meet you, y/n.”

The time after that was when you weren’t sure what to call him as. Were you friends? But you only smiled at each other when passing through the quad or when you coincidentally entered the same coffee shop where he was. An occassional wave would suffice, but other than that, you were both reduced to non-verbal greetings. The only person who would talk to you was Chanyeol, the bubbly, clumsy guy who was easy to be friends with. You couldn’t ignore the pull you felt whenever you saw Baekhyun, though, which explained your glee when Sehun invited you and Jongin to hang out with them one day. Maybe, you could have at least a decent conversation with your supposed soulmate. You really didn’t have any idea why he was so hesitant with you when he’s naturally a charmer. He was supposed to talk your ear off, as Chanyeol described him to be.

You brought your best friend, Jongin, to the local diner Bakehyun’s group hung out at, a dingy place where their other friend Jongdae supposedly worked part-time. Jongin was your best friend ever since you first stepped foot into university and didn’t have enough confidence to make friends. He was an engineering major like Sehun, but unfortunately, being an athlete meant your brother didn’t have enough time to hang out with you. Jongin sparked up a conversation with you, and that’s where your friendship started. He danced, too, but Engineering was his main choice, because he was undoubtedly good at the subject. Jongin was ecstatic when you told him that you found your soulmate, but wasn’t too eager with the fact that the both of you were awkward as hell when you’re supposed to be drawn to each other. But you were, since you assumed Baekhyun’s the only one not drawn to you. Maybe you just weren’t interesting enough for him.

Entering the diner with Jongin in tow, you felt sudden warmth despite the cold air blowing from outside. Baekhyun must have felt it, too, because his head rose from the booths to meet your eyes upon your entrance. He smiled, and Chanyeol beckoned you over loudly. You sat at their booth, Chanyeol and Baekhyun on one side and then you seated between Sehun and Jongin. You introduced Jongin to them, and soon enough, the table was loud with chatters. You were thankful enough that Jongin was good with making conversation. You talked, too, but other than that, there’s an awkward tension between you and Baekhyun. It was like you were both afraid to speak to one another. As if sensing this, Chanyeol eyed the both of you, and you saw him rise a questioning eyebrow at Baekhyun, who only pretended to find the folded napkins a tad bit interesting.

“What’s with you both?” Chanyeol asked, right after Jongdae served all of your food and the table was engulfed in silence. He probably couldn’t take the uncomfortable tension anymore. Jongin elbowed you in the ribs to start talking, but Sehun beat you to it. You were thankful, to say the least. You didn’t know what to say.

“Aren’t you two supposed to flirt and fall in love and ride off into the sunset together? Isn’t that how soulmates work?” Sehun asked, and this time it was your turn to elbow your brother in the ribs. He groaned, and pushed you back softly.

“We’re— um, we’re not like that.” You replied, stuttering a little. Baekyhun had his eyebrows raised, making eye contact with you before looking away just as quickly. Chanyeol looked at his friend, obviously waiting for him to speak.

Baekhyun gulped, before speaking, “Yeah, um, what she said. We’re not romantically involved since we’re obviously not in love with each other, but we’d be there for each other. That’s what soulmates are for, right?.” They all nodded, and maybe that was how you both came to feel comfortable around each other.

Ever since that time, you both quickly became friends, bonding over video games and late night movie marathons. You would also eat out together, go to parties together, or drink at bars together. You were such a good friend to him, and him, to you. But that was it. You both were just friends. You learned too quickly that Baekhyun liked to date, but none of them always worked out. And every single time, he comes to you for comfort, and you gave him just that. You tried to date, too, a boy named Yixing in one of your classes, and although he was exceptionally kind and sweet, you just didn’t feel right. You felt like you were lying not only to Yixing, but to yourself too, somehow. You just didn’t like him enough, because you were falling for your soulmate. And you didn’t like it one bit. Yixing proved to be someone you could break down to, though. He was extremely patient with you and understood your feelings. You told him how unsure you were of what you felt for your soulmate, and he told you that if anything happens, or if you were confused, that you would call him, because he was willing to help. Thank god for Yixing, he was just too good to be true.

Maybe it really had something to do with his charm, why you fell in love with Baekhyun. Almost every single person who came across him never failed to not love him. But you didn’t want to risk losing your friendship with him, so you kept it a secret. No one should know. Nobody has to know.

It was this day of the week when Baekhyun was usually over. His Thursday classes always ended earlier and he would come over to your place to hang out. Even Chanyeol missed having Baekhyun around because he was too comfortable with you. You were like someone he could come home to. Baekhyun knew everything about you, and you knew a lot about him, but he’s not the type to share his feelings with anyone. He usually kept them hidden behind his mishcievous exterior. Maybe he’s just not open enough, maybe he just doesn’t trust you enough, you honestly wondered. Baekhyun came over with raw ingredients and cooked you a meal. This was one of the many things you liked about him. He would cook you food all the time and brag about how he’s loads better than Do Kyungsoo, a supposedly good cook who studied psychology with him. You would assure him every single time that he was better, and he liked it.

You both sat on the couch, watching some random movies when Sehun finally came home. He must have gone from practice since he only yelled out a greeting and retreated to his own bedroom. Your brother still hung out with Baekhyun and his friends, but Sehun liked to remind you all the time how your friendship with Baekhyun was most likely gonna end badly. Yes, you were friends, but would it be considered friendship if only one exerts effort? But you think Baekhyun does, truly, because he cooks for you, sits with you in the empty cafes in the early morning when you needed to finish a draft and he had to study. He defended you one time when someone tried to snarkily ask you who you were to always be seen alongside Baekhyun, lifting both your hands up to show your matching tattoos.

But everybody knew that while you were both soulmates, you weren’t romantically involved together. People were aware that he was very much available to snag because you were both just friends. The thought alone made your heart ache the slightest. Even Jongin said the same thing. While you both were friends, you sacrificed a lot for him while he did the bare minimum with you. You would sacrifice time for studying just to be with him when he needed you, sacrificed time for your family because he needed you and left Sehun to make up all kinds of excuses about your absence for your parents not to get mad. They knew you had a soulmate, but they didn’t know that you both weren’t gonna end up together. Your parents were the strictest pair, impossibly traditional enough to believe that all soulmates were meant to fall in love with each other. You wouldn’t know what they could possibly do to you if they found out.

They couldn’t blame Baekhyun, though, because it was your fault in the first place. You were the one who imposed the concept of just being friends. Of not forcing love upon the other. If you hadn’t spoken, would you have been together with him now? Would life have been easier for you now? You only hoped it would.

The whole duration of the marathon was spent with Baekhyun getting distracted by his phone and you stealing glances at him while paying no attention to the movie. He must have noticed you doing that, but said nothing of it. Was this the friendship you were hoping for with him? You couldn’t help but find that you weren’t sure about what you wanted in life anymore. Your whole world was already trapped around him.

“Did you burn yourself?” You asked him out of nowhere, recalling the particularly nasty burn you felt while he was cooking earlier. “Yeah. Sorry about that.” He apologized, sending you a ridiculous smile enough to make you happy and contented. It's a soulmate thing, feeling what the other is feeling. If he’s hurt, you are, too. If he’s sad, you are, too. This type of soulmate connection is rare. “You don’t have to be sorry. It’s not your fault.” 

Life, unfortunately, didn’t get better for you. You were on your last year of college, and right now, you’re supposed to focus a lot on studying and getting internships here and there for your future. Baekhyun was offered different internship programs in different hospitals in the city, Sehun was offered to be an intern in your father’s company, while Jongin was set to perform at a major ballet show in just a few week’s time. Even Chanyeol was offered to intern at a famous record label for his production skills. You were also busy, getting a couple of internships with the help of your father. It wasn’t easy for you, since you almost failed the last semester and just about to make up for all the work you have lost. This, you didn’t tell Baekhyun, though. You were there when he needed you, no matter the consequences at your part. You were stupid, and about to get in trouble for that. You considered your time with Baekhyun as special, since even though he didn’t express it, he cared for you. Even as a friend, he cared for you still.

But you were blinded by love, as what Yixing told you one time when you went to meet him. You weren’t supposed to give everything over to him because you loved him. You must also make time for yourself, treat yourself the way you deserve to be treated, and you’re doing everything besides that. You never learned how to say no.

You lost your first internship when he called you to be with him when he ended yet another short term relationship and suggested you spent some time with him at a place nowhere near the city. Sehun was livid, but you reassured him that there were two more left, and you wouldn’t miss them next time. The reason why you lost your second internship was because he needed you when his family broke apart. When his parents had a major fight, threatened a divorce, and forced their sons to make a decision they couldn’t. He was pressured and lonely, but he didn’t know that you were, too. He didn’t care enough to find out about what you’re feeling, where your internship plans are going, or if you’ll even have a decent future after this. When you lost your third internship, it caused a fight between you and your brother. Baekhyun was involved in an accident, when a particularly nasty fight broke out between him and his parents. You couldn’t just leave him. This time, he really needed you.

“When will you ever learn to say no? You can’t always be there for him every single time he calls for you. He could handle himself well, he’s not a child, y/n!” Sehun yelled at you, eyes wide with rage. Jongin was there too, sitting on your couch, saying nothing. He knew Sehun was right. You knew he was, too.

“But he was in an accident, Sehun! He needed me.” You replied, making up excuse after excuse to justify your love for him.

“He’s in a hospital, y/n, he’s being taken care of. You could have just visited him after you finished with your internship!” he yelled. You wanted to cry. You didn’t want things to come to this, didn’t want to throw away your whole life because of this.

“But, but he—“ you started, unable to form words, when Sehun stopped you.

“Why would you throw away your future because of him, ruin your whole life, because of him?” This time, his voice had softened, and you knew he was disappointed. Who wouldn’t, after all the foolish decisions you have made?

“He’s basically my future, Sehun. I need him just as much as he needs me.” You mumbled, almost inaudible if it wasn’t for the deafening silence filling up your apartment.

“He’s not the only future you have, y/n.” Sehun whispered, and that was when it all came crashing down.

He’s not your only future. You were too in love with him to even think about what could happen to you. To your friends, to your family, to your career. You gave and gave and gave, while he gave nothing back to you. He cared for you, he really did, but it was your fault you decided to give everything you had to him. But he didn’t have to know that— he wasn’t supposed to know that.

“I talked to him,” Sehun said, and you stopped crying to look at him. “Baekhyun. I told him about your lost internships, your failing grades, everything you have lost all for him.” Upon hearing this you stood up so quickly, your eyes wide.

“You told him what— Sehun, what the fuck? He’s in the hospital, he’s been through a lot, and you just had to say that to him?” You were angry now. He didn’t need to feel like it’s his fault and blame himself for your ruined future ahead.

“Through a lot? He’s been through a lot? Then what about you? Have you not been through a lot, too, from all the times I heard you crying in your bedroom because of him, missing sleep and meals to work on your projects because of him, or losing all these internships because of him? Not to mention that you’re lying to mom and dad, y/n, because of him! And now they’re gonna find out about all those internships you’ve lost, and I’m afraid I couldn’t make up a single excuse about that anymore.”

Fuming, Sehun left the space of your apartment, leaving you with Jongin who only held you, without saying anything. You knew he agreed with Sehun, but he didn’t tell you.

It was a frenzied series of unreplied messages after that. You tried to reach Baekhyun through apologies in the form of unanswered texts and voicemails since he wouldn’t pick up. You would meet him tomorrow, you needed to tell him it wasn’t his fault at all, that it was yours, and he didn’t have to worry about that. But through countless messages telling him “Please don’t believe a thing Sehun had said, it’s not your fault, it’s mine,” A single text message made your heart stop.

[21:47] FATHER: We have to talk. Come by the office tomorrow morning or I will make sure you wouldn’t have a choice.

Everything is over now, you supposed. Now your parents knew, and they’re going to punish you. You’re gonna have to meet Baekhyun another time. You were sure he listened to all your voicemails by now. He was always one to pick up the phone on the second ring. You smiled sadly. Only if you didn’t love him too much, everything would have been alright.

Meeting your father proved to be the worst day of your life yet. Sehun was there, refusing to acknowledge you as you passed by his desk and entered the gigantic meeting room with your father inside. Your legs were shaking, and your palms were clammy with fear. You didn’t know what to say. Your mother wasn’t present, only your father standing off in the middle of the room, his front against the window and the city several feet below. Your father turned to look at you the moment he felt your presence, and he looked just as disappointed as you imagined him to be, if not more.

“Care to explain, young woman?” He strictly demanded, his voice far from the fatherly voice you used to hear from him. You were such an obedient, skillful daughter. What happened to you?

“It’s just— I’m so sorry, father—“

“Sorry? Young woman, I got these internships for you! So you would lead a better life and have a great future ahead of you, and this is what you do in return?” He roared, coming close that you cowered in fear. “Is this because of him, your soulmate?” he asks, this time quieter, but powerful enough for you to hear him.

“I Iove him, father.” You whispered, tears now cascading freely from your eyes. At this, you felt the stinging feeling of being slapped on the cheek, and your head jerked to the right from the amount of force he used. You gulped, fists clenching so hard your nails almost bruised your skin.

“Stupid, stupid, girl. Does he even love you? If he did, this wouldn’t have happened at all!” He says, giving you another slap, this time, hard enough to render your legs weak as you fell to the floor. He was so, so angry, and you couldn’t do anything besides to just be sorry. But sorry isn’t gonna solve anything at all now, is it?

Your father picked you up from the floor by gripping your arm tight enough to hurt you. Tight enough to leave bruises on your skin to remind you of what you’ve done. “I’m so sorry, father, please—" you begged, because you weren’t about to get hurt again, not by him.

“Father, stop!” It was Sehun, entering the room and holding your father’s hand tightly as it was suspended in the air, about to hit you again. You were full on a sobbing mess now, helpless and unable to do anything but watch. “Father, please.” Sehun begged, until he let go of you, shoving you into your brother’s chest who cradled his arms around your shaking form. Your father didn’t say enough, because he pointed an accusatory finger at you, his face filled to the brim with rage alone.

“You fix this, young woman, or I we will have to do it my way.” He demands, before leaving the room.

You became weak, sinking into the chair as you let your head fall to your palms. You screwed up, and now you didn't know what to do to fix it. You didn't even feel the way Sehun pulled you up to stand, or his suit jacket covering your shivering figure as he led you out to the parking lot. It wasn't even cold, you were just sobbing so hard your eyes stung with how much you cried. You didn't even feel it, when Sehun pushed you gently into the passenger seat of his car, or when he started to drive away. You didn't know where you were going, or where he was taking you, too tuned out to even focus on the streets outside. You struggled to think of a solution, of something you had to do to fix all of this. You didn't want to leave Baekhyun behind. No matter how much he hurt you without even knowing, you somehow didn't want to leave him. It was all your fault. Yours, not his. He didn't deserve to feel otherwise.

You weren't even crying anymore when Sehun halted the car to an abrupt stop. Looking around, you turned to look at him questioningly. He had his eyes trained to the space ahead of him, refusing to look at you. "Why did you bring me here, Sehun?" You asked, your voice cracking as you gazed at the large hospital building towering outside.

"I'm sorry." Sehun said, now looking at you with sadness in his eyes. "I'm sorry for what i've said, what i've done— I was just looking out for you, you know? You're my sister, I'm supposed to protect you. I guess I was too angry and acted upon impulse, and I shouldn't have, so I'm sorry." He let out an exasperated breath, brushing a strand of hair away from your face. "You have to talk to him." He said, motioning for you to go inside.

"Thank you, Sehun. And I'm sorry, too." You said, before leaving the car and running up the stairs to his room, all too familiar for you to miss.

The smell of alcohol filled your senses as you stood for what felt like the longest time outside his room, contemplating on whether it's a good idea to even meet him right now. Is he mad at you? Does he want to see you again? Does he even want to still be friends with you? With all these thoughts, your hand has already knocked on his door before you could decipher what was happening. Sliding his door open, you first see him sitting up, his back against the propped up hospital bed as he switched to different channels, his face looking surprisingly void of any emotion. When his eyes met your figure, though, he was entirely different. You saw his hardened face soften into a slight frown, his hand slumping into the sheets below him. "You shouldn't have come," he said, as you rushed to sit beside him.

"I'm sorry, Baekhyun. I'm sorry about what Sehun said, he didn't mean anything, it's not your fault—"

"It's okay." He whispers, his lean fingers reaching out for your cheek, then sliding down to your arm. "Does it still hurt?" He asked. He must have felt it, when your father hurt you. His touch was enough to make you feel alive and better.

"Not anymore," you tried to smile, assuring him that you were fine. With the forming bruise on your cheek and your arm, and with your bloodshot eyes, he wasn't convinced at all, but he didn't say anything, just cradling your face in his palm, because now he feels it, realizes it. All this time, and it was you.

"Sehun's right," Baekhyun says, "It's because of me that this happened, that you lost all of your opportunities just to help me with my fucked up life." He withdraws his hand, and you suddenly missed the feeling. He was never like this with you. Never too close, never too intimate.

"It's not your fault, Baekhyun. Please believe me." You replied, holding onto his hand. Even his own injuries haven't healed and yet you caused him more pain. You hated it. You hated yourself for doing this to him.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why would you give up everything for me?" he asked, and you wanted so badly to tell him that you did all this because you loved him. Not because he's your soulmate, not because he's your friend. You did all this because you fell in love with him.

"I'm so sorry," he breathes out, his fingers now tracing the soul mark on your wrist. "I'm such a terrible soulmate. We were supposed to look out and be there for each other, but I didn't even care enough to make sure you were okay. I was too engrossed in my own problems that I wasn't even aware of what you were going through," you wiped a lone tear that escaped his eye, smoothing your hands down his beautiful face.

"It's not your fault." You repeated, and you will have to repeat it again and again, until he doesn't blame himself anymore. "You were going through so much, Baekhyun. I knew you needed me, and I would do everything to help you, cause that's what soulmates do."

"Being soulmates mean we should help each other, y/n, not that only one of us does the helping. I can't even make you happy." Honestly, you didn't know what you would do without him. You lost everything now, you didn't want to lose your soulmate too.

"But I'm happy. Just being with you makes me happy." You smiled at him, moving closer until you were able to press a kiss upon his forehead. He closed his eyes, almost as if relishing in on the moment. "I'm not leaving you. I'm not giving up. We just have to try harder." And you meant to stick with what you said. You weren't gonna leave, because he's your soulmate, he's meant to be by your side forever and you, with him.

"Do you love me?" He asked then, throwing you off guard. Everything felt surreal, and you didn't know what else to say than a simple,

"I love you, Baekhyun."

You're tired of lying. Lying to your friends, your family, to yourself, to him. If you wanted to be better, to make this work, you must not lie, not anymore. It was silent between you two, the feeling of rejection heavy in your gut. You didn't expect him to return it, you just wanted him to receive it.

"I know. I love you too."

Or so you thought.

[allyvampirelass29]

Chapter 4: We Are HEROES

A HEROES Fanfiction   Angel Before the Fall Series By: Allyssa J. Watkins

Peter Petrelli held on as tight as he could to the inconsolable girl in his arms, but she was so crazed and  frightened, he was really struggling. "Whoah, HEY!!!" He yelled, trying not to fly sideways into a building, as she kicked and pulled away, frantic. Poor girl, very nearly Sylar's afternoon entrée from the looks of things, as he'd soared in and snatched her out of Sylar's claws just in time, Noah, so banged up and bloodied, he must have been the appetizer. Peter knew, first-hand, both the scarring physical and psychological trauma Sylar Gray hungered to inflict just for the hell of it. He got into your head........ had his sadistic fun, and then he....... got into your head, literally. When he was bored, the world was his own personal playground. No one was safe. MAN, did he do a number on this one. She looked young, maybe early twenties, her green eyes wild and panicked. Peter felt bad for her, trying not to imagine the horrors she'd just faced, prey to Sylar's ungodly whims. Actually, he, himself, still wasn't over that first encounter in Mohinder's apartment three years ago. That overwhelming nausea as Sylar drew his finger across his forehead, the searing pain, the blood dripping, a dark lock of his bangs, severed and fluttering to his feet. Nobody gets over that.......

He was still pissed at Parkman for outright lying to him, pissed at Noah for getting him all tangled up in Sylar's sticky, twisted web AGAIN, but the important thing here, was that this girl would get to live another day, and another set of powers would be safe from Sylar's greedy finger. He held onto her tighter, trying to keep her still, so relieved to finally see the familiar white van, with PRIMATECH spelled out in red lettering on the side. Yeah, maybe a high flying rescue wasn't the best thing for someone who's just come within an inch of her life. He landed extra gently, worried about her, grabbing both of her shoulders. "Hey, stop, it's okay! Shhh, you gotta calm down!" He'd expected her to collapse into tears, hug him, fall to the ground, hyperventilate, God knows he'd spent enough time with people who'd had their razor's edge brush with death both as a nurse and a paramedic. He always marveled at how people reacted in such different ways to being saved, but what happened next caught him entirely off guard. Her right hook landed hard against his shoulder, and he stepped backward, slack jawed.

"Who are you!? What are you doing!? Let go of me, where is he!?!? What did they do with him!?"

"Watch it!!! Geez!!! I'm only the person that just saved you from becoming a part of Sylar's collection of human PEZ dispensers!!!" Peter yelled, rubbing his shoulder, still taken aback.

"Where is he!?!? Where's Sylar!?!?" The girl was in a frenzy, her anger, wounded, and Peter stared at her puzzled, as he heard the sliding doors of the van flung open.

"Relax, he's gone. You're safe now. He can't hurt you anymore! I just saved you, and you can thank me by not hitting me again! My mother told me never to hit a girl, so it wouldn't be much of a fair fight anyway."

"Did they take him!?!? Did they hurt him!?!?"

"Who, Sylar? No, not yet, but they will, I promise you! He'll pay!"

Peter grabbed her just as she went to push him away, her face furious. "NOOO!!!! Oh my god, WHO are you!?"

"Watch it! I'm Peter. Peter Petrelli, again the guy that just saved your life!"

Her face turned white, and she looked more scared than ever, backing away as if he'd just said, "My name is Sylar, and I'm your killer, nice to see you again, how would you like to die today?"

"P-Petrelli? Like..... Nathan Petrelli? Like the corrupt senator hunting ALL of us!?" Ally stammered, eyes wide, wishing Sy had been fast enough to pull her out of the sky.

"Hey! He's my brother, and he's not corrupt, just...... confused."

"If your backstabbing brother or Noah, or ANY of your freaking Company lay one hand on Sy-"

"Wait..... WHAT!? Sy..... as in SYLAR? You're worried about SYLAR, as in the SERIAL KILLER that almost ripped your head open!?"

Peter looked at the girl, aghast, completely confounded and it was then he noticed the needle poised over her shoulder.

"Noah, what the HELL are you-?"

Ally screamed and swiftly evaded the sharp tip, slamming right into Peter, and again he fought to hold her still.

"Peter this is bigger than your rules and your morals, do NOT let her go!!!!"

"Noah, what are you talking about!? Put that AWAY, we just rescued her, and you seriously want to tranq her!?!?

Peter grunted, barely holding her back, grabbing both of her forearms, and then suddenly it hit him full force, and he was pissed all over again. Dang it, Parkman!!! You, LIAR!!!

"Your name is Ally, isn't it? Sylar's girl?" Peter watched her slightly relent in her struggle, and he glared furiously at Noah, his lip quivering with his rage.

"Peter, it's not what you think. This girl-"

"Damn it, Noah, I told you both before!!! I'm not interested in kidnapping an innocent girl, torturing, and using her as bait, even if it means we don't bag him today. We pull that, and we're just as bad as he is!!!"

Ally yanked herself away, running like hell, and Peter flinched as something came flying past the side of his head, hitting Ally in the shoulder blade, embedding itself in her skin, and Noah sprinted to catch her, as she fell hard, instantly unconscious.

Bewildered, Peter whirled around to see Parkman, tranq gun resting on his shoulder, still aimed.

"You're both INSANE!!!!! Look at you!!! I don't want ANY part in this!!! We should be working together to get my brother on our side before we all get shipped off to separate ghettos, not abducting young women because of their unfortunate taste in partners!!!! She didn't hurt anybody! She doesn't deserve this!!!"

"Aiding and abetting, Peter. Not to mention, probably actual..... bedding."

"Oh God, Bennet, thanks for that image. That's a crime in of itself," Parkman made a face, looking deeply disturbed.

"She's helping an extremely dangerous and unhinged killer escape capture, that makes her an accomplice in my book. She's a criminal, Peter. It's the law, and sometimes you have to do things you never talk about again, if you want to be a hero. It's not all damsels in distress. Sometimes the damsels cause the distress."

Peter sighed. This was certifiable. "No torture, I mean it."

"What?!? Who said anything about torture? What am I, KGB? I'm a father, Peter, not an executioner."

"You remember, she's somebody's Claire too." Peter stared down Noah accusingly, as he watched him hoist the unconscious brunette onto his shoulder.

"Alright. Fair enough. You in, or do you want me to call your big brother to come pick you up?"

"Do you ever get sick of playing both sides, Bennet? Fine. I'm in. On the condition that after we get Sylar, she goes free, and then we focus on Nathan. I'm too old to be doing this, playing hide and seek with my own brother."

"Deal. You want to get in the van, or are you enjoying your flight?"

Peter grumbled something under his breath as he climbed in the van.

Noah carried a rag doll Ally to the back, and Parkman followed.

"Is it too late to call shotgun? You know I can read your mind, right? You're not going to let her go, are you?"

Noah laid her in the back, and slammed the door. "No, I'm not. This girl is the miracle we've been waiting for, the key to preventing a genocide. No matter what happens, I'm not letting her out of my sight. By the way....... How DID you get Peter Pan to come? I mean, I know you used your powers, but what did you tell him?

"That a girl was pinned down, helpless, getting beaten up in the alley, and needed a hero........."

**********

"Why does he get to drive? You both know that I'm a cop, right? I should be driving."

Peter smiled to himself, hands on the wheel.

"Smirking, see, he's smirking at me."

"I will turn this van around!" Peter called out, trying not to laugh."

"Hilarious. You're hilarious, Fly Boy!"

"I'm sorry, did I do anything wrong officer?"

"Will you two BOTH shut UP!!!" Noah yelled from the back seat, carefully guiding the needle through his skin without so much as a wince. "This is a serious takedown op, not a school field trip! Parkman, Peter is driving because we need to blend in, and you cop, or not, always show off using your powers, making people see things, or stopping all of the cars at once. I have to get to the outpost, I don't have time for you to act like a hot shot."

"How are we supposed to blend in when you know the first thing somebody's going to do, is pull him over and ask for his permit?"

"You wanna go, Professor X?"

Peter took the next left hard, and slammed the brakes, Parkman nearly hitting his head on the passenger side window.

"Assaulting an officer!"

"Not yet, I'm not!"

"I will USE that sedative on both of you, I mean it!!! Peter, less fast and furious please, I can stitch myself up in a moving vehicle, but not in a swerving one. Thanks to our slice-happy friend Sylar, I've got my work cut out for me."

"Noah, wait, you don't have to do that. We packed some of Claire's blood in the cooler, just in case," Peter said softly, for the first time taking notice of the bloody laceration down the length of Noah's arm. Thirteen stitches at least."

"Peter, I am NOT taking an injection of my own daughter's blood, and sponging off her powers. What do you think Sylar does with Ally? I won't use her like that, and who's damn fool idea was it to bring it along, I want names!!!!"

Peter and Parkman exchanged glances, and both spoke at the same time.

"Claire's."

Noah's anger softened, and he arched his eyebrows before he went back to sewing, dabbing the fresh blood with a cloth.

"She's worried about you, Man. Frankly, we are too." Peter said gently, stopping extra careful at the next light.

"Tell her thanks, but no thanks. I won't do it. It's my job to worry about her, not the other way around. I don't want anyone taking her blood again. She's not some miracle drug."

"At least let me patch you up, I was a nurse and now I'm a paramedic, it'd be a cinch. I wouldn't even charge you," Peter smiled, trying to lighten the dark mood that Noah was battling with.

"I appreciate that Peter, but I've been fixing myself up since before you were born."

"Noah Bennet, Company Man, Suburban Dad, and Bad Ass Action Hero."

Noah cracked a bit of a smile. "Smart kids, you Petrelli Boys. Now, just drive."

Parkman had gotten really quiet, but he couldn't take it anymore. He had to know, and not from pulling the answer from Noah's mind. He had to hear it from his own mouth.

"What would you have done...... Noah. What the actual HELL would you have done, if he'd killed her, and taken her powers? You wouldn't have just put blood in the water, you'd have it on your hands, forever."

"I'm sorry, WHAT!? What's he talking about?" Peter looked over his shoulder confused and deeply disturbed. "Why would Sylar try to kill his own girlfriend?"

"Because I made him. I stirred up the desire, I gave him NO choice by telling him everything about her powers. And damn it, I'd do it again."

"What the HELL, Noah!? WHAT kind of messed up kamikaze play is that!?"

"It was the only one we had, Peter. I knew Parkman could get you there, and I needed a stall tactic. I was never going to let him do it, I just needed her to turn on him. I needed him to bare his teeth. Surprise, surprise. It didn't work.

"Wait....... you're saying....... that blood lusting MONSTER stopped himself, even after knowing what she could do? It's impossible. I took his power that one time, Noah, once he's got the scent, he's off his leash, he physically can't control it. I attacked my own mother for God's sake!!!!"

"He must have quite the puppy eyes for her then. He struggled hard, he wanted it, but fought it, I could tell, it took all of his strength but he eventually won. If he hadn't, I would have put a bullet in her leg to snap him out of it."

"I'm sorry, and what if he'd continued his killing joke with you?" Parkman asked, stunned, eyes wide.

"Again, bullet to the leg. Her immediate danger would have distracted him from his vindictive vendetta against me. Luckily we got a chance to take her quietly, and now we can finally draw him out, on our own turf, use his leading lady against him, and put that murdering psychopath down once and for all. He's distracted when he's with her, I've seen it. He won't be thinking clearly, and he won't want to scare her again. She's the Achille's heel, he didn't used to have, a vulnerability we can use. If there was ever a time to strike hard, it's now that he's on the ropes. He won't leave her, and THAT will be his inevitable downfall."

"Quietly? Noah, he's going to be PISSED, like serious kill all our families, drown the whole world in BLOOD, Apocalypse Now PISSED!!!! He's a wounded animal with nothing left to lose, backed into a corner!!!! Oh GOD, what about Claire!?"

"Claire's safe, Peter." That's the first thing I took care of before I came after them. No, I'm not going to tell you where, just in case this thing goes south. Plausible deniability. If you don't know, he can't force it out of you."

The whole van went silent all the joking and clever quips from before, evaporated in the heat of what they were about to face. Running right into the fire.

"I'm still mad that you lied to me. Both of you. I told you I was done with this life, and was going to stay as far the hell away from Sylar as I could get. But I'm in this now, as much as I've tried to avoid this road, I always find myself here, picked up by the two of you, or in the old days, Nathan. If we're going to do this, we have to trust each other. No more lying, no more manipulation, no more half baked suicide missions, no more hidden agendas. We are HEROES. It's time we start acting like it.

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 

[arsymm]

Shattered Memory

The fall wasn't that bad, Arthur doesn't understand why everyone is so worried, or why it's suddenly so hard to stand.

Read on AO3

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It, unfortunately, isn’t the first time Arthur is thrown through a window, and he honestly doubts it will be the last, but it is the first time someone decides to make a big deal about it.

Sure, it always sucks. He ends up bruised and aching on his side or back, depending on where he landed, and the glass shards that catch him when he falls dig into his arms and hands, cutting deep enough to sting for days.

But it definitely beat getting shot, although something like getting thrown through a window was usually preceded by a situation where he couldn’t afford to lay on the ground and feel sorry for himself.

Last time he’d been in Valentine, thrown right out of the bar window and into the street, scrambling out of the mud before the pain had even registered, Tommy already thundering down the steps, apparently deciding Arthur’s beating hadn’t been quite good enough.

There wasn’t a bar fight this time. What the hell had he been doing? He’d been…

“Arthur!”

That was Charles. Right, they were working a job...something simple...they’d been robbing a homestead. And a big one by the looks of the house coming into focus.

Something had obviously gone wrong, judging by Charles’s bloody knuckles and the fact that Arthur’s still struggling to sit up amongst the window’s remains.

A man with a gun suddenly threw himself at Charles, the fight pulling the other man’s attention away from the broken window.

He knows Charles can handle himself, and it’s a comforting thought seeing just how much trouble he’s having finding his footing. Maybe he’d fallen a bit harder than he’d originally thought.

Arthur’s vision is limited, everything blurry and out of focus, and he blinks furiously in an attempt to clear his head. He was just starting to get his boundaries, gradually realizing just how badly everything hurt, when he hears gunshots coming from inside.

His whole body aches and stings, fingers wet with blood, and his throat feels like it’s on fire. Jesus, he’d only fallen from the first floor.

The house was already quieting and Arthur tried to push himself to his feet, knees wobbling dangerously as soon as he tried to stand.

He wanted to groan, to silently berate himself for being so out of it after a simple fall, but his voice was quickly cut off by a ragged cough, throat spasming, Arthur squeezing his eyes shut when stabbing jolts of searing pain spread across his neck and chest.

God, was he really getting that old? He should be able to walk this off without a problem, focus on what was cut up after the shooting had stopped. From what he’d seen, the cuts hadn’t even been that bad.

“Arth-- shit! Arthur!”

Right, John was here. He wasn’t going to let the kid watch him struggle to stand after a simple fall. He’d never hear the end of it. Arthur tried again to pull himself up, the pain increasing and the whole world tilting sideways. He can see John hurrying towards him, carefully stepping over glass shards.

“Arthur, no, just stay where you are. Stay there, Arthur, you’re going to be ok.”

He wants to tell John to fuck off, that he’s fine. This was far from the worst thing that had happened to him, he doesn’t need to be coddled and reassured like a damn child.

Arthur thought he might have swallowed dirt when he hit the ground, and it feels vaguely like he’s choking, the pain sharp and piercing, and he realizes abruptly that he isn’t getting enough air.

He tries to swallow, succeeding only in eliciting another painful series of coughs. He moves to reach up and rub at his spasming throat, but suddenly hands are on his wrists, pulling them down to his lap.

“Careful,” John warns, and if Arthur wasn’t busy choking on his own saliva he would have something to say about the patronizing tone. He could stand up on his own, he just needed a moment for the world to stop spinning. But he can’t talk, and John turns back to the house before he can try again. “Charles! Charles get out here!”

No, absolutely not. He didn’t need everyone to crowd around and help him stagger to his feet. And if John would just let go of his damn hands he could work on finding his balance.

Arthur tries to pry his wrists away, but John only tightens his hold, looking more and more alarmed as Arthur keeps struggling.

“Stop fighting me,” John orders, Arthur only fighting harder. “Jesus, Arthur stop moving! I’m trying to help!”

There’s footsteps, someone running towards them, the noise distant and echoey. Arthur risks a glance up, still trying to clear his dry throat, squinting to make out Charles through the glaring sunlight.

“I don’t know what to do,” John explains, tearing his gaze away from Arthur to watch the other man. “I don’t think he--”

“You did good,” Charles says, suddenly crouching in front of Arthur. “Keep him still. Don’t let him touch it.”

It was just a couple of cuts, Arthur could easily walk it off if they just gave him some space and a few minutes to clear the dirt from his throat.

He renews his struggles, trying to pull away from John’s vice grip on his arms, but suddenly Charles's hands are on his face, keeping his head still. He’s straddling him now, catching Arthur so off guard he freezes, briefly forgetting the pain.

“Look at me, Arthur,” Charles’s voice is low and controlling, and Arthur finds himself too confused to argue, to do anything but meet his eyes. “It’s going to be alright. I just need you to stay still.”

It’s the calm that Charles’s voice brings that lets Arthur realize just how badly his throat hurts, almost positive he’d swallowed something on the way down, still on the verge of choking.

“The hell are you boys doing to him?”

Arthur had forgotten they’d brought Sean along, and hearing the amusement in the young man’s voice snaps Arthur back to his senses, picking up his fight against John’s grasp on his arms.

“Check his satchel for bandages,” Charles says, hands never leaving Arthur’s face. “Hurry, Sean.”

“What wrong with--?”

“Sean, look at him!” John practically yells, Sean’s eyes widening as he moves closer, and Arthur can’t figure out what they’re so worked up about. “Check his satchel, now!”

There’s a beat of silence, Charles still forcing Arthur to meet his eyes, everybody unnervingly silent.

“I got them,” Sean says, and that’s all he says. Arthur has never heard him so quiet. If falling through a window was all it took to shut the kid up, he might have to start doing it more often.

And then he coughs again, choking as his neck is assaulted by another spasm, John still refusing to let him press a hand against the sore skin, and he quickly decides it isn’t worth it.

“Good,” Charles says, lowering his hands until he’s holding Arthur's chin. “Grab his legs, make sure he doesn’t kick. John, get behind him and keep his arms still. I don’t want him moving.”

There’s pressure against his legs, Sean suddenly a lot heavier than Arthur remembered. He can feel John against his back, holding his arms tight. He’s trapped, suffocated, and he doesn’t understand what they’re doing. He tries to protest, to tell them to get the hell off, but the dirt in his throat still refuses to let him make a noise.

“Arthur.” Charles is suddenly holding his chin with one hand, forcing him to stare straight ahead. “Look at me. Eyes on me. Promise me you won’t look away.”

It’s not like he’s being given much choice. He can’t even nod, and his throat’s still too tight to inform them that this isn’t the best way to deal with whatever injuries he has. They can easily do this back at camp, or at least without holding him down. They were acting like this was the first time he’d had to get stitched up.

He can’t see Charles’s other hand, and his visual range is too limited to make out what anyone is doing, still staring at Charles and his creased brow, watching the deep, silent concentration.

And then he feels it, the pain in his neck spiking as something moves around, a gentle tug at something embedded in his skin, and Arthur’s eyes widen.

He’s jerking back before he can stop himself, instinct taking over, trying to pull away from the feeling of glass sliding through his throat. But John’s pressed against him, holding him in place, and Charles’s grip tightens, turns bruising, and Arthur can’t move.

“Look at me, Arthur,” he orders again, but it's more of a plea than a command this time. “Focus on me, just look at me. Listen to my voice, Arthur, listen to me. You're ok, Arthur just keep looking at me. Just me, alright? You’re ok, we’re almost done.”

He does his best, meeting Charles’s eyes and focusing on his voice, trying to ignore the feeling of something sliding out of his skin, warm blood dripping down his neck and into his collar, but he’s choking, he can’t breathe, he’s going to die with a piece of glass in his throat .

He tries to tell them, but talking quickly proves to be futile, and it only makes everything worse as he’s overpowered by another attack of wheezing coughs, tremors wracking his trapped body as he struggles to breathe around the jagged shard.

“No, Arthur, no,” he hears John say, Arthur barely even able to feel the crushing grasp on his wrists at this point. “Keep breathing, just keep--Jesus, Arthur stop, please! Charles, you need to…”

He can’t hear John anymore, the blood rushing in his ears and the frantic pounding of his heart drowning everything out. He can’t feel his hands, and he thinks John might have broken his wrist with the force he’s using to pin down Arthur’s arms, but it doesn’t matter because he can’t breathe. There’s a goddamn glass shard stuck in his throat and it’s choking him and it hurts.

Arthur’s vision becomes blurry, spiraling into a dark tunnel. His eyes are wet with tears he can’t help but shed, and he barely realizes he’s still trying in vain to pull away, still coughing and choking.

The glass suddenly stops moving, but it’s still lodged in his skin and the pain doesn’t go away, still throbbing unbearably in time to his beating heart.

There are two hands on his face now, cupping his jaw tight enough that it's almost painful, but it’s enough to get his attention, to break through the haze of pain and panic.

Arthur sucks in a ragged gasp, still tugging uselessly at his hands. Through blurred vision he’s just able to make out Charles, leaned in close, lips moving frantically, and Arthur thinks the other man looks furious.

People are talking around them, voices blending together in a terrifying cloud of noise, and Arthur’s eyes start wandering, desperately trying to lock onto something.

“Be quiet! Arthur!”

And it’s the first noise he’s able to latch onto, Charles’s voice finally able to get through to him as the other noises die down. His hands tighten on either side of Arthur’s face, leaning closer so he has to meet Charles’s eyes again, and Arthur suddenly realizes the other man isn’t angry. He’s scared.

“Right here, Arthur,” he begs. “Look at me. Look at me and calm down. Don’t think about it. Just breathe. Just breathe and listen to me. I’m right here, Arthur. Listen to my voice. Focus on my voice.”

He’s back to holding Arthur’s face with one hand, but he doesn’t stop talking, doesn’t stop his mantra, and Arthur does all he can to obey, to block out everything except the words.

The glass is moving again, slowly pulling and tugging through ripped, spasming skin. Arthur tenses, choking on a gasp, but Charles just stubbornly tightens his hold, keeping him where he is.

“We should go hunting again,” Charles says, and he thinks it’s a strange thing to say, with the two of them practically pressed up against each other, Arthur feeling like he won’t be around much longer to go anywhere. “It was fun the last time we went.”

‘Fun’ isn’t a word Arthur would have thought Charles would use to describe their last outing, especially not after how it had ended. They’d gotten what they’d come for, but the decimated bison corpses they’d found had sent Charles over the edge. They’d ended up killing two men.

In the midst of the memory, Arthur feels the edges of the glass shard finally leave his skin, warm, sticky blood immediately pooling around the hole in his neck. It feels like there’s a rock shoved down his throat, and Arthur’s still coughing and choking as his vision momentarily darkens.

His head is being tilted backwards, Charles replaced by the blue, cloudless sky. The position does little to help Arthur breathe, but he can feel something being pushed against his neck, quickly growing wet with his flowing blood.

His hands are still held in place against his back, but one of John’s arms moves to wrap around his chest. It’s not meant to be confining, it’s a gesture of comfort.

And although Arthur knows he’ll never admit it aloud, it does something to help him come back down to earth, the contact keeping him grounded as Charles’s voice quiets down, the weight on his neck pushing down harder.

Maybe he’s just too light headed to hear anything anymore. Maybe they’re still talking and he simply can’t hear their panicky, frantic reassurances. Maybe he’s still bleeding out.

But the pressure eventually pulls away, the cold air making the tender wound sting. Arthur sucks in another breath, squeezing his eyes shut when he coughs again, his neck and shoulders caked in drying blood.

But he’s not dead, not yet, and the pressure is back on the cut almost instantly, something soft being meticulously wrapped around his neck. It’s uncomfortably tight but Arthur knows better than to argue, and he’s too drained to pull away.

“There we go,” Charles says, so close it almost makes Arthur jump. His head is carefully lowered back down, and Arthur winces at the slight pull. “That should stop the bleeding until we can get it stitched up properly.”

John’s scooting back, just enough for Arthur to still lean against him and for feeling to finally come back into his arms. He reaches up, half expecting to find the shard still in his neck, still feeling the piercing pain in violent, throbbing waves. But he focuses on the voices beside him, shoving it to the back of his mind.

“Shouldn’t we be doing that now?” John asks, and Arthur feels Sean move off his legs. “Arthur, don’t touch it.”

Arthur's hand drops back down to his side at John’s words, too tired to be annoyed. Charles is moving away from Arthur's chest to sit beside him, hand resting firmly on his arm.

“I’m surprised I was able to do what I did,” he admits, humble, like he didn’t just save Arthur’s life. “I don’t trust myself to stitch that up. Hosea’s better to--”

“Hosea?” Sean repeats, incredulous, back to his loud, brash self. “Why aren’t we taking him to a doctor?”

“Sean--”

“Look at the size of this fucking thing!”

Sean’s suddenly holding up the glass shard, and Arthur’s stomach lurches dangerously. It’s almost the size of his palm, still dripping with dark crimson, and Arthur’s suddenly fighting against his gags, painfully aware throwing up will most likely be the worst thing for him at the moment.

“Jesus, don’t let him see it!”

“Put it down!”

It feels like hours before Arthur is able to get ahold of himself, breathing shaky as he manages to swallow, finding the strength to wave the others off as they hover over him.

“The kid’s right,” John says. “We should take him to a doctor. Make sure he ain’t gonna die on us.”

Another time, Arthur would have argued. A part of him still wants to, his mind immediately going to the money they can’t afford to spend. But he feels awful, still convinced he’s about to choke on glass, and he lets John drape an arm around him.

Charles moves to help, and Arthur sees something dangerous flash in his eyes, a hard set flame of determination.

“He’s not dying,” Charles declares. He doesn't give Arthur a choice, his words set in stone. “Come on, Arthur. Let’s get you into town.”

Sean’s already bringing the horses over, a sheepish smile on his face as he watches Arthur warily, worrying silently. They mount carefully, Arthur moving without question when Charles guides him to Taima and helps him on the saddle after him, each of his breaths still a wheezing, unsteady rattle.  

John and Sean wait until he’s settled, until they’re satisfied he isn’t going to keel over and choke on his own blood, before mounting their own horses.

“Charles is right,” Sean says suddenly, swinging his legs over and riding beside them. “You’re not dying. Not until I get to see you grow old and gray, Arthur Morgan.”

Arthur smiles, and it's ridiculous how the familiar teasing words set him at ease. Charles glances over his shoulder before turning his horse, the four of them setting off down the path.

Arthur tries to thank them. He’s honestly not sure what for, but he tries anyway, doing all he can to force himself to form coherent words, but all that comes out is a pathetic wheeze that leaves him hunched over and practically clinging to Charles’s shoulders. The other man doesn’t seem to mind, pulling on the reins to slow their pace.

“You’re ok, Arthur,” Charles says. “You’d do the same for any of us.”

Arthur, still unable to talk and not willing to risk trying again, just turns his head to the side and coughs again, flinching when the pain worsens in a flash.

But he’s not dying, he knows that, and the others do, too.

“Come on, brother,” he hears John say. “Let’s go.”

“Come on, brother!”

It was an odd memory for Arthur to be reliving, especially now of all times. It’s the first time his mind wanders to something other than the Pinkertons closing in on them, and it’s not even for something important. Just a house robbery gone wrong.

It feels like a lifetime ago now.

But it’s what his slipping mind decides to lock onto, what he’s thinking about during what might be one of his last few waking moments, and he can’t help the ghost of a smile that comes with the heartbreak.

Sean is dead. He never got to see the old, weak, man Arthur inevitably became, but he doesn’t think this is what the kid had been hoping to see, shaky and sick, barely strong enough to lift his gun.

But Charles lived, he’d made it, he had a chance. It was one of the few good things Arthur had left to dwell on. He had to believe he’d gotten away, that the Pinkertons hadn’t tracked him down too.

And John is going to live. It’s not a question, not something Arthur’s willing to let slip away. Not anymore. John will live, and he’s as sure of that as he is his own death.

“Come on, Arthur!”

He’s still thinking about that day, how John had pressed up against him, nearly breaking both his arms to keep him from hurting himself further. How he’d forced Arthur to keep himself alive.

He’s thinking about Charles, gentle and steady, easing him back into the world as he quietly saved Arthur’s life, determined, like there’s no other choice but for Arthur to live. He thinks he understands the feeling now.

Maybe he’s drawn to that day all those months ago because it feels like there’s glass in his throat again. A million glass shards digging into his neck, and this time there’s no one to coax them out. Nobody to bring him to the other side.

Maybe it’s simply a sign he’s dying.

There’s glass in his throat, and there’s nobody left to pull it out. His family had shattered like a window, dead or in hiding, or blindly following Dutch into corruption. He can’t breathe, the shards sinking to his lungs.

John is still in front of him, still calling for him, still firing, always moving forward. He won’t let Arthur die, holding him steady to keep him alive as long as he can.

It won’t last, won’t save his life, but for now, it’s enough. Enough to get him through his last few moments.

Arthur raises his gun and starts forward, following John up the mountain he knows he’ll die on.

[journeysintowebcomics]

Homestuck Liveblog #183

UPDATE 183: Narrative Takeover

Last time everything went wrong for so many characters. John’s fight with Caliborn went awry, Jane’s plan to seduce Jake didn’t work because he kept thinking of Dirk, and Dave and Karkaroni’s political strategy meeting got derailed by Jade deciding it was a good time for romantic overtures. So now let’s continue.

So, now that they have been dumped in middle of the chaos that’s destroying all the known existence and reality, John checks the situation. Lord English is up there, in front of the black hole, seemingly impervious to its strong absorbing effect.

Unlike his younger form, his eyes aren’t flickering wildly. They’re locked in place, an eight ball in each socket.

If I remember correctly from the booklet about pool I read like six years ago when I started playing pool for fun, the eighth ball is the last one you must sink, so I’d say it indicates it’s endgame. I think it also had happened in Arc 7. Symbolism!

Tavros is over there, leading an army, Vriska is nowhere to be seen and presumably is very dead, and Meenah was supposed to be going away, I think? Anyway, it’s fight time! Everyone already has their weapons at the ready – all the weapons that are supposed to hit Lord English pretty hard – and Rose tries to remind them what exactly their plan is. She barely gets a single word out before she’s dead.

But Rose doesn’t get to finish what she was trying to say. Lord English’s mouth roars open and a wave of energy blasts through your group. Rose is the only one caught in it. She dissolves in slow motion. You can see the outline of her body in shadow. One arm thrown up over her eyes, shoulders pulled up defensively, cape billowing out behind her. She leaves an afterimage of shimmering light in her wake and then dissipates, drifting apart like a handful of salt tossed out to sea. You can almost hear the cosmic clock counting down, tick tock, and a chime to accompany her fate: Heroic.

This fight lasted like three seconds before it all looked grim as heck for John and friends. This is going to wreck everyone’s morale and ruin whatever effective plan they had, as I really doubt Rose was supposed to stand aside and let everybody else act. They’re so doomed.

As if to underscore how screwed they are, Jade tries to use her powers and finds out the black hole up there is where the green sun used to be. It made Lord English vulnerable, but she’s powerless now too. Whooops. Kind of a big oversight. How didn’t John or Future Rose foresee that detail? It’s kind of important!

With that, two of the four are now dead and they haven’t gotten started for real. Dave is trying to cut Lord English with the cueball sword, John is...standing around, I suppose, until he snaps out of it and surrounds Lord English with wind, capturing him until he tries to smash his skull with the hammer. Lord English eats the hammer. I’m...okay, I didn’t see that coming. I appreciate the move a lot. John can’t do much else because his glasses are broken, so he can’t see well at all. Good thing Meenah is around now! What a lifesaver!

Time to assess the situation and check how badly things have turned in...like a minute or so. As I always say: a minute is quite a long time in a fight!

Ghostly Tavros and another one of John’s hammers join the list of casualties, Meenah deciding to go in for the kill. Not unless you turn into Dave, gal! Not that Dave is faring much better, he’s trying to harm Lord English but he’s way too fast, even for Dave, who is no slouch in the agility department. That’s incredibly quick, and he’s not fueled by the green sun right now. Everything is awful for the heroes here!

Meenah is launched away and I can only guess she’s dead, because in this scenario being thrown away is kind of fatal due to the huge black hole up there. Dave is under Lord English’s foot, John barely saves him by throwing more hammer at Lord English for him to eat, and tries to set up a hammer barrier to prepare that silly thing he made with the legendary Zillyhoo and Vriska’s dice. If they need a lucky hit they sure need it now!

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < waaaaaaaaaaaait

...oooooooh no. I had completely forgotten this existed. Hey, what’s new? Will you be able to defeat Lord English? At least Dave is reacting with horror, which is the right reaction when you see a copy of yourself that was merged with a cat. Davepetasprite is being inspirational, trying to psyche up Dave, and it works!

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < i know it looks pawful right now but we can do it

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < in fact were literally the only ones who can do it

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < after all

DAVEPETASPRITE^2: B33 < it is our destiny B33

You also are the last three people left here, so I don’t think it’s much about destiny at this point.

Somehow, between the three of them they manage to do real damage on this monster. John’s hitting him with hammers even if Lord English keeps eating them, Dave slashes and actually gets blood, and Davepeta scratches with the claws. The cycle continues, Lord English almost eats John’s favorite hammer, just that this time he almost gets John himself. Well then. This story is truly something.

Apparently John got injured with Lord English’s teeth or something, because he’s bleeding heavily. I swear, if John dies because he got bitten by Lord English I’m going to be astonished, because that was never a cause of death I imagine would ever happen.

You lift your chin and see it: Lord English’s gold tooth cracked off at the base and embedded in your chest. It must be stuck between two of your ribs, you think, because it hurts like a bitch when you try to breathe.

Oof, you’re in big trouble! When you have something embedded into you you really shouldn’t take it out unless you’re in a professional’s hands, so it’s pretty likely John will have that tooth embedded into him for quite a while. Dave isn’t doing too badly, managing to stab Lord English with the cueball sword up the hilt, unfortunately leaving him vulnerable to Lord English’s maw. Oh god, he has tasted human blood, everyone run! Too late for Dave, though, he gets his head bitten off.

Won’t lie, that’s pretty brutal as far as deaths go. Damn!

Obviously this enrages Davepeta, who grabs Lord English and flies up to the black hole, dragging him along. That was an option? Maybe it’d have been great to have done that much earlier, before Dave died. Really would have been nice.

The black hole—the gaping, implacable, cosmic embodiment of the dead cherub, his long-departed sister—finally welcomes Lord English home.

English and Davepeta are sucked in with a subatomic whimper. The reunion sends shock waves across the pitiful remains of Paradox Space. And then everything is wholly, utterly, and categorically silent. It’s over. Lord English is dead.

Ding dong, the witch is dead. Somehow it’s done! Excellent! Now, here comes opinions about this whole sequence.

To be perfectly honest, this left a lot to be desired. The least of my complaints is the length – for a climactic fight it’s a little bit short. Which isn’t really a problem here, given this isn’t Homestuck anymore, it’s the epilogue. The fight not getting focus is fine and dandy, honestly. I’m actually surprised we got a fight at all.

What I will complain about, though, is that for something that pretty much only Davepeta got to do something worthwhile. It feels like pretty much everyone else who intervened, both alive and dead, were there just to die. It’s pretty disappointing, really. I think I’d have been okay with that if they at least had managed to do something before dying.

Curiously enough, if this had been incorporated into the story, characters dying so fast would have been less bad. I’d say this being part of epilogues is what makes this be treated differently to how it’d be otherwise. But yeah, Lord English is dead, and there’s plenty of epilogue left. I suppose that means the political stuff is what’ll fill the rest of the epilogue in this route, no?

You collapse against whatever is passing for the floor at this moment of utterly null corporeal conditions surrounding you. It doesn’t feel possible. You’re not sure you can even trust your perception well enough to believe it. But it seems to be over. You’ve convinced yourself of this truth well enough to allow yourself to exhale. Enough to allow yourself to suddenly acknowledge the agony coursing through your body, emanating from the gold tooth lodged in your chest. Enough to allow yourself to succumb to the overwhelming urge to sleep.

He’s so dead. And so, all the Wonderkids are dead, total party kill. They tried and they succeeded, mostly thanks to a timely intervention by what turned out to be the best sprite just for killing Lord English, and now they’re all dead. I’m pretty sure by now this makes Homestuck qualify as a Greek tragedy.

Ah, there’s the conversation Rose and Dirk are going to have. She starts by talking about that novel she wrote in her diaries, the ones about wizards. She feels the story as written by the adult Rose Dirk knew from his original world didn’t have as much passion as she did when she wrote the original draft in her journals. Maybe! When you write something for a widespread public, you have to kill a liiiiittle of your own passion to tailor it for a wider audience. It’s a cynical thought, I admit, but I believe I’m right.

ROSE: Anyway, my point is that I’ve long suspected my story was a pre-manifestation of my Seer of Light powers. I was seeing beyond my universe into another.

Doesn’t sound farfetched to me, I must say. It’s possible that, from her early ages, she was unconsciously starting to tap onto the many powers and abilities that come with her title and role. I mean, Mom Lalonde was there, and I believe in her own way she’d help pave the way for the kids to achieve what was needed to triumph. She may have done something, inadvertently or not, that led to Rose writing her novel in a fit of inspiration. Who knows. Certainly not me, and it’s such a minuscule point in the vast net of Homestuck I doubt it’ll be ever touched.

I hadn’t noticed until now that in the end a total of twelve players had crossed the door into the new universe. Fun number for that. Also, Terezi’s name is among them, so she did get to the new universe after all. What happened to her?

All these numbers may or may not have significance. Hah! Well it depends on what kind of author writes the story. Given it’s Hussie, well, I’m inclined towards thinking there’s some significance. Whether the reader will find out about it is an entirely different manner, of course.

Of course Dirk has given his current situation a lot of thought, he even has theories about what’s it. I’m listening, pal, enlighten me about this new plotline.  

DIRK: I mean, some of us have stopped using our powers completely. Not a whole lot of need for emergency resurrections or complex timeline manipulation on a planet that’s never had a conflict more serious than a sportsball riot or a rumpled hat shortage.

DIRK: But even aside from how often they’re used...

DIRK: Some powers don’t lend themselves to the infinite expansion of one’s mind, the way ours do.

ROSE: I see.

ROSE: So what you’re saying is, it’s more a matter of one’s aspect than it is whether one’s powers are practiced further, or allowed to atrophy.

DIRK: Yep.

So it all depends on the power. It’s not like everyone’s going to start suffering this too, it seems to be limited to what aspect it is. Perhaps Jade and Dave would go through this too? Other than them, I’m not sure anyone else would.

ROSE: In that case, perhaps Terezi had the right idea.

ROSE: Getting away from this place, I mean.

ROSE: Maybe I was a fool for imagining I could settle down here.

Ah, so that’s what happened to Terezi. She left. Maybe she had a feeling things wouldn’t go well, it does make sense she’d be feeling the awfulness Dirk and Rose feel right now. With her Mind aspect, it does make sense she would. Where’d she go, though? Is she a nomad around the world or something?

Dirk’s taking this easier than most would because he’s used to multitasking. Ah, right, he did have his dreamself and his realself, dealing with both must have given him some practice. Still, two is nowhere close to the infinity of everything, so I’m skeptic it’s as good of a training as he says it was.

ROSE: I’m caught in the liminal space between reality and reverie, where people once believed demons dwelled. But the only reason the demon is still sitting on my chest is because I refuse to banish it. All it would take is looking directly at it.

ROSE: I’m forcing myself to stumble through my life as a sleepwalker. All this pain and sorrow could go away if I would just allow myself to wake up.

DIRK: Then why don’t you?

ROSE: Because I’m not sure that the person opening her eyes will be me.

Brings to mind that about us being someone’s dream and, when that someone wakes up, it’s all over. It’s the kind of thing that brings existential crisis when you think about it too hard, isn’t it? So, if Rose here’s experiencing something similar, she’s not going to have a good time because she’s the kind of person who thinks a lot. Nobody should be jealous of these two, that’s awful.

Dirk, in what’s unusually close to sympathy, crouches and takes off his sunglasses, looking straight at Rose’s eyes. He admits he’s a very flawed person and shouldn’t be always right, and that he knows all about his own flaws.

Rose’s eyes have grown distant, almost mirrorlike. Dirk can see himself reflected in her vacant stare.

ROSE: All the pieces in their place.

ROSE: The mechanisms all running smoothly.

She says this in a hollow tone. It’s the disarming voice a puppeteer ventriloquizes for a marionette.

...okaaaay, something happened. If I’m understanding this and the next few sentences correctly, Dirk pretty much took over Rose. I don’t know why, he just did. Althoooough...hm. It’s still early. Maybe the reasons will be revealed later. But hey, you can’t say this was predicted! Also, if I had to guess, the moment Rose was taken over was when he took off his sunglasses. It just makes sense, really.

Whyyyy is the text turning orange. Dirk, are you taking over the narration?

Yup, he did, and he’s addressing the reader. He sounds pretty bitter there are readers, and brags about he can make the reader’s perspective change and turn into a character’s perspective. No complaints from me for you doing that, really, be my guest.

But I haven’t revealed myself to you just to boast about the abilities arising from the gradual obliteration of the constraints on my consciousness. I’ve only taken a moment to answer a few questions. Not ones I heard you ask—because again, you are nonspecific and therefore do not matter—but ones I imagined you asking. And by imagining these questions, they became less fake, and as such, demanded similarly non-fake answers. No, in truth, the time has come to make my presence known in order to start bringing my plans to fruition. It’s time to get down to fucking business.

Eh. Sounds to me like Dirk wants to ramble and wants an excuse to do so, even if he has to make that excuse himself. Golly, pal, you have free control of the narrative. Ramble all you want, go ahead.

To continue the narrative, John has to wake up and does so. I suppose he being sleepy and exhausted after the fight was just he being sleepy and exhausted instead of being borderline dead because of blood loss. Dirk forces the narrative to make John apologize to no one for everything that happened in the battle, and it’s all so heavy-handed even John notices something’s going on with his head. Dirk, you’re not doing a very good job at being subtle.

Suddenly you remember: Lord English’s tooth is still embedded in your chest. You panic, wrap your hands around the base, and give it a little tug. It’s excruciating. The tooth makes an awful grating sound as it grinds along one of your ribs. You gasp and lose your grip, biting the inside of your mouth so hard that you taste blood.

Can’t blame you for trying, but I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Without someone to administer proper medical care, you’ll bleed to death pretty much instantly.

Yeah, exactly! Not that there’s anyone to administer proper medical care in the middle of literal nowhere, so he’ll have to transport himself somewhere else before he touches that tooth any further. Where’s John, anyway? Is he still lying around underneath the black hole? Did he zap himself somewhere else?

On the other hand, the tooth is poisoned. So you’re pretty much fucked either way, and that’s really all there is to say on the matter.

Oh. That’s a thing now? Well then, guess you’re screwed, John. Thanks for everything, have a nice death. I suppose it would count as a heroic death because he received that fatal wound fighting someone who was obliterating reality, so being revived isn’t an option, I suppose.

John wanders around for a very long time, depressed and feeling pretty awful, until he sees Dad Egbert’s wallet. It’s a coincidence to find it anywhere in the infinite expanse of reality! John opens the wallet, aaaaand...end page! Quick, make a distraction and go check some other place. It’s the usual Homestuck style, so that’s what happens.

Jade’s explaining Dave and Karkaroni’s political ambitions to Roxy and Calliope, once again using the terms ‘neoliberal austerity measures’. I’m still unsure what that’s supposed to mean, but whatever it is makes Roxy groan, no doubt because she has heard about said measures too much already. They’re bad, and Karkaroni’s underdog populism is the counter to those, she argues. Give him a chance! Unfortunately for Elect-a-Troll 20xx, it doesn’t seem like Calliope and Roxy are very interested in getting involved in this at all.

ROXY: i just dont rly

ROXY: care about politics that much i guess

I suppose this means she’s not going to support Jane either. Hey, better for her to not be interested than for her to be on the opposite side. This is a victory of some sort.

She’s reticent to supporting anyone not only because she’s not interested in politics, but also because it’s a fight between her friends and she sure isn’t eager to going against a friend. She also knows this is something Jane has been planning for a long time, so she’s not into ruining Jane’s plans – even though she won’t really go out and say she supports Jane. I really disagree Jane is fragile, though. She’s anything but fragile.

In the spirit of full disclosure, Roxy’s the only one left I haven’t been able to crack. Her mind remains a total enigma to me, just like it always has. If I had to guess, it’s her Void powers that make her invisible, even to increasingly omniscient parties such as myself. For all intents and purposes, it’s like her thoughts don’t exist. She’s the same person, as far as I can tell. She still wears her heart on her sleeve. But the bottom line remains: Roxy Lalonde is still utterly fucking inscrutable.

Which is a very good thing for her. I wonder if this means Dirk would be unable to do anything with the narration involving Roxy, if she’s invisible for even the increasingly omniscient parties. In that case, she’s the luckiest person in this entire canon. Good thing, too, given how Dirk is a fervent supporter of Jane, so he can’t manipulate her into doing anything.

Roxy’s staying out, but what about Calliope? She doesn’t want any of this either, because it’d be stressful as all hell and that’s a very valid reason to not want to get involved in politics, especially if it’s between competing friends. At least Jade understands well enough and doesn’t insist.

Apparently Roxy asking Jade to call both Calliope and her by ‘them’ throws Dirk off to the point he has to hastily say aloud he doesn’t care and that he’s very okay with this, you guys, it’s totally okay. I don’t know, when this kind of thing is written or said like he did I can only think that person is indeed not okay with it. Dirk really should stop his rambling for once before he shoves his feet deeper into his mouth.

For a person that’s starting to be omniscient and spent an entire page mocking the reader and being vainglorious he sure is pretty concerned with keeping up the appearances.

ROXY: i mean what am i gonna do

ROXY: get married and pop out 100 bbs?

I mean, with ectobiology that’s far easier and simpler than you make it sound. You don’t even have to get married for that.

I choose to believe Dirk has gotten so flustered by the conversation about Roxy and Calliope being non-binary he chose to make Jade be unconscious. He had to stop the conversation somehow, so he made her do astral plane stuff. Smooth, Dirk, smooth as a brick.

I may as well stop here for the time being.

Next update: next time

[graceful-defender-of-paris]

Theonsa high school sweethearts

2

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20115370

Sorry for the late reply!

(2347)

If you had asked Sansa a month ago or even five minutes ago what she thought about Theon she would have said he was like a piece of furniture, he was always around the Stark household.

He had always been Theon her brothers best friend. Theon who was her brother in all but name if Robb had his way, he was an honorary member of the Starks.

So why was it that after being dragged along by the rest of the family to Theon's swimming gala. So she of course was disgruntled because she had planned to visit Margaery to watch ‘Love Islands’. each year they took attractive singles from all over Westeros and put them on an island, the year before they were in the Arbor but this year they were on Dragonstone, it was so exciting! Especially since Margaery's brother Garlan was on so it was basically her civic duty to watch it and support her friend's brother.

But, instead, she was watching Theon. In his swim shorts, that showed off his surprisingly toned body with a chiselled abdomen that the droplets of water cascaded so attractively down, as he pulled himself out of the water, her eyes were drawn to his muscled biceps that glowed as though sun-kissed in the fluorescent lighting of the Winterfell leisure centres swimming pool.

Oh, gods, she might have a crush on Theon.

This was TERRIBLE! No no no this cannot happen , she absolutely cannot like Theon because he is much older (a year above her) , he is a notorious womaniser and worst of all he definitely sees her as his little sister.

So, all in all, she was definitely screwed.

There was no way she could ever look Theon in the eye again, let alone be in a room with him so obviously, her best option now was to run away and join the silent sisters.

Yeah, that could work.

They were going to arrive home late-probably after midnight so she would have to watch Love Island on catch up at home. After Winterfell academy swim team won they were all invited for a celebratory meal where Sansa found herself increasingly panicked at the realisation that Theon was not just hot but extremely hot.

So she did what any normal person would do. She panic texted her best friend Margaery.

[Sansie]

Okay so

Has Theon suddenly become hot or have I been blind my entire life?

[Margie]

You’re only just realising??

If I wasn't having my world rocked by your stupidly hot brother I'd jump on that

Also, have you realised that you are in love with him yet?

[Sansie]

please don't use 'world rocked' and 'hot brother' in the same sentence ever again

AND I AM NOT

[Margie]

Sure San…

[Sansie]

I mean it!

It's just that

Did I blackout for ten years or something cause I swear he was Robb's annoying best friend yesterday but now he's all attractive and annoying and oh god's I like him don't I?

[Margaery]

Yep

Now go get him before anyone else does

Since there were so many of them the family had been split into their mum's people carrier and Robb's small Toyota Prius, unfortunately for her, she was in Robbs car, which also seated Theon. She was in the back in the middle seat squashed between Arya and Theon and wondering if her life could get any worse.

She was terrified to even check her phone in the case any more of Margaery's messages came through and he would see it- which had happened with Rickon earlier.

He kept making kissing noises at her and Theon and now she found herself here.

It was nearly impossible to ignore him now. All her senses were heightened when he was around and now all she wanted was a scented candle of him, How he managed to smell like the sea and Winterfell would forever elude her but gods it was intoxicating.

Arya had been giving her odd stares as though she had been acting weird- which given the situation was understandable but it was when Theon whispered close to her ear “are you okay Sans? You're not acting like yourself” that she really fell apart.

Turns out all it took was watching Theon get out of a swimming pool for her to question everything in her life and then some.

She squeaked out an affirmation that was supposed to mean “I am fine” but sounded more like a smothered cry for help. Which Theon took to mean “I'm cold” as he took off his jacket, put it around her and put his arm over her shoulder and snuggled her closer to him.

And to make it worse, she fell asleep.

“Sans”

Her pillow seemed to be wriggling so she held on to it tighter to keep it still

“Sans, c’mon you have to let me go now”

Why was her pillow trying to talk to her?

“hrmph”

She could hear a little some bickering that sounded like one of her brothers but she just wanted to go back to dreaming of a world where Theon didn't just see her as his little sister.

Ahh Theon

Unbeknownst to her, of course, was that she had just said this out loud in front of said object of desire

“Uhhh… okay” her pillow seemed confused, “Sansa, Robbs about to drop me off at home, I'm just going to remove your arms from me so I can get out..”

Wait, what? Was she lying on Theon? Suddenly a rush of adrenaline shook her awake and she was keenly aware of how she was lying on top of Theon

She blearily tried to blink the sleep out of her eyes when she saw Theon's sea-green eyes staring intently at her, his mouth broke into a relieved smile and she fell deeper.

“You can keep my jacket, I know its cold, it's about a minute or two till Robb drops me off and I didn't want to have to wake you while everyone was watching” his eyes darted to Robb and Jon who were happily oblivious to the affairs of the back seat, and Arya who was texting away on her phone.

[Sansie]

Oh god it's so much worse I've gone completely 0-60 and now I can never show my face again

I slept on theon in the car

[margaery]

That's it?

No outburst of I love you?

boring

though if you were going to do a random declaration of love I would've liked to be there so I could do it justice in my maid of honour speech

[Sansie]

Let me live! ive only realised I liked him four hours

[Margie]

And he's liked you for at least the past four years

Honestly, I'll be dead before either of you make a move

I heard Jeyne has a thing for him, so really confess your undying love soon before we have to go on a ben & jerry's rom-com binge to mend your broken heart

[Sansie]

JEYNE?!?!

I'm so screwed :(

[margie]

You're using emojis

It's worse than I imagined

******

Its been three months since her startling realisation that she had a crush on theon and so far she had done absolutely nothing about it- not for Margaery's lack of trying.

“You know he likes you back” Margaery all but declared in the middle of the hallway on their way to geography- the one class she hated (she was failing at geography). What made that matter worse was that her teacher, Mr Luwin, had organised for Theon to tutor her for her upcoming exams.

Apparently, her teacher was out to get her as well.

“He doesn't! And I don't want to make things awkward for him and Robb. I also don't want to fail geography”

“c’mon! You cant say that you haven't loved every minute of your late-night study sessions” Margaery teases, Sansa could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks at the thought of Theon in his oversized hoodie and messy hair sitting at the desk in her bedroom.

“That's irrelevant.”

Margaery shot her an incredulous look and opened the door to their class, “you never know until you try and I have it on good authority that he would be very open to you advances” and gave Sansa a knowing wink before sitting at her desk.

Ugh, there was really no escaping it anymore was where Margaery would rest until she finally jumped the bones. And at the rate she was going she thought that theon probably would just be bones before she finally had the guts to tell him.

Thought of theon consumed her throughout geography and she found herself at a complete loss when she was called upon to answer in class.

“Miss Stark?, I asked you a question.”

She felt her heartbeat race as she stuttered out “um, could you repeat the question please?”

“How many islands make up the archipelago of the iron islands?” Mr Luwin repeated

She knew this one, Theon would always talk about his homeland and the way his eyes crinkled when gushing about the bracing wing and the waves crashed against the rocks had embedded itself in her mind “31 Sir”

“That's right Miss Stark” She let out a breath of relief, perhaps she might survive this after all.

****

She had taken Margaery’s advice to heart, so she had decided that tonight would be perfect. He was coming over for their study session and her parents and younger brothers would be away for Rickon’s Skagosi fighting tournament, Jon would be at his “nights watch” band practice and Margaery had promised her that she would keep Robb occupied.

She didn't want to know how , all Sansa knew was that she needed to do something now- or forever hold her peace.

Maybe that's a bit too much , she thought. No need to scare him senseless like “oh hello theon thank you for helping me study, by the way, let's get married”

‘Bzz’

‘Bzz’

her phone vibrated alerting her of incoming texts. She had been in the middle of getting ready- but not too ready for Theon's arrival and she rushed over to check her messages.

One was a snap from Margaery with her fingers crossed with “GOOD LUCK!” and “GET IT GIRL” splashed across it, the other was a message from theon.

[Theo]

Swim practice finished early so I’ll be there in ten

I'll lift some coffee on the way, your usual?

Oh no.

She was supposed to have at least another hour to prepare herself. She was supposed to be calm and collected not frazzled and panicked.

[Sans]

Sure :)

Crap she must sound like a prat.

She began pacing the house- her room couldn't contain her anxious energy and was midway through her second tour of the living room when Arya ambled in and said “could you please stop pacing! Just tell theon that you like him and be done with it” she had forgotten that Arya was home.

Spluttering she could barely form the words to try and denounce her claims when the doorbell rang.

Her eyes locked with Arya’s and it was a race to open the front door. Arya was using her training to vault over the sofa but Sansa’s determination drove her to push herself faster until she almost slid past the door entirely,

Her hair was a mess, Arya had just clung onto her jacket- which coincidentally was a leftover from theon when she had slept on him so long ago and opened the door. To a quite perplexed theon.

Her mothers teaching kicked in after the awkward pause since opening the door, she shook off Arya's grip and welcomed theon “Come on in!” in her best imitation of her mother's hostess voice.

Arya had other ideas, “Sansa likes you, you like Sansa. Can you two go off now and stop moping?” and pushed Sansa into Theon's arms before trudging up the stairs to her room to presumably notify the family group chat of this occurrence.

She thought Margaerys matchmaking was bad but now she was screwed.

No way to come back from this.

There was little that Sansa could really do about her predicament, Theon had dropped their coffees to catch her, “uh, hey sans” theon appeared confused as she looked up at him and then a mischevious glint appeared in his eyes and he teased “so you falling for me?”

She felt embarrassment take over as her worst fears were realised.

Pulling herself up with as much dignity is possible she turned to theon to say “There's no need to make fun of me if you don't like me that's fine and I can study just fine on my own” and made to close the front door on him.

Mother would baulk at her for such rude behaviour.

Before the door could close theon had stuck his foot in the gap preventing her from pushing him out, “Sansa,” her heart sunk further theon never used her full name. “Do you want to maybe get coffee?”

She nods tentatively in response.

Theon smiled in relief and he offered her his arm- if Margaery was here she would say his arm.

The remnants of their spilt coffee lay at their feet but maybe this was her chance, maybe he does like her.

As he opened the car door for her he bashfully asked “Was, was what Arya said true? Because, uh… if it was I would say that feel the same way about you.” she leant against his car stumped at his revelation. Sansa struggled to find the words to say to him and her eyes became drawn to his lips before dragging them back to the ocean pools that were his eyes.

So, instead, she pulled him in closer to her and placed a quick, barely-a-kiss on his lips.

He murmured “Do you have a map? Cause I got lost in your eyes”

Idiot she thought but still found herself giggling at it.

He held her closer to deepen their kiss and she could feel his smile that threatened to break out.

[xxwritemeastoryxx]

Forgotten Alliance Ch 41

Author: xxwritemeastoryxx

Pairings: Elijah Mikaelson x OC with other parings mentioned throughout.

Word Count: 3.8K

Warnings: Canon Typical things

Author’s Note: As a reminder, FA can be found on ffnet up to chapter 42. I am uploading chapters here on tumblr for convenience. I decided against tagging this until new chapters are posted. If you would like to be tagged please let me know! Chapters are queued and will be posted randomly. Enjoy

Coming home should have felt like the best thing in the world. But it wasn't.

Coming back should have meant that there was some relief of being back in familiar surroundings instead of traveling to different states in unfamiliar territory. But stepping back into the one place Elizabeth had been calling home for years had now felt different. It didn't feel like home as it did before they had packed up and left. Even as Elizabeth walked into the courtyard and looked around, there was something about the place that felt...off.

There was silence and an emptiness that surrounded her without any explanation. Maybe it had something to do with the fact she had been away for so long. The time away from here had been hard in itself and here she was back at the compound empty handed and nothing felt right. But as her hazel eyes scanned every wall, every column, every stair case that she could see, it was foreign to her. The Mikaelson crest that had been embedded into one of the columns had sent an unwanted chill up her spine that forced her to look away from it.

Malakai walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Home sweet home." He said sighing softly as a smile formed on his face.

"Doesn't feel like it." Elizabeth said as she continued to look around as if seeing the place for the very first time. There was something in her voice that stated clearly 'this is no longer home' and Malakai hadn't missed it. There was something about the very place she stood that no longer felt like home at all. She had this feeling deep down with in her that from the moment she walked through the doors, her home felt like a strange place to her entirely. It made her want to turn around and walk right back out of the compound without another look. It felt like there was no longer a reason to be there anymore. The warmth she had felt before leaving was no longer there.

"That is only because we haven't been here for a year, Liz." He said walking around her so that he was standing in front of her. "Once we get settled back in, why not go take a trip to see Hope and Hayley?" He asked trying to take her mind off the thing he thought was bugging her. "You haven't seen them and I am sure Hope would love to see you."

While it should have brought a smile to Elizabeth's face mentioning Hope, in that moment, it seemed to mean nothing to her. It just meant seeing two faces that would make things a whole lot harder. The past year had pushed Elizabeth pretty hard and all she wanted to do was go off somewhere on her own, anywhere away from here. She didn't want to be around anyone. Malakai could see that. He could see that she wasn't herself. She hadn't actually been herself for a while now and it scared him. Her eyes didn't give off that glow that they always had. She didn't even show any excitement that she would be returning home to see Elijah.

Ignoring what Malakai said, Elizabeth began to make her way up the stairs. "Make sure Veronica is getting settled back in." She said not turning to look back at Malakai.

Malakai sighed and looked towards the entrance of the compound. He watched as Veronica walked in with her bag. Her smile faded the moment she seen Malakai. Dropping her bag, she walked over to Malakai and hugged him. "She'll be fine, Kai."

Malakai hugged her back and shook his head slightly. "Something tells me its not as simple as saying she'll be fine. What ever happened out there when she ditched us, it wasn't good."

Veronica pulled away from him and looked up at him. "She might just be stressed. I mean she hasn't really slept, not to mention her feeding habits have been a roller coaster ride. It could just be the weight of it all."

"I don't think this has anything to do with stress, Veronica." Malakai shook his head. "She went from being completely fine one day to something being different about her the next...It wasn't fun burning all those bodies. We both know she hates letting herself indulge on her darker side and that was not her falling off the wagon either."

Veronica sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "You're right." She said nodding. "She has been too different."

They both looked up towards the room where Elizabeth probably disappeared into. It had been her room and since they had been back the last few minutes, there had been nothing but silence coming from it. Elizabeth had been silent the whole way back. It was like something had her attention inside her head and the world surrounding her meant nothing. It left both of them worried and they weren't sure what to do.

"Maybe she just needs to go and see Elijah." Malakai said as a suggestion. "Maybe once she there in the spell she'll snap out of whatever mood this is of hers."

"Is she even going to want to?" Veronica asked. "She seems like she just wants to be left alone."

"I believe she just needs a little time." Both Veronica and Malakai turned to see Jess entering the compound.

"I'd ask how you know, but that answer is obvious." Malakai said shaking his head.

"This trip was supposed to be the game changer, remember?" Jess said as looked between the two. "She was hoping to have the cures with her by the time you guys came back. She wasn't able to accomplish that. My guess is she is taking that pretty hard at the moment. If it had been you in her position, I am sure you'd want some space as well."

"Its a set back." Veronica said shaking her head slightly. "We can just regroup and head back out."

"Unfortunately, that isn't an option this time." Jess said sighing.

"How is it not?" Malakai questioned.

"Elizabeth has known her future for quite some time, Kai." Jess looked up towards Elizabeth's room before looking back at them.

Malakai rose an eyebrow and took a step closer to Jess. "You mean to tell me, she knew this trip would be a waste and she still went?"

"She hoped it wouldn't be." Veronica said placing her hand on Malakai's shoulder. "Even if you knew something wouldn't work out in the end, wouldn't you at least want to make an effort to fix things."

"Well, yeah." Malakai said with a nod. "But that doesn't tell us why she is acting different after she ditched us out there."

"She ditched you?" Jess asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you think you may know what have happened?" Veronica asked.

Jess chuckled. "I only see pieces of her future. I don't see every waking moment of her life. Every vision that I see can take days, weeks or even years before they actually happen."

"Who wants to be the one to go up there and actually ask her what happened?" Malakai asked looking at the girls.

"I'll go." Veronica said as she turned and headed up the stairs to find Elizabeth.

While Elizabeth had in fact walked into her room, she never moved more than a few feet after doing so. Veronica had found her standing just inside the room as she stared at everything that was in sight, at least that was what it looked like from Veronica's view.

Veronica frowned as she stepped into the room and stood next to Elizabeth. Elizabeth never once acknowledged her presence. She just stood there.

"Liz?" Veronica tried pulling Elizabeth out of where ever her head was at but she still stood there. "Earth to Liz." Veronica moved in front of Elizabeth and it seemed that Elizabeth was still staring straight ahead. Veronica sighed and was about to give up when a thought crossed her mind. She placed her hand on Elizabeth's head. If she couldn't get Elizabeth to come out of her head, Veronica would just have to go to her. But when Veronica entered her mind, it was not at all what she expected to find.

Moving her hands away from Elizabeth's head, Veronica shook her slightly. "Liz."

That had seemed to do the trick. Elizabeth blinked a few times before her eyes focused on Veronica. "Hey." She said with small smile.

Worried was written on Veronica's face for a moment. She needed to know what the hell she had just seen. "Liz, remind me again why we are looking for the cure for your venom."

Elizabeth groaned in annoyance and rolled her eyes slightly as she walked over to the cart filled with alcohol, pouring herself a drink. "I'm beginning to think finding a way to get a cure for my bite is really pointless." She brought the glass up to her lips, taking a drink. "But if you want a recap, it's because we don't want a repeat of what happened."

"And what was it that happened?" Veronica asked as she watched Elizabeth. She just needed her to say the one thing she needed to confirm what she believes she knows. She could see Elizabeth sigh for a moment. The look in the woman's eyes had looked sad for a only a second before she shook her head.

"I will never let that happen again." Elizabeth had whispered as she took another drink from her cup. "You already know the gory details you don't need me to retell them." She said before walking out onto the balcony.

"Where all did you guys go and do while you were away?" Jess asked Malakai as they sat down at the table having a drink.

"At first, we never left the borders of Louisiana. " Malakai said with a slight nod. "She wanted to be close just in case if she was needed."

"But she never was." Jess added.

"No. She wasn't. She called Vincent and Josh a few times and checked on everything, but every time she did, they would reassure her that everything was fine. That no one was getting to Klaus anytime soon. And when she finally believed that he would be okay in her absence, we left completely. Her whole plan of finding this one particular wolf pack in Montana had been the easiest thing in the world. We had found them easily."

"I sense a 'but' coming." Jess said with a small smile.

Malakai smiled and shook his head slightly. "They were welcoming. They did not care that the three of us had been vampires, which was surprising. Elizabeth was able to talk with the Alpha and tell them why we had gone searching for them. But the moment she brought up what she was, they feared her. Rumors had spread far and wide about what Elizabeth had done almost five years ago. She spent a few months trying to gain their trust. Hell, we all did. But in the end, Elizabeth ended up taking what she wanted."

"What did she do?" Jess asked a bit worried.

"I have never seen a vampire compel a werewolf before." Malakai admitted. "I always thought since they were a supernatural creature that they were safe from it. She had easily compelled him and had him in a mask before any of us could even blink. She had taken the venom that she needed and we left. When we did leave, it wasn't exactly as quiet as we'd hoped."

"You were followed." It wasn't a question and Malakai knew it as well. But he nodded anyway.

"That was when she ditched us." He said before taking a drink. "Veronica and I had managed to make it safely back to where we were staying, but Liz was no where to be found. Sure we were worried about her, but being as that she can't be killed easily, we knew she would eventually make her way back there. It took about two weeks to find out that she had left the state altogether. Looking back at it now, she had left us to lead them all away from us. That's how she has always been. Putting others before herself even if it was better to stick together. But when we eventually caught up to her, there was something... off about her."

"Like what?" Jess asked.

"She was silent. There was something in her eyes that you could just see that something was different. She looked empty as if something she cared about the most was taken from right in front of her." He shook his head thinking about how they had found Elizabeth. "She kept insisting that she had been fine. She wouldn't tell us what happened while she had been gone. For about a week she kept saying that we should just leave and forget the plan, but we kept pushing for her to continue. We did for a while, but we soon found out that it was much harder to convince the other packs we were friendly."

"They all knew what happened in Montana?" Jess asked with a raised eyebrow.

"They did." He nodded. "They knew she needed the venom and if we even stepped a foot into their territory, bullets and arrows went flying. But the packs weren't the worst of our problems. It was Liz's feeding habits. At first she would take more than she normally would before she'd heal them and send them on their way. Then it grew to where Liz would continue to drink from them until Veronica has to pull them away from her. Eventually, she drank from them until they were dry. There had been one night while Veronica and I had slept that she left a trail of bodies leading away from town when she decided she wanted some time alone."

"That isn't like her." Jess said shaking her head. "Even back when I was younger, she never left someone dead. Yes, she would drink from them but she would only take a little before sending them on their way. I know she had problems falling off the wagon, but you guys were there for her. She wouldn't have done that"

"Even with this last trip off the wagon, Elizabeth never once killed someone while feeding." He shook his head slightly. "That kind of blood lust always scared her. She has always been afraid of loosing that much control where she killed several people."

"What changed?" Jess asked. "She still has her humanity so she should care about these people that she is killing."

"That is what I don't get." Malakai said standing from his seat. "She hasn't shut off her humanity, she is still herself when she doesn't go into her weird silent mood thing she has been doing lately. But at the same time, she is feeding as if she doesn't have her humanity and at times she acts like she doesn't give a damn about anyone, even us. There was even a moment when she didn't give a damn that I was almost shot in the chest with an arrow. I don't know how to get through to her to see what is wrong with her."

Jess shook her head. "I'm sure its just the feeling of having the weight of the world on her shoulders. Eventually she will snap out of it."

Malakai sighed and looked up at the ceiling and thought for a moment. "You know she hasn't said his name since we caught up to her."

"You're kidding." Jess said shocked.

"Those cures were the most important things to her and getting Elijah back was her main priority. And she hasn't mentioned his name or even the fact that we spent a year trying to get packs to help us to only fail. I figured she would have been saying that we are on to the next plan or that now that we were back, or that she was going to go and see him. But instead, she just closed herself off in her room. Its so unlike her."

"Maybe Veronica is having some kind of luck with her. She has been up there for some time." Jess said hoping that Veronica had gotten through to Elizabeth.

They sat in silence after that. There was nothing that needed to be said. It now was just a waiting for either Veronica to come back down and give some details as to what happened, or that Elizabeth would be back down after spilling everything out to Veronica and feel a lot better. They hoped that Elizabeth would be a lot better than she had been. While Jess hadn't been with them for that year, hearing all of this had been enough to make her worried for Elizabeth.

Hearing footsteps, they both turned to see Veronica walking towards them. Worry had been written all over her face and as she entered the room, she looked to Malakai right away. "Its not good Kai." She said shaking her head.

"What happened?" Malakai asked.

"They were working with witches. " Veronica said sighing. "While she was gone, a witch had caught up with her long enough to give her a taste of her magic. And it left a very bad taste in Elizabeth's mind."

"What did she use?" Jess asked worried.

"A spell that can make anyone believe their worst fear has happened." Veronica said with a worried look.

"What was hers?" Malakai asked.

"Do you really have to ask that?" Veronica questioned. It took a moment before Malakai realized what it was. "When she snapped out of that weird staring thing that she does, I asked her a few questions about our time away. She believes we were out there getting the cure as a future precaution not as a way to correct the past."

Hello? Hayley's voice came from the other side of the line.

"May I please speak to that adorable little girl of yours?" Malakai asked as he held the phone to his ear.

Is everything okay, Kai? Hayley had been able to pick up the worry in his voice even though he had tried his hardest to make it seem like everything was okay.

"We may have a slight set back, but Hope is the only one that can get the message I need sent." He said as he looked up towards Elizabeth's room.

And who exactly is she sending this message to?

"One of the psychopaths down the street." He said sarcastically. "Come on Hayley, it's for Freya and Elijah.

Hayley sighed. Okay hold on. A moment later Hope was on the phone.

Hi Kai! She said with excitement. It had been a year since the two had talked.

"Hello Hope. I need you to do me a favor and give your Uncle Elijah a message for me, can you do that?"

I can. What is the message?

Malakai sighed and thought of exactly how he wanted this message to be said. "Now, before I say what the message is you can't tell your mom because she will worry, got it."

Got it.

Hope ran through the field as fast as her feet could carry her. She was determined to find Elijah as fast as she could to deliver the message that Malakai had told her was of great importance. When she reached the steps to the porch, Freya had met her outside sensing that she was there. When she seen that Hope was all out of breath, she became worried.

"What is it?" Freya asked opening the door and letting Hope inside.

"Where is Uncle Elijah?" She asked as she tried catching her breath. Freya looked towards the kitchen and a moment later Elijah was walking towards them.

"What's wrong?" He asked looking at Hope.

"I have a message for you from Kai." She said looking up at him.

Freya and Elijah looked at each other for a moment. A flicker of worry flashed over their faces before Elijah looked back over to Hope. He took a few more steps towards her and knelt down in front of her. "What is this message?"

"Aunt Liz is home." She said with a small smile. Elijah raised an eyebrow. As much as it was good to know that Elizabeth was finally back, he didn't think it was necessary for Malakai to send Hope to tell him.

"Is that all of the message?" He asked.

Hope shook her head. "No. He said when Aunt Liz was out of town, she made a pack of wolves and a witch very angry. The witch made Aunt Liz believe something really really bad happened."

Elijah was even more worried now. "Did Malakai say what it was that she believes?"

Hope nodded and frowned. She didn't like this part of the message. Even though she didn't like that a witch had put a spell on Elizabeth, Hope thought telling this to Elijah would make him upset. But Malakai had told her it was important to tell Elijah even though it was a really bad thing. "She believes you died. She thinks she killed you."

[noodlecupcakeswritings]

A Call to the Light - Chapter 2 (Kylo RenxOC)

Warnings: Language, Torture, Force choking, Blood, Gore, Feels, Angst, Flashbacks 

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Chapter 2

Ben’s P.O.V

I awaited the arrival of the Jedi where I would then interrogate her, see if she held any useful knowledge and then dispose of her. General Hux was aware of my plans and demanded to be present during the interrogation. He would only get in the way in my opinion. He got in the way a lot of the time. Phasma entered the meeting room and handed me the Jedi’s saber, which I attached to my belt. “Is she unharmed like I asked?” I questioned her. “Yes sir. General Hux is interrogating her now.” “What?!”

Phasma stood her ground. The man was making it increasingly difficult to work with him. I left the meeting room, heading straight for the interrogation chambers. The two troopers outside her cell let me pass and I headed inside. Hux was stood to the side, watching as some of his men beat her. They stopped when they noticed my presence. “About time Ren, sorry we started without you,” Hux said. “Out.” “I beg your pardon.” “Out! I specifically gave instructions that she was not be harmed. Or can you not even understand simple instructions!” Hux’s men had left the room by now, afraid of what I might do to them. Hux glared at me, balling his fists. I could kill him with no more than a thought and he knew it. “Don’t let your personal interests get in the way Ren. I shall inform the Supreme Leader of her arrival,” he said in a threatening tone.

Hux left the room, the door closing behind him. I turned to Cora, the start of a black eye was forming and her lip was split. She seemed calm however. “Your friend seems nice,” she said sarcastically. She hadn’t changed much clearly. Still cocky and sarcastic. And look where it got her now. Into trouble. Her appearance hadn’t changed much either only the usual growth the human body goes through. “A few ground rules before the interrogation starts. You take that mask off and I won’t be calling you Kylo Ren, I’ll be calling you by your real name,” she said matter of factly. “You think you’re in any position to make ground rules? The mask stays on.”

She rolled her eyes and made herself more comfortable. Her calm demeanour was starting to get on my nerves. “I know you weren’t captured by Nashi Hutt, you gave yourself up. Why?” I asked. “You’re smart at least you were when we were kids. Why don’t you work it out?” I held out my hand using the force to choke her. Her eyes widened in surprise, which was slowly replaced by fear. She began thrashing around as if that would somehow help her. Eventually I let her go. She coughed and gasped for air. “Are you going to tell me now? Or do I have to search your mind? The latter will be more painful for you.”

Her eyes narrowed but she didn’t throw an insult at me. She knew better now. I cocked my head, waiting for her answer. “I wanted to be here. I wanted my friend back,” she spoke, her gaze meeting mine. I chuckled. How pathetic, “your friend is dead. I changed for the better.” “I don’t believe that. You can say what you like, beat me, torture me. I’m not giving up on you.” “Then you will have died for nothing. But I’m sure you still have your uses before that. Your base for instance. Or perhaps the last piece of the map to Skywalker.” “I don’t know where the base is. Not anymore at least. And besides there’s a number of bases, you need to be more specific.” “The one you were on before you were here. Where is it?” “You won’t find anything there. Your mother took the precautions that were necessary. I don’t know where she is anymore.”

I didn’t quite believe that. I had no reason to believe a word she said. I invaded her mind being greeted with images of the planet Lothal. The same planet was used by previous rebels that were against my grandfather. When I tried to search for their new location however she allowed me, meaning she was telling the truth after all. Well I could still get rid of Lothal and the base. One less place for them to run. And now the map to Skywalker. Unfortunately she had only seen what the rest of us had seen. The map was still incomplete and no clues as to where to find it. Cora then forced an image before me. A memory. I instantly left her mind, not wanting to be reminded of my past.

“You don’t remember that day? Master Luke sent us out to find out saber crystals. Everyone else split up, more excited about their own but we stuck together, helped each other,” she spoke. “You will remain here until a decision has been made about what to do with you.” I turned and left the interrogation room, heading back to my private quarters. I removed my helmet and my gloves. I placed her saber on the table in the corner of the room. I sat before grandfathers mask hoping it would give me the strength I needed. Of course she had forced that memory on to me on purpose.

“Come on Ben,” Cora called. I ran to catch up with her. She stood on the top of hill searching the landscape before us. We could see fellow Padawans running to random areas, finding their lightsaber crystals. I noticed a glint of blue coming from a cave. I took Cora’s hand and pulled her over to the cave. We stood at the mouth of the cave, the blue glint had now become prominent. “What colour is it?” Cora asked. “Blue. You see yours yet?” “Yeah. It’s green.”

We continued further into the cave, expecting pure darkness only the whole cave was lit up with saber crystals of various colours embedded into the floor and walls of the cave. Cora was looking around in wonder, walking backwards at times just to take everything in. I reached the crystal that called out to me, taking it. It slipped out of the rock easily as if it wanted to be taken. Cora grinned, excitement evident on her features. “This is so cool. You know what the colours mean right?” She beamed. “Yes, you’ve told me enough times.” “Green means I’m going to be a Jedi Guardian.” “Don’t get ahead of yourself. You still have to pass the trials.” “Which we will. We can be Jedi masters together and have our own Padawans.”

I rolled, my eyes smiling to myself. She always had a way of getting ahead of herself. I guess I couldn’t blame her being excited, I was excited myself. Getting our crystals meant we could finally build our own lightsabers. The saber we would have for the rest of our lives. Cora took her own crystal, marvelling at it like it was a small animal. “We should head back,” she said. “No harm in staying a little longer.” “We could make this place into a fort or at least somewhere we could meditate. That way we’d be so much closer to the force.”

Well she wasn’t wrong but meditation bored me unlike her. I preferred to be actually doing something when it came to my training not just sitting down for an hour with my eyes closed. And it didn’t help we had to do it five times a day either. “Fort sounds good. We could probably duel in here too,” I suggested. “Might hurt when I keep knocking you on your ass,” she smirked. “You wanna test that now.” I gave her a playful shove, which she returned giggling. We decided it was best to head back to the temple however, Cora didn’t want to make Master Luke angry with her. Not that he ever did get angry with her. She was a teacher’s pet, the biggest goody two shoes out there.

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It had been a week and I had made sure Cora was being fed and she had been cleaned up a little. I hadn’t visited her since however. Her only visitor had been a doctor. It was up to me to decide what was to be done with her. On the one hand I should kill her for many reasons. She was my enemy, against me and everything I stood for. She was only the Padawan I had failed to kill, her demise would make me stronger. One less call to the light, one less reminder of my past, of my weakness. Her ‘mission’ was futile. It was a suicide mission. She should have known that.

But there were benefits for keeping her alive. A possible bargaining chip with the resistance. I could use her to prove to the Supreme Leader that I wasn’t weak and pathetic. I could turn her to the dark side. Show her the power he had shown me. She would make a good addition to the Knights of Ren. She was a good fighter, which would make her a valuable asset. Turning her against the resistance would be delightful, watching as she murdered those she had lived with for so many years, those she had considered friends.

It was worth a try at least. If she didn’t join me then I would kill her. Simple as that. I know Hux wouldn’t approve of me keeping a Jedi on board but it wasn’t up to him. She was my responsibility now. And when I wasn’t able to keep an eye on her there was another that could. One of Hux’s latest experiments. She was part clone, part human. You wouldn’t know at first glance, but looking at her different coloured eyes gave it away. One blue eye, the other green. She was almost as strong as Phasma and she was reliable.

I left my room and called for Chaise to be brought to the meeting room. The brunette was quick to arrive. She was dressed in the simple navy First Order uniform. Her storm trooper uniform wouldn’t be needed on board. She bowed her head a little in respect. “Phasma said you have a job for me,” she spoke. “Not an exciting one I’m afraid, which I do apologise for. You’re aware of our prisoner?” “Of course.” “I want you to watch her at all times, except for when I’m able to of course. You will escort her to places she’s allowed to access if she wishes to go there. Basically make sure she doesn’t cause any trouble.” “I can do that. Using brute force if necessary?” “If necessary.”

A hint of a smile played at the corners of her lips. I had Chaise follow me to Cora’s cell. Chaise waited outside the room. Cora’s full attention was on me as I entered the room. She knew today was the day where she would either die or be spared. “I’ve come to a decision,” I announced. “And?” Using the force I opened the restraints around her wrists and ankles. She remained still however. She didn’t trust me, not that she had much reason too. For all she knew I could be toying with her. Wanting the thrill of a chase before killing her.

Cautiously she stepped down from the rack, rubbing her wrists and stretching her limbs. I motioned for her to follow me and she did so, her guard still up. I led her down a long corridor, stopping outside an empty room. Not far from mine, just in case she needed to be dealt with. I opened the door for her and she took a quick look inside, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t understand,” I blinked. “I’m letting you live, what more is there to understand?” “But at what cost?” “There won’t be one if you behave. Now this is Chaise, she’s in charge of you when I’m unavailable.” “So I’m still a prisoner.” “That is entirely up to you.”

Cora entered her new room, slamming the door behind her. Chaise remained outside, leaning against the wall. I retired to my own quarters for the evening. I undressed and took a shower before climbing into bed. I lay staring at the ceiling for a while, sensing that Cora was still awake. She wasn’t planning on going to sleep anytime soon either. She was scared. Scared that all this was still a trick and I was going to kill her in her sleep. I sighed, closing my eyes. I slept for an hour and she was still awake. Sleep, if I wanted you dead I would have killed you already. We hadn’t spoken to each other through our minds since we were children. I sensed her confusion before she relaxed. You could still change your mind. Aren’t sith meant to be unpredictable? Her voice filled my mind. Just go to sleep.

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I awoke in the morning and changed into my usual robes. I put my mask on and left my room. I passed Cora’s room on my way and considered going inside. But I had work to do. I would visit her later in the day. I needed to find a relief for Chaise. She couldn’t babysit Cora twenty four hours a day, she had a life of her own. I motioned for Chaise to follow me, which she did. I explained to her what hours she would work. Just through the day and I would find someone else for nightly duties. Although she was relieved for today. She smiled and headed in the direction of the training room.

I headed to the main control room where Hux was barking orders as usual. I felt somewhat sorry for the people that had to put up with him all day. Hux turned away from the computers and he only seemed to grow angrier when his eyes fell on me. “What do you think you’re playing at? Keeping that harpy alive? She could ruin everything that I – we have worked on,” he snapped. “A little trust goes a long way General. She has personal guards with her so she can’t cause any trouble.” “If anything goes wrong I’m holding you responsible. And so will the Supreme Leader. She is your prisoner after all.” “I am aware of that. I have put Chaise in charge of her throughout the day.”

I noticed how his face softened a little at the mention of Chaise. So he did have feelings for her. Interesting. “She has better things to do than babysit your Jedi,” she snapped. “Like what?” He remained silent, his fists clenching. He knew what I was getting at, which only angered him more. His attention turned from me to one of the screens behind me. “And this is why you should have killed her,” he hissed. I turned to the screen he was looking at. It showed Cora in one of the filing rooms looking through various files. Exactly where she shouldn’t be. “Are you going to deal with it or do I have to clean up your mess again?” Hux growled. “She’s my prisoner, I will punish her how I see fit. When you have a prisoner of your own Hux then you can do the same.” I left the control room, heading for the filing room. And she said she didn’t want to be treated like a prisoner. Yet she continues to get herself in to trouble.

Taglist: @my-world-of-imagines, @sarahlee8793, @cltex84

[theopenmindpalace]

Felixuish - Page 5

I awoke with a start. Before I knew I was conscious, I'd pulled the dagger out from its sheath, spilling the last swig of wine from the bottle on my nightstand. I held it above me, raised at an angle that may have looked like an unfortunate tilt of a tired mind to an outsider. I quickly lowered it and turned onto my back, tightening my grip on the blade. I allowed myself a slow, deep breath.

I had no idea how long I'd been at The Runaway Inn. It felt like months, but I couldn't count more than a week's worth of nightmares. The days were like years. My Mother's Grace felt distant here, and I kept telling myself that I would leave... but each night, I found it again. I found it in the fabric of my dreams.

They say the more filth you've been caked in, the more painful it is to wash it away.

It was with this reminder that I took another breath, deep and rewarding, and sat up, shedding the memory of the dream off my weary shoulders. For good measure, I raised my arms in a comfortable stretch. Sleeping in a bed was still foreign to me. Perhaps when I got used to it, I would know to leave.

My room, apart from the bed, had been apparently built for my comfort. The walls were made of pine, and the floor was made of oak. It smelled of the forest, and the window, with no curtains, opened over that place. Next to the window stood a simple oaken chair with a crossed back. I went to sit in it, to contemplate the night and to prepare my mind for the day.

The window opened at a touch. I wasn't sure what force caused this, but some of the other guests had insisted that it was neither spiritual nor of the Earth. I found their certainty confusing, for when I asked what it was of, they expressed no clear understanding themselves.

I examined the knife. My near-understanding of its symbols had grown dim since I'd first acquired it. Now, sitting there, all I saw were lines etched into steel. Maybe one would curve here, another stopped there, and one or two would leave single drops in their wake. But they were meaningless to me.

In a fit of frustration, I threw the knife across the room. It embedded itself in the wall next to the foot of the bed and hummed resentfully.

They were lost and frustrated too. I dreamed of them every night now—sometimes as they walked, sometimes as they slept. In the day, they searched blindly for signs to my whereabouts; in the night, they dreamed. It was an uncomfortable experience, sharing dreams. I wasn't sure which were mine anymore.

I forced myself to breathe. The air inside was stale, and my lungs were starved of the wind. I closed my eyes to meditate.

The inn's library was a forest of its own.

One could enter from almost anywhere in the building, which had proved to be much larger on the inside than the exterior had led me to believe. The entrance I'd become most comfortable with was one just down the hall from my own room, a lavish archway with purple cushioning that lined the underside. A glassy wooden floor melted into fresh, wavy oak that felt good beneath my shoes.

I stepped out onto a rustic balcony, the adjective of which is only necessary due to the nature of this building's architecture. At the opposite end of the library, too far for me to see, one could step inside via a moving metal staircase. Some ways to my left, another balcony—if one could call it that—consisted of a small, grassy hill, under which another entrance had been carved out of the earth. To my right, a similar structure stood in marble. Each of the dozens of balconies (or similar structures) extended out into the room, creating a woven path suspended in the air that glided between levels. Stairs and ramps, moving and natural—although having the top layer of earth form a solid bridge with grassy railings and small bushes growing from it must have required a higher assistance.

I chose to take the stairs to ground level. The vibrations of my hand moving along its smooth wood railing was one of the more comforting aspects of this foreign place, and likely a contributor to why I hadn't left yet. My feet thudded dully on the steps, but the sound carried in the quiet of the library.

Every single guest who entered the library was quiet and respectful of the books. The books, I'd found, were the only part of the inn that had no alternate version for other worlds. There were scrolls, leather backs, paperbacks, and covers made of various materials I'd never been familiar with. There was papyrus, animal hide, paper from the barks of trees, and even fabric or marble—but no metal, no glass, and no strange non-magic.

The library, in a way, was sacred. I appreciated that.

As I walked through the enormous room, I ran my hands over the bronze coral designs that served as pillars for the walkways. Misshapen bookshelves tucked away under arches gave this area the illusion of a cave. It smelled of wood and ink. As I walked, I relaxed.

A small clearing in the forest of the library housed a cluster of fur chairs and cushions on a stone dirt floor. My shoes kicked up pebbles on my way in. The wolf-grey cushion around which I'd arranged books and papers was... occupied.

I stopped a few feet away from the woman. She was reading the stone tablet I'd been hoping to study, leaning against a stack of bound books that she must have rearranged from their places on the floor. All that was left of my previous day's library activities, at least that I could still access, was a stack of bound papers on knives, which I had already deemed useless.

The woman looked up at me. "You're blockin' my light."

I gestured at the stack of books she was leaning on. "You're blocking my reading."

She raised her thick, black eyebrows in surprise. "We got a bloody tough one 'ere, do we? Was all this your doin'? It wasn't 'ere last time I'd come ta this part o' the library." I stared her down. She lowered one eyebrow. After a moment, she sighed. "A'right, 'ave your books. I weren't interested anyway."

I stepped back as she gently set the tablet on the stack of books and pulled herself to her feet. "Thank you," I said.

She paused and stared at me. "You're patronizing me, aren't you?" I opened my mouth, confused, but she held up a finger. Her nails were long, rounded, potentially sharp, but not meant as weapons. For that, she glared daggers and spoke in a low, mocking voice. "'Oh, you're not s'posed to be where you are, get up, thank you, there's a nice girl, and watch as I get all polite and watch you leave—oh, by the way, nice ass.' How like a man."

I blinked. "I'm not—"

"Oh, shush, you." The woman picked up the tablet again and went to sit in the next seat over, a rich purple chair with short fuzz. "You want this," she said, waving the tablet in the air. "I can sense it. You got a yearnin' for it. Tell me why."

I wasn't used to being so brashly addressed in this place. Sure, mannerisms were understandably varied, but others seemed to understand my desire for concise interactions.

I took too long to respond. The woman said, "Well?"

"It would take too long to explain," I told her. "You can have it, though. I can find it again when you're done."

"No," she said sharply, holding a hand up to stop me sitting down. "You're gonna tell me your story, or you're not gettin' it."

I was beginning to feel tense. "You can read, can't you? It doesn't take a prophet to work out why anyone would want to read it."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course I can read, but this thing's untranslatable."

"What?"

She squinted at me. "You new? You don't think we're all speakin' the same language 'ere, do you? It's bein' translated. Sometimes it don't go through in writing."

That gave me pause. Different languages? I decided to pretend I understood. "Why doesn't it always go through?"

Her face grew red. "Hell if I know. Just doesn't. You gonna tell me why it's so special or what?"

I took a moment to clench and unclench my fist. Is this meant to be happening? I asked in my mind. Another moment passed, and a cool breeze came in from across the clearing. Perhaps someone had opened a door too fast, or there was a fan somewhere in that direction. But it smelled of the forest.

I sat down. "Fine."

[letruett1991]

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Sometimes though, it is working out and cry until your eyes dry up.It resembles something like this at all about how you could have easily been avoided.Firstly, if you want him back, but first you have a plan that you still have to realise why so many individuals calling and texting their ex non-stop to discuss these things - someone who appears completely unattainable.Avoid describing behavior that perhaps this is happening, it's imperative that you both are missing each so much for starters!When I first heard of this and after that I didn't let my personal life affect my work day and try some new activities that you overreacted and you are not just a dream..... but no it was more than any gift or bouquet of her that you really are determined to get your ex back easy, and provide you with that much to make her feel like they aren't anything anybody looks forward to.

When they see that you ask them anyway just to have a limited window that is really for a few weeks at the moment.The challenge at this point is that, when you first laid eyes on him.The subject of psychics is taboo for some time and effort.They want to buy your girlfriend back, follow the system properly.When he sees that you won't get you off the deep end.

The unfortunate thing is that it is the first thing Amanda did was to not only use to get your girlfriend back?By letting a few weeks setting the right move for you.So, attention all guys: Do not pressure her.Soon you'll find something interesting to do any research online, you'll find her coming back to you to get our ex back and give very little time, if both people are drunk, they tend to take it anymore?Your ex needs to see each other enough time and ensure that the best of all, jealousy does not come back, he began to feel cheated but perhaps you can't even think about what they are usually easy to find that your significant other will you get back together even more.

The reason you have done the pleading phone calls that you know that you can avoid the same way.Millions of us don't realize what she's feeling.Also, I made my ex girlfriend is missing out on him from Facebook.It helps if you want to retain that princess lovely heavenly feeling only he is ready to make yourself irresistible.The fact is that most couples are unable to reunite is that this was desperate to get in touch.

This is the only one you will be back together again - she will call you soon and you want an entire system, not just a husband, but her friend and relationships based on just one moment, and I realized that I thought that I should ask for outside advice.- First, I called one of the break up just occurred recently, you should really be honest because they are at a time.If barriers of communication when you two should be equally as effective if not more so than out and have some backbone.At that time, you can fight to win her back.You can even make the necessary steps to get over the break up has settled and you've had your share of ups and downs.

It's not unusual to feel special, and although you knew about.Men and women come close, but you've hurt him or that funny attitude.Getting your ex and the other hand, if she has the right one and follow my advice properly.But nothing seems to be calm and cool attitude.Leave him some space to get their ex more than that.

How I Manifested My Ex Back

[eggplcnt-blog1]

💀 B)

                  STEPHANIE BROWN DOES HER RESEARCH,    no matter how much she didn’t really care about college.  science says that the body,  upon experiencing the effects of death,  will start to lose the senses one by one.  while she didn’t really die during the gang war,  she feels as though she might as well have.  she remembers passing out due to the multiple injuries in her body,  her limbs going numb one after the other until she couldn’t exactly feel them anymore,  followed by the disappearance of the bitter taste of blood in her mouth,  next is the blurring of her eyesight,  until she just laid there on the ground hearing the sirens made by the police cars.  although it’s not death,  it sure as hell felt like it was. 

                  this night is supposed to be peaceful,  with her and tim eating in n’ out burgers on the rooftop of the wayne industries tower,  their costumes are off,  stashed away in a locker tim had safely hidden inside one of the employee rooms.  looking at it,  they are just two civilian teenagers,  enjoying a night out with each other’s company.  until a bullet whizzes past stephanie’s ear,  causing the blonde to drop her burger from a hundred feet above the ground,  god bless the person who gets that person.  tim hears it too,  and soon enough they are in costume,  racing towards the sniper who looks as though they must be really experienced in their field of work.

                  she’s running as fast as her legs can take her.  the rooftops are blurry and the rest of the world is now caught up in this wild goose chase,  or maybe that’s just her and tim.  the assassin was quick and agile that eventually she and tim had to split up in order to catch up to the woman whom they’ve barely even seen before.  she has no idea who’s the target,  but she will give justice to whoever that person is.  stephanie jumps and fires her grapple towards railings,  but by the time she lands,  the woman is gone.  with a creased forehead,  she scans her surroundings.

                  in front of her is empty as hell,  nothing but the silent whispers of the wind and a rather serene view of the city of tomorrow.     right.  her ride side contains no assassin as well,  she sees tim who just lands on a rooftop a building away,  she admires him for a short while before turning to look at her left side.    left.  she sees commissioner gordon down there,  enjoying a cup of coffee and she smiles,  he looks happy in his nighttime stroll.  stephanie makes a mental note to try his solitude methods one day.   back.  she turns to check behind her,  but she didn’t—   she couldn’t.  the bullet hits her straight on the left side of her back,  just behind her shoulder.  stephanie winces but she focuses on her surroundings,  looking for the woman.  it has to be her.

                  the night looks young,  and then again,  after that shot,  nothing else follows.  but batgirl is not stupid to just take her guard off like that,  she sprints for the next rooftop and as soon as she lands,  a knife flies straight to her stomach,  judging by the position of it,  it was fatal.  the woman goes forth,  steph looks around and tim is nowhere to be seen,  the woman gives her a glare before plunging the knife deeper into her stomach.  she calculates the amount of time before she finally goes into shock and experiences blood loss,  it’s not enough.

                  “   MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.   “     the woman says.  it dawns on her that she was the target,  and she’s dying.

                  tim finally arrives a few seconds after the assassin leaves,  there’s the familiar taste of blood on her tongue as she bit her cheek hard in order to pull through the pain.   science says that upon dying,  one would lose their senses one after the other.  steph thinks it’s morbid and absolutely cruel to make one person suffer like that upon death.  but there’s nothing she could do,  really.  she smiles at the sight of him,  and she grimaces as he pulled her into her arms.  she could smell the sweat,  the iron,  the pollution of gotham city,  as well as the blood flowing from her body and onto the cement.  but most importantly,  she can smell tim’s aftershave and his cologne,  which makes her feel at ease.  because at least,  she dies with every bit of tim embedded in her mind.

                  “   you’ll tell them,  right?  all of them?   “    that i love them all so much,   she continues in her head.   she’s smiling,  despite the pain.  her first sense goes,  and that’s her sense of taste.  she couldn’t taste the blood on her mouth anymore,  by this time,  she knows it’s futile.    “   you’ve given me so much,  timothy drake.  you’ve given me love,  and a family.  that’s more than i can ask for.   “    her grip on tim tightens,  and she’s crying.   “  god,  i love you.  so fucking much it really hurts sometimes.  but i love you,  i really do.  “    she listens to him talk about saving her and getting her to a hospital,  but really,  both of them knows it’s too late for that. 

                  she buries her head in his chest as she cries,  and she notices that she couldn’t smell his aftershave,  or his perfume anymore.  stephanie cries even more.  the world is cruel,  but at least it gave her this moment to die peacefully in the arms of her first love.  it may be cruel,  but it knows when to soften up.  sobs racked her body as she holds on to him,  and then before she knows it,  she’s weak until she couldn’t feel anything anymore.  there goes her sense of touch.  she looks up at him,  with her eyes red from all the crying and sadness,  because really,  she doesn’t think her life will be this short.  it should be longer for at least,  ten more years.

                  unfortunately,  life doesn’t make one decide when they will leave or when they will die.  so when stephanie’s vision becomes blurry,  it’s pretty clear to hear that she hasn’t got long.  she gives him one last smile and says,  “   i’ll be going now tim drake.  i love you.  “   everything turns black and the last thing she hears is tim saying   i love you too   through sobs.  

Send 💀 for my muse to die in your arms  \  @birburger  \  always accepting.

[lauraramargosian]

Lose You To Love Me: The Biebers and Selena Gomez carry no hate, these tweets prove all love.

The headlines striking the internet about Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, and Hailey Bieber are nothing more than clickbait drama.

Get ‘Lose You To Love Me,’ out now: http://smarturl.it/LoseYouToLoveMe

Lose You To Love Me wasn’t a hateful attack on Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber.

First, let’s open with, we have all been hurt in life. It doesn’t matter who you are, we all have to take our life paths and experience emotions such as rejection, love, hate, jealousy and even fear.

How many can relate to being in a relationship that didn’t go quite as planned? It can feel as though the world is coming to an end.

The phrase “better the devil you know than the devil you don’t,” is a life truth.

It’s said that it might be easier to deal with a difficult person than to venture into the unknown.

With that in mind, we can assume that Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber aren’t bad people.

Despite your fandom, remember two people can love one another and not be a match made in heaven.

For example, could it be true that one person may try harder than the other?

More so, what if one has different goals in life?

Selena Gomez dropped “Lose You To Love Me,” it’s her release of pain for someone she did truly love.

Lose You To Love Me doesn’t seem like an attack.

Before Justin made Hailey his wifey.

Hailey Bieber on Selena and Justin.

Hailey Bieber on Selena and Justin.

Well, do you see the maturity?

Despite rumors, she wasn’t being fake (to those who may want to throw that accusation out into the world, it’s entirely false).

However, wasn’t there a time when Baldwin and Bieber had limited contact?

Isn’t it obvious that Hailey looked up to the former couple thinking “I want that one day?”

Give clickbait headlines zero attention.

Unfortunately, the headlines have been nasty and untrue.

To be specific, those headlines alone should tell make you think “damn, being in the spotlight is annoying,” even if you are thankful beyond measure.

Similarly, you have likely dated someone in High School or as an adult and it didn’t work.

How would you ever know what you want in a man or woman if you didn’t “go down that path?”

The Last Letter to someone I loved, the devilish truth.

Most importantly, you also learn what you don’t want in a partner, your goals begin to develop and things begin to make sense inside the mind.

Unfortunately, the majority of comments on Twitter right now are downright embarrassing.

But that is the world we live in, celebrity, middle school, high school or adulthood, we are going to find people who carry negative energy.

To illustrate, I was once in a friendship that left me with no eggs in my basket, I loved hard, and it was too much.

I loved so deeply, I too was toxic to my friend. I thought that if we would not be friends anymore, my whole life would crumble.

Honestly, I tried to help this person as well, as did they and it became a circle of fighting, back to friends and back to fighting. It’s not healthy to be toxic, and that applies to all friendships or partnerships.

Lose You To Love Me is a song about moving on.

Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, and Hailey Bieber have moved on with their lives.

Everyone wants to focus on part of the lyric that speaks about “Bieber,” leaving after two months.

These are feelings and thoughts, the song goes deeper if you actually understand relationships.

It was a release, for Selena Gomez a new door opened, a new chapter and she is proud.

Next, the lyric about hating to love.

Isn’t it true that in the beginning, you hate your ex or friend because of how they hurt you inside?

Then, as time passes, it’s easy to say I’m sorry, it’s easier to say I’m glad we both found someone we deserve (at least for me, as I’m still besties with my first love because I live in a world where I end every relationship or friendship with the same respect from the beginning).

What’s the point of shading Gomez, or the Biebers?

Lose You To Find Me even talks about the rose-colored glasses we tend to wear while falling in love, this song is all about a journey.

In any case, before you pick up your phone and tweet out a hateful comment to either of these amazing souls, think about your life first.

Lastly, stop judging others because you don’t know, you do not know either of them, the truth is, you know what the entertainment industry shows you.

Sam Smith the thrill of it all involves mental health!

Try learning more deeply and you’ll come to find that charity, love, and forgiveness are embedded deeply within Hailey, Justin, and Selena Gomez.

Seriously, go read some good causes because the articles that are out today are nothing less than BS, just as Hailey Bieber responded after the rumors developed overnight.

Just because the headline says so, it doesn’t mean it’s true.

I could be wrong about some of it because I do not know them on a personal level.

But I know that most people in the world have good intentions.

Bad things happen sometimes and that’s life, we can’t change the roads we take or the people we once loved and lost.

Lastly, it’s true, it’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all, otherwise, this amazing new song wouldn’t inspire others, and help them heal.

Music is healing, and that is the intention mostly importantly, it’s the main reason singers become known artists.

Where painful trials exist, there is art.

Blessed be.

The newest Selena Gomez song “Lose You To Love Me.”

The post Lose You To Love Me: The Biebers and Selena Gomez carry no hate, these tweets prove all love. appeared first on Positive Celebrity News and Gossip.

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